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Ch-Ch-Changes

In my quest to change and streamline, well, everything in 2007, I have decided to not only change my website, but also to change blogs. I'm combining the online portfolio and pretty pictures of my website and the chatty blogging capability of my blogger blog into one happy (and free) new blog over at Wordpress. Go check it out.

The new address is: http://lgaumond.wordpress.com and hopefully over the weekend the change will be complete and you will be able to get there by also typing in www.lisagaumond.com.

I've been playing with it for about a week now, customizing and trying out the new features. I posted a few entries, too, to see how it worked. I've been talking to no one, according to my stat counter, so head on over there and make me feel better. I think you'll like it. You can still comment, and I hope you do. The comment link is at the top of the message instead of at the bottom, but it works just the same. Let me know what you think.

The Houseguest

Since I've been asked about it, I thought I might talk about something I alluded to earlier: my mother-in-law staying at my house. Before I begin, I just want to report that everything is OK, my marriage is intact, and no one has been suffocated with a pillow in their sleep.

About three weeks ago on a lovely Saturday afternoon, Luke and I were in Vermont shopping for a truck. I was excited because I had coerced Luke to stop at Yankee Candle in Deerfield, MA on the way home for some shopping, I mean for lunch. I love Yankee Candle and Luke... well not so much. He has tolerated Yankee Candle once or twice in the past when they had a car museum in the building. Now that they don't, I can't convince him to go, so getting him to stop there for lunch (wink, wink) was a big victory for me. I had him park at the far side of the building so we had to walk through the entire place to get to the restaurant (sneaky of me) and we were about 10 feet into the building when his cell phone rang.

Crap.

It was a friend of Luke's mom's saying that she had fallen and she hurt her arm and was at the emergency room in Manchester and she wanted him to come.

Like I said: crap.

We turned around, candle-less, lunch-less, and headed back to Connecticut to see Luke's mom. She had tripped on her way into Shady Glen. She fell forward and onto her arms and wound up shattering the ball in her shoulder. She would require surgery, possible shoulder replacement, but the emergency room couldn't do anything for her, other than give her medication and the name of an orthopedic surgeon to call on Monday. She couldn't do anything herself, she could barely manage sipping from a water bottle, and since she lives alone, I knew we had to take her to our home until she could get to the doctor and have her shoulder fixed.

Two weeks ago, she had a partial shoulder replacement, meaning they replaced her shattered ball and a portion of the bone leading up to the ball with titanium, and she's doing much better. And now It's time for her to go home.

I never considered myself particularly compulsive, or a neat freak in any way, but whenever we have anyone stay with us for any length of time, they drive me INSANE. We have another friend who lives out of state and stays for weeks at a time while he's working in CT and I adore him. I look forward to his visits and I miss him when he's gone, but after about two weeks at our house, I could kill him. And it's completely my fault. It's just that he doesn't follow our schedule. He's loud and perky in the morning when we're used to quiet and grumpy mornings. He asks a lot of questions like a little kid when we watch TV or movies, when Luke and I are used to such quiet that we practically communicate through ESP. He leaves his socks in the living room. He spills sugar on the counter and leaves it there. These are all silly things that drive me nuts. Poor Luke. How has he manage to learn my rules and live with me this long?

I digress. So yes, it's time for Luke's mom to go home. This Saturday she's moving back to her condo, and next week, Luke will be duct taping Molly's mouth shut while he tries to sleep during the day. Right now, Molly hangs out with Luke's mom all day, watching TV and snuggling on the couch. This means that she can see out the windows and bark at every threatening leaf and bird that drifts by. Next week, she will be forced to sleep with Luke in the bedroom where she will hopefully learn to stop barking so much and waking him up. Of course, if she can't, maybe I'll be forced to bring her to work every day. Wouldn't that be a shame.

Ahh...spring.

Nothing says spring like ice crystals. Isn't this a cool pattern? I couldn't resist taking a picture. Can you guess what it is?

Can you?

Scroll down to see...



Have I mentioned that it's mid-April. And SPRING. It may look pretty, but I refuse to use my ice scraper past the end of March. That's just wrong.

Adjusting

Monday morning (or is that Sunday night) was Luke's first day (night?) working third shift and now we're all trying our best to adjust. He had to come home from Easter dinner at my sister's on Sunday to take a nap before he left for work at 11:30pm. He's been looking forward to this change for a long time so he was prepared for the adjustment. I have been apprehensive about the change for a long time, but I'm willing to see how it goes.

Here's how it goes: we all need more sleep. Except for Molly, she's adjusting fine. She sleeps with me at night and with Luke during the day. She gets half the bed to herself. She's thrilled.

Previous to this schedule change, we were generally in bed by 10pm and I was out like a light by, oh, about 10:02pm. It seems though, in these last two days, that if I stay awake past that 10pm point, I don't need to sleep at all! I'm wide awake. Sunday night/Monday morning, I stayed up in bed reading until 2am. I had to force myself to stop reading and turn out the light because it was getting ridiculous. Same thing happened last night but I made myself turn the light out at midnight. I'm sleeping better than expected in an empty bed, and I'm waking up just fine, but about an hour after I wake up, I feel like a zombie. I can't remember anything, I can't focus, and obviously, I can't tell an interesting story either. Sorry about that.

Luke's doing OK so far. Yesterday he slept for a few hours after he came home from work at 10am, and then he napped a little before work. The worst part for him is, as he referred to her, Barkums. Molly barks in a shrill, ear piercing way when we're home and she sees something outside. We're trying to break her of this, but you have to physically threaten her with Bitter Apple to get her to stop. Yesterday Luke was trying to sleep and a delivery guy came rolling up the driveway. Then someone stopped by to pick up Luke's mom for a doctor's appointment, then they came to bring her back. Each time, Barkums just couldn't stop herself from alerting Luke of the danger. We're going to have to work on this some more.

One good thing I've noticed about Luke's new schedule so far is his mood. He's a new man. It might be that he's just too tired to be anything but mellow, but I don't think so. It's amazing for me to watch him. He's generally so short tempered and frustrated. Sunday night, just before he had to leave for work, our toilet decided to explode all over the floor, which normally would result in swearing, slamming, and yelling from Luke. Instead, he was laughing and shaking his head in disbelief. Who is this man? I came home last night and he was washing dishes. If this is what I get to live with from now on, I'd be more than happy to live without sleep.

