Wednesday, December 30, 2009
dreaming of dreams
I wish the technology was available to have a dream video recording device hooked up to our brains. I think the dream I had last night (or rather, super early this morning) was pretty cool but I can't remember it, so much. What I can tell you was this: It was in a space ship and there was a conflict which reminded me of Star Trek. A ship contacted us and took one of our important people hostage then we took one of their people hostage. Eventually there was discord and bloodshed in the ship itself, then shots were fired between the two ships. There was also a huge hospital involved but I don't know if it was on the ship. The same people from the ship were in the hospital as patients and workers but there was this large black wire coated dog walking around. How would a dog be able to be on a space ship? Or free roaming in a hospital area for that matter? Very odd and out of place indeed. Which is why I wish it were recorded. I could play it back and hopefully figure things out, or at the very least find they symbolism of it all.
Oh, how I would love to watch the dreams I've had about my brother David too.
Oh, how I would love to watch the dreams I've had about my brother David too.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
I survived Christmas (among other things)
Wowza, where to start? I feel like so much has happened lately! I had a wonderful Christmas for the most part. My Mom, Dad, and two of my brothers and their families came out here to visit. Sis opted for the in-laws this year but maybe next year we will get to see her. Having so many people in town was a little bit crazy. Nobody lodged with us, I blame it on the cats! Many in my family are allergic so only short visits to my home. Because nobody stayed here I drove down to them many a time and now have the way to my cousin L's house nearly memorized! *cheers!* We did lots of Rock Band, playing in the snow, and eating. I was hoping my girl and I would get up the mountain for some skiing but the roads just would not cooperate. Oh well, there were plenty of local hilly parks to sled at and our front yard has made a wonderful snowball war zone on a couple occasions ;)
One of the highlights of the past few days has been my acquisition of a DSLR, at last! J got me a Canon Rebel XT! It was one of the models I borrowed from a friend last year so it was nice to jump right in and shoot up a storm. I got some pretty good sledding shots. Believe it or not but I think I might have had as much fun behind the camera as the ones on top of the sled! Now I'm shooting every day and re-training myself to think in SLR mode. It's taking some effort to go off the preset modes and remember how to use the f-stops and shutter speeds but I'm getting the hang of it. Slowly.
One of the presents from Mom was a huge basket of scrap booking stuff. There were some botanical theme things, a fall set, and a Halloween set, along with random letters and numbers. It looks like there are some loose pages for layouts But I think I will need to bind them together some how with hole punches and ribbon or invest in a pre-bound book. I think it will be fun to pick up this new hobby. I know I've got tons of pictures to print up for the pages. Here's to hoping I will actually finish a project some day!
Another highlight for me is actually part of J's present: We are setting up the aquariums again. We have had a 37 gallon and 10 gallon tank in storage for many years and I guess J decided it was a good time to get them up and running again. The 37 gallon will be in our front room and serve as the main tank. We need to buy a new stand before we can get that one set up though. Our current bedside tables were what held it up before. The 10 gallon will be housed in the entertainment center cabinet in the family room and it will serve as the 'green house' and 'quarantine' tank. We will have freshwater fish: a snail or two, a small school, and some random interesting ones too.
I am looking ahead to my birthday, four weeks away. A couple months ago I was thinking I'd ask for that tattoo I've been dreaming about for ages but now I'm not so intent on that. My flickr needs to be upgraded and I'd like a step down ring for on my Rebel's lens so some of my old filters can be used with it. I also want to go out for sushi! Those are the three main things that I really truly want (well that can be bought). I'm hoping I won't be swamped with school work and that J will be fortunate to have time off, or at least be on day shift.
That's all for now, I'm going to play with my camera some more and see if the cats will cooperate for some portraits before their dinner.
One of the highlights of the past few days has been my acquisition of a DSLR, at last! J got me a Canon Rebel XT! It was one of the models I borrowed from a friend last year so it was nice to jump right in and shoot up a storm. I got some pretty good sledding shots. Believe it or not but I think I might have had as much fun behind the camera as the ones on top of the sled! Now I'm shooting every day and re-training myself to think in SLR mode. It's taking some effort to go off the preset modes and remember how to use the f-stops and shutter speeds but I'm getting the hang of it. Slowly.
One of the presents from Mom was a huge basket of scrap booking stuff. There were some botanical theme things, a fall set, and a Halloween set, along with random letters and numbers. It looks like there are some loose pages for layouts But I think I will need to bind them together some how with hole punches and ribbon or invest in a pre-bound book. I think it will be fun to pick up this new hobby. I know I've got tons of pictures to print up for the pages. Here's to hoping I will actually finish a project some day!
Another highlight for me is actually part of J's present: We are setting up the aquariums again. We have had a 37 gallon and 10 gallon tank in storage for many years and I guess J decided it was a good time to get them up and running again. The 37 gallon will be in our front room and serve as the main tank. We need to buy a new stand before we can get that one set up though. Our current bedside tables were what held it up before. The 10 gallon will be housed in the entertainment center cabinet in the family room and it will serve as the 'green house' and 'quarantine' tank. We will have freshwater fish: a snail or two, a small school, and some random interesting ones too.
I am looking ahead to my birthday, four weeks away. A couple months ago I was thinking I'd ask for that tattoo I've been dreaming about for ages but now I'm not so intent on that. My flickr needs to be upgraded and I'd like a step down ring for on my Rebel's lens so some of my old filters can be used with it. I also want to go out for sushi! Those are the three main things that I really truly want (well that can be bought). I'm hoping I won't be swamped with school work and that J will be fortunate to have time off, or at least be on day shift.
That's all for now, I'm going to play with my camera some more and see if the cats will cooperate for some portraits before their dinner.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
The previous Wordless Wednesday
Last week I posted a picture of the bamboo we have in our master bathroom. I now consider it a living testimony that Zen can exist under just about any condition. This poor plant is nearly neglected yet sprouted itself! I jumped a little when I noticed the little sprout next to the parent plant. I felt instant happiness and a sense of love. For plants to reproduce they need to have elements of happiness, right? I've wondered in the past if I was taking care of this little plant correctly, and now I know!
Of course, there are things I can do to make my little bamboo family happier. They will need a bigger pot. Probably soon because it is going to be quite a predicament to get them out of that vase. They could benefit from actual food instead of just straight tap water. I should remember to reopen the blinds after I close them during bath time preparations. I'm not as concerned about that because they naturally like shade. The color of the parent plant has changed a bit over time and not sure if it's in a good way or bad.
I've never been much of a gardener and having felines in the house has discouraged me from keeping houseplants in the past. The cats aren't allowed in our bathroom at all though and it presented the chance to finally get the courage to take the plunge with the Bamboo and I'm so glad I did. It may not be as gratifying as, say, a fruit tree out in the back yard but it brightens the mood of that bathroom in ways we never imagined it could!
Time to go pick tomorrow's picture from the archives or take a new one!
Of course, there are things I can do to make my little bamboo family happier. They will need a bigger pot. Probably soon because it is going to be quite a predicament to get them out of that vase. They could benefit from actual food instead of just straight tap water. I should remember to reopen the blinds after I close them during bath time preparations. I'm not as concerned about that because they naturally like shade. The color of the parent plant has changed a bit over time and not sure if it's in a good way or bad.
I've never been much of a gardener and having felines in the house has discouraged me from keeping houseplants in the past. The cats aren't allowed in our bathroom at all though and it presented the chance to finally get the courage to take the plunge with the Bamboo and I'm so glad I did. It may not be as gratifying as, say, a fruit tree out in the back yard but it brightens the mood of that bathroom in ways we never imagined it could!
Time to go pick tomorrow's picture from the archives or take a new one!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Foody Friday- Thanksgiving!
This was tonight's spread. We had our big feast tonight instead of yesterday because my man had to work a night shift and would have missed dinner. It turns out he missed tonight's too because a 'certain someone' refused to be quiet when I asked her to and woke him up three times! So us girls made the best of the evening that we could. It was my Aunt, her 'part-time pup', my Marshmallow Girl and I. It would have been easy to go to a bitter place in my heart tonight, and I did peek in on it, but I really do have so much to be thankful for that I forced myself to look at those good things instead. Like having no family members deployed right now, generally good health all around, and the promise of seeing more family soon at Christmastime! This food was quite yummy as well! It was a cooperative effort between my Aunt and I. She did the side salad, roast turkey breast, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy. I made green bean casserole, candied yams, and cranberry relish. We also had Martinelli's Sparkling cranberry cider and pumpkin pie from Costco with Aunt's real fresh whipped cream. For my dishes, I took recipes from French's, Bruce's, and allrecipes then put my own little special touches to them. I kind of don't want to give away my secrets but I will say the main difference is that the green beans have bacon, the yams have marshmallows, and the berries are clovey! These were so scrumptious, and there's plenty of leftovers, hooray!
All this talk of human food is making me realize our cats haven't had their dinner yet!
I hope you enjoyed the pics and links. More importantly I wish you and your loved ones a continued safe and happy holidays!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
welcome, Christmas
I suppose the berries do apply to Christmas and Thanksgiving. Even though I don't get to see this wreath everyday because I'm usually driving into the garage for house entry knowing it's up to greet people makes me happy. I want to put up more holiday decorations but we have a rule that Christmas decorations don't go up until the day after Thanksgiving. Since I don't have any Thanksgiving specific decorations that I know of, I'm stuck dreaming about what we will be putting up and where.
We will have colored lights outside- spiraling them along all the posts on the front porch and outlining the structure of the roof.
I would love to buy a large lit decoration for out front, something of the religious sort like a wicker and lights angel or a lit from within Creche set.
Inside the tree will have white lights, our home modified lit star on top, the motley crew of ornaments, and on Christmas Eve candy canes on the boughs. I don't have much in the way of decorating nick-knacks but I would like to get the long garlands to weave in the banisters and above doorways. Ooh, and maybe some mistletoe! =) It would be fun to put a nice large sprig of it right above the front door! I can also add to the holiday atmosphere by streaming my music, at least until the 'looks' start coming in from my family members! ;)
This year there will be many family members passing through our threshold. Mom, Dad, both Brothers and their families will be coming from out of state and there's my Aunt, Cousin and her Husband who live here in CO. Mom and Dad have already seen the house,but nobody else has. No, not even the local branch of the family! I better get to straightening things up more, here.
We will have colored lights outside- spiraling them along all the posts on the front porch and outlining the structure of the roof.
I would love to buy a large lit decoration for out front, something of the religious sort like a wicker and lights angel or a lit from within Creche set.
Inside the tree will have white lights, our home modified lit star on top, the motley crew of ornaments, and on Christmas Eve candy canes on the boughs. I don't have much in the way of decorating nick-knacks but I would like to get the long garlands to weave in the banisters and above doorways. Ooh, and maybe some mistletoe! =) It would be fun to put a nice large sprig of it right above the front door! I can also add to the holiday atmosphere by streaming my music, at least until the 'looks' start coming in from my family members! ;)
This year there will be many family members passing through our threshold. Mom, Dad, both Brothers and their families will be coming from out of state and there's my Aunt, Cousin and her Husband who live here in CO. Mom and Dad have already seen the house,but nobody else has. No, not even the local branch of the family! I better get to straightening things up more, here.
Monday, November 16, 2009
In a Slump
I've been in a bit of a slump for a while now. Feeling like none of the pictures I take are very good, there's nothing really that I want to talk about, and I've been anxious about school related stuff. I'll keep on keepin' on and hope things start looking up.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
tea time terrors, clothing catastrophies, negative experience with negatives
Holy Wow, that has got to be one of the longest blog titles in the history of blogging!
This evening after the kettle of water was set upon the stovetop to boil for my eighth cup of Chai tea, I completely forgot about it. With the burner on. I simultaniously realized that the water had been forgotton and smelled a slightly funky smell. Dashed into the kitchen and turned off the burner. Held the kettle under running water. After it cooled I put baking soda and vinegar to descale it. Man, what a moment of terror it was when that burning smell endered my nose! I hope that after a night of soaking my kettle will be back to normal, and that the cook top surface isn't FUBAR. Heating water in the microwave sure is a pain, and it seems to cool down lots faster too.
To clothing. Turns out that the majority of my cold weather layering items are dying like snails in a salt mine. Waistbands in long johns have deteriorated, lycra in tights has wasted away, not to mention the holes in just about everything. Often in the chillier weather pants are the item of choice but what about lovely long velvet dresses and black lace skirts? This pulling up the drawers thing is getting old and a bit embarrassing. I'll have to stake out the thrift stores or something. But with the weather being what it has been lately I don't forsee there being much avalible. Must try at least though
Now for the doozy... Walgreens is really on my hit list right now. Here's why:
I took one roll of color film to Walgreens for negs only development. It was supposed to be picked up the same day but they were having technical difficulties and I didn't get the call for pick up until two days later. I rushed in and picked up my negs and took them straight over to pick up my daughter from school. When I opened up the envelope that evening not only was the roll squished in there and starting to get bends in it, but they were the wrong negs! Instead of my fall foliage it was some people visiting downtown. I checked to see if Walgreens was still open and they were so I went down to take care of it.
Turns out the employee who helped me had given away my negs earlier that day. The lady who picked up my negatives seemed confused and said that it didn't look like those were her pictures but she couldn't be positive because she didn't take the pictures, her kids did. But she still got to take home my roll. Of course not only did the employee helping me not know how to pull up the proper info to contact the lady, but neither did the assistant manager. They took the wrong negs away from me and gave me a credit for the 2-something dollars for the negs development and told me they'd leave a note for the photo manager telling her what happened and that she would get back to me. That was two days ago and I haven't heard anything.
I was so excited about those images. There was a section of trees on one of the streets by my house where it was the perfect line up of all the colors of fall. There was also a beautiful section of many native plants. I think lots of the shots turned out well.
I'm trying to decide if I should go in myself to see if the mystery lady ever was contacted and if my real negs are back at the store, possibly demanding a free roll too. Most of me just wants to forget about the whole thing and never set foot into Walgreens again. What ever happened to employees checking those numbers at the end of the roll to make sure they match what is on the outside of the envelope? Its not that hard to do, people! And they had at least three chances to do it too! 1- when they were putting them in the envelope in the first place, 2- when the wrong lady came to pick them up, 3- when I came and got them. So what would you do?
