Earthquakes and Turkey Day

As you know, I like to keep up with earthquake statistics. Yes, I know, the ultimate Geekdom. Anyway, check this out: (I bolded the magnitudes)

>2004/11/15 09:06 M 7.0 WEST COAST OF COLOMBIA Z 4.61N 77.54W>
>2004/11/16 10:06 M 6.1 NEW BRITAIN REGION, P.N.G. Z 5.57S 151.42E>
>2004/11/17 21:09 M 6.6 FIJI REGION Z 19.96S 178.80W>
>2004/11/20 08:07 M 6.2 COSTA RICA Z 9.57N 84.19W>
>2004/11/20 22:01 M 6.1 COAST OF GUATEMALA Z 13.41N 90.05W>
>2004/11/21 11:41 M 6.0 LEEWARD ISLANDS Z 15.68N 61.69W>
>2004/11/21 11:07 M 6.0 TONGA Z 15.33S 174.99W>
>2004/11/22 20:26 M 7.3 OFF W. COAST OF S. IS, N.Z. 46.57S 164.83E

Those are some big-ass magnitudes, no? Over the last few years, this has become the norm and therefore the media has become complacent about it. However, 10 years ago - this would have been headlining news. There has also been much volcano activity in the last few months. Looks like the Ring of Fire is roasting some chestnuts for the holidays.

Besides waiting for the "big one" to hit, I will also be cooking Thanksgiving food for SIX WHOLE PEOPLE. Needless to say, I'm terrified. You may have read some of my earlier posts on the cooking disaster that is me. Jim is doing the turkey and the mashed potatoes, so I at least have peace about that. One year, though, I forgot my brain and bought a FROZEN TURKEY one day before Thanksgiving. That was quite possibly the most stressful 24 hours of my life. I won't be doing that again. Fresh turkey, I repeat, fresh turkey.

Jim puts garlic and butter all over the turkey and whips the potatoes. He is really sexy when he mashes all of those potatoes. I make my special secret stuffing, the baked pineapple (my fav!), the cranberry sauce (whole berries, of course), the gravy, the rolls, the banana dessert Jim has to have, and usually the green bean crunch - but this year I'm making my mom bring that. My friends are bringing pumpkin pie tartlets and alcohol. Okay, so really, I don't have to do that much. I'm scared anyway.

Because I love you all (well, most of you) here is quite possibly the best Thanksgiving recipe on the planet:

Baked Pineapple
In a baking dish (size of your choice) create the following layers:

1 layer of crumbled saltine crackers
1 layer of pieces of real butter
1 layer of pineapple rings
1 layer of brown sugar

Repeat layers about 3 times, then bake in the oven at about 350 for 40 minutes or so. During the last 10 minutes, add a layer of small marshmallows on top. DO NOT SKIMP ON ANY OF THE INGREDIENTS. Serve piping hot.

It sounds simple-stupid, but I'm telling you, you will reach orgasm. This recipe was passed down to me over several generations on my mother's side. It originated in the deep South. Trust me. Try it. People will ask you to make it every year for the rest of your life. :)

Have a Happy (and safe!) Turkey Day!! I will be posting what I am thankful for in the days to come - which is now an annual blogging tradition for me.

Where's Crazydogmama?

She has been hiding. Had the flu last week, then killed my back scrubbing the bathroom floor. To make it all better, this helps:



It's like a cross between soft Captain Crunch and Lucky Charms. Jim picked it up at the store for me along with Orange Juice and Cold/Flu tablets. My husband rocks. Seriously.

I have not felt like blogging at all. I don't know why. Sorry.

Oh yeah, I had a birthday.

I turned 33 last Friday. Whoop-de-doo. My boss at the restaurant gave me a bottle of champagne and I drank almost all of it in one sitting. I also (and you will be proud) went to the gym with my workout buddies. They gave me presents and I kicked their ass. (I am training them.) I am not a certified trainer, but they decided I had the most knowledge of the 3 of us, and actually do EVERYTHING I tell them to do. It is so fun. I love bossing people around, I've learned. It is amazing that they trust someone who has a purple knee from flying off the Stairmaster after "accidentally" pressing level 10 without realizing it. *blush* Yes, it's true. I have fallen off BOTH the treadmill and the Stairmaster now. No one comes to my rescue anymore. It's like "that's just Cheryl falling off the machines again".

Halloween Photos, FINALLY!

OK, so what if it took 2 weeks to post them, I've been busy being lazy.

Jesus gone insane. (My neighbor naturally looks like Jesus.) Everyone took turns trying on the straight jacket. We KNOW how to party, I'm tellin' ya.



Here is the "new" Leatherface mask. It was about 12 sizes too large for Jim's head, so we put it in a bowl and had black light on it.



Jim in the old mask. I know you WANT him, bad.



My little ankle-biter. Ha!

OH HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY!

I got a new cam-er-a, I got a new cam-er-a!! It is my birthday this Friday, and I bought myself a REAL camera. I already have a good digital, but that was it. NOW, I have a new Konica Minolta 35mm with a 28-100 lens and a 75-300 zoom lens! Oh, happy day! I'm also going to be taking a photography class in January so that I can learn how to turn it on and load the film. LOL. I just love photography and have always wanted to learn how to do more than take snapshots. Wheeee.

OK, I've unloaded the Halloween pics from my camera, now all I have to do is pick out which ones I can post without getting shit from my friends. Maybe tonight...I KNOW you just can't wait any longer.

Side Note

If you finish your mocha before any of the whipped cream melts, you have issues. If you, after finishing the mocha, take the lid off and scoop the unmelted whipped cream OUT OF THE CUP and eat it, you have some serious issues.

Three words: Toffee. Almond. Bars.

God has sent these down to Starbucks from Heaven, and I finally tried one. It almost pained me to purchase a non-chocolate item, but OH MY GOD IT WAS SO WORTH IT. I snarfed that puppy down in 3 bites while waiting for my mocha. (Yes, I know. Shut up.) I think I must have looked shocked and orgasmic at the same time because the barista kept looking up at me with a "you are going to choke" look on her face. I'm telling you right now - TRY THEM. Forget the chocolate espresso brownies. Ok, don't forget them, but go toffee. You won't regret it. Don't go to the Starbucks I go to, though. Cuz they are MINE, ALL MINE. I might just purchase the whole lot and sit my toffee-ass in front of the TiVo tonight.

If...

...I read ONE MORE blog today that talks about the damn election I AM GOING TO HURL. I swear to GOD!

A Halloween Recap...

OK, I'm still recovering from our Halloween party, give me one more day or so and I'll put some pictures up. I have to be careful what pictures I post, though, cuz I could very easily get my ass kicked. Note to self: getting too old to party that hard. You can't drink a pint of rum by yourself anymore.

There were bloody body parts and glow-in-the-dark silly string everywhere. When you have consumed as many adult beverages as we did, it becomes difficult to determine whether or not you should eat pizza that is lit up. We also have video of people line dancing to the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" soundtrack. It is scary to think we are all in our 30's. Our party took place in my garage, where everyone froze, and where we may have set a bad example to the neighborhood children. I'm not sure, though, I don't remember any children. Were there kids? We ran out of candy at about 7 pm. We did not run out of liquor. I vaguely remember my husband hi-fiving some kid using a severed arm.

More later, I need a nap.

Lunar Eclipse

Pretty neat, right?!? We had a fabulous view from our front yard, and I froze my ass off like a freak taking pictures of it for an hour. Super cool.

Speaking of Killing Spiders

There is definitely a RIGHT way and a WRONG way to kill a spider for me.

The RIGHT way:

1. Very quickly, and I mean QUICKLY run and get a large tissue or paper towel.
2. Wait for me to reach minimum safe distance from the killing ground.
3. Smash the spider into the tissue or paper towel, making sure you cannot see ANY of the spider. There should be no "spider residue" on the wall, either.
4. Take the dead spider wad IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION from where I am and dispose of it in an outside garbage facility.

The WRONG way:

1. Take your time looking at the spider before you fetch anything to kill it with.
2. Tell me that spiders are "good" and shouldn't be killed because they eat bugs. BULLSHIT.
3. Kill the spider with your bare hand.
4. Scoop the spider up with a piece of paper and put it outside. IT WILL COME BACK IN TO GET ME.
5. Kill the spider, then try to walk towards me with its legs sticking out of a tissue.
6. Leave spider guts on the wall.
7. Whack the spider, letting it just fall to the ground AND NOT PICKING IT UP. This is a serious NO-NO.
8. Put the dead spider in the trash next to my desk. You KNOW it will be resurrected and come back to get me, right?
9. Put the dead spider in the toilet. They crawl back up, and I can't even finish this sentence...
10. And last, but not least, LAUGH AT ME AND TELL ME TO BE A BIG GIRL. I will kill you.

Some Clarifications

Regarding the questions/comments on the picture of Louie and Maggie on my sidebar:

No, Louie does not smoke Marlboro Lights. He's partial to Camels.

No, that is not a gun pointed at Louie's head, it's my emergency brake.

No, Louie was not in danger of a head-whack from the emergency brake if I took a turn too sharp, we were sitting in a parking lot waiting for our designated appointment at the vet's office.

Ways to irritate me at work.

1. Don't say good morning as you pass by me in the hallway. Come ON, that's rude.

2. Gleefully stroll past me in the hallway and exclaim "Happy Monday!". Just DIE.

3. Pour yourself the last of the coffee and then put the empty pot back on the burner and walk away as I'm standing there.

4. Come into my office at 6:30 am and start explaining a complicated project to me. You could at least wait until noon.

5. Come into my office and start reading the personal notes on my wall calendar.

6. Comment on the notes on my wall calendar and start asking me what my personal acronyms mean.

7. Stand in the doorway of my office until I get off the phone.

8. Come into my office and help yourself to my expensive hand lotion without asking.

9. Ask me how much money I make.

10. Refuse to kill spiders for me. That's just MEAN.

11. Mock my coughing fit from your office two doors down.

12. State to me loudly "You're having ANOTHER cigarette?".

13. Bring your baby to work and expect me to act like its the cutest baby EVER. I am afraid of babies, and I will HIDE IN THE BATHROOM UNTIL YOU LEAVE.

