May, 2010

I think summer is finally here.  This may be a rash statement that I could regret later, but I stand by my words.  Granted, the gas to my heater has not yet been turned off.  I'm ashamed to say I even turned it up for 30 minutes today.  Even so, it is supposedly in the high seventies outside.  I thought my house would be warmer this year since I had my big tree seriously trimmed last fall.  But I am still cold.  Next month I will be crying about the heat.

My Relief Society lesson was from Elder Oaks talk in the priesthood session, "Healing the Sick."  Great explanation of how a priesthood blessing works and the sisters had a good discussion about it.    I love those women.

It seems like all I did this month was work, several six-day weeks and many nights until six or seven.  Hope I get that under control soon.  On the 10th, I traveled to Salt Lake for a meeting the next day.  I got take-out at Zupas (great Spring Aspargus soup) then went to Cassie's to watch DWTS.  It was a good meeting, only half a day so I spent the afternoon shopping.  I did not need the clothes I bought and certainly not the books, but I did kill some time.  That night Cassie and I ate at Cafe Med and went to a movie, Babies.  It was cute but after an hour, you get a little tired of watching babies cry.  Then we went to her house and watched TV.  I spent the night and came home the next day.  An actual day off!!!

I got all three days off for Memorial weekend.  So I finally mowed my lawn, took forever.  And the lilac bushes that I had ruthlessly trimmed back last fall attacked me.  I was a bleeding mess.  And what's with all the little baby lilacs cropping up all over the place.  Ye Gads !!  What do I do about those.  I merrily mowed them down, but I suspect the lilac mommies may have revenge on their minds.  Silly to be scared of a few bushes, isn't it?  Next I fertilized the grass, something I heartily wished I had done months ago.  It looks so pathetic.  And I watered it for the first time.  I really need to live in a condo for all the time and care I take with my place.  There are a few flowers blooming, some bachelor buttons, my lilacs, a snapdragon I just planted, my catnip, and a cute orange-flowering weed.  I also plowed the furrows in my garden spot.  Then, sinner that I am, I planted most of the garden on Sunday after Sacrament Meeting.  Otherwise, I doubt if it would ever have been done.  It will probably die.  The few plants I already had don't look so spry today.  And sometime in the dead of night (who knows when it really happened, I'm just trying to be literary) a fiendish pest ate all the leaves from four of my eight tomato plants.  The one thing I truly want from this garden is fresh tomatoes.  Any suggestions?  I also planted some zuccini, winter squash, peas, radishes, pumpkins, cucumbers and corn.  I planted some marigold seeds around the squash in the hopes that it will repel those disgusting squash bugs.  It's been 15 years since I last planted squash if that's a clue as to how much I hate those bugs.  I also planted some sunflowers, zinnias, daisies, and hollyhocks.  Then I will be out of town for several days next week so it will probably all dry up and blow away.  Rigth now, it just has its furrows with a few green things sticking up and absolutely no weeds.  I feel wonderful.

Julie and Ryan held our annual Memorial Day breakfast at their house.  They have done so much work on the house, it looks beautiful.  I always eat too much at this event, but it was sooo good.  Myke made his has browns that I have never been able to duplicate.  Julie made quiche and we had sausages and lots and lots of fruit.  Then we just sat around and visited for a couple of hours.  I've missed my family.  They've spent some weekends together painting Mom's house, but I've always been at work so it was good to see them.

Books Read  I read six books (is that all??)  and quit one about half way through.  I definitely recommend The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society.  Wonderful, heartwarming story.  I tallied up my TBR list today and found that I bought or acquired twenty books in the last month.  Yikes.  There is no room left on the shelves for books.  This book-collecting habit needs to be brought under control..  Sigh.

Movies  Cassie and I went to see Babies.  On the 15th, Lisa invited me to go the matinee after work and see Iron Man 2.  It was a fun movie and I love Robert Downey Jr.  Thanks, Lisa, for including me in your family and friend outing.  This last Sunday, I watched The Philadelphia Story on KBYU.  It's one of my favorites and a true classic.  The black and white cinematography is fantastic.  Plus Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant are wonderful.