Thank you for reading my monster of a post. Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!
This evening after the kettle of water was set upon the stovetop to boil for my eighth cup of Chai tea, I completely forgot about it. With the burner on. I simultaniously realized that the water had been forgotton and smelled a slightly funky smell. Dashed into the kitchen and turned off the burner. Held the kettle under running water. After it cooled I put baking soda and vinegar to descale it. Man, what a moment of terror it was when that burning smell endered my nose! I hope that after a night of soaking my kettle will be back to normal, and that the cook top surface isn't FUBAR. Heating water in the microwave sure is a pain, and it seems to cool down lots faster too.
To clothing. Turns out that the majority of my cold weather layering items are dying like snails in a salt mine. Waistbands in long johns have deteriorated, lycra in tights has wasted away, not to mention the holes in just about everything. Often in the chillier weather pants are the item of choice but what about lovely long velvet dresses and black lace skirts? This pulling up the drawers thing is getting old and a bit embarrassing. I'll have to stake out the thrift stores or something. But with the weather being what it has been lately I don't forsee there being much avalible. Must try at least though
Now for the doozy... Walgreens is really on my hit list right now. Here's why:
I took one roll of color film to Walgreens for negs only development. It was supposed to be picked up the same day but they were having technical difficulties and I didn't get the call for pick up until two days later. I rushed in and picked up my negs and took them straight over to pick up my daughter from school. When I opened up the envelope that evening not only was the roll squished in there and starting to get bends in it, but they were the wrong negs! Instead of my fall foliage it was some people visiting downtown. I checked to see if Walgreens was still open and they were so I went down to take care of it.
Turns out the employee who helped me had given away my negs earlier that day. The lady who picked up my negatives seemed confused and said that it didn't look like those were her pictures but she couldn't be positive because she didn't take the pictures, her kids did. But she still got to take home my roll. Of course not only did the employee helping me not know how to pull up the proper info to contact the lady, but neither did the assistant manager. They took the wrong negs away from me and gave me a credit for the 2-something dollars for the negs development and told me they'd leave a note for the photo manager telling her what happened and that she would get back to me. That was two days ago and I haven't heard anything.
I was so excited about those images. There was a section of trees on one of the streets by my house where it was the perfect line up of all the colors of fall. There was also a beautiful section of many native plants. I think lots of the shots turned out well.
I'm trying to decide if I should go in myself to see if the mystery lady ever was contacted and if my real negs are back at the store, possibly demanding a free roll too. Most of me just wants to forget about the whole thing and never set foot into Walgreens again. What ever happened to employees checking those numbers at the end of the roll to make sure they match what is on the outside of the envelope? Its not that hard to do, people! And they had at least three chances to do it too! 1- when they were putting them in the envelope in the first place, 2- when the wrong lady came to pick them up, 3- when I came and got them. So what would you do?
Thank you for reading my monster of a post. Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
all sorts of stuff...
We got a weak little snow flurry just a little while ago. It made me realize that living in Anchorage AK completely spoiled me as far as the white stuff goes. This little flurry lasted for less than five minutes of actual snowfall. Then within in a hour the fine dusting completely melted! =( I miss the snow of Anchorage. My image from yesterday was taken in our back yard at Elmendorf AFB in November of 2001. The icicles were enchanting. Trudging through the huge drifts was invigorating. Banana Breves with a double espresso shot from Cafe Fonte in 5th Avenue Mall made the early rising and bus commuting to work totally worth it. I'm thankful for what we have now, don't get me wrong. And I'm telling myself that the snow will get better. This is only October after all!
I have a bone to pick with Walgreen's photo department. They gave my negatives to the wrong person! I was too busy to look in my envelope until two days after I picked it up and when I discovered it I went to the store right away. They gave a credit for the development of negs (that is all I had done) and the photo manager (or most experienced person) had already gone home for the night so they said that they would leave a detailed note for her and I shoudl have heard from her yesterday. But didn't. Am trying to resist the temptation to go down there and demand a new roll of film and then never set foot through their automatic doors again. But it's only around 10 am. And they were trying to reach the person who picked up my images. At least they gave me the impression that is what they were going to do. I hope they did. The pictures were of the amazing fall foliage colors we are getting now. And lots of the trees I shot have now completely changed color and some are dropping their leaves. After just one week. I won't be able to go back to the location and reshoot this stuff! It was amazing! I may have a small road trip in my future, but I can't put it off much longer.
A friend of mine gave my ears something new to be addicted to: Joe "introduced" me to MC Frontalot. He (the MC, not Joe) is considered to be the founding father of the musical genre known as "Nerdcore". It is a blend of hip-hop and rap with lyrics focused on the geeky side of things. I've never been one to really like hip-hop or rap. And I'm not very geeky myself. But I love my geeks and am loving Front's beats and rhymes.
Hope you enjoyed the linkage! Time for me to slap on some makeup and do a couple errands :p
I have a bone to pick with Walgreen's photo department. They gave my negatives to the wrong person! I was too busy to look in my envelope until two days after I picked it up and when I discovered it I went to the store right away. They gave a credit for the development of negs (that is all I had done) and the photo manager (or most experienced person) had already gone home for the night so they said that they would leave a detailed note for her and I shoudl have heard from her yesterday. But didn't. Am trying to resist the temptation to go down there and demand a new roll of film and then never set foot through their automatic doors again. But it's only around 10 am. And they were trying to reach the person who picked up my images. At least they gave me the impression that is what they were going to do. I hope they did. The pictures were of the amazing fall foliage colors we are getting now. And lots of the trees I shot have now completely changed color and some are dropping their leaves. After just one week. I won't be able to go back to the location and reshoot this stuff! It was amazing! I may have a small road trip in my future, but I can't put it off much longer.
A friend of mine gave my ears something new to be addicted to: Joe "introduced" me to MC Frontalot. He (the MC, not Joe) is considered to be the founding father of the musical genre known as "Nerdcore". It is a blend of hip-hop and rap with lyrics focused on the geeky side of things. I've never been one to really like hip-hop or rap. And I'm not very geeky myself. But I love my geeks and am loving Front's beats and rhymes.
Hope you enjoyed the linkage! Time for me to slap on some makeup and do a couple errands :p
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
as i was saying...
when I am with the cats it is no fail smiles time. If its the gentle loving of Aurie and Roofus giving cuddles, or Tai and Wooter being wild n crazy no day is done without one more last look in on where ever they are at. Tonights check brought me a surprised smile. There was a lump under the fleece protecting the cushions of the love seat. I pet the lump and was taken aback when it was Wooter! She had burrowed into the fleece completely hiding. She was sleeping lightly and very snug. I am thankful for her peace.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Thankful Thursday, The Love Cats
One of the many things I am thankful for in life are my cats. No matter what is going on
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Sent from my Verizon Wireless mobile phone
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
blah-g
Sorry the blog is being neglected. Just going through the day to day grind here. Stressing over not knowing if I'm going to have to cancel out on Bel Rea due to lack of child care options but putting my feelers out and hoping something fruitful will come about. Worrying over health issues family members are dealing with. For fun I have been scanning old photos and negatives because one of my cousins was kind enough to send us a scanner! We have been setting things up for the eventual arrival of Baby the Umbrella Cockatoo. And then just hanging out online, playing around at my favorite sites like flickr, facebook, blip, and my cats and mama forums.
On a Musical Monday theme I've been hooked on Sarah McLachlan for about a week. We have "Fumbling Toward Ecstasy" and "Surfacing". Her songs seem so drem-like and emotion filled. Before that, it was Nine Inch Nails and my Asleep By Dawn compilation CDs (I have the first and second ones released). What is it about the cold weather that makes me lean toward industrial, dark, music?
That's all for now. It felt good to actually write something. Maybe I shall babble again soon.
On a Musical Monday theme I've been hooked on Sarah McLachlan for about a week. We have "Fumbling Toward Ecstasy" and "Surfacing". Her songs seem so drem-like and emotion filled. Before that, it was Nine Inch Nails and my Asleep By Dawn compilation CDs (I have the first and second ones released). What is it about the cold weather that makes me lean toward industrial, dark, music?
That's all for now. It felt good to actually write something. Maybe I shall babble again soon.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Lovely Day
Sorry I haven't written in such a long time. Life has been pretty crazy but now I'm making the time to give the 'whats up' =)
First of all, the last two weeks of August my husband was out of town seeing his family down in SoCal. I am so glad that he got to spend good times with them and his Umbrella Cockatoo (Baby). It was only fair that he got to go down there without us because our girl and I had gone without him! ;) We are looking around at cages and are hoping to welcome Baby into our family here in Colorado Very Soon.
While he was gone the girl and I both got colds. I think mine was worse than hers. Thankfully she didn't miss any school. There was a period for me where I'd take her to school, feed the cats, then doze the rest of the day away until pick up time. It was starting to scare me. That was a lot of sleep time clocked. Eventually we both fully recovered. The medicine cabinet is stocked which is a comfort for when it strikes again.
The day that DH landed back here we got to take our new phones out of the wall (from initial charging) and start to play! It's not an iPhone, but it is a cool touch screen phone. The LG Touch is taking a little but of getting used to but over all there's lots of neat things I like about it. Possible blog review pending for this.
Today has been stellar. Took our girl to school. Went over to Bel Rea Institute later in the morning with the husband. We talked with the financial officer for a little bit, then with the admissions officer, gave her a check, and went on a campus tour. I am officially registered! My classes start in January 2010. Notifications of class schedules are being sent out in November. Wow.
Then we went to the hardware stores to get some supplies for the drains in our back yard we are doing. From there we had to go straight to the girl's school. We were there much earlier than we needed to be but I enjoyed the one on one chat time with my man.
As if that wasn't good enough, when we got home from picking up our girl from school I decided to peek out the front door and guess what arrived? My package from Sephora with some Urban Decay, pretty smelling new spritzer samples, and the DuWop Lip Venom from Twilight!
Hello? Could life get any better? Oh yes, it could. I'm sipping a delectable strawberry margarita!
First of all, the last two weeks of August my husband was out of town seeing his family down in SoCal. I am so glad that he got to spend good times with them and his Umbrella Cockatoo (Baby). It was only fair that he got to go down there without us because our girl and I had gone without him! ;) We are looking around at cages and are hoping to welcome Baby into our family here in Colorado Very Soon.
While he was gone the girl and I both got colds. I think mine was worse than hers. Thankfully she didn't miss any school. There was a period for me where I'd take her to school, feed the cats, then doze the rest of the day away until pick up time. It was starting to scare me. That was a lot of sleep time clocked. Eventually we both fully recovered. The medicine cabinet is stocked which is a comfort for when it strikes again.
The day that DH landed back here we got to take our new phones out of the wall (from initial charging) and start to play! It's not an iPhone, but it is a cool touch screen phone. The LG Touch is taking a little but of getting used to but over all there's lots of neat things I like about it. Possible blog review pending for this.
Today has been stellar. Took our girl to school. Went over to Bel Rea Institute later in the morning with the husband. We talked with the financial officer for a little bit, then with the admissions officer, gave her a check, and went on a campus tour. I am officially registered! My classes start in January 2010. Notifications of class schedules are being sent out in November. Wow.
Then we went to the hardware stores to get some supplies for the drains in our back yard we are doing. From there we had to go straight to the girl's school. We were there much earlier than we needed to be but I enjoyed the one on one chat time with my man.
As if that wasn't good enough, when we got home from picking up our girl from school I decided to peek out the front door and guess what arrived? My package from Sephora with some Urban Decay, pretty smelling new spritzer samples, and the DuWop Lip Venom from Twilight!
Hello? Could life get any better? Oh yes, it could. I'm sipping a delectable strawberry margarita!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Foody Friday- Sausage, Rice, Snickerdoodles
I decided to do the sausage and rice skillet dinner again tonight. We first had it a month ago and it went over well with everyone. Some of the ingredients were missing tonight so I improvised and it turned out so well that I've been craving it all evening! Pats on the back please? Read on to see what I did.
I started some white rice cooking then took smoked sausage, sliced it, and browned it. Drained the grease off and used the beefy broth from our dinner last night. (That was water, stew beef, carrots and red potatoes in the crock pot with A-1 Thick + Hearty sauce dumped in because none of the Beef Stew seasoning packets could be found.) Added parsley, onion powder, and finely chopped fresh garlic (Thank you Clea, it was scrumptious!). When the rice was done I tossed that in with the sausage and other stuff. Let everything cook together for a few minutes then steamed up some peas and buttered them, served on the side. SO satisfying and yummy! The flavors are lingering a really long time!
After my girl was asleep I made a batch of cinnamon-sugar cookies. I placed them too close together on the sheet so they had that mutant look. I told my husband I did it on purpose because if they're stuck together like that then it means he can't take just one. Hehehe =)
I will try to come back again tonight to tell you about the adventures of the first half-week of Kindergarten. To sum things up: we survived but not all of her hair did!
I started some white rice cooking then took smoked sausage, sliced it, and browned it. Drained the grease off and used the beefy broth from our dinner last night. (That was water, stew beef, carrots and red potatoes in the crock pot with A-1 Thick + Hearty sauce dumped in because none of the Beef Stew seasoning packets could be found.) Added parsley, onion powder, and finely chopped fresh garlic (Thank you Clea, it was scrumptious!). When the rice was done I tossed that in with the sausage and other stuff. Let everything cook together for a few minutes then steamed up some peas and buttered them, served on the side. SO satisfying and yummy! The flavors are lingering a really long time!
After my girl was asleep I made a batch of cinnamon-sugar cookies. I placed them too close together on the sheet so they had that mutant look. I told my husband I did it on purpose because if they're stuck together like that then it means he can't take just one. Hehehe =)
I will try to come back again tonight to tell you about the adventures of the first half-week of Kindergarten. To sum things up: we survived but not all of her hair did!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
sleepwalker?
