issues

When I used to work technical support for a software company we were told never to ask the customer what the "problem" was. Problem was too negative. We were to ask our customers what the "issue" was. "Issue" was nicer, more positive, fixable.

Woke up on Sunday to a mysterious puddle of water covering the guest bathroom floor. Today it happened again but we were able to figure out where it was coming from. Yep. We need a plumber. Hopefully it won't cost us too much. Especially since we haven't even paid our first mortgage payment yet.

I didn't get much accomplished around the house this weekend. I have one of our neighbors to thank for that. We have discovered that our neighbors like to burn things. So there is smoke constantly coming from their yard. They are on the same side as our cooler (and bedroom window) so all the smoke gets pulled into our house. The house constantly smells like a campfire. The husband introduced himself to the guy today and found that they recently moved in themselves and they are renovating. I guess that is the cause of the smoke. I really don't know. It does not help to breathe in all this smoke on a daily basis. I have to say on Sunday it was pretty miserable here as they burned stuff four different times during the day.

Luckily I had some laundry to do and got to escape. I ended up at the most wonderful laundry mat. No coins are used (you buy a card). The attendant was so helpful and the place was clean. It was a bit overwhelming. LOL! I am so NOT used to that. Too bad I found a nice laundry mat now that I don't need one. Rumour has it that we will be getting our own washer and dryer a lot sooner than we thought. The in-laws purchased us a washer and dryer as a house warming gift. I can't wait!

Even with all the "issues" I really do like my new house. It already feels like home.

making progress

Today was the husband's day off. While I spent the day at work, he spent the day moving furniture, boxes and unpacking. He even put together the computer desk. That means I am one step closer to having my own crafty space.

I have spent the evening trying to make every crafty thing I own fit into the tiny room. It is slowly coming along. The only thing I really managed to accomplish was mess up the modem. All I did was unplug it and now I get a message that my computer has different settings than the modem. I will need to look into that further this weekend. Thank goodness for neighbors with unsecured wireless.

I hope to get the room pretty much finished this weekend. Then there is the laundry. The in-laws have promised us their washer/dryer as they are buying new ones. We were supposed to get them after we moved but now it may be awhile. I really am not looking forward to going to the laundry mat but I guess a person has to do what they have to do. I was told of a pretty nice one a little ways up the street. They don't even use quarters. I kind of want to check it out just because of that.

One week

Exactly one week ago we moved into our new house. I cannot believe that we have been here a week already. It may have had a rocky start but it is starting to feel like home.

Last week was probably the worst for moving. It was SO hot and humid. The day before signing we walked thru the house just to check it out one last time. We found that the cooler was broken. So the morning we went to sign, there was someone over here to fix the cooler. When we started to move in that night (Wednesday) the cooler still was not working. It was a good thing that we had planned to stay one more night at our old place. We really did enjoy having the A/C that last night. Last Thursday was our main move-in day and the cooler still was not working. It was terribly hot. I have to tell you....I really am not a pleasant person when I am hot. Luckily I have a hubby that is very handy. The husband bought a new vent for the bedroom so we had more air flow. He also installed a brand new cooler motor. It was just what we needed. The house is so much nicer when there is actually air blowing out of the cooler vents.

We are slowly getting settled. There are still boxes to unpack but it shouldn't take too long to get them all emptied. I am really looking forward to having a room of my own to set up with all the crafty things I like to pretend to work on. Maybe once it is all organized I will actually create something.

I am really looking forward to the weekend. If only I did not have to get past Friday in order to reach it.

Just one week left...maybe less

I cannot believe it is already Wednesday. Which surprises me since each day this week (at work) has just dragged on and on with nothing really being accomplished.

Not much happening here at home either, especially in the packing department. Last night I packed a large box with my winter clothes. Surprisingly I have a ton of winter clothes and it never gets cold enough to wear them. They are all boxed up now. Well most of them and I still need to tape up the box.

Today I was determined to accomplish more. I brought home some boxes but they are still in the car. There was a huge storm after I arrived home and we also got a couple of good movies from Netflix. So, tonight we watched the movie Knowing. It was a pretty interesting movie. Lots of destruction, which of course the husband enjoyed. But nothing really got accomplished except that I made dinner.

Maybe tomorrow something will get packed.

it's getting closer

foxtrot
Originally uploaded by DreamsOfNyssa

It looks like the 15th may be the day. That is still a guess-timate but hopefully a correct one. We had hoped that we would close on the house the weekend of the 10th, so our 4th of July holiday was spent packing and cleaning. It wasn't all work though. On the 4th, B made yummy BBQ ribs and there was some time spent on quality laziness.

I am glad that we have an extra few days to get ready for the move. I am already tired and we have not even really gotten started. I still have so much left that I need to do and I still feel overwhelmed but I am sure it will all work out in the end.

It feels like a Friday

This week started out as any other week. It did not even feel like a holiday week, well until today that is.

This year the 4th of July is on a weekend. Even though Saturday is the actual 4th of July holiday, Friday is the common day off from work. The department is closed (to the public) on Friday but everyone is still scheduled to work. No one talked about having to work and some people were not aware of it. The gal who sits at the desk across from mine wasn't too happy when she found out that she was supposed to work. She had made plans to be off and I think a few others had done so as well. So most of them were working longer hours during the week in order to leave early on Friday. I had planned to do the same but on Wednesday I sent an email to my manager asking if we were really scheduled to work on Friday. She responded that everyone else was required to work but that I was to take it off. I was pretty surprised (and happy) to hear that. No staying late for me! The only bad thing is....I am the only employee (other than management) that has the day off. I did not mention my day off to anyone today. I am sure they will figure it out when I don't show up tomorrow. Hopefully there won't be too many angry co-workers come Monday.

