How to stay warm when cutting back on electricity usage

I seem to have a lot of these work related blog entries, but I figure that's just because that's who I am around during the day. This blog entry is courtesy of the state, which is cutting costs by not using as much electricity. Because we all audit at different locations, my co-workers and I occasionally send emails to each other to discuss what is happening. The other day I found myself in a freezing basement (affectionately called "the dungeon"--sounds like a great work site, huh?) wearing a tank top, shirt, AND suit coat PLUS hoody...and still freezing. The following is a list of suggestions on how to stay warm when you're cold, which list comes from an email discussion associated with the matter. I had to remind myself not to laugh at loud when I read some of these...:


When saving money by cutting back on electricity usage:

1. wear lots of clothes
2. the sleeping bag suit (an innovative idea for a workplace like mine that requires suits during winter...click the picture if you want to check out the place selling these...)
3. invest in numerous blankets
4. get a space heater
5. add another jacket
6. drink hot chocolate
7. gnaw on blubber.. to quote my co-worker: "If it’s all about green, then you should try the greenest solution of them all-- mother nature’s natural solution—FAT. Try gnawing on blubber for a while or use this cold weather as an excuse to eat a ridiculous amount of food so that your body can store up and keep you naturally warm. That’s what the African’s told me—they said I was a Viking woman and that my fat was there to keep me warm."
8. grow thick, furry hair on my back (ew!)...again, from the same co-worker: "If we were meant to be super lean, mother nature would have natural selected you a coat of thick furry hair on your back instead requiring you to fetch a blanket."
9. marry a good man...(same co-worker:) "Amongst the ‘green’ and natural natives fat was beauty and praised while skinny meant you’d married a bad husband."
10. eat more (Yup. Same co-worker:) "Forget about our silly cultural expectation that we all try to look like we haven’t eaten in weeks...we should eat up... That is the most green solution I can think of. I think you should eat more to keep you warm...I think I need a snack now."

Many thanks to my co-workers for all of their recommendations. I opted for the blanket, and would willing try most of the options, excepting numbers seven and 8.

A Taste of Arizona

Sometimes I really wonder how I ended up in a state like this. But then I remember how many great blog entries Arizona has provided, and I choose to laugh instead. This was one of those moments...

One of my co-workers bought this for another one of my co-workers as a practical joke. "What is it?"you ask. Oh. That's simple. It's a real scorpion in a BANANA flavored sucker. (I've read that they've taken out the stinger, so apparently it's safe to eat.) That's a marriage of two things I really, really, really, don't like (the scorpion and the banana flavoring). It's my worst nightmare packed in one sick joke.

For Katie D.

This picture is being posted in honor of my cousin (wife of CD). This is the only Maverick gas station I've ever seen in Arizona, and it had what we both would both hope for. (Hint: it wasn't the Coors Light advertised in the window.)

Sedona/Why I Love Working for the Government

After an incredibly crazy weekend (Friday night seeing the Lion King, Saturday general craziness documented in the previous blog, and six hours of meetings on Sunday), I was glad that I could take advantage of having Martin Luther King Day off to go to Sedona:

This is the Courthouse. We hiked 4.2 miles around it and climbed to the top of a shorter structure where we took the next three pictures.

The structure had us up quite a bit higher than the picture above might look. It was a great find, and I really want to go back and hike/climb it with a picnic lunch!

The plant life that we saw on the hike was phenomenal, and I LOVED it! I thought it was all just incredibly beautiful. (Did I really just say that about dessert plant life?!?!?!) I loved this plant which was probably only ten inches high and reminded me of a bonsai tree. (I'll spare you the several other pictures that I took of the other flora, though!)

Post-hike. Almost immediately after we finished our hike I noticed that something started feeling funny with my right foot while I was walking. Turns out, the sole of my hiking boot was done with hiking. Amazingly, I realized that I've had these boots for years...as in almost FOURTEEN years. (I keep wondering how this happened--as in, I can't even figure out how I never noticed how much time had passed by!) Many thanks to shoes that took me hiking through Indiana, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Arizona. Sadly, dear shoes, you are now trash. (This also means everyone will likely get to see another blog entry about a new pair of hiking shoes!)

Oh. And did I mention I'm not working this next Friday, either, since I'm working a flex schedule?

isn't saturday the day we're supposed to get ready for sunday?

This blog entry is kind of long, but I had a really PACKED day on Saturday. I've known for some time that last Saturday was going to be one of those days. However, I decided to make the best of it since I knew this ahead of time and blog some of the things going on. Actually, I thought I knew how crazy it would be, but I never imagined I'd end up experiencing some of the things that happened:

You might think I woke up at 7:27, but in actuality I was up at 7:23, which is (for the record), my favorite time since July 23rd is my birthday. I woke up before my alarm. Also, that is TOTALLY me FAKING sleeping. (But can't you just see how much I was loving my beauty rest?) The four minutes that passed were used up grabbing my camera and taking a million shots to see which one captured my best fake-sleep. :)

I started the morning lifting weights at the gym, did a few errands (including picking up dry cleaning from two different locations), and grabbing breakfast. Then I ran home, changed, and drove half an hour to the WEST side of town so that I could go...

...to the ward service project where we were picking grapefruit. This was a first for me, and I actually really enjoyed picking the fruit (and climbing in the trees).

We came away with scratches all over our arms reaching through the branches to grab out the fruit, but satisfied that much had been done. All in all, we picked 13 tons of fruit.

