Keep Smiling!

Work is getting hectic ... a lot to learn in a small amount of time before I'm set free on my own. I reckon it'll be like learning Greek, while in Greece. 2.5 more days of "training" ... and I'm still pulling teeth to get access to things I need (like .. ya know .. servers and stuff? ). Is ok, I can do anything.

In the doggie world, Agility classes were supposed to start yesterday but we dont have enough participants for a full class yet so we're postponing for a few weeks. I'm glad. *grin* Clayton obedience class starts up tonite. I'm gonna skip the seminar, since it's 2.5 hours which I could be doing something else, and I've already listened to it a dozen times. It IS fun to go to, to see who is going to be in the class, who has what kind of dogs with what sort of behavioral issues ... (seminar is for owners only).

My 4-leggers are all doing well, keeping me busy and happy. Every day I tell them that I'm thankful that they chose to be a part of my life.

It's absolutely DREADFUL about New Orleans, Biloxi, and the areas down South. d:( We have a coworker who lives in New Orleans, left in time and got his family out but his father refused to leave, got his family to safety and then his father decided he DID want to leave, so he turned around and went back for him ... was refused entry by authorities so wasnt able to retrieve his father ... got stuck in traffic headed east and spent the night in his car, in traffic, during the hurricane ... hasnt heard from his father ... and has lost everything he owned in New Orleans (his apartment is all under water).

I'm continuing to meet new people ... and have plans to do something this Saturday night with some. But that's another story .... *GRIN*

It's been such a freakin' ..... MONDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I woke up on time. No worries. Twinged something in my neck when trying to dry my hair after the shower, so that now I cant turn my head to the left without MUCH pain ... and the pain makes me dizzy and nauseous. Again, no worries ... it'll eventually go away.

But then things started getting warped. My brain apparently got twinged as well. I actually left the house with two different shoes on!! And two COMPLETELY different shoes. One tennis shoe, one slip-on-loafer type. I had slipped on the right-foot loafer, and was running around the house doing last minute stuff .... without a shoe on my left foot ... then sat down and tied the tennis shoe on my left foot. Luckily, I noticed as soon as I got out the door and down my front steps. I just let out a big sigh and said "Aw, now THAT'S not right!!"

*sigh* I blame "Monday".

This is more an amusement to myself ... and something I'm proud of ... not sure if anyone else will see the satisfaction in it.

I had a showdown with the "Alpha Bitch" of the dogs i'm pet-sitting for this morning. I let Kane (the Alpha male-Dog) out the front door for a walk (I take him for walks without a leash), and when I'd turned my back, Zelda the Alpha-'Bitch' grabbed his kong toy ... they get their breakfast stuffed in to kongs. Well, Kane's had a special pill hidden in his, so I couldnt let Zelda have it.

I turned back around to take it away from Zelda ... OOPS ... wrong answer, Zelda is apparently a very food aggressive dog. She snapped at me. I'm not used to food aggressive dogs, since mine arent (at least, not with me).

But I'm stubborn, and not afraid of dogs, so I snapped back. I wanted her to know that *I* was in charge, in this situation. (It was a matter of body language, too ... ) I just commanded her to "Drop" (dont know if she knows that command) and she wouldnt give up ... she kept snarling at me ... so I just stared her down and growled back until she submitted. I didnt make any attempt to touch her or take it from her ... I let HER make the choice to drop it, otherwise I WOULD have gotten bitten. I was so amused!! (If I had REALLY been in any danger, I would have left her to it ... no worries!) So she got lots of praise, and lots of treats for giving me the kong.

Kittykittykittykittykittykitty...

KITTENS!!!

It's Kittylicious!!!!!

I'm doing the 14 critter pet-sit again this weekend. This time, it's 5 dogs, 4 cats, and 5 kittens. Most of the kittens are about 10-12 weeks old ... they are all purr-monsters!!! All VERY sweet and playful, love to be rubbed on and cuddled ... if you sit down, two of them immediately climb in your lap ... they're starving for attention, being lost/left/rescued/abandoned/whatever their story is ...

