Flying...

Well, as you can see by the date of this entry, the summer and part of the fall has gotten the better of me. I ended up taking some time off to spend with family and in doing so I didn't have as much down time at work. And then my home computer decided to go on hiatus forever and I have been stuck with using any computer available. Luckily I have one full-time now at work and I just sweet-talked my way into using my dad's laptop for a couple months until I can afford one for myself.
I got to spend the last week of July with family. Justin and Colleen came up from California and I had the chance to camp with them for a couple nights and drive to Salt Lake. Camping was an experience to say the least. It was with Colleen's family, so I had some of those third wheel (actually it was more like 15th wheel) feelings. All in all it got me out of work, even though it rained most of the trip. Nothing is worse than camping in the rain - the tap, tap, tap, on the top of the tent could drive any person to insanity.
The rest of the week was spent in Salt Lake. Swimming parties, lots of pictures (with lots of crying babies....), and family reunions. Granny went through the temple, and that was an amazing experience. I do have to say, spending a week with all my brothers can get a little overwhelming. I love them, but there are times that I miss my solitude and sanity.
August went by the fastest. I was working two jobs - the legal department and Southwest Center. When I got offered a chance to return to DCFS I jumped at it. I needed the money and knew it would count as an internship. So I quit both jobs and ended up with one full-time job. It has been a challenge, but I am getting back into the swing of things. More about that later...
So that's my catching up. I have more to share, but that will wait until another day.

John Deere

I finally finished (actually starting was a major accomplishment) my John Deere rag quilt. In the end it turned out perfect, but along the way I wasn't so sure I would finish. It was easy to find the original four fabrics, but then I wanted just one more to offset it. Well, that proved to be more of a problem than I realized. First, since I live in the bustling metropolis of St George, there are literally two fabric stores. Ok, there are several quilt stores, but their prices are so outrageous I get overwhelmed just walking in the door. So after scouring my local stores and coming up empty, the flannel just sat for over a month.
After letting it sit, I finally broke down and decided to start cutting out the squares. Well, any of you that have quilted or done any fabric piecing, know that just cutting out squares isn't all that easy. First off, I had to figure out how much fabric I had and what size to make the squares. After adding, subtracting, dividing, and using every possible math equation out there I figured it out. And I had to write it all down so I would know what the plan was - since I would more than likely forget and then get totally angry at redoing the millions of math equations.
On to cutting..... Actually this was probably the easiest step in the whole process. I had my billions of squares all stacked neatly, but I couldn't do anything more without that dang fifth flannel and the guts of the squares.
Finally after making a trip to Salt Lake - actually Bountiful is where the flannel was finally found - I got my fifth color. Then the drama came that it was cut exactly at 2 yards, when the other stuff had a nice little allowance added in. Suck, what to do now? I was 4 squares short and had no plans to return to Salt Lake for awhile. Crap, crap, crap!
Good thing I have some creativity in me and I figured out I could just add something different to the corners - and one of the 2 local stores hand some flannel that would work - bright green John Deere that looked like pant pockets (how cute is that?!)
Well, sewing yards and yards of flannel is a lot harder than I remember. Ok, I have never actually done it - I have sewn yards and yards of denim which is horrible, this is almost as bad. And my squares didn't totally match up, good thing I am not a perfectionist and don't really care enough to rip it out and start over.
I have to admit that the worst thing about the entire project is the clipping of the seams. Seriously, who thought this would be enjoyable?! I already have wrist problems, so the consistent clipping action didn't help the situation. And then when your clippers get so dull they won't even cut and you have to resort to using mega scissors, it would be easier to just give up. But no, I prevailed and finished the entire thing. Although the last two rows of clipping came at a high amount of pain and use of two hands to force the scissors to cut - not my most glorious of ideas.
All I can say is it is done and I don't plan on doing it again anytime soon. At least not until my arm regains movement and I become insane again and only remember the joy of a new blanket....

