Saturday morning I got up early to join my Uncle John, Aunt Kandy, Grandma Hayden and Uncle Jim on a historic trolley tour of downtown Huntsville. It was very informative, but I don’t remember any of it so don’t ask. Even my Uncle John learned some new things. He usually knows tons of history on the downtown area and the adjacent wealthy neighborhood called Twickingham. After that we all headed back to John & Kandy’s house for lunch and a weekend filled with watching DVDs, eating out at my least favorite Mexican restaurant, Univ of Alabama football, watching 2 hours of Mystery Diagnosis on TLC, and eating way more food than any one person should eat. Kandy always makes twice as much food as there are people. So there were only 5 of us there, but she easily had enough food for 8-10 people. Grandma and Jim left for home around 9am on Monday morning, so I didn’t bother going to John & Kandy’s. I got to stay home and catch up on chores around the house.
Monday I got up and waited until around 9:30am to go out and mow the grass. Tropical Storm Faye’s winds had dropped some branches in my yard so I had to pick them up before I started. I had such high hopes to get tons of things done around the house: mow the grass, laundry, dishes, watch the 2 movies I rented, and clean the bathrooms. Around 1:30 or 2:00, as I was watching the movie Georgia Rule, my sinuses started hurting, so I took a nap until around 6:00pm. There goes my super productive day. I could have slept longer, but I wanted to catch the season premiere of One Tree Hill which I thought started at 7:00pm but was really at 8:00pm. I am so glad I stayed up long enough to watch One Tree Hill. That would not have been as good to see recorded. I then went to bed in hopes that my sinuses would clear out in time to go to work in the morning. No such luck. My sinuses were not as bad, but they still hurt and now my eyes did too. So I stayed home yesterday. In the afternoon, I got a good dose of really clean hospital air at my second job and it helped clear them out. So today I am back at work with just a sinus headache that is a little worse than my everyday sinus headache.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Dixie Derby Girls
Sunday, I went to my very first Dixie Derby Girls roller derby bout (game). I’ve wanted to go to a bout for awhile now, but never had anyone who wanted to go with me. I mentioned to my co-worker Miranda that I wanted to go see a bout and she said that she goes and watches them all the time. Miranda was the best person to go with because she knows the ins-and-outs of the sport and explained things about the bout before and as it was being played.
If you are unsure about how roller derby is played, here you go. Each team consists of a Jammer (who wears a helmet with a star on it), a Pivot (that has a stripe on their helmet), and Blockers (3 others each team). Each bout lasts 2 minutes and there are two-30 minute periods with a half time in between. Each team has one Jammer and they are the only person who can score points. They also have just one Pivot, they set the pace for the Blockers. The Bout starts with the Blockers starting on the first whistle and the Jammers starting on the second whistle. The way the Jammers score points is to catch up to the Blockers and pass them without falling or going out of bounds. It moves very quickly and sometime it is hard to count how many times they pass the Blockers during the bout. They have a commentator that acts as the cheerleader and gave a play by play during the bouts.
During half time they had a raffle. You could win tattoos, piercings, and gift certificates. One of Miranda’s friends won a $100 tattoo. They also had a live band to play during half time.
I’m definitely going to their next bout in October. They only have a home bout once a month, so there is not much opportunity to see them in action. I really didn’t know what to expect to find, but I figured it would be fun. It was tons of fun!
If you are unsure about how roller derby is played, here you go. Each team consists of a Jammer (who wears a helmet with a star on it), a Pivot (that has a stripe on their helmet), and Blockers (3 others each team). Each bout lasts 2 minutes and there are two-30 minute periods with a half time in between. Each team has one Jammer and they are the only person who can score points. They also have just one Pivot, they set the pace for the Blockers. The Bout starts with the Blockers starting on the first whistle and the Jammers starting on the second whistle. The way the Jammers score points is to catch up to the Blockers and pass them without falling or going out of bounds. It moves very quickly and sometime it is hard to count how many times they pass the Blockers during the bout. They have a commentator that acts as the cheerleader and gave a play by play during the bouts.
During half time they had a raffle. You could win tattoos, piercings, and gift certificates. One of Miranda’s friends won a $100 tattoo. They also had a live band to play during half time.
