Some things I am wondering about...

1. Why do Celia's front claws grow faster than her back claws?  I trim her front claws (picture me trapping her between my body and the stuffed arm chair cushion.  It works for 8 of her 10 claws.  By the 9th claw she just wants the catnip).  Her back claws, however, get trimmed annually at her vet visit.  The back ones are a normal length...even with the 12-month clipping. 

2. Can someone who has a gray thumb can one day wake-up and have a green thumb? 

A gray thumb is someone working as a plant Hospice worker helping foliage on to the big greenhouse in the sky. 

My Christmas cactus is finally blooming.  I have had this particular cactus for 5+ years and it's never once blossomed.  I changed its soil and pot.  I have spoken kind words to it.  Finally after all these years, it has bloomed.  Bye-bye gray thumb!!!!  Helloooooo balcony patio!!!

I am not...

...a night owl.
...a scary movie watcher.
...able to NOT cry when I say, "Goodbye."
...able to keep a straight face when we (the church choir) mess up on the platform.
...a fan of moths and tonight at Target when my crazy friend fanned her shirt and said she was a moth, I questioned our friendship.  I mean, is she really a moth? The one creature of the night I loathe.

I am....

...the kind of girl who...
...sings in the shower.
...eats peanut butter from the jar.
...laughs outloud loudly.
...wants to live in the country.
...reads late in to the night.
...paints her toenails and fingernails fabulous colors!
...thinks jammies are a girl's best friend.
...is loyal to her peeps.
...drinks too much coffee.
...is afraid of grasshoppers.
...will ask random questions, "Has that hill always been there?"
...likes to do laundry.
...tries to be helpful.
...still likes to color.
...went on a really bad blind date and now drills the setter-upper.
...wears sunscreen all the time.
...loves Hallmark movies.
...has not found true love yet.
...is afraid of gluten.
...misses having a cat.
...eats raw green beans.
...loves to cook and bake.
...has an extensive summer wardrobe.

Google Earth and other randomness

Today I showed a co-worker the magic of Google Earth.  I, then, meandered in to my favorite co-worker's office and said, "Guess what I just showed ___________ how to use?"  He himmed-and-hawed around and I finally said (excitedly), "GOOGLE EARTH!"...too which he replied sarcastically, "That's great.  Just great.  Another stalker is born."

A)  I am soo not a stalker;
B)  I always laugh when he calls me a stalker.
C)  He knows I have a heart of gold therefore not allowing me to be a stalker.

Soo this favorite co-worker of mine always teases me about my coffeeshop boyfriend, Chuck.  It's funny because on Pinterest, I saw this funny sign...

...it totally reminded me of the teasing about my coffeeshop boyfriend.  Although my coffeeshop boyfriend is not "hot" as in drop-dead-gorgeous.  He has a nice smile and he laughed when he ordered his coffee.  I find both of those qualities extremely adorable.

Next week is going to be insanely busy at my place of employment.  IN-SANE-LEEEEEEEE busy.  I've already spent some time working ahead on templates so as to help the week not be quite as crazy as it would be had I spent the time knitting or daydreaming or staring at the cubicle wall.  Today I spaced out for 3 minutes.  It was kind of nice to go on a mini-mental vacation.  Not productive, but nice.

Tomorrow is Friday.  I've convinced my favorite co-worker that in the name of love (because he said - AND I QUOTE - "Angie, there's no price we can put on you finding your true love"), he should treat us to Starbucks tomorrow morning.  CONFESSION:  I took one look out the window at my ice-covered driveway and decided Starbucks Thursday was going to get moved to Starbucks Friday.  It worked out fine because our BUNN coffeemaker did a fabulous job caffeinating us today.  Which --- CONFESSION #2:  I DRANK COFFEE AT WORK!!!!  Since the first of the year, I've been cutting back my coffee consumption.  I drink a cup at the cottage and then a mug of green tea at work.  I heart antioxidants.  I really do.  Well...today I made an exception and drank 1.5 mugs at work.  Around 10:30, I said to myself (in my overly caffeinated state), "Wow --- there's a lot of caffeine surging through my veins!!!  I can't go down this road again...lest I start skipping from office to office.  I will probably get written-up for doing that!"  Yep - proof why I shouldn't drink more than one mug of coffee.  Also, in January, I read that caffeine can stay in your system for up to 12 hours. 

