8.29.2009

TDY again

so i have been at this academy for work since monday. it's basically a two week long course on how to use this program that i work with. it's pretty boring and i prolly should study more, but i think i have it down. i guess we'll see once i take the final exam on it this coming week.

in the meantime, i got my first "assignment" for work. brace yourself . . . i am going to camp shelby, mississippi. i am not entirely thrilled about it, but i hear it's only two hours from new orleans. i'm hoping that that is true and that i can make my way down to new orleans at some point when i'm down there. i haven't been there in forever and was only there for two days when i went. when i was in college. at mardi gras. so i am looking forward to heading that way again and doing some touristy things that have nothing to do with mardi gras or fat tuesday.

trying to think what else to write about. quite frankly, i live a boring life and don't have much to write about. i know i had something to write about, but now i can't think about what it was i wanted to say here. so i guess for now, i'll close this out and be boring.

8.20.2009

i now pronounce you . . . father and daughter?

at my office, i sit in a room with other people who do the same job as i do, or one very similar. we sit at long brown tables, typically 2 or 3 people per table. there are no cubicles and **virtually no privacy.** because of that reason, i'm careful with what i do and what people can see on my computer. right now, my desktop picture is one of my niece and nephew, right after she was born. i don't have pictures of my beau on there or anything that i wouldn't want unwanted questions about. naturally.

i just happened to glance up and notice my co-worker's screensaver slideshow contains a picture of beautiful pregnant lady, whose belly is exposed, with the only thing covered being her breasts, with a small black strip, which from this angle, i can't tell if it's something she was wearing, or if the picture was censored. i could see that being on some young kid's laptop at home or even in this dude's pictures folder on his desktop or external hard drive. the creepy part is that **the picture is of his daughter.** i just don't think i'd ever feel comfortable enough to take a picture like that to give to my father. not to mention the pants she wears in the picture are incredibly low-cut. but it's just not that picture. he has several on there of his daughter in otherwise seemingly sexy poses. and even some of his wife, whom you can tell is older but is very pretty. just think of glamour shots in the mall and you know exactly what poses these girls are in. nothing too suggestive, but something that will definitely make the imagination wander.

to me, i just don't feel that **it's entirely appropriate for a work laptop.** granted, the man has other pictures on there -- pics of his motorcycle, of him riding the bike, of his daughter's wedding. but there are just several provocative pictures of his daughter that, in my opinion, should've been given to her husband and not her father. and he proudly displays them.

**again, can i reiterate the word creepy here?**

8.19.2009

long lost picture of heidi . . .

so in case you are wondering who heidi is, i'm not talking about the piggy-tailed blonde swedish girl from the fairytales. i'm talking about my oldest sister. she lives on a 400-acre ranch in rural arkansas with her husband and 7 kids (well 6, since one resides in idaho for the next two years).

regardless, i was looking through some old pictures i have, and found this one of my oldest sister. it was taken a few thanksgivings ago, when the weather was still warm enough to run around without a shirt and in shorts. this is her at the town's annual "redneck festival" (seriously, that's what it's called), where she took home the title of REDNECK QUEEN for her bellyflop. we're all so proud of her!

enjoy and comment!

five-star cooking, right?

so apparently not cooking for almost a month can really affect one's cooking skills. or at least mine, anyway. last night, my beau had a few errands to run right around dinnertime, and even though i promised him i wouldn't cook and he could cook for me when he got home, he took too long, i got hungry and in turn, started cooking. simple enough task . . . saute the chicken, steam the broccoli, boil the pasta and make a quick cheesy lemon garlic sauce to pour over the broccoli and pasta. easy enough, right? **apparently not.**

first of all, i admit that whenever i cook, i have a timing issue. i typically don't consider that something like chicken takes a lot longer to cook than, say, broccoli. and so i start the broccoli at the same time i start the chicken and my broccoli ends up being ready quite a few minutes before the chicken and is only lukewarm by the time we actually eat. it's something i've been trying to work on, but **i'm completely scatterbrained most of the time** and i forget and make timing mistakes all the time.

