(not) Broken

A Tentative Hello

2010-07-27T22:13:00.002-07:00

I think I may start blogging again. Had fun playing with the new design tools.

Ten days ago I had eye surgery, a vitrectomy. I had my ten day check-up today. Everything looks great according to the doc. My eye is pretty much back to normal except for what I noted in that photograph - my vision seems unchanged.

My youngest brother and two of his daughters were to visit the mister and me for a few days starting tomorrow. My brother's request for a passport was turned down by the state department due to something I won't go into here (he's not a bad guy, trust me). I'm conflicted. On one hand I'm disappointed that I may not get to see them. And yet I'm uncomfortable having a bunch of people staying at my place, relatives or not, so I'm relieved at the same time. My older niece is still coming up north to see her boyfriend. We may get a chance to see her depending on schedules. And we may yet get to see my brother and my other niece if we schedule a meet-up for lunch half-way between Mum's and our place. I've already turned down the offer of us going down to Mum's for a couple days. I'm really not up to that. I just had the eye surgery and prior to that Mum and I went on a two week road trip. I just want to hole up in my cave.

The road trip blog with photos is here. My family is unaware of this blog (but have access to the trip blog) and I'd like to keep it that way, thanks.

Glee!

2009-09-02T22:05:00.004-07:00

I just watched the pilot episode of Glee. It was fun! I was in choir for most of my time in school. Choir is a bit different from a glee club, but it sure brings back memories. They've already filmed 13 episodes so it's here for a while at least. I'll keep my fingers crossed hoping that it's picked up for a full season.

It Burns!

2009-08-28T16:56:00.002-07:00

My throat and stomach that is - I'm having a bad gastric reflux attack. I hate stress.

The mister and I spent Monday morning to Thursday afternoon at a local motel while the hazmat crew was at work. The motel was fine. We swam once, took a couple drives, a couple walks, ate way too much junk food and watched the complete extended version of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. We even lucked out and the motel management let us in the room early Monday and let us stay an hour late on Thursday. And I'm totally amazed at how Kaylee took the whole thing in stride. Good dog! She did better than I; silly me got kinda of teary Wednesday night due to homesickness.

We had been told the whole thing would be done sometime Wednesday afternoon, but that obviously didn't happen. And the only way we knew it wasn't going to happen is because the mister had to keep calling various people to get some info. We had no problem with them running later than they thought they would, shit happens, but would it kill someone to pick up a fucking phone?

Anyway, the new bathroom flooring looks really good and they did an excellent job reassembling the bathroom itself (toilet, vanity, etc). It's nice to be able to poop in your own bathroom.

Now we just need to know when the actual plumbing work is going to start.

Cataclysm

2009-08-21T20:14:00.004-07:00

A new World of Warcraft expansion pack has just been announced. It looks totally kick-ass. Two new playable races (worgen and goblins), new race/class combos (humans and worgens can be hunters, yay!), new territories, a new secondary profession (archaeology) and major changes to the terrain. And - hold on to your hats - flying mounts in Azeroth. Blizzard said they weren't going to do that because it was a whole rewrite of the game. I guess they changed their minds. I am so stoked!

I can't find a release date. Maybe xmas?

Plumbing Update

2009-08-21T12:40:00.004-07:00

I'm talking pipes, baby!

The hazmat team is supposed to be here Monday through Wednesday (prepping, working, clean-up). What hazmat team, you ask. We have to have a hazmat team because there's asbestos in the lower of two layers of vinyl in the bathroom. Please note that we have one (1) bathroom. Fun, eh? We're going to be staying at a local motel during those days. We'll take the dog with us but the cats and rats will have to fend for themselves. Actually, we'll do our best to keep them comfortable and out of the way of the workers. And the mister is going to visit the house once a day while we're in the motel.

The plumbing work itself may start on Monday as well. Coordinator dude says the plumbing repair should take only a day or two. We've been sleeping in the living room for three weeks and while that's not a total hardship, it'd be nice to be back in our bedroom. (The plumbing problem is in the wall between our bedroom and the bathroom. Well, actually it's in the floor but the wall is the starting point.)

The bottom dollar: it appears we'll have to pay $1800 to $2000 for the plumbing work. Rumour has it that the insurance company may cover some of that. They will cover all decor restorations (flooring, drywall, paint, etc). We've already picked out the bedroom carpeting and bathroom vinyl. I'm hoping we can pick paint colours.

Call me cynical, but I bet dollars to doughnuts that it takes another two weeks at a minimum.

Special note to readers: don't buy a place with fewer than two toilets.

Hello

2009-08-18T11:56:00.002-07:00

How're you doing?

Okay, enough about you, let's talk about me.

Lots of stuff has happened. There have been health issues for both the mister and me, some of them taken care of, some ongoing. I've played several online games and am now (kinda) back at WoW. I missed this year's family reunion because of a passport screw-up; the next one is in 2011. We're currently going through some plumbing problems that have us sleeping in the living room. The plumbing problem arose when we would have left for the family reunion, so it wasn't a total loss. I have three fancy rats as pets - Newt, Becket and Scout. I got them mid-March and they're now almost eight months old.

I think those are the highlights. Back to my hordes of followers. What do you think of all that's happened to me?

WoW

2009-01-01T11:18:00.002-08:00

I wonder if I should turn this into a WoW blog. Hm, decisions... decisions...

As mentioned in a comment Ravenhart, my Draenei Death Knight, hit level 80 on Tuesday. That was pretty exciting. She's also finished Howling Fjord, Borean Tundra, Grizzly Hills, Zul'Drak and Sholazar Basin (and all the achievements, quest- and exploration-wise). Not sure which of the last three zones (not counting Wintergrasp, the PVP zone) she's going to hit next.

I was also thinking of respecc'ing (aka: respecialising) her into a more current/popular Blood Knight build, but why fix what ain't broke. It works for me and until I'm shown that a different build works better I'll stick to her 61/0/10 build.

I've updated my WoW link list to the right. I've added a couple blogs to the list and, if you hadn't noticed, my five mains are listed at the end of the list with the little squiggly things by them (yes, I know - tilde).

Ravenhart in her Winter Veil glory:

Happy New Year's, folks. May your best moment of 2008 be your worst in 2009!

Stand By Me

2008-12-31T11:05:00.000-08:00

For ShelaghG

2008-12-30T17:22:00.005-08:00

I love my Draenei Death Knight. I'm using this Blood build (one point to go in Unholy). I got it from Talentchic but, oddly enough, that exact build isn't there any longer. I tried the build known as Ghoul Knight, but didn't enjoy having the pet as much as I thought I would. Anyway, Ravenhart is about halfway through level 79 at the moment, and questing through Zul'Drak. I really don't like that zone, but I'm trying to finish off each zone at least once. That way, with another toon, I'll know what I can and can't skip.

I'm also enjoying the new Achievement thingie. I'm quite goal oriented in my playing: I hate farming and prefer to work toward something. Having a goal - finishing a quest or getting an achievement is my cup of tea.

Squeeeee!

2008-11-13T11:38:00.001-08:00

I am, as I type this, downloading the final patch for Wrath of the Lich King. I can't wait to create my pink-haired gnome Death Knight.

For the Lulz

2008-11-10T17:50:00.002-08:00

The mister and I were in the new 5 Bucks store. I saw a display of flowered necklaces and asked the mister if he wanted to get lei'd. The looks from passerby were priceless.

Yes We Can

2008-11-04T20:18:00.007-08:00

I cried when CNN announced for Obama. What an amazing day.

[Update]
40 minutes in and the goosebumps haven't stopped.

[Update]
My favourite comment at Metafilter:
How bad did Bush fuck up?

America just chose a black man named Barack Hussein Obama as next president of the United States.

Quote

2008-11-03T17:50:00.003-08:00

Rosa sat so Martin could walk. Martin walked so Barack could run. Barack is running so our children can fly. -- unknown

I've seen this quote all over the net lately; powerful stuff. And here's an article that really brings it home.

Express Elevator to Hell

2008-11-03T09:13:00.001-08:00

I'm watching Family Feud. The contestants are celebrity lookalikes.

Frustrated

2008-10-29T12:05:00.003-07:00

I like how my new banner turned out, but I can't figure out how to get rid of the text version of the blog name (on the left). I'm going to contact the designer, but please speak up if you have any ideas.

Quote

2008-10-22T13:35:00.001-07:00

Conventional people are roused to fury by departures from convention, largely because they regard such departures as a criticism of themselves. -- Bertrand Russell

Relief

2008-10-21T14:37:00.003-07:00

One health matter was taken care of today. I have, as my mother so eloquently put it, a critter in my cooter. Family Doc sent me to a Gyno. Gyno examined me and sent me for an ultrasound. The ultrasound was a wash - they couldn't find the critter. Gyno then sent me for a CT scan. CT scan was also a wash - they couldn't find the critter (but I did get to see the new hospital). Gyno is pissed off at ultrasound and CT people because the critter is right there (not to get overly graphic but you can see the thing if you're in the right place). Gyno says it's a cyst or blood tumour, most likely a cyst; neither of which do we need to worry about unless it becomes bothersome.

Now y'all know much more about my hooha than I ever thought I'd mention on the internet.

Better

2008-10-19T15:30:00.002-07:00

I'm not totally back to normal (whatever that is), but I'm feeling much better. Lots of sleep and killing the minions of evil seems to be working.

