Tripping Over My Tongue

Herrrre Kitteh, Kitteh, Kitteh

2011-12-13T08:56:00.000-08:00

We have a new addition to our family. The Mister brought home a kitten Friday afternoon. A single mother that he works with couldn't keep her because her daughter is allergic and the mom is pregnant and pregnant women aren't supposed to change kitty litter boxes. She was getting ready to take her to the pound over the weekend if she couldn't find a home for the kitty by Friday so we took her. The kitty came with everything a cat needs: cat bed, litter box, tub of litter, food dishes, food, cat carrier, and toys. The woman also said she'd split the first vet bill with us too. Considering that we're in love with the kitty, we got an awesome deal and we saved her from going to the pound.

She is absolutley the most adorable kitteh ever. She's so much fun and very personable. Right now, as I type this, she's playing in a spare strand of Christmas garland we left laying on the floor. She's having a blast. We also got her one of those cat toys that has a wand with a toy on the end. She loves that and likes to "kill" it on a daily basis. Then she carries it proudly around the living room before abandoning it for another toy.

We thought we had a name picked out for her Sunday night. We had gotten many, many suggestions from friends and family but we decided to call her Sophie. Then last night, we were watching TV when the Mister became inspired and said we should name her Zazzy. Now we can't decide between the two. She is very zazzy and I think that name might suit her better than Sophie. Opinions?

I'm pretty sleep deprived due to the fact that she sleeps with the Mister and I. The first night, she got us up every four hours. The second night, she got us up at 1:30 and 4 am. Sunday night, she got me up around 4:30-5'ish. Last night she only got up about 5 this morning so we're getting better each night. I'm not comfortable leaving her to her own devices because she's really fascinated with the Christmas tree and the tree isn't very stable in the stand. (We got a tree with a very thin trunk and had to augment it with some shims from Lowes but I still don't trust it to a kitten.) Yesterday, I took some "new mom" advice and napped when the kitty napped. It was the only way I was getting through the day.

As for socialization, she has daily staring contests with the rabbit but other than that, they don't interact too much. The rabbit would kick her butt. She and Bailey coexist but they're not friends yet. Bailey wants to play with her very badly but barking scares the kitty and then she starts spitting and hissing at Bailey. They have played a couple times but they're still not 100% easy with each other yet. And Bailey is very jealous.

Did you know that an indoor cat can live up to 30 years?!? I talked to a lady in the Albertson's Saturday night who had just inherited a 27 year old cat. Did you also know that an indoor/outdoor cat's average life span is only four years?

Here is a video of the kitteh chasing a mouse:

Lastly, if you can guess why the name Zazzy came up, leave me a comment. ;)

5 Question Friday

2011-12-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

1. What is your favorite Christmas cookie?

Hmm. Let me think. I like thumb print cookies when I'm not the one making them. But I guess my favorite Christmas cookie is the one with the Hershey kiss in the middle of them. I have no idea what they're called but they're the yum.

2. What's your favorite holiday movie & why?

I absolutely love White Christmas. Not really sure why other than I love the music. My second choice is The Santa Clause. I've always liked how that movie portrayed Santa and how he's able to do all the stuff he can do. And it's just funny.

3. Is there a gift that you bought for your kids that you wish you hadn't after they opened it?

I can't think of anything. I even asked my husband if he could think of anything and he couldn't either. We're usually pretty good about not getting them annoying toys, aka, Closet Toys.

4. What is the messiest room in your house right at this moment?

By far, the office. Since I haven't been working, it's become a catch all room. You can barely even get in the door right now. It's an embarrassment but I have no motivation to clean it and as long as we keep the door closed, I don't have to look at it and can pretend it doesn't even exist.

5. What is the furthest you have driven for the holidays?

Wellllll, in 2003, we drove from California to Ohio and spent Christmas with the family. Technically you could say that. We were moving from California to Vermont and decided to time the drive so that we could spend Christmas with our family in Ohio rather than in Vermont with no furniture.