well last night, it was a little different. my beau had already seasoned the meat and cut the broccoli before he left for his errands. when i got hungry, i went into the kitchen and started getting things in pans and whatnot, at the same time talking with my roommate about schizophrenics (she's a social work major AND we were watching true crime). **apparently this was all too much for my brain to handle,** and after putting the vegetable steamer in the pot and the broccoli in that, i just turned the stove on and threw the pot on the burner. without water in the pot. and let it "steam" that way for prolly close to ten minutes before i noticed a bad odor and remembered what i had done. i quickly pulled the pot off the stove, put water in it and put it back on there. needless to say, the broccoli had a slightly-burned-tasting-a-lot-like-metal flavor to it that we both had to drown out with tons of that sauce i was telling you about.

and about that sauce. see what had happened was . . . to start the sauce, you have to melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan. so i turned the burner on, on high of course cuz i wanted to get the pan hot really quick, and threw the butter in. and then i forgot that butter burns very easily if it's too hot. and so my butter burned. all this was going on when my broccoli was supposedly steaming (pre-water in the pot) so you can **just imagine the sweet smell of burned butter and heated metal** wafting through my kitchen. it was at this point that my back was turned to the stove and i didn't even realize anything was burning when my roommate asked me what the smell was. and that's when it dawned on me that my butter was scalding and the broccoli had no water in it. of course i couldn't wholely smell the burning cuz the chicken was already sauteeing at this time and it did smell good.

as all of this is going on, my chicken is cooking and the noodles are boiling. by now i've thrown out the burned butter and started over with the sauce. everything seems to be going well. and then the chicken gets done, the sauce thickens, the pasta softens . . . and the broccoli still isn't cooked. remember what i said about timing? this time it was backwards, though. had i put water in the pot originally, i'm inclined to say that **everything would've prolly turned out done at about the same time.** but this time, because the broccoli took so long, the noodles were a bit cold and the sauce was just a bit too thick. the chicken was still okay, but the onions i threw in with it were now pretty much caramelized.

the broccoli finally finishes steaming -- or is as steamed as i was going to let it get cuz i was tired of waiting for it to become completely done. it was a bit crunchy, but nothing that was unedible. i mean, people eat raw broccoli all the time anyway, right? right. i make up two plates, one for me and the other for my beau, and we settle in to eat. and all i can taste when i eat the broccoli is burned metal. and since i didn't scrub the burned butter out of the bottom of the pan, the sauce tastes a bit like that, which adds to the burned flavor of the broccoli and kind of ruins the pasta. the noodles are lukewarm and the **sauce has the texture of oatmeal** at this point. i admit it: not my best meal.

and then my beau takes a bite of everything, and tells me how **great it all tastes.** and then i remember why i keep him around . . . no matter how bad my cooking is, or how horrible of a mood i'm in, or how irritated i get so quickly, he is always there to tell me how great my cooking is, how amazing i am, how he's lucky to have me in his life.

**and that always makes me feel better.**

8.18.2009

a question . . .

so i got this cavity filled the other day, and i must say that my tooth is bothering me more now than it did when it wasn't filled.

**is that normal?**

8.17.2009

the grasshopper

so over the weekend, my beau and i were out running errands. at one point, i had run into the store, which was located in a strip mall, and he waited for me in the car. i turned around and looked outside as i waited my turn in line and noticed a huge leaf on my windshield wiper. i didn't think anything about it til it started to move. and then i realized that it actually wasn't a leaf but a **gigantic grasshopper!** it was dithguthting! i should've told my beau to use my camera in my purse to snap a pic or two, but i forgot it was in there and he used his iPhone instead and got these three shots. i would've also put a quarter down on the ground next to the grasshopper so you could see the difference in size, but that's just me. oh well. here are the pictures, if you can even tell what they are. i just thought they were neat!

mr. grasshopper, hanging out on my windshield wiper (i wish you could really see how big he was . . . and now that i think about it: are grasshoppers 'hes' and 'shes' or are they 'its?')



escaping the papparazzi that is my beau



one more shot before the party's over

and a random question . . .

is anyone else having trouble trying to post comments to my blog or to your own? i can post on other people's, but i cannot post on my own. and some people have told me they are having trouble posting on mine, while others are having no trouble at all. i don't know what to do! if you have a suggestion or know the solution, please email me at holly_pritch@yahoo.com

**thanks**

. . . losing my religion . . .

so i'm a big believer in separation of church and state. not saying i believe that a prayer before a football game is inappropriate or anything like that, but i definitely believe that religion has no business being in anything not religious.

