Rants and Giggles

Day in the life

2012-01-27T06:06:00.000-08:00

This is paradise, right here.

One of the first adventures we went on was up into the mountains a ways to pick kukui nuts. These little guys have been used by Hawaiians for years as a food source ( more on that later), and the oil can either be burned or used on your skin. So when the kids were all kinds of excited to get up the mountain, I wasn't sure what to expect. I mean, how exactly does one pick nuts? * I KNOW there's a joke there, but I'm trying to tell a story here* Well, it apparently all starts with buckets. Lots of buckets. and a white knuckled drive up what looked like a deer trail over some boulders to the kukui grove. I guess I thought we'd be sending the kids up the trees to shake the nuts down? But no, picking nuts means exactly that, you're picking them up off the ground.

Those are not pebbles, those are kukui nuts.

We had 6 five gallon buckets to fill before we'd be done for the day. Oh sure, you're thinking. Find a good spot, plop down and start shoveling them in, right? Wrongo!! Cuz not all of them are good, see? You have to check them before you throw them into the bucket. Also, watch out for centipedes! And some of them aren't ripe yet either. You can peel them, but it's really gross. Those look like this:

Unripe kukui held by Kekai,.

Now might be a good time to introduce y'all to Uncle Joe, hub's mom's brother. He's like...well..he's....ok. Imagine a dude that's good at everything outdoorsy, is wickedly funny and a wise-ass, has enough personality to make a tornado back down and goes hunting in board shorts. That's a bare bones, basic idea of what Uncle Joe is all about. He hunts, fishes ( with nets and spears), dives and manages to get the kids all riled up all at the same time. He's amazing, and he's hub's inspiration I think. I can see a lot of Uncle Joe in Hubs.

Hubs, Uncle Joe and the dogs.

We spent all day in the woods, and I got filthy and had unidentified gunk under my nails and I loved every second of it. At one point, the dogs heard some deer in the area, so Hubs, Uncle Joe and myself all take off after them with the rifle. I missed a great photo op on that hike, a shot of both Hubs and Uncle Joe in profile, both looking off into the distance...I tear up a little remembering that moment. I could see the bloodline of Hub's family stamped on their faces and it was beautiful.

Tiny mango.

I've got tons more pictures of the forest, but in the interest of moving on, here's the end of our day.

6 buckets of delicious.

When we got home, we saw this rainbow. I was excited.....no one else was. I forgot, rainbows happen everyday on Molokai.

Home at the end of the rainbow.

We ended up filling all the buckets by mid afternoon, but by then everyone was so tired that we basically went home, got cleaned up, ate and were in bed by 6pm! The only downside to such an early bedtime though is waking up at 2AM fully refreshed. Fortunately, the weather in Hawaii is vastly superior to New England, so it's possible to be outside at 2AM and be happy about it. Hubs and I went fishing on the wharf, where I learned to cast, and that being on the floating dock makes me really dizzy.

Molokai Moon 1.

Hubs teaching K the finer points.

Hubs, and the island of Lanai.

Later on that morning, we took our niece K with us fishing again. While we didn't catch anything ( well, I got a sunburn, YAY!!! No really, I got the best tan ever after that burn!) we did have a bunch of fun, and I got to see Hubs interact with children, which I love for obvious reasons.

More on Monday! Enjoy the weekend everyone! Aloha!!

Just a small town girl

2012-01-25T05:59:00.000-08:00

My father in law cultivates orchids in the back yard.

Our first full day on Molokai dawned bright and clear. After getting a little settled in, the family packed up and headed into town for breakfast at Molokai Burger, one of only a few restaurants in Kaunakakai. I had a giant loco moco ( rice, a burger and an egg, smothered in delicious brown gravy!!!) and felt so full I thought I'd died and gone to food heaven. To work off some of our food, we walked around town a bit, enjoying the Saturday Market and looking at all the cool stuff. I, of course, took pictures of everything. And I do mean everything. By the end of our trip, the family was used to seeing me with my camera plastered to my face, or near at hand at all times.

T, me, and A at Molokai Burger

The Saturday market was awesome, and the girls all got their ears pierced. I was so proud of them! After the market was done, we decided to head up to the Kalaupapa Lookout, a spot where you can see down to the peninsula where the leper colony used to be/still is. The history of the place is pretty sad, basically "they" turned what would have been a tropical paradise into a prison for sick people. ( Learn more here: http://visitmolokai.com/kala.html )

The view from the Lookout.

The park around the Lookout is made up of forest and mountains, but I'd never seen trees like these before. We went exploring a little, and the kids led me by the hand to what's called the Boto Rock. It's a giant rock, shaped like a penis. For generations it's been believed to promote fertility, so of course I had to sit on it.

Hubs and I on the Boto.

I learned how to hike in flip flops that day. It's a lesson I will never forget. We took it pretty easy for the rest of the day, having a few drinks and calling it a night early. Little did I know, sleep wouldn't be easy to come by. Did you know that roosters crow all night long? And that they like to talk to each other like dogs? All night long? I didn't, not that night. But I learned, oh boy did I learn. * grumbles about roosters*

Paradise Found part II

2012-01-24T09:40:00.000-08:00

So, after traveling for what felt like an eternity, we landed at MKK...Molokai Airport. I was about to face the toughest challenge of my marriage, the females in hub's family. Luckily for me, my M-I-L kicks ass, and is awesome. It was the nieces that I was more worried about. Imagine, trying to impress a bunch of preteen girls, all while being married to the favoriteset uncle of all time. Yup, I had my work cut out for me for sure. But again..either I'm blessed or just super blessed, because the girls took to me right away.

