late

I know, I know…. Its been like a week since  a new post. I’ve been busy living life, instead of just writing about it. If I didn’t occasionally go out there and do stuff I wouldn’t have anything to write about anyway.

Summer has FINALLY come to Erie. Do you realize that Anchorage, AK has had a better spring than we have. I bet the people there already have foot tall basil, and tomatoes! Not me. My basil  are still little tiny sprouts, I’ll have some pics in my next post. I promise  🙂

Other than mucking in the garden, I have been entertaining (or is it being entertained by?) my 16 year-old cousin from Cali. Little J, who is about 3 feet taller than I, is a real peach. She kills me. she actually enjoys being a teenager.

So unlike someone else….. who hated being a teenager, and still believes that her life after 30 is WAYYYYYYYYYy better than before 30. I was a geeky, skinny kid who no one really paid attention to unless it for some nefarious purpose. Add in the daddy issues and the mom who acted like… well, like the kid… and you can feel my pain.

I did remember though that at 16 I ran away from home. Since I could not stay at my girlfriend’s houe, because my mother would have been able to locate me, I went to the college campus, and answered an add for a roomate. I moved in that afternoon, and snuck into my house when only my gradnmother was there to collect clothes and such. I lived there for about 2 months. Then moved in with Miss L.  Her home life was almost as screwy as mine, but her mom had her shit together. Creepy stepfather, but her mom, and her brother were cool.

So, you can see why being a teenager was not as much for me. I didn’t really come into my own until I was about 20. Then I was MUCH cuter, and got more attention (and NO, not always the right kind of attention, but isn’t that what you are looking for at 20?)

I never got into any real trouble as a teenager. I was always the one who was too scared to do anything bad… like drink…  and took care of everyone else when they were….. in fact, by the time I actually got my license, I had probably a thousand miles under my ass driving on the back roads of North East. I figured it would be better for me to get caught driving without a license, than to wind up meeting a tree head-on because the licensed driver was impaired.

You do realize that neither was a good idea. Why didn’t we just stay where we were? That was about the worst thing I did as a teenager. All the rest was pretty clean. But it was different then…

I think with all the technology, and the circus that we call the media… add in the changing tolerance of sex, drugs and rock-n-roll on TV and movies…. I think it would be WAY tougher to be a kid now than it was when I was a teen.

Little J, seems so grown up for not-quite-16. So mature. Its hard to remember that she is still a kid…. and that being a teenager, is tough… the hormones, the distorted body image… (does that ever go away?) the insecurity… the wanting to fit in….

No way would I go back! Ever. Like I said, after 30 has been SOOOOOOOO much better than before 30.

But it is fun to spend time with a teenager who does seem to like being a teenager. And it doesn’t hurt that boys/men stare at her 6-foot-tall, stunning,  beautiful self everywhere we go. Including stoplights…. and she tried to say they are looking at me.

HA! That’s a gas….

no honey, the 21 year old is not looking at me, in my Volvo station wagon. They are looking at you!

I hope she enjoys this time, and that I wish her to have a wonderful time as a teen, and I hope it is SOOO much better than it was for me.

XOXO

weekend update

Whew! What a busy weekend…. I am So tired, I am not sure I can even muster the strength to write about it!

Hold on, I’ll get coffee, and muster.

there. That’s a bit better, although I am still daydreaming about a nap.

On Friday night, some friends from Canada came over to EYC by boat. It has become an annual ‘boys’ weekend. They come here for fun, cocktails, and usually a trip to the local club for wings and pizza. They arrived late on Friday night, and instead we watched the hockey game at EYC.

GOOOOOO PENS! YAY!

ok, I got that out of my system. It certainly was Hockey at its best! I don’t think there has been Hockey this exciting  since I was FIRST indoctrinated loong ago!

So, we cheered on the Pens, and Ed and I snuck out at about 11:30. But not before we were witness to much of the antics!

Now, all is secret on the ‘boys’ weekend… (just kidding) but I can share some highlights:

The esteemed doctor took an unplanned midnight dip. When he surfaced, and returned to dry land, he was missing his glasses, his cell phone and the all-important, on-call pager. The feisty firefighter (who is always a pot-stirrer~ more on that in a minute) and The Doctor’s Wife were in stitches about the whole thing. At least its good entertainment! Everyone was ok, which was good… and cleared the way for joshing him  🙂

As funny as it was for us, I am sure it was a BIG pain for him! (but that does not stop us from snickering)

I suppose everyone’s number comes up sooner or later…. I hope mine is later.