I added a link/graphic to the right for Diabetes Day. For thems who didn't know, I'm an insulin dependent Type 2 diabetic. Whatever you do in life, don't become diabetic. It, to put it mildly, fucking sucks.

Running on Empty

2008-10-17T12:29:00.002-07:00

Between worrying about the mister's health (heart problems I have yet to write about) and my own (some you know, some you don't) and now my mother's health, I have nothing left to give.

If someone said boo to me, I'd crawl into bed and never get up.

New and Broken

2008-10-16T20:45:00.004-07:00

New:
I finally have a new blog name that suits me. I never liked Silverbee Says. It's from an Evanescence song named Hello.

Broken:
Just spent a few days at Mum's; she fell last Thursday. She did okay for a couple days but called for help on Sunday. Got her to the doc on Tuesday. The xrays show she broke her pelvic bone. There isn't really anything they can do except let it heal. The doc told Mum she'd probably be in pain for a couple months until it healed. Fun, eh? At least she has a prescription for Tylenol #3, although she's complaining that it's not really helping

I'll be visiting Mum overnight every Thursday for the next while (laundry, tidying-up, garbage pick-up, etc.). Bro#1 will see her earlier in the week (he lives about 45 minutes away). Thanks to the internet her grocery shopping is taken care of. And it's a good thing she can afford cleaning every two weeks or so (no, I can't vacuum for her due to my own limitations). The only sticking point will be entertainment (library books and dvds). I'll do my best, but taste in books can be quite different than Mum's.

New:
500gb external hard drive. Tried to download WoW's newest patch and was told my hard drive was too full to install it. Yikes. Off to Staples we went and bought one for $125 or so.

Broken:
You may remember I mentioned my uncle availed himself of Oregon's Death with Dignity act after being diagnosed with cancer. Since then a cousin of mine, who lived in California, has also died of cancer. Kendra was two years younger than I. By the time she was diagnosed, just like Jack's, it was too late to do anything except try to keep her comfortable. I found out today that she committed suicide. Too bad California doesn't have a DWD act. Kendra hid her sleeping pills till she had enough to end her pain. The State of Washington has a Death With Dignity act on the ballot for this November. I hope it passes.

Twitch

2008-09-27T23:41:00.004-07:00

Gotta question for all three people reading this. Do you twitch while you're trying to fall asleep? I also have Restless Leg Syndrome, but I don't think the two are related. It's not a hypnic jerk (they're little twitches, not a big jerk :) but it might be related to it. I'm not overly disturbed or annoyed by this; I just was wondering if anyone else had the same thing happen.

tap tap tap

2008-09-23T11:02:00.004-07:00

Hello.

Good-bye Vox! They finally made it clear that they've done what they're gonna do regarding a blogroll. You have to put in each link by hand. No thanks, that's why Blogrolling was invented.

So, in the greatest tradition of blogging I give you a new test/quiz/watchamacallit:

The rules:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here and at Very Good Taste, linking to your results.

Cynical and I have parenthetically added a few comments and definitions to the list.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison (under duress)
2. ~~Nettle tea~~
3. Huevos rancheros
4. ~~Steak tartare~~
5. ~~Crocodile~~
6. ~~Black pudding~~
7. Cheese fondue
8. ~~Carp~~
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi*
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. ~~Foie gras~~
24. Rice and beans
25. ~~Brawn, or head cheese~~
26. ~~Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper~~
27. Dulce de leche
28. ~~Oysters~~
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda (sort of an Italian fondue)
31. ~~Wasabi peas~~
32. ~~Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl~~
33. Salted lassi*
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. ~~Cognac with a fat cigar~~
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo (as long as it's not seafood)
40. ~~Oxtail~~
41. ~~Curried goat~~
42. ~~Whole insects~~
43. ~~Phaal (wicked hot curry that I never heard of)~~
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whiskey from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. ~~Fugu (poisonous pufferfish)~~
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. ~~Eel~~
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. ~~Sea urchin~~
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi (pickled fruit)
53. ~~Abalone~~
54. Paneer*
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle*
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. ~~Sweetbreads~~
63. Kaolin*
64. ~~Currywurst~~
65. ~~Durian~~
66. ~~Frogs’ legs~~
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. ~~Haggis~~
69. Fried plantain
70. ~~Chitterlings, or andouillette~~
71. Gazpacho
72. ~~Caviar~~ and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost (more cheese, this time from Norway)
75. ~~Roadkill~~
76. Baijiu*
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. ~~Snail~~
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum*
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef (as long as it's well done)
86. ~~Hare~~
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. ~~Horse~~
90. Criollo chocolate (how is this different from regular chocolate?)
91. Spam
92. ~~Soft shell crab~~
93. Rose harissa*
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and ~~lox~~
97. ~~Lobster Thermidor~~
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee (don't like coffee, but that doesn't mean I'll never drink it)
100. ~~Snake~~

*Don't know what this is

(snagged from Cynical)

PS: Yes, I realise I'm a very picky eater.

FYI

2006-10-18T19:03:00.000-07:00

For now, I'm posting over here. I don't yet if it's a permanent move. There are things I like and dislike about vox, so we'll see how it goes.

Fer Reals?

2006-10-03T11:16:00.000-07:00

It looks like our search for a home is finally complete.

The property is half of a duplex that we saw this weekend for the second time. There was an offer ahead of us with a 48 hour contingency (meaning the potential buyers had to sell their house within 48 hours of the owners giving them notice that they had accepted a back-up offer). The other buyers weren't able to sell, so we moved into first place. Our only conditions were/are financing and a property inspection. Our mortgage broker just let the mister know that financing is in place. The property inspection has to be done and approved by us by October 11. There shouldn't be a problem with getting the inspection scheduled and I don't believe there's anything wrong with the property.

The details:
As mentioned, it's half of a duplex. There are two bedrooms and a den, one bath (with room to add a half bath at some point), a large living room with a nice stone-faced wood burning fireplace, a kitchen that has plenty of storage/counterspace and a dishwasher, a laundry room, tons of storage, a garage and a gorgeous backyard with a natural looking fish pond and three fruit trees (apple, pear & plum). It's in a nice, quiet, established neighborhood with lots of big trees. It's much closer to shopping than we are here and it's about 15 minutes to the commuter train. All the appliances are included and, although older, in pristine condition (fridge, stove, dishwasher, washer & dryer). The current owners are an older couple who have kept the place immaculate and the husband is a handyman who has done some nice tweaks to the place. He's hinted that he's leaving all the garden tools (including the lawnmower) in the cute little shed in the backyard. If not, we'll deal with it.

Lest you think the place is perfect, there is some updating to be done. The place needs paint and flooring, but not because it's in bad shape, it's just really dated. The current owners have owned and lived in the place for 16 years and they updated then but nothing since. Plus, as I said, they're an older couple - our tastes do not converge in any way that I can see.

I'm so glad we ended up in a house. No strata rules - I can be a crazy cat lady if I want (just kidding, but I'd like one more), we can have birdfeeders (the first place we offered on said no birdfeeders - wtf?), we can get another dog (although I doubt we will), I can put whatever plants I want wherever I want!

Photographs will be posted as soon as I can take some.

Two more cats?

Zip! Zap! Zing!

2006-09-27T13:17:00.001-07:00

Eye surgery is done. Drops were put in my eyes at about 8 a.m. and they're still dialated. My next check-up is in six months and here's hoping I'll never have any future problems.

We had a nice time at Mum's. We didn't do anything really exciting but it was nice to get away from here for a few days. On Sunday we took a beautiful drive to go to Chili's in Issaquah but it was closed for a staff meeting. Lombardi's was open so we had a nice Italian dinner instead. Mum and I spent a few bucks at Target. Damn, that place is dangerous and it's probably a good thing they don't have them in Canada. The topper to the trip was when we were on our way home and just a couple miles from our destination. A bi-plane was flying over a large field. It was painted to look like the Red Baron's plane! It's too bad I didn't have my camera ready to go.

Speaking of cameras - I took a few shots of Kaylee and one of mum's cats (Callie). I hope there are a couple good photos. I'll process and post them soon.

Tomorrow's mission (ha!) is to see a few houses in Mission. For one of the houses this is a second viewing. Please, keep your extremties crossed.

Moving On

2006-09-19T16:47:00.000-07:00

A long time friend of the mister's passed away yesterday. Long time readers may remember him; he's the friend who had a stroke a few years ago. J was diagnosed with lung cancer about a week ago (he smoked up until the stroke). They thought he'd have two to four months without chemo and about two years with. They were working on getting him strong enough for chemo, but it didn't work out that way. I feel so awful for his wife; they were married a long, long time. They have several children and grand-children so she has them to lean on. The service will be Friday or Saturday.

In other news, I had my last pre-surgery eye test today and I'm peeing highlighter yellow. I thought it was nuclear dye they'd inject but it was vegetable based.

We've also lost another bid on a house last weekend. We didn't have much hope for this one, but it was still disappointing. We're going to take a short break from looking and recoup.

Was it Something I Said?

2006-09-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

Yet another contract bites the dust.

The seller and the president of the strata said that there wouldn't be a problem with the pets; that they would get us approval in writing. If they hadn't told us that we would have never put an offer in on this last townhome. BUT the treasurer said no. Fuckers.

