Who thought this was a good idea?!

So I work at the mall part time at a women's clothing store. Directly across the corridor from the store I work at is one of those vitamin/supplement type stores. Outside the door of that store there is a scale. Yes, a scale, a large scale.

A scale that talks.

Yep, it talks. It can sense when someone walks by and it says, "Have you checked your weight today?"

Needless to say, it is quite annoying after a long shift to continually hear that phrase over and over. Granted, it is a nice voice, human sounding and so forth, but still. What does amuse me is the comments I hear from people walking by it. I haven't heard anything too rude, but there are many that say, "No, and I'm not going to!"

So who thought this scale was a good idea? Asking passersby if they have checked their weight? And who thought that people would actually WANT to weigh themselves in the middle of a mall, of all places?!! Personally, I'd be afraid that the talking scale would announce my weight out loud to the whole mall, wouldn't you?

I really want to know the whole thought process behind this scale. What was the meeting like where they pitched this idea? What were they thinking when they agreed to put something like this into production? I mean, there had to have been more than one person thinking this was a good plan! I'm wondering what went through their heads when they were all nodding in agreement.

By the way, have you checked your weight today? Nevermind - I don't want to know.

Tooting my own horn

I've been working on my resume and writing up cover letters and generally getting paperwork together to apply for jobs in school districts. It is amazing what they require just to apply: three letters of recommendation, a copy of your college transcripts, your certification (or in my case a letter of eligibility for certification), plus filling out their applications, which usually means a rehash of your resume. I suppose it helps them winnow out those who aren't qualified at all, but it is a bit of a pain for me. I will have to go to Manchester to get copies of my transcripts from Saint Anselm College (which is also an expense, as I have to pay for those).

I've discovered that while I am good at writing many other things, writing about myself in terms of my accomplishments and so forth is not my strong suite. For one of the jobs for which I applied, DH wrote the cover letter for me. It turned out very well. It was truthful and honest, but phrased much better than I could have written myself. Plus it helped that he could see the cover letter from the point of view of an educator. I'll be glad when all these applications are done and sent in. It is the part of getting a job that I dislike the most. While I get nervous for interviews, I am comfortable once I am there and feel confident in how I present myself. But writing it all down? That's a whole other story.

DH will be done with school on Friday and then our real summer will begin. We'll have a week or so to enjoy all together before I start my classes. It has been strange to say that I'm starting graduate school, but also a little exciting. I've been feeling a little lazy lately, reading a lot for pleasure, but when I think about it, it makes sense. Once the classes start, I'll be doing so much other reading and writing that I won't have time for the pleasure stuff. So I'll enjoy the free time now while I can.

I have some crocheting I want to get done, as well. Months ago, I bought a large skein of yarn on clearance at Joann's. It had a pattern on the label for a shawl knit with just the one skein. I thought it would be perfect as an item for the silent auction at the Pemberley AGM. Well, I started it the other day, and I couldn't knit with that yarn to save my life (well, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration....:-)). I ripped it all out and tried about three times, then I ripped it out and started a crochet pattern of my own making with it. I did that about three times as well. Now I finally have a design of sorts that I like, and I'm sticking with it. The problem is that I don't know if I'll have enough yarn to finish it as large as I'd like (or even large enough to be a real shawl!). We shall see. I'll just keep going on and it and see what happens. I did look on ebay to see if there was any yarn like it, but they only have it in other colors. We shall have to wait and see!

I am determined today to actually do something productive. I'm not sure the one load of laundry I've put into the washer counts, so I shall have to go fold some other laundry and pick up a bit......then I'll crochet. Or read. :-)

Not quite Summer Rain

It was a lovely day for most of the day, then it started pouring about an hour or so ago. It slowed down, but now it's raining hard again. At the same time, I can see the sun shining on the driveway, so it's one of those crazy rains. It won't last long.

It has made me thing about all the people along the rivers in Iowa, etc where they have had so much rain and flooding. We were there ourselves just over a year ago, and the memories are strong. DH and I were lucky to have only the water in the basement, no matter how we really felt about it (and let's face it, 6 inches of water in the finished basement is a major pain and a trial, but nothing compared to losing a house or a family member, as others in New England did).

