Apparently, I haven't done much living.

Just highlight the things you've done.  Got this from Yerdoingitwrong.

1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
2. Swam with wild dolphins
3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
8. Said "I love you" and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66.Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an expert
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Eaten fugu (pufferfish)
89. Had a one-night stand
90. Gone to Thailand
91. Bought a house
92. Been in a combat zone
93. Buried one/both of your parents
94. Been on a cruise ship
95. Spoken more than one language fluently (not quite, but close)
96. Performed in Rocky Horror Picture Show
97. Raised children
98. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication.
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one important author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

My results: 62 out of 150. That's 41%, a big fat FAIL.

12 Years Ago Today

I was translated into untold bliss. Well, I was married. I have to say that it has not all been perfect, but I woke up today truly glad to celebrate with my honey. I made us eggs benedict for breakfast, and Jim went to get me chocolate donuts. We have also been planning our next Disneyland trip! It's a little far out because we have had a difficult financial year, but we are all excited to have something to look forward to. I love you, Jim. How about another 12 years?

The pics: Us on August 27th, 1994, my bachelorette party the Wednesday before, eggs benedict this morning, August 27th, 2006.

Statistically Improbable Things

Got this from Whirled Peas: List 10 statistically improbable things I've done (or things I've done that most people haven't.)

1. I've hit 2 deer and 1 dog with my car and lived. Three different vehicles, all traumatic.
2. I had graduated from a four-year college, been through the police academy, been a cop and gotten married all by the time I was 22.
3. I've jumped out of a perfectly good airplane 7 times.
4. I've had to have surgery to get a kidney stone out.
5. I've never broken a bone (just a small fracture in my wrist) and I'm incredibly clumsy.
6. I can eat an entire large pizza by myself just outside of 10 minutes.
7. I've never been outside the country, and my dad worked for United Airlines.
8. I've never had a root canal or a crown, and I've only had 2 very small cavities in my life, and I'm 34.
9. I couldn't burp until I was 25.
10. I can vomit at any time, on queue.

I combed my hair today BEFORE WORK.

I know you're thinking "really?", but if you compare this photo to the one I posted the other day, you can see the difference. Now I just need to do something about those dark circles under my eyes. Like go to Tahiti for a month.

Hell is Frozen and Pigs are Flying

I woke up in a good mood. I KNOW. That, in and of itself is a miracle, but the fact that it is ALSO Monday, well, that's SOMETHING!

The weekend was nothing special, just cleaned the house. Scrubbed the bathroom, cleaned the kitchen floor, washed my throw-rugs. Not too exciting. Jim mowed and watered the grass and washed my car.

I got to work today, said good morning to everyone and started working RIGHT AWAY. I don't know what is going on. It's a little scary.

Cheez Balls

You may be wondering what the vulgar picture is all about. Well, I'll tell you. Planter's no longer makes CHEEZ BALLS. Fuckers.

I'll explain later.

Important Things

"Lucky Louie", the new sitcom-type series on HBO is FREAKING HILARIOUS. It is like a shock-value sitcom. They swear a lot and I got to see a full-on penis. My kind of show.

I just received my new RAZR cell phone (for free!) and I'm loving it. I have stepped into the 21st century (my old phone was like 5 years old) where you can do more than just 'talk' on your phone. I am snapping pictures all over the place. This could be dangerous. I'm taking the doggies to the vet today for their annual shots/exams, maybe I'll take video of Louie freaking out when the nurse puts the thermometer up his butt.

The Descent

Loved it! Four paws up! "The Descent" movie rocked. One of the best horror movies I've seen in a while. Lots of good gore, suspense and there's a twist. My stepson had both of his ears plugged (which means it's scary) and Jim kept saying things like, "Whoa!" "Shit!" "Damn!" during the movie, which TOTALLY cracked me up, number one, and number two is pretty uncommon for him. I walked out of the theatre wanting to see it again. I'm not going to give anything away because the less you know about the movie, the better the experience it will be for you. Go see it!

Here is where my maturity level shines.

Since NO ONE seems to want to talk about horror movies, I joined the fangoria.com message boards so that I can discuss cannibalism and throat-slicing there. So NYAH!

Anticipation

I seriously can't find a bad review of this movie. ("The Descent") The ones I have found that seem negative are from people who haven't even SEEN the film yet, or who don't like horror movies to begin with; and even those reviews have been hard to find. Horror movies are notorious for having mixed reviews. Usually, your hard-core horror fans are disappointed, and your teenagers are all wigged out over nothing because they are stupid. If the hard-core fans like a film, then no one else does. Well, not this film. EVERYONE seems to dig it! I guess it came out in the UK last year and received rave reviews there, too. Here is an excerpt I just found on "Horrorwatch":

Afraid of the dark? You will be. A group of female friends led by Juno (Natalie Mendoza) encounter bloodthirsty creatures when they get trapped in a mountain cave due to an avalanche. Worst of all, their friendships sour and they discover their real fear is from each other. This has to be one of the best films of this year. This movie accomplishes what The Cave didn't. Full of terrifying suspense, ample blood flow, awesome looking creatures, action packed sequences, and all without the use of CGI. The atmosphere was totally creepy the whole way through. At times, I actually think the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up. More than once I jumped and almost fell over. Every time somebody rounded a corner, I found myself holding my breath. This is as creepy as creepy gets. The acting was superb. The actresses really draw you in to their world. They make you feel almost as if you are right there with them. Never have I seen such powerful performances in a low budget film. The "crawlers" add perfectly to the creepiness. They are plain ferocious and can move with unbelievable speed. They also like to rip their prey apart as blood goes everywhere. I highly, highly recommend this film to any and every horror fan. This is one movie not to be missed. This film puts you in a downward spiral full of fear. Good luck watching this alone in the dark. Hands down, I give this a 10 out of 10.

It is WAY too hot for me.

It was 100 degrees this weekend at my house. No breeze, lots of humidity (air stagnation), no air conditioning except the little one in my bedroom, and no shade or trees over my house. I wore a white T-Shirt with no underwear and no bra ALL WEEKEND. I did not change. I stayed in my bedroom 90% of the time bored out of my mind. I did not eat much because when I ventured out to the kitchen, I was drenched in sweat within 10 seconds.

I don't do well in the heat, but this was ridiculous. I did not go outside AT ALL for fear that my skin would sizzle off. Now, you have to understand, I live near Seattle, you know, the rainy place. No one here is used to this kind of insane weather. You can't breathe when it gets over 85 degrees. I can get my mind around summer weather, swimming, picnics, etc., but when it goes into the 100's, it's like curl up in the fetal position in your tiny little bedroom with no lights on and a little air conditioner that is working overtime and rub popsicles all over your body.

This heat wave has no end in sight. It was nice to come to work today in the air-conditioned office. I may be working many hours this week.

Dog Food and Grocery Store Behavior

OK, so I got Louie his frigging gourmet dogfood. He was seriously excited. He was eating so vigorously that he was banging his bowl against the cabinets. I was just shaking my head. It's like we had been starving him or something.

We ran out of people food yesterday, and even though I don't get paid until tomorrow we decided to go grocery shopping last night and just floated a check. Sad, I know. Anyway, Jim and I shopping together is kind of funny. There was this big "buy one get one free" sale at Albertson's, so we were all over that. We met at the store after we got off work. (Usually, I just do the grocery shopping by myself, and now I know why.)

First, Jim yelled at me because my car is dirty, and he hates that. "Why don't you ever clean this car?" "I'm going to trade it in for a Yugo." Then, as we were walking in the parking lot toward the store, we were scoping out different entrances and kept bumping into each other. I finally pushed him, and he said, "Why the hell are you pushing me?" and I said, "Because you keep running into me." Then he said, "How about we go in the same entrance?" Hehe.

So, then we get inside. I grab a cart, put my purse in it and start flipping through the sale ads to find out what I want. I also got my calculator out. (Shut up, we are on a budget.) Jim rolls his eyes and gets all annoyed. "Are you coming or WHAT?" I beeline for the first "buy one get one free" display. Jim says, "Where's the fire?" I start thinking to myself, "First he is annoyed that I'm going too slow, now I'm going too fast. MAKE UP YOUR MIND." It is hot and muggy, and the store is crazy with people everywhere and I'm starting to get irritated. After putting a few items in the cart, we notice that it is one of those squeaky-can't-push-it-in-a-straight-line kind of carts. We look at each other. I shrug and keep going. Jim huffs REALLY loud and stomps off to get a new cart. I wait for him. He comes back and *dramatically* transfers our items to the new cart. I giggle.

I have to tell him THREE times that he is putting the wrong refried beans in the cart. I'm sure people are watching us by this point. We get to the meat department. I start looking for the "buy one get one free" items in one area, and Jim goes down further to look. Neither one of us can figure out which fucking meat items are on sale. We start bitching to ourselves out loud about this. More staring. Then, I become obsessed with finding my favorite cheese. (Mexican Velveeta.) I'm craving it for some reason. Since this is not the regular store we shop at, neither one of us have the first clue where anything is in the store. It takes me like 40 minutes to find it because they don't keep it in the FUCKING CHEESE SECTION. Jim tries to keep up, bitching the whole way that I need to forget about the cheese.

