Snowflake

OMG, what a hot and humid day....and it's a bit worse on the outside of the house. Had to drop the temp on the A/C, it just didn't feel "cool" at 78...or 76...or 74...set it at 68 for a bit, when it cools down, I'll reset for 74 and be returning from last minute errands so it will seem cold in here. Really tried to get it down to just a carry-on, ain't happening. Now I need to check in and check a bag. Not that big of a deal, right? Just too much to take in regards to morning and evening toiletry regimens, being such a sweet young (looking) thing. There's the sacrificial chicken, the bowl to catch the blood, the goat's head...yep, sure is a lot involved for looking this young at my considerable age. Have I mentioned how much I hate flying? I'm beginning to wonder why I didn't drive, it's ONLY about 12 hours... Oh yeah, big city driving, that's why! Interstate is no problem, but driving in a big city with crazy drivers and people like me who have no idea where they're heading.. I need to get out and catch my chickens, 2 nights + 2 mornings = 4 chickens! This might take a while...

Ugh, migraine....so much to do, so little working brain cells to do it with... Trying to get the propane tank filled. When can they do it? Well, Friday, sometime between 8:30 and 4:30. Nice. Hubby gets home and to bed before 7:00 and the boy is taking me to the airport and will hopefully get home by noon. Can't have hubby staying up that late for a shift later, can't have the kid in two places at once, oh, and yeah, we need the gas... What is it with this weekend being the only weekend anything can be scheduled? Such is life, hard being so darn popular! Speaking of busy, I need to start thinking of dinner. When I finally find a job, I'm sure my boys will feel like they've been cheated at dinner time. I've been feeding them pretty well, and not spending a whole lot to do it. Last night was manicotti.

I think I'm crashing tonight. Although I got twice as much sleep as Annette, and don't have a nephew stressing me out, I've had a day and a half today and need some sleep or someone is going to end up dead - and it WON'T be me! I'll be the one with the flame-thrower thrown together with the underwires of my bra, a thong, a silver gum wrapper, paper towel roller, Bic lighter, and two D cell batteries... Dang, I'm going to end up flying nekid, so they're SURE I won't have any weapons grade material on me! Look at your own risk, Ahab's white whale ain't got nothin' on me! ...and I've worn a button off my phone. Gotta find some glue and some shut eye and not just my phone and glue my eyes. Better keep repeating that, or I may wake up and think I'm blind! G'night, all! Sleep tight.

But if all my clothes are in my carry-on, I run the risk of having to DUMP my lacy frocks out in front of a plane full of folks and a disgruntled TSA agent who's thinking, "TMI, Lady, TMI" OR having said agents pawing through my unmentionables. Heck, they wanna go through my drawers in a back room somewhere, have at, but not in my view.

Eric, Type your posting in Word. When you've completed it, push the Ctrl and A button (Ctrl-A) and the whole thing should be highlighted. Push Ctrl-C (copy), then open the window for a new post here...place your cursor in the box and then push Ctrl-V (paste). Viola, the whole thing should be there... Clear as mud? Conspiracy here, couldn't sleep when I went to bed, finally nodded off somewhere after 4:00. Slept for a few hours and the phone rang...so after trying to fall back asleep for almost an hour, had to get up and shower...may just head to bed after dinner tonight (yeah, right). Need to dig up a suitcase to check or a carry-on that will hold three days of my clothes - and being a girl, that's what, six pairs of shoes? LOL Looks like laundry is on the list for the evening and tomorrow...

Dang, started listing all the things I need to do today and I should have been in bed HOURS ago. Also need to get back to sleeping at night, have to get up early Friday to get to the airport. Will definitely be a day for Xanax. The older I get, the more I hate flying. Maybe there'll be a cute TSA agent to frisk me. Should I make it easy on 'em and go commando? LOL Are they afraid I'll go all MacGyver on 'em and make a weapon out of two underwires, a pair of panties, some gum and a watch battery? I mean, really...like grabbing my girlie parts won't make me go all militia-mom! If I were traveling with a child, we could discuss "stranger danger" and where people should not touch you...Yep, could be a lesson... So, to all you frequent flyers out there, do they at least buy you a drink before getting all touchy-feely?? Ack! Now how am I going to sleep? I need to head to bed, ya'll have a nice morning, sorry for the Monday reminder, but it is what it is. A whole new week to screw up in! Play nice, I'll try to check in later!

