timelybeauty

Under Construction....

2012-01-01T10:10:00.002-06:00

As I said earlier changes afoot in my life so the ol' blogs got to keep up and change too. ☺ should have it all switched around in a couple of days....
not that anyone reads anymore with my sporatic postings as late...but that is one of the changes that is gonna happen...

Changes a brewing....

2011-11-15T15:06:00.002-06:00

Lots of changes are a brewing in my life right now....not sure I want to speak with specifics about them just yet on here...BUT...I will say this: some of the changes are my own doing and some were forced upon me. However, in either case, I think all the changes are going to provide a needed course correction for me. Actually, I think my life the last few years has been a course correction and that these changes are where I get to see the good results of that correction or, if you will, the budding of the fruits of my labours. One of those fruits? Courage. I can't quite say I have it yet but it is there, beginning to bud. Change is scary for me and the unknown is terrifying for me, yet I am looking forward with a completely terrified shaking in my boots self to what is coming. Strange...

why?

2011-09-16T22:40:00.002-05:00

Why is it that people ( myself included) do the things we do? I mean why, for instance, do we tear down others and their ideas? Maybe idea isn't the correct word...dream might fit better but then it isn't necessarily a dream it may just be a thought. Why must we point out the negative and minimize the positives?or compliment and then say but or don't you think this would be better? why not just say you look nice or that sounds like a fun idea? why add in but we really need to get you a hair cut or you glasses are crooked or but wouldn't it be dangerous to do it why not do this...?are we all such Eeyore's that we can't ever be Pollyanna? why is it that people can't see the beauty in things but always see the ugly or the bad in things? There is I dare say more things of beauty, goodness, and positive out there than we ( any of us) are seeing and commenting on. why is it that lately I want my soundtrack to be more of the hard angry stuff than the happy upbeat stuff? That might be strong again there hard angry is probably a bit darker than I want but lets just say I am leaning more toward the def leppard and not the Il Divo songs lately. I need to change my soundtrack to something upbeat and motivating but how? Maybe Pollyanna was right. Maybe all I need to do is play the "glad game" and find the beauty and the positive around me and share it with others. Maybe by forcing myself to find it I will start seeing it more easily and it will uplift me and my soundtrack and maybe...just maybe it will help someone else to do the same.The challenge will be to be sincere and honest and not a hypocrite as I find the silver lining the rainbows and the happy flowers of life. This is my challenge to myself this week: to find the good , the happy, the positive out there and share it with others.

.Music musings or affects

2011-08-25T22:30:00.003-05:00

On Sunday mornings I have to be to work much earlier than any other day so on my way I get to listen to Music and the Spoken Word with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. There is never a Sunday when I am not touched and uplifted by what I hear but occasionally it still manages to affect me in ways that surprise me. Sometimes it is a song they sing that I know they sang just for me. For example, during the Christmas season last year they sang a Christmas hymn that most don't know but is one of my favorites "Once in Royal David's City". Sometimes it is a story that is part of the Spoken Word section that touches me. this past Sunday it was a combination of both. In the spoken word part they talked of choosing to be happy or friendly because you never know how that might affect someone else but what struck me strongly is that is was choosing...choosing to be kind...choosing to be happy...choosing. What really affected me was the song they sung afterwards, mind you I found it strange that this song affected me so but it did, 76 trombones from The Music Man. I was literally moved to tears. After contemplating it for a bit I decided it had to be because Harold Hill and those who were his friends chose to believe chose to see chose to be confident and to be happy. Plus the music itself is powerful and strong and upbeat. It is music that never fails to bring a smile to me and get me pumped up and read y to go. Music is POWERFUL stuff. How does music affect you?

my life's soundtrack

2011-08-03T16:42:00.002-05:00

I admit it I am stealing this from a friend she did a post on this and it got me thinking so much I just had to steal it for my own. :) Those of you who know me know I wish life were a musical you know breaking out into song and dance and everyone joining in...it would make things so much more fun. SO that said I have obviously thought about what songs or types of songs would create my musical soundtrack. They are as varied and weird as I am. everything and everyone from classical symphonic music to Joe Scruggs to Def Leppard to George Strait to Sesame Street to The Mormon Tabernacle Choir to...well you get the idea. So to name some names here...Somewhere over the rainbow probably by at least three different artists would be in there, It's not easy being green, All By Myself ( Il Divo version), Step that Step, Cheeseburger in paradise, Rubber Ducky, Dancing Queen, Pour some Sugar, Battle hymn of the republic ( is it bad to go from def leppard to a hymn...?), My Life, Handel's Dream,Once in Royal Davids city, Amazing grace, The Morning Breaks, Puppy Love, Soldier of Love, I'll Make a man out of you, Reflection, Dance with me tonight, several parody songs like Weird Al music and music from Top Secret, lots of eighties stuff, swing/big band music, Bruckner, Beethoven, Seven nights in Eire, Suzy Snowflake, I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas, late last night, oh by the way, It wasn't his child,...and the list goes on. I have always thought it was almost mean that as much as I love music I have no talent for it and almost no skill to learn it but maybe if I did I wouldn't love it as much? what are some of the songs of your soundtrack?

First Aid3

2011-03-12T22:48:00.003-06:00

OK last one or two or three we shall see just how many stories I get into this post.
First is about that same dirt bike from the other day. Only difference is now it is several years later, the bike no longer has brakes ( I don't mean they don't work I mean they are no longer even part of the bike), we are living in Malaysia at the top of a hill and I am now probably 11 years old. So on this beautiful sunny day I decide to go for a bike ride, somewhere in my brain I thought it would be fun to take the dirt bike out with no shoes on and go see my friends who lived at the bottom of the hill. The road was pretty steep but their driveway was twice as steep. As I am zooming down the road I wave at my Dad who is shocked and I am sure a bit worried at seeing his youngest zooming down the street with no shoes on and no brakes. I remember not being worried until I hit their driveway and then trying to figure out it ditching the bike and wiping out would be worse than hitting the back of the carport. Don't think I made a decision think it was made for me as the carport wall and my front tire then my head hit it. I remember my friends being out swimming in their concrete fish pond and laughing at me ( I think I was laughing too) it had to have looked pretty funny seeing this grinning idiot screaming towards a cement wall! Their Dad was outside too and he told them to stop laughing and then tried to see if I was alright. A scrap or two on my nose and forehead that were washed and alcohol applied to and I was out playing with my friends. Guess I am hardheaded in more than one way. I don't even recall a headache or any soreness at all later.
Now I will end with not with the final story because there are many many more but with the one that I think trumps all others. Please note if I had been living in the United States at the time of this next incident the first aid required would have been lots more but because of the fact that I was living in Singapore it was definitely an easier recovery and treatment. My Dad and were going to take our Dog Candy for a walk I was about 5. Dad and I had just walked through and closed the gate to our driveway when a local man and his monkey ( a monkey used to climb fruit trees and toss the fruit down) came walking by, Dad being the friendly fellow that is was starting chatting with the man. While they were chatting the monkey climbed a tree and I was over by this cement block/bench thing that divided our driveway from the ditch next to the tree the monkey climbed doing whatever 5 year olds do on such things. I guess the monkey got upset that there wasn't any fruit on the tree or something because all of a sudden he is leaping down onto and biting my knee. I don't recall screaming or crying I do recall limping over to dad and him telling me to go inside and show my Mom. Mom was on the phone and said she had to go because her daughter was bleeding. It was a Sunday so she called the doctor at home and told him I just got bit by a monkey. The doctor asked her if it was deep enough for stitches Mom said she thought she could stop the bleeding and all with some butterfly bandages but what about rabies and such? The Doctor said there wasn't any rabies in Singapore so no need to worry about that and was I up on my tetanus? I was and so no visit to the doctor or hospital. Here in the US it would have ended up with all kinds of shots and stitches but as it was a mothers love and care was all that was needed.
write for slice of life

slice of life "First Aid" 2

2011-03-09T16:13:00.003-06:00

So here I am for the second time in as many days when I haven't posted twice in a month in months! I guess Texasblu really got my writing juices flowing with this topic!
This story takes place in Singapore when I was about 6 years old. I love my brother and back then I worshipped him. He is 7 years older than I am and I adored anytime he would spend with me. So one day we go for a bike ride on one dirt bike. Me sitting on the handle bars him peddling. Everything is going well for what, in my memory, seems like hours but I am sure it is really more like 10 minutes or so, when my brother reminds me to not look down or put my feet in the tire...so...naturally what do I do? I looked down as I put my feet into the tire. The bike flipped we went flying. don't remember anything more than road rash and scraps as a result for either of us but by then I think both of our heads had given up on concussions and just developed cushioning on the inside and helmets on the outside. I believe when we went home it was a good washing and alcohol or iodine on the cuts. The next case of road rash was also in Singapore courtesy of a friends bike with two flat tires. We were biking from her house to mine to get my bike. I was on her sisters bike with the two flat tires all was going well when a BIG lorrie ( TRUCK) came barrelling down the road so I swerved off the road onto the gravel side and the bike didn't like that at all so down it and I went. I barely got my leg out of the road before the truck went roaring on down the road past me. I was very glad the only injury was a bad case of road rash on my leg and half my face! Soap water and Iodine to the rescue again!

Once again this is a "Slice of Life" post

slice of life first aid

2011-03-08T12:54:00.002-06:00

Well, Texasblu did it she got me to write on here again. Her "Slice of Life" this week is First Aid. I have lots of first aid stories. I am a klutz I guess or maybe just don't have good depth perception but regardless makes for several moments in my life I wish I could rewind and watch from the other side to see how the heck did I do that! SOME of the moments really aren't due to anything I did or didn't do, SOME are due to what others did, but MOST are all on me and my clumsiness. I think I will try to write about several over the next few days just for fun and exercising of my mind.
So which first...?
How about one that really was just a weird accident of no one's making? my Broken toe.
When I was living in Malaysia the school would have what they called intersession for the middle schoolers (7&8th grades) where for a week you would get to go away to some "exotic" local with some of the other students. There were about 10 or so locals to choose from you picked your top three and somehow the school placed all of us in the varying places. It was a fun week. It was the year I was in 8th grade I can't remember where I went might have been Port Dickson I know it was a beach. anyway there were bunk beds, I slept on the top bunk. On the last night there ( pretty sure it was the last night but we may have been there one more night) I...umm...was sleeping dancing and tripped over the bar that is there to keep you in and fell off the bunk! I did not wake up! the others heard me fall ( or rather land) and came and helped me back up into my bunk the teacher there ( can't remember her name) told me later she was amazed that i didn't wake up with the fall. About 20 minutes later I woke up in tears trying to figure out why my toe was hurting so bad. I went and woke up the teacher and she told me what had happened and I can't remember what we did that night but maybe some ice (?) but the knowledge of why it was hurting may have been enough to calm me down so I could sleep. I do remember the dream I was having which is why i say I was sleep dancing not walking in the dream I was boogieing my little 8th grade heart out! Amazingly I still remember enough of that dream that I could tell you with whom I was dream dancing. You know all they can do for a broken toe? Tape it to the one next to it strange as it sounds that really did help with the pain. That is until my P.E. teacher didn't believe me and made me run track told me if I didn't she would fail me! Then the vice principal ( who was at the intersession with me) saw me running track and asked her why I was running with a broken toe she told him she didn't believe I had a broken toe he said he was there when it happened and I had a doctors note and I most certainly was NOT to be running and it would NOT affect my grade. Ruined me for running though I still run on the outside of that foot and hate running. Took rhythm and dance for my P.E. credit the next year. :)
go read the other first aid slices of life.

2010-12-13T00:31:00.003-06:00

Not that anyone is reading anymore or ever was but just in case....I don't have much of a life to write about and anyone who may care about it is part of my life either in person or elsewhere o nthe web so for now I will stop this...maybe in the new year I will exciting news but for now the only news is I lost my job and I am looking for a new one so far no luck... be back next year

Slice of life:SNAKES

2010-08-26T10:42:00.002-05:00

well, I have entirely too many snake stories....which to tell? do I talk about feeding king cobras in our front yard in Malaysia? or about nearly stepping on a slithering friend there? or maybe about keeping the Cotton mouth snake out of the daycare I worked at and yet on the proprty so it could be captured? or about shooing a snake out of the daycare in the early hours of the morning? or about...? see? so many stories to tell... I think I one I like best for this post is the fun one.
( I know Texasblu your thinking "fun one?")
When we lived in Kuala Lumpur (KL) our house was in front of a piece of jungle that was surrounded by our house and several others in such a way that is would never (easily) be able to have a house in it. Across the street was a large area of jungle so our yard was the highway to and from these two bits of jungle. This highway saw all sorts of traffic...monitor lizards( HUGE ONES) were constantly moving through as were monkeys, birds, reptiles off shapes and sizes and KING COBRAS. I remember playing with friends and we spotted a king cobra, we decided the smart ( read fun/dangerous) thing to do would be to go capture a frog and bring it to the snake to see if it was hungry. SO one of us ( not me but not remembering who) watched the snake while the rest searched and found a suitable frog to sacrifice. ☺ Once we found it we took it over to the snake and placed it close enough for the snake to grab and eat if it was hungry. sometimes the snake wasnot hungry ( yes we did this more than once) but I remember one time when it was and it was the COOLEST thing to watch thesnake strike, pull the frog in and dislocate its jaw and then very slowly move thefrog down its body.
Disclaimer here: I have the utmost respect for nature and as long as it stays in nature we are all happy but once a snake or any other wild thing comes into my territory I will be ridding my space of it. I don't believe that snakes make good pets so don't anyone ever give me one K? this is a slice of life post

go check out the other snake stories

dancing

2010-08-02T16:18:00.004-05:00

Slice of Life this week is dancing... I immediatly thought of Gene Kelly and Singing in the rain...but that is singing not dancing so then my brain went to Shall we Dance from The King and I. In searching for the clip I came across this one too from Sesame Street so for giggles I am putting it on here as well...enjoy!

Ok now that the fun part is over you get my writing... ☺

I love dancing! Always have if it wasn't for my lack of singing ability I would go through life as a musical. Wouldn't that be fun to tango, waltz, and cha-cha your way through life? Oh I would also disco, two-step and line dance my way through....

ok so ONE more video but come on! It's Ferris! Dancing makes life fun...wether you are dancing in the kitchen while cooking, dancing in the halls or dancing down the road life is more fun with a little boot scootin boogie or salsa added in for flavor and energy so in the words of Ren Mc Cormack..."Lets Dance"

This another slice of life click to see others who joined in...

Friends

2010-07-28T11:13:00.006-05:00

Friends come and go and then come back into our lives. Some friends you grow up with, some you grow with. There are friends you can call at midnight and ones you can knock on their door at midnight. There are friends briefly flash through your life bringing joy and laughter for just a moment before they (or you) move onto a path that leads away from you. Some friends are family by blood , others are family by choice. I was going to share some stories about one such friend who is family by choice but she beat me to it over on her blog blessingsrealized. My problem then became what to say...so here goes...
I have friends that I have known for decades and others I met more recently but be they old or new the ones I cherish are the ones that I have "known" forever. The ones from grade school days whom I recently found again on Facebook where I never would have been if it hadn't been for a blogging world friend that I will one day meet in person. I love catching up with them even if it is through silly little statements and games. The friends from high school who knew me when I was....um...well let's just say they knew me when and still seem to like me now ☺ then there are the friends who others introduced me to so we could be friends because they thought we would be good for each other and help each other. Pinkie over at blessing realized is one of those. I had known her parents for a while and had probably met her before but she is 7 years younger than I and so when I might have met her I was in my early 20's so she was just a kid ☺she told some good stories about our friendship on her blog but one she missed was one that involved two other friends that I have talked about on here before baseballguy and vetboy. We were over at baseballguys place for his traditional gingerbread house decorating party a fun evening to say the least. However, someone had brought some root beer to the party when Pinkie poured herself some and took a sip. After her sip, she said it tasted gross and handed me her cup for me to confirm that it tasted bad. What do I do? I take a sip! To me that is the kind of friendship we have, one where we support one another even if it means we taste gross things.
To quote a poem by Edwin Markham
He drew a circle that shut me out-
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had wit to win:
we drew a circle and took him in!

That is how some of my best and longest friendships from high school ( truly from all the time periods of my life but high school was particularly rough) were I drew a circle and then someone drew a new one and took me in. Open hearts and minds is how friendships form and open hearts and minds is how they last. To all my friends, from whatever era, from whatever place and however we met... I love you all. I could write forever and not come close to all the stories that need telling on this one so I am stopping here. maybe I will revisit this topic another time... in the mean time check out the other posts on this "slice of life"

this and that, gardens and limbs....

