Summer is nearly here. Damn! I do enjoy the nice weather, but nice to me is sunny and mid-60’s, not the hot and humid lazy days with temps of 75+ that we here in the Midwest are so accustomed to. Besides the hot and clammy weather, there are a few other things I resent about this time of the year.
First of all: TICKS!! They seriously give me the creeps. For a girl who could spend all day wandering through the woods or messing in a garden, (as long as the heat is not too bad), you would think that I would be used to the freaky things by now, but I’m not. Last night I was lying in bed petting Peanut. As always he was lying on my pillow and I had my arm up over my head petting him. Then I felt a weird bump on him. I started bawling and jumped up, I made check him. Sure enough, it was a tick. I realize that to be 25 years old and crying because your dog has a tick is a little over-the-top, but they seriously freak my shit out! I don’t understand where he could have even been to get into ticks. When I worked at the farm and would take him with me, he and the barn dog roamed the woods all day long, and I never found one on him. *SHUDDER* It still gives me chills to think about it.
Last weekend we were at the house of some friends and they have a handful of trees and a wood pile close to where we were sitting. Once we got home Jake jumped in the shower to scrub the smell of campfire out of his hair and he shouted out to me that once he was done he was going to “check me for ticks”. He of course was referring to the Brad Paisley song “Ticks”, one of last summer’s anthems on country radio.
I still have goose bumps just thinking about how my dog was lying on my pillow while a blood-sucking parasite latched onto his little body. BARF!!!
By the way, Peanut was extricated to his own bed on the floor on the opposite side of the room as me. And I am seriously considering a Chinese Crested as my next pet, it would be pretty hard to miss a tick on a hairless dog. Just kidding!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Good Times...
...with the Dekalb County Wine Society
(Don't we just sound like snobs!! ;D)
Jake and Kianne...we take better pictures when sober!
Sam and Travis
Jake and Sam
Leon from South Africa
Sam and Travis
Jake and Sam
Leon from South Africa(who hae the COOLEST accent)
Kianne and Tammy
Jake and Billy
Kianne and Billy
Time for a wet willie!!
Kianne and Tammy
Jake and Billy
Kianne and Billy
Time for a wet willie!! Costa Rica - HERE WE COME!!!
So I have this habit, which is usually bad, of signing Jake and I up for all sorts of bunk scams online to win free trips and stuff. Even though my common sense is screaming at me not to do it, the dreamer in me thinks, “Well, this just might be the one.” And so I continue to pass the time when I can’t sleep or to occupy my hands while on the phone, I relentlessly enter into these so-called contests.
Wee guess what, it finally paid off!!!
Last night we had to go and sit through a demonstration about some company called Simplicity Gormet. They sell knives, crystal, china, pots and pans, among other things. They were targeting engaged and recently married young couples. Basically, they called us up and said that we were selected as one of the winners of a free trip voucher and we only had to sit through a demonstration, during which they cooked chicken breasts and vegetables for us. I can handle that! After the demonstration you have to talk with one of the reps and put up with then trying a high-pressure approach to get you to buy their pots and pans, “They are only $3779. And we offer financing. That’s not a bad deal for a lifetime investment. You spend 3 times that on a car and then get a different one in a couple of years. This is a good way to start out your marriage, with a set of cookware that’s going to last a lifetime, just like your marriage.”
Seriously. Give me a break, man!
Anyhow, after telling them over and OVER again NO THANKS, we have a set of Kitchen Aid, a set from Nikken, and 2 from a set of Salad Masters that I bought at Goodwill for $5 each just because I knew they were VERY expensive at one point in time. We refuse all offers of financing and the little registry cards to put in the invitations so that people will call up and put money towards the almost 4K dollar pots and pans that we have. (To this Jake actually responded: “I don’t think so! Who wants their friends and family to pay for something they already have? Bring on the new shit, right? Isn’t that the point in having a reception?” I was MORTIFIED!)
Anyhoodles, after refusing these guys' product time and time again, even though some of the stuff was pretty cool, they handed over our voucher for the free trip. Of course, it's not totally free...we have to pay for transportation, alocholic beverages, and souvineirs. I think we can handle that. And, we have 2 years to actually book and take the trip, and at the time of booking you have to give the resort a $200 good faith deposit that you get back upon arrival.
So...one of these days, in the next 2 years, we are off to COSTA RICA!!! Do you know what's in Costa Rica??? We're talking exotic scenery, exotic wildlife, exotic beaches, whew! I could go on and on!!!
Wee guess what, it finally paid off!!!
