Awful Lot of Nothing

Surprise!

2010-04-10T07:09:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about starting up the blog again but I don't know, seems like more work than fun.
BUT it is a good place to come to when you don't feel like paying your bills.
Still don't have a lot to say.
Oh, I could say a lot, but why?
I think that maybe one of the reasons that I don't feel the need to write so much is that I get plenty of talking done in my real life. There's knit night, which is like a really loud, funny, off-color episode of The View, but with knitting! That is my favorite time of the week. Plus there are a lot of other things I do with friends, and when you add Facebook to that, I am just all talked out.
Back when I was doing the blog a lot, the kids were younger and needed me more, I didn't get out much at all, I wasn't working, and then I moved up here where I didn't know anybody, but all those circumstances are different now.
I would like to thank my blog for being here to catch all the blather that I spewed daily when I didn't have live people to spew it to.
Spew! Just wanted to say it one more time.
So that's it. Later this morning I will be meeting some friends from work for brunch at a buffet, or as we like to call it, Baconfest. Then I will be home most of the weekend because the inspector who the rest of you know as my sister is coming on the 20th, and I have to clean this house in a big way. So for the two if you who will read this, thanks and have a great weekend!

I Guess You Had To Be There

2009-07-03T07:58:00.000-07:00

So I was reading this blog a while back, and I came across an expression I never heard before. It was "Grinning like a possum eating shit off a hairbrush." This prompted a flurry of questions in my head:
1) What??
2) Why is the possum eating shit?
3) And why is he grinning about it?
4) Does shit taste better to a possum when served on a hairbrush?
5) And why is shit on a hairbrush to begin with?
I have no answers for any of it.
Fast forward to last Monday, when Max and I were at Red Robin having burgers. I had just recounted the above story to him, and he was as mystfied as I was. So we are sitting there and at Red Robin they always put fun stuff on their coasters:

So, fresh off the above conversation, I write this:

I show it to Max, and after we debate whether or not "eat shit off" is a verb (I say it is), he grabs the pen and writes this:

Which prompts huge fits of laughter from both of us. I tell you, laughs come cheap in this family. How fortunate that we are so easily entertained!

Unfortunately

2009-05-25T14:29:00.000-07:00

So I was surfing knitting blogs today and I found this post where there is a meme that all you do is google the word Unfortunately and your name, then you post the top ten results. So I did it, and here are mine.

1) Unfortunately, Karla and millions of others do not know that high blood cholesterol is nothing to worry about.

2) Unfortunately, Karla’s trust in this individual proved to be misplaced and due to her inexperience it only became apparent after an extended period of time.

3) Unfortunately, Karla has also tested positive for the same BRCA abnormality.

4) Unfortunately, Karla's interview was accidentally taped over; therefore, no quotations could be included.

5) Unfortunately Karla's case was not an isolated one.

6) Unfortunately, Karla applied too much; her sister vomited and choked to death.

7) Unfortunately Karla is from Canada and cannot remember the exact location of the store.

8) Unfortunately Karla is leaving Brisbane and you will need to make use of your voucher by the end of February.

9) Unfortunately, Karla developed Pyometria and was never bred from - a real pity, since she is a lovely bitch with excellent qualities and a great bloodline.

(I can't tell you how hard I laughed when I read that one.)

10) Unfortunately, Karla stated that it was determined that the well is no longer serviceable.

I am glad that none of these poor Karlas are me, although I could be described as a lovely bitch with excellent qualities.

You should try it and see what comes up for you.

Blogging Is Funny That Way

2009-05-10T08:57:00.000-07:00

One day you decide to start a blog and you start writing stuff down, and pretty soon everything in your head runs through a "is this blogworthy?" filter. All your most meaningless and stupid thoughts are out there for everyone to see, too bad only 3 people are looking and they are your family and know all your stuff anyway.

Then you move and you use the blog to chronicle your new life in a new place that is so different from the place you were. It is all very interesting and photo worthy for about 2 years until you realize "hey, I blogged about this last year" and discover that life has settled down and there is really nothing new to report.

And then you discover Facebook, you find all your friends on it, and you find that all your desire to blog has vanished and that you can satisfy your need to be heard in one or two sentences a few times a week.

Well, that about sums it up.

This does not mean that I will never blog again, it just explains my absence here. I can be found on Facebook these days. Come be my friend! Don't worry, I will not try to send you drinks, flowers, or ghetto snacks. And I won't be informing you of my Fairy name, Mafia name, or Hip Hop name. And I will not be telling you which Buffy the Vampire Slayer character I am most like. You will just get my former blog blathering in smaller doses.

I have this other blog called Knitmare on Elm Street, which I do not post to either because someone invented Ravely which is like Facebook, only for knitters. I have toyed with the idea of revving that blog up to chronicle my adventures in knitting but as of now I am too lazy for it. Maybe with summer coming there will be more time.

So that's it for now. Hope to see you somewhere sometime. Over and out.

The Last Line Is Sarcasm

2009-03-09T19:11:00.000-07:00

I was young once. I remember it well. Actually most of my memories are hazy but the funny ones are more vivid. So anyway, when I was in Junior High, my friends and I would gather at my house after school, because there was no parental supervision to keep us from running amok. One of things we enjoyed was making prank phone calls. We did the typical stuff--"Is your refrigerator running?" "Do you have Prince Albert in a can?", it was silly fun. I kind of feel sorry for kids today, as the advent of caller ID has taken all the fun out of prank calls. I always felt like my kids would have been great prank callers, hilarious ones. During Max's middle school years, I felt sorry for the telemarketers who called us because he would turn it back on them in the most creative and funny ways. Once he told a telemarketer not to call anymore because his mother was passed out drunk on the couch and that she would beat him again if the phone woke her up. I know that as the parent I am supposed to give disapproving looks and lectures about that stuff, but as always I just laughed.

Now Leo is a ninth grader, the perfect prank calling age. When I got home from work today I found out that Leo made a prank call. A brilliant one, for two reasons:
1) He used someone else's cell phone.
2) He called the headquarters of the KKK and asked if he could join their club, and would it be a problem because he was black.

I cannot believe I high-fived my son for making a prank phone call. I'm a great mom.

All Caught Up

2009-02-21T22:24:00.000-08:00

I had big plans for today. Clean the house thoroughly, take stuff to the recycling place, go grocery shopping. However, none of that got accomplished. Here's what did get done:
1) An hourlong phone conversation with my best friend during which I attempted to get her to meet me in California in July for the Feast of Lanterns. This invitation goes out to all my other friends too.
2) Other long phone conversations with friends.
3) Knitting! Finished a washcloth and a baby sock which is the cutest little thing!
4) Watched TV. An hour of Heroes, 4 hours of Lost, Gone Country, Suze Orman, and some show that's like Extreme Home Makeover except it's a mobile home in a trailer park.
5) Took a nap.
So as you can see, I may not have gotten done what I wanted to get done, but I definitely got what I needed to get done, done.
OK I'm done.

Steak - The Next Generation

2009-02-16T19:43:00.000-08:00

This post is about steak. My dad used to grill up awesome steaks. So did my brother. Here is a steak picture from about 45 years ago:

This picture was taken in our backyard. We had a huge brick barbecue pit and it got used a lot. My dad and my brother loved a good steak, and they loved making them as much as eating them. I remember once at my sister's house, my dad and brother were barbecuing on a Weber grill. My brother kept shooting water through the air vent holes in the lid, creating so much smoke that I thought for sure the fire department was going to show up. Everyone was coughing and through all the smoke I see my brother turn to my dad and say "Good Smoke", and my dad replied back, "Good Smoke". It was hilarious! Those steaks were really good too. Anyway, all this to say that steak and barbecue have been part of the family as long as I can remember.

So you would think that I would know how to cook a steak, right? Wrong. Dead wrong. I have a reputation in my family as a non-cooker. And you'd think that as much as I love food, that I would have taken the time to learn how to make it. Sadly, this has not been the case. This is not to say that I don't cook at all, but I rarely take the time and effort to make a really good meal.

I do get bursts of inspiration from time to time. They usually come after long periods of watching Food Network. The last burst came right before Christmas, when I had the presence of mind to ask for a cast iron grill/griddle as a present from the boys. And they bought me one! So far I have used it about three times. And I saw where Rachel Ray made steaks on one. So I went to one of my favorite blogs, The Pioneer Woman, and found this. I followed her basic rules and threw some top sirloin steaks on my grill. And guess what? They turned out fantastic! The best steak I EVER made BY FAR!!! My kids could not believe it, as they have been eating my cooking their whole lives and know what happens when I go into the kitchen. We were all so excited that Max took a pioture with his cell phone:

My dad and brother would be so proud of me! I am so proud of me!! Thank you Pioneer Woman for showing me the light!

Random Crap

2009-02-08T10:38:00.000-08:00

I almost wrote Random Carp but that would not have made any sense, so Random Crap it is.

1) There is this show on XM called blog radio where they play all this obscure stuff and they played this song and it has stuck with me, I love it for really deep reasons that I cannot put my finger on.

2) February Supper Club was last night and the theme was Chocolate and Wine. There was lots of both. Andrea made a delicious chicken mole and I don't even like mole. And Jen C. made the best cake I have ever eaten. Chocolate sour cream cake with peanut butter cream cheese frosting topped with chocolate ganache. Seriously. The Best Cake Ever. It was a lot of work, so I'll never make it which is probably a good thing.

3) This sock I am knitting, the yarn was given to me and I like it because it is self patterning, but the colors are not my faves, too much red and not enough blue.

4) I am undefeated in Wii boxing. This has pissed Max off to the point where he won't play with me anymore. He keeps reminding me that if we were actually boxing that he would put me in the hospital. Nobody is disputing that. But I think Max should let his mother have her fun. It's just a game, right?

5) I have an appointment tomorrow morning for a complete physical. Let's just say that I have been dancing for a long time, and now it's time to pay the piper. Oh boy.

6) Enjoy your Sunday.

Meet Johnny

2009-01-24T07:45:00.000-08:00

My good friend Elizabeth phoned me the other night to inform me that it was Linda Blair's 50th birthday. The reason that this merited a phone call is that Linda Blair and her movies had a profound effect on us. Here is the story.

I read somewhere once that the teen years are the most impressionable that a person will be in their entire life and that the stuff you liked back then you will like throughout your life. This has certainly proven to be the case with me and my friends. We all remember the same stuff, and here is why.
1) The TV only had 13 channels. There was no cable. It's true! Therefore, everyone watched the same stuff on TV.
2) There were no VCR's. You couldn't record a show and watch it later. (I know, how did we survive those dark times?) Consequently, everyone watched the same stuff at the same time.
Bacause of these two things, certain TV events were the talk of the school the next day. The more memorable ones were Roots and Trilogy of Terror, but the one that I remember as being the most talked about among my teenage girlfriends was a movie of the week called "Born Innocent" starring Linda Blair. We already knew her from "The Excorcist", so we couldn't wait to see what kind of role she would play next. And she did not disappoint!

She played a teenage girl that ended up in Juvenile Hall for reasons that escape me. In fact, most of the movie escapes me now except for that one scene. The scene we all talked about the next day. The scene where she was raped with a toilet plunger handle in the shower by the other girls there. They called the plunger Johnny. They said meet Johnny and then they raped her. Whoa. It was a fairly graphic scene and left a serious impression on all of us. As I recall, none of us ever ended up in Juvy. Or is it Juvie?

If you click to make this bigger, you can read the back of the DVD box in the original 70"s curvy font. Awesome!

And the front of the box is hilarious!

The next movie of the week she was in was called "Sarah T, Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic". It was good, but not as controversial and we must not have learned any lessons from it since by that time we were all stealing liquor from our parents' cabinets.

Sarah T., your efforts were in vain!

So anyway, I couldn't talk to Elizabeth the other night when she called because I was out knitting at Starbucks with a bunch of people, so the next morning she calls me at 6am to tell me that I should knit a plunger cozy. For Johnny. I declined. Then she said that if we lived closer then we could rent Sarah T. and watch it over drinks. That sounds perfect.

So Happy 50th, Linda. And thanks.

Out Of The Loop

2009-01-12T22:22:00.000-08:00

Our phone and internet was out for 5 days. Seemed like a year. Irritating yet strangely peaceful. Totally inconvenient for sure. But we are back now. Yay!

Snow is melting slowly, no longer having to shovel the path to freedom. Starting to decompress from all the stress of the past month. Today I was actually able to enjoy some music in the car instead of trying not to slide off the road or hit another car.

I hope we have a long hot summer.

(Don't remind me that I said this when I complain about the heat in August. Thank you.)

Roof Drama

2009-01-03T16:02:00.000-08:00

So yesterday Steve and I decided that enough was enough in terms of snow on the roof, and made plans for him to shovel it all off today. I went to bed feeling good and relieved that I would no longer have to worry about one of those pesky roof collapses I have been hearing about every day here. I thought I was home free. After all, the roof had held and was not even making any creaking sounds.

Until this morning at 4 am.

The cracking sound woke me out of a dead sleep and I sat straight up in my bed. I thought that maybe I had dreamt it until it happened again 10 minutes later. I laid in my bed listening to the roof crack every 5-15 minutes until 5 am, then got dressed and went out into the living room until 5:30 when I couldn't take it anymore and called Steve, who said it was ok, we had a plan, just go downstairs where the collapsing roof cannot hurt you. So I woke up Leo and herded the cats and we all went downstairs where I felt better because I could no longer hear the cracking and managed to sleep for another hour until I got Steve. Thank God for him. He has been on the roof since about 9 am and now it is 4:15 pm and he is about 2/3 done.

Even though all the snow will be off the roof by the next storm which is tomorrow night, I am still a little nervous, all that cracking this morning made me jumpy. Please please get the snow off your roof if you can.

Freedom Isn't Free

2009-01-02T12:28:00.001-08:00

But it sure is beautiful!

