A Trip to See the Horses!

The Proofreading Test

So today momma's editor, Amy, sent me a proofreading test to test my literate abilities. If I did well, I'll get to be her assistant editor!! (EXCITING!!) The test was in two parts, one short story and then a list of sentences that I had to correct or write "Correct" if there was nothing wrong with them. Some of it was a bit confusing and there were a few times I would have to stare at a sentence for a few minutes thinking, "I know there's something wrong with this sentence, it doesn't sound right... I just can't figure it out."



If I get this job, we won't be rich but our little household can stop panicking and living paycheck to paycheck (A constant worry that looms over our heads). I have a good feeling about it and Amy seems like a really awesome person to work for. After some thinking, I can see myself being an editor for the rest of my life. Of course I will still pursue my own creative projects on the side, this job will also give me a lot of free time depending on how fast I finish the books Amy assigns me. I can't wait to gather my own clients as well!! :D

Their Flowery Grave

Well my newly found Gardening hobby was quickly destroyed this morning when I found dirt and torn flower parts all over our wooden deck with an innocent looking Chief standing over them. It was sad and I had a lot of time to reflect as I swept up the mess. Luckily, one flower did survive the onslaught. A single orange marigold was still potted with only a few broken buds. I moved that flower over to the side of the picnic bench and named it "Survivor". I guess I wasn't really a plant person anyways...

Online Game Hunting

With the depression of my recent unemployment starting to sink in, it's once again time to search for an Online Game to play with my little brothers (On their brand new speedy computers). Since Childhood, the three of us have always agreed that it would be AWESOME if we could all play an online game together as a family. It's so much more fun playing with your siblings than randoms that laugh and joke about weird stuff and talk the "N3RDZ" talk.

In our younger days, the three of us used to stay up late at Dad's house. We formed a union called "The Council of Three" of "Kidtown". We even had our own currency which was made up of lego pieces. One of the Council of Three's favorite pastimes for when "The Father" was asleep was to sneak onto Kyra's computer to play World of Warcraft. We had our own guild (Or Club of sorts) called "Reaper's Inc." and we would farm gold, swap gear and level up in our own completely self-sufficient world (of Warcraft). However, we never could play together as I only had one computer at the time and one account. So of course our first choice to try will be "World of Warcraft" - Something fun to play together after school after homework's finished and I'm done with work.



Our second choice could be LOTRO or Lord of the Rings Online. This was the first online game we "Kinda" got to play together. By "kinda" I mean we started a kinship (Or club) called "Second Breakfast" and tried to play together but everyone was all different levels so it never really worked out. By the time we all met up, we were already bored of the game.



Another possibility could be the everyone loving Minecraft. Despite the blocky appearance, Minecraft is a game where you can build, battle monsters and have fun. We used to create our own maps and worlds on here when I had my own Minecraft Server but that no longer exists. To play this again, I would have to set up another server which can be a lot of work... but still, it was a lot of fun when we did.



Although none of us have played it yet, the new online game Guild Wars 2 was just released. I'm not sure if it's any good but the graphics are phenomenal. This however would cost a lot of money up front... and frankly, none of us have money. :D



There are definitely a lot of options and all of them have their pros and cons. I'm not looking for anything to get addicted too but just something fun to do in my offtime with my little brothers, help keep in touch. Plus I need some sort of hobby to keep my depressed self busy... and Chief already destroyed all my flowers. You never know, we might end up picking up something a little more relaxed.

Following Kyra's Blog by Email

Dad brought up a really good point to me yesterday. He asked if there was any way he could get an email reminder every time I posted. This morning I logged on and added a new widget to my blog, Following by email.



It's really easy to use, all you have to do is enter your email into the search bar and then click submit. After that the following window should pop up -->



Type in the code at the bottom and click submit, you should see this screen then prompting you to check your email for a confirmation.



This is to prevent spammers from... umm... Subscribing to my posts? Silly Google and their silly confirmation emails. Click over to your email and you should see a message like this, open it.



After you open it, click the link inside the email. This should bring you to a final page...



And you're finished!! That long and complicated process (Which really isn't all that long or complicated) allows you to receive an email anytime I post something new on here. Don't feel pressured to do it though, this blog is only for my family to read and I'm not pushing for numbers or clicks. It's just a helpful thing to send you a reminder whenever I post if you want it to.

