MSN Money - What driving a hybrid will really cost you

MSN Money - What driving a hybrid will really cost you

a decent article for those considering purchasing a hybrid in the near future. the title makes it sound like hybrids are a bad idea, but that's not what the content of the article points to...

posting at the office

hmmm, i've never yet tried this. i'm at the office, and i'm posting. this is my last hour and a half of my last day of my next-to-last week here at arkansas advocates. i've spent all day (all week, really) working on the contact database...bor-ring to the max! but at least i get paid to do that, unlike all of my other internship duties. now i'm just waiting for the kids count steering committee meeting to begin--i'm updating everyone on the bookings i did for the 3 upcoming events. very important.
the birthday went fine. i made it to 25 without serious harm. flying fish on saturday with loads of pals (and one sister...thanks meg!) for the annual crab leg feast. i just wish i could eat them quickly enough for them not to get cold. that's pretty unrealistic. sunday trevor & i went to pinnacle and hiked from the west side to the east on the base, up the east side, and then down the west side. i really thought people were just being weenies when they called the east side "the hard side", but that's no joke, man. that's some hard business. dinner with the fam at the purple cow (what the heck?), and then spending all of my b&n gift certificate immediately on 4 books i'm pumped about reading now that i don't have to read for school ever agian. well, unless i go back.
yeah, and so i've officially turned in the last of my assignments. possibly for the last time ever. hmm, food for thought...
sunday and monday trevor and i are planning to go up to batesville to see if there's a house around those parts that suits our fancy. i've got lots of criteria, and i'm betting i'll have to give up several: pets allowed, fenced-in back yard, gardening allowed, washer/dryer hookups, dishwasher, hardwood floors, central heat/air...those are the necessities, but we'll just have to see what's available.
well, i think that meeting's getting ready to start...gotta jet

i have a weakness for these silly things

i know these are pretty cheesy, and i totally stole this from kari's blog (but she stole it from someone else, so it's okay), so don't feel obligated to read this at all. if you want something with more sustinance, read friday's post about my little feet in the world of bigger shoes.

A - Available: nah
A - Age: 25 on sunday (dum, da dum dum)
A - Annoyance: bad grammar

B - Best Friend: trevor seth
B - Birthday: tomorrow

C - Crush: aidan from sex in the city
C - Car: professor plum
C - Cat: tarzan, the crazy cat

D - Dead Pets Name: that's kind of morbid, but heidi is the one i miss the most
D - Dads Name: dave and gene(uncle)
D - Dogs: we can't wait to get one, but can't agree on what size...

E - Easiest person to talk to: boy: trevor, girl: ashley
E - Eggs: delicioso, especially with cavendars
E - Email: 4 friggen accounts

F - Favorite color: green and pink
F - Food: everyday: potatoes, special occasion: crab legs, dessert: lemon icebox pie
F - Foreign Slang: i think i could get myself into trouble with that one, so i'll go safe: testa duda (italian for "hard head")

G - Gummy Bears or Worms: haribo bears...best nonchocolate candy EVER
G - God: not sure
G - Good Times: what i look for

H - Hair Color: dyed it dark brown over spring break, and NOT ONE person has noticed!
H - Height: '5''2 and a quarter (and yes, the quarter counts)
H - Happy: generally, except when i've got pms (as in now)

I - Ice Cream: moose tracks
I - In school: graduate in 3 weeks...msw

J - Jewelry: silver only
J - Job: intern at arkansas advocates for children and families
J - Jokes: horrible at telling them

K - Kids: want two...recently learned the "secret" to having a boy
K - Karate: ummm, i love the karate kid
K - Kung fu: i have no idea...