Jim, then, becomes obsessed with getting ingredients to make banana splits because that is what HE is craving. (I am now focused on finding the on-sale pineapple chunks.) To make a long story short, we are nut-jobs out in public together. I think there were other little things that happened, but I can't remember them right now and I'm tired of typing, so bye.

My Spoiled Rotten Little Brat

That would be Louie. We have been on a tight budget lately, so I bought some less expensive dog food. Not CHEAP food, mind you, just less expensive. Usually, the brats are fed the highest quality dog food I can find, one that has flax seed oil and duck as main ingredients. (Good for the coat.) Lou and Mags did fine for about 2 weeks and inhaled the food like normal in about 20 seconds. The past few days, however, Louie has decided that this food isn't good enough for him. I pour it in his dish, he sniffs it, and then looks back up at me like, "Are you kidding me?" He takes one bite, then walks away huffing and pouts for about an hour. He only takes one bite at a time so that he doesn't starve to death. He accidentally dropped a piece of food in his water, and then he WOULDN'T DRINK THE WATER because, you know, EWW. So, he went and drank Maggie's water. Little fucker. He is now ignoring me and won't listen to a word I say. I am apparently being punished for feeding him crap food.

Oh, and BTW, Louie is not sick. I was eating toast the other day and when I went to go turn the stove off (gone 30 seconds or so) Louie had jumped up on the coffee table and devoured it before I got back.

Blowing up the neighborhood.

The kids: My stepson Bill, my stepson's cousin Nathan, and my husband. Being the safety-conscious and concerned parents that we are, here are the boys holding Roman Candles in their hands and lighting off illegal bottle rockets. They also lit off mortars, which were really quiet. Ha. I also took a picture of the sunset, which I'm calling a "nuclear sunset" because upon hearing about North Korea firing their test missiles I thought, "Hmm, I wonder if that's nuclear fallout." It was eerily beautiful. All said and done, we had fun, and everyone had all their body parts intact by the end of the evening. Happy 4th.

Eagle Falls

It was ninety frickin' five today. TOO HOT. I am sweating as I write this because we have no air conditioning, because who needs air conditioning in rainy Washington? We had to go propel ourselves into glacier water today to survive. We drove up to Eagle Falls on the Skykomish River, also known as "The Milepost 39 Swimming Hole", which is only about 30 minutes East into the mountains from our house. It felt really good (although Jim was kind of a wuss about it), and we also stopped at "Zekes" to belly-up on some grease. I am now a burnt lobster and want to die.

Chick Flick Day

Well, Annie said not to rush to the theatre, but I went and saw "The Lake House" anyway today. Actually, I liked it. Now SEE? I'm not JUST a psychopathic horror flick movie watcher, I am also a hopeless romantic. After that, I went home and BBQ'd buffalo burgers and watched "The Girl Next Door" on HBO On Demand. That was also good. It has been a successfully sappy day.

My Start in Horror

OK, Colleen has inspired me to write about how I became a horror movie fanatic and what actually scares me. Here's the scoop. Right now, the only things that actually scare me are spiders and children, BUT there was a time when really dumb horror movies did make me totally freak out. My mom and dad loved horror movies, so that's where it started.

We used to go camping a lot when I was a kid. We would hear bears wandering around the camp site at night. Try watching the movie "Prophecy" when you are 8, then go camping in the Pacific Northwest. We had Showtime when I was a kid, and when this movie would come on, I would dare myself to watch it. I would start out with my eyes closed and ears plugged. I would first unplug my ears. The sound of the "Mutated Prophecy Bear" would grunt and I would run out the room. If I tried to open my eyes, I would inevitably open them RIGHT as the bear was eating someone or throwing them against a tree. I tried to watch this movie again as an adult, and although I could watch it with no problems, my heart did palpitate during some of the scenes. I DO NOT KNOW WHY. Jim makes fun of me for being scared of this movie as a kid. Asshole.

Then there was "It's Alive". Yes, the monster baby movie. Maybe this is why I am afraid of children. My neighbor friend's brother was watching this movie in his room. We were in her room down the hall, but we all of a sudden heard that horrible shrieking monster-baby-thing growling, and we started screaming. We would crawl up next to her brother's door and try to watch, but we were too scared to actually go into his room.

Also, when I was just a wee little thing, my grandfather scared the living SHIT out of me. Remember that old black and white movie called "The Fly"? Yeah, the totally stupid one. It scared me senseless. THEN, after I went to bed, my grandpa decided to be evil, and he snuck into my room and softly said "Heeeelp Meeeee". I have never totally recovered from that.

So, there you go. What happened to me along the way? I dunno. Brain damage? Did "The Exorcist" scare me? Nope. Did "Friday the 13th" or "Freddy Krueger" scare me? Nope. Do those emails that have scary faces suddenly pop up scare me? Nope. They do startle me sometimes though, but I am wise to them now.

Answer to previous trivia question: "What mask was painted white and used for the original Michael Myers mask in the Halloween movie?" A "William Shatner" mask!

It's Coming!

If you have ever wanted to see me jump and down clapping my hands squealing in excitement, you missed your chance a few minutes ago. The official website is out for "Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning". It is released in theatres October 6th, 2006. Go watch the trailer NOW.

Oh, and guess what? I found out that Rob Zombie is going to write and direct a "Halloween" remake. Yay! I actually didn't like the original all that much, but Mr. Zombie will captivate my attention for sure.

Some more trivia: What mask was painted white and used for the original "Michael Myers" mask in the Halloween movie?

Trivia Question Answer

That quote is from one of my favorite movies, "Million Dollar Baby". Clint Eastwood said it to Hilary Swank.

Movie Quote Game

Guess that movie:

"What did I do wrong?"
"Two things. One, you asked a question, and two, you asked another question."

Anybody know it?

Just Another Day in Paradise

So how am I, you ask? Well, let's examine that.

Today driving to work I threw up on myself. Yes, I know. It just came UP. I had to drive back home and change my shirt. Good thing I didn't eat breakfast. I left a McDonalds bag full of bile on my driveway. I also have CRAMPS FROM LEFT HELL. The upside of that? I'm not pregnant. I'm a little grumpy today. Leave me alone.

My Crazy Little Wedding

I was reminiscing the other day about my crazy little wedding almost 12 years ago. Just before I walked down the aisle, I had the great need for a cigarette. Yes, the smoking bride sneaking a cigarette in the back of the church against the rules. My mom loves this picture of me. That's Yerdoingitwrong there beside me. Remember that, Annie?

Then there were the boys. They decided it would be funny to write "HELP ME" on the bottom of Jim's shoes. Losers. Good times.

666

Being that today is 06-06-06, I am just WAITING to see which crazy whack-job is going to do what. You just KNOW that someone is just getting ready to explode with insanity over this. I have already heard about some shooting on the freeway, and some schools in the area have received bomb-threats.

Anyway, in the craziness that is my world EVERY day, I was driving to work this morning and the most bizarre thing happened. A little black bird landed on the ground in front of my car, thud! Dead. It seemed to just 'fall' out of the sky. Lovely, huh? Also, last night Louie (my dog) was acting all weird. He is acting all needy and cuddly. This is so not Louie. Usually when you try and love on him, he acts like you have cooties. Also, when Jim got home from work yesterday (he gets home before me) and he went to let Louie out of his crate, Louie wouldn't come out. Usually, he bolts out the crate like he's been shot from a cannon. He has NEVER just sat in there and looked at you. He knows it is potty time and dinnertime. STRANGE. He is not sick, either. He was weird all night. It is making me jumpy. Earthquake, maybe? I don't know, but strange things are afoot here.

Tag, I'm it.

Annie is the culprit on this one.

1. I am: CrazyDogMama.
2. I want: More money.
3. I hate: Meatloaf. Gross.
4. I miss: Friends, the sitcom.
5. I fear: Children.
6. I wonder: If I will EVER be thin again.
7. I regret: Getting Louie neutered. I could totally pimp him out right now and make some $$.
8. I am not: Naked right now.
9. I dance: Naked in front of my dogs when no one is home. They seem to enjoy it.
10. I sing: Along with CDs in the car by myself.
11. I cry: When I'm frustrated and angry.
12. I am not always: Nice.
13. I make with my hands: A mess, usually.
14. I write: Instead of talk on the phone.
15. I confuse: Most people.
16. I need: A nap.
17. I should: Be cleaning right now instead of wasting time doing this.
18. I start: My period in a week.
19. I finish: Nothing. Except this tag.

I now tag JIM and DAN.

Fight Club

So, this kickboxing place that I have been known to frequent is starting a new program called "Fight Club". I could bite people and stuff! I'm totally thinking of doing it.

