A couple more quotes, and about a movie

"Hey girl!"

- awesome older-ish lady who talks to me and give me cleaning tips. It's funny because I wouldn't have expected a "Hey girl!" out of her ;-)

"You weren't even here long enough to meet my family!"

- How cool is it when customers want you to meet their families?? Haha ;-)

"I'm sad to lose you, I hate to see you go. But you're going to something better, and that's what makes the pain bearable."

- Could you ask for a better send off from your boss??

Honestly, I never thought I could be so blessed by a fast food job. I guess it shows you never know what will come of things, and that it pays to trust God :-) And if ever you're in the Sachse/Garland area and need a job, go check out the Whataburger off 78 ;-)

For my birthday (back in November) I really, really wanted Mean Girls, and Dave told me he'd get it for me. We found (for the same price) a sort of girl trilogy made up of Mean Girls, She's the Man, and Clueless. I love Mean Girls, I saw She's the Man with Christina and really liked it (watched it since getting it and liked it even more ;-) ) and I figured "Well, I'll probably watch Clueless sometime when I'm bored..." I wasn't feeling well yesterday, and I ended up staying home from work. I suddenly remembered Clueless, and decided to watch it. It took me about 20 minutes before I realized it was Emma! (The novel by Jane Austin.) I was pleasantly surprised at how closely the movie followed the book, in plot and in the "moral" of the story, without seeming contrived. I really enjoyed it, and I'm glad I have it :-) Though I'm kind of sad I missed out on that whole "as if" thing. Ummmmmm, no not really. ;-)

Anyway, work out time for now. Perhaps more later.

Funny Quotes from Work

"You look real pretty today"
"What are you talking about? She's always pretty!"
- The two really old guys that come in every day

"How are you doing?"
"How am I doing? How am I doing?? Well, I can't hear anything, everything hurts, and I still have to walk all the way over there! ::points to door across room:: But I'm doing just fine!"
- One of the mangers and one of the really old guys

"Um, I'll take a diet coke please"
- A little girl who couldn't have been more than three

"Karen, you're too white. You need to get some sun."
- One of the not quite so old guys that comes in every day

"You live where?? You rich little s--t!"
- Another one of the not quite so old guys (I explained that we're not - and that we're moving ;-) )

"Is it hot?" ::sticks finger in coffee as I'm pouring it::
"AHH!" ::spills coffee everywhere::
- Nice beard guy who comes in every day, and me

"You know what happens when you get my age?"
"What?"
"You get CRS. You know what that is?"
"What?"
"Can't Remember S--t!"
- Random old guy and me

"Be sweet! You always are."
- Old guy who still climbs roofs and works with air ducts

"There's my girlfriend! I bet you thought I forgot about you!"
- Not quite so old guy who was out for a few days for knee surgery

"This here's my girlfriend."
"Wait, wait! She can't be your girlfriend, she's ours!"
- Not quite so old guy and really old guy ;-)

"I'm going to the dentist today. I hate the dentist."
- Other really old guy

"I'm having a SLEEPOVER!"
- Another little girl, not more than three ;-)

"Double charge him!"
One of my managers - every. single. time. we get his card for an employee discount. Apparantly he thinks it only gets funnier ;-)

::poking me in the stomach:: "Gordo??"
Carmen, one of the cooks, making fun of me for eating soup instead of a burger ;-)

::hides around corner, peeking around and giggling::
- Really old man

There are so many more than I don't remember right now... I am going to miss that place ;-)

Happy Mother's Day

The other day, as I was washing dishes or folding clothes or some such thing, I looked down and realized I have my mother's hands. Then I smiled as I started thinking of all the wonderful things my mother's hands have done.

My mother is one of the most nurturing people I know. She thinks she isn't, but maybe that's part of what makes her good at it. By nurturing, I don't mean the kind of mom who hovers around her children doing everything for them, cooing at them every step of the way. My mom sees the best in people, and will subtly nudge them in that direction. She has never told me what to do with my life, but she listens as I talk about ideas I have. She's always encouraging, and always believes in us one hundred percent. No matter what is going on in our lives, she always lets us know how proud she is of us. This goes for me and my siblings, as well as the two men who have joined our family by marriage. She doesn't discriminate - she considers Dave and Paul her sons now.

That's another thing I love about my mother - she thinks as highly of Dave as I do. I know that when I'm frustrated I can call my mom, she'll let me vent, and then she'll gently help me see Dave's side of things. It means so much to me that I know she'll never, ever put him down. I'm so blessed to have parents who love and accept my husband as their own.

