Ecstatic...but a little sad

It had to end sometime... After a 7-year romance, I decided that the trust had left our relationship. I'm sorry Little Blue Honda Civic, if I don't feel secure with you, I just can't drive you. We've been through a lot together - countless commutes to work, trips to grandma's house, adventures with almost-too-large-for-your-doors furniture, and 4 residences. Fortunately those 7 years didn't include too many trips to the repair shop...unlike the Evil Demon Spawn Silver Mercury Sable that came before you. But alas, after replacing your battery, front axle and a oil pan gasket so far this year, and hearing (probably imagined) noises while driving at night in the country, I must say...I just don't feel safe. Safety (real or imaginary) is my number-one priority, followed closely by gas mileage... So with a little sadness, but a lot of relief, it's time to say goodbye to Little Blue Honda Civic...



And hello to Shiny New Blue Toyota Prius!



Ah, the glorious sound of no strange noises...and speakers that work! Yes, it gets great gas mileage. No, it was NOT cheap - and I am feeling a moderate amount of guilt at the amount of money we just spent when I could have (nervously) driven my car another several years with no real problems. But I am very happy - this could be the start of a beautiful friendship...

Anyone wanna buy a Honda Civic?

If it's Good 4 Girls, it's Good 4 ALL OF US!

A while back, Crunchy Chicken got the awesome idea of rounding up reusable sanitary napkins to send to girls in developing nations, such as Kenya and Uganda. Well, her awesome idea has blossomed into Good 4 Girls, and is getting a LOT of attention...so much in fact that she can't keep up with the demand.

Crunchy needs help! If you think this is as great of a cause as I do, please consider making a donation. It can be monetary, or in the form of a homemade or purchased pad. There are a number of online stores from which to buy.
If you are in the Omaha area and want to join me for a pad-making party, or just go in on shipping out a package, let me know! No girl's education should suffer for lack of a rag.
I'll put my money where my mouth is - I'm donating $10 right now...
(20 seconds later)
See, that was easy and painless. The hardest part was remembering my PayPal password!

Rude?

I'm talking to a telemarketer right now - is it rude to blog while on the phone?  It's a man from Sprint...accent I don't quite recognize...Indian?  I won't speculate.  He's offering me an upgrade to my current cell phone - for a LOW LOW minimal cost!  It's a privilege!  I'm letting him go on with his scripted speech because I'm in a decent mood and I feel some pity for people in this line of work - I couldn't do it - far far too frustrating for me!  Plus, I'm munching bread sticks in his ear..

Let's corn some beef!

I made corned beef and cabbage for the our dinner last night, kind of a belated St. Patty’s Day dinner.  None of it was local, all was commercially produced, but still…it was mighty tasty.  As long as I didn’t stop to think about what mind actually be IN the corned beef… Ew.

So I started thinking…why can’t I get local corned beef?  Our co-op doesn’t offer it at the moment…  I could also check out Whole Foods to see if they at least offer a grass-fed version, but I’m guessing their price is more than I really want to pay…  Why can’t I corn the beef myself?  I suppose I could!  This website offers some insight into the corning process, as well as detailed instructions (perhaps a little TOO much information on the process of corning a tongue…).  Now all I need is a local brisket or other cut of meat and I can corn away.  Once the growing season kicks into high gear, we’ll be eating locally-produced corned beef and cabbage.  

Good for Goodwill!

A while back I talked about the Staples electronics recycling program.  We have an old computer sitting in our garage, and this was one option I was considering for its disposal.  Well, the Goodwill just announced that it will start accepting computers as donations!  They will resell those units that are in decent shape (under 5 years old) and recycle the rest.  Plus it’s free for the donor (many computer recyclers charge for this service).  I guess I know where our old computer is going…

Spring has sprung...well, close enough

It’s almost spring…I saw my first giant cockroach at work yesterday.  Ew!  A sure sign of warmer weather.

Life has been busy as usual the past couple of weeks, with no signs of slowing down (does it ever?)  My Jr. League committee finally kicked off our Dance without Limits session in mid-February, with my rotation starting last week.  This is a great program – we work with the local Girls Scouts to bring a professional dancer into an elementary school to work with the girls after school once a week for 8 weeks.  This year, we brought Charles, an African dancer – and a fantastic one at that.  I’ve taken a couple of African dance workshops, so with that and my belly dance experience, it’s pretty easy for me to pick up.  I think some of the little girls were really (really) surprised that I could dance…and that’s when it occurred to me that they see me as an old white lady! J  The first week was a little awkward for me, ‘cause I don’t spend much time around kids anymore, but at my second session yesterday, it was much better – I even got a couple of hugs!

