My Soldering Final, Thus Far

This is my circuit board that I'm working on

in my soldering class.
September 13th, it will become my final.
It'll have a little speaker and an LED light
and the rest of the little components soldered to it.
We'll hook it up to a battery and magically,
the light will light up and the speaker will make a sound.
Maybe.

I think it looks like a little city, complete with water towers
that just scream for me to climb and spray paint
GINGER LOVES LARRY on.

Happy Birthday, Mama!

Today is my mama's birthday. I ain't tellin' which one 'cause ladies don't tell. (She's 20 years older than me, though!)

We had a birthday dinner for her and Daddy Saturday and I called her today to wish her a happy birthday but there's nothing like actually being there ON her birthday. I miss that.

You know how people say you turn into your mama as you grow older? I know that I already have! I've always been told and thought I looked most like my daddy's sisters but sometimes, I catch my reflection in a store window and I see Mama. I walk like her, I hold my head like her, I swing my arms like her. I look like my mama. I'm so proud of that. My mama is a very strong, smart, independent, loving, beautiful woman. She will do anything for anybody and she's never met a stranger. She loves everybody and lets them know that. I'm so proud that as I get older, I become more and more like my mama. I can only hope to be a fraction of the woman she is.

Happy birthday, sweet girl. I hope you know how much you are loved.

Late Summer Beauty

My pretty little watermelon red crape myrtle at the end

of my driveway is just full of blooms!

I was worried about it when some neighborhood

kids broke off some limbs in the spring but she's

blooming like crazy now and is so gorgeous!

I love coming home to that view!!

Saturday Salmagundi

I'm having a very much-needed lazy Saturday. Well, as lazy as I can get away with. I've had a long week and didn't rest very well so I just camped out at home today. I slept until noon and although I did drag my butt to the shower, I'm still wearing my pajamas. Last week, I had soldering class on Monday, where I managed to completely burn the top layer off my circuit board in one little place. Them things ain't cheap, let me tell ya. Thank goodness I wasn't graded on it! I just held the heat there too long. I tend to get a little overanxious in soldering for some reason. I want to use too much solder, too much heat, just load it down and burn it up. I gotta work on that. Tuesday, we had CPR recertification at work and Wednesday, I went to the Mellow Mushroom and to the movies with some girls from work. We saw Eat Pray Love and I loved it! It was such a sweet, sweet movie about finding yourself and following your heart. I want to read the book now so I can compare. And then, Thursday, I found out that Larry was scared half to death 'cause he couldn't get me for two days. Adding to all that my trig homework being total frustration and yeah, it was a long exhausting week.

So I stayed home today and slept waaaaaay in, made rosemary chicken in the crock pot, finished my trig homework, cleaned my house, did some laundry and painted my toenails.

My weight loss has slowed down to a turtle crawl, y'all. I FINALLY got to 56 pounds yesterday and while that excited me to no end, it just took waaaaaaay too long. I don't think I've hit a plateau, I think I've hit a concrete wall. I'm trying to work more exercise into my day but with my job, school, homework, LIFE, I just cannot find the energy or the time. Any suggestions??

I registered for fall quarter this week, too. Wow, what a busy week!! I'm taking Alternating Current (AC) three nights a week at the college and a job skills class online. NO MORE MATH!!

I'm getting excited about fall, about summer coming to an end and the air feeling crisp in the mornings. The trees in my yard are already dropping crunchy leaves for me to step on. I'll be digging out my long-sleeved t-shirts in no time!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

How 'bout a little Beatles to celebrate my sweet daddy's 64th birthday today?

When I get older losing my hair,
Many years from now,
Will you still be sending me a valentine,
Birthday greetings, bottle of wine?

If I'd been out 'til quarter to three
Would you lock the door,
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four?

You'll be older too,
And if you say the word,
I could stay with you.

I could be handy mending a fuse
When your lights have gone.
You can knit a sweater by the fireside
Sunday mornings go for a ride.

Doing the garden, digging the weeds,
Who could ask for more?
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four?

Every summer we can rent a cottage
In the Isle of Wight, if it's not too dear
We shall scrimp and save
Grandchildren on your knee
Vera, Chuck, and Dave

Send me a postcard, drop me a line,
Stating point of view.
Indicate precisely what you mean to say
Yours sincerely, Wasting Away.

Give me your answer, fill in a form
Mine forevermore
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four?

Absolutely, Daddy. I need you. I'll feed you. And I love you very much!!

Happy Birthday!!!!

A Girl Cannot Live By Wheat Bread Alone

These things right heah are delish!!

They have just 90 calories, 2.5 g of fat

but what really impressed me was they have

a whopping NINE grams of fiber!

I got the Italian Herb but they also come in

Original, Sundried Tomato and Garden Spinach.

I like 'em with smoked turkey and avocado. Yum!!

All Natural Soldering Girl!

So. I'm trying a little something different with my hair this week. I've fought my baby fine, straight hair since my Aunt Brenda gave me my first curling iron for my 9th Christmas. I've done everything, I've tried everything and here I am, 43 years old, still fighting my hair every single morning. I decided I was just going to give in to it, at least for a few days, and just see what it does. This morning, I just shampooed it, worked in a little mousse and some leave-in conditioner, picked it out with my fingers and JUST LEFT IT ALONE. I let it air dry and it was okay. I felt weird and all nekkid-like without my routine of blow drying and velcro rollers and hair spray but it was SO liberating, I got past all that pretty quick. And if anybody noticed at work, they didn't say anything. The more the day went on, the more I liked the way my hair felt. It was a little wavy and beachy instead of frizzy and it was soft instead of crispy. Crispy's real good on chicken. Not so much on your hair. And since nobody even noticed that I had done nothing to my hair, I'm guessing that it looked the same as it does when I spend 30 minutes on it so I'm thinking I can spend those 30 minutes doing something calming in the mornings, like yoga or even breakfast. So I'm gonna try that some this week and see how it goes.

I am really enjoying my soldering class! Last week, we learned to tin a wire and tonight, how to bend that tinned wire over a terminal and solder the two together. It's so much fun!! Those two and a half hours go by so fast.

Trig's going well, too. I'm over halfway through the course and still have a 100 average. It's pretty easy to me and that scares me. Ha!

It's August now and it's still so hot. We haven't had rain in so long! I did a little hippie rain dance Saturday out in the backyard but all it accomplished was the dog next door barking and me getting dizzy.