Another good thing is that I have more time to read. It's been so long since I read a book - I've almost forgotten how. I used to read everyday on my lunch break, but then I started to go meet Luke for lunch everyday and the reading stopped. Don't get me wrong, I loved having lunch with Luke, but the driving and the paying for coffee and the rushing - that I won't miss. And now I can READ! Yay! Right now I'm trying to finish up my last book club book, Bookends, by Jane Green and I have Goodnight Nobody, by Jennifer Werner that I started and never finished. And Flann and Amanda gave me books to read that have been collecting dust on my book shelf. I'm very excited at having more time to read.

So all in all, it's good. We're adjusting. It's only been two days (or nights) so far but I think it might just work out OK.

Party Girl

On Saturday, my neighbors held a memorial service at their house for a sister who died last month and we went to lend our support. Molly thinks that she lives at both our house and our neighbors' house, so I knew she would be fine on her own all day. I put on her fancy collar and added a purple bandana to dress up her outfit, and we all walked over to join the service.

Molly spent the day visiting and comforting, licking and begging. She snuggled with those who needed a snuggle. She tolerated the cute little girls who followed her around pulling her tail, she gently woofed at the door to tell anyone nearby to let her in or out, please. She cracked me up. She spent the day greeting everyone, ignoring no one, and it was hilarious to me to hear peopple I don't know say to one another, "that's Molly, she lives next door". She was a doggie ambassador that day and I am so proud.

So who thinks I should change my blog title to "Me, My Dog, and My Friend's Dogs" since that's all I seem to talk about lately?

Sad News

If you're Amanda, you might want to stop reading. I know how you hate sad news involving dogs.

Last week was a hard week - with work being crazy and my mother-in-law moving in (more on that later) - and it was made even harder by the news that Sydney had lost her brave battle against cancer and went to the big comfy couch in the sky.

This painting above is of the beautiful Miss Sydney. I had an assignment on college where I had to take a famous painting with people in it and put animal heads on the figures. Sydney was featured in several of my paintings. She even made it onto the cover of a magazine right here.

Sydney was with us for eleven years and experienced so many life changes. She was there when my sister's apartment caught fire and when she got married and had her babies. She patiently welcomed Molly and Aimee into the dog pack and never minded the new cats that came and went. She bravely accepted losing her front leg and never let it slow her down, but sadly a new cancer developed and she couldn't fight it any more.

My sister is doing surprisingly well, considering the situation. Her pup is gone, the pup who had been around longer than her two kids, even longer than her husband has been around. I can't imagine the empty space she must feel in her heart, but Sydney is in a better place now and she's not in pain any more.

So think happy thoughts everyone, and go hug your puppies right now and be thankful that they're healthy and there by your side.

Lazy Afternoon

One more greyhound-filled day before Paula and Karlo come home. What will Molly do with herself? What will I do now to avoid actually blogging? I just don't know.

Such a Burden

Paula mentioned once again that she is sorry to burden me with her dogs while she is travelling. Burden? Are you kidding?

I give you exhibit A:And then there's exhibit B:Can you just imagine the work involved in caring for these two? I'm flat worn out! They nap so much, it makes me tired.

I hope that no one is sick of Peanut and Bentley this week because I am so busy at work that I have nothing else to talk about besides these two love-nuggets. Only one more greyhound day until their parents return from LA so enjoy the cuteness while you can.

Jealous?

You should be. Peanut is very snuggleable. Here we are having a private moment in the yard.
Then Bentley got in on the action. You can't forget to give big brother some love.
And here's my favorite action shot of Bentley and Molly playing.

Oh, by the way, you should never let a rescued greyhound off leash in an unfenced yard. And don't ever let them play with small, fluffy dogs either. These are bad, bad ideas.

Baroo?

This is all I have to say today. Too much going on to write about. For now, just a big wet nose for you, courtesy of Peanut.

Three Dog Night

Looks like I caught them plotting something and they're all putting on their innocent "not me" faces. Notice the squeaky bird toy in Bentley's crossed paws. This bird was part of a game that will most likely last until Peanut and Bents go home next week. Bentley chooses one of Molly's 300 toys. He plays with it, she glares at him. He gets distracted for a second, she sneaks in and steals it from him. He gets up and finds another toy, she steals it when he's not looking. She's quite the spoiled brat. "I haven't played with it for months, but since you're playing with it, I want it."

Paula never believes me when I tell her that P and B have been very good house guests. Peanut's a little curious and likes to get into trouble, but she's been a perfect lady. I even forgot to move the baskets of bread and chips that I keep under the butcher block in the kitchen and she didn't touch them all day. Last time she stayed over she took the yarn out of my knitting basket and just relocated it across the room. No damage, she just liked them better in her spot. This time I put the basket on the counter before I left for work, so no yarn-relocation games for Miss P.

This weekend I think we might all go for a nice, muddy run out back. I only have one orange safety dog vest so I'll have to fashion something for the other deer look-a-like greyhound before we head out. It's so cute to see the three of them running around chasing each other. I tried to catch them on video last night playing, but each time I hit record, someone squatted to pee and I didn't think anyone really needed to see that.

OK, one more shot of Frick and Frack. Here they are enjoying a laugh at Molly's expense, I'm sure. I bet they were picking on Molly's short legs or something.

Life is Tough

Professional relaxation specialists, Bentley (r) and Peanut (l) are spending the week at our house while their parents are on a business trip in LA. Here they are, worrying about the war in Iraq and taxes and whatnot. Boy, they really need to learn to let go.

I promised to keep their mom (Paula) updated on their stress levels while she's gone by posting pictures each day. It also might help he not to miss them so much, but probably not.

Molly update: we went to the v-e-t yesterday where we learned that she's been kissing too many toads because the "mole" on her lip was actually a wart! She had it removed in a quick and easy (for me) procedure and then she was rewarded with a trip to the pet store for a new treat. The vet told me not to worry about the tainted dog food too much since she hasn't yet shown any symptoms and it's been almost two weeks since she ate the food. Phew! Still, I'm keeping an eye on her.