14. Bring everyone back an ice cream except me just because I told you I was lactose intolerant. Fucker.

15. Bring stinky food for lunch.

16. Tell me my desk is "too clean". I'm organized you idiot, not underworked.

17. Bring donuts in the day after I tell you I'm "eating clean" this week.

18. Keep slamming the door adjacent to my office.

19. Sigh, huff and act annoyed while waiting for me at the copy machine. It will make me take longer.

What a week I'm having!

I can't handle domestic problems. My stepson has decided, at the age of 12, to start the rebellious stage. I probably shouldn't give the details, but in a nutshell, he is faking sick to get out of school at least once a week, lighting matches (then lying about it), and running away down the street to the local KFC. When found, he had his backpack with him that contained a Gameboy, Gameboy games, a couple of books, 50$ and a steak knife. You know, all the necessities of life. He lives with his mom, so we are hearing about all of this over the phone, but my husband is all stressed-out and fit-to-be-tied. No one knows what to do. The first thing that comes to my mind is: Why don't you whack him with a newspaper and put him in the crate? Probably why I don't and shouldn't have kids. Ha.

On top of that, I can't find the energy to do the laundry, the dishes and generally get out of bed. I don't know if it's a touch of depression, or just being overwhelmed by life itself. The smallest tasks are frightening me. I have also had 3 iced mochas this week with regular milk. It's the only way to cope, I'm telling you.

Absolutely Unmotivated

To do anything. I keep reading all these blogs where people are working out with a vengeance, eating clean, losing weight and are just generally pumped-up and motivated. I am not motivated to do shit this week. I've been sleeping too much, eating too much and afraid to get on the scale. I've been eating all of my "intolerant" foods, therefore I'm grumpy, sickly and dragging my big, fat ass. I suffer from "workout burnout". I wish I was more like Skwigg and Yogagirl. For some reason I just can't think "fitness" and "Health" 24-7. I enjoy my fitness regimen of HIIT (occasionally), but I'll never have that trainer mentality full-time. I'm not sure why. I have extensive knowledge, it's just that I have too many days of not caring. There are times when I get into a specific yoga position on the floor and decide just to stay on the floor and take a nap. What is wrong with me?

In other news, I am obsessed with getting an iPod. Can't afford it right now, but I *really* want one. I think I want the iPod mini, but should I get it in lime green, or pink? I don't know. I really want a McDonald's hamburger, too. Just help me NOW.

Otter-licious!

It took me a while to post this, but here it is, my Otter necklace! Isn't it bea-u-ti-ful? I get so many compliments on it! Thanks Otter!! I am disappointed in how my hair doesn't look as blonde as it actually IS in this picture. Oh well, it was a mess anyway.

I Feel 21 Again

It was just like old times last night, like we never missed a beat. It was a great 5 hours of girl-talk, coffee and cigarettes. (No alcoholic beverages this time around.) There was not one, but TWO old friends that I met with! The other was a girlfriend I hadn't seen since my wedding day 10 whole years ago! It's definitely Deja Vu month.

On another note, I got a little yelled at by hubby about the peepee incident. The dogs are restricted from the bedroom until further notice. We may possibly "switch" sides on the bed, too. I got grilled about how many times this has happened that he doesn't know about. I plead the 5th and tried to look all innocent and shit. Yeah, like THAT would work.

Out of Control and Over the Edge

Not me this time; the dogs. Well, actually, me too now that I think about it. Louie may have slept his last night in my bed. Sunday night at about 1am, we all curled up (the dogs and I - Jim was still watching T.V.) in the bed. Cozy-cozy. Maggie at the foot of the bed, and Louie on my left next to my belly. We slowly drifted off into zzzz land.

A short while later, I had to roll over because my arm was going numb. I butt-bumped Louie. Startled the shit out of him. He growled at me for such a rude awakening. Maggie attacked him for growling at me. (She's VERY protective and hates violence.) Louie attacked her back, for once. and peed. ON.MY.BED. AGAIN. He didn't just dribble either, he really let that bladder GO. I popped up out of bed and shoved the dogs over the edge of the bed. I was *so* mad. The dogs knew it, too, because they didn't know whether to shit or go blind at this point.

It then occurred to me that I would have to clean this mess up quietly without telling Jim. Why, you ask? Because he was not a big supporter of the dogs sleeping on the bed in the first place, AND it just so happens that Louie peed on Jim's side of the bed. Oops, shhh, don't tell Daddy. My hopes were that Jim would fall asleep in his recliner tonight, as he so frequently does. Oooh, pleeez God, I will get so in trouble. I feel 10 years old all over again.

I have to somehow get the Nature's Miracle and a towel without Jim noticing. Tiptoe, tiptoe. Got it. Dogs still hiding in the corner. Good. After I realized that I grabbed one of Jim's golf towels, I panicked. I cannot use a golf towel to clean up dog pee if I want to live. Now what do I do? That was the only towel in the cupboard. All others are in laundry room on the other side of the house. Crap. The only thing left to do (all the while the pee is soaking into my bed) is use my own clothes. Some old t-shirts - yeah, that'll work.

Now that I have 4 t-shirts that reek of Nature's Miracle and dog urine, what do I do with them? Didn't think of that. I must have stood in the bedroom holding those t-shirts for 10 minutes trying to think of something. Uh-oh. Hear. foot. steps. QUICK! Threw t-shirts, jumped into still-wet-bed. (Ick!!) Jim walks in.

Jim: "What the hell are you doing?"
Me: "Oh, the dogs were fighting."
Jim to dogs: "Get in your crates!" (Dogs run to their crates in the office.)
Jim: "What are you doing with the Nature's Miracle?" (He saw it sitting on the vanity table)
Me: "Um, cleaning up pee?"
Jim: "They peed on the floor too??" (Getting angry)
Me: "Uhhhhhhhhhhh...uh-huh." (Big liar-head)

Shaking his head, Jim leaves the room. WOOHOO! I did it!! I get up and wipe off my soggy ass, put a bunch of old clothes on top of pee-spot and climb back in. Its not so bad. I'll just tell him in the morning when he is half asleep. Yeah, I'll do that.

Couldn't sleep. Gee, I wonder why? Got up and had a cigarette. Talked to Jim for a while like nothing has happened. Decide to go back to bed. Jim says he is going to bed too and follows me down the hallway. Uh-oh. Think! Think! Can't think of anything. Get into bed. Jim changes his clothes and gets ready to crawl in bed. I can't do it. I tell him.

I'll let him calm down before I explain myself.

Blog Catch-Up

It has been a slacker week in blogland for me. I have been sleeping, eating and working. gah. I am meeting my long-lost friend for coffee on Monday night, so that should prove interesting. We have A LOT to catch up on. I have missed my friend terribly and have felt bad for a long time that we lost touch on a bad note. She is the one with whom I spent my "rebel" years with, so talking about old times will be a hoot. Lots of drunken, stupid and INSANELY fun times.

In other news, my neighbors need to die. They are the most ANNOYING people on the planet. As you may recall, they are the ones who have the obnoxious playset in the backyard with the kids that I refer to as "the spawn of hell". Did I ever tell you about the night I drank too much? Me and hubby were playing music loud, and Holly Hobbie over there got in a huff and started *slamming* windows and such. I decided to FLASH THEM. Yep. I did. Hehe. Anyway, they are always in the backyard. I mean ALWAYS. It could be raining, and they are out there playing with their damn kids. I hate it. I am a very private person, and there is nothing worse than seeing those freaks every time I look up. No one else in the neighborhood goes outside that much, and of course, the ONES THAT ACT LIKE OZZIE AND FUCKING HARRIET have to live right behind me. They have on their little rain hats and slickers today and are talking "baby talk". I want to puke. Seriously. Harriet was talking to another mom in the neighborhood awhile back who happens to be a friend of mine. My friend told me that they were discussing songs their children liked to listen to. My friend's daughter happens to like the "barbie song". Harriet apparently was horrified, put on her disapproving face, and told my friend that that song was "immoral" and is a bad example for young girls. Yeah, the barbie song IS going to corrupt society, you know? Puh-leeze.

Question

Have you ever tripped while working out on the treadmill? It's quite dramatic, I must say.

Some Happy News

I just got an email from a friend that I haven't spoken to in 5 years! We had a falling out, but she just contacted me through classmates.com. I have thought so much about her; we went through many tough times together. Oh, happy day! CrazyDogMama is feeling all sappy today.

Learn How To Cuss Properly By Reading Blogs

During my blog-surf today, I believe I encountered 101 ways to improve the word ASS. Or better yet, new and improved cuss words.

Now, we have all called someone an "ass" before, an "asshole" or even an "asswipe", but have you called someone an "asshat"? I have not. Not until today. My co-worker, let's call him "M", found out today what it is like to be called an asshat. He did not know whether to laugh or be offended. I will let him figure that out for himself.

Might I add that you can expand on "asshat" by describing someone's mean blog comments as "asshatness".

There is also "assface", "assnodule" and my personal favorite, "assbag". "Assbag" is not new to me because my husband calls Louie an assbag. He will come when called assbag. Not to me, though, as noted in the previous post.

There are many other fun cuss words out there, too, but we'll talk about that later.

There's normal, then there's my dogs.

Normal Dogs: Come to you (at least eventually) when you call them.

My Dogs: Go to *anyone* else in the room but me when I call them, or just sit there looking at me DEFIANTLY.

Normal Dogs: Chew and play with toys, and fetch things all cute-like.

My Dogs: Act possessed and rip the shit out of every single toy you buy them inside of 10 seconds while you add up in your head all the money you just burned, and run after balls that you throw, sniff them, then return to you and wait for you to go pick them up and throw them again. This seems to entertain them greatly.

Normal Dogs: Can be trained to take a walk.

My Dogs: Insist on shitting in the middle of the street while you are crossing it, then yip and wail loudly as you try to DRAG them across while they are defecating so that they don't get run over. They also put on the "choke-and-puke" show for the first 30 minutes. It's really fun.

Normal Dogs: Wag their tails and look cute when someone comes over.

My Dogs: Screech-bark so loud it makes children cry, and RAM people who come over. They truly *love* everybody, but it can be a little hard to explain this while screaming over the noise.

This is how much I love my dogs.

