Because I’m slightly tipsy and have some catching up to do – bullets!

Photos: I’ve been putting stuff up on my photo blog again lately. I’m having so much fun with my camera, and I’m really learning a lot. This is one of my favorites lately. But then I really like this one too. This one reminds me of Tonka toys. And this one was just plain fun. I have big plans to do more with my photos, so stay tuned. Meanwhile, I’ll still be posting them here and there. And everywhere.

It’s a Girl Thing: If you follow me on Twitter you know I’ve been working on building a Girl Cave. It’s done and it’s AWESOME. What is a girl cave? Well mainly it’s a space all my own for the first time in a really long time. Something as awesome as a Girl Cave deserves it’s own post, so I’ll just give you a sneak peak:

Chair of Awesome

Is that not THE most rad girly chair ever? I love that chair.

Grandson: Most everyone knows by now that I have a grandson. If you didn’t, hey guess what? I have a grandson! He is…well, he’s the kind of awesome that is beyond words, which is why I haven’t written about his arrival. I find that I’m still not ready to write about it, and I don’t really know why, but it probably has to do with the same reasons I didn’t tell very many people about it beforehand. It’s personal. It’s private. It seems like something I want to keep very close to my heart for right now. I know there were hurt feelings because I didn’t share with, well, hardly anyone, and I’m sorry for that. The hurt feelings part, I mean, because that’s never my intent. The not sharing part was my choice, though. Sometime soon I’ll be ready to share and everyone will be all shut up already!

TeeVee: We canceled cable over six months ago in a fit of “this shit is too expensive” and honestly, I don’t miss it all that much. I can get my fix on Netflix and Hulu. My husband, however, does miss it. He gave it a good six months, but he’s over it. Since we live in the back of beyond, not to mention in a bowl surrounded by mountains, we don’t get much in the way of “antenna” service on the digital tuner. We took advantage of Memorial Day sales last weekend and bought the World’s Comfiest Couch, so it kind of seems like a moral obligation to have cable TV at that point. After DirecTV made me insane with their bait and switch, stick me on permahold and tell me to “trust them” bullshit I decided to go with Dish Network because it worked ok for us before. Monday morning between 8:00 and noon I will be back among the monthly cable bill paying peoples of the world, still with mixed feelings about the whole thing.

Have a great weekend everyone! Mine is going to include a LOT of margaritas, a metric fuckton of homemade (for the first time in my house) hummus, and artichokes as big as my head. Oh and there will be baby head sniffing. Oh yes, there will.

Together – For the first time in 3 years, my husband and I are taking vacation time together.  Over the past 3 years we’ve each taken vacation time apart, but this is the first time we’ve had more than a long weekend together in that time.  We’re not doing anything “special”, it’s a Staycation, but it’s not the where that’s important.  Down time together, quality alone time, is just what the doctor ordered.

Expendable – For the first official Staycation event we went to see The Expendables.  It was everything we expected to be – a non-stop action movie with little to no plot and lots of unbelievable stunts and explosions.  Seriously, the explosives budget alone for this movie had to be several million dollars.  It was a fun movie that just lets you turn your brain off and enjoy.  Stallone is something else for being 64 years old!

BlogHer – I didn’t go to BlogHer, and I don’t know that I ever will, but each year after it’s over I get to reap the benefits in that I’m introduced via bloggers I already follow to new bloggers (new to me) I haven’t read before.  I’ve stocked my Twitter stream and Google reader with more new people in the last two weeks than in the entire last year.  I love finding new people to love, and I’m getting a lot more confident in putting myself out there to interact with them.  Someday I might even work up the nerve to go to BlogHer myself, but honestly I’m not sure that I’d ever fit in.  We shall see.  Meanwhile, I’m enjoying the new reads and if I haven’t introduced myself to you yet I will soon.

