Hiking and Whatnot

I know I haven’t updated my blog in awhile. I just haven’t known what to say. I’m pretty happy at work right now; I have several projects going and it’s stressful but it’s busy and interesting. Luke has finished soccer and the bell choir has stopped for the summer so I am starting to have some free time again. I'm still upset about the pastor leaving at church but it doesn't look like that's going to change so I guess it's time to accept it. It sucks though.

A few weeks ago I started hiking with a friend of mine from work. He lives pretty close by and every time I bring up hiking to Jay he laughs at me because he has no interest in it (or camping) whatsoever. I decided this year that I am done not doing things just because Jay won’t do them with me. As I said in an e-mail earlier today I am not going to miss out on things in life because he wants to sit around and watch tv whenever he isn’t working (or golfing). He doesn't seem to care if I do stuff on my own so I guess it works out. I decided the same thing about church last year, but church I can attend alone. I am not comfortable hiking alone; it just doesn’t seem worth the risk. Hiking with a friend has been great; my weight is going down and it is really therapeutic to spend some time outdoors since I’m behind a computer most of the day. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately and being tired at the end of the day makes it a little easier to get to sleep though that has never been easy for me.

We took Luke hiking the other day; he did three miles and there were only a couple of parts where he was scared because it was narrow or overgrown. Hopefully we can take Luke again this weekend at some point since it is a three day weekend. Luke seems to enjoy hiking although I get tired of “what plant is this?” questions. I am not a botanist and I don’t have a clue most of the time!

I’ve been steadily working on Noah’s Sub. I hope to take a new picture soon and post it. I have been extremely remiss in posting pictures lately. I was going through old photos at home the other night and it made me realize that I need to start getting prints made of my digital photos. I don’t think I’ve gotten any prints made since I got my digital Elph last August.

Well, that’s about it for my “I’m alive” post. I’ve seen a lot of updated templates lately on other blogs and I’ve been trying to decide what to do with mine. Any suggestions?

The Coolest Thing Ever

I’ve been feeling down lately; I’m really frustrated with my husband and work is stressful. Rather than dwell on these feelings, though, I’m going to post something that makes me laugh.This link here is one of the coolest things I have ever seen.

See, we have cats. Three cats. I grew up with cats but they were always indoor cats. In yet another example of how my opinion does not seem to matter in my marriage (bad Jill, I said I wasn’t going to go there…) I got overruled and these cats are allowed to go in and out through a cat door. Since it wasn’t my idea and I fought it, well, I’ve made Jay take care of animal carcasses whenever he has been home but I have had to box up two lizards when he hasn’t been home.

I really don’t enjoy the feeling of wondering what I will find each time I return home and open the front door. Our cats have brought home some interesting things in the roughly 8-9 months that they’ve been allowed to go outside. Here is a comprehensive list to date: Felix has brought home 6 birds (2 lived, 3 died, 1 we aren’t sure because all we saw were feathers in and the house and in his tail…), a grasshopper, a paper towel, and a partially eaten burrito. Abby has brought home 3 lizards (2 of which survived the experience). Oscar has brought home a twig with leaves on it (that cat is seriously not right; we were home and got to witness this one and it was hilarious). We have also found a nasty rag and a dog bone but we aren’t sure of the culprit in those cases.

I’m sure I could rig up something similar but I don’t have the facial recognition software nor do I have a spare door that can be used just for the cats. I just love this idea, though. Be sure to check out this page specifically.

I suppose I should be thankful that we have only encountered birds, lizards, and the burrito; my co-worker went home the other day to discover a dead baby bunny waiting for him, compliments of his cat. So, I guess, things could always be worse...

And Hell Freezes Over...

I dropped my phone yesterday; not just a minor drop but a major-phone-bouncing-down-the-gutter sort of drop. This morning I realized it has a crack and every time I open it (it's a flip phone) I hear a creaking sound. I finally broke down and bought a new one at lunch. I say "bought" but it will end up costing -$10 when I get the rebate. I'm so annoyed though because it is impossible to get a non-camera phone. I swore I would never get a camera phone (hence the post title here) but it was either a camera phone or a much more expensive phone with an extremely short battery life. Camera phone it is. I've managed to figure out how to use it already; it's a little different but it will do I suppose. Certainly can't beat the price.

I took Luke to Sea World on Saturday where he came down with the stomach flu and proceeded to throw up every 20 minutes for the next 7 hours (including twice in the car on the way home...sigh). The day started off well, though; he scored three goals at soccer and was so happy! Sunday I went hiking with a friend from work and managed to get in 6.5 miles total. We're planning to start hiking regularly which will be fun since Jay laughs at me whenever I suggest it. I did have to go into work last night after dinner for a few hours though. I need a break!

Well, it's a short post today but at least it's a post. Someday I'll transfer pictures from my camera to my computer again then I'll have some more interesting posts.