Ha! Now it has slowed down again! I'm sure lawns and plants will love it, as long as it has a chance to soak in. Places north of us got hail today, so I'm glad we haven't gotten that.

We are still living in House Limbo. There was a chance someone wanted to see the house today, but it came to nothing. I'm on the downward stroke of the roller coaster ride of having a house for sale, thinking that it will all come to nothing. Part of me is relieved, not having to pack, and being able to stay in this town. I have such mixed feelings about the town. But the other part of me is disappointed. DH will still have his long drive, it makes my job search more confusing, and I've done so much already to get prepared to move. I really felt like that was the way God wanted us to go, but perhaps I was all wrong. I wish I knew what He had planned for us.

Another Monday

I'm not good at titles, so it's just another Monday.

What a crazy but good weekend. Friday I met my parents with the kids, and they took them home with them overnight. Jonathan and I had a quiet evening at home alone, which was nice. And boy was the house dark that night without any nightlights!

Saturday we had a yard sale, but didn't sell too much. What didn't sell we left out for free, and most of it was gone by the time we got home later, which was great. The weather was beautiful, really summery. We ran a couple of errands in preparation for Sunday (more on that later) and then met friends of ours in Wells, Maine. We went out to a late lunch and took a walk on the beach, which was lovely. I love the ocean. Not enough to want to live there, but I do love it. If I had to choose between living on a lake or living on the ocean, I would choose living on a lake, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying the ocean. Standing on a beach always makes me so away of how small we really are. Standing on the beach in San Francisco last July really made me feel that way, I think because you really can't see anything at all out beyond the ocean. Here in New England you can often see other parts of the shore or islands, etc. But still, it is all so vast and amazing. It puts everything in perspective.

We met my parents in Wells and took our children back. My little Bug whined all the way home, so we could tell they were both exhausted. My parents tuckered them out, and I'm sure my parents were pooped, too! But they told us that both kids had been very well behaved, which always makes us feel good.

We were so relieved when we got home that so much of what we left for free was gone! There were a couple of toys that we wanted to get rid of without the children knowing, but we knew that if they were there by the side of the road, little Bug would wonder why they were there. She may be almost 9, but she has a hard time letting things go, even the scooter she's had since she was a year old! But luckily anything of that ilk that might have been cause for lamenting was gone.

Yesterday we had a birthday party for our little Bud. He was excited about it, but I think his sister was even more so. The kids wanted an under water kind of theme, so I strung streamers across the ceiling in the kitchen to make it look like water (I think I might have stolen that idea from Danielle, but I'm not sure), and the kids painted boats and sand dollars. I think they all had a good time, and they were all very well behaved. But boy was I glad when it was over! I was so tired!

Now we have just two more weeks of school. (DH has three) I both look forward to the kids being done and dread it. Come July I will be taking two graduate courses, so I'm debating about whether or not to keep working right through the summer or not. Each class is four hours long, so it will be tiring, even when you don't consider the reading and writing that will go along with it.

I just found out over the weekend (thanks to DH's research) that Library Media Specialist is now on the critical shortage list, so I have contacted the state Department of Education in hopes that they will give me a new letter of eligibility so I can apply for library jobs. Perhaps things will all work out just the way I want! We shall see.

We are still waiting for some action on our house.....

Six years that flew by.

Well, my little boy is six years old today. I will say, like many other parents and grandparents out there, Where did the time go?! Little Bud is actually not all that happy today. He's not thrilled with school (or so he says), so he keeps complaining about having to go today. Of course he's fine once we get in the car and are on the way there. I'm sure he'll enjoy the cookies he is bringing to share with his friends, too!

This morning he helped me make his birthday cake. I'll frost and decorate it while he is at school. We are going to have Jack's pizza for dinner, his favorite, and he's going to have his own order of mozzarella sticks (which will probably be the only thing he eats, but what the heck, it's his birthday!). We're planning a little party for him for next weekend. I feel badly; the poor boy gets a little left out in the party planning department. Somehow, having the birthday celebration at my MIL's over Memorial Day means that I sometimes forget to really do up something good for the Boy for his actual birthday, hence the lateness of actually planning the party for next weekend.

