Tuesday, December 14, 2010

The Snow

So, I live in Minnesota. It snows here, like it does in MANY other places. I really do not like it when people say things like, "well, you DO live in Minnesota." I respond with, yes, I do and you live in Illinois, where it ALSO SNOWS!!! So, we got the 5th largest snow storm in Minnesota history this past weekend. It was a doozey. I don't feel like going into the details of my entire weekend, so I will give you some descriptive words and then some pictures.
My weekend in a slight order:
work.
lightrail.
stuck.
snowblower.
out of gas.
walking.
shovel.
neighbors.
drifts.
2 feet.
stuck again.
pushing.
digging.
dead battery.
elves.
salt.
hot toddy.
numb.
6 hours.
wet.
snow day #1.
Snow day #2.



My car got stuck in the alley. Right here.

My neighbor, Farham, cleaned out is driveway, next to the alley, so I could park there.
This is the day after the snow stopped. Wanna try driving??
Chicago Ave and 35th Street. See the bus stop bench??

This is my sidewalk. I shoveled and plowed it twice already before this picture!

The final shoveling.

The other part of my sidewalk! Thanks wind!

Hard work.

The day after the snow stopped, STILL can't move the cars.
 That is my story.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

College....4th time's the charm???

I have decided to go back to school. What with maybe having a job and/or maybe being unemployed and all. I am applying to go to Normandale, a community college just south of Minneapolis. I will be going to get my teaching license. I know, can you believe it?! You can earn your Associates there and then teachers of the University of Minnesota-Mankato come there to teach the classes to earn your Bachelors Degree. I will be  focusing on Art Education....I think. For sure Elementary Ed, not interested in older kids. No way. So, instead of sewing every morning this week, I have been doing things like requesting transcripts and filling out FAFSA info and applications. I hope to start in January.

The end.

Monday, October 11, 2010

October 11th, 80 degrees

It is 80 degrees out. I am pumped. It is such a wonderful thing to be able to really enjoy fall!!! The leaves look beautiful, the sun is shining, it is great. I am going to Home Depot to get some paint for my exterior doors that we installed this summer. I have to paint them before it is winter, so they don't rust. So I figured this is a WONDERFUL day to be outside painting! I will try to take pics and post them on here. I am also going to enjoy a Jameson Ginger Ale. SO GOOD.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

New Guy

So, I had a new roommate move in about 3 days ago. One of my current roommates does not like my cats. She insists that they do all of these horrible things, which, granted, the did do some bad things, a YEAR AGO, when I go them and they were 4 months old! The chewed headphone wires and computer power cords, yadda yadda. I offered to replace both, but she said she already had extras, little did I know she would  try to throw it in my face MUCH later that I did not just go ahead and replace them anyway, now I know better.

So, new roommate. We call call him Neil, and old roommate, we shall call her Kathy, have been chit chatting. I came home on day number one of Neil being here and told him it might be best if her keep his bedroom door shut, as my kitties, who are still dumbass babies, have been known to eat things and like to chew on plastic. Neil informed me that he and Kathy already talked about it and she told him of everything they have destroyed. I liked that he didn't immediately hate my kitties, because I feel that was Kathy's intention, to get another person in the house on the "I don't like your cats" bandwagon. He said, well, I like cats, so they don't HAVE to stay out of my room, I again said, well, maybe shut your door when you are not home.

I arrive home from a long, bizarre day at work, talking on the phone to my mother, walk upstairs to my bedroom and smell poop. I mention it to my mom, look all around my room, find nothing, decide (sorry Neil) that perhaps it is just "boy" smell, since Neil left his door open, which I then shut for him.

I proceed to make myself dinner (roasted veggies from Laughing Stalk Farms and pasta with some frozen Naan bread from Trader Joes), pour myself a glass of wine and start to relax.


The, Neil comes home, we discuss the day, he goes upstairs. A few minutes later, he arrives back downstairs and tells me tat one of my cats pooped in his bed and he just sat in it!!!! I freak out, repeatedly apologize, follow him up the stairs with cleaning supplies and ask what I can do. He does not seem angry, which sort of confuses me, because I am not sure if he is just very passive, or if he actually understands that this is abnormal behavior from my cats. I offer to have his blankets dry cleaned, throw his clothes, sheets etc into the wash and give hims some of mine for the time being. Still, he is not mad, I wish he was, becuase then it is easier for me to be mad at my cats!

So, I start looking online to see what info I can find on this subject. What I came up with is that cats get stressed out when there are changes in their house. I thought they would be happy to have another person in the house who seemingly likes them, as opposed to Annie (former roommate) who did not like them at all. But, as I was reading all about this on many websites, I realized that my kitties have been acting very strangely since Annie started moving her things out. Mostly just very skittish, I didn'st think much of it, but now I realize that they are stressed out. The worst part seems to be that there isn't much I can do about it, they just have to get used to the new guy.

Neil said he just needs to close his door, which he wanted them to hang out with him, but maybe in a month or so he can try again. I just do not know how to deal with my overwhelming feelings of embarrassment and guilt and it doesn't help matters much that I am super depressed already and now I think  two of my roommates hate my cats which in turn equals me.

which leads me to now. I woke up before the sun came up, because I am very stressed out about the situation, cannot sleep, but being awake certainly isn't helping either. I am going to make some tea, and try to work on a sewing project and listen to MPR.

awesome.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

These Days

Been depressed a lot. I took a cue from Althea and I am taking a break from Facebook. It seems to be helping a little. I am working for some friends that throw a large music festival, I will be at the festival one week from tomorrow, then I won't have a job at all. I filed for unemployment and I am just waiting for the paperwork to go through, hoping I will get it. I am not sure if I can NOT have a job, but I will try, I will make a schedule for myself with projects to do around my house and sewing projects to do. We will see how it goes.

