Good Reads

I really shouldn't neglect my goodreads account so much. At the rate I read, all you are going to see are updates all over the place. Feel free to block my updates, as I will be adding a hundred more books or so in the near future.

Back in Black

I am terrible at keeping touch with people, and have a tendency to fall off the face of the earth for months at a time. Sorry friends, that's just me.

Well, I am now a Boeing Employee and hope to stay one till I retire. Its a nice feeling to be working at a company that you know you can stick with for 30+ years. There are hundreds of options for changing job positions (for whenever I get bored with my job), and there are dozens of locations across the globe which I would LOVE to work at. I will be going back to school next fall to get a degree, possibly in Master Scheduling, which Boeing will pay for. YAY!

Things are pretty slow at work, but they will pick up as soon as all these people retire!! I used to pride myself on the fact that I didn't spend much time on the internet for frivolous means. Now that I have nothing to do for 6-7 hours a day at work... that is no longer the case. I am all kinds of addicted to Pinterest, Facebook, and I am now getting back into Blogging... and being paid for it. I would feel bad about it, but most of the people here just nap in their chair or watch YouTube & Hulu all day long.

Anyways, I am sure my Blog will become full of random thoughts and rants. We will see. :)

Happy Monday!

Family Reunion 2011

I had such a wonderful time with my family this last week. Amazing how vast and varied my family is. I appreciate every one of them! They all have such amazing talents and gifts, and I am very glad I was able to see them all! I wish I had been able to spend more time with each person individually... but then the reunion would have to be a few weeks long... Hmmm. That sounds nice.

Boring Old ME =D

Apparently I am a slacker. I really have not kept up on this blog!! I suppose when you life is as boring as mine there isn’t much to write about.

Lets see… my most recent volleyball season is over, which is a bummer, but I will play again next fall. I was playing with a co-ed team, in the “competitive” Kent City league. I find it amusing that I am the only girl on my team. The Renton league requires 2 girls to be on the court at all times, they play best of 3 games, on a women’s height net. In Kent we only need one girl, we play the best of 5 games, and on a men’s height net. For those of you who don’t know; the Williams genes do not include “hops”. Its pretty fun thought to get to play so many games; it is much needed exercise for me.

I have recently gotten sucked into the Enders Game book series. I put off reading them for years (even though they are my brother’s favorite books) because I don’t usually like science fiction books. I have read all 4 of the Enders series, and am 1 book into the Ender’s Shadow series, which is a companion series. I find that I have a hard time reading singular books of late. I read them so quickly that even though the story is wrapped up and complete… I feel disappointed because there isn’t another book for me to move on to!

Any book series suggestions are welcome. If you have a goodreads account – look me up “Darcikim”.

That’s is really all of the rambling that I can do for today. I guess my blog is more of a place for me to think out loud, rather than keep people up to date on my life (since it is always the same). So it may be boring to most of you. J

Book Book Book

I cant seem to get very far on my book. I don't think I have the correct work ethic - or time to actually put into my book. Perhaps I should make it a LIFE goal... since it will probably take me YEARS to actually finish.

work work work

I love my job, I love the people I work with... but OH MY GOODNESS they expect SO much of their employees sometimes it feels like they are setting them up to fail. Until you are drowning... help will not come. :(

Safeco Feild- Go Mariners!

View from Safeco Feild, Seattle WA.

Spider Meadow 7/2009

Family Reunion

Took me long enough... but here are some pics from the Williams Family Reunion- 2009.

It was SO fun to see everyone & have such an awesome time.

We stayed at a huge resort-style house (the fact that it had enough beds for everyone was astounding) close to Bear Lake in Idaho/Utah.

We went hiking, had a volleyball tournament (my dad was in charge of that one), hung out with some refugees, and had a nice testimony meeting.

It really hit me how much it means to have such a close extended family. Every 2 years that pass we meet up & it feels like no time has passed because our friendships are ever strong.

