Days off

At the direction of my supervisor, I took Monday and 1/2 of Tuesday off from work. I've never gardened in my entire life, but for some reason I decided it would be a good plan to follow through with my desire to have that bush in the backyard removed. I got a bit out of control and cleaned up the entire backyard (with the help of my future sister-in-law, Adrianne). I realize I only took one "before" picture, but you might appreciate me telling you that the back deck was covered in leaves and twigs and the tables and chairs were stacked along the fence by that tree. The tree was also out of control and today I chopped off some of the branches. I don't know if this was a good idea or not, since I'm not an arborist (isn't this the correct term? spell check is saying not...), but I don't really care very much right now. I also dug out all of the leaves from behind that tree. I still have to attempt to dig out the gigantic roots from that stupid bush, and that is going to be a pain in the ass, as they are huge and rocks are embedded in them. The only reason I took a picture of the lawn bags was to show you how much work I actually managed to do yesterday and today. I think I used a total of 14 lawn and leaf bags! Who knew yard work could be so therapeutic?

On the loss of a friend

My friend, Patrick, provided the following words today. They are perfect for this time. For those unaware of Sunday's events, see my facebook page.

Thoreau's words:

“On the death of a friend, we should consider that the fates through confidence have devolved on us the task of a double living, that we have henceforth to fulfill the promise of our friend's life also, in our own, to the world.”

Grieving does strange things to a person...like Making them garden.

I like to think I am really funny and creative

I sent this e-mail out to the entire agency....I can't begin to tell you how many people thought I had a chronic illness...

From: Miranda
Sent: Friday, March 13, 2009 11:57 AM
To: Everyone at work
Subject: An unfortunate condition....can you help?

Teammates -
I've recently come to realize that a condition I've been not-so-blessed with for several years has flared up over the past few months. It appears as though the only thing that has aided in keeping this condition (Fatomahthighs) under control in the past has been proper diet and exercise, both of which I have been unsuccessful in maintaining for more than a period of approximately 3 days. In my quest for controlling Fatomahthighs, I've determined that I am in need of some sort of accountability (apparently the scale is not enough) and perhaps a partner (or several for that matter) to encourage me to increase my activity level. Knowing the above information, aren't you excited to help?!

Here is what I would like to see happen:
1. You e-mail or call me if you are interested in participating in a little contest.
2. I collect all names of those interested and form two groups/teams.
3. Each team will have a team go-getter to encourage participation and to give updates on which team is winning.
4. Over the course of about 4 weeks each individual will document their activity levels (more information about documenting activities forthcoming!)
5. The team with the most points (again, more information forthcoming!) WINS!

Now, you may be wondering what, exactly, the winning team will win. I haven't a clue. However, I can tell you that it will be awesome and creative and...well....probably something homemade....that is, unless someone has a better idea.

So what do you have to do? You need to e-mail or call me by next Wednesday (3/18/09) so I can divvy up the teams and get all of the rules straightened out. The contest will officially begin on Monday, 3/23/09 and will end on Sunday 4/19/09. Don't worry, POST attendees! If you want to participate but don't get a chance to tell me prior to heading out to the Academy, just write down your activities (duration + activity) and shoot me an e-mail when you come back and I'll add you to a team! Simple as that!

Ready? Let's do this! Miranda :)

I'm in love with my new headband!

I wasn't really sure of what to do with my hair though because I dried it really messy, so I just tossed it up in a bunch of bobby pins. My hair is getting so long that if I don't actually dry it and make it nice, I look like a bag lady. Anyway, I got the headband from mixbaby on etsy and I just ordered another one today to wear for the wedding because I'm obsessed and in love.



(I was attempting to call Adrianne while taking the picture....but the phone is hidden and it looks like I'm attempting a glamor-shots-esque pose...)

Gotten

I don't know what my problem is. For some reason I've become obsessed with people who use the word "gotten." As in, when they say it, I cringe, almost as if it's not a real word. It's come the point where I have made a conscious effort to take the word out of my vocabulary entirely and replace "gotten" with "obtained" or something similar. Tonight I decided to google the word, and I found out that it can be used in regard to obtaining, becoming, or moving. However, it CANNOT be used in terms of possession. I've found that most people, when using the word, do so in regard to possession. How's that for random and obsessive?

My hair is getting ridiculously long...

...but I kind of want to keep it this way for the sheer fact that I love the way it looks under my North Face beanie. Is that weird?