Happy New Snow, I mean YEAR! Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T08:48:00.000-08:00

I don't think it will come as a surprise to anyone if I report that it is snowing again. This time we are supposed to get 5-7 inches, which in reality means about 2 feet. But that is OK because I have 4 days off which will give me plenty of time to deal with the roof when it collapses! We didn't do much last night. I did manage to stay awake for midnight, but only because I had a 90 minute nap earlier, or as I like to call them, periods of unconciousness brought on by shovelling snow.
So now it's 2009. I don't like resolutions because I suck at keeping them. But here is something I plan to do this weekend--organize my yarn. That is a big job because first I have to figure out where in the world I am going to put it all. I may even have to get rid of some. Just thinking about it is exhausting. I need some coffee. Be right back.

(Insert cheesy hold muzak here)

That's better. anyway, back to resolutions. I think I would do better if I just made resolutions at the start of every day, and just make the same ones over and over every day. I can do anything for a day that would kill me if I thought I had to keep it up for a year. Maybe not a day. Maybe fifteen minutes. I can do anything for 15 minutes. So today my fifteen minute resolutions will include cleaning my house, folding laundry (wow I'm really pushing it here), and taking down the Christmas decorations.

I feel another period of unconciousness coming on. Happy New Year everybody.

It's Never Going To Stop

2008-12-27T22:14:00.000-08:00

I have been in a sort of survival mode these past 10 days or so since the snow started. My shoulder hurts from all the shovelling and the rest of me doesn't feel too great either. I find myself doing a lot of knitting as a defense mechanism. Once we dig ourselves out every day, driving is quite an adventure. An adventure that usually ends up with me irritated and agitated. And I am worried about my roof caving in from all the snow buildup.

But other than that, it's really pretty. All 4 feet of it.

The color photo above is looking out my bedroom window.

The forecast calls for snow every day next week. Can't wait.

Enough With The Snow Already!

2008-12-21T16:23:00.000-08:00

My family has been requesting pictures because they want to see what I have been telling them about. Here they are:

Tha path to freedom:

The grill:

It's pretty and all, but seriously, it needs to stop now.

Linda and Erna, The Next Generation

2008-11-30T14:22:00.000-08:00

I have lots of friends. Really good old friends. But only one can hold the official title of Best Friend. In my life, that person is Tami McGinley. She has a different last name now, but to me her last name will always be McGinley. She has been my Best Friend since we were nine years old. That's pretty impressive now that we are 47. And not only were we best friends, but our moms, Linda and Erna, were good friends too. Tami and I spent many a Saturday afternoon talking about David Cassidy in her bedroom while our moms were in the living room drinking Gin and Tonics and talking about whatever middle age ladies talked about back then. Needless to say, we know each others' life stories, the good and the bad. Tami lives in Maine, and with the three hour time difference we don't have the chance to talk that often, but today we were lucky and got to have a long conversation. Today's topic: We are turning into our moms. Seriously, we are. It's scary. Tami now wears reading glasses on a chain around her neck just like they did. And we both have an affinity for tacky Christmas decorations, just like they did. In fact, I decorated my little tacky tree while I was on the phone with her.

Tacky! I love it!

But here is the thing that made me realize that we are becoming Linda and Erna. She says this:
"So for $6.53 at Sam's Club, I bought a Video Fireplace for my TV!"
I started laughing because the emphasis was not on the video fireplace, it was that she got it for $6.53 at Sam's Club. That is SO our moms! My mom in particular loved a deal and for years she had a giant jar of maraschino cherries in her cupboard that she did not need and would never use, simply because she had gotten them on sale at Long's.
So for all the grief we gave our mothers and for all the grief they gave us, we are becoming them, the cruelest twist of all! You just know that they are up in heaven with their Gin and Tonics laughing and laughing about it.

Merry Christmas, Linda Jr.!

Love, Erna Jr.

A Miracle!

2008-11-29T13:06:00.000-08:00

Well, my computer has been acting stupid lately, what with the virus and all. Faythe's Ryan got rid of the virus but it has still been way slow and giving me all kinds of error messages and not letting me get on my websites. This computer is five years old, which is like 150 in people years, so I figured I would just get myself a new tower for like $350 and it would be 110 times better than what I have now. So since I had nothing to lose, this morning I reformatted my computer. This may not seem like a big deal to some, but I am a complete idiot when it comes to these things. I really don't care to know, either. It's like electricity, I don't want to know how it works, I just want the light to come on when I flip the switch. Anyway, I stumbled along, not really knowing what I was doing, and after calls to Qwest and Dell, my computer was up and running, no error messages, so far so good! I did this with NO help from Max and just a little bit of help with some sarcasm thrown in from Leo. It is indeed a miracle! Unfortunately, I have lost all my bookmarks as well. I have remembered a lot of them but I know I am missing some. If you know of any good websites that are funny you can send them in the comments. Here is a funny one for you--Cakewrecks. I laugh until I cry.

Hopefully my "fixed" computer will stay that way and I will feel like blogging more often. Maybe.
OK I'm going to bring the christmas boxes up from the garage now!

Why Grocery Outlet Is The Best Store Ever

2008-11-25T23:21:00.000-08:00

WTF??!!

The Door To Stupidity

2008-11-10T17:47:00.000-08:00

So I went to Vegas to meet Elizabeth and go here. It was so much fun! The sponsors are Ford, Jack Daniels, Copenhagen and the US Border Patrol. Perfect. We went to the Copenhagen tent:

And got some free chew,

And a hat:

Bullriding is awesome!

We went some other places too. The Bellagio to look at the dancing waters:

And the ceiling of their lobby:

We went to the Fremont Street Experience:

And enjoyed an interpretive dance by a local:

But by far the most fun we had was this morning in the airport. Elizabeth and I decided that we could replicate the fountains of the Bellagio with side by side drinking fountains. We were singing California Dreaming by the Mamas and the Papas. My drinking fountain was the Papas' part and Elizabeth worked her fountain to the Mamas' part. It was going real well until some guy wanted a drink of water, then we had to quit. I guess you had to be there. It was hilarious. Elizabeth and I make a good team, because she opens the door to stupidity, and I run right through every time. But hey, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right?

Oh The Horror!

2008-11-07T18:37:00.000-08:00

So I haven't been blogging lately for no other reason than sheer laziness. I have been busy though. But now I have a reason. Yesterday my computer got a virus and died. Just like the pioneers on the Oregon Trail did. Right now I am using Max's laptop which I am not at all comfortable with. He is going to try and reformat my computer this weekend while I am in Las Vegas with my goofy friend Elizabeth. We are going to the National Bullriding championships. Don't ask me how I got roped into that but I did. We will have fun because we always have fun together no matter what we do. I will take pictures and someday when I get my computer back I will post them. so now I have to go pack and wash dishes. Have a great weekend you all.

Maybe if my computer is really dead I should bury it by the interstate, like the pioneers did with Aunt Bessie when she caught a virus and died. It's a thought!

Becoming A Better Blogger

2008-10-21T20:02:00.000-07:00

I just read on this blog (which is one of my favorites) that the key to good blogging is posting lots of pictures. So here are some pictures:

Staring At The Ceiling

2008-10-20T23:52:00.000-07:00

I am starting to think that taking a nap from 7:30 to 9pm this evening was a bad idea. Also the cup of coffee I had when I woke up from said nap, not a very well thought out idea.

Tomorrow will be a long day. Hopefully I can stay awake for it!

PS Heroes was awesome tonight!

AC/DC Was The Holy Ghost

2008-10-19T13:06:00.000-07:00

When I was in high school, there were three bands that I loved. LOVED. They were, and still are, Led Zeppelin (duh!), Aerosmith, and AC/DC. I called them the Holy Trinity of Rock, and I still consider that to be true. We have already discussed my freakish obsessive love for all things Zep. Today we are talking about AC/DC.

There was a period of time, well, my entire senior year of high school, when all I truly wanted for my future was to be Mrs. Angus Young. I was going to balance my marriage to Angus with my career, which was going to be managing Aerosmith. I saw no conflict of interest there at all.

Then Bon died! Stupid Bon Scott, choking on his own vomit and dying in a car, how could he? He was the lead singer of AC/DC! What was going to happen to the band?? Well, they got this new guy Brian to sing, and it was just never the same for me after that. I really loved Bon's voice, and the new guy's voice is not my cup of tea. There have been some good songs since the new guy joined the group in 1980, but I never bought another AC/DC album after Bon.

So now here we are. About a month ago, XM started an AC/DC channel much like they did with Led Zeppelin last year. All AC/DC, all the time! So I have been listening to it a lot and they play all the old Bon Scott songs that I loved so much. So I am very happy with that. XM is doing this to celebrate the release of the first AC/DC album in eight years, called Black Ice. I'm still not buying it, it's not Bon! BUT, I encourage everyone else to buy it. I guess the new guy is here to stay, he has been in the band for 28 years now. And he is good in his own way. One thing though. The new album is only available at Walmart. Walmart? Whatever. And it comes out today! VH1 Classic is running only AC/DC videos and concerts all day long today. So watch that too.

So now all I need to make the Holy Trinity complete is for XM to do an Aerosmith channel. But I probably wouldn't listen to it that much, because I hate all that power ballad crap they did in the late 80's and 90's. I tell you, if I was managing that band, there never would have been all that stupid Amazing Crazy Cryin' business.

This Will Mean Nothing Unless You Are Into Hip-Hop.

2008-10-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the VH1 Hip-Hop Honors. Sort of like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but for Hip-Hop artists. One of the inductees is a fellow who goes by the name of Slick Rick. He is perhaps best known for his song "Childrens Story". Here is my own children's story about Slick Rick.

About 3 years ago when we still lived in Monterey, Slick Rick came to town to do a show. The afternoon of the show, Max told me that him and Leo were going downtown to meet Slick Rick. Naturally, I was skeptical, because what possessed Max to think he could just go downtown, find Slick Rick, and meet him? So you can imagine my amazement when the boys came home and showed me these:

Not only did they meet Slick Rick, they also had dinner with him at Taco Bell. I just have to wonder what this hip hop legend thought of these two pudgy faced white kids who went downtown just to meet him. Quite the welcoming committee I think.

So as I watch Slick Rick on tv tonight, I am reminded of the story of three people with vastly different lives sharing a meal, and also gold chains.

Reality Check

2008-10-04T14:26:00.000-07:00

It has been a bit of a rough week. I don't like rough weeks. They always seem to point up the fact that my life is a struggle. I feel like I have been struggling for a long time. I never lose hope, though, that someday maybe life in general won't be so hard. People think that I am a strong person, but really I'm not. And sometimes the harshness of everything just gets to me. I have a little pity party, but I try not to dwell for too long there. I am scared and lonely just like everyone else, but I try not to stay too long in that headspace either. I just try and take care of myself, get a good night's sleep and pray that I wake up with hope again, and a restored sense of the optimism that everyone says I have.

I'm grateful that rough weeks don't come around too often.

So here's to next week. May it be a smooth one for all of us.

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

2008-09-27T22:54:00.001-07:00

I CAN'T BREATHE

A Long Story About Coffee

2008-09-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

My story starts way back here. I have had my Senseo coffeemaker for over two years and I have been very happy with it. The Senseo brand of coffee pods kind of suck, but that is ok because Target has a brand of coffee pods which are great. Until they discontinued them a few weeks ago. This development threw me into a tizzy of epic proportions. What do I do now?? First, I went to all the local Targets, even drove to Coeur d'Alene, and found only one box of pods. This bought me a couple of weeks to figure out what to do. I gave the matter considerable thought. There are a lot of coffee pods on the internet, but I do not want to depend on the internet and the mail for my coffee. Plus, the shipping drives up the price per pod. So I started looking at other single serve coffee makers. I liked the Keurig one, but the price of the K-Cups is a bit higher than pods. I was on the fence, but then three things happened.
1) Costco started stocking the Keurig machine for $10 less than everyone else, plus they include like 3 months worth of K-Cups.
2) It was my birthday which gave me an excuse to buy something nice for myself.
3) I got a gift card to Bed Bath and Beyond, which sells a wide variety of K-Cups. Plus I have a ton of those 20% off coupons you get in the mail from them. This brings down the price of the K-Cups to mail-order pod levels.
So guess what the UPS guy brought yesterday? So far I have had three cups of coffee from the K-Cup variety pack and I am so wired that I woke up at 4:30am and couldn't get back to sleep on a Saturday which sucks but that is ok, I will just have another cup of coffee! I think I will have one right now!
If you're looking for me, I'll be on the ceiling.

Drink Like A Pirate Day

2008-09-20T10:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my 47th birthday. It also happens to be International Talk Like A Pirate Day. I have had some resentment in the past (like, 2 days ago) about sharing my birthday with some goofy made up internet holiday, but now I am ok with it. Here is why.

1) At work yesterday, I was given some really cheap and totally cool pirate toys. I got this plastic sword that when you push the button, it makes sword noises. This provided an entire day and night of amusement for me and everyone around me. I carried it around all day and would use it for encouragement, admonishment and agreement. This means that every time someone talked to me or I talked to them, I would wave the sword. The sword helped us bowl better (or worse) and survived a run-in with some spilled ranch dressing. We believe the sword's power was only compromised for a few minutes. It seems to be working fine now. Yes, it's fine. I just tested it.

2) Because of the two holidays, mine and the pirates', Faythe wore this fabulous outfit which included a puffy shirt and a magnificent pirate hat with lace and feathers. She also had an awesome cane with skulls on the top, which completed her ensemble. Because of Faythe's fabulousness, many drinks were bought for us at the Broadway last night. It was a very fun night of bowling, drinking and hilarious karaoke and people watching.

So in conclusion, I now accept the sharing of my day with pirates.

So Sorry

2008-09-15T22:40:00.000-07:00

About the lack of posting. Just haven't felt like it. Still don't, really. But when I get my oomph back, subjects will include:

1) I finished my sock! And two hats.

2) Why I am freaking out about coffee.

3) The book I saw at Value Village.

4) My upcoming birthday and why it is good and bad.

See you soon!

The Fair Is Great!

2008-09-06T10:24:00.000-07:00

So Faythe and I went to the Spokane Interstate Fair last night. I went with a specific agenda, which was:

1) See if the knitting I entered won anything.
2) See the awesome chickens, and other barnyard animals of an awesome nature.
3) Eat fair food.
4) Not buy a sham-wow or knives or anything else they sell at the fair.

