Stealing from Daisy . . .

1. Do you use the labels various charities send you as “free gifts?” Rarely, because usually they have spelled my name wrong, and I rarely send things in the mail anymore. We use them for xmas cards and for when we go to expos and stuff so you do'nt have to write your address all the time.

2. What is your favorite time of day (or night) for skywatching? i love when i take the pups out at night and it is cool, not cold, not hot but perfect. looking up i am reminded that things aren't that big after all. love love love looking up at the stars. i would love to go camping sometime and just sleep under the stars!

3. What is the most adventurous you've ever been with trying a new food? i have no adventure when it comes to food. i have been telling DP that I would try come yummy new veggies if she deems them good. i have tried asparagus and brussel sprouts so far.

4. Have you ever heard a rock sing? um, perhaps once when i was using the wacky weed . . .

5. If you could learn a language you don't presently speak, what would it be? believe it or not, i learned spanish and french at one time, but know very little of either now.

6. Al Capone's tombstone read, “My Jesus, Mercy.” If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say? um, i really don't know. something cheesy about persevering and making the most of my life.

7. If you were a famous musician who was known by one name, like “Cher,” “Sting,” or “Jewel,” what would it be? It doesn’t have to be your first name, but it can be, if you’d like.  Q

8. Have you ever been inordinately “into” a television show? not really . . .i get into phases where i watch things and then don't

9. When you sneeze, do you go big, or do you do that weird “heenh!” sound that makes people think you’re going to blow your brains out? Any other variation we should know about? i try not to sneeze big, but sometimes i can't help it. i try to hold it in and you are right, it feels like brains might come out my eyeballs or something. i have inherited the gift of sneezing 100 times like my mother.

10. Do you still read an actual newspaper that you hold in your hands, or do you get your news elsewhere? i read the pocono record from my folks house becasue it isn't nearly as depressing as the news around here. i also read the paper in Wisconsin. we have been getting the weekend paper delivered for a few months now for free, and we use the coupons.

11. Are you a good speller? i used to be, but spell checker has done me in. i was the spelling bee champion in elementary school numerous times!

12. At what time each day do you start thinking about lunch? depends on the day . . .usually around 11, but i have a mid morning snack of veggies and hummus most weekdays.

64 things you've never been asked

1. First thing you wash in the shower? shampoo my hair

2. What color is your favorite hoodie? hunter green

3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? yes!

4. Do you plan outfits? depends--not usually

5. How are you feeling RIGHT now? excited about vacation

6. What's the closest thing to you that's red? candy cane from xmas

7. Tell me about the last dream you remember having? kayaking with my shrink

8. Did you meet anyone new today? yes, the nice kid from the car place

9. What are you craving right now? iced tea

10. Do you floss? yes--recently started and i love it

11. What comes to mind when I say cabbage? saurkraut

12. Are you emotional? sometimes

13. Have you ever counted to 1,000? Probably not

14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it? usually let it melt a little then eat it

15. Do you like your hair? yes

17. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush? only if i could poison him!

18. What are you listening to right now? DP listening to "all she wants to do is dance"

19. Are your parents strict? on certain things, but not really

20. Would you go sky diving? NO WAY!

21. Do you like cottage cheese? yes

22. Have you ever met a celebrity? no

23. Do you rent movies often? no

24. Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in? yes, a print on my wall

