first in flight.

another unfortunate name surfaced on the corporate website: Wilbert Wright. i can't decide if thats worse than April Showers or not.
do you think the parents hate their kids that much? are they just performing some sort of social experiment through their children? did they not realize the long term implications of naming their children? were they hoping they would increase their chances of being famous by giving them such odd names? opinions?

science fair scam.

yesterday afternoon, i got a call from my brother. i should have known something was up.
he was calling to ask what i would get him if he did well enough in yesterdays science fair to go to the state competition. he told me it was in the sisters handbook that it was job to bet against his academic success. my 'sisterly duty' i believe it was called. i should have known something was up.
we agreed that five dollars would be a fair bet. he hung up quickly, promising to call me back after the results of the judging were in. i should have known something was up.
shortly after that conversation, my dad texted me to say they were waiting to find out whether alex got first or second after which he would go to states. turns out, there were only two kids in his division and they had known for two weeks that they were both going to states regardless of their scores yesterday.
i should have known.
this morning, i put five dollars in an envelope and dropped it in the mail on my way to work. if mailing 500 pennies wouldnt cost more to send than what theyre worth, i would have done that. little punk. ticket scalper. but really i guess i only have myself to blame.
i should have known.

happy fastnacht day.

ok so from my understanding, Fastnacht Day only exists in Germany and Pennsylvania Dutch country and is really just another name for Fat Tuesday. it is celebrated by eating extra-fatty donuts (who knew such a thing was even possible?) that are made with the express purpose of using up all the fat, lard, sugar, and butter that you supposedly fast from for the next 40 days of Lent.

apparently its a big deal. one girl in the office said it was one of her favorite holidays. and i wished another girl a happy Fat Tuesday and she said 'whats that?' i didnt realize just how different living on the other side of the state could be when i moved here.

Lent snuck up on me last year, and i didnt end up doing anything different for those 40 days. this year, i know it starts tomorrow, but i still dont know what to do. my BFITW (Best Friend in the World) and myself once started adding something to our lives rather than taking something away, and we read through a few lesser known books of the Bible over 40 days. i've been thinking of going that route this year, since my new years resolution already cut a lot of sweets and snacking out of my diet and added a workout regiment. (apparently thats the 'official' term for a lifting schedule or plan) i've been tossing around the idea of 're'-reading 40 days of purpose (cuz i didnt actually read it the first time) or just picking up my Bible again and hopefully begin a habit of reading every day that will last beyond Easter, or something else along those lines. any suggestions for my lenten activities would be appreciated.

check your wallet.

when i came into work this morning, the little red light on my phone was lit up, which means that somebody called me over the weekend. this never happens to me. not only does no one really have any need to call me at work, but no one even knows my work phone number (myself included). i mean, i've had a few wrong numbers, and someone last week from a doctors office was trying to remind someone who wasn't me about something important, but this was the first time i had a voicemail. so after i read through the little 'quick reference' guide about my phone to figure out how to check my voicemail, i pushed the right button, entered my extension and even managed to remember my password (it helps that i use the same trick that my Dad uses and just have the same 4-digit code for pretty much everything) (my code isn't the same as his) and i listened to the message from Friday evening. it went something like this: 

"Hi, this is Shur-Fine. We have your wallet here and you can pick it up anytime."

my brief moment of almost-panic was quickly dispelled by glancing into my purse and seeing my wallet was in fact there. (not to mention the fact that i had it last night when i got gas and i havent been in a shur-fine anytime recently that i can remember) this discovery brought about more questions than answers: could your message be any less informative? who are you trying to reach? where are you located? is there a number i can reach you at? are you sure you meant to call this number? where did you get this number? is there even a shur-fine anywhere near here? why would you give your business such an apathetic sounding name? (it sounds like their spokesperson should be a 14-yr old boy and their tag-line should be 'whatever')
i guess the bottom line here is i still have my wallet. but there is someone out there who does not. if that someone is you: check your local shur-fine.

stupid groundhog.

you might be a havener if...

after making something delicious, your kitchen looks like a tornado went through it.

and this wasnt even my best work :)

i made soup last night. like the kind with more than two steps and that doesnt involve a microwave. we had a 'soup'er bowl party at work today and everybody brought in soup and sides and donated money for a local soup kitchen or food pantry. apparently my soup was pretty good, cuz i brought less than half of it home. it probably helped that i had it close to the front of the line-up :) one girl even asked for the recipe. i told her it wasn't difficult to find - just go to recipezaar.com, type in 'easy soup' and its one of the first ones that comes up. i was glad that she appreciated the humor in it rather than being upset that i didnt bring some sort of secret family recipe to share. the leftovers will come in handy while i am sick and snowed in this weekend.

one cute mug.

literally. i have the best dressed mug in the office :) thanks Stasi!!!