INTERNET!!

OMG OMG OMG!! I'm so happy right now I'm going to cry! Everything works again! My speeds are fast!! AMAZINGLY FAST! This is going to be a very short blog post today just because I want to go and experience more INTERNET! >.< >.< *Dies* No more posting from a Cell Phone ever again! *Loads up epix skyrim music*

Nerd Fitness: What Class Are You?

So of all the things that motivates me to work out, the only thing that even came close was an article I found randomly while searching for SCA groups in Pensacola. It was titled "Roleplaying in Real Life: Choosing Your Class". Interested, I started to read through the article. It began by describing how every modern RPG starts off with a Character Creation screen. Here you can pick your race, class, hair color, weight... well everything down to the shape of your nose. The races you can usually choose from are like Human, Dwarf, Orc, Elf... Etc. But this is roleplaying in real life... Look into the mirror, that's your race... 900lbs, overweight, 50lbs underweight, tall, short, stocky or weak.

Depending on your race, it may be harder or easier for you to be the class you want to be. It would be more difficultfor an ogre (400lbs and 6 feet tall) to be a very good Assassin. After looking at my reflection, I realized I was a Hobbit... Short and slightly overweight. There's not many races you can be, I soon discovered, at my height. So I decided being a hobbit (Perhaps a slightly skinnier version) may not be all that bad.

Next I had to pick a class. After browsing through some of the suggestions I picked one that appealed most to me, a druid.



Druids are one with nature.

Oftentimes consuming a plant-only diet, they specialize in being one with themselves, finding balance in everything. These peaceful folk spend a majority of their time training in the arts of yoga, meditation, and tai chi. Strength training is only done if necessary, as  most druids aren’t interested in massive muscles or explosive power. Druids also follow a minimalist diet, high in vegetables, fruits, and nuts.  Some eat meat, but only enough to get sufficient protein. Processed foods are the enemy.

Primary attributes: agility, flexibility

Training: meditation, yoga, tai chi

Real life example: Yogis, tai chi instructors
And that's when I realized my Aunt was a druid already.

As hilarious as that all sounds, it did help me set some goals and be able to envision the type of lifestyle I wanted to help keep me there. But everything starts with today so I guess I better start training!!

Kyra the Future Editor?

Remember those little open-ended prompts they would give us in school to try and inspire us to reach for our dreams? "When I grow up I want to be..." For me this usually ended in things like, Video Editor, Web Designer, Singer or Professional Youtuber. While I did have a knack for writing, it always felt like a laborious chore unless I was truly interested in the subject. It's true, despite making the max score someone could possibly get on the Florida Writes Exam or Essay Writing and Comprehension section of the GED test... I believed it was just a talent I picked upfrom my mom that I would never really use in the professional world.

God had other plans for me though and I'm finding he doesn't just pass out talents willy nilly due to who your parents are. Due to the little income I made from my previous job, I was continually on the search for supplemental income and let my friends and family know I was searching as well. Finally Mom came back and told me her editor was more than likely retiring and she would need a new one. (Along with all of her clients.) It sounded different and I told mom to send me a copy of the book she needed edited and formatted (I picked up formatting quickly enough from a variety of tutorial sites and blogs)

Getting first hand practice, I almost enjoyed the work (Which is far more than I can say for previous jobs of mine)and a book of 20,000 words took only around eight to nine hours of solid work. (What normally takes other editors a week or two of work) Better yet, Mom's editor agreed to train me this Saturday!!

Brandon's Sick Day

This morning I woke up earlier than usual to someone weakly shaking me and whispering, "Kyra, Kyra... Please wake up.I threw up and I don't feel so good." I'd like to say at this time my emergency instincts kicked in... but in reality, I was still rubbing my eyes and grouching, "You did what? Why're you waking me up..?" After further explanation and an imaginary cup of coffee, I realized Brandon had caught the flu from his Assistant Manager.

