Patti's Birthday

Hey hey hey! Well, my cousin Patti's 39th birthday was last Wednesday, but we finally got around to celebrating it today! I think that my grandma (Patti's guardian), wanted to celebrate on a Tuesday so we could do the night buffet at Pizza Hut. By the way, if you're wondering why Patti has a guardian at 39, it is because she has Down's syndrome.

We had a lot of fun. After Pizza Hut, we went back to my grandma's house and gave her her gifts. I got her this totally awesome 3-D sticker kit thing from Hobby Lobby. I dern near bought myself one while I was at it. I may just have to add it to a wishlist for my birthday (which, by the way, is next month!)

My grandma is on a special diet where she basically can't eat anything. She didn't let it stop her from eating pizza, though. However, she did bypass the pop tonight. And I noticed there was no cake or ice cream. Just as well--I'm not crazy about cake or ice cream anyway. Sometimes on my own birthday I request pie instead of cake.

Standin' on the Corner Park (Winslow, Arizona)

It was probably a silly stop, but when I found out that Winslow, Arizona was between the Grand Canyon and the Petrified Forest, I knew I had to go there. I've been a fan of the Eagles for, oh, I'd say about 15 years now, and one of my favorite Eagles songs is "Take It Easy." This song has a line, "Well, I was standin' on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, such a fine sight to see. It's a girl, my Lord, in a flat-bed Ford slowing down to take a look at me." Believe it or not, the town of Winslow has actually dedicated a corner of a commercial block to be "the corner" from the song. And, yeah, I had to go there.

Mom and I wasted a good 15 minutes trying to find the derned corner. But it was cool to drive some more of historic 66--especially through a town. We met up with a road closure, which really threw us off, but we continued to search. Eventually, we found our way back out of town, without spotting the corner. Mom got back on the interstate, got off at Mike's Pike (where we had some delicious Pizza Hut pizza and an order of Quepapas the night before) and took me to Wal-Mart, because, after all, I was nearing the end of my memory stick.

I had to wait for an eternity at the photo area of the Winslow Wal-Mart, because it was not only still before 8:00, but also there was another customer who had been waiting longer than I, so he got waited on first. I bought my memory stick and asked the woman in photo where this "Standin' on the Corner Park" was. She gave me some directions which sounded nothing like the directions that Mom had printed from the Internet. So we headed back onto Route 66 and tried it again. I'm not exactly sure how Mom found it, because she was neither following the Internet directions nor those of the photo lab expert. Still, though, we did find the corner, and this is a picture of me with the statue they have erected to resemble whichever Eagle it was that met up with the mystery woman at that location.

As far as the waits? They turned out to be in our favor, because the gift shop (yes, of course there is a gift shop on the famous corner) didn't open until 8:00. In fact, Mom and I meandered into it before it was really supposed to be open. Thus, we had to wait a few minutes before I could buy anything. I'm not sure why this is, but the woman working the cash register claimed she couldn't make a sale until 8:00 when the store officially opened. I was kind of in a hurry to get to the Petrified Forest, because I knew we'd be taking some pictures and visiting (yes, another) gift shop, and then we would have about four hours of driving to get back to Scottsdale. It was to be a full day.

About those gift shops, I'm fully aware that they are tourist traps that steal your money, but dang it, I like to have a souvenir for a visual aid to help me remember the places I've been. Call it a memento.

Verde Canyon

This is a magnificent view of the Verde River as seen from the Verde Canyon Railroad. This train ride was awesome! Mom and I rode first-class in the Wickenburg car. We each had a complimentary glass of sparkling cider, table and chairs, climate-controlled car with restrooms, nice decorations, and large viewing windows. This photo was actually taken through one of the windows. I have over 200 pictures of the Verde Canyon, and I could have taken thousands more. The landscapes out there are simply marvelous, and I mean that in the truest sense of the word. I was amazed.

When we got to a depot, Mom and I stepped out onto the open-air viewing car, which offered views even more spectacular than those from inside the car. We had to be careful not to stick our hands outside of the car, though, because the train passed very close to many of the jagged rocks. Since the train ride back simply went in reverse, we were able to see the other side of the canyon on the return trip. It was cool to see some of the old cliff dwellings and the ruins of the retired mining industry. Plus, I was able to nab some of the free snacks they offered on the way back.

Random Thought About Food...