Home Gym – Jason and I have been building quite a home gym, but we’re running out of room.  We’ve reached the stage where we have to get rid of something to bring something new in, and wouldn’t you know it – we found something new we want.  I’d link it, but I can’t find it anywhere online.  It’s a smith machine with cables and junk sort of like this one only way better.  The problem is that we have a 1,000 SF house.  It’s small, but it’s good for us, at least until we try to fit this kind of stuff in here and not have the whole house look like a gym.  So far we’ve been able to fit everything into the garage with the exception of my treadmill which is in the office, but now something must go.    The other problem is that my husband is a bladesmith and still uses the garage as his shop, and all of this exercise equipment is slowly choking out the knifemaking equipment.  That smith machine is hugantious, and it’s going to make knifemaking difficult.  A 370 lb anvil doesn’t exactly scoot in and out of a corner very easily.  It’s a puzzle that we’re working on, trying to decide if it’s worth it.

That’s all I’ve got!  I guess I have 4 bullets left for when the madness comes, LeSombre style.

I’m on vacation, bitches!

It’s been a long time since I took more than a long weekend for vacation that didn’t involve knocking me out and crutches, so this week I said screw it I’m taking some time for me.  Hubs is working out of town and the boy is hardly ever home anymore now that he has wheels and a debit card.  It was the perfect time for some real alone time, which for me never happens.  Like in 20 years, it’s never happened.

I had all these grandiose plans of things I could do like a really thorough spring cleaning, painting the hallway and living room because I’m tired of the color, or a lot of yard cleanup that needs to happen.

Who was I kidding?  This is me we’re talking about.  While my house is not cluttered or dirty (dusty does NOT count as dirty), it’s not a candidate for the white glove treatment either.  I am not June Cleaver, and no amount of free time is going to turn me into her.  It’s just not a priority for me, and I can think of 1.000 things that would be better uses of my time.

What did I do instead?

Ok, I cleaned a little.  But only my drawers and a little of the closet. Things were getting entirely out of hand in there and I needed to cull the herd of holey underwear.

I bought a bike.

I’ve been running, but my knees reminded me that while I’ve lost some weight, it’s not nearly enough for them to be happy with being the bearer of high-impact me.  I remembered that I weighed about 20 – 25 lbs less than I do now when I started running the last time, so I need to be patient and wait.

A friend let me borrow his wife’s bike and we went on a ride together to see what I thought, and I loved it.  My hooch didn’t love it, it was angry for days and normally I wouldn’t be ok with that.  But riding that bike was fun.  And it got me moving outside, which is really important to me.  I am a summer girl and the thought of spending my summer fitness time in the garage on my elliptical just about made me cry.  I need to be outside because I don’t know if you noticed, but that winter lasted forever.

So I researched and shopped and sat on bikes and I finally picked one I liked and I brought her home and called her George.  Well not George, she doesn’t really have a name yet except Bike.  Bike and I have had two rides now, and I can tell you we are officially an item.

I discovered the Runmeter app for iPhone, and Bike and I have used it to track our rides.  I didn’t know when I first used it that you can set it for different activities, so the results say “run” when they should have said “cycle.”  But you get the idea.  I am in love with this app!  No more need to covet a chunky Garmin wrist GPS for running, I can just use the app.  It stores all of your past runs/rides so you can compare notes on past rides.  I haven’t tried it, but you’re also supposed to be able to run the iPod at the same time this runs in the background.

Yesterday I took a drive up to Tahoe.  My original intent was to spend the day photographing the lake, but it was kind of cold and windy up there and I found I was just really enjoying the drive.  I never get to drive up there because it’s pretty twisty and hubs gets sick if he doesn’t drive.

It was a beautiful day, if you were inside a warm car.  I drove for hours and just listened to music and chilled.  I love a good drive.  I did discover that you can get from the top of Spooner Summit to the bottom in just about the time it takes for Iron Man to play if you aren’t afraid of going fast on the curves and you have to pee really, really bad.  Thankfully the highway patrol was busy with someone else when I blew past him.

