It's Coming

It is starting to get cooler at night...last night I didn't sleep well because I was cold. We only have a sheet on our bed during the summer and I guess I am going to have to face the fact that summer is over and fall has begun.

It was in the 40's last night (a fluke thing) but it isn't supposed to get out of the 60's at night for the next week and then back into the 50s at night for the week after that (mind you it will still be in the high 80s during the day) so I guess I will have to figure out a medium level for our bed since putting our down comforter back on will definitely be too much.

Grr...I hate losing sleep because I am cold.

Spectators

Recently, I have noticed that spectators in the sport of golf have taken it upon themselves to regulate the sport.

In at least two different instances* in the last few weeks, a player has either been penalized, investigated or disqualified because a spectator (at home) has called into the network or tournament to claim that they witnessed a rule violation on TV.

Now it doesn't completely surprise me that people call in, because people are weird that way, but what surprises me is that the regulating officials at the tournament listen.

That would be like someone calling in during the last quarter of a football game to say that number 71 was offsides in the first quarter but the refs didn't catch it. It is ridiculous. I think that the PGA, the USGA, and the LPGA need to figure out a way to deal with call ins. The reason that there are officials on the field of play is so that they can catch this kind of thing as it happens. The fact that viewers at home are using what is essentially "replays" is bogus and they need to address it.

*Two instances that I have witnessed, there may have been more. None of the alleged violations were on purpose, they were either accidental double hits out of a sand trap, or a misinterpretation of the rules.

Web site linked to Montreal shooting defends Goths--Reuters.com

I think it is messed up that the media is trying to connect this blog site to this kid's messed up head. Being "goth" had nothing to do with whatever mental issues Gill might have had.

I find it funny that they don't point out when other bad people have Blogger, Typepad, or Myspace accounts or profiles but because this looks like "interesting" news, they make a big deal out of it....there is a lot of crap out there all over the net and I don't think the fact that this kid was a member of this particular site makes him anymore susceptible to being a murderer than if he were posting his dislike for people on Wordpress.

U.S. E.coli outbreak is linked to spinach - Yahoo! News

Make sure you are washing those prepackaged salads...even though they say you don't have to.

Small Bed Project

Last year, J and I put in a new section of sidewalk to our front walk because the location of the mainwalk didn't work well with parking in front of the garage and having two cars. We were forced to walk over the yard rather than on the sidewalk to get to the front door. The project didn't take long and when we were done, we had this little triangle of ground that we just covered in pinestraw for the time being. I finally figured out what I wanted to do with it and got it done on Saturday morning.

Starting point

J did the prepwork buy raking off the pinestraw and taking out some of the dirt. I wanted to put in two different grasses that would stay alive and green all year, would be low maintenance and not impede movement from the driveway to the front door over time. So I picked to do a border in dwarf mondo grass and then put variated liriope in the center. The liriope is taller than the mondo grass but won't get much higher than its current 12 inches and it gets cute purple flowers in the summer. I had 14 dwarf mondo grasses that I wanted to go around the outside edge of the bed. They will eventually grow together to create a solid dark green grassy border that stays green all year long. I wanted to make sure I had them spaced out right before proceeding. I ended up planting the corners first and then moved in from there. I had to take out a bit of the dirt as I did and we used it in another spot in the yard.

Laying out the mondo grass

This is what the bed looks like after I got all the plants in and watered. I still need to put some mulch down, and I left some space between the liriope so I could put in seasonal accent colors or decorations. It should be functional but also nice looking all year long.

Finished product

Q and A

Borrowed this from S. Jones (see link on sidebar)

How long have you been blogging?
Online, since February of 2005, in hard copy (journaling) since I was a kid.

How many times have you taken a break from blogging?
Never, if anything, I keep adding to it (4 blogs so far)

How long is the longest you’ve gone, so far, without posting on your blog?
A week maybe because I was traveling and not able to use the Internet.

How many fellow bloggers do you keep in touch with, through your blogs, on a regular basis?
Of the ones I have linked and read regularly, 3 are family, and at least 2 are face to face friends so we email and such, but everyone else is generally limited to communication through our blogs/comments.

Have you ever met, in person, a blogger on your blogroll?
Yep, one of them. Mindsprite.

How often do you update/change the ‘extra’ stuff on your blog?
When I first started out, I did it a lot but as my blog has grown, updating the template takes some time. I finally converted my links to Blogrolling so I can update all my Blogger blogs at once whenever I want. I am itching to change up my entire template but for now, it is pretty stable.

Do you think you’ll be blogging for years to come?
Oh yeah...in fact I am thinking of start two more, one for journal excerpts from when I was a kid and another that I can be completely anonymous on (this one is read by a lot of friends and family who know me so I am a bit hesitant in some areas). I don't know if I have time in my life for all of this, but writing has always been a passion, so I am sure I will figure something out.

Check It Out

J and I were watching the history channel last night and they did a few documentaries on 9/11 related things. It was hard to watch but I felt like I owed some time to it, since I hadn't really thought about it all day. I had gotten the call on Monday morning at 3:15am to come to my friend's house because the baby was coming. I had volunteered to stay with their other kids while they were at the hospital. Needless to say, my day was filled with PBS kids and coloring, not a lot of 9/11 coverage there..... Anyhow, during the course of one of the shows (about the 14 survivors from stairway B), I got out this coffee table book that we own on 9/11 to see if it had anything in it about them (I didn't realize there were that many survivors). It did have a bit about them in the back (apparently they were saved the first day so that is why the news didn't make a huge thing out of it) Please note that during 9/11, I lived in Japan so my coverage was spotty at times.

Anyhow, after looking over the book a bit, I thought I might post something here about it because it was nicely done, some of the sales go to the victim families and it is educational. It is called One Nation and it is done by Life Magazine. It is coffee table book sized. If you like history and are interested in this subject, it is a good book to read or own.