We're going back to concentrating on houses. They're a bit more expensive but without strata fees to consider, and as long as the taxes aren't outrageous, we can afford a bit more.

Have you picked up on the fact that I'm tired of this shit?

The Second Time is a Charm!

2006-09-11T20:58:00.000-07:00

We hope so, anyway.

We just signed the contract for the townhome we found this weekend. It's a bit different from the previous townhome: no formal dining room, not as updated (but in good shape), smaller (no basement), nicer complex and a much nicer backyard. It's also a bit more expensive but still within our range. It's not far from where we live now so the mister's commute will be about the same with no train involved. Oddly enough, for you who remember, it's around the corner from the apartment we lived in four/five years ago.

If we get it (the number of pets is an issue), we won't be closing until December or so. The current owners are in the process of looking for a place. We met the wife and she said they're moving because she wants a house. They have two small children (one is an infant) and I can certainly see wanting more room with a nice yard.

In other news, I'm typing this on my handy-dandy new keyboard (Microsoft Comfort Curve). My old one was filthy beyond endurance (although it was my own filth - eating at one's computer tends to make one's keyboard filthy. I like saying that - filthy filthy filthy!). We also bought a decent all-in-one printer (Epson Stylus CX3810). We had a nice Lexmark (it was free with my new PC a couple years ago) but Oliver decided he needed to remove the encoder (encoding?) strip. Silly beastie. In the interim we were using my ancient BubbleJet (BJC101 or something like that - I got it free with my original eMachine in 1999!). Anyway, the new one is just as nice and he can't get at the encoder strip.

This Ain't Happin', Man

2006-09-06T19:35:00.000-07:00

We're not buying the townhome. We were finally able to review the minutes of the strata (HOA) meetings for the last five years. There have been roof/leak problems since before 2001. The roofs were redone in 2003 and there are still problems. Thanks, but no thanks.

So, we're disappointed of course, but we already have a few townhomes to see in Langley and Aldergove. It's odd but both the mister and I are feeling much more optimistic this time around.

I've kinda dropped the ball on keeping y'all updated on my eye issues: I had my initial appointment and the doc confirmed that I have diabetic retinopathy. I had another appointment to scan my eyeballs (OTC, OCT, something like that). I have another appointment on the 19th in which they inject nuclear dye into me for some more testing. My laser surgery is schedule for September 27.

Bonus points if you can tell me which movie my title comes from.

I Can Explain Everything

2006-08-29T15:25:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. I've been quite absent lately. I haven't been reading what y'all are up to. I've even missed several weeks of PostSecret (*sob* I love that website). There is a reason behind it and it's come to a head today:

Eli and I will be homeowners somewhere around mid-September. Although having the RV to live in has been a life-saver, I'll be oh-so-glad to move on.

Our new home is a recently renovated (three years ago) three story townhome in Abbotsford. It has three bedrooms (all with good closets), one and a half bathrooms, a small backyard (15'x30' and it has gravel seven inches deep in it - that was a "WTF?" moment if I've ever had one), a decent kitchen (nice big pantry - see below for more info), dining room and living room. I even like the colour of paint they used (for the most part). The new laminate is blond, which isn't my favourite, but it's NEW and is used throughout the downstairs except for the kitchen and half bath (both have new vinyl). The laminate is also in the upstairs hallway and more new vinyl in the full bathroom. The stairs and bedrooms are carpeted in decent (not new) berber.

There are several things to do to make it perfect for us:

ASAP: a dishwasher (it'll have to be a portable for now), a clothes dryer (there is a washer but we're unsure if it works), new window blinds (there are blinds but they don't work well and the master bedroom doesn't have anything in the windows), replace bent shower curtain rod.

Semi ASAP: new living and dining room furniture (all we have is my old futon for a couch and an antique dining table that really doesn't work well).

LATER: we'll probably add another section of cabinets/counter tops in the breakfast nook area instead of using it as a breakfast nook, a deck and sod in the backyard, new faucets in both bathrooms, curtains to go over the blinds (I like tabbed curtains on wooden rods), repaint at least one of the second bedrooms (yellow and orange! the other one has dark blue on one wall which isn't bad), new bedroom furniture (my bed is fine but we need two dressers, a headboard, night tables), finish the basement.

I have the MLS photos but I'm reluctant to put them online. Should I anyway? As soon as I can see the property again (during the inspection) I'll take my own photographs.

For those of you who have been reading me a while know how much this means to me. For thems who haven't - I am simply bursting with joy.

Time Flies

2006-08-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

While driving to my doctor's appointment yesterday I saw lots of yellow leaves on the ground, swirling about in the breeze made by passing cars. It was raining but that didn't seem to faze the leaves, they swirled in spite of the damp. Later in the day I was walking Kaylee and we stopped to watch a gaggle of geese fly overhead. They were heading north and honking like mad. I heard more honking in the early evening, also heading north. Kaylee was standing on the couch looking out the window and I watched her watch the geese go by. It got cold enough last night to want to snuggle under the comforter.

Winters have been pretty mild since I've lived up here. I wonder how it'll be this year.

Are We Home Yet?

2006-08-09T12:27:00.000-07:00

Last weekend went okay, it was just way too hot and the Jeep's a/c doesn't work well. And we waited way too long between breakfast and our next meal and I had a pretty bad low blood sugar episode. Being overheated and dehydrated (didn't bring enough water) didn't help. Bleh.

Eli and I agree that Maple Ridge just won't do for us. Not because of the available homes, but the area is just so .. not us. It's boring, flat, not nearly enough trees, not old enough. Back to Abbotsford and Mission we go. We'll be checking out townhomes in Abbotsford this coming up weekend. We're going to pick five or six to look at with our Realtor. After checking out the townhomes we'll decide if we want to pursue the two single family homes we saw in Mission.

Milestones

2006-08-05T15:46:00.000-07:00

My answer to Sera in the previous post's comments got a little long so I'm posting it here:

It really is a milestone, Sera. We both feel guilty for being so happy since it's due to Eli's father dying, but he would be thrilled that we're able to do this thanks to him. There's no telling if or when we'd be able to save enough on our own.

There are "first time buyer" concessions in Canada, but Eli has owned homes before so we don't qualify.

We did our first drive-bys today. We found that Abbotsford, which we thought would be okay, won't. The homes in our price range, while looking okay online, just really aren't good enough mostly due to location. BUT we did see two homes we both really liked in Mission that would be much better for Eli commute-wise (he can take the West Coast Express to work). We also saw a few more for sale that didn't come up in our MLS searches. We're going to see if they're in our price range. We're also going to look for Abbotsford townhomes.

There simply aren't any single family homes in our price range in the Greater Vancouver Area except in Abbotsford and Mission. So, tomorrow we're heading out to Maple Ridge to look at townhomes. Maple Ridge has lots of nice townhomes in our price range and would be great commute-wise (better than Abbotsford).

We haven't yet told my mum that this is going on. I'm not sure why I'm so reluctant to do so. Weird, eh?

Home Sweet Home

2006-08-04T16:10:00.000-07:00

I've lived in this RV for six years, Eli for seven. Guess what? It was paid off the first week of July and we're pre-approved for a mortgage. I guess we've established enough credit since Eli's bankruptcy (timely payments on the RV and a new credit card about a year ago) that lenders don't think we're too much of a risk.

We're finding that we both want similar things in a home which will make choosing one much less of a headache. We both want a house rather than a condo or townhome (some of them are really nice but you have to live by other peoples rules) which means moving farther out into the Fraser Valley but that's not a hardship as neither of us are exactly city* people. We're looking for a three bedroom (that gives us each an office with my office also being the guest bedroom), two bathrooms and a decent size fenced yard. I've been doing research on MLS and have found a few homes for us to look at. We'll be doing that this weekend.

We have a Realtor (a long-time friend of Eli's) who we'll be going through. She recommended the mortgage broker who got us the pre-approval. I used to be a mortgage loan underwriter (the person who approved or denied loan applications) among other positions at a large savings & loan in the U.S. And due to that I don't have much use for mortgage brokers in general, but this guy seems to be a nice guy and got us a good rate. It's going to be interesting going through the home buying process from the buyer's side as well as being in a different country.

*Eli's lived in Vancouver and didn't particularly enjoy it. I would like the opportunity to live in a city at some point but I know I wouldn't want to stay there forever.

In other news Kaylee's spaying went well. It's been hard to keep her quiet but in spite of that she's healing well. Due to me being forgetful she hasn't had her pain drugs in the last couple days but you'd never know it. I'd love to have half of her energy.

Broken

2006-07-28T11:24:00.000-07:00

Kaylee was spayed yesterday. She was so subdued last night, she didn't seem to be Kaylee. She's much, much better this morning - not quite as hyper as normal but definately Kaylee. We gave her her pain meds although she didn't seem to be in any pain. Better safe than sorry, eh? We're gonna have so much fun keeping her quiet for the next ten days.

Bugger

2006-07-26T10:12:00.000-07:00

Today's eye appointment/consultation was canceled. Doc had an emergency and he had to fly somewhere. While that doesn't sound good for the doc, it's really irking me. I was hoping for some answers today. And I can only hope my eyes don't get any worse. *sigh*

She's Alive!

2006-07-24T20:03:00.000-07:00

I just haven't had much to comment on.