Cruel Hartford

Now that I don't work in Hartford, the only reason I will travel there is to update the chalkboards at Max Downtown. Some days, usually early on a warm, spring morning, I actually miss Hartford. It's so cute and convenient. The restaurants and shops are so lovely. I could actually understand why people move to cities to live. And then there are mornings like I had today.

I left the house a little later than I wanted, which left me to fight traffic and dodge jerks talking on cell phones as I made my way into the frozen wind tunnel that is Hartford. There were no parking spots on the street. The open spots were filled with frozen snow banks or the meters were inexplicably bagged. I drove around and around and finally found a spot blocks from where I had to go. Then I fed the meter - where a quarter gets you all of 10 minutes - and made my way to Max Downtown. It was so cold and windy, isn't it supposed to be SPRING today? It was quite a crabby start to my day.

But I did manage to do this:And this:And there's a Starbucks right next to Max Downtown so at least I had something warm to hold onto on the long trek back to the car.

Will Spring Ever Arrive?

Tomorrow is the first day of spring and this is what I saw out my window yesterday. Disgusting. I'm sorry it gets shaky at one point. It must have been my uncontrollable sobbing.

This Scares the Bejesus Out of Me

Dog Food Recall (more info here)

Normally I don't feel Molly the nasty "chunks in gravy" style dog food, but last week she had a can becasue that's all that was available at the store. Now I'm watching her for signs of accute renal failure.

Luckily she has an appointment to go to the vet on Wednesday, (shh! don't tell her), to have a little mole on her lip looked at. Like her mom, she's starting to grow moles and this one on her lip is getting bigger and scaring me. Maybe I'll have them draw blood for a kidney test while we're there, just to be safe.

The Ever-Evolving Party Above My Shoulders

I did it again. More changes. I really don't like my hair. I wish I had someone else's hair. Someone with thick, luxurious long hair. Sadly, I may have been born with a swell craft gene and a brain that can hold onto random bits of trivia and song lyrics, but I definitely wasn't blessed with hair.

I tried cutting bangs, that didn't work for me. I tried getting a flat iron and styling it straight. Still not working. I called my sister (my hairdresser) this week and told her that I need an emergency appointment. I want all of my hair cut off.

I had her cut it off about a year ago and although everyone liked it and I pretty much liked it, Luke couldn't stand it and I was tired of hearing him complain, so I grew it back. I want to be someone with long hair. I've always pictured myself as an old lady with long gray braids, but just because I can grow it doesn't mean I should have it. I was starting to look like a hag with nasty, scraggly hair. But not any longer. This morning I stopped by my sister's salon for a shearing. It's all gone. It's also straight right now because she likes to blow-dry it straight, but I can't wait to wash it and see how curly it gets.

Now I have bouncy, perky hair. Short and flouncy. Actually, in one picture I took of myself I looked just like Amanda - glasses and all. Maybe secretly I want to be Amanda - except for that pregnancy thing, of course.

Random Thoughts

It's been a virtual blog ghost town lately. No one seems to be updating their blogs this week (Amanda... Flannery... Melissa...). I'm even feeling uninspired. I couldn't muster up the creative juices to write anything yesterday and today I'm feeling the same. Blah.

My last post was my 200th. It took me a year to reach 100 and two months to reach 200. Have I been chatty lately?

Have I mentioned how much I love my car? I love my car.

Luke's Jeep has decided to hold a sit-in in our driveway. It's refusing to not only let him open the doors, but also to start. I blame this on Luke's talk of buying a new truck lately. I was still in my bathrobe, making coffee this morning when Luke tried to leave and couldn't. I had to throw some clothes on, dunk my head in the tub, toss some makeup in my purse and hop in the car to take Luke to work. I left in such a hurry that I had to take mental inventory of my outfit before I got out of the car at work, just in case: shirt? check, pants? check, two matching shoes? check.

Molly goes for a haircut tonight. She gets her hair cut more often than I do and her haircuts cost more than my salon visits do. What does this say about me?

I've been crafting lately but I can't share the details with you because they are top-secret crafts for a certain someone who might be reading this blog. Stay tuned and maybe I'll eventually be able to reveal what I've been up to.

It's going to snow tonight, I'm so sad.

Daylight Savings Blows

Remember how I wanted to stop being a lazy slob and get up early for walks with Molly again? This week would be perfect for that. It's not too cold, the ice has melted off the driveway, spring is on the way. And then there was daylight savings. Do you know how dark it is at 6am? My brain thinks it's winter again and refuses to let my body get out of bed. This 3-week early daylight savings was just a bad idea. I tried, I really did. I set the alarm for 6am, it went off and I just couldn't bring myself to get up. It looked like the middle of the night and I wasn't in the mood to search for a flashlight to bring with us on our walk. Maybe next week.

Lazy Morning

It occurred to me the other day that I have the pup that every little kid wishes for. She's cute and soft and loves to snuggle, and at night she climbs under the covers with me and shares my pillow. This photo was taken on Sunday morning by pre-dawn photographer, Luke to document just how badly I spoil my puppy.

Yes, that's my knee and my elbow, and the hideous - but warm, don't judge - flannel sheets on our bed and there's curly Miss Molly snoozing away under the covers. I was snoozing, too, and having a strange dream that I was taking pictures. Then realized that the sound of my camera was coming from outside of the covers.

Molly has always slept in bed with us, but this winter she's developed a taste for flannel sheets and down comforters. Every night she'll hop up on the bed and wait for me to lift the covers so she can settle in. If I'm not quick enough, or perhaps, I don't know, ASLEEP, she'll stare at me and growl ever so slightly under her breath until I lift the blankets. If I'm laying at the edge of the mattress where she likes to sleep, she'll sit on the floor next to the bed and quietly woof up at me to let me know to get the heck out of her spot. I should be annoyed at how my 20-lb mutt is controlling her share of our bed, but it's just so funny. And have you ever had a warm puppy snuggle up next to you under the covers on a cold night? It's worth the trouble.

Long Way Round

This movie has been my obsession for the last week. I think about it when I'm awake, when I sleep, I replay the scenes in my dreams. I want to watch it over again, even though it's about 6 hours long and I just finished watching it Monday. I don't know why it's stuck in my head.