C.T.E.T. Fighter Training (Fight Club)

What is the C.T.E.T. Reality Based Self-Defense Program? This is a No Nonsense, No Rules, Realistic, Anything Goes program. The course is designed to train you in realistic situations that you would really find yourself in on the street if ever attacked. We train combat proven techniques for all types of real-world situations. This class is also designed to help prepare students mentally for these situations. We allow students 13 & Up into this program. The course is great for Men, Women and Teens! The instructor is a former soldier with a U.S. Army Rapid Deployment Unit, a former Federal Police Officer, a former Government Security Force Member, and has almost 15 years martial arts experience.

Simplifying

So, my new blog template is posting for me in about a nano-second instead of three hours. This is good. It may not be that original, but hey, it works. My doctor said that any type of simplification of my life will be good for my stress level, so here are things that I'm doing:

1. A non-complicated blog.
2. Only one job.
3. Letting my hair dry naturally instead of fighting with hair creme, the hairdryer and the straightener.
4. Margaritas with only 2 ingredients: Tequila and "Fat Mama's Knock You Naked Margarita Mix". (Instead of individual sweet and sour, lime juice...etc.) This is an important one, folks.
5. Turning off my cell phone when I don't want to be interrupted.
6. Returning emails when I FEEL LIKE IT instead of replying immediately for fear that the world will come off of its axis.
7. Repeating the most awesome line from a movie EVER to shew away those menfolk who are irritating me: "Go play with your dick." (From "Rumor Has It", said by Shirley MacLaine.)

I'm feeling better already.

Do Over.

FUCK IT. I'm just starting with a whole new look. Simplicity.

I'm having issues.

Help Me! Judging from the clumps of hair on my desk that I have pulled out, I need some help. As you can see, my sidebar on the right is GONE. Well, not gone, but pushed down to the very bottom of the screen. I cannot figure out how to fix it. I am about to jam a pen into my eye. If you go to 'View" then "Source" you can see my html code. If you know how to fix this, PLEASE HELP ME SO I DON'T START SCRATCHING OFF MY ARM SKIN. Thank you, and good night.

A day in the life.

Alarm goes off, hit snooze and knock over alarm and some nail polish remover I left uncovered the night before. Get up and pee. Go back to bed. Get up approximately 1 hour later and clean up mess. Skip shower, fuck it, I'm clean enough. Grab brownie and run out the door. Get iced mocha. Watch gas light on dashboard come on. Ignore it and drive 30 more miles. Start to panic because I have a meeting at work at 8 am, and OMG I have NO GAS. Get to work with one minute to spare and have no idea how I will make it to a gas station on my lunch break. Can't find meeting notes. Find meeting notes, get to meeting 5 minutes late. It's all good. Did I mention it was a meeting that I called? Yes, late to my own meeting. Go back to desk, finish mocha, do blog.

My Side of the Story.

Jim has decided to blog about his "perception" of one of our first dates. Now, while this story is incredibly embarrassing for me, and mostly true, there ARE a few details he left out, so I am here to clear those details right up. I am also going to tell the story about the hike through the cow pasture and the vampire bunnies.

First of all, yes, I did drink 9 double rum and cokes that night, but what you have to understand is that I was 21 years old and really excited about the whole "I can go to bars now!" thing. If I was to attempt that now, I would die. Second of all, he had TWO beers? Yeah, pull this one it plays jingle bells. Third of all, while I did become loud and maybe (a little) obnoxious, the reason I told everybody he was going to kick their ass is because they were all hitting on me, and I just wanted to play darts. So, you know, sexual harassment and shit. I was totally justified.

Now for the cow pasture story. This might be a 'you had to be there' story, but if you think about it, it's kind of hilarious. We had just graduated from the police academy and Jim's parents rented us a cabin in the mountains for a few days to celebrate. We thought we were THE SHIT being 'official' cops and stuff. We decided to go on a hike and explore a little bit, and we brought our guns with us (for safety). As we went, it started to get dark. No problem! We have guns! The problem was, we got lost. Totally and completely fucking lost. Idiots. We stumbled into a cow pasture and suddenly were face to face with a bunch of scary looking (huge!) cows and a bull. SHIT. We froze. They all just stared at us, unmoving. We heard a low and menacing "MOO" and some grunts. We looked at each other and said, "Oh crap." We pulled our guns out, because we were convinced that we were about to be killed by satanic cows and a bull. Inside our guns were "Hollow Point" bullets. These are police department issued bullets, that every officer has to ACCOUNT FOR. My first thought was, "Oh mother of hell, we are cops for 2 days and we are going to have to explain putting Hollow Points in a bunch of motherfucking cows." We tip-toed through the pasture, and amazingly, didn't have to plug any of the cows. We were, however, still lost. Jim started to panic because we were lost. My knight in shining armor. Anyway, we did eventually find our way back, BUT, then there were the bunnies.

In the little camp site where our cabin was, there were about 30 bunnies running around. Feeling like we got a second chance at life and giddy that we found our way home, Jim decided to go cut up some carrots for the cute little bunnies. He cut the shit out of himself. (I can't believe we actually graduated from the Police Academy and that they gave us weapons.) As he was bleeding all over the cabin, down the steps and out onto the dirt road, he STILL WANTED TO GIVE THE BUNNIES THE BLOOD-SOAKED CARROTS. I KNOW. So, after we went to bed, I'm all thinking, "Great. We just gave those bunnies a taste for blood. They will surely come and eat us before dawn." We have never been back to that cabin.

Aaahh, and also Derrr.

There. was. a. spider. in. the. shower. with. me. this. morning. First, it startled me, THEN, I contemplated whether or not I should scream bloody murder and wake Jim up, or just keep an eagle-eye on the thing and keep my naked body as far away from it as possible. You know, because there is NO FREAKING WAY I'm touching it. I decided since it was a small spider, that Jim would kill me for waking him up over it, so I co-showered with the hideous thing.

Later, while driving to work, Jim called me on my cell phone. I told him about the spider incident. The conversation went like this:

Me: "There was a SPIDER in the shower with me this morning!"
Jim: "Did you kill it? I didn't hear you scream."
Me: "No, I just left it alone."
Jim: "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Me: "I don't know."
(Meanwhile, Jim goes into the bathroom to check out the huge beast I left for him to deal with.)
Jim: "You have GOT to be kidding me! This little, tiny thing? You're right, if you had screamed over this and woke me up, I would have been pissed."

Now, let me give you a little insight into my extreme spider phobia. I grew up in a house with a daylight basement where my room happened to be located. Big, fat, hairy wolf spiders were EVERWHERE. In my clothes, in the towels, in the walls, in the shower. Once, while taking a shower, a bunch of those big hairy fuckers FELL OUT OF THE LIGHT over the shower ONTO MY NAKED BODY. You cannot imagine that kind of horror nor the fact that I learned how to fly that morning. I crashed through the shower door screaming and traumatized for life. You could say that I suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. I was also bitten once by a brown recluse spider while camping. My leg got all swollen and it looked like an egg was laid on my calf, and it HURT BAD.

So, you see, me no like spiders. It doesn't matter how big or small they are.

I am also a dumbass. I sold out and signed up for AdSense through Google (hence the ads on my page now) and because I am a little bit of a dolt when it comes to HTML code, I can't quite figure it out. Just be patient with me while I pull my hair trying to figure it out.

Annie Stories

OK SISTER, you asked for it!

Annie is one of my best buds who has been through hell and back with me. We spent A LOT of time together (pretty much every day) between the ages of 19 and 24. Here are some of the things I can remember, which is amazing because we were blind drunk half the time.

Annie got drunk on "Mad Dog" one night at her apartment with me and several other friends. She got sick. I held her over the toilet. She got vomit on my feet. Which made me vomit. Melanie, another friend of ours, was puking in her kitchen sink. Someone else was puking off the porch. Ah, to be young again. That same night, someone had the very bright idea to VIDEO TAPE us, not puking, but singing and acting like total drunk retards. I really wish I could find that video tape. I could put it on the internet. Annie and I were singing the "Brady Bunch" theme song, forgetting half of the words.

Annie had this roommate once that we all hated. Including her. I can't remember her name, but I remember making fun of her "pastel decorations" and the fact that she sang REALLY loud in the bathroom to the "Counting Crows" while getting ready. I think someone may have rubbed her little pack of veggie-snacks in the crack of their ass and then put it back in the refrigerator.

One time while riding the chair lift skiing, Annie and I belted out a little tune that goes like this, "It's so easy to fall in love, it's so eeeeasy to fa-ahl-in love!" over and over and OVER again. You see, we don't like to draw attention to ourselves.

Annie and I would go to Shari's (like Denny's) for like, a gazillion hours, just smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. One by one, people would join us until there was about 10 people crammed into a booth. This is how Annie met her first husband. (Ahem, I mean fucktard.)

OK, enough for now. More later. Hey, Annie, remember the "Dollar-fucking-25-lighter"? LOL. You rock, girl, and I'm so glad we still hang out! (Even though we're old, boring married couples now.)

Run and Hide!

