Best Reality Show Ever

I like to keep a "Best Things Ever" list, and recently I've found a TV show that makes the cut.  If you find yourself with nothing to do at 9:00 (Central) on a Sunday night, turn over to the History Channel and watch Swamp People, which showcases some backwater characters of the Louisiana bayous and swamps as they hunt alligators during the month-long season.  We're addicted.  Perhaps it's our recent migration from country to city that's got us needing a good dose of Ultimate Redneckness, but we're hooked.  Any show that before the opening gives a disclaimer about some images being disturbing really gets my attention.

I'm sure this show offends some sensibilities, offends some anti-hunters, offends those life-long city dwellers who don't realize not everyone lives in an apartment or suburbia, and offends those living in that fantasy world where meat comes from supermarkets and leather comes from a factory.  As for me, it's a very interesting look into the lives of people living on what could be considered the "fringes" of society, who still rely mostly on the land for their livlihoods, and family for their happiness.

In any case, I think it's a good way to pass an hour.

Ho Hum

Yes, I'm still here.  Every other day or so I come look at my blog, try to think of something to write, and end up mumbling "Meh..." to myself and go on to something else.  To say I've hit a blogging dry spell would be a pretty massive understatement.

I'm not sure what has brought on the ho-hum attitude.  We're still settling into our new house, and I'm settling into my new job, and into city life.  City life is just that - city life.  I still feel about as comfortable as a bowl-raised goldfish thrown in the ocean.  While the city has a lot to offer as far as good restaurants and improved shopping, I still really miss living in the country and the comfort of a small town.  I'm sure time will improve my feelings toward living in the city, but I don't think I'll ever be feeling the warm-fuzzies for congested traffic and poor manners I often encounter.  So far, it's like swimming alone in a sea of uncaring strangers.  Time will likely fix that, too.

I've also been bummed by the weather.  When viewing a weather map, my eyes instinctively go to where we used to live, and I see the area enjoying rain and cooler temperatures, while Little Rock remains dry, dusty, and hot, hot, hot.

As far as home improvement goes, things have been slow but steady.  Aside from flooring, we haven't done anything major - just a lot of the small, sometimes tedious things that are slow to come together.  Paint touch-ups, new electrical outlet covers, trim, and organization issues have been the main thrust as of late.  And with hubby's busy schedule, including a pre-deployment two-week trip to the mid-east (which reminded me how much next year is going to suck rotten eggs), these home improvements have fallen mostly on my plate.  During his absence, I addressed a major headache in my life - the dreaded pantry.

Like Mom, I like to keep a well-stocked pantry, but the folks who lived here before weren't so concerned about neat, tidy, easy-to-access kitchen items.  They were fans of one of my arch nemeses - wire shelving (bleh!).  Wire shelving which encourages cans to fall over, small items to fall through, and filth to gather in nooks and crannies.  I couldn't walk by the pantry without averting my eyes and suppressing a dramatic shudder.  After researching some shelving options, I instead bought a drill press, some 1x12 boards, white paint, and went to work building fully adjustable shelves.  I'm pretty satisfied with the results, if I do say so myself.

Here is the pantry before:

Here is the pantry after:

Hey, I can brag a little, right? 

Get a Job!

For the past few years, I've been basically unemployed.  This phenomenon has been partly by choice, partly by circumstance.  Once the husband and I got hitched, moved, and I quit State Park rangering, I'd planned on taking a couple months break from the workforce while we redid our house in Mountain Home.  Those two months turned into two years of unemployment, with a few sporadic stints as a substitute teacher and some freelance arty things.

Recently, now that we're starting to get settled in Little Rock, I've been thinking that it's time to get back at it.  The title of Army-Wife-Who-Does-Home-Improvement is getting old, and I planned on looking for at least a part-time job in earnest.

Turns out I didn't have time to look - one fell straight from the sky into my lap.

The other day I stopped into Arkansas Cycling and Fitness to continue my incessant drooling over mountain bikes, and walked out with a resume request, which quickly turned to an offer for a part-time job.  I'd been trying to decide where to look for a job that I'd enjoy.  It was a no-brainer that I don't belong in an office environment...I'm definitely happy getting my hands dirty and doing stuff.

So far I've been on the job three days, and I LOVE it.  "Bicycle Shop Salesman" never entered my mind previously as a career choice, but I think I was born to work in a bike shop.  The employee discount isn't too shabby, either.  I'm sure it'll eventually get old, but it's such a busy store I don't think it'll ever be mundane.  Yesterday I officially made my first sale.  We don't work on commission, but I helped a lady for two hours find her perfect bike and fit it to her so she could ride the river trail with her husband.  She'd never had a good, properly fitting bike before, and had never had anyone take the time to thoroughly answer all her questions.  In an age of ginormous discount stores, it's refreshing to work in a place where true customer service on quality products is placed above all else. 

See?  I already sound like a salesman.