The girls. I was so scared of them!!

After some hugs, it was time to get back in the truck and travel some more, from one end of the island to the other for a huge family party. Maybe I should explain. Hubs doesn't get home much, so it's a big deal when he comes to visit. We managed to keep this visit a surprise from everyone except his mom. So the huge family party we were heading for? All for us, only nobody knew it yet. All I knew for sure was that I felt stinky and tired, and really really nervous. I mean, how big can an impromptu family party be, right?

There's people you can't see over there in the back.

When we pulled in, it looked like there were about 100 people there! Oh god..social anxiety attack mode on..how am I ever going to remember all these names? How will I know if I'm making an ass of myself? Good god, is that ALL FOOD??? It was all food, so much food and all of it smelling delicious.

Everything under the foil is food. Yup, all of it.

Meeting hub's family was like nothing I ever experienced. There was no awkward period where you're all "derp, what do I talk about now?" and no time where I ever felt unwelcome. It truly was an amazing experience in what would become a month of adventures. While I was busy trying to remember everyone's names and find a bathroom, hubs managed to catch up with his dad for a little quality bonding time.

They look more alike when hubs isn't hiding his face.

After staying up way too late for our own good, we headed back into town. I couldn't wait to take a shower and get some rest. With the whole time travel thing, I think we'd ended up staying awake for about 48 hours, give or take a cat nap. Next up: our first week on the island or "Why I Don't Wear Sunblock"

Paradise Found

2012-01-23T06:21:00.000-08:00

Ho brah! How you stay? Stoney kine yeah? We're back from Hawaii, and we had an awesome time. I took mad pictures y'all, and have some stories to talk to you ! When we left New England, in the middle of December, there was no snow, and the temperatures were still in the 50s. The day of our departure dawned sunny and mostly clear, so take off was a breeze.

Somewhere over New England

Security at the airport was fun to go through, even with the full body sci-fi scanner, I still got the TSA feel-up. Hubs said it was because of my jewelry, and he's most likely right, but come on people, a pat down for a necklace? OOOOKKKKKK. So after that, we sat around for a while and hyped ourselves up for the really long day of travel ahead of us. By the way, I'm sure most of you know that airports are non smoking, but did you know that if you want a cigarette, you have to leave the terminal and go through security again to get back in? Intellectually I knew this, but I didn't think it important at the time.

Over land and sea we traveled.

The first leg of our journey went smoothly. The flight was about 5 hours, I only had to pee once, maybe twice and I hardly thought about smoking at all. Also, by this time I was starting to get hungry. I figures that we'd have enough time during our layover in Phoenix to grab a quick smoke and a sandwich before getting on another plane. I was wrong. Very very wrong. Oh we had time to grab a sandwich, and get in line to board our next flight immediately. I didn't even have time to think about peeing.

My first glimpse of Molokai

Flying from Phoenix to Honolulu was awesome and uneventful. Flying over the ocean takes a little getting used to, but the views are worth it. The last leg of our adventure was on a single prop Cessna, to hop over to Molokai. I have to admit that for the first time I was scared a little. The plane looked so tiny! If you don't like roller coasters, don't try this one. I loved every second of it though!! And at last we landed!! Hello Hawaii!

Another day in Paradise

2011-12-08T04:05:00.000-08:00

I've got a lot going on these days, and man is it awesome! Hubs and I are preparing for our first trip to Hawaii, my first time meeting my in laws and being gone for a while in the middle of winter. This last one has caused much stress for me, as option after option fell through. I am blessed though, as Indy and her man are going to come down, drive hubs and I to the airport then babysit my car for me so it doesn't freeze to death while I'm gone. It's funny, I'm expecting to learn bunches of new stuff about hubs and Hawaii and myself, but before I've even left, I learned something about family. And it's that sometimes you can't count on them. Sure, what a shitty thing to say you're thinking. But deep inside you know that I'm right. There ARE times when your family can't help you out, and that's what I learned. I'm still pretty pissed about this, actually now that I'm thinking about it again, so I'm going to stop, show you a picture then change the subject like a lady.

( I'm really not!!)

I know how much you all love it when I embarrass myself in public, so have I got a story for you. The other night, I was sitting in the car waiting at the train station to pick hubs up from school. It was a little chilly, so I had the heater on low. Suddenly..and I do mean ALL OF A SUDDEN the interior of my car smelled like BO and old socks and funk. My first thought was " Oh shit, what did I just break in the heating system/engine??"....then..the horrible truth came to me. That stench..was me. Oh God..catastrophic deodorant failure. I made sure to crack a window and turn the heat off, trying desperately to get rid of the stink...but just as I almost couldn't smell it anymore....hubs gets in the car. I paste on a grin and ask how his day went, praying that he won't ask about the smell or get too close to me before we get home. As we start rolling through traffic at the train station, he says.." hey, do you smell that? " Ugh...so busted. Thankfully, he didn't tease me too much..he stopped eventually. The next day.

