Makin' the rounds

So, I am exhausted from life. Does it ever slow down? Packing, going away parties, bachelorette party, packing, not seeing people, seeing people, dating, not dating, work, orientation, training, birthdays, babies, travel, packing, moving, packing, cleaning, throwing things away, packing, thinking about my future, doing homework for that MT course I went to, packing, my computer not connecting to the internet anymore...Did I mention packing?

The list goes on and on.

Eventually, like when I am all moved, unpacked, and get the internet, I'll start posting for real. I'll try in the meantime, but no promises. Oh, getting a laptop would be great too, but hopefully my computer will hold out until then.

So I'm just going to try and catch up on 3+ weeks of other peoples' blogs. Look out, here come the comments. :-)

P.S. I am just visiting my usual blogs in alphabetical order, so don't worry if I don't make it to comment like crazy tonight... :-)

Stopping to smell the roses

Almost a year ago I visited Oregon for the first time and posted A picture of a rose in the Rose Garden in Portland. My favorite flower is probably a Gerbera daisy, but one visit to this garden and you will be dreaming of the unique roses out there. I am pretty sure the garden is on the tourist route, but just to make sure, if you are ever there, you MUST go to the rose garden. This is a view of one area of the garden.
A few select roses for your viewing pleasure...These last two I love.

AND....I'm back....

...AND the new router my friend got may not work with my old computer, so this blogging thing is going to be rough. I had a great trip! First in Montana for a course...The shadows of four of us looking down onto the campus on the last morning when we hiked up to the University's letter on the mountain. Apparently it is a mid-western thing to have a letter up on the mountain near you school.Then to Oregon to visit my brother...Here is the foggy coast. A cool 60-something probably while it was 100-ish in Portland!Now I am back for a few days before heading to visit my friend who just had a baby!

Cuttin' out early

Well, I do not leave town until tomorrow, but was foiled in posting yesterday as our internet is out again. Oh, well. Not much too much to post about, except that I signed my lease! I am excited to move, but anxious about how the heck I am going to get all my furniture to my new apartment September 1st (or sometime the week before). It is not so much as rounding up friends to help out as it is finding a vehicle, or movers (except I do not know exactly when I will get keys prior to September1st). I am going to do something very unlike me and not worry about it until I get back from out of town...

So tomorrow I head to a week-long course and then invade my brother's house for something like 8 days. Sorry if I am absent from commenting on any of your blogs, although I tend to comment on posts in spurts anyway. I may or may not have a chance to post anything, but will certainly post pictures when I get back and any stories worth telling! :)

I am officially starting my 2-week blog vacation. Peace out.

Sensitive skin

I have a hard time finding anyone who reacts as strongly to insect bites as I do. Last month, it was black flies. This month, mosquitoes.

Three nights ago I wore long pants and a long sleeved shirt while mini-golfing. The mosquitoes managed to find places on my feet, my wrist, and my back (through a tank top and a long-sleeved shirt people) to bite me?!

The one on my wrist is bad. I totally had cellulitis (but certainly not as bad as the photos on the link). It was red, raised, warm, bumpy. Not pretty. This morning, I finally decided it was time to invest in benadryl. It has occurred to me to take an oral antihistamine when I have particularly bad bites, but I never actually have. I have had bites that take weeks to heal, even if I am being good and not scratching! At the end of my trip to Africa, I had three REALLY infected bites on my feet (and the scars to prove it). So today I took matters into my own hands. I took the low dose of benadryl alllll day, had antibiotic ointment on it while at work, took an anti-inflammatory towards the end of the day because it was still inflamed, and put calamine on it when I got home to dry it out.

Now it is barely pink and the only bump is where the darn mosquito actually bit me. Nothing like aggressively treating a mosquito bite!

Positive thoughts

Every day I try to think positively about something. There are some things going right and some things that stink, so I think about those good things. They are doing a pretty good job of putting me in a good mood, that is for sure! Officemates were saying Monday that it stinks that it was Monday and the beginning of the week.

My friend said that Mondays are good! If it is Monday, it's the beginning of a week, which means another week ended, which means that it is one less week she has to be in grad school. So Mondays are good!

Mondays are also ice cream days because a local shop had a promotion on Mondays. I am not sure what is good about Tuesdays. I have been to the beach two Wednesday afternoons now (including today!); Thursdays are practically the end of the week; Fridays ARE the end of the week; Saturdays you can sleep in and relax and if you don't get done what you wanted to, you still have Sunday. Sunday is a day of rest, right? If I had to choose, I think Thursday would be my favorite day right now. During the school year, Thursdays fly by. When Thursday is over, before you know it, it is Friday and the weekend!

Anyone have a favorite day and a reason?