Luckily we were slightly prepared for an outbreak in our little camper. Before we had left Fort Walton, Mom had givenus a first aid kit as a precautionary tool. I remembered this when wandering through the house to find a thermometer. Inside I found many things I hadn't expected, glowsticks, tweezers and even medicine tablets. I searchedthrough the motrins and tylenols before I ffound something that would fix at least one of his symptoms. Paired with a heat pack and a nap, I'm hoping he'll be well enough to go to work today. Even Cheif lays faithfully athis feet hoping for him to get better soon so he can take him on more walks.

Crushing My Internet Dreams

Once again I'm blogging from the small, pixelated keyboard of my Samsung Galaxy Note 2. To most this would seem a luxurious thing, blogging from the latest phone technological advancement... but I miss my real keyboard. Last week AT&T came out to survey our little airstream for internet connection but returned only with terrible news. Our littlecamper, as we were told by so many before them, could not receive internet through AT&T... and every other internet provider in our area. (Although they didn't say it.)

Now I'm researching thing like antennas or internet boosters. We love our neighborhood and neighbors to much to move away but the lack or near lack of internet is killing any hope of starting up my old online business for cash. (Whichat the loss of my job, this has bbecome vitally important.) One day... one day... I will be able to blog without a hundred spelling errors from my phone's text or auto correct... one day I will be able to load Wix.com's website builder without the site timing out... one day it won't take 30 minutes to load up my google mail... one day... but that day is not today.

The Worst Day Ever in the History of Worst Days

So yesterday I was called into work after having a week off. I had a bad feeling about my arrival so I asked Brandon to wait outside. When I came into the office Mr. Brody callemd me into his Office, asked me how my time off was and totake a seat. Now for those of you who ddon't know Mr. Brody, he's a salesman for a living who thinks he can goad people into what he wants by making little implications or threats to their employment. Today was one of those days where he opened up with how the office didn't crumble to peices in the week I was off. I said something along the lines of "That's good to hear." And his response was "Not for you because if the office can run without you here, whyam I paying you?"

Now beyond the hours of free labor (And my own income spent on company resources without reimbursent), putting up with $150 a week of near minimum wage or listening to "threats" such as this... that's a good question, Why are you paying me? Now this is what I had wanted to say but instead I calmly countered that no company should completely depend on one person to the point that if they are gone for the week it would conpletely devestate them.

Seeing my point, he switched his angle to try and point out where I have failed to do my job. I backed up my responsewith examples and yet more polite reasoning that I never received any formal training so how would I know to do half of what he was coming up with. He countered with a weak "You have Amanda's number". Well I have called Amandamany times and she ddoesn't know what I have and haven't been trained on and tried to catch me up to speed on what she thought I needed to know which completely missed what I actually needed to know.

I felt much like a character in one of my video games at this point, battling a boss alone in an office setting arena. But then I realized I wasn't alone, when Mr. Brody sent me out of the office for the second time to take "an important call", I called on some backup. I said a few little prayers to God to help me out... perhaps not to keep myjob (For frankly at this point I was sick of working there.) But to give me the strength to stand up to him rather than kneel at his feet like so many times before and say "Yes sir, you're right... I'll work harder in the future."

When I returned to his office I started out saying "I have always preformed my job the the best of my abilities and know-how despite lack of training. Now if the issue is the company doesn't make enough to support my position, I completely understand and perhaps it would be better if I found other employment." Now this hit a nerve and at his stream of defensive comebacks that followed, I knew I had figured out the reason for this conversation.

In the end I was released from my employment on the basis that I had a bit of dog hair on my pants and a month ago myboyfriend walked around SSam's Club while I was working. These two things proved I wasn't following the company's mission statement and leading this company with integrity, honesty or a professional manner. (I'm dead serious to which is the hilarous part)



When I walked outside the office to catch a ride home with Brandon I discovered another problem. He had waited thirtyminutes and then left for home... this meant I had another three hours before he returned to pick me up.

Not wanting to sit around outside the office building for my ex co-workers to sneer or ask, "Why're you outside?" I grabbed my purse and started to trudge along the road in my office flats. Now my work is in Pensacola., however I live in Ensley which is a completely different town all together. I had a good eight mile walk ahead of me (However at the time I thought it was 14 due to what a man at a Gas station told me)

I won't bore you with the gruesome details of how hot the sun was, how creepy all the strangers who passed or yelled at me were or even how I nearly got heatstrpke along the way and threw up my sweet tea that I purchased from a whataburger on credit because that was the only card I had in my purse. But I was eventually saved by brandon less than a mile home when he saw me walking along the road to pick me up.



