Blah, blah, mirth, blah

A post about everything and nothing at all

2012-01-21T20:58:00.006-07:00

A couple of quick updates will have to suffice for today's post...

Master J woke me up at 3:00 this morning to let me know he was throwing up. Yay me! There's just nothing I look forward to more than doing laundry, cleaning toilets and scrubbing carpet in the middle of the night. Don't get me wrong, I feel awful when my kid is sick and I would never let on that I'd rather be sleeping at that time of night, but, seriously? Why does that stuff always happen in the middle of the night? How about a nice Tuesday afternoon when I'm not trying to sleep and I can see what I'm cleaning? Ah well, such is parenthood I guess. He stopped the vomiting part by 7:00am but then his fever skyrocketed up to 102.8 by the afternoon. With medication it was down to 100 by bedtime. We'll see how tonight goes.

The smoke shop killer from the other night was caught. A fifteen year old boy. A good kid. An honors student who loved science, was on the wrestling team and ROTC and who wanted to join the military after he graduated. All thrown away for $300. Three people were shot, two of them are dead. Three families devastated. This child will be tried as an adult. For a decision he probably made in about two minutes, he will most likely go to jail for the rest of his life. This whole situation makes me so sad.

Lastly, Mister C and I just watched "The End of America" with Naomi Wolf. Interesting show, probably worth watching.

Etta James

2012-01-20T11:44:00.002-07:00

We lost one of the world's greatest blues singers today when Etta James lost her battle with leukemia. Etta was edgy and brash, an original who could make you stop in your tracks with her soulful singing. She made you feel every note she wrung out with that powerful voice. And that voice has now been silenced.

She said it best in her autobiography...

"Music was thunder and joy, lightning bolts of happiness and praise, foot-stomping, dance-shouting, good-feeling singing from the soul."

Yes it was Etta, yes it was.

Scarily close

2012-01-17T20:08:00.005-07:00

Earlier today when Mamoo and I were returning from a trip to the library, we noticed three helicopters hovering really close to my neighborhood. As we got closer, it became apparent that they were focused on the street that's one street over from where I live and it looked like they had closed the street down completely. I figured there had to be a bad accident, mostly likely coming out of the library where some people like to make a brazen dash across all four lanes of traffic to go left. But I was wrong.

When I got home I did a quick search online to see if the accident was showing up. It wasn't, but a shooting was. At a nearby "smoke shop", some nut job had walked in shooting. One guy was shot as he bolted from the place in search of help. They knew there were others in the store, including the owner. The first reports were that the shooter was still in the store. The S.W.A.T. team had converged and were surrounding the place. It was a bad situation and people were warned to avoid the area, but it seemed like it was pretty much under control.

Move forward thirty minutes...I go to pick up Master J. Watching the kids pour out of the school and head down the street towards their homes, I think momentarily that it's good that they have the criminal contained in the store because besides my son's school, there is another elementary school and a high school within a two mile radius. I get Master J home and settled with his homework (as settled as much as he can be anyway.) Then I go back online to check on the progress of the barricaded criminal. Only he's not barricaded in the store. And he never was.

After finally making it inside the store, the S.W.A.T. team didn't find their gunman, they did find the two other victims. And at this point the gunman had been on the loose for over three hours. Starting at a location within a mile of my home. And as of right now, over seven hours later, there's still no indication that he's been apprehended. The helicopters have finally stopped hovering, flying past periodically instead. I can only assume they are doing some sort of ground search to try and find this guy before he does more damage.

I feel awful for the victims, I imagine it was just a situation of being in the wrong place at the wrong time for them. I feel bad for the families who lost them too. At some level, I suspect I'll feel some sadness for the criminal too. What could make someone do such a thing? Maybe not. Maybe I'll be pissed off angry by the time they catch him. But right now, I just wonder why.

So yeah, complete lock down at the old Mirth plantation.

Master J

2012-01-13T20:08:00.005-07:00

On the way to drop off a library book after school today, we stopped off at this little man made pond to take a few pictures.

Wonder what I could do with these?

Look Mom, I'm a cockroach! (I'm not making this up, that's what he actually said.)

He cracks himself up!

He's such a lovable goof!

Soylent Green is...

2012-01-12T22:13:00.003-07:00

Just watched this film again for the first time in twenty years or so. When Mister C told me he was planning to watch it I told him to go ahead without me because I'd already seen it and thought it was pretty bad. But after thinking about it for about thirty seconds I thought maybe I should watch it again, just to refresh my memory.

I can't say I liked this movie at all the first time I saw it. I thought it was completely and ridiculously stupid and the poor acting pretty well grated on my nerves. This time, I'm pretty sure the acting was just as poor but the premise of this film was a whole lot more interesting to me. Just twenty short years ago this movie was so far out as to be crazily unbelievable. Now, with what's happening in this country today, it's a little less so. It's still a seventies science fiction film with lots of poorly executed fight scenes and completely unrealistic "blood" from those fights. The film still feels erratic and disjointed to me, but maybe that's how it was meant to feel.

But mostly, the feeling I ended up with was not dis-similar to when how I felt after reading Huxley's "Brave New World" again recently. Kind of like "Holy crap, it's like they could see the future!" Like I said, an interesting film. Probably won't need to watch it again for another twenty years or so though.

And the award goes to...

2012-01-09T14:24:00.005-07:00

A few days ago Mister C and I clipped the girls wings, literally, and they haven't been the same since. I'm not really sure that chickens have enough sense to "act" per se, but if they can, this flock is in solid position for their Academy award (category: best roles in a dramatic series.)

Immediately after the wing clipping the girls fluttered around the yard trying out their half wing cut. They figured out pretty quickly that there would be no flying. And that is when the theatrics began.

See, every day when I let them out previously they would get a few steps running start and fly over the garden beds on their way to the grassy area. The fences Mister C and I erected made them take a few more steps prior to takeoff, but they still came out in a rush and explosion of wing flapping.

Not so much lately. Now when I open the door to the coop, they step out carefully, giving me a reproachful glare as they each pass by. And then they march slowly and methodically down the path towards the grassy area. I swear to you I can hear the drum beating slowly as they make their way along. The sighs are nearly audible for the injustice that has been put upon them.

It should also be noted that even with one wing clipped those damn leghorns can get off the ground and fly a few feet. Which means that they are probably the best actors of all since they march stoically along with the rest of them.

The Awards...

Best look of disgust goes to Red

Best "I'm too depressed to eat so I'll stare at you over my food": Princess Laya

Best "How could you?": Rocky

Best Look of Reproach: Peaches (or Cream, I can't tell the difference)

Also, when the hell are my eggs gonna start showing up? You guys are teenagers now, start producing already.

New year, new attempts at Greatness!

2012-01-08T17:27:00.006-07:00

Well, here we go. So you guys know I don't generally make New Year's Resolutions. At least not normal ones that would even count for most people.

I try not to put anything on myself that makes me feel badly if I can't/won't/don't follow through with it. So you'll never hear me say "I'm going to exercise five days a week this year!" or "I'm only going to eat organic lettuce for lunch every day this year!" Cause odds are, it's not happening. I might commit to working out "at least once this year" or eating "fewer things that can survive on a shelf for two years" or some such. But mostly, I just don't make yearly resolutions. Would I like to eat better, exercise more and lose weight? Mostly, sometimes and hell yes. But I won't put it in writing.

But I do make daily or hourly decisions. So far this year one of things I've tried to do is to drink a small glass of water before having each cup of coffee. Now, for those of you that know me, I'm sure you're thinking "Lord help that girl, I hope she has Depends on!" I do like my coffee quite a lot and this has forced me to drink a LOT of water. How much? Let's just say that if I were Bear Grylls I could walk out into the desert right now and survive for several days without a water bottle. That much. I'll wait for a few of you to quickly Google Bear and his best known survival tip before we move on.

We done yet? Horrified yet? Good.

Anyway, I made the decision about the water/coffee thing prior to the first of this year and have been really good about following through every day. But it's not a resolution. It's just a decision I make every day. One cup of coffee at a time.

I also have been trying on a daily basis to keep my kitchen counters cleared off. Up until late last year I had five out of five counter surfaces full at all times in the most used room of the house. Stacks of school papers from Master J, stacks of random paperwork from my job, stacks of things I'm going to read as soon as I get to them. Toys, pencils, pads of paper, an empty fish tank and even lens covers for my camera. You know, the usual stuff that normal people have on their counters.

After we got back from spending Christmas at my in-laws, I got on a roll one day and just started digging in. And I was brutal. At the end of several intense days, I had shredded enough to fill the shredder full and recycled enough to fill the small recycling bin several times over. I had sent any and all toys with Master J to his personal hoard of a room (which, side note, he totally cleaned up last week!) The few things that I kept I put in their proper places. Overall, I completely cleared off four of the five surfaces and got most of the fifth one done. Now on the counters surrounding my stove and sink are: a spice rack, the toaster and the coffee pot (in the traditional place of honor next to the sink so it's never far to refill it.) I have graciously allowed the rotating bunch of bananas and cherry tomatoes to sit here as well since neither of them can go in the fridge. Otherwise, completely empty. It's awesome. I love it.

But there's a problem with this. Now that my counters are cleared, they seem to be beacons for Mister C and Master J to set stuff. Apparently, large flat surface equals "I could put this newsletter here, just for a minute" and "my art project could sit here while I work on it" and "what a great place to lay out all my legos." So now, instead of enjoying my clear counters, I fret about them. And I'm constantly picking things up that my menfolk have set down and following them around asking where they would like it. Because it's so not staying where they put it.

Between the water drinking, counter clearing and Ta-Da list, my first week of the new year has been pretty productive (no pun intended there.) I'm feeling pretty good about where I'm at in life and I think that's what's important. Not making big plans to fail, but instead making small changes today. Yeah, I can do that.

And here are a few random pictures that have nothing whatsoever to do with this post because everyone loves photos.

The Antagonizer and her sidekick the Hooligan trying to get a look at the hummingbird that was buzzing around my fountain.

The hummingbird in question. Taken with the 300mm lens because I'm too lazy to get up off the patio furniture to get closer. (f5.6, 1/250)

Training Your Chicken

2012-01-05T21:14:00.003-07:00

We clipped the chickens wings today. The whole damn flock of them. All paying because one of them decided to learn to fly.

The problem is that two of the girls are leghorns, which are lighter than the other four ladies. For those not up on chickens, Leghorns are the breed that was depicted in the old Warner Brothers cartoons by the character Foghorn Leghorn (the Southern rooster known for his "I say, I say boy!")

Yesterday I had let the girls out to scratch around the yard while I read my paper on the patio. I had no more sat down than one of the leghorns, I'll go with Peaches since I don't recall seeing the other one, took a running start and lifted off the ground. Which is pretty typical, they all like to fly about two feet off the ground for five or so feet at a time. But this time, she kept climbing in altitude until she landed on top of the fence that separates us from the neighbor behind. A six foot tall block fence I might add. And then she had the nerve to look pretty damned proud of herself.

Of course, I was freaked out that my future egg supply was heading over to the neighbors house because then I'd have to figure out how to get her back. The thing is that if any of my chickens went over the fences on either side of me, that wouldn't be a problem since I could just go over and ring their doorbell and get my wayward pet back. But the neighbors behind me are fairly (okay totally) anti-social. To the point that they removed their doorbell and don't answer the door when you knock. We only know this because Master J lost at least one toy over there that we've never gotten back because they wouldn't answer the door.

Thankfully my chickens are trained. That's right people, I said the birds are trained. Remember back to when we got them how I said I wanted to handle them and make them easier to work with? Well, I have. And now I shall reap the reward of not losing my chickens over the wall.

Because I love you guys, I'm going to tell you the secret of training your chickens so that you too can keep your egg supply in your yard. Or at least get it back to your yard should it wander. Here's how it works...

Step 1: Every time I brought scraps of food to them, I would talk to them. I would tell them I was bringing them a "snack". When it got really cold (for Arizona) I brought them oatmeal in the morning and they LOVED that. I actually told them I was bringing oatmeal each time so now if I say the word "oatmeal" they get all sorts of excited.

Step 2: Once they started figuring out what it meant when I said I had a snack, I started only putting the snack into their coop when I wanted them to go back to their coop. I would tell them I had a snack and they would follow me to the coop.

Step 3: Here's where it gets into the real "training" part. I started telling them I had a snack, then followed that with telling them to "kennel up", which is a phrase our favorite dog trainer used with our first dog. It seemed easier to stick with the phrase I was familiar with rather than trying to say "get in the coop" (while simultaneously trying like hell not to let on to the neighbors that we have chickens in the first place.) I repeated the phrase "kennel up" once the food was in the coop until the last chicken got in.

Step 4: That's it.

Seriously, the girls are trained to get into their coop when I tell them to kennel up. Most of the time they head right in, I always make sure I have food with me because I want to make sure I'm always positively reinforcing the words I use.

Yesterday, when Peaches landed on the top of the fence, I immediately asked if they wanted a snack and told them to kennel up. They all ran for the coop (including Peaches, who flew down from the fence.) I ran into the house and grabbed a bit of strawberry tops from Master J's snack and brought it back out to the coop. I tossed the tops into the coop and closed the door.

And today, Mister C and I learned how to clip chicken wings like professionals. Did you know that Youtube has a video for everything? They do. Including how to clip your chickens' wings. I grabbed each bird from the coop and held their wing out while Mister C clipped the fight feathers. It took about fifteen minutes to do all six and that's for first timers. I'm betting next time we can get it under ten. Mostly I'm just happy that I won't have to worry about them disappearing over the fence any time soon. I say, I say Boy! That makes me happy.

Go Big Re....

2012-01-02T19:36:00.003-07:00

what the hell happened? We just finished watching the Nebraska Huskers lose to the Gamecocks. In the first quarter of the game I thought we actually had a chance at a win. That was pretty short lived. While there was several really great plays throughout the remainder of the game, the Huskers just couldn't help themselves from turning over the ball and allowing Carolina to walk all over them. Ah well, what can I say from my armchair? They lost, that sucks, better luck next year. Also, Rex Burkhead is still my favorite player on this team. I'm glad he's got another year of playing, hopefully they'll do better next season.

New Years Day 2012

2012-01-01T19:01:00.003-07:00

Can you believe 2011 is done and over with already? It's crazy how fast that went. I think I did stuff, I really don't remember all that much right now though. On the bright side, I think I've started out the year on a good note. My "Ta-Da!" list has a few things on it today, not the least of which is finally painting my bedroom.

I painted the ceiling in our bedroom almost a year ago. For at least ten months now we've had a very pretty ceiling next to walls that have an inch of ceiling paint along the top edge (I don't tape off anything) as well as approximately fifteen white patches of various size where I repaired holes from the previous owners. That's in addition to the very large patch where Mister C did some sort of wiring work around the same time as I originally painted the ceiling. That one was about two feet by three feet and situated directly across from the foot of our bed. So I could see it every morning as soon as I got out of bed. I think it will be nice to not wake up to that tomorrow. There wasn't a whole lot else going on today as the painting took up a good five hours of my day, not including the set up and clean up time.

Now, since I haven't been on here in a few days I never updated you on the great mallet incident of late 2011. Let me weave you a tale, a tale of pain and horror that will leave you speechless, unlike I was.

So on Friday Mister C and I were putting the chicken wire around our raised gardens. We didn't need to do this to keep the chickens out, although it will make that easier. No, we had to do that because our idiotic dog likes to dig. And bite strawberry plants off at the base. What dog does that? Just bites a strawberry plant off and eats it? That's not even normal. But anyway, in order to preserve the plants that survived her latest attack, we went ahead and put the wire around the gardens. As part of the project, we also wanted to put chicken wire around our back garden where the raspberry, blackberry and blueberry plants are. That is keep the chickens out because they keep going after my blueberry plants. I'm sure that as soon as the raspberry and blackberries start growing, they'll be after them too.

Mister C bought a bunch of wooden stakes to hold the chicken wire in the back garden. They'll also come in handy for brain pokes via the eye (yuck!) when the zombie apocalypse starts. But I digress. Where was I? Ah yes, wooden stakes, which needed to be put in the ground. Mister C put the first three stakes in using a standard hammer to pound them into our hard, calichi soil. Then he got distracted by having to make a run back to Home Depot for something or another and left the work to me.

Now, I know myself and I know that grace is not my middle name. Neither is accuracy. So I know that there is no way I'm going to attempt using a standard hammer to hit a one by one inch square of wood. Especially not repeatedly. So I came up with the great idea to use a rubber mallet in place of the hammer that Mister C had used. After all, I figured that with a larger hitting implement I would certainly stand a better chance of hitting the target. Additionally, if I did happen to miss the stake and hit myself, rubber has to hurt less than metal.