We returned this morning from a trip to Mum's. The Gravol worked a charm to keep Kaylee from puking. We used a quarter of a pill (dose recommended for two year-olds) about half an hour before taking off and that seemed to be about right. She drooled a little but it quickly stopped. Yay!

My consultation appointment with the eye doc is Wednesday. I'm really nervous about it but some answers (any answers!) will be great.

Kaylee gets "broken" Thursday morning. She's also going to get micro-chipped. We have a tag on her but better safe than sorry, eh? The vet will have her most of the day but we should get her back late afternoon.

Other than that, it's been hotter than Hades. How's it going in your neck of the woods?

Random

2006-07-07T10:21:00.000-07:00

Forgot to mention that there are new photos of Kaylee up at flickr (link in the sidebar). I can't believe how big she's getting. Compare the first photos of her with the current set and you'll see what I mean. And not a day goes by without someone exclaiming how cute she is and what a great personality she has. I'm rather prejudiced on the subject myself, so it's nice to get confirmation.

I got my hair cut last Friday and it's cute if I do say so. I couldn't stand it being on my neck since it's been so freakin' hot lately. So much for a long bob, it's now in a short bob. I can try again this winter to grow it out, but it's pretty damn cute the way it is. No photos forthcoming. My hair is cute, not the rest of me.

My left eye is really acting up today; lots of blank spots. Although I'm nervous about it, the consultation with the eye surgeon can't come too soon.

We're going to see Pirates this weekend. It's getting mixed reviews but I really don't give a rat's ass. It'll be a great popcorn movie and that's the best kind, if you ask me.

I'm going to the library after my WW meeting today. I have a couple books on hold to pick up. They're a couple kid's books I last read about 25-30 years ago but they've stuck with me. I can't wait to see how they've held up. They're The Cat in the Mirror and The Girl Who Owned a City. Does anyone else remember reading these two books?

It's off to Petsmart We Go

2006-06-28T09:04:00.000-07:00

Kaylee had her first trip to PetsMart on Saturday. She drooled most of the way to the store but loved being there. Lots of good smells and people handing out love and treats. She wasn't all that fond of getting her claws clipped but it had to be done. The mister and I watched (from a distance) to see how the pros handled it and hopefully we can do it next time.

The trip back wasn't as pleasant for Kaylee or us. The poor pup ended up puking probably because of all the treats. It took her the rest of the day to really recuperate. Saturday was about 90F so it probably wasn't the best time to take her on a field trip. Hindsight is 50/50 dontcha know.

It's Official

2006-06-26T14:20:00.000-07:00

I had my ophthalmologist appointment today and what I suspected is true - I have diabetic retinopathy.

The eye doc has referred me to a specialist and the appointment is at the end of July. The doc is pretty sure that there will be laser surgery involved but we won't know for sure until the next appointment.

I'm going to go cry now. Just kidding. Sort of.

Happiness Is...

2006-06-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

New bras!

Damaged

2006-06-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

I believe I have eye damage due to diabetes. I hope I'm wrong but I don't think I am. I have an ophthalmologist appointment next month and I'll find out for sure. The odd thing is that the symptoms (kind of "blank" spots in my vision, mostly in my left eye, macular edema?) started after I started taking care of myself. I suppose I should discuss it with Eli but I don't know that I want to worry him before I find out what's going on.

Peyton Place

2006-05-25T10:16:00.000-07:00

Kaylee and I were standing outside minding our own business (well, Kaylee's business) and a couple interesting things happened.

There's an RV across the way from us in which a man, a woman, a pug and a cat live. Whilst Kaylee and I watched the woman came slamming out of the trailer in a flurry. She had on one of her many straw cowboy hats, a black leather jacket with fringes, high black boots and was dragging the pug by her leash. Seeing the pug on a leash was a surprise itself - that dog is never on her leash. Now, this woman comes across as a laid-back California beach babe from 1977. I didn't know people like that could move that fast. BeachBabe quickly disappeared up the road towards the front of the RV park. Kaylee and I looked at each other and shook our heads.

Not ten seconds after this, one female duck attacked another female duck who had one duckling in tow. AttackingDuck latched onto the side of MamaDuck and held on. Both ducks went round 'n' round under the neighbour's RV and into the road and back again. Both ducks were making enough noise to wake the dead. And all the time this was happening the poor duckling was cheeping and following her mum in desperation. AD finally let go of MamaDuck and wandered away.

A couple minutes after the Duck Drama the guy that lives in the RV across from us roared up in his big black truck at a clip a lot faster than the 10kmh speed limit in the park. Ducks who had been sitting in his parking place went scrambling for safety as he pulled to such a quick stop gravel went flying all over the place. He stormed into his trailer slamming everything that could be slammed (truck door, RV door, etc. I think he would've kicked a duck if any of them had remained in reach). He was in there less than a minute, slammed back out, threw himself back into his truck and took off at speed scattering yet more ducks. He hit a speed bump so fast and hard I wouldn't be surprised if something was damaged.

Again Kaylee and I looked at each other and shrugged.

Just then AttackingDuck decided to have another go at MamaDuck who was under our birdfeeders eating sunflower shells with her duckling. I put a stop to that and chased AD back across the road.

Kaylee and I were so overcome by the drama we went back inside our RV and took naps.

Walking Kaylee

2006-05-23T14:12:00.000-07:00

I knew having a dog would make a difference.

Bittersweet

2006-05-18T13:33:00.000-07:00

Should you get the chance, read The Time Traveler's Wife. I just finished it and it's such a good read.

Next up is The Protector's War, the follow up to Dies the Fire. There's a third and final book but it has yet to be released. Anyway, Dies the Fire was another great read.

Kaylee is sleeping at my feet. She's twitching and letting out little yips. She's so sweet. We really lucked out on getting her.

All Kaylee, All The Time!

2006-05-12T11:11:00.000-07:00

Just kidding, but there are more pictures up at flickr. Her potty training is coming along fairly well. I've gotten her to play fetch a bit. She kinda loses it on the fourth or fifth throw but that ain't bad for a 12 week old puppy. When I tell her "no" she stops what she's doing. Kaylee's a genius! (Don't I sound like those annoying parents?) We've been using one of the cat crates for her so we have to get her a new one this weekend. Yet more money out, but that should be the last big expense until she gets spayed.

SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR PETS! /soapbox

Puppy Time!

2006-05-07T19:12:00.000-07:00

I finally have a puppy! I don't know where my camera is so I swiped photos from her previous owner - here and here.

Kaylee's not a pug, obviously, but that was my choice. Pugs can be a tricky breed health-wise and I wasn't sure I was up for it. She's half Shetland Sheepdog (dad) and half Miniature American Eskimo (mum). She was born February 13 which makes her 12 weeks tomorrow. Kaylee's the mostest adorablest puppy ever!

Weekend Wrap-up

2006-05-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

Well, it's a wee bit late to be talking about last weekend, but what the hell.

The meetup went really well. I was much more comfortable and there were quite a few people I had been wanting to meet and they were there! Yay! I never really did a headcount but I think it ended up being around thirty people. There was one person from NoCal, several people from Portland, OR and four from Canada (including Eli and myself). We met up at Elysian again and although they didn't really have the room for us, we managed since people came and went all night and there was room to stand. Eli had a good time and everyone seemed to like him (but what's not to like?).

Eli and I had a bit of a talk last night. It seems we may be getting a puppy sooner than I hoped. I'm still not really walking and, as I've said before, a dog would get me up off of my ass and outside. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

The Yearly Grope

2006-04-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

I had my yearly physical today. I hate getting nekkid for the doc.

I have another meetup I'm going to in Seattle. Wheee! I'm becoming such a social bunny. It'll be at the same place with some of the same people. There seems to be a lot coming up from Portland and one or two from San Francisco. It's looking like it's gonna be a pretty big group. Eli is also going this time. I hope he lets me get back online after this.

Mum's going to Lawn Guyland to visit with Bro#2 and his fiancee. That might seem odd as she's going to Vegas to see them married at the end of May, but this was set up months ago. Anyway, she's pretty stoked to be able to see more of the East Coast. So, she'll be out of town while we're in Seattle but she's letting us crash at her place. She's rather relieved in a way because we'll be able to watch her kitties for a couple days.

I've Been Sorted

2006-04-25T13:01:00.000-07:00

be sorted @ nimbo.net

In other news, Eli got back Saturday afternoon. Missed the ol' bugger. The only problem is that he brought back a nasty cold. Not really his fault, our movie going pal was at the DPR as well and he gave Eli his cold. And, of course, Eli has given me his cold. They're both bastards.

Canadian Humour, eh?

2006-04-24T19:09:00.000-07:00

Reasons to live in Canada:

BRITISH COLUMBIA
1. Vancouver: 1.5 million people and two bridges.
2. Your $400,000 Vancouver home is just 5 hours from downtown.
3. You can throw a rock and hit three Starbucks locations.
4. There's always some sort of deforestation protest going on.
5. Weed

ALBERTA
1. Big rock between you and B.C.
2. Ottawa who?
3. Tax is 7% instead of approximately 200% as it is for the rest of the country.
4. You can exploit almost any natural resource you can think of.
5. You live in the only province that could actually afford to be its own country.
6. The Americans below you are all in anti-government militia groups.

SASKATCHEWAN
1. You never run out of wheat.
2. Your province is really easy to draw.
3. You can watch the dog run away from home for hours.
4. People will assume you live on a farm.