Long Way Round is the DVD of the television series documenting the 2004 trip Ewan McGreggor and Charley Boorman took around the world on their motorcycles. My dad had watched it and gave it to me to watch. I'd seen some other around-the-world-motorcycle-trip movies, like Mondo Enduro, and I just wasn't impressed. Yes it's hard and completely crazy to attempt to go around the world on your motorcycle. Big deal. But this movie is different. It's not so much the trip, although that was truly exciting and beautiful and all, but the friendship between Ewan and Charley is just so much fun to watch. They're total screwballs and even waist-deep in a river, pushing their bikes across through the current, they're laughing. They made fun out of everything they did and I loved that.

As an added bonus, Ewan and Charley both have great accents and use those British phrases I love so much. They visited "petrol stations" and got mosquito bites on their "bums". They stood in "queues" and wanted to film their trip so they might "have a bit of a giggle" later on in life watching the film with their grandkids. At one point Ewan called himself something that I really want to go back and find because I intend to use it some day. Something like "whiney Molly arsehole". I love it!

I feel about this DVD the way I did during the first couple of seasons of 'The Real World'. I was obsessed with that show because it showed real people being real and having fun together. They may have fought a little, but they had more fun than fights. It was reality TV at it's best and that's exactly what Long Way Round is.

I've read some complaints about the movie with people saying that Ewan and Charley are whiney spoiled brats and how some people couldn't get through the first hour of the DVD. The first hour tells the story of how this idea came to be and who got involved and how they managed to organize the whole adventure. I had even said to Luke during one of those early scenes when they're upset because KTM refuses to give them three bikes for the trip, "they're rich - can't they buy their own bikes?" After watching the whole movie, I see why they couldn't just buy their own bikes. Why they needed donations and sponsors. This wasn't just two spoiled brats going on "holiday". They were making a movie. They had camera crews and producers, equipment and insurance, doctors who traveled with them and a whole support team. They needed backing to be able to create such a great DVD. If you watch it, don't be put of in the beginning, it's worth the time to see how it was all planned.

Even if you don't ride a motorcycle or have any plans to ever travel around the world, I would still recommend this movie to everyone. It's a great time watching two fantastic friends have one incredible adventure. Go now and rent it. Or come to my house, I'd be more than happy to watch it again!

Obviously Not Bold Enough

On Flannery's recommendation, I bought myself a pair of new glasses from Zenni Optical and here they are. Bright, no? Sorry about the ghostly pallor of the photo. Mostly that's my real skin tone, but it's accentuated nicely by the flash and the bad lighting in my office.

I figured, since Zenni's glasses were so incredibly cheap, I could afford to get myself some fun glasses. I've always wanted to have a selection of glasses to pick from every morning. I've had the same pair for three years now and, as nice as they are, sometimes I'm just sick of them. Just for fun, I ordered new glasses. RED glasses. And hardly anyone has noticed.

A few people close to me noticed right away and had mixed reactions. My neighbor made fun of her husband for not noticing the difference by saying "how could you NOT notice??" My sister said "you have new glasses - do you like them?" which I think meant that she didn't like them, and my nephew really wanted to know where my old glasses were. My mom politely noticed and Luke called me Harry Potter when he saw them for the first time. Surprisingly though, no one else has noticed.

My boss keeps looking at me strangely like she suspects something is different but just can't place it. Other people I work alongside haven't said a thing either. It's not that I want everyone to notice, I'm not that narcissistic, I just thought they were hugely different and hard to miss.

Either way, I love them. They're fun and I'm off to order another pair from Zenni. If you wear glasses, I would highly recommend them. These red beauties only cost me $30, including shipping. Less than 10% of a pair at the local eyeglass shop!

My Yaris: Week 1

It's been a whole week since I brought home my new car and I've managed not to gush about it here each and every day (you're welcome). Since today marks one week since she became mine, I thought I'd give you the highlights. In case you're on the fence about getting a Yaris of your own (Paula) perhaps this will sway you.

I've decided to name her Bernie - I'll explain that another day.

I love:
The cup holders - seriously - they're sturdy and secure and EVERYWHERE.
How fast she heats up on a cold morning.
The funky weird dashboard.
The three glove boxes.
How peppy she is.
The secret storage compartment in the back.
The comfy seats.
The plug for my iPod.
The scene last weekend loading a new 55-gallon aquarium into the back (it fit!)
The gas mileage! (First fill-up: 35mpg)

I'm still getting used to:
The light-sensing headlights. They turn themselves on which makes me forget to manually turn them on all the way. It's spooky that she knows when it's dark out.

I don't love:
The sensor that knows when someone is sitting on the passenger seat and then turns on the dinger to remind the passenger to put her seat belt on. I've tried, Molly flat-out refuses to wear her seat belt. I have to latch the seat belt across the seat when she rides with me, otherwise I hear 60 seconds of ding, ding, ding... every time the car starts up.

I tried to find other things I don't like but there just aren't any. She's fantastic and I still can't believe she's mine.

Lazy No More, Well Maybe...

Most weekday mornings throughout the year, Molly and I crawl out of bed an hour before Luke to go for a little morning walk. It's good for the pup, and good for the one who sits at the computer all day. We walk in the rain, we walk in the cold, we go every day. That is, until about mid-December. By then, the holiday exhaustion, freezing cold, and serous lack of daylight turn Molly and me into late sleepers.

We slack off from mid-December through January, and then in February we usually resume our schedule, thanks in part to the sun actually beginning to rise before we do. I really can't stand getting up in the dark, getting dressed in the dark, bundling up in my coat, putting Molly in her coat, putting on my reflecting vest, putting on Molly's reflective vest... it's just too much. So in February, when the sun is up by 6:30am or so, we usually get back on our schedule.

February 1st we got up at 6, bundled up and went for the coldest walk in a long time. It was vicious. Molly has a problem with her paws cramping in the bitter cold and I thought I was going to have to carry her for the whole walk so we cut is short and decided to walk again when it got warmer.