Lost

2011-12-08T08:50:00.001-08:00

That's what I am right now. I had to send my phone in to Apple yesterday to be repaired and now I don't know how to function.

This is the thing. This phone was a replacement phone for the one that I dropped in the street and cracked the face. I was juggling my keys, my purse, my phone, and a cup of coffee and there went my phone. Now, I'm very careful to put my phone in it's pouch on my purse so it's not in my hand when I'm outside. Anyway, the replacement phone (for which I paid a $200 insurance deductible to get) was wonky from the get go. The external speakers only played sound intermittently. Frequently, they would emit a static-y sound like I was trying to channel a radio station even when I had it set to "vibrate". Dumb phone. Apple has a 1 year warranty so getting it fixed would be free to me BUT, it would mean having to go a few days without it. So, I've been putting off sending it in for months now. I finally bit the bullet yesterday.

It sucks. I use the dumb thing for EVERYfreakingTHING! I had to set the alarm on my TV last night so that I would get up this morning. I also have alarms set to remind me when to leave to take the kids to and from school. Yesterday, I lost track of time and was three minutes late leaving to pick the youngest up. This may sound like nothing, but a mere three minutes means parking on the next block from the school. This morning, I was three minutes late AGAIN leaving to take the youngest to school. Again, this 3 minutes means that I was stopped a block away from the school in traffic and had to wait through three red lights before I could drop her off. Normally, I wait through 0-1 red lights. Both times, I was pinning stuff on Pinterest, hehehe. That site is a total time waster and sucks you in. Gosh.

According to my UPS tracking, my phone is now in Sacramento "out for delivery". Apple should be diagnosing my problem sometime today.

I have no idea how people get through life without an iPhone or a similar phone. I also have no idea how people can stand to listen to the radio anymore. If they're not playing commercials, they're playing a song they just played three songs ago. I don't get it.

I miss my phone. It's pathetic.

Home

2011-12-06T11:53:00.001-08:00

Random Thoughts about My Home

Why is it that when I'm having a dream where I'm supposed to be in my home, it never looks like my actual house? I had a dream last night where I was "home" but it looked like a Fair Park house. Those of you from Marion, OH will know what I mean. But it didn't look like any house that I remember being in before in real life.

We still haven't put up our outside Christmas decorations and I've come to realize that I hate most of my indoor decorations. They're old and the epitome of tacky. For some reason, it doesn't feel like Christmas in my house this year.

As we were driving home from picking up the Youngest from school yesterday, we had to stop in the middle of our street for a 12 month old (give or take a month) to toddle across the street. No adults in sight. I'm not kidding. This is the second time this has happened since we've lived here. Different kids though. We waited to make sure that someone (I'm assuming it was the baby's sister who looked all of 7 or 8) to get the child in hand and out of the middle of the freaking street. If it happens again, I'm reporting them.

A house is not a home without a dog snoring in the sun.

5QF

2011-12-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

1. What is your favorite Christmas decoration in your house?

I don't really have a favorite decoration. In truth, I'm starting to dislike all my decorations because they are getting old and shabby looking which is, I suppose, what happens when you move every three years and movers break your stuff. If I had to pick, I guess I would say my snow globes.

2. Do you finish your Christmas shopping early or are you a last minute type?

I used to be a total last minute shopper. The last few years, however, I've gotten an early start and finished early. Well, at least what is early by my standards. This year, we got 90% of our shopping done on or before Black Friday.

3. When do you turn on your heat?

When the temp in my house gets below 70 at night. Living in southern California, I have a pretty skewed sense of what is cold, but I don't like getting up in the morning when it's only 67 or so degrees inside. Even when it's that cold in the morning, I still have to switch over to the AC in the afternoon. The sun heats up my house every day no matter how cold it gets at night.

4. Do you ever wish your blog was private?

What would be the point? If I wanted it private, I'd just delete it altogether.

5. Do you put your deodorant on before of after you put on your shirt?

After. Always after or I end up with deodorant stains all over my shirt.

