2008 in review

Saw this on MB's blog and I thought it was such a fun idea that I had to copy it, lol. Enjoy!

Peanut's Wednesday Weekly - Christmas Eve!!

What? You don't think dogs recognize Christmas ? Hey we know a party and an important event when we see it.

I have been busy busy busy today. Have you ever wrapped presents with no opposable thumb? Can't see why it would be a challenge? Try this: tape your thumb to your hand and then try using scissors and tape. Ohhh sure, you can cut paper with your teeth and claim it was pinking shears. However the tape is another issue. It's either stuck to my paw, my ears or my nose. Pieces of fur are left on packages. I'm going to try and convince everyone that it's extra decoration. They make fur lined bags now right? so why not fur lined wrapping paper?

I love this time of year. So many magical things happen. Extra bones come in for me.... I get to shop online and get gifts for the family, miracles or super special things happen.

Last years most memorable event was JP standing on his own with no support for the first time. It was brief, but he did it. I was so proud of my little brother that I had to wipe a tear from my eye. Good thing paws are absorbant.

Today I decided to give Mom an early gift. I pretend to not be thrilled about having a little brother. Secretly I think he's great. Today I was so sweet though. JP had taken a bad tumble off his stool. It was one of those times where you just couldn't move fast enough. Mom went to pick him up and of course I came over to investigate and make sure he was good. Because he was so upset I licked him on one boo-boo area and that made him feel alllllll better. Mom said that was very sweet of me and that made me feel all warm and ....well... fuzzy inside.

To all my corgi friends and other friends I wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah and may all your Holiday Wishes come true!

Here's a cute corgi clip for Reindeer workouts!

Peanut's Wednesday Weekly - Tell me what?!

Last week I mentioned I have a problem with barking a lot. Mom yells occasionally because I drive her crazy. I'm just being a good watch-dog and she thinks the things I bark at are silly.

I beg to differ...

• Blowing leaves? or tiny burglar?
• Wind and rain? or sneaky squirrel attack?
• Branch falling on roof? or someone pretending to be an early santa claus?
• Innocent wildlife searching for food outside my window? or devious little creatures of nature looking for a way into the house to wreak havoc?
• Beeping appliance? or alien invasion via kitchen products? - hey we live near the hot spot of Pine Bush NY UFO sightings so you never know.

While my diligence and skills are not appreciated by my human parents, I still keep up my hard work.

Now this past week has been different. My mom sat me down on Friday and explained that we needed to have a talk. She said she loves me very much and that I am a valuable and irreplaceable part of the family... but that I need to tone down on the barking.

To accomplish this they are going to try and teach me to speak on command, using a hint from mycorgi.com. Instead of the word "Speak" ( so overdone in my opinion) they are going to use "Tell me".

Every time I bark I will hear them say "tell me!" and I get a small treat. OK , I'm willing to humor them. However don't you think its a bit redundant? After all I'm TRYING to tell them something when I bark, they just aren't listening. Ehhhh... it's extra treats for me, so who am I to complain.

Now for a bigger laugh get a load of part 2 of this 'master plan'. Once I've associated "Tell me!" with positive reinforcement and treats.. then I'll be taught the opposite using the command (eh hem... 'request' is more polite) of "Quiet" or "Hush".

I see this working immediately ....don't you?

What? I don't look innocent and believable? Why you silly people, OF COURSE I'm being sincere... how could you NOT think that I am being 100% agreeable and a loving and well mannered Corgi.

I'll let you know how this goes in future posts.

For this weeks fun corgi note.. check out the Happy Birthday Cogi Chorus.

The Amazing Lightning McQueen!!

Watch as the Amazing Lightning McQueen takes off for a spectacular jump!!!!



Uh oh!! Can he make the turn?



Whew! he's all set for his record setting jump!!!



Oooops.. looks like we overshot the landing a bit :(

Warm yourself by the fire

Our office has a fun Holiday tradition that we started last year. Instead of buying a gift, we have to make a gift. Only rules are that you can use anything around the house that you have and that if you need to buy materials you can't spend more then $5.00.

Last years gift I wasn't thrilled about and I think it was because I waited to the last minute thinking it would be easy. It wasn't.

This time I got started a week and a half early. With some help from friends I took this as an idea that was hard to figure out... to one that was insanely easy. My original idea was to use fleece. My friend suggested actual twigs (duh!) which I even had in the house as kindling for our wood stove, lol.

The story behind the gift is how cold our office is in one area. Why not have a portable desktop heater that you can move around, lol

Peanut's Wednesday Weekly

I've decided I need a voice in this family. Yes I'm of the canine persuasion, but I'm cute, smart and can type...with the help of spell check. Before my brother came around I was quite the thing in this house. Well to be fair I still am. Now I know there are other corgi's that can see this blog, and while many entries may be from a corgi point of view.. my ponderings are for all.

A little bit about me. I was raised from puppy to 3.5 year old by a very nice elderly couple with several grandkids. My only complaint about them was Buddy... my Labrador house-mate. Buddy bullied me and to be honest I still have issues from this. I know I should be letting it go, especially after 3.5 years, but that was rough in the formative years of my life. Mom has told me that there is a play group of corgi's locally that meet once a month at a local dog park. She wants me to go and get used to playing with other dogs again. Which isn't really fair. I do play with other dogs... just some are big and I get defensive. Which leads me to a key corgi fact.

We may be short in stature, but we are NOT small dogs! Hey my ancestors (and distant distant relatives today) herded sheep and cows... I think we corgi's deserve recognition for something other then being "that cute short, long dog with pointy ears!" Sheesh. talk about canine discrimination. Yes we ARE cute, but we're tough dogs.

I enjoy my life and have a window seat view on the world when everyone is at work. I'm telling you now that the squirrels, deer, cats, other dogs and chipmunks that I yell at will be mine someday...when I figure out how to open the windows.

I think my biggest issue in life is my bark. I just can't help myself. I've been known to bark at moving animals and vehicles outside, as well as leaves blowing, cardboard boxes, appliance beeps and dings, dogs on the tv and so on. It drives mom a bit batty at times. She knows I do much better with a regular exercise regime, but it's cold out there. Neither she or I ( or my brother) want to be out in the cold even for a quick walk. I'm hoping that by getting a voice on the internet, I will be able to calm down my frequent barking.

Now if you'll excuse me.. I need to check my latest stock holdings. Biscuits are holding strong during these tough times.

oh and just for fun - here's how to Speak Corgi

Free Toddler - comes with all accessories

Free 22 month old toddler. Male model. Blue eyes, dark blonde hair. Speaks little at this time, but upgrade is expected soon. Elimination is still factory original settings. Operates at varying speeds. Dead stop - usually with eyes closed and deep breathing, or full run. Prefers to run laps, great if you have indoor track. Easily entertained - if an item has wheels the toddler will be fascinated for all of 30 seconds. No obvious wear and tear. Excellent, like new condition. Currently lavender scented from self application of powder. Current 'issues' include repeated start and stop of DVD player, meltdown if expected movie does not play. Pushes buttons repeatedly...and this is meant literally, if its a button it gets pushed. Typical male behavior is exhibited with channel surfing.


If interested please call Peanut at 890-123-4567

Health insurance - that necessary evil

Being that I work in a medical field, I'm not a big fan of most health insurance. I see it from the provider's side and there are times that the 'usual and customary' fee reduction is just ridiculous. However, it is a necessary evil and I can respect that.

I came home today and decided to look up a policy to the see the rates. I get such a headache wading thru all the fine print, riders, coverage options and add-ons. I seriously don't think I need at this time to have a plan with yearly urinalysis or dental or surgery to prevent unwanted pregnancies. That cuts cost a little bit.. but then I have to pick a rider and then check to see if pre-existing conditions are covered. Adding to my headache is specific conditions that are excluded. In this case this would be for : Degenerative myelopathy, Dermatomyositis, Narcolepsy. The first 2 are more of a chance. Narcolepsy I've seen no signs of. My fear though is a hip issue that may need surgery.

The things I do for .... Peanut, lol. My last dog, Ashley, was half corgi/half labrador and had an undiagnosed hip dysplasia that was ugly when the hip went. Added to that were a myriad of health issues later in life. This all happened after the age of 12. Peanut is now 7 and I think it's time she got her own health insurance. Now if I could just get her to get a job to pay for it, lol. Oh and while I know many dogs do need yearly dental, Peanut eats a raw food diet that keeps her teeth pearly white.

