There's More To Me Than You

Eight Years Old!

2011-02-22T17:58:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday, Tyler!

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Saturday Space Travel

2011-02-19T14:34:00.001-07:00

Lest you think I live a less than glamorous life, you should know that I'm currently in cryptofreeze mode in my and tyler's (my friend's little boy) space ship while we travel through deep space. Cryptofreeze looks a lot like laying on the ground beneath a propped up air mattress, I know.

Ah.....one of my favorite sights in town...

2010-11-06T18:55:00.001-07:00

I've missed you, Double A!

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Disneyland Bound

2010-10-05T11:05:00.001-07:00

Officially on my way!

Football Fan!

2010-09-04T19:37:00.001-07:00

Lovin' the season opener at War Memorial. GO POKES!!

Sunset

2010-07-29T14:43:00.003-07:00

The other night I was at the park with Kristi and Tyler playing basketball. It was a regular old night, but I turned to look at the lake, and had to take a picture. I've grown up with this park and this lake, and not once have I thought of it as especially pretty...but Friday night...it was.

And then...18 mosquitoes bit me at once and ruined the moment. But...for a minute at least, I was totally in love with nature. Hee hee.

And Then I Bought A New Car

2010-05-10T08:45:00.005-07:00

So...the weekend didn't go quite as I had expected. I knew that I was going to dye my hair...my roots were getting pretty out of control. I knew that I was going to watch a mini Golden Girls marathon, as I'd gotten the second season on DVD during the week, and seriously...that show NEVER gets unfunny.

One thing that I didn't know was that, on the way to play basketball with Kristi and Tyler, I would happen to spot a fun black Chevy Equinox during a quick stop at the GM dealership, and end up driving it home that afternoon.

But...that's what happened. Woohoo! I'm so so excited. Everything kind of fell together and it was way too easy breezy for me not to do it. :)

Here is the Equinox on the Dealership Lot:

And here it is, home in the driveway:

What a SUPER Saturday! :)

I'm considering "I want to go for a ride" requests as they come in...so submit yours via email or blog comment today!

I Hate To Say I Told Her So...

2010-04-16T14:57:00.002-07:00

...But I TOLD that instructor that I wasn’t very good with plants when she gave it to me…

Does anyone know how to save a nearly dead…um…whatever plant this is? I don’t WANT it to die. I water it. Admittedly, it’s not in the sunshine, but that is because the putting it in the sunshine would put it in plain sight of said instructor when she comes into the office, and I don’t want her to see that I’m torturing the poor thing.

Prank Calling: It's Not Just For Non-Super Stars Anymore

2010-02-11T14:18:00.008-07:00

Considering that I have been in school or working pretty much all of my life...I have never been much of a daytime TV watcher. With that in mind, I can probably count on both hands the number of times I've watched Oprah Winfrey over the years. Still, the fact that I've never been a fan of her show doesn't prevent me from following the timeless piece of wisdom that:

"When Oprah Calls...You Answer."

At least, I TRY.

You see, Oprah calls me from time to time here at work, but every time I answer...there's nobody there. The first time it happened, I thought for sure that the call had been dropped but that she would call back because she had heard about my awesomeness, (I mean, it's all over the grapevine) and she really wanted to give me my big break. (My big break into what? I don't know. But it's Oprah. If she wants to give you a break...she will do it!) Well...she's called back, alright...repeatedly...but only to torture me with hang-ups and/or dead air.

How immature is that? I can't believe that she has nothing better to do with her time than to prank call me...most recently about five minutes ago. Does she think I don't know it's her? I'm getting tired of her crap...and I worry that the down time brought upon by her upcoming retirement will only increase her ridiculous shenanigans.

I have complained to my colleagues many times about this nuisance...but have been met with, if you can believe it, skepticism. So I took a picture of the caller ID as proof:
Oprah...if you're reading this...(and I'm SURE you are)...give it up. I'm hip to your game, and quite frankly, I'm tired of it.

Unless you really HAVE heard of my awesomeness and are hoping to give me my big break. If that's the case...you have my number.

HAPPY SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!

2010-02-07T01:11:00.002-07:00

Let's Go, Colts!

(Yes, that IS a Peyton Manning finger puppet that I made this afternoon. It's probably my most impressive craft project of all time. Seriously.)

I Can See Clearly Now (Sort Of)

2009-12-17T09:24:00.005-07:00

Last night I was over at Kristi's house, and one of my contacts was bothering me. I went into the bathroom, took some contact solution off the shelf, and took my contact out. After rinsing it thoroughly, I went to put it back in. As soon as the contact barely touched my eye, I almost had a heart attack. It was burning SOOOO much. Honestly it felt like I had poured rubbing alcohol in my eye. From like, one drop of the liquid. It just kept burning and burning and burning. I cannot put into words how much it hurt. But it hurt...A LOT.

Turns out, that instead of saline solution, I had cleaned my contact off with this:
Looks like contact solution, right? Well…I failed to notice this warning on the side of the bottle:

This solution needs at least six hours to neutralize. Do not rinse lenses with Clear Care® prior to inserting lenses into your eyes. If you want to rinse lenses, use a sterile saline like Softwear® Saline. Do not squirt Clear Care® directly into your eyes.

So…yeah…basically it is solution for overnight cleaning. And I put the unneutralized solution in my eyes. Which makes me think of perm solution. Which, honestly, I think if I’d put perm solution in my eye…it wouldn’t have hurt any more than this did.

So…I rinsed the contact with water, and with regular saline and then put it in my eye. And it STILL felt just as bad. Burn burn burn. You see, because it still hadn’t been six hours. My eye was watering like crazy, and the left side of my face was covered in smeared mascara. I looked like Alice Cooper. I’m so freaking stupid. Finally I just threw the contact out…and got a spare one out of my purse and put it in. And it felt fine...(as fine as it could feel, under the circumstances)…but my eye still hurts. This morning it’s still bright red.

So...as a public service announcement...don't put non-saline solution in your eyes. Now you know. And now I know. And thankfully I got the glam rock makeup off my face. You have to count the little blessings, after all.

What's In A Name?

2009-12-07T16:51:00.004-07:00

My name is Janine. I don't feel like it's THAT hard of a name to say or to understand. Juh-neen. Pretty simple. That being said, here is a list of names that I have been called while in my current job...many of them more than once:

Jamie

Jeanette

Shirley

Daneen

Jolene

Susan

Janie

Jan

Doreen

AND...the name that I was JUST called...which prompted this impromptu post:

Jermaine.

Seriously?

Come ON.

Football Mania

2009-12-01T12:52:00.004-07:00

So...I feel bad when I stop by the blog and see that anyone has visited that day...only to find that my most recent post is over a month old. Sorry about that...I'll try to do better. Which, of course, I say all the time...and don't always follow through with...but...take it or leave it.

Lately, I've been kind of engrossed in Football...more so than usual. So...to get back in the blogging swing of things...I thought I'd list some awesome football related facts and musings:

**FIRST AND FOREMOST: With a win over our "Border War" rivals, CSU, the Wyoming Cowboys are Bowl Eligible for the first time...well, in a long time. Woohoo!! We've had a couple of really frustrating games this season, but I'm so so happy to see it end on a happy note...and if we get a Bowl Game, that will be the icing on the cake. Most signs point to us heading to the New Mexico Bowl and playing Fresno State. Kristi and I discussed the possibility of jetting down to Albuquerque to watch the game. This might depend on if I spend ALL of the money in my bank account on Christmas presents in the next day or so. Which is a real possibility. Seriously.

**I have found myself engrossed in the NFL season this year more than I've ever been in the past. Traditionally, I've been more of a College football fan...but this year, the NFL has got me excited. And excited in more ways than the usual "Holy Crap, Peyton Manning is SO HOT" ways. I am really getting wrapped up in the games every week. This may be due to the fact that I've been included in the office pool this year, and don't want to make a fool of myself...but who's to say? You never know when a bug is going to bite you, right?

**In the aforementioned office pool, I won this past week's grand prize of $7.00. That's right...there IS a decimal after that first digit. I didn't win 70 dollars. I didn't win 700 dollars. I won 7 dollars. Is there any wonder why the stakes of this pool have motivated me to be so NFL-savvy all of the sudden? Yeah...it's pretty obvious.

**Over Thanksgiving my family decided to play flag football for the first time. Well...it was the first time I've been involved anyway. I think I only touched the ball one time, and I never tackled anyone...but I'm pretty sure that I am going to get called up to the FFML (flag football major league) any time now. I mean...I only threw one interception in the whole game. I think that's better than Tom Brady can say about HIS performance this week.

**Is it just me, or does Sean Payton, head coach of the New Orleans Saints, look JUST like Kenny Chesney? I mean...it's uncanny. No...I don't know how many yards anyone rushed for in their game against the Patriots...but the Payton/Chesney connection haunted me all night.

**Bill Belichick might want to re-think his sweatshirts with the sleeves cut off for next week. When you're playing an undefeated season, you can make all the horrible fashion decisions you want...but when you're falling apart like nobody's business, you should at least try to LOOK good on the sidelines...since your coaching decisions are looking HORRIBLE in the game. Just a thought.

That might be it. I could go on and on about my love for the game, I'm sure...but I've got $7.00 burning a hole in my pocket, and I might just have to jet to Vegas instead of Albuquerque to spend it...I'm feeling lucky!

2009-10-31T10:56:00.001-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

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Help Me Out...

2009-10-27T15:09:00.002-07:00

If anyone asks you about an apparent smudge in the freshly painted door frame in Student Services across the hall from my office...I've prepared a response for you:

“A smudge in the freshly painted door frame? Huh? That’s so weird. Well…if I know one thing, I know that it couldn’t have possibly been Janine. If it HAD been Janine, that would have meant that she stood there, watching the painter paint that door frame maroon, and then, 8 seconds after he walked away, she would have grabbed onto said frame to brace herself while she leaned over to look at the pictures in the switchboard operator’s biography about Bette Davis. Like Janine, of ALL people, would do that. A classy, smart, and totally together broad like her? Please…”

Well...

2009-09-21T08:20:00.004-07:00

...it was bound to happen sooner or later. I do live in Wyoming, after all.

I woke up to the first snowfall of the fall. Or, as I like to call it, the first of many times that I have to clean my freaking car off when I'm already running 10 minutes late.

I always cross my fingers for later...rather than sooner. I wouldn't mind if it snowed on Christmas Eve, and Christmas Eve alone. But...nothing ever turns out how I want it to.

My Current Battle

2009-09-18T15:57:00.005-07:00

So in case you've been checking my blog daily and then cursing to yourself at the sight of the angry tooth pirate guy...again...then you should know that when a girl is in the midst of an epic battle, against ruthless and terrifying foes, in defense of her territory, she cannot be bothered to blog.

Translation: I've got mice. Effing mice. Oh, how I hate them. And I know it's all Fall's fault...stupid cooler weather...but I hate seeing them...they make my skin crawl. It might be even worse when I don't see them...but I HEAR them...ugh...not knowing where they are...expecting them to swarm out of the walls and crawl up my leg and kill me. Or...at least poop on my floor. Not sure which is worse. But I'm living a nightmare right now. In case you care.

Mice, of course, do not prevent me from blogging at all. I'm just lazy, I think...but, also, other than the screams and squeals that I emit when I see the little buggers, I've got nothing of real entertainment value to report. So why report the mice? Well...basically,I saw another one last night and felt like whining about it. And, if you don't like listening to me whine...or reading my whiney words, I guess...you probably wouldn't EVER read my blog in the first place. :)

I've attached a video of a casualty from my first battle of the week:

At the time, I was hoping he was a loan scout, and that when he didn't return, the other mice would realize that I was a foe that was not to be tested...and clear off. Instead, I think he was kamikazi-esque soldier sent as a sacrifice to distract me while the others set up camp.