And boy, when you leave and close the door to the 'kitten room' (AKA den) one of them sure tells you about it and complains ... he/she is as loud as my cat Cinder! I need to figure out who the 'talker' is, because it's hilarious to listen to ... that kitty is gonna be as vocal as Cinder when it grows up, and that's saying a lot!

So, when I first found out I was going to be coming back to work was right before my soon-to-be manager went on vacation ... to China. He wanted to make sure he was going to be here to help with the *cough* "transition" ... so that delayed my start date a little.

Oddly enough ... I think they've always known I was coming back. My former manager (one of the three that work together, I'm still in the same group, just technically under a different manager on a newly created team) has been entering .1 hours in the time-entry database each week since I left so the system wouldnt delete me. My IDs were still active and easy enough for me to ... um ... "access" (hack) ... and reset my passwords. My email account still existed and I had 300 emails waiting for me (alerts from a mail list I hadnt unsubscribed to).

So, there hasnt been a "transition". I got a "Welcome Back!", and was handed my former equipment, shown to my former desk, sat in my former chair, talked to my former coworkers ... except everyone is a lot friendlier. Everyone has been SO damned cheerful and happy to see me.

No... not everyone. I take that back. My former immediate teammates (all out of town, we only communicated online and on conference calls) havent really said 'boo!' to me .. but the local people have been thrilled to see me. No skin off my back, I could care less at this point. I'm still extremely HIGHLY amused.

There's some mysterious correlation between working, and having a life.

Ever since I found out I was coming back to work, all of the sudden *POOF!* I suddenly have a life. It's stunned me. I've had all of this time off, and nothing to do, noone to do things with ... and now opportunities are coming out of the woodwork.

Last weekend, I went over to my pet-sitter's house to hang out and meet her "kids" (she has 4 dogs and 2 cats). It was nice to receive the invitation ... she was eager to introduce me to her critters.

I went to a "PartyLite" candle party/show at a lady's house that I know because she's done notary work for me (for example, the statement I had to have notarized for next-door neighbor C). She's a columnist with our local newspaper.

Met some other nice people there, was supposed to go out to a karaoke bar last night with one of them but was too tired and fell asleep.

Next-door neighbor C has been calling and/or coming over to keep me updated on her status ...

One of my old college internet friends is in town on business for the week, and I'm getting together with him this evening ... we're going out to dinner and out shopping for Raleigh souveneirs for his wife and son ... he's actually in a training class IN MY BUILDING, of all places in Raleigh/Durham where he could be ...

After dinner and shopping, I have to run over to a lady's house that I'm pet-sitting for Friday-Sunday ... remember the lady with the 14 animals? Yeah, her. Only this time it's not 5 dogs, it's at least 7 ... I dont know how many cats yet.

In between pet-sitting this weekend, I am going to the Body/Mind/Spirit Expo at the NC State Fairgrounds ... one of my favorite semi-annual events up there ... gotta get a new picture taken of my aura!! *grin* There's going to be a 'Pet Psychic' there ... I'm gonna check her out and see how legit she is.

There's been a couple other things going on ... just drawing a blank about what. Well, besides actually starting work and the adventures that includes. d;)

One of the first things I noticed when I got to my desk on Monday, was that nothing had changed. NOTHING. Phone, still in the same position. Cup and salt shaker that I'd left behind, still there. But of all things ...

On the floor under the desk was a post-it note in my handwriting. I used to hang it from my laptop monitor when I'd stepped away from the desk, to remind myself that I'd changed my nickname on our IRC chat line.

When I left, I cleaned out my desk ... threw all of the trash away ... scrubbed the desktop surface ... I cleaned up really well, so I dont know how I missed this post-it. But it's purely poetic that I did.

The Post-It Note simply said "BRB".

Guess I knew I'd "be right back", eventually...

Well, first of all, a quick update on my housecleaning adventure.

I was all set to go ... so I KEPT ON going right out the door, and out shopping.

*big satisfied grin*

Today is ... *drumroll* ...

*gasp of anticipation*

CLEAN THE HOUSE DAY!!! I wonder what new, fascinating, fun adventures are in store for us as we attempt this mission???! (Hey, you have to have a positive outlook on life sometimes, right? *grin* There are also times when you have to CREATE your own adventures. )

Life is what you make of it.