Guess who is doing a blog now? Yeah, my hubby. I am totally freaked. He is so going to get even with me for all my posts about him. I am going to have to be nice to him and shit now. Go visit and leave a comment so he can feel all egomaniacal. Just so you know, HE LIES. (Just remember this for any future posts about me. Thank you.) I am not responsible for his material. I'm just sayin'.

Behold the Behemoth

Look at this damn thing. Now I won't have any excuses.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Can't. Think. Of. Anything. To. Blog. About.

I guess I should take a picture of the monstrosity we just put up in our garage that renders me powerless against exercise excuses from now on. Our friends gave us this big weight training thingy and bench. I'll post it later when I get home, you know, after I use it, so my husband doesn't kill me for taking away his "husbandland" and turning it into a gym. Hehe. Shit.

Poker Night

Here's the evidence of poker night. I hope I don't get my ass kicked for this picture. (Annie, remember you said it was OK when I said, "I'm blogging this".)

My lovely husband looks like he is squeezing out a turd. Left to right: Amy, Joel, Matt, Jim, Annie. Totally fun night.

Grillin' and Chillin'

Seattle has finally decided to have sunshine, and we had a fabulous weekend of soaking it up. I have to tell you that I make the best kabobs ever in the history of the world, I marinate the meat in red wine and ginger/sesame teriyaki, and then skewer it with prawns, onions, peppers and pineapple that have been brushed with olive oil and black pepper. YUM. It goes well with strawberry margaritas, I might add.

Photos: My grillin' man (we also did ribs), my badass kabobs, my badass strawberry margarita, chillin' Lou, and chillin' Mags. Doesn't get any better than this.

Crop Circles

So, what do y'all think of crop circles? Gimme your theories. Otter, you and I both know it is Chuck Norris, but I want to see what everyone else thinks.

Friday night all to myself!

Hubs is going to a Mariner's game tonight. His friend bought him tickets for his birthday. What to do, what to do. Should I drink margaritas and watch horror movies, or should I do the dishes, laundry and clean out the pantry? Maybe I'll clean while drinking margaritas, yeah, that's it! No telling what the place will look like tomorrow.

For the love of God, go leave him a comment.

Mr. NoRemorse is all whiny about not getting readers and is referring to me as his "only" reader. He is also pissy that I advertised the "Yerdoingitwrong" blog, and not his. Well, here is your great big fat apology and plug, my friend. Happy blogging! Congrats on your engagement!

Corners

Do you ever turn corners too fast and "clip" them with your shoulder, only to fall over and giggle while saying "OW" whilst your coworkers point and laugh?

Yeah, me neither.

I feel hungover but I haven't been drinking.

After a nice 5 days off, it was back to work yesterday. It went OK, but today is sucking big wang so far. Sorry to be negative here, peeps, but not every day in my world is cute fuzzy chicks and sunny sunshine. For starters, I woke up late. Then, while driving to work, a big rock smashed my windshield and it's not like I have the money to fix it. Then, I got to work and found out there are a whole bunch of debits on my bank account that I didn't know about, that will make my account go negative tomorrow. and I don't get paid until Friday. Fuckity fuck, fuck, fuck. I felt the need to cuss, get over it. Guess I need to start praying again. Also, repenting for cussing.

Me, the kid and our little Spring Break.

My stepson is staying with us for part of his Spring Break, and I took a few days off to be with him. So today was our first day together while Jim went off to work at 5 am. What did we do you ask? We slept in. Until noon. Jim called on his lunch break at 11:30 and left, like, 4 messages, 2 on the home phone, 1 on my cell phone and 1 on his son's cell phone. No one answered. The messages went something like this, "Hey! Where the hell are you guys? Hello? Guys? What is going on? Where ARE you? Hey!" Once we stumbled out of bed, I'm all like, I think your dad called, whoops.

Right now, we are alternating between watching movies and playing video games. Go outside in the sunshine? Nah.

Stories about me you won't read here.

One of my best friends just started a blog. I am thrilled, and just a little scared. We go way back and have done some seriously funny things. I'm sure you will enjoy her, she is funnier and even more sarcastic than me. She's "Yerdoingitwrong" at blogspot.

An Amazing Story to Tell

You are all so incredibly sweet to be so concerned about me. In all my life I would have never guessed that complete strangers on the internet could make me feel so good. This past week has been both the worst, and the best, of my life. Because of the human condition, I think we all lose faith in caring, honest and loving people. We become apathetic, complacent and extremely cynical. This post is going to be a little different than what you are used to from me. I have been forever changed by something that has taken place, and even though I am reluctant to put such personal information out there in cyberspace, this is much too important not to share.

Without all of the awful details, it was about a week ago today that my world came off of its axis. I almost lost everything. My husband and I were splitting up, and with an ever-increasing financial disaster looming over my head, it looked like I was going to lose all the things I had worked so hard for as well, including my house. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, I was vomiting about every 30 minutes from the stress, and I wanted to die. I couldn't stop crying either, which is not normal for me. I hardly ever cry. I'm on medication that makes me numb most of the time, but in this case, the meds weren't even strong enough. I was in a sort of a 'shock', I guess. I was going to be alone, broke, devasted and stripped of every last piece of pride I had left. I went to work but couldn't work. I just sat there and stared at my computer screen bawling my eyes out. No one seemed to notice, but I was scared that with all of this stress and uncontrollable emotion, that I would lose my job. Why not? Sure, I might as well lose that too.

I didn't tell very many people about what was happening. Not even my family, at first. I wanted to figure things out in my own head before I upset everybody with the mess that was my life. I had no idea what to do and felt I had nowhere to turn. I was brought to my knees, and I cried out to God.

I didn't even know where to begin in my prayers. I was so overwhelmed. I begged God for some peace, to stop crying so that I could function. I told Him I was sorry for being an idiot and a sorry excuse for a human being. I told God that I already believed in Him, but that I wished I could feel His love. I prayed this prayer sitting on the floor in the dark in the employee bathroom. When I stopped praying, I felt calm. I started to breathe. Slowly. I cleaned myself up and went to my desk.

I went to an internet site I frequent on occasion that has Christian daily devotionals, Bible Prophecy and a forum for prayer requests. (I know what you are thinking, just stay with me here.) You wouldn't know it from reading my blog, but I am actually a very spiritual person. I don't go to church, and most preachers and TV evangelists make my skin crawl, but I have a strong faith. I actually decided to put a prayer request on this forum. I didn't know if anyone would care or pray for me, or even read it, but I did it anyway. I just typed a simple request that asked for prayer for my marriage and my finances. Nothing specific, nothing special. I emailed it from my work email. That was last Tuesday.

That night, my husband and I decided to talk. He had told me previously that he was moving out and was making the preparations to do so, but he wanted to talk before he left. We talked and cried and talked and cried. We love each other. We wanted to make it work, but we didn't know how, or where to start. We have been together for almost 13 years. Exhausted, we went to bed. I called in sick the next day. My husband decided not to leave.

I had also emailed a friend of mine that I knew from a church I used to go to a long time ago. We hadn't talked in over 3 years, but she was so thrilled to hear from me and was very sad about my situation. She asked if she could pray for me and get me on a prayer list at my old church. She also wanted to see me. I needed as much prayer as I could get right now, so I accepted, and was looking forward to seeing my dear friend. I don't know why we lost touch, life just takes different turns, and I don't know what made me think of her. I didn't want her to think I was "using" her or only emailing her because I was distraught. She said she didn't care why I was emailing her, only that she was so I glad I did! This woman is the sweetest person in the entire world, the kind of person you could never say anything bad about, the kind of person you want to know.

Friday morning at work I was finally starting to feel a little better. I didn't know how I was going to pay any of the bills, but at least my other half (Jim) was loving me and staying by my side. I was so grateful to God for this. After lunch, I walked past my work mailbox and noticed something in it. It was a hand-labeled card, or letter or something with a return address from the other side of the country where I have never been, and don't know anyone. There was a man's first name on it, but no last name. I don't know anyone with this name. It was made out to my work, with attention to me. I opened it. It was a card that said God loved me, and that God wanted me to know that, and that someone was praying for me. It also said that God had put it on this person's heart to send this to me even though they had never met me and didn't know anything about me. Something also fell out of the card. It was a money order, made out to me. For a very large sum of money.

I couldn't move for a few minutes, and I am surprised I didn't pass out. A complete stranger had sent me money. A COMPLETE STRANGER. This was not a donation to the Red Cross, or a hurricane relief fund, or a charity. It was for ME. A nobody. This was a huge amount of money, and I started shaking and crying. From the comments inside the card, I deduced that it must be from someone who had read my online prayer request. I felt the Lord all around me. He had answered my prayer, and I felt His love. I physically felt it. I cannot explain it. What this person did, goes beyond normal boundaries. Goes beyond human nature. You don't just send some random person on the internet that kind of money. This is divine intervention, and there is no one, nowhere that will convince me otherwise.

I don't know how long I stood there, but for the first time in my life I knew everything was going to be OK. Somehow. I also knew that someday I would do the same, or more, for someone else. It kind of feels like that "Pay it Forward" movie. Have you seen that? Good flick.

