Pondering Today: Revamp

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Outside my window … everything’s covered in frost and the sun is shining, making the world look sparkly. Mt. Baker looks white and fluffy.

I am thinking … about Mom and Stan’s upcoming wedding, this Saturday. I’m excited, but also nervous, since I’ll be meeting members of my soon-to-be extended family.

I am thankful for … my husband’s improving health. It’s such a weight off my shoulders to see him smiling and happy, being productive at work, and excited to work on hobby projects of his own at home.

From the kitchen … everything is quiet, but once we make a trip to the store, I’ll be whipping up a batch of mint and peppermint cream cheese candies for Mom’s wedding.

I am wearing … comfy sweatpants and my Village Books t-shirt that says “Reading is sexy”.

I am creating … more excuses in my head as to why I still haven’t finished Chris’s Totoro hat and Bre’s penguin hat. *grumble*

I am going … to the gym on a regular basis, again! It feels so good. I must be one of the only people who actually enjoys working out. This past day, I’ve been feeling sore from Friday’s upper body weights workout, and I love that feeling.

I am reading … nothing, at the moment. I have about ten books that I’m about halfway through, from the past few months, but none are calling my name right now.

I am hoping … that this year will be better than last year. Last year was … taxing. Emotionally and physically stressful.

I am hearing … sounds of activity as Ty just finished his shower. Time to get ready to run errands.

Around the house … is the scent of wood smoke. I love having a fireplace, but it sure seems like it could be more effective at keeping the smoke from exiting.

One of my favorite things … right now, is Yuri laying on my lap. Since our little Rocket died, Yuri has become much more affectionate and I’m taking full advantage of that.

A few plans for the rest of the week … I want to see if Ty can take an afternoon off so we can see The Hobbit when the new theater isn’t crowded. Friday morning, we’ll be heading South to meet up with my dad and exchange Christmas gifts that we didn’t get to this year, then heading to Whidbey to help prep for the wedding.

Fresh Tortilla Chips — Mmm!

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Tortilla Chips (photo not of ours)So, I had a nice surprise, this afternoon. I was complaining to Ty about being hungry, but never got around to eating anything. After agreeing that tortilla chips sounded really good (but lamenting that it’s not the 17th, yet — our eating-out night), I returned to playing one of my Facebook games which I’m shamelessly addicted to, and Ty surreptitiously disappeared into the kitchen while making me promise to stay put in the office. Due to the medium-sized length of time between our discussion and his disappearance, I didn’t have any idea what Ty was up to, other than that it was food-related (as he admitted to).

About ten minutes later, Ty came back into the office carrying two bowls: one had corn tortilla chips cooked in oil and the other had chips baked in the oven. Both were seasoned with salt and Johnny’s. The verdict was that both were delicious, but the baked ones tasted better (not dripping in oil or anything).

This is exciting on two fronts. For one, we’re not ones for buying large bags of chips, because what happens when we do that? We eat them. It’s way too tempting when there’s a large supply at hand. Secondly, we’ve had these tortillas sitting in the pantry for months, without any foreseeable use. We bought them to make a gluten-free enchilada pie thingie for a get-together, and they weren’t really that great in it (really, they turned to mush). But now we have a use for them!

All I need now is an avocado to make some guacamole with. Then the package would be complete.

Next, we need to try doing flour tortillas in oil and then tossing them in cinnamon and sugar, as Bevin and I did a few times. Those are delicious, and Ty’s never had them before.

Score for spur-of-the-moment deliciousness!

Date Balls — Sticky, but Delicious!

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Date BallsLast night we made date balls at Ty’s grandma’s house. It was originally going to be just the two of us going there, but we invited Ty’s parents. And of course, as they were getting ready to go, the rest of the family decided they wanted to come, too. So it ended up that seven of us invaded Grandma Joyce’s house for a few hours, with some playing cards and some making date balls.

I was all about the date balls, because I’ve tried making them before and they just didn’t seem to work. And by that I mean that they didn’t hold together well and just fell apart. Not good when something’s supposed to be in the shape of a ball. As it turns out, the recipe was probably messed up in translation when it was given to me, as I had the amounts of two ingredients switched around: more sugar and less dates, throwing off the sticky/sweet balance. So, we made some for me, and some for Grandma Joyce, and they turned out much better than my previous attempts.

