Chirping Monkeys

Snow Day

2011-01-19T19:06:00.000-08:00

I want a SNOW DAY! An honest to goodness snow day. I have to admit that I am v-e-r-y lucky. I have the ability and the technology to do my job from the comfort of my couch clad in my pj's if I need to (or sometimes just because I want to). I love the fact that I don't have to risk life and limb or get up before dawn to skate my way into the office. I'm also very lucky that after 20+ years, I have a boat load of vacation time that I can use.

But I really just want a snow day. You know - one of those days where you wake up thinking you have to go into work and mentally clicking off all the things that need to be done. But then you see 6 little letters that totally make your day - CLOSED! The possibilities are endless - go back to bed, go outside and play, go search for cheesy movies or a good book with a warm blanket. It's not going to happen - but I can dream that one day, I will get my wish.

For now, I will just take advantage of my pj-wearing, comfy chair home office tomorrow if we get all of the snow they are promising!

Let the Festivities Begin!

2010-11-07T19:45:00.000-08:00

I've seen it coming. Even before I started thinking about colorful leaves and halloween costumes, the first hints of Christmas started to appear. A handful of holiday decorations in the stores, the big toy dream book in the mail, a commercial here and there hinting at trees and garland. No matter how much advanced notice I get, Christmas seems to sneak up on me every year.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a world class procrastinator. I like to think that I work better under pressure but I really think that I am just lazy. I like to joke (ok, it's not really funny) that I like to wait to start my Christmas shopping only after the winter solstice has occurred. If you subtract Christmas Eve, that leaves me a total 2 or 3 days to get all of my holiday shopping done.

This kind of behavior drives some people crazy - like my MEF who not only has her shopping done already - everything is also wrapped and mostly tagged. If I had to guess, I bet she already has gifts for 2011 already purchased! I know that part of my last minute behavior was created years ago. My employer always handed out Christmas bonuses - in the form of cold, hard cash - several days before Christmas. At that time, it was a necessity to wait for a cash infusion to get the holidays in gear. I guess it became such a habit that I never even thought about starting earlier.

My last minute shopping frenzies have been known to send my credit card company into panic mode thinking someone hijacked my card and went on a hopping spree! I have never been much of a online or catalog shopper because the last minute shipping charges are killers! A certain stuffed penguin was a last minute "must have" that ended up costing twice as much due to the guaranteed Christmas Eve shipping charges!

Inspired by other - especially my MEF - I vowed to start shopping early this year. I actually had at least one gift purchased BEFORE the 4th of July! Killing time before a recent flight I happened upon a perfect gift for someone special and managed to figure out a way to get it home without crushing it! Since I feel like I have a head start already, I am going to keep the momentum going. I vow to keep picking up things here and there. I could use a boost by winning this gift certificate to keep my inspired to finish early!

See you all at the mall - but not on Black Friday - I'll be the one at home snuggled on the couch in my pj's watching you all on TV!

Halloween is Over....

2010-11-02T20:48:00.000-07:00

Can Christmas be far behind?

'Santa' is growing an awesome beard this year!

"Mrs. Claus" might need a shave though!

I never figured that a half-full bag of batting

and a discarded santa hat

could be so much fun!

You better be good- Santa is watching you!

One!

2010-09-21T16:22:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that it has already been a year

since little Punky B came into our lives

Happy Birthday Punky B!

She loved the icing on her cake but she never really ate any cake!

Sweet little one didn't get any icing on her pretty yellow dress

and she graciously shared her chocolate icing with her Dada!

She got tons of toys but her favorite seemed to be her new baby doll!

Give the baby a kiss for us too Punky B!

(I have to give a big shout out to my niece, Miss M who helped me pick the pictures and type the words- we have to help her spell but she did an awesome job!!)

Punky B and Miss M!

M&M's go to Cali

2010-08-24T21:04:00.000-07:00

OK, we didn't really go to Cali but little Miss M thought it was so far away that we had to be in California about 15-20 minutes into our trip!

We were only going about 30 miles from home,

not the 1830 it would take to get to Disneyland!

What is better than ice cream on a warm summer night?

I am so in love with those blue eyes....

AYKM?? This is the "normal" face I get when I ask her to pose for me!!

Someone seems to be channeling Ed Grimley!!

(plus I love that he buttoned his shirt crooked!!)

I am happy to report that they received a "most excellent" behavior report for today!

These are not edited photos - this is straight out of the camera!

Complete darkness and a light up bucket make for interesting photos!

We had a blast at Civic Park tonight!

My Momma is Crazy!

2010-07-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

I love my Mother-I really do-

but there are times that I think she is a little bit off her rocker!

Mom has always had a passion for sewing, I don't think any big event in my life as a child ever included a store bought dress. Graduations, proms, dances -

all beautifully dressed in my Mother's wonderful creations.

Recently, she has been creating costumes for the local theatre groups.

Some shows are easy, some are not.

I have no idea the true number of hours she puts into the effort

but I'm pretty sure it is substantial.

I try to help when I can but I donated my sewing machines to her sweat shop -

plus I can barely sew a straight line with a ruler.

I generally get "elastic" duty. I sew a little pocket for the elastic and thread it in.

That is about as far as I can be trusted when it comes to sewing!

The latest play she is costuming is The Producers.

I helped make the jewelry for the Little old ladies and the girls in pearls.

I stitched some sausages onto a belt and sewed on some snaps.

Mom - she created about 300+ costume pieces - I feel like such a slacker!

Here are some shots from the first act of the final dress rehearsal.

I wish I could have stayed for the second act!

Mom, you are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G-L-Y talented and I am so proud to show off your work!

Love you!

The Girls with the Pearls - lovingly handsewn on!

I love the pigeons!

The dress really does look like the Chrysler Building!

Yes, it is a giant knitted g-string!

That is a lot of Little Old Ladies!

I can't wait to see the rest of the play!

Break a leg! I'm sure it will be wonderful!

jack - part two

2010-07-15T22:07:00.000-07:00

I didn't get all of my editing done tonight ;-(

Mommy won't be able to stand it if I don't give her something

so here are a couple more of the adorable Jack!

Thanks for the wonderful rug!

I love this one!

Gotta love Cleveland!

Mommy - I promise to do my "homework" this weekend!

Noah * Alissa * Jack

2010-07-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

Here is a sneak peek of one of the cutest guy's I've ever had a chance to meet...

He is going to be such a heart breaker when he grows up!

Isn't this a great looking family?!!

Cleveland Rocks!!

Jack loves his Mommy!

Daddy is pretty cool too!

We can't leave out the original babies - Merv and Bogey!

They love Jack too!

Sorry, Noah - for some reason the microwave kept hiding from the camera!

How can you resist those baby blues?

That's all for now - thanks for stopping by!

Chillaxin!

2010-07-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

Just chillin' out this morning trying to calm my nerves.

Why am I nervous?

I have an official photo shoot this afternoon and I am anxious.

I know it will turn out great...

I know I will get awesome shots....

I just want this to photo shooting gig to work out for me.

Wish me luck!

Fireworks 101

2010-07-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

Fireworks! I have tried a million times to capture them but have never been very successful. This year, I had the right equipment, did my homework beforehand and was excited to try it all out.

The results? - Eh. I'm not 100% impressed with the results.

I am uber-picky so please bear with my ambivalent feelings about these shots. I love the concept of the shots, but I am not happy with the clarity and sharpness. I blame that on the lens that I used not the technique.

So, if you still have a chance to shoot Fireworks, here are my tips:

1. A tripod is absolutely required. If you don't have a tripod, find something to rest your camera on (the hood of the car, a rock,a cooler) but DO NOT hold the camera. If you are a caffeine addict like me, the camera will shake when you attempt this!

2. You need to change the settings on your camera. My camera has a function called "bulb". This basically allows you to choose how long to keep the shutter open. Push the shutter button and hold it until you are done. Not all cameras have this function so the key is to choose the setting on your camera that keeps the shutter open as long as possible.

3. Timing is everything. I was fortunate enough to be very close to the action and I could hear each shot before you could see it. I would open the shutter just before the first burst and would leave it open until the firework started to fade. The general rule of thumb - If you wait until you see the sparkle, you are probably going to be too late!

4. Be patient! You won't get every shot. It takes a few minutes to get the rhythm of the show down. Some colors look great in the sky but don't show up well - like blue. Some shapes don't translate well. If it is windy, your results might be very different. We were lucky to have a very still night last night.

5. The most important thing, unless you are getting paid to shoot the fireworks display, stop playing with your camera and enjoy the show! Take it from me, I have completely 'missed' some displays because I was too concerned about getting the perfect shot and I didn't get to enjoy myself. Remember, there is always next year!

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

May your day be sunny,

your BBQ yummy,

and your fireworks bright!

Have an awesome 4th everyone!

How can you say no to these eyes?

2010-06-15T20:35:00.000-07:00

It was really hot so there was a lot of panting going on too!

What is green, pink, and blue?

2010-05-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

Despite the baseball hat and the lack of hair,

this is the sweetest little girl I know!

I kept hearing 'awes' when I was walking my sweetie the other day.

I know she is the most adorable thing ever but complete strangers

were completely taken with her.

I stopped and peered into the front of the stroller only to find

Cutie Pie was bust chewing on the straps and staring at every one

with those amazing baby blues!

Of Footballs and Flowers

2010-05-02T09:15:00.000-07:00

I never thought my nephew would be playing football,

but here is proof that he is in the game!

The "games" are pretty comical to watch at times but the kids seem like they are having fun!

In the meantime, I also got the exact opposite of manly activities from my niece...

She picked this flower just for me!

Well, maybe not just for me, but it was sweet!

Award Winner!

2010-05-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

My award winning contest entry!

Second place (and $25) isn't bad.

And besides, if you have to place second to someone, I was so glad that it was a friend and fellow scrapbooker - Harriet - that won first place!

A little birdie told me that this photo was tied for the people's choice award ;-)

Unfortunately, the deciding vote was cast "after the deadline" :-(

I guess I can't win everything!

Decisions, decisions - Part III

2010-04-23T16:14:00.000-07:00

Somedays this picture perfectly depicts my mood -

Leave me alone and just let me sit in the corner by myself!

This one just makes me smile -

How can you not love that face?!

I just want to take a bath every time I see this one!

Some one sure is having fun!

This one is titled "hidden dragon"

He is so intense - he was stalking a woman on the other side of his enclosure.

Eeek!

I love the texture and colors in this one.

I bit the bullet and submitted my entries into the contest today. Wish me luck and hopefully by the end of the month I can bill myself as an 'award' winning photographer!

Decisions, decisions - Part II

2010-04-22T17:44:00.000-07:00

Today's theme seems to be following MEF's post for today -

Architecture.

I love this picture from our honeymoon in Mexico.

This one was from our honeymoon too!

I could live in this hotel f-o-r-e-v-e-r!

This one proves that you should always carry a camera -

you never know when you will see something that you love!

Hello texture!

I love the light and the gorgeous detail in the rotunda dome.

Can you guess the location?

No guessing games on this one - Where else can you travel the world on one street?

Vegas Baby!

These are some more of my options for the Photo Contest.

I found today that I can enter more than one, so my decisions are a little easier -

not much, but a little bit easier!

Decisions, decisions

2010-04-21T16:20:00.000-07:00

Is this the one?

Or how about this one?

Another option?

My employer loves holding contests. Build a kite, decorate an easter bonnet, carve a pumpkin. All kinds of contests that you can enter to win a prize. Most of the time, I read the notices and move on with my day. But the latest contest caught my attention. It is a photo contest!

For the girl with 20,000+ photos, this should be easy-peasy, rice and cheesey, right? NOT! The first criteria - the photo can NOT be of a person. That does eliminate oodles of pics but still leaves me with too many 'favorites' to choose from.

These are some of my final picks that I have since eliminated from consideration. I guess you could call this my Spring collection. Stayed tuned for more options that I discarded and to see which one made the final cut. Oh, and wish me luck - I really need to win this one to gvie me the boost of confidence that I need!

Exercise in Dangerous

2010-03-16T17:57:00.000-07:00

Despite being up all night (when you are still wide awake at 5 am it is rarely a good thing), I got up around 7 am this morning. I knew I had a full day ahead of me. I had a half day of work and then a funeral to attend this afternoon. I managed to make it through the morning activities without any issues and was ready to go when Mr. Monkeygirl came home from work.

The service was very nice and it turned out to be a beautiful day. Mental note to self - next time don't wear 4 inch spike heels to a grave side service after a few days of rain. I managed to tip-toe across the lawn without tripping on anything or falling over. Standing still proved to be a bigger challenge. As soon as I stopped moving I started to list backwards at an alarming speed as my heels slid into the soft earth beneath my feet. I kept envisioning myself tilting backwards directly into the tent supports and collapsing the entire tent. Not wanting to make a scene or cause any more distress I decided to kick off my heels. It was kind of nice to feel the cool earth beneath my toes after the long winter.

I managed to make it back to the car barefoot without stabbing myself with a stick or kicking a grave marker. Things were looking up. We shared a wonderful meal with the family and then headed home. Wanting to make the most of a nice day and to try to work off a huge meal, Mr. M and I decided to take Coal for a walk.

We managed to cross busy streets without incident and didn't have any problems with other walkers (Coal loves to greet people by jumping on them). About halfway through the walk my world suddenly got wobbly. The long winter and a wicked thunderstorm over the weekend managed to bring down a plethora of gum balls from the sweet gum trees in our neighborhood. I didn't see the spiky little ball that snuck under my shoe but I felt my ankle start to turn. I tried to replant my foot to gather my footing and another one of those sneaky little buggers sent me reeling in an equal but opposite direction. I was going dawn and there was no stopping the momentum.

I tried to brace myself and not lose hold of the leash. Unfortunately Coal's path and mine intersected part way to the ground and I took him down to the ground with me. Instinctively trying to cushion my fall and not break the dog's legs, I wrapped my arms around him and used the poor dog as a canine air bag. The dog is fine and bounced right back up without even the slightest whimper or yelp. Me, on the other hand, I have a scrapped up palm and knee and a seriously bruised ego. Of course there was a young man walking home from the bus stop directly across the street from us. He had the good manners not to laugh out loud at my stupid clumsiness.

Let's see how I feel in the morning. I know understand what Skaterboy feels like when he flings himself off a skateboard at high speeds!

Poo Bear

2010-03-09T19:50:00.000-08:00

How can you resist these little rosy cheeks?