I didn't tell Jim right away. This is something you don't tell someone over the phone. Jim has struggled with his spirituality for a long time now, not knowing exactly what he believes anymore. He has been fighting with the whole "Christianity" thing, the hypocrisy, the fake people, the B.S. that I, too, struggle with. Who doesn't? I called him on the way home and said something like, "You are going to think I have lost it, but I want to ask you a really weird question." He was curious. I asked him if there was anything that could happen in this life, a miracle if you will, that would confirm his beliefs, that would "unconfuse" him about his feelings toward God. His response was, "Huh? What? I don't know." I laughed. I told him to think about it and I would tell him the significance when I got home.

When I got home, Jim was more than a little curious now, he wanted to know what was going on. He said he really couldn't come up with a good answer other than, "If Jesus were to come down here right now and say, "How is it going, Jim?" I handed him the card with the money order still in it. He looked at me funny, and I said, "I have no idea who this is from". He looked at the card and the money order for a long time without saying anything. He finally said, "Is this real?". I said "Yup.". He said, "Oh My God.", I said, "Exactly."

The reality of this situation still has not sunk in for either one of us. It is surreal. My husband is no longer confused about his spirituality. As it turns out, one of the answers he was thinking of to my question was "if some stranger gave us a bunch of money". He didn't want to use that answer though, because he said it sounded "greedy". He swears that was what he was thinking, though. It blew him away. This might all sound stupid to you, but it is big for us. Just call me CrazyDogMama the Jesus-freak, I don't care. Something important has happened to me and I felt the need to share it.

I Love You All

I want to thank everyone who left a comment and/or emailed me to see if I was OK. It means a lot! I am in fact, OK. I have had a crapola week, but it is getting better. I am exhausted mentally and physically, but I truly believe all the prayers are working. Most of you are complete strangers to me, but I feel like I know you anyway. Blogland is great that way. I will be back to my cynical and sarcastic self soon. I may have lost my sense of humor for a couple of days, but no fear, it is still in me.

Taking a Break

I wanted to let all 4 of you know that I probably won't be blogging for a short time. I am going through something in my life, and I have to figure things out. I'll be back when I am feeling a bit more up to par. Email me if you wish. Take care, and don't stop being a CrazyDogMama fan! Please!

St. Patrick's Day

At approximately 7:30 am this morning as I'm commuting to work, my husband calls me on my cell phone and asks, "So, are we getting hammered tonight?" LOL. We have to make sure we keep our priority plans straight.

My Life with Dogs, Part 2

Now, Maggie. My little Magadog. Maggie is much simpler than Louie. She is a happy little dog who is quite possibly the sweetest girl ever. She can totally kick Louie's ass, though.

Maggie
a.k.a. Magadog, Magalope, Mags, Magpie, stinky, freak-a-zoid, and little shit-fucker.

Maggie was such a cute puppy. She had one ear that flopped over, and one that stood up. She was so tiny and impish. We were worried that Louie was going to steamroll her with his big clumsy clod-ass, but when we brought her home, she took off after him! She chased him and he would have to jump up on the couch to get away from her. Maggie totally took over from that point on.

Maggie shit everywhere, every day, for the first year of her life. She would shit in her crate (and all over herself) at least twice a day. That damn dog got so many baths. We called her stinky. She also has Seborrhea, a skin condition that makes her fur oily and smelly. (Louie doesn't smell at all.) So, she is always a mess.

Maggie is a complete and total SPAZ. She is like a squirrel on crack. She is always running and jumping all over the place. She actually runs circles around Louie and slams him against things. She also jumps OVER Louie all the time. It is quite amusing, especially when Louie attempts to catch her, which of course never happens. It is much like Wily Coyote and the Roadrunner.

Maggie turns around in circles when she is excited, we call it twirling. She will twirl to go outside, she will twirl when I am filling her food dish or water bowl and she will twirl when I say, "Let's go bye-bye". When it is treat-time, though, she jumps HIGH up into the air and rams my butt with her head. She will ram your ass too, if you get near the treat jar. The jumping is why we call her Magalope. (Antelope, Magalope, get it?)

Maggie wolfs her food down in, like, 15 seconds. I'm not kidding. Then, immediately afterward, you had BETTER LET HER OUTSIDE QUICK or shit will start flying out of her butt. She gets all panicky if I am out of the room when she is finished, and starts ramming the back door with her head. Perhaps I should get a doggy door, but then we run the risk of all the mountain creatures coming inside.

Maggie loves her toys, and she doesn't destroy them like Louie does. Her favorite toy is a fuzzy purple and black tiger-pig thing we call "Pigger". She carries it everywhere and uses it as a pillow. Humans can touch her toys, but God help Louie if he so much as looks at them. Maggie is downright scary when she is pissed at Louie. She is as quick and fierce as lightning, and Louie just yelps and runs. He is such a vagina.

Maggie loves to cuddle. She will bury herself in you on the couch, the bed, or wherever you are. She wants to be warm, and she will NOT move. Even if you want her to. I could sit on her, and she wouldn't move. She is a fabulous bed partner. She keeps your feet warm. She is always up for love and is eternally grateful for any and all affection. Maggie has never been aggressive or pissy towards her humans, and she HATES fighting. When Jim and I are in an argument, she barks at us. She wants everything peaceful. Sweet, sweet, sweet little thing she is.

Maggie is an attention-whore. Don't think you can ignore her. It's impossible. She will back up into your hands for a petting or lick you until you acknowledge her appropriately. Maggie is also FUCKING LOUD. She has this extremely high-pitched squeal-bark thing she does when the doorbell rings. You cannot shut her up, and it is worse than when you set off the house fire alarm. (Having both the alarm going off and Maggie squealing at the same time makes you want to kill yourself.) People are always like "OH MY GOD SHE IS ULTRASONIC". It can be very embarrassing, but she is so darn cute when she is looking up at you wagging her tail, that you soon forget about it.

Maggie is the life of the party on the 4th of July. While Louie is hiding behind the toilet from the fireworks noise, Maggie is in the back yard running around in big wide circles, barking non-stop at the pretty sparkly lights. She is very happy, and very excited. She will ram the door until you let her out and will stay out there all night long. I have to go pick her up and drag her inside to rest and get a drink of water, so she doesn't have a heart attack.

We love our Magadog. Once, when she was really sick and the vet put her on antibiotics for 6 months, I would periodically cry while waiting tables thinking about her. I got really good tips when I explained this to my customers, especially if they were "dog people".

It is true, I have two dogs of the same breed, but two dogs that are polar opposites. They are both so full of personality that every day is a new adventure. You really never know what is going to happen next. I wouldn't want it any other way. My kids, Louie and Maggie.

My Life with Dogs, Part 1

Besides the last post, I haven't been dog-blogging lately. Its time. Now that I am home more (not working two jobs), I have really had time to pay attention to the little furry fuckers. It is NOW that I have chosen to attempt to explain them to you in all their quirky glory. Louie will be first, then Maggie on the next post.

Louie
a.k.a. Lou, Lou-dog, Lou-Master, Lou-Bear, Bear, Boo, Boo-Bear, Assbag, dumbass, fucker and fuzzbutt.

Louie is an island. He is complex, cynical, highly intelligent, clumsy, adorable, stubborn as hell, moody and funny. I love him so much it hurts.

Louie will pretty much eat anything, and he is totally preoccupied with anything edible. He especially loves to put his face in my dinner plate when I am eating on the coffee table. (Much to my chagrin.) If you accidently leave any food on the coffee table, you can just forget about it. Louie 'checks' the coffee table every morning upon waking. Louie can be on the other side of the yard, or totally asleep in his crate, but if you open the refrigerator, Louie will be on you like a fly on shit. If you make him "go lay down" and stop begging, he will lay facing you, staring a hole through you with every bite you take. This drives Jim batshit.

Louie likes to ignore me on purpose because he knows how much it pisses me off. I like to lay on the couch and watch TV, and I like to have my furries lay with me to keep me warm. I will call him and call him and call him. It is though I do not exist. Sometimes I have to FORCE HIM to lay with me and he will commence immediately to looking as though someone has licked all of the red off of his candy with his ears out sideways instead of straight up. (This is what I call "Yoda Ears".) Once I give up and let him go, he will either lay beside the couch or wander down the hallway into his crate, sulking. If I get up, however, he follows me everywhere and will invariably plunk down beside me wherever I end up, even if it is on the toilet. I never pee alone. He wants to be NEAR me, but not touching.

When I take a shower, Louie plops his two front paws on top of the tub, moves the shower curtain back with his nose and watches me. He will lick my legs if I let him. He is a total perv.

Louie is extremely vocal. Louie play-growls like he is possessed. He barks for no reason. When he wants your attention, he will sway from side to side on his front paws while sitting, then whine and 'talk' to you. He SOUNDS like a Pitbull, but he runs from spiders. In the morning, if he believes you have slept long enough, he will bark in your face and "dig" your blankets off of you.

Do not disturb Louie when he is sleeping or eating. He has a total hissy-fit.

