Whoa.

It has been snowing for 25 hours straight. KHQ has preempted regular programming for full time storm coverage. I am watching the news on the internet, since our DirecTV dish is full of snow and the tv is not working. I guess this is the worst snow storm in 15 years, and before it is over we will have another 9-15" of snow on top of the 13" we just got. And for the first time, I referred to snow as crap. As in, "I have to shovel all that crap!" Oh well, just another adventure!

I took some pictures this morning of my house and street, here they are:



This is my balcony. I already shovelled it because the snow is very wet and heavy, and I didn't want my balcony to collapse.





These are the stairs leading to my house. We shovelled a path last night but as you can see there is more shovelling to be done. These next three pictures were taken from the same spot in the street. My house, then the street looking south, then north.





All I can say is wow. Think of me tomorrow morning as I make my way to work. Meanwhile I will be comforting myself with memories of happier times.

Thoughts On Winter

Before I moved up to Spokane from CA, I was worried about winter. Being from Monterey, I had never experienced any real weather to speak of, and my fear was of the unknown. So when I had my first winter up here, which was last winter, it was a piece of cake! I'm so glad that last winter was as mild as it was, because it eased me into this year--a real winter! December was the snowiest one since like the sixties. We have had a LOT of snow. And it just accumulates because the temperature never gets above freezing. Currently it is five big degrees outside. And the forecast for this weekend calls for 3 to 6 inches of snow, and the upside to that is that it's going to be "warmer", as they call it -- 26 degrees! I will try to post pictures this weekend, as it is hard to take pictures during the week because it is dark when I get home from work at 5:15 pm.

Now, I am not complaining (too much), I am just stating the facts. I still love it up here and I am still enamored with weather of all kinds. However, I know that another season is coming and I am starting to wish that Mother Nature would just get to it!

Dental Recap, Mental Recap

Last Thursday I spent three and a half hours in the chair with tools in my tooth. That is 210 minutes. I will spare you the gory details, needless to say it sucked. Four days later my mouth is still sore, but it seems to be getting better every day. I don't have much to say because I haven't done much lately. I did make a loaf of beer bread over the weekend, it was good. I went to Egger's Meats and bought bacon. I took down most of the rest of Christmas, now all that's left is the tree and the 4 balls left on it. I have been taking lots of naps, I guess that is how my body copes with pain, I just try to sleep it off. Anyway, even if I did feel more energetic, it's not like I'm going to go outside, it's 5 degrees out there! But I do hope this tooth crap goes away soon, it would be nice to be able to chew again. Meanwhile, I think I'll take a little nap.

Pain Sucks

OK. About 10 days ago my tooth started hurting when I ate. By last thursday it was hurting all the time. Yesterday i had a root canal. Now it hurts even more than it did. I have been taking Vicodin in the evenings for almost a week. Thursday I get a crown. On my tooth, even though I should get one on my head for dealing with this crap for a week and a half. I am pretty loopy right now and it is late and I am tired. I hope this is over soon. However, american Idol is funnier after a couple of vicodin.

Tonight I Am A Traitor

One of the things I like about Spokane is that we have college sports teams and even though I don't really follow sports I still support our local Zags, Cougs, etc.

Well, not tonight.

Tonight, the Gonzaga Bulldogs are in Los Angeles playing the Loyola-Marymount Lions, a game which Gonzaga is most likely going to win. And I am watching the game as I type this, but tonight I am cheering for the Lions. One Lion in particular. His name is Orlando Johnson and we are related. Sort of. He is the cousin of my niece's husband. I just saw him at Christmas, he is a good kid, very polite and humble. He is a very talented basketball player, and I wish him a long and prosperous career.

So, citizens of Spokane, please do not hang me in the town square because I am not rooting for the home team tonight. Thank You.



GO ORLANDO!!

Three Posts In One

1) ICICLES ARE BITCHIN!
When we got back from California it had been snowing and there were icicles on almost every house. Even on my house! Some houses had long rows of perfectly uniform icicles but not my house, we had a giant mutant icicle:




They are so cool!!

2) THE BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT THAT I GOT

When I was at my sister's in CA we were talking about I don't remember what when all of a sudden she says "Hey, I have Mom's mother's ring, do you want it?" I said "YEAH I WANT IT!" My mom wore that ring every day, it is the only ring I remember her wearing when I was growing up. I had forgotten all about it, I mean, my mom's been gone 11 years now. So I got it, the band was broken at the bottom and there were some prongs missing around the stones, but I was so happy to have it that I wore it the rest of the trip and the day after I got back I took it to Pounder's Jewelry to have it repaired. I got it back yesterday and it is so beautiful!



It was really hard to get a good picture of it but if you click to make the pics bigger the ring looks better. It is a simple ring with three stones, ruby for my sister's birthday in July, peridot for my brother's August birthday and sapphire for me in September.




I am so happy to have this memento of my mom, I will wear it every day just like she did.

3) 1/3 OF A TREE IS BETTER THAN NO TREE AT ALL

This morning when I woke up we had gotten a lot of snow overnight. It was sticking to the tree branches and all piled up on even the smallest twigs. Now that 2/3 of my tree is gone, I can see more of the trees on the next block, and they are really pretty right now.





Blossom thinks so too.

I keep meaning to write about Evel Knievel, but stuff keeps coming up.