Don't worry...I've got my game face on...I'm sure that I'll be victorious in the end. If you don't hear from me for a while...at least you'll know I'm bravely caught up in a valiant cause...even if I'm squirming and screaming the whole time.

My Greatest Fear

2009-09-09T08:06:00.002-07:00

So...by reading my blog, one might think that my greatest fear is a bad hair day. Or perhaps, getting stuck inside a tanning bed. While those both rank in the top five, I have to admit that even higher on my list of greatest fears is going to the Dentist. I won't get into my long LONG story...because I'm sure you don't care...but the bottom line is that I've been to the dentist several times and not been numb when they've worked on me. I'm hard to numb. Which REALLY sucks.

But...after bouncing around, always afraid, and not really trusting anyone not to torture me for a while, I found a dentist who I really loved. He helped me get past my fear and always took care of me and got me numb and really got me to a good "I'm not terrified of the Dentist anymore" place.

And then...he retired.

And now...I have a toothache.

So...I have to go to someone new, and I HATE the thought of going to someone new. This is the worst day ever. Okay...not EVER. But this week...for sure. But...it's not to be avoided...as ending up with a toothless smile is the GREATEST fear of any self-respecting vain girl like myself.

Cross your fingers that I'll survive.

The Real Me

2009-09-02T16:27:00.008-07:00

Just the other day I was sitting at work, and I was giving myself a mental pat on the back as I realized it had been quite a while since I’d spilled my drink across my desk. I’m not especially known for my grace…and spilling things is just one of those things that I do. But I sat there thinking that I’d turned over a new leaf…and let me tell you, it was gratifying.

So of course I totally spilled my water all over my desk this afternoon. I can’t be proud of myself for long before sabotaging it. It’s a subconscious desire to keep myself humble, I think.

After cleaning up the wet paper and setting my mouse pad out to dry, I realized my mouse wasn’t working as well as I wanted it to…you know…without a mouse pad. So I asked the gal I work with if we had any spare mouse pads in the storage closet. After telling me that we didn’t, and asking if I needed one permanently or temporarily, she pulled this out of her purse and gave it to me to use until mine dries out:

Um…

First off…do people do this? Carry spare mouse pads in their purses? I mean…if they DO…how did I miss out on this trend? I always thought that if I got caught with my Vin Diesel mouse pad in my purse I’d get laughed at. If only I had known…

Secondly…I feel a little weird showcasing a mouse pad featuring a deployed soldier and twin boys on my desk. You know? Not many people have such a mouse pad…unless they have even a remote connection to said soldier and said twins. Having it on my desk kind of feels like it would if I were caught buying a frame and just displaying the picture that it came with, and passing that happy looking couple off as my friends and/or family. I mean, how pathetic would that be?

All I’m saying is that I prefer that the pictures on my desk…including those featured on my mouse pad represent who I really am…nothing more...nothing less. Kind of like this one, that hangs on my office wall:

Misrepresenting yourself is so lame.

Pig-anoia

2009-08-27T14:44:00.005-07:00

The girls in the office just heard that CU just sent home 60 students due to the Swine Flu. KU sent some home, too. Some other school, too. The bottom line is that they are freaking out. Freaking out and wearing masks.

I don’t want to take the subject lightly…I certainly don’t want to get the Swine Flu. But if there is one way to define me…(other than the tanning bed’s eternal lover/mortal enemy)…it is vain. In spite of the slight appeal of being able to make unseen faces at dumb or stinky people standing in front of me, I can’t get myself to wear the mask. How dorky would I look? There is no way my hair wouldn’t get messed up. Please. Not to mention the fact that I don’t carry 18 different lip glosses in my purse just to hide their fruit-i-licious shine behind a mask.

If I’m the first to go, so be it…but I’ll go down with my cute nose showing and my face free of mask induced welts. It’s called standing up for what you believe.

Back To School

2009-08-25T10:50:00.004-07:00

Well, after a summer that I really don’t think was NEARLY long enough, school is set to start again tomorrow. Yes…on a Wednesday. We go against the grain. Deal with it. Anyway…as we’ve been gearing up for the new semester, I’ve gotten a plethora of confused folks who’ve turned to me for guidance. While most of them ask understandable questions…I thought I’d pay homage to the “special” ones...

A list of my favorite pre-semester questions/comments:

***Hey, I know that classes start on Wednesday this week. When will my Thursday class revert to meeting on Thursdays?

***Hey, I’m trying to log in to register, and my user name and password aren’t working. I got them from the last school I attended, but for some reason I’m not in the system.

***Does this campus have bathrooms?

***Student: Hey, I’d like to pay for my classes.

Me: (after looking up their account) I’m not showing that you owe anything.
(after looking up their registration) I'm actually not showing that you're
registered for classes. When did you register?

Student: Oh…I haven’t done that yet.

***Hi, I was looking at my account, and it’s higher than I thought it was going to be, so I need you to go in and remove those “mandatory student fees,” because I don’t want to pay for them.

I could go on. I could really do a weekly installment of stupid questions…I just need to keep track of them all. On second thought…it might have to be a daily installment.

Evolution

2009-08-04T09:23:00.005-07:00

Kristi came over for dinner last night and we went through some old school pictures of mine. In case you were wondering what the process of becoming the coolest chick on the block looks like...feast your eyes on THESE beauties...

You have to know that the last picture was my FAVORITE school picture ever, when it was taken. I'm not sure how I got my hair to be that big...(I think I just wanted to make sure it was bigger than my glasses)...but I remember thinking it was the best day of my life.

Camping With The Girls...With Minimal Photographic Evidence

2009-07-27T15:32:00.003-07:00

On Friday, Kristi had an amazing idea that we should go camping with some of our BFFs who no longer live in Laramie...and because they are totally awesome, they were up for it right away. Val drove from Salt Lake, while Kristi and I drove from Laramie, and we all met in Baggs, where Lacy lives now. As soon as we got to the campsite I took my camera out to find that it was dead. =( So...I had to take pictures with my phone. Which was also dying...so I couldn't take many. Talk about LAME. But Wyoming is freaking beautiful, even in only 2.0 megapixels.

We all had a blast and I was reminded how much fun it is having girlfriends around. Don't get me wrong...boys have their perks...but nothing beats a good old fashioned girls weekend. Even if you don't get pictures of the girls.

P.S. I took my camera out this afternoon to see if I could get some pictures off of it...and then remembered that it was dead. Upon opening the battery slot, I figured out what my problem really was:

Yep. I am THAT smart.

And Then I Went to San Diego

2009-07-22T14:45:00.005-07:00

So…I realize I go to California a lot, so I thought I’d share a dozen things that I learned and/or were unique about this most recent trip.

1. If you are a Disneyland fanatic and think you can resist going there on a trip to California, it’s not going to work. You’re going to go to Disneyland whether you like it or not. Luckily you like it.

2. Security on Amtrak is WAY more lax than security on planes. And by “more lax,” I mean that there is no apparent security on Amtrak.

3. Even if you’ve worn the same shoes to Disneyland 4 times previously without incident, it doesn’t mean you’re not going to get a blister the size of Space Mountain on the ball of your foot. Or, the size of a quarter. One of the two.

4. Coronado Ferry Landing would have you believe that they have a Cupcakery. Even the thought of a cupcakery is a delight! If you go in the next couple of days though, it won’t be open, so get ready for some heartache.

5. When your sister tells you the tram at Balboa Park stops at every museum, this translates into “There are 25 museums here, spread over about 15 blocks, and this tram has a total of 3 stops. Get ready to walk, Gimpy Blistered Foot Girl.”

6. The “Body Worlds” exhibit at the Museum of Natural History (I think) is 80% amazing, 10% interesting, 7% creepy, and 3% anatomically correct at unnecessary times.

7. If you have to wait a while to get into Pizza Nova…don’t you worry…it’s worth it.

8. The sand on the beach at the Coronado Naval Base is hot enough to make your already blister riddled feet cry.

9. Just because the sand is hot and your skin is boiling, doesn’t mean that the ocean water isn’t going to be so cold that your feet will ache like you’re standing in a snow drift.

10. There is a restaurant called Islands that has the best burgers ever. Right up there with Five Guys. I lasted until minute 58 of an hour long dinner before I dribbled down my shirt.

11. There is a place called Yogurt World in the street racing district. If you can get over the feeling that you’re an extra in the next The Fast and The Furious movie, it’s a dream. They charge by weight, though…so even if you think you’re just going to try “a little” of each kind, get ready to pay 12 dollars for your bucket of yogurt. 12 dollars well spent, mind you.

12. My sister is pretty long suffering. Driving me and my friends all over town at all hours of the day and night…she never complained once. At least not out loud.

I did take some pictures out there…but not as many as I thought I would…and mostly just of scenery. Images of me with a humidity induced sweat-bomb face and stupid curly hair should never be captured on film. Or memory card. Here are some images, though, of the pretty things in San Diego:

2009-07-15T12:00:00.001-07:00

This is my SAN DIEGO, HERE I COME face! Woohoo! Leaving in like two minutes!

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Happy Birthday, Mom!

2009-07-14T07:40:00.002-07:00

Today is my mom's birthday. My mom is the best example of unconditional love that I could have ever gotten in my life. There is nothing that she wouldn't do, if it's within her power, for the people that she loves. And she loves a lot of people. And they love her back! She practices selfless service every day, and nothing makes her happier than doing things for other people. I've learned so much from her...(though I've yet to master her kindness and generosity, I fear!)...and I'm grateful to have such an amazing mom to take care of me. Happy Birthday, Mom!!

Is It Worse To Be A Dork...Or An Idiot?

2009-07-13T11:16:00.003-07:00

You know…because I’m generally a mean spirited person, I’ve always inwardly chuckled when I’ve seen folks riding their bikes with one of those cuffs their pant leg…or even worse…a rubber band. I mean…fashion first, right? Nothing cool about pegged pants, right?

I guess, though, that riding along with one pegged pant leg is preferable to riding along, innocently, and then realizing that your pants are being pulled down, because as you were riding, you didn’t realize that your baggy, too long for bike riding, loosey goosey exercise pants were getting wrapped around your pedal with every turn all the way down the road from your house. And then you realize that when you want to stop, and take your foot off the pedal, you won’t be able to…because your foot is wrapped up inside the pants that are wrapped repeatedly around the pedal. So…you screech to a stop and kind of topple your bike to the ground, and hop around on one foot, while you try to disentangle your pant leg. And it’s not working. And you come to a realization that you are either going to have to cut your pants off...or take your pants off…in the middle of the street…because you cannot get that freaking leg untangled from the pedal. And let’s face it…you’re not taking your pants off. You might swear a little bit. You might break into a cold sweat. You might call your friend who lives around the corner, to see if she can come with some sharp scissors and a non-judgmental smile. But she won’t have her phone with her. So…you’ll stand there. Hunched over, on one leg, while the other juts out in front of you…attached to a pedal. While people drive by and pretend not to notice that you’re the biggest idiot on the block. Or maybe they’re just used to you being the biggest idiot on the block.

Finally…a surge of adrenaline born from not-so-quiet desperation will allow you to rip your pants free…but not before you make a mental note that pegged pants aren’t the worst thing that could happen to a girl. Logically, you’ll realize that public humiliation will trump them every time.