I still have tomorrow by myself and then it’s a regular weekend.  This time has been good.  I really needed it and even though I haven’t done anything really exciting, I’ve done exactly what I wanted to do at the time.  That’s pretty awesome by itself.

I absolutely love Christmas music.  Hubs and I start listening to the radio stations that play only Christmas music almost exclusively from Thanksgiving until right after Christmas.

I have to admit, though, I’m kind of a Christmas music purist.  I like the oldies but goodies.  Christmas music should be sung by the likes of Burl Ives and Bing Crosby.  Mariah Carey has no business jacking up my Christmas song goodness and she’s a surefire way to get me to change the station.

That said, I have the love love for the Transiberian Orchestra.  They rock the Christmas music like no one else.  Last year my friend gifted me with a ticket to the concert, and I fell in love with them.  Like everyone else, I had heard Christmas Eve in Sarajevo, but I really had no idea how cool they were.  It was like being at a rock concert!  The story is a little hokey, but the music is awesome and more than makes up for the cheese factor.  If you haven’t had a chance to see them live, I highly recommend it.

This year I didn’t want to spend the money to go see them, especially when Ticketmaster throws in a goat-holing for an extra $30 for 3 tickets over and above the cost of admission, so we bought the DVD and had our own TSO concert at home.  It wasn’t the same as being there, but it was pretty nice just the same.

This Friday is the beginning of something that doesn’t happen very often, but is greatly anticipated whenever it does.

Hubs is going on vacation!  And I?  Am staying here.  Can I get a wOOt?

Now before you go all “but why are you happy your beloved hunka hunka burning panub is leaving?” back that truck right up.

Let the record show that I love my husband.  I love hanging out with my husband.   We are one of those disgusting couples with pet names and our own language and the whole nine yards.

BUT

Y’all knew there would be a but.

I am a person who needs my alone time.    I love my alone time.  I will beg, borrow, and steal alone time.

And I am getting a whole 10 days of alone time just handed to me on a silver platter.

OH. EMM. GEE.  I may just squee.

Before the foot surgery came up I had all these grandiose plans of taking the same time off work and just plunking around the house, working on little projects,  shopping, and taking day trips up to Lake Tahoe to take pictures.  It was going to be my own vacation time.

Well I can’t go hiking around the mountains right now, and I just took a week off work for recuper-cation, so my plans have to change.   I think I’m still going to take a few days because I have a crapload of vacay days, but it doesn’t make sense  to take the whole shebangarang.  That said, there are still a few things on my list that I can do.

• Eat a butt-ton of sushi.  Hubs can’t eat sushi, we’re not sure why but something in it makes him all barfarama.  He’ll go with me so I can eat it and he’ll order something else, but it I always feel guilty because it makes him sad since he loves it as much as I do.  Hubcation means guilt-free sushi eating.
• Watch girlie movies until I either puke or beg for the Terminator.  Hub doesn’t mind when I watch girlie movies.  Sometimes he watches with me and sometimes he goes out to boyland.
• Take up the entire bed.  I’m not one of those people who doesn’t encroach onto the other side if I’m all alone, like I’m preserving hubs’ space for him even while he’s gone.  I’m more of a finder’s keepers kinda girl.  That bed?  Will be mine, all mine, MINE!  Bwahahahahaha!
• Shopping.  DUH.

I don’t know what else I’m going to do but it will be girly and I will do it for as long as I want with no guilt.

With every good thing there is a little bad.  I have to take care of the feathered and fishy folk, make sure the gardens get watered, and the trash gets to the curb.  All things that I’m not very good at.  Well, taking care of the animals isn’t a problem, I’m just not good at the garden part. We’ll see who survives my reign.

So!  Let the countdown begin!  T-minus 4 days and counting!  (What does T-minus mean, anyway?)

