Stupid People, Toilets, Heat and Technology

I have a few things to get off my chest that I must rant about! I needed to do this last night but ran out of time.

I am so tired of working with stupid people. I swear I am a magnet for them at work. I must have a sign that says "Emily is a patient, loving, kind, an even temperament person who does not mind working with stupid people." No matter what job or position I am in they flock to me like a moth to a candle. What am I supposed to learn? To be more patient, to be more understanding, to be more humble???? I am just amazed at the lack of common sense and the ability to read through an email and not understand what seems so black and white to me. Or to not have the decency to send a cancellation for a meeting instead of wasting someones time and not tell them you can't make it. Yesterday I reached my max of stupid people!

Let me paint you a picture...you are at a store and all of a sudden your bladder hits you and you must go right now. You quickly walk to the front of the store to use the restroom. Walking into the restroom you see only a stall or two open and dive into the first one. Not looking you sit down and instead of feeling relief your bum feels damp. Why didn't you think to look before you sat down?! You hope it's water and not someones urine. You stand up and dry your bum off and turn around to flush the toilet and it sprays onto the seat and gets your foot wet too. At least you know it was water (or you feel a lot more confident it is).

Let me paint you another similar picture...you are in a restroom that is a one stall restroom and you get up after you are done doing your business (#1). You reach for the handle on the toilet and it flushes barely. So you try again but still nothing goes down. You wait a moment so you can let the water reservoir fill up. Again you try a third time and you think it is going to go and you are sadly mistaken. Isn't the third time supposed to be the charm? Okay fine you hold the handle down now and wait until all the toilet paper is gone. Finally you wash up and leave the restroom and someone is waiting in the hall and looks at you funny. You think to yourself if only you knew what you were getting yourself into! Good luck flushing that toilet lady! I hope someone looks at you like that!

Have you ever experienced either of these types of experiences? Seriously can't we have a toilet that you push the handle and it flushes and when it does flush not spray everywhere so that the toilet gets wet.

Anyways what is the deal with this heat? I do not live in Idaho or Utah or any desert for a reason! I like even cool temperatures. Don't get me wrong I love the sunshine but a nice 70-75 degree range is perfect. Not 85-105! I was mowing my yard two days ago and was doing okay and then I walked into my house and sat down at the computer for a few moments and almost immediately I felt sweat rolling down my backside. EEEWWWWWW!! I think an investment in central air conditioning is a wise investment for our home. Even if we don't get all that many hot days I rather not sweat to death when it is warm out. We have certainly helped to boost the economy. With the heat we have not wanted to cook so we eat out, go shopping to stay cool and drive around just to be in the AC. It's been a spendy couple of days. When we got home yesterday our thermometer said it was 90 degrees in our room and 103 outside I believe and 85 in the hallway. Crazy!!! I had to sleep upside down to get cool enough to go to sleep it made it so I was closer to the fan. Jared doesn't like it when I do that because my feet are in his face and let's face it I am not a still sleeper. I am a mover and a shaker but at least I haven't shoved my toe in his mouth unlike someone I know. :P

Okay last rant for the day! Sorry no good transitions for any of them...I love technology I really do! I mean I get to share information with people via an email instead of having to make 10 phone calls, I can research information on how to get wax off a wall, I can call my husband when lost in a new state, and so many other things. But when they don't work it's the end of the world as we know it. I work at Microsoft and I have been going crazy lately by the issues I have been having with my computer. I will receive emails late like 3-4 hours or get someones response to an email before I get the original email. Miss an email completely or my computer will freeze. My job is solely dependent upon my computer when working so when it does freeze then I am stuck staring at it thinking or saying out loud "You stupid piece of junk!" Seriously I hate how dependent I have become upon technology some days. I go crazy when things don't work the right way and quickly when I want them to. I know take a deep breath Emily it's an inanimate object but it still gets to me.

I feel so much better getting that off my chest. That's such an interesting comment because it's not really on my chest it was just in my mind...anyways I feel better venting or ranting on.