March 1st. We've been lazing in bed for another month, sleeping in, and I decide: it's March, we really need to start walking again. We get up early, bundle up, and go for a walk. It wasn't fun, it was darn cold, but we went. Our driveway is like a giant frozen bobsled course, but we braved it. OK, we're back on schedule! Lazy no more. That was, until today.

I woke up early, it was dark. I looked outside at the lake of rainwater in the driveway and decided that I wasn't in the mood to put waders on and find Molly's life preserver. We went back to bed. It's Mother Nature's fault that I'm fat and lazy! We'll try again Monday, but I hear it's going to turn bitterly cold and that's just not good for those little puppy feet. It might be June before we can get back on schedule.

For My Prego Friends

Don't get excited Mom, this isn't a hint. It seems like everywhere I turn these days, someone else I know is telling me they're pregnant. My friend, The Optimistic Diva, seems to be in the same situation. Well, for all of you newly knocked-up ladies out there, I thought I'd finally make up a few of the t-shirts I always think about whenever I hear about a new baby on the way.

Welcome to my new Spreadshirt shop. Here you can buy yourself a booby billboard. A way to announce to the world that you're in a family way, but with a creative spin. There's the straight forward Knocked Up, the old-fashioned Bun in the Oven, and my favorite thanks to Jimmy Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life, On the Nest. For those of you already feeling the need for maternity pants, there's also the lovely, Does This Baby Make Me Look Fat?. None of the custom online shops seem to offer maternity tees, so order early and order large. And have fun - congratulations mommies-to-be!

539-HUP

That licence plate has been with me for thirteen years. Almost as long as Luke has been with me. It's been on the back of a Hyundai, an Audi, a Subaru, a Kia, an Isuzu, and now, it finally gets to sit on the back of a brand spanking new 2007 Toyota Yaris. I'm still in shock.

I went to a Toyota dealership in Manchester with my friends Paula and Karlo on Saturday because they said that they wanted to test drive a Yaris. Well, sneaky Paula tricked me into test driving it and I was pleasantly surprised. It was very roomy inside and seriously peppy to drive. It has a sporty little shifter and low clutch pedal that made it really fun to drive. I loved it, Paula and Karlo loved it, but Luke still hadn't seen it. I told the salesgirl that I'd bring Luke back later and then we could decide.

I left there with that skeevy, slightly violated feeling you get after sitting in close proximity to a car salesperson. I was driving home and figured, heck, I already feel icky, why not go to another dealership and see what they have to say.

I drove out to Toyota of Colchester and was greeted by a friendly guy named Joe. He took some information from me and went to see what they had for Yarises that matched my requirements. He came out with the cutest little silver one - how did he know I wanted a silver one? He didn't even ask about color. I test drove it and again and loved it. I had it out on route 2 and was speeding before I knew it. It's got a lot of get-up-and-go for a little 4-cylinder! Again I went back and said that Luke needed to test drive it and maybe we could come back next weekend. Seeing as how it's the end of the month, they were anxious to make me a deal so they said that most amazing words I never expected from a car dealership - "Why don't you take it home? Bring it back on Monday". And so began my 42-hour test drive.

I was able to see how it did driving up my slushy, muddy driveway, how well my scrapbooking stuff fit in the hatchback area, how the headlights and dash lights looked at night, how easily I could reach the ATM from the driver's seat, how groceries fit in the back, and most importantly, how it looked sitting in the driveway. Then the test of all tests - Monday morning I had to bring it back before work and we had 4" of new snow on the ground. I got to see how it drove in the snow. It was the ideal test drive. I knew I loved it and I wanted it.

I went back to the dealership last night to try an work a deal. My Rodeo still had a loan on it so I needed some money for it and when they offered me $1,000 I grabbed my stuff and said "thank you, good-bye". I managed to negotiate up another $2,000 which I thought was pretty darn good form someone who usually responds to any type of struggle by bursting into tears.

So my Rodeo is gone, I do feel a little sad about that, and a new little car has taken it's place. Meet my new Yaris. She still doesn't have a name yet. I've always called my cars "Bessie" because they were all heaps of junk, but the Yaris is perky and new so she needs a good name. Some cute, Japanese name, maybe. For now, she's just my Yaris.

Photo Friday

Since all I am thinking about these days is getting a new car and trying not to get sick, I thought I'd spare you the lame stories and instead share some pictures. Above is a shot of my back yard view this morning. And below are some beautiful trees in my front yard. Ahh, so pretty you almost forget it's nasty cold and your shoes are filled with slush.
And this is my mighty dog playing in the snow last week as some sweet sledding was taking place in the back yard. Molly does like to sled, but she's suffering from a little cabin fever and needed to burn some puppy energy by chasing the sled, and sticks, and squirrels, and her tail...And finally, our fearless guard dog watching over us as the sun goes down on another cold winter day.

The Barf is All Around Me

Everyone I know who has kids seems to be suffering with some nasty little stomach bug at the moment. My sister's kids were sick this weekend, my boss's visiting grandkids were sick, a boy at the grocery store got sick in the aisle right next to me - almost ON me. Then yesterday my boss was home sick and I woke up early this morning to a restless Luke who thought he was going to throw up. Great. I'm trying to hold my breath, not touch anything, and use Clorox wipes on everything. I really don't want this.

Good-Bye Rodeo?

I don't know what to do. I really can't stop thinking about trading in my car now. It's all Paula's fault. I've had my eye on the Yaris for a while now, I have hatchback envy, so last weekend when Paula mentioned that she might get a Yaris to commute to work in, seeing as how the price tag was less than $12,000, I was immediately intrigued. Really, $12,000? For a new car? And it gets 30-45 MPG? Interesting.

I did some math and figured that I could continue making payments at the same amount I'm paying now for my Rodeo, just extend the time I have to pay them another three years, and have a brand new car. A brand new car with a 5-year warranty which would also save me $100 a month in gas.

OK, let's recap: I get a brand new car (a cute one) and continue spending the same for the payment as I am currently, so there's no extra cost to me, I wouldn't have to worry about check engine lights or weird noises coming from the engine, AND I would save myself $100 a month in gas. Oh, and the earth, I'd be polluting less of the earth with my small, fuel-efficient economy car. That's nice, too.