Last night I had something pretty odd happen. I got up in the middle of the night and I think I was sleep walking because I got all disoriented while using the bathroom (that is what I ended up doing any way). I didn't know which doors upstairs lead to where and the house didn't feel like it was the right size. Not much else to say about it, because I don't remember any more details. It was a partially wakened state, and I was able to fall back asleep right away after I found my bed again. I can still remember it happening, but it's striking me as so not like me and it's a bit disturbing. Hopefully it was just an odd one time thing but still wishing we knew what caused it.
we-ell, it's about time! :p
So the entries here have been MIA. Because daytime blogging hasn't been an easy thing to do since I was gestating My Girl I will just do a quick blow by blow of my whirlwind SoCal trip to see family at my Mom + Dad's house, with the hope that I will be able to provide something of higher quality one of these near future nights.
Thurs 30 July- The girl + I flew Denver to Los Angeles wit ha stopover in Phoenix, then my Dad drove us to Mission Viejo to their house. We just hung out for the rest of the afternoon and evening and I got caught up with my brother D on the recent going ons in his life over a couple beers in the back yard.
Friday 31 July- My Dad and I took my girl to Lake Mission Viejo for a couple hours followed by more hanging out at the house and welcoming the arrival of my brother, sister, nieces, and a nephew. Alos got a pedicure which has held up amazingly well despite all the abuse it's gotten.
Saturday 1 August- The day was spent at the beach off the Califia exit along the 5 Freeway. That evening there was a big ol' family BBQ in my parents backyard. I was drinking a bottomless Margarita on the rocks compliments of my younger older brother's girlfriend and spent the evening lounging by the fire pit while sipping and chatting. The kids spent the night in tents in the back yard.
Sunday 2 August- In honor of David, we did a flower tossing memorial get together at his resting place, Doheney Beach Park. His ashes were scattered there on his birthday, 4 August, last year. After that we played around on the beach for a while and came back to my parents house.
Monday 3 August- The whole crew went over to Sea World then about half of us went on to a BBQ get together on Mission Bay with some of the Gibbs family members we'd lived 'close' to for a long time but never knew existed. That was pretty cool.
Tuesday 4 August- David's Birthday. Went to Mass in the morning with my Mom and Dad. Shortly after we drove out to my Cousin M's house in Canyon Lake. My Girl + I said our hellos and made arrangements to meet up with the Thompson's in Riverside. Went school clothes shopping for the kids and had dinner with them then drove back with a sleeping munchkin.
Wednesday 5 August- Still at the lake house. Tons of swimming. Was hoping to go for a boat ride and maybe get up on water skis again but the boat broke. Stopped for pizza and arcade games on the way back to MV.
Thursday 6 August- Had a somewhat early morning start for the drive up to LAX for a non stop flight to Denver.
I borrowed my Mom + Dad's Canon Elph to take pictures and have the images copied onto my laptop. That is a fun little camera! Also have a few pictures on my phone. I have some of them uploaded to my flickr and facebook already but there's lots more to come! I hope to go through them better and make mass copies tonight.
Well now it's back to the day to day 'grind'. Earlier this afternoon we bought school supplies met with M's Kindergarten teacher, now M + I are off to the Commissary to restock the foodstuffs. I don't wanna. I was a dolt and over packed my laptop bag now my upper body aches like crazy. Tonight I may see if I can get the bath hot enough and have a soak.
Ta Ta For Now
Thurs 30 July- The girl + I flew Denver to Los Angeles wit ha stopover in Phoenix, then my Dad drove us to Mission Viejo to their house. We just hung out for the rest of the afternoon and evening and I got caught up with my brother D on the recent going ons in his life over a couple beers in the back yard.
Friday 31 July- My Dad and I took my girl to Lake Mission Viejo for a couple hours followed by more hanging out at the house and welcoming the arrival of my brother, sister, nieces, and a nephew. Alos got a pedicure which has held up amazingly well despite all the abuse it's gotten.
Saturday 1 August- The day was spent at the beach off the Califia exit along the 5 Freeway. That evening there was a big ol' family BBQ in my parents backyard. I was drinking a bottomless Margarita on the rocks compliments of my younger older brother's girlfriend and spent the evening lounging by the fire pit while sipping and chatting. The kids spent the night in tents in the back yard.
Sunday 2 August- In honor of David, we did a flower tossing memorial get together at his resting place, Doheney Beach Park. His ashes were scattered there on his birthday, 4 August, last year. After that we played around on the beach for a while and came back to my parents house.
Monday 3 August- The whole crew went over to Sea World then about half of us went on to a BBQ get together on Mission Bay with some of the Gibbs family members we'd lived 'close' to for a long time but never knew existed. That was pretty cool.
Tuesday 4 August- David's Birthday. Went to Mass in the morning with my Mom and Dad. Shortly after we drove out to my Cousin M's house in Canyon Lake. My Girl + I said our hellos and made arrangements to meet up with the Thompson's in Riverside. Went school clothes shopping for the kids and had dinner with them then drove back with a sleeping munchkin.
Wednesday 5 August- Still at the lake house. Tons of swimming. Was hoping to go for a boat ride and maybe get up on water skis again but the boat broke. Stopped for pizza and arcade games on the way back to MV.
Thursday 6 August- Had a somewhat early morning start for the drive up to LAX for a non stop flight to Denver.
I borrowed my Mom + Dad's Canon Elph to take pictures and have the images copied onto my laptop. That is a fun little camera! Also have a few pictures on my phone. I have some of them uploaded to my flickr and facebook already but there's lots more to come! I hope to go through them better and make mass copies tonight.
Well now it's back to the day to day 'grind'. Earlier this afternoon we bought school supplies met with M's Kindergarten teacher, now M + I are off to the Commissary to restock the foodstuffs. I don't wanna. I was a dolt and over packed my laptop bag now my upper body aches like crazy. Tonight I may see if I can get the bath hot enough and have a soak.
Ta Ta For Now
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Foody Friday- Salmon
I really like Salmon Roulande. There's a kind I get from the freezer section in the grocery store and it's not too fishy. They sell it in Florentine style and with shrimp. We had the kind with shrimp tonight accompanied by green beans and potato wedges seasoned with parmesan, olive oil, and rosemary. It was a nice, light dinner but flavorful. The girl only ate a few bites which is tragic because it was just scrumptious! I wish I would have remembered to box up her left overs because it would have been a great lunch or snack tomorrow but it's been sitting out cold on the table for a few hours already =(
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
A Week...
Wow, It's been a whole week since I've blogged? I didn't even do my Wordless Wednesday. Shame on me. What have we been up to? Festivals and yard work. Last Saturday the kiddo and I went to the Cat Fest at Denver Dumb Friends League, then Sunday was the Colorado Irish Festival. All this week we've been weeding in the front yard, trimming the dying branches off the trees, oh and getting sick! Some sort of cold + allergy type thing for the girl and I. Thankfully it seems to be going away I hope. Add all this up and you get one tired carakitty.
Did I mention the digital camera that was in the goody bag from the Cat Fest? Still trying to figure out what to videoblog about with that. The thing is still unopened in the box and I'm debating if it's worth it to even open the thing. IF our 'real' video camera can do a direct stream thing I might go with that instead. *sigh* such indecisiveness!
Next posting I'll tell about the fun stuff that is wasting all my time on the internet!
TTFN~ ta ta for now!
Did I mention the digital camera that was in the goody bag from the Cat Fest? Still trying to figure out what to videoblog about with that. The thing is still unopened in the box and I'm debating if it's worth it to even open the thing. IF our 'real' video camera can do a direct stream thing I might go with that instead. *sigh* such indecisiveness!
Next posting I'll tell about the fun stuff that is wasting all my time on the internet!
TTFN~ ta ta for now!
Friday, July 10, 2009
tired babbling
I'm tired of being tired. I want to know what the clinic found out with my blood draw that was done last week. I've been a tiny bit less tired the past few days though- I've been going to bed almost always one hour earlier than I usually do and have started up with my multi-vit again. Now I think there's mild underlying stress contributing to the exhaustion. Between the house fixing-up, vet bills, and planning for me going back to school it looks like we will have no fun money at all in the near future. I'd 'love' to get a part time job to help out but we don't know if it will be worth it after taxes, and are thinking it would be wise to wait until our girl is settled into the kindergarten routine first. But then if I did get hired somewhere right off the bat I'd probably have to quit after a couple months any way because it would turn into a huge time crunch between M's school, my school, homework, commute times, etc. We sure could use the added money though. I know, these days who DOESN'T want more money? Perhaps there's something out there that I could do from home, on my own time like transcription work or something? It just seems like so many work from home things are MLMs or look sketchy in general. *sigh* and *yawn*
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Feeling a bit lost, so to speak
Lately, well for a long time actually, I've been feeling a bit lost on my Spiritual Path. I feel like I'm swimming calmly but don't see a shore line anywhere and It's not too bothersome day to day but once in a while I get this panicky feeling. I have gone to Mass a handful of times over the past year and it bothers me to admit it, but I've always left feeling kind of empty and unfufilled. I know that having my daughter is part of the problem because it's hard for me to concentrate on praying and keeping her with me. I can't focus on my Spiritual side while alone either though!
I want to find a way to feel spiritually alive again. I dont' know how to go about doing this. Some ideas are to: pray a guided Rosary and ask Mary the Mother to guide me, have silent meditation in a candle lit bath, read about Pagan + Wiccan pathways again, ask J to watch M some time so I can go on a private nature walk + talk with God.... I just don't know what to do. Like I said it doesn't usually bother me but when it does kick up it really bugs me for the couple days that it's there. Then it's gone as suddenly as it came on.
I want to find a way to feel spiritually alive again. I dont' know how to go about doing this. Some ideas are to: pray a guided Rosary and ask Mary the Mother to guide me, have silent meditation in a candle lit bath, read about Pagan + Wiccan pathways again, ask J to watch M some time so I can go on a private nature walk + talk with God.... I just don't know what to do. Like I said it doesn't usually bother me but when it does kick up it really bugs me for the couple days that it's there. Then it's gone as suddenly as it came on.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Birthday
Today was Miss Marshmallow's 5th birthday and I let her pretty much call the shots with me for the whole day. Daddy was at work. We had a leisurely breakfast. She had Maple Syrup and Brown Sugar Cream of Wheat with bumble bee shaped grahm crackers and a glass of milk. I had Cinnamon Roll oatmeal and coffee with vanilla creamer. She got to laze about in her PJs and watch Disney channel and play with the toy Cars that were on her 4th of July cake. We celebrated on the 4th with our Aunt M, Cousin L + M and she opened her presents from them and J's parents too.
Then I got restless and mentioned going to the park and doing a little shopping. I didn't want to run any errands but we needed a new filter for the bedroom humidifier. We went to the cool dinosaur park about a mile from our house. We brought water bottles and stayed there for an hour or so. Not many kids were there, it was a hot day. Then we went on the quick run for the filter.
Came home, had left over pizza for lunch and I painted her toenails. She picked a deep orchid shade with gold microglitter. She wanted me to match, so I painted my tips with it too. We watched the neighborhood kids race down the hill on their bikes. I suggested that M join them in the bike riding, but she declined. After our nails were dry we went down to the park down the street and around the corner from our house which was completely deserted.
We got bored and came home and M got to watch the Cars movie while we waited for Dada to get home from work and I wrapped her presents from us. When the movie ended she got to open her presents from us, my parents and her Uncle D + Cousin C. Then she got to make art with some of her new supplies while I cooked her special request of fish shaped fish sticks and macaroni and cheese for her dinner. She was already up WAY past her bedtime but after she was in her PJs with teeth brushed I read her the book she got as one of her presents and I don't usually stay by her bedside while she falls asleep but it just felt right tonight.
I rested my head on her matress and my arm was resting on her thigh and bottom. I thought about the early hours and gazed at her in the dim light. She still breaks my heart with her sweet beauty.
This is a copy and paste of the first birth story I wrote when I was first able to get the chance to do so:
Marsha RoseAnne's Birth Tale
Written by: her Momma with help from Daddy
-------------------------------------------------
It was 8:30 am on Monday the 5th July. I had just finished having a morning potty break and was washing my hands at the sink in my night shirt and felt a sudden gush and heard a splash on the floor. I thought that maybe I had lost control of my bladder, but peed an aweful lot in the toilet so I was suspicious of it being my waters breaking. Some dribbled on my leg so I wiped it off and smelled it to see if it smelled like pee and it didn't so I told hubby 'uh, i think my water just broke!' We briefly discussed it, and agreed in the end that it most likely was the water broken and we called the labor and delivery nurse station who told us to come on in, but we didn't have to rush. We then casually collected my hospital stay belongings then headed out to the hospital. We arrived there at around 10:30 am.
Almost immediately I got hooked up to external moniters. I was having mild contractions occasionally but wasn't noticing them when they hit. They did a swabbing to verify the presence of amniotic fluid. I layed around in bed dribbling fluid almost constantly till they came in at around 3 pm when they finally did an exam and told me I was dialated to a 3. Thankfully they also authorised me a light snack. I was HUNGRY! That single granola bar and a bowl of cereal at home was all that I had to eat during the whole labor process. Thankfully I was allowed as much water as I wanted, but during active labor had to have ice chips.
We laid around all day, I was bored and wanted nothing more to get up and walk around but I guess they kept me in bed to try minimise the amount of fluid lost. So Jason stayed by my side and read his book or watched Animal Planet with me.
I requested an epidural when I was at around 5cm dialation. I was still able to work through the contractions with controlled breathing, squeezing Jason's hand, and some mild noise making but knew it was going to get worse and indeed by the time I actually got the epidural at 8cm the pains were putting me in tears and the whole world was disappearing except for the pain. Thankfully I was able to have a little bit of Stadol in my IV when they told me how long it would be for the anesthitist. It was a -crazy- night with lots of unplanned C-Sections. So, the Stadol was kind of nice. It took the edge off a bit so I would have a contraction then doze off in between.
Here is what Jason had to say about it (copied and pasted from the forum for the game we play online) I am 'Murr' in the following... "Marsha RoseAnne Thompson was born on 6 July 2004, at 5:56AM. She weighed 6lbs, 10 oz (right on target for a mid 37th week baby), and was 18.5 inches long.
