Thursday, January 31, 2008

Bill Gates owes me a blog! >=(

Ok..so I'd written this huge long blog on my weekend at Astronomy Days and my dinner at Tir Na Nog and our walk around the capitol in Raleigh..and wrote a little bit about some other mundane details of the past month or so.....and windows experienced an "error" and needed to close. WTF? It does this every night. So...I copied what I'd written so I could repaste it after I reopened it. Nope...completely gone. Not a trace. So..I spent an hour writing this LONG blog..and it's all gone. You know what I say? EFF it. I'm not writing all that again. It's a shame too b/c it was very well thought out and rather eloquent..and now no one will ever get to read it. Here's the summary: I got my picture taken with an astronaut ( Dr. Robert Crouch), had incredible scotch eggs at Tir Na Nog Irish Pub, got pics of the capitol building and went home.

I also mentioned in the other blog that Jeff bought a telescope, I have to put a fence up b/c my dogs were aggressive towards my neighbors and I still haven't heard about my well pump from insurance. Oh..and I have to pay out another $250 to have my septic tank maintained. Jeff's teaching a class at the community college, speaking at a conference next month and having some of his photos published in a magazine. That's the top points of my blog...but the details were what made the story..maybe I'll write them some other time when I'm not in such a pissy mood. I was in a great mood until I lost everything I wrote..all b/c Bill Gates can't build a reliable product. Sigh..such is life. Nothing's meant to go my way apparently. As Jeff says, why does everything have to suck?

Monday, January 14, 2008

Miss Patches Prissy Paws

I just love my dogs..let me tell you why. Yesterday as I was eating a bowl of cereal before coming to work, Jeff was in the floor playing with Patches..our border collie. He put his hand up to her face and says, "I'm going to get your nose!"...and she ducks her head and hides it under his leg. ?? Hmm..ok..probably just coincidental...so he says it again, and she hides her nose in his arm pit. Um...ok..maybe she was just smelling Jazz who was behind him. One more time.."I'm going to get your nose!"...and she covers her nose with her paw. Ho-ly crap. We have no idea where she learned that b/c Jeff doesn't say that as a habit. He's said it to her a few times in the past, but not enough for her to pick up on it...or so we thought.

He stands up and she comes to check out my empty cereal bowl and he says it to her again...and she runs behind my chair to hide. The next time he said it..she hid behind me and gave me this look like.."Please..don't let him get my nose!! I'm too cute!"...so we rewarded her with a cookie so she knows that we're not really going to get her nose..but I was just completely amazed.
She's done a couple of other things in the past that were quite amazing too. She figured out how to operate the ice maker on the front of our freezer. I'd come home to puddles of water in the floor and couldn't figure out where they came from...until I was in the office and all was quiet and I heard small thuds in the kitchen. I snuck around the corner and see Miss Patches Prissy Paws (her full name) pushing the ice release button with her paw. Ah ha...mystery solved. This continued until I accidently left the fridge on the 'water' setting and it sprayed her in the face. Oops.


The other time I was completely amazed was when my parents came down to visit. We were watching Mighty Joe Young on tv...the gorilla movie for those who don't know and Patches came in to check out the action...wait.. I should probably tell you about their toy bin first though. We have a huge basket that's about the size of a half barrel filled with all their toys. They'll go visit it and pull out what they want whenever they want. If I could train them to put them back..I'd really be on to something.

Anyhow, Patches glances at the tv, cocks her head to one side then trots over to her toy bin. She starts rooting around in the piles of bodies, tossing them over the sides haphazardly until she gets to the bottom and pulls out what she's seeking. She starts shaking it back and forth and then drops it in my mom's lap. I glance at it and it's nothing other than...wait for it...wait for it...still waiting..wait for it..... a stuffed shrieking gorilla. I'll be damned. Just seeing the one on tv reminded her that she had one too.

That gorilla had been buried in the bottom of the bin for MONTHS..mostly because it does shriek and hearing it at 3am sucks. Plus..she tore it's butt out and left the fuzzy white innards laying all over the living room. Unfortunately this was not enough to kill it's shrieker...it just busted it so that it shrieked in a continuous loop until you stomped the crap out of it....or it would start shrieking on it's own with no one around it. I know..my fault for buying the damned thing..but it was cute.

She's also waited for us to vacate the dinner table and instead of being like a regular dog who would just put their paws on the table to steal scraps off the plate, she jumped up in the chair and was sitting there perfectly poised licking the plate clean...like she belonged there. When she got caught she gave us this look like.."What? You didn't put it on the floor, how else was I going to get it?"

Patches is probably too smart for us. Her and the cats work together to steal food off the counters. I'm sure she's the brains behind the whole operation. Anyhow..I was just proud of my girly for basically teaching herself a trick. She provides hours of endless entertainment and love and I just wanted to share my amazing dog story with everyone!

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Is it really a New Year??

I can't believe it's already 2008. I wasn't so much celebrating the beginning of 2008, but the end of 2007. Thank goodness it's over! Horrible year! But..is it really a new year? Time is a continuum..it never really ends. Each day is just a continuation of the next and just because we're asleep, doesn't mean that time stops or that when the sun comes back up that it'll be better. So why do we procrastinate and keep putting things off for another day? It's not going to stop needing to be done just because you ignore it, you know? I still need to lose weight. I still need to pay off my credit cards. I still need to save money..but I keep putting it off. Why? I have no motivation. Why? If I could answer that question, I think I'd have achieved a pretty significant goal.