So what am I missing? What are the cons? I've tried to make my list and I can't come up with any cons other than: having to listen to Luke complain that I have an ugly car.

I asked Luke to be honest and tell me what he thought about me getting a Yaris and he didn't really have much to say. Of course he thinks they're ugly, I can't really say anything about that, but all of his other gut reactions can be talked through. He thinks I should maybe look for a comparable car that's not a Yaris. That leaves the Honda Fit (too expensive), the Mazda 6 (too expensive), a Scion (too expensive), and some Suzuki model, but he doesn't want to get a Suzuki for some reason. OK... so it doesn't have side air bags. Neither does my Rodeo. Yes, my Rodeo is bigger, but the Yaris is 10 years newer with more safety engineering and I'm sure it must be safer, although smaller.

I've read the reviews and it gets pretty good ones. Edmunds liked it a lot, they called it cute and peppy. The owner reviews were great. The only negative reviews mentioned the lack of side air bags, the lack of an ashtray, and the awkward emergency break location. Big whoop.

So tell me, what am I missing? Anybody own a Yaris or know someone who does who can give me their feedback, and not just tell me that it's funny-looking?

Wild Weekend

So much went on this weekend, but I got absolutely nothing done, and my head is still spinning.

Between Saturday and Sunday, we planned out our new deck and shopped for materials, shopped for a new motorcycle, shopped for a new truck for Luke, went to see Amanda in Love Letters - it was fantastic - settled on buying a new motorcycle, spent about an hour sitting on said motorcycle at the dealership, decided not to buy said motorcycle from the dealership, shopped for new aquarium supplies, made a lasagna, went to Paula's for dinner, and decided that now I want to trade in my car for a new Yaris. What is going on?

See what happens when you pay off your credit card? As I wrote to one friend, I'm feeling a little too unburdened by debt, so I thought I should buy something new. I'm kind of sad about the motorcycle, but fear not! I'm still shopping. Anyone out there looking to sell a used Buell XB12SS?

Turkey Dance

Have you ever seen a pack of wild turkeys? It's actually pretty funny. They're weird, jerky things that have amazing eyesight and are really uglier in person than you'd imagine. A few years back there was a big pack (flock?) of them that made a circuit through the neighborhood and would always stop in our back yard. Their clucks and gobbles would wake us up some mornings and Luke counted almost 40 one day. Since that winter, we haven't seen them in the neighborhood so it was an exciting surprise to come home to this lovely pattern all over my yard yesterday. Turkeys! They visited all of my bird feeders and wandered around the garden. We threw out some cracked corn this morning to see if they'll come back again. Gobble gobble!

Denial

One of the things I like most about myself is my ability to completely ignore the things that I can't stand. Like sleet and snow, for example. Some might call it denial, I prefer to think of it as selective observance.

Yesterday, while at home because the campus where I work closed due to the weather, I sat by the warm wood stove and looked through gardening magazines, happily imagining that spring had arrived. In honor of the springtime in my mind, I started painting some pretty, warm weather pictures.

The birdie on the left is the finished product that I showed in progress here, and the iris-to-be on the right was started yesterday. These are both painted in acrylic on small squares of clayboard, something new I'm playing with. It's been fun and it gives me something else to shop for at the art supply store.

Happy Heart Day

Happy Valentine's Day to my honey who had to go to work today despite the fact that it's nasty hail/snow/rain/sleeting out and the rest of the state seems to be closed down. If you get a UPS package delivered today, hug your delivery guy. Unless he looks like this - in which case, back off! He's mine.

The Heat Is On

Single ladies of the world, find yourself a handy man and marry him. Seriously. Those clean-cut, business suit, office-working types are nice. They're clean and neat, they know where the good restaurants are, you can share hair products with them, but when your car stops producing heat, are they going to crawl around on the snow-covered ground in mid-February to fix it for you? I don't think so.

My handy man fixed the heat in my car yesterday and never have I been so glad I married him. This morning my toes were toasty, I didn't see my frosty breath on the ride to work, I can use my defroster. It was heaven. Once again, the heat is on.

Won't You Join Me?

Tomorrow night, a fantastic local guitar player, Randy Collins, will be playing with two other local musicians at the 100 Pearl Street Art Gallery in downtown Hartford. It's a special event from 8:30-10:30pm, way past my bedtime, but I'm sure it'll be worth staying up late for. If you've never heard Randy's music, go to his website, www.randycollinsmusic.com, and listen for yourself. Hope to see you there!

How I'm Feeling Today

I think I'm getting a cold. But at least I don't have a blue cast on my paw. How cute is that furry, little expression? Here's the link to the page on Cute Overload where I found it.

Popsicle Toes

My friend, Flann, has a tag on her blog of "whiney" and I love that. I think I might add that one to my tags, too, because this post is going to be whiney.

The heat hasn't worked in my car since Sunday. That's right. It's the coldest week of the season and I have no heat in my car. I also have no defrost so not only is it uncomfortable, it's a little scary.

Luke checked the fan motor and the fuses and other car things and he has a theory. He thinks that there was some moisture in the duct work which froze and is now keeping the fan from rotating. Luckily there is still heat seeping out of the ducts, it's just not blowing out and melting the rubber on my shoes like I want it to. Thankfully, the heat seepage eventually warms the car enough so that halfway through my half-hour ride to and from work, I stop seeing my breath in the car. Unfortunately, it's never enough heat to actually warm me up and I am now perpetually frozen.

I get home at night and sit so close to the wood stove that I can smell my jeans singeing. I still don't feel warm. It really sucks. I haven't had feeling in my toes since Monday morning.

I asked Luke what we could do and he said, 'nothing'. We either have to build a heated garage, or we have to wait until it gets warmer and the moisture melts, releasing the fan blades. Waiting in the cold is not one of my favorite activities. Its starting to affect other parts of my car, too. My odometer froze up for a day and a half and the back window refuses to release it's latch. It's great. I love winter.

Two Thumbs Up

Luke and I don't watch much television. There's only one show I have to watch each week, Gilmore Girls, and other than that we watch South Park repeats before bed. That's the extent of our TV watching. We do, however, watch a lot of movies, thanks to Blockbuster Online. I always want to write about the movies I see, but since I watch one almost every night, I'd have to change the name of my blog to "Old Fart Who Watches Too Many Movies". Instead, I thought I'd give you little snippets, some two-line reviews of what I've seen recently.

