Monday, August 31, 2009
Jerky Time
Well I got my birthday/Christmas present from Mr Man already its a commercial dehydrator for me to make elk and deer jerky. I also dry fruit as well. Its a huge machine that takes up a lot of room but I am very excited to get it. So I'm going to try to sell home made jerky at this community farmers market and yard sale the area I'm living is having in September. I will include a disclaimer card that this is home made and i try my best to make it safe but nothing is perfect basically covering my butt you know keep refrigerated and use within one week or freeze. It's my newest adventure in home business. So if anyone wants some jerky just let me know and I'll send it out, and yes its safe i feed it to my son and he loves it, but then again he eats dirt and seems to like it also. I spent the weekend at my mothers house because her b-day is next week and she needed some help because she fell last week and put a nice gash in her knee she even went to the ER which tells you how bad it was when she voluntarily went to a hospital ER, but she is doing pretty well all things considering. My ex step dad and his mother were around as well little man didn't seem too impressed with either one. But here is the kicker those two have pretty much been ignoring me for the last 2 years and then i tell them my idea for jerky they both give me 150 dollars each to help me out with my business and are saying how proud they are of me with everything I've done. but i haven't done anything I can't even keep a job for a full consecutive year and they are proud of me? Basically they are confusing me to no end plus they were being nice not something i used to. Not even a snide comment from ex step dad about my bastard child. And I make back home and my new dehydrator is waiting for me its pretty, i just have to get the meat ready to get dried that's a 2 day process alone. I'm trying to clear out our freezer a because Saturday was the start of archery elk season and i still have meat from last year. Well is will be fun, i sure am learning to cook a lot of wild game. Well everyone smile and look forward to tomorrow.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
The Saga of Grumpy Begins
I haven't posted in quite some time sorry ladies, so I'll attempt to make up for it. I have truly had a summer to remember. The new job is FABULOUS, thought a thirty of more minute drive each way. My first experience camping was so delightful, that I wish I could do it every weekend. To top off the good stuff, I should officially have a piece of paper that says I have some form of education at the end of this semester.
Now for the interesting stuff... I have overloaded myself once again, like Alula I am a masochist. The gal I work with, I am referring to her as Grumpy because she brings a cloud of doom and hate with her while somehow managing to make her face look like an ugly dwarf, she is terrible. Behind my back she is going to my boss attempting to become my supervisor, and she's only been here one week longer than I have. Neither of us are trained enough to be the supervisor at this point, and she is being very sneaky instead of being honest and waiting her turn. Do not take this as me wanting the position for myself, I want only to work... not to be anything special. I enjoy my job, and she is making my life miserable.
She has left ealy everyday for the past two months and our current supervisor, Sparkley, was getting very upset and speaking her mind to the whole front office including Grumpy's best buddy Prego, after she left. Prego proceeded to tell Grumpy what Sparkley had said the very next morning, and there was a confrontation that afternoon. Sparkley is a good friend of mine and got me the job, so now I am almost sure I am getting the silent treatment because Grumpy assumed I was complaining to Sparkley about her, and that I want to stop her from getting a promotion. The other morning our big boss was running late and had a meeting promptly at 10am with three men from Korea, he called to say he was late and keep them happy until he gets there in a bit, not one minute later they walk through the front door. She was so rude to them they left and came back about 30 minutes later. Knowing that these men just got off an airplane from Korea to come see us, it baffles me to think they could be treated with such a non-care and disrespectful attitude. Everyday I come into work and sit there for 8 hours getting the silent treatment from both my coworkers. All this just started... heck we actually used to get along and communicate like civilized human being once in a while before this experience.
I am getting very frustrated with this woman, and wish i could speak my mind to her so she knows that I didn't do anything, and the problems people may or may not have with her are not because of me but because of her own actions and rudeness to everyone. Oh... And did I forget to mention, she's pregnant and hasn't told anyone yet.
What should I do???
Now for the interesting stuff... I have overloaded myself once again, like Alula I am a masochist. The gal I work with, I am referring to her as Grumpy because she brings a cloud of doom and hate with her while somehow managing to make her face look like an ugly dwarf, she is terrible. Behind my back she is going to my boss attempting to become my supervisor, and she's only been here one week longer than I have. Neither of us are trained enough to be the supervisor at this point, and she is being very sneaky instead of being honest and waiting her turn. Do not take this as me wanting the position for myself, I want only to work... not to be anything special. I enjoy my job, and she is making my life miserable.