NaBloPo...Shove It

2011-11-27T20:51:00.001-08:00

I just now realized that I missed day 23. Four days later, and I'm just now noticing. And nobody pointed it out to me. Blah!! I'm done trying. This is the last time I'm going for NaBloPoMo. Screw it.

NaBloPoMo Day 26: The Game

2011-11-26T09:52:00.001-08:00

Today is the Ohio State vs. Michigan game. We're fulling expecting to lose this game but that doesn't mean the Mister is any less vocal over bad calls and poor plays. It's been a bad year for the Buckeyes. We're hoping next year will be better with a new coach.

In other news...

We're going to put up our Christmas decorations today. Or I should say that we're going to get started. I'm not sure if we're just going to do the indoor decorations or do both the indoor and outdoor. I won't know until I get out my storage boxes, look things over, and see what I'm in the mood to do. It's going to be in the 80's over the next few days so I'd like to get our outdoor decorations up while the weather is so nice. At least one piece of furniture is going to have to be stored away because we don't have room for a tree in our living room. Ugh.

That's it for Saturday.

NaBloPoMo Day 25: 5QF

2011-11-25T13:31:00.001-08:00

1. Is there a special dish you prepare that you are famous for?

Nope. I'm a pretty good...cook I guess you could say. I can follow a recipe like a champ. But I'm not that creative so I don't really have a signature dish. The family (the Mister and my kids) really like my marinara sauce which is, in fact, my own creation. I don't have a special holiday dish though.

2. Are you (did you) go Black Friday shopping ?

We just got home from Black Friday shopping. I'm not one of those crazies (no offense) that goes out at midnight (Midnight?!?! Really?!?! Wtf is up with that?!?!) or gets up at 4 am though. I got up at 8 this morning because I decided I wasn't tired anymore. Showers, clothes, hair and makeup. Then the Mister and I hit a few stores, had lunch, and came home. And you know what? We were still able to take advantage of some really fabulous Black Friday deals and we didn't have to do this or this or get up at an ungodly hour to do so.

3. What are your strangest holiday traditions?

I don't think we have any strange holiday traditions. We do Chinese food on Christmas Eve a la A Christmas Story though. The Mister makes a pumpkin cheese cake for dessert instead of a traditional pumpkin pie. I can't think of anything else that would qualify as weird.

4. Pecan or pumpkin pie? (She actually asked "Apple or pumpkin?" I just T-giving'ed it!)

I hate pecan. Ick. I like pumpkin pie but like I said above, we have pumpkin cheese cake every year. It's way superior to pumpkin pie.

5. When will you put up your Christmas tree?

We like real trees so we wait until it gets a little closer to Christmas to put up our tree so that it won't be all dried out and needle-less on Christmas morning. So, we'll probably get a tree the second week of December or so.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

NaBloPoMo Day 22: Three Things

2011-11-22T14:16:00.001-08:00

1. I have ants in my bedroom window. I can't figure out what in the heck. I don't have any food in my room. The only thing edible would be some Tums. Maybe perfume and body lotion if ants are into that. They're coming in my window where the caulking between the ledge and the wall has some holes in it. I took care of the issue by squirting some lotion along the window sill where the holes are. So far, so good.

2. The french dip sandwiches from dinner yesterday. I didn't like them. The Mister and both the girls did, but I thought they were bland. I wasn't feeling 100% yesterday so maybe it was just me but I didn't like them enough that I won't bother trying that recipe again. If anyone else (Pam or Jennifer) tries them, PLEASE blog of FB about it so I can know what you think of the recipe.

3. I love living next to a canyon but the dust in my house is outrageous. I have to dust the walls and the ceilings. Literally. I went through three Swiffer dusters in my bedroom alone today. It's ridiculous and there isn't a thing that I can do about it so far as I know. The canyon isn't going anywhere.

