Back to normal?

So it looks like things may be getting back to normal around here. You know....the normal where no one visits my blog. LOL! Either that or no one is synching their PDA's cause of the holiday weekend.

I guess I will just have to wait and see.

Blackberry?

Could all this drama be because someone is viewing my site using a Blackberry?

Really.....my site is not all that interesting.

It was not the template!

It is still happening. The visits are still coming. Could these visits really be someone that is just like the people on these websites linked below? The IP addresses are from the same place and why would someone be on my blog for 5,6 or even more hours?

I know that you all probably think that someone is leaving a page of my blog open and closing it hours later but that does not appear to be the case (as you can see in prior post picture). These hits are happening every few minutes. These hits are not hitting a particular page and they do not show up on my list of referred links. I had to search the tools of my blog counter to find the information on these hits. I am concerned as I normally average 10 hits per day on my blog. So far I am over 195 hits just from this morning. My blog is NOT so interesting as to have these many hits in one day.

I even have some of the tech guys here at work checking it out. Makes me glad I work for a software company.

So much for trying something new

I had to change the template back. Something is up with the template I used. I got 145 visits to my site just today and that freaks me out. I see where the visits are coming from and the visit length and IPP address are different each time. But they are coming from the same place. I have been thru that template and I don’t find any links at all so until I figure out what is up, it is back to the old template. I am so bummed.

Well?

So tell me.

What do you think of the new template?

Is it too busy?

I think I need to get used to not having a white background. Do I need to go back to a white background?

Please let me know what you think.

Thanks.

Whoa Doggie!

Yesterday was a cool day to have a camera with me. We got to see a cool ring around the Sun (Sun Dog). It was huge! Here are a few pictures I took.



sun·dog (s n dôg , -d g )

n.

1. A parhelion.
2. A small halo or rainbow near the horizon just off the parhelic circle.

sundog

n : a bright spot on the parhelic circle; caused by diffraction by ice crystals; "two or more parhelia are usually seen at once"

You can see a really awesome picture by visiting Happay’s blog. So go there now!

Dirty Rain

Yesterday morning I walked out to find super dirty windows on the car from the storm that rolled by on Sunday afternoon. I cleaned the windows and headed to work. When I left for the day I again had dusty dirty windows. Why can’t it just rain here. Why does the very little rain we get have to mix with dust? I could NOT see at all when it started to rain on the way home so I had to stop and clean my windows in the middle of the rain storm. Even after cleaning them I almost pulled over to the side of the road because the visibility was so bad. I really do need new wipers on this car. Each time we buy them though the sales person insists we need 2 different sizes even when I tell them no. The sales person always insists that the book is right and that I am wrong. We never come home with the right size. The only time I have been able to get the right size of wiper for this car is when I go by myself and play dumb.

B told me when I got home that he bought new wipers for the good car. This is a good thing, especially since I am driving the good car today. The wipers were so bad in that car that they scratched a line in the window from the metal rubbing against the glass. Now maybe B will be nice and take the icky car in for new blades.

Driving home...

Driving home should be interesting. I can hear the thunder over the music playing thru my earphones.

Driving home should be interesting. I have no wiper blades.

Driving home should be interesting. I have the icky car and have to drive with the windows down.

Driving home should be interesting. I think the breaks are going on the car (the axle is already gone).

Driving home should be interesting.

better

I spoke to my boss on Thursday and I feel really good about it. I did not really think he would do anything as it was just me complaining but he did seem concerned when I told him how my other co-workers are acting different as well. No one talks anymore. I hope that something good comes from this.

No scrapping or knitting or anything creative happened this weekend. I did stop by the scrapbook store to buy Heidi Swapp chipboard letters but they only had them in black and not white. I did not go home empty handed though. I still managed to buy sticker letters (I love those American Crafts stickers) and a package of Basic Grey ribbons (the silly line - cannot remember the real name). It was hard deciding which package of BG to buy. They also had 'Oh Baby and Urban Couture which has the most wonderful colors. Since I have more of the silly line I got that package. They only had one of the Urban Couture so I hope it is still there when I get back to the store. They were also selling American Craft ribbon for $1 a roll. There were a few decent ones that I selected. So I went in for just chipboard and left with stickers and ribbon. I sure do hope it jump starts me back into the creative zone.

Bitch-fest!