She has left ealy everyday for the past two months and our current supervisor, Sparkley, was getting very upset and speaking her mind to the whole front office including Grumpy's best buddy Prego, after she left. Prego proceeded to tell Grumpy what Sparkley had said the very next morning, and there was a confrontation that afternoon. Sparkley is a good friend of mine and got me the job, so now I am almost sure I am getting the silent treatment because Grumpy assumed I was complaining to Sparkley about her, and that I want to stop her from getting a promotion. The other morning our big boss was running late and had a meeting promptly at 10am with three men from Korea, he called to say he was late and keep them happy until he gets there in a bit, not one minute later they walk through the front door. She was so rude to them they left and came back about 30 minutes later. Knowing that these men just got off an airplane from Korea to come see us, it baffles me to think they could be treated with such a non-care and disrespectful attitude. Everyday I come into work and sit there for 8 hours getting the silent treatment from both my coworkers. All this just started... heck we actually used to get along and communicate like civilized human being once in a while before this experience.
I am getting very frustrated with this woman, and wish i could speak my mind to her so she knows that I didn't do anything, and the problems people may or may not have with her are not because of me but because of her own actions and rudeness to everyone. Oh... And did I forget to mention, she's pregnant and hasn't told anyone yet.
What should I do???
Thursday, August 20, 2009
The Plagues of Egypt in my home...
So the wasps in my kitchen ceiling are back. Today I discovered a patch on my kitchen ceiling where it appeared they were attempting to knaw through because the drywall under the paint was gone. Another theory ran that the pesticide shot up there had caused water damage. Still another theory ran that the pesticide had damaged the drywall making it soft and allowing the freak zombie wasps (which are actually yellow jackets, I've been told) to munch away at it. Anyways, the patch is 8" by 6", and any way you cut it, not good. I'll post pics of Q and mother's ingenious solution later.
So just to sum things up here, I thought I'd recap all of the plagues of Egypt my home has suffered this summer:
Blood: period that lasted a month.
Frogs:
Knats: Never had them before. Now they are in every house plant I own.
Wild Animals: Gretal and Count. Enough said. Oh, and the deer incident.
Pestilence: We'll substitute "wasps" here.
Incurably Boils:
Hail: Yup. That too--on car, garden, and home.
Locusts: We'll substitute "husband" for this one, as he killed my garden.
Darkness: 3 power outages and counting. One of which made us both late for work.
Death of the Firstborn:
We have also suffered flooding in the basement and in our upstairs bathroom when the toilet overflowed, a heart attack, and a car accident. And for some reason all the walking I've been doing has caused me to gain weight, rather inexplicably, and I'm hitting 185 again walking 2.4 miles a day--what with that?
Boy, I just can't wait for the frogs, incurable boils, and death of the firstborn to get here. (Not really--please don't smite me further!)
On the bright side I got my shiny new badge yesterday and a work laptop (DELL latitude 6000 series...oh baby!) today. I was also invited by my colleagues to speak at a conference in April.
Also, I feel like a really crappy friend. It feels like every time I call Q lately it’s to have her cover my butt, save my butt, or drive my butt somewhere. Q, hon, you’re the greatest—and please feel free to say no. And I totally owe you a deck of tarot cards for everything you do for me. Just send me an email link to what you want and I’ll order it with my school books.
Alula
So just to sum things up here, I thought I'd recap all of the plagues of Egypt my home has suffered this summer:
Blood: period that lasted a month.
Frogs:
Knats: Never had them before. Now they are in every house plant I own.
Wild Animals: Gretal and Count. Enough said. Oh, and the deer incident.
Pestilence: We'll substitute "wasps" here.
Incurably Boils:
Hail: Yup. That too--on car, garden, and home.
Locusts: We'll substitute "husband" for this one, as he killed my garden.
Darkness: 3 power outages and counting. One of which made us both late for work.
Death of the Firstborn:
We have also suffered flooding in the basement and in our upstairs bathroom when the toilet overflowed, a heart attack, and a car accident. And for some reason all the walking I've been doing has caused me to gain weight, rather inexplicably, and I'm hitting 185 again walking 2.4 miles a day--what with that?
Boy, I just can't wait for the frogs, incurable boils, and death of the firstborn to get here. (Not really--please don't smite me further!)