Time Out

Whew!!! I have a ton to blog about but time has been crunched the last few days. I'll fill you in when I wake from the sleep of the dead tonight (I hope). I am bone tired and going to bed early....will blog faithfully in the morning.

Back On Track

Feeling better the last two days and am starting to knock off some todo items (except reading my school book which I really need to do).

This cold wasn't too bad and I am thankful for that...nothing like being sick in the summer (yes it is still summer here in the SE).

I have a lot I would like to blog about but I feel like I am shirking other duties right now so it will have to wait...grrr...

Not So Hot

Had a tough night dealing with my sinuses trying to suffocate me and the "new" Sudafed keeping me awake.

I developed a bit of a head cold on Monday (ignored it all day) and yesterday and today have been down days trying to kick it before it completely takes over my week. I can't afford to get behind in school but the last thing I want to read when my nose is stuffed and my head is pounding is informational technology management texts...it might just be me but that is the way it is.

Regardless, I am feeling better this evening (maybe because I have been lowkey) and I am hoping tonight will be more restful and therefore more productive towards recovery. I even missed practice tonight. I am trying to hold out from taking Nyquil because, even though it will knock me, I usually wake up from it feeling worse than I did when I went to bed. I don't have all the symptoms anyhow so it would be overkill.

Bathroom Project Before-After

I promised I would post pics from our bathroom project. We are finished and it came out very nice. We have experience now for the attempt to lay the same vinyl in our kitchen soon. See below two before pics and two after pics.

Before floor pic, see 80's brown squares...

Before vanity pic, sink and toilet are new, cabinet is not...

After floor pic, vinyl tile sheet came out well...

After vanity pic, a tad taller, but still nicely fits...

We really only wanted to update the bathroom and get it to match a bit like the remodeled bathroom in the master bedroom. The cabinets and floors are not identical (that is what happens when construction is not all done at the same time) but it is close enough. The bathroom feels less like an 80's bath and more like a new one.

Project List

Just to make myself face the music, I decided to create a list of the gazillion projects I have in some phase of completion but not completed. Hopefully this will motivate me to get some check marks checked off....

Old Projects (more than 2 years old)

• Crocheted blanket for my bed
• Cross-stitch for a friend
• Videos from travels
• Curtain hems for sunroom
• Roman shades for bedroom windows
• Refinish little table in entry
• Finish and put together small coat rack for wall

Newer Projects (less than 2 years old)

• Scanning in photos from my grandmother's albums
• Rebuilding her albums and sending back to her
• Planting new camilias on side of house
• Bed liner for truck

Newest Projects (within the last few months)

• Teak oiling patio furniture (1/2 completed) (once a year item)
• Matching and painting ceiling where J fell through
• Pinestraw front and back yards (twice a year item)
• Planting front walk bed
• Planting new liriope and cleyera
• Fixing receiver (1/2 done)
• Clean truck inside
• Mulching back bed
• Cleaning gutters of pinestraw (twice a year item)
• Fixing gutter problem in back
• Organizing most recent digital pictures
• Photo album from our NY trip
• Moving hostas from the lack of shade zone in backyard to a new location
• Contact hottub company for estimate on repairs from lightening
• Contact electrician for estimate on repairs from lightening
• File claim with homeowner's insurance for repairs from lightening
• Get estimates for some yard maintenance in WA
• Getting estimates for new countertops, linoleum for the kitchen and a new vanity and linoleum for the guest bath
• Eventually getting the above work done (1/2 done)
• Replacing the kitchen faucet (have it, just haven't installed it)
• Recycling
• Boxes to mom and sister

Items that come up out of nowhere each day (but need to be done regardless)

• Cleaning S's garage
• Stripping wallpaper border at S's house
• Putting leather protectant on couches
• Making new covers for pillows in living areas
• Recycling S's boxes
• Helping with unloading of moving van at S's house
• Spraying plants at L's house
• Wiping down walls in hallway and placing pictures back up

This list of course doesn't include the ongoing things, like cleaning house, school, laundry, exercise, cooking, card making, writing, geocaching and others (many others). I only included the things that actually have end dates and that once they are done, I feel like I accomplished something that doesn't have to be worried about again for at least several months.

First Day Back

Today is my first day back at school in my last class for graduation....and I am already behind. I have to read 3 chapters in our boring book, answer focus questions, homework questions, figure out what I want to do a research paper on, and start discussing a case study with my group members (yes we are going to be doing groupwork this semester, oh joy). On top of this, I have to discuss anything and everything in the conferences so I get the 30 percent for participation on a weekly basis....I can not wait until I am done with this program.

It seems that I am the only one in class that doesn't read IT journals for fun!!!! Who does that? I love computers but I am not obsessed with them, and sometimes I feel so out of place in this program. Yes I want to have the degree to help me out in life, but I don't really want a job in computer management. I just want to solve people's individual or network computer problems on a parttime basis, so I will have time in my life to do other things that are more enjoyable. I am not and don't think I have ever been, career driven.

Anyhow, that is a totally different subject which probably would lead me to therapy so we could switch back to my overall shock of reality that I met up with today when I logged into my first day of class. I better go because I have lots of reading to do and I know that I will have to nap in between each boring paragraph!!!! Wish me luck!!!!

Tiles

I don't know about you, but whenever I have tried to tile anything in the past, I have always wanted it to be straight and neat. I don't try to make it look "home done"...I want the most professional looking results I can get short of hiring someone else to do it.

So explain to me how come the vinyl flooring we buy to put in our bathroom has real looking tile but it is not perfect. It has that "home done" look and apparently that was what they were going for. I don't mind it because it does seem a bit more real that way but I just think that it is funny we would buy an imperfect "picture" of tile but if we were really tiling, we would want it to be perfect.

In Other News

Turns out our receiver is another casualty to the lightening strike. I was called by the repair company yesterday to inform me that there are many "burnt" out parts and that it would cost more to repair than to replace....grrr!!!