On Saturday we had drove  to Cleveland to retrieve my 16 year old cousin. (can I call her little if she is 6′ tall?) We took my (little) 8year old brother with us, and made a day of it. But not before The redheaded little one went toe-to-toe with the boat fulll of Canucks! That’s a tough room to hold your own, and he did a pretty good job. He gave the banter right back to them….

Must be in the genes!

Then in Cleveland we went to the Westside Market, (where the redhead was grossed out by cow’s tongue and pig brains…. can’t say I blame him!)   Then, a quick, and painless in-and-out at the airport, and we were off to Dave and Buster’s for food and fun.

I have NOT been there in years, and it is as much fun as I remember. Ed had never been, and he promptly learned to CRASH me in the Daytona game!  grrrrrrrrrrr

We arrived home about midnight, and I promptly CRASHED!

But not before I noticed that the slutty fish have been at it again. As of Saturday night, there are another  11 baby fish swimming happily in my already overcrowded 10 gallon tank.

What the hell? How are they all surviving? Not even swishy eats them. And he is supposed to be a fighting fish (Betta) …. some fierce fish he is turning out to be!

Sunday, I had a very late start, I did not even make it to see the boys off! I didn’t even muster until after noon!

I had brunch while I waited for Ed, then I worked a bit, then there was a boat ride (I took a bit of a nap)…

We visited the lighthouse party from 6:30-10 and a good time was had by all.

I got to talk about weddings with a good friend, hers, not mine  🙂 And wrapped up the night by ‘kidnapping’ a friend’s 2 daughters for a spin around the parking lot and some chatting on their boat.

By that time, I was crying for relief, so we came home and crashed. I am exhausted from the weekend.

Can’t wait to do it again!!!!

XOXOXOXO

Garden

So, this is my favorite part of my garden. I put a lot of tears into my hostas, and this spring, they have come in so beautifully.  Some people don’t like Hosta, and I just can’t understand why… they are certainly an under-appreciated plant! They come in thousands of varieties, colors, sizes… I for one, LOVE them.

Last summer, when I was getting ready for surgery, I was terrified that:

1. I would not wake up

2. I would wake up minus some underused female parts

3.  And/or I would wake up and be told I had a bad female disease.

I know too much, and I know that an ovarian cyst is never larger then 7cm. Mine measure 6.9 on the ultrasound. Almost ruling it out as being a benign cyst on size alone. I was so terrified that I   made a good friend PROMISE me a few things.

1. that she would make Edward find someone else, and not mope

2. that she would NOT let my replacement dig up my hostas.

I know, silly right? But, I don’t have a lot to prove I was here… my hostas are one thing I have done well. She thought I was crazy… and worried… which I was. I was fortunate that I had an amazing surgeon, and that he saved my girl parts (which I still hope to use)… and that monster cyst? It was just that, a BIG ASS ovarian cyst. The other was a teratoma, as suspected, and as they usually are, both were benign, and I am ok.

I feel lucky.

I was outside in the rain and admiring the hostas, thinking about that conversation with my friend and remembering how lucky I am.

I was also marveling at just how beautifully the hostas have come up this spring. So, I took a few pics to share:

see:

big boy hosta

I also took a few of the raspberries for you!

and one more of the rain on the hosta:

I hope you are enjoying your gardens as much as I am!

xoxoxo

I love technology

I love Facebook, and twitter… and pretty much all technology that connects us to people we lose touch with.

Unless its getting us in touch with the people we want to forget ever existed!

You know, the ex-boyfriend who keeps sending friend invites, and you keep ignoring them? Or the old c0-worker with the wart on her nose, who did nasty things in the shared bathroom everyday. We don’t want to keep in touch with those people.

But the other million people in my life that have flitted in and out, and I wonder how they are for years… THOSE people….

thats why I LOVE Facebook.

XOXOXOX

Monday blues

So, you would think that because I work at home, on my own schedule, that Mondays would not be such a BIG deal….

who knew?

I woke up this morning to a  feeling not unlike that idea that I did not do anything fun over the weekend… and that I wanted another day.