Last night we had to go and sit through a demonstration about some company called Simplicity Gormet. They sell knives, crystal, china, pots and pans, among other things. They were targeting engaged and recently married young couples. Basically, they called us up and said that we were selected as one of the winners of a free trip voucher and we only had to sit through a demonstration, during which they cooked chicken breasts and vegetables for us. I can handle that! After the demonstration you have to talk with one of the reps and put up with then trying a high-pressure approach to get you to buy their pots and pans, “They are only $3779. And we offer financing. That’s not a bad deal for a lifetime investment. You spend 3 times that on a car and then get a different one in a couple of years. This is a good way to start out your marriage, with a set of cookware that’s going to last a lifetime, just like your marriage.”
Seriously. Give me a break, man!
Anyhow, after telling them over and OVER again NO THANKS, we have a set of Kitchen Aid, a set from Nikken, and 2 from a set of Salad Masters that I bought at Goodwill for $5 each just because I knew they were VERY expensive at one point in time. We refuse all offers of financing and the little registry cards to put in the invitations so that people will call up and put money towards the almost 4K dollar pots and pans that we have. (To this Jake actually responded: “I don’t think so! Who wants their friends and family to pay for something they already have? Bring on the new shit, right? Isn’t that the point in having a reception?” I was MORTIFIED!)
Anyhoodles, after refusing these guys' product time and time again, even though some of the stuff was pretty cool, they handed over our voucher for the free trip. Of course, it's not totally free...we have to pay for transportation, alocholic beverages, and souvineirs. I think we can handle that. And, we have 2 years to actually book and take the trip, and at the time of booking you have to give the resort a $200 good faith deposit that you get back upon arrival.
So...one of these days, in the next 2 years, we are off to COSTA RICA!!! Do you know what's in Costa Rica??? We're talking exotic scenery, exotic wildlife, exotic beaches, whew! I could go on and on!!!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
On bad dreams and bad habits...
Once again I decided to quit smoking. This is a battle I have been fighting for nearly a year. Sometimes I do good, and there are other times that I devour cigarettes and want nothing else. As my cravings were becoming less and less I decided to try yet again, this time having a feeling that I was just going to work. Only this time I would take a different approach.
On previous occasions I have chewed the gum and worn the patch, all while continuing to light up. I attempted Gov. Mitch Daniels stop smoking challenge and succeeded for a couple of months. They say that to quit you need something to replace the actions and movements with. That is a hard thing to do in the dead of winter when you are living in a house like mine, (the house alone makes me want to smoke cartons of cigarettes!). But along comes summer, packed with many activities to keep me occupied, and a prescription drug that makes me sicker than anything I could have ever imagined!
Chantix is a pill designed to work on your brain in some way to reduce your cravings and assist you in your quest to quit. Unlike the other stop smoking aides, Chantix contains NO nicotine. This is the reason I chose to go this route, besides the fact that the others had not worked previously. Call me crazy, but the more I think about it, the harder it is for me to fathom using one nicotine product to stop using another. When you talk with your doctor about prescribing the drug, you have to answer TONS of questions about your daily habits, what you eat, how much you smoke, time of day you smoke more, what makes you crave a cigarette, the amount of alcohol you consume in a 24-hour period, and so on. Based on my answers, my doctor put me on a week long dosage of .5mg and after that 2 months worth of 1mg dosage. And then he talked to me about the side effects…
Nausea
Night Terrors (that’s right night terrors, not night mares)
Anxiety
Trouble sleeping
Constipation
Gas
And a whole slew of other’s, the above are just the most common.
Side effects are listed on every pill bottle and package, and I always read them, but I never experience any of the side effects. The bottle says to take with a full glass of water and to avoid drinking alcohol excessively. No problem, I drink water constantly and a couple of drinks on Friday night is hardly excessive. For the first 3 days I felt hardly a side effect. I was a little nauseous, but I had cramps and didn’t think twice about it. I was a little anxious, but my days were being spent painting my house with Jake’s mother so I blamed it on that. It wasn’t until my dosage was upped that the side effects started coming on strong. I had gas so bad I was stinking my little dog, (who is unusually attracted to bad smelling things), out from beneath the covers at night. (I know, TMI!) The nausea was getting so bad that everyone around me was beginning to ask if I were pregnant, my mother even insisting I take a pregnancy test! Finally I learned to take the pill at lunch time so the “morning sickness” goes away and I can lie down in the backseat of the Jimmy and sort of sleep it off during my lunch break. However, the nausea lasts all day long. ALL. DAY. LONG. As far as the alcohol thing goes…I think when they say excessive they mean 3 drinks, as in gulps, of 1 beer. I was sharing one Friday night and after the first 3 drinks I could put down no more and I instantly felt I needed to lie down or blow chunks all over the girl sitting across the room from me. I didn’t barf, and I didn’t lie down. I also have not had another drink since then!
