remember when?

I was going through some old CDs with pictures on them when I found a DVD my college roommate had made me before I moved out and got married. It reminded me of a lot of fun times with some really awesome ladies.

So, Kristine, Laura, and Josie, this one's for you.

Remember when we had the best decorated room for Moyer Movie Night and won a gift card for that pasta place in the mall? And it took us six months to use it?

Remember when Laura had mono and we were all afraid we would get it from her? And she tried to walk to the Nest to get some food but threw up on the way there? (Sorry, Laura...)

Kristine, remember when we went to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden? And saw those people get engaged by the giant spoon and cherry? I think we strategically planned this picture so my head would be blocking them as they made out on the grass.

Remember how I army-crawled under the beds on our last day with the "Dirty Jobs Vac" strapped to my back?

Remember NWC's spring party and how we ate at Old Spaghetti Factory? And Josie's dress was flying up on the way there because it was so windy? And I held the menu in front of my dress and it looked like I was naked?

And remember how we went to Como Zoo before that and had a contest to see who could open their mouths the widest? And it was raining?

Remember how we downloaded old school versions of Oregon Trail and played incessantly? And we always used each other's names? And it would be hilarious when one of us would die from dysentery or cholera or snakebite?

Remember all those fish we killed? And the ones we froze to bring back to WalMart?

Remember the day we went to Oasis Park to do "homework" but ended up playing on the playground?

Laura, remember when we died our hair on Halloween that first year? That's when I first realized we were friends.

Remember when we went outside to play in the snow and we rolled down that snowbank and I about broke my kneecap? And we walked up that huge hill and almost died at the top?

Remember when school was cancelled because of a snowstorm and we all hung out in the room and played DDR and baked cookies? Also, Laura, remember how you used to sleep with me and Kristine because Amanda would be on the phone?

Remember when we baked a cake? How did that cake turn out, by the way?

Kristine, Josie, and Laura, thanks for two great years of memories. I have so many awesome memories with you since then and am looking forward to many more to come!

eating habits

I believe I've mentioned before how awful my eating habits are when Darren is gone.

But you probably didn't understand. Not really. Because no one understands how bad it is.

So let me tell you what I've eaten in the past 48 hours.

Thursday, 5:30 pm - ice cream cake

Friday, 7 am - coffee
Friday, noon - ice cream cake
Friday, 2:30 pm - cheese, peanut butter, crackers, chocolate chips
Friday, 5:30 pm - five chicken nuggets and ten french fries
Friday, 8:00 pm - a bag of homestyle-flavored popcorn and a glass of grape juice

Saturday, noon - ice cream cake
Saturday, 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm - seven vanilla sandwich cookies

As you can see, I've consisted primarily on sugar. It happens.

Probably I'll scrounge up some more chicken nuggets for supper tonight, if my husband hasn't eaten them all.

age

Do you ever forget how old you are?

The other night I was in bed, thinking philosophical thoughts about life and the past, and planning the future, when all of a sudden I couldn't remember how old I was.

I actually had to do the math.

It was a little sad.

I Believe...

...popcorn and M&Ms are an acceptable dinner.

...weekend makeup is optional.

...being tan is overrated.

...pigtails are for everyone.

...every woman needs one pair of go-to heels.

...baked potatoes don't have to be healthy.

road jobs

Part of working for OSA is going on a road job. That would be a job that's too far to commute every day and requires hotel stays.

I've never eaten out more in my life.

Monday through Friday last week and Monday through Thursday this week I've been working on an audit two and a half hours north of the cities. It's been pretty nice, since it's close to my hometown. My mom came down for supper a couple nights, and Darren was here for one of them.

I don't mind road jobs, overall. In fact, I volunteered for one. It's actually not a road job, per se. For the next couple weeks I'll be helping out the Duluth crew on a county audit. And I'll be based out of Duluth for most, if not all, of it. I talked to one of the managers at OSA the other day and she said something about "up to four weeks." Gulp. Didn't see that one coming, but Darren will be in Cloquet for the majority of it, so hopefully we'll get to see each other some.

If anyone is in Duluth over the next...four weeks...you can look me up at the Radisson.

it must be the shoes

Laura on her wedding day.




Me on my wedding day.

Kristine, you're next.

confession

Sometimes when I'm home alone all day I'll stay in my pjs.

All day long. Until about 7pm when I'll finally shower.

And put on some clean pjs.

Those are the best days.

baby/snake dream

The other night I had this weird dream.

I blame it on the combination of the chicken I had for supper and the extreme heat wave in our apartment.

It was a dark and stormy night. We were in our upstairs apartment. Our baby was in his carrier in our yard. There were tree branches littered everywhere. The poor little guy was screaming his lungs out so I went outside to get him.

All of a sudden there were these two snakes. They were slithering around in the yard in some kind of mating ritual.

Yes, I actually dreamed that.

I went back inside to tell Darren to kill the snakes so the baby would stop crying. Unfortunately, he was too busy paying attention to his OTHER wife. Somehow the only thing I felt was annoyance. I decided to kill the snakes myself. Because if I didn't, they would either (a) eat my child, or (b) go somewhere and produce hundreds of snake babies.

And somehow this all made sense in my dream.

I went to the shed and grabbed a hoe. The baby was still crying. The wind was blowing through the trees and limbs were falling all around me. I walked over to those snakes and BAM BAM BAM, slammed that hoe down on their writhing bodies. I was so mad at my husband for not taking care of this so I could get our baby in the house out of the storm.

And then I woke up. And I was annoyed with him for a little while.

new mechanic on the block

Last night Darren and I changed the oil in my car.

Yes, I learned how to change the oil. No, I can't change a flat, or even jump-start the beast, but I now know how to change the oil.

Probably the most useless thing one can know about their vehicle. I mean, in the case of an emergency (say, a flat tire or a dead battery) how will this knowledge help me out?

Answer: It won't.

But there you have it.

Before this I was proud I could check my oil and add window-washer fluid when necessary.

No more.

I learned how to drive the car up on blocks of wood so we could crawl under it, which, by the way, is probably on the top-ten list of claustrophobic moments of my life. I learned how to drain the oil into a bucket, take out the filter, put on a new filter, and fill the car back up with oil.

And as an added measure, I also learned how to check the transmission fluid. Never would have thought to look there.

Overall, an educational evening. Next up: changing a flat and using my jumper cables. I just hope no one gets hurt.

certified

Yesterday was my sixth-month anniversary of working for the Office of the State Auditor.

Which means I've finished the probationary period and am now certified.

Confession: I'm not sure what they mean when they say I'm certified, but it sounds good, right?

And my favorite part is that I can now use vacation hours. Although I probably won't, since I comped 73 hours this year. So yes, that would be 73 hours of mandatory time off. Plus a floating holiday.

I did the math the other day:

-I earn 104 hours of vacation and 104 hours of sick time each year.
-I can comp up to 80 hours during the busy season.
-I get one floating holiday and eleven paid holidays.

That totals to up to 384 hours which equals 48 days.

FORTY-EIGHT days of paid time off.

My job rocks.

June budget

June was a little rough on our budget. We bought some expensive toys.

And when I say "we" I mean Darren.

And when I say "expensive" I mean very.

But overall, we still came out ahead this month. And next month should be even better because we both get three paychecks. Fortunately.