And the little pick ears on top? AYKM!

I swear Poo Bear gets cuter every time I see her!

Love ya Poo Bear

G'ma Monkeygirl xxoo

Snow Moon

2010-03-01T18:05:00.000-08:00

The moon last night was incredible.

Unfortunately I didn't have my camera as it rose up over the horizon.

Plus - i think it is a bad idea to stand in the middle of traffic just for the perfect picture!

Punch Dub Love

2010-02-28T21:14:00.000-08:00

I don't mean to do it but it seems like I have the knack for scaring my MEF to death on a recurring basis. I really have good intentions, but I manage to scare her when ever I have good news. I think she about had a heart attack before I asked her to be my maid of honor.

I did it again this weekend. We had plans for Saturday and we had made arrangements in advance to meet and ride together. The general deal is that if she has Pearl - she drives. If not, it's my turn. Friday night, the plan was I was driving. Saturday morning, she had a slight change in plans and was bringing Pearl to my side of the river. She called my cell a couple of times and got no answer. She left a voice mail and got no response. When she pulled up in front of the house, everything was dark and quiet so she started to think something was wrong.

But everything was so right in the world. I have decided that it isn't worth wearing a cell phone on my hip 24/7 anymore. I guess I didn't hear the phone ringing in the kitchen. We were home and everyone was actually up and moving about. The only problem - well, it wasn't really a problem.

After years of battling with a car that I wasn't happy with, I decided to go out and look for something that was more - well - me. I had my eye on one car in particular and Mr. Monkeygirl and I decided to test drive one Friday night. I guess you could say the test drive was successful because we left the dealer well after 11 with a new car!

Here is my new sweet ride! It is a 2010 Volkswagen CC.

I love this car! It has too many cool features to mention here but it is definitely more my style. Not to mention that it drives like a dream.

Coal loves to jump on cars to 'visit' the driver but he was warned repeatedly to stay away from my baby! He also has a habit of greeting cars in the driveway by running in circles around the car as you are trying to drive up. In my old car, I couldn't see him. I'm not wild about this habit but I can definitely see him much better!!

I hope that I have many, many years of Punch Bud fun in my new car. Not to be done by my MEF NV, her name is Luna. I think it is an appropriate name for her since it is a full moon weekend!

We Have Visitors

2010-01-31T21:37:00.000-08:00

After a long week at work, I got a text message on my way home...

"we have visitors"

My sweet babies came to stay with us this weekend!

I love it when she comes to visit but I find myself devoting all my time to this little Sweetpea and nothing gets done around here.

But the laundry will wait for another day.

Who wouldn't want all this love after a long week at work?

Munchkins - Part II

2010-01-26T20:46:00.000-08:00

When I have a good idea, I tend to repeat it.

I got 4 of the 5 munchkins in one place

and got them to sit still enough,

to fire off a couple of shots!

My siblings seriously make beautiful babies!

I'm with the band!

2010-01-25T21:49:00.000-08:00

It has been a busy couple of days - after 500+ pictures of the Bard's play, I turned around to shoot 200+ pictures of the band the next night

I 'm getting better at shooting in low light - so thanks MMP for the practice!

I more or less have been dubbed the official Mike Matthews Project photographer!

Here is to a long and successful partnership guys!!

Lord, what fools these mortals be!

2010-01-24T20:15:00.000-08:00

I know we read Shakespeare in high school but I don't ever recall

a Midsummer Might's Dream

being so funny!

Monkey Mamma (aka Sewwhat) asked me to come to the final dress rehearsal to shoot pictures for her ever growing costume portfolio. It was a great play and also a bit of a challenge as an amateur photographer. Weird stage lighting and no flash allowed stretched my vision but I was able to learn a lot from this shoot. Major kudos to my mamma for creating yet another set of awesome costumes!

Little Miss MonkeyGirl

2010-01-17T21:00:00.000-08:00

I couldn't resist! I had a new camera, a smiling happy baby and a shelf full of monkeys at my disposal.

Why wouldn't I create a mini-me portrait?

Love and kisses little one - G'ma loves ya!

Mondays are a drag

2010-01-04T21:21:00.000-08:00

The first Monday back at work after the holidays

and Coal looks like I feel.

25 years until I can retire- sigh!!

TaaDaa!

2009-12-29T20:10:00.000-08:00

Wow! It is hard to believe that this is my 200th post!

Here is to exciting new adventures in 2010.

With the support and love of my family and friends,

I plan on making my dreams become a reality!

The Party is Over...

2009-12-27T11:12:00.000-08:00

The presents are unwrapped and the cookies have been eaten,

stockings are empty and to Grandma's house we have driven.

The holiday madness is almost over,

but to say we are thankful, that is a given!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2009-12-24T14:20:00.000-08:00

From my family to yours

Hoping your holidays are merry and bright

And that Santa accepts your definition of 'nice'!

Merry Christmas!

Love ya'

MonkeyGirl, Mr. MonkeyGirl and Skaterboy

Bad to the Bone!

2009-12-07T19:34:00.000-08:00

We have a quirky tree. Our ornaments are not matchy-matchy or color coordinated. But they do tell our story quite well. I had to smile when I put this one on the tree. Coal is mesmerized by the tree and anything shiny or round. That pretty much describes everything on the tree! I have to put anything precious up high or else it is fair game to become a chew toy. This little guy reminds me of what Coal would do if we left him alone - he would be running through the house with the lights, chewing holes in the gifts, and generally causing mischief. The best part - the refrain "b-b-b-b-bad, bad to the bone!" when you press on the chewed up corner on the present. It is soooo Coal!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2009-12-06T19:26:00.000-08:00

After a long weekend of shopping and decorating, it is starting to look more and more like the holidays around here. We decided to go more a more classic subdued look this year on the outside and I have to admit that I like it. I like icicle lights but they are *so 2007* and completely overdone in our area. We wanted something that would stand out and weren't ready to make the commit that the neighbors did to blue (lights, garland, everything is blue!).

Let me know what you think!

Alvin?....Alvin?...ALVIN!!

2009-12-01T20:33:00.000-08:00

Christmas, Christmas time is near,
Time for toys and time for cheer.
We've been good, but we can't last,
Hurry Christmas, Hurry fast.
Want a plane that loops the loop.
(Alvin:) Me, I want a Hula-Hoop,
(Chipmunks:) 
We can hardly stand the wait,
Please Christmas don't be late!

Coal

2009-11-29T20:01:00.000-08:00

His coat is jet-black. His eyes are the warmest brown. He can give you a look with his head tilted that will melt your heart. He snores when he sleeps on the couch. He cries when his 'daddy' leaves the house and doesn't take him along. He can sometimes be a pain about getting his way - but we love him despite his penchant for digging out our landscape lighting or his uncanny accuracy for delivering a gut (or a little lower) shot when you aren't paying attention.

No Peeking!

2009-11-28T16:03:00.000-08:00

Just a friendly reminder to all - No Peeking until Christmas!!

Cha-cha-changing

2009-11-23T19:59:00.000-08:00

The leaves have changed colors and have fallen from the trees. The Halloween decorations have been packed away and the Christmas lights are starting to pop-up all over the area. The warm weather is fading fast. Things are changing all over.

My blog is going to be under going a change soon too. After years of talking about it, I am finally going to try to do something with my love of photography. My recent photo shoot with my BFF and her daughter sealed the deal. Despite being nervous as h3ll, I got into it quickly and started to have fun with it. Having super models made it easier, but I was pleased with the overall results. And it seems like others were too. The word of the photo shoot spread around the office and I have already had several people approach me to take their photos as well.

So, I have been doing my homework - pricing, to have a website or not, model releases, to find studio space or not.... the list goes on and on. It is all a bit overwhelming when you try to take it all in, so I am going to take baby steps. My first "official" step is to redesign my blog around my photos and my quest to become the next Annie Leibovitz. Drop by every once in a while and see what is going on in my world.

Feeling Ducky

2009-11-22T21:02:00.000-08:00

What a weekend! It was a long 3 day weekend for me so I was hoping to get all kinds of things accomplished. While I didn't manage to get my house sparkling Martha Stewart clean, that was a fantasy that will never happen anyway!

Friday's Accomplishments:

Steam clean the living room and dining room carpet. I wanted to do this for a long time and I always seem to get the living room done but never get to the dining room. I can't remember the last time we actual ate in the dining room but Coal's favorite spot to hang out is in front of the dining room window. He isn't a stinky dog, but you could definitely tell where he likes to hang out!
Steam clean the family room rug. With the unbelievably wet October we had, it was covered with dirty paw and foot prints. Thankfully, the pattern hides most of the offending marks!
Taxi service of my BIL. He had a doctor's appointment in the afternoon and I volunteered myself as his personal driver. Everything went great and his doctor took him off of his insulin shots and may end up taking him off the medication as well!

Saturday's accomplishments:

Hanging out with friends, chatting, laughing and planning for our annual escape in January. Oh, and we might actually crop a little too! I am working on a baby book for our granddaughter and the theme of the book is rubber duckies. I got a brilliant idea to create a Franken-duck (complete with stitches and a bolt in his neck!) and that spurred my creative juices! I also crafted a durkey (duck+turkey) and a pilgrim.
Deliver my MEF to her personal costume fitting. She had the greatest idea to dress as an elf for her annual holiday charity festivities and my momma agreed to craft her ensemble. She was amazed at how fast my mother sews - she took measurements in the morning before the crop and by the time we returned, she had finished the pants and had a partially finished jacket to try on. It is going to be so cute!
Mr. Monkeygirl took Coal to the kennel for a bath and a pedicure. He was so sweet smelling when he got home and looked dashing in his camouflage bandanna!
The most important thing we did was spend some quality time with our granddaughter. She was in a good mood and was awake and smiling for our visit. Of course we got some photos and snapped some pictures of her first bath in a kitchen sink! She is such a sweetheart despite the fact that she has a chest cold - poor baby.

Sunday's accomplishments:

Back to the duck grind stone! I was on a mission to finish the duck creations for the album today. I managed to create 8 tiny rein-ducks and ruddy the red-nosed rein duck, Santa duck in his sleigh, Frosty the snow-duck and his snow friend, cupid ducks, a lepra-duck and his luck friend, bu-duckies for Easter, may flower ducks, graduation ducks and patriotic ducks before I ran out steam.

All-in-all it was a good weekend and the next "weekend" will come quickly since I am only working one day this week! I promise to post pictures soon!

I need your opinion

2009-11-09T20:51:00.000-08:00

I survived this weekend's photo shoot without breaking my camera or making my models cry. I did give myself a slight concussion trying to get some props out of my car. I need to be patient and wait until the door is completely open before I lean in looking for umbrella's stashed in the center console!

I have to admit that I am really happy with the results. It really helps to have gorgeous girls to shoot who love to smile! They made it easy for me and helped me calm down and get into the flow. We made the most out of our afternoon and a half-mile stretch of my hometown.

So let me know what you think.

Wish me luck

2009-11-07T12:26:00.000-08:00

Overall I have been pretty pleased with my photos. I am so proud of some of my shots and completely embarrassed by others. But I am probably my harshest critic.

This afternoon I am about to embark on my first photo shoot for someone who specifically asked me to take pictures for them. I am a nervous wreck. What if they don't like the pictures? What will I do if my camera doesn't work? What do I do if some tree branch ends up sticking out of their head? AACCKKK!!!

I know deep down it will be fine. They are really good friends so there isn't that stranger factor to deal with. I'm doing this for free (no, you will not pay me!) so that eliminates a lot of the pressure.

Ok, gotta run now - I will let you know how it turns out later!

Check Please!

2009-11-04T16:14:00.000-08:00

For the past two days, I haven't seen the inside of my office. I'm not sick or playing hooky, but taking part in some planning meetings for the upcoming year.

I have determined that whomever schedules all day meetings must think that the attendees are all 5 years old and need to have food every couple of hours to keep the attention on the topic at hand. Don't get me wrong, I love to eat and I am a bit cranky when I am hungry, but these hourly feedings need to stop!

I have eaten more junk in the past two days than I have eaten in the previous month. I am a carboholic. If there is any kind of danish, pastry, bagel, bread like substance around, I have to eat them. They sit there and call my name from across the room. "Please eat me, we long to be in your belly" they cry from across the room and I feel the need to comply with their dying wishes.

Then they have to give you some kind of decadent dessert with lunch. Cookies, cakes, pies fight to draw my attention away from any vegetable in the room. It is a sickness and I have to give in. Feeling stuffed to the brim and ready to explode after satisfying my sweet tooth, we head back for the afternoon sessions.

Of course, you need a boost mid-afternoon so they always offer some kind of mid-afternoon snack. Chips and cookies beg me to bypass the fruit and fill up on their caloric goodness. How can you resist the chocolate chip cookies sitting there giving you their sweetest smile?

After two days of meetings, I feel like Mr. Creosote in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. A wafer-thin mint will do me in. Check please!

Firty-nine, Eighty

2009-11-03T18:10:00.000-08:00

Attempting to pass the time on the way to gymnastics tonight, the M & M's decided to start counting as high as they could. Taking one number at a time, they started counting as high as they could.

. . ."Thirty-seven" rang out from the little man. His little sister answered back "firty-eight". "Thirty-nine" little dude confidently replied. "Eighty!" came the answer from the princess. Apparently 80 is her favorite number. A couple of weeks ago, I received a text message asking if I was free because the princess wanted to come over and stay only for "80 minutes". She got 80 pieces of candy for Halloween. Everything ends up being eighty with her.

As older siblings often do, her brother was frustrated with her obsession with the number 80 so he made her start counting all over again. They patiently took turns counting up one at a time. We got to a critical point - "seventy-niiiine" prompted the brother. We all held our breath waiting patiently for the princess to produce her favorite number. Silence. Finally, her little voice rang out - "Ninety"! Oh no, what happened to the most favorite number in princessland? We tried to get her to say it and she wasn't having anything to do with us. We finally gave up and told her the next number was eighty - her favorite number.

For the record, it takes counting to 200 to drive from my house to gymnastics. At least it passed the time without any arguments!

What did you just say??

2009-10-29T17:24:00.000-07:00

There are certain things that you don't want to hear when traveling.