Ahhh those moments you only appreciate as a mom..

Used to be I'd get excited over a new makeup toy.. or maybe a new promise of something that would put a curl in my hair and keep it there. (That by the way is impossible and I've given up trying, lol.) Heck even a new technology toy would make my day.

Today I've realized that I have entered full mom-dom. I've become excited over a potty chair.

Yes you read that right.. a potty chair.

I wasn't going to get one originally as our home is small. I was just going to get one of the ones that went over our existing toilet seat. However I realized potty training will go much smoother with JOE if I have something that can be put in the vicinity of a TV. This morning I looked online to get an idea of what was out there. I didn't want to pay more then $20-$25 and that was about my only criteria.

Then I found it. Only $14.99 and so darn cute I had to look at the reviews. All the reviews were great! Especially for potty training boys, lol. I called our local store and there are 2 in stock. We'll be heading over as soon as I finish some paperwork in the office, lol.

Holiday shopping insanity

There was an article in my local paper on Saturday that has really stuck in my mind and upset me as we start another Holiday season.

In a town on Long Island...at a really big nationwide store... a man was trampled to death by early shoppers. He was a part time worker doing maintenance...all he was doing Friday was opening the doors to the crowd outside and they were so focused on getting the best holdiay shopping that they killed a man. WHY??? what reason do people have for being that heartless and uncaring? Isn't this the season of good will towards men? Do you really need that hot gift of the year so bad that someone DIES? Or that big screen plasma TV? will watching the news coverage of what happened make you feel ashamed if you were one of the ones that is responsible?

I refuse to add to that insanity. Now if you've followed my blog for any length of time you know how much I love a good bargain. However I don't participate in shopping like that. There is no bargain so great that I have to hurt another person physically. I know there will come a time when JP is determined to get such and such special gift.. and that I may be tempted to sit outside a store in the cold to get it at a particular bargain. I think I'd rather spend up to $100.00 more waiting or getting it online then risk what some believe is normal, human behavior during this time of year.

Yes, I'm also one of those people that has become sick of what Christmas shopping has become. Do we remember when it was to show someone how special they are to us? Or do we just remember that its to show off what we can get. Please understand that I KNOW not everyone is like this, and thats most of us. Even those that shop the Black Friday sales. However it's become apparent that there are people that are just out of control. People get injured every year at these special early shopping trips. Why? If you are not early enough on the lines in the cold then try again next year. Your child may be disappointed and sad.. and that's hard to watch. There were times when I was that child. I think I turned out pretty ok in the end and to tell you the truth I can't really recall what that special item was.. except for the time I wanted an electric alarm clock with the digital numbers...and got one that flipped little cards for the numbers. Trust me I have not ended up in therapy for this and I don't view my parents as horrible parents.

I stress out at this time of year with my IL's. Joe never helps me plan gifts. I know my SIL's always say they want gift cards. I prefer to do something special. yet I always have to wonder if its viewed as 'good enough'. I should just enjoy giving a gift to say thanks for being in our lives.. but instead always fear we are judged negatively. We tend to feel like tha black sheep of the family anyway for unknown reasons and the holiday's add to it. His family is large so I have to stretch the budget. I take time to handmake a lot. How sad that I feel its never appreciated for the true gift it is, with all the thought and effort put into it.

My office started something last year that I think is great fun. for our Christmas grab bag we have to make something for the person we are giving to. Total cost of supplies can be no more then $5.00. we had some great gifts last year. I think the winner was "Clammy Claus" made out of shells, lol. This put the focus on what was important... making something fun and a memory for those important to us... not on what to buy. I was also reminded this year of a simple gift I made a few years ago. I bought simple fabric picture frames and went online and found inspirational quotes for everyone. Made them look nice and that was that. I figured everyone could use a frame and the quote was researched with a lot of thought, but I figured they'd use it as a picture frame in the end. One coworker brought her frame in and put it on her desk. It has a meaningful quote about hard times and getting thru that. She had to remind me that 'I" gave those gifts and that she never changed the picture frame because the quote was that inspiring to her. That made me feel great and has stuck with me. Especially since several others also told me the same thing. It was a small price.. a lot of time finding the right quote.. and I made a lasting impression.

Maybe it's time to stop focusing on how much money we spend.. and go back to spending time. I have very generous baskets planned with food items that I am making and a few small other items tucked in. I'm tired of feeling like I'm competeing and not being generous enough when its my time and heart involved. And isn't time, love and appreciation what the Holiday's SHOULD be about? I think it's time to go back to old fashioned Christmas values and back to remember why we celebrate this time of year.

Christmas is a time for reaffirming and strengthening ties with family and loved ones; for many it has deep spiritual significance. We may need to dust off some old traditions, or create new traditions to replace excessive gift-giving. Some might like dinner by candlelight during the holidays. Others may enjoy reading out loud from spiritual or inspirational works. We can listen to Christmas music and cook, bake, or work together making original holiday cards and decorations. We can develop and rehearse creative family plays or presentations, to be "performed" for friends or relatives. We can bundle up for the cold and take special walks in nature together. Almost anything we do, especially if we do it together with loved ones, can become a deeply meaningful tradition.

Give a "voucher" for a week's worth of dishwashing (I'd be ecstatic for that, I hate washing dishes), a wax job on the car, an evening of babysitting, breakfast in bed, an hour's massage, help with preparing tax returns, or any other unique service you can provide. You can give someone a gift membership in an organization they like. Instead of buying anything, you can write a letter to a person listing 10 things you love, admire, appreciate, or respect about them. Your gift of time and thoughtfulness may be remembered long beyond a hundred knick-knacks collecting dust in their closet.

Some of these gifts may take time, but time can be freed from cancelled shopping chores and from the extra hours we'd have to work to pay for the shopping. We can remind ourselves that often what people most need is not more "stuff," but rather more forgiveness, love, communication, and fun.

These are just a few ideas; many more could be added. The important thing is to clarify for ourselves what are the most important parts of Christmas, and to spend our time and energy in harmony with those values.

Who's says Boppy's are just for babies?

JP has shown a definite preference for pillows lately. A week or so ago I was trying to get him settled for bed and tossed in the boppy pillow for him. He loves it as is evidenced by the pics, lol

Snow Dog!

Peanut is a winter girl, she loves playing in snow! We had an early snow and I decided to take a video of Peanut being silly while chasing snow that I was kicking up for her. I'd have let her off leash if I wasn't leaving for work shortly after this was taken.

There was a morning about 3 years ago that I wish I'd had a video of. We had had a very heavy snowstorm the day before of about 12 inches. I was outside shoveling and I had Peanut out with me. It was so quiet and the schools were all closed. I had her off leash as the only thing moving was the blowing snow. Peanut was having a blast running in snow that was deeper then she was tall. At one point she was a few feet from the road and waiting for me to chase her. I didn't want to chase her as I was afraid she would run into the road. At that time I caught the sound of a snow plow coming down the road. This was one of those HUGE county trucks with the salt spreader attached and a double plow in the front.

Peanut just looked at me and hadn't noticed it yet. I kept eye contact with her so that she wouldn't run the wrong direction. At this point I was worried and afraid she run into the road if I took a step. I just talked to her to keep her attention.

All of a sudden she heard the truck and turned to see what it was.... it scared her and she started barking furiously at it for scaring her while running full out towards me. She would turn her head and bark while running. By the time she got to me I was laughing hysterically while leaning on the shovel. Poor Peanut, lol

Thanksgiving Dinner - the easier way

I enjoy 2 Thanksgiving meals at this time of year. Believe it or not, one of them is a full meal at my office.

About 5 years ago we were in another building. This building was over 100 years old and had a full kitchen upstairs. One of our former coworkers had gotten an extra turkey that year and didn't need it. So she decided to see if any of us were interested in doing an office dinner. We all pitched in and brought something and a tradition was born.

Almost 4 years ago that building had a massive fuel spill disaster int he basement.. and we moved to a new office. Challenge here is that its a typical office with only a 2 foot square sink and a 3 foot counter for a kitchen. Our boss did buy a microwave and a convection oven though as the same former co-worker also enjoyed baking for the office.

That first Thanksgiving was....interesting. Imagine cooking and heating all the food needed in such a tiny space. The next year that original co-worker had moved on, but came for lunch with us. We got smarter by then as well. We bought a prepared meal from a deli.

