Tag! I'm it!

This time I was actually tagged - not like last time when I swiped this from Allison and Amy! This time I was tagged by Kristin.

3 Joys:
1) The fact that I'm leaving for Florida in six days
2) Sleeping (still on the list because I love, love, love sleeping and wish I could sleep longer more often)
3) 100-calorie pack M&Ms (2pts on WW)

3 Fears:
1) Staying at a job that I don't like just to have a job
2) My car will need very costly repairs - currently the air/heat does not blow and the radio controls on the steering wheel are gone. If I'm not careful when in the vicinity of the controls, the radio starts randomly scanning every four second!
3) 100-calorie pack M&Ms (I really have to control myself and only eat one pack per day)

3 Obsessions:
1) http://blog.cjanerun.com I'm so worried for this little family and I do not know them AT ALL!
2) Facebook. I have a virtual pet basset hound named Dixie. It's a sickness I tell 'ya.
3) 100-calorie pack M&Ms (seriously. so. good.)

3 Surprising Facts about me:
1) In 2005, I was about 4 hours short of having traveled around the world. That year I traveled to Europe, Asia, Africa, several places in the USA (including 3 Hawaiian islands) and the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.
2) I have naturally wavy hair but it's not wavy all over and it's only wavy when it's long (except for a really annoying part in front that only Tracy can make smooth without a flat-iron!)
3) I have sat on the front row at four different concerts Tim McGraw (two different times), Rascal Flatts and Brad Paisley/Sara Evans. I only paid for the tickets to see Tim McGraw and won the other tickets on the radio!

Ok, now I tag my baby sister Angie, my bestest friend Felecia and my super-duper hair stylist and awesome friend Tracy!

Life is but a dream?

"Dreams are today's answer to tomorrow's questions."

- Edgar Case

This quote showed up in my inbox the other day from Real Simple online magazine. My first reaction was, "If this is true, then why do I keep having the same dream where I get a phone call from 'someone' telling me that I never graduated from high school and that I have to go back and what does it really mean?" In this recurring nightmare dream, I tell whomever will listen that I did in fact graduate from high school that I have not one, but two college degrees and that all of this must be a terrible mistake!

I did not love high school and would not love going back under any circumstances. I briefly entertained the idea of teaching a couple of high school business classes several years ago but realized that it would cost me much more to get my certification here than I would probably make in one year as a teacher in a little high school in Warren county.

After reading this quote, the only thing that makes sense is that the next time I have a dream about high school or going back to high school, I will wake up and have to ask myself, "What was I thinking with that hair?!" When I look back at my senior yearbook, I realize I was not the only one with this style. Was 1988 a bad year for hair stylists? Mine at that time was named Lavina Primlani (No, I did not make that name up. How could I ever make up a name like that?)


So, if in fact, dreams are today's answer to tomorrow's questions, I will always know the answer to the rhetorical question, "What should I do with my hair?" I don't even know how I got it to do that on the day this picture was taken - let alone trying to replicate it now. I'm not sure if it was a perm or if it was natural or the work of some serious hot rollers. All I know is that it would take an obscene amount of hair products to get that kind of lift today in the heat and humidity of Missouri.

This style is best left in the far distant past, along with the memory of high school.

Another Friday Night.

It's Friday night and I successfully completed the following...

1) Got home late from work (what else is new)
2) Ate dinner (WW friendly AND yum-o. Thanks Dad!)
3) Paid a few bills online (goodbye money, it was nice having you in my account for 12 short hours after getting paid)
4) Put a flight on hold for a girls weekend in November with two of my bestest friends, Felecia and Becky (Becky hasn't come over to the dork side yet and therefore doesn't have a blog to link to and I keep hoping if I link to Felesh's blog she'll update)
5) Watched TV and ate M&Ms (did you know there are 100-cal packs of these now?)

...Yeah, nothing too exciting. Oh wait, I watched the season premiere of "The Office". In case you missed it, here's a little 2 minute catch-up.




Then I played a game here.

And that wraps another exciting night at the Harms'. Oh my, I need to get a more exciting life.

How about you? Can you top my night? I'll bet you can!

Oh, hi!

Yes, I do have a blog. I have not forgotten about you, my dear readers.