Louie gets VERY excited around new people. He loves people, especially kids. Watch out, though, because he head-butts in all of his excitement. When I come home from work, Louie licks my face and jumps on me for about a half an hour. THEN, he will ignore me.

If you do anything to upset Louie, he will spite-piss right in front of you. (Like, every time I give him a bath.) Louie pees like a bitch, he never lifts his leg. He also looks really funny when he poops, it's like he can barely balance. Then, when he is finished pooping, he "pumps" his tail to get every last dingleberry out.

Louie will play with Maggie, but he is slow and clumsy, and can't take a corner to save his life due to the fact that his back legs are too long. Its pitiful. He also tries to hump Maggie all the live-long day, but she won't have it. He gets all frustrated and barks at her.

Louie is a homophobe. When you stick a thermometer up his butt, he SCREAMS IN HORROR. He also wails and carries on to no end when I clip his nails. I'm sure the neighbors think I'm skinning him alive when he makes these noises.

Louie will disembowel any toy given to him just outside of 30 seconds.

Louie likes to steal my underwear and hide it in his crate.

Louie likes to find good smells in the yard and roll on them. He rolls on insects, frogs, cat shit, vomit and old, rotting grass.

Louie is constantly running into things like flowerpots, kitchen cabinets, the coffee table legs, me, the fence, etc. He is not blind, nor does he have cataracts. He just doesn't pay attention, and he trips over himself.

When I am crying, Louie licks my tears.

If you go to pet Louie on the head, it will ALWAYS end up as a belly-scratch. He will totally manipulate you.

Louie "huffs" and "sighs" just like a human.

When Louie is scared, he "hugs" you. Either that, or he hides behind the toilet.

Louie freaks out over flies.

Last, but not least, Louie smiles.

Welcome to My World

NOTE: This article is 100% true, and I'm not kidding. I laughed so hard and nodded my head through the entire thing. Read until the end, especially if you are thinking about getting a Cairn Terrier.

TOTO: The Other Side of the Story (by Michele Stadnik)

So, "The Wizard of Oz" is your favorite movie, you just LOVE Toto, and have always wanted a dog just like him. A dog who's small, cute, lovable, and doesn't shed all over your couch? You've done your research and learned that Cairn Terriers are (take your pick):

Good with children.
Friendly.
Loving family dogs.
Adaptable to living in small apartments as well as large homes.

Well, YES and NO.

Probably NO ONE ever told you that Cairns will almost INVARIABLY:
Chase squirrels.
Chase bunnies.
Chase bugs.
Chase bikes.
Chase paper fluttering down the street.
Chase anything that moves.
Chase things that aren't moving, just to GET them moving so they'll have something to chase.
Bark at cars.
Bark at bikes.
Bark at birds.
Bark at trikes.
Bark at trucks.
Bark at the phone.
Bark at fireworks.
Bark at thunder.
Bark at the doorbell.
Bark at the doorbell on TV.
Bark to hear themselves bark.
Bark just to get your goat or get your attention.
Or both.
Bark sometimes just because it feels so damned GREAT TO BARK.
Dig up that mouse hole.
Dig up your tulips.
Dig up your roses.
Dig up your lawn.
Dig under your fence.
Dig under your shed.
Dig up your linoleum.
Dig up your carpeting.
Nip at people's feet if you haven't redirected their intense prey drive.
Nip at your hands too, if not trained properly.
Try to control their universe and everything in it, INCLUDING YOU.
Will succeed at this unless YOU intervene. And even then, they'll try again. And again. And again, and again, and again, and again.
Lunge at other dogs on leash.
Lunge at people, unless trained not to.
Lunge because it feels good and they're in a hurry to get where they're going, and you're the only thing holding them back from experiencing the next exciting adventure around the corner or around the world.
Bolt out any open door in the blink of an eye.
LET ME REPEAT THAT: THEY WILL BOLT OUT ANY OPEN DOOR IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE.
And won't return until they're good and ready.
Sometimes not even then.
Refuse to come, unless they want to.
Refuse to sit, unless they want to.
Refuse to stay, unless they're bored silly, and if so, that's the BEST time to move around to stir up the action anyway.
Refuse to stop barking, unless there's something in it for them, like a fabulous treat.
Refuse to do what you want at the PRECISE moment that it's most important that they do, like when you're trying to show off how obedient and well-trained they are. (Which is, of course, a grand delusion on your part.)
Nor, it seems, has anyone told you:
A Cairn can never, ever, ever be trusted off-leash, EVER.
Not even for a second. Regardless of how well-trained you have deluded yourself into believing he is.
That all the dogs you've had before and have trained so well don't matter, if they weren't Cairns.
Because Cairns are different.
Very different.
That they're generally NOT the best breed for a home with small children.
That one bears repeating: Cairns are generally NOT the best breed for a home with small children.
That Cairns WILL shed a little (or a lot) if you don't groom them properly.
That they're relatively resistant to housebreaking. (Don't expect them to be housebroken in a week, or even a month.)
And even when you think they're housebroken, if they've got something else on their agenda at the moment, they're likely to conveniently "forget".
That they are affectionate, on their terms, not yours.
That they are stubborn and hardheaded, not to mention incredibly independent.
That obedience training is a necessity, not a luxury. And that it's just the FIRST step in the process.
That you should read the previous sentence again and forget everything you think you know. If you haven't owned a Cairn, it doesn't apply.
That they were bred to hunt and kill, and their intense prey drive can NEVER be trained out of them. Toto may not have KILLED those flying monkeys, but that's only because Toto KNEW they were fakes. Otherwise, they'd have been dead, not merely outwitted.
What they SHOULD have told you is:
They're wonderful for THE RIGHT OWNER
They're loving, IF YOU LOVE THEM, TREAT THEM WELL, AND HAVE EARNED THEIR RESPECT.
They're smart, PROBABLY SMARTER THAN YOU.
They're sweet, WHEN THEY WANT TO BE.
They're funny, VIRTUALLY ALL THE TIME, IF YOU ENJOY DEMENTED, DEVIOUS, DEVILISH HUMOR.
They're good with GOOD, WELL-BEHAVED CHILDREN WHO HAVE GOOD, RESPONSIBLE PARENTS. And if they haven't had a bad experience previously with ill-behaved kids. Otherwise, it's a recipe for disaster.
They're strong.
They're hearty.
They're brave.
They're relentless.
They're devious.
They're insightful.
They're indomitable.
They're energetic beyond description.
They're intelligent beyond belief.
They're the BEST dog you'll ever own.
BUT they just may be the WORST dog you can imagine.

THAT PART IS ALL UP TO YOU!

Oh, and by the way, Toto was actually a GIRL!

I know you don't care.

"The Hills Have Eyes 2006" was awesome. Fun, fun, fun! Lots of messed up shit in that flick! It will never be the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but it will be a DVD that I buy! I can't wait for the uncut version. If you have a squeamish stomach at all, don't go see it. If you are demented and cuckoo like me, don't wait another minute! Go now!

I took my stepson to see it. (It was HIS request, don't judge me.) His comment was, "That was messed." After the movie, when we were all standing by the car, this older woman (in her 50's or 60's) was all giddy and running (shuffling) through the parking lot in a pair of neon green flip-flops. She ended up running right towards us and getting into this Alfa Romeo waiting for her with her husband in it. She yells at us "Did you like the Hills movie?" (She had a foreign accent, Mexican I think.) She was laughing and jumping up and down. She exclaimed that she loved it so much, the gore and the blood and all of it was "so neat". It is so nice to know I am not the only wacko woman in the world. We talked to her for a while, totally amused. I told my stepson that if he wants to date, that his date has to go through "one night of horror films with me". If she screams and wimps out, he is not allowed to date her. If she has a good time, thumbs up! He said to me, "You aren't kidding, are you?" LOL.

In other news, there is no other news.

Holy Crap, He's 14.

My stepson just had a birthday. He is only two years away from the whole driving thing. God help us all.

They are making another one!

OH, SWEET MOMMA! October 2006, "Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning"

The Hills Have Eyes 2006

I am so excited to see this movie I can hardly stand it. It looks absolutely disturbing and brutal and I'm trying to find an advanced screening somewhere. I am one of those kooks you find at a horror convention, but really, I have a wide spectrum of interests. For instance, I also want to see "8 Below", a Disney movie based on a true story about doggies. So THERE. But getting back to the blood, WOW, loved the preview, and the stills provided are wonderfully horrifying! I have been disappointed in every horror flick I've seen since the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I'm *really* keeping my fingers crossed for this one. Jim is excited too, as we both are horror film fanatics. Him not as much as me, but still. What a perfect match we are.

Tube City, A Photo Essay

So, I've told you before how awesome my company is, right? Well, to celebrate a milestone they gave us last Friday off and took us up snow-tubing at a local ski resort. The awesomest part, though, was the OPEN BAR.