I seriously Love & appreciate ALL of my family!!! I really missed Grandpa though. I'm sure he was watching us & smiling at our goofy-ness & commodore. :)

Grandma goes to Lumicor

Mom & Grandma came by my work today & took an official-like tour. Now they know where I work... I'm thinking Dad might not like that I gave Mom a tour because she left with more "home-improvement" ideas than ever before :) It would be fun to make something for Mom to enjoy in her home.

It was fun to show them what I do, and all of the cool stuff we make. The options are endless, countertops, sink bowls, desks, blinds, etc. etc. etc. I love my company & what we make; I'm never bored thats for sure. There is always some crazy customer or another wanting something weird... like a pocket door with pennies inside...

HaPpY mOtHeRs DaY

Happy Mother's Day to all of those Special women out there who accepted the challenge of raising children. :) I love you all!

NORTH SHORE DAY O FUN!

Rainbows Galore- There were lots of sprinkles & tons of sun @ the same time! :)
Audrea's on the lookout for a good Sailor Man...

The standard self pic.

North Shore- we found an AWESOME spot on the beach with no one around. It was very Peaceful! This is now my "Happy Place". Reading & lying on a towel in the sun. Perfection.

Sand between our toes, wind in our hair & Sun on our faces.

It just doesn't get any more perfect than this.

The View from our table @ a really cool restaurant!
Waikiki... I came from the Stupid Factory. (I thought it was funny...)

Mike, our personal Sushi Chef.

Elaine (E-LAAAAME), Audrea (Audie) & some weird chick.

How to: Diamond Head

FIRST YOU MUST GO UP THE STAIRS OF NO RETURN...

TAKE A FEW PICTURES TO REST THOSE WEARY LEGS...

CONTINUE THROUGH THE TUNNELS O WONDER...

AND VOILA! HONOLULU!

Tri- huh?

So here is the sitch. I am not good at writing regularly. I suppose it could be because I don't have Internet at home... and when I'm at work I'm... WORKING (unlike some people I work with). So I suppose anyone who feels the need to read my blog will have to wait with bated breath for my tri-monthly blog. Sometimes I make up words.

Anywho, Hawaii was AWESOME! I will be sure to post some pictures whenever Audrea gets off her Pre-Law tooshie & gets them to me. :)

That's about all I have going on. I won't be blogging details about the trip till I post the pictures, cuz then you will have a visual feast to go along with the tales-o-fun.

On another note- I am gonna miss Angie & Allen & Hayden & Torrin. :( Stupid Utah! I'm glad Allen has found his passion & path... but I personally feel that his path should not impact my Wilcox Family time. Good luck down there guys & watch out for midget Marmots.

Fitness to the Harbor!

OK, so I started trying to workout around 1/26/09 (my goal start date was WAY before that but I dont wanna get into that).

I’ve been doing cardio on the Elliptical machine at my apt’s gym & it is SO BORING. The only time I’m not literally counting down the seconds is when I luck out & have the gym to myself. It is much easier to ignore the fact that you are doing something boring when you can surf channels & watch a movie YOU want to watch (its also OK if someone is already there & watching a show that I like). Last time I got stuck with some kids in there & they had the Disney Kid-like channel on, but not the cute little kid shows; it was some super annoying “pre-teen” show. MAN those characters are annoying. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t beat a free Gym with all of the machines I like; so it’s worth it.

OK I’m done whining.
Right now I’m doing pretty well with my exercise goals (eating…not as well as I could). I am averaging 4-5 days per week with cardio, plus volleyball 2 times per week, 3 hours each. At approximately 25 minutes per cardio I’ve hit roughly 80-100 minutes of cardio per week. I havent seen any results AT ALL yet. People keep saying its cuz I’m building muscle (which is partially the cause)… but my clothes still fit exactly the same; therefore- NO RESULTS. I worked at a Gym for 2 years; people forget that I know all this stuff (even though I don’t do use it most the time, the knowledge is always rattlin around in my head with other random knowledge).