At least I have not filed the homeowners claim yet. This also makes me want to check out our cd player and our tape deck (yes I still have a tape deck), which were both plugged into the reciever to make sure they are okay. I need to get to the store to do some comparison shopping so we can replace the reciever and put the living room back together.

We are supposed to get some serious rain from Ernesto over the next twenty four hours and I have a gutter on the back of my house that is practically falling off. I guess I need to get out there this morning and see if I can fix it before all hell breaks loose. I also need to finish up the detail work in our main bathroom. The floor and vanity are in, just need to do some wall touch up painting and hang the new towel racks.

Today is my sister and her husband's anniversary!!!!! They had a lovely wedding in Southern Oregon a few years ago and it was an absolutely glorious day. I am so happy for them to have found each other. Congrats, you guys.

My grandfather will be 95 this year. Wow!!!! His birthday is later this week. I am sure my family on the West coast is planning quite the shindig for him. Unfortunately, I can't be there but I am sending good thoughts and gifts his way. We love you, Grandpa.

I didn't have soccer practice yesterday because of some heavy rain and lightening. I need to get some exercise in today (as much as I can on this ankle), so I don't die on Sunday when I have to run again (in probably 105 index). I think I might walk on a trail that I want to hide a geocache on. In fact, this weather (cloudy and rainy) is perfect geocaching weather because there are less people out and about and searching for them is less obvious.

So I guess I better get moving so I can get that gutter fixed before I do anything else. Hasta luego.

Sun

My tan (I know, we aren't supposed to tan these days) from earlier this summer has faded. I had gotten a base tan before we spent some time at the beach so I wouldn't get burned there and be miserable. It worked and when we came home from the beach, I was nice and brown without any peeling, or redness. Now, if you know me, this is not brown brown...I tend to not have enough patience for tanning much so I never look like a tanning booth girl with the oompa loompa look, just a healthly glow minus the pastey white winter gleam.

Anyhow, the last few days I have thought I need to get out and get some sun on my skin. Nothing drastic just 20 minutes on each side. It is a chance to enjoy being outside, read and relax a bit from all the other things I should be doing. Yesterday ended up getting wasted away with other things so I told myself I would do it for sure today.

Well, I just checked the weather, and not only are we having a heat index w/humidity of 105 today, it just clouded over with thunder clouds....grrr. We need the rain so I won't complain too much (especially since I didn't get my butt out to water this morning) but I was thinking the storms wouldn't be here until later this afternoon.

Oh well, it is not like I don't have tons of other things on my to do list to get to....

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

We had a soccer game yesterday and I rolled my ankle out during the first half. I was determined to play the whole game so I walked it off but it hurt like a bitch and it is really sore and swollen today.

I iced it when I got home and then soaked in the hot tub and iced it again. I will probably take it easy at practice on Wednesday so that hopefully I can play again on Sunday...we'll see.

I was so pissed when I did it because I knew it meant rehabing it for a while and that always takes time and soccer is one of my two weekly activities I can count on for unadulterated exercise I don't have to think about.

At least it hasn't turned blue yet, I figured after running on it the rest of the game, it would just turn black and blue in protest...

Indoor Construction

We started the replacement of the flooring and vanity in our main bathroom today. Shouldn't be a huge deal but hopefully will look really nice when we are done.

We took out everything (including the toilet and old vanity) and cleaned it up, patched the walls where they needed it and now are about ready to start laying the floor. I doubt we will have the entire thing done today but definitely by the end of the weekend.

We just got home from Lowe's buying all the stuff we need. I'll post pics as soon as I can.

Frog Pee

Well, as I was walking out the front door this morning, I felt this wet stuff on my arm from above. I looked to the top of our storm door and saw a bit of what looked like water on there. So I checked around for a minute and all of a sudden, I saw three little heads peek out from the top of the door. There were three little frogs hanging out in the crack along the top of the storm door. I don't know if there was water up there that was splashed on me when I startled them (let's hope), or if they peed on me when I startled them...oooooh!

Regardless, I was afraid they would get smooshed when I shut the door, so I shooed them out of there and went on my merry way, trying hard not to think about that splash on my arm and its origin.

Unsatisfying

While practice was good for the exercise requirements in my life, overall it was pretty unsatisfying. I don't know why exactly but I guess part of it was that I was in a bit of a bad mood yesterday for some unknown reason. Another thing was that I forgot to change my bra when I got ready for practice so I was uncomfortable the entire time because I am used to wearing a sports bra when I exercise. Then there was the issue that I left the water bottle I had prepared to bring at home, so I was without water the entire time. It was 96 degrees out and we had some seriously muggy skies when practice started.

I guess the combination of things put me out of sorts and I wasn't really up for goofing around much. We had to do a bunch of drills, which were okay but then once we started scrimmaging, it wasn't that productive and I just wanted/needed to get out of there. I was a bit bummed because usually after practice I am feeling alive and invigorated. Oh well, there is always next week.

There Are Three

I was wrong...instead of two baby fish, we have three. Two of them are black and with all the swimming around that is going on in that tank, I just couldn't keep track, but I saw all three of them up front the other day.

Happy Birthday Grandpa

One of grandpas had a birthday today...he doesn't live close to us so we didn't get to celebrate with him but last year, he was visiting us over his birthday and we all went out for dinner together. It was really nice.

I hope he had a nice birthday at home today. We will call him tomorrow to wish him the best.

We love you, Grandpa, Happy Birthday!!!!

Myst, Riven and the Like

My dad hooked me and my sister on Myst many years ago. I played it for some time, but didn't actually ever finish the game. I had an idea how it turned out but didn't see it for myself. My dad bought Riven for me after a while and I played it diligently on my laptop until one day, the graphics were just too much for the poor thing. I didn't finish it either. My sister bought the next one for me and I have not even loaded it because I really feel like I should finish the first two before I get started in a third. I don't know if the original Myst I have will even load on my XP PC, but I might try it out so I can finish it up. I still have my notes (I think). I know that Riven will play on my PC, and now that I have a better graphics card in it, I am sure it will do fine.