Not that I’ll ever wear one of those dorky cuffs. I mean…seriously.

All Grown Up

2009-07-08T10:50:00.003-07:00

So...I realized, while looking at the calendar, that this week marks my fifth anniversary at my current job. In other words, I have been at my current job longer than I have ever been at a job in my entire life. And...I still enjoy my job, and unless that long-shot application for the position of "The Girl Who Hangs Out With Johnny Depp, Not To Steal Him From His Common Law Wife, But Rather To Try To Revel In His Absolute Coolness" pans out, I have no reason to change jobs in the near future. I'm a little freaked out. It almost sounds like I have a career. Isn't this what adults do?

Hmph...

And Then I Bought A Bike

2009-07-06T11:16:00.007-07:00

Melancholy is incompatible with bicycling. ~James E. Starrs

I honestly don't even know who James E. Starrs is...but man...he really knew his stuff.

Last week I bought a bike...(that's the one, up there!)...and I'm telling you what...it has been the GREATEST investment ever! I just love it. Like the quote implies...it just makes me happy! I feel like it totally takes me back to being a kid again, and it never stops being fun. I've gone on rides almost every day/evening since I bought it...(some days, over the weekend, I went on several, with Kristi and Tyler. So much fun!!)...including one where we got stuck riding in the rain. My hair didn't enjoy that ride too much......but the rest of me LOVED it!

If you've forgotten the joys of riding a bike...I strongly recommend picking it up again! If you can manage to stay out of the rain, though...it might be a good thing...if only for your vanity. :)

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2009-06-23T07:31:00.001-07:00

Today is my dad’s birthday! I know that I might get accused of being a bit biased, but I have to say that he really is the best dad ever. Some of my best times growing up were when my dad would take us fishing, or hunting, or sing crazy songs with us on long road trips in the car. And, even though I’m not “growing up” anymore…he still takes good care of me. He has taught me so much in my life…especially how to be a good person…I am lucky to have him. In short, I love him, and hope he has the best birthday ever!

Buckle Up!

2009-06-16T14:13:00.002-07:00

So I could probably do weekly blog installments that showcase bad habits that I possess, but a girl can only self-depreciate so much, right? Right? Hmmm…

Well…for today, anyway, I’ll talk about my bad seatbelt habit. I don’t know why, but I almost never put my seatbelt on before I start driving. Instead, in the morning, for example, I back out of my driveway, put it into drive, and then put my seatbelt on as I am driving up the street. Don’t ask me why. It’s just how I roll.

So…today, as I was leaving for lunch, I backed out of my parking spot, and out of the College parking lot, and then reached to put my seatbelt on. Well…it wasn’t cooperating, and did not want to be put on. I’m sure we all have shut our seatbelt in the door before…so you know how that feels. So…sometimes, if your seatbelt isn’t TOTALLY slammed in the door, you can yank it out, right? Right. So I yanked. And I yanked and yanked…and turned onto Garfield…and yanked some more.

FINALLY…it gave up the fight. But, as it turns out, it wasn’t slammed in the door. Instead, it was wrapped around the recliner handle on the seat. So…you know what happens when you pull on the seatbelt that is wrapped around the recliner handle on your seat? You recline. While driving down Garfield.

So…I’m sure it was just a second or two before I pulled myself back up…but it felt like I was driving blind, in the snooze position, for like a year. I couldn’t see to pull over. I couldn’t see to avoid any oncoming traffic that I might ram into after possibly swerving into the other lane while laying down. SHEESH. When I finally DID get myself back up, my seat remained down…and I quickly pulled over (with no traffic around me, thank goodness) and remedied the whole situation…feeling like the total idiot that I apparently am.

The moral of the story? Put your seat belt on before you pull out of your parking spot. Or…don’t put it on at all. Safety first.

Busted!

2009-06-10T08:26:00.003-07:00

So…I realize you can’t read what that pretty little pink piece of paper says, so I’ll fill you in.

On or about the 10th day of June, 2009, at 7:34 am, at the 3200nd Block of East Grand, a wild and reckless driver…(aka ME)…did unlawfully commit the following offense against the peace and dignity of the State of Wyoming:

“Speeding—subject drove 47 mph in a posted 30 mph zone confirmed by radar.”

So…there you have it. I’ve assaulted the peace and dignity of the great state of Wyoming. In my defense, the speed limit changes to 45 on that road, about 3 inches past where I was pulled over. I know that’s a weak excuse. I’m pretty much a menace to society. If you don’t want to associate with such a hooligan anymore…I’ll understand.

It's A Good Thing It's Friday...

2009-06-05T09:23:00.001-07:00

...because this is about where I am right now...

Oh How I Miss Chris Farley

2009-06-02T15:32:00.001-07:00

I stumbled upon this little gem today and just couldn't stop laughing. I LOVED that guy!

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

Vacation...Alienators Style

2009-06-01T09:59:00.003-07:00

Guess who's going to San Diego in July! The Alienators! That's right...Kristi, William, and I are flying out for some FUN IN THE SUN! San Diego doesn't know what it's in for!

Caos en la Línea del Supermercado

2009-05-28T14:29:00.003-07:00

You know, I love the self-checkout lane at Walmart. I use it pretty much every time I got shopping…and feel like the whole checking out experience goes ten times faster. I’ve got it down to a well honed craft, too. I whiz right through that line and I’m pushing buttons before the little computerized voice is even telling me to, and I’m all done in a freaking flash! Such a flash, in fact, that I tend to get a little impatient with obvious self-checkout first timers. I just want to run up and do it for them, as they stare at the screen and wonder what to do next.

That being said, I got hit with the humble stick today when I was rushing to check out so that I wouldn’t be late getting back from my lunch hour. Racing up to the only checkout that wasn’t occupied, I started scanning my stuff immediately, barely paying attention to the screen. I’m all about speed, you know. Well, in case you aren’t familiar with the glory of self-checkouts, there ARE some things you can’t scan in. Produce for example. Bakery items. With these, you just touch the on screen button that says “look up item” and find whatever you’re buying on the screen. Again, I’m a total whiz with this. At least, I usually am, until I look up and notice that the screen, and all of its buttons, are in Spanish.

Um…

It’s not like the buttons were in different places. It’s not like the screen didn’t look exactly like it does when it’s in English…but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember WHICH button to push to look up the item. Like…where it was on the screen. And there are, obviously, several buttons to choose from. I swear I can usually do this in my sleep! But not in Spanish. Ugh. So…I took a gamble. And totally pushed the wrong button. A button that took me into some weird screen I’ve never seen. I tried really hard to push some other buttons to back out of there, but to no avail. And of course, two seconds hadn’t passed before the kindly old Walmart worker, who stands at the top of the self-checkout area to oversee them, came over to solve my problem. I think the position could be eliminated by a simple “back” button on the screen. But no…that would be too easy. Instead, when people mess up, something goes off on their terminal that says, “Great…the idiot at register #2 has screwed up royally. Go swipe the card hanging from your lanyard, push random buttons on the screen for a while, and make sure they feel good and stupid before you leave.”

So…smug “I’ll fix your issue” lady comes over. And I say to her as she’s walking toward me, “Hey, I just pushed the wrong button…I didn’t realize this was a Spanish terminal.” She looked at me like I was a crazy person. She came around to face the screen, and then looked up, totally dumbfounded. “I don’t speak Spanish,” she said. Well…super. So…instead of me pushing random buttons trying to get out of there, SHE was doing it. And I swear…she had no idea what she was doing. You could just tell. All the while, I was turning into that self-checker-outer that I hate…who holds everyone else in the store up. Ugh! FINALLY she swiped her little card, and it went back to the right screen. I KNEW it. All that random button pushing is just for show.

Anyway…once she had it fixed, she just stood there, watching me. Like I would want HER help ever again. Sheesh. After assuring her that I could muddle through without her, she finally went away. I chose the right button…I found my item…and finally checked out…promising myself that, in the future, I will never start scanning again until I’m SURE that the machine is speaking my language.

An Open Letter to All You "Scooters"

2009-05-26T13:45:00.004-07:00

Hello, Mister Scooter Driver. I get the fact that you think you’re pretty cool on that scooter. Maybe you drive it because you’re trying to get good gas mileage. Maybe you’re driving it because you can’t afford a car. Maybe you think it’ll do until you can get the dough together to get a real motorcycle. As judgmental as I usually am, I have never had a problem with scooters…really. While it has never been a mode of transport I’ve been drawn to, I say live and let live. To those who choose to drive them, I’ve always said, "Scooter Drivers of the World…Scoot On!"

If, however, you are going to ride that scooter…and you can’t get the little bugger going above 19.5 miles per hour…while going down-freaking-hill…on a major, well traveled, road…then I’m going to start having a problem with the scooter. There are side streets for a reason, Bub.

Um...

2009-05-22T14:34:00.007-07:00

...in the name of my constant need for self promotion, I thought I'd put a little deal on the side of this blog to show when I've updated my movie blog. Which I updated today. And yet...it's showing my most recent update as the one from the other day. Actually, if you click on the title, "Janine At The Movies," it'll take you to the new post. But it doesn't show the post as the newest post. :( Which I don't get. And I thought I'd share. But also...I updated my movie blog. Again. Maybe by the time anyone reads this, it will have fixed itself...but I don't know. We'll see.

And...in case you haven't noticed...I really love links lately. But one Link/Linc in particular will always be my favorite. Hee hee.

****UPDATE****

Looks like it finally fixed itself. Although there is supposed to be a picture there. There was a picture when it was highlighting the wrong post. Ugh. Oh well...maybe the picture will show up eventually.

A Little FYI...

2009-05-19T14:38:00.003-07:00

Just in case anyone was wondering...I DO still watch movies. I even blogged about one of them...which I thought I might have forgotten how to do...but it turned out to be just like riding a bike. I hope to do better in keeping that thing up to date...if only because it kills time on a boring afternoon. ; )

Summer...Is That You?

2009-05-18T09:42:00.004-07:00

So...we're supposed to get up to around 80 degrees in Laramie today...or, depending on which weatherman you listen to, even above 80.

I'm trying to keep a straight face and just look natural...because if Summer really IS here...I don't want to scare it away.

****UPDATE****

This was the thermometer when I went home at lunch...

And this was my face when I was forced to remember what it feels like when I first get into my car in the summer...

Yes, Sharon, I'm glad I don't have to deal with the Houston heat...and I AM happy for the summer...but thank goodness for air conditioning in the Grand Am!

Just Call Me Marshall Mathers

2009-05-07T11:45:00.006-07:00

Last night, anyway, I could have easily gone by the name Eminem...'cause I was cleanin' out my closet.

My original intent was to clean out some dresser drawers full of clothes that I NEVER wear to make room for clothes that I do wear, but that I didn't have room for in my closet. So...I emptied the drawers...and then kind of just went bananas, hitting the closet, too...and getting rid of stuff that I don't use/wear/like anymore.

Here is the pile of hangers after I'd taken everything out of the closet that didn't belong in there. Some of it was junk, but some was just stuff for the dresser that didn't need to hang.

This is one of the piles of clothes that I had to sort through...there was another one on my bed...

These are the FOUR bags of clothes that I took out of my room once I was done...reminding me that I REALLY need to do this more often. I am horrible at keeping clothes that I don't need anymore.

Finally...my closet never knew, before last night, that there was such a thing as these wide open spaces...it was a miracle!

I'd love to take a picture of my whole bedroom and show you all how beautifully organized it is...but THAT...is a work in progress. The closet being done is a big enough success for today!

