OMG, I'm Boring Even Me

So I just perused some of my previous posts and realized, I'm even boring myself. And who could blame me with gems like the one llllooooonnnnnggggg paragraph about The Chowder and this rambling post about the woes of our air conditioning.

I am now contemplating what to do about said boring of you my poor innocent readers. (I'm supposed to be cleaning out a cabinet right now. Shh! Don't tell Music Man.)

After long and careful thought, I've decided what I really need is change. And way less clutter. So in my attempts to have both. I shall be further boring you with before and after pictures as I declutter my home and hopefully change the way I feel about my life right now.

You see I miss California and while moving here was an adventure, (Thanks a lot Mom for forever attaching the word adventure to the word move in my mind) I'm just not entirely sure I like adventure. I think part of my melancholy and absenteeism from the world has to do with my missing of palm trees and rain falling in the winter, not the summer.

It really is odd to me how similar my new home and my old one are. A lot of the same stores and restaurants are here. The management company of my apartment complex owns property in California. Miss Goofy is still goofy and still works hard to not do her schoolwork (I think I might know where she gets the procrastination bug from), Music Man hates his job just like he did in California, I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do when I become a grownup, though I do have a better idea about this one than I used to.

And then weird things happen. Like it rains in July. It's not supposed to rain in July. Or and this one was strange for entirely different reasons. You have to have a permit to set off fireworks. I'm from the land of wild fires, I have no issue with not setting off fireworks at all. I am totally okay with going and sitting in a parking lot to watch someone else set them off. But you have to have a permit? And it's not like you have to go to a class to learn safe handling of fireworks, no you just have to pay a fee.

Our city doesn't allow fireworks, not that it stopped some of my neighbors, and I have to say, I for one am kind of glad. Having grown up around the threat of wildfires, I don't have as much of a problem with no fireworks as people who didn't grow up that way. Besides, nowadays, the fireworks suck.

Remember sparklers? Remember stepping on the hot metal stick and burning your feet cause you were barefoot even though your mother told you to put on shoes? Remember learning not to just drop the sparkler but putting it in the bucket? That was part of the fun of fireworks. Remember hearing about the kid who blew half his arm off because he was playing with fireworks without parental supervision? That was an important lesson to those of us who didn't do that. We learned by hearing our parents talk of the dangers that we needed to listen or bad stuff would happen and it would be our own fault. Now we sue the company who made the fireworks cause Mommy and Daddy are too busy getting high to watch their kids and make sure they don't try to see what will happen to GI Joe if we attach a rocket to his back.

Wow, I really need to quit watching Christopher Titus and go clean out my bathroom cabinet.

I'll post before and after pictures eventually.

The Many Faces of Music Man

This is Music Man happy:

This is Music Man mad:

This is Music Man being pestered:

This is Music Man killing zombies:

The End!

Lately I've Been...

Bet you thought I'd forgotten all about you! And this exciting list!

Never fear, although I frequently get distracted by streaking cats and bright shiny things, I also eventually come back to doing what I started six years ago. Not that my blog is six years old but can you imagine if it was?

Twenty minutes later

So, I seem to have gone off into a fantasy land. What was I saying again?

Oh yeah, my list for this...week?

• Watching my cat randomly streak from room to room and then stop to lick his paw

• Laundry (duh, I have these wonderful new toys)

• Hugging my sissy who I got to see for the first time in over a year last Friday

• Scratching flea bites (I am so bombing the apartment this weekend)

• Asking Miss Goofy if her schoolwork is done yet and why she hasn't turned it in to me

• Finding really good Mexican food (happy dance!)

• Melting in the heat and humidity

• Laughing at Miss Goofy who keeps kicking the fan in my room and then saying, "Ow! I keep kicking that stupid fan!"

• Playing Zynga games on facebook

• Procrastinating instead of doing any housework

I know I've done more stuff, I just can't remember what it was. It kind of reminds me of a essay thing I read about how busy a person was all day but when they look around they can't see what they've done cause nothing they set out to do was finished. Yeah, that's me.

Well, I have things to do that I'll probably avoid and instead spend my time watching shiny butterflies out the window or watching the cat to time how long he goes between scratches. You know something completely and totally beneficial to my life.

Laundry Saga Update

So today, eventually, maintenance finally came by the apartment. They have to order a part for the water valve in the laundry room.

He did, however, say it was okay to go ahead and use the machine for the weekend since it wasn't leaking much by this evening and any leaking it did do was back down the drain anyway. And he did fix the dryer vent issue. At least for now. They will have to tear apart a piece of the wall to fix the water valve issue as they have to replace the whole thing.

That being said, I have now washed three loads of laundry, dried two, have the third in now and Miss Goofy washed and dried a load. I have at least two more loads of clothes, one of sheets and one of towels and table linens to do tomorrow. I'm just so excited to have this wonderful tool for completing my household chores. It makes it so nice!

Well, I have to go fold towels now! It's so nice not having to go to the laundry room!

Aren't They Beautiful?

So here is my wonderful anniversary gift from my wonderful husband! No more lugging laundry to the laundry room of the complex! No more laundromat!

I'd love them even more if the water valve for the washer wasn't leaking and the hose that's built into the building for dryer exhaust wasn't too short! Hopefully maintenance will be here early to fix the issues and I can use my new beautiful machines. I love them so much! And that bookshelf is totally coming out of there later tonight!

Something Big is Coming on Thursday

Sometime between noon and 6 pm on Thursday the 26th of May, something big will be happening at my house.

Tune in this week for pictures...

A Favorite Author

Okay so it's not a secret anymore that I've been working on a romance novel or two (possibly twenty). I've enjoyed writing them and reading other people's work. I'm of the firm belief that just because I have the same basic premise, doesn't mean I'm stealing the author's work. After all, how I picture the story turning out and how they do is invariably different.

On that note, I was poking around online for a bit today and went to one of my favorite authors sites. I swear I didn't write this, but I could have except for a few minor changes. For example, while I like several of the same authors as she does, I haven't read some of the others work . And while I like the occasional country song, I'm not sure I'm comfortable saying I like country music although the music they now call country sounds a lot like what we called pop when I was a teenager.

I can totally get into the diet Mt. Dew thing though. Yes, that's possibly my deepest darkest secret. I like Diet Mt. Dew. *Sigh

I'd rather have a Butterfinger than a Hershey bar with or without almonds though if that's all you got I'll take it. I'm really not into the Rob Pattinson or Twilight thing. I read part of the first book and watched the first movie. All I could think at the end was I wanted them to stop whining. I remember when vampires were cool. Anyone else remember, Interview with a Vampire?

I'd rather watch the Simpsons or Law & Order: Criminal Intent than the Gilmore Girls. Though Dog the Bounty Hunter is cool if you don't take it too seriously. Don't get me wrong, I think they do a good deed and it's not a job I want but seriously if you can't carry a weapon due to a felony conviction in your past, bounty hunting may not be for you.

I totally agree with her assessment of teen years and the reality of being older and having responsibilities. Sometimes, you have to run to the store and don't have time to perfectly apply six layers of make-up.

Her thoughts on why she likes her job are totally true for me. Seriously I get everyone of them. Oh and the part about liking Nickelback, they are so in my playlists for all kind of my stories.

Thank you Rhonda! You made me feel so much better about myself today!

Promises

So when my husband and I decided to move our family to Oklahoma, a number of factors went into the decision. Concerns about our families, our future, our dreams and goals, costs and what we were willing to give up. It took years before we made a decision.

And then we didn't tell anyone what we'd decided. For a long time.

I won't go into all the thoughts we covered right now, we had a lot of things to think about but some of the issues included being there for my grandmother while she nursed my grandfather, who was dying from Alzheimer's, whether we even wanted to surround ourselves with Music Man's family when they haven't had anything to do with him in years and finally, what to me seemed like the most important: air conditioning.

I knew we weren't going to leave while Grandpa was still alive. I needed to be there to offer whatever help I could and to make sure Grandma was going to recover before we left.

