Self Made Snow Day

It snowed here last night. I think it was supposed to snow somewhere between 3-6 inches. I told my co-worker back in the spring when it is supposed to snow pretty heavily I may call you because the roads get way too bad for my car. (Rear wheel in desperate need of new tires.) I texted him last night and forewarned him even before it started snowing. He said he would come in anyway. He goes, "Heck, why not just stay home anyway." Big mistake. Although the roads weren't really bad, I decided to stay home anyway. I thought of so many reasons I should. I'm horrible. So, today is my self-proclaimed snow day. And I had fun. I slept in, had a mocha latte. Yum. I basically did things that really needed to get done, but I'm too lazy to do them when I get home or I don't want to do them on the weekends. I ran some errands that Tim would have otherwise had to do after work. I'm also breaking in my new KitchenAid Stand Mixer. How exciting!! I was waiting for Tim to walk in while it was mixing so I could say (as its mixing, with me just watching), "Look, I'm cooking!!" And then he'd say, "You're a dork." I'm making the cookies for some gifts for Tim's coworkers. I'm washing our new sheets to put on them bed (from the wedding). I wanted to surprise Tim when he got into bed and felt the super soft sheets.
I also ran to Walmart to get a few things. I was looking for some pet supplies (yeah, we don't have any pets here, do we?) and a woman was buying fish with her child. The lady helping her with fish was Polish or something, she had a heavy accent. Man, I just want to slap people for how dumb they can be....even the Walmart worker. She was saying that if you put the old water in with the new water "they'll take it much better". WHAT? Opposed to they'll take it worse if you add all new water? Arg....it makes me angry. Also, the woman with the child asked about why her "black and white spotted" fish hid when other fish were added and then when the other fish died the fish came out again. Think about that. Duh. So, I've concluded that people are dumb and have no common sense when it comes to animals. I believe that many people should not have animals. I feel very fortunate that I know what I know about animals and animal caretaking. I'm very happy that my mom and dad, Tim, and my brother know what they know about fish and other animals. (I say those three because they all live with fish and other animals.)
So, I will get back to my cookies! I'm making chocolate chip. Its the family recipe and oh so yummy!!

King of Naughty

I was driving home this evening from work thinking, 'I should really post a blog.' But then, I got to thinking, what could I blog about that was upbeat, not work related, and not naggy? ...hm... I guess I kind of forgot about it and got to thinking about something else for the rest of the trip home. Then I walked into the door of the house, which can always be a fun surprise in itself. This is what I found.

Supplies Kari! Welcome home! (The "supplies" is how I say surprise due to an old joke back in high school that involved an oriental man hiding in a supply closet.) Somebody got into the fudge rounds. Of course, you know who my mind immediately goes to. And this doesn't surprise me one bit because this is a frequent occurance despite the precautions we take. And immediately, when I saw this, I knew it was Bogey. I've learned as of late that although Russ seems sweet and innocent, he is Bogey's partner in crime. They are both equally naughty, Russ is just really good and hiding it most of the time. I go and take a closer look at the counter. Surprise, surpise...look what I find!

Does that look like a black hair? Hm...no. A short hair? Nope, not quite. Kind of looks like a long orange hair, huh? Guess who else was on the counter? The little jerks. They probably won't be hungry for dinner tonight. Its aggravating, but amusing at the same time.

To end, I took a short video the other day. Watch...and listen closely. :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OkDH50PKpM

Things I've Learned

It's been quite the eventful year, in every aspect of my life. I have really learned a lot in the course of everything. Everything and every situation, good or bad, is a learning experience. It may suck to go through it at the moment, but just know that you will come out the end better. There is a plan and whatever happens, you just have to go with the flow. After thinking, I've come up with a list of things that I've learned over the past year. I'll try to include every aspect of my life. ;-)

1. Don't take what others say for the truth. This rings true in cases of he said/she said, situations, news stories, etc. Always see both sides of the story, always take what people give you and build your own facts. The story may be partially true, but not all the way true. People have different morals, ethics, beliefs and what they think may not be completely true.


2. There are a select few people that you can truly count on in your life. Don't depend too heavily on most people. If they let you down, you may tumble too. Just know and realize who you can count on.


3. Don't sweat the small things. Things will CONSTANTLY go wrong. Do not sweat them. Do not panic. ..."what can you do?" Just roll with it and learn from it. Has anyone met people that just panic and freak out with the tiniest thing? That drives me crazy.


4. Procrastination sucks. Yes, something that Tim and I learned from the wedding, although he was worse about it with the wedding than I was. I'm worse about it in everyday situations. Just bite your lip and do whatever needs to get done. It'll probably take less time than you think.


5. Hard work, although seemingly unoticed can get you far. Keep going and it'll pay off in the end!


6. There are hypocrites all over. Do what you believe and say.


7. Don't be a tattler/complainer. Refering back to #2, people can disappoint and relay information. Keep your thoughts to yourself. You don't know who you can trust.


8. A smile can go a long way. Going home on Saturday to the Apple Orchard, the first toll we went through (we forgot the I-Pass, yes.) and the gentleman was super upleasant. Tim acted the same. From there, there was a discussion about how much this guy hated his job. I told Tim he needed to make each and every person that he encountered in his life leave him happier and better (to a certain extent). He brushed that off as crap. On the way home, we went through another toll. This guy was all happy and smiley. I look over at Tim about 3 seconds later and he was still smiling. I go, "What are you smiling about?" even though I already knew. He said he was still smiling from the toll guy. Point proven. A simple, genuine smile can really improve someone's day.

That's all I can think of for now. I may add on later. Any more anyone else can think of?

Things That Make Me Happy

I have a "happy book". Luckily, I haven't needed it in quite a long time. The last time I used it was in Florida. My happy book is full of quotes, photos, and things that will lift my spirits when I most need it. From my "happy book", here are a few things that make me happy. Oh, and this was also a topic of discussion at work the other day. A coworker was saying what a horrible world we live in. You can't do anything anymore like you used to, you have to take all these precautions, yada yada. Needless to say, it was SUPER depressing and I refuse, no matter what the circumstances, to let someone bring me down to their level and make me feel bad. So, I brought up some things that are guaranteed to make most people happy! (I do believe it worked!!)

1. Dari Ripple


2. When the UPS truck stops at your house!


3. Snowday


4. The flickering of lightning bugs in a crop field


5. Laughing until it hurts or you start crying


6. Buying school supplies


7. Porch swings


8. How geese always have a "mate" nearby


9. 10 minute naps that feel like an hour


10. Dimples (on faces of course, grossy mcgross gross!!)


11. The color the sky can take on at sunset


12. Dances that you make up that are named after inanimate objects (i.e.-the sprinkler)


13. The apple orchard or pumpkin patch


14. The sense of sight


15. Actually taking the time to enjoy the little things

Welcome Back!

I have decided, because of others' shift in blogs, that I am now going to periodically post on my blogger site. However, unlike MySpace, this blog will be more random thoughts and insights, not rants and annoyances. Who really wants to hear rants and annoyances anyway, they are just too negative and make one feel bad. This kind of reminds me of something I used to do in grade school. I think it was Mrs. Cory in 5th grade. We would write a journal every morning. Each student had a chance to come up with topics. They were very random topics like, "What would you do if you had $426.79?" or "What is the nicest thing you've ever done for anyone?". Granted, some of the kids weren't the sharpest knives in the drawer and the teacher (being a good teacher) gave every kid the chance to participate and some of the questions weren't the best, but I'll try to make this insightful. So...here goes nothing!!!