Mom and Baby are doing fantastic. (For my part, I did not pass out, I did not get woozy, I got commended for a unique but effective coaching system, and I did the first dirty diaper change, as well as the second. Read'em and weep, Grim. *takes the victory lap*)
It was a little bit of a bumpy ride, and thank God for Vacuum suction, as a potential issue for an rather ugly emergency C-Section was mitigated to 2 minutes of very intense Olympic effort pushing (on Murr's part) and pulling (on the Doc's part), and a perfectly healthy baby girl. After clearing out a good 22cc's (!) of fluid (clear and healthy) from baby's lungs (during which she was crying, just not strongly), we heard about the angriest little wail that did a dad proud. She was a 9 on the APGAR scale for both readings (out of 10). Naturally, she is the most beautiful thing on the face of the planet, bar none. *nods*
Murr was a total champ. She made it to 5 cm dialation with full effacement without feeling *anything,* even with some of her contractions going off the chart on the TOCO. And once things started to get rough, she only got her epidural 2.5 hours after she requested it (there was an issue in another surgery that required the only anethesiologist on duty)... at 9.5 cm dialation. Total champ, she busted through what appears to have been the only natural delivery among 9 births that day, and stayed smiling even through some really hairy parts.
I am home now, for the evening. It was getting close to the point where they were going to kick me out of the ward anyways, as its an old Air Force hospital with doubled up post-partum rooms, meaning Dad's don't get to spend the night. That changes in October we hear, which I think they only told us to piss us off. I mean really, why tell us that?
Mom and baby are well cared for until I am allowed to return. And 36 hours later, I finally get to take a shower and crash, I've been riding a caffeine wave the entire time... so the break isn't entirely unwelcome. Although I'm trying to hang in there until a "normal" bedtime. *smirks* I know, foolish, given who is soon coming home and her dictating who sleeps when.
And on that note, if things continue as swimmingly as they are, we expect the trip home on Thursday morning."
And that is what I have to tell of Marsha's birth so far. Sorry I lagged so hard on getting this all recorded! Oh well, 3 weeks late is better than never =)
Then I got restless and mentioned going to the park and doing a little shopping. I didn't want to run any errands but we needed a new filter for the bedroom humidifier. We went to the cool dinosaur park about a mile from our house. We brought water bottles and stayed there for an hour or so. Not many kids were there, it was a hot day. Then we went on the quick run for the filter.
Came home, had left over pizza for lunch and I painted her toenails. She picked a deep orchid shade with gold microglitter. She wanted me to match, so I painted my tips with it too. We watched the neighborhood kids race down the hill on their bikes. I suggested that M join them in the bike riding, but she declined. After our nails were dry we went down to the park down the street and around the corner from our house which was completely deserted.
We got bored and came home and M got to watch the Cars movie while we waited for Dada to get home from work and I wrapped her presents from us. When the movie ended she got to open her presents from us, my parents and her Uncle D + Cousin C. Then she got to make art with some of her new supplies while I cooked her special request of fish shaped fish sticks and macaroni and cheese for her dinner. She was already up WAY past her bedtime but after she was in her PJs with teeth brushed I read her the book she got as one of her presents and I don't usually stay by her bedside while she falls asleep but it just felt right tonight.
I rested my head on her matress and my arm was resting on her thigh and bottom. I thought about the early hours and gazed at her in the dim light. She still breaks my heart with her sweet beauty.
This is a copy and paste of the first birth story I wrote when I was first able to get the chance to do so:
Marsha RoseAnne's Birth Tale
Written by: her Momma with help from Daddy
-------------------------------------------------
It was 8:30 am on Monday the 5th July. I had just finished having a morning potty break and was washing my hands at the sink in my night shirt and felt a sudden gush and heard a splash on the floor. I thought that maybe I had lost control of my bladder, but peed an aweful lot in the toilet so I was suspicious of it being my waters breaking. Some dribbled on my leg so I wiped it off and smelled it to see if it smelled like pee and it didn't so I told hubby 'uh, i think my water just broke!' We briefly discussed it, and agreed in the end that it most likely was the water broken and we called the labor and delivery nurse station who told us to come on in, but we didn't have to rush. We then casually collected my hospital stay belongings then headed out to the hospital. We arrived there at around 10:30 am.
Almost immediately I got hooked up to external moniters. I was having mild contractions occasionally but wasn't noticing them when they hit. They did a swabbing to verify the presence of amniotic fluid. I layed around in bed dribbling fluid almost constantly till they came in at around 3 pm when they finally did an exam and told me I was dialated to a 3. Thankfully they also authorised me a light snack. I was HUNGRY! That single granola bar and a bowl of cereal at home was all that I had to eat during the whole labor process. Thankfully I was allowed as much water as I wanted, but during active labor had to have ice chips.
We laid around all day, I was bored and wanted nothing more to get up and walk around but I guess they kept me in bed to try minimise the amount of fluid lost. So Jason stayed by my side and read his book or watched Animal Planet with me.
I requested an epidural when I was at around 5cm dialation. I was still able to work through the contractions with controlled breathing, squeezing Jason's hand, and some mild noise making but knew it was going to get worse and indeed by the time I actually got the epidural at 8cm the pains were putting me in tears and the whole world was disappearing except for the pain. Thankfully I was able to have a little bit of Stadol in my IV when they told me how long it would be for the anesthitist. It was a -crazy- night with lots of unplanned C-Sections. So, the Stadol was kind of nice. It took the edge off a bit so I would have a contraction then doze off in between.
Here is what Jason had to say about it (copied and pasted from the forum for the game we play online) I am 'Murr' in the following... "Marsha RoseAnne Thompson was born on 6 July 2004, at 5:56AM. She weighed 6lbs, 10 oz (right on target for a mid 37th week baby), and was 18.5 inches long.
Mom and Baby are doing fantastic. (For my part, I did not pass out, I did not get woozy, I got commended for a unique but effective coaching system, and I did the first dirty diaper change, as well as the second. Read'em and weep, Grim. *takes the victory lap*)
It was a little bit of a bumpy ride, and thank God for Vacuum suction, as a potential issue for an rather ugly emergency C-Section was mitigated to 2 minutes of very intense Olympic effort pushing (on Murr's part) and pulling (on the Doc's part), and a perfectly healthy baby girl. After clearing out a good 22cc's (!) of fluid (clear and healthy) from baby's lungs (during which she was crying, just not strongly), we heard about the angriest little wail that did a dad proud. She was a 9 on the APGAR scale for both readings (out of 10). Naturally, she is the most beautiful thing on the face of the planet, bar none. *nods*
Murr was a total champ. She made it to 5 cm dialation with full effacement without feeling *anything,* even with some of her contractions going off the chart on the TOCO. And once things started to get rough, she only got her epidural 2.5 hours after she requested it (there was an issue in another surgery that required the only anethesiologist on duty)... at 9.5 cm dialation. Total champ, she busted through what appears to have been the only natural delivery among 9 births that day, and stayed smiling even through some really hairy parts.
I am home now, for the evening. It was getting close to the point where they were going to kick me out of the ward anyways, as its an old Air Force hospital with doubled up post-partum rooms, meaning Dad's don't get to spend the night. That changes in October we hear, which I think they only told us to piss us off. I mean really, why tell us that?
Mom and baby are well cared for until I am allowed to return. And 36 hours later, I finally get to take a shower and crash, I've been riding a caffeine wave the entire time... so the break isn't entirely unwelcome. Although I'm trying to hang in there until a "normal" bedtime. *smirks* I know, foolish, given who is soon coming home and her dictating who sleeps when.
And on that note, if things continue as swimmingly as they are, we expect the trip home on Thursday morning."
And that is what I have to tell of Marsha's birth so far. Sorry I lagged so hard on getting this all recorded! Oh well, 3 weeks late is better than never =)
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Foody Friday- Crock Pot Yumminess
This is what we feasted on tonight. Sometimes I crave some good spicy food! I should have made it spicier but was afraid the daughter wouldn't eat it and DH would get ill. I went a little crazy with the Garlic earlier in the week and am a bit gun-shy now.
Tonight's included celery, shrimp, tomato soup, vegetable broth, green chilies, black beans, Tabasco sauce, shredded grilled chicken, smoky Andouille Sausage, chopped bacon, and minced garlic.
It was scrumptious but I wanted more- more celery, more Tabasco sauce, more garlic, more sausage.... Just means I get to play with the big bowlful we have as leftovers. Fun, fun!
Tonight's included celery, shrimp, tomato soup, vegetable broth, green chilies, black beans, Tabasco sauce, shredded grilled chicken, smoky Andouille Sausage, chopped bacon, and minced garlic.
It was scrumptious but I wanted more- more celery, more Tabasco sauce, more garlic, more sausage.... Just means I get to play with the big bowlful we have as leftovers. Fun, fun!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Musical Monday: U2 (still)
Still spinnin' the U2 CDs in my car and stuffing my Winamp playlist with tunes from those Dublin Lads. I've had a couple breaks over the week. Listened to the Cure a little bit over the weekend and played the George Winston (on piano) and Meryl Streep recording of The Velveteen Rabbit while the Marshmallow Girl and I were stuck in traffic.
It was a busy day. Shopping for lighting equipment to shoot my Aunt's quilts took up much of the time, and I am out of cash in my photo equipment budget for now but it looks like we will be able to showcase her work nicely. When finally home, I diced about 3 heads of Garlic. Some of it went onto our buttered salt + pepper sirloins for dinner but most of it is being doused with Olive Oil and stuck in the fridge for later.
Sorry for such a short blog tonight but I'm pooped. Feeling like a cat cuddle session is in order, then to bed with me!
It was a busy day. Shopping for lighting equipment to shoot my Aunt's quilts took up much of the time, and I am out of cash in my photo equipment budget for now but it looks like we will be able to showcase her work nicely. When finally home, I diced about 3 heads of Garlic. Some of it went onto our buttered salt + pepper sirloins for dinner but most of it is being doused with Olive Oil and stuck in the fridge for later.
Sorry for such a short blog tonight but I'm pooped. Feeling like a cat cuddle session is in order, then to bed with me!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Wardrobe Weekend! 002: What Works?
So, I'm one of those people who usually wears what ever they want regardless of what other people think they should wear. Yet can't help but wonder from time to time what "works" for my age, marital status, body type, etc... It would be a dream come true to have "What Not To Wear" kick my butt into gear and give some much needed words of wardrobe wisdom, but I can't hold my breath on that one. I would start poking through magazines, but haven't the foggiest idea where to begin. One should probably figure out which mag is the best fit first. Are there fashion consultants for hire out there? There's got to be, there's consultants for just about everything it seems. The fees are probably insane though. Guess a Google search might be a good start. Don't know if I'd actually ever have the chance to do something like this but it sure would be nice. I really am sick of still wearing so many of the same clothes. Lots of my current wardrobe just doesn't seem to fit who I am any more. Yet many of the things I can't seem to bear to part with. Then when I finally do let some items go I find myself digging through my drawers and sliding the hangars around, looking for them and realize "oh, that's gone now" and get a little sad. But, if I don't get rid of these OLD (and sometimes not so old) things that are never worn there is no way in heck going to be room for NEW things! Fashion is vicious I tell you!
Time to do some researching....
Time to do some researching....
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Trashed Tail
Wooter, our cat who is turning 6 years old this August, went through a rough time with her tail. Shown here is the end result of one of her mutilation sessions. She would take her tail in her mouth, chomp down on it, then drag it through her teeth. The tail would split open and bleed all over the place. It usually ended up on the washer and dryer which made for easy clean up but a shock to see in the morning! So we had this happen three times. When Wooter would do a bad mutilation like this we would take her in to the vet and they would shave the tail and get it all cleaned out but luckily we were able to avoid antibiotics. Eventually since we couldn't pinpoint what was causing her to do this we opted to have her tail docked. Now we're not sure if that was the answer. It might be problems with her anal glands causing her the upset in her tail (or what's left of it) and her hindquarters. Until she can speak English to us, we won't really know though so we just pray that we are doing right for her and press on.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Musical Monday: U2
As I'm writing, eight CDs of songs are on random play from a band that I've liked since third grade. My introduction to U2 was at Saint Catherine's Elementary School in Laguna Beach, CA. If I recall correctly the scenario was that once a week the teacher would allow a student to bring in music to play in the afternoon during art time. The Joshua Tree was brought in and I fell in love. I thought the guitar work was mesmerizing and the emotion behind the voice captivated me. Later I could appreciate the lyrical content more and would often sing along to their CDs as warm up before high school choir concerts. Over the years the band has also earned my respect. This band has been around for as long as I've been alive and they have stayed together and they still put out quality albums. Sorry to be cliche, but that just totally rocks! This shows me that they work hard and they must truly be like a band of brothers by now, as close to family as a bunch of people can get. While I may not always see eye to eye with Bono on his political views the fast that he gets off his butt and works to better the world is admirable in my opinion. Too many rock stars in this world dwindle their money away on empty excess. I think if you've got the extra money it is completely foolish to keep it to yourself.
I truly love this band. I don't have all their major releases, just eight CDs actually. I'd very much like to add Achtung Baby and Zooropa to my personal disc library especially. No Line On The Horizon is sounding really good too. I've been streaming it off last.fm and want to get that CD too. I don't know what else to say. Normally one would pick a favorite song or album but so many of U2's works are so intense and call to me in different ways that it's nearly impossible for me to pick out any right now. Perhaps for a future entry my favorites will be spotlighted. Too much good music, too little time!
I truly love this band. I don't have all their major releases, just eight CDs actually. I'd very much like to add Achtung Baby and Zooropa to my personal disc library especially. No Line On The Horizon is sounding really good too. I've been streaming it off last.fm and want to get that CD too. I don't know what else to say. Normally one would pick a favorite song or album but so many of U2's works are so intense and call to me in different ways that it's nearly impossible for me to pick out any right now. Perhaps for a future entry my favorites will be spotlighted. Too much good music, too little time!
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Wardrobe Weekend!
Here is a peek at what's to come with my Wardrobe Weekend...
