Went there for lunch today with some coworkers. It was pretty good, maybe I can get Carl to go there now! haha!
I'm so ready to go home. This afternoon has been one hit after another, and I'm finally caught up, I think.
I just realized I forgot to post about the movie we saw last weekend, I think. We went to see Larry the Cable Guy (Health Inspector). Don't waste your money...I was physically grossed out by this movie. I love stupid humor, don't get me wrong, but this was beyond what I can tolerate. I can't believe we paid $16 to see this! I want to see Inside Man soon, but I might wait until it's at the mall or something to see it. Then again, if I end up with free time tomorrow while I wait for Carl to get out of his meetings I might go see it by myself.
As it turns out Mama Tanya is ordering her plants from somewhere else, so I'm going to skip the nursery altogether. This should give me an extra hour to play with. At least we don't have to be there until 11 tomorrow! The last time I went he had to be there at 8:30 or some crazy hour. The stores weren't even open yet! I ended up going and cleaning up the car for a couple of hours until everything was open. Wacky.
I'm going to work with Alice a little bit tonight. Last night she broke a sit-stay when the neighbor came home, so we'll practice that a bit. And I think I'll get out her new slingit that she got for Christmas and we'll play. For that matter maybe I'll take her to the dog park and we'll both burn off some energy. :)
And now Carl is telling me that we need to go get a new battery for the big jeep. :( Poor Alice...
Listening to: Starstreams 020805
So today I'm hearing about some guy on strike because his 2 or 3 month old daughter is sleeping in the room with he and his wife.
I have an idea...if he's so against this, why doesn't he start getting up with the baby all night (heard via monitor). It's apparent that he doesn't have a job, since he's sitting on the roof all day. Good grief.
Ok, rant over. *grins*
Last night we attended the first session of Network. It was ok, but we didn't do a whole lot. I had a hard time coming up with something interesting about myself during introductions. I think I ended up saying something about salt fish. I should have mentioned the potato head collection. ha! Speaking of which, there's a new one coming out in June...R2 Potatoo. Not sure if I'll get this one or not, I'm not a big SW fan. However, I do have Darth Tater.
I have a list of things to do a mile long today:
work on site for customer
get list of plants to get for Mama Tanya tomorrow in Bloomington
send list of enhancements for Designer SE to Carl (I'm NOT getting one, but I told him it was full of new features and he wanted to know what they were)
wash dog beds, give Alice her bath
make sure call queue is cleaned up somewhat before I leave
make list of fat quarters to pick up tomorrow
write down everything I need to get at the Viking dealer (new SE is not on the list, haha!)
make list of all the places to go in Bton tomorrow...eyebrows waxed, facial, Bergners for pants, quilt shop, Viking store, plant place, Biaggi's *heehee*
I wish we were spending the night so I could shop more Saturday but I have other obligations that day. And Sunday is the obedience trial. Can't remember if I reported here or not, but I'm ring stewarding the Utility A group. This should be cool! Those dogs are so amazing!
Speaking of dogs...Alice has decided to only go "#2" when I tell her to, instead of Carl. This is a new thing, as of yesterday. *sighs* I love her to pieces, but she drives Carl crazy...
Listening to: Nawang Khechog - Year of Tibet
Freecell game: 5358, I think.
Still working on the Phonetix II puzzle. Have any of you guys finished it yet?
So today is Wednesday, but it's really Thursday for me, which makes it Friday eve. Get it? heehee!
The big crab is back! I thought he died through all of the power outtages, etc. Last night I was talking on the phone and thought I saw something crawling out from behind a big rock from ACROSS THE ROOM! I got up and went to check, and sure enough Kelly is still in there! And he's HUGE! I'm thinking that he molted or something and that's why I didn't see him. So now I have 2 crabs, and the new one is tiny. I hope they get along.
Actually, the more I think about it, I think that the crab has been eating my shrimp. #3 disappeared the day I got him. Something is killing them...but I don't have room for the normal things. Oh well, no more shrimp for me. 3 was enough.
I'm just hoping the crabs make it. They are so cool!
Listening to: The White Stripes - Denial Twist
Freecell game: 5358. I really need to get on the ball with this, but I'm just not in the mood.
Not too bad today. Still fighting the phonetix II puzzle.
It's strange to still drive around and see where buildings are missing walls and rooves. The power company is still working on lines out by my office. I'm thinking that the scars from the 2 tornadoes that hit are going to be long-lived.
I need a nap.
Listening to: My Chemical Romance - Helena
Freecell game: 5357, I think. Just not in the mood today.
I finally got the Phonetix puzzle! The last one really had me stumped, but I finally managed to get it this morning.
The Logix Riddle - The Phonetix Riddle
Now, of course, I'm working on Phonetix II! These are so much fun, I can't wait for this guy's next puzzle to come out. Should be sometime around Easter, I think.
Headed to Bloomington Friday, to the quilt shop and Royal Dutch. And maybe the mall if I have time. Oh, and the Viking dealer in Normal. I need to pick up the single hole plate and q foot. My local dealer can get them, but she has to special order everything and it takes awhile. I'm impatient! (surprise, I know)
Going home at lunch to take my contacts out, this is murder. My eyes are so dry!
