So Sleepy

Well, a billion things have happened since my last post.
1) The dryer set the fire alarm off
2) The washer leaked all over the carpet
3) Henry fixed above problems
4) We got a dog! Her name is Kit-Kat. She is great and super low maintinance (behavior wise... physically speaking, she sheds like no dog I have ever seen) and cute and snuggly. Everything you could want in a 20lb package.
5) I got a part time job in the plant pathology lab sifting nematodes! They needed help and I had the time. Probably the most random two week job I have ever and will ever participate in.
6-999,999,999) Eat, breathe, heart beat, sleep, etc.
1,000,000,000) The doctor doubled up my beta blockers yesterday so I'm super sleepy. It took me two weeks to get used to the last dose so I anticipate an equally long period of adjustment. Yay for fewer headaches though. I'll take a nap over a migraine any day. (Being so sleepy does complicate things though... like productivity.)

Fantastic

So many great things are about to happen!

1) I get a house-mate this weekend! Maybe now the living room will look like real people live in it! (Obviously there are more great things to come from this co-dwelling-- like someone else to live in the living room with!)

2) Summer projects are getting the momentum they need to get over the mid-summer slump and start possibly-maybe-kind-of wrapping up!

3) Next Friday I get to eat at my favorite place in the whole wide world with my Grandaddy!

4) Next Friday I am also getting a camera! Its just a little point and shoot, but I'm super excited.

5) Last, but not least by any means -- drum roll-- dramatic pause ----- I might be picking up our new dog Next Saturday!!

This is too funny not to share

Please go read Hyperbole and a Half's latest blog entry about dogs. It will brighten your day- maybe even your week.

The Move

WE ARE FINALLY IN THE NEW APARTMENT!

The move was epic. First, we found a great deal on new desks. (The mega-desk sharing was not going well... Henry took over the whole office most of the year.) We found them on Craig's list. At first, they looked really sketch. They resembled dorm desks, so we hypothesized that someone had pinched them from the University and were trying to make a profit. We called the lister to see what the story was. Lucky for us, they were not black market dorm desks but rather old sorority desks from the tri-delta house! They are solid wood (no particle board here) and super sturdy. What a great find! As if gaining that story wasn't enough, we can now tell future generations that we once moved all our possessions in walmart bags (plastic and fabric) and three rubbermaid tubs and a few laundry baskets. It took multiple multiple trips, but it felt good to stick it to over-priced cardboard moving boxes. The smaller bags also meant we were less likely to hurt ourselves carrying overstuffed boxes. All in all, I'd say it was pretty convenient. (Disclaimer: we had a u-haul for our furniture. The couch was not going in the car.)

We are entirely out of Aiken Village and mostly settled in the new apartment. I have already used the dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, and ice maker. Oh how I took these things for granted.

Picky Pickle Picker

This blog actually has something to do with married life! Problem one: I never have the guts to tell someone I don't like their food. At least not right away. I took peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to school for years in elementary school. I didn't tell my mom I didn't like peanut butter until I was 19 or 20. Some of you may be scratching your head right now and saying "But Sarah, you eat a PB&J every day!" This is true, but I use a very small amount of a very specific peanut butter-- and it mostly serves as an adhesive for flax seeds. Anywho, this tendency of mine brings me to problem number two: My Mother in law likes to cook... and my Step-Mother in law too... strange things. Everyone loves their cooking. Henry's mom makes an epic meatloaf that everyone raves about... Henry's step-mom went to culinary school and loves using her knowledge... I can't handle regular peanut butter. This brings us to problem number three: pickles. I love Valasic bread and butter pickles. I could eat a whole jar of those particular pickles. And gherkin pickles. My mother in law jars her own pickles from her garden. She sent us home with several jars. Oh no. It's meat loaf all over again. It took me 4+ years to tell her I don't like her meatloaf. Any one want any pickles?

Mrs. Dale, if you read this... I'm sorry I am a picky pickle picker and a meatloaf hater. I promise I am in the minority and probably have broken taste buds.

Father's Day

My family does not do weekends like the rest of the world. This particular weekend spanned Sunday through Tuesday. It was fantastic. We went to Hardy with the ambitious plan to both canoe and tube, but ended up opting for a four mile tube run and no canoe. Best. Decision. Ever. Floating for four miles in a cool river on a Monday was super relaxing. We were the only ones on the river all day. P.S., the chaco's performed amazingly well. The rest of the family were in flip flops which were no match for the slippery riverbed (My step mom's broke two steps in). Chaco's for the win.