Here's Your Sign

2009-05-07T09:13:00.002-07:00

You know, I get the fact that there are plenty of dumb people out there. I GET it. I get to talk to a lot of them daily. But sometimes...I'm just astounded by how dumb people really are.

The other girl here in the office, Karin, has twin boys. She has one of those digital picture frames on her desk that scrolls through pictures of them...some individual shots...some together.

Well, a lady was sitting at Karin's desk and must have just seen a picture with one of the boys, because she asked, "How old is your little guy?"

Karin responded, "Oh...they're two."

The woman, "Oh...they're both two?"

Karin said, "Yes."

Moment of silence.

The woman, "Are they twins?"

Um...

Cinco De Mayo!

2009-05-05T11:11:00.001-07:00

Happy Cinco de Mayo, Everyone. Or, as I like to call it…That Lovely Day in May That Gives Me an Excuse to Eat Mexican Food For Every Meal. And also, Wear a Sombrero to Work Day. You know…whichever.

Here on the campus they ordered a bunch of yummy variety trays from Corona Village for the happy day. Corona Village is my FAVORITE Mexican restaurant, so you know I’m all for it. I’m a little worried, though, that we might run out of salsa. They only gave us 5 gallons. Seriously.

New Arrival

2009-05-01T14:45:00.000-07:00

So basically my tennis shoes were falling apart…so I had to get some new ones. Usually I don’t wait for my shoes to fall apart to buy new ones…so this was a new experience for me. Like…I really NEEDED new tennis shoes. And…because I’d spent so much money in Disneyland, I had to wait to afford new shoes, rather than just buying what I wanted the very second I wanted it…like I usually do. Weird, I know.

Anyway…after much online shopping and deliberation and collaboration with my style consultant (aka Kristi) and my financial consultant (aka Carleen, who cuts my paycheck) I found the perfect pair, and they arrived today. Hooray! Introducing my new Nike Shox Turbo +8s! They were totally cute and irresistible when I saw them online, but the truest test of any shoe is how it looks on…(nice, nice)…how it FEELS on…(so comfy!)…and it’s a total bonus when they look cute with jeans. So…Woohoo…they are the best of all the worlds!

Little Old Lady?

2009-04-24T11:21:00.004-07:00

I just had an instructor ask me if I went to school with some girl…Rachelle something. The name didn’t sound familiar to me…so I said, “what year did she graduate?” And…she said, “Oh…she was a year ahead of me…so 82.”

NUMBER ONE…that would make me 45 years old. WHAT??? Do I look 45? I mean, seriously. Number two…this teacher…who has graying hair and is middle aged…thought I was a year older than her???? WHAT???

I said, “Oh…actually I graduated in 94…so no…”

I think she was really embarrassed…but COME ON!

We Have A Winner!

2009-04-13T14:23:00.002-07:00

So…today there was an appreciation luncheon for employees who have donated money to the LCCC Foundation. I was recruited to prepare a dessert for the event, where folks could vote for their favorite, and the winner would get a prize. Basically…I’m pretty competitive…so I really wanted to win! I found a recipe that sounded really good, and gave it a trial run on Saturday night. It turned out to be delicious, but I messed up a couple parts of it, so I knew it COULD be even better. So, when I made it the second time, on Sunday, I was able to make some adjustments and really perfect it. I actually changed a couple things totally…but…long story short…GUESS WHO WON THE CONTEST?!? Yeah…it was me. There was a point where I thought that a super creamy peanut butter pie was going to beat me out…but I prevailed in the end. Woohoo! As soon as I found out, I went down to the break room to take a picture of the champion…but it was all gone.

In case you want the recipe…here it is. It’s pretty easy, and super good!

Peaches & Cream Dessert

1 8 ounce package of Pillsbury crescent rolls (they now make the dough to come in a full sheet, too, which is perfect for this)
1 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened
1 can peach pie filling
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dry oatmeal
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sliced almonds
5 tablespoons butter, softened
Cinnamon (if desired)

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

• Press crescent roll dough into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan. Make sure all seams are sealed. Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 7 minutes, until no longer tacky, but not browned. Take out of oven and set aside.
• Combine softened cream cheese, granulated sugar, and almond extract in bowl. Mix together until smooth and spreadable.
• In another bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, oatmeal, sliced almonds, and softened butter. Add a shake or two of cinnamon, if desired. Mix ingredients together until crumbly.
• Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over entire crust.
• Pour pie filling over top of cream cheese mixture, spread evenly. (I chopped up the peaches in the can a little bit, so that it spread more evenly, and every piece got some peaches.)
• Sprinkle brown sugar/flour mixture on top of pie filling, covering evenly.
• Return dessert to oven and bake for an additional 25 minutes.
• Let dessert cool. Enjoy as is, or with whipped cream.

Being Appreciated Rules!

2009-04-08T14:30:00.001-07:00

So…ignore, if you can, the state of my super messy desk and enjoy the lovely tulips that I just received from an instructor, who sent them just because I did her one favor. And by favor, I mean I made two phone calls. Seriously…it was NOT a big deal. But it still feels really good when you know that people appreciate what you do. I love nice people. =)

And Then We Saw Elton John

2009-04-06T09:02:00.002-07:00

So…as I mentioned, Kristi and I got to go see Elton John on Friday night, which was entirely because she has a very generous boss. It was just great. In the process of entertaining the pants off of all of us, they raised 550,000 dollars for the Matthew Shepard Foundation…so that was super cool. Anyway…I’m so glad we got to go! Our seats were really good…7th row, on the side…but with him facing us…so it was just great. He came out and started with “Your Song,” which is a favorite of mine…and it just got better and better. He’s just so amazing…a great entertainer! He’s SO good on the piano. When he played “Honky Cat”…it was just CRAZY how good he is on the piano. In my history of concert going, I’ve always thought people holding lighters and/or cell phones was kind of cheesey…but when he played “Candle in the Wind” and the whole arena had their cell phones waving…it looked SO cool. I never got my cell phone out…but I was converted to the fact that it’s a cool look. Hee hee. I could go on and on and just repeat how good it was…but I won’t. But it WAS so good. Just so you know.

Just A Little Snow

2009-04-06T07:54:00.001-07:00

So…on Friday everyone kept talking about how it was supposed to snow over the weekend, and I wasn’t too worried about it. I mean…I just thought it would be an inch or two…nothing to worry about. Friday night…it started. And it wasn’t so bad. Kristi and I went to the Elton John concert (which was GREAT by the way!) and it was just snowing a little on our way in. I had a fleeting thought that there would be a foot of snow on the ground when we came out, but 4 hours later, when we emerged, it wasn’t so bad. Just snow on the grass…and the streets were wet…just like I imagined it would be.

Saturday…however…was a different story. I woke up to a winter wonderland, and as it’s no longer the Christmas season and I’m not allowed to listen to my Carpenter’s Christmas CD without looks of scorn from those around me…I was NOT happy about it. It snowed all day Saturday and was just plain miserable. The picture was our picnic table at 4:00 in the afternoon, and it continued to snow and blow after that. And drift. And just suck.

Sunday it was sunny and began to melt everything…so we had slushy messy roads…(which turned to crunchy icy roads for this morning)…and we lost power for a little bit in the afternoon.

So much for freaking Spring! It’s a good thing I’m going to California next week…I need some warmth to look forward to! (Not to mention a rendezvous with a certain mouse and duck that I love so much!)

Do You REALLY Love College Basketball?

2009-03-26T13:25:00.003-07:00

So...those of you who know me...(and I guess that's pretty much all of you since I made this thing private...hahaha)...you probably already know how much I LOVE College Basketball. March Madness just makes me happy. And it's a nice diversion to keep my totally impatient mind from obsessing too much about how I wish my Disneyland trip were tomorrow instead of in 21 days, 15 hours, 32 minutes...etc.

With that in mind...this video made me laugh...I love me some hoops...but I don't know if I could handle THIS bracket...

NCAA Expands March Madness To Include 4,096 Teams

Seriously??

2009-03-18T11:03:00.001-07:00

So…the other night I went to a game with Kristi and Tyler. Kristi and I have season tickets right next to each other, and Tyler just gets a general admission child’s ticket when he comes. Our seats are in a generally non-crowded section, so it’s never a problem to have Tyler sit with us. This game was no different. Since the game was during spring break, it was even less crowded than usual, actually. There were TONS of empty seats all around us. It’s cool when we’re in kind of an empty section, because Tyler likes to run around, and we can put our coats and bags and Tyler’s pizza and whatever in the seats around us. It’s not necessary…but it’s nice.

Anyway…we were sitting there, when a guy and a girl came up to me and said, “Can we get our seats?” The gal was seriously SO irritated, I could tell…like, visibly angry at us…because apparently, their seats were, say, 10 and 11…and we were in 11, 12, and 13. (12 & 13 are Kristi’s and my regular seats.) I am honestly not exaggerating about the amount of seats that were available around us. Seriously…rows and rows of empty seats were behind and in front of us…seats were available on both sides of us. WHY in the crap did they have to throw a fit and make us move? Not that it was a huge deal to move…but it was their attitude about making us move. Ridiculous. Had it been me, I would have just gone down about 10 rows, where there were tons of empty seats, (I don’t know if I’d mentioned how many empty seats there were) and enjoyed the game from that much closer than I’d planned.

People are so weird.

What Goes Around...

2009-03-12T11:49:00.002-07:00

So…in my life…from time to time…you MIGHT find that I make fun of stupid people. Sometimes. I mean…you might not even notice it. It’s pretty rare.

Okay, joke’s over…you all know that I freaking HATE stupid people. And I mean…who is really to say who is actually stupid, and who isn’t stupid…everyone is smart in their own way at their own things, right? Right. I get that. But freaking common knowledge and common sense…we should all have that. People shouldn’t volunteer to teach a college History class for me…and then be shocked…SHOCKED…when I tell them that they need to have a Master’s Degree in History to even be considered. Or you know…even ANY type of schooling in History. Seriously? That’s just stupid. And I hate it. I hate THAT kind of stupidity. When people just don’t think. When they don’t listen. UGH. When they don't have common sense. And I make fun of those kinds of people…mercilessly. End of story.

Well…I became my perfect victim today. I think it’s called Karma or something. I’m a jerk to people who are idiots…and then…I become an idiot. I get it.

I had a gal call me today…

“Hey, Janine, it’s Heather…”

“Hey, Heather…how are you?”

“I’m great…how are you?”

“Really good, thanks…HOW ARE YOU?”

“Um…great.”

YEAH.

I’m so annoyed with myself right now. What was my plan? To continue asking her how she was until she gave up and left me alone?

“So, Janine…I was wondering if I could schedule a room.”

“Sure…and…How are you?”

I’ve had people do this to me before…and I’ve slapped them silly in my mind for proving to me that they aren’t even paying attention to what they are saying…let alone what I’m saying…because they are repeating themselves. Which is another pet peeve of mine. Repeaters. And I became one today. I’m an idiot. I get it.