Here’s the recipe, if you’re interested in trying it out:

  • 1 1/2 cup chopped dates (the smaller the better)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 eggs, well-beaten
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 4 cups Rice Krispies
  • 1 package shredded coconut

Heat dates, sugar, butter, eggs and salt in a heavy, deep cast iron skillet (or, if you aren’t lucky enough to have one, a saucepan) until it forms a thick syrup, stirring often.

Mix in vanilla, walnuts, and Rice Krispies. Roll into balls while still hot, to make sure they stay sticky.

Roll date balls in shredded coconut and set aside to cool.

You may find it helpful to give your hands a nice coat of butter, to keep things from sticking when you roll the date balls. It may be a good idea to do these with a partner: one person with tough, butter-coated hands for forming the balls; the other for rolling them in coconut. The faster they’re put together, the better.

Suggestion: Don’t Buy at Zales

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stephanotis This is my rant about our experience with buying our wedding rings at the Zales in Bellis Fair Mall:

This week we bought our wedding rings from Zales. We tried to do a bit of shopping around, but honestly liked the looks of a few of their rings better than others we’d seen elsewhere. A few weeks ago, we went in to the store in the mall and asked if they could get a particular ring in, as I wanted to see it before I ordered it online (if I was going to do that). A very wonderful, friendly, and helpful girl was more than happy to have it sent up from a store in Alderwood, and she said the ring would probably be in the following Wednesday (about a week later).

We were cool with that, and as planned, stopped in the following week to see the ring. The girl who’d helped us before wasn’t there, and the two women who were working seemed to be annoyed that I was asking if the ring was in, since I hadn’t been called. (They also seemed to not favor Vanessa, the girl I’d talked to before.) After looking around a bit for any notes about it, they concluded that it wasn’t in yet and said it probably would be soon. A few days later (now 1.5 weeks after the initial order) I stopped in again to see if my ring had come in to look at. Same story, and I was assured that they’d let Vanessa know, as she’d been out all week. I thanked them and apologized for seeming to be pushy about it, but I figured my expectations were reasonable.

Got a call from Vanessa the next day (Saturday) and she was incredibly apologetic (and said so three times), to the point where she even gave me her cell phone number in case I needed to call her for anything. She let me know that there had been an error at the other store and my ring would be in on Wednesday, which it was. So we checked it out, and it turned out to not really suit my style, though the older woman who was helping us (one of the ones who’d “helped” me before) thought it was the nicest ring there. Sure, it was nice, but it wasn’t me.

We ended up buying a plain white gold band for Ty, and a nice, simple ring (but hey, three diamonds isn’t bad) for me. They needed to be sized, so we left them and were told we could pick them up on Saturday. (By the way, what’s with jewelry store workers and forcing really small ring sizes on you? Vanessa was really good about that.) Anyway, as planned we stopped by Zales on Saturday to pick up our rings.

Guess what kind of a reception we got when we walked in? The younger woman (of the two who “helped” me when Vanessa was gone) rolled her eyes and muttered “Oh god” under her breath, then walked to the other end of the store and stayed there. (To think I’d even smiled at her when I recognized her!)

But excuse me? Did I do something wrong? Was it wrong to wonder why it took three weeks for a ring to come in for me to see? Is that how you treat a customer who has just given your business a large sum of money? Was I ever abrupt or confrontational about it? All I wanted was to know what was going on, because we were getting down to the wire and I didn’t want to risk not getting our rings in time. Excuse me if I’m not high-class and high-style, but this is Bellingham, not Bellevue. It’s not like I’m some single mother of three, waltzing in with a wailing child under each arm and the third off getting into trouble some distance away, smearing dirt and grime over everything that’s touched. I was never pushy, never rude, just friendly and mildly concerned (but easily mollified).

In any case, lesson learned? I’ll not set foot in the Bellingham Zales again, if I can help it. If we need anything, we’ll find one elsewhere, likely in Burlington (edit: actually Everett). And if the experience there proves disappointing, we’ll probably write the company off and find a local jeweler.

I managed to find Vanessa on Facebook and sent her a message thanking her for all the trouble she went through, and for her sincere desire to see our needs were met. I think kindness and sincerity should be rewarded, and that goes for all professions. Now if only we could enforce that.

Note: The ring pictured is the one I ended up buying, and yes, I do love it.

Life, Jobs, and Weddings

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stephanotis As of two Fridays ago, I am officially a graduate of WCC. I have a few pictures, but they’re kind of “meh,” so I may or may not post them.