I was woken up this morning by an odd sound. It was sort of a banging, howling noise, coming from outside. Like any self respecting person, my initial reaction was zombies. Sadly (?) it wasn't zombies, it was just some crazy storm that rolled through, raining all over the place and knocking down trees. It's still hella windy here too, a sustained wind which is making me nervous. Anyhow, I've got stuff to get done today that I should probably get started on. Oh! I'm packing a notebook so I can write some stories for y'all while I'm gone, I'll start with our arrival at the airport and get as many details down as I can. So, if I don't see y'all before the holidays, enjoy, be safe, and save me some eggnog! xoxoxoxo

Costumed Capers

2011-10-31T06:13:00.000-07:00

I LOVE Halloween. Love it love it love it. Some of the best parties I've ever been to were costume parties, and the dressing up is only half the fun. This year, however, my celebrations will be much more subdued. This year there's no party to go to, so instead of this:

Me, G. M. and Jenny as the Three Musketeers

or this:

Foster and I
I'll be staying home for the most part, doing wifey things and wearing my fangs to remind me of the good ol days. Have a great day everyone, don't eat too much candy, and watch out for zombies!!

OMG October!!!!

2011-10-13T09:28:00.000-07:00

So, here's the sitch. This has been one hell of a busy month so far, and it's only half over!! Let me start at the beginning, ok? The first and bestest thing is that my sister got married! Congratulations Hay and 2A12!!!! It was a beautiful day, full of love and laughter. The ceremony was held outdoors, ballsy, I know, especially at this time of year, but my sister is some kind of magical because that day the weather was perfect! Everyone looked amazing, and I haven't seen a couple so in love since the last time hubs and I got our picture taken. Now, I know you're all dying to know about the reception, and I'll tell you. Picture a room full of joy, add some love, now make everyone starving. Just as you think things are going to start getting hectic...along comes Brother Perry, with The Most Delicious Food Ever. Here's a link to his website, go there, drool a bit then come back, cuz I've got pictures!!!! http://www.perrysgourmet.com/
The food was amazing. The staff was so friendly and professional, it felt more like having friends help you out. Through the magic of Kenny's kitchen, a joy filled day was made more special, and for that I thank him and urge everyone in the Boston area to book them asap. It's worth it!!

Yes, we ate soul food until we thought we'd burst. After that, hubs and I needed some air, so we returned to the park where the ceremony was held and he took me on a very romantic boat ride around the lake to watch the sun set. * Girly sigh* I just love him!

So wedding stuff took up some time. But I have also been busy expanding my business. You all know about the Etsy shop,( buy my stuff!! ) now I've got a retail space too! I met with the owners of Find a Unique Boutique in Greenfield MA, and the most excellent manager H chose 7 pieces to be in the store. I am totally excited right now and can't wait to see what the next adventure is going to be!
Until then, xoxox

Sleepless in September

2011-09-15T06:44:00.000-07:00

Here it is, nearly halfway through the month and I haven't told you anything!! I'm so sorry for neglecting you all, but other than a hurrican't, a house guest, a birthday and some traveling, not much is really going on over here. I've been busy as a bee making new pieces for the shop, still can't figure out why my ipod and camera don't like my new computer and walked for about an hour this morning. The weather was nice for it, slightly cool but not too much, and only a tiny breeze. I'm really hoping that something funny happens soon so I'll have stories to tell you!
Ciao bellas!

What I've been doing

2011-08-15T04:15:00.000-07:00

I've been so focused on making jewelery for my latest venture that I haven't had any adventures to tell you about! I did go visit my Nana with Hay last weekend so we could get started on my dress for the wedding, but other than that it's been all work and working out. So, why don't we take this opportunity to check out my work, then you all can tell me how awesome it it, because really, who doesn't like to hear stuff like that?
http://www.etsy.com/shop/JDTPdesigns?ref=pr_shop

There's my shop. I've only put a few pieces up, but here are pictures of everything I've got for sale right now. Let me know if you see something you like, I'd be happy to sell any of these. ( Captions are for the picture above)

This one is listed at $25.00 in my little shop :)

This one isn't listed, but I'd sell it for around $20.00

This one is listed too, I love how glowy the green flowers are! $20.00

I had made this one for myself at first, but thought it might make someone else happy too. $30.00

I love this piece. It looks amazing when you put it on . $40.00

My first statement piece. It's weighty, and complex. $120.00

I made this one a while ago, it looks like springtime in necklace form. $ 40.00

Ahhh, shameless self promotion. You're almost better than coffee on a dreary Monday morning.

Awww yeah, here we go

2011-07-26T06:59:00.000-07:00

My to do list for today is short. I only have about 5 chores that need to get accomplished before I can sit down and get some work done. "Sweet!" you're thinking, right? I know that's what I was thinking. But my list just got shorter. Why? Some inconsiderate asshat broke the washing machine. AGAIN. In my building, there's just the one washer and dryer to service all 12 apartments. Normally it's not a big deal to wait for an hour or two to get the laundry done, but recently ( and I'm not mentioning any names only because I don't know them) our neighbors have somehow managed to break the washing machine about...oh, I can think of at least 5 instances in the last 2 months where I'll go down with my stuff and find the machine full of dirty water ( like today) or otherwise broke down. Now, the instructions on the machine are easy to follow. Put in your clothes, making sure not to overload the washer. Add your soap, add your money and BOOM, clean shirts for everyone. I think it's the new family that just moved in across the hall from us. We never used to have this issue, the most annoyance I ever ran into was having to wait for someone else to be done. Maybe who ever is breaking the machine is functionally illiterate, but I prefer to be paranoid about it and think that they just don't want me to have clean undies. The bastards. I honestly wish I could catch someone in the act of douchery that's breaking the shit. Not to yell or cause a scene or anything dramatic like that, but so I know who to avoid just in case stupidity really is contagious. My only options now are to wait for it to get fixed, find another Laundromat (hello extra expense I don't need), call the land lady and bitch or sit here and write about how pissed I am. I think you all can guess what I'm doing first. I want to be a good neighbor, I really do. I'm considerate with my noise (for the most part), don't make gross smelling food that could pollute the hallway with stink, and haven't yet hit any one's car in the parking lot. However, when one is running out of fresh clothes, all bets are off.
There. I feel better now, like I could hold an adult conversation without swearing like a pissed off trucker. Let's see how the rest of the day goes, shall we?

