Weird Week:

We live in a mostly nice little neighborhood that isn't 'connected' to the city. It is usually quiet, and if things do get loud, most of the folks come out to quiet it back down.

Two nights ago at about 0230, a drunk driver peeled into our street from the state route, clipped the tree in front of our elderly neighbor across the street and crashed into her porch. It was demolished, and the moron barely managed to miss her bedroom. Then, he peeled out of her yard, leaving a very well defined trail of mud to his house several streets over which I'm sure the cops were grateful for, as it saved them a lot of trouble finding him.

Last night, we were watching some DS9 when a pickup pulled up in front of the house. The dude was sitting there with his internal lights on. He just kept sitting, so Dave went out to see what he was up to...

He was rolling a damn joint. Right in front of our house.

He was so blitzed that he didn't even notice Dave staring at him two feet from his window, and never did. He finished rolling, and pulled off.

So, we called the cops. God forbid he plows through a little old lady's house.

I guess I'm going to have to start shooting at people from my front frickin' porch. What is it? Is the warm weather allowing all the crazies and derelicts out?

SWINE FLU!!!

Not really! ;) I thought I'd just hype it up like the MSM.

We have all been sick for the last couple of days; nothing serious, just low-grade fever and aches.

I will be out making the blog rounds tomorrow.

Weekend Western:

I've been pretty busy this week; I had a job interview and if all goes well over the next week, I should have it.

It is an EXCELLENT job, so those of you who are the praying sort, PUH-LEASE put in a good word, and thanks!

That said, I will be about the blogs later today if my weekend job schedule permits, and if not, definitely tomorrow. I've been in blog buddy withdraw!

Check out one of the opening clips from an old western, Have Gun, Will Travel:

My local library has copies... Well worth your time, IMO. Not your typical western.

Back to School

... Or 'schrool', as Rush would call it.

I have a two week course to take and still have to work evenings, so posting is going to be pretty light until I'm done.

See 'ya around!

Family Stuff...

The next couple of days will be busy with work and school orientation.

My youngest is headed to pre-school, Thursday is the first day of bus riding and Kindergarten for Connor, and my oldest is already in THIRD GRADE.

Where does the time go?

I have learned a few things recently.

First, a small plastic pool is good for hours and hours of entertainment. Elder children like to determine who may enter the pool and how/when.

Next, a small chair and Dora towel is a welcome respite from the sun.

Children are so damn cute when they sleep so you don't kill 'em while they are awalke! ;)

A certain Pit Bull can jump a fence without thinking if a squirrel is in a neighbor's yard:

A certain Great Dane barks at squirrels but is too middle aged to really care enough

to go after them. She still likes tug-of-war.

That same bull is ever patient with her human puppies:

And finally, baby talk is not limited to nurseries!

Gravity Attack.

I know I haven't been reading my friends blogs much lately. I want to thank all of my friends who continue to stop by here.

I've got a good excuse, though...

I broke two ribs Tuesday and haven't been able to sit very comfortably at my desk after work. I broke them when getting out of bed. My foot was asleep and I didn't realize it, and I launched myself into the corner of our dresser after it gave out.

I would've liked to see that one from from an arial view... I bet it was rather funny.

Meanwhile, I tried toughing it out, and going to work, doing laundry, even mowing the front lawn thinking I'd just bruised them, but the pain has increased steadily for the last six days, so I gave up and went to the ER this morning with the suspicion that I'd actually broken one.

Turns out not only one, but two! LOL! *ouch*

I've got some pain medication and the evening off to relax, so tomorrow after work I will do some catching up, or if not, I'll be out on Tuesday which is a day off.

See 'ya!

Takin' it Easy Today

Today is my thirtieth birthday.

I guess I'll finally have to decide what I want to be when I grow up...

And now, for your viewing pleasure, Steven Crowder:

Belated Memorial Day

Let me just start off by saying, yes, I know that Memorial Day is to honor our fallen soldiers.