"Uh oh, we have a problem" muttered by a gate agent as they run back to the gate just before your plane is supposed to start boarding. Yep, we were delayed. Then back on for the original time and then delayed again.
"My flight was cancelled!" exclaimed by the coworker with the rental car reservation trying to come in from a different city.
"I think this is the right way to go but I'm not sure..." insecurely voiced by another coworker who is trying to guide us through the maze of a skywalk system commonly referred to as gerbil tubes.
"Ladies and Gentleman, today is not a good day for flying" delivered by the pilot on my flight home. Storms plagued the entire flight path and it was rough and bumpy.

The good news is that I made it to my meeting up North and back without getting lost although I'm pretty convinced that the cab driver last night drove in a circle to jack up his fare. The meeting went relatively well considering how it could have gone and I made it home in one piece, safe and sound!

Ahhhh

2009-10-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

This morning, my cell phone rang. It was the infamous dude from the car dealer - you know the one who didn't want to bother me with technical details. It seems that my car was ready. On Friday. WTF????? Didn't I get the message from them, he 'innocently' asked. Uhm, no I did not.

I called him on Friday. Not once, but about 5 times trying to get an update. I left him voice mail messages. He claims to have been surprised by my message when he got to work this morning. The story is that he was 'ill' on Friday and went home early. (Inconsistency #1 - He sounded fine when he left me a voice mail message asking me to 'call him back'. Wouldn't you mention an alternative contact if you were going to leave early because you felt like cr@p?)

His went on to claim that "Tom" called me to let me know my car was ready. I asked him what number they called because my cell phone never rang nor did my home number. He assured me that when I got to work, I would find the message from them about my car. I guess he didn't count on technology biting him in the behind. (Inconsistency #2 - We have this fancy thing called a 'call log' which records the time, date and name of every missed call. The last call from them was on Wednesday at 1:32 pm) I let him know that I specifically asked them to contact me on cell phone and that I wasn't at work for the past 3 days because I didn't have a car to get to and from work with.

He pretty much knew at that point he was busted and quickly made his exit off the phone. I wanted to wring his neck but I had to get ready for work. I decided to run over at lunch and pick up the keys. Of course, Mr. Inconsistency was no where to be found. I paid the bill (I did ask them to do some non-warranty work) and left.

I do have to admit that it stayed in 6th gear the entire time I was on the highway - yeah! I guess the brakes had been messed up for a long time because they definitely feel different - very smooth! The clunking noise that they claimed they couldn't find? I heard it at least 4 times on my way home and I still claim it is not normal. Did I mention that they fixed my tire? I knew there was a slow leak in one of my tires and apparently they put a plug in to fix the problem. However, they charged me $10 to do this and I have a tire hazard warranty from Dobb's. So they did me a $10 favor and never asked me if I wanted it fixed or not. It is obvious that the tires are not OEM equipment and have been replaced recently, but not one word was ever said to me about the issue.

It wasn't all bad news, I noticed that they used one of the coupons that I received in the mail. I looked through the remaining coupons and figured out that they used the "Student, Military, Senior Citizen" coupon. I'm not sure which one he classified me as, but I guess that was $45 less than I had to spend. I will never use this dealer again (psst, it rhymes with 'you lose'). Time to start shopping!

All Better

2009-10-24T21:48:00.000-07:00

I feel much better now. It is amazing what good friends, cold beer, and junk food can do for your mood and your soul!

We had a good night, met new people and did pretty good at the music trivia. I rocked in the "Christmas in October" category - see it pays to have a ton of Christmas tunes on your iPod! We probably finished in the top third - it pays to have two members of your team who are in a band!

I'm in a mood

2009-10-24T15:20:00.000-07:00

I just want to be left alone. In peace and quite. I'm in one of those moods right now. Just leave me the @#&*^ alone.

But I need to put on a happy face. We need to be sociable and go out with friends. I'm sure that a beer or two will do wonders to alter my mood. But right now, I just want the world to go away and leave me be.

Sigh, it is so wonderful to be a woman, isn't it?

Wheel-less

2009-10-24T07:27:00.000-07:00

My car has no name. I tried to come up with a name that fits, but I was left flat every time. So it shall remain nameless.

I've had my share of issues with the car. Within the first 4 days of ownership, the dealer chewed up the center console installing an after market part. As mad as I was, they did the right thing and apologized profusely and corrected the problem. It took some time because it is difficult to find interior trim pieces on a brand new car.

I also had recurring issues relating to the gas cap. They kept telling me that I wasn't installing it correctly. Honestly, I have been driving for a number of years and never had that problem before. After repeated trips to the dealer, they finally determined the true issue and corrected the problem for good. For the record, it didn't have anything to do with the way I put the gas cap back on!

Within the last week or so, the engine started to make a funny noise. It was hard to describe. The noise was worst when starting. Mr. Monkeygirl said it sounded like a diesel engine. I thought it sounded like someone sticking a pencil into a cheap fan. However you describe it, it wasn't right. I could hear something when I would drive it. It was subtle, but it didn't sound healthy.

Since both Skaterboy and I rely on my car for transportation to and from work, I decided to have it checked out at a dealer close to work. I dropped it off on Wednesday morning. It is now late morning on Saturday and I still have no wheels. My pleas to the dealer about having no way to get home fell on deaf ears. Unless I call them they aren't very good about letting me know what is going on. I realize that I don't fully grasp the internal workings of a combustion engine, but they could tell me something. Anything would be better than what I am getting now.

What I do know is that the engine problem requires parts that had to be air freighted in. I know it is a complicated problem to fix. And it is technical, so "we won't bother you with the details". Whatever! Oh, and was I aware that I had a brake issue as well? No, but apparently I do. The brake rotors are warped and need to be replaced. The good news in all of this is that both of these repairs are covered under warranty.

Maybe since they are paying for the repairs, they are not in any hurry to get it done. Who knows, but in the mean time, I am sitting around without wheels of my own.

In an effort to maintain full disclosure, I am not completely stuck. My wonderful mother, Sewwhat?, was sweet enough to let me borrow her other car for the week. I've had offers of rides to and from work. One of my co-workers even offer me one of her 'spare' cars although she refused to let me borrow the 'vette!

Scrap Happens

2009-10-17T21:48:00.000-07:00

I have a problem. I am a scrapbooker. That really isn't the problem, the problem is that I am a perfectionist. I love to use the creative side of my brain. It is a welcome relief from the day to day technical stuff I have to deal with at work. But, I put so much thought into what I do that I don't get much done in one outing.

Today, I was psyched to meet up with my friends and to have 8 whole hours to devote to something that I enjoy. I had a general plan on what I wanted to work on and thought I had everything together. I packed up all of my stuff in my MEF's baby Pearl and we headed off to crop. At the end of the day, I finished one - ONE - page. Granted, it is really cute but it isn't complicated. Argghh, this book is going to take me forever to finish. There is good news though, I think I have a plan for the entire book and I have what I need so it should go much faster now. Or sat least I can hope!

I took a challenge to finish 240 pages in 2009 and at this rate, I figure I have to finish about 200 pages in December to finish the challenge. I doubt I am going to make it but at least I have something to do on all those vacation days I still have accumulated for the rest of the year!

Into the Deep...

2009-10-11T18:37:00.000-07:00

Over the past few days I have learned a few things. Some I knew, some others were eye opening.

Mr. Clean Magic Erasers are really - well - magic. I have no clue what they are made of or why they work but whoever invented them should earn a Nobel Prize.
I discovered something called "Mean Green" that is the liquid equivalent to Magic Erasers. *Don't tell the bald guy, but there are some times were this works better than the Magic Erasers.*
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you have no choice but to get up close and personal with dirt. It can be gross and disgusting, but it is the only way to get the job done.
The next time I need to fix something that breaks and Super Glue fails me, I am going to try to use Spaghetti sauce. Those little spats of sauce refuse to come off the walls, the tile, the stove, and any other object within a 25 yard radius of the pot. Or maybe spaghetti sauce could be used as an environmentally friendly dye-pack filling.
If something is really dirty, you can clean it once and move on. But be prepared that when you walk past in a couple of hours, you will probably need to clean it again. And again. It is amazing what you don't see when you clean something the first time.
When you start cleaning the cleaning supplies, you have officially met the criteria for deep cleaning.
If done right, cleaning is an aerobic exercise. Up, down, squat, stand. Repeat 2,000 times or more and it is exercise.
A career change to a cleaning lady is not in my future. I'm way too picky. Really, really picky. I must have cleaned the range hood 10 times over 3 days before I was finally satisfied. And I bet if I looked again, I would start cleaning it again.
Buying a box of latex gloves is a life-saving move. And you can never have too many. Really, they are cheap and you can just grab another pair.
The dog will still love you despite the fact that you have left him home alone for hours for days in a row. And you come home reeking of cleaning supplies and latex gloves. Even your husband understands!

OMG!!

2009-10-01T17:44:00.001-07:00

Some days things are good. Some days things don't work out quite like you planned. When I get up in the morning and head to the office, I normally have a general plan of what I need to do or accomplish in a day. Most of the time, my best laid plans get whacked by something unexpected that comes up. Oh, I get stuff done but not the things I was planning or counting on.

Today, the stars must have been aligned because I actually accomplished - count them - 3 whole things! I know it doesn't sound like a lot, but lately it seems like a major accomplishment. Better yet, one thing I did was mainly a "copy and paste" job from some information I got from multiple sources. You would have thought that I just sent the next best selling novel or blockbuster movie out based on the responses I have gotten so far.

I am going to relish in the fact that I got a few things done and made some people happy today. It doesn't happen often in my world. I'm generally the bad guy telling people they can't have what they want. Or they can have it but they have to wait until they are old and gray. Some times I write the most brilliant (ok I think they are brilliant) documents explaining the problems of the world and then no one reads them.

But today was a good day and I'm going to revel in it!!

Rumbling

2009-09-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

As much as I want to blame my recent yearning on my inner child, I think it is more likely the beginning of a mid-life crisis. Over the past few days, I have encountered various forms of loud, rumbling muscle cars. Some new, some are classics, but the ones that catch my attention all have one thing in common - these puppies *growl* when you step on the gas.

I guess my love affair with grumbling engines started years ago. My dad had a growling truck that you could hear blocks away. It sounded so cool when you stepped on the gas (not that he was a stompin' on the gas kind of driver). I loved borrowing the truck just because of the way it sounded!

I know that the noise just attracts more attention to yourself - which isn't always a good thing. But, yet I want one! I know that to be cool, the growler probably won't have 4 doors, which is kind of a necessity. But I still feel the need! I know that trunk space might not be the most important feature, still I might be willing to overlook that fact for the sheer noise factor!

Mr. Monkeygirl claims that if I buy a muscle car, I will be driving his truck. Of course my counter is "she who makes the car payments, wins!" I know this is impractical. I know there is nothing wrong with my current car. I know as soon as I drive it once in the ice and snow, I will regret it. I know I shouldn't even think about it.

But a girl can have a *growling* dream - right??

Rain, rain go away

2009-09-21T18:41:00.000-07:00

It's raining. For most people with allergies, this is good news because it knocks all the gunk out of the air. But me? No, rain makes my allergies kick into high gear. I feel like my head is going to explode. I have a splitting headache that is making me want to crawl into a hole.

I need to find some drugs and go to bed. Later!

Granny's First

2009-09-18T20:07:00.000-07:00

I got to see my SweetPea again tonight! Her little dainty fingers were showing today and while I was holding her she actually opened her eyes and gave me a sweet baby smile.

(Sorry about the quality of the photo - I went to visit straight from work and I only had my phone with me. The room was pretty dark and I was holding the phone and the baby at the same time. But you all get the point!! She is sooooo cute!)

Introducing....

2009-09-17T20:27:00.000-07:00

My first Granddaughter! Ok, that was the weirdest thing I think I have ever written. In the relatively short span of three years I have gone from a divorcee, to being married to a wonderful guy and the mother of a teenager, and now a grandma.

No offense to the grandma's out there, but I figured I would be closer to retirement when I became a grandma and would be doing things like attending bus tours with my friends rather than hitting the local pubs and listening to alt rock. I don't feel like a grandmother, but I look forward to the spoiling and loving that grandma's are so famous for.

So without further ado, here is my precious little one - Jaden Isabella!

The latest demise.....

2009-09-11T20:41:00.000-07:00

This just proves the theory that cell phones don't mix well with 4 lanes of traffic.

Don't worry, this isn't my beloved iPhone but Skaterboy's latest and greatest phone (which we just replaced due being unceremoniously dunked in the potty earlier this year). I'm not really sure insurance will cover this one.

Wiped Out

2009-09-10T17:50:00.000-07:00

I am so tired that I can barely form a coherent sentence today. I know I am a good friend, but this is taking it too far!

Last night I got to enjoy a quite evening at home with the house to myself. Mr. Monkeygirl was bowling and Skaterboy was off somewhere. I was able to clean up some things around the house, pay some bills, and watch whatever I wanted on TV without complaints. Life was good.

Then I went to bed. I know that we all have certain connections with our "bestest" friends that don't always make logical sense. Sometimes we just know when they need us. We feel their pain when they are hurting and share their joy when they are estatic. My BFF is going through physical therapy for a knee injury and for some unknown reason, I think I was channeling her pain last night. My knee was killing me last night. I couldn't get comfy. I tossed and turned. Finally, I gave up and headed for the couch so the boys (Mr. M and the pup) could sleep. A few Excederin and several hours later, I was finally comfortable enough to try to go to sleep. The problem, it was around 5:30 am.

Normal people would have just skipped the bed and moved on with their day. Not me, I went to bed and was just getting settled in when the Mr's alarms started going off. All told, I got about an hour of sleep interrupted every 15 minutes by an alarm. The funny thing, when I got out of bed, I stretched my leg and my ankle popped. It was instant relief. I guess something was out of alignment somewhere and I needed to stretch to get everything back in place.

Thankfully, my BFF doesn't have physical therapy tonight so I should get a good night's sleep tonight! Wish me luck!!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2009-09-07T19:28:00.001-07:00

Today is the mother's birthday. There are so many things that a daughter could get for her mother as a gift to show how much she really cares.

One could purchase a cute outfit from the mother's favorite store. But one would need to guess at what is really the mother's taste. Although as I get older, I think our tastes are becoming more similar. Like today, the mother had on a cute pair of capris that are exactly the same as a pair I bought a few weeks ago. I guess the mother and I share the love of a good bargain and a keen fashion sense.