Mission accomplished!

The first thing we did after we ate was go visit my scarf and washcloth. Here is my scarf:

OH! What is that thing tied to the bottom of it?

That's right, it's a BLUE RIBBON!!! This makes me an Award-Winning Knitter! Woohoo!! Then we went to visit my washcloth.

Another blue ribbon! As you can see, I made good on last year's throwdown. Just wait till next year!

So then after going through the craft and flower rooms, we embarked on some highly scientific funnel cake research. At the fair, they sell Pennsylvania Dutch Funnel Cake and Oklahoma Funnel Cake. While Faythe purchased the P.D. one, I asked the girl in the booth what makes PD funnel cakes different from OK funnel cakes. She looked at me like I was from another planet, and said two words--"The Amish!". But here is the thing. The Amish were not actually at the fair making our funnel cakes. And that is probably why the Oklahoma funnel cake was way better. And a dollar cheaper. Bottom line--Oklahoma Funnel Cakes Rule!!

After our very important and significant research project, we headed into the barns for the best part of the fair, the animals! I was particulary taken with the Longhorn Cattle and their babies.

Aren't they so cute? I Love The Fair!

This Is Huge!

2008-08-31T08:55:00.000-07:00

For me. As a knitter.

See that thing on my knee? That is a sock. My first sock. Up until now I have been afraid to knit one. Here is what happened. About a year ago I started the scarf from this post and I had a terrible time with it. I was trying new stitches along with skinny old sock yarn and I got super frustrated and put it down. But when I picked it back up a year later, the process was a lot easier. I had gotten better at knitting! So when I finished up the scarf and had some sock yarn left over, I swallowed my fear and cast on to the dreaded double pointed needles. This is another reason why I was afraid of socks. Double pointed needles suck! They require a level of coordination that I did not have. Until now! I am sucking it up and learning to work with these things. At first it felt like I had 12 fingers on each hand, but I have been doing it for almost a week, and now it only feels like I have about eight fingers on each hand. That is progress. I screwed up three times and had to unravel it, but it appears that the fourth time is the charm!

It is starting to resemble an actual sock! So far so good. I have not gotten down to the heel yet. I am sure there will be more swearing and throwing of needles across the room, but hopefully I will get through it.

Tune in for the next exciting episode of "As The Heel Turns", where we hear Karla say, "%#$*&!" and "*@#&$%!".

Let's Hear It For Faythe!

2008-08-25T19:54:00.000-07:00

I have lived up here for two years now, and fortunately I have acquired a few friends in that time. I love all my Supper Club girls, but it seems that the two that I do the most stuff with are Jennifer O. and Faythe. We all seem to like the same kind of things and we have a pretty good time together. We always find the fun in whatever it is we are doing and we laugh a lot. During our adventures, Faythe is the documentarian. She takes her camera everywhere she goes. And she blogs faithfully about all the stuff we do. Oftentimes (Is that one word or two?) she does my blog job for me, writing about our adventures to the point where I just say go here. Which is what I just did, because Faythe has documented our evening at the Roller Derby with such thoroughness, I don't even have to blog about it. So, thanks to my friend Faythe and her trusty camera. Here's to more adventures!

Why Cooking Is Bad

2008-08-23T12:25:00.000-07:00

Victory Amid Boob Controversy

2008-08-22T21:13:00.000-07:00

Let's start with the victory--I finished my scarf!! I have been knitting pretty much every evening, every lunchtime and most of every weekend since the Olympics started. I knit until I fall asleep in the chair in front of the TV. And it paid off, because this evening I finally finished that dang thing!

It's really nice. Too bad I didn't enter it into the Fair, it may have actually won something.

OK, now to the boob controversy. Let me first point out that this controversy exists only in my mind, but that is enough for me to blog about it. If you have watched the Olympics at all you are no doubt familiar with the commercial with the Sumo wrestlers that turn into an airplane and fly away. I think the commercial is for some computer or something.

As you can see, these Sumo wrestlers have quite a bit of boobage. In fact, they look just like woman's boobs. And the censors have no problem with these giant man-boobs being shown on network television. But they do have a problem with showing girl-boobs.

Wait a minute, this woman has no boobs. She is so muscular that she actually has pecs instead of boobs. But can we see them? NO! Why not? We got to see Michael Phelps' pecs all the live long day. But we can't see woman-pecs. And we have to look at Sumo Moobs. Do you see the problem here?? The boobs are on the wrong people!! And if that is not Olympic controversy, I don't know what is.

What can be done??

The Olympics Are Wearing Me Out!

2008-08-12T17:37:00.000-07:00

I have stated here before that I LOVE the Olympics. Always have, always will. I have several things to say on the subject.

First, the opening ceremony was awesome. We all know that. China kicked the world's ass in opening ceremonies. And they are also kicking the world's ass in the events. Which brings me to my second point. There is NO WAY those Chinese girl gymnasts are 16 years old. They are little girls with purple eyeshadow. I am convinced that the Chinese government altered their documents to make 12 year olds into 16 year olds. I have no proof of this, but because I live in America I get to say whatever I want. Yay, freedom! And what is the big deal about the age limit anyway? All it means is that the real 16 year old gymnasts are having their asses handed to them by a bunch of 12 year olds. Does it make everyone feel better to get beat by girls their own age? I don't get it! Whatever.

Here is the problem with the Olympics. I want to watch all the time, but I work. Plus they are running until after midnight every night and I am asleep in the chair by 11pm. So I have to record it and watch what I missed the night before PLUS what I missed while I'm at work PLUS the live stuff from that night! It is exhausting! I admit that I fast forward through water polo, equestrian events, and volleyball, but it still is very time consuming.

And here is the other thing. I am an idiot. Because I signed up on Ravelry for the Ravelympics. I have to finish a scarf that I started last year by the closing ceremonies in order to win a medal. This is the scarf:

I have been knitting like crazy and am only about half way done. I really want that medal! So I finished a project that was almost done and I submitted that. And I got my medal!

But I am still determined to finish my scarf in time! I tell you, all this knitting and watching TV is HARD WORK!! OK, gotta go turn on the TV and make dinner now. I will prevail!

What I Did On My Summer Staycation

2008-08-08T15:34:00.000-07:00

What was supposed to happen was that Leo and I were going to go to Canada because Max was supposed to be in Japan right now and we were going to be international travelers too. But then Japan got postponed and Max wanted to come to Canada too and Leo said that if Max comes to Canada then he won't go. So none of us went to Canada. But I still had half of yesterday and all of today off and now with no plans. So here is what I did.

1) Yesterday I went to the rose garden of Manito Park and knitted with a bunch of really cool people. They meet there every week and I will definitely be going back, it was so much fun!

2) This morning I got up early and Jennifer O. and I drove to Mt. Spokane to go berry picking but the road was closed half way up, so we went to Costco and picked up some blueberries there instead. Not quite the same but fun nonetheless.

3) I watched Paula Deen cook Chicken Pot Pie and Steak Diane on the Food Network. In those two dishes she managed to use almost 2 sticks of butter. She said she uses butter because she can. That sounds like a good reason to me.

4) Now I am going to watch Oprah while I clean the kitchen and then I will cook dinner which will be potstickers because the Olympics are in China. Everyone should watch the opening ceremonies tonight because fireworks come from China and they will probably have the best fireworks show in history!

5) Tomorrow I might throw caution to the wind and get a cup of coffee at the Rocket Bakery and possibly even a pink cookie. Whoa. I also might vacuum the house. Double whoa.

6) Tomorrow night they are showing "Willow" at The Shop on Perry. Bring a chair and have some free fun. And see Val Kilmer back when he was cute.

7) Other weekend highlights will include talking on the phone and knitting. Who needs Disneyland or Cabo when so much fun can be had right here!

Weakly Whirled News

2008-08-02T10:19:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy week that has gone fast and slow at the same time if that is possible. Here is the stuff I remember, numbered as usual in no particular order, mostly boring except to me.

1) Well I took the big leap and I entered two knitting projects into the Spokane Interstate Fair! There is no going back now, so I better get cracking. I have already finished the Noro scarf, I would take a picture but I don't want my knitting competitors to see it. (Like they read my blog, ha!) I have not yet started the Ballband Washcloth but they don't take long to knit up so I'm sure I can knock it out by the entry date of September 2nd. This weekend will be spent deciding on and procuring the perfect colors of cotton because I will be knitting the finest washcloth ever known in all of history. Just so you know.

2) In other fascinating news, I have been watching a lot of the Suze Orman show lately. By watching I mean I put it on while I am cooking dinner and barely pay attention to it. I am hoping to get some good financial sense by osmosis.

3) Speaking of good financial sense, I threw $12 away playing Bingo last night with my friends Jen O. and Faythe. It was fun! None of us won anything, but 2 ladies at the next table won $500 between them. We were sitting at the wrong table I guess.

4) The other night at 11:15 pm, Max decided that he had to watch The Blues Brothers, which is one of my very favorite movies. So of course I had to stay up way past my bedtime and watch it with him, which I paid for the next day at work, but I don't regret it because any time spent with one of my kids is time well spent.

5) I would like to say HEY! to my cousin Robin who lives in New York and was kind enough to leave a comment saying hello. Robin, it has been too long! I don't have any of your info so I can't get back to you. Email me at spokarla@yahoo.com , I would love to get back in touch with all of you.

6) It's the weekend! Which means grocery shopping, avoiding housework, enjoying the beautiful weather, and possibly going to the South Perry Summer Theater tonight. Totally fun and highly recommended.

Have a great day everybody!

Summer

2008-07-26T11:02:00.000-07:00

Summer is great! Here is why:

1) It is not winter. That is a big reason. Yes, sometimes it's too hot, but I refuse to complain because the alternative is worse! In the summer you don't have to drive 25 on the interstate because you fear sliding off the road, and leafy trees are a lot prettier than unleafy ones. Also, flip flops are better than boots.

2) Everyone sleeps in and stays up late. Except me. And I don't really know why that is great except that it just is. Everything is later in the summer. Dinner, grocery shopping, all of it. I wish work was later too but oh well.

3) It stays warm till bedtime, then it cools down and you can sleep with your bedroom window open and it's SO nice!

4) Flowers!

5) Funny summer TV shows. My current faves are "Wipeout" and "I Survived A Japanese Game Show". Also we have been watching a lot of "I Love Lucy" lately which is hilarious no matter the season.

6) The Farmers Markets. Fresh peaches, mmmmmmmm... Not to mention fresh everything else.

7) Midnight movies at the Garland. Tonight it's Pulp Fiction. Next week: The Goonies!

8) Barbeques! With potato salad and Mojitos...

We still have five weeks left, people. Make them fun ones!

Enhancements For Life

2008-07-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

So today Leo and I went to the DOL (that's the DMV for all you California people) to get our enhanced driver's licenses. Leo got an ID since he is only 14. An enhanced drivers license is special because it works like a passport when you go to Canada or Mexico. And seeing how the 2010 Winter Olympics are in Canada, I thought we should be prepared. Because I have goals. Here is the list that I can remember right now.

1) Go see Curling at the Olympics. Now I know that Canadians love their curling so tickets might be hard to get. But even if I have to watch Zimbabwe play Argentina, (probably neither one of those countries have a curling team, I'm just trying to make a point) I will, just so I can see Curling at the Olympics.

2) To catch a fish. I have been fishing several times in my life and have never caught a fish. I would be happy catching a rubber boot or a tire even. So if you read this and live around here and go fishing, take me with you. Because I didn't say I wanted to buy all the fishing supplies, I just want to catch a fish.

3) To walk Bloomsday. I know that I will have to be in a lot better shape than I am in right now. My stupid hamstring has healed to the point that I can resume normal activity, so workouts will be resuming directly. I don't even really like to walk, but I love this town and this town loves Bloomsday, so I want to be a part of it. I got to be in the St. Patrick's Day parade, so I can be in Bloomsday too. Right?

4) To get on Highway 2 going east and stay on it until it ends. Which is Chicago I think. I love the road less traveled.

5) To not spend every penny I make. How nice would it be to have money left over at the end of the month? As long as I am feeding 2 teenage boys, I may never find out.

6) Also I would like to see Led Zeppelin if they reunite and tour, but I would not say that is a goal really, because it is not something I can work towards, I just have to be lucky I guess.

That is it for now. I'm sure I have other goals, but this is a good start.

Canada!

2008-07-13T09:11:00.001-07:00

So yesterday I went to Canada with Faythe and Jen O. It was a really long day but a really great day. We left at 8am to do the Selkirk Loop. Faythe was the photographer as usual and her flickr set of our day is here. Here are my thoughts and observations:

1) First of all, Canada is great! Even though it is so close to the US, it is a totally different place, and you get that sense immediately. I got to use the little kilometer part of my car's speedometer for the first time. I like that the speed limit is 100 even though really you're only going 65. Also, the words ending in "er" down here end in "re" up there, so I had fun going to the town centre or the visitor's centre. Which I pronounced "centray" all day even though that was wrong.

2) I was amazed that in a place with such outstanding natural beauty, that there were so few cars on the road. It is really unspoiled up there, which was great, but I don't know why more people don't go, it is so awesome.

3) The ferry ride! You are just driving along and all of a sudden you are stopped at the lake and you drive your car onto a boat and take this really beautiful and relaxing half hour boat ride and then you get back in your car and drive off the boat and you are on your way again. That does not happen every day. Unless you live up there, then I guess it does.

4) I had to find a bathroom so we pulled into this campground to use the washroom at the vistors centre (I sound so Canadian!). This campground was so beautiful that it make me want to start collecting camping stuff from garage sales and become a camper again. This was the campground. Garage sales here I come.

5) Nelson, BC is the coolest town! I could so see myself spending a few days up there. It reminded me of Santa Cruz, totally laid back. I guess smoking pot is legal there, that might explain the laid back-ness. And the wide variety of potato chips at the Safeway.