The Prize-Winner of Defiance, Ohio - Cute, but not as funny as I had hoped. I woke up this morning with jingles running through my head. Nothing beats those 50's-style dresses.

A Scanner Darkly - Odd, but oddly engaging. I still can't stop dissecting it in my head. The rotoscoping effect is fantastic and Robert Downey, Jr. and Woody Harrelson were great.

Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels - I love Jason Statham. I've said this before. I would love anything he's in, no matter how bad, like Crank (see below), but this truly was an excellent movie. Bloody, violent, thick Cockney accents, dry humor, and crazy plot twists. Smart and funny.

Willow - Another movie from my teen years. I remember watching this movie over and over. The funny thing is that watching it now, I couldn't remember any of it. It was cute, but cheesy, and strangely exactly like Lord of the Rings in some parts. An underestimated small person must take the thing that will save the world on a long, dangerous journey. He's joined by a band of strange characters, visits a white, glowy fairy-witch.... must I go on?

Nacho Libre - The longest 92-minute movie I've ever seen. Too much Jack Black for me. But I like the way he says 'stretchy pants'.

Clerks II - Remember how I felt about Clerks I? I take it all back. I really loved Clerks II. It was funny and sweet and in color. Even the scene with the donkey was funny. Watch the DVD extras, there are some scenes with Dante and Randal that are funnier than the scenes that actually made into the movie.

Crank - Ahh, yes, more Jason Statham. Truly a horrible film, but worth it to see all Jason, all the time. You even get to see his tiny hiney in a hospital johnny!

Little Miss Sunshine - I want to hug this movie. It must be movies with 'sunshine' in the title because I felt this way about Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It was just sweet and funny and I loved the crazy family and the broken-down VW Bus. One thing that bugged me though was Olive. I kept thinking hat she has to be related to Laura San Giacomo. Seriously. See for yourself:
Art School Confidential - Loved it. But I went to Art School and I work for an art school. I watched this one without Luke because I didn't think he'd enjoy it as much. Funny and true.

Cellular - Yes, I put it on my list because Jason Statham is in it, but he plays an awful bad guy and that's just not right. It was corny but entertaining. Kim Bassinger was annoying, I was hoping she'd get shot through the whole thing.

Lucky Number Sleven - Interesting. Bloody and violent, but what movies aren't these days? Clever and funny and there's something about Josh Hartnett that makes me want to see more of his movies.

And that's it for this week. OK, maybe not, but I truly see about four movies a week. Sad? Perhaps. What's on for tonight? Well it's Tuesday, so Gilmore Girls is on. Tomorrow we'll watch The Illusionist. More reviews to come.

An Afternoon of Cute

I spent the afternoon at my sister's house yesterday, being attacked by the merciless cuteness that lurks in her house.

I mean really, first it was this:And then there was this:
And then I turn around and find this:

Inevitable

I knew it had to happen sometime. I just really wished it wouldn't. Welcome to our back yard.

In a Fog

Have you ever had one of those days at work where it's so busy you're emailing and answering the phone while making coffee and balancing a budget, while ordering catering and performing a job interview, while making mental notes of what you want to do at an upcoming event? Then you walk to your car for lunch and think - wait, what am I wearing? I don't even remember getting dressed this morning. Luckily it matches and I'm wearing shoes.

If you've emailed me recently and haven't heard back from me in a while. I'm sorry, I'm sure I'm thinking of writing, I just haven't found the chance. Maybe after I have more coffee.

Shifting into Third

I'm scared.

If any of you out there happen to be married to a UPS guy, you know that on a regular basis, your UPS guy gets to bid on a new job. UPS and the Teamsters have worked it out so that at each bid, the employees are all sorted by seniority (how long they've been in the union) and then they go in this order, top down, to choose what job they want. If they like the current delivery route they're on, they bid that one and keep it. If there's another route they would like better that someone with less seniority has, they can take it from them. They can also choose jobs inside the warehouse, like unloading and loading the trucks, or car wash. basically, if you're a high-seniority guy, you get your pick of everything. If you're a low-seniority guy, you probably won't get what you want, you're left with whatever everyone else didn't choose.

For my UPS guy, he's about mid-level in seniority and he's been tying himself in knots these past few weeks, waiting to see what's going to happen to him this year. He's been driving a delivery truck for seven years now and he's pretty frustrated and worn-out. He's been hoping to get a job inside the warehouse, which would be nice for him. No more traffic or cold. No dragging a hand cart through a snow drifts. But it also means that he has to work third shift. This terrifies me and just typing "third shift", my heart rate went up a little.

We found out yesterday that he got the third shift pre-load job, one of the two jobs he was hoping for. I want so badly to be happy for him. He works so hard and he's been doing the same thing for seven years, wearing the same clothes day after day after day. Meanwhile, I've changed jobs three times and I get to put on something new and pretty every day. It doesn't seem fair and I want him to be happy. But when will I see him? I don't know.

We're pretty much attached at the hip when we're home. If I'm painting or making jewelry, he's right beside me at the computer. If he's working on his dirt bike, I'm helping him. We get firewood together, we do yard work together, we watch movies together. This third shift thing is going to change all that. I don't sleep well when I'm alone in the house and he's going to be gone the hours that I'll be sleeping. How's that going to work? Molly's pretty psyched because she's never going to be home alone now. I'll leave for work and Luke will come home right after that. I'll get home from work and a few hours later, Luke will leave for work.

When I spell it all out, it seems like it should be fine. As long as he comes home from work and goes to sleep, it should work out. Then he'll be awake when I get home from work and we'll be able to spend time together before he leaves and I go to bed. It just sounds so scary. I know there are millions of couples who have been doing this for years. I've just never had to think about it and t worries me. So I thought I'd tell you about it. Thanks for listening.

The Quest for the Holy Grate

Ebay is a funny place.

We heat our home with a wood stove which is located in the basement. Recently, in case you hadn't noticed or don't live in Connecticut, it's been really damn cold outside. The heat from the wood stove travels up the stairway to get into the main floor of the house, but we'd like to put a grate in the floor to allow more warm air to come up to the living space so that less fleece and wool need to be worn inside of the house. Which takes me to Ebay.

