Butterneck Toad

Headboard Adventures

2011-12-05T11:15:00.001-05:00

I made a headboard last week.

We've been sleeping on the floor for 3 years. Okay, not ON the floor, but the box springs are on the floor. When we moved from Key West, the bed was on it's last legs and we elected not to drag it with us and have it likely deteriorate further.

The aging dog really enjoyed being able to get on the bed easier (he has since passed away - in the beginning of September) and the cats and skunk appreciate the accessibility as well.

I am fine with the bed being low to the ground, that doesn't bother me. Having no space UNDER the bed is ok, too, as there is then nowhere for things to get lost or small animals to hide.

It has always seemed to me that a headboard makes a bed look "real". When we dumped the old bed, we agreed that we would not purchase any bedroom furniture unless it was what we really loved, and we would save up for it.

Working at P1 gave me the opportunity to pick up some very nice coordinating pieces for pretty affordable prices, but they never had a headboard and/or bed that was quite right.

I decided a few months ago that I would just MAKE a headboard. I've seen DIY stuff on HGTV showing the many different ways of creating the beast, so I decided to do the cheapest/lightest/nicest looking thing and this is the result.

I purchased four pieces of foam-board that are 1/2" thick and laid them next to each other, placing five 1" dowels (are they still dowels if they are square?) on the ends and on the seams, adding 1/2" dowels across the tops for reinforcement and two more 1/2" in strategic (and clearly scientific) positions, hot gluing them all into position.

It was originally my intention to nail the wood pieces together, but the nails I had were too thick and started to split the wood, so I decided a hot-glue-and-staple-gun route was better.

I also stapled the seams between the foam pieces on the front side to help keep them together.

Time for batting and fabric! I bought one bag of quilt batting in a Twin bed size, which turned out to be perfect when folded in half long-wise.

Used the staple gun to attach the batting to the form, down the center and all around the edges.

I laid out my fabric and discovered that when I had calculated how much I would need, I had been intending to use the foam boards the other direction, which was shorter. Oops.

I went ahead and fastened it (staple-gun of course) in a centered position, leaving equal sized blanks strips on the ends.

Fortunately I have some lovely fabric from my still-planned third incarnation of the big ottoman. The craft store always has it in stock, so I can pick up more if I need to.

I cut two strips off an end, folded and hot-glued the edge, then hot-glued AND stapled the strips on the ends of the headboard.

I have to say, it kinda looks like I meant to do that, and I think I like the look of it better than if the light-colored fabric had reached all the way to the end.

Right now, the headboard is just on the floor (the 1" dowels make great feet to hold the thing up at the perfect height) between the bed and the wall, but it's lightweight enough that I can hang it on the wall if we ever raise the bed and build/buy a bed frame.

Yay!

Life Keeps Truckin'

2011-07-29T13:02:00.000-04:00

My one devoted fan (Hi Lou!!) reminds me that this venue has been neglected of late.

This year has been a hectic one at our house...

In January I was diagnosed with a grapefruit-sized uterine fibroid (rather uncomfortable to house, if you were wondering).

In February I decided to quit my job at Pier 1 due to my physical limitations (thanks, Grapefruit) and the increasing drama caused by employees that wanted nothing more than to make my job difficult (and thought that would make theirs easier). Also in February The Chou was poisoned somehow (we don't know how) and went into major kidney failure. We thought his time was up and were emotionally wrecked for a couple of weeks, but after 24 hours of fluids at the vet and another week and a half of fluids given at home, he recovered almost fully! He's on a special diet now and has lost about 3lbs since then.

My last day of work was mid-March, and I was originally scheduled for surgery to remove the fibroid on March 29th. On March 16th, my HusBean's contract at work changed, which meant our health insurance changed... which meant no insurance until April 1st. The surgery had to be rescheduled and they wouldn't even look at a calendar until I provided proof of new insurance so they could send it through pre-approval all over again. Also in March my Mom decided she needed help with her last big project at work before retirement, so on a Sunday afternoon she asked me to fly out that Tuesday and help. We booked the ticket and I went to Portland for two weeks.

I got back from Portland on HusBean and I's third anniversary (April 12th) and I had a few weeks to try and get caught up at home, get the surgery re-scheduled, and pack before heading to NYC in mid-May for a week.

The night before my trip we had a visit from the Heartlife Homeschool Co-op while on their road-trip through The South. It was wonderful to have them here (all over the floor and in a tent in the back yard), spend some good time with Kevin and meet lots of new friends.

My week in NYC was amazing and it was wonderful to get to spend some sister-time with HusBean's sister Katie and our nephew Jackson. I don't think I've even finished blogging the trip! I honestly don't even remember everything that happened in the last part of May, other than again trying to get caught up at home (laundry, Hot Sauce sales, etc.). (Also during my trip HusBean told me that our siamese - Maui - had escaped when the kids were leaving on Friday... the silly cat hid out in the bushes and around the neighbors houses for four days before finally allowing HusBean to catch him)

In June we had a lovely visit from Emily & Celeste while on their road-trip through The South. They only stayed a night, but we packed a lot into their time here! Scott made fresh pasta (with their help) and the next day I took the ladies downtown Augusta to see the James Brown statue, have lunch (AND DESSERT!)at Boll Weevil and tromp through a few antique shops before sending them on their way.

My surgery was on June 16th, and I spent two nights in the hospital, going home on Saturday morning. I spent the first week sleeping in the guest room, since the master bed is on the floor and thus much harder to get out of for someone with no abdominal muscles. After that first week I was able to both go off of the Percocet and move back into the master bedroom.

My Mom flew out on July 3rd to spend twelve days with us, she had just retired after 44 years (Wow!) and deserved a vacation. Unfortunately, she spent a lot of the time helping out around the house and a TON of time cooking, but we had a lot of fun planning healthy meals and just hanging out together. And shopping. We did some shopping. :)

While I was in the hospital, our Boxer - Buster - developed a UTI and Scott had to take him to the vet to get checked out and get antibiotics. Ever since then he's been going slowly downhill... He'll be 13 tomorrow (which is CRAZY old for a Boxer) and has arthritis in his back end. In the weeks following the UTI he didn't seem to be getting much better - was drinking GALLONS of water a day and peeing every hour - so we ended up taking him back in to get checked out. After some blood tests he has been diagnosed with Cushing's Disease.

Yesterday morning after he got off the bed, he was walking through the bedroom door and suddenly fell over. I jumped up and ran to him, expecting that he had just dropped dead. He was still breathing, but limp. I called HusBean to come home, we pulled the dog onto a blanket and carried him to the door to head to the vet. When we set him down to open the door he suddenly sat up, then stood up, and walked himself out the door to the car.

After some more tests the vet thinks that Buster's heart is dropping beats periodically and that he likely fainted. Since he is a VERY senior dog, we are not going to put him through xrays and additional medication, we just got a prescription for better pain meds - Arthritis specific - and he acts like he is feeling better.

Our friend Dean arrived from San Angelo, TX last night to spend a few days with us for HusBean's birthday (today!).

When would I have had time to write? It's all I can do to wash the laundry, much less get it folded and put away! I have managed to keep the kitchen clean and keep up with Hot Sauce orders...

Trends - OWLS!!

2011-07-01T14:36:00.003-04:00

I had no idea that I was so in to home decor until I worked at Pier 1. My 2.5 years there made me realize what fun it is to make my home an expression of my taste and a fun creative outlet.

Of course, between the pay and how much I spent at the store (despite my discount), we are probably saving money since I quit my job, but I'm still a fan of decorating and also of P1.

My current obsession is with Owls. My boss at P1 got me into it because her mother had loved owls and therefore my boss' daughter loved them. This made me start noticing owls. Fortunately, owls are all the rage right now anyway and I didn't have to look far.

I believe that this was my first owl purchase - a cute necklace from Target that I picked up in Charleston while I was there for a P1 meeting.

After that we started getting owl merchandise at P1 and I picked up a doormat and some figurines...

I LOVE the doormat and will likely keep it out all year (although I may sub my cute bat at Halloween) but like to change up the other Front Door Area stuff. Right now I want to transition from my spring stuff to summer and am looking for cute inexpensive ways to do that.

I designed the "spring" wreath currently on the door and am thinking I want to make one for summer with owls in it - but still in bright summery colors. Something along these lines color-wise. These might work hooked into a grapevine wreath... they're a little more fall-colored though. Along that idea-line, these are brighter...

And of course, Etsy is a fabulous place to find all sorts of wonderful things.

Maybe I'll have to head to Hobby Lobby and just make some stuff myself. :) Maybe get some fabric and make little tiny stuffed owls to put on the wreath myself with some coordinating gerbera heads.

Hmm... I see some crafting in my future!

__________________________________________

Target has some super cute bathroom accessories,

Also at P1:
Cute Owl Mug
Salt & Pepper shakers
LED Candle
Owl wall decor
Owl paintings - I like the blue-ish background one best
Cute greeting card with feathery accents
LOVE LOVE LOVE this stuffed owl toy (I bought the Zebra for my sister)

And a bunch more cute stuff coming in Fall... Gosh, you'd think I still work there.

Had some fun creating an Etsy treasury, too.

When you get caught between the Moon...

2011-06-29T02:14:00.000-04:00

I have to admit, Katie and I got a LOT accomplished that Tuesday morning while my nephew was in school.

After the donut shop we continued our journey to the Flat Iron district.

Conveniently located just across the street was something on Katie's NYC bucket list: Eataly. I had never heard of the place, but according to Katie it is somewhere Mario Batali and other Food Network folks like to shop, which is enough to interest me! (random vague side note: I saw a guy there that I KNOW is on tv, but I haven't figured out who he is yet...)

The whole place is one big store, make that HUGE store, but broken down into different areas and stalls and mini-shops and restaurants.

I got a big kick out of the boards next to the Vegetable Butcher:

But also really enjoyed all the different shapes and colors of foods and drinks. I was in foodie/photo heaven!

I think I could have stood at the pasta counter eternally...

...but we had to hop back on the subway and pick up the little man from pre-school and head home for a nap.

MORE Tuesday (to be continued...)

...Now I Need a Little Give And Take...

2011-06-27T11:30:00.001-04:00

On Tuesdays and Thursdays my nephew attended pre-school.

Katie and I dropped him off just before 8a on Tuesday and made a quick stop at the Starbucks nearby before getting on the subway headed for Chelsea.

We got off the subway and walked down 21st Street (I think) to the Chelsea Market.

We walked through starting from the Food Network end where Masaharu Morimoto has his restaurant and bought freshly baked bread twists from a bakery before coming out onto 9th Avenue where we circled back around and took 21st to 10th Avneue and up the stairs to the High Line.

I won't go into a full description of the High Line (I'll let Wikipedia do that for me), but I will summarize by saying that it is a former raised railroad track converted into a park.

At one point it runs beneath the Standard Hotel.

The landscape design was very nicely done and I could have spent all day up there.

We walked to the end of the High Line and then headed toward the Flat Iron district. On the way we came across a fancy donut shop.

We were much more impressed with the decor in the shop than the donuts, the prices, OR the customer service...

but how often do you get to disco while peeing?

(Tuesday's escapades to be continued...)

Style!

2011-06-27T08:46:00.000-04:00

I know, I know, I'm all over the place.

Travel blog, home decorating, cooking, animals... what's next? Should I focus?

NAH.

I'm feeling very style-maven-ish today, particularly excited because I'm expecting the arrival of a pair of FREE shoes from Shoedazzle. I've been a member for about a year and a half and love it so far. As long as I remember to "skip the month" by the 5th, I don't get charged unless I am buying a pair of shoes, and hot stylin' shoes for $40 plus shipping? Awesome. I earned myself enough points to get a free pair and they are on track to arrive on my doorstep this afternoon.

Cute, No?

I'm thinking of pairing them with something along these lines:

(Jeans from Saks, top from HSN, necklace from etsy, bag from ebay)

If you are remotely interested in the shoedazzle thing, let me send you an invite and I'll get more points (MORE FREE SHOES, HOORAY!).

There's Nothing You Can't Do...

2011-06-14T16:54:00.000-04:00

When we last left our heroine (that'd be me), I had spent the Saturday of my trip to New York City walking and walking and walking, eating, karaoke-ing, walking some more, and finally sleeping.

Sunday morning my nephew Jackson had a birthday party to attend, so I was able to sleep in a little while until he and Katie returned. Most of the day was spent entertaining Jackson and trying to keep him out of the way so Katie could pack for their move to Virginia.

We decided to get pizza for dinner, so we walked a few blocks away to Famiglia Pizzeria. We had them make us a large - half "Veggie" and half "Fresca" (basically a margherita).

I had intended to try multiple kinds of pizza and cheesecake while in New York, only managed to have two different restaurant's offerings of pizza, and only ended up having cheesecake (although six different varieties) from the Whole Foods next door to where I was staying.

We went to bed at a reasonable hour Sunday night to prepare for our big morning out on Monday.

Katie had acquired tickets for the two of us to attend a taping of the Wendy Williams show. I will admit that I had never heard of Wendy Williams, but watched a clip or two of her on youtube before leaving on my trip, so I thought I had an idea of what I was in for.

I had no idea that I was going to be in for a crazy dance party and that Katie and I would have a ton of air-time. Wendy Williams herself is a riot, and the taping segments were fun, but the REAL entertainment is the audience-warmer, Kevin.

Kevin is a hoot. He gets everyone up and dancing and singing and laughing. He flirts with the entire audience and made us all feel welcome and like there was nowhere else in New York we would rather be RIGHT THEN.

If you are in the audience, you are instructed to dress "fashionably", so I decided this was probably my one chance to wear heels and get away with it. I chose a pair that are pretty awesome, but that I also have quite a bit of experience wearing, so that I wouldn't be uncomfortable walking a fair distance or standing in them for quite awhile. Unfortunately, we were running a little bit late, so we walked much faster than those shoes are intended for, and I ended up with blisters on my feet on only my third day in New York.

After getting back to the apartment we watched the playback of our appearance on the show, took naps (thank goodness for 2.5 year olds that take naps!) and I finished off the evening with a big salad and some middle eastern and Indian food from Whole Foods.

Fortunately, they healed quickly and I had several other pairs of shoes to wear throughout the week to avoid making the injuries any worse.

It's Up To You...

2011-05-28T12:11:00.000-04:00

A week ago at this time I was gallavanting through NYC.

My nephew Jackson is two-and-a-half, and wakes up every day around 6a or 6:30a. When you are all living in a tiny apartment, there is not much sleeping in. Kevin had come up from Richmond for the weekend, so the four of us went to Central Park together for a walk and a little bit of running-around time.

Kevin took Jackson back to the apartment and Katie and I hopped on the subway to 42nd/Times Square. We walked through Times Square (Lego store!) and over to Rockefeller center before getting back on the subway and heading to the Soho area.

We walked from there to Ground Zero (quite a walk!) by way of Bowery, through Little Italy and down Church Street and Broadway.

This is one of the buildings under construction (many things under construction there of course).

St. Paul's Chapel is a Trinity Church is across the street from Ground Zero and has survived many New York disasters. It was opened in 1776 and was one of the only buildings in the area left standing in the "Great Fire" of 1776. When the World Trade Center collapsed, it again was nearly untouched and became a haven for rescue workers.

Katie and I took the subway back uptown and I got to take a little nap while Jackson was still sleeping.

Saturday evening we went to dinner at Dhaba, a fabulous Indian restaurant. We then met friends for drinks at Me Bar, which is next to the Empire State Building (and located in the top of a LaQuinta, of all things).

After taking an obligatory picture of the landmark, we continued on to Boho (West) for some Karaoke. Katie had apparently been touting my abilities as a vocalist, so I was thrown into singing a couple of songs. I chose "Everything" by Michael Buble (which I have never sung publicly before, and had forgotten completely about the a Capella key change at the end... OOPS!) and Katie chose for me to sing "Stay" by Lisa Loeb. I was backed up significantly by the rest of the patrons.

There was a rather large group of people from New Jersey that inundated the bar shortly after we arrived. After they pretty much took over the place (and managed to gas us out more than once - thanks, dude) we decided to call it a night and parted ways with the girls that had come out with us.

Kevin, Katie and I took the subway back up to Times Square and then walked through so I could take some pics with all of the lights.

We then ducked in to the M&M's store about 10 minutes before closing since none of us had ever been to one. I picked up a postcard for my Dad, and Kevin picked up what turned out to be some VERY expensive M&M's.

We got back on the subway and headed uptown to the apartment, crashing into bed (the couch for me) soon after.

Traveling Hot Sauce Saleswoman

2011-05-25T18:26:00.000-04:00

Boy have I been busy!