That is a view into our disorganized walk in closet. I don't buy new clothes very often. Many of the outfits in there are as old as my High School days! I like my clothes to be comfortable bit also like for them to look nice. I thought I had a better shot of the black velvet dress previously mentioned but I guess it's still on my camera's memory stick. I want to show it to you soon!
On the shelf up there are some of my shoes.
I also have two of those over the door shoe bags. My shoes are mostly black. Probably because I generally prefer black and black goes with so many other colors nicely. It doesn't look quite right against brown or navy in my opinion, unless under certain circumstances.
In other news, it was quite an exciting day! We had a visitor come to hang out by our fence for a while.
It was pitching an attitude so J kept watch outside while I corralled the daughter inside, called animal control, and researched who it could be. I was relieved to learn that the 'little' guy wasn't really a threat to us but we are now on official watch due to the fact that this neighborhood is Bunny Buffet and there is a very large open space behind our housing area and between the Air Force Base. When the Animal Control officer was putting the visitor into a bucket it slipped out of the holding stick and J had to run to grab our show shovel and restrain the serpent! M + I were watching from the window and were quite impressed by the whole thing. I admit, I wish I could have helped with the snake wrangling too, but explaining things to M and keeping her safe really was more important to me.
The other interesting thing this evening was dinner. I made Pad Thai with Tofu in addition to saute'd chicken breast and Spicy Peanut Sauce. This all took me four hours to make! It was fun, true, but dang it has me worn out! There was lots more chopping and mixing involved than I'm used to not to mention the billions of bowls and dishes now in the sink. It's been a while since I made a meal from scratch like that. Even though it was hard work for me I think deep down everyone appreciated it. We don't have to worry about tons of preservatives or artificial ingredients that the pre-packaged foods often come with, the ingredients were fresher, and we have enough left over for lunch tomorrow! The only thing which went wrong was that I only had one can of coconut milk. I thought the can of Cream of Coconut would be able to be diluted but I opened it and emptied it into the blender for mixing and realized it didn't smell quite right. Better safe than sorry! So, the recipe wasn't done exactly as planned but it was still very good! Definitely will be a repeat on a day when I know there's several hours to play in the kitchen!
That is a view into our disorganized walk in closet. I don't buy new clothes very often. Many of the outfits in there are as old as my High School days! I like my clothes to be comfortable bit also like for them to look nice. I thought I had a better shot of the black velvet dress previously mentioned but I guess it's still on my camera's memory stick. I want to show it to you soon! On the shelf up there are some of my shoes.
I also have two of those over the door shoe bags. My shoes are mostly black. Probably because I generally prefer black and black goes with so many other colors nicely. It doesn't look quite right against brown or navy in my opinion, unless under certain circumstances. In other news, it was quite an exciting day! We had a visitor come to hang out by our fence for a while.
It was pitching an attitude so J kept watch outside while I corralled the daughter inside, called animal control, and researched who it could be. I was relieved to learn that the 'little' guy wasn't really a threat to us but we are now on official watch due to the fact that this neighborhood is Bunny Buffet and there is a very large open space behind our housing area and between the Air Force Base. When the Animal Control officer was putting the visitor into a bucket it slipped out of the holding stick and J had to run to grab our show shovel and restrain the serpent! M + I were watching from the window and were quite impressed by the whole thing. I admit, I wish I could have helped with the snake wrangling too, but explaining things to M and keeping her safe really was more important to me.The other interesting thing this evening was dinner. I made Pad Thai with Tofu in addition to saute'd chicken breast and Spicy Peanut Sauce. This all took me four hours to make! It was fun, true, but dang it has me worn out! There was lots more chopping and mixing involved than I'm used to not to mention the billions of bowls and dishes now in the sink. It's been a while since I made a meal from scratch like that. Even though it was hard work for me I think deep down everyone appreciated it. We don't have to worry about tons of preservatives or artificial ingredients that the pre-packaged foods often come with, the ingredients were fresher, and we have enough left over for lunch tomorrow! The only thing which went wrong was that I only had one can of coconut milk. I thought the can of Cream of Coconut would be able to be diluted but I opened it and emptied it into the blender for mixing and realized it didn't smell quite right. Better safe than sorry! So, the recipe wasn't done exactly as planned but it was still very good! Definitely will be a repeat on a day when I know there's several hours to play in the kitchen!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Foody Friday
This morning presented quite a quandary. All the food storage places in this house were starting to look a bit bare and lately 'burned out' is an understatement for how I feel about meal planning. I was not looking forward to the grocery trip because the fear of it being a huge one was rather daunting. I caught one of my cousins on AIM and asked her for suggestions which took me over to MyRecipes.com and soon after entering the site, the drooling began. I now have our meals planned out and shopped for to cover the entire weekend! The site has healthy, relatively quick + easy to prepare meals ideas in addition to nicely done videos and a couple neat feature spots. I like the Dinner Countdown Kitchen Timer. I can see this coming in handy for the perpetual procrastinators out there.
Tonight we had beef pot roast with baked red potatoes and mixed vegetable medley. Not shabby. Basic comfort style food. The husband was taken by surprise when all of a sudden I announced what the meal was and that is was ready when ever he wanted. That is one thing that will keep the Slow Cooker always nestled close in my heart. It's ability to do nearly all the work for me and have it ready when the family is!
I had planned on doing this meal yesterday but had gotten behind on the dishes and the crockery for the slow cooker needed scrubbing. So yesterday we had DiGiorno oven pizzas. We tried the Cheese Stuffed Crust Limited Edition with the taste of Garlic in Bacon, Sausage + Pepperoni and also the new Crispy Flatbread Pizza in Tuscan Style Chicken. The Cheese Stuffed Crust was a bigger hit. The garlic smelled really scrumptious while cooking.
Tomorrow I'm planning on Chicken Breast Medallions in Satay sauce with Pad Thai with Tofu and peas on the side. The Spice Hunter company has this great Thai Seasoning blend and on the jar label is a recipe for basic satay sauce. It's been a hit from the first time I made it. There is some apprehension present regarding the Pad Thai though. Rice noodles and I don't seem to get on very well. They don't like to get soft for me. I am going to try something different with preparing them to see if that helps. Shitake Mushrooms also evaded me at the grocery store so they shall have to be hunted down tomorrow. Asian food is one of my favorite cuisines so it's always pleasing when there's a meal I can make at home with success in that style.
On Sunday's dinner menu is Honey + Spice Glazed Pork with Garlic + Chive Mashed Potatoes and Buttered Asparagus spears. This recipe is a new one for us but reading about the honey, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves blending together got me drooling and we already have all of those in our house! So wish me luck on that. It looks easy enough so hopefully it will be a new item to add to our meal options.
One of my good friends, Lisa, of windwardskies.com photography sent a post to twitter about the holy trinity of desserts. The sleuths at CakeSpy.com came up with confectionery paradise in their Cookie Cake Pie. It is what it is: a pie crust with a layer of cookie then a frosted cake layer on top of that. The possibilities of flavor combination on this good little devil are seemingly endless and I'm getting a toothache just thinking about it! After I brushed my teeth just out of respect the rest of the site was perused and oh! what wonderful sweetness abounded! Not only were the text descriptions of the various desserts and snacks mouth watering but the food photography was wonderful too. And the cute, whimsical hand done artwork on the rest of the site layout left me pining as well.
I've hit the culinary gold mine today because there's one more neat food thing I have to share with you. At the end of this month I will have the pleasure of house sitting for one of my friends who happens to be a suburban homesteader! As payment I may help myself to anything in her organically grown herb + vegetable garden and there is the promise of fresh eggs from her hens once they start laying!
See you at my Wardrobe Weekend post!
Tonight we had beef pot roast with baked red potatoes and mixed vegetable medley. Not shabby. Basic comfort style food. The husband was taken by surprise when all of a sudden I announced what the meal was and that is was ready when ever he wanted. That is one thing that will keep the Slow Cooker always nestled close in my heart. It's ability to do nearly all the work for me and have it ready when the family is!
I had planned on doing this meal yesterday but had gotten behind on the dishes and the crockery for the slow cooker needed scrubbing. So yesterday we had DiGiorno oven pizzas. We tried the Cheese Stuffed Crust Limited Edition with the taste of Garlic in Bacon, Sausage + Pepperoni and also the new Crispy Flatbread Pizza in Tuscan Style Chicken. The Cheese Stuffed Crust was a bigger hit. The garlic smelled really scrumptious while cooking.
Tomorrow I'm planning on Chicken Breast Medallions in Satay sauce with Pad Thai with Tofu and peas on the side. The Spice Hunter company has this great Thai Seasoning blend and on the jar label is a recipe for basic satay sauce. It's been a hit from the first time I made it. There is some apprehension present regarding the Pad Thai though. Rice noodles and I don't seem to get on very well. They don't like to get soft for me. I am going to try something different with preparing them to see if that helps. Shitake Mushrooms also evaded me at the grocery store so they shall have to be hunted down tomorrow. Asian food is one of my favorite cuisines so it's always pleasing when there's a meal I can make at home with success in that style.
On Sunday's dinner menu is Honey + Spice Glazed Pork with Garlic + Chive Mashed Potatoes and Buttered Asparagus spears. This recipe is a new one for us but reading about the honey, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves blending together got me drooling and we already have all of those in our house! So wish me luck on that. It looks easy enough so hopefully it will be a new item to add to our meal options.
One of my good friends, Lisa, of windwardskies.com photography sent a post to twitter about the holy trinity of desserts. The sleuths at CakeSpy.com came up with confectionery paradise in their Cookie Cake Pie. It is what it is: a pie crust with a layer of cookie then a frosted cake layer on top of that. The possibilities of flavor combination on this good little devil are seemingly endless and I'm getting a toothache just thinking about it! After I brushed my teeth just out of respect the rest of the site was perused and oh! what wonderful sweetness abounded! Not only were the text descriptions of the various desserts and snacks mouth watering but the food photography was wonderful too. And the cute, whimsical hand done artwork on the rest of the site layout left me pining as well.
I've hit the culinary gold mine today because there's one more neat food thing I have to share with you. At the end of this month I will have the pleasure of house sitting for one of my friends who happens to be a suburban homesteader! As payment I may help myself to anything in her organically grown herb + vegetable garden and there is the promise of fresh eggs from her hens once they start laying!
See you at my Wardrobe Weekend post!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Musical Monday
Hmm... Do I see a new tradition brewing here?
I just thought it would be fun for today to chat about music. It is always something that has been a part of me. I remember in preschool going out to my parents courtyard with the 'little' tape deck and singing ALL of the Annie musical at the top of my voice. I'd make up songs while I was playing. In school I played the piano, recorder, violin, saxophone, and electric bass over the years and have further developed my voice with high school and as an adult in Church choirs. I especially loved singing in church choirs because "singing is praying twice"!
Musical influence was present in my family. My uncle Mike plays the Banjo, my other brothers play guitar and electric bass from time to time and for my late brother David- if it had strings he could make the most beautiful tunes come out of it! His favorites were guitar family instruments like the electric guitar, ukulele, mandolin and lute. He also played Violin for a time.
Music keeps me going. These days it's singing along to CDs in the car with my girl, singing what ever pops in my my head during chores, or playing Rock Band (as bass or vocals) on the PS3. I know that no matter what sort of mood I'm in a can make it better or worse with some tunes, which is a mixed blessing!
Hopefully I will touch on this again next week. I would like to talk about one of my favorite bands, U2.
I might have to skip Wordless Wednesday again. I'm going to a sleep study center to have an evaluation. I hope the daytime will be mellow enough that I can squeeze in the post for you but knowing me the packing will be procrastinated. Thanks for stopping by and I hope to write again soon!
I just thought it would be fun for today to chat about music. It is always something that has been a part of me. I remember in preschool going out to my parents courtyard with the 'little' tape deck and singing ALL of the Annie musical at the top of my voice. I'd make up songs while I was playing. In school I played the piano, recorder, violin, saxophone, and electric bass over the years and have further developed my voice with high school and as an adult in Church choirs. I especially loved singing in church choirs because "singing is praying twice"!
Musical influence was present in my family. My uncle Mike plays the Banjo, my other brothers play guitar and electric bass from time to time and for my late brother David- if it had strings he could make the most beautiful tunes come out of it! His favorites were guitar family instruments like the electric guitar, ukulele, mandolin and lute. He also played Violin for a time.
Music keeps me going. These days it's singing along to CDs in the car with my girl, singing what ever pops in my my head during chores, or playing Rock Band (as bass or vocals) on the PS3. I know that no matter what sort of mood I'm in a can make it better or worse with some tunes, which is a mixed blessing!
Hopefully I will touch on this again next week. I would like to talk about one of my favorite bands, U2.
I might have to skip Wordless Wednesday again. I'm going to a sleep study center to have an evaluation. I hope the daytime will be mellow enough that I can squeeze in the post for you but knowing me the packing will be procrastinated. Thanks for stopping by and I hope to write again soon!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Thinking Out Loud....
I have my Wordless Wednesday.
Lorry has her Wardrobe Wednesday.
I want to do both.
But how can I have a wordless Wednesday if I am sitting here gushing about some article of clothing?
Well, I say to myself, what about a Wardrobe Weekend? Brilliant!
Wednesdays shall remain wordless and now I have at least two days to put together the pictures and text for my clothing chatter.
I could have done a Threaded Thursday, but that will collide with my eventual plans for a Thoughtful Thursday. I have Christina to thank for the inspiration on that one.
Now I know that these themed blogs do not have to adhere to alliteration. But you see, that just makes it so much easier for a Swiss cheese brain like me to remember what it is I'm planning to do and when. Eventually I do hope to be a daily blogger and I have some themes for every day of the week jotted down, metaphorically speaking, in a text document.
Sleeping has not been of good quality for quite some time now so next week I'm heading over to have a sleep study done. It's an over night stay at a hospital type place and they stick wires and machines onto me to see what the heck is causing me to feel unrested. We suspect Sleep Apnea of some sort. My Dad has it. Mom said I snored when I was a baby even. I think baby snores are cute, but never realized snores are linked to problematic things. So, hopefully there will be some good answers gleaned from my night as a guinea pig. I hope I can bring my own pillow and one of my blankets. And that I don't have to sleep in an ikky hospital gown! I will be getting an informational mailing in a couple days will all the details.