Lessee... #10 can lead to the best #8 stories..."And after they removed the jumper cables from his nipples..." #14 - AMEN, can I get an AMEN?? LOL #16 and the later the hour, the harder the liquor! #24 Took 'em over 100 years to realize their head hurt, but since their brain lives lower, that was much easier to figure out...(see #16 - and #8!) #25 Life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes.

How do ya do that, Randy??

I have been trying to work that stupid box, Judy. I thought I had it figured out, but nope, didn't work... ARGH! See what I get for not taking a nap?

Judy, Saw the control panel, couldn't figure it out... Kept telling me I needed to select more than one, but it wouldn't let me select the two I wanted to merge - gave up with frustration.

Well, I figured out how to delete the pick up artist, just can't figure out how to merge this post into the original Saturday Air...ah well, if I were perfect, the earth would have to revolve around me, changing gravity and all kinds of things like tides and time-keeping... I'll sacrifice and not be so perfect so things don't change too much on the planet. Yep, Saturday. What a great day for a nap! I took one this morning with hubby when he came home from work, he's still sleeping and I'm thinking about going back and joining him. Nice to have someone to cuddle with, even if I have to fight for covers and roll him over to still the snoring for a bit. Oh yeah, will put dinner in the cooker and nod off again. Can hardly keep my eyes open! May just drop by later, if I'm up alone, but try to pay attention to him when he's home and awake, since it's rare that he is lately.

Annette, If you text people, you put their phone number in the "To:" box. To send yourself the picture at an email address, put your email address in the box: mouseketeer_annette@mousehouse.com Enjoy your day, Eric, and hid your hooch so you don't end up sharing! Ride on, Bud, you're inspiring, but not enough to get me off the couch today. Lovin' the central air and it's not hot here compared to your part of the world. My plans for the day? Figuring out how to roast a tenderloin and not heat up the whole house...and laundry, and cleaning the floors, doing mouse-poop/mousetrap patrols, maybe finding some art to hang on the walls in my assorted areas of storage. Would The weekend? Hubby's working all weekend, no break...but maybe while he's out, I'll have the boy help me re-arrange the bedroom so it flows better while washing the sheets. Back to "Kitchen Nightmares" - what an inspiration for a dinner menu! lol "Iron Chef," on the other hand, never leaves me wanting to copy a recipe...blech. Squid ink ice cream? Are you kidding me?? Play nice!

About the funeral, MI Judy, sometimes, things just work out that way. My grandfather really wasn't a Cadillac man, he used to work on cars back in the old days, when you could tell the make by the sound of the engine.... It just so happened that when he died, the funeral home had their hearse in for repairs and had to pull out the Packard to take my grandpa to his final resting place. Your friend is probably laughing herself to tears at all of her friends togged out in white shirts and black pants (no frilly apron?) to serve the army that is expected.

MI Judy, are you a zombie? If your face is melting off, you must be a zombie...and ragamuffin clothes? Yep, your flesh is rotting away, your face is melting, your clothes are draping...face it, you're a zombie. Throw in a lack of sleep and it all fits, right? I can double check with my boy, he's in some zombie faze where everyone is a zombie, zombie's are on the prowl looking for brains to eat (I tell him he's safe)... Dang, it's hot. I'm not complaining, but no more heat added for summer, if the this is the test day for the high, this is good. No more. My face isn't melting merely because I don't have make-up on, but I have a blond hedge on my head... Nothing like a poodle-do on a humid day! Marge Simpson has about six inches on me...LOL What a day...just, what a day. If anyone has the winning lottery numbers, could they pass them this way? Time to really get dinner underway, and pack hubby's lunch. If I have it finished by the time I get him up, I can spend time with him instead of in the kitchen (where it's hot)... That's the plan!

I'm thinking, if you're peddlin' your a$$ all over town, Rose SHOULD get a freebie every now and then! Hopefully, it was only Rose at home when you streaked through, or did she have the Queen over for tea? Comments on the crumpets? Well, it's official, I NEED to find a job. Seriously. Going to have to start networking and get employed. We just have too many habits here that one job cannot cover. Two of the big ones are eating and sleeping indoors. The other big habit? Gas to get to work! Maybe I should lose some weight and become a pole dancer. No real wardrobe expenses, in fact, if I can dig up some of my clothes that are worn and holey, I'll be ahead of the game! I think that jumping out of one's skin should burn more calories. It sure feels like I've peeled years off my life when those darn smoke alarms go off. Go figure, they have a sensor that not only lets the know the oven is open, but that I am bent over with something hot in my hands and may just fly with the shrill screech! It's hot, it's humid and I refuse to complain, frizzy hair and all, because there is no *$&%# SNOW to be seen ANYWHERE! Of course, come summer, when there are days of no relief in sight and the electric bill is high, I will re-visit my position. Today's excitement? Well, it's garbage day...and I'm working on what to fix for dinner...may have to put a pork tenderloin in the cooker. Was going to make baked potato soup, but weather dictates something not so heavy. Beer and brats, maybe?