This year my other co-worker and I had been dreading the lunch. Its a fun event and the food is always good. But so much effort in such a tiny kitchen to prepare was a nightmare. Several local gorcery stores were offering prepared meals. Silly me didn't read the fine print until MOnday. You had to order them 72 hours in advance, I only had 48 hours.

Now it wasn't a huge deal for me to cook a turkey. I've been making part or all of Thanksgiving Meals since I was in 8th grade... heck it was an extra credit assignment for me that year. However my boss didn't want me to have to do all that. WEll we had little choice at this time. I decided to see if I could find one of those fully cooked turkeys at the local grocery store. On Tuesday I went to see how good my luck would be. I asked an employee and they directed me to ask a butcher that was stocking other meats at the moment. I asked him if he had any of the brand I was looking for. He said he didn't have that brand, but he did have another one. I asked if it was fully cooked and he said yes. I told I didn't care waht brand it was and that he'd be saing me lots of work for the office luncheon. They only had one left and it was perfect. I made mashed potatoes and stuffing and my boss made green beans, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. The dishes we made were easy to make and took no time.

I get to work about 10am on Wednesdays. 2 other coworkers were there and hadn't heard the turkey story. They both thought I had brought in a raw turkey, still wrapped, to cook by noon, lol. It was the easiest lunch I think we've ever put together. Everything ran smoothly, the turkey was perfect and everyone was stuffed.

A fuly cooked turkey is on top of the list for next years Thanksgiving lunch already, lol

The new hard drive.... the installation story

If you've been following the comments you'll already know a few things..

1 - i survived the wait
2 - ups.com and the live rep couldn't get on the same page.. the site said delviery yesterday, but never showed it on a truck and out for delivery. The live rep said there was an error and it was due in today, Tuesday. Not a big difference, but I was happy to see it on my doorstep last night, lol.
3- duh! I ordered the drive with the newer connection.. SATA instead of IDE. I figured this out on Saturday and picked up an adapter last night.

I tried to install last night but wasn't focusing properly and said it was better to wait till today. The adapter is in and I now need to learn about RAID as it keeps giving me a start page for settings. Not touching that until I know what I'm doing. Which is what I was advised by the computer person I go to locally when I need to.

I remembered this morning that I had to install something from Western Digital (hard drive brand) and that program was what made the installation a breeze. I downloaded and installed it a little while ago.

To be smarter today and on the safe side I'm copying all my photos onto a flash drive ... just in case. I have a picture file of 3.79G to fit onto a 4G flash drive. Hopefully I'll be able to squueze them on. That should be done by 3pm latest. Then I'll shut down and try to install again. With luck on my side I'll be able to install the drive with ease this time. It took the work computer an hour or so and I'm hopinh to report full success by 5pm today.

cross your usb cables for me :)

Update 4:27pm - I have successfully installed the new hard drive!. The old one is still in here, and I guess I'll need to eventually reformat that one to use as a back up disk. Or I may take it to work and use it in a computer that needs help there.

When I replaced the hard drive at work a few weeks ago it was my first attempt. I had pages and pages of instructions complete with pics that I'd found on the internet. I bought that hard drive based on a great sale price. It was also a Western Digital. After much hair pulling I went to their website for help and found the downloads that pretty much do all the work for you. That's why I was insistent on getting another Western Digital for home. Maybe all brands do this, but this company won me over with how easy it was to copy to the new drive. All I had to do was run the Data Lifeguard Tools that I downloaded from their site and it the rest was a matter of simple clicks and waiting for the hard drive to work. Last night I wasn't thinking clearly and forgot about the download. Oh and one other thing that made this drive nice was that since its a SATA hard drive it doesn't have to be installed while it's lying flat. Which is a good thing since I didn't have room to lie it on my computer and had it on end while it did all the work. There seems to be a bit of lag time, but I'm sure it will all work out in the end. I now have enough room to do the program updates I've been afraid to do.. plus the copying of DVD's which was prevented from not having enough room on the other hard drive. Yay!!!

I hate waiting

I admit it.

I like instant gratification.

I was a snooper when I was a kid... well ok I still am, I just have more self control now, lol. There are times I'm content to wait. Oddly enough I was in no hurry to have my son born before he was ready. I knew a lot of mom's that were looking to try anything several weeks early. I was fine waiting. Other times I have absolutely no patience. This has been made worse by the internet and the ability to see where things are during shipment.

I have been in dire need of a new hard drive for my computer for some time. My computer was custom built by my dad several years ago. Thru his faith in me and my innate desire to learn, I've made several upgrades. Never thought about the hard drive though. Dad installed an 18G hard drive when he gave me the computer. Back then it was fine and a lot more then I was used to. Technology being what it is though new programs take up a lot of space. 

Such is the case now and I only have 3G available. Which leads to issues from time to time. I've been worried about replacing it before I can't access it anymore and lose my pics. I do have them backed up onto CD's, but would hate to lose everything on the current hard drive. I've run a multitude of programs to determine whats eating up all my space and have uninstalled or deleted a lot to just keep it at status quo.

After warning Joe for several weeks I wandered over to Overstock.com based on the suggestion of a good friend of mine. It was there that I found a lovely 250G hard drive for a price I was willing to pay.

Instant gratification can easily take a back seat to saving money in my mind, lol.

On Friday I placed the order with it's whopping $1.00 shipping fee. Ran out to help my mom for a few hours and came back to sad news. Overstock.com had an inventory issue and the hard drive was not available. However they refunded me the entire price  including the $1.00 shipping AND gave me an additional $5.00 off my next purchase for the inconvenience. So what did I decide to do? 

well you know girls do think size is important right?  ;)

I found a 320G with a 16MB cache that in the end cost me only $4.00 more. Needless to say I purchased it. Now comes the waiting game.

UPS.com has it as a departure from some city in California on 11/18/08 @4:05am. 

it's 11/20/08 today and I want an update! LOL. I want to know what new city my box is traveling to on it's long way to New York state. Sure they give me a delivery date of 11/24. But being that I am trying to keep my impatience at bay, thats just not enough, lol.

4 more days until I have more room then I know what to do with.. but ohhhh the possibilities!

Franklin!

JP was enjoying a bath this evening. Among his many toys are some really adorable Amazing Animals by Fisher Price that are for bath time. Among these is a turtle.

JP loves watching Franklin on Noggin channel.

He was playing with the turtle toy and all of a sudden holds it up to eye level and says:

"Franklin!"

and then laughed and dropped the turtle back in the water, lol.

If you've ever watched the show, he said it just like Franklin's little sister on the show. JP either isn't a big talker as far as words... or I'm not catching them, lol. This was so cute and I'm glad I heard it.

Parrot Parenting 101

This is a new technique of parenting that my husband is creating. I told him that I'm going to nickname him Polly. He repeats everything I say when JP is into something he shouldn't be.

The scene: JP quietly sneaking over to the VCR next to the TV with a handful of crayons. Joe sits on the couch mesmerized by whatever program or commercial is currently on.

Me: "JP - no, we don't put crayons into the VCR"
Joe - 2 second delay "JP - no crayons"

The scene: Out for a quick bite to eat at a local fast food place. Joe is in another world - gazing off at a wall while I attempt to eat and entertain and feed JP

Me: "JP - we don't throw food off the table even if you're tired and cranky"
Joe - 2 second delay: : " JP no throwing food"

I could list many scenes but you get the general idea. Joe laughs because it's so obvious that he repeats everything I say that even he has picked up on it. Because he repeats everything I started calling him the Parrot Parent, lol.

Last night he did one even better. I was showing him a youtube clip of this weeks episode of Ghost Hunters. There's a really cool scene where one of the investigators coats gets pulled down at the collar 3 times. The clip was about 4 minutes and JP started fussing in the other room (right next to the one we were in) about half way in. Joe watched the clip and went in, I thought he took care of JP and figured out what was bothering him. JP was still upset so I finally went in about a minute later.

Joe had walked into the living r0om and looked JP's way, but never LOOKED at him. JP had the pail over his head again with his arm in the pail. How the heck do you walk into a room and not notice a huge orange pail stuck on your child?

Those times you just HAVE to take a quick photo

Ever have one of "those" parenting moments? Where you know you just need to take a photo to explain it? I was taking a shower and as usual Peanut was right outside the door where I could see her. All of a sudden JP cries from the living room. Peanut got up to check on him which meant it was not a simple cry. It was a cry of distress.

I jumped out of the shower and went into the living room to see this:



He must have had it on his head and the pail slipped over his head and around his neck with his arm inside. I saw that he was ok and just had to get the camera.

