My mummy is here!

Hurray for moms!  Hurray for my mom getting an early start on the Christmas holidays!  Hurray for my mom getting an early start on the Christmas holidays and spending the night at my house instead of at my brother's which she usually does because he's got kids and she's a sucker for time with grandkids!  Hurray for me this time! :)

Merry Christmas everyone!

on carrots

I think that I shall never see
anything, carrot, more loverly
you sing unto my very soul
I do not need to take a poll.

You are very tasty to me
I smack my lips to think of thee
When I eat lunch you're close nearby
and never fail to catch my eye.

Yes carrot I adore thy taste
and never let you go to waste.
I think that thou shalt ever be
the bestest kind of all veggie.

What are you giving to Jesus this year?

For my primary, the answers include:
* saying my prayers
* serving food
* beeing happy on Jesuse's birthday (her spelling, not mine)
* a dog
* some scribbles (3 year old :)
* my telephone number

Thought that last one really put the list over the top!  Happy Christmas mood everyone!

changed my background

Here's some awesome art by my niece, McKenzie.  Love the flower ears and the multicolored face!  Stay tuned for more!

worn out

I feel, as did Bilbo, stretched out, worn thin.  I've overextended myself and it's time to force myself to take some time off of my various extra curricular activities and focus on only what I can't avoid (eating, sleeping, working).  I hope to be refreshed soon.

Trains are awesome!

I wish I could ride trains forever.

That's all.

For now, bwa ha ha ha!

I have a problem

So, I REALLY want people to discover my blog by themselves.  I don't want to be that person who says, "HEY!  I just started a blog!  You should go read it every day!"  At the same time, every time I talk to someone, I feel like saying, , "HEY!  I just started a blog!  You should go read it every day!"  And it doesn't help that I don't have any comments yet.  I know, I know, I need to be patient, grasshopper.  Someday someone will find it.  In the meantime, I can use the anonymity to give my real thoughts about ants, pumpkins, the color teal, and nieces.  Stay tuned!

TV Land and me

I just wasted a WHOLE day watching TV Land.  Ehhh, i would feel guilty, but how often do you get a whole day of Bewitched, The Nanny, I Dream of Jeannie, and The Andy Griffith Show?

Grandiloquence

Grandiloquence, as far as I know in my humble vocabulary, means to be pompous.  You can say, "There goes a grandiloquent looking elderly person."  Or, "Slap me silly if that don't be a grandiloquent rose bush."  Or, "I could say he's a sesquipedalian, but that's just a grandiloquent way of saying he likes long words." 

Hmm, I just looked up sesquipedalian to make sure I spelled it right, and I learned that its origin is sesquipedalis, which means something measuring a foot and a half.  Ha Ha!  So someone who likes to use long words is someone who uses words a foot and a half long.  Perfect!

Elephants

Elephants are known to be cuddly.  They are a nice warm heat source when you're traveling for long periods of time and you don't have enough blankets at night.  Just cuddle up next to one.  Be careful not to get an elephant that tosses and turns, though.  Problems.

Monkey see, monkey doo-doo

Today was my first official tagalong as an investigator.  We went to a hair salon.  I won't talk much about the hygiene of the place except to say it's a wonder people don't leave there with lice.  and bed bugs.

Then we went to the second place for the day.  The difference was night and day.  It was a gift shop, and it smelled perty.  Looked perty good too.  I wouldn't say I'd eat off the floors, but it sure had 100% of my vote for cleanliness, plus some extra shares lost by the other place.

Isn't it interesting (or obvious) that the owners' personalities, cleanliness, payroll, relationship with the employees, and record keeping abilities are all tied together?  When you find goodness in one, you'll usually find goodness in all.  Unless it's that sickly sweet "goodness" of hospital cleansers used to mask unpleasantness.  But usually I can see the difference and be able to remark, "Something's rotten in Denmark."  Or Utah.

First case today

Did you Fall for it?  Come on people!  Like I'd actually write opinions about employers we actually visited, much less comment on their payroll or record keeping for the whole world (or my nonexistent fanbase, anyway) to see!  Remember, this is a creative writing outlet, and half or more of the posts are not going to be true.

Stay with me folks. [and by folks I mean all the voices in my head, since there's obviously no one reading this, yet or ever as the future will show]

Then again, perhaps it won't be very good to pretend I'm writing about my cases.  Could actually get me in trouble at work...  Methinks I'll take my creative juices to other topics.  Perhaps elephants.  and grandiloquence.  And radixes.  and carrots.  and bridges.

Hannah Montana

So shall I admit that I like the show?  Sweet niblets!  My secret is out!

Sometimes it's just way too slapstick, but often there's a really major gem of comedy.  Especially from Jackson. :)

what to talk about today?