TV  DWTS and American Idol are over.  Nicole Scherzinger won DWTS and rightfully so.  I did enjoy the other two finalists as well.  Good finish to that show.  Lee won American Idol but I would have been equally happy with Crystal winning.  They were both so good.  Not sure how I will like this show now that Simon is leaving.  I hope they get someone good.  The Bachelorette just started and looks like there will be plenty of drama.  I hope no one has to leave because of work this season.  That's getting overworked.  And Gray's Anatomy had a great season finale.  I am definitely watching more TV lately.  Maybe that's why I only read six books.

Overall Impression  I will be so glad to not see any more snow for a while.  And I have three weeks scheduled to take off in the next two months.  Yippee.

April, 2010

     Another month, another . . . month?  I was trying to come up with something along the lines of another day, another dollar; unfortunately, creativity has run out the door.  Buh-bye.  It is getting warmer.  I say this despite the five inches of snow left on the ground on the last day of April.  I also had my best month at work in ages.  My boss tells me I've almost turned the corner.  Of course, that was just before we tanked the last two days of the month.  I'm halfway  back down the block now.  So I've turned in my resignation and I'm moving to Salt Lake.  It's got to be better than working until seven every night and six days a week.  I've also missed my last four weeks of working at the temple because I can't leave work early enough.  And I'm not reading the scriptures I keep at work because I don't go to lunch any more.
     General Conference was the first weekend of the month.  Susan and her family had come out for Lorin's funeral and Cassie was here as well.  That was a great treat.  Unfortunately, I didn't watch as much conference as I should have.
     On a bright note,  I bought two grow boxes at Walmart, you know, the kind with little pellets of soil that you soak with water and plant seeds in.  Now I have eighteen pea plants about six inches tall, myriad little carrot tops, some of that cute curly lettuce with red edges (the edges aren't red yet, the plants don't look anything like lettuce.  I think it's a hoax), twenty-four corn plants, eighteen sunflowers (they grow really fast), thirteen or fourteen hollyhocks (some seeds are refusing to germinate) and a bunch of daisies.  I really like watching things grow and there are no weeds in my grow boxes.  Naturally, I will have to plant them outside; and my sweet home teacher has even plowed a garden spot for me.  Too bad I am going to move.  But the plants can go with me.  My peonies are coming up and that always excites me.  Dang, I'm going to miss them.
     On the fifteenth, I drove to Salt Lake with a colleague for a meeting.  We ate lunch at the Olive Garden, great but made me sleepy at the meeting, and had dinner at Zupas.  Have I mentioned how much I love Zupas.  I didn't get home until ten that night, but what's another late night?
    The 23rd was Mom's birthday.  Mark came out and we went to dinner at JB's that night and then to Mom's to play games.  Susan snuck in as a surprise birthday gift.  That Saturday tons of people converged on  the  house to paint.  I went to work and got some much needed work done there.
     As an example of how out of whack I am, I hung my sheets out to dry on the line again.  That was two weeks ago, and I've yet to put them back on the bed.  Who does that?
Books Read  I read eight books this month.  My favorite was Inside the Dream.  It's a book about the work of Walt Disney.  While it includes some bits and pieces of his life, mostly it deals with his cartoons and films and how they evolved.  Pretty darn good.
TV  Still watching Dancing with the Stars and American Idol.  I don't have an overwhelming favorite on either show, but I do like watching them.
Movies  If  I watched a movie last month, it made no lasting impression on me and so I've forgot about it.  Jeez, no movies?  I know watched movies, Cassie was here.  What did we watch?

Weight Loss  Please, who has time to lose weight?

Overall Impression   This has been a particularly negative post and my goal next month is to become more positive about things.  I have developed the growing conviction that very few people actually read my blog.  And I'm all right with that.  But just as a check, I did put in a grossly misleading statement. I didn't quit my job and I'm not moving.  At least not in reality.  Gotcha.