Sleep

I usually sleep until about 2pm, but today my perv neighbor was doing something very loud with his metal boat and woke me up a bit earlier than I would've liked. I think he was dropping it and repeatedly hitting it with the loudest hammer he could find. I really like working mids because the workload is lighter and you get to experience a totally different class of weirdo, but the rest of the world will just never understand that I have to sleep during the day! I think it's finally started sinking in with Vic, however, because she rarely wakes me up without warning me at least a day in advance that she'll be doing it. I'm looking forward to retirement when I can sleep whenever I want and not be worried about being woken up because I can always take a nap later on in my work-free day! Come on lottery!

Feast Ninety-One
Appetizer
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how polite are you?
I think I'm probably somewhere between 5-6 ~ but mostly a 5

Soup
What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud?
My Lt. is on vacation this week, so I've been working with the Sgt. and he makes me laugh at least a dozen times every night.

Salad
Who is your favorite cartoon character?
Daffy Duck.

Main Course
Tell about the funniest teacher you ever had.
I don't remember having any funny teachers. I hated school, remember?

Dessert
Complete this sentence: I strongly believe that ______________________.
Vic & I will eventually visit all the places that we talk about seeing.

Outside Work Stuff

Just the other night we were forced to bring the plants in because of a frost warning and today it was 61! Not a tropical heatwave I know, but pretty darn close for our area! Shannon-Banana and I cut the front lawn and sanded down the Adirondack chairs in preparation for their new coat of paint (hopefully) this weekend. We've got plans to put up a sort of lattice privacy-type thing around the patio to block our view of Perv two houses down and the hooligan children behind us. The plan is for it to have pretty climbing things on it and afford us a bit of privacy when patio-ing this Summer. It really shouldn't be a hard project, just time consuming, so I might not get to the Adirondack chairs until next weekend. We both really want to finish the patio project in one day, because there is a big Irish festival downtown on Sunday. It lasts all afternoon and well into the night with continuous music, food and craic ("crack" ~ merriment). So far the weather guys have called for no rain, so hopefully we'll have a nice sunny, breezy day on Sunday.

The Red Wings play tonight ~ they are down 2-1 in the best of 7 series, so tonight is a must-win game. Of course, the announcers say that same thing for every game, but the Wings really can't afford to go down 3-1 ~ it's pretty hard to come back from a deficit like that. The Pistons, however, are just whooping on those Milwaukee Bucks. The good guys have won both of the two games they've played so far and head to Milwaukee tomorrow night for game 3. I predict the Pistons in 4!

No Blog Today

When I blog I try to write about interesting things going on in my life, but today nothing happened. I cut the very tall grass and now I'm tired, so I'm going to take a quick shower, make dinner, watch the Pistons and then go to work. So no blog today. Come back tomorrow.

Sheep & Octopi

Saturday afternoon Vic & I took a ride downtown to see if the Spirit of Detroit guy was wearing a Red Wings or Pistons jersey. We were very disappointed to find out he had on neither. I guess they must dress him when Detroit is in the actually championship series, not just the playoffs. Or else we just came on a day when he was naked. Either way, we had lunch at the Hockeytown Cafe and stopped by the Joe to get some pics of the huge octopus they put on top of the arena. The octopus goes back a long way in hockey lore ~ something about his eight arms representing the eight games needed to win the Stanley Cup. At one time, fans used to throw octopi, live and stuffed, onto the ice during the games. There's now a sign up stating "No Octopi Allowed in Arena." Apparently on top of the arena is okay, though.


Here he is looking very menacing.

After our trip downtown, we came back to the house and Vic & I changed my oil and replaced my spark plugs. My actual duties included unscrewing the oil bottles, changing the radio station and adding some window washer fluid. A good assistant mechanic is hard to find.

Sunday morning we set out for the Spring Festival at one of the metroparks in the area. The Spring Festival included, among other things, a sheep shearing demonstration. We saw Ginger the sheep sheared and then some ladies spun it on spinning wheels! Pretty cool. We also saw a lot of other barnyard-type animals and had a great time despite the constant sprinkle of rain.

A flock trying to hide from the sheep dogs.