MANITOBA
1. You wake up one morning to find that you suddenly have beachfront property.
2. Hundreds of huge, horribly frigid lakes.
3. Nothing compares to a wicked Winnipeg winter.
4. You can be an Easterner or a Westerner depending on your mood.
5. You can pass the time watching trucks and barns float by.

ONTARIO
1. You live in the centre of the universe.
2. Your $400,000 Toronto home is actually a dump.
3. You and you alone decide who will win the federal election.
4. The only province with hard-core American-style crime.

QUEBEC
1. Racism is socially acceptable
2. You can take bets with your friends on which English neighbour will move out next.
3. Other provinces basically bribe you to stay in Canada.
4. You can blame all your problems on the "Anglo *#!%!"

NEW BRUNSWICK
1. One way or another, the government gets 98% of your income.
2. You're poor, but not as poor as the Newfies.
3. No one ever blames anything on New Brunswick
4. Everybody has a grandfather who runs a lighthouse.

NOVA SCOTIA
1. Everyone can play the fiddle. The ones who can't, think they can.
2. You can pretend to have Scottish heritage as an excuse to get drunk and wear a kilt.
3. You are the only reason Anne Murray makes money.

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
1. Even though more people live on Vancouver Island, you still got the big, new bridge.
2. You can walk across the province in half an hour.
3. You can drive across the province in two minutes.
4. Everyone has been an extra on "Road to Avonlea."
5. This is where all those tiny, red potatoes come from.
6. You can confuse ships by turning your porch lights on and off at night.

NEWFOUNDLAND
1. If Quebec separates, you will float off to sea.
2. If you do something stupid, you have a built-in excuse.
3. The workday is about two hours long.
4. It is socially acceptable to wear your hip waders to your wedding.

It's funny because it's true!

Money as Art

2006-04-20T14:58:00.000-07:00

You gotta look here (archives). These art pieces are made with money. Yeah, really.

All By Myself

2006-04-19T11:55:00.000-07:00

Don't wanna be all by myself...

Eli is out of town for a few days. He's gone with 13 other cow-orkers to Toronto for an emergency data retrieval program-thingie (aka: DPR). It's a drill to see if they can recover all the data for the company in 72 hours, get them up and running, blah blah blah. I would guess most big companies do something of the sort. InsCo does it twice a year. This is the first year they're doing it in Toronto (it used to be done in New Jersey) and we can thank Homeland Security for that. InsCo has had the nerve to decline to make available the personal info of it's customers. Yes, the U.S. government has made that a condition of holding these DPR things in the U.S. Anyway, Eli will be back late Saturday. *sob*

Finally bought lotsa flowers for my pots. Got all those planted this weekend, cleaned up the deck, put out it's tchotchkes (little lanterns, a couple birdhouses, a couple whirly-gigs, wind chimes, etc.) It looks nice if I do say so myself. The only disappointment was there weren't any tomato plants to be had. I have to be out tomorrow so I'll make a stop at a real nursery and see if I can rustle up one.

Speaking of tomorrow - it'll be my second WW meeting. Can't wait to see if I've lost weight. There'll be more about that over here in a few minutes.

Speaking of duckies (not that I was), I've seen two hatches so far. They're sooooo cute!

Calvin or Hobbes?

2006-04-15T00:31:00.000-07:00

A Bit Of Both
You are 60% Calvin and 40% Hobbes

Calvin & Hobbes, like a scruffy yin and yang, are in perfect balance within you. Like Calvin, you're weird, a bit insecure, and can be a trouble-maker. But like Hobbes, you're down to earth and sensitive. It's a risk to say it here, after just a ten question test, but I'll bet you're smarter than most. Both Calvin and Hobbes are crafty, clever characters, and any one made from equal parts of each is a force to be reckoned with.

The Calvin Or Hobbes Test written by gwendolynbooks

Four Day Weekend

2006-04-13T12:52:00.000-07:00

One of the pluses, which are legion, of living is Canada is the amount of holidays there are. Eli is off tomorrow and Monday due to the Easter holiday. Yay Canada!

Fun stuff this weekend: shopping for plants! It'll be nice to get them going and to pull out all my deck decor. And I can't wait for more yummy home-grown tomatoes. I don't know what else is on the agenda for the weekend, but having Eli home for four days in a row is pretty cool in my book.

Oh, and a happy Passover and Easter to thems who participate!

[updated]

Cat Gack

2006-04-06T20:16:00.000-07:00

I love AskMe and this thread is a wonderful example.

[ Warning: It's funny as hell, but you'll want to put down whatever you're eating. ]

Keep Your Kitties Safe

2006-04-06T11:52:00.000-07:00

Bird flu is supposed to get here (North America) in a few months which is yet one more reason to keep your cats indoors. Two of the RV parks we lived at previously were fairly near poultry farms. A couple years ago millions of birds in the Fraser Valley had to be put to death. And where we are now there is the duck pond I've mentioned. There are lots of resident ducks (Mallards) and there were migrating Wood Ducks this year. I hope this isn't going to be as bad as predicted.

Talking Cats

2006-04-05T14:23:00.000-07:00

I saw these videos and just had to share.

Both Oliver and Abigail do the same thing as the cat in the second video, but only when watching crows. Other birds don't seem to trigger it. I have weird cats.

[ updated ]

New Blog

2006-03-29T22:58:00.000-08:00

In order to keep the weight-loss/health stuff separate from my usual stuff, I've started a new blog here. It's in a rough state at the moment, so please bear with me. Also, I'm requesting help to name the blasted thing. Suggestions are greatly appreciated (see post over there).

I've done a bit of research on WW. As it turns out there are lots of meetings I can go to. I'm not sure when I'll start, but I'm feeling more comfortable with the idea. And hey, timing is everything: they have a special going on now for $15 to join rather than $45. Yay!

Diabetes Alert Day

2006-03-28T12:16:00.000-08:00

Please forgive me as I ramble on about a subject that is near and dear to my ~~heart~~ pancreas:

Dear Abby says today is the American Diabetes Association's Diabetes Alert Day. Here's a link to an assessment test.

Personally, I don't think that assessment test is worth much. While there is probably something in my genetic makeup that makes me susceptible to diabetes, I'm the only one in my family to have it. Two of my four brothers, my mother and father all have weight problems. Yet they are not diabetic. There isn't any diabetes on my mum's side of the family (I don't know about dear ol' dad's side of the family because I have nothing to do with him or his family). What I'm trying to say is the next time you're at your doctors ask to be tested. You can be at an ideal weight, eat well and have no diabetics in your family, yet you can still be diabetic or at risk at developing it.

In anticipation of yesterday's doctor's appointment, I had blood work done a couple weeks ago. The prognosis, as it stands, isn't good. At my last appointment my good cholesterol was good and my bad was a little higher than it should be. This time my triglycerides are so high they can't get a good reading on my cholesterol levels. I now have a prescription for meds to lower my cholesterol. My HA1c is at nine point something. The best it's been is eight something. It should be seven or lower. My kidneys are leaking protein into my urine. That indicates artery damage in my kidneys which indicates artery damage elsewhere (heart, etc.).

My doc wants me to test my blood glucose four times a day for a week and I'm to see him again on Monday. He said at this point my options are to up the drugs I'm currently taking (metformin and glyburide), or add Avandia (another diabetes med), or move on to insulin. We'll see how this week's testing goes and discuss those options on Monday.

Doc also strongly suggested that I need to lose weight and that I go to Weight Watchers to do so. He mentioned this before and Eli and I discussed it but we really didn't take it anywhere. I'm going to do some online research today on WW (where, when, how much) and follow up on it. I am also going to start walking every day (from our RV to the RV park entrance and back is about a mile - pretty much perfect).

It's probably needless to say but the ride home from the appointment was rough. This is a lot of bad news in one big lump. I haven't felt this devastated (health-wise) since I was diagnosed. However, I think it's really woken me up to reality. I have to do something about this if I want any quality of life. I guess it comes down to do I want to live to eat or eat to live.

So, does anyone have any links, anecdotes, etc. for WW? Any and all info would be appreciated.

Did I Mention...

2006-03-24T10:56:00.000-08:00

Actually, I know I didn't. Remember me tripping up the stairs to the washroom? (Oops, I just looked at my archives and I forgot to tell y'all. I tripped on the bottom step lip thingie turning my right knee into spam and shredding my left big toenail. It's pretty much healed now with a bit of scab remaining on my knee.) Tuesday, on my way to Mum's, I stopped in at Burger King for breakfast. As I was leaving I stepped off a curb and my right ankle/foot twisted under me and down I went. Thank the gods the parking lot was empty and no one saw me. So, now my left knee resembles spam and my ankle is stiff and sore. Well, all of me is kinda stiff and sore. Anyway, what's weird is the area just above my left breast (hee, she said breast!) is sore. I think I had my hands kinda tucked under me when I landed and that's what happened to my boob (boob!).

I'm such a klutz.

She's Baaack!

2006-03-23T14:07:00.000-08:00

Had a luverly trip. Helped Mum buy shoes for the wedding and she bought me a pair of earrings as a thank you. Prezzies are always appreciated.