One day I'll go back to this day and write a book titled "The Worst Day Ever in the History of Worst Days" and have it spin off into a positive tale of life lessons and beauty... but for now I'm jusrt glad to be home.

My Crazy Last Four Days

If in case you were wondering why I haven't posted the last four days, its a funny story indeed. Friday afternoon I was sitting in my camper as usual watching NCIS with Brandon on his offday when I received a text. "Are you going to be able to make it to the meeting?" Crap!! What meeting? Did I forget?... of course I didn't forget... (I forgot)

It was Dad's band meeting for Cherri One and something I couldn't miss. The three of us (Brandon, Chief and I) loadedup into the car to head to Fort Walton. I brought my computer along to do some much needed internet work and dropped Chief off at Grandpappy's house. The next day Brandon had to head out for work while I stayed back for the meeting. Before he did though dad took Me, him and Aaron to Crackerbarrel and then Lazertag after that. We saw the craziest looking shark known as the australian fin something. It was about the size of my forearm.



After that I went to the meeting after drawing up some outfit ideas for Cherri One. After the meeting I wasted the rest of thr day playing good ole minecraft with Aaron while Dakota tried to fix his new computer. However when Brandon came by to pick me up, he had grave news. (Grave for me anyways)



"My Grandma is leaving back for Missouri in a few days." It was off to Marianna the very next morning to wish his Grabdmother goodbye. Visiting with the semi-inlaws wemt painlessly enough and I was even suckered into agreeing to do the whole crazy trip again for MMother's Day. (Why couldn't Brandon have been an orphan?)



After four days however, we were finally going home. Aaron said I could take his laptop since he had a new computer now so my last task was to completely wipe it to take care of all the virus' which had caused it to act up. Turns out, there were more than just virus problems wrong with the machine. But I'm just glad to be back in our little camper... I guess alls well that ends well... (Kinda)

On the Menu Tonight: Cheesesticks Wrapped in Bacon!

After being gone for four days (Reason my posts have all but disappeared) I realized there wasn't much in the fridge Grocery wise. But I come from a creative line of Cato's and even with little to work with, I create magic. Inspired by my favorite meal Jalepeno Poppers... I've created Cheesesticks wrapped in Bacon!! (Meals like this are why 60% of America can't run a mile) I really need internet so I cam start looking up recipes... :)


14 bacon cheese balls to begin with.. 11 after Chief found out what I was cooking...

Little Kyra on the Prairie

Out of all the things Brandon loves, I don't even believe I rate anywhere near his Chief's hat or his shoes. Since the Chief's hat already fell prey to Chief's chewing habit, I nearly had a heart attack when I found Brandon's favorite shoes torn up on the ground yesterday.

One of two things would happen if Brandon came home and found those shoes torn up Chief would have to find a new home or I would. (Haha) I immediately went to a neighbor for help, borrowing a needle and thread and setting to my work. Now I'll be the first to admit that I've never sewn a thing in my life nor been shown by my mother. But I have crochetted before so I had a pretty good idea. Using one of Chief's dog tags as a makeshift thimble and a butterknife to cut the thread, I felt a lot like Laura Ingles Mother off of Little House on the Prairie or a gameshow where the host would pop out of the bushes with a hidden camera crew yelling "Congratulations your on R U Craftier Than A Redneck!!"

I don't think I did a too bad of a job and I triple knotted everything to make sure they were secure. My neighbor said I could keep the needle and thread in case I needed it again (Let's hope not) and thankfully when Brandon came home he wasn't mad at all. He even thought I'd done a pretty decent job given my first sewing experiment. Alls well that ends well I suppose. ;)

Blogging at the Speed of (Actual) Internet!

Today I got a letter in the mail from Centurylink saying I owe them $280. (Another story for another day) While sitting there on the phone with the Centurylink Customer Service Rep. I found out two things. CenturyLink Customer Service is not to far from useless and yet another provider cannot service my area.