If you like jalapenos, then try the quepapas from Pizza Hut. They rock! I first tried them in Winslow, Arizona, naively thinking they were a Southwestern specialty. When I got back to Illinois, I learned that they were offered here, too. But who cares? Now I know that I don't have to go all the way out to Winslow to get them. I just had some this afternoon, a few minutes ago.

It's getting to be the time of year for soup, as well. I made a potato, broccoli, and cheese soup a few days ago. It was pretty good, except for the broccoli. I'm just not a fan of green vegetables. I try to force myself to eat them, though, because they are good for you.

Related to soup, I've also been wanting to bake bread for quite some time, but never seem to actually do it. Does anyone know why this is? Somehow I'm too lazy to measure out flour, honey, salt, milk, yeast, oats, gluten, and water and then press a couple buttons on my breadmaker. And really, though the bread takes a while to bake, it's not like I've had to go to work for two weeks. You'd think I'd be able to find the time...

Painted Desert

This is the Painted Desert. Such a beauty. When Mom and I left Winslow (which is another story in itself), we headed east on I-40, which is basically old Route 66. It was cool to see some of the old billboards--just as I imagined it would be. We drove through a little of Holbrook (side note: it was also cool to drive through almost all the towns named in the Arizona section of Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath), and then we got off the interstate and entered the Petrified Forest from a highway. It was pretty cool to go that way, even though it felt like backtracking, because taking the scenic drive from south to north saved the Painted Desert for last. Unfortunately, during our trip, it was very windy in the north half of Arizona, so it was difficult to get pictures. I think this one turned out pretty well, despite my hair blowing in my face and my camera running out of memory.

More Pics Forthcoming...

Well, I plan on writing more little blurbs to go along with a select few of my other trip pictures. When you learn that I took over 800 pictures, you'll understand why I'm only choosing a "select few." Not sure when these may pop up, so stay tuned!

Sedona!

These are the beautiful Red Rocks of Sedona. Actually, we are just south of Sedona in this picture. Mom pulled off the road so I could take a picture. McCain picked a great place to live. Heck, I might consider retiring here! Also in Sedona, Mom and I visited a vegetarian coffee shop called D'Lish. It was pretty cool. I call is a coffee shop because I'm not really sure what it was. It was awesome though. I got a quinoa bar and a clementine drink. If it hadn't been so late when we got there, we would have ordered a meal and sat outside. This was the night of the crazy AZ-89A mountain roads. I kept seeing signs that read "Watch for Rocks" and "Watch for Ice." I'm sure it was beautiful in the daytime (when this rock picture was taken), but after the sun went down, it was kind of scary--two lane twisty roads with the possibility of ice!

Sporcle!

Hey everyone--I suggest a cool link: . It is a cool place with trivia games of all sorts. I have five pulled up as we speak. Happy Friday, all! Peace.

New Blog

Hello all,

I am seriously considering starting a new blog. I intend to keep this one as well (this one will still be my random thoughts and wacky, silly, funny things that happen to me, etc.), but the new one would be dedicated to my writing. What do you think? I might put short stories and/or book chapters in the new one.

Thesis

My Master's thesis came in last week. It should be available for checkout through Booth Library. Anybody who is interested should check it out--literally. The book is a collection of personal essays about driving. Most of them are trips that I took, but there is one about getting a renewed driver's license. A word of warning: I've already noticed one spacing error in the manuscript. I'm not happy about it, but what can I do? It's already bound now. Anyway, the book is called "Driven to Distraction."

In other news, now that I'm done with school, I plan to update this more often. I know I took a long hiatus (I'd prefer to call it a "sabbatical") from writing in here, but I'd like to get back in the habit of blogging on a regular basis.

R.I.P. George Carlin

Hey there to anybody who gives a crap. It's been a while since I posted anything on here, but I have to say, I was saddened today when I saw that my comic hero, George Carlin had passed. This guy's biting, tell-it-like-it-is (and sometimes FCC-inappropriate) wisdom was a big inspiration for me growing up. Though I try to keep my humor cleaner than Carlin (and I wasn't crazy about his take on religion), he nonetheless contributed to the matter-of-fact everyday humor style that I'm crafting in my creative writing (and trying to implement in my Master's thesis). So, there ya have it folks--the end of an era.

What a Day!

Well, today has been pretty crazy. Mom complained about my messy room this morning. As if I couldn't take the hint, she then proceeded to ask me to please clean it (I get it, okay?). So I've been trying to clean. I forgot what a pain in the butt it is to clean out school folders. I've gone through two of them so far. Funny thing is, I have like five or six of them, but I only had four classes last semester... On another note, I received my syllabus for my mentoring class. I tried to print it out and, to my chagrin, learned that we are pretty much out of black ink in the printer. And Mom wants me to wait until she gets home before I change it because she also has some concern about the color cartridge.