Ok, I am off to take a shower, maybe dye my hair and go to work. A side note, I have dreams frequently that I look at myself in the mirror. I always have long wavy blonde hair. I had a dream the other day that I had short orangish blonde hair. Last night I had a dream that I had dark redish-brown hair. So, I will dye it this week.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Laughing




Greta, Minneapolis, MN 4/15/10












Milo, Schaumburg, IL 4/15/10

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Moving Parts

Things that are moving/can move.
Minneapolis, MN 4/12/10










Schaumburg, Il 4/12/10

Monday, April 12, 2010

Three Parts

Three parts.

 CCClub, Minneapolis
Althea's Kitchen.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Round

Top: Friends at Azia's patio, Minneapolis 4/8/10
Bottom: Schaumburg, Illinois 4/8/10

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Purple

Day 1- Purple

Minneapolis, MN 4/7/10
Schaumburg, IL 4/7/10

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Something Project

Starts tomorrow.



My only blog follower, Althea and I are going to take pictures everyday of something. There are parameters.The first day is something purple. I am wondering if I can take pictures of my kids at school and post them online.....hhhmmm.....good one....


also, the show LOST is so freaking weird!!!!!! I only got into is this past summer, watched of the seasons and I am not currently watching the LAST season....it is so messed up!!!!!

Until tomorrow.....

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

The week before Spring Break

This week rules. Well, so far/. Let me list it:
Monday- Work 820am-215pm at the school
                Work 3pm-6pm for a little brat
Tuesday- Work 8am-215 at school, Field Trip*
               BBQ with Ellen**
Wednesday- Work 820am-115pm at the school***
                  Work- 3pm-6pm for the brat
                  Hot date!#
Thursday- Work 820-215 at the school field trip!!
Friday- Training for school 1pm-2pm
             Work 3pm-6pm for the brat
Saturday- SPRING BREAK!!!!!!!!!#

ok here is the real breakdown:
*We went on a field trip, it was Hi5 and Kindergarten, Hi5 is is basically pre-school. Please let me list the names of the kids I wads in charge of at the trip. This is a REALLY great example of the kids at our school....I will also tell you their ethnicity.
Kailita (chubby white girl)
Jamarian (african american)
Abdirahman (somali)
Janet (Jamacian)
Ameera (Somali)
Ahlam (Somali)
Abiasis (Somali)
Taliyah (Native American)
Marcel (african American)

those kids are awesome!!!
**BBQ with Ellen, well, I made a Mediterranean Pasta salad, from Allrecipes.com, amazing! I also cooked Quorn "chicken" cutlets on the grill with a Greek tapenade and marinade, so delicious!!!! We drank a few beers too.
*** Wednesday is Amanda's birthday, she is the math teacher that I work quite closely with. I made her a pineapple upside down cake! I also just made Banana bread! YUM! But, during the school day, it is just gonna be a birthday party all day.
# I have a hot date after school and work with a cute boy.....or at least he looks cute on the interwebs!!!

ok, I must go check on my cake and bread!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Raning and Italian Food

It is a crummy day outside today. I hit snooze until 7am....have to get moving fast this morning. It is cloudy out but in the 40's which is nice. My friend Ellen is making me dinner tonight, Italian food....not sure what that actually entails, but I'm sure it will be good. We cook dinner for each other every Tuesday, it is a nice way to get together and have a good meal and talk about our stupid lives!
  I need to start eating better breakfasts again. I was on a kick for a while there, I would make an english muffin with peanut butter and apple butter, a hard boiled egg, a banana or a clementine and a cup of black tea. Pretty good right? I know! But these days I can only summon myself to eat some yogurt, a hard boiled egg and a cup of tea. I usually have a snack of a piece of freuit about 2 hours into work, so that's good, but I need to be better. I shop better in the summertime, so I will try to get onto a good shopping schedule and buy only good things. I have found that if I ONLY have a piece of fruit to snack on, well, then that's what I will snack on...like at work. And I drink a lot of water, because you are supposed to drink water when you are hungry and if after drinking a glass of water, you are still hungry, then you really are and you are not just wanting to eat because you are bored. Does that make sense?? It does to me, so whatever.

ok, back to my tea and egg....gotta get going to work.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Firstahontas

That is Altheas new name. I hope I spelled it right. Who cares. So I have about 6 minutes before I must be in the car on my way to my second job, why am I an here?? Nobody knows. I need to run upstairs and grab my clothes for yoga...because who knows, I just might feel like going after 12 hours of working!! HAHAH!!!!

 So, I didn't go to yoga. Instead worked then went to a friends house for a quick beer. I have only had one beer this week since I have been sick, so having one today was great! Felt a little tipsy!HA!
   Cooking dinner now and watching Chuck, such a great show!! For dinner I am having tortilla encrusted Tilapia and Parmesan Spinach pasta. I did not prepare either from scratch. Sadly. But I am too tired to do so.
  Planning on going to bed nice and early for the long day tomorrow.
 I am not sure if anyone but Firstahontas will be reading this, not sure that I want to tell the world yet that I have a blog. Only people who don't know me should read this. For now.

How will it taste?

Hi. This is my first blog. I am sure I will have nothing of interest for anybody to read, but I guess you never know. I have a few friends who have blogs and I thought "I want one!" So I asked one friend, "what would I write about?" and she replied, "you food you make, your cats, your projects" so I guess that is a place to start. I always have dumb stories about all of those things!
But, already, I have run out of time. I must get going to work....I will try to get going on this more later on today.