That said, I think we must keep in mind that our living soldiers could, at any moment, be asked to give all in defense of this country and her People.

I haven't posted in a while due to work, which included a long shift on the holiday yesterday.

I have a bumber sticker that says, "My brother is in the Army" and looks like this:

When I came out to go home, someone had written on a napkin, "Tell your brother THANKS!!!"

Sometimes I forget that people can be so good. What a heart warmer that was... And I got a call from my brother last night almost immediately after I got home. No reason, he said. Just wanted to chat with his Sis. He was touched when I told him about the note.

My gratitude to the person who took the time to leave that note under my windshield wiper.

One week.

I can't believe I haven't blogged in a week. Home life and work is crazy, but I'm going to do a little catching up today!

We have a new dog in the house. Kona is a Pit Bull from the county humane society. Despite popular conception, she is a sweet, loving lap hound who is still a bit unsure (we think she was beaten) but very eager to please.

A pic:

An aside... Maaaan, I can't wait for the new Star Trek movie. Gotta find a babysitter...

I've loved all the Trekkie whining over it, too:

Easter

I hope all of you are having a reflective Easter.

I haven't been able to post much lately, or do any reading in the blogosphere. It's been a week and a half since my last day off, and I won't see the next one until this Wednesday.

Not only that, brother was given orders to report to Maryland for his next duty station, and his pregnant wife will be going with him, of course... But she cannot take her one-year-old female cat with them.

I agreed to watch the cat.

We soon found out that she is unaltered.

After spending just a day and a half with our (definitely neutered) male cat, Jack, she went into heat. Despite being a very sweet cat, she has been miserable from that point. Jack is starting to 'take notice' of her despite being unable to 'deliver', so to speak, so we've kept her in the bedroom and him in the living room/kitchen.

This cat must be spayed, and I was certainly not expecting to take on that expense right now.

*sigh*

Busy days, folks. :)

I'm Sad.

Hi, everyone.

I'm sorry that I haven't been able to get out to everyone's blogs lately, or to do much posting. My work schedule has been crazy.

I'll be back 'out' once things settle a bit.

Also, our dog Jessi is very elderly. She's probable about 12 years old or so.

Last night she stopped eating altogether. She's a HUGE chow hound, so that's not good. I can't even hand feed her. She is barely drinking, and her breathing is quite labored since last night, too.

Since she started getting arthritis, she's not been much of a lap dog anymore, but she let me hold her in a blanket on the couch until the wee hours of the morning.

I'm afraid she's not long for this world.

Jessi has been a good friend. We've had her since before we've had our kids.

She's the little one:

It's Official...

...Spring is here!

I found these little guys growing just off the back 'patio':

Unfortunately, they'll have to go. They're the offspring of the giant tree in our backyard.

The kids were thrilled to find these in our front flower bed:

We will have beautiful white lilies before much longer!

And finally, a picture of our cat, Jack, having one heavy napping session on my lap:

It's good to be the cat!

Future King... Did We Ever Doubt It?

My five-year-old son told me today that when he grows up he will get a job as a king and buy a castle behind Indianapolis. He will also have a baby but he's not sure if it will be a boy or a girl. He will be naming it Car-Car, though.

I don't know where he comes up with this stuff... LOL!

As long as he doesn't start building these in his free time, I think we'll be OK:

Rough Day

As I mentioned in the comments of the previous post, our three-year-old has had a high fever and vomiting viral infection, 

Today was just as bad, and Genna was clearly dehydrated. 

Because her former pediatrician is this scumbag, we are without a doctor for her until at least the end of this month, so I bundled her up and took her to the local ER.

They got some fluids in her and found out that she also has a bladder infection. 

With the prescription of some anti-nausea meds and antibiotics, I hope that she'll be her old self soon.

Time and children's health permitting, I'll make 'the rounds' tomorrow.

Until then, have a good one! 

Global Warming On My Porch:

After the big snow and ice storm that blew through last week, the temps warmed just enough to melt about half the fallout, leaving a layer of hardened ice/snow mix.

