Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Be Gone, Green Demon Insulation!!

OMG tomorrow I will totally be unable to move!! I spent a couple of hours cleaning the garage, & I think I used muscles that haven't been used in a l-o-n-g time!!

DH had been using it as a workshop for sawing, etc. while installing our floor. The flooring is backed with a green insulating material, and he didn't wear a mask while sawing it. It really messed up his lungs (he has lung issues to start with) & he has been having trouble breathing ever since.

I straightened things back up, stacked the wood, put the tools away enough that the car fit back in the garage, pulled some things out of the garage closet & put them in the trunk of the car to take to Salvation Army tomorrow, and used the shop vac to vacuum up the demon green powder (piles of it!) so it will be healthier for him when he goes back in there.

Doing physical labor like that is not only rewarding, it's good therapy! I had plenty of stress built up (who doesn't?!) and right now I feel SO much better!!! Aaaaah, now to go soak in the tub. Bliss!

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Grills on deck = yummy; Grills in mouth = confusing!

What's up with these "grills" that go in your mouth & make it look like you're wearing some sort of spectacularly tacky braces?? I know they're supposed to be "cool" but I can't figure out why! Care to enlighten me?

Sunday, May 27, 2007

GPS Nanny for Adults

A couple of weeks ago I got to experience my DIL's new GPS. Man, that is SO cool!! It very calmly says things like "turn right in 1 mile". If you screw up it doesn't shout "what are you, stupid?? Didn't you hear me say turn right??" It just says (in that same calm voice) "Recalculating..." LOVE it!!

I'm thinking that somebody should invent a GPS for doing housework, for the times we may not be sure just where to start. I have a lot of things I'd like to get accomplished this weekend, and so far I've only done a few of them. If I had a GPS Nanny, she could guide me along (as one would a child), encourage me to stay on task, and reward me periodically. :-)

She could say something like "Now let's fold the laundry that's in the dryer... very good! I'm so proud of you!" After a few tasks are accomplished she could enthusiastically trill "Time for a break! Go straight down the hall and turn right. Get your scrapping supplies..." You get the picture. (scrapbooking, picture, heh heh)

Now, we just need someone to design my invention. I think my son could do it. He's talented & cool -- just what one would need to be to make something so snazzy! :-)

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Once a Girl Scout, always a Girl Scout!

My sister is taking her troop to Washington, DC in a couple of weeks to a nation-wide "Girl Scout Singalong". There will be girls there from all over the country, & the tradition is to take something to swap with girls you meet (patches or whatever).

My sister is very creative (runs in the family LOL). She lives in the city where the camoflauge fabric is made for our military troops. She's making a patch out of that and red, white, & blue ribbon for the girls to use as their swap.

I got to help by making tags to be attached to each patch. The cool thing about it is that I live about 16 hours drive from her, but I'm still getting involved! :-) I downloaded the official GS logo from the internet and used it at the top of the tag. I then typed the explanation of how the fabric relates to my sister's troop's town, and included a request from her that as she pins on the swap patch, each scout pray for our troops in Iraq. Mailed them yesterday, & the P.O. guy assured me that they'll get there Tuesday.

It was so much fun to be doing something (even in a small way) related to scouting again! I was a Brownie and a Junior Girl Scout when I was a child, and as an adult I was a Brownie and G.S. leader.

Oh, and did I mention... I made some TINY little tags (identical to the ones for the scouts but only someone of Girl Scout age could read them without reading glasses!) in case my niece wants to attach them to patches for her friends' American Girl dolls. (Some of them are very much into those.) I also made a patch myself for her doll -- not out of camo since I don't have any of that, but instead out of a sweet fairy print. I hope she likes it as much as I did! :-)

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Locks of Love may be Locks on the Floor

I've been letting my hair grow for Locks of Love, but OMG it is driving me crazy! I have tons of really heavy hair, so it's like walking around with a big blanket on my head & shoulders!

That's nice in winter, but summer has finally arrived here & boy am I tempted to have it cut! If I do though, it'll just be on the floor (not on somebody else's head) because you have to have at least 10" of ponytail for them to accept it.

Sigh..that's all--

Monday, May 21, 2007

A Face from the Past

Yesterday afternoon I was stopped dead in my tracks by a guy's sunburn. No, really! It was at Meijer's, between a pyramid of Cherry Coca-Cola and a display of Sun Gold chips. Granted, you don't see too many sunburns up in this neck of the woods but it wasn't just the sunburn that grabbed my attention.