I have this really big assignment to fulfill this week and it's sucking up a lot of time. Oh, that and this gig I've got from 8-5 everyday.

PLUS, my sister-friend Catherine is visiting her sister-sister, my other sister-friend Lea (who are both sister-sisters to one of my bestest sister-friends Felecia and my baby sister-friend Amanda) from out of town and how rude would it be for me to not visit? [phew, that was a lot of sisters in that paragraph, huh? oh well. you get four new blogs to check out while I've been checked out. deal yo.]

Not to worry, I have a few good posts coming about dreams and high school and some serious issues I've been hanging on to for too long...

xoxoxoLeslie

It went down like this...

Leslie in a hurry + Penny the Beagle laying at the bottom of the steps = Leslie falling down on her way out to the garage.

I also had a fork in hand and was very lucky that I didn't land on the fork.

Crying, then laughter ensued. My foot however, still hurts and has a nice bruise and lump on the top of it. Not sure if I can wear a regular shoe anytime soon.

Luckily the rest of my day got better from there.

Stay tuned for more from the exciting sweet life of Leslie.

I just have to say

That I love reading the comments left in response to my posts!

It's so much fun that I'm turning into a blog stalker - of my own blog! I've told a few of you this already but sometimes I go to my blog and look at it just because I think it's pretty. Then I find myself refreshing it every few minutes because I want to see if there are new comments? When there are new comments? BONUS!!!

In case you didn't already know this, I'M A DORK!!!

Favorite Reads: Past and Present

I have loved reading since I was a little, little girl. I was barely two years old and was "reading" the Sears catalog to my Mom and Dad. The childhood memories that stand out most for me include reading in some way. I remember that my Mom used to send me and little sister outside to play and instead of riding bikes or roller skating (like my neighbors were doing), I would go to the local library (it was down the street and around the corner and down another street from my house at 755 Haight Ave. in Alameda, California 94501). Reading and the library was my refuge. When I found out that my Grandma Harms died in 1979, I ran away to the library. Unfortunately for me, I also had to go the bathroom really badly and had an accident at the library. That library trip was cut short...

When I was 9 (almost 10) years old, my sister and I left 755 Haight Avenue and went to live at 600 Ignacio Blvd. in Novato, California 94947. We went to live with our Dad. Our Dad had a VW bus that was a pop-up camper. It looked something like the picture to the right.

I don't recall ever camping in this vehicle but it had all of the conveniences needed for camping. I can still remember what it smelled like inside that camper - a little moldy and dusty which I think was because of the pop-up camper part. While it wasn't used much for camping, once it broke down to the point of being un-driveable, it was parked under our carport and from then on became "Leslie's Library". For me, it was better than any treehouse or clubhouse. I had real books. The books had those pockets in the front jacket. I had a date stamp and 3x5 index cards. I was dangerous (at least for the neighborhood kids anyway). I required all library patrons to have a library card (created by me, of course) and if they didn't return the books in time, there were fines. Yes, fines.

The library was open for business as long as that vanagon (that was the "official" name) was disabled and until my Dad sold it (or maybe he gave it away, I don't remember now) and we moved to North Carolina.

While "Leslie's Library" is nothing but a memory now, I still have the books that lined it's "shelves" (not shelves, per se - the books were set on the backs of the couches and on the table). The titles have been read many times over the years and will always hold a special place in my collection heart.

These are some of my favorites from the past:

1. Little House on the Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder
2. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day - Judith Viorst
3. Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great - Judy Blume
4. Mrs. Piggle Wiggle - Betty MacDonald
5. The Nancy Drew series - Carolyn Keene
6. The Velveteen Rabbit - Margery Williams
7. Pippi Longstocking - Astrid Lindgren
8. Charlotte's Web - E.B. White
9. Ramona the Pest - Beverly Cleary
10. Amelia Bedelia - Peggy Parish

Here are some new favorites:

1. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith
2. The Twilight series - Stephenie Meyer
3. The Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling
4. The Shell Seekers - Rosamunde Pilcher
5. The Next Thing on My List - Jill Smolinksi
6. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - Lisa See
7. Love Comes Softly - Jeanette Oke
8. The Red Tent - Anita Diamant
9. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver
10. The Twentieth Wife - Indu Sundaresan (there is a sequel to this book too)

I believe that books are very personal so having said that, I put the disclaimer that I love these books but if you decide to read any of them and you don't like them or you find something offensive about the content or storyline, feel free to tell me. Just don't expect me to change my mind. I will love these books for a long time to come.