I had the greatest of intentions to blog daily (HA!) or at least weekly (hardly!) once I officially became a housewife.

The truth is that I traded one full-time job for another, maybe even two. While I am indeed now a housewife, I am also now the driving force behind the Homeward Bound Hot Sauce roller-coaster. (If you have been a faithful reader and not figured out what this hot sauce thing is all about, I'll be happy to talk your ear off about it!)

Between trying to get the house into a better general state and filling hot sauce orders, I haven't had much time to do all the project-y things I'd like to tackle now that I supposedly have some free time.

I HAVE been able to start to tackle a few things, like embroidering penguins onto a pair of Converse for my nephew, and sending out the stack of remaining Christmas presents that have spent the last five months next to our front door.

I traveled to Portland, OR for two weeks in March/April to help my Mom with her last big project at work before she retires this summer, to visit my best girlfriend and her newborn baby (and her other three children), and to visit my best guy-friend and clean out my Vancouver house. It was wonderful to spend so much time in what I consider to be my "Home Turf" and it really helped me get motivated to dive into our dream of making the hot sauce what ultimately takes us home to the Pacific Northwest.

After I returned home to Georgia I was able to reschedule my surgery for the middle of June. Once that was taken care of it enabled me to schedule the other pieces of my summer.

My sister and brother-in-law and our nephew have been living in New York City for the last year and are moving to Virginia. This was my last chance to visit them here (and maybe my last chance ever for free lodging), so I booked my tickets once our tax return came back and arrived at La Guardia airport on Friday evening around 6p.

I took a cab to Katie's building and we spent the evening catching up and making our initial plans for the week.

I have taken about 300 pics so far and uploaded over 200 to Facebook, I'm having an amazing time seeing the sites and appreciating all the artistry and nature in this huge city.

I still have a few things to see (and EAT) before I head home early this Friday morning.

Housewifery: Month 1 (& Trip Home Part 2)

2011-04-27T14:28:00.000-04:00

Previously on Housewifery...

Flying cross-country with a large growth in your abdomen is not the most comfortable way to travel... I've had problems sitting for long periods of time for many years, mostly due to the fact that my legs are pretty long and most modes of transportation (other than First Class of course) are not set up for anyone taller than about 5'2".

When flying from Augusta (we have a small airport here) I either end up going by way of Augusta, GA to Charlotte, NC to Phoenix, AZ to Portland or Augusta, GA to Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX to Portland.

I actually prefer going through DFW for two reasons, one is that the longest leg of the trip ("long leg" ha ha ha) is only about 3.5 hours as opposed to 4.5, and DFW has a Red Mango. When I flew home in October 2010 I tasted Red Mango frozen yogurt and consequently had to have frozen yogurt a few times a week once I got back to GA. There's a few places here in town that are good - not quite Red Mango good, but good enough!

Anyway... In planning this very last-minute trip to Portland, I decided to keep it a secret from my best friend back home, Monica. She had just had a baby and we had talked a couple of days previously when I told her I wouldn't probably be able to visit for at least a month.

I attempted this deception with the help of a couple of friends and thought I was terribly clever. Of course, I have a terribly BIG MOUTH and couldn't just say nothing, so I said silly things on facebook that made everyone curious and posted silly pictures (friends suggested captions like "Where Bees Get Their Haircuts" and "...you're in an elevator - mind the gap!") that would only make sense if you knew where I was.

Of course, Monica is no dummy and figured the whole thing out before I ever got on the plane in Augusta. I had arranged a dinner at the couple's house where I was supposed to surprise Monica. I could tell immediately when she saw me that she knew, because her "surprised" face was total crap.

She was still happy to see me, and it was awesome to get to hold Baby Kennedy.

Dinner was of Middle Eastern inspiration and we enjoyed freshly made falafel, tabbouleh, tzatziki, salad and some quite good store-purchased hummus, baba ganoush and pita. Several other friends joined the festivities and it was great to get caught up with them.

During this evening we remarked on Kennedy's hair (she was born with quite a bit) as it likes to stick straight up unless it's pretty heavily coated with something... giving rise to the nickname "Baby Hedgehog".

I worked with Mom on Wednesday and Thursday during most of the day, and Friday morning.

Housewifery: Month 1 (& Trip Home Part 1)

2011-04-25T14:00:00.000-04:00

My first month as a housewife went like a tornado! Fast and furious and chaotic!

I had one week at home that went perfectly as planned: menu plan, house cleaning, etc. I spent some good time outside and enjoyed a book and coffee every morning, planted some flowers in the back yard, got the front door looking cute...

Then on Sunday of my second week it all went to heck!

My mom works for the Portland Public Schools District in their Nutrition Services department. Mom has always been a computer whiz, and her current role involves troubleshooting a software upgrade that the entire school district uses to order the food for the cafeterias.

This may sound like a simple thing, but it is a HUGE task with many parts and several things literally were lost in translation from the old system to the new system, causing her HOURS of tracking down problems and fixing them, in addition to notifying the software company of various bugs so they could be fixed on THEIR end.

I had called Mom on Sunday (3/27) to catch up, and after filling her in with my first week at home, she said she had planned to call me anyway. She was overwhelmed at work and desperately in need of help. Would I be willing to fly out and spend a few days helping her if she paid for my plane ticket? FREE TRIP HOME? Are you kidding? Of COURSE!

I asked when she was thinking and she said "Tuesday". I asked "THIS Tuesday? As in two days from now?" and she assured me it was that immediate. I conferred briefly with HusBean and then told her I'd see if I could find a ticket. As we were out and about headed to lunch I went online with my phone to Priceline and managed to find a round-trip ticket from Augusta to Portland for that Tuesday for about $600 with taxes and fees. That's a pretty good price for a 2-day lead time.

I decided that since I don't have a work schedule to be concerned about I would stay a bit longer and scheduled my return ticket for April 12th (our 3-year anniversary).

I immediately started notifying friends and family in the Portland area of my imminent arrival and asked if anyone needed sauce... Within 24 hours I had presold $200 worth of sauce and had to cut off the orders because I didn't have any more room in my TWO suitcases AND we were out of bottles!

I carefully distributed my clothes and sauce (88lbs worth) between the two suitcases and my two carryons, and boarded the small plane in Augusta on Tuesday afternoon. I flew first to Charlotte, NC and caught a connection to Phoenix, AZ. From Phoenix I flew directly to Portland, arriving about 20 minutes early at 10:40p.

Mom and Lou picked me up - this was fortunate because it was pretty tough moving ALL of my luggage by myself. I gave Mom the light stuff and I dragged the two (wheeled!) suitcases.

With me and all of my belongings safely crammed in the car, we headed home to Clackamas.

Always Check The Handle...

2011-04-21T07:17:00.000-04:00

It's a lovely morning here in Georgia... the sun is coming up, it's a very comfortable 68F outside..

And it's a damn good thing it's 68F outside because I just had to break into my house wearing rather skimpy pajamas.

I was up before my HusBean this morning, reading a skunk blog and snuggling with The Chou and Stinkerbell on the couch. Once HusBean was ready to head to work I decided to 1. be a good vendor and put my latest shipment of hot sauce out on the front porch for pickup and 2. be a good housewife and drag the garbage can back up the driveway from the curb.

I pulled the front door shut behind me (just to make sure no little furry people with skilled paws could open it) as HusBean was getting into his car.

I waved goodbye like a good loving housewife and then tried to open the front door. The handle is locked. I said a few choice words and ran out into the street waving and jumping up and down, hoping HusBean would be taking a last loving glance in his rear-view mirror.

Not so much.

Since Buster had just been out, I took a chance that the back door would be unlocked - made my way through the gate into the back yard and tried the back door. Knob unlocked, but door deadbolted.

As I peered through the glass I could see Buster (poor old deaf thing) waiting at the front door for me to come back in.

The cats were lined up on the back of the couch watching me for entertainment.

I tried the dining room windows. One is already screenless (a similar mishap a couple of years ago) and is now ALWAYS locked. The other window had been open last night to let some of the habanero-air out of the kitchen, but before destroying the screen I looked at the locks (each window has two) and verified that one was unlocked, but the other was not.

I considered knocking on the neighbors door and asking to use their phone, but then remembered that the living room window had also been open last night.

I visually verified that it was unlocked and proceeded to use a handy herb-stake (thanks Pier 1!) to wedge out the screen.

By this point Minx was QUITE interested in my antics and was there at the window ready to give me a helping-paw.

I think I may use some of my GA state tax refund today at Home Depot to find some replacement screens.

Oh yes, and a bathroom door... But that's a story for another day.

Bits and Pieces

2011-04-14T13:48:00.004-04:00

Proceed at your own risk: medical terminology and women's health abound.

I haven't spoken here much about HusBean and I's desire to have children. The short version is that we want them and haven't had any success yet.

When we moved to GA, we selected a GP Dr. that had been a fertility specialist in her home country. My first visit to her was in spring of 2009 and was a pelvic/pap exam. I mentioned our history (2.5 years at this time) of attempting to get pregnant and she recommended a few things and said that it seemed like my uterus might be tilted.

When you aren't on birth control, there is no reminder to have your yearly exam because there is no need for a prescription for said birth control. Consequently I hadn't had another exam and when I needed an updated prescription for something else the computer pointed out that I was long overdue.

I scheduled my exam for January 27th. Immediately upon starting the exam my Dr. (hereafter referred to as "Dr. D" commented that there was "definitely" something "in there" and it felt like a fibroid. She finished the remainder of the exam and scheduled me for an ultrasound on January 31st.

Between the two appointments I started doing some research to learn about uterine fibroids. I also called my mom and she reminded me that she had a hysterectomy at age 41 for the same thing. Between her stories and my research I started realizing that I had been suffering from symptoms caused by the fibroid for quite awhile and just ignoring them because I'm good at ignoring pain.

Starting in November I had started having sciatic and hip pain that was pretty severe, I figured that I had pulled something while moving furniture. I have also had to urinate much more frequently in the last six months, and intercourse had been QUITE painful for over a year.

At the ultrasound appointment, the tech measured the fibroid and told me it was 7.5cm x 10.3 cm. I asked what the plan was and the tech said that Dr. D would be contacting me to make a plan.

I waited until January 4th (Friday, the ultrasound had been that Monday) and hadn't heard anything, so I called and spoke to Dr. D. She said "We'll just watch it for now until you become 'really' uncomfortable".

I got angry. I have a pretty high pain tolerance and had been able to work through my symptoms when I didn't realize there was an issue. The problem is that once I was aware, the pain and discomfort was magnified and I realized that my periods during the previous year had been VERY painful, especially the last three - I would double over at work and have to go home early.

Just because I HAD lived with it I didn't think it was fair to CONTINUE to live with it! She offered to prescribe some pain meds for my periods and left it at that.

I discussed my feelings with my Mom, my HusBean, my coworkers, and female relatives with similar issues. I decided to get a second opinion.

Dr. S was recommended to me and I managed to get an appointment with her right away. We talked in her office and she agreed right away that the fibroid needs to come out, even commenting that my "belly" that is visible is BECAUSE of the fibroid.

She wanted to do an exam, and upon completing the exam had me stay and do another ultrasound. THIS ultrasound showed that the fibroid is actually 10.5cm by 11.3cm.

We scheduled pre-op and surgery dates, which have had to be postponed because HusBean's job changed and we ended up not having insurance between 3/16 and 4/1.

All of this is a major factor in my being burned-out physically and emotionally at work.

I emailed our new insurance card to Dr. S' office today and am hoping to hear back for a rescheduled set of appointments soon!

Overwhelmed

2011-04-08T17:59:00.003-04:00

I am far overdue to post, so I will do a quick summation and then follow up with a more fleshed-out version later.

I am currently in Portland, OR - arrived on Tuesday 3/29 and am heading home on Tuesday 4/12 (also HusBean and I's 3rd wedding anniversary).

I was originally supposed to have a myomectomy (like a c-section for removing uterine fibroids - I've got a BIG one) on 3/29 but HusBean's job changed and we ended up without insurance between 3/16 and 4/1. Now I have to re-submit proof of insurance to my dr. so they can reschedule.

It is good to be spending time in my hometown and seeing friends and family at a much less rushed pace than my previous visits, I have taken some fun pictures and eaten tons of great food - I intend to do restaurant reviews over on the food blog and tell some of the stories about things I found in my garage in Vancouver that I forgot about.

The worst part about the fibroid (go to wikipedia if you can stomach it) is that it is similar to being pregnant in a day-to-day way: there is constant pressure on my bladder and I have constant sciatic/pinched nerve pain.

Also, periods are ATROCIOUS, (I'm saying that in spite of a pretty high pain tolerance.) Consequently I currently feel like I'm being stabbed in interesting places and am going to take a nap.

This is one of the things that helped motivate me to quit my job, which I will expound upon at a future time when I'm sure my former employer can't take back any of my pay.

Patience

2011-03-29T01:54:00.002-04:00

I really have been dying to post here, but I have so many big things going on right now that I can't talk about for about another 24 hours!

No, not pregnant, just making lots of big plans!

Soon...

Need Help?

2011-03-24T15:35:00.005-04:00

If anyone has a furniture placement or decor dilemma, please send me your questions and pics and I would love to help!

Empty wall space?
Need a centerpiece?
Need to change up your table for spring?
Want to update your room but have little or no budget?

Housewifery: Days 3, 4, 5...

2011-03-24T14:51:00.005-04:00

I've been getting up pretty faithfully between 9:30am and 11:30am... this probably sounds late to most of you, but since the HusBean is currently working a 3p-11p shift, we often don't go to bed until close to 3a.

Then, of course, Stinkerbell gets up around 5a, the cats want to eat breakfast around 7a and again at 9a, so I'm actually doing pretty well getting between 6-9 hours of sleep, none of it more than 2 or 3 at a time.

It is officially Spring everywhere, but here in Georgia it's really acting like it. I've been drinking my morning mug of coffee and reading on the back patio every morning and already have some pretty distinct tan lines.

On Tuesday, I had my friend Rochelle and her beautiful boxer Miss Foxy Roxy over for lunch. We enjoyed my Grandpa's Mac and Cheese recipe and Rochelle brought deviled eggs. Roxy and Buster had a GREAT time racing around the back yard.

I brought out the spring decor for the front door and got the fall/winter stuff put away.

I also started the process of sorting through all of our stuff to get rid of the things we don't ever use that have no sentimental value. For non-sentimental items, my rule is if we haven't used it/worn it in two full years, it gets retired. My plan is to have a yard sale and whatever doesn't sell will get donated to the Goodwill.

After Rochelle and Roxy left, Buster and I sacked out on the couch for a couple of hours and then I made a quick run to get some frozen yogurt at the new place in town and deliver some food to my (now former) boss.

I took a quick trip to a Ross where I found two cute sundresses... one for $9.99 that I think is super cute (HusBean said it was "hideous") and another for $14.99 that is REALLY comfortable (HusBean approved of that one).

Wednesday I followed my morning coffee/book routine with about an hour of playing the piano. Scott joined me on bass for a few songs toward the end... I was planning to play along with one of my Pandora stations, but couldn't find the appropriate cord to hook my laptop up to the boombox, so we played along with my Michael Buble playlist on my ipod instead.

Lunch was a green leaf lettuce salad and an open-faced fried green tomato sandwich. HusBean loves to cook as well and had made the tomatoes at 3:30a and left me a few. I put them on a piece of toasted sourdough with a little mayo and a slice of cheddar.

Anytime we clean house, all the miscellany gets shoved in to our bedroom and we shut the door. This means that there are huge piles of clean laundry and other household flotsam just hanging around in there to be tripped over. I started getting some of that put away yesterday, too.

According to my meal plan for this week, Stroganoff was on the menu for supper last night, and since I had made the sauce on Monday evening all I had to do was boil up some egg noodles and put a loaf of garlic bread in the oven for 10 minutes.

This morning I enjoyed my coffee outside and let the cats come out and sunbathe for awhile while I weeded and dug up rocks for my mini-rock-wall. It doesn't look like much, but last summer I planted some calla lilies there and it was quite pretty.

I'm having leftover Asparagus Pesto for lunch while blogging and catching up on facebook.

I'm hoping to make playing piano an every-day thing, and also hoping to make some more headway in the mess that is our bedroom today. I may also get through some of the stuff in the garage.

Housewifery: Day TWO

2011-03-21T21:19:00.007-04:00

On Day One, HusBean and I went to the grocery store shortly after we got up. I threw on a pair of jeans, a tshirt and sweatshirt, and put my hair up in a bun. He threw on a tshirt, some shorts and flipflops.

While we were in the store he made a remark that suggested that I shouldn't dress crappily just because I don't have anywhere to go.