**like work, for example**

two of my co-workers discuss religion at length every single day. and while i understand it's their right and their belief, it really gets on mine -- and everyone else's -- nerves. if there is one thing i am not, it's pushy. and i never discuss religion, politics or most of my beliefs with people (or in front of people) because i never wanna make someone feel as though i am pushing my thoughts and beliefs on them. and i completely feel that they are pushing all of their beliefs on me whenever they discuss religion. it's one thing if you invite me in on the conversation and give me the choice to say yes or no. but simply talking -- and might i add, very loudly -- about it really irritates me.

**and it's not because i'm not very religious**

it's like my daddy. he is huge into politics and loves to send out political emails. however, because he knows my thoughts on politics, and because i have asked him to refrain from sending me anything deemed "political," he doesn't send me anything anymore. and i kind of wish i could say something to these two guys about it. ask them to discuss their beliefs on anything religious on breaks, in a quieter tone, via email or in the hall. cuz i can see everyone else roll their eyes when they profess to be experts on a certain book in the bible or prophecy received by some random prophet. for the sake of my sanity, i wish they'd stop.

**at least while we're at work, anyway**

8.14.2009

a little quiz about my biz . . .

What is your favorite flavor of Kool-Aid?
*red . . . no seriously, that's my favorite flavor. doesn't matter what color red, as long as it's red.

Do you have a wireless keyboard and mouse?
*just a wireless mouse. and only because i hate using the little mouse pad thingy on the laptop. i'm not coordinated enough to use it, to be honest.

Last sporting event you watched on tv or in person?



Who makes the best fudge?
*my mama. here is the recipe:

Mama's Fudge

3 pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips (6 oz.)
2 c. nuts
1/2 lb. butter
2 c. miniature marshmellows (pressed down in cup)
1 tsp. vanilla
4-1/2 c. sugar
1 large can evaporated milk

Put milk and sugar in large saucepan and boil exactly 8 minutes, after
it has started boiling (be sure to reduce heat to medium and boil on medium heat). After boiling, remove from stove and add all other ingredients (put all other ingredients in one bowl first and add all at once to the milk and sugar). Mix well and put in 9x13 pan. Let it sit out until it cools down and then refrigerate. Serve after fudge has refrigerated at least an hour.

Do you like it when toothpaste bubbles in your mouth?
*i don't care if it bubbles or not, although i don't know that i'd call it bubbling, per se. isn't it more like foaming? either way, i don't care if it happens cuz i brush my teeth about 15 times a day anyway. so i know my teeth are good to go!

Do you believe that the world is gonna end at 2012?
*man i hope not . . . i have big plans for my life, none of which include dying in that year.

How many songs are on your iPod or MP3 Player?
*sadly, it depends on the iPod. i have my iPhone, which has prolly about 325 songs with more to be added soon; my night-time iPod, which has 89 songs; my buddy's iPod that i have been using, which has about 1000 songs on it; my shuffle, which has about 95 songs on it. i really just wanna get one big iPod so i can put everything on one and then sort by playlists.

Have you ever made your own survey?
*no . . . i'd rather just answer questions from someone else. i'm waiting for hayley to write one.

Can you swear inside your house?
*i can swear wherever i f&$*#@ choose to . . . but i try to limit myself anyway. typically a bad word or two will come out when i'm either really upset or when i run into something (cuz sadly, i do that a lot; so much so, that my nickname is frank, jr., cuz my dad does it more).

Do you save Bed Bath and Beyond coupons?
*nope . . . only victoria's secret and bath and body works. bed, bath and beyond is way too expensive for my blood.

Have you ever had a pet goldfish?
*nope. i once had a betta fish in college, named lil swim. my nephew would clean out it's little bowl for me weekly. when i moved home, i had to leave the fish with my ex-boyfriend (my then boyfriend) and he killed it by cleaning the bowl with AJAX.

When did you last eat waffles?
*hmm . . . the other night at mama's house. i can't remember what day it was. was that sunday dinner? no wait -- that was tuesday, i think.

What is the most overrated thing in your opinion?



Do you have a video Skype account?
*i'm not even sure what skype is.

What color is your bed comforter?
*white down comforter. but it's always pushed off onto the floor cuz it's too hot to keep on the bed!

Does being in love make you gain weight?
*no . . . eating carbs makes me gain weight.

Dumbest person you know? and why?
*i typically don't associate with dumb people, so i can't answer this.

Do your parents have home videos of you as a kid?
*yes . . . and i hope that someone will break into their house, go into my dad's walk-in closet and steal them (i'm willing to pay for that to happen).