On the bright side I got my shiny new badge yesterday and a work laptop (DELL latitude 6000 series...oh baby!) today. I was also invited by my colleagues to speak at a conference in April.
Also, I feel like a really crappy friend. It feels like every time I call Q lately it’s to have her cover my butt, save my butt, or drive my butt somewhere. Q, hon, you’re the greatest—and please feel free to say no. And I totally owe you a deck of tarot cards for everything you do for me. Just send me an email link to what you want and I’ll order it with my school books.
Alula
Monday, August 17, 2009
The long walk
Ladies, today I did the full circuit--more than 2 miles. From my home to the water tower and back.
Also, Mr. Borealis called me while on the walk. He asked me if I could come down to Pueblo to keep him company. I said, "Oh, sweetie, I would but I have a job now."
And he said, "Well, can't you just quit your job?"
I said, "I would, but then I'd get bleeped at for not having a job."
He paused, and then he said, "Well that's true. You just can't win, can you?"
Ah, the plight of women.
Alula
Also, Mr. Borealis called me while on the walk. He asked me if I could come down to Pueblo to keep him company. I said, "Oh, sweetie, I would but I have a job now."
And he said, "Well, can't you just quit your job?"
I said, "I would, but then I'd get bleep
He paused, and then he said, "Well that's true. You just can't win, can you?"
Ah, the plight of women.
Alula
Cars, Business, Wasps, Screaming, and Camping
Once again, I find myself in the situation that a lot has happened in my life and I'm behind on posting. I've written a summary in prose for those of you who don't want to read the novel:
Mr. B's Outback had just gotten fixed and gone to Pueblo,
It got into a fight with a hailstorm and to more fixing insurance said "no",
Went car shopping & tried to trade in the '93 trooper C4C,
Found it wasn't eligible due to procrastination by Mr. B,
Then went Rolla on a business dealing,
Mr. B found a wasps' nest in the kitchen ceiling,
Had to beg Q for assistance due to husband's vanity,
Q of course came through and saved my kitties and my sanity,
Mr. B freaked out and decided to clean basement,
Apparently got rid of my stuff with permission and still hasn't f-ing apologized,
Got off the plane just in time to fight with husband,
Packed my crap post haste and almost decided marriage was canned,
Briefly discussed if free education was prudent,
Got accused by Mr. B of being perpetual dirty-hippie student,
Went camping one hour later with Q, Munchkin, and spouses,
Banned fighting for the weekend even though all men are louses,
Had 6 hours to share alone with Mr. B on Sunday,
Then we both woke up and went our separate ways.
And the long version:
Well, in case I didn't say this already, Mr. B's Outback had just gotten fixed from the run in with the deer when he drove it down to Pueblo and got stuck in a hail storm. It didn't do any real damage, but apparantly it dinged every exterior portion of the shell of the car to the extent that insurance called it a total loss: cost of repair exceeds total value of car. So we took a settlement and now have a no-value dinged up car.
Realizing we were nowin possession of two cars in need of replacement, we decided to make a move on Cash for Clunkers because my trooper is 16 years old and gets 15 miles to the gallon. Well, thanks to the fact that my husband dragged his butt getting it registered (and had me driving it without registration for 3 months without knowing it), we have not technically "owned" this vehicle for 1 year so it does not qualify. And my husband's procrastination has finally screwed us over in the form of losing a $4,500 coupon for a new car.
I went to Rolla, MO for my first business trip last week; I feel I should note here that they took really good care of us because the flights and hotels were awesome. On Wednesday morning I get this phone call just as I walk through the door to my first meeting:
"Hello?"
"Hey."
"Oh, hey Mr. B--unless something serious is happening, can I call you back around lunch?"
"Oh, um, well...I woke up this morning and there's wasps inside the house?"
"Inside the house?"
"Yeah they're coming through a hole in the kitchen ceiling."
"Uh...okay."
"Can I take care of this when I get home tonight?"
I laugh. "Not unless you want to come home to a house full of wasps--they could swarm and kill our cats. You need to take care of this like now."
Said in irritated tone: "Well, Alula, what do I do?"
I sit there in stunned disbelief for a moment. Then I respond: "Well hon, I'm in Missouri right now, so you're going to have to take care of this one by yourself."
"By doing what?!"
"Call someone."
"Who?!"
