Happy B-Day to me!

Yes, it was a wonderful day!  Besides being my 38th birthday, it was a beautiful sunshiney day, warm but not too hot.  Awesome!  Nope.  I'm not ashamed of my physical age because (one of my friends only announced it to the entire FaceBook world) and I don't act it anyway.  So Pppppfth!

I was woke up at 8 am by my sister Laurie calling to sing Happy Birthday to me.  And since it is also her birthday....I had to join in singing for her.  LOL, we're not twins.  She's 13 years older than me!  Can you get a better present than .... ME ???? No, I don't think so!  LOL!!

We ~sniff~ went & got Angel registered for school today.  I'm not ready for her to be a freshman!!!  At least she will  still physically be at the junior high and not the high school yet.  Whew!  She took yearbook as one of her electives, so that's 1st hour - then World History, English 9, Physical Science, Geometry and French II.  I really hope she straightens up and doesn't screw off as badly as she has since.....kindergarten!!  I think we're drilled in into her melon that her options for after graduation include Macomb Community College (which she is OK with!) or being taken to the recruiter & choosing which branch of the military she wants to go in.  I am still holding out hope that she miraculously becomes a perfect student and gets a scholarship to Michigan State.  Hey - a mom can hope!

showing off the new schedule!

Let's see...the rest of my day included changing sheets on our bed (special thanks to my darling Randy for squishing a huge full mosquito on the wall, then smearing mosquito blood & guts onto the sheet).  Right in the middle.  GROSS!!! The pillows & blanket got hung outside.  The bathrooms cleaned & rugs washed.  He made a huge dent in cleaning out the garage.  Then we went to Cheeseburger in Paradise for dinner.  Man - I totally ignored the diet tonight!  I had a burger called "the Good Egg".  A burger with ham, a fried egg and mayo.  Sweet potato fries, 2 torched cherry pina coladas and a scoop of chocolate ice cream with sprinkles for my birthday dessert.  I'm just coming out of my food coma.

Minor rant about the family.  Not the family in my house this time.  Mom.  She called earlier today to sing to me - that's what we do - and she asked what our plans were today.  I said we were going out to dinner and she asked who was taking me - Randy?  Ummm, no.  My boyfriend!!  Who else would be taking me out??  Because I can never get a word in edgewise, she told me that Laurie was coming over tonight to go out to dinner.  That's nice.  I get the impression that they expected me to go, too - however no one ever said anything to me.  See, Laurie is single with no kids.  She's been there for Mom a lot since Dad passed away, which is great, fantastic!  However, I think they tend to forget that I have a family of my own...that I prefer to spend time with.  Linda may have no qualms about ditching Dave for the weekend, but I don't feel the same about Randy.  Anyway.

I still don't see the need for TVs everywhere in a restaurant.  

I don't care that much for Tiger's baseball.  

But if it was a hockey game......

8/29/11

Well, would have posted earlier, but I was waiting for Kenlie's FMM post on www.alltheweigh.com but for some reason there hasn't been one today.  I hope she's OK!  It is Monday, isn't it??

I have gone out walking around the park for past 2 nights, so that's been good.  Saturday was probably the most un-enthusiastic walk I'd ever gone on.  I felt all sorts of aches & pains in my legs / hips.  But I forced myself to go.  Last night I drug Randy out with me. At least we moved a bit quicker than Saturday.  I don't know if we'll go out walking tonight because....

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY !!!   WOOHOOO!!

It's been such an exciting day.  I pulled the sheets off my bed because Randy chose to smash a huge mosquito against the wall & then proceed to smear mosquito blood all over the bottom sheet.  GROSS!!!  Right in the middle of the bed, too!  Then I took advantage of the nice day to hang the blanket & pillows outside for a bit.  The bathrooms will be cleaned as soon as I get my toosh off the computer.  Then we'll be going out to dinner.  I still don't know where yet.  I'd like to go to Toby Keith's I Love This bar & Grill, but I know that's where Angel wants to go for hers next month.   Hmm, maybe Cheeseburgers in Paradise, then I can have a huge freakin' pina colada or something equally yummy.

