My little buddy

A few weeks ago, I went out to check on my plants and saw an empty hole in my onion plant pot. Concerned, I wondered what the heck was living in there? Well, to my surprise, I discovered Morty. I don't have the heart to kick him out, so he's now living in my onions in peace and we discuss life together. He's pretty spiritual, is our little Morty. Sort of the "you can't see me, so I'm not here" school of philosophy, but he sure is a good listener. So, say hi to little ol' Morty. I got my frog and didn't even have to pay for an aquarium or feed him or anything.

Love,
B

More Pics

All right, so here's the kitchen being updated again. I had the fun of staining some last night and decided to take a pic of how it looks nearly completed. And also attaching another pic of my great-niece for all who want more of her. She's sooo cute!!

Amazing News!!

I feel like doing a little dance! My friend who's been fighting cancer got through her big chemo and did all of her tests. The tests show...NOTHING!! What that means is, the residual cancer that had spread to several places in her body are no longer there and the doctor could not feel the main mass at all! Yay!!!! I can't stress how very good this makes me feel. She's been so brave and rarely allowed a negative thought to get her down and had the wonderful support of family and friends to help her get through this awful ordeal. So, cancer, zero. Modern medicine and the power of the human body and mind, 10! Yeah, baby.

Love,
B

Finally!! A fun weekend!

On Friday after work, I headed out to Nebraska, the first stop being my brother's house. It took forever to get through the city. There's construction everywhere and instead of the handy-dandy freeways, I have to take this back roads with tons of stabilizes. Ugh. And had to get cash and had to swing through a drive-through. So didn't get into Lincoln until about 9:30 pm after gassing up too. I hate when that light comes on when you're only 15 min. away from your destination. Anywoo, got to bro's place and freshened up a bit, then we headed out to July Jams, downtown festival thingee, where we met up with Tracy and company. Cost $7 to get in, $5 for 9 tickets, 6 tickets for a 10 oz beer. Listened to an Irish band. Watched random men in kilts. Laughed. Found out that they stopped serving alcohol at 11:30 pm. Scrambled to get tickets together to buy final beers. Gave final beers away as not only were they stopping serving, but apparently the whole thing was closing down too. Went to a bar. Had a couple of cheap beers. Was happy. Went home. Slept.

Woke up Saturday morning and went to the kitchen to get the coffee started to pry my eyeballs open since it's dangerous to walk around a strange place with your eyes closed, but found the bro already on top of the coffee issue. Had some java while sharing bullshit, then they headed out to pick up the kids to go to the waterpark in Grand Island. I showered and headed to my niece's to meet little Macy who you can see two posts below if you're so inclined. Such a cute baby!! And hardly ever cries, so she's totally my favorite baby ever. Hung out at a cousin's house most of Sat. with my niece and great-niece. That night, Tracy came over to their house too and we all played poker and had a great time. My cousin and I realized that if I ever moved back there, we would be spending tons of time together and Paul and her husband would hate us. It was great that my niece and her boyfriend got to come and get some much needed fun time! Taught her and Tracy how to play poker. I haven't laughed that hard in forever!! It was so much fun. Should've packed some Depends, just in case, lol.

Sunday, Tash and I went to the mall and got the baby some clothes along with her older daughter. Couldn't pass up some of those outfits, they were adorable! It was so much fun, but kinda nutty at the mall. Course, also bought Tash and myself a little something (er...somethings, that is). Then dropped her and Macy off and headed back home. Got to have a great weekend with my niece and great-nieces, spend some quality getting drunk time with family and friends. Sheesh, if all my weekends back there are like this one, I'll never want to come back home!

Love,
B

Kitchen Update

Also, attaching a photo of the hard work that Paul did this weekend while I was out enjoying myself with friends and family. It's coming along!!

Baby pics!

Here's a couple of pics of the new arrival to the family! I got to visit this weekend and spend some wonderful time with them!

