A Photo is worth a Thousand Words

My sister's roommate has a scanner, so she took some pictures home from Christmas to upload. I really enjoyed seeing the old photos. The other thing we did over Christmas was watch old home videos. Ok, honestly, my younger sisters are so cute on those videos, and it is just torture to see myself at that awkward gawky age. But since I have learned how to finally post pictures to my blog, and since my mother said my blog was boring because it was only words, here are some pictures from me:

Lilly was born in January, 2006 and she came to the superbowl party we had that February at just a few weeks old.  My mom had gone to visit her parents because my grandpa had a heart attack and bypass surgery, so it was just Dad holding down the fort.  Here he is rocking Lilly.

Ok, well, I got tired of waiting for another photo to load.  So that is all you get for now.

Coloring outside the lines

This week has been the first week back to work from Christmas vacation. I wasn't excited to go back to work, I could have used another week off. But on Thursday a coworker said, Welcome back. It feels like you are finally present. And I made a face as I sat and thought about that, and he said, well, you just weren't here in November and December, and now it seems like you are. So this made me think of Hitch where he says to be in the room, be present, because women respond to that, and that daydreaming happens on your own time. But I can't remember the exact quote. It also made me think of a movie quote, "I'm back, baby", but I can't remember what movie that is. I am concerned that this is proof I am getting old. Next thing you know, I won't be able to remember where I put my keys.

In other news, apparently I don't advertise my blog very well. I had assumed a friend knew about it, because I posted tributes and thought she would read them. My bad. But it has been fun reading comments to things I posted a couple months ago :) The perk of this new discovery is that I finally learned how to put pictures on my blog. Wuhoo!

Finally the big event this week is my new roommate moved in. So I will skip all of the usual caveats of how happy I am about this, what a great person she is, blah blah blah, and move right into the pain. There is adjustment when any two people try to occupy the same 1800 square feet. The last time I had a roommate of any kind, I didn't own anything. I was in college, or newly married. So combining households wasn't a big deal because there was nothing to combine :) In my current situation "I've got gadget and gizmos aplenty" (Little Mermaid). My new roommate is the same age as I am, so she also has a complete set of stuff. If we were family, we would have to decide whose blender stayed and whose blender got tossed, because it just doesn't make sense to have two blenders. But since we will eventually not live together, we keep the two blenders. I am excited about the two vacuum cleaners because I hate hauling mine up and down stairs. :) As her friends were helping bring stuff in, they commented on how great this place is. Which makes me feel good, I really do like my cute townhouse. But now my living room is full of boxes, my kitchen is full of boxes, the hallways are full of boxes, and I had to dig out my favorite chair so that I could sit here and blog. I know, moving is a pain. Having to box up all your stuff, to haul it to a new place and just unbox it again isn't fun. But I will say I think it is easier if all the people in the house move in at the same time, because then you are all stuck in the "box" stage together. This is also good practice for me to not be bossy. When I went to visit my sister, (I think I might have previously blogged about this), but I rearranged her furniture. She asked my opinion, and instead of saying, if you are happy, that is great, I shared my actual opinion. And then suggested how to rearrange the furniture to be better. Now granted, she says the furniture is great now, but it was pretty bossy of me to do that. So I am practicing not being bossy. My roommate was asking where to put stuff in the kitchen. So I showed her the empty cabinets and shelves, and said you can put stuff here, and if this isn't the right size for your items, let me know and I can move some of my stuff. The result was that stuff in the kitchen hasn't really gotten put away, but I am letting it happen on her time. Can you tell I am really holding back? It is easier to live alone. At the end of my christmas vacation, I was sitting in my chair, enjoying the solitude of my house. But people say growth happens when you step outside your comfort zone and learn to do something new and different. Here goes!

Out with the old, in with the new

My internet decided to flake out the week before Christmas. Because of the holidays, I couldn't get it fixed until today. I think this was a blessing in disguise to reduce the chance of work needing me for two weeks. But it does mean I haven't posted for a while.

Holiday Recap
1. Sleeping in on Christmas morning. I really enjoy the fact that now my siblings are all old enough to not want to get up at 4 am, and there are no grandchildren to get up that early. It is so wonderful to sleep in til 8 am :)
2. Duke Chapel and an outdoor nativity.
3. Mom slaving away to make pies and turkey and tons of goodies so that I essentially spent the last two weeks eating every 5 minutes! The food was awesome, but I am glad to be back home to an empty kitchen and a bike to ride
4. The Beach. Wow! The house my mom rented was B-Awesome (if you haven't seen Bolt, see it!) The weather was typical gorgeous NC winter weather, 70 and sunny some of the time. It was a great couple of days.
5. My sisters coming home. I got to hang out with my sisters a couple of times which is a lot of fun. Especially Thai food, Panera, the car ride to the beach, and shopping.