Yeah, it's kind of a slow day, if you couldn't tell. Heh
Listening to: RHCP - Otherside
Same freecell game.
Back to work today. So far it's not too terrible, but some people are cranky (I'm NOT one of them!). It's supposed to rain today =)
Forgot the laptop at home today, so I'm relying on my pda for email. Thinking about running to the mall at lunch to get an outfit that I wanted this weekend.
Why do people think that just because I CAN fix something, I always have to do it, even if someone else knows how to fix it. Grrrrrr
Listening to: Weezer - This Is Such a Pity
Freecell game: 5356
Got up early this morning and we went to early church. Came home, got into our pjs and Carl and I piled on the bed with the dogs and read a cookbook. I made omelets and coffee bread, and then we took a nap. ;)
Lounged around some more, skipped lunch and had a big supper. Now we're watching Mile High and I'm thinking about doing a water change in Albert's tank and making some smoothies.
Back to work tomorrow, boo hiss. It's a 4 day week for me, so I'll start out on a Tuesday :) After work I'm headed to the mall to pick up an outfit for the weekend my mom and I are going to St Louis, and maybe some sandals. Carl's eating all of the good jelly beans, btw!
Listening to: BBC America, trash tv for the brain
I have no idea what Freecell game I'm on. No time to play this weekend.
Now Carl's decided we're going to watch Robot Chicken. Haha!
Got up this morning and went to get breakfast with Carl, which we then brought home and ate in bed. LOL I'm not sure why we both went, but we did (AND the dogs!).
Spent the day shopping with Mama Tanya. I picked her up this morning and we hit the mall pretty hard. I ended up with a new spring tablecloth (pale green, it's beautiful!) and matching napkins.
HARYB isn't having a sale tonight, so I think we're going to have a date night. :) Maybe we'll go to dinner and a movie. There's a pig auction in Bloomington but Carl says I can't have one. haha!
Listening to: Cash in the Attic
Not sure what Freecell game I'm on today. Didn't play any.
Well, I know you'll all find this difficult to believe, but I did spend most of the day working. And I caught up on all of your emails. I think I managed to answer everyone, for the most part. If you had something urgent and I missed you somehow feel free to mail again.
Leaving for Doyle's here in a few. Not sure where we're going for supper tonight. I have a sneaky new way (to me) for getting up to the auction, this will be the 2nd time to try it. No more turning left onto Wabash at rush hour with no light. Yay!
Need to call Mama Tanya tonight to find out where we're going tomorrow. I called her to invite her out tomorrow, and she was in Bloomington! I don't know what for yet, hopefully something good! I'm really looking forward to our day out tomorrow.
Have a good weekend all! :)
Listening to: Hot Hot Heat - Goodnight Goodnight
Freecell game: 5351
Went to Ashland last night for the auction. More about that later...it was interesting. That guy's no $Darrell (but he was there).
Alice was really wound up this morning. She woke me up at 5:00, wanting to play. I finally threw her fart toy at her and she and Ralf chased each other around, which does not make for much sleeping.
I'm thinking that this weekend they're both going to get baths. We have to set Ralf up, so he thinks he's done something wrong in order to get him into the tub. Heehee! He definitely views bathtime as a punishment and no amount of positive reinforcement gets him in there. And of course, at well over 100 pounds, you can't actually pick him up easily and put him in the tub. He won't even get in of his own accord with bacon as a motivator.
We're going to Doyle's tonight. I don't think there's anything I'm particularly interested in, but you never really know until you get there. Last night's auction was certainly different. We left around 8pm, 2 hours into the auction (which started 15 minutes late at least, computer problems). I think I matched him, one freecell game for every item he sold. Very very slow, I think I talk faster on a regular basis than this guy does when he's selling. To me, an auction should be very fast, and somewhat hypnotic so that you're bidding, and a little confused about how much you're paying. Lots of lots (ha!) didn't sell at all, no interest. I did buy a table tripod for my Nikon for a dollar.
This morning I watched some "Crafters Coast to Coast" thing on HGTV when the dogs wouldn't settle down. This girl was making stuffed vegetables and meat out of felt. She put faces on them. I'm not sure why.
I have to apologize, I didn't check email yesterday at all, so if you sent me something important I'll see it this morning. 229 messages, you guys are busy! haha!
Listening to: Linkin Park - Crawling
Freecell game: 5350
We're going to another auction tonight. Surprise, surprise. heehee
Then the Doyle auction is tomorrow night, there's a state auction Saturday morning so I'm told, and then haryb will probably have one Saturday night. 6 auctions in one week.
Picked up the dog food today at lunch. 70 pounds. Should last a month or so, anyway. I keep thinking I'm going to switch them over to Wellness, but decided to leave them on Nutro Natural one more month. Anybody have experience with Wellness? It's kind of pricey, which is ok, but I have my cat on it and she doesn't care for it. Right now we're going on the "she'll eat it when she gets hungry enough" plan. I'm not too concerned that the dogs wouldn't eat it, but Alice has a sensitive stomach sometimes. I'd rather just buy one kind of food because they do share a bowl.