Adoption

So for those who don't know Jared and I are adopting a little girl named Olga from Spain. We are very excited for this new addition to our family. We've been a little frantic the last couple of weeks getting a room ready and organizing our house for her. She is coming in this Thursday. Below is a picture of Olga.





Just kidding we are not adopting. We are participating in an exchange student program. Olga is 16 and coming from Spain to stay with us and go to school here. We are signed up to have her through November currently.

We've decided to go from no kids to a teenager instead of a baby. ;) We shall see how it goes.

Christmas Crafts in July

Okay so I've debated and tossed the idea around back and forth about blogging about an email I got shortly after my last posting. But I can't put it off any longer (I was actually just waiting to have some down time ;) ).

Almost immediately after I did my posting about Christmas music in July I got an email from Jo-Ann Stores about Handcrafted Holiday gifts and crafts. It was fate wasn't it? What makes it even funnier is my mom forwards it to me just to make sure I got it and then we started googling or bing'ing for Christmas crafts. My mom knows my heart because I had spent the day looking at my book I had mentioned for Christmas ideas. I've made my Christmas list and it is long. I've got to get moving with the creative juices. :)

Anyways so the email actually said some things that were right on par with my thoughts and feelings that I was trying to describe. It says, "Christmas is about thoughtfulness, generosity and goodwill; attributes most sewing and crafting enthusiasts carry in their hearts all year. Without a snowflake or sleigh bell in sight, many have already begun to browse shelves, flip through books and search the World Wide Web with visions of Christmas future dancing in their heads.
If you, too, are dreaming of a crafted Christmas…just like the ones we used to know, then Christmas in July is an ideal starting point for making your holidays merry and bright."

What more can I say? Let the crafting begin! If you need a place to get some ideas here ya go http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog.jsp?CATID=cat13874 ... maybe I'll start posting my creations as I go to help inspire too. We shall see because we all know I have so much time.

Christmas Music in July??!!

I am currently listening to Christmas music at work. For those who don't know me that well you might think "Christmas music in July??!! This lady is crazy!!" But I promise I'm not that crazy. Christmas music does something to me that no other music can I think. No matter my mood if I listen to Christmas music it just helps me get through it and lift my spirits. Christmas music makes me feel good and I believe it is because what it is about. The thoughts, feelings and messages that are associated with them.

Growing up I would play Christmas music in July because I would start working on Christmas presents for family members. I would pull out my mom's records and carefully put them on the record player and move the needle over while holding my breath. The full sound of the records would come out over the speakers and put me in the Christmas mood.

This year I am trying again to start my Christmas projects in the summer to actually help me be ahead and have less to stress about in December. I love making things for people. I get to craft something for them that I created for them. I do enjoy shopping but my heart longs to make things and see the expression on their face when they open it.

I've got an amazing book to work with this year called "Here Comes Santa Claus" by Mary Engelbreit. I read it while at my mom's house last year at Thanksgiving (I think) and then she got me my own copy for Christmas. It has ton's of amazing ideas for gifts, parties, treats and decorations. I am totally in love with this book. It with my Cricut my possibilities are pretty limitless just my imagination.

Christmas brings such a feeling of joy, hope and peace. How can you not want that feeling all year round? If you need a place to get some Christmas music go to http://www.accuradio.com/ click on the More button and then AccuHolidays. There is a wide selection of genres of Christmas music. I hope you are able to find something for you that lifts your spirits up and brings the spirit of Christmas into your heart even in July.

Meredith is...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEREDITH!!!

Meredith is a wonderful friend of mine that I am grateful to have in my life. I just wanted to wish her a happy birthday and let her know what I think of her and how much I appreciate her.

Meredith is....
thoughtful.....helpful.....has a huge heart.....honest....

loving.... a great listener....beautiful.....sweet....

gracious....true...friendly... classy....a great hostess...

kind...creative...warm...selfless... a great mother...

detail oriented...a great teacher.....lovely....

