I am still alive. I've been spending time on the Avatar Refuge site. There's a fun contest going on over there to get us in the mood for the grand finale.

Other than that, life is okay. Since I last posted here, I found out I have Lyme Disease. That explains why I was feeling so bad this past winter. I've been taking antibiotics for two months now and I'm starting IV antibiotics tomorrow. Lyme is really hard to get rid of once it's in your system for a long time. :?

My grandma's house in WV - the house I grew up in - got flooded several weeks ago. I spent some time up there helping them clean up. She didn't have insurance, but FEMA helped her out with some of the expense.

My garden is doing pretty good. I'm disappointed in my zuccinis. They are not nearly as productive as last year. :( I planted tomatos this year and they are growing like crazy.

Thats all for now. If anyone is interested in the Avatar Refuge site, let me know and I'll hook you up with the right info.

Take care!

I kept thinking earlier... "Why does April 24th ring a bell? Was I supposed to do something today?" And then all of a sudden... DING DONG! It's the date in my little box over here -->

No wonder it seemed familiar.

So here's my attempt at throwing a blog party....

Entertainment courtesy of Haruhi and the SOS Brigade:

Snacks: (All organic of course :D )

Music:

Fluorescent Adolescent by Arctic Monkeys

Let Me Think About It by Ida Corr

Paper Planes by M.I.A.

Drinks: (Sorry to disappoint, but all drinks are virgin in this blog)

Good news!!
I am happy to report that my team lead has moved to another project! She was a good programmer and self-motivated, but her and I didn't click very well as a team. We had the opposite of synergy - I'll call it drainergy just because I feel like it. :D

Not so Good News..
The folks I work for (in a round about way) had nearly forgotten about the project we've been working on, but when they heard she was leaving it sparked their memories. Now they have moved the completion date waaay forward. So basically the amount of work that used to be distributed between her and I that was to be completed by December is now all on me and must be done months earlier. I haven't heard a solid date or plan just yet, but I can tell it's not gonna be pretty. Oh well, I guess it's all a matter of motivation anyways.

Other news...
I've been submitting stuff. Yeah, weird, I know. But it's kind of fun once you get started.

I'm almost finished with Kodocha. I think I'm on episode 90 out of 102. Only a few more to go. I think the major story line is already pretty much wrapped up at this point though. I am actually getting used to watching with subtitles. I'm able to catch some of the really common phrases in Japanese now, and I'm not even trying to learn it. I do think it's a nice sounding language though.

Anyone have any recommendations for what anime to watch next?

My van is a magnet for other vehicles. I have had it for less than two years. Bought it brand new after driving a clunker for years just waiting for the chance to buy 'the car' I really, really wanted. Less than a month after driving off the lot, I got rear ended. I was sitting still at a red light and a guy just rammed into the back of me. He claimed that someone hit him and pushed him into me and then ran away. Consequently, I ended up paying for some of the damage out of my own pocket because it had to be turned in under the 'uninsured motorist'clause on my insurance policy so I got stuck with a deductible.

Two months ago while I was in WV for my grandfather's funeral, my van was parked in my grandma's driveway and my uncle backed into the front quarter panel. At least that time I didn't have to pay anything out of pocket since his insurance covered it, but still it is a huge inconvenience having to leave work several times to take care of the repairs.

Finally, just yesterday, I was at the local recycling center trying to do something good for the environment, and this guy cut too sharp going around me (while I was parked) and swiped the front corner. He wants to pay out of pocket, which is fine with me, but now I have to go though the trouble of taking it to get it repaired again.

This makes three times my van has been hit. All three while it was standing still. I have frequent flyer miles at the local body shop. Has anyone else had their car damaged this many times or is it just me? Is my van cursed? I waited for so long to take the plunge on a new car. Am I doing something to attract this type of 'attention'?

Anyway, happy monday to you all. Now I'm off to the repair shop for my lunch break - trying my best to keep a positive attitude.

Now that I've taken the dive and posted a picture of myself, I might as well change my profile image to the real me. I'm gonna keep my sheepy icon though.

I've been procrastinating on work. My team lead has been on vacation all week so I kinda blew off the stuff I needed to get done until now. So basically I have to write a weeks worth of code tomorrow. Oh well, I'll get it done. At least I had some fun and relaxed a bit. :D

I've finally decided to make some submissions. I've been meaning to figure the system out for a while now. Thank you Angus_Mac for helping me fumble my way through it. I honestly don't know how you keep up with all your editorships. It seems like a huge amount of responsibility.

