Breaking the Silence

Hello World! Obviously, blogging hasn't been on my priority list since... well, a long time. In fact, I'm surprised my, "Gee, I must be dead," post hasn't auto-published yet. Actually, I bet that's still in draft-form. Obviously, from the lack of decoration on this blog, it's been much neglected. In fact, I don't even know if I've uploaded the styling files or if it's just the links are broken.

There's been a lot of life going on in life. I've been working at my company for two years now, but the record of receiving a paycheck from a single entity was broken when we were acquired by another company. I'm not even working at the same desk as I got upgraded from literally the hallway into (be still my heart) an actually office-space - complete with window that I never, ever look out of!

I've been married for abouts a year and a half. We're still enjoying the newlywed too much public snuggling (I blame it on the COLD church building), yet the surprise that, "Hey, we're married," has worn off. I continue to not be bored with DH. He was gloating last night that he'd been able to write a driver to recover all the data off a severely damaged 5 1/4-inch floppy disks from the early 80s. Most of the Internet population wasn't even born when those dinosaurs roamed the earth. I was amused at how I never really expected to have a husband with interests in such pursuits, but highly grateful that I do.

I fulfilled two life-long dreams. First, I took a class and learned how to create a stained glass panel with lead. (That should be evidence enough to any inquiring minds that nope, not pregnant nor planning on becoming pregnant as huffing lead fumes would not be conducive to such states.) Second, DH and I traveled to Israel and Egypt over Christmas - just a few weeks before the political unrest began again. The trip was amazing, but I'm only allowing myself to blog about it as I scrapbook it.

Which leads me into my latest hobby iteration of digital scrapbooking. Unfortunately, perfectionist-me just can't take the approach most digital scrapbookers use. No. I need to use professional-grade tools and a CMYK printer. It's been a big learning curve. I'm getting more proficient with the Wacom Bamboo Pen & Touch tablet. I've gotten the basic hang of Adobe InDesign. I've nearly succeeded in learning how to calibrate my monitor and prep my photos for the printing process. Once I finish learning how manage the color photos, I'll be able to post about making papyrus and riding camels =D

I've also started to take control of the little plot of land upon which DH and my house sits. It's wanting out there. A kind sister in the ward with a proficiency in gardening came over on Monday to tour the facilities. She pointed out all sorts of weeds and deficiencies and neglect that I'd completely overlooked. DH and I are busy -- ok mostly I am -- in the process of prepping the soil for a spring garden. (Uh, Hi. In Texas we have Spring Garden then BLISTERING HEAT and then Fall Garden. It confuses my brain to be planting tomatoes in March/April.) Right now we're talking crazy about just throwing a bunch of watermelon plants back there and seeing what happens.

So, yup, that's all what I'm doing when I'm no longer blogging. Oh, though I've been teaching RS on second Sunday's for over a year now - definitely a new record. I'm continually amused by the fact that they haven't yet booted me. I've been poking around at the genealogy thing mostly out of morbid curiosity to determine how closely DH and I are related - thus far we have no common relations within 6 generations - my theory that if we have a relative they must be from California is falling apart. It turns out that my Dad's family only arrived in California back between 1850 and 1880 - I'd thought they'd been there another one or two generations prior to that.

Gee, and now I finally get to the entire reason I started typing this post.

I join in a group lunch about once a week at work. Team building, social nicety, and all that stuff. Just here's the question. Several weeks back a group of four of us went out. While we were waiting for our orders, the other three folks pulled out their smart phones and started thumbing through them. This behavior isn't uncommon, yet it's the first time that it's just left me there staring at the ceiling. Woe, poor little ol' me who doesn't even want a smart phone. (Well, except when I wish I could access my grocery list online.) Now tell me, in this circumstance, what's the difference between others thumbing their phones and me pulling a copy of the "Reader's Digest," out of my purse?

And, um, yes, I do carry around a magazine in my purse, by that's a topic unto itself for another day.