I have lofty goals of working on packing and cleaning during my 3-day weekend but the reality is that it probably won't get done. After all the stress that B and I have been thru the last month or so it is nice to have some time off together. Tonight has been wonderfully relaxing and I hope that it continues into the rest of the weekend.

I have pretty much spent my evening editing some photos and searching online for drivers for my Canon scanner. I have found yet another item that does not work with my Vista64 laptop. First my Canon camera and now the scanner. I don't even want to attempt to try the printer. I am not looking forward to having to buy new products just because Canon doesn't want to cooperate and update their drivers. So basically my new laptop is only good for going online. I cannot do anything with it as nothing works with it.

I have started to share pictures of our new house. These are the photos from the listing. I can't wait until it is ours!

holding pattern

Well it has almost been a month since my last post. We are still living in the same place and technically have not yet purchased the house. I guess you could say we are in a bit of a holding pattern here.

After the house inspection we were supposed to get the house assessed. Then we found out about a Federal law that prohibits the sale of an investment property (flipper house/foreclosure) until it has been owned for 90-days. It appears the listing agent was a bit excited about the house and listed it before it was legally able to be sold. So, instead of moving into our new place in June we ended up having to wait until the end of June for the house to be legally available to purchase. That day was last week. This week the house was again supposed to be assessed. We have not heard anything but have been told this could take a week (I am thinking maybe longer because of the holiday?). We hope we may get to close on the house sometime around the 10th-15th of this month. I am starting to feel a little overwhelmed about packing and moving. I really do hope that this move goes a lot smoother than the last time.

At least I finally found the time to upload my Project 365 photos for March. I must say that March sure did end up to be a pretty colorful month.

sigh.....

sigh.....
Originally uploaded by DreamsOfNyssa

Life has been rushing by so fast.

We found a house. We put in an offer and it was accepted. It's silly but I am almost afraid to talk about it. I don't want to jinx it. I guess I won't feel like it is all really happening until I have the keys in my hand.

Today we had the house inspection and it went surprisingly well. The house is in pretty decent shape and for that we are thankful. Just one more thing that helps reduce the stress of buying a new home.

The final thing left to complete seems to be the financing. I am a bit concerned about our mortgage lady as each time we get new documents there is usually something changed, added or missing. But from what I have been told we should be closing by the end of the month. So keep those fingers crossed that it all works out.

a little bit of everything

We didn't look at houses today. I was so happy to actually be home on my day off from work. I didn't do everything that I had planned to do but I did manage to do a little cleaning, a little de-cluttering, a little reading and a little watching of the tele. The new season of Primeval started tonight, did you see it? Darn, if you watch the show don't click on the link. That is the one thing about BBC shows. They air so late in the US (England is already on episode 7) that every site has spoilers and I just happened to see one. That is why I never go to any Torchwood or Dr. Who sites. Speaking of which, those should be starting up again real soon.

Yesterday evening we went to look at a house just down the street. The location is perfect but the house was not. I don't think we will be able to find both a good house and one in the neighborhood we want. So I guess we may have to just find the perfect house that is in the not so good neighborhood. That is if we can find a house. Hopefully we will find one before the car dies on us from overheating.

This house hunting has gotten me even further behind in basically everything. There is so much that needs to be done. I finally got my photos from February uploaded. This project is just not as much fun when I upload the photos this late.

So the search begins, again.

I have spent most of my time this evening looking for available properties. I came across one that looks nice on the inside and is of newer construction. It is a 2-story (been there, done that) but I am willing to at least go and look at the place.

When a place looks promising I like to look at the Google satellite pictures to check out the surrounding neighborhood. Well, now I am not too sure of this place as it is right next to a huge business lot. One that has large bay doors like for semi-trucks or maybe auto repair. The back of the house overlooks this business lot. I still think I want to look at it though. I sent the listing to my Dad to see what he thought of the place. This is his response:

I had received an email on this listing,but I personally don't like it because.............
it's 2 story, frame stucco(harder to maintain if it has a lot of wood exposed)
and because it is ugly. (MY opinion)

Dad

Of course reason #3 is always the most important when it comes to selecting the right house. I really want a house that has character on the outside. I thought the house that we were going to buy did not really have any outside character. But I was willing to forgo that for the character the house had on the inside. Now this house that I am going to look at tomorrow. It does have character. Ugly character. But still that is better than nothing.

Back to square one

I haven't been around recently as I have been busy with the purchase of our first home. Sadly, the deal on the purchase fell thru.

It was a total surprise as the financing was complete and the offer (in writing) had been accepted. This week my Dad (who has been helping us) was scheduled to meet with the Inspector to check out the house. The hubs and I had already walked thru and made note of everything that we had noticed so that the Inspector could look into it. The inspection kept getting postponed. We found out today that the seller had sold the place out from under us. It was all a scam. He had never planned to sell to us in the first place. What really upsets me is that we did everything the Seller requested of us which was to get everything (financing etc) pushed thru by a specific date and time. My poor Dad has been doing so much and to find that this guy was just pulling a fast one really makes me feel sad. On the plus side...we already have our loan secured. Now we just have to find another house in our price range and at this time there is really nothing available except the same properties we have already seen.