The bookworm really bit me recently. Do worms actually have teeth? I really don't know! But, I must say, I've been going through the books at what is an amazing rate for me! I picked up "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon and admittedly, had a bit of a sludge through the first half of the book but then it got much better and I was hooked! So I picked up "Dragonfly In Amber", the second book in the series when my husband was restocking on his series that he's working on and I also got "Twilight" by Stephanie Meyer. Got through DIA at a nice pace and thought it might be nice to finish my other new book before i continued with the Outlander series. This afternoon I was blinking in astonishment at the park because I'd finished Twilight in two days! I am glad I read it, it was a nice change of writing style from Outlander, but now I'm biting my nails in anticipation because I really want to know what is going to happen next!
That's why there was no Wordless Wednesday yesterday. I was so engrossed with my now traditional "Feed and Read" that I didn't realize there were no postings until I was half asleep in bed! The Feed and Read is: I feed the cats then read near by while they are eating their dinner. I hang out until they are all done eating, and then some. Nothing beats a good book in one hand and a cuddly cat in the other!
I'm looking forward to the Wardrobe weekend. Did lots of unpacking recently and discovered the clothing learned how to procreate in the moving boxes! I truly think that's what happened. I swear I didn't have that much clothing before!
Time for me to head out, will write soon, promise! =D
Lorry has her Wardrobe Wednesday.
I want to do both.
But how can I have a wordless Wednesday if I am sitting here gushing about some article of clothing?
Well, I say to myself, what about a Wardrobe Weekend? Brilliant!
Wednesdays shall remain wordless and now I have at least two days to put together the pictures and text for my clothing chatter.
I could have done a Threaded Thursday, but that will collide with my eventual plans for a Thoughtful Thursday. I have Christina to thank for the inspiration on that one.
Now I know that these themed blogs do not have to adhere to alliteration. But you see, that just makes it so much easier for a Swiss cheese brain like me to remember what it is I'm planning to do and when. Eventually I do hope to be a daily blogger and I have some themes for every day of the week jotted down, metaphorically speaking, in a text document.
Sleeping has not been of good quality for quite some time now so next week I'm heading over to have a sleep study done. It's an over night stay at a hospital type place and they stick wires and machines onto me to see what the heck is causing me to feel unrested. We suspect Sleep Apnea of some sort. My Dad has it. Mom said I snored when I was a baby even. I think baby snores are cute, but never realized snores are linked to problematic things. So, hopefully there will be some good answers gleaned from my night as a guinea pig. I hope I can bring my own pillow and one of my blankets. And that I don't have to sleep in an ikky hospital gown! I will be getting an informational mailing in a couple days will all the details.
The bookworm really bit me recently. Do worms actually have teeth? I really don't know! But, I must say, I've been going through the books at what is an amazing rate for me! I picked up "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon and admittedly, had a bit of a sludge through the first half of the book but then it got much better and I was hooked! So I picked up "Dragonfly In Amber", the second book in the series when my husband was restocking on his series that he's working on and I also got "Twilight" by Stephanie Meyer. Got through DIA at a nice pace and thought it might be nice to finish my other new book before i continued with the Outlander series. This afternoon I was blinking in astonishment at the park because I'd finished Twilight in two days! I am glad I read it, it was a nice change of writing style from Outlander, but now I'm biting my nails in anticipation because I really want to know what is going to happen next!
That's why there was no Wordless Wednesday yesterday. I was so engrossed with my now traditional "Feed and Read" that I didn't realize there were no postings until I was half asleep in bed! The Feed and Read is: I feed the cats then read near by while they are eating their dinner. I hang out until they are all done eating, and then some. Nothing beats a good book in one hand and a cuddly cat in the other!
I'm looking forward to the Wardrobe weekend. Did lots of unpacking recently and discovered the clothing learned how to procreate in the moving boxes! I truly think that's what happened. I swear I didn't have that much clothing before!
Time for me to head out, will write soon, promise! =D
Monday, June 1, 2009
Mosey Along...
Just putting this up here as a reminder to myself. It might end up being a good thing, it might end up being a bad thing, but it seems like a good idea at this moment in time.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Wardrobe Wednesday
Two blogs in one night again! Feel a little funny about speaking on what is supposed to be Wordless Wednesday, but it's for a good cause. My friend Lorry is having a contest at her blog (http://blog.alteredsky.net/) and I love when my friends do fun stuff like this and I participate when ever I can.
So, here's my Wardrobe Wednesday. A first, and I'd like to do it regularly but don't want to give up the picture posting. I'll figure something out.
I have a most favorite dress in the whole world. I tried to take a good picture of it a couple days ago but failed miserably. If I can manage a better shot of it I will post it ASAP.
I saw it in San Francisco while visiting my brother David in 1995. We were browsing the shops around Haight-Ashbury and I absolutely fell in love with the dress. It is black crushed velvet, scoop neck, long sleeves, tea length, princess seamed down the front. Amazingly enough, the dress doesn't get as hot as I first feared it would. The crush is now gone from the many years of loving it, but it still fits almost as perfect as it did so long ago and still makes me feel positively wonderful every time I slip it over my head. It's gotten me several compliments. It can be accessorized to Goth-Goddess mode or sophisticated symphony goer. I think I even wore it to a Military Dinner while pregnant! This favorite dress of mine is now old and getting stretched out but still fits almost exactly like it did brand new. Yes, the hem is a bit uneven now, but you might walk a little lopsided if you had an altercation with an airport escalator!
Lorry, I think you still have my email address don't you? I can be contacted through that. And, um I'm realizing I'm an idiot and didn't see the rule about the FIRST comment counting for the contest and my blog link isn't in that post.... Fly by the seat of my pants time!
So, here's my Wardrobe Wednesday. A first, and I'd like to do it regularly but don't want to give up the picture posting. I'll figure something out.
I have a most favorite dress in the whole world. I tried to take a good picture of it a couple days ago but failed miserably. If I can manage a better shot of it I will post it ASAP.
I saw it in San Francisco while visiting my brother David in 1995. We were browsing the shops around Haight-Ashbury and I absolutely fell in love with the dress. It is black crushed velvet, scoop neck, long sleeves, tea length, princess seamed down the front. Amazingly enough, the dress doesn't get as hot as I first feared it would. The crush is now gone from the many years of loving it, but it still fits almost as perfect as it did so long ago and still makes me feel positively wonderful every time I slip it over my head. It's gotten me several compliments. It can be accessorized to Goth-Goddess mode or sophisticated symphony goer. I think I even wore it to a Military Dinner while pregnant! This favorite dress of mine is now old and getting stretched out but still fits almost exactly like it did brand new. Yes, the hem is a bit uneven now, but you might walk a little lopsided if you had an altercation with an airport escalator!
Lorry, I think you still have my email address don't you? I can be contacted through that. And, um I'm realizing I'm an idiot and didn't see the rule about the FIRST comment counting for the contest and my blog link isn't in that post.... Fly by the seat of my pants time!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Planning Ahead
The one year anniversary of my brother David's passing is coming up quicker then we all are expecting it to. I don't know what i"m going to do, mentally speaking. It will be Independence Day, and I believe my cousin and her husband will be hosting something at their place. My daughter's 5th birthday will be two days after that. Hopefully those will provide welcome distraction. I don't want this to be a sad time. I am not sure where I am in my grieving process, and want to talk to people close to me about it but always seem to close up and not be able to think about how to bring up the topic of conversation. I want to know if they have any plans in mind for getting through what might be a rough patch. I wonder about what they will do to remember David, and if they will be doing anything on his passing day or birthday. A major jam session in Rock Band accompanied by Hawaiian Punch (the red kind) or Jaegermeister would be a fitting thing. A beach trip would be good too.
Things are coming along nicely with the house. We've got drapes hung in the bedroom and the decorative rods fro the valances but the valances we picked up don't match with the drapes so probably tomorrow I'll go to JCPenney's and return them with a store credit.
The downstairs guest bathroom is looking quite welcoming. We have a beige and purple butterfly and flower motif in the decorations. There's pictures of it in my flickr. I must warn about the strange color cast, the flash on my 35mm camera is broken so there is a bit of a martian effect. I'm hoping to catch some Memorial Day sales and get the towel set and shower certain on the cheap.
I have made good progress with boxes lately too. Unpacked the two boxes in our Master Bath. Hit a mother lode of my old makeup. I spent a couple hours pawing through all that. Got rid of old some nasty stuff and have hopes that a couple of my old favorite lip glosses will still be around, or at least have good duplicates to replace them.
In the front entry room there were eight boxes along one of the walls filled with packing paper crumbles so I lugged those down to the basement. The big empty wall over there keeps calling my name. I don't know what we are going to do with it. A bookshelf and small table perhaps?
The house is shaping up nicely. So many more things to do, but at least we know this place is OURS. the work we do with this house is more satisfying because it's for us to enjoy over the long term. It is such a wonderful feeling.
Things are coming along nicely with the house. We've got drapes hung in the bedroom and the decorative rods fro the valances but the valances we picked up don't match with the drapes so probably tomorrow I'll go to JCPenney's and return them with a store credit.
The downstairs guest bathroom is looking quite welcoming. We have a beige and purple butterfly and flower motif in the decorations. There's pictures of it in my flickr. I must warn about the strange color cast, the flash on my 35mm camera is broken so there is a bit of a martian effect. I'm hoping to catch some Memorial Day sales and get the towel set and shower certain on the cheap.
I have made good progress with boxes lately too. Unpacked the two boxes in our Master Bath. Hit a mother lode of my old makeup. I spent a couple hours pawing through all that. Got rid of old some nasty stuff and have hopes that a couple of my old favorite lip glosses will still be around, or at least have good duplicates to replace them.
In the front entry room there were eight boxes along one of the walls filled with packing paper crumbles so I lugged those down to the basement. The big empty wall over there keeps calling my name. I don't know what we are going to do with it. A bookshelf and small table perhaps?
The house is shaping up nicely. So many more things to do, but at least we know this place is OURS. the work we do with this house is more satisfying because it's for us to enjoy over the long term. It is such a wonderful feeling.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Roo is here!
He is safe and sound. We are all delighted to have him back. Marshmallow Girl has been good about letting him rest and she had a splendid time sharing her bed time stories with him.
Tonight I've spent quite a bit of time just -being- with him, and giving him gentle snuggles and sweet whispers. I wonder how much 'cat time' is going to cut into 'computer time' LOL.
Nothing much else to say. I'm planning to write again on Monday night with what ever news there is from the Vet. Stay tuned...
Tonight I've spent quite a bit of time just -being- with him, and giving him gentle snuggles and sweet whispers. I wonder how much 'cat time' is going to cut into 'computer time' LOL.
Nothing much else to say. I'm planning to write again on Monday night with what ever news there is from the Vet. Stay tuned...
Friday, May 1, 2009
feria downtown brown
I've never lightened my hair before but I want to give it a try! I think all the henna's washed out by now so it should be safe. Probably will get a better picture soon, too lazy to get the camera bag out of the Pilot in the garage. This weekend was the intended time frame for the lightening, but J's been needing my help and Roofus is flying in tomorrow! I love playing with cosmetics, but would much rather cuddle my cat! More on him in just a few moments...
So please, if you can tell anything from this picture, what do you think? Is it too much of a jump down? My brows are nearly black, and this color is a cool, light brown. The formula is made especially for brunettes and black hair but I admit, I'm still nervous about it!
So please, if you can tell anything from this picture, what do you think? Is it too much of a jump down? My brows are nearly black, and this color is a cool, light brown. The formula is made especially for brunettes and black hair but I admit, I'm still nervous about it!
Happiness Is...
Happiness is having reservations for your first baby to fly back and be reunited with you!
My cat, Roofus, will be arriving at Denver Airport around 2:45 on Saturday (tomorrow)! Don't know if I mentioned it but all our cats have been staying with my parents while we've been moving from one house to another. I have missed my fur babies so much and have been especially worried about old Roo. He's been sick and frail for quite a while now. He turned 17 years old on the 23rd of April. He has Hyperthyroidism, a possible mild heart murmur, and is chronically dehydrated and borderline anemic.
We've finally got enough boxes cleared out that the 'cat room' was able to be set up. So earlier this week my parents took Roo in for a look-over by their vet to ensure that he was healthy enough to fly out here and when the OK was given I was on the phone, pronto, to make his travel arrangements! He is flying as live cargo on United Airlines, the same carrier that took him from HI to CA (my parents area) this past January. In the past we've used Delta. We've been happy with both air lines so far, but I recently came across some bad word of mouth regarding the way Delta has handled the pets in their care and United has slightly lower prices so we may be sticking with them.
I absolutely can not wait to have my first baby in my arms again! I am nervous about things though. He is hanging in there quite well but I know he's old and sick and who really knows how much more time he has left? We have been noticing that he hasn't been keeping on weight even with an extra meal and modification of his medicine dosage. So on Monday we have an appointment to see Dr Douglas Santen at Alameda East Veterinary Hospital. He is one of the Internal Medicine specialists with an interest in endocrinology, renal disease, and especially feline medicine. Dr Santen will have an abdominal ultrasound run on Roo and the medical records from the times he was seen in CA have hopefully been faxed over including a recent complete lab work on his blood and urine. We shall see what the expert prognosis is. I have been hoping for the best and preparing for the worst for quite some time now. Seriously, it feels like almost every Vet visit is a roller coaster but we've always had very good Vets.
So, even though Roofus's flight lands around 2:45, apparently it will take TWO HOURS for him to be unloaded and transported to the freight facility. What the heck, are they intentionally trying to make me feel tortured?! So, anticipating my baby not being in my arms until 5pm what the heck am I going to do tomorrow to keep my sanity? I guess we should have food, the water fountain, and a litter box set up for him. So, on the books is a trip to the pet supply store. The humans need food too, so that means a trip to the grocery store. Depending on what time we get dressed at and how cooperative the girl is being, that actually could take up a good part of the day =)
I've done enough playing around for the night. I will update soon about how things are going with Roo's homecoming!