So Long 2008
Weren't we just welcoming in the new millenium? Where has the time gone? When I was in school I used to think things began with the school year, so New Years didn't make much sense to me because it was in the middle. But now that I have been done with school for a while, New Years has become the beginning. At work this is especially true in our appraisals and project schedules. And since I have to recap my year for work, and set new goals for 2009, I thought I would copy Ryan Seacrest. Here is my top 10 list for the great things of 2008:

1. Chicago with my sisters
2. Skiing for the very first time
3. Fourth of July in Boone visiting Emily
4. Two weekends in Missouri to visit Emily
5. Nauvoo with G&G Reid
6. Dinners in Chapel Hill with Jamie
7. Charleston research trip
8. Wicked
9. Sunday dinner with my family
10. Movies, Restaurants, Redbox, So You Think You Can Dance
(11. Got promoted at work.... almost forgot about that :) )

Hello, 2009!

I couldn't help but feel as I rang in the new year that this year is my year. I have always been a big believer in "milestone" birthdays, so maybe I feel this way because I turn 30 this year. Most of my New Years resolutions are fairly typical, but I don't want to embarrass myself by listing them out in case I don't get into a regular exercise routine.... oops :)

I am excited to have a roommate moving in this year. It has motivated me to clear out cabinets and closets and throw away useless stuff (as I think I already blogged about). Today I finished painting the bathroom, so I am finally completely ready for someone else to occupy the house with me..... well........ ok, not quite ready. I am savoring my last few days alone in my house, the peace and silence around me, my comfy chairs all my own, all the space being mine. If you have never lived alone, you probably think I am crazy, but McCauley Culkin had it right when he said, "When I grow up and get married, I'm living alone" (Home Alone). Also, I have not yet taken down the Christmas decorations. Taking down Christmas decorations is the last stand, the final straw that indicates you have to go back to work and real life. The vacation is over. I am not ready for it to be over. I guess that is the sign of a great vacation, when you want it to continue and you aren't quite ready to get back to real life.

I am excited about the vacations that are shaping up for 2009....... It is way fun to be an adult, and have adult sisters who also have jobs so that we can go to fun places :)

As for the rest of 2009..... I cannot say what will happen. Does anyone have a list of things they wanted to accomplish by the time they were 30? If I ever had one, I don't anymore. But I am sure this year will turn out to be different than I could have ever imagined.

Now that's kicking it old school

My dad is a practical man. His idea of a gift is one that he needs, and not just another something to clutter up the house. This year he emphasized this point to us, and told us to really only get him what he needs. So I asked him what he needed. He said a Honda Civic. I wish I had been witty enough to say, Dad, with the economy the way it is, I am scaling back on christmas. But I wasn't, so I just asked him for another idea. Since he told me what to get him, and I told him I was getting it so he better not order it, I do not feel like I am spoiling the surprise by sharing it with you. He wanted a ham radio. A couple of years ago he took the training class so that in the event of an emergency, he could operate the radios and make sure everyone in the Ward/Stake was ok. But he hasn't had his own radio to practice on. So I asked the Emergency Preparedness person what kind to order and how to get one. So she sent me back the info on the exact model number, and several websites. I did all of my christmas shopping online this year, and it involved going to a website, browsing the catalog, selecting the item, and checking out by filling out payment information and shipping information. Voila! With free shipping, my items arrived in a tower of boxes at my house without me having to venture out to a mall. I was thinking, great, I can just order the ham radio from the comfort of my living room, and have it arrive for Christmas. I went to several websites. They were impossible to search! There was no catalog with pictures, no google search engine, nothing. Finally I found the radios. I tried to check out. There is no check out mechanism! You have to call! Calling!??!?! What is this? So I found a website that did have a check out mechanism, but they only allow you to use PayPal. Well, so far I have avoided ever having a paypal account, and after I figured out the requirements, I have decided to continue my stance against PayPal. So I went back to the site with the phone number. What?! No Voicemail? They don't have workers answering the phone around the clock? So I waited......... I called back, and the man answered the phone and said Can I put you on hold? I said yes, and he said Darn, where is the hold button? So while I was on hold, I could hear what was going on :) So then he comes back and takes my order over the phone. I have no idea if the ham radio will really arrive here, because what if he writes down my address incorrectly? So I am praying that the ham radio does show up on my porch before Christmas.....