Now the look on his face is NOT utter dismay and/or pain. It's actually of " I'm still not happy but the camera is here and I have to smile"

I only took the one pic as I wasn't going to leave him in long enough to get a happier looking picture. Poor kid... the pics i will be able to embarass him with later when he's dating, lol.

9 DEC Police trucks......... and a hoof?

Today was a day of excitement at our office. Of course it started off with my coworker needing to be off, which left me working 6:30am -7pm. Even with a 2 hour break in the middle of the day it was long and tiring. Ehh it was just for today and the day eventually ended so that was no big deal.

At the end of our lunch break I was in the kitchen area. Think tiny sink and counter, with the microwave on a rolling cart next to the fridge on a rolling cart. It works, but it's small, lol. Out of the corner of my eye I see a DEC (environmental conservation) Police SUV come around the corner of the building... followed by another.

Being the curious soul (did someone say nosy?) that I am, I went to get a better look. It wasn't 2 vehicles. In the end there were 7 marked and 2 unmarked. We have no idea what was going on. It was right before the afternoon hours started so it was hard to find out. I'd love to know what was going on. Several people said it was a staging area, but then that was confirmed to not be true. They were there for something in our building and the grounds.

The day wore on and I don't know what time they all left. I finally left the office about 7pm, and as I walked out a dog and a woman were walking up the hill towards me. I stopped to pet the dog who had come over to me. The woman then came up and was talking about how the area where the dumpster is located is very dark. Which is true, its very poorly lit. We're used to it. I was joking around with her about the DEC and how we have no idea what was going on.

Then she told me another interesting tidbit. She was cleaning an office, on Sunday I think, and said she went to throw the trash out. We have new tenants downstairs that pack the garbage full on Saturdays because they won't break down their vacuum cleaner boxes. By Monday its always overflowing. This woman then tells me she went to the dumpster and in the back corner hanging over the edge...

was a hoof.

I asked her how big and she estimated the size of a deer although she didn't do an in depth look at it. Can't say I blame her.

Now you also have to understand something about one of our other neighbors in the building. They're a massage center that are:

kind enough to have very late hours.. typically up to or past 11pm
offers an assisted shower at the beginning of each massage
cater mostly to men
uses lovely Asian woman as the massage therapists

.........well you get the idea.

now the owner of this spa maintains that these girls do NOT live there. Uh huh. suuuuuure they don't. They have no cars.. never get dropped off...never get picked up. They constantly cook - and it smells like fish and garlic and permeates the building... they plant container gardens... do their shopping at the convenience store and gas stations near by, etc, etc. It's obvious that they live there.

so now we have these tennants that never leave the building to go to an actual home and a hoof in the dumpster... which did smell way more ripe then it ever has.

I could swear that one of the undercover DEC guys went into the spa with a notebook. Darn walls! How can I be nosy....errrrrrr curious if I can't see or hear anything.

I'm back!!!

I decided to take the plunge and make my blog have it's own custom domain. After three nail biting days where I thought I did something wrong... it's fine and I'm back!!!!

20 times left and 20 times right!

Mom handed me my toothbrush and told me to take it to Dad. He was in charge of toothbrushing since he fed me Doritos tonight.

Silly mommy, I don't need Daddy.. I took my toothbrush and brushed my teeth just fine thank you!

Trick or Treat!

We took JP out for his first adventure in Trick or Treating. He was so cute. It took no more then 3 houses to get the routine down pat. Knock on the door... smile and look cute.. and then get a piece of candy. He was so good that even when offered a couple of pieces, he still took one. The people in my IL's neighborhood were so good to JP that he still made off with quite the stash, lol. Near the end he took a Peanut Butter cup from one woman. I opened his bag to have him drop it in.. and he tossed it aside for a chance at the mother load in the bag, lol. Oh it was so cute. I just rescued the abandoned PB cup and put it in the bag and off we went to the final few homes. I'll get pics up in a few days. Our goal was to go as a ghost, but he wasn't thrilled, so it ended up being a fireman costume that my IL's had for him. Better choice anyway because it was fleece and nice and warm.

The GPS units are NOT always accurate, lol

This post will have 2 different stories about how sometimes people trust their GPS a little too much.

I have someone coming to my home today to pick up a cage for small animals. I just re-homed several chinchillas and now get to clean out that corner. Which means I get to get rid of this large cage.

I spoke with the woman picking it up and she said to just giver her the address and her GPS will get her here. Last time someone said that to me they were over an hour late.

The problem with my home is that there are 2 roads with the same name in the same town. Brilliant huh? they are also in different counties, but the other comes into the one I live in. What makes it better is that the roads come very close to each other near me.. but they never connect.

I emailed this woman directions so that she has an ide of which to look for. She used to work out here so it shouldn't be a big issue.

The GPS thing that cracks me up is my job. I've had 2 people call and say they couldn't find us. I ask what part of the directions were wrong (I've NEVER gotten anyone lost in 7 years and 2 locations). They each then admitted that they used their GPS. I had one person ARGUE with me! I actually said to him that I understood he had the GPS.. but I was standing in the office and knew where I was. The problem with work is that my work addressis on a road called 17K. This road changes to one called Broadway about 5 miles down. The GPS systems send people to the street number on the Broadway section. Let me tell you that is also not the nicest place to be.

I'll just scoot over here and she won't notice a thing

I took this pic of JP today and it made me laugh. Can't you just see what he's thinking?

"I'll just take a few steps this way and she'll never notice.... I'm not up to anything.. I look perfectly innocent and believable"

Suuuuuuuure you do honey, lol

This pic was a little grainy so I added a film grain enhancement and changed it to B&W. Came out pretty good I think.

Aromatherapy 101 and why to never trust a quiet toddler

After lunch I was sitting on the couch wrapped in a nice warm blankie, I'm not feeling great and can't tell if I'm just cold.. or it's chills from a higher temp. JP wasn't in the mood to share the spot with me and off he went. His bedroom is right off of the kitchen and you would think I'd know better by now, lol.

He was quietly wandering and I heard 2 soft thuds. Common sense got the better of me and I got up to see what my angel had been into.

He'd grabbed the powder and not only dropped it twice... but either squeezed it well or stepped on it. The doorway to his room and slightly into the kitchen are covered in powder.

on the bright side my kitchen has a lovely lavender fragrance now, lol.

The frail ego of my girl...

Poor Peanut.

Previously I've written about her embarrassing harness bulges. We'd started nightly walks until my heel pain got severe. Unfortunately Joe won't take her on his own.
One day last week I really looked at her nails. Peanut's nails would have been the envy of a drag queen! I wouldn't take her on an extended walk until they were trimmed and comfortable again.

Taking her to the groomer for regular trimmings was always Joe's job and he was good at remembering. It was one of those things I just didn't have to focus on. Joe now couldn't find the time so of course it fell to me. On Monday I got out at 4.. raced home.. picked her up and took her to the groomer.

He and his wife are wonderful. Too bad Peanut doesn't share that opinion. First off she was SO excited to be in the car with just me. It was like old times and we were out for a drive for no reason. Yep.. she sulked all the way home, lol.

When we walked into the groomers she was doing her best to get back out as usual, lol. Ken came out from the back and we talked for a few minutes. He then looked at Peanut. His first comment was:

"wow did she put on weight!"

Poor Peanut.. you could see her ears droop ever so slightly.. and she then made a bigger effort at leaving, lol. Peanut didn't even fit into her 'fat' sweater that used to float on her. Now we're back to either walks/jogs or just lots of active play. Hopefully by the New Year she'll be back to her usual slim self. She'd better be because I'm not buying her a new wardrobe for Christmas, lol.

Sunday's misc musings

I started off today's blog with some set ideas on what to write, lol..... Then my mind started to wander off a bit more and it's become an entry with a couple of tangents, lol.

First off I'd like to tell anyone that may be checking out my blog because of BakingGals.com, that I don't always have sad posts. This was just a really off week with a lot of frustrations.

****************************************************************************
This morning I'm sitting next to my son at the kitchen table as he eats breakfast. My independent child is feeding himself oatmeal.

Luckily most of it is making it into his mouth.. but we're still working on being a really neat oatmeal eater.

Messy as kids can be I am thinking of some of those time stopping moments in life. Those oh so sweet moments that make you so glad to have children as a part of your life. Being that JP has entered the first of the terrible toddler phases, I need to treasure these moments, lol.