So I'm watching tv tonight, stuff that I recorded earlier. It's no secret that I record and watch Soul Train, so I was watching one from the Disco Era and the singer was Cheryl Lynn singing "Got To Be Real". Don Cornelius was talking to her and I was reminded that she got her start as a contestant on The Gong Show, which immediately sent me to YouTube to look for Gong Show clips.
Let me tell you about my teenage devotion to The Gong Show. I loved that show so much that I would cut my junior US History class and go to Doug's house with him and Tami, smoke a joint and watch The Gong Show. EVERY DAY. Needless to say I failed History and had to take it again as a senior with all the juniors. But it was worth it! Oh how I loved that Gene Gene the Dancing Machine and the Unknown Comic, and especially the host Chuck Barris because he was crazy and funny and he pushed the envelope and the censors until they cancelled the show. My kind of guy!
So anyway, I went to YouTube and found bunches of clips. I watched a lot of them, but this one is my favorite, it just sums up the show for me.
Thank You Gong Show, you not only totally enhanced my teenage stoner life, but this evening as well!

Happy New Year!

I always have this great big list of New Year's resolutions that is totally overwhelming to me so this year I have decided to just be smarter and make better choices. In all areas of my life. See, not overhwelming at all!

Here's to becoming wiser in 2008!

A Little Bit About Nichole's

Nichole is my niece. She is my late brother's daughter. She was born when I was 7 years old. We are closer in age than me and my sister who is 12 years older than me. Nichole spent every weekend with us while her mom worked and so she is more like a kid sister to me than my niece. She has a husband Eduardo and 2 daughters Eraya age 6 and Kristina age 21. When my brother died last February, Nichole inherited his house and has really fixed it up nicely. All except for one thing--there is no heat in the house except for the woodburning stove which doesn't heat much. I stayed there for 5 nights. Heat is not something you really think about unless you don't have any. Winter nights are in the 30's and 40's in Monterey, but really it is colder because of the dampness of being next to the ocean. Staying there was a lot like camping, I was never able to get warm. Fortunately, sleeping space is at a premium, so there was always someone sharing the bed with me.
Monday night: Eraya and Freida who is a fat rottweiler and used to belong to my brother.
Tuesday night: Max and Cracker who I wrote about here and is now a really sweet cat. Max would not sleep under the blankets because when you are 19, sharing a bed with your mom is creepy. He froze.
Wednesday night: Eraya, Kristina and Cracker.
Thursday night: Freida, who slept right next to me and kept me warm all night.
Friday night: Cracker, who slept right next to me and kept only my calf warm all night.
All is all it was a very good visit and I'm grateful to Nichole and her family for letting me stay there, and particularly thankful to Kristina for giving up her room and bed to me.

PS I crossed everyone (except for the maybes) and everywhere off my list! I even got to go to Gianni's Pizza and I got to watch Dan Green on the news. I like the Q6 news team, but I miss Dan Green, he is hilarious!



I miss you Dan Green!

Message From The Homefront

Today is Wednesday the day after Christmas. I am at my niece's house in California. It has been five really long and really fun days. Highlights, in no particular order:

1) Watching Fay's Twelve Days Of Christmas at my nephew Jason's house. This is by far the funniest Christmas video I have ever seen. I tried to find a clip of it on the internet but I could not. Just buy it, you will not be sorry.

2) Going to Candy Cane Lane tonight. They still have my two favorite displays from when I was a kid. The robot, and Santa riding a stingray bicycle pulling a sleigh full of singing reindeer. I will post pictures when I get back to my computer.

3) Going to Christmas Eve service at my old church. I saw a lot of people at once and they all seemed happy to see me, it felt really good.

4) Sitting in Mary Russo's kitchen this morning getting the lowdown about all my old neighbors and my old bunco group.

5) Making peanut butter balls at my sister's house, which are my favorite things that she makes at Christmas. I got to stir the chocolate and also I was quality control. Nice work if you can get it.

6) Going to Trader Joe's. Hopefully the four jars of peach salsa I'm bringing back in my suitcase won't break on the way home.

7) The huge hug that my niece Eraya gave me today that lasted about 5 minutes. THAT is the stuff I will really miss when I go back home to Spokane. I have gotten more hugs this week that I have in the past year. That needs to change.

And I still have 3 days left! Hope all of your holidays were happy ones.

A List of Lists

1) In 36 hours we leave for California. I have so much to do to get ready, but instead I choose to procrastinate by blogging. And by watching Clash of the Choirs--Patti LaBelle rocks! At least I can fold laundry and pack while I watch. Last night I did most of the laundry, here is what I have to do tonight and tomorrow night:
Clean the kitchen.
Finish the laundry and fold it all.
Clean my bathroom because Steve said he was going to change my leaky bathroom faucet while we were gone, but he probably won't so then at least I will come home to a clean bathroom.
Pack--that is always fun! Can I tell you how many times I forget to pack a nightgown?
Finish the Christmas cards, I only have a few left, that's a good tv time activity.

2)Then once we get to Monterey, I will have 3 days to visit these people:
Doug
Mikey
Dick and Cesca
Patrick Jessie and Richard
Denise
Joe and Mary
Lisa M.
Ray also Ray's mom Rina
The Edigers
My old neighbors on Via Verde
possibly Erik
perhaps Laura
and I would love to find David Long and give him a big hug.
All those people in 3 days? Piece of cake!

