Blow Torches Aren't the Best Way to Kill Spiders

For Christmas I got Ryan a Creme Brulee set that came with a kitchen blow torch. Tonight I was sitting on the couch and I heard the sound of the torch coming from the kitchen. Which was odd because we were cooking a pizza for dinner. So I asked Ryan if that's what I heard.

It was at that point he informed me that using a blow torch isn't the best way to try to kill a spider. I, of course, said "What?" He proceeded to explain that a spider had come out from under the stove and he didn't want to squash it with any of the kitchen utensils on the counter top. He didn't have shoes on and the only thing handy was the torch so he decided to try it. However, the spider just turned and ran back under the stove.

I'm starting to think that getting him the creme brulee set was a bad idea.

Pain is Back

Well the pain in both my hips was back by this morning. I'm not surprised because we had pretty bad storms come through tonight. What I am surprised about is that the pain didn't come back last night. I usually experience a lot of pain 24 hours before a storm comes in. The only thing I can think of is that it was the acupuncture that helped keep the pain at bay this long.

Potluck

Well, tomorrow we are having a potluck at the museum for all our volunteers. We are suppose to bring a joke or riddle in honor of April Fool's. So this will be a short post as I have to cook something and find a joke/riddle.

Never Burn a Moxa Roll Inside the House

Well, Monday I went to see the acupuncturist again. This time she treated my allergies and my arthritis by putting a needle in each hand, 2 needles on each foot, and about 25 needles in my back long my spine and hips. This was Monday afternoon. I have to say that my left hip has not started hurting again and it was over 24 hours before my right hip started hurting again. It is very uncommon for me to go that length of time without any pain, so I'm pretty happy about that.

This time she also gave me what is called a moxa roll. It's a roll of Chinese motherwart and is used by burning it (a smoldering burn) and holding it near a specific pressure point at your leg. It's suppose to boost the immune system. Now she told me to do this in a well ventilated area, like outside. Well it was chilly in Northwest Arkansas last night to say the least so I was not looking forward to sitting outside holding a stick of burning herbs up to my leg, but I was going to do it. However, Ryan convinced me somehow that it would be ok to do it in the guest bathroom with the vent running.

Big mistake for a couple of reasons. One the smell was bad even with the vent on. Two neither of us are smokers so we were not really good at "stamping" the stick out and the doctor said that using water wasn't advised because it might not have time to dry out before I needed to use it again. Well we did not get the dang thing put out all the way and it continued to smolder in the shut up bathroom and the only reason we realized it was the intake to the air system is near that door and it kicked on and then blow the moxa smell throughout the whole house.

So the lesson here is that you should listen to the doctor when they suggest that you burn the moxa roll outside, and not listen to your husband when he tells you it will be fine in the guest bathroom with the vent on.

Spring Cleaning

Well Spring is coming, which means that cleaning can't be far away. So far I've worked on some stuff from the attic and the linen closet. Now Ryan just has to look it over to make sure I'm not getting rid of something important.

I'm also hoping I can talk Ryan into really looking through his clothes and getting rid of stuff that he doesn't wear anymore. Hopefully, the fact that the closet clothes rack, that all his shirts are on, broke will inspire him to make some eliminations to his wardrobe.

Aloo Gobi

So we decided to try to make Aloo Gobi today. Its an Indian dish of potatoes and cauliflower. The hardest part of making it was getting some of the ingredients such as Garam Masala. The hardest ended up being fresh coriander which we never found and had to settle for powder.

Now I thought that the Aloo Gobi would be enough for dinner, kind of like a vegetarian stir fry. Anyway, Ryan didn't agree and declared that we needed a main dish. So while we were looking for coriander at the natural food store we also looked for something else that might go with Aloo Gobi. I was looking at cans of various Indian sauces that might be good. Suddenly Ryan lets out a sigh of frustration. I asked what was the matter and he said, "I wished they made something like Hindi Helper." Which was pretty funny word play and after I got done laughing I asked him why did he think I was staring at these sauce cans. They were things that you were suppose to add meat, tofu, pasta, seafood, etc. to in order to make a meal. He just hadn't understood what I was looking at.