5) The Safeway! We ended up eating lunch from there because there was a power outage downtown and all the restaurants were closed. This ended up being a great thing. Canada Safeway looks exactly like our Safeway until you look closer. All the labels on every item in the store are in English AND in French! You could totally learn French just from shopping. And the other thing is that they have flavors of foods that we don't have here. Like Ketchup flavored potato chips. And lots of other great flavored chips, I know they are great because we bought them all. In fact, I am eating the Vintage Cheddar & Red Onion / Cheddar Fort et Oignon Rouge flavor right now. For breakfast. Thanks, Canada!

It was a fun day spent in a fun place with fun people, and really you can't ask for more than that. Before the summer is out, I will be going back. Canada is really close but you feel so far away when you are there. And that is a wonderful thing!

Current Events

2008-07-11T22:03:00.001-07:00

1) I played bunco last night in the valley, and the fire evecuation boundary was three houses down from where we were playing. It made for a bit of a nerve-wracking evening and we ended up not playing the last round and going home early. Since the fires in Big Sur I have had a hyper awareness of fire and the destruction it leaves in its wake. So last night being so close to the fire, it was almost more than I could take. I came home pretty agitated. I feel terrible for the people who have lost their homes.

2) In better news, after being a sub in the bunco group for a year, I am now a permanent member, taking the place of someone who dropped out. It feels great to be one of the actual twelve and not just a sub.

3) Tomorrow I am going to Canada! Some friends and I are going to drive the Selkirk Loop. This is exciting because I haven't been to Canada since I was twelve. I hear it is beautiful, can't wait!

4) My stupid hurt leg is almost better. They work the crap out of it in physical therapy. I can really tell the difference the next day. I am now walking up stairs like a normal person, that is real progress. One of these days I will be able to bend over to weed the yard, that will be the real turning point, for me and for my neighbors!

5) That's it. Go out and have a fun weekend, eh?

Happy Birthday Susan Lynn

2008-07-08T19:10:00.000-07:00

Today is my sister's birthday. She was twelve years old when I was born, which makes her, well, twelve years older than me. She has been an outstanding sister my whole life. Here are a few things that stand out for me.

1) She was a teenager when I was little. She often did the clothes shopping for me because our mom was busy at our store. This resulted in many many cool sixties outfits complete with go-go boots. White ones. Awesome.

2) When I was twelve, she took me on a month long car camping trip across the western US. Now if I were a young adult going on a trip, the last person I would want to drag along would be my little sister. But she took me. In retrospect, I think it was so I could do all the camping dishes every night. But even so, that was a great trip which instilled in me a love of the open road and where it leads.

3) She is great to go to a store with. We make fun of all kinds of stuff. And we laugh a whole lot.

4) She is the best cook. She just whips stuff up! I miss Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas dinners and Fourth of July barbecues.

5) When I suddenly found myself single with two small kids, she paid my mortgage for six months until I found a job. I will never ever be able to repay her kindness and generosity which meant so much to me then and still does today.

I called her early this morning and I figured she would be up since old people wake up early and she was. We talked for a few minutes and while we agreed that she is older than me, there was some debate as to whether she was wiser, so we just decided that she is older and taller than me. I could not ask for a better sister. Happy Birthday Susan Lynn!!

LOVE YA LOVE YA!

Today I Miss My Home

2008-07-04T22:23:00.001-07:00

It is not often that I get homesick for the town I grew up in, Monterey, California. But this time of year there are things going on that I miss. The big one is the Feast of Lanterns, which is in the next town over, Pacific Grove. It is a hard thing to explain to someone who doesn't know about it. You sit packed in on the beach at Lovers Point all day watching bands and other entertainment on the pier, then as it gets dark they start the pageant. Oh I forgot to say that everyone on the beach has paper lanterns which they light once it gets dark. The sight of that is amazing. The pageant is about two star-crossed lovers, Koong-see who is a princess, and the poor scholar Chang. Everyone on the beach cheers when Chang appears and boos when Koong-see's father the Emperor tries to split apart the young lovers. In the end, the pair get away and turn into Monarch butterflies, and there's fireworks and Kate Smith sings God Bless America. I have been going to the Feast of Lanterns since I was a kid. Everyone has. I really miss it.
But the real reason that home has been on my mind a lot lately is that Big Sur is burning. Big Sur is a beautiful stretch of coastline about 25 miles south of Monterey. When I was a teenager, many days were spent in Big Sur playing in the river and smoking pot like the rest of the hippies that lived down there. It is a beautiful place. My sister in law Cesca owns a shop in Big Sur called Local Color. She had two hours to move all the art and stuff out of the store on Wednesday before they had to evacuate. I hope when this is all over that she has a store to come back to. The fire is also close to a place called Cachagua. I know a few people who live up there. Many of my brother's biker buddies live up there, they may have to evacuate soon. And even though I am way up in Washington now, this hits me where I live. The fire is 5% contained, and full containment is not expected until the end of July. So if you are the praying type, please pray for my little hometown and the safety of everyone in it. Thanks.

Gas Issues

2008-07-02T06:55:00.000-07:00

Here are some things that the price of gas has changed for me.

1) I now carpool to work 2-4 days a week. This has turned out to be a very good thing for a number of reasons. The best one is that my carpool buddy and I have a great time talking and laughing (a lot) in the car. Yesterday's topic was school bus memories. Hilarious!

2) Being in the passenger seat when it's Heather's turn to drive has made for some great I-90 people watching. I saw a fabulous mullet blowing in the wind yesterday. It seems that the people who have mullets are also the people who have no A/C in their car and drive with all the windows down on hot days. Just an observation.

3) I am noticing a LOT of bicycles on the road these days. Not just the spandex sport riders, but a lot of regular people too. Even on really hot days there are a ton of them. Last week one of my co-workers got hit by a car while riding her bike home from work. So to all five of you who read this, please be extra careful and watch for cyclists when you are on the road.

4) What was formerly called "running errands" has now become "taking a road trip", because a five mile drive to the Target at the Y is now an event since I no longer go up there on a whim.

5) Here is a question. How long would it take for a scooter or a little car to pay for itself in gas price savings? Would it ever pay for itself? I know that the answer is different for everyone, but I don't think it would ever pay off for me.

OK, gotta leave for the Park & Ride now, have a great day!

Bing-go

2008-06-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

So yesterday we did the whole asian market thing, where Faythe bought the dreaded Durian fruit (her story is here). It was very interesting and amusing sometimes too. As we were driving down Sprague past the bingo hall, Jennifer expressed a desire to play bingo. So plans were hastily made, and last night Jennifer and I (Faythe pooped out after her epic durian battle) ventured into the seedy bingo underbelly of Spokane.

At least that is what we were hoping for. But it wasn't! It was bright, clean, friendly, well-organized and a lot of fun! Armed with our bingo daubers, we each bought $12 worth of cards and sat down to play. We were intimidated at first because clearly we were surrounded by professionals. But the workers were very helpful and before you knew it we were in the zone. We did not have all the bingo accessories that were everywhere around us, but I made a list for next time. Apparently this is what you need.

1) A bingo bag. This will keep all your bingo stuff neat and organized.
2) Bingo Daubers. You need a lot of these, like at least 10. And you need them in many colors so you can color coordinate your ink with your card. I came with a green one and left with a green one AND a blue one, clearly I am on my way!
3) A troll or a Beanie Baby. This is for luck. Not sure if it really works, because there was a lady who won twice and I didn't see a troll OR a beanie baby in front of her.

There are other more detailed accesories, but these are the basics I think.

The bingo hall didn't seem very crowded for a Saturday night, which I couldn't understand because the place is totally air conditioned and it was 90 degrees outside. Plus they have a full kitchen where I went off my diet and ate mini corndogs, they were great! Jennifer and I agreed that playing bingo is a good way to spend a few hours, so now we are looking for other bingo halls around Spokane to try. Any suggestions?

Why carry a purse when you can carry this?

Two Year Checkup

2008-06-28T06:29:00.000-07:00

I just realized that as of today we have been in Spokane exactly two years and two days. The novelty still hasn't worn off, I still love this place, and I have no regrets about moving here. The boys and I have made full lives for ourselves here. I have friends, I have a church, I play bunco, all the stuff I did in California I do here, but I do even more stuff here. For example, today Faythe and Jennifer and I are going to go to a bunch of asian markets just to see what they have, then we are going out to Greenbluff for the Strawberry Festival. Now, Watsonville CA has a Strawberry Festival every year, do you think I went? No! This place is a much better fit for me than California was. I'm so glad I'm here!

Moisture! I Need Moisture!

2008-06-27T07:14:00.001-07:00

That is a line from Lost In Space where Dr. Zachary Smith is turned into a stalk of celery. But lately it is true for me. I have been on a cream, body butter, lotion and moisturizer bender of late. I peruse amazon and beauty product review websites in an attempt to find the perfect product that will make my dry skin soft and supple, turning back the evil hands of time and changing me back from a raisin into a grape. I prowl the beauty aisles of stores, reading ingredient labels like I know what they mean, comparing one to another, agonizing over which one will be the magic elixer.

What the hell is wrong with me? I have never given a rat's patoot about all this crap up until now. I might be having a mid life issue, it is NOT a crisis. Yet. I think I have finally accepted at age almost 47 that I am not 23 anymore. It has prompted some changes, mostly good ones. But this is just weird.

Anyone have a great beauty product they can recommend?

REM Green Is A Great Album

2008-06-26T21:47:00.000-07:00

Especially in the summer. I have this blog bookmarked, and it is a must-read for any real REM fan. Anyway, Matthew recently wrote about "You Are The Everything" off the Green album. It reminded me how much I loved this album, so I am listening to it now. The windows are open and the night is perfect tonight. I love Summer. That's all.

R.I.P. George Carlin

2008-06-23T22:24:00.001-07:00

There are no words. No wait, there are seven.

Thanks George.

Terribly Unimportant Things (Mostly)

2008-06-22T11:36:00.000-07:00

1) This one is kind of important to me though. I would like to say thank you to all the people who expressed sympathy for my stupid leg injury and especially for the offers to help. You all may be getting calls soon. To help. Because I went to the Awesome Wal-Mart yesterday and it took me like an hour to buy 10 things, I am walking that slowly. If you enjoy walking slowly and going to Costco then call me, because today is your lucky day! I will be leaving as soon as the Ibuprofin kicks in.

2) Here is something! Friday was Leo's birthday, and we went up to The Scoop for some ice cream. I had Apple Mint Sorbet. Outstanding! Oh the hell with Costco, let's go to The Scoop again.

3) Apparently when you tear a muscle in your leg it bleeds. I know this because the back of my leg is black and blue. That also explains why it hurts so much just to sit down.

4) I got a Clarisonic! I have used it once and already I look younger. I'm going to keep using it and looking younger and younger until my outside age matches my inside age. Which is twelve. Plus I am using Olay face products lately, which is just one more way that I am turning into my mother. All she ever used on her face was Oil of Olay, and she looked young until she started looking older, which was like age 75.

5) Max comes back Tuesday. I miss him. Leo doesn't like to go anywhere with me, doesn't he realize how much fun going to Costco with his mother is? I mean, he's 14 now, surely he has nothing better to do than help me decide Hot Pockets or Frozen Pizzas? Please!

OK, THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT, I'M NOT KIDDING!
6) On August 2nd, Tower of Power AND The Average White Band are coming to play TOGETHER at Northern Quest Casino. WOOHOO!! It goes without saying that I will be there. But will anyone be going with me? That is up to you all. If you want to go with, let me know soon, as I will be getting the ticket(s) in a few days. I really don't want to go by myself, but I will if I am forced to. Don't make me!

(Okay I just spent half an hour on Youtube trying to find a good TOP video to link to but they are all good and I couldn't decide so just go to Youtube yourself.)

Greetings From The Sidelines

2008-06-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday if you were at Puerta Vallarta mexican restaurant on Sprague in the valley at about 12:30 pm, you got to witness me executing one of the most spectacular and embarrassing falls of my life. And if you took a video of it, when you win the $10,000 from Americas Funniest Videos, please split the money with me. After all, I was the buffoon!

Anyway, I fell. And tore the crap out of my right hamstring. I went home at lunch and aside from a trip to the Rockwood Clinic, have been here ever since. Can I just say that a torn hamstring hurts like hell? I am managing with ice and advil, but I am bored to tears. Plus I can't go grocery shopping, which sucks bad. If Max here it would be ok, but he is not due back from CA for 6 more days. I think I will be sending Leo to Rosauer's with my debit card today.

Here is the ironic part. I have been eating better and working out for the past two months, and have lost 18 pounds and feel like I am in the best shape I have been in in years. Now I have to sit and be in pain? Yuck! Hopefully my recovery time will be faster because I'm in a bit better shape. Wish me luck!

Quiznos and Their FSA Salads

2008-06-15T14:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, since I've been eating low carb, I have been doing a lot of salads and my absolute favorite one of all of them and believe me I have had them all, is the Chicken Caesar Salad at Quiznos. Let me clarify that. The Chicken Caesar Salad at the Quiznos in Airway Heights. I am absolutely hooked on it. It's pretty simple, really--chicken, lettuce, onion, parmesan cheese and dressing. But it is so good! It is like the crack of salads! They put a lot of chicken on it, and use fresh grated parmesan that is flaky like it just came off the block. And the dressing, oh man is it ever good. So the first one I had was at the Quizno's in Airway Heights by the Awesome Wal-Mart. (If you don't know why that Wal-Mart is awesome, just go there and check it out.) But the only time it makes sense for me to go to that Quizno's is when I am making a trip to the Awesome Wal-Mart. Which is not as often as I want that salad! So I have been trying it at some of the other Quizno's in the area. First I went to the one at the bottom of Grand Ave. I was terribly disappointed. First of all, the chicken was in big chunks, not in little pieces. Secondly, they forgot my flatbread, which even though I only eat one out of the four pieces they give you, still sucked that they forgot it. The explanation I got from the gal behind the counter was that her and her co-worker were brand new and there was nobody there to help them figure out how to make a stupid salad. (She didn't say it quite like that, but you get the picture.) And I could tell that the salad was going to suck just by the way she was making it, but I took it and went home with my FSA Salad.