So the day did not get off to a good start. Once at work I got my monthly "you suck" call from The State Department. The one where they tell me that I am behind (I know) and they want to know how many cases I have left to complete (too many) and if I can finish over a year's work of cases in a month (yeah right). They do this every month after I submit my report. But you would think that they would at least write down the info I give them or even check my submission report before calling me. Nope. Then they tell me how they realize that this is not my fault (darn right) and that this mess happened years before I was hired (over two-yrs) and that I am working alone (and training myself I might add). Sigh.

Then, lucky me. I got a second call from The State. They called to tell me that they are speaking with the CEO to get a contractor on the job. They think it will be to help me but I know that when I was hired it was either me or a contractor and of course the cheaper option (Me) was chosen. There is no way they will keep the both of us. So I am afraid that if a contractor comes in, I am out. Double sigh.

I am exhausted. What I am still doing up?

I like to call myself a scrapbooker but...

So today was National Scrapbook day.

Did you scrap? Did I?

Of course not, silly. I just collect the stuff. I couldn't even tell you the last time I scrapped. Well let me rephrase that. I have tons of stuff on the table and a couple of pages sitting there but I have not finished a page (or even got halfway) for I am sad to say probably a year (or more). Sigh.

So let's talk about other things shall we. Today I did 3 loads of laundry. I watched the cat run head on into the recliner. I then got to see said cat stuck under the laundry basket after she knocked it off the bed and it landed right on top of her. I heard a crash in the bedroom and figured that the basket had been knocked over. It about 5 minutes later when I heard the meowing. I thought she was in the closet meowing at the wall. Again. I went into the room to find the basket upside down on the floor and her caught inside. Poor kitty sure has had a full day. At least she is never boring. I mean...last week she took a head dive straight into the garbage can. Head inside can. Feet outside of can.

In even other news...

We may be buying a house. Papers have been signed but not the "real" papers so it is not yet a done deal.

And so another weekend comes to an end

How can it be Sunday night already? I have not even had a chance to do anything this weekend.

On Saturday the husband and I went out to look at houses. Lets just say there are some scary houses out there. Then there are some awesome looking houses but either they are out of our price range, already under contract or a short sale. Pretty much all the available houses for sale in our price range are short sales. It is really frustrating.

We looked at 6 houses yesterday (with the Broker). I think there were only 6. I know we stopped at others that we noticed along the way that happened to have a key box. One house looked amazing online but when we went to look at it we just drove right on past it because the neighborhood was terrible. The Broker did not even want to stop. Think really old run down neighborhood with just one newly built house sticking out like a sore thumb.

There was one house we looked at that was in a nice neighborhood but the house was in bad bad shape (on the inside). The Realtor (owner) stated that no info would be given as to what was wrong with the house. We are thinking water/electrical damage as it needs a permit in order to get the electrical turned on (it was not on when we stopped by) The husband loved it. It just gave me the creeps. There was just something about it that really freaked me out.

After a full day we went home and got online to look some more. We found a new posting in our neighborhood and so we drove over to check out the outside. It was a cute house. It needs work but the neighborhood was nice and it would fix up really nice. So that would make 7 houses and a super full day.

Then today after the husband got off of work we met with the Broker and got to see the inside of the cute house. It is definitely a fixer-upper but we loved it. Only problem is that it is a short sale. Frustrating!

We then drove thru a few neighborhoods that we knew had houses for sale and then back home to look (yet again) online. We left again and took a drive a bit further out and found a house that looks promising. I really don't want to live in the neighborhood but the house is nice and the price is right. Plus it is NOT a short sale. When we drove up to the house there was already a young couple there looking at it. I think the gal got a bit anxious that we were also looking at the house. She kept stating how she REALLY wanted it and there was room for all FOUR of their vehicles. So it looks like there may be some competition there. I meet with the Broker tomorrow after work to check out the inside. Keep your fingers crossed!

So...This has been me the last few days. Just imagine me without the smile and when I am not the one at the laptop, the husband is.




And to think that my original plan this weekend was to scrap.

Taxes Smaxes

So did you get your taxes done?

I think this may be the first year since I have been married that I have completed (and filed) my taxes BEFORE the due date. It was so nice not to have to stress about getting them done in time for me to drive to the main post office at midnight. It had become a bit of a tradition with me. Nothing says getting your taxes done than driving to the only post office in town that is open and handing your sealed envelopes to the clerk on the street. This year, the 15th felt like any other day. Of course it is easier to feel that way now, especially since I no longer work for the company that makes the most popular tax software.

The other day I finally finished uploading my Project 365 photos for the month of January. Now that I can actually download photos from my camera onto my new computer maybe I can get even more caught up. I still have not scrapped any of them. I started to gather supplies for the first page but I soon got overwhelmed. I think I am thinking too much about making it perfect instead of just scrapping.

A house hunting we will go

What is up with all the porno comments lately? Argh! I guess I better start thinking of some better content. LOL!

I have been trying to post for the last few days but so many issues have kept me away. My new laptop is making me a bit unhappy at the moment in that it has not been letting me access the Internets in the way I would like. Of course it could be the darn cable company that is causing my frustration. I have not yet decided which one to blame.