So we cooked Indian tonight and I still think I would like Indian food, just not these particular dishes. I mean I've had curry chicken before and really liked it, but there was just something about the food tonight that I didn't like. However, I can't put my finger on what it was that I didn't like about it.

Relaxing Day

Since we had a performance last night, we took it easy in class today and just watched various bellydance videos and filled out class evaluations. We also discussed any changes in the way to run classes and what students would like us to do. On the whole it was very productive, but in a relaxing and resting way.

In other news I am reading a new book. Queen of the Slayers. It's a book based on Buffy the Vampire Slayertv show, that I love and dearly miss. The book takes place just minutes after the final episode of the tv series. I'm up to chapter 6. So far its ok. The parts that involve characters from the show are pretty spot-on as far as it being believe language and actions that they would take in the situation. The parts with new characters, that are mostly demons plotting against the scoobies, tend to make me want to fall asleep.

Show

The show went well. So now I can devote my full attention to finishing my program for the museum. I'm pretty tired after the show though so I'm glad that it should be a nice quiet weekend. Lots of time to sleep.

Although Ryan and I are going to be adventurous this weekend and try to make the Indian dish Aloo Gobi.

Dress Rehearsal

We had one last dress rehearsal before the show tomorrow night. I'm a little nervous as my solo is the first thing and I've never started the show before. But I'm sure it will be fine.

I'm really tired though and need to get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day.

Control

Last night I converted a file that I had made into a PDF so I could print it out at the museum. I had to make it a PDF so I wouldn't loose the special font that I had used since non of the museum computers had that font. Well, I ended up spending half my day trying to edit this PDF file because of a few pieces of information I forgot and I had used an incorrect photo.

Words cannot describe how much the whole process sucked. Which hits the heart of my whole complaint. If I had "control" of my work computer I could have just downloaded the font that I wanted to use and it would have been easier to edit. I can't tell you how many times I've been hindered in doing my job because I haven't been able to download or install things on my work computer. Fonts, conversion software, printer updates, image editing software . . . the list could go on forever.

One of the funnier occurrences of the IT department hindering our work was when the web filters would not let us get to some other museum websites. We couldn't figure out what was going on, we just got error messages saying that site was permitted. When we called and ask them what the deal was, we were told we were not allowed to go to the site because it had nude images on it. Of course it did, it was a freaking art museum site!!! We even had to fill out paperwork to get the permissions changed for sites like that; it was unbelievable.

Gloomy Day

It's been a really gloomy day today and it has been causing me problems in concentrating on things. But I was finally able to get both a color and a black and white version of the flyer for my presentation in April made and I've made some more progress on the podcast for the museum.

I have the conclusion that we recorded finally spliced into the main part and now I'm working on trying to get the audio to match a little better since it is two different recordings.

Hair Thin Needles

So I tried acupuncture for the first time today. I think I had a total of about 23 needles in me. I can't say for sure because I couldn't really feel them. The three on my face were the most uncomfortable to have put in, but they stop hurting after a minute or so. They also gave me a salve to help my joints and some herbs that are suppose to help boost my immune system. So we'll see how things go with this and hopefully it will help with the problems I've been having.

Other than that the big thing going on is that I'm trying to listen to a lot of different podcasts to get more ideas for what the museum should do. I've really been enjoying some of them. One thing I kind of wish that someone would do the Paul Harvey "Rest of the Story" segments as podcasts. I've always enjoyed these little segments, but I find I hardly get a chance to catch them on the radio and I think they would be the perfect length for a podcast (think of NPRs story of the day).

