Jam Packed Weekend

(I just want to spend a second to say - I DO NOT LIKE THE NEW BLOGGER SETUP! there.)

Here's what I did in order of activity:

Saturday morning I woke up early, way before the cats had started their furry vulturing for breakfast, got dressed, fed said furry vultures, and bundled myself in my car. And when I say bundled, I mean dressed for friggin' winter again. I zoomed over to one of the town churches' annual Giant Yard Sale held in their parking lot, 100+ tables. Lots to look at. All I managed to find were several bundles of free hangers for one of my clients, an old hardcover of one of my childhood books for 25 cents, and a triple cat pin for a buck. And luckily kept all my fingers from getting frostbitten. Brrrrrr! That wind was vicious!

Had been thinking about Mr. Bagel for 2 weeks so I drove over after the sale and got a pumpernickel bagel with a light schmear of Sundried Tomato/Garlic crm chz. HEAVEN! Got two extra pmprnckl bagels for the rest of the weekend... I needed major reinforcements for yard work!

After delicately woofing down my forbidden delight, I visited a furniture yard sale on the way back home and found to my great excitement, a big-ass wooden rocker! I have always wanted a rocking chair but they've been way too expensive and then I start thinking about where in the hell would I put it. For $20 bucks I most certainly could find a place for it. And it fit in my Fit like it was meant for me which it was. 

Got back home and immediately started working on the puzzle that is my postage stamp-sized living room. I moved three things out of the living room into the basement, moved the elliptical towards the front door so it no longer sticks out, the rocking chair is on the other side of the love seat, and when I want to sit in it I just pull it out into the middle of the room (which is now empty and my living room paradoxically looks bigger, hmmm) and rock to my heart's content. 

All the stuff moved to the basement reminded me of some rearranging down there I wanted to do, so I jigsawed down there for a while. Looks good at the bottom of my stairs now. If I ever get around to it, now I have room for the emergency food stash that my best friend J is trying to get me to put together.

Still had some time so I pulled up a bucketful of dandelions. I only got a day and a half before the second wave popped their little yellow heads up.

Made it on time to walk my parents' dogger, Rileypants, at noon. He was very happy to see me. We did our usual unpaved street which has mucho sniffs and messages and Riley had to leave so many messages in return he was peeing hot air by the halfway point so he had to drink from some of the moving water streamlets on the sides of the road and viola! the message machine was back in action! Back at the parental unit's home, he got to chew on sticks in the sun after I hosed him off, rolled around in the grass (have to remember to video him doing this, bring my digicamera next time!), ate his lunch, got his Kong, and off I went.

Home again, I showered, got warmly dressed, went out to find s'more supplies - I thought the Wal-Mart was going to have everything but they were OUT of everything so I had to back track to the local grocery - got everything finally, and off to a...

Bonfire, a HUGE bonfire, so damn big that you couldn't get within 3-4 feet of it or your eyebrows would singe off, your skin started to crackle, and anything metal on you could not be touched. We had dinner, drinks, and then s'mores! Later after bottle rocks going awry and shots (not me), there were strong indications of some mud-wrestling (the ground around the fire was very mushy/soggy) and I decided to leave at that point as Slambo don't play that.

Woke up Sunday morning to a full day of yard work - planted a buttload of white (so he says) irises that my neighbor gave me, moved a walkway, moved my birdbath, raked the remains of leaves/pine needles, pulled up maple seedlings (strong little f'ers!), pulled up dead stems (my back started hurting so I used the Pilates  Elephant and no more back pain, even today!) from a huge spread that grows about a foot in diameter every year and makes bright yellow flowers, and trimmed the dead stuff off all my roses.

Inside at 3:36pm, checked my messages, had one from Dad saying he was on board for a movie and coming over at 3:45pm to get me. I took the fastest shower I have EVER taken, dried, only moisturized a third, wet hair up in clips, and was 2/3s dressed when Dad called to say he was on his way. 

We saw Safe. Love me some Jason Statham. Yum.

Home for dinner, cats fed, and bedtime reading until the book hit me in the face which at that point was literally lights out for all of us.

This morning I saw a mourning dove sitting on the newly moved bird bath all fluffed up and resting with it's tail feathers in the water. Too cute!