So with my completely logical choice of tool in hand, I head out to start the wooden stake project. And it goes really well. I was absolutely correct in my assessment of how the mallet would work and I have no problem getting the first nine stakes put in. At least as far as accuracy. Each stake takes between fifteen and twenty hits to get it into the ground to the right depth and it's definitely tiring to be swinging the mallet over and over again. With only two stakes left to install I was feeling pretty good about my getting done before Mister C got home from his shopping excursion. And that is when disaster struck.

I had hit the next to the last stake enough times that it was standing unaided, although I was still holding it for each hit to prevent any problems. I could feel that my arm was getting tired but I valiantly swung the mallet in a large arc towards the not so large target. Only I didn't hit the target. To be honest, I didn't even touch the target. No, I swung that mallet around with all my strength, directly onto the back of my left hand. And since I was hanging on to the stake with my left hand, it didn't even move when the mallet hit it. It just took the full brunt force of that swinging mallet and stopped it cold. The pain was instantaneous and intense. As was my language.

Once the air cleared and I could actually looked at my hand, I was amazed at how quickly a lump was forming. Within about thirty seconds, I had a grape sized lump growing up out of my hand and it was only getting bigger. To make it worse, the pain was radiating from the point of impact (which was about an inch directly below the knuckle of my pointer finger) up into my finger as well as into my thumb. Over the next thirty minutes or so the swelling got less grape-like and more spread out until it covered about half of the back of my hand. I decided at that point that I was done working for the day.

Today, two full days later, the swelling is down but still covering a full third of my hand. There's still a very hard lump the size of a grape at the point of impact, and the whole thing has a blueish tinge to it. The bruising goes above the knuckle as well. And it still hurts if I touch it. Also, note to self...hard rubber being swung at full speed hurts like hell. I'm almost sure it doesn't hurt any less than the metal hammer would have. As far as I can tell the difference was that the mallet spread the pain over a larger area.

So, overall, a tough end to 2011 and a good start to 2012. Hopefully things will continue to improve from here.

Happy New Year's Day!

What have we done?

2011-12-29T19:15:00.003-07:00

For whatever reason today I ran across an article about Milton Rogovin dying at 101 years old back in January. It very well may have been something about all the famous people who had died in 2011, I don't remember and I can't find the article now to verify. It probably got recycled about five minutes after I finished reading the paper since I was trying to get things organized this morning. Anyway, when I saw the name I knew I was familiar with his work as a photographer but I couldn't remember exactly what he did. So I looked him up to be reminded.

Once I saw his pictures I remembered who he was and that he did mainly social documentary photos, a lot of which were done in and around the northeast. Mostly he focused on what he referred to as the "forgotten ones", the working poor. He had different series of photos of workers from the various steel plants, foundries, pottery factories and even Chevrolet. Also included were companies that produced furnaces, electrical items and made molds. There was even a series of photos of the miners in Appalachia. Tough, labor intensive jobs with less than ideal working conditions to be sure. I did a quick search on the companies that were listed and, not surprisingly, most of them are no longer in business.

The thing that struck me the most as I scrolled though his series of pictures is that the photos showed people who were poor, but they didn't show people who were broken. They showed people who were productive and that were taking care of their families. They showed people who were contributing to their community and society as a whole. They showed people who looked like they had pride in themselves.

And then I look at the groups of people willing to occupy town squares and parks for months on end to complain that they don't have enough and someone else has more. That they shouldn't be responsible for paying back money they borrowed to get an education and that they should be allowed to live in a house without paying for it. And I wonder how we could let ourselves as a country get to where we are at today just thirty years after most of those photos were taken. And I worry about what kind of country and conditions my son will have to endure in another thirty years. I won't pretend to know the answers, but I will say that nothing is truly free and anything worth having is worth working for. And anyone in a position of power that says otherwise is flat out lying to you.

If you are interested in seeing some of Milton Rogovin's photography you can go to his site here

Ta-Da!

2011-12-21T11:59:00.004-07:00

I'm waiting for delivery of one more item for Mister C, but otherwise, I've been done with my Christmas preparations for a few days now. Lucky for me, Mamoo has graciously offered to have the family celebration at her house this year so I don't even have to worry about cooking. So the next few days are panning out to be somewhat relaxing. We are flying up to Fargo on Saturday to spend a few days with Mister C's side of the family but I'm not even really concerned about that because those gifts got wrapped and sent almost two weeks ago. Woo-hoo! Look at me go! Which brings me to the title of this post.

So for years I've had a love/hate relationship with to-do lists. On the one hand I think they serve a purpose in keeping me on track with what needs to get done. On the other hand, I struggle with the whole negative side of seeing everything I didn't get done still sitting on the list, taunting me. Telling me I'm such a loser because look, I can't even wrap up a list of things to do. I'm not as bad as SOME people (cough*Mister C*cough) that used to rewrite their list every night, removing the things they had done. I think that's ten times more negative than having a list with at least some things crossed off. To wake up every day with a long list of shit to do, I'm just not wired that way.

So I decided I needed a new way of doing things. And thus was born the "Ta-Da List". Instead of a list of things I need to do, I only jot down the things I actually did today. It's really quite simple and so much more positive. I wake up to a blank sheet of (iPhone notes) paper and I get to fill it with things as I accomplish them. At the end of day, instead of a crossed out sheet of paper (or worse, a brand new list of things to do) I can look over my list and see what I accomplished. The genius of this method is that I want to fill the blank page. So if I've gone a ways through my day and it's looking a little sparse, I actively look for something to do. There's always something that could use cleaning or doing around here.

So, is everything on my Ta-Da List a huge accomplishment? Nope. And that's okay. Because not everything on a traditional to-do list is either. And sometimes you just need to take credit for doing something, even if it was totally simple. So, sent out all of the Christmas cards? Ta-Da! Wiped out the microwave and took out the composting? Ta-Da! Dropped off books and videos to two different libaries? Ta-Da! (And I didn't even have to get out of the car for that one.) Wrote a post about my new Ta-Da List? Ta. Da.

Finally getting into the spirit

2011-12-11T20:13:00.003-07:00

Well I finished writing my annual Christmas letter that never gets put inside a card and sent. Seriously, I've written one every year for almost fifteen years and I honestly can't remember if a single one has ever been sent out. Ah well, at least I have a record of them. Some day I'll put together a book entitled "Letters I Never Sent" and it will be a best seller. Don't steal that idea, I'll be watching you.

We also finally managed to decorate our tree. You know, the one that's been in the house for a week now. Master J and I managed to get lights on it the morning after we brought it in but we wasted a bunch of time putting lights on and then taking them off when half the string died after it was already on the tree. It happened on three strings out of three. At least the three strings with shotgun shells as covers worked beautifully on the first try. Yeah, about that little bit of Christmas cheer. Remind me not to send Master J shopping at Cabela's with Mister C any time near the holidays. Shotgun shell lights indeed.

And last, but certainly not least, I got all of the gifts wrapped for Mister C's side of the family. He boxed them up and slapped shipping labels on them all for me. He even put them in the back of my truck. All I need to do is get them to the UPS store and get a receipt and that little worry is off my schedule.

So now the only things left to do are to pick up a gift for the thirteen year old girl whose tag I pulled from our church's angel tree this morning and get a few more small items for Mister C and Master J and I think I'm done. Well, that and pull the box of Christmas cards out so they can sit on my kitchen counter for the next month waiting for me to put the Christmas letter inside before I give up and pack them back into the garage for yet another year. If I ever do get around to sending them out they'll be considered vintage cards.

Last of My Film Project

2011-12-09T19:42:00.005-07:00

So this will be the last of the pictures that I printed out this semester. These four were for my final project. I ended up focusing on people who were characters. People who drew me in for one reason or another. People who you know just by meeting them that there's a story. I didn't always get their stories, but you just know they have a good one.

This gal was at an event where Music Man played. When I originally saw her, she was also wearing white cats-eye glasses. I think she set them down somewhere by the time I asked if I could take her picture.

This is Ernie Lizarraga. He was one of ten motorcyclists, on eight bikes, that were run over by a dump truck driven by a guy with meth in his system. Four people died, five were injured, he was the one with the worst injuries. I didn't know this when I saw him and two other guys with bikes in his driveway. I just saw someone I wanted to photograph. I got to meet his wife Lorri today when I dropped off the original print at their house. In the short time I spoke Ernie and his friends and family, over the two meetings, it's pretty obvious they're a tight group. I'm glad I stopped off to grab a few pictures.

This is Candi and while she is sweet, she's also a tough lady that can get things done. She was/is a client of mine, but she's also become a friend. I look forward to her moving to town so I can meet with her more than once every six months.

And this is Markus, from West Virginia, and his dog whose name I cannot remember. Markus is parked at the end of an off-ramp off one of the freeways running through town. When I asked if I could take his picture, he seemed a little hesitant at first but agreed when I told him it was for a class. I only had time to take two shots, this one was actually the first one I took. The film in the camera being wound forward made his dog look at me and I really liked that he was looking at his owner in this one. When I look at this picture I think that this guy is doing exactly what he should be doing right now, anybody else would have looked out of place. Not sure why, but that's what comes to mind.

So anyway, I do have one roll of black & white film left that I will be using up on Master J this weekend. There's a place across town that can develop the type of film I had to buy for the class. I'll miss doing the actual processing, but it might be a nice change of pace to just drop it off and then pick it up in a day or so.

Latest Goings On With Our Pack of Crazies

2011-12-08T18:27:00.005-07:00

The Hooligan has a question...(he's very serious as you can see)

What would happen if word got out about how good your stupid chickens have it in the backyard?

I mean, you friggin heat up oatmeal for them when it gets below freezing (blech!)

Oh, a dove would move into the coop and refuse to stay out no matter how many times you removed it? And it would eat the free food, drink the never-ending water supply and hang out on the very safe from predators roost?

Bwahahahahaha!

You didn't really think that one through did you?

I approve of this line of questioning.

So, yeah, a dove has moved into the coop with the girls and refuses to leave or stay out after repeated removal. But it gets worse. Because this morning when I went out to bring the girls their hot oatmeal (shut up, it's cold out) the stupid dove was not only in the coop, it was sitting on the back of Peaches. What. The. Hell?

Today's Accomplishment

2011-11-29T18:31:00.005-07:00

Did I tell you that we hired out the painting of the pergola that Mister C built? My original plan was to paint the parts before the guys built it. The thought process being that once it was all together, it would be easy to just touch up the spots where needed and I wouldn't have to figure out how to crawl all over the structure. That was the plan. You know how well those go.

The main problem to working out the plan was that Mister C never actually purchased the parts until the day they built the pergola. Obviously I wasn't going to get away with having everyone wait around while I painted everything so it got built with the raw wood.

At the end of the very long weekend I looked at that pergola and and I thought "There is no way in hell I'm painting that thing!" I mean seriously, I had zero desire to figure out how to paint the top side of the lattice pieces with a brush. Realizing that his painter was rebelling, Mister C made the (only viable) decision to hire out the painting.

I did try to call Mark, the guy that painted our house a year ago. Mark was a neighbor that had a painting business and we'd seen plenty of his work in our neighborhood. He did an awesome job for what I would consider a really good price. He ended up short selling his house not long after he finished painting our house and moved to the other side of town. But I still had his number and I thought that surely I could have him come back to do this project. But unfortunately his number now goes to a message that says it's no longer in service. Sigh.

So I asked around and got the name of another painter, George. I called him and he said he could come out in a few days to give me a quote. The very next day he rang my bell and introduced himself. I figured, wow, this guy is on the ball!

The first thing he said was that he couldn't do the job for less than $500. Which seemed a tad high for the amount of work he would be doing. More so because Mark had done the entire house for about four times that amount. But I understand, he needs to keep his guys working and he has to pay them a certain amount. So fine, I tell him to send them out and get it done.

Fast forward a few days.

Now it's Friday afternoon, around 2:00, and suddenly there are four guys standing on my front porch. Sadly, only one of them speaks (minimal) English so the entire conversation consists of singular words and pointing. Awesome. Oh and here's a side note that I know from previous experience: Don't ever let workers start a project on Friday afternoon. Why? Because all they really care about is getting to Friday night and their favorite beer. And the only thing between them and that Friday night beer is your project. Which they will rush through and cut corners on. Seriously. I've had enough guys do piss-poor work on Fridays that I should know better than to even let them start. But they are here and they have paint and I think "Surely it will be different this time..."

It is not different this time (nor will it ever be.)

They come to the front door less than an hour later and announce (in singular words and with gestures) that they are done. And I need to go check out their fantastic job so they can go. So I send Mister C out to do so. And he is forced to point out to them that they have missed several areas.

Fifteen minutes later they are back at my front door. Mister C is now on the phone so I am the one to go out and check their work so they can be released to their beer. I go out, look at the area where Mister C had previously pointed to problems and it looks good (or at least somewhat painted.) Then I drag the guy's ladder over so I can see what the top looks like. The painter looks a little panicked at that but at least he holds the ladder. I get to the top and realize he hasn't painted the top of the trim board. At all. Not one lick of primer or paint. Oh, did I not mention that they were supposed to both prime and paint this structure? Yeah, that comes back up later. Anyway, I climb down from the ladder and the painter goes back up to paint the top of the trim board.

Five minutes later he's at my door again. Something strikes me as wrong but I can't pinpoint what it is so I head back outside to see what he's done. I see that he has "accidentally" taken the ladder to his truck. I mention that I need to get my ladder to see the top and he laughs about his "mistake" and goes to get his ladder. I climb back up top and see that there's paint on the top of the board. Yay! It looks like they finally get those beers after all. We give them the check and send them on their way.

At some point in the middle of the night I wake up and realize what was bothering me about the trim board with the missing paint. When I noticed it, I was looking at raw wood. And he was at my door within five minutes. Which means there's no way in hell he primed the board before painting it. Which means there's no way in hell he primed any of it. Grrrr!

The next morning I have Mister C get out our ladder and I go up to view the top of the pergola from different angles. From the front side (where I was the day before) it looks okay. But from the other side, it's very obvious that they only sprayed from the front side and didn't do it from all angles. And it also very obvious that I'm looking at bare wood, so no primer was used at all. Which really pisses me off.

I get that my little piddly pergola painting job isn't a high end money maker for anyone. But I already overpaid for it in the first place, why eff it up and go cheap on it? Why cut corners and do a half-ass job? Why piss me off? As a homeowner there's always a ton of little things that need to be done, chief among them are painting projects. House exteriors in Arizona are generally repainted every five to ten years. But beyond that, I have neighbors that I talk to, friends, family members. And most importantly, I'm a Realtor, I have clients and I know a ton of other Realtors who are always looking for good references. All of whom could have gotten a glowing review from me of your company's work. Conceivably hundreds of potential clients for your painting company now didn't get your name because you screwed up. Because you hired some guys that probably aren't really painters at all but just the guys you could hire for the least amount of money. Maybe they're really plumbers or electricians or veterinarians (not joking about that one, I had a client from Ecuador that was a licensed vet at home that worked for the local garbage company.) Whatever they are or were, they weren't painters.

After I got done yipping to Mister C about the shoddy work, he went ahead and called and left a message for George to complain. In his defense, George did call back immediately and promise to make it right. He insisted that there was primer used, just that he had it tinted to match the paint color. Which, I call bullshit on because I know the difference between raw wood and wood that has been painted but whatever, he says he's going to make it right so I'm good.

And he does send that same crew back out the next day. And they do whatever it is they do for at least thirty minutes. And when I check it out, it looks like they've at least got paint on anything. At this point, that's about all I'm looking for. So I send the painter on his way. And today, I went out and painted the end of one board that they completely missed, and repainted the trim boards. Because at this point I just wanted it done and done right.

And I will never recommend George's company to anyone as long as I live. And if anyone asks about his company I will tell them to avoid him like the plague. And if I have nobody else to recommend for them, I will at least tell them to make sure their project doesn't get started on a Friday afternoon.

Garden Update

2011-11-27T17:06:00.003-07:00

After leveling the gardens (again), watching Mister C adjust (and re-adjust) the sprinkler heads, and one last trip to Home Depot, I finally planted the strawberry plants today.

Up until now, they've been sitting by my kitchen sink, in the plastic bin I had planted them in two weeks ago when they arrived. It's probably good I could finally plant them in the ground though since they were already outgrowing the bin. Also, it turns out the nursery in Georgia, Willis Orchard*, gave us extra strawberry plants so I ended up with twenty eight to plant. Which is awesome. As a side note they also tossed in an extra blackberry and an extra raspberry plant in the original order as well. I don't know if this is standard practice for them or what but I can tell you that I was impressed that they did it.

