Beading Again

I have started beading again. I had stopped for some time but needed to get some things organized so I got it all out and the bug grabbed me again.

I get the urge to be creative every once in a while and I have just not been able to get it out of my system with cardmaking. I think this is because it takes me a bit to get creative with the cards...I have to make a few ugly ones before I start to like them. Since my time has been tight lately, it has been harder to get going in the card department.

Beading on the other hand is really easy for me to flow with. I don't know why exactly. Perhaps it is because it is confined in some aspects with the creativeness allowed inside those confines. I did sit for quite some time when I first got it all out, a bit overwhelmed and not sure where to start. So I started with a few things that needed to be restrung and organized some beads I purchased in Portland/Seattle and ones my sister had sent and that was all it took.

For about 5 days now, all of my beading stuff has been spread out in one section of our family room floor. I can bead while J and I are watching TV and I don't have to put all my cardmaking stuff away to free up the craft table in my office. Eventually, I will have to put it away again, but for now I kind of like having it spread out and ready to go on the family room floor.

They Have Arrived

Looks like we might have bore beetles in the pine that was struck by lightening in April...this means we have to take it out...no more procrastinating, I need to get an electrical estimate for all the other things that were damaged during the lightening strike so we can file a homeowners claim with our insurance....grr...this is going to be a pain in the butt.

I will have to make some calls tomorrow. Damn!!!!

Losing My Mind

The other day, I made a bagel for breakfast. I made one for J too because we were out of milk at the time and I didn't want him to go without breakfast.

Later that day, I noticed a bagel sitting in the toaster....I couldn't remember putting it in there and just assumed that J did it before he realized that I had already made one for him and just forgot about it. I asked him about it when he returned home that night but he claims that he didn't do it.

Yesterday, I was getting ready to make some popcorn in the microwave and I found a cooked veggie burger in there. The veggie burgers I buy come in two packs of two. I made one for myself for lunch the other day, which required me to open a new pack to get one out (there was only one unopened pack to start with because we had eaten the other two previously). So that left me with one veggie burger in the freezer. I made the veggie burger on a bagel and I ate it, with cheese, ketchup and mustard. I had cucumber and tomato on the side. I remember all of this.

When I found the veggie burger in the microwave, the first thing I did was open the freezer to check the status (thinking that I must have made another one yesterday or the day before and just didn't remember it), and there is still just one veggie burger in the freezer....

Can someone please explain this to me? How can I have a perfect memory of eating a veggie burger with cheese and condiments and then find both a cooked bagel and a cooked veggie burger uneaten without diminishing the count I know we have in the house of both???? I am losing time or losing my mind...I am not sure which.

No Watering Needed

30% chance of rain, my @ss...it just came down in buckets for a couple of hours a while ago. We had an amazing lightening storm. A tree across the street was hit and I have never heard lightening like that. It seriously sounded like an explosion. Then after that hit, it just lit up all over the place for like 1/2 an hour straight and the thunder was so loud and surrounding. It was one of the best storms I have seen/heard.

Guess I don't have to water except for my stuff that is covered outside.

Bogged Down

Soccer practice was good yesterday, although everytime I play these days, my feet hurt. I don't know if it is because my shoes are getting worn out (they look fine) or what but it is making it less fun for me. I have to find a solution soon.

At least I burned some calories. I need to get some exercise in today as well but it will have to wait until later this afternoon when it gets cooler. We have had rumors of rain the last two days and it hasn't happened so I definitely need to water tonight as well.

I didn't get any yard work done the other day but I picked up some more mulch yesterday and plan to put it out this afternoon so I can get some pinestraw on Friday for our front yard. It is desparately looking dried out. I also found some basil plants so I can get my container going better than they are now. My basil production is pretty low...haha.

I have been getting notices via email about registration for class so I guess I need to do that....I just keep hoping to enjoy the summer a bit more before having to think about school again.