2010-06-24T12:23:00.004-05:00

Lots has been going on but then again not much happening...☺

we had a salt garden growing for a few days..remember growing those as kids?

we have a visitor for a couple of weeks. We are watching Skipper for CP's aunt while she is away.

My garden hasn't produce the way I had hoped it would but my watermelon and squash both have blooms so there is hope yet...☺

oh and I woke up yesterday mornign at 3:30 to find this in my bedroom:

yup that is a tree limb that decided to spear the roof and ceiling in my room. It was about 2 feet off of my bed... it is tarped and awaiting the final repairs now...

video

2010-04-15T00:01:00.003-05:00

well lets see if we can get this to upload tonight... if it does we went out to eat at Wild Ginger and this is at their Hibachi table...

WATERMELONS!!

2010-04-14T11:45:00.003-05:00

Well, watermelon plants anyway...☺ so here is a video of what I did this morning

Need to get better at this again...

2010-04-13T22:37:00.004-05:00

I think facebook has stolen me! I really need to fight the urge to put everything there because there are just details that can't be expressed in the alloted space. Though it is so much easier to post pictures with my new droid phone on there. Just open up the fb app and click take picture, point, shoot and send.

Been busy with the garden. Been able to harvest lots of spinach and lettuce, hoping to keep being able to by having some of the plants shaded by my tomato plants and by putting some later crops in but I know with lettuce I may be sparse during the hot summer.☼ hopefully the berries will be keeping me busy then. Have planted strawberries in a topsy-turvy planter and at a friends we have blue and black berry plants in, so heres hoping to be doing some canning this summer ( or at least a cobbler or two). My tomato plants are doing well have a few blooms on a couple of them and the others are looking strong and healthy. Getting ready to put in a watermelon mound tomorrow and planted a couple of cucumbers today. So that means that I have: tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, onions, garlic, squash, strawberries, cucumbers, watermelons, basil, cilantro, thyme, and several mints thus far in the garden. Thinking about doing some mustard greens, carrots, and beans as well. posting a few pictures and a video as well.

Old Man WInter's last kick?

2010-02-24T08:39:00.003-06:00

Hopefully, the snow and winter weather we got yesterday was the final kick of winter for us. I don't mind snow...it is beautiful but round these parts it is messy and makes the roads scary. The snow falling yesterday was actually perfect for me because I was off work and could just enjoy it. ☺ The really neat thing was they were big fluffy flakes like what you see in Utah or Colorado not the anemic flakes we normally get here.

I am excited for spring. I have my garden(s) almost completely planned out and I am itching to get them going. Have some spinach and lettuce going right now ( you can see the little guys in the video above) which hopefully means in a few weeks I can start getting my salad from my garden. ☻

What I have been cooking up lately

2010-02-15T21:17:00.005-06:00

this post is going to be mainly pictures...
today I baked the sugar cookies I made on Saturday but didn't get around to cutting out and baking till today. I made two different doughs a gluten-free one and a regular one.

since Valentine's Day is over I decided to do some Mardi Gras hearts as well.☺

My friend who I made the gluten free ones for said they tasted great. ☼ I have more of both doughs left so I think tomorrow I will make some more...wish I could figure out how to make a tiger for Chinese New Year's...

I am teaching myself how to cake decorate...these are some of my practice sheets of leaves and branches.

this is a cake I practiced on...☺didn't really have anythign to decorate the center with so...Hi it was.

One of my favorite things is baking bread. I have fun adding flavors and extras to the basic recipe. Fooling around with things to get better texture and just to give extra nutrition kick to the bread.

award...promised post

2010-01-16T22:29:00.003-06:00

ok here is the deal...I made a promise so I am doing this tonight! Luv ya TexasBlu! I received this award from TexasBlu...The recipient of said award must list 10 things that makes them happy. In no particular order as trying to order them would be more difficult than thinking of them was.

1. Sunshine and azure blue skies butterflies fluttering

2. Happy flowers...the ones that bloom at odd or unexpected times...bring a little brightness and a smile to me.

3. friends who remember friends who forget ;)

4. helping someone to have a good or better day

5. my job....I love what I do even if it is stressful right now and sometimes I forget to "have fun" doing it I do love it and the people I work with.

6. my puppy and the add on pups they are so loving and fun.

7. baking

8. reading a good book

9. music...there are specific songs that do more than others for me depending on the moment and what I need... like "somewhere over the rainbow", "the Battle hymn of the republic" "Step That step" "pour some Sugar on Me" various others including all types and time periods. Music makes me happy. :)

10. spending time doing something with a friend and that isn't limited to physically being in the same place it can be that we are separated by thousands of miles but are "together" doing something and conversing about it or life. love cell phone and internet chat for this reason being together without being together.

Supposed to pass this on to ten others...sadly not sure who still reads this who hasn't already done this... so some ideas... Joy, tanya, carla, teresa, andrew, diana...rest of you I think already have been tagged to do this if not and you want to please be my guest. if you don't have a blog FB...

the changes of life

2010-01-14T11:32:00.002-06:00

Funny thing happened about 4 hours after I last posted on here...I got a new job!!! It was a shock to say the least. I was out to lunch with a friend on my day off when CP called and told me to get over to his work and fill out the paper work he had just fired someone. Silly me I thought it would just be an application... instead I ended up working about three hours that day and working both the new job and the old that weekend. The new job is as a line cook at The Caddy Shack which is the restaurant at the golf course in Walden. At the beginning ( and still at times) I felt totally unable to do the job of course that was complicated by the fact that during that first weekend I was working 15-18 hour days between the jobs and getting maybe an hour or two a night of sleep. sleep deprivation can do all kinds of things to your perspective. Been at the new job for almost a month now. I am learning lots and getting better and faster ( though CP might not agree on the faster part) Still not completely thinking of everything and the last two weeks Wednesdays have been horrible in a good way, that is if horrible can be good ☺. Last week it was a lack of prep on my part that did it. None of the customers knew there were issues in the kitchen so in the end it was ok and I learned a lesson in prepping properly. Last night or properly yesterday afternoon I was scrambling eggs ( a case of them) in the industrial mixer when I went to turn it off I accidentally turned it up and the eggs exploded out of the mixer and all over the place there were eggs everywhere!!! I am sure in the not distant future I will be able to laugh at it but yesterday instead of a comedy it was a tragedy. Everyone else had a good laugh at it. It tainted the rest of my day though not in the least because cleaning it up took a good 45 minutes of my timed and put me behind on my list of things to do. Which gave CP more fodder for teasing and more reason for singing his favorite song..."I'm doing everything". The only thing I wish is that we had caught on tape the egg explosion. I love the challenge of my new job I am learning lots and growing in it.
On a more personal note... I bought the first course of Wilton's cake decorating class so since I don't have time to attend a class right now I going to try to self teach. will be posting my efforts.

the randomness that is a catch up post :)

2009-12-17T06:22:00.003-06:00

went to visit my mom in New Mexico. This is a picture from Old Town

Been baking a lot lately this is rye

white bread

Going for walks and visiting with a friend from Hummingbird days allows our pups to play too!

Thought I had pictures or video from the Def Leppard concert but they are lost on my computer somewhere. the concert was AWESOME!!!
work has been up and down with the stress/fun factor but I still enjoy my job especially on the days when I get to do more line cook duties than dish washing but that said I LOVE the days when I can do nothing but one or the other. It gets to be a bit stressful when I have to do double duty and cook and do the dishes. I wish I had had the time to get pictures during the tournament in October alas there was barely time to stop much less be a tourist with a camera!With the baking I am doing I am hoping to get good enough to start a business selling my wares online and such.

Thanksgiving day at work there was a buffet and I got to be bananas foster lady and be the "action" station flambeing the bananas. Was a lot of fun! unfortunately everyone was so busy no pics from that either. :(
ife is good and busy.

place holder

2009-12-16T09:08:00.004-06:00

I promise tonight when I get home from work I will be posting lots and lots of stuff. I have written several posts but never can get them out of my brain and onto here. here is a teaser pic. one of the stained glass windows done in memorial of my Dad.

Ramblings of catching up...

2009-08-20T09:16:00.003-05:00

Guess I should update this before 2 months have flown by...
I moved. that took over my life for most of the month of July I still have a few things to unpack and I guess a few pictures to hang but I am basically settled in now. My sweet puppy is enjoying life here as she gets to hang out with CP's pups everyday. They have a ton of fun playing and romping. It is nice being here also because there is space for a garden. I started planting the fall garden yesterday in a few weeks we should be able to get our salad fresh from the garden. :) I still need to find room for the beans and broccoli plus need to locate some kale, mustard greens and collard greens. The compost we started making last year is absolutely gorgeous looks like we bought bagged stuff and smells very earthy and clean ( in a dirt kind of way) I am excited to see the garden develop. Went to see Def Leppard last night. It was AWESOME! will post more on that later I have some video from it. Also have lots of pictures to post. I promise it won't be another 6 weeks before I post again. :)

Catching up

2009-06-29T13:07:00.003-05:00

Lots has been happening...too much to go into many details so quickly...
WORK: was a little sad after CP quit ( and a lot stressful) but things have settled down into a somewhat normal pattern again. Not as much fun in the kitchen there are no flying objects or water balloons but we all basically work well together so it is pleasant with a dash or two of fun thrown in. I got a promotion of sorts and a corresponding pay raise. I now work as a line cook and as a dishwasher. On a couple of days I go in and work only the line with another dishwasher being there.
HEALTH: had a scare a few weeks ago and thought I was developing pneumonia again but it ended up being allergy induced bronchitis. Saw my weight loss surgeon a few weeks ago and had lost another 7 1/2 lbs! glad we got over the hump and I am losing again the last pounds have been a booger to get off.
PERSONAL: I am moving. The Apartment was just too expensive to continue living there even though it's proximity to work and all was nice and did add years to my cars life I just needed to find some where cheaper. I am moving north a little bit to Willis. CP has a room he rents out and was available for me to so I am in the process of moving my things up to his place and in the process we are doing home improvement stuff. We have installed a new bathroom sink and cabinet ( I have pictures will do a picture post later), carpet cleaning, drape and blind cleaning, we got a new propane grill, are in the process of repairing a living room wall, painting the bathroom, got a new thermostat, and have done various lawn mower repairs. The lawn mower deserves some special attention. The repairs and getting the parts to repair were not all that exciting or challenging but finding the missing screw was a fun 2 hour adventure to many home repair/automotive stores and in the end we ended up finding a screw at home to use.
Right now I am sitting under our new canopy in our new chairs listening to the birds and nature and music from CP's playlist while CP reads the dogs chase squirrels and sleep at our feet. It is very relaxing and pleasant. The Brisket is slowly cooking and though it is still hot in south Texas I am loving being outside enjoying the shade and occasional breeze.
For fun and to celebrate CP's birthday we drove over to Fiesta Texas and I can now say that in the past 5 months I have been on more rides than in the previous 35 years added together! I managed to do most of the rides without incident . I did get over heated and had to sit out one ride but once I got cooled off and re-hydrated I was able to go on that ride with CP. I have a few pictures and one video from that day I will post on the photo post later. ( oh by later I mean like Thursday I doubt I will get to it today)

2009-05-19T00:26:00.003-05:00

picture time! Here are some pictures from work...

FM cleaning behind the stove. If you look closely you can see the filters are gone from the hood. We were washing them. It is amazing how greasy they get in just a few days!

Jelly Bean hefting a very heavy trash bag into a very full dumpster for me on Mothers day. Thanks JB!

And here are some random pictures....

the pups on the way to the lake to go swimming

that little speck there? That's Cash

My how they have grown! Only way for my sweet pup to appear bigger than they are is for her to on the couch! LOL! They are now more than 3 times her weight!

relaxing in the sun!

OK not so random those were all puppy pics! Thought I had some others but evidently I haven't been taking many pictures of other things lately.

I do have an adorable picture of vetguys baby but want to be sure it is OK with them before I post it on here. I had a great time today after my doctors appointment ( lost 4 more pounds!!) visiting with vetguys wife and playing with their baby girl for a while. It was nice to visit with her we don't see each other very often at all. I also stopped by and saw hummer at her work. It was great to visit with her as well. Some days I just get to visit and chat with a lot of people and then other times I go days and never talk to a single person outside of work. I even went visiting tonight and saw rabbit girl. It is sometimes fun to not be isolated but then sometimes I like being alone. Today was a sociable day for me, tomorrow the grouchy hermit may return! :)

2009-05-18T17:16:00.004-05:00

So very disappointed in the movie. SIGH! Was expecting a lot I guess but The De Vinci Code was so well done I just thought the same people would do Angels and Demons as well but they didn't. It was not a BAD movie you must understand I can quote the book. I love the book. Maybe I am too close to the book and its story to back off from it enough to love the movie. I don't know. All I know is I was disappointed in the movie.

teaser

2009-05-14T21:48:00.003-05:00

Been a while since I posted and lots has happened! But this is a teaser post! I know I AM mean. For those who don't know...CP quit last week so my week and weekend at work was ghastly!
but at the same time lead to some decisions and progress so...but more on that later.
I would post more but I am going to the midnight ( actually 12:01) showing of Angels and Demons so I must be off in a few minutes. I know I AM INSANE but I rarely do the first day and even more rarely the midnightish showing and this is one I have been counting down to. Hope it is worth it.
Off to the movies!

I WON!!!

2009-05-01T17:37:00.004-05:00

OK not really as exciting as I made it sound but for me I am TOTALLY excited. At work they occasionally have concert tickets available so you can put your name for a drawing and I WON!!! I won tickets to Def Leppard also appearing with them will be Poison and Cheap Trick. I have wanted to see Def Leppard since like 1985 or so. AND CP won tickets to CrueFest so August is gonna be one concert filled month! So for your listening enjoyment ( or not) I have changed up my music on here...

2009-04-30T09:54:00.002-05:00

yeah it worked! I have managed to get my videos from my phone to here! So let the video posts begin! Poor you! Actually I won't be doing a whole bunch of really old pointless ones but a few are coming from the past year so enjoy...
here is one of my sweet pup swimming a few weeks ago it was amazing! Especially as when we went to Galveston this past summer she let me carry her out in the water and then promptly swam back to shore so to see her get in thewater on her own and swim around was AWESOME!

testing...we have video...I hope!

2009-04-30T09:41:00.002-05:00

This is a video itook a couple of weeks ago when CP and I boiled some crawfish at his place.

Easter Monday Fun

2009-04-15T21:06:00.005-05:00

Monday was a gorgeous day! After a very busy work weekend it was very nice to have a couple of days to relax and even nicer that those days were perfect weather days. It has been nice enough that I have been able to sleep with my windows open and be very comfortable. So...back to Monday.CP and I hung out for a bit in the morning with him power washing his house and me taking care of the tomato and pepper plants.

Some pictures of the the plants...see the little jalapeno?

Beef Steak tomato growing nicely and getting bigger.

Cp power washing...

The tomatoes had some bugs on them so I cleaned off the leaves that had been infected, did a little weeding, and then later on treated for the bugs on the tomato and peppers plants. I got some cilantro to plant but did get to it on Monday hopefully I will get it planted soon. Then we will be able to make our own pico.

While we were busy working the pups were busy playing ...

After lunch we went for a nature walk over in the area we cleaned up a few weeks ago. I am happy to report that the area has remained clean. At the beginning of the walk my sweet pup decided to go off on her own and lost track of us so we went back to find her I was searching the area I seen her go wandering off in when CP tells me she was in the jeep! She had evidently realised that was the best place to wait for our return. After that she stuck close to us. We wondered around one trail till it ended at a stream. and then another one till we waded into the lake. We can call it a nature walk not only because we were out in nature but because we saw some nature. One was dead (armadillo) but it is STILL nature. The other, try as I might I couldn't get the pups to leave so I could get a picture of it but was definitely rather cool. It was a dung beetle rolling a dung ball. Before I could snap a picture the pups had scared it into hiding. :(

armadillo bleached white

three pups on the trail

My sweet pup actually got in the water of her own accord and swam out to where we had waded I was so excited! When we went to the beach last summer i had to carry her out and then she would swim right back to shore. Monday she got in the water swam out to us and then hung out swimming for a bit before swimming back to shore. YEAH!!!!