D Day or Dandies, Dead Animals, and Doctor's Appt Day

Driving around for work today, almost every street had a dead animal on it. Someone zigged when they should have zagged and ended up losing the game of life. Zero points. All done. Hope the drivers were suitably upset they hit an animal, but that's being optimistic as I know drivers who try to hit them on purpose or don't friggin' care. Years ago I cried for two hours after I unavoidably hit a squirrel... it dithered itself under my tires when I'd already completed an animal avoidance swerve and would have missed him if he hadn't suddenly changed his little mind.

Dermatologist appointment today. I had two areas of concern on my face looked at. Turns out it was Telangliectasia, otherwise known as spider veins. They can appear on the face in prepubescence and go away or appear during pregnancy and again go away after awhile. Obviously mine was neither as I had the one under my eye since college and it's been slowly increasing in size and the one on my nose just showed up three years ago and I mistakenly thought it was a zit gone horribly horribly wrong. So she ended up zapping them right in the office - what a snappy electric zip of a pain. The one on my nose only got one zap but the one under my eye got about 5. She said to give it a month and if the "legs" of the spider under my eye aren't entirely gone, she can do a touch up. Apparently the middle "feeds" the "legs" and she thinks since she multi-zapped the middle I should be fine but if not, to come on back in. I was worried I had something bad, nice to know it's benign and easily taken care of.

Dandelion cleaning happened after I got home from the doctor's. I like to root out the spring dandies as it's less work and less unsightly for the rest of the spring and summer. Got a wheelbarrowful of them. All done until the next phase raises their little yellow heads...

The Other Side of the Road X 3

I was in meetings all day today. Directly after the first meeting:

1) a squirrel crossed the road to get to the other side. He was very far ahead and super quick so I didn't have to do anything but make sure he didn't suddenly change his mind and dash back, which he didn't.

2) I looked to my left and saw a turkey booking it in the field with definite plans to cross the road to get to the other side. I estimated it's right-angled trajectory to my trajectory would allow it to meet me head-on so I braked a bit. The turkey decided last minute to loft itself and fly over the road but it's good I slowed down as it wasn't too high off the ground.

3) I was heading down a steep curved hill with the river/railings on my right and a jack-ass on my ass when a groundhog decided to zoom out of the railings to get to the other side and this time I had to slam on the brakes, swerve a bit, and heave a big sign when I didn't hit him and the jack-ass didn't hit me.

Things happen in threes. I didn't see hide or hair or fur of another critter trying to cross the road to get to the other side.

Whew. I couldn't take anymore!

I Had A Wunnerful Weekend!

Friday: I got to leave work at 5pm, a first in 4 weeks! Documentation all done and not hanging over my head, no work for the weekend is HEAVEN! I despise having to work from home. Home is home, not work. So yeah me!

Saturday: I woke up with a project to do: I hung a shelf in my bedroom which was supposed to just take about half an hour but the nature of my house hydra-headed the project into two hours so I just had time to shower and go. I got to go hang out with my BF J2. We went to a delightfully eclectic restaurant where I had the Politos and Fritas (Sweet Potato Fries) with Honey Mustard  and a Key Lime Pie Milkshake for dessert (it's a shake with an entire slice of Key Lime Pie blitzed in it). Holy Crap is it GOOD! Then we drove around for a bit and J2 took me to a used book store she has been wanting to take me to! Holy Crap squared!! I got me some Book Crack! Then we went to Trader Joe's where she and I filled our carts with food crack as we giggled our way thru the store. Everyone and their mother, father, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousin, gma, gpa, and etc was there but Trader Joe's was not out of a thing! Holy Crap x3!!!

Sunday: I woke up early for some reason ready to start my day. Fed the kittos, fed the birds, fed myself. Revamped my book list for my purse (so I don't buy doubles, I got way too many books to remember them in my head!) and added the new books which I then made room for in the "to be read" bookcase. Blew bubbles for the kittos which I have to video as Moomin is just too funny with them. Then Dad called and came over to cut some lilacs down and Riley came too. I took Riley up on the deck so he got to look thru the window and see all three of the cats looking out the window at him. Riley was SO thrilled he just didn't know what to do with himself! The cats all crept closer to the window, they were SO brave! Then Dad left and I settled down with a cat pig-pile and book pile and read until dinner time. We all ate and I showered so I wouldn't O-ffend at Pilates early tomorrow morning. Yep, it will be my 5th session. I'm enjoying it very much, I'm shifting some mental/physical gears and what a revelation!