I cannot come right out and tell you what FSA stands for because they are all swear words and I try really hard not to swear. But if you have known me for a long time, you have heard these words used in this order to describe plenty of things that are not good.

So then today I was up north and I thought I'd try my luck with the Quizno's at Mission and Divison. What a mistake that was. This one was even worse than the one on Grand! Not enough lettuce or chicken, plus they used the wrong kind of cheese. Oh and by the way, when you ask me if onions are okay to put on, I didn't mean two handfuls of them! Another FSA Salad!!

Now, I realize that Quizno's are franchises and each one does things their own way. So let me tell you, I have done the work, I have suffered for my salad. Just go to the Quizno's in Airway Heights. At this point I am afraid to go to any of the other ones.

And while I am in rant mode, could someone please do something about the ruts in the middle of the intersection at 2nd and Maple? It's terrible!!

Why My Blog Is So Aptly Named

2008-06-14T16:48:00.000-07:00

Because there has been an awful lot of nothing going on around here. There is some stuff though, here goes.

1) Max left yesterday to go to CA for 10 or so days. On the way to the airport he got a speeding ticket. Hello, higher insurance rates!

2) Leo is here and I am at a loss as to what to do with him. Mostly because I'm broke. We might play some Wii later or perhaps a rousing game of Racko.

3) Beautiful weather today for a change. Hope it stays.

4) I was sad to hear of Tim Russert's passing. Most every morning he was on the Today Show and I relied on him to cut through all the crap of the election and to tell me what was what. Now how am I going to know what is what?

5) Work has been hard lately. Drowning in paperwork. I could go on but why?

6) I printed out the entry form for the Spokane County Interstate Fair. I will be entering 2 or 3 things. I'm going to knit up the best looking washcloth ever, if I can only decide on the colors. The scarf is almost done, it looks like a winner to me, let's hope the judges agree.

7) I should be cleaning the kitchen right now, but I think I will take a nap instead. Have a great day everyone.

Future Plans, Near and Far

2008-06-06T06:40:00.000-07:00

Today is Friday and that means that tomorrow I am going to see The Farm Chicks! They didn't have a show last year, so I am very excited to go.
But here is something that is really exciting, to me anyway.
Hard Rock Park!
My friend Elizabeth called me from Oklahoma and told me that we are going next year! She also told me that my Official Best Friend Tami has to come with us and it is my job to convince her. See, Elizabeth is older than us, she is already 47 and we are only 46, so I guess that makes her the boss. That is why I am going to the Bullriding Championships in Las Vegas with her this November. Because she said so.
Anyway, I am firing the first shot to you, Tami. I know Bill reads this blog pretty regularly. So Bill, help me out here. I am still 43 days older than you Tami and that gives me power (in my mind) so you have to come with us next year to the Hard Rock Park. Come on! Led Zeppelin--The Ride! Need I convince you any further?? I promise we won't almost die like when we went on the Zipper that last time. You will be hearing from me soon! Love ya!

Happy Third of June

2008-06-03T20:42:00.000-07:00

To celebrate, here is a gift for you.

You are so welcome!

Wii Ha!

2008-05-28T06:56:00.000-07:00

So I have been working out every other day for about five weeks. I have noticed a difference in the way my clothes fit and also in the way I feel. That thing you always hear about people having more energy when they exercise, well it's true! So I was looking for something to do on my off workout days. I know, why don't I just workout, well I'll tell you why. Because I'm old and totally out of shape and it hurts when I do too much. I'm hoping that will change over time, but right now the strenuous stuff is limited to every other day. Anyway I was talking to my friend Shannon the other day and she could not say enough good stuff about the Wii Fit. It's more fun than strenuous, and the focus is on balance and working your core. So I got one. And let me tell you, I had so much fun with that thing last night. The are the highlights, in no specific order:

1) Tightrope walking. If you don't keep your balance, you fall to your death! It's hilarious!
2) Hitting soccer balls with your head. You also get cleats thrown at you, which make the best noise when they hit you in the head!
3) Ski Jumping. I suck! It's great!
4) I think the best thing is the aerobic dancing. It's like a cross between step aerobics and Dance Dance Revolution. The best part is that your Mii does it with the other Miis you have in your system. So I'm on the screen dancing with Bob Ross, Abraham Lincoln and Michael Jackson. And when you do really good and hit all your steps perfectly. Bob Ross and Abe turn around and smile at you. It's the best!

And after playing for half an hour, I actually felt sweaty and like I had a slight workout. It is the perfect compliment to my fitness routine. And a heck of a lot of fun! If you have a Wii, go get Wii Fit. Seriously.

Office Cleaning Highlights

2008-05-24T12:54:00.000-07:00

Well it is Memorial Day weekend and since 1) the weather today is supposed to be crappy and 2) my sister is coming up here in 5 days, I thought I'd clean my office. I am slowly getting through it, even though I have been calling people to try and stall but nobody is home! You would think this is a holiday weekend or something.

Anyway, I have come across some very interesting things in my cleaning travels. Here is a sampling:

1) A fortune cookie fortune that says: You will find the desired link within the next month. The desired link? Like a website? Or the missing link? I'm confused!

2) A post-it note with two words written on it: Toilet Paper.

3) A christmas card from my niece with this lovely sentiment in it: Thanks for moving, now our whole Christmas tradition is screwed! You're welcome, Nichole.

That last one cracks me up! OK, back to cleaning now, have a great weekend!

Parade of Pink Trees

2008-05-18T13:30:00.001-07:00

So yesterday I got in the car, put Aerosmith's "Rocks" in the CD player, cranked it, and set about getting some pictures of pink trees. They are everywhere right now and they are so awesome! I call my picture taking style drive-by shootings because I barely stop if I stop at all, aim the camera in the general direction of the desired object, snap to photo and hope I got the shot. I actually got lucky on a few! Here they are:

You can click on the pics to make them bigger.

And just so the white trees do not feel left out:

This last one is my favorite. It is currently my desktop wallpaper:

Not bad considering I was going about 30 mph! Have a great day and get out and enjoy the trees!

Same Song, 99th Verse

2008-05-17T13:06:00.000-07:00

Today has been an absolutely great day. Not that anything has happened to make it great, other than the weather is gorgeous, it's super warm and everything is green and the birds and squirrels are so cute! Steve finished my bitchin flower bed yesterday, so as soon as it cools down a little I can plant all the flowers I just bought. I finally have a flower bed that is in full sun, so now I can grow sunflowers and dahlias and daisies and plant bulbs in the fall for tulips and daffodils next spring. And just so you know, the bitchin flower bed is it's official name. Because it's bitchin, man!
Tonight is the Lilac Parade downtown, the official name is the Armed Forces Torchlight Parade. It is huge and draws a big crowd. Faythe and I were going to go and stand around for hours in the 90 degree heat to see it but instead I will be going to her and Ryan's house for a barbeque and we will watch the parade on TV! And eat steak! Really good steak!
Let's recap: Birds! Squirrels! Bitchin flower bed! Bitchin flowers! Parade! (did I mention the 40+ marching bands?) Steak! Life is so so good! I love Spokane!

Love Don't Cost A Thing

2008-05-11T15:11:00.000-07:00

So today is Mothers Day and my kids didn't have any money to get me anything and I didn't want to give them any money to get me anything because then I might as well buy something myself and eliminate the middleman. So this is what I got.

Leo stood in front of me, threw his arms up in the air and yelled SURPRISE! HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! and gave me a big hug. Then I said, so what is the surprise, at which point he threw his arms up in the air again and hugged me and told me that he loved me. I guess that was the surprise.

Then later when we were having a fabulous Mothers Day luncheon at Arby's, the boys were describing me with adjectives. Here are some of them, in alphabetical order:

Beautiful
Caring
Charitable
Funny
Giving
Gullible
Honest
Loveable
Polite
Sarcastic
Squishy
Trustworthy (to which Leo added, except when it comes to secrets--not true, Leo! I can keep a secret sometimes!)

I'm just glad they didn't list the bad adjectives, because that list is probably longer!

And just now after dinner I did what I do every year on this day. I went to the china closet and pulled out the Mothers Day books my kids made me when they were each in the second grade. We always laugh at these, because in them are gems like:

"The best gift for my mother wudd be a Jeep grand cherikey or a 4 X 4 monster truck." --Max

"My mom deserves a special day because she's tired." --Leo

"My mother looks like a mom." --Max

"My mother reminds me of a girl in the price is right TV show." --Leo

But the one that always gets me is one that Leo wrote: "My mom is special because she cares about me and loves me with her heart."

Indeed I do, boys. Indeed I do.

Feeling Kind of Crunchy

2008-05-01T21:52:00.002-07:00

If you know me, you probably have heard me use the word crunchy. You know. Crunchy. Like Granola. And the people who eat it. Crunchy. Like Birkenstocks with tye dyed socks. And the people who wear them. Crunchy. Like carrots. And the people who eat them exclusively. I have nothing against the crunchy segment of society, quite the opposite. I just have never considered myself to be crunchy. I'm more of a chewy person I think. But lately I'm not so sure.

Recently, I bought these. They are reusable grocery sacks, which everyone has jumped on that bandwagon but these are better for me because they fit into my purse and now when I check out at the store I don't have to say Dang! I left my shopping bags in the car! I can just reach in my purse and pull them out. A tiny bit of crunchiness in my purse. I highly recommend them. They hold a lot and they are so colorful that Max said he will never go shopping with me again.

Also, I asked a co-worker today who takes the same route to work if she would be interested in carpooling. Me. Carpooling. I will let you all digest that for a moment. OK, moment over. Part of it is a response to the high gas prices, but another part of me just wants to do their part for the environment. This is the same person who said I don't give a shit about the landfills, I'm using Pampers not cloth diapers. So this whole carpool thing is a suspiciously crunchy turn of events.

AND! I have started taking vitamins. Except I keep forgetting to take them and I remember when I use the bathroom at work and my pee isn't a neon color. So I got the brilliant idea of buying a bottle of vitamins to keep at work. This led me to go to Super Supplements today on my lunch hour. That is an extremely crunchy store!

I do not know what has gotten into me. And I don't know what other crunchy escapades I will be having, but I am drawing the line at listening to the Grateful Dead. (Although I do have tye dye socks.) And I also will not be buying vegetarian cat food for my cats. They will just go outside and eat a small animal, which defeats the whole purpose. And you will never find me anywhere near a bottle of that stinky supercrunchy patchouli. But I'm open to other things, like growing more of my own food and learning how to can fruits and veggies. Last year I grew tomatoes, I wonder, does squash grow well up here? What about corn? I think I might like to tear out some of my lawn and put in a mini cornfield. I feel myself becoming less chewy by the minute! I think that might be a good thing.

Weekend Mania

2008-04-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

This weekend the temperatures were resembling spring, and I really didn't want to stay inside at all. so I didn't! First thing I did Saturday morning, no, wait, let's back up to Friday night. On Friday night I loaded all my B-52's cd's into my computer. This resulted in a sing-along of epic proportions! I'm sure I had way more fun than Leo, who was in the next room and had to listen to me. By the time I went to bed my voice was gone.
OK so then Saturday morning I went to the Camelot community garage sale with Faythe and Jen C. On the way there I saw the first tulips and daffodils of the year! This caused me to scream so loudly with total joy that I blew out my voice even more and by the time I got to Faythe's I could barely get a word out. That situation seemed to resolve itself a bit as we went to what can only be described as the biggest most insane garage sale frenzy I have ever seen. I came away with some wine glasses and the realization that it will take an act of god to get me back there next year. I have never seen anything like it.
So after that craziness we went to the Browne's Addition sale, which was much less attended and the pickings were much better I thought. After that we cruised around the South Hill for awhile and found some good sales there too. I got some really great stuff--dishes, a salad bowl, some books, my favorite Mary Kay face cleanser, and some plants because we also went to the plant sale at Manito Park. It was a very fun morning!
Then later on Saturday afternoon Leo and I took a drive. We took Cheney-Spokane Road out to Cheney, then turned onto Cheney-Spangle Road over to Spangle, then back up 395 to home. It took about an hour or so, very cool. Then when we got back I went with Max to the White Elephant. I just love that store! I bought the game of Racko for less than $6 which was a total score because we wore out our old Racko and I was having a hard time finding it in the big stores. Saturday was a smashing success!
Today after church I went to Costco, which apparently was all the productivity I could stand, because this afternoon it was Max in the car as we went on a much longer drive up to Sandpoint in Idaho. We went up Highway 2 which I had never done and while it was a beautiful drive, we got to Sandpoint and said now what do we do, and since we did not know anything about the area we just kept driving, turning south and going through Athol and past Silverwood, through Rathdrum and down Trent Ave. back to Spokane. This drive took about three hours and was just what I needed after not going anywhere all winter. I need a little road trip once in a while to keep me sane. Well, maybe not sane, but happy anyway.
So all in all, it has been a great weekend! I saw so many things: Flowers, pink trees, this, this, lots of scenery, and this:

This sea monkey bobblehead lives in Browne's Addition with all his bobblehead friends:

Thanks Jen and Faythe for the pics!