Sleepless in what now?

2011-07-13T04:52:00.000-07:00

I awoke this morning at 3 AM to a wet pillow and a desperate need to pee. Yes, that's right..my insomnia's back with a vengeance and some scary new tactics. See, I fell asleep easily enough, at a reasonable hour ( 10 ish I think) comfy and not too warm, even though it's hot as blazes here right now and my room never seems to cool off..so being thrust into awareness was surprising as hell. The peeing thing I can understand, dinner was pretty salty so I drank a bunch of water. The wet pillow? Ahh..it stayed a balmy 85 degrees in my bedroom last night, even with fans, the AC and later on windows open to catch a breeze. To have both of these conditions work together though, to rob me of my much needed rest is just unfair though. Because, like many of you out there.. my day starts when I pee for the first time. It's how I know I'm done sleeping for a while. So, picture this..me, in my apartment, in the dark ( hubs was still blissful in slumber..the lucky bastard!) wondering if it was even worth trying to go back to bed when I KNOW that my alarms just going to go off in a few hours. I considered making some coffee, pushing through until hubs went to school and then just taking a nap, but I always feel like a slacker when I do that. If he's got to up and doing stuff during the day, I should be up doing stuff too. Gah..stupid fair play grumble grumble..

So now it's (later on in the) morning, I'm "awake", sans coffee and man....it feels like..actually, I feel pretty good.
What??

The sun's out, it's looking like it's going to be a beautiful day, I'm hoping that Hay comes for a visit today, the baby geese are trying out their wings, and life is pretty freakin good. Huh, what do ya know about that? I hope everyone else has a lovely morning, because whether I want to or not, it looks like I'm going to.

ciao!

Oh yeah, it's summer

2011-07-07T14:38:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've written to y'all, sorry about that. But you know how it is...life gets in the way and suddenly you realize it's been way too long since you've done what you love...anyhow, how 'bout I tell ya what I've been up to? Heh heh yeah.. story time.
Hubs is off this week, and it was the fourth of July last Monday, so to celebrate both of these happy events, we went on a little trip. Our first stop on the whirlwind tour was dinner with Bams and a few friends of hers. I normally have social anxiety about meeting new people..that's why I sit at my desk and write and make stuff. I used to be able to handle crowds..but not anymore. Hubs is the same way, for different reasons obviously. We both just like to be at home, where it's quiet and we can talk or not talk as we like. We're really quite perfect for each other that way. So I was super pumped to be seeing Bams, nervous about meeting new people and really really hungry for dinner after a long hot day on the road in a car with no stereo. Turns out I had no reason to be nervous at all. Bam's friend from The City was awesome and an amazing chef, and the surprise guests were great too! Conversation and drinks flowed easily, the food was delish, and we all ended up falling asleep watching a french cartoon. Hubs had a good time too, finding it easy to talk to people he'd never met.I even met a fan of my little blog! ( Sorry I won't mention any names...protecting the privacy of the innocent and all that..) The only downside was that the jello shots we brought to the party weren't that good, but they were pre-made, so don't look at me, MY jello shots are awe-inspiring and tasty and get you shwasted fast. Anyhow, as we were sitting around enjoying the evening, fireworks started going off all over the place, some neighbors were having a private show and the town we were in had their show around the same time. It makes me remember where hubs and I were at this time last year...outrunning both a heat wave and a massive storm system across the southwest. We actually watched fireworks for about 3 or 4 hours last year, since the highway we chose ran close to towns all over the place.

When hubs and I woke up the next day, we were still in the chair we'd been sharing to watch the movie..and it was so adorable I wish someone had taken our picture. Anyhow, it was early enough in the day that we decided to get back on the road to beat holiday traffic, and our plan totally worked. After stopping for breakfast foods at the grocery store, and driving through torrential rains..we arrived in Shelbcity. The parents were stoked to see us, and after a hearty breakfast ( I'm talking 18 eggs and nearly a pound of bacon plus coffee! HEAVEN!) we commenced to chatting. All in all it was an excellent visit, Hay and 2A12 came out and we had a BBQ, the only person missing was Little Brother, but he was working that day. We all got a little drunk from the double coco-nana drinks and sleep was very welcome. The trip back to our place was fine too, traffic cooperated with us so hubs didn't have to go postal on anyone. And after all that, we're still on vacation. I wonder where we'll go next?

Girl talk ahead, whoo hoo!