3) Also, I will have to go to my favorite eating places:
Chongs
Turtle Bay Taqueria at least twice
Black Bear Diner
Mal's Market for a big sandwich with turkey and bacon and avocado and garlic spread. Oh garlic spread, how I have missed you!

4) I am finally starting to get excited about Christmas. Hope you all have a great one!

Supper Club, the G-Rated Version

So last night was Supper Club. It was at my house, the theme was breakfast for dinner, and the plan was that we were all going to decorate gingerbread houses. Well, I was the only one that bought one, so we only had one to decorate. Fortunately, one was all we needed!

There were a lot of ideas, and I think all of them got used. There's a firepit, a couch, a cemetary, bunnies, raccoons, and a tree made out of Life Savers that to me looks more like a fountain. Also, there is a snowman wearing a jaunty hat. He used to be anatomically correct, but I removed his parts because...well, because. The X-rated pictures are here. Here is the cleaned up version. Even without the snowman's parts and Apu on the roof it is an awesome gingerbread house!

What Kind Of Fool I Am

So Max and I are in Costco recently and we get to the checkout and I notice this display:



Stamps with knitting on them!!

So I get all excited and say "Look Max, knitting stamps! Fair Isle! Fair Isle!"
(Which is the type of knitting with more than one color at once.)

And Max's reply is the classic I-am-so-embarrassed-to-have-this-woman-as-my-mother-right-now response: "That's great, Mom. Time to go now."

By now I am well aware that I am embarrassing my son, so I just keep going--"I am so going to get some of those stamps for my christmas cards, and I think I will just use them all the time after christmas too!"

Max then changed his tactic and said "Uh--okaaayyy."

Which basically told the world that My Mom Should Be Riding Faythe's Crazy Train!

And shut me up.

How did he get to be more clever than me??

I Need A Tissue From Crying With Laughter

It is Saturday morning 8:30 and I am stuck in my office because there are teenage boys sleeping in my living room and even though I need to get out there and start my day I decided to be nice and let them sleep because who knows how late they went to bed and you all know how teenagers need their sleep so they are not grumpy when they wake up.
That being said...
I have been on Yahoo's cool pick site and I found this comic called Basic Instructions. This one in particular had me laughing so hard that I think I woke the boys up. Oh, it only woke Leo up.
Well, I think I will go out there and make breakfast, that will get them going. Or I could just keep reading comics and let my laughter do the job. I'm going with option B. Have a fun day!

Ten Years Gone

When September 11, 2011 comes, it will be the 10 year anniversary of the worst thing that has happened in our country in my lifetime. There will be moments of silence and quiet reflection, and assessments of where we are now and how far we've come. Today, I am reflecting and assessing, because it is the tenth anniversary of my own personal 9/11. Ten years ago today, my husband walked out on us.

I was a stay at home mom with two children, and I was blindsided. In an instant, my life turned upside down. And although life did eventually get better and take me down great paths that I never imagined I'd be on, it never was the same. Part of me still wishes it was the same, not that I wish to have my marriage back, but I wish that things weren't such a struggle from being alone. I wish I had someone to share my day to day life with.

When I look back at the last ten years, I see how far I have come emotionally and spiritually and for that I am extremely grateful. I am happy most of the time, which is a great thing. My kids are not criminals or drug addicts, and we have a close relationship. Life is good.

But today I will pause and reflect, probably cry a little bit, take another deep breath, and continue to move forward with my life.

Have a great day.

Easy Come, Easy Go

It snowed like crazy all weekend, and then the rain came and overnight our winter wonderland was gone just like that. At one point I was driving through snowflakes that were so big they looked like pieces of kleenex. That was yesterday, today it's just wet. I guess it's good because the roads are no longer icy, but it's no longer pretty either. Saturday was awesome, I decorated the christmas tree while enjoying the snow falling outside the window, I felt like I was in a christmas card. I put on some James Brown and all was right with the world.

Then on Saturday night was my company's holiday party. It was at the Spokane Convention Center. It was so much fun! Sadly, I did not win any of the prizes they were giving away, but there is always next year (I said that last year too). After the party a bunch of people went out to C.I. Shenanigans for drinks so I had a couple and then got a ride home because it was snowing hard and I didn't feel like I could drive. Thank you Christie and Shawn for getting me home safely.

Yesterday morning I retrieved my car from downtown, went to church, picked Leo up at his friends house, and went home, where I stayed all day because it was snowing so hard, it was a lovely weekend!

Now it'a all just a memory, especially the snow!

Crap.

Snow!

I came from a place where it never snowed. How I lived without it for all those years I do not know. We are currently experiencing our first snow of the season. It is almost 11pm and I just got back from taking a walk in our neighborhood with the boys. It is magical out there. Max took some long exposure pictures from our porch:




Everything is glowing and so beautiful.

Here We Go

Here is the Christmas decorating progress so far:



I just had to go back to this post so I could see where I put what last year. It is still November so I am getting an early start on the decorating this year.

By the way, Thanksgiving (it seems a lot longer than 3 days ago) was a big success! We are still working our way through the leftovers, it was mostly all really good. And by mostly I mean that the stuffing sucked!