Easter

2009-04-13T00:22:00.003-05:00

Hope everyone had a good Easter. Mine was tiring but I think all went well the food I got to get tastes of was delicious. My major problem today was trying to stay out of the weeds and smile at the same time. When I don't smile CP has this thing that I am mad or something I am not but I am working hard to keep up and just don't think to smile when I am concentrating. Take now for instance I am not smiling but I am happy and I am not having to concentrate through needing to go to the restroom, being hungry, and my back aching from repetitive twisting that i must do to do dishes. all that said I was angry or upset or even unhappy I was just busy, hungry, in pain and needing to potty ( badly) smiling was a thought WAY down on my list! I have been aware of this "flaw" in me for a time and try very hard to overcome it but at times I lapse back into type and forget to smile. I do not like the fact that CP told me not to do the floors so since they most likely won't get done on Tuesday (we are closed Mondays) as I am off and he told me not to do them Saturday and I only got the back half done on Friday by Wednesday they will be VERY nasty. They did get swept today...
Saturday night was a good night we got to play real restaurant in that most of the 50 or so all came with in about an hours time. It was a good night I think.

Again hope everyone had a great day. Here are some pictures...

here come Peter Cotton tail hopping down the bunny trail....

2009-04-11T11:16:00.004-05:00

HAPPY EASTER

Last saturday was the first night of Saturday dinners for us at work. Up till now we have been open till 7 with no dinner menu but now on Saturdays only we are open for dinner with a wonderful dinner menu. It has been a bit stressful not knowing what the response would be how many would come and such. Reservations are taken but not required last week we had 18 reservations and ended up serving around 35. As of yesterday afternoon we had 20 for tonight.some pictures from last week. On really great thing about this is Tbone is back!!!

Since it means a really long day for CP he has brought the pups to me on his way in to work both weeks. They have A LOT of fun playing with my puppy and seeking out anything paper to destroy! My house is definitly getting all excess paper taken out and the needed paper put out of their reach! they also get walking on leashes lessons. They are getting better at least now they go up and down the stairs without complaint or being carried. One of these times I am going to have to some one to take a picture of me trying to walk all three pups! Iam sure i look like the crazy dog lady of something.
Tomorrow being Easter we are having an Easter Buffet. Should be long but fun day. Hope everyone gets to celebrate however you enjoy most.

Bluebonnets

2009-04-04T11:59:00.005-05:00

CP has been teaching me to drive a standard...well I guess now that he's taught me, he is letting me practice driving a standard. The other day we went out driving and found some bluebonnets nearby...

anyone know what these are?

Tomato Plants

2009-04-04T11:50:00.003-05:00

Goodness I have been remiss lately in posting.

To answer a couple of questions in comments...not sure why mE thought it was my birthday that doesn't come around till October...? but thanks for t he birthday wishes anyway :)

as to the lone tomato plant photo it was a photo of CP and mine roma tomato with baby tomato :) and today I post pictures of the other tomatoes and the babies on them...

OK this is not a tomato! It's a jalapeno with little baby peppers on it!

Spring is here

2009-03-21T11:54:00.005-05:00

Spring is here in full force. The wildflowers are poppimng up all over our highways ( Thank you Lady bird Johnson), trees are budding out and blooming, birds are chirping, Florida and Arizona have lots of baseball going on...yup spring is here. So time to de-clutter my spaces both literal and virtual spaces are going to be throughly cleaned out and spruced up over the next few weeks. Some of the things on my to do list? Purge my emails, update and redesign my blogs, cleanup my favorites to whatreally are my favorites, clean out my storage areas so that only what I use is in them everything else to be thrown away, given away or sold to the highest bidder.

One thing I need to de-clutter is my mind I have soooo many things on it I need to organise it and get a plan or two in place to accomplish it all.

One thing that has been on it is pictures. I have all these pictures I have wantedto d oposts abotu and get on here but haven't had time to do the write ups so you miss the pictures...so today I am getting that task done by putting the pictures on here with limited descriptions if you want more about any particular one just comment and ask... here goes...

They've gotten sooo big!

peace and quiet

Happy Mardi Gras!

They lied! It wasn't the last box!

Rodeo with CP

2009-03-07T00:38:00.005-06:00

So here is the promised post about what CP and I did at the rodeo…unfortunately I can’t get to the video yet. I have discovered the problem and will hopefully be getting it fixed here in the next week or so till then the pictures will have to do. Most of the pictures are from the carnival I had only taken one at the rodeo itself when I discovered that I had zooming capabilities on my phones video so switched over to video. On the plus side of that is that there is at least one embarrassing photo of me in the group…but more on that later. So we did not just go and see the rodeo and Alan Jackson we went and did just about everything they had to offer. We got there about 10:30 after having some adventures with the H.O.V. lane ( we stayed on it a bit too far and ended up driving through downtown a bit while we weaved our way through one-way streets trying to get to where we needed to be…a freeway any freeway would do) After wandering around the not yet open carnival we found our way to the cutting horse championship I found it quite amazing how talented the horses were I think that the horse and it instincts and talent were more at play in there then the ability of the cowboy or girl. That was one event that had some really flashy fun chaps being worn. Wish I had thought to get out my camera…we wandered around the exhibition halls looking at all the venders and checking out several of the more educational ones. Spent some time watching a milking demonstration done the modern way with the vacuum pump.

We learned that a cow can produce 5 gallons of milk a day for about 300 days and can have a calf a year for about 15 years or so. CP was wondering what happened with the calf did the cow both nurse and get milked or was the calf taken away and if so what was the calf fed? So after the demonstration we went up and asked. We were told that the calf was taken away because a calf only nurses for about 1 to 1 ½ gallons a day so they were allowed to nurse the mama cow would stop producing as much milk. For the first couple of weeks the mother’s milk has antibodies in it for the calf and can’t be used for human consumption so the calf is bottle fed with its mother’s milk. Thought that was pretty neat even though the calf isn’t able to nurse from it’s mama it still gets its mamas milk.

We also did a…treasure hunt? Don’t know what else to call it we went to three different reliant energy booths spread out all over the rodeo/carnival/livestock show grounds and when we had bee nt o all three we got a free t-shirt. Also got a picture taken at one of the booths that I need to get on their site and capture…CP already got a copy of it so I need to go in as him and get another one. When I do I will figure out how to get in on here and post it.
At the different vendor booths we got all kinds of free things from pencils to computer games to wildflower seeds.
At the carnival I got my rodeo tradition…

a caramel apple! This year’s had nuts I don’t always do nuts but hey this year was special in many ways…
One way it special was that I got on a couple of rides…

CP on the first ride “The Storm” wasn’t all that bad of a ride my legs were a bit wobbly after it was over and it took a bit to get my legs under me properly again but not bad. The second one however….

“Gforce” hmm what can I say..? We shall let the pictures speak for me…
Me before the ride…I do have the look of a crazed trapped animal though it seems to be a happy look…

and ehem…me after the ride (thanks so much CP for taking this picture and showing it to everyone at work…)

I was just glad I hadn’t gotten the caramel apple yet. (oh and CP? Thanks for texting it to me so I could post it for all to see)
In spite of throwing up after the one ride it was a really fun day and we played a few of the carny games and won a few ( 5) stuffed toys here is CP with one of them….

We also checked out the Gascar crazy animal races…

We raced in the Nascar simulator I won the first race CP the second and then we quit. I actually like that we didn’t race a rubber race better this way.

The rodeo itself was good we were seated kind of high up but right over the rough ride chutes so we had a decent view of the bare back and saddle bronc riding, and the bull riding as well.. The calf scramble was set up on our end of the arena but the mutton bustin was on the far end from us. But it didn’t matter everything was on the huge screens so we could see it all.
This was the first year they had mutton bustin as part of the rodeo itself. In mutton bustin it is 4-6 year old holding onto a sheep for all they are worth trying to stay on for 8 seconds but the one who stays on the longest whether they make it to 8 seconds is the winner. It was hilarious to watch the young kids holding for dear life for all of maybe 3 seconds. They were out and giving it their all maybe not loving the falling off part but seeming to enjoy the rest of it.
The concert portion was pretty good as well. Alan Jackson has had a long career so there were of course songs he didn’t get to sing but over all I enjoyed it very much. It was a good day with good company. I will probably remember more stories and post more later or maybe not…

rodeo

2009-03-05T02:12:00.004-06:00

CP and I went to the rodeo today. The Houston Livestock show and rodeo is the biggest rodeo at least that is what they tell us. There is lots of prize money given away every night not just on the final night of the show. I love the rodeo! I have gone at least once every year for the past 10 years. A lot of people go for the concert star but for really I don't care who the performer is I just like the rodeo, the carnival, the livestock shows and the exhibits that are out there. You can get all kinds of free things from the exhibitors. Learn all kinds of fun facts, eat some really yummy food that is really bad for you ( or some really yucky food that is yucky for you too). We spent all day there enjoying all that was offered. But more on our day later... I have some pictures and videos ( really MUST figure out how to get the videos on my computer...) this post is about what we found upon returning to my place. CP had brought his two pups down to stay here while we went to the rodeo I got everything puppy proofed for them. Meaning I got all cords up out of their reach, shoes put away, vacuum put elsewhere and such. I filled up the water dishes and we put the pups in the kitchen blocked by a kiddie gate I had. By the time we were going out my door we were pretty certain that the gate wasn't going to hold them in but as I said we had pretty well puppy proofed my apartment. SO as long as they got along and didn't kill or hurt each other I wasn't worried about it. That said, arriving back home after being gone for over 12 hours was a little scary. As we approached the door there wasn't any noise coming from my apartment which helped me to relax a bit as one of my concerns was that they would be barking and making noise all day. upon opening the door discovered all three dogs happy and free! First thing I noted was while there was some puppy poop and a few wet spots on my carpet not a bunch so that was good. Second thing was that all furniture and stuff was still intact not stuffing shredded all over or chewed up wood or anything like that a blanket was on the floor but while it had been moved around was not chewed up. All puppies were happy and excited to see us. And i was relaxing and thinking we were worried for nothing they did fine...Then saw the kitchen! I wish I had possessed the presence of mind to snap a picture of it but my mind went strait to clean up and rescue. I will try to describe what we saw. First thing I saw was the kiddie gate was still in place and in one piece (which meant they had either gone over it or had gotten through the three inch gap at the bottom of it) then my see carrots on the floor! Totally confused me I mean where would they get carrots? The carrots were safely in the refrigerator. then I see the open door to my fridge and containers of all kinds of things on the floor! There were the carrots, several containers with things like cream cheese and soup on the floor. The containers evidently were not something they were able to figure out how to get into so while they were on the floor their contents were safely tucked inside. The bagged lettuce however they liked found the bag but not much else of it contents same thing with my tortilla wraps the bag still existed but not the wraps. Of course there was also on the floor puppy "business" but something interesting on that aspect it really wasn't as much overall as I expected to find leaving the dogs alone inside for about 16 hours. So they are learning and getting house broken. I wish I had set up a camera so we could see them doing the fridge opening and the great escape. Nearest we can figure with the opening of the fridge is that I have a dish towel on my fridge handle that now has some teeth marks in it. I can see Carrie playing with it pulling on it like a tug of war and the door opens the rest is just a bonus or reward for winning the tug of war! Luckily, I didn't have much in there that spoiled. I had maybe a 1/4 cup of milk and one container with some cream soup from work in it that I will toss but otherwise everything was stuff I keep cold just because I like it chilled not because you have to. In a while I post about the day at the rodeo for us...

hiking and baking

2009-03-03T09:18:00.004-06:00

Yesterday CP and I went hiking on the Lone Star trial. The puppies all had a fun time. It was a beautiful day a bit of a chill in the air but perfect azure skies and low ( for us) humidity. As it was a Monday we were basically hiking on our own. Except that there were several police and forest service people out on the roads because of a missing 13 year old. He was found alive and well. Houston Chronicle has the story if you want more information on him. But They weren't around us on the trial so it was nice and peaceful. CP also taught me to drive his stick shift jeep. So at 40 I finally know how to drive a standard transmission car. Not that I am very good at it but I have learned and will get better.

Work has been fun. We have been busy on Friday evenings for the past month or so we have had a 12 top come in around 6 so I have gotten to make a few more salad and such. Got to make a California club last week and nachos supreme as well. I have stated before none of this is rocket science but with each dish I learn the more I can help and the better it is for everyone.I got to make the dessert for a wine tasting from around the world thing they had on Saturday. I didn't spew flour or mix everywhere with the mixer. :) the desert looked like this:

one of the pans got out in the walk in a bit crooked and we had a "suicidal" berry:

It was a very simple yet yummy dessert.

work

2009-02-28T12:02:00.004-06:00

I knew I would forget something when I was doing all those posts on Tuesday...I forgot some work related things...

so without further introduction...

CP got a powerful degreaser recently for us to use at work. This isn't an everyday degreaser/cleaner this is for once or twice a month cleaning/degreasing things like the floors, walls, behind the ovens and such. He had suggested a t one point that putting it in the dishwasher and sending the floor mats through using it instead of the normal soap would be effective. So one day while he is there to advice me on how much and such I decide to do it. I remove the normal dish soap and put about half a gallon of this stuff in the water...the result?

I was at first thinking CP had known it was going to do that and pulled a prank but when he came and saw you could tell he was surprised. On the plus side the mats and the dishwasher were both cleaned nicely that day!

Speaking of CP and pranks, yesterday he put about 1/4 cup of salt in my drink I went by and grabbed it then I took a swig nearly choked trying to not swallow it. Felt like I had drowned in Galveston or something.
On valentine's day at work there was a Bar Mitzvah and they left tiera's behind...

we have fun at work.

Leave no trace

2009-02-24T16:04:00.003-06:00

I think this will be the last post of the day...key word there is think.
So yesterday along with getting the coil put on ands thereby completing the tune up on my car and ending the car saga CP and I did a few other things as well. One of the most fun things was to go to this spot he had found hidden in the national forest by his place and do some trash clean up. It is an area that people go and have camp fires and hang out by the lake. People who evidently were not taught that you "leave no trace" and that you actually try to leave a place better than you found it for the next ones to come along. So we took the three pups and CPs jeep and drove down to this gathering spot in the woods by the lake. Sounds like a good setting for a movie ( horror or mystery). We also brought along 3 large trash bags which we proceeded to fill. I find very sad that people are that disrespectful of not just nature or the earth but of each other to leave that kind of legacy behind is very sad when all it would take is to use that bag or box you brought the food and canned drinks in with to pack it back out again. There was even evidence of someone "dumping" their household trash there so that means they packed in their trash and left it. What kind of sense does that make? I mean there are a million trash cans and dumpsters out there why put your trash in your car and dump it in the middle of a forest? The only thing I will do differently next time is be prepared with more trash bags and gloves. I also will wear my hiking boots so I can get to more areas and not worry about the briers and brambles. It was a fun day, very relaxing and de-stressing for me. PLUS on returning home and researching where we were I have discovered some day hikes I want to go on in my immediate area. Knew they were out there in the forest just never knew where the trail heads were. It is spring as I note in the post below so it is perfect weather for a hike or two.
A note about the music these are happy spring/summer/baseball songs.

the death of a strawberry

2009-02-24T13:07:00.005-06:00

Spring is here! You know how I know? The Astros are in Florida getting ready for the season, plants are on my porch hoping I pay enough attention to them to keep them alive to bear fruit, the sky is blue, and we keep going from 80 for highs to 34 for lows. Got to love spring in south east Texas!
So last Monday after the puppy party it was a gorgeous day so CP and I went and bought tomato and a couple of pepper plants to start his garden. A week later they are looking nice. The romas have blooms on them and the big Boy and beef tomatoes are growing nicely. The Compost we made during the summer and fall is black gold. Awesome stuff. We still need to get the marigolds in for insect protection, a few herbs he wants to grow and a few more pepper plants. He wanted to get the pepper plants even though it is still a tad early for them so we got two but will get a couple more most likely. That all said the plants look healthy and I think he will have a nice harvest.
I had bought a strawberry plant to put in my topsy turvy planter but it got eaten by Carrie today. I am watching and playing with CP's pups today as he has a long day at work and this way they don't have to be all alone. So anyway I left, with my balcony door open, to go do laundry when I came back they ( I really believe it was Carrie) had decided to eat it. I rescued it we shall see if it survives. I now close the balcony door when leaving them alone in the apartment.

puppy parties

2009-02-24T11:07:00.006-06:00

We know my sweet pup was born in February so, the vets office, to be cute I guess, made her birthday the 14th. On the Monday following we celebrated it. Now normally I don't do parties for her and such but then again before this year she didn't really have in poochie friends. This year she does so we did. I have always gotten her something new as a gift be it a collar or dish or chew toy but have never done a cake or such for her. Again this year has been a different one. SO we celebrated her birthday at a dog park near by she got to run and play with Cash and Carrie and they shared a birthday treat. A dog bone shaped peanut butter flavored dog cookie.

they enjoyed it but CP said it tasted like cardboard! I didn't eat any of it. there is such joy in watching my sweet pup run free and play. It was beautiful day.. For her gift this year I got her a new collar a fancier one. Leather with little colored leather flowers on it.