This morning, Louie was being needy. He would NOT leave me alone. I always feel bad leaving them when I go to work - it just seems wrong. Anyways, I was drying my new hairdo (which somehow takes 10 minutes longer than it did before, go figure) and Louie was sitting as close to me as he could, staring up. I reached down to give him a scatch. He *really* liked this and wouldn't stand for just two seconds of scratching. Must. Have. More. Okay, more. and more. and more. Try blow-drying your hair AND scratching your pooch at the same time. Not easy. But I did it. For 30 minutes. I was late to work. Oh well. He's worth it.

What on EARTH is happening?

Well, Mt. Saint Helens is rumbling, there was a 6.0 earthquake in Central California, Toutatis is making a fly-by tomorrow, and let's not forget all the freaky hurricanes, the Iraq war and the elections coming up. Any bets on what's next?

There are so many earthquakes today all over the world.

I got a new do, too!

Seems like this is the month for new hairdo's. Skwigg went blonde, Divaquest went short, and I went shorter and blonder! It is actually just about an inch shorter and a little blonder than the picture I have on the right for my profile. Got some layering too. My head was seriously looking like a dingy mop, way too long (it covered my boobs) and way too brownish. Something had to be done. It is really fun to come to work like nothing is different, sit down at my desk and just watch. People will walk by and glance at me, then stop, turn around and come back. Lots of comments, you know the routine. By the end of the day every single blonde joke in the world has been told, and if I hear "Did you get your hair done?" one more time, I swear I will hurl. Yes, YOU FREAKING IDIOT, I did get my hair done. You have a terrific grasp on the obvious.

Which "Spice" are You?

Jim and I went out to breakfast yesterday morning. I didn't feel like getting dressed up, so I put on stretch pants, a t-shirt and Adidas flip-flops with socks. I said to him, "I'm going as Sporty Spice." Jim said to me, "I'm going as Old Spice". LOL!!

Meet "Crazydogmama: Groomer"

So, I called my groomer to schedule an appointment for the pups last Friday. No one answered, so I left a message. I got a call back later that day from a young girl (not my usual groomer) who tells me that they are no longer doing "hand stripping" because of the "carpal tunnel" issue, and would I still like to schedule for a bath? No longer hand stripping? SHIT! Hand stripping is what you have to have done to Cairn Terriers instead of clipping with scissors. It's when you pull out or "strip" all the dead hair out BY HAND. It was impossible to find a groomer to do this because it is so tedious and time consuming - not to mention most groomers don't even know HOW to do it. This means I have to do it. I did it. Poor dogs. Poor CrazyDogMama. My fingers were actually bleeding afterward. The dogs look a little funny, but not too bad. It took four frigging hours. So, now I am pricing out some professional grooming tools online. Grooming table, MARS Coat Handler (a stripping tool helper) and other stuff. VERY EXPENSIVE. Crap. This sucks.

You should have seen it. I set up a scrapbook table in the garage and commenced the stripping of the dogs there. They yowled and whined, and I cussed. All the neighborhood mommies were horrified, I'm sure.

I wonder how many people will google "stripped" and will come here expecting to find naked pictures. Ha!

Louie & Billy

Here is Louie snuggled up to my stepson, Billy. That dog is glued to that kid when he comes to visit. It's like I don't even exist. Impossibly cute.

Nappy-Nap Time

When I'm tired, I'm tired. Here's me catching a few Z's on a bench in downtown Seattle. It was the 80's - hence the stupid-looking sunglasses. Picture courtesy of my mom who thinks I'm certifiable.

More Organizing

Here is my latest project with my neighbor's kitchen. TA-DA! An organized pantry!

The paint and the ceramics, finally!

My new red wall (part of it, anyway - the other part isn't done YET) and my new teacup by Angelheart Designs. Not a very good pic of the new paint, but I'm working on more. The lighting doesn't want to cooperate. Oh, and the blue cushions on the chairs are going away, just in case you thought I didn't know that they look like caca with the red paint.

 

Meltdown

Having one. It's been a stressful and busy week. Too much working, not enough alcohol - ahem - I mean fun. I haven't even had time to blog. How pathetic is that? It looks like I am going to have to go back on my anxiety meds cuz I've had, like, 5 mini-nervous breakdowns this week. Yeah, I almost broke into tears when they didn't have my shade of powder at the makeup store, and I thought the world was coming to end when my husband left my chocolate soy milk out of the refrigerator all night. I cannot make decisions either. I got my nails done on Friday and could not decide what color to have them painted. It was just too much thinking. NEED. DRUGS. I also need a fricking iced mocha and a massage. Maybe an iced mocha with some Baily's Irish creme in it. Hey wait, maybe I'll just drink the Baily's WHILE getting a massage. YEAH! That's the ticket!

Dinner at Crazydogmama's

Had fake eggs with half a Louisiana hot link and a glass of Valpolicella (red wine). I *seriously* need to go grocery shopping. Oh, and, while cooking it, I was shaking my ass to "The Zoo" by The Scorpions. Jim said that if he'd had a dollar, he would have stuck it in my panties.

...and here you were wondering what Crazydogmama did with her kid-less nights...

NOW they do it. GRR.

"We left out all the calories and kept in all the fun!"

The Quiche Controversy

This weekend, I tried to make a Quiche without eggs, without wheat, without gluten and without dairy. I know, I know, most people would be like "eat something else, dipshit". But not me. Let's see, it went something like this:

-Buy gluten-free, wheat-free pie crust mix.

 
-Buy "culinary egg substitute".

 
-Try to find some kind of cheese that is not actually cheese.

 
-Chop up a bunch of vegetables - especially things like jalapeños, so that I won't be able to taste the other stuff.

 
-Make dough. This could be a book in and of itself. I am not a chef. I am barely a cook. After attempting to make this mother-fucking dough, I am considering myself a failure at life itself. I start mixing the ingredients. I realize I am missing 2 important ingredients. Derrr, I can read, Derrr. Send husband out for missing ingredients. Resume mixing all ingredients. Read in directions that dough needs to be chilled for an hour before rolling begins. Think to myself "fuck that, I'm hungry now". Forget doing that part of the directions. Start rolling dough. Cuss a lot because I don't have a rolling pin. Big Derr. Go borrow rolling pin from neighbor. Begin rolling dough. Cuss some more and almost start crying because dough is sticking the rolling pin. Call neighbor and ask why her rolling pin doesn't work. She tells me to use flour on the rolling pin, and that will help with the sticking. I start to use flour. I then start throwing things around the kitchen (while actually crying and wondering why I went off my anti-anxiety medicine) realizing that the whole reason why I bought the gluten-free, wheat-free mix in the first place was because I CAN'T HAVE REGULAR FLOUR. The purpose of the recipe is now moot due to use of regular flour. I continue anyway because my stomach hurts from not eating anything. I can't get the dough to roll correctly. I go back to the directions and read that I am supposed to be rolling the dough between two pieces of saran wrap, not wax paper. I cannot get dough off wax paper without destroying it. Destroy dough and roll into ball again. Decide to just "mush" dough-ball into pie pan with fingers. Satisfied after wanting to commit murder. Dogs are hiding. Pour all of the other shit in the middle and throw in oven for an hour. Eat it. Make husband eat it. Not bad, but husband gave me a "B+". I asked, "Why not an A?" Husband says, "It was lacking presentation". I can live with that.

OK, just one more thing before I go.

I was checking my stats a few minutes ago, and I looked at how people are finding me. Someone googled "Cheryl naked snow pics". OK, who is trying to find naked snow pics of me? Not gonna happen people. That is too freaking cold. LOL!

A Tribute to Our 10th!

Remember I was telling you that on August 27th, we celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary? Well, here is a little glimpse of that day:



Jim looks so young! He has had a goatee now, forever, so when I look at this it makes me giggle! We didn't end up going ANYWHERE or doing ANYTHING to celebrate. It's bad, I know, but we are saving up for our next Disneyland Trip! 2005 is Disneyland's 50th Anniversary you know!!! Can't wait for the new Space Mountain. I'm seriously jonesing for a trip.

Tantalizing Teas

As you know, I am a hopeless coffee addict, but the time has come for me to drink more tea. In the past I was what you would call a "tea-hater". Well, I'm really trying to become an adult (scary!) and I decided to give the whole tea thing a whirl. Turns out I kinda like it. Go figure. Maybe I should try a brussels sprout one of these days, huh? Anyway, here are some teas that made my A-list recently:

My favorite: Aveda Comforting Tea - It has the BEST sweet aftertaste!

My other favorite: Ginger Yogi Tea. - A mucho-spicy Delight! Good for the tummy.

She's No Lady

My 12-year-old stepson was over this weekend, and he announced the reasons why he cannot practice any of his wrestling moves on the female members of his family:

"Grandma is too old."
"Janet is just a little girl."
"My mom is a lady."
AND...
"Cheryl would just kick my ass."

Good to know where I stand, I suppose. LOL!

I did it! I did it!

I had my first SOY iced mocha today! They're good! After a WHOLE WEEK of no mochas, this was ecstasy in a cup. Oh, and there was no big, fat, hairy spider in it. For a moment there, I thought I was going to save money at the coffee store. Damn.

Late

So, I woke up at 6 am this morning. I am supposed to be up at 5 am. Whoopsie! Called work to say I slept through my alarm. Went back to bed. (You have to make the whole late thing worth it, you know?) Got up at 7 am. Took a shower. Drove to work and got there by 9 am. Something is telling me I need a vacation. My give-a-shit meter seems to be broken. I do take my job seriously, (stop laughing) and am glad to have it, but something is wrong with me lately. Usually, I am the kind of person who will BOLT out of bed and run around in circles when I have discovered that I'm late. When I was little, I used to sleep-walk and my mom would find me in the bathroom at around 2am getting ready for school. When she asked me what in the holy hell I was doing, I would reply "Getting ready. Don't want to be late!". I'm surprised I didn't get strapped to the bed after doing that, like, 6 or 7 times. Now, 15 years later, if I get up at 2 am, it's because I've had too much to drink and need to hurl.