This year, there are a lot of things I'd like to accomplish. I'd like to lose about 50 lbs. I'd like to have about $2000 in my savings account. I'd like to learn how to speak spanish. I'd like to pay off one of my credit cards. I'd like to get pregnant and have a healthy baby. I'd like to fix all the stuff wrong with the house. I'd love to get a new job working day shift hours and have every weekend and holiday off. I'd love to finally get our fence up in the backyard. I'd love to get a tax return. I'd love to develop some kind of self discipline so I can build my savings and pay off bills. And..I'd love to see more of my friends and family. Where do I start?? How do I start? It all seems so overwhelming.

So far..I have done nothing to achieve any of those goals. I know it's only the 2nd day, but I can't get motivated. If anyone can tell me how..please..let me know! I had all these big plans for the weekend like taking a car load of stuff to the thrift shop and cleaning my carpets. I've been meaning to do that since September but haven't done it. I wanted to get my kitchen cleaned and my sheets washed. Nope. None of it happened. Jeff and I went shopping instead. Instead of saving money, we went and spent it. Granted..I took back stuff I bought on impulse and then bought stuff I really needed..like groceries, but still..we spent money. The only thing I was proud of is that we didn't eat out all weekend. I cooked every night..and that's rare!

Friday was chicken pie night with corn and green beans. Saturday was flank steak in a maple syrup, soy sauce, garlic and vinegar marinade with mashed potatoes. Sunday was fondue night..cheese and bread followed by bananas, strawberries and raspberries in chocolate fondue. I even made a gigantic breakfast Sunday too. Monday..New Year's Eve..was enchiladas and refried beans. All we did that day was go see I Am Legend and then come home and cook dinner...then waited for the new year to roll around....then off to bed around 1am. Nothing grand. Though, Jeff did fix my computer that afternoon.

If you get a chance to see
I Am Legend..you should go..it was incredible. There were a few times that I jumped and was on the edge of my seat...and there was no gore..which is a huge plus in my book...but it was also a very sad movie. I'd like to go see it again actually..but I'll wait and buy it on dvd. If you don't want a huge spoiler...do NOT go to Wikipedia...it tells the entire plot right through to the end.

My movie recap.....

In the year 2009, a doctor develops a genetically engineered strain of the measles virus which cured cancer. By the end of the year, the virus had killed 90% of the world's population. Another 9% were infected but still alive and 1% was completely immune. Will Smith's character, Robert Neville was one of the immune. The 9% of infected survivors degenerated into a primal state of aggression and reacted painfully to UV light..basically becoming vampires....and they hunted the 1% of completely immune people. By 2012, Robert Neville is in New York and believes he's the only remaining survivor. He is a military scientist who is doing his best to find a cure in order to save the human race. By day, he hunts and gathers food and supplies for him and his dog. By night, he seals up his apartment and tries to survive the night.

The link above takes you to the movie trailer. It averages a B- from critics..but I thought it was great. If for no other reason..it shows Will Smith shirtless doing pullups and running. Yowza! Oh..and a warning...I don't want to spoil the movie..but things happen to dogs in this movie that are very uncool and sad. That was the worst part for me. Anyway, It's based off the 1954 book I Am Legend by Richard Matheson which was based in LA instead of NY...and the end is totally different, but I still want to read it.

Alright..enough movie reviews....I just felt that it was worth one. I know where I'll be May 22nd and November 21st of this year though. Seeing Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Harry Potter: Half-blood Prince. Woo hoo! Can't wait! So..I guess those are 2 more goals I know I can accomplish this year. Another bright spot is knowing that my car will be paid of this year! Woo! That's a huge relief. I just want this year to be filled with happy things. For all the bad things that happened last year, I deserve to have a year where things go my way, you know? I'm still waiting to hear back from the insurance company in reference to our well pump and to hear from the people here at work about the stupid IA against me for venting in a blog. I hate it hanging over my head! I'll let you guys know when it's over. For now..I have to get back to work...

Christmas Love

You know..I wasn't expected much for Christmas this year..mostly because I hate it when people spend a ton of money on me when I can't spend any on them. It just bothers me. We'd had a bad year in general..but the last couple of months were the hardest. I felt bitter and sad and was dreading the holidays because I knew we couldn't spend money on anyone. Therefore, I wasn't expecting much from anyone else.

Some friends of ours..Justin & Sarah and Kyle & Andrea..each sent us gift cards in outrageous amounts!! I wasn't expecting anything close to what they got us. On top of that, Jeff's parents spent a ton of money on each of us..separately and as a couple. We got loads of gifts plus a lot of cash. My parents gave us money as well as gifts and Mom also got me the black pea coat I've been wanting forever. I just feel overwhelmed with all the generosity I received this year. It was one of the best Christmas' I remember having...not because of the gifts or the amount they spent..but because they cared enough about us to get us all that stuff. It was a great ending to a really crappy year.

I am truly thankful for such a wonderful family and amazing friends. No matter how rough my life gets, I know they're there and I feel so lucky that they are. So..to everyone, I just wanted to say thank you for being so generous and for bringing happiness and light into my darkest days. You guys are what get me through the day to day muck that is life. I'm so lucky to have all of you that no amount of words could express it. Thank you guys again and I hope you had an awesome New Year!