After the planting, I spent a little time moving rocks from the piles in our side yard to around the raised garden beds. I managed five wheelbarrow fulls before I decided to hang it up for the day. That's hard work shoveling, moving, dumping and raking rocks. My hat's off to those that do this on a daily basis, I sure don't love it.

SO at this point we're really close to being done with the backyard. Move some more gravel, plant some vegetables and eventually put in two apple trees and that should be it. Oh yeah, I also ordered some grape vines today from the same company. I had to order six because they are so cheap that the two I really needed didn't add up to the minimum order amount. Luckily for me, Miss Lee said she would like some to put on her grape arbor so she'll be buying the other four. We will need to help her and Music Man reinforce or rebuild her arbor since it's been sitting empty for awhile, but helping family is always a good thing anyway.

Some day I might get to hang out on my patio with a no guilt about what I should be doing in my yard. In the meantime, I'll do a little bit every day and hopefully reap the rewards in a few months when I have my own bountiful baskets growing in my backyard.

*I am not in any way affiliated with nor compensated by Willis Orchard, I just really liked my dealings with them.

Latest Photography Project

2011-11-26T09:15:00.003-07:00

I've been working on the final project for my photo class. It's a self driven, choose your own project type of project. So I've been flailing about for a week or so trying to pin down what I'm doing. I've narrowed it to "people", but that's about it. So far I've taken pictures of various shop owners, bikers, homeless guys and tattoo artists. I think I'm narrowing it down a little, but I'm still not sure on direction. I guess I'll see what shakes out this coming week since the project is due the following week. In the meantime, I did manage to get one decent picture printed out at last Wednesday's class.

The gal below, Leah, is a tattoo artist at the shop Inkenstein in the historic part of Glendale. She was gracious enough to allow me to take her picture on not one, but two separate occasions. I'm sure she wasn't completely comfortable having a stranger in her face taking an entire role of film, but she was game. Anyway, the one picture I printed was from that shoot. Also, since I'm working in black and white you can't see her hair color, which was bright blue and purple. Which was awesome.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T09:10:00.003-07:00

On this day of gratitude...

I'm grateful for the health of my friends and family and praying for those who are sick. I'm grateful for the roof over our heads and the food on our table and praying for those who have neither. I'm grateful for the opportunities available to us through education and jobs and praying that those who need them most will have them available as well. Mostly I'm grateful for everyone in my life who brings joy, love and friendship, and praying that I do the same for someone else.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Finishing up the Backyard

2011-11-23T14:02:00.004-07:00

So if you remember back a few posts you'll remember that I promised to take pictures of the big pile of dirt on my patio. Well, I've waited long enough that now I can just do the update for the (almost) grand finale of the backyard project. That "almost" is there strictly because we haven't actually put all of the plants in. We're still missing our vegetables. But anyway, pictures!

Here's the pile of garden soil on my patio. It's not as full as it was because the day I planted the berry bushes I took about seven wheelbarrows out of it for the berry gardens. Also, the smaller pile in the background is the stuff Mister C pulled out of the berry garden so he could redo the irrigation. Which is somewhat messed up due to over abundance of sprinkler heads. But that's a story for another day. But anyway, look, dirt.

Here are the raised garden beds that Mister C and I built with our own two hands. Ignore that they are not lined up correctly and look lopsided. We hadn't lined them up and leveled them at this point in the process. I was just taking pictures as we went along. As you can see we built three beds, each one is eight foot by four foot for a total of...I'm not doing math so assume a lot of room to plant.

And here's Mister C admiring his newly filled in raised garden beds with their (over abundant) sprinkler system. What a beautiful sight, a freshly filled garden bed, ready for planting. But hang on, it looks like something IS already in the garden...

Ah hell, guess who found the nice soft dirt in the raised garden?

Mister C was not impressed with the girls antics. The dirt was flying for a few minutes while they all dug down little holes in which to bath themselves and then settled in for a nap. Like we spent building the beds, putting together the sprinkler and hauling three yards of dirt over just so they could have a place to hang out in style.

Wait, we didn't build this for the girls enjoyment? I'm shocked!

More pictures eventually, as soon as I move the strawberries from my kitchen window out to the garden and put some actual vegetables out there. Currently? Still a chicken playground.

And So It Begins

2011-11-13T18:08:00.004-07:00

The annual holiday begging has started on Craigslist. It seems excessively early this year, but maybe they're paying more attention to the stores than to the calendar and figure it's time. There are always people asking for free items on Craigslist, but the numbers increase the closer we get to Christmas.

For the record, I have nothing against helping someone in need. I've given away my fair share of food, clothing, gifts and money to various charities, food pantries, churches and individuals. I'm not talking about the people who are truly in need. I'm not talking about people that find themselves in dire straights due to job loss or some such. No, I'm referring to the people who make a living off the charity of others. And those who up the ante around the holidays to prey on people trying to generous.

Exhibit 1:

Free Motorcycle Wanted! (El Mirage)
Date: 2011-10-10, 11:25AM MST

Hi, I know this sounds crazy, but I need to cut down gas costs. I currently am spending over 300 a month on gas and can't afford it anymore. I am a single mom, working full time, and going to school. I need a fully working motorcycle that will get me to work and back. I can't afford payments, obviously, and don't have money saved up to buy one. I had one previously, but due to a divorce and a near bankruptcy, my parents bought it and my dad is trying to fix it up for himself. Between the insurance and gas money on that, I believe I will be able to save around $100 a month, and that is a wonderful thing for someone who has absolutely ZERO left over every month! PLEASE HELP! I know I am asking for a miracle, but I am praying that God will provide me with it! Please e-mail me at the e-mail address provided by craigslist or text me.

Thank you and God Bless!
xxx-xxx-xxxx

Cassie

While I appreciate the logic of trying to save money on gas by getting a bike, it seems like the high price of gas is the least of your problems. I'm fairly sure that God does not in fact supply free motorcycles. Especially not ones that are "fully working". Also, nice dad you got there.

Exhibit 2:

I CANT AFFORD A CHRISTMAS TREE THIS YR PLS HELP (S PHX)
Date: 2011-11-12, 6:30PM MST

I NEED A 6 FOOT TREE PLS HELP

Ummm, maybe forgo the tree this year? Do you still have a string of lights from previous years? Because I've made a tree shape out of lights on the wall before and then taped paper ornaments inside the outline. It actually looked pretty cool and it didn't cost me anything. It should be noted that this particular lister has been putting various versions of this same ad up since mid-October.

Exhibit 3:

I need furniture beds,couches,tv etc - $20 (phx)
Date: 2011-11-13, 4:14PM MST

is anyone giving away any beds couches tvs household items. im in need of donations I do not have anything in my apartment, I do have a little cash maybe like 20 if anyone haz a heart please can u help this mom out call me xxx xxx xxxx

Okay, pulling the mom card is almost understandable, trying to guilt us by suggesting that if we don't give to you we must not "haz a heart" is less so. Asking for beds is acceptable, asking for tvs not so much. Also, Craigslist really doesn't limit the number of characters you use so you can actually spell out all of your words. And don't get me started on the lack of capitalization and random punctuation.

Exhibit 4:

Piano (PHX)
Date: 2011-11-12, 10:02AM MST

If anyone has a piano they would like to give away I would gladly take it. I can hire someone to move it, so you don't have to worry about damage to your home.

Wow, that's so nice that you'll hire someone to remove it from my home. I guess I should be grateful you didn't ask me to deliver it. But seriously, are there that many people giving away pianos these days?

I'm sure the number of ads and the feeling of desperation conveyed will increase exponentially with each week closer to Christmas we get. The week before Christmas will invariably be filled with people angrily complaining about all of the "grinches" in this town that must want the kids to suffer with no Christmas presents under the tree, blah, blah, blah. I'm not heartless, I just find it interesting how many people out there think that everyone one else should supply their houseful of furniture and holiday cheer.

Latest Backyard Projects

2011-11-12T21:22:00.011-07:00

Last weekend Mister C invited a friend over to hang out. Okay, not really. What really what happened is that his friend drove over sixty miles across the valley just to help Mister C build our new pergola. His friend was even kind enough to bring his fourteen year old apprentice, aka his son Wes. Mister C has nice friends.

Anyway, here's a picture of the before...

And here's the end result.

I think they did a fantastic job, especially since I didn't have to lift one single board.

Today on the other hand, Mister C and I put together three raised garden bed frames and I did have to lift many heavy boards. But in the end it worked out pretty well since here's our final product (sans dirt currently.)

It should be noted that we moved the three boxes around several times (more heavy lifting) and ended up right back where we started. I guess I can't complain since I'm the one that had grand ideas of how they should be arranged. Sadly, I'm also the one who originally suggested the configuration that we started and ended with.

The girls found very the boxes very appealing.

The plan is to fix the irrigation tomorrow after church and then start filling them in with the three and a half yards of dirt that was delivered Monday. I had a picture of the pile on my patio but it disappeared so I'll retake it tomorrow as part of the garden finishing post.

At the end of the day I sat down on the front box and was almost immediately approached by Rocky who was looking for a place to roost. Unfortunately for her I had to get dinner ready so she was out of luck tonight.

And finally, there's been a lot of feathers floating around the place lately. I suspect there's some kind of molt going on. There's certainly a lot of fluffing and cleaning of feathers going on. Like this...

I'm fairly sure Wedge is giving me the evil eye for my lack of sense in taking pictures of her backside. Ah well, I'm sure she forgot about it less than two seconds later.

Thank you Veterans

2011-11-11T14:23:00.003-07:00

For all you've done. For all you're currently doing. And for all you will do in the future to assure the people of this country the freedoms we so cherish. "Thank you" is never enough, but I say it with such gratitude.

Thank you.

Murmuration

2011-11-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

Amazing!

http://vimeo.com/31158841

Skipping Gratitude, Going Straight To Greed

2011-11-04T19:43:00.004-07:00

The three cats spent the first hour of their day today winding around our legs and running from the kitchen to the laundry room yowling at us. Eventually one of us (okay, it was Mister C) figured out that they had no food left. And there was no food in the pantry because I had run out last week. So, while Master J was showering I hopped in my car and headed over to Walmart to stock up and shut up the frenzied felines.

I've said before that I don't love this store. I think it mistreats it's employees and sells way too much cheap, foreign crap. But I digress. The main thing is that when I walked in the door I was greeted with full Christmas regalia. A huge decorated tree was by the door and the ten aisles that a few days ago were stocking candy and costumes were now loaded with Christmas candy and decor.

Are you kidding me? What happened to celebrating Thanksgiving? What the hell Walmart? Just. What. The. Hell.

Picture heavy update post...

2011-11-01T20:37:00.004-07:00

So I hope your Halloween was happy in a scary, creepy sort of way. I'm becoming more entranced with the holiday every year, it's becoming my favorite holiday. It's not as commercialized as Christmas has become which is a huge thing. I love Christmas, totally love going to the service and seeing the birth of Jesus played out by the kids, but the rest of it is hugely corporate. Halloween is cheaper...a few bags of candy, maybe a new costume if Master J has grown a bunch, pizza for dinner. The house decorations take less than two hours to put up and take down. And I never have to cook on Halloween (see dinner plans above). Plus there's zero family/holiday related stress because really, how much stress can there be to show up any time before dark and eat pizza? So anyway, I enjoyed it immensely and so did Master J. We have way too much candy leftover however so I'm going to be donating it. Southwest Ambulance is doing a collection for the troops this Thursday in our area. I just need to bag it up and write a letter to accompany it and they'll take care of the rest.

Anyway, here's a couple of pictures of my pumpkins this year. And no, the pumpkin on the right does not say "MOM", it's supposed to say "NOM" as in "Om, nom, nom!" but evidently I carve words as well as I write them thereby rendering them easily mis-read.

And a chicken update. The Flockers are doing well, eating everything in sight and growing quickly. I let them out in the morning for at least an hour to scrounge around in the yard. Then in the evening, before dusk, I let them out again so they can stretch their wings and eat bugs. For the last week, my barred rock hen has decided that I'm her new roost. As dusk falls and the other five girls head to the coop, Rocky comes over to where I'm sitting, hops up on my lap and cleans her feathers for a few minutes before settling in. I always end up having to carry her to the coop once I'm ready to go in for the night. I have no idea why she does this, it's just yet another abnormal animal in my horde.

And since this is an update post, I'll post a few recently printed pictures from my class.

Here's The Antagonizer doing her very best impersonation of a baboon...

I know right? Crazy awesome impersonator that cat. The picture was taken through the screen, I was on the patio at the time.

And here's Miss Lee and Music Man's miniature Dachshund, the ever adorable Lola...

I think that's about all that's new for today. I'll try to post more regularly since I seemed to fall of the planet periodically through October.

Size Matters

2011-10-29T08:59:00.003-07:00

We stopped at the grocery store last night after doing Movie Night at Master J's school. We were primarily there for one item but ended up buying a bunch of steaks that were more than half off. I think we got enough for the rest of the year but whatever. Anyway, while we're standing in line Mister C decides to pick up some Hershey's bars that are labeled as a two for one sale. Master J is perusing the candy and he notices the really big Hershey bars at the end...

Master J: Hey, these are called "King Size" candy bars.
Mirth: Yup.
Master J: Where's the "Peasant Size" ones?
Mirth: Hahaha!
Mister C: What did he just say?
Mirth: He asked where the Peasant Size ones are.
Mister C: That's really funny.
Mirth: Yup.

Did I ever tell you guys about the time he requested a "Rook" size bed? He was really into chess at the time.

Horse Races

2011-10-15T19:28:00.003-07:00

I haven't been to the races in years, maybe decades. Today, Mamoo and I went to hear Music Man sing (and Miss Lee as well) at Turf Paradise. In between things, I got to watch the races. I'm not a big gambler so after picking three losers and one winner I was only down $2.60. But it sure was fun to watch the ponies run.

Friday Night Special

2011-10-07T18:56:00.002-07:00

This is what happens when somebody doesn't put the lid on tightly on their leftovers and I try to move it to make space for something else. Also, note that Tiberius has no issue with pushing his way to the front of the chow line even if it means going underneath the fifty pound dog. That cat has no pride whatsoever.

Karma, she is a quick b!tch

2011-10-06T16:57:00.002-07:00

The kids had early release today and, as always, the principal sent out a voice-mail last night reminding everyone to be on their very best behavior after they got released. Apparently some of the kids did not get the message.

I picked up Master J and we went out to lunch and ran a few errands afterwards. One of those errands was to go to my least favorite box store, WallyWorld.

As we pulled into the lot, there was a large group of kids blocking most of one aisle and moving slowly across. They were not in the least concerned that they were impeding traffic being much too concerned with yelling and laughing loudly so that everyone would notice how cool they were. I parked at the first available spot and Master J and I walked passed the hoard and on into the store. Eventually the hooligans made it inside as well where they proceeded to ride scooters down the aisles, move items around, yell and laugh uproariously and make a general nuisance of themselves. We finished our shopping and headed out to our last errand.

On our way back home, we headed down the same street that WallyWorld is located on. Coming toward us was the very same hoard, now broken into two groups separated by about twenty feet. The first group was yelling and trying to get reactions from oncoming traffic. The second group was firing bottle rockets at each other and towards the traffic. Oh, so hysterically funny right? Too bad for them that not only are bottle rockets illegal in the city limits, but also that the white truck behind me wasn't just another car. It was a cop. A cop who flipped on his lights and pulled over immediately to confront the hoard.

I don't think I've laughed that hard in awhile. And when I was done laughing, I pointed out to Master J that even if everyone else is being an idiot, the best thing to do is NOT be an idiot. Because the odds are, you will get caught. And my guess is that in that situation it would have been much better to be caught by Mom & Dad.

Tonsil Removal in Adulthood

2011-10-02T21:34:00.003-07:00

Apparently it sucks big time.

Mister C suffers from sleep apnea and has since at least his early twenties. He was told way back then that he could have his tonsils and adenoids removed and it would very likely solve his problem. He did not have the surgery done then. No, he suffered with the apnea for two full decades before finally deciding to go ahead and get his tonsils and adenoids removed. Along with some minor nasal surgery via laser just for good measure. This was last Thursday morning.

As of tonight, a full three and a half days later, he is still miserable. His pain medication, while strong, wears off about two hours before he can take it again. And eating and drinking have become a painful chore that he has to endure in order to not become dehydrated. There's about a two to three hour period, starting about a half hour after he takes the medicine, where he's actually somewhat feeling pretty good. Otherwise, not so much.

As of right now, Mister C has put himself back to bed for the night. I'm staying up for as long as possible because I don't want to miss giving him his medicine at midnight. I'm hopeful that he will start on the upswing tomorrow. And until he gets fully healed I guess I'll be doing my best nurse impersonation. Having said that, if he continues getting cranky when the meds wear off I might start wearing a name tag that says "Nurse Ratched" to remind him who's in charge. Get better babe, or else.