Sunrise, Myrtle Beach - January 2003

The Pleezmen arent happy. Two squad cars from the sheriff's office just pulled up to C's house, looking for any sign of S. She's not there, btw. She called me earlier today and said she would be around, but she's apparently not.

So the Pleez(police) are looking for S. They seem to think he's going to show up back around here. I talked to them.

So now they dont know where he is.

I was supposed to go out tonite, but then I'd be coming home after dark ... and I'm not so keen (ok, extremely freaked) at that idea.

Last night, I chose the road less traveled to get to obedience class. Truthfully, I thought I was taking a shortcut. I should have known better. I get lost going in a straight line. I was probably within one mile of my destination and would have made it on time ... when, an hour and 20 minutes ... and several small towns later ... I finally arrived. I got there just in time to say good-bye to everyone (it was 'graduation night').

I remembered this little blurb while I was driving last night ...

GOOD, BETTER, BEST
Never let it rest
Until your good is better
and your better best

I sure do my best at getting lost!!

Life with the next-door neighbors has been scary and tense. So I'm glad to have something happy to write about.

Today is my friend Anne's birthday!

I've known Anne for 16 years. I met her my first year of college, at University of Missouri - Columbia ... AKA Mizzou. We knew OF each other, before we knew each other. We hung out with the same group of people, but never really spent much time together. To tell you the truth (and I love telling people this), I didnt like her much. She was moody, and everyone seemed to dote on her. It seemed like she was always the center of attention. I just decided I'd let everyone else pay attention to her, and I'd keep on with my happy freshman life. What I didnt know is how much personal hell she was going through, both physically and emotionally. I dont know exactly what she thought of me, but apparently she saw that I listened to people. *laugh*

When we came home for Thanksgiving break, (we were both from St.Louis), she made me memorize her home phone number (I still know it!) and I gave her mine. I didnt really expect her to use it ... but use it, she did! She needed someone to talk to, she called, we talked ... and talked ... and talked some more. That was my first clue about some of the things that were going on in her life.

After that phone call, it became more like having a sister. We had a lot in common, and I found something at college that I'd been looking for... someone I could lean on and trust. I had Jason, my "best male friend" ... and then I had Anne.

We'd take walks around campus, talk, laugh, cry, be silly, commiserate about guys ... stay up playing on the computer (yes, we were geeks even back in 1989) ... we shared a lot. We had planned on being roommates the next year, but I then changed that plan by transferring to a school out in Pennsylvania ... HOWEVER ...

Then we worked out at camp in Michigan together. I introduced Anne to the wonders and magic of Miniwanca. We stayed in a dorm up at camp, a 360 acre property on Lake Michigan, and were roomies up there. It worked out really well. Usually you think it'd be hard sharing a 10x10 room with someone, day and night, for 3 months ... but we knew when to leave each other alone, when the other person was "invisible" ... She read me bedtime stories, and I instinctively knew when she needed some time alone with her teddybear for a good cry.

When I went away to Pennsylvania to school, there were a few rocky times ... Bill ... but nothing worth losing our friendship over.

We got used to being apart, and but did talk less.

Years and years passed ... life happened ... sometimes a few months would pass without our talking, sometimes we'd talk almost daily. *grin*

I was Maid of Honor in her wedding several years ago. I wish I could have been in town to do more, but it was beautiful. Anne was running late for her own wedding, btw. Hair problems. *grin* Just thought I'd share that. And I'd also like to share that kneeling on an injured knee is painful. *laugh*

So 16 years have passed. People have come and gone. We've loved and lost, there have been births and deaths among our family and friends. Like I mentioned on my LiveJournal entry ... Anne, I'm glad you were born!!

Talked to C just now. S is indeed in the county jail, at least until tomorrow. He's been there since last Thursday.

I said "Oh, well... I noticed his truck was missing, so I wasnt sure where he was ... "
She grinned and said "No, he stashed it back behind the house!"
I said "Uhm, yeah. But it's not there anymore." I didnt want to go in to detail about how I'd been watching every movement over there because I've become paranoid ... so we walked back behind the house and I showed her. She hadnt known that it had moved. She guessed someone had come and towed it or something. Apparently, for some reason, it was illegal for him to drive anyway.