The trip down the river was amazing (cool but not cold AND a rope swing-- couldn't have been better) but the sleeping arrangements were the opposite. The cabin was a little awkward; only one room with a full sized bed, a twin day bed, and a pull out couch. I convinced myself that it would be neat for the whole family to sleep together-- for two nights anyway. The awkwardness was replaced with discomfort by bed time. The pull out couch Henry and I were going to sleep on was worthless. It was so painful we decided to sleep on the floor. To our benefit, there is an "oldest get the mattress" rule in our family. We kicked my little sister off the twin bed and moved her to the floor. After a few hours of Henry and I in a twin bed, I also moved the the floor. My little sisters may not have known it, but they had the best sleeping spot in the cabin.

After lunch/dinner, we went to visit the spring that feeds Spring River. When I was little little, my family camped a lot (from what I gather from pictures anyway) and Hardy was a place we frequented. Mammoth spring does not look all that impressive-- it's a lake with some eddies-- but that joker pumps out 9 million gallons of water an hour at a cool 58 degrees year round. I put my feet in it-- my toes went numb in two seconds. The water is also amazingly clear. This observation prompted me to ask my dad if it was drinkable. His response was yes, while my step mom's was no. Well, I weighed my options and decided that I would regret not taking the opportunity to have a sip of water straight from a cold mountain spring. Thus, I decided to have a sip. Two seconds later we found a plaque that informed us that although the water looks clear and clean, it isn't. Don't drink it. I still have no regrets.

The trip home was also fun. We visited Henry's mom, step dad, and grandmother and had lunch at Olive Garden. Yummm. After lunch, Henry took the car to have an oil change and left me at the mall. : ))))))) I love bargain hunting. Before we left town, Henry's mom sent us with food from the garden, a cake, and the top of our wedding cake. I can't believe it has almost been a year!

In other news, we move next Thursday!!! I. Can't. Wait.

In other other news, Henry's mom also sent us home with a dog kennel... I'm getting excited. Henry wants to wait until our school things are sorted out, but I'm being pretty impatient. : )

This is a blog written out of rage. Lots of rage.

A facebook friend of mine posted this video today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3_23PFnTZ8 For those of you who don't have time to listen, it is a sound clip of Richard C. Hoagland on Coast to Coast warning cities near the gulf of the sure doom and destruction to be brought forth by the bursting of a 22 mile wide gas bubble under the ocean. Thats serious news, or as some would say, breaking news. Since this was the first we had heard of said potential catastrophe, Henry asked me to pull up the wiki page on Mr. Hoagland. As it turns out, Mr. Hoagland has many many ideas on many many things. For instance, he believes that the Obama administration will soon release information pertaining to the discovery of life on Mars. He also posits that we are in the middle of an interplanetary war occurring in Earth's orbit. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_C._Hoagland Plug that link into your browser for more of his outrageous assertions (like semi-transparent structures all over the moon which we have never heard reported because all of the astronauts have been hypnotized to forget). Henry and I had a good laugh and then decided to ease this persons mind by sharing our research. This is what we decided to say: "I dont think this is anything to worry about. I was nervous, but then I looked him up. He believes the Obama administration will soon release information about life on mars. He also believes we are in the middle of an interplanetary war within Earth's orbit. No other news agency seems to be reporting this bubble." We also included a link to his wiki. It seemed tactful and friendly -- we were commenting to ease her mind and the minds of others who visit her facebook. No breaking news. The gulf is full of oil, but not about to violently erupt and take out the whole coast. Good news right? Wrong. This is the response we got: You can't invalidate something because Fox News and CNN don't run it. Um.... What????? This wasn't a political argument. The right wing didn't report it, sure, but neither did the left! ALIENS! INTERPLANETARY WARS! HE THINKS HUMANS ARE THE DESCENDANTS OF BEINGS HAVING LIVED ON MARS! HE HAS ZERO, ZILTCH, NO SCIENTIFIC CREDIBILITY. This was not a political argument. I am getting pretty frustrated that every issue must be argued as if political affiliation changes fact. I probably should not get started on global warming, but I think I will touch on it a bit. The data on climate change does not care if you are a Democrat or a Republican. Holding allegiance to one party or the other is not going to rebuild the ozone layer. Let the Geologists be your source of information- you know, the people with the degree and credentials.

Aug, I was really put off by this "friend" for being so defensive. Henry and I both tried very hard to write a comment that was not politically charged or pride wounding. I hope she takes the time to research his claims.

I chose to blog instead of comment back. It would have been ugly. I did type it though, for my own benefit. This is kind of how it went: WHAT??? DID YOU MISS THE ALIENS??? THE INTERPLANETARY WAR??? THIS COMMENT WAS NOT MOTIVATED BY POLITICAL AFFILIATION!!! DID YOU EVEN CHECK THAT LINK??? REALLY??????

Anyway. If you see someone freaking out about a gas bubble exploding, maybe you can find the right words to not get your head bitten off. Maybe this quote from a comment on the video will help: "He is nuttier than a fruitcake!"

I think I might de-friend this person. Clearly she does not know me.