25. How many countries have you visited? 1

26. Have you made a prank phone call? yes, when i was a kid

27. Ever been on a train? Yes

28. Brown or white eggs? brown

29. Do you have a cell phone? Yes

30. Do you use chap stick? Burts!

31. Do you own a gun? hell no

32. Can you use chop sticks? Nope

33. Who are you going to be with tonight? DP and the kids

34. Are you too forgiving? at times

35. Ever been in love? Yes!

36. What are your best friend(s) doing tomorrow? working and lunch bunch

37. Ever have cream puffs? Yes

38. Last time you cried? a few days ago

39. What was the last question you asked? do we have a deposit slip

40. Favorite time of the year? fall-hands down

41. Do you have any tattoos? yes, two

42. Are you sarcastic? yes!

43. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect? nope

44. Ever walked into a wall? more times than i should admit

45. Favorite color? purple

46. Have you ever slapped someone? i am sure

47. Is your hair curly? nope

48. What was the last CD you bought? the new alanis album

49. Do looks matter? more than i would like to admit

50. Could you ever forgive a cheater? nope--i can't stand lying at all

51. Is your phone bill sky high? no, but it is more than i wish

52. Do you like your life right now? it is working and getting better. more improvements are needed but that is good

53. Do you sleep with the TV on? nope

54. Can you handle the truth? Yes, gently given of course

55. Do you have good vision? mostly, i have a slight prescription but can see without them

56. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people? yes

57. How often do you talk on the phone? all the time

58. The last person you held hands with? DP

59. What are you wearing? pj's

60.What is your favorite animal? dogs

61. Where was your profile picture taken? outside

62. Can you hula hoop? no

63. Do you have a job? Yes-thanks goodness

64. What was the most recent thing you bought? a windsheild

Meeting Miss Daisy and other random notes

It's been quite a week. We went kayaking last weekend and it was absolutely fabulous!! I can't explain how free I feel on the water . . .gliding through this powerful source of life and being . . .just small me on this great big lake and the trees and birds and animals. It was just great. I even tried a sit inside kayak this time and did great. I was afraid my bum wouldn't fit without a great deal of WD40, but I did well and actually kind of liked it a bit better. I will do a thorough comparison before we ever get one- for the amount of money we spend to rent, I am thinking we should just buy! The place we rent from sells their supply at the end of the season, so maybe we'll go that route.

Then it was just a busy week at work. We had the memorial service for one of the students that passed away a little over a month ago and that was just sad .. .I mean happy to remember him, but the family put together a slide show and it is just rough.

Then on Friday I got to meet my blogger buddy Daisy! and her man friend. It was awesome to put a face and more of a personality to this person who I have been blogging with. Though I was nervous that I would be stood up, and my friends were glad DP was going along in case Daisy ended up being a blogger-phile or something. It was nothing like that! We shared a great meal at Bahama Breeze and chatted about just about everything. I think it was a wonderful start to a great new friendship. Our next mission--GAY BINGO!! I can't wait. Thanks Daisy and Man-Friend for a great night and a warm welcome!

Yesterday we did a whole lot . ..since it had rained all week, we still hadn't buried our last guinea pig friend who died earlier this week. He hung out in the freezer until we could get out there and properly bury him. He died very suddenly--I noticed one day he wasn't looking too well and then that night before we went to bed he died. I think it was because I changed his food-I felt he needed something more exotic . . .and I have serious food issues. DP thinks it is because she was wondering what would could do with the corner in the living room without a big cage there . . .either way he was joined many a friend over the rainbow bridge!

We also went to the dog park where we had a super dog meet up. Three of our friends came and the pups played for about 2 hours. After that they went for baths and I went to get my friend for respite care for the afternoon. We then went to this sad strawberry festival . . .which should have been named " old folks festival". There was one little pot of strawberries and lots of older folk. We were disappointed that there weren't berries to buy, but we had a bowl full and then went back to deal with the garden and the 'hog. This will be another post later.

Then we went to a local fair. Now, this fair was sad because it was small and nothing like DP and I remember a fair being like. Oh, and tit was also on the grounds of the old Franklin Mint Museum which is just now all empty and overgrown and sad looking . . .It was a lot of overpriced games with crappy prizes, and just about anything you could want . . .fried. We did partake of fried oroes as we have seen them before and always wondered. They were yummy, but I could do without eating them again. We did that and then took our friend home.

Then we assembled our new grill that we got for our anniversary. Our cute little Weber Q was not working right, and we decided to upgrade to the real Weber Performer:

We put it together last night without killing each other . . .though we got to the last piece and realized the work surface was broken. No problem . . .we called Weber and they are going to ship a new one right away and send Fex Ex to get the old one. How it that for service. I have never used a charcoal grill before, but I am excited to learn. We also got a veggie basket and pizza maker for the grill . . .hehe . . .I am excited. Rebecky is coming over tonight for our first cook out.