I don't know why I just thought of this just now but I did and it made me want a nice wet raining day to happen so I would have an excuse for hanging out in the house doing nothing (that is until school starts in September, of course).

NPR : France Commits 200 Troops to Lead Lebanon Force

There seems to be two sides to the Lebanese issue. When this entire thing first came to a head, many on the news said that Lebanon had refused or at least didn't make much of an effort to get Hezbollah out of their country, even though they weren't necessarily "supporting" them. Most of their support was coming from Syria and Iran. This made it sound like Lebanon did mind that Hezbollah was there. I don't know if that is true or not.

What I do know is that Lebanon is a young country that doesn't have the finances that some of its neighbors do. Hezbollah (regardless of its terrorist activities) was providing social support for a segment of the Lebanonese population which in reality took the pressure to support them off Lebanon's official government. Perhaps Lebanon didn't mind this, perhaps they didn't know what to do about it.

The thing I find interesting about France's statements regarding the drop from 2000 troops to 200 troops is that they say they want Lebanon to deal with the Hezbollah issue first, before they will commit more UN soldiers. Well, if Lebanon was in a position to get Hezbollah out on their own, don't we all think they would have done it before now?

I don't know what the right answer is for this issue, but I know that Lebanon can't be thrown back to dealing with this entire thing without some kind of international support or we will see this same fighting occur again in a short time, and all the same finger pointing going on. If Hezbollah is the terrorist organization it is reputed to be (regardless of whatever kind of "social activities" it uses to validate itself), then it needs to be dealt with by the international community just like the other organizations (Al Qaeda, Abu Sayyaf, and others) have been.

Sounds of Footsteps

When I was a kid I remember being very proud of the fact that I could tell who was walking through the house by the sound of their footsteps. My sister (at the time) would always be running, never walking so she was an easy one. My dad had a heavy step that sort of shuffled if he was wearing his Birkenstocks, and my mom had an ankle that would crack when she walked.

It seems that I have inherited my mother's cracking ankle. It doesn't crack with every step but it does have a big crack any time it has been sitting in the same position for very long. Everytime it cracks, it reminds me of her....weird I know but it does.

X-rays won't detect liquid or gel bombs - Yahoo! News

Do they really need to put it on the news that all of our current technology can't detect liquid bombs? Seems like sometimes we put a little too much info out there...

I think it is funny too that they mention in the article that shoe x-rays are not mandatory...funny because every airport I have been in since 9/11 has required me to remove my shoes. Didn't know it wasn't mandatory.

Yesterday I saw story on CNN about a town in Alaska that received 200,000 dollars for homeland security and they have put up cameras all over town to reduce their threat from terrorists. Most of the cameras face the port and there is a small argument for why they have them. What I find funny is that they have also made most of the cameras available on their public website...so I guess now the terrorists (if there were to be any) don't have to even go there for a recon...they can just do it over the web. Here is a link to the story but not the CNN version...

Junk Mail Folder

I have finally turned off my junk mail folder in 3 of my email accounts with Yahoo. I was worried for some time that I would be missing emails from someone that Yahoo would think were junk, but it doesn't seem like I transfer much from junk to my inbox so in frustration the other day with the loads of cr@p I get in my junk box everyday (at least on my two retail accounts), I turned off the boxes. So Yahoo still filters spam out but doesn't send it anywhere, it is just deleted.

It is amazing how much nicer checking email has become...I can't believe it. I don't know why I didn't do this sooner. So if you have been emailing me and can't get through, it might be because Yahoo thinks you are spam. At least you can email me at this email address, because its bulk folder is still functioning...

Amazing Skies

Tonight is one of the nights that the August meteor shower is supposed to be the best. We have an absolutely crystal clear sky and because I am in a rural area with no street lights it is dark as anything outside so the stars just jump out at you....it is truly amazing. The other nice thing about the rural area is that it is super quiet and all you can hear are the crickets chirping.

I went out and laid on the hot tub cover for a bit to watch the skies tonight. Watching stars always takes me back to my childhood and sitting in the backyard on 3rd street watching stars with my dad. We also watched for Skylab when it was falling from orbit in that same backyard and I think there were quite a few lightening storms as well. I am so thankful that my parents took the time to show me the wonders of this amazing planet that we live on when I was a kid.

Anyhow, I didn't see any "falling stars" but it is early yet. If I wake up sometime tonight, I just might climb out of bed, go out and watch the stars for a bit...I would love to catch a few of them falling.

Storms

We had a lightening storm the other night that was just lovely. It was not as big and loud as some of the recent ones but I still enjoyed it nonetheless.

I noticed it right before going to bed, I was on the computer, and I could see the lightening through the window but couldn't really hear it. I shut down the computer and turned off all the lights. I told J I was going to the porch to watch the storm for a few minutes.

I went outside and sat on our front porch. It wasn't raining but the air was thick with humidity and you could feel the rain building up in it. I sat there for a few minutes watching the show in the distance. I could only just barely hear it so I know it was far away. There were lightening bugs flying around and I wondered if they thought the lightening was talking to them...

We Have Babies

Apparently our mollies had babies and two of them survived...

I am pretty sure they have been having babies all along (they are live bearers) but because we have tetras in there, I assumed they were being consumed before they got a chance to live.

In the last few weeks, our automatic feeder has been running and probably feeding the fish a bit more than necessary, which has apparently made it less desirable to eat fellow fish. I cleaned the tank the other day and afterwards was checking out the fish and saw these two little guys (only one is pictured here)...they are so cute...mini fish.

Now You See It...Now You Don't

This was our tree and landscaping this morning before the tree guys came. See how lovely it looks next to our raised bed? See how nice the shade is?

This is our backyard in the same spot this evening. No shade, poor hostas are going to bake, and the yard looks naked. I am glad I wasn't here, it would have made me cry. I have some cleaning up to do, and we definitely need to get another tree in there fast for some shade...