This guy was dressed for the outdoors -- jeans, t-shirt with an unbuttoned plaid shirt over it, sleeves rolled up to the elbow. His bare forearms, face, and the back of his neck were deeply tanned with that pink edge that whispered that he'd perhaps spent a bit too long in the sun today. He had dark curly hair topped by a Red Wings cap, and the distinct air of someone who had just popped out of the woods to grab a few staples, then would be returning to his camp. My kids, if they were to see him, would say he was "my type".

It wasn't that that got my attention either, though.

What caused me to screech to a halt, mouth agape, eyes peering over my almost empty buggy (one zebra-tomato plant, Dr. Pepper-flavored lip gloss, and a bag of frozen snow peas) was his striking resemblance to an old friend of mine. They could've been cousins... brothers... almost twins, even!

The first time I saw Ben he was wearing a creamy white Aran v-neck sweater and had a sunburnt tan (just like this Meijer's shopper)! My first thought (upon seeing Ben) was "omg if I wasn't married this would be my dream guy!" (He looked a lot like a young version of my dad, for those of you who like to analyze such things.) Much later (after a totally non-Ben-related divorce) he and I met up and began to go out. We fell in love, blah blah blah, but it didn't have a happy ending because he had another love, Alcohol, and when he was with her he was not always a very nice person.

Sometimes when he was drinking he would talk about going to "High Bridge" (it's near his home, you can buy bottles of spring water from there when you travel through Kentucky) and jumping off. Usually I'd plead with him not to, listing reasons he should live, etc. Toward the end of the relationship, I was less upset when he'd say it, because I'd heard it so many times that it just felt manipulative. He wouldn't stop drinking, and having him get maudlin and go on and on got tiring, as did his tirades. We drifted apart, and I began dating a very sober guy, good as gold but not heart-thumpingly gorgeous and exciting like Ben.

Anyway, when I saw this sunburnt shopper who looked like Ben, it made me stop & think (in one of those lightening-fast flashes of thought where you get all philosophical but it only takes about 2 seconds to imagine what would take hours to write) about how Ben will never get sunburnt again. He won't ever have have the deep creases testifying to his days outdoors working on the farm and in construction. ( I noticed these creases on the Meijer's guy as he was studying the nutrition info on the back of a pack of sunflower seeds. (Hmm, I wondered, does he have to watch his cholesterol? That's another thing Ben will never have to do.)

Ben chose to "opt out" of the whole growing old thing. One hot summer afternoon, the day after the 4th of July fireworks illuminated rivers all across the U.S., Ben chose to join the cool water of the Kentucky River. He parked his car and jumped off High Bridge, built in 1911 and for years the highest bridge in North America and the highest railroad bridge in the world. It took them days to find him, and they had to leave his casket closed because of the damage that is done to a body when it hits the water from so high above. Funny, how you never think about that.. slipping away quietly into the water sounds so peaceful... but it's not. I wish he'd known that.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Communication

So why is it that people say "communication is SO important!" but then when you communicate something they don't want to hear, they get mad?

Maybe what they meant to say was "Communication is sooo important as long as it makes me feel really good about myself. Otherwise, keep quiet."

I spent too many years keeping quiet, so I guess you're out of luck. (not you, the reader... just you, the person I offended.)

today's Haiku

Pray for Me
Change is in the air.
Should I stay or should I go?
Looks like I might go.

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Maybe if we all had turkey together...

This morning our 2 dogs ate more of their dry food than expected, emptying the bag a couple of hours before I'd planned to go to the store. With their sad eyes glued to my butt as I leaned in to forage for them, I came up with a turkey patty. (You know, those fake hamburgers that people eat when they're trying not to eat red meat so they turn to disgusting substitutes?)

Anyway, I cooked it up & chopped it to bits, then gave it to them (they've never had meat before) OMG!!! You should've seen the joy! One of the cats appeared from nowhere & positioned himself firmly between the 2 and they all gobbled like crazy! It was just nuts.

Made me think.. Maybe if we took all the world leaders & sat them down in front of a formerly frozen fake hamburgers made of turky, we could achieve World Peace? Be worth a try! Hey, I'll even provide the turkey patties!