I feel so accomplished:  cleaned my whole house and made apple butter and a ham/mashed potato/green bean/yam dinner that was super yummy, from scratch, started a puzzle, went on a walk, sorted some things for donation, talked to friends on the phone, worked on an afghan, organized my craft room, finished a book, and roared (I am woman. . . get it?) ;)

Your humble servant, KR

no apologies

Wow, has it really been 4 days since my last post?  I'd say sorry, but it seems inevitable that you have to read posts where people say they're sorry that people had to wait so long.  I do not join the crowd!  I will not jump on the bandwagon!  I will not say sorry!  You'll get posts when I'm good and ready to give them, and you'll like it!

Day one: take two

Actually, I spent the whole day doing paperwork and moving my stuff to my new desk.  Nothing exciting whatsoever.

Although I did find a few month-old packets of sugar.

Reporting in

So, for my first day on the job, I was sent on my own to start a cold call case.  The manager was super mean, and didn't want to cooperate at all.  He even questioned my authority.  I looked at his payroll and he wasn't paying minimum wage.  When questioned, he "didn't know what I was talking about."  He refused to talk about restitution to his employees.  What a horrid way to start as an investigator!

Primary program

We had our primary program today in church.  Being 2nd counselor, of course I was in attendance and participating.  It was pretty good, even though we only had 9 kids. (actually that's something of a miracle since we've been running with 5-7 children on any given Sunday.)  The kids were mostly good.  A couple of nose picks, but that's just par for the course. :)

when nature calls

It's raining outside.  Raining cats and dogs.  And gerbils.  And I think I saw a minx scamper away at one point.  It's the official turning of the seasons.  I think I'll need to turn on my heat today.  How nice it is to have heat that comes at the touch of a button with no messy ashes or smoke to worry about.  Sometimes I think it's too nice and we've all become spoiled "rich" kids with luxuries that we think are necessities or part of our inalienable rights.  Like running water.  Air conditioning.  Plumbing.  Sunglasses.  Cars that run on demand.  Lights that turn on with a switch.  Stoves and ovens that stay a constant temperature.  Ready-made clothes.  Sewing machines.  Plastic anything.  High-speed Internet.  Lawnmowers.  Lawns.  Sprinkler systems.  1000 square feet all for just one person, affordable on one person's salary.  Vacuums.  Television.  Huge supermarkets. Office jobs.  Heat.

All of that could go away again and we'd still be human.  So why should we feel destitute if we lost it?  Why does it define who many of us are?  Why do we take it for granted instead of rejoicing in the fabulous gifts we've been given?  What makes us so special that we get it and others don't?

Or am I just spouting something no one really cares about and should I get off my soapbox?

Another Sunday, another post

So yesterday was quite a busy day.  I didn't even get to sew anything!  I went for a long walk in the rain, which makes every color more vibrant, every sound a little more musical.  Then I made some chicken soup, banana bread, and dried apples, yum!  After that, I headed out for some shopping.  Found a nice shirt but mostly I was bummed that I wasn't going to fit into the things that I really liked (but that's okay, because I'm working on it and found a good plan that seems to be helping, more on that later).  Went to the Warren Miller ski movie, for which we had great seats, enjoyed the show, but sadly didn't win any of the prizes.  So I got everything on my list done.  Oh, and just for good measure, I pierced my ears for the first time!  It's weird to me, I am not used to it yet.  But I can't wait to start making myself some ravishing earrings to wear!  I think I'll start now. :) Happy thought

laying in bed posting

I am content here.  Why start the day?  can't I just lie here this whole day, soaking up some Zs?  No?  Okay, at least I have some fun things planned.  A walk, some fun cooking, shopping, and the annual  Warren Miller ski movie.  Should be good.  Time to get up!

Posting by email

I can post from anywhere as long as I can get to an email account.  Groovy. :)  On a side note, I'm going shopping today to get a new outfit for my first day on the job on Monday.  Got to look the part!

I now have "Older Posts"

You know, where you have to go to a previous page to see more posts. That thing I didn't have until now... Yeah, that thing. I now have it.

It's official, I'm on a roll. :) (Help, I'm on a roll!)

My Book Report

Today I started a book. It will be called "How to Have a Fabulous Life." It's about a 16 year old girl named Fiana, living in Italy, who can't wait to grow up and have a fashion line that will rival all the big names from the 50s, like Coco Chanel. She pores over magazines and is constantly begging her mom to give her more materials so she could be making more original, fabulous clothes. That way, her wardrobe would be fully stocked so she doesn't have to wear her clothes more than once (she'd heard once that that's the epitome of fashion and snobbery, which meant of course that it immediately became her ideal) before auctioning them off, where it would raise millions of dollars for her fashion line and for her charities. She's already decided that her first charity would be for farm workers, especially at cotton farms, and second to prevent sweat shops, and third to save the whales.

It's gonna be a best seller. Pre-order now, folks!

more ado about trains

Here's an interesting little tidbit that you might have read in an email chain. If so, you can stop reading now. If not, read on!

