Thank You Old Man Winter

Dear Old Man Winter,

I want to say Thank You for coming through for me.  You've cancelled class for me tonight and I couldn't be happier.  I'll deal with working from home today, because I'm so excited that I don't have to go to school.  Plus, this is suppose to be the most snow we've gotten in YEARS.  It looks beautiful and you didn't let me down.  We're now officially BFFs.  Let me know what color string you'd like your bracelet to be. 

xoxo, Shannon

On a different note, we had an exciting time in the neighborhood yesterday afternoon.  Two cop cars, cops on their speakers telling some guy to put both hands out the window of his car, cop cars blocking his car so he couldn't escape, towing the guy's car away after searching it, and the guy leaving in the back of the cop car 45 minutes later.  Don't worry, I got a picture with my phone (while standing in my doorway).  And no, the guy didn't live in our neighborhood....

Where Are We?

So a quick funny story...

Hubs and I were going to look at a house in a different town.  The directions on the Crye-Leike site said to take "Severice" Road.  Well, according to the directions it was right off of the interstate.  So, we get off the interstate and start looking for this road.  After about 15 minutes of driving, we end up in a small town out in the middle of nowhere.  So, I decide to google the road name on my phone. 

That's when google asked me if I meant "Service" Road.  Oh my gosh.  Why hadn't we thought of this before hand?  We just spent 15 minutes looking for a Severice Road when actually it's suppose to be "take the Service Road."  Wow.  I was tempted to email the listing agent to let her know of her misspelling!  LOL

Always Wear Tights

On Monday, I decided that I should try out my new running tights and look around at the new part of the running trail that had just been built.  So, I get my gear on - running tights, shorts over tights, fitted long sleeve shirt, and shirt over it.  I get in my Tahoe to be told that I have low air pressure.  Awesome.  So, I look at my tires - they look okay.  I head over to the gas station to air the tires up.  My dad and the hubs were both in the deer woods where there is hardly cell phone reception.  I get to the air pump, insert my quarters and realize I have no tire pressure gauge.  I've never needed one in this vehicle since it tells me the pressure of each tire on the display readout.  So, I decide to air them up and check the display.  Then, I decided this was for the birds.

So, I called my stepmom and asked her what I should do.  The appropriate PSI is 34, my tires have 30.  Then she reminds me that I have Nitrogen in my tires and to get that, I'll have to go to the dealership. I'm bound and determined to go running and not to mention I have to go grocery shopping later that day too.  So, I head over to the dealership by my house (where everyone knows me - I have no idea why besides that's where I get my truck serviced).  I get out of the truck and explain that I'm low on air pressure and that my dad and husband are in the woods.  They tell me to pull around and they'll fill em with Nitrogen with their computer.  No big deal.

Except, I notice I'm getting a lot of looks.  Oh yeah, I'm in my running tights....Awesome.  Needless to say, they aired up my tires - all 4 of them - for FREE with Nitrogen.  That usually costs me around $30.  That's awesome.  So, moral of the story, always wear tights when going to the dealership! ha! ;)

Add This To The List

...of things that shouldn't be done at work.

Let me set the scene....  Imagine a 2 story office building.  In front of that office building is a large parking lot.  In front of that parking lot is a big grassy hill.  Got it?

Now, imagine a girl on that grassy hill doing yoga in her scrubs....in front of the large office building full of people wondering what the heck possessed her to do that.  Yeah, my window is directly in front of this grassy hill....with the chick on her yoga mat.  She's been at it for about 30 minutes now....

Seriously... props for wanting to fit your exercise into your busy day, but why yoga on the hill in front of my window??  It's ....disturbing.

Wow, update.... someone just went out and whistled at her... and she stopped and ran into the building - horrified.  LOL

Please Tell Me...

Yesterday I had to go to the textbook store to return some books - they had sold me the wrong ones. As I was waiting in the never ending line, I overheard a couple of freshmen.

It went something like this:

Girl: "I have nothing in my fridge to drink. No water, no nothing."

Guy: "Do you have a cup to get some out of the faucet?"

Girl: "Nope. Nothing."

Guy: "Sounds like you should go to Wal-Mart. Do you have any stain remover?"

Girl: "Yes! I have stain remover. Why?"

Guy: Points to white canvas shoes. "Awesome. I got some of my popsicle on my shoes. I need stain remover."

Girl: "Well, I have some!! We'll get that stain out. So, are you ready for the party this weekend?"

Guy: "Yeah! But, if I act stupid are you going to call my mom?"

Girl: "No. That's what college is ALL about - keeping everything on the DL."

Guy: "What does "DL" mean?"

Girl: "Dog leash. Duh."

Guy: "Oh okay. That makes sense."