After punching him, I agreed.

During the morning routine I started water boiling for coffee. We use a french press and I made a combination of Trader Joe's Gingerbread and Starbucks Cinnamon and Starbucks Caramel coffees that was quite good.

The necessary things that needed to be accomplished today were picking up all of my food and miscellaneous stuff from work, taking Buster to the vet for a checkup (he hasn't had one in 2.5 years), another grocery store trip since the one we visited yesterday had no basil, pine nuts or dill, and make dinner for my friend Kimberly.

After my mug of coffee and my requisite facebooking, I cleaned myself up and put together an outfit based solely on an awesome pair of shoes I haven't had a chance to wear yet (it's hard to take a picture with your phone when your arms are only so long. I refuse to do a myspace-style in-the-mirror pic).

I managed to get in and out of Pier 1 pretty quickly, taking a picture with my boss since we didn't have a chance on my last day.

Buster had a fantastic vet visit, the vet told me that if Buster didn't have so much grey hair he would never believe that he is 12 and not 5 or 6.

After acquiring the dill, basil and pine nuts at Walmart (I'm surprised they had it!) I came home and made stroganoff for Wednesday night and did the remainder of the dishes.

I made the asparagus pesto and then got a call from Kimberly telling me that her clutch had just broken (the 2nd time in 8 months!) and she was waiting on her dad for rescue.

I am ending my day watching Dancing With the Stars and enjoying my meal.

Housewifery: Day ONE

2011-03-20T13:13:00.003-04:00

I'm sure that my HusBean's biggest secret concern about me staying home is that I won't actually get up in time to do anything around the house. I am known for my sleeping.

As I mentioned (at great length) yesterday, the animals have developed a routine that forces me to get up and be awake in decent time. I'm guessing the latest I will ever sleep in will be 10am (I know, to some of you that is CRAZY late, but I have been known to sleep until 2p if I went to bed late).

One of the things I am wanting to be intentional about as a housewife is menu planning. We love to cook and we love to eat, but when I was working full time I was often too tired at home to prepare anything, so I spent a lot of money at the various food establishments near my work.

I am hoping to do a weekly menu plan on Sundays, grocery shop that day for all the ingredients, and then make ahead one or two things on Sunday night that can just be reheated or added to later in the week for a quick meal.

Something that is going to help me during this first week is that I have made plans to host a friend for dinner Monday night and another friend for lunch on Tuesday.

This will force me to get up both days (on Monday Buster has a vet appointment anyway, so that will get me out of the house) and be presentable.

Here is this week's plan:
Sunday Lunch: Tortilla Soup (I'm either going to use a chicken-substitute or leave it out)
Monday Dinner: Asparagus Pesto w/ fresh pasta and salad
Tuesday Lunch: Ecuadorian Potato-Cheese Soup
Wednesday Dinner: Veggie Stroganoff
Thursday Lunch: Taco Salad
Friday Dinner: Grandpa's Baked Mac & Cheese

I am only planning one meal for each day because we will invariably end up with leftovers and those will do fine to fill in the other meals. I may end up switching around the potato soup, taco salad and/or mac and cheese depending on what Rochelle decides she would like to have for lunch.

I'm intending to make the stroganoff tonight and refrigerate it, it will keep all week and is easy to microwave and eat with rice, pasta, or whatever. I'm also going to make at least a test-batch of pesto tonight, maybe the asparagus, maybe just a random-herb concoction that I will freeze if it turns out well.

I will post my versions of the Tortilla Soup and Asparagus Pesto on our food blog once I make them, as I always adapt things to what I have and take out or substitute the meat.

WAKE UP!

2011-03-19T11:36:00.003-04:00

It is the morning of my final day at work. I don't have to be there until 3pm and could technically sleep in, but HusBean has invited people over for this evening and we need to do a little sprucing up around the house.

I got up this morning with the animals (this is what will keep me from sleeping in all day once I'm not working anymore) around 9am. The key to not being driven absolutely CRAZY by my furry children is a carefully developed plan:

1. When Stinkerbell wakes up and gets out of the bed, immediately lock her in the laundry room. This is usually around 5am. This will ensure that she doesn't leave any presents anywhere inappropriate and doesn't bite the dog and wake him up early.

2. When Maui wakes up and starts his yowling routine, GET UP. Don't prolong the inevitable. He will not shut up regardless of if you shove him off the bed, yell at him, or try to lock him out of the bedroom.

3. Wake up Buster and send him outside to do his business.

4. While he is outside,
a. let Stinkerbell out of the laundry room
b. make her breakfast (microwave some frozen veggies or cut up fresh veggies and fruit)
c. feed the cats - supervising closely because when Maui finishes eating (always first) he will head-butt Chou and Minx out of their bowls
d. start Buster's home-made "puck" microwaving
e. start unloading the dishwasher

5. Let Buster back in - mix in a little kibble and some water and garlic powder into his puck.

6. finish unloading/reloading the dishwasher, make coffee

By this time, I am well and truly awake. I might need a nap later in the day depending on when I went to bed, but now I am ready to continue my day.

If I try to go back to bed in between any of these steps, I will want to turn my children into furry little cupcakes.

Input, Please!

2011-03-17T20:30:00.003-04:00

Does anyone else have brilliant ideas either in the shower or as you are drifting off to sleep?

Whether they are truly magnificent by the light of day is always the question, but it's fun to actually get some of them written down.

As I was fading into my nap this afternoon I thought it would be a good idea to try and blog every day once I'm a housewife. Of course, I know that I won't succeed in doing it EVERY day, but trying is the main part of the idea.

With that in mind I thought it would be fun to have themes for a few days of the week so I can start to partition my many interests and hobbies.

Here's some I came up with, feel free to add other things you'd like to read about or see...

Media Monday - reviewing media I'm into currently (movies, tv, books)
Table Tuesday - a different table setting every week, themed or not, suggestions and challenges and requests accepted...
Food - sharing recipes or reviewing restaurants
Home Decor - solving decor issues a-la HGTV style... ideas for decor on a budget or just inspirations by request, home decor projects... could lump in table settings with this or keep them separate.
Fashion - trying my hand at styling... putting together outfits or sharing good finds
Memories - sharing stories that are humorous (at least to me)

I'd like to organize things so they are somewhat predictable, for my millions of readers (ha ha ha) and for myself, but I'm open to suggestions on topics, category names, etc.

Throw 'em at me!

Dreams and Aspirations

2011-03-16T15:02:00.007-04:00

When our cable/dvr is working, I watch a fair amount of television. Okay, a LOT of television.

The three-plus weeks of non-dvr meant that my nightly date (sometimes postponed to the morning thanks to the technology of dvr) with Craig Ferguson didn't happen. I realized that I have really missed Mr. Ferguson's wacky, random humor, the Secretariat Dance, Sid the Cussing Rabbit, and all of his other antics that make me chuckle.

I also appreciate the wide variety of guests on The Late Late Show. If you are not a frequent (or at-all) viewer, you may be unaware that Craig Ferguson received a Peabody Award for his episode "An Evening with Archbishop Desmond Tutu". He has also hosted all manner of tv, movie and music stars, both famous and up-and-coming.

Last night's episode featured Martha Stewart as the only guest. I won't delve into my perceptions of Martha's lack of a sense of humor, but it reminded me that I have always wanted to stay home and BE a "Martha Stewart"... focus on crafts and projects.

Now that I am married, HusBean doesn't mind the crafts and projects so much but wants to see me actually FINISH some of them and maybe not make the house look WORSE in the meantime.

As I am heading in to my new career as housewife, I am excited about all the various things I can do in conjunction with actually making our home look like we give-a-$#!+.

In the past year I have thought seriously about starting an event coordination business and am wondering if anyone would pay me to do table-setting design and what all it takes to get an interior decorator's license.

During my last year at P1 I've really enjoyed getting involved in setting the tables that are "extras" - they haven't been listed or pictured in our planner with any specific direction... that's when we get to be creative.

I can always tell that I've set a great table when we sell through all the components on the table (and sometimes the chairs featured at the table) quickly and have to set it again with something else.

When I was young I wanted to be an astronaut. Now I want to be Martha Stewart with a sense of humor. Here's hoping I can still watch a lot of tv and get some stuff done around here.

Response and Resolve

2011-03-16T14:54:00.002-04:00

My previous issues with our current cable/DVR service have been detailed at great length.

Within an hour of my posting the most recent blog, I had a comment (you can go read it for yourself) from a Comcast representative, eager to help me.

Since then I have exchanged several emails with two very eager and helpful representatives, followed by a timely, friendly and efficient visit by a tech yesterday afternoon.

I have a working cable box and most importantly, DVR feature! I enjoyed The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson last night and was able to FFWD through the commercials with great glee. (I also had DVR'd GLEE while napping, and watched that too)

I think it's pretty smart of Comcast to have an eye/ear on the internet and be quick to respond when people are referring to them in a public forum.

Good on ya, Comcast.

Educate Thyself

2011-03-11T00:59:00.005-05:00

(WARNING - This post is a rant. It may bore you.)

In my previous post, I mentioned a "chat" I had with a Comcast representative because of an outage we were experiencing. You may notice the date of that posting was Monday, February 21st.

At the time, the rep assured me that the outage was 98% fixed and we should have our service restored shortly.

By the end of the day on Tuesday (2/22) we still didn't have service, so my HusBean called Comcast and held for about 20 minutes before speaking with a representative. After we assured her that we had done the appropriate turning off and on and unplugging, etc. she scheduled a tech to come out and help.

The tech was supposed to come between 4:30p and 7p on Friday. A tech showed up at our house Thursday morning at 9a (we weren't even home) and then another tech came at 1p on Friday (2/25). Fortunately I had come home from work early and was actually here.

The tech came in and did his own requisite turning-on and off and unplugging of the cable box, then went outside and discovered what we had suspected: when the local cable & internet competitor had put in their lines in our neighborhood that week they had cut our connection. He fixed the problem, and then traded out our existing DVR/Cable box for a "new" model.

It takes about 24 hours for a box to download all it's scheduling info, so by Friday night I expected to be able to schedule a dvr recording of the Academy Awards which were happening on Sunday. I was having trouble trying to find ANY shows to record, so on Saturday (2/26) I called and spoke with a Comcast rep that instructed me to unplug the DVR box and plug it back in, which supposedly fixed the problem, but now I had to wait another 24 hours for it to re-download its information.

Sunday afternoon before I left for work I was able to finally select the Academy Awards to record to the dvr and then Monday (2/28) when I tried to watch it, the dvr recordings screen said it was 34% full but showed no listings for any recordings.

Tuesday (3/1) we went to Fayetville for a concert, came back Wednesday (3/2) and then spent the next 4 days dealing with The Chou's kidney failure (he's made a good recovery). Starting on Sunday (3/6) the display on our box showed "EAS" which means "Emergency Alert System" and usually happens a few times a week when they are running a storm alert or a test or whatever.

There was no storm this week, and the box would not shut off or play channels or anything. When we called Comcast and put our information into the touch-tone system it told us we were behind on our bill, so we thought maybe that was why we had no service.

We've been discussing lessening our services to save some money, so I decided to get the whole thing straightened out tonight because I was sick of the issues. When I looked at the cable box, it was suddenly showing a channel number again and so I turned on the tv and discovered we had service again, but the dvr showed nothing.

I tried to call Comcast and after again putting all the required info into their touch-tone system was told that they were too busy and to try again later.

Then I tried to log-in online to pay the bill and change the service. I tried to first sign-up for online account management, but it said we already had a profile and gave me the user id. Of course, I had no idea what the password might be since I had never USED the user id online before, so I followed the instructions to re-set the password. Then I was given an error message and sent to a chat with a rep.

I explained to the rep WHY I wanted to get online in the first place and that we've been having issues. The rep fixed the password problem and then offered to pass me on to a service issues rep.

I then spent about an hour and 45 minutes with the 2nd rep detailing all the issues. The 2nd rep agreed to credit our bill for the total time we were without service, helped me (theoretically) fix the dvr/cable box (by.... UNPLUGGING IT AGAIN), and change our service.

I discovered that we had been paying for "Digital Preferred" service, which is basic cable and then a certain set of additional channels. I don't ever watch any of those channels, so that was an easy thing to cut. I also asked what the $4.95 monthly "TV Guide" charge was for, and was told that it is for their magazine subscription (not the actual "TV Guide" magazine we know, but their own specific publication - which I have been quite faithfully dumping in the trash on receipt every month).

I asked that we stop receiving that as well.

I recommend that anyone using Comcast (or ANY company or service) be empowered to actually check out what you are being charged for. Find the breakdown of your service package and see if you actually USE/WATCH the services/channels they include.

Is there a magazine subscription that just got lumped in? We've been paying $4.95 a month for 2.5 years for something that quite literally is garbage. That's just under $150. That's a lot of money to be throwing away.

And yes, some of you will ask why I didn't pay attention to any of this before and it is because I never had the energy.

Well guess what? SUPER-REESE HOUSEWIFE is here and TAKING CHARGE. Rawr.

Repetition

2011-02-21T18:39:00.003-05:00

Our cable has been out all day today. Once I was assured that the bill had been paid by my HusBean, I decided to see if I could find out the problem and have an expected time of resumed service.

In the past I resolved a similar issue by doing an online chat with a Comcast representative. I decided to do the same today since I pretty much ABHORE dealing with people on the phone.

I pulled up the chat box and typed my "problem" into the required field:

Our cable box won't turn on. My husband paid the bill, are we having an outtage?

Once the representative came on, they asked me my "problem". Again, I typed in "Our cable box won't turn on. My husband paid the bill, are we having an outtage?". I followed this immediately with the HusBean's full name and phone number (since that is what they ask for when we call).

After the required mumbo-jumbo response of how I chose the right person and an assurance that my issue would be resolved, the representative asked for the full name of the account holder, last four of the SSN and account number.

I repeated the full name of the HusBean, gave his SSN and said I was looking for the acct #.

The representative asked for two minutes to locate my account and pasted in a paragraph about how if I need help I can go to comcast.net (how did he think I got here in the first place?) and they are a great help.

He then confirmed that we are having an outtage.

Gosh, thanks.

Maybe I'm just being bitchy, but I don't think I should have to repeat ANY information when it is typed INTO THE SCREEN.

A Continuation...

2011-02-14T21:35:00.002-05:00

I think I've mentioned before that I have moved many times. (previous post listing the first 23 times I've packed up)

24. Key West, FL - a house we rented for about a year and a half before moving to
25. Augusta, GA in October 2008. We've lived here the longest (me and the HusBean together that is) and will likely move late spring or summer.

Where to? I'll let you know when we figure it out!

Changing Direction

2011-02-09T13:27:00.007-05:00

I feel like my life is really up in the air in a lot of ways right now.

*WARING - LENGTHY RAMBLING AND MODERATE CUSSING AHEAD*)

The HusBean and I are both considering changing jobs (not necessarily job fields, but perhaps that eventually too).

It's not news to anyone that I can be brash and sometimes offend people with my tone. I'm working on that, have been since I was told in 2nd grade that I was "mean". This is and will be a life-long struggle for me. The interesting thing is that people that REALLY know me laugh hysterically when they hear that someone thinks I'm mean.

I WILL NOT, however, EVER be someone that tells you what you want to hear unless it is actually the truth. I am not a bull-shitter or ass-kisser. I just can't do it. Several relationships and important friendships in my past suffered because I let little lies here and there creep in and they grew and festered and poisoned everything. Immediately following the finale of the epic and dramatic 8-year relationship I decided NO MORE LYING, to ANYONE, for ANY REASON.

This doesn't mean that I'm going to march up to you and tell you that you look fat in those jeans. I'm not out to hurt anyone's feelings, and any time that I have done so I am truly sorry. Unfortunately my sarcastic sense of humor (Hi, Dad!) sometimes gets away from me and people take things the wrong way... and then I'm in trouble.

I have truly enjoyed being in a management position the last 5 years, I am great at getting things done. Everything in my life is tackled from a project-management point of view and I like to accomplish things as fast as possible while still doing them right (after all, if you don't do it right to begin with, you're just wasting more time).

I am not interested in babysitting at work. If there is a task to be completed, I will explain the objective AND the most efficient way to get there. If you want to do things your own way and they turn out to be more efficient than my way, that's great! We'll likely do things your way from now on (in that particular task). HOWEVER, if you do things your own way and it is a waste of time, don't be surprised when I ask again that it be done the efficient way.

Ultimately there are two types of people that work with me. 1. Those that are willing to work hard and fast and do things right. 2. Those that don't particularly want to work hard, and therefore not interested in fast or right, either.