Lou-tude and Magapuke

I totally forgot to tell you about what has been going on with the dogs. My husband, a.k.a. dumbass, decided to go on a "treat" spree. He brought home every flippin' thing you can think of. Dog bones filled with peanut butter, these nasty knee-bone jobs that reek, and pig ears. GROSS. I never feed the hounds this kind of sludge. You may be thinking: "What a sweet, sweet man to do that!" NO. No. Get over that. In less than 24 hours, Louie has growled at me twice when I tried to move his peanut butter bone out the way, (when stepped on, these bones draw blood) and Maggie has puked and crapped EVERYWHERE. In her crate, outside, on the carpet, on herself. She likes to roll on it too. Ironically, Louie has not tried to hump her. (He is usually *incessantly* doing that.) When I came home last night from a nice visit to the gym that ended in a 15-minute sprawl in the hot tub, Maggie of course wanted to greet mama. No bath had been given yet. BLECK.

A Quick Update

I'm still getting all the pics together that I've taken lately to put on the blog. I know I've been promising. Be patient, kiddies. On the nutrition side, this is the latest:

Monday and Tuesday have been non-headache, non-bloating and normal bowel days. I haven't thrown up ONCE!!! You were just waiting to hear that, right? I'm just giddy about it. (It doesn't take much.) I wouldn't say I'm fully "alert" yet - the fatigue still has its claws in me, but it has improved. I was actually in a good mood the WHOLE DAY yesterday. Not just an hour here, and an hour there. Usually it goes like this: Waking up: grumpy as hell. Driving to work: falling asleep. Getting to work: nervous and hoping no one notices I'm late. Actually doing work: REALLY cranky. Lunch: Decent mood as long as I remembered to bring food. Getting off work: Ecstatic. Driving home: Pissed beyond all belief at the amount of traffic. Getting home: Depends on what Jim is doing.

Eats for today have gone as so:

1) Smoothie with fresh blueberries, rice protein powder, vanilla soy milk, packet of Splenda.

2) Green tea and a Zone Bar. (I'm not actually supposed to be eating the Zone Bars, but I'm NOT wasting those expensive little fuckers.)

3) 4oz. of lean beef marinated in red wine, garlic and Worcestershire sauce with grilled green, red, yellow and orange peppers, and onion. Emer'gen C (mixed berry-flavored) energy powder to go in my water.

4) Black organic coffee, Zone Bar and multivitamin.

Planning to have:

5) 4oz lean beef (same as above) with black beans and fruit salsa.

6) "Muscle Milk" protein shake mixed with organic soy milk.

Did I mention that I'm not supposed to have chicken, shrimp or pork? What the hell is THAT about, you ask? Something about the "lectins" in them I'm supposedly "sensitive" to. So, for meat, my choices are: Lean beef, lamb, veal, venison, fresh fish (no shellfish) and turkey.

I've done it. I've become one of "those" people. You know, the EARTH MUFFINS you see in the health food stores and in the organic section of the supermarket? Next thing you know I'll be growing out my armpit hair and wearing Birkenstocks. Ok, I'm not growing out my armpit hair...but Birkenstocks ARE comfortable.

Oh, and for those of you who were wondering: My blood type is B+, NOT O+. Got the results last Friday. Was that a "quick" update??

For all you girlie-girls out there.

My very good friend is a ceramic artist, and I am decorating my newly painted (yet, not FINISHED) kitchen and family room with some of her stuff! I thought I would help her out and plug her website on my blog. It is all reasonably priced and very unique - not to mention she'll do custom work for you. As you know, I am a big fan of the "Sweet Potato Queens" books, and there are tons of "Queen" type designs such as: "Don't bother the Queen", "Queen of the Kitchen", etc. (You can also come up with your own sayings.) Her custom clocks are also fabulous - I am currently saving up for a dog clock! :-D Appropriate for me, no? Anyways, check out her site - Angelheart Designs. If you order something, tell her Crazydogmama sent you - you just might get a discount! I'll post some pictures of the stuff I've bought as soon as I am finished recharging my frigging camera batteries. They always run out JUST when I need them.

Bare with me.

As you can see, I am redecorating my blog. I was sick of the old one. Somehow, I have erased all of my "links" coding, and since I am coding-retarded, it could take a while to get them back up. *sigh* Nothing is ever easy. Thanks to all of you who have complimented the new look. I have much work to do, and I'll be damned if I don't want an iced mocha right now. Hrmph.

Oh, and what is happening to my fellow bloggers? Dooce has checked herself into a psych ward, and Diablo is quitting her blog! No one else is allowed to go anywhere, damn it! What will I do at work? Actually WORK? Bah!

Oh the Agony

This was the magic week that I went to see a Naturopath. She talked with me for about an hour and a half. (What doctor does THAT anymore?) We figured out what was wrong with me. (I know, I know, that is quite a job.) After 2 Godforsaken hours of blood-giving, it turns out I have an intolerance to dairy, eggs, wheat and gluten. Who knew? I was very excited to discover that I didn't need to throw up all the time and play the guessing game "What will my bowels do today?". Then there are the headaches, ringing ears, hives and chronic fatigue - the list goes on and on. Then, it hit me. No more iced mochas, no more bread, no more egg-white omelets. I can't even have Whey protein shakes anymore - they have dairy! Mother of hell. (As quoted from Skwigg) I will be substituting all of those things with soy milk, gluten-free bread products and the like, but really, what a HUGE pain in the freakin' ass. Oh, and did I tell you about DETOXING? Yeah, it's fun folks, let me tell you. I took the day off work today because of it. I called my boss this morning and said, "I won't be coming in today because I'm coming down off iced mochas."

Things that make you wanna hurl.

So, I was listening to the radio today driving into work and this caller comes on and tells us about her recent Starbucks incident. She ordered a latte, and when she took a sip, she felt this "chunk" of stuff in her mouth. She spit it out onto a napkin and IT WAS A BIG, FAT HAIRY SPIDER. OH. MY. GOD. She went on to say that she showed the spider clump to the barista, who in turn gave her "two weeks of free coffee". Um, I don't think so folks, Me? First, I would have hurled all over the joint. Then, I would have screamed and jumped around the store cussing. THEN, when they offered me the two weeks of coffee I would have said, "Yeah, like I ever want ANYTHING from here again! I'm suing for like, a gozillion dollars! Cuz you have to admit, that is much more traumatic and damaging then say, like, spilling hot coffee on yourself at McDonald's and getting 4 million dollars. Am I right, or am I right? God, I want to spew right now thinking about it. Gack!

I don't even know where to start.

Bad news: I'm on day #8 without a day off - have 6 more to go. Brain is mush. Got a headache. Neck hurts, shoulders hurt, eyes won't stay open. Need coffee. Need massage. Need chocolate. Painting STILL not done.

Good news: Going to quit one of my restaurant jobs today. The Italian one. The new owners scare me. I found out about them swearing at, and frightening a friend of mine that is a representative for "Entertainment". You know, the big book with all the restaurant and hotel coupons? (Buy one, get one free kind of thing.) They made her cry and now I want to make THEM cry. She is actually contemplating filing a police report. I hope she does.

New project: Going to write a book!! It will be called "CrazyDogMama Tails" or something like that. I am going to compile a bunch of my lunatic dog stories, add pictures, and put it together like a collection. I want to include cameo appearances from my fellow dogmamas (or papas) online if they are willing to and WANT to contribute. Take your funniest fuzbutt story, add a picture, and send it to me! I get the mula, you get the fame! :-D I have to put together some sort of "waiver" for you, but we'll worry about that later. This is a really fun little project, but I have no idea if it will ever get published. I may get no mula. They may just put me in the looney bin. (Even though I already live in one. Hehe.) Everyone who contributes will get a free copy of the finished product, published or not, and I will include a special thanks in the intro. I'll be working on this in my SPARE time. Ha!

Most exciting thing this weekend: Seeing "Exorcist: The Beginning" with my stepson. The movie was so-so, a little too "Hollywood" for me, but my stepson was absolutely hysterical. He is 12. He watched the first one a few months ago after begging his dad to let him, and it scared the crap out him. He wanted to see this one, so we went to a matinee on Saturday. The whole way through the movie he had his hands over his ears - not his eyes - his ears. When he got up to go to the bathroom, he STILL had his hands over his ears walking down the aisle. It took everything we had not to bust up! I could see other people in the theatre smiling too. He thought the movie was "SO COOL!" however he slept with the light on in his bedroom all night. It was worth it just to see the dramatics.

There were some interesting previews, "The Saw" and "Constantine". I'll be seeing those. I love previews.

A Few Tidbits

So, I come home last night to a husband who was trying to finish up the red paint. He spent most of the night cleaning up the red paint off the carpet. Yes, it looks like someone bled to death in my front room. Sigh.

I am a little weary thinking about the fact that I will be working all 7 days this week. I am dreaming of a day off. No, not a Cancun vacation, just a damn day off.

It will be our 10th Anniversary on the 27th and we are supposed to go to a beautiful place on the Olympic Peninsula called Crescent Lake. Jim wants to golf and take in the sights, and I'm like, "Does the room have a bed? A jacuzzi? Food? I want to sleep and eat."

Are you feeling sorry for me yet? That is the point of this post. I want some sympathy, damn it.

No more stinking pills.

I got up one morning last week and decided that I was not going to take any more damn pills. NONE. I am probably the most medicated person you know. But not anymore. Don't worry, I am seeing a Naturopath next week to make sure I won't die. I want to only do natural supplements from now on. I have been feeling quite bizarre lately and decided that all the medication in my body was finally deciding to rebel against me. Ironically, I feel much better this week. No more freaky sweating, dizziness or vomiting for no reason. Yay! :) I have thyroid issues that I'm convinced are caused by other medication I'm taking. I wouldn't be surprised if going all-natural cures all my ailments. I guess we'll find out. If I suddenly start sounding normal, please tell me.

Bath Time, Revisited

Have I mentioned before what an ordeal it is to give Louie and Maggie a bath? Holy Shit-O-Rama. They were stinky last night, so I decided to wash them. The first obstacle is getting them into the bathroom. You know, "the chase" because they know. Maggie peed in the hallway. Louie ran and hid. It took about 15 minutes for both Jim and I to get them in there. Then, there was dog fighting over who got to hide behind the toilet. I started with Lou. He is a doll during the washing, but when you get to the brushing and drying, it is much like you are ripping his limbs off slowly. He gets pissy when you brush his butt. VERY pissy. Then, there is Maggie. She is a TOTAL. FRIGGING. NIGHTMARE. the whole time. When I clipped her nails, she wailed so loudly that Louie jumped into the bathtub to seek cover. It was completely hilarious when he peeked around the shower curtain to make sure everyone was still alive. When it was over, the bathroom looked like WWIII, and I had dog hair in my nose, in my mouth and in my eyes. I was soaked from head to toe and sweating. Louie immediately peed on the floor for revenge. AND, for the finale, when I woke up this morning, Maggie had crapped in her crate and laid in it. I am not kidding. She hasn't done that since she was a puppy. I don't know what made her do that, but it will be bath time revisited tonight. Lucky me. No more Mrs. Nice CrazyDogMama.

