You ever feel...

Like there's nothing you can do to help someone? A friend of mine, who recently found out she was pregnant, has been having problems this week. She went to the ER last night, and has now found out that she lost the baby. She called earlier, and I drove over to her house and hung out with her and her husband for a bit. But, I feel helpless - I wish there were more I could do for her.

Before that, I was really excited that it was finally vacation time!!!! This morning was the Lansing Jaycees Children's Shopping Spree. There was a big storm yesterday afternoon, around 4pm. During that time, I was still at work, but there was a tornado warning one county over. I ended up taking off from work so I didn't get stuck at work. Anyway, the storm knocked out the power at my apartment, so when I got home, nothing worked. I took a short nap, then tried to do as much stuff before dark as possible. Then I tried to fall asleep again. It took me until after midnight. Then, at 1:30am, my power went back on. Then I couldn't get back to sleep again. Then, my alarm rang at 6:15am....waaaay too early.

Off to the Shopping Spree - 3 of us ended up having only one kid, but it worked out great. He was an awesome kid, and we ended up getting him a whole bunch of stuff. After shopping, we went to McDonald's for breakfast.

Now, I'm back in Muskegon, and trying to unwind. I know I probably forgot to do something at work before I left for the week, but at the moment, I'm trying not to think about it. I'm just feeling this mix of feelings right now.

It's Not Unusual...

Last night I went to Hobby Lobby in order to scope out scrapbooking stuff for an album I’m going to make for Eric. He has a bunch of stuff from when he golfed in college – pictures, stats, newspaper clippings, etc. Anyway, they don’t make a lot of golf stuff, let me tell you. Then I was looking at all of the things they do have, and started wishing that I had taken more pictures of things when I was younger. I have vowed to be that parent that takes pictures ALL THE TIME. :-)

Then, this morning I started thinking about how much I’ve changed lately. Since when have I ever been crafty? Is this something that’s always been there, but I just never felt like dealing with it? I suspect not, but who knows. Maybe it’s just me getting old. I mean, I know I’ve become a very boring person (not that I was super exciting in the first place). I think that recently, I’ve just accepted that I’m a nerd, and I love it.

I don’t know – as we get older, things change. Our interests change, our friends and the kind of friends we have change. I mean, it’s not that I’m old yet, but things are just different. I know more people that are getting married or pregnant, you don’t hang out with people as much anymore. I have more people that I hang out with on a regular basis through work or something like the Jaycees. I still have my friends from high school that I keep in touch with, there are friends from college that have either drifted away or I’ve gotten back in touch with. At different ages, I think we expect different things from our friends. I know when I was younger, I had the same friends and hung out with them all the time. It’s very similar today, but it feels like there are fewer of those people. Then, there are your peripheral friends – people you keep in touch with, but don’t know the things that are going on daily in their lives. I think the internet has made it much easier to keep in touch with these friends – people you care about, but that are further away or super busy. And it’s ok to have those types of friends. Also, just because there are friends that drift away doesn’t mean we still don’t care for those people.

And with those thoughts, it’s time to go off to bed…

Some progress has been made...

Alright - well, here's the necklace for my boss. I still have to make the bracelet, which will be the same concept as the necklace. That's the project for tonight. That, and making the necklace slightly longer, since I adjusted wrong.

Also, I started working on my dog's scrapbook last night. I picked up the pictures at Meijer yesterday, and they turned out great. I finished one page, and then started another one, but haven't finished it yet.

Off to do things...

I'm sure I have better things to do!

That's right - I don't really feel like doing much at the moment except sitting on the couch. Now, granted, I did put dishes in the dishwasher, and there's laundry going. However, I haven't gotten much further than that today. I mean, I guess that's ok. Aren't the weekends for relaxing?

Yesterday felt like the longest day ever. First, it felt like a Sunday to me, since I had taken Friday off. So, I was just thrown off most of the day. Then, I went over to Eric's parents' house to help his mom take care of the two nephews (ages 2 years old and 3 months old). So, that wiped me out. I was over there until probably about 2:30pm, then got lunch, and went out to the mall area for a purse open house with his mom and brother's girlfriend. Luckily, I talked them into going to JoAnn's, and I got my book and stuff for Dakota's scrapbook. Now, I just have to get the pictures printed.

Also, this week is going to be consumed by a new project. I have been tasked with making my boss' birthday present. I was a little nervous about it at first, but that was when I wasn't sure what I was going to do. However, I went on Friday night to the Creative Fringe in Grand Haven and got some large turquoise pieces, chain, clasps, and I think I'm going to pair some tiger eye nuggets that I have with all of it. In my brain, it looks good, but we'll see how the actual product works out. In that case, I'm leaving the dog in Muskegon this week with Eric, because I wouldn't be productive with her around in Lansing.

I've kind of slowed down in the jewelry making. It's been a little frustrated for me, because a) I haven't sold anything on my webpage, b) I just haven't had any inspiration. I'm hoping that will change this week with my new project. I just hope that at some point, I can get something going.

Sometimes, I wish I were a dog...

This week at work was super slow and quiet. I'm glad that I decided to take tomorrow off. My plan is to take my car for an oil change, pick out some pictures to get printed off, and then run and get some stuff in order to do some scrapbooking. Ideally, I'd like to also get some reading done, and maybe watch a movie too. However, I doubt I'll end up doing all of that.

I'm having a little trouble being super motivated at work lately - I think it's partly because it's been so quiet - no phones ringing means that there aren't a whole lot of people to help. I've got myself pretty caught up with a few things I was behind in, and I'm still working on cleaning my office (I think this is going to be a fairly ongoing project!) It's just hard to be at work when I keep thinking of everything else I need to or could be doing.