How old is your oldest cousin?
*to be quite honest, i have no clue. i only really talk with one of my cousins, and i wanna say she's between heather's and hilary's age? i have a lot, but we just never kept up with them growing up.

If you HAD to get a tattoo, where and what would it be?



no really . . . i would. i want this tattoo. i think it's perfect. BWAHAHAHA!

Do you think Obama has tried drugs?
*remember the question above that asked what i believed was the most overrated thing? reference that and you'll realize why i am not answering this question.

What color is your bra or boxers?
*black. black goes with everything.

What is your favorite radio station?
*honestly, i'm not even sure the last time i listened to a radio. i'm all about CDs and iPods, people.

What ethnicity was your last ex?
*africanus-americanus

What brand is your refrigerator?
*hmm . . . i have no clue. i think it's like a whirlpool or something? or maybe that's my dishwasher. i didn't pick it out, so i have no idea. it's off-white.

How many people do you know that are pregnant?
*um . . . i don't know. i really don't keep up with that. i think two?

Do you have a picture with your middle finger up?
*i do . . . but typically i edit out the finger part of the picture. my mama doesn't like it.

When is the last time you went to a birthday party?
*technically, last night. ty's (my nephew) birthday is sunday, but they're going to be visiting family in washington, so we celebrated it last night with fried chicken and cheesecake.

What is the best thing to happen to you this year so far?
*getting a permanent job and meeting my beau (sappy, i know)

How long have you lived in the house you live in?
*long enough that when i move, i will cry.

Do you read a newspaper daily?
*nope. i get the sunday paper delivered. and even when i get that, i only look at weddings, birth announcements, dear abby and the crossword puzzle. the rest gets thrown away.

Anything you're really afraid of?
*live fish. they gross me out.

Do you read tabloids?
*not at all. not so big into celebrities and their screwed up lives. i have enough in my own world to worry about.

Have you ever had a really bad haircut?
*see pictures below. what do you think?













Do you like your peanut butter crunchy or creamy?
*creamy, fo' sho. but it has to be the peter pan honey-roasted creamy PB. the best ever!

What is the scariest movie you've ever seen?
*the ending of "carrie" or "signs." considering that i don't watch scary movies because everything scares the crap out of me, those were pretty bad. quit laughing now . . . all of you!

Have you ever ridden a skateboard?
*yes . . . we used to sit on it and roll down my parents' driveway. good times.

Do you drink enough water on a daily basis?
*more than enough. at least a case every three days. i pee like every hour on the hour. my mama worries that i'm going to get water intoxication.

Would you burn the American flag for a million dollars?
*i'd like to believe i wouldn't . . .

The main thing you can't leave your house without?



(sunglasses, in case you're wondering)

Do you think the economy is improving yet?
*my economy isn't. not yet. wait til i get paid and then we'll talk.

When was the last time you read a book?
*been reading a couple of different books, at different times. last book i actually finished was "i know my first name is steven." trying to read more.

Where did you get that shirt you're wearing?



Do you play pranks on April Fool's Day?
*i typically don't even remember it's april fool's day cuz it's also my niece's birthday. that takes priority over any pranks.

just some fun sunday pictures (mostly)

so my beau and i went to my mama's house this past sunday for dinner, as we always do on sundays. we were there hanging out when my little brother scott, sister-in-law val and their two kiddos (jared and alexis) walked in. immediately, i noticed that leslie and jared were wearing the same outfit! it cracked us all up. i love that jared is in love with leslie. they are two peas in a pod, and i love how he says leslie's name. it's the cutest thing ever. so for your viewing pleasure, here a few shots i snapped with my iPhone of them playing and posing for pictures. i also added one of chad being "chad marley" with my ruined mop head (my daddy borrowed my mop and washed it, forgetting to turn off the spin cycle so it was ruined) and just a cute one of scott and alexis that i stole from val's page.

leslie and jared



leslie and jared sticking out their tongues



more sticking out of the tongues (this seemed to be jared's favorite pose of the night)



you can tell they're both *just thrilled* to be in pictures (and what's the deal with leslie's head looking alienesque in this pic?)



"chad marley" (i'm not sure why this picture turned out on it's side. when i checked the picture program, it was right but i can't get it to post without being sideways for some odd reason)



scott and alexis at the beach in san diego a couple of weeks ago (i love this picture cuz they both have the *same* expression on their faces!)