I wanna be happy.

It seems like I have been pissed, grumpy and irritated for two weeks straight. I decided to look at some doggie pictures to cheer myself up. Hope it gives you a smile too.

"Daaaahhling, won't you fetch me a martini?



I love it when dogs lay with their back feet sticking out behind them!

All better now

OK, DH called and asked if "I was still mad at him". I said yes. He said he was sorry and wanted to make nice. Reluctantly, I said OK. But I'm not making dinner.

Big Fight

I went to bed mad. Not a good idea. My bad. I am so pissed at my DH that I could spit. I won't go into the details cuz that would be TMI, but you must know that Crazydogmama has daggers in her eyes today. I am stubborn, so is he. We don't fight that often - but we when we do - look out. We are in the kind of fight where I don't want to go home so that he will worry about me and comply with all my wishes and apologize endlessly. I won't actually do it, but I damn well thought about it. I also thought about taking the day off (without telling him) and going to Enchanted Village to ride roller coasters and eat lots of fattening food - dragging a co-worker along of course so I have somebody to vent to. Also not going to happen. Fuck, I'm pissed. I can't even think straight. I obviously can't write when I'm angry, either. Really, we should just talk it out. But I don't wanna. I wanna yell, scream and throw things. Maybe stomp my feet a little and cry.

Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy

OK, I'm not necessarily a big country music fan, but the new "Big and Rich" song is way fun! A little sexist, but fun. Very catchy.

I can't believe its August already. Next thing you know, they will be showing Christmas commercials, and I probably still won't be done with the frigging painting. Got a little farther this weekend but let me tell you how much of a pain in the ass painting "cranberry" is. It is probably going to take 4, count em', FOUR coats. Help me NOW. Geez. Went and saw the "Village" this weekend, and if you walked into my house, you would be saying, "My God, the BAD color, it attracts them!!" I liked the movie by the way, a typical twist-at-the-end Shyamalan movie. and that's all I have to say about that.

Update

Sorry for all the confusion you guys, it's the old Italian restaurant I work at with the new owners that is my problem, not the cute little French Bistro I just started working at. It's hard to keep all of my jobs straight, I know. Anyway, went down there, they are open. Got my $$. Yelled. They said they didn't have my phone number. LAME. I know they have my #, they've called me before.  I was a little crabby with them.  It could have been worse for them. Good thing I'm not on my period.

I'm pissed.

I got the night off last night. The sign was still up, and the door was locked. Someone DID change the date, though. Now it says open 7/29. Yeah, we'll see. Nice of them to fucking let me know, huh?  I work my day job just around the corner, so it wasn't that bad, but if I had driven in from my house AN HOUR AWAY, I would have thrown a major fit. I'm talking stomping feet and mega cussing here, people. I'm going to go over on my lunch break again and see what is going on. They may get a piece of my mind, but I really need all my pieces. Maybe I'll just throw a piece of my mind at them, then go pick it back up.

Closed for Maintenance

So, I go to the restaurant on my lunch break from my office job to pick up my tip-check. Two kitchen guys are sitting in front of the door waiting for someone to let them in. The restaurant opens at 11 am, and it is 11:15. Hmm. So, I go back at 11:40. There is a sign up (don't know if it was there before) that says: "Due too maintinence, we will be closed until 11am 7/28/04." with spelling mistakes and all. Another hmm. It IS 7/28/04, and it is after 11 am. Does someone not know what day it is, or is something wrong?  No one in the restaurant. No one answering the phone. I am supposed to work tonight, but I'm thinking I might get the night off. Weird, I tell you. No one notified me or told me anything, and I just worked on Monday!  I'm just shaking my head. Oh, and that reminds me, my headache is FINALLY fricking gone. I slept from 1:30 pm yesterday to 5 am this morning. Yep, that did it!  I'm hungry.

Grumpy

I'm grumpy, broke and have been getting a lot of headaches lately. My house will never again be organized (at least that is how it feels) and I'm working, like, 70 hours or something crazy like that this week. I'll write more later when I'm feeling human.

Me and my comments.

I took a co-worker friend out to lunch today for her belated birthday, and after gorging ourselves on buffalo burgers with gorgonzola cheese, we got in her nice clean car.  As she was backing up, she had to suddenly slam on her brakes because there was a steady stream of road-raged traffic behind us. The conversation went as such:

 
Her (in all seriousness): "Hey, you should go out there and stop traffic."

 
Me: "Yeah, I could so totally DO that!"

Long pause, then we both busted up into laughter.

A couple more things.

About the picture in the post below.  First, this is probably the only picture of me taken as a child with clothes on.  I was naked-child.  No matter where we were, or what we were doing, I was taking my clothes off and running around naked. Things haven't changed much; except I pretty much keep my nakedness at home because I have fat now. Everyone better hope I don't get all ripped and skinny.

Second, I wish my hair was still THAT. BLONDE.  I spend untold thousands on keeping my hair blonde.  Its maddening.

Third, HEY MOM - HOW COME THERE ISN'T ANYTHING IN MY FREAKIN' EASTER BASKET???  HUH?  HUH?

I haven't painted all week. My house just remains a complete disaster that we have dug a maze through so we can move around.  There is a chair in the hallway that we haven't moved - we just squeeze past it.  How sad is that?

There are no words to describe how much I don't want to be at work today.  It is supposed to be in the 90's this weekend in Seattle, which means it will be in the 100's at my house.  I have no air conditioning.  I will be very grumpy.

Guess Who?

Yeah, its baby CrazyDogMama.  My mom likes to send me these photos over email.  Does it look like I'm holding my breath, or is it just me?  What a goofball.  

Need a good laugh?

I found a blog (Out of Character), and I laughed like I haven't laughed in a long time. This statement alone made me choke on my spit:
 
"I paid $400.65 for a doggie door that The Jake won't use. Well, to be fair he'll use it if I hold it open. Which is something, I guess. Because that's what I had in mind when I wrote the check; a contraption that would cost fat cash, destroy my door, and not dissuade my dog from crapping in the dining room. Awesome."

Look who has comments!

Okay kids, play nice now.

I am one of those neat-freaks.

Recently inspired by Yogagirl's post of her newly organized bookshelf, I decided to post some pictures of what I do for FUN. I like to help people clean and organize their homes. I can't do the fancy stuff like on "Clean Sweep" (my favorite show), but my neighbors seem to worship me anyways. I work for rubber stamps. I clean, they give me rubber stamps for use in my scrapbooks. I really enjoy organizing other people's shit. I don't know why. I think I need to find a way to make money at this.
 
Here are some pics of some recent work I did (which is still in progress), for those of you who still aren't convinced I'm crazy.

Lou Story

Usually, Maggie sleeps in the bed with us and doesn't budge from her little spot no matter what. We try to get Louie to sleep on the bed also, but he is Mr. Grumpy and gets all flustered if a foot moves. He most always jumps down onto the floor beside the bed and sleeps there if our bedroom door is closed, or if it is open, he goes into his crate. Last night, we decided to crate them for bedtime because it was extremely humid, and we didn't need any extra fur in the bed. However, Jim forgot to lock Louie's crate when he sent him in there. Just as I was about to doze off, I hear a 'thud' and the bedroom door squeaking open.  Just before I had a heart attack, I heard the little tinkling of Louie's collar. (A dogmama can always identify dogs by the sound of their collar.) He curled up next to my side of the bed and went to sleep. I was so happy! I thought he only did that when we forced him! He actually likes sleeping in the same room with us! What do you know! CrazyDogMama went to sleep with a smile on her face, feeling loved. It's the little things.

Wanna get freaked out?

As I've said before, you have to take everything you read on the internet with a grain of salt, BUT, what if it has some amount of truth to it? I've researched a little on "official" government websites, and there just may be a reason to be concerned about some things.

You may be wondering if I've lost my mind completely. Well, maybe, but over the last 4 months or so I've been experiencing a "feeling" I can't explain and have never felt before. It is sort of an unsettling feeling that something big is imminent. What I mean by "big" is, possible earth changes or social unrest/war escalation. You might think it is just because of the war in Iraq, etc., but truly, it has nothing to do with that. It's weird dreams, weird feelings and a general feeling that something is wrong. It is driving me batshit, actually. I've never been interested in this kind of information before, and I can't explain the way I feel. My husband keeps rolling his eyes at me and says I watch too many silly movies. I feel like an idiot about it, but I can't help it. It's a really STRONG feeling. I am not scared at all, I don't get that way, but it definitely makes me want to be in the know.

On a positive note, it looks like we might actually get the painting done by the weekend! Woohoo!

Miss Me?

I have avoided my computer for a whole week. This hasn't happened in like, EVER. Usually when I'm on vacation my husband has to pry me away from uninterrupted internet time. Not this time. I got this wild hair up my ass to PAINT THE INSIDE OF MY HOUSE. Somebody needed to warn me that this is quite possibly the STUPIDEST FUCKING THING TO DO ON VACATION. I have never cussed as much as I cussed last week....and we aren't even finished yet! I have rounded corners and texture. Making a straight line is harder than Chinese arithmetic. The dogs have been hiding from me, which is probably a good thing because little doggie nose-prints in the paint would probably not be as cute and funny as it would normally be. Everything in my house is in the middle of the living room. It smells like paint and dust. I didn't realize how much cleaning is involved when you paint. It is quite possible that I have ruined my nails. FOREVER. Eating take-out every night because your kitchen looks like WWIII, gets old quick. My knees will never recover, and I can't wear shorts because of the severe bruising. It (of course) is going to be 80+ degrees today. My neck hurts. If anyone comes into my house and says "you missed a spot" I will probably kill them. Dead. I will post before and after pics if we EVER finish.