Friday Rewind

2011-09-30T19:24:00.002-07:00

My sister, Miss Lee, putting on some lipstick while I stand in her tub trying to get the shot. The things I do for my class...

Street View

2011-09-28T14:24:00.004-07:00

The Flockers are Growing

2011-09-27T22:14:00.002-07:00

Either Peaches or Cream. I can't tell them apart unless they are standing next to each other.

Red

Rocky in the foreground, Leia behind.

I believe this is Leia.

I just like their little tail feathers

My first printing

2011-09-22T11:14:00.004-07:00

So here's that picture I promised.

This is the first ever photo that I've taken where I've gone through the whole process from beginning to end.

I took it (obviously). I developed the negatives starting in the dark room and going through all the chemicals, agitations and timers. I made a contact sheet and then chose which photo to produce from that. Then (after many, many test strips) I got the right combination of time, aperture and filter. I enlarged the photo onto my paper and went through the chemical process of developer, stop-bath and fixer to produce the final product. So, recognizing that it's not some prize winning photo (cause I totally do recognize that), going through the process was so very, very amazingly cool. I feel like I did something, I didn't just push a button. So, yeah, totally loving film photography.

Also, I totally needed to straighten the negative out in the holder, whoops!

Another Update Post

2011-09-21T14:07:00.004-07:00

I can't believe I haven't posted anything in a week. What on earth have I been doing with my time? Well, we won't count today where I spent a good portion of my day looking up and watching Tim Hawkins videos and laughing my backside off. But mostly, I've been playing catch-up with life.

For instance, I finally got around to moving some plants into new pots this week. The pots we had all of our plants in had been falling apart for some time. They were those clay pots that apparently get weakened every time you water your plants. This starts by just leaving a little rust colored ring under the pot. It escalates to where little pieces are flaking off the pot. And it eventually ends up where large chunks are breaking off. So several weeks ago Mister C and I hit the home repair store and picked up some nice, environmentally unsound, fiberglass pots in colors not found in nature. We also bought some new soil in large bags that would tear open if I so much as looked at them. That weakness lasted right up to when I wanted to actually open them and get at the dirt, then the plastic would rebind itself and be nearly impossible to tear open. Anyway, two days of work later and I had moved all my previously potted plants to their new homes as well as moving the gladiolas and remaining calla lilies out of the garden that will soon be used for vegetables.

Mister C and I also finally got around to attending class to get our CCW license. This past Saturday we had Mamoo watch Master J while we spent five hours learning the rules and laws and practicing on the range. Which, by the way, was quite interesting. Because a few of the guys were pretty cocky when they got out there, until our instructor singled them out for their transgressions. Not to worry, he got after me as well, but at least I admit I'm no professional. But, there was a gal out there that was not in our class but was on the range with us that made me smile widely. We went up to shoot in groups of five and since there were eighteen of us in the class, there were four different relays. This lady was number six in each relay.

When we first got to the range I noticed this older gal up speaking with the instructor. She looked to be in her late sixties, maybe early seventies and probably eighty pounds soaking wet. Her dyed blond hair was piled on top of her head in a loose bun. She had red lacquered fingernails, full makeup and cat's eye sunglasses on. She was carrying a large, straw bag with her wallet, bottled water and whatever else it was she needed. Which in this case was her not so dainty weapon. Now, I don't know enough about guns to be able to identify what kind it was, I just know it was comparable in size and look to the one Mister C was using, which if I recall correctly is a 9mm glock. And man could this gal shoot. Since she was a part of each relay, she ended up firing sixty rounds. And I'm not joking when I tell you that not one of those rounds went anywhere except within one of the three target areas. Not one. Maybe she's a natural, although I'm sure she practices regularly to get that good. But however she does it, she was awesome to watch. She would be in a perfect stance, snapping her gum, he would blow the whistle, she would aim and fire. And it would be perfect. Man I love old ladies like this one!

The flockers are doing well. They're growing daily and feathering out nicely. They also have learned that when I greet them with "Hi girls, you want a snack?" there will be good stuff involved and so they come right over. While I don't think they'll ever be "pets", I do think good planning on my part will make removing their eggs a lot easier later I have no desire to have to fight my girls so I'd rather socialize them now while they're still babies.

Here's four of them in the snack bowl this morning.

My photography class has been really cool. I love the actual creation of pictures, it is amazing. I forgot my negatives at home the other night so I didn't get the chance to print out any pictures but hopefully I'll be able to do something tonight that I can post next time.

Finally, Mister C and I are taking an organic gardening class, which will be followed by a container gardening class. There's a ton of information to learn for us, and it's being presented pretty fast and furious. Hopefully between the two of us we'll get everything we need to get moving on our gardens.

I think that about wraps it up. Lots of stuff going on as well as lots of learning. So, it's all good.

Whew!

2011-09-13T13:07:00.003-07:00

I've mentioned that I'm taking a black and white film photography class this semester that I'm really enjoying. Well last night we got an assignment to take a roll of photos at various times of day. We need the photos for Wednesday's class. One of the times of day he wants us to shoot is at high noon, or basically any time between 11:30 am and 12:30 pm when the sun is at it's highest and strongest. So I had this great idea that I would go to a nearby trail and hike so I could pictures of the sun on the rock outcroppings. Doesn't that sound great? I know, right? About 10:30 this morning I look at the thermometer sitting at 85 degrees and start thinking that maybe I should figure out someplace else to go photograph. But I can't think of anything that's appealing that I haven't already done. At 11:15 I get in my car with my camera bag and my water bottle and drive to the trail head. Before I get out, I check my car's thermometer and see the temps have risen slightly to 87 degrees. Not unbearable, yet. So I head out.

I haven't hiked in a good six months or better. And I'm pretty sure I've gained back most of what I'd lost the last time I was hiking. So, out of shape, overweight, haven't done anything in awhile, temps slightly uncomfortable and I'm carrying an extra ten pounds of gear on my back. Should be fun.

Now I have a methodology for hiking that gets me through most of the misery. It's a highly technical method called "don't look up." See, if I don't see how far I have to go, it's not so overwhelming. So I shuffle along looking at the ground directly in front of my feet and just take one step at a time. All I'm trying to do is get to one of the peaks in enough time to get some decent pictures. I will say that I didn't do as badly as I thought I would. But it wasn't pretty. Also, I didn't get passed by the normal train of people either. No kids, old people, morbidly obese, people on crutches or three legged dogs. Just a few people in reasonably good shape. So I didn't feel too badly.

Anyway, I got up to where I needed to be in plenty of time, took my pictures and headed back down. And would you believe that the downhill was actually worse? I think it's because the temperature had risen by that point and the sun was beating on my head. I hadn't had enough sense to wear the hat I keep in the car because when I started there was some cloud cover and I thought I would be fine. Not so much. At high noon there's absolutely no shade on the trail. I ended up stopping more frequently on the way down than I had on the way up. By the time I got to the bottom my brains were fried. Once I got into my car I cranked the ac and just sat there for a few minutes while I cooled off. The temperature had hit 91 by the time I got back to my car.

Obviously, for health reasons, I need to do this more often. Just a whole lot earlier in the day. And preferably without the extra ten pounds of cameras.

Pulled in two directions

2011-09-11T12:09:00.004-07:00

So I recognize that it's the ten years to the day after the attack on our home soil and the murder of thousands. But it's also my mom's sixty fifth birthday. Ten years ago I was sitting in my living room holding a six month old Master J watching in disbelief as the second plane hit the tower and then the ensuing collapse of both buildings. I didn't even remember until two days later that it had been my mom's birthday. Unfortunately for her, her birthday will now forever be tied to that horrible day. So while I believe it is so very important for us to not forget what happened to and to try and use it to make this country stronger in unity, I also want to make sure to give a shout out to my mom.

Happy 65th Mamoo. I love you greatly.

I really class up the joint...

2011-09-10T20:36:00.003-07:00

So Mister C and I went out to dinner at a very nice sushi restaurant with another couple (D and L) tonight. We were enjoying ourselves immensely, both for the good food and the great company. It was a great time, other than our waitress.

Our waitress seemed to be either slow witted or simply unfocused because she would wander off and forget to come back. For instance, we arrived at the restaurant first and got seated. The waitress asked us what we wanted to drink and if we wanted an appetizer and we said we thought so but we hadn't looked at the menu yet so she said she would right back and then wandered off. Our friends arrived about five or ten minutes later and then had to wait another five minutes for the waitress to wander back and take their drink order. When she brought their drinks she asked about the appetizers and our friends said yes, but they hadn't looked at the menu yet. Our waitress said she'd be back and then wandered off. She eventually returned and got our appetizer order and then, taking into account her track record, we decided to go ahead and just order our entrees at the same time.

L asked a few questions about some entree or another and then, since we had ordered two large appetizers, decided to go with a seared tuna appetizer as her meal. She was very clear that she was having this for her meal, not the appetizer.

So of course, the first thing the waitress brought back was the tuna. L looked at it and decided it couldn't be what she ordered because first of all, it was being served before the other appetizers and secondly, because it wasn't seared at all. It was cold. L decided she was okay with it being raw as she prefers it that way anyway, but she didn't want to eat it before our meals arrived so she set it aside. Eventually the other appetizers and the rest of our meals arrived and we all dug in. Our waitress did manage to refill drinks once but otherwise was nowhere to be seen.

About two thirds of the way through dinner though, I felt something weird when I tried to move my feet under my chair. My foot seemed to be stuck on something and I couldn't untangle it. It turns out that my right shoe had decided that this was the perfect time to give up the ghost and die. The sole had completely separated from the rest of the shoe. Now, I don't feel too badly about their quality because I've had these particular shoes for at least fifteen years. But timing wise, it kind of sucked. We were sitting smack dab in the middle of the restaurant, surrounded by tons of people. So, I kept the shoe on for a little longer while debating what I should do. I seriously considered asking our waitress if she could bring me some black electrical tape or duct tape from the kitchen. But she had already proved to be less than a stellar communicator and I just didn't see her being able to understand my request and help me out without a big production that would draw even more attention to my predicament. I finally decided to wait until the end of the meal and then go ahead and ask her if she could bring me a bag, figuring that was a pretty simple request. My plan was straightforward, ask for a bag, remove shoes to said bag, casually walk out of the restaurant. So I ask for a bag.

And she says "A box?"
"No," I say, "a bag."
"A box? How many boxes do you need?"
"I just need a bag."
D says he would like a box. This seems to make our waitress happy. And then she points at my plate and says "A box?"
"Sure." I say. At this point I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to get a pair of four inch heels in a to-go box but I'm done trying to request something that is obviously so difficult.

The waitress wanders off and comes back with two boxes and a bag. I assume you can only have a bag if you get a box. Whatever, I have my bag. But now, she's handing me a box as well. I don't really want to take my fried rice home with me but I figure I should probably just go ahead and box it up so I don't cause anymore problems.

First I try to shovel up the perfect circle of rice with my fork to put it in the box but it starts breaking apart as soon as I do. So I lift up my plate with the intention of scraping it into the box, only nothing ever works that easily with me. No, the huge plate is ungainly and evidently the rice is extremely slipper because it starts a slow slide toward the edge of the plate. Unfortunately for me, the edge of the plate isn't over the box, it's hovering over my lap. So, yeah. About a cup of greasy fried rice falls into my lap before I can get the plate over the stupid box that I never wanted in the first place.

So there I am with a lap full of rice, my unwanted box full of more rice and nothing but a cloth napkin to clean it up with. I don't want to make a huge mess of my napkin so I start pulling the rice off my lap by hand and putting it on the plate. Only now, the waitress who couldn't remember where we were for the majority of the evening has suddenly decided she has to bus our table RIGHT NOW! So before I can get more than one handful of rice onto my plate she whips it off the table. So I try for Mister C's plate but that is also whipped off the table. So the third bit goes on to L's plate before that gets removed. I never had a chance at D's plate so I gave up and started putting the rice into my napkin. It took a while but I finally got every last grain of rice off my lap (and chair, and purse) and into the napkin. I'm sure they were thrilled when they picked that up.

Which now leads to what to do about my shoes. I had my bag so I casually reached under the table and removed my shoes and dropped them into the bag. When everyone else stood up, so did I. I had my purse and bag of shoes in one hand and my unwanted box of greasy rice in the other. And I walked out like it was totally normal to be in an upscale restaurant with a greasy lap and barefooted. Because that's just how I do things.

Of course the best part is that after we walked out of the restaurant I looked for the nearest garbage can to get rid of my shoes and only after I had dropped them in did I realize that for anyone sitting inside the place it looked like I had just thrown out my leftovers as soon as I left the restaurant.

I don't think Mister C is going to take me back there any time soon.

Storms!

2011-09-09T20:08:00.002-07:00

So I'm sitting here with Mister C watching some show he recorded about Ronald Reagan and listening to the rain pour down. We haven't had a good storm in a while so I'm thoroughly enjoying hearing the thunder pound and seeing the lighting. However, I wasn't so thrilled forty minutes ago when I was on my way home from the store and the lighting started in force. Mostly because when I left for the store Master J had planted himself on a blanket inside the chicken coop to feed to feed them some tomatoes. Yeah, my only child sitting inside a metal cage in a lighting storm, awesome. But once I got him inside, and moved the babies to the garage so they didn't get wet, I could enjoy the storm. And now the hail has started pounding the garage door so hard and fast that it sounds like two drummers competing on Caribbean steel drums. It really is an enjoyable change of pace from the heat.

Pinhole Camera

2011-09-08T10:55:00.006-07:00

So this is my pinhole camera.

I chose an old container that originally held pork chitterlings. For anyone that is fanning themselves in horror at my abuse of a "vintage" item, get on with the fanning because this thing smelled like an old bag of pork rinds when I bought it. And, at least I'm using it for something. Blah, blah, blah, keep fanning.

Anyway, the first thing I did was to use a matte, black spray paint to cover the inside. Since it was a thousand degrees outside I decided to do this part of the project inside. In my kitchen. Now, in my defense, I did lay down a painting tarp on my kitchen island and I did work very carefully in order to not get over-spray on anything. And I did a really good job with that because not one black spot appeared anywhere except where it was supposed to (and my hand but that's washable.) However, did you know that the fumes from spray paint are kind of noxious? And that even if you turn the stove vent on super high and leave it on for an hour, it still kind of smells? Hm, learn something new every day.

Here's my camera all painted up. The tape in the lid holds the paper.

Then you need a lens of sorts. This is created by cutting a small hole (about 1/2 inch square) in the very center of the end of your container. Then, you take a piece of aluminum (or something equally sturdy) and you poke a pinhole in it (hence the name). Now, the exact size of the pinhole depends on the size of the container. There's a whole calculation involving the length of the container but basically in my case, the pinhole needed to be somewhere between one half and one quarter of 1/16th of an inch. So, in highly technical terms, small. After you've got a pinhole in the aluminum, you line it up to be exactly centered on the hole you centered on your container. For a "shutter" you can use a piece of black electrical tape.

In my case, the bottom of my container became the front of the camera and it looked like this...

The light sensitive paper goes on the opposite side, in my case this was in the lid and I attached it with tape. Because you're working with light sensitive paper you have to "load" the camera in complete darkness. So I shut the bathroom shades and barricaded myself in my closet with towels stuffed under the door and blocking the vent. Unfortunately I have a round camera with no obvious "top" and I really needed to know which was going to be the top so I could load my paper properly and in the dark this would be almost impossible. Lucky for me, one section of the lid had a scuffed area that I could feel and this became my top.

Once the paper is loaded and the camera is closed back up you can leave the dark and go find your subject. You set up your subject and your camera and when you're ready, you remove the black, electrical tape shutter and start timing. Since each camera is different, the exposure time will be different. I tried one minute, two minutes, four minutes and six minutes for each subject. When the time is up, simply slap the tape back on the pinhole, barricade yourself back in the dark and switch out the paper.

The biggest issue with this camera is that I don't have a true dark room with all the chemicals so I can't just develop each picture as I take it to figure out if it worked or not. I had to wait several days after taking the pictures to get back to the lab and develop them. What I figured out was that with my camera, the longer exposures were too long. The first three worked well enough that I could have printed a picture, but six minutes basically came out black. After all of that, when you go to the lab to see what you got you will end up with a negative of the subject.

You pick the best negative and then head back into the lab to produce the picture. The easiest way to explain it is that you take the negative and put it face to face with another piece of light sensitive paper, put glass over the top and then expose it to light. Then, you go through the chemical process again to create your picture.