Well, that's about all for now. I am off to church now . . .we have our grand opening for our new building today which will be our worship space until the final phase is done . . .but not for a few ears. I am actually thinking about trying to church hop for the summer and see what I can come up with. I love the church I go to now, and the people are amazing, but I want something that I don't have to feel bad about with the whole gay thing . . .and we found a few churches nearby that are welcoming and affirming churches . . .and I think DP will even check them out with me. Can't beat that!

Ok, over and out or now . . .stay tuned for the more about the 'hog war going on!

Blast from the past!

Caroline posted something that made me think and research things that I used to lvoe and adore as a kid! Take a look!!

C . . .is for . . .

Jenster started a fun game and I asked if I could play . . . I got the letter "C".


Rules: If you want to play, leave a comment on this post, and I’ll assign you a letter. You write about ten things you love that begin with your assigned letter, and post it at your place. When people comment on your list, you give them a letter, and the chain continues on and on...

1. Cats--> I have always liked them. Consequently when I found out we were moving to PA from NJ, I had visions of a long winding driveway in the country . .and of course a cat. Though my dad said he did not like them. Guess who is his best friend now . . .Ollie the orange tabby cat. I am thankful for the little kitty cat in my life-Oreo.

2. Chocolate--> Need I say more? Cadbury Mini eggs are my favorite. Used to be a once a year treat, but I found out they had cadbury Christmas balls for the holidays.

3. Camping--> Despite my dislike for being dirty and stuff like that, I like camping. I know it is odd, but . . so be it.

4. Coffee--> It is just a good thing to have in your life I think.

5. Communication--> I am learning that life goes much smoother with good communication.

6. Comfy clothing!--> There's nothing like getting home from work and putting on your comfy clothing. Especially when you have your period and feel bloated and stuff.

7. Cookie Dough--> I am not entirely sure why anyone would want to bake the stuff when the raw stuff is so good. I remember feeling so sneaky when I was a pre-teen when my friend and I made two boxes of cookie dough and we froze it so that we could eat it for the next month or so!

8. Cushy chairs--> I have alwasy said that when I get my "beanie shack" I will have cushy chairs in it. In all the art therapy pictures I drew where they discussed what would make you feel safe and such, I would draw a chair. The first major furniture purchase I made was a big cushy chair.

9. Children--> I love children--most everything about them. Especially cooing at babies.

10. Crocs--> They are just really comfortable. I have a pair of regular ones, and a pair of the flip flops. I think I will need to get a new pair for next summer as I have worn my very well.

Well, there you go!

I can't help sharing!

Thanks KJ!

How Facebook has taken over my life

I am not sure who started me on it, but damn that fool who thought I could be responsible and not abuse the privilege of seeing into the lives of a million of my friends--some close, some so very far away you wonder if you really even know them or if they just happened upon your lunch table and asked to sit down.

It has been a very good waster of time, facilitator of relationships, vehicle by which to see hideous pictures of your friends, and a faith builder in hopes that your friends don't post hideous pictures of YOU!

It has been wonderful to catch up with folks from high school, college, and other random places--even some bloggers here have found me. A little wild that so many of your worlds can collide in one place.

Well, I am off to see if anyone else wants to be my friend!

High School . . .

Thanks Lyn! Another thought provoking post from me . . .

1. Did you date someone from your school? Nope
2. Did you marry someone from your high school? Nope
3. Did you car pool to school? When my bro was a senior he drove me, but other than that I was on bus 16!
4. What kind of car did you have? I had a Chevy Cavalier
5. What kind of car do you have now? Saturn
6. It's Friday night...where are you now? Wondering when it is bedtime, watching TV
7. It is Friday night...where were you? Marching band, or getting high--depending on the season
8. What kind of job did you have in high school? I worked at McDonalds
9. What kind of job do you do now? Licensed Social Worker
10. Were you a party animal? nope
11. Were you considered a flirt? nope
12. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? Marching, concert, AND jazz band!
13. Were you a nerd? nope
14. Did you get suspended or expelled? sadly, yes. several times .. .
15. Can you sing the fight song? uh, nope.
16. Who was/were your favorite teacher? I liked Mr. Miller for Spanish--he was nice. Mr. White was my favorite--anyone who can make history fun is good in my book. I had him in 8th grade and then again in 10th.
17. Where did you sit during lunch? I usually went to the band room and ate, or i didn't eat