I have one geocache and two travel bugs that I need to place and the makings for 3 more geocaches and two more travel bugs that need to get going. The heat and deer flies have stifled my desire to hike the local trails.

Cards....oh am I behind in cards...but oh well, I can't do everything everyday and I let myself get procrastinated too easily. Just need to get some focus and start marking things off the list.

Gosh it seems like I am always posting about my to do list...guess you can tell what occupies most of my day, huh?

Yates not guilty in kids' deaths - Yahoo! News

I don't agree with this. I know that post partum is a serious problem and that many health professionals do not take it seriously, but I feel that it has nothing to do with this woman's issues and she should be held accountable for killing her kids.

My Love

Thank you for a wonderful 14 years. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us.

You are the best!!!

Back From The Beach

Well, we made it home and it was a blast. The weather was awesome until the morning we had to leave so we really lucked out. I managed to keep from burning the entire time....(yeah 15 sunblock) but did get a bit browner.

The condo we rented slept 8 people and we did 8 people with 2 kids over the weekend. During the week, it was just us girls, the kids and J (who was only able to come after work each day). We hung out at the pool or the beach or both during the day and then went back to the beach in the evening to watch stars, listen to waves and chase crabs. It was so much fun.

The condo was clean and neat and was not overwhelmingly decorated in beach scene. It had two balconies (one of which was screened) and a screened in front porch as well. There were two refrigerators and we also had two coolers with us so there was plenty of space for all our food and drink (which we brought lots of so we wouldn't have to go out much). There was also 2 1/2 bathrooms which made things easy with so many adults sharing the same space. We all brought some of our own towels so we would have beach towels and could take lots of showers without running out. J and I stayed in one of the two queen bed rooms and it was very comfortable. We lucked out with our own bathroom as well.

We went out to dinner one night but ate in the rest of the time. It was nice to cook up seafood and hang out with our friends. The kitchen was stocked with dishes and pots and pans so we didn't have to bring any of that (although I brought my rice cooker). The drive to and from was a bit longer than I thought but on the way down I had company in the truck with me.

Only downside was that I didn't take many pictures that don't have people in them and you know how I am about posting pics of people I know....so I guess I will just put a few pics up from our trip to the same spot in May...

Off

I will be off the blog (I think) for the next few days. I am taking my laptop with wireless with me but I don't know if I will find a connection or not so if I don't respond or read for a few days, don't think I have disappeared because I haven't.

The Culprit

I finally found a picture of the evil fly that tormented me in Michigan and Minnesota when we were camping. We have them here too, I found a few on a walk the other day. They are horrific and will not leave you alone. They are a type of deer fly and are attracted to dark colors and carbon dioxide so that is partly why they fly around your head.

We really need to get some rain around here soon, I am spending a ton watering everyday and we are starting to get lots of horse flies, and mud bees due to the lack of water....check out the link on this guy (it is in the title of this post) and see how horrible it is for yourself.

Some Good News

Well, today is hot tub maintenance day. After the soaking we all did after our bbq the other weekend, with sunscreen and bug repellant on our skin the water in the hot tub is pretty disgusting. It is due for the 3 month change out anyhow, so I am in the process of draining the tub.

Since I have to pull the panel off to do the draining, I figured this is as good a time as any to take the stereo out and test it. The history of it is that when we had the lightening strike in the yard in April, the static charge in the air fried out a few things. We have twenty three lights that were effected by the static (and they range from 6-18 dollars), and then the power converter for the stereo (which is 150 bucks) was also blown. Because it was blown, I couldn't tell if the stereo was out as well without taking it out of the hottub and hooking to one of our car batteries (the hot tub stereo is a car stereo).

So anyhow, I took the stereo out and tested it on our truck just now...and it works fine!!! I was able to eject the CD that has been sitting in it for 2 months too....yeah!!! At least I don't have to replace that 350 bucks...

You Have To Wonder

Last week, when N Korea test fired missiles into the Sea of Japan, commentators and analysts all agreed that it was a grab for attention because so much attention was going to Iran and the war in Iraq/Afghanistan, and not to N Korea.

