Lately

• I am set to end the week having answered the most tech support calls in the department. Go me!
• Comet was up at 3:30 hurling...but not just his usual one time. There was nothing for him to bring up. Poor baby. I think he might be working on a hairball. I hadn't been sleeping well anyway so I just got up and went online. Yay for buying memory cards on New Egg at 4 in the morning!
• I am not bringing my laptop to Australia so I want to make sure I don't run out of space on my camera. I should be set for 5,000 photos with 2 8GB cards. The one I bought this morning was actually a micro SD and included an adapter AND a USB reader for about 20 bucks. This is in stark contrast to the memory stick duo I was forced to purchase in Florence, Italy in 2004...128 MB for over $100. We have come so far.
• I have been listening to the audio book In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson on my drive to and from work lately. It is so enlightening and funny! I am beside myself with anticipation and excitement for my upcoming trip. It is going to be too fabulous for words. That I get to spend a few days in L.A. before and after is serious icing on the cake. I cannot wait for the Dario's buffet brunch...here I come, cheese enchiladas! And that I will have 3 solid weeks with my BFF Nicole is like a giant scoop of ice cream on top of that piece of iced cake!
• On Wednesday, I went to a "mixer" for the newly formed UCSD alumni chapter of the Triangle. We all unanimously agreed that there is NO good Mexican food to be found here.
• It is going to be in the 90's here this weekend. Yikes. I'm hoping to see the new Disney movie Earth. It should be quite the spectacle.
• At work, my manager is making having us read Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People. I find the book to be, for the most part, repugnant. It is an easy read and has many illustrative anecdotes, but it is basically a user manual for manipulating people. The author is always reinforcing that you must be genuine about this or that. If you genuinely cared about other people, you would not need a book to tell you how to get friends. And you certainly would not actively be seeking to influence them. My rancor towards this book has brought out a negative tone in me that I don't like. I've tried to just stay mum but now I am in charge of leading the (online) discussion. Hmph.
• Oh, I never did write about Easter, did I? I was originally going to be in Washington, DC but that fell through, so I ended up picking up Cassidy and having her Thursday and Friday night. Friday we went to Pullen Park here in Raleigh and she had so much fun riding the train, the boats, and the carousel.

Friday evening we decorated Easter eggs.


Sunday was the Easter egg hunt...of the plastic, candy-filled variety, not the chicken embryo variety. I still get a rush when I see an egg peeking out from its hiding spot, even though I helped fill and hide them. That girl ended up with enough candy for 20 kids. We helped her eat it though. :)

Valentine's Tulips

Thursday at work I got a special delivery--flowers from my parents for Valentine's Day! I love tulips and these are so pretty. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Christmas

We had a lovely family Christmas. Here are a few pics:








Santa was very good to me. I got lots of books, a bluetooth headset, some kitchen stuff, a projecting clock, and best of all, a pocket camera. (After much research, I decided on the Panasonic LZ8, for anyone who's interested.) So now I will be able to take pictures even when I don't cart around my big Nikon. Yay!

Halloween in the Office

My coworkers shared my Halloween spirit and it showed in their costumes. I love the people I work with!

Taylor as "McPalin." By far the most elaborate costume at the office.

Jeff as a proctologist (complete with gross smudges), and Susan as an injured (dead?) skier.

Brent as a golfer, Brandon as Maverick from Top Gun, JD as a basketball player, and Jeff again.

Renee as Salt, and Amanda as Pepper. Loved the silver knit berets for shaker tops.

Andy as a beer keg.

Erin as Sarah Palin poses with the other Maverick in the office.

Kendall as a Pink Lady.

Ashley as a cop.

Daniel as Indiana Jones. He really fits the part, no?

Jason as an asp. Ha ha.

Rosie the Riveter

My Halloween costume:

A little late, but your decorations are still up, so....

I LOVE acapella groups. Especially when they're funny, and this one's hilarious. (Saw this on Heather's blog and totally had to copy her.)

Cool Yule

A merry time was had by all!

Christms Eve I arrived at my parents' house around 3, and my brother arrived with Cassidy around 9 (he had to deliver all those last-minute packages to expectant UPS customers). We had hot cocoa and started watching The Simpsons Movie, but I don't think anyone was awake by the end. I, for one, was fast asleep. My dad woke me up at 1:30 and they had already put all the presents under the tree (you know, to help out Santa, who must've dropped them off on the porch or something).