So I have reached the point where I have to actually crack down more on my eating habits. They weren’t horrible before, but there was too much snacking going on. Even the not-so-fatty stuff adds up when you snack too much. I’m kinda glad I didn’t try to do both at the same time, because I really needed to build up the habit of going to the gym; before adding another change to my life schedule. Now that going to the gym is regular, and less of a burden I can concentrate on making myself eat better. So we will see what happens.

I do feel a lot better that I am doing something about my weight issues. I know I’m not super fat or anything, but we all want to be our best selves, and when we aren't it weighs on our self esteem. So I’m working on it, and that makes me feel better even if it will take longer than I was hoping.

Do you think it’s possible to spend a week in Hawaii and never be seen in public in a swim suit? That’s the other goal.

Baggage Check THIS!

I am in a complete state of confusion regarding airline baggage policies. I’m trying to figure out why it cost so much to check a stupid bag… It’s not like the space down there is being used for anything else! I don’t get it. Maybe it’s cheaper to fly lighter, whatever “Plane People” I don’t like your rules!

On another topic…the Gowens are coming to town this weekend, which always amounts to fun volleyball. I’m hoping Chris will grace us & come play, it would be fun; especially since it’s HIS birthday weekendJ. Whatever, I’m happy to get one more day to play/exercise in a fun way.

Shopping list -O- Fun

So I am told that I need to update my blog (thanks Audie)... didn't realize it had been so long since I last wrote. Oy, it just seems like I never get time to sit down and write things out.

OK, TAX TIME! I filed my returns & have already decided exactly where my Money is going.
1) Plane tickets & fun $$ for Hawaii
2) Blackberry phone so I can get Outlook email on my phone (sad).
3) A Lap-top so I can work more on my book which is severely lacking. I will be soliciting help from the EBay master himself; Marcus Williams; to help me find a good deal (as I am technologically challenged).

I must say I'm SUPER excited for Hawaii, and kinda worried too. None of my summer clothes fit me; which means buy new clothes or lose 15 lbs by March 19th. The plan is the latter... We will see...

That's it. That's about all I've got going on right now.

Happy Hunting! (don't ask... cuz I dont know why)

My Father's Daughter...

I am my father's daughter.

So I decided to be in the holiday spirit & put up christmas lights on my sliding glass doors. I dont have special hooks to keep them straight... so I went to it with a roll of clear packing tape. It took my over half an hour & half a roll of tape (because each light had to be exactly straight) but when it was done I felt very festive & accomplished. I turned them on and went about my business...

The next night I drove by (out of my way) just to see if the lights looked good from the road... YOU COULDN'T SEE THEM! The stupid metal frame on the doors was blocking them, so it just looked like my door had a halo around it, NOT lights. Grr!

I had taped them to the door frame thinking you could see them, the metal frame on the glass is only an inch wide. Apparently that inch made all the difference, and I was very angry with myself for not taking that into account! Anywho, it took me a few days to build up the desire to RE-DO the work, but I did last night, and they are beautiful, straight, and visible from 256th. My fix: I taped em directly to the window & the metal frame around it. What an ordeal.

Tonight... I tackle the Christmas Tree!

HOW DID YOU DIE?

Did you tackle that trouble that came your way
With a resolute heart and cheerful?
Or hide your face from the light of day
With a craven soul and fearful?
Oh, a trouble's a ton, or a trouble's an ounce,
Or a trouble is what you make it,
And it isn't the fact that you're hurt that counts,
But only how did you take it?

You are beaten to earth? Well, well, what's that?
Come up with a smiling face.
It's nothing against you to fall down flat,
But to lie there -- that's disgrace.
The harder you're thrown, why the higher you bounce;
Be proud of your blackened eye!
It isn't the fact that you're licked that counts,
It's how did you fight -- and why?

And though you be done to the death, what then?
If you battled the best you could,
If you played your part in the world of men,
Why, the Critic will call it good.
Death comes with a crawl, or comes with a pounce,
And whether he's slow or spry,
It isn't the fact that you're dead that counts,
But only how did you die?

-Edmund Vance Cooke