Yesterday was my baby girl's 6th birthday! I can't believe it's been 6 years. We made mini-cupcakes the night before for her to take to school and share with her c1ass Orange cake with chocolate chips and vanilla icing.

I went home from work early and took her out to Target to get some goodies. She picked a pair of pearl earrings, silver tennis shoes, pink jelly shoes, a pink dress, a kiddy picnic basket set, and the biggest hit - a voice sampler. Maybe I've watched a little too much Kodocha lately, but I saw it and said heeeyyy! Check this out! I showed her how it works and she hasn't put it down since. The last thing she said into it this morning before getting out of the car this morning was...
"My teacher's gonna love this!"
"My teacher's gonna love this!"
"My teacher's gonna love this!"
"My teacher's gonna love this!"
"My teacher's gonna love this!"
"My teacher's gonna love this!"
"My teacher's gonna love this!"

Of course I took it from her at that point because I don't think her teacher would be amused. :D

In honor of my baby girl's birthday, here is a picture of her and I taken a few months ago.

It has been a month and 2 days since I last posted a blog, and even that wasn't a real blog. Life has been a roller coaster lately. I can't put my finger on anything specific, but I feel so drained.

I apologize for not being around for more than a month to comment on your blogs.

Obsession of the Week: Kodocha

I saw a few episodes of this anime series on Funimation and decided to check it out online to fill in the parts I had missed. Then the few episodes turned into 20, and then 30, and now I'm on episode 41. It's not the best anime out there, but it is entertaining. The characters I like most are:

• Mama - I love her attitude on parenting. I see myself a lot like her as a parent. I like to encourage my kids to experiment and discover things on their own. I can also identify with the way she enthusiastically procrastinates on work. I don't have a squirrel living on my head though.
• Akito Hayama - He's such a bad ass and know-it-all. When Akito sees something stupid happening, he flat out says "that's stupid". I love that in a character!
• Sana - Definately third on the list because she can be annoying and dense, but her energy is amazing. When she sees a problem, she faces it straight on no matter how complicated or uncomfortable.
  

Things I don't like about Kodocha:

• I wish the characters were a little older. Maybe 14/15 instead of 11/12. It made sense for the whole fallout with Rei to happen at that age, but it seems the series could have skipped over a few years rather quickly and plopped them all in late middle school before going into the whole gf/bf thing. I guess they make their maturity case for Akito because of his mother dying and his family treating him harshly for so long. As well as Sana having a tough job and being treated very grown up by her Mama. Still, the characters act more like college students than grade school students.
• The stupid rabbit thing is so annoying, and I also don't like the host of the tv show. He seems like a total pedophile.
• No dubs! :cry: The first few are dubbed and then it seems to stop. Even the subtitles were horrible once I got to episode 40. If anyone knows a solution to this, please, please let me know.

lalala...
What is going on with Avatar? Are they ever gonna show the last few episodes? Isn't the last Season 3 DVD slated to come out soon? I haven't been keeping up with the Avatar news. Could somebody fill me in, please?

Take care!

Whoever leaves the most interesting comment wins.

I've been all over the board these past few weeks so I'm not going to post an 'Obsession of the Week' for now. I have asked to be moved to a different cubicle at work, and my request was approved. I'll be on the 1st floor soon instead of the 3rd. At least I won't have the air conditioner blowing on my head all year long and I'll be able to walk outside to see the sun without having to climb 126 steps. Also, the first floor has higher ceilings and seems more open in general. I think I got a decent cube. It's kind of in the back of the room so there won't be a lot of traffic. It's also not too far from the bathrooms and kitchen - both essentials. ;)

I'm taking the whole week off next week to go spend some time with my family in WV. I was only there for the one day when the funeral took place last week when I went. There's so much stuff that needs to be taken care of. My mom asked me to come help her so off I go. I'm taking my daughter out of school for the week too. She's only in kindergarden though so I doubt she'll really miss much. Her teacher said she would send home some worksheets or something. I'm sure she'll enjoy having something to do.

I can't wait for spring to arrive so I'll leave you with some springy pictures to get us all in the mood...