L - Longest Car Ride: phoenix, az to seattle, wa (took 4 days with my family and hampsters)
L - Longest relationship: roughly 5 years
L - Last kiss: just this morning

M - Milk Flavor: skim or chocolate or strawberry...i love milk!
M - Mothers Name: laurie and margie(aunt)
M - Movie Last Watched: crash--even more intense than i'd figured

N - Number of Siblings: six, three brothers and three sisters
N - Northern or Southern: SOUTHERN
N - Name: alexandra brooks stapleton

O - One Wish: to be happy with the job i take
O - One Phobia: storms
O - Otter Pop: any flavor but grape

P - Parents, are they married or divorced: married
P - Part of your appearance you like best: hair
P - Part of your personality you like best: not a good question for today

Q - Quote: "A way of life in which each person used only a fair share of the resources of the world and yet somehow enjoyed life would be a real step toward world peace." B.F. Skinner
Q - Quick or Slow?: driving and walking: quick, eating: slow

R - Reality TV Show: wish i didn't like them, but i don't like them all
R - Right or Left: most things: right, belaying: left
R - Right now: trying to keep tarzan of the laptop

S - Song Last Heard: i have no idea
S - Season: spring
S - Sport: riding my bike...not that i do that in any sort of sporty way, tough i do have the gear...

T - Time you woke up: 8ish
T - Time Now: 9:26 am
T - Time for bed: between 10 and 11

U - Unknown Fact about me: i don't wear deodorant
U - Unicorns: pretended to be one when i was a kid
U - You are: ready for breakfast...mmmmmm lucky charms

V - Vegetable you hate: i've never tried brussells sprouts, but i know i'd hate them
V - Vegetable you love: fresh asparagus
V - Voice: HORRIBLE

W- Worst Habits: chewing on the inside of my cheeks
W- Where are you going to travel next?: probably ne tennessee and pennsylvania (where i've never been)
W - Where were you born?: camp springs, md (essentially washington, dc)

X - X-Rays: my thumb when i was little (what a waste), and on my leg when i got a stress fracture from playing ultimate in college (actually required a bone scan)
X - Xylaphone: i have a difficult time spelling that word
X - X: men, wish i were one...i'd want to be invisible, i think

Y - Year you were born: 1981
Y - Year it is now: 2006
Y - Yellow: not a good color for the bedroom...too exciting

Z - Zoo Animal: not a fan of the zoo, but i do like the primates
Z - Zodiac: taurus
Z - Zoolander: hi-larious. i just can't get enough of ben stiller

sizeism--a rant

now here's a question...why is it so impossible for me to find shoes that fit my feet? i understand that we size fivers are in the minority. but we do exist! and we also like to purchase and wear shoes (except for when it's hot)! just a couple of weeks ago, for example, i'm in dillards looking for some shoes to wear for the moyer-french wedding/easter, and the first salesman i encounter simply tells me that there's no way they've got that shoe in a size five. in fact, dillards just hardly even carries size fives, his wife can't even shop there. he doesn't even bother to look! the next salesman was willing to look, but carried the same message: we don't order shoes for your kind here.

again, i do understand that my feet are in the minority, but i can certainly think of 3 people that wear the same size. they, too, like to wear shoes. also, how is it that all of you with larger feet managed to skip size five, thereby eliminating the need for such a small size in local department and other shoe-selling stores? i mean, is size five not on the road to size six in some transitional sort of way?

my latest desire: a pair of chacos. i've been holding out on getting a pair as i have some pretty sturdy tevas that i got on super-sale (like nineteen bucks) my sophomore year of college. but i discovered some backstrapless chacos that struck my fancy and that would serve a different purpose than the tevas (so as not to insult the tevas and imply that they were too uncool for my feet). i tried ozark outdoor (preferring a local approach)...no luck. gene lockwood's...no luck. it's as though the internet is the only option for small feet like mine. and it's not like i don't appreciate the convenience of ordering off of the internet, it's just that sometimes a gal wants her shoes now. is that so much to ask of little rock? apparently so.

fortunately, trevor is the best ever. yesterday there was a little sticky note on the door from the ups people about a package to be delivered. being the clevertrevorseth, he pretended to have no clue what could be coming in the mail (and i really was convinced, confused, but convinced). the package arrived today, and he had me open it while he was on the phone. yep, it was the pair of chacos that i'd seen on sale on the internet but that were out of stock when i went back to order them (it is now clear that trevor was the reason they were out of stock).

