Special K and Coffee
I don't really know why you'd be here. I mean, I know I'm the single most interesting person, but don't you people have lives? Really, it's quite sad.
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Tuesday, October 31, 2006
I'm finally an aunt
Check Beth's blog for more details and pictures. :-)
Monday, October 30, 2006
This week's goal
Knock the socks off my husband with the house....And start running again.
This weekend's auction yielded a circular saw for $6, a beautiful Ethan Allen wood frame couch for $40, and a beautiful wood posterbed for $175. Oh, and a nice coat tree for $11. We made out wonderfully at it.
Friday, October 27, 2006
I'm not a huge fan of chocolate
...unless of course it's combined with coffee.Now that we have hot chocolate in the house, I've been enjoying my second cup of coffee in the mornings as mocha.
And on the topic of coffee, today I am trying a very interesting sounding chuck roast recipe using coffee. We've got a really old roast that needs to be cooked like a roast with more spices and flavors than how we prefer to cook fresh roasts--over the open flame. It should be interesting. I'm looking forward to it because it's gotten good reviews, except for a few, but that's pretty typical.
Other than that, there's not a lot to report, except for a fat, black, furrball purring next to me. The only reason she's not hiding under the desk, though, is because Moe went to work with Paul this morning to be cut. Who knows, maybe things will be better between them once he's back from that. Still no new little baby in the family, though I would guess it's not too far away. Otherwise I need to sort through some papers--that's most of what's left in the boxes--ugh.And I've got some dishes to take care of and get addresses to the extremely-soon-to-be-parents, since I promised that. Maybe start on a Christmas letter, which shouldn't take too long because we have nothing to report from this year. [Note the sarcasm.
] And then there's my class, which I need to really jump in to more. Hmm...sounds like a lazy day to me, especially when you factor in that I might be headed up to post later, too.
Oh, anybody else planning to go on the Ghost Tour on Sunday and want to make it a group thing?
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Irritations
Yesterday I finished the third sinkload of dishes from our "dishwasher." I thought that maybe it was just the minerals in the water and build-up inside the dishwasher. I got a lot of said build-up cleaned out using vinegar. Then I attempted to run a load of dishes and they didn't get very clean, so I ran it again. Then I noticed the soap still clinging to the door.So I tried running it without adding soap. It's still there on the door.
Piece of crap. I'm doing dishes by hand from now on. I don't know if it would possibly have had something to do with the broken faucet, but I doubt that.
And the other irritation... I started on the Medical Word Building portion of my Medical Transcription course. Really simple stuff to start: identifying prefixes and suffixes, complete with exercises to see how good you are at identifying prefixes and suffixes. Easy enough. The first word in the suffix list was "speculation." My first thought was "-tion" until I realized that the "t" was part of the root word. So I checked with a dictionary and it confirmed that "-ion" is a suffix and "-tion" is not. According to the course, both the dictionary and I are wrong.I think I might send a note to someone.
Now I gotta figure out what on earth I'm going to wear for our free portrait tonight.Paul's got it easy, he's just wearing his Class Bs.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Solitary confinement
Trixie has started hiding from Moe. [Moe is what we ended up naming the kitten, after Moe on The Simpsons.] She's been spending most of her time hiding underneath the desk in the library/office, which is not good. She's walking on eggshells because of Moe. Most of the time she'll hiss and run every time Moe gets close to her, which causes Moe to chase after her, then more hissing and batting.
Because of the hiding, though, and the fact that we like seeing both of our kitty-cats frequently, we locked them in the bathroom together this morning. I've already been hearing some really fun things coming from that room. We'll see how this works.
And now I need the last 4 episodes of season 6 of Gilmore Girls!! But I am happy that I'm getting a little of season 2 on this tape that had the season 6 episodes I just finished watching because I haven't seen them in a long time...not even sure right now where my tapes of it are.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Progress Report
- Cleaning the attic: started.
- Drywalling: wall is completely prepped now, including new electrical work. (I love my husband.
- Basement door: finished. (Just needs a cleaning, new paint, and hooks for the locks.)
- Curtains: finished.
- Outdoor lights: not started.
- Mailbox: not started.
- [Not on the original list] Break down empty boxes from the move: finished.
And I have tons of just regular housework to do today.Oh yeah, and we replaced the kitchen faucet--the old one was beyond repair.
Just a quick response to two items on The Early Show this morning:OK, I'm done.