Ginger getting a haircut.

Ginger's new baby finally recognizing her.

Cute little pigs.

Boing!

Springy
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Well, it looks like the Spring flowers have finally sprung! Overnight they just boinged right out of the ground and popped open! "Hey, look what's above ground! Let's get everybody else to spring up and check all this out!" So far, they're very small. I wonder if they'll all be dwarf flowers or if they're just taking their time growing. Either way, I'll be very happy when these two little guys are joined by their brothers and sisters.

I've got some overtime at work tonight, so I have to go in 4 hours early. Kind've a bummer because I really enjoy my relaxing time at home before heading out to work, but the extra money will be nice. This is quite a change from my old job where we always had to work for comp time instead of money. The time was nice because I had plenty of it and could always take a day off with pay when I needed to, but sometimes the money would've been nice. And luckily we have a TV at work so I can catch the first game of the Red Wings playoffs!

Feast Ninety

Appetizer

List 3 things you keep putting off.

1. Getting a new will made.

2. Getting life insurance.

3. Going to the dentist.

Soup

What do you feel is your greatest responsibility?

To be a good "wife and mother"

Salad

If you could have starred in any movie, which one would you have wanted to be in and why?

Actually, even though it's not one of my all time favorite movies, I always thought it would be cool to be in the "Lord of the Rings" movies. They looked like they all had a great time working together.

Main Course

What is an expectation you had as a child about being an adult and, now that you are grown up, you realize you were wrong?

I never thought I'd have to worry about having money to buy all the stuff and do all the things I wanted to do. Geez, was I ever wrong!

Dessert

When was the last time you had your car serviced?

Just a couple of days ago when Vic replaced my battery. She's planning on changing my alternator, replacing my spark plugs and changing my oil this weekend!

Playoffs

Playoffs
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Is everyone as excited as I am that both the Pistons AND the Red Wings are in the playoffs? I doubt it. One of the reasons we moved North was because I really really missed pro sports and now how GREAT is it that two Detroit teams are in the playoffs! Every year the city dresses up the Spirit of Detroit guy in either a Pistons or Red Wings jersey, depending on which team is in the playoffs. I guess the big guy will just have to wear a different jersey every day! Both teams finished #1 in their respective leagues and they both have an excellent chance of going all the way. If they're both crowned champions, this will be the first time EVER that the same city has had an NBA champ AND an NHL champ the same year! How exciting! Hopefully we can make it downtown to get some pics of the Spirit dude this weekend. I'll keep you all abreast of playoff developments!

Current Events

Today the Sweet Baboo and I took a walk thru the hood. This is our first foray out into the wild since the traumatic attacking-dog incident a few weeks ago. Why so long between walks? Well, the reason is threefold: 1.) I was quite sick for about 3 weeks, 2.) The weather was crappy, and 3.) The Sweet Baboo and I are just a tooch on the lazy side. It was a balmy 64 degrees when we set out ~ a heatwave for this area! I'm happy to report we finished the walk unscathed and are now looking forward to a congratulatory dinner of pizza!

My car pooped out on me this morning. When I got off work this morning the battery was completely dead, so one of the guys gave me a jump and I made it home, but once I turned the Jeep off it wouldn't crank back up again. I left Vic a little memo asking her to check it out for me, and she bought me a new battery while I was asleep! Yea for Vickie! Turns out my alternator has low amps (dumb girl look on my face) and needs to be replaced, so it looks like this weekend will be car-repair themed. Actually, Vic and our neighbor will probably work on the Jeeps and if the weather cooperates I'll finally get to re-doing the Adirondack chairs.

Weekend Foliage

Saturday We set out earlyish on Saturday morning for the Home Depot. Our plan was to get a few pieces of lumber Vic needed to finally finish the door frame on the back door. We came back with the lumber, but we also picked up a few trees, too! The below pictures are of our new Purpleleaf Plum tree and our Forsythia.