The car saga

2009-02-24T09:46:00.003-06:00

Been a bit since I have written anything on here sorry about that. To make up for that there will be several posts today. I could just do one big one but think this way I will remember all that I need to talk about.
So to start with...
The Car Saga
I have a 2002 focus that has been a good little car most of the time. Gets great gas mileage ( usually around30-32mpg) and zips me around town ( HOUSTON is a big town sometimes just getting somewhere takes an hour or more and not due to traffic) or on trips to see my family and friends around the country. Recently however it has been causing me headaches galore. back during the fall it started stalling on me, it would start right back up again but it is scary to drive when your car stalls if it has to idle for even a simple stop sign. So we replaced the battery which tested bad at AutoZone (weird I thought that it would start right up always and all but I had replaced the alternator about six months before so replacing the battery which was old was fine.) It helped...kind of. I was no longer stalling out but was still getting hiccups when accelerating after being idle or coasting for any time so...joined a forum and asked what could be going on was given all kinds of possibilities from a bad alternator or voltage regulator to vacuum hose issues to fuel injector clog. So started working on the cheapest easiest fixes first. Additives into my tank to clean the fuel injectors didn't help. A friend came and he heard air so tracked down air leak one and fixed it...still problems... friend came back and we could hear air still tracked down leak two tried to fix but couldn't. So I took it to a shop they quoted me $200+ to fix it no way! Back to AutoZone...he can see the leak but that isn't a hose they carry ( I ALWAYS have those type of cars) but he cut spliced and fixed the hose for me and didn't charge me a dime. Nice guy. Took care of part of the problem. the car is no longer hiccuping but the check engine light is still on and now it flashes some...so to another AutoZone they test and find out there is a misfire on cylinder 2 so buys new spark plugs and CP installs them for me...improvement but still not fixed. Back to AutoZone to buy a coil after getting the coil realise the wires weren't with it so call AutoZone and ask about wires end up back there exchanging the coil for a heavy duty fuel injector cleaner. Because that guy seems to think it is more likely to be the injectors being clogged than a coil/wire issue. So I put the new cleaner in no improvement by now my mpg is down to 18mpg. I decide to go get a professional fuel injector flush first place couldn't do it the second told me it wouldn't do any good because my problem was the wire to spark plug 2 was not sparking at all. So I thank them for their honesty and go back to auto zone. I call my friend on my way and ask should I get the wires and the coil or just the wires he says just the wires to start with. So get the wires and he comes and puts them on like the spark plugs better but not much...he tests the wire and says it is very weak sparking so I go get the coil and CP put it in for yesterday. My beautiful zippy car is back. I have acceleration ability and my check engine light is off! Kind of funny but when it turned off after driving for a bit I got freaked out a little because something wasn't as it should be on my dashboard. Silly me it was as it should be dark no extra lights! Took about 4 months but I believe my car is now road worthy again. YIPPEE!!!

Puppies! nothing but puppy pics

2009-02-03T17:49:00.009-06:00

Do good dogs get treats?

New collars!

We're sleeping here! Stop with the camera already!

Amazing how much he's grown!

I really must figure out how to get the videos off my phone...cause while I take a lot of pictures there are some really fun videos of the pups playing. In pictures they are just blurs sometimes they are just blurs in video too! All three dogs have a fun time together even if they play hard and rough sometimes you can tell they are just loving the life they have. The collar on Cash is a Harley Davidson collar the one on Carry ( or maybe that chould be Carrie...CP?)is pink with spikes! They don't have pink Harley Davidson ones. Both have spikes. I think I might get daisy a new collar for her upcoming birthday...one with spikes too! No she isn't a spike kind of girl but maybe some sort of sparkle to it...

pictures, puppies and pudding

2009-02-02T09:27:00.006-06:00

I haven't posted pictures in a while so get ready here come some!

I think I mentioned that CP got another puppy to keep Cash company...well here are some pictures of her and cash and my daisy too! She is a Great Pyrenees and lab mix...gonna be a big dawg too!

CP and his new little girl Carry.

Three pups outside playing.

CP and his family...aren't they cute?

Here let me help you with that...attacking the couch!

Then at work I got to help make a white chocolate macadamia nut bread pudding...

it was a hit at the party and was very yummy with the caramel brandy sauce on top of it.

More pictures to come but I got to run to the dog park...

Walking, Biking and...

2009-01-27T16:11:00.004-06:00

So, there is something I have be able to do recently that I never before had the ability to do not because the technology wasn't out there but because I didn't have the technology to do it. Since I got my laptop I now can view TV on my computer. Hadn't checked it out until last night when I was helping a neighbor out and finding on her computer the site for the NBC Movie of the week The Last Templar for her. She has gotten the converter box and uses it. The picture is great but there are times, like in the old analog signal days, when the signal isn't there so she had watched the first part on Sunday with no problem but last night the signal was in and out so I found it for her online at NBC.com she had to wait till today to see last night's part but will be able to view it tonight. SO when I got home I started playing around on my laptop and spent the rest of the night finding some of my favorites online. I watched to first part of The Last Templar, an episode of NCIS and one of House. Was so excited to find House full episodes online! I haven't had TV of any sort in my own home for going on 4 years now not home enough to pay to have cable or satellite and too lazy to go buy rabbit ears so if I watched anything it was a dvd or at someone else's house. So last nights find was lots of fun! I watched part 2 of The Last Templar today. Like I said I knew this ability was out there but had never played around with before so I guess I am catching up with the times a bit.
Today I walked my puppy to work and back then I got on my neighbor's bike ( because mine has the seat only a 9 year old girl could find comfortable) and rode it to work and back too. Not a bad trip took about 20 minutes round trip. Definitely a doable thing for everyday work transportation. We shall see how my body feels tomorrow and weather permitting will be biking to work. After I get the new seat for my bike I need to work on a basket or saddle bags to carry things in so I can more easily bike to the store or bring things home from work.
Found 26 cents on my walk brings my total up to close to a dollar now I remember the day I found 41 cents and today's 26 but have also found nickles and a couple of dimes and some other pennies so I think we could call it a dollar now. Not that I will get rich finding money on my walks but it does add up. Could have brought home five cans of root beer the other day if I had had a bag with me. Someone must have lost them out of the bed of their truck leaving a store one can was already run over and smashed but the other five were still sealed and fine.
Not to give the impression the I am a trash digger just find it hard to waste so if I had had something to carry them in I would have picked them up. I have thought seriously about bringing a bag for trash pick up with me on my walks or at least doing it once a week or so. But the area I live in does a good job of keeping clean. Even so there are some litterbugs out there.

work changes

2009-01-24T11:04:00.003-06:00

Changes are happening at work...there are, as always, rumors flying about about hours being cut but this time is about the hours of operation being cut not personnel hours. The latest is that we will start closing the kitchen at 5pm but they said that would start happening in 2-3 weeks and that was about 2-3 weeks ago so...plus and this is not rumor the fitness center is going to be opening next week hopefully that will bring a few more people in and starting in April we will open for dinner on Saturday nights. A REAL dinner menu good high quality dinner food. We have started having a breakfast menu on the weekends that is taking off nicely on Sundays. Saturdays have been a bit slower but picking up I think. We also got a new menu this week.
Then in general things seem to have picked up a bit overall. Last night we had 12 top come in around 6pm. That was fun! We were warned about them they called around 4 and made a reservation. By 6 it was down to me and FM so I got to help him out a bit. Was prepared to do some salad and sandwiches but they only ordered one side salad so I tried to help FM out on the hot side as much as I could. He got slammed! With all kinds of burgers, poboys, quesodillas, nachos, gumbo the flat top was full with standing room only on it! With the order not coming in till after 6:15 we were there till almost 8 cleaning up. During the week we seem to be having more people in for lunch could be the new menu making it seem that way or could be that they are coming to taste the new stuff i hope it keeps up though. the day goes much faster when we are busy. Tonight we have a plated dinner which are always fun. I get slammed with everything all at once but as long as I have someone to catch and put up the clean dishes I do alright. If I have to put up or at least get out of the racks and put somewhere the dishes things get a little bit more hairy but I still manage. I don't know that have have stated this recently but in case I haven't...I LOVE MY JOB!!!!

the quest is over!

2009-01-23T08:04:00.004-06:00

So my quest for liquid iron is over. At first it was looking kind of bleak because the places I asked it was WAY expensive we are are talking like between $75-300 for what could amount to a couple of weeks worth of the stuff. WAY WAY WAY out of my budget. Then I went to one of the box stores ( that is what we call the big discount stores that offer everything from food to fashion to auto to drugs) and asked them. At first they were still in that $$$ range but then the pharmacist thought about some generic they had and looked it up it cost less then $7 f or a pint!They ordered it in for me and I picked it up a couple of nights ago. It is a pretty nasty tasting concoction but not really as bad as the liquid vitamins I was taking for a while so...So how is it working?VERY well! I had been crashing and hitting a wall around 3pm and falling exhausted into bed by 10pm and yesterday there was no wall, no crash and I was up till after 1am (I think because I just had energy to burn) and still up before 8am! Which is a much more normal sleep pattern for me. Is it a placebo affect? Could be but I don't think so. So this pint of iron should be enough for 3 months! WOOHOO! That's about $2 a month! Like that!
So where my health is concerned I am getting much better and boy does it feel good!
Work has been a lot of fun lately. OK so it almost always is but I have been having even more fun lately because I have been getting to be there that forced 4 days off was horrible. But also I have gotten to do some baking again there. Made some more banana's getting too ripe dessert thing. We didn't have enough flour so ended up using some corn flour in it and still had to go to one of the other courses and borrow a couple of cups of flour. It made it into a banana cornbread. It was yummy! This time I was a bit better using the mixer. You have to understand, this is an industrial mixer. It is powerful so when you add flour you have to be careful turning it on...last time flour was everywhere...this time not quite everywhere. LOL still got sent flying a bit but not nearly as much. I want to come up with a caramel almond icing for it think it would set it off perfectly. We also have a new bridge group so I got to do more cobbs and clubs this week plus since this time it was more of the hot side side that was ordered I got to help JB a bit with his side.
Got to go walk. More later...

how you get Pneumonia and not know it and good news/bad news game

2009-01-16T23:14:00.003-06:00

OK so how do you get pneumonia and not know it? For me it was because it was bacterial not viral meaning I did not have a cold or congestion that developed into pneumonia over time. Mine developed due to me aspirating foreign matter into my lungs. Yup. When I had problems with reflux at night ( which was more frequent than I like to admit but still ran in cycles of about three or fours days in row about once month ) I evidently aspirated into my lungs which in turn created the pneumonia. Scary thing for me is you do that too much and you die. But thankfully I didn't and we now are treating not only the pneumonia but also the cause of the reflux...more on that later of maybe in a post later not sure if I will get to today's doctors visit tonight or not.
So my recovery has been thankfully quick. I saw my GP on Tuesday and she did a repeat CBC to check my White blood cell count stated that if is wasn't down significantly she would prescribe another antibiotic she also wants to do a follow up chest x-ray in a month. On Thursday she called me with the results and it was basically a good news/bad news call. The good news my white blood cell count was normal. I was amazed that something could be so very high on Saturday and by Tuesday morning be normal again. Way to go immune system and antibiotics! The Bad news? Well, I am evidently pretty anemic again (or maybe still?) so she wants me to start on a liquid iron supplement because I have been on a pill one but she thinks maybe it isn't getting absorbed so thinks a liquid one would be more effective. SO the search begins for a liquid Iron that won't put me in the poorhouse. The one I have found is $76!! I can't afford that one so the search continues. Any ideas from you guys on where I could might find iron in a liquid form that isn't so very expensive I would love to hear in my comments. I am tired so will post tomorrow about today's developments where the reflux is concerned in all of this.

ER Trip

2009-01-11T09:09:00.006-06:00

So yesterday was a...um...fun day? I started the day with a bad night sleep wise I had a lot of issues with reflux Friday night so when I was showering I felt weak and light headed, I managed to get out of the shower and to my couch before passing out. I was out for maybe 5-15 minutes hard to say exactly because living with only my dog didn't have anyone to tell me. My puppy is not giving me the time, I think time has no meaning to dogs. Felt like crap when i came to everything was foggy and in the distance somewhere. Kind of like Star Wars far far away....I drank lots of water thinking it was a hydration thing and got to feeling better not good mind you but better and figured I needed to go to work and could manage to make it through the day so I went in. STUPID move on my part. Made it through maybe 20 minutes and had to leave. Actually leave is wrong I told CP I needed to go home I was in tears ( for those of you who don't know me tears are something I just don't do) I must have looked pretty bad from what one person told me I looked like death warmed over. CP asked and then told me he was taking me to the ER. I felt bad enough and was scared enough that I didn't fight him on it. So he drove me and dropped me off at the ER on the drive I got a "lecture" about my stupidity in coming into work at all. It is tough when you have lived on your own and been without health insurance as much as I have to not see things like calling into work as weakness. I wasn't dead and I wasn't bleeding so to work I go. Later on the ER doctor would say that he thought loss of consciousness fit in there somewhere too. I felt silly, like I was wasting the ER peoples time when I first got there. I was certain they would discover I was anemic or dehydrated and send me on my way after hours of being there. What actually occurred was way different. I was triaged n actually pretty quick time ( there were two others in the waiting room when I got there but within minutes the room was full). During the triage they asked about what happened and also about shortness of breath and chest pains. I hadn't had any chest pains but definitely had experienced shortness of breath but had not had any colds or congestion. Those answers led to a "quick EKG" and blood work (of course the normal panels were done) and the insertion of an IV. right before I was taken back to triage my home teacher and Bishop got there to give me a priesthood blessing for healing. They stayed for a bit but I sent them on their way. After the EKG I was sent back to the waiting room for a bit to await the doctor then I get called thinking it was the doctor I am surprised when it is for chest x-rays after the x-rays were done it is back to the waiting room. There I met a really funny lady who was there with her sister. She and her sister had gone out dancing the night before and her sister fell and hurt her wrist. I am not a doctor but that wrist didn't look like a wrist anymore. That helped the time to pass a little bit faster along with phone calls text messages and listening to music on my phone. I get called back to my ER exam room where I would get to spend the next 3 hours. The nurse that took me back did vitals and set my heart monitor. While waiting for the ER doc the triage guy came in and drew more blood this time a "sterile draw" I asked what it was for and after finding out the doctor hadn't been in yet he said to test for bacterias and infections. while he was in there doing the draw the doctor showed up. He was a nice man. He told me my x-rays showed spots in my left lung (pneumonia) and he wanted to be sure that was what caused me to pass out. He was going to have them start an iv of saline to hydrate me and also an iv of antibiotics. He let me know at this point that I may be spending the night so they could monitor my heart. I was SHOCKED to say the least by all of this information. I mean I guess I wasn't being silly going to the ER. As I am waiting I turn on the tv and watch "what not to wear". They come in again to get me to go to get a ct scan. I got to have all kinds of tests I never had before and NEVER want again. They did a contrast scan. Kind of a weird feeling when the contrast was going in the IV. Soon after I got back from the scan the Relief Society president came to stay with me and then shortly after that the primary president ( children's Sunday school organization) got there. The only reason the doctor released me was because they were there stating they would not let me over due it again. He was adamant that I rest and not try to go back to work today I told him my boss had already told me not to worry about work today which I think relieved him a bit too. BUT in all seriousness it was the two ladies being there saying they would take care of me that got him to not admit me to the hospital. Even though this may not look like a "blessing" in some ways it was. I really learned a lot about the people around me about who is truly a friend to me. Mostly I learned though I may have been alone most of the day I wasn't alone. I also learned that I need to pay better attention to my body and not ignore things too long again. I am evidently very like my mom in that I just keep plowing through life till my body makes me stop. Thankfully I didn't end up in the hospital for a week to learn my lesson. though if I am not good and give my body a chance to heal I still could. So, here's to me being good and not seeing the healing process as weakness but letting myself heal.

cobbs and clubs

2009-01-09T09:21:00.003-06:00

Well, been a week or so and lots to report. I am thinking about taking a cake decorating class offered at the local community college the only thing holding me up is my car issues. My car is running and doing OK but...it scares me at times and the thought of driving it far from home on a regular basis until I get it fixed I think it is a fuel system issue so am getting the fuel injectors cleaned and hoping that fixes it. Actually I will be taking the class it is just at matter of which session I will take the sooner one starting this month of one starting next... when I asked CP if I would be able to either come in a bit late or leave a bit early on the day of my class he looked at me and said " so what you think you're a baker now? then YOU can make the banana bread!" We had bunches of bananas going bad so using 30 of them I made banana bread/cake. It turned out pretty good. OK it was DAMN good! the locker room guys enjoyed it and even commented on it to CP. So hopefully in the next month i will be posting about my cake decorating successes and failures!
Last night was a blast at work. It was the second Thursday bridge group and while they primarily come to play bridge about 20 or so will come early and order from a limited menu. I have been there to help in the past but most of the time I just do the dishes because there will be two cooks there. Yesterday however there was just jelly bean ( OK I know according to the poll I should change his nick name to cupcake but I like jelly bean! )and I so while he handled the hot side I did the cold side. We had premade 4 Cobb salads (except for the chicken and croutons which i put on when the order came in) and did some prep work for the club sandwiches so that helped me out a bunch. If I had made 5 Cobbs I would have been perfect with those...oh well! having the premade salads really helped. My clubs were not the prettiest of things but none were sent back due to the uglies so they must have tasted fine. I managed to keep up pretty much and it was an adrenaline rush. The FSM and waitstaff there weren't upset with me and while we all admit my clubs were not pretty they actually complemented the job I did so... in fact one even said I should move over to the line and one of the line cooks should be dishwasher because I was faster at it than they were. I said" yeah well get me a way from Cobbs and clubs and I will fall apart in speed and beauty!" But I had so much fun doing it last night. it was not with out its situations but I post more on those later....
CP got another puppy she is adorable...will post pictures of her later....