Now, a couple of things should be noted here. Firstly, the pictures are obviously in black and white. Secondly, they are not razor sharp like regular camera. But, considering that there are no mechanics and it's really just a container with a hole in it, I think they came out pretty cool.

The coop.

Master J reading.

Not bad for an old chitterlings container and some tape.

*side note, the pictures had to be scanned in and sent to my desktop in order to get them on this post.

New abode for the Flockers

2011-09-07T17:15:00.002-07:00

The chicken coop got delivered today!

It's not huge, only 4'x 6', but since I plan on allowing the girls time out of it every day it should be fine.

You can't see them but all six babies are in the coop, most likely huddled in horror in one corner. About an hour after I moved them into it they were roaming around picking at the dirt so I think they kind of like their new digs. I certainly think I'll enjoy not having to sweep off my patio every five minutes.

Fourteen Years

2011-09-05T19:40:00.003-07:00

This is the only picture I could find of the two of us from around the time we got married, probably about six months in.

Note the bluish eye shadow on just one eye, evidently this was taken at the end of a long day.

Happy Anniversary Mister C!

Chickens!

2011-09-04T20:07:00.006-07:00

Mister C and I have talked extensively about having some chickens around and up until recently the consensus has been that we don't have enough space in our yard and a coop would take up too much of what little we do have. Today we stopped by the local feed shop "just to ask about chickens" and what they require. It turns out that they don't require as much of a coop as previously thought so long as you can let them outside of it every day. And since our yard is surrounded by a six foot block wall...well...

Meet the girls....

(Clockwise starting with the brown one on the far left:
Leia-an Ameraucana; Rocky-a Barred Rock; Red-a Production Red; Wedge-another Ameraucana; Peaches and Cream-the two white leghorns.)

Yeah, I know, they're just chickens. And chickens are for eggs and eating and all that. But these are babies. And babies of any species are adorable. Especially when they fall asleep on you, which Leia did to me twice and to Master J once. The coop won't be delivered until Wednesday, so in the meantime, the girls are hanging out in a bottomless guinea pig cage. We're alternating them between the patio during the day and the garage at night (just in case of a wandering coyote.)

And of course Master J is just in love with the girls. Especially after I told him that chickens eat bugs. Even more so after he saw Peaches snag a spider and gobble it up in about two seconds flat.

I'm a bit slow

2011-09-03T20:45:00.002-07:00

So Master J just finished his third week of school on Friday...and I'm just now getting around to putting up his picture from the first day. Meh, it's just been that sort of whirlwind of chaos around here. Better yet, the picture below was not actually taken in the morning before his first day. No, I finally thought about it some time right before dinner. I'll be honest, I'm not even sure that's the same shirt he was wearing at the start of the day.

September already?

2011-09-01T10:14:00.003-07:00

So yeah, I've been out of touch with my blog for several weeks now. It's not that I didn't want to update, and really it's not that I haven't had time, it's just I haven't been motivated to do anything with it. I'm sorry. That's just pathetic. I know. So, I'm regrouping. I'm starting over. In more ways than one.

So real estate kind of sucks right now. I haven't been happy in it for awhile now and I think I've finally hit my personal wall as far as how much more I'm willing to do. I'll be honest, I'm not the best agent around. I don't advertise. I don't try to find and follow leads every day (or any day truthfully). I don't call on past clients to see if they have any "real estate needs" or if their friends and family do. And I don't push buyers into buying a house just so I can close a deal. In the past two weeks, I went from having one offer in escrow, one client writing offers and one that was coming in to town ready to really buy this time (I swear), to no offers in escrow, one buyer that wants me to write offers at eighty three percent of list price (seriously? WTH?) and my out of town buyers back out of town without offering on anything. So I think I'm done.

I've had it with some other agents having an attitude of arrogance. I called a listing agent about a house two days ago because I was out showing to a client and could not find the property. Literally, his directions led me to a house that was not for sale. So I called. He said (and I am quoting verbatim here) "I don't know what mls you're using because the directions are fine. Plenty of other agents have been able to find the property." Really? Okay, that's pretty shitty but maybe I am being dumb. So, seeing a guy a few doors down walking out to his truck, I pulled up and asked him if he knew where the house was. Turns out I was in the wrong neighborhood, because the agent's directions were wrong. So I followed the neighbor's directions to the correct neighborhood and showed the house. Then I called the agent back and left him a message. In it I said that the directions were in fact wrong and gave him the correct directions. It was polite. I never heard a word from him, but he did change the mls listing. Idiot.

I've had it with investors who want to make HUGE profits on houses that they've done a minimal amount to. They buy it at auction, slap some paint, granite and new carpet in and list it at twice what they paid. And then try to put a clause in the contract that says the purchase price has to be paid regardless of what the house appraises for. Um, no. I am not going to have my client sign a contract that could potentially screw them out of tens of thousands of dollars. But it gets better, because I'm pretty sure at this point that because I advised my client not to sign that potentially expensive contract, she isn't returning my calls or emails. I think she's upset that she didn't get the house and I'm to blame for trying to protect her interests. Guess I should have allowed her to go ahead and sign away her rights so I could get my commission. See, I told you I'm not a good agent.

Moving on.

I started another photography class last week. This one is a black and white film and digital class. I'm really more interested in the film part but I'll do what's required from the digital side as well. Last night we made pin-hole cameras, took a picture of a vacuum cleaner and developed it. Dude, it was awesome! I can't begin to tell you the feeling of dropping what looks to be a blank sheet of paper into a vat of chemicals and watching something develop. It was magical. This is what photography is about, it's incredible. So our assignment before next week is to take a bunch of pictures with our pin-hole cameras so we can develop them in the lab after Labor Day. The one drawback to this type of camera is that it takes time to get the picture so I'm fairly sure I won't be able to get any photos of my dogs or anything animated. Hmm, I could probably get any of the cats though. Anyway, I'll give a better description of the camera itself and show the results next week. I'm so excited about this!

I think I'll end on that happy note. Glad to be back, thanks to you that checked in regularly to see if I had anything new, I appreciate your loyalty. All three of you ;)

What happens when IT guys do landscaping

2011-08-12T19:52:00.002-07:00

Gotta love the effort.

Lola, L-O-L-A, Lola!

2011-08-11T19:42:00.003-07:00

Miss Lee and Music Man's new addition to the family...a miniature, long-haired dachshund named Lola. It just doesn't get any cuter than this.

The last week has been like this

2011-08-10T15:10:00.003-07:00

Here's the scene:

I'm sitting on the couch, trying like hell to get some work done. Master J is flitting from one area to the next playing.

Mirth (to myself): Okay, they want to offer $150,000 on this property in Sur...

Master J (also to himself): AHHHHHHH! (Commander Cody goes flying) Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!!!!!

Mirth: Holy crap Dude, settle it.

Master J: Sorry.

Mirth (back to myself): Now where was I? Let's see, that property is a bank owned and they're looking for highest and best by...

Master J (running through room with light saber): Pew! Pew! Pew! Swooooosh! AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!

Mirth: Not reacting, not reacting...

Master J rushes back in, does a beautifully executed tuck and roll coming up fighting and dodging his imaginary opponent.

Mirth: Okay, you're going to have to take that elsewhere, I'm trying to work here.

Master J: Sure thing Mom! (He fights his way out of the room)

Mirth: Okay, I need an As-Is Addendum and a...what the hell?

Master J is now making siren noises at the other end of the house. They are amazingly accurate and exceedingly loud.

Mirth (to myself): This is why I can't do anything. I don't have ADD, I have insanity running through the house. (To Master J) Is there any way you could settle down and play quietly down there? Maybe close the door or something?

Master J: Sure Mom! I'll just close the door.

Mirth: Thanks!

Master J slams the door and commences his epic battle in his room. It is not noticeably quieter and he is now flinging himself into things in his room.

Mirth: Only four more days until school starts. I can make it four more days (twitch, twitch). Really, it's so close that I can cetai...

Master J (bursting into the room): Hey Mom! Mom! Izzy chewed off Captain Rex's legs! Bad Izzy! You shouldn't chew off his legs.

Mirth: Just pretend he was caught by mines.

Master J: What's that supposed to mean?

Mirth: That means you left Captain Rex on the floor and the dog decided he was "Mine". Don't leave your toys lying around.

Master J: Well that's not fair. She shouldn't eat my toys.

Mirth: Which part of "I'm working" are you not getting?

Master J: Oh yeah, sorry! (Captain Rex goes flying) AAAAHHHHHH! I'm hit! I'm not going to make it! AAAAHHHH!

Only four more days, only four more days...

Almost there...

2011-08-09T18:46:00.004-07:00

So I've got both tanks set up and running. I had a broken part on one of my older filters that I had to replace before it could run properly but it's all good now. I still haven't moved everyone to where they'll eventually end up but that's only because I'm trying to give the newly added cichlids a chance to grow before I move my big boy over. As it is, I didn't even get a chance to get a picture of my N.brichardi as my female N.venustus decimated both of them before twenty four hours had passed.

When I started this project I only had one cichlid left from my original batch after Mister C's great "Whoops! I didn't know fish needed air!" debacle of 2010 and that was my female N. venustus "Vinny" (I didn't know she was a she when I got her.) Last year I added my P. polleni "Frank" and I've been watching him grow ever since. My plan all along was to have both of them in the 125 gallon tank and I knew I had plenty of room to add some new ones.

So two days ago I acquired three electric yellows and a blue ahli from one shop and two random peacocks and the above mentioned ill fated brichardi from another. Today I picked up an absolutely gorgeous male venustus. He and Vinny are hanging out pretty closely so far. As for the peacocks, well I've never had peacocks before and I just think they're a beautiful fish. We'll see how they do.

Currently my new seventy five gallon tank is holding my five clown loaches, one huge-ass sucker fish and Frank. Once I've moved the sucker fish and Frank, it will become my tropical tank. I haven't decided exactly what fish I'm putting in it but I'll figure that out as I go. Also, it still has no substrate because that's sitting in my trunk from when I bought it three days ago. Because I'm really on top of things that way.

And finally, I'm still waiting for my live plants to arrive. I ordered a bunch from an online place that has really good reviews. I'll let you know what I think when they arrive. I didn't order enough to completely fill both tanks, just enough to give live plants a shot. I figured I would mix in my plastic and silk plants to fill things out and if the real ones took off I would eventually remove the fake ones. And if I kill everything, it won't be so obvious.

Frank

Someone likes the new, young fish...

Moving right along

2011-08-02T14:23:00.003-07:00

So some time back in June, I managed to con Mister C into letting me get another fish tank. I promised I would finish painting the family room in a timely manner and then get the tank. Not long after that, I went out "Just to price out new tanks" and ended up with a new one later that afternoon. Because that's how it works around here.

It sat, wrapped in cardboard and plastic, for a few weeks before we went on vacation. The family room didn't get painted before we went on vacation. When we got back from vacation I finally got around to painting the ceilings in the family room & kitchen and swore I would get right to painting the walls. But between taking Master J to swim lessons every day, running around getting him registered for school and a sudden influx of real estate work, that didn't happen either.

Two days ago I finally started painting the family room. I managed to wash the baseboards and tape off the whole room and even painted one wall.

Yesterday I painted the other two walls in the room, as well as one wall in the kitchen. When I was done, I got my fish tank set exactly where I wanted it and filled it almost full to make sure I didn't have any leaks. As of this morning, I didn't.

Today, I tried to set up my brand new filter in the cabinet under my brand new tank. It didn't fit. It was too tall. What the hell? How can they sell an aquarium stand that won't hold the filter for the fish tank? So I improvised. I emptied the water out of the tank, giving my trees some extra rations this week. Then I moved it another two inches away from the wall so the filter could sit behind it. It worked like a charm.

Feeling rather pleased with the solution of my problem, I went about getting the filter set up in the tank and getting it going. I've had this type of filter on my original tank for about eight years now and I know they can be a bit cranky to start the first time (or any time you take it apart and reassemble it for that matter.) After pitching several fits and cursing loudly, I still couldn't get it going. Until, it finally, sort of, started sucking water. But it just couldn't seem to get going very well. I felt the hoses to make sure water was flowing in both intake and output. The intake definitely had flow, the hose with the output didn't though. I followed it up from the bottom towards the top of the tank, and that is when I noticed that the stupid hose had a leak. After calling around to several stores that either don't carry the hose or have it for too much money, I realize I'm going to have to call the company directly and hopefully they'll just ship me a new one. Which means I have to wait at least a few more days before I can get my tank going. And that doesn't make me feel all peaceful and happy like an aquarium should.

Post #500

2011-07-30T12:35:00.003-07:00

And I'm suffering from writer's block. Can you believe that crap? I, who almost never run out of things to say, am at a loss for words. I thought this milestone would be more momentous, have more oomph. Or something. Instead, I will thrill you with an update post.

1. Real estate is picking up, but not in a good way. There are multiple offers on every house my clients want. Good houses go under contract almost before they're on the market for twenty-four hours. Buyers are still working with how the market used to be (about two months ago) and thinking they can low-ball offers and get their dream home. They might be right on properties that need work but the ones that are move in ready are going for well over asking price. Sigh.

2. I finally, just five minutes ago, finished painting my kitchen ceiling. As soon as I post this and grab a bite to eat, I'll be starting on the family room walls. Painting, the bane of my existence.

3. My child got accepted into the "gifted academy" in our local district. He would have to change schools in order to attend. Even though we weren't looking forward to him changing schools, we were very excited about him getting accepted. Until his new teacher sent out her welcome letter. When I saw what her curriculum for the school year was going to be, it seemed a little familiar. So I asked Master J. Yeah, he learned all of the things she mentioned (specifically the math) last year in his normal fourth grade. I'm going to speak with his current school about what their curriculum is for this coming year and if it's what I think it is, he'll be staying where he's at.

4. Remember the HOA issuing the "you have to wait 30 days for us to approve the thing we can't disapprove" letter? So that letter arrived on a Saturday. Mister C contacted our solar guy on Sunday and asked him to hold off on finishing up the project until we had approval. On Monday we got a another letter from the HOA saying "Go ahead with your project that we can't disapprove, we give you permission." Can't tell you how thrilled Mister C was to have to call back the solar guys and be told that they can't come back for a week because they started another project. If it weren't for causing unnecessary setbacks and delays our HOA wouldn't have anything to do.

5. Picked up my Bountiful Baskets again this morning and it seemed a little short. It's supposed to consist of six different fruits and six different vegetables each week. This week's basket contained:

1 5 lb bag of potatoes
1 head of cabbage
1 butternut squash
1 head of romaine
2 bags of green beans
2 tomatoes

4 bananas
1 bunch of grapes
6 peaches
4 plums
1 cantaloupe

So unless I'm counting wrong, that's six vegetables and five fruits. Unless they're questionable about the tomatoes and are counting one of them as a vegetable and the other as a fruit. Then I'm good. It's still at good deal to get all of that for $16.50, especially since it's all fresh and most of it's local.

HOA Red Tape

2011-07-24T14:16:00.003-07:00

So Mister C and I made the leap to getting a whole house solar system installed. We live in Sunshineville where there's about three hundred and sixty days of sunshine a year. Solar just makes sense.

A few years ago our state passed a law stating that HOAs could not interfere with the installation of a solar system. Effectively, they couldn't say that any homeowner couldn't install one, regardless of what their CC&Rs stated. It did say they could have some "reasonable rules regarding the placement of a solar energy device if those rules do not prevent the installation, impair the functioning of the device or restrict its use or adversely affect the cost or efficiency of the device."

The guy doing the install did have to send the HOA a request for permission to do the install but this is really just a formality and most HOAs just send out a "go ahead" notice the same day they get the request. Because at the end of the day they can't legally stop people from installing a solar system.

On Friday, the roofers arrived at five in the morning and started removing the roof tiles to set the posts that will ultimately support the framework for our panels. We are so excited about getting this done because not only is it an environmentally good thing to do but it should save us quite a bit of money over the long term.

Yesterday we got a letter from the HOA telling us that they were sending the request on to the architectural committee to get their input. It would be at least thirty days before they would even consider giving us approval. Additionally, they made sure to tack on that if we started doing anything prior to getting that approval, they would force us to undo what we had done and fine us on top of it.

Are you kidding me?

An Open Letter

2011-07-23T11:20:00.006-07:00

Dear Every Damn Store Whose Website I Have Looked At In The Last Week,

Wow, you sure have some great sites out there! I can't keep track of all the great things you've got going on. There's information about the history of your particular store as well as an entire company history. You've got links for how to have a career at your wonderful store and even how to get in on a franchise opportunity. For you stores that serve food, you give a link to full menus and even an entire breakdown of the nutritional value of every item on the menu. For clothing stores, I can now figure out every item you sell and in what sizes and colors you sell it in. You've been sure to mention your latest sales. You even offer a place to rate your store. But there is one kind of important piece of information that you've forgotten to provide in the vast abyss of information you offer? Not one link leads to this information. Not one little sidebar mentions this very important piece of information. What time do you open your doors?