Oh - and I never intended to cut back on my coffee consumption...it sort of just happened.  One day I noticed that I wasn't drinking the work coffee.

Back to tomorrow...tomorrow is Friday.  Casual Friday.  Or phonetically Kazzzzzzzzzz-you-all Friday.  I love Fridays.  Jeans, flats, a sweater, and a flower headband.  (Sigh.)  It's grand being a girl.

Saturday -- not a single thing on my calendar and I could not be happier.  "Could not be happier" -- hmmm...if I was sitting on a beach reading Jane Austen -- yeah, that might make me happier.  Having coffee with my bestie -- yep, happier.  Salads with Kari at Mary's Market -- happ-eeeeee-rrrrr.  Pedicure - :) + er.  Someone to come and clean the cottage for me...bliss. 

For all the nothingness that I have planned on Saturday...I am thrilled.  I know it might sound strange, but really -- I love do-nothing-sort-of-Saturdays.

Happy Thursday - almost - Friday!!!

"Miss Angie, how did you use math today?"

The question was posed to me in a text.  Hmmmmm...how did I use math today???

1. to tell time

2. measure oatmeal to cook on my stovetop

3. subtracted/added large quantities of money to determine contractor payment

4. counted the number of stitches to knit

5. considered numerical order when filing

6. compared dollar amounts of used vs. new books

7. added the quantity of label dividers

8. calculated how many minutes left in my workday :)

Wow!  I engaged many-a-math skill today.  Multiplying, dividing, adding, subtracting...

I love math.  

Sincerely,

The Girl with Straight Hair today :)

Some randomness...

1. I went to Woodman's the other night and nearly passed out!!!  "Why?" you ask.  Let me tell you...  My favorite peanut butter, Maranatha Smooth No-Stir Peanut Butter, normally is around $5 for a large jar.  Not anymore...it's now $7.99!  Why not just call it $8 and be done with it!  Eight dollars for a jar of peanut butter...UNBELIEVABLE!!!!  As I stood in the aisle staring in amazement at the peanut butter sticker, I remembered something my wise friend Ruthie told me.  Last summer, Ruthie had heard that (for whatever reason) the peanut crops had been compromised.  Since it's been 12 months and no real price hike, I thought for sure the news she heard had been pure rumor.  Well, not anymore.  $8 for peanut butter!!!!  I believe I have blogged about my love of peanut butter...but just in case you have forgotten, I would totally give up chocolate in lieu of supporting my peanut butter addiction.  I would NOT, however, give up coffee for peanut butter.  A girl's gotta have standards.  (Wink, wink!)


2.  Today I read a funny part in my new book, Latte Daze, and I laughed outloud LOUDLY...and then I remembered that I was sitting in my cubicle.  I felt the need to send an apologetic email to the department for my outburst.  I didn't act on that.  :)


3.  This morning I wanted to wear a cute red, white, and blue skirt that I thought was in my closet.  It was a sad moment when I realized that I had donated said skirt to the thrift at the end of last summer.  Plan B -- still red, white, and blue...just not the original skirt.  


4.  Also, this morning, I went to get my lunch ready (I like bringing my lunch to work that way I can stay inside and enjoy the full 30 minutes instead of running somewhere to pick up some unhealthy lunch choice!)...where was I?  Oh yes, I went to make a spinach salad.  Talk about bummer when I realized I was out of spinach and mixed salad greens.  I ended-up enjoying half-a-chicken breast, a yogurt, and some raw veggies.