Anyway, my big plans to have the house all decorated this weekend are falling through fast. But that's okay, because except for the boys, my christmas shopping is done! Since we are going down to California for Christmas this year, I ordered all my family's gifts online and had them shipped to my sister's house. Just another reason to love the internet! So far the best most appropriate gift I bought is for my nephew and his wife.

IF YOUR NAME IS JEREMY SEEBA OR JENNY SEEBA, DO NOT CLICK THE LINK!! I mean it!! You will only be spoiling your christmas. I know, because I found my christmas gifts in my sister's closet when I was 12 and I peeked and it was clothes and they were ugly and my christmas was ruined! SO DON'T CLICK IT JEREMY AND JENNY!!

Everyone else click here.

Awesome, huh? You just can't find that stuff outside of the internet!

OK I have spent enough time on here, time to decorate!

Gearing Up

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

So last night I started cooking. I made the stuffing and also the spinach dip. I was totally stressed out because I have little idea about cooking and no creativity. Plus, I am trying to replicate my sister's thanksgiving dishes, so the pressure is on. So naturally, when I'm having a cracker crisis in the middle of Rosauers, my sister is nowhere to be reached! In fact, she was unreachable the whole night! The nerve!!! I mean, how am I supposed to know if she puts water chestnuts (which according to the recipe, are optional) in her spinach dip if she won't pick up the phone!! So I just took deep breaths and soldiered on. The main reason I got through cooking at all last night is because I played Wild Planet by The B-52's, it calmed me right down and got me singing, and by the time the CD was over, everything was made!

Look, real ingredients in my trash can, not just fast food wrappers--



Oh yeah, that little Snickers bar helped me get through it too.

So this morning I am not too stressed out because we are Rotissering the turkey. Steve is taking care of it, so all I have to do is Set It And Forget It!! I'm putting the sweet potatoes in the oven at noon and everything else after that. I just have to clean up a bit and them I am set. I may need some more good music to get me through the gravy making portion of the program. I'm thinking DEVO.

Hope everything goes well in your kitchens today and that you are with people you love! Happy Happy!

Grace

Grace is our cat who had the leg that stopped working and for a minute we thought it was going to be amputated but now she seems to be doing better. At first she just dragged the leg behind her, but now she is walking on it pretty well.

At the time we took her to the vet, he told us that we should stop feeding her canned cat food because she is too fat for a cat. She was skinny when we brought her home from the shelter but she eats every meal like it's the only one she's ever going to get. She eats her food and the other two cats' leftovers, not stopping until it's all gone. Well, at least that is how it was with the canned food. Now that we have switched to dry food only for all the cats, she doesn't seem to be eating as much as she used to. This has led to a change in her behavior.

Grace has become a beggar.

Whenever we are making something in the kitchen, Grace is now there too, staring at the food and meowing. Sometimes she is subtle: She will meow to get my attention and then once I'm looking at her she just stares at the food and then back at me. Other times she is more blatant:



It's kind of funny but sad at the same time. Max tried to give her a noodle but she didn't like it. She just misses her canned food! Max wants to get Grace a can of cat food for Christmas but I think that would be torturous to her. Meanwhile, we are all getting tired of the begging. Suggestions, anyone?

The Importance Of Writing Things Down

Today is Thursday and I should be at work except for I was throwing up in the middle of the night so I thought it best to stay home. I don't feel too bad right now, but not great either. I feel well enough to blog but not well enough to get dressed. So here I am.

Today I would like to talk about writing stuff down. I am glad I have this blog because every so often I read it and then I remember what I did and when I did it. I have discovered to my dismay that my memory is shot. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I smoked huge amounts of weed every day for 10 years while my brain was forming as a teen. But it is what it is.

One thing that sucks is that I don't recall a whole lot of my kids' childhoods. I look at pictures and I can remember them little but as far as remembering day to day events from the past, I'm not so good at that. Certain incidents are embedded in my memory for sure, like the time I caught Max at age 3 chewing a giant wad of gum at the store. When I asked him where he got it, he pointed to the floor. I freaked out, and that's probably why it made an impression on my memory. But the things they said that I swore I would remember because they were so hilarious, I have forgitten most of them. Except the ones I wrote down. Here is the best one, from Leo, age 3, while sitting on my lap and patting my boob.

"Mom, I don't play with boobs anymore."
(pause)
"But I touch them a lot!"
(pause)
"I pet them like they're dogs."

I think that is pretty darn insightful for a three year old. And if I hadn't written it down at the time, I may not have that memory to cherish today.

So people, if you want to remember stuff, write it down!

Thank you.

I Think That's Everything

1) I have been feeling like winter is dragging it's heels, but this morning it was 24 degrees outside, so I guess it will be here soon enough.

2) My kids have a ridiculously long list of dishes they want me to make for Thanksgiving. I cannot believe the extent of their delusions, they act as if I can cook or something. Actually, I CAN do most of the stuff on the list, except for the stuff I have never made. Like turkey. And yams. And gravy. Other than that, everything will be just fine!

3) One of the things I like about my job is that I get to use highlighters and post-it notes a lot. Little splashes of color that brighten my day.

4) Leo's slippers are almost done! In fact, I could probably finish them tonight, if I wanted to. But you know I won't!

5) Three dinners were cooked in my kitchen tonight. First I made a pot of spaghetti for Max. Then I made taters for me and Leo, which is basically fried potatoes with bacon, eggs and cheese. How can something that tastes so good be so bad for you? Then Max made another batch of spaghetti because he didn't like the one I made. So now I am stuck eating a ton of pasta for a week. Oh well, there's worse things I guess.