OK Here Is The Story

2008-04-24T21:47:00.000-07:00

I was born in 1961. I admit it! The reason I share this is because I want to put this in historical context. So if I was born in 1961, then I would have been 13 in 1974. That was the year that Evel Knievel took on the Snake River Canyon. Evel Knievel had a HUGE influence on the boys in my neighborhood. Much in the same way that Mary Poppins inspired me and all my little girl friends to grab an umbrella and jump off the roof of the house, Evel Knievel inspired every kid with a stingray bike to build a ramp and jump over things. Two boys in particular were extremely inspired, their names were Jim and David. Jim is my friend Steve's older brother, and we all looked up to him. He seemed really cool and like he knew something that the rest of us didn't, which made him cool AND mysterious. We watched as he and David built a bike ramp not out of plywood and a cinderblock like all the other boys, but a permanent one dug and built of dirt in the middle of a clearing in the woods. This clearing was at the bottom of a steep dirt path through the trees which led from the street to the park at the bottom of the canyon. They would start at the street, pedal full bore down the narrow path and fly off the jump at great speed, travelling quite a distance before landing. They did this for hours, and we all watched with amazement. After Jimmy and David got good at this, they gave us the command -- lay down in front of the jump so we can jump over you. So we did. Thirteen of us in all. Us older kids lay down closest to the ramp, we weren't idiots you know. Steve, Joe, me, Charlie, Billy, Tommy and Stanley made sure we got the good spots that we knew the bike jumpers would clear. We put all the younger kids, everyone's little brothers and sisters, at the end. After all, they were expendable. After everyone was situated in front of the ramp, the signal was given and the boys started down the path. It seemed like an eternity that we were all laying there awaiting our fate, but it couldn't have been more than about 15 seconds. We could feel the vibrations under us as they got closer. I was a little scared and I squeezed my eyes shut tight, and when I opened them, it was over and we were all a part of Del Rey Oaks history! Nobody got landed on or hurt in any way, which really was a miracle when you think about what actually happened. As a parent, there is NO WAY I would let my kids do that! But I am so glad that I did it. Steve was over here not too long ago, and the subject came up with my boys. Steve and I just grinned and nodded at each other and quietly spoke the same two words: "Thirteen People". I think we are STILL in awe of it!

So anyway, after Evel Knievel died last November, I meant to tell this story then, sort of as a tribute to him. But other stuff kept coming up. And tonight I finally remembered. So here's to Evel Knievel--an inspiration to a generation of bike jumping risk takers, and the fools who laid down in front of them.

YEAH!!

An Illegally Great Day

2008-04-19T13:36:00.000-07:00

Because today I am writing about something that is illegal and I don't want to get googled about it I will write in code!

Today my friend _teve came over and he had a _ootleg DVD of the _ed _eppelin reunion concert from last December. _ax burned a few copies and now I have it! The video is not that great but the sound is good and I consider it to be just another snapshot in the giant _ed _eppelin photo album of my life. They cannot be who they were when they were younger, particularly _obert _lant is not the singer he once was. Stupid smoking! However, _immy _age is still awesome! He looks like a cross between Ben Franklin and the Queen of England nowadays. And it is great to see _ohn _aul _ones jamming with them again. When _lant and _age toured back in the 90's, _teve and I saw them 3 times and they were great, but they were not _ed _eppelin. In this concert, they are.

And as a bonus, _teve hooked up my now-fixed turntable which means that I can listen to all my vinyl again!! Of course, the first album I put on was _ed _eppelin's "_resence".

This is shaping up to be a great day! Tonight is Supper Club, which means that there are mojitos in my immediate future. Today is so good that I am not going to complain that it is starting to snow right now. It can snow all it wants, I'm happy today.

Checking In

2008-04-16T22:28:00.000-07:00

Don't have a lot to say. But when has that ever stopped me?

1) Just watched the American Idol results show, the one where they kick someone off, and America finally got it right, because Kristy Lee Cook is out! Faythe and I are very happy right now.

2) Last night I watched the last installment of the Seven Ages Of Rock series on VH1 Classic. All about British Indie Rock. Started with The Smiths and ended with Franz Ferdinand. An awesome documentary. It reruns all the time, try to catch it if you can, the whole series is great.

3) My very old and dear friend Elizabeth emailed me this. It is hilarious, even more so because we have a few of those horrible photos of ourselves hidden away where they will never see the light of day, so don't even ask.

4) I think she emailed me that link because I sang "Loving You" by Minnie Ripperton into her voicemail on Monday. Just the lalalalala, doodoodoodoodoo, AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!! part. What was I supposed to do? It was on XM, who else I'm I going to sing it with? She and I have been murdering that song together for 30 years!

5) It is supposed to snow all weekend! And last weekend was so nice! You just never know with this goofy weather.

6) Did you know that Washington is one of only 5 states where it is legal to make a left turn on a red light from a two way onto a one way street? I just found this out. So far I have done it twice. I feel so bad yet so good!

7) OK I think that's it.

In Which I Use The Word "Toilet" Eleven Times--Wait, Make That Twelve. Or, How To Lose Your Mind In Seven Easy Steps

2008-04-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

Here are the events as they happened:

1) Leo broke my toilet seat. Says he sat on it funny and it just broke. Whatever.
2) Procured new toilet seat yesterday at the Airway Heights Walmart. Threw away receipt.
3) Couldn't get my old toilet seat off my toilet today. Tried for half an hour. Turns out I was doing it wrong. Leo got it off in like 5 seconds.
4) Started to clean the toilet but ran out of toilet bowl cleaner. Prayers that I had not created mustard gas when I switched cleaners were answered.
5) Took shrink wrap off of new toilet seat and discovered that I need a 9/16 wrench to install it. Cannot find said wrench or even pliers. Decision made to go to hardware store. By this time you could say that I was irritated but that would be an understatement.
6) On the way to the car, a socket set was found, a complete one! Excitedly run upstairs to install toilet seat.
7) Place toilet seat on toilet and realize that the seat is way too small for the toilet.

At this point I had two choices. I could walk away and deal with it later. Or I could throw a hammer through my bathroom window. I walked. I'm sure it did not feel nearly as good as throwing the hammer would have, but I am trying to set an example here. After dinner I will try again to deal with the situation. So if you are walking down Elm Street this evening and you hear glass breaking and see a flying hammer, you will know what happened.

Seasons In The Sun -- FINALLY!!

2008-04-12T07:38:00.000-07:00

This winter has been the second snowiest winter IN HISTORY. 89 1/2 inches to be exact, just 4 less than the all time high. And I lived through it! But these last few weeks have been awful. I have been sad and mopey for no real reason. And my housekeeping skills (what little I have) have been gone for months. I couldn't understand why. But I think I'm beginning to.

Yesterday the weather changed. There was sun, which is not unusual except that you could feel it's warmth on your body. There was George Maupin, one of the local weather guys, all smiles and talking about 70 degrees on Sunday. And even though the leaves are still just buds on the trees, my hope that spring is coming has turned to the belief that it will be here directly.

I could actually feel the weight lifting.

Last night after a long week at work, I had the energy to clean and organize for three hours. Can't remember the last time that happened. Probably November. And I even baked cookies! The car is all loaded and ready for the run to the recycling center today, and I am excited about working in the garage with the door open and not having to wear a coat or sweater. I can't wait to open up all the windows in the house and run the vacuum. The sound of the washer full of blankets that will be folded and put in the closet instead of stacked on the couch is sweet music to my ears. I'm starting to feel like myself again.

I don't recall this happening to such a degree last winter, but last winter was mild and not as long. I need to remember this winter so I can figure out a plan for next winter when my house goes all to hell again. But in the meantime, I can tell you the secret to awesome cookies:

My mom's mixing bowl from the 50's. It was the bowl that came with the mixer that kind of looked like the one in this pic that I just lifted off of ebay:

Everything I make in this bowl turns out great. So that is the secret to awesome cookies. That, plus 1 1/2 sticks of butter.

Have a fabulous weekend, I sure will!

Questions That Demand Answers

2008-04-08T21:33:00.000-07:00

1) Do the people in the Central Time Zone REALLY need to have their tv shows come on an hour earlier than the rest of us? Do they have some kind of manditory early bedtime? I know that the farmers go to bed early, but are there that many of them that all of tv land caters to them? I posed this question to Faythe and she thought that I was trying to do away with the entire Central Time Zone! I think it was that bottle of wine she drank.

2) Does Paula Abdul think she is fooling ANYONE with that fake forced cleavage she had on American Idol tonight?? Please.

3) Was Carole King ever on the Muppet Show or Sesame Street? Because if she wasn't, she should have been. She could have sung "You've Got A Friend" to Elmo or the Cookie Monster.

4) Will I be sad when American Idol is over because I have so much fun watching it with Faythe? Wait, I know the answer to that one.

Saturday

2008-04-05T08:17:00.000-07:00

1) It is snowing. Again. Or should I say still. I would take pictures and post them, but they would look just like the pictures I took the last 1700 times it snowed this year. So just use your imagination, or if you live in Spokane, just look out your window.

2) David Byrne has a website called Radio David Byrne. The playlist changes every month, featuring music from different parts of the world, or little known music from our own neck of the woods. This month it's all about Turkish pop music. Very interesting and quite good. Definitely worth a listen.

3) It's district caucus day! I have to leave in a little while. I didn't think they would need me to be there since I am like the 4th or 5th alternate delegate, but I got a call last night and they may need me after all. While I will be happy to represent, I hope they don't need me and I get to go home. I had big plans for today involving both large and small household appliances, and a possible trip to the dump.

4) Leo comes home from California this evening! He had a great time at Disneyland with his dad, but I sure missed him!

I Am The Chair, I Am The Chair...

2008-04-03T22:48:00.000-07:00

Go Here.

It's Dragnet. The LSD Story. Twenty-five minutes long. Totally great. Hulu is the best!

Thoughts On The Show

2008-03-29T23:39:00.000-07:00

It was so much fun!! Here is what happened:

1) The B-52's were playing at the Northern Quest Casino, which I had never been to. So we went a little early and had dinner there. So Max and I were sitting there eating and watching the horse races where the horses pull those little chariot thingies, and Max got an idea for a movie about a donkey who pulls a cart in Mexico but has dreams of being a chariot racer, so the donkey disguises himself as a horse and makes his dream come true! He titled it "Donkey Cart II--Juwanna Horse". It was hilarious at the time but I guess you had to be there.

2) Then we had some time to kill so we played the slots for a little while. Max broke even and I lost $3.34.

3) Then it was time to go to the show! So we get to our seats and we realize that we are fairly close to the stage. Then I realize that we are surrounded by older people. Did I look as old at them?, I wondered. Then I decided no, they were all older than me. I could be in denial about this, but I don't think so because I stood up and danced through the whole show while most everyone around me sat through it and only got up when they played Love Shack and Rock Lobster.

4) I wrote down everything that they played, here it is:
Mesopotamia -- 6 or 8000 years ago, they laid down the law!
Pump -- This is off their new album called "Funplex" which I already own and have mostly memorized. Pretty good song, but not one of my favorites.
Private Idaho -- I think they just played this because we are so close to Idaho and they felt obligated. I would rather have heard Cindy sing Give Back My Man from that same album.
Ultraviolet--Another new one.
Channel Z -- One of their hits off of the Cosmic Thing album. When that album first came out I loved it and then Love Shack blew up and everyone loved the B-52's which kind of irritated me because I didn't want to share them after having them to myself for so long. So now I really don't like the Cosmic Thing album too much.
Strobe Light -- A classic! But doesn't anyone know that in the middle of that song the strobe lights come on and it looks cool when you dance? Strobe lights are not as cool if you just sit there!
Juliet of the Spirits -- One of my favorites off the new album. Kate and Cindy stood together and just sang it, it was beautiful, I love the way their voices mesh.
Roam -- See Channel Z.
Funplex -- Great catchy song. Video is here.
Hot Corner -- Pretty good new one.
Keep This Party Going -- Good dance tune off the new album.
Love Shack -- Finally all the oldies got up! Tiiiiin roof! Rusted.
Then they left the stage and came back for the encore:
Planet Claire -- Thank you B's for playing the first track off your first album for me, that was the song that got me started on you to begin with.
Love In The Year 3000 -- Not my favorite new one.
And of course they ended the show with Rock Lobster -- Down! Down!
It was a great show which could have been better had they played about 15 more songs but you know, they are older now and we just have to be happy with what we get.

5) On the way out Max says hey, that guy has a DEVO tattoo, so we stopped him and got a picture of it. Turns out that back in the day he was a punk from SoCal, he also had a Black Flag tattoo which was cool. I showed him my Cosmic Thing tattoo, and we realized that we were now just a couple of middle aged punks and had a laugh about it.

6) On our way back through the casino, Max won $15 playing blackjack. Also, in the casino they give you free sodas, which was awesome since I was quite thirsty after all that dancing.

7) Here are some pictures that Max took:

So that's it! Thanks to the B-52's for coming to my town! See you next time!

Spring Broken

2008-03-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of Spring Break for Leo, and this morning I took him to the airport, as he is flying down to California to spend a week with his dad. Lucky him! Here's what he is leaving behind:

Lucky us! Actually, lucky me, since before this day is over, I will have seen The B-52's! WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!

UGH!!!

2008-03-27T22:37:00.000-07:00

I have been slowly re-organizing my office. Wait a minute, the word re-organizing implies that at one point the office was organized to begin with, which is SO not true! Unless you call organization boxes of papers that I packed up and moved here and never opened until tonight. So I open the first box and it is chock full of everything from important house papers to Leo's grade school artwork to old bills that I don't even have anymore. This mixed up mess means that I have to handle EVERY PIECE OF PAPER and make a decision about it. Keep? Shred? Recycle? I do not have that many decisions left in me by 10pm on a Thursday. I can hardly bear it! I can do about an hour and then I have to run away screaming and swearing. I mean, I work in an office and I handle papers and make decisions about them all day long, why why WHY do I need to deal with it at home too??

If I was wearing one of these I'd have to switch it to the other hand right now!

Easter Is Back On Track (Sort Of)

2008-03-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

When I lived in CA I had the same Easter tradition for years. Make a potato salad and go to Dick and Cesca's. After I started going to church, the tradition became make a potato salad, go to church, go to Dick and Cesca's. Last year was our first Easter in Spokane and it was a total bust. This Easter, things are looking up. I have a church home now, and our Easter service is being held at the Fox Theater, too cool! Also, I am in a small group bible study, and we are having an Easter luncheon, which means I get to make potato salad and bring it somewhere! So tomorrow my tradition will be make a potato salad, go to church and go to Mike and Tammy's. I can live with it.

Still totally miss Dick and Cesca's Easter though.

Three Things

2008-03-20T22:21:00.000-07:00

1) See the tree. See the leaf buds. See the calendar, First Day of Spring!

See the snow.

2) This is for you Tami--The new B-52's album is out and you can listen to it here. I spent all last night watching B-52 videos on YouTube. Nine days until I see them, I can't wait!!!!