Music Man knew we weren't going to live in the small town he was born in and we probably wouldn't see much of his family.

We both made our peace with both situations and when the time came, we moved.

A lot of my friends have asked why a California Girl would be willing to move to Oklahoma. When we first arrived here we stayed in his uncle's fishing cabin which has since made me very frightened to read Henry David Thoreau's Walden after Music Man commented one day on the similarities. I had no idea it was a horror story. ; )

One of the biggest things that had worried this very California Girl, was the heat. And the humidity. I don't tolerate heat well. I tend to bloat and swell up like a balloon. As long as I have air conditioning I'm okay. Music Man promised me we'd have air conditioning. He's so sweet. Or he didn't want to see his wife looking like a puffer fish and to be honest, I think it might be the latter.

At the cabin, we purchased two window air conditioners. One for the bedroom, one for the living room. I survived while we were there. I even managed to stop killing crickets at three in the morning. I learned to just casually flick them off me and then wake Music Man who would capture the offending insect and escort him outside. I'm still not sure why the crickets loved me so very much.

We've been in our apartment since July 9th. I had maintenance out to fix the air conditioner at least four times last summer. I went to turn it on a week or so ago just to check and make sure it was properly functioning. It isn't. I put in a request to have maintenance to come fix it again.

I'd say I'm sure they'll fix it properly, but four times last year...

Oh Dear

My husband is a bit of a nerd. I love him but he is what he is. Well, I'm pretty sure I've now lost all ability to laugh at his nerdiness.

While he was looking at the Think Geek website and showing me all sorts of things he "needs", I spotted my downfall. It was an R2D2 pepper mill.

I am officially a geek.

So A Funny Thing Happened Today...

Okay it really wasn't funny at all.

We had a blizzard here in Tulsa this week. It's made it impossible to get out of the parking lot at our apartment. So my wonderful husband has been home the past two days.

Our apartment complex has signs they put out occasionally that read "Freeze warning, let your faucets drip". Now, we lived in snow country in California. If you properly insulate your pipes, you really shouldn't have any problem with them freezing. To be safe, we did leave the faucets open if it was going to be especially cold. So when we saw the signs the first time we thought, "uh oh, we might have a problem."

Blizzards include wind, just in case you didn't know. When your water heater is outside and there is a blizzard coming, there is a good chance your pilot light will go out. No amount of running water will keep the water heater from freezing. Not with the wind and snow collecting under the heater.

So when maintenance accuses you of not leaving the water on, it's a bit irksome. Especially when they've already had a fit over the screws they put in the outside door to the water heater rather than fixing the door.

When the head of maintenance brings his entourage of four guys and they don't bother to wipe their boots off outside and track snow all over your living room, you tend to get a little annoyed. Especially when you realize they did the same thing this past summer only it was oil from the asphalt they tracked in.

Then the head idiot proceeds to damage the door to your a/c/heater unit, the one that is a safety issue cause it also opens directly to the water heater closet and when you woke up in the middle of the night one night to the dog having a meltdown and look outside you see the outside door is open and realize someone was trying to break into your apartment through the connecting door you had your husband screw shut the heater door and then called maintenance in the morning and requested they repair the outside door so they didn't have to clean the apartment after removing your dead carcass and maintenance only screws shut the outside and tells you that's what they would have done to the inside door, it's a little insulting. Especially when they damage the inside door and you know they're going to charge you when you move out.

What was my point in telling you all of this? I don't know, Music Man thought I needed to rant. If you're looking for an apartment in the Tulsa area, email me and I'll tell you where NOT to move.

What the Hell?

Okay harsh title I know but I believe I am justified. I was watching the news and saw a news story about the drug being used for death row inmates in Oklahoma. I was concerned as you might imagine so I googled "Oklahoma death row drug" and this article came up. In case you're too busy to read the whole article let me explain. This is a drug that the news story on television said was the same drug that they use to euthanize animals! Now the AP article said it was chemically related to the drug used on animals.

I understand there's a shortage of the drug usually used to kill death row inmates. I'm not sure however how good an idea it is to use a drug that clearly states it's for canine use only. This would probably be a good place to talk about alternatives to death row but I have to say I do believe that occasionally putting someone to death is the only solution.

I was a teenager in Los Angeles during the time of the Night Stalker. My grandmother was a very good friend with one of his victims. Her murder was gruesome and the stuff of nightmares. There are people in this world who choose to commit evil and atrocious crimes. Sentencing them to death is sometimes the least costly solution. Housing them in prison forever is impractical and I understand that.

And while I'd love to discuss solutions for prison overcrowding I'm not an expert nor do I feel like it's something I have enough information on to offer an opinion. But when the manufacturer says don't do this and we do it anyway, then we've got a problem.

Two news articles later and I hear something about state flower, state rock and now someone wanting to choose a state gun.

Hmm, maybe I do have a solution to the prison overcrowding problem...

The Year of Thin Waists and Fat Wallets

So that's what I've dubbed this year. So far, well, we're working on it.

Mostly I've been playing facebook games like CityVille. It's addicting. Seriously, I'm going to be seeking a 12 step group for it soon.

"Hi, I'm Micki, I'm a CityVilleaholic."

"Hi Micki."

Sorry, just imagining the meetings.

I started reading "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien last night. I'm enjoying it a lot.

What else can I say...oh, it's cold here. Like it's been in the single digits cold. Like wow that's not a misprint, 5 degrees is really cold.

Mostly I just needed to check in so I have a more recent post than Miss Goofy. Now I can harass her.

Thanks for being so patient with me.

Company Christmas Parties

Last night we went to Music Man's company Christmas Party.

I didn't really want to go mainly because we've had a few issues with the company but as a member of management, Music Man felt it was important we go. I tried to convince him in the days leading up to it the cat would be an awesome companion but he didn't believe me, so Miss Goofy and I went with him.

It was at a chain restaurant that we'd wanted to try but hadn't yet done so. Kind of an upscale Chuck E. Cheese, complete with video games and a bar, only more expensive and they don't serve pizza. Sadly, we weren't allowed to make use of the bar, since it was a company function and for some reason drinking at their functions is banned.

I did get to at least see a bunch of people Music Man works with. We didn't talk to a lot of people. Mainly cause, well, I'm pretty sure no one really wanted to be there. Music Man works for a corporation that has several used car lots in the Midwest and they're expanding into the South. This party was for the lot where my husband works and it's satellite lot. There were probably sixty people there, including the Area Operations Manager, Music Man's boss's boss and the HR Lady. Both of whom didn't really seem to want to be there but it seemed Music Man's boss, we'll call him, Big D, pestered the heck out of them to get them there.

See, Big D has only been at the lot for 10 months. I know cause he said so last night when he gave a little speech about how wonderful the lot was. Anyway, at last year's party, (I really hope kids weren't present) there was alcohol. A lot of alcohol. And then there were the gifts. Oh the gifts. For some reason this company now frowns on adult toys being given at an office Christmas party. Personally, I'm thinking last year's party was way more fun than this years. Needless to say, heads rolled, people got fired and this year the General Manager, Big D, was a nervous wreck and harangued people from corporate into coming to the party so there was no hint of impropriety.

The AOM (that's the area operations manager), is well an aggressive piece of...dog doo. Not a nice man. He came over to Music Man and started asking very abrupt questions. "Where exactly have been this week?" (He'd been to several lots recently) "What'd you think of the GM?" "He spends too much time in his office, doesn't he?" It went on like that. Needless to say we were not impressed with his lack of professionalism.

The HR Lady didn't really talk to anyone except Big D and the AOM. Music Man said bye to her as she was leaving and she turned briefly, said bye and walked away. We'd be worried but she had a guy with her that no one had ever met. I hope she had a lovely night. After last year's party, she earned the nickname "The Grim Reaper" cause if she was on the lot it meant someone was getting fired.