It's A Numbers Game

2009-03-11T15:11:00.001-07:00

So…I find that, lately, I am constantly counting down until something happens. Like…counting down until that glorious moment pretty much consumes me. SO…I thought, to put a little twist in my life…live a little crazily…that I would see if I could count UP to that glorious thing. So…with no further ado…here are the things that come to mind when I think of the numbers leading up to my “I’m counting down” number. :)

1…is the number of days until Wyoming plays New Mexico in the Mountain West Tournament. GO POKES!!
2…is the number of days I have to wait for the weekend. I love my job, but I pretty much live for the weekend.
3…is the number of episodes of The Unit that I watched last night. I really love that show! LOVE it…
4…is the number of siblings I have.
5…is the lower end of the percentage range that we are expected to try to cut our budget by here at work. People are freaking out. I don’t know if it makes me optimistic or just stupid that I’m not worried about my job.
6…is the number of changes I have to make to the “I’m totally done, I’m not making any more changes” Fall schedule today. At least 6 is the number that I’m aware of right now.
7…is the number of lip glosses I have in my purse right now. (Okay, technically it’s 6 now, because as I was counting, I said “oooh, bubbleminty!” and took that one out and put it on my desk.)
8…is the number of days until the NCAA Tournament begins. OH, I LOVE MARCH MADNESS!!
9...is the number of calls I have taken at my desk today.
10…is the number of minutes that I overslept today. Somehow I still made it to work before I usually make it to work.
11…is the number, on a scale of one to ten, that represents how annoyed I am with XM Radio today.
12…is the number of people I have worked with, (who worked specifically in my office), since I’ve been at my current job.
13…is how old I was when I broke my back falling over a chair while dancing in the basement when I was supposed to be doing laundry.
14…is the number of nieces and nephews I have.
15…is the number of emails that is currently in my inbox.
16…is the number of high fives I’d like to give Aaron right now, as he just messaged me and offered to teach for me this weekend when we have combined wards. I love teaching, but love a week off just as much!
17…is how old I was when I owned up to how I really broke my back instead of telling everyone that I had no idea how it could have happened.
18…is the number of surveys I have to do in classes this semester. I’ve done 3 so far and I’m sick of them already.
19…is how many post-its and/or notes I have stuck to the perimeter of my monitor.
20…is the number of minutes that I tanned today...and without a single mishap.
21…is the number of times I have looked at the clock since I got back from lunch, thinking it should be 5:00 already!
22…is the number of people who are on my distribution list at work. They get a LOT of emails from me.
23…is Brandon Ewing’s number. Brandon is leaving the Cowboys at the end of this season, and I’m totally depressed. I love that guy!
24…is the best show EVER.
25…is the number of chapters my book will have, if I ever freaking finish it. At least…I THINK that’s how many it will have. That’s the plan right now…according to my super organized outline.
26…is the total number of calls I have on my call log on my new phone.
27…is the age that I think of myself being…all the time. Like, time stopped for me on my golden birthday.
28…degrees is the temperature right now. Too cold, if you ask me. BUT…it’s warmer than it was yesterday.
29…is the number of pencils in my pencil mug.
30…is the number of minutes I have until I go into my annual evaluation with my boss.
31…is the number of classes that I don’t have instructors for on my Fall schedule. Things that aren’t going to happen for another 5 months should not have the power to stress me out this much!
32…is the number of Grape, Cherry, and Fruit Punch pour in things I have in my side drawer. I pretty much drink those things all day long.
33…is the number of “Cars” that I have on my shelf here at work, including 6 different Lightning McQueens. People always comment about how huge my collection is. Little do they know that I probably only have about a third of those that have actually been released.
‘34…was the year that my favorite Disney character…Donald Duck…was created!
35…is the number of cents I have in my desk drawer.

And finally…the number you’ve all been waiting for…(or at least the one I have!!)…

36…is the number of full days I have to wait until I get to leave for Disneyland. I CAN’T WAIT!!

Blowin' In The Wind

2009-03-03T12:07:00.001-07:00

So, yesterday I was driving back to work after lunch, and noticed something out of the corner of my eye. There, blowing freely in the slipstream of my super cool Grand Am, was the molding strip from around my windshield. Like, flying off of my car. I wanted to die! I mean, I know there are nicer cars out there than mine…but I don’t want a car that is falling apart. I rolled down the window at the stop light, and shoved the molding back into place…only to have it go flying again about 3 seconds after I’d started driving again. Ugh. So…I rolled the window down again, (thank goodness we’ve been having unseasonable warm weather) and drove to work with my hand out my window, holding the molding in place. Yeah…because I didn’t want to look stupid or anything. Anyway…I got to work and called the GM place, and made an appointment to have it fixed this morning. I just couldn’t bear the thought of driving around with an embarrassing looking car. Even for one day.

Well, I got it back a while ago, and it’s all fixed. And I have to leave the bright green, totally un-embarrassing looking tape all down my windshield for 2 days. Sweet.

Embarrassing?

2009-03-02T17:20:00.002-07:00

So…I know that this probably makes me a bad person, but I can’t help but enjoy it a little bit when I’m really self conscious around someone, and I’m freaking out, because I’m on the verge of doing something fairly embarrassing…and then they, instead, do something TOTALLY embarrassing. And even though I end up doing my thing…their thing still trumped my thing. Yeah…that’s pretty much the best.

And no…I can’t give you any more details than that…because, even though my embarrassing thing was the lesser of the two embarrassing things…I still don’t want to talk about it…because, well…it would be embarrassing.

If you have my number, and you really want to know THAT badly…call me…I might tell you. : )

o/~ UPGRADE! o/~

2009-03-02T15:51:00.004-07:00

If you can’t learn life lessons from a Bootylicious Diva like Beyonce, I don’t know where you’re going to learn them. I mean, seriously. And, as Beyonce has wisely advised us…sometimes, you just need to know when an Upgrade is in order.

That being said, as I don’t have the need to Upgrade my man right now…I felt that the only thing I had left to upgrade was my phone. So long, LG-VX9400, aka “that swivelly phone that Iron Man has,” and hello, LG enV2, aka “that phone that Wonder Woman (or, for the uninformed, Kristi) has!”

Beauty Mark

2009-02-20T10:11:00.001-07:00

So…this morning I overslept, and when I’m in a hurry in the morning, something in my usually time consuming beauty regimen has to give. So…because I’m so anal about my mascara, I knew that cutting it out would buy me at least 5 minutes. Seriously…sometimes it takes even longer. But…anyway…I came to work with all of my makeup except for my mascara, which I planned to apply once I’d gotten to the office. You know, you’re not late if you’re actually in the building…even if you spend the first 10 minutes of your workday in the bathroom. True story. Anyway…while putting the mascara on, with a little too much flourish, I guess, I dropped the wand and gave myself a little beauty mark. I think I look prettier already…but it’s subtle enough that I don’t even know if anyone will actually notice it.

The Windy City

2009-02-17T15:06:00.001-07:00

I’m pretty sure that whoever named Chicago the windy city had never been to Laramie. Maybe Chicago is windier. If so…I never want to go there. If I look this pretty with a Laramie wind induced comb-over, I can’t imagine how hot I’d look in Chicago. My hair would probably blow completely off.

THIS...

2009-02-13T15:23:00.001-07:00

...is how I feel about driving to Cheyenne for meetings.

Wicked Witch of the Office

2009-02-12T16:29:00.001-07:00

So...a couple of minutes ago, I was informed that I cackle. I was laughing at a story earlier in the day...and my biggest concern was that I was laughing so hard that I accidentally snorted in the middle of the story. Little did I know that at least one person overhearing me thought it might be appropriate to drop a house on me.

"Hey Janine...do you realize that you cackle?"

Um..."I've never been told that before...I guess not..."

"You know...not every time you laugh...but today...it was a definite cackle."

I'm not really sure what you even say to that. It's not even that I was offended...(I've got pretty thick skin)...but I just thought it was odd. I might say that to a good friend...but not to a random work acquaintance. If I thought a work acquaintance was witchy, I would tell everyone BUT them. Hee hee. ; )

Testing

2009-02-12T15:15:00.001-07:00

I think I learned a new trick, and this is just to see if it actually works...so...here's hoping!

Ta-Da!

2009-02-12T10:52:00.002-07:00

So basically I'm just proud of myself for changing the layout of my blog. I see everyone else change theirs all the time and I'm always afraid I'm going to jack something up...or it might be that I'm too lazy...but I never change mine.

So...welcome to something new...from Janine!

On My Mind

2009-02-09T16:12:00.002-07:00

For some reason lately I can't seem to concentrate on the here and now. I'm just so preoccupied...

Sub-Zero

2009-01-27T10:46:00.002-07:00

I just thought you should all know that Mother Nature decided to wish me a big fat Happy Birthday by granting me -20 degree weather when I woke up this morning. That lady...so thoughtful.

:)

Big Brother

2008-12-17T15:30:00.004-07:00

So...this morning our boss told us that we would be getting surveillance cameras in the halls and by the exits of the building, just for security. Fine. He showed me and another gal in the office where they'd be...and that was that. Then he left for Cheyenne for meetings.

So...this afternoon, the camera guys have been working away...and I looked in the corner of our office and discovered a camera on the ceiling there. I'm pretty sure it's NOT supposed to be there...but Lynn isn't here to ask, and the guy who installed it says that his boss told him to put it there. So I don't know. It's actually freaking me out a little bit. Not that I do anything "shameful" at my desk...but how many hilarious "clumsy girl falling" videos do surveillance cameras supply to youtube each year? Face it...I'm going to become one of those girls. Something is BOUND to happen...if there is a camera on me 100% of the time. It's like tempting fate to have it there. I predict that I will have a humiliating, pants splitting fall by the end of the year.

At the very least, I'm not allowed to pick my nose at my desk anymore. ; )

And...I've Resulted to Bathroom Humor to Get Through The Day

2008-12-09T16:35:00.003-07:00

So...one of my favorite people at work is Jan, (actually her name is Janine, too!)whose office is across the hall from mine. There are many days that I think I would throw my hands in the air and give up if it weren't for her. She's just a fun person and she keeps me sane.

The other night, LCCC had our Christmas party and as it wasn't a "date" affair, more just a mixer and mingle type evening, I brought Kristi along. Usually I'm not a huge fan of company Christmas parties, but this year was the exception! Kristi and I sat with Jan, and Nycole (who works in Jan's office) joined us for part of the evening. The four of us were laughing SOO hard...(nothing is better than laughing/crying with a bunch of girlfriends!)...it was just the best.

At one point Jan told us a story of a friend who had a terrible gag reflex. She could NOT handle anything...barf, diapers, anything smelly or gross...it sent her over the edge. One morning she got up and looked across the room to see a huge pile of poop on the floor of her bedroom. Gagging uncontrollably, she ran to the bathroom and threw up. She didn't know what she was going to do...how would she be able to go in there and see the poop again? Who would clean it up for her? Finally...she mustered the courage and went back in her room to discover that instead of a pile of poop...it was her pantyhose! Needless to say...that we died. I haven't laughed that hard in SOOO long. Oh...good good GOOD times.

To show our appreciation for such a fun evening, Kristi and I picked up a present for Jan at Walmart over the weekend, and I left it on her chair this afternoon:

What can I say? That's what friends are for. :)

Merry Christmas Darling

2008-12-05T13:59:00.004-07:00

Oh...it's finally, absolutely, inarguably, the CHRISTMAS SEASON. Man I love Christmas. It really IS the most wonderful time of the year. I love shopping for gifts for my friends and family...I love the lights...I love the music...I love the smells...and unlike a lot of people, I even love the crowds at the Mall! It's all part of my favorite time of the year, and I relish every second of it. :) And of course the true Spirit of Christmas is the most important thing. How cound anyone not be in a good mood when there are so many reminders this time of year of the greatest gift of all?

I have been listening to Christmas music in my office since before Thanksgiving, but it finally feels official now that December is underway and Laramie is covered in snow! I generally am not a fan of the white stuff, but it has really got me singing "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" every time I look out my window. Hooray!

It's Been A While...