I tried to keep Ed home, but… to no avail. So i have had to take on the slackerness all by myslef.  Which I have tried to embrace…. but then the guilt creeps in…

I did go out this morning and plant some plants. Which is probably wasted time, effort and money. Between the 2 massive trees in my front yard is a dead-zone that does not allow anything to grow. I have tried many types of grass, shade plants…. even pachysandra. This year is another ground cover: Myrtle. We shall see.

So, I planted those, took a shower, and then had what Ed calls “a sinking spell” for about 90  minutes after lunch. I was in TV coma.

Then, I checked and answered email again, and then… back to the couch coma.

And what better way to continue that, than a quick blog post?

Have any of you ever felt this way?

indignities

My dog thinks he is British…. have I mentioned this before? He is of the ‘stiff upper lip’ kind of personality. He has definite issues with personal…. ummm…. hygiene routines?   Maybe I should warn that the following is  not for delicate readers. If you  are easily offended by words like “poop” or “ass”
you should probably stop here….

I can give many examples of why we compare Einstein to the Brits.
When getting a bath, he stands very still with a look of UTTER disgust on his little face. And he lets you know in a million little ways what an INDIGNITY it is for  him to be soaped up, and rinsed. He does NOT like to to poo in his own house or yard. When he has been ill, and needed to go, and has had accidents in the house, it was always in the basement (until he could not climb the stairs anymore…. you should have seen his face the morning he was in the basement, waiting for us to get out of bed to help him up the steps… poor thing). Now he goes in the kitchen, right by the back door.

But if left to his own devices, he would NEVER poo in his own vicinity… probably not within a half-mile of his house. He will hold it for Olympic time periods waiting for a trip to anywhere but here to do his business. It has long been a souces of jokes for all that know him.

But, he is aging. It is so sad to see this once rambunctious, incorrigible, active dog (that was almost called Nike or Houdidni intead) lose his independance.

He cant’ run much without falling down. He falls over often.. he doesn;t know where his back feet are most of the time, so he puts them in places where they should not go, and he topples over. His mind is willing, but his body just won’t cooperate. The other evening, we were all outside, and he had not lead on… at one time, a sure fire way to waste 2 hourse….. by ensuriing that you would be spending that time chasing him through the neighborhood. But he was out with us, and since he is so much slower now… it is quite easy to block his access to the driveway-and freedom.

But it did not stop him from trying….. and trying…. and trying. He won’t give up, I am thrilled to say. Maybe I’ll let him escape soon, just to make him happy……

As he ages, certain *indignities* that he has recently suffered have made me look for things to aid his stability. Because his back legs are weak, he has a hard time balancing to go #2. he has fallen while doing business at least twice…. backwards. Necessitating a cleaning of certain parts of his anatomy. THIS is probably the biggest insult that Einstein has ever endured. And he sulked for hours after. So I found this “bottoms up leash” through the Handicapped Pets website. It is a sort of harness for the back legs to give the dog stability for the back legs while walking and, well…

pooing.

So, it arrives, and I promptly strap him into the thing and off the three of us go on a tour of the neighborhood. Except the Brit doesn’t like it. He can’t stand the indignity of haviing his ass in a sling. We walk to the corner, and he decides that this is just too much for him to suffer, and he tried to turn around and go home. He keeps putting his ass on the ground… and glueing it there! We can’t get him to walk away from the house. Of course we are both laughing so hard we’re crying, which is not making the dog feel any better about it. This goes on for about 10 minutes. Me arguing with the dog, and then I have to argue with Edward as well.

he wants to cut the dog loose from it, he feels bad, says  Einstien does not like it, and we should just take it off. Never mind that the damn thing was expensive. Never miind that I discussed this with him, in detail, prior to buying it. Never mind that I uttered the words

“If I spend this money on this thing, you need to be on board with getting him used to wearing it. I don’t want to waste money buying it if you aren’t going to use it”

And yet…. surprise, he wants to cave in to the dog’s dislike as soon as he sees it….

-sigh-

Is this how the parenting thing works? will I have to be the bad guy?

I was the ‘bad guy’ here too… I made both of them walk, the whole walk, while Einstein worre the leash. It was half the walk before he would even pee. But soon, nature took over, and he had to do his business. By the end of the walk, he was tolerating it. I am sure the more he wears it, the better it will be….