Tuesday was a sad day for me. However JP is always there to make me laugh. We'd had a good evening and I was getting him ready for bed. We were relaxing on the couch and he was lying down. I was stroking his hair to calm him down and stopped for a second. He grabbed my hand and started running my hand down one side of his face then the other. It was such a sweet moment. He did that for about 5 minutes. I then laid him in his crib and stroked his hair one last time. At which point he smiled and drifted off to sleep.

He's such a great kid. I am so thankful I have him.

************************************************************************
Ahh well, time to keep busy and productive:

My plans for this beautiful Sunday are so exciting, lol.

I started off with a rip-roaring session of dishes, and am moving on to laundry next. The last time I'd washed JP's cloth diapers I hadn't rinsed them enough. The few I've tried have caused slight redness and irritation so I need to rewash them.

grocery shopping

Clean the bathroom

start making space in our 1 walk in closet - to put things where they belong

Start sewing the cage liners for the chinchilla cages - great idea from a web site and less mess from shavings.

Play with JP and Peanut and get some of their energy burned off

De clutter a bit more - heck in some areas of my home you can see the progress I've made.

Now this sounds terrible, but I have a reason for having to do so much. I made the mistake of trying to get Joe to see how little he does. My house is such a mess that I won't show pics of it to friends, lol. After the last 2 weeks with my oh so helpful and supportive husband I've come to realize he will never do anything inside or outside. His only desired capabilities are eating, sleeping, showering and washing his own clothes. In his eyes thats all he needs to do because he's tired from work. Amazing how my job must give me energy to do everything else.

I know I'm happier in a clean, organized home so it's back to being all on me to create and maintain a safe, clean, welcoming, huggable home for JP and I. This will come back to Joe in ways he won't like if he doesn't grow up. A couple of years ago I'd gotten my home beautiful using the flylady.net system. It does work, but I'm having trouble getting started again. I'm going to keep working on that as well as using the daily lists from www.motivatedmoms.com it's an equally great system and so affordable at $8.00 for a year planner, just be prepared to have a lot of paper on hand to print it all. I'm printing them off now from the 2009 download and just changing dates till the end of the month. If you do the same, remember to change the dates and not the days. She has the days of the week set up in certain ways for a reason.. liek the pamper yourself Sunday, lol.

When my home was clean, orderly and welcoming before I came to a realization. Even doing it all on my own I was so much happier! This was during my pregnancy when I was battling massive depression. My clean home really helped and I realized that while we may view it as an outdated source of pride... it WORKS! Which probably explains why those housewives of years gone by were happy taking care of the home. It may seem demeaning to some but the sense of pride you have in keeping your home in such a wonderful state improves all areas of your life. I gave up due to some issues with Joe and let my pregnancy depression undo all my hard work. That depression was so much worse then the 'baby blues'. (Another friend and I are talking about starting a blog as she suffered equally from post partum depression. I'll put a link in my blog list should we ever get it up and running.) However once your home is de clutterred and clean it really does only take a little bit of time each day and maybe up to an hour once a week to keep it wonderful.

Yes he does talk...

After the phrase JP said on Saturday, he's becoming more understandably vocal.

Maybe not to the general public, but words are becoming clearer finally, lol.

This weekends noticeable words or phrases were:

I want mama - and various forms of that since he still doesn't feel great
dog
good
yumm or yummy
what's that? - uttered at a 3:30am ear infection wake up call when I had some Motrin for him
boo - we've been working on this as we're dressing him as a ghost for halloween
hi
nana - when he saw my mom yesterday

some he's been saying, but the rest are becoming more defined.

My mom has been pressuring me a little because he isn't really speaking. He's hit every milestone on schedule and I know he's smart, he just isn't in a hurry to speak. I'm glad she heard some of these. She told me yesterday that he doesn't have to speak because I hand him things like a drink or food when he grunts. I asked her what was I supposed to do - withhold them for a few hours until he does say the words? She said yes and I then asked what day she'd like to babysit so she can do it. Point made, lol.

Sleeping with the fishes.....

Sounds ominous doesn't it?

Joe let's JP eat in bed, I do to sometimes but I generally keep it neat.

I was changing the sheets last night and found out why my side was lumpy in one area the night before..... there was a goldfish cracker on my side of the bed.

So I joked around with Joe that he was making me 'sleep with the fishes' and I threw the cracker at him, lol

I love good yard sale finds!

Joe and I argue over this a lot. I have saved us so much money by getting things we'd like or need at yard sales. There is a once a year town wide yard sale near me. I've been planning to go with my mom and her friend all week.

They got good buys... I made out awesome. I actually had to stop shopping because I had no more room in my car due to bulky things.

I got:

1. new speakers for my computer
2. battery operated cookie press
3. King size sheet set - brand new - pale yellow tshirt material
4. vivitar camera tripod with a level
5. play rug for JP with the road on it and a rescue theme (fire dept/police station)
6. toaster oven
7. microwave - ours doesn't turn anymore and is small
8. fall wreath for the front door
9. soft silicone truck for JP - that was given to him free of charge by a very nice lady
10. galileo thermometer - I've wanted one for years and this is tall with a pretty hanging bracket
11. 3 double panel superyard things. I wanted more to go camping with and have a huge area for JP or Peanut. I now have 7 of these double panels.

I paid $41.00 total for ALL of that!

plus JP said his first recognizable phrase. I had 2 witnesses. To bad it wasn't a happy thing. He's feeling icky again and we think the ear infection is now both ears. I'm not exactly thrilled that Joe never gave him his meds yesterday. Needless to say he wasn't a completely happy camper while we shopped. As I was loading the last of the goods into my car my mom was holding him. Then he said thru tears :

"I want Mama"

poor baby. At least I know he can talk.. he just doesn't want to talk all the time.. or I'm not understanding him at all. He's sleeping now and now I have to find and put all this stuff in its place. I just had to share my finds.

Coyote Corgi

I live in a rural area. In the entire valley I live in there are coyotes. IN 38 years I've only seen 2 in the wild. Once I caught the sight of one as it ran away from a road in a more populized area. The second time was only a few months ago. I was driving home and on our road there is a lovely hill that turns and twists as it goes up. Which means you have to slow down. All of a sudden a coyote darts out to cross in front of me. The coyote had the most comical expression on its face as it realized we may not miss each other. We did by probably an inch.

Last night we had more evidence of them. 3:30am and we were all asleep. Even Peanut the wonder corgi. Her hearing however caught the faint sound of coyotes yapping and howling.. so off she went full force to the living room to listen at her window. Joe and I woke up of course and were lying there thinking she heard a deer walking... then we heard the faint howling. It gave me chills.

I got up to fix Peanut's window. It was open and although it has a screen, she had been known to push it open and escape. I was not in the mood to chase her or have her safety risked. I went out and closed and locked it. She gave me such a sad look. I just ruffled her fur and told her "not tonight coyote girl" and we went back to sleep.

Hrmphh.. my first real ear infection :/

JP here...

....remember that pic mom took and posted of me a few days ago? the one where I had a fever and didn't feel so good? Well my fever has come and gone since Saturday. Every time we thought it was gone it would spike back up. Last night I started sweating and we thought we were finally over this. Mom left for work this morning and I was sitting up happy as a clam watching Blue's Clues. By the time mom came home I wasn't feeling good again :( . Dad left for work and Mom took my temp...AGAIN.. and it was 101.5. So mom packed me up and said it was time to see the Dr. He was really nice .. well aside from sticking those things in my ears and that wooden thing on my tongue. He was quite lucky I didn't deposit my freshly eaten PB sandwich on him. He told mom I had an ear infection on the left, a red swollen throat and one swollen tonsil. He also stuck a long stick with a cotton thing on it on my tonsil...( didn't he JUST say it was sore!?) Anyway.. he said that came back negative and then he gave me TWO stickers! Still didn't make up for everything, but I'm letting it slide. I'm on some yummy tasting pink stuff and some yummy tasting purple stuff per the dr. I'm still not willing to eat much and have it irritate my throat, but I am eating more. Once my throat stops hurting I'm going back on my weight gaining binge...see if mommy tells me no junk food then. (she probably wont) Oh and I did make mommy laugh really good tonight. I was wandering and getting into trouble and I saw my diaper bag. Well there was a bag of goldfishies right on top. I was nice as I could have opened it up and dumped them all on the floor. Its what I like to do. However Mommy was sad that I was so sick so I took them over to her and gave her my 'look'. I was so cute she gave me goldfishies to eat up. I'm beat... and I need my rest so I'm going to bed now. I'm hoping this ear and throat thing are all better in the morning, or at least not hurting.