Not Bad for a Tuesday

Monday was not bad for a Monday. Tuesday was much better than Monday for many reasons. Wednesday is looking very promising based on these facts: 1) After a visit to my REAL doctor, I was cleared to go back to contact lenses 2) Wednesday is a food day at work and I've modified my sister's famous hot artichoke/spinach dip to be WeightWatchers friendly and 3) Wednesday is just one day closer to Friday!

My friends Amy and Allison posted this on their blogs and even though they didn't tag me, I thought I'd swipe it from them and post it here anyway!

3 Joys

My little beagle dog, Penny

Sleeping in, sleeping late, taking naps (do you see a pattern here?)

Singing. I'm not all that good at it, but I do love singing.

3 Fears

Loneliness

Open heights

Dying before my parents and/or sister

3 Obsessions/Collections

My eyebrows - seriously, I should not be allowed to have scissors or tweezers in the bathroom. Hopefully, they will grow back.

Losing weight (FYI, this is an obsession, not a collection. I am not saving the pounds I'm losing for a rainy day)

Magazines (this alone requires a separate post)

3 Surprising Facts

I start a lot of projects that I don't finish - just come visit my craft area in my basement if you don't believe me.

I'm a blog stalker. I read the blogs of people that I don't know. A lot.

My thumbnails do not grow. They grow a bit and then break off.

Weekend Update

I have had an incredible weekend full of reminders of what it's like to be uplifted, enlightened and inspired. On Friday night and Saturday day, I went to a conference called "Time Out for Women". It was exactly what it was advertised to be. This is a picture of me and my friend Emily. She and a group of other sisters from my ward got in line bright and early Saturday morning and snagged us second row seats. Thanks Em! (BTW, Emily is going to Chile tomorrow to pick up her mom from her mission. She's very nervous. If you would, please remember her in your prayers so she won't be so nervous. K? Thanks.)

Friday night included a wonderful speaker and a world-famous LDS musician named Michael McLean. Mostly known for songs he wrote but sung by others, we had the treat of hearing him sing his own songs. I love this one a lot - mostly the last part of the song. It was wonderful to be reminded of how much I have loved his music throughout the years.



The theme throughout the conference was how to find joy in our lives. Jane Clayson Johnson was one of the speakers. Other speakers included well-known authors and musicians that are also LDS - Jason Wright, Pam Hansen, S. Michael Wilcox and award-winning musicians Hilary Weeks and Cherie Call.

The speaker whose words resonated with me the most spoke on Friday night, Kim Nelson. He asked the question, "Think of the things that you say to yourself, the way you treat yourself in your head (or out loud). Now, if you were to hear a mother speaking to her daughter that way, what would you think of that mother?". Wow. Talk about something to make you go, "hmmmm". I think I have to work on the way I treat myself. Actually, let me rephrase that. I KNOW I need to work on the way I talk about myself and I need to treat myself better.

Then, as if I hadn't had enough of a spiritually uplifting day, I went to a fireside featuring the Saints Unified Voices choir which was led by Gladys Knight McDowell. Yes, that Gladys Knight. In case you were not aware, Gladys Knight (or Sister Knight as I like to call her) and I attend the same church - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The choir was amazing and we were able to learn how Sister Knight became a "Mormon". Lucky for me, I was given a VIP ticket (I was asked to give the opening prayer) and I was able to sit right behind Sister Knight. In all my life, never did I imagine that I would someday sit behind Gladys Knight in a church meeting. To hear some of the music sung at the fireside last night, click here. Needless so say really, it was amazing.

Sunday started rainy thanks to Hurricane Ike. Winds and rain woke me up. I went to church this morning but left to take myself to an urgent care clinic. I've been having a problem with my right eye. I thought it was maybe a sty (I have a sty in my eye!) exacerbated by allergies. The Dr. at the clinic couldn't really diagnose what it is but gave me some drops for an eye infection and said that if it didn't clear up in seven days, to see an Ophthalmologist. Bummer for me because 1) my eyes are burning, 2) the skin underneath my eye is very tender, swollen and red and 3) I have to wear my glasses for 24/7 and I really don't like wearing my glasses.