Years ago, a group of us at work dressed like hippies for Halloween. I went to a trendy store at the mall and bought some extreme bell bottoms, tie-dyed shirt and a big belt with lots of rivets in it. I also bought a long wing of straight blond hair that I wrapped with a headband and an old pair of platforms to complete the look. Total cost of costume? About $30. Flash forward to this afternoon, and I'm in the utility room putting the bottle returns into bags when I feel a horrendous pop in my lower back and suddenly feel "different". Oh no, my BACK, I don't need to be laid up with a pulled something-or-other.... I slowly stand up, and realize I can breathe deeper...and that my pants are traveling down my rear. Yep, that cheap belt gave way, ripping like a fruit roll-up! Sheesh... I'm okay! Made it to the grocery store and fixed an alarming dinner, as posted earlier. Oh yeah, and the Wings WON! On to game seven!

...and it was a three-alarm dinner! STILL clearing the smoke out of the living room. No lie. Made mini-quiche and the darn things overflowed in the oven, burned and stunk up everything, set off THREE of the house's five smoke alarms. Not many people can cook up a three-alarm meal that's edible - the finished product was nicely golden brown and pretty tasty, per hubby and spawn. Watching a hockey game, two minutes left in the second period, still tied at 0, which is far better than the Wings trailing by anything. Pulling for the RedWings to whip the Sharks. Hubby is a Wings fan, a die hard. Loves to see 'em in contention for the Cup. The boy and I went grocery shopping, returned bottles, picked up water (ours isn't potable in my opinion, so hard I can almost walk on it) and talked. I like forcing him to ride along, it's one of the few times he actually TALKS and I can get a glimpse of what's going on in his world and brain. Might try to beat the crap out of this insomnia and go to bed early tonight. If it seems the insomnia might be winning out, I may cheat and pop an Ambien. Nah-nah! PS Anyone know of any jobs out there? I need one...

Greetings from Yankee Land! Contrary to popular belief, we do not eat babies and use whale-oil lamps any more. Well, we don't do it any less, either! Not looking forward to days and days of rain. No real grass for the dogger to potty on, so it will be days of muddy paws and towel-covered furniture. Gotta head out to the grocery store, having just learned that gas prices have jumped again and knowing that I need to fill up before heading to the south to shop. Sheesh. I'm sure gas will cost more than a week of groceries. Might have to buy steak so I feel like I'm eating better than my car! Have a list, but no coupons. Will have to work on that! Wonder if I can get coupons for gas? I hope KW Judy is having a good time with her family. It's going to take her forever to catch up on what she's missing. Really, Annette, "Rock of Love"? LOL - I liked the "Charm School" with all those strippers, er young ladies... Those VH-1 reality shows give you a day in the life of a Springer guest! I gave up on tuning in to Jerry, it was just "Tales from the Trailer Park" and I have a front-row seat to that, living in Smalltown, USA - in Yankee Land, no less! Flower planting in mud tires, faded pink flamingos, junk cars on blocks - yep, we got it all! Gotta run, need to cook something for dinner tonight, something good. Anyone seen my darn keys??

Annette, Your nephew does know that being "sick" with an "excused" absence is STILL an absence and that if he misses over a certain number of days (I think it's 17 here - and that's from ONE class, so missing a first class 17 times counts, even if attending the other six every single day) and he will not receive ANY credit for the term? Seriously. Oh, the writing is so on the wall. If you turn him in, your mother is just going to be soooo p*ssed at you, after all, it will be all YOUR fault that you turned THEM in, not his fault for not following the rules set up by the court. I don't envy you the predicament you are in. Nice. Looks like your family puts the "fun" in dysfunctional - Not! I somehow skipped over Eric's birthday, read it and then it was gone, no retention. Happy belated, Eric! Too much time outside yesterday, migraine/sinus/allergy headache today. Not enough drugs in the world and I can't seem to sleep it off. Ugh. I have some grocery shopping to do for dinner. Opened my mouth and now need to cook a quiche - never done it before, but how hard can it be, right? Off to real life, maybe the glow of the screen isn't helping my head much...later, taters!