One could buy a fine piece of jewelry or craft one from the ever growing bead collection that is amassing in my craft room. But my mother can create the most exquisite bejeweled creation from her own collection. And she is much faster than I am at it! I have witnessed the creation of a new jeweled masterpiece in the few waking moments before work when she can't find just the right thing to wear with a particular outfit. How do you compete with that?

One could buy some fancy perfume or scented candles for their mother. However, my mother never has been one for fancy perfumes or foofy scented candles. She really is a practical mom. She doesn't need designer stuff - well, until I got her hooked on the lovelies at the Coach factory store - hey, a girl needs to have some addiction right? (ok, I know I have more than one - back off and no shoes will get hurt!!)

So what do you buy for the best mom in the whole entire world? You buy her the finest 20 pack of toilet paper that you can find to go along with her brand new toilets. Seriously! I am so lucky that my mom has an awesome sense of humor. First, she really did ask for toilet paper on her birthday list. Second, I am just crazy enough to purchase it for her! She got the biggest kick out of the gift but I think my poor uncle thought we had gone completely mad. I'm sure that will be a topic of conversation later in the week between the two.

Happy Birthday Mom - I hope you have may more years to enjoy your new toilets!

I've been spotted

2009-08-30T19:17:00.001-07:00

The rumors that MonkeyGirl packed her bags and ran away from home are partially true. Over the past couple of weeks, I have been traveling a lot. First stop, Tampa for 4 days then home for a couple of days, then off to San Francisco/Sacramento for 4 days followed by a quick getaway to the lake with Mr. Monkeygirl and some friends for some much needed R&R. It sounds glamorous and like fun, but I have to tell you this - traveling constantly S-U-C-K-S! Don't get me wrong, checking your e-mail from the beach or eating dinner at Fisherman's Wharf is fun, but after a while it gets old. The conversations generally revert back to work, the people you really want to talk to are in some different time zone, and you rarely get any puppy nuzzles while on the road.

In between my coastal trips, I decided that it was time for new luggage. My bags have seen better days and after years of travel, vital pieces - like the zipper pulls - where falling off or just plain missing. I don't know if any one travels much but have you noticed that everyone has a 25" black roller bag? It makes finding your bag on the luggage carousel a little challenging. Mr. M and I headed out one day on a quest for new luggage. The weekend ads promised 60-75% off luggage at one store so we had hope. I guess everyone else saw that this was a good deal so the selection was pretty picked over when we got there. My criteria was simple - sturdy wheels and something not black. We had no luck at stop one. So we headed over to the "butterfly" mall (a local 'outlet' mall that has a huge butterfly in one section so the M&M's dubbed it the butterfly mall). We looked at every possible store for a deal and we found some interesting selections but I couldn't decide. We got in the car and then I decided that I found something that I could live with and wasn't ungodly expensive.

I have to say that this luggage rolls much better than my old set. Spotting my bag on the carousel was easy-peasy-rice-and-cheesy. And the bonus - it is huge! I was able to pack all of my clothes for a 4 day business trip + 3 pairs of shoes with plenty of room to spare. On the way home, I was also able to stash my souvenirs for the boys, plus 2 new pairs of shoes (still in the boxes) in addition to everything I brought out with me. I have to say I was impressed with the space. So let me know what you think of my new bags! And yes, they are very me - aren't they?

The Divine Miss M

2009-08-11T20:07:00.000-07:00

Tonight was an oddity for Aunt Monkeygirl. My little Miss M was my only charge for the evening. Boy M is starting Kindergarden on Thursday (eek!) so he and Mommy went to meet his teachers. That just left Miss M and me to our own devices.

She was so excited when I pulled up. Partly because I was there but most importantly because she had to show me a "surprise". Grandma bought her a new "lead-i-tard" for gymnastics. Even better, it is one of her favorite colors - purple! I think she talked about it almost the entire ride home.

Normally, we have to rush to get home, eat dinner and get to gymnastics on time. Without the distraction of her big brother, Miss M ate her dinner quickly (ugh, Burger King again!!) and then we went to change. Once she put on her new duds she advised me very seriously "It's not a leaditard, it is my dress up outfit!". She even sat still long enough for me to put her strawberry blond hair in pig tails. She stopped in front of every mirror in the house and posed. She stroked the velvety soft, royal purple ensemble whenever she got a chance. She was so proud of her $3 bargain Grandma found for her (yeah Grandma!!).

She pointed out her new outfit to every person that she ran into after she changed and they all showed the appropriate awe for Miss M's new duds! The funny part was that tonight was "Cardinal" day and they were supposed to wear their favorite Cardinal's stuff. The Pujols t-shirt she was sporting was so big on her that you could only see the tips of the sleeves, but little Miss M knew what she had on underneath and was so happy!

Rock on, Little Miss M - you look mah-velous!

Someone is watching out for me

2009-07-31T17:12:00.000-07:00

Someone has my back today. I put off getting my car inspected until the last minute. This means a long wait at the DMV to get the plates but I have no one to blame but myself. But today, some one was looking out for me.

In order to get the car inspected and still go into the office, took a tad bit of coordination. Skaterboy uses my car for his driving Mr. Daisy gig in the morning. In his defense, I agree that his 80+ yr old charge might have a bit of trouble getting in and out of SB's car. A friend offered to pick me up so I picked the repair shop close to his house. Luckily, it is also one block from Mr. Daisy's abode so I made a deal with SB.

SB drives Mr. Daisy to the donut shop in my car and then takes him home.
Instead of coming back to the house, I drive SB's car to the repair shop and leave it in the parking lot.
SB drops my car and keys off at the repair shop and drives his car home or wherever he wants to go.
My friend picks me up at the repair shop and then drops me back off on his way home.

The plan worked out perfectly. The car passed with flying colors (it better have - it is fairly new) and I got to squeeze in an oil change to boot. I remembered to bring all the necessary paperwork with me so I could just run by the DMV on my way home.

I walk into the DMV and there are people everywhere. I take my number and find a seat. I'm 044 - not bad right? Oh, they are calling 987 - this is going to take longer than I thought. Again, I can't complain because this is my fault for procrastinating. Figuring that I have a long wait ahead of me, I pull out my phone to play a game or something. I see a woman walking up and down the aisles asking people questions. She approaches me and asks if I have a high number. I'm not sure if I classify 044 as high, but I show her my number. Apparently she took a number for the wrong line and she offered me her old number - 005! Sweet - this is making my day much better!

Due to the kindness of a stranger, I was on my way home from the DMV exactly one hour after I walked out the door from work. On the last day of the month. Late in the afternoon. I think I need to go out and buy a lottery ticket because I am having an excellent day!

Note: I paid it forward by offering my line ticket to a lady who came in and sat down next to me. It wasn't as dramatic of a jump for her, but she had to wait for 12 less people because of the new ticket!

Yipee!

2009-07-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

After a few failed attempts to connect, I finally got to talk to the Orthopedic surgeon's office this afternoon. The MRI shows no broken bones. It also confirmed that there are no torn ligaments in Skaterboy's wrist (yeah, no surgery!!). They did see that he strained the ligaments and he has some fluid build up but that is to be expected with this type of injury. Woohoo!

I'm not sure SB is convinced that the results are right but I know I feel much better!

The fine art of Procrastination

2009-07-29T19:18:00.000-07:00

Ask anyone who knows me well. I am notorious for putting things off until the last minute. I get them done and everything is good, but I am really bad about stalling. I swear I'm going to change. I promise never to do it again. And yet, I find myself scrambling at the last minute to get something done.

The plates on my car expire on Friday. When I got the notice 2 months ago, I made a mental note to get right on the inspection and get it over with. Everytime I paid a bill or walked into my office, I told myself to make the appointment at the dealer near work. I put the coupons for that dealer in my purse weeks ago. I laid the coupons next to my phone at work for days. So when did I get my car inspected? I didn't. But it will be inspected on Friday. And the plates expire on Friday. And I am working all day on Friday. Hmmm, me thinks me might have a small problem....

Somehow I will try to get the car back from the shop, run over to the DMV, stand in line for hours and still make the deadline. If not, I guess I will be paying a late fee and running around on Saturday morning. Wish me luck!!

Update: I just figured out why I was putting this off for so long. Our great state decided to change the design of the plates. I absolutely despise the new design and think it is hideous. So deep down, psychologically, I am rebelling against some one's horrible idea of a great graphic design.

Woo Hoo!

2009-07-28T19:58:00.000-07:00

The good news from the Orthopedic Surgeon today - no sign of any broken bones in Skaterboy's hand! Whew, that is good news for sure. Skaterboy has a lot of pain in his wrist so the Doctor sent him for an MRI to check for ligament or tissue damage.

The bad news? Skaterboy hated the MRI with a passion. For someone who is probably borderline ADHD, laying completely still in a giant tube for 50 minutes is pure torture. He said his back really hurt after his ordeal and it was obvious that he was ready to go home.

Keep your fingers crossed for more good news. We should get the results of the MRI later this week.

A Tale of Two Bones

2009-07-27T19:22:00.000-07:00

Sometimes bones hurt. Sometimes bones are a treat. It all depends on who you ask in my house whether or not they consider bones a good story or bad.

First, the bad bones. Friday as Mr. Monkeygirl and I were getting ready to go out for the night, the phone rang. I could tell by the look on Mr. M's face that something was going on that wasn't good. Skaterboy called to ask us to meet him at the ER. This is never good, so Mr. M. took off to meet him. We have been through this drill before so we figured it was probably a sprain but better safe than sorry right? Well, this time they really do think he broke the bone in his left hand. Of course, with the swelling and the growth plates, they couldn't be sure so they put him in a half cast and told us to consult an Orthopedic Surgeon. We will know more tomorrow. I hope for his sake it isn't broken and he doesn't need a full cast. Summer in the midwest can be brutal when your arm is wrapped in fiberglass!

Now the good bones. In an effort to make life easier at home, we have been attending obedience classes with Coal. It is as much for us as it is for him. I have to admit, it is really working. As the instructor kindly put it, Coal is "goofy". He is full of energy and is a friendly dog. Sometimes he is just too friendly. The first week of class, we could barely contain him and he barked so long and so loud, I thought we were going to get kicked out of class. Now, he is calm, cool and collected. Well, sort of.

A few months ago, we couldn't have anyone come over because he was so out of control. Jumping, knocking people over, who knows what else he would do. Now - he still gets excited (stay out of range of his tail - it can be lethal) and is wiggly but he isn't jumping on people. He has changed so much that we have even taken him into public. He loves going to parties in the park and is very well behaved. He loves it when people want to pet him and I'm not fearful that he will jump all over them anymore. Tonight, he was spectacular in class. We do "recalls" where we go to the opposite side of the room and call our dogs to us. Coal is easily distracted but tonight, despite the 6 other dogs in our class sitting around and 5 new puppies to distract him, the instructor could hardly keep him from running to us immediately! I think he deserves a great big bone for being such a good boy.

I Still Have NV Envy

2009-07-20T21:22:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that it as officially been one year to the day that I started to blog. I wanted to so be like my MEF NV. Her blog was so cool. So I took the plunge and started a blog of my own.

It has been an interesting year. When I started this I never thought that running out of vodka would be so funny. I never thought my Mom would become a blogger. I never thought anyone would ever read this. But I guess I was wrong.

I guess the best way to sum up the last year is to bring back the Wordle. Funny, not one mention of Vodka anywhere in this one!

Too Pooped to Party

2009-07-19T20:28:00.000-07:00

It was a busy week followed by a busy weekend, so I am completely exhausted. Relaxed, but exhausted. This past week consisted of:

4 days of work where things are crazier than ever
One night of doggie school where Mr. M had a flat tire that had to be repaired before he could head home
One night of M&M duty which consists of a mad dash from work to the babysitters, run through a drive-through to pick up dinner and a toy, dash home to eat, let the dog out and change clothes before running off to gymnastics.
The M&M duty was followed by a quick shopping trip for the princesses 4th birthday.
Another mad dash home to pick up a few final gifts, a super delicious ice cream cake in pink and then a positively pink princess party. Of course, the one thing the princess wanted more than anything else was to swim on her birthday, so after dinner,cake and gifts at Grandma's we headed back to the house to swim. It was twilight and it was freezing!
As soon as the M&M's left, it was off to my home office to do production check out. That is a fancy way of explaining software system testing. Just my luck, there was some kind of issue and we didn't finish until early the following morning.
Less than 24 hours before the next party was supposed to start, I still hadn't cleaned the house, cut the grass or cleaned the pool. Unfortunately, it started to pour so the outside stuff would have to wait. Cleaning until the wee hours of the morning ensued.
Now it is finally Friday - I still had bathrooms to clean and floors to mop. Cakes needed to be baked and grass needed to be mowed. So what did I do? Went shopping, got a mani and pedi - oh, wait wasn't I supposed to be cleaning or something? We managed to get everything done before the first guests arrived, whew!
The Friday party was a complete success and everyone had a great time! The kids managed to convince some adults to go swimming with them (it was unseasonably cool for July). It was a late night - again.
Saturday was race day at Gateway. This is a 13+ hour party that includes enough food to feed an army, plenty of cold beverages on hand, some not so exciting racing, and an after race concert where some friends where the headliner! Again, it was a great day, but it was very late - or early when we finally got home.
Sunday is supposed to be the day of rest right? Well, not so much. We still had to unpack the truck and clean everything up and put it away. We had to go retrieve the dog from his weekend "spa" getaway. We had another family function to attend. And all we wanted to do was take a long nap.

After all of this activity, I can use a serious nap. Hopefully, this week will be a little calmer. I doubt it, but a girl can dream right?

All-Star Madness

2009-07-14T20:13:00.000-07:00

Everywhere you turn you see something about the All-Star game. I have seen more Cardinals jerseys running around town than normal. I stopped in a gift shop tonight and they had the game on. Everyone is talking about the tickets that they have or complaining about the cost of the tickets they can't afford.

I don't have any tickets. I figure I have better things to spend $200-$1000 on. I'm not a big fan of traffic or crowds, so I'm not going to hang out outside the stadium downtown. I wasn't home tonight (M&M duty) so I missed watching the game on TV. My only connection to the All-Star game occurred on the way home from work tonight.

As I was driving home, I noticed a helicopter hovering on the horizon. Panic started to rise as I was on a deadline and that generally means some horrible traffic thing was brewing. I immediately started to lay out alternate routes in case traffic was at a complete stand still, when something else caught my eye. A distinctively painted airplane came into view. I quickly realized the police cars on the side of the road and the helicopter hovering meant one thing - President Obama was landing in AirForce One.