I have just about had it with work. Not the work I do, cause I like that. Not the company I work for, cause I like them too. It is because of some of the people that I work with that will make me give up my current position or leave. I have had it. There is just too much negativity and when I ask my boss if we could have a meeting, I am told that he does not work that way because it will get out of control. Okay. I can understand that. In a way, I WANT to have a meeting like that. I don’t like individual meetings because I then sound like I am whining and am told that I am the only one that feels the way I do.

If I do NOT want to decorate cookies, I should NOT have to! If I need to get work done (because I have no backup like they do), then I should NOT be forced to work the bake sale or decorate stupid cookies. What gets me is that I offered to work a session at our bake sale (if no one else chose it as I had to be at my desk for a meeting) and come to find out today (after I worked TWO sessions) that the troublemakers were bitching that I had told them that I had to attend a meeting. I am STILL trying to get caught up from that stupid bake sale! I WANT to go on vacation. Vacation is more important to me than fundraisers and motivational activities. WE are ADULTS people! We do not need to have motivation time in order to do our jobs!

I am SO tired of bitchy back-stabbing women! I miss the time when all my co-workers were guys.

eh

Today I am lazy.

I do not feel like doing anything today.

Last night I had plans to upload photos (to share of course) and maybe scrap. I have nothing creative in me at the moment.

I left work close to 6:30 and B wanted me to stop by the grocery store for a couple of things. On the way home one of the major intersections by my house was completely closed (all four ways) due to an accident. So we were all detoured to a side street. So in other words I took the long way to the grocery store. I really don’t like this particular grocery store and I had to deal with the not so friendly gal at the register. B made an awesome dinner (grilled Tilapia) so that made up for it all. I told him that he will have to remember what he did (he had made up the recipe as he went along) so that we can have it again.

After dinner we watched Windfall. I think this may be a show we will watch this summer. Last night was only the 2nd episode but so far we like it.

So what is good on TV on Friday nights?

An update

On Saturday I rode up with my parents to visit my Uncle up in Scottsdale. My cousin rented them a really nice condo just a few miles from the hospital. We really did have a great time just hanging out. I love that my family spends so much time laughing. This particular Uncle is always the life of the party. Poor thing was all alone when he had his surgery as both my mom and aunt (his sisters) and my cousin (his son) were on cruises. LOL! He almost went on the cruise himself. It is a good thing that he decided not to go.

I lived in Phoenix for my first year of college. I don’t remember Phoenix just being a bunch of freeways. I pretty much just stayed on the Interstate and there was only one express way when I lived there. Now there are loops and express ways galore. It was terrible. Between all the traffic and my dad’s crazy driving (oh and having to listen to the Hank Williams XML satellite station) I was totally exhausted when I got home.

So now it is Thursday. I cannot remember this past week at all. It is pretty much a blur. I have been getting to work later in the morning and staying late so by the time I get home it is already 7pm if not after. I have not logged into my computer at home since Saturday and I have not scrapped for more than 2 weeks. Well the last time I scrapped is when I met up with Happay Scrappay at the lss on June 3rd and I did not even finish the page I was working on. My scrap crap is still downstairs right by the door. So sad.

There are so many things that I am getting behind on and I think I am starting to stress but I don’t know I am stressing. Is that weird? I try not to think of stuff I need to do (or even want to do) and therefore I kind of forget all about it. I need to get out of this funk and quick. At least I am starting to feel a little better and I usually can smell a few things during certain parts of the day.

Two are two

Why is it when I actually have something to post that Blogger will not allow me to do that? Each time I have tried the system has been down and now that I can post all those old posts are kind of irrelevant.

So look who turned two. On Thursday the twins celebrated their 2nd birthday. Of course I found out about the party on Thursday morning so needless to say I was not to happy about the late notice and having to leave work early. I got to my brother's and the get together was in full swing and all I can say is it was kind of chaotic. When I got there I was greeted by my brother's friends who were all sitting outside. The older folks (like my parents) were inside. The kids were all over the backyard and most of them were jumping on the trampoline. I saw Ducky (twin #1) and picked him up right away and held him for a bit. Then I tried to go inside. I say try because in my way was a lady I did not know holding Anna (twin #2). The lady was trying to take Anna inside to her mom and Anna did NOT want that. My s-i-l said that it was okay for the kids to be outside and as soon as Anna saw me she reached for me and needless to say I had her attached to my hip for about 30 minutes and I still did not make it inside. LOL! We went outside and watched the kids jumping until Anna points and says 'Ducky'. I turned around and there was Ducky on top of a ladder. I never knew I could move so fast while already holding someone. As I was reaching for him, my brother was just getting there as well. I cannot believe the only people that saw him were his little sister and my brother. My brother was stressing until he saw that I was already taking care of it. I finally got to put them both down but as soon as Anna saw me paying attention to another (hugging the oldest) back into my arms she went. LOL!