Other than that, we had a fun little 4th of July bash. We barbecued with friends and family, drank, and did the pyromania thing. Jim had not shot off fireworks for about 10 years, and so, it was quite terrifying. A tip: When you light off mortars, unravel the fuse completely. Jim did not do this. He put the ball in the tube, lit it, and then BOOM! Shrapnel EVERYWHERE, in EVERY DIRECTION. He completely destroyed the tube. There was screaming, then silence. Then laughing. Someone said, "I think you did that wrong." DERRRRRR. Have another beer, honey. No one was hurt, but we won't live that one down for sure.

MAG-ATTACK!

The dogs are really funny when they play in the back yard. Maggie will huddle like a cheetah getting ready to attack, then BOOM! She surprise-plows Louie. He freaks out EVERY time. The fireworks have started here, and Maggie is on the bark-and-run-around-like-a-freak routine already. She is such a little spazoid.

Normal or Not?

After reading Skwigg's latest blog entry, I started thinking about my own body image and relationship with food. I am not quite sure if I have (or have had) a disorder or not. I've been thin, I've been fat, I've been in-between. I've been a lazy couch potato, and I've been an athlete. Did I gain weight after marriage? Of course. I don't think I gained because I got "comfortable", but more because my life became extremely stressful and chaotic and went from obstacle courses at the Police Academy to sitting in front of a computer all day. I couldn't afford a gym at that time and didn't handle ANY kind of domestic dispute with ease. My marriage started off pretty rough, but I never thought for one second "Oh, I got a man, so who cares anymore." I used to care what people thought of me, but anymore I'm like "You don't like my body? Bite me, I don't like your face." I really just don't care what anyone else thinks. I want to be healthy and pretty for hubby, but he doesn't exactly spend a whole lot of time worrying about his gut. But I don't care about that, either. I like to tease him lovingly and kiss his fat, as he does mine.

I think it would be much fun to "strut my stuff" around with a very ripped, tan bod, but I'm not going to starve myself for it. I'm just going to keep plugging away at my muscle-building and healthy eating. I still smoke, so my health is at stake. It would be stupid to be all thin, and still hack up lung cheese. I have good weeks, and bad weeks, and in the end, I'm still just running the race with all the other gym rats. I had to find a "fun" way to it, just like Skwigg did with her martial arts. The same routine everyday bores me to DEATH. For me, I am experimenting with different classes (yoga, Aeroflex, etc.) and meeting fun people. I'm trying to get a friend of mine to split time with me and my personal trainer, to make it cheaper and that much more fun. We are both sarcastic and feisty, and it would just be a blast. I am also going to be swimming, hiking and finding fun things to do this summer. If I have a mocha for breakfast, oh well, I'll have a protein shake for breakfast tomorrow. Life is short, people, don't waste it worrying about every little calorie. Do your best to be healthy, get help if you need it. I've had therapy, a personal trainer, a nutritionist, you name it. Every one of those things was beneficial in some way and has helped me. EDUCATION! The more you know, the better.

My philosophy about self-image is this: Nothing will ever be good enough. You will never be perfect. It's just like money, you can never have too much, and even if you are a billionaire, you still want more and fight like hell to keep it. Find a happy medium and celebrate what life has to offer, because before you know it your teeth will falling out and your boobs will be dragging on the floor. When you are 90, do want to be showing everyone how good you "used to look" in pictures while secretly miserable because you aren't that way anymore, or having tea and crumpets in the garden laughing with your friends talking about how great your life has been?

A couple days of eats this week:

1. Iced mocha WITH WHIPCREAM! Vitamins.
2. Banana and some lean Canadian bacon
3. Grilled chicken with a little teriyaki, 1/4 cup brown rice, small romaine salad with vinegar
4. Ostrich stick, and protein shake
5. Grilled vegetable medley with flax oil, seasoned lean beef
6. Zone bar

1. Piece of wheat toast with peanut butter, protein shake. Vitamins
2. Ostrich stick, banana
3. Egg white omelet with green, yellow and orange peppers, onion, tomato and flax oil. Berries.
4. Zone bar
5. Seasoned chicken breast, small potato, salad with lite dressing and fat free croutons and veggies.
6. 6 oz of crab meat mixed with fat-free mayo and diced veggies over a piece of wheat toast. Same salad as previous meal. Iced mocha for dessert.

I have absolutely no idea how many calories that is, or what my protein/carb/fat ratio is. I worked out hard for 60 minutes at the gyms the first, and 75 minutes the second. I feel great. I got over my cold pretty quickly. I still have a ton a weight I want to lose, but ONE day at a time, baby! ;-)

Oh, I forgot.

I got a new part-time restaurant job. It is the CUTEST PLACE EVER. A little French bistro called the "Country Garden Bistro" owned and run by the sweetest couple.

Come on, VACATION!

I'm going on vacation next week, and damn, it can't get here fast enough. This morning, I am sitting here staring at my computer screen like it is going to do something spectacular. It's not doing anything, and neither am I. Updating my blog, checking my email and drinking coffee is the only thing I have accomplished so far in my first hour. Oh, and I went to the bathroom. Geez.

I took an "Aeroflex" class last night at the new gym. It kicked my ass. 75 minutes of low impact cardio with 10lb weights. It doesn't sound like it would kick a BFLer's ass, but it did. After the 5 billionth squat and 6 billionth lunge, I thought I was going to pass out. Its very sad when you start sweating in the warmup phase. I'll be doing this twice a week.

Does anyone else have trouble with saunas? I can't breathe, then I panic and run out. People stare. It's just too hot! Are there really any benefits, or is it just supposed to be a relaxing thing? I don't get it.

Cough, sneeze, hack and wince.

Well, it looks like I've caught the bug that everyone else seems to have, just in time for the weekend. Lucky me. Wouldn't you know it? I join an expensive gym, then work two double-shifts in a row and get sick. There goes the first week.

My throat is absolutely killing me. I hope it's not strep. I seem to get that every year for some reason. I'm going to work a few more hours, then head home for the bed. I hate leaving stuff half finished, plus I want to infect all the people that have pissed me off this week. Muwahaha! (Evil laugh) Oops, the evil laugh made me feel like I am gonna puke. Snot does that to me. Gross.

CrazyDogMama in trouble, whoops.

I got a little "talking-to" last night about my "attitude". Hehe. That statement right there probably makes my audience howl in laughter.

I decided to tell my boss he was "doing-it-wrong". Apparently, this is not a good idea. Challenging authority is one of my strengths. I just don't have it in me to kiss-ass.

I took the plunge.

I did it. I joined a conventional gym. My old gym was primarily serious and/or professional bodybuilders and only had free weights and a few treadmills/stairmasters. It was also cheap. After my membership expired, it just so happened that this big pretty gym opened up very close to my house. (The old gym is next to my work an hour away.) I took the tour last night - hot tubs, saunas, big yoga rooms, TVs attached to the cardio equipment - WOW. Now, you are probably thinking, why is this such a big deal for you? It is a big deal because I hate the whole "meat market" and women-who-look-like-they-don't-eat kind of gyms. I sweat, I grunt, I don't wear thong spandex. We're talking sweats and a t-shirt here, people. I don't do my hair. I don't wear makeup. What's the point when you are doing HIIT?? They are putting in a pool soon, too, so I am excited about that. I LOVE to swim. I'm sure I will get *those* looks from all the girlie-girls, and probably the guys too. The pretty boys always act like you are intruding on their turf. Well, they can just get over it. Make way, here comes CRAZYDOGMAMA!!!

Spinning

Ugh. Too much Tequila last night. Almost got sick. Slept on the couch. What a tard. Not good this morning. Poor Jim was expecting his Father's Day gift last night, (if you know what I mean) but me got lit. Oops. Any additional movement would have sent me hurling.

I have only ingested an iced mocha and a zone bar so far today. Not great, but I don't want to push it. I'm going to TRY to eat a whole wheat, black bean and chicken burrito for lunch. I may leave out the salsa. Hehe. I have an appointment with the new gym I may join, today. It is very pretty. I just have to do a little bartering. If they want my business, which you know they do since they are new, they will give me what I want. I hope. They have a hot tub in each locker room, along with a sauna. The pool goes in next year. They also have Yoga classes, yay! I hope I can afford it.

Dog Thoughts

I got this really cute email awhile back, and even though you may have already read it, I thought that it was WAY appropriate for my blog:

Things I MUST remember as a dog:

1. The garbage collector is not stealing our stuff.

2. I do not need to suddenly stand straight up when I'm lying under the coffee table.

3. I will not roll my toys behind the fridge, behind the sofa or under the bed.

4. I must shake rainwater out of my fur BEFORE entering the house.

5. I will not eat the cat's food, before they eat it - or after they throw it up.

6. I will stop trying to find the few remaining pieces of clean carpet in the house when I am about to get sick.

7. I will not throw up in the car.

8. I will not roll on dead seagulls, fish, crabs, etc., just because I like the way they smell.

9. "Kitty box crunchies", although they are tasty, are not food.

10. I will not eat anymore Kleenex or napkins and then redeposit them in the backyard after processing.

11. The diaper pail is not a cookie jar.

12. I will not chew my human's toothbrush and not tell them.

13. I will not chew crayons or pens, especially the red ones, or my people will think I am hemorrhaging.

14. When in the car, I will not insist on having the window rolled down when it's raining outside.

15. We do not have a doorbell. I will not bark each time I hear one on TV.

16. I will not steal my mom's underwear and dance all over the backyard with it.

17. The sofa is not a face towel. Neither are mom and dad's laps.

18. My head does not belong in the refrigerator.

19. I will not bite the officer's hand when he reaches in for mom's driver's license and car registration.

20. I will not play tug-of-war with dad's underwear when he's on the toilet.

21. I will not eat mint-flavored dental floss out of the bathroom and then have string hanging out of my butt.

22. I will not use "roll around in the dirt" as an option just after getting a bath.

23. Sticking my nose into someone's crotch is not an acceptable way of saying "hello".

24. I will not hump on any person's leg, just because I thought it was a good idea.

25. I will not fart in my owner's face while sleeping on the pillow next to their head.

26. I will not come in from outside and immediately drag my butt across the carpet.

27. The toilet bowl is not a never-ending water supply, and just because the water is blue, it doesn't mean its cleaner.

28. I will not sit in the middle of the living room and lick my crotch when company is over.

29. Suddenly turning around and smelling my butt can quickly clear a room.

30. The cat is not a squeaky toy, so when I play with him and he makes that noise, it's usually not a good thing.

Dog Vogue

OK, I've been alerted to the "lack of doggie pictures" lately. I don't want anyone to go thru withdrawal, so here ya go:

Here are the fuzzy freaks in my car. We were a little early for our vet appointment, so I decided to snap some shots of them. They were just a little uptight at this point, but that is really nothing new. Every time someone walked by, I was trampled and deafened.