My cat, Roofus, will be arriving at Denver Airport around 2:45 on Saturday (tomorrow)! Don't know if I mentioned it but all our cats have been staying with my parents while we've been moving from one house to another. I have missed my fur babies so much and have been especially worried about old Roo. He's been sick and frail for quite a while now. He turned 17 years old on the 23rd of April. He has Hyperthyroidism, a possible mild heart murmur, and is chronically dehydrated and borderline anemic.
We've finally got enough boxes cleared out that the 'cat room' was able to be set up. So earlier this week my parents took Roo in for a look-over by their vet to ensure that he was healthy enough to fly out here and when the OK was given I was on the phone, pronto, to make his travel arrangements! He is flying as live cargo on United Airlines, the same carrier that took him from HI to CA (my parents area) this past January. In the past we've used Delta. We've been happy with both air lines so far, but I recently came across some bad word of mouth regarding the way Delta has handled the pets in their care and United has slightly lower prices so we may be sticking with them.
I absolutely can not wait to have my first baby in my arms again! I am nervous about things though. He is hanging in there quite well but I know he's old and sick and who really knows how much more time he has left? We have been noticing that he hasn't been keeping on weight even with an extra meal and modification of his medicine dosage. So on Monday we have an appointment to see Dr Douglas Santen at Alameda East Veterinary Hospital. He is one of the Internal Medicine specialists with an interest in endocrinology, renal disease, and especially feline medicine. Dr Santen will have an abdominal ultrasound run on Roo and the medical records from the times he was seen in CA have hopefully been faxed over including a recent complete lab work on his blood and urine. We shall see what the expert prognosis is. I have been hoping for the best and preparing for the worst for quite some time now. Seriously, it feels like almost every Vet visit is a roller coaster but we've always had very good Vets.
So, even though Roofus's flight lands around 2:45, apparently it will take TWO HOURS for him to be unloaded and transported to the freight facility. What the heck, are they intentionally trying to make me feel tortured?! So, anticipating my baby not being in my arms until 5pm what the heck am I going to do tomorrow to keep my sanity? I guess we should have food, the water fountain, and a litter box set up for him. So, on the books is a trip to the pet supply store. The humans need food too, so that means a trip to the grocery store. Depending on what time we get dressed at and how cooperative the girl is being, that actually could take up a good part of the day =)
I've done enough playing around for the night. I will update soon about how things are going with Roo's homecoming!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Zapatag Review- http://www.zapatag.com
Do you ever wish you could shout to the world about the jerk who just cut you off as you were politely trying to merge onto the freeway? Or send an alarm out to look for a convertible who thinks that downhill slolam racing at rush hour is the latest olympic sport? Maybe you just want to give public appreciation of the amazing paint job you saw on a car in the parking lot of the mall?
With Zapatag you can do all that complete with pictoral evidence, comments, and a marker on a map. You can make your Zaps to twitter via SMS on your phone, which I'd love to do but can't seem to commit the process of how to do it to my brain. There is also the option to post at the website directly, which is my main method of entering data.
How the site works is you go to Zapatag.com and after registering and being accepted you make your Zap by specifying the state, plate ID, and entering comments about vehicle, where it was, and any descriptive tags which you feel should be associated with the incident. Click the Zap It! button and you are taken to a page where you can add more details about the vehicle and it's driver including a photo if you have one.
The idea behind this site is quite clever. As one of the main drivers in my household I am finding it difficult to Zap everyone I want to. I don't know how I can safely Zap and drive at the same time. Perhaps I could start carrying around a little data recorder and speak the info while I'm driving, or have a notepad and pull over to jot down info. Once this site has more people using it, I think driving conditions on the roads could drastically improve. If people know for a fact someone is bound to publically call them out for their mistakes, they may pay more attention to what they are doing behind the wheel.
I encourage you to help make the roads a better place and report bad drivers!
With Zapatag you can do all that complete with pictoral evidence, comments, and a marker on a map. You can make your Zaps to twitter via SMS on your phone, which I'd love to do but can't seem to commit the process of how to do it to my brain. There is also the option to post at the website directly, which is my main method of entering data.
How the site works is you go to Zapatag.com and after registering and being accepted you make your Zap by specifying the state, plate ID, and entering comments about vehicle, where it was, and any descriptive tags which you feel should be associated with the incident. Click the Zap It! button and you are taken to a page where you can add more details about the vehicle and it's driver including a photo if you have one.
The idea behind this site is quite clever. As one of the main drivers in my household I am finding it difficult to Zap everyone I want to. I don't know how I can safely Zap and drive at the same time. Perhaps I could start carrying around a little data recorder and speak the info while I'm driving, or have a notepad and pull over to jot down info. Once this site has more people using it, I think driving conditions on the roads could drastically improve. If people know for a fact someone is bound to publically call them out for their mistakes, they may pay more attention to what they are doing behind the wheel.
I encourage you to help make the roads a better place and report bad drivers!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
explaining...
Tomorrow is going to be my Wordless Wednesday. I've seen many other bloggers do this and as a photographer it looks right up my alley! What will happen is every Wednesday I will post an image of mine. That's it- one image for you to enjoy. It could be fresh. It could be old. It could be something that was digital from start to finish. Or it could be something which was scanned. I may post and leave you to wonder, or on Thursday I may share my thoughts on what was posted.
It is almost Wednesday here! Better get myself some sleep so the creative juices can flow tomorrow!
It is almost Wednesday here! Better get myself some sleep so the creative juices can flow tomorrow!
heads up
Just an uber-quick bedtime blog...
We are all into our new home with the household goods. Super slowly but surely unpacking all the stuff, and cleaning. We got such a great deal on this house but what we didn't pay for in the mortgage we are now paying for out of our own pockets and with our blood, sweat and tears. The previous owners kept this place like a slum. Seriously, the neighbors that we've talked to referred to the woman as "Ghetto Girl"! So today we got our new, sweet dishwasher installed and the old one is sitting all broke in our garage. Friday we get the new microwave installed.
The registration paperwork for M to attend Kindergarten in August is in progress. We took a look around the place last week. The school looks very new and all the classrooms that M would be in are indoors. That is good but I was expecting them to be, considering the climate.
So much more to say, but so little time!!! Will do more when I can.
We are all into our new home with the household goods. Super slowly but surely unpacking all the stuff, and cleaning. We got such a great deal on this house but what we didn't pay for in the mortgage we are now paying for out of our own pockets and with our blood, sweat and tears. The previous owners kept this place like a slum. Seriously, the neighbors that we've talked to referred to the woman as "Ghetto Girl"! So today we got our new, sweet dishwasher installed and the old one is sitting all broke in our garage. Friday we get the new microwave installed.
The registration paperwork for M to attend Kindergarten in August is in progress. We took a look around the place last week. The school looks very new and all the classrooms that M would be in are indoors. That is good but I was expecting them to be, considering the climate.
So much more to say, but so little time!!! Will do more when I can.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Moving Day!
Today the movers are coming to deliver our stuff! *happy dance*
I will more than likely be offline for at least 48 hours.
I still have my cell phone so I can check email, do texting, and have a puny web browser on it, so I won't be completely out of touch.
Everyone be good while I'm gone, and I'll probably have more pictures to share ;)
I will more than likely be offline for at least 48 hours.
I still have my cell phone so I can check email, do texting, and have a puny web browser on it, so I won't be completely out of touch.
Everyone be good while I'm gone, and I'll probably have more pictures to share ;)
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Proud Speaking Moment
We've been working with Marsha for months now on how to say 'bath' correctly, in addition to the other 'th' words. She always says 'baff' instead, partly due to her puppy obsession I fear. She does this thing where she bounces and says 'BAFF! BAFF!' followed by an open mouth, tongue out pseudo panting thing. So yesterday she was asking to take a 'baff' and I told her if she wanted a 'BATH' that she would have to say it correctly. And she did! I almost couldn't believe my ears! I praised her heavily with hugs and kisses too, and started running the water which promptly made her clear the room.
Interesting coincidence that the car dealer, Jason and I were talking about speech patterns of little girls on Monday. He has 5 year old twins. He was demonstrating how his girls' speech therapist would stick her tongue out really far past her teeth for the proper annunciation. Marsha was watching and smiling, I guess that made an impression on her. Maybe she thought that nobody else really talked like that and Mama and Daddy were just freaks?
When Jason got back from work Marsha was still in the tub so I had him come in the bathroom and I had her demonstrate her new found skill to him. He was helping me think of other 'th' words, one of them being 'teeth' which Marsha still said as 'teef' much to our dismay. Oh well I say, she has made a step in the right direction and we are so very proud of her for that!
Interesting coincidence that the car dealer, Jason and I were talking about speech patterns of little girls on Monday. He has 5 year old twins. He was demonstrating how his girls' speech therapist would stick her tongue out really far past her teeth for the proper annunciation. Marsha was watching and smiling, I guess that made an impression on her. Maybe she thought that nobody else really talked like that and Mama and Daddy were just freaks?
When Jason got back from work Marsha was still in the tub so I had him come in the bathroom and I had her demonstrate her new found skill to him. He was helping me think of other 'th' words, one of them being 'teeth' which Marsha still said as 'teef' much to our dismay. Oh well I say, she has made a step in the right direction and we are so very proud of her for that!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Yin and Yang, all in stride...
Well for as wonderful of a day that yesterday was in my book, today has been the polar opposite.
Yesterday: M + I rode the bus over to an awesome coffee shop, Perk and Play, that morning. DH called me on my cell to tell me of an appointment with a car dealer. I asked him if he could pick us up because taking the bus would take too long and we would miss the appointment. So he picked us up, and we dealt directly with the owner of the place. He hooked us up with a Credit Union who gave us a better rate than what we were getting with USAA. Spent the afternoon getting the new account set up and M + I wandered around the dealership. She and I had fun looking at all the cars. Her favorite was a red convertible. Good taste my girl has ;)
Turns out, we were able to leave the lot with our 'new' car! It is a 2005 Honda Pilot EX-L. Steel Blue. Fully loaded. About the only things this SUV doesn't have are a built in GPS and DVD player for back seat passengers. It is beautiful and it is also now my primary vehicle! DH will use the Kia to commute to work.
Today: Woke up OK. Was up for around 10 minutes when DH informed me that our Kia's battery was dead again. No Honda for me which meant no play group like I was planning on for the Marshmallow Girl. He told me that he'd use it to take care of the mandatory stuff and try to have it available for me to use for the afternoon at least. So I called our new medical clinic in effort to make appointments for M + I later that day. Turns out their systems crashed and all the record filling that DH did last week was lost.
DH comes 'home' from his morning business and we try to get the Kia's battery going with the Honda. In the process of that, we both lock our keys in the Kia. We only have the key for the Honda in our hands at the moment. My purse is locked in there with my cell phone too. So I have nothing on me basically. DH got us up to our room and we have a call in to USAA for assistance. They rock. They will try to squeeze into the Kia and get the doors open, and if the battery doesn't hold charge we are having the Kia towed to a service station. Man, I hope the Kia isn't dying on us. I really hope just getting the battery replaced will make all right with it's world again.
Well, in the time it took me to write this blog, (much longer than the time it takes to read it!) USAA Contractors (or who ever) came out and got the Kia open and running. DH will take it to a service station to be fixed up hopefully for good. Well, I know it will need more work in the long run but you get my drift?
That's all for now! Crossing my fingers the afternoon will be better than this morning...
Yesterday: M + I rode the bus over to an awesome coffee shop, Perk and Play, that morning. DH called me on my cell to tell me of an appointment with a car dealer. I asked him if he could pick us up because taking the bus would take too long and we would miss the appointment. So he picked us up, and we dealt directly with the owner of the place. He hooked us up with a Credit Union who gave us a better rate than what we were getting with USAA. Spent the afternoon getting the new account set up and M + I wandered around the dealership. She and I had fun looking at all the cars. Her favorite was a red convertible. Good taste my girl has ;)
Turns out, we were able to leave the lot with our 'new' car! It is a 2005 Honda Pilot EX-L. Steel Blue. Fully loaded. About the only things this SUV doesn't have are a built in GPS and DVD player for back seat passengers. It is beautiful and it is also now my primary vehicle! DH will use the Kia to commute to work.
Today: Woke up OK. Was up for around 10 minutes when DH informed me that our Kia's battery was dead again. No Honda for me which meant no play group like I was planning on for the Marshmallow Girl. He told me that he'd use it to take care of the mandatory stuff and try to have it available for me to use for the afternoon at least. So I called our new medical clinic in effort to make appointments for M + I later that day. Turns out their systems crashed and all the record filling that DH did last week was lost.
DH comes 'home' from his morning business and we try to get the Kia's battery going with the Honda. In the process of that, we both lock our keys in the Kia. We only have the key for the Honda in our hands at the moment. My purse is locked in there with my cell phone too. So I have nothing on me basically. DH got us up to our room and we have a call in to USAA for assistance. They rock. They will try to squeeze into the Kia and get the doors open, and if the battery doesn't hold charge we are having the Kia towed to a service station. Man, I hope the Kia isn't dying on us. I really hope just getting the battery replaced will make all right with it's world again.
Well, in the time it took me to write this blog, (much longer than the time it takes to read it!) USAA Contractors (or who ever) came out and got the Kia open and running. DH will take it to a service station to be fixed up hopefully for good. Well, I know it will need more work in the long run but you get my drift?
That's all for now! Crossing my fingers the afternoon will be better than this morning...
Friday, March 20, 2009
Finally, something blog worthy!
Moving into a house has turned out to be a longer process than I anticipated. Despite growing up with a Dad who was a Realtor and Landlord, the many things that can go wrong with a house completely passed me by! At the initial inspection it was discovered that the winterization process was done incorrectly, and the pipes were leaking all over the place! People were sent in to fix it, and they didn't do it correctly the first time but they did the second time. The major appliances in the kitchen need to be repaired or replaced. There is a washer and dryer set already in the garage, and if those don't work it's not so big of a deal because we have our own. The garage door is a total wreck. It looks like someone backed into it. The door has a large dent on the outside and completely lost the tension spring. It is being held shut by a rope tied to the banister on the three stairs leading up to the house! With all these relatively little problems popping up it's been beginning to feel like we'd be destined to live in these hotel suites forever! =p
But today my wonderful, dear husband made some well placed calls and things are about to get moving, literally!