anyways, that's just my long rant and rave about how i can almost never find the shoes i'm looking for in the size i need in this darned city. for next time: pants...either too long or too short...

bummer

looks like we won't be moving to north carolina after all...

spring is in the air...

it's another sunday without gray's anatomy, and the end of a busy but beautiful weekend. picked tron up from the airport thursday night and he got the distinct pleasure of a night on the couch with noisy tarzan. friday tron and i made it out to heifer ranch in time for lunch, and it was pretty weird only knowing a few of the volunteers out there. joined in on a lesson on making romanian batik resist eggs...mine stood for wish fulfillment. we've got plenty of wishes around here that need fulfilling, that's for sure.

mawwage. mawwage was what brought us to petit jean saturday. sarah & will's wedding was at camp mitchell's chapel of transfiguration. the weather was amazing (a little windy), and there were hawks soaring in the vista. the officiant was joel's dad, david; he did a truly wonderful job making unique connections between sarah and will. i think i'd have to say that the best part was sarah's stripper shoes. reception at their house...lots of madonna. champagne spilled on my new skirt twice! still managed to wear it again today for easter. it was soo good to see everyone. there were lots of old pals in town--in addition to tron, we saw ellen, meredith, m.c., jan, and the other usual suspects.

mass was loooong, waaaay hot, and there was no place for trevor & me to sit. yeah, standing for an hour and a half in heels when you never wear heels: not good. the food was great at aunt margie & uncle gene's...ham, roast, spaghetti, green creamy jello, deviled eggs, salad, strawberry shortcake: wow. not as big of a crowd as usual, we all actually fit in the living room. confetti eggs, tons of pictures, candy.candy.candy.

this week should yeild a decision as to where we'll be and what we'll be doing. we're meeting with mike cumnock (ceo, arkansas sheriff's youth ranches) tuesday, and i'd better hear from blue ridge asap. i'm getting so impatient. will keep posted.

the sage is in bloom

i've decided today's a hookey day. i don't have morning class anyway, and my allergies have me coughing, sniffeling and sounding like darth vader. so i'm thinking...laundry, taking pictures around the apartment and the like.

winds of change have been more tornadic lately. snafu and poof, trevor's job is gone. i may still have a shot with blue ridge women in agriculture. or i might end up working for arkansas sheriff's youth ranches. essentially, we'll be either in batesville or boone.

good stuff in the news: a higher minimum wage improves the lives of over 100,000 arkansans.

just about one month until graduation. it's hard to believe that i may never be a student again. probably i'll just go back in a couple of years. i'm in the home stretch with my assignments, with only 3 weeks of class & internship after this week.

oh, and i guess i'm the last on the bandwagon to say horray for chandle and david's engagement. what a happy time of year. sarah and will get hitched this saturday, and just one month later it's chad and rachel's turn. and believe it or not, raquel adami will be making her trip down the isle summer 07. twitterpated. that owl on bambi sure had it right...

and be sure to note the new blogs linked over on the right~>

some awesome news!

well, we got some really good news today! trevor has been offered the challenge course coordinator position at the ranch!! horray! he had his interview yesterday, and got the call this afternoon. now we're just waiting to see if i got the job with blue ridge women in agriculture...i should hear sometime tomorrow. not sure what will happen if i do get it though...we'll have some deciding to do. anyhoo, i'll keep ya posted as to what happens next.

them bones them bones them lazy bones

um, yeah, so the majority of my spring break was pretty much spent with a crew of animals. house/dog/cat sitting for amy was a good way to spend spring break...it was nice to be in a house for some time. i think even tarzan appreciated living in a house for a week and a half. so here are some photos of the ginormous doggies, and some of our silly kitty.
other than that, i was pretty successfully unproductive. with the exception of my interview, of course. stay tuned...


this is jessi...she just couldn't keep that tounge in!

ah, how easy it was to mistake jasper for a horse!

and tarzan sure loves playing softball...

but do you have as we have a boy cat in a bag???