Monday, June 9, 2008

Vegas and a birthday

It's been a couple weeks, but I've hardly been on the internet at home...or at home at all. Start it off with Memorial Day weekend...

Memorial Day weekend
I started out my weekend off...by friday working 4am to 2pm after being called in early due to flooding concerns. My parents came down friday night as well, but I offered to be available for severe weather that night, so I worked another 5 hours from 9pm to 2am. That's about a 16 hour day, but a nice overtime paycheck. My parents arrived friday night and we spent the weekend busy running around. 2 exciting things for the weekend, 1. I got a new phone plan that will go with my new phone...once it's finally in stock. 2. My mom and I planted up a nice bunch of flowers for my deck...very nice to have the color out there. I then worked on memorial day and tuesday after gaining some more overtime with the hectic weekend of severe weather in Kansas and Nebraska.

Vegas
I headed out at 6am on Wednesday morning (after leaving work at midnight and then packing) for the airport. My flight leaving Wichita was delayed about 45 minutes or so (I slept through it, so I'm not sure on the time)and because of the delay I watched my connection leave without me. I was supposed to get in at 10am to Vegas, but fortunately for Standby working for me, I was able to get in around 2pm. I met Morgan, Sarah and Celia there and Jessica and Jill followed after.
Morgan and I went to Mamma Mia on Wednesday night, it was a GREAT show, I recommend it to all! Thursday we rented a car for the day, for a bargain 27 dollars including taxes and fees and headed to Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. It was nice to have our own car and go around at our own pace. We also went to a outlet mall just north of the California boarder, so we drove into Cali for 5 miles and back around in to Nevada. Good times. Friday and Saturday we walked and walked and walked. Which is great for the body and heart...not so great for the feet. My feet hurt so so bad! It wasn't that I was physically tired...just that my feet hurt really bad. I got very sick of walking around. We rode the NYNY roller coaster and went up the Eiffel Tour and watched the Belliago water show, as well as a comedy show. Had a good time, but needed a vacation from my vacation. It was great seeing Morgan, Jessica, Sarah, Celia and meeting Jill.

Tornadoes
While I was driving around the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead I got a text message from Adam in NC that Kearney had a nice looking supercell heading towards it, so he kept me informed, and I called my parents about 5-6pm. They had just lost power and the sirens had been off 3 times thus far during the afternoon. My mom said she didn't have a good feeling about the day when she heard that the dewpoint was 70. I was shocked by this statement...because it's a pretty meteorological statement. She was right and Kearney was hit by 3 or so tornadoes with the strongest being an EF-2. My parents were alright, but the strongest tornado was only about 8-10 blocks away. They only lost power for 30 hours, which is a blessing for what happened elsewhere. A bit to close for my comfort. I watched videos on YouTube and it was quite an experience watching a tornado go through your home town. Not ok. I want to see it, and will in a week or so.
While Kearney got hit at the end of May, Omaha got hit a couple nights ago. Now this hit a bit close to home as well as it hit about 2 miles from my Brother, which seems like plenty far away, but really...I'm not sure if it was that far away. He said he woke up to the windows shaking and a 30 ft. tree bending so far it was going below an upstairs window. He's ok but all of these tornadoes hitting close to home is to much. There have been more than one tornadic storm going over my other siblings in North Central Kansas as well. This is a year of big tornadoes...just not in my CWA.

Birthday
I got back from Vegas and worked 7 nights in a row...3 of them with busy weather nights. However, they have been wind events in our area. I feel bad for the counties south of Wichita, a lot of 80-100 mph winds in one week can do a lot of damage. I made cookies for my birthday, but decided to take them in to work on Thursday and Friday because Thursday was a busy weather day and we had more people in the office. Friday I got a few text messages, a couple calls, a great bag from Emily and flowers from my parents which were sent to work. I also did a touch of some shopping, probably spending more money than I should have, but it's been about 6 months or more since I've bought any clothes and I needed jeans. Was nice to hear from those that texted, called and facebooked.