Sorry, poor tree, but I couldn't do anything to help you. At least now you are not suffering...

Invaders

I took this macro of this catapiller that was climbing on two of our tomato plants the other night. This is the better of three photos but the other catapillar we found had these white fuzzy things all over its back...don't know if they were little ones or just some kind of protectant but it looked very weird. If you look closely at this one, you can see that it has a thorn sticking up from its tail end...self defense I assume.

This second pic is one of several little sap hills that are on our tree that has to be taken out. I had the tree guy come out today and he said we definitely have to take it out. Apparently the chemical they used to use on these little buggers is no longer allowed so there is nothing to do but get rid of the tree. We have decided that it is worth it to have someone else take it out and grind the stump than do it ourselves.

We can file a claim for storm damage with our insurance and we can get some money back on the replacement tree that we will have to put in, so that there will be some shade in that yard for the new landscaping. I took some pictures today of what it looks like with the tree and we'll see how drastically it looks when the tree is gone. We might be able to get it out today, otherwise it will be in the next few weeks. I am really bummed that we are losing it. Feels like I am killing a friend, but I know that it is already dying so perhaps I am keeping it from suffering and saving the other trees from possible infection.

Busy, busy, busy

Wow...the last few days have been busy and it isn't slowing down today either. We have friends that moved here yesterday so for a couple of days, I and another friend have been running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to get things ready for them. Their new house was left filthy by the old owners so we spent 7 hours on Saturday cleaning things up. Then we wanted to make sure their pool (yes they have a pool) was working correctly and clean, and that some of the small things you need right away when you get some where were available to them.

On top of that, I have the tree issue to deal with so I have been playing phone tag with tree people, electricians, and insurance people. I still need to get registered for my last class in my program for school. I need to replant some plants in the yard and house, clean house, do laundry, clean the fish tank and pay some bills. Blogging is probably the last thing I need to be doing but doing it feels like I am checking off a block on the list so here I am.

I better go, day will be filled from top to bottom and I still have practice tonight too.

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.

Just So You Know

I am not a big AC user. I believe that half of the reason it feels hot and miserable outside is from spending too much time in artificially cooled places that shock your system each time you move from one to the other. Now this doesn't mean that I am in judgement of anyone that uses AC, or that I don't use AC myself, it just means that I try to limit my use. We keep our house at about 78-80 degrees F during the summer, which by some standards would be considered warm. I would go higher even but then the fish tank gets too hot and I don't want them to die. We live in a very warm and humid climate so a bit of AC is needed just to keep things in the house dry and must free.

So following along with these beliefs, I tend to not use the AC in my car much. I have several reasons for this, one of which being listed above, but also because I figure it eats gas (which is expensive enough as it is), and because it makes the car work harder (and on older cars, can cause overheating). J and I pretty much didn't use the AC for the entire trip out to NE and while we were there. It was usually in the mid 80s and it wasn't necessary. There was a couple of days in Michigan and Minnesota where it got into the 100s but you only really noticed it when we were sitting still.

Anyhow, we were discussing AC use at Grandpa's house in NE when J's aunt told us that she had read that using the AC in the car didn't hurt the gas mileage any worse than the drag from driving with the windows open did. I figure this could be true and that it is possible as well that newer AC units are probably much more efficient than when I first started driving. So J and I decided to test it out on the way home.

We used the AC (even though it wasn't that hot) pretty much the entire way home (about 1200 miles) up hills, down hills and in some stop and go traffic and I am here to report that we got the same gas mileage on the way home as we did on the rest of the trip (between 25-29mph). It was nice to have the windows closed because I didn't have to deal with tickling wispies and we could both hear the stereo much better. Anyhow, I just thought you would want to know in case you have be denying yourself to save gas.

Note: We drive a small 4 cyclinder truck with a canopy on the back, and 29 mph on the highway is the listed estimated gas mileage for the vehicle. We also didn't run the AC at full blast, once the car cooled down, leaving it on the lowest setting was plenty cool for us.

Relief

When we got home yesterday, there were several messages on our machine. One of them was from our water company. As you remember from this post, we had technical difficulties when we were both gone in May and we received a huge water bill because of it.

Well the letter I sent in paid off. They reduced our water bill by 350 dollars....I couldn't believe it. That is much more than I was expecting. Now I have to finish our claim with the company whose product failed to get the remaining out of them (not to mention cost of the items themselves).

I guess sometimes a little follow through is all that is needed...wish I could be more active in following through in other aspects...haha (referring to the 101 projects I have going on right now).

Tears

I hate goodbyes....

Family Reunion

Well, the reunion is over and all is well. We are getting ready to leave Nebraska tomorrow and head towards home.

From my last post, we had landed in Nebraska onWednesday night. We went out to dinner with Grandpa and Jo and then had a game of cards before heading back to the hotel. On Thursday we played golf with Grandpa at his club and got all the golfing muscles working again. It was great fun. Some family was expected to show up that night so we hung out near the house waiting for new arrivals. Turns out we even had family come that we didn't know were going to be able to come. It was a great surprise. We ended up putting a few leafs in the table and setting the table for 10 by the end of the night and had a great visit.

On Friday we played golf again but this time at a different place, it was a nice course with lots of hills on it. After golf, I went with Grandpa to Omaha to pick up a couple people that were flying in, and then we all went out to dinner at this cool restaurant and had some terrific prime rib and conversation. I took lots of pictures while we were there because it was almost like a mini-reunion as almost everyone got in that night. Many of us headed back to Grandpa's after dinner but didn't stay late as we had an early tee time the next day with the reunion picnic to follow in the afternoon.

On Saturday, much needed rain showed up (almost ruining the golfing plans) and made for a cooler morning. We still played golf and it was actually almost perfect. The early cloud cover kept things nice and cool. We played a scramble format so our big group would move quicker through the course and so we could have a little competition. It was a fabulous time. After golf we went back to the house and got ready for the picnic which we had moved from the park down the street to the house for logistical reasons. J's sister had done all the food preparation and we would have all starved if it wasn't for her. She did a terrific job and didn't even seem to be stressed at all (I probably would have lost my mind). Everyone had fun and lots of food. J's mom wasn't feeling too hot on Saturday (although she did play golf with us) so I made sure to take lots of pics and video so she could see everything. Hopefully when I get home and look at the footage and the pictures, we have something to work with.