Small rant - my family is {I'll be nice} strange.  I don't mean the family that is here in my house, I mean Mom this time.  She called to sing to me - because that's what we do on each other's birthdays - and asked what I was doing today.  I told her we were going out to dinner tonight & she asked who was taking me, Randy!?!?!?  Uhhh, no.  My boyfriend.  Who else would be taking me??

OK, interesting info - today is also my sister's birthday.  But we're not twins.  She's 13 years older than me!  However, Laurie is single & has no kids.  She has spent a lot of time with Mom since Dad passed away, which is great.  But they always seem to forget that I have a family other than them!  Now, my other sister Linda has no problem with ditching my BIL for a weekend, but I actually like to spend time with my spouse. I know, how dare I prefer to spend time with the man I married!!   grr.  Whatever.

I still plan to have a great evening with the 2 people I love the mostest..my sweetie & my baby girl!!

edit.....OMG total food coma!  Total disregard for anything healthy at Cheeseburger in Paradise.  2 torched Cherry pina coladas,  a "Good Egg" burger (fried egg, ham & mayo on the burger), sweet potato fries & a scoop of chocolate ice cream with sprinkles for dessert.  Maybe by tomorrow I'll be able to move & work some of that off!

I have a Halloween blog now!!!

Maple Grove Cemetery

It's still a work in progress, but I'm good with it right now.  Now I don't have to post my summertime H'ween posts here!!

I'm on vacation!!!

I don't have to be back at work until Wednesday, September 7 !!!

This is going to be tough.  At work I pretty much only eat what I take with me.  Which is 100% WW friendly.  Being at home is dangerous.  The grazing gets me every time. And don't get me started on having cereal available, either!

I did lose another 1.4 lbs.  That makes 3 lbs in the last 2 weeks, which really gets my hopes up!

We don't have any really exciting plans.  Monday is school registration & the requisite shopping.  Tuesday is the girl's Well Child check up.  LOL, that sounds funny regarding a kid almost 14.  And dance registration.   My sister wants to go to the Peach Festival next Saturday & we're going to the Renaissance Festival next Sunday with some friends.  And then we have stuff to do around the house.  And the day of all days...school starts on the 6th !  WOOHOOOOOO!!!

So I'll try not to let the evil Tim Horton's seduce me too many times.  (However the egg-white muffin is pretty good!) And keep fingers crossed for will-power!

On other news - I have a Halloween blog now!!!!  Maple Grove Cemetery

I smite thee, Evil Cupcake!!!!

My place of employment is like any other in regards to the vultures who work here.  If you have food (namely dessert) to get rid of - bring it in & leave it on the kitchen table & watch it disappear.  

I admit - I have joined in the feeding frenzy on occasion - but I try to contain myself.   I tell myself things like "those aren't chocolate chip cookies - they're oatmeal raisin (yuck!)".  Or I can usually convince myself that bugs have crawled on it / weirdos have touched it / or some other plausible excuse.  Or that its just not worth all the points I'd use for it.  

I came in Monday and someone had brought in 3 of the BIGGEST cupcakes I'd ever seen.  And left them neatly covered on a plate.  With a knife.  Because they were huge.  These evil lumps of tempting deliciousness were easily 6 inches across & 5 inches tall.  I don't know how much of that height was frosting, but it was a considerable heap. 

Monday I was able to ignore them (pat myself on the back).  But Tuesday mid-morning, I went to get a 90 calorie granola bar out of my lunchbox and I had the worst urge to grab that 1/3 cupcake that was left and just stuff it in my face.  I mean literally try to shove the entire top of that sugary frosting stack into my mouth & NOM.   I grabbed my boring granola bar and got out of that room as fast as possible!  It was the worst craving I'd ever had.  It.Called.My.Name !!!!!

I really know how Eve felt in the Garden of Eden.  Could you just imagine the consequences if she would have been tempted by a cupcake instead of an apple?!?!?!?!?     