My route home happens to take me directly underneath the main runway and it was crystal clear so I got a very good look at the plane making it's final descent into Lambert. It was really an amazing thing to watch. Unfortunately, I was able to think or react fast enough to snap a picture or video. I can add this to one of the cool things I have seen in my life time. Maybe, someday I can snag a ride on that bad boy!

Cleaning and Preening

2009-07-13T19:56:00.000-07:00

When you live in the hot, humid midwest and you are lucky enough to have a pool in your yard, you ineveitably become the central party spot for family and friends. this weekend will be no exception.

My uncle recently celebrated a birthday. So did my sister-in-law. My niece is due for a big princess party this week. My aunt and uncle from the west coast are coming in for a mid-summer visit. My brother and his clan are coming in for the weekend from farm country. This calls for a party. And we have the prime location given that we have room - and a pool.

This means I need to clean. Even though I was told not to worry about making extra efforts, it is in some strange genetic twist that I feel the need to clean. Of course, I can't just focus on the normal dusting, vacuuming and mopping. Nooooooo! I feel the need to clean things like the top of the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets. I haven't looked in my bathroom cabinets lately, but I felt compelled to purge and clean those (note to my guests, yes you can peek!) Mr. M spent his day off power washing lawn furniture and anything else that didn't move. Things are starting to shine around here.

I haven't dusted or mopped yet and the Animal (my beloved Dyson - not the dog) is still tucked in the closet. I work better under pressure so I'm sure it will all get done before Friday night's festivities! Let's just hope it doesn't rain so that we can enjoy the outside and we don't have to be stuck inside!

Running out of things to say

2009-07-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

Maybe it is exhaustion. Maybe it is sharing the brain with too many people. Maybe it is just too nice outside to be indoors. Who knows, but I feel like I have run out of things to say lately. Every other day or so I think of a brilliant idea to blog about and then by the time I get to a computer, I completely forget what I wanted to say.

I have been busy lately. Home stuff is crazy and work is even crazier. I guess I should be thankful that I can even keep my eyes open when I get home.

Well, I just wanted everyone (ok, the 4 people who read this blog) to know that I haven't forgotten about you and I will be back - some day!

Just call me the Dog Whisperer

2009-07-01T18:09:00.000-07:00

Is it a scent that only dogs can smell? Is there some invisible vibe that I give off to the canine set? I'm not sure what it is but it seems like dogs have taken a liking to me lately, specifically the large male black lab variety.

This past weekend, we joined some friends at the lake for a weekend away to drink, eat and unwind. The only way to beat the beastly heat and humidity was to soak in the lake. We were floating near the dock, when I spied something out of the corner of my eye. I love the water, but don't like things that share the water with me (fishies, turtles, snakes, eeek!) so I was a little wary. It was too big and furry for a snake and was moving pretty fast in our direction. As it got closer, I realized it was a dog. A big, black lab to be specific. He was worn out from his swim across the lake so we coaxed him into a raft to rest. We tried to get him to swim back from the direction he came from. No dice, he loved us and would just swim from one person to the next no matter how much we tried to convince him otherwise.

My friend D and I decided to swim him back across the lake to see if we could find his home. It took us awhile to figure out how to get him out of the water (who knew dogs could climb a ladder?) but we had to because he was getting very tired. Turns out, Jake belongs to a couple across the lake and he apparently loves to swim. We returned him to his owners and swam back to our side of the lake. About an hour or two later, guess who appeared again? Yup, Jake apparently got loose and decided we were fun so he came back to visit. This time Mr. M and I returned him to his owners. Swimming across the lake with a 80+ lb lab is a chore, but we couldn't just leave him. Jake's daddy swam over on Sunday to thank us for saving his dog - twice.

This afternoon, I got a call from Skaterboy. "Uhm, I went outside to check on Coal..." Uh-oh, this can't be good. "He was laying in the yard with a black lab. I was able to get Coal inside and in his kennel. But, the lab is just chillin' on the back porch and drinking our water. He won't leave and wants to go in the house." Great, apparently I am now the great Black Lab Whisperer. All black labs in distress must seek me out for help. I figured with Coal inside and Skaterboy leaving, he would wander back to his home. Wrong! I didn't see him when I got home so I let Coal outside. After a minute or two, I noticed Coal was super excited and there he was- Black Lab #2. They seemed happy to see each other and were playing together but without a collar, I'm not sure I trusted him completely. I tried to get Coal inside the house, which wasn't an easy task since the two dogs were generally rolling around each other. Every time I tried to move to the back door, both dogs tried impatiently to get in. I finally distracted BL2 and got Coal inside.

BL2 flopped down on the porch like he was at home and didn't appear to be in a big hurry to leave. Not sure what to do, I tried to call the local Animal Control. "Our hours are 8 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday. Please call back during those hours." Darn. I tried the County Animal Control. They are only open 9-5 but if this was an emergency, they provided another number to call. This didn't seem like an emergency so I waited for Mr. M to come home.

A quick thinking guy, he called the non-emergency police line and they contacted Animal Control. They were at our house within 10 minutes to pick up BL2. BL2 had no collar and didn't appear to have been roaming for long. He seemed to be a nice dog and at least knew how to sit. He let Mr. M slip a leash over his neck without a fight (note to Coal - see it doesn't hurt!) I hope that his family is looking for him and goes to the shelter soon. I felt kind of bad sending him to doggy jail, but I don't think I could handle two big, black balls of fur running through my house day and night.

Ihadaphone....

2009-06-28T20:14:00.000-07:00

I must admit that I am addicted to my cell phone. Completely and totally smitten with my little personal communication device. Remember all the hype about 2 years ago when people where standing in line to buy a fancy new phone called the iPhone? Yes, I was one of those crazy people standing in line (with some assistance from Skaterboy).

Something happened over the weekend. I can get incoming calls and texts. Some of the apps work completely, some partially and some not at all. For example, I can turn on the camera but I can't take a picture. The weather app works perfectly. But I can't make a call or look up a contact, listen to my iPod, check my mail, or surf the internet. If you send me a text, I can read it but I can't answer you. It was all very confusing until I figured out that it appears the bottom of my phone lost it's 'touch'.

I've always said I refused to buy a new iPhone until they came out with a 32gb phone. Guess what came out within the past two weeks? A 32 gb iPhone with 3Gs! So I guess I am going to be forced to visit the AT&T store this week. Like my good friend said "you need a new phone to go with your new purse"! Wish me luck, I've heard that they sold out of the presale phones before the launch date. I don't think I can survive very long without getting a cell phone fix.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T18:39:00.001-07:00

Today is the day that we honor our fathers. There are a lot of men in my life that deserve to be honored.

My father, God rest his soul, taught me more than I could ever learn from school or a book. He taught me to embrace the things that are important to you. Whether it is being green (Dad was embracing the green lifestyle way before it was trendy) or going the extra mile to get ahead in your career. He taught me the value of an education. It doesn't matter how many degrees you have, he taught me that learning something new - at any age - can be fun and personally fulfilling. He taught me to enjoy the simple things in life. Hiking, camping, or just "puttering and muttering" in the yard, I learned to enjoy those moments and look back at the end with a sense of satisfaction. He taught me that it is okay to take a chance to do something different. He taught me the value of family. I think he always made his decisions on not what was best for him, but what was best for his family. For all these reason and a billion - cagillion more, I will always love him.
My wonderful husband, Mr. M. He is a wonderful husband and a great father. He is patient and understanding. He knows when it is time to talk and when it is time to just let the boy be. I love to watch him with Skaterboy when they are in "the zone" - sharing something that they both love and watching them connect in only a way that a father and son can.
Skaterboy - the newest father-to-be. I wish him all the best in this journey that will last the rest of his lifetime. He is scared and yet, at the same time, he is proud to know that he will soon have a little baby girl in his life. This is a life changing event for him (and for the Mamma, too) and he could have taken the easy way out. But he hasn't. He is standing by her side and helping her through her pregnancy. He is a good kid and I am positive that he will make an excellent father. I love the boy as if he were my own flesh and blood and I'm certain that he will make me proud as he grows into his newest role as a father.

And to all of the other men in my life that have helped me to become the person that I am, thank you. Thank you all for passing on your love. I love ya'll!

Pickles, Dinos and Bob

2009-06-20T09:49:00.000-07:00

This is the story of how a jar of pickles, dinosaurs and a little guy named Bob saved my Friday night. My sister rarely goes out. She asks for a sitter so rarely, that I try to go out of my way to watch the kids when she asks. Last night was one of those rare occasions. She apologized in advance because she thought it would be a late night so I promised to give the kids latte's and feed them cotton candy so they would still be wide awake when she got home!

Dinner was the first order of business and I figured they would want some kind of fast food, so that would be easy - right? Wrong! Apparently, Aunt Bonkeygirl is a gourmet chef and the little ones clamored loudly and clearly for the one thing they had to have - chicken dinosaurs and mac & cheese. Ugh, not again! In a fit of desperation we fixed this one time as a quick and easy meal and now it is the only thing they want to eat when they come over. I really shouldn't complain because it only takes 15 minutes to prepare, but I'm not a fan of the dinosaur chicken. If you are not familiar with the preschool set, you may not have any clue what Chicken Dinosaurs are. Simply, they are chicken nuggets shaped like T-Rex and a Stegasaurus. Half eaten dinos drenched in ketchup do put a new spin on Jurassic Park!

After dinner, they wanted to go back in the pool (as they put it "it's a beautiful day for swimming!") but I wasn't quite ready to swim again. I used the old "you have to wait 30 minutes after eating to swim" story and they bought it. While we were waiting, they spied lightning bugs and started chasing them across the yard. What's more fun than having your very own lightning bugs, so Aunt Bonkeygirl found an old pickle jar that would be a good home for some lightning bug flying too slow or too low to get caught. Fortunately for the lightning bugs, we could never catch any, but we have the jar for the next time.

Those two love the pool and I was finally able to convince them around 10 pm that it was time to put our PJ's on. We all changed into our PJ's and climbed into Aunt B's "ginormous" bed to watch Kung Fu Panda. But we couldn't watch the movie alone, we had to have all of the special Lego's with us. But we had to be very careful not to smash them. I think every little Lego person was on the Pirate raft - Spongebob, Patrick, the mechanic guy, and my two favorite pirates, Twinkie and Bob. That many squirming bodies and leaving enough room for Bob not to get squished didn't leave much room for me, but we managed to keep everyone fairly content until Mommy came to pick them up.

I'm quite sure they were asleep before they got home and will have some fantastic story to tell Mommy in the morning about dinosaurs, the green/purple/blue pool, where lightning bugs sleep during the day, and Bob.

It figures

2009-06-19T11:21:00.001-07:00

I take 2 days off work to work on the bathroom mini-remodel and the glass people call. Our special order glass is in! WooHoo! Oh but wait, they are completely booked this week and can't even think about an installation until next week. Perfect (*rolls eyes sarcastically*).

Mis-Adventures in Air Travel

2009-06-16T17:36:00.000-07:00

My MEF NV posted about her adventures as a pseudo travel agent today and I was reminded of a travel story from my past.

A few years ago, my very single, bachelor uncle passed away unexpectedly. He lived on the East Coast so we had to make some hasty travel plans to tend to his estate. Being a seasoned traveller, my Dear Old Dad (DOD) took care of making the arrangements for us. His challenge was to book one-way flights to DC for 5 people at the last minute. If you ever met my father, you will know that he is extremely detailed oriented and liked to make sure that he got the best deal. He poked around on the internet looking for the best airfare and finally came up with a flight that met his budget criteria. Mumbling and grumbling about having to spend "that much" on a flight, he went to book the flights when he found out that you could only buy 4 tickets at one time. He bought the first round of tickets for my uncle's siblings and himself. He then booked my flight separately. When the total came back, he couldn't figure out why there was such a difference in the price per ticket. He poured over the confirmations and checked and rechecked his calculations.

Now we already know that he is detailed oriented so we all assumed it was some glitch in the reservation system or a freak drop in the airfare. Finally, we discovered that there were 2 flights to DC that left at or near the same time. On in the morning and one at night. I was the sole passenger booked on the AM flight. He quickly called the airline to see if he could fix his mistake and they happily agreed to change his flights - for a slight rebooking fee that almost doubled the price of the original tickets. There was no way that this was going to fly (no pun intended) with his frugal German heritage. Thankfully, the reservation agent gave him a cheap option out. She told him that historically that flight was rarely full and that they could try to fly standby to catch the morning flight. Problem partially solved!

For as long as I can remember, my uncle had lived out of town. None of us had an extra key to his house. When we asked about how we should get in, the local officials said that we could essentially 'break-in' the same way they did. In order to facilitate the illegal activity I was about to undertake, my DOD persuaded me to take a cordless drill in my suitcase since I was the only one confirmed to arrive in the morning.

So we get to the airport and check in. We definitely raised some suspicions as we had one confirmed one-way ticket and 4 stand-by one way tickets. Did I mention that we were flying to the nation's capital? About one year after 9/11 and it was near Labor Day? In those days, the security screening was done right at the ticket counter. The agent asked me to open by bag and questioned what I had in a plastic grocery bag in the corner of my suitcase that had a vague outline of a huge pistol. Not wanting to undergo a full body search, I opened my mouth to politely answer the agent when DOD appeared behind me and answered "Don't ask!".

I groaned as I envisioned spending the next 8 hours under a bare light bulb answering rapid fire questions from the good cop/bad cop trying to beat a confession out of me. I decided that honesty was the best policy and while shooting DOD the dirtiest look I could muster, timidly replied "it's a drill, ma'am". "Why on earth do you have a drill in your suitcase?" the agent asked. Continuing down the honesty is the best policy path I blurted out "Well, I need it to break in to a house." DOH! In hindsight, that probably wasn't the best answer considering the look on her face. I swear she started to pull to pull out her walkie-talkie to call for back up and have me hauled off to the pokey when I quickly explained the whole story. While it wasn't really any of her business, I sure didn't want to go to jail for some suspicious terrorist activity.

Once she understood the situation and that I wasn't going to violate any national laws, she let me go after making me disconnect the battery from the drill. I lectured my DOD all the way to the gate and of course, he thought the whole thing was funny. Sure funny for him, he wasn't the one who had visions of bright lights and rubber hoses dancing in his head!