It's not just our lives that my mother has made a difference in. She was a teacher for a few years, before her family came along. Though I wasn't there, I know she made a difference in those lives. I know this because I saw how she taught classes at our homeschool co-ops. She's not the kind who tolerates disrespect or cutting up. This is not to say she's not fun - her class on radio drama was a blast. She believes in structure and order, which is something children need and respond to. She has "the look," and we've seen it quell a vampire in one look. (You may think I'm making that up, but I'm not.) She was strict with kids sometimes, but instead of driving them away, it seemed to draw them to her. It's because they knew she was doing it because she genuinely cared about them - she wanted them to become the best they could. My mother always had a soft spot for the "troublemakers." It made her so upset to hear other moms saying derogatory things about them. She always saw deeper, into the heart of kids. And she's been right about them.

Now that we've all grown and are either in college, or past it, she's still doing things to improve children's education. She, along with several other homeschooling moms, run a Homeschool Round-Up every summer. They organize booths, speakers, book tables, even meals. It's a place for families to come get information and encouragement. Every summer my mother pushes herself to exhaustion to make this happen. She has always gotten joy out of helping others, and I'm proud to have inherited her hands. I hope I can use them in such wonderful ways as she has.

But I haven't been blessed with just one amazing mother. Dave's mother has been more than I ever thought possible in a mother-in-law. I was immediately welcomed into the Blaser family. Instead of questioning me to see if I was good enough for her son, or making small talk out of obligation, Chris talked with me out of an genuine desire get to know me.

Chris is fun. She's just a fun person to be around. She's always laughing. She's always ready to jump in the car and go somewhere. But we also have fun staying in and making fun of dumb tv shows. She's my favorite person to go shopping with (well, tied with Annie ;-) ) She gets me to try on things I'd never think to try myself, but at the same time she never judges me for my taste - even when it's different from hers.

Fun is far from the only word to describe Chris. She's a fiercely loyal friend, and she feels deeply what her friends feel. If someone she cares about is hurting, she's right there hurting with them, and she'll do whatever she can to make things better.

She, too, has a desire to help people. I don't think you could be as great a nurse as she is (and she really is) for as long as she has been, and still be so joyful in life, if she didn't have that desire. Anyone who can claim Chris Blaser as a friend is blessed indeed. And she has categorically broken every mother-in-law stereotype there ever was ;-)

I honestly can't believe how blessed I am to have these two women in my life. They have both influenced my life greatly, and I strive to be more like them everyday. I know I don't deserve them, but I certainly never take them for granted. I love you both, and I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Petrified key limes make good cat toys

They're trying to retrieve one from under my desk right now.

I guess it's been a while again. Things have happened. We were able to go to SA for a week while Harry was in town for spring break. We did pretty much nothing, and it was pretty fun ;-) Well, we did wash pretty much every car at the house - except for Harry's, which we realized after we left. Sorry Harry. I played the piano quite a bit, which was really great. Seriously. It was really nice just to chill out with family, eat grilled meals on the back porch, and play games in the evenings. I even actually won a game, which does not happen very often. Annie and I browsed Ulta (and even got a couple things, cause she had a coupon and they had a sale) and then went to Barns & Noble and looked at hair and make-up books. Fun girls night. I got to catch up with family members, and of course at least one Sherwood was over almost every night when we were there. Dave and I also got time to just sit and talk. I know, I know, we see each other every day and spend all kinds of time together. But sometimes it's good to get someplace other than your own home - I don't know why, but it makes a difference. That's why going out on dates is important, though a little bit harder when you don't want to actually spend money... ;-)

(Dave is now singing "All the single ladies, all the single ladies" Thank you Beyonce)

Anyway. There have been ups. There have been downs. Today I'm having a good day. I think that things are looking up. Though, we've thought that before. I'm really trying to keep any mild feelings of hope, excitment about life, or relief at bay, because that's really come back to bite me in the butt sooo many times. But, for now I think things are going ok. There have been some good things going on. No, I'm not pregnant. Just don't even ask. GOSH people. Haha, but seriously, my favorite thing to do now is to ask newly weds if they're pregnant. Well, if I know them. If I didn't know them that would be weird.