In the last couple of weeks, I've had events going on (Jaycees, Planned Parenthood), and while I've been busy, I just don't feel like I have time to do other things (read, clean my apartment, watch a movie, etc.). But, if I didn't do my other activities, I would get totally bored. So, I guess I'm just trying to find a balance that works for me, but also trying to figure out how to manage my time better. I suspect that when I'm not working on other events, etc. I'm just lounging around and not doing a whole lot. Hmmm....

If you can dodge traffic, you can dodge a ball!

As I was driving this morning from Muskegon to Lansing, I thought of eight million things that I could write about. That usually happens, but then when I get in front of the computer, I can’t remember any of them. Well, today, it’s quite the opposite.

First, I recently paid off my car. That’s right – the 2000 Ford Taurus with the smashed in bumper (right side only) and the bumpersticker that’s not centered is all paid off! I love my car, it has its quirks, but it has gone many miles with me (I’ve put approx. 95,000 miles on it since I got it 5 years ago). So it’s nice to have it paid off, because it frees up that money to be used elsewhere.

Speaking of, this should be the first month in which my finances should come back into order. Things have been crazy the last couple of months, and I sat down and made a plan (thanks Suze Orman!) I’m really looking forward to it.

Then, while I was getting ready this morning, I bent over to pick something up, and my back has hurt ever since. I must have pulled something, but I certainly can’t walk normally! I feel like I’m shuffling along today. Just a little slower than usual…

The other thing I’ve been thinking about is a blog entry a friend of mine wrote. I really appreciated what he had to say about politics and religion, and how people with very different political viewpoints can hold the same beliefs in religion and the church. Now, I’m not super familiar with the whole religion and church thing – to be honest, I have never really gone to church (unless you count going with friends once or twice). I’m not totally into the organized religion thing – I guess I’ve always felt as though it’s a private thing, between you and God (or whomever you choose to believe in).

In the past, I’ve really been turned off from the church, mostly because of what I don’t know about it, but also because of what tends to be spewed out about beliefs that people hold. I’ve always felt like God would think I’m a good person, and that’s all that matters – but the members of the Church would probably not be able to see that.

Of course, what made me have some hope was this particular blog and the point that there is room for differing opinions in the church, and we all can get along and love each other. Isn’t that what God would do? Maybe I have a very narrow mind about religion, but I would think that, regardless of our beliefs, God would accept each and every one of us, no questions asked. He would want the best for all of us, regardless of our race, sex, sexual orientation, or what we’ve done in the past.

Anyway, it’s good to know there are people out there that can listen to and understand other viewpoints, not just attack those that hold them.

Funny - I just can't seem to stay on one subject...for those who are reading, sorry for the randomness!

Movie weekend and a four day week!

So, this weekend involved lots of movie watching and sitting on the couch. I'm clearly ok with that. We watched both "The Bourne Identity" and "The Bourne Supremacy" on Saturday, and went to the movies to see "The Bourne Ultimatum" today. I really liked it, and I have to say that this trilogy is one of my favorites. All of the movies are great, and equally entertaining.

I'm taking Friday off this week, and I'm really looking forward to it. However, there are still three more work weeks until it's time for vacation. I can't wait to get to somewhere other than Lansing or Muskegon. I've never really taken a real vacation either, so I think that will be fun to just get away.

Tomorrow night I'm heading out with some of the Jaycees to Smokey Bones for dinner, then we're going to see "The Simpsons Movie". I'm clearly excited, and maybe it will help me get over my Spider Pig obsession. :-)

I've seen quite a few movies this summer, which is unusual for me. But, since we had a gift card for movies, and also found a place with $3 matinees, it's been quite inexpensive to see movies. I think there's quite a few more movies I wanted to see this year.

Hopefully this week will go by quickly! I live for the weekends lately...

Keep 'em in your thoughts...

First and foremost in my mind right now is the tragedy in Minneapolis. My thoughts are with the victims, missing, and their families.

Last night on NBC Nightly News, there was, what I thought, a great broadcast regarding the bridge incident. They covered it from many angles, including the first responders, victims, and also the national realm. One thing that really moved me was a story on a bus full of kids coming back from a water park, and the camp counselor who helped get them to safety.

There was also a part where they reported on bridges throughout the country and their safety levels. According to the newscast, it is estimated that to fix all the bridges in the country would cost approximately $65 billion. Now, working in state government, my first question is - who's going to pay for it?

My gut feeling is that there are going to be a lot of citizens calling for these bridges to be repaired. So where does that leave lawmakers? Well, at the state level here in Michigan, we're having a large budget crisis. Who is going to pay for it? The taxpayers? Well, that's how it should be, but of course, many citizens want things, but don't necessarily want to pay for them.

Personally, I believe there's going to be a need for increased revenue in Michigan in order to address many issues that the citizens of the state deem necessary. However, I also think there are more efficient ways to do some of the things the state funds, but long term reforms are just that - long term. In order to put long term reforms in place, we need to take care of the current issue, but while doing that, we need to look at ways to save money. To me, the most difficult part of this is keeping the humanity involved - not cutting those programs that are critical to our citizens, such as police, fire, cities, townships, after school programs, children's health insurance (and my list could go on and on...). We also need to frame this issue in a way that people understand if revenue is not brought in, these services will be gone, and they'll have to pay for it elsewhere (tuition increases, car repairs because of bad roads, etc.)

Alrighty - I just realized I went off on a huge diatribe there...but this issue is one that has kind of taken over my life and the way that I look at things. This current tragedy in Minneapolis just sparked a fire under me...