Speaking of the mutts, I need to take some new photos of them. Maybe this weekend if it's nice out. I think we'll probably go to the dog park on Sunday so Alice can burn off some energy. We were supposed to go on a geocaching camping trip this weekend, but the weather is too questionable this time of year. Oh well, I'm sure we'll hit another one.
This week is flying by! I can't believe tomorrow's Friday already. I need to see about taking Carl's mom out on a little shopping trip Saturday, maybe. I gotta say...I really feel for people who don't have a good relationship with their spouse or SO's mother. Carl's mom is my 2nd mom (I call her Mama Tanya). When he and I got together she took me under her wing just like I was her own, and someone talking to her about her kids would probably think she had 2 biological children, instead of one that married into the family. I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again: as far as mothers in law go, I hit the jackpot.
Listening to: Modest Mouse - Ocean Breathes Salty
Freecell game: 5339
Somebody brought in donuts today. And someone else brought in bagels from Panera. I actually brought my breakfast with me, but I guess it's going back in the fridge.
Last night we ended up going to $ Darrell's auction. Didn't find anything, we mostly just hung around for the entertainment. I wanted to bid on some sewing related stuff but managed to restrain myself. When we got home I was SO tired! I took a bath and almost went straight to bed. heehee!
Tonight I think we're going to just hang out at home together. It's MXC night, so I'll probably work on the yellow brick road quilt while Carl watches that. Let's go!
Listening to: Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
Freecell game: 5330
Now I'm working on the Phonetix Riddles from the Letzebuerg site. This is pretty cool :)
Hahaha! I finished the logix riddle! I defy all of you to go do it RIGHT NOW!
*muahahahaha* You will all be addicted, trust me :)
The Logix Riddle - The Phonetix Riddle II [Released]
You don't have to be crazy to do the Logix riddle, but it helps! :) I've been working on this today some. Right now I'm stuck on level 28. If you've done this and passed it, email me a hint! Only 13 more to go!!!
And curses to Carl, who introduced me to this addictive nightmare. hahahaha!
It's impossible to tell how much there is on the ground, because what's there has drifted so much. There was a 2' drift around our building at work this morning that had to be shoveled before we could open the back door to get in.
I'm in the little Jeep. It did pretty well on snow-packed and piled roads, but I didn't take any chances. The roads are covered in a 2" sheet of ice with potholes. Pretty bumpy.
Couldn't sleep last night because I kept getting up to check the weather, so at 6 I finally got up and worked on the yellow brick road quilt. I'm liking it, the colors are pretty dark and it's kind of masculine anyway, so I think I'll give it to one of the men in my mom's family.
Last night we didn't do much. I made some really good soup:
1 pound of ground beef, cooked and drained
2 cans of minestrone soup
2 cans of ranch style beans
1 can of tomatoes with mild green chiles
1 can of diced tomatoes
I put it all together and let it simmer for probably 20 minutes while I went and filled up the Jeep (gas - 2.46). Sprinkled shredded cheddar on it and ate it with tortilla chips. Kind of chili-like, but more vegetables. I think it's called 6 can soup.
Listening to: Jack Johnson - Upside Down
Freecell game: 5267
Our winter storm warning is cancelled. Now we have an actual BLIZZARD warning.
This is insanity. Guess I'm stopping by the grocery store on the way home. I'm thinking some chili sounds good right about now.
I don't think I've ever been in a blizzard. Wonder what that will be like. I'm guessing the dogs will NOT be wanting to go outside, and the cat will spend the night inside howling that she wants to go out, only to change her mind when the door is opened.
I need to gather the trash cans and put away the clothesline and some other stuff.
This is certainly not what Springfield needs on the tails of 2 tornadoes just a week ago. Lots of homes and businesses are missing all or part of their roof, and CWLP has insinuated that there may be loss of power throughout this storm. So many families are just now trying to figure out where to go after last week's storm, and some are still living in shelters.
I'm afraid that in the midst of all of the talk of storms and blizzards and what it means for those who have damaged domiciles, another group of people in our town has been forgotten. There are around 400 homeless citizens living in Springfield, and I hope they all have a warm place to spend the next few days. If you're local, call St John's Breadline (525-0500) and see what they need.
Ok, that's enough soapbox for one day. I'm going to go home and curl up with my husband and my pets and buckle down for the night. We'll play dominoes and drink wine and revel that we are so fortunate to have a warm place to stay, food to eat, and each other. Have a good night, all.
See you on the other side of this storm.
Well, sort of. The power is back on at work today. However, we're expected to get 8" of snow tonight and tomorrow, so who knows how long that will last. Poor power company. I know they're exhausted.
Weekend was pretty good. My spring cleaning is done, and the quilters got 3 tops finished up Saturday. Yesterday we went to early church and then came home and crashed. My mom left around 10, and I played around with the Yellow Brick Road pattern some. Otherwise we didn't get much productive stuff done yesterday ;)
Tonight we'll probably hit the auction in Glenarm if it's not snowing already, and then run some laundry and mess around at home while it blizzards outside. Maybe do a water change on the tank.