On Sunday, we played golf again at granpa's club in the scramble format. It was a lot of fun and my team ended up winning. We didn't get to warm up much so my first half was a bit iffy but my drives came back by the second 9. A few people had to leave on Sunday so the goodbyes started then. After golfing we had some lunch, and hung out playing cards and exchanging stories. Sunday evening even more people had to get going but we were able to get a spreadsheet started with contact infor for everyone so hopefully that will make it easier for all of us to stay in touch.

On Monday, the few of us that are still left got together for lunch and dinner. Grandpa didn't play golf with his league since he had been playing so much this week. We played some cards and got things organized for our trip back home. Tomorrow morning we are meeting everyone for breakfast so we can say goodbye and get on the road. I don't know how far we will drive but we want to get some miles under our belt. I have 4 new states to find geocaches in, and that will require some research on the Internet. I think I am only covered for half of the trip so far.

I'll update more as the trip winds down. Sounds like we are getting lots of rain on the East Coast so I am thinking that our sun here might be the last for a while.....hope not.

Quick Trip Review II

Okay, we are in Nebraska and I have Internet so I will update our trip thus far.

Day 6: Headed out from Gaylord Michigan early in the morning North and cross into the Upper Penisula of Michigan. We stopped in Macinaw and in Sault St. Marie on our way through the UP. We saw a 300 foot ship move through the locks in Sault St. Marie that go between Lake Huron and Lake Superior. I had only seen Lake Michigan in the past so this trip allowed me to see four of them (the glance at Lake Erie didn't really count). We stopped late to camp for the night, and had some fun throwing the fishing line in along a small river near our campsite.

Day 7: Left Michigan, traveled through Wisconsin pretty fast, and entered Minnesota. We ventured into the area that J used to live in and fished at some of his old holes (and caught a few too, although we let them all go). We ended up heading a bit south near the end of the day so we wouldn't have such a long drive the next day. We camped near a lake and battled the mosquitos but still had some fun fishing and hanging out.

Day 8: Got up early, left the area pretty quickly so we could get on the road. Finished up in Nebraska by the end of the day. Ate dinner with Grandpa and his girlfriend and played some cards before heading back to the hotel.

Day 9: No traveling today, will be in Nebraska for 6 days and will have a family reunion on Saturday. Plan to get some golf and visiting in with Grandpa today.

I guess I should mention too, that I have been geocaching along the way, and have managed so far to get a cache in every state we have visited. Most of them haven't been great caches (a lot of rest stop park and grab micros) but that is okay since I am just looking to cover each state and we can't venture too far off the road when we are trying to cover 400+ miles a day. I will get a few while we are here in Nebraska, in fact I have a travel bug I picked up that I need to drop off.

So that is it for now...I'll try to get some more exciting posts done while we are here since I will have consisted Internet access for a few days.

Quick Trip Review (So Far)

1st day: Drove about 400 miles, slept in Aberdeen Maryland at a nice hotel and had great Italian food at this small local restaurant.

2nd day: Drove to Newark International Airport to park the car for our visit to the city. Took the train into the city, walked a bit to get to the hotel. Dropped off stuff, visited the Empire State Building (with no crowds on a Thursday afternoon), stopped at a pub for some beer and snacks while watching some World Cup soccer, then went to the Circle Line tour and did a harbour tour that was a lot of fun. Took the bus back to the hotel and then headed out to Times Square for some sightseeing, dinner at Yoshinoya, and having a few drinks while people watching.

3rd day: Slept in, and headed to the subway terminal for a metro fun pass for the day. Took the subway to Central Park and hung out for a while, then walked to Rockfeller Center and along 5th Avenue. Had some lunch and watched soccer at a restaurant/pub on 5th Ave. Then took the subway to the WTC site, Battery Park, Wall Street and the Stock Exchange, Union Square (where we went to a pub for some beer and snacks) and checked out the Farmer's Market. After that we headed to the room for a bit, and then out for dinner and some more at Time Square.

4th day: Got up early and headed back to Newark to pick up the car. Drove upstate and finished up at Niagara Falls by late afternoon. Checked out the state park on the American side (taking photos and video) and then headed over to Canada to see the other side. It was amazing to see. We got some dinner at the park there (very reasonably priced I might add) and ate with one of the best views ever imagined. At nightfall, the Canadians turn on some cool spot lights so you can still view and photograph the falls. We hung out for a while and then decided to just find a room there.

5th day: Slept in and headed from Niagara Falls across the Ontario Penisula to Michigan. Managed to get 2/3 of the way up the state towards the Upper Penisula before deciding to call it a day. Had some terrible rain along the way which killed our camping plans but we will have plenty more opportunities for camping before this trip is over. We'll be heading out to the Saulk St Marie Locks area before cutting across the UP to Wisconsin and eventually Minnesota.

We have taken tons of photos and video so far but posting any of it will have to wait until I get home and have access to my other computer (so I can transfer everything). We are having a ton of fun so far and I haven't had any emergency calls from home so I am assuming the cat and fish are doing okay.

Just wanted to get an update in so no one would think we had dropped off the planet. Will update more as we go and I get Internet access.

Hotels

It makes no sense to me. Hotels are built specifically for sleeping and when people come in at night, they pretty much realize that and try to be quiet....so explain to me, why at 6am the same rules don't apply? Doors slamming, cars revving, people shouting all at 6am for some reason. It is now 7:30am and all is quiet again....hmmm.

Father's Day Trials and Tribulations

Okay, I bitched about this last year in this post but it came to me again this year and I just have to revisit it. I was forced to buy cards for Father's Day this year, even though I have small fortune in card making supplies in my possession. I just ran out of time and had to resort to the card aisle at Hellmart.

