tweedle dum

I have a lot I should be doing but since my foot is in a bowl of tea (ask me. maybe I'll explain) and I can't move blogging seems like a good option. We just got back from having breakfast with our dear father at the local WH. Just making sure my digestive system doesn't get bored and my arteries don't get lazy. We also stopped by Fedex last night after I picked them up from the airport and talked to Daddy through the fence. Reminded us of the good ol' days when he was a convict ;). Israel is now showering, Toni is reading and we're getting ready to make the drive up to the grandparents' house in Asheville. I'm looking forward to it since I haven't seen this since Christmas of '05 (yes, I'm a terrible granddaughter). It's a beautiful day for driving as well. Most of the days lately have been beautiful - in GA anyway.

I got back from a 4-day last night and it was actually quite nice. Saturday I ended up in Portland, ME, home of the oh so fabulous Amy and Shane. Amy picked me up at the airport and we got to see Portland celebrate St. Patrick's Day. That city is so much different from what I'm used to, and other than the bitter cold and deep snow, I could probably get used to it. Sunday we came back through Atlanta and went to Wichita, which I have now learned is an aviation mecca. Never have I seen so many pilots and aviation types in one place. I had a very enjoyable 30+ hours there. It rained the whole time but there wasn't much to do outside of the hotel anyway. I met some interesting people. Had two Germans buy me dinner, one of whom was there to pick up the Leer jet he had just purchased. He also showed me a picture of his latest "toy" - a cute little car... I think it was a Ferrari or something Italian like that ;). It was fun times. Yesterday we came back to Atlanta and took a quick round trip to Cozumel. I think it's a new form of torture my company has thought of - sending you to beautiful tropical places, letting you feel the warm air, smell the beach, and then not even letting you get off the plane before they send you back to Atlanta. Looks like I'll be down in that part of the world in May though when we go on Tanya's graduation celebration cruise. Woo hoo.

Well tea time is over. Off to Asheville.

oh, to be me

I know that everyone is jealous of my exciting life. You should be cause it's crazy. It's off the chain. I watched CSI, then Sex & the City, now Friends. Pheobe is lying on her back to increase the odds of becoming pregnant. I ate the other half of my Subway sandwich, ate some chocolate truffles and a bowl of Death by Chocolate icecream. For some reason I want to eat a lot more, even though I'm full. I will resist the urge. I am strong. I stayed up til 5am this morning reading a book, slept til 11, walked to the Subway in Rochester, had the first half of my sandwich, flew to Atlanta, and came home. I was on jury duty standby but group 22 had to report and I'm in group 23. I tried to pick the rest of my trip back up since I'm losing about 10 hours but some idiot picked it up yesterday. Funny how I can't pick anything up when I need to. So now I'm home until Saturday. Not that I'm complaining. I didn't sleep very well in the hotels the last 2 nights, even though they were comfy beds. I had gotten spoiled actually sleeping in a real people bed the last two weeks. I don't have anything else to report, except that my life is crazy fun. Okay, maybe not crazy fun, but it is crazy good. I'm glad I at least tried to pick up the rest of the trip so I don't have to feel guilty about sitting at home, AND I don't have jury duty. Plus the weather is freaking fabulous. I intend to be outside tomorrow. Be jealous :-D. Unless you're outside too, then be happy.

leftover land... mmm

This is what I call living the dream... I'm at my fabulous overnight in Des Moines (properly pronounced dess moi-ness). Another king sized bed which rocks my face off. The weather here is really pleasant. There's still snow on the ground in places but I'd be surprised if it was even the low 50s here. I wore my sweater and scarf over my short sleeved shirt and was warm. I just finished off some lovely cold leftovers which will probably cause me to dream really ridiculous things.

Last night I had one of the loveliest meals someone (besides my family) has prepared for me, and this evening I had it again. Only cold and out of tupperware. It was still good. Yesterday J invited me to come eat with him. He has been buying kitchen stuff and I think he was just eager to put it all to use. He wouldn't tell me what we were eating and when I got there he was scurrying around like mad. I was extremely impressed with the multi-tasking taking place. There was beef on the grill, bruschetta on bread with parmesan toasting on it in the oven, a salad (no iceberg) already prepared in the fridge, shrimp for the salad being browned, pasta boiling, sauce simmering, brie and bread as well as 3 kinds of olives on the table, asparagus ready to be steamed, mushrooms to be sauteed, and strawberries cut up and soaked in a lemon liquer to go on icecream later... It was so nice and tasted so good. I felt like I was in a fancy restaurant (or.... the queen of the world :-D). I even enjoyed mushrooms. I don't really know why I don't like them since they kind of remind me of olives and I love olives. I'm working on it though. But they were good with the sauce, beef, asparagus, and pasta. Combine the good food with wonderful company and it was a perfect way to end a truly restful, happy week.

