Why is it always Feast or Famine ?

It always seems to be "Feast" or "Famine" for me at work.  Let me explain.

As a Supervisor, my responsibilities are often not tied to specific dates and times.  Sure I have scheduled meetings, etc. but most of what I do simply needs to be done before "X date" instead of a very specific time.  This allows for a fair amount of flexibility in setting up my day-to-day activities, but it also requires careful planning and constant adaptation to changing priorities.

Eventually it always feels like there is either:

 way too much work and not enough time

... or ...

 plenty of time and nothing that has to be done right now

Given the choice, I prefer the "Feast" (where I am just so busy that I have to raise my performance to meet the challenges of fitting everything in).  Although, it is nice to have the "Famine" (ample amounts of "down time") periodically.

I think the biggest challenge that I personally face is that I'm often looking forward to whatever is coming as opposed to enjoying the here and now.  When I'm "swamped" I think about how nice it will be when I'm caught up.  And when I'm in a lull between things I look ahead to busier days and get excited for the challenge that is coming.

Maybe if I planned better I would be able to even these peaks and valleys more ... but I think that the scenery would then be boring, even if it were more comfortable.  Talk about your no-win scenario!  :)

...

Are YOU "Smarter than a Woody" ?

People always claim that Mondays are terrible, but I love 'em!
The fact that I work Tuesday through Saturday and have Sunday / Monday off does have a lot to do with that!  :)

On Monday, August 1st (what a great start to the month) I was the 9th caller to Peak (92.9) FM's morning radio show right around 7:00am.  Click the link below to hear the full recording of my VICTORY in their trivia contest.
Over $200 in prizes* later and I am one happy camper!  :)

"Are YOU Smarter than a Woody"

If you've never heard the show or that game before, here is a brief recap:
Each day on the show, the one host (Goose) creates and asks 5 Trivia Questions of the other host (Woody) about a variety of pop culture things.  Most mornings, Woody slaughters the competition (which is always just ONE lucky caller) by answering 4 or 5 of the questions correctly.  I have heard him get as low as 3 right before, but I've honestly never heard him do worse than that (though I am certain he has).  In fact, his record is (was at the time) 158 victories to only 22 losses.
And on Monday, I added ONE MORE loss to his record!

Am I proud that I won with a score of 3 to 2?  No, not really.  I had no business winning because Woody missed two very easy questions.  But even if he "let me win" so they could start a new set of prizes, I don't care !!!  I still won and I'm ecstatic because now I can do all kinds of things for Karen's birthday next Tuesday!  Yay!

*My prizes included the following items:
 - ONE free large one-topping pizza from Papa Johns
 - TWO free passes to any movie at Hollywood Theaters
 - TWO free one-night rentals from Redbox
 - FOUR VIP passes for a ride on the Royal Gorge Scenic Railway
 - FOUR tickets to the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park
 - TWO full-day passes to Waterworld
 - TWO free half-gallons of Blue Bell ice cream
 - ONE dinner-for-two ($20) at Feelin' a Little Philly
 - TWO $10 gift certificates for Applebee's restaurant
...

So ... ya wanna go for a run ?

That's what I texted to my little sister Jaimee this morning after I had made up my mind to get out and run.  Thankfully she said "Yes" otherwise I might have convinced myself not to go!  :)

My sister Jaimee and I
(just about a year or so ago)

I had mostly decided last night that I was going to try and run a little every day this week and next.  You see, I've committed to running three 5K races this year and the first one (The Panerathon) is two Saturdays from now on August 13th.

I literally had to "dust off" my running shoes this morning.  I bought them only a few months ago, but they have sat dormant in my closet since that day.  Truthfully I haven't run since the last 5K race I ran ... which was last year in October!

My sister is running the Panerathon with me (or maybe it's more me running with her) but she will also probably run the other two races with me too.  We're planning for the Peace Officer's Memorial Run in October and likely the Reverse Turkey Trot (or whatever it's actually called) in November.

It was a good run.  Jaimee kept great pace with me and honestly I needed a break every time she asked us to stop ... but I wouldn't be a very good training partenr if I didn't at least pretend otherwise!  :)  I was totally proud of my sister, who has diabetes and never did any real running in high school.  She did awesome!  Hopefully we will get out and run at least a few more times together before this race.  I would LOVE to help her run her best time ever when we officially get going on that race.

But seriously ...

Go Team "Running On Empty!"  :)

...

How can a "BURN" be hilarious ?!

Karen and I have continued to enjoy our Instant Netflix on the Wii.  I've blogged several times before about different shows we have watched (in their entirety) through this "on demand" sort of system.  It has been well worth our small investment (and we'll almost certainly switch to fully "instant" versus getting discs in the mail if Netflix does up their price to do both!)

Our most recent show / tv series that we've been whiling away the hours watching has been "That 70's Show"
Having both been born in the 70's, we are too young to really catch all the references, but it is still very amusing to see this group of friends deal with life's varied experiences.

Obviously I am not a supporter of the "aromatherapy" they partake in.  Nor am I excited by their constant alcoholism.  The "catchphrase" by Red (the cantankerous old father) is also far from a great example.
But one part of the show in particular has made me enjoy it as much as anything I've ever watched!