Parking Lot Police

Let me start this off by letting everyone know where I work. My glorious job as a legal secretary for the city has made all my dreams come true. I spend six hours a day sitting at a computer entering data about court cases. And these aren't just regular cases, they are minor traffic offenses and misdemeanors - serious stuff!
Well, after working at this glorious job for a couple months, I was told to start using the time clock. This may not seem like a big deal, but not only do I have to use the time clock, I still have to turn in a written time card every two weeks. Seems like a waste to me, but someone feels it is necessary - you know I can't be trusted to keep track of my working hours...
Since the time clock is on the opposite side of the building, I soon realized it was easier to park over there than to walk an extra thousand feet (ok, I really don't know distances, but it is clear across the parking lot). Well, the other morning after parking my car and clocking in, some random girl (seriously, I have been here 5 months and I have no idea who she is) told me to move my car. She stated that the front of the building is for "customers" only. I will admit that I did park in the front row of the building, but it was clear at the end and there are not enough visitors to this building anyway. So I moved my car about five feet to another spot, what a difference this will make to the entire city!
I don't think I need to state the fact that I am not a morning person. I HATE to get out of bed and I do not like to be talked to, talked at, or anything of the sort. It is a good thing my mother taught me to be nice or I would have laid into that random girl. I thought about bringing out my passive-aggressive self and park in the same spot the next morning, but I didn't.
Oh, and the random girl had the audacity to smile at me the next day as we passed in the hall. Sorry random girl, we are not friends and I still don't like you enough to acknowledge your existence.
Seriously, who cares about where I park? And why does the random girl think she can tell me to move? But I have learned at my fabulous job that there are lots of power and control hungry people in this city and it is best to just walk away.

Happy Valley line...

So, I had the glorious privilege of making another road trip this weekend. This time it was to head home for the baby blessing. There are several problems with driving home. First of all, it takes me a little over 4 hours - that by itself would make anyone shy away. Next, gas is so dang expensive these days that it is almost too expensive to drive the 300 miles home. I seriously debated about flying home, but then remembered my lack of finances to buy a ticket. I luckily had just enough to buy gas up and back. But things worked out as usual and my mother was kind enough to give me some much needed cash.
And the worst possible thing about driving home is the Happy Valley line. I am still unclear as to why the second you pass into Happy Valley the highway is bombarded with cars that seem to drive like maniacs. It doesn't matter what time of day or what season, these drivers are psychotic. As I have cruised along at 80 miles an hour, for three hours, I hit the Happy Valley line and seem to be the slowest car on the road. Then to top it off, there always seems to be something going on to make the traffic slow down. I still have not discovered what everyone is slowing down for, there is never an accident, rain, snow, or cops, just slowing down without a reason. Now, if there was a way to avoid the Happy Valley all together I would, but there isn't. All I can do is curse my way through and end up back on the normal side of the hill.

Where the heck is Boulder?

Well, I spent the long weekend at my granny's house in Boulder, UT. It is nice to visit, but reality seems to hit whenever I am there. With the limited options - no store, no theaters, not even a video rental store - you are forced to entertain yourself. The good news is that I got caught up on some reading I have been wanting to do, but seem to fall asleep before making any headway. And most importantly I got to hang out with my niece, Stinky Pete. She truly is the love of my life and no matter what we are doing we have fun.
Except maybe for fishing. Who ever said fishing was fun is totally delusional! Seriously! On and off for about two hours Stinky Pete and I fished and never caught a thing. Not even a nibble - even after we took the pains to dig up worms. Although I do have to admit I didn't really dig any up, and when Stinky Pete asked me why I wasn't helping I told her I was a girl and girl's don't dig up worms. She was a little taken back and so nicely responded that she is a girl and she was doing it. I guess that put me in my place.... Oh, and that fish she is holding she didn't catch, her dad did. I don't know for sure what he said to the worms or fish, but they sure seemed to like him.

My new nephew was along on the trip as well, but since he is only a month old, he isn't quite the barrel of laughs Stinky Pete can be. He is fun to watch though, especially when making those faces - and he seems to enjoy sleeping with his arms above his head. What is up with that?!