Sincerely,

The Woman Who Didn't Shop Today Because She Didn't Want To Waste Her Time Driving To A Store That Might Be Closed

Vacation Wrap Up Part II

2011-07-17T19:30:00.005-07:00

I took a ton of photos while on vacation. At last count I had over fourteen hundred of them. Now obviously I don't have over fourteen hundred great photos. I probably have three. But you would think with that many that I must have had my camera glued to my hand, ready and waiting at all times. Well, this post is more about the things I didn't get. The ones I missed. Sometimes by a fraction of a second, sometimes by a mile. Either way, things I have no proof that I saw while on vacation.

I didn't get a picture of the bald eagle that flew incredibly close to the ground while we were driving. I certainly saw it in plenty of time to get a fantastic picture of it. But I was way too busy gawking and the conversation went like this...

Mirth: Oh my god! It's a bald eagle! Can you believe that's a bald eagle? I've never seen a real live bald eagle actually flying before! That's so incredible! A bald eagle! Mister C, did you see the bald eagle?"

Mister C: No. Did you get a picture?

Mirth: Oh shit! I should have taken a picture of it. Where's my camera? Where's the eagle? Dammit!

I was switching back and forth between lenses a lot depending on where we were so sometimes what should have been an incredible photo op turned out less than stellar. Like when I used my telephoto lens to take pictures of things that were relatively close because that's what was on the camera when the opportunity arose. Like this...

My he has lovely muscle tone in his butt.

Sometimes Mister C touched things on my camera and then claimed he didn't. Like when I handed him my camera to take some picture out the driver's side window. When he gave it back it took me an hour to put it back to rights and in the meantime all my shots look like this...

I'm still not sure what he did but somehow the auto-focus was all out of whack, the camera was suddenly deciding depth of field and the all the pictures had a dreamy, ethereal feel to them that I wasn't looking for. After pushing different buttons in different orders and eventually setting it back to the factory settings and starting over, I got it back to normal. For his part, Mister C still claims all he did was take the picture. Mmmhmm.

Then there was this shot...

If you close one eye, squint the other, turn your head 98 degrees to the left, stand 100 yards away from your screen and pretend real hard you can see the mountain goat that jumped into the woods. Literally five seconds prior to this magnificent picture, that mountain goat was standing in the middle of the road as we came around a corner. Just standing there, waiting for us. And in the time it took me to scoop my camera off the floor at my feet and take the lens cover off while simultaneously pushing the button to make the window go down the damn goat took off running into the woods. Sigh.

Vacation Wrap Up Part I

2011-07-16T10:09:00.004-07:00

We got home from our vacation on Thursday evening. Our original plan was to stop in Omaha for three days on our way home from Fargo. I had scheduled to meet with three fantastic women for various things (lunch, coffee, etc.) while I was in town. I was really looking forward to each and every meet up, but it wasn't meant to be. Unfortunately our host family started throwing up the night before we were set to arrive and hadn't improved by the time we spoke to them on Wednesday morning while we were headed south. After discussing it at length, we decided to make an adjustment in our route and head on home. As much as I would have loved to have seen everyone, the odds of getting sick ourselves was too much of a risk. I had visions of the three of us hanging out at various rest stops until we were well enough to move on to the next available spot. Not so much interested in the whole "Throwing up across America!" tour of 2011.

Anyway, we decided to try and make it to Colorado Springs on the first day. It was a looooooong day of driving. We didn't even eat at restaurants like we usually do, we just ordered and ate in the car. We were trying to avoid going on I-29 because we knew it was flooded further down the so Mister C found what he thought was a workable route. Then, we hit a spot in South Dakota where there had been flooding.

We turned on the two lane and I pointed out the sign that said "No Cars - Trucks Only". Mister C said "It'll be fine" and continued driving. We came around the corner and there was a guy fishing. From the road. Again, there was a sign warning that cars were not allowed. Again, Mister C said "It'll be fine, don't worry" and continued driving. We saw two workers adjusting the guard wires and I asked Mister C to at least check with them. So he did. He rolled down my window and asked how deep it was at the deepest point. The reply?

"It's two and a half inches deep on the center line (which we could make)." So long as no cars made us move to "our" side of the road where it was substantially deeper we should be okay. They also added that we would be fine so long as no trucks went by "like a bat out of hell like they usually do". Well, that's comforting. I thought that perhaps Mister C might decide to turn around. I thought wrong.

Mister C decided that turning around and driving an hour out of our way was too much hassle. We were going through. As a final heads up, just as we were starting down the road a trucker coming from the opposite side slowed to a stop and signaled for us to stop as well. He leaned out his window and said "You don't want to go down there, it's much deeper at the other end. You wouldn't want your engine to flood, better turn around now." Mister C politely thanked him. And then continued on our path to destruction. Now, obviously, I am typing this currently so I didn't get swept downstream, but it was more than a little unnerving to say the least.

Lest you think I'm exaggerating how scary it was...

Why yes, that is water across the entire road we're driving on. In our Honda Civic. You'll have to forgive the poor quality of the photo, I had put my camera into the trunk at this point thinking I was done with it. I thought about getting it out, but figured if we got swept away I didn't really want the evening news to open with a shot of me standing calf-deep in water, getting my camera out of the trunk so I could take photos of the danger we were heading into. Kind of the "Oh, look at those cute bear cubs over there, let me grab my camera and see how close I can get!" mentality that I try to avoid most days.

So anyway, we made it through and made it to Colorado Springs in one piece. Oh yeah, we also hit torrential downpours in Denver, followed by a hail storm once we got into Colorado Springs itself. Good times. But, we got a good night's sleep and had a great breakfast in the morning before heading back out on the open road. We got in to Phoenix by dinner time, picked up food at Chipotle and enjoyed the peace and relative quiet of our first night back home.

The next day consisted of laying about the place and doing laundry. And petting the animals which had obviously all been neglected for the previous two weeks*. Today was more of the same with yard work thrown in for good measure. We'll see what tomorrow brings but I certainly could go for another day of nothing before I pick up with the painting again on Monday.

*I'm just kidding Mamoo, I know you pet them all frequently and thoroughly and that they are all just liars.

Vacation - Day 12

2011-07-12T21:10:00.004-07:00

Today is our last day in Fargo as we're heading out first thing in the morning. Since all the siblings, spouses and kids were in one location, the mil suggested we get a family picture. We loosely coordinated to mostly be wearing white shirts and I took a total of five pictures of the bunch of us in two different locations. Fairly painless and done in less than ten minutes. I am nothing if not efficient when it comes to taking photos. So here's Mister C's side of the family tree.

Vacation - Day 11

2011-07-11T18:19:00.002-07:00

Nothing much again today. We only left the house long enough to take the dog for a walk and then to get a new screen cover on my phone because the original one (which was never put on correctly in the first place) was completely coming undone.

But we did at least get a family photo on my in-law's front porch.

Vacation - Day 10

2011-07-10T17:56:00.007-07:00

Well, today was Mister C's forty third birthday. Which I forgot until almost noon. Because I'm an awesome wife like that. Anyway, most of today was spent doing not a whole lot but eventually we meandered over to my sister in law's house for an early dinner of pizza. And got to watch a semi-decent storm come through with lots of lightning, but not a lot of rain. Ah well, at least it dropped the temps substantially around here.

And while we were hanging out over there I got to take a few pictures of my nephew.

Also, on the way to my sister in law's place, we stopped off to visit my husband's grandfather. Which allowed me to take a picture of four generations of the family.

And seeing Mister C's grandfather just made me wish his grandmother were still here. She was such a wonderful, vivacious woman and she always made me feel welcomed and loved.

Even though she was in her late eighties when she passed, some people just don't live long enough and she was one of them. Love them while they're here because you just never know.

Vacation - Day 9

2011-07-09T18:53:00.005-07:00

No photos today as I never left the house or took out my camera. It's been a pretty low key day overall. Mister C's sister, brother and their spouses came over for an early dinner and to hang out for a little while which was great. I finally got to meet my brother in law and his wife's younger son who turns two in August. He's an absolute doll. He has Down's Syndrome so he's a little behind on the development timeline but he's crawling around really fast and making lots of noises. And he has a totally infectious smile that lights up the room.

On a less than adorable note, apparently a call girl posted my cell phone number as her contact information on the web somewhere because I got five phone calls and two texts in the space of an hour. She must have eventually figured out there was a problem because the calls and texts stopped as suddenly as they started. Looks like someone was trying to earn some quick cash for the weekend. And evidently I'm in the wrong profession because that's the most my phone has ever rang for business, even if it wasn't my business.

Vacation - Day 8

2011-07-08T19:59:00.003-07:00

The day after the musical we hit Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora. The park is home to wild horses and bison.

A stallion with one of his colts (the mare is behind).

This bison seemed totally unconcerned that he was a star. Telephoto lens of course, I'm not completely stupid.

Three generations: my father in law, Master J and Mister C.

Probably my favorite photo of the whole trip.

Medora Musical

2011-07-08T19:19:00.007-07:00

So yesterday, after going visiting Devils Tower in the morning, we drove all the way to Medora, North Dakota where we met up with Mister C's parents who drove out from Fargo. We had a fantastic dinner of steak grilled over a fire on pitchforks and all the sides you can imagine.

Then, we enjoyed the "Medora Musical" which has been going on for almost fifty years. It changes and gets updated every year so it's current but classic. I was really impressed, but Master J loved it. When the band played the first few notes of Patsy Cline's "Crazy" for the hostess to sing, he turned to me and said "That's Patsy Cline's song! I know this one!" And then he sat with the biggest smile while the hostess sang three Patsy songs. The very next number was "Sixteen Tons" and again, Master J turned and announced with a huge grin that he had that song too.

The special guest of the night was Sylvia Fletcher, a ventriloquist. And lucky us, she picked my father in law and the man sitting behind him to help her on stage. It was hysterical and kudos to my fil for being such a great sport. I wish I could have videotaped it but at least I got pictures!

My father in law is on the right (to Sylvia's left)

All set for the action...

Playing it up for the crowd.

He really was a great sport about being dragged up on stage unexpectedly!

Vacation - Day 7

2011-07-08T18:50:00.005-07:00

Devils Tower from a distance. I had my camera on automatic mode today and I have to say I'm not so impressed with my results. I guess I could have taken the time to use a digital darkroom to fix things up but that sort of seems like cheating.

A climber going up the side. I'm using the telephoto lens.

The same climber, only now I'm using my regular lens. You can see him about halfway up if you look really closely.

Family photo of the day

Vacation - Day 6

2011-07-07T07:19:00.003-07:00

We drove from Glacier National Park to Gillette Wyoming on day six. On the way we stopped at Little Bighorn Battlefield.

Here's part of the cemetery of the non-native Americans. There are headstones for both men and women, from long ago up until more recently.

The monument to the soldiers who died at the battle.

One of the headstones for one of the native Americans that died during the battle.

And some random horses running through the middle of some small town we passed through on our route today. Based on the lead rope still attached to the last horse in line I'm going to guess that these are a group of runaways as opposed to some really cool wild mustangs running loose on the prairie.

Vacation - Day 5

2011-07-07T06:47:00.010-07:00

This day was mostly about wandering around Glacier National Park. We almost didn't go here because it's so far off the beaten path. I am so glad we did as it's some of the most beautiful country I've ever seen. The road that goes through the park (Ride To The Sun Rd) was closed for repairs in the middle so we had to drive back around to get from one side to the other but what we got to see was just gorgeous. The best part was that because it's so out of the way (and there really isn't too much commercialism yet) there were far fewer people there than places like Yellowstone. And everywhere you look are views like this one...

An unplanned hike of almost a mile through grizzly country resulted in this. Totally worth it.

Hiking out from a different waterfall that we stopped at.

Mister C and Master J contemplating the amazing power of water.

Ground squirrel checking us out.

Family photo of the day.

Vacation - Day 4

2011-07-06T21:15:00.002-07:00

Montana. It's a very long way between point "A" and point "anywhere else".

I'm pretty sure there are more cattle than cars but all the people were super nice.

Glacier Park Lodge where we stayed, built around 1912-1915.

I think some of the employees in the dining room may be under the impression that time is standing still because they were slow as hell. Seriously slow. Like, arrive for breakfast and end up eating scrambled eggs for lunch type slow. Sheesh, for a bunch of university students they sure as heck didn't have a whole lot of pep in their step. And I believe they may possibly have been having a contest to see who could drop the most silverware as at least three servers did so during our two meals there. I believe Lauren won hands down when she managed to drop an entire trail over a ten foot area, starting at our table, complete with melon balls rolling under the nearby tables. Way to go Lauren!

Also, our hotel had the world's smallest sink. If you weren't careful you could whack your head on the shelf while brushing your teeth.

*Although these photos are from day four of our vacation, we didn't have internet access until the end of day six. Sorry for the delay.

Vacation - Day 3

2011-07-03T20:12:00.003-07:00

Happy 4th of July!

What would a vacation to the west be without a visit to Old Faithful? Which, by the way, is not very faithful. We saw it erupting as we were driving towards the area and when we got there we ended up waiting for over an hour and a half for it to erupt again. So much for every twenty minutes like clockwork like we were told as children. Having said that, we spent the time fairly pleasantly talking with a couple from New Hampshire that had arrived just before us.

And what would a visit to Old Faithful be without seeing a cat being walked on a leash? Evidently not all cats turn into furry lumps when attached to a leash. Looks like The Antagonizer may be getting a retest when we get home...

Emerald pool.

Really cool looking patterns etched into the land by the thermal pools high content of iron.

A bison that had just gotten done rolling in the dust of an uprooted tree. He was not nearly so impressed with us as we were with him. He actually watched us drive around while I tried to get some decent pictures.

Yeah, thank goodness for telephoto lenses!

Early in the day, looking pretty decent.

Towards the end of our day, after I had mis-stepped while climbing down to the river and almost killed myself trying to save my camera. The end result was a small scuff on the base of the camera (not the body of the camera, just the thing that attaches it to the tripod), one scraped up arm and one very large bruise on my backside.

One more family photo for the album.

Vacation - Day 2

2011-07-03T19:17:00.009-07:00

This post was supposed to get uploaded yesterday but since we had not internet service I had to wait until today. Sorry about the delay!

Mister C at Rick's Spring, Master J is somewhere behind him exploring a small cave.

The water has been higher than normal due to snow melt this year. This is the footbridge at Rick's Spring which is unusable. Side note, the water was also running over the open path and it was freezing!

Somewhere in Wyoming, lots and lots of views like this one.

Grand Tetons

We saw this guy running along the side of the road as we drove into Yellowstone Park. My first thought was that it was a wolf, mostly due to the sheer size of it. It's hard to tell from the photo because I was taking the picture from the passenger seat across Mister C while we were driving, but this is about the size of a large dog (like German Shepherd size). But the muzzle bothers me because it looks more like a coyote. So, either a real wolf or a coyote on steroids, either way pretty cool.

Again, not really sure where this is but it's somewhere in Wyoming.

Vacation - Day 1

2011-07-01T17:59:00.011-07:00

We headed out at 5:20 this morning and started north for the first day of our driving vacation.

Here's Master J looking bright and perky (much more so than the rest of us I might add.)

He didn't know I'm was taking the picture or he would have acted goofy.

Vermillion cliffs.

Burned tree on the side of the road. The wildfires have done a lot of damage the past few years but the amount of regrowth is really amazing.

The Colorado river, taken from the original, 1929 Navajo bridge.

The new Navojo bridge is on the left, the original one is the right. These two bridges are one of only seven land crossings of the Colorado for 750 miles.

Mister C with Master J on the Navajo bridge (you can't get out of your car on the new bridge.)

The bunch of us looking a little rough after the first six hours in the car. Only five more hours of driving after this picture was taken...

No, he is not actually sorry

2011-06-23T09:02:00.005-07:00

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T21:22:00.005-07:00

To Papa...

Mister C...

Music Man...

And all the other dads out there. Hope you all had a great weekend.

The Journey Continues

2011-06-08T05:43:00.003-07:00

Last September I joined Weight Watchers because I had plateaued in losing weight on my own after only losing five pounds. From the time I joined to when I stopped going in May I lost an additional six pounds.

To be fair, that's after losing eighteen pounds and then gaining back twelve over the past few months. Those eighteen came off fairly painlessly in the first four months. But then they changed the way they do things. Now, I'm not going to bash Weight Watchers or their system because I think they are really a very good program that works for a lot of people. Besides, I loved our group leader. Seriously, there should have been a two drink minimum to go see her perform every week, she's just that entertaining. But, somewhere between the Points System and the Points Plus plan, I got lost. Either it got too complicated for my little brain to handle or I'm just so stubborn that I can't ever change direction (Mister C, you just shush!) It doesn't matter the why, it just matters that I could no longer successfully work the program.

