Fall Festivities With My Pseudonephew

So J2 and I tried something new this year. Our usual fall festivity venue has turned touristy, crowded, and unfun so we decided to give another town a try. We watched the Pumpkin Catapult launch large produce into the water where it satisfyingly splattered and the Pumpkin (air-compressed) Cannon which shot perfectly grown/measured produce at a car where it did some SERIOUS damage! Then we tried to watch the Giant Pumpkin races - basically hollowed out mammoth pumpkins made into boats/rafts/paddleboats/kayaks raced for two laps in the cove - which was next to impossible given the sheer amount of people. I lifted TJ up on my chest so he could see over everyone but he totally thought they were racing rafts and didn't believe J2 and I when we said the "rafts" were actually pumpkins. We ended up at a very cool farm stand and I splurged on two pumpkins (only $6 for both of them, who could pass up beautifully grown large pumpkins, not me!) and a bag of the last of the season's freshly picked green beans. Here are some pictures of our Grand Adventure which ended with us eating lunch at the third restaurant we stopped at, bowling one game, and stopping in at TJ Maxx where I splurged again but on Ghiradelli Peppermint Bark Chocolate Squares - 5 bags of absolute heaven which cost more than my two pumpkins but will last much longer.

Can you say Holy Giant Winning Pumpkin, Batman?

I just had to take a pic of it's mammoth pumpkin buttocks!

TJ's costume and "face" for the day.

Disturbing (hee) how TJ has no idea how much his expression resembles my favorite of all the decorated behemoth pumpkins scattered around the town.

Getting lost and found in a mini hay maze.

And a good day was had by all despite minor behavior bumps and less-than-met expectations, but then again, J2 and I always manage to salvage the day and have a great time regardless of what happens and how rude the enormous crowds of people are!

Ghost Cat

I was messing around with my camera, gave up trying to take pictures of the almost full moon shadows, and started bothering the crap out of Hobbes. My bedroom was pitch black so I was shining my "lantern" in his face and snapping with slow shutter speed to catch what little light there was.

Feeling super prickly today, veering between okay and so not okay at the speed of light. Not in the mood to post anything delightful and witty.

Smooches for the SmartAss

It's so nice to be dating someone taller than me:)

And looks amazingly similar to Mr. Clean! (snort)

Go Figure

Who knew that you could lay out in the sun on Sunday and bake your assets off but wake up Monday with a full blown cold of major mucus proportions?

That's what happened to me. I got all nice and glowy, renewing my color before the laying out days end, which will be sooner than I would like, then Monday, BAM!

At first I thought I was having a serious issue with allergies coz there is something pollinating right now that has my nose in a tizzy but the apple cider vinegar suggestion from the wonderful newbie at work had put a stop to it. I thought it wasn't working anymore and was feeling mighty disappointed because apple cider vinegar tastes like utter crap, MUCH worse than green tea, and I just found a way to cover it up and sip it slowly as recommended - a shot glass amount of pineapple juice.

So I had myself a second shot of apple cider vinegar/pineapple juice midday yesterday to help alleviate the river of mucus and showers of sneezing. By the time I used up two thirds of a box of Puffs tissues (the big bulk box mind you), I did some rethinking and decided I had a cold.

Mr. L got much enjoyment out of making fun of me but he was also solicitous too. Men! A true mix of buttheadedness and sweetness.

Woke up this morning feeling poopy, I just went into work for a couple hours today to get some deadliney stuff done, had my annual check-up (called first to make sure they wanted to see my germy self which they did), got some bloodwork done (the lab was like lightning today, already got results: electrolytes are good, I'm not anemic, my thyroid is normal, and some other test I can't remember but it's all good), and came home and took a 4 hour nap.

Now the kitties are fed, my eyes are out, I'm having a small dinner, and headed for bed. Regular work day tomorrow so want to feel better.

And So the B'day Destruction and Mayhem Continues

Everyone keeps asking me how my birthday went yesterday. I keep telling them the b'day weekend was way better than the b'day itself. Don't get me wrong, my birthday is essentially a good day, celebrating my arrival and continued attendance to this party we call life. Mr. L took me to dinner, my dad took me to dinner and a movie, and I got a bunch of cards.

But I could have done without the trail of mishaps, accidents, and breakages. I'm hoping this doesn't set the tone for the rest of my year...

First up, I had extreme difficulties getting out of my own way yesterday morning getting up and getting to work. Always big time fun when the inanimate objects conspiracy-ize against you.

Then at work, I knocked over a huge pile of paperwork and resources, busting several folders and mixing up the papers well.

Some computer hiccups.

Learned there was some miscommunication and the meeting I thought was scheduled for yesterday, the client thought was scheduled last Monday and considered me a no-show. I love coming across as inefficient and a slacker. Worked hard to rectify the mistake.

Then back at home, I was fixing the cats' dinner whilst simultaneously talking to my brother via speaker phone, I dropped the phone and Moomin's dinner. Moomin's 3 tablespoon's of water mixed with food dinner dropped directly onto the handset, filling every crack and crevice with watered down food and liquid. I hung up with him and spent the next 45 minutes cleaning and drying it off. Bro called me back and let me know the handset had a high-pitched buzz coming thru on his end, same on my end. Thank goodness I have a second handset in the bedroom. Used that for the rest of the night.

Learned from Mr. L that all of the main street going thru town was without power late afternoon which negatively impacted his ability to do his job effectively and he basically had a suck-a$$ day himself.

This morning, I woke up and preceded to break the thing holding up my bathroom fan so I had to take 20 minutes to dismantle the apparatus, clean the fan, and find a new hanger. Did and done.

Spilled the water for Moo's breakfast.

Managed to get to work in one piece, work day was fine despite two power outage hiccups, and got myself a b'day present after work at Target.

So all's well that ends well.

Closer to Being Older

(J says I'm the only person she knows whose laugh you can feel coming right off the picture.)

Or closer to reverting to back to childhood due to senile dementia.

Or one day closer to death. (thanks PinkFloyd)

Whatever, gonna get there either way...

