I love this thing!

It may seem silly to like such a simple tool, but this drying rack is great!! It just arrived yesterday in the mail from Amazon and I promptly did a load of bottles that were stacked up on the counter. I usually have a bunch of bottle parts drying on the counter and thought 1) probably not that sanitary 2) cluttery mess on the counter

This thing keeps everything off the counter so it can get good air circulation and is more sanitary since everything is not sitting in a puddle, keeps parts upright that need to be upright, is versatile, is a cute patch of sunshiny grass in the kitchen, and is compact.

Floors, Signs and Birds

Being that I have had much nervousness and I might go so far as to say anxiety over the past year or so, I came to the hopeful idea that my problem might stem from lack of organization. Life is chaotic for me with the constant change in my work schedule and travel time, so I never feel I have a grasp on what time I really have available. The lack of fun time that's left after accomplishing the necessaries feels insufficient to do what I want to do, and I constantly feel frusterated and unsatisfied with my progress on to-dos and fun-having. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Of coarse! Probably everyone!

To combat my mind doing circles constantly trying to sort out how to fit everything in to the day or week, and wondering if I've forgotten something, I have talked to the most organized person I work with and the least organized person I work with. The most organized person suggested I organize my work and home life into whatever mode works best for me. Since I'm not organized at all, I don't know what works best! The least organized person I work with says she's being going through the same thing and now carries around a small notebook in her purse and she writes everything in it from meeting times, notes from meeting, hours worked on what projects and to-dos for at home.

I thought I could maybe make this work. An organizer is very categorized and doesn't leave enough room for creative note taking, plus it's bulky and I have to carry around a super-sized purse or backpack. My new little notebook is where I write my days out on a sheet or two and as things come up starting adding to-dos to different days such as buy birthday present, stop by the post-office, as well as fun things such as spin some yarn, work on painting Darla's sign... which is finished by the way!

It has worked very well because I will write things down as I think of them at work, the drive home or when I have lots of time to think: when I'm cooking. Now, I have my day planned out on paper (not in my head- this is key so I don't have to be thinking it all the time) before it gets there and if I start to feel nervous and wonder where my time is allocated, I just reassure myself by looking at my list. I feel very satisfied at the end of the day to see things crossed out, and anything left over, I just erase and add to the next available time.

Another thing that I'm hoping will help anxiety levels is I have found a home for Fairy. Her constant need for attention and screaming has made being home unpleasant so that I was not looking forward to weekends. Darla has two kids and a few dogs and a husband that loves birds. Fairy has gone to Darla's as a trial run to see how everyone adapts, including Paul. She gravitated towards her new home from day one and has been riding around on everyone's shoulders. If she calls out for attention, she's got 4 people there with someone being home almost all the time. She is quite catered to and Darla says she seems very content. Paul has had a hard time with parting with her, but he knows that this is probably best for her and best for me.

We shipped Fairy off to Darla's last week prior to the warranty folks coming in to repair our floors. Clementine went to her babysitters yesterday and Paul and I are living in the sewing room and laundry room until tomorrow night when we head to Tracy's for the weekend while the polycoat dries.

We have no access to upstairs because the floors are stained by the stairs, so we are sleeping downstairs in the office/sewing room.

The laundry room is by the office and we can get to both through the garage. So we have our clothes and a temporary kitchen set up for breakfast in the laundry closet.

And the laundry sink to do the dishes in..

I finished the sign for Darla last weekend in anticipation of the floor upheaval. I wanted to get it done beforehand so I could hand the sign off with Fairy. Darla got a two-for-one deal! The sign I painted for Darla's husband's landscaping business might open up some additional painting work I'm hoping. I have my contact details painted on the upper left hand corner of the sign that will be attached to the landscaping trailer cruising around town. I have my business license and am continuing with my embroidery work but look to bring in some painting work as well.

I hope you all are enjoying the summer! Congrats to my cousins Heidi and Tory for graduating and going on the the next stage in life!