2008-11-18T16:10:00.004-07:00

So...in the spirit of my history with tanning rooms...

(if you don't know...hit the archive...)

...I thought I'd let you all know that if you happen to walk into Tanning Room #3 at Amazing Rayz in Laramie...and you're wondering who might have had the muscles and/or skills to completely break the industrial strength fan that is housed there...you should probably know that it was me. Um...I touched it. With one hand. And it immediately broke in half. Seriously...I need to lay off the steroids, I think...

Office Pool

2008-11-14T10:54:00.002-07:00

So yeah...if you had 7 days and not one minute more in the "How Long Will It Be Before Janine Goes Back to Blonde" pool, you may collect your winnings now.

Rolling With the Changes

2008-11-06T14:47:00.002-07:00

After getting super crazy and dying my hair, I took it to the next level and did something different with my nails, too. I have been doing glitter tips for a long time...but today...I got crazy and did TWO colors. I know...I'm going off the deep end.

Voting For Change?

2008-11-05T11:35:00.002-07:00

So...in the spirit of Election Day, I voted for a change in my own life, and dyed my hair. Um...not so sure how I feel about it. I used to go all crazy and do a different color of the spectrum anytime I felt like it...but in my old age, I've got my rut pretty well established, and branching out was hard. I chose the color that is just a couple shades darker than what I usually do, but when I was waiting for the dye to develop, I looked into the mirror, and my whole head was DARK brown. I almost had a heart attack. Luckily it rinsed to pretty close to what I'd imagined...which I think is fairly close to my actual natural color. I'm totally undecided...but we'll see. When I got the new color, I got a box of my "usual" color...just in case I can only stand the "new me" for a couple of days. :)

Who Are You?

2008-10-30T14:04:00.003-07:00

Well, Halloween is upon us, and Kristi, William and I are dressing up as the most elite of all crime solving teams...CSIs! I'm pretty excited, and think we are going to look sweet! I'll be sure to post pictures once we're all in our CSI garb.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Dirty Money

2008-10-21T15:45:00.002-07:00

Just now a kid came in and paid his bill...which was over $2,500 dollars...all in cash. Over half of it was in bills smaller than a 20. You know I loved counting all that! Especially when some of the cash is stuck together...and I mean STUCK...with some unidentified brown substance. I didn't sniff it. I didn't swab it for trace. There are rare days when I'm glad I'm NOT a CSI.

Celebrities Without Makeup. Or...Janine.

2008-10-21T13:40:00.005-07:00

I realize I haven't blogged in about 9 years...but really...I'm still alive. Sorry about that.

This past weekend I had to come up to Campus to let a group into the building for an all day meeting they were holding here. I had sent keys via our courier to the lady in charge, Arshi, but she didn't get them. Of course. So, she called me Friday night and I agreed to meet her at the building at 7:30.

For those of you who don't know...7:30 on a Saturday morning is NOT my best time. I basically rolled out of bed and washed my face. Then I put my glasses on and grabbed a hat to cover up my frizzy morning hair, and came on up.

I unlocked the building and met with Arshi, (who works in Cheyenne, so we don't see each other on a regular basis...this was actually the first time we'd spoken face to face) showing her around and blah blah blah. I told her I'd come back up around 5:30 to lock everything up again, and then I left.

I went home, showered, "put my face on," and did my hair. Nothing too fancy...just my regular regimen. At 5:15, when I came back up to Campus, I walked up to Arshi and saw ZERO recognition in her face. Seriously. She had no idea that I was the same person that had let her in.

I suppose it's a good thing to know that the time that I spend on my makeup and hair isn't wasted...apparently it DOES transform me into a brand new person. Knowing that I look like a mountain troll when I wake up, without having done those things, however, makes me wonder how I've kept any friends over the years of camping trips and slumber parties. :)

New Shoes Bliss

2008-09-17T10:52:00.003-07:00

Lest you think that Kristi is the only one in town who has darling feet, I just wanted to showcase a couple of new pairs of shoes that I got this past week. They are both Privos...the white ones are called the Privo Float, and the tan ones are called the Privo Comice. Well...that's what Privo calls them. I just call them super comfy and undeniably adorable! I love them both! And while both of them are regularly around 80 bucks a pair, I got them for $24.95 each! Super cute and undeniably adorable...AND a major steal!! Hooray!

Tropical Superstore

2008-09-11T18:29:00.003-07:00

So...I was minding my own business, looking at shrimp trays in the frozen food section at Walmart, when I suddenly felt like I was wasting my day away in a tropical paradise. Huh? What?

Oh...this might explain it...there was a guy playing the ukulele as he was shopping 10 feet away from me. NOW it makes sense.

I'm pretty sure that he knew I was trying to get a picture of him, but he can't think I'm TOO crazy. I mean, HE was the one performing in the middle of Walmart...and a lot of people take pictures when they are at a free concert.

Sheesh...and I thought the CPR dummy was unsettling...

Seriously Freaking Me Out

2008-09-08T12:58:00.002-07:00

So...I love myself a good scare, but today I almost had a genuine heart attack here at work. The copier had run out of paper...which is a common occurance, and I was hurrying down the hall to the storage room to get some more paper. When I opened the door, I was greeted by this guy:

Talk about giving me a freaking stroke!!! I think he's a new dummy for our EMT class...which is fine...but I've never seen him in there before, and he was RIGHT there in my face as soon as the door opened. I am glad nobody was in the hall with me, because I know that I physically jumped. AND...I made a little "freaked out" noise...that could not have sounded good.

Also, the other night, as I was leaving, I noticed the lights on in a classroom. I walked in, to make sure that nobody was in there, and as I knew that there weren't any other classes scheduled in the room that night, I switched off the lights. As soon as I switched them off...and pulled my hand away from the light switch...the lights came back on. The switch didn't move...but the lights came on. Weird, I know. I looked across the room and saw another set of light switches...and thought maybe it was some weird thing where they both had to be off to get the lights to go off. (But they DID go off. They just didn't STAY off.) Anyway...I went over to the other switches and turned them off. And...the lights immediately came back on. What the freaking crap?? It took me three tries, and some well chosen words under my breath (which I'm sure did nothing for my efforts, but they at least made me feel better) to get the lights to stay off. To this day I don't know what was going on...I've never had anything like that happen in any of our rooms ever. And nobody has told me of it happening to them, either. WEIRD. I'm pretty sure it was the ghost of an Underappreciated Admin Assistant of yore...trying to tell me that I'm not alone. ; )

Anyway...it's not even October yet...the official "scary" time of the year. I can't imagine what weird/freaky things are in store for me next month!

Pity Party and A Really Good Friend

2008-09-05T15:55:00.005-07:00

So...I try not to be a big emotional boob, but for those of you who know me...you know that sometimes, I just can't help it. This week has been super stressful, and this afternoon it all really caught up to me.

Earlier this week, we had this huge meeting on Campus. All of the Board of Trustees came over from Cheyenne...along with the President, and the Vice Presidents. We had a dinner meeting with them, and my boss gave a big presentation on our Campus' Master Plan. For over a month, I have been meeting with him and a couple others in the office to perfect the Plan...(my main function was copy editing, but we all brainstormed together to get the presentation together)...and it's been kind of stressful. On the day of the meeting, we were all running around like crazy, trying to get things together. I had to run to Walmart at the last minute to get mugs and other stuff for the meeting...so that everything was perfect. Long story short, it's been a lot of work for all of us. On top of all of this, I have been handling "beginning of the semester craziness," including rescheduling and moving classes...directing students and instructors in the right direction...getting supplies...taking payments...non-stop...and ALSO, working tirelessly on the Spring 2009 schedule, only to find out yesterday that the Summer and Fall schedules are due in the next two months. Bottom line...I'm tapped out. I like my job...but some days...it just feels like it's TOO MUCH!

Anyway...the meeting on Wednesday went really well...I thought the presentation went well, and it was just good. I was happy. All the hard work paid off. Hooray! So...there are three office staff members in my office. Lynnette and I are both Admin Assistants, and Karin is an Office Assistant. This afternoon, a florist arrived with two vases of flowers. One vase for Lynnette, and one for Karin. They were sent from the Admin Assistant to the President in Cheyenne...in recognition of their hard work.

Um...what??? I don't want to sound whiney, or sound like I toot my own horn, but my GOSH!!! I have been working SO hard lately. Not just on that meeting, but on everything!!! Talk about a gut punch. Everyone in the office felt really awkward...it was obvious...and I ended up in the bathroom crying. Then, when I got back to my desk, my boss came out, having found out what had happened, to tell me how much he appreciates me...and I ended up crying some more at my desk. What a baby I am!!

I'm not generally the kind of girl who HAS to have constant praise to function...but when everyone gets praised EXCEPT me...I'm not going to lie. It hurt my feelings. It just makes it feel like everything I do goes unappreciated...at least by the "big wigs." It shouldn't matter...and I'm over it now...but you know...that was my afternoon.

In the midst of all this, I got a text from Kristi, who I had emailed my frustrations to, and she said, "I promise...More people appreciate you than you realize." It was just a really nice text...and made me feel better. The people in life that MATTER love me. I just need to focus on that. I'm so lucky to have her as a friend...I probably don't tell her that enough...but I am so grateful for her! Thanks, Kristi!

Random Act of Kindness

2008-09-03T08:08:00.003-07:00

So...this morning I woke up and for some reason, I'm just feeling grouchy. I don't really know what my deal is...but I'm sure you know what i mean...we all have those days, right? I kept thinking...something nice better happen today...just to make it worthwhile!!

Well, I got to work and found a Luigi on my desk.

It's not really a secret that I love the movie Cars, and I have a collection of the little die-cast versions of little guys on my top shelf at work. This Luigi is bigger than my collection Cars, and he's plastic, but he's STILL adorable. And Luigi happens to be my favorite of all the Cars, so that makes him even cuter.

Nobody at work will admit to bringing him in. It was most likely a teacher from last night...but the point is that it totally made me smile. I'm still grouchy about some aspects of my day...but the Little Luigi did wonders for my overall mood! Hooray for nice people!

They're Coming Back to the Arena

2008-08-28T14:23:00.002-07:00

For those of you who have known me for any amount of time, you know that Wyoming Cowboy Athletics hold a special place in my heart. From the time that I was very little, I was trained up to love and cheer for the Brown & Gold…growing up in a college town makes it inevitable.

When I was a teenager, my love for Cowboy Basketball outweighed my love of pretty much everything else. Whether or not this has anything to do with a crush that I may or may not have had on a player who may or may not have played for them…is yet to be determined. There are some ongoing studies…I’ll keep you posted on the results.

Anyway…the point is that I recently learned that next month former Cowboy Basketball players from several decades will convene in Laramie and will play a reunion game. Although I can’t say that I watched all of the slated players in their prime, there are several of them who were my heroes of heroes in my youth. Theo Ratliff anyone? Reginald Slater? Roman Totta? Sadly Dean Noseep isn’t going to make it…but I guess you can’t have it all. I can’t wait to see them in action again!

Wow…I thought I was excited about the New Kids on the Block Reunion, but I think this might even trump NKOTB! If only they could get the New Kids to come and do the halftime show, I’d be in Memory Lane Heaven!!

Work Is Crazy...In More Ways Than One...

2008-08-27T14:22:00.006-07:00

So...it's the beginning of Fall semester in Laramie, and things are crazier than they've ever been. Our enrollment here on Campus is up almost 30% from this time last year...and I am totally feeling the overpopulation. Folks are just coming out of the woodwork. I really don't even know what that means...but if it means that my office hasn't seen a moment's worth of peace for about 3 weeks solid...then yeah...it applies. Anyway...I think that if people spend too much time in the woodwork...and then come out of it...to talk to me...the woodwork has done something to their brains.

