Morning Scenes

I did this wearing my pj's, robe, rain clogs, and a mismatched skullcap. What I do for a few good pics.

Yesterday Evening

Because I Continue to Not Go Anywhere

This morning I snapped a few shots of what things looked like outside before more ice and snow fell. No work again tomorrow, so I will most definitely get some more pictures. Aren't you excited?

I can hear your screams of excitement from here... all two of you who read this.

Oh and I actually did some Pilates! After that I went back to the sofa. We have a special bond my sofa and I. It's a complicated relationship, difficult to explain.

I love snowy weather. Ice isn't so bad, but, only if I don't have to drive in it. The worst part though? The worst part is not having Jon around- he cooks good food. I made shells and cheese and over nuked steambag veggies. The yumminess, or lack of it really, was astounding.

I really hope he can come back around tomorrow. If anything to save me from my lack of creative cooking skills.

Sorry for the horrid grammer in the title btw, it just felt right.

What We Did Last Night

Tia was sent home early yesterday, but, it took her an hour and a half to get home. From what I understand from other friend's that was a 'quick' commute. From 4:30pm ish thru till bedtime we both vegged on the sofa, watched tv, House M.D, and movies. Internet surfing was also a preferred way to pass the time and the animals chose either to snuggle or play (both being rather cute!). Today we're both back on the sofa, chillin' and net surfin'. The animals are back to being cute and rambunctious. Jon's stranded at home so we're gabbing online. It really is a nice day... I could maybe, you know... do something productive. Like.... workout, condense the cleaning products, clean a bit....

Or I could stay warm and cozy and lazy on the couch. Hmmm.... which one will I choose?

Annnnndddd....

I get to stay home!! The parents of my students contacted me, said screw it, and I get to stay INSIDE and safe. There's more on the way and I do not want to be driving with other people panicking about the ice on the road. Can I hear an amen?

A Gift

Why my roomie and I will get along... She understands my addiction and gets me coffee mugs that reflect it.

(Percipitation is already starting in the area btw... We'll see if I actually make it to work!)

Preparations

Yesterday I noticed on my Yahoo! homepage that there was a severe weather alert on my weather window. Okay... So I clicked on it and to my surprise there was a an ice storm watch already in effect for Monday thru Wednesday. Ohhhhhhh goodie. I mean it was Saturday and the watch was already issued, usually they mean business when they do that. Guess what we did?! Yes, shopping. After the infamous ice storm in December 2007 it couldn't hurt to be prepared. Three stores and two hours later we got what we needed. Naturally there were a lot of people where we went, but, somehow we didn't wait longer than a couple of minutes in line. Freakin' miracle!!

Mina's completly enamoured with the salt bag. Between that and trying to get to the water in the humidifier I really don't know what to think- I just snap a picture instead.

On a completly non-weather note we finally tried the Chicago style pizza place nearby. YUM!! I seriously think I ate two meals in the the two slices I had. Mmmmmm deep dish-olicious.

My roomie and I are hunkering down and hoping we don't loose electricity. I can deal with being stranded, it's being frozen turkey butt cold that concerns me. Maybe, just maybe our preparations mean the weather won't be bad and we did this for nothing.

My Inability to Stay Mentally Idle

I haven't had any good leads on a job yet, which is frustrating, but, I think that'll get figured out in time. The upside of working only in the afternoons teaching piano is that I get to sleep in and I have time during the day to clean, work on a project, surf the internet, or be as lazy as I possibly can. While the last option was nice for a couple of weeks, I really couldn't take it anymore. I had to do something with my time and with my mind. Perhaps even find an activity that would connect me with new people and open up networking possibilities on the job front. The solution to my idle brain I came up with is this:

A weekly French language class organized and taught by members of Alliance Française Tulsa. Every Tuesday evening, for the next six weeks, I will be going to the Circle Cinema office and for an hour and a half or two speaking, learning, reading French. The first class was the 20th and it was great. I had a headache, but, I was thinking, listening, and speaking French. First time in quite awhile hence the headache and headaches that have followed while doing my French homework. Seriously, 18 exercises need to be done by next Tuesday = OY! Well, I've always liked a challenge.

Too Funny NOT to Post

Anyone with a cat and a dog know that the cat at somepoint will prefer to eat the dog food, and the dog will ALWAYS want to dine on cat food. This is why Mina's cat food is up on the dryer. This arrangement worked well until I faltered filling Mina's bowl back up in a timely fashion and caught her a couple of days ago trying to eat dog food. I shooed her away and thought nothing of it. Haha, well...
Last night Tia (my roomie) and I were chillin' on the sofa when Tia said, "Do you smell something? I think Mina uhh..." And sure enough there was quite a stench eminating from the litter box all the way in the kitchen. So I went and did litter box management, and checked Mina out to see if she was okay. She was fine, but, her fur? Yeah not so much. She had runny poo and litter in spots all over her lower end. Not just a little, quite a bit and she was not smelling so nice.

Cleaning the cat up was neccessary. Absolutely 100%, no bones about it, neccessary. At first I tried the cat wipes to clean her, but, after four sheets (it usually takes two to clean her entirely) and realizing how deep this stuff had gotten in her fur and how many places were affected.