So after gaining back almost all of what I had lost, I decided to try something else. Two weeks ago, I started keeping track of what I ate every day. Nothing fancy, nothing revolutionary, just keep track of it on a spreadsheet of sorts on my Mac. After doing that for a week, I looked over the results and said "hmmm, no wonder I'm fat." Big surprise that my caloric intact was higher than I expected and not conducive to weight loss.

After figuring this out I did a little research to try and pinpoint what my caloric intact should be on any given day. And then I tried to stick to that amount, within reason. That was really the only rule I had for this past week. I didn't make any foods off limits. If I wanted to eat something, I just had to fit whatever I was eating into my daily calories. I've even eaten french fries and a milkshake. Additionally, I wanted to have some exercise during the week. I didn't set out to run a marathon or climb a mountain, just to add in some form of exercise a few times a week.

Sounds pretty simple, no? I was really hoping that by doing these few things I would be able t lose two pounds in the week. I would have even taken a one pound loss since I knew I was really doing the bare minimum of what I needed to do. Well, I didn't lose two pounds, or even one. I lost four and a half. Guess I'll do it for one more week.

My Adorable Nephew

2011-06-04T21:30:00.001-07:00

My sister sent me this picture earlier today and I just couldn't resist posting it. Just look at that adorable grin!

Well hell, that's all I needed.

2011-06-02T20:44:00.004-07:00

Master J just wrapped up today with the first two weeks of summer swimming. I enrolled him in the appropriate swimming level for one class and then added in a beginning dive class. He was pretty excited about the diving class. He wanted to do it two years ago but we could never seem to get him signed up on time and the classes filled up quickly. Last year I was a bad parent and didn't sign him up for anything fun at all. But this year, he got into two classes so I think I redeemed myself.

Master J did pretty good in the swimming class, he enjoyed being in the water the whole time and he stayed mostly on task. I only had to get after him once to remind him to stay focused.

The diving class was a bit more chaotic only because there's more down time. You dive, you swim to the side to get out, you walk (not run!) to the boards. And then you wait your turn. When there are ten kids, two diving boards and one instructor, there's always a short wait after every dive. He mostly handled it well, but he did tend to get a little loud most days. His instructor was awesome with the kids though. He was very level and low key, never overly excited like the swim coaches tend to be. He always had their attention and if he gave them a direction they pretty much stopped whatever they were doing and followed his direction. This doesn't mean they managed to execute perfect dives but they at least tried to do what he asked. For instance this is Master J doing a modified version of a pike. He's the storky looking one on the far board.

Did you notice how he flew through the air with practically no grace whatsoever? Awesome. I'm so proud.

Anyway, after signing Master J up for the dive class but before the class actually started, I let Mister C know what I had signed him up for. Mister C swam competitively all the way through high school so I figured he'd be on board. Apparently not.

Mister C was somewhat horrified at the thought of his child diving. Not so much the diving itself part exactly, mostly the whacking of heads. The whacking of heads that he insisted happened on a regular basis. From the sounds of things, Mister C was under the impression that head whacking is part of the program over in dive. A prerequisite to advancing so to speak. He was taken aback when I pointed out that lots of people dive without killing themselves saying that everyone he knew that was seriously into diving hit the board at some point. He didn't want to see his son paralyzed or killed. He also mentioned that most of the divers he knew were "psychos" and that they needed a personality like that to want to dive competitively. Huh. Well shoot, and here all I wanted was to let the kid learn to do something other than a cannonball. I didn't realize I was signing him up for death diving 101. Who knew?

But I went ahead and left him in the class because I think someone (no names shall be mentioned but it isn't me) might possibly be somewhat over protective and neurotic when it comes to their child. As a side note I might add that the parent who is worried about diving boards is also the very same parent who took their child on what they insisted was a short hike that actually turned out to be twelve miles long. When their child was eight years old. Ahem.

But I thought I would make sure Master J understood that diving could be dangerous and he could get badly hurt if he fooled around just in case. So, like a good parent, I went in search of video footage of dives gone wrong. Do you know that there are a ton of those out there? I decided not to go scrounging through all of the tons of amateur videos of idiot male teenagers busting their heads open. I decided to find the one video that would make the point, Greg Louganis at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. I figured that if I could show him that even one of the best (if not arguably The Best) divers in the world could screw up and get hurt, then he (Master J) should certainly take things seriously. And I would say it worked. Master J did get loud in class, but he did not fool around on the board. He did not try to do any fancy maneuvers or dramatics. He mostly did his dives. And he didn't get hurt.

Today was the last day of dive class for this session. The kids worked on everything they'd learned in the last two weeks. Their instructor had them do their pencil dives, head first dives, tucks, pikes and back dives off the board. It went flawlessly. At the very end of class, he allowed each of them to do one dive of their choosing. Most of the boys did cannonballs, as expected. Most of the girls did a head first dive, trying to make it look good. But one little girl decided to do a fancy inward dive. And whacked her face.

Now before you panic, she's fine. She had a fat lip and a cut on her chin and she may or may not have lost a tooth. She's not paralyzed, she doesn't have a traumatic brain injury and she was walking around after being checked out by the paramedics. But she whacked her damn head, just like Mister C predicted. And now he has "proof" to back his theory. Damn it.

Memorial Day

2011-05-30T20:41:00.003-07:00

This post is a little late in the day, obviously. We were out of town until late this afternoon and then I got busy. But now that I'm sitting down, having had a wonderful meal and enjoyed a cold beverage while hanging out on my patio, I would like to say "Thanks" to all those who have paid the ultimate price for the freedom to do so. Thank you as well to all those who are willing to pay that price.

Just another Saturday Night

2011-05-22T20:24:00.003-07:00

For once it wasn't me, I wasn't even in the same room at the time. Well I guess technically our family room is open to the kitchen, so it could be construed as one room. But I was on the couch and it happened in the kitchen. And I wasn't involved in the incident.

So let's back up a month or so to when Mister C most recently hiked into then out of the Grand Canyon with friends over a five day period. He does that periodically, usually with no major issues. This time when he came out, he had the two black toenails. I know, gross, I'm with you. Believe me, for someone with a "foot issue" like me, it was ten times beyond gross edging into horrifying territory. But I digress. For whatever reason the toenails on his big toes were damaged and looked pretty bad. We thought for sure they were going to fall off at some point but they never did. They just hung in there looking gross and making me gag whenever I accidentally glanced at them.

Fast forward to last night. Mister C had been kind enough to pick up Chipotle on his way home from shopping and we were all getting ready to watch the latest Harry Potter together. Master J and I were in the family room starting to enjoy our meals and Mister C was poking around in the kitchen. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him open the fridge door. Suddenly there was the sound of something hitting the shelf in the fridge and a loud yell, followed by a weird "THUD!" sound. Mister C started saying something about something hitting his toe and what a mess. I jumped up to see what the heck was going on because from where I was sitting, the recliner was blocking most my view. As I came around the recliner I saw a bottle of O'Doul's laying on it's side on the tile pouring out near-beer. Mister C was still standing in the open door to the fridge, holding his foot up and looking horrified. And when I looked up, I saw beer coming off my ceiling, running down the upper cabinets, hitting the counter top, running down the lower cabinets and pooling on the floor. It was also splattered all over my fridge, my cell phone and my camera case. Thank goodness the camera itself was protected. By the time I had taken all of this in, Mister C had hopped over to the nearest seat and was holding a wad of paper towels to his toe. The paper towels were very bloody and there was blood on the floor. What the hell?

Eventually we sorted out that Mister C had somehow lost his grip on his O'Doul's, which had bounced down the shelves in the fridge and headed for the tile. In his one moment of trying to save the situation, he attempted to stop the descent of the bottle with his foot. The bottle had hit his toe with enough force to pop the already wounded toenail almost completely off (GAG! BLECH! HACK!) It had then proceeded to hit the floor anyway which was the loud thud I had heard. The force of hitting the floor on the bottom of the bottle after being shaken up on the way down had built up enough pressure in the bottle to dislodge the twist top lid off and shoot the contents up onto my ceiling before the bottle shot to the side, spewing liquid everywhere as it rolled to a stop near the dining room.

Figuring there's no point in crying over spilled near-beer and bloody toes, I started cleaning up the beer. Starting at the ceiling and working my way down, I got it all cleaned up in about twenty minutes while Mister C continued trying to staunch the bleeding of his wounded toe. Once the mess was cleaned up, I patched up his toe the best I could. The toenail was still held on by enough at the base that it still wouldn't be coming off, but obviously we couldn't leave his toe exposed to the elements and needed to stop the bleeding. Also, I don't think I could stomach seeing it in that condition. So I got it wrapped up and we moved on with our evening.

So what have we learned here? For starters, O'Doul's bottles are amazingly resilient. Honestly I would have totally expected any glass bottle falling off the top shelf of the fridge to shatter when it hit the floor. I'm impressed that it didn't break and it sure made cleaning up a whole lot easier. Secondly, it's amazing how far reaching the liquid in a dropped bottle can spatter. Seriously, amazing. Third, dogs like the taste of beer (which I knew) as do some cats (which I did not know.) Fourth, the lid that got shot off will not be found near the fridge where everything started nor near the final resting place of the bottle but somewhere totally unexpected. And lastly, if you think feet and toes in general are kind of gross, just know that they do not improve when the toenails are standing almost straight up and blood is pouring out.

Bowling

2011-05-14T19:05:00.005-07:00

Today was "Mother and Son Bowling" for Master J's school. Master J has never bowled before. At one time, for several years, I was on two leagues and had a 120 average.

This video is from the fourth frame of the first game. Yes, there are bumpers and he is using them.

What he says at the end (after the "Oh yeah! Oh yeah!") is "That's the third spare in a row!" It actually wasn't. It was the third spare in the first four frames though.

I ended the first game with a respectable 108. Master J ended it with a ridiculous 131. Showoff.

First Bath

2011-05-05T13:44:00.003-07:00

Mom & Dad watching Mamoo giving Ashton his first bath and taking notes.

Head washing before the big plunge.

Oh, the horror!

Soothing the little guy after his bath.

My great nephew

2011-05-05T12:50:00.003-07:00

Mamoo & I are up in Massachusetts visiting my niece and her new son, my great nephew. It's been really overcast since we've been here so getting decent pictures without a flash has been a tad difficult (and I don't want to use the flash on a newborn so...)

Anwyay, here's the little guy with my niece and his dad.

And here he is, hanging out on Mamoo.

Hugs & Hope

2011-04-28T10:06:00.003-07:00

Sending thoughts & prayers towards the southeast, especially hard hit Alabama.

Game show time

2011-04-14T17:02:00.005-07:00

Alex: Well here we are on the set of Jeopardy and we are ready to start. Mirth, since you lost the last round, we'll let you start this one. Choose a category.

Mirth: Thanks Alex! You don't know how excited I am to be here. I think I'll start off with "Seriously? WTH?" for $100.

Alex: Okay Mirth, here you go...These people tend to cover the entire back side of their vehicles with religious stickers, especially ones saying things like "WWJD?" and "Do unto others"

Mirth: Who are the people most likely to cut me off in the line at school pickup?

Alex: That's right! Mirth, choose again.

Mirth: I'd like "Seriously? WTH?" for $250.

Alex: This large bank has a particularly bad habit of changing their minds at the last moment, causing heartbreak and headache for people trying to buy a home.

Mirth: Who is Bank of America?

Alex: Right again! Go ahead Mirth.

Mirth: I'm going to stick with what's working Alex. I'm going to go with "Seriously? WTH?" for $500.

Alex: Sounds good! Here's the clue...This is the only spot in the yard that has been painstakingly planted with beautiful flowers.

Mirth: Where is my dog most likely to dig?

Alex: Awesome! You're on a roll! Next category!

Mirth: Well, again, I'm just going to stick with what I know Alex. So, "Seriously? WTH?" for $1000 please.

Lots of bells and whistles go off.

Alex: Looks like you've hit the daily double! And this one is a picture...

Mirth (looking closely): Hmmm...what did my dog eat last night and then throw up at 5:30 this morning?

Alex: Great job Mirth! You got it! Looks like we've got a sweep this round. Stay close, we'll be right back with even more great categories!
(turning to Mirth) Is your dog really so dumb that she ate a bunch of rocks?

Mirth: Yeah Alex, she really is that dumb. Oh wait, was that supposed to be in the form of a question?

Miss Lee

2011-03-30T22:58:00.000-07:00

Day of the Spanish Horse

2011-03-26T19:48:00.005-07:00

I had the opportunity to attend this annual event at Estrella Mountain Regional Park out in Goodyear this morning. I thought it might be a cool place to take some photos and I wasn't disappointed.

A four year old Paso Fino, Lucero de Pretencioso, owned by KK Dubois of Rancho de Esperanzo, and trained by Steven Lopez.

Paso Fino Pretencioso de la Virginia, sire of the good looking guy above.

Another Paso Fino (I think)

I am woefully bad at identifying the different Spanish breeds but this could be a Lusitano.

These three flamenco dancers were kind enough to pose for me on their break.

Pretty sure this is the Andalusian, Espartano MF, of Flat Baroque Farms in Skull Valley, AZ.

Saw this little buckaroo as we were getting ready to leave.

And no festival would be complete without an adorable chihuahua...

Random Strangers

2011-03-23T21:27:00.000-07:00

White shirts

2011-03-22T15:15:00.004-07:00

I love white shirts. Especially new, white tee-shirts. I think a bright, white shirt is just the perfect complement to so many outfits. It looks clean. It looks summery. Throw on a black blazer and heels and I can go out pretty much anywhere. It's a classic look worn by men such as James Dean and by Travolta portraying Danny Zuko in Grease. Even the glamorous Marilyn Monroe was photographed wearing jeans and a white shirt. So it's a good look and I like it.

For as much as I love white shirts though, I cannot keep them clean. I probably have ten white shirts hanging in my closet that are no longer perfectly white. I end up saving them to use for gardening and painting because they're usually too new to even think about tossing out. I have even taken to buying them two or three at a time when I find them on sale at places like Old Navy and Target.

The main thing that seems to happen to my pristine white shirts is that I have issues with food. I don't know if I'm an excessively messy eater or if I just have really bad luck, but I cannot keep food off my white shirts. And because I'm not a member of the "A Team", everything that falls tends to land in a prominent and obvious location. Which, I have to say, probably cuts down on the leering substantially. Because most men don't seem to have a desire to continue staring once they've noted the dribbled food and summarily classified me as "special".

Lately, I've really been trying to keep my white shirts clean through various means. I have gone so far as to start tying a dish towel around my neck when I eat. This works fairly well most of the time, but obviously only when I'm at home. I try to portray myself in a little more mature light when I eat out in public. Not that you'd know that just by looking at me. When in public, I try to be more conscious of getting my food all the way to my mouth. Which is somewhat effective but falls short when I'm launching into some intricate story line that requires gesticulation to add pizazz.

Anyway, while at dinner with A on Sunday I managed to ruin my second to last new white shirt by dribbling ranch dressing down it. One would think that white on white wouldn't stain. Unfortunately ranch dressing is primarily fat (mmmmm, fat!) and it left a lovely oil spot on the shirt. So now I'm down to one nice white shirt. Which I wore today while out and about with Mamoo looking at houses. We stopped for lunch at Coco's and I ordered the french toast and coffee. I am very proud to say that I did not spill one drop of my food on my shirt.

As we were driving away from lunch however, I looked down and noticed a bluish/purple spot on my pristine shirt. You guys, it was the blueberry topping from my mother's pancakes. Are you kidding me? I don't even want to know how in the hell I got her food on my right breast. I got nothing. I am just at a complete loss for a reasonable explanation for this. Guess I'll stop by Old Navy and see if white tee-shirts are on sale tomorrow.

Zumba!

2011-03-15T07:55:00.003-07:00

Should really be referred to as "My hips don't do that."

At the prompting of my charmingly deceitful younger sister, Miss Lee, under the guise of "It'll be FUN! and it's only five dollars!", we went to a zumba class last night. If you don't know what zumba is, go to the internet and look up Shakira. See that hip shaking madness going on? Those impossibly sexy looking maneuvers that she's doing with a smile on her face? Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what it's supposed to look like. When I'm doing it? Not so much.

So, thankfully, the two of us made up half the class. You know, less people to see the awkwardness that is me trying to dance. There's a reason I don't dance. I have the grace and agility of a newborn calf. My legs don't go where they're supposed to and there's a lot of wobbling going on. And that's just the warm up.