3)Did you know that Spokane ranked #9 on Forbes list of Best Places For Business and Careers! Woohoo! Just another reason to love it here.

That's it.

Seeking The Perfect Relationship

2008-03-17T20:27:00.000-07:00

My job requires me to do a lot of writing. I write pretty much all day. Lately, I have been unsatisfied with the performance of my pens. I have been going to Staples and Office Depot practically every weekend trying to find a pen that fits all my needs, which are as follows:

1) Non-gloppy ink.
2) Blue ink.
3) Medium point.
4) Soft grippy thing.
5) Ball point. No gel.

I am not looking for the Holy Grail here, I am just looking for the perfect pen for a long term relationship. Saturday I bought a pen called Dr. Grip Center Of Gravity. It was great until I started writing with it this morning. GLOPPY!! AUGGGHHHHH!!! In my desperation I am turning to the Internet to help me on my quest. Wish me luck. This is driving me crazy.

The Parade

2008-03-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

1) It was sooooo cold! We had to stand around for an hour and a half before we could go and it was freezing! I could not feel my face, fingers or legs. Once we started moving I got some feeling back but I did not feel warm until after I got home and put a blanket around me.

2) The band in the animal costumes that were practicing during the parade assembly, Gorilla Rabbit and Chicken were hilarious! I'm not sure if they were really playing that badly or just goofing off, but it was awesome. Music played badly is really funny to me. I'm sure that is why Max never practiced his trumpet, he probably got tired of me crying with laughter in the other room.

3) It was nice that people cheered for the Spokane Humane Society, everyone really appreciates what they do for the animals.

4) Also it was good that we had a bunch of really cute and sweet dogs with us, that way nobody was looking at our ridiculous hats.

5) If I am in the parade next year I will make a point to go around looking at other entries in the staging area, I wished that I could see the parade and also be in the parade.

6) Being in a parade offers some fantastic people watching opportunities. Let's just say that parade goers are a colorful and fun bunch of people and leave it at that.

7) After the parade was over, Faythe and I went to Frank's Diner for lunch. I didn't realize how hungry I was, boy was it good.

So that's it! Faythe has some pictures on her blog, along with her take on the festivities.

We're Holding The Banner!!

2008-03-14T17:24:00.001-07:00

I told you last year that I wanted to be in the St Patrick's Day Parade. Well, when I found out that my friend Faythe was going to get to be in the parade I totally asked her if I could glom onto their entry so she asked her bosses and they said YES!!

So we are going to be in the Spokane Humane Society entry, we were going to walk dogs and wear funny hats. But Faythe worked it out so that we are not walking dogs, we're holding the banner!! That is some official parade shit right there!

So come down to the parade and see us holding the banner in funny hats!

WOOHOO!!!

Not A Lot Going On

2008-03-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

It's been one of those weeks. Here are some highlights.

1) Been watching Idol with Faythe. It is now to the point where I don't really want to watch it by myself anymore, mainly because we have so much fun watching it together. We laugh and laugh.

2) The time change has been making me more energetic in the evenings. This is good news for my kitchen. An increase in both cooking and cleaning has been noted.

3) I'm using a different shampoo. Waiting to see if my hair starts falling out again once the effects of the Nioxin wear off.

4) Bought an iPod over the weekend. It's a nano and it's turquoise, very cute and oh so much fun. Leo is pissed at me because it's the one he begged me for at Christmas and didn't get. It feels good being the envy of my kids for once.

5) Bunco tonight.

6) Parade on Saturday!! Starting to get excited about that, also a little nervous.

That's it! I'm surprised I squeezed 6 things out.

Hope you are able to squeeze some fun out of your week.

Two Hours Off

2008-03-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

This time change really screws me up, and this year more so than other years because I was laboring under the delusion that we were going to put the clock back instead of forward. Not sure why, but I had it in my head. So last night at 11:45 I go to change the clock and here is what I say out loud to nobody but me.

Spring forward, Fall back...
And this is Spring...
What??
It's almost 1 am!!
And I'm not even tired!
(sigh) I'm gonna miss church...

Which I am right now.

Hope you all made it to church!

Until We Meet Again

2008-03-08T12:05:00.000-08:00

So, the mighty Led Zeppelin's reign on XM ended yesterday. I didn't listen to it all the time, but I did listen some every day. It brought me back to another time in my life when I listened to Led Zeppelin every day, about 30 years ago. Only this time I didn't have a joint or bong in my hand like I did then. When I was a teenager everyone I knew loved Zep. Guys wanted to be them, girls wanted to be with them. And while I thought that Robert Plant was cute and oh so sexy, I always stood in awe of Jimmy Page and how he played guitar. For me it was about the music. There was this guy named David Long who lived on the next block in Del Rey Oaks, and he singlehandedly turned all of us on to Zep. He used to carry the album "Presence" around with him and came to my and all of my friends' houses and played it for us. He converted all of us into fanatics, especially Steve and Mike and me. A couple of years ago back in CA when Steve lived in my garage and Mike lived in my shed (AKA The Command Module) in the backyard, the three of us would get together and drink expensive tequilla and watch The Song Remains The Same with the volume cranked. It is just a given that Led Zeppelin will always be a part of my life. When I am old and frail and senile, I know that hearing "Tea For One" or "Achilles Last Stand" will bring a light to my eyes.
So with a sigh I bid farewell to XM Led for now. I understand that XM needs the bandwidth for the upcoming baseball season. But they said that XM Led will make it's triumphant return later this year. I'll be waiting.

I Feel Compelled To Explain

2008-03-06T07:07:00.000-08:00

Faythe blogged here about last night's American Idol session over here. She told a tale of me laughing over a picture. Lest anyone think I'm crazy (I am, I just don't want you to think so), here is the explanation of the David Cassidy photo and how it came about.

Last night Faythe and I were talking about how appliances are coming out in all kinds of cool colors now, and I mentioned that growing up, our kitchen had a turquiose refrigerator, stove and dishwasher. So I got out a box of pictures in an attempt to find a picture of the kitchen. I was going through some pictures that I recognized to be a pile that I used to have up in my cubicle at my old job. And I came across this:

I had totally forgotten I did that! It was about 6 or so years ago, and I was going through a David Cassidy phase. My friends at work knew about it so one day I found a little picture of him on my desk that one of them had cut out of a magazine. I was staring at the wall of my cubicle thinking where can I put this little picture and my eyes rested on a picture of Dana and the boys. It was a "bad" picture of all of them, but I loved the expressions on the kids faces. I didn't particularly enjoy looking at my ex-husband though. So in a flash of brilliance, I killed two birds with one stone.

So last night was the first time in like 5 years that I saw that picture and I started laughing to the point that Faythe felt compelled to blog about it. So that's the story of that.

Faythe, I found a picture of the turquoise stove, here ya go.

Flu Productivity

2008-03-04T18:42:00.000-08:00

So I have had this intestinal bug since Sunday afternoon and I feel crappy in every sense of the word. However, I still have been a tiny bit productive from the couch.

You know about our cat Grace and her bum leg. What happened was that last summer she got a blood clot in her leg artery and her leg was completely lame for a while but over time the secondary artery kicked in and now she can walk with a limp, but the circulation is not as good as it was. Her leg feels cold a lot of the time, so the kids asked if I could knit something to put on her leg to warm it up. So this is what I came up with:

I really don't think it does anything for her leg, but it is kind of cute in a Flashdance sort of way.

All she needs is a little torn off the shoulder sweatshirt and she will be a maniac, maaaaaaniac on the floor!

Odd or God?

2008-03-02T21:34:00.000-08:00

Anyone who has known me since I became a Christian has heard me say this. I say it when something happens, or there is a circumstance that seems super coincidental. Rarely is it just odd, I believe it is God either using me or trying to tell me something. Sometimes they are even answers to prayer. I will give you an example: One time a few years ago when times were harder than they are now, I wanted to give up my big coffee maker and buy a new smaller one. They were only $15, but I didn't really have it. I stood in the coffee maker aisle at Target and looked longingly at the coffee maker I wanted. I thought about how God wants me to be a good steward of everything including my finances, so I told God that I understood, and that I would not be buying a new coffee maker that day. End of story? Heck no! THREE DAYS LATER I am at work and one of my co-workers comes in with a giant box. She sets this box on my desk, and inside it are about twenty little coffeemakers just like the one I had passed on in Target! Her husband worked for a large hotel chain, and it seems that they were replacing all the little coffee makers in the hotel rooms. Let's summarize--I was obedient to God and didn't buy one coffee maker, three days later I have a box of 20 of them free for the taking in front of me. I ask you--ODD OR GOD?? I'm going with God. This kind of stuff happens to me all the time.
So here is what is going on right now: In the past few weeks, not one but two single fathers with custody of their kids have crossed my path. I have had the opportunity to speak with both of these great guys and give support and encouragement about their situations because I have been exactly where they are and come out the other side with perspective and the peace that comes from God that surpasses all understanding. I have been able to pass a tiny bit of that peace along to them. And I am wondering if the reason I was put through all that hell ten years ago was so that I could comfort and encourage people today. Hmmmm...Odd or God??
My money's on God.

Leap Day

2008-02-29T19:19:00.001-08:00

Did you know that it is a folk tradition that Leap Day is the only day that a woman may propose marriage to a man? Only one day out of 1460! Well, I didn't want to miss my chance, so I proposed to my co-worker Billy. I felt fairly certain that I would not end up married because Billy is gay. But he laughingly accepted my proposal, and spent the day referring to me as his fiancee. We discussed china patterns (he has much better taste than I do) and talked about the flowers we would plant in the spring. Then right before the end of the day he came up to my desk and told me that he didn't think it was going to work out because he had met a guy. I told him that I too had a feeling it was not going to work out, what with him being gay and all. We parted as friends and said that no matter what, we'll always have Leap Day.

Hope your Leap Day was a good one!

A Glimmer Of Hope

2008-02-28T21:28:00.000-08:00

It hasn't really snowed in almost a month but there is still a lot of snow on the ground. Every morning when I get out of bed, I look out my bedroom window at all the snow and heave a big sigh and say in a small voice, "Damn, it's still winter."

I had pretty much given up on the idea of Spring ever coming, but today the temps hit almost 50. I sat in my car at lunch with the window down and no coat on and let the sun shine on me while I was knitting, it felt sooooo good.

Today, I considered the possibility that Spring may eventually arrive.

All About Barf

2008-02-27T06:47:00.000-08:00

So Leo has been sick since Monday morning with something that makes him barf several times a day. And also have a fever. If it's not the flu it's certainly flu-like. What I want to know is this: can the flu pass from humans to cats? Because last night within half an hour, my kid and not one but two of my three cats all barfed! The big difference between Leo barfing and Dolly and Blossom barfing is that Leo at least makes an attempt to get to some sort of barf-containment receptacle. The cats just barf in the hallway and think that is okay. Let me go on record to say that it is not okay! I have not lived all these years aspiring to a career in barf management, but that is what I have!
I just want the barfing to stop. All of it.

Stupid Hormones!

2008-02-23T11:11:00.000-08:00

I have a hard time concealing my emotions on a good day, but throw in some PMS hormones and there is no concealing anything. So it's Saturday morning and I am trying to catch up on my tv watching that I record all week. Here is the lineup:
1) Celebrity Rehab
2) Gone Country
3) Oprah
Sounds benign enough, right? Wrong.
So I'm watching Celebrity Rehab and the celebrities are getting ready to go back out into the real world and they are emotional so I start crying too for no apparent reason. I don't mind crying for a reason, but no reason? Ugh. Fortunately, Gone Country gave me plenty of reasons to cry. The singers went to visit a childrens hospital in Nashville, and seeing all those ill kids just tore me up and made me so grateful that my kids are healthy. Now by this time I am a mess. This is not what I bargained for when I sat down with my coffee to relax, sobbing through half a box of tissue. So I get through that, and then it's Oprah with the Jim Carrey, Carol Burnett and Steve Carrell, three of the funniest people ever. I think I am home free with the crying, but no. As Jim Carrey is introducing Carol Burnett and talking about her influence on his 10 year old life, I think about how much I used to love her show and how as a kid I used to cry when the season was over and there would be no more Carol Burnett for the summer. And that got me going again! So there I am crying and thinking that if my kids walk in right now they may have me committed. But I soldiered on through Oprah, which was mostly funny, and for the record I did laugh too, sometimes maniacally! Clearly the only solution was to turn off the tv, so I tried, but now my Saturday morning Soul Train is on, and the Captain and Tennille are going to perform! I can't miss that, it will be hilarious! I blame this whole tv debacle on hormones. So if you are my friend or family and would like a seat on my emotional roller coaster, call now! No guarantees on what might come out of my mouth though.

Thanks, Estrogen!

Dark Side Of The Moon

2008-02-20T22:41:00.000-08:00

Hope you all saw the total lunar eclipse tonight, it was awesome! I have this tradition that goes back to my stoner days that whenever there is a lunar eclipse I watch it while listening to Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon. And tonight was no different. I drove to the end of a dead end street away from the city lights and watched and listened. I love the fact that we all watched the moon tonight, and I felt connected to my far away friends and family knowing that they were watching the moon with me.

Here is another thing--is anyone watching American Idol this season? Usually I just watch the auditions but this year I am already sucked in, thanks in part to Faythe who has been coming over to watch and blog. I already have my favorites picked out, hope they do well!

Also--I am loving my "new" computer! I bask in the glow of my new big monitor, and listen to my music with my new speakers which are 100 times better than the old ones. I am a happy happy girl.

Lastly--I don't want to jinx it by saying too much, but an avenue has opened up for me to be in the Spokane St. Patrick's Day Parade ! It is not the avenue I proposed last year, but an avenue nonetheless. March is shaping up to be a great month!

Thank You Patrick

2008-02-17T21:24:00.000-08:00

Thanks so much to my nephew Patrick who told Max what to do to get the internet back on my computer.
And a big thank you to Max for replacing my broken disc drive, now I can play CD's again!
Tomorrow I get a new monitor, a bigger one, I'm so excited!
Woohoo!