18. What was your school's full name? Stroudsburg High School
19. When did you graduate? 1995
20. What was your school mascot? Mountie
21. If you could go back and do it again, would you? Nope--it was awful!
22. Did you have fun at Prom? Didn't go
23. Do you still talk to the person you went to Prom with? didn't go
24. Are you planning on going to your next reunion? nope
25. Do you still talk to people from school? Thanks to facebook I have reconnected with some
26. What are/were your school's colors? Maroon and Gold

27. What grades did you make? Mostly A/B's, but I failed a marking period of Chem once.

28. What was your favorite class/subject? Creative writing and languages (spanish and french)

29. Did you belong to any clubs? Spanish club, peer counseling (though i am not sure how the hell they thought i was competent enough to do this, but they chose me . . .), Student's with a testimony,

30. Were you popular? dear god no. i have more friends now from high school through facebook then i did in high school.

Easy Post for sick, snowy days . . .

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? A combination of both depending on the item . . .
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial
3. When do you put up the tree? Thanksgiving Day!
4. When do you take the tree down? Usually by the beginning of February
5. Do you like eggnog? Yes
6. Favorite gift received as a child? My Cabbage Patch Dolls
7. Hardest person to buy for? My parents
8. Easiest person to buy for? My brother
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Sort of, we have the Precious Moments Sugartown and it has a nativity, but we don't have a sperate set up.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail-didn't think you could or should email holiday wishes . .
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Any gift that was also supposed to be my birthday gift!
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? not sure . . .
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I sort of shop all year round
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yuppers
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Homemade cookies
16. Lights on the tree? Yes, white ones. And they don't move either . . .can't stand moving/blinking lights
17. Favorite Christmas song? Drummer Boy or O, Holy Night
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Both, depending on the year
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? probably not
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Chrismas morning-though when I was a kid we would do some on Christmas eve at grandma's house.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Commercialism . . .got have MORE MORE MORE
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Ornaments that have meaning . . .
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Whatever . . .I think we had pot roast last year and it was good
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? an uneventful trip to WI where I don't get injured--and maybe a new blackberry or iphone . . .

Seven things you might not know about me . . .

So Lynilu had tagged me on this last week sometime, and well, I am slow . . .but here goes . . .enjoy!

7 interesting things you might not know about me...

1.) I almost died when I was a baby. Had something wrong with my liver and they took most of it out when I was 5 weeks old I think.

2.) Because of said surgery, I had several blood transfusions and was tested for HIV for years after and I never knew why I had to be tested so much. This was before they tested blood for HIV . . .

3.) I played the trumpet in high school and was in the marching band, jazz band, and concert band. I would occasionally be known to play a tuba or two as well.

4.) I sleep with a very large U shaped pillow in my bed to help me sleep due to my herniated disc problems . . .have such a hard time sleeping without it when I travel.

5.) I have journaled for years and years and have a ton of journals stored up, and when I was 19, a therapist I was seeing for therapy (who I ended up dating) encouraged me to "let them go". So now I don't have the journals from those early years, and I regret this often.

6.) My parents had people round the clock in the hospital with me when I was born since I was in a very bad neighborhood and was the only white child in the nursery.

7.) I used to not shave my legs cause I thought I was making some kind of feminist statement . . .now I think that overly hairy legs is kinda icky. I have been harassing SOMEONE about this for weeks now to no avail . . .

8.) A bonus-->when I was heavily into drugs in high school, I ran a weed ring through the drive through window at the McDonald's I worked at--that is until I got caught and fired . . . but I made some killer money and also knew how to make a bowl using a courtesy cup, tin foil, and a straw! Who said I wasn't smart!

There you go. Hope it was entertaining!

National Public Radio

We know and love it as NPR, and for years I thought it was only for old people who had nothing better to do with their time but sit around and listen to their radios at the kitchen table.