Anyhoo, as I sit here typing and drinking my cuppa choco-doctored green tea (which is going down fine every morning thank you), I'm thinking about how fortunate I REALLY am, especially in the things that make life meaningful and worthwhile tho we tend to take them for granted and forget how important they are when bogged down with the day-to-day shit: family, friends, cats, home of my own, books, interests, employment, transportation, overall health, and what passes for sanity nowadays.

I'm going to add a new "habit" this birthday to the other ones I started on other birthdays in an effort to keep things in perspective which the other two are helping me do.

The original two are: 1) finding the golden side of the coin and 2) counting to ten to stop the knee-jerk reaction of saying "no" immediately when asked or invited to do something new or outside my comfort zone. So far I've done fairly well with both although I have to admit my "inflexibility and rigidity" (description courtesy of friend J2 which she uses on both my pseudonephew and me) does still trip me up. But I have gotten better, I have.

The new one is going to be to learn something new everyday or at least identify something new I've learned, even if it is very small and seems insignificant, it might not be later on down the road.

So starting just this week, I learned:

• 1 & 2) Safety-Care - a two day course on safe behavioral interventions, so that takes care of Mon/Fri.
• 3) If the bread is dense and chocolately enough, I can eat zucchini bread. And zucchini brownies ROCK! And I HATE zucchini!
• 4) Safflower oil has a high burn doohickey (unit, rate, ratio, limit, something technical which unfortunately did not stay in my mind) so it is much better for you than all the other cooking oils, especially for frying stuff.
• Aside: Someone told me olive oil is better for you and when I tried it, it tasted the way grass smells so I've not done it again. I'm hoping safflower oil isn't the same case, we'll see.
• 5) Organic dark agave nectar is way better for you then the light or any other sugar due to the low glycemic index.
• 6) Mr. L explained some building stuff to me in regards to the house he is sitting and while I got the gist of the heat/cooling premise, I have to admit I did not retain the more technical aspects:(

Wonder what I will be learning today?

I did see two shooting stars Thursday night, so that makes a grand total of three shooting stars I have seen in my entire life. No, I did not make any wishes. I read a story way back in my impressionable days about a boy who had a choice to keep/use his wishes or give them to charity (to ones who were in need). He chose to keep and make his wishes and things did not turn out well, at all. So I decided then and there to give all my wishes to charity. And I continue to do so. Besides, true change comes from within when you are ready and make the decision to change and I'd like to experience what it takes to make my wishes come true for myself.

Mr. L wants to take me to dinner tonight to celebrate my birthday since we both work long days Monday. He had his boys wish me happy birthday too when I ate dinner with them last night. Those are some seriously awesome kids and I don't say that very much in today's world.

I need to think about where I want to go have some birthday dinner - where we had our first date, second date, somewhere we go alot, or somewhere new. I have all day. Maybe it will come to me while baking in the sun before dogsitting or while I'm walking Mr. RileyPants.

Slowly Getting Back Into Experimenting

I figured if I was taking mundane pics of my garden, I might as well take some other plant photos and play around with them. These were done by tweaking the temperature, tint, and saturation in iPhoto. The fuzzy pics are mold on one of my weekend harvested squash. Unbeknownst to me the baby squash had been harboring the mold and I just noticed it today.

I am LOVING the color intensity!

Garden of Mini Delights

So this is my pumpkin plant. See how it is lush and green and filling my back landscaping bed up nicely. I did not have a pumpkin as of last week but there was a tiny unfertilized one I was going to keep my eye on. Lo and behold, today I looked and Houston, we have fertilization. I gotta pumpkin! Finally.

It's amazing how much they grow in a week. This one started off as big as my thumb. Now it's almost two softballs-big. Not to mention it's in a great position to grow unimpeded and big. Fingers crossed.

SunBaked Moomifer

My Moomin knows his sunbeams and how to maximize their potential sunny goodness. That's a window he's got his head against which makes him look like an earless wonder.

I'm home having a mental health day today. Dental appt which involved appliances this afternoon and was too much of a basketcase til the appt to even think of being able to support others at work and afterwards, which is now, I'm exhausted and sore like I've just run a marathon which I kinda did with all the fine motor tremoring/shaking I did for the past hour and a half. Waiting for the Novocain to wear off so I can eat something to settle my stomach and then it's off to bed with loads of books. Thank goodness it's over and my dental buddy took care of me. The valium worked until I got into the chair, then all the adrenaline burned the shit right out of it. I'm going to have to take a break from listening to Depeche Mode - Ultra for a while, coz that's what I had cranked to 10 while the dentist did his thing. Again, it's over, I'm still here, and I have a filling to get used to. Gotta go make sure I'm not drooling...

Sun Day Doodlebug

Doodle and I had the same fabulous lazy idea today... sunbathing to the fullest extent possible. I was outside in my portable hammock and she was in the window. I crisped everything but my pink bikini and she crisped all of her pink bits.

Gotta love a sunny summer day in the high 70's with low humidity and a nice breeze before the dog days of summer come.

Our White Water Rafting Trip

You'll have to excuse the quality of the photos, they aren't digital but the waterproof disposables. I figured that was the best way to go so each of us had our own camera which the boys truly enjoyed as they could snap whatever they wanted.

Mr. L's good friend, the guide, did "dumptruck" us and I apologize there are no action shots of that wonderful experience. There are photos of the aftermath but I have to order them from the company that sits like vultures at each of the rougher spots on the river and takes photos of people flippin' and dippin' and nose+toesing it. Let's just say that when Mr. L told me that on all his trips with his friend, no one had ever fallen out of the boat, I KNEW it was going to happen to us. You don't bring Murphy's Law Girl along and not get dumptrucked! I've had it happen before in the early 90's when I went whitewater rafting with my best friend J. So when the boat tipped, we all fell out except the guide and Mr. L's oldest son. The guide was hauling people in right and left and I was the last one in the boat, of course. (That happened last time with J!) We lost three oars out of seven. I'd been sitting towards the front of the boat and when I fell out, that's where I popped up. I was able to open my eyes once to see where I was, heard the guide yell everyone to grab the boat, so I grabbed the rope along the side, and then promptly went under a wave which was the end of me having my eyes open coz my contacts were no longer centrally eye-located. I still had my oar at this point but the waves were so big that I made the instinct decision to "screw the oar and hold the rope with both hands". While I was doing that, Mr. L, his oldest, and the son of the other couple on the trip all were holding on to me but because we were still going thru very big rapids, they couldn't pull me in the boat. The front of the boat where I was is the highest in the water so they had to wait for calmer water. All I know is that my eyes were shut, I had a death grip on the rope, whoever was holding me had a death grip (I didn't know who it was until I'd been hauled in and they told me), I could hear Mr. L's oldest telling me to hold on and they had me, and I felt the boat tilting in the rapids before I would get deluged each time and my legs sucked under the boat. I was trying very hard not to hyperventilate once they got me in the boat. I did swallow quite a bit of river water and had some pretty big unladylike belches for about half and hour afterwards.