6) Still attempting to listen to Led Zeppelin on XM. It kind of sucks because they seem to play the same 20 songs over and over. I still haven't heard "That's The Way" or "Since I've Been Loving You" or "Achilles Last Stand". I have, however, heard "Kashmir" 27 times.

7) OK, now you're all caught up.

The Best News I've Heard All Week

This week has been crazy busy, both in and out of work. I have been feeling completely overwhelmed by work and social commitments, and I don't see it letting up until maybe Christmas. So tonight at about 9pm I am finally coming home after being gone since 7:30 this morning. Any time I can get alone in the car is good time, because I have XM and I can listen to it loud without kids complaining about how they are not deaf yet and could I turn it down. I swear they are channeling my mom. So I'm in the car and I look at the XM display and it says this:

Channel 59
Led Zeppelin 24/7

I screamed and almost ran off the freeway! I started hyperventilating and tried not to wreck the car while I fumbled in the dark for channel 59, hoping that it was true, and it is true! XM has a dedicated Zep channel for the next six months!! I don't care if I have all their CD's, this is awesome!

If you had told me when I was a teenager that in the future there would be a Led Zeppelin channel, or that Devo and the English Beat would play in restaurants, I would have laughed in your face. Well, the future is here and I'm happy to be in it. Led Zeppelin on XM is like an oasis in my crazy desert. Life is good.

It really takes so little to make me happy!

What-EVER! I Knit What I Want!

South Park fans may recognize the title of this post, changed ever so slightly.

So anyway-

I have a knitting blog but I don't post on it anymore especially since I got in to Ravelry. So I will make my confession here.

I have been cheating.

A while ago, well, quite a while ago, I told the boys that I would knit them each a pair of slippers. I started with Leo. I asked him what color he wanted his slipper to be and he said red. ARRRRGGGGH!! I hate red! But they are his slippers, so red it was. I got one slipper knitted but not seamed together.



I started the other one but I am not very far along. So a lot of time has passed and now it is almost winter and Leo wants his slippers. I tell him that I am working on them, which I am, just hardly ever, that is the part I leave out. Meanwhile, I have been working on (and finishing) other projects that I like better.

A scarf for myself:



And these awesome wrist warmers, also for myself:



By now Leo is pretty irritated with me, so when I knit in his presence, I work on his slipper, but during my lunch hour at work:



I am knitting this cute hat for, you guessed it, me!

I am cheating on Leo's slipper with a hat!

I feel so much better for having confessed. Leo is sleeping over at a friend's house tonight -- I hear my hat calling...

Weekend Wrap-Up

1) Yesterday Faythe and I made the rounds, to Costco, where I am pleased to say I ordered new not-for-work glasses, then to The Pop Shoppe (yay, pop!), Cassano's Italian Market (yay, meatballs!), and finally to Holy Threads (YAY, YARN!!). Faythe's boyfriend Ryan hates me because he says I am a bad infuence in the yarn buying department. He said I took Faythe to Holy Threads but I maintain that I took myself there, and that Faythe just happened to be in the car.

2) Faythe invited me to her house for her famous fried chicken, so I made the Cassano's meatballs for the boys and went over there for dinner. Ryan was possessive of the chicken because there were only 24 drumsticks (ONLY 24 for four people, please!) but he didn't have to worry because I only ate 3 of them. He is just lucky I didn't bring the boys! After dinner we watched the Big Joe Polka Show, which is always a good time. Thanks Faythe for having me over.

3) Yesterday I found out that Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have released a new CD called Raising Sand. I had a gift card for Hastings that the boys had given to me for my birthday, so I got it today. It's great! Robert Plant sings soft and sweet, quite a departure from his Led Zeppelin days, I like it.

4) Yesterday afternoon Leo was laying on the couch and our cat Grace was laying on him. She jumped off because she heard me in the kitchen, so I told Leo that Grace was fickle. Leo got a funny look on his face and said "Doesn't that mean poop?" I said no and he said "yes it does, fecal means poop!" That got a big laugh out of me. I can see how he mixed up those two words, they sound alike but boy are they different!

5) This afternoon we are watching The Karate Kid with Daniel-san and Mr. Miyagi. Wax on, wax off!

Target Is Too Far Away

Last night I went to the Super Target up at the Y. This is about a 20 minute drive from my house. The other Target in the valley might be a little closer time-wise, but it is not a Super Target, just a plain old Target. And if I have to drive 20 minutes, my Target had better be a Super one.

I don't get up to Target nearly as often as I'd like to. Back in California the Target was about 5 minutes away from my house, so the phrase I'm Just Gonna Run To Target For A Minute was said a lot. Up here, there are no more quick runs to Target. Now we figure out if we can justify the trip by going to another store or eating place while we are up there. Last night it was Red Robin.

Anyway, after we ate the boys went to Borders and I was on my own at Target. With no one around to bug me, I took my time and browsed the food aisles, which I haven't done in a very long time. I was very impressed by the foods under their Archer Farms label. It's gourmet type convenience food at a low price. I wanted to try a lot of it, but just ended up getting Peach Mango Salsa, White Corn Tortilla Chips, and Tierra del Sol Coffee Pods. And some milk, which was 4.28 a gallon!