Tia helped to clear the kitchen sink, get the shampoo, and held her head as I washed her lower back half, tail, bottom, and hind legs while having to manhandle her and make sure she wouldn't flail in such a way she'd scratch my cat allergen sensitive roomie. Mina handled all of this rather well... considering the growls, whines, hisses, and flailing. It wasn't as bad as expected, however, she was not pleased. She was a bit sulky the rest of the night. Here is the pathetic, if not downright humorous, aftermath:

Today she's fine and hopefully she'll think twice about eating dog food. At least I hope!

Mina contemplating her revenge.

No Ordinary Tuesday Morning

This morning started out like any other. I made some coffee, sat on the couch, and turned on the tv to CNN. And oh yes I am still using the Christmas mugs... Why? Because they hold the right amount of coffee. I do actually care about these things. Why do I care? Because I'm a coffee addict... and I've come to terms with that. There's the money shot. Hello Mr. President! Welcome to probably one of the toughest jobs EVER.

I was thrilled, what an amazing day in history. Jon came over for an early lunch and we watched it together. I'm not here to make a big political statement; he is a politician and I will probably disagree with him on somethings. In the end, however, I'm very proud of what this Inauguration represented and hopeful that our new president will conduct his job well. :-)

Inquiring Minds Must Know

Today was my second day back at work after having to take Monday off because of the stomach flu. I'm feeling better, but, still not 100% myself. Anywho, while I was teaching my youngest piano student at the studio she proclaimed that I needed to wash my hair! I was a bit flabbergasted by that mainly because I have not, in fact, washed my hair today. Used the cornstarch and flat iron bit and it looked okay after I threw it back into a pony tail. Was she just joking? Is she hyperobservant? How did she come to this conclusion?

Really I would like to know- did my hair really look like it HAD to be washed??

Alive?

Did you know that staying up for 21-22 hours straight can really mess with your sleeping schedule and sense sanity? I've been back in Tulsa since 5am Wednesday morning and I still don't feel as if I caught up on sleep. Last night I actually fell asleep at Jon's sister's place after dinner which is very unusual. This morning I felt as if I didn't sleep at all and that feeling still remains even after copious amounts of coffee.





Today is Saturday and there are things to do and I have no inclination to do them. None. I'm pretty sure these things can wait until tomorrow... does that make me a horrid procratinator? Wait.... don't answer that.

I think the animals have it right on this one. Just lay around, chill, get up only to eat and take care of 'business'. Sometimes I wish I were them.

Then again I'd have to clean my behind with my own tongue.....yeah maybe not.

In Mobile...

Just a quick entry. Got to Mobile yesterday and have been enjoying the 70 degree weather, but, NOT the 80 percent humidity. My hair is turning into a cotton ball thanks to all this moisture. My roommates and I are constantly washing our faces and trying to keep our hair from being fro-esque.

So far we have explored what downtown Mobile has to offer, which means a lot of quiant buildings(think New Orleans French quater), fog, and good food locations. Definitely a much better trip/location than last year. Especially since we are SO close to everything we need to be at for the bowl events. It's been nice, quiet overall, but, nice.

Tomorrow they're predicting rain and thunderstorms. Say a prayer that we won't end up either rain delayed or soaked to the bone.

Scattered

I'm leaving for Mobile, Alabama tomorrow with the TU band for the GMAC bowl. I'll be there until Tuesday and come back immediatly after the game which means I'll be home in the wee hours of the morning. I'm looking forward to a chance to travel (after all, it's a free trip and I get a per diem) and at the same time.... I am dreading the whole thing.
This trip will be my last with the TU band, at least in the forseeable future and it's bittersweet for me. I graduated last semester though all the official paperwork needs to be completed. But, I'm done...D-O-N-E. And it's weird. The last two and half years of my stint in college I actually found my passion for learning once again. When I decided to pursue a BA in political science along with the music degree I re-discovered my love for learning, analyizing, debate, discussion, and research. Seriously, it was glorious for me. This last semester I began to understand my flaws as a student and realize that there's so many things I have to do to develop my skills in writing and research.
And now here I am, living in a house with a roommate, working part-time, and trying to figure out what my purpose is. There are several things that I want/need to do. Probably need find another job as I would like to not be scraping by. That's a top priority. However, I want to learn German, refresh my rusty French, travel, see if I can join the TCFR, find other groups to network and learn from that deal with the international/political realm. Still, I cannot help but feel listless, without substance, scattered, and with no sense of where I need to go.
Hopefully time away from school will help- help in what way? I have no idea. I do feel deep down the need to go to grad school and maybe I will. Where and for what? Again, not so sure. I wish I could have this all figured out, but, that doesn't seem to be how things work. So, that leaves me with today- which entails laundry, packing, and trying not to think too much.

What We Were Doing New Years Eve?

A new house on New Year's Eve Means...

Party Time!

There must be champagne of course (along with TONS of food)

Good company too

Jon's final salute to 2008.

This is how Jon feels about 2009. Hopeful that it'll be a bit better overall than 2008.

This is how we all feel today... But oh so worth it