Random Thoughts

1. If I'm ever mad or upset and I'm driving in my car, I belt out the song Take A Bow. But I should point out that I'm not singing the Rihanna version but instead, I'm singing the Lea Michele version. As in Lea Michele from Glee. (I'm not proud but I will defend Lea - that girl can sing.)

2. Has anyone ever heard of Kim Iverson? A few years ago, she started working in Lafayette as the morning dj, complimenting the male dj who had been on staff for awhile. They were revamping the morning show and I was actually impressed with her. This says a lot because Lafayette isn't necessarily the hot spot of dj'ing. Most radio personalities are hoping to move up to bigger and better markets. I guess Kim was no exception because soon after her arrival to Lafayette, she announced she was leaving for a new opportunity. It seemed like she'd only been in Lafayette for a few months so I remember wondering what her new gig was. I eventually forgot about her and suffered through several other dj's during my morning commute. Recently though I heard Kim again. She is now has a nationally syndicated talk/music show that plays on week day evenings. It's only on nine stations but I think the show is great and I hope to see it get picked up on more markets.

3. I can't get Kesha out of my head!

4. I have to get gas today. I hate that chore. Before my job change, I filled up my gas tank every two or three weeks. Now I'm filling it up every four or five days.
The last time I got gas, I was cleaning out some trash and came across a McDonald's Monopoly piece for an order of free french fries. I'm so bummed that I missed out on free food.

5. My best random thoughts happen when I'm driving. I think something and then I'm like, "I have to remember that on Thursday." Then Thursday comes around and I'm staring at my computer with nothing clever to write about. Sometimes I email them to myself but that isn't very safe when I'm driving. One week I started recording them on my iPhone's voice memo. Hey, I think they still might be there.

6. Okay, the first one on my iPhone's voice memo... When I was four, my parents were building a new house and we'd often visit the construction site to check on things. I would usually get bored so I started playing with the staple strips for the staple gun. I would set them up around the room and pretend they were train tracks. Then one day I had to go to the bathroom but of course there wasn't a bathroom built yet so my dad told me to hold it. Of course I peed myself right by the staple strip box and he got mad at me. Like it was my fault! I can still picture the wood floor (only plywood, the carpet wasn't installed yet) with a big wet spot on it.

7. Another time when I was little - probably about 6 - my dad asked me to go fishing with him one evening at the Lake. We were out on the boat and he was having the best night - catching several bass. Well I had to go to the bathroom really badly but since he was doing so well, he didn't want to take me home so he asked me to hold it. Of course, I peed my pants. I didn't get in trouble that time though.

8. Second voice memo from the iPhone... I hate Monday evenings when I return to Uncle Bill's house and I carry my bags in and I take off my work clothes to put on comfy clothes and they're always SO COLD. They've been sitting in my car all day and they are FREEZING. Brrrr.... I hate that.

9. Voice memo 3 is about the fact that I need to read the Catcher in the Rye. But I have no idea why I said this. Hmm... Intriguing...

10. I bet random thought #2 is the longest random thought I've ever published. And I'm guessing this is the longest RTT ever. I'm making history, people!

Wintery Winery

Apparently, I'm all about the alliteration lately.



The family joined me in Bloomington recently which warranted a visit to Oliver Winery. I've never visited in the winter but it's still very pretty. We walked away without any wine - a first for us.

Silly Skyping

Well look-ie there....

There is a new leader for the Prediction League and it's yours truly. I predict (get it, predict, ha!) that my lead will last about five days. I'm doing terrible in the Olympics!

Letter to Steve

Nicklas recently had a project for school in which he had to do a report on a famous Hoosier. He chose Steve Alford. After doing all the research and working on his five sided cube of Steve's impact on the state, Nicklas realized he couldn't find any information on Steve's siblings. So we decided to send him the following email:

To: 'LoboBB@unm.edu'
Subject: 3rd grade report

My name is Nicklas. I’m a 3rd grader at Edgelea School in Lafayette, Indiana. Even though everyone in my class are Purdue fans, I’m an IU fan and I’m a big fan of yours. I’m doing a project on you and was excited to find your email address on the Official Athletics Website of the University of New Mexico.