The things we do for our pets…. and husbands.

Updates

I have been woefully lax in posting, as well as taking pictures lately. I have taken to carrying the camera with me at all times… but, I rarely use it for more than using the case to store my lipstick.  I have also been neglecting the garden, as well as the household chores….. I am simply uninspired to do *ANY* of these things.

I have been cooking up a storm though… healthy meals too. 🙂  (if you remember: more fiber, less oreos… my new diet)

Yesterday, I made black beans and rice with chicken fajitas for dinner. Healthy and filling. I was so proud of myself, I had a sundae for dessert. (I know… I know, but a girl needs some reward for her hard efforts! It was just a small one)

Before that, it was pecan crusted chicken, with green beans. I have been eating at home almost exclusively, and quite frankly, I am tired of the daily run to Wegmans.

Last summer, when I could not do too much because of the post-suergery pain, and the back pain together…. the daily Wegmans run was the highlight of my day. Once I was able to drive, I went each day in my sweats and rode the little cart…. I had a HUGE incision in my abdomen…. I could barely stand up straight enough to let the water hit anything but the back of my head in the shower, so the cart was a necessary. Soon, I graduated to leaning on the cart heavily… like a walker. (I got WAY too many dirty looks when riding the carts. Why is it that someone out of shape is ok, but *me* post abdominal surgery was a criminal for using it?)

so, the frequent trips to the grocery were a way to regain my independance, between naps.  🙂

Now, I am tiring of them… I am trying to squeeze 2 or 3 meals out of one trip.

The hard thing about that is this:

I don’t know what I want that many days in advance…  I simply cannot plan ahead for meals. When I try to… something happens, and I can’t do it.

I have the perfect example. I wanted to make Edward this “Tilapia with Mango Salsa” recipe from Allrecipes. (I thought I’d make a few scallops and a chicken for me). I found it over the weekend, and I planned it for Sunday night. But it was cold, and then rainy, so no grilling for us. So, I have all the stuff… but not the weather to make it work. Today, it is cold and gloomy… definitely not mango weather.  In fact, he asked for ‘winter food’ for dinner. Mangoes are not winter food. Unless you live in the South Pacific. Or the Caribbean. But not here in Erie.

So I am planning to braise some short ribs…. as long as they thaw within a decent amount of time to make them.

See what I mean? So, I plan ahead… and then we change our mind, and we have to go back to Wegmans to make the new dish.

-sigh-

This is going to be a tough habit to break!

On another note about Wegmans…. I have a new pet peeve….

cashiers that put my delicate foods in with the cans. JUST because I am using a reusable bag *does not*  mean that the usual bagging rules go out the window!!!!!!!!!!!

In the past 5 weeks, I have one broken bag from being CRAMMED full and weighed down. I have had bread, A Mango,  an avocado, Tomatoes, and fresh  Asparagus spears damaged because they were stuffed into a bag with food that was not meant to be together…. like CANS OF BLACK BEANS on top of my VERY RIPE avocado!

Come one people… did the rules of bagging go out the window when the reuseable bags come on the scene? I carry 6-7 bags with me, even when I suspect I will only need 1 or 2. I have extra. Use them. Don’t cram them into ONE bag and damage my groceries!

The mango was the end of the line for me. I sent an email to the corporate office, citing all of the above. Although I was much nicer.(see I can vent here!)

They called me yesterday, and wanted me to ‘rat’ on the cashier. Seeing as how she called me about 5 minutes after discovering the sliced tomato. I did tell on the 2 that had gotten me on Sunday and then on Monday.  (as for the tomato….. it was good thing I was having a BLT for lunch, the damaged tomato simply was eaten immediately… the avocado and the mango were not as lucky.)

They were very nice….. I did suggest that perhaps OTHER customers are requesting this…. maybe. I tried to be nice. I don’t want these two young ladies to not have jobs because of a bruised tomato afterall…. but it is quite annoying, when I have to purchase the same items more than once.

What do you think? Do you want your bags stuffed full? If you bring reuseable ones, do you want them stuffed so full they are heavy, and you only have to use one? Or, are you like me, and want the groceries packed the same way as usual, but in the reuseable bags?

I will try to post sooner! And have pics of *something* for you soon!

xoxoxoxo