Hump Day

So far this morning has been GREAT!

First, I talked to my folks and my dad has made it back home from visiting my Grandma in the hospital. This is good for the following reasons:

1. Grandma is doing better and had her surgery, so Dad felt comfortable leaving her.
2. Dad is home in his own bed, which always makes people happier. It also gives him the chance to have some different clothes to wear since he has been at my Grandma's for a couple of weeks and I think he probably left with only a couple of days worth of clothes as he didn't think the trip would last nearly as long.
3. Mom has Dad home with her so she will have human contact and somebody to talk to. I know that she has missed this when I called her last week and could barely get a word in edgewise as she was using all the words that she had saved up from NOT having somebody to visit with.

Second, I am working at the North Campus facility this morning which is SO much nicer than the office that I normally go to. It is open and airy and people have intelligent conversations and I don't have to listen to the ridiculous conversations of the people that sit on the other side of the wall from me at my old cube. It also doesn't have the barn smell going for it that the 1451 office tends to have.

Third, it is Wednesday. That means that there are only two more days left to the week. I have a full day planned and I think I will actually be able to get some real work done today, or at least I hope.

Fourth, well, I can't really think of a fourth, but so far, my day is going really great!! I can only cross my fingers and hope that it stays the course!

So I'm A Little Late

Sorry, I'm a little late in getting my post up today, but it has been a bit hectic.

First, I need to send a big THANKS! to Sara, my blonde, Aggie, Aries friend. Love the car-pooling. Not only do we lesson our Carbon Footprint (see me talking all Green and California-like) but we also get to enjoy the pleasure of one another's company in the morning. And, I have to say that talking to somebody else in the car is SO much nicer than conversing with myself; I tend to be a bit of a bitch!!

Second, I'd like to send her another thanks for going and picking up lunch for me. You Rock!! I LOVE Wahoo Tacos!! Although I don't actually like their tacos, per se.

Third, well, I don't really have a third. I have to apologize to Sara regarding NOT riding home with her, but she has to stick around for that blankety-blank Ops Excellence meeting and I'd rather go take a walk with Vanessa.

Okay, I have more that I'd like to talk about, but don't really have the energy at the moment and I have to go to another fun AND exciting training session.

Shop Hop Tour Complete

Well, I finished my tour of the Bay Area Quilt Shops that participated in the Shop Hop. I put about 400 miles on my car and only got lost a couple of times and that was mostly due to the fact that the shops were tucked away in some odd-ball shopping center with bad signage.

For the most part, I liked the shops, however, doing a Shop Hop in California was very different than Shop Hops that I have done when in Texas. For one thing, the shops in California did not seem to have quite the hoopla as the Texas ones did. It was more of a "oh, you are doing the shop, yeah they'll stamp your passport back there." Of course that may have also been because I was going on Thursday and Friday rather than on the weekend when most people were probably participating. The other thing that I found to be interesting was the Shop Hop quilt that the shops worked together to create. Here they did a block exchange with each of the shops and then the shops set those however they wanted to. In Texas, the shops came together and designed a full quilt then each shop put it together based on their own color choices. The Texas quilts were actually much more fun and exciting. I have to say that the shops in Texas are also different. Yeah, they all sell fabric, and kits, and tools and what not, but the ones in Texas had their own "flair" their own "flavor"; the shops in California all seemed to be cut from the same cloth, if I can use that analogy.

Now on to what I got out of the trip... I bought stuff, duh!! I picked up a couple of new books with some new quilt ideas, which I'm very excited about getting started on. I also picked up some patterns with people in mind. I'm very much looking forward to getting started on all of my new projects. I just have to finish my current one first. I have two sections left on my psychedelic sampler that I'm working on from a Shop Hop in Texas (I'll post a picture as soon as I have all the parts together). It really is so much more interesting than the patterns from my Shop Hop this past weekend. Oh well, I'll make that quilt as well and donate it or something....

That has been about all I've done this weekend. Shop Hopped and sewed. Not too exciting, but it is my life and this weekend was a good weekend...

Preparing for Time Off

I am so excited!! I am taking the following two days off to do a whirl-wind Quilt Shop Hop through the San Francisco Bay Area. (Shop Hop by the Bay) Which basically means I am going to go driving up and down the coast stopping in at 13 different quilt shops over the next two days.