Love,
B

Doggie Adventures

I forgot to add some things that happened over the weekend, and since this week has been relatively uneventful, I'll talk about that bit of excitement. Sat. morning I woke up around 8:30 am, about 15-20 minutes after Paul had left for work. Usually, he just leaves the dogs outside so they don't bother me and I can sleep in a little extra. So, I made my coffee, got myself a cup and sat down in front of the puter to check email. As I'm sitting there, I'm looking out the window into the backyard. Can't see the dogs. Hmmm...so went outside to see if they were under the deck. Called their names and whistled...still no dogs. Go back inside, trying not to panic. Paul's Dodge was gone and I knew he had to go in early to work, so figured he hadn't taken the dogs to the lake, which he used to do before Brody's surgery. Called him at work, no answer. Called him on his cell phone, no answer. Left pretty frantic-sounding messages to call immediately. Went through the house to see if they were stuck in a room or something. Then as I'm walking around, I look out the front window, and lo and behold, there's Brody looking in, panting as though she had just run a marathon. I let her in the front door and she's limping like crazy. Ugh. By this time, I've figured out that they obviously got out and at that point didn't know when Paul had left for the day, so wasn't sure how long they were running free and even how they got out. As I'm outside, trying to find Toby, I spy him across the street, running around, peeing on everything vertical and standing still. He was enjoying his freedom a little more than Brody and didn't want to come when I called, so here I am, in my PJs, barefoot standing in the middle of the street, yelling for my dog. I'm sure I impressed my neighbors. He finally comes running over and I get him in the house and dash to the backyard to figure out how they got out. Well, there's a gate, but it was closed and latched. The latch is this ancient thing though so figured that that's how they made their jail break. Rigged up something to temporarily stop them from getting out again.

Later in the day, the dogs were in the backyard, and I was watering the plants in the front and I notice that Brody is nudging the latch with her nose as to open it. Aha!! Gotcha. So, my dog again has proven that she's entirely too smart for her own good. She limped around the rest of the day but got better as the day wore on and by Sunday seemed okay. Paul got a new gate along with a new latch that is now doggie-proof. I stood out there Sat. evening to help him put it up, but there was a hotspot for mosquitoes right there and in the five minutes I was standing there, I got seriously swarmed. Resulted in 14 bites. Yes, I really did count.

So my dogs got an adventure, I got attacked by mosquitoes and we got a new gate, that looks fabulous next to the rusty ol' fence (that comment is entirely sarcastic). Moral of the story is, to make sure you get the dumbest dog from the pound, not the smartest.

Love,
B

FedEx SUCKS

Well, here's my diatribe about FedEx and their utter uselessness. I ordered a laptop which had to be signed for (something I didn't know but should have figured out, duh on my part). It was supposed to come Fri. Well, they were quick I'll give them that. The first attempt was on Thurs. obviously no one was home. I called FedEx customer service that evening as soon as I got home. Basically here's what she told me: There is no where that I can pick it up at, I can't change the delivery address, they can't tell me when the 2nd or 3rd attempt might be or the times. Great. I was getting annoyed at this point. I was planning on going to Nebraska this weekend to see my little new great-niece and go to the zoo with the cousins. Well, apparently my only choices to avoid the computer being sent back were to miss a day's work (not even knowing if an attempt would be made) or cancel my weekend plans (again, not even knowing if an attempt would be made). So, I cancelled my weekend plans which put me in a remarkably bad mood! I really look forward to spending time with the family and seeing my friends from home as they are my oldest and dearest people in my life. So, I waited around on Sat., afraid to even get in the shower for fear of missing him (they did attempt on Fri and if they were unable to deliver on Sat, bye-bye puter-it gets sent back). So, around 3:30 pm the dude finally shows up. And I got my new baby which I am using right now to type this blog!! Unfortunately, I'm having issues with airport and can't get it to work, so I'm going to have to mess around with that. I called RoadRunner to make sure it was compatible with a wireless network and he said it shouldn't be a problem (haha, I've heard that before) and gave me some pointers on how to get it to work. Well, after doing exactly what he told me, it still didn't work, so right now I'm directly connected to the internet, which isn't what I intended at all. But, give me a few days and dammit, it will work!!