So now, I am wondering, with the issues that have developed this weekend between Israel and their neighbors and how much coverage it is getting, should we be expecting N Korea to test fire again soon so that the attention will move back in their direction?

Making a Dent

Yesterday after finally getting up at a decent hour, I was able to get some exercise in first thing. Then I started tackling a project I have wanted to do for sometime. Our patio furniture is made of teak wood and due to being in the weather all the time, each year it has to be powerwashed and then I oil it to keep it looking like new. So I dragged out the powerwasher and started working. I was able to get all of it clean rather quickly.

Of course, at one point the powerwasher's spray hit the patio itself, and then I had a clean spot. Obviously, once I had a clean spot, then I had to powerwash the patio too...

Now I need to move the table and chairs to the garage because we were supposed to get rain and I can't oil them if they are wet. I don't plan to oil them today anyhow. I am trying to work on my "to do" list in a reasonable and methodical manner so as not to overwhelm myself but still allow things to be completed. The oiling is on the list for another day. One step at a time...that is my motto or I will get buried in my own enthusiasm and procrastination.

Ahhhemmmm!

My class has been out since the beginning of May and I still have not gotten feedback on my multimedia site. After repeated emails in May, I finally heard from the instructor and they were posting comments to our portfolios....it is now July and there are still no comments, and we didn't get anything in the mail like he said either. I have my grade, I just want to know why I received the grade I did on the multimedia site specifically. Grrrr....I hate waiting for feedback.

Catch Up

I feel like I am playing catch up. I have things to write about but not time to write them. Some of them are fiction, some of them are memories, and some of them are just me venting...

I finally ordered prints from my digital pics last week. I had not ordered prints (with the exception of my trip to the west coast in May) since Christmas....so needless to say, I got a huge order of prints and I am actually getting them in the photo album today (amazingly enough). I am putting the ones from the NY part of the trip in a different "travel" photo album because that is just what I do. Anyhow, that is taking up part of my livingroom floor right now.

Earlier, I had reconciled another bank statement that came in the mail and I just need to do the computer part of it and then file all the stuff I have gotten this week that needs to be filed. I am trying to do my filing as it comes so that it is not so much later on.

Since J left on Sunday, I have also managed to get a movie in each night that I know he wouldn't want to see. I tend to move "my movies" to the top of the Netflix list when I know he is going on a trip so I can knock a few of them out while he is gone....so I am making progress on that for sure.

I went up in the attic this afternoon (oh my gosh is it hot up there in the middle of the day) and checked the mouse traps....no new mice to report, thankfully because if there were, they would have been from a few days ago and I imagine it would have been very gross.

I made couple of cards yesterday but just am not feeling inspired in that department right now. Need to get on it really because I have a few birthdays that are looming over me, once I get started, I usually start getting lots of ideas. I have been wanting to bead again more, which is nice since I have tons of beading stuff that I haven't touched in ages.

I am getting things done, and that feels good. I just wish I could get motivated to work on some of the other "works in progress" I have hovering in the background.

Strange Dreams

My schedule is kind of messed up. J is not here getting up early so I have been going to bed really late and then sleeping in. This is not normal for me these days (even though I think I am naturally a nightowl) so I am not completely asleep in the morning time and keep having dreams that I remember.

The other morning, I had some kind of dream that had the song Ridin' from Chamillionaire in it. I ended up with that song in my head all day long even though I can't remember any part of the dream.