We spent the night talking to one of the salesmen. A lovely older gentleman, who I'm only going to call Mr. C. He was so sweet and lovely to talk to. He's only been with the company for a short time and he lives about an hour from the lot so for him to have driven in and attended the party was a bit of hassle for him. I'm glad he did though. We chatted briefly with the other salesman Mr. A although he's pretty young, so I'm not sure I like the Mr. part of his name. He had his lovely wife with him. She was a sweet and quiet thing. Not sure what she thought of the party or the company. They left pretty quickly after the party.

The other person we talked to used to be a salesman at Music Man's lot. He's now in the manager-in-training program and at a different lot. He's a hoot and his wife is just as wonderful. She's funny and reminded me a lot of me, down to the bleached hair that needs to be done again. Anyway, MIT L, that's what I'll call him, asked if he could borrow Music Man for a minute. He told me he was trying to get Music Man to start smoking.

I have to interrupt myself here to say, Music Man and I both grew up with parents who smoked. Neither of us do now and we're quite proud of that fact. To us it's a waste of money. However, Music Man and this particular work buddy have had a running joke about my husband's lack of smoking. It seems nearly everyone here smokes. That said I have to add that one of the women Music Man works with had smoked for her entire pregnancy. NO ONE HAD TOLD HER IT WAS BAD FOR THE BABY!!! I asked Music Man what about her doctor? He said he didn't know. Anyway, she found out after she had the baby it was bad for the child and quit. I'm so impressed with her for that. I hope she has quit for good.

Back to what I was saying, MIT L had asked to borrow Music Man and had made the joke. I said, if you get him started smoking, I'll have to kill you and I know where to hide the bodies. He laughed, his wife laughed, Music Man laughed. Everyone was laughing. MIT L then said, "As long as it's painful, bring it on." More laughter. His wife smiled and said about the same time as his comment, "I like her." I stuck out my hand and said, "Hi, I'm Micki." She introduced herself and we all joked a bit later when we were all trying to leave.

So to summarize the events of last night. We went to Music Man's company Christmas party. It was interesting in the kind of way that a car crash is interesting. I don't think I'd like to attend another one, but you never know what's going to happen. We had a good time if you think watching a bunch of people who are so afraid they're all going to get fired that they sit stiffly in their chairs and laughing is frowned on the way it is in church is fun.

The best part of the evening and possibly the most interesting: The GM's wife didn't come to the party. Her parents were in town but to me this spoke volumes. Why not bring the in-laws too? There was plenty of food. I'm just saying it was interesting.

Music Man

Some of the comments this man makes while playing World of Warcraft with his boss are...well they would be odd if it wasn't my husband.

Tonight his comment was, "Damn it I set myself on fire again."

My thought, "For real or in the game?"

The barbecue may have gotten him a few times in the past.

You Know You've Been in Oklahoma Too Long When...

1. You tell people you like both kinds of music; Country and Western and you are able to give examples of both.

2. In a restaurant you no longer have to ask if something is fried, you know it is.

3. You know you'll have your choice of tables in the nonsmoking section.

4. You start contemplating financing a tattoo.

5. You keep wondering what happened to everyone's accent.

6. You no longer nap during NASCAR.

7. You no longer think of environmental causes and try to find an answer, instead you start blaming them. After all, they are causes.

8. When you drive past a spot where a skunk sprayed and your out-of-state relatives react, you have no idea what they're talking about.

9. You know which casinos pay the best.

10. College football and God. In that order.

11. You long for a carrot that's not deep-fried.

12. Road kill. It's what's for dinner.

13. You see lost cow posters.

14. Even the Mexican's can't cook Mexican food.

15. You finally achieve your life-long career goal: disability.

16. You see lost cow posters and recognize the cow.

This Blog Entry is 100% Miss Goofy's Fault

A few minutes ago, Miss Goofy was looking on Ebay. Probably not a good past time for the child who used to watch infomercials with rapt attention then come running and repeat word for word the entire commercial to me ending with, "We need" then whatever the item that was being advertised was.

Anyway she was saying she was contemplating sewing some scarves to sell online. I said that was a good idea and maybe we'd set up an etsy shop. So she then named several items she could sew and sell. One of her thoughts was doll clothes. Something in the way she said doll clothes brought a tear to my eye. And two memories to the forefront of my mind.

When I was girl my dad's mother and my mom's mother did a lot of sewing for my sister and I. One day while my dad's mom was so engaged my mother called her. When she asked what my grandmother was up to, Grandma responded, "Just sewing some doll clothes." A few days later she showed my mom the dresses she had been working on. They were for my sister and I.

She's the same grandmother who used to get mad when people called my sister and I spoiled. She'd look at the person and tell them, "They're not spoiled, just well-loved."

Thank you, Grandma. Your love remains in my heart and memory.

Makes Me Miss California...

So this morning at 9:06 local time (that's 7:06 in California) there was an earthquake 10 miles east of Norman, Oklahoma. Norman, Oklahoma is right outside of Oklahoma City and is where the main campus of the University of Oklahoma is located. It's a pretty little city.

The earthquake measured 4.5 on the Richter scale, which by California standards is a big truck going by. Or if we're talking about Tehachapi, a train.

Our apartment shook slightly and I mean very slightly. Miss Goofy said it startled her and she nearly fell out of the chair she was sitting in, I was in the kitchen and thought I stumbled as I opened the fridge cause I was tired.

Miss Goofy left to go do laundry and I turned on the television to occupy the dog, (otherwise he barks cause he hears stuff outside) and sure enough Good Day Tulsa is reporting an earthquake in Norman.

Mostly I wrote this to let my family know yeah, we had one. No, it wasn't a big deal. Thanks for your concern. We love you! And let's hope for aftershocks!

ETA: I remember in California it sometimes taking days for an earthquake to be reviewed by a seismologist. At the USGS website each earthquake report lists whether it's a computer generated message meaning the seismographs have detected movement and someone needs to review the data or it will say this event has been reviewed by a seismologist, indicating it's already been looked at. This earthquake in Oklahoma, reviewed within a half hour. Kind of funny, huh?

9/11 We Won't Forget--Unless We're At an OU Game

I recently "friended" a woman on FaceBook. She is a really sweet woman who is going through a terrible time. Her husband was a Marine and he was injured in Iraq. The man lost his leg and his life due to the war. She's in mourning, he died this past April. Having lost my own father many years after his return from Viet Nam to an agent orange related cancer, my heart went out to her. We emailed back and forth a few times and friended each other on FaceBook.

Then my husband told me about the OU- Florida game that was played on Saturday. I know it's all over the news, radio, internet, but I just want to add my two cents worth. It's shameful to yell out during a moment of silence. I don't care where you are or why you're there. It's rude. As for the National Anthem, well, I always thought it was disrespectful to talk during the anthem. I can only offer my opinion that it's just as rude to change the words to honor your school.

That said, I hope OU fans will be better behaved next week when they play Air Force. I however, will be watching and rooting for UCLA.

So We Went To The Cabin Yesterday...

Music Man is working. He's working very hard in fact. However, he's not working for a company he's particularly fond of and he's not in a job he really likes. Needless to say, he's been looking for a new job. So this past Wednesday, he received two calls to schedule interviews for this coming Wednesday. Kind of cool since we hadn't heard from anywhere about any jobs we've submitted his application for.

For one of the interviews, the lady told him to bring his social security card. Always a good sign, we think. Now, we both took our social security cards out of our wallets and put them in a file box for safe-keeping. Just to make it a little harder to steal the number. Good plan, right? Well, when Music Man got the job he has now, I had to find that file box and his social security card. I found it and everything was wonderful.

Until he got the call on Wednesday and suddenly, I can't find it again. Now I do need to explain one detail, we had to get him a replacement card a few months ago because the corporation that he'd worked for had laid him off and wanted to bring him back through a temp agency. The temp agency needed his card for their files. We couldn't find it.