Since the ground is still so wet, both trees went in the ground with very little work. I can't wait for the Purpleleaf Plum to get bushy and flowery. The Forsythia, unfortunately, stays the vibrant yellow only in the Spring ~ the rest of the year it's leaves are a pretty green. We'd like to eventually put more Forsythia along the fence in the backyard as a privacy-type hedgerow. After planting, the sun was still out so we gave Shannon a bath outside. Hopefully the ground will dry up soon, because not only do we need to cut the grass, but Shannon loves to roll around in the backyard and she's just a filthy mess all of the time! We need a few weeks of no rain and plenty of sunshine and I think we'll be okay.

Sunday We spent Easter Sunday at Vic's mom's house. We had an early dinner and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon with her. We got home early enough to spend time with our own furry family and just relax for a bit. It's coldish again today. Not cold enough that we have to worry about bringing the plants back in, but cold enough that I have to wear sweatpants instead of the shorts I was wearing this weekend. I guess I have a few more weeks to trade out my Winter and Spring clothes.

Earl the Squirrel

Friday, April 14, 2006
Feast Eighty-Nine

Appetizer
What movie soundtracks do you own?
I'm not sure if I own any now (although I'm sure I could
probably find at least one). However, the very first
soundtrack I had was from the movie "Grease" on
8-Track! Half way thru a song you'd hear a big GLUMP! & then the song would continue.

Soup
How much cash do you usually carry with you?
Usually $10-$15 until Vic figures out I have money and then the dollar amount drops drastically.

Salad
Are you more comfortable around men or women?
Women. I'm grossly outnumbered at work, tho. Hazel Park has only one female patrol officer, so I'm subjected nightly to farting contests and stories about poop and other "guy stuff." It's really an eye-opener.

Main
What is the most mischievous thing you remember doing as a child?
I honestly don't remember. But one of the most mischievous things I've done TO a child is to run thru the house gobbling like a turkey. This sends the kitties flying thru the room! And it makes me chuckle.

Dessert
Who is the funniest member of your family?
Funny ha-ha would probably be me. Funny weird is definitely Earl (that's him in the pic). Earl's got huge eyes, a nose like a possum's and bowed legs (he used to have a rather ample manhood before it got snipped). He's also slightly overweight and built low to the ground. And he frequently flops over onto his back, airing out his wares for all to see.

This upcoming weekend should be pretty busy. We're going to Vic's mom's house for Easter lunch and I'm pretty sure we're going to spend most of Saturday working on a few small projects around the house. I like my job, but I look forward to the weekend all week long. And now that's it's been nice out I enjoy it even more! It's been kind've rainy the last couple of days, but still warm out. I'd like to redo the outside chairs some time this week, so hopefully the weather will cooperate.

One Year & Two Days of Blogs

It's been unseasonably warm here for the last couple of days. I think the temp actually got up to 75 one day this week! Vic & I would really like to take our plants back outside, but we think we may still have at least a couple of really cold days ahead of us yet, so they'll stay inside for at least another couple of weeks. Maybe they can go out the week after Easter. I love sitting outside when there's a nice breeze out. This is perfect "listen to the Tigers on the radio" weather. As a matter of fact, I'm listening to them right now!

I had to go to another training class yesterday when I got off of work, so by the time I got home (at around 5:00) I had been up for about 30 hours. I was exhausted and fell asleep on the couch until Vic got home at around 12:30. I really wanted to blog yesterday cuz I missed Tuesday's blog, which was my 1 year blog anniversary, but I was just waaayyy too tired to do it. A lot has happened to me in the past 12 months. Of course moving, the new house and a new job are the biggies, but there's been quite a bit of other stuff going on, too. I got to go to my first ever hockey game this year, I shoveled snow for the first time in over 20 years, Vic and I have been to some really nice area parks, we got to see the Tigers AND the Indians play live, but mostly we've just spent a lot of time going places and seeing things we couldn't experience in Florida. I'm really glad to be back up north again and I'm glad I've got a job that I like (most of the time). The past year hasn't been bad at all.

Springing Tulips

Spring Garden
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Well, this past Saturday Vic & I finally made it out to the local plant nursery where we spoke to a very knowledgable horticulturist about our planting plans. We now have a better idea of what we want and when we're going to start planting. It's still a bit early to plant in our part of Michigan as you can see by our Tulips barely peeking out of the ground. We'll probably begin planting before Mother's Day, so until then, we'll just imagine what the back yard will look like. We took the adirondack chairs out of the garage and placed them on the patio today, even though it's still a little too cold to sit outside for very long. I'm planning on sanding and repainting them soon.