While I was there, I realized exactly why I make most of my cards these days (even as limited as they are). The cards offered for Father's Day were absolutely horrible. The same idiotic jokes on the "humorous" ones and the same dumb assumptions of golf, mechanics, remote control ownership, and the farting and snoring laziness that all fathers apparently partake in.

I was forced to pick 7 cards from the lacking selection and to anyone that might be reading this that receives a card from me...you have my apologies in advance...I had no choice.

Bluebird Status

The first clutch fledged when I was on the west coast but we currently have a second clutch of 5 eggs, and they have been in the nest for about 9 days now. They will be hatched and almost ready to leave the nest by the time we return home from our excursion across the US...I hope they do okay.

Feeling The Crunch

Updated before leaving at 1pm with the last of the DONEs...I'll pay bills on the road, and the geocaches will have to be on the road too....grr.
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Updated at 7:52am with more DONEs....I just might make it.
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Updated at 9:46pm with more DONEs....
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Updated at 7:15pm with DONE after the ones I have finished already....we'll see if I get everything done.
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Okay,

I have about 24 hours before we leave on a 2 week vacation. This is a driving/camping/touristy/family reunion kind of vacation. Should be lots of fun.

Thing is, I have about a million things to do before we go and I am not getting much checked off the list today.

Absolute have to do before leaving house (or else we can't go):

• Set up cat food, litter box and water (plus vacuum floor). DONE
• Check hot tub chemicals, and strap down top (so neighborhood kids don't drown in it while we are gone). DONE
• Get fish pellets for fish and leave out with note for friend who is feeding them every three days. DONE
• Pack up camping gear. DONE
• Pack regular stuff (clothes, toiletries).DONE
• Pack golf clubs, cameras, laptop and Ipod. DONE
• Color hair.DONE
• Spray campdry on slicker. DONE
• Finish letters for water boy and fish feeder friends. DONE
• Show water boy what to water. DONE
• Post office to mail stuff and put mail on hold for two weeks. DONE
• Set plants and sprinklers up for water boy. DONE
• Pay bills that might be due while gone.
• Clean fish tank.DONE

Really need to do but can get by without (although I'll worry about it a lot while traveling):

• Get toilet in bathroom fixed (simple trip to Lowes for this one). DONE
• Plant petunias in pots in backyard so they don't get wasted sitting in their original nursery containers. DONE
• Grate soap near gardens to keep deer away.DONE
• Put veggie food on garden. DONE

Should do so I can leave stress free:

• Research geocaches and figure out which ones I want to do along the way. I am done through NY, NY but not any further than that.
• Update virus software and Windows on laptop (could do this on the trip somewhere). DONE

The garden stuff I was going to kick out this morning first thing has been put on rain hold (we are getting some weather from that storm in Florida). So I guess I will be running a few errands here in a bit, the cat, fish and hair color will be done tomorrow before leaving, so that leaves the rest of the stuff to be checked off....as usual, way too many things to do and not enough time to do them in....oh did I mention that I am trying to get a bit of World Cup soccer in amongst all this? Welcome to my world. I'll let you know what I accomplish.

Blogging Updates

Well, I finally did it. I set up my blog roll and installed it on my blogs (at least on the three that are on blogspot). I am looking forward to when I have to update again and not having to change it everywhere...oh, and I added links to a few that I started reading recently. Figured this way, I don't have to look them up in my favorites all the time. We'll see if I am able to keep up with them all.

I wish it was a bit more indented but I definitely like the "New Stuff!" labeling and the fact that it moves blogs to the top that have been updated...will make staying caught up much easier for me. Downside is that if you don't update, you move down...don't want that to happen to anyone but that is how this thing works. Had some trouble getting the preferences to work the way I wanted so I am not messing with it anymore...it is like it is for now.

On another note, I have a couple of notes for bloggers that I read or used to read. Graculus, I am still reading, I am just not commenting...can't seem to muster getting yet another password (the blog is looking pretty good by the way). Kate the Peon...I was reading but can't do the password thing for yet another blog. I understand completely why people have to resort to password protection so please don't think I am being critical, I am just explaining my absence from reading. Betty if you ever come back, drop me an email with the site location...loved your stuff even if I didn't comment much.

That is it for now...

World Cup Soccer

The World Cup is in day 3 today. We have been watching what we can when we can and it has been great so far. I will miss part of today's last game because I have a game myself to attend to, but I did manage to get most of the games this weekend in (or at least highlights).

Too bad I can't play as well as those guys...our team could use it. We had a bbq at one our friends yesterday and they play soccer too. We used to play with them when we lived in the same area before. I hope to help them get connected with some players around here and perhaps we will all get some playing in again.

ABC and Espn seem to be covering the games pretty well, and the broadcasts have not been limited to only US matches so I am thrilled. We'll see who comes out on top of this one this year.

Camping and Fishing

I went camping overnight last night with J about an hour from here near a lake. It was a nice little escape.

I headed up that way in the afternoon (J was working up there already). We met around 4pm and set up camp at the state park. Then we headed out to find a couple of geocaches, grab some dinner and meet some friends for some fishing. The geocaches were only micros but at least they were in a cool park I probably wouldn't have seen otherwise.

Around 7pm we met up with a couple of friends, one of which owns a pontoon boot. We went out on the lake to catch some catfish but since the dam wasn't running water out, we ended up just spending some time catching some brim and hanging out. It was a lot of fun and when we finally did get back to camp it was after 11pm. We had parked one car on the inside of the gate so we wouldn't have to walk the 3 miles to the campground from the outer gate. Worked out well for us.

We slept in a bit in the morning and then broke camp and headed for breakfast. J had to work some more, so I went to find a couple more geocaches and then headed back towards home. Overall, it was a nice little trip, not too much rain (thank goodness for tarps) and cool enough to be enjoyable. I hope we get to do it again soon but I think by the time we get home from the family reunion in Nebraska it will be too hot to camp again until the fall...