Well, it's no longer Mother's Day, so I'll share my experience now that it won't ruin anyone else's, but I'll give you our date night the night before, first! I decided that hubby and I needed a date night, and the boy had plans, so it was all going to work out. Poor kid, his friend blew him off, but he didn't want to come with us. Late start, we leave close to 8:00 p.m. Hey, on the bright side, it's "big people time" - right? Right?? LOL, yeah, right... Our dinner was so bad, the manager comped the whole thing. Seriously. We tipped our waitress, though. Restaurant atmosphere? Loud (young) kids - not teens, tots - elementary age and younger. Couldn't hear my hubby across the table from me, couldn't sit next to him at the table because of the set-up... Being the boring married folks we are, decided to go grocery shopping for ingredients for Mother's Day dinner. I wasn't ready to kick up my feet and camp out on the couch, headed for a local watering hole for some dancing... Saturday night, and the joint is DEAD. DJ sucked. Bad. Nothing to dance to, $10 spent on a Keno ticket, won $11. Hubby spent $6.50 on drinks, geez I'm a cheap date! Home to a cheesy Sy-Fy movie...or two. ENOUGH, I'm going to bed. Cutting my losses, time to sleep... ...and then it's Mother's Day. We were out and about at the crack of noon. The doggie went out before we left, she's not a puppy, she knows what it means when everyone has their shoes and jackets on and she's being tied out...so she pottied and came back in. Not a big deal, we don't crate her, she's a good girl... So we visit, hubby's mommy first, then mine. Home so hubster can nap before dinner, he had to work but wanted to cook dinner. We had taken the truck so hubby could get his grill and move it over here. I head to unlock the door and let the dogger out, we've only been gone a few hours, but I figure she may need a quick wee-wee...then I see the ick on the rug by the door...and the smell of "oopsie poopsie" attacks my nasal passages. I have some groceries in my hand (moms are good at that) and want to get them in the refrigerator and grab some clean up stuff...and see that that is not the only spot! My 35-pound dog must have thought she was an elephant? YUCK! Boy helps clean all that up. Windows are opened, Lysol is sprayed...eww! Happy Mother's Day, your furbaby loves you... ...and the grill is unloaded. Rolled through the loose sand by the boys, I supervised. Hubby stacked the charcoal and set it all up for a quick light when he gets up later, then he's off to bed. Okay, side note. I was wondering why I was so tired if he was the one cooking dinner. Lessee...dishwasher has to be emptied and refilled - boy does it, turns it on. Then I chopped all the onions, all the mushrooms, packaged all for cooking on the grill. I pulled out the steaks and put them in a pan for easy handling. Washed the taters for baking. Toss out garbage - whoops, trash is now overflowing. Boy takes out trash. New trash bag (I forget that step sometimes, not good). Dinner was excellent. This one's a keeper, he can COOK! Heck, he even cooks in the house, not just on the grill. ...and the Red Wings won! Still in the series, next game is home! All-in-all, not a bad day, poor dog had a tummy ache. She felt soooo bad, spent the whole afternoon attached to me. I couldn't move without tripping over her. Can't yell at a dog that IS housebroken and has an accident. Heck, after Iressa, I TOTALLY get not having control, and she didn't have thumbs to open the door... Loads of things to do today, better get some sleep. Later, kids. And remember, even crappy days can end good! Heck, just because someone leaves you sh*t, doesn't mean they don't love you!

...and Annette, turn his *ss in! He's on his umpteenth "one more last chance" and has it made in the shade with his granny. He is NOT going to shape up. Time for the real wake-up call... Judy (MI), enjoy your free time. I've had a bit of that today, hubby is sleeping after another 12-hour shift, the boy is asleep because he played online until the wee hours of the morning and the dog with snooze with anyone at any time...been left to my own devices and have only managed to get into the laundry? Geez, I'm slacking...it was just SOOOO quiet, I was enjoying the peace...