Our Sunday was spent pretty much at home. Vic helped me put up the much needed shelf in my craft room and I really made a huge dent in putting stuff away! I might even get it done before the end of the month! I'm feeling much better, but still can't seem to shake this nagging cough. Will I ever be at 100% again?!

Fleurs & Plantes ~ So Far

I finally completed the bottom half of "Fleurs & Plantes." Because most of these projects seem to take months to finish, I try to divide each picture into halves or thirds or quarters. I'm quite pleased that I've completed half of this one already and am really looking forward to starting the next half. I think of it as a totally new picture just to keep it interesting.

I also finally got around to seeing "Capote" the other night. I really enjoyed the acting, but not the movie so much. It was very monotone. By that I mean there were no peaks to the story ~ it just went along at the same pace for the entire 2 hours. Kind've dull. I also rented "Brokeback Mountain" and plan to watch it this weekend. Hopefully that will be a bit more interesting

Friday, April 07, 2006
Feast Eighty-Eight

Appetizer

Name a trait you share with your parents or your children.

Some of my children:

Shannon ~ we both like to spend time outside listening to the baseball game

Caleb ~ we both like to bug Vickie when she's trying to sleep

Duncan ~ we both like lots of attention

Earl ~ we both like tummy rubs

Nate ~ we both like privacy when going potty

Ricki ~ we both tend to hum when walking thru the house

Zachary ~ we would both sleep all day, if given the chance

Soup

List 3 qualities of a good leader, in your opinion.

Lead by example

Show you can do the job, too

Don't be afraid to delegate

Salad

Who is your favorite television chef?

The Swedish Chef from the Muppet Show.

Main Course

Share a story about a gift you received from someone you love.

Vic gave me a green hoodie for Christmas that I just love! I wear it outside all the time.

Dessert

How do you react under pressure?

Pretty well, I think. I like to be left alone so that I can organize, prioritize and tackle what needs to be done.

Blogging

Yesterday I had to stay after work for 3 hours to train on the new radio system we're getting at work. Consequently, I didn't get to bed until after noon and ended up sleeping most of the evening, leaving myself just enough time to eat a delicious meal of pizza balls (actually, I think they're called pizza rolls) and get ready for work. I missed out on my before-work lounging time. I really enjoy sitting before a fire, watching TV and cross-stitching before going to work. Since I've been somewhat under the weather, I haven't been stitching with my usual fervor. I should really be finished with the bottom half of the picture by now, so I'm looking forward to tackling it tonight. Hopefully, I'll finish it tonight or tomorrow and can soon include a photo of it!

Next week will mark my blog's 1 year anniversary. When I first heard of blogging I thought it was a dumb idea because anyone who might be interested in the goings-on in my life was right there in Pensacola with me. But then Shawn moved away and I really enjoyed reading about the little things going on in his life and at about that same time Vic & I had started the moving process, so I thought this might be an interesting project to take my mind off all the moving-related headaches I was having. I also thought it would be a nice way for my friends to keep up with what's going on in my new part of the world. So, I hope my blog hasn't been a dire disappointment for anyone who's signed on in the last year and I hope some interesting events will occur this year to make for fascinating blogging! Here's hoping we all have a great Spring & Summer to write about!

Recuperative Weekend

I spent most of this past weekend trying to get un-sick. Vic really took great care of me ~ she made sure I took plenty of good drugs and let me sleep all I wanted. Consequently, we didn't get a whol heck of a lot done on our two days off together. We really wanted to stop my a nursery and start pricing/buying the trees we want to plant in the backyard, but that trip has now been postponed to next Saturday. I think we're in a good planting window right now, although we are expecting some light snow flurries later on tonight! Sunday was spent grocery shopping and ended up being an early night for me. (I was in bed by 3am, which is like 9pm to normal people.) But I think all the resting did some good, because I feel quite a bit better today. Still a little stuffy, but not at all achey! The wind is really blowing outside, so this is great sleeping or curling up on the couch weather, which is what I think I'm going to do right now.