I have a question for my report. How hard is it to be a basketball player? It would be great if you could write back to me. Also for my report, I need to know how many siblings you have.

My report is due Tuesday. Thank you for the 1987 title.

Nicklas


He received the following reply:
Nicklas,

thanks so much for your nice email. it was really good to
hear from you and I am grateful that you are a fan of mine. we
are having a very good year this season so it has been a lot of
fun. I also appreciate you spreading some hoosier love in a
boiler town.

as for your questions, I have one brother and his name is sean. the other question was on how difficult it is to be a basketball
player. nicklas, like anything else in life, it is what you put into
it that ends up defining how you do and the meaning of what you
do. as a player, i loved the game so much, so I worked at it very
hard each and every day. there was literally never a day that
went by that i didn’t do something with basketball to improve my
skill.

again, thanks so much for writing to me. i hope your project turns out well. i hope your teacher is a hoosier or you might
of hurt your grade in choosing me. nicklas, my best to you and
your family.

God's Blessings,
Steve Alford
Head Coach
University of New Mexico

Random Thought Thursday

Come on and RTT; yeah, you and me!

1. Things that bug me about realtor's.... when they don't return phone calls or emails, when they show you houses that don't contain the specifications you're looking for, and when they assume your husband is calling the shots (and not that its a team effort.
2. Yesterdays shoes were missing one heel cap. The other one was still on but only because I super glued it to the shoe.
3. Tonight is poker night at Uncle Bill's. I still haven't decided if I'm going to play - it would require going to an ATM to get money and then changing my bills into a bunch of quarters. Curling up in bed w/ Sookie Stackhouse sounds much more appealing right now.
4. I'm really into the Olympics this year but I haven't gotten to watch any of it. Uncle Bill's t.v. only visits the History Channel and the Discovery Channel.
5. The reason I'm digging the Olympics is due to the Prediction League. I'm actually near the head of the pack so each pick I make counts. If you visit the link, you'll see that Kubatski III is the leader. Kubatski III is Nicklas. Yeah, my nine year old son is kicking some butt. Go Nicklas!! For the NBA All-Star post, he was correct for each pick and earned 10 whole points.
6. I seem to be struggling with sitting still for long periods of time. During auditorium events or any kind of long meeting, I get really fidgety and restless. My legs start to hurt and I can't sit still. This is always been a problem for me but especially so as I'm growing older. Anyone else have this problem?
7. I just googled restless leg syndrome thinking that might be my issue. But I don't have the problem when I'm lying down to sleep so I'm not sure that's the culprit.
8. My new health insurance is super cheap with a high deductible - chosen because my family is generally very healthy. But now I hate thinking about going to the doctor because I know I'm going to have to pay out of pocket.
9. Hm. What should I have for lunch today? There is stale bread for a sandwich or a cup of blah soup. Decisions, decisions...
10. Tomorrow is Friday - yippee!!!

Icicles

In my neck of the woods, it seems like the snow will never end. But boy it sure it pretty...
This is the view off the front porch of Uncle Bill's house. I'm not usually home before dark to enjoy it so I had to capture the moment.

Random Thought Thursday

Hmmmm.... let's see.... random thoughts of mine include:

1. My office is FREEZING right now. I should - and I do - appreciate the window. But woo boy is it hard to type when my fingers are so cold.
2. I do have a space heater but it's only effective at warming the parts of my body that are directly in front of it. So my legs and feet are very toasty right now.
3. I love working on a college campus and I really hate staff who complain about the students - as if they aren't the reason we all have jobs. So I make it a point to never complain. Even when they use the restroom as a locker room and they wait until the 11th hour to complete their scholarship application process and then come crying to me when they don't have enough time to gather all the information needed. Nope, I never complain.
4. I'm supposed to do some quilting this weekend with a group of quilter friends. But I'm just not in to it. I have several commissioned pieces and I'm not at all excited about doing them. Is it the fact that I have less creative freedom with commissioned quilts, am I outgrowing my love of quilting, or am I in some weird funk right now?
5. I love Diet Pepsi.
6. All my shoes currently have their heel caps attached. It's a good day.
7. I'm really trying to stick with Weight Watchers this week but I did eat Chick-fil-A for lunch. Other than that though, I've been good.
8. I'm bummed I didn't get to watch Survivor. It's become a family ritual that I look forward to.
9. I started the Sookie Stackhouse series. What is it about vampire stories that make them so attractive?
10. Now I must start watching True Blood. I'm hoping the Polack will want to watch with me. *hint hint*

Special message to CK - I would join SP but my internet time is pretty limited right now. I have enough trouble keeping up with the blog and facebook. On a separate note, how sad is that we are communicating with each via our blogs? Let me know the next time you're in IN!!