And then it was back to the real world today. I wasn't feeling going to work today but once I got the passengers on the plane it reminded me why I do like my job. The first place we went today was Monroe, Louisiana and I have to say there's something about southerners. I'm not just saying this because I am one either. There are certain places I fly in the south where I know there will be at least a few really friendly people on my flight. They might have ridiculous accents, but at least they're friendly :). And that's what makes my job enjoyable. I hate when I have a whole day and no one talks to me. It can get lonely out there.

Speaking of lovely meals, I had a completely different type of one again today, which also made going to work difficult cause I was so full and sleepy. At my parent's house we had split pea soup, deviled eggs, potato salad, tuna and crackers, carrots and jello with pineapple. It's funny cause they're all pretty simple things, but made in a way that was so good, and something I wouldn't make for myself. My mom adds all the extra stuff that makes it really yummy. I don't know how to describe it but it's so good to go to my mother's house and eat real food, not the kind you find in every other restaurant (or my refrigerator).

It is now past my bedtime. After writing this blog I'll probably dream about food, food, and more food. Last night as I was admiring and enjoying the wonderful meal I realized how good God is/was to us when He made eating such an enjoyable thing. Not just the being full part, but all the varieties of flavors, textures, and colors. It's funny because He could've made necessary things, like sleeping and eating, unpleasant or just boring, but instead He chose to make them both things we could really love and enjoy. As you may be able to tell, I really love food and I really love sleep. Thank you God :). And thank you, God, for giving me people in my life who like to cook yummy and pretty things for me.

frustrated is the word of the day

I think I could really get used to not working more than I work. Now that I'm feeling some better I've been able to enjoy being at home more. Because of a court appearance that never happened and me being sick, I've only worked 3 of the last 12 days... I didn't realize how much it was until I just counted it up. I haven't been able to enjoy it as fully as I would prefer since I've been sick but at least I'm getting better now. The weather has been amazing lately. There have even been reports of people getting a little bit of color from the sun! I sat next to the lake in Peachtree City yesterday and watched the planes fly over and the old men jog by in shorts so short they should be illegal. Such fun :). It has been nice to have time off to do nothing but get well.

I've been a little frustrated with my life lately (before this hiatus) due to the lack of productivity. I feel like all I do is go to work and sit at home. My job isn't very challenging or fulfilling, which is fine, but it means that I have to challenge myself in other ways. There are things that I want to do, books to read, things to write, things to make, music to play, people to keep up with, and I haven't been doing them. I guess I just need to make goals for myself and then meet them. I'll figure it out. Just a bit frustrated right now.

I'm also frustrated with my job. I feel like I work for a company where I have no voice. Scheduling has been a huge frustration lately. I submit swaps and then get denied for reasons that don't make sense. The logical response is, well call them and talk to them, but then I can't get anyone on the phone. I feel like my hands are tied. Or like in my dreams where I'm trying to yell at someone and make myself heard but since I can't yell no one listens to me. Once again, very frustrating. I also haven't gotten paid for work I did over 3 months ago. It's sad to me that people can't just do their jobs without you constantly chasing after and keeping up with them. I spent half the afternoon yesterday on the phone trying to figure out why they haven't paid me yet. I also got a jury duty summons which meant that they took a day off my trip next week. Sounds good except that I'm losing about 10 flight hours (pay). The thing is, I'm on jury duty standby. I may not even have to go but wont' find out until after 5pm the night before, which is too late to stay on my trip.

I think that's about it. I'm frustrated and just need to make it motivate me to do all that I can to change things. Today is going to be a good day though. It's too beautiful not to be.

what a waste

It really bugs me to spend all this time off feeling lousy. The weather has been beautiful, I have people I need to catch up with, things I need to do, places to go, and I've felt like crap the whole time. I did get some things accomplished. Got my oil changed. You can now walk in my room. Got my hair cut. But it's still frustrating cause I wanted to do a lot more. I went to the doctor today cause I can't call out without getting paperwork from a doctor. Blah. More money spent. I feel like I go to the doctor too much. But then I remembered that two of my friends don't have health insurance which keeps them from going as much, and a lot of the rest of them are men, which keeps them from going at all... And I felt a little better.

Last night I went to bed at 8:30 and woke up at 11 this morning. I've been having dreams lately that I can't play my violin anymore. Partially cause my fingernails are too long (which they are), and partially cause it's been too long (which it has). I should do something about that. About both.

Now I'm going to do what I've been doing most of the rest of the day - lie on the couch, drink Emergen-C loaded water, and do nothing. Good times.

Someone needs to entertain me.