I was concerned about the night terrors at first, especially after hearing some of the stuff that others who have taken the pill have dreamt! Scary! I was nervous to sleep that fist night I took the pill so I made sure to take it on a Friday when I knew I didn’t have to be anywhere important, like work, first thing. For the next 3 nights I slept like always, not remembering any dreams, or night terrors. The fourth night was a different story altogether. I am not even going to touch on what I dreamt about, but it was horrible. I have had only 1 dream in my lifetime that I can remember having such an effect on me in such a terrifying way. I woke up in the wee hours of Monday morning in a cold sweat and crying. In my dream I was crying, and I was crying when I woke up, it was the strangest thing. I had the hardest time getting back to sleep after that. Last night I was afraid to go to sleep. I read until 1230 and then watched TV for another hour before finally deciding to take Excedrin PM. Luckily last night I did alright, but with two months of the treatment ahead, I can only pray that the night terrors don’t frequent my sleep.
I wouldn’t tell Jake any details about what the dream was actually about, just that it scared the hell out of me and that I was afraid to go to sleep. He kept his arm around me until I fell asleep and told me to wake him up if I had anymore bad dreams. That was nice of him, considering if I wanted to wake him up in the night I would have to hire the bands that play in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! Like I said, last night I didn’t have any troubles, but who can tell what’s in store for the days to come…
On previous occasions I have chewed the gum and worn the patch, all while continuing to light up. I attempted Gov. Mitch Daniels stop smoking challenge and succeeded for a couple of months. They say that to quit you need something to replace the actions and movements with. That is a hard thing to do in the dead of winter when you are living in a house like mine, (the house alone makes me want to smoke cartons of cigarettes!). But along comes summer, packed with many activities to keep me occupied, and a prescription drug that makes me sicker than anything I could have ever imagined!
Chantix is a pill designed to work on your brain in some way to reduce your cravings and assist you in your quest to quit. Unlike the other stop smoking aides, Chantix contains NO nicotine. This is the reason I chose to go this route, besides the fact that the others had not worked previously. Call me crazy, but the more I think about it, the harder it is for me to fathom using one nicotine product to stop using another. When you talk with your doctor about prescribing the drug, you have to answer TONS of questions about your daily habits, what you eat, how much you smoke, time of day you smoke more, what makes you crave a cigarette, the amount of alcohol you consume in a 24-hour period, and so on. Based on my answers, my doctor put me on a week long dosage of .5mg and after that 2 months worth of 1mg dosage. And then he talked to me about the side effects…
Nausea
Night Terrors (that’s right night terrors, not night mares)
Anxiety
Trouble sleeping
Constipation
Gas
And a whole slew of other’s, the above are just the most common.
Side effects are listed on every pill bottle and package, and I always read them, but I never experience any of the side effects. The bottle says to take with a full glass of water and to avoid drinking alcohol excessively. No problem, I drink water constantly and a couple of drinks on Friday night is hardly excessive. For the first 3 days I felt hardly a side effect. I was a little nauseous, but I had cramps and didn’t think twice about it. I was a little anxious, but my days were being spent painting my house with Jake’s mother so I blamed it on that. It wasn’t until my dosage was upped that the side effects started coming on strong. I had gas so bad I was stinking my little dog, (who is unusually attracted to bad smelling things), out from beneath the covers at night. (I know, TMI!) The nausea was getting so bad that everyone around me was beginning to ask if I were pregnant, my mother even insisting I take a pregnancy test! Finally I learned to take the pill at lunch time so the “morning sickness” goes away and I can lie down in the backseat of the Jimmy and sort of sleep it off during my lunch break. However, the nausea lasts all day long. ALL. DAY. LONG. As far as the alcohol thing goes…I think when they say excessive they mean 3 drinks, as in gulps, of 1 beer. I was sharing one Friday night and after the first 3 drinks I could put down no more and I instantly felt I needed to lie down or blow chunks all over the girl sitting across the room from me. I didn’t barf, and I didn’t lie down. I also have not had another drink since then!
I was concerned about the night terrors at first, especially after hearing some of the stuff that others who have taken the pill have dreamt! Scary! I was nervous to sleep that fist night I took the pill so I made sure to take it on a Friday when I knew I didn’t have to be anywhere important, like work, first thing. For the next 3 nights I slept like always, not remembering any dreams, or night terrors. The fourth night was a different story altogether. I am not even going to touch on what I dreamt about, but it was horrible. I have had only 1 dream in my lifetime that I can remember having such an effect on me in such a terrifying way. I woke up in the wee hours of Monday morning in a cold sweat and crying. In my dream I was crying, and I was crying when I woke up, it was the strangest thing. I had the hardest time getting back to sleep after that. Last night I was afraid to go to sleep. I read until 1230 and then watched TV for another hour before finally deciding to take Excedrin PM. Luckily last night I did alright, but with two months of the treatment ahead, I can only pray that the night terrors don’t frequent my sleep.