So, I cancelled the laptop case, didn't want to be lugging it around for a month in a backpack or something. Went the Apple Store in the plaza. Walked in and wanted to fall on my knees in awe and devotion. Managed to hold myself back. Got a new little case that I love, it looks more like a purse than a case, so maybe it won't get ripped off. Need to call my insurance agent and add this baby to the policy just in case. Also was going to purchase an airport card for the eMac, but apparently my year is just in that weird time that they were changing the cards from regular to extreme, and of course, I went all girl on the guy and couldn't remember anything about the computer. Will be returning for one soon though, since a friend helped me figure out which one I need (thanks Eric!!) Also, the same friend sent me a kick-ass link for cases for my iPod since the little guy already has a ding in it from being in my purse. I would probably have never purchased an iPod, but I love it now!! I listened to music for 8 hours straight at work and didn't (obviously) have to change out a CD. It was heavenly. The only problem I have is that I'm still trying to get good at using the click wheel. I have a tendency to just move it until I can get what I want and it's a little frustrating right now, but I'll get better!

The top of the kitchen is officially done and we've figured out how we're going to do the bottom. We have to get a smaller width sink in order for the lazy susan to work, but we found a great website that is dirt-cheap!! I assume we'll be ordering that shortly. I'll post a "before" (white cabinets) and an "after" (wood cabinets).

I just got done cleaning the house in the ever-losing battle against dog hair. Also, transferred the software from my new puter that wasn't on my old puter, so now have iPhoto. Played around with iMovie/iDVD and will have no problems putting together my parent's slide show for their party. Just have to get the photos scanned in now. Also, got the invitations all stuffed and ready for addressing which is what I'm about to go do. The hardest thing about my new puter is that I'm trying to get used to not having to type so hard. I'm not very good at this gentle touch thing. I'm used to banging away on the keys and this is causing typos, so I apologize for any oddities in the words. Well, I'm starving so am going to go eat a little something.

Love,
B

Apple Rocks

Wow, I've had a good day! Apple emailed me and they've gotten all of my order shipped to me (except for the stupid labtop case, which may take 6-8 weeks, argh!) So, very soon, I will have several new toys to play with. An iPod mini, an external hard drive and a new computer! And I have to figure out the whole Airport Extreme thing I also purchased so I can be on the internet and watch TV on the couch at the same time...ahhhh, I will be able to reach a whole new level of laziness!

And also got mom and dad's anniversary party invitations and lo and behold...everything is spelled correctly! And they're very simple, but elegant. So, I will be working on those too. I think I'm most excited about the DVD burner I got on the laptop. I checked out how big those disks are, and, holy moly! I'll be able to put so much info on them. I can burn massive stuff! Fun times! Well, off to bed!

Love,
B

I Done Spent Some Money

Well, today I dropped some serious cash and I am still reeling. I'm trying to keep myself from hyperventilating by heavy breathing techniques. I purchased a 14 in. iBook today with 1.33 GhZ SuperDrive with an upgrade in memory to 512 MB since it only came with just a little bit of memory. Then purchased the AppleCare Protection Plan, an external FireWire hard drive (only went with the 40GB, should take care of both systems) and the AirPort Extreme Base Station so I can be on the internet in my damn living room and watch TV. Also picked up a case for the lap top and a firewire cable for the hard drive. Phew. Thank God for educational discounts. Also, got an iPod mini for free with my purchase of the lap top so that's freakin' cool as hell. But still panicking a little. I went ahead and applied for the Apple credit because I get no interest, fees, etc for 90 days and by then I will have my school money and be able to pay it off and close the darn thing. Thought that made more sense than putting it on a current card and paying interest for a month or so. Haven't broken the news to the boy yet, but he'll get over it. He knew I was going to do it, but I just couldn't pass up that iPod :)

Besides, I got free shipping and I wanted to make sure I got what I needed before school started. Decided to not buy iLife since the new puter comes with it, I'll just pirate it on to my old puter. Haha, screw you Jobs!! No seriously, I apologize to the Mac gods for the previous statement. That was so wrong of me. Okay, I'm done, just wanted to share my super news (ack!!) of my purchases. I'll let you know what's what when I get it all.

