It's working!

So I have been on antibiotics for my acne problem for about 3 weeks now. I was warned that my skin would get worse before it got better and not to expect to see any results any time before 6 weeks. I am happy to report that my skin is looking significantly better already. I just went through a time where I normally experience an increase in acne and I didn't get one new blemish! So, I think I will be looking much better for my brother's wedding. I have even started wearing mineral make up because I feel pretty and want my skin to look great. Hopefully this will keep my skin clear and I will never have to deal with this again!

gov't happenings... neat site!

I was doing some online research for my new class starting today and came across a particular bill that was introduced which would give private sector employees the option to receive comp time instead of overtime pay for any time worked over 40 hours per week. The current law is from 1938 and the time constraints of that era are very different from today's society. Today people not only have to worry about themselves and kids, but also about their parents... along with employer expectations. Granted, back in 1938 the work week was higher than 40 hours, but many times only one parent worked. Anyway, this bill seems quite interesting and will change the way many of us live if it passes... It will allow employees to basically pick between a paycheck or time off. I think I like it.

Anyway, this website WashingtonWatch.com shows all sorts of neat stuff going on in our government. What really is going on in Congress and the House and what bills are being looked at. You can even vote on if you think the bill is a good idea or not and add commentary. Membership is free and only takes a few seconds to join. Check it out!

My vacation week in review

Today is Sunday, the supposed last day of my vacation... but yet due to my new school schedule I am off from work until Tuesday afternoon! So, another day and a half to go. I feel like this vacation was very unproductive. It was super scorching hot for the first half of the week. I had a big list of outdoor stuff that I wanted to get done this week and got 3 of those things done. The lawn got mowed, my hanging baskets got planted, and the carpet got put on the deck. I didn't scrape and paint the trim, didn't replace the trim around the side door on the garage, and my weed trimmer ran out of the wire stuff half way through (thank you to those who borrowed it and didn't replace the stuff that you used). I did get some stuff done in the house though. My room is super clean. I finally got all of my papers sorted, shredded, thrown out. I went through all of my drawers and cleared out so much stuff. I was so happy to sleep in my clean room the other night. Dutch even seemed to know that I was happy in my clean bed and took it upon himself to sleep in his own bed for once! I had cleaned the kitchen (I even stripped the floor late last week), bathroom, and basement. I cleaned the kitty room. I did laundry and ironed. I did all the stuff that I have to find time to do during a regular week.

Fritz spent most of the hot part of the week sprawled out under the table.

Zee thought it would be appropriate to sprawl out on top of the table (she is not allowed on the table or counters).

I also had my last day of my first class on Wednesday. Monday night I had my group come over for dinner and to work on the project. It was so nice to hang out with the gals and get some work done while talking about our daily lives. I really miss those times with my friends (male and female) in VA and the friends that I don't see much of up here. This made me think of how much I put into my friendships and how little I feel that I get back. I understand that people change, they are at different parts of their lives than I am (spouses and kids), and we don't all live close together anymore. However, I don't think that is an excuse to ignore the people that you were close to. I tend to be the one that reaches out to all of my friends. Once in a while someone will call me or IM me to see how things are going, but the effort really isn't there. I mentioned this to one of my friends and that I planned on laying low because I was done putting the effort in when others don't. He basically said that I was being lame and to get over it and was questioning if I was "testing" my friends. I just feel that I bug people if I am always the one to say hi. But, as my sister put it, some people sign on to an IM service and don't use it. It is just up. So, at this point I am in the middle. I am not going to go out of my way to contact people but if I feel like saying hi I will do so. I don't believe in the "I am busy" excuse that most of my friends give me when I finally hear from them. We are all busy. I am going to school, taking care of my house and pets, and remodeling my store... I know busy. But, I still do my best to make time to keep up with my friends.

This brings me to Thursday morning. I was still feeling kind of depressed over this lack of contact with my friends. So, I came very close to getting in the car and driving to VA. I miss my best friend and my godson and they always make me feel better. I was just in the mood to drive. I actually packed a bag. But, before I got in the car I checked my bank account and a trip to VA for 4 days was out of the question. So, I stayed home and did some more stuff around the house. My best friend randomly sent me an IM about 30 minutes after I decided that I wasn't going, which was a nice surprise. She didn't even know I was going to come down to see her.

I was so desperate for a pick me up that I drove to the airport to see if my flight instructor was there. Nothing makes me smile like a good flight so I thought it would be a good thing to go for a few s-turns and stop and gos. Unfortunately for my spirits and fortunately for my bank account, she was not there and I didn't get to go for my flight. Friday I paid my tuition for class that starts on Monday and traded in my books for my new ones. Then, off to the lake.