I wouldn’t tell Jake any details about what the dream was actually about, just that it scared the hell out of me and that I was afraid to go to sleep. He kept his arm around me until I fell asleep and told me to wake him up if I had anymore bad dreams. That was nice of him, considering if I wanted to wake him up in the night I would have to hire the bands that play in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! Like I said, last night I didn’t have any troubles, but who can tell what’s in store for the days to come…
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Memorial Day Weekend in Review
What a long weekend! I had hoped that it would be relaxing, but I had no such chance!
I took Friday afternoon off. I had a party to do at a friend’s house and she wanted me to come over extra early. She also wanted me to pitch in and help buy and prepare snacks and drinks. I am not going to go into any long and sordid story here, but let me tell you…I have a pretty good feeling that our friendship is coming quickly to an end. She was afraid that her friends would not come and she would have a lousy show, so I invited a few of mine whom have all met the hostess. BIG MISTAKE. I was so embarrassed to have my friends there and embarrassed for them to see how she was acting. She and her husband have been having some problems, but the way she was acting and the things that she was saying were just SHAMEFUL! I was so anxious to get a show booked and submitted that I looked past some details that should have been red flags. I was at her house from 4-1030, I brought over a cake, some ice and booze and a cake dessert that I made…and she conned me into paying for even more booze. I didn’t sell one piece of jewelry. The only people that wanted to order were MY friends. I pulled them aside discretely and told them not to order, I talked one of them into having her own party and I told them all I would give them each a $10 credit for their trouble.
Aside from that sucky part of Friday…I got to spend some time with one of my oldest and dearest friends from high school, Beckie. I met her and her adorable bf at Munchie’s for a drink and then took them back to check out my house. I was a little concerned when I got home and Jake was there, (Jake and I are both very conservative with our views and our house is decorated with guns and dead things, and Beckie and her boyfriend are liberals and the COMPLETE opposite. I have no problem with this, but Jake says things sometimes…many times…before thinking about them and offends people easily.) I was excited when everyone hit it off well. We decided to go to this little hole-in-the-wall bar in Corunna, which is more like a hole! (Every time I am there I am anxious that the other patrons are going to turn into blood-sucking beasts like in From Dusk Till Dawn). We spent a couple of hours there, Beckie and I chatting about our lives now and reminiscing while Jake and Ross played pool and talked about mushroom hunting. Good times.
Saturday was spent working our asses off!! Jake’s parents came up to help out, which was nice. Jake and his dad worked again at rewiring and insulating the garage while Lana and I painted the dining room. And oh, the dining room is BEAU-TI-FUL!! I was nervous that the color, a deep eggplant purple, would just be too much, but it compliments the green of the living room and makes the woodwork really POP. That room will be the first one finished. I need to put up outlet and switch plate covers and there is one spot on the floor that needs sanded again, and of course the woodwork will need cleaned after that. And that floor needs stained, but it will be the first room we do. Jake’s grandma Doty has given us her dining room table that seats 15 people, (Thanksgiving Dinner, here we come!), and a gorgeous lace table cloth to go with it. I have always wanted a room that is elegant and classy, even if it never gets used, and I think I am going to finally have one!
Sunday we had to go to the funeral of Jake’s Grandpa Doty’s older brother. I remember Jake saying how awkward it was for him going to my grandpa’s funeral because he didn’t know people and if we were not together people would ask who he was and on top of that people had to look around to find me because the last time that they had seen me I was 12, and on and on. Well, I can sympathize with him now. The Doty side of Jake’s family is sweet, and I really enjoy all of them. Jake’s grandma introduced me as her granddaughter, which melted my heart. The service was touching and very well done. I felt like an idiot for crying when I had never even met the deceased, but I really don’t deal well with death. The burial was worse. There were 4 chairs in front of the casket, reserved for the deceased son and his wife as well as the deceased younger sister and brother, Jake’s grandpa. Grandpa Doty let Grandma sit and eh stood behind her. You could see that he was upset at losing his brother and I tried not to look at him. During the service at the cemetery he cried, and I am not talking silent tears rolling down his face, I mean sobbing cries. I lost it. Afterwards everyone went out to eat at Richards in New Haven. There were 32 of us and 1 waiter. Not once did I have to go without coffee in my cup and the service was very prompt. We were all pleased. The highlight of the day was meeting Uncle Whitie, Jake’s grandma Doty’s brother. When we were introduced he pumped my hand firmly and said in the heartiest voice “Glad you go to meet me.” I laughed hysterically.