Tonight I will go back to the church around 9:30 to clear out the choir's dressing rooms that were set up on Friday afternoon by me and my fellow stake Relief Society presidency members.

Sadly, my great weekend is ending. How was your weekend?

Getting To Know Me

My friend Catherine answered these questions on her blog so I thought I'd do the same just to catch you up on the really, really important stuff in my life!

Welcome to the 2008 edition of getting to know your friends.
1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:15 a.m. & was running a bit late
2. Diamonds or pearls? DIAMONDS
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Mamma Mia (I saw it twice)
4. What is your favorite show? Gilmore Girls - I know it's not on anymore but it's still my fave
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Eggo nutri-grain waffles with lite syrup
6. What is your middle name? Anne
7. What food do you dislike? lima beans
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Soundtrack to "Mamma Mia"
9. What kind of car do you drive? Burgundy Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited
10. Favorite sandwich? Salami and Cheese
11. What characteristic do you despise? Two-faced-ness
12. Favorite item of clothing? PJs
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation,where would you go? Maui
14. Are you an organized person? Yes and no. I call it organized, some may call it OCD
15. Where would you retire to? Maui
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? Since my bday was Monday, I would have to go with that one. I had a surprise surprise party!
17. What are you going to do after you finish this? Surf the internet a little more and then off to bed
18. Furthest place you are sending this? No idea.
19. Person you expect to send it back first? Probably no one since this isn't being emailed out!
20. When is your birthday? September 8th
21. What is your shoe size? 7.5
22. Pets? Yes (see post from yesterday)
23. Any new and exciting news? Unfortunately, no.
24. What did you want to be when you were little? A teacher
25. How are you today? A bit tired and glad tomorrow is Friday.
26. What is your favorite flower? Alstromaeria or Hydrangea or Roses or Daffodils
27. What are you listening to right now? American Chopper
28. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Saturday
29. What was the last thing you ate? Red licorice
30. Do you wish on stars? Yes
31. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Cornflower Blue
32. How is the weather right now? 100% humidity
33. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Veteran's soliciting donations
34. Favorite soft drink? diet coke
35. Favorite restaurant? Frankie Tocco's Pizzeria
36. Hair color? Ummm, real or bottled? I'm going with Dark Chocolate Mocha Brown
37. What was your favorite toy as a child? Books
39. Summer or Winter? Summer. I don't like being cold.
40. Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla
41. Coffee or tea? OOh, neither, yuck (ditto that, Cath)
42. Do you want your friends to email you back? If I would ever email them, yes!
43. When was the last time you cried? Tuesday night.
44. What is under your bed? Nothing now but on Sunday, the remote.
45. What did you do last night? Worked late.
46. What are you afraid of? Loneliness
47. Salty or sweet? Both
48. How many keys on your key ring? 4
49. How many years at your current job? 2.5 and counting
50 Favorite day of the week? Saturday and/or Sunday (if I don't have to be at church all day)
51. Do you make friends easily? Hmmm. I think I make acquaintances easily. Friends I'm a little pickier about.
52. How many people will you send this to? The possibilities are endless 'cause this a blog!
53. How many will respond? I hope all!
54. Do you like finding out all this stuff about your friends? The question is, do they like finding out all of this stuff about me?
55. Favorite food? Homemade Mexican

Don't Worry Sister

I would just like to put your mind at ease and tell you not to worry - I'm OK. I'm going to try really hard to be my sweet self on here and not be "down". The day after my birthday was a very stressful day at work - actually this whole week has been stressful and to top it off, I found out today that since I'm salaried, I more than likely will not be paid for any of the overtime I've put in over the past three weeks. This really upsets me because that's not what I was told prior to my agreeing to work so much overtime. But, I'm trying really hard to only get upset and worked up over things that I actually have control over. Unfortunately, I have no control over this situation.

So, keeping with my promise to Felecia, I'm going to post pictures since I can't come up with anything to say that wouldn't turn into a whiny rant.

