Thank you Uncle Sam

February is one of my favorite months. Not because of Valentine's Day or because I get to celebrate birthdays (sorry family & friends with Feb. birthdays). I enjoy February because that's when I receive my tax refund from Uncle Sam.

The sensible person in me thinks I should put the money towards paying off those pesky student loans or towards my car payment. The self loving person in me thinks I should spend a little of the money buying something nice for myself. A couple years ago, it was a new pair of running shoes that, at the time, were oh so fancy. The plan worked last year and kept me from feeling guilty so I figured I'd try it out again. So I paid of some debt and bought myself a gift. What did I splurge on this year you ask? An alternator.

What is the world coming to when you take your car in for a standard oil change and tire rotation and come home with an alternator? Sad I tell you. It looks like my gift to myself is one of sustainability this year. The gift of being able to continue doing what I'm doing. No fun new shoes or the latest tech gadget. Just an alternator. I can't even show it off to my friends. I'm just glad Uncle Sam was there to cushion the blow.

God bless the Girl Scouts

Today at work I had an ethical dilemma. I've had to make this decision countless times and each time it's just as tough as the time before. I'm familiar with the situation and I know the decision I should make as well as understanding the consequences for making the wrong decision. While the choice may be clear cut for some, I usually spend 30 minutes listening to the angel on my right shoulder debate with the devil sitting on my left shoulder. I'm debating my healthy snack against my sinful snack.


That's right I was a good girl this morning and took an apple to work to munch on in the afternoon. But as I gazed upon the apple sitting on my desk waiting to be devoured that pesky little devil popped up to remind me I had two boxes of girl scout cookies stashed in my "work pantry." It was only a matter of minutes before I abandoned my good intentions and began to salivate over Thin Mints and Caramel Delights. I couldn't even manage to get all four cookies out before taking a bite. In that moment I sent up a little prayer thanking God for blessing the Girl Scouts with such tasty treats and allowing me to enjoy them for a short time once a year.



Now, there might be someone out there wondering why I neglected to bring home the girl scout cookies to share. Well darlin', I was just trying to save you from having to make the same excruciating decision I was faced with. I did it for you.

I'm a sucker...25 things about me

As much as I really don't want to do this, I want to do it more. So here it is, 25 things about me.

1. I get heartburn almost daily. It's a strange thing that my sister and I have in common. I really hate heartburn but the sad thing is I hate Tums more.

2. When I see dogs riding in cars I make a squeaky/excited noise that I'm fairly certain is obnoxious to anyone else in earshot. But seriously, dogs riding in cars with their ears flapping in the wind...how can you not be giddy?

3. I have a love/hate relationship with Britney Spears. I'm convinced she is a terrible role model in every way possible. On the flip side, her music is just so damn catchy.

4. Don't ask me to pick a favorite anything, I can't do it.

6. I eat McDonalds french fries dipped in sweet and sour sauce. It's soooooo good!

7. I would give my left arm to be a lead on Broadway. Which might be difficult because I'm not aware of any lead parts that call for a one -armed brunette. Regardless, if I had the talent, it would be my dream job.

8. In high school my nickname was Crispy. No one really calls me that anymore and I really miss it.

9. One of my favorite snacks in high school was Easy Cheese on Twizzlers. Yes, together.

10. I have hilarious friends. They're the funniest people I know.

11. I donate blood as often as I'm allowed to. I'm type O negative, the second rarest!

12. I've written a song. I did it with my pal Mandy during college and while it's not going to win us a Grammy any time soon, we think it's pretty good.

13. I break for leaves when driving. I often mistake them for small rodents.

14. I refuse to buy cheap toilet paper. An extra dollar is very much worth the comfort.

15. I have a Snuggie. It's royal blue and awesome. Technically it's the Snuggie Deluxe which is 5% thicker and has pockets.

16. I have an irrational fear of a snake getting into my shower while I'm showering. This has replaced my previous irrational fear of a snake coming up through my toilet while I was using it. Hey...I said they were irrational.

17. Some people see a spider and run away. I see a spider and I have an overwhelming urge to hunt it down and smash it to pieces.

18. I love the fact that my brother married one of my best friends.

19. I had two imaginary friends when I was a child, Hucky and Freddy. One day I threw a fit until my mom made Hucky a PB&J for lunch. By the time she made the sandwich and put it on the table for him to eat, I informed her that "Hucky wasn't hungry anymore."

20. I save my day planners and calendars. You never know when you'll need to figure out what you were doing November 17, 1997.

21. I hate wind!!

22. I would love to have my own pottery studio some day. I'm not incredibly talented but that's why I need a studio, so I can practice!