Today the hubs and I did something that we have never done. We have always planned to eventually buy a house (in the far off future) but with the first time home buyers credit expiring in December, my Dad has put the buzz in our ear. So today we went and looked at a little property that is for sale nearby. It is an older home and will need some work. Lots of pluses but also some minuses. The place is huge but the kitchen is so tiny you cannot even fit a fridge in it (it is in an adjoining room). It has been on the market for over 6 months but that may be because it sits just behind both a strip club and adult bookstore (now that should make for some interesting web searches), hence no street parking allowed at night. Well I think that is the reason. I would prefer a more move-in ready home and preferably one not so close to an adult entertainment establishment but we really want a place that is close to work. I did take my camera with me but since I cannot use my Canon on Vista 64 (stupid) I cannot share them. So here are some from the web.

The front of the house. Well you really cannot see it but look at all those trees!! How cool is that garbage can?

The kitchen. What you see is what you get. Yep. That's all of it. See...no room for a fridge. No room really for anything at all.

Oh wait...I got the camera to work. Found a hack online. I guess I really didn't take all that many photos. So here are a few unedited ones.

The house has tons of trees. I love them. Bry hates them. Lots of rose bushes and flowers. There are HUGE grapevines in the backyard and tons of mature trees. Then there is the scary attic opening in the garage. Creepy.



See....CREEPY!

Time

All that really belongs to us is time
Originally uploaded by DreamsOfNyssa

I have been thinking about Time a lot this past week. I have wanted to post about so many things but time got away from me in that I thought about it too much and never got around to doing it.

Earlier this week, I got a call from the State Department. Basically they called to tell me that I am still behind in submitting my cases. Considering that the work was over 2-years behind BEFORE I was hired and as I slowly teach myself, the cases continue to pile up. They keep saying they understand, they know that the situation we are in has nothing to do with me and that I have no help, but yet they keep on calling and telling me to work faster. And here I was feeling proud of myself for the progress I had made. Although I don't think I will have the time I need to reach the goal I made last year BEFORE I even knew what I was doing.

Shortly after my phone call the manager of the records side comes over to tell me they have no time to pull my charts and if I could wait a week. Umm no. I told her that if she wanted to write an email to my manager and explain why I had nothing to work on this week then I was fine with it. Funny how whenever I mention my manager's name people freak out.

Tomorrow I will see people that I have not seen in over 20-years. I am excited but yet a bit apprehensive. It's a group of people that I went to school with although they are not any that I spent time with. Well not in high school anyways. It should be interesting.

Next week is the anniversary of my Uncle's passing. I cannot believe that it has been 2-years. Oh how I miss him.

So as you can see....Time has been on my mind lately.

Too short

The weekend is just not long enough. It will be over after tomorrow and I am not ready for it to end.

We did not end up going anywhere today. We stayed home and watched a couple of movies and I even attempted to get my scrap on but a lovely migrane headache had to intrude on any attempts at craftiness. So not much of anything really got done today.

I have gotten even more behind in uploading my daily photos. I have such a hard time deciding which photo to use. Even photographs of the weeds in our backyard are not exempt.



I will probably go with the middle one. But then again.....I am not sure.


The other day I started reading Midnight Sun. Have you read it? I have only read the first chapter but I have to say that I do like it so far. A different view point is always nice at fleshing out a character. I hope that one day Stephenie Meyer will change her mind and publish it.

printed

Well I did it. I went ahead and ordered some prints of my Project 365 photos. I am one step closer to scrapping them. Well...I say that now but being known as the slowest scrapbooker in the world and one that rarely seems to actually complete a page, it may still be a dream and not a reality. I also did not take the photos with the intention of scrapping them so they are kind of a mish-mash of stuff that may be hard to scrap.

I ordered my prints from Snapfish. They have always been my favorite for the quality of their prints. But is has been quite awhile since I have ordered from them and now I am not too sure they still hold that status. I am surprised at the thin, flimsy quality of the paper and the colors are NOT very pleasing. The photos look a hundred times better on Flickr. I was thinking of getting some reprinted elsewhere to compare but now I don't know if I want to go thru with the hassle.

I had hoped to maybe start scrapping this weekend but it looks like I may be doing a bit more organizing and tossing of stuff. Although the husband did say something about going to a movie on Saturday.

That which is Twilight

Yesterday, I did what most people did. I went out and bought Twilight, the movie. I did not see it in the theatre and was waiting to watch it on Blu-Ray. When I got home from the store the husband had a friend visiting. I did not want to watch the movie with 2 men putting in their comments so I had to wait. As soon as the friend left though that movie was put in the player and strict instructions given to the husband that no comments were allowed. As expected the husband fell asleep soon after the movie started so I did get to enjoy it on my own. I have to say that I really did like it. This is definitely one that I will be able to watch over and over.

This morning the husband watched it while I was still asleep. His first comment made after seeing the movie was "I wonder how much product Edward has in his hair." Me thinks someone is jealous of that hair. I sure do like a man with good hair.

I would have to say the movie was a success in this household as it was put away in the main movie drawer (aka movies the husband deems as decent and good) as opposed to all the other movies I own (aka chick flicks) that have been put on some bottom shelf that I cannot even get to at the moment.

I look forward to the sequels. I hope they are just as good if not better. I hear that New Moon should be out either the end of this year or beginning of the next (2009/2010). So it looks like I won't have long to wait.

Please pardon my dust

As you can see I am in the process of making changes. It has been a long time in the making but I have been unsuccessful in the past on finding a blogging template that would work with uploading my photos from Flickr. All the regular Blogger templates cut off part of the photo.

So while fooling around last night I found one that appeared to work. I started working on it with the intent to have it all uploaded first thing today. But then this morning I had to go buy Twilight (of course) and I had to watch a movie with the hubs and his friend ( NOT Twilight). Then while the boys were distracted with Rock Band I finally got back to editing. I didn't get too far as you can see before the hubs needed me to help out with something. So off I go.