She has a restraining order, no matter what happens in court tomorrow. Whoop-de-doo. Restraining orders are just temptations, for those they've been applied to. She's looking in to getting a gun permit. Double joy.

And so I got involved.

C called me - she's staying at her mother's house. She asked me if I could write and sign a statement saying that she came over to borrow my phone on that morning, at that time, to call the police because S had vandalized her home... and if I could get it notarized because she needs to present it to court on Tuesday.

I said I would. She's coming by the house tomorrow, and will pick up the statement.

Only then I got to thinking ... I cant legally state that.

At the time, I DIDNT know to whom she was calling, or for what reason. I can only say that she did come to borrow my phone at that time on that day. I didnt ask, nor listen to the phone conversation. She only told me after the fact (actually, I didnt know it was the police that she had called, until tonite ... I just figured maybe she was calling in sick to work or was calling the car dealer or something).

So that's the statement I'll write and have notarized and give to her to present to the court. That my neighbor C, residing at XXX, came over at approximately 6:40am on Thursday August 11, 2005 to borrow my phone to make a phone call.

*sigh*

And Today ... I was in the backyard throwing the tennis ball for Riley and Willow (Bailey could care less) but it kept getting lost, so I decided I'd better cut the grass. But the heat was quickly rising so I thought I'd better hurry.

I came inside and grabbed my gloves and sunglasses and ran around the yard (ok, more of a trot) trying to get as much cut as I could before it got too hot ... but alas, then it got too hot. *grin* Durned heat! It's kinda fun trying to jog with a lawnmower tho. I was doing the bit that DOESNT have holes dug by the dogs, so it was safer to move at a quicker pace.

Boy, was I panting when I was half done with the backyard (which is where it stands right now - half done).

Current temp 92, with a heat index of 102 ... screw the grass, one more day's growth wont hurt it.

So now I'm relaxing in the nice air-conditioning. Did I mention 'relaxing'? Yes. Relaxing. I've got some loud new agey type music going on, and I feel relaxed for the first time in days.

Hrm. Well. I just took a look, and the truck is gone. Musta been while I was napping. Damn, I'm paranoid. I keep running to look out the windows.

This will pass ...

Nothing new, all is quiet. C had her sister over there with her yesterday evening, but I guess they didnt stay over there last night. There's boards on most of the windows ... I didnt think they were ALL broken ... maybe for extra insulation? Dunno. Still no sign of S. Truck is still in the backyard.

I'm still sleepy ... cant seem to sleep well at night. Go figure. I fall asleep and sleep really deep then wake myself up afraid I'll "miss something". I shouldnt worry ... my three-dog-alarm is quite finely tuned.

So ANYWAY ...

This morning, I spilled water on my laptop. Still appears to be working ok, after I let it dry.

I still need to hang curtains here in the living room. Need to buy the right sized rod, and figure out how to hang the valance things and the panels on the same rod.

I'm thinking "nap".

But I'm in more of an artsy kind of mood ... wish I knew how to paint (like, watercolor/oil paint).
Someday I'll play with it.

I want to go back to decorating my house, I want to continue turning my house in to "my home" but that involves non-existant money. I start work on the 22nd at 11am. PAYCHECK!!!

Hmm, I havent been able to chase the "nap" thought away ...

Couldnt sleep at all last night ... kept hearing noises ... or kept THINKING that I was hearing noises ... or kept thinking that the dogs heard a noise ... you know. Nights can be intense.

Saw C's car over there for awhile this morning, and I heard shouting. I thought it was C and S, Round 2 but I guess the yelling match was between her and someone she'd brought with her, because I saw another man coming to get tools out from the car. Looks like a father or brother or something. No sign of S today, even tho his truck is still in the backyard. I'm wondering if maybe he's in jail or something.

They've been hammering and sawing and fixing things all day today. Must have been a lot of damage done inside. The only window I can see from my house has a board over it ... I havent gone out to see the front of the house.