281 emails over the weekend...I can feel the love you guys! heehee
Listening to: Blur - Song 2
Freecell game: 5249
I think I've used so much Murphy's Oil Soap this week that my fingers are permanently slippery, and I'll never get the lemon smell out of my nose.
Tomorrow will be busy. I have to finish the spring cleaning, which shouldn't take that much longer at this point, and check out the quilt show at the fairgrounds. And sometime I need to get to the grocery store and figure out what I'm serving the guests on Saturday. My mom is coming in tomorrow night.
If you're in the Springfield area and have any interest in quilting, shoot me an email if you want to get together Saturday morning.
Not sure what's going on at Capitol Coral. I went down tonight after work to get some new lights and he was closed up. If you know something, mail me. I need to get replacement bulbs and I'd rather get them from him than anybody else.
Listening to: Stone Temple Pilots - Army Ants
Freecell: 5226, FINALLY! 5225 took me awhile
Actually, I think we're leaving today at 4:30, which of course is fine with me.
And I do have tomorrow off :)
This week has been so weird, I think my days are all screwed up. Today seems like Monday, so who knows what day I will think tomorrow is.
Rumor has it that the power is coming back on here at work on Monday sometime. All in all, today hasn't been the total nightmare that I expected. It was cold, of course (actually warmer outside than inside), but I had a blanket and lots of hot tea. However, I'm still glad to not have to be here tomorrow :)
I'm amazed that my laptop has run for almost the entire day, either on its own battery or on the little charger that kept my fishtank going while the power was out at home.
Listening to: Beck - E-pro
Freecell game: 5225
I'm at work today. It's freezing in the building. I've got a blanket on my lap. We're all packed into the training room so we can have our pcs plugged into the generator. The roofers are here fixing things. I think this is going to be a long day. Fortunately there's beer in the fridge here. I'm pretty sure we'll be breaking into it before long.
I'm supposed to have tomorrow off. I'm really hoping I still have it off. The quilt show is this weekend, and tomorrow is my only chance to be there. Plus, did I mention it's freezing in here?
Listening to: Ministry of Sound - The Chillo
Freecell game: 5223
Well, not today. And we still don't have power, but now we have a generator that will run some servers and a couple of pcs. So I'm going in tomorrow to do support, and hopefully the power will come back on, because the building is FREEZING!
Spent today running errands and cleaning, mostly. I've polished ALL of the crystal and cleaned everything else in the china cabinet. Wiped it out and then cleaned the cabinets and other woodwork in the kitchen, dining room and family room. Next on my list is cleaning light fixtures. Hopefully by the time I'm done Carl will be home and we'll head to Glenarm for the auction. Don't tell him, but I'm secretly hoping they don't have much tonight, so I can come home and play with my new International sewing machine I got the other night. It looks like a featherweight, but I haven't messed with it yet to see how well it works. Hopefully it's a keeper, and I'll have someone use it on Saturday.
Starting to wonder if anyone is going to show up for my quilting party! The church didn't put out a newsletter this week due to the tornadoes, so I'm thinking a lot of people have forgotten. I might see if Marge will call some of the regulars and invite them over.
Albert's tank is so clean! The water is crystal clear, it almost looks fake. I need to pick up new lights, these are about a year old. Hopefully new lights will get me some nice coralline growth.
Going to the quilt show Friday. I don't have anything entered this time, I just want to look and talk to some vendors. Hopefully there'll be some longarm frame vendors there.
Time to let the dogs out.
Still no power at work. Latest word was that it could be a few more days, whatever that means. Yesterday I cleaned some around the house, went driving around some more and then went in to answer the phone at work from 3-5. We're taking it in shifts, but I don't have to go in today at all. I also gave Albert's tank a good cleaning, including the filter.
Not sure what I'm doing today. I just grabbed emails from Monday, 220! You guys really make me feel loved, haha!
The Farmers Market I shop at on Wabash is pretty much destroyed, and the Victory Beauty Supply place behind it has a lot of damage, too. Wabash is still closed, for the most part. Last night Carl and I drove around, I showed him where Capitol Group's building is just hammered, he can't believe it. Their whole warehouse was destroyed, and the houses in that neighborhood are even worse. We saw an entire WALL of somebody's house in the parking lot across the street from CG. Who knows where it came from, mass destruction all over that part of town. It really is overwhelming.
And for those of you talking about our illustrious mayor (aka The Idiot), this is NOTHING like Katrina, and it's insulting to the victims of that hurricane to insinuate that it is. We can still go to the grocery store, and most of the town has power again. And to my knowledge nobody has 10' of water in their living room. Just remember, this is the same guy who couldn't remember whether or not he graduated from college, so his recollection of last year's hurricanes might be somewhat limited.
Well, I think I'm going to work on some more spring cleaning today, and at some point I need to run to Linens and Things and get a new bedskirt. I might go up to Carl's side of town for lunch, and sometime I need to run to Meijers to get some stuff. Our church is providing meals for lots of people so I think I'll make some brownies to take to them.