5.  My favorite co-worker, "What did you order at Chipolte on Saturday?"  
Me:  "A burrito bowl!"
Favorite co-worker:  "Did you eat the entire thing, Fat Girl?"
Me:  "Ummmmmmm...YES because I had a light breakfast.  And who are you calling 'Fat Girl'?  I ate nearly a pound of raw green beans for supper -- talk about sans calories, Crazy!"
I do like my favorite co-worker.  He keeps me accountable and he's only teasing when he calls me "Fat Girl."  We aren't mean like that!!!


6.  Why am I numbering these???


7.  My new book, Latte Daze, is fabulous and funny.  Maya, the main character, loves all things coffee.  I honestly think if she weren't fictional that we would be the best of friends.


8.  One more day to go 'til I get a day off of work.  It's sad, isn't it...I mean, really, I just had 2 fabulous days off and did fun things...and here I sit thinking about the 4th of July.


9.  I'm going to read.  I should watch the news but I cannot bring myself to do that...sorry.  

A random Angie thought...

When your best 
friend marries a 
farmer, you realize 
the importance of rain 
and you rejoice when it rains!!!!!  :)

I learned a couple of things this past weekend...

1.  After spending 45 minutes making Quinoa Stuffed Peppers, I discovered that I do not like (as in loathe, despise, hate, I think you get the picture...) cooked spinach.  All that hard work...thrown away...[insert a sad face].  My mom has always said that your taste buds change over time.  I'm fairly certain that this spinach disliking may go on from now until I walk the streets of gold.  Give me raw spinach!!!!!  The cooked stuff is dreadful.  -- a funny story about the spinach situation...so I was sharing the spinach tale while working with an adorable 3-year old fellow during the cookie time in Sunday school.  Said 3-year old informed me that I need to eat spinach like Popeye to get muscles and be strong.  Ummmmmm...I didn't have the heart to tell him that if spinach were the last food item left on the planet, I would choose starvation.  True story.  Oh -- wait...I would just eat the spinach raw.  Never mind...no starvation for this girl!  :)


2.  It is not a good idea to go grocery shopping the afternoon of Good Friday.  Woodmans was crazy, busy!


3.  'Tis best to mop the kitchen floor and tidy the cottage before picking up my new-to-me-75-cent-half-dot-com chick lit that arrived on Good Friday!


4.  Homemade guacamole, re-fried beans, Mrs. Renfroe's salsa, and yellow corn chips is a fabulous weekend-ish sort-of meal.

A Saturday FULL of potential....

Dear Blog-Stalkers,


Hello.  How are you?  I don't ever ask you that, do I?  I'm just sooo rude.  :)  I wonder what you are up to on this sunny Easter weekend.  I don't have a single thing planned today.  Well...correction, I do have one thing planned...REEEEEE-LAXING!  :)  How fun is THAT?  I love lazy Saturdays.  Currently - I am sitting here typing.  (I crack myself up!)  I am, also, enjoying a cup of fresh ground Berres Brother's Chocolate Raspberry coffee.  I'm still in my jammies.  My cat is sound asleep atop my stuffed chair.  The sun is shining.  I'm not sure if the birds are singing because my furnace is running.  Granted, I am truly thankful for a furnace and heat...but I am wondering, WHERE DID THE 70-DEGREE DAYS GO?????  It is April.  Oh well...such is life.  I suppose 'tis better to be chilly outside than snowy, right?  See -- I am ever the optimist.  Cup half-full, I always say.  


I saw a cute quote the other day.

I do wish you, dear blog-stalker, a most wonderful, fantastic, glorious, lazy sort-of Saturday.

Clean desk, Yoda's godmother, and babies

At 7:55 this morning, I entered my cubicle and sighed a huge sigh of relief.  You see -- the mounds (and I literally mean MOUNDS) of papers and things to do have been recently completed.  Yesterday I, even went so far as to remove all the objects from my desk, wiped clean my tabletop and the counter top where my office equipment resides. 