It's that time of year

when the world falls in love
every song you hear
seems to say
Merry Christmas
May your new years dreams come true!
And this song of mine
In 3 quarter time
wishes you and yours
the same thing too
-- The Carpenters

When I was growing up, there was a lady in our ward who threw annual Christmas parties, with tons of food, and even Santa Claus showing up! Her house was always gorgeously decorated. It was one of my dreams when I grew up to do the same thing. For the past 5 years I have held a Christmas party which is a great excuse to decorate and eat good food.
When I first started this tradition, I loved getting a fresh tree. They smell so wonderful! A couple of years ago I bought a fake tree because it was a challenge to get a real tree up the stairs. Imagine the scene from While You Were Sleeping: I should have gone with the blue spruce they are lighter! The fake tree comes in pieces which are easy to move up and down the stairs. But it doesn't smell the same. To solve this problem, I got a can of "tree" scent, and attempted to spray it on my tree. It was overpowering! I almost passed out! I had to open my sliding doors in December and turn on the fan to kill the smell! Ok, so it is North Carolina and it was 70 degrees that day, so it wasn't a big deal to open the doors...... but still :) So much for a tree scent......
My mom always let us children decorate the tree with our very own ornaments. Every year we would get a new one, and so our collection grew. When I moved out, I got to take all my ornaments with me. But by that time, my mom had her own collection of really nice ornaments. I am talking about the pretty gold ones from the White House. Also, other nice commemorative ornaments from vacation destinations. So my mom started doing a "theme" tree, which was covered with her beautiful ornaments, and flowers, and coordinating ball ornaments. So in true fashion, I copy my mom now. I have a theme tree that has my pretty ornaments, with white snow flakes my grandmother crocheted for me, and red balls and roses. It is gorgeous.
My grandparents always had a train going around the bottom of their tree. I don't think we ever went to their house when we were kids, but I did go one time as an adult, and the train was a very cool feature of the tree. So this year is the first year I have a train under my tree. It has some flat cars with presents on top, and I built a tunnel out of the other presents for the train to go through.
As I came home last night, I realized that I am missing something. A huge Grinch inflatable decoration to sit on my front lawn! My neighbors have one, and it is quite the sight. I am going to use it in my directions, "Just pull in where you see the big Grinch" :) Maybe this year I will go out to the after Christmas sales and get some outdoor decorations......

The Color of Water

The color of water is changing in my office. For years it has been free, dispensed in two brands of bottles from vending machines. The brands will remain nameless since I do not have any sponsorships, but the water was clear, pure, and refreshing in these bottles. At any moment of the workday, you could have fresh spring water to facilitate the creative mind of a software engineer. Also, there were free sodas. I am not a big soda drinker, so this was always of minor consequence, but I am sure my coworkers loved the free soda cans. But the company has decided to change the color of water into a non-free shade. In the memo that accompanied this announcement, the company said, naturally this will help us save money. So apparently the shade of water is now slightly green with the greenbacks the company will save by not providing water. Part of me wonders if I get dehydrated on the job, can I sue for workers comp? Probably not.... they will contend that I could have purchased water to avoid dehydration. But we all know what this really means. It really means that I will bring a nalgene bottle from home filled with my own water, and drag it around to conference rooms, and hope that I don't accidentally leave it somewhere. And now that we have started down this slippery slope, I can see a future time where I get dressed for work in cargo pants, with my nalgene bottle attached via a carabiner, my laptop strapped to my back with bungee cords and a sleeping bag rolled tight underneath, my mess kit and utensils stashed in another pocket, and my boots prepared to handle any customer situation that comes up.

To be honest, this is simply a sign of a failing economy. When the economy was going through the tech boom in the late 1990's, companies offered perks like free drinks, snacks, and foosball machines, to attract talent. When the bubble burst, companies went out of business or scaled back. The free drinks were the last hold out from the fantastic perk era, and now that we are back in a recession, they are finally saying good-bye.

(The Color of Water is a memoir that has nothing to do with free water in the workplace).

I'm leaving on a jet plane

Once upon a time in a factory far far away, a plastic mold was cast and filled with electronic pieces. As the components were finally all connected, it suddenly was transformed into a computer. The computer was told to report to the assignment office. With some trepidation, the computer went to the assignment office. The computer was given an assignment to go to Florida to become a proof of concept with some new and exciting software. However, before going to Florida, the computer must first go to a lab to get the new and exciting software. The computer was thrilled. To be a proof of concept is one of the highest assignments, second only to being a production server! Several people began working on loading the software onto the computer in preparation for Florida. This was a very long and tedious process, and as time passed, the people realized that it wouldn't be done in time to put the computer onto a truck to be sent to Florida. The computer was so excited! The people were talking about buying the computer a plane ticket to fly to Florida. The computer had always wanted to try those in flight peanuts. The people drove the computer to the airport and bought the computer a one way ticket to Florida. They made sure the flight attendants would pay attention to the computer and ensure the computer was secure on the flight. Then the computer had to go through security alone because the people didn't have tickets to pass through security. Around on the conveyor belts went the computer. Sitting in a chair waiting for the flight to board was really long and tedious, and the computer didn't have any e-books loaded. Finally the flight attendant called the computer's row, and got the computer all buckled in and safe. The flight attendant had some coloring books that were used with other young travelers, but the computer didn't have the right external ports to upload the images. There were other people waiting for the computer when the plane landed, and finally, the computer was set up as the proof of concept, and had fulfilled the assignment.