The next night, I dreamt that J and I were on a road trip in our truck and got lost in a bad part of some town. We decided to park and try to find a phone (bad idea). We walked through some scary neighborhoods and buildings and then decided to head back to the truck. As we were coming back, we got separated and the path back had all these girls from gangs hanging out. I didn't want to go through that area because I was afraid they would beat me. I went through a building that led to the parking lot the truck was in and all these people were coming out of the building in the opposite direction from me with my stuff in their arms and draped over their shoulders. I realized this rather quickly and started yelling at them that it was my stuff and why would they do something like that. I was grabbing stuff back from them and giving them a hard time for stealing (wasn't afraid of them at all). I felt like a mom scolding kids. Anyhow, eventually with my arms loaded, I made it back to the truck, which had be completely gutted. No tires, no windows, dents everywhere....I couldn't believe it and then I woke up.

This morning I had some weird dreams about weddings and family...it is all kind of vague right now but I am sure parts of it will come to me throughout the day. I need to get to bed early tonight and get up like a normal person tomorrow so I can get out of this loop of nightowlness...I feel like I have wasted half my day when I sleep in. It is warm enough here that the only times to really get stuff done outside are early morning and late evening...when I sleep in, the early morning part gets wasted. I need to siesta in the middle of the day instead of sleep in....hmmm wonder if I can work that?

It's Back

The absolutely horrible toenail fungus ad is back on my mail with Yahoo. I hate that ad...so much so that when I saw it this morning, I actually clicked on the ad feedback link at the bottom of the page so I could tell them so.

The thing that gets me about Yahoo's ads is that they don't mix them up. That horrible big, flaking toenail that lifts up so you can see the fungus and then gets bigger just in case you really can't see it, will be on my mail for a week everytime I look at mail....no relief.

So I gave them my opinion...especially since they are running a second toenail fungus ad in a banner across the top of my inbox....at least the first on is only on the main page, once I am in the inbox, it is gone. Grrrr, and they are not even the same company. Oh, and one of the questions is, "How relevant is the ad to what you were viewing on the web?"....NO AT ALL. My mail has nothing to do with toenail fungus.

New Stuff Issues

I am using the "recently updated" option on blog rolling for my links list. This is awesome I think because it makes it so much easier for me to keep track of new posts on some of my favorite blogs. Downside is that it doesn't seem to work on all blogs. I think that the typepad blogs and those that are self owned (except Chatty's) don't update correctly and therefore end up at the bottom of my list...don't know if there is a fix for this.

Has anyone else noticed this?

A Mouse In The House

Friday night, J and I were rudely awakened by a scritching noise in one of the interior walls of our bedroom. We would bang on the wall, it would go away and then come back just as we were falling to sleep again. This was around 1am in the morning. I finally just put earplugs in because I needed my sleep and wasn't going to be able to do anything about it until the morning and J ended up on the couch because he can't sleep with earplugs and the noise was driving him nuts.

We were having friends over on Saturday afternoon, so we already had more than enough to do before the scritching started. In the morning, we started to investigate. We assumed it was a mouse or small rat as we don't have any holes that a squirrel could get back in through (see this post).

Well, J went under the house to check it out since the noise we were hearing was near the floor and didn't see any evidence that something was getting in down there. Then he went up into the attic and did find two holes in the plywood above that wall that looked like they originally were going to run wires through it and then decided not to use them. He could see some evidence of small rodent traffic. Since it is an interior wall, there is little to no insulation and that is how they are getting all the way to the bottom. I was horrified that we had a mouse...I guess I figure if you keep a clean house, you don't get them but I am wrong apparently because our house is clean.

I went to the store, and purchased, along with a bunch of stuff for our BBQ, two mouse traps (he was sure they were mice by now). We didn't know how many but hoped it wasn't too many. I was horrified that we had a mouse...I guess I figure if you keep a clean house, you don't get them but I am wrong apparently because our house is clean and we have at least one. Seems that all the clear cutting and construction on our street is causing the wildlife to flee indoors.

He set the traps the next night, I slept with earplugs again, and in the morning, we had caught a mouse. The traps are still up there set (unless there is a dead mouse in one) and I need to go check them, but I haven't heard any more scritching. J is off on a conference trip...somehow this kind of thing always happens before he leaves, and I am stuck with mouse duty until he gets back (hopefully it will all be over by then).

