I seriously need to take pictures!

Sorry I haven't posted since Sunday. I have been running all over the Bay Area, shopping, and watchings movies. I saw Batman Begins yesterday; awesome!I kept waiting for Batman to break out the chainsaw though, I still am traumatized from American Psycho, lol. My daughter and I are having fun and bonding. We had a very hot, European guy play with our nails yesterday, so I just had to buy the nail stuff. She gave me a great hand massage and manicure last night. I now have beautiful nails. :) I still have a week before I go back to work, and when I do go back I go back as a manager; I'm scared, but excited at the same time.
This is my final week of class, I have a paper to write, a final to finish and I'm editing and turning in the final paper for the team. Lots to do; I'm glad I took off work this week :) Gotta go get some of that homework done. Hopefully I'll have some photos soon.

She's here!

My baby is here! We are watching movies and eating pizza......

One more day!

Just one more day till I pick up my daughter. I'm really excited!!!
I haven't gotten much done so far. I have half a paper written, got the bathroom straightened up (oh...gotta make a space for her in there!), got some laundry done, and vacuuming. Today I have to get my papers finished and do dishes.

Was just thinking about the fact that I haven't updated (nor posted anything about) my website, Rhowan's Fantasy Castle
I've had that one up for about 6 years and haven't updated it in awhile. I miss the free time to play with that stuff, I miss making the graphics and chatting with my friends in the groups I was/am in. The website needs a serious update though.

The weather today is crappy. It looks like it is going to rain. Makes me want to make some more coffee and play Final Fantasy X
I'm currently playing FFX, again. I keep getting close to the end and realizing I missed stuff. It's a long, involved game, very fun!
I guess I should be getting back to my paper. 700 words about an article on workplace compensation, blah!

Vacation

My vacation has begun. I have about a week and a half and then I go back to work as a manager. :) I'm excited, and scared.
Sunday I pick up my daughter. Yay!!! :)
That means I have two days to write two papers, a portion of a team paper, and clean my entire apartment by myself. Weeeeeeeee!

A Great Day!

The visit was fabulous! It was short, I did well. and managed to impress. As soon as I got home I went to sleep. I got up this evening and just vegged for awhile.
I always do this to myself; I stress and stress, and fret, and fret, and then everything turns out great.
My vacation starts the day after tomorrow. I have Friday and Saturday to get the house clean, and homework done, then Sunday I pick up my daughter. I need some serious down time.

Sleep

OMG! I need sleep! It's 3:30 am! I finally got to bed at 11:30 last night, and of course I tossed and turned for the next 4 hours. Now I have to get ready to go to work; I have to be there by 6 am. My manager says we are going home once the visit is over. If I make it through today, I'll post about it at some point.

I finished The Secret Life of Bees last night (hence the staying up till 11:30 when I should have been sleeping). What an awesome book!

Tomorrow is the Big Day

So the big visit I am stressing over is tomorrow. Yesterday I found out that I get to give a presentation to the visitors. I've been flipping out ever since. I did my best last night to de-stress; I played FFX for about an hour then took a nice, hot bath and read The Secret Life of Bees. The book was too good, and I stayed up later than I should have. I spent the whole night going over in my head the process of how the presentation should go. Basically I just have to show them how I do my job to their new standards, and my school has been training me on how to regurgitate information I've just learned like a seasoned professional, so I shouldn't have too much trouble showing them how I do my job to their new standards. I think my nervousness is related to the fact of who they are and how many of them there will be; it's supposed to be a large group; also to the fact that there is one day left till the visit and my department is a mess.

The Secret Life of Bees, by the way, is a great book. I couldn't put it down. I just started it last night and I'm halfway through it.

An Ikea Afternoon

ikeastuff


I spent the day saturday putting together a horrible 5 year career plan for class. Then yesterday it was back to work. I went in early so I could leave at a decent hour so Aaron and I could go to Ikea. We had dinner first; then off we went to shop till we dropped. Actually I just picked up a few essentials; like a couple lamps, a cover for the futon mattress, a dish drainer, a blanket, and a cute little outdoor rug for the balcony. Later we'll go back to get the patio set. :)
Just a couple days left till the madness at work is over. Got to get ready for it right now....

The List

Here is a list of the craziness in my life right now. Not that I am stressed out or anything, lol.

1. I'm getting promoted (it's an awesome thing, but stressful nonetheless).

2. My store has had three visits in the past month, and is now getting ready for a visit from the top guys.

3. I have ten million changes to make in my department before the visit and have only 3 days left.

4. While trying to complete one of them yesterday our store almost caught on fire (not because of what I was doing, it just happened at the same time). We had to evacuate the store and clean-up the store, and our sales were killed because we weren't able to open back up, and I was unable to complete my task.

5. Today at work there is a bookfair and booksigning; we have a visit in three days and a million things to do!!!!

6. I have school work to complete while all of this is going on.

7. I have to work tomorrow! (I don't usually work on Sundays, I have school work due).

8. My daughter is staying the summer with me and will be here in a week; I have not had time to prepare things for her, or me.....


I am exhuasted! Today I have a five year career plan to turn in to school. I have it started at least. Thank God I have a vacation coming in one week.

Walking is good

Just back from a nice walk this morning. Muscles are tingly and I'm ready for a shower; this wasn't a leisure walk, lol. Off to shower and get ready for another day on the job...

i'm freaking out

i can't go into detail, but there is too much going on in my life all at once and it's starting to feel overwhelming. if i can get through the next two weeks, all will hopefully work out. i realized the full extent of it all last night and suddenly panicked. even my kitty can tell i'm stressing; he has taken over my lap and i can only type with one hand. i guess i should be working on my 5 year career plan for class....