Time for a change

2008-12-26T08:23:00.003-06:00

While I may start Christmas early I do not believe in extending it beyond Christmas day so it was time to change things up and get rid of the Christmas background and music. Note about the backgrounds I have been using lately...as is noted at the top of the blog they have come from The cutest blog on the block and if I had better abilities I would link to it there in the title because I love them! It is a fun place to get some free really neat backgrounds and more for your blogs. A note about the music I put the player as close to the top of the blog as I can so if you don;t want to hear it you can easily find it and turn it off. you are able to scroll around and pick a different song to listen to. I have 30 songs on there so find one you like, turn it off, or wait I change that around quite a bit too.
Now for a bit about my Christmas....I had a lot of fun. Had perfectly prepared prime rib for Christmas dinner ( YUM!!!) , played so much pinochle and actually won a few hands against much more experienced players, and went bowling. Now I do own my own bowling ball but of course it is at home not in my car because I haven't bowled that much recently. Every time I go bowling I remember how much I love to bowl and think I should figure out how to bowl more often so I can get better at it. I managed to break 100 in one game and get at least one strike per game so I wasn't too upset by my scores. Besides no matter the score, there is just something fun about bowling. Wonder what the local alleys look like on Mondays...?
I hope everyone else had a great Christmas.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2008-12-25T06:47:00.004-06:00

Merry Christmas everyone.

It is a good day. I got a new to me laptop that I am having sooooo much fun playing with. CP got a puppy....who we are all having sooo much fun playing with....

Mr Bear

2008-12-20T08:38:00.004-06:00

This past week has been tough for several reasons...there have been long days at work, followed by several days off as due to economy issues no overtime is allowed, car issues that looked to be really scary but ended up being not so bad (though car is still causing fear of driving too far from home) but the toughest thing has been that CP's boxer, Mr Bear, got sick suddenly and passed away.

Mr Bear was an AWESOME dog! My sweet puppy and he had so much fun together... going to the beach (one day, if I can EVER get my videos off my phone, I have some great videos of him and will post them) , dog park and just hanging out together.

I believe Bear knew how loved he was. He had a good life. He will be missed. Love ya Mr Bear!

Let it snow!

2008-12-10T23:05:00.003-06:00

Today at work a friend called me to say it was snowing in sterling ridge , which is a subdivision in the town we work in about 5-8 miles awat from us. With in minutes it is snowing where we are. Now here is proof of that snow....

yup that is a snow flake! And it is sticking around! so even if nothing more happened I have proof of honest to goodness snow flake(s). but more did fall....

here is a sight you don't see often...snow on a palm!

another strange sight...snow on my car!

varigated ginger covered in snow.

what has been really nice is these have been some really nice flaky flakes. big and fluffy! True snow!

Poll

2008-12-07T09:52:00.003-06:00

OK so I said a while ago that I was not totally satisfied with my nickname for Jelly Bean...so I have come up with a few other possible choices....what do you all think? Answer in the poll to the right. Some background on the name choices....

Durian boy

his Malaysian girlfriend likes this one because she says he is like durian fruit...stinky on the outside sweet on the inside. Personally I think he is like durian because he keeps coming back. Those of you have eaten durian KNOW what I am talking about.

Cupcake

just a little bit goes a long way. Sweet and easy to take.

Jelly bean

Full of flavor but can surprise you with what that flavor is.

Vote now for your favorite!

random pictures, play and work ( well not really work)

2008-11-30T22:08:00.006-06:00

Here come some random pictures...they are from work and play....

baseball guy and lil red when we went ice skating

self portrait me, baseball guy and pinkie

blurry vision on the ice picture taken by one of pinkies older sons.

The three of us got together to ice skate (I had last been ice skating 30 years ago!) my biggest claim to fame that day was I didn't fall down once. it was fun though well kind of. It was fun to be with my friends and doing something.

little tiny tomatoes on my tomato plants!!!

OK now for some composting ones.... this is CP looking like Santa as he takes out one of many bags of kitchen crap to his car. :) He refuses to take a bag unless it weighs at least 100 pounds. Not really, but some have come close and a few I am sure have been even more than 100. See the look in his eye? he thinks I am crazy not only for taking pictures of this but because I am kind of a bit of a...umm...nice way to put this....umm...hmmm...CP what would you call me about the composting? Nazi is one word that comes to mind, drill Sargent...witch?maybe plain old bossy? :)

But hey! HE was the one who wanted to do it. I just keep it going. We are going to have some awesome compost come spring to plant with.

My Thanksgiving day

2008-11-30T03:16:00.003-06:00

I had for the second year in a row a non-traditional thanksgiving day. Last year I was sitting at the hospital with my Mom. I managed to scrounge up a piece of pumpkin pie last year which masqueraded as Thanksgiving dinner. This year I worked. I was invited to share Thanksgiving day of whatever part of it I could with several families but declined all because I just didn't know for certain what time I would be off and how the day would go and if I would even feel like doing anything at all. Had kind of set up to go see a movie but was too beat to go do that besides there wasn't what I would call a Thanksgiving day movie out. I mean I have NO desire to see Twilight and The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas just seemed like it was a bit on the serious side for that day. So no movie this year either. One of the wait staff/bartender from work invited me over to her place for dinner after we were done with work and I did go do that. It was fin relaxing and there were NO family politics in play with them. As it was just her husband, daughter, her and I none of that extended family/multiple generational junk you typically have at holiday dinners. I got to have good conversation, good food and a relaxed time it was great!
At work things were what I would classify as easy hard. Hard because it was a buffet and lots of food so lots of prep pots and pans and there were two seatings. easy because there were no where near the number of Mothers day and there were only two seatings. On Mothers day and Easter both I didn't get a chance to take out trash or do any pots and pans over in my sinks. On thanksgiving I got to take out trash before the first seating and during a quick respite between seatings got over to do the pots in my sinks. Now I didn't have to take out the trash at the end because one of the cooks did that ( the lady I went to dinner with called that "the Thanksgiving Miracle" LOL though actually normally for events like this they do pitch in with trash duty). As for the pots and pans? Well, I commented to FM that every time I walked over that way to put up something I wanted to cry because I just couldn't get there yet and things were piling up. SO he asked CP if he could go send JB in to do my pots while CP finished up carving the last few moments. So JB came in and did pots for a bit then when he left CP took over. Not only did he do the pots but he cleaned up my sinks when he was done! I would have been probably another hour if I had had to do those pots. I really do work with a great bunch guys. CP brought a tear to my eye. You see when we have big things we don't usually keep the compost buckets going because it just would be too much and get in the way. So when he was going to take down the salad bar he took with him a bucket to fill with the compost-able materials. Our compost heap is getting some really nice stuff in it and we are gonna have some great stuff for our gardens in the spring!
Teaser alert! Tomorrow or near future post will be about that fishy smell....

Changes in blog and music

2008-11-28T00:46:00.003-06:00

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I worked which, as always, was fun. I will write more on that later. For now I wanted to say I am excited that it is now officially "Christmas season". I have changed up things here including my music. A note on my music choices...these are some fun sometimes slightly irreverent songs I enjoy. I will change up the play list as we get closer to Christmas to some more serious or traditional choices. For now if you don't like the songs you can pause the playback or scroll down to the last songs as I have a couple of non-silly songs at the bottom of the list.
Something about Hippo...I love this song it makes me happy. I will almost always be dancing to it when ever and where ever I am. Same thing with Suzy Snowflake just makes me smile and dance. Just put one foot in front of the other is the song that at the end of the Half Marathon kept running through my head on continuous loop of the chorus, it got me to the finish line!

Taco Salad fun

2008-11-19T21:45:00.007-06:00

Work has been fun lately with me learning more and more of the cooking end of things especially the fryer. Yesterday I got to make the shells for taco salads. Pretty cool to do. We have a special "basket" that the tortillas mold around to form the shell takes a minute or so in the fryer and then you have a shell. I got to make 70, 67 survived we needed 66 for a luncheon today. OK Tried several different ways to get this to load on this post so I guess I am not doing something right so we will try my fall back method...sigh! I give up! After literally 2 1/2 hours of trying to get my cool slide show off of photobucket onto here, sifting through unhelpful help and support sites here on blogger, posting my question, trying to get answers here in blogger and on photobucket I give up! Here are the boring unedited images. No titles no nothing. I may come in and change that in the morning when I am no longer "mad as a hornet" ( yes, CP I do get that way just not usually at work) and irritated as all get out.

me frying a shell getting over my fryer fear

a perfect shell ( I think it was actually the
one from the frying picture)

shells and more shells (67)

this is the way you fill a shell or 67 of them!

the final product all of them ( well and goodly portion of them)

So much more fun if I had been able to get the slideshow sigh! Oh, well! There you go... pictures!

Time in a Bottle 2

2008-11-15T23:02:00.004-06:00

Been thinking a lot about time, how it passes so quickly and yet so slowly. But more than that what I want to be doing with my time, what I want to have done with my time a year or ten from now. It is time to focus on something other than my weight loss surgery I will update but the tracker up top is going away. the whole point of me having the surgery was so I could live my life. What are my dreams or desires to do or see someday?
Hot air balloon ride
para sailing
white water rafting
rock climbing
spelunking
the northwestern states
real fall color
space needle
Mount Rushmore
run a half marathon
Canada
Africa
snow skiing
London
Athens
Prince Edward Island
see a play on Broadway
Wrigley field
hiking in the Rockies
hiking in the smokies
learn to drive a stick shift
learn to speak another language
learn to Waltz, two step, polka, and swing no matter who my partner is
dance in the moonlight
stone henge
Aztec or Mayan ruins
Have fun, let go and LIVE life
Some of the places I have been before (London for one) some I have not (northwestern states) I have seen real fall color just not often and not in years want to again in a more eastern state.
By no means is this a complete list or in any order but just some of the things I think about more when I look forward in my life that I would like to do before too long passes and there are things not on here just because they are too silly and some are...umm...well one could say personal with the knowledge that depending on who you are if you were to ask most I would share but just not on here where I know I could offend. I never intend to offend which is one of the reasons I have never gone political or religious on here. SO once again while I will continue to occasionally update about how things are surgery wise if there is a change that needs noting for the most part I will living current and focusing on the immediate future having fun and living life and that is what will be here. Not that I have talked much lately about my post surgery progress Mainly because it is the intangibles now. Weight wise I am down to the final 40 and that is going to take longer and probably surgery to remove excess skin to accomplish. Fitness wise I am continuing to move forward but still need motivation to get where I want to be. I want to be able to run and I probably could if I just did it. Part of me is still back in that HUGE body. Working on that problem of body image I have. there you go mini update. When I see my doctor next I will update again.

Time in a bottle

2008-11-14T09:03:00.003-06:00

I can't believe it is less than two weeks till Thanksgiving! I am always amazed at how quickly time goes when looking back on it. I mean while it is happening sometimes it seems to be very slowly passing but it is never that way in retrospect.

Some examples...

last year at this time I was out taking care of my Mom who was ailing. She ended up in the hospital the week of Thanksgiving. That was the single longest week of my life and one of the scariest too! At the time I thought it would NEVER end and yet here it is almost a year later.

Walking the half marathon only took 4 hours but I tell you what there was an hour in there that was an ETERNITY! I was certain I was going to die and never finish. Now I can't believe it has been two years since that half marathon.
And examine any given hour in a day and you will see the same thing...some go sooooooo slowly by and others you are like wait when did it get to be that late?
Time is a funny thing and the way we treat it is too. Some things we wish would just speed by us and other things we are wanting to go as slowly as possible BUT always we are amazed at how fast it goes when we look back.
Got to get to work so original thought for this post will wait.

Work Fun

2008-11-06T17:44:00.006-06:00

So at work CP and FM have been teaching me so that I can help out with prep and JB has let me help him out when he gets slammed and we are there alone closing. As stated in an earlier post ( if I were good at this I could link to it but I have no idea how to do that) I got to use the fryer the other day to make home chips and french fries. Well on Monday I got to use it again to make tortilla chips and sopapillas. The fryer is fun. It still scares me a bit but not so much anymore.

Frying the tortilla chips...

I have also made several club sandwiches (not that any of this is rocket science mind you but to make food that people are paying for and send it out it is supposed to look and taste good...), a Caesar salad or two, a couple house salads, and a Cobb salad...

not the best picture of it but the best one I have. The Cobb ended up being a salad that didn't need to be made but we didn't know that till later (which was when this picture got taken...)

Yesterday, before I left work I made myself a quesadilla, I was pretty sure I had watched them get made enough that I could make one and I was right.

Halloween

2008-11-06T17:17:00.004-06:00

So I posted about the cool house that was all decked out for Halloween in a previous post well here is a picture...

I am amazed at how well my camera on my phone worked to get this shot in the dark only the spot light on it. The guy with his hands on his head is getting ready to pull it off.

The friend I went with I had been over to her house the Monday before and helped with pumpkin carving...the results...