- More & more kids being held back from Kindergarten to start at age 6. I was a July baby who hadn't been in preschool. My mom was advised to hold me back and she refused. I don't think I'm any worse for it. Obviously, I don't know if I would have been better to be held back, but I don't believe it was a negative thing. Who knows, I may not have met my husband had I started school a year later.
- Happy Birthday iPod. Don't get me wrong, I would love to have an iPod, but the fact that so many people walk around on the street listening to it is sad. It's an escape from having to make eye contact and, *gasp*, saying "hi" to people!
- Don't wear your summer makeup in the fall. I am soooo not fashion savvy. I have 2 or 3 lipsticks I like that I will wear maybe once a month. Guess that's why I don't have a 40lb makeup case....and more money to spend on more important things.
{Still waiting on becoming an aunt...}
Friday, October 20, 2006
A list for us
This morning, Paul was coming up with a list of projects we need to get done and the sooner the better. And I'm going to add a few items. Until I find my dry-erase markers, I will post this list here for our own reference.But first, I need to check on the bills, make a couple phone calls, move some things in the kitchen onto our new pretty baker's rack, and clean some dishes and laundry. And once I get some stuff done, including some of the bulleted list, the reward is more of the Gilmores.
- Clean out the attic and put in pink panther insulation. [It's getting COLD!]
- Put up the drywall in our bedroom. [We've had it for a while and it needs to not be out in the shed much longer]
- Frame out and re-hang the door at the bottom of the basement stairs. [So that we can leave the big door open and not worry about cats wandering down.]
- Hang the curtains upstairs. [Again, it's getting cold.]
- Replace outdoor ugly lights with nice fixtures. [I just really want to do that.
- Replace the mailbox "post" with a real, wooden post. [I swear one of these days the wind is gonna knock it over.]
I'll leave you with our very pretty latest addition to our kitchen, which I found on eBay this morning with a starting bid of $20 under what we paid, but shipping charges of $120!
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Getting things done?
Hahaha....nope. I figured out how this silly thing works, so now I'm addicted to the Gilmores, as usual.
I'm bad, I'm very very bad. But maybe I'll get to some dishes before Paul gets home so that it's not like I entirely wasted the whole day.
Anyway, pictures...
Martha knows this spot because I first saw it on her site.
Several weeks ago, we went off-roading on post and found some gorgeous spots...
This is the trail we took to get there....most of the way:
You can't quite see it, but there's a little rock ledge in front of the truck that we weren't comfortable attempting to drive up, but we found a more 4x4, less Jeep way to get to that spot.
Then there's the picture of me learning how to drive a riding lawn mower/tractor.
I've been meaning to post all of these for quite a while. Enjoy!
OK, we need something happier up here
I know, I know, there are tons of things around the house for me to be doing, but I'm in that "I just spent over 4 days almost constantly with my husband and now he's at work and I'm home alone" funk.
I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be watching all of Season 6 of Gilmore Girls. It's been such a struggle to get all the DVDs to play, but I got through them all. Last week I put the videotape in the VCR to watch the last several episodes and it made some noise then ejected while saying "ERR". And the tape was caught inside. Beautiful.I couldn't figure it out, mostly because I don't know anything about electronics, so I put it back together and tried a tape just for the heck of it--it WORKED!!
I'll be back in a little bit to post some of those Kansas pictures I'd promised a while back.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Sad evening.
I'm just gonna refer you to Paul's blog for this one. Long story short, we lost Spuds to a car last night.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
I'm sick.
I never get sick. Seriously, in the two years Paul and I have been together, I really haven't ever been sick--and it had been a while before that, too. It sucks.We're having the office out here for a barbecue on Friday, too.
And I feel like crap, not like getting the house even more put together.
On a positive note, though, I'm slowly getting season 6 of Gilmore Girls watched, which is a trick with some of these homemade DVDs from my sister...some of them don't like to play too well, even on the computer. But I'm getting there! Slowly. I just finished the one where Lorelai's dad brought over her dollhouse. [And no, I have no idea what has been happening on the show because I like surprises, so don't spoil anything, please.
Anyway, off to maybe get a little work done around here. Even the real pseudoephedrine isn't working all that well. Ugh.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Great news!
Cleo has returned! And she killed a mouse! YAY!!!!!!!
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
OK, I admit it
I seriously feel like slacking. There is a ton of stuff to be done before tomorrow and I just don't want to do half of it. Paul's gone for the night, so that really doesn't help things. Neither does the weather. *sigh* I just want to start the weekend. At the very least I have to get laundry and dishes done. Then I've decided tomorrow will be packing until I've packed everything we need and then hit the road and whenever it gets me to Leavenworth, it gets me to Leavenworth.