Senate Rebuffs Same-Sex Marriage Ban - New York Times

Good news, reason has won out once again.

Construction Woes

The second house across from our house is almost done now...propective buyers have already started looking at it. First picture is what the lot looked like in January when they first cleared it, and the second is what the house looks like so far.





A couple of days ago, I got a notice from the city that another house was going up next to the one pictured above and then yesterday they started clearing yet another lot down the street. Here we thought we were moving into an older wooded neighborhood and now they are starting on the 6th new build since we moved here about 1 1/2 years ago. Just call this construction alley...

Friday Night

J and I went out to dinner at the sushi restaurant in town. I was supposed to go there with a friend for lunch that day but we didn't, and I think J was bummed that he was going to miss it, so it worked out that we ended up there for dinner instead. We had some great sushi and conversation with one of the ladies that works there. I was able to use my limited Japanese, which is probably getting rusty these days.

Anyhow after a fabulous meal, we decided to stop at the local Irish pub next door for a beer before heading back. We saw our neighbor's truck parked nearby so figured we would see them inside, which we did. We hung out for a while, ran into another guy we know, and caught up with everyone.

At one point these two 50ish aged women (who I am sure were perfectly nice) came in, in the worse outfits I have seen in some time. They were wearing tiny tank tops (with technically enhanced boobs), short short miniskirts and plastic shoes that flashed little lights in the heels when they walked. Now, normally in a bar, this might not be a bad thing, however they stood out a bit at this place.

W (neighbor) and I were laughing at the scene the entire time. Part of the fun of that Irish pub is that it is so not typical. While yes, it has Guiness beer and you can order an array of Irish food (although I don't know if anyone that works there is Irish or not), on Friday nights, the DJ plays a lot of hiphop, and there are lots of older countryclub men and tourists hanging out trying to be hip. Part of the reason I go there is for the people watching opportunities. On this night, besides the girls in plastic shoes, we had at least 1 sweater vest, and then this guy came in straight off the golf course I guess because he was wearing a polo shirt stretched over a little gut, bright red plaid pants and golf shoes. It is just great to see these guys out trying to dance to "Push It"...hee hee.

Anyhow, we stayed for a bit and then headed out. W wants us to try this other place out next week...we'll see if we can swing it or not.

Blogger Down?

I tried to post something yesterday but I think Blogger was having difficulties...I couldn't even get my page to load, much less check out anyone else's. Seems to be working now though...

Cache Owner

Well, recently I adopted an abandoned cache from another geocacher, and today, I placed my first one. It is located in the same preserve as the adopted one (in fact I was out there mostly to work on the adopted one, it needed some attention), but much further in.

I made it a bit more difficult than some of the "park and grab micros" that are so common around here. Mine requires a mile hike into the woods to get to it but there are trails that can be followed and the whole walk is definitely worth it.

I'll hopefully get published in a couple of days and we'll see how soon someone finds it. Now I need to go get some more containers since I used both of the ones I bought today updating the old cache and hiding this new one, and I have a few more spots I can think of that it would be cool to hide a cache in. I probably should invest in some stickers from geocaching.com as well.

Final Draft

I finally got the landscape planting completely done, and mulched so I took some pics today. Unfortunately a lot of the spring blooming is over but I think it still looks pretty good and the summer blooming is just around the corner. I cut a few gardenia flowers today and put them in shallow dishes with water throughout our house and it smells heavenly.

This is the before picture looking towards our neighbors on the west side of our house.

After picture from basically the same location but a bit further back.

We pulled the birdbath and feeder out while we did the work. The azaleas in the foreground of the before picture were pulled out and then put back in in a better spot and we moved the little dogwood on the left of the before picture a little further left, so it would get more sun and we would have room to do the plantings like we wanted.

This is the before picture looking towards the back of our property line.

This is the after picture from the same angle.

We planted some shade loving plants on the right side of this picture (which are all under the tree that was hit by lightening and might have to be removed) and then sun loving plants in the rest of it.

The list of plants (and I am sure I am butchering their spellings) are:

Gardenia (2 types for 7 plants total)
Wax Myrtle (2 plants total)
Silver Berry (1 plant total)
Several different Azalea (5 plants total)
Lorepetulum (5 plants total)
Nandina (2 types for 6 plants total)
Day Lily (20 plants total)
Purple Fountain Grass (3 plants total)
Japanese Pieris (2 plants total)
Little Richard (3 plants total)
Hosta (2 types for 5 plants total)

Once we got the bird bath and feeder back in, it really started to look nicer and then the final touch was finishing up the mulch which really completes it. I am thrilled with the way it looks and the plants all seem to be doing great (even the Silverberry that had some issues early on).

Routines

Does anyone else but me have routines that they do (for small things) everytime and if they have to differ from that routine, it messes them up? Like if I don't do the same thing my body is programmed to do each time, I might forget a segment completely.

The routine I am thinking of currently is my drying off routine. When I get out of the shower, pool or whatever wet object, I have a specific routine I use while drying off. Everytime...no variation, unless I am interupted by something or I have some sort of reason for not following it (like a wound or injured area). If I have an injured hand, then the whole thing gets thrown off and trying to do the same routine with only one hand is difficult.

Normally, it is not really something I think about, I think it is just muscle memory from doing it so many times. The routine varies only if I don't wash my hair but that only affects the beginning. I can get going in the same routine after bypassing the hair in the towel bit. But if I get interupted or have another reason that requires routine variation, it causes me to have to think about it so I don't end up forgetting to dry my back or something. I had a cut on my left hand the other day and not only did it mess up my drying off routine, it messed up my shampooing, soaping and shaving routine as well....guess that is what made me think of this.

It is strange how you can get so used to something that you can go through the entire thing without even thinking about it, like breathing almost. Unfortunately, I know a few people that do this while driving....the not thinking about it part, not the drying off part...haha.