It was absolutely delightful walking into an uncluttered and clean workspace this morning.  I stood in the doorway of my cubicle and sighed a huge sigh of relief.  That whole clutter-business / sea of sticky notes was enough to send me to the moon and back.  Well, maybe not the moon...I would settle for the craziness to send me to Seattle and back.  Or even Ireland and back.  Wouldn't that be grand?  I could call in to work, "Yeah, I won't be in today.  The crazy pace I've been working has rocketed me to Dublin, Ireland for a couple days...so I will see you guys on Monday."  Hey -- it's worth a try, right?  I mean -- can't a girl dream.  (Sigh)

Speaking of Seattle...after working on some random projects, I received the following text at 2:20...

"Aftr my convincing Seth not to name his son Anikin...he now claims Yoda for the name of his first born and you will be the little tykes godmother."

I am going to be honest -- I think naming your son Yoda would be fabulous.  First kid ever with that name -- how cool would that be?  And who doesn't love writing a cursive "Y"?  That's one of my most favorite penmanship lessons.  Cursive "Y" is all over the place...upstairs, downstairs, and the basement.  (If you've ever taught Abeka penmanship, you are totally getting this post!!!!  And I love it that you get me!!!!)  Plus the name Yoda only contains 4 letters.  Sim-ple!  :) 

So there you have it...my Wednesday. 

I will conclude this post by informing you that my spider plant is having babies!  She's having about a dozen.  Can you imagine giving birth to a dozen babies?  I'm thinking that all the talking to myself and releasing carbon dioxide has made her very happy.  I say "her" because she's planted in a super-cute IKEA red pot.  Who doesn't love RED?  I mean...seriously...who doesn't love red?  I'd actually like to know so I can convince them of red's awesomeness.  Sooo do tell.  I will go to them and share all the benefits of embracing red.

Tootles. :)

Gold Star Moment!!!!!!

True story...
This afternoon, Leah and I conquered the bike path...I'm fairly certain that we walked close to (if not exceeding) eight miles.  8 miles!  On our 8 mile journey, we saw:

2 snakes (1 was deceased)

a gazillion grasshoppers (mostly small with some freakishly large ones)

several un-identified cricket/beetle-ish bugs

We both determined and uttered words of thanksgiving that we were not alive when the Lord sent those plagues -- locusts?  Ummmmm...ick!  I, also, believe we both commented, "We are such girls!" 

After walking for two hours, we both ended-up at Woodman's.  Old Navy's slogan is/was, "Shopping is fun!"  But I think the really fun place to shop is Woodman's.  Maybe it's 'cause I'm a foodie and I love to cook.  I do...I love, love, LOVE to cook!!!!  Baking...(sigh)...it makes my heart go pitter patter. 

Tonight at Woodman's, I decided to make a change to my menu for the week.  Instead of making chicken tortilla soup, I decided to save some money and make Black Bean & Corn Soup...unfortunately, I did not have the ingredients for the other soup.  Soooo I did what any smart girl would do -- I attempted to call my brother; instead of being at home where he could pull out his copy of Fix It & Forget It, he was commuting from the grocery store to his place of residence.  My cellphone service was shotty (at best)...so I opted for Plan B - text a friend.  [Remember that gameshow, Who Wants to be A Millionaire? hosted by Regis?  I thought it was cool that you could Phone-a- Friend !!!  I always text/call my friend Tanya when I need useless information.  We were roommies in college and she is a wealth of useless information.  I still call/text her even know...especially when I am at Meg's Daily Grind.  They have a trivia question that if answered correctly will save you 20% on your latte.  You do that 5 times and it's like getting a free latte!  Seriously!  It pays to do the math and have fabulous friends!!!!  Not that I use my friends...that sounded terrible.  I don't.  Tanya will say that she has a wealth of useless information stored in her brain for moments like this -- to save her friends money on their morning caffeine fix.  She says it...OUTLOUD!] 