Last week, I also met with my Jr. League placement advisor to get an idea of what I want to do next year.  I have about 6 positions I’m interested in, but a couple of them might conflict with my as-of-yet unscheduled jaw surgery.  That’s frustrating – I really wish I had a set date, but nope – it all depends on how quickly I progress… sigh…  But, anyways, it’s exciting to have so many great choices for placement next year!  Do I want to stick with something I know, or push myself out of my comfort zone and try a new challenge?  I was also contacted this past week about becoming more involved with the two guilds I joined last year, the Girls Inc GirlFRIENDS, and the CSI Guild.  Very cool!

This past Friday, the DH’s band had a gig here in town at the Sokol Underground – I’m so glad they made that venue nonsmoking!  I mean, come on!  It’s a basement!  It gets stuffy enough as it is!  Aurasing was awesome, as usual.  No surprise there… J

Diva Soma had a show at the Shark Club the next night…it was a little nerve-wracking.  I had a new solo and we had a big crowd!

Like I said, things aren’t getting any less busy in the near future.  The Divas are planning the Nebraska Belly Dance Spectular (May 3 at the Shark Club – mark your calendar), the Diva corps has a gig in April, plus the annual Rainbows of the Desert workshop in Des Moines in a couple of weeks…  I’m working on costumes for everyone for the Spectular, doing a ton of refashioning (which I need to post!), planning my garden (got seeds yesterday), and now I really need to start studying for my CISSP exam!  Phew.

Silence = Not Whining

Sometimes I blog like 6 times a day and sometimes I have nothing to say for weeks on end...suffice it to say that if I'm quiet, it's 'cause I'm cranky and trying not to come off sounding like a total baby. This is precisely what I've been going through this week. I caught some icky bug that's going around last week. It started in my throat (that horrible "I'm starting to get ill" taste - uck!), moved into my chest and is now settled in my nose... So I've been congested and exhausted, BUT not sick enough to take a day off from work or other activities...I've just been floating through them, trying not to cough on anyone... Fun! On top of that, I had my first arch wire change on Thursday, so I've been pretty sore. Well, perhaps "sore" isn't a strong enough descriptor - I feel like all my teeth are being slowly ripped out. I can't chew, a misery compounded by the fact that my Girl Scout cookie order came in this week and the Thin Mints are taunting me. So, yeah, I'm kinda whiny. Sorry...

So, let's see, other than being sick, I've been pretty busy the past week or so... Last weekend, the DH and I had a date night - when to the new downtown Stokes for dinner (mmmm...Hawaiian Walu works well with braces!), then to Film Streams to see "City of Men", which was basically a modern "Boyz in the Hood" but in Portuguese. I highly recommend it. Saturday night, we met up with ML and her man at Joslyn for the opening of the Qing exhibit. I attended a YAP lecture earlier that week, so I felt qualified to lead my own little tour... :)
The focuses of several dance rehearsals this week was gearing up for our next show, March 15 at the Shark Club. ML and I are working on a duet, but we'll see if it gets done - both of our busy schedules plus my total physical exhaustion (even dancing is too much exertion with this bug) is really hampering our practice time. The Salomes (my Diva Soma group - and that's "Sal-Oh-Mays, not Salamis, got it?!) is putting together a new choreography, and Angeli Tannebrarum is attempting to resurrect our Yallahween number...lots of dancing for poor sick A.D!
Thursday was by far my busiest yet most enjoyable day. I took the day off of work to help at the Jr. League booth at the Young Professionals Summit (ML was heavily involved in putting this event together and she and the rest of the team did a great job!). Then it was off to the orthodontist for my first wire change. Ouch. Then back to Benson (my second hometown it feels like now) to help at the Nebraska Food Coop, and out to Old Mill for a Jr. League Leadership Academy meeting. Then home to down a bunch of painkillers and pass out from tooth pain. :(
So, yeah, I'm barely functioning, but still going strong...I slept in this morning and it did amazing things for my mood...and so here I am, blogging again! :) Happy Saturday!

Tonight the DH, ML and her man, and I will down a bunch of coffee and head out to see Angels in America Part 2 at the Shelterbelt. The coffee is necessitated by the fact that the DH got up at 5 to run and go to work, and it's a 3 hour play....hmmm...may be sleeping in tomorrow too!