Whoooosh!

Can you hear that? That is time just rushing on by. Before I realize it, another weekend has come and gone.

I don't want to say that this month has been busy but I sure have been doing a lot more than the normal for around here.

I got to hang out with some awesome old friends. This is the 2nd time so far this year that we have been able to get together. These are friends from high school so we are talking over 20 years of knowing one another. One, I actually see every week but the other travels. I mean she travels, a lot. She came for a visit back in January and we had a wonderful time catching up. She then came back this past week. It really is hard to tear myself away from it all.

I have been calling 2009 the year of reunions. I was supposed to have my 20th high school reunion last year. It never happened. But no worries. It seems like there will be reunions up the wazoo this year. Not only have I been able to spend time with some lovely ladies (and you too Andy) but in April there is an informal reunion that spans different graduating years. There are quite a few people that will be attending and I am excited to go. Then there is another in December that will be super cool. But between those two parties there are other reunions being planned. I am so happy that I still live in town and won't have to travel to attend any of them.

Work has been pretty steady. I am slowing working on upping my pace. Some days are more productive than others but I think I am finally starting to get my rhythm. It has been a year so it is about time. I still have to teach myself new stuff everyday though and I just hope that I am doing it right. I really need to start taking my classes too. Hopefully this weekend will see me signed up for the first class in the program. I need to finish up the classes in time to sit for my certification test. I had hoped to test this year but it looks like it will be more like 2010.

Sadly, not much going on around here in the creative department. Although I still am taking a photo-a-day. Which reminds me, I have not taken my shot for the day and it is already 10:30. I guess I had better do that so I can get myself to bed.

-- Good night.

...and so ends 2008

I have done it!

I have finally finished uploading my Project 365 photos for the month of December and the year of 2008. Let's just hope that it doesn't take me as long to upload my 2009 photos. I really do hate getting so far behind.

I do credit my getting caught up with finally being able to install Photoshop on the new laptop. This thing is FAST! The only thing that I don't really like is that the pictures don't look as good. They seem to be sort of flat looking. But I guess that is one thing I can put up with if it means I get to actually upload my photos in the same year that they were taken.

My Hero

This was fun to make. Although making these things always drives me a bit crazy. I think I worry too much about looking cool. I can't believe I worry about making the wrong choices over a silly thing like this. How silly is that?

That being said...I wonder if I should have chosen the sword?

Home. Alone.

Tonight the husband had to go to a meeting after work. Poor guy was away from home the entire day from 7am to 10:30pm. So that meant that I would have some alone time. Ideas flowed thru my mind all day as to what I could do with this time, my time. Maybe I could finish that scrapbook page that has been sitting on the table for about 2 weeks now. Maybe I could get caught up on uploading my Project 365 photos to Flickr. Maybe I could clean something. Before I could even make up my mind I picked up a book to read for just a bit before eating dinner. The next thing I knew it was 10:30 and the husband was home. Dinner...totally forgotten. Oops!

Although I did not accomplish anything that I had thought about doing I did find that what I ended up doing was the perfect thing. Total relaxation.

No wonder...

Are you looking at me?
Originally uploaded by DreamsOfNyssa

I am so tired.

I can never get on this computer until after 10pm and by then I really don't feel like doing anything. This laptop has turned the husband into a computer junkie. He NEVER used to use the computer. When we were at the store looking to buy he even told the sales guy that all he uses it for is his iPod and the occasional viewing of a webpage. Well all that has now changed. He is constantly on it. Of course I have to be honest and say he is using it to fill up his iPod. I cannot wait until that this is full so he no longer needs the computer. Of course he is thinking of starting a Facebook page so I still may not get any computer time.

Oh have I even mentioned the whole iPod thing? I know I mentioned that I got one as a birthday gift. What I didn't mention is that the husband had to buy himself one too. Not AFTER my birthday but at the same time. Why do men to that? Or is it just mine?

In other news, I have lost a bit of weight this past month. 12 pounds down so far. I have NO idea why it is coming off so fast. I know it is bound to slow down very soon. As long as it does not stop I will be happy. The husband wanted steak tonight. I am sure it will be reflected in my weigh-in tomorrow. Well there is always next week, right?

aaaand she's back!

Well I hope I am back.

I am really having a love/hate relationship with this whole computer. We ended up having to take the laptop back to the store. They immediately switched it out for a new one but then told us that the only way it would not happen again was for them to "optimize" it. We were told there was a conflict with the software that Dell has pre-installed and that if we did not want the same thing to happen to the new computer then we needed to pay extra. That there was nothing we could do at home to fix it on our own. I think that's kind of a rip off. I would think that a computer should work correctly right out of the box. So we paid our extra money for them to "optimize" it and we brought it home. So far there is no blue screen but the user they created was corrupted. I took it back yet again today and they only created a new user. If that was all that was needed I could have done it myself but the guy on the phone said that to fix it there was nothing that could be done on my end. I also checked all the stuff they were supposed to do when they "optimize" and it was not done. So who knows what they did.

I am not feeling too confident with the tech support that this company provides. The girl helping us yesterday and today did not even know how to explore windows. She asked me to show her. And yesterday one of the techs yelled out "does anyone know how to change a phone number for a dial up connection? Where do you go to set up the Internet?" Of course it was the old guy of the bunch that knew where to go. Maybe I should have charged them $40 for my service.