Right before the Text - A - Friend, I prayed asking the Lord for help!!!  I was really hoping that He would allow Bryan to get home in a milli-second or for my friend to read her text...but He had something even better in store!  (Ha - ha - ha - "in store" as IN THE STORE!!!!!!!)

Where was I?  Oh yes, text a friend.  Waited a few minutes -- all the while staring the multiple choices of canned tomatoes...stewed, Mexican, whole, diced, Petite diced, tomato sauce, etc.  There are many choices....MANY!  I remembered that the recipe called for two different kinds of canned tomatoes...but I could not for the life of me remember which type I needed. 

No text reply.  I began to wonder if standing in the same aisle for 7-10 minutes was considered loitering...? 

A few more minutes and I begin to re-think the Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe...I could make that...but this other soup would be more economical...but I don't know what to put in the crockpot...And then I had an epiphany!  Woodman's sells cookbooks.  Maybe, just maybe, they will have a copy of Fix It & Forget It.  I meandered over to the shelf o'books...and on the second shelf, there it was -- the beloved cookbook!  It was like that crazy movie from the 1990's when the teenage girl is walking by the fountain and she has this epiphany and says outloud, "Oh my goodness - I LOVE JOSH!"  And the fountain springs to life and the music crescendos!  Well...at Woodman's, it was like that...only different.  :)

The wonderful Table of contents directed me to the recipe.  I scribbled down the list of ingredients and went skipping all the way to purchase said ingredients.  And I was right -- this other soup was waaaaaay cheaper than the original soup!  I'm so thankful that the Lord impressed on my heart to change recipes and He also provided the specific book I needed!  It's something soo small...but it was an answer to prayer!!!

What a wonderful day.  Thank You Lord for sending me to the cookbook aisle.  Thank You for letting Leah and I get accosted by grasshoppers and two snakes (one was deceased) on our 8 mile adventure on the bike path.  :)  Thank You for a wonderfully warm Saturday.

Some random things I just don't understand...

1. Why do perfectly normal drivers try to enter the expressway (I-90 and even Bypass 20) going 40-45 miles per hour?  I believe this is a direct quote from my drivers education teacher (from circa 1990):  "Enter the highway going the speed limit .... or atleast accelerate like a fool to reach the speed limit when you merge on ... unless of course, you want to die!" 

2. Why is organic produce more expensive than regular produce?  Organic farmers do not need to purchase pesticides to spray on their plants thus saving them money ... right?  I feel like this could be a 7th grade math story problem..."If Jack has a farm and Bill has a farm, and Jack grows organic produce..."

3. Why does my Easy Guacamole recipe claim to serve 16?  Sixteen what....Smurfs?  Sixteen two year-olds?  I will post the recipe...then you can tell me if you concur with the "Serves 16." 

4. Why are the Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations out?  It's August.  Granted - I have started knitting Christmas presents....but for real - decorations?  I'm the girl who loves ALL-THINGS CHRISTMAS (ask Lauren -- formerly the secretary who is now Lauren the teacher :))....but seriously.....  They should've waited 'til after Labor Day. 

5. How is it possible that my near-death spider plant has resurrected itself?  It was on its last leg (okay - this is cracking me up because in my head, I am totally thinking...Spider plant....spiders have 8 legs!!!!)  Any-who...I neglected Spidey and he was knocking on death's door and then I had this epiphany to set him outside in the sun....and three weeks later...HE'S ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And he's doing sooo well.  Yeah!  I'm glad he didn't bite-the-dust because I believe my Mom once said, "Angie, no one kills spider plants!"  I would hate to be the FIRST GIRL IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD TO KILL A SPIDER PLANT!  That would be totally embarrassing....  I mean there are some things that I enjoy being...Angie the Sunday School teacher.....Fun Angie....Angie the Engineering Secretary....Angie the space cadet....Angie daughter of Jim and Nancy....Angie, big sister of Bryan....  I don't want to be a spider plant killer.  That's just wrong.