This small fact set me on a quest to find out who could service my little RV. Down the list I went receiving "No" left and right (Started to remind me of work). Finally in a last ditch effort, I called AT&T. It wasn't like I didn't like them, it was just the website I was looking at had placed them last on the list. I called up their internet department and waited on hold for a good 10 minutes as usual before I got in touch with a human being.

"I'm sorry, sir... what did you say?"

"I said we could be out there by Tuesday, the 16th."

"Like Tuesday-you-can-service-an-RV?"

"Ummm... Yes Ma'am"

Hallejulah!! The internet Gods (Jesus) have smiled on me today and I am officially going to have highspeed internet (6 mbps) by Tuesday, the 16th. I feel like a colony in the dark ages that just discovered how to make electricity.

Kennel Training Chief... Without the Kennel!

With the screen of our front window busted out twice (By Mr. Canine-Houdini), we started putting Chief in the bathroom when we leave to go somewhere. It wasn't long before I noticed it was getting easier and easier to start putting Chief up until eventually he started going into the bathroom to laydown on his own.

That's when it hit me, I had kennel trained Chief... using our bathroom!! It certainly met all the requirements, small confined space to make him feel secure yet close enough to hear the noises of people so he doesn't feel lonely.That solves one problem :)

A Trip to the Vet

Today was Chief's very first visit to the Vet, because of this it wasn't to hard to get him into the car. He was very excited thinking to himself he was going to visit Grandpa Roy and Auntie Abby in Fort Walton Beach. However, when we got out of the car he knew exactly where he was... it was as if he could smell the other animal's fear as he dug his feet into the ground and had to be carried inside.

On the phone we were quoted $30 for the check-up and $8 for Chief's monthly Heartguard. So I budget-ed out $60 for the whole trip just in case we got him flea medication as well. Chief had been squinting in one eye the past few days so while we were waiting for the doc I asked the nurse if she could just take a look at it to see if it may need treatment. She shrugged off the minor irritation saying that if it wasn't dripping liquid or red, he was going to be fine.


Can you find Chief?

However when the doc came in, he thought it was serious and wanted to check for possible ulsurs or cuts in his pupil. When he had 4 assistants hold Chief to the table and brought out eyedrops and a blacklight... I knew this trip was going to cost some cash. Sure enough, the bill came back at $95 (Thank God the flea and heartguard medicine was free for the first month).

Chief's Vet appointment taught me some valuable lessons and took a huge hit to my financial pocket book but at least he's alright and we don't have to do this again for another month.

Poor Man's Potato Salad

At the begining of every week, our little RV is always short on groceries. With shopping day usually on a Tuesday or Wednesday (My usual off-day) I seem to find myself searching the cabinets frantically for something to conjure up for a meal. I'm sure most stay-at-home Chefs know the pain of opening the fridge and cabinets and finding only mayonaise, milk and bread.

After some scrambling I managed to come up with some potatoes and a carton of eggs. It started out at potatoes and eggs but after mixing them together it still didn't seem like enough. I mashed up the potatoes with the eggs, threw in two cans of tuna, a couple scoops of mayonaise with italian spices and WHAM!! I had created Poor Man's Potato Salad!!

Minutes after I had finished Brandon arrived with two surprise guests, the new neighbors from two lots down. Not wanting to be rude, I dished out portions of our humble meal. I silently prayed there would be enough for everyone, feeling a lot like Jesus breaking a loaf of bread and feeding thousands. I guess miracles really do happen, for there just happened to be enough to fill every plate. (With a little extra for later)

All in all I say it was a meal success that I'll have to remember for a future dinner.

New Friends

Time moves by fast in our little camper park. People move out, people move in and it seems like friendships only last as long as a lease. Luckily for Chief, this means new dogs filter in and out as well and it wasn't long before another arrived around his size.  

This alaskan beauty is named Korra, she's half wolf and half Husky. Her family moved into lot 14 last night but sadly, they're only staying down here for the week. Seems like Chief found a new best friend, even if its only temporary. 

 

Speaking of friends, Chief isn't the only one. Along with Korra came two young guys around Brandon's age and the three of them have been chatting animatedly since before I began this post.  

 

It's nice to have so many new friends popping up around the park. Hopefully some more permanent RVers start moving in so I don't have to keep struggling with new names.