I left the project early, drove the half hour home, changed, took a thirty minute nap, headed to a wedding, waited for it to start, waited some more for it to start, waited even MORE for it to start, and then headed to the brides room after overhearing a request for safety pins only to...

... end up sewing the bride into her dress. This picture was posted with her permission, and I have to say that I really didn't expect this type of picture in my blog entry. I was aiming for the wedding cake, but this picture and the experience as a whole was much better. After all: how many people can say they've actually sewn someone into a wedding dress? (Oh. the bride was just thrilled to have a dress on (and not held together with safety pins), which was good since she didn't freak out when that darn sewing needle pricked me, and then there was red, and....yeah... gotta love Kleenex and water. She still went out with a white dress, though I was a bit horrified...)

Following the wedding, my friend Perla and I grabbed dinner to go, drove half an hour to the EAST side of town for a fireside where Elder Bednar was speaking, walked several minutes in incredibly high heels over rocks that hashed the bottom of my brand-new-I-got-a-smokin'-good-deal-on-them (60% off!!!) awesome high heel shoes,

...waited an hour for the fireside to start, and were delighted to find out that Elder Bednar had structured it as an incredible TWO HOUR question and answer session. I really do mean that it was incredible, but he told us not to write everything down so we could all go home blog what he was saying, so I'm not going to. (oh--to clarify: the purpose in this was to remind us to only write down the things the spirit would communicate to us personally.) I guess I just blogged something he said, but since it wasn't the entire two hour session, I figure I am okay. Plus, I thought that the first comment sounded a bit odd. But I do have to add: the Bednars are actually really funny.

I then walked all the way back to my car (again. shoe damage, darn it!), drove 45 minutes home, changed AGAIN, and headed out for a late dinner. (shared, of course, since I wasn't that hungry.) Dinner was fabulous, and I have to confess that I really, truly, LOVE southwest cuisine. Even when it involves salmon.

At eleven pm, I finally arrived home, ready for:

Oh--for the record, that whole thing about getting ready for Sunday? I thought it wise NOT to post a picture of the house...

Sigh... again

I couldn't NOT post this picture since these flowers have just bloomed so beautifully. Don't fresh flowers just make your day? And isn't it great to know that things really do get better with time?

Sigh....

Aren't fresh flowers the greatest?

Many thanks to my friend, whose kindness made my day...

Happy New Year!!!

Today I went to visit my dentist. I have a great dentist, but I have to admit that I really hate these visits. The last few visits have only increased my distaste for them. However, today I can happily report that I am cavity free!...

....I celebrated by eating a piece of chocolate. :) ... How long did YOUR new years resolution last?

C

I have a friend who somehow brings the ridiculous out of me. In fact, I'm not sure how she does it, but somehow there's no way to be around her without getting into some sort of trouble. The following is a sample of discussions, situations, and/or web sites that somehow have come across one or the others' attention....which inevitably lead to more laughter:

• There was that ONE time when we were at a ward campout and somehow ended up performing Broadway musical numbers in front of the entire ward spontaneously. And doing ballroom dance lifts.
• This MIGHT include times when we have our own dance party in the car. But just MAYBE. And I might have to acknowledge that we just don't care when others are watching us. which might have happened several times.
• It includes experiencing Bollywood. To those who feel that there is something missing in their life, just keep in mind the Bollywood translation as it might at least give you a chuckle: "Son (or daughter). I feel you have a partial vacuum in your heart."
• We one day discovered the history of Barbie: One of our favorites was Barbie for the Birds (read about the story on NPR here: BARBIE.) We also found out that Barbie has had several boyfriends, including multiple at the same time (Sorry, Ken...)

• Break-up treats for Valentine's day: Although my friend loved the candy that said "I'm hot inside", my favorite were some of the T-shirts (I'm including some of my favorites below from the website despair.com)

(I love the wishes one because my brother David said a similar thing....)

(I don't really think I need to even say anything on this one...but will say that this might deserve to be on this blog....)

Reasons I love my co-workers

I have some great co-workers. They are one of the main reasons that auditing is a lot of fun for me. The following is just a clip of some comments that they've made in the last few weeks that have brought a smile to my face...(oddly, most have to do with relationships, and they don't all apply to me. We just have a lot of women in the office.)

• "I like to torture guys. It's like a hobby (sort of). Some are easier to upset than others. I just like to see them upset."
• "After I broke up with my boyfriend of four years I didn't want to tell my family. Instead I bought two kittens. This tipped my sister off to the break up, and she told my mom. But honestly. You get enough kittens and it's just like having a boyfriend."
• "You know, you had such a large finding pool in college and now it's a lot smaller. In light of that and your education, I think your probability of getting married is around age 28. (She was informed that age 28 comes in six months)....Oh....well, in that case....maybe 35."
• I passed a co-worker and told her my fingers were crossed for her. "Did you just flip me off?" (Apparently, when you do it super fast walking by, this can be misconstrued.)
• From a co-worker who doesn't normally see me drinking soda (which I don't normally do) at work: "Emily! Is that BEER you're drinking?" (She knows I'm Mormon, so it was all the funnier. Oh. And for the record, Beer is not allowed in our office. At least, I think.)
• My co-workers recommendation to me when I mentioned that giving people high-fives sometimes hurts my wrists: "Oh. Just stick your tongue out like a lizard really quick. It takes less energy anyway."

Seriously. Sometimes my work life is so random.