Take a job with LESS contracted hours!
At least that's how it works in Cheshire County Council!!
I went from a 18.5 contracted hours p/week job at Crewe Library, to a (roughly) 12 contracted hours p/week job at Congleton Library and this week alone I am working 32 hours!! hmmmmmm.... something just not right with that.
did I mention that those hours from this week are spread amongst FOUR different CCC libraries!!??!?!?!?!?
I must be insane.
On top of all this, the whole reason I took the job with less hours is so that I would have more time to get this house ready to go on the market for sale-- so we can move back to America!!!!!
definitely insane.
help?!
10. They get up at obnoxious hours of the morning (waking their spouses) to be the "first to find" and get a cache in before they have to go to work.
9. They go around charity shops browsing for toys and other cheap oddments.
8. They enjoy rooting through muck and leaves and logs (can't wait until one of these logs has a snake or wild animal in it!) for fun.
7. They can't stop talking about geocaching.
6. Because they can't stop talking about it, others tend to take the "can't beat em.... join em" road, and end up just as insane about geocaching as their "friends".
5. They can't understand why everyone in the world doesn't love to geocache as much as they do.
4. They order happy meals at McDonalds even though they don't have any kids-- just to get the toys for future geocache outings.
3. They say it's a free hobby, but to do it properly you need to own a GPS (worth anywhere between £90 and £260) plus the hiking boots (£40), walking sticks (£40), gaters (£25) etc.....
2. They can no longer just appreciate nature as a beautiful surrounding of scenery... their mind goes immediately to "ooh that tree would make a good place to hide a microcache.... ooh that log there looks good for hiding an ammocache.... ooh ooh ooh... wonder if anyone else has hidden one here yet?? hmmm if they have i can go find it right now!!!!"
1. They get so excited about walking for miles, hunting for hours through muck and guck and for what???? cheap mcdonalds toys and charity shop rubbish that other people have left behind.
Makes PERFECT sense.
NOT.
Today's my bday and I'm going shopping! My swapping buddy (who I send british magazines and she sends me american charts/kits/threads etc.) has a shop and has saved up the last two lots of swaps for me as store credit. So I'm going to have some fun in there!
Mom & Dad are working today, so I'm chauffering Mom to work so I can have the car, then picking her up for lunch and then at 6 whe she finishes.
Then she and I are having pizza for dinner (Dad will be at a meeting) and probably will watch a movie together. If it's not too late.
just as an explanation of why I am the way I am....
my beloved parents...
'nuff said.
Today we fly out -- :( it will be really sad to say goodbye to Ali & Mia (we said goodbye to Brian before he left this morning)...
it's been so great being here and visiting with them-- I'm going to try and get a picture of the mountains from the airport because I haven't had a chance to take any other ones yet.
Yesterday we went to a town called Manitou Springs. The general atmosphere there was very natural and hippy. We had a really yummy lunch in this cafe-- Dad, Dave, Ali & I all had the Planet Burger (a veggie burger made of nuts, grains, and other veg) and Bri had the super nachos and Mom had the veggie burrito. We kind of gave Dad a hard time because he's definitely a meat and potatoes kind of guy, and when Ali was talking about how yummy this Planet Burger was, he was picturing a juicy hamburger etc. so we had to let him down gently. He enjoyed the burger though. We all did.
Then we wandered around the town, they have lots of lil shops with various kinds of grateful dead stickers/paraphenalia etc. and t-shirts and things. I got this adorable pair of earrings in one shop that had this amazing clock-- I took pictures for my father-in-law because he's into clocks.
Then we went to an ice cream shop, but I didn't feel like ice cream, so I got an ice tea and that was really nice.
Then after we got back-- I was really sleepy so I went for a nap (slept a couple of hours) and then we had a major dinner-- but I wasn't that hungry.
It was a nice dinner though and afterwards they sang to me... lol... with the same "whatsyournamekid" cake we used for David!
very funny.
Then David and Dad and I played pool for a while and then Dad went off to bed and Dave and I stayed up late and talked-- it was really good to catch up.
it's really weird-- I've always thought I was good with babies... but Mia blows so hot and cold you can't tell where you stand at all!!
Makes me really doubt whether I'm ready for that. Or even if I'd be any good at being a Mum.
I know I know-- you're all saying "stop it! It's only 1 baby and she's overwhelmed by all the people passing her around and she's not had any kind of normal routine or peace and quiet for a week...." but really... I'm seriously wondering if I'm meant to only be a Mummy to furry kitty babies.
oy vey.
since Mia was having some anti-auntie-Kristen time... I found a new friend... Ali's kitty cat Ben. He's lovely. Here's a funny picture of him lying on his back on the kitchen rug...