Lessons Learned

2009-06-14T21:22:00.000-07:00

He who landscapes part of their yard with rocks, and has a dog who loves to run through the rocks, should pick up aforementioned rocks before cutting the grass. Why, you ask? Because when you don't you run the risk of seeing this scene out your window.

The scariest part? The rock chard that shattered the largest window in our house, missed my head by about a foot. I escaped unscathed. I can't say the same about the window. I think the glass splintered for 30 minutes straight before we took the preemptive measure to take it down before it fell on somebody or the poor dog.

I wonder how much this is going to cost us?

P.S. It should be fun trying to keep Coal from jumping on the window when he sees imaginary bad guys in the back yard in the middle of the night until we can get the window repaired properly.

Coal's Big Adventure

2009-06-11T18:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, just as I was ready to start a meeting, I got a phone call from home. "Uhm, can the dog go in the pool with his radio collar on?" Several scenarios flashed through my head - mainly ones where my poor dog had his fur standing on end from the shock. A couple of quick questions revealed that:

No, the dog wasn't in the pool - yet.
No, electric shock therapy had been delivered - yet.
Yes, this was actually a preemptive call to make sure no harm would befall the pooch.

About 10 minutes into the meeting, my phone starts to ring again. I check and it is Skaterboy calling again. Since I just talked to him a few minutes before, I figured it was something unimportant so I silence the ringer and move on.

My curiosity got the best of me and I rang the boy back to see what was so gosh darn important that he had to call again so quickly. I'm not an uncaring step-monster but his calls generally fall into a few select categories:

He is hungry and needs some cash for food (like I can just fly out of work and run home to give him $5 for Subway)
He is hungry and wants to know what is cheaper - Subway or Chinese?
He is looking for something and wants to know if we have said item in the house (a tape adapter for an iPod, blank CD's, money to go get food - do you see the theme here?!)

He immediately launches into this story about the dog. "His ear is hanging lower on one side. And he keeps twitching" WTF?? I make him start over and explain the story to me again. Why is the dog's ear hanging lower? Apparently in an effort to put the aforementioned radio collar back on the dog, Skaterboy accidentally poked to dog in the ear. Or the eye. He wasn't really sure which one. "He keeps twitching!" he said with a rising panic in his voice. Mildly panicked, I start to question him further. Twitching like he has bugs in his ears or twitching like he is having a seizure? Much to my relief it is only the buggy kind of twitching.

Still trying to wrap my head around how you poke a dog in the ear (or eye) I ask if this happened before or after he was in the pool. 'oh, this was before he went in the pool. He completely freaked out in the pool". Now, this dog has already been in the pool more times than any human being combined in my household. The first time was voluntary but probably on accident. We just took the cover off and while working on the filter, we heard a splash. We turned around only to find Coal standing on his hind legs, hanging on to the side with his front paws. Totally calm cool and collected. The second time he had a little help from yours truly. I'm sorry, but if you would have walked past him hanging over the edge of the pool with his nose in the water and his tail up in the air, you would have nudged him in too! He reacted the same as the first time - hanging on to the edge, calm as could be. You could see him trying to figure out how to get out but not really sure which direction to go.

Apparently in the presence of teenagers, the reaction was different. The story goes that the dog slipped on the coping and fell in. Then he completely panicked. I can only assume that multiple teenage boys flipping off diving boards got the deck and coping sopping wet. And the dog overly excited! Of course, Coal likes to be by the people so this time he went in next to the diving board. Where the water is 9 feet deep. Not the shallow end where it is 3 feet deep. Skaterboy and his friend both struggled to get a 75lb wet, flailing, fur bearing creature out from the deep end.

Needless to say, when I got home, both child and beast were very subdued. The boy felt bad and was giving him belly rubs and treats. I inspected the poked ear/eye region and didn't see anything out of place. He would let you rub his ears/eyes/muzzle without any complaints and didn't even trying to chew on our fingers. I honestly think the dog was milking it for the sympathy. The boy does the same exact thing!

Coal was exceptionally loving last night, curled up with his chin on my lap for most of the night. It was odd, but I wasn't too worried about him. If he didn't bounce back to his normal self by the time I got home tonight, I would try to get him into the vet. I tried to calculate the cost of this vet visit in my head and thought about how I would explain the injury to the vet (since all my knowledge was second hand). I asked for a re-enactment of the injury because I wasn't too sure what really happened. SB walked through the act of putting on the collar when I finally figured out what may have happened. Distracted, he tried to put the collar back on when the dog moved his head. Coal isn't wild about any collars and has a tendency to try to duck out of the way. The collar has a buckle and your natural hand position is to have your 'thumbs up'. Thus, my CSI theory (that is Canine Scene Investigator) is that he scratched the inside of his ear with his thumb nail. Combine a scratch on the inside of your ear with a plunge into a heavily chlorinated pool, where you think you are going to drown and are swimming for your life, you have a pup who is a little scared, a little worn out, and who has an ear that doesn't feel so hot.

I am semi-pleased to report that Coal is his normal self tonight. The in-your-face with a chew toy, steal the pillows when he thinks you aren't looking, running across the yard with a huge hunk of firewood in his mouth, kind of normal. Sigh....I kind of miss the lovey dovey dog from last night!

This one's for my Ma

2009-06-08T19:20:00.000-07:00

I called my mom yesterday to apologize. I thought about inviting her to the Barn party on Saturday, but I thought she would be bored hanging out with a bunch of high school jocks. I was so wrong!

NV often writes about the great 8 - the group of friends that we met in high school and are still friends today. One of the 8 also happens to be a cousin - not a direct cousin but we never cared. Well, BCuz's baby graduated and she threw him a party this weekend. Turns out that all of my Mom's cousins were in attendance.

A few recognized me right away. The dead give away - apparently I must look a lot like my Grandma because I heard over and over, "You look so much like Aunt Sally!" We chatted and caught up but I'm sure Mom would have much more to add to the conversation.

So Mom, I'm sorry for not insisting you join us. And here is a picture to let you know that we were all thinking about you!

OMG! I'm in Love!

2009-06-02T19:25:00.000-07:00

I am NOT a domestic diva. I don't like to cook or clean - I do it but it is way down in priority on my 'to do' list. I groan whenever my SIL stops by because I worry that my house isn't clean enough for her standards. She is one of those people who cleans constantly. I clean when I have to or I know company is coming.

A little while back, my trusty vacuum that my parents bought me when I got my own place gave up the ghost. I looked around and picked out one that I thought would work perfectly. It seemed perfect - it was bagless, an auto retractable cord, and all kinds of on board attachments. But I hated it from the very first time I used it. It was heavy and even though you could turn off the carpet brush, I had to use the hose attachment to clean my hard floors (the dirt, dust and whatnot spit all over the place). The hose attachment is too short so I am forced to hunch over while I clean the carpets in 3/4 of my house. After I spent an hour or so Sunday hunched over, vacuuming the same surfaces over and over again, I decided that I was done with this one.

I have always been intrigued by the Dyson commercials and everyone I know who has one raves about them. I wasn't sure I wanted to spend the cash on one but I did some research online and decided to bite the bullet. Target had one in their ad this week - pretty much the regular price but they were throwing in a free battery powered hand-held vac. I also had a nice gift card from Mom that was burning a hole in my pocket from the holidays. Plus, the ball is cool and it's purple!

I opened the box tonight and started to vacuum. I was impressed immediately because I could vacuum the hallways without using the hose attachment and it was picking up the dog fur with ease. Plus it weighs 10 lbs less than my other vacuum which is a huge difference. And I didn't have to bend over at all to clean anything. Yeah, no more aching backs just to clean the house! Then I tackled the rug in the family room. It is a 5 x 7 rug and Mr. M and I were completely shocked when we looked at all the dust, dirt, dog hair and fibers in the canister. Plus, the rug was visibly cleaner than it has been in months (even after I steam cleaned the rug!). Remember I just vacuumed within the last 36 hours. I was on a roll!

We have berber in our bedroom and I have never been happy with any vacuum we have ever had. None seemed to pick up the dust along the edges of the room. None until now. I could see the difference immediately. I even vacuumed the valance in our bedroom with ease!

I should be slightly embarrassed by this but here is all the dirt that was picked up in about 15-20 minutes even though I just cleaned on Sunday night.

Here is to many happy days of vacuuming. Maybe I will be more motivated to clean now that I have something that works, doesn't kill my back and it kind of fun to use.

Upside Down and Inside out

2009-05-31T07:23:00.001-07:00

Mother Nature kind of cooperated yesterday and it finally stopped raining about mid-morning but it was breezy all day. Sounds like perfect weather right? Sure, if you aren't trying to paint a huge concrete hole in the ground!

We finally got all the water out of the bottom of the pool but because of the morning showers, the concrete was too wet to start painting yet. While we were letting the concrete dry out, we decided to go ahead and fix another issue we had with the pool. We have fiberglass walls with tile imprinted at the top. After many, many years, the bottom portion of the tile faded out from all the chlorine. We had a couple of choices - 1) replace the walls (not in the budget this year) 2) repaint the tile by hand (no way I was tackling that tedious job) or 3) use a product called BorderLines to rejuvenate the tile surround.

I opted for the BorderLines because it was relatively cheap and sounded easy to install. It is basically a giant sticker that covers the old tile. Easy peasy - right? Kind of. It was really easy when the pool was empty to walk in and stick the new border on. At least in the shallow end. Unfortunately, about half of the pool is designed in such a way that I can't reach the border from the bottom. My only option was to lay on the deck with my head upside down and try to line up 2 foot sections of sticky border. I'm sure it was a comical sight to watch - me laying on the deck, legs all akimbo, half hanging in the pool, head completely upside down desperately trying to keep the lines straight! Thank goodness no one was home when I was doing this part! I was able to finish this in a couple of hours and I have to say that it looks so much better!

Mr. M and I debated about starting to paint or not. Apparently the paint we are using must be activated and then only has a certain amount of time that it is usable. We decided that darkness was going to be an issue, so we only opted for priming some sections that needed to be addressed so they could dry thoroughly before we began the real job of painting the pool.

Today the weather looks glorious so I think we should be able to get our painting done. I'm not sure how we are going to do some sections of the pool but we will come up with a way, we always do! Wish us luck!!

Stop Raining on My Parade

2009-05-30T10:25:00.000-07:00

My MEF, NV says that she doesn't care if it rains today or not because the mother got her outdoor painting done yesterday. Well, I beg to differ with her. I need it to stop raining for a couple of days!

We have some painting that needs to be done but we need a couple of days of dry weather to accomplish it. Unlike NV and the mother, we can't move our painting project around if it starts to sprinkle. And once we start we have to keep going. You see, we need to paint our pool.

We have been working diligently on this for a couple of weeks. We drained the sludgey water out when we took the cover off. I spent and entire day in the empty pool with the power washer cleaning the dirt off the walls and the floor. And we drained the excess water. Mr. M acid washed the pool. And we drained the pool. We applied the neutralizer and Mr. M power washed the pool a couple more times. And we drained the pool. Then it started to rain constantly. And we drained the pool again. Thursday night we drained the pool one more time in anticipation of being able to paint today. We gave the pool a final wash down and drained the last of the water out in hopes that today would be the day.

Early this morning I woke up to the gentle pitter patter of raindrops on the roof. Crud!! Today was supposed to be dry! We checked the pool this morning and guess what? It needs to be drained again!

So NV, I am going to counteract your request and beg and plead for 3 days of dry weather so we can finally get this pool painted and then fill it with water so we can use it. Please, I'm not asking for much!!

What time is it?

2009-05-27T04:16:00.000-07:00

What on earth am I doing up at this hour of the morning? And more importantly, why am I blogging about it?

I am a notorious night owl and and absolute grump who is completely incoherent in the pre-dawn hours. Just ask Mr. Monkeygirl who has to talk to me before he leaves for work - or my mother who for years had to get me out off bed for various reasons. So it is kind of surprising that I'm up and moving at this fine hour of the morning.

Skaterboy has a "job" and needed some guidance this morning so I was forced to get my bee-hind out of bed. I have a friend who's 80+ year old shouldn't be driving anymore. However, the 80+ yr old insists on going to the doughnut shop daily to meet with his crew to hang out with his friends. My friend had hired someone to be his chauffeur so no one had to worry about who was driving where. The chauffeur is out of town, so Skaterboy is filling in as the sub.

You would think that if this is early for me, it would be way to early for a 18 yr old, but he jumped at the chance to take the job. I guess money is a great motivating factor! Skaterboy listened intently as I gave him the final instructions this morning and he took off - in my car. He needs new tires desperately and he was nervous about driving someone he doesn't know around. Oh yeah, and he is out of gas! Wait - the phone is ringing.................................................

Skaterboy was lost. Not his fault. My friend told me the wrong street name. It is in an area of town where every street has almost the same name -blah Trails, blah Estate, blah Place...you get the picture. A quick check of GoogleMaps got him back on the right path and he found it easily and was even early. I'm intrigued to hear the rest of the story when he gets back. I wonder if he will bring me a doughnut?

In Honor....

2009-05-25T20:10:00.000-07:00

...of all those past, present, and future, who sacrifice their lives and give up so much so that we can be safe and secure in our home. No matter what your views are on the wars/conflicts, I thank you all for defending our honor and support you in your actions.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We appreciate all that you do for us. There are no real words that can describe our gratitude. And I apologize if the salutes aren't perfect - they were trying really, really hard!

Mind Your Manners

2009-05-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

Nine month old puppies can be a challenge. Especially when you are nine months old and you weigh 75 lbs! A few weeks ago we decided that in order to save our sanity, our home, and possible jail time for animal cruelty, we needed to do something about the puppies behavior.

The out of sight fencing has been a huge blessing. Coal now has room to run and we are all happier. But we still have to stop the jumping and the mouthy behavior before we end up looking like human chew toys. We tried the board and train route and that helped, but it is difficult to really understand what they taught him during the 9 days he was there is less than 20 minutes. Don't get me wrong, he was better but we still had issues.

I know he really wants to be a good dog, I can see it in his sad brown eyes, so we signed him up for adolescent obedience training at Support Dogs. I wasn't sure what to expect and I was hoping for the best. I'm not sure about the training at the local pet stores and most other training offered in this area is done in a drop-off/pick-up way. No offense, but I need the repetition as much as Coal does!