Halloween

2008-11-01T07:51:00.002-05:00

You know what is amazing to me about Halloween? How elaborate some people get in decorating and or dressing up for it. I mean there was one house I saw last night that had everything from a mad scientist to poker playing goblins, flying ghosts to fog machines and grave yards. It was cool and all and I am looking forward to seeing what they do for Christmas...I hear they go even more out for Christmas. Some of the costumes were pretty simple a what do I have in my closet or a what can I do with hairspray type thing. But there again some were amazing. But it wasn't the kids ones that I found most fascinating it was the adults who took the time to dress up that had some of the best costumes. There were, of course, the playboy bunny types, the jailbirds, and the witches out there most of whom were out with their little bees, bears and princesses. You also had your rock stars, zombies, and political figures ( scariest in my book) all out there enjoying a night to remember their youth. I am old enough to remember when you could give out home made treats and if you were lucky enough to get a homemade treat you could eat it. I remember homemade popcorn balls, candy and caramel apples, even cupcakes and cookies. Now we were living in Singapore during much of the time I was trick or treating age but I remember having fun and being worry free until one year in the late 1970's ( maybe 76?) some wacko in the US put razors( or was it straight pins?) in the treats ( I believe it was apples) they gave out and then the next again it happened someone did something mean and nasty then suddenly in the 80's I remember (we were back in the US by then) all the hospitals were offering to x-ray your kids candy suddenly what was a safe fun activity was scary and became kind of out of style for most. Churches and others started having thing fall festivals with trunk or treats so your little ghouls and goblins didn't have to risk their life going into neighborhoods (80's also saw an increase in crimes against kids) We lost a lot of our innocence when we lost Halloween of the past...
With Halloween being over it is now time to fully embark on the lovely stress filled "holiday season" Thanksgiving is just 26 days away with Christmas just 28 days after that. Where has the year gone?

playing cook

2008-10-29T09:57:00.003-05:00

Good Morning! Quick post here before running of to work...
Yesterday I got do a little crossing training in the kitchen. Instead of me being the dishwasher jelly bean was and I got to learn a bit about cooking prep and such. The scariest thing in the kitchen for me is the fryer. I have at least used most other things in a kitchen but never a fryer so it really terrifies me. That and how in the world do you do the whole timing of a meal thing making sure all the food is ready at the same time? Yesterday was slow but I did get to do a few things. I got to make the home chips (we make our potato chips) which of course meant frying so got the first times using the fryer out of the way...it still scares me but not so much. we had few burgers ordered so got to cook those ( supervised as I have no idea on the medium vs well done thing) and a few orders of fries as well. It was strange not doing very many dishes and leaving at 4:30. In fact I hung out after clocking out because I really was weirded out thinking I shouldn't be leaving. LOL! But it was a fun day. I want to practice with the fryer it is kind of fun to use.

thoughts on fall

2008-10-28T00:31:00.003-05:00

Today was the perfect fall day. Windy, cool, low humidity, clear blue skies. The perfect day for a hike. One of the great things about living where i do is the hike and bike trails all over. So my sweet puppy and I went for a nearly two hour long stroll this morning. It was great she loved being out and moving i loved being out and not dieing of heat or being attacked by bugs. If I were to get to bed just a bit earlier we could do a walk like that everyday before work especially since i don't have to be to work till 11 most days. If we were to be out walking by 8 we could do a good hour or more and still be home in plenty of time. Would do us both a world of good and get the day off to a wonderful start...it isn't even that I am not up in the morning in time I just dilly-dally around and just haven't gone. Need to go tomorrow...

Tonight I got out the hot chocolate. YUM! I love fall for that reason alone...hot chocolate!I love hot chocolate ( well GOOD hot chocolate) I drink it way past time to stop in the spring here and will even sneak a cup during the summer but come fall I can openly enjoy it once again! I have always wondered why it is people can drink coffee or hot tea all year and not get looks like they are mad but try to drink hot chocolate out of season and you are absolutely crazy!

Thoughts on 40

2008-10-26T09:41:00.003-05:00

so this last birthday I turned 40...EEP!!!
About five years ago I got the impression I wouldn't live to see 40 if I didn't get my weight under control. I tried some more on my own and then it became imperative to get help, medical intervention was sought and the surgery scheduled.
So here I am at 40 alive and in better shape than I have been ever in my life. Not that I don't still have weight to lose or the need to tone and cardio train some more but I am healthy.
It is not only because of the weight loss I am alive. the weight loss has me here physically and not in the middle of a health crisis of some sort. The whole process of losing the weight, of the the things that led up to the surgery and in accepting help to lose the weight helped me to start getting beyond those things that would have had my life end either by my own devices or by my own stupidity.My life had been stalled for many years and it took some doing but I finally got it moving again and not only that but moving forward. Casting off some of the beliefs of the past, some of my paradigms ( spelling? spell check is not helping me so someone please let me know the correct spelling. Thanks to whoever it was that left the correct spelling in the comments) changing the window of reference so to speak to figure out what I was what i wanted was the beginning. took a lot of practice still practicing in fact. Still changing my paradigms and at times not just the window of reference but the entire building that window is in. What is I want? not to sound selfish but truly how can one be happy if one does not go after what one wants? so what do I want? To not be alone. To live life. To enjoy it guilt free. To help others. And have some security or stability. So how does one get that? still working on that. But the one thing I do know is isolation and seclusion is not the way to not be alone. I am a pack animal I guess. I am happiest when I am with others maybe not a huge group but when I am doing with at least one other person. I think too much and when I am alone that increases and as it increases so does my loneliness/depression. I need connection. I learned that very strongly with Ike.
So my plans for the next 40? To live life guilt free. Most importantly to live experience all that life has to offer me to try new things to let go and shout from the rooftops.

Cake part 2

2008-10-16T10:55:00.003-05:00

So, the cake came out pretty yummy though it wasn't a very pretty cake. Cake decorator I am NOT! I need to figure out my oven. It was definitely over done, not burned exactly but the bottom was over cooked and I found it to be a bit drier than it should have been.
As was noted in the comments...yes a special cake was baked for yesterday because yesterday was a special day. I baked my birthday cake. I decided if I wanted a certain cake then I would bake it. Besides, with the tournament at work and two other people with birthdays in the week we needed a cake there to celebrate.
I did get a picture of the remains of the cake so may post it later...
Now for the next baking adventure...hmm...what shall it be? Something pumpkin maybe? LMSS any ideas on something pumpkin?

Cake

2008-10-15T01:06:00.004-05:00

Here I sit smelling the white chocolate cake cooking in the oven when I should be in bed sleeping. However, the cake smells yummy! I am going to ice it and take it to work to share later. It is a cake I love. I make it from scratch once every so often ( last time was probably ten years ago). I love the way it tastes but it totally messes up the kitchen. Between separating eggs, melting chocolate, beating and folding in the stiff egg whites, sifting the flour, creaming the butter and sugar...well you use every available space and many, many dishes and then you have to make the icing... If it looks as good as it smells I will take pictures...
Update of sorts...my oven is hot, maybe too hot. The cakes cooked quite a bit quicker than they were supposed to. I got to them before they burned but...glad I believe in checking on things and not relying on timers...

Weeds and such

2008-10-13T00:46:00.002-05:00

So I know I have spoken of being in "the weeds" before well below this post you find pictures of what that means. This past Saturday I wasn't due to come in till 2 as we had a thing that would keep me late. SO I was enjoying my Saturday morning being lazy, walking the puppy and such. I had just gotten into the shower at 12:25 when I got out there was a message on my phone from CP...get to work ASAP. As fast as I could I dressed and as I was leaving he called again said you are in the weeds. He wasn't kidding. There were dishes everywhere but on top of that there was trash needing to go out desperately but until I beat back the jungle of weeds called the dishes there was no way I could even think about the trash. When I say everywhere I mean EVERYWHERE. Yes those are dishes on top of my dishwasher! Dishes on the floor and up on the shelf where to glasses rack go. I didn't get pictures of the three sinks because they weren't too bad looking but there were dishes over there too. The sinks just do a better job of hiding they are BIG sinks. All in all it still only took me about an hour and half to get things kind of under control dishwise that is. Unfortunately when I left to go do the trash the weeds, I mean dishes started growing again. took me three loadings of my dumbwaiter to get all the trash out. Then it took three trips back and forth to the dumpster to get the first load there with the silly little cart that I have been forced to use for almost 2 months. Then I got back my flatbed ( Happy happy joy joy) so the rest of the loads were one trip to the dumpster from the dumbwaiter. I love my flatbed. I am so easy to please...new mop head...new broom...chocolate..new chemicals for my cleaning...flatbed...trash can liners...

The Weeds and more

2008-10-13T00:45:00.001-05:00

Work fun words

2008-10-13T00:12:00.002-05:00

I have yet to figure out how to put text with photos photos from photobucket so down one post are the pictures...here are my comments on said pictures...
Poor Jelly Bean...he really is picked on and dressed up at work...just like a kid brother! But doesn't he look adorable?
I wonder who did that to my sinks? Yup that soapy mess is my three sinks. ONE usually has soapy water in it...SOMEONE turned on my water and soap and waited by the time anyone told me about it this was what it looked like...NO ONE will confess but there realy is only one SOMEONE who would do it ( come on CP fess up!) OVERFLOW!
That'll put the frosting on the ol' frog basket!

work fun

2008-10-13T00:11:00.001-05:00

composting with CP

2008-10-07T23:10:00.006-05:00

I would have sworn I had written something on here about the composting adventure but CP was pretty sure I hadn't put any of the pictures on here so I checked it out tonight and guess what? I hadn't even written about it. Bad blogger me!

So...here's the story, of a lovely lady, who was bringing up three very lovely girls... opps sorry. wrong story! Working in the kitchen we have a lot of waste a lot of veggie matter that would just make such perfect compost. Killed me to see it trashed. I don't live where I can compost but CP does and he had a sort of compost pile going with yard clippings and such. We had talked about what it would take (not much) to make it a true compost pile. Basically some chicken wire and some posts. So on one of my days off he calls me and has me meet him at the Home Depot so we can get the stuff for it. It was a fun afternoon. Moving the fire pit from the spot he wanted to compost pile to be, getting soot all over myself but especially my legs as I was attacked by mosquitoes. I am not joking here ATTACKED. I whacked my legs once and CP looked at me like what the heck are you doing? I said mosquito. Then I whacked again and he and I looked at my legs. There were about 40 BILLION mosquitoes on my legs and maybe 2 on him! I think those two were waiting for their turn on me! So he gets some bug spray...yeah it's kind of like the sunscreen when we went to Schlitterbahn should of applied BEFORE but better late than never. He sprayed me down well. The only bugs to bug after that were the fire ants. Yeah they got me too. CP showed my a fire ant bite (sting) on him a few days later. A not several but A single sting. I was lucky, I have definitely been gotten worse by fire ants this time only like 15-20 got me. Of course, all of those were right at my sock line but oh well. The important thing in all of this is now we have some place to send all of the veggie matter waste from work and CP is going to have some pretty awesome compost come spring.

so here are some pictures from that day...

CP loading up the composting "bin"

the finished product...not a bad hours work eh?

I will have to get a picture of CP hauling away one of the bags of veggie matter he looks like Santa doing it. Some days those bags get very heavy!

four wheeling fun the day after Ike roared through

2008-10-06T11:39:00.001-05:00

baking

2008-10-06T00:09:00.003-05:00

Been thinking a lot lately about my kitchen skills. Namely how they haven't been being used lately. For the 13 months I didn't have my own place and my own kitchen cooking was hard at best impossible at worst. Now that I have my own place I rarely cook because I bring things home from work plus tend to eat at work so don't even make dinner for myself very often. I love cooking creating things in the kitchen but mostly I really like baking from scratch not boxes. SO I decided that I am making my favorite cake for my birthday. It is a yummy complex white chocolate cake with white chocolate icing. It is a recipe I found years ago in the Southern Sideboards cookbook. Don't remember who gave me that cook book maybe my Aunt or my Mom? But it has many great recipes in it. I haven't made the cake in years because it is a long process, worth it for sure but long. So this year I am going to make it and take to work as there are three of us with birthday in one week with mine falling smack dab in the middle of the three. I am also going to be making some banana creations because we had several (over 30) bananas that I got to bring home tonight because they would be rotten by Tuesday. SO I mashed and measured and labeled them to freeze till I can get to making banana bread, muffins, and cakes (another recipe from Southern Sideboards). Since I labeled them not only with how many cups but how many bananas i should be able to take them out of the freezer as needed and have fun with them. Oh that reminds me I have some pureed pears too in the freezer...hmm...need recipe for that too...
Of course all this baking doesn't exactly fit my diet so it will be for giving away mostly. I just want to sharpen my baking skills again. For some reason having not baked in a while I have some apprehension about it. I shouldn't but I do. I am also going to do some substitution experiments to lighten up some recipes. NOT for the birthday cake mind you that will remain as decadent as all get out.
BUT am going to get the cookware I like not the cheapest but the ones I like. Nothing worse than baking with crappy cookware you hate. I am NOT saying I am going to get top of the line stuff just stuff I like. I do not like the cheap box store crap. I hate my cookie sheets but needed them quickly and had no choice they do the job but... for my cake pans and such I am getting ones I like. Of course for the banana loafs I am getting mini foil ones so those don't matter. I may go with silicone for the muffin pan and the cake pan or maybe a spring form one...not sure yet ...and I want a good sifter ( need one for the cake requires sifting the flour like I said long complex cake but yummy) one that actually gets more in the bowl than on you or the floor and counter. Oh need a double boiler too ( got to melt the chocolate) maybe I can borrow one or find another pot to create one...
I will take pictures of course of all creations.

ramblings on...

2008-10-02T21:37:00.002-05:00

Not quite ready to do the four wheeling fun post yet...sorry but been having computer connectivity issues which has made picture things aggravating at best. But thought I should at least write something today...so..hmm...what tale to tell? or what thought to expound on? my life is boring pretty much most of the time. Oh I have fun but somehow the fun of late hasn't been the kind that generates itself into good stories.
Recently, much thought and conversation has gone into my upcoming birthday with certain ( Pinkie aka LMSS) parties. She was wanting to do something for me a party gathering type thing. Which is sweet of her but because of my own stress level the thought of even someone else planning and all a party/gathering is too much for me so I thanked her and asked that we not do anything like that, she was understanding if not a bit disappointed. This year, even though it is a more major birthday in terms of age ( I will be 40) I really just want to "celebrate"in some relaxed effortless way. On my birthday I will be working so doing anything that day is out for the most part and since most of the people that are local to me that I care anything about will either be at work with me or at work somewhere. I prefer to be at work on my birthdays especially when they fall during the week. I mean, what else are you going to do? sit around and twiddle your thumbs waiting for everyone else to get off work? What a depressing thought that is! But then I also find the thought of most birthday parties depressing too. I have had several good birthdays in my life one just a few years ago and was thanks to Pinkie and crew. pinkie knows how to do birthdays! And she is respectful of the fact that while I don't mind acknowledgement of my friends of my birthday I do NOT wish to ever be sung to in a restaurant or have a spot light similar to that on me. Save the spot light for my funeral please in fact don't do it then either. I prefer to be with my friends enjoying myself and them enjoying themselves than anyone feeling like they have to be there and be happy too. And if all my friends can't be there no biggie. Small groups are more fun. Dinner and a movie, a festival of some sort (having a fall birthday is great in that respect you have several to choose from here locally you have the catfish festival and the Renaissance festival) some sort of show ( symphony, ballet, concert) sports event, the list goes on...this year is going to be a bit weird because two of the three people I have been doing birthdays with for the past few years are married and the other one has dropped off the grid so it will be a whole new group which will be strange. to not be planning a celebration with pinkie, vetboy, and baseballguy is just kind of wrong somehow. I know pinkie you offered! But that is not the same. that is just you not the four of us. we usually did a movie thing. Pinkie's birthday is close to mine and somehow my movie was always better than hers. the year I picked Shall we dance ? she picked Shark Tales! OK so maybe that was the only year it was really better but it was. You know because of friends like Pinkie, vetboy, baseballguy, disco queen, sweet pea and hotpink my 30's were not half bad at all in fact they were much better than my most of 20's even thought about being. thanks guys! love ya! You know though with the recent additions to my friends my 40's ( eek!) look to be even better.

hurricane Ike...bored out of my gourd

2008-09-25T11:08:00.004-05:00

Thought I would do one of the post titles I had stated were possibilities.
So how exactly could someone who had books to read specifically bought for the purpose of reading when the power was out during the storm be bored out of their gourd? easy! That's how!
First of all...it is very difficult to read by candlelight or flashlight. holding either one and your book is difficult and can be dangerous either due to flames or arm/neck/back discomfort. OK so you save reading for the daytime when you don't need artificial lighting. NOPE. Didn't work in this case as we didn't really ever have daylight on Saturday plus whatever light we did have didn't illuminate my apartment enough to read without assistance.
Secondly...when the wind is whipping the scary tree outside in all directions with rain coming down ( or was across?) at speeds of 90+ miles an hour it is really hard to concentrate on a book even for one like me who gets so involved in any reading as to be transported into whatever I am reading and the"real" world fades away completely.
Thirdly...without outside contact you have no idea what is going on and when it will be over makes you very anxious and ,as my Mom can attest, crabby too!
Fourthly...so you can't read, don't have contact with the outside world what does that leave? One would think sleeping or eating but sleeping was not even remotely a possibility for me as my waking dreams were nothing short of terrifying what with trees crashing through my apartment being the starring role and all I could NOT and DID NOT want to let my subconscious mind do anything with that. and eating? well you can only eat so much before you throw up and for me it is even less than most people so THAT option stunk too. Besides eating doesn't cure boredom COOKING does but that wasn't possible.
So I was left with very uncomfortable attempts at reading and staring out at the storm. BORED out of my GOURD! That is until I started meeting my neighbors when the rains slacked up and the wind died down a bit we all kind of came out of our caves and started talking and meeting each other. Made the rest of the time go so much better on Saturday. Amazing what human contact can do for you in all aspects of life...spiritual, emotional, and physical. Sunday dawned ( we actually had a dawn didn't on Saturday) much better but still boring until CP came down to check on the walk in and freezer and we meet up for some four wheeling fun...which I will post about later when I have the pictures all ready.
NEXT time ( LORD PLEASE NO NEXT TIME) I am going to make sure of several things to combat boredom...if I stay that is. First make sure I have the right batteries for my radio and lots of them. Second, I will have a laptop because while I may loose power I can run it on battery and if Verizon does as it did I will have internet through my wireless but a very least I can watch a DVD or two to combat the boredom. AND I am going to have someone with me. the worst part was being alone having no one to absorb my fears so to speak. I am a caretaker and when I am the only one I have to take care of I don't do well in crisis. Had I known I would be off work for most of ten days I would have gone somewhere not to evacuate but to be out of the way and to allow me to be more relaxed. I am in need of a massage! Very badly in need! Oh well! That will have to wait a long time. Next post...four wheeling fun!