I get along GREAT with the first type. We get a lot done together (I don't just order people around and then sit back and watch, I am generally up to my eyeballs in whatever it is, too) and we respect each other. When you do an awesome job, I will tell you how much I appreciate your work, and I will brag on you to everyone else, too!

The second type invariably gets angry with me, gets their feelings hurt, and does whatever they can to avoid working with me in the future.

All of this in mind, I am considering starting a project/event management business.

I have some interesting (to me) health issues that have recently come to light that are likely affecting our ability to procreate.

I haven't decided how much of this to share publicly at this point, as we are still figuring out the plan of attack. What I WILL say is that I am interested more in removing obstacles than throwing prescription drugs at them.

I'm finding that the older I get the more I realize what is truly important to me.

I have always been "artsy". My parents are both musicians and it has been passed along to me in full force. I was in choirs as early as I was allowed, and following high school (where our choir took 3rd and 4th in state competitions) I have been in a Christian-Rock band (Three Days Waking), a swing trio (The Swing Sisters) and an acoustic trio (Ella Mental) in addition to a little bit of writing here and there.

My Barbies lived in what my parents referred to as a "Pueblo Community" - printer paper boxes turned on their sides and stacked, each box becoming a room in a giant Barbie-apartment. (Apparently an early flair for home decor?) Many of my mother's socks were sacrificed and re-purposed into mahvelous tube dresses (this was the 80's), and most of the dolls ended up with punk hairdos because I couldn't resist cutting their hair and the coloring the remains with felt markers.

The Pueblo Community was stacked underneath two wooden doors that were bolted into the wall and turned into a miniature train setup.

My walls and ceilings were covered with drawings (usually abstract).

I got in to scrapbooking about 10 years ago, have done some abstract paintings from time to time, and started making floral arrangements and wreaths.

I have REALLY enjoyed doing home decor (my job helped inspire what was already a budding interest) and specifically table settings of late.

While living in Key West I started developing an interest in cooking. Thanks to our friend Jenny who is a chef, I learned that making the "fancy stuff" can be easy, and The HusBean and I both developed appreciation for many new tastes. Since moving to Georgia, The HusBean has really gotten in to cooking (in addition to the hot sauce business) and when I have time I enjoy creating recipes for things and making the recipes that have pleased friends and family in the past. (We post most of these over on our food blog.)

I apologize for the rambling-ness of this post (but hey, I WARNed you up top), but I guess it all boils down to realizing what you enjoy doing and what is important to you.

What is important to ME? God, Family, Friends, Honesty, Hard Work, Music, Food and Creativity.

Oh yeah, and animals.

Holidaze...

2010-12-21T00:46:00.002-05:00

[For those curious, I did make a Habanero Sweet Tea, by brewing a big 'ol batch of iced tea (I use Lipton's Black Pearl bags) and sweetening it with a habanero simple syrup. It turned out quite nicely... refreshing with a little bite right at the end.]

It is four days before Christmas, and this is the first year in quite awhile that my holiday-motivation has not ever totally arrived. I'm thinking this is primarily because working retail has resulted in me decorating for the holidays since the first week of October and I'm probably Christmas-ed out. That, and I've just been working so much that my off-hours are spent mostly just sleeping and eating and trying (unsuccessfully) to keep up with housework.

I DID decide to go the red & green/classic/sentimental route with the tree and decor this year, which helped. The last four years I had done it all in purple and silver, and I just wasn't feeling it this year.

Another thing I'm skipping this year is sending out Christmas cards. For the last four years I've sent out a big batch of cards and intended to this year, but seeing as it is now less than a week until Christmas Day, I realize it's not going to happen and I'm actually ok with that.

I'm pretty certain that those that usually receive cards from us know we love them regardless, and if they don't know, they probably aren't going to notice that we didn't send one anyway.

Similarly, anyone receiving our presents by way of USPS won't be getting them until after Christmas...

I'm considering doing a "Christmas Letter" type of blog post in the next few days, if I can get my mind focused enough to pull all the thoughts together.

In any case, I hope you are all having safe holidays, enjoying each others' company and celebrating whatever holiday is important to you and your family.

Hot-Iced-Tea

2010-07-20T21:28:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the month-long sabbatical (better than six months, eh?)... I took a trip to Atlanta and then four days later went to the west coast for a week and then worked a 54 hour work-week and then... I slept.

Scott and I just came in from weeding the pepper garden, harvested our first home-grown habaneros and some cayenne and cowhorn peppers, and an early girl tomato.

Last night I dreamed about habanero sweet iced tea. I think I'm going to try it.

Roughing It

2010-06-20T14:42:00.004-04:00

The last two weeks at our house have just been torture.

Having four great cooks in the building has raised our daily culinary integrity significantly.

Here's a few of the menus in the last few days: (you can assume it's made from scratch unless specified otherwise)

(This Morning)
Blueberry Muffins (Krusteaz mix) with a Streusel topping (created by Jenny) topped with Trader Joe's Cranberry-Apple butter and fresh Starbucks coffee.

Pumpkin Muffins (Trader Joe's mix) with a Streusel topping (created by Jenny)

Wonky Chicken (secret recipe by our friend Andrew), Asparagus grilled with rosemary infused olive oil (Jenny), grilled peaches with goat cheese and balsamic vinegar (Jenny), fresh watermelon from a farmers' market with balsamic and feta (Levi), Cucumbers soaked in balsamic and white balsamic (Jenny & Levi), chocolate-covered coconut balls (Me).

Goat cheese stuffed chicken breast (Levi), Alfredo (Levi) over whole wheat spaghetti (boxed noodles), french bread garlic bread (Me.)

Balsamic chicken (Levi), Basmati rice with balsamic, sauted onions, fresh cherry tomatoes from our garden and feta (Jenny), tzatziki made from lemon and green cucumbers from our garden (Me).

Semolina Fettuccine (Scott) and Homeward Bound Marinara (Scott).

Moroccan Lentil Soup (Levi), Hummus (Levi), Tzatziki (Levi) and pita bread (store-bought).

Fettuccine Alfredo (noodles by Scott, sauce by Levi)

Any rotten day has been instantly improved by stepping over the threshold into a house of such culinary delights.

Anyone hungry?

Living Alone?

2010-06-10T14:40:00.009-04:00

I am technically an only child. I do have a 4 year old half-sister, but I grew up as an only child.

I am pretty good at finding my own entertainment, I had lots of Barbie dolls, stuffed animals, and have always been an avid reader. I was late to school nearly every morning because I stayed up the night before reading.

Despite almost always being able to find something to do, I was still lonely from time to time. I enjoyed the weeks I would spend with my cousins in Eastern Washington, even if school was still in session and I had to attend class with them at their small one-room church school. Even better were my visits during the summer when the four of us could play all day, exploring "The Ditch", playing in the playhouse, performing a "circus act" in the hayloft of the barn.

Once I reached high school age, I had already decided to follow in two of my cousins footsteps and attend a boarding school in Southern Oregon. I had visited in the years before and really liked the look of the place.

I went off to school as a 13-year old (turning 14 in the second week of school). Another freshman was my roommate. Considering that this was the first time I had to share my living space on a regular basis, I think I adapted pretty well.

I enjoyed community living so much, that the summers between my sophomore/junior and junior/senior years I stayed at the school and worked to pay my bill there.

Following high school, I spent a summer at home with my parents. It was hard to get used to living with them again after only visiting for a week at the longest during the prior 3 years, but we managed to coexist and that fall I moved into an upstairs apartment in my aunt and uncle's house which I shared with my cousin and a college student from Japan.

I only stayed there for part of the school year before moving back home to Portland. In the years that followed, I took every opportunity to spend my time with my peers, spending weekends at friends' houses, whole summers at others.

When I rented my first apartment at the age of 24, I lived alone for about a year, with frequent long visits from my boyfriend. At the end of that year lease, we decided to move across town together and add a third roommate.

The three of us lived together for the next 2.5 years, becoming fast friends with our next-door neighbors in both apartment complexes we spent time in, and in both, some of our friends moved TO that apartment complex to live near us.

From 2001 to 2005 we held near weekly "Dinner Nights" with up to 12 guests. On long weekends I organized camping trips for groups of 10-16 that took us to the Washington coast and Central Oregon. The same group took an annual "Beach Day" every spring to Tillamook, Cannon Beach and Seaside.

A smaller group of us even took a trip to Disneyland, which I planned and organized starting a year in advance.

I met my husband on another group trip - to Las Vegas. Just previous to that I had purchased my first home with one of my best friends, who had been my roommate already for about a year and a half.

When I moved to Key West with Scott, we quickly became close friends with a local bartender, and she started spending time at our house on a regular basis, sometimes up to three and four nights a week.

On our first anniversary, instead of spending a romantic weekend alone, we drove five hours to NC to spend it with a couple that had been IN our wedding.

This week that same Key West bartender, now one of our very BEST friends, moved here to GA with her boyfriend... to our house.

When first telling coworkers and friends of the imminent arrival of semi-permanent house-guests, they all thought I was crazy.

While this may be true, I think that looking back it's pretty clear that I have done everything I can to surround myself with people whenever possible. Even though they brought yet ANOTHER cat with them (total: 1 dog, 4 cats and a skunk), we are thrilled that they are here and the time we get to spend with them (I won't lie, a lot of that is because we are all foodies and GREAT cooks).

I LOVE having extra people in my house. I have always hated having the house all to myself. It's not that I get bored, I can still find plenty to do, but even if we're not engaging, just having people IN the house is a great feeling.

Here's to everyone I've ever spent extended time with, whether in a living situation, a trip of some kind, or just a dinner evening - Thanks for the memories!

A Glorious Return

2010-06-03T21:01:00.004-04:00

It has been brought to my attention by my one very loyal and faithful reader that I have neglected this forum for far too long.

I am a Facebook junkie and I admit it freely. There is something very convenient about being able to spit my thoughts out in little bits as I have them (I'm sure it's my ADD - although my husband says "EVERYONE HAS ADD!") but I know that can also cause my writing to suffer overall.

Luigi - I raise my Wendy's baked potato and Frosty to you in salute and promise to do better henceforth.

It may not be pretty, but it's on the way!

You Mashed That Sucker Flat!

2010-03-16T21:02:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite songs growing up was "You Done Stomped On My Heart." Apparently written by Mason Williams, the version I grew up with was recorded by a bluegrass band called Smokewood. We had a vinyl record that I played over and over, once we finally got a copy recorded to tape I carried that around with me for years and have since lost it.

So far the only recording I've found online is an old John Denver rendition on youtube, not near as great as the Smokewood version, but for some reason the lyrics started floating through my mind this evening...

I told you that I loved you, You said "it's so good"
I called you my Darling, I thought I always would.
But now you've gone and left me, I don't know what to do...
And so, my little Darling, I write these words to you:

You done stomped on my heart

and you mashed that sucker flat

you just sorta, went and stomped on my aorta

You started going out with guys, I felt us drift apart

And every step you took, it were a-stomp upon my heart.

I only hope that someday you get them low-down blues.

And in some smoky honky-tonk you look down at yer shoes.

You think all about that tender heart you crushed beneath them soles

And with them clod-bustin' stompers you left my heart so full of holes.

You done stomped on my heart

and you mashed that sucker flat

you just sorta, went and stomped on my aorta

You started going out with guys, I felt us drift apart

And every step you took, it were a-stomp upon my heart.

The P1 Sale is Upon Us!

2009-12-23T00:36:00.009-05:00

Ok, not quite yet, but we've started our markdowns to get rid of all the 2009 stuff so we can bring in the new Spring 2010 stuff!

This chair? Dining height, great as a hostess chair, reading corner chair, accent chair in your living room, whatever. (I personally have one in my guest room and am thinking we should maybe pick up a 2nd in case we ever have a formal dining room...)
Original Price: $199.95
Now: $99.98

And then there's this little cutie... I'm not a big fan of wicker generally (being from the northwest), but it's quite popular here in The South. I would actually consider this chair in my house, it is quite comfortable with a nice deluxe cushion.
Original Price: $199.95
Now: $49.98!!!

This rug is about 32"-36" across and nice and thick. Would be very cute in a bathroom, or next to a kids bed...
Original Price: $49.95
Now: $24.98

It's also a good time to snatch up stuff for your fall decorating next year. Decorative stones, candles and floral are at 75% off and will go to 90% later in January.

I purchased this sconce and it is hanging above our couch in the living room.
Original Price: $40
Now: $9.98

Yes, Christmas items will be going on sale starting on the 26th (I have to go in at 5am to get it all set up - oh joy!).

Now go grab these dealz!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-15T18:03:00.004-05:00

Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T22:35:00.005-05:00

Since I work retail, my ability to be gone for the holiday season is pretty much nil. Scott and I enjoy cooking for others and hosting people at our house, so we decided to have Thanksgiving dinner at our home and invite other friends in the area that don't have family nearby to spend the holiday with.

I'll post some of the recipes over on our food blog, Are You Gonna Eat That?, but here's the menu...

Turkey (baked by Scott)
Turkey gravy (made by Andrew)
Quadruple-Bypass Mashed Potatoes (made by me)
Walt's Mushroom-Wine Gravy (made by me)
Jalapeno-Cheese Cornbread (made by Scott)
Dressing (made by Monica N.)
Corn Casserole (made by Monica N.)
Pineapple-Cheese Casserole (made by Monica N.)
Sweet Potato Casserole (made by Nichole)
Buttermilk Pie (made by Nichole)
Pumpkin Cheesecake (made by me)
Katie's Jalapeno Dip (made by Scott)

The potatoes and mushroom gravy were a repeat from last year, but I think the potatoes were only a triple-bypass last year (I added sour cream this year).

The jalapeno-cheese cornbread recipe can be found here, but we messed with it a little, adding home-pickled peppers from my cousin Estee's garden.

Pineapple-Cheese casserole involves pineapple, cheese, a lot of butter and crushed Ritz crackers. It's apparently a very southern thing. It sounded a little strange but is surprisingly tasty!

The Buttermilk Pie is also supposed to be very southern, I have a piece in the refrigerator waiting for me.

I usually use the same pumpkin-cheesecake recipe every year but couldn't find it, so I did a google search and chose this one, but adapted it to use Trader Joe's pumpkin butter instead of the canned pumpkin and spices. I used the amount of sugar it called for and it was a bit too sweet, so if I do the same thing again I would probably skip the sugar and just use the pumpkin butter in place of the pumpkin, sugar AND spices. I also used two prepared graham-cracker crusts in place of pastry crusts.

Family Time

2009-10-20T13:16:00.003-04:00

I have spent the last week with my extended family in a small town. For some people this would be stressful and annoying. It was certainly stressful at times, but not because of family, and I enjoyed it all.

My maternal grandma passed away on September 23. We held her memorial service this last Sunday and the whole week I have felt really inspired to write.

I fly back to GA tonight (and tomorrow morning) and am hoping I'll get a brief opportunity to get my feelings and observations down on "paper".

Only A Little Unbalanced

2009-10-08T03:44:00.004-04:00

Days like today are what make people think that I'm bipolar. I slept in until about 2:30pm, watched dvr'd tv for about 5 hours, went back to bed for another 3 hours, then got up, went to the grocery store (at midnight) and have been cooking since I got back.

I made a pot of Ecuadorian Potato Cheese Soup (recipe will be posted on the food blog shortly), a large pan of Apple Crisp (to be baked tomorrow) and there is a new variety of hot sauce simmering on the stove now. I decided to join in the fray and see if I can come up with a recipe that I like that can be marketed to the "mild" crowd.

Soon I will go back to bed. Tomorrow will be a more "normal" day... I'm supposed to have lunch with a friend, run errands, and make dinner.

But for today, I have enjoyed being completely lazy and then manic!

Easy Cornbread

2009-07-20T17:07:00.003-04:00

This recipe was adapted from a Pancetta Corn-Muffin recipe in a book called "Muffins-40 Tantalizing Recipes for Tasty Muffins" that I got as a 3 for $10 deal at a Walgreens in Key West.

Since I'm not so much into Pancetta and needed a basic cornbread recipe but lost the one I had developed, I decided to try the recipe without pancetta and baked in a pan.

I have to say, it's easy and tasty. I've also added green chilies and shredded cheddar to the recipe.

Makes and 8x8 pan of cornbread.

Preheat oven to 400F.

1 cup self-rising flour
1 tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 2/3 cup fine cornmeal
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3.5oz/100g butter, melted (I used our kitchen scale and substituted Smart Balance Light for the butter)
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups milk

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt, stir in cornmeal and sugar. In a separate bowl, melt the butter, let cool a little and stir in the milk. Add beaten eggs slowly so they don't scramble.