Weekend
My brother, sister-in-law and 2 nieces came down this weekend and I had a great time with them, even though I did have to work during part of their visit. I finally have a day off and I'm about to head to bed soon I hope for my week of days. Good times in my life. so that's an update on my life to this point in June.


Happy Birthday Emily!

Love all!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Severe Weather anyone?

If you are in the general region of KS/OK/NE/CO or there abouts you have a good chance for severe weather this weekend. The weekend kicks off tomorrow. I unfortunately am not set to be working during these events, but that does leave me open to storm chase...if the storms are near by and I decide I want to pop $3.80 gas in my car. I'm not sure about the later. It shall be exciting nonetheless. This is the first real event in Kansas this year and it only took to Memorial day weekend (usually there are at least some storms in April and early May or even earlier). I'm off to bed, as I'm crushed after 3 days at 5am and sleep at midnight the night before. Trying to get some more sleep in case there is some reason I'm called in even earlier.

YEA FOR DAVID COOK!!!! AMERICAN IDOL 2008! Rightful winner! Congrats!

Love all!

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Thank you

This week, while only two days long has been so much better than the end of last week. As I prayed for a better week, it is happening thus far. Thank you for your thoughts.

Monday started out slow, as I of course didn't get to much sleep switching around to the morning shift, but it was all good. I wasn't to terribly tired. By 10am I had finished all of the products that the interns are responsible for issuing and Janet (the hydrologist) and I headed out to south central Kansas (further south than Wichita) to check out river gages. Yes that might not seem like that much fun, but for me it was. I got to see parts of the country side that I hadn't seen before, and had a blast seeing the rivers. My favorite part, was checking the river stage with a wire weight gauge. Yes, that is crazy, but it was my favorite part. I loved it. I also got to be in the beautiful, not to windy weather we've had the past week. Tomorrow is another trip, but this time to central Kansas. I'm looking forward to it!

Today was good, in addition to a busy morning, I have been able to catch up with over 4 weeks of Ellen on my DVR. It's been insane. I've watched what I can when I can. It's been an Ellen Marathon. It started Sunday and finished tonight. I am now caught up, just in time for the end of the season. I'm now behind on some of my new tv shows and finale's, but they are being savored. One more show to watch tonight before I head to bed...American Idol. Then to bed and up early again tomorrow. Good times!!!

Love to all!

Monday, May 19, 2008

Stand Back up.

I've had a difficult week, so this is my song o' the week right now. I'm praying for a better upcoming week.

------
Stand Back Up by Sugarland

Go ahead and take your best shot,
Let 'er rip, give it all you've got,
I'm laid out on the floor, but I've been here before,
I may stumble, yeah I might fall,
Only human aren't we all?
I might lose my way, but hear me when i say,

I will stand back up,
You'll know just the moment when I've have enough,
Sometimes I'm afraid, and i don't feel that tough,
But I'll stand back up,

I've been beaten up and bruised,
I've been kicked right off my shoes,
Been down on my knees more times than you'd believe,
When the darkness tries to get me,
There's a light that just wont let me,
It might take my pride, and my tears may fill my eyes,
But I'll stand back up,

I've weathered all these storms,
But i just turn them into wind, so i can fly,
What don't kill you makes you stronger,
When I take my last breath,
That's when I'll just give up,

So, go ahead to take your best shot,
Let 'er rip, give it all you've got,
You might win this round but you cant keep me down,

'Cause I'll stand back up,
And you'll know just the moment when I've had enough,
Sometimes I'm afraid and I don't feel that tough,
But I'll stand back up,

You'll know just the moment when I've had enough,
Sometimes I'm afraid and I don't feel that tough,
But I'll stand back up.

-------

Love all!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

The cost of groceries..well the Economy really

Why must it cost so much for groceries? I mean it's insane. I went grocery shopping, on Monday. It was the first time I'd gone in over a month, for a big shopping expenditure, but still it was about 50 dollars more expensive than I think it should have been. I'm more conscience with money that I've been for a long time, so I'm not just throwing things in the cart , willy nilly. I'm actually looking at the prices, but things are just so expensive. It's insane!