In other news, our cats are still awesome. They're huge (16 and 18 or 19 I think) and sometimes that does cause problems, especially after they spend a week with their tiny little aunty Llyan who can dantily jump on or over anything. After watching her, they always decide to try it. No matter how many times it doesnt work... And yes, they are certainly big enough to leap our kitchen counter in a single bound. I can't tell you how many times I've opened our bedroom door in the morning and found produce at my feet. The other day they discovered a whole bag of key limes. Thus the title of the post. But they're very sweet, and very entertaining. Sure, they run around like crazy sometimes, tearing a path of distruction behind them (ok, not that bad) but it's worth it for the times they look at you, their big amber eyes full of meaning, and you can almost hear them saying "I love you." Well, you can definitely hear them purring anyway. Yeah, ok, that was sappy. I don't feel bad writing it though, as long as one person (Sydney!) will know what I'm talking about ;-)

We've been going through our seasons of Scrubs again. Which you would probably know if you talk to me (and watch the show.) I somehow always pick up on tones, inflections, and phrasology from whatever show we're currently binging on. I also pick up things from books. It's really funny when I've been reading a lot of Agatha Christie. Lingo from the 20s, 30s, 40s... er, lets just say all the way to even the 70s... ANYWAY, proper british + period speach ends up seeping into my vocabulary. And it gets mixed with everything else up in there... also, I mimic (and sometimes mock) the people I hear around me. Seriously, I was SO meant to be a cartoon voice!! How do you get discovered as a cartoon voice?

Anyway... that's probably enough rambling for now.

P.S. I love my new hair cut. Or... you know, my three week old hair cut...

A post about flair? Ok, she's lame...

I'm sure by now you are all aware of the fact that I love sending people flair on facebook. A lot. HOWEVER. There are some that really BURN MY BISCUITS. So I'm going to vent about them here.

1. The ones that say "Some people hide because they just want someone to care enough to come looking for them" or "I build up walls just to see if anyone cares enough to climb over." Guess what people? Relationships (of any kind) take effort from BOTH sides. You can't just sit and hide and do nothing and expect your destined mate or your new BFF to some rushing in and save you from it all. You gotta put some work in there too. And guess what? The people that reeeeeeally want to find you and climb the walls while you do nothing - they're called STALKERS.

2. "I like walking in the rain because then no one knows I'm crying." Ok, so you have a flair of it. Now people now. Oops, was that what you really wanted? For people to know you're sad? Way to go with the subtley there.

3. "I don't just fall down stairs - I fall UP them!" Oh my gosh you must be so special. Oh wait. 5 million people have added that flair. Guess not. Seriously, I have met sooo many girls that seem to think falling up the stairs is a big deal. I'm pretty sure EVERYONE (except Marry Poppins) trips while going up the stairs, at least once in a while.

4. Any flair about Twilight. I tried to send some to Sydney as a joke, but it's just too frightening. Seriously, is it a cult? The obsession really freaks me out. And grosses me out.

5. Flair that says "Not now honey, Mommy's on facebook." How is that funny? How is that cool at all? When did child neglect become a joke? My mom has always been a computer person, but if we needed her she always dropped (heck, she STILL drops) everything to help us out or listen to us.

And those are my five for today. Yes, there are probably better things I could be doing with my time. Anyone want to hire me?

These are a few of my favorite things

If you asked me what three of my favorite things are, I would say lighthouses, dragons, and trains. I'm not sure why, but those three things have always had some special quality for me, and for some reason, have all been put into the same category. I have no idea what that category would be, but somehow they all seem... to belong together. Maybe not together... I dont' know, they have the same feel about them. Well, not exactly I guess... There is some part of their essence that binds them together as three points of a triangle. I know that sounds totally crazy and melodramatic... but I guess I don't care.

Oddly enough, dragons (or dragon) and lighthouses (or lighthouse...) are both prominant in one of my favorite childhood movies - Pete's Dragon. Actually, "odd" was the wrong word to use, cause that makes total sense that they would both hold a childlike magid spell over me. Kind of a weird movie, but I still love the music from it, and frequently listen to it on my ipod. Trains, I'm not so sure. But there are all sorts of train songs that I hear, and somehow I'm just sure that I heard them before, long ago. "Starlight Express," "Midnight Train to Georgia," the one about a midnight train going aaaaaanywheeeeeeere ;-), and even Elton John's "This Train Don't Stop." Others too, that I can't remember right now. Some of those I blame on "Shining Time Station" and the little box they used to watch short films in - it always played train songs. Though I seriously doubt if it played a song about a musician who's disillusioned with his life and art (that would be the Elton John song.)