Skyping with the family...

With me being gone most of the week, Skype has become a good friend of our family. The first snapshot is from this morning. The boys have a two hour delay so they called me when I got into work. The second photo is from a few nights ago, while they were eating dinner.

new iPhone - take three

So I've done it again.... I've shattered another iPhone. This is the second time in six months, just in case you're keeping track. We can't forget the roller coaster incident of 2009.

No roller coasters this time. Instead, I left it on top of the car and took off for work. I remembered the phone about halfway through my 40 minute drive. It was long gone. Uncle Bill found it about four miles away from the house. It was in the middle of the road, still in its case (which also contained my license and credit card.) Unfortunately, it had been run over so this is all that was left.

So I'm on iPhone number 3 and fear it's my last shot. Three strikes and I'm out and back to the blackberry. This one comes armed with the Otterbox. Let's hope it does the trick...

Random Thought Thursday

1. This is the first Thursday since December 17 that I've actually posted an RTT on a real Thursday. Don't call it a comeback yet! (Last week didn't count since I didn't write it until the weekend.)
2. Everyone on facebook is posting their doppelganger photos. No one has ever told me I look like someone except once when I was in high school. I was at Pizza Hut (one of three sit down restaurants in my home town) and this random guy came up to me and told me I looked like Tonya Harding. I was NOT happy with this comment. He actually thought he was giving me a compliment. (This was post Nancy Kerrigan attack but pre boxing/terrible reality show Tonya.)
3. Okay, so you all know I'm a dork so I feel okay in sharing this with you. One way I judge how "caught up" I am at work is through my outlook inbox. If I have an email that has some sort of task associated with it, I leave it in my inbox and won't file or delete it until the task is complete. Every day, my inbox has been growing and growing. UNTIL YESTERDAY. That's right, I got lots done and was able to file many emails away. When all my inbox emails fit on one screen and I don't have to scroll down, it's a good day. SELL-A-BRATE good times, come on!
4. I have a girl crush on a fellow blogger. Her posts are always the first ones I read and they always make me laugh aloud. She's hilarious and I wish I could hang out with her for a weekend because she knows how to have a good time. I would share her blog with y'all but she's had some wacky people cyber stalk her so she's sensitive. It's too bad though because you're all missing out! Now I feel like I'm such a tease.
5. The caps on the heels of my shoes almost ALWAYS fall off. Does anyone else have this problem? I'm getting tired of taking my heels to the shoe repair guy so he can put new caps on. Have I talked about this before? I feel like I have. Maybe I'm running out of random thoughts in my life....
6. Tonight is the big Indiana vs. Purdue basketball game. A huge rivalry. I'm pretty sure my Hoosiers are going down. Hopefully I'm wrong!
7. We're supposed to be getting a bunch of snow tomorrow. Just in time for my drive to Lafayette. Boo!
8. I haven't had any Diet Pepsi or take out since Monday. Yay me!
9. I'm playing matchmaker for a family member and a quilting friend. I'm not super comfortable with the role but I adore these two so much that I'm going to attempt to make it happen.
10. I'm sad that Survivor is starting up again and I won't be home to watch it with The Polack and Nicklas. It's been a family bonding activity in the past.

Booby traps and Spongebob

Seeger has been building booby traps around the house. Can you tell how proud he is?
He's also into building things. I remember when Nicklas went through this phase and I just loved seeing him work his hands and mind to create something. For Seeger, it started with a set of Spongebob Legos that he received for Christmas. The Polack and I were impressed that he was able to follow the directions and build the Krusty Krab with such patience. As soon as he finished it, he wanted to use his gift cards to purchase other Spongebob Lego sets.

He's also been building with a set of Knex he received. He asked that I video the hot air balloon he built out of Knex for his Lego Spongebob characters.