This is us at a MUCH calmer spot in the river. Mr. L is on the far left, then the couple we went with, Mr. L's friend the guide is in the sunglasses in the back, Mr. L's youngest is lounging in the middle while his oldest takes the photo, and all the other kids are the other couple's. Such super nice people. Not sure why the girl has that expression as that is not how she was actually feeling.

This was taken by Mr. L's oldest as he was drifting in the swimming part of the river. That's all of us in the boat. I'd had enough of being in the water so I passed on floating.

Me and Mr. L resting directly after our spill. I should have taken my life jacket off too, it reeked of mothballs.

Mr. L's youngest was experimenting before we got on the river and got us in the corner, I cropped the pic and made us front and center.

I had a blast, the boys and Mr. L did too!

So I Think I've Finally Found a Way to Drink Green Tea

Sorry, all you tea drinkers and lovers, but tea totally tastes like nasty-ass dirtNgrass!

My friend J has done oodles of "research" and insists I start drinking green tea every day because it's so good for you. In addition to 2 cups of 100% blueberry juice. So on Tuesday I decided to go the "two birds, one stone" route and make a cup of tea, chill it, and put in frozen pureed blueberries to make a summer antioxidant smoothie.

Can you say GAG GAG GAG GAG?

I gave it the college try, I really did. I added agave to it to see if that would help. Nope! Just tasted like sweet blueberry nasty-ass dirtNgrass.

Called J and dropped the f-bomb numerous times while I tried downing the stuff in a hurry using her for a distraction. I was taking big spoonfuls and throwing them to the back of my throat to avoid tasting the crap. I managed to get a cup down before the back of my throat started to seriously rebel and the big gags set in.

Needless to say, I threw the failed experiment down the drain and told J, no way in hell am I a tea drinker.

I asked around at work the next day to see what other people did with their tea and while my reaction to tea amused them, no one had any good ideas on how to negate the taste of tea, basically coz they all LIKE it.

My ideas, like adding amaretto or key lime soda to it, were not any good coz the badness of them would cancel out the goodness of the tea. I finally came up with an idea very late in the afternoon yesterday... why not add Special Dark cocoa? That's strong, it's chocolate which I adore, AND dark chocolate has antioxidants too. (Special Dark is "dutch processed" so the container's caveat is that it has less than the unprocessed cocoa - I figure the green nasty-ass dirtNgrass tea more than makes up the difference.)

So I tried it this morning and while I definitely went a bit overboard with the cocoa (I will reduce it gradually to get the right ratio), I did not taste the nasty-ass dirtNgrass at all.

Hallelujah, praise the Universal Being, I have found a way to drink green tea in the morning and add it to my daily health-regimen of probiotic, turmeric, cranberry extract, Garlique, and 2 cups of 100% blueberry juice!

Land Sakes, Am I Living in Some Kind of Hell?

According to the average extremely high temperature of Maine the past 3 weeks, the trapped-in-someone's-mouth humidity levels, and the weeds taller than me that need to be attended to - I would have to say...

Why, yes, yes I am, living in Hell right now.

I'm actually doing much better than I expected and I'm getting chilly when it gets to 70 degrees. I can't say I enjoy it by any means, and tho my hair is absolutely frickin' fantastically spiral-curled every day (no hair dryer for me this summer), I have been avoiding any and all yard work other than laying out in the sun.

I had to mow two lawns for three weeks coz my neighbor went away for a while. She left me her gas mower so I took advantage and used her mower on my lawn after I mowed hers. Paid for using it with getting headaches, but damn, my lawn was taken care of quickly and looked all nice and even. Now that she's back, it's back to using my reel mower (hand pushing, no motor). Greener for the environment and no headaches, but not as nice looking a lawn. Oh well.

I weeded for 3 hours straight on Sunday and managed to complete both garden beds, the walkway between and behind the beds, the 3 half wine casks, and the back landscaping beds where my pumpkin plants are spreading out along the entire back of the house. I sweated so much that it pooled in my glasses as I was bent over. I filled up four large wheel-barrow's full of weeds, not just to the brim but mounded several feet above the brim. Very heavy and unwieldy. I still have to do my side landscaping and front beds. Saving that for another hot day.

I have managed to sunbake myself four times since I got back from my May vaca to visit my bestest and oldest friend in Florida. I went before the tarballs hit any of the Florida beaches. We went to the beach every damn day. It was so wonderful. I did not want to come back. We did NOTHING but beach it and lounge and talk and laugh. It was supremely restful. And this time I did the sunbathing right, no burns and came back with a lovely start to my color.

I laid out this past Saturday and it was HOT and HUMID and I was just wiped. Had a migraine I was fighting all day that finally did me in in the evening. Mr L rubbed my temples for me which helped but he fell asleep while doing that, the heat's been kicking his ass too. He works with animals and comes home exhausted and the place he's house-sitting at is in the midst of re-model/re-construction so it builds up heat throughout the day coz there is no air conditioning, the windows are absolutely ridiculous in that most of them do not open (literally, they are perma-windows, just glass, not made to open) and the ones that do open are too small to cool this huge house, not one curtain so the sun just streams in all day, and while it's considered waterfront (river) the trees block most of the wind off the water. I'm letting him borrow some of my fans but whenever I spend the night I have to bring my box fan with me otherwise I'd never sleep what little I do when I sleep over (12 years of nights sleeping on my own, I have to get used to another person again, getting better but definitely not more than 4 hours at the most so far).