Fast forward roughly a year and I'm tearing apart the apartment trying to figure out where I put that damn card. I remember seeing it in my desk. The desk sitting in Miss Goofy's room. It's not in the desk now. I took the card out when we moved the desk. I know I put it somewhere safe. Tragically, "somewhere safe" turned into "somewhere unknown".

So we went to the cabin to look for the card cause I knew it wasn't in the apartment. Saturday night as we were settling down to go to sleep I told Music Man, I was pretty sure I knew which box it was in. Then I said a little prayer that I was right and went to sleep.

Sunday morning dawned bright and early and despite us wanting to be on the road by nine, it was after 8:30 before we got up. So it was more like ten before we left. After a moment of panic as we got onto the turnpike when I thought we didn't have the cash on us for the toll, I found the change in my purse, and we had a fairly quiet drive.

We got to the cabin and walked in, after a moment "Eww, it smells stuffy in here," I turned to Miss Goofy and said, "Go look in that box, I need to use the restroom." And here is the point of this story. Music Man went with her to look in the box. A box overflowing with books. She had been arguing about looking in that box. Her exact words were, "there's no paper-like things in here".

Music Man smirked. I heard her arguing, finished my task and walked into the living room as she said, "Wait, it's in this book." She opened the book and triumphantly removed his social security card. She had remembered putting it in there when we were getting ready to move the desk. I'd handed it to her and asked her to put it in the box with the books. She had even told me she put it in that book. She'd even teased Music Man about it being in her sparkly vampires book.

I looked at her and smiled as she handed the missing card to her father. I asked the only thing I could as I stood over that overflowing box of books. "Did she just say there's no paper-like things in here?"

Music Man grinned and said, "Yes, yes she did."

That's my daughter. We home school her good.

P.S. You may have noticed that the words Miss Goofy are a link. It goes to my daughter's blog. You should check it out.

P.P.S. Are you happy now, Miss Goofy? I plugged your blog four times in one article.

Lately I've Been...

I don't read a lot of blogs that belong to other people. The simple truth is I don't have time to read a lot of people's complaints and whines. So I pick and choose. And I don't check all the blogs I read every day. Which works out good cause most of them don't update every day. However on one of the ones I do check fairly often the author occasionally posts something she calls, "Lately you might find me..." Then she lists five things she's been doing recently.

I liked this idea but I don't want to completely steal it so, I'm changing it to "Lately I've Been..." and the the number of things I write will probably vary.

So without further ado...

Lately I've Been

• Obsessively listening to Duran Duran (I was totally crushed when the lead singer got married)

• Writing a romance novel

• Vacuuming a large amount of pet fur

• Watching Burn Notice on USA

• Staring into space with a confused look on my face (usually when working on romance novel)

• Cooking dinner (except for last night when I made Miss Goofy and two nights ago when I made Music Man buy us pizza)

• Rocking out, dancing around and causing Miss Goofy to roll her eyes (really enjoying Duran Duran again)

So that's what I'm up to. What about you?

Things I've Learned In Oklahoma

If you live in Oklahoma or have lived here in the past, you can probably ignore this post. If you've never been to Oklahoma and enjoy drivel, this might be the post for you. This will of course be in list form.

1. Although crickets in the house are supposed to be good luck, you really don't want to have them jump on you at three in the morning.

2. Even the biggest, bravest dog will be terrified of a thunderstorm.

3. Oklahoma humidity will make you appreciate the mild climate of California.

4. Oklahoma humidity is way better than Georgia humidity.

5. The wilderness is very noisy.

6. Oklahoma isn't just flat desert. It has gorgeous forests, beautiful lakes and vibrant cities.

7. I much prefer the city to the country.

Thank You!!!

So, I talked the other day about having moved. It was a long trip from California to Oklahoma. We traveled in a caravan. Well part of the way.

Music Man, Music Man's Uncle and Aunt, Miss Goofy and I, oh and Courage and Thatcher were traveling. Music Man and Thatcher traveled together, they bonded in Music Man's truck. Music Man's Uncle and Aunt pulled a trailer with our stuff. Miss Goofy, Courage and I spent the better part of a week in a Saturn on the I-40.

For the record, Courage has a terrible time with digestion when he travels. Translation: he gets awful gas.

However, I do want to take a moment and thank two people who helped Miss Goofy and I a lot. These people helped us by keeping track of weather and road conditions and sending us text messages warning us of changes and possible problems. As well as providing us with jokes and cheerful notes as we drove.

Thank you DolphinLady and TheWeatherGod! You helped us make what could have been a difficult trip much easier.

For the record, I've wanted to post my thank you for a while but I had to wait until I had internet. Now that I have it, I'll be posting more often.

Where Have I Been

You might be asking yourself that question. Then again you might not. This might be your first time to my blog and if so, welcome. Or you could be an old reader and just happy I finally decided to update.

While I don't have a good excuse for not updating between Jujubee's birthday and the first of May, I do have one for since then. And it's really good.

You see I left my little mountain in California for the forests of Oklahoma. No I wasn't drunk. No I didn't get lost. Yes there are forests in Oklahoma.

As you may have heard unemployment in California is very high. Where we lived it was running close to 20%. Here in Oklahoma we're at 7%. Go ahead and do the math. I'll wait.

Yeah see, more opportunity for a job in Oklahoma. Way less competition. So we made the choice to move. And it's gone, well let's just say it's gone. We've had a few challenges on the way and I'll blog about those when I stop having nightmares. Just kidding, I'll blog about them later though.

However in moving sort of suddenly, we didn't have things as nailed down as we should have. So, we've been staying at a cabin owned by Music Man's uncle. It's shelter. For insects and us but mostly for insects. Let me tell you, the only thing that startles me more when I wake up than a cricket on me, is waking up with a spider crawling on me. Ewwwww!!!!!

But crickets in the house are supposed to be good luck so we've caught them and released them outside. Or nearly all of them. I can't be held accountable for the first one that hopped onto me in the middle of the night and I beat to death with my slipper. Nor can I be responsible for any that my cat has tortured during their "play" time.

The cabin does pose some amenities that are unique for me. There is a wonderful mosquito colony. Not to mention all the good luck from all the crickets in the house. Um, it's about four feet off the ground so if the river floods we should stay dry. Anything in the shed will be ruined but the house should be okay.

Unfortunately, there is no internet. Or cable. There are however lights but I have been singing the theme song to Gilligan's Island for about six weeks now. Slightly changed though to "no web, no phone, no cable, not a single luxury. It sucks to be like Robinson Crusoe. Get me out of here!"

Oh that was the other thing, our cell phones don't always work well. But it's pretty. I'd show you a picture but I don't have my camera with me and I'm sitting in a Barnes and Noble in Tulsa hoping my laptop battery doesn't die before I finish this post.

Hopefully we'll be able to move in the next few weeks and have internet again. We'll see. Music Man did find a job and he's working so there's always hope. Course he just started this week and I have no idea how long he has to be with a place before someone will rent to us. Hopefully, they'll rent to us without any problem. We'll see soon.

Happy Birthday Jujubee

It's Jujubee's Big Day!!!

Happy Birthday Sissy!!!

I love you lots!!!



From Nora and her Herd

Joy

Simple things in this world give us joy. As adults it can be anything from a bite of chocolate, the wind in our hair, the sun shining on a cold winter's afternoon or sleeping in while the kids are at Grandma's for the weekend.

As a mom I've always tried to see the world through my daughter's eyes. She has always found joy in the simplest things. Twirling in a circle until she was so dizzy she fell down, chasing bubbles in the yard, the dog kissing her cheek until she's laughing so hard she can't stand, these are the things of her childhood. I hope she will remember them with the same joy I felt watching her experience them.

Now I have a new one to add to the list: passing the written test for her learner's permit. It took most of the afternoon for that one to sink in. But when it finally did, the giggles coming from her were exquisite.