We got up around 8 on Christmas Day, although Cassidy probably could have slept much longer. The first few presents she was still a little dazed. But she caught on right away that all the ones with Winnie the Pooh wrapping paper were for her, so she was thrilled to run around the tree picking them all out. "It's for me!" "This one's for me too!" She got lots of Winnie the Pooh and Nemo stuff, including a washcloth that came all compacted down into this tiny star. When you run it under water, it grows. She got a kick out of that, and wanted to do the same thing to other presents. "Get it wet!" It doesn't work that way, hon.

Matthew and I made out like bandits. We both got crock pots and hepa air purifiers. I also got a toaster oven and a food steamer (which I used last night--frozen salmon, frozen cauliflower, set for 20 minutes, and voila! Dinner.) I got Lost Season 3 on DVD, and am looking forward to some marathon viewing sessions. I also got Nip Tuck Season 1 (I've heard it's good, and was a steal on Black Friday), and How I Met Your Mother Season 1 (I just started watching this year, and it's super funny!). I got my usual US Mint proof set (they seem to get bigger every year...now they have the "regular" coins, plus the state quarters, plus the presidential gold dollars) along with an uncirculated set. There's lots of other things I haven't mentioned--it's really an embarrassment of riches--but the piece de resistance came after we were supposedly all finished, and Dad had started making breakfast. Mom said, "Oh look, there's two more presents under the tree...I didn't see those before. I wonder who they're for?" I unwrapped a super spiffy RED, engraved iPod Nano! And Matthew was pleased as punch to get a Tom Tom GPS navigator. We must have been on Santa's "very, very good" list this year!

The afternoon was spent mostly preparing our feast. I volunteered to do the green bean casserole, Good Eats style. In other words, no canned soup! I sliced up onions, tossed them in breadcrumbs and flour, and baked them to a crisp. I trimmed fresh green beans and boiled them. I made the sauce with fresh mushrooms, butter, garlic, and half and half. Super yummy. The recipe is here if you'd like to try it yourself.

Since the next day was a work day for both me and my brother, we left relatively early. Yesterday was super slow here at the office, and today is pretty similar. Some schools will be back in session starting the 2nd, though, so I'm enjoying the lull while it lasts! I was given the opportunity to go to Wisconsin again, but turned it down, because I'm snow-travel phobic. Same with Ohio. I did take on a session in Boone, NC, though, which could be just as treacherous. Hopefully there won't be a blizzard the day I'm there!

My Halloween Costume

The beauty of my costume is that out in public, no one knows I'm dressed up, but at the office, it was hysterical. Everyone said it looked really convincing. In fact, I was answering the door earlier for trick-or-treaters, and one mom said to me, "You look like you're about to pop." When I told her it was a costume, she was shocked. That was fun!

All day, I couldn't help but rub my belly. Is that some sort of maternal instinct kicking in or something? Or is it the Everest effect--"because it's there"?

I won't even begin to delve into the other feelings this costume forces me to confront--the tiny voice inside that says, "You dressed up in this costume five years ago, and it's still only a costume." Besides, who wants to be pregnant anyway? Ever tried using a laptop (on your actual lap) with a belly that big??

Cliche Central: Easter and Tulips

I wish I had more to blog about. Nothing has seemed blog-worthy lately. Work is slooooow, and I haven't traveled anywhere. On the homefront, I'm still unpacking and getting things just so, in preparation for my housewarming party this coming Saturday.

Spring has been springing with a vengeance around here lately. I'm not particularly prone to allergies, but even my nose was itchy and sneezy and runny due to the insane amounts of pollen floating around. It makes for some mighty fine blooms, though:



Easter was fun. Matthew and his family came down for the weekend. I went over to my parents' house Saturday night and we filled and hid those little plastic eggs. Then Sunday morning the kids collected them. I'd say they hunted for them, but they were placed in such obvious locations, they were hard to miss. It was cute to see their reactions when they found one.


Cassidy is getting so big! She calls me Aunt Lissa now and is quite the show-off. Everything she does is motivated by your reaction. She loves being the center of attention--which, of course, she is when she is at grandma and grandpa's house! She is also NOT camera shy. When she sees one, she makes this funny, scrunchy face that garners lots of chuckles from the adults. I just hope she learns to smile normally for the camera, for the sake of her annual yearbook photos!


Layne's Easter basket had a cheerleader theme, so she and Cassidy were playing with the props on the screened porch:



I hope you all had a great Easter!