Ross Gellar Would Be Freaked, But Not Hagrid!

I went to let Jack out tonight and saw these two creatures on the front porch. I yelled for Doug to come down stairs immediately, for which I would later be scolded for not giving a reason why. I was just a little frantic, but I do have a history for shouting like that over things like my favorite song on the radio, so he is forgiven.

These things were huge! Their bodies were a little over an inch big, but I would like to measure their length according to the full diameter including legs, all eight of them! That would probably make the bigger of the two spiders the current size of Baby Jones! We tried to place a quarter by them to get a better perspective on the size. However, we were too skiddish to actually place the quarter so as Doug threw it, the big spider ran and the quarter landed too far from the smaller one to really be a good gauge.

We googled spiders and think they may be Wolf Spiders, which are the South Carolina State Spider, so I feel oddly patriotic!The blue painter's tape is one inch thick.

The baby of the two.
The texture on the body of the spider is actually not texture...It's more baby spiders hanging on to mama's back!

Needless to say, my skin is crawling! I definitely locked the front door because there is no telling what could happen if these things got into the house! They typically chase down their prey and Jack wouldn't stand a chance!

Exam Preparation

I have a Finance exam (midterm to be exact) tonight at 6pm and this is how I prepared for it this past week. In my defense, I had another exam last Wednesday, so Finance wasn't even on the table until Thursday.

Thursday - watched the Spurs beat the Hornets in Game 6 of the Western Conference NBA Semifinals. The statistics brought forth by Mark Jackson and Marv Albert during commentary gave me some nice help for Time Value of Money problems.

Friday - Dinner with In-laws (I am sure bond valuation came up atleast twice) and Home Depot with Doug and my dad (discussed balance sheet transfers ad nauseum).

Saturday - Went to class (9am -12pm), albeit Team Management class, but my Finance book was in my satchel. Sat poolside (130 -4pm) with Jessica and Shelley whilst my Finance book sat in the car. The Vitamin D I absorbed added waves to my brain though. Watched JUNO (6-930pm) with Lauren and Doug, ate Little Caesar's Pizza (movie provided more thought about bond valuation).

Sunday - Church (no discussion of exam, it's neither the time nor the place, folks). Shower for Lauren (1-5pm) - the focus was on the bride but I knew my intense study time was coming. Home by 6pm when I watched the 4th quarter of the Cavs-Celtics game (Spoiler alert - Celtics won). Dinner at 7pm. Laundry at 8pm. Bed at 9pm. Finance book still in car.

Monday - Work, plan is to squeeze in studying at lunch for an hour. This turns into a quick review of the summary pages at the end of each of the 8 chapters covered on the exam. I quickly realize how little I know and realize that the stats from the Spurs game didn't really help at all. New plan. leave work at 4:30, study until exam begins at 6pm. That should be enough, right?

I should be stressed and the fact that I am not is probably what stresses me most. But it's hard to be stressed when I know that tomorrow is my last day of work until next Tuesday.

The Grass is Always Greener

I know it is cliche for a Friday, but that's the mood I am in today. I remember having to journal about what this phrase meant when I was in middle school and I would love to find that journal and read what I thought then. I think most people associate this with wanting something they don't have and perceiving it as being better than what they have now. Most of the time, the thing they want is something they've never had before. But right now, my wishful thinking makes me want something I used to have.

Of course, I would love to have the body I had in high school. I would even take sophomore year of college body at this point. I know a lot of people long for their youth (Doug), but I still have mine so that's not what I am talking about either. Right now, I long for my old job. It was my first full time job out of college and I worked there for almost two years. I worked at USC Department of Medicine and was a secretary in a busy clinical office. The job itself was not the best in the world, but I learned a lot about the type of employee I should and could be. But the PEOPLE there were the best. (Most of them, you know every place has their fair share of crazies!) I loved them and they loved me. I felt encouraged and special every day. Maybe that's where my pompous ego comes from! The doctors and nurses there were the first people I called when I got engaged. (My family and best friend Lauren already knew). They were the first people I talked to at my wedding. I couldn't wait to tell them I was pregnant because I knew how happy for me they would be.

So, why all this nostalgia? I went to go see them at lunch today just to kill some time. I didn't get to see everyone, but the people I did see acted genuinely thrilled to see me. They got excited about my baby bump and hugged and gushed with me for about 15 minutes. It was the best. When I got to my car, I started crying (hormones, I am sure) because I just miss working in a happy place with fun people.

I really dislike my job and the atmosphere where I work. I don't get to go by my real name because there is another Rachel in the office, so I am now "RJ." Very professional, huh? I just feel under appreciated and overworked. When I talk about looking for something else, this guy I work with says, "Well, the grass is always greener." I want to tell him that I know that it is! I know because I had greener grass before and now I have dead grass with weeds everyone and absolutely no flowers!

The Department of Medicine had its faults as do all jobs, but on the whole I loved it there. So here's to you, Greener Grass! I miss you all!

(disclaimer: I am not usually sappy and try to always put some humor into my blog posts as there is just so much negativity all around all the time. So I promise to put something more light hearted up soon.)

Senior Prom!

Not teaching school anymore, I have sort of missed out on all of the hoopla surrounding prom season. I loved prom when I was in high school and enjoyed planning prom the year that I taught high school. It seemed like an American rite of passage. Buying an expensive dress, finding a date that would be willing to buy a tux, dinner, prom tickets, a limo, photos, etc. The stuff dreams are made of, right? I remember spending all day to get ready for prom getting my hair done and hanging out with girlfriends. We would then gather 10-12 couples for pictures at someone's house and then head to dinner. When we got to prom, we were excited to see how the place was decorated -- so excited that we stayed for like 25 minutes! Prom nights were always magical and it seems everyone should go to prom at least once! So you can imagine how my heart breaks for Marche Taylor of Sugarland, Texas who was denied entrance into her senior prom. Wanna know why? Click here: http://thalunatic.blogspot.com/2008/05/marche-taylor-skimpy-prom-dress-leads.html

TGIF!