Funerals are like family reunions in a way. Life takes so much of our time that many of the family members get only cards for Christmas and birthdays, and in my family that often doesn’t happen. One of Dale’s cousins made the comment that they see each other for funerals and weddings only and unfortunately there are more funerals than weddings. Dale looked directly at me and announced that it was about time for a wedding. After that Jake and I were questioned relentlessly about how long we have been together and when we were planning on “taking the plunge”. Yet another awkward moment in time.
I don’t know about anyone else, but funerals wear me out! Between the crying and reminiscing and visiting and hugging and consoling. Sheesh! It wears me out to just think about it!
Monday we got a little bit of time to sleep in. Not much, but certainly more than usual. Dale came back up to work on the garage some more, but we still have a long way to go. Once it's done I am planning on having a garage sale, (so come and buy my junk...er, I mean, disguarged valuables). I am never going to get any time off if I don't stop adding more and more to my plate!
I was able to finish Audition: A Memoir by Barbara Walters over the long weekend. What a wonderful and fascinating woman! I can remember when I was younger my sister and I playing outside and I would set up a desk area with a couple of chairs and I would pretend that I was Barbara Walters and I would interview my sister. Her character changed every day. I would always feed her the answers that I wanted to. I would ask a question, and then I would say, "Okay, now you say..." My mom thought we were nuts. Rightly so I suppose, and I suppose we still are!
I left out one important event of our weekend on purpose. I wanted to save the best for last. Saturday and Sunday night we spent with Bob and Brenda, and I can't even begin to describe the wonderful time we both had! We sat around a fire and told stories and cooked hot dogs and smores, and I couldn't have been happier. We were there until the wee hours of Sunday morning, I think around 430, and back Sunday night at 930 until 130 or so. It feels so good to have friends that we can do that with again. Something we have not had in YEARS. (Really I don't think we have ever been so fortunate to have that.) We have differences, yes, but somehow it works without being forced to.
Well, that about sums it up. I know it sounds pretty dull to the rest of you out there, but considering my typical daily grind (work, gym, supper, laundry, walk dog, shower, read, in bed and asleep by 10), it is pretty fucking exciting.
I also wanted to add something else. I think it's too bad that people celebrate Memorial Day as only a Monday that they don't have to go to work. I am not excluding myself from this group. Just like Christmas and Easter, there is a reason for the extra day off and we need to remember the "reason for the season" or so to speak. God bless America and God bless the troops!
I took Friday afternoon off. I had a party to do at a friend’s house and she wanted me to come over extra early. She also wanted me to pitch in and help buy and prepare snacks and drinks. I am not going to go into any long and sordid story here, but let me tell you…I have a pretty good feeling that our friendship is coming quickly to an end. She was afraid that her friends would not come and she would have a lousy show, so I invited a few of mine whom have all met the hostess. BIG MISTAKE. I was so embarrassed to have my friends there and embarrassed for them to see how she was acting. She and her husband have been having some problems, but the way she was acting and the things that she was saying were just SHAMEFUL! I was so anxious to get a show booked and submitted that I looked past some details that should have been red flags. I was at her house from 4-1030, I brought over a cake, some ice and booze and a cake dessert that I made…and she conned me into paying for even more booze. I didn’t sell one piece of jewelry. The only people that wanted to order were MY friends. I pulled them aside discretely and told them not to order, I talked one of them into having her own party and I told them all I would give them each a $10 credit for their trouble.
Aside from that sucky part of Friday…I got to spend some time with one of my oldest and dearest friends from high school, Beckie. I met her and her adorable bf at Munchie’s for a drink and then took them back to check out my house. I was a little concerned when I got home and Jake was there, (Jake and I are both very conservative with our views and our house is decorated with guns and dead things, and Beckie and her boyfriend are liberals and the COMPLETE opposite. I have no problem with this, but Jake says things sometimes…many times…before thinking about them and offends people easily.) I was excited when everyone hit it off well. We decided to go to this little hole-in-the-wall bar in Corunna, which is more like a hole! (Every time I am there I am anxious that the other patrons are going to turn into blood-sucking beasts like in From Dusk Till Dawn). We spent a couple of hours there, Beckie and I chatting about our lives now and reminiscing while Jake and Ross played pool and talked about mushroom hunting. Good times.
Saturday was spent working our asses off!! Jake’s parents came up to help out, which was nice. Jake and his dad worked again at rewiring and insulating the garage while Lana and I painted the dining room. And oh, the dining room is BEAU-TI-FUL!! I was nervous that the color, a deep eggplant purple, would just be too much, but it compliments the green of the living room and makes the woodwork really POP. That room will be the first one finished. I need to put up outlet and switch plate covers and there is one spot on the floor that needs sanded again, and of course the woodwork will need cleaned after that. And that floor needs stained, but it will be the first room we do. Jake’s grandma Doty has given us her dining room table that seats 15 people, (Thanksgiving Dinner, here we come!), and a gorgeous lace table cloth to go with it. I have always wanted a room that is elegant and classy, even if it never gets used, and I think I am going to finally have one!