I took her out for a quick driving lesson after we got back from our four hour trip to the DMV, which I didn't even mind this time. We were in a commercial neighborhood with no traffic. By no traffic I mean, there is a gas station, a Denny's and a hotel, about four streets and maybe six stop signs. I had told her on the way over I wanted her to get her speed up to 25. She'd been driving around our mobile home park at all of 10-13 mph. So I wanted her to really drive this time. She did and after her lesson, we parked so we could switch places and I could drive us home. I got behind the wheel and she giggled and said to me, "I went 27." The joy on her face made me want to cry. So happy, such a little thing, but it made her so happy.

So I called her a speed demon and got on the freeway to come home. No way I was going to let her know how much it makes me want to cry. Then I blogged about it.

She's still a speed demon.

New Resolutions

Okay, so I've been thinking about last year's resolutions and I've come to a conclusion.

When you aim low it really is easier to attain your goals. With that uplifting thought, I've decided to make new resolutions for this year. They are a bit more lofty. By the way the only ones I didn't really achieve last year are numbers 7 & 8. And well, I doubted number 7 would happen and I was really just dreaming with 8.

1. Listen to obnoxious music. (It worked well last year, thought I'd stick with a winner)

2. Participate in a 100 lbs in 10 months online weight loss challenge. Details to come later.

3. Participate in NaNoEdMo. This is in March and if you wondering what it is then you need to see the site. I've already chosen my novel to edit.

4. Participate in NaNoWriMo. This is the one I'm really excited about. It's National Novel Writing Month. It's in November. I think it will be a lot of fun. I might have a practice run in the next few weeks.

5. Schoolwork. I think this is self-explanatory.

6. Learn to play the flute at least a little. I was in band in fourth grade. I was able to play three notes. I'm up to five now, so I'm already doing better. I also have a better flute.

7. Blog at least once a week. Glad this is done for this week.

8. Exercise daily. This will help with the 100 lb in 10 months challenge.

9. Establish and maintain some routines. My life goes much better when I have some basic routines in place.

So have you made any resolutions? Wanna tell me about them? I promise not to laugh, but I may email and see how you're doing.

Brutal Game & A Funny Story

It's playoff season for soccer. We as coaches and a team mom decided on some rules for our playoffs. It would have been nice if they had abided by them, but I'm not going to talk about that now. Needless to say it was a brutal game and it's left a not so good taste in several of our players and parents mouths. We'll see what happens. If you look in the sidebar you'll see we lost.

However, while chatting with our resident COB (that's cranky old bastard for those who don't remember)I was reminded of a funny story.

We lived in our church's parsonage for a while. We had just moved in a few days before, we hadn't even gotten our big brave dog yet. You know our big brave dog, right? The one who hides behind me when jets go by overhead.

So here we are, in the middle of gang territory living in a house that's sat empty for the previous 18 months. Did I mention it was repeatedly broken into before we moved in?

It was late and we heard a noise outside. It was clearly someone jumping the fence and attempting to break into the house.

Music Man jumped out of bed, grabbed the closest weapon he could find, yelled at me to call 911 and went flying out the back door.

The kid who had been attempting to break in took off running, jumped the fence catching his foot in the process and screaming, "Oh shit!" as he landed on his face. I was on the phone with the police, who were sending a car right away. The very nice dispatcher nearly peed herself when I requested they not shoot the naked guy with the sword, cause he was my husband.

Apparently, gang members are terrified of naked, fat white men with Thai ceremonial swords screaming at them at night.


****Please don't try this at home. It's much better to let the police run naked through your neighborhood.

Okay, So We're Not Undefeated

Here is Miss Goofy blocking shots in the pregame practice:



Here is Coach Music Man's pregame pep talk:



Here is what was a spectacular save:



I won't put the pictures of Miss Goofy letting in 4 goals on the blog. Music Man and I worked with her a lot on Sunday. Hopefully it will help and we'll win our game this weekend. Especially since DolphinLady and TheWeatherGod will be here for the game. Root for the Blue Crush everyone!!

Our Last Soccer Match

Okay, I'm thinking I've jinxed the team by forgetting my camera two weeks in a row. So, the camera is totally going this week. Maybe I'll even remember to use it. We'll see.

Let's just say, this past week wasn't their best game. Especially for our goal keeper. She had some issues.

We also had two new players. One of them plays soccer for a club team (don't tell her coach), the other hates soccer. Or she did until she played on Saturday. She played very well and seemed to enjoy it a lot more.

This week our team plays the Sharks again, hopefully we'll be ready for them. And for the HERicanes the next week, when DolphinLady and TheWeatherGod are coming to down to see Miss Goofy play.

No pressure.

Miss Goofy Asks a Political Hot Button Question...

So this morning Miss Goofy and I were watching TV. A commercial for an identity protection company came on. We started chatting about social security numbers and I dazzled (yeah right) her by reciting several of our family members numbers. Including my sister's.

She looked at the dog and asked me, "What's the dog's?"

"He doesn't have one."

"He's illegal?" She turned to the dog and asked him, "Where's your work visa?"



He looks worried doesn't he?

Just Outplayed

Our girls played hard this morning. We had a nine a.m. game. Hell, I thought nine a.m. on Saturdays had been canceled. Apparently not. I didn't take any pictures this week.

First let me say, most of our team was gone on Tuesday. Turns out they had the flu/cold/yucky crud making everyone in town sick. Whatever it hit Coach Music Man this week too. He could hardly speak on Tuesday. Then it hit Miss Goofy on Friday. She still went to Friday night practice and the game this morning.

Miss Goofy made some incredible saves. Including diving on the ball just like a pro. One of our girls who has really bad knees scored two goals. Unfortunately it just wasn't enough and we lost by 5.

Not because our team didn't play hard. They did. There are some things they need to work on, but they tried. Unfortunately, the HERicanes, are well, experienced. Their team has mostly older girls, so around 15, which for us is older. They also have girls that have played for a minimum of 3 years. All of them.

I thought these teams were supposed to be equally divided. Oh well. At least we know what to plan for when play them again. Next week's team is one that is young and inexperienced. I think the girls are looking forward to it. Not that we're guaranteed to win but I think they're feeling a little more confident of how they will do.

I'm just hoping they have fun. They seemed to, even in the midst of getting their butts handed to them this morning. If nothing else, they should be proud of their good effort.

First Game!!!

Okay so Music Man is coaching Miss Goofy's AYSO soccer team. Their first game was today. They won!!! Go Blue Crush!!!

Here is Music Man and Miss Goofy after the game:



I circled and labeled them. I'm really getting the hang of Microsoft Paint.

Here is Miss Goofy in some bizarre soccer ritual.




There would be more pictures, but I forgot I had the camera out. I'll try harder next time.

Oh and the final score was 5 to 1. So we're undefeated and tied for first place!

Hark! Are those Crickets I Hear?

Okay, so there's been a little problem with Miss Goofy playing soccer for AYSO this season. Namely, not enough girls in her division, which is either supposed to be U16 or U19. I'm not really sure which. I think it's 16 with the option to play up a level if they didn't have enough girls sign up.

The problem was they needed more girls. Why? Because the board here locally decided to split the upper division by gender. So we had a total of 18 girls signed up in the 16-19 division.

A call went out, "We need more girls!" As of today there were 21. This evening we went to a meeting with the other parents and girls, the Commissioner, the registrar, and the coach administrator. The topic? What should we do?

I was a little worried we were about to come home $85 richer. But we weren't, we actually had several options. One was form a single U19 division team and travel for most of the games. Not a good option since last year more than half the team decided not to travel. Option B was to create a fourth (they already had 3) U14 team. The downside there is the teams can't go to the regional playoffs. The commissioner has decided that if that's the option then we will have playoffs here and he will make sure we have an awards ceremony to go with it. Option C was a refund on the season.

Ultimately the parents decided on Option B. It does mean juggling the teams in the U14 division. It also means some girls will play down a level. But it seems like the best choice.

Then the commissioner, (a very nice man who signs his emails "the Commish") told us we also needed a coach and we need to find one tonight.

Does anyone else hear the crickets?