Love,
B

Can't think of a title to cover all this crap

Here's the promised blog about my parent's anniversary party. So, it's going to be their 40th wedding anniversary on Oct. 9th and we decided to throw them a little party. Well, my parents should know that I'm not good at "little." So, talking to my brother's girlfriend, she got a hall for a seriously discounted price and he's throwing in the linens and some of those little mirrors for centerpieces on the tables for free. It's going to be on Oct. 8th at 7 pm. When I started to plan this, I figured we'd be inviting around 60 people or so. Sheesh. I was soooo wrong. The guest list (which is not yet completed) is well over 160 people, which has turned this party upside-down. My parents are convinced that I'm padding the guest list because they think there's no way that they know that many people. And that's not including some of the kids in some of the families. Granted, many of these are out-of-staters and I'm not thinking they'll be able to come. But the ginourmous size of this party prompted us into not serving a full meal. I recently got in contact with a caterer who is going to help me plan out how much food to purchase and we're going to just do snack-y type things and cake, etc. Because we're poor and spending $10/head on 150 people is just not financially feasible for us right now. I really wish I could, but it's just not in the cards. I am planning on doing a slide show with pictures of their life together, starting with them both as small children and going chronologically from there. I wasn't sure how to approach this because while I could do it with Power Point, how do I project it. Then N., gave me the idea to burn a DVD movie with it and then I can just play it on the big screen they have there. What a great idea!! Unfortunately, I don't have a DVD burner, but have decided to buy one with my laptop I will be purchasing (probably today, in fact). The only thing I need after that is a scanner and about 2 weeks to scan all the photos in. I have sooo many that I have to go through and decide whether to use them or not. The other thing we're doing is that instead of gifts, we're asking everyone that is invited to write a memory/well-wishes to the couple and enclose a photo of their family. Then I'm going to make a scrapbook for mom and dad and also include photos of the party at the end. I think they'll really enjoy this and what a wonderful keepsake! I've ordered the invitations and they're on their way here already!!

Today, I have to go to Lowe's and pick up some tomato cages as the plants are now huge and the little ghetto ones I did some time ago no longer support the plants. I'm hoping we're going to get a lot of really nummy tomatoes soon, but think we won't see any for another month probably. Hopefully, they don't grow too much bigger since they are already crowded in their pots. Also, am going to separate out some of the pepper plants since they're definitely choking each other out. The onions are doing fine but I have no idea when to harvest them. The pea plants are actually producing some sugar snap peas, but so far have only three peas :) I really enjoy this gardening business and maybe next year will actually do some in the ground so I don't have to continually worry about transplanting them.

The kitchen remodel is going well although it's temporarily slowed down a bit. Hubby tore down all the top cabinets and has hung new ones on a little over half of the kitchen. I'm going to stain the doors today for him so that he can get the doors on. Maybe when I'm at Lowe's today I'll see if he wants me to pick up the last two cabinets and I can get those done too, just to prompt him into hanging them. It looks really good and now I'm very excited about seeing the finished project!!

Watched De-Lovely last night which is the story of Cole Porter who was a composer and a gay man who's greatest love happened to be a woman. I cried when she died. Tonight, I'm going to watch the Machinist if I feel up to a truly disturbing movie. Probably won't make me cry, although seeing Christian Bale look so scrawny is enough to induce tears.

And, here's all the info on the baby since I got some wrong when I blogged about it. Her name is Macy Rian, she was born at 4:35 am, at 6 lbs 7 oz, and 20 in. long. I'll be going next weekend to visit the baby and check her over :)

Well, I think I've made up for not blogging in a while with this extremely long post and for that I apologize profusely (not really).

