Bad Day (Daniel Powter)

Friday morning wasn't so good for me. I woke up just a little bit later than I like to. Really, only by like 5 minutes, but 5 minutes can make all the difference when you're rushing in the morning.

When I opened the shower curtain, this little guy (or girl) was laying there in the tub, belly up. I wasn't quite sure what it was, but it's antannae was moving; the little bugger was alive. So, I had to get my camera & take as many pictures as I could. And, I had to get close enough to get a clear picture. But not too close. That's just gross. And, I had to see if I could get a picture of it on it's belly. I did, but not as good as this one on it's back. And then, I had to dispose of it because, well, I wasn't up for the company while I showered. He now resides somewhere in the sewer. Rest in peace, little one.

Then, I was getting dressed & I gained thought I could squeeze into a pair of jeans I had from my pre-fat days. Yeah, I shoulda tried them on the night before & I would have known that I haven't lost enough weight to wear them just yet. At least not without showing a little camel toe. So, I opted for another pair of jeans that were the same size, but much better fitting.

Next, it's breakfast time. I'm running late so I couldn't finish my entire bowl of Cheerios. I wolfed down what I could inside the house, but there's still a lot of milk & a few O's left so I thought I'd bring it with me & eat it in the car. Not a big deal as I've done it a multitude of times before. Well, I set it on the console & as I got into the car, I proceed to dip my elbow into the bowl. Damn it! Now I have milk all over me. Time to change clothes again!

Fortunately, I made it to the train station & find myself a rather decent parking spot. The rest of my day was rather uneventful.

Today, I am thankful for:

1. Panini sammies
2. Digital cameras
3. Fat free sour cream
4. Low fat mayonnaise
5. Tastefully Simple

What irks me today:

Today, I am irritated with the price & selection of jackets at Macy's. Jeff & I still have a few gift cards leftover from our wedding (almost one year ago!) & I went to go buy a jacket for myself with no such luck. There were plenty of nice rain jackets, but I already have a one of those & I couldn't justify spending that much money on something I don't need. One of these days, I just might have to make a stop at (gasp!) Burlington Coat Factory. They should, for sure, have a jacket that would suit me.

That's What Friends Are For (Dionne Warwick & Friends)

I cooked my first ever "thanksgiving" feast yesterday. I've always wanted to cook a turkey dinner, but Thanksgiving was always "taken" by one relative or another. So I suggested doing one last hurrah for Kim before she leaves the good ol' U.S. of A. for good. The Groovy Franken Friends offered to bring anything we may need/want for dinner, but the point of me doing it was so that I could cook the entire meal. I don't want to toot my own horn (toot, toot), but I think I did pretty darn good. Unless people were just being polite, I didn't hear any complaints & most of the food was eaten (see post below about what was made).

Last night, Jeff took the leftover turkey carcass & put it into the crock pot for some turkey soup. I finished it off this evening by adding some cut up onions & celery (thanks, Kat!!), pasta & added a few seasonings. Oh man, that was some good stuff right there.

Friday, Jeff & I went to the Puyallup Fair. We kinda had debated about going since we had just gone the year before & the fair really doesn't change all that much. We were there for *maybe* 3 1/2 hours. We mostly just walked around, checked out what the vendors had to sell, watched a few rides & ate just a couple things: Peroshkies & Earthquake burger & fries. Mighty tasty, if you ask me. My hilight of the afternoon: We walked into the horse barn & I said I wanted to see a horse poop. Well, sure enough, the first horse to our left lifted it's tail & well, it didn't poo, but farted instead. Even better in my book.

Friday evening, we trekked back to P-Town (along with Steve & Airi, David & Katt) so Jeff could get his rib on at Famous Daves BBQ. Me? I just had a salad & Dave's famous chili. I was so stuffed afterwards. I would definitely get that combo meal again.

Saturday, while mowing the lawn, Jeff broke window #2. The first time, a small hole went through the first pane. This time, however, the entire pane shattered. It's a little hard to tell from this picture, but believe me, it's broken! Next up on the home improvement list: buy bullet proof glass. Ha!


Today, I am thankful for:

1. My Groovy Franken Friends
2. http://www.allrecipes.com/
3. Theraflu
4. FroYo
5. Double pane windows

What irks me today:

Today, I am irritated at procrastination. It seems as of lately, my schedule is quite busy & there are so many things I want to accomplish, yet there's never enough hours in the day. I have a stamp-a-stack in two weeks & I know I need to order supplies for it, but I don't know exactly how many supplies until I make up all my stamp packs, but I can't make up my stamp packs until I organize my stamp room, but I can't organize my stamp room until I put together the table up there & instead of putting together the table, I'm blogging about my procrastination & how much it annoys me.