OH.MY.WORD. Please tell me that I wasn't this ...stupid when I was a freshman! Seriously?! College is all about keeping things on the DL?! You're afraid your friend will call your mom?! And since when does DL mean Dog Leash?! And you dripped your popsicle on your shoe? You poor thing.....

Wow. I feel old.

Car Baked Cookies!

Here in Arkansas, it's been hitting over 100F degrees quite frequently the last few days. I think the highest I've seen it, has been at 109 degrees.

See those cookies up there? Those were baked in my co-worker's car. No seriously, they were. My co-workers are crazy - in a good way. Somehow or another, they got the idea to see if they could bake cookies in their car, since it's been so hot. So, they got the cookies, the cookie sheet, and oven mitts (yes, really) and they began cooking this morning. They even made a sign to put on the car that said "Baking in Progress." I kid you not.

But, the real surprise is... the cookies actually baked. They were a little doughy, but they actually hardened some around the edges and the chips melted!

Something even more surprising... the cookies were devoured up by other co-workers who knew they were cooked in the car! LOL I'm not brave enough to try that....

Picture stolen from co-worker's Facebook page. :)

Did I Tell You The Time...

About a month ago, I was leaving Sam's Club with my purchase - a 50lb bag of dog food - and I hear an older man ask if I need help loading it into my vehicle. I turned around and thanked him and told him "No, but thanks." and then continued on my way. I loaded the bag into the middle seat and then when I turned around, he was there with a clear package containing yellow Daisies. He then said, "Here, try these. They're really good." I told him, "No, thanks." and kind of laughed. He was a persistant guy as he kept telling me that it was okay to eat them because they were edible and quite tasty. I kept telling him "No thank you" and that I "don't eat flowers." Finally, the guy left me alone! But, honestly, who eats flowers and who eats them when given by strangers?! It was a good laugh when I called hubs and he said "You have the weirdest things happen to you." It's true, I do!

I Should Really...

Learn to keep my mouth shut! :) That was one of my NY Resolutions, right? Yep, I think I recall something like that. Well, last night would've been one of those moments.

The instructor from Hell asked me to answer a question - in a philosophical manner, yet this is a MIS class, but whatev, we'll roll with it - but before I could answer, he said "How do I know you?"

My response? "Well, I had you for COBOL in undergrad, but dropped you. Then, you were my advisor, but I switched advisors."

He then says, "So, did you only take this course with me because I'm the only one teaching it this semester?"

Me? "Yes, you could say that."

Him... "So, I guess we know where we stand."

"Yep."

In other words.... Hello Mr. Man that I can't stand. Yes, I took your course because you were the only one teaching it and had I the choice of taking a different instructor I would've. But, since I didn't have that choice, just know that you and I are not going to agree on many things, but I'm just going to do the best that I can to make an A in this course and move on.

Anyways, last night was a very agonizing 3 hours and it looks like every Monday for the next who-knows-how-many weeks will be the same way. To give you a little background on Mr Man himself, he has a PhD in Philosophy. I have no idea how he got into teaching MIS courses and I'd really love to ask the Department Chair that very question, but have decided it's not in my best interest to do so. LOL Otherwise, the man is near 70 and speaks so quietly that he usually has to have a microphone, but alas, that microphone is broken...so everyone was super quiet, turned off the air/heat, and strained to hear him. All the while, he's asking you questions...in which you answer...and he turns around and picks apart your answer. Sounds fun, right?

Case in point... (I'll shut up after this, I promise.).. One of the questions I got the joy of answering was this: The arithmetic mean of a classes' IQ is 100. Jon's IQ is 160. Would Jon's 4 siblings be less smart, more smart, or as smart as Jon? (Um, hello this is an MIS class, but we're rollin' with it...) I said less smart, since the mean is 100, then it seems that Jon has an above average IQ and blah blah blah... the probability of his siblings being above average is less since the overall mean is 100.

His rebuttal? I'm wrong of course, because I didn't take in consideration that genetics plays a huge part in a person's IQ - according to him, of course. And since the siblings have the same parent's...same genes.. yada yada.

So, long story....long... this is gonna be a long semester!

Have ya'll ever had a horrible instructor that you had to take? How did you make it through the semester?

Edited to add: Today's Bible Verse/Lesson on the Proverb's blog:

"The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences." Proverbs 18:21 (NLT)

Sign taken.

Oh My.. You'll Want To Read This One!!

Where to start...

It has rained here (poured, in fact) for DAYS... So, when I woke up Saturday morning (5k race day) and it was thundering, lightening, and raining (not hard, really)...I thought for sure that my race had been canceled, but.. I still got up, took a shower, and then stared out the window for quite some time. Then, hubs got up and turned the tv on.. and our little state map had storms all over it. Then, the thundering and lightening continued... So, my thinking was this....