I attempted to bake some cookie dough that was preparing to rot in the fridge, but I decided I'd just take care of it before it grew hair and teeth. The stuff tasted good, but the cookies spread out and the edges burned. As Dad so cleverly noted, I burned more calories trying to pry the cookies from the sheet (where's that crowbar when I need it?) than I could possibly consume eating them. He has a point.

I then managed to burn some flour tortillas that I was trying to fry so I could make chips.

Let's not forget the three-year-old veggie chicken and cheese sticks that I burned in the toaster oven. But they were burned before: freezer burned.

Why am I still cooking?

The flour tortilla pizza I made was, ironically enough, the tastiest dish I made all day.

But on a better note, I had a great Christmas. I got a lot of cool stuff, and I had fun. If anybody still reads this, let me know how your Christmas was.

And happy new year. I raise my burnt cookie as a toast to '08!

Blah

I feel like crap today.

And Now It's August...

Well here I am. I was going to get so much done today... and I wound up playing Luxor on the computer. Grr. Why do I do this? I have been very busy making Christmas gifts for people and doing wedding planning. In fact, I've started on my dress. I am baking a loaf of bread also. I didn't have to work today, so I'll probably spend much of the day doing my craft projects and working on my dress. Did I mention that I am making my own wedding dress with the help of my mom and grandma?

Kris and I have begun registering for bridal showers and the wedding itself. We even looked at some wedding bands. It has been a very busy summer. I just turned in the last of my assignments for my internship yesterday. Then school will start again in less than 3 weeks.

Well, I finally lost my Luxor game, so I guess I can get back to more productive things now. Kris went to the dentist yesterday, Mom went this morning, and my cat Mary is coming home from the vet today. The poor kitty got one of her eyes removed because basically, it had too much pressure and it popped. I'll be excited to see her when she comes home in a few minutes.

July Update Already?!

Seems like it was just the other day that I wrote my June update and already I see it is time for a July update. I finished my paper for the internship yesterday and emailed it to my professor. I finished my last in-office day for the internship of Tuesday. I'm still finishing some at-home work for it. Then I have a couple more assignments to finish. Luckily, I have begun both of these assignments.

So I started some sourdough starter a week or two back. When I thought it was finally time to make the bread, it disappointed me. I have put many of my craft projects on hold. Kris and I have been trying to make some wedding plans. We have to squeeze planning time in between his job searching and my schoolwork.

We watched Patti the other day. What a deal. She got 35 books on presidents from the library. Oops! Didn't realize I'd have to watch her like a hawk at the library!

Currently I am updating the website for the Parks and Rec Dept, but this computer is being very slow. I'm about done baking bread for a while. I think I need a break from bread to try cakes. Or perhaps cookies. In fact, I may just bake up some cookie dough that's in the fridge. Mom and I are trying to do a better job of being organized. That includes not leaving stuff in the fridge for ages upon ages.

I had Indian food last night. It was a microwavable dinner I got from an ethnic food store. It tasted like chili.

I am looking forward to writing my thesis. I haven't done much creative writing to speak of since I did the honors thesis last fall. I'm itching to do some creative writing again. I hope I haven't lost my touch.

Some guy is painting natural scenes on Create right now. The Garden Home was just on. I'm not much into a gardening mood right now. I'd rather see a cooking show (probably because I'm hungry).

I just never was that much into painting.

Somehow I think I can make that Indian chili stuff with a few kidney beans and some curry powder. Something about it made me feel good. My mood was better today than it has been in a while and I even woke up in a good mood.

Kris and I are going to try to start exercising more. I think exercise will be good for my mood as well. Mom told me that sports and exercise are stress relievers and plus they are good for health and help you sleep.

Well I see that Martha's Sewing Room is now on Create. That'll do. I need to start sewing too so I can make my wedding gown. I'm a little nervous about making my own gown... BUT! It will not only save $$$, but I can also make it the way I want it and it will make a cool memory.

Well, I probably better get back to work. I've been working in between sentences, but I really need to finish up this data entry so I can concentrate on the rest of my assignments and finish up this class. Ciao!

June Update

If I still have any readers out there, I am posting my June update now. Yesterday I made pretzels and baked this funky cheddar/spice bread stuff. It was okay. I made Persian bread earlier this week as well. I have been working on a rug and a crocheted afghan. The afghan is a continuation of a project I started a year or two ago.