Post Ike hanging out

2008-09-20T15:18:00.001-05:00

Some Ike Pictures..again

2008-09-20T15:04:00.001-05:00

deleted posts

2008-09-20T14:58:00.001-05:00

I deleted the posts from yesterday with the pictures because they weren't behaving right. Will try to get them back up today...

Preparing for the storm...how did I do?

2008-09-18T11:10:00.002-05:00

Things I learned about preparing or not preparing for events in your life...
Always make sure you know what battery sizes you need. I thought my radio was d cells it was c cells...so no radio after the power went out. Oh another thing, may seem obvious, but just have them on hand don't wait till you need them you won't find them then.
Check your portable stove and be sure you have fuel for it. I didn't and couldn't find in the eleventh hour of course.
I guess from both of these situations I learned you need to not just "know" but check and be sure.
Some things I did right...
I turned down my freezer and fridge to their coldest setting to help when the power failed to keep things cold or at least cool longer.
I filled whatever containers I could find with water and put them in the freezer ( days before) so that they could help keep the things at temp longer and also act as water when they melted.
I got candles and matches.
Filled up my gas tank
Charged my cell phone
I did my laundry and cleaned my kitchen/dishes
Some things I will do differently...
other than the fuel for the portable stove and batteries there were some other things I think I will do differently to prepare for other events.
I am going to get battery operated fan, lanterns, and when I can afford it a laptop/portable DVD player, gas cans hopefully 2 gallon ones 5 gallon ones I think would be too heavy and difficult to store.
The fans are for comfort, the lanterns for ease in reading and so I don't have to have candles going all the time, the laptop/DVD for entertainment and outside information I guess a little bit of comfort there to.
The gas cans I think it is obvious but when power and most other services are down it is impossible or nearly impossible to get gas so to have a few extra gallons would have been comforting and maybe allowed for a post hurricane leaving if needed.
Going to think about my food a bit more needed to have had something a bit different better choices than I had.
I was lucky I was only out of power for a short 36 hours there are people who are still out and will be for days yet.
going to go work on pictures to get them on here so till later...

2008-09-17T09:38:00.002-05:00

OK here is the photo-less update...(photo are coming but not today)
I have had power since Sunday night but most around me are just getting power back they are saying the Woodlands ( where I am) should be completely back online by Friday.
CP is hanging out with me as his power and water are still not on and hew was running low on gas driving back and forth to check on the kitchen. the Club had power for a few hours yesterday so we got the rotten gross things out of the walk-in disposed of and the containers cleaned. SO i will have about 2 hours of time this week. Hey it is two hours more than some will have. Unfortunately the power went back off and has yet to come back on there.
With out pictures most of the stories are not nearly as much fun so later today we will post again with pictures.
Just know that I am doing fine. I am lucky in many respects. The tree outside my balcony is still outside and while there are a couple of watermarks on my ceiling nothing leaked enough for it to put any water on my floor. The apartment will, of course, be fixing our roof hopefully before the next rains come through so the leaks don't increase. We are having fun with two dogs here enjoying, being the pack animals that they are, having a friend to play with.
Will be back later with pictures!

Coming soon...

2008-09-14T23:51:00.002-05:00

Ok internet service is a bit dicey right now with Hurricane Ike and all but I will be posting a series of stories about and lessons learned from Ike. I have pictures but they may be too much for the connection to handle so we shall see if we can they will be put with the posts otherwise they will wait and get their own post when I can do pictures. Besies some of them are on ( gasp!) a regular ( non-digital) camera. I be writing these things offline and then copying them to here to save on internet time.
But for starters a tease about what is coming soon...
possible post titles...
preparing is it enough?
opps! I forgot...
bored out of my goard...
reading by candle light or ouch my eyes!
scary tree
The wind...which direction is it coming from?
Rain rain go away...
love ya, center point!
who are the people in your neighborhood?
four wheeling golf course style...
what i learned...

So there you go a tease.

THIS is what chefs do when bored

2008-09-06T07:56:00.007-05:00

Well, work yesterday was loaded! or should I say CP was loaded down with ammunition? See for his birthday a few months ago we all got together and got him 450 water balloons. We knew who would be targets so we also got ourselves water guns for defense. However the water guns have long since broken or disappeared. There are still many water balloons left. Not as many this morning as yesterday but still many remain. Somehow for whatever reason i have only been the target once and even then it was so off target to make one believe it wasn't meant to be a direct hit. Yesterday that all changed. CP had great fun in weaving the water balloons through the narrow passage created by the ovens, shelving units and such on the way to where I spend much of my time the dishwasher. Not all ten balloons were thrown at me there but a bunch of them were. Yup I said ten! He got me good a few times. Once the balloon exploded at my side and totally drenched the back of my pants. Most of the time I was pretty protect by my vinyl apron so didn't get overly wet but that one got me very wet! I wish there were pictures of my reaction to getting hit especially that time but alas there aren't. Now I didn't just take it with a grin (though I was grinning) I plotted my revenge and patiently waited till it was time. I did throw one balloon at him but that wasn't my revenge that was opportunity so I took it. I shall lose a bit of my "innocence" here but it is too good to not tell. Now a bit of background...having worked in daycare I had done many sensory play things with the kids including whipping cream. For fun one day decided to put whipping cream into some balloons for the kids to squish and play with...in doing so learned that one must be very careful in tying off the balloons or they explode! So miss innocent I say to CP I would have thought you would have moved on from just water in the balloons by now... he admits to having thought of coffee but it would stain or syrup but way too sticky... I say I was thinking whipping cream ( now I know pretty well he would have to try...insert evil laugh...) Of course he does and I wish I had been ready with my camera but that just couldn't be or he might have suspected something but as he is tying off the balloon it explodes! All over! Got him good, and Fillet Mignon a bit as well the floor ( small price for me to pay to have to clean up the mess on the floor. I am glad it worked out the way it did. I mean the possibility existed that he would have managed to get it tied off and thrown at someone but he didn't and it was sweet!

Also yesterday he did this...

That is my dishwasher totally over come with suds because he put a nearly empty bottle of dish soap in it. I actually caught him doing it but he covered well. When I asked what he was doing to my machine he made up some line about our maintenance guy being there and wanting to get him to get the piece for the side so we don't have as much spit coming out onto the floor. Yes I am gullible I bought it mainly because we had discussed it in the past. So a little while later when I send a rack of dishes through my machine explodes with suds EVERYWHERE! I yell What did you do to my machine!??? he tries to maintain his innocence but doesn't quite manage it.. It was good. took about 30-45 minutes to get it cleaned up but man was my machine squeaky clean! One bit though he ( and I ) were lucky if I had waited to send that rack through for even 10 or 15 minutes more I would have been in a heap of trouble because all of sudden just as I finish cleaning it up we go from a slow day ( hence the playing) to WOW! and I spent much of the rest of the afternoon whacking back at the weeds. Didn't get in the weeds really but man they were beating at my door. If I had waited for a truly full rack to send through I would have been in trouble!

The usual target for CP is the nameless one, the one that closes most night the one I just can't figure out a nickname for. I have tried on several for him and the one the I like best is jelly bean don't know why but it kind of fits. So till something better comes along jelly bean it is. CP loves to pick on jb because jb is soooo very laid back he truly is the younger brother for us all. so also yesterday CP did this....

We have fun. Those pictures that float around out there saying this is what chefs do when bored? the ones of food animals? That is what chefs do for parties not when they are bored. that is work. It may be satisfying work but it is work and at least for the chefs I know that is not what they do when bored. The ones I know do create food items at times when bored but it is more of a what can I try to fry today or what kind of quasadilla ( someone out there mustknow how to spell this right help) extreme can I make or just how how HOT can I make this? kind of thing. Those are fun times in the kitchen too.

Isn't it ironic? Why would they? and other observations...

2008-09-04T22:29:00.003-05:00

You get ink and paper so you can print and what you wanted to print is not available to print due to site issues.
Just when you almost have the points you need in a program to get what you want they end/change the program and you have to settle for something less than what you saved all those points for...
you decide to save on gas and go to the closer pet store to get dog food only to discover they are $4 more for the same thing and it would have taken no where NEAR that much in gas...
why would someone pay rent to never stay in their apartment?
Why would someone live 47 miles from the walmart they work at? either walmart pays more than they were offering me or...? and it's not like there aren't probably 30 or so walmarts in that 47 miles they drive...

Some fun things in my life now...
I got a bike on Monday! For Free!!! I joined up with a site that job is to keep things out of landfills so you post that you have or want an item and if someone has/wants it you exchange it for free. So I posted asking if anyone had a chest of drawers ( no one yet) and then for giggles asked about a bike got three hits on the bike! My new (to me) bike is a ten speed mt climber ladies bike. pink and green! I just need to get a headlamp for it and maybe a new seat then i can bike to work at least a couple days a week.
On Monday I also went a quest for a comforter because Big Lots had them advertised for $10 but I couldn't find one I liked even for $10. HOWEVER, I found satin sheets. So now I slip slide in bed but it oh so smooth, soft and cool. Being the tactile girl I am I have always loved satin so you know I am in heaven!
AND on Monday a friend gave me a web cam! I still need to get it on my computer but that will be soon. Then we shall see how much fun it is.
Still having a blast at work! Got to make a Caesar salad, well it was a shrimp Caesar salad but I just told them (being the cooks) and they cooked the shrimp but I put it together. I think the hope was that more people at the party would order Caesar salads but only one did so poor CP and Fillet Mignon had to bust it making 20 or so hot plates of things ranging from quesadillas ( totally wrong spelling there...help anyone?) to hamburgers to wraps to philly cheese steaks. It was fascinating to watch them! Had a break through of sorts at work the other day. I have to wash the silverware twice and in between the washes I sort them out. It finally ( only took 8 months) occurred to me that if I put the same silverware in the same slot of the rack every time I would cut down on my searching for where that spoon (or knife or whatever) needs to be sorted to. DUH! I mean I figured that out with the plates and such when I was just barely there a couple of hours. Why'd the silverware take so long? I don't know. I think I am smart at times but then...lol! One day I will blog on the joys of mopping and what I have learned there. I will say this much...CP your method is faster and better...
My sweet puppy is loving being in the apartment. She loves having her freedom and I love having her sleeping with me again, though I don't think she likes the satin sheets as much as I do. She already has to jump up nearly 36 inches just to get on the bed then to have satin sheets to contend with? She not liking it too much. Oh well! I do so she will deal with it!
Off to slide into my bed. night all!

random Pictures, random updates

2008-08-24T03:16:00.007-05:00

Schlitterbahn...CP coming down a very fun slide
Sweetie Pie enjoying her first visit to the beach
Most likely the ONLY picture you will ever see of me in a swimsuit posted here. This is the first sunburn I remember getting I was about 6 or 7 here. FYI my suit still has flowers on it!LOL!
me and my sisters in Italy. My oldest sister says she still has that shawl I don't have those blue pants or that yellow top anymore. I know we were there in the summer what is with the long sleeves and sweaters?!?? Maybe Italy is cold in the summer? I will have to look into that...

as to life...

Had a very wet week here which meant we closed early on Tuesday and since we were scheduled closed for golf course maintenance Wednesday and I am off Thursday my hours SUCKED. But on the plus side I had some fun. CP golfed on Monday and I got to "caddy" for him. For the record I am a terrible caddy! I can not seem to keep the ball in sight and I ( to quote CP) drive the golf cart like his grandma! Oh well it was fun anyway. oh wait may have another picture...

camera phones are so much fun and sneaky too!

On Wednesday we went to the movies...saw Mirrors...don't bother it sucked! Then onto Incredible Pizza to play games and eat. Incredible Pizza is a pizza buffet where you can play arcade games, skee ball, bowl, mini golf, laser tag, go carts, bumper cars. Was definitely a better choice than the movie! A whole lot of fun. and a pretty good value where price was concerned.

Otherwise life is life..work sleep work sleep eat sleep work...repeat. Though tonight the sleep part seems to be eluding me. You would think after a nearly 13 hour work day I would have collapsed into to bed by now but instead I am wired. Of course i have really tried to go to sleep and maybe if I just go be still I will fall asleep. So good night ( or good morning rather!) I am off to try to sleep.

SIGH!

2008-08-14T14:17:00.003-05:00

Well with the way my health has been the past couple of months I decided to give up my registration for the half marathon this year. I think I have posted on here about the anemia and passing out or nearly passing out several times with the marathon just five months away I really needed to be seriously training and not worrying about whether or not I was anemic or if i was going to pass out or not. Just seems more important for me to concentrate on getting my body and blood back where it should be than focusing on the half marathon and worrying over that. If I had just managed to get my iron levels up quickly I would have been able to do it but instead my levels dropped even more...so must work on that. There is always the next one. I should probably try to do a few 5 and 10Ks during the year anyway instead just the one BIG event.
At least this means someone else gets to run it and I get back my $$.

pears of fate?

2008-08-12T00:47:00.003-05:00

Read my last post to see what all I had teased with and since it was just pictures we shall see if I get those pictures in this post. There WILL be pictures here just may not get the ones I teased about here yet we shall see...