Sunday we had to go to the funeral of Jake’s Grandpa Doty’s older brother. I remember Jake saying how awkward it was for him going to my grandpa’s funeral because he didn’t know people and if we were not together people would ask who he was and on top of that people had to look around to find me because the last time that they had seen me I was 12, and on and on. Well, I can sympathize with him now. The Doty side of Jake’s family is sweet, and I really enjoy all of them. Jake’s grandma introduced me as her granddaughter, which melted my heart. The service was touching and very well done. I felt like an idiot for crying when I had never even met the deceased, but I really don’t deal well with death. The burial was worse. There were 4 chairs in front of the casket, reserved for the deceased son and his wife as well as the deceased younger sister and brother, Jake’s grandpa. Grandpa Doty let Grandma sit and eh stood behind her. You could see that he was upset at losing his brother and I tried not to look at him. During the service at the cemetery he cried, and I am not talking silent tears rolling down his face, I mean sobbing cries. I lost it. Afterwards everyone went out to eat at Richards in New Haven. There were 32 of us and 1 waiter. Not once did I have to go without coffee in my cup and the service was very prompt. We were all pleased. The highlight of the day was meeting Uncle Whitie, Jake’s grandma Doty’s brother. When we were introduced he pumped my hand firmly and said in the heartiest voice “Glad you go to meet me.” I laughed hysterically.
Funerals are like family reunions in a way. Life takes so much of our time that many of the family members get only cards for Christmas and birthdays, and in my family that often doesn’t happen. One of Dale’s cousins made the comment that they see each other for funerals and weddings only and unfortunately there are more funerals than weddings. Dale looked directly at me and announced that it was about time for a wedding. After that Jake and I were questioned relentlessly about how long we have been together and when we were planning on “taking the plunge”. Yet another awkward moment in time.
I don’t know about anyone else, but funerals wear me out! Between the crying and reminiscing and visiting and hugging and consoling. Sheesh! It wears me out to just think about it!
Monday we got a little bit of time to sleep in. Not much, but certainly more than usual. Dale came back up to work on the garage some more, but we still have a long way to go. Once it's done I am planning on having a garage sale, (so come and buy my junk...er, I mean, disguarged valuables). I am never going to get any time off if I don't stop adding more and more to my plate!
I was able to finish Audition: A Memoir by Barbara Walters over the long weekend. What a wonderful and fascinating woman! I can remember when I was younger my sister and I playing outside and I would set up a desk area with a couple of chairs and I would pretend that I was Barbara Walters and I would interview my sister. Her character changed every day. I would always feed her the answers that I wanted to. I would ask a question, and then I would say, "Okay, now you say..." My mom thought we were nuts. Rightly so I suppose, and I suppose we still are!
I left out one important event of our weekend on purpose. I wanted to save the best for last. Saturday and Sunday night we spent with Bob and Brenda, and I can't even begin to describe the wonderful time we both had! We sat around a fire and told stories and cooked hot dogs and smores, and I couldn't have been happier. We were there until the wee hours of Sunday morning, I think around 430, and back Sunday night at 930 until 130 or so. It feels so good to have friends that we can do that with again. Something we have not had in YEARS. (Really I don't think we have ever been so fortunate to have that.) We have differences, yes, but somehow it works without being forced to.
Well, that about sums it up. I know it sounds pretty dull to the rest of you out there, but considering my typical daily grind (work, gym, supper, laundry, walk dog, shower, read, in bed and asleep by 10), it is pretty fucking exciting.
I also wanted to add something else. I think it's too bad that people celebrate Memorial Day as only a Monday that they don't have to go to work. I am not excluding myself from this group. Just like Christmas and Easter, there is a reason for the extra day off and we need to remember the "reason for the season" or so to speak. God bless America and God bless the troops!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Thank you. Thank you very much!
As many of you may already know, I have recently become an Advisor for the in-home jewelry party company lia sophia. The jewelry is AMAZING and what even better than that is the AWESOME customer and hostess benefits, (...so book a party with me :)!!) When I hosted a show, I received just a little over $400 in FREE jewelry and one of the items I got was the necklace pictured below.
Which bring me to my point. I LOVE jewelry, and it was love at first sight when I saw my first lia sophia catalog. I wanted everything in it and there was NO question about how I was going to get it...I was going to sign up to sell it. Then I got a little scared. "Some of the stuff is pretty gaudy, what will people think if I am wearing this!?!?" I thought to myself. Well, I can't even begin to count the number of compliments I have gotten on this necklace today!