I went to work for a little bit today. I am starting to get in the creative mode (hence the update) and want to start writing again. I got so burnt out on reading and writing both last semester that I feared I might never write again.

I was sorry to hear about Thomas Yocum. He was killed in an automobile accident last weekend. Please say a prayer for his family.

I guess this is sort of a downer post. Usually I have something funny to say, but today I seem to have a headache that won't go away and I'm really tired. Plus I have 3 hours of work left on my at-home internship work, so I guess I should just get started on that. Or cleaning my room. My mom has really been getting after me about keeping it clean.

Three Months Late

Okay, if anyone wonders why I haven't posted since February, it is because I tried a few other times and it appeared that my blog was deleted. Today, for no apparent reason, I tried to log on and saw that my blog was here! So I decided to write a new post.

I am trying to do some shopping for Kris since he is graduating tomorrow. Of course I waited until the last minute, but I don't think he'll mind getting some graduation gifts after the fact.

Wow. Montel is on the TV right now. Something about junk food. How does that make me feel? I'm in college.

So I went to work today for a couple hours. I'm on break right now. I handed my last assignment in on Wednesday. Then on Tuesday I start my internship, so I'm way super busy right now. Add to that the fact that I'm going to try to sew this summer so I can make my own wedding dress and then take three more classes in the fall, three in the spring and write my thesis next summer, I have a very busy schedule between now and then.

I won't lie, I've been really depressed lately. This semester has been hell. I have taken three classes and was constantly reading something or working on a paper. i played a little bit of Playstation baseball and I got on to check my email and stuff like that, but I didn't have much time for trips or anything.

Heck, I still haven't seen Lisa's baby.

But I feel better now. I popped my neck, so it's not so sore anymore. And I'm going to get some of my writing books out. I may get a head start on some writing exercises. I guess I was able to watch a few episodes of "WKRP" and "One Day at a Time" but seriously, I've been swamped this semester.

I'm going to try for a second job along with doing the internship. It's going to be a full summer too, at least it looks that way. Peace out.

It's February... You Know What That Means...

I don't know if anybody even reads this thing anymore. Quite frankly, I usually forget that I have it, but then I remember in time to at least meet my once-a-month posting quota.

Well, school is too much work. It's depressing. I don't seem to get to do things for fun anymore because I spend all my time reading this lousy crap for my classes. Then I have to go to work. For what? To scrape together enough cash to put gas in my car so I can go back to school and do it all over again.

Needless to say, I'm not terribly thrilled about grad school. I just want it to be over so I can get a job and get married. I guess one thing I am looking forward to this summer is the class reunion. I'm not even sure why I care though. Probably for the karaoke.

Happy New Year

Well, here it is, 2007. And time for my monthly post. Yes Amanda, I finally got my grades. I was antsy to check them, but I wasn't able to access them until the day after they were due. I got straight As. Which means 2 As because I only took two classes ;)

Christmas and new years was awesome. I can't believe that when school starts this month I'll be a grad student. Now where's that diploma??? Did I even really graduate?

Well, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a great new year!

Express Grades My @$$...

Okay, so I'll admit it--I forgot I had this blog. I don't get on the internet as much as I used to, but I've been on a lot today obsessively checking my grades--still aren't posted. Now it's telling me that PAWS is unavailable, though I know it is supposed to be available until 9:00 tonight. Grades were due this morning, and I've been anxious to see how I did. At LLC, it seemed like the grades were posted by 8:00 AM the day they were due. Not a big deal one way or the other I guess.

I graduated Saturday. I wasn't nervous at all. This is probably the only graduation since 8th grade where I was calm. It is nice to be an EIU alumnus. But I'll be starting grad school there in the spring, so really, it just feels like another Christmas break, but that's okay.

I'm registered for 3 classes and wait listed for a 4th that I may end up dropping. I actually cleaned out my car today. I don't think I've ever had it as clean as I got it today. Well, maybe for the first couple days after I got it, but after that, I started throwing a bunch of junk in it. I've also been cleaning my room some too.

I finished my honors thesis at the end of the semester. I'm fairly happy with it. I am planning on adding some more stories to it, proofreading it seriously, and maybe after that I will try to send it out for publication. I'm a little nervous about sending out my work because if it gets rejected I'll feel like I've failed as a writer.

Ironically enough, the mere fact that I possess that attitude confirms that I am indeed a writer.