10.05.2009 Happy New Year!

Okay not really the Happy New Year most of you know... but those of you who work for the government (or anywhere actually) that ends their fiscal year on September 30th, you know what I am talking about. I am so glad the fiscal year is over at work. Last year (before my time) it was a rough close-out of the fiscal year. After hearing all the horror stories, I was very anxious to go through my first year-end with the new job. We worked hard with lots of overtime but it was such a smooth close-out. In fact, we basically were done the day before the last day of the fiscal year. Wouldn't you know it, it was one of my transactions that didn't get done last Tuesday and was finally completed on September 30th. Needless to say this past weekend was a nice relaxing weekend without having a worry of work in my head. Granted we are on to fiscal year 2010 which is another set of anxieties to worry about....

Not much new going on. My next hurdle is moving. No it isn't to a new house that I bought... couldn't quite get that worked out. But I will be moving, however, I need to find a rental house first. I have started looking and will be previewing a house this week. I am so tired of my small apartment. I have been feeling clausterphobic (I have no idea how to spell this and really don't want to Google the spelling right now but I am sure you get the gist) and hate my apartment that seems to get smaller by the minute. So I have been looking for a bigger place. Not too much bigger as I don't want to have to clean that much more of a house. Just a place with at least two bedrooms (one for the crap... sorry I mean scrap room) and a backyard for the doggies. I still want to bring Sugar to El Paso... even if she is a pain in the ass of a dog. She is my dog and I love her ugly mug to pieces. (And her mug isn't that ugly, to me anyways!) I have two more months on my lease at my apartment but would like to move ASAP!

I did some crafting over the weekend as well as movie viewing. On Saturday I took a card class at a cute little stamping store I frequent. They were having a big sale and celebration this weekend. We made two cards (Christmas and Thanksgiving) and a faux snow globe from an ornament. Too cute. Needless to say I spent a bundle at this store followed by more spending sprees at Hobby Lobby and Michael's. Seriously did I need to spend a good $100 to make Christmas cards? I only send out a few cards. Do I need to mail a card that is going to cost me about $10? Oh well, this is my one vice and I haven't spent a lot of money on it this year. But after the class and shopping extravaganza, I came home to make a few birthday cards. Some I needed and others I just wanted to use up the scraps. I felt accomplished.

I saw Whip It and Zombieland yesterday. Both movies were too cute. I loved Whip It. Makes me want to find a local roller derby group and join in on the fun... whether in the audience or in the ring. Granted I can't skate for shit but it looks like a hella lot of fun! Zombieland was a fun time as well. Bill Murray's brief cameo is one of the best parts of the movie. Not a big fan of the nerdlinger that is in the movie but he didn't bother me that much that I didn't enjoy the movie. Definitely recommend both movies for your entertainment.

No I don't have any dolls to show... everything is still in a state of half completion. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I finish the two paper clay dolls I have started for Christmas... as they are intended for Christmas gifts. I am so ready to get my crafting station in order at a new place. I do not have any room to comfortably spread out and organize my stuff so I can have it at hand. I have so much of my supplies still packed up in storage. I hope you understand my dilemma.

I am off this weekend... four days as I took Friday off. I cannot wait to do nothing. Well hopefully I do a little something something. But as of right now I don't have anything planned but a trip to TxDOT to request a vehicle title. Yes I know... big plans!!! I hope I can fit it all in. Kidding.

See you later alligator!

09.13.2009 My apologies...

Sorry but it has been awhile since I posted. Not much to say. I was trying to buy a house... note the word was. Not going to happen in the near future. So I continue to be a renter for now... I will be moving at the end of my lease though. Looking for a house with a yard versus the crappy apartment where I currently reside.

Pearl has been sick. Just a little IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) or something similar anyway. She was vomiting off and on for about a week then got the diarreah (or however you spell this damn word). She started to worry me and of course the vet wasn't open on Labor Day. I took her to the vet last weekend and after almost $300 I was told she just had an upset stomach and irritation in her bowels. So a gabillion pills later and special dietary food, Pearl is much better. Or so I thought.

Before I took Pearl to the vet, she was stung by a scorpion. She cried out one evening and jumped on the bed favoring her paw. She was licking her paw and would wimper when I went to touch it. Of course the next thing I know, Pearl is barking her fool head off. After I told her to shut up several times and wouldn't stop barking her gob, I got up to see what the dealio was. And that is when I saw Mr. Scorpion walking around the apartment like he paid the rent. I quickly informed him he didn't pay rent and he had to go. Away he went down the water highway to the sewer as quick as I could flush. I did tell the vet about the scorpion and she didn't think it was any big deal.