NaBloPoMo Day 21: Food

2011-11-21T15:52:00.001-08:00

We tried out our first recipe that I found on Pinterest the other day. It was Cheese and Chicken Stuffed Shells. It turned out really good and the entire family enjoyed it. The next time I make it, however, I plan on making a couple changes. Maybe it's because this is a Weight Watchers recipe, but it didn't call for nearly enough sauce. It said to use 1 1/2 cups of sauce and I used 2 1/2 and plan on using 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 cups of sauce next time. Also, I think the chicken was lost in the rest of the flavors. I'm going to try Italian sausage next time. Making these substitutions/additions probably takes it out of the running for being a Weight Watchers recipe. I don't know since I'm not familiar with that program. But it was a good recipe and will be excellent with my modifications.

Tonight we're trying Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches. It smells so outrageously good in my house right now that I want to gnaw off my own hand. I'm mean, seriously! If this turns out to taste half as good as it smells, it will be a winner recipe. And it couldn't be easier since all I had to do was put everything in the crockpot and turn it on. Easy peasy. I don't know how I'm going to last another two hours until the meat is ready to eat.

NaBloPoMo Day 20: That's It

2011-11-20T17:02:00.001-08:00

It's really hard to figure out what to write about when you didn't do anything but sit at home and veg for an entire weekend. I've been crocheting so much that my hand has a constant ache in it. I'm giving it a break for today because my hand is bugging me so much. Instead, I've been reading Robert the Bruce: King of Scots by Ronald McNair Scott. I've also been playing some video games and watching the Mister play Call of Duty on the PS3.

The Oldest child's high school football team made it to the playoffs this year (a vast improvement over last year where I think they lost every game, lol) so she went with the band to play at the first playoff game on Friday night. They won so they will be going on to the next game this coming Friday. The band won't be accompanying them though because of the holiday.

The Youngest Child spent the night at a friend's house last night. She didn't come home until 2 pm this afternoon and now she and the same friend are playing upstairs. They are best buddies.

This friend's parents invited us over for Thanksgiving but we've already bought all of our stuff so we declined. I feel bad for saying no, but this is one holiday where I want to fix everything myself and have it at my house. I don't mind having people over, but I want my Thanksgiving food the way that I want it and I'm not open to any variations. I'm pretty set in my ways where this holiday is concerned.

Now I'm off to fix dinner for tonight and then continue my night of nothingness. The girls have the entire week off of school for Thanksgiving so I have a whole week ahead of me of doing nothing. I'm looking forward to it, I have to say.

NaBloPoMo Day 19

2011-11-19T10:02:00.001-08:00

I won yesterday's NaBloPoMo prize. Color me surprised. I hardly ever win anything. Now, if I can get the form printed out and mailed back, I might actually get to receive the prize, lol. I lack mailing skills, what can I say. Oh yeah. This is what I won:

NaBloPoMo Day 18: 5QF

2011-11-18T04:00:00.000-08:00

1. Do you have a go to song that always puts you in a good mood?

I don't really have a specific song. Anything upbeat, non-country, non-sappy usually puts me in a good mood. I have a philosophy, if you will, about music: If it isn't worth listening to loud, it isn't worth listening to at all. This is how I feel about music that puts me in a good mood.

2. Are you a real Christmas tree kinda person or do you go with a real fake one?

Definitely a real Christmas tree. I know this doesn't make me "green", but there is nothing like having a real tree to put you in the Christmas spirit. We didn't have one last year because I didn't want to mess with getting one in the house and set up by myself and the girls and I really missed it.

3. What are you thankful for?

I'm thankful for my husband and kids (today's yelling and screaming notwithstanding), Bailey, having my bills paid in full, three vehicles that have no mechanical problems, having a big head start on my Christmas shopping, and living in California.

4. Which fashion fad from the past do you wish you could wear today?

I can't think of anything off the top of my head. Most fashion fads from the past are the "new" fashions of today anyway. A better question would be which fads do I wish would go away and stay away for good.

5. Do you wait until the "low fuel" light comes on before you fill up the gas tank?

I do everything I can to fill up my gas tank before the light comes on. I hate driving around with any of my "dummy" lights on in my car including the maintenance, low tire pressure, check engine, and low fuel light. I'm paranoid and it drives me crazy. Back in September, my check engine light was on for less than 24 hours and it gave me a headache, literally, every time I drove my car until I got it fixed. It was only my gas cap too. Btw my maintenance light is flashing which is what it does before it comes on and stays on which means I need an oil change. That, too, is driving me nuts.

