Earth Day

What a way to spend an earth day!Last night Christina and I did "our part." We finally recycled the wine bottles from our super fab wine party months ago. We'd also collected a good stack of cardboard and some old phone books. We went to the recycling center last night - night trips to the scary parts of town are not recommended. There was some difficulty deciding if one of us should stay in the car with it running...just in case. Christina was the brave runner...literally sprinting from the jeep to the dumpsters with our trash. I would prefer not to know what little impact my recycling has, as I'm sure I would be disappointed. We picked up a few laundry baskets at the dollar store and will continue our recycling efforts. Sunday I went to the grocery store and remembered to take a couple reusable shopping bags. Everything I bought fit into my saks (I won't talk here about an article I read about paper vs plastic and how the author said it really didn't matter which, b/c changing or eliminating either would have little impact on the environment). But there is something really special about doing your part. We're going to do ours.This earth day I can be proud. As my friend Vicki said, "Now, we are not earth worshipers, just helping to care for what God created for us, it feels good." Vicki, if you were around, I'd give you a solid, green chest bump. Good work my fellow recycler.

D*mn Shoes

I got dressed in a hurry today - stood at my closet for a bit trying to figure out what shoes to wear. Comfortable? Nah, I just got a pedicure last night. I should wear my peep toe black shoes and flash some of this toe color. I was working at my desk when the judge (robe off and in hand) comes into my office. "I have one of your cases in my courtroom. Can you come over on it?" "Sure, I'll be right over." Probation being in the court, my office being just feet from my judge's courtroom, can be really handy for time management, but impromptu revocation hearings? I ask him who it is on... he doesn't remember the name. I walk to his courtroom with just my pen in hand. Why my pen? I don't know... I didn't want to go empty handed. There he is in his orange jumpsuit - a guy who disappeared from me a while ago, despite him getting a second chance on probation that he really didn't deserve. I shoot from the hip while explaining he deserves jail. I also explain that because I don't have his file, I can't give a recommendation for specific time because I don't know his criminal history. The judge then requests that I go get the file... I unprofessionally exit the courtroom with a, "I'll be right back." I walk quickly down the busy carpeted hallway... until I hit the marble floor with my left foot, at which time my left foot slips, gives way...and I go down. All the way down... on my HANDS and KNEES! I am on all fours, with my hair in my face, for what I hope is only seconds and am afraid I squealed out some loud sound, just in case the scene had gone unnoticed. I hear an attorney bark, "you alright?" I pop up, "yep, I'm fine" and I literally gimp off, dragging my poor little left ankle down the hallway. Ironically, one of my first thoughts is that I am in prime surveillance area and fear that some security guard has noticed what just occurred and will be sure to replay the incident for himself....and all his buddies. D*mn shoes. I think I have no choice but to toss them if I ever get home safely.

Dial Up

Uncle Sam has paid up and I am currently in a situation with some extra funds (I know, claiming zero is ludicrous but I don't mind Unkie making interest off my money, if it wasn't for the government holding my funds, it would have been spent on big macs and itunes months ago. The government is my savings account...what could be wrong with that?). After an evening on my parent's computer (is it rude to excuse yourself from company to enjoy high speed connection?) I'm thinking now is the time to invest in a real computer with a real internet connection. Have we discussed the woes of dial-up?

All this to say that uploading photos is a snap...so here are some recaps:

Here are those valentine's day projects I talked about

Here's a picture from a solo hike at Garden of the Gods

Dad made a home brew... it turned out pretty good. The pale ale went down easy considering it was brewed in the garage. He had a little shindig and showed off his new talent/hobby. Here he is...proud of his fermenting skills.

And I think the black bar speaks for itself here:

Rest in the Room

There is an employee bathroom just feet from my office. It is a large bathroom, the kind where the toilet sits furthest away from the door and the door is so far away that if for some reason you got distracted and forgot to lock the door, there would be no way to prevent exposure once you heard the click of the knob. Even a scream would take a while to travel across the room to the intruders ear. In the bathroom, some ladies have contributed to a collection of Mary Kay hand lotions and magazines. There is also a scale, which I admit, I hop onto frequently. The odd thing about this women's restroom if that everytime I go to use it, the magazines have been moved. This morning, someone had turned to the article about Keith Ledger. This afternoon the Entertainment Weekly was cracked to an article about the Desperate Housewives. I am wondering to myself....who actually plops down and gets caught up on hollywood gossip in the work bathroom? Or have they found this article so riveting, there is a need to share it with others. Just today, on my way back from court, I rushed to bathroom with some urgency. The door was locked...and no one exited for a while. I eventually had to give up and work my way quickly to another restroom. There was some bitterness that while I was suffering through a mini-emergency, someone was hanging out and catching up on Britney.

If it itches...

There was a chair in the long hallway today. I wondered why it was there, and proceeded to pass by it several times today. It wasn't until a co-worker came by to ask if I had disinfectant spray that I began to wonder what would require a good cleansing. And then I heard the spray of the can and smelled the familiar scent of the fresh linen lysol. And then I heard another co-worker as the disinfector, "So, I'm curious. Why is this chair in the hallway?" "Because I had a guy come in here with scabbies."My head itches. My neck itches.