OK, Stephanie, I'll play.

1. Spell your name backwards: lyrehc. Haha! Like in a song, baby!

2. Where do you live? Bumfuck, Washington.

3. Describe yourself in three words: Crazy, intense, sarcastic. (What were you expecting?)

4. What is the latest you've ever stayed up? Oh, come on! Who hasn't stayed up all night? I've stayed up for about 48 hours - that's the most.

5. If you could murder someone and get away with it, who and for what reason? I believe in the Judeo-Christian ethics of "Thou shalt not kill" but I would defend myself without hesitation.

6. If you could have any animal for a pet, what would it be? Duh! Many dogs.

Do you like...?

7. ...incense? Kinda - depends on why you are using it. *snicker*.

8. ...hot wax? Never thought about it.

9. ...candles? Yup.

10. ...the taste of blood? No-I'm not a friggin' vampire. I like the smell of gas, though.

Describe your...

11. ...wallet: Big black leather girl-wallet. Lots of plastic in it. *sigh* Gotta cut those up.

12. ...hairbrush: Huge.

13. ...toothbrush: Yellow and white - from the dentist.

14. ...jewelry worn daily: Wedding ring, 30th birthday diamond ring. Sometimes other stuff.

15. ...pillowcase: Cream with a green plant-like pattern

16. ...duvet cover: I have a comforter that matches my pillowcase.

17. ...coffee cup: Whatever Starbucks gives me when I order...

18. ...sunglasses: Ralph Lauren. You saw in pic in one of my earlier posts.

19. ...underwear: I like big, comfy undees or I go commando.

20. ...shoes: The expensive kind. I like black leather. I don't wear shoes at home.

21. ...handbag: The biggest, cheapest black one I could find at Target. I'm not a purse-whore.

22. ...favourite top: My Texas Chainsaw Massacre T-shirt.

23. ...favourite trousers: Levi's.

24. ...perfume: Beautiful - Estee Lauder.

25. ...CD in stereo right now: Hoobastank - Reason.

26. ...tattoos: A heart with rose piercing through it - with Jim's name at the bottom. It's on my right ankle.

30. ...piercings: Just one in each ear. I'm not into pain of any kind.

27. ..what you're wearing: Lime green cotton shirt, black pants, black leather shoes.

28. ...hair: Dirty blonde with platinum highlights. Naturally curly, but I straighten it too.

What/Who is/are...

29. ...in your mouth: Saliva.

30. ...in your head: Not much.

31. ...you wishing for? That they let me off work early tonight at the restaurant.

32. ...after this? I gotta go to work when I get off work. Yeah, it sucks.

33. ...you talking to? Just singing to the radio.

34. ...you eating? Just drinking water.

35. ...next to you? Computer, water bottle, hand lotion, and a bunch of work I should be doing.

36. ...the person you wish you could be with right now? My hubby of course.

37. ...your worst enemy? Bread? No, wait, mochas.

38. ...do you adore? Family (hubby, parents, stepson, dogs)

Care to play?

Thunder, Lightning and the Barbecue

Last night we decided we wanted to barbecue some chicken while my parents were visiting. Just as Jim lit the coals, BOOM! Big thunder and pretty lightning bolts. Louie started whining and pacing, and Maggie barked and ran around the back yard trying to "get" the thunder. (She's fearless, Louie is a pussy.) The weird thing is, we get maybe one or two storms like this a year, and we have had, like, twelve in the last month. Washington has also had about 6 tornados in the past few weeks, and we usually only experience maybe ONE per year. The weather has just gone all frigging wacky here. It's bizarre I tell you! Just bizarre! Anyway, we continued barbecuing (yeah, we like to play with metal things while is it storming) and then it decided to deluge on us. Crap. Finished the chicken in the oven. While sitting down at dinner, everyone commented on the fact that I was sweating profusely. I don't deal with humidity well. All in all, it was an exciting dinner. Oh, and I have a fabulous new read! It went great with the weather.

Fat Doggies!

So, Friday was a big day for Lou & Mags. They were groomed in the morning, and then got their annual exams and shots in the afternoon. They are healthy and pretty EXCEPT that they are both 4 pounds overweight! Yikes! The vet was concerned and told me to put them on a diet right away. I am worried, but I have to be honest, inflicting a diet on someone else is curiously satisfying.

OK, so I can't read, OR keep plants alive.

After reading the "hoax" article again, and then watching the news tonight, it turns out that the hoax part was just a guy that said he discovered the meteor on the ground or something, not the meteor itself. The news talked about it, but didn't have any good pics of it. Oh well, I was ready for a good cover-up conspiracy. ;-)

The REAL conspiracy here is the fact that plants won't stay alive for me. I just can't do it. Silk. It has to be silk plants from now on.

Now its a hoax?

There are reports now that this "meteor" was a hoax. WTF? First of all, then what the hell was the booming and flashing and fireball-with-tail-seeing that everyone is talking about? Did they imagine it? Were they lying? Are all the radio call-ins and pictures part of the hoax? Second of all, why in the hell would anyone do a "meteor hoax"? Seems kinda stupid to me. What is going on here?

Meteor!

Boom, Boom, Flash! A meteor plummets over Puget Sound this morning at 2:40 am - exciting! I didn't get to see it (or hear it) myself, but I live out in the boonies. Lots of people are reporting sonic booms and light flashes that lit up the sky like daytime. A trucker also reporting seeing a "tail" on the thing that was green and yellow. I like to monitor the sky (see my post from last week) so this will be a fun day of internetting. I know, I'm a freak. :)

What's your song?

That is, what is you and your hunny's song? Ours is "Fields of Gold" by Sting. Just heard it on the radio and was wondering what other's songs are.

Ahhhh...

...all refreshed after 5 days off. I'm ready for the stress to begin again. I did much sleeping (and unfortunately eating) over the holiday weekend. Time to get back to the gym today and back to chicken and veggies. Exciting. It rained and stormed all 5 days, so I didn't feel bad about being such a sloth. My new goal is to exercise twice a day, 5 days a week. Intense, of course. Weightlifting or cardio at lunch break, and yoga when I get home at night. 6 days a week is just unrealistic for me with my work schedule. Now that I have cut out being a scrapbook consultant, and only working at the restaurant twice a week, I think I might be able to manage this without keeling over. I've been just a wee bit lax over the last few months and my muscles feel all mushy and stuff. No good! Sooo, root for me! Email me everyday and say "Did you do your workout today CrazyDogMama?" It would be so much easier if I had someone poking me with a stick everyday saying "GO! GO!" Literally. I'm such a slacker.

Somebody wake me when it's over.

Holy crap I'm tired today. I almost fell asleep driving to work this morning. It was so bad that I actually had to slap myself! No kidding! The guy sitting at the stoplight next to me was probably laughing his ass off. I had the window down, the heat off and the radio blaring. It didn't help. I feel like someone has drugged me or something. I don't recall ever feeling this tired. It may be because this is my third double-shift in a row and I'm getting old, but I think my iron levels might be low too. I'm contemplating taking tomorrow off so that I can have a 5-day weekend (I don't usually work on Fridays unless its overtime), but I am so behind that I don't know if it will get approved. Writing in my blog is helping, I know. Anyway, that's the excitement for this week so far. It took two weeks for the makeup I ordered to come, so I have been eyelinerless and liplinerless for 3 days. I have come to the realization that those things are as necessary as air in my life. Being blonde from birth (mostly) I have pretty light features. When not accented, I look invisible. Almost albino. It's very scary.

Asteroids, Comets and General Conspiracy Theories

OK, I have to admit something to you all. I love searching for info about disaster predictions, dreams, visions and prophecies. Over the years, I have found a few very amusing sources. I take everything with a grain of salt of course, but I love this stuff as much as Skwigg loves ninja fighting. I've yet to have any visions of my own. Bummer. If I ever do though, you can bet your booty you'll see it right here on this blog! ;-)

My latest obsession is with the 3 comet/asteroid hit that is supposedly imminent. Sources seem to have the June - September 2004 window going on.

My favorite predictor is quite a fellow. It is most likely a big hoax, but it is amusing to read, nonetheless.

Is anyone still questioning the "Crazy" in CrazyDogMama"? Hehe.

P.S. If this blog disappears suddenly, run!

Why I don't want (and shouldn't have) kids.

Note: I don't hate all kids, I just don't want any. I love my stepson, we get along great. He is going to teach me more about web page design. I get asked all the time if I am planning to have kids. When I reply no, I get a ration of crap on how it would be different if it was my own, I need to contribute to society, it would make me less self-centered, etc. Contribute to society? Bah! and who wants to be less self-centered? That's no fun at all.

When I get home from my 10–16-hour workdays, all I want to do is have a drink and fall asleep. I don't make dinner, I don't do laundry, I really don't do anything. I like it that way. (I do give Lou & mags all the belly scratching they want.)

If the kid was bad, or if I wanted to go see a movie, I would want to put it in a crate. Society tends to frown on this. Plus, I would need a bigger crate.

I swear a lot.

I don't think babies are cute. I am afraid of them. My first instinct is to pet them. I run and hide (literally) when friends of mine have babies and want me to "see" them.

I spend a lot of time naked when I am at home.

I would have more pictures of the dogs than the kid in my wallet. My stepson has just recently come to terms with my dog obsession. It took 12 years.

It's all about me.

I didn't like kids when I WAS a kid. What makes you think I'd like them now?

I am politically incorrect. Could you see me at a PTA meeting?

Kids slow me down at Disneyland.

I don't really like cartoons or kiddie movies.

When I want to take a nap, I TAKE A NAP.

When asked by a kid if they can have chocolate milk, or candy instead of dinner, or Mountain Dew instead of water or milk, I say "sure". I lead by example, and I don't like confrontation.