For those of you who have never been to Laramie...it's not THAT big of a town. I mean, we have what we need, it's not some hillbilly back-woods hole in the ground, but...you know, you could get from one side of town to the other in 10 minutes or so. Not so huge. LCCC is located just off of Grand Avenue...which, if you live in Laramie, you know where Grand Avenue is...if nothing else. AND...we're right by Wal-Mart...and if you're alive, I'm pretty sure you know where Wal-Mart is. I'm horrible with directions, and I can usually find my way around. It's not that tough of a deal. Anyway...I just got off the phone with a new student, who has her first class at LCCC tonight. She asked me, number one, which level of the building her class was on. (We only have a one level building) Then, she also needed the physical address of the campus, so she could mapquest her way here. Um...seriously? I can't even imagine what city she thinks she lives in...because the directions to the campus are "Head east on Grand. Turn on the road before Walmart. Ta-da...there we are." It'd kind of be like mapquesting your way from the Deli to the Produce Section at the grocery store. In the time it took you to type in the coordinates, you could have already found your destination...just by wandering in the right direction. (UPDATE: As I was typing this blog, the lady called me back to say that our address doesn't exist on mapquest. I LOVE IT! So, I gave her the two part instructions. I hope she can figure them out.)

In addition...Mitch, who works over in Advising, just told me that when he went into the bathroom, he found an old man, "with huge buck teeth" (it really does create a better visual if I throw that in there) doing chin-ups on the beam that connects the two stalls. When Mitch asked him to stop doing said chin-ups, as our bathroom stall beams are not built to support excessive chin-up usage. He was apparently surprised, and expressed what an unusual request it was...to ask him to stop. Yeah...what were we thinking? Then, after being obnoxious for a while, he demanded that Mitch tell him where he could find a chin-up bar outside of the building. I'm not sure where Mitch told him to go...but he might try using mapquest to find his way.

Tanning Room Catastrophes, Take Three. And Four.

2008-08-21T13:18:00.003-07:00

Yesterday I went tanning. Really…the fact that I’m blogging about it…should tip you off that it wasn’t such a stellar experience. I mean, honestly…how many bad things can happen to a girl in a freaking tanning room? I really can’t blame all of my woes on tanning…but the fact that so many of my woes occur in those rooms…just makes me wonder. Or…maybe it’s a sign that I spend far too much time in tanning rooms. Who knows? Sigh…

Anyway…I was getting ready to tan. I was taking off my shoes when I felt a snap.

OH MY GOSH!!! The elastic broke on my shoe…rendering that strap totally useless. Are you kidding me? These are my freaking 120 dollar Danskos we’re talking about. Don’t you think that if you are paying 120 dollars for a pair of shoes that the effing elastic should hold its own?? I think I’d be less angry if it had been the buckle that had broken or something…because I feel like I could get that fixed. Maybe I can get the elastic fixed…but WHAT IF I CAN’T????? I’m going to be so so mad.

After the initial shock of having a disabled shoe, I continued getting ready to tan, and I heard the distinct clinking sound you hear when something metal falls on the floor. Looking around, I couldn’t see what it might have been…there was nothing on the floor. Reaching up, however, I found that the dangly heart thingy had come off of one of my favorite dangly heart thingy earrings.

OH MY GOSH!!! I looked and looked and couldn’t find it anywhere. I’m sure it’s underneath the tanning bed. Of course I wasn’t going to try to retrieve it…we all know what happens when I try to fetch things from uncompromising places in tanning rooms.

So…the moral of the story is…I’ve got a crippled shoe and half an earring. I’m sure you don’t care…but I’m totally depressed.

Now I'm Going To Have the Creepy Crawlies All Day...

2008-08-20T13:16:00.004-07:00

So basically I kind of like to consider myself to be a tough broad. You know, I'm not afraid to get dirty, and although I DO like to wear makeup and have my hair done, I'm not one of the girls who stands in the bathroom at Bear Lake for 3 hours fixing her hair for a night of flirting with the hot guys at the next camp site over. This might be because we didn't have any hot guys at the next camp site over from us...(there was a pair of questionable girls that made William uncomfortable)...but still...I'm not one of THOSE girls.

Anyway, in spite of my rugged exterior, there are a FEW things that freak me out...and near the top of that list...nasty gross spiders. Probably the only thing that is worse to me is a bee of any shape or form. But spiders...not cool. Not that I've ever been a fan of them...but I think my skittishness increased 38 fold when we had wolf spiders in our house in Utah. Oh my crap...those things are the DEVIL!!! They are huge, and scary looking...and freaking FAST. Oh how I hate them. Especially since one morning I woke up and, when I grabbed my cell phone to see what time it was, squished one as it was strolling across my keypad. WITH MY BARE HAND. BARF BARF BARF. I still get the chills whenever I think about it too much.

The point of the story is that today in the bathroom...I had a visitor in my stall. And he WASN'T little. I haven't seen that big of a spider...that close to me...since I scraped that rodent sized one off my hand back in Salt Lake. Fortunately I avoided having a heart attack...but it was close. WHAT the crap was this creep doing inside the College? Freaking jerk.

Random Summer Fun

2008-08-13T15:10:00.004-07:00

So I was just going through my camera and found some pictures that I must have taken when I was not in blogging mode. So...here are some pictures of some of my fun nieces when they visited us here in Laramie...

Man I'm So Boring...But I Did Go To The Lake!

2008-08-13T13:55:00.006-07:00

So I've had some complaints...("some" being one from Sharon)...I haven't been blogging a lot. I wish that I could say that I've been so busy or caught up in such exciting things...but in actuality...I just haven't had a lot to say. I get it...I'm lame.

This past weekend, actually, I did get to go to Bear Lake and had a great time with great friends. Kristi, William and I drove over and met Lacy, Val, Sarah and Sarah's kids, Sam and Emily. So much fun to spend time chatting and laughing like old times! Our campsite was pretty nice, not too crowded, and maybe best of all...had flushing toilets and showers. There is nothing quite as lovely as "roughing it" without having to smell like you're "roughing it." Also, without having to smell anyone else's...anything. =)

My camera was never in the right place at the right time...(I kept putting it in the wrong bag)...so I didn't get many pictures...but here are a few from the trip.

The Lake That I Love

William...going to give the whale/dolphin/floatie a try...

Nothing compares to a Bear Lake Pedicure...

Me and Emily. I really wanted to take her home with me!!

Josie!

2008-07-25T15:20:00.004-07:00

My oldest niece, Josie, arrived today for her yearly week's visit. That girl makes me laugh so hard...I can't wait to hang out with her! Woohoo! I hear person after person say that she reminds them so much of me...but I really have to beg to differ. She's way cooler. ; )

Those Little Rascals...(and Taylor!)

2008-07-21T09:38:00.006-07:00

Yes…the day finally came! I feel like Kristi and I have been planning this trip to Cheyenne for about nine years…it seems like forever ago that we bought our tickets! Finally, though…July 19^th arrived, and we were on our way to see Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts in concert! Woohoo!!

We got to Cheyenne fairly early, and did a little shopping…(who can resist a little out of town shopping when you get the chance?)…and then headed over to Frontier Park. We had brought extra cash to pay for parking, but were lucky enough to get a spot on the street right across from the Park, which was awesome.

We wandered around the Park for a while, which was fine…but I think Disneyland has spoiled us. I used to be fairly impressed with the Midway and Carnival at Frontier Park…but this year…it didn’t do that much for me. I mean…it’s just not the Magic Kingdom, you know? Oh well…we weren’t there to ride the Zipper…we were there for some SWEET concert action!

After waiting for what seemed like WAY too long, they finally let us in to the stadium. Our seats were really good, and the concert was GREAT. Taylor did a great job…I can’t even imagine being 18 and writing songs like she does and being on a major tour! I think she’s adorable and I love her music.There was a group of girls behind us that I honestly think were going to have heart attacks at every mention of her name. Honestly…they LOVE themselves some Taylor Swift. Once Taylor finished, in fact, they didn’t even stay for Rascal Flatts…who were the headliners! Crazy! I mean, I really loved Taylor…but even if she was the main attraction for me, I would have stayed for the rest…I mean…they’d already paid to be there, right? Oh well…I guess it didn’t really matter to me…

Rascal Flatts was everything I hoped they’d be. Lots of fun…great entertainers…and of course…their music is FABULOUS!!! At one point, Joe Don looked straight at me, pointed with his guitar, and winked. Because he has a crush on me, I’m pretty sure. I mean…he actually looked straight into the camera that was feeding to the big screen, pointed his guitar, and winked…but you KNOW he only did it because he knew that I would be watching. If I weren’t so against home-wrecking, I might be tempted to entertain his obvious obsession with me…but alas…I’m going to ignore his advances and encourage him to stay with his Playboy Bunny wife and new son. I’m just pro-family like that.

Anyway…long story short…(I mean, I can only go on so long about how good the show was)…it was a GREAT night...I had a ball! Hooray for great country music!! Woohoo!

Saturday Fun

2008-07-21T08:50:00.004-07:00

Well, it’s Monday which is usually a bummer, but I had a really good weekend, so that makes it a little easier to take!

On Saturday, Kristi and I got Tyler, Marcus and Nicolas together to play. For some reason, I didn’t take any real pictures…but I was video-ing up a storm. SO not like me…but what can you do? Anyway, the boys had fun jumping on the trampoline together, and outdid each other with their cool tricks!

Then we went to the church to play basketball, but mostly ended up just roughhousing around! You know how little boys are! Any prop they can find…turns into something fun.

Marcus decided to give Nicolas a ride on a “tow rope” that they found…(it was actually an old piece of volleyball net)…

But when Nicolas tried to return the favor for both Marcus AND Tyler…he had a few problems…

After wearing ourselves out in the gym, we all went out to lunch, and the boys had fun with the new Transformers toys from their Happy Meals.

As much fun as we were all having, we had to call the “play time” to an end, as Tyler had visitors to see at home, and Kristi and I had to depart for our next adventure…Cheyenne Frontier Days! (Stay tuned for that report, later today!)

Freaky Friday

2008-07-18T08:29:00.003-07:00

When I got into my car this morning, I noticed an ambulance, lights flashing, in the middle of the next intersection on Mitchell.

As I was approaching, I realized that there was nobody bustling around…and thought, “Oh…they must be in the house…” I am a total rubber necker, I think…I just WANT to know what was going on. I know the lady who lives in that house. Is she okay? Is her husband? What’s happening??? There were no clues, though…and I was left wondering.

It was in the middle of my wondering that I glanced to the right and noticed the bike in the tree.

Now, you would think, that if, at an intersection, there is an ambulance with lights flashing, and a bike up in the middle of a tree…that maybe those two things might be related. I mean…how many weird things can be going on in one intersection at the same time without them having SOMETHING in common? Who knows?

Unless the ambulance driver and an airborne cyclist decided to meet my up the street neighbor for some morning coffee, I have no explanation.

Late Arrival

2008-07-18T08:24:00.001-07:00

I was up way too late last night, waiting for my parents to get home from San Diego. They originally weren’t going to even be home until 11:00-ish, but after discovering a flat tire when they got to the parking lot, they were delayed a bit longer. Ordinarily I would be okay to go to bed…I’m not a “worry and stay up” type of gal. I’m a “man I love sleeping” type of girl. I had to stay up, though, because they were bringing a couple of stowaways back with them. Marcus and Nicolas are here for a visit, and I couldn’t resist the idea of getting some hugs before I went to bed. So…I’m really tired today…but it was worth it to get some loves from those Coca boys!