Monday, May 7, 2007

We are young, heartache to heartache we stand... (Pat Benatar)

My old college friend Barb had a heart attack last week! This is so wierd because I still think of us as young, and heart attacks are something that happens to old people.
I remember sitting by a campfire with my dad, kids asleep in the tent, and him saying (when he was younger than I am now) that it was strange looking in the mirror and seeing this older man looking back. He said he still felt like he did when he was 18. I don't feel like I'm 18... maybe more like 30.
It's hard to be 30 when your children are 33 and 31. Hmm..
Anyway, Barb is going to be ok, but it did make me think.. I have lost friends to cancer and suicide, but to lose one to a heart attack... that would be really wierd because that's how my PARENT's friends die, not MINE.
I still think of Barb as the wild and crazy girl she was back when we were at EKU. Granted that was in the 80's, more than a couple of years ago, but still...
I told Barb she'd better not keel over, or I would be really mad. Somehow I don't think that will keep it from happening though.
Now, Haiku:
Your wild restless heart
now pumps one third what it should.
I want you to live

Saturday, May 5, 2007

Haiku from a cancer survivor


Here's my Haiku for today. Want to share yours?
Is This Denial?
Friends walk for the cure
Walk. Talk. Laugh. Comraderie.
I can't stop crying.
Feeling like a wimp
I made a quilt to be sold
but I'm not walking.
Friends say come join us
but I just want to forget.
Cancer. I hate it.
Right at this moment
they walk the survivor lap
I hide in my chair.

Friday, May 4, 2007

The new floor has arrived!

Good news! The flooring actually came in today!! Wooo hooo!! (only 9 days later than planned... but at least it's here now.) We'd pulled up all the old carpet Wednesday before last in prep for this moment... have been living with subflooring (ugly & rough, we've had to wear shoes all the time indoors with it!) so it will be wonderful to get back to normal!

For the past week we've had a big comforter spread out in the living room floor for the dogs to play on. It makes me feel like I have little children again -- I remember putting a quilt down for them to play on before they could crawl. Polly just couldn't stand the way the rough wood felt under her paws, and sat on the couch looking really sad until we thought of putting the comforter down. Now she's happy as a clam. It's littered with their toys. We put throw rugs down the hall and a big plastic thing (those heavy things you put under a rolling office chair) in the kitchen to protect their feet. Makes for an interesting decorating statement! No wonder I've been about to hpull my hair out!

We'd planned to rent a truck at Home Depot to bring the flooring home in (they rent them by the hour) BUT when we went to pick it up it turned out you can only rent THEIR truck if you're using it to transport stuff you bought from THEIR store. Grrrr... I did ask if I could buy a lamp or something but the girl said NO. We had looked at their flooring but they didn't have any that we liked nearly as well as what we ended up buying elsewhere.

So, after being refused the truck... on to "Plan B". Dh & I each drove to the flooring place, folded our back seats down, & loaded up flooring! Took it home, then back for more. We could've fit it all into the 2 cars in one trip BUT the weight of it kept us from doing that. Didn't want to risk breaking the struts. (Hey, notice how I'm using a highly technical automotive word? heh heh clever girl!) Anyway...

DH and I will be installing the new floor this weekend. I'm looking forward to it -- it will be fun working together on a common goal, plus it I think it will look great when it's done! :-) It's Sienna Hickory, wide boards. Who knows, I might even get brave & try using the saw! (So.. tomorrow night's blog may be written with one hand! Might be a quick way to lose 25 pounds.. or however much an arm weighs!

Thursday, May 3, 2007

What's the best place to comment on your comment?

Ok, I'm new at this but you're not, so how about sharing proper Blogging Etiquette on this scenario:

#1. I post a blog.
#2. You comment on it.
#3. Now, if I want to reply to your comment, do I reply there (on my blog where you may or may not see it) OR do I reply on your blog page (where you may not know what I'm talking about since your comment won't be there)??

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Remodeling Sends New Blogger Over the Edge!

Chaos sawdust yech!
I want my new floor installed.
Must...not...kill...my...spouse.

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

My little sweetie has lost a tooth!

Whitney just called to tell me that she has lost her first tooth! You could practically feel the phone vibrating with the excitement of it all! She pulled it herself! She's not going to put it under her pillow tonight though... she wants to take it to school first & show it to her kindergarten teacher. She said when they lose a tooth they get a "brand-new toothbrush!!" (beats the heck out of getting an old, worn out one!)

I'm just amazed that this has already happened -- it doesn't seem like that long ago that we were celebrating the ARRIVAL of her first tooth, and now here they are starting to come out. I could get really sappy right now but I'm not... be glad! Be very glad!!

Her mommy (my DD) e-mailed me a pic so I could share W's joy, so I'll share it with YOU too. Hope it makes you smile as big as it did me!


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Thoughts in Haiku

Haiku is a type of writing with which has 3 lines, with 5 syllables in the first and last line. The middle line has 7 syllables. You are invited to write a Haiku here! I'll start us off:

Haiku
Write just what you think.
Let your mind speak on paper.
Now what will we say?