Last week was our first class. Coal barked and barked and barked and jumped and barked and barked. He was so loud that even when the training was yelling, you couldn't hear her. We finally got him to settle down and started our lessons. It was the first week so it was a little chaotic and we didn't do much but we had some hope.

Today we had our second class. There were twice as many dogs this week which was actually a good thing for us. Coal needs to be around other dogs to get used to them. We waited for our instructions, and Coal laid on the floor and didn't make a sound. What? Was this the same dog who wouldn't shut up last week? Yep. He was very well behaved during class. He barked once and compared to the other growling going on, he was one of the angels in the class. Next week will be the challenge - we have to come across the room without being on a leash. I guess we better practice!

Rock 'n Roll Lifestyle

2009-05-17T14:24:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you just need to party! Remember back before you had a mortgage, car payments, a career to worry about and life was strictly lived for the fun of it? Sleeping in late was the norm not the exception and the number of hours spent working was the minority? Yeah, I can't really remember that far back either.

We have several friends that play in local bands and we try to be supportive when we can. Often they are playing far from home or on a work night, so we don't always get to support them as much as we would like. However, this weekend ended up being a perfect storm for our local band coverage!

Friday night, we went out late to catch a friend who plays in a band called Contagious. Yes, that is their real name. I'm not sure who came up with that name and not sure why you would want to have the word contagious printed on your panties but, hey I guess it is a good marketing tool! As usual, the guys were great. I'm not sure I completely agree with their set lists, but who am I to argue, they are booked all the time!

Saturday afternoon, we went out to support my colleagues who just started playing under the name Spent. They were the entertainment at a local parish picnic and they sounded awesome! This was only the second time they have played in public and they had their own set of groupies (about 6 or 7 little girls camped out right in front of the stage!). We had fun and the weather partially cooperated - it wasn't raining but was a little cool and windy.

The guys finished up around dinner time and we met another musician friend and his girl at a local mexican place for dinner. He played earlier in the day at a benefit so we missed his gig. We had a nice dinner and then meandered off to a local dive bar to hear another band play. I can't recall the name of the group but they where a bluesy group and their female vocalist rocked Etta James!

We wandered away in the middle of their second set and went to a biker bar. It was an honest to goodness biker bar and all I can say is that a vast majority of the guys in the bar were absolute giants! Appearances aside, everyone in the place was super sweet and we had a great time. The band was incredible and if you ever get a chance to catch an American Bleach show, I recommend it - these guys rock! The best part was when our musician friend got to join the band on stage for one of our favorite songs!

I was an incredibly long day and it has been a really long time since I have been able to say that I caught 4 bands in one weekend! Now I think I need a nap before I go back to being an adult!

MisAdventures in Air Travel

2009-05-11T17:44:00.000-07:00

I am not what most people would call a Road Warrior, but I do my fair share of travel for both business and pleasure. I have gotten used to the "airport shuffle" - pack bags, find parking spot, grab shuttle, check bags, navigate security, find gate, board plane, fly, de-plane and start the whole shuffle over again trying to get your luggage, rental car and find the hotel that is tucked away in the middle of nowhere. I have learned that you can't really be in a hurry or your are going to drive yourself crazy. Learning how to kill hours in an airport has become one of my special skills in life!

This morning I worked from home because I had a midafternoon flight to catch. The 'talky-talky bug guy" (nice pest control man but geez - he likes to talk your ear off!) came by and we somehow got on the topic of travel. He made an offhand comment about "travel is fun, when it all goes right". I should have pushed him in the pool for making that comment!

I realized on the way to the airport that I forgot to pack my pj's. No big deal, I can improvise or - gasp - go shopping. When I got to the terminal, I tried to get in the shortest line to check in, when I heard a voice call out over the counter "If you are flying to Charlotte and you have a connecting flight, please get in this line over here." Apparently, there were Air Traffic Control tower issues in Charlotte causing flight delays. When I checked in I was assured that even though my first flight was delayed, I was fine because my connecting flight was also delayed so I had plenty of time to make my connection.

So I wandered off to the gates to play the waiting game. First it was delayed, 40 minutes, then it was a little over an hour, next it was 2 hours late leaving. When they announced the last delay, all connecting passengers where asked to check in. While we were standing in line, they made an announcement. "This plane IS leaving at 6:18 with or without you". Basically, if we hadn't been helped yet, we had a choice, get on the plane and take our chances in Charlotte or stay behind and try to get on some other flight.

I was trying to make up my mind when it was my turn at the counter. The very nice, but frazzled agent was trying to figure out where to send me. While she was looking up my options, the other agent came out and said "we will start boarding in 4 minutes". She turned around and ran smack dab into the pilot, who delivered the news - nope, we had another hour on "ground hold".

Unfortunately, my only chance at a connecting flight was booked full tonight. I could try to fly to Charlotte and take my chances or I could go home, sleep in my own bed, and try again in the morning. I decided that I preferred my own pillows over the potential of using my laptop case as a pillow on the floor of a crowded airport terminal.

I have to get up at the b-crack of dawn to catch a flight, but I should get to Wilmington before the activity start! Oh, and I need to grab those pj and throw them in my suitcase!

ID10T Part 3

2009-05-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

It seems that I am living in a vacuum. Despite the reports to the contrary, it appears that no one is really interested in giving me a bid on my upcoming bathroom remodeling job.

You've heard all about my run-in with the first wanna-be contractor. Well, a few days after I got all my frustrations off my chest by opening blogging about my troubles, wanna-be contractor #2 called. I wasn't sure this person would ever materialize because they weren't hounding us seconds after we returned from the home improvement show. But they finally called and I spoke to a very pleasant woman on the phone.

Given that I was getting ready to leave for a business trip, and the fact that they like to talk to both buying parties at the same time, we scheduled the appointment for this past weekend. I have this 'thing' (ok, it is a compulsion) to make sure that things are neat and tidy when someone comes over. Well, last week was a bear at work so I was too exhausted to clean when I finally got home every night from work. My plan was to leave early - or earlier than normal - on Friday and clean up the house. I did leave around the time I had planned but was too wiped out to even think about cleaning on Friday night. Since Sales Guy #2 was supposed to show up at 10 am on Saturday, I was forced to do the unthinkable - set my alarm on a weekend!

I got up and scrambled to clean the house as much as possible before the expected arrival time. I managed to get almost everything cleaned up, which was a challenge with Coal running around making a mess behind me. He would steal the paper towels and shred them all over the carpet I just vacuumed or jump on a counter or window that I just cleaned. Nevertheless, I finished up with about 15 minutes to spare and we waited patiently for the knock on the door.

And we waited. And waited. And waited. Eighty minutes after our scheduled appointment time, we decided the guy was never going to show. I can't call them because I honestly can't recall the name of the company. I figure that if he didn't call to confirm the appointment or call to cancel then he doesn't really want or deserve my business.

I got a referral from a friend whose Mom had someone who does awesome work, so we will give them a try. If all else fails, this may end up being a DIY project which I really don't want to do. This one is way over my head!

Hooshetto Central

2009-05-03T08:49:00.000-07:00

Last night Mr. Monkeygirl and I stumbled across the breeding ground for Hooshettos. We weren't looking for it and we didn't really think it was located so close to our home.

What exactly is "hooshetto", you ask? It is more than an attitude, it is a way of life. In order to become 'hooshetto' you have to remain committed for a very, very long time. It isn't something that you can easily turn on or off.

'Hooshetto' is a delightful combination of a Hoosier (and not the Indiana kind) and a ghetto lifestyle. Words can not accurately describe the horror of what we witnessed last night. Alcohol was involved but, seriously, these people need to get a life.

Things started out normal as we met our friends at a local bar. Then the freak show started. Girls in matching outfits. I mean identical outfits. I haven't wanted to wear the same thing as my friend since I was about 12 years old. There were couples groping and making out in the corner. Not just towards the end of the night, but all night long and every chance they got. And apparently it was contagious. It was isolated to one couple at one table at first. Then it spread to the other couple at the table. From there is just got worse, spreading from table to table like the swine flu. It was disgusting to watch but like someone said - it is kind of like a train wreck, you just have to watch.

The floor show was even better. We also got treated to an excellent imitation of a vintage Anthony Kiedis hair swinging, rockin' it dance. Some - ahem - gentleman's clubs hold amateur hours and I think some of the girls thought they were trying out for a permanent position. I applaud their ability to let go and enjoy themselves but this one girl was out of control! She started off early in evening with a solo dance. Dancing by yourself is okay, but generally, it is more acceptable to do this while the band is actually on stage. Her sexy (and I use the term loosely) move - put your hair in and out of a ponytail. Did I mention that she appeared to be badly in need of a bath and a decent haircut? She had a little too much too drink (duh!) and many of her 'patented' moves caused her to fall on her @$$ on the dance floor. She acted like it was part of the show and just went right on back to her own little world.

The drama in this place was a little too surreal. I seriously can't make this stuff up. The high school dance-like groping was just part of the fun. The conversations in the women's room were priceless. Something about someone's half-brothers half-sister doing something was a little too much to try to comprehend.

The band rocked (as usual) and we had fun, but I will always be on the lookout for hotbeds of hooshetto activity in our area. If this keeps up, we might have to move!

Do Fence Me In

2009-04-26T09:03:00.000-07:00

If you haven't been following this blog very closely, you might not know that we have a psychotic dog in our house. He is craaaaaazy with a capital C!

One of the biggest problems we have is that we don't have a fence and so we don't really have a good place for Coal to run of some of this excess energy. We tried going to the local dog park but did I mention that the dog is psychotic? Living on a cul-de-sac that backs up to another cul-de-sac means we end up with a very odd shaped lot that does not easily lend itself to fencing. Running our property line with regular fencing would be extremely expensive as well as butt-ugly! The only real solution we could come up with was live with the chain untangling and digging or invest in an underground fencing system. I have heard mixed reviews about these things but we decided to give it a shot. We could have installed it ourselves, but that seemed like a ton of work (with iffy results) so we hired an expert to install our system.

Nate came out on Wednesday and installed the fencing in no time flat. If you don't know how these things work, they bury a cable underground and then mark the boundaries with bright red flags. Coal loves to chew on flags, so he quickly learned that maybe this was no longer a good idea! He tried to bite the first flag and got his warning signal and he was not happy about this at all!

Yesterday, for the first time ever, we played a wicked game of fetch with Coal in the backyard. He was untethered and ran and ran for almost an hour. And when his mommy threw the stick over the boundary line (on accident), he didn't even try to go after it. This morning, a tasty looking piece of trash was blowing towards him. He ran right up the flags and laid down and patiently waited for it to blow over the line so he could destroy it.

So my review after 4 days? It was worth every penny that we paid for this system. I can see a huge difference in Coal already. I'm not ready to let him out without supervision yet, but we are getting closer. What can I do? I can let him out with a leash and he doesn't bolt. He will happily lay down on the patio with us and just enjoy the fresh air. He will actually play and run - fetch, soccer, or just crazy, excess energy running! The other benefit, I haven't heard him sit on top of the hill and bark incessantly at the bunnies in the neighbors yard.

He is really good about the boundaries in the back, but for some reason, he is completely freaked out by the front yard. We can't get him to cross the line even if he doesn't have the receiver collar on. This makes taking him for a walk a little difficult! We might have to resort to putting him in the car to take him off our property for walks. That works fine except for the days that Dr. Evil and his family have a party (which is like every other day). We will keep working with him and hopefully soon, we can let him go without a leash and he will stay put!

Random Thoughts

2009-04-23T19:28:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen a 70 lb. dog pout? Coal is giving me the cold shoulder. He literally will sit down and turn his back to me. Sweet talk gets me nowhere, in fact, he will turn his head away from me and stick his nose in the air. You know the look, the "I'm mad at you and I'm going to pretend that you don't exist" look. All because we installed an underground fence yesterday. Someday he will understand that this will give him way more room to run and it will be a much better thing. For now, I will have to put up with the pouting.
You should be careful what you put on the back window of your car - it might send the wrong message. Or maybe I just have a twisted sense of humor. While in KC, I was following a guy in a huge SUV who was obviously into hunting. In one cycle of a light, I figured out that he liked to hunt ducks, pheasants, deer, turkey, and dogs. I know that wasn't the message he was trying to convey, but the way he had the stickers arranged, it kind of looked that way.
STL to KC isn't very far apart and it is not really worth going through the airport shuffle, so I drove. Company policy won't allow me to drive my own car so I rented a car. I'm not a huge fan of rental cars - people like to drive the snot out of them and most of the time it shows. I picked what I thought was the best looking car in the row and headed west. This car was different from most. I really liked this one and I want to own one of my own. I'm not saying I'm going to buy one, well not yet!
Welcome back to the blogisphere, MonkeyMamma (aka Sewwhat?)!!!! We missed you the last few weeks! Your costumes look awesome.
I honestly have been thinking about starting a second blog (work related issues). Does anyone out there have more than one blog that they maintain and do you have any advice? Or can you try to talk me out of this? (And to my boss who will read this, I'm not going to write about you but some of the challenges that I am facing trying to change "the process" that I stole the towels about!)

Happy Birthday Mr. Monkeygirl!

2009-04-20T19:48:00.000-07:00

Today is Mr. Monkeygirl's birthday. He doesn't demand much from me and he could really care less if anyone even mentioned his birthday much less makes a big deal out of it.

In a complete rip-off of Ann, here are just some of the reasons why I love him more than he could ever know....

I understand the concept of cooking and cleaning, but not how they really apply to me. And you are ok with that!
No matter how horrible your day was, you are always glad to see me and stops to give me a kiss before you do anything else - and I do mean anything!
I love the fact that even though you can practice it with the best of 'em, you can not say the word 'empathy'.
I love the fact that our brains seem to work on the same wavelength more often than not - especially when it comes to what's for dinner.
While I love Coal, I think it is sweet that you make sure the dog isn't bothering me even though you might have to get up every 15 seconds to see what the beast theived, is barking at, or whatever other mischief he is currently up to.
It is amazing how quiet you can be in the mornings when you get up at the crack of dawn, you are so careful not to disturb sleeping beauty. I try to be that quiet, but it always seems like I do something stupid to wake you up!
It makes me happy that you absolutely love my chocolate cake. The suggestion for more frosting has made it even better than Grandma's original!
You overlook my freakish obsession with high heels and don't complain when they take over the entire closet floor.
You are so cool that you said it was ok for me to leave you on your birthday to go to some silly training class on the complete opposite side of the state. I would have had a cow about that!