There is an whole other story that goes with this one...it was not as easy as that, but I will post about it later.

I Don't Miss The Bugs

Okay, I live in a buggy state (ticks, chiggers, mosquitos, horseflies) and I am sure I grew up in a buggy state (mosquitos, yellow jackets, fleas, ticks), but I think you get used to them when you are in a place for a while. While on the trip we just took, we experienced a lot of bugs with behaviors that were irritating.

In Michigan and Minnesota, we found some ferocious mosquitos. They were a bit like the ones that we dealt with in Alaska. Slow but ferocious. We also ran into these horse flies from hell in Minnesota. I don't know what the hell the deal was with our truck but for some reason every time we would stop at a creek or lake to fish, a swarm of these buggers would show up and fly all around our truck like crazy. They wouldn't follow us, so as soon as we were away from the truck, we were okay but getting in and out was a trick.

Oh, I almost forgot, in both Michigan and Minnesota, there were these smaller horseflies, the orange looking ones, that would just harass me to no end. Even when I was coated from head to toe in deet, one would still try to land on my head. I could hear it buzzing around my ears and I am sure I looked like a complete idiot waving my arms all around and hitting myself in the head. I finally figured out how to get rid of them. I would run away, and then stop and turn really quick. I could catch it coming up behind me trying to land on me and I could hit it out of the sky. I don't know if I killed them doing that or if I just made them want to look for easier prey but it was the only way to get rid of them.

When we got to Nebraska, we knew we would be dealing with chiggers (previous visits had shown us this). During the two days we had the reunion, we were diligent about putting bug repellant on, but somehow that just made the chiggers climb higher. I had deet on my legs thinking I would be okay. Hah!!! No such luck. I came home the first day, and had a bunch of bites along my bra line, and one right below my belly button. So I put some ChigAway on it (which is mostly sulfur) and the itching went away. Next day, I tried to keep my feet up and not on the grass much. This worked to an extent. I only went home with 2 more bites. I didn't scratch them and kept the ChigAway on them and they were less bothersome. The thing about chiggers is that the bite stays around for a long time and will continue to itch during the entire time. We have already been home for a week and I was bit two weeks ago but still have itchy remenants. I am not having to use the ChigAway anymore but they are still a bit itchy. We have chiggers here but for some reason, they have never bothered me...dont' know why.

Travel Blog

I have finally started updating my travel blog with posts from my travels. I started with our trip to Tokyo because it was a short trip and I could do it all in a few posts. I'll move on to more extensive trips as time permits.

I found the travel blog site while doing research for my last class and signed up there but didn't start to log any of my travels because I just didn't have the time to get bogged down in another project. I would comment on the forums once in a while but no posts on my travels until this week.

Check it out sometime if you want. You can't search for me yet because I am still considered "new" for the next few days but you can click on my link on the sidebar and it will take you to my profile and the list of my entries. I plan to put my mom, sister, and dad on my subscriber's list (whether they want to be there or not...haha) so they will get updates when I add logs....anyone else that wants to subscribe is more than welcome to do so.

I guess I feel that I have made enough headway in some other things that were hanging over my head that I can take on this new thing....and perhaps it will get me writing more (which I have been slacking off on lately). Hasta luego.

Photo Problems w/Blogger

Is anyone else having problems loading photos to Blogger? The bird one below is just a fluke, I haven't been able to load pictures consistently for some time now and it is getting very irritating...

Spotted Bluebirds

I have seen the bluebirds in the yard and checking out the nest box the last few days. They have not started to build yet. I double checked the eggs in the nest I removed and stuck in another bush and still no hatching. When I first saw the parents, I thought maybe I had jumped the gun, but last year I waited forever for the 2nd clutch to hatch and the parents ended up not laying a third so I wanted to get that nest out of there as soon as I knew it was no bueno...

I put out new food and fresh water for all the birds today. We have had some heat around here so I know they appreciate it.