Scrapbooking All Night Long!

Since finishing my test, I've been busy making sure to have lots of fun and enjoy my weekends more to eliminate some stress and get rid of my heart palpitations that my dr. says is stress-related. The cure: exercise, exercise, excersize, have some fun and get away from the news.

So, as part of my medicine, I invited two girls from work to come over on Friday to scrapbook and have a barbeque-- Paul was included in the barbeque but opted to watch movies while we worked on our albums.

Now, I'm not known for my late hours, but if I am busy working on a fun project, I can do ok.

But even I was surprised that we made it all the way to 4:00 am! Everyone crashed out for a few hours' nap and headed out by 8:00 to their various activities.

I had a dry stone walling class at 8:30 at a local Presbyterian church cemetery. This was really fun and I found out about it when I met the Stone Man at the garden show I went to a few weeks ago. He said to come on by to help out on this volunteer project of restoring the 300 year old church wall that borders the back property line behind the cemetery. It was a really really fun event and we ended up building a section of the wall that was about 30 feet by 4 feet high! All without mortar-- looked straight out of Scotland.

After the wall experience finished at 2:30, I went back home and Paul and I went for a walk, to Starbucks for a hot chocolate and then we had barbecued hamburgers and watched movies until 10:30. I did all this without a nap and I impressed myself immensely!

This week I'm dragging a bit at work, but since I'm just monitoring the safety of several workers on a site, it's not terribly taxing.

Have a good week!

Geology Test Done

It is done at last! That's the good news. After weeks of studying (which should have been months) I can have my life back and hopefully start having some fun again. The bad news is that the test was way harder than I had anticipated, which is hard to believe! It was a gruelling 8 hours of 230 questions/problems to solve. I knew about 1 out of 10 questions, narrowed it down to two of 4 choices in about 5 out of 10 questions and the other 4 out of 10 questions I didn't even know what they were talking about! It's kinda funny really, to come to the realization of how little of geology, and the practice of it in the workplace, that I actually know. Even though I read the study manual from front to back, memorized terms, and practiced the word problems, I couldn't have studied that material for another 3 months and feel like I would have done much better because there was so much on the test that I don't think I've ever learned or even know where to look to find the subject matter. So bizarre considering I did well in school.

But it's not the end of the world and there's definitely more important things in life than my career (and this isn't a career-buster anyway). I couldn't sleep last night except for 3-4 hours because I was wide awake thinking of what I could have done better, will I attempt this again in 6 months and fork out the money or should I just go on and say this is one of those things to lay at rest and close the chapter. After all, I do want to continue working on getting my side embroidery business up and running and hopefully have children at some point before I'm too old!

I'm heading out soon to go to the Southern Spring Home and Garden Show with some friends. Have a good weekend!

Paul's Birthday Weekend (and Valentines)

What a fun weekend we had! I decided to surprise Paul and plan something for him that didn't involve getting up early, doing a long drive or staying out all day. He likes to chill out on weekends since the workdays are so long, and so I thought the best thing to do is head into Charlotte, the city we are so close to but have hardly ever been to (downtown that is). Actually, Charlotte calls their downtown "Uptown." We left at the leisurely hour of 1:00 when we started to get hungry enough for lunch. To add to the adventure, I drove us to the train station to ride the Lynx to the city center. It was a lot of fun, relaxing, no traffic involved and no parking meters to worry about.

We walked around on the main center of town and then went to Ri-Ra's for lunch, a great little Irish Pub that has the traditional British cuisine and decor. We then headed to the Levine Museum where they had the opening day of an exhibit about how the south has changed over the years, with a focus on Charlotte. This was very cool!

On the way back to the train station on 7th st, we found a grocery store that had a coffee bar and we each got a hot chocolate.

That was it for us on Saturday. We got back and Paul put in "The Incredible Hulk" and I promptly fell asleep on the couch while he watched the movie. I've had a cold this week so I keep falling asleep!