I’m not a teevee person, well at least I didn’t used to be.  When I do watch, it’s usually something on Food Network or Bravo.  It’s not that I have anything against tv programs, it’s just that I usually never catch a series at the beginning and it bugs the crap out of me when there is something going on in the background that I’m not aware of.

These last couple of weeks have changed all that!  I am now addicted to several new shows that aren’t new at all, they’re just new to me.  Before my surgery I picked up seasons of shows that were on sale.  I know, I have high standards right?  I’m a sucker for clearance sales.  Here’s what I ended up with:

House: I’ve loved House for a while, but I’ve only seen the re-runs on USA when I happen to flip to the channel.  While I’ve been working on project purple foot I have watched Seasons 1 & 2, and I’m hooked.  I love Gregory House, he says everything I would like to but don’t.  Plus he’s so cute!  There is something about an absolute scruffy asshole that’s a turn on.  I wouldn’t date him, but he’s fun to admire from afar.

Criminal Minds: I love Mandy Patinkin.  I watched him on Chicago Hope for years, and to this day whenever I can hear my pants when I think of him.   He will, however, always be Inigo Montoya. You kill my father.  Prepare to die.   I know he’s left the show, but I haven’t gotten to that part yet so don’t tell me!  I love me a good serial killer story, so this show is right up my alley.  What?  That doesn’t say anything about me at all.  *ahem* shuddup

The Tudors: Henry VIII has always been such a devilish scoundrel, and Jonathan Rhys Myers plays him beautifully!  Plus he’s haawwwwwtttt!  I’m working my way through Season 1 on Netflix, which I have to say kind of blows.  The watching it on Netflix part, not the show.  The show is awesome!  When I was a SAHM I was big into the historical romances, and this is one big bodice ripper.  What?  Oh don’t even pretend.  Everybody did it in the 90′s.  How do you think Fabio got famous?  The Netflix part blows because they only send you one disc at a time, so I’m only on the 2nd disc of Season 1.

I’ve still got two seasons each of Weeds and Alias to watch, but I’m anxious to get season 2 of Criminal Minds because hello!  Cliffhanger!

Also on my watch list is NCIS because I may have a tiny girl crush on Abby and I need to catch up on CSI because I’m about 3 seasons behind.  I don’t know how I’m going to have time for all this AND the Real Housewives of Atlanta, but a girl’s gotta have goals.

Oh, and Top Chef.  And Project Runway.  And whatever happened to Cathouse?

Houston, we may have a problem.

This week has been rodeo week here in town, and while I’ve never been much of a fan I had a really good time.  Normally I stay away from activities involving horse poop because I’m surrounded by it at home.

I have found, though, that you can learn something from just about every situation in which you find yourself and the rodeo was no exception.

So first, I have to give you some background:

It’s really hot at the rodeo, since it’s outside and there’s little to no shade.

You have to wear jeans at the rodeo, it’s like a rule.  It’s not written down anywhere, you’re just supposed to know.

So when you walk around in jeans, and it’s really hot outside?  You get a little swampy in the drawers, if you know what I mean.

Oh, come on.  Don’t even try to tell me you have not had a case of swamp-crotch at some point in your life because I will call you all for a liar, liar, swampy pants on fire!

Anyway, here’s where I get to the lesson.

After you drink a few beers you have to visit the facilities.  The facilities at this particular rodeo are either porta potty nastieness or the restroom inside the livestock event center.

The inside of the livestock event center is hotter than the surface of the sun because it’s not air-conditioned or ventilated in any way.  Plus it smells like cow poo.  Really hot and stinky cow poo.  But it’s better than a porta potty because even though they’re making them in pink now it doesn’t disguise the eww factor.

So I visited the restroom in the livestock event center, where they are kind enough to provide seat covers for the patrons.  This appeared to be a place where I would appreciate a seat cover, especially if everyone else was in the same condition I was.

I placed the cover over the seat and made use of the facilities.  So far so good, right?

Then I stood up.

Can you see where this is going yet?

I stood up and the seat cover came with me.