The Home Shopping Phenomenon

Last night was a rough night for JP. While getting him comfy and settled into a somewhat sleep we were all watching TV. it was Saturday night and there was nothing on. I eventually turned on QVC, a home shopping channel.

They were doing a show on misc items for problem solving. I turned it initially on because it had a GPS thing for the car on. My mom had told me earlier in the day that she had ordered that for a Christmas gift for us and my SIL with no sense of direction.

I left it on as just something to listen to and all of a sudden Joe says from his side of the bed:

"You're not becoming one of THOSE people are you?"

Meaning a home shopping channel junkie, lol. The joke was on him a few minutes later.

A new product had come on for gently whitening teeth at home in a simple manner. Neither of us like the color of our teeth and want to whiten them. But we don't want to bleach them either. This product came with 2 tubes of paste and 2 toothbrushes. The price was reasonable and they even offered an auto ship. All of a sudden from Joe's side of the bed I quietly hear:

"I wouldn't mind getting that"

I started laughing and told him he was becoming one of THEM, lol. We're going to order it though as the system looks decent and is a decent price.

"Seriously Mom.. ....

........ do i look like I feel like being even the tiniest bit cute right now"



Poor JP has come down with quite the cold. It's his first time with a temp over 101. Right after this pic was taken it was 103.4. He was not amused with anything today. He's feeling a bit better now and is up and running around a little. He's got a strong immune system so hopefully this will be out of his system by tomorrow.

Oh and the sneaker he's holding isn't Security Sneaker... it's his new Thomas the Tank light up sneakers I bought for him in the next size up.

The more I look at this photo the more it hits me that he just doesn't look like his age. He's only 19months old, but looks older. Then again he never did have that look of a baby. I have one pic of him at 6 months that people often ask if he's 2. oh well.

Security Sneaker - 2 / Mom -0

Yesterday I wrote about JP's 'security sneaker' and how I ended up putting sandals and socks on him, instead of the sneakers and socks.

Today I went to put JP down for his morning nap. He and I have developed a nice routine where he goes down to sleep at about11am and will sleep for 1.5 -5 hours.

Not today. Today was NAP WAR!

Put in his crib at 11.. played and bounced until 12:15. Was assisted in lying down a few times by me..but he was just not having any of it.

Out of crib for lunch break and 30 min of quiet time to unwind.

One lunch, one diaper change, one cup of milk, one cup of water and 1.5 hours later we were STILL battling nap time. He was visably tired but refused to go to sleep. Blankets were thrown out of the crib.. his sleep time elephant was flung across the room (small room, but still), jumping was the main event of the day. He only started getting mad when I was in his room to put things away and wouldn't acknowledge his jumping.

While all of this was going on I was cleaning the living room. I found one of his sneakers.. the other is still MIA. On a whim I decided to see what happened when I gave him Security Sneaker.

He took it with a smile and lied down to play with 'sneakie'.

10 minutes later he was asleep....



Then came bedtime... in the crib at 8pm as usual. Snuggly baby yawning and rubbing eyes and ready for bed.... 8:30.. a sippy cup of milk .. 8:45 still awake. Time for Security Sneaker!!!

sigh :(

it's now a little after 9pm. I went into to check on JP. same pose as the picture above.. but the time Security Sneaker is next to his head. If I can get a pic without waking him up I will. I've told Joe that I am taking JP shopping this weekend for a more appropriate security item. I'm eyeing 2 Thomas the Tank cuddle pillows at Target... wish me luck.

One word challenge

I’m challenging all of my blogging friends to play along. This is not as easy as it looks!

Your hair? dry

Your mother? awesome

Your father? distant

Your favorite thing (not including people)? sleep

Your dream last night? terrifying

Your dream/goal? skinny

Your favorite drink? water

The room you're in? kitchen

Your ex? boytoy

Your hobby? computers

Your fear? failure

Where do you want to be in 6 year? in a house of our own

Where were you last night? home

What you're not? confident

Muffins? yummmm

One of your wish list items? security

Time? fleeting

Where you grew up? plattekill

The last thing you did? cooked

Favorite weather? stormy

What are you wearing? shorts and tshirt

Favorite book? Watchers (Dean Koontz)

Your TV? big

Your pet? bratty

Your computer? custom

Your mood? tired

Missing someone? Melanie (wonderful friend)

Your car? green

Something you're not wearing? bra

Favorite store? craft store

Love someone? Yes

Favorite color/shade? blue

Last thing you ate? chicken and dumplings

Your life? stressful

Your friends? too far

What are you thinking right now? friends

What are you doing at this moment? Duh!

Your summer? HOT

Your relationship status? married

What do you do when you can't sleep? email

When is the last time you laughed? today

Last time you cried? Sunday

Security Sneakers?

Security items for children are a very common thing. I always thought that all children fixated on something, I've since found out that that is not necessarily true. I remember my security items as I apparently had 2. One was a typical pink blanket with satin trim. The other I have one memory of, but knowing it's condition of and knowing what the memory is, well it was definitely a security item. My uncle had given me a green Gund poodle. I don't remember it in it's hey day. I remember it as the poodle with the huge bald spots worn by loving hands. My 1 memory is of my mom carrying me thru the living room, while I held the poodle. My mom was telling me to shush because my uncle was sleeping. This, sadly, is the only memory I have of my uncle as well. He was hit by a drunk driver when I was very young. For this reason I keep that memory close to my heart, and will soon go thru my mom's attic to find this green poodle again. Yes I kept it all these years.

I've been wondering if JP would ever find a security item. We have lovies, soft small pillows, blankets.. but nothing that he's developed a long term interest in. There was the musical elephant which while cute... I did hope he didn't want to drag everywhere, lol. The song gets a bit mind numbing at times. Then we have Ellie.. his soft, plush bedtime elephant. He may not have much of an attachement, but I make sure Ellie is around when he naps or goes to sleep.

Today I got a glimpse of a possible, strong attachment item....

one of his blankies? - no
one of his elephants? - no
a lovie? - nope

sigh...

it's one of his Thomas the Tank ...SNEAKERS! yes you read that right. My child has developed a fascination with a sneaker. He'll occasionally walk around the house with one in his hands.. and it's become the best distraction while changing his diaper. This morning I had to send him to day care looking like a retired man from Florida... with socks and sandals on. He had an absolute death grip on the sneaker and wouldn't let go. Being that I could NOT find the other and I was already late I let him hold onto it. He carried it out to the car and still wouldn't let go. I had visions of having to explain to Dani (childcare) that I needed her to watch out so that we didn't lose the sneaker, lol. Thankfully he was ok to leave it in my car.. where it now sits, alone, on his car seat.

New! - Lean - Cuisine-ish Blogmercials!

The following conversation came to me in an email this morning and just cracked me up. Granted I am working on sleep deprivation... and its my morning to be at work by 6:30am (6:38 was today - but I was still in first, lol).

The conversation was started last night btwn some friends and I over what we made for dinner last night. Since I do meal planning, I've gotten back into different dishes. The majority of these are very easy but sound impressive. Sunday's I do try to do something a bit more special....

......I know! Talking to Kelly is like being in one of those Lean Cuisine commercials.

Me: I had sloppy joe's

Kate: I had frozen ravioli

Kelly: I had Balsamic chicken with Balsamic reduction fancy stuff and mashed things (the mashed things were seasoned and mashed chickpeas)

If it makes anyone feel better tonight's meal is ....... Pizza, lol

Introducing Sushi and Sashimi II

I'm sad to say that our goldfish babies didn't make it. I was wondering about them as they showed no interest in eating. In retrospect my thoughts of them being all on their own in the store fish tank.. may have been more of an issue of them being the only two survivors.

We decided to get a heartier fish. I wanted a pair, and something a bit flashy. I chose Betta's as you can now find males and females easily.. and they don't generally breed easily. Sushi and Sashimi have been here for about 2 weeks now and are going strong. So please welcome.. again.... Sushi and Sashimi!


please pardon the mess... I'd just brought home groceries and hadn't put them all away yet

Argghhhhhhh

While I could never rival a professional seamstress with my sewing skills.. I do know my way around a sewing pattern and sewing machine. I've had a pile of material and notions for a year. This would be for new tops for my coworker and I for our job. I knew what my boss was looking for... but we couldn't find them. I found them in an easy to sew pattern.... except step 3 is not easy to understand! Everytime i think i get it I stop. The way I interpret it will leave a raw edge on one very visable part.... but i know thats not supposed to be that way. Its driving me crazy and I just want to get them done! I hate when my boss asks me about them.. although in my defense she won't let me sew them when at work during patient hours... kinda limits my sewing time and at home....well home life is a priority. I need a sewing fairy to come in the night and do them up.