Today we slept in (ahhhh) and then had a full bacon and egg breakfast. I made some chicken salad and a fruit salsa with cinnamon tortilla chips and brought an assortment of cheeses and bread and drinks and we headed down to the Andrew Jackson State Park in SC around 2:30. We were there on Memorial weekend too, and hardly anyone there both times.

Paul loved his surprise picnic and when we were done, he shared a few pieces of bread with the locals.
Some were waiting very stoically, and proud and didn't seem to want to ask for handouts.

And others were a little more impatient, coming right up on the blanket behind us.

This little guy was not shy at all and wasn't afraid to ask for food! I thought he was going to bite, but he just kept putting his bill near our shoulders - couldn't get any closer - until we gave him a piece. When he was done he kept making chewing sounds as if to say, "come on, where's my next slice? I'm tired of eating grass!"

Doing a bit Better

Last weekend Paul and I went over to a friend of mine from work to hang out and be social. We haven't done much of this and we decided maybe it would be a good thing to help me come out of the doldrums. I brought all my scrapbooking stuff and Paul brought some man movies (action) and some Mexican food to contribute to the potluck. Tracy from work also came over with her scrapbooking stuff and Mexican food. The men watched movies and us ladies worked on our albums and shared supplies, stories and news. We had a fiesta style dinner and came home feeling re-energized and cheered. Plus, I'm now re-motivated to get my scrapbook out and continue forth!! I am still working on our wedding from 4 years ago!

A Topic I've Been Avoiding

I like writing about fun things, cheerful things and funny insignificant happenings. I wonder why, but have no clear concise reason other than I guess it makes me feel that all is right and happy, and the bad ugly things will go away if I can just turn my back on them. The reality is always different, we all know, but why not watch a comedy and laugh some more and turn away briefly from the big bad and scary?

Truthfully, I along with most Americans and people all over the world, are very worried about the economy, our jobs and what kind of world is ours turning into. Is there any validity behind our hopes for a turnaround for 2009, hopes for keeping our jobs and our homes? As I'm seeing things crumble around me, and listening to talk on the radio of this plan and that plan and a loss of over 500,000 American jobs just in the month of December, I am so terribly frightened.

Today I've been told that we are not doing overtime anymore, so as to distribute work among different offices that have no work. We have suspended all field work and travel for the first quarter to cut costs and everyone in our office is on edge.

Tonight our sister office down the street has invited us to join them in their belated holiday festivities. They are not in such a tight situation because they have multiple clients whereas we just have one, and one that is tightening its purse. None of us know anyone in this other office but everyone in our office but 2 are attending to "network" and meet some new people in hopes of not only making some new friends but hopefully find some work if available. I'm not wearing an interview suit, but close to it! ;-)

This sums up why I haven't been writing as much the last few months... I've been scared and I'm having a hard time seeing the flowers through the fog.

Christmas Pics for the Family

Merry Christmas again everyone! This post is mainly to thank our moms, dads and sisters for the wonderful gifts you sent. So here is our Christmas morning....
Clementine is not quite sure about the disco ball from my sister. It will take her ~ 4 months to get used to it, but Clementine still said, "Thanks Aunt Heather"

Paulie in his new homemade Christmas PJs (from me).

Paul says, "Thanks, Mum, for Batman!"

This shirt from my mom and dad says, "May the forest be with you." Quite cleverly paralleling Paul's favorite movie trilogy of all time.

" Thanks for the top and purse, Alison, Barry, Craig and Adam!" (my family-in-laws)

Love the apron, M & D!!! I used it already when making cinnamon rolls. Heather, thanks so much for you generosity and great ideas!

Hitchhiking Fairy coming in for a closer look. She spent the whole morning preening the fuzz on the santa hat!

Thanks again everyone for the wonderful gifts!

And Paul says thanks too (foot shot to include Christmas PJs).

Heather, the Thomas Kincaid puzzle is so much fun!! We have much more done since this picture was taken a few days ago. The Vader puzzle we started Wednesday night and finished on Christmas.