Add wet ingredients to dry and stir just until blended.

Spray 8x8 baking pan (I use an olive oil cooking spray) and pour in batter.

Bake for 30 minutes on center rack. Cornbread is done when knife or toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

More P1 Dealz

2009-07-09T13:40:00.019-04:00

(*Disclaimer: I do these posts because friends and family in other parts of the country like a heads up when cute stuff is on sale... not because I have no life outside of work. Even though that is true.)

P1 Sale is through the 21st... we've done additional markdowns the last two Sunday nights and will do another set this Sunday.

Window Panels 50% off (aka "curtains")

Floral Bird motif, now $14.98

Garnet (Red) floral motif, now $17.98

Rugs 50% (or more) off

"Dragon" jute 5x8 rug, now $39.98 (was $119)

Zebra jute 5x8 rug, now $59.48 (was $119)

Pillows 50% off

"Wheat" pillow now $12.98, was $26

Embroidered paisley pillow now $12.98, was $26

Moroccan gold pillow now $12.98, was $26

Moroccan green pillow now $9.98, was $20
(I LOVE this pillow... was really hoping it would go with my bedding and it totally didn't. So sad!)

Under $20

Markdowns

2009-06-15T23:58:00.012-04:00

The 2nd Pier 1 Sale of the year is June 22 to July 19.

In preparation, a lot of merchandise was marked down last night.

I was able to get the chairs for my $68 table (originally $350) at $60 (originally $99) each. To the general public, they are $79.98 as of today.

This means that more than one of us can eat at our dining room table at a time.

These cute lanterns are now $2.98 - great for burning citronella candles in your back yard.

They're about six inches tall (not including the handle).

Our Island Orchard scented candles (kind of a tropical apple smell - one of my favorites) were also marked down last night - I believe they are now 25% off.

There are votives, tea lights, and pillars in three sizes. This is the scent I have in our bedroom - kind of a mellow fruity smell.

There are probably 15 patterns of dishes that are now on clearance.

These are all 25% off:

Best Friends! Day Two

2009-05-28T17:11:00.015-04:00

(Sunday, May 3)

Sunday morning Scott had to work, so Andy and Monica accompanied me to the 11am service at our church.

After church we came back to the house and Monica and I colored our hair.

Scott got home and we all took naps until it was time to head out to Amy's house. On the drive out we saw a lot of the wreckage from a tornado that passed through the area a few weeks before.

The plan for the evening was to grill some veggies, sit in the hot tub and enjoy each others company.

While Amy and Carrie were cooking, I played Wii. Monica and I played tennis for a bit and then I got hooked on a dance game.

Being raised Adventist, I'm not a fabulous dancer, but I did pretty well!

Cooper was happy to be the only dog among many dog-lovers, so he soaked up attention from everyone.

By the end of the night I was in need of re-hydration and there were no water bottles in the fridge, so Amy rigged one up for me.

Best Friends! Day One

2009-05-14T20:59:00.006-04:00

Andy and Monica arrived at Jackson Hartsfield airport in Atlanta at about 1:50am Saturday morning (May 2).

It had only taken me about five minutes to drive from our hotel (Comfort Inn) to the airport, but it took us about fifteen to find our way back, partly hindered by a vehicle going about five miles an hour on a 35mph road parallel to the freeway. We were all hungry so we stopped at a Waffle House (Andy & Monica's first, my second) and each had a grilled cheese sandwich and hashbrowns - Andy had them All The Way: cheese, onions, jalapenos, ham and chili. We were concerned that it would affect his ability to sleep, but we all managed to sleep a few hours after I called down to the front desk around 3am to find out what time check out was (Noon).

At 11am we had just gotten up and the phone rang - it was the desk clerk telling us that check-out was 11am. When Andy tried to pass me the phone, the desk clerk hung up on him. I called back down and she repeated "Check out is at 11am. You need to check out."

I replied that at 3am the desk clerk on duty told me that check-out was at noon. She told me I must be mistaken, the night clerk was the manager, he would never tell me the wrong information and check-out has been 11am for five years. All of this was in a rather rude tone and I was not impressed.

Even though this was kind of a crummy start to the day, we were excited about our adventure. Before we left the hotel I obtained directions to a Starbucks, IKEA and Old Spaghetti Factory (thanks to Google Maps).

After gearing up at Starbucks we found our way to IKEA, much to Andy's dismay and my amazement. I had never been to IKEA before, and Andy has been dragged there a few times.

I managed to refrain from buying a bed and just escaped with some pillowcases, a cheese grater and a few other minor items.

After such strenuous excercise, we were ready for a hefty lunch at OSF, where I enjoyed spaghetti with mushroom sauce and mizithra cheese.

Just after we got in the car it started to rain. My driver's side window currently has a motor issue and will not roll all the way up, so we pulled under the shelter and tried to get the window to stick closed. When that didn't work we crossed the street (still in a deluge) so Andy could get some duct tape. We managed to tape the window closed, a sturdy enough fix to keep whoever was driving at the time reasonably dry.

We got back to the house around 6:30pm and after relaxing for a bit Scott, Andy, Monica and myself went to dinner at Ruby Tuesday.

After dinner we stayed up at the house for a few hours catching up.

Dealz

2009-04-23T21:30:00.006-04:00

This wood panel is about 3'x5'. It's $32.98 and was originally $199.

This dragonfly accent table is $69.98. It has three dragonflies etched into the top. Very cute!

This kids table is $39.98 and the matching chairs are $29.98 for the pair.

Firsts

2009-04-08T22:55:00.008-04:00

In the last ten days I've had several new experiences.

First Time in over Ten Years that I weigh 120lbs.: I had a doctor's appointment a week ago on Tuesday and initially my doctor was alarmed that I had lost another five pounds until I told her that years ago before I ever went on birth control I weighed 105 to 115 and always had a hard time keeping on weight. Since they had drawn blood and run a bunch of tests on it a month ago and not found anything, she decided not to stress to much about it.

(The pic on the left is from around 2004 and the one on the right is from last weekend. I know, 2004 isn't ten years ago, but it's a good example of me closer to 140-150lbs.)

First Solo Hotel: Last Tuesday evening I drove to North Charleston, SC and stayed at a LaQuinta for the evening. I had a Pier 1 meeting the next morning in Summerville, SC and didn't want to get up at 5:30am on Wednesday to drive several hours when I wasn't totally sure where I was going. Also, since I need more sleep than most people, I figured it was wiser to travel one way the same day as the meeting instead of being tired when I arrived and tired before even heading home.

Once I arrived and checked in, I crossed the parking lot and had a quick dinner at Ruby Tuesday. I was ready for bed and had brought my own small fan for white noise, so I was soon relaxing and dozing off... when I realized that it was the first time I've ever spent a night in a hotel or motel by myself. I've flown by myself many times, but it was my first time staying overnight alone in a commercial bed. Consequently the night was spent sleeping for about an hour at a time and then waking up because I thought I heard something. Not quite as restful as planned, but I survived.

First Waffle House: On my way back from Summerville I was hungry and in the mood for a grilled cheese sandwich. Here in the south, there is not a plethora of Denny's every few miles, so I had to settle for something else. I called my friend Rochelle to double check that Waffle House would be able to fill my grilled-cheese needs. It was pretty good. And only $1.95!

First time being referred to as a "Powerhouse": On Friday morning our latest temporary Regional Manager came to visit our store. I had not had the opportunity to meet Joe (the RM) at my meetings in Summerville, so I felt it was important to give him a face to go with the voice since I had been on two of the conference calls this last month. I was there for all of his two-hour visit and my boss and I kind of tag-teamed the whole thing. Once I left (to go home and go back to bed - of course) he told my boss "She's a real powerhouse! You'd better make sure she knows YOU are the manager and she's your assistant..."

Since he had never met us before and doesn't know our working dynamic, this is actually a big compliment and not an issue at all. I have no problem acknowledging my boss' authority and support it 100%. All the associates know this and I don't think there is any question that I am ever trying to usurp her position. The reason it is a compliment is that just in case I ever have the opportunity to apply for the Store Manager position, I think it would be a point in my favor.

First Albino Skunk: Later on Friday (after my nap), Amy and I met downtown Augusta at the New Moon Cafe for coffee and a stroll. We browsed through an antique store and talked with a plant shop owner and then as we were heading back to our vehicles, I saw a man carrying what looked like a very fluffy Pomeranian. As we got closer I changed my mind and thought it was a large Persian cat. Then I realized it was an albino skunk! The skunk's name is Maryland and her owner Jeff let me hold her for a bit. She was very snuggly and sweet.

First Okra: Yesterday I was off work and not feeling well at all. We had limited supplies of food in the house and since my throat hurt the only thing that sounded good was mashed potatoes. I went to a nearby KFC and ordered a mashed potato bowl (potatoes, corn, gravy & cheese) minus chicken, and saw something that looked tasty. I asked if it was okra and the server confirmed my suspicions and offered me a taste. I ordered an entire side.

First Pier 1 Ad: I've been working for Pier 1 Imports since November and today in the mail rececived the first ever flyer or ad in my lifetime. I guess they finally figured out where I live.

Dirt

2009-03-29T15:41:00.012-04:00

As always, Buster is the supervisor.

After almost two straight days of rain, I woke up this morning to sun! The back yard is starting to dry out.

I went to Home Depot on the way home from church this morning - Scott has been sick with the flu the past two days, so it was a solo trip. I got two bags of "garden soil" - still experimenting with what combination is going to be best for our clay base.

I also picked up a Hosta and four part shade creepers to make a nice pot for right outside the back door.

I added some part-sun creepers in between the phlox and then interspersed the baby wildflower peat pods as they are all about 2"-3" high.

On the veggie side, I picked up some three-foot cedar log short fencing to back the lowest part of the garden, I figure we'll do another step above and back that also. I think it really tightens up the look of the whole thing.

Once it was evident that I had enough soil to extend the low section, I dug up a few more feet and planted the baby bell-pepper peat pods and the baby cayenne peat pods.

Scott took advantage of Buster holding still to get some great shots of his handsome face.

Plantings

2009-03-28T14:30:00.009-04:00

On Tuesday I had the day off. After sleeping in I made some coffee and then headed out to Home Depot for gardening stuff and to Publix for groceries.

At Home Depot I picked up a push broom (our back porch has gathered a lot of leaves and Scott thinks he saw a Black Widow near the back door), a small rake (to get the sticks out of the way of the garden), and a few plants and some soil.

I staged where I wanted the herbs to go, since they and a pepper plant I purchased are the only things big enough to go into the ground.

I raked the dead branches and some leaves out of the way and then Scott started digging up the clay.

Buster was very interested in the whole process and we're now teaching him what he can and can't investigate (i.e. PEE on).

We had about a half bag of potting soil left, so we threw that in the hole and then spread a bag of Mushroom compost on top.

It looks a bit morbid from this angle, but I swear, we're not trying to get rid of a body!

We decided to only dig up what we had soil and compost for and we'll dig additionally once the tomato and pepper plants are big enough to go in the ground and we have more soil and compost.

I chose to put the rosemary in on the corner by the stairs, since it has the potential to be a large, pretty bush.

Since we moved the peat pot tray outside and everything but the cucumber plants have been doing great. I don't know if it was too much sun for the cucumbers or if they just outgrew their pods, so I moved them into a couple of big pots in front of the "garden" area.

I'm mostly excited about the basil plant because I LOVE pesto and it's awfully easy and cheap to make when you're growing the main ingredient yourself!

We also planted our mint, oregano and a yellow bell pepper plant.

On the "wildflower" side of the ledge I planted four creeping phlox plants. I'm hoping they'll spread nicely across the front and I'm going to plant the baby wildflowers once they're strong enough to go in the ground.

Of course, we've been having a thunderstorm for the last eight hours and there is about two inches of standing water in the lower part of the back yard at the moment, so all the new plantings could be drowned by now.

Seedlings

2009-03-19T14:40:00.007-04:00

By my count, these little babies are about 12 days old.

We moved them outside to get some sun and keep the cats out of them.

This is where I plan to put the wildflowers.

This is where I plan to put the cukes and peppers. I'm thinking about putting the tomatoes in pots just in front of the ledge.

I've started dumping our coffee grounds in the spot to prep the area before I dig it up and add potting soil to the mix. I know, it looks really appetizing. :)

Latest Projects

2009-03-17T11:13:00.006-04:00

With the boss on vacation the last four days, I worked the last seven straight.

A week ago last Saturday I planted the seeds I gave Scott for Valentine's Day in little peat pots.

This is them at Three Days.

Now they are outside in the sun and the Cucumbers (both varieties) are almost four inches tall.

As soon as we have a good sunny day (maybe today?) I'll start digging our garden plot so I can at least get the cukes planted.

Updates

2009-03-06T07:04:00.003-05:00

see more dog and puppy pictures

I went to the doctor this last Monday, mostly because I needed to find a doc here in GA for prescription refills and such, but we're also going to start trying to find out if there's anything amiss in our efforts to get pregnant.

Along with that, I wanted to switch anti-anxiety meds NOW instead of after becoming pregnant, because who needs raging hormones AND withdrawal?! As it turns out, Lexapro is actually safe to take while pregnant. I am currently on 20mg and will try to go down to 10mg, but not having to switch at all is a big relief.

Life has been hectic lately... It seems like the last few weeks my brain has only been capable of work, food and sleep.

Fortunately I love my job and I actually perform better with a bit of pressure, so things are going great in that aspect.

The house is a little chaotic, we have a guest at the moment and I feel really bad when I keep coming home and she has cleaned my kitchen! I'm off today though, and plan to get a head start on her so she can just relax.

In the food arena I'm trying to eat on a regular basis, which has been hard with everything that's been going on, but I'm down to about 125lbs without trying and if I am going to get pregnant I'll need to be better about nourishing myself.

Sneaky

2009-02-26T03:37:00.002-05:00

I shouldn't be surprised that I'm up at 3:37 trying not to throw up.

I'm in the midst of an anxiety attack.

I'm actually amazed that I've done so well with all the stress and chaos since we moved from Key West, it's just that I've really poured myself into work and let that keep my mind busy.

This week my mind has taken over again... a friend has had to make a very hard decision and I am one of her only means of support.

I've also been picking up some slack at work, which would normally be fine but my health hasn't been the best lately... I fainted at the bank last week and when I weighed myself last night I'm down to 124.

Fortunately I have a doctor appointment set up for this coming Monday morning, to get checked in general and in specific to see if there's anything we can do to try and have kids show up.

It doesn't help my nausea much that Scott just burned a bag of popcorn.

Oscar Commentary a la Twitter

2009-02-22T20:52:00.003-05:00

Why is Miley Cyrus AT the Oscars? Just because she CAN?
Anne Hathaway is very classy.
Meryl Streep's daughter is pretty. I like her brown dress. It's brown.
Cocktails with Jack Black. Except they aren't drinking anything.
Seth Rogen looks slimmer.
The set up for the music looks awesome. I'm loving the nightclub atmosphere
I'm really excited to hear the new arrangements of classic movie themes
I love Hugh Jackman. He's very pretty. And Handsome.
Now I see why Hugh Jackman is on Broadway. and boy would I love to see him in a show!
Anne Hathaway is such a cutie.
And she can sing!
"I'm Wolveriiiiiiiiiiiine!"
It certainly is a more intimate atmosphere.
This set up is very cool. Kind of like a Tonight Show stage. In a good way, of course.
Interesting... having former winners announce the nominees together. I like it.
Marisa Tomei is beautiful. I just wish she would pronounce her own name correctly.
Penelope Cruz is so cute! I never liked her before tonight.
You can't NOT love Steve Martin and Tina Fey. And Steve Martin.

How can you not fall in love with him?
I may just have to see this Slumdog Millionaire show. It looks pretty fantastic.
It's so good to Jen Aniston looking FABULOUS.
Animation 2008. I still need to see Wall-E, Star Wars Clone Wars, Horton Hears a Who, Despereaux, Space Chimps, and Bolt.
Especially since Wall-E won. I do so love kid movies.
This Way Up looks QUITE entertaining.
I think this guy just thanked his pencil.

These sets are just awesome!
Its pretty cool to see an action/comic film be nominated for an oscar, even if just for Art Direction.
I can haz chandeleer in box?
Even if Keira Knightly ends up being pigeonholed for period pieces, she still looks GREAT in the duds.
Oh how I love DVR. Fastforwarding commercials and boring speeches.
Ben Stiller mocking Joaquin Phoenix. PRICELESS. Natalie is pretty talented at keeping a straight face.
Don't like Jessica Biel's outfit. Her Giant Bow is trying to eat the rest of her dress.
Almost fastforwarded through the Seth Rogen Comedy clip.
I love Seth Rogen. Love Love Love.
James Franco definitely does not speak German.