I’m definitely going to their next bout in October. They only have a home bout once a month, so there is not much opportunity to see them in action. I really didn’t know what to expect to find, but I figured it would be fun. It was tons of fun!
Friday, August 22, 2008
I’m so tired….
Since the NASA workshop ended in the middle of July, the weeks have been really low key and nothing new both at home and at work. The last 2 weeks have been, I don’t want to say exciting, but I’ll say interesting. I’m going to chunk it out to help explain better.
I didn’t expect to get so caught up in the Olympics, but I did. So I’ve been taping and trying to watch as much as I can at home between the time I get home from my second job and the time I go to bed; which usually is 9:15pm – 10:15pm or 10:30pm. I missed out on seeing most of the individual gymnastics events. :( They were the events I wanted to see the most. The last few days I’ve been trying to catch the BMX bike events, but I can’t figure out what time they are on. I think they were on late last night, after I went to bed. I’ve been struggling with sleepiness since I’ve been staying up later to watch the events.
The lady that I work with at my second job car broke down 2 Sundays ago. Her car breaking down is not what she needed and sent her finances in a downward spiral. To help her out I have been doing (what my friend Paula calls) missionary work; bring her back and forth to work for about 5 days out of the past 2 weeks. Thank God she is getting her car back this morning. She claims she is going to pay me gas money, but I’ll find out tonight if it is going to be like pulling teeth to get it out of her. I’ve been bring her back and forth because I can’t clean what we both clean in one night by myself, so I needed her to be there.
Last Sunday night, as I was in my bathroom brushing my teeth, I hear out the window “Stop, don’t run!” and police radios. I quickly looked out the window to see 2 police officers chasing my neighbor in between our houses into his back yard and on to the deck. They asked why he was running and he said he wasn’t and that this was his house. They said prove it, so he yelled in the house for the other guy that lives there to come out and ID him. They then sat on the deck taking to him and I couldn’t hear their conversation too well over the teeth brushing and water running. When I was finished, I went to the front of the house to see if there was a group of squad cars, because I didn’t see any lights flashing outside. I found one squad car parked in front of the neighbor 2 houses down with just the parking lights on. I think the police was following him from out on the main street. That sort of creeped me out for a couple days and got me thinking about his weird behavior in the past. Since the spring he has been parking his mother’s car (that also lives there) in the back yard. He never uses the front door to go in or out of the house, he goes through the back sliding door. Even though there is a car in the back yard, he always seems to be waiting at the end of the driveway for someone to come pick him up and always stares at me when I leave for my second job (like he is noticing when I come and go). On Saturday, he came outside while I was mowing my grass and sat on the deck to watch me. As soon as I went behind my gigantic bushes he went back in the house. If I can swing it, it may be time for either an alarm system or a big dog.
My NASA job has even been lively this week. Tuesday we were going to have a Crew Visit. A Crew Visit is NASA’s way of getting the crew of each Shuttle flight out to each NASA Center to thank them for their hard work and getting them safely to and from space. We often invite schools to participate in the crew visits. My boss had put me in charge of making sure the logistics for the school that was invited this time was all set. Tuesday morning rolls around and I get a call at 8:30am saying the crew visit is cancelled because of weather in Houston, TX. So I had to call the school to tell them the crew visit was cancelled, but the bus had already left. So I thought I would catch them when they got to the US Space & Rocket Center, where I was going to meet them. I then remembered that we had activities for them after the crew visit, so we were going to just do those activities. After I was waiting for about 30 minutes for the bus to arrive, I called the school and they said they caught the bus and had them turn back around. So that whole morning was pretty much thrown out the window.
So far that is it. Here's a sneak peek of what I'm doing on Sunday - watching the Dixie Derby Girls bout (Roller Derby).
I didn’t expect to get so caught up in the Olympics, but I did. So I’ve been taping and trying to watch as much as I can at home between the time I get home from my second job and the time I go to bed; which usually is 9:15pm – 10:15pm or 10:30pm. I missed out on seeing most of the individual gymnastics events. :( They were the events I wanted to see the most. The last few days I’ve been trying to catch the BMX bike events, but I can’t figure out what time they are on. I think they were on late last night, after I went to bed. I’ve been struggling with sleepiness since I’ve been staying up later to watch the events.