This is a beautiful picture of Venice. That would be Venice, Italy as opposed to Venice, California (for those of you that are just catching up with my life through this blog). I had the fortune of going to Italy, Switzerland, England and France in June of 2007 with a few of my cousins. Memories of Italy is one of my happy places...I can't wait to go back someday.

This is Penny. She is a beagle or, as we like to call her, a "be-gal". I told you she was cute.

My New Theme Song

It has kicky tune and the words just say it all...

"One Step at a Time" by Jordin Sparks. I tried and tried to post a YouTube video of the song with lyrics but I can't figure out how to make it show up here.

You'll have to go to YouTube and find it yourself. Sorry. Maybe someday when I'm not so tired I'll be able to figure it out!

Put your mouse on "It has a kicky tune..." and click on the link and it should take you to the video I was trying to post here.

A few things I want the universe to know...

1. The President of the United States is not elected by popular vote. No matter how many times John McCain tells you not to vote for Barrack Obama and Barrack Obama tells you that John McCain only knows that "one plus one is two", it doesn't matter who you want to be President. The Electoral College decides. I'm serious. Check it out on Wikipedia if don't believe me.
   
2. To those people that refuse to use their blinkers properly (particularly the right blinker and you keep following and putting on the brakes thinking they are going to turn right) - if you're not going to turn when you have your blinker on, please? Just stop using your blinkers. Thank you.
3. When a person is on WeightWatchers (ahem, I'm talking about me - when I'm on WeightWatchers) DO NOT HAND OUT FREE CANDY EVERY DAY AT WORK!!!! It's just too much temptation for a girl like me. Seriously? A free Milky Way? As much as I wanted it, I just couldn't spend 6 points on a stinkin' candy bar. I'm still thinking about it though. And yesterday? It was a WHOLE Hershey's bar. I didn't eat that either. Yay me.
   
4. The big blow up plastic dolls on "America's Got Talent" - people need to stop voting for them. They are ridiculously inane. Stop. Just stop. Please. For all that is good and right in this world. Stop voting for them!
5. I have (hands down) the cutest dog in the whole wide world. She was so excited to see me when I got home from work (almost 2 1/2 hours later than I should have) that she tripped over herself and got one of her front dew claws stuck in her collar. I tried not to laugh. I love her. A lot.
   
6. Gas jumping up 20 cents between 7 a.m and 7 p.m.? That's just not fair. I'm glad I got gas this morning because I would have been SOOO mad.
   
7. No matter how loose your pants are, if your underwear is too tight, your pants won't feel loose at all. At all.
   
8. Even though you can have a great birthday the day before, waking up realizing that you're 38 and wanted to have a different life than the one you have by the time you turned 38 is a little hard to do. I'm just saying.

Thank you and goodnight.

Presents I would have bought myself

If I had a lot of extra money to spend on myself...

Chocolate Cake and Chili

I was going to tell you what I had for my birthday dinner but then, suddenly, a party arrived at my house. My good friends Lea, Mason, Abby, Taylor, Emily, Mike, Kathryn and Sydney came to wish me a happy birthday. While we were eating yummy chocolate cake, some more good friends showed up Terry, Kristie, Kami, Anna and Lacy. It was a fun surprise! After they all left and I was cleaning cake crumbs from the floor I thought, "I should have taken a picture!" (don't worry Felecia, I promise to post pictures too). After all, how often does a surprise party show up at your house?

Happy Birthday to Me

Tomorrow is my birthday. I don't know how I feel about that especially since 1) I have to work 12 hours every day this week until we get our new system at work "cleaned up" 2) every year on my birthday I am reminded that another year has gone by and my life hasn't changed much despite the fact that on my birthday I vow to myself that the next year will bring something new and exciting and finally 3) I'm following WeightWatchers (again) and I'm pretty sure I don't have enough points to celebrate my birthday properly (meaning tons of yummy food involving chocolate and buttercream frosting)!

So, I've decided to chronicle my 38th year of life by entering the world of blogging. I realized that it's been more than a year since I wrote in my paper journal and so much has happened. Perhaps if I start a blog, I might have a better record.

Stay tuned for updates and news about my sweet little life. Be warned though, it's a boring life but nevertheless, it's a sweet life!