2011-06-27T04:01:00.000-07:00

I had a great weekend. There was quality time spent with Momstar and Hay, shopping for dresses for the wedding, and some super catch up snuggle time with hubs when I got back. Also, season 4 of True Blood started on Sunday, so I am super pumped about that too. Bur first..the fashion. I got 2 new party dresses, one is a black mini, with three quarter sleeves and a kind of shiny black pattern along the hem, it looks AWESOME, and the other is magenta ( sexy!) also a mini and has this super cute ruffled neckline..man am I gonna look GOOD..can't wait to be tanner. As far as a dress for the actual wedding goes, Momstar will be making it. I bought the fabric at a fantastic shop in Brattleboro called Delectable Mountain. (website: www.delectablemountain.com ; phone number 802-257-4456) My selection is a gorgeous antique gold Dupion silk, which I plan to pair with sage green and burgundy. Again, gonna look awesome.
Since Hay and I left on Friday in the early afternoon we thought we'd beat all the weekend traffic, and boy were we wrong. After being on the road for like, 3 hours, we decided to stop in at Bam's house for a quick leg stretch. I'm glad to report that Bam is doing well, after that fiasco a few weeks ago. And we even coined a new phrase.."double dipped hipster: a person who only lives in trendy cities, and is a douche in all of them." This can also be used for people who suck, no matter where they are. When Hay and I finally got to the parents house, we were beat, and thank heavens Moms had made us a fab dinner. Then it was movie time and sleep then shop, shop shop all day on Saturday. Saturday night we came back to the eastern edge of the state, and it was good to be home. Snuggles commenced immediately upon my return, and I haven't stopped smiling yet. Maybe I should go away more often..hee hee. I hope everyone else had a great weekend too, see y'all tomorrow!

I killed it this weekend!

Brain words. Awesome.

2011-06-22T04:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the thoughts that kept me awake all night. Oh, hello..I didn't sleep again last night. Hope y'all are hungry for some crazy..
    1: Why do birds hate me? Seriously..I've never hurt a bird. ( except for those babies I found when I was really little..I think they got cooked on the radiator. But that wasn't my fault! I was like..6!!) Is it because I like turkey and chicken? Is that it? I've had more bird attacks on my person than Tippi Hedren.
2: Why is it so hot in here? I had a fan blowing on me...normally I HATE that..something about the moving air makes me think I have tiny spiders all over me.
   3: Where did all these tiny spiders come from??
   4: Is it funny to make up words? What is funny? Am I funny? Hubs is REALLY funny...Bams and Indy are funny too..clowns..not so funny. I'm thirsty.
(That's an actual quote that worked on me for about 40 minutes. I finally had to write it down so I could move on.)
   5: I wish I was seeing faster results from all my dieting and exercise. I literally hulked out of my favorite bathing suit yesterday, snapping the little hook thing that keeps the top closed. Luckily I was still at the house..because if it had happened at the pool...well, awkward only starts to describe it.
   6: I still can't get my camera and ipod to connect with my new computer. I'm starting to give up. I'm not happy about this. Who do I call about fixing this again? Oh yeah...Apple. Hmm, I hate those guys..who else can I call about this?? Hmmm

So you get the basic idea. Last night I turned into a crazy(er) bitch than usual and kept myself awake with all types of nonsense. This morning I'm clumsy, foggy in the brain and a tiny bit grumpy. Not a lot, just enough so that if I get too frustrated today I'll have a melt down like an overstimulated 4 year old.

Ready for fun?

2011-06-17T04:33:00.000-07:00

This has been an interesting week. I feel like I've gotten a lot done, working out, riding my bike and whatnot. I got to spend some quality girl time with Hay, and bought some really sparkly sandals for her wedding. I even tried to cook something new last night, and while it wasn't a spectacular failure, it didn't turn out right either. Although last night's attempt at sleep was mostly unsuccessful, and I owe Bams an apology for pillow dialing her at 5 AM ( must text Bams..don't forget!) I feel pretty good today. My ride back from the station was uneventful, and the weather is just lovely. Hopefully I can spend all afternoon at the pool, getting some much needed sun and putting in a few laps. Hee hee hee...I'm watching one of the loud preteens from the neighborhood miss the bus to school and totally panic..I feel kind of bad, having missed the bus a few times myself when going to school, but her antics are just too funny. She's currently standing in the street, hollering for her mother that she's going to need a ride. I have no idea if mom heard her or not..this will be interesting to watch for a little while I bet.

Anyways..other than that, really not too much is going on. Hubs is still kicking ass in school, I'm still making necklaces, still can't get my ipod or camera to work with my new machine and am still super frustrated by it. But someday I'll figure it out and then I can finally share the pictures of the geese babies growing up and Little Brother's college graduation and all the super fun adventures we've been on. But until that day, here's a picture of a kittie!
Have a great weekend y'all!

Random Wednesday shenanigans

2011-06-15T05:03:00.000-07:00

I have insomnia, again. I think. I know I woke up today, but I don't feel like I got any sleep at all. My body hurts (prolly from the asskicking I've been giving myself..woot exercise!) and my brain is all foggy. For the first time all week it was nice enough to ride bikes, and both hubs and I were too tired to pull them out. Also,my rear tire was still a little soft, even after the patching we (hubs) did last week. I had been thinking that maybe a nap would help, but I really have got to stop sleeping during the day, it's a terrible habit and one I don't want to develop. I'm wondering how awkward it would be to walk two bikes to the train station for when hubs gets out of school..prolly pretty awkward. Better not try it. So, yup, there it is, my crazy for the morning. All my chores are done, my workout is complete, and it's barely 8 AM. What shall I do now? Suggestions?

I need some mischief to get into..I know! I'll make something! Yeah...make something...*cricket noises*...ummm food related! Yeah! I'll start prep work for supper! Sweet! An idea that won't get me in trouble! Hooray! Have a good day y'all, hopefully something will happen this afternoon so I have an adventure to tell you about tomorrow.

A Warning to all my New England Ladies....