Off to bed. Nighty night!

OK, What Have You Done With the Blogger I Was Used To?

I'm not a firm believer that new is always better.

Things made today are not made to last, they break after a few uses or after a year, and then you have to buy new and it lasts even less time and is generally shoddy.

I still have the bunkbeds I took with me to college - practically indestructible, those beds lived thru some riotous times and while there are some scratches and dings, they are still rock solid and can hold a bunch of people on them. The cats mostly use them now, but they are in the spare room incase of company!

So when I signed in on Blogger, I found that the entire set up once I sign in has been changed, more doohickeys added that I have no idea what they do, and it's really not clearer to use. 

I get simple, but then there is taking it for granted that every computer user is tech/net/symbol savvy. Which they are not. Case in point.

"I'm a techno-loser, baby, so why don't you crash on me?"

Spring Has Sprung When Your Town Smells Like Poop

Here in Maine you know Spring has officially arrived (yes, I do mean after the date on the calendar) weather-wise when entire towns smell like poop!

The town I work in smells like a cross between dog and cow poop.

Some days, the town I live in smells like h-poop with some dog and cow mixed in.

I travel thru other towns and they all at differing times have a mix of poopsmells.

So lovely, really makes me wanna roll down the windows and suck Spring right into my lungs!

Turning the Pilates Page

I had my first individual session of Pilates today.

It was both a very positive and a negative experience.

Positive in that I decided on and followed through with a plan towards a much needed change to help me physically and mentally.

Negative in that today I objectively saw "me", saw what I've been avoiding seeing and acknowledging basically since last August, saw how much I've let things get out of whack, and saw how far I've got to climb. I know, this in of itself is not a negative, but the way it made me feel was negative.

UGH, and upwards has been my motto for today.

I think this is something I can "own".

The only reason I ran was to get in shape for soccer. I loathe the actual act of running - I like the feeling after I run. Can't run now even if I wanted to due to bone spurs on my heels. I did Karate with my dad - I liked the exercises, break falls, rolls, etc but had a very difficult time with the kadas (learning the forms was stressful and took forever, my physical motor memory sucks) and the "community service" that was starting to be asked of us was just not on my 20-something agenda. I rode my bike for years to and from work, not so much for enjoyment but because I didn't know how to drive/didn't have a license. I danced 4 nights/week which was awesome and I miss doing that but those days are over. I use a non-motorized lawn mower, I shovel the old fashioned way, I rake and compost all my leaves, and I can weed for 4 hours straight - preferred activities? No way! but they all have to be done coz I'm a grown-up homeowner and need to get to work, not to mention I don't need anymore crazy attached to my neighborhood rep than it already has.

So, it's been one year since my double surgery and things have disturbingly redistributed and the lack of muscle tone/flexibility is discouraging and disheartening...

I've given things a lot of thought once I stopped avoiding it, and did some research, landed on Pilates and while today was super physically awkward, it was "strengthening". I've made a step forward, found out there is some muscle hiding out under the layers of bodily Jell-O, and was aware of my core all day today so that when I adjusted accordingly and used my abs, my back stopped hurting. That's a good thing, a positive thing, to know that I've been overusing and relying on my back muscles instead of my abs and now I can feel how to use them instead of my back. I scooped litter at PetCo and concentrated on using my abs instead of my back and what a difference. I sort of bounced my way back out to my car.

So yes, the positive far outweighs the negative, but I needed the negative to see the positive and will need to keep what I've learned in mind as I continue because it's so easy to let the negative suck me down.

Til next time, with my abs "doing the scoop in" towards my back...

Easter Bahzinga

Okay, so I woke up early this morning, got the cats fed, threw on some clothes, brushed my teeth, and out the door...

I had my grocery list all ready, reusable bags in the back, and a lone coupon.

I pulled into the parking lot and there were tumbleweeds rolling across it. Not one single frickin' car!

And that's when it hit me...

I forgot it was Easter.

I'm out of milk and nothing is open except for gas stations. Not even The Wal-Mart. Geesh.

So I dashed past some sinning Easter Sunday smokers, grabbed a half-gallon of skim, paid, and came home to just max and relax.

I did my dog-sitting walk and front-yard-raking yesterday, I need some book time today.

Can't believe I forgot it was Easter... oh well.