Crappy News and Great News

2008-02-17T07:45:00.000-08:00

First the crappy news...my computer is dead! Well, it was dying and then Max finished it off in an attempt to save it. Really it wasn't even dying, it was just constipated. It was the enema that killed it. First we got an external hard drive and saved everything I wanted off it like pictures and music. Then Max cleared everything off of it, I think it's called reformatting. But somehow during that process, my computer got some sort of amnesia and now it no longer recognizes it's old friend The Internet. So right now I am on Leo's computer. Max will attempt to get my computer to remember the internet, but I don't know how, maybe by showing it old pictures of them together, or reminding it of the love they once shared. At any rate, there will be a computer connected to the internet on my desk by the end of the day one way or the other. My Dell is like 5 or 6 years old so it has essentially been obsolete for years anyway. It served me well for a long time so I have no qualms about getting a new one, especially since I got a decent size tax return this year.
This whole computer crisis really put a kink in what I really wanted to post about last night, so let's start that.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

That is the sound of me squealing, here's what happened. Yesterday morning was craft day with my friend Heather from work. So I am at the stoplight at the corner of Boone and Ash at 9 am and I look over and there is a billboard with the B-52's on it. Then I notice what it says: B-52's March 29th Northern Quest Casino. Here was my reaction:
Oh My God
OH MY GOD
OHMYGOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDDAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (pause to take a breath) AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!
Then I kind of came to and noticed that the light was still red and after looking around, was relieved that nobody had witnessed my screaming fit. At least with this one it was daylight and I was stopped, not like the Led Zeppelin seizure I had at night on the freeway.
So anyway, the good news is that Max and I are going to see the B-52's!! I have seen them many times, but not in about 6 or 7 years, last time I took Max too, it was his first real concert. I'll tell you, compared to where I used to live, this place rocks for shows. I used to have to drive to San Jose or San Francisco to see bands, now I just drive 10 minutes! Since I have moved up here I have seen The English Beat and Morrissey, and now one of my all time favorite bands since I was 17. Life is so good!
Except for the whole computer thing.

VD Is For Everybody!

2008-02-14T20:17:00.000-08:00

I remember in elementary school we used to tell people Happy VD on Valentine's Day and think we were so funny because we had managed to incorporate VD legitimately into a sentence. Get it, VD, Valentine's Day but also Venereal Disease! Now it is 30 years later and today at work there were a few of us who confessed to that memory and spent the rest of the day wishing each other a Happy VD, it was good silly fun.

I remember when I was first married I loved Valentine's Day. I would pick out 2 or 3 cards to give to Dana, who would make me feel abnormal for getting him more than one card, and then try to hide my disappointment when I would receive a hastily last minute chosen card or sometimes nothing at all. I had not yet learned about having no expectations and how much better things are when you only try to change your behavior and not others.

Anyway.

After my divorce, Valentine's Day became this holiday that I felt left out of because it was a sweetheart's holiday and I didn't have a sweetheart. I just tried to ignore it until it went away.

But in the past few years, I have come to regard Valentine's Day as a holiday of love. Imagine, a day set aside on the calendar where not only is it okay, but expected for people to express their love for one another. What a happy day. And I love a lot of people. Here are some of them:
Max, Leo, SusanLynn, Dave, Jason, Jeremy, Jamie, Jenny, Nichole, Kristina, Eraya, Eduardo, Steve, Mike, Joe, Tami, Elizabeth, Kim, Dennise, Bart, Shannon, Lou, Doug, Ray, Flo, Tracey, Therese, & Sharlene. That is just the tip of the love iceberg. And I really miss my mom and my brother, I will love them always.

So Valentine's Day is almost over but it is never too late to tell the people you love that you love them.

I will end this post the way my mom ended every phone conversation with all of us--Love'Ya Love'Ya, ByeBye!

A Very Fun Musical Day

2008-02-12T23:08:00.000-08:00

It started this morning when I got Leo up for school by singing "git up, git on up" which is from the song Sex Machine by James Brown. This does not make me a bad mom because I didn't tell Leo to stay on the scene like a sex machine, I only told him to git up. So Leo says to me, "Why do you do that?", Meaning, why do I sing. So I answered in my customary loving mom way--"It makes me happy, shut up!"
So then I leave for work and when I turn on the XM, guess what is playing--Sex Machine! It was like a musical affirmation, permission for me to sing and be happy. And I was, I don't think anyone had more fun driving to work today than me. After Sex Machine I heard Blue Jean by David Bowie and then it was Union of the Snake by Duran Duran, it was so much fun!
Then tonight Faythe came over to watch American Idol, it was a 2 hour show, and I'm sure that by tomorrow she will have her post up, it's all about crying! We laughed and laughed tonight. Then after she left I put on the Oprah from today and oh my god David Cassidy was on!! If you want to know how I feel about David Cassidy, go here. The ladies in the audience were totally losing it over him and if I had been there I would have lost it too. Instead I limited myself to much gleeful giggling and more singing.
I swear, music is the thing that consistantly makes me happy whenever I hear it. It can change me from a grumpy girl into a happy girl just like that. And today I have been happy all day. Thanks, music!

302

2008-02-10T23:11:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe that this is my 302nd post. I started this blog in June 2005 because I read a lot of blogs and thought, I could do this. It was kind of hard and scary at first but it got easier as time went by. Also it helped that nobody was reading it. Then in the summer of 2006 when I moved away from everyone I knew, the blog gave my family and friends a way to keep up with me and the boys. And once I learned how to put pictures on the blog, well there was no stopping me. I never thought I had 302 posts in me though. And over the course of time I have developed a small readership. I'm not even sure if these people actually know me or would know who I was if I walked up to them. But for some reason they continue to read my blog. So I just want to say thanks for reading, and because I am trying to stay in the moment here, this is a picture of myself that I took about 5 minutes ago, here in my office where the magic happens. HAHAHAHA I always wanted to say that. Please keep in mind that it is 11:30 on Sunday night AND I did my taxes today, I'm giving those as the reasons why I look a bit fried.

Goodnight all.

Caucus Fever!

2008-02-09T15:43:00.000-08:00

Today was the Washington State Democratic Caucus. They are like the primaries I used to vote at in California, but everybody gets together publicly and votes in person to determine the number of delegates each candidate will get. The candidate with the most delegates wins the state.

Washington state also holds a primary as well as a caucus, this FAQ from the WA State Democrat website:

Why is Washington State having Caucuses and a Primary? The Washington State Legislature was the body who voted to hold a primary. The means that the Washington State Democratic Party, which chooses how delegates are decided, had no participation in the decision to hold the primary, which will cost $9 to $10 million. The Washington State Democratic Party decided to choose their delegates through the Caucuses, as it always has. As a result, your vote for a Democratic candidate in the State Primary will not count toward delegate selection.

So basically if you are a democrat and use the normal mail-in ballot for the primary, your vote doesn't count! I found this out 2 hours before the caucus started. So Max and I went to the Sacajawea Middle School cafeteria where our caucus was being held. We were all grouped together according to our precinct. We signed in and wrote down which candidate we were supporting. Our precinct's Caucus Chairperson Jane Cunningham had someone tally the votes, out of 108 votes, over 70 were for Obama, there was 20 something votes for Hillary and 9 people were undecided. Then people for each candidate could speak to try to sway the undecideds to their candidate. Of the 9, seven went to Obama and two remained undecided. Of our precinct's twelve delegates, nine went to Obama and only three went to Hillary. Then came the time to vote for the delegates, which went like this: if you wanted to be a delgate you went around to other people in your precinct and said hey, write my name down. Everyone voted for nine delgates and I ended up being an alternate because they need nine of those too. So on April 5th I will get to go to the Legislative district Caucuses, although I probably won't get to vote unless delegates don't show up.

Here is my ticket! Also, we got these blue rubber bracelets that say 56MILLIONSTRONG. What is 56 million strong? Obama supporters? People who wear blue bracelets? We guessed it must be 56 million democrats, but who knows?

So the caucuses started out seemingly disorganized but in the end (2 hours later)everything was done and the delegates were chosen. I have to say the the primaries I used to vote in were much less time consuming, but you didn't get to stand with your neighbors and be involved. I prefer the latter.

Some Weeks Are Just Like That

2008-02-07T20:51:00.000-08:00

I have been out every night this week. Monday it was my hair appointment, Tuesday and Wednesday it was dinner and drinks with out of town visitors, and tonight it was a birthday dinner for a good friend. Tomorrow night--NOTHING!!! Maybe I will do some dishes or laundry, but probably I will just fall asleep in the chair. I would fall asleep right now but Lost is coming on in a few minutes and I'm already sucked in again.

I promise to say something when I have something of little or no importance to say. Meanwhile, goodnight.

All I Wanted Was Some Coffee

2008-02-02T11:45:00.000-08:00

So this morning I am curled up in my chair watching a Lifetime movie that I recorded before Christmas and finally had time to watch. (Clarification: I DO NOT watch Lifetime but this movie had Genie Francis in it and I love her from my General Hospital days--Viva Luke and Laura!) So I am about 20 minutes into this movie and I decide that a cup of coffee would be great right now, but I remember that I used the last bit of coffee creamer yesterday and since I DO NOT do coffee without creamer (milk will not do), I decide to run over to the Rocket Bakery and treat myself to a delicious cup of White Chocolate Mocha. So I get dressed and all layered up with jacket, gloves, etc. (see, already the Lifetime movie-coffee relax vibe is deteriorating) and go down to my car in the garage, open the garage door to discover that my driveway is PLOWED IN. I should have just gone upstairs, sucked it up and had coffee with milk and sugar but no, I was determined. Twenty minutes of shovelling rock-hard chunks of heavy ice and I was only halfway through the berm. So I put down the shovel and get into my car, throw it in reverse and go all Dukes of Hazzard over the berm and into the street. I push the button on the garage door remote to close the garage and nothing happens. So I get my cell phone out to call Leo to tell him to close the garage door because my remote died. And of course my cell phone is dead. So I do the next best thing, which is sit in my car in the middle of the street on a peaceful Saturday morning and honk my horn like crazy until Leo looks out the window. I ask him to close the garage door, so he very grudgingly comes downstairs and pushes the button in the garage and again, nothing happens. So he goes back upstairs, leaving me out in the street to figure out what to do. So I Duke of Hazard it back into my driveway and push the garage door button myself, as if my pushing the button will somehow scare the garage door into operation. It does not. Now, I am surprisingly calm through this whole thing, I think I was tired from the shovelling. So I assess the situation, and realize that I set the snow shovel down in front of the garage door sensor thingie and that's why the door won't come down. And what do you know, after I move the shovel the door works just fine! So I Evel Knievel it back over the snow berm again, and finally get to the Rocket Bakery. And everything was fine until the sweet girls behind the counter asked me how my day was going. They were very sympathetic when they heard my story and suggested that I make my white chocolate mocha a double. So I did, and that is why I am sitting here typing about 500 words a minute with a million typos in each sentence. Obviously I am not going to sit back down and watch that stupid movie now! I am going to make soup. And beer bread, if someone brings me some beer because I am NOT going back out there. So there is my story. I will now take a deep breath and go turn on Soul Train. Thank you for listening.

Big Snow Big Snow

2008-01-31T22:34:00.000-08:00

Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when it snows on you? (Apologies to COPS watchers everywhere!)

Seriously, this snow is never going to quit, it is just going to snow and snow and Leo will never have to go to school again, which is fine because he has played so much World of Warcraft this week that I'm sure he'll be able to make a living from it someday!

And while Leo's snow day has turned into a snow week, I am not so lucky. I get to drive through the slooshy streets every morning and evening because somebody has to work around here, how can the two teenage boys eat me out of house and home if I have no house and home?

The weather is the talk of the town, and I have learned some new snow lingo:

"PLOWED IN" -- This means that you didn't move your parked car off the street before the snow plow came and pushed a huge wall of hard ice and snow on your car and buried it so deep you can't get it out. Ex.--"There is a car on my street that is PLOWED IN so deep that it's not coming out until March!"

"STATE OF EMERGENCY" -- This is what the Governor of Washington declares so that your town can get more money for snow removal. Which really isn't removal at all, they just push it in front of your driveway so that you have to shovel it if you want to leave your house.

STATE OF EMERGENCY = SNOW PLOWS = MORE CARS PLOWED IN AND MORE DRIVEWAY SHOVELLING

I am learning so much!

Here are some more icicle pictures. I will get out this weekend with the camera so you can compare this week to last week. See ya!

They're like three feet long!

More Snow

2008-01-29T06:59:00.000-08:00

2 to 4 more inches today. I am lucky because my car is in my garage. When I leave my house I have to charge out of my driveway like a mad bull in reverse, hope I can get over the remainder of the berm that was too hard to shovel, then skid to a stop on the icy road before I hit my neighbors car across the street. It's wild! I am a person that loves new experiences but this is one could have done without! I have to leave for work at 7:15 instead of 7:35 so that I can go 30 mph on the interstate at get to work by 8am. I can hear George Maupin in the background saying snow snow and more snow all week. SHUT UP, GEORGE MAUPIN!!

Good luck this week everybody!

Whoa.

2008-01-27T13:03:00.000-08:00

It has been snowing for 25 hours straight. KHQ has preempted regular programming for full time storm coverage. I am watching the news on the internet, since our DirecTV dish is full of snow and the tv is not working. I guess this is the worst snow storm in 15 years, and before it is over we will have another 9-15" of snow on top of the 13" we just got. And for the first time, I referred to snow as crap. As in, "I have to shovel all that crap!" Oh well, just another adventure!

I took some pictures this morning of my house and street, here they are:

This is my balcony. I already shovelled it because the snow is very wet and heavy, and I didn't want my balcony to collapse.

These are the stairs leading to my house. We shovelled a path last night but as you can see there is more shovelling to be done. These next three pictures were taken from the same spot in the street. My house, then the street looking south, then north.

All I can say is wow. Think of me tomorrow morning as I make my way to work. Meanwhile I will be comforting myself with memories of happier times.