Then on to gas prices, I mean in what world that we or our parents have lived in, has gas increased almost a dollar in less than 2 months? It's absolutely insane. The oil companies are just getting richer, and the average or most Americans are just getting poorer. I'm fortunate that I don't own an SUV, because my car costs plenty to fill up as it is. I'm to the point, that I can only put in 10-15 dollars, and that will only get me around for a week or so. It's just really sad. Why is it ok for the oil companies to charge what they do, I mean I don't really think it costs them that much.

What about prescription meds? I don't have any, but my parents do and so do much of the country. We are one of the only countries that doesn't have a mandate on how high prescription drugs can cost, so they just sky rocket. If you can prevent a disease or help manage it, you will ultimately save money, since you won't have to go to the hospital, so it'd be worth it to cut drug costs for the US. Why do we allow the big business to get rich at the expense of those who can't afford it?

I'm just thankful that I do make over minimum wage, how do those who don't do it? How can we expect them to, when gas prices are so high and groceries are high? I mean it's really unfortunate. Makes me sad. I guess I'm not in the optimist pool that the economic stimulus will help us get out of this current bind, but I do hope that it doesn't last to long.

Good luck Economy...



Love

New Pic, but for last nights post...

My old Nebraska Plates, sitting sadly on the floor of my car...:-(


My new Kansas Plate, sitting happily on the back of my car. The front of the car is void an empty...very sad.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

A Kansan

Well I'm officially an Kansan. I didn't plan on becoming one so quick...or as quick as I did, but it's how it worked out. 4 requirements (As I see it) to being a resident of a state..

1. Car Insurance
I renewed my car insurance late last month because it was expiring and needed to be renewed. I paid a much higher amount than I had paid previously, about 175 dollars more expensive for the exact same coverage. It was insane. I figured I'd have to think about about it and figure out what to do when I pay it again in 6 month, because that much was just ridiculous for car insurance. Then while I was gone last week, I got a letter in the mail with my permanent insurance cards that said I owed another 85 dollars, now that was just insane and intolerable. That almost doubled my car insurance for moving to another state. INSANE!! So I went and talked to them about it, realized that I really have way over the amount of coverage that I needed. I was previously on a plan with my father to be grandfathered and keep a low deductible, but as a single person with only my name, I didn't need that much coverage. I also after asking about it..the lady realized that the 85 dollars more was because the guy who had done it the first time put me in as a male after I paid and left the office. So once we figured that out, and I chose a lesser amount of coverage, but still plenty...my insurance was only 110 dollars more expensive than it was in Nebraska. Welcome to Kansas Jerilyn!

2. Drivers License
I went and got my Kansas Drivers License on Tuesday of this week. After talking about it with people at work, I knew what I needed to be sure to take with me. Items needed for Kansas Drivers License if you have a valid state license. 1. Current out-of-state license, 2. another form of ID (i.e. birth certificate, or passport), 3. bill to prove current address. No where on any website is 3 listed, as it just became a law in February. Now this is annoying when you drive all the way there and cannot get a license because no one told you, that item was needed. Luckily I had heard people who that had happened to talk about it, and I knew to take mine in. So I passed the eye exam, the lady cut my picture (which I liked) off of my NE license and told me to keep the rest of it in case anything happened to mine now. (I was sad to see the license be cut apart) and I headed over to get my picture taken. Now I don't have the same belief as my father, that you don't really need to smile for a DL picture because you aren't smiling if you get pulled over, I get ready and do my hair and make up, I want to like my picture. I took my picture, liked it and (as I already knew) I got a temporary license. Yes, in Kansas, they don't have the machines to print out the license (like I had in NE) while you are waiting, so I got a piece of paper that serves as my temp license until my real one is mailed to me in 7-10 days. Hopefully it will arrive before I head off for Vegas. Why is this necessary? Welcome to Kansas!