The lady that I work with at my second job car broke down 2 Sundays ago. Her car breaking down is not what she needed and sent her finances in a downward spiral. To help her out I have been doing (what my friend Paula calls) missionary work; bring her back and forth to work for about 5 days out of the past 2 weeks. Thank God she is getting her car back this morning. She claims she is going to pay me gas money, but I’ll find out tonight if it is going to be like pulling teeth to get it out of her. I’ve been bring her back and forth because I can’t clean what we both clean in one night by myself, so I needed her to be there.
Last Sunday night, as I was in my bathroom brushing my teeth, I hear out the window “Stop, don’t run!” and police radios. I quickly looked out the window to see 2 police officers chasing my neighbor in between our houses into his back yard and on to the deck. They asked why he was running and he said he wasn’t and that this was his house. They said prove it, so he yelled in the house for the other guy that lives there to come out and ID him. They then sat on the deck taking to him and I couldn’t hear their conversation too well over the teeth brushing and water running. When I was finished, I went to the front of the house to see if there was a group of squad cars, because I didn’t see any lights flashing outside. I found one squad car parked in front of the neighbor 2 houses down with just the parking lights on. I think the police was following him from out on the main street. That sort of creeped me out for a couple days and got me thinking about his weird behavior in the past. Since the spring he has been parking his mother’s car (that also lives there) in the back yard. He never uses the front door to go in or out of the house, he goes through the back sliding door. Even though there is a car in the back yard, he always seems to be waiting at the end of the driveway for someone to come pick him up and always stares at me when I leave for my second job (like he is noticing when I come and go). On Saturday, he came outside while I was mowing my grass and sat on the deck to watch me. As soon as I went behind my gigantic bushes he went back in the house. If I can swing it, it may be time for either an alarm system or a big dog.
My NASA job has even been lively this week. Tuesday we were going to have a Crew Visit. A Crew Visit is NASA’s way of getting the crew of each Shuttle flight out to each NASA Center to thank them for their hard work and getting them safely to and from space. We often invite schools to participate in the crew visits. My boss had put me in charge of making sure the logistics for the school that was invited this time was all set. Tuesday morning rolls around and I get a call at 8:30am saying the crew visit is cancelled because of weather in Houston, TX. So I had to call the school to tell them the crew visit was cancelled, but the bus had already left. So I thought I would catch them when they got to the US Space & Rocket Center, where I was going to meet them. I then remembered that we had activities for them after the crew visit, so we were going to just do those activities. After I was waiting for about 30 minutes for the bus to arrive, I called the school and they said they caught the bus and had them turn back around. So that whole morning was pretty much thrown out the window.
So far that is it. Here's a sneak peek of what I'm doing on Sunday - watching the Dixie Derby Girls bout (Roller Derby).
Monday, August 11, 2008
Lazy Weekend
It’s a rare occasion here in August that it temperature is below 90 and there is a cool breeze. That was the wonderful weather I have been experiencing since Friday and is suppose to continue through today. I turned off the A/C and opened up all the windows and let the cool breeze run through the house. The nice weather made me kind of lazy and all I did was sit on the couch and watch the 2 movies I rented (Serial Mom and The Heartbreak Kid) and the Olympics. I can officially say that I am addicted to the Olympics. I didn’t really care what sport I was watching I just watched it. Since I don’t have cable, I am stuck watching just NBC. I got to watch men’s water polo, men’s & women’s beach volleyball, gymnastics, cycling, and swimming. Last night I had had pry myself away from the Russian woman’s gymnastics team at 10:00pm to go to bed.
Yard/Garden Update
Wednesday I got the Aerify Plus in the mail, so yesterday I manage to get off the couch and spray the front yard and flower beds. The solution is all natural so I didn’t have to worry about the spray drifting because it won’t harm anything. I was surprised by the color, very dark brown almost black. I guess since it has molasses in it that’s why it’s so dark. It must be sweet because the hornets really liked it and were flying around while I was spraying the yard. It was very nerve racking. It will take a couple of month to notice any improvement in the quality of dirt in my yard. I have to spray the yard again next weekend, then once every 3 weeks.
The Round Up sort of worked. It at least killed the weed grass, ragweed and half of the sassafras trees. It didn’t kill, but did wound, the ivy, wild trumpet vine and unknown bushes in the back yard. It didn’t touch the nandina bush or the other vine that likes to crawl underneath my siding. I guess I will have to go get some more and concentrate more on those stubborn plants.