Violence just really really sucks. I've been torn about wanting to go over and offer to help, but wanting to keep the hell outta it. To offer friendship, or to keep my nose out of their business.
My gut, which usually tells me to be friendly and nice to anyone, is telling me to leave them alone.

Bleah.

I think ... yeah ... pretty sure ... that at this moment in time ... I'm nervous. Quite possibly freaked ... maybe even ... a little scared. And not in an amusing way.

Rewind in time to this past weekend. I hung out with my next-door neighbors. C and her boyfriend S. S is kinda scary, not the kinda guy I'd want to meet on a dark street, but I figure nice to be on his good side. He came over and asked for a favor ... his truck was broken down and needed a part. C's car was in the shop due to hail damage... would I mind driving him up to the auto parts place, to pick up the bit? They'd called and priced taxis, it would have cost them 50 dollars for the trip to the store and back. Seeing as how I didnt have anything else to do at the moment, sure, I drove S to the auto store and back. In return, he promised to help me replace the battery in my Ford. I hung out with C while S worked on his truck. We chatted and laughed.

A few times before, one or the other have come over here asking to use my phone ... but I havent questioned why. I'm a neighborly kinda person ... d;)

Fast forward to this morning - 6:45am my door-bell rings, and the 'dog alarm' goes off (three dogs barking furiously). C is at the door asking to use my phone. Again, I dont ask questions ... I hand her my phone and tell her it'd probably be quieter if she used it on the front porch, as opposed to coming in the house, due to the barking dogs. She makes her call, talks for a few minutes, gives me back the phone and goes home. I decide since I'm already awake, to stay up and count the minutes until I can call the Vet to make Willow an appointment for some lab work I've been putting off (about 500 dollars worth).

So at 7:45, I take Willow to the Vet - and after I drop her off (she's going to be spending the day there), I head over to WalMart to price car batteries, and to pick up some other things. I run some more errands, and get home about 10:45am.

Around 11am, I'm feeling sleepy ... havent been sleeping well at all. So I lay down to take a nap. Woke up around 12:30. Started cleaning ... vaccuming ... steam-cleaning the carpets ... doing chores. Looked out the front window, and saw a car and a police cruiser leaving my next-door-neighbor's house. Saw that C's car was in the driveway ... figured after I was done cleaning, I'd pop over next door and check to make sure everything was alright. A little while later, noticed her car was gone, so I didnt go over.

Several hours later (around 8pm), several of the other neighbors are having a 'pow-wow' in the street in front of my driveway. My first impish thought is "I think I'll be obnoxious and let the dogs out so they'll bark and be loud and drive them nuts!!" Then I decide to be sociable and go say hi to everyone.

I head down my driveway and wave to a few of the neighbors ... there are 5 of them out there. Say my hellos, and how are yous. Turns out ... they are all talking about my next-door neighbors, C and S. There had been a 'Domestic Violence/Dispute' this morning while I was at the Vet/Walmart ... with S threating C with a pipe, beating her up, trashing the house ... neighbor M across the street called 911. There is a broken window, all of the blinds are askew, the places looks a mess from the OUTSIDE. The neighbors all thought S got in his truck and left.

Joy.

I found out most of what they had told me last weekend had been lies ... that C's car had been repossessed, it's not in the shop ... AND ... I was just looking out one of my windows at their house (we assume C went to stay with family or somewhere else), I can see that S's truck is partially hidden in the backyard where noone can see it from the street. So he IS either over there right now, or hiding out somewhere nearby.

I called my neighbors across the street and asked them if they could keep an eye on things over here, that I just saw S's truck stashed in the backyard. I told them that I was a little weirded out, since none of us know what he is capable of doing at this point. They informed me to keep my phone handy and be prepared to call 911 first, and call them second if I needed anything at any time.

So I'm all locked up, doors and windows. I've got all my dogs, with all of their teeth. I even have my B-B guns that I -could- pull out and load, if I wanted to admit to being a country hick. (They can do harm if you know where to aim!)

I just spent an hour and a half on the phone with a friend (Thanks, Friend!) and I'm calmer than I was before. I think I may actually be able to sleep tonight ... we'll see. I'm kinda jumping at every little noise I hear, and I want to keep running to the windows to keep lookout ... but life goes on.