NaBloPoMo Day 17: Booking Through Thursday

2011-11-17T09:10:00.001-08:00

Of the books you own, what’s the biggest category/genre?

Is this also the category that you actually read the most?

I'm looking at my bookshelves trying to figure out the answer to this question. I'm thinking that the most books of a genre we own would be historical nonfiction. We have a lot of American and European history books. Coming in at a close second or maybe even tied for first would be police procedural.

I can't really say what I read "the most" of late. I've been in a kind of reading rut. I just finished rereading a series this morning with no clue as to what I want to read next and I only read those books because I couldn't figure out what I wanted to read. Overall though, I would probably say that I read my European history books most often. Maybe. I guess.

NaBloPoMo Day 16: The Death of a Tree

2011-11-16T13:19:00.001-08:00


Picture of the tree carcass that I took from my upstairs bedroom window

Landscapers came by today. There was a smallish tree on my neighbor's side of the fence. The root growth of the tree was causing the fence (it's a wooden privacy fence) to come apart and lean which was, in turn, causing large nails to hang out of the damaged part of the fence. So, the landscapers chopped it down today. It was no big loss. It was a rather ugly little tree-bush. But they didn't stop there.

Next, they went behind our chain link fence which borders the open canyon. There, they hacked down a very large, very leafy tree. We've seen any number of birds in this tree, numerous lizards, and we've even seen a hawk land in this tree. I don't know why they chopped it down. It wasn't dried out, it wasn't diseased as far as my untrained eye could see, and it provided lots of privacy and shade to our house and yard.

I'm going to miss that tree.

NaBloPoMo Day 15: Family Values

2011-11-15T04:00:00.000-08:00

You know how someone said that families should eat dinner together every day at the dinner table as a way to connect and catch up with each other? Well that person either:

a) Didn't have teenagers
b) Had mute teenagers
or
c) Drank with every meal to make it tolerable to sit at the dinner table with their teen(s)

NaBloPoMo Day 14: Shopping!

2011-11-14T11:22:00.001-08:00

I'm having so much fun shopping for the girls this year. We've already made a sizable dent in the girls' Christmas lists. I had tons of fun shopping online this morning. I'm trying to hold myself back so that we can take advantage of sales that are sure to come but it's hard. The Mister has the week off of work so we'll be able to go out and about while the girls are in school.

I've been getting clothing ideas from Polyvore via Pinterest which has turned me onto some new stores.

One is the Wet Seal. I think they sell clothes for just teens though. If you're a skinny minny, you can probably shop there too though. ;)

Another store is Gilt. They have daily deals and your shopping cart is timed so be careful not to lose out on the deals. If you decide to shop at Gilt and you have the patience to wait, I can send you an invitation and then I get $25 once your order ships. Let me know!

The last store is HauteLook. (I heard about this store on the Today Show too.) They are similar to Gilt in that they have daily deals. They have pretty deep discounts on clothes though as well as makeup and home decor.

Anywho, that's what I've been up to today. I'm also working on some crochet projects that I'm making as gifts. Fun for me!

NaBloPoMo Day 13: Lazy Sundays

2011-11-13T11:53:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite things in life is a lazy Sunday. The only thing missing from today's lazy Sunday is rain. It positively poured yesterday but as far as I can see out the window, there's not a cloud in the sky today.

On the agenda for today:

Pinterest
Read my book
Make Dinner
Go to bed

Maybe I'll add a nap in there somewhere but I can take it or leave it. Ahhhhh!!!

NaBloPoMo Day 12: Revelations

2011-11-12T04:00:00.000-08:00

I learned something about myself the other night.

While the Mister was serving out his time as a recruiter in Vermont, he had a particularly nasty superior. This man played a major part in why those three years will always be a painful memory for us. He was devious and a liar to put it mildly. He enjoyed playing with people’s lives and making them miserable just because his rank gave him the power to do so.