He's so pretty. He must have some siamese in him, he's got the coloring and the cross-eyes, but he's not as skinny as most siamese, and he doesn't have the "I only love one person in this world and only they can pet me" attitude of a siamese.
Anyhoo, After Mia did some screaming in my ear, I was sitting at the table and Ben looked a bit sad because everybody was ignoring him so I picked him up, not knowing how he'd feel about it. I'd given him some cuddles in the past couple of days on my lap, but not picked him up to do so, he'd jumped up himself.
He was so funny-- he's a lot like Basil, but prefers the right shoulder! So there I was with Ben slung over my right shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He was really cute-- purring away! Ali came out then and she was laughing at us-- saying she hadn't held him like that since Mia was born and that he loves it.
Later on in the day we had a good play-- with the tickle stick (plastic wand with a flannely 4 foot tail on it--- we have one back home for our kitties!), and he was loving that.
He also enjoys playing in/on his scratching post...... peekaboo...... he's a nutter......
Then Ali showed me how she trims his claws and she gave him a good brushing to get rid of some of the cat hair (but it didn't seem to make much difference-- the more hair she took off, the more that seemed to come loose!).
Then she was telling me that he's due for a bath... she actually bathes him in the bathtub... poor kitty. Apparently she's been doing it since he was a kitten and he's used to it-- he goes very submissive and doesn't exactly enjoy it, but rather ... endures it.
I was gobsmacked.
it seems that yesterday lil miss Mia two shoes (two shoes is a nickname that was an inside joke between Brian and Ali-- something about mixing insults... goody two shoes and smarty pants... turned into smarty two shoes... shortened to "_insert person's name_ two shoes") anyhow seems like she decided that I'm a monster and she doesn't like me...
Every time I tried to hold her yesterday, she gave me her Godzilla face (Mom named the face she makes right before she starts screaming-- it's almost like you can see her thinking "wait a minute... who are you and where is my Mommy??!!" even though she knows us!)...
So I'm scary... and scared of holding her now... :( not good. I'll keep trying, but maybe I'll give her some time. The problem is that Mom & Dad hold her so much that she must get sick of it, and want some time to relax and chill on her own (overstimulated!) and then it comes to be MY turn to hold her, and she's reached her cuddle threshold and screaming ensues. :(
I spent some time in the afternoon practicing pool-- practicing the softer shots that I often have difficulty doing... the ones where you just barely touch the cue ball and it whispers across the felt to smidgely brush against another ball (Andy told me off for kissing things other than him!!) and gravity takes over and it gently falls into the pocket. I'm getting better at them. Still need some work though.
After a while, David wandered down to have a game of pool with me. We got playing and after he knocked in most of his balls (and I accidentally helped him with one!) I came back bigstyle to do my final shot-- the famous 8 ball... and David had been trying for about 10 turns to knock it in, but just didn't have the angle (plus I was pretty good at putting my pool balls in his way!). So it was my turn, and I had a great angle, so I took the shot and it went in!!
Unfortunately so did the cue ball. So technically in that one I won, but then lost...
But later on, in the evening, after all the birthday excitement (poor David-- Mom and Dad were paying way more attention to lil fussy Mia two shoes), we had a rematch, and this time I did my trick again of letting him knock all his balls in, and then spend huge amounts of turns trying to get that 8 ball. This time though I did a smoooooth shot with the 8 ball and it went in and the cue ball didn't!!! Whohooo so I won!!! Really this time!!
One funny shot I made was a long shot-- and so I put a bit o' power into it, and the pool ball went circling around the edges of the pocket as it fell in. Very smooth!
Yesterday Dad and I went off to King Soopers (grocery store) to buy some bits and pieces for the Birthday BBQ and also pick up a birthday cake from there. (As a side note-- this is absolutely amazing, because my Mom has very seldom ever bought a pre-made cake at the store, but for some reason, she wanted us to!)
So we picked out this choc. cake with choc. icing (poor Andy-- I'm not bringing you any back, sorry love, it would be soooo yucky by the time you got it, inedible!)
and Dad tells me to go up to the counter to ask them to put Happy Birthday on it... but with a slight twist. So here I am, having to go up to this poor lady who's just doing her job! and say "could you please put Happy Birthday Whatsyournamekid on the cake?"
She luckily found it amusing.
David thought it was absolutely hilarious.