The meetup went really well. Met about a dozen MetaPeople. I'm always pleasantly surprised when people seem genuinely happy to meet me and that seemed to be the case. I came out of my shell enough to engage a bit and had a really good time. I ended up not taking any photographs. There were at least two other cameras in action tho', but if someone took photos of me, I was unaware of it. However, if there's a decent one, I'll share.

Note to self: now that it's Spring, I need to do something to brighten up the place. I'm thinking green or yellow. Cheerful, you know? Okay, enough talking to myself.

Huzzah!

2006-03-20T09:06:00.001-08:00

Eli just got a temporary promotion including a 10.25% increase in his salary. A coworker is on maternity leave for a year and Eli gets to fill in for her. The contract says it's for only six months but it's likely to be extended another six months at that time.

I'm leaving tomorrow morning to spend a couple days at Mum's. I'm going to my first Meetup on Wednesday night (it takes place in Seattle). I'm already nervous but I can't wait to meet whomever shows up from MetaChat and MetaFilter. I already feel nervous enough to barf, but I'm sure it'll be fine.

And it'll be fun to see Mum for a couple days. I owe her a birthday present and we'll go shopping for that. She also needs shoes, if not a dress, for Bro#2's wedding. Shopping for that should be fun as well.

Ran across a really ..er.. interesting site the other day: Mysterious People. I've only looked at a couple pages so far, but y'all may enjoy it.

Are We Having Fun Yet?

2006-03-15T07:44:00.000-08:00

Hm. Eli's computer is hung.
Let's see if turning the monitor off and on will do it.
Nope. Okay, let's reboot it. La la la.
Well, no internet connection, that's odd.
We'll do the ol' hook and rehook the cable trick. La la la.
Still nothing. Well that's just weird.
Let's reboot the whole modem then. La la la.
And now let's restart the computer. Yay!
Alrighty then.
Ahhh, EverQuest has an update. La la la.
Update is done, let's start EQ.
Hm. That's weird.
Windows error, wants to send report to Mr. Gates. Let's click no.
Trying again... same error. Bugger! And buzz off Mr. Gates!
Let's try a restart on the pc. La la la.
Trying EQ again. Alright, now we're getting pissed off. Stupid computer.
Let's hard boot this freakin' thing. La la la.
Trying EQ again. Dammit! Oh well, Eli gets to deal with it later.

And no, I'm not going to update my EQ install at this point. Do I look stupid?
Don't answer that!

Suzy Homemaker

2006-03-15T06:39:00.000-08:00

There will be a quick flurry of house-cleaning today. Mum and her best friend will be here tomorrow for a short visit. BF is visiting from Las Vegas for their joint birthday (March 18). At this point the plans are to visit Fort Langley for shopping and lunch. I don't know that we'll make it to the actual fort, but the town has a little shopping area that's kinda fun and I think that's what we're aiming at. Eh, we'll see what happens.

As for the trip to Las Vegas in May for Bro#2's wedding - ain't gonna happen. Eli and I decided that we'd rather save the money that Vegas would cost (approx $1500 USD) for our plans in September (Vancouver Island among other things).

Oh, The Weather Outside Is Frightful

2006-03-09T10:21:00.000-08:00

It didn't snow much last night. Just enough to give the grass dandruff. This morning, however, it's been snowing and snowing and snowing. And snowing some more.

Management just came by and shoveled the walks. It's not going to stay clear long.

Blizzard, Anyone?

2006-03-08T16:59:00.000-08:00

We may actually get snow tonight. It's coming down really good in Vancouver and Burnaby (about 15 miles from here). On top of it we're expected to get 80 to 90 kph winds.

Kodak Moments

2006-03-03T13:26:00.000-08:00

If you've ever been curious on how a person (or two) live in the small space of an RV, you're in luck. I've uploaded a set to flickr for your viewing pleasure.

There are also new photos of Oliver and Abigail.

Mardi Gras!

2006-02-28T11:27:00.000-08:00

As it turns out, it's also Pancake Tuesday. Guess what I'm having for lunch!

PostSecret

2006-02-27T15:50:00.000-08:00

If you haven't been reading PostSecret, you should.

Viva Las Vegas!

2006-02-27T11:07:00.000-08:00

Bro #2 finally owned up to have not really married his current wife. We already knew this thanks to a certain loose-lipped niece, but it's funny he's finally owned up to it. Anyway, they're getting married at the Bellagio in May. Rumour has it that Mum, Bro #1, Eli and myself will drive down to Vegas for the wedding. Yay, road trip! It should be really nice in May - no snow and not too hot yet.

Mum still doesn't understand getting married in Vegas, but is glad it's going to be at the Bellagio. She's been inside and thought it was very well done. She really liked the Chihuly ceiling which I'm looking forward to seeing. Getting married in Vegas isn't my cup of tea either but I can see why some people want to do it. Maybe it's an age thing.

I don't know yet if it's going to be formal, semi-formal or nice casual. In any case I get to go shopping. I haven't shopped for nice clothes in a long, long time. It should be interesting.

I haven't been to Vegas since I was 18 or so (twenty years if anyone is counting). A large group of my co-workers rented a bus and made an overnight trip out of it. Yes, I gambled, and yes, I was nervous and no, I didn't get caught. Bro #3 was fresh out of the Navy and went with me. After we got bored with the casinos we went to a movie theater and saw Nightmare on Elm Street (the first one). It was a fun, odd trip.

Back to Bro #2 - he's an interesting guy. One of our cousins has the rest of us cousins (there are a total of ten cousins on my mum's side of the family - my four brothers, myself, two other gals and three more guys) half convinced that Bro #2 is or was a CIA agent. His *cough* cover story is that he was in the Army doing communications stuff. He's led an interesting life to say the least.

Wife #1 was German with a son and daughter (step-kids to my bro) and the family never met them (he met, married and divorced her when he was stationed in Texas).

Wife #2 was Korean whom he met when stationed in Korea. We met her a few times, but we never met her family. They lived in New York for most of their relationship. Apparently it turned out she married him so she could live in the U.S. and bring her parents here as well. She was a lounge singer (Korean lounges, apparently) and got caught up in drugs and who knows what else.

Between #2 and #3 he had a long-term relationship with a girl in Belize (he worked there for a couple years). She sent a letter to Mum at one point stating that the baby she had was my brother's son. Bro said it wasn't, that she had an affair with another American living there. The picture she sent was inconclusive.

The lady he's going to marry is wife #3. We've met her twice and she's a good match for Bro. She's from Russia (Odessa, to be exact), she's Jewish*, divorced and has two daughters. One daughter is almost done with college and the other is almost done with high school.

Mum is going to visit them for a week in April. They live on Long Island and they both work in NYC. I'm rather jealous of the visit but I don't have the money to join them.

*Thanks to my brothers I have two Jewish sisters-in-law and one born-again SIL. On Eli's side there is one Catholic SIL, one Anglican SIL, one ex-Jehovah's Witness SIL and one First Nations (Native American) SIL. We're nothing if not eclectic! I've only listed this out because I got to thinking about it and thought the mix was interesting. Me? I think they consider me the odd-one out: I'm pierced, tattooed, married to an older guy and living in a foreign country.

Dancing Kitty!

2006-02-22T14:48:00.000-08:00

PS: I need a nap.

Ta Da!

2006-02-21T12:40:00.000-08:00

It's done.

Complaint one: I can't get the gap between the banner and the Blogger navigator to go away (the gap is there in Firefox, IE doesn't have enough space between the navigator and the banner).

Complaint two: I'd rather have the sidebar on the right-hand side. Would a kind soul take a look at the css and give me the tweaks to move it over? Pretty please?

The beautiful graphics are from citrusmoon. Taz is a wonder with graphics. The original template is from noipo.org but you'd never recognize it.

Messy

2006-02-19T12:21:00.000-08:00

Please don't mind the mess. I'm tweaking the template. I'll let you know when I'm done.

Johari Window

2006-02-16T15:17:00.000-08:00

I'd never heard of a Johari Window before finding a post about it at MetaChat. You pick five or six words that you believe describe yourself. Then whomever you make the link available to picks five or six words that s/he thinks best describe you. It's interesting to see where they coincide and don't coincide. My Window is here. Let me know in the comments if you do a Window and I'll "do you" as well.

;^)

Whining

2006-02-16T14:39:00.000-08:00

I forgot to mention the Jeep had to have more work done on it. Poor Eli was driving home last Wednesday when it died on him. He had it towed to the mechanic we use and caught the bus home. All told, it took him six hours to get home. Anyway, it turned out it was the radiator. For some reason the gauge wasn't showing it as hot. Long story short - and $500 later - it got a new radiator and the usual new oil, filter, etc.

And my mouth hurts - I'm having to take about six Tylenol 3 a day. Funny thing is that it's the inside of my cheek (it was rather roughed up with the extractions) rather than my gums where the teeth were extracted.

:^(

Happy VD Day!

2006-02-14T08:27:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know the "D" or "Day" is redundant. Sue me.

The idea for this was stolen from here.

Last bit for my teefers: I had my last two wisdom teeth extracted yesterday. They were gnarly to quote my dentist. He asked if I wanted to take them home. No, thanks. But I did want to see them. He cleaned them up and showed them to me. Yep, gnarly indeed! My roots are corkscrewed into my gums. And I look like a half-assed chipmunk today. And it's a good thing I had lots of Tylenol 3 left over. Blergh. I'm glad it's all done.