I have always hoped that this guy would get his karmic just desserts. I’ve always wished that I would’ve had the chance to tell him what I thought of him face to face. Seems like I won’t get that chance as I have just learned that he’s dead.

Despite the very fact that I know with conviction that this person is the equivalent of the lowest slime that grows in the dark beneath a rock (I apologize to slime everywhere for the comparison), I wouldn’t have wished that he were dead. And he died of a particularly painful form of cancer to boot. I was surprised to feel…regret, I suppose, to hear of his death. He definitely had negative karma out there in the world coming to get him but this was shocking to hear. I hope he made some kind of reparation for all the wrongs he committed before he died though.

NaBloPoMo Day 11: 5QF

2011-11-11T04:00:00.000-08:00

1. What's the last thing you spent too much money on?

Wine on our anniversary vacation. We spent so much, that I would never say how much out loud. A better question to ask would be, "Do you regret it?" Nope. Not even a little bit.

2. What celeb chef would you want to make you dinner?

I was going to say Giada or Michael Simon because I like their cooking styles, BUT... instead I'm going to say Curtis Stone and I could care less if the dinner tasted good or not. I just want him in my kitchen.

3. Where do you hide things when visitors pop over or do you let them see the real deal?

If they "pop" over and give me no warning, they get to see whatever is out and about. This is why unexpected visitors tick me off. There are always shoes, coats, books, etc., strewn all over my house. I would like a chance to pick up first thank you very much.

4. Who is your oldest living family member?

I think, and I'm not entirely positive on this because I don't know all of my extended family very well, that my paternal grandmother is my oldest living relative. I may have great aunts and/or uncles still alive and older, but not sure.

5. What is your favorite DQ treat and/or Sonic drink combo (ie: cherry vanilla dr. pepper)?

This is so funny. We just went to Sonic for dinner last night and I got a vanilla coke. LOVE IT!!! As for DQ, my favorite thing there is a chocolate chip cookie dough Blizzard.

Happy Birthday Marines

2011-11-10T08:01:00.001-08:00

NaBloPoMo Day 9: Hump Day

2011-11-09T12:23:00.000-08:00

Wednesday has me thinking about what we have going on this weekend. Not a whole lot.

First of all, the Oldest Child's punishment will come to an end on Saturday. I'm not going into the details of the offense, but I will tell you what the punishment was because it's a bit funny. She's been grounded, but not in the traditional sense. Grounding kids to their rooms, nowadays, it's a pretty useless thing to do. Even when I was a teenager, I was never very upset to be grounded. I had a TV, a radio, a Nintendo, a phone, and a full bookshelf. The Oldest Child has many similar things. She has a TV, an old Playstation 2, her cell phone with it's Internet, games, texting, etc., and whatever else she has in there for entertainment. Out of a 24 hour weekday, she spends 15 hours of her day in her room, voluntarily. So her punishment was that she had to sit at the kitchen table doing homework or reviewing her text books if she didn't have homework, for a minimum of two hours directly after school. Then she was grounded FROM her room until 8 pm. This has been a three week long punishment and she's whined and complained about it every single day. I'm hoping that it has been an effective punishment but only time will tell.

Secondly, the Mister and I are going to make a serious dent in our Christmas shopping this weekend. I'm saving some stuff for Black Friday and Cyber Monday but for the most part, I want to get as much done as I can, as soon as I can. Last Christmas sucked with the Mister being deployed so I want this year to be fantabulous.

Lastly, the Oldest Child has her last band competition of the season on Saturday. This competition is being held at Vista High School. Her high school band has come in third at the previous two competitions so they're hoping to place higher this last time. I can't believe they didn't place higher last weekend. The band that came in second sucked. I know, I'm biased, but they really did. While I enjoy seeing the bands perform, it's supposed to rain on Saturday. I'm a weany and have no desire to sit in the cold rain. Supposedly, the show will go on unless there's lightening and the chances of that are slim to none. Oh wells.

That's my weekend plans.