Today, being Monday was a day off and I was very glad to have it off as I had two 13 hour days this weekend needed the rest today. The plan was to can pears today. To can them and make pear butter. We thought it would be a 3-4 hours job with the two of us and 3 kids helping. Yeah We wish! Canning time was probably 7-8 hours but the day was a bit longer. Why? well the trip to the doctors for stitches kind of added a little time to our day and then losing me due to the stitches not being able to get wet and having no gloves to keep them dry... yup you read right stitches! I sliced my right thumb and when it was still basically gushing blood after five minutes decided to go see my doctor. Felt rather silly (not to mention stupid...note a dull knife will cut you without a doubt) going in for a cut but when they saw it and it was still bleeding (not gushing) 30 minutes after the cut I realized I wasn't silly. When the doctor came in looked at it and said yeah 3-4 stitches should do it I was like oh my! Uh... Doc? I am a dishwasher...keep it dry you can work. So I will be a one gloved wonder at work the next ten days. He was one of the few doctors I hadn't seen at the clinic I go to but I liked him. He was very honest. He said I can do this two ways both will hurt one doesn't hurt less but one may work better which do you want the single shot in the thumb to numb the whole thing or several shot just around the cut to numb that area? I said whichever one you think is best but I have no problem with several shots if that will target better the area and keep the stitches from hurting. So several shots it was after a soak in the iodine bath and rub down with alcohol that got things cleaned up but bleeding again. That first shot hurt like the dickens but then the shots got to hurt less and less till finally I didn't feel them at all. Or my thumb for that matter. Weird feeling that to not feel your thumb. The first stitch I didn't watch but the rest I did as we casually chatted I was amazed that I felt nothing. Not even pressure it was like watching a doll get stitched up! These were the first stitches I was awake for since I was a baby and got a stitch in my head. So here are some pictures some from my camera, some from my phone.
So here is the sliced thumb... doesn't look too bad does it?

the iodine bath...

and all stitched up! Not sure why my camera was focusing beyond my thumb but...

hopefully I can get a better picture of the thumb tomorrow but at any rate there were not 3 or 4 stitches but 5 put in. Guess I really did need to go get it stitched up.
While the pears may have scored 5 stitches we scored 36 jars of canned pears, pear butter, and pear honey and got to have a bunch of fun doing it too! Pictures of the actual canning process will be coming in the near future and...
I guess I will continue the teasing and say soon the rest of the pictures will be posted on here!

of thirteen hour days and such

2008-08-09T00:52:00.003-05:00

I should be in bed asleep, I should be exhausted after not just a thirteen hour day at work but the last 2 hours of it feeling like I was drowning in dishes. I was definitely in the weeds those last hours. Kind of weird, normally I am getting all my dishes and such done and leaving from an event about half an hour to an hour before all the rest of us who stay to till end leave. Tonight I was the last one done. I think it had to do with the fact that they didn't have as much in the way of tear down to do no dance floor and as it was a plated dinner no buffet. Though there was a little buffet area for appetizers and the Banana foster stations. Actually it was the blasted banana fosters station that knocked me back. the cooks didn't bring their frying pans with them when they shut down the station so I get them at the end of it all. Six frying pans, two containers of left over banana guts, butter containers, brown sugar containers...you get the idea, lots of things I should have had done like 2 hours before and in the sinks not in the dishwasher... being brought to me at the tail end of all the glasses, bowls, spoons, and the plates that hadn't already been done. They had sooooooo many glasses. thankfully no coffee cups. You know something about those six frying pans made me want to scream! Maybe because I knew they should have already been done, maybe because I knew that a couple of them would be soaking over night. I know in my rush I forgot something. I left my drink but there is something else I will remember it tomorrow I am sure.
I have been a bit...umm... quiet lately. Mainly because with moving in and all I have been busy unpacking and such. OK I have been online alot I just have enjoyed being able to navigate the web however i want so writing on here has been low on the list. Sorry. SO let's see...what to tell, what to tease with...
Have pictures up on my living room/dinning area walls. Have the ones picked out for the bedroom just haven't gotten them hung yet. My kitchen is well strangely fitted out for dishes, pots, and such. I am going to have to buy a new set of dishes because while I can and do eat mainly off of salad and dessert plates most people would prefer to eat off of a dinner plate with a fork. Yeah a set of silverware might be needed too. But hey with my George foreman, blender and a dessert plate and a fork I am good to go. Just not to have anyone over to eat with me.
Finally got the right cords needed to to get my DVD player and TV to work together So I can now watch movies. I love TV especially a couple of networks but i haven't had cable in my home in years. Now for a while there one of the people I stayed with did and yes it was fun but really I prefer to waste my time online and not be a slave to some program or other. Not that I wouldn't get it in a heartbeat if I could just justify the cost, I can't so I won't. BUT it is tempting... baseball, food network, law and Orders, CSIs and right now the Olympics...
Went to Galveston with CP and the dogs this past Monday. It was my pups first trip to the beach. She liked the sand not so much the surf. I will have video of some of it soon hopefully if I can figure out how to get the video off my phone and on the computer... I had a really great day. Got some sun but didn't get burned, well my part did..need to get a hat or something...got to spend the day relaxing and having fun. Not often do I get to do both at the same time. When I get the video thing worked out I will post the videos from that day....
Tuesday was the "hurricane" it was a tropical storm but as it rained all day and flooding was a possibility they never really opened work at all. So I got to relax all day. Not really was doing some unpacking stuff and staying home so I guess I got to relax but it wasn't fun. though that night I had my first guests. mE and her baby came and spent the night on their way back south. I really did enjoy them being here. Do not see them near often enough. Of course the fact that until what two weeks ago they were living in California might have played a roll in me not seeing them enough.
I guess the tease is pictures are coming...video too...of the beach, the visit, the apartment...maybe even a few of me much younger just for the fun of it...

a night, a morning...

2008-07-27T10:07:00.001-05:00

What an odd assortment of kitchen things I have right now! Actually very little in the ways of things. I did not attempt to rescue from storage most of the boxes as I can carry them and they will go in my car. I did get most of the food boxes though I know there is still a box of #10 cans of dehydrated refried beans somewhere...I also grabbed a box that had casseroles and a very small pot/frying pan thing in it and lids lots of assorted lids in it too. I didn't get the box with silverware or utensils...or my george foreman...or my knives...or..or..or.. So what do I have? well the mentioned pots, 2 paring knives, measuring cups, and I bought some spoons for cooking with, a can opener, paper plates, bowls and cups, plastic spoons and forks, and my microwave. But even with all I don't have I managed to not only make my dinner last night but to poach an egg for breakfast this morning. OK so dinner was reheated food from lunch but still it was yummy!
It was awesome sleeping in my bed last night. In fact it has been totally completely an out of this world thing to be in my own place and with my own things. I am going to have come up with the words to describe it better...my puppy is so relaxed and happy. It is so nice to not feel like a guest, interloper, or third class citizen. Not that any of the people I stayed with did that on purpose it is just the nature of the beast. I am very thankful for all those who let me stay with them this past year but I am even more thankful I don't have to anymore. Blank walls are going to drive nuts. I have got to get some pictures up soon.

THE MOVE

2008-07-26T21:04:00.003-05:00

First I will do the sad news and then move on (hehe!) to the move.

My good friend, Disco Queen, who was struggling with lung cancer since February passed away and went home to Heavenly Father this past week. While I am sad for me I know she was at peace and now is not struggling with the pain of the disease. I will miss her. She brought such light and laughter to my life. We learned the night fever dance so we could dance it at the Singles dances,. Actually that is a lie we learned for a ward adult dance but I ended up sick so we didn't get to do it there. it was such fun trying to keep up with her and learn that silly dance. She was like me in that she went to dances to dance and have fun so she did. We would do routines to all sorts of songs. If no one was dancing we were out there! Even if it was some oldie that was more of a ball room dance we were out there making up some routine to it and having a blast. The dances will not be the same. they will be lacking, they have been lacking, a very vibrant spirit. Today was her funeral Vet Boy sang How Great Thou Art. Did an awesome job.

Because of the funeral I asked for the day off. I wouldn't have made it back before 2 or 3 anyways but still needed to try to fit in THE MOVE.

And yes we did. I will be sleeping on MY bed for the first time in over a year. In a place that is mine everything here is mine I can eat, drink, use the computer, heck walk around naked if I so desire( I won't but I could). I have my bed kind of made up found some of my sheets but not a matched set so it is a hodge podge but sleepable. Obviously the computer is up and running. lost a cable to the tv/dvd player so need to get another one. need to go to a box store and get a few items...shower curtain, can opener, milk, and few other food items, maybe some ice cream and chocolate syrup,oh and since I have a working dishwasher, dishwasher soap. I am so excited that tonight I get to not only sleep in my bed but my puppy can too. She has been so happy this evening sitting on the floor by me or when i am moving around too much for that up on the couch. i don't mind saying that while I have been grateful for all the help i have received this past year being able to stay with folks while I got back on my feet it has still been one hell of a year. Both my puppy and I are doing the happy dance!

Will post pictures when I things arranged.

the move lately

2008-07-17T17:49:00.004-05:00

The more I get done on the move the more real it seems and yet...oh man I want this so badly that I worry that come next Thursday when I go to sign the lease something will not be as it should be. Right now all I want is my own bed back my four poster queen size bed. remember it? I do...I would have sworn I put pictures of it on here but I can not find them oh well when I get it all set up on the 23rd I will take pictures again and get them on here. Other than the move my mind is a blank canvas it is so occupied with all I have to do in a very short time and not only is it short in days but it literal time I mean I have a week but I only have two days off and one of those has a doctors appointment on it along with the signing of the lease. So that only leaves one day off somewhat free for me to go to the storage unit and do some assessing as to where the things are that need getting and how to get them in the easiest possible way. PLUS the need to get to rid of several items in the storage unit and to go through others to see if they stay or go. UGH!!!! all I can say is I hope someone rescues me for a bit on Monday to help me maintain my sanity or I will be there from 7 or 8 am till 7 or 8 pm and will go bonkers! I just keep telling myself in 9 days it will be done I will have my bed and my chair and will have my computer up and running I just need to get through the next 8 or so days.
Weird weight loss connection here...amongst the things that i couldn't/wouldn't have done before is almost everything involved in this move. i have been asking for the help I need wouldn't have done that before at least not a week or two in advance, I wouldn't have thought I was worthy of help I know I was totally messed up. Now when i ask for help it is knowing what kind of help and how much help I need before it was more like HELP what do I do what do I need? I know how is this connected to losing the weight? Somehow I know that I have a brain ( I had one before but figured no one thought I did ) to use and plan an d figure and a mouth to let people know what is needed what i can and can't do. I mean the poor fellas helping me out are gonna be helping out very early on a Saturday because I have to be to work for 11 and that is what it is. Waiting till Monday or another day to make it more convenient for them isn't an option this is what I need. I ask for what I need and desire now, never would have before the weight loss. Strange I know but true.

doctors updates

2008-07-15T23:53:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I had my appointment with my surgeon. Lost 3 more pounds! I was excited and happy with that. I was actually quite prepared to see no weight loss because of how the last 3 weeks have been. Between the sunburn and other health issues making exercise and proper eating difficult at best I was certain that any weight I had lost was gained back in the last 3 weeks, but evidently not. I had an appointment this morning with my gp to discuss my other health issues one of which was a continuation of itching of my back ever since the sunburn. She looked and prescribed a steroidal cream and referred me to a dermatologist because some of the freckles and moles on my back look "suspect" hopefully when I go in to see him all is discovered to be fine. Amazingly was able to get an appointment for next week with him. So in the midst of packing and getting ready to move I will be getting assessed by the dermatologist. I know in my youth ( and obviously in my adulthood as well) I was stupid about the sun and had many bad burns but hopefully none have caused any lasting bad effects.
The rest of my day off was spent with CP. I had found a gift card to the local movie theatre so we saw Hancock. It was a good movie, not Will Smiths best effort but a good one none the less. I would say that for an action superhero movie go see Iron Man or the Incredible Hulk much more action in those two. BUT while Hancock did use some "language" quite freely it was still a good movie. DEFINITELY pg-13. Then we went to the mall. Ever been in a candle store with a guy who likes candles? or in a lotion place with one? It was new experience for me. Sorry LMSS and Sweet Pea but I haven't had that much fun at a mall in long time. After dinner we stopped by the pet store and got food for my pup and a bone for his. Both of whom were very happy to see (eat) what they got! I really would love to see our two dogs together! They would have such a blast! DESTROY anything in their path but they would have fun doing it!
One of my sister's has been finding and sending out pictures from our youth that are just treasures to behold. One is actually from the vacation where I got my first bad sunburn though it is not of the sunburn...maybe I will put it on here when I finally get the pictures from schlitterbahn developed.
Did you know July is national Ice cream month?

I AM MOVING!!!

2008-07-13T23:06:00.003-05:00

After a year of being a gypsy and sleeping under the roofs provided by friends and family on beds and couches and floors that through their goodness they give me I am getting my own apartment! YIPPEE!! I am soooo looking forward to my own space, to being able to sleep in my own bed the beautiful four poster bed that has been in storage all this time. to being able to open the refrigerator or freezer and eat anything I want and where ever/whenever i want. to being on the computer on MY computer how ever long I want. To having my puppy sleeping with me ( I know, I know I shouldn't let her but...)To privacy and freedom. I have so appreciated those who have opened their homes to me in my time of stress and strife but i have missed being on my own and at times even being alone. My new place is a small one bedroom apartment with washer/dryer hookups, a balcony and outdoor storage area. It is just a 1 1/2 miles from work, less than 10 from church, across the street from two major grocery stores and around the bend from a MAJOR box store ( walmart). The apartment will be available to move in on the 25Th but I work that day so actual moving in may be the next morning or even a staggered event with bed, computer and desk, couch and dining table and chairs getting brought on the 25 and/or 26Th and everything else trickling in via my car over days off.
I will post pictures when I get moved in. 12 days and counting!

more on dances

2008-07-12T06:24:00.003-05:00

Had a really nice visit with Disco Queen. Plus being able to spend some time with another friend Hot Pink was fun. Thanks for spending the day with me.
There was a dance last night. It was a patriotic themed one so all red, white and blue. It was good to be out dancing. actually danced several dances with guys, not normal for these dances guys just aren't there or don't dance. I go to dances to dance so I typically am out there shaking my booty ( so to speak) to whatever I can. Kind of interesting last night as well because a fella I am friends with but had been a one date with ( can we say disaster?) got really very possessive when another fella started chatting with me. Now the other guy was one I have been friends with for several years so it was humorous to see such possessiveness in the former fella. kind of worrisome too though it took a long time to get him to back off after our "date" years ago. Would hate any kindness on my part to be misread. Still it was a fun night. The dj was decent, the music good and different songs played and the drive there and back was fun. I got to visit with a friend I see rarely so that was nice. MOST importantly I got to dance!
Teaser news....hopefully everything will be confirmed and I can let everyone know soon....
off to work out and get a new cell phone mine has quit finally.

Life, dances and such

2008-07-10T07:19:00.003-05:00

Today, I am going to see a friend who is very ill. actually I have spoken of her here before...Dancing Queen. She has been a good friend for about two years. We used to go to the dances together. We "learned" how to do the night fever line dance and would do it whenever any song from Saturday Night Fever was played at a dance. We made up dance routines to the ball room dance song that get a little play because one of the djs is a ballroom dance instructor and gosh dern it we go to dances to dance not sit so we would do routines like you would see in the old musicals to them. It was such fun. and SOOOOOOOOO VERY embarrassing. Earlier in the year she was diagnosed with Lung Cancer. She has been fighting valiantly but there is not much the doctors can do for her anymore. She never smoked and was never around alot of secondhand smoke she did live in an area for many years that is highly industrial...so..? Who Knows. All I know is she is young too young. I have missed having her at the dances, missed seeing her each week in church. So today I am taking the opportunity to go visit her. There are other things I should do on my day off maybe in some ways they would be a better use of my time but friends are precious and should be cherished so today I go visiting and put off for another day the business of life to live a little and appreciate life and love.
To be a bit of tease...news coming soon on some things in my life...

random sampler updates

2008-07-02T08:51:00.005-05:00

It always amazes me how the days can just fly away from me. I mean it is like BOOM! All of a sudden over a week has passed since I last truly wrote on here. Lots happening, lots to tell, not enough time to tell it all well. so here goes with a random sampler of mostly unrelated to each other items...
Sunburn is healing...sunburn was BAD...I was unable to work out even cardio till Friday...I am now an alligator scaly and peeling...I WILL learn my lesson and NOT do that again! SUNSCREEN is my friend!
Work...still trying to come up with nicknames for a couple of the key players at work to make story telling easier...that said...some stress reared its ugly head at work Sunday...two of the line cooks had issues I actually don't think she realised she was causing him stress but he is Mr laid back and when I saw him getting frustrated and felt the tension I knew it was not a good thing. As it always seems to be the case with these things it was a matter of communication breakdown and an insensitive remark. You can't have that anywhere. Just as I was getting ready to text or call CP on the golf course he came through in between rounds and I quietly informed him of the frustration ( a bit too quietly as we had an issue communicating due to my volume and probably a bit of muttering instead of speaking) CP really is a very good manager. Didn't beat around the bush but handled it head on. There is still a little residual tension but that will fade as time passes.
I got to "help" by carving out some frozen gumbo and sealing up little packages of crab rangoon. :) They made some really yummy pickled green beans...CP is making Kim Chee be interesting to see how that comes out...smells very much like what I remember...Still love work...they are finally taking out my 401K stuff just took two months...
Had Saturday off for a temple wedding. It was a wonderful day. very spiritual and they are both so happy. Kind of cool for me I didn't think about work once kind of weird but I actually I guess am secure enough in my job now that I don't worry that if I am gone I will come back to no job. took six months but there have other jobs where it took upwards of a year so...
my workout schedule was mightily disrupted by the sunburn but that is being rectified. And I am getting back to working out daily. My next training session with my personal torturer won't be till the 15th so I am gonna have to do something in resistance on my own ( I am so resistant to the idea :) )

Went and saw the Incrediable Hulk on Monday with LMSS (used to be known as Pinkie on here) and her boys. It was a fun day we spent a lot of time talking about adventure quest ( I am now level 40) because they play(ed) it. Oh and they did a really good job with the incrediable hulk. I really liked it. Lately hollywood seems to be doing much better with their comic book based movies. Pictures sometime in the future...