Side of the garage dead weed grass
Wider view of weeds on side of the garage
Yard/Garden Update
Wednesday I got the Aerify Plus in the mail, so yesterday I manage to get off the couch and spray the front yard and flower beds. The solution is all natural so I didn’t have to worry about the spray drifting because it won’t harm anything. I was surprised by the color, very dark brown almost black. I guess since it has molasses in it that’s why it’s so dark. It must be sweet because the hornets really liked it and were flying around while I was spraying the yard. It was very nerve racking. It will take a couple of month to notice any improvement in the quality of dirt in my yard. I have to spray the yard again next weekend, then once every 3 weeks.
The Round Up sort of worked. It at least killed the weed grass, ragweed and half of the sassafras trees. It didn’t kill, but did wound, the ivy, wild trumpet vine and unknown bushes in the back yard. It didn’t touch the nandina bush or the other vine that likes to crawl underneath my siding. I guess I will have to go get some more and concentrate more on those stubborn plants.
Side of the garage dead weed grass
Wider view of weeds on side of the garage
Dead weeds around the HVAC (heating & A/C) system
Nandina bush with dead wagweed in front
Front of the house on the left side - mostly dead except for the crawling vine
Another view of the left side of the front - bush on the far left won't die!
Monday, August 4, 2008
Where did the Weekend go?
I know everyone has had a weekend where it went by so quickly you said to yourself “Where did the weekend go?” I had so many plans for this past weekend: mowing the front yard, spraying Round Up on the back yard, grocery shopping, taking advantage of Alabama’s state tax holiday and buying some new shoes and pants, get the oil changed in the Equinox, and on top of all of that go to Nashville to gather some of my Dad’s stuff to bring back to store at my house. I only got 3 things done – spraying Round Up, getting the oil changed, and going to Nashville. Going to Nashville usually wipes me out lately. It isn’t the drive, it’s the constant movement at Dad’s house that tires me out. No one stops and just sits. Now I need to take the afternoon off tomorrow to get at least the grocery shopping done. I already was taking time off to get my hair cut, now I’ll just take the whole afternoon off. I probably won’t go shoes and pants shopping. The Alabama state tax holiday has come and gone and now everything is fully taxed again until next August.
Here is the big plan for my back yard makeover
Since my back yard is so over grown with Sassafras tree seedlings, over-grown bushes and crab grass, I thought the best way to get rid of it all is to spray Round Up on the trees and bushes. Hopefully everything will die so that I can cut it down and start over. I also bought some liquid aerator called Aerify Plus to help break up the heavy clay in my yard. Once I get the dirt in pretty good shape, then I can plant some manageable bushes like azaleas or peonies and some grass.
I also sprayed in the front garden along the house. It is totally over taken by weeds almost as tall as I am. There is one nandina bush that is supposed to be a cute little 1-1.5 feet tall bush, but now it is a 5.5-6 foot tall bush. That bush is going, but I have a new nandina bush waiting in the other garden that is tiny right now and should be perfect to transplant next spring.
Hopefully the Round Up will have worked and I will have pictures tomorrow. I will have periodic updates on the gardening. I hope with my backyard makeover I can create a spot for a vegetable garden.
Here is the big plan for my back yard makeover
Since my back yard is so over grown with Sassafras tree seedlings, over-grown bushes and crab grass, I thought the best way to get rid of it all is to spray Round Up on the trees and bushes. Hopefully everything will die so that I can cut it down and start over. I also bought some liquid aerator called Aerify Plus to help break up the heavy clay in my yard. Once I get the dirt in pretty good shape, then I can plant some manageable bushes like azaleas or peonies and some grass.
I also sprayed in the front garden along the house. It is totally over taken by weeds almost as tall as I am. There is one nandina bush that is supposed to be a cute little 1-1.5 feet tall bush, but now it is a 5.5-6 foot tall bush. That bush is going, but I have a new nandina bush waiting in the other garden that is tiny right now and should be perfect to transplant next spring.
Hopefully the Round Up will have worked and I will have pictures tomorrow. I will have periodic updates on the gardening. I hope with my backyard makeover I can create a spot for a vegetable garden.
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