What the heck in on Phillip Seymour Hoffman's head?
Hugh Jackman is so multi-talented. I love musicals and I love montages about musicals! Beyonce should be on Brodway, too.
Those High School Musical kids better know how lucky they are to be performing at the flipping oscars!
Apparently PHS didn't have time to shave or do his hair.
Cuba Gooding Jr. could have been a stand-up comic.
I have no words for Heath Ledger's win other than that it is timely and deserved.
Bill Maher is a bit snarky. And not necessarily in a good way.

Will Smith rocks.
Finally the Dark Knight won something! (Aside from the Heath Ledger win, of course)

At this point in the evening, Stinkerbell woke up and wanted to snuggle on my lap, so thus endeth the commentary.

EXTRA Love Day

2009-02-17T19:40:00.003-05:00

Scott had to work Saturday morning and I closed the store Saturday evening. When I arrived home around 10:30pm I was anticipating some macaroni and cheese for a late dinner.

From the moment I opened my car door in the garage, I could smell that there was something happening in the kitchen that was a bit more than macaroni and cheese.

Scott made me home-made ravioli, complete with home-made filling and a butternut squash sauce.

It was fantastic.

Happy Valentines Day to ME!

Love Day

2009-02-14T11:42:00.003-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day to those of you that appreciate this sort of thing.

Since Scott is working this morning and I am working this evening, we decided to celebrate our love yesterday by having dinner at Red Robin (we got to use our two free milkshakes cards finally) and then a romantic candle-lit game of Scrabble. Scott toasted me 225 to 147 before we both got sleepy and decided to call it a night.

This is our first Valentine's day as a married couple.

Here's to many more!

Spreading the Virus

2009-02-08T12:18:00.001-05:00

I'm not usually one to propagate the popularity of a viral video, but this one is too funny not to share.

Checking In

2009-02-06T21:43:00.003-05:00

I've been working like mad crazy since Tuesday. Opening shift Tuesday, Thursday and Today, and then the 6am truck shift on Wednesday. I work two to close tomorrow and then work again on Sunday.

The only inspiration I've had today is that I'm really hoping the details work out for my two best friends to come visit us in May, via my frequent flier miles.

Stupor Bowl!

2009-02-01T17:49:00.004-05:00

I'm off today and tomorrow, which is a welcome respite from the chaotic schedule that has run me ragged this last week.

I slept in today and then cleaned the master bedroom a bit, unpacked a few more boxes, hung a picture and tried to figure out a good place for the jewelry hanger I took so much time to create.

There's not a suitable wall in the bathroom unless I hang it on the back of the bathroom door, but as we are renting I don't want to put a hole in the door. I don't want to hang it on the wall in the bedroom as it would detract from the decor (or what there is of it... it would certainly detract from the fabulous decor that is in my mind) and there's no room in the closet.

I poured a bowl of cereal only to discover that the milk had gone bad yet again. After the last round of rotten milk I turned the thermostat on the fridge a bit colder, bought the milk from a different store and put the milk in on the shelves instead of in the door. I don't know what the problem is.

When Scott got home from work we were both hungry and craving Pizza and Coke/Diet Coke but as we are lacking in the financial department we had spaghetti and iced tea instead.

Neither of us really care who wins the super bowl today, my favorite teams are the Dallas Cowboys and the Seattle Seahawks so I am less than interested in the Steelers and the Cardinals.

I have always enjoyed the festivities and the commercials though, and have prepared myself to nap/read/crochet during the game.

Oh the excitement.

As Promised...

2009-01-31T11:39:00.003-05:00

Pier One's Christmas stuff all went to 90% off yesterday morning.

Ornaments are now all under a dollar, and a giant ornament covered gold star measuring about 4 feet across is now $12.98. It was originally $129.

An older woman came in and bought LOADS of stuff for her church decorating committee and it all came up to $69. When I say loads, I mean around 35 ornaments, 40 small potted plants, an ornament covered tree, 8 sets of boxed ornaments (which each had 12 or 16 inside) and a bunch of stuff I can't even remember now.

This set of four dessert plates is now under $2.

Oh, the insanity.

What I've Been Up To

2009-01-28T23:32:00.002-05:00

I have had an odd schedule this week, so most of my free time has been taken up with housework, sleeping and cooking.

I had a recent obsession with the idea of cinnamon rolls and have started on a quest to find the tastiest easy recipe.

Here's the posts on our food blog regarding the rolls: Part One and Part Two. There's also a little bit of a healthier attempt (successful, I think) at my grandfather's macaroni and cheese recipe.

And then there's always Stinkerbell's antics over at Happiness Is a Warm Skunk.

More Dealz

2009-01-22T19:20:00.003-05:00

These pillows are $5.48 right now.

This serving bowl and platter are oversized glass, very vibrantly colored. They are $7.48 and $8.68.

Absence

2009-01-22T19:06:00.002-05:00

Not that I think I'm a fantastic writer or anything, but I do want to assure you that things are fine and I haven't fallen off the planet.

I've been working very hard at my job (which I still love) and am hoping for another promotion (and RAISE!) soon.

Our store was formerly run by a GM that didn't give a flying focus wall (a work term, new to my vocabulary in addition to "statement", "ped", and "merch") about doing anything other than barely keeping the place afloat.

Said former GM didn't bother with paperwork or planners or making things look good, or even making sense. Consequently the NEW GM (hooray!) who arrived mere months before I did has had to seriously overhaul everything just to begin to catch up.

As always, I love a project, and my day to day work has become a series of them, which I tackle with great ambition and ferocity.

Our delivery truck comes at 6am on Wednesday mornings. Some of you may not know this, but I am NOT a morning person. As a child I was consistently late to school because I hated getting out of bed.

I still hate getting out of bed but find it so much easier to do anytime after 11am, regardless of how early I went to bed. I have noticed that I don't really get into deep sleep until around 3 or 4am, which explains why I have had so many sleep issues for as long as I can remember.

Between getting my sleep at odd hours, working my brain and body very hard at work, and trying to solve any number of crises at home, in my "off" time I am very much brain-dead.

Please accept my apology for the lack of regular posting. But be comforted by the fact that at the very least you'll know when the good stuff goes on sale! :)

Lovings

2009-01-21T21:27:00.001-05:00

more animals

If only our cats and skunk would snuggle like this...

Like A Good Deal?

2009-01-13T18:01:00.005-05:00

Pier One's "Harvest" decor went to 90% off as of today.

Our computers have been going down lately, so last night we weren't able to get the database updates that would cause the 90% sale items to ring up AT 90% off.

There were a lot of people grabbing up 8 and 10 of an item that was originally $15.00, now $1.48 each.

It was a madhouse.

I'm happy to be home.

We get another 38 feet of freight on the delivery truck tomorrow at 6am.

I'm going to bed.

Job Security

2009-01-06T20:20:00.002-05:00

Yes, the economy sucks.

In the last couple of weeks, customers have been coming in to our store asking us when our last day is.

Pier One may close some stores, but seeing as we are consistently in the top three (often number one) in our region, our location will not be one of them.

I am safe.

And hopefully advancing again, soon.

What we DO need at our store is more employees. In the last month a bunch of people have quit. Apparently their not fond of actually working. Most of them didn't bother to officially give notice, either. They just stopped showing up.

Fresh Start

2009-01-01T00:24:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year, kids!

I came home from work and took a three hour nap before getting up to catch the ball drop.

Yes, I have big hands.

Here's hoping that our financial situation (personally, nationally and internationally) improves significantly with the coming year.

Remind everyone you love that you love them.

Here's big love and hugs to everyone!

USA Todak

2008-12-28T02:46:00.003-05:00

I ate lunch at Chilis yesterday alone and entertained myself by reading through a copy of USA Today that was laying nearby.

There was an article about landmark presidential eras, mentioning several important and historic dates.

One paragraph referred to 1961 and the "Bag of Pigs."

I'm shocked that I couldn't find anything else on the vast interwebs about this typo.

It caused me to nearly shoot Arnold Palmer from my nose as I snorted loudly and other restaurant patrons looked at me in wonder.

Comic Relief

2008-12-21T08:09:00.001-05:00

more animals

And one from our own zoo...

Frustrating Friday

2008-12-19T13:50:00.003-05:00

I have come to accept the fact that we will most likely never see the money from the former landlord without taking legal action.

Today I got a call from Fed Ex. I had sent my 2nd letter to the landlord's GA address and apparently they are wintering in the Keys so the letter was not delivered.

And here I've been PRAYING SO HARD all week that they would get the letter and just do the right thing: hop on over to pick up a cashiers check and send it back to me with a smile.

Ha.

I am not expecting this money. But we need it.

To cheer myself up I made cookies.

99 Experiences

2008-12-18T11:35:00.004-05:00

I generally don't do Memes, but this one was very interesting to me so I decided to hop on board. I got it from A Little Off Kilter.

The items in bold are things I've done. The items not bolded, I haven't.

1. Started your own blog (April 4^th, 2006 for BT, and also started Warmskunk and Gonnaeatthat this year)
2. Slept under the stars (MANY times. I was in a group called Pathfinders as a kid and we camped a lot.)
3. Played in a band (Three Days Waking, The Swing Sisters, Ella Mental)
4. Visited Hawaii (Maui in 2003.)
5. Watched a meteor shower (Maybe once, in high school I think.)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity (Recently even a dollar is more than I can afford, so yes.)
7. Been to Disneyland/world (Yes. Love them both!)
8. Climbed a mountain (Back-packed around Mt. Hood when I was 11 or 12 with my Pathfinder club.)
9. Held a praying mantis (Yep)
10. Sang a solo (Lots. Some of the fun ones: the part of Josephine in “HMS Pinafore”, one of the Three Little Maids in “The Mikado”, some great ones at church and fabulous Swing Sisters tunes.)
11. Bungee jumped (Not yet.)
12. Visited Paris (Not yet.)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (Quilting, embroidery, painting with acrylics, scrapbooking.)
15. Adopted a child (No, but it’s not out of the question! We’ve actually started the research...)
16. Had food poisoning. (Yes. And I can never eat egg salad again.)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (No. Still haven’t been to New York. We drove past it going from Boston to DC but it was foggy that day and couldn’t see the city at all.)
18. Grown your own vegetables (Oh yes! Lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, herbs.)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (Haven’t been to Europe at ALL!)
20. Slept on an overnight train (Nope)
21. Had a pillow fight (a few)
22. Hitch-hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (Back in the day when I let my significant other affect my life too much, yes. But that was over five years ago.)
24. Built a snow fort (YES! At Big Lake in the winter on a Pathfinder trip.)
25. Held a lamb (No, but I’ve petted a baby camel...)
26. Gone skinny dipping (lots as a kid.)
27. Run a marathon (Ick. No.)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (Sunsets, many. Sunrise, only a few.)
31. Hit a home run (does this really count if you were playing kickball with kids while on staff at a daycamp?)
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person (July of 2000 when I was in Toronto with the OAMC.)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community (Only on TV.)
36. Taught yourself a new language (VERY basic Spanish, while living in Key West. I’m trying to keep up the learning curve…)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (Enough is being able to pay bills, eat out once in awhile and take care of other people that need help.)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing (On a couple of rock walls and some REAL rocks once or twice.)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David.
41. Sung karaoke (My go-to song is “Piano Man”.)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (Many times. The Oregon coast is BEAUTIFUL in moonlight!)
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing (With my ex-husband and his family just off the mouth of the Columbia River. It was my first and only time fishing and I caught the biggest fish of the day!)
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (Snorkeling on my trip to Maui.)
52. Kissed in the rain (I’m from the Northwest. This is kind of a given.)
53. Played in the mud (Oh yes and I love it!)
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class (Taekwondo self defense class in 8^th grade.)
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (No, but we did can-collecting in Pathfinders...)
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (Several times.)
65. Gone sky diving (Probably never will. I’ll stick to bragging that my grandfather did on his 70^th birthday.)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a check (a couple of times.)
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (I have several of them still – one is Tuxedo, the first penguin in my collection.)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial (I think I saw it when we were there...)
71. Eaten Caviar (NO THANK YOU.)
72. Pieced a quilt (Two or three.)
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades (Driven past parts of them many times going from Key West to Miami and back.)
75. Been fired from a job (Twice.)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London.
77. Broken a bone (My left forearm had a greenstick fracture in 4^th grade, and I’ve broken several toes.)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (Been ON a motorcycle, but Uncle Murray went at an appropriate pace around the campground.)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car (1999 Honda Civic EX in November of ’98. I leased it. BAD IDEA TO LEASE. Loved the car so much that years later I bought another of the exact model.)
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (Twice. In 2^nd grade a 1^st grader threw a birthday party at the OSF in Portland and we all dressed in our parents fancy clothes. There was a reporter on hand and my feet in my mom’s heels made it into the paper. I was “Citizen of the Day” in the Key West Citizen about two weeks before we moved away.)
85. Read the entire Bible (The WHOLE thing only once. Bits and parts, many times.)
86. Visited the White House (Free tour. I believe I was 10 at the time and really annoyed when I found out I wouldn’t be seeing the oval office.)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox (Twice. When I was three and when I was six.)
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury (Once but managed to get myself excused. The defense attorney treated the entire jury and courtroom like we were idiots and I felt I wouldn’t give his client a fair trial because of it.)
91. Met someone famous (Michael W. Smith, Rebecca St. James, Audio Adrenaline.)
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one (Great-Grandparents, and one of my best friends in 2003.)
94. Had a baby (Not yet, still trying!)
95. Seen the Alamo in person (I’m assuming that renting a car from Alamo doesn’t count...)
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit. (Not yet but I may have to.)
98. Owned a cell phone (Many phones, but still the same and only number!)
99. Been stung by a bee (I stepped on one and it stung my foot, sat on one and it stung my bum, swallowed one after it stung me in the roof of my mouth, been stung in the ear.)

Work

2008-12-15T23:33:00.002-05:00

It's been a tough week and it's just begun!

I worked nine hours tonight and will work another nine tomorrow starting at 9am. I should be going to bed but need to unwind first.

We haven't heard anything yet from the FL landlord, and I haven't had a response from the former renter either, but I Carrie is going to be in the area where he works for a few weeks, so she and an attorney friend are going to see if they can help me at all.

In the meantime we'll have a meager Christmas, all our presents are pretty much home-made. Fortunately our friends and family are exactly that: people that love us and understand our situation.

All Caught Up

2008-12-12T12:07:00.006-05:00

I do sincerely apologize to my mass legion of adoring fans.

I've been actually WORKING this week - lots of hours at Pier One and striving to impress the right people there in the hopes of at least becoming a full-time employee.

Our house is a wreck, although it's a lovely Christmas wreck... Here's some shots from LAST Friday when I put up the tree and hung the stockings...

And I must put forth an apology. I didn't intend to make Carrie T. look like a crazy vacuuming freak show... even if she is one! She just "really appreciates a clean floor." Having animals, I suppose I have become somewhat immune to layers of fur beneath my socks.

Carrie, you are welcome to vacuum at my house any time you want! I promise to do it myself during the three weeks you are gone...

Girls' Weekend

2008-12-06T17:22:00.004-05:00

I'm spending the weekend in Aiken, SC with Carrie. We're doing Christmassy things and being lazy.

I didn't have to work Friday, today OR tomorrow, so Carrie came over around 3pm yesterday and we trekked to Home Depot to pick up a Christmas Tree.

On the west coast I'm used to getting a Noble Fir for Christmas, having been brought up on the sparse look. Here in the east the closest thing I can really get without sacrificing an appendage and going on a wild goose chase is a Fraiser Fir.

The first year in Key West we got a small potted palm tree and decorated it for Christmas. Last year Steph helped me get a Fraiser at Home Depot.

I managed to get about a six-foot tree for $20 and got it home in the back of Carrie's Subaru. It took about two hours but I got the whole thing decorated and the living room cleaned up and the stockings hung up.

Carrie vacuumed (she has an odd obsession with vacuuming floors) and we took off back to Amy's house.

We watched Mixed Nuts and ate leftover mac n cheese, mashed potatoes and green beans.

Today we slept in and then went into "town" to hit the Hobby Lobby and a few other stops. We plan to spend the afternoon knitting and watching White Christmas.

Scott asked "Are you mad at me?" when I told him I was going to stay here tonight as well. I assured him that I'm not trying to get away from him, just spending some time with a good friend before she leaves for Washington for three weeks.

2nd Attempt

2008-12-05T13:33:00.002-05:00

We are not going to cash the check. It is now evidence in what may have to be a small claims court case.