So, I have one root canal and four fillings. Is that about average for adults?

I've Gone to the Darkside

2006-02-12T13:21:00.000-08:00

I've made an account at MySpace and even spent a couple hours making it kinda/sorta tolerable to look at. You are safe clicking the link - no music shall invade your ears. The link to my profile is in the sidebar.

More serious news - Eli's brother called about the settling of their Dad's estate. The house (and other miscellaneous stuff) has sold and escrow closes at the end of February. Some of Eli's share will go to pay off the credit card we used to buy plane tickets, etc. to go back to Ontario for Dad's service. The RV will be paid off this summer. With the money from the (future) sale of the trailer and the inheritance we'll have a very nice down payment. As wonderful finally having a real place to live will be, we'd both rather have Dad still alive.

A Story

2006-02-08T16:11:00.000-08:00

Someone at a site I frequent came up with a suggestion: write a little story based on this photograph. Mine is below.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The taxi driver let Marianne off at the curb. It took some time but eventually she persuaded the driver she’d be okay and he left. She could see the driver shaking his head as he drove away. With a small smile she turned and faced the cemetery.

As far as Marianne could tell she was alone. All she saw were a few crows fluttering about from tree to headstone. Something fluttered in the tree next to her and she turned to see what it was. A little sparrow was perched on an even smaller branch watching her. They stared at each other for a few moments before the sparrow fluffed his feathers and flew away. The crows called to each other and the wind moaned softly as it traveled through the tall pine trees. No other sound could be heard in this quiet place.

Marianne took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and set across the snow towards the centre of the cemetery. Pete’s headstone was about a quarter mile from the entrance and she was thankful there wasn’t much snow. Marianne stumbled once, rose and brushed the snow off her new red wool coat with her black gloves. She made sure that the contents of the paper bag she was carrying were intact and walked on.

Ah, there it was, Pete’s headstone. Trembling, she reached out and brushed the snow off the headstone with a gloved hand. Crouching down she removed the bottle of Wiser’s from the brown paper bag. Marianne carefully placed the bottle against the base of the headstone. She reached again into the bag and pulled something small from it. As she stood she folded the empty bag and placed it in her pocket. Her right hand clenched around the other item and Marianne brought her hand to her heart.

Marianne took a step back from the headstone, eyeing the composition. With a sigh she abruptly sat down in the snow, still facing Pete’s headstone. “Why, Pete, why?” came softly from her lips. “Why did you leave me? And in this place of all places.” There was no one to hear her quiet questions except the lone sparrow.

The sparrow twittered at Marianne from a tree a few feet away. She didn’t hear it through her tears. Using her left hand to wipe her face, Marianne reached out and placed the item in her right hand on the top of the headstone. It was a small pewter plane.

As it began to snow Marianne settled down onto the ground. She curved her body around the bottle of Wiser’s as if to protect it. The sparrow flew down to Pete’s headstone and pecked at the plane. Finding it wasn’t food, the sparrow turned to Marianne. It didn’t take long until the sparrow couldn’t see her; the snow gently covered every bit of Marianne’s new red coat. The sparrow fluffed his feathers once again and went to find sustenance elsewhere.

Oliver

2006-02-07T14:47:00.000-08:00

The cat is insane. The proof is in the pudding:

I was sitting on the toilet flipping through a magazine. My sweats and undies were around my knees. The door was ajar as usual (cats go insane when there is a closed door between s/he and her/his human). Oliver meandered in to see what I was up to (I'm doing what I usually do in the washroom, silly cat). He decided that my sweats looked like a good hiding place and proceeded to climb in. Oliver got all the way in and gazed up at me as I looked down at him. He then settled in as if it were nap time.

Insane, I tell you.

Stormy Weather

2006-02-05T09:37:00.000-08:00

We had an intense windstorm yesterday that started the night before. We lost power at about 9:45 a.m. Saturday morning and it wasn't restored until 3:30 p.m. Sleeping and reading wasn't exactly how I expected to spend my Saturday but there were people much worse off than I. Delta (about 15 miles from where Eli and I live) had severe flooding and a woman in Washington died when a tree fell on her.

I'm glad it's all over and the fall-out wasn't worse.

But you know what? My sense of time is all fucked up. It feels like it should be afternoon or evening. I think part of that is because Eli had to get up at 3:00 a.m. this morning to work a bit from home. Everything just feels off.

Whereas We Talk About My Mouth, Again

2006-02-02T08:41:00.000-08:00

The root canal completion and the filling I needed were done yesterday. The filling is in a fairly forward tooth. I've never had one that close to the front of my mouth before. The numbing was quite intense. I could feel it up into the bottom of my right eyelid and my right nostril. Later in the afternoon I was munching on something soft (cookie!) and bit down wrong. Holy Mary, Mother of God - the pain was exquisite. I'll get my nose re-pierced a dozen times and a full body tattoo before I want to feel that kind of pain again. It's a bit sensitive today, but no pain.

Anyway. My wisdom teeth extractions are scheduled for February 13. I'll be so very glad when this is all over.

Weird

2006-01-30T10:23:00.000-08:00

Is it just me or is the font smaller on this site? I checked IE (I use Firefox, of course) and it's smaller, too.

PS: Never mind. It helps when one closes the "small" tag used in a previous post.

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

2006-01-29T10:17:00.000-08:00

[ artwork via Hong Kong University ]

When Will It Be Over?

2006-01-28T00:04:00.000-08:00

You know, if I'm not at my regular doctor it seems I'm at the dentist. The fun part is that they're both in the same town - over an hour's drive away.

My root canal is now two-thirds complete. I go back Wednesday for the final filling. I guess we ran out of time because the dentist didn't get to the tooth that needs filling (although he numbed it) and wisdom tooth extractions. At least, I thought he was going to do it all yesterday. Whatever. I think I heard him say that the filling may actually turn into another root canal. Blergh.

Isn't my ongoing dentistry a wonderful topic? Ah well, there ain't much else to write about.

Except, of course, the weather! We had several power outages last night due to high winds. The outage this morning lasted several hours.

Wheeee, my life is so very intriguing.

Love Bites

2006-01-26T20:35:00.000-08:00

The main problem with loving someone is how much it hurts when s/he hurts you. Whether it's deliberate or not is irrelevant. You've opened up yourself to this person and his/her opinion matters to you. It would be convenient if you could close yourself off to the hurt, but then you'd close yourself off from love. And that, my dears, would bite.

And now you'll have that song stuck in your head as I do.

Conservatives Win

2006-01-24T09:37:00.000-08:00

Well, fuck me with a chain saw. This is not good news if my previous sentence didn't clue you in. It's as if the Republicans just got voted in. Shitpissdamnhellfuck. Well, as I said before, at least it's a minority government.

Canada Votes

2006-01-23T08:51:00.000-08:00

Canada is having a major election today - the Prime Minister's job is up for grabs. It's so very Canadian that the first link at Canada.com is about how today's weather might affect the polls. Man, these people talk about the weather every chance they get.

A joke sent to me from Eli today (I added their respective parties in parenthesis):

Martin (Liberal Party incumbent), Harper (National Democratic Party) and Layton (Conservative Party) are flying on the Executive Airbus to a gathering in British Columbia when Martin turns to Harper and says, chuckling, "You know, I could throw a $1,000 bill out the window right now and make someone very happy."

Harper shrugs and replies, "Well, I could throw ten $100 bills out the window and make ten people happy."

Not to be outdone, Layton says, "Well I could throw a hundred $10 bills out the window and make a hundred people happy."

The pilot rolls his eyes and says to his co-pilot, "Such arrogant asses back there. Hell, I could throw all three of them out the window and make 32 million people happy.

Funny, eh? (Ha! I kill myself!)

PS: Eli is back to work today.

Ta Da!

2006-01-22T16:12:00.000-08:00

The background tile is from Squidfingers. It's a wee bit busy but I like it. And let me tell you, finding a tile to ~~match~~ coordinate with this template was an ordeal.

Yea or nay?

Arsenic and Old Lace

2006-01-21T08:26:00.000-08:00

Apparently our water source here at the RV park has arsenic in it. Whee! We've been told it's okay to wash (dishes, clothes, bodies) but not to drink the water. Management will be providing free bottled water until they can replace the water system. It just makes me wonder if we don't have the flu and actually have been poisoned. Apparently a lot of arsenic poisoning symptoms are similar to flu symptoms. Actually, I'm not that worried about it (we've had an additional water filter here at the trailer for six months or so). I just wonder how long it's been a problem without us knowing about it. And yes, the wee beasties will be getting bottled water as well, spoiled brats that they are (kidding!).

My tooth canal thingie is doing okay. It seems to be a bit swollen but not especially painful. I've taken three or four Tylenol 3s (not all at once!) and that seems to be keeping everything hunky-dory. It's nice not having a numb cheek anymore. I was beginning to wonder if the dentist had damaged a nerve or somesuch.

I'm going to be playing around with the template a bit, so don't panic if you see something weird. Just grab your towel and hang on.

Owie

2006-01-20T16:24:00.000-08:00

Actually, the root canal wasn't bad at all. The dentist was so generous with the novocaine that my cheek is still slightly numb. The tooth is a wee bit sore and sensitive but not enough to take any of the Tylenol 3 that I have (well, maybe one). I still have to go back (next Friday) for the final packing, etc. but I'm not worried about that at all. I'm also getting two wisdom teeth extracted (the last two, yay!) and a cavity filled. Yet another fun-filled day, eh?