So to take my mind off of all this computer stuff I decided it was time to get to scrapping. I really wanted to do the color combo challenge for last week (new one was posted today) but I was finding it really hard to find colors that match the posted colors, but I found some that may work. I am now thinking that maybe I don't understand the directions. I looked at all the pages that were posted and people were using colors that were not the same. Colors like bright orange, bright blue and white instead of the creamy vanilla. Here are the colors that I had to chose from. When I printed them out they weren't very bright and are darker than on screen. If I can use similar colors and not those posted then I think the challenge would be much easier. But then it wouldn't be following the rules would it.

this makes me smile

A friend of mine introduced me to this wonderful gem and I thought I would share the love.





Take a look at her other videos. You won't be disapointed.

Making contact

I have a question for those of you that wear contacts. When you wear contacts are they comfortable? Do they blend into your eye or do you constatnly feel them?

I have worn contacts off and on for many years. Many different kinds from soft to hard. I had stopped wearing them for awhile but a few years ago I decided it was time to wear them again. I bought some soft contacts and they worked okay. My eyes are always dry so I am used to them being even drier when I wear the contacts. But that is something that I have learned to live with. Then one day I had a problem with the contact in my right eye. It hurt. I couldn't see anything wrong with it and it was a fresh pair. I stopped wearing them just in case it was my eye. Well a couple of years passed with me just wearing glasses and forgetting about the contacts.

I have been wanting to wear my contacts again so I decided to start again. I opened up a fresh pair and put them in. The left eye felt just fine but my right eye had that same pain. It feels like the contact is hard or that there is something in my eye. When you look into my eyes you do not even see the left eye contact but the right eye contact looks like it is not fitting snug against my eye. Does that make sense?

My eyes are exhausted but today I am trying them again. I guess I am just a glutton for punishment.

In other news, we are loving the new laptop. We don't like all the errors and weird stuff that is happening with it but everything else is just too cool. The husband never used to use the computer, now I cannot get him to leave it alone. I think we have a problem there. LOL!

genuine article

Yesterday was my birthday. The hubby got me a wonderful surprise. My very own iPod Touch. Thing is...I couldn't get it to work. I couldn't even get past the first step to set it up. That first step being to update to the latest iTunes. I updated but when I tried to synch the iPod the computer wouldn't read it. So I restarted the computer. After that iTunes wouldn't even open and all of a sudden my Windows XP was no longer genuine. The computer was totally messed up. It looks like I will have to reinstall Windows and I don't even know if that will fix the problem. The computer is old and I am embarrassed to tell you just how old it was. The system was top of the line years ago. Back when 40GB hard drives were all the rage and 256MB RAM was considered fast. I knew it was only a matter of time before the system was at its end. I just did not expect it to be last night.

So....after work today we stopped by the store. Yep. I am writing this from my new Dell laptop. It is red and it is fast. The Internet can actually be considered high speed now. Maybe now I will actually enjoy my computer time; get those pictures uploaded and actually be able to save my pictures after editing. Imagine that.

How can it be February already?

It is a good thing I am not one to make resolutions. If so I would have probably made one to blog more and I would have failed. It is now February and I have only posted 4 times this year. So much has changed in the years since I started this blog. I can pretty much tell how much time I spend online by the amount of posts.

This year is speeding right on by. Everything keeps rushing by and I never seem to have time for anything anymore. I am always trying to "catch up." I am still waiting for my life to return to normal but it has been so long that I think this is the new normal.

This past week has been a bit out of the ordinary for me. A friend was stage manager for a show her daughter was in. She asked me to help out backstage. So this past week I was at rehearsals each night and then there were the 2 performances this weekend. On Friday, I actually got to watch the show and then on Saturday I was backstage. It has been so long since I have had anything to do with the theatre. I really felt out of touch. There was a lady working the lights backstage that used to run a theatre here in town. One that had been around for years and that I was familiar with. She and I got to chatting and she told me about how her friend has now taken over and that I should go check it out. I don't know if I would have it in me to audition but maybe I could start off small by helping out behind the scenes. Of course this would have to wait until I am finished with my classes but it is a nice goal that I hope to keep my eye on.

Speaking of goals. I am still taking a picture a day. It just takes me super long to post them. Here is the mosaic I made for my November 2008 pictures. If you would like to see any of the actual photos, just click on the photo to take you the Flickr page that has the links.

The kind without the bull

doze [dohz]

verb, dozed, doz⋅ing, noun
–verb (used without object)
1. to sleep lightly or fitfully.
2. to fall into a light sleep unintentionally (often fol. by off): He dozed off during the sermon.
3. to sleep for a short time; nap.
4. to be dull or half asleep.
–verb (used with object)
5. to pass or spend (time) in drowsiness (often fol. by away): He dozed away the afternoon.

I have never had a job that made me as sleepy as the one that I have now. The kind of sleepy one only gets when they are taking classes in school. Some days it is really hard to keep my eyes open. But I get that way whenever I have a lot of reading to do. It has not seemed to affect the work that I have done though, well at least I hope it hasn't. I think I am doing pretty well, all things considered. I do find though that when I take breaks I do much better. But then I also feel guilty taking a break. I don't want people to look at me and see that I am not working. I don't want anyone to think that I am slacking off in any way. I have discovered that for a mere $1.99 I can access the web for an entire day on my cell phone (of course it only costs $5.99 for the entire month). There isn't too much that I can to do online using my non-smart phone though except update my Facebook status and at $2 a day I think I would have to come up with some pretty darn good status updates.

half done

I cannot believe that January is already half over. How fast the days are flying.