It's hard to believe that six years ago right now I was at the hospital, with just me and the labor nurse, wondering if my parents were going to get to the hospital in time for them to take Little Bug so my hubby could be with me for the birth. Luckily, they were; the nurse saw them out the window hurrying across the hospital parking lot, and soon after that my sweetie was with me to see his son born. I remember the nurse telling me that I was doing do well I should have eight babies! Ha! No way! No more back labor for me, thank you very much! But I adore the two beautiful children we have, and am constantly amazed that they were once so small. In some ways it seems like yesterday, and in some ways it feels like it was a lifetime ago. And it was - their lifetimes!

The last six years have flown by, and now my little Bud is a big boy, and a sweetheart. Now I need to go hustle him off to school! Happy Birthday, little man. I love you.

Monday, no, I mean, Tuesday

Those Monday holidays always mess me up.

What a crazy Memorial Day it was! First, we all thought the parade was at 1pm. So did the newspaper. We got there just at one and found out that it was actually at 2pm. So most of us waited around for an hour while a few went back to my mother-in-law's and got some snacks and drinks and a blanket. Then one of my BILs went back to the house to start the grill. We wondered what was wrong when we saw him walking back to us - turns out there was no propane left in the tank, but he didn't have keys to his car to go buy some so he walked all the way back to the parade to get them from his wife.

So the parade was great, but when we got back we didn't really smell the grill going - it was going, but veerrryyy slowly. Finally it just died all together. So my SILs and my MIL were inside trying to cook food in the oven and toaster oven. Because my MIL stores stuff in the oven, we thought we had taken everything out, but all of a sudden there was a loud pop, and glass was all over the steak in the oven!!! There had been a glass casserole cover stuck to the top heating element and it shattered, and all the steak had to be thrown away.

That gets all cleaned up, and then my two SILs and I are in the kitchen and suddenly the chicken falls off the counter, spilling marinade all over Sarah's leg and foot and new flip flops. The three of us just burst out laughing - I mean, what else could you do?! The day had just been so crazy, that one more thing just made it all hilarious. I tried to keep my MIL out of the kitchen while Jen cleaned the floor and Sarah when to wash off her leg. It was too funny.

We had to rush through our triple birthday celebration (my DH, my son and my niece) so that Jen could head off to work, but everything else worked out ok. It just seemed like a bit of a let down not being able to sit around and chat like we usually do on Memorial Day.

The parade was good, though. There was a man standing across the road from us who was all dressed us, shirt and tie with a v-neck sweater over it. He had a military hat on, and every time an American flag went by he stood at attention and saluted it. I wanted to cry. And all the veterans in the parade saluted him, too. That was amazing and beautiful. What else can you do but clap louder when they pass by to try to show your appreciation, and say a prayer for those who didn't come home?

Busy work.

Did you know that the person who wrote the song 'Que Sera Sera' made up the language? No, it's not French, and it's not Spanish. He just made it up because it sounded good! I thought that was pretty amusing.

I was cranky last week, after cleaning my house for no good reason and all that. I wasn't really looking forward to going to work on Friday night and over the weekend (I usually have one weekend off and one weekend on), but I think it was good for me. It sort of puts me outside myself and gets me thinking of other things than whatever is going on at home. We are lucky to have such great customers at the store.

As much as part of me does not want to go back to work full-time in the fall, I think it will be good for me in many ways. I can feel that inner fight with the depression, and working even part time helps that. I think being away from home during the day will help a great deal. There will be some major adjustments, obviously, but I will give myself time.

I made a totally futile trip down to Manchester yesterday. I was hoping to pick up my letter of reimbursement for the courses I'm going to take in July so that I could go register for them, but when I got down there, no one was in the Education department. By the time I checked my email at home later, I reread the email from the Ed department grad assistant and realized it said that reimbursement letters could be picked up after May 22nd. Duh. I could have saved myself some time and gas! Still, I at least know the lay of the land for courses down there. UNH Manchester is in a couple different buildings, and it was good to see it all when I had a bit of time to work it all out and figure out where I was going, etc.

I am eager to get my grade for the class I took this semester.