And to think, I was so close to just sending it back and choosing something else because I thought I would never wear it. (Jake even picked this one out. Thanks, Babe!)
Which bring me to my point. I LOVE jewelry, and it was love at first sight when I saw my first lia sophia catalog. I wanted everything in it and there was NO question about how I was going to get it...I was going to sign up to sell it. Then I got a little scared. "Some of the stuff is pretty gaudy, what will people think if I am wearing this!?!?" I thought to myself. Well, I can't even begin to count the number of compliments I have gotten on this necklace today!And to think, I was so close to just sending it back and choosing something else because I thought I would never wear it. (Jake even picked this one out. Thanks, Babe!)
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Life is too short to wake up with regrets!
So love the people who treat you right.
Love the ones who don't just because you can.
Believe everything happens for a reason.
If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.
If it changes your life, let it.
Kiss slowly.
Forgive quickly.
God never said life would be easy;
He just promised it would be worth it!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Stranger Every Day
When we moved into our house, we knew we had some oddball neighbors. For starters, there were the people on the West side of us that had 4 dogs, 3 kids that said words I would never dream of using, the wife didn’t work and her hair was colored to resemble a skunk, (it did to me, anyway), and the husband was missing 1 leg and ran a taxidermy out of their basement. All in all they were nice people. But I would be lying if I said I was disappointed when the parents divorced and the whole slew of them moved on. We started a feud with the neighbors to the East shortly after taking possession of the house. There is an alley that runs between our two houses which these other people always park in and block from the street to the back alley. Jake called the cops on them to report that they are blocking the alley…some nails were spilt in our yard…you get the picture. As it turns out, I went to high school with the guy that lives in the house and didn’t get along with him too well so I wanted nothing to do with them. Jake desperately wanted to make things right once he found out that it is their drive way and they are allowed to park in it. Long story short, we are all buddies now and we enjoy sitting on their front porch drinking beer and yelling out obscenities at passersby. (Let me clarify that I enjoy sitting on the porch and drinking beer, Jake likes to join in the others at yelling obscenities at passersby.) But all of this is another story.
The oddest of the oddball neighbors were the people that lived 2 doors down from us in the old funeral home. Not that I believe in spooks and haunting spirits or anything, but you have to admit there is something weird about living in a funeral home. To its credit, the house is GORGEOUS and worth a pretty penny, even in the housing market today, but it still takes a different kind of person to willingly live in an old funeral home. When I say different, basically I mean FREAK-O-ZIOD!! It’s not just the fact that this family lives in a funeral home that makes them weird. Basically, it’s everything they do! They have a plethora of vehicles that they are always trying to sell which is just about always junk. Once in awhile they have a decent one sitting out there. It just so happened that we met the family that lives in the funeral home officially when they had one of their rare decent finds parked outside of their junk filled garage.
We had been outside working in the back yard and Jake kept going on and on about this truck they had for sale and how he just knew that it would be a good idea to sell our Malibu and buy this rusted out POS truck because it had an Isuzu diesel engine in it that had over 500,000 miles on it. (Okay, I know that the Malibu is not in the best condition anymore, it has 103K miles and it’s almost 8 years old, what do you expect?, But seriously, give me a break!) Well, Jake is the type of person that once he gets an idea in his head he will not stop, (until he finds out on his own that he’s ridiculous!). So, against my better judgment, we head over to find out a little bit more about this wonderful vehicle that is going to get Jake 40 MPG.
When we cross the parking lot that divides our drive and their garage there is a guy standing outside the garage tinkering with some old machinery. Jake asked him about the truck, (while I squeezed onto my little dog as tightly as I could afraid that these people might want to take him from me and turn him into tomorrow’s supper). The guy told us to go through a door to the right just inside the garage and the person we needed to talk to was in there. We walk in, I loosen my grip on Peanut and start to feel a little at ease knowing that the house is very tidy and decorated very nicely. We walk down a dimly lit hallway and I start to feel a little apprehensive again. There are old fashioned electric candle scones hanging every few feet, the wall paper is that busy fleur-de-lis pattern and the carpet is that old fashioned shag like stuff that muffles your footsteps…or the footsteps of someone trying to sneak up on you. Yep, you guessed it, I gasped and spun around and jumped backwards, knocking into Jake just as he approached the door that the man we were looking for was supposed to be in. (There was no one behind me. No one that I could see anyway.) Jake hollered and knocked on the door and the guy told us to come in.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I would see next!