Thanks to Shelley for her well wishes and for linking to a good article describing root canals. It's always great when I know what's going to happen. And my dentist was impressed that I took the time to look it up and knew what was going on.

Dread

2006-01-19T21:20:00.000-08:00

I've finally quit putting it off and my root canal is schedule for tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. The irony? I still feel like shit. Worse than ever, really - sore throat, earache, headache, achy in general.

More fun news: I ~~have~~ had a chance to get a year-old pug for free. Yes, free. I want to be healthy and a dog will give me a reason (doing good for myself isn't a good enough reason - yes, I'm fucked up) to get up off my ass and walk. Eli still refuses to have a dog. I know I am ultimately responsible for my health. However, I'm fairly powerless to do anything about it on my own. Eli knows this and yet, I still get told no. I don't understand.

I'm Slow

2006-01-17T09:04:00.000-08:00

I should have used "Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink" as the title to yesterday's post. Today, that isn't true. The powers-that-be fixed the water problem last night at about 8:00 p.m. Although it's a simple thing, being able to take a shower on demand is a blessing. Trust me on this.

A scum-sucking bottom-dweller has decided that spamming my journal is fun. I'm turning on comment moderation for now. All comments except spam will be approved so please, don't let it deter you from making a comment.

Dear Blogger,

Just a quick note: being able to turn off commenting in old posts would be sweet. I would love you forever and ever, amen.

Love,
me

PS: Eli is still home.

Guess What?

2006-01-16T16:15:00.000-08:00

Eli's still home. He was feeling better this weekend but didn't get much sleep Saturday or Sunday night. And, of course, he's still feeling crappy. However, the mister came up with a brilliant plan - NyQuil! He doesn't really have the symptoms it covers but it will help him get some decent sleep. I just wish one of us had thought of it sooner.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here's a cool Livejournal (yes, really!) with photos of a Bag End dollhouse. Here are the photos of the completed project.

And darn it. We were a day short of the rain record. You'd never know it here in the ol' RV park. The river that runs through it (ha!) is quite full and the duck pond has overfloweth.

And, ironically, the water in the park is kaput. But the Trailer Trash Goddess came up with a wicked smart (pronounced: wicked smaht) plan. The largest Tupperware container has been placed outside under the dripping awning to catch rainwater. We can, therefore, flush the toilet. Yay me! The powers-that-be have been mucking about with stuff (I've seen them wandering about outside) but I have no idea when our water rations might be reinstated.

Sunshine!

2006-01-14T09:41:00.000-08:00

Yay, sunshine! We have sunshine for the first time in 26 days (well, the first sunshine that's lasted more than five minutes). It's supposed to rain later on today which will be the 27th consecutive day of rain. The record is 28 days set in 1953. We're supposed to surpass that. It's so damn fun living in the Pacific Northwest! Actually, I love it here. I can't think of any other place on the planet that I'd rather be.

Still Home III

2006-01-10T18:39:00.000-08:00

Yep, Eli's still home. We went to the doc today and yep, it's the flu. Doc said there's not much he can do about it. He suggested buying Gravol for the nausea and lack of sleep. I don't know how much good it will do, but we'll give it a try. The only other directions are to rest and keep liquified (ha!). Oh, and don't forget - Eli had his flu shot this year and still he's this ill. Poor ~~sucker~~ baby.

Still Home II

2006-01-09T08:43:00.000-08:00

Eli is still home. He's going to call the doc for an appointment. I think his biggest problem is not sleeping. (I'm feeling about the same as I was when I last posted - achy, nauseated, etc.) I'm fairly worried as this really isn't like him. We'll just have to see what the doc says.

We've watched most of the Firefly DVDs. There's only the last episode and the special stuff to go through. I still can't believe someone in his/her right mind canceled this show. It had to be revenge or something of that sort. Or, possibly, Whedon didn't grant sexual favours to the right person (maybe that's the same thing?). Fox has been known to bring back a series or two (The Family Guy for one, rumour has it Futurama may be returning). I guess I'll have to hope for that or that they keep making movies.

There's a good article on diabetes in today's online NYT. You can read it here (I've linked to the printable version, I don't think you have to register for that). It's fairly NYC-centric (statistics and such) but informative nonetheless. I've said it before and I'm saying it again: a lot of people who have diabetes don't know it. Next time you're at your doctor's office - tell him/her you want to be tested. If you have a friend with diabetes, ask if you can try his/her tester (I'd be glad to do it). If your sugar levels are above normal - get a real test done. It doesn't matter if no one in your family has it - you can still get diabetes (I'm the only diabetic in my family). It's an awful chronic illness that leads to blindness, amputation, kidney failure and other complications. No matter how you go about it - get tested.

Still Home

2006-01-06T14:37:00.000-08:00

Eli's home again today. And I'm feeling crappier. On the plus side I've postponed my dentist appointment once again. I don't want to deal with the flu (?) as well as an aching mouth. Uh uh, no way, ain't happening.

I remembered what I wanted to post yesterday:

My hands hurt. I realized a couple weeks ago that they were aching and had been for some time. Some days are worse than others, but they always ache to some degree. Being online (typing) doesn't seem to aggravate it, besides, my left hand hurts more than my (dominant) right hand. Arthritis? Fibromyalgia, maybe? I have weird intermittant aches in both of my shoulders as well. I have a doctor's appointment for a full physical in March. I'll bring it up with him then if it doesn't get worse before.

Poor Baby

2006-01-05T09:19:00.000-08:00

Eli was scheduled to go back to work on Tuesday (he'd been on holidays since December 24). He's still home. He's been feeling like crap the last few days - achy, sore throat, stuffed sinuses, headaches, not sleeping well (me, too, but not as bad as Eli). I think there's a bit of depression (about Dad) mixed in there as well. Not to mention just being tired and not enough time off this last year.

Eli's first ex-wife called last night. She's sending annulment papers for him to sign. The ex is Catholic and Eli is not, but he agreed to get married in the Church and for any children to be raised Catholic. Anyway, it was mentioned when we went back for Dad's funeral that she had a boyfriend and they were thinking about getting married. That's happening, apparently. My daughter-in-law mentioned that she thought the ex stayed single for a long time hoping for a reconciliation with Eli. Sorry, Charlie, that ain't happening. You snooze, you looze.

Did a bit of tweaking on the ol' blog last night. Signed up with Technorati but the button won't show up. Ah, well. I'm thinking of doing some stuff graphic-wise but I'm not sure I want to get that involved right now.

Shit, shit, shit. There was more I was going to blog about but now I can't remember what. Can one have Alzheimer's before she turns 40 years-old?

Four

2006-01-03T09:39:00.000-08:00

Four jobs you've had in your life:
babysitter, receptionist, loan underwriter, help-desk flunky

Four movies you could watch over and over:
Star Wars, Last of the Mohicans, The Breakfast Club, Sense and Sensibility

Four places you've lived:
California, Texas, Washington, British Columbia

Four TV shows you love to watch:
Cold Case Files, Lost, Cops (shut up), What Not to Wear

Four places you've been on vacation:
Vancouver Island, UK (England & Scotland), Northern Arizona, San Francisco

Four websites you visit daily:
my blog, MetaChat, AskMe, MetaTalk

Four of your favorite foods:
pizza (Round Table's Italian Garlic Supreme), Cinnabons, toast w/marmalade, Campbell's Tomato Soup

Four places you'd rather be:
Vancouver Island (yup, that's it)

Four albums you can't live without:
Patsy Cline - 12 Greatest Hits, Billboard Top Hits: 1979, Celtic Twilight - Volume 2, Sarah McLachlan - Surfacing

[ via everywhere, now it's your turn ]

(not) Broken

A Tentative Hello

Glee!

It Burns!

Cataclysm

Plumbing Update

Hello

WoW

Stand By Me

For ShelaghG

Squeeeee!

For the Lulz

Yes We Can

Quote

Express Elevator to Hell

Frustrated

Quote

Relief

Better

Running on Empty

New and Broken

Twitch

*tap tap tap*

FYI

Fer Reals?

Zip! Zap! Zing!

Moving On

Was it Something I Said?

The Second Time is a Charm!

This Ain't Happin', Man

I Can Explain Everything

Time Flies

Are We Home Yet?

Milestones

Home Sweet Home

Broken

Bugger

She's Alive!

Random

It's off to Petsmart We Go

It's Official

Happiness Is...

Damaged

Peyton Place

Walking Kaylee

Bittersweet

All Kaylee, All The Time!

Puppy Time!

Weekend Wrap-up

The Yearly Grope

I've Been Sorted

Canadian Humour, eh?

Money as Art

All By Myself

Calvin or Hobbes?

Four Day Weekend

Cat Gack

Keep Your Kitties Safe

Talking Cats

New Blog

Diabetes Alert Day

Did I Mention...

She's Baaack!

Huzzah!

Are We Having Fun Yet?

Suzy Homemaker

Oh, The Weather Outside Is Frightful

Blizzard, Anyone?

Kodak Moments

Mardi Gras!

PostSecret

Viva Las Vegas!

Dancing Kitty!

Ta Da!

Messy

Johari Window

Whining

Happy VD Day!

I've Gone to the Darkside

A Story

tap tap tap