Boy was I wrong. I was turned onto NPR a while back when I saw a TV show talking about Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me. It is a weekly news quiz show that is funny enough to make me question if I have actually peed myself. I often wondered what people were listening to in their cars to make them laugh out loud, and I can safely say that this must be on the dial for some of them. I don't actually dial into NPR, though I do have it as a preset just to say I have it, but seems BBC news is always on when I tune in, so I listen to the podcasts.

I have also enjoyed Car Talk, where people call in and talk to these guys about car troubles--could be a woman who wants to know if it is ok to date a man who lives in a van, or suggestions on how you can butter up your mechanic--which you know I am all about!

Then there is Story Corp, not to be listened to en mass on the way to work, as you will find yourself crying, snotty nosed, and without tissues. Here they share interviews of people who have like 3 minutes in a booth to talk to or interview someone on something. Often times parents and kids talking about days gone by, or how old aunt sally met uncle homer in 1912 in the middle of a blizzard. You know, real tearjerker kind of things. Not all are that way, there are some funny ones like the woman whose mother bought her an inflatable bra in the 1920's and things went horribly wrong in the airplane and she was taken into custody after her boobs grew ever so large and then exploded--sounding like a gun. Again, too funny.

Who knew NPR could be so enlightening, fun, and laugh out loud hysterical! Take a listen and let me know what you think!! I am getting smarter by the week, and you can, too!!!

What a crock!

DP and I decided this week that we should make something in the crock pot. So we got out our cookbook-entitled "Not your mothers slow cooker cook book". We perused some good ones, and settled on some meatloaf and potato thing. Seemed easy enough and thus we have dinner cooking as we speak.

Thing is, it is weird, as a person who sorta has some OCD issues, to leave a heated thing on cooking in the house all day long. Something seems very wrong with that.

Secondly, I have been home for a few hours now smelling this yummy yummy dinner, and all I can think about is food . . .I want to eat NOW!! We have another 2 hours for crying out loud. I will never make it-or I will simply eat so much other stuff that I won't be hungry for yummy dinner. I am also seriously procrastinating on finishing my paper which is due tomorrow, people. GRRRRRR

I also can never resist the urge to go open the top and look in. I know this lets out a ton of steam that has been building for hours, but I need to interact with it somehow--I can't believe it doesn't need me . . . to do ANYTHING.

That's just a crock if you ask me!

Some fun!

Jenster has tagged her readers to answer the following questions . . .

Ten years ago I was:

Oh, bad times . . .very bad times. I think I was in the hospital for my eating disorder and cutting stuff. It was also the last time I did any drugs!!! I was still in college-barely. They wouldn't let me into the social work department until I got my act together. I was living with a christian family that took me on as their "project". I drove a purple neon . . .I was a mess!!


Five things on today's To Do List:

1. Observe kid at school and see new family

2. Resist the big container of cookie dough in fridge

3. Run the pups like crazy before the downpour comes

4. Order some clothes from Land's End--need pants bad!

5. Call brother or dad to find out how brother is


A snack I enjoy:

Anything that is a carbohydrate!! I am not picky--> bread, pretzels, bagels, you name it!


Things I would do if I were a millionaire:

* Pay off debt
*Fix up my house with a beanie shack!
* Give some money away
*Open a kennel or some other animal related endeavor
* buy lots and lots of books and create a wall to wall library with comfy chairs
* help my family


Places I have lived:

* New Jersey
* Poconos
* Philadelphia
* Various suburbs of Philadelphia



Oh, fun and easy post!! Except the remembering how unwell I was 10 years ago. SOOOO thankful for now, and being exactly where i am!!! Thanks Jenster!

Did anyone see this??

Ok, I don't want to get into what I think of the whole political hullabaloo right now, but I thought this was absolutely almost pee-in-your-pants-funny from last night's convention!!

Take a look . .

Overheard at my parents house

**Background-my mother has charcots disease-which means that she has over the years gotten really funky, misshapen feet that she has no feeling in due to the neuropathy from diabetes. She has had an infection for the last year or so in her foot, and about three months ago they had to go in and drain in. The wound hasn't healed, and in an effort to help it, they agreed to put pig skin on it. Too weird for me, but ok. She has been waiting and today this is the conversation that was had. I will do my best to recreate it**

Beans- So what's happening with mom's foot?