Love,
B

Welcome to the World!!

I received a phone call last night that my niece was in labor. It was a bit of a shocker since she's a couple of weeks early, but everything was going well and FAST!! I was hoping to make it there for this one, but she never accommodates me. Last time, she popped right before a final and this year, it was late at night and she dilated from one to five in just two hours. So, today, we welcome Macy Ryan, a six pound, 7 ounce little bundle of fire into the world! Mom and baby are doing great, so couldn't ask for a better start to the weekend!

Love,
B

4th of July

I should be getting in the shower right now as I'm going to be late for work, but oh well. After working 13 hours on Friday, I think I can afford to be 15 minutes late to update. (OHHHH, that rhymed). So, here's the 4th for ya'll. Actually, we'll start with the 3rd. That night, my hubby called and said that he was going to the bar with someone from work and would be home after a couple of beers. Well, the phone rings at 1:30 in the morning, which I immediately pick up and say, "You must be drunk." He was. Made the wise decision to not drive home and stayed at his buddy's house. So at about 8 am the morning of the 4th, I feel a hand on my arm and about come out of the bed as no one was supposed to be in bed with me. It was the boy who crawled into bed after driving home that morning. He made the comment that when he walked in the house, no dogs barked and I didn't move, so anybody could've gotten into bed with me. I grunted, rolled over and went back to sleep (you can see how concerned I was)! We officially woke up around 11 am which was WONDERFUL to sleep that late! Then called some friends to find out what we were to bring to the BBQ. Paul was feeling okay until he took a shower, then the hangover hit him. It was pretty damn funny and I mocked him while faking sympathy. He wasn't fooled for a second. Usually, I'm the one with the hangover, but mine consist of profuse vomiting for hours and hours. His was just a tummy ache. The world is an unfair place. This is why I rarely over-indulge anymore. Don't know why, but just don't like puking. Anyway, I went into Wal-Mart and collected the yummies and a scale to start our big bet. We haven't yet figured out who gets what when they win. I suggested the winner gets to pick a vacation spot, which made us both roll with laughter as he gets no vacation this year (according to the boss, no one is getting vacation until they get more help...which was supposed to be in Aug., but now is maybe Oct.).

After hitting Wal-Mart, we went to R and M's place and hung out on the porch watching their puppies run around. The puppies were a consequence of bad timing on their part in not separating out their male/female dogs in time. They've just gotten the male fixed since this is the 2nd round of "ooopps" puppies they've had to deal with. They're so adorable and of course, I wanted to take one home with me...Paul is such a party-pooper. So, the day passed by while we just sat on the porch and relaxed and bullshitted for several hours. R's son was visiting and was so excited about shooting off fireworks, so we managed to rein him in until about 8:30 pm. Then for the next couple of hours, we shot off fireworks and a safe, but good time was had by all. Headed home and had a helluva light show, complete with spooky fog-like effects from the massive amounts of smoke.

Last night, we headed to Lowe's to pick up some more kitchen cabinets. For all who may not know, we're remodeling the kitchen and right now it's pretty torn up. Paul is doing the top first, then the bottom. I even get a new sink and garbage disposal!! Yay! We picked that out last night along with faucets, but won't actually purchase until we're ready to do the bottom. Paul is keeping a photo record of his progress, so I'll post them on Shutterfly and share with everyone once it's all done. I'm excited about it! Thank goodness that my parents are coming in Oct. for their 40th anniversary party, because this forces a deadline for him.

I spent a day on the weekend getting some things together for the party. We decided to not serve a full meal as the number of people actually invited has grown to approximately 160+. We will have an open bar for a while, but will go to a cash bar later on. We'll have snacks and stuff, but nothing major. Of course, we'll have a cake. I'd love to get my parents cake reproduced, but it would be very expensive, so we're going to check into that. I'll blog more on the party later.

Well, I should get to stepping to get to work as I'm going to be supremely late now.
Love, B