A few days at the lake was what I needed to do to regroup. I was there by 2pm on Friday and got home today around that same time. I did some pleasure reading, which made me do some serious thinking about how I live some of the parts of my life, did some walking with Dutch, some baking, a bit of geocaching (and picking ticks off of everything), and tried kayaking for the first time. It was also dockfest '08 - we put the dock in.

Driving the dock across the lake. Meghan is at the wheel and my Dad and Bryan Mc are on the dock.
Dutch is in love with the boat so the minute the dock was attached to the shore he needed to be on the boat watching people swim. It was about 7 am at this point.
Meghan and Bryan Mc enjoying a very early morning swim after getting the dock into place.

I am really not a fan of boating and water. I must have drowned in a past life or was permanently scarred from the knee boarding incident when I was 11. Either way, I never thought I would actually enjoy the kayak nor would I ever see myself crossing the lake in one. At first I started out a bit nervous. I stayed very close to shore. I was shocked to see how much more comfortable I felt in the kayak than I do in a canoe or rowboat. I think it is because I was low to the water. I discovered parts of the lake that I didn't even know existed. I crossed the middle of the lake in the kayak without having a panic attack or shedding a tear! All said and done, I covered half the lake on the kayak and gained lots of confidence.

Feeling out the kayak.Getting ready to go around the lake.

I returned home today to find my house with a foul odor or two... my roomie didn't take care of his rotting food scraps in the sink nor the knife he used 3 days prior. He didn't flush the toilet before he left for his week of training (we don't always flush if it is just pee to save water), and he didn't scoop the litter box before he left. I am a bit confused as to when he actually left because it appears that the cats were not fed on Saturday night either as they tore into their bag of food. So coming home was not exactly a pleasant experience. I don't understand how a grown man can have so much disregard for someone else's property.

At this point I am looking forward to going back to work.

I need a good...

... vacation! I am on my second day of vacation and I am planning on getting tons of stuff done around the house this week. Some landscaping, deck repair (more like covering the problem with outdoor carpet), scraping and painting trim, cleaning the garage and laundry room/storage room, perhaps painting the guest bedroom. I also have to finish one more group project for school and get my books for my next class which starts next week. No down time in grad school I guess. After this 8 week course I will only have 1 more class to go to earn my master's certificate in HR management. Then, I will be taking a few additional courses for my MBA with concentration in Organizational Leadership. I am finally going to finish this up once and for all! I am going to try to take a day trip somewhere to get some geocaching in as well. Perhaps something up north in the beautiful mountains or at the beach. If I play my cards right I will go fishing this week too!

So much has happened since my last post. My aunt Claire turned 50 and she had a kick butt party! I never expected this party to be so much fun! I am not a dancer, more of a wall flower. But, I was on that dance floor all night! And no, I was not drunk. Well, at least not for the first 3/4 of the party. My aunt loves Elvis. As a surprise for her, my uncle dressed up as Elvis and put on a show. Holy damn. I hope that I have a husband who will not be afraid to embarrass himself for me someday! It was so funny to see him up there doing that, but it was so sweet that he did!

I volunteered to get the party started with a game of get the ball into the basket. This is a pic of me getting strapped up. The video is of me trying to cheat to win.

This is me and my mom learning the Cotton Eyed Joe dance... which I really like. I have mastered the lasso part... one step ahead of my mom.

My aunt Lisa and I on drink number 4. I look like I am on drink number 4.

Elvis and Memere dancing.
Bryan and Katie... if you think this party was wild wait until their wedding!
Chicken dance Memere.
Emily showing Marc and Debbie what she is capable of.
No party is complete with out inflatable guitars...
Lisa is really into inflatable guitar playing. Rock on Lisa, rock on!
So, that party was the start to my very long and draining week. I was supposed to stay up that night after the party but due to the amount of dancing I did (4 hours or so) as well as the alcohol consumption and lack of friends coming over to keep me awake... I fell asleep just about as soon as I got home. Not good. I had to start night crew the next night! Sunday night started night crew. The fixtures were up and we had to merchandise it all in 3 days since we were a test store. I love being a last minute test store. Nothing goes to plan because they made the decision too late. But, after all was said and done we opened my half of the store for public eyes on Thursday morning! It was a lot of blood, sweat (5 trucks), and me cooking food for the crew but it got done and it looks amazing! Of course I forgot my camera on Thursday so all I have is pictures of a half finished store. Considering I got about 3-4 hours of sleep a night at the most, I am in some serious need of catch up sleep! I slept until 11:30 am today!