So the day after I took Pearl to the vet (Tuesday), I come home from work (Wednesday) and Pearl's face is swollen form her eyes to her muzzle. She also had a big swollen know in her armpit. While my heart was broken seeing her like this, it was also quite humorous. Unfortunately I was unable to get a good picture of her all swole up like John Goodman. But the worry kept at me. I tried calling my mom several times to no avail. Mom is the next best thing to a vet... Luckily she called me back after an hour or so. In this time, I did see there were a couple of welts on Pearl's face. I explained to my mom what had happened... maybe it was an allergic reaction to the meds or the scorpion or something else. My mom thinks it was a spider bite. She prescribed Benadryl and to watch Pearl for any changes. Luckily for me and Pearl, her face was back to normal the next morning.

We will be having a house guest this week that will be staying for a good week or so. A friend of mine is having surgery and I will be babysitting his dog. Ranger is a 3.5 month old mini weiner (or a Vienna Sausage as my sister describes him) and is cute as a button. And it is a good thing this dog is so cute because he has the energy of a Tazmanian Devil. He is a wiggle worm, whether you are holding him or not. I don't have the energy for Pearl let alone a crazy baby weiner named Ranger. My hope is that Pearl and Ranger will wear each other out playing so much...

I have been super busy at work. We have been working crazy overtime this month preparing to close out the fiscal year. If you work for the federal government (or any government) and work in any part of Financial Management, then you know my pain. Luckily the fiscal year will be over in a couple of weeks and I can get back to normal. Okay the money will be a nice bonus but the overtime is killing me. I am exhausted. It would be one thing if I actually slept at night but I don't.

12.21.2008 Pecans

I have had a pretty exciting week. Lots of holiday cheer at work. We had a birthday lunch for the boss on Monday, the boss threw a department holiday luncheon on Wednesday, and we had an employee holiday party for the entire agency on Thursday. So you can see we Federal employees didn't do much work this week and will do even less work this next week considering we have half of the week off for the holiday. Our Commissioner gave us half the day off on Wednesday, Christmas on Thursday, and the President gave us Friday off. Yay me!

Now the exciting part that happened this week, happened to me on Thursday at the employee holiday party. Right before they were going to serve our meal, a police officer came to the party asking for the owner of a certain vehicle. Before the vehicle was announced, my table was laughing saying they were looking for each other's vehicle. As you guessed it, I was the lucky owner of the vehicle in question.

I got down to my vehicle to discover while parked, a 14 year old kid and his girlfriend had hit my car. They were driving a friends car and the young man was digging for something in the backseat when he jumped the curb and hit my car. He just happened to miss a tree and a street sign, going through them like a goal post to land on my car He pushed my car a good foot and without hitting the car parked next to me. Of course his car, or shall I say his friend's car was toast. The front airbags deployed shattering the windshield. The front right tire was blown and fluids were leaking. My car suffered damage to the dumper and left fender, maybe a little to the grill too. I do have uninsured motorist coverage which is a good thing because this kid wasn't insured as any 14 year old that isn't legally allowed to drive wouldn't be. I did feel a little for the kid though... his older brother showed up to the scene and between him and the cop, they gave this kid a lecture of a lifetime. They were going to have to take him and the girl to some juvenile detention facility until their parents showed up which wasn't going to be anytime soon. The kid was so apologetic and I really wasn't upset. Really it was just one of those things. Shit really happens. Yes I am not happy that my insurance company will probably have to foot the bill. I am happy that I have uninsured motorist coverage to my deductible is $250 vs. $500 and I am not limited to a $20 a day rental car. I can get a rental comparible to my car while the repairs are being done.

My appointment isn't until Wednesday to see the insurance adjuster. My car is drivable. My insurance premium will probably increase. So overall I am not too happy but what can you do.

Maria and I went to Stahmann's Farms yesterday and loaded up on pecan candy goodness. They have the best local pecans and make the most delicious candies and goodies. Always a nice trip "out of state". They are located in La Mesa, NM.

Nothing really planned for this Christmas week except to get a little work done. Seriously need to get some boxes unpacked today. Make room for my new furniture which I still don't know when it will be delivered. Making a roast today in the Crock Pot for dinner. Basically I will try to be a hermit today and not leave the apartment. Now if I could just get dressed and out of bed!!!

Work

I always talk about my job (well complain probably is more like it). My sister and I work for our parents' wine distribution company. I finally got our blog for the job up-and-running. Doesn't really say much except news revolving around the wines and winemakers of the products we carry in our portfolio. But if you are into wine, it is a nice place to research some new boutique wines. It is still in the beginning stages of a blog and I don't have all the links posted yet... but VISIT HERE if you are interested.