I'm just saying...

What is the deal with the “turn table bag holder” at Wal-mart and at what point did it become my responsibility to make sure all the bags from the turn table make it back into my basket before I walk away from the cashier? I mean, I agreeably take full responsibility for my items as they go from my basket onto the conveyer belt approaching the cashier, and I always make sure I place the mighty barrier divider between my items and the items of other shoppers…I will sometimes even place the divider behind my items as a courtesy to the shopper behind me who is carelessly dumping all of their items onto the conveyer belt that are suddenly threatening to infiltrate my own items. However, once the cashier scans my items and begins placing them into bags and spinning the turn table, I feel the items are still within his/her realm and that (out of boundary respect for the cashier and to make sure I don’t appear bossy and/or grabby) I should not remove the bags until the cashier has taken them from the silver prongs and placed them on top of the turn table. I recognize that the cashier will usually do a quick spin of the table to check for items in bags, but small items randomly placed into bags by themselves are easily mistaken for empty bags, and there’s also the possibility that the final spin did not go all the way around, leaving some areas of the turn table unchecked. Plus they spin it so fast that no one can see at that speed so who really knows?
So, I’m just saying…make sure you get all your bags off the turn table before you leave the store.

Another semester for the books...

Today my senior design group gave our presentation and submitted our final report. Aaahhhh it feels good to be done with that! I still have my report to finish for my ethics class that's due on Friday, but I'll be working on that with a glass of wine on hand....

Well it's finals week yet again...Only one more week to go, then only one more semester to go. I can't believe I'm finally able to see the finish line! There's still so much to do before Wednesday. I'm mostly worried about our Senior Design presentation. My group goes first on Wednesday at 1:30pm, and we are not ready at all. The team dynamics of my group are not exactly optimal. But, we did have a pretty difficult design challenge. I know we'll get through it - I'm mostly worried about the Q&A session immediately after. I know my professors are not going to let us get away without at least 2 or 3 questions being asked.
Well I've wasted enough time and although I have numerous items I need to get off my chest, my mind is not able to let go of the Math Methods final I need to keep working on. So, I'm forced to leave my ranting for another post. Until then....

Wishing it wasn't already Sunday...

Well it's Sunday morning and I'm sitting here realizing all of the things I need to do for school this week. I've only actually completed one homework assignment, and still have one homework assignment, one final report to write for Ethics, one senior design report, one senior design presentation, and a test on Wednesday. I am wishing it was Wednesday again and that I'd planned a little better.

But one great thing has happened this morning...I found my paycheck that I thought I'd lost! I'd even resorted to digging through the empty dog food cans and used coffee filters in the trash looking for it. As I had my head in the trash, Dexter came at satly proudly beside me as if to say, "She's my mom, she's a trash digger, and I love her....I love my trash-digger mom!"

Anyway, I'm enjoying my last morning before I have to go back to work and school tomorrow. I've been playing with the dogs...we have a new dog Maggie. She's a black lab and she's beautiful!

Happy Turkey Day!

It is now midnight, Thanksgiving night and it's been a great day. Josh has been off the last two days and won't have to go back to work until Sunday night. I'm out of school until Monday, and there are only two weeks of school left in this semester!! So I've enjoyed my break from school, but there's still quite a bit to do.

Wednesday morning, Josh got home from work and we went to eat pancakes at the Cracker Barrel. Have you ever noticed that Cracker Barrel pancakes have a thin, perfectly crunchy outer shell that feels just right in your mouth? How do they do that? They're the best.... At the restaurant, Josh bought two rubber band airplanes that we came home and raced in the street. They actually launched only a few times, and Josh's always did better than mine. The weather was perfect, the breeze was just right, and we had a great time. Then we came in a took a nap on the couch with our new dog (a beautiful black lab) Maggie plopping herself down on top of us and taking a nap herself. I woke up and went in to work for a few hours but it wasn't too bad. Then we went to Market Street and got a few slices each of pizza! Such a nice day!

This morning, we got up and cooked a few dishes and appetizers to take over to Mom and Doug's house for lunch. We ate early (around 12:30pm) so that Doug's daughter and her friends could come. It was great! As of about 30 minutes ago, I was still eating! On top of stuffing myself with turkey and the fixins, I've had three pieces of pie, the rest of the stuffed mushrooms and deviled eggs, and I'm fighting the urge to raid the refrigerator two eat the last two pieces of lemon merrinque pie before Josh wakes up and has a chance to eat them. They're mine! As I was telling a friend of mine, there's nothing like a holiday dinner to bring out suppressed compulsive tendancies and eating disorders. I can't wait until tomorrow so I can "legitimately" eat some more.

I've agreed to run a half marathon with some friends of mine in January. I've been jogging 2-4 miles a few times a week for the past three months, but now I've got to get on it and start pushing myself more. Which is good because it's going to take running a few extra miles a day to work off all this food I've consumed, as well as what I'm going to consume between now and Christmas!

Well Josh has been passed out on the couch for about 4 hours now and there is no sign of him waking up any time soon - I think I'll join him! It's been a great day.

God bless Firefighters....

This morning, my thoughts are with the countless number of firefighters, professional and volunteer, who are fighting a losing battle against the blazing monster reigning at present time in California. My brother is a firefighter paramedic in San Angelo, Texas and I feel so much better knowing there are men (and women) like my brother who are on constant watch to keep me safe. These remarkable people risk their lives every single day to save us, to save our pets, and to save our homes. I am always touched by these humble heroes . So this morning I offer up a prayer of thanks for firefighters. God, give them strength, courage, and fuel their tired spirits. Bless them for their tireless actions, and help them in their battle against a seemingly unstoppable force. Support your local firefighters. Be involved in supporting them and their families, just as they are involved in keeping you and your family safe.

Just in time for Fall..

Well, once school started I put almost all extracurricular activity on hold, as usual. I've been staying so busy and have experienced my regular supply of ups and downs. Since I last posted in July, I had a birthday, started my senior year at MSU, began tutoring for the Adult Literacy Council, found out my brother's wife is pregnant, had an incredible 3 day tent revival at my church, and found Martha the Cat's five baby kittens (she was hit by a car about a week and a half ago). Tonight me, Josh, Mom and Doug are going to the Mercy Me concert at a church here in town. My friend Patrick won the tickets from the local Christian radio station but he couldn't go. I'm pretty excited about it. Then next month the university is sending me and my two professors I co-authored the educational research paper with to Boston to the ASME International Conference. MSU is paying for us to stay the entire conference so we'll be gone 5 days. I'm really excited about seeing Boston, and it'll be nice to get a little break from school. When I start feeling a little bad about the fact that MSU is sending me on this trip that is allowing me to miss 4 days of school, I just think back to the 8 months I spent when I gave up all my freetime in order to make this paper a success. It's pretty cool. But I'll definately be updating and getting some more pictures on here. I also need to update Dexter here too. It's been quite a surprise watching him grow up. Stay tuned for more!!