Music Man is the man you want to have at a meeting when you ask for volunteers. That's probably all I need to say about that but, I'd like to add that Music Man, while a wonderful dad and husband, an excellent trumpet player, a hard worker and all around great guy, has always been an American football fan. Not a British football fan. Good thing the AYSO has books on the game.

So, Miss Goofy will be playing soccer, Music Man will be coaching and I will be taking lots of pictures and probably a bunch of other stuff that I haven't even begun to contemplate. Wish us luck!

And Now I've Become a Soccer Mom

This is Miss Goofy doing one of the drills:



This is more of the same drill. I believe this is just after the girls hit their coach with the soccer ball.



This is a relay the girls were doing:



And this is what happens when your team loses the relay:



I love that picture of Miss Goofy. She just got hit in the butt by a soccer ball.

I have a bunch of other pictures but the biggest thing I keep asking myself is this: How the hell did I wind up a soccer mom?

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary

How does your garden grow?

Or in my case, how does Miss Goofy's garden grow? It grows quite well. Especially since we didn't get to plant until late in June. We were still having frost until then.

These are two of the tomatoes, we had a third one but we ate it. It was good.



Here are two of the bell peppers. We're hoping for more. They smell really good.


We have a whole bunch of other things on the plants and are looking forward to eating lots of wonderful food this summer and autumn.

Operation Beautiful

I'm sending out a challenge.

I found this website for operation beautiful. I love this idea.

So I'm challenging everyone and anyone who reads my site to go to this site and check it out.

There's also a You Tube video that explains the project: http://operationbeautiful.com/the-movie/

Go check it out and then go put your own notes up.

Forced Blogging

I am writing this post under protest. Miss Goofy is demanding I update my blog. She wants a picture I took of her to be posted. So here it is.



The skunk with her is the newest member of our entourage, Fillmore T. Skunk.

ETA: I just got yelled at for not mentioning the damn hair. Miss Goofy bleached her hair a while ago. Someone needs to do her roots.

Obsessions

I might have a tendency to become obsessed about things. The proof of that is in the number of blog entries when I started this blog. I also have a tendency to not keep up with former obsessions. The proof of that is the number of blog entries in the last few months. If you want further proof look for my entry about music obsessions and becoming obsessed with a song.

However, I became obsessed back in the beginning of August with writing a romance novel. Now, I'm not going to say it's good, though Music Man and DolphinLady might if I pay them enough, but it has been an enjoyable experience.

I finished my first one and while writing it had inspiration for another 4 stories. The basic premise is the the stories are about five brothers and their journey from tragedy to love. The first story came together very quickly as did the second one. I'm working on the third story now and enjoying myself a lot.

The problem comes from my obsessive tendencies. When I'm writing I tend to talk about one thing and one thing only. Primarily, my stories. Any thoughts on how to keep me from being boring and only talking about my obsessions? It's kind of annoying those around me.

You Know You're Married to a Musician When...

1. Your spouse drums on everything: tables, counters, walls, you.

2. Your spouse looks around the house and says, "I think we can fit a grand piano in here if we take out the kitchen."

3. The books in your house run the complete gamut: from classical composers life stories to why Tupac was shot.

4. In order to take a bath you have to move the tuba out of the tub where it's been placed to dry from it's bath.

5. iTunes sends you a thank card for all the music you've purchased.

6. You ask your spouse to pick up some paper for you and they bring home music manuscript paper.

7. All matter of man and beast near your home are soothed.

8. Someone says, "Do you know how to get to the post office?" and your spouse replies, "If you hum a few bars I can fake it."

9. Buying a car involves bringing every instrument you own to make sure it all fits.

10. All your neighbors houses are for sale.

15 years ago today

I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. I'd post a picture but my scanner isn't compatible with Vista, so you have to settle for this past Christmas. I love her with all my heart and am thankful everyday for her.



Today, her dad and I took her and her friend out for pizza and to play mini golf. If there is a monster mini golf near you, I suggest going and trying the place out. It was a lot of fun for all of us.

Happy birthday, Baby Girl. I love you!

Happy Birthday Sissy

March is a wonderful time of year. I always feel rejuvenated at the beginning of March. I think it's the prospect of spring. It energizes me and makes me feel like I can accomplish anything.

Then my grandma's birthday passes and I feel a little less energetic, but still pretty good. The next ten days pass and all is quiet. Next thing I know it's St. Patrick's Day and when I was a kid that always induced a panic at the prospect of getting pinched all day.

The day after the pinching is my sister's birthday. I remember when she came home from the hospital. I remember seeing my mom when she was in the hospital to have her. Not that I was allowed on the floor she was on, but my mom came to the window and waved to me. I think she was on the third floor. I remember I was allowed to look in the nursery window and see my new sister before they brought her home. I was so excited that one of those little babies was coming to our house. I wasn't sure which one, I just remember being happy.

I also remember cleaning the house for Mom and Sissy to come home. We spent what seemed like days cleaning. It was probably a couple of hours at most. Oh and my brother had to mow the lawns and that annoyed him.

After my sister's birthday it gets quiet again. Until the 27th, which is when my daughter's birthday is. My sister and I both share our birth months with our nieces which I think we couldn't have planned better if we'd tried.

By the time March is over, I'm tired. Tired of cleaning for parties, tired of cake and sweets and tired of hearing the birthday song.

Thank God, I have a few weeks until my birthday in May.

Happy Birthday Jujubee! I love you!

Happy Birthday Grandma

Today we celebrated Grandma's birthday. Her birthday was actually ten days ago, but this was the first chance we got to have her over. My cousin, Miss B from an A state was in town hogging her. Just kidding, Miss B! However, my cousin was in town with her quiet yet nice boyfriend/father of her child, and her adorable son, little L.



I'd tell you how old Grandma turned but well, I'd have to think awful hard. Okay, Grandma was 25 when she had my mom. My mom was 21 when she had me. I'm not going to tell my age. So never mind. Here is a nice shot of Miss Goofy with Grandma.


This is what I spent my morning working on decorating. It's a really simple cake and the idea came from the back of the package of Easter M & M's. Don't you love commercialism?

Happy birthday Grandma. I'm glad we could have you over for lunch. We love you!

It's Naptime

Here is Courage doing his favorite thing these days:


We think he got the idea from Thatcher:


I bought the blanket Thatcher is sleeping on for Music Man for Christmas. It has a polar bear on it and it's very soft. Thatcher likes to curl up on it and knead. Courage likes when it gets knocked off the bed at night. He scoots under it and snuggles in.

They're both in a really snuggly mood lately.

Ah A New Year

A new year and it's time to come up with some resolutions. Normally when I do this I spend about a week, usually at the end of December, thinking of what I'd like to change in the coming year. Then I spend a few days trying hard to work on making the changes. I spend the next few weeks feeling guilty for not making the changes I want to. Then I just completely give up and decide to try again next year. So this year I've decided to make a list of resolutions that I might actually keep.

1. Listen to obnoxious music (I'm doing that one as I write this)
   
2. Annoy the hell out of my husband and friends (This will be easy as well as fun)
   
3. Write (Okay, I admit it, I'm writing a romance novel. Actually I'm working on the third in a series. Want to read it? Let me know and I'll send it to you.)
   
4. Cook dinner at least once a week (Let's be real here I could aim high and try for more often but why set the bar too high)
   
5. Clean each room in the house at least once this year (Again if I aim low I may achieve this)
   
6. Educate Miss Goofy (This one is real)
   
7. Convince the dog that he doesn't need to play in the snow (Brrr)
   
8. Teach the cat to vacuum (I can dream!)
   
9. Tell my family and friends how much I love them (This one is real too, not sarcastic)
   
10. Blog more often (Keep dreaming!)
    

Love to all my family and friends! (Woo Hoo that took care of number 9)

Taco Tuesday part 2

We went to Taco Tuesday last night. Boss Man and his daughter couldn't join us. But we did sit in the bar. We got a front row seat for the karaoke. Ralph was there.