The 47 kajillion veggie dinner spread of savoy cabbage, carrots and swede, sweet potatoes, roast potatoes and parsnips, ham and broccoli.

Carrying out the English tradition of pulling Christmas crackers (as provided by M & D)

After reading the enclosed jokes and trivia, we donned the included golden crowns.

Funny story about going to the neighbors to give out our plates of cookies on Christmas eve. We finished the cookies and mince pies around 4:30 and I left the cinnamon roll dough to rise for the 1.5 hours that's required. Thinking we'd be gone 20 minutes or so I almost left the birds out of their cages. Paul said he thought we'd be gone for quite some time because we'll probably end up talking, etc. "oh, no, I don't think so." I explained, "everyone will be getting ready for Christmas and so we'll deliver our cookies, wish them merry christmas and move on."

How wrong was I! We were invited in, given drinks and snacks and experienced the full hospitality that can be offered. Feeling more comfortable about our relationship with the lawn lady across the way, we were so happy that the past could be forgotten. Four hours later and three plates of cookies delivered, we came back home.

Sadly, the cinnamon roll dough had risen and fallen, being that it was left for too long. But nevermind, a new batch was started the day after Christmas and they are delicious! Plus, I got to use my new apron and measuring spoons.

Mom, Dad and Heather, I lost my old recipe! This is a new one I found on the internet - that's why they may look a little different. They are flatter, but moister, hmmm.. can't figure out why!

If you guys have any Christmas pictures you'd like to share, email them to me and I'll post them.

Lots of Love,

Karen and Paul

A Day Off

I took a spontaneous vacation day on Wednesday, inspired by a business class offered in Columbia, South Carolina. I got the day off, signed up for the 3 hour class and made a day of it. It was not a day filled with excitement around every corner and adventure up every hill, but it was a really nice day. Even though it was a day off, I didn't seem able to sleep past the usual wake up time of 5:30 so I got up and helped Paul get to work, did some spinning, watched a movie, cleaned up the kitchen and had a leisurely breakfast while reading a chapter of "These Three Remain," which I'm reading for the third time. I did a heap load of stuff before leaving the house at 9:30 and then decided to take the back road ways to Columbia, staying off the freeway for as much as possible. What a pretty drive!

The various buildings of the school were scattered among beautiful southern style homes.

Eastern North Carolina's Fall Fields

I was in Greenville of North Carolina for the past two weeks working, and I really enjoyed the scenery. Farmland and fields abound, and this was the first time I have seen cotton fields! This field was probably ready to be harvested, as all surrounding ones have already been de-cottonized. I couldn't believe that natural cotton was truly that white straight from the plant. I had the idea that it would need to be bleached to get the white T-shirt look.

I found a piece of cotton on the side of the road, as it is blown all over the place, and brought it home as a souvenir. Wouldn't it be fun to spin into yarn and knit a pair of socks? Only, the one pod is probably enough to do one finger of one glove! Spinning cotton is a different experience than spinning wool or alpaca. The fibers are so short. I have spun dyed cotton to make a hat, but it's one of those projects I haven't finished..

This is the cotton field from a distance. See the thicker patch near the treeline?

And here we are at a vacant field that I just thought was lovely in its own right. The trees, I am told by my work buddy, Jerry, are the infamous sweet gum trees. He says they make great shade, although he doesn't have one in his yard. He says he enjoys them from the safe distance of his neighbor's yard.

We decided to let Mavis the Sweet Gum stay planted in our yard through to the spring, and then we will transplant her again and put her along the back of our property line where the gum balls won't intrude on anyone's yard.

Meanwhile, Paul has arrived home safely from England, and it sounds like his mother is continuing to improve, thankfully. We are going to rest and take it easy this weekend.