.......and all the heroin you want!

Don't you love walking in on the end of a conversation? Sometimes the timing is absolutely perfect and it's as if it's the perfect set up for a comedy sketch. I've had a crazy day. Not bad so much as insanely crazy if that makes sense. I was more than happy to leave at 4pm... except I really didn't leave until 5:45. On the way home I was picking up a Monday night special pizza... only $8.99. Hope this thing tastes good. Of course the thought was to watch Monday Night football with JP and Joe.. except Joe got sucked into a vortex at his parents house ans is not home yet. I stopped at the pizzeria and walked in. I've been there before and its a small deli/pizzeria with low light, red topped tables and red and white checked curtains. Being that Monday's are slow there was only one other customer in there talking to the owner/employee (not sure which he was). As I'm walking up to the counter he finishes what must have been an interesting conversation with:

"..... and all the Heroin you want!"

I asked if I ordered the right pizza or there was a secret menu, lol. To be honest to look on his face was slightly embarrassed which is what I would have been as well. We joked around a bit more and just had a good laugh which I desperately needed, lol.... although he did warn me the pizza may make me very relaxed and I may wake up with a hangover, lol.


*disclaimer* - I do not endorse, nor find the use of recreational drugs as a light hearted thing. Being that I KNEW I walked in on the end of a conversation that was sarcastic is why I found humor in this moment this evening.

Never conduct business via text messaging....

I've had an amusing week or so at work. Those that know me well, know the days that this is the opposite so it's nice to have weeks like this.

My boss is a very dynamic, driven individual who typically takes on more than she can do. Which leads to me the so called Clinical Coordinator... in reality that means well.. Clinical Coordinator, personal secretary, blah, blah, blah. Helps with job security though and most days I like my job even if I'm grumpy. Well my boss has taken on a lot more challenges of late.. most of her own doing. I've been a whirlwind while flying thru website editing ( i am managing but have no idea of what I'm doing), replacing hard drives, standard office responsibilities, etc, etc ,etc. Whats made it more amusing then usual is that she is aware that she's driving me crazy and has been told as such, lol. Well one of the things I do is also arrange her travel when needed. She's been inivited to speak at a huge event in Washington DC. I'm proud to say that she is the only non civilian to be invited to be on a panel at Academy Women in October. We've been back and forth on booking a shuttle flight since Monday. Today my boss left early and as is sometimes normal she then starts text messaging me, lol. At one point today she text messages me to book the flight. She was in and out of appointments and I had a few questions regarding flight times. So I end up booking her out of Newark to Washington DC Airport... this was after waiting about an hour for the info I needed. Of course as soon as I book the flight she texts me wanting an earlier return flight. Which is now a slim chance - should have added on the flight insurance to make changes. As I'm texting her back she calls me... sigh... to tell me that she was told Laguardia was the better flight...at which point I had to inform her it was too late and we were set for the other airport. We've mutually agreed that text messaging is not the best when needing specific info, having time restrictions and she was in and out of being able to contact me. Good thing is if the tickets need to be cancelled she can get credit as I booked her on a flight thats the same airline as her Frequent Flier account.

How do women survive when men are sick...

So Joe's 'Man Cold' is passing... sort of. Tuesday he valiantly gathered his meager energy and plodded off to work. How generous of him to work when so ill. Thankfully Wednesday he could conserve his energy at night and get a much needed restful nights sleep. While coughing up a lung and sniffling loud enough to wake the dead. Ugh...boys are so icky sometimes. Cover you darn mouth and blow your nose with the box of tissues for heaven's sake! Now his germs are free flying all over the bedroom - thank you so much. Last night, Thursday, was particularly amusing. After Joe got home we ate dinner. It was all the poor man could do to hold his head up and eat. Well you would figure that this was the perfect time for Joe to lie down after dinner. What do I hear now? "Well what about JP, I need to be there for him"

huh?!

Need I remind any of you about my small, cozy, cottage sized home? I think I can manage on my own as I frequently do. It's really not that hard. Now tonight Joe was determined to get JP to sleep. SIGH. This means he's going to lie down with JP at 8pm and try to get him to sleep. Meanwhile my mean method of lying him in his crib is not good. After all he falls asleep in about 5 minutes in his crib and sleeps better and longer. Nooooooooooooo Joe lied down with Jp while watching Pearl Harbour. This was at 8pm. At 8:40 I was tired of listening to JP giggle while supposedly sleeping. I went in and said 15 more minutes and then he goes to his crib. 15 minutes later I go back in. What the heck!? From Joe's reaction you would think we were moving out and he would never see him again. He cuddled JP, told him how much he loved him while having tears in his eys. Uhmmmmm.. He's going one room away and you'll see him tomorrow. Heck if you want get up with him in the middle of the night then go ahead. PLUS .. and this is such a sore subject with me.. Joe's on MY side of the bed again! Now this may not see a big deal but it really is. Joe makes a mess of my side of the bed and never puts things back the way they belong. I've asked 1000+ times for him to leave my side of the bed alone. He won't. To me its disrespectful. Now he's sleeping on my side of the bed.. with my pillows.. my blankets and his gersm. JP already has his cold because he doesn't care about protecting him. Yes I know JP will get sick. Last year my nickname for him at times was SLIMY... however I don't need it because Joe is careless and selfish.

yes this turned into a rant.. with luck by morning I'll calm down and edit.

The Man Cold....

from Urban Dictionary.com:

The name 'man cold' disguises the true terrible, debilitating disease that is the man cold. Nearly all men will die from man colds unless they are administered immediately with large amounts of mindless TV such as daytime TV, or childrens' cartoons. It is essential that they not move from bed or a comfy sofa to allow for rehabilitation, and must have tissues and man cold medicine (such as chocolate biscuits, McDonalds, or a nice cup of tea) brought to them constantly by a nearby female. 

'Either i have meningitus, end stage brain cancer, or a man cold'

This is Joe's current state. We expect him to pass on in .. oh 40-50 years. However if you ask him he'll tell you that his passing is imment. He called me at work yesterday to come home early. He called at 8:45.. on tuesday I leave work at 1:00. To help him deal with the horrid malaise of a 'man cold' I left at noon. He of course was NOT appreciative of this as he wouldn't be able to sleep before leaving for work at 2:00.  When I asked how he could work in such a delicate condition I was told that he had to go to work because it was important and he had things to do. For some reason he didn't grasp the dead silence and subsequent "reallllllllyyyyyy?" from me as sarcastic. Guess the man cold was tampering with his early warning system. Oh and I was also guilted (good attempt on his part) on how he couldn't possibly care for JP in a proper way in his condition and that he was afraid he was going to give this horrible malady to JP. OK.. let's just fess up and be honest here. Joe lies in bed with JP and tries to convince him to take a nap.. or he plops him in his safe play area  while Joe sits on the couch and they watch TV. anyone wonder why I still keep a safe play area in the house? If it weren't for that JP would probably spend more time in the crib on Tuesdays. On my way home yesterday I stopped and got Dayquil to hopefully keep Joe alive for a few more days. What does he do? Takes 1 capsule when 2 is the dosage and leaves the rest on the table. Why if I didn't know better I would think that he WANTED to feel sick and miserable. And yes I say that with my best sweet, innocent, doe eyed expression.  Tonight I worked until 7. came home... microwaved dinner and served the ailing man. He tells me he would have made a galliant effort to sit at the table. Then has to lie down to 'rest' because he 'needs his energy' for work tomorrow and afterall I have the day off. Oh and he only got 4 hours of sleep last night. Yet the constantly interupted sleep I have had for 2 months leaves me bright eyed and bushy tailed all the time. Then again, I'm being cruel.. After all I don't have a 'MAN COLD'. Thankfully I'm  surrounded by those that support me well as I nurse Joe thru this crisis. Many have offered to call the ambulance for me. I look forward to a lovely nights sleep tonight filled with the hacking man cold cough.... which of course will be directed to my side of the bed.