The Romans decided they didn't like their road/carriage system. So they revamped it, and standardized everything. They said the wagons needed to be such and such wide, so they all landed the same place on the road, so they wouldn't fall into and out of ruts, they'd just all stay in the same tracks. That was such a good idea (and everyone needed to business with the Romans, aka world dominators) so everyone else copied them, and the width for wagons was almost universally the same worldwide for hundreds of years. then came the car and since it had to fit on the same roads as the horse pulled wagons, it was made to nearly the same specifications. As horses went out and cars came in, the roads stayed the same to accommodate the cars. Buses and trucks were built to fit into the road lanes as well. Trains were made to accommodate wagon beds, and later truck loads, so the train too was standardized based on the Roman ideal.

Isn't it funny that our whole transportation infrastructure hasn't changed all that much, at least in dimensions, since the Romans? An interesting thought, especially when contemplating the far-reaching effects of our actions.

Trains are awesome!

About to purchase my second overnight train tickets, and I'm super stoked. I love train rides. The nostalgia, the countryside, the quiet life. Love it!

Sunday morning reflections

Today I have my 9 year old niece with me. She has spent the weekend, and got to choose all the activities. So, we have made a skirt, finger painted twice, baked zucchini and banana bread, had a sandwich from Subway, went on a two hour walk/play in the playground/geocacheing expedition, eaten out on the porch, made spaghetti from scratch, done a ton of cartwheels and roundoffs (sorry downstairs neighbors!), talked incessantly unless asleep or eating, frozen some cantalope (she liked, I didn't as much), played the Wii (bowling, tennis, and golfing), made mango/strawberry/cantalope smoothies, watched Hannah Montana, Sonny with a Chance, Suite Life on Deck, Kim Possible, Honey I Blew Up the Kid, went shopping, tickled each other a lot, played ABCs with the cereal boxes, made toast twice, and all around had a ton of fun. I'm stocked up for months now, but I'm guessing this is just a normal energetic weekend for her. :) Love her! She is so sweet and excited about everything around her. I wish I could bottle it up for when I don't have any Milk of Christian Kindness.

What really happened....

I got up late, ran through the shower, couldn't find anything to wear, then was even later so had to drive in, no Trax for me today.

At work, accomplished some things, but still didn't feel like it was enough.

Back home again, did 3 loads of laundry, washer only, no dryer. Set up the clothes to dry. Watched some Doctor Who while I cut out a few blocks.

Falling asleep as I write.

It was a good day, wasn't it?!

My Day: a report

Today I got up at 4 am and finished a quilt before work. Modest as I am, it's still nice to feel the accomplishment of a job well done.

At work, I did two whole cases start to finish. I found $40,000 due for 20 employees, all of whom called me personally and thanked me. One even came in and thanked me on his knees, which was a little overkill, don't you think? My boss was so impressed with my work that she made me the most senior investigator, and told everyone else to come to me, to sit at the feet of the master, and glean as much information as they could. It made me uncomfortable to have such praise lavished on me, but I graciously accepted it.

After work, I did 15 loads of laundry, canned 50 quart jars of peaches, pears, and apples, got halfway through another quilt, and cleaned my house from top (cobwebs in the corners) to bottom (vacuuming). Then I settled in and read Dostoevsky's The Idiot, followed by The Spooky Old Tree by the Berenstain Bears. (I'm nothing if not varied.)

Topping it all off is writing about it here. The night wouldn't have been complete without this touch with grace!

Of note

So it's really late, and I should be in bed already, but I can't bear to not write a post today, it being only the second day on the posting job! Did I mention I am now an investigator? (for real, not of the creative writing kind of post). It's true. What does an investigator do? Well, investigate, of course. I will be specializing in investigations of the payroll variety, helping employees and employers come to a better understanding of the law, and trying to figure out if and what went wrong for companies, so they can fix it.

I was a technician (a step down from an investigator) for 7 years. I, at least annually, avowed that I would never be an investigator. So here I am, an investigator. Have I sold out? Have I given in? Have I given up my ideals in this weary world? I don't think so. At the time I said it, that person's future would never hold investigator status. I am now a different person than that past self, growing, changing, seeing things in new lights. This new person saw a possibility that those other people didn't see, and took a chance on it. I have a feeling this future will be better than those others. Especially since those others involved only two choices: leave the division or stay a technician for life. Now I have a third option. Well, not option anymore, but now reality. Hopefully a good one.

P.S. I can still emphatically say that I will never be a vampire. (Not even for Edward)

good night. -K

THIRD POST!!!

Okay, now having gotten the hang of things, added Followings to several bloggers I already know, and in general snooping around, I'm ready to be done for the night. Goodbye, cruel world! See ya tomorrow.

SECOND POST!

I am giddy with my newfound power. The power of the press! I had to test out a second post to see if it was as satisfying as the first. Un-oddly enough, it is!

First Post!

Today I am an investigator. It's official (and yes, it's true). I feel so authoritative, which is not a common feeling for me up to this point in my life. I feel like I have something to say, even if no one hears it.