Lighthouses always stand where land meets water, and that's always been one of my favorite places to be. They also look to the sea, which has always been one of my favorite places to look.

Dragons represent magic and other worlds - the things and places that have held my facination for as long as I can remember.

When you come across traintracks, look down both ways. One way is ordinary, and looks completely normal. But the other way is magic, and you feel like if you could just follow those tracks, you might end up somewhere very special. Like even the walking along them would be something special. Dave laughed the first time I said that, but then he looked down both ways and told me I did have a point.

Why am I rambling about this today? I blame the weather. There's sleeping energy in the air today.

What the flamin' flyin'???

So, Bertie is now a little over 17 pounds, and Reggie finally broke 15. And no, they're not just fat. They're in very good kitty shape, and have lost most of their kitten chub. They are just that huge. They're tall enough to stand on their hind legs and rest their front paws on the kitchen counter - and don't think they don't try to knock things off while I'm washing dishes or making supper. Thankfully they're not tall enough to actually see what's up there - they can only see things on the edge and then feel around for anything else.

They're actually so big that they don't fit into normal cat sized litterboxes any more. Haven't for a while now. They've been squishing into a couple of boxes that they can't even stand straight in, and they have not been so happy about it. So the other day Dave went out and got a giant 29 gallon plastic bin, and we threw a bunch of litter in the bottom. They're pretty much extatic. They expressed their appreciation by lounging in it. Kind of gross... but we're glad to have happy kitties.

I could go on with more stories about the adorable antics of my cats, but I won't. I try to keep that in check.

In other news, Rock Band 2 is aaaaaaawesome. Friday we all ganged up on Geoff until he caved, and he (or he and Josh, not sure) got it. So that was a bit of our weekend ;-) Dave laughed at me because I got almost just excited about the new outfits and hair and etc as I did about the actual music and playing. And yeah, I totally want my character's outfit. (Glow in the dark cat's eyes!) In Rock Band 1 Dave and I were Boris and Natasha. This time we're Regis and Kelly. Yes, we are that dorky. Yes, I just used the word dorky... Oddly enough, Eye of the Tiger is really fun to sing.

I finally discovered a place to get fresh, reasonably priced food! Fiesta Mart! It's a bit of a drive, so I'll probably only go there once every two weeks or so, but man... I walked into that place and I felt like I was home! It really reminded me of the Valley and of the way grocery shopping should be. They had soooo much produce - by far the biggest selection I've found here. So I got tons of veggies, some chicken (also reasonably priced,) and a couple of awesome Mexican pasteries from the bakery ;-)

Also, strangely enough, I think I'm kind of getting addicted to working out. I've spent most of my life avoiding exercise. (A few exceptions: dance, working out with Dave at Letu... ok, so two exceptions...) But since Dave has been working, and I'm still looking for a job, I've found that working out regularly helps a lot with the stress and the general bummed-out-ness at lack of income and job opportunities. I've never been the kind to push myself, especially not physically... or, you know, accademically ;-P but it's pretty awesome what I've discovered I can do. I don't know how it measures up to other people, but for me it's really good. And I keep doing a little bit more each time. Though I need to learn balance too. Occasionally my ankle will go out for brief periods of time (several hours to a few days) due to a gymnastics mishap about 12 years ago. (This is what happens when you take gymnastics when you're too old :-P) But seriously, that pop - you could hear it through the whole gym. Daaaang, that hurt. Anyway, it went out the other day, but I was really wanting to go work out. I told myself I'd take it easy, but I ended up pushing myself even more than the last time. I went farther, but there were also several wince-and-gasp moments. And of course the next day my ankle hurt even more, aaaaas did my knee from walking funny cause my ankle hurt :-P So I haven't worked out since then. Thankfully my ankle is pretty much better now.

Blah, blah. I don't really think any of that is all that interesting, but I suppose I just felt like writing.

We've started making iced herbal tea every day (YES FROM BAGS FJORD) which is awesome and refreshing and makes me think of summers when we were kids. Or... youths. Whatev. It's also cheeper than soda or bottled water, but much more tasty than plain filtered water. Though filtered water is toooons better than the water from our tap, which tastes like dirt. Obviously I use filtered water to make the tea.

Recently I've really gotten into the new Dr. Who. I love that show. It reminds me a lot of the old one too, so it makes me think of watching it with my mom and Annie (and even Audrey once in a while too - "Dooooooooor OPEN!")

Anyway. I guess that's enough random rambling for tonight.