It wasn’t just clinging, like maybe with static so you could just brush it off.

It was glued to my ass like a spitwad gets stuck to the ceiling.

And it didn’t want to come off.

I had to peel it off, piece by piece.  Then, because of my Mom’s “don’t forget to wear clean underwear in case you’re in an accident” indoctrination I had to feel around to make sure that there were no remnants.

Because with my luck I would be in an accident and they would pants me in the emergency room and find pieces of toilet seat cover glued all over my ass.   And that?  Would be the opposite of awesome.

I saw this at Tori’s place and the awesomeness made me share it with all ya’ll.  You’ve probably already seen it, you know, because of the awesomeness, but just in case.  Watch it again.

Mostly I don’t have a whole lot of anything to say today, so you are getting little bits of bullety nonsense.  Because I love you.

• My dog ate my glasses.  She didn’t eat them very much, just enough to make me think I got something all over the lenses and when I tried to wash it off I realized, no that’s actually teeth marks.  Awesome.  At least she didn’t munch the frames so I should be able to get new lenses easily enough.
• I had the most awesome pear ever today.  It was a plain old bartlett, but it had a pretty pink blush on it and it was so sweet and juicy.  Pears aren’t supposed to be good this time of year so I’m pretty sure it came from equaguatachile, but it was crazy good.
• Open ID hates me.  I keep trying to comment using it on Blogger blogs but I run into problems every single time, and then I get the boot and my comment goes poof.   If you have a Blogger blog, it’s not that I don’t love you.  It’s that I’m really kind of dumb and can’t operate technology.
• Speaking of technology, I’ve been trying to tart up my blog.  See the stalker buttons in the sidebar?  I want the one’s that go sideways not uppy-downways and I can’t make it do that.  Does anyone know a sideways button plugin I can scam for my blog?
• The weather here is so deceptively beautiful!  It looks like a sunny day full of awesomeness and you walk outside and it’s like a deep freeze.  The quail are outside puffed up like Christmas balls going what the shit?  what the shit I say?
• My Animal Crossing trees turned pink.  Either they’re getting ready to do something cool for spring or they have some kind of pink fluffy death plague and I’m going to be left with a tree graveyard.

I know, you’ve either clicked away by now or are asleep because my bullets are just that exciting.

It’s a cold, wet Sunday afternoon and I’ve got pots bubbling away on the stove for dinners during the week.  We have a fire burning in the fireplace and the smells of marinara and stroganoff are battling for dominance.  The marinara will win, because marinara always wins by default of having to cook longer.   All in all, it’s pretty cozy.

Today has been all about the chores.  Sometimes I blow off the weekend chores because I just don’t want to do them *whine* and then I end up running out of clean underwear and I have to wear my running socks because I ran out of everyday socks.  I hate that.  More than I hate chores.

Even the dog is all sparkly clean this afternoon, but that’s more because she and I had to go on an easter egg hunt and she was covered in, well it’s better if I don’t mention that out loud.   We have one batshit chicken who has decided eating eggs is better than laying, but we can’t figure out exactly which one it is.  So the other chickens have started getting creative about hiding their eggs from her and Sasha’s beagle nose found a stash under a pile of boards.   A stash of eighteen eggs.  Yeah, thank God it wasn’t summer or we all would have found them a lot sooner!

Sasha was content to play fetch the egg, give Momma the egg for about eight of the eighteen eggs before she lost interest in tunneling under the pile to get another egg.  So I had the joy of laying on the wet ground and reaching all the way back under the pile to fish out eggs covered in chicken crap and feathers and who knows what else.  In the rain.  And the cold.  At this point I’m wondering where we got such creative goddamn chickens and how many I can fit in a pot at once.  Those chickens may be wily but I am mean.  And I have a big pot.

I have no idea why I felt the need to write about crazy chickens and pots of marinara.  I guess because it’s Sunday afternoon and there is nothing I have to do right now.  And that’s the part that’s pretty awesome.