And I Thought One Tanning Room Mishap Was Enough

2008-07-17T12:57:00.008-07:00

I’m pretty sure my life would be a lot easier if I weren’t so vain. You know…I wouldn’t have to do my hair, or put makeup on in the morning. I could sleep for, like, 45 extra minutes every day. That would be the life! Except that I AM vain, and frankly…I wouldn’t let myself leave the house…ever…if I didn’t “fix myself up” every day. I guess that would allow me to sleep for, like, 24 extra hours every day...but, you know…I’m sure I’d get sick of excessive sleep and relaxation eventually. Like…ten years from now.

It is my vanity that leads me to tan several times a week. We’ve talked about my tanning love before. We’ve talked about the potentially humiliating positions said love has put me in. I don’t think that any bad tanning experience will EVER rival my original bad tanning experience, (in case you missed it, read about it here) I think that the cosmos are working to make sure that every once in a while I rue the day that I discovered the glorious effects of a sun bed.

Today I was getting ready to tan, and I set my pants on the chair next to the bed. See, I’ve learned a thing or two, I didn’t set anything on the top of the bed anymore! Anyway…I brushed against said chair and my pants slid off. No biggie…it’s not like I’ve never thrown a pair of my pants on the floor before. So…I finished putting my lotion on, and then reached down to grab my pants so they wouldn’t get wrinkled.

Instead of coming effortlessly off of the floor, however, my pants resisted. Knowing that pants don’t generally have a mind of their own, I leaned down for further inspection. I thought maybe the chair leg was on them or something. Not sure how I thought that might have happened…but you know…what else are you going to think? I don’t know…maybe you’d think that somehow your pants got entangled INSIDE the freaking fan that is sitting by the chair. If you would think that...you'd be right.

I don’t even know how it happened….but my pants were sucked inside the fan. Mostly they slid right out…except for the button…which had decided it was too big to slide through the bars. Um…so HOW in the crap did the button get through the bars in the first place? I DON’T KNOW! At first I thought it was just kind of funny. "Oh, the crazy things that happen to Janine in the tanning room." I even took a picture to send to my friends:

Of course, I thought it was funny because you’d think it wouldn’t be that hard to get the freaking button flush with my pants to pull it out the other way…but it was NOT happening. Like, the little fan bars are spaced too close together for me to get my finger through to press the button up against the rest of the cloth…so it just kept catching when I tried to pull it out. When I would release the pressure, it would sort of relax itself, almost fully against the material…but then as soon as I tried to ease it out…it would flip around again. I wanted to scream! What the freaking crap???

Of course my “get ready” time expired and my tanning bed came on. I considered just getting in the bed, but I didn’t want to have to wrestle with the freaking fan AFTER my tan…because I already have a reputation down there for taking forever and making ridiculously loud noises after tanning. So…the death-match with the fan was on, in the glow of ultra-violet light. I was totally stressing out because my tanning minutes were ebbing away, and I couldn’t get my freaking button out of the fan. I don’t pay for my monthly membership to get second hand rays from a bed that I’m not even in! ARGH!!!

Finally…after about 5 minutes of my tanning time had passed, I got the button out. I felt like punching my pants in the face, but they don't have a face, and I didn’t have time. I desperately hurried into the bed to get the most out of my remaining time…but I can TOTALLY tell that I’m 5 minutes less tan than I should be. : (

I’m starting to think that I need to just start tanning fully clothed in order to avoid clothing mishaps in the tanning room. I’ve already left the room with soaking wet arm pits…like a soggy butt and sweaty back would be any worse. At least I would keep all of my clothes under my control at all times.

Rock Creek Trail

2008-07-16T09:54:00.004-07:00

So, over the weekend (yes, I'm slow to post, give me a break) I went with Kristi, William, Ryan, Vicki, Tyler and Lynette on a great hike by Rock Creek. It's one of the prettiest hikes ever, (as long as you can get over the first 10 minutes, which kills me every time!) and I just thought I'd share some pictures/reminders of why I love Wyoming so much!

Happy on the trail...

Me and William...

William REALLY wanted to play in the water. I would have joined him, but I was too much of a wuss.

And then, suddenly, we realized that we'd somehow wandered onto the "Lost" island, and that remnants of the Dharma Initiative were surrounding us. If only Hurley had been there to start this van for us...we could have gone for a ride! Hee hee...

79 Days...

2008-07-16T09:42:00.002-07:00

So yeah...I thought you should probably all know that I'm heading back to Disneyland in October. It's pretty big news. I'm already counting down the days... : ) I just freaking love that place!! Hooray!

Janine Has Willpower? Since When?

2008-07-10T10:37:00.003-07:00

So yesterday I discovered the CUTEST pair of shoes down at Maurices. I'm telling you...they were SO cute. Ta-da!
I also found the CUTEST brown hoodie jacket down there, which I did not take a picture of, but trust me...it was SO cute, too. I mean, honestly...I was DYING. I wandered around the store, cradling the hoodie in my arms, and with one of the shoes on my foot. I didn't want to let them go.

In a display of self-control that I have NEVER known myself to have, I eventually put both the shoes and the hoodie away. I talked myself down from the spending ledge by using such logic as "Mom's birthday is coming up," and "Marcus and Nicolas will need some spoiling while they are here later this month." Typing it out now, I'm blown away. Since when do I fall for garbage (aka, logical thinking) like that??

It's like I don't even know myself anymore.

As Promised

2008-07-09T12:10:00.003-07:00

Phew...

Thank goodness that I know how to make lemonade from life's lemons. Or, rather, I know how to make pretty darned cute hair out of yesterday's shaggy messes. :) Notice the smile on my face...this is much better!

Bad Hair Day

2008-07-08T21:19:00.004-07:00

So I've been dying, I guess ever since I got back from Texas, to get a hair cut. My poor locks got pretty fried by a straightening procedure that I had done back in May, and my once all one length hair has gotten progressively more and more layered. Not so happy about that.

So...as I really didn't need anything extravagant done to my hair...(I just needed a trim, really)...I decided to take advantage of the Great Clips 4.99 Hair Cut Sale. I mean...for 4.99, you can't go wrong...right?

Hmmm...

I kind of think that Great Clips suffers from delusions of grandeur. Really...I think "Mediocre Clips," or "So-So Clips," or "You Can't Really Expect Much For 4.99 Clips" would really be more accurate.

In all actuality, the jury is still out on the quality of the haircut itself, because I have yet to have it styled. The thing about a 4.99 hair cut is that you don't get anything but a hair cut. (Unless you count unfounded, yet fierce, criticism about your hair care regimen from a complete stranger) So...on my lunch hour, I went down there, got sprayed down by conditioner water, cut, and then set free. No drying. No styling. And no time to go home and fix it myself. I stopped at Albertson's (of all places) on my way back to work and bought a comb and some styling cream, and went straight to the bathroom as soon as I got back to work. Although it is definitely not at all how I would ever wear it on a regular day, I finally got it AT LEAST presentable. Barely. I can guarantee it will never be styled like that again, anyway. To the untrained eye, it might not look so bad. I even got a couple of compliments on it. If I saw it on another person, I would most likely not think it was bad at all. But when it's not what you want...there is no convincing you that your hair doesn't look like crap. One thing I told her was that I didn't want it to flip out. If nothing else...I just didn't want it to flip out. Yeah...it flipped out. I wasn't too happy the rest of the day. :( I'll have to let you know tomorrow how it styles when I've had a chance to actually do something with it.

Anyway...some pictures...

Before, With Dreams of A Happy Hair Cut!

After, With Hopes That Only Blind People Would Come Into the Office In The Afternoon.

Same Story, Different Bangerter

2008-07-02T14:24:00.002-07:00

Over the weekend, I was at the park with my nieces, Shelly and Sydney. I caught Shelly doing some chin-ups on the bar, and decided to tape her. She did about 2 and a half, but after her second one, you can hear her say "FIFTY!"

It just made me laugh, because just the other day I was just remembering with some friends how I used to pretend to do the required amount of chin-ups or push-ups or sit-ups in Gym Class, so that I wouldn't be the last one done. I might have only done 5 sit ups, but if everyone else was done with their 20...I had miraculously done 20 too!

I guess some things never change!

Pedicure Pain

2008-07-02T14:13:00.004-07:00

Oh my crap, I haven't blogged in forever! Sorry about that. Either my life has been too busy to blog, or my life has been too boring to blog...the jury is still out on which one it is.

Anyway, last night Kristi and I decided to get our feet pampered, and we took Brittany along for her first pedicure. I think we all had a great time...Brittany got free flowers on her big toes, and she did say that one day, when we're rich, we should get them every day.

My only complaints come from when the lady was working on my right big toe...which is always really sensitive...(I seriously almost kicked her in the face, just because she was digging digging digging away!)

...and then when she got the little buffing/pumice stone out and tickled my foot to the point of near-hysterical laughter.

I do love a good pedicure...the hot lotion and hot towels are a dream, and the massage is so nice!! Your feet feel and look so good...especially once it's done...but it's one of those things...at least for me...and for just a fraction of the time...that validate the saying "beauty is pain." Hee hee...

Cody's Wisdom

2008-06-24T10:38:00.004-07:00

Kids really do say the funniest things. As I said in my last blog, I spent a lot of time with Cody in Houston. Both in the car, and just in walking around. He’s wise beyond his years, I think. Here are some of the tidbits he gave me…usually just out of the blue:

“Janine, if you’re pregnant, you should never smoke. It’s bad for your baby.”

“You should NEVER touch poisoned ivy.”

“I really am the smartest person my class. Nobody else knows it though, because they don’t read my journal.”

“I have about 5 girlfriends. But only one of them knows about it.”

Cody: “Janine, I wonder when you are going to get married.”
Me: “Me too, actually.”
Cody: “Just pick a boyfriend and surprise him. Just go to the Temple and marry him.”

Someday I’d like to be as smart as that kid…maybe I should read his journal.

And Then I Went to Houston

2008-06-24T09:46:00.010-07:00

So yeah...we went to Houston...and I've been super lame and lazy about blogging about it. Seriously it was SUCH a great time...I just am a lame-wad. Sorry about that! And...while I'm still super lazy...I've decided to at least post some pictures and some short little bullets...:)

First off...Houston is BIG. So we spent a lot of time in the car. Cody and I entertained each other pretty well in the back seat, though...

Our first big adventure was the beach, which was fun fun fun! The water was warm, which I loved, and the waves were great! Wasn't such a huge fan of the salt water...(bleah!)...but overall, it was a blast!!
After the beach we went to Kemah Boardwalk....

...and got soaking wet, both on a boat ride called the Boardwalk Beast, and in a sudden downpour!
The next day we went to the zoo where I got pictures of lots of animals and other crazy creatures...

We went to the Astros/Yankees baseball game, which was mercifully air-conditioned...(though I still managed to sweat my head off!)...:)

We had delicious Texas steak...

And...we had a great time bowling with the kids...

Finally...our last night there...we had a great barbecue and I think Jayden's face says it all...it was Good...:) (Actually, this is about the best smile he gave me the whole trip...he's not so sure about his Aunt Janine yet. I'm not really too worried...I'll convert him...)

Like I said...we really did have a great time! I can't wait for my next Houston Adventure...though I think I'll go in the middle of the winter, so that the temperature is only mildly hot, rather than boiling my face off hot. ; )