Rainy Days

Well I spent most of the day snuggled in bed due to side effects of the rainy weather. It was really nice to be home snuggled in bed with my dog and the hubby reading, sipping tea, and cat napping. Although can dogs really cat nap?

Anyway we saw Tim Conway and Harvey Korman. It was a really good show and we laughed so hard. They finished with the classic dentist sketch and it was really good. They also did a Dorf sketch and a Speed-O-Air sketch. I didn't really like the lady impersonator that they had with them. It would have been just as good without her and more of the two of them.

Oh well, back to the bed to snuggle the puppy while it rains.

Being Home

Well I continue to be glad to be home with my hubby and my dog. It's amazing how just a few days away can seem to turn everything upside down and make you realize how important your own bed, your whole closet, your own kitchen, your hubby and your dog are to you.

Of course, there was no real chance to get to rest any when I got home. I had a dress rehearsal this morning for our performance next Friday. It went well but we quickly realized we had a lot of logistics to work out as far as getting on stage and off and where people are going to be standing.

So tonight I'm trying to take it easy and rest some, because tomorrow we have tickets to Tim Conway and Harvey Korman.

Leaving Smackover

So today was the end of the conference. This morning was a breakfast divided amongst the districts so I got to spend a lot of time talking with other museum professional from my region of the state. Then there was a short awards presentation and a feedback session.

It was a really great conference and I think I learned a lot, but I'm really glad to be home now.

Smackover #3

Well I feel sufficiently recognized at this conference for being a scholarship recipient. At three different sessions I had to introduce myself and then all the recipients were recognized at lunch today. Today I also helped Carolyn and Marie with their session presentation on Collections policy. They went with the theme of the Sahara (because it's such a dry topic) and for a stretch break they had asked me to belly dance a little and teach a few moves like shimmies. It was a lot of fun and everyone liked it.

It was today that I think I finally realized the 2 keys to a successful conference. Of course this is just my opinion. First, you must have good snacks, in a wide variety, available throughout the conference and especially during breaks. The second is that you must have chair massages available.

They had the massages available today for the first time and I think they should have had it throughout the whole conference. They were charging a dollar a minute and a certain percentage of the sells went to the host museum.

Now I have been to conferences where they have had great snacks the whole time and I have been to conferences where they have had chair massages the whole time. I have to say that nothing could beat the combination of the two. Please, if you are organizing a conference head my advice: get good snacks and a massage therapist!

Smackover #2

Well today the conference really got underway. I went to sessions covering ADA compliance, exhibit mounts, living history, and catastrophe preparedness. All were really good presentations and I got several ideas for my museum from all of them. I hope that when I get back to the museum and tell them about what ideas I got they will also be excited and want to hear them and maybe implement some of them or improve on them and then implement them.

Tonight I was able to get work done on the flyers for my presentation. I was just about finished with them when Ryan reminded me to blog. So I paused long enought to blog and now I'm going to go finish my flyers and then get to bed.

Smackover #1

So I'm in Smackover. We haven't done much yet just got to the hotel and then had a hamburger cook-out mixer event. Check-in for the conference starts a 8 in the morning and then the sessions begin at 9. I think the two sessions I'm going to before lunch are on ADA issues and the exhibit mounts and materials. However, that may change in the morning depending on my mood.

Seeing that I'm trapped in a hotel for a few days, I'm going to use this time to force myself to focus on my presentation for the museum in April. Hopefully, I can get a good chunk of work done on it but in order to do that I have to stop blogging and get to writing my presentation.

Packing

Pretty much all I've been doing today is packing for my trip. I was busy making sure all the laundry I needed was done and then picking out the right clothes. But the most important packing detail was making sure that my iPod was loaded up with podcasts for the 12 hour total car time.

Now off to bed.

Homey Day

Ryan and I spent most of the day at home snuggled up on the couch watching Gilmore Girls. It was really nice just to spend the time together since I'll be leaving Tuesday for the big town of Smackover for a week. Later in the afternoon, we took Magaidh to the park at the library and I checked out some books to take with me for research.