What's funny is that other than the dispatchers with their odd hours, only 1 person gets there earlier than me.  So these giant cupcakes may very well have sat there all weekend.   I don't know.  They were sure to be gross & stale!  Or worse yet - perfectly fine because of all the preservatives!

At least they weren't chocolate.

The Love Critters - Volume 4

Maggie - formerly known as Mama Kitty.

The day we brought her home.

She was wearing a shirt to cover her belly from getting fixed.

Maggie appeared at my sister Laurie's house and took up residence in the barn.  There she had 5 or 6 litters of kittens before Laurie could catch her at the right time to get her spayed.  She's only 7+ lbs but easily produced huge litters of kittens who all ended up bigger than her.  She's sweet & lovable and totally demanding.

Randy is her person.  If he is sleeping in bed and is not laying on his back so she can perch on his chest, she will pace around the bed, stopping every few steps to stare & sniff at him.  And when he does roll over for her, she will step on me first - then launch herself over to him.

She is another of our expensive free critters.   She's had ear problems since day 1, when I took her to the vet & they treated her for ear mites.  Random fact - her ear wax is black!  Kind of freaked my vet out!  She also is on blood pressure medicine.  Last fall we were all going to the orchard to celebrate Angel's & my nephew Austin's birthdays.  We were in the car & I realized I'd left my camera inside.  As I walked thru the back door, I thought she was playing with something that got stuck under the baseboard heater.  Nooo, she was having convulsions!  I freaked!  It was the most horrible thing I'd ever seen!  It was Sunday, so I knew the vet wasn't in, but I had Angel call the office & got the emergency #.  I took her in & she obligingly had another seizure in the exam room.  Come to find out - she had a bladder infection, which raised her blood pressure, which caused the seizures.

She's fine now.  Spoiled.  She gets her medicine each night & she also gets a bit of canned food, too.  And let me tell you - she knows when it gets to be 7 PM!  I bet she's in there right now sitting by her bowl.

Skeeter - Volume 1
Chester - Volume 2
Jack - Volume 3

Props in Progress.....

I've got a few things done for my Halloween display lately.   They're still works-in-progress because - damn it - hands are hard!!!!

My sentries for each side of the driveway "Chris & Jimmy". 

They still need hands.  And hockey sticks.  And heads! 

I'm not sure which one has my blood on it. 

Yes - I wore gloves, but they don't protect your wrists from the chicken wire!

The re-done Marilyn.  Also needs hands. 

I'm not really happy with her skirt.  But it'll do for now.

The Grave Periscope.

A personal favorite!

And - OMG - I actually found a blowmold at the Salvation Army! 

Granted there is no light for it - but I still snagged it! 

The pop bottle is for size reference - he's not thirsty.



Things are coming along!  I need to take advantage of next week when I'm off work. I also have a Christmas project that I started last fall, but it got too cold to finish.  My helper Angel is ready to paint!  She's a great prop painter.  I'll keep her around! 

Happy Monday!

Really, its just another day.  I have to tough out this week & then I'm on vacation for a week & a half!  I always take that week off work.  It's the last week before school starts, so we try to get BratGirl as tired of us as possible, so she's ready to go back!!

Woohoo!  It's Monday!!!  (and 70 days to Halloween!!)

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. Answer the questions & post a link to your blog on http://www.alltheweigh.com/.  The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

FMM: The Last Thing

1) What is the title of the last book you read?  "A Rogue of My Own" by Johanna Lindsey (I like my historical romance / smut books!)

2) What is the last movie you saw in a theater?  Bridesmaids.  And it was the hubby's choice!!!!

3) Briefly describe the last person you saw today. I'm at work.  I see lots of funny people.

4) Which store did you most recently shop in?  Umm, Michael's on Saturday.  I had the day to myself so I enjoyed wandering around getting ideas for my Secret Reaper (like a Secret Santa, but for Halloween)

5) Who’s the last person you spoke to over the phone?  my sister Laurie, on Saturday.  She was out in the barn & didn't realize storms were heading her way.