I have a baby Ginkgo Tree growing in a cup in my kitchen window. It's been sitting there for two months now, neither growing nor dying, just sitting idle waiting to see what's going to happen to it next. It's been too hot to put it outside, I want to give it the best chance at life since it's come this far ...

Driving home from the Vet's office earlier, I was thinking about it's parent tree. (Little Sproutling Ginkgo doesnt have a name yet, btw.)

Back in June when I went home to St.Louis, I was strolling around my parents back yard. I was smiling at the Tulip Trees, whose tulip flower petals were really OUCHY to walk on barefoot but made good "needles" when we had to give each other shots (they have a pointy bit) before going on a safari hunt, or to save each other's lives.

The Red Oak that my brother planted in 4th Grade, that for the longest time, grew at the same rate as I did! I was so pleased that we were growing up together. I must have been about 8. I checked my height against it on this trip... it won the growing contest. d;) Actually, my Dad made me a 'walking/hiking stick' out of one of the branches of it several years ago.

There was the Maple Tree, the Weeping Willow (now gone - hit by lightning), the pine that I had my clubhouse under with anything I could find during 'trash pickup week' or during yard sales, the Lilac bushes ...

The rose bushes down by the swing in the far left corner. The roses were always overgrown and we were always getting thorn scratches as we jumped off the swing. I wonder how many times I said "OW" because of it and then went back and did it again. *laugh*

As I was wandering the yard, I remembered the bushes and trees in other neighbor's yards ... and here's where we get to the Ginkgo Tree. If you cross down past the swing in to the neighbor behind's yard, they had planted a Ginkgo Tree. It was never very big ... no bigger than a shrub ... but it was fun playing with it's leaves. They were so unique! The neighbors who lived there, we called "Aunt Mary and Aunt Frances" ... two elderly sisters who just adored us kids for some crazy reason.

Anyway, I went to look for the tree ... whoever lives there now let the yard get all overgrown ... my parents dont know the family's name. There were weeds and brushes and sprouts and shrubs ... I was looking for something about the height of what I remembered. I couldnt find it, and felt a lot of sadness that it was gone. I came back to the swing, just to make sure I had my bearing right ... pushed my way thru the weeds ... but this huge TREE kept getting in my way!

"How'd this get here? What kind is it?" I thought, as I followed the trunk upward, looking for some sign of what kind of tree it was. I didnt remember a tree that mature being in that exact spot. I almost fell on my butt when I saw Ginkgo leaves on a branch about 15 feet up. My little shrub had grown up (and up and up)! I had always thought they stayed small ... guess not! *laugh*

I went in to tell my Dad about my discovery, and he laughed at my shock. He also told me that if I'd looked LOWER to the ground, I would have seen dozens of little baby ginkgo sproutlings growing all around it. I got distracted the rest of the day trying to fix my parents' computer (my chore every time I go to their house), so Dad dug me up one to bring home.

So the little Sprout came home in the car with us ... Bailey and I ... and a cup full of 'Lily of the Valley' pips that I wanted to transplant in to an area of my front yard where I have some growing.

Did you know that today is tomorrow evening?

*ponder*

It made complete sense when I woke up from my nap earlier. I fell asleep around 3:45 ... 4-ish. I meant to take just a quick nap. I usually sleep light when I nap. Well, I slept HARD, even dreamed. Woke up so confused. Looked at the clock, it said 5:17. I looked out the window and thought "Ugh, it's too bright out for 5am!!" I held really still and listened to hear if any of the animals had heard me stirring yet, but they were all apparently still napping. My next thought was "*whew*, they havent heard me, I can go back to sleep!"

I curled back up in my blankie and tried to figure out why I was so warm and toasty because I usually lower the AC at night so I COULD curl up in my favorite blankie.

Then it started to come back to me that maybe it wasnt 5am, it was 5pm. The light and warmth was from the sun. That I had laid down for a nap, and NOT slept all through the night.

So then I started to think about what day it was. Well, of course, since I'd just slept so much then OBVIOUSLY yesterday was Monday (last thought not having processed) so today was Tuesday and if it was 5pm then I've gotta get ready for obedience class!!