And about this time, in my head, I'm going well, there are bugs in the house and you don't want them there...who the bleep do you think you call? I say: "I'm guessing anyone from your dad to 911 depending on how many there are and what they're doing. Jesus--just assess the situation and take care of it. Or keep calling responsible adults until you find one that can help you!"
And I hung up and went to my meeting. I text him that he needs to call Orkin and then let it go. I call his father a little later to be sure he isn't suffering death by wasps alone in our home. Turns out Mr. B has gone to work.
The irony of the situation? I call Q later and she starts with "I got this frantic call from your husband earlier. He needed to know what to do to get wasps out of the house..."
The wasps really freaked him out. Orkin came the next day and gased the invaders and the nest, which was apparently inside our kitchen ceiling. We're still dealing with stragglers trying to rebuild.
Apparently Mr. B thought the basement was too dirty for Orkin to see (no kidding, that was his reasoning) so he "cleaned" it. By breaking a lot of my stuff and donating some of it without permission. I'm still not okay with it and much screaming ensued.
Then when I got home I saw the real damage and there was more screaming. And then I tried to talk to him about how my work is now offering to pay for me to get a PhD--literally pay for it. And pay me regular salary in addition and accomodate my scheduling needs for school. Mr. B said I can't do it because I was "going to become a permanent student" and blah blah blah. We were both pretty pissy and yelly and angry.
Then we took a fifteen mminute breather, started over, and just packed our crap and went out to the camp site where Q and Munchkin and spouses were waiting. We had a lovely weekend of geocaching, s'mores, and freezing our chicklets off. The tight sleeping arrangements of our tent allowed me the perfect excuse to get an albeit amature form of revenge on my husband by breaking gas while we were forced to spoon.
Then we got home, watched some TV, fought a little more, went to bed, and woke up. Now I'm back at work and he's back in Pueblo and we're getting along fine and missing each other terribly. I'm exhausted and I have to plan Movie Night for tomorrow and my family is not making things easy.
Ociffer and Snow were having a rough time of it with Post Partum Depression--she kicked him out and basically absconded with his child for a couple of weeks only allowing him visitation. According to my mom they're "doing better now". God bless him, I hate to see my brother going through these situations. My sister is having some sort of issue now too that she won't tell me about, and my cousin had her baby--another August baby--a healthy little girl. And my grandmother wants to spend more time with me, which I feel guilty about because she lives literally on my same block and I have like no time. I'm setting something up with her for later this week.
Alula
Mr. B's Outback had just gotten fixed and gone to Pueblo,
It got into a fight with a hailstorm and to more fixing insurance said "no",
Went car shopping & tried to trade in the '93 trooper C4C,
Found it wasn't eligible due to procrastination by Mr. B,
Then went Rolla on a business dealing,
Mr. B found a wasps' nest in the kitchen ceiling,
Had to beg Q for assistance due to husband's vanity,
Q of course came through and saved my kitties and my sanity,
Mr. B freaked out and decided to clean basement,
Apparently got rid of my stuff with permission and still hasn't f-ing apologized,
Got off the plane just in time to fight with husband,
Packed my crap post haste and almost decided marriage was canned,
Briefly discussed if free education was prudent,
Got accused by Mr. B of being perpetual dirty-hippie student,
Went camping one hour later with Q, Munchkin, and spouses,
Banned fighting for the weekend even though all men are louses,
Had 6 hours to share alone with Mr. B on Sunday,
Then we both woke up and went our separate ways.
And the long version:
Well, in case I didn't say this already, Mr. B's Outback had just gotten fixed from the run in with the deer when he drove it down to Pueblo and got stuck in a hail storm. It didn't do any real damage, but apparantly it dinged every exterior portion of the shell of the car to the extent that insurance called it a total loss: cost of repair exceeds total value of car. So we took a settlement and now have a no-value dinged up car.
Realizing we were nowin possession of two cars in need of replacement, we decided to make a move on Cash for Clunkers because my trooper is 16 years old and gets 15 miles to the gallon. Well, thanks to the fact that my husband dragged his butt getting it registered (and had me driving it without registration for 3 months without knowing it), we have not technically "owned" this vehicle for 1 year so it does not qualify. And my husband's procrastination has finally screwed us over in the form of losing a $4,500 coupon for a new car.
I went to Rolla, MO for my first business trip last week; I feel I should note here that they took really good care of us because the flights and hotels were awesome. On Wednesday morning I get this phone call just as I walk through the door to my first meeting:
"Hello?"