So there you have it....five things that are totally unrelated but all equally perplexing to the girl with curly hair...well, technically today I am the girl with straight hair....but alas, you know me both ways...

Tootly-Doodly-Do.

~ Angie

Wednesday: 2 thumbs up!!!

I just have to say how utterly thankful I am that today was sooo much better than yesterday.  Everyone seemed to play nice at work...and after work, I skipped the gym.  Did you know that I do that on Wednesdays and Sundays?  I figure...since I am going to church, I don't want to go there after working-out.  Back when we first joined the gym, R____ and I did  that...and it was crazy!  We would rush to the gym and then rush to church....it wasn't until last fall that we stopped all the rushing about.  Now on most Wednesday nights, we meet up for a cup of decaf coffee and chit-chat before church.  It's nice.  Now don't get me wrong - we talk while we work-out...but we are working-out.  When we actually sit and chill before church, it's relaxing.  And it's nice to catch-up over coffee.

Tonight we didn't meet for coffee -- soo that meant supper at the cottage and a couple hours of quiet.  It was NICE!!!!  Don't get me wrong, I love the meeting for coffee...but since I am having coffee tomorrow night with Ginger, I thought I would skip the over-priced heavenly brew.  Because let's be honest...the free stuff at work is delightful too.  And HELLO - it's FREE!!!!!!!!! 

Speaking of free coffee at work....sooooo I like to add Silk's Soy French Vanilla creamer to my coffee.  Apparently an old carton of the stuff was shoved in the back of the fridge at work....and I didn't pay attention to the expiration date.  I've been adding to my coffee for the past week.  Well...today, my favorite co-worker said, "You are the only one who drinks Silk French Vanilla, right?"  Too which I replied, "Yesssss...why?"  (I'm immediately thinking, What did he do to my creamer?)  Co-worker, "check the expiration date.  I think it said 6/6/11."  And sure enough...I'VE BEEN CONSUMING COMPROMISED COFFEE CREAMER!  Now - did it kill me?  Obviously not.  Did it cause my system some harm?  I don't really think sooo....  But alas, it has been chucked into the trash...two other co-workers were sitting in the lunchroom watching me throw out my creamer.  They asked what was wrong with it.  I replied, "It's been compromised."  I nervous laughed and walked out....  'Tis true though...

Soo tomorrow is Thursday.  Do you know that when I think that a certain someone will be gracing me with his presence, I spend quite a bit of time picking out the proper work attire?  Imagine if he came in everyday...what would I do?  I would have to determine a simpler way to pick out my outfits.  I mean...SERIOUSLY...tonight it took about an hour by the time I had the sundress, the sandals, and the jewelry picked out.  I did determine while driving home from Wednesday night Bible study that I would flip my hair out...as it makes me feel like that '80's singer Pat Benetar.  Do I know what she feels like?  No...but I do recall some of her '80's tunes that have been forever embedded in my brain.  Ummm...hit me with your best shot!   Do I want to be hit?  Nooooo!  Just sayin'....

There you have it.  My Wednesday.  My randomness.

I'm afraid to go back and re-read this post.  I think I am going to live on the edge and click "Spell Check" and then "Publish Post."  There's no harm in just posting the randomness at its finest....right?  RIGHT!

Happy Wednesday - Almost Thursday - which means it's almost...ALMOST FRIDAY!!!!  Oh, Long Weekend, you are soooo close..........

Why...

"Why don't we have dates?"  It's a good question.  Why don't we have dates?  I mean really...why aren't there nice guys lined-up asking us out?  We're nice girls.  We love Jesus.  We can cook, clean, and delight in the little things in life. 

My answer..."I don't honestly know, but to quote someone fabulous, 'the men of this world don't know what they are missing out on.'  I think maybe this repetitive question is making me sad.  I don't know why we don't have dates."

I've had more time (than the question-er)...years actually, to contemplate this question.  I honestly don't know...I wish I did understand. 