Here is my point. I wish Target were closer so that I could go more often. That's it. Target, hear my plea!

I have a whole other Target subject about how they spoon feed us pop culture and tell us what we like, but that will have to wait because I have to go to work now. See Ya!

All I Want To Do Is See Clearly, Is That So Wrong?

To properly start this story we need to go back in time. Back...back...to March 2006! I know that's not very long ago, I probably used one too many backs in that last sentence, but it's my blog and I can be corny if I want to.

ANYWAY.

Back in March 2006 I got bifocals. They were awful! I couldn't focus on anything properly, so I never wore them, I just wore my old glasses. Which I am still wearing. Now I have a job which requires that I do a lot of close paperwork, and I have found that these bifocals which I hate come in really handy to see the stuff in my desk clearly. Problem is, when I look up, nothing is in focus, I have to tilt my head down and look upwards to see anything at a distance clearly. My misery and frustration led me to Costco. I decided that since my vision has changed to Mr. Magoo level, I needed new regular non-work glasses and also new bifocals for work. In the interest of saving money, I would use my bifocal frames, which are still new basically, for my single lens glasses and then just get a cheap pair of frames for my work goggles.

So I'm at Costco for over an hour looking at frames and trying to figure my stuff out, and in talking to the optician Jo we figured out the problem. She adjusted my bifocals so they sit lower on my face and now they work great! Thank you Jo! Now I am just going to get new non work glasses, but I can't decide what kind of frames to get. Peoples glasses say a lot about them, not just "I can't see my hand in front of my face". I have always been a wire rimmed gal but now I am leaning toward a more colorful plastic frame. Every time I tried one on Max said I looked like a crazy old lady who thinks she's young. Well, that sounds right to me! So plastic frames it is! Faythe, do you still want to go to Costco for glasses?

Some Things

1) I went to Bible Study on Friday night. I had a group in Monterey but not here. I only just finally found a church a couple of months ago. This seems to be the group for me. They all seem very nice and I could see these people as being my friends. Hooray!

2) Yesterday my friend Heather from work let me tag along to a friend of hers house for their monthly craft morning. It was great to meet new crafters and sit in a nice home that was not mine and drink coffee and knit. I met alot of new people this weekend. That is a good thing!

3) Max and I went to see this movie called The King of Kong. It was a documentary, and it was great! I highly recommend it, especially if you are a video gamer.

4) Yesterday I took a tumble down some stairs. Actually, I slid on my butt and back pretty hard down brick stairs. My butt and back are bruised and I twisted my ankle a bit. I was moving really slowly this morning and ended up not going to church, which was unfortunate because I finally knew some people that I could sit by. Oh well, there is always next week. I am getting around a bit better now, hopefully I will be in good shape for work in the morning.

5) Speaking of work, it's late, going to bed.

Joe

My friend Joe called me last night. I can honestly say he is my oldest friend. Here is our first picture together:



I am 4 months old and he is 3 months old. Our sisters are holding us. Joe and his family lived 2 doors down from us. In fact, when I moved up to Spokane, Joe's mom was still 2 doors down. Growing up, I spent as much time over there as I did at my own house. Joe had cool boy toys that my mom wouldn't get for me, like Hot Wheels, Creepy Crawlers, and a train set. I remember when we left the train set plugged in and almost started a fire in their living room, we got in big trouble for that.

The neighbor that lived in the house between our two was this older lady named Angela. She put up with us for our whole growing up. I don't know how she did it. She was kind of snooty and liked her house and yard to be perfect. She probably did not like the fact that we had worn a path into her lawn from cutting across her yard all those years. I mean, why go down my driveway, along the sidewalk and up Joe's driveway when I could just walk through Angela's yard? She was always complaining to our parents about us, but the worst time was when we pushed over the top tier of her retaining wall so we could use the mortar in between the bricks for chalk rock, which we used to write our names all over said wall. Our parents were pretty mad because they had to pay to have her wall rebuilt. I say that if a couple of six year olds could push over a wall, then it wasn't a very good wall to begin with!


We were cute but we were stinkers!


Around the time this picture was taken, it was my moms birthday so to celebrate Joe and I got into the liquor cabinet and drank a bunch of Bacardi 151. We were about as drunk as two 15 year olds could be and we decided that since we knew each other our whole lives, that we should be married. (Man, I am laughing so hard right now.) But my best friend Tami would not marry us that day, so that was that. There are so many other memories I have of Joe during those years: riding his mini bike back and forth between our houses for hours, cruising (at unsafe speeds) in his awesome 67 Camaro that he fixed up, the list goes on and on.

Now we are grownups! Last night on the phone we agreed that while we may look old on the outside and have aches and pains now and then, on the inside we are still young and immature. We talked about our last trips to Disneyland and reminisced about how when we were in our early 20's we would just get in the car on a Friday after work with Steve and Dana and just drive down to LA for the weekend. We were young and spontaneous back then, now it takes an act of Congress and a second mortgage to take our families on vacation.

Anyway, Joe is happily married for many years to Mary, they have 2 kids and he makes his living as a fisherman. We talk every few months and it is always great to hear his voice.

This is my favorite picture, it sits framed in my bedroom:


Left to Right: Joe, Karla, Mike and Steve

This photo was taken about 3 or 4 years ago, in Steve's mom's driveway. I have known Joe forever, Mike since kindergarten and Steve since 2nd grade. They are still my closest friends. I am so blessed!