"Hey."
"Oh, hey Mr. B--unless something serious is happening, can I call you back around lunch?"
"Oh, um, well...I woke up this morning and there's wasps inside the house?"
"Inside the house?"
"Yeah they're coming through a hole in the kitchen ceiling."
"Uh...okay."
"Can I take care of this when I get home tonight?"
I laugh. "Not unless you want to come home to a house full of wasps--they could swarm and kill our cats. You need to take care of this like now."
Said in irritated tone: "Well, Alula, what do I do?"
I sit there in stunned disbelief for a moment. Then I respond: "Well hon, I'm in Missouri right now, so you're going to have to take care of this one by yourself."
"By doing what?!"
"Call someone."
"Who?!"
And about this time, in my head, I'm going well, there are bugs in the house and you don't want them there...who the bleep do you think you call? I say: "I'm guessing anyone from your dad to 911 depending on how many there are and what they're doing. Jesus--just assess the situation and take care of it. Or keep calling responsible adults until you find one that can help you!"
And I hung up and went to my meeting. I text him that he needs to call Orkin and then let it go. I call his father a little later to be sure he isn't suffering death by wasps alone in our home. Turns out Mr. B has gone to work.
The irony of the situation? I call Q later and she starts with "I got this frantic call from your husband earlier. He needed to know what to do to get wasps out of the house..."
The wasps really freaked him out. Orkin came the next day and gased the invaders and the nest, which was apparently inside our kitchen ceiling. We're still dealing with stragglers trying to rebuild.
Apparently Mr. B thought the basement was too dirty for Orkin to see (no kidding, that was his reasoning) so he "cleaned" it. By breaking a lot of my stuff and donating some of it without permission. I'm still not okay with it and much screaming ensued.
Then when I got home I saw the real damage and there was more screaming. And then I tried to talk to him about how my work is now offering to pay for me to get a PhD--literally pay for it. And pay me regular salary in addition and accomodate my scheduling needs for school. Mr. B said I can't do it because I was "going to become a permanent student" and blah blah blah. We were both pretty pissy and yelly and angry.
Then we took a fifteen mminute breather, started over, and just packed our crap and went out to the camp site where Q and Munchkin and spouses were waiting. We had a lovely weekend of geocaching, s'mores, and freezing our chicklets off. The tight sleeping arrangements of our tent allowed me the perfect excuse to get an albeit amature form of revenge on my husband by breaking gas while we were forced to spoon.
Then we got home, watched some TV, fought a little more, went to bed, and woke up. Now I'm back at work and he's back in Pueblo and we're getting along fine and missing each other terribly. I'm exhausted and I have to plan Movie Night for tomorrow and my family is not making things easy.
Ociffer and Snow were having a rough time of it with Post Partum Depression--she kicked him out and basically absconded with his child for a couple of weeks only allowing him visitation. According to my mom they're "doing better now". God bless him, I hate to see my brother going through these situations. My sister is having some sort of issue now too that she won't tell me about, and my cousin had her baby--another August baby--a healthy little girl. And my grandmother wants to spend more time with me, which I feel guilty about because she lives literally on my same block and I have like no time. I'm setting something up with her for later this week.
Alula
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Present from my Cat
Today I was inside trying to do my final project when Count jumped up on the coffee table purring like a motor boat with something in his mouth. He dropped it in front of me and practically cocked an eyebrow and said "I'm so sexy I brought you a present and I didn't even eat it on the way!'
It was a caterpillar. This caterpillar. Fortunately, he wasn't even mashed--I picked him up and he started squirming, and I looked him over for wounds before giving Count a pat on the head and taking the Brave Little Caterpillar out front. I set him down in my garden to chrysalis and grow wings. He might be a moth or a butterfly--I'm not sure which--but it's always nice to have things living in the garden.
As some of you have already seen, my slacker productivity has gone into high gear again and we now have a private webpage to accompany our blog. If you are currently a contributor to this blog (i.e. Alula, Munchkin, Q, DoHP, and Fuzzy) have permissions to check it out here: The Virtual Nest.
Everyone has a private page to play with located off of the home page. Please feel free to customize your private pages however you want; please ask before doing anything with the main page because the RSS feed to the blog and the chat box were hard to figure out. Suggestion to Google: just give people full access to the HTML. It would make my life a lot easier.
Alula
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