Happy birthday to you...
Happy birthday to you...
Happy 30th birthday DEAR DAVID!!!
Happy birthday to you!!
Can't wait to see him-- his flight lands this morning about 10:30ish and I want to go with the gang to pick him up. It'll probably be me and Dad go to get him-- we might get a balloon or something to surprise him with!
I knew that having lived in England for 5 years, I would miss it when I'm living back here. (and I'm not even living here-- just visiting!)
I really miss the people right now. Mostly my hubby! It's so different being here, especially, seven hours behind England-- makes life really difficult for talking on the phone etc.
And I really miss Ione & Dave & the kids-- and want desperately to see those babies!! I guess it's advantageous this way, because by the time I get back, most of the folks from church will have already visited, so I can go over and have her and the twins all to myself!! hee hee.
I hope she's doing well and recovering well from the csection and if my hubby reads this could he please phone them and get me an update!!!
On a completely different side of things, I am completely overwhelmed by what I don't miss about England too-- the grocery shopping! I just cannot believe the difference in produce selection! Yesterday Dad and I went to the grocery store to get some things for dinners the next few days, and it was unbelievable how big and beautiful those fruits and veggies were! And the ranges of different kinds of veggies and fruits... oh my. Now I know England is an island, and therefore doesn't have the range of places for things to grow etc. and that they have to have things shipped in.... but oh my word.
Back to the originial topic... I miss my kitties. It's been really difficult to see things here-- Ali really struggles with allergies now, and is really aware of cat and dog hair on things because of Mia... and I'm wondering if I will be the same if we brought the cats over and then had some babies... there's no way those cats would have anywhere near the attention they get now-- not to mention they'd not be allowed in some places and on some things.
*sigh* I just don't know. It's really upsetting me thinking about it. I love those cats. I just don't know what to do. Part of me is thinking-- stick with the cats... babies are so much more work and the grow up and become even more work and the expense!! Cats would be cheaper and always loveable and not screaming for no reason...
oy vey.
Brian has a lovely poolroom. Billiards room, whatever. Anyhow, it's downstairs, has a big beautiful pool table, two sets of stools, very nice.
Yesterday afternoon Dad was down there by himself playing, so I went and joined him and waited until he'd finished his solo game and asked if I could play him.
He wanted to play 9 ball, which I hadn't played before-- you only use ball numbers 1 thru 9 (hence the name!) and it kind of reminded me only slightly of billiards, in that you have to hit particular balls in order... i.e. first you have to hit the 1 ball (you can't hit any other ball before the cue hits the 1, or else it's considered a scratch and the other person gets to put the ball wherever they want to behind the two dots).
It was fun-- Dad was extremely frustrated with my shooting technique. First of all I shoot left-handedly (I'm righthanded!), and second, most of my shots were hard and fast and slammed the ball into the pocket. His shots on the other hand, are nearly the opposite -- he's really good at the close-up gentle shots where you just need to tap the cue lightly to kiss the other ball and breeze it into the pocket.
It was really funny at one point he was talking about the cue "kissing" the other ball gently in and he totally missed his shot -- so I stepped up and said "I'll show you some kissing..." and slammed my next shot straight into the pocket with a ka-thunk! Much to his dismay.
He also kept getting frustrated with me not "lining my shots up". Apparently I just go for it (I do try to line things up in my head, but I also play with the mentality that if the shot doesn't go in, oh well! I'll have another chance at it next time in another place!). Dad took painstaking time lining up each shot, holding his pool cue out and trying to work out where the straight lines were, and at what angles he was going to have to try etc. and then he'd shoot and if it were a long shot, he'd miss because he hadn't hit it hard enough.
Too funny. I decided that together we'd make the perfect pool player--- good at slamming the long shots in with pizzazz, and perfect at tapping the close shots in with a whisper of a kiss from the cue ball.
as opposed to spaghetti clocks....?
Please forgive me if there are spelling/grammar mistakes in this entry-- 1.) I am typing on a laptop sitting in a dark living room and 2.) it's 5:30am and my brain hasn't woken up yet.
I don't imagine there will be too many typos, because I'm a pretty good touch-typer. I don't even look down anymore.
But my brain is definitely very confuzzled. Because I'm staying here at Brian & Ali's with Mom & Dad and there's only one spare bedroom, I've got the couch. The couch is exceedingly comfy and plenty wide enough, but it's also in the main social room so I have to wait until everyone else goes off to bed before I can get to bed.
Last night that wasn't too much of a problem because the night before most of them went to bed really late, so they were ready for bed pretty early.