2011-06-14T06:11:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: I am by no means a relationship expert. I do NOT have a doctorate in anything besides being kick ass at doing stuff, with a minor in means spirited humor studies. That being said, I'm going to get up on my little crazy box and warn everyone about the dangers of hipster dating.

                                                       Do Not Date This Man. Ever.
This man will take your money, feed you lies over and over again and once he gets laid, will suddenly be too busy to hang out, or out of town for extended periods of time all while continuing to pile on the lines until you think he's telling the truth. HE IS NOT. He is a liar and a time thief.
   Now for the back story. I got a text from Bambi over the weekend, and she was really upset. She had started dating the man in the above picture after being friends with him for a few years. They had similar musical tastes, both enjoyed the arts and a good glass of wine, and the chemistry was good too. Everything ( on paper anyways) pointed towards this being a good match, with the potential for a long term relationship. So far, so good, right? I'll let Bam's email tell you a bit of the story:
        "Well, I’ll tell you about my recent debacle. I had been seeing someone I’ve been friends with for years, another artist, and even though it was long distance, I thought it was going well. He’d send me little pictures and ask me to send some to him. He’d tell me he missed me all the time. But he has shows at galleries all over the place, so he travels a lot. When he’s not doing a show and is just home working, he’s in Providence . That’s not too far, so I went down to see him after work on Friday, intending to spend the weekend. We had dinner, drinks, more drinks and pretty amazing sex. Even though I paid for EVERYTHING, I wasn’t too concerned because I thought he’d pay the next day. Saturday we woke up to rain. All of our plans for outside- bike riding, drinks on the deck, walking around- were now null and void. So after breakfast- he did actually fork over some cash for that-(*although not really since he took her last $ 10, and gave her a weird look about it*-editor's note) he decided that because it was a lousy rainy day he would rather work on his drawings, and asked what I thought I should do? I told him I didn’t want to get in the way of his work, so it would probably be best if I left. (Now, this is where he’s supposed to go,” No! You just got here, and I’ve missed you- stay!”) He says,” Yeah, sorry…” and shrugged at me. So, I haven’t seen you in a month and basically what you are saying is you don’t want to hang out because it’s raining. Really, that’s what it boils down to. I am so happy I waited a month to see him! (sarcasm font there) I have never spent so much money to get laid in my entire life. I told him I didn’t care what we did, I just wanted to spend time with him and was disappointed. Again, shrugging. I left. I am really upset for falling for all the bullshit lines. I feel like an idiot. He really only misses me when he hasn’t gotten laid in a while, and I have just realized this weekend that I always pay for everything. If he really makes all this money from his work, then why do I always pay, and WHY doesn’t he have a checking account? I am sooooo done. Really upset, but done."

Ladies, if you find yourself paying for more than half of the dates, RUN, don't walk away. When Bams was telling me more details on the phone last night, I was literally speechless. What balls this guy has to think he could get away with such douchbaggery. Now, maybe I'm old fashioned, but I don't think I know any dudes who would be comfortable taking their women's money. Oh wait...yes I do. I lived with one for about 10 years. ( It's a whole different blog post, and one I'm not quite ready to write yet..short version- he didn't work for a long time, and bitched about the size of my paycheck. AWESOME) Have to say I'm super lucky with hubs, he's old fashioned like me, and believes that while the woman is an equal member of the team, he should still be taking care of her.
What I do not understand is WHY my awesome friends can't find equally awesome dudes to make them happy. Is it that all the "good" ones are taken? Are they looking in the wrong places? Are all the men blind? What is going on? If any super cool bros out there read this, leave me a comment and we'll start a discussion. Seriously, I want to know where the good men are, hubs and I need more couple friends to do dinner with.

Well shit on toast.

2011-06-10T07:39:00.000-07:00

So, a while ago I decided to start taking fitness more seriously. I started walking, and riding my bike more ( thank you weather for cooperating finally!) and was doing pretty good I thought. Until this morning, where, during my ride with hubs to the train station this morning, my bike's rear tire was suddenly flat. And I mean flat, flat as a pancake or Ukrainian supermodel. Undaunted, I walked my bike home, brought it inside, filled the tire and waited a few minutes, then took it out again. Thank God and all my amazing psychic powers I remembered to bring the tire pump with me, because within just about two blocks, I had to fill the rear tire again. Two blocks later, my front tire was getting soft and the rear was flat again too. Now, this can mean only two things, either I ran over some glass somewhere and have a hole in my tires, or my ass is so fucking gigantic that I popped two bike tires. Either way, I'm not really having the best of mornings, and the cardio I chose to replace my ride didn't make me feel better either. And now it's getting cloudy out, so even though it's nice and warm, I can't even go outside to tan a bit, so I get to stay plump and pale for the next little while, since it's supposed to rain all weekend. I can't even think of any curse-words to accurately describe how frustrated I am. Maybe I'll go for a nice walk and enjoy the fresh air, and the challenge of not stepping in goose poop. Yeah, that's it. I'll make it like an obstacle course.. plus, since I had intended on making my morning all about exercise, I'm trapped in my science bra until hubs gets home and can help me take it off. No really..I can't get this bra off. Anyhow, since I hadn't written anything for a while and haven't had a good rant for even longer, just thought I'd share this *fantastic* morning I'm having. Hey, at least I don't have my period, that would just be the best icing ever on this crapcake. Cheers!

Psst...over here.