Yeah, we're still kicking. Tornadoes ripped through town last night, about 2 miles from our house. One went right by my office and took a lot of stuff with it. Gobs of damage around here. People trapped at the movie theatre behind my office for several hours (until this morning). I was able to get to the office but there's no power, and I had to drive over a down power line to even get there.
One of the buildings Carl's boss owns had pretty major damage, and I heard this morning that there are 400 light poles snapped in town. 19 of them are in a row, out by my office. I wonder if we'll have power there tomorrow. Our power went out last night at the first of three storms, around 8:20, and came on at 10:35 this morning. Crazy!
I was really worried about Prince Al and the salt tank (doesn't that sound like a rock band to you?), however, Carl definitely saved the day there. Several months ago he bought (at an auction, of course!) a little battery backup thing for a car, with an air pump, light, and I dunno what else. I got mad because I didn't want it sitting out in the living room where it was charging, so before Christmas he put it out in the garage and I think we both forgot about it. Last night he brought it in, and I plugged in the protein skimmer and the filter into that little battery. It held them both ALL night until the power came back on! I'm really amazed it lasted that long without dying (the battery is only supposed to be good for 15 or 20 minutes...obviously those 2 things don't use a lot of power). So everything in the tank survived, I think. And now we're buying a generator this week.
I haven't opened any of the freezer/fridge doors since the power went off, so who knows what kind of a mess we have there. Hopefully not much of one.
We were up until about 3:30 waiting for the tornado sirens to shut off, and the all clear. I think I slept for a half hour between 1 and 1:30, and then Carl woke me up to tell me we had to go back to the basement because there was another tornado. During the 8:00 storm, I have never seen such lightning! It was like a strobe light all throughout the sky, for at least a half hour! It was very still outside, and I could hear something like a train just to the north of us. We saw several big blue flashes, which I'm pretty sure were transformers blowing up as the tornado went through.
The Asian market that I like to shop at is no more. There were several buildings around it that look like they have substantial damage. Just to the west of Dynitech there are some storage buildings (like little pods or something) that are now all over the neighborhood. They're in pieces trapped in bushes, in the road, all over the field, everywhere.
Walmart had pretty bad damage from what I hear, and everything on the east side of Freedom Drive (in front of Walmart) has some kind of damage. There was also damage on the east side of town but I haven't driven out that way. I didn't drive by Walmart to see what a mess that was, traffic was backed up past the interstate and Meijers to even get there! Crazy!
I did hear reports last night that there was some looting in town. Mostly furniture and tires (????).
Oh, and for those of you who are asking, we didn't have any damage at home, just some little limbs fell that would have probably fallen during a minor rain storm. We are very fortunate. There are a LOT of people here who have big damage (I saw some houses where power poles landed in attics), please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
So sleepy.
I came into work this morning, but I don't think I'm staying. And my head really doesn't hurt that bad, I'm just exhausted. Still not sure what's going on, if I have a sinus thing or what.
I need more. Or stronger stuff, or something. I just took 2 Nyquils and a Tylenol 3 and my headache has been reduced to a dull throb, but it's still there.
I dropped off the D1 this morning. Seems like a nice dealer. I think the one in Bloomington probably has more stuff in stock, tho. I'm planning on going there on the 31st.
Must. Take. Nap.
Ugh. Home from work today. My head has so much pressure built up in it, I think if I get too close with a sharp object it might pop like a balloon. I tried to brush my hair and couldn't. :(
Went to the dr last night, he says "sinus infection" even though I'm not stopped up or anything. I think maybe it's just on the way. At this point I wish it would hurry and get here so I could get rid of this nasty headache.
I have to take in the Designer 1 this morning. Kind of dreading that. I hope all goes well, and nothing is seriously wrong. For those of you playing along at home, my Viking sewing machine had a recall a few weeks ago and now it's my turn to get the transformer changed out. Apparently there were a couple of machines that caught fire or overheated or something, while their owners weren't using them, so 55,000 machines are getting new transformers. This will be my machine's first trip to the shop since I got it last August. I have the little rolly-suitcase out ready to pack it up.
Not sure what I'm going to do today. I need to pick up stuff around the house, but I think getting the sewing machine to the dealer is going to take all of my available energy right now. I'd like to work on some quilts, I guess I could get out the little Janome and put it to use. Or I could just take some more Tylenol 3 and another nap.
Listening to: nothing. the sound of anything is enough to send me into outer orbit
Freecell game: 512? I'm not sure. I played last night on the pda for awhile, but I can't remember what game I was on when I took the last drug that knocked me out.
Mine are full, I think. If I'm at work tomorrow you all need to send me emails telling me to go home. The right side of my face feels like it's been hit with a bat, and the tell-tale sign? My teeth hurt. :(
So needless to say, I'm skipping the auction tonight. I hope to run the vacuum cleaner down the hall and get rid of some of the drywall dust that's plaguing me, but I'm not real optimistic about that.
Listening to: Snow Patrol - Run
Freecell game: 5105
So maybe I am getting sick. If I am, I blame it entirely on somebody who probably sneezed on all the snacks last Saturday at the expo.