My poor body time clock has no idea where it is. It's somewhere in the continental U.S. times though-- just not in Colorado!
Ah well-- small sacrifice for the privilege of getting to see and cuddle that gorgeous lil baby girl!!
More pictures up soon-- I took a smashing one yesterday! Brian even set it as the desktop picture!
Well, I'm here! I had a really good couple of flights, and now have arrived in the Springs. Mia is as gorgeous and precious as all the pictures!
Mom and I did some scrapbooking yesterday afternoon, and we got 3 Mia pages put together. I even finished putting together my Basil page that I started and did most of during my scrapbooking tutorial at Craft Addicts!
Tonight Mom & Dad and Bri & Ali & Mia are all going to a picnic for Mike & Kimmy's wedding. I'm pretty shattered (seeing as we got up at 4:30AM!!!) and so I'm not going to go...
I'll just hang out here and watch a movie or something.
Feels really weird being here without Andy.
Today I have to renew my driver's license (or if you're English-- my driving licence).
I lived in Texas prior to getting married, which was actually a very fortunate thing, because Ohio driver's licenses have to be renewed every four years, but Texan ones get six years! So it's my birthday this year that it expires on.
So today I have to go up to the State Highway Patrol station in Delaware and get it changed over for an Ohio one. This also requires that I take the written test over again... so last night I did a brief study session on the Ohio Highway Code...
I feel pretty confident-- I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing!
Whohooo!
Yesterday at 3:20pm and 3:40pm, my best friend Ione has given birth by c-section to two beautiful boys! The only problem is that I just arrived on Wednesday here in America! And those beautiful lil boys are in England!!
Ah well. We had thought the timing would be a lot closer than this-- that she would be induced on my birthday actually! Nevermind...
Anyhow-- congratulations to Dave & Ione & Beth & Isaac!! Can't wait to meet those two lil cuties!!
Yesterday I flew from Manchester to Newark Liberty airport, and then had a several hour layover (and it was a good job it was so long as it took AGES to get through customs/immigration/baggage claim) and then flew from Newark to Columbus Ohio airport.
The first flight was really good-- I was pretty worried because I didn't know who I would be sitting next to, and I knew the flight would be full. I ended up being sat next to the two loveliest grans ever-- Margaret and Lorna. They're two cousins off to America for a 36 (!) day visit to see Connecticut and Texas and a few other sights. They were really cute. At one point we had a little lesson on American currency coins-- that was pretty funny. I also was telling them about making long distance phone calls, and that they should get a disposable calling card.
The arrival into Newark was bumpy but fine, took us a really long time to deplane (the flight was absolutely chocker) and then we had a nice LONG walk to get to customs etc. The queue for Immigration was quick for me, as opposed to the poor English folks-- but the wait for my luggage was forever, because I was one of the first to check in, my luggage was one of the last to make its way round the carousel. I had to pay $3 for a cart just to get my luggage from the carousels to the point of re-checking them in... and it wasn't far, but at the time I had no idea how far it would be, plus I had a smiths carrier bag, my shoulder bag and my carryon bag as well-- dragging two massive suitcases behind me with all that would have been a trick.
Got through all that finally and made my way up to security-- where somehow my sandals set off the beeper-- so I had to take them off. This was weird as they didn't set off the security back in Britain, so it makes you wonder.
Then I had to walk the entire length of the terminal to get to the gate where my flight was taking off from. It took me about 25 minutes-- it was FAR. I could have walked from my house in Congleton to the other side of the town centre in that time and distance! Anyhow I got there, and had to go down a flight of stairs to get to my gate-- which was weird, as there wasn't much lighting down there (no windows) so it seemed a bit dungeon-like compared to all the sunlight and windows and lighting upstairs. But thankfully it was cooler down there. I made a friend and we chatted a while about travelling and moving from Ohio to marry someone (she'd gone to Florida) and things. I found out about Hurricane Frances, which is a level 4 (pretty stonkin' big hurricane) and set to hit land right about where my poor new friend lives.
The flight attendant told me that there were hardly any people scheduled on the flight, and that we could practically each have a row to ourselves!
Whohoo :) I had most of the back of the plane to myself!
We landed at Columbus airport just a few minutes after President Bush-- and apparently they brought us in early and we were fortunate to land and not be delayed!
They also closed off two levels of the parking garage for him.
Dad was there to meet me just before the baggage claim area-- I was sooooo glad to see him!!
So now I'm here! :)
But it feels extremely weird being here without my lovey. :(