Now luckily for us, our leader Daphne let us know ahead of time that she would "slow things down" for us. Because we're new and all. Thank goodness for that as I cannot even imagine if things were up to speed. She showed us a few of the basic moves prior to starting and several times throughout. It certainly seemed doable.

And so we began. And the difference between watching her walk through the steps and making a stab at doing them up to dance speed was incredibly large. I stumbled along slightly behind, desperately watching Daphne's feet for some inkling of what direction I should be headed next. I was mostly moving in the same general direction as the rest of the class, just a whole lot less gracefully. But it gets better. Because now that the feet are moving, we need to add arm movement. Lord help me, I cannot do two things at once and it has to be painfully obvious to those around me.

So there I am, tripping over my feet and flailing my arms wildly about when Daphne adds clapping and intermittent jumping to the mix. Seriously? Clapping? And jumping? Because I'm not amusing enough to watch as it is? Oh wait, is she swiveling her hips while turning in a circle? And now she's facing me because I cannot seem to swivel and turn fast enough to be pointing in the right direction. At that point, since I couldn't see what the hell she was even doing, I just start making it up as I go. Hey, look at me go! I can (sort of) gyrate and swing my hips about! Woo hoo! Okay, hang on, I think I'm the only one still facing this direction. Whoops! And now Miss Lee is bearing down on me because we're supposed to be grape-vine-ing to the right.

Approximately fifty five minutes later we got to the cool down song. I had stumbled, lagged, dragged, gyrated, flailed and tripped my way through most of the class, clapping off beat and jumping up when others were squatting. But I made it. I had sat out one song when it occurred to me that I was seeing stars and had a very real possibility of passing out because I am so woefully out of shape. I was out of breath, sweating like a pig and my legs were shaking. Driving a stick shift home made me glad it was mostly highway since I didn't really have to push the clutch very often.

This morning, my thighs and butt hurt like hell. That is not a feeling I cherish. But there's another class on Wednesday and I'll be in it.

Papa in his shop

2011-03-10T22:10:00.001-07:00

The Motion Project

2011-03-04T14:39:00.003-07:00

Remember how I was struggling to capture motion in photography and needed an assistant? Well, I got an assistant. I'm not really sure how wise of a decision that was. While ultimately I did manage to capture a few halfway decent shots, the process of getting there was rather painful (in a laughing my a$$ off painful way). That's because I had Mamoo be my assistant. Let's just say her performance was "spotty" because her aim was atrocious.

If you remember the original project idea, I was dropping a strawberry into a glass of water. Well, I went out and bought a rectangular glass vase to use instead since I thought it would have less reflection. Which it did. It was also much larger than the glass so I could have more water and more splash. Which it did. So then I thought to myself, what else can I add? Oh I know, Captain Rex! In case you weren't aware, Captain Rex is my blue betta that normally swims around in a little tank on my kitchen counter. So I scooped up Captain Rex and tossed him in my new vase to test the theory.

Now, people might assume that all fish are alike and will all react the same way to the same stimuli, but that would be an incorrect assumption. Some fish are more freaked out than others. I would never put what I knew was an easily freaked fish into the vase. For instance, I would never under any circumstances put Commander Cody in that vase. He scares himself on a daily basis when he catches his own refleciton in the shiny side of the heater. He's terrified of The Antagonizer. But Captain Rex isn't like that.

Captain Rex is a pretty low key guy, not easily startled. For example, when The Antagonizer plants her fat backside next to his tank and tries to catch him, he doesn't really react. He doesn't run away from the "paws of doom" or even flinch. So I thought he would be a good candidate for my experiment.

So there's Captain Rex, checking out his new digs and looking at out at me. Who knows what he's thinking, he is a fish after all. I don't know, maybe he thinks he's on a field trip and he's waiting for what we're going to do next. Anyway, since my camera was already completely set up and ready to go I grabbed my huge strawberry and get ready for Operation Strawberry Betta. With my finger on the button, I drop the strawberry and push the button as soon as the strawberry enters the frame. Captain Rex flings himself against the farthest wall of the tank in horror. I feel kind of bad about that but as soon as the strawberry starts to ascend back up, Captain Rex swims right over to it and checks it out. So I think "Oh he's fine, he just got a little worried but now he knows it's okay."

Apparently fish have no memory. Because I repeated my experiment a half a dozen times and each and every time got the same result:

Captain Rex swims peacefully around.
Drop strawberry.
"INCOMING!!!!!!!!! Holy shit! What was that?!?!?"
Strawberry starts ascending.
Captain Rex swims right up to it.
"Oh cool! Fruit! I like fruit!"
Remove strawberry from water.
Captain Rex swims peacefully around.

After the half dozen attempts, I figured Captain Rex never was going to figure it out and thought I should quit torturing him. I put him back into his real tank, none the worse for wear, and went about trying to find some other motion to capture.

This was as good as it got.

This will help our image issues here in Arizona

2011-03-03T09:25:00.003-07:00

Sheesh.

Baja Arizona

Because what we really need right now is to divide ourselves into two separate states to help bring us all together.

Well okay, I'm game, but Baja Arizona has to keep (and support) all the illegal immigrants. You are welcome to keep the AHCCCS completely funded as well (although I'm not sure where you're going to get the money to keep it going.) It's not that I think people don't need health care, because they do, but when you're going broke you need to cut back wherever you can. You folks in Baja Arizona probably need to get ready for a property tax rate hike to help pay for all of that.

Arizona proper will gladly take the legal immigrants who want to become a part of American society. We'll keep our legal right to carry arms. And our low property taxes as well.

Also, could you guys take Scott Bundgaard? That would be awesome.

Thank you note from Master J

2011-02-28T21:37:00.005-07:00

I ran across this thank you note in Master J's backpack recently. It was some sort of assignment they had on letter writing. It's translated below due to the fact that while Master J's intelligence is high, his handwriting is atrocious.

Translation:

Dear Mom,

Thank you very much for the electric guitar. I was so excited I couldn't express myself. Now I can play Star Wars. I love the guitar. It was the best gift ever! It was even better than legos! It must have cost a lot of $$$ (money). I hope you are not broke. What was your favorite gift?

Love,

Master J

San Xavier del Bac

2011-02-26T23:14:00.003-07:00

Mister C and I went to Tucson on Thursday to hear a lecture by a photographer. The lecture wasn't until five thirty but we headed down early so I could visit San Xavier del Bac, which I absolutely love. It's so beautiful and so very out of place. You come around a bend in the *rode and it just rises up out of the desert. This gorgeous, blindingly white mission contrasting sharply with the mostly brown background.

It's really hard to get a decent photo of the place though because of the tourists. When we went a few years ago, we made the mistake of going on a weekend and there were thousands of tourists milling aimlessly around. This time, since it was a Thursday afternoon, there were probably less than a hundred. But it was still amazingly difficult to get a decent photo because even though the total numbers were down substantially, the number of idiots didn't seem to be reduced much.

I don't mean to judge (or maybe I do), but the fact is that NOBODY needs to make a cell phone call while standing smack dab in the middle of the front gate to the place. Nobody. Especially not four hundred pound bald guys with mismatched outfits and heavy facial hair. And especially not for an extended period of time. I mean come on, it's obvious that other tourists are trying to take a picture of the place in it's entirety. Which means that we'd like to get the whole path leading through the pillars with the gorgeous heavy wooden doors to the chapel beyond. No, really, we would. We're not actually all standing here with our cameras pointed in your direction because we want you in our pictures. I finally gave up and went to take the rest of the pictures I wanted and then managed to get a few on our way out. Even then though, it was like playing a game of cat and mouse trying to avoid having a tourist show up through one of the portholes just as I was pushing the button.

But, idiots aside, it's really such a beautiful, peaceful place and they've done a fantastic job on the renovations so far. When my friend Brandy eventually comes down here we're going to head on down to Tucson so she can take pictures as well. I've already given her the heads up that I want to try and get there right about when they open, which is seven in the morning. Which means that we'll have to leave our house by about five am. It won't be pretty, but it's doable.

So anyway, here are a few shots that I managed to take that didn't have tourists milling around in them. Well, that's not entirely true. I'm pretty sure there's a tourist in the fifth portal from the left but he/she is wearing a brown or black top so they aren't standing out.

*I'm leaving this in as written because it made me laugh out loud when my mother pointed it out to me. Guess I shouldn't type up posts past my bedtime! I do actually know the difference between "rode" and "road", just not late at night apparently. Thanks for the heads up Mamoo!

Like we need more negative press...

2011-02-25T09:45:00.003-07:00

Evidently the Associated Press printed an article wherein they stated that "70% of the homes in Phoenix are at risk of foreclosure." I'm sure there were lots of exclamation points to be had. They attributed this "fact" to ARMLS (the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service). Unfortunately for the original writers of this apparently now viral piece, this "fact" is totally untrue.

The writers pulled this information from a publication that ARMLS publishes monthly. The original statistic was that distressed properties accounted for 70.2% of sales, in January only.

So...

Of the 6,541 sales in January, 70.2% (or 4,591) of them were "distressed", which is to say either closed short sales or lender owned properties. While that's a huge number, it's certainly not the much more headline stealing "70% OF PHOENIX HOMES AT RISK OF FORECLOSURE!!!!!!" bullshit that the AP put out.

I don't have an exact count of how many houses there are in Phoenix since the Bureau of Census hasn't yet released Arizona numbers to give me at least an updated idea of population, but I'm fairly certain that with a last known population of over 4.5 million, there have to be at least a million homes. Based on that, if we take the 70% attributed by the AP, we're looking at about 700,000 homes at risk of foreclosure. Seriously? If they had taken the time to do that simple bit of guestimate math themselves, maybe they would have realized how totally out of whack the number was. Maybe.

I can't decide if the writers intentionally misinterpreted the numbers to sell more news or if they're really so stupid they can't read a statistic properly. Unfortunately I am inclined to think it's the latter.

I won't sugarcoat it and say it's all fantastic and things are back to normal around here because they aren't. There are still a large number of pending foreclosures out there (40,461 to be exact). But that's down from last month's number of 41,485. And it's dropped a full 20% from the high of 50,568 in November of 2009. It's been steadily declining for fourteen months. It is getting better, it's just taking a lot more time than we thought it would. And it isn't being helped by the number of people doing "strategic defaults" wherein they decide to walk away not because they have but because they want to. And that's a whole different post for another day.

Went to Cali this weekend

2011-02-21T22:51:00.003-07:00

Took a few pics...

And enjoyed the time with our friends immensely.

Why facial products should never change.

2011-02-08T17:47:00.005-07:00

I won't be offended if the few menfolk that read this disengage right about...now.

For as far back as I can remember, I've always had sensitive skin. I can't wear jewelery or watches (lucky Mister C!). I can't wear most makeup, although I won't go out in public without my lipstick. And I really have to watch what kind of moisturizer I use. So when my family was looking for ideas for Christmas, I sent them a link to the exact moisturizer I have used for years. And when I opened it up at Christmas, I was very happy.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I had finally opened the box up to start using my favorite moisturizer. When I pulled it out of the box I thought "Hmmmm, they changed the packaging." I wasn't too concerned as I know that most companies change their packaging periodically. So I started using it.

A few days later I noticed some minor breaking out. Considering that I had just started night class and my in-laws were still in town, I figured I might be a little stressed out and didn't worry too much about it. A few days after that, I noticed when I put my moisturizer on that it kind of felt like it was burning as I was applying it. I figured my skin must be really dry and again, didn't worry too much about it.

About five days ago I looked in the mirror in the morning and thought "Hmmm, what the hell? Why am I covered in acne?" It did not occur to me at the time that it was a reaction to anything since I hadn't used the moisturizer the night before. I didn't realize that a contact dermatitis can take up to 48 hours to appear.

But anyway, I thought I had acne so I went over to the pharmacy and picked up some Cetaphil and a cleanser with benzoyl peroxide in it and started using them that night. I alternated between the two products, using one at night and one in the morning. I did this for two days, hoping to see good results rapidly.

But guess what? When you have an allergic reaction to a product and then you add on a harsher product (the benzoyl peroxide) it makes the problem much, much worse. I mean REALLY worse. Like, scare small children worse. Let me put it this way, when I went back to the pharmacy today to pick up some cortisone cream and benadryl I took the cream up to the counter and the following conversation ensued...

Mirth: Hey, will this cortisone cream help with this reaction I'm having?
Young Man behind counter: What are you reacting to?
Mirth: A moisturizer.
Young Man: It should, but hang on and let me ask the pharmacist to make sure.
He then walks further behind the counter to where the pharmacist is.
Young Man: Hey, will this cream help this woman with an allergic reaction? She's reacting to a moisturizer she used.
Pharmacist: Yes, it should.
At the point, the pharmacist starts walking toward me while reading the box and looks up mid-sentence.
Pharmacist: Yes, this should work for your...OH! You really DO have a reaction don't you? Wow. (At this point, she has completely stopped in her tracks and is looking at my face.)
Mirth: Yes. Yes I do. So this will work?
Pharmacist (pausing while staring) Yeeeeesss, but you might want to take some Benadryl as well. Yes, I would take the Benadryl and use the lotion. But if that (oh my goodness, my face is a "that"?) doesn't get any better you need to go to a doctor. That must be so painful. Does it itch?
Mirth: Yep. It's driving me nuts.
Pharmacist: Wow (big pause). Yes, take the Benadryl for sure, that's going to make the most noticeable difference the quickest. But no driving because it can make you sleepy.
Mirth: Thanks. I'll just take my Quasimodo self over to the aisle where the Benadryl is.
Pharmacist: Yes, do. Good luck with that.

I think it's safe to say that it might be a tad noticeable. And also, kudos to the young man for looking me in the eye and not reacting at all to my swollen, red rashy face. And don't worry about me driving under the influence, I'll be trying to avoid going out in public for a few days until I stop scaring small children. It probably doesn't help that every time someone does a double take I want to throw my hand up and shout "Do not look upon me! I Am NOT an animal!" So far, I have resisted. But there's not guarantees for tomorrow.

Continuing with the motion project

2011-02-07T22:24:00.004-07:00

Trying to produce a shot of "motion" by dropping an object into a glass of water repeatedly and attempting to photograph it as it drops. I took several dozen shots on different shutter speeds and I'm still not happy with how it came out. I need an assistant to drop the strawberry so I can react better.

Boca Raton Radio Call In

2011-02-05T06:39:00.004-07:00

If this isn't a joke, I think we've found the problem...

Click here to listen to Jo

From what I can tell, this is from a radio call in show with Michael Savage and it was from last May or June. If it's real (and it wouldn't surprise me if it was), we have done one helluva pathetic job in educating the masses about how government works. I'm really hoping it's a joke because in that case, it's hilarious.

By Candlelight

2011-02-02T18:45:00.002-07:00

Here's something I didn't know about the camera I've had for almost two years, I can take shots using longer exposure times in low light. It only took me thirty five attempts to get one that wasn't blurry, underexposed or perfectly clear but with him looking goofy. Thirty five shots and finally one that doesn't displease me greatly. I gotta tell ya, I am really enjoying this class.

Plotting his revenge

2011-01-30T17:24:00.002-07:00

Let's just say he was less than impressed with me putting my camera in his face and disturbing his two o'clock nap. Not that he would have been any happier if I had disturbed his one o'clock or three o'clock nap, but the two o'clock one is his personal favorite.

Not what it seems

2011-01-29T18:41:00.005-07:00

If this were a scene from a movie, we might infer that something terrible had happened to the child character and that his loyal dog was running for rescue.

This is not a movie. Instead, this is business as usual around here.

My child has thrown himself to the ground after suffering some horrific wound in a pretend battle against sith overlords or some other such evil doer and his "loyal" dog is skipping away in search of rocks to eat. She honestly does not seem to notice when Master J collapses in a pile in random locations, it's just that common.

On the plus side, I think it's a pretty good example of showing motion in photography, which works out nicely as that's my current assignment in my class.

Old age and youth are so closely related

2011-01-26T21:59:00.003-07:00

So every Tuesday morning I drop off Master J at school and then head over to pick up my mom so we can go to our weekly meeting. Some days she's ready as soon as I show up and some days I wait inside for a few minutes while she finishes getting ready. This past Tuesday, she was set to go pretty much as soon as I got there so we headed out quickly. Apparently a little too quickly.

It's a pretty short drive over to the meeting and after finding a parking place we climbed out and started heading in. We had gotten about ten feet from the car when Mamoo stopped in her tracks and started laughing hysterically. I turned around to see what the heck was the hold up and she's pointing at her feet saying "I guess I worked with preschoolers for too long!" The woman had her shoes on the wrong feet. I am not even kidding.

Don't ever wonder where I get it from.