That Max!

So we are coming back from our lovely fall outing today and we get to our house and there is a sweet little squirrel sitting so cutely on our wall. I say oh how cute and Max says awww then he rolls down his window. I think he is going to talk sweetly to the darling squirrel, here is what he said:

"Get the hell off our property, you bastard squirrel!"

I just never know what is going to come out of that boy's mouth. It's my fault. When he was little I would laugh at the stuff he did and that just encouraged him. Now pretty much everything that he says and does is for a laugh. Unfortunately, I am still encouraging him. I can't help it, he's funny!



See?

Fall, Year 2

Last year was our first fall here. I was totally awestruck by the colors of the trees and just amazed at fall in general. I thought that this year I might be just a little bit used to it, but no. It is fantastic. Today was a beautiful day with temps in the mid 60's, so I thought I'd take my camera out while I ran an errand.



This is the view from my driveway looking across the street to the left. If I look to the right I see this tree:



This is also the tree I see out my office window when I am on the computer, it makes me so happy!
These next pictures were taken between my house and my destination. I just zig-zagged around till I found cool trees. I didn't have to look very hard, they were everywhere! There was no way I could take pictures of them all, but here are a few.








These beautiful trees really are everywhere you look:



Even in front of ShopKo!



I hope I never get used to the beauty of the changing seasons here. When I lived in Monterey I rarely went to the beach. I have realized that the ocean just doesn't do it for me. It's all about the trees. If you live around here, get out this weekend and enjoy this awesome season.

Halloween Is Coming!

I have yet to get the decorations out. I am, however, making a bold move in order to increase the number of trick-or-treaters we get here. (Last year we had eight.)

Yesterday I bought a bunch of full-size candy bars. My aim is to be the Lady Who Gives Out Full Size Candy Bars. I still remember the one we had in our neighborhood growing up. I'm hoping times haven't changed too much and that a full size candy bar is still impressive enough to establish a reputation and get the kids coming to the door. Because I can't afford to be known as the Lady Who Gives Out iPods, although that would bring them in for sure!

So this month you can call me Karla Mellinger, LWGOFSCB.

My Shame

Well, today was Greenbluff Day. Going to the apple festival at Greenbluff is a fun time. Faythe, Jennifer, Brad and I piled in my car this morning and went up there for our 2nd annual outing. Last year it was all new and we were just taking it all in. This year we knew what to expect and so we came prepared to mock.

This is my shame. I am a mocker. I see the humor in things and I can't help but share my observations with my friends. So naturally I have gravitated towards like minded individuals and now we go places which have excellent mocking potential. Like the circus. And Greenbluff.

Don't get me wrong. I do not go there for the sole purpose of mocking. It's beautiful country and I love the community spirit of these small town festivals. It's just that sometimes things are funny. And I try very hard not to make fun of people directly because I do not like to hurt anyones feelings. Sadly, that was not the case today.

I saw a crocheted hat that was clearly far too big for anyones head. I pointed that out to Faythe who is a fellow crocheter and knitter. Then I put the giant ass hat on my head and posed for a picture. Unfortunately, I did not realize the the hat's creator was standing right behind me as I was doing this. I did not find out until after the fact. And now I feel bad. Not for what I said or did, but that I got caught and pissed someone off. That was not my intent.

Will this stop me from mocking stuff? Heck no! However, I will try to be more careful from now on. After all, the Christmas Craft Fair is right around the corner!

PS--If you want Faythe's take on the day in all it's lurid glory, you can go
here.

Another New Word!

Said to us last night at Walmart by our cashier.

Cashier(to Leo): How did you break your arm?

Max (joking): I didn't do it!

Cashier: Good thing, because that would be some sweet revengeance!

REVENGEANCE?!?

Last time I checked the Bible, the verse was not "Revengeance is mine, saith the Lord".

And think of how idiotic Samuel L. Jackson would have sounded in "Pulp Fiction"--You will know I am the Lord when I lay my revengeance upon you!

OY!

TV Confessional

Well, it's the new season and here is what I'm watching, old and new.
First the new:
1) The Bionic Woman. I can't believe I said it. It started out of curiosity, seeing as how I liked the old one. And after two episodes it has now become a sort of guilty pleasure. My kids still think that I'm just knitting with the TV on and it just happens to be on that show. One big reason I am watching is because I love Miguel Ferrer. My biggest complaint is that his character should be named Oscar Goldman. I mean, she's Jamie Sommers, right?
2) Right after Miguel, I mean The Bionic Woman, is a new show called Life. It's a cop show but weirder. So far so good.
Are those the only new shows I'm watching? I think so. Last year was the big year for new shows, and I am still watching a lot of them: Heroes, Ugly Betty, Brothers and Sisters. And I have to admit that I still enjoy Desperate Housewives, My Name Is Earl (last nights show was hilarious!) and of course The Office.
So that's everything that I watch. (Oh yeah, and Soul Train too, man I love those old Soul Trains!) It seems like a lot, but spread out over the course of a week it's really not much at all. So glad to have the DVR, that way I can watch when I want.

I started this post this morning before work when I was awake and everything, now I am trying to finish it but I am so tired, so I will let this post fizzle out in much the same way I am right now.