Stopped by Calico Hearts last night on my way home from work and spent part of the gift certificate that Carl got me for Valentine's day. I picked up 20 fat quarters, a pattern (Turning Twenty) and the 8.5 x 24 ruler I actually needed for the chicken quilt (but will come in handy on future projects, I'm sure).
While I was there I remembered I had a dog club meeting last night. Ack! I hurried home and got ready and then left for that. Got home around 8:45 or so, I think. Long, boring meeting. Some controversy over who pays for placques when your dog champions. Not something we'll probably have to worry about...heh. Anyway, I signed up to be a steward at an obedience trial in April. That's picking up to be a busy month, I'm meeting my mom in St Louis one weekend, and there's a class at Jackman's I'd like to take, too.
Ugh, my teeth hurt. I'd say a sinus infection is on the way.
Listening to: Bloodhound Gang - Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo
Freecell: 5085
Some of you have asked why I'm doing the Freecell thing.
I'm playing the basic 32000 game in Windows, in order. It's more or less just a time waster, but it makes me feel better than playing them randomly, because at least I know how many games I've won this way. I have a version of it loaded on my pda (Patience) that has the same game numbers as the Windows version, so I can now take it with me wherever I go. It's not as easy to play on the pda d/t the smaller screen, but it works.
I also like Minesweeper, but it doesn't have numbered games so I don't play it as much. Carl is a Minesweeping genius! He plays so fast...my eyes don't have time to register the moves in the time he takes to win an entire game. Amazing!
We also play a game called Break-Thru, which is from the same guy who wrote the original Tetris. Break-Thru isn't in production anymore, which is a real shame. Every now and then there's one up for sale on Ebay, which is how we got our copy. I played it when I was in college one summer, and I was addicted FAST. Now we've got my mom hooked on it too. There are some knock-offs to this game, but none are as cool as the original Break Thru.
Listening to: Our Lady Peace - Naveed
Freecell game: 5069
That's what I had when I got to work today. My delete finger is tired.
Carl and I had an interesting conversation this morning. Charles Gibson was just getting dumber by the minute with his interviews, so we started talking about how stupid Americans are in general, and whether there's a country in the world that is smarter (of course there is, that didn't take long). Somehow the conversation turned, and we ended up deciding that what we really should do is get rid of a lot of the laws we have here.
Carl's idea was to give each congressman/woman a set of all of the laws that have been written in the last 200 years, and tell them that they're going to spend the next year tearing pages out of that book.
My idea was to again, give each congressperson a set of all of the laws, and then tell them that they can each choose 3 laws to keep, the rest are going away. They would need to choose wisely and collaborate a little bit, because if any laws contradict each other (no...surely that couldn't happen? ha!) they both get thrown out, and there would be no replacement laws.
It was an interesting conversation, anyway :)
Speaking of politics, I'm getting a little tired of Jim Oberweis and his campaign. At first I thought he was pretty harmless to Judy Baar Topinka (Thinka Topinka!), but now he's just getting annoying. I know it's open season on politicians, and it won't be over for a loooooong time. At least the primary is coming up (March 21), and with any luck he'll be going away soon.
Listening to: The Bravery - An Honest Mistake
Freecell game: 5040, still!
Well, I did get the family room walls clean.
And I did sort through papers and shred a lot of things.
However, there's still quite a bit of stuff to be put away, and the kitchen isn't exactly pristine.
But I did finish block 6 of the bom I was working on, and Ralf and Alice got some playtime so it's all good :)
The ceiling is painted! Yay!
Listening to: Alice's squeaky hedgehog
Freecell game: 5040, I've been busy doing other stuff, apparently.
Hahaha! I'm NOT sick! I think it was just someone's perfume in our office today that made me sneeze so much. I can only hope!
And what is it anyway with people who want to wear gobs of perfume to an office building? Or the mall, or church, or anywhere that a lot of other people are bound to be around, for that matter...
I've been working on the blocks of the month from Calico Hearts Quilt Shop, and the more I work on them, the more pleased I am with my progress. I still don't like working with Thangles, I think that they make everything a little more difficult than it needs to be, but my little tape markers on the back of my ruler are working out very well. They really do make squaring up blocks very simple. I cut a set out for my little 3.5 x 3.5 square, and that's what I'm using on the 2.25's. Very easy! I find that I really have to square up each unit, however, I haven't yet started squaring up once I put the units together. But the blocks look very good, the points all match up, and that's what matters :)
I can't wait to see what these 2 quilts look like when I'm done. They're both samplers, one is in batiks (purple and blue with green) and the other is in more traditional calicoes (red and green with tan). Once again, I need to take photos! I'd post the final pics of the chicken quilt but my laptop with the card is at work tonight. Hopefully tomorrow, but you all know how that goes.
I need to stop working on quilts and go do some cleaning, but I'm in a rhythm and Carl is busy painting, so my job is to keep the dogs out of the way. Oh well, I can always clean later, right? Heehee!
Carl hit up Dollar Darrell's auction tonight but didn't buy anything. You never know if he'll have something that's any good or not, a lot of people just want to sell their junk for a couple bucks (hence, why we call him Dollar Darrell!). Every now and then, though, you see something pretty good. Like, say, the computer I'm writing this on!