Confession:  The characters in Kristin Billerbeck's books - The Spa Girls and Ashley Stockingdale series - hit home with me.  Thirty-something, single girls trying to figure out where that one good fish is at...and having no luck.  Well, around page 150 they will meet him.  For me...WHERE IS MY PAGE 150 EXPERIENCE? 

See, this is why I don't dwell on this...when I do dwell on it, I take my focus off the Lord and I focus on ME and being single. 

Soo for now, I will be content with where I am at.

~ Angie

Thrift store & "Rhonda and Angie nervous laughter"

I joke about saying "I hope I don't get shot" or "I almost got shot" when truth be told this happens everyday in Rockford.  Today there was a drive-by shooting at my most favorite State Street thrift store, a huge Goodwill. 

When my friend Sara called to inform me of this incident, we couldn't help but agree "what a way to go...holding Nine West black heels at the thrift."  I would like to interject that carrying a hot steamy cup of coffee in one hand and said black heels in the other hand...that would be the way to go.  You wanna know something?  It sounds like, in all seriousness, something that would happen to me.

I want to confess something.  I have this bad habit -- nervous laughter.  It's terrible.  And I often preface my nervous laughter with "this is totally not funny" and then you will catch me nervous laughing.  There's nothing funny about it. 

It really all started many years ago...but within the past year, we had a super sweet lady pass-away.  When Rhonda told me about her passing, I remember the moment.  We were on the elliptical at the gym.  She said, "She passed away."  And then the laughter started...too the point of tears.  I'm convinced that my working at both places of employment and the lack of sleep probably contributed greatly to my fits of hysterical laughter.  Now Rhonda and I refer to our nervous laughter as "L--- laughter".  We know that this dear, sweet saint is looking down from the gates of Heaven and smiling knowing that she is remembered.  Infact the other day, Rhonda and I determined that when it's our time to go, maybe we will leave behind our legacy and we will look down from Heaven and see two good friends working-out or walking on the bike path, laughing at something and calling it their "Rhonda and Angie nervous laughter" (It could be R&L for short). 

It brings us great joy to laugh...for (as Elizabeth Bennett said to Mr. Darcy) "I dearly love to laugh!"  And I am fairly certain that she meant nervous laughter too.

~ Angie

Angie does not like...

Sooo yesterday while rolling up bundles of 80 plan sheets (FYI:  they measure 24" x 36" and are stapled along the lefthand side)...I got to thinking about just how much I hate old rubber bands that snap when you go to use them.  Does this bother you?  It does more than bother me...I am actually fearful of getting snapped.  This got me thinking...as I sat on my knees on the floor trying to contain the plan sheets in a nice, neat rolled up bunch.  I found that if I roll them up and then quickly hoist them onto my lap...praying all the while that I don't loosen my grip...grab a rubber band...praying some more that the rubber band doesn't snap and cause my heart to stop...then sliding the rubber bands on the opposite ends!  After the plans are secure, I find myself standing up victoriously as if I have conquered Rome!  Well...not really Rome-Rome...but it is a victory for me, nonetheless.  (It's weird to me that nonetheless is all scrunched together into ONE word!)

Okay - so while midway through rolling up those plan sheets, I thought to myself...not only do I not like rubber bands that snap...I also don't like...

* Jack-in-the-box toys -- There's something so wrong with a box containing a pop-up clown that scares the bajeebers out of you!  I think I had one of these when I was a child or else my neighbor had one...and the creepy thing played "All around the mulberry bush, the monkey chased the weasel..."  Too this day, when I see this particular toy, my heart gets all fluttery -- and I don't mean in a good way!

* Old, compromised rubber bands (previously mentioned)

* Scary movies

* Rhubarb -- No matter what my Mom says...RHUBARB DOES HAVE A CREEPY TASTE!!!! 

* Stubbing my toe

* Balloons popping

There's probably more items that I could add to this list...but for now, I will leave it at this.  I must say that the Jack-in-the-box is the one that I thought about the most.  Balloons popping was a close second...

~ Angie