Stay tuned for the 'woman cold' where I jump mounds of laundry, cook gourmet meals from scratch, listen wide eyed as my darling husband weaves tales of his day at work, care for the young prodigy we are to mold into a fine young man and work my usual full time job.... while listening to my husband ignore my red eyed, sneezing, coughing self to proclaim.....


"I'm tired, I'm going to bed"


surely I can get a jury of married women formy murder trial. I should be cleared in no time.

For Jeannette

Sometimes I'm good with words and expressing myself. Other times, most times I'm not. Those that know me in real life..- local to me- know that I am they type to offer a solid, quiet comfort. Most times that's enough. Not now though. How do you offer strong, silent comfort to a friend that is across an ocean? A card? yes that shows support and love. But it doesn't seem enough when that friend has lost her mom... and lost her dad some years ago. How do you support quietly when you know they are crying all the time? She's lost her mom and it's so hard to know the words and the way to support. Texting is one way.. but so damn hard to convey the thru sorrow and heartbreak you feel for them. A cell phone can't give a bear hug of love and comfort... a text or email can't wipe the tears away or stroke her hair or back in comfort. Email is another support but if it were me that lost my mom email would be my last concern.

Several years ago another online friend of mine lost her child in a tragic accident. He was 3 and had gotten out of the house and fell on the cover of a pool. The cover had water on it from the winter and spring melt. He couldn't get out. At that time I was under a lot of stress at work from a co-worker who was out to make my life difficult. She made a HUGE issue out of me wanting to take 1 day off to drive to the wake and funeral. My coworkers were siding with her at the time (this is still a wound with me and my job). They didn't know how strong the relationship can be with people that you can't tangibly touch. They thought I was using it as a careless excuse for a day off. When I returned I informed him that 20 of us online friends made that 'careless' trip to support a friend who'd lost her 3 year old son. They have learned thru me how strong the bonds of friendship are regardless of the geographical location.

If I had the money for airfare for South Africa I'd be there for Jeannette. It doesn't matter how you make friendships. What matters is the depth of them, the open love, the caring, the laughs. If it's over a cup of coffee or an electronic line.. the friendship is the same... the pain is the same for their losses.. the sadness for not ever knowing quite what to do or say... but wishing you could be by their side while wondering. I wish I could be there for Jeannette.... since I can't, I'll write this and hope that she knows the depth of the caring it's written with. For those that doubt that an online friendship can be deep and true as a friendship started in the 'normal' manners - read this an know that our friendships online are as true as any friendship out there.

In Memory of Heather Moira McClelland Kirk

24th January, 1943 - 11th September, 2008

I got my first fishies!

Mom has been talking to dad for some time about getting something called an aquarium. Dad keeps saying no, and mom keeps agreeing while smiling. Tonight mom told me some online friends got a new fish... and I decided the time was right for me to have my first fishies. Mom told Dad how much I wanted them and he said ok. So off we went to the fish store. WOW! there are a LOT of fishies out there. We looked at things called Mollies, barbs, betta's, salt water, tetra's and finally found them. 2 teeny tiny baby goldfish in a big tank all by themselves. They can grow like me! Mom said they are called fantail goldfish and that they will be really pretty when big. Right now they are in a bowl large enough for them, but mom's plan is a 30 gallon community fish tank. I think she'll win in the end. Oh and mom helped me with some names. The people at the fish store laughed when we told them the names we picked out.. mom said I'll understand when I get older.

Introducing.................

Sushi and Sashimi!



Hey.. i wasn't kidding when I said they were small...


Mom should have taken another pic ... not my best look huh? Oh well I was trying to hug them..
see! there they are at the bottom!

Not bad for a 10 year old 6 cylinder car

I pulled into work one day last week and a patient pulled in next to me. Who then commented on how my car must guzzle gas being a 6 cylinder. He thought I was nuts and wasting money. I knew my mileage was decent and he agreed that the car looks to be in extremely good condition, which it is. So with my last gas purchase I made a mental note of how many gallons. My 10 year old, 6 cylinder Pontiac gets 24miles to the gallon. I think thats excellent. My original estimate was 18-20 miles per gallon, lol.

Painfully sweet

Yesterday JP and I were sitting on the couch watching a show on TV. I don't remember quite what he did, but he head butted me in the mouth really hard and fast. I was sitting with my hands over my mouth as it hurt so bad, and he was rubbing his head where it hit my mouth. We were both in tears. He looked at me and stopped crying, pulled my hands awy from my mouth and then kissed my boo-boo. While I was still seeing stars, it was much better after that. He seems to have fully recovered... I still have a fat lip, lol.

You have to read this jogging attempt, lol

I just took Peanut for her morning walk/jog. Figured since I was off I'd try to get 2 in today. When by myself with JP and Peanut I use the jogging stroller that I bought for $10. Peanut has learned quickly to walk by the front wheel which is a perfect spot. This one has been heavily used, in storage and has a front wheel that does not turn - structural design, not an issue of being broken. To turn I have to lift the stroller and turn it. Which puts stress on the frame. One pin is already missing and the stroller half collapsed. Not a big deal. I can still wheel it but it takes more work and I'm trying to keep Peanut off the road. Then a pin on the other side disappeared. The stroller collapses - JP was fine but can't ride in the stroller. By now the stroller looks like a drag racing version - low to the ground and long. Great. I'm 1/4 mile from home and have to keep Peanut on a leash, the stroller moving and carry JP who is over 20lbs and who also likes to lean forward and risk falling. THEN the front wheel pops off. OK fine... I'm a woman, we're resourceful and inventive. I discovered that if I kicked the back axle then the front tipped up enough that I could still wheel it behind me. THEN something else collapsed - at this point i have no idea what and I'm in no mood to figure it out. Now the stroller is unwheelable because the front half is all but a fabric and metal puddle on the road. I'm in an area where I can't get far enough off the road to fix anything quick. I then have to carry JP AND the stroller while somehow holding onto the front wheel and Peanut's leash. While doing this I have the back axle of the stroller banging into my leg. I'm waiting for the huge bruise to develop. Oh and our road is not exactly the easiest to walk on due to insane drivers and little to no shoulders on the road. I got to the very edge of the yard and dropped the stroller and threw the front wheel. Then dragged the stroller in more.

Temperamental has been a word occasionally used to describe me, lol.

I COULD have had the stroller I wanted for $50.00 from craigslist. The nice Jeep one with the steering wheel for JP to play with. but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.. I had to find one that was old for $10.00 to keep Joe from complaining. Well guess who's complaining now (btw 'complaining' was NOT the word used when this story was emailed to a few friends. I was furious at the time) . Joe will be lucky if I don't go out and buy the one I want new for under $100.00.

he just called and has been informed and warned.To give him credit all he said was that he was sorry.. then wisely got off the phone quickly.

My jogging buddy...

I'm silly sometimes and just don't think things thru. I've had a dream of being a runner for a long, long time. But I always manage to do something wrong and injure myself. The brief bits I do are so refreshing and liberating. They make my stress melt away. Not to mention the pounds, lol.

When we adopted Peanut she was 3.5 years old with a noticeable limp. A letter that came with her made mention of a bee sting. 6 months later the limp was still there so off to xrays and such (over $400.00!) The limp was attributed to a knee ligament tear, but we also discovered that Peanut has bilateral hip dysplasia in a mild state. Hmmmm.. should probably have her xrayed again to check progression. It's been almost 4 years since we adopted her. The anniversary of that is 9/30. I try to limit her running and jumping for fear of injury. This has lead to a cranky, slightly overweight pooch with harness bulge (fat rolls over her harness). I mentioned this in the post yesterday about the harness bulge.

It dawned on me today that not only does Peanut LOVE jogging down the road, but that it's GOOD for her. It helps get the weight off and builds muscle to keep her hips in good shape. Tonight I dragged the jogging stroller out since Joe's working. I was a bit stressed at having to run Peanut and have JP in the stroller, but it was all for naught. Peanut naturally fell into the perfect walking place next to the front wheel. We were going just fast enough for her to jog lightly. She had to get used to the placement of the wheel at first, got bumped a few times, but did great after she got it down. We did a small bit of extra running on a side road with little traffic, I think it was a bit much for her. When we got almost back to the house she stopped on the road and didn't want to move. Either that or she was afraid I'd make her go further past, lol. I angled so she could see I was heading for the lawn and she came right over. Usually if she's off leash I have to chase her down. With these runs she just goes to the door and stands there, lol. Best aprt is she runs at a great pace for a light jog for me. SInce she's a corgi she can make a good little jogging buddy. Short, but perfect for what I need, lol.