Visiting Family in Tucson

Tucson is the prettiest desert I've been to. It's gorgeous! Even if you aren't a desert person, you'd have to admit Tucson has a dramatic beauty. I went out to see Grandpa, Eleanor and my aunts Linda and Janis during the last part of the week before Labor Day. I got to spend some good quality time with family that I rarely get to see, and at the same time got to relax and recharge.

Here we are at Grandpa's house! Grandpa, Eleanor and I won 6 games of bingo combined, out of 10 games played, at the local community center. I thought for a minute we were going to get kicked out! Competition was fierce and the air was thick with envy.

I'm a little behind on my blog, just catching up from my hiatus of studying. I won't bore you with the dreary details, but the long and short of it is that I am out in the field again, and won't be back until 2 days before the test. I realized I just plain wasn't going to be ready. Rather than waste the money, I post-poned taking the test until March. They give us one grace post-ponement, so I have to take it in March ready or not. But I will be ready then! So back to blogging and doing the things that I like. I will keep studying, but at a more relaxed pace spread out over 6 months.

Still here, but not here...

I think this is about the longest time I have gone without posting since starting my blog a year ago! My studying for the geology test has kept me busy and very preoccupied.

I have pictures to post of my cousin's fun visit a week and a half ago, but they are on my home computer. Problem: when I'm home, I'm studying. I think about these things when I'm at work and try to remember when I get home and promptly forget. I feel like my mind is a jumbled mess right now!

Hope all is well with you all.... I will try to get my ideas organized and resume posting more often.

Geology Exam Preparation Begins

One of my goals for this year is to take the national geology exam to become a "professional geologist." I am finding it so hard to get back into studying after being out of school for awhile now. I used to be able to sit down for 8 hours and study, but now I need a break after an hour and a half. I am so thankful for Paul who is being very helpful by taking care of most of the chores, giving me quiet time to study, and being there as a "rock" of support, a quartz monzodiorite, to be exact.

Yesterday, I was feeling reallllly stressed and test anxiety set in even though it's still 2 months away... there is so much information and I could not see how I was going to rememorize the things that I had 4 years to learn. Paul gave me a big hug and sent me upstairs to have a bath. My flashcards came with me, but laying in the warm bath calmed me down and allowed me to focus.

It's going to be a rough few months, and so the blog may get a bit quiet, but I'll do my best to keep posting if there's anything besides studying going on. For one thing, my cousin is coming down next weekend, so that will be fun, fun, fun! All the more reason to get my studying in early.

Weathering the Storm

Today was another bike riding adventure to work and back. It was a great day for a ride until 5:00. I was wheeling my bike outside when a passerby, glancing up at the sky, advised me to peddle fast. Sure enough, ominous clouds, complete with lightening and thunder, were moving in the direction I was heading. So I rode as fast as I could to try to beat the storm. It didn't work, but luckily I had a plastic bag in my backpack to wrap up my computer in, so I quickly stopped, covered my computer and put it back in my backpack and rode as fast as I could through the rain. It wasn't the safest thing I had done, but already committed to the task, there was no good place to stop because there were no shops until I got to where my car was parked. I made it pretty quickly actually, but awaited another big problem: once I got to the car, I realized I couldn't put the roof down on the convertible to get the bike home, or I'd end up with worse issues at home with a disgruntled husband upset over a wet car interior.

So, the best solution: wait out the storm in Caribou Coffee. I am happily enjoying the largest hot chocolate possible, doing some knitting on The Sweater II which I so happened to have in my backpack, and decided to take advantage of the free wireless internet here! No better way to have an unexpected delay.

Oh it's the Weekend!

Here is my bike in the back of the car in the parkinglot a few miles from work (last Tuesday). I never did the bike ride again last week as I ended up working from home on Thursday. I'll be trying the ride again on Monday.

I finished my first skein of yarn! Notice how different it looks in different lighting.
This was our 4th of July morning- staining/sealing the deck. No rain was in the forecast for the day so we needed to seize the day. Plus, our barbeque is on 5th rather than the 4th so we wanted it looking nice for Saturday.