We then went out to dinner with friends. At the moment there is a storm coming through the area and it looks like there is a tornado about 15 miles away from us so I'm getting off the computer.

A Gas Station To Look Nice

So Ryan and I were talking today as we looked around and noticed more construction going on. The particular building we were looking at is soon to be another bank. This led Ryan to comment that at least it wasn't another junky looking strip mall. My reply was that at least it wasn't a gas station because they never look nice.

Which leads me to ask why can't someone build a nice looking gas station? Why can't the pumps and awning look a little nicer? And do the pumps always have to be in front? Why can't the building be in front and it be a nice looking building?

Weird.

East vs. West

So I've suffered from allergies my whole life and have taken shots for about my whole life as well. But I've never really felt that the shots have totally helped relieve the symptoms. Then, as a teenager, I started having problems with arthritis, which is hereditary in my family. Because of my age and the fact that my husband and I do want to have children some day, my doctor is very cautious about what medications he prescribes to me and I greatly appreciate this forethought on the matter. However, it greatly limits the treatments that can even be considered and it's getting to a point where I'm feeling like nothing is helping.

For years I've had various friends and acquaintances suggest that I look into Eastern medicine for help. Several of them have specifically suggested acupuncture. As it happens the museum director has a close friend who is an acupuncturist. I've conversed with this doctor for a bit, then Ryan and I discussed it as well. So I'm going to call and make an appointment to discuss treatment options with this doctor. I'm feeling pretty good about this as the university has referred several athletes to this particular doctor and at this point what else have I got to lose.

What Do You Save?

So these past two days at work I've been having to clean a dough mixer and a waffle iron that were donated to the museum. They are pretty neat items from the 40s; however, they were really dirty. And by really dirty, I mean 40 year old batter on them that I'm having to remove.

So as I'm standing there in my respirator mask scrapping this stuff off with special chemicals, I'm thinking why did this family save these things? Why did any of the stuff that is in a museum get saved? More importantly, if they were going to keep these things why didn't they get cleaned before they were put in storage?

That is probably the most baffling thing. It really looks like they had waffles one morning and just didn't have time to clean up the mixer and the iron before they had to go to work, but when they got home they decided they just weren't going to use these appliances anymore. So they just put them in a box and stored them in the garage or something. Weird.

There are some things that we get that it is very easy to see why they got saved. We have a ton of family letters, greeting cards, photos, school mementos, toys, and clothing. With things like this there is usually a special story that goes with the item. The donor explains how it was a favorite childhood toy, it was the outfit their great grandmother got married in, and of course the paper and school items are easy to understand why they were saved.

But a waffle iron? A mixer? A shoe scraper? A electric razor? Why would someone think to save these kinds of things? Now, don't get me wrong, I do see how great it is that someone saved these kinds of things so museums can have them to share with the public for years to come. I just don't understand why it would have occurred to someone to save them.

Blog Boring

So I got an anonymous (read cowardice) comment that my blog is boring.
Now I can see where my blog would be boring for the un-intended audience. But I think there are a few things to consider.

I'm new to blogging and I've only written like 60 something posts. It's going to take me a while to find my writing groove, which is one reason why I'm in the blog-a-thon with my friends. I feel by forcing myself to write a little something every day, and not just when "something exciting happens," it will help me become a better blogger faster. Not to mention that it will help my writing improve in general.

Every writer can't be Pulitzer worthy and we can't all live exciting lives like a Bond super spy. That doesn't mean that they are any less important to the total existence of the universe. After all, cotton is the "fabric of our lives" and it has got to be the most boring fabric around. And frankly I'm not sure I could handle the stress of an uber exciting life.