Love ya, Mr. M. I will see you soon and promise to bake you your own cake really soon!

Here we go again

2009-04-18T19:37:00.000-07:00

After our recent run in with ID10T salesmen trying to get our bathroom remodeling business, and since we "are not - nor will we ever be, professional bathroom renovators" (according to ID10T himself), we are going to attempt round 2. I hope that this round goes much better than the last one.

At the same show that we found the ID10T's, we also talked to anther guy about out remodeling plans. He said he worked out of his home and had been in business for 30+ years. When I didn't hear from him right away, I kind of wrote him off. But this afternoon, I got a call and we have an appointment set for a week or two out. Based on a short 5 minute call, I think this experience is going to be much better.

As a follow-up to ID10T- Part 2:

I was relating my story to my friends over lunch on Friday, when my BFF asked, "What is ID10T's real name?" I told her and she immediately started laughing. Apparently, she has run into ID10T before. He used to work for the huge local rip-off remodeler and they dealt with him there. Then they decided to use someone different and apparently, he was working for them at the time. She said that during their dealings with him, he continually took personal calls on his cell phone until she warned him that he needed to stop or they were done. Her sister also used ID10T's middle company and had similar bad experiences with him.

So maybe ID10T's company is ok, but unfortunately, his crap-@ss attitude has turned me off forever to their business.

ID10T Part 2

2009-04-15T19:21:00.000-07:00

Blogging about the Idiot Salesman the other day made me feel so much better. I wasn't the only one who thought he was a big jerk and acted like a 4 year old who was told he couldn't have his toys. I was even prepared to commit my experience in writing to the owner to make sure that he was at least aware of the way we were treated.

Earlier tonight my phone rang, and I immediately recognized the number. I hesitantly answered the phone and it was my buddy K - the king of scheduling/confirming/rescheduling appointments. K started off my saying that his records showed that newbie sales guy had been out to see us. Uhm, no - we never saw newbie guy, I calmly replied. K started to panic, because he knew I wasn't very happy about the whole rescheduling thing. I explained that we didn't see newbie guy, instead ID10T sales guy came out to visit.

K tried this whole spiel about their records indicated we didn't buy because of price and the owner wanted to "get in our area" and that they were willing to work with us on the numbers. Ha! I don't think K was expecting what he got next from me. I explained that under 'normal' circumstances I would have been happy to get his call and talk to him about this. However, given the fact that ID10T guy basically told me I was stupid and that I wouldn't call him again, I'm not really sure I was comfortable dealing with them as a company. K stuttered and stammered trying to get his bearings. "Are you sure it was ID10T that was at your house? I've rarely heard this kind of thing about him." Yes, I was positive who was there and it wasn't the newbie. I explained a little more about my conversation with ID10T and again explained that if ID10T was the head of the division and the trainer, I didn't have a lot of confidence that in what the rest of the employees were like.

K was furiously jotting down notes so he could talk to the owner or someone in the morning. He wants to call back in about a month to see if we are past the strike issue and maybe they could earn our business then. They can call me until the cows come home, I doubt they can change my mind unless they come up with some incredible deal (i.e. they pay me for the pleasure of remodeling my bathroom and not spreading their name all over the internet)!

I suspect that sometime tomorrow afternoon, my phone is going to ring again and I will see that all too familiar number once again. I kind of hope it is ID10T calling personally - I have a few things I would LOVE to share with him!!

An Open Letter to Salesmen

2009-04-13T19:57:00.000-07:00

Dear Sales Guy,

I asked you into my home because I need something that you have to offer. Or at the very least, something you have to offer intrigued me enough to find out more. It takes a special kind of person to do your job. I can appreciate what you do but I have a few things to get off my chest.

First, if you set an appointment with me for a day and time that was your idea, you should have a really good reason for canceling on me. Not one time, but twice (and almost 3 times). Better yet, if you are the Sales "Manager/Trainer" who is sitting at my kitchen table, you should knows that this happened to me before you tell me how you purposely overbook appointments on the hope that somebody cancels or backs-out.

Secondly, I think it is a small world that you know someone that I work with. I even find it slightly amusing that you figured out where I worked based on the description of what I do (although I work in a very specialized industry without much local competition, so it wasn't hard). But I'm sorry, some of the stories you relayed to me were very personal and quite frankly, a little uncomfortable to hear. You have no idea what my working relationship is with "one of your 5 best buds". I might have a big mouth and my colleague may not want this type of information shared about their past. You obviously aren't very good at reading body language either. Not once did you pick up on my obvious discomfort - I really didn't want to know these types of things and thought it was inappropriate to share that kind of information with a stranger. Oh, and your future relative that was recently "fired for no apparent reason"? Not understanding why might be a big part of the overall problem of continuing employment- 'nuf said.

Finally, I appreciate the fact that it is more cost effective for you to close the sale on your first visit. I can even appreciate that you are trying to make some money on the job or service that you are trying to sell me. But don't insult the customer. If you p!ss me off, I most assuredly won't buy from you. I would like the time to think about what you are offering me. Consider the fact that I walked in the door after you did tonight, I never had a chance to sit down and relax for a minute - or eat dinner. I even showed you what I wanted done before I even took off my coat! You talked almost non-stop for 3 solid hours without taking a breath and then asked me to make a decision in 3 minutes. When I requested some more time, what did you do? You basically told me I was an idiot, that I would never call you back and then you pouted and took your toys and went home. Never mind the fact that I just told you that my husband may go on strike any day now. Never mind the fact that the economy really sucks right now and making any type of big investment is risky. Never mind, I'm obviously stupid and have no idea what I am doing nor will I ever be a "professional" buyer - at least that is what I got out of your parting comments.

It's too bad, you seemed to have something that I need and for a price that I'm willing to pay. I can even overlook the cancelled appointments and the inappropriate stories about an old friend, but when you insult my intelligence - you are D-O-N-E.

Sincerely,

Mr. and Mrs. Monkeygirl

The Bunny Brought Wheels

2009-04-12T18:32:00.000-07:00

The Easter Bunny made a stop at our house today. Not for Skaterboy, he is sooo past that (kind of) but he stopped for the local niece and nephew. EB left a note for the M&M's....

I stopped by and left you some Easter treats! I hid them in the front yard for you to find. Be sure to share with each other the goodies you find. Have a great Easter!

They had so much fun finding the eggs, that were no so well hidden in the tulips and fountain grasses in the front yard. They were so excited, running back and forth, looking for eggs whenever they could find them. When their baskets were full, we headed around the back of the house.

I think all of the neighbors could hear their squeals of delight when they say what waited for them in the driveway - two brand new shiny bicycles. M-boy has a cool silver and red bmx bike and M-girl has a Tinkerbell bike complete with flowers and music! (I love 'em to death but the bikes were from Mommy - a late/early birthday present)

They had to test them out right away which was a little bit of a challenge. While we have a very large driveway, the 4 cars of our guests took up most of the flat spaces. A couple of the cars were parked alongside the house so the space for wobbling steering was limited. No amount of discussion would persuade them from their maiden voyage so we carefully navigated them between the cars and the house to the open road!

It started to sprinkle right around dinner time which was a blessing in disguise. If it hadn't started to rain, we would have had to serve them dinner outside as they rode around in circles!

All Cleaned Up

2009-04-10T15:46:00.000-07:00

Taking advantage of a Friday afternoon free of meetings, I took the afternoon off to meet a couple of people at house to see if we can't knock some of our home improvement stuff off the list.

I mentioned the other day that we need to redo our master bath among other things. The biggest problem I have, I don't know what I want. I generally have a vision in my head and all I have to do is figure out how to afford that vision. This time - the head is blank. trying to get ideas, I've scoured the internet for ideas for "small" baths. I guess my idea of a small bathroom differs from what you find on the internet because these bathrooms are huge in comparison. I also don't have $30 grand to spend on a room that I spend little time in.

We have even gone to the local home improvement stores looking for ideas and nothing is clicking for me. When we stopped by a booth at a local home show last weekend and I told the kid manning the boot that I didn't know what I wanted, he countered with "we can work up a 3-D model for you so you can get some ideas. Sounded like a great idea to me so we signed up for an in-home visit.

We set our appointment for Thursday. On Wednesday afternoon they call to confirm the appointment, we are set. Wednesday night, they call to say that they overbooked and could we move it to Friday. We negotiate a time when both Mr. and Mrs. Monkeygirl would be home and we are set. Thursday night, they call again to confirm. So, tonight, 10 minutes after our scheduled appointment time, they call again. Oops, they need to reschedule again for next week because they are really busy. Uhm, do they care that we went out of or way to make sure we were home for them? Do they care that I raced home to actually clean the bathroom first (I don't want them to see it dirty!!)? Is it just me, or is it kind of rude? I'm happy for them that they are really busy and that they are getting all kinds of business from the home show, but I have my limits.

We rescheduled the appointment - again - for Monday. If they cancel on me again, then I'm done. A girl can only clean so many times in one week!

Pins and Needles

2009-04-09T16:24:00.000-07:00

Spring has finally sprung and it seems like almost everyone on my street has started some type of home improvement project. Dr. Evil and his clan recently remodeled a bathroom in his lair. The neighbors on the other side remodeled their bathroom and are in the process of redoing their kitchen. All of this construction going on has us thinking about what we want to do around our house. And the list is looooong.

Completely gut and remodel the Master Bath. Thanks to a leaky shower that a 'handyman' supposedly fixed, we think we have to rip up the sub floor and start over again.
Once the bath is finished, I want to paint and redecorate the master bedroom. It needs it because we haven't touched it at all - it still has the previous owners paint job and curtains.
Our hall bath could use an update. I kind of like the lemon yellow tub and potty but it does make the room a little dated!
We need to repaint the entire hallway and we want to replace the trim so it matches what is in the kitchen and family room.
We would like to rip up the carpet and refinish the hardwood floors in the living room/dining room and strip the wallpaper and repaint that room as well.

And that's just the projects we want to do inside. Outside is another long list of expensive projects.

Resod the dirt patches in the front and back yards.
Replace the fencing around the pool.
Repaint the front and back porches (poured concrete that looks like brick work).
Replace the garage door.
Replace the front and back doors.
Re-install all of the landscape lights that Coal has ripped out in the past few months.
Speaking of Coal, install an underground fencing system for him so he has more space to roam and doesn't get tangled up every 5 minutes on something.
Repaint the pool and completely replace the faux tile around the edge.
Repave the driveway (It was damaged in a wicked hail storm about a year before we bought the house and is in bad shape).

And I could go on and on. While we have alot of ideas about what we want to do, we have to be very careful about what we commit to. Mr. Monkeygirl is a union guy and his contract expired last week. Right now they are working under the current contract but we don't know if they will settle, go on strike, or get locked-out. Until all that is settled, we are going to be cautious. We have someone coming out to give us a bid on the master bath job and the doggie fence so we know what kind of money we need. But while we are waiting on pins and needles for the contract negotiation to be settled, we aren't going to make any big moves. Wish us luck!

Domesticated

2009-03-29T19:20:00.000-07:00

Mr. Monkeygirl married me for a variety of reasons, but my domestic skills were not high on the list. As the saying goes "I understand the concept of cooking and cleaning, but not how they apply to me." Today, I did my best to earn my domestic diva badge.

Dust bunnies quivered in my sight as I launched my attack. There are portions of my kitchen counter that saw the light of day for the first time in months. In horror, I realized that I still had the Christmas table cloth on the dining room table. I could probably have pulled off a red table cloth for Valentines day, but the green felt Christmas trees were a dead give-away that I was a little behind. (Ooops, that reminds me that I still have hearts hanging on the front door. Dang, I better get out the eggs before it's too late!)

Now, the bathrooms are shining and you can see yourself in the counter in my office. Heck, it was just a major improvement to even get to the point where you could see the counter top in my office! Daylight can shine brightly inside now that some of the winter sludge and puppy nose prints have been wiped away from the glass doors.

Of course, having a 65 lb puppy makes some cleaning chores a bit of a challenge. I can only wipe away nose prints for a matter of minutes before he decides that he wants to lick and smell the reflection of the puppy he sees in the glass. Ninety seconds after I finish cleaning my white counter top in the kitchen (who ever installed the bright white, textured counter top in this house should be shot!), muddy paws prints were deposited to make sure I didn't forget he existed. How can you miss a huge black puppy rolling around under your feet?

It took me most of the day but I got the cleaning part of my diva badge but I steadfastly refuse to work on the cooking part. Sorry, Mr. Monekygirl, looks like you are going to still be stuck in the kitchen!

Shine on, Tigger

2009-03-25T20:38:00.000-07:00

Perhaps they are not stars

but openings in heaven

where the love of our fur children

pours through and shines

down upon us to let us know...

they are at peace.

God bless you, Tigger. I will look for your shining star in the evening sky.

Not PB&J

2009-03-19T18:28:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid, I was a picky eater. I was not adventurous at all. I'm pretty sure I went through a period where the only thing I would eat was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I have no idea how long this lasted, but I'm pretty sure it was a long time. Familiar foods would be ingested, but I was not really willing to try new things. For years we would go to a local Mexican chain and the only thing I would eat was a hamburger. I could really be a pain in the buttockals when it came to meal time.

A few days ago, I was chatting with MonkeyMamma. It had been a glorious day, so MonkeyMamma and her foreign exchange students went to a local bistro for lunch on the patio. B wanted her salmon raw but they insisted on cooking it ever so slightly before they would serve it. She was not happy. Sounded like me that B was craving some sushi! I suggested a fantastic sushi place near my office and casually mentioned that the sushi was awesome.

MonkeyMamma's reaction was hysterical! She started to respond normally and then about 20 seconds later, she stopped dead in her tracks. "You eat sushi?" she asked incredulously. Why yes I do and I love it! I know, the same girl who had a complete and total meltdown on a camping trip as a child because someone "stole" her PB&J sandwich. The entire family looked high and low for the missing PB&J. It was nowhere to be found. We looked for what seemed like forever. All of the sudden my dad started laughing at me. Then everyone else started laughing. Being a pre-teen aged girl, I was not amused. I lost my lunch and they were just laughing about it. Turns out that I somehow stuck my arm in the sandwich and it was stuck on the sleeve of my coat.

Today, the picky PB&J girl got to introduce her mother and baby sister to the joys of sushi. They seemed to like it and hopefully will join me again some day soon. Now all I need to do is find a way to convince Mr. Monkeygirl into trying it....