Happy 4th of July

Wanted to wish everyone a happy 4th. We are missing our traditional 4th on the west coast but we went to a little parade and festivities thing in town this morning and plan to head out for some fireworks tonight. I'll post pics from the morning stuff later. It was quaint and cute, which is what our town does best, I guess. They had a little country band at the end that was good, they played some great banjo, fiddle and bass songs that got some of the crowd dancing.

The 4th is almost as exciting for me as Christmas. As a kid, there was a lot of anticipation involved and I couldn't wait to get downtown in the morning. morning. We always went to the 4th of July parade in Ashland, Oregon which started with a flyover of jet planes from the airbase in Klamath Falls. That was always my favorite part of the entire thing. The parade varied over the years, from being a small town parade to something of a commercial wonder in the mid 80s, back to a small town parade again. There were decked out Dodge vans one year (with hot tubs and furry dashes complete), and big semis with advertising on the sides (not one of the better years). There was always a cool artistic element (which Ashland is known for), as well as kazoo bands, lawnmower/lawnchair brigades, and old style firetrucks with sirens and lights blaring.

After the parade, everyone would head down to the heart of Ashland along Lithia Park where tons of booths would be set up and there would be a stage for bagpipers, cloggers and other entertainment. You could get lost in the crowds, it got so busy some years. After you got your fill of booths and food, you would head farther up in the park to the bandshell where the city band would be playing marching songs all day long. You would find a shady spot on the awesome grass and just chillout...a little piece of heaven I think.

After dark, the fireworks would begin, and when I was little they did them off the hills across from Ashland and we would watch them from the grass at the Junior High but inevitably one would blow up low and the hills would catch fire (which would cause a delay in the show until it was put out). These days (don't know if they are still doing it this way since I haven't been there for a while), they let them off at the football field at the local college (less fire hazard). You can see them from almost anywhere in Ashland. As a teenager, I would walk to the field with my friends (walking was faster than driving in that traffic) and we would get as close as we could so your heart would pound when they blew up right over your head. I was always sad a bit when the grand finale would happen because I knew that the day was over and I would have to wait another year to see it again. I always loved 4th of July in Ashland, and if I lived anywhere close these days, I would be there every year.

In more recent years, when J and I moved to Washington State and my sister moved to Portland, we started hanging out in Portland for the 4th. We didn't get to see a parade but we would go down for the Blues Festival in the park along the river and then a great firework show from barges in the river. It was so much fun hanging out with them and their friends, we planned to do it every year. Maybe if we end up on the West Coast again sometime soon, we can celebrate the 4th in our old tradition or the new tradition, but for now, we will enjoy the day that we have here (sunny, bright and full of patriotism) and look forward to next years celebration when the day is through.

Blogger won't upload pictures right now....grrr!

Not Again

I swear, we can't seem to go a week where everything in our house is actually working....grrr. We came home on Wednesday and our Kenwood receiver seems to be not functioning. I did the troubleshooting from the instruction manual to no avail and I am just waiting for the holiday weekend to be over so I can call the manufacturer to find a local repair place because I am pretty sure this thing is about 10 days out of its warranty....ugh!

Sad Bluebird News

I got home after being gone for 2 weeks and the 5 blue bird eggs that had been in the nest for a week when I left were still there. For some reason, that second clutch just doesn't do well, I don't know if it just gets too hot or what. I took the nest out and put it in a nearby bush (I can't make myself crush the eggs or anything like that), and hopefully it is not too late in the season and they will build a last nest and lay some more eggs...don't know what I can do to help them keep them cool though...

Sound Of Rain

It was raining this morning when I woke up. I had left a window cracked in my bedroom for fresh air last night when I went to bed and I could hear the rain outside when my alarm went off. It sounded awesome...one of the most soothing and restful sounds I think.

We are in for a bit cooler weather for a few days and no watering...guess it gives me reason to get some schoolwork done today. The urge to venture out into the awesome fall weather is on hold until this passes.