Dad-The doctor is still waiting to hear-apparently it costs a lot of money, so they need to be sure it is really needed and such.

B-they're still using the skin, right?

D-yes.

B-huh, wonder what's taking them so long

D- we'll they're now going to use foreskin-since they said that would be better

DP-WOW, foreskin, huh. Wonder how that works.

D-she only needs to cover a small amount

B-i wonder why it is taking so long to get that from a pig

DP-so it's possible that she could have black skin on her foot?

D-I guess so.

B-I didn't know there were black pigs, much less black foreskin. I wonder how they get the foreskin off of a pig

DP-beans, they aren't talking about pigs anymore . . .

B-What? OH, OHHH, EWE . . . .

Then everyone thought it was really funny that I was still wondering how they got foreskins from pigs, when in fact they weren't talking about pigs anymore. I was a little slow on the uptake.

Guess you had to be there. It was really very . . .very funny. In re-reading this to DP to assure the accurateness of the re-creation, she has reacted with uproarious laughter again. Glad I could provide some laughs all around.

The princess inside

I have a secret that I have been hiding from all of you. The secret is . . . .

I have a little princess inside that is dying to get out. I first discovered this a few months ago when I was looking for a new sleepy time outfit. I usually like the shelf bra type of shirts or night shirts, but I was having a hard time finding one of those that would suffice. I settled for looking at TJ MAXX.

What I found there was a purple (which is my favorite color) nighty-sleepy-thing, that happened to have ever so slight little things on the bottom-I don't even know what they are called. They have layers-kind of, like two layers of little swishy fabric. Well, they have become known as my princess pajamas.

No, they don't have barbies or princesses on them--but if I twirl fast enough (which is hard to do at my age and stature, since any kind of twirling makes me want to hurl) you can see the little flowy part on the bottom flail out and it is very fun.

With that said, I was recently taxed with the burden of looking for a new laptop to replace mine that was dying-and in fact just turned itself off periodically--which was more often these days. We went to Best Buy to by father in law's birthday present, and lo and behold I see a laptop that catches my eye. Why would any old laptop catch my eye??

Well, this one happens to be a lovely cosmopolitan pink color!! It is not hot pink or really girly pink, but a nice metallic pink. We went home and thought about life with a pink computer would do to my reputation, and in the end I though it sounded great! We drove to Delaware the next day for some tax free shopping, and I am the proud new owner of the following cosmopolitan pink laptop.

I really like it so far. What I love most right now is the very similar feel it has to the ibook. I had one of those at my last job and I liked the feel and look of the newer keypads. It also has a slot right on it for an SD card, which means I can blog more often with pictures since I am not reliant on DP's computer for the camera hook up. I like the Vista so far as well, though I am sure I will find some things that are not good, for now I am thoroughly enjoying my princess computer.

Now won't it be a fun princess-y day when I work on my princess computer in my princess pj's???

Stick a fork in me, I am done!!

Weekend Teaser

OK, so stay tuned for an upcoming post on the following:

1. Post Traumatic Cheese steak syndrome
2. Why I spent an hour quacking like a duck this weekend
3. What I saw hanging from a store front window

uh, well, that's doesn't sound as impressive as I thought it might . . .

It will. You. just.wait!

10 minutes with god . . and the bike

Ok, update. Our women's small group has been trying to keep each other accountable to reading the bible daily and praying. Last week I did this about 4 days.

I have also wanted to get into more of a routine with exercising. We have decided to give up our gym membership in preparation for having a puppy that we will need to walk-and the nicer weather-, and we'd become lax in using the facilities we were paying for . . .some of us more than others, but none the less I came up with the brilliant idea of not paying for the gym and getting an elliptical since that is what we mostly use at the gym anyways, and we already have a recumbent bike and some weights. We also live really close to a really quiet cemetery with big hills.