Walked in to the living room and flipped on the news as THEN it started to hit me that I havent lived through Tuesday yet ...

SO CONFUZZLING!!!!

I was just watching one of my favorite movies ... 'Waking Ned Devine' ... when I got to thinking. "Favorite Movie". Do you know how many "favorite movies" I have? Dozens. I could never pick ONE. Not even two or three. Maybe one or two from each (hee hee .. sorry .. he just walked in and found Ned in front of the TV holding the ticket with that shocked grin on his face) from each genre.

I thought this movie sounded dull when it first came out. I caught it on a flight either to or from England ... it was the music and the scenery that first attracted me. Then I got hooked in to the plot ... and loved it! The same with 'Billy Elliot' ... saw it on a plane trip, thought it sounded lame ... but couldnt stop watching. Was stunned at how well that kid could dance!

LOVE movies!!

Gordy tagged me. I’m to list a top 10 [non-sexual] list of turn on’s & off’s. So, pretty much it’s 10 things I really like and don’t like… for me, I left off the most obvious ... being surrounded by puppies. C'mon. Who couldnt guess that?? *grin*

Ok, here we go:

Top 10 Turn Ons:
Eating a Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream cone outside while it's snowing
Being outside in the dark under a star-filled sky
Autumn colors
The smells of leather, lemony fresh Pledge, and Polo cologne
Crystals, gemstones, semi-precious and precious stones (faceted or natural)
The sight of a dog, or a horse, running care-free in a field
Crackling fireplaces on chilly evenings
Being remembered
Thomas Kinkade paintings
Receiving greeting cards for any occassion (or no occassion)

Top 10 Turn Offs:
People with bad hygiene (Primarily ... "This is a toothbrush. This is deoderant. Use them.")
Politics
Closed-minded people
Any form of abuse
Caviar
Un-ending lists of things you really "need" to do
Good-byes
Pollution
Migraines
Being forgotten

I’m also required to pass this on. I'm tagging U2Lorax, Melonie, and I'm sending this over to KyraAnne and her LiveJournal!

d:)

Hi, Everyone! *wave*

I said ... HI!!!

Now, wave, dammit!

Thank you. I feel better now.

*twiddling thumbs* I'm bored. I'm waiting for two phone calls, that I've been waiting for since yesterday. I know as soon as I go out, I'll get them. Then it'll be phone tag, and then more waiting. One of the calls, the important one, is to Willow's doctor at the Vet School .. I can only reach him by leaving messages and then just wait for a call back. I need to cut the grass, and I need to go to the grocery store. *twiddle* Even if I taped the phone to my ear, I doubt I'd hear it ring if I was out cutting grass ... and 'vibrate' mode doesnt help. The phone does have a light that flashes ... I could attach the phone to my forehead so I can see the light at all times ... but of course, if I go to all of that trouble, he wont call. Doctors. *grmbl* "Please feel free to call anytime! You can always reach me at this number ..." which is of course the number for the answering service who gives him the message when he checks in, once or twice a day. And the more "specialist" type of doctor they are, the harder they are to get a hold of.

A friend grumbled at me this morning that I needed a new blog entry. I gave some thought to what to write about, but havent been feeling too creative. I was sitting here looking around for some inspiration, when I saw my digital camera. Because my train of thought is ALWAYS jumping to random tracks, I wondered what pictures were currently on it. I very rarely delete photos off of a disk, even after I've copied them to a hard-drive.

Then I had an inspiration! I would take whatever the last photos were on the camera, and post them.

So you all get to see ....


CLOUDS, apparently!

I survived!! I survived spending EVERY MINUTE of this weekend that I wasnt driving to/from Smithfield (where I was pet-sitting), with any combination of 18 dogs and cats. (My own 4, and the 14 I was pet-sitting. ) It was exhausting! Walking, feeding, medicating, locating (I couldnt find two dogs at various times. They werent 'lost', per se .. ), catching (kittens), cleaning, seperating, making friends with, playing ...

Oh, my!

The only thing I had enough energy to do in between pet-sit visits and taking care of my own critters, was nap. Nap ... with the animals, of course.

Damn, I'm good tho. *laugh* I stayed sane!