Friday afternoon when I went to pick up my race packet, the timing chips weren't in yet.. So, I just thought I'd pick it up in the morning... Then, with the thundering and lightening...I just figured that the race was canceled and since I didn't have a timing chip to return...I stayed home. Little did I know... The race was NOT canceled!!! GRR.. My friend/running partner texted me to tell me her finishing time - a time that I would most likely had gotten too, since we run together and mostly the same pace...That time - would have completed my goal!! So, I was more than bummed! I was so, so, so mad! I cried. Yes, I cried.

That's about the only thing that's worth mentioning on here - that happened this weekend...

Now for the good stuff...

This morning, I was on my way to work and getting on the on-ramp for the interstate... and I hear a loud "swooshing" sound... I turn down the radio...and then look at my dash to see that my "tire light" is on.. So, I pull off onto the side of the on-ramp and check the tire pressure in my tires (it has a neat little button that I just have to push, thank God).. and my rear driver's side tire is FLAT.

So, it being 5:30am, I call my sleeping husband to ask what I should do. He tells me to push the OnStar button and get roadside assistance and he'll be right there... So, I do. Hubs shows up...begins to get my spare out from under The Beast.. and then roadside assistance shows up. They both work on getting my tire changed - all while, cars speed past us (we're on the on-ramp to a major interstate)... I had pulled over as far as I could..but it was still pretty close...

Then, I see blue lights.. Yes, a State Trooper... I'm thinking, GREAT... He comes to tell us that he's there for our safety and to keep the cars from hitting us. How nice. Really, it is nice. So they get the tire changed, and then the state trooper tells me... "Your tags are expired."

Um, funny story. No, sir, they're not expired. Actually, I had to get a new tag last week, because my license plate is 9 years old. Yes, I've had the same plate for 9 years. Anyways, I show him the plate and smile. He asks my husband to put it on - right there. So, he does... and finally, we all drive away... I was only an hour late for work, thankfully...

So, everyone that saw a Tahoe, Silverado, another truck, and a State Trooper (with his lights on) on the side of the on-ramp this morning.... That was me. What a lovely way to start the morning!

Thank God for OnStar, Roadside Assistance, GREAT husbands, and State Troopers... I literally was scared sitting there, in the dark, on the side of the interstate...

My Doctor Said....

that I need to use Rogaine, wear support hose, pop some Xanax, and that I was fat last year!!! LOL No joke!

I had my "annual" yesterday (TMI, I know) and I asked her why my hair was falling out... Her answer - hormones, more than likely. She said the Yasmin was suppose to help, but that Rogaine would be a good idea...

She noticed my legs were swollen pretty good...and said that due to poor circulation and vein issues, support hose should be worn..to avoid bulging veins later on in life. Nice.

I asked her about some anxiety meds and she asked if I wanted some Xanax! I said no, that THAT made me pass out (sleep) and I didn't need something that strong... I have no idea what she faxed in, but it will be on my door step in about two weeks I guess!

And... at my Dr's office, they take your picture, so that when you come in, they can make sure you are the real you - identity theft problems - well, when I checked in, the receptionist said "WOW, you've lost some real weight since last year. You really look good!" Um, to everyone reading this... I've lost some fat, gained some muscle, but I didn't think I looked too different. Maybe a tad thinner. Maybe. But, according to her, you'd thought I weighed 300lbs last year. Nice. And just for the record, I'm a pound heavier than last year. LOL

You could say I'm in a better mood than yesterday, so far. Sorry about the rant, but it needed to come out. I've found a new thing this morning (new for me)... It's Christian radio. I've never listened to it before. My new fave - Sara Groves. Google her!

I should find out from the Vet today on Bear. Here's to praying that everything's okay, even though I know they're probably not.

Just Call Me Spy Girl

Seriously, I could make a living by being a private investigator. No, really. Is there something you'd like to know about a co-worker, a friend, an exboyfriend - I can find it out. Why do I say this? Here let me give you an example....

• I once had an ex-bf that was still married. He was in the Air Force and had just moved to AR. I knew something was up. So, I googled like a mad woman until I found his wedding announcement - in a Dover, Delaware newspaper and then I called the county clerks office - those things are public records btw - and yep, he was married a few months before he moved to AR. How do I know he was still married? When I asked him for his Divorce Decree - he handed me something I could've made on Word in about two minutes. Btw, for those of you stupid boys who try to make Divorce Decrees - a little hint, they're not actual certificates, moron.

Sadly, I have other examples just like the one above. And no, I'm not a stalker. I just have very good reasons for the snooping activity. Anyways, why am I mentioning any of this? This will lead to a very interesting post (in about two weeks) and I just can't contain myself, so I'm hinting. :O)
Anyways, Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend! And for those without power at home, I'm praying that it comes on soon!!!!!