Hi all! I have 4 things to share and then you can get on with your day!

1. Obviously you can see I have a new layout. I got it from pyzam.com There are oodles of layouts to choose from. If you're a blogger, go scope it out and give your blog a refreshed feeling!

2. Jessica got the blogging bug! She's started her own blog and I have added her to my Blog Stalking link on the side as well as Google Reader (thanks Curtis for revolutionizing my stalking with reader). She's got one of the better titles of a blog I have ever seen - It's ClickClarkBoom - a play on Under Armor and their last name. How clever! Who would've thought about using your last name in a blog title?

3. We have another baby coming in the Fall! Doug's cousin, Tammy, is pregnant! She is due November 15, a week before me! So, that side of the family will have 3 babies in a matter of 3 weeks! WOW! I am sure Grandma Baggerly is feverishly knitting blankets as we speak!

4. Babies Abound! Our friends from church, Brad and Jennie, had a baby boy yesterday! They didn't find out what they were having so the news of a boy is excitement for everyone! Congratulations to Brad and Jennie!

Hope this helps you have a more enjoyable Friday. If you're a blogger, I feel confident you'll spend atleast 20 minutes on pyzam searching for backgrounds!

I Aced My Doctor's Visit!

We had our monthly doctor's visit today and met with a midwife who went over all of my recent bloodwork. I aced it! Well, at least that's what my blood type is...A positive - also written as A+! Sorry to those of you that are B negative, but I kick your butt as far as blood type goes. Now, I am just praying that one of my parents has the same blood type...In case you didn't know, when my mom and I came home from Richland Memorial Hospital some 27 years ago, our ID bracelets did not match. They were one number off. Now is her chance to prove to me that she really is my mother. I hope she steps up because it would really be an awkward Mother's Day next weekend otherwise.

Anyway, we got to hear the baby heartbeat again. The midwife said it was at 160 beats per minutes which was perfectly normal. I definitely see an A+ in this baby's future! Nothing else big to report. I am feeling a good bit better. Starting to get up and going again. Walked with a friend through the neighborhood yesterday with her two kids and it felt so nice to be out. Our pool opens this weekend (we're so rich) and I hope to spend some time there finishing my last 200 pages of the final Harry Potter.

Happy Friday to you all!

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

Well, we've been in our house for just over 4 years now (Doug has at least) and we finally have a crazy neighbor story. It may not be as classic and Denny and Melissa's neighbor who asked for money for sod they laid in the overlap between their yards, but it's worth a post. So we have these neighbors a few doors down from us that are an older couple. By older, I mean their kids are in college, so I have to assume they're well on their way to their 50s. I am not sure what the wife does, but the husband teaches at CIU. They are from Wisconsin and don't have cable. How do I know that? Well, the husband has come over on one or two occasions on Sunday afternoons or Monday nights asking if he can watch the Green Bay game with Doug. Not being a fan of Green Bay, Doug is usually not watching the game. Also, if you know Doug well enough, you can imagine where watching TV with a 50 year old neighbor stranger ranks on his list.

So this brings us to last Saturday. Doug had just finished running his Saturday morning 5 miler and was back in the house. We were getting ready to go out for the afternoon and were both showering and getting ready. The door bell rings. We don't answer it b/c we never do. It's like the phone; if we don't recognize the number, we're not answering. However, Doug realizes whoever is at the door probably assumes we're home since Doug left the garage door open after running. We still don't answer. Doug peers out through the window and recognizes our visitor as the guy down the street. We then assume that this guy wants to watch the visual epistle otherwise known as the draft. We continue getting ready and the doorbell rings yet again. We still haven't shut the garage door, but we still don't go answer it. UGH! What does this guy want from us.

So we head out on our afternoon of errands and forget about the incident until the next day. The doorbell rings again on Sunday afternoon, but this time our garage door is shut and does not give our presence away. Fast forward to Tuesday. I pull in the driveway after work to see Doug in the driveway attempting to wash his car (possibly to get it ready to sell????). The Packer fan is in our driveway making small talk with Doug. Again, if you know Doug, this falls further down his list of favorite things to do. I get out the car and the guy introduces himself to me, although we have met many times. (he does this everytime we meet, starting with the sentence, "I don't think I have met you.) It turns out that he and his wife would like to have us over for dinner sometime. Not too bad, but I didn't feel all giddy inside at the prospect of dinner with them. My first thought actually was that he wants us to join Amway or Quixtar. So we told him that weekends were better and he said he'd give us a call.

So last night (WEdnesday, the day after driveway encounter) the guy leaves Doug a message to call him. Doug doesn't get home from bowling until after 9pm so we weren't going to call that late. Then, our phone rings at 9:30 PM! Time Warner Digital Phone Caller ID flashes across our American Idol results and tells us it is HIM! So I force Doug to answer. Now, the guy wants to take Doug to breakfast. Doug explains having to arrive at work in Camden (30 minutes away) at 730 am everyday puts a damper on morning breakfasts. So he says, how about a Saturday and then how about THIS saturday. Doug is luckily going to be in ATL on Saturday and must decline.

Am I wrong to be weirded out by these people? Do they want to be friends? Is it really wrong that I have no desire to be friends with these people? Someone make me feel better about not wanting to hang out!

And post your fun neighbor stories too! (Sorry I already alluded to yours Melissa)