Some explanation is needed to fully appreciate the chaos that it was. I work with mostly boys. Crazy, adolescent, and very competitive boys. We broke every single rule and paid dearly for it. To start things off, here is the beautiful mountain. Yes indeed, it was a beautiful day. Beautiful and 6 whole frigging degrees. (-38 degrees with the wind-chill factor.) NEGATIVE 38 DEGREES. My world tends to hover between 40 and 75 all year 'round. This was quite a shock to my poor little system. Nevertheless, we tubed in pure ice. It doesn't look steep in the picture, but HOLY CRAP IT IS.

You really must pay attention to the signs in these pictures. One sign reads "No Loose Clothing, No Long Hair Exposed and No Scarves." Signs, Bah! I had on an unzipped coat, a scarf, my long hair blowing in the wind and an elf hat. (A snowboarding hat.) Up the rope tow I went. At the top, you are supposed to roll to your side off of the tube, then grab your tube and go down the hill. Well, my hat got caught in the rope tow, took it off my head, then the wind blew my hair around the rope tow cable, and around, and around and around it went. The rope tow is a constantly moving cable. The rope tow drug me by my hair up the mountain and bashed my head against the metal wheel pulley. I have never been so scared in all my life. I have never screamed so loud in my life. The rope tow took a chunk of my hair for a souvenir. That tuft of hair went 'round and 'round the rest of the day as a tidy little reminder of how much of a total and complete utter idiot I am. I also had a nice little goose-egg on my skull. No matter. A-tubing-I-will-go.

In the photos, you'll see me skidding to a stop in the ice, looking much like the Michelin Man (or the Pilsbury Dough Girl, whichever you prefer) with my four layers on, but also looking ever so girly in my forbidden pink scarf. Next, we have the "Please Stay Off the Walls" sign. But where's the fun in that? The operators called my coworker Phil's accident, "The best crash we've seen all season." Everyone survived, some of us were just more maimed than others. Phil has a broken rib, and I have a bald patch and a throbbing head. After all of our painful fun, I had many coffee nudges. Alcohol saves the day, again.

Post Valentine's Day and Other Shit

Well, the hubby and I finally got a romantic night together. I fixed him Schnitzel (his favorite) the night after Valentines, but we actually went out to dinner for the first time in months last Saturday. I had a gift certificate left over from Christmas that we used because otherwise we would just be digging through restaurant garbage bins.

We went to "Anthony's Home Port" on the waterfront. I got to face the beautiful sunset (because I'm the girl!) and sip on a glass of Syrah while Jim had a microbrew. We started with Calamari, then I had a blue cheese and baby shrimp salad, and he had the chowder. Then, I had top sirloin and coconut prawns and he had blackened rockfish. Pretty yummy. I finished with a Bailey's and coffee. The best part, of course. We skipped dessert because Jim insisted on stopping at Krispy Kreme. No complaint here! Yeah, I totally gained about 10 pounds in 1 night. Shut up.

I don't have the pics ready yet, so I'm postponing my post on snow-tubing with my company last Friday until later tonight. It was fun, there were injuries (including me of course) and I think we are all banned from the mountain. Stay tuned.

Why Now?

Prepare yourselves for a serious post, folks. I know.

I cut and paste the following information from the "AO Report". I thought it was interesting and it made me think.

Consider the following elemental facts/details that have, are or in the process of transpiring:

#1. The Iranian nuclear crisis, itself and all the wacky, radical statements the newly elected Iranian president has made. It's almost as if the guy is begging to be attacked. If you were trying to guide your nation to secretly develop nuclear weapons so badly that you could taste it, why would you make a string of statements that would so inflame the rest of the world that they would rise up to eliminate your nation's chance of achieving the goal of making nuclear bombs before your nation finishes the program development and have built up an inventory of bombs to protect yourself. It is almost as if the Iranian president wants to be stopped before the nation can succeed in being able to make nuclear bombs.
Something just doesn't quite add up in this crisis. We can't quite put our finger on it, but it just isn't quite right. Why provoke a fight before you are ready? Unless there's more to it than meets the eye? Maybe they already have a lot of nuclear weapons? Maybe, the rhetoric is a trap to lure America and then close it with a huge nuclear counterattack or a preemptive attack? Maybe it is a staged situation that allows Russia and China to nuke the USA? Or maybe its simply the newly elected Iranian president is not playing with a full deck of cards? Maybe the Iranian President doesn't have the sharpest pencils in the box? Maybe as a kid he watched too many 3 Stooges movies and moronism rubbed off on him instead of a talent for humor? Or maybe he's just a plain, old-fashioned, demonically possessed person? Why this guy? Why now?

#2. Osama bin Laden (OBL) out of the clear blue sky delivering an audio tape warning the USA of more attacks to come. Why now?

#3. Recent reports of Middle Eastern men attempting to purchase cheap throw-away cell phones from Walmart and other discount stores. Such phones can be used anonymously and thrown away. They cannot be traced. These were incidents reported in Texas and California by newswire reports and other major news media sources. These are facts if we are to believe the wire reports. Why now?

#4. A recent foiled attempt at the Canadian border to smuggle weapons and perhaps a bomb into the United States. This is a fact. The exact details however may be in doubt and it has mysteriously dropped off the major media's radar scope. Why now?

#5. Rumors of other terror incidents that were interdicted in the nick of time by US officials including possible WMD events. Such activities were halted, supposedly just in the nick of time. These are merely unsubstantiated rumors in and of themselves. We don't know if such rumors are/were true, but they'd surfaced in some circles in the past thirty days or so. Why now?

#6. Reports that the US government is conducting a second nuclear terror strike drill again focusing on a pretend nuclear terror event against Charleston, South Carolina, just like the one conducted in the summer of 2005. It is a three-day even scheduled for 1/31/06 thru 2/2/06. Keep in mind, that on 9-11 the U.S. was conducting several terror exercises simultaneously at the same moments that the real thing was happening. Was that accidental, or a case of synchronicity, or planned and staged to coincide by one or all parties concerned? Why now?

#7. Recent newswire reports of sudden US Air Force and National Air Guard units being suddenly and immediately deployed to the Middle East to undisclosed locations. These are facts. They cannot be denied. Why Now?

#8. DEBKAfile reports are citing especially reliable intel sources which have evidence that concludes Iran will be able now to make a nuclear bomb by the first of March. While DEBKAfile has been right on target on many occasions, their sources are not always correct. They are also reporting from their sources and also internal Iranian dissident sources that Iran will explode a nuclear bomb in the next 60 days or less. These Iranian insiders are also reporting that Iran is moving its long-range missiles into positions that put Israeli targets within range of those missiles. Furthermore, these missiles are mobile and are moved every night to avoid being sitting duck targets by US or Israeli air strikes. Why now?

#9. WorldNetDaily's Intelligence Report "G-2" is reporting that the USA and Israel will launch air strikes against Iran before April. Let me repeat that "before April." Why now?

#10. Israel's military and political leaders are making contradictory statements about the Iranian situation. One direction of comments states that Israel cannot allow Iran to have nuclear weapons and will do whatever is necessary to stop Iran. There are now opposite view statements. Some recent Israeli “intel” assessments concluded that Iran will pass the point of no return by the end of March. Those statements were followed by statements of Israel's readiness to attack preemptively if necessary. There were statements by Israel’s top leaders that Israeli forces have now finished preparations and training for strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities. All of these gung-ho for war statements can be painted against an earlier statement on Thursday (before the release of the Osama audio tape) by Israel's Army Chief of Staff. The top army general stated that it was not Israel's responsibility to attack Iran, but rather if an attack must occur that it be made by other nations, hinting that it should be the United Nations or some other joint venture of other nations. He made it clear that any military action on Iran should not be involving Israel. Now, why is this sudden reversal? Or is it a reversal? We find this to be an extremely curious dichotomy. Why now?

#11. We've also been privately informed as well as noted online reports in discussion forums of families unable to contact their loved ones serving in the military for the last few days. Also reports of sudden changes in orders and not being given permission to discuss their new assignments, suggesting that a possible, genuine military operation might be developing. We find this interesting, but on its own, it probably doesn't mean much, but we still ask the question, "Why Now?"

#12. The NWO crowd and the Bush administration is watching their plans for dictatorship starting to unravel over the inability to get the Patriot Act permanently renewed. Instead, it was temporarily extended until the end of January. Why the end of January? Also, the administration is coming under fire for revelations of illegal wiretapping and spying upon civilians by the CIA and NSA under Bush's direct orders. After all this time of crazy activity and the NY Times sitting on the story for a year, why release this information at this time? Why Now?

#13. In response to the Bin Laden message, Homeland Security held briefings with key officials of various state and local government leaders and Los Angelies has put that city's LAX airport under a heightened state of alert. Why Now?

#14. On 1-19-06, French President, Jacque Chirac warned that any terrorist nation that carried out a terrorist attack against France might be punished with French nuclear attack. Why Now?

#15. Iran's crazy president made a sudden visit Syria to meet with Syria's president to discuss the escalating nuclear crisis. Syria reaffirmed its support of Iran. Why now?