2011-05-20T04:24:00.000-07:00

I'm not really sure what I wanted to write about this morning. I haven't posted in a while, as hubs had spring break last week, and I'm having a few technical difficulties with the new computer. It's nothing too serious, I just can't get my camera or Ipod to work...you know, the two things that I always use and that I carry around in my giant purse. So I've been too annoyed to write if I can't add the pictures, and I REALLY wanted to add some new music...

Anyway, a few funny things have happened, and we have a ton of baby geese now, they're so adorable it's ridiculous. I have pictures, but...well, you know.
While hubs was home last week, we spent lots of time together and it was awesome. Tickle fights? Check. High volumes of video games played? Double check...including one 24 hour marathon. *Sigh* I felt like I was 18 again.. The weather has been crap lately, so we haven't gotten out on the bikes as much as we wanted to. Locals assure me that summer will be hot and dry, and honestly I'm not sure I believe them. We watched a lot of movies too, which often leads to snuggling and I just love that.

Oh, and there's also this thing..some Doomsday thing supposed to happen this weekend. I'm not terribly religious so I don't really understand the whole calender aspect of it, but there's this group out there saying that the end of the world is this Saturday. I've got a link to a tract for ya : http://www.ebiblefellowship.com/outreach/tracts/may21/
Hope that worked.It's pretty scary stuff, not really convincing to me personally but.. Anyway, I'm pretty sure that the world isn't going to end. But just in case it does, good luck to everyone.

Stupid modern technology

2011-04-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

So this morning, I go into my wallet to pay a bill online, and what don't I find? My VISA card. Totally gone. It's not at the bottom of my purse, in my old purse or in any of the two jackets I've been wearing lately. Trying really hard not to panic, I think about the last place I remember seeing the card...and it's in my wallet. Yesterday while I was out grocery shopping. So that means I either dropped it at the store (not likely, since we had no money and I knew it, so I hadn't planned on even pulling it out) or some one with lightening fast fingers reached into my wallet while I was grabbing eggs and took it. Either way, I just spent some lovely time on the phone with my bank, cancelling the old card and getting a new one. Luckily there were no new charges attempted since yesterday ( Blizz tried to pay themselves and got denied....ouch!! ) so I didn't have to file a fraud report. The strangest part? The card with my bank access number and PIN on it was also gone. That card was in a completely different section of my wallet, and not easily identifiable as being associated with a bank. I also had a couple hundred dollars in cash in there, all of which is still accounted for. So what happened to my card? Any ideas? I've never lost anything like this before, and I don't want to again either. I'm due to get my new card in about a week, and with my luck, as soon as the new one arrives and is activated, I'll find the old one in the bathroom or freezer or something like that. Sometimes I'm so awesome I give myself a headache. Sadly, the lack of card means I can't do some of the things I wanted to today, like get the truck washed..although I might still be able to do that if I can find one that takes cash. That shouldn't be too hard, right? Enjoy the weekend y'all! OH....btw, Little Brother graduates from college this weekend, be sure to wish him good luck on Facebook!! Hearts and shit to everyone!

Blech.

2011-04-25T06:10:00.000-07:00

I am having a hard time this morning. Not just because it's a dark, dreary Monday either The weather isn't helping though. On the way to bring Hubs to the train station this morning, I almost pulled out in front of another car at an intersection. If I had, I wouldn't be writing this right now, as the other driver was going way to fast, and I totally didn't see them until Hubs shouted WATCH OUT. Normally I hate it when he comments on my driving..I'm a very good driver. Safe. Responsible. But today, I just straight up didn't see this other car. Maybe I was distracted. Maybe I wasn't paying full attention. Maybe the other driver is an asshat douchknocker that needs to slow down. I don't know. The moral of the story here kids is don't drive distracted. Also, slow down.

I sure hope everyone had a good weekend. Getting to enjoy time with the family, eating a huge meal...awesome. Hubs and I stayed home and ate Ramen. I really dislike running out of money. Normally we're OCD about our finances...neither one of us liking to be broke for more than an hour. But we had an unexpected bill come up *thanks Taxachusettes* and it ate up all our moolah. I think I have maybe a quarter to my name right now, and I'm not sure how I'm going to get to the gas station to put more food in my car's belly. Let alone my own belly..which is rumbling like a Pooh Bear's right about now. Sigh. I'm sure that this little spell won't last..eventually we'll either starve to death or get paid again.

Holy cow..I just re-read that last bit...I'm not feeling depressed or anything, but damn. That was dark..even for me. I almost went back and took it out..fearing that you all would be like "D-R-A-M-A!! Get a grip girl, jeez you act like your the ONLY one with no money! Selfish much??" But I promised to offer up my crazy for everyone to see in this journal, so here it is. in all it's freaky glory. Awesome. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go boil some water for tea..it's all I have left in my kitchen that isn't a condiment.

Well...ya see...

2011-04-22T08:53:00.000-07:00

It's Friday. Finally. It seems like this week took for-EVER to go by. I'm currently writing to you from my brand new spankin fast computer. I would be sharing specs and pictures with you, but I haven't figured out what program I need for my camera yet. (It's a little embarrassing, actually.) I did, however manage to transfer all of my files, music and photos from my old hard drive to my new one, and even managed to install the graphics card all by myself. Wheeeeeee! And right now, I have itunes 10 syncing up all my songs. It should only take just a little while longer, I'm hoping.

Picture break!

AAAAGGHHH my hamburger is trying to get me!! LOL!!