I'm ready to "get out of Dodge" for more than a day. I was running around so much this summer that it's been weird to be here so long.
Anyway. I should have some lunch and find something to do. Bleh.I miss my husband even though I know I get to see him tomorrow afternoon. Crazy how that works.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Beautiful morning
...If only it weren't supposed to get up to 94° again today.
I have to share how proud I am of Trixie. This is day #2 of her and nameless being locked up together, and this last time I was in there, he walked right up to her, nose to nose, and she just kept on purring--didn't hiss once! I think it's starting to work, but they're still gonna have to live today in close quarters. "Mom" says so. And Cleo's much happier now because she got some love and attention for about half an hour this morning already. My only problem was that I wished I'd brought my coffee outside with me because once I finally got her calmed down enough to just sprawl out in my lap, I really didn't want to move her.
Anyway, on my list of things to do today...since I didn't make myself do too much yesterday:
1) Set up the desktop computer so that I can continue the MT course on the computer I'll primarily be using. (Oh, and Josh, is there a way to set up the wireless router without it being plugged in to a computer? We have some phone/DSL wiring issues and that would make things easier.
2) Hang curtains.
3) Water the new outdoor plants.
4) Start figuring out what we need to pack for the weekend.
5) Maybe unbox some boxes.
Monday, October 02, 2006
A hint for the masses
Check Paul's blog. ;-)
What a weekend
We enjoyed quite the morning Saturday up at Ft. Riley with their open house. We didn't really plan on spending that much time there, but Paul had to go in for something and his family hadn't seen the post yet. We ended up walking around all the booths, chatting with some of the reinactors that were there, and wandering around the Cavalry Museum. Oh, and buying some delicious apple pies!
We got home and Paul and his dad accomplished cutting off the bottoms of all the upstairs doors that no longer fit because there had never been carpet up there. Helen and I figured out where to plant the daylilies and hostas they brought from their garden/landscaping. After that productive afternoon, Paul and I went to work on our favorite meal: a chuck roast seasoned with "Grampa Paul's" and cooked over the open flame with a side of garlic potatoes and carrots in foil over the fire as well. (If any of you come visit, we can pretty much guarantee this meal--unless it's winter.) It was a great, relaxing evening...except for that little spot where I decided to burn myself on the fire pit screen.
Sunday morning started out slowly and, we thought, just enjoying the company and giving the complete tour of the property. It ended up with weed pulling, tree pulling (trucks are wonderful!!!), and lily splitting/transplanting. We had a bunch of lilies that had snuck onto the front walk and were just growing on top of the sidewalk. They are now on the side of the house.
After the family left, we headed up to the hardware store for a longer hose (the one we had didn't reach to all sides of the house), drywall for the wall in the master bedroom, and ended up finding a few more things of interest like a space heater for our bedroom. When we got home, we had a few things to do like finish planting the lilies and unloading the drywall. Then I declared that we were no longer allowed to work on anything and we had to just spend time together and cuddle on the couch. It was much needed and wonderful!
I get to pick him up from there on Friday, though, and then we're going to Iowa for the long weekend!!! We'll be camping at Ledges State Park, which is where we had one of our first dates and where we got engaged....and, and, and.....it's got a lot of history in our relationship.Oh, and we get to go CAMPING!!!!
And we might even be starting to get some of the fall colors of the Des Moines River valley. I'm ecstatic! That and, well, we need a trip and this won't break our budget.
Anyway, we are attempting to get Trixie better with the little boy who is still nameless. They are currently locked in a room together, for better or for worse. Every once in a while I hear loud, unhappy noises or the little guy starts meowing a bunch. I know they'll be ok in there together, but I'm still praying for no cat fight.
The other two are getting along fine--not swimmingly, but not hissing at each other anymore. Cleo has come up to the door here several times this morning and looked in and meowed wondering why she doesn't get to come inside because she was an indoor cat. However, she killed a mouse this weekend already. Her favorite thing to chase, though, is grasshoppers--and she can have 'em!! Stupid things are all over the place!
I suppose I should get to getting some things done, though I'm not planning on doing a ton of stuff because I want just a day of relaxation. I might start looking at the materials for my medical transcription course, which I've been accepted for and received a scholarship for. Not a huge amount of money, but we'll take all the help we can get.
Have a marvelous day!