I composed the following to send back to him... (this is just the important parts....)

December 4, 2008

We received your response letter and check in the amount of $1,305.36 today.

We are acknowledging receipt of your check but will not be cashing it for several reasons.

1) It is a personal check, and we specifically requested a cashiers check or deposit directly into our account.

2) The check was not signed. As I’m sure you are aware, this makes it impossible to deposit or cash. (see attached picture of check to verify that there is NO SIGNATURE)

We are taking this as an intent to draw out these proceedings further.

As I mentioned in my previous communication with you, Florida Landlord Tenant Law Section 83.46(2), F. S., states

“…the landlord must either return your deposit within 15 days of termination of the rental agreement, if the landlord does not intend to impose a claim upon the security deposit; or justify in writing by certified mail, to the tenant's last known mailing address within 30-days upon termination of a rental agreement, as to why they are keeping a portion of or all of the deposit. If the notice is not sent as required within the 30-day period, the landlord forfeits his/her right to impose a claim upon the deposit…”

You referenced a telephone conversation made on October 25^th, at which time you were in Colorado, still within the United States of America. The only assumption we made from this conversation was that we would be receiving funds in good time. We asked if you had our address and you verified such. You did not imply that we would have to wait until you returned to the country to solve this problem.

As to the claims you made in your response letter, please again note the LAW of FLORIDA which states you must make your claim in writing within thirty days of termination of the lease. That would have been by November 18^th, 2008.

YOUR CLAIM TO THESE FUNDS is FORFEITED by your delay in submitting your claim.

Also stated in Florida Landlord Tenant Law Section 83.53(2 & 3), F.S.:

“…(2) The landlord may enter the dwelling unit at any time for the protection or preservation of the premises. The landlord may enter the dwelling unit upon reasonable notice to the tenant and at a reasonable time for the purpose of repair of the premises. "Reasonable notice" for the purpose of repair is notice given at least 12 hours prior to the entry, and reasonable time for the purpose of repair shall be between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m….

(3) The landlord shall not abuse the right of access nor use it to harass the tenant.”

(landlord's brother)’s visit to the premises was not lawful, as he is not the landlord of the property under any written agreement or notification AND we received no notice of his visit. Furthermore, his “inspection” of the A/C filter and its state cannot be proved. We cleaned the filter monthly, AND cleaned it again before we departed the premises.

Furthermore, your claim of $619.32 for “lost rent from October 20, 2008 to October 31, 2008” is not legitimate. We turned the keys over to the new tenant on Saturday afternoon, October 18, 2008. It is not our responsibility when the new lease began or when they chose to move in. You asked us to surrender the keys to the new tenants.

I do not believe there is any agreement within our lease that stated that we would pay advertising fees upon vacating the property, therefore we also deny your claim for $52.00.

We have the final bills for water, sewer and garbage and have been intending to pay them with the funds we were expecting back from you. If you wish to deduct the $123.32 we WILL accept that deduction.

Any issues with your A/C unit are not our responsibility, as we cleaned the air filters faithfully. Furthermore, I believe that your house has a mold problem, as evidenced by the fact that I developed a fungal infection ON MY FACE within about a week of moving into the property and even after a doctor visit, steroids and anti-fungal remedies it did not clear up until vacating the property. At no time did I request compensation for these medical fees or time lost due to the fact that I could not work some days because upon awaking my eyes were SWOLLEN SHUT.

Per Florida statue 83.51 section 1, a:

“…Comply with the requirements of applicable building, housing, and health codes…”

And section 2,a,1:

“…Unless otherwise agreed in writing, in addition to the requirements of subsection (1), the landlord of a dwelling unit other than a single-family home or duplex shall, at all times during the tenancy, make reasonable provisions for:

1. The extermination of rats, mice, roaches, ants, wood-destroying organisms, and bedbugs. When vacation of the premises is required for such extermination, the landlord shall not be liable for damages but shall abate the rent. The tenant shall be required to temporarily vacate the premises for a period of time not to exceed 4 days, on 7 days' written notice, if necessary, for extermination pursuant to this subparagraph.

2. Locks and keys.

3. The clean and safe condition of common areas.

4. Garbage removal and outside receptacles therefor.

5. Functioning facilities for heat during winter, running water, and hot water. …”

This type of issue is an EPA and health code violation and I have no qualms about adding it to our suit should it become relevant.

I am again requesting payment. Please do not take this request lightly. You have FORFEITED your claim to our money by not serving your claim IN WRITING by November 18, 2008.

Once a cashiers check or deposit is received, we will return your unsigned check to you. In the meantime we are holding it as evidence in what will end up being a small claims court case if this is not resolved immediately.

...And I cc'd the attorney I spoke to yesterday at the bottom. I really don't want to have to go to small claims court, the court fee would be $300 and it would cost us money to travel to Key West to GO to court. But if we have to, we have to.

Anyone Know a Good Lawyer?

2008-12-04T14:42:00.004-05:00

Sometimes things get worse before they can get better...

I sent a letter out to the former landlord last week via certified USPS. Following is the majority of that letter:

This letter is to formally request the immediate refund of our security deposit in the amount of $1,000.00 (one-thousand dollars) and the final month’s rent in the amount of $1,600.00 (one-thousand, six-hundred dollars).

Under the Florida Landlord Tenant Law Section 83.46(2), F. S.,

“…the landlord must either return your deposit within 15 days of termination of the rental agreement, if the landlord does not intend to impose a claim upon the security deposit; or justify in writing by certified mail, to the tenant's last known mailing address within 30-days upon termination of a rental agreement, as to why they are keeping a portion of or all of the deposit. If the notice is not sent as required within the 30-day period, the landlord forfeits his/her right to impose a claim upon the deposit…”

At the time that we notified (landlord) of our intent to move from the premises, we were informed via a telephone conversation with (landlord) that a new renter would need to be found to take over the remainder of the lease in order for us to receive a refund of our final month’s rent (deposited at the time we moved in to the premises). A new tenant was found shortly and we complied with multiple visits and phone calls from said incoming renters to facilitate their moving in to the premises immediately upon our vacation of the premises.

(landlord's wife) made reference to some cleaning reportedly done by the incoming tenants upon move-in. We spent the entirety of the day on Saturday, October 19^th cleaning the premises, which in fact was why we did not vacate until 7pm. All floors were swept and mopped. The bathroom and kitchen were scrubbed and walls and windowsills were wiped down. Earlier that day we handed over the keys to the incoming tenants. Said incoming tenants asked us to leave the rear entry to the premises unlocked when we left and we complied with this request.

To our understanding, the accusation of necessary cleaning is based completely on claims made by the incoming tenants, who provided no proof of said issue, and not verified by any legal landlord or landlord’s representative.

As we vacated the premises at 7pm on Saturday, October 18th, 30 (thirty) days have passed and we have not received either funds representing the security deposit and final month’s rent or a written notification of intent to impose a claim on said funds. (landlord) was informed via a telephone conversation during the week of October 20-24, 2008 that the premises had been vacated and also of our forwarding address. We were assured that funds would be forthcoming. We therefore require funds in the amount of $2,600.00 (Two-thousand, six-hundred dollars) deposited into our account immediately (see information at the end of this letter) or a cashiers check sent by priority mail to our forwarding address (see below).

Delay in this matter has caused us extreme financial hardship and therefore if we do not hear a response from you by November 28^th, 2008, we will turn this matter over to our attorney and be requesting interest in addition to the funds requested above.

We got a response in the mail today. It was two pages of claims as to why he is keeping $1,300 of the funds, about 80% of which are totally unfounded and complete bull. Some of the reasons aren't even things that I think are lawful. He claims that we owe "lost rent" from the time we moved out to November 1st because that is when the new tenants moved in. The new tenants accepted the keys from us THE DAY WE LEFT. In my world this means taking over the property. I don't care WHEN they moved in their stuff, they were responsible for the house once they had the keys.

Also in the letter was a check for the other $1,300. A PERSONAL check, UNSIGNED.

I am having some pretty severe anger issues today.

It's Official!

2008-12-04T02:00:00.003-05:00

My background check at Pier One came through and as of this coming Sunday I will be a "Sales Leader" and get a raise!

When I got home today there was a USPS notice in the mailbox that we have a certified letter from the Key West landlord. We're praying that it is a check and not just a nasty letter telling us we can't have our money back.

It's been a long and emotional week. More on the emotional bit once I can look back at it in a more constructive manner, right now I'm going to finish the little bit of Marmite that's on my fork and go to bed.

(If you're wondering, I ate it off the fork because we're out of bread.)

Movin' On Up

2008-12-01T14:22:00.004-05:00

I was initially hired on at Pier One as a seasonal "limited" time employee - meaning that I'm not supposed to work more than 20 hours a week.

When I spoke to my Manager on the phone before my interview she said that she was only hiring for temporary seasonal employees but that it didn't mean I couldn't stay on after the holidays. I told her that I "fully intend to kick ass" which she liked.

I have worked five or six shifts in the last ten days and a couple of days ago the regional manager was in the store to check things out. Apparently I made a good impression on her and she and my direct manager both are interested in training me to be a sales leader and in charge of the logistics of unloading the truck deliveries. They also have given me more than 20 hours this week, one shift is part of a display/visuals seminar tonight from 6pm to midnight.

I am REALLY excited about this, for several reasons. As the GM at the pet store I feel like the things I excelled at most were cleaning up the displays and general appearance of the store - in an organized way AND organizing projects.

Logistics, organization and visual style are things I am pretty natural at, so it's actually fun for me to "have to" reorganize an entire display.

Our Pier One store apparently was pretty disorganized before my manager arrived and she has been having to clean up in many ways. It's exciting and fun for me to be in on this level of turning things around. I feel like I always do better in a situation where there is a goal and a significant amount of pressure to succeed.

All of this can only benefit me in our dream to eventually own and run our own pet store.

As for working during the holiday season? I love it. The one exception is that the muzak loop at the store has what I believe is a Miley Cyrus rendition of "Holly Jolly Christmas", and it's HORRENDOUS.

Black Friday

2008-11-28T22:15:00.005-05:00

Our dinner turned out fabulously, we will be posting pics and some recipes over on Are You Gonna Eat That? - our new food blog.

Buster got to enjoy some Thanksgiving dinner, and he was quite happy about it. Even the cats got a tiny bit of potatoes, stuffing, turkey and gravy - although they didn't really eat much besides the turkey and potatoes (and I'm sure that's because the potatoes were loaded with butter, goat cheese and sour cream).

We spent the evening watching TV, napping, snacking on leftovers and surfing the internet.

When I picked up a shift on Wednesday afternoon, my boss asked me to work today from 11am to 3pm. With that in mind I set the alarm clock for 9:30am and went to sleep around 2am.

At 8am my phone rang and it was my boss. Apparently I was actually scheduled for an 8am to Noon shift and she had given me the wrong schedule. She asked if I could come in right away and I complied.

I raced through my ablutions and managed to get to the store by about 8:40am.

For "Black Friday" it really wasn't bad at all. I helped a few people find some things, cashed several people out and did some unpacking of freight in the stock room - then it was time to go home!

I ate some more mashed potatoes and gravy and then took a several-hour nap.

Scott started on a batch of hot sauce this afternoon and I've been working my way through mass amounts of laundry.

Thanksgiving Dinner?

2008-11-27T17:04:00.003-05:00

In honor of one of the cooking-est days of the year, Scott and I have started a cooking blog together!

You can find it HERE.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Big Task

2008-11-26T23:47:00.008-05:00

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day (US).

Today is/was Wednesday.

Today I worked a four-hour shift at Pier One mostly putting together furniture. I'm enjoying my job there and hoping to work hard enough that they decide to hire me as a full time employee and put me on salary.

Yesterday Amy, Carrie and I spent the day in Aiken, SC. My first order of business was getting two very important letters mailed; one to our former landlord requesting all of our money back since they did not send us anything in writing within thirty days that they were intending to keep some of it, and the second to a former renter that still owes me $750. I'm hoping it will scare him enough to just come up with the money right away.

After that was taken care of we went into the downtown historic area and spent a little time in some of the galleries and shops. In an art gallery we saw an entire exhibit of paintings of places in Key West! It made me even more Key-West-sick than I have been lately (which is quite).

Once we were done window shopping we continued to Hitchcock Woods to hike and take pictures. Some of the paths were more sand than dirt so our legs got quite a workout. As we were arriving there was a group of fox-hunters coming out of the woods. The horses AND dogs were beautiful, and I admired the outfits of the riders as I am more used to seeing western saddles and dress than the english version.

As it started to get colder and a little darker we made our way back to the car and then on to Moe's, a wonderful mexican grill fast food joint. As I had eaten a sandwich right after my business at the Post Office, I wasn't as hungry, so I contented myself with a big bowl of guacamole, fresh chips and an icy Cherry Coke.

Finally full (and warm!) we were off to the Hobby Lobby, which I had never experienced before. For those in the northwest it's similar to a Craft Warehouse only even BIGGER if you can believe that! The selection is just incredible. We had a great time just browsing through everything and I spent a little of what little cash I had to buy two 8x10 frames for a couple of our wedding pictures.

Carrie took a lot of pictures of ornaments and Amy trying various ones on her head while I marveled at everything around me. Once we pulled ourselves away from Hobby Lobby we went to Lowes, where we acquired ten 50-lb bags of gravel that Amy and Carrie are putting down in the back yard (it WAS all mulch, but the dogs keep digging it up). Our final stop was Kroger where the girls stocked up on groceries and by the time we left the parking lot I was well packed into the back seat!

As we pulled into Amy's driveway Scott called, wondering if I was ever coming back... I assured him that I would be on my way shortly.

Scott and I are planning to cook Thanksgiving dinner for just the two of us (and the animals). I had invited several friends and family members from near states but they all had previous plans, so it will just be us.

Our Menu:
Turkey (Scott is making this and he and Buster will eat it. I may try a bite if it smells good.)
Stuffing (We are each making some, winging our own recipes. Mine is sourdough & mushroom.)
Salad (just a plain old green leaf lettuce and whatever veggies are on hand)
Mashed Potatoes (with goat cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, chives and butter)
Gravy (my uncle's recipe in which there is white wine and mushrooms and a few other things)
Pumpkin Cheesecake (it just went in the oven)

We're watching various tv shows thanks to our Comcast dvr and I'm pausing them to cook now and then.

Life Grinds Slowly Back Into Gear

2008-11-23T01:04:00.003-05:00

I started orientation at Pier One today.

I was scheduled to have an interview there at 2pm on Friday. Yesterday at about 4pm I realized that it WAS FRIDAY.

I should have deduced that it was Friday because I watched CSI the night before, wished a friend happy birthday only to have him tell me "thanks, but it was yesterday", but it took looking at the TV Guide website telling me it was Friday to figure it out.

Fortunately my interviewer was understanding and when I called to assure her that I am NOT a total flake, she told me to come in for the interview right away.

It's nice to be working again, although it makes me very store-sick for the pet store in Key West.

This afternoon Scott and I planned out our Thanksgiving Day meal and then went to the grocery store to stock up, first having dinner at a Thai restaurant next door to Publix.

During dinner we talked about ideas for a poor-economy Christmas and came up with some rather good ones, I think.

I got started tonight on one of the major projects, I would say I'm about one-fifth of the way done with it and haven't spent a dime. I'm hoping that the recipient thinks it's as kickass as I do... if someone made this present for ME I would LOVE it.

The other highlight of the evening was when Scott discovered that it's a bad idea to feed The Stink from the couch. This results in her constantly wanting up to see if there's more and then wanting down to look for it herself.

A Little bit of Martha...

2008-11-20T22:44:00.005-05:00

This is the Martha Stewart version:

It is done with weatherproof paper and tape and hung on an outside door.

I liked the look of the idea, and goodness knows I love to be crafty, so I started digging through my Christmas bins to see what I could come up with.

While in Key West, the only store that had reasonably priced Christmas decorations was K-Mart, and so I chose items in the silver and purple vein both years.

Since I can't afford to buy all new Christmas decorations this year, I'm going to go with what I collected in Key West, so I figured a silver and purple wreath would coordinate nicely.

I had plenty of silver stuff, but not as much purple. Carrie and I ended up taking a trip to Dollar General, Target and Michaels looking for purple wrapping paper, which apparently is so Last Year.

I made do with some pieces of purple scrapbooking paper instead and then came home and wrapped a bunch of small boxes - some from Michaels but most were either empty gum display boxes I got at Food Lion or cream cheese boxes from my fridge.

Carrie helped by wrapping the base in silver paper and putting in her two cents about which boxes should be where.

We were very pleased with the final product...

Photo Therapy

2008-11-19T00:41:00.009-05:00

It always makes me feel better to have some sort of artistic outlet.

Carrie and I took another photo/walking tour of downtown Augusta today and got some fun shots.

Sketchy and Hopeful

2008-11-17T17:43:00.003-05:00

I'm thinking that I may not want to work at WS. I picked up the paperwork on Thursday last week and they had mentioned then that there was no rush because the company that owns the mall is declaring bankruptcy.

You would think that if they are volunteering this information to applicants, that they would also tell the employees. You know, so they can look for other jobs if it turns out that the store is going to close.

When I handed in my paperwork to "June", I mentioned that because of the "situation" with the mall I was still looking for other positions. She asked me "what situation." I filled her in.

I don't know that I want to be employed at a place that keeps their employees in the dark about whether they will have a job next month.

I have also realized that if I actually wish to get a job in retail this holiday season, I will have to suck it up and work evenings. Scott and I were hoping that I could work days so we could have our evenings together, but I have a feeling that if I want any response at all I'm going to have to be available for the prime shopping hours, which makes sense.

I stopped by Pier One this afternoon to let them know that I AM available in the evenings, and I changed it on my application at Bed, Bath and Beyond as well. I discussed being available with the manager at Michaels when I handed in that application.

Since we were nearly out of wet dog food (Buster is a spoiled old man) I stopped at PetsMart and talked with the manager there. I mentioned that I had applied online before we moved but hadn't heard anything, and referenced my year plus experience as the GM at the pet store in Key West. He said he'd check out my info and get back to me if he can scrape any hours together.

Once I got home I realized that it was PetCo I had applied to online and not PetsMart, so I hastily remedied that situation and gave the manager a call to let him know that he will find my info later today.

I really miss the store in Key West. I miss the people and the animals and just WORKING.

Turn Around

2008-11-16T23:23:00.004-05:00

Fortunately, my bank did indeed catch the error before I was up on Friday morning. That was a big load off of my mind.

I was also able to pay the mortgage payment online, which was another time and energy saver.

Saturday evening I went application hunting just in case the Williams Sonoma job falls through. I completed a Pier One app there in-store and brought home apps for Michaels and Bed, Bath & Beyond.

I would very much enjoy Pier One or Michaels, and I'm feeling really good about Pier One.

Tonight I joined Carrie and Amy at the theater to see "Quantom of Solace", the latest 007 movie. I have to say I really enjoyed it.

Once I got home I cleaned the entire kitchen, set the counter with two place settings, and made Scott's lunch for tomorrow. I've also been hanging pictures on the walls and getting clothes hung up in the closet, in addition to clearing space in the garage so I can park my car in it.

Right now Scott is trying to fix the kitchen table.

I feel better in general about things.

Tomorrow I'm planning to collect sticks and leaves and lay them out in the garage to dry so I can hot glue them together into wreaths, finish filling out the applications and deliver them and my Williams Sonoma paperwork.

When Life Gets You Down...

2008-11-14T02:05:00.003-05:00

Today I deposited a $2000 check into my checking account, in person, at a bank.

When I got home and went online to schedule some online bill pay stuff, it shows that the teller credited me $200.

Today I also went in to Williams Sonoma (I received a voicemail on the 6th that they want to hire me) to do "paperwork."

When I got there they handed me a packed and told me to fill it out and bring it back "whenever" because the company that owns the mall is declaring bankruptcy. SERIOUSLY?

Our Florida landlord legally has fifteen days to refund our deposit and last month's rent. He legally has thirty days to notify us in writing if he intends to claim any of the deposit.

Our Florida landlord is currently in Nicuragua with no phone and no power.

Auntie ReesePie

2008-11-11T01:41:00.004-05:00

This is my new nephew. He's our first one. He is the first grandbaby for all of his grandparents.

Scotty is very proud.

The baby's name is Jackson.

He complied with our plans and arrived about 36 hours after we arrived in Seattle to see him.

Travelling

2008-11-05T21:58:00.004-05:00

Scott and I are heading to Seattle early tomorrow morning.

Actually, since the plane leaves out of Atlanta at 7:15am we are just staying up and leaving for Atlanta around 3am.

Carrie is house/animal sitting while we're gone.

I had my interview today at Williams Sonoma. It was a group interview, which was odd. I'll either get a phone call or a "thanks but no thanks" card in the mail sometime in the next two weeks.

In the meantime we're heading across the country to welcome a new nephew into the world.

Voting Day

2008-11-05T02:02:00.003-05:00

No, I didn't.

I watched a House marathon instead.

And got my Georgia driver's license.

And don't try to get all politicky with me, I won't discuss it.

I said Good Day!

Scarves and Boots!

2008-11-03T00:18:00.005-05:00

Moving to Georgia during this time of year has been fabulous. I have been able to immediately start wearing some of my favorite parts of my wardrobe... sweaters, scarves and boots!

Even Buster has a new winter jacket and a new sweater for Christmas.

And yes, we dressed him as a skunk for Halloween. He loved it.

Beautiful Day for a Picnic

2008-10-31T23:49:00.008-04:00

Amy and Carrie and I spent the day together - meeting first at a cafe in downtown Augusta for Coffee, then we drove out to the New Savannah Lock and Dam (not actually IN Savannah) for a picnic lunch on a dock. Then we all came back to our house and Scott and I handed out candy on the front porch to all the neighborhood kids.

Buster was in a skunk costume and Stinkerbell was (briefly) dressed as a pumpkin. Those pics will come tomorrow... but here's some from today.

On The Hunt

2008-10-29T19:54:00.005-04:00

I had an adventurous day yesterday.

A friend since high-school lives about 40 minutes away in Aiken, SC and we've been hanging out a bit. It's good for both of us to have a friend out here where we know so few people.

Yesterday we went to the Augusta Mall where I collected eight job applications. As I was gathering one from Williams Sonoma the manager took my name and number and called me right away to schedule an interview next Wednesday at 2pm.

I got a blister on my finger filling out the rest of them last night.

After our job hunt, we went "downtown" Augusta and took pictures.

Traveling Zoo

2008-10-25T22:33:00.010-04:00

Thirteen hours according to Google maps is really more like 16 or 17 in a Honda pulling a 4x6 U-Haul trailer.

We departed Key West at about 7pm on Saturday (a week ago) and made a few stops... one for gas, another stop on Big Pine at Rob's Island Grill for the best gardenburger in the Keys.

We made it to our approximate halfway point - a Clarion motel in Titusville, Florida at about 4am Sunday morning. It took us about a half hour to get all the critters and their stuff in the room and then we went to bed. We put the big baby gate up across the bathroom/sink/closet area and put Stinkerbell's house under the sink, with the cat litter box in the bathroom itself.

We managed to get all the animals fed and once we went to bed everyone pretty much quieted down and went to sleep.

Scott got up around 1pm and I got up around 1:30pm and we loaded up and headed north. We stopped for gas and food somewhere near Jacksonville I think...

I had everyone but Scott in the Honda with me, the cats' litter box in the trunk with the back seats down and Buster in the passenger seat. The cats and Stinkerbell got to run free.

Chou likes to ride in the floorspace up front and since there was a bunch of stuff and bedding in the passenger side floorspace, he chose mine. Fortunately he stayed out from under the pedals and didn't mind if I shoved him back with my feet when he encroached on my space.

Minx was a little bit everywhere, mostly starting to yell about five or six hours into both days. At that point I put on my ipod and was able to tune her out.

Maui split his time snuggling with Buster and sitting in the cat bed in the back seat.

Stinkerbell was either asleep in the front seat with Buster and Maui or in her bed (sometimes underneath it). She managed not to bite anyone, which is usually her modus operandi when in close proximity to the other animals. The picture on the left shows Buster, Stinker, Maui (right above Stinker's tail) and Chou (on the right - in my armpit) all in the front seat which lasted about ten minutes. Then I kicked the cats and skunk out so Buster wasn't so cramped.

Won-Ton initially was on the dash, with two of the feet of his travel tank on a "non-slip" pad that is meant for cell phones and such. After two incidences of the tank flying off the dash and dumping water everywhere (the second time requiring me to pull over, call Scott and have him bring a bottle of Evian to refill the container) I took the handle off the container and rigged it with a bungee cord to hang from my rear-view mirror. Sounds silly, but he was safe for the rest of the trip (when Buster wasn't trying to drink him).

The drive on Sunday was a lot easier. We had both had at least eight hours of sleep and were a lot less anxious about what time we were going to arrive.

Fortunately the realtor that helped us find and lease the house only lives about fifteen minutes from the new place and was willing to meet us when we arrived at about 10:15pm to let us in. He knew we weren't going to have water or power until Monday, but he was able to turn our water on at the curb and his wife sent a bunch of her candles over so we could see enough to get our mattress and the animals in the house.

Monday morning the power came on around 10am and the water heater made quick work of heating up enough water for about a five minute shower. Once presentable we drove to the bottom of our subdivision and had lunch at a Mexican restaurant in the strip mall there. We found a Food Lion and bought a few necessities before heading back to the house for a walk-through with the realtor.

Tuesday Scott managed to get a Georgia driver's license and we took a trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond, followed by dinner at Macaroni Grill.

Wednesday Scott went to work for the first time at his new job and Comcast came to hook up our DVR and internet. After he came home we went to Lowes and then Red Robin for dinner. (We don't have wireless yet and the ethernet cable isn't working for my computer, so I have to pirate Scott's when he's not using it.)

Thursday my friend Carrie (from high school) came over from Aiken, SC and we spent the day together, having breakfast (around 1pm) at IHOP and then a quick trip to Home Depot. I looked for herbs and vegetables to grow at the house but I'm guessing it's past season for them this far north because there was NOTHING edible in the nursery there. I bought three Hostas instead.

Friday I slept in and then did some unpacking and organizing and moving furniture around. Once Scott got home we went to Publix and did the REAL grocery shopping.

Today we had Apple turnovers for breakfast (something my family did every Saturday morning for awhile when I was young) and then spent the day alternately unpacking and watching TV and feeding animals and ourselves. I made a batch of Potato Cheese Soup with a few fat-lowering modifications. It's not quite the same since I am mysteriously out of Paprika and I used 1% milk instead of half and half, but it was still good and filling.

Just Peachy

2008-10-22T23:06:00.003-04:00

We're here in Georgia and getting settled in.

The house is beautiful.

I've taken lots of pictures - most of our two-day trip up from Key West, but they are on my computer which for some reason is not connecting to the internet.

So in the meantime I will just say that I'm planning some great posts and have some fun pictures to go with them.

Most importantly: We're safe! Everyone loves the house, the dog and cats (including the "fourth") are having fun exploring and hiding behind boxes.

The movers brought our stuff yesterday morning at 8am and we've been unpacking ever since. I've got most of the kitchen put away and we're working on the bedrooms and living areas.

Comcast came today to hook up our digital cable and wireless internet. The cable works. The internet only works via an ethernet cable to Scott's computer. We tried plugging it into mine and that doesn't even work.

I'm going to attempt to solve the problem tomorrow when my brain cells are fresh.

Getting Out of Dodge Key West

2008-10-18T13:36:00.003-04:00

The packer/movers left with all our stuff yesterday around 4pm. We started cleaning the house and organizing the remainder of our things and then got tired and hungry.

We decided to spend a couple of hours downtown as a last hurrah for our friends that wanted to say goodbye, with the added bonus of getting out of the house for a little while.

We ate dinner at The Rum Barrel and about 15 of our friends came and/or stopped by to see us and say goodbye.

We got home around 10:30pm and went to bed. Or tried to anyway.

The movers packed the fan we usually have running at night for white noise and without it every sound in our empty concrete house was doubly magnified. Stinkerbell was up and wreaking havoc every way she knows how: climbing onto our mattress, sliding off, getting into stuff that's packed, turning over garbage cans, the full gamut of her chaos repertoire.

Finally around 4:45am I was ready to kill every living thing in the house (including Scott - he snores pretty loud when there's nothing to mask the noise) so I got up and went to Walgreens and bought two box fans, some breathe-right strips and some ear plugs.

It was a good recipe for peace and I managed to sleep from about 5:30am to about 11:00am. Then we figured we'd better get in gear and finish cleaning the house so we can leave.

We've worked pretty hard in the three hours since, and then it started pouring rain right when I was actually starting to load the U-Haul.

And I mean POURING. Deluge. Sheets of Water.

Ridiculous.

I guess with both of us cleaning it will get done faster, right? And then all we'll have to do is wait for the rain to stop. If it doesn't I suppose we can move the BMW out of the carport and back the U-Haul in, then load everything out through the kitchen.

Useless

2008-10-17T09:23:00.003-04:00

I'm sitting on our couch. On my right is the dog. On my left is a kennel with the three cats inside.

I'm watching a three-man crew pack up everything I own.

It's very strange to watch all this happening and not really have anything to do! I asked if it would be helpful if I brought things from the kitchen to them and they said no. They're pretty much saying "Stay Out Of The Way!" without actually saying it.

Right now the most useful thing I can do is take the turtle back to the pet store to go into the pond. Even Stinkerbell is in her cage and for once she's not upset about it... she's hiding in her bed.

We were planning to stay at a friend's house tonight on their futon, but all our pillows and blankets have already been packed, in addition to the fan I use for white noise so I can sleep!

I guess it's really happening!

Finally, a Plan!

2008-10-14T16:16:00.003-04:00

The moving company called us back this morning and is planning to come on Thursday and pack, and then move on Friday.

We were really hoping to have them here tomorrow or Wednesday, but that is clearly not going to happen, so I guess we'll suck it up.

Also they told Scott to tell me to stop packing - for liability purposes they have to pack everything. So now I'm just trying to organize and clean. That sucks.

I dismantled and hosed out the hamster cage today, Tempura is going to live with my friend Kelle who LOVES animals and has been wanting a hamster every time one comes into the pet store, so I know she will spoil her and take very good care of her.

I just don't like feeling like I'm not doing anything to get our life progressing.

Amazing.

2008-10-13T01:14:00.003-04:00

I happened to read about this while looking up Darlene Zschech on Wikipedia (long story as to how I got to her on Wikipedia but anyway...)...

I've always been impressed when American Idol contestants sing a Christian pop or worship song on the show. They are often judged pretty harshly for it, but I give them kudos for doing it at all.

I wondered how it was that I missed this episode and then I realized that it aired two days before our wedding and watching TV was the last thing on my mind right about then...

In any case, I am pleased that it was on the show.

Last Day

2008-10-11T07:32:00.002-04:00

It's beginning to get light out on my last day of work in Key West. I'll likely go in on Sunday or Monday and do some computer stuff, but today is my last shift on the floor.

Stinkerbell is sleeping on my lap... when I got out of bed about an hour ago she got up and followed me to the living room.

All the animals are being extra-needy right now - Stinkerbell has never moved so she can't really understand the boxes, but Buster and the cats have experienced boxes before and are getting worried.

Buster tries to come with us anytime we leave the house now, he's afraid of being left behind!

We signed a lease today and faxed it back to the realtor, I'll post pics as soon as there's no way it can fall through. If I've learned nothing else in this recent chapter of life it's that I HAVE to take each day one at a time or I'll lose my freaking mind!

I did find an insurance agent in the area and have transferred our car and renters insurance, once the lease is confirmed I'll go online and transfer Comcast and do our address change.

I've packed a bunch of stuff - mostly clothes and bedding as it's clean. We're probably going to get rid of some stuff before we leave: two tv's we never use, our bed frame (since it's TOTALLY busted now) and all the crappy pots and pans since we've been collecting new ones from Crate & Barrell thanks to wedding gift cards.

I'm REALLY excited about the kitchen in the new house... once you see it you'll understand why!

Stay Calm

2008-10-08T04:34:00.003-04:00

more animals

I'm sure that I will jinx the whole thing by talking about it - but I believe we're moving to Georgia. We picked a house tonight (I'll post pics as soon as the lease is signed) and are going to call tomorrow to schedule the movers.

I'm excited - I would love to go home to the northwest, but going anywhere new is cool, too. I'm hoping that we will be more free to travel "home" from Augusta than from Key West, I'd really like to be at my Family Reunion and Family Camping Trip next summer.

Of course, I'm having a hard time sleeping because my brain keeps making lists of things that need to be done before we move or in order to move.

And, there's a bit of added stress because someone is apparently illegal in Georgia.

Taking Action

2008-10-06T15:33:00.002-04:00

This morning before I left for work Scott and I decided that if the company in WA doesn't call by the end of the day today, we're going to go ahead and go to GA.

He's picking a house now and getting his paperwork ready.