#16. Note that Russia and China Oppose US Military Action against Iran. Should a WMD attack against America by "terrorists" develop on the Continental United States, Russia and China could not oppose a military retaliation unless they were prepared to go to war against the United States. However, without such an event, Russia and China still seem bent on preventing any attacks on Iran, any time soon. Why? Why Now? They have a great economic stake in Iran plus any military strikes could release radioactivity that depending upon weather and wind currents could contaminate their nations.

#17. Iran is about to introduce a new economic threat to the United States. It is an Oil Commodities Exchange (called a bourse) where the trade of oil futures contracts could be made using the EU Euro currency instead of US dollars. Such a move could destroy the US economy within a matter of weeks or months, triggering the possibility of stock market crashes as well as bank collapses. There is some debate as to how much of a threat this would be to the US economy, but we think it could be enough of a risk as to alarm and threaten the power base of the Bush division of the NWO crowd. Why Now?

#18. Al Qaeda's number two man, Zaman al-Zawahiri filmed a video recently that was released on 01-06-06. Why Now? The release of this video, according to one very well-respected terrorism expert (who reportedly briefs US government leaders at a the highest levels) says that every second video by al-Zawahiri is followed within 30 days by a major Al Qaeda terror strike. This is significant because al Zawahiri released an earlier video back on October 23, 2005, so that the 01-06-06 video is the second video and thus is signaling another attack is imminent. The question is where in the world that attack will occur.

#19. This may seem a bit superfluous but the date of release for OBL's audio message is 1-19-06 or when reversed is 60- 91-1 or more significantly is 911. We mention this because there seems to be a pattern and fascination by the "terror" gang with occult numerology as found in Freemasonry and Illuminism. To us, this date suggests perhaps something ominous is developing. Why Now?

#20. 13 days before this latest OBL audio tape surfaced, OBL's #2 in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri's videotaped warning was released. That was on 01-06-06 or a difference of 13 days between the release of that tape and the OBL audio tape. 13 is an extreme-ly occult symbol of the Illuminati. 13 is perhaps the most critical number of all. Keep in mind, that Islam is a religion that at least on its surface is opposed to occultism. Why now?

#21. The highly popular and critically acclaimed, Oprah Winfrey television talk show devoted its show on Monday, 1/23/06 to Nuclear Terrorism and 1/24/06 devoted to the Bird Flu threat. The shows dealt primarily with how people can and should prepare for potential disasters. Why now?

Alas, my favorite holiday has arrived.

Let me just say this, Valentine's Day (VD) is not a REAL holiday because I have to go to work.

I woke up today in a foul mood. My account is overdrawn, I am running late, my lip is split, I can't walk because I have had to wait tables the last few days (got called from the old restaurant to pull some shifts) and my feet/calves/legs were not ready for it, I have a dentist appointment and I am working approximately 15 hours today. I will see my hubby for about 5 minutes when I get home, and then will commence to crashing on the bed from exhaustion, stress and general mental illness.

Oh, and I spilled my iced mocha (all 24 ounces of it) ALL. OVER. MY. SUV. which will now smell like sour milk. Have I ever told you how much I hate February, especially the 14th? Damn you to HELL February!

Piercing Eyes

Conversation I had with my husband this evening:

Me: How would you describe my eyes?
Jim: Piercing.
Me: Piercing?
Jim: Yes. Piercing.
Me: What the hell does that mean?
Jim: It means they are wise, intelligent, knowledgeable, intense, beautiful crystal-clear blue, and able to see through my bullshit. Piercing.
Me: Is that sexy?
Jim: Oh, hell yeah. Unless you are pissed.

Things Stressed Women Say At Work

-Okay, okay! I take it back. Unfuck you.
-You say I'm a bitch like it's a bad thing.
-Well, this day was a total waste of make-up.
-Don't bother me, I'm living happily ever after.
-Do I look like a fucking people person to you?
-Therapy is expensive. Popping bubble wrap is cheap. You choose.
-Why don't you try practicing random acts of intelligence and senseless acts of self-control?
-Sarcasm is just one more service I offer.
-Do they ever shut up on your planet?
-Stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you haven't gone to sleep yet!
-Back off!! You're standing in my happy place.
-Don't worry. I forgot your name too.
-I work 45 hours a week to be this poor.
-Chaos, panic and disorder. My work here is done.
-Ambivalent? Well, yes and no.
-You look like shit. Is that the style now?
-Aw, did I step on your poor whiny-assed ego?
-I'm not tense, just terribly, terribly alert.
-If assholes could fly, this place would be an airport.
-Look in my eyes. Do you see one ounce of gives-a-shit?

Cuss-Fest 2006

The Seahawks would have won without the fascist fucking referees. So many bad calls. I don't even like football. That is all I have to say about that.

A Superbowl, A Windstorm and An Earthquake

Ah, there is indeed some excitement here in the Seattle area. As most of you know, the Seattle Seahawks are in their very first Superbowl this Sunday. This place has completely gone nuts, and it shows. I was watching the news the other night and some idiot from the word go was actually walking around downtown Seattle with 10 thousand dollars IN CASH in his pocket looking to pick up two tickets to the Superbowl. That's Seattle for you. I can't pay my power bill, and someone is going to drop 10K in cash on a stupid football game. Now, don't get me wrong, I am excited to watch history taking place, but COME ON. First there is the price of the tickets, then the airfare, then the hotels (which I hear are NOT reasonably priced for the event), then the parking (which I hear is around 100$) and then the food. Twenty bucks for a hotdog anyone? If I sold my house, I might be able to attend. Sheesh.

OK, now are you ready for some irony, or some Murphy's Law, or whatever the hell you want to call it? Yeah, we are supposed to get some crazy windstorm Saturday. They are predicting 40 mph winds with gusts possibly up to 70 mph. About a million men will be having heart attacks if we lose power and/or cable for the game. I will be laughing.

We also had a nice little earthquake yesterday. Only a 3.3, but it shook up some people. Fun, fun, fun!

Today

Today I saw a dead rat in front of a sandwich shop. I ate there anyway.

Today I am recovering from what I perceive as an exploded tumor in my head. Yesterday I had the worst migraine EVER. It sucked. No more tumors, please.

Today there are officially one hundred billion things on my 'want' list, and I officially have no money and a ruined credit report. SHIT.

Today I wanted to jump rope, but I am too afraid of my tumor coming back.

Today I am having an acne breakout on my chest, and I only own scoop-necks, V-necks, and general shirts that make non-boobie-having-asses jealous. Awesome.

My Next Adventure in Reading

Midlife Mamas On The Moon. I can't find a negative review ANYWHERE. I am especially excited about this concept, "Lose Weight with your Eyeballs", LOL.

I am Betty Grable

I took this stupid online test, and apparently, I'm "Betty Grable".  The ultimate girl next door, the perfect girl for most guys, pretty yet approachable, and beautiful yet real.  I don't know if I agree with this, but OK.  What famous pinup are you?

I've still got it!

OK, so I was doing a little grocery shopping yesterday after work and apparently when you aren't wearing a wedding ring and you use a grocery basket to shop instead of a cart, men think you are available. Now, before you think I'm a big whore, the whole not-wearing-the-ring-thing is not intentional, I just forget to put it back on in the morning, and sometimes I'm too bloated because being a woman can suck. You also have to realize that I live in a small town, and everyone is friendly and talkative. Not a whore!

So, I was meandering up and down the aisles and this guy was kind of following me. I stopped in the frozen section and picked up a lasagna. The guy asked if those were "any good" and I looked up and said, "Yeah, they are, they're really good". He struck up a conversation with me about stupid random shit. I didn't think much of it, he just seemed friendly. I'm also not so good-looking that I automatically assume a man is hitting on me just because he is talking to me. It was the end of the day, too, and I looked like a trainwreck per usual.

I continued shopping and he went the other way. A few minutes later, we ran into each other in the Mexican food aisle. He looked up and smiled at me and said, "Hello again!". I said "Hi" and chuckled like anyone would do. I picked up the all-fat refried beans. This must have been the selling point because it was then that he apologized for being so forward and asked me out. This is where it gets funny. I'm sure I looked like one of those cartoon characters where their jaw drops to the floor and said something really intelligent like, "Huh?" Yeah, that's what I said. I was in a little bit of shock, you see. Sometime between him telling me that I was beautiful (which really threw me off) and telling me that he was a newly retired Navy guy, I managed to blurt out that I was married. He said "darn" and other stuff I don't remember due to the fact that my brain was fogged in, and I was still trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

I'm not sure how long I held the refried beans in my hand, but my ego was totally doing back flips. When I got to the checkout counter, I told the girl that I just got hit on. I told her what happened talking a mile a minute I'm sure and said I couldn't wait to go home and tell my husband! (Yes, I am freak loser who told this to the check-out girl.) She laughed and said that her husband would kick her ass if that happened to her. I retorted with, "Yeah, because YOU are cute and young and perky, I am old and fat and married, and am going to tell the whole world on the internet."

Jim wasn't all that thrilled, though, which made me giddy. I can't help it.