I harvested three squash so far. Pepper plants are busily being eaten alive, I've Sevin-ed them twice. Pumpkin plants have made male flowers but no female/baby pumpkins ready yet - needs a bit more growing time I guess. My new rose bush is doing well, I weeded where I want to plant it (possibly this weekend) and have had to rose powder it twice as the Japanese beetles (or Japanise bettels) are munching on it.

Mr L's boys want me to make my Chinese dumplings which I've promised to do on a cooler weekend. They thoroughly enjoyed my Plaza Toast (thick-cut slices of bread, honey baked hams slices, Swiss cheese slices, half pears all baked in the oven til bread is crusty and chz is melted and then served up smothered in Hollandaise sauce - YUM!). Turns out the boys like me, so that is a VERY good thing, I was worried but it turned out okay. Going white-water rafting with them this Sunday.

Gotta go, an awesome book is calling me.

Oh, if you enjoy British humor and need a laugh - I totally recommend "Death At A Funeral", the 2007 version directed by Frank Oz. OMG!!! it's immensely hilarious. Simon is by far my favorite character.

Lions, and Tigers, and Bears, Oh My!

Mr. L took me walking in a park last weekend that he's been going to since he's been knee-high to a grasshopper. Now while there weren't any tigers or bears, there were plenty of black flies, turkeys, crows, and this one lone lion. Can you see it. It's in this huge dead tree with all these dead branches and vines twining around it. I've tweaked the photo in some other copies for contrast, color boost, angles, and blackNwhite. I'm sharing the original with the highlights up to 100%. Gotta love the fun you can have with iPhoto!

I always forget how fun it is to tweak my photos. I try for surreal effect, almost like I'm painting with the camera. Can't explain it any better than that.

Sorry It's Been Sooooo Long, but Real Life Takes Precedence

Real life, like there is such a thing:)

Anyhoo.

Life has been busy with work, talking to friends every night on the phone (J is abubblin' over with good stuff finally happening), talking to Mr. L every night via phone and seeing him on the weekends when he catches me up on my non-existent movie viewing , kitty-cat stuff, new projects bubbling up in my head begging to be made into reality (or as close as I can get them to reality, I always miss by a big margin), cooking, and yard work.

Movie watching: Mr. L is a zombie movie fan in addition to comedies. I've seen in the past two months:

Comedies: Heartbreak Kid, Anger Management, Just Friends, I Love You Man, Good Luck Chuck, Knocked Up, The Hebrew Hammer, Hot Fuzz, Run Fat Boy Run, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.

Drama: No Country for Old Men (which can I tell you I was VERY upset at the end parts, so not what I expected and after all the dodging and running - all for naught and the creepy/disturbing guy gets to go on being creepy and disturbing which is fine but...).

Zombies: Shaun of the Dead, Fido, Zombieland ("Rule 1: Cardio" - this movie was very funny), I Sell the Dead, and last night I saw Dawn of the Dead (recent remake).

New out-of-my head recipe:

Chicken Slambo

Thin chicken breasts pounded even thinner with meat hammer.

Then dipped in melted butter and breaded with a mix of fine bread crumbs and Parm chz.

Then slices of maplebrownsugar ham and Swiss chz laid on the breasts.

Roll breasts up, secure with toothpick.

Bake until chicken is cooked thru.

About 10min before chkn is done, make Hollandaise sauce (I use the Knorr pkt, sooo good).

Pour Hollandaise sauce over chicken rolls - however much you crave.

EAT!

Side of roasted green beans works out very well.

Yard work - the entire yard has been raked, the landscaped beds have been as well so there should be less maple tree seedlings to weed out later, and all the branches have been put in their backyard pile. All the snowplow crap that ended up on my lawn is now back out in the street ready for the street sweeper (if that turns out not to come, I'll have to shovel it up).

Howdy Ho!

Here's the trio trying hard to guilt me into turning the heat up more!

It's been a crazy week and I am exhausted mentally!

My friend J has been trying to find another apt to live in and she's been dealing with that all week and it's been stressful for her and for me knowing she's having a tough time. But she's been approved and will have a great place to live while saving some money which is sorely needed.

People at work seem stressed too. Lots of personal and work issues going around.

My issue has been PMS which is such a delight in of itself, no need for additional stress. And I've been craving junk food like crazy. Well, let me amend that, not so much junk food as SUPER tasty you-shouldn't-have-it-every-day food because it will end up on your butt and thighs and midsection! So last night Mr. L and I had these boneless chicken things from the local grocery store's a la carte and baked potato salad. When I stopped at the store, they hadn't put the a la carte stuff out yet. I got a DooBee to help me and while what I wanted wasn't quite ready, he offered to fill up the containers and save them for me while I got the rest of my stuff. Super nice of him. So my craving was filled and I had a wonderful dinner with wonderful company.

How are my cats doing with the company? After initial typical cat-caution, Moomin now rubs his head all over Mr. L. Hobbes comes out when we are quietly sitting on the couch watching Two And Half Men and stares at him. Doodle finally came out a few times yesterday and even jumped on the ottoman next to Mr. L's legs. Yes she did! I was very impressed. She stayed for a little while and then went back into hiding. It's progress!

Bits and Pieces

- Got a new phone finally this weekend and set it up yesterday. My old one has been driving me absolutely batshit. Even jamming the receiver into my ear didn't help me hear the other person any better, my mother always thought I was yelling at her, and I kept getting a crick in my neck coz I didn't have speaker phone. Oh, and I misplaced the manual so I didn't know how to fix or change anything. So, new phone which rocks after charging it's happy ass for 16 hours. I've already tried the speaker phone which is such a relief and it works great. I already got my first message courtesy of Mr. L which was super nice to come home to. And I spoke to three people tonight who came in crystal clear and didn't complain I was yelling.

- I made Mr. L dinner Friday night which was a first for me, making dinner for someone I'm interested in and trusting the Universe wouldn't let Murphy's Law go all buck wild on me. Potstickers. They aren't a first as I've made them for myself before but I was trying to be efficient so I pre-made them Thursday night and discovered Friday that the filling caused the wonton wrappers to get soggy. And I didn't use enough oil cooking the first batch so they came out broken, sticking to each other, and just downright fugly. The second batch was a definite improvement. They turned out tasting good which is the main thing and Mr. L had alot of them!

- Moomin has been trying to eat Doodle's food and since he's managed to slip under my radar a few times, he is now suffering the result of straying outside his prescribed diet. Yep, the big D. And I'm paying for it too as he is friggin' scooting on my carpet. Not to mention Doodle yarfed up her breakfast this morning. I'm so not interested in vomit and shit this week. It was fine prayin' for poop with Hobbes but that was because I didn't want him to have a tumor. If Moomin keeps it up, he's going be fasting sometime soon.

- Getting my hair cut tomorrow. I'm very much looking forward to having my local Hair Whisperer "listen" to my hair and give me yet another fabulous haircut that I absolutely cannot mess up. She has yet to cut it the same way twice. I know, I know, this sounds crazy but it really works. And it's relaxing, and I like talking with her, and she's willing to show my photos once I get them printed and matted (working on this, truly I am).

- Turmeric continues to work. Even with little to no sleep, I'm not super-fatigued the next day. My seasonal allergies seem to have abated tremendously. I'm back to my weight. Waking up is not so much of a chore. I have more energy. And my skin seems to be better, even during PMS, even tho there are zits it's not the big honkers that last forever and are neon signs for troubled skin HERE! and HERE! and HERE! But I also attribute that to using Burt's Bees products which rock!

- Getting an oil delivery tomorrow. Last delivery I spent $202. I got a statement of sorts late last month and it took me a while to figure out what it was saying as I completely forgot I was suckered into a pre-paid plan last year (frickin' charged me $4.62/gallon when the price was lower because I was locked into a contract, never doing that again) and ended up with about $300 as a credit because of my new windows/doors and keeping my house at 55 degrees. I turns out I have a $500 some-odd credit. Whoopee! I'll be using it towards tomorrow's delivery and the furnace check-up which is scheduled for Thurs.

Doin' the Poopie Dance

Some people do the "peepee" dance.

I've been doing the "poopie" dance all day today and not for the gastrointestinal reasons you might be thinking of, minds out of the toilet please!

See, Hobber (pictured in the heading, he is beautiful, thanks Anonymous) went to the vet last Monday and Dr. H felt an anomaly in or on Hobbes' intestine. He didn't know if it was a tumor or a stool, so we scheduled Hobbes to come back in to be felt up today. If it was still there, it was most likely a tumor. If it was gone, it was stool.

Results of the feeling up? It was POOP! Thank god! I have been crossing my fingers for poop for a week and I've had my closest friends prayin' for poop too!

And he's fine.

(Which makes my innards feel much better.)

New Year, New Scoop

I've been keeping quiet about this but decided to give you a tidbit...

Mr. L is current news. And it's "new" news. Very different from any of the past editions which is a refreshing change. We're both being open to where this may lead, either friendship or otherwise, and it's the complete inverse of any other ---ship I've ever had. We have lots in common but enough differences to keep things interesting so we're not spending time with mirror images of ourselves (which would be "eeeuuuww" by the way).

And meeting Mr. L was very unexpected although my best friend J has had a feeling I'd meet someone since the new year started. What can I say, she's psychic and I'm having a good time.

Watch words are "we'll see".

And It Just Gets Better...

This morning I was out the door at 7:15 am. Don't ask, I have absolutely no idea how or why I was up and moving and ready as early as that.

I backed down the driveway simultaneously pressing the garage door opener/closer. Avoiding the garbage cans, I checked to make sure the garage door was shut like I always do lately coz a month ago the door magically went back up without me pressing anything. I noticed it was a foot and a half open.

Sitting at the end of the driveway, I pressed the button. Nothing. Pressed it again. Nothing. Pulled up closer to the garage.

Pressed the button.

Nothing.

Button.

Nothing.

Button.

Nothing.

Button.

Nothing.

I know what you are thinking, why did I just keep pressing the button? Why do you keep pressing the damn mouse button for the computer, why do you channel surf, why do you keep poking your tongue in that sore part of your mouth? Coz you think it will work/fix itself/get better...

To continue, I got out of the car and heard this great grinding growling noise coming from inside the garage. I tried lifting the door to see if I could get it to latch or catch or something. Nothing but the grinding which finally stopped and resumed a few seconds later.

By fighting with the door and the machine (which was incredibly scary), I finally I got the door open enough so I could go in the garage. I was trying to check things out though I had no idea what in the hell I was looking at or for. Nothing but grinding, which I eventually stopped by unplugging the machine, which may not have been all that smart of an idea but it did stop growling.

I did some dithering around on a ladder and whatnot, still having no damn clue what I was looking at or for, experimented with the release which only let me open the door halfway and no more, and finally manually closed the door, went to work, and called a garage door company I seem to vaguely remember my father using but I could totally be mis-remembering that, oh well, they're local. They said they'd send a DooBee (well, they didn't actually say that, just that they'd send someone) out to check on what's going on and call me.

When I got home, I tested the button. Nothing. So I got out of the car, opened the garage, found the machine still (so I thought) unplugged, plugged it back in, pressed the button while standing outside the garage, and listened to the grinding/growling noise. After the noise stopped, I unplugged the machine. Then checked about 5 times to make sure I could open and shut it manually. When I got inside the house, I had a message that the repairpeople had come to see what was wrong, seemed to have written the wrong # down for my work, it looks like I need some gear something something burble burble, and to call them tomorrow.

Which I will do. At some point during my crazy Wednesday schedule.

Golden sides of the coin: I got the car out of the garage safely this morning. I can manually open/shut it at this time. I was able to put the car away tonight which is supposed to be COLD.

I am sooooooo looking forward to tomorrow. I have an hour's drive ahead of me first thing in the morning and an hour back. Plenty of time for "something" to happen.

Please don't. I'm running out of golden sides of coins.

A Balance is Always Struck

No matter what.

I had such a wonderful Saturday evening out with my friend L. Laughing and talking while enjoying a Scorpion Bowl or two with chicken fingers and crab ragoons. Then off to the local tavern for more talking and laughing and happened to meet up with some of her friends I'd met at the Yankee Swap Xmas party. So we had a nice big comfy group that ebbed and flowed with a number of different people that was always fun and relaxed. The best:)

And then today.

Trapped in a 2 hour meeting that unexpectedly had a Part 2 of 2 hours that I had not been informed of up until 15 minutes prior to it. 4 hours of sitting on some superlatively uncomfortable chairs.

Then driving back to the office, I thought a rock hit my windshield and made a divet and then I thought I drove over something a bit strange but it sounded like I went over whatever it was with both tires so assumed it was a road surface issue. Turns out I couldn't find the divet but my boss told me at 4:14pm that I had a flatter than flat tire on the back passenger side. I rushed outside and what I could see of the metallic thing in my tire looked really nasty. Not at all like times I've run over a bolt or a fork.

Golden sides of the coin:

At least I wasn't driving on the flat.

I had access to a phone.

Could wait indoors for my rescuers.

I have Triple A.

Who came in 45 min and put my spare on.

VIP had been planning on sending their tire guy home but when I called and explained my situation, they said they could fit me in and they'd keep him until I got there.

They showed me the piece of jagged nasty metal that ripped a big ass irreparable hole in my tire. I was told small cars like mine need the same tires on all four wheels so they are going to find a Dunlop tire and call me when they do and "work around my schedule to get it on". So nice of them.

So a balance has been struck: the wages of a super good time on Saturday were an aching ass and a flat tire. In the grand scheme of really bad things that can happen, I'll take the ass and tire any day, Saturday cheer still holds and it's all good.

About Time, No?

I see my mom has been the busy bee with positive new year energy with all her cleaning, sorting, organizing, giving away, and projecting.

I also have positive new year energy going but it's of a different sort than Mom's. I did dust, vacuum, and de-clutter some visible piles on the Wednesday before New Yrs along with a medium deep cleaning of the bathroom to start the new year off right. Let's just say I spent Thursday early morning and day doing things that I should do more of with the emphasis being on "letting go and enjoying the moment". Thursday night my friend J, who came up for the holidays, and I celebrated by having a wonderful time talking and laughing locally. She came over afterwards and was my "first foot" guest. Dark haired and dark eyed people as your first visitors of the new year are supposedly lucky. I fed her pierogis and she got back to where she was staying safely.

New Year's Day I maxed and relaxed in my PJs, sleeping in, and reading with the cats. Then on Saturday evening I shoveled. Then on Sunday morning I shoveled some goddamned more. Luckily my snow-blowin' neighbor helped out by blowing the pile at the end of my driveway that was up to my boobies and would have taken me another hour on top of the 2.5 hours I'd already spent. Sunday evening was spent popping Aleve curled up in my living room nest under a down blanket fighting with Hobbes who kept digging his bony paws into all the fresh bruises on my knees and shins courtesy of pushing the heavy snow-filled shovel over side-of-driveway piles repeatedly. Shoveling with me is an all-body experience thus the aches from a slew of brand new bi/tri-cep, back, butt, thigh, calf, abs, obliques, and even hand/wrist muscles. Think this means increased physical activity during the new year...?

This morning I found out that I'm a murderer. I bought a lawn treatment for getting rid of ants the beginning of last summer but never got around to spreading it on the lawn. I figured I'd do it in the spring. Well, it appears ant poison is looking mighty tasty to some neighborhood critters who have been breaking into my garage, busting holes in the metallic bags, and creating piles of the stuff all along the side of my garage. I shoveled it all into plastic litter containers with lids but I'm sure in my heart that it's too late and there are some dead little furries somewhere close by. What a way to start the day today.

Suffice to say - aches are gone, bruises still here, bathroom still clean, dust re-assembling as I live and breathe, the Xmas tree down and taken by the garbage gremlins, decorations all packed away, haven't found any little bodies yet, my hair is fabulous, turmeric still working, sleep continues to be elusive on alternate nights, my parents are great, my co-workers are funny, my friends are wonderful, and my cats still love me even tho I made them wait until 9am all New Yrs weekend for breakfast each day.

Somedoggy Was Liking Xmas!

How's this for the Christmas spirit of anticipation?

I guess he is enjoying this present, courtesy of moi!

Christmas Bling Tree

Meowy Christmouse! Here's the tree that be-sapped Moomin. If you look closely you can see him under it. I'm on my way out to visit the parental units.

I call it the Bling Tree coz everything on is is gold, glittery, sparkley or crystally.

Hobbes enjoying a quiet moment under the tree. He's thankful Moomin is occupied with chomping someone else's hindparts.

PS: I had no idea, but the shape and size of the pics makes a tree shape, what a coininkidink.

Golden Sides of Several Coins

Coin #1:

Tarnished side: spent 20 minutes Sunday night looking for the stamps I knew I still had and did not find them. I found three old priced ones and a slew of old postcard stamps.

Golden side: didn't have to wait in line very long at the Post Office Monday morning despite a lot of people there bright and early, got my bills out on time, and got two new strips of stamps.

Unexpected bonus side: the stamps I was looking for turned up in my photograph folio while my hair stylist looked thru them in preparation for me showing my work at her salon.

Coin #2:

Tarnished side: not sleeping well lately.

Golden side: since I started taking Tumeric tablets, the lack of sleep has been considerably less of an issue. Although I am still not a morning person, I have actually been able to physically get out of bed and be awake shortly after my alarm clock goes off as opposed to a butt-draggin' cranky-ass that waits until the very last ever-lovin' minute to get up.

Unexpected bonus side: I'm not having cravings for junk food anymore, my appetite has decreased, I'm satisfied with smaller helpings of sweets, and have lost about 5 pounds since starting the Tumeric.

Coin #3:

Tarnished side: forgot to turn my bathroom dehumidifier off Monday morning and it ran constantly on high at the 7 setting for over 8 hours.

Golden side: the bathroom was good and dry (and warm), the driest it's ever been which is great and the dehumidifier seems to be fine.

Unexpected bonus side: my house is still here.

Coin #4:

Tarnished side: PMS is making my face break out.

Golden side: the zits are small and going away overnight with spot applications of powdered Tumeric mixed with real lemon juice and left on all night.

Unexpected bonus side: this potion seems to be making my brown spots and moles smaller and less prominent.

Coin #5:

Tarnished side: tonight Doodle yarfed up her entire dinner - multiple times - and she's going to be up-my-butt affectionate and a sink-drain surfer until she's fed her bedtime snack. And here she comes now.

Golden side: her dinner was colorless which made cleaning up the fabric surfaces she yarfed on easy and stain-free.

Unexpected bonus side: at least she doesn't have the big D.

Bonus, ChexMix, and Yankee Swap - Oh My!

I cashed my holiday bonus yesterday morning. It's now residing in a bank envelope waiting for me to decide what frivolous non-essential fun item I want to purchase just for myself. Last year I didn't figure out what I wanted until almost March. I'm not in any hurry.

I made ChexMix for the very first time yesterday after dogsitting. It was way easier than I thought and I will be ramping up the butter, Wsauce, and seasonings next time. Just a little too mild right now, good, but I like more oomph. I was invited to a Christmas party and asked to bring an appetizer so I came bearing my ChexMix.

I also had to bring a "gently used household item" wrapped up for a gift for the Yankee Swap. I've never done a Yankee Swap before or regifted something I've used, so this was a new one on me. My gift was a Swiffer Carpet Flick. I got it because I thought it would cut down on my vacuuming but with all the litter the kittos scatter around my house, the Flick's adhesive strip would be full after 2-3 swipes across the carpet. I dusted it off, took it apart, and put it back in it's original box and packaging - hey, what can I say, I save boxes/pkging until I'm sure whatever I've purchased is a definite keeper, so I'm a little anal retentive, yes I kept the Flick's pkging for two years, and look how it came in handy and was needed after all.

So we all got to pick numbers, there were 22 gifts and I got #18. Each person went in order, picked a gift from under the tree, opened it, and then made an executive decision to keep or swap with anyone who already had a gift. Some of the gifts: mirrored tray, candles, inflatable mini snow globe, my Swiffer, bath products, cat bowl with belled lid, VHS movies, DVD movies, a printer (that one was the funniest), and a huge box that had a mini yard sale in it (books, jacket for kid, men's jeans, Ikea seahorse light, and plastic yard twirling ribbons). Until it was my turn, I was thinking whatever I got I would swap for the inflatable snow globe coz I thought my dad would like it, he loves that kind of thing. But my gift had two glittery ornaments, dark chocolate pomegranate seeds, Belgian chocolate minis, and sterling silver plated earrings. Dad lost out to sparkley and chocolatey. Sorry Dad!

Much humor and laughter. My friend L (it was her friends' party) ended up swapping to get the Flick. The printer will most likely come back next year as does the Fugly Santa Doll that has been swapped for 10 years and looks certifiable it's that scary looking.

Today, because yesterday was so busy (nice but not much time for reading), I will be curled up with my heat-deprived cats reading short story anthologies of Christmas crimes and murders. I have 4 of them plus a "More Holmes for the Holidays" anthology which has different authors offering up holiday cheer and mayhem that is Sherlock-related. I plan on not moving an inch, well, just to go pee but then right back to the warm cozy book/cat-lined nest.

Home Holiday Emergency Surgery of Sorts

Apparently at some point during the still cold night when all the creatures were supposed to not be stirring, Moomin decided to love on the Christmas tree. And the tree gifted him with a good dollop of sap.

I did not know this until after the furry folk had their breakfast and were each busily huddled around their own hot air registers washing faces and paws whilst sending me urgent telepathic messages to keep the heat coming. I was sending verbal messages back that they have fur coats and to stop acting like I'm a penny-pinching-thrifty-assed mother. (I may be when it comes to me but not them, I pay for all their food, vet visits, litter, and toy/catnip habits).

So I picked up Moo to hug and kiss him all over his warm softy goodness when I did the typical cat-mom thing and cleaned his eye boogers. One booger refused to come off and was below his eye. Odd.

On closer examination, I discovered the wad of sap clumping the fur under his eye together creating a nice hurty mat. Caternal instincts to the fore! Hot water! Paper towel! Flea comb (coz it's very fine toothed)! To work!

Nothing, that sap refused to budge. I'll give Moomin credit, throughout the initial sap-removing phase he was a gem - passive, relaxed, tolerant, let me scrub and pull and comb and wash rinse repeat many times.

Then I realized I needed to do way more. Personal shaver? no, he wouldn't sit still for that, the noise would send him flying out of my arms and avoiding me for a long time. Scissors? yes, but oh did that idea make my heart and hands sweat. So close to his eye, no room for error.

But that's what I did. Moomin stayed physically still for this part of the operation but he expressed verbal protest through growling. I tried to lovingly reassure him but he wasn't having any of it. Finally I sternly asked his unhappy ass if he wanted to go to the vet. He stopped growling immediately and I was able to get a very close cut, almost a shave.

Operation accomplished. All the sap removed. Along with fur. I told Moomin his bald spot makes him look distinguished. He's disgusted with the whole situation.

Very merry holiday home surgery!

After Turkey Day Bliss

Thanksgiving holiday we all had something we loved and are thankful for:

• Riley had two woodsy walks on Turkey Day and a playdate on Saturday.
• I had four days of reading, rest, and relaxation.
• Dad had two major platefuls of turkey + all the fixin's (with accompanying tummy issues) and lots of napping.
• Mom had bread and wine and Scrabble.

"Take Charge" Sophie and big piece of wood. What more could Riley ask for other than turkey dinner droppings on the floor?

I Just Learned How to Remove Blemishes!

From photos, not for shizzle.

Me and my pseudonephew...

Six Of One, Half Dozen of The Other

Part One:

So I'm driving to work Tuesday morning completely on "autopilot". I get within eyesight of my building when I look in the rear view mirror and see blue lights aflashin'. I pull over so he can pass me. He pulls in behind me. I think, "oh, it's me? It's ME!"

Policeman: Do you know why I pulled you over?

Me: Honestly, I have no idea.

Policeman: What's the speed limit for this area?

Me (thinking really hard): 35?

Policeman: No, 30. Do you know how fast you were going?

Me: I'm sorry, I was totally on autopilot and have absolutely no idea.

Policeman: 51.

Me: Holy crap! (yes I did say this)

Policeman: Where you headed?

Me (pointing right across the intersection): Right there to that building.

Policeman: What do you do for work?

Me: I'm a -------. (field of Autism/mental retardation)

Policeman: Do you like your job?

Me: Yes I do, it's like getting a new puzzle every day.

Policeman: When was your last speeding ticket?

Me: Maybe about 2 yrs ago, I really can't remember.

Policeman: I need your license, proof of insurance, and registration. Thank you, I'm going to run you thru the system and I'll be right back.

Me: Okay.

Me sitting there looking at the building, waving occasionally in case co-workers happen to look out the window and see me with the pretty blue flashing lights.

Policeman (after coming back): Well, your last speeding ticket was four years ago and you've had two warnings since then. (Pause - hands me my stuff) I've seen alot of deer on this road, you need to be more careful. Your car would lose against a deer.

Me: I've never seen deer but the turkeys have scared the crap out of me several times.

Policeman: Well, you're doing God's work and I want you to be careful now.

Me: So I'm all set?

Policeman: Yes, you take care and pay attention.

Me: I promise to do my best to stop driving on autopilot. Thank you sir, you have a good day.

Policeman: You do that and you too.

I drive into the parking lot and a co-worker, who'd been getting something from her car, waves me down and says "that was you?" "yep" "do you know who that was?" "a policeman?" "no, silly..." and she proceeds to tell me who he was. Man was I one lucky girl telling him I enjoyed my job.

Part Two:

I have the day off today so I take my car in for it's "winterizing" appointment to get the tires rotated, wipers replaced, fluids checked, and a free super wash/wax at my Honda service which is about 40 minutes away from home. I spend my day wandering around the mall after the car was done, taking my time trying all sorts of things on and driving the sales people crazy coz I'm giving them a buttload to fold and put back, and finally homeward-bound I pick up food and litter for the kittos with my 10% off coupon. I get back in the car after loading the said food and litter, turn the car on, and lo and behold... my car informs me via the lit-up wrench symbol that it's time for an oil change! And I'm 3 miles from home! Rassin' frassin' sassin' @#$%^&! I was just there, dangnabit! So now I have to call tomorrow and schedule an oil change.

Just the way my luck works. Not complaining, just commenting. I love not getting a ticket and if I have to pay with two trips to the car place, sobeit.

Good Day... Sunshine

We had a great sunshiny weekend. The three of them did this while I was outside slaving and raking. I will try to get a pic of all the piles before this weekend so you can see how funny my yard looks. My arms still hurt like the dickens. Moomin's pooper is fine now, but Hobbes has constipation so I've been giving him little bits of skim milk to expedite his pooper. If it's not one thing it's another, brudda.

Reboot the Ole Poop Chute

Turns out Moomin doesn't have a bladder infection, he's got the big D! Yep, he's got a bad case of diarrhea.

The vet had shot him full of SubQ fluids (subcutaneous fluids to those of us who had to ask) and I gave him a double helping of water for dinner and bedtime snack. So he was chock full of liquids.

I put him in the spare room with the sprinkling of non-absorbent pellets in an old litter box and water and our evening TV watching blanket. When it came time to let him out of the room yesterday morning, I saw that he did the big D once in the box and twice outside of it and those little black pellets were all over the place.

I was half right... and am still amazed he didn't pee at all. Believe me, I've gone over the room with a fine tooth flashlight and nose and there's no sign of pee. Super bright shiny side of the coin is that I just had to clean up poop which is easy and has no special long lasting smell remnants instead of cat urine which would have ruined my hardwood floors.

He held all those fluids all damn night. I followed him to the closet litter boxes and managed to catch an awesome pee sample. He let me slide that bowl right under him and he whizzed away, for quite some time.

I took the pee sample to the vet along with a fresh big D. They tested both, urine fine and poop is free of parasites. I'd already started the fasting regimen the vet suggested. Fasting for a cat is not having food for 24 hours which means they empty out their internal septic tank coz there's nothing coming in and the thought is as they empty the pooper, whatever is causing the big D comes out too. And hopefully, the next day the poop chute has been rebooted.

So Moo, along with Doo and Hobber (who had to join the miserableness coz it's not fair to eat in front of your fasting comrade) had no breakfast, dinner, or bedtime snack yesterday. They were all VERY happy to have breakfast this morning.

Apparently, things are on track now... yeah for me and my weekend!

I Have Had Quite the Day

First, Moomin greeted me after my shower with "in and out" litter box behavior. I immediately checked the box and found numerous small pee clumps that Moomin had considerately scattered all over the boxes which made cleaning up a tremendous treat.

I worried all morning but could do nothing about it so off to work and meetings. Second meeting cancelled after I arrived. I'd missed the flea infestation message. I decided to reschedule.

Driving on my way back from the cancelled meeting, I heard this massive KAH-POW!!! and the ass-end of the truck in front of me did this lifting shimmy. I braked to slow down but I didn't see anything. While I was trying to decide what to do, suddenly all these black fragments came spewing out from under the truck. I executed a majorly fast lane switch! Then because the truck driver finally realized something happened and pulled over into the breakdown lane, I had to switch lanes again coz he hadn't fully committed to the breakdown lane.

Get to work, called the vet at 3pm, they strongly suggested I bring Moomin in due to his past history of bladder issues, I did, got him there, he got sniffed by a very old black lab with dribble issues, and come to find out the office gremlins have done away with Moomin's file. The vet's assistant said this tends to happen, the folders sometimes get put back inside another file, and she has a DooBee who comes in once a month to go thru all the files to look for stuff like this. She said the files have always turned up. I didn't mention my special Murphy's Law luck. Let them be perky and optimistic.

Tonight when I go to bed, I have to shut Moomin up in the spare bedroom with water and a box with a sprinkling of black non-absorbent pellets to catch a pee sample tonight. The vet's assistant thinks this plan of action is going to work. Again with letting them be perky and optimistic. I know that Moomin isn't going to pee in a practically empty litter box with some strange little black pellets that don't even cover the bottom of the box and he's going to yodel by the door all night. Doodle, Houdini girl that she is, is going to spend the night trying her damndest to get the door open. Sleep, HAH! I think I prefer staying up and following Moomin around all night to get a pee sample to the special kind of hell that will be tonight.