Beautiful day in the neighborhood and I'm not going to complain about the sun making such a showing. I am, however, going to seek out the shade, that darn sun-induced rash is back with a vengeance, thank you, Iressa! Last year, I bought three pairs of sunglasses at Kohl's when they had a big sale. Hubby thought that was crazy and excessive - I told him that I seem to have bad luck with the darn things. That said, I've now blown through two of the new pairs and an older pair that was in my glove box. Summer isn't even here and I'm down to the last pair, urgh! Working on laundry. Cleaned out all the garbage that has accumulated in my car over the cold months, can see the floor in some places - shook out the floor mats, but there's still a lot of gravel in the floor boards so I'll have to get the vacuum out there somehow. Yee-haw. I may just flip up the rear seat (third row) to keep the world from piling so much crap in the cargo area, tired of cleaning it all out! Easy enough to fold down when I'm hauling stuff, but tired of hauling "stuff" that needs to hit the trash. Used the shedding blade on the dog, pulled off about a guinea pig in hair....she didn't LOOK like she was shedding, may be time to get her butt into the shower and scrub her down... Nah, that means I have to clean out the bathroom (before) and clean up the bathroom (after). Not really all THAT ambitious today! ...and got a call asking that hubby go over and start his weed whacker for his parents tomorrow. Nice - since after all, it's MY weed whacker, I just bought it last year and was told I could store it in their barn. I guess there's a storage fee? Gas is supposed to be mixed with oil to a formula, but the father-in-law "eyeballs" his, so I'll be lucky to have a weed whacker when I can finally use it! Dammitall! The landlord better get his butt moving on the shed out front, they've been working on it all week and are still just to half the roof, no doors yet. By the time he's finished, I'll just have junk to store in it because nothing will be working... Why did I leave the weed whacker at the in-laws' and not my parents', you might ask... Well, with ANY tools at my parents', my brother will take them to use without asking and he ALWAYS breaks what he borrows and doesn't replace it. Thought it might be a better choice. Sheesh... What's everyone's plans for Mother's Day? Looks like hubby will be doing yard work at his parents' (which means I will be there, too, nice). After all, we have no kids so there's no reason to spend the day with me.... Fun. Doesn't matter what I may have had planned, the die is cast, it's yard work. I'll have to check DNA and scarring, but I'm pretty sure I'm a mom, too, and I don't WANT to have green sneakers on Mother's Day, I prefer to plant flowers! (But have learned it's far too early to plant flower beds in MI in mid-May.) Anyone up for kidnapping me from the yard?? I'll give you the keys to the bus...it just needs a jump start, the battery has sat for a bit too long for it to just start with the key. Help! Please? LOL

Um, Judy, as far as I know, Detroit and Flint are all paved...Lived in Alaska for three years, have avoided Detroit and Flint the entire time I've lived in Michigan...take my chances with the wildlife, they'll kill me to eat me, at least. I'll be USEFUL to them dead, not just another tattoo... Speaking of senseless violence (segue!): My mighty hunter has taken out Mickey! Squished the little guy so bad, his eyes bugged out, like a cartoon character. No kidding! I'm betting there's more than one, though. I'm sure the silverware drawer is a gang initiation. The trap may have been, too. The mouse got caught down the sternum, sideways in the trap. I don't think he was feasting on the peanut butter, I think he was playing chicken (or "stupid Darwin moves")... Dang, Wings lost tonight in OT, they're behind by 3 in the series. Boy, a piece of chocolate cake and a glass of milk would be good right about now. Bud, if I can find the cake, you need to ride to the coast tomorrow! lol Later, kids, it's almost tomorrow!

Army surplus, maybe, for the Kevlar? Now, the allergy to bullet wounds, yeah, me too...

Eric, Fire ants are wee little monsters. Check the photo of the leg of someone unlucky enough to have a mass of bites from this wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_ant I believe they stay in the states below the "frost" line, not sure how far north they have migrated, but I know they're in Florida and Georgia because that's where I've been attacked. In fact, while living in Georgia, we rented a furnished trailer that had other tenants - fire ants had found their way into the mattress. Nice...stimulating in a very un-nice way... All states but Alaska have snakes, just different kinds depending on the climate. Lessee...bears (black, brown and polar), cougars/catamounts/pumas/mountain lions, wolverines, bobcats, lynx, wolves, coyotes, feral hogs, wild hogs, alligators, crocodiles, moose, elk, deer (white tail, mule, etc.), antelope, bison (some call them "buffalo") <----these are critters that have killed people, lots of other critters over here, though. It's not quite the wilds that greeted the Plymouth Rock bunch, but some areas are wildlife magnets. Bugs/crawlers: spiders (including tarantulas), scorpions, fire ants, wasps... Sure you want to come, in a dress, no less? Seriously, though, I think the odds of being shot are far higher than being attacked by a wild animal, unless you plan on going mountain climbing... I think it's nap time. Feeling sleepy, watching this ol' dog napping on the other end of the couch.