I have been trying to be a bit more of a domestic at home. You know...cooking & cleaning and stuff like that. Not that I did not do any of these things before but now I am trying to do them more often. I can tell you that this new way of doing things sure is cutting into my Stefani time. It seems like I barely turn on the computer and the husband is ready for bed so I have to turn it off. That is the ONE bad thing about having the computer set up in the bedroom but we really had no other choice. My dream is to some day have a new computer. A nice fast computer and preferably one with more than 1 GB of free space. Possibly a laptop but I have not decided yet. I am still debating on whether I want to switch over to Mac.

So...I got my 2008 W2 today. It made me very sad. I made less than half of what I am used to making. It is even less than last year, the year that I did not work. But I really cannot compare anything to that year. Being laid off from work really messed up our taxes last year. We ended up owing A LOT and I was not even working. Hopefully this year will be a little better.

Oops! I just realized that I am not wearing my finger splint. It is only supposed to be off my finger for 8 hours during the day but it is hard to keep on when I am cooking & cleaning and doing all that domestic stuff. Oh and the husband mentioned something about going to bed. So I guess that this is the end of my computer time for the day.

g'night.

I just have to get it all out!

Cat 'N' Mouse
Originally uploaded by DreamsOfNyssa

So today it was back to the grind...well for pretty much anyone I would think. I got up early and actually got to work a bit earlier than usual. So totally out of the norm for me. Maybe that is why I am so tired. Work was non-stop and surprisingly I got a lot done. I have found that listening to my iPod all day really does help me to concentrate. Now I just need to find all the good music I used to have on my old work computer. The disks are around here somewhere. I really am tired of listening to the same few songs but having only 2GB free on my computer really does limit the music choices. Actually it limits ALL choices. Anyone want to buy me a new computer?

I really did enjoy my time off this past holiday. Before the break (no pun intended) I finally got in to have someone look at my finger. Back at the end of October/beginning of November I broke the tip of my finger. It was super crooked and bent and I finally realized it was not getting any better. I have what is called a mallet finger. The x-rays show that the bone was indeed broken but had already fused back together. Nothing can be done about it now but I am to wear a splint to strengthen up the ligaments. Wearing a splint makes it pretty hard to type or blog or do just about anything. So I have been a bit quiet on the Internet front.

Christmas Eve was spent at the parents with lots of family. Since people don't arrive until late we showed up late ourselves but still have a nice time for the couple of hours we were there.

Christmas Day was different this year. For years the husband has been wanting to cook on Christmas and this year he did. We had both sets of parents (and nephew #1) over for Prime Rib. It was all very tasty and everything worked out great. Well except that I have absolutely no pictures from Christmas Eve/Christmas Day. Oh well.

New Years Eve was spent at home. We ordered out and popped in a movie. The husband was asleep by 9pm. I finished watching the movie in time to hear the gunshots (and cannon), Then I got myself to bed. How exciting life is as one gets older. LOL!

New Years Day was spent at the in-laws. Well that evening anyways.

Saturday was the husband's birthday. He decided he wanted to cook another Prime Rib so that is what he did. So he did all the work for his own birthday dinner. SWEET! My sister joined us for dinner and we had a very nice night.

That then brings us back to today. Monday. Where all the fun ends and reality begins.

Here's to 2009

self
Originally uploaded by DreamsOfNyssa

It is hard to believe that 2 days of the new year are already over. Time already feels like it is getting away from me. Not that it feels any differently than usual but something about it is making me a bit anxious. I hate when I get that feeling...lIke something is passing me by or I really missed out on something. Maybe it is due to taking a couple of days off from work or maybe knowing that this year will be the year that my past comes back. So many exciting things to look forward to this year. So many long lost friends that I will be seeing. Well not really all of them are long lost but just those you don't see as often as you would like. Lots of old feelings coming back to the surface.

Or maybe it is just this darn Frou Frou music that I am listening to at the moment.

October 2008

I finally uploaded all my project365 photos for October. Between broken fingers (well just one broken finger), less Internet time then I am used to and just having way too much to do...it took me awhile. I am already okay with the knowledge that I will be uploading my Christmas photos come this February. Well at least I tell myself that I am okay with it.

1. My life is just one big pile of stuff., 2. Princess Moody-Pants, 3. Twilight, 4. gown, 5. Eegee's, 6. it's blartzy., 7. beerkeh, 8. kitteh toyz, 9. comfy, 10. It's all about the Facebook, 11. In a patch of sunlight, 12. iCan, 13. Keeping it all together, 14. Every ball of yarn dreams of becoming something more., 15. friendship, 16. just a bunch of apples, 17. HeroClix, 18. dessert, 19. tassels & flowers, 20. red, 21. Chuck, 22. night light, 23. Colgate, 24. Trying to Better my Home and Garden, 25. blossoms, 26. Desperate HouseKitties, 27. kitchen duty, 28. It's all about the mint, 29. red dahlia, 30. recipe, 31. no tricks...just treats

Where does the time go?

Who knew this week would be so crazy?

The sad thing is…it is not even due to the holidays. It is only Tuesday but I am already ready for the weekend or just a really nice long nap.

Yesterday I had a doctor’s appointment that is about 1 hour from work/home. I left work early and will have to stay late every night this week to make up for it.

After my appointment, I got to stop by the newer scrapbook store. This one is supposed to have lots of good stuff. It is new and huge and since it is so far away it is a treat to visit. I was pretty disappointed that there was noting in the entire store that even caught my eye. The store is set up with individual displays that usually have different companies but all of them (and I mean all of them) were just Christmas.