Quick note before work

I just wanted to post a quick update before I get ready for work. I am so sore from the 3 hour walk on Sunday. Then yesterday, after dinner, Aaron said "want to go for a walk around the complex?" and I said "sure, sounds good!" I am now in pain!!! My legs hurt so bad. Which means I will have to do it again tonight. It's all good though. Maybe some of this darn weight will come off. I'd love to be able to fit onto the closet full of clothes I have. Right now I have two pairs of pants and a few shirts that fit, and I have a huge wardrobe. But, I know...I quit smoking, blah, blah, blah.....Okay, done being vain ;) Off to work I go.....

Butterflies are free (and so are sunburns)!

Had an awesome day today! Had worked on team paper for class this morning; I did finish my other paper yesterday, and I think I did a good job. Anyway, Aaron and I headed off to the park after we finished the things we had to do this morning. Butterflies are everywhere. I tried really hard to get photos of the groups, but I'm just not fast enough. With a little patience I was able to get a few pictures of a couple individual butterflies (See below). I think we spent about 3 hours or so there and then headed off to the grocery store. We made rootbeer floats when we got home, yum! I got a little sunburned at the park (forgot my hat, ouch).Had a nice active, fun day overall. :)

butterfly


butterfly


butterfly


butterfly


butterfly


butterfly


water rippling


beach at the park

Another day (can't come up with clever title)

I love Aaron. He is the coolest guy ever! He got me out of bed this morning and made me go for a walk with him. It is such a nice day out, the walk first thing in the morning was really nice, and I got some much needed exercise. He says we will do it again tomorrow. I had a migraine yesterday so today I feel like a train wreck. I want to sleep so badly, but I have that paper due today. I've only got an outline for it so far. I can toss together a paper pretty quickly, but I am feeling overly self-conscious as my last paper didn't receive high marks. So, I will torture myself all day trying to put together a perfect paper.

Tomorrow we'll be hitting the park, and I'll be working on another paper.
Just two more weeks until my daughter is here for the summer!!! (I'm sooo excited!!!)

Just a quick note...

before I head to bed. Got the new fridge today. It really is new. We thought it would be one they just took from another apartment, but nope, it is actually brand spankin new. :)

I survived the overnighters at work and actually felt productive. Got to work from home today on a project for my department.

Aaron took me shopping to get clothes that fit (I also snuck in a little shopping at Newport News tonight online *shhh*). I've been trying to squeeze myself into my jeans everyday, and it just wasn't working anymore :(; I almost called in fat to work on Monday (no kidding). I think I have the smoking thing conquered, so now I need to work on eating better and moving around more. It's hard to find the energy to move around more when you are on your feet all day to begin with. I'll probably never be a size 8 again, not as long as I don't smoke, but if I can at least be a fit size 10 or 12, I'll be content.

I'm freaking out about the weekend. I am behind in class and have a papers due both Saturday and Sunday! *pulling hair out* Got to get to sleeeeeep..........

Time Flies

Is it Wednesday already?! I was just jolted out of sleep at 1:30 pm by a knock at the door, and the bell ringing. It was maintenance wanting to look at our fridge that hasn't been working. We have been having to throw out food before it's expiration date. I told him that in a still half asleep babble, and showed him my mushy fruit popsicles. He recommends a new fridge, and will be back later today with it. *Big Smile*. Poor guy must of thought I was a freak. I didn't have my coordination going or anything, I don't think I even made any sense when I spoke. I'm still not quite awake. The over-nighter at work went okay. We didn't get as much done as we had hoped, but it's always that way. I'm doing another tonight and then Thursday I get to do the big project at home.

Bad Chi

Figured I should at least post something since I haven't posted since Friday morning. I had another nightmare last night, that makes 3 this week. I almost never have nightmares; it's been a very long time. All three were about being stalked or watched by someone who intended to kill me. I guess it's time to get out the dream dictionary. I cut down on the caffeine yesterday and today I woke up with a nice headache. My shoulders and neck have also been sore for the past week.
Today we have to get our apartment spic and span and pretty. Ants have taken over the bathroom, our fridge isn't keeping things cold and the bathroom sink is clogged. Bad chi everywhere!

Always Look On the Bright Side of Life

What a crazy day yesterday! Why are people so afraid of change? And why are older people especially afraid of change? I know that is a blanket statement, but I haven't yet run into any older person that hasn't fought change, any kind of change, with a very cranky attitude. And why do I always end up working with these people? I guess I must have something to learn from it; I wish I would learn it already! Most of my morning yesterday I had to deal with cranky old people, the rest of the day wasn't so bad. Got invited to the lake this weekend. If I can get my paper for class finished I just may go. Aaron and I took off to our park again yesterday after I got off work (pics below). After an hour I thought I was going to die; I am so out of shape. We had fun, and then went out to eat. When we got home, my daughter called (I always love to hear from her! *hugs*) Just 3 more weeks until she is here spending the summer with me! Anyway, we watched Monty Python's Life of Brian afterwards. Aaron had never seen it. After that it was off to bed. Now it's almost 7 am and I have to get ready for work or I'll be late. .........

Soooo tired!


Lots of trees


Eeeewwwwww


Ferry


Beach 1


Beach 2


Aaron on the beach


Pond


Point Pinole Plaque


Parking Lot