Of course, it just had to rain as we walked out, which meant no cool group photos or family photos, because everybody rushed to the cars. And this was after it had been perfectly sunny for a month. Go figure.

But as of last Tuesday, I’m officially an employee (albeit part-time) of The Lones Group, in Bellingham. My current title is “design support” and I only work a few hours, daily. But it’s enough to get me used to how things work and get trained in the way of things. I’m still a bit timid in some respects, but I’m figuring things out and getting more confident as time goes by.

It’s a great job, though, and I’m really enjoying myself there. All the employees are great and I look forward to seeing them when I walk in the door. It feels good to have what would constitute as a “real” job, even though it hasn’t quite hit me that this is real. But I drive to work every morning freshly showered and nicely dressed, without my hair up in a baseball cap. Crooked sunglasses still apply.

On the wedding front, we haven’t done much else planning-wise, and that’s making me nervous. I’m getting more ideas from people and am starting to form some of my own thoughts about what I’d like, but it’s still really scattered. I have to figure out flowers, order a cake, order and mail invitations, get a suit for Ty, make a plan for decorating the venue, put together a dance playlist, confirm Levi for playing music (and what the hell he will play), find out if I’m going to have any photographers, figure out what food there will be, etc.

I’ve decided that I do want the rolls with ham and turkey in them, because it’s a usual Dutch thing and they taste good anyway; but I don’t want potato salad, baked beans, and other BBQ- or potluck-types of food. I want things a little nicer than that. Not expensive or fancy, but nicer. I think that’s feasible.

At least I have my dress. The only problem with that is the fact that I want to be smaller by October, which means I have to start working out hard, again. I’ve been slacking during the past few weeks. But at least I have my dress. And I know I want to have stephanotis in my hair.

Pondering Today

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Outside my window … I can hear the bird chirping and faint sounds of cars on Bakerview. Every once in a while I hear an excited scream from the playground at the apartments next door. And everything’s all green outside! It’s a wonderful thing.

I am thinking … about wedding planning, dancing, and relaxing.

I am thankful for … having a job in an economy where people with Masters degrees are brewing iced lattes and flipping burgers.

From the kitchen … I sense a sink full of dishes to be done. Which I just can’t seem to get rid of.

I am wearing … blue jeans, socks, and a t-shirt. I appreciate casual clothes, now that I have to dress nice for work.

I am creating … nothing, at the moment. And it feels kind of good. Though I’d like to create some more sentences. Mulling over a real blog entry, in my head.

I am going … insane thinking of how much I still have to do before my wedding!

I am reading one Redwall book or another. I’ve loved them since middle school and probably won’t stop any time soon.

I am hoping … that things will turn out for the best. In life, jobs, love, family, etc.

I am hearing … more cars than before, and the birds are quieting down for the evening.

Around the house … is stuff to be picked up. Maybe tomorrow afternoon I can get myself motivated to pick things up and get the condo nice and clean again. It looks so sad.

One of my favorite things … is playing with a puppy. But only when that puppy is well-behaved and others around me understand how to make it be well-behaved. I can’t stand being around a cute puppy if all people are doing is exciting it more and not giving it structure.

A few plans for the rest of the week … are in motion! We start Rumba lessons (3 classes) tomorrow evening, there’s a dance in Everett on Friday, and hopefully will have a relaxing weekend together with Ty. I want to make it to the market on Saturday and hopefully see some fireworks from a decent vantage point, without getting stuck in the gridlock of cars, afterward.

One Week Until Graduation + Career Thoughts

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whatcom Whelp, I’ve got one more week to go. As of 6:30-ish on June 19th, I’ll be a college graduate. Granted, it’s a community college and not a university, as I’d originally intended.

But we end up where we end up, and aside from the whole stigma against community colleges, I don’t mind too much. As long as I do something with my degree, which I more than intend to, I’ll be perfectly content.

I’m not entirely sure about what will happen once I’m done. I know I want to work, but have yet to solidify any leads. The freelance thing is okay, but I’m not the best at being my own boss. I like structure and being given tasks. I love working with other people, even if we’re working independently. Companionship is definitely nice. It would be great to work with others who are on the same level as me, or higher, design-wise.