The garage door will be finished being fixed or replaced on next Tuesday. The final inspection is due for Wednesday. After the inspector has signed off that the fix was to his liking (which he will do no later than 30 Mar), the house can close by all parties' standards.
Bottom line, the house should be ready for us to move into in a little over two weeks! Oh, I was so elated to hear the news! My girl and I were at a park with our play group when DH texted me the updates. I honestly was beaming and squealing. =)
It's late, and we're moving to a different hotel tomorrow so I should head off and get some rest.
But today my wonderful, dear husband made some well placed calls and things are about to get moving, literally!
The garage door will be finished being fixed or replaced on next Tuesday. The final inspection is due for Wednesday. After the inspector has signed off that the fix was to his liking (which he will do no later than 30 Mar), the house can close by all parties' standards.
Bottom line, the house should be ready for us to move into in a little over two weeks! Oh, I was so elated to hear the news! My girl and I were at a park with our play group when DH texted me the updates. I honestly was beaming and squealing. =)
It's late, and we're moving to a different hotel tomorrow so I should head off and get some rest.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
spirituality
Today was Ash Wednesday. A typically somber, contemplative, yet renewing, occasion for Catholics. I was reminded of it yesterday when my Hawaiian friends mentioned it on Twitter. Tonight we went to dinner at the Olive Garden. I saw some people there with ashes on their forehead, quite large actually. It occurred to me that I didn't go to Mass nor did I even make an effort to make it to a Mass either. I haven't thought about what I'm going to give up for Lent. I could go on and on about the things I'm not doing in regards to my spiritual life, and make many lame excuses and weak justifications for why I haven't been to Mass consistently in close to three months. But I'm not going to do that.
Instead I'd like to share with you what I have been doing in a positive manner. I've been talking and trying to listen (the more important part) to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit at least 10 minutes per day. I am Googling Parishes in my new home and figuring out which buses get closest. I have been thinking about how I'm going to truly GIVE to my future Parish. I'm also thinking about the recent past and want to get to the bottom of why my Heavenly relationships are so lacking in fulfillment. I know for a fact all the fault is on me, so I need to change it! Not much, but that is what has been going on.
For those of you with young children, how do you share your Spirituality with them? Do you feel they are growing in the image you aim for them to? How involved is your family in Church activities? Do you attend Bible Study groups or other Faith enriching classes for yourself? Are you part of an 'extra curricular' Church group? How much time besides usual 'scheduled' worship do you spend doing Church related activities?
I'd really enjoy feedback. It would really help me with my growth and brainstorming. I believe thinking about it will help you too! In return for your talking to me about your positive Church experiences (even if you have a completely different Religion than I hold to!) I will commit to sharing with you some of my experiences and enriching activities as well.
This wasn't exactly how I thought my first Spiritual blog would turn out, but it is what was on my heart this evening. I suppose I thought I was going to start by writing my Spiritual biography. My 'testimony' if you will. I plan to write about that in the future.
Instead I'd like to share with you what I have been doing in a positive manner. I've been talking and trying to listen (the more important part) to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit at least 10 minutes per day. I am Googling Parishes in my new home and figuring out which buses get closest. I have been thinking about how I'm going to truly GIVE to my future Parish. I'm also thinking about the recent past and want to get to the bottom of why my Heavenly relationships are so lacking in fulfillment. I know for a fact all the fault is on me, so I need to change it! Not much, but that is what has been going on.
For those of you with young children, how do you share your Spirituality with them? Do you feel they are growing in the image you aim for them to? How involved is your family in Church activities? Do you attend Bible Study groups or other Faith enriching classes for yourself? Are you part of an 'extra curricular' Church group? How much time besides usual 'scheduled' worship do you spend doing Church related activities?
I'd really enjoy feedback. It would really help me with my growth and brainstorming. I believe thinking about it will help you too! In return for your talking to me about your positive Church experiences (even if you have a completely different Religion than I hold to!) I will commit to sharing with you some of my experiences and enriching activities as well.
This wasn't exactly how I thought my first Spiritual blog would turn out, but it is what was on my heart this evening. I suppose I thought I was going to start by writing my Spiritual biography. My 'testimony' if you will. I plan to write about that in the future.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
I want to shoot something!
Not in a homicidal way, I mean with my camera! I'm hoping I can 'sneak' out of the hotel room tomorrow while kiddo is watching TV with her daddy or something. To the quick passerby there's not much to shoot around here. It's an extended stay hotel with another one across the street and three story tall business buildings on the street as well.
But there's a whole new world of foliage to do macros on, a cute little diner a few minutes walk away, and maybe I could catch one of the squirrels. All I know is that I've been feeling tortured seeing my friends uploads onto flickr and the photoblog posts of other friends. It just hit me tonight really bad that I REALLY want to go out and do some photography! Even if it's only for half an hour.
We had dinner at my Aunt's again tonight. Just us three and her. One of my cousin's Golden Retrievers was visiting, as she does often, and she was such a lady! Camille is an older dog and greying on her muzzle. It made me very pleased that she didn't jump up on us or run around lots and bark. She has some Irish Setter in her, and her fur is longer and redder than the average Golden. I'd love to have a 'photoshoot' with her some day. What a pretty dog she is!
But there's a whole new world of foliage to do macros on, a cute little diner a few minutes walk away, and maybe I could catch one of the squirrels. All I know is that I've been feeling tortured seeing my friends uploads onto flickr and the photoblog posts of other friends. It just hit me tonight really bad that I REALLY want to go out and do some photography! Even if it's only for half an hour.
We had dinner at my Aunt's again tonight. Just us three and her. One of my cousin's Golden Retrievers was visiting, as she does often, and she was such a lady! Camille is an older dog and greying on her muzzle. It made me very pleased that she didn't jump up on us or run around lots and bark. She has some Irish Setter in her, and her fur is longer and redder than the average Golden. I'd love to have a 'photoshoot' with her some day. What a pretty dog she is!
Friday, February 13, 2009
hound in the hoody
This wasn't the dog I was referring to in my previous post. I tried to get a good shot of her, but she was camera shy! This one on the other paw, was snuggled into my hoody on my chest and lap for a good hour or so!
Yep, still alive ;)
Wow, it feels like eons since my last post! I was thinking that I'd take the opportunity to blog via email or my cell phone but life has been a whirlwind of colds, family visits, and car or airplane rides. Now we are a little more settled. We've arrived in Colorado, the 'new' home is almost officially ours, and we are semi-living in an extended stay suite until escrow on the house closes and the military ships our belongings to us. Our car has not been shipped yet so we are eating the cost of a rental for the time being.
The movers came on my Birthday, 27 Jan. I was hoping that I'd be able to 'sneak' out of the hotel room for one last get together with flickr friends but by the time we were done with the movers the meet up had already started, husband had a migraine, I was pooped and we still had to forage for dinner and get the girl to bed. So, I resigned myself to checking my contacts photostreams almost obsessively to see the fun I missed out on. Seems like they've been having a good turn out which makes me very happy for them. They are a wonderful bunch of folks and I will miss them dearly!
We arrived to Southern California haggard but happy. I had been feeling a cold coming on for a while. My voice had already completely disappeared and thank heaven for the extra adults around! I was able to crash on my parents couch and cat napped for what felt like three days straight! My daughter had a blast playing with Grandma and Grandpa. One of my brothers and nieces live with them too, and my nieces room was full of exploration possibilities. I loved being able to give my furbabies snuggles before I headed to bed and even feeding them and medicating Roofus was a joy. My Dad's coffee making skills have improved a tad, and I am happy for my Mom in that regard.
After a few days at my parents place, we borrowed one of their cars and drove a little ways north to visit my in-laws. We got a hotel up there but went over to their house every day and spent most of the days with them. Their house feels like a Zoo! They have several birds and a couple dogs, plus my Mother In Law's service dog. There is almost always skrawking, chirping, trilling, or the occasional barking to be heard and spoken over while at that house. It made me grin when my daughter started to help with the quieting of the avian. We will be inheriting an Umbrella Cockatoo after things are settled at the new house. I'm hoping for one of the Chihuahuas as well.
Yes, I'd love to have my own Zoo too! Of course acquiring more 'children' would likely make me put out resumes to Vet offices and Pet Stores to fund the needs of the kids, but mothering of any sort really does bring me much joy (most of the time).
The travel experience from CA to CO sucked for me. While running to catch our flight due to an ENTIRE flight crew butting ahead of us in the security line and adding 15 minutes which we didn't have in the first place to our wait, I tripped on my coat which was draped over my arms and fell on the hard as diamonds tile floor and banged up my knee. I was carrying my girl too, in effort to speed things up. I thank God that somehow I didn't crack her skull open, she just got startled. The only food I consumed that day was two small frosted cinnamon rolls, not even my usual coffee. By the time we were descending I had a splitting headache and threw up on a plane for my first time in 31 years of air travel. Props to my husband though- My man's got mad skillz with the seat pocket bag fetching and distribution!
Later that evening we headed over to my Aunt's house for a home cooked meal with her, my cousin, and her husband. It was just what we needed. We were all pretty tired from the day of travel but the meal cooked with love did my body and soul wonders! It was pot roast, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies, salad and rolls. YUMMY! They are all so excited to have us here, which is wonderful! They live about half an hour drive away from our future house which I think will be nice in so many ways.
Today we got to finally see the house in person. We totally love it! The basement is full size and we have such great plans for it! It looks like there are other Air Force families as the neighbors and the Realtor told us there were lots of kids in the area. The house is so close to being ours I can almost smell the fresh paint and Chem-Dry carpets!
Guess what we woke up to this morning?
SNOW! About one inch of it fell overnight and the high didn't get above freezing today so it's stuck around and it's looking like more's to come over the weekend. (sorry for the sideways picture) The girl had so much fun with it! We couldn't really stop to play because we had to meet with the Realtor and buy food to have at the hotel. She picked some up and got to catch snowflakes on her tongue though. She was so excited about it! I hope the enthusiasm will last, maybe I can develop her into a snow bunny and we can eventually go skiing together? My man's knees are thrashed so he wouldn't be able to join us. Boohoo.
Well, I'm all blogged out for the moment. Thanks for reading! I Hope to be writing more frequently again now.
The movers came on my Birthday, 27 Jan. I was hoping that I'd be able to 'sneak' out of the hotel room for one last get together with flickr friends but by the time we were done with the movers the meet up had already started, husband had a migraine, I was pooped and we still had to forage for dinner and get the girl to bed. So, I resigned myself to checking my contacts photostreams almost obsessively to see the fun I missed out on. Seems like they've been having a good turn out which makes me very happy for them. They are a wonderful bunch of folks and I will miss them dearly!
We arrived to Southern California haggard but happy. I had been feeling a cold coming on for a while. My voice had already completely disappeared and thank heaven for the extra adults around! I was able to crash on my parents couch and cat napped for what felt like three days straight! My daughter had a blast playing with Grandma and Grandpa. One of my brothers and nieces live with them too, and my nieces room was full of exploration possibilities. I loved being able to give my furbabies snuggles before I headed to bed and even feeding them and medicating Roofus was a joy. My Dad's coffee making skills have improved a tad, and I am happy for my Mom in that regard.
After a few days at my parents place, we borrowed one of their cars and drove a little ways north to visit my in-laws. We got a hotel up there but went over to their house every day and spent most of the days with them. Their house feels like a Zoo! They have several birds and a couple dogs, plus my Mother In Law's service dog. There is almost always skrawking, chirping, trilling, or the occasional barking to be heard and spoken over while at that house. It made me grin when my daughter started to help with the quieting of the avian. We will be inheriting an Umbrella Cockatoo after things are settled at the new house. I'm hoping for one of the Chihuahuas as well.
Yes, I'd love to have my own Zoo too! Of course acquiring more 'children' would likely make me put out resumes to Vet offices and Pet Stores to fund the needs of the kids, but mothering of any sort really does bring me much joy (most of the time).
The travel experience from CA to CO sucked for me. While running to catch our flight due to an ENTIRE flight crew butting ahead of us in the security line and adding 15 minutes which we didn't have in the first place to our wait, I tripped on my coat which was draped over my arms and fell on the hard as diamonds tile floor and banged up my knee. I was carrying my girl too, in effort to speed things up. I thank God that somehow I didn't crack her skull open, she just got startled. The only food I consumed that day was two small frosted cinnamon rolls, not even my usual coffee. By the time we were descending I had a splitting headache and threw up on a plane for my first time in 31 years of air travel. Props to my husband though- My man's got mad skillz with the seat pocket bag fetching and distribution!
Later that evening we headed over to my Aunt's house for a home cooked meal with her, my cousin, and her husband. It was just what we needed. We were all pretty tired from the day of travel but the meal cooked with love did my body and soul wonders! It was pot roast, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies, salad and rolls. YUMMY! They are all so excited to have us here, which is wonderful! They live about half an hour drive away from our future house which I think will be nice in so many ways.
Today we got to finally see the house in person. We totally love it! The basement is full size and we have such great plans for it! It looks like there are other Air Force families as the neighbors and the Realtor told us there were lots of kids in the area. The house is so close to being ours I can almost smell the fresh paint and Chem-Dry carpets!
Guess what we woke up to this morning?
SNOW! About one inch of it fell overnight and the high didn't get above freezing today so it's stuck around and it's looking like more's to come over the weekend. (sorry for the sideways picture) The girl had so much fun with it! We couldn't really stop to play because we had to meet with the Realtor and buy food to have at the hotel. She picked some up and got to catch snowflakes on her tongue though. She was so excited about it! I hope the enthusiasm will last, maybe I can develop her into a snow bunny and we can eventually go skiing together? My man's knees are thrashed so he wouldn't be able to join us. Boohoo. Well, I'm all blogged out for the moment. Thanks for reading! I Hope to be writing more frequently again now.
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