Anyhow..there's these 2 guys on a ladder outside my window , fixing (?) something, and I bet they're wondering why that girl is laughing like a looney person, all by herself. Whatevs. I'm in a pretty good mood today, even if I didn't sleep well and I think I'm coming down with a cold. The speed of my new machine will keep me well, lol. For crying out loud, what is that BANGING outside? Jeeze! It sounds like they are breaking everything! Hey, how's this for random...does anyone know how to fix one of those rolly type shades? The big one in my bedroom came all undone and I can't get the spring to work anymore...I hope I didn't kill it..that would suck.
Anywhooooo, I think I'm going to go be random outside for a while. Maybe a walk around the neighborhood or something fun like that. Have a lovely day.

It's not what it looks like, I swear!

2011-04-20T06:13:00.000-07:00

Oh boy, check this out. Hubs and I went to file our taxes last week ( I KNOW..procrastinate much? LOL!) and while our accountant was filling our the forms, we got to the section where you list your occupation and ages and shit. Well, there is an 8 year age difference between hubs and myself (I'm older..*insert cougar noise here*) and last year our occupations were...get ready for it....student (him) and teacher (me). The accountant didn't notice it, but when I saw it, my face exploded into the fiercest blush ever. Hubs saw my face before he noticed what was on the screen, when he saw what I was blushing at, he couldn't stop laughing. When the accountant finally looked at us and asked what was going on, hubs pointed at the screen, and I stammered "It's not what it looks like...really!" She laughed too..making me want to just melt down into the floor. A lot of the time, I don't notice the age difference between us, but every once and a while it gets a little awkward.

Like having a backyard full of badgers.

Here's something that JUST happened to me...the house phone rang, caller ID says "800 service". Thinking it might be Hub's school or the VA, I answer. An electronic voice says "This in *garbled something * 80 Interstate" and hangs up. I am now creeped out and going to hide in my bathroom for a while.

Oh me oh my

2011-04-14T05:57:00.000-07:00

I had mentioned on FB a while ago that I was making jewelery again, and thinking about an Etsy shop. Since then, I've added a new daily goal for myself..get one piece finished every day. Of course, some projects take longer if the design is more complex, but so far I've been able to stick to my plan. I've got some pictures of recently finished stuff..if you'd like to see them. (Warning: the quality isn't that super, only because I couldn't think of a suitable background..)

I made this one for myself, but I can certainly make another if anyone loves it.

This one looks like sunshine on a string.

Hmmm, this picture isn't doing the design justice. Trust me, it looks much cooler in person.

Ahh, I made this one for Hay. I hope she likes it!!

Now all I need is a clever name for my shop and I'll be all set. I was thinking " Eye,Me, Mine" with the "Eye" being a stylized eye graphic..I don't know though. Any suggestions?

Aside from straining my eyes with tiny tiny beads, I've also been trying to fine tune my workouts for maximum results. So far, what I've come up with for a schedule is something like 30 minutes of cardio 5 days a week, and strength training immediately following, with one or tow days of rest, depending on my mood. I feel pretty awesome about it, and am starting to notice small changes in my body already. Hooray!!
Oh..remember that picture I posted on Valentine's Day of the outdoor bed? I was speaking to my landlady the other day, and she asked me if I had seen it. I said yeah, and how it looked like someone wasn't gonna get any lovins that day and we both laughed. Then she mentioned that other residents in our building had thought a homeless person was maybe taking shelter for the night on our steps, or that someone (mainly Little Brother) came home too late and just slept outside. That made me laugh too, because Little Bro would sleep in his car before choosing hard concrete steps, and if he was locked out, he'd call the house phone or ring the buzzer and wake us up. I wonder what else our neighbors think of us? ( Not that I really care, I AM curious though..since we're so quiet and all, lmao!)

Something else exciting? Sure! Hubs recently upgraded his computer to a beast of a machine..all sleek and super fast. I'll post some pics of it soon, because....I'll be upgrading too! He is really too good for me, I swear! My new computer will be built and up and running as soon as all the parts get in, the case and new speakers arrived yesterday, so the rest can't be far behind. Which reminds me...must find transfer cable, so I can move all my shit off my old hard drive and onto the smokin hot new one. Squee!! So excited!!

Random babbles

2011-04-12T04:30:00.000-07:00

Ugh, I really need to either A) go to bed earlier (hahaha, like THAT'S going to happen) or B) develop a slight sleeping pill habit. I think in the past 2 nights, I've gotten maybe 5 hours of sleep total. I am so tired right now, I'm not even sure if I'm writing in English. It's a good thing I don't have anything more strenuous than laundry to get done today, because I think trying to use my brain while this tired is dangerous.
Crap, I just looked at my calender, and hubs has a doctor's appointment this afternoon. Shit shit shit...maybe I can squeeze in an hour's nap while clothes are in the dryer....

In other news, the whole working out and dieting thing seems to be going ok. I don't hurt like I used to, and just started a new thing called "eating breakfast"..so far I really like it. I had Cinnamon Roll yogurt and a granola bar, total calories: 260. I'll be following that up with my usual workout, and here's hoping I don't embarrass myself in a bathing suit this summer. Which reminds me...the pool in our complex opens up this week, so I should be able to add 30 minutes of laps to my routine. I am so so so happy about that. Umm, what else...oh! I'm making stuff again, and will post picture of finished projects as they appear. Am thinking about an Etsy shop to get rid of some older projects that I'm not wearing, and wondering how this whole going into business for myself thing will work out. (HA..I made a funny)
Well, I'm going to go try cardio without falling over...let's hope my poor tired brain doesn't shut down from the excitement..