Still Sick

I see that I haven't blogged since Monday, but I have a good reason for it. I've been super sick for the past 2 weeks. The last time I was this sick was in 2001 when we went to Ireland. Only difference is that then I only got about 5 hours of sleep a night and now I've been sleeping about 11 or 12 hours. I've been taking cold drugs and vitamin C, but my nose keeps running and my cough just seems to be getting worse every day. Vic thinks my lack of Vitamin C intake may lead to scurvy, so maybe I don't have a cold after all...maybe I've been scurvied! Hopefully I'll begin recovering this weekend because it's suppose to be nice out and it really sucks to be sick when the weather is nice.

Feast Eighty-Seven

Appetizer
Name 3 things that you think are strange.
My dog licking the carpet
My neighbor 2 houses down (he's more of a perv than strange)
Those VW commercials with the guy from "Fargo" ("pancakes house")

Soup
What was the last ceremony you attended?
Shawn's graduation from UWF.

Salad
What is one lesson you have learned in the past year?
No matter how well you plan, the trip is always going to cost more than you thought.

Main Course
Tell us about one of your childhood memories.
I got separated from my mom in Higbee's when I was about 5 or 6. Higbee's was a major department store in downtown Cleveland and the same store that Ralphie saw the Red Rider BB Gun in the window of.

Dessert
If you could extend any of the four seasons to be twice as long as normal, which season would you want to lengthen?
Without a doubt, Autumn. I love being able to wear sweatshirts and sweaters and looking at the beautiful colors on the leaves. It's one of the main reasons we moved back up North!

Wings Weekend

This was a really good weekend! Saturday Vic & I attended our first major league hockey game! Normally all the Red Wings games are sold-out or the only tickets left are nosebleed seats going for $60, but we really lucked out this past weekend. There's a business owner in Hazel Park that has season tickets to the Wings, Lions and Tigers games and whenever he doesn't use them he gives them to one of the cops to use. Luckily I was there when Johnny (the cop) was looking for somebody to give the tickets to. Vic & I got 7th row seats right near the goal for free! Yea for us! We saw the Columubus Blue Jackets.

In our haste to get to the game, we forgot our camera, but I've taken a lovely picture of my souvenir puck and our game tickets!

If we get the opportunityto go again, I won't forget the camera! The game was great, but unfortunately the Red Wings lost in an overtime shootout. After the game we hung around for a while to let the crowd kind've thin out and then we had no problem exiting the parking structure or getting right onto the freeway. Afterward, we dined at the lovely 24 hour Coney Island by our house. It was really a great experience. Live hockey is a lot of fun and I definitely recommend it to everyone!

Because we stayed up so late on Saturday, we both slept in on Sunday. We spent the day doing a little light grocery shopping and we ate mexicans at Don Pablo. Finally we found a Mexican restaurant we both like ~ and it only took 9 months! Now we need to find a good Chinese place. The rest of the day was spent just hanging around the house playing with Shannon. I'm still sick, but feeling a lot better. It seems to be the worst when I'm laying down; my nose gets all clogged up & I go into coughing fits, but at least I can talk again. I'm sure everyone's just delighted about that.

Wings

Yesterday was the first time I've ever lost my voice and it was kind've a weird feeling. I've been sick all week, but yesterday afternoon when I woke up I was feeling a little better. I tried to say something to Shannon and nothing came out! As the day wore on, I was able to squeak a few sentences and managed to call out sick (they laughed at me on the phone), but my voice never really got any better. I didn't like the idea of not being able to communicate freely. I'm sure it was a welcome change for Vic, but I didn't like it one bit! Today I sound like crap, but at least I can talk again. And I've got to go into work tonight. I'm picking up some Red Wings tickets from one of the guys. Vic & I are going to our first Red Wings game Saturday night and we're both really looking forward to it. Being able to attend major sporting events was one of the reasons we wanted to move back up north!

Feast Eighty-Six

Appetizer
How would you describe your personal comfort zone?
My personal comfort zone would probably be in my living room, plopped on the puzo (my recliner) and watching a good movie that I've seen before, while cross-stitching.