The "burns"

I'm talking about the "burn on tour" and the "boomerang burn" and the "baby burn."  Even the "haircut burn" was just hilarious!


(L-R) Hyde and Kelso


If you've never watched the show,
here is a brief explanation:
 - A "burn" is when one of the main characters embarasses another character.
 - Although not in every episode, these occur often enough that it is easily one of the best running gags of the entire series!

And here are very brief summaries of the "burns" mentioned above:
 - The "burn on tour" occurred when Kelso "burned" Hyde twice in one episode.  Once at the "house" and once at the restaurant where they both worked at the time.
 - The "boomerang burn" was also when Kelso "burned" Hyde twice ... but they were back-to-back in one long sentence/situation.
 - The "baby burn" actually happened to Kelso and was delivered by Fez through Kelso's own baby!
 - In the "haircut burn" Kelso actually clipped a chunk of hair from Eric Forman's head!

To truly appreciate the comedy of these situations you have to watch the show.  You will probably laugh if you just see these particular episodes, but they are even more funny if you know the characters really well.  And the scenes are at their best when you watch them with someone else who laughs just as hard as you do when they happen!  I love you Pretty Lady!  Your laugh always makes my world better than anything I could ever imagine!

...

Who messed up the Sugar Bear ? AGAIN ?!

We have a unique sugar container in our house.

It is a glass bear with a metal twist top that has a tiny little spout for the sugar to be poured out.  Unfortunately, this tiny little hole gets clogged with sugar clumps very easily, especially if the lid gets wet.  I have cleaned it WAY too many times!

I like how it looks like he has a goatee in this picture (left).

And you can see the tiny sugar spout (on the right).

Today, while preparing to make my world famous pancakes, I grabbed the "sugar bear" and it was sticky all over!  The lid was sugared shut and it was evident that someone had been playing with him*
*(I am assuming "it" is a "him" but there are certainly no distinguishing characteristics that would keep this from being a female sugar bear ... except maybe the shadow "goatee").

After a fairly long amount of silence from all of the children ... Catalina, my 4 year old, came forward to admit it was her.
These are excerpts from the conversation that followed:

Cat:  I sowwy I touch you shooga beya.
     Me:  Why did you do it?
Cat:  I was yookeen for a stwawbewwy.
     Me:  (stifled laughter)  Did you find one?
Cat:  (sad face)  No!
     Me:  So what did you do then?
Cat:  I jes put it in my mouf ... an' suck on it.
     Me:  (laughing uncontrollably)
Cat:  Why you laffeen' ?!  Wha' so funnee ?!  I cute huh?!


Another "self portrait" from Cat !


That darn Cat has my number!  :)

I made her promise to come and ask me for help if she ever finds a strawberry and wants sugar on it.  I also made her promise not to touch my "shooga beya" anymore.  She's so darn cute!

...

How can 4 "D's" become an "A" ?

In chronological order they are ...

Don Lockard talk @ church!

Donuts!

Delicious Dinner!

Dominoes!

This afternoon we visited my in-law's ward (church) for my father-in-law's talk on Obedience.  It was a great talk (the other speaker was very good too on the same topic)!

When first mixed, this dough was
no bigger than a softball !

When we got home we finished our most recent batch of donuts (YUM!)  The dough raised for 2 hours, which made it triple (or quadruple) in size.  This led to the most light and airy donuts we have had so far.  And since Ben helped Karen stir the chocolate coating, it was just right (not too thin and not clumpy).  Mmmmmm!

Then we had Rick, Mandy, and their son Peter over for dinner.  We also had Grandma and Grandpa Lockard over too.  They brought garlic bread!  We still had plenty of the casserole I blogged about previously, so everyone ate their fill and it was just as delicious as before!

After prayers and bedtime for our kids we played some dominoes with the older Lockards (Rick and Mandy had to get home to put Peter in bed so we didn't get to hang out with them as much).  Penny (Grandma Lockard) destroyed us!  But to be fair, we played "Penny Up" so her name probably helped her dominate!

So ... 4 D's for the day = an A+ rating!  :)

...

Is this why they're not dying ?!

My front yard has a nice, mostly square, grassy area surrounded by rocks.  There are 8 sprinkler heads that douse the lawn with ample amounts of water (when it doesn't rain enough and I need to use the sprinklers).  I fertilize and mow and trim the edges with my electric trimmer.

But the weeds (like Charlie Sheen) ... are ... winning.

I've hand-plucked weeds from the rocky areas MANY times in our 17 months at this house.  I have used a few different types of sprayable weed-killer to no avail.  I'm flat running out of options and feeling like it is a losing battle.

The other day, while weeding, I pulled out this one ...

I had Savannah (my almost 6-yr old) put her hand/arm on the table

so you can get an idea of the scale/size of this weed.

And now I think I know why nothing yet has worked. The above-ground part of the weed almost wasn't big enough to bother pulling out.  But once I carefully unearthed it I was SHOCKED !!!  Look at the length of those roots!  No wonder fertilizer and topical sprays aren't having ANY effect!

Feel free to comment with your tried and true suggestions for ridding my grass of these unsightly weeds.  I am truly open to any suggestions!

...