23. My ability to relate smells to a very specific memory is hilarious and impressive (at least I think so).

24. Brownies, after McD's french fries dipped in sweet and sour sauce, are my weakness.

25. Hands down, July 4 is the best day of the year. I'm quite partial to July 4, 2007.

Mother Nature is a tease

I have a bone to pick with mother nature. That shady gal just can't seem to make up her stinkin' mind! Now I realize I live in Kansas and we all know about Kansas weather. I accept that there will be some inconsistency. However, this January/May weather we've been getting the past two months is driving my crazy! One day it's 27 degrees with a blistering 20 mph wind. 24 hours later you have the urge to don flip flops as the thermometer approaches 65 degrees.

What happened to the good ol' days of predictable seasons? Back when I was a young one, January meant thick socks, maybe two pairs if you've got circulation issues, perhaps some tights, jeans, a long sleeved t-shirt, a sweatshirt, heavy winter coat, gloves, scarf and a hat. This weekend, January meant a t-shirt, jeans and flip flops. My poor body doesn't know whether to shiver or break a sweat. I wonder if this is what menopause feels like?

Jack Frost can take a hike!

I've made every attempt at keeping this blog more about the stuff I love and less about the stuff I severely dislike. Well I've been bottling this up so long and this morning's events just drove me nuts so you're gonna get to hear all about frost and my utter disdain for it.

Yes, winter is upon us and that means hot chocolate, lots of fudge, cheese balls, crackling fires and...frost. What would a winter be without frost? I say it would be a lot more bearable. I don't know about you but I despise scraping my windows in the morning. Hate it. It's the worst five minutes of my day. It's worse than the first five minutes after you wake up in the morning when you dread exiting your cozy bed knowing you'll get instant goose bumps.

Use the defroster, right? Well, kind of. See, the rear defroster in my car is broken. The little light comes on when you push the button and you swell with hope. Five minutes later you realize you've still got an ice field back there and you have to bust out the scraper. I should ask Santa for a new rear defroster. I guess that's life. I don't like it though...

This is a picture of what my car looked like this morning. Okay, so maybe not. But it was pretty close!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

As much as I love Thanksgiving, and believe me when I say that I really love Thanksgiving, I can hardly wait for the day after. No, not for the 6:00 am deals at the local Dillard's, for the music. It's the day when it's 100% acceptable to begin listening to Christmas music. Yes that music that no matter what Christmas holidays of past have brought, you believe that this Christmas can be a magical one.

Some people sneak in the Christmas music before Thanksgiving and I completely support that. In fact, I started listening to Christmas music on Oct. 28 this year. Hey, my sister plans her Halloween costume in July and I listen to Christmas music before Halloween. There's no real harm done.

It's safe to say that most don't start dusting off the Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole and Trans-Siberian Orchestra Christmas favorites until shortly after Thanksgiving. At this point, I'm so hopped up on sentimental tunes I don't care when you start the Christmas music. Just make sure you turn it on soon. After all, it is the most wonderful time of the year!

Gotta have good notes to pass the test!

I have rediscovered my passion for outlines. I'm not talking about tracing hearts onto red construction paper for your latest valentine project, I'm talking about informational outlines, aka, notes.

I. How do I outline?
A. General information
1. I prefer the roman numeral (in"capital" form), capital letters, standard numbers,lowercase letters and then "lowercase" roman numerals formatting
2. If necessary to outline beyond small roman numerals, bulleting is preferred
B. Definitions
1. Definitions of key terms are not typically given their own position.Generally they are notated by an asterisk
2. If the definition is included and necessary to the understanding of another key concept, the key term will be underlined.
C. Spacing
1. Spaces are only used in the instance of major breaks in concepts. Typically, I only space between roman numerals.
2. If inserting a table or example problem, spaces are encouraged.

II. Why do I outline?
A. Because organized information is usable information. Who wants to sort through clutter and unnecessary fluff?
B. Helps to visually represent steps or smaller pieces to a larger idea.
C. Because I really like it when people see my notes and comment on how organized and neat they look.

Okay, enough with the outlining. Seriously though, I have renewed my desire to have neat, organized, beautiful notes. Why? Because I'm studying for this little exam to receive PHR certification. That's right, I'd be Christie Horton, PHR. That's a professional in human resources for those of you outside the HR world. What else does this mean? It means that until January 29th, I'm reliving my college days by spending them in Hale Library at K-State or hunkered down in my living room pouring through books full of information.

Although I've rediscovered my love for outlining, I've discovered that I have no desire to head back to school for a masters degree any time soon.

* despite my every effort to maintain the integrity of my outline, blogger simply will not adhere to my desired indents. Alas, the visual beauty of my outline cannont be fully realized in this post.