The other auctions we go to generally have more expensive items. Doyle Auctions usually has nicer things, but they also have more people that show up to bid, and things tend to sell for more there than at DD's...I have seen items at Doyle's that were at DD's earlier that week. Hey All Right You Betcha (not the real name, but the guy says it ALL the time so we just call him haryb) is kind of in-between. He's in Edinburg, so we have to drive quite a ways, but it's decent entertainment at least. This past weekend I saw a lot of quilts sell choice, but the first lot was not the most expensive. After awhile we left just because people were getting stupid with the bidding. I need to update the links page with the auction listings for our area, yes?
Listening to: BBC - Cash In the Attic, after 2 episodes of That 70's Show
Freecell game: 5040!
I sneezed 14 times in a row this morning. Hope I'm not getting sick. I feel fine now, I think it was something in the building. Now is no time for me to be under the weather.
Tonight's list:
clean family room walls
finish going through papers and shredding
That's about it. If I get those 2 things done I'll work on the bom's some more.
Listening to: She Wants Revenge - Tear You Apart
Freecell game: 5029! Woohoo! At this rate I'll hit 6000 by mid-May :)
The hallway ceiling is done! Well, it still has to be painted, and caulked, and the attic fan still has to go back in, but the drywall is done! Yay Carl!
Last night was good, I went to a prayer meeting at church for the new building, and then stuck around for the vote on the youth building. It's going to be really cool, makes me wish I was in that group! However, they're going to add a coffee house, and apparently it will be open to the public every now and then. Considering how close we live to the church, maybe I'll finally decide to start liking coffee :) Maybe they'll have free wifi! haha!
Early to bed last night, but still tired today. Nothing much going on here, work is quiet except for the sound of me shocking myself every 2 minutes. Wish winter would get over with and quickly.
Listening to: Yellowcard - Lights and Sounds
Freecell game: 4999...so close!
Drinking: Horizons Milk
So yesterday while I was at Big R getting Alice her new squeaky hedgehog, I picked up this little round squeaky toy that kind of grunts or squeals when you squeeze it. It looked pretty durable, like she probably couldn't destroy it in 10 minutes.
Last night I listened to that toy all night. It doesn't grunt...it farts! Over and over and over. I haven't decided if it's more or less annoying than the hedgehog. And I think she lost the squeaky soccer ball. Either that or Carl's hidden it.
Got up and went to the 9:15 at church this morning. Stopped at the grocery store on the way home, and we're having sandwiches for lunch I guess.
Going to work on quilts :)
I got up this morning and worked on the salt tank some, quilted a little bit, then when Carl got up we went to the fairgrounds for the Illinois Products Expo. We stuffed ourselves silly one toothpick at a time. After that we went to the open house for the new church site and then to haryb's auction. It was packed, so we looked around and decided to go to supper and then come back. Had dinner in Edinburg at the only restaurant in town, and then headed back to the auction. Got home a few minutes ago (didn't buy anything).
Soon it will be warmer, and yard sale season will start up again. Carl can hardly wait!
I picked up a new hedgehog squeaky toy for Alice today. She had managed to kill the last one.
Tomorrow should be a little more laid back. I think we'll go to church early and then probably to breakfast somewhere. After that I'll work on a couple of quilts and go back to church at night to vote on the new youth building.
Listening to: The History Channel, Banned from the Bible
Freecell game: 4990, I think. I need to check downstairs.
Today's lineup, so far:
Beck - E-pro
Chris Cornell - Sunshower
Clearlake - I Hate it That I Got What I Wanted
Coldplay - Beautiful World
Everlast - Ends
Foo Fighters - Darling Nikki
Gorillaz - DARE
Hard-Fi - Cash Machine
Green Day - Jesus of Suburbia
Jane's Addiction - Stop
Len - Steal My Sunshine
Oasis - Champagne Supernova
Paul Simon - Hearts and Bones
Polyphonic Spree - Light & Day
Psapp - Cosy in the Rocket
The Flaming Lips - Do You Realize
The Killers - All These Things That I've Done
The Lovemakers - Prepare for the Flight
The Postal Service - Such Great Heights
The Subways - Rock & Roll Queen
Yeah. :)
Carl's still sleeping. Going to work on the Block of the Month quilts, but right now I'm busy being mesmerized by the solar crystal in the kitchen. It's spinning pretty good, and there are prisms all over the kitchen, dining room, family room and living room. Pretty cool.
Something to ponder: On the IRS tax forms, when it asks for your occupation, are you honest? We had a long and detailed conversation about this last night with our tax man (and in fact, we have the same convo every year). Carl wants to put down "porn star", but I think that's just tacky. Last night he finally decided that he'd put down "Democrat", and then later decided he'd rather just say "Burden On Society", but I pointed out that they would be considered to be the same. ha!
Crack head/dealer? Rocket Scientist? Brain Surgeon? Forsythia? Vice President? Ambassador to Neptune (of which our tax guy assured us that the person getting our return at the IRS likely wouldn't know what Neptune was...scary thought, that)?
Ant trainer? Nude model? The possibilities are really endless, but once again we stuck with the truth: Sonny & Cher Impersonators.