My interview that I had about a month ago went really well, and I ended up doing a test project for them, so they could see how I work. I was waiting to hear back, and then the woman I’d been talking to had a death in the family, so she’s been preoccupied with that, as one can imagine. I’ll hopefully be meeting with her on Tuesday, though, to “chat.” I’m not entirely sure what “chat” means in this context, but I don’t think they’d be wasting their time inviting me in just to tell me they’re not interested.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed on that, but trying not to expect anything. The job isn’t mine until, well, it is, and I’m not going to celebrate prematurely.

There are a half-dozen people in the lab who ask me each day if I’ve gotten the job yet. I just have to smile and tell them I haven’t. But it’s kind of nice, knowing all these people are thinking about me and rooting for me. Hah, I have so-called “best friends” who don’t do that, yet these people ask me about it every day when I come in for lab, with eager looks on their faces. That’s really nice to come to work to.

I just responded to an ad on Craigslist, posted by a local company that does advertising and web sites. They’re looking for someone to do content management for new and existing web sites, but the job has the possibility of expanding, depending on the person’s skills. So that’s the kind of thing that could also go in a good direction.

I wouldn’t mind having offers from two companies and being able to choose what to do. What I like about the job I just replied about is that it’s just web stuff. That’s where I stand out and it’s what I’d like to do, whereas the job I’ve applied for at the first place would be web and print, but probably mostly print.

So, we’ll see what happens. I’m keeping my fingers crossed and I can’t wait to graduate!

Public Misconceptions

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dsc_0899 This pup is listed for adoption on the Bellingham Craigslist. He’s 3 months old and, as you can see, is pretty goofy looking in a floppy sort of way. Why am I writing about a puppy who I have no chance at adopting?

Because he’s half collie, half pit bull.

I’ve mentioned this pup to a few people, mostly because of the cute, floppy factor. (You really can’t beat those ears.) But whenever I mention his pedigree, people go, “Oh, but he’s part pit bull.” Like it’s some disease or incurable infliction. Someone who would dare adopt a pit or part-pit must be crazy. That’s the impression I keep getting.

The public seems to be under the impression that pit bulls are horrible, aggressive, unmanageable dogs who would just as soon bite you as look at you. You have no idea how much this aggravates me. Yes, all dogs have different personality types and quirks. Pit bulls are strong, muscular and powerful-minded dogs who, if not raised and handled properly, will tend toward aggression. But people just don’t get it. Any dog who isn’t raised properly will end up this way!

Don’t believe me? Just check out some “lap dogs” who would try to take your hand off if you even look at them. I’ve seen a chihuahua that bossed around a pack of pit bulls. Any breed of dog can turn out this way, just as any dog can be raised to be a loving and balanced family pet.

Remember the Michael Vick pit bulls? Both PETA and the Humane Society of the U.S. were ready to put all 51 dogs down. In the end, 47 of them were saved and have gone on to be rehabilitated, many finding happy homes. Dogs that would have been put down are now cherished family pets. What does that say about the breed?

I’m sick of people making uneducated comments about certain breeds of dogs on the basis that that’s just the kind of dog they are. (Would that be breedism?) Dogs end up exactly how their owners raised them to be. A lazy, uneducated owner will have a dog who behaves badly, at the very least.

But a responsible, educated dog owner will have a dog who is healthy, balanced, and as affectionate as can be, regardless of the breed.

Too Much of a Good Thing

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Ugh, I’ve never had “real” allergies as bad as I do this year. What I mean by “real” is I’m not having the horrible breathing problems I’ve had in the past, when we lived with my grandma.

Thank goodness for no bad asthma problems, at this point in time. I’ve used my inhalers a few times recently, to keep my lungs clear. Nothing too bad, at this point.

But oh man, my eyes sting and itch like crazy, my nose has turned into a continuously dripping faucet, and sneezing seems almost non-stop, at times. I’m going through Kleenex like it’s some competition to see how much I can use. And sleeping? I forget what a decent night’s sleep feels like, because I wake up every hour or so, rubbing my nose because it’s so incredibly uncomfortable. I’ve developed lovely bags under my eyes, too. So attractive.

I hope this doesn’t last much longer. I’ve had about as much as I can take. I haven’t taken any antihistamines, because they haven’t helped me much, in the past. But maybe I should consider it. Of course, as soon as I started taking something, I’m sure the pollen count would go down and I’d be fine. ‘Cause that’s how the world works.

And of course, as I’m riding my bike to Whatcom, the pollen shoots right into my eyes and right up my nose, doesn’t it?