Argh

I would love to post about my amazing Colorado trip, but blogger refuses to load the page completely and I can't upload pictures. So at some point, later in my life, I will have a post about Colorado, and it will be great - you'll just have to wait, though.

I also just got back from Vegas. It was a work trip, but I still managed to have a bit of fun. That will also be a post for another time.

And then...

I'm on my own, sort of, for the next three months at least. At least I get to visit CO in the summer!

Shatze is all out of sorts, though, with only one "alpha" home. Tyson just wants to make sure he has a toy. This is normal.

I feel sort of OK with the whole thing - I mean, I hate when she's gone, but I had a little prep time for this one, and there are already visits planned, and...well really, our friendship just keeps getting stronger. It makes me hate her being farther away than the next room more, but it is also somehow easier to still feel connected by a phone call.

I'm feeling very lazy at work today, though. I tend to just sort of shut down and try to do as little as possible when I'm moping, when really doing something would get my mind off things much better than doing nothing. Maybe I'll go enter tank gauges...after I check my email one more time...

A long story short

Mini updates:

Amber (AKA Lunchmeat) rescued a dog out of traffic last week. She's sweet. She wants to cuddle at all times. She loves people.
She does not love our other animals. We're in the process of finding her a home.
She's also deaf...which adds to the stress of finding an understanding home.

Lunchmeat is going to be gone for three months. I'm mentally preparing myself for this. I have about one month to prep.

Job is going well. I'm getting a little burned out on the routine, but I think summer will help, with the endless ways to spend at least my off time. Plus we're getting into some more interesting projects, and that always helps.

I miss singing.

I haven't been sleeping well lately. It's 9:40 as I type this - and bed time.

Yumm.

I just bought red shoes. Peep toe. 3" heel. I could not be more thrilled. I cannot wait until they are delivered to my door. I shall then wear them with everything, everywhere.
I will post pictures when they arrive.

Vegas or Bust

I found out today that my company is sending me to Las Vegas in June, for a conference. I've never been go Vegas. What kinds of fun things can be done there, besides the gambling, strippers, and magic shows? Everything I know about Vegas I learned from CSI, by the way.
I'll be going with some other people from my office. Hopefully we'll have a little free time.

by degrees...

I have two degrees in music. I am not currently using them. I...want to. I want to use them, even if I can't perform due to other life choices. I studied music for 7 years because I love it, and want to make a living with it.
So what could I do? Teach...in a classroom? Private lessons? Both of these are daunting to me, since my degrees are not in education, but performance. My pianomanship (tee) is somewhat lackluster, as well. I've always maintained that I don't want to teach, but lately it's been pulling at me, this music background. I'm finally moving past the letdown...and maybe seeing a different path...other questions are raised, like...teach whom? What grade level? Choir? Voice? I'd be horrible with instrumental anything, so I'd have to find a designated vocal position. I'm terrified at the amount of work it could take to go into teaching, and part of me still feels like I've given up something by not trying...I don't know. It's not for immediate decision, but it's there now.
I guess I should get the final draft of my recital paper finished, too...

Any thoughts, friends/random strangers who may wander over this way?

Decking

My parents are in town right now. We're building a deck. It will be awesome when we're all finished and can stand outside on not-ground.
Right now, though, I'm at work, wishing I could be home helping them frame up the top level and then start laying the top. Amber got composite decking, so once we're done, we're done - no staining! Just sweeping!
There's a cold front coming in this late afternoon, which may or may not slow down production. Mostly it will be sucky to work in the cold, but that's the gamble we took when we decided to get this done in January.
If you ever build a deck, please remember that the boards are HEAVY. Just be prepared. I'll try to pilfer some pics from my mom and Amber.

Black and Blue

I have a rather remarkable bruise on my ankle right now. I discovered it in the shower this morning, when I thought I had...dirt? or something? on me, and tried to rinse it off. Bruises don't rinse off, generally.
This thing is about 4"X2", mostly green, with a couple of spots in it that are deep purple. There is also a hard-ish lump directly above the bruise that is a little tender, and the whole thing is swollen.
The best part? I have no idea what I did. No idea. No event over the last couple of days comes to mind when I think of what could possibly have caused this (large, swollen) bruise, and I'm pretty sure it's something that would be memorable, to leave such a mark.
And this is one story of my life, one that has been passed down from my mom to both my sister and me - we are a clan of women who bruise. Spectacularly. In general I think I'm a fast healer, from cuts and scrapes and such, but bruises just stay with me for weeks. I had a quarter-sized one on my upper thigh that was deep purple and hard two weeks ago, and is still visible as a shadow, a memory, of a bruise today. I've surmised that I must've hit the corner of the bathroom vanity - it lines up really well - but I have no recollection of doing this hard enough to bruise.

Anyone else (and by that I mean, any of the three people reading this) share this malady, or any other strange things on your body?