I hope your birthday is wonderful Meredith! You can celebrate it all week or even all month. I truly appreciate all that you do. You've made an impression in my life that I will always remember.

I have found I have no pictures of us together. We will have to remedy that shortly.

cello, harp, oboe, basson...

I just found an amazing musical arrangment between the piano and the cello. It is taking two songs that I love and putting them together and it is just amazing!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v3d6SFcDys&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwhoorl.com%2F&feature=player_embedded

If you enjoy the piano and the cello you should definetly take the time to watch this video.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love music? I love my piano! I play a lot more now than I did with my keyboard. I can't explain why that is but it is what it is and I am sure my piano teacher loves to hear that. I would love to learn this piece! The guys in the video are truly talented and great at what they do.

I want to learn to play the cello, harp, oboe, basson, flute, organ, saxophone and anything else I can lay my hands on. The harp is next on my list, I just need to hold up to the agreement I made with Jared like 3 or 4 years ago and he will buy me a harp. I think I need to quit my job just to study music. ;) It is my dream though. Music is a way you can reach people in a way that words can't get in there.

I hope you enjoy the video at least half as much as I did!

What an inspiration!

Oh my goodness! I can't remember how I found this blog http://bakerella.blogspot.com/ either while poking around or while on Meredith's blog. Meredith? It is a super cute and a great website for ideas and inspiration for baking.

She makes my Turkey pops look kind of lame but you know what I am still proud of them. I think they are adorable. And now I've got some ideas to make them better and it is opening my world of ideas further and I just might be able to make some of them come true this year.

This is the best picture I could find of my Turkey pops but it will have to do. This is 2 Thanksgiving's ago with my nephew Blake. He sure has grown a lot.

Choking and Laughing

Sometimes I think I am really mean! I don't mean to be it just happens. Here let me explain...while on the phone this afternoon with Jared he is telling me that he thinks he is dehydrated and that's why he was sick last night. When all of a sudden he starts choking and making spitting noises and says "All the fun's gone now!" I just start cracking up laughing. He explains that he accidentally was swallowing a bug and was trying to spit it out and then started choking.

I've noticed this where when people get hurt my first reaction is to laugh. Is that bad? Does it mean I don't care? Granted in this incidence Jared was fine and it was really hilarious. You just had to hear how he said it while choking.

Roughly 5 months old

Okay so I am not the world’s greatest housekeeper. My sister Cathy just realized this last weekend. I told her before we went into my house to please forgive my mess because my house was a disaster. She basically ignored that because I apparently say it all the time and she thinks my house is immaculate. Well her jaw kind of dropped when she came in and said something along the lines of that I am normal after all. She really appreciated the fact that my house was truly a disaster. We had to do a little cleaning before we could buckle down and sew.
Then on my birthday Jacki mentioned something about the box of Nilla Wafers on top of my fridge. She said they had been there forever I said not longer than 6 months and today while looking at the box I recalled when I got them. I got them in February for St. Patrick’s Day so they have been up there for roughly 5 months. That is better than forever but Jacki has a point they are pretty stale I bet. They will go in the garbage today Jacki.

I do enjoy cleaning my house but some days I am just too tired and lazy. Every time you clean something it gets dirty. I was laundry and before I know it the laundry is all dirty again. I clean up the kitchen and another mess is made. I straighten up the living room and as Jared calls it Hurricane Emily comes running through. I am better at making messes I think than cleaning them. But it is a work in progress to clean things and stay on top of it. Right now my house is still decent from my party on Monday. I got my downstairs closet cleared out of garbage, items sorted for the DI and reorganized this last weekend. Next I’ve got my Studio, the spare bedroom, the office, and the upstairs closet.

Well I should probably go work on one of those rooms and stop writing.

Birthdays are so special!

I love birthdays! Especially mine! Why you might ask? Because it is a day to celebrate me of course! I think birthdays are so special because they are a day to celebrate the person who was born and that they are still alive and blessed with another year. Jared on the other hand was saying it’s a day to celebrate your mother’s anniversary of pain of giving birth. But I am sure my mom agrees with me that it’s not about the pain but the joy of the child.