Hi Again

Tomorrow is October, and since this week promises to be crazy with things like hair coloring, furnace cleaning and broken arm pin pulling, I thought I'd post today since all today holds in store is buying toilet paper, taking down my dead fuschias for winter, and going through my mail.

The fun never stops.

Yesterday I was supposed to do a bunch of these things but I ended up talking on the phone most of the day. My best friend Tami called from Maine, that was an hour. Then I called my good friend Dennise who lives in the other Washington three time zones away, that was an hour and a half. My dear old friend Flo from Portland called, there went another hour. Plus all the knitting I did instead of housework, and there went the day. Amidst all that pseudo-activity I did manage to watch Soul Train and take a nap, so I did get a lot accomplished after all.

The temperature this week started in the 70's and now it's in the 40-50's. Fall is taking hold. These next weeks will be beautiful here, I can't wait.

Aren't you glad you are still reading this blog? Ironically, all the really fun stuff in my life happened while I wasn't blogging. One week it was my birthday party AND a trip to the circus. My good friend Faythe blogged about these events, so you may have read about them. Here is what I will add:

1) About the circus: while there were some cool things like the tightrope and the trapeze, most of it was really cheesy. Where were the lions? And for that matter, where were the other two rings? A one ring circus? Please.
2) About my birthday: my birthday happens to fall on International Talk Like A Pirate Day. I am still deciding whether I think this is okay or not. Yes, it brings more attention to my birthday, but then everyone says "Happy Birrrrthday Karrrrla!", which gets kind of annoying after a while. Plus I don't like Rum.
3) On the Friday after my birthday, a bunch of us went out for dinner, drinking, bowling (which also included Bingo)(and more drinking)(the more beer I have, the better I bowl)(drinking does not help you win Bingo), and ending up at the karaoke bar eating giant cheese sticks at midnight. All I could think the whole night was "I'm in a really funny episode of Roseanne!", which was awesome. Thanks to Jennifer, Faythe and Kate for making my birthday week a fun one.

Well, that about wraps it up. Time to clean the lint out of my dryer now. Bye!

A Postcard From My Blogging Vacation

Too bad I'm not blogging this week. Good thing Faythe is.

I don't plan on doing any more writing until October, so if you want you can go back into the archives on here, you might find some stuff you didn't know and didn't really care to know, or it might all be old news to you, whatever!

See you in October!

No Motivation for Blogging

I'm not really sure who or how many of you actually take precious time out of your busy lives to read this blog of no consequence. I started this blog as a way for my family and friends to keep up on me and the boys stuff since we were moving away from everyone we knew. Lately our lives have been pretty boring, therefore I have had nothing to say about anything. And I can't imagine anyone wanting to hear about Bunco on Thursday night, even though I kicked butt in a serious way to the point that they will probably never let me play with them again. I could get all introspective and deep with my posts, but really, why? It's exhausting.

So I think I will take an official blog break for a little while, through the end of September, anyway. Of course, by stating this I will discover a million things that I have to say before October, so I may or may not pop in. I hope to catch up with you all soon. Take Care and Have Fun Out There.

Oh, It's ON!

Last night Faythe and I went to the fair. We had lots of fun, as you can see here. Faythe's camera is much better than mine, plus my battery died early in the evening, plus she has the awesome chicken pictures! Boy we had fun in those animal barns, but that is not what I am here to say. This is my point: When we were looking at the crafts, specifically the knitting and crochet, we noticed that two women in particular had made a lot of the stuff and won a lot of ribbons. For anonymity purposes (plus I forgot their names) I will call them Martha and Betty. As Faythe and I were looking at Martha and Betty's stuff, we realized that we could knit stuff that was just as good if not better. So we decided that at next year's fair we are going to give Martha and Betty a run for their ribbons. Nothing less than a sweep will do. It's ON, Martha and Betty, see you next year!

PS--This painting right here was worth the price of admission:



That is one crazy dog! And this Santa, Max called it ZZ Top Carrying Asparagus:


EVERYONE SHOULD GO TO THE FAIR!!

They Said It Would Never Happen

But it is.

It's supposed to be for one show only. But why would they go to all the trouble of rehearsing all that music to only play one time? I smell a tour. And I will be there, you can count on that.

The hope that I may see my beloved Zep once more takes a little of the sting away from that fact that DEVO is playing at the Puyallup Fair and I can't get out of work to go see them.

Well, you can't have everything I guess. But I sure want to try!

Not So Happy Labor Day Weekend

So I get a phone call Saturday evening, it's from Leo, he's down the street at the park and he is screaming "I broke my wrist, I broke my wrist!" into the phone. So Max and I rush down there to pick him up and I notice that his arm is shaped like an S, that cannot be right, so we go to the emergency where they take x-rays:



Both bones in his forearm are snapped and the ER doc cannot set them, it needs to be done Sunday morning in an operating room with Leo under anesthesia. So the bones are set now, thanks to some pins they stuck in there, and Leo is feeling little pain thanks to his new pal Vicodin, which he refers to as his "dope medicine". School starts tomorrow, and we are hopeful that Leo can make it through the day with just a little dope medicine. Of course, it's his right arm that's broken, so I will be typing his homework for the forseeable future.

Then last night in the middle of the night he was stumbling around and stubbed his toe with such force that it is bent and we think it might be broken too. The good news is that it takes his mind off of his arm.

Hope you all had a better weekend than Leo!