6) Where’s the last place you vacationed?  We went to Niagara Falls / Toronto for a long weekend for our 5th anniversary last month.

7) When was the last time you kissed someone of the opposite sex?  This morning

8) What’s the last thing that made you laugh?  hubby was helping me make the bed & chose to start acting like a gorilla. 

9) What’s the latest app that you downloaded on your phone?  Nothing.  I'm not "hip" enough to have a phone like that.  Actually - next April we're upgrading our phones.  The first one I want to download is the Weight Watchers app! 

10) What’s the last kind thing you did for someone?  Rubbed bug spray on hubby's legs last night while he was using the back of my car as a work table, putting together some radio stuff.  Also Friday night I was doing radio comm for the Berkley Parade of Cars and realized this eldery lady was in my shadow.  So I stayed there so she was in my shade for the whole parade.  I don't even think she realized what I was doing, but I'm sure she didn't mind!

Secret Santa!

Yes, I know it's August.

I belong to both a Halloween & Christmas forum here on the Interwebs.  Well, on CFC - there was the annual summertime Secret Santa.  The reasoning behind having it now is that people have more time / money now than around the actual holidays.  Anyway....I just sent my giftee's package out today, but I got mine last Thursday. 

I had to laugh.  Only 11 of us were signed up for the Secret Santa and I don't know if the lady who arranged it realized that me & another person got each other's names.  So I sent a package to the same person who sent me one!  AND - we're friends on Facebook, too!  So of course I stalked his FB profile to look for ideas - and apparently he did, too!  He had commented about a pic I have of the Spirit of Detroit wearing a Red Wings jersey.  Guess he got inspiration!

I have to believe that he went well over the $20 limit.  Just sayin'.

 I almost missed this guy.  

He was wrapped in 6 or 7 layers of tissue paper (alternating red & green) 

and tucked in the bottom corner of the box.

 This sign flips around to say "Naughty"

 A whole bunch of these - they're glass!

Will look awesome on my year-round tree!

And the piece d' resistance.......

Red Wings snowmen!!!!

 ... on a chair !!!!

I would have been perfectly happy with just the snowmen!!  WOW!  I really hope he likes what I got for him.  I got a variety of unusual ornaments & 2 candlesticks (which I forgot to get candles for) from Always Christmas and a Nightmare Before Christmas snowman ornament.

Guess I'll find out soon if he likes them or not!

Berkley Parade of Cars 2011 **pic heavy**

The Parade of Cars is the official kick off to the Woodward Dream Cruise.  This is the first year that I volunteered to help with it.  Randy works it & the Dream Cruise every year, being Net Control for all the hams helping out with communications. We're there as extra eyes for the police & sheriffs & medical peoples.

The bad part is dealing with morons. 
"Yes, 12 Mile Rd. is closed until I hear otherwise & no, I don't know why there is traffic out there. They didn't come out of my road!!" 
"I understand that you're registered in the parade, but I don't know how you're going to get there because 12 Mile is already closed.  Besides you just heard the staging guy say over my radio that it is closed, they're not taking any more cars." 
"Yes, drunk lady, I assume what you're asking is if I am a real amateur radio operator.  Females are allowed to be licensed.  I would not be wearing this classy vest, hat with call sign or carrying a radio if I weren't."  

Oh yeah - and I learned the hard way that Canadians call the port-a-potty "portables".  He was wearing a Richmond FD ballcap (there IS a Richmond MI, btw) so I assumed he meant portable radio, since I was messing with mine at the time.  Talk about feeling like an idiot!!  When he turned around, I saw the little Maple Leaf flag on his cap.  Oh well.

The good part is (besides the awesome buffet spread before it started) is being along the parade route to see all of the 420+ classic cars entered in the parade.

When I was going to leave the Berkley FD - this was parked next to me....do you think they would have minded trading vehicles with me???  I mean it's a Ford for a Ford !!!

This is the emblem on the front of a Berkley Motorcycle unit.  Awesome!!

Aww!  Aren't we cute??