3. Kansas License Plates (or Tags as they call them)
After realizing that I probably shouldn't wait until next month (like I had originally planned) to get my new Kansas plates, I headed in today to get them. The process is this when having an out-of-state lien on the title. 1. Get the bank to fax a copy of the title to the tag office, 2. Get the vehicle inspected for 10 dollars to make sure the VIN is the same, 3. stand in line to get tags. Now this process when very smoothly and I think the people at the tag office were wonderful. Courtney faxed my title to the office, I picked it up, picked up a number (for number 3) and headed around to have my car inspected, no this isn't an emissions inspection, just VIN and engine inspection. I don't really think it's 10 dollars worth, but whatever. Then I headed back in to the other part of the building and because I had pulled a number before I got inspected, my number was just 7 off, and with 4 of them not there any more, I only waited about 5 minutes. The lady that registered my car was very nice. So now I currently only have one, back plate. It's a pretty blue plate, but it's alpha numeric..which I've never been a fan of (which isn't like NE's plates unless you live in Lincoln or Omaha). I have an empty, stupid looking hole where my front plate was, which will need to be filled with a Husker's plate when I have the time to get one. Plus this plate is only temporary until my new Kansas personalized plate. Welcome to Kansas

4. Voter's Registration
Now this was the first thing I got completed, since the Democratic Caucus was in early February. I've even got my very own voter's card! Welcome to Kansas!

So now I am officially a Kansan!!!

Much love!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Why sick in May?

Well I've only been sick once before this winter, and it was just a little head cold, but I've got it again. Seems to be the same thing...head cold, but why in the middle of May? I mean seriously, it's MAY 15th! Insane. I do not appreciate being sick now, but I am grateful that I haven't been worse thus far and this looks to be a minor issue as well.

Today started off all wrong, First I couldn't get to sleep last night, with things running through my head and the nap I took last night...totally kept me awake until after 2am. I finally fell asleep, but it wasn't a terribly restful sleep, I wasn't in the deep sleep, I can remember playing along with dreams and checking the time. I did wake up and turn my alarm to snooze and turned off my cell phone at 5am...and proceeded to fall back into my crazy, weird sleep. Now this is all fine and dandy when you don't have to be at work at 6am. I woke up just about 5:40ish, called work and told them I'd just gotten up and would be in as quickly as possible. I knew I wouldn't be there when I normally got there as 5:40 is when I leave for work. So I threw on the clothes I already had laid out, put in my contacts and threw on a touch of make up. I was out the door and in my car by 5:50am and hit work at 6am on the dot, so I wasn't late technically, but we are kinda supposed to be there 10 minutes early. That started my day, and by 9am, my nose was like a faucet and I didn't feel well. I kept sneezing, and the sneezing hurt..that big. Not fun. I contemplated going home from work with the sick leave I've accumulated, but it's always been hard for me to accept going home for being sick. I never want to miss out on things (like school work and class) or not accomplish what I need to, so I figured I'd be ok. I started feeling better by 11am, and thought ha! If I'd have gone home, I'd be a hypocrite and wimp for leaving when I should be at work. But by 1pm I felt awful again, and by that time I just needed to stick out the last couple hours. I got off at 3, headed to target to buy some sudafed and headed back home and straight into bed. I slept 4 hours and felt much better afterward. So that's my day.

I'm glad I am on a 2 mornings, 2 evenings this week, as I'm done with my mornings and I don't have to be at work until 3pm tomorrow night. Tomorrow I'm planning on getting my Kansas license plates, talk about exciting! Not really, I'll be sad to see my NE plates go, I've always been proud of having them. I'm hoping that it won't be to big of an issue tomorrow and I can get it done relatively quickly. 1 hour to 1.5 hours...at max. We'll see. I need to sleep in and get rested so I can get better and do that, I'm sure it can get done.

Next week is an all 6am morning week, so hopefully I can get into a groove and stay awake during the afternoons after work so I can sleep at night and be rested for work. Who knows. It's my first 5 day straight mornings in a long long time, and I can't say I've missed it to much. Well for now, it's back to the TV...(no not bed...remember I took a nap, so bed later) I've got to watch Lost! I hope I feel better sooner rather than later!

Love all!