I finally got inside when they had the kid blow out the candles on the cake. After that was kind of a blur. I went outside and did not know they were opening presents inside. I guess during the cake two of my brother's dogs got into it and my brother had to pull them apart. This is the 3rd time I was told and again one of the dogs bit my brother in the forearm. All I know is that there was only one dog in the kennel and my brother and the other dog in the garage. I did not know the state of the dog and did not even ask. My s-i-l said that they were taking both dogs in the next morning to be put down. What a sad ending to the day.

The one great thing about the night was that for that one hour I was there (yep I was only there one hour), I was able to smell a bit. I could smell the oldest's cologne and I did not want to let him go. He wears the Axe cologne and I think it is cause he wants girls to act just like the commercial but he will never admit to that.

Barely Wednesday

Thank you to all who commented about my uncle and his transplant surgery. I really do appreciate it. He is doing well and is up and walking. He will have to stay there for about a month as he will have to have a check up every day. Hopefully I can catch a ride to go up to see him this weekend or next weekend when my mom goes.

Today is another afternoon of super-dooper storm activity. It is so out of the ordinary that everyone goes outside just to look at the rain falling. I don't have any wipers - well not any that work well so I am hoping that when I go home in 15 minutes or so the rain will have died down a bit. The thunder is extraordinary. I can hear it thru my earphones and the music is up pretty loud. It is louder than some of the jets that fly overhead and let me tell ya these are some super loud jets as we are under the flight path to the airforce base and the incoming airplanes landing at the airport which is a mile away.

I really am sad about this rain. The one smell I love in the entire world is the smell of rain in the desert. I miss it. I miss it because I have lost my sense of smell over the course of the last few weeks. I honestly cannot smell a thing. Then because of this I cannot taste anything I eat. There are a few things that the taste comes thru on but they are pretty spicy things. Have you ever lost your sense of smell? What did you do to make it come back?

I am thinking I want to go home and maybe scrap a bit or even knit but B is in a bad mood and mad at me so I will probably not be in the mood to do anything. Plus I have been getting home so late that I never seem to have time to do anything before it is time to go to bed.

You know....it sounds like there is a leak in the roof. We have a really high roof in this building with ceiling panels. It sounds like just right above my cubicle there is a leak on one of the panels but it has not broken thru yet. I think I need to go home before the flood happens.

The storm is coming! The storm is coming!

Considering it hardly ever rains this is pretty exciting. Lots of thunder and lightning going on right now. I wonder if I should go home now cause look.....something even bigger is coming our way.

Good thing the vending machine had something for me to eat - oh and that I had cash. I was just about to head out to get something for lunch when the storm hit.

I am just happy I have the good car today so I don't have to drive with my windows down.

I guess I had better take cover!

...shoot I just realized something. I do NOT have wiper blades.

LO: Cherish (Grandma)

This is a layout I did back in May for a Scrappay Divas challenge. As is typical Stefani fashion I even procrastinate putting the layout up on my own blog which is surprising as this was the fastest layout I ever completed. The challenge was to use a sketch. Click here to see the challenge and the layouts posted by the other Divas.

Supplies used:

* Cardstock
* Black ink
* Really big brad – Bazzill
* Flower – Doodlebug
* Rub-on – Heidi Swapp

Thanks for looking.

He got it!

Today is a good day.

I just got a surprise call from my mom (They came back from their trip a day early).

She called to tell me that my uncle finally got his liver! The transplant was done yesterday (Sunday). If only he were at a local hospital so that I could go and see him but the only hospital that could do the surgery is 2 hours away. Not a bad drive (in fact my parents are driving up there for the 2nd time today) but with work and a car I cannot really trust I doubt I will be able to make the trip. Plus I am thinking that I may have more than just allergies and I cannot see him if I am sick.

Yes. Today is a good day.