I've spent some "quality" time mapping out my route, rather than actually doing my work. But I think I have it down to a science. I can't wait!! Of course, it would be nice to do this tripping around with somebody else, it would have to be a quilter-type person because non-quilters just don't get it. Of course there are a lot of things that other people are passionate about that just do not blow my skirt up!!

The one thing that I haven't figured out just yet is my budget. I really don't need any new patterns, books, fabrics, tools, or basically anything quilt related, so I don't know what I'm shopping for. My initial intention is to just hit up the shops and see if they carry fabrics and patterns that I like...well that and to get my "passport" stamped, my "free" gift at each shop, and the shop hop pattern. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that I might actually win one of the prizes, but since I seem to have sorry luck, I won't hold my breath!!

Vatican's 10 Commandments for drivers

I came across this article on Yahoo! this morning and it just floored me. (To see the whole article go to: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070619/ap_on_re_eu/vatican_road_rage)

My favorite part is the fact that we now have 10 additional Commandments that are focused solely on driving:

1. You shall not kill.... Duh, didn't we already have this one?
2. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.... Can somebody explain this one to me? "A means of communion" the only time I commune with others on the road is when I look in the mirror and can tell they are listening to the same radio station I am because they are singing along!
3. Courtesy, uprightness, and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events..... Is this supposed to be only for driving? And, if so, how can "courtesy" help me deal with the jerk on the cell phone that swerves into my lane?
4. Be charitable and help your neighbor in need, expecially victims of accidents.... I would, but blook makes me a little woozy, besides I do try to allow ONE person to merge in front of me when an accident has blocked the lane.
5. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.... What does the Vatican think we are doing with our cars - "an occasion of sin"?
6. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.... Again, duh - take the keys away from the drunks!! Isn't there a whole other campaign focused on this? Does the Vatican REALLY need to jump on board?
7. Support the families of accident victims.... Okay, but does this have to be a Commandment?
8. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness..... Yeah, hold your breath for that one!!
9. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.... WTF?
10. Feel responsible toward others.... How can anybody command how I am supposed to feel, especially towards others? You can command how I am to act toward others, but you can't command my feelings!!

So, those are the Vatican's Ten Commandments for Drivers. So, here are some additional questions that I have....

1. Are these sin-worthy commandments?
2. If so, what would be the punishment... 10 Hail Marys and wash the Bishop's car?
3. Do I have to include these in my confessions now? "Forgive me Father for I have sinned. I have had impure thoughts four times, I coveted my neighbors ass (as in donkey) twice, and I was not courteous when the truck driver cut me off on the on-ramp."
4. And finally, how big of a sin is it to break the Driver's Ten Commandments while using the Lord's name in vain, because if any of you have EVER driven with me, you pretty much know that I cuss like a sailor when driving!!

Introducing Myself

Hi. My name is Andrea, and I'm an.....

Oh wait, that is a different meeting!!

A little bit about me...I have a tendency to be sarcastic, or at least I think so. I have a friend who tells me that I'm not, so I guess that would be based on how you define sarcasm. Having just looked up the meaning of sarcsam at merriamwebster.com I actually have to agree that sarcastic is something I am not; I am more of a sardonic and/or ironic person. This is good to know, because there are a lot of people out in the world that don't appreciate sarcasm.

Other things about me: I'm blond-esque, meaning with a little assistance from my hair stylist I am blond even though I grew up as a cornsilk blond child. I graduated from Texas A&M ergo I am an Aggie. I am an Aries, which I don't really know what that means but I make certain that I read my horoscope every day!! I have relocated to the San Francisco Bay area from Dallas/Fort Worth in the last year and am really happy with my decision. My family still lives in the North Texas area and visit when possible. I quilt, or rather I piece quilt tops and send out the finished product to somebody else to actually quilt. If you are a quilter, you understand this, if not and are TRULY interested, let me know and I'll explain. If I could actually make a living at quilting, I would give up my current "career" and do it, but that just isn't possible right now.

The only other thing that stands out is I love to read, I hope to someday write the "Great American Novel" (but what English major doesn't want to do that?), I have a tendency to sit around and watch a lot of crap television (e.g., Buffy the Vampire Slayer and/or Celebrity Fit Club) which I always blame on the ass-magnet that I have that is attracted to the big couch magnet!!

And now, I need to begin working on my day. I will include more later....

Today Is The Day

Well, today is the day that I start blogging. After much thought, I've determined that I want to share with the world a little bit of who I am and what I do. I also wish to have a place to display some of my work and see if anybody is interested.

Of course, there will be a lot in here that will be my rambling about the world around me.