The next stop on the agenda was Ulta. I had to stand in line for about 30 minutes but only spending $10 for items that should have cost $30 made it all worth it.

By this time, it was already 5pm and I had to get home to let out the neighbor’s dog. Then it was off to the grocery store to pick up a few things. By the time I got home for good, I was exhausted and hungry. As is usual when I run errands, I had not eaten all day. Being home for only a couple of hours in the day sure does make for a short relaxation period. I never even got to turn on the computer.

Today there was work (with an extra hour+ added in). Then off to Target to buy regular everyday stuff that we need and a gift for tomorrow’s Christmas potluck/baby shower. On the rest of tonight’s agenda there is frozen pizza making (and eating), potluck cookie baking, baby shower gift wrapping and maybe…just maybe…some Christmas tree decorating.

It's all about the Facebook

It's all about the Facebook
Originally uploaded by DreamsOfNyssa

And I think that is why I am slacking when it comes to everything that I need and want to do. Don't get me wrong. I am not there ALL the time. But I am there often enough that the normal things I would do on the computer have kind of taken a back seat.

Eventually I hope to actually edit the photos that I take and maybe upload them at least within the same week (and not months later).

Although I have found time to scan old photos. Then I post them to Facebook. Of course I only do a few at a time. I don't want to appear as if I have no life.

Things that I used to blog about I now find myself posting on my Facebook page instead and since I have my blog feed show up on my Facebook, I don't want to have the same thing posted multiple times. I have no idea why. I don't even think anyone would notice. Personal hang-up I guess. Or maybe it is because the people I used to blog about are now my Facebook friends and well......you know how that goes.

Oh...to be as carefree as a cat

comfy
Originally uploaded by DreamsOfNyssa

How nice that would be.

Each day I am so tired. How will I ever find the time (and energy) to get ready for Christmas? Well maybe I could find the time but where will I find that energy? Why must everything be so jammed packed at the end of the year?

Work is work. Nothing has changed there. I still need to sign up for my classes. I really need to do that. I wonder when I will.

The husband decorated the outside with pretty Christmas lights. It is the first year that we have been able to decorate the outside. This weekend we will hopefully decorate the inside. I just need to figure out where to put the furniture so that we can put out the tree.

This Christmas we hope to have our parents over for a special Christmas dinner. I guess I will need to clean my house or something. ;)

I have been trying to upload my photos for my new 365 project. I am SO behind. Months behind. To be honest...it is not as much fun as the self-portrait project. Although I really do like taking pictures of other things. I really do need to upload them quickly but at the speed I am going I may be uploading my Christmas pictures come this February.

stolen

just a bunch of apples
Originally uploaded by DreamsOfNyssa

My photo is not up even a day and I find that it has been added to the stock photography section of a web building site. What thieves! People are paying them to use my photo and I get nothing in return.

I don't even have the photo on my OWN website. Well actually now I do, cause it is this one with the apples. I wonder if I can break the link by making the photo private?

Black Friday shopping

Princess Moody-Pants
Originally uploaded by DreamsOfNyssa

I have never been one to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving. My family just never did it so I never got into the habit. I guess I just like my sleep much more than anything a store has to offer.

This year though the hubby was the one to participate in the early morning day-after-Thanksgiving shopping madness. One of the comic book stores he frequents was having a special for one hour only (6am to 7am). He was told to get there early (like at 5am) because of the crowds. I kept teasing him when he told me this and when we mentioned it to the family they also got a chuckle. I just could not see how anyone would go to the comic book store that early.

The hubby got up early on Friday and was out the door by 5am. He came home a couple of hours later. We live about 2 miles (if that) from the store. He said when he got to the store there were already 6 people in line. Shortly after he arrived, he says that the crowd showed up. By the time the store opened there were about 50 people in line! I have been to that store, I don't even think that many people can fit inside.

I admit it. I was SO wrong. But I guess if it had been the scrapbook store having the same kind of sale I would have been there just as early. LOL!

Whew!

My life is just one big pile of stuff.
Originally uploaded by DreamsOfNyssa

I can't believe this is only my 2nd post for the month and the month is basically over.

Life has been such a whirlwind lately. I actually have stuff that I want to post and I even started writing what I wanted to say but just like the picture, there is a big pile in my mind and I think I need to decompress and sort it all out before hand so that it actually makes sense. See.....how is that for the longest sentence ever?

My poor blog.....I think I am out of blogging practice.

Approved! Anatomy & Physiology, here I come!

I got the good news today.

I am approved for 75% reimbursement for my continuing education instead of the regular 50%. :)

I have to take some specialty courses for my job. The courses will teach me how to do my job (correctly) and how to run the entire registry. Courses that are definitely needed as I have been teaching myself, plus they are required to be completed before I can be certified. And of course.....certification is a requirement to me keeping my job. Go figure.

In order for a person to qualify for the higher reimbursement their position must be considered hard to fill. Surprisingly my position was not listed. This is very interesting since there is only one of these positions in the entire hospital and it did take them over 2-years to fill it.

Oh and here is a tidbit of info for you....hospitals are required by law to have a registry. There is a deadline for when cases need to be completed. If these cases are not completed then the hospital will lose its license. Talk about being under pressure to learn as fast as I can.

I just hope I can finish 150 weeks of courses in 28 weeks. I guess I had better get started. Wish me luck!