Two months ago I began the hunt for a cool old floor grate on Ebay. And there are plenty of them. I figured it would be a piece of cake but, once again, I was wrong. Back in November I bid on and won a grate that looked very cool. It was cast iron and in great shape. It had a flap that opened and closed and a scrollwork face. I managed to snag it for $10 plus shipping and was pretty psyched until I got it. First off, it was cracked, which I think happened during shipping. Secondly, the one free listing photo that Ebay offers was a front shot of the grate which hid the fact that it stood a couple of inches off the floor because it was actually meant to be in the wall. If we did put it in, I would trip over it and then something else would be cracked, like my ankle bone or my skull. Time to start over.

Unfortunately, December seems to be a hot time to buy a floor grate on Ebay and I couldn't find one I was willing to pay for. The prices shot way up from the $10 I bought to at least $50. I looked and looked and then gave up. Christmas time, etc. etc. I just wasn't in the grate-shopping mood.

Oh, and if by now you're wondering why I didn't just buy a new one, #1, you must not know me. I think that old stuff is so much better than new stuff (for the house, at least). And #2, you must have never shopped for a grate. We're looking for a sizable one, at least 12" square, hopefully bigger. These go for about $225 brand new.

So recently I sold some stuff on Ebay and had a bit of cash sitting in my Paypal account. I figured that, since I never actually held the money, I only traded it for some old junk I wasn't using anyway, it wasn't real money and it wouldn't hurt as much as if I spent real money on a grate. So I was back on the hunt.

I found one I loved, watched it, bid on it, and lost it to a person with the Ebay ID of island_resident. Crap. I found another, watched it, bid on it, and lost it to island_resident. Grr! Three times, island_resident outbid me and I was mad. I wanted to see what this person (I, for some reason, imagine that it's a man) was buying. I checked his feedback - which was very good - and checked to see what he had been buying and what he was paying for it. For the past week, at least, all he has been buying are cast iron grates. Bunches of them. And he pays a lot for them. I don't think, in the past three days, that he had paid less that $70 for one! What on earth could he be doing with all of these expensive grates? I am intrigued.

There was one grate that I really loved that was holding at about $50. I was prepared to go to $75 until I saw that my buddy, island_resident, was now in on the bidding. I said to Luke, "I just know he's willing to pay over $100 for that thing". And he did. I bowed out and he got it for $114. Seriously! Where is he getting this money and why is he stealing all of the good grates?

Last night I finally found a grate that was ratty enough that even island_resident didn't want it. It's big and it's all rusty with peeling paint. Perfect! I love it. We placed our bid and waited and waited. The auction was ending just after 8:00 last night and we had to pause the movie we were watching to go and keep and eye on the bidding. I had a knot in my stomach thinking that island_resident was going to swoop in at the last minute and snatch it from me but we sat and watched that last five minutes of the auction, refreshing the screen constantly, and we managed to win it. Hallelujah.

I'm trying not to get too excited, though. It's a big grate, about 14" x 17" and if the Post Office could manage to break a 10" x 12" grate, I'm a little concerned about this one. It's also coming Parcel Post which means a longer time in the system and a slower delivery. I just really hope that it comes in decent shape (peeling paint and rust aside) because I really don't want to go through this all over again. And warmer weather is on the way.

Rings on Her Fingers...

And wool socks covering her toes. MAN is it cold today. But look at these pretty things I got in the mail last night:
They're from my new, favorite Etsy shop called Color Fiesta. I would tell you to go there now and buy up all of her rings becasue they're amazing, but I just checked and the shop is closed until the end of January because she's expecting a baby. So wait until next month and then go shop.

These are gorgeous, handmade, glass rings and believe me, they're even more beautiful in person. I tried to capture how they sparkle in the light but I just wasn't doing them justice.The grey and pink one on the left has a silver/black sort of shimmer and the green one has threads of sparkly gold in it - they're just so pretty. And the best part - they're all about $7.99. Seriously. Less than $10 with shipping and you can have yourself a beautiful, wearable piece of art! Mark your calendar and go check out Color Fiesta next month. I certainly will again!

Cinematic Genius

One of the items on my Amazon wishlist this Christmas and last was the boxed set of Breakin' movies. I know, roll your eyes, but in the 80's when these movies came out, my sister, mom and I would go see them over and over. I longed for the studded belts and awesome off-the-shoulder shirts. I wanted a street name like "Special K". I even remeber that on TV at the time, Alfonso Ribero was selling a break dancing instructional video complete with a mat to use when spinning on your head, or whatever. It was $60 and I wanted it so bad.

This Christmas, when I unwrapped the boxed set, I almost fell off the couch. I wanted to see these movies again and try to remember why I loved them so much. I just never expected to really get them. Now everyone around me has been forced to sit and watch them with me and we're all better people because of it.

Although we can all agree that the word is a better place when men aren't wearing half-shirts and feathered ear cuffs, don't you wish there were more movies where people got really, really mad at eachother and showed their anger by dancing? That's right. Dancing.

Don't tell me you've never seen these movies. Breakin' and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo starring Lucinda Dickey, Adolfo "Shabba-Doo" Quinones and Michael "Boogaloo Shrimp" Chambers. Don't you wish more actors had nicknames? Watching the credits of these movies is almost as much fun as watching the movies. One of my favorites is the credit for the very young and skinny club MC played by Ice-T which says "Rap Talker". Love it.

These movies are so bad now that I watch them twenty years later, but I think I might love them even more than I did back then. Everything is so innocent and cheesy and the acting is so awful. Lucinda Dickey manages to maintain a sustained, perky whine throughout both movies and still she manages to be likable. The dialogue may be rotten, but the dancing is fantastic and the music is 80's crap, but it's great! Even as I type this, I'm humming in my head "din daa daa, din do do..." which you, too, will not be able to get out of your head after watching Breakin' 2.

If you've never seen either of these movies, you owe it to yourself to watch them. If it's been twenty years since you saw them last, pull on some spandex, dig out your studded bracelets and enjoy. Really, they're worth the time.