Ralph always starts off the night with Open Arms by Journey. It's a nice enough song, a little sappy like most ballads of the early 80's. I've always enjoyed the song. And then Ralph sang. Boss Man pointed out a few weeks ago that Steve Perry had a high voice and the song could be a challenge to someone who doesn't have a high voice. My thought is if you don't have a high voice then why torture all these people while you attempt the song.

However, Ralph's version of Open Arms was fantastic when compared to his version of Heaven by Warrant. He stumbled through about half the first verse before he had the DJ stop and try another song. It was painful.

On the plus side, there is an older couple who also sing. They do a wonderful job. I'm not familiar with their songs but they have nice voices and understand little details like rhythm, tempo, and pitch. Now if the DJ would learn what the gain on the equipment is for, we'd be set.

The really sad thing is the older couple, Ralph and the DJ are the only ones who sing. At least they are the only ones who I've seen up there. Here's hoping for some new blood with a decent voice.

Miss Goofy's Pumpkin

This was our pumpkin for this year. Miss Goofy painted the orange pumpkin green then added the face. She has a "wart" (pinto bean) on her "nose" (stem). Her "hair" is orange and black tissue paper. She got the idea from a magazine. Next year she wants to do a cat and a mummy. I think she did a really good job with her pumpkin.

Taco Tuesday

We have started a tradition. Well okay we started it this summer. One of our local Mexican restaurants started having "Taco Tuesday". I think they were trying to increase their traffic during the week. Anyway, Music Man's buddy Boss Man, who by the way is no longer Music Man's supervisor but is still a really good friend and a lot of fun to hang out with, and Boss Man's son, Little Boss Man, discovered this restaurant does "Taco Tuesday". They have tacos for $1, originally it was in the bar or on the patio only. Now just about anywhere you sit, they'll serve them to you.

So the day after the two Boss Mans discovered this dining experience Boss Man, the big one, shared the knowledge with Music Man. Since then we have missed Taco Tuesday maybe half a dozen times.

It's not about the tacos, which most of the time are okay if not fantastic, it's about sitting at a table, eating tortilla chips, watching Boss Man's daughter and Miss Goofy get some serious cases of the sillies, and listening to really bad karaoke.

When I say really bad karaoke, I mean not enough alcohol in the bar to make this stuff sound good. There is one guy, Ralph is his name. I'm using his real name because well, I seriously doubt he'll ever read my blog and if by some chance he or a friend do read it, they'll never believe it's him. And if by some miracle he does know I'm talking about him, then he's ready to hear the truth.

Ralph, you suck. I know that sounds harsh. I know it takes guts to get up there and do that, and Lord knows I don't have that much courage. But Ralph, let's be honest, you have that much guts from all the beer you drink. Oh and the beer doesn't help your singing at all. Okay I think I'm done bashing Ralph.

That said, it's become a lot of fun to go hang out with Boss Man and his kids, we even took The Weather God and DolphinLady with us when they were in town. They may never forgive us. My advice to everyone is go find a local restaurant that does something like this and go enjoy yourself. It makes for a nice night out and if you're lucky enough to share it with friends, then count your blessings.

Enjoy the tacos

Strange Things I've Seen

That's a good title, right? I mean I've seen some weird stuff and today is no exception.

So, Miss Goofy and I went to get lunch at a fast food restaurant that specializes in sort of Mexican food. It wasn't Taco Bell. To be honest I don't know how far this chain reaches but I do know that the original restaurant was in Barstow, Ca and my brother-in-law, The Crazy Hispanic Guy, (love you!) was friends with the owners kids. I think. I think that's what he told me. I haven't talked to him in a while. He's a hoot and I love that he takes such good care of my sister and their kids, but that's a post for another time and I'm digressing.

Back to the car with Miss Goofy and I, we were listening to Kid Rock's newest CD, Rock and Roll Jesus, and having a deep philosophical discussion. I know those are two things you don't expect to read anywhere but it's true. Don't believe me? Go get the CD or google the song "Amen" by Kid Rock and give it a listen. You'll be having philosophical discussions with yourself.

Sorry, I'm digressing again. Back to the car, so we're discussing the state of the world and listening to music, when I notice there is a guy across the street and I realize he's pacing. No big deal right? Except he's in a wheelchair. So, he's pacing up and down the street in front of his house in a wheelchair.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any weirder, I noticed he was also smoking and his cigarette was nearly gone. Apparently he's a heavy thinker when he smokes. And he's got to pace. And if that doesn't start conversations, I don't know what will.

My Thoughts on SpongeBob

I used to hate SpongeBob SquarePants. In fact, I actually told my mom that she needed to stop buying SpongeBob stuff for Miss Goofy. He is annoying. Maybe annoying is to nice a word. He is so irritating I thought my ears were going to bleed at the sound of his voice. That is a much more graphic description. And more accurate. I also thought him to be completely childish and a waste of time. I wouldn't allow Miss Goofy to watch him. My mom bought her a DVD that was around 5 hours of SpongeBob. I nearly cried when she did that.

And then one day I found myself stuck in front of the TV. I think I had the flu and for some reason SpongeBob was on. The remote was across the room and I was not up to moving. So I watched SpongeBob. I learned something. He is annoying.

He also is honest, a hard worker with a good work ethic, tries to be friends with everyone, and when he does something bad, he tries to fix it. SpongeBob tries to be a good person. Sponge. Whatever. He is teaching millions of people how to behave. He doesn't lie and cheat. He works hard at his job and enjoys his job. He is friendly to everyone, including those who are rude to him. If he makes a mistake or hurts someone, he goes overboard trying to put things right.

He's still annoying. The other thing that bothered me was the waste of time watching him. Especially after I found out the show was a favorite among college students. Then one day after an especially difficult math lesson, Miss Goofy sat and watched him during lunch. After lunch, she got right back to work and didn't have any difficulties. It finally occurred to me that college students like him because he relaxes their mind. Sure he's inane and annoying. And that's why he's so effective at relaxing the mind. It's safe to relax.

So go ahead and annoy me SpongeBob. At least my mind will be relaxed.

Update on Grandma

I know you're used to hearing how Grandpa is, but, I'm sure you know that he passed away last week. So today I'm updating on Grandma. I just saw her at the grocery store.

She asked how I was. Nearly made me cry, that she's worried about me. I'm doing alright. She says that today she's okay. She doesn't know how she'll be tomorrow or Saturday but today she's okay. She was in good spirits and cheerful. We talked about this weekend and she told me that several of my relatives who we weren't sure were going to be able to come to the funeral will be able to attend. That makes me so happy and proud of everyone who is coming. Even some of the family who is mourning their own loss will be with us and I am grateful to them for the effort. To those who can't make it for one reason or another please don't misunderstand I completely understand and am in no way upset with anyone. This is a difficult time for everyone and some people just can't go to funerals.

Unlike me. I was thinking yesterday while I was in the shower and I realized I have been to more funerals in my life than weddings. So either people don't like me enough to invite me when they get married, but you can't stop me from attending when you die or I need to hang around people who are way younger. Or maybe this means that everyone who is left is immortal and I won't have to attend anymore funerals. Hey I can dream, right?

In any event, thank you to everyone who has written/emailed/called, etc. to offer support and sympathy. We are okay. We will get through this.

Oh and Uncle Bunky, sorry if I confused when I called and told you about Grandma's taillight. She backed out of her parking space and I followed her out the driveway and onto the street. When she stopped to turn onto the street I noticed her taillight was out. Hopefully that made more sense although I'm not convinced it did.

Keep Grandma in your prayers and I'll see you at the funeral.

Bad Month

Yesterday I posted about having had a bad couple of weeks with Miss Goofy out of town, missing my parents and my uncle having passed away. The news keeps on coming.

I got off the phone with my uncle a little over a half hour ago. My grandpa passed away. We suffered while he had Alzheimer's and while he hadn't been Grandpa for several years, it's still a shock to hear that he's gone.

