Happy Cubicle Day!

To all that sit in a cubicle day in and day out, today is the day to celebrate your space! It is National Cubicle Day. In the festive spirit of this wonderful day I have posted pictures below of what has become my home away from home.

This is the general overview of my cubicle from the entrance. The brightness is from the picture windows that line the walls.

My view from my seat every single day. If you notice, I have my water, phone, hand sanitizer and pens in close reach from my computer.

A look at the view when I talk to my clients. They sit in the chairs across from me while I play with the mouse.


And finally my little personal area. Aren't I so cool with my five pictures and Cars magnets?

Anticipation

I am now counting the days til I finally go on somewhat of a vacation. Instead of sitting on my butt at work, I will be sitting on my butt on a bike. Hopefully it will be warm and sunny, so that I can work on my color. One of the things I am wanting to do it check out Arches. These are the arches I really want to see..... But it's comforting to know that there is a set of these arches in Moab.

Because I Can't Get Enough Of Them

These are the flowers that have bloomed in my front yard. I couldn't help but take more pictures to share.

I like M&Ms!

I like M&Ms. That is not a secret. Everyone that knows me knows that. And how can you not like M&Ms. Shane found a tall jar in our pantry and told me to "take it to work and m&ms in it or something." So......I did. I think I almost got a headache from the smell they were giving off. Below is a picture of the end result. Now I want more m&ms to eat. The sacrifices we make.

More Spring Flowers

Here are some more pictures from my yard. I'm starting to see some color in the yard.

Blog Correction

I was informed that I didn't give credit to someone that deserved it. The tshirt that was made for Cimara declaring her a big sister and a princess was also made by my dad. So my mom, my dad and Alli were all involved in creating her adorable tshirt. Sorry Dad!

NCAA Final Four

Shane has been getting into the NBA over the past couple of years, but neither one of us keeps up with college basketball. I like to read up on teams and games every so often. Kansas beat Memphis in the final game on Monday. Even though they didn't make it to the finals, UNC played against the winning team in the Final Four. UNC had 36 wins during the season and lost to Kansas by 18 points. At least there's always next year. Great season Tarheels!

Spring Flowers

My flowers have begun blooming, so I decided to take a picture of them before the summer gets here. They look great and happy when the rest of my yard is still trying to wake up from winter. But as soon as my grass is green and the leaves are back on the trees, they turn brown and hibernate until the next spring.

There was a breeze when I took this one. It looks a little like the flower is waving.

How to Make Beer

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." --Benjamin Franklin

My husband, our friends and I decided that at this point in our lives, true enjoyment of beer will come with patience and knowledge. We have decided to make beer. We have been through this process once before, and recognized our need and desire for some good, homemade beer once again. I knew that there were many steps to making beer, but never realized how technical it would be. Here is a photo journal of what we have done so far:

We started by deciding how to bottle up our beer. 48 glass bottles and 24 plastic, just so we can see the if there is a difference in the taste.

First you boil water and a syrup made of molasses together. Then add cheesecloth bags of barley and hops to the mixture and let them soak for 45 minutes.

Now you need to cool the "beer mix" down from around 155 degrees to 70 degrees while stirring. When making beer, you can only used metal utinsils because plastic is too pourous and hard to keep completely sanitize.

After the liquid is cooled to the right temperature, you pour it into your fermentation barrel (aka: the Ale Pail) while straining any chunks of hops and barely from getting in your ale. You must stir again to help the "head" (foam that is created when pouring kinda like fizz from a Coke) mix in with the rest of the liquid.

And then you do some more cooling. This is to make it the right temperature for the next step.

Now you add the yeast. Yeast when it is boiled with water looks like a foamy light brown mixture. It is also what makes beer, beer. When you talk about fermentation, that is the key ingredient. No yeast, no beer.

Now you shake it. Of course the guys get to do this because there is no way that I could lift that bucket full of liquid.

If there is no vent for gases from the fermentation process to escape, in couple of weeks you could have a stinky, warm liquid all over your house. That's what the black dot that Shane's thumb is covering is for.

This little shiny thing sticking out of the barrel is to let the gases out and not let anything else back in. At this point you put the barrel in a warm, dark place and let it ferment for about 3 weeks. Stay tuned for more about our beer.

My Summer Blockbusters

Summer is the time to have fun in the sun, hang out with friends, and......get out of the summer heat by visiting your local theater. One of my favorite things to do during the summer is go to the Redwood Drive-In. I thought that I would list the movies that I am looking forward to this summer.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Comes out on Shane's birthday, but definitely on the top of my list.

Wall-E

(Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-class)

It hits theaters 6/27. How could you not fall in love with him?

DWS is the Best....YES! YES! YES!

I have been working for the Department of Workforce Services now for 3 months and I'm starting to enjoy it. Training lasted for 6 weeks and now I am in the office getting my own caseload. After all of the stressing, I realize now that I like the new challenges that I face with this job. When you hear stories from other's lives, it makes you appreciate everything you have. And having the weekends off isn't so bad either. Now with my nights off, I am getting into working out and enjoying time with Shane. I never realized how much the state helps people. DWS is the best...that's what we say...yes, yes, yes.

Just Us Girls

Well, ChyAnn finally had Ryker and my mom was SO excited that she would get to watch Cimara for a day. She's such a little cutie and is excited to be a big sister. On our way up to the hospital she was renaming people in my family with princess names. My mom and sister made her a tshirt that said "I'm the big sister and the princess." I hope Rusty and ChyAnn enjoy having a little princess and prince in their family.

Me and Mara at the hospital. Our eyes are the same color.

We are so cool with our napkins.

Finally Bloggin'

Here we are! Just like my myspace, I have finally jumped on the blogging wagon. I will try to update as much as possible. Maybe this will make our mundane lives seem more interesting.