Back from the tax man. Glad that's over. Carl's mudding the hallway ceiling and I'm getting ready to work on some quilt blocks. Big day tomorrow: have to stop by Calico Hearts to pick up the next botm, and then on to the fairgrounds, and then to the new church site at 2 for a walkthrough. Then we're to be at Edinburg by 4:30, and will probably do something fun after the auction.
Listening to: The Killers - All These Things That I Have Done
Freecell game: 4969
I win :) Hit Freecell game 4950 today already.
Carl's been busy working on some project all afternoon and it's been quiet here.
So ready to go home. Big weekend planned, expo, auctions, taxes, and home improvement. woot.
Listening to: The Addictions - Rollergirl
Drinking: Guinness
Day 3 of the contacts. So far it's not too bad. I have this underlying fear that my eyes are going to dry up and I won't be able to do anything about it, but I guess I'll be alright.
Getting the taxes done tonight, and probably will finish scrubbing down the kitchen after that. Or maybe I'll just work on some quilt blocks ;)
Carl got all of the drywall hung in the hallway last night, I think he was up until after 2am. It looks good, I guess he'll be mudding and sanding this weekend unless we're at the Edinburg auction or the food expo tomorrow.
Driving the little Jeep today.
Listening to: nothing, upgrading winamp
Drinking: sonic sunrise
freecell game: 4921, need to hit 4950 by tomorrow
Ugh, spent the evening getting ready for the tax man tomorrow night. Yeah, who gets their taxes done on Friday night at 7pm? Good times...
Carl was upset that we'll have to miss the auction at Doyle's, but I just found out they're not having one, so that's some consolation.
Right now he's hanging the new drywall in the hallway. I'm trying to get ready for the quilters to show up on the 18th. I guess when they built our house they put a regular shingle roof on it (flat roof almost), and it of course leaked within 2 years in the hallway. It's been patched 3 times and now it's beyond that. So rather than try to fix it again and have it look crummy right away, Carl has elected to hang new drywall. Picked it up tonight at Lowe's for $1 per 12' sheet (slightly damaged, but for this job it won't matter). Pretty good deal =)
Listening to: Dirty Vegas - Throwing Shapes. I love this song...it's like, it starts out and you want to get your groove on, but you have to earn your way to the end of the track when there is no amplifier that can play it loud enough, and you can't soak enough of it in all at once.
Freecell game: 4915. I dl'd Patience to my pda and now I can play wherever I go. This is pretty cool :)
I'll try to remember to load the pics of the chicken quilt tomorrow.
Shopko in Spfld has Darth Taters. I got one awhile back at Kmart in Bloomington, though.
I found my loot from the state fair earlier tonight. I'm pretty sure I have enough pencils to last the rest of my life and then some. Who can say no to free pencils, though? Be honest...
Let's see, what else...oh, I found out how to get my Palm TX to connect at Panera. Apparently you have to call their 800 wifi help line and they'll change something in the network at that particular store and then it should work. I guess they're not really configured to work with Blazer, but there's something they can do to make it work better. Maybe I'll try that tomorrow at lunch. BTW, I learned this at Brighthand.com.
I think that's it for now.
Alice ate my glasses. Again. 3rd pair. Haven't decided what I'm going to do, whether to get new ones (same frames), new ones (different frames) or wear contacts. So far I'm wearing the contacts, it's not too bad.
Last night I dreamed that my grandpa died. The same one whose house my mom closed the sale on yesterday (ack, grammar police, please don't beat me!). The weird thing is that in my dream my grandmother was still alive, and I was the only one concerned about where she was going to live, as we were selling her house! It was finally determined that she would move into the apartment building where gpa last lived before he went back to the nursing home.
I finished the chicken quilt! Will be loading photos soon, and I guess I need to call the quilter to get on her schedule.
Listening to: Haydn - String Quartet 3 in G Minor
Reading: Some architecture book we have at home
Freecell game: 4904, woohoo! Next goal is 5000 by Tuesday.
Yesterday turned out to be a lot more productive than I thought it would be.
I got a lot done out in the yard. Finally got the pile burned, although Carl just knew I was killing "spooky oak tree" in the process. Someone put the bonfire pit too close to it (before we moved in).
Otherwise, I redid the rockscaping out front, which I found out at lunch today, has already been "redone" by Alice. I finally unhooked the the little red bud tree from its supports, since they weren't really doing it any good. And I cleaned out the bluebird house out back, filled up the bird feeders and gave the squirrels some nuts.
Today at work is quiet. I'm hoping this lasts for awhile, it's very uncharacteristic of month end, but I'll take it.
My mom is closing on my gpa's house right now. Hopefully it all goes smoothly and this whole mess can be behind us soon.
We're getting our taxes done Friday. Woohoo! Will be good to get that over with, and then this weekend is the food expo out at the fairgrounds. And "hey alright you betcha" is having an auction Saturday, so it's all good :)
There's a petition to get a Trader Joe's in Springfield, go sign it! State Journal Register
Listening to: Smashing Pumpkins - French Movie Theme
Reading: Franz Kafka - Amerika
Freecell game: 4869, I've been slacking