I had another great birthday this year! Except for the part where I had to work but such is life. My birthday started the night before with talking to my mom on the phone. Growing up she would always make sure to get a last hug and kiss from her (insert age) girl. Now that we don’t live so close she calls me and makes sure that she gets to talk to her (insert age) girl. It is a special tradition to me and means a lot.

Jared and I put a party together with the help of his sister Heather (thank you so much Heather for going to the store! That really helped us out a lot). After we got home from work we went into high gear and worked on getting our house clean and presentable. I am not the world’s greatest house keeper but more to come on that later. I must say I was pretty impressed with what we got done in less than 2 hours.

We were still tidying up when people showed up but that is ok. It’s family! We had my family and Jared’s family over. My house can be a bit of a tight squeeze but it seemed to be okay. I thought we would be outside but the weather made us change our plans a bit. Jared fired up the grill and was outside with his dad making hamburgers and hotdogs. While everyone else picked at food and visited.

After awhile we went downstairs to open presents with my grandparents (Nana & Boppa). Nana can’t do stairs right now so they were hanging out downstairs watching the ball game. I got a lot of really nice stuff from silk scarves to calendars to journals to homemade cards to a piano. I must say I am spoiled and I am ok with that.

Not too long after presents we did cake and ice cream. I have not been eating sugar (like cakes, cookies and ice cream) so it was a real treat. And Heather picked out an amazing cake! Chocolate with chocolate and chocolate! How can you go wrong?! And with homemade chocolate ice cream from Aunt Carolyn! Thank you!

Once everyone had left I ended the evening calling my mom and opening my present from her. Another tradition! I open Christmas and birthday presents on the phone with her. Even though she is far away I keep her close.

Thanks everyone for a great birthday! Another year has come and gone and it is great because of all of you!

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July to everyone!!! Driving home last night was so picturesque. It was at sunset and I was able to see the mountains all around me. They were all lit up in pinks and purples. This line came to mind "Oh beautiful...for purple mountain majesties above the fruited plains! America! America!" (America the Beautiful) I love songs that are about our country and patriotic and I love moments where I see something and a song or line comes to mind that fits that image perfectly. (That is actually something else I would like to do is to sell my own pictures with quotes on them. I've got a journal of ideas and some pictures ready to go.)

This morning after going to the flag raising ceremony at church I drove out to Monroe to take pictures of the flags on Main Street. Every year for the 4th of July and other holiday's they set-up tons of the American flag all the way down the road and I just love to see it. It brings me joy to see the American flag so many times. I just recently got my own flag to proudly display on my house. I've wanted one for a long time and during Memorial weekend I finally bought myself one.

I am grateful for this day to celebrate our countries Independence. We truly live in a blessed nation. I'm so grateful for my brother who serves our country and loves his country enough to do that, as well as all the other men and women who serve. Most day's I take for granted the freedoms we are blessed with but more and more lately it is becoming a daily part of my prayers in giving gratitude for it. It is sad to see so much war and destruction going on in our world but I don't give up hope. I keep praying for the leaders of our nation's hearts to be softened and to lead this country in righteousness.

I think it would do us good to sing song's like America the Beautiful and the Star Spangled Banner more often. When I was younger I would go to church each week for several months and ask if we could sing the Star Spangled Banner. They said no but I didn't give up once or twice they let me have my way. My heart is just so touched and stirred by the feelings and emotions that are conveyed in these songs. Music is a huge part of my life and I am grateful for it.

I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful 4th of July! Enjoy the fireworks! Loud but beautiful!

My Favorite Month

Happy July! July is probably my favorite month of the whole year (December comes in awfully close)! I can't believe July is here already. I love July because one it's my birthday month! Happy Birthday to me! Two because it has the 4th of July in it! I love my country and I am very grateful for all the men and women who have served, are currently serving and will serve. and three because it's summertime and the days are warmer and longer.

What's your favorite month and why?