Today, another eight to ten (estimated, I haven't check official numbers) inches fell on top of what was left of that.  I drove home from in a level two snow advisory. Three is the highest, when anyone but emergency personnel are subject to arrest. 

It took me three times as long to get home due to hesitant, unskilled drivers. Folks in the Ohio Valley just cannot handle snow. 'Nuff said.

Here is a pic from my front porch. Those are about two and one half feet high (or so) Rhododendron bushes. Of course, these photos do not touch the skill of Pinky's photography! :)

Here is one from my back porch; you can see our chairs and fire bowl, and of course, the trench left by our Beagle mix and the tracks from our Great Dane. Believe me, they did not want to go out. 

The kids do! 

Thanks be to Him (and I'm not talking about Obama) that our power is still, as of now, on.

SuperBowl with the Kids.

It's fourth quarter, 1:02 to go, and a time out is called. 

I let my seven-year old stay up, and she just said, "Time out; I'm going to the bathroom."

I say, "You're so funny!" 

She says, "What? I've been waiting!"

We have a super-fan in training. LOL! 

Crapped Out...

My computer died. It will either turn on for a split second and then shut back off, or get stuck in the 'booting up' phase. All of my pictures, ect., are on it.

We're taking it to the Apple store on Tuesday to try to figure out what's wrong with it, and then try to determine if it's worth the cost of repair... If it isn't, hopefully my files can be retrieved.

If Dave can figure out what the problem is and find replacement parts (difficult with an Apple), it's possible that he can repair it.

I'm posting from our little laptop in the meanwhile. It just isn't the same. 

*sigh*

I think I'm going to whine incessantly about this! 

Socialism For Kids

My oldest daughter has a speaking part in her elementary school's second grade musical.

The focus this year is patriotism. She's been learning songs like "America the Beautiful," and the "Star-Spangled Banner," along with a few others that honor our soldiers.

Sounds great, right? 

She brought home a paper detailing the speaking parts in the play that are wedged between the songs. (Hers is highlighted.) The last part is questions or requests for the next President. Here is a pic of the actual paper. 

(Click to enlarge.)

*sigh* 

I asked Aileen if these were lines given to the kids. She said no, each kid made up a question, but the teachers picked out the ones to appear in the play.

I wonder if all the questions look like this due to the immature understanding of the children of exactly what the government is for, or if the teachers picked out "agenda questions."

I found myself telling Aileen that her line is very good, and the play will go on, but that the kid's questions were fundamentally wrong and that the government isn't hear to give you money, MAKE you recycle, save the poor people, ect.  

I explained to her that she should be able to CHOOSE whether or not she wants to recycle. If she doesn't want to be poor then she should GET A JOB and WORK for her money, as it is not the government's place to give her a cent.

*sigh* 

The Big 0-5!

It's been a busy few days, so I haven't been posting much at all.

Yesterday, I stupidly went out barefoot into the front yard which has a quite a few clovers, and of course I stepped on a bee. In just a few minutes the bottom of my foot was a convex shape, which has made walking around a bit of a challenge! 

Today is Connor's fifth birthday. His father and I are both amazed he survived until now! ;)

I've got to go make a cake, with a number five candle and mini Oreos on top per the big guy's request! 

See you all later! :)

Cigar Tasting

Tonight the hubby and I have arranged babysitting for the little ones, and we are going to a cigar tasting at our favorite grocery/tobacco/liquor/international store!

 They have a rather nice terrace, and the owner of the Cusano Cigar company will be present to meet, greet and watch folks try his cigars!

I've never been to such an event. The first and last time I smoked in the presence of anyone other than my husband was when I went to Hawaii in April. I imagine it will be nice to mingle with others who love a good cigar.

The package is $15 for the cigars you see in the above picture. I am personally looking forward to trying the...well... I don't know! Although I don't much care for torpedos, they all look SO good! 

UPDATE:

Here's a picture of the terrace taken with Dave's cellphone. This was TOO much fun!