8.13.2009

why is it . . .

that when it rains, **it pours?**

8.07.2009

more job stuff . . .

so part of my job includes the chance that **i'll have to instruct when i'm out on a fielding.** i have no issues with instructing . . . i did some of that at my last job whenever i had to teach people about the program i worked in. today we are going to be practicing the instructing part of the job. and i'm okay with that in general; but specifically, i'm not.

see . . . i don't know the information i'm teaching like i knew the information from the last job. granted, it's basically reading slides to the "students," but **i really like to have some knowledge of what i'm teaching.** i have 3 experienced instructors in the class who will be critiquing me and offering suggestions on how to teach better, and three guys who have held different positions than the ones they hold now. in the long run, i am glad to be doing this now and getting the experience for when i'm on a real fielding. in the short run, though . . . i'm nervous.

**teaching is right after lunch, in less than an hour!**

8.06.2009

yes she's back, back again . . .

much to my chagrin.

remember me blogging awhile back about the girl i worked with at my other job who was a troublemaker? i ended up taking the post off cuz anyone can access my blog and with her craziness, **i wasn't sure if she was stalking me** or not and i didn't want there to be any further issues with her.

well, guess who popped up in my new office yesterday and is now officially working with me? yep . . . it's her. **and i am none too happy about it.** the only good thing is that she is in a position lower than me (which makes me *so* happy that i'm making more money than her, no matter how petty that is) which means she is in a different sub-office. i can handle that. but the funny thing is, when i walked into work yesterday, and she saw me, she immediately shot me a dirty look. so i smiled as big as i could and waved and said, "hey girl! so good to see you!" and then that forced her to be fake, too, and smile and say hi. we haven't spoken since.

i just hope that i never end up having to go on a fielding with her, which is actually quite possible, considering the amount of people who work here and whatnot. **she is just a troublemaker** and likes to stir pots that have no business being stirred. remind me to stay away from her and her pettiness if you ever hear me getting sucked into it. i am better than her ways.

**and if not, just remind me that i make more money!**

8.05.2009

a rant and some amateur photography

so what's going on with this website? i have been trying to post comments on this thing (in response to your comments, of course) and i can't post anything. then my buddy kevin sent me an email saying he couldn't post comments, either. does anyone know how to change that? then when i tried to change my boring background, it messed up and had some of the new background mixed in with this background. you would think i would know all this seeing that i work with computers **on a daily basis,** but i have no clue what's going on! i might have to task this out to someone who is more computer savvy than i am, cuz my knowledge just ain't cutting it.

in other news, i have been inspired. my sister and hayley have been my primary inspirations, but vanessa is up there, also. i have had a digital camera for forever and i have rarely taken pictures, and when i have, **they're always just boring shots.** i noticed that my sister and hayley always alter their photos to make them . . . make them, well better isn't the word. perhaps more interesting? either way, i have been playing around with pictures, mostly on photobucket, and this is what i've come up with. work with me here, people . . . remember that i've only just begun!

leslie and jared, playing with cars:

before



after



veronica and i getting ready to go out to dinner with our beaus:

before



after



colby and daddy, riding the electric wheelchair at walmart:

before



after



so there are my pictures. prolly not that original, but i have to say that i did work hard on them! i am still learning and waiting to make some money so i can get the photoshop program. my beau thought he had it, but come to find out, he doesn't. does anyone else have it? if so, would you recommend it? just curious.

anyhow, it's time for me to actually do some work and get to studying. hopefully i can stay awake today.

**yesterday i fell asleep standing up. twice.**

8.04.2009

just an observation . . .

so for this job of mine, i am in some intensive training. training where things go up on the wall from a projector and we write. which is actually fine with me, cuz i tend to learn things better when i write them down. i also have copies of slides that i can look at on the computer, but **i like to take notes** when the instructor teaches.

my hand cramps up a lot while writing. not complaining, just find it interesting. it's prolly cuz i haven't written -- well, handwritten -- anything in ages. not much more than "happy birthday" on a card or something like that. here at work, i am writing a novel. it's funny how much **technology has taken over our lives.** we type all day in emails, we text instead of calling, we push a button to listen to music, rather than playing an instrument. there are so many parts of our lives where technology has come into play and dominated.

and sadly, i can't say that i miss the "good old days" of snail mail and telephone calls. i like that everything seems to move in fast forward nowadays.

well, everything but the night **(i need more sleep).**