So, I had the idea this week to try and do at least 10 minutes each morning on the bike, and in that time I can pray and read the bible . . of course while riding and lifting my weights. Talk about multitasking. I did walk in the cemetery the other day when it was BEAUTIFUL out, but it has been inside for me the last few days. I think I feel more awake and alert, and this morning I hadn't even realized I exceeded my 10 minutes. Tomorrow I work from home and meet a special friend for coffee, but I will try and walk in the AM if nice out.

I know 10 minutes isn't a lot, but I figured I could work myself into a routine and then add time later. Now I am spending more time in the basement, which will be perfect for me when I finally start making use of the beanie space.

I did look at carpet remnants to put down, but I haven't found anything I like, and I have NO money. This getting smaller thing and needing new clothing is not working for me. I was going down the driveway the other day to collect the trash bin and I nearly lost my pants-and we live on a major road . . .this would NOT have been pretty for anyone involved. I am finally back to losing, so that is good. I am up to 16lbs.

Oh well. In other news, I feel completely conflicted about my voting choices, but that is a whole other post.

Oh, and guess who is going to see James Taylor AGAIN after she sees him for the first time, and this time in like the 2nd row??? Give up??? ME, and DP, and RHB. This is going to be one crazy summer!!! I think I might need a diaper . . .

Basement workspace

OK, so I have a project in mind. We have a basement-which I have tried to convince my DP is finshable, and she adamantly states that it is not. I get that it may not be finshable, but I feel that it is a good space none the less.

Let me rewind- I have always longed for a space of my own. I have referred to this space as a proverbial "beanie shack". Now if you knew my real name, this title would sound much more fun, but in the name of anonymity, we shall call it a beanie shack.

Ok, so said beanie shack would be a place where I would just be free to create, draw, paint, write, lounge whatever. I have envisioned this place to be small, cozy, must have a comfy bean bag or chair. I have, at times, envisioned it having wall to wall space that I could paint on, or write on when I felt inspired. Are you getting a picture? Any small space I see, I think, "oh, that would make a great beanie shack" DP thinks I am a nut job, and I am ok with this.

Back to the basement-so I have had this bright idea to make a corner of the basement into a quasi beanie shack. Mostly because I thought I would like to do more scrapbooking, and I don't have a place to do that here, but also because I think the basement is ok. I know the walls don't look great, and the ceiling is . . .well, the ceiling has lots and lots of bugs, but they can be sucked up. Overall, it is a dry space, and I am determined to make a corner of it a piece of my own.

I have decided that I will have a table in the one corner, and I will obtain a carpet remnant to put down. Then, thanks to a suggestion from my DP, I will use this purple sheet that I have to cover the walls-since the foundation is stone, you see the stone and the crumbly white stuff on the stone (how's that for technical terminology). We were out and about tonight and I bought a small Ott lamp. There is some light, and we just got glass block windows installed down there, but I thought having something brighter would be useful. Then I can put all of my scrapbooking stuff down there, and work on it when I want. I don't have to worry about cleaning it up all the time, and not having space. Perhaps someday I will even have a bean bag chair down there . . .specifically I would want a love sac . . .but that's for when I win the lottery, and/or we build a garage with a space above which will have a beanie space in it.

Maybe once I finish it I will post some pictures. I am very excited about this!!!

Unacceptable working conditions

Hello . . .It finally snowed some. Nothing major, but I will take it. It looked nice out there all white and fluffy. Except it wasn't . . it was the heavy, water logged snow. Oh well. I shoveled my driveway for the first time and it was good.

Now, onto better things. So as you know by now, some days I work at home. We have a room that we use as an office. DP and I both have a desk with computers and the like. It is a good space. Well, you see, the cat also feels as if the desk is hers. I wanted to give you an idea of what I end up contending with-like right now she is sitting to the right of the keyboard trying to rest her head on my typing fingers . . .this is difficult. These are unacceptable working conditions.
At times you will see her like this:
Restraining my arm . . .

Checking over my work and making comments about content . . .

Clearly not respecting my space . . .see the work out on the desk . . she doesn't see the work apparently . . .

Just lounging . . .in the way . . .

Oh well. She is very cute, and I know she loves me . . or the warm laptop I work on . . .either way. I thought I would share some pictures with you and show you what I deal with when I am on my computer trying to work!!

Hope everyone is well-