I also believe that when it comes to critiquing art, literature, music, blogs, podcast, etc., consideration has to be given to who the intended audience is suppose to be and what the purpose of the creation is. In my case, the intended audience is my family and friends and the purpose is to keep them informed about what is going on in my life. So if one wants to genuinely critic my work, they need to look at on these merits. Is this blog keeping my friends and family informed about my life?

And the answer would be yes based on the emails, phone calls, and face-to-face conversations I have with them. Mr. (or Ms.) Anonymous obviously is not a part of this intended audience. If they were, they wouldn't think that the blog was boring and if they did, they would have the guts to tell me that they thought it was.

It's one thing to have a boring blog and it's one thing to think a blog is boring. Both are fine. But what kind of pathetic life does one have to lead to take the time to comment on the fact? When I find a blog I think is boring I move on and forget about them.

Damn Computer Problems

So I feel like I really didn't get a lot done today because my computer at work was not working. It was connecting to the network for some reason which meant I could back up vital files from the collections database that I needed to work in. I also couldn't get to email or any of the regular museum sites that I read on a daily basis. It was very annoying.

On the other hand we got the intro and conclusion for the museum podcast recorded and now I'm working on mixing it into the rest of the cast and we will soon be done with that project. Yeah!!!!

Long Day

So I tried getting some housework done today while I was off. Just some light laundry and dishes. But somehow I wasn't feeling very well. Ok, I was flat out sick then Ryan got home from work and he was sick. We were both very pathetic in our sicky-ness.

That being said I'm going to bed.

Housework Day

Today we did some yard work (mending the fence, pulling weeds, trim bushes) as well as some other housework, like taking the recycling in and organizing the garage.

We've been working on our garage for a while now and it's finally getting to the point where it is really starting to look like we are making a difference and that is really rewarding.

Then we spent some more time watching episodes of Gilmore Girls. The wit and character development on that show is awesome. I haven't watched this show from the beginning, I only started watching it a year or so ago in re-runs on the Family channel and then I got hooked. I think I've pretty much seen all the episodes now and have thoroughly enjoyed them all. It's one of the few shows that I can actually stand to watch an episode again that I have already seen.

One Presentation Down

So we had the costuming workshop today and I think my presentation went well. Unfortunately we started running out of time and so I didn't get to finish all of my presentation. But judging from the surveys that we took the workshop went well and the students appreciated the information they got.

So now I'm going to concentrate on getting ready to go to Smackover in mid March and then get my presentation ready to give at the museum in mid April.

Long Day Tomorrow

Well I have an day long bellydance workshop tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to it.

To that end I have a lot to get together and I want to try to turn in a little early if possible.

Sleep and a Vacation

I need them both. We got to bed late last night and had to get up early for history (which went well). We are both exhausted and need like 2-3 days sleep. I say this because I'm an insomniac and Ryan is a night owl.

We both need a vacation too. The last real vacation we took together was our honeymoon. Other than that, the furthest we have been out of state together is Memphis, Tulsa, or Branson and only for long weekends.

I've secretly been harboring hope that we might be able to take four days and go to Chicago to see the Tut exhibit and some of the awesome museums in that area. Aside from the lack of funds, Ryan's job now looks like it will make it difficult for us to go because they really want to get the latest version finished and out.

I've really been waiting to take this trip for several reasons. One, we both just need a break and need some time to relax. Two, I've been fascinated by Egypt since I was a little girl and have always wanted to see some of the Tut artifacts. And three, I have a goal to go to all 50 states before I die and I have not made it to Illinois yet.

Pretty Boring

Today was a pretty boring ordinary day. Not a lot going on. I managed to make some progress on picking out visual aids for my presentation in April. I also got stuff more in line for my presentation on Saturday. So I'm feeling a lot less stress about those things.

Other than that, I need to get to bed early tonight, because the museum is hosting a history competition day for the area schools. My job will mostly be going around taking pictures of the event so its documented. So I'm not really expecting it to be a really hectic day for me, but I know others have harder jobs to do and I hope the day goes well for them.