Soup
What is your favorite tree?
Maple. My grandma's street used to be lined with them & seeing them always reminds me of that time period.

Salad
List 3 foods you'd like to include in your dinner plans for tonight.
Pizza, fettucine alfredo, nachos. I'm planning on just having pizza, though.

Main Course
What is the best advice you've ever been given, but didn't heed?
Don't get out of the Air Force.

Dessert
On a scale of 1-10 (10 being highest), how much attention do you feel comfortable receiving from others?
10, unless I'm in trouble, then -10.

Spring, I Implore You

Tigers Tickets
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Spring, Spring, oh where art thou, Spring?
I'm tired of snow & wind & other cold thing(s).

I'm ready for baseball & flowers & walks in the park.
And for staying outside way after dark (when it's not so cold).

I just now today received tickets to my 2nd ever Tigers game!
So Winter, go away! Hang your snowy head in shame!

Leave us now to make room for Spring, you big bully!
I mean it! Go away! I'm not fooly(ing)!

Feeling Better

I caught a terrible cold or flu or something. I woke up yesterday morning with a scratchy throat, runny nose and feeling like I got hit with a baseball bat about a hundred times. I was so exhuasted the whole day that I finally called out sick; I knew I would sound like shit on the phone and radio and I didn't think I'd be able to stay awake, even though I spent most of the day in bed or napping on the recliner. Today I feel much better; my nose and throat are about the same, but I don't feel as run down as I did yesterday. I ventured out this afternoon to get my hair cut. It's been way too long since the last cutting, so it really needed it. After I take a quick nap, I'll take out the garbage and iron my clothes for work tonight. Not very exciting, but at least I have the energy to do stuff today. Yesterday really sucked.

Weekend Update

Friday
This was Shawn's last day in the 313, so we celebrated by attending some St. Paddy's Day festivities. We saw a great band called Blackthorn at O'Mara's Irish restaurant. The music was great and the place was packed with a ton of partying people. We all had a wonderful time. After I took Shawn back to his hotel and Vickie back to the house, I had to go to work. I really didn't mind, though. I figured I'd be up all night anyway, so I might as well be making some money at the same time.

Feast Eighty-Five
Appetizer
What job would you definitely not want to have?
Telemarketer or any kind of commision-type job.

Soup
Oprah calls and wants you to appear on her show. What would that day's show be about?
Me and all things me. And everyone would get great surprise gifts, including me. She would treat me to a day of doing all the things I've always wanted to do, but still haven't gotten around to yet. Stuff like, skydiving, flying a plane, performing on stage at Carnegie Hall, etc.

Salad
Name 3 vegetables that you eat on a regular basis.
Pizza, Steak-Ums, broccoli & cheese.

MainCourse
If you were commissioned to rename your hometown, what would you call it?
Caseyville and all the street signs would have little shamrocks on them.

Dessert
If you had a personal assistant, what kind of tasks would you have them to do?
Pay all the bills, clean the litter boxes, dust, cook, buy fresh flowers daily for the house, organize the craft room, bathe Shannon, cut my food for me.


Saturday
I was really looking forward to just sitting around cross-stitching all night, but I didn't pick it up even once! We did some running around in the afternoon and then an old friend of Vic's came over that evening. I did manage to get the shelves for my craft room closet that I've been whining about for the last week. I wanted to put them up today, but I woke up this afternoon with a sore throat, runny nose and an achey feeling all over, so chances are pretty good that I'll be spending most of the evening curled up on the couch until I have to leave for work.

Sunday
On our way to Vic's mom's house, Vic's Jeep broke. We had it towed to the mechanic's place and then hung out with Mom for a while. It was something having to do with a belt and a pulley thing under the hood. I'm not exactly sure, but thankfully they've fixed it and it's ready to be picked up. So it looks like my evening of couch-curling-upon will be delayed until after I take Vic to her refurbished Jeep. It was actually a pretty full weekend and we spent a lot of time driving all over town to get little things accomplished. Other than the Jeep pooping out, this past weekend wasn't bad at all.