And yet I can't help but feel happy for him. While I hurt he is surrounded by family that loves him and has just been waiting for him to join them.

Don't grieve for him. Grieve for the ones he left behind. There's a lot of us who lost our hero today.

Good-bye Grandpa, we love and miss you.

Where Have I Been?

Don't you hate it when you keep checking a blog and they don't update for weeks? Me too. I do have an excuse this time.

First I was busy getting Miss Goofy ready for her trip. Then while she was gone, frankly I was enjoying being lazy. I didn't do much while she was gone.

Then Wednesday the 13th, I was having an awful day. I was so depressed. I missed Miss Goofy, I missed my mom, I missed my dad. I was really no fun. I woke up the 14th and felt so much better. I knew I had stuff that had to get done, and I was full of energy and ready to get to it. I had several errands that I had to get done.

I left the house around 10:30 and headed for my first stop: the post office. I was filling out the form that I needed when my phone rang. Now I hate when people take calls on a cell phone in public, but it was my grandma and I wasn't about to not take the call. If it had been Music Man I would have told him I'd call him back, but something about it being Grandma made me take the call. It turned out that one of her brothers had died. I remember my uncle Orin. He and his wife were always so nice to me when I was a kid. I actually have a picture of Uncle Orin and my grandpa in my grandpa's garage that I took. I took it cause Grandpa told me I need to take pictures of people when they weren't expecting it. So I took their picture. Orin is turned sideways and laughing. Grandpa has his mouth open in surprise. I don't think he expected me to take that picture. I tried to scan and post it but I'm having issues between my scanner and Vista. We won't discuss it here.

But I'm digressing. So, I knew I needed to get to Music Man's work before I lost it. I finished at the post office, went home so the dog could use the little puppy's room, called Music Man and asked him if he'd like company for lunch. He seemed concerned cause I hate coming down the mountain to the town in which he works. I told him I'd tell him about it when I got there.

I started out and realized he might be concerned about Grandpa so I called him on my cell phone (yes, I used my ear piece, I didn't need a ticket on top of everything else) and told him that Orin had passed away. He was sorry to hear to about Orin.

I got to his work and came into his office. He closed the door and hugged me. Seldom has a hug ever felt so good. I told him I wanted to go to the funeral. It's in Reno. He says okay to start making the arrangements. He put his boss on alert that he was going to need to go out of town for a funeral and they were very kind about it. Boss Man, who isn't actually Music Man's boss anymore but is still a good friend and lived in Reno gave us some tips on hotel rooms. He also checked to make sure that I wasn't leaving from the shop and that Music Man would need a ride home. What a wonderful friend. And I mean that, I'm not being sarcastic like normal.

The funeral was set for Friday the 22nd and we took Grandma with us. Oh and Miss Goofy came home too. The four of us went up for the funeral and while it's not high on my list of fun things to do, it was nice to see so many family members. It did make me and one of my mom's cousins really miss my mom though. My mom was the one who could have told us who everyone was and how they were related us. Although my cousin did a pretty good job. And a big thank you to you. You know who you are. I don't like to use people's names without their permission.

Anyway we came home on Saturday and yes, we tried to get the brakes on the rental car fixed and no they wouldn't fix them without approval from corporate which would have meant staying Saturday and Sunday night and not going to work on Monday for Music Man. So, we drove home carefully and arrived safe and sound. Although I think we had some very busy guardian angels on that trip. The rental company did take $40 off the rental for us though, so the really good deal we were getting was even better.

One good thing about this whole month, I had an idea for a story and I was able to work on it a lot the last few days. I have the outline done, now I just have to write it.

That's all the news from here. Have a good day and remember to pray for your guardian angel. They work harder than we know.

Things My Credit Counselor Has Beaten Into My Thick Skull

Wow, that's a long title isn't it? It might have been easier if I didn't have trouble hearing on the phone and a short attention span. In any event, he's taught me three things that are very important and I will share them with you now.

1. Never pay a collection agency. I know it goes completely against everything in your being, unless you're just a deadbeat. When people say we owe them money, our first instinct is to pay them so that we don't look like a deadbeat. Here's the problem and I never thought of this, you don't owe money to the collection agency. You may or may not owe money to the "original creditor" but you don't have an agreement with the collection agency, your agreement was with the "original creditor". The problem in paying a collection agency is two-fold: one, you may not really owe the money to anyone. Collection agencies frequently look in the papers for people who have died and then try to collect from the next of kin. Two, how do you know the money is actually going to the company that you supposedly owe unless you check with the original creditor. Remember it's always best to call the original creditor and pay them directly. It's in their best interest to have you pay them because then they get all the money and they don't have to pay the agency for collecting from you.

2. Don't use your debit card to pay for things. This is your money and you are giving away a lot of information about how to get your money. Use cash, a check or a credit card. It's much easier to have a charge reversed with a credit card than with your debit card. The reason is you have to sign with the credit card. You don't with the debit card.

3. Always look over your bank and credit card statements. If something doesn't look right, investigate it. Report possible identity theft immediately. Look at your credit report periodically too. You have the right to challenge anything on your report that you think is inaccurate. Remember that time you paid your credit card one day late? Check your report does it say you were 30 days late that time? That will hurt your credit score and the three credit reporting agencies have to report it correctly and accurately. That means it must say you were one day late, not 30.

Miss Goofy Goes on Vacation

Sounds like the name of a children's book, doesn't it? I can picture it now, Miss Goofy getting into all kinds of trouble in New York City. Maybe a Nora story?

Anyway Miss Goofy is leaving either Saturday or Sunday to spend either 9 or 10 days with our good friends TheWeatherGod and DolphinLady. So, what should I do with myself while she's gone? I'm thinking enjoy the quiet and miss her terribly. Music Man is always a mess when she goes to spend time with someone else. He misses her a lot. I do too, but I try to stay busy. Poor Music Man is stuck at work all day with nothing to do except worry about his Miss Goofy. And you know payroll, invoicing, billing, write his paper for school, and whatever else Mr. Division Manager throws at him.

Oh I forgot he's also looking for houses in his spare time. Cause we're moving. Eventually. Someday. Somewhere. Maybe. If we find a place. And he doesn't lose his job pining for Miss Goofy. And pretending to write his paper.

Thatcher and Mom's Table

This is Thatcher. He is laying on the coffee table. I don't know why exactly. I just know that Miss Goofy saw him and snapped a picture of him before he moved. I do know that if my mother had caught him on her coffee table when I was a teenager I would be mourning the loss of my cat. However before she passed away she had relaxed a lot about this table and cats. She actually thought it was funny when Dad's cat would crawl up and stretch out on the table. Just on the coffee table though, she still got upset if he got on the dining table.


Maybe her relaxed attitude came from the relative peace and quiet of the mountains. Maybe she was just mellowing. Maybe she had decided that she'd had that table long enough and it was time to move on. For the record, she bought that table after my real dad passed away. It was in a box and she had to assemble it. The kit included 2 end tables and she assembled all three of them and was so proud of herself. Jujube (aka, my sister) and I were proud of her too.

My desk

Once again my desk is a mess.

I've had plans to booby-trap it. I've had thoughts of taking everything off of it and not letting anyone near it. I've even tried leaving it full and messy. Then I had to find something. It's weird because I didn't think I used my desk that much until now. I now see that I use my desk a lot during the day. A whole lot more than I thought. I always thought my desk got messy because it was so small. Now I marvel at how I kept everything on it without a major avalanche. I also am realizing that my desk is more than just where I keep the computer. It's where I start my day and check in on the world. I make my daily list here. I set stuff here to deal with later, not because I'm procrastinating but because I'm in the middle of six things at once.

It's the heart of my day. It's where I go when I need to rest. Or to see what I need to do next. It's where I make plans. It's where I dream. It's where I write.

So, please stop putting stuff on it!!!! I know I told you to, ignore me. Make me deal with whatever it is now. My desk needs to be clean. For all of our sakes.