Giving birth has been compared to kidney stones. I've had kidney stones. That's enough.

EVERY SINGLE MOM I KNOW is absolutely thrilled when they get a day "without the kids". They are downright giddy about it. That really makes me go hmmmmmm.

There is something wrong with me.

I just bought a rubber stamp that says, "I kiss my dog on the lips".

Oops.

My husband is going to kill me. I was so in a hurry this morning (and half asleep) that I took Jim's keys instead of mine. Usually, it wouldn't be that big of deal since we have duplicate keys on our keyrings, BUT my set of keys were in my purse. Yep, that's right - I have both sets today. We have never made any extra keys to leave in the house, being the total irresponsible idiots that we are. We live about a 1/2 mile from Jim's work, but I'm not sure how thrilled he is going to be about walking. Crap. I am an hour away. I just left a message because he sleeps until 11 am. I'll have to give him a backrub or something.

Eyedrops Suck.

Did you ever watch that episode of Friends where Rachel freaks out and gets pinned down on the floor because she can't give herself (or let anyone else give her) eyedrops? That's me, totally. It freaks me out to let anything touch my eyes. I could never wear contacts. It was interesting last night when I was trying to give myself eyedrops for my pink eye. I close my eye JUST as the drop falls. The drop runs down my face like a tear. Damn. I try again. Same thing. I try holding my eye open. I freak out and drop the eye dropper-thingee in the sink, let out a shriek, then start cussing myself out. The dogs bark at me when I shriek. I gotta figure out how to tell the doctor I need another prescription because it takes almost the whole bottle to give myself one dose. I am supposed to do this 4 times a day for a week. Yeah, right. Just take my eye out now and save the hassle.

Pink Eye!

That's right, folks! CrazyDogMama has Pink Eye! Yucky! I'm quarantined at the moment while my eye produces goo. At first I thought it was allergies, but then two of my co-workers were sent home with it, so I decided to go to the doctor. Yup, got it. Can't go to the restaurant tonight (bummer! Hehe.) It kinda feels like I have an eyelash stuck in my eye, or like when I have eye-crusties from hell. I am supposed to go to a "Passion Party" tomorrow night, but I'm not sure if anyone will want me touching the sex toys. Ha!

TV Blues

There is nothing on TV that I want to watch. Sigh. Since Friends has ended, I think I've turned the TV on once. I loathe, LOATHE reality shows. Now, before you start spitting on your computer screen at me, I don't loathe the people that WATCH them, just the shows themselves. They really irritate me for some reason. American Idol, Survivor, all of them. It is just way too frustrating for me to watch. I seem to have the opposite opinion of the general public, so the whole voting thing just sends me into a fit. I know that Friends is "mainstream", but it really just cracks me up. I own all the seasons that have been released so far. Pathetic, huh? I guess I'm just stuck with Netflix for now since I'm a movie-junkie. Whatever you do, DON'T rent Elvira's Haunted Hills, it's really lame. Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, however, rocks. :) Maybe I should be Elvira this year for Halloween?

Mocha Madness & Riding in Cars with Dogs

So, on Mother's Day I decided to take the dogoids with me to my mom's house. (Jim went to his mom's house by himself; we didn't have enough time to do both sets of parents together.) As you know, riding in the car is not the calmest experience with Louie and Maggie. DumbAssDogMama decided that because her head was pounding from a headache, some caffeine was in order, so I stopped at one of those drive-thru espresso stands. Once I put on the emergency break, (this is the queue for the dogs to launch) Louie dives for the window on my side, right across my lap. Pushing the fur away from my face trying to get Louie off of me, I manage to spurt out "Could I get an iced mocha with whip, please?" The girl in the coffee box was holding back laughter, I could tell. Maggie then starts her ear-piercing "Oh my GOD a NEW person" squeal. As I am trying to dig money out of my purse, I am yelling at the dogs to sit, get down, shut up, sit and stay, none of which is working. The barista girl hands me my mocha, and I put it in my cup-holder telling the dogs to "stay out of it". She also hands me 2 Milkbones. (What a sweetheart.) Thinking the dogs are now occupied with the treats, I hand her my money. I TURN AWAY FOR ONE SECOND and BOOM! There is Louie face-down in my mocha. I scream "NO! NO! NOOOOOO!" That's MAMA'S MOCHA!" Louie raises his fuzzy little head and reveals his whip-creamed nose. He has on his little doggie smile, and it looks like he is ready to shave. The barista girl is now busting up. I just give up.

Fun Stuff on a Stupid Day

I stole this idea.

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says:

"Or try multigrain, oat and bran, rye, or whole wheat breads." This is from my lunch-time purchase of The South Beach Diet Cookbook. I'm getting sick of my Eating for Life Cookbook. Is it OK to drink a mocha Frappuccino while glancing through a diet cookbook?

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?

My other purchase of "Burt's Bees Body Lotion". It smells just like the coconut oil I used to wear to the beach. MMMMMM.

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?

The news. Boooooring.

4. WITHOUT LOOKING, guess what the time is.

2:45 pm.

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?

2:49 pm. I am at work, whadya expect?

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?

Machinery. I work at a manufacturing plant.

7. When did you last step outside? what were you doing?

Lunchtime. I went to the bookstore, the bank, got a Frappuccino and bought a bra. What do YOU do on your lunch break?

8. Before you came to this website, what did you look at?

I was catching up on my favorite bloggers.

9. What are you wearing?

A rusty orange colored V-neck cotton shirt, black slacks and black leather shoes.

10. Did you dream last night?

Yes, I remembered it when I woke up, but I can't remember now. They have been quite interesting lately - I should write them down.

11. When did you last laugh?

When my husband called me on my lunch break. I was at the drive-thru at the bank, and I had just put on my new Burt's Bees hand lotion. I was making a deposit. I told my husband to hold on while I sent it through. The teller was chatty and asked me if I had just been tanning because she could smell coconuts. I exclaimed "Oh my God - you can smell my hand lotion through those tube thingees? She busted up laughing and so did my husband. She said "No, I can smell it on your checks." My husband said to me: "I love you. You make me laugh." I realized what a bonehead I sounded like and started laughing and couldn't stop.

12. What is on the walls of the room you are in?

A clock. A calendar. An inspirational picture. My office sucks.

13. Seen anything weird lately?

I see something weird about every 10 minutes. The last thing I saw was someone washing a plastic fork in the kitchen sink. Aren't you supposed to throw those things away?

14. Last movie you saw?

10.5. Lame. But I do love disaster movies. Can't wait for "The Day After Tomorrow".

15. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?

A completely restored black 1967 RS SS Camaro. No, actually, FIRST I'd probably buy some Ibuprofen from the bump I got on my head from falling over from shock.

16. Tell me something about you that I don't know.

I can barf on queue. Talented, aren't I?

17. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?

That question makes my brain hurt. I don't freakin' know.

18. Do you like to dance?

Yes, but not in public. I like to dance naked in front of the dogs. They seem to enjoy it.

19. George Bush: is he a power-crazy nutcase or someone who is finally doing something that has needed to be done for years?

I don't 100% agree with everything he has done, but generally, I am a supporter. It is a good thing I am not President because I would have just nuked Iraq. I went to an AC/DC concert back in 91' - and they were selling "Fuck Iraq" t-shirts. I should have bought one.

20. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?

A total accident. I would name her either Ellie (short for Elsie which was my grandma's name) or Riley.

21. Same question for a boy

Wyatt. That was my maiden name.

22. Would you ever consider living abroad?

Yes. But I like America, so I wouldn't stay there long.

Twilight Zone Tower of Terror!

OOHH, I need to go on THAT new ride! I haven't been to the Disneyland Resort since Christmas of 2001. That is WAY.TOO.LONG. for me!!! I am a complete Disneyland junkie. I am waiting for the new Space Mountain to open up in 2005 before I book a trip. That is my favorite ride, and it would just be too sad to go if I couldn't make that my first (and last) ride. Its tradition, and you don't monkey with tradition. Still, though, I want to go bad. I feel like just getting in the car and going. I hate being an adult. All this responsibility shit sucks.

Wet Dog Contest

Hee-hee, Maggie loves to play in the lake, but she flips out during bath time. Jim has to do it because I can't keep her still. This past bath time event was too funny for words. While Maggie was thrashing around in the bathtub, Louie, who if you recall hides behind the toilet when I say "bath", jumped INTO the bathtub to rescue Maggie! Now THAT'S love!! I am not going to talk about the fact that Louie had already received his grooming beforehand, and so got completely messed up doing that. Ahh, the joys of being a dogmama.

Look at that tongue! Is that the doggie equivalent of flipping me off?

Bees and Neighbors

It is quite difficult to find the motivation to blog when things are so completely uneventful. There are days when I could write a novel about the drama that is my life, then there are days when all I have to say is feh. This is one of those days. The most exciting thing about this weekend so far is that I had my last scrapbooking workshop for a while. We had pizza and mudslides (Mmmm.) and got drunk on the mudslides. We got nothing accomplished; it was basically just a bunch of women sitting around drinking and bitching with pictures laid out in front of them. The dogs have been romping in the grass with all the sunny weather, but we have a major wasp problem this year, so mostly I run in and out of the house making sure the dogs don't get stung. There is much yelling, "Stop eating grass, there could be a bee in there! Stop rolling, there might be a bee under you! Get away from the bees!" I guess you could say I'm a little overprotective. I, myself, am terrified of bees. I am very allergic to them, and of course have never purchased a bee kit. My husband calls me "Dances with Bees".

Speaking of yelling, I just thought of something funny. My beloved neighbors (huh.) have decided to build a gigantic monstrosity in their backyard, probably specifically to annoy me. It is this big cedar swing set/playset for their little beasts. I found out that the wife (who I refer to as Skeletor because she looks just like him. Can you say ugly skinny?) is thinking of starting a daycare at her home. Apparently, God hates me. Can you imagine CrazyDogMama living next to a frigging daycare? Help me now. Anyways, the other day Skeletor and some other stupid woman had 5 kids back there playing and I, of course, was yelling at the dogs to watch out for bees. I said something like "Get your fuzzy little asses in here!" Two kids started crying, and the other three looked at me like they were "Godsend" children. The two adults glared. I hope they all get stung. Here is a picture of the damn thing: