Photo Extravaganza

Since I haven't posted pics in so long, this is the photo extravaganza. Here is the house and the dog, Maple.

Just in Case

Below is an e-mail from my friend Shan. The subject was "Just in Case" It is funny .

Ok, so I think I've lost my mind. As I was driving to work today, I took 1 antibiotic 825 mg or something. Then, I got to work and decided I needed to take 1 antibiotic because I hadn't yet had my mornind dose. About 30 minutes later, I was feeling really quite funny. My tongue has gone numb, I keep missing my chair when I sit down and I feel like I'm going to be sick. So, I decided to count my pills, because my short term memory seems to be failing me. I have now decided that I have ODed on my meds. In my boredom, I decided to try to figure out what my fate might be. Aparantly, these are all effects of doing the unmentionable...what we've all been taught to never ever do. Although, these are slightly less than the seizures that I could potentially have. I've put the posion control center's number on my desk along with moms number, just in case someone finds me on the floor. So, just in case, I would like to tell you all that I love you and at least I died high! ok, maybe not that exciting, but you get the point.

Shannon

Spontaneous

Pic 1 - Chicago
Pic 2 - Ohio boarder
Pic 3 - Mars cheese castle
Pic4 - Cheesehead Shan
Pic 5 - Several TP choices in Kenosha





D left me unsupervised this weekend and so Shan and I packed clean underwear and our toothbrushes and decided to spend 18 hours of the weekend in a car somewhere between here and Milwaukee, WI. and another 5 waking hours hanging with Chrissy and her posse in Milwaukee playing American Idol and Outburst.

Decided we definitely needed more friends if we had to drive nine hours to find a party.

However the following things made the trip worthwhile:

Passing Bong Recreation Area
Seeing all of the TP at the store in Kenosha
Visiting Mars Cheese Castle - and seeing the cheese in every shape you can imagine.
and, of course seeing Chrissy

The Best Kept Secret in Thailand

This e-mail just came from Wes who has been in Thailand since January enduring the cold showers:

Hey All,
So this is just a note to inform everyone that after months and months of cold water showers I no longer have to endure them, most of the time. I say most of the time because well sometimes there isnt enough water running and the pressure is really bad so I have to do bucket baths. I just found out that there was a button I wasnt pushing, a secret hidden button, that makes my hot water heater work. I felt so stupid when I discovered this today after all this time that it works. I even asked my land lord if I could get it fixed and he was just like no no no. Oh well maybe he didnt understand. At any rate I took my first hot water shower in my house this morning and it was great. Its all good because the cold season is starting and this is when I really need it because it is kind of cool in the mornings and evenings. Life is grand and you dont realize how much a good hot water shower changes your outlook on life until you dont have it and then suddenly realize you do. Words to remember and live by.
Yours,
Wesley

Second B-day

In case you all didn't know this week is my second B-day. D's family in PA had the correct day of my B-day, but they were off by a month. They thought it was October, not September. So, I have been getting all of these B-day cards this week and it isn't even my B-day. To top it all off Wes sent me an e-card for a birthday just because he thought it was funny (and it was). It's kind of nice having a second birthday! Makes you feel double special.

Am going to try hard to have pics of the house, dog and newly carved pumpkins up this weekend.

I Feel a Little 'Lost'

Looks like no one watches "Lost". I have resorted to message boards about the show on NBC's website.

Why can't everyone be a geek like me?

Big Kids Now and Lost

Today the office crazy came up to me and asked if I was still married. (This is the same woman that is constantly on the prowl for her future husband and came to work downtown in order to search for him.) I informed her that indeed I still was and considering D's new light and cheery mood we might just stay that way. :) He has been so pleasant lately that I think I almost forgot how much I enjoy being around him.

Chrissy sent me an e-mail saying how grown up we are now with a house. I was feeling that way too until D's friend's called to say they are having a baby. I am still in shock over the whole thing. They are our age and at this point I am just not ready to devote myself to the care and well-being of another human for the next 18 years. I am still enjoying a lot of "me" time. I am happy for them. They seem excited and this is what they want. The dad-to-be described having a baby as being "just like having a dog, but you have to take it everywhere." Let's hope he was joking.

I want to know if any of my friends watch Lost. I freaking love that show, but apparently I am the only nerd that watches it. I really need someone to call after the show is over and say "Ohmigosh, can you believe it?" So, someone either needs to tell me that they watch it, or I am going to have to stop being friends with you all. Just kidding.

Maybe I will mail Wes the first season for Christmas and get him hooked on it and then hold information about the second season over his head for the next year. Geez my red-headed mean streak is coming out today.

Love you all and you will all be officially invited over as soon as I unpack the house.

The diet took a beating this weekend, as I couldn't find anything to either prepare food with or eat with, so I ate bad food everyday. For the last three weeks of my diet, I have maintained, which is an improvement over the steady gaining I was doing.

I'm in Debt Until 2035!

Yesterday D and I went to the closing and signed lots of papers saying that we will be in debt until 2035! Seeing that year in writing makes it all seem very real. However, after it was all over, I felt a great relief and felt very happy.

D insisted that we do the following things last night:
1. Sleep in the new house on our bed.
2. Buy furniture.
3. Pick-up the furniture and deliver it to the house.
4. Pick-up a used washer and dryer that we bought.

Our closing was at 3:30 and we managed to finish up all of the above tasks and get to sleep by 11:00. I was rather impressed, I thought it would be at least midnight.

Upon delivery of the washer and dryer I thought we were going to have make our first major home repair as Dustin nearly backed into the garage with the trailer containing the washer and dryer. He thought he had 6 feet of space when he really had 6 inches - if that. But all is well and we don't need a new garage door.

I think we both went to bed feeling really blessed and content. Yesterday was a very good day.

I am looking forward to having people over and am excited for my out of town/country friends to get back so that I can invite them over and fill the house with people. That's what makes it feel like a home.

Diet Update, New Dog, Alien Babies

Didn't do so hot on the diet this weekend. I didn't eat a lot, I just had like one meal a day, but it was generally pizza, and a lot of it.

We did a lot of packing this weekend and I think that had a lot to do with my not planning my meals. I will weigh in tomorrow and see what damage was done. By the way, my original weigh-in weight was 182. Hopefully there will be a nice dent in it tomorrow.

Yesterday D and I went to the dog pound with the intention of "looking" at dogs. Then, there was a calm, well-behaved, knows-all-kings-of-tricks chocolate lab. We fell in love and ended-up taking her home. She is a doll. Her name is Maple. She is so good that you can sit a treat on her nose and she'll wait until you give her the ok to eat it.

I had to explain the fact that we now have a dog to tell you this story. I woke up all excited about having a dog to walk in the morning. I have wanted to walk in the morning for a long time, but I am afraid to go by myself at 5:30 in the morning when it is so dark out. So, Maple and I are going for a nice stroll on the quiet streets of the suburb behind the apartment and enjoying ourselves when I happen to look up and see the strangest thing in the sky. There was a thick bluish green streak of light moving slowly across the sky until it faded into a small orange ember-like light. It was pretty and I wanted to look at it and then I thought to myself "What the crap was that?" and I got goosebumps and practically drug the dog back to the apartment. It really freaked me out.

Does anyone have any idea what I saw? I'd like to know if I should be expecting alien babies. If so, how long is the alien/human gestation period? I have been on the NASA website all day looking for an explanation of what I saw. So far I haven't had any luck and until I have further info Maple and I won't be walking in the morning.

Healthy Website

The USDA has a pretty good site devoted to the new food pyramid. You can input your age, sex and physical activity to assess how much of which nutrients you should eat. IN addition you can track what you eat and the physical activity that you do to have a personalized assessment of your eating habit. I love it. It is my new diet planning tool.

I think I am going to track my weight loss efforts on the blog. This worked well with smoking, and I think it may be good for the diet thing too. I took some "before" pics when I started WW a few months back and then I quit going a ballooned back to the same size I was in the old "before" pics, so maybe I will post them, but I don't know. I really hate the way I look in them. That could also serve as a motivated though.

Yesterday I began this journey (again, but hopefully for the last time). I ate well yesterday and it's been so far so good today. I also woke up early and rode the exercise bike for 20 mins. I about died on it, but that will only improve. I am just proud that I actually woke up and did it.

I will do an official weigh-in today at lunch and report the results. One of the nice things about where I work is that we have a nurse's office and she has a good "doctor's" scale, so I can do pretty accurate weigh-ins. Will weigh in every Tuesday and swap notes with Shan who still is going to WW successfully and weighs-in on Tuesdays.

Get Packing!

Woo Hoo! Found out the closing date on the house will be October 6th. I am so pumped and ready to move and get a puppy!

My b-day was Thursday, so I spent a fabulous Friday in GC waxing my legs with best friend, Shan. This sounded like a fabulous idea after cocktails and, even better after Shan suggested we take four OTC pain killers to numb us a bit. However, when I woke up the next day I realized it may have been a really bad idea, as I had red patches where flesh had been ripped from my legs along with the hair. Pics of the event to be posted soon.

Other Cool Zoo Sitings

The manatees, the new baby elephant, and D in his researcher photo op (he looks like a giant compared to that other guy, doesn't he?)

The Coolest Chimp Ever

My most favorite thing at the zoo is watching the bonobo chimps. Last time we went I saw on pick it's nose and eat it and I thought that was great. This time, I saw this guy here hold it's hand up to it's bum like a kid would do to a gumball machine and catch a piece of poo and eat it. It was really gross (but I laughed). He then washed it down with some water out of his fountain.

Then, some stupid parents let their kid go in front of the railing that the signs everywhere tell you not to cross. Well, Mr. Chimp didn't like that and he charged the glass and beat it and it scared the poop out of the little girl and she started crying. I know it is mean to laugh at that, but really people, why would you let your kid get that close? The signs are up for a reason!

Feed in the Lorikeets

Went to the zoo and they have this whole new Austrailia section. In that area you can feed lorikeets. They we so pretty and I loved it!

Another Cake

This one was for someone at work.

Public Apology to D and House Updates

I need to let all my blog readers know that my husband has been much nicer lately and I am not even drunk as I write this. :)

Last week out of the blue he said 'I'm sorry I'm such a shithead' and he hugged me and kissed me. I was kind of concerned. I asked him what he meant and he explained that he went online and read my blog and he thought it was all about what a poohead he is/was. I felt kind of bad, even though there was nothing about him online that I hadn't told him in person. Anyhow he was sincere in his apology and everyday we are a little nicer to each other, so I want to publicly acknowledge that D is no longer a poohead and that I love him even when he is.

Tonight we are going out to dinner and sadly enough I am so excited I can't even stand it! We haven't been on a just he and I date forever!

Anyhow, we are getting a roof put on the house we are buying during the first week of October, which delays our closing date until October 20th. I am a little disappointed, but still grateful that we will have a home soon.

Buckeye Cake

I made a cake for the big game today.
My best one yet - if I do say so myself.

The Lush and the Roof

Hey - house update time.

So a while a go I mentioned that the house needed a new roof, so our realtor talked to their realtor and requested a new roof be put on the house before we buy it. I was thinking
"Yeah right, this will never happen, but we can maybe work something else out. This is just going to take a long time. Here we go." D was stressing in a less than productive way.

So, Friday night I went home and drank a lot of wine by myself. Actually D was there too, but I was the only one drinking. I don't usually do anything like that, but I did last Friday. So I got drunk, discovered I liked my husband better under the influence of alcohol and relaxed a little. Either that or my drinking makes that pesky stick fall right out of his ass.

I went through the rest of the long weekend cleaning house like crazy and returned to the office on Tuesday to get a very good call from the realtor. The sellers agreed to put a roof on. I was very excited! Called D and he is excited too.

The moral of the story is this: if you keep expecting the worst and drowning your worries in booze, your husband will call you a win-o but you just might get a new roof. (Or something like that).

Poor Laurie

"I went to the Outerbanks and all I got was this stupid neck brace."
-Laurie, who broke her neck playing in the ocean.


We're glad you're ok, but also glad we can laugh as long as you have that neck brace on!

Fire!

As usual, the fire was a bit out of control at first!

The Happy Couples

The Tree House Inn

The Worst Night's Sleep You'll Ever Have!
(Wes Remember sleeping in there?)

Ohio Sunset (For Wes in Thailand)

Wes - We missed ya!

World's Ugliest Dog

I was reading News of the Weird and came across a story about a contest in a California Fair that judged the World's Ugliest Dog. The article on the poor little dog read as follows:

Sam, the 14-year-old Chinese crested, won in June for the third time as the World's Ugliest Dog at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in California. According to an Associated Press reporter, the hairless dog's "wrinkled brown skin is covered with splotches; a line of warts marches down his snout; his blind eyes are an alien, milky white; and a fleshy flap of skin hangs from his withered neck. And then there's the Austin Powers teeth that jut at odd angles from his mouth." Owner Susie Lockheed said that even the judges recoiled when they first saw him. (Fortunately, for those concerned with dog beauty, Sam has been neutered.) [WLS (Chicago)-AP, 7-1-05]

I decided I needed to see a pic and so I found one. But before you click on the link please be aware that the description doesn't do the dog justice. The thing is scary looking. Like the Tales from the Crypt guy. It made me jump. Here it is: http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/uglydog.asp

Hmmm....That Didn't Work

Tried to send a pic from my phone to my blog and that was unsuccessful. Tips anyone? It was a good pic too.

Around Valentine's Day I saw these gift baskets a grocery store with items like champange, chocolates, and condoms. Nothing says "I love you; now let's do it!" quite like a gift basket containing condoms.

Hopefully I can get the pic posted soon.

Walter (aka D) and I are getting along a bit better now. No big news on the house, just that it still needs a roof and we requested that the seller do it. We are waiting on a response from them.

Still no smoking. Am dieting now, too. Usually this is a poor combination but so far so good.

I watched Dateline last night and cried a lot thinking about all of the people affected by the hurricane. I will continue to think of them and pray for them.

A Picture Share!

Home Buying Tips from the Happy Pessimist

Just a little FYI for all of those who expect something different - buying a house is stressful and subject to change at any time.

D is driving me a little crazy because he is so stressed out over this whole house thing. I don't think he expected any of the twists and turns that we have faced. On the other hand, this is not nearly as bad as I had anticipated. So far the biggest stress factor in this thing for me is my husband's foul mood in response to the stress. He's not exactly Mr. Sunshine lately.

So, this is my piece of advice : to spare the sanity of those who love you when shopping for a house you need to expect the worst; if you think it can't get any worse then it probably will.

Yesterday we had the home inspection and found out that the house we are trying to buy will need a new roof soon. The cost of the house was so reasonable that I knew there had to be something wrong with it. I was expecting way worse than a roof actually. On the other hand, Dustin is now convinced that the world out to get him because just as things were going well, this popped up.

I'm telling you - expect the worst and you will be pleasantly surprised. Sometimes pessimism pays.

PS - Still haven't smoked.

House and Smoking Updates

Smoking - Still no smoking, which is quite the accomplishment considering last night's stress.

House - Source of last night's stress. We are now in contract and so we were scrambling to find all of the paperwork we needed. We might have new house soon, though. If all goes well we will be closing on my birthday. That'll be a nice gift.

Mac's Sweet Nails, Martha Stewart, and a New House

Mac got his sweet nails at www.softpaws.com. You can also buy a similar product at the big pet stores but they don't have the pretty colors. I figure if you are going to humiliate your cat, you might as well do it in color!

D and I put in another offer on a house. We really like this one and it is in our price range more than the first one we put an offer on. We made a very fair offer, so I think that we will probably get the house. I am pumped. I love the kitchen! I will bake and entertain just like Martha Stewart. You know I use to aspire to be just like Martha, but after her incarceration, I am not sure that she is an appropriate role model.

Talking about Martha's incarceration reminds me of a rather humorous piece of her website. Here is a live chat with Martha after she "returned home". http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?Type=learn-cat&id=cat19846. Notice how she never actually acknowledges that she was in jail. I really do like Martha and think she got a bad wrap, but the degree of denial in this live chat is funny.

Also, here is a smoking update. On Friday I was so frustrated that D hadn't noticed that I said to him "Dustin, have you noticed anything different?" He said "No" and asked what had changed. I didn't want to tell him, but he was begging me and I said "If I tell you can I reverse whatever it is that I have changed?" He said "Yes". So I told him "I quit smoking." He was really suprised and kept asking me when. He really had not noticed. Although he defends himself by saying he would have noticed on the weekend. Oh well. I didn't actually start smoking again either, which was quite a feat considering the crazy drinking that was going on at Chrissy's bonfire. I'll post bonfire pics soon.

Mac's Manicure

Mac was clawing everything. So I found these artificial nails for cats and they work great, but aren't they funny looking. Just call him Mr. Fancy Feet!

My Rejected Crayon Name

You are

What Rejected Crayon Are You?

Will He Notice?

So here is a little secret between my blog readers - I think that means Chrissy - and I. I quit smoking 3 days ago and I am waiting to see how long it will take D to notice.

There are two reasons that I am not telling him. The first is to test D. He complained about my smoking so much that I would have thought that he would have noticed right away and it is funny that he hasn't. It must not have bothered him too much. The second reason is that the longer I actually do go without smoking, the funnier this whole thing becomes, thus encouraging me not to complain about how bad I want to smoke and encouraging me to not light up.

I'll keep everyone updated!

Nature Poo and Why I Like D

I went camping this weekend and it was about 97 degrees out there. Dustin and I rode four-wheelers and all of the dust and dirt just stuck to our sweaty skin. I was dirtier than I have been in a very long time. In a way it was all sort of liberating to get all dirty and stinky and not be able to care about it too much considering we couldn't do much about it since there was not showers. It made me feel like a kid on a hot summer day having too much fun playing to go in a take a bath.

There were also no toilets. I'd like to say that peeing in nature is not a big deal, but the nature poop...that's primative. As I told Wesley in an e-mail, I will never again stare down my cat as it poos in the litterbox. I used to do that just to tick it off and it would look at me like I was a real asshole. Turns out the cat was right - I am an asshole. One feels very vulnerable at that moment.

The whole primative camping and four-wheeling thing reminded me of one of my favorite things about my husband. He has a way of getting me to try things that I am affraid of and getting me to step outside of my comfort zone. Each time he has encouraged me to do something that I am affraid of I end up feeling rather confident afterwards, even if I suck at it (sking and water sking included). I am just glad that I tried it and have more confidence afterwards.

I know that the activities that I listed may not seem all that daring, but please consider that I am uncoordinated, unatheletic, and a clutz. Those activites are a real risk for someone like me and I was genuinley affraid to try them all.

First Entry

I was quite jealous of Chrissy's cool blog (Chrissy just got married...YAY Chrissy and Aaron!), so I decided to make my own. I think it will be a good way to stay in touch with my friends across the country and the world. I find myself writing a lot of the same e-mails repeatedly to give people an update, so this could save time too.