He is the guy we were looking for, lying in a pair of shorts on his back on top of this cadaver-autopsy-looking table. At his feet, his 15-year-old son rubbing his feet. Jake had the same look on his face, and it must have been a strange one because the guy immediately started to explain. “My son here, he’s 15, he wants to earn some extra money so I, uh, pay him to rub me down,” he explained. “It’s pretty nice, he starts with my head and he doesn’t get supper or the cash until every last toe has been touched.” I happened to glance at his feet just as he was saying this and I actually say him spreading his toes so the boy could get down into the “crevices”.
Thank God I had the dog with me, at least I could turn him to my face and act like he was licking me so I could at least disguise the look on my face and the bouts of laughter I was trying REALLY hard to control. Jake asked him a couple of questions about the truck and the guy gave Jake his number. Actually, they guy said, “Son, write down my cell and give it to him.” We were outta there so fast, I think it could have been considered record timing!
Once we got back to our house and had the door slammed and dead bolted shut, I wondered out loud just how much the kid had to “rub down”. We both laughed and went upstairs to bed. We laid there for awhile, I was almost asleep when Jake rolled over and said, “I don’t think I want to buy that truck.” Thank God he came to his senses on that one!!
The oddest of the oddball neighbors were the people that lived 2 doors down from us in the old funeral home. Not that I believe in spooks and haunting spirits or anything, but you have to admit there is something weird about living in a funeral home. To its credit, the house is GORGEOUS and worth a pretty penny, even in the housing market today, but it still takes a different kind of person to willingly live in an old funeral home. When I say different, basically I mean FREAK-O-ZIOD!! It’s not just the fact that this family lives in a funeral home that makes them weird. Basically, it’s everything they do! They have a plethora of vehicles that they are always trying to sell which is just about always junk. Once in awhile they have a decent one sitting out there. It just so happened that we met the family that lives in the funeral home officially when they had one of their rare decent finds parked outside of their junk filled garage.
We had been outside working in the back yard and Jake kept going on and on about this truck they had for sale and how he just knew that it would be a good idea to sell our Malibu and buy this rusted out POS truck because it had an Isuzu diesel engine in it that had over 500,000 miles on it. (Okay, I know that the Malibu is not in the best condition anymore, it has 103K miles and it’s almost 8 years old, what do you expect?, But seriously, give me a break!) Well, Jake is the type of person that once he gets an idea in his head he will not stop, (until he finds out on his own that he’s ridiculous!). So, against my better judgment, we head over to find out a little bit more about this wonderful vehicle that is going to get Jake 40 MPG.
When we cross the parking lot that divides our drive and their garage there is a guy standing outside the garage tinkering with some old machinery. Jake asked him about the truck, (while I squeezed onto my little dog as tightly as I could afraid that these people might want to take him from me and turn him into tomorrow’s supper). The guy told us to go through a door to the right just inside the garage and the person we needed to talk to was in there. We walk in, I loosen my grip on Peanut and start to feel a little at ease knowing that the house is very tidy and decorated very nicely. We walk down a dimly lit hallway and I start to feel a little apprehensive again. There are old fashioned electric candle scones hanging every few feet, the wall paper is that busy fleur-de-lis pattern and the carpet is that old fashioned shag like stuff that muffles your footsteps…or the footsteps of someone trying to sneak up on you. Yep, you guessed it, I gasped and spun around and jumped backwards, knocking into Jake just as he approached the door that the man we were looking for was supposed to be in. (There was no one behind me. No one that I could see anyway.) Jake hollered and knocked on the door and the guy told us to come in.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I would see next!
He is the guy we were looking for, lying in a pair of shorts on his back on top of this cadaver-autopsy-looking table. At his feet, his 15-year-old son rubbing his feet. Jake had the same look on his face, and it must have been a strange one because the guy immediately started to explain. “My son here, he’s 15, he wants to earn some extra money so I, uh, pay him to rub me down,” he explained. “It’s pretty nice, he starts with my head and he doesn’t get supper or the cash until every last toe has been touched.” I happened to glance at his feet just as he was saying this and I actually say him spreading his toes so the boy could get down into the “crevices”.
Thank God I had the dog with me, at least I could turn him to my face and act like he was licking me so I could at least disguise the look on my face and the bouts of laughter I was trying REALLY hard to control. Jake asked him a couple of questions about the truck and the guy gave Jake his number. Actually, they guy said, “Son, write down my cell and give it to him.” We were outta there so fast, I think it could have been considered record timing!
Once we got back to our house and had the door slammed and dead bolted shut, I wondered out loud just how much the kid had to “rub down”. We both laughed and went upstairs to bed. We laid there for awhile, I was almost asleep when Jake rolled over and said, “I don’t think I want to buy that truck.” Thank God he came to his senses on that one!!
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