Another Year Has Gone By (Celine Dion)

I was just peeking at my past blogs & hard to believe, I've been doing this for over a year now. Crazy how time has gone by!

Even though I think I mentioned it a few posts back, it feels like summer is really officially over. Friday night, I wanted to turn the fireplace on for the first time. Jeff wore jeans for the first time in a long time today. I closed the windows in the house today. I'm itchin' for some homemade soups! It's time to dust off the ol' crockpot.

Trina finished moving her stuff out last week. Her new residence is with her new man, Jon Stewart, in Renton. It's nice having our house "back", but it almost seems a little empty. Now, we have two rooms to spread out in once again. It's kinda nice not having stuff in those rooms, though.

Turkey dinner (for 13!!) is quicky approaching (just one week away!!). Here's tentatively what the menu may consist of:

• Turkey (of course!)
• Stuffing
• Mashed potatoes & gravy
• Corn
• Sweet potatoes
• Green bean casserole
• Dinner rolls of sorts
• Cranberries
• Pumpkin Pie
• Apple Pie (maybe)
• B. Y. O. Beverage

Am I missing anything? The kitchen sink, you say? Got it. Be sure to bring your appetite!

Today, I am thankful for:

1. Taking the Sounder to the M's game
2. The Mayan
3. Entertainment Books
4. Hooded Sweatshirts
5. Cheese

What irks me today:

Today, I am really peeved by the fact that we "have to buy" tickets to ride the Sounder Train (either for commuting to work or to a 'special' event), but the Conductor doesn't check for tickets on a regular basis. This morning, I told Kathy to buy only a one way train ticket because last time we rode the train to a M's game, they didn't check tickets. I suspected it would be the same today. I was right. However, the security gal was there to help her get her ticket & she ended up purchasing a round trip ticket. Kathy was following the rules, which is the right thing to do, but I just feel it was a waste of money since nobody even checks the tickets anyways.

Oooh Oooh Child (Five Stairsteps)

The Groovy Franken Friends found out last night that there will be an addition to the group. A GFF, jr perhaps? Or maybe it's a 2nd generation of GFF's? Either way, we're all very happy & excited for Steve & Airi who are expecting their 1st born on March 9th.

What's really funny about this pregnancy was that Kat & I had gone to the liquor store & I said to her, "I don't know if it's true or not because I haven't heard anything, but I think Airi's pregnant." She was going to do some investigations when we got back to find out. Was that wine that Airi was drinking? Nope. It was apple cider. Uh huh... Could it be...? Yes! Steve made the announcement & it's confirmed. Wow! & Yay!!

I also found out last week that two of my cousins are expecting babies & they're due around the same time Airi is. For my cousin Molly & her husband Greg, this is their first baby. This is wonderful for them because they had been trying for quite some time to get pregnant & now it's finally happening. For my other cousin Deborah & her husband Abe, well, this is #5. While having babies, I suppose, is fun and exciting and some people are just "good at it", I can't help but wonder at what point do you let the "social responsibilities" take over what the "lord" has in store for you.

I told Katt I would blog about the sideways poo tonight. So here it is. Poo is just funny because everyone does it & has experienced most (if not all) poo's. I looked up the poopy list to find the definition of the sideways poo & I think this is the closest I found:

The Caesarian Dump - Pain, that's what this dump and childbirth have in common. Its simply a case of too much dump trying to go through too small a hole, and there's no obstetrician to help.

In other "gross" news.... I learned last night that even though my cats were neutered, they still have penises. Yes, I probably should have realized this long, long ago, but I've never seen it & really, I don't watch them pee because they're in a "sheltered" litter box. And, even when our cat growing up had an "open" litter box, they just squat; you can't really tell where their urine is coming from. So, after we got home last night, I got an anatomy lesson. Thanks Jeff for pointing out the general area where the penis lives & thanks to Tubbs for letting us check out your underside.

Tonight, the girls went to the Melting Pot for dinner. This was in lieu of Girls Camping that most bailed on back in August. Good food & even better company. I'm for sure going to miss Kim when she leaves in less than a month to live across the Atlantic. I have to say, though, it was really nice to spend more time with Katt. We really don't spend a whole lot of time with her & she's a super cool person. I'm glad she's become a Groovy Franken Friend.

'

Today, I am thankful for:

'

1. Melted cheese

2. Melted chocolate

3. Girlfriends

4. Pregnancies

5. 3 pronged forks

'

What irks me today:

Today, I am annoyed by people who bail out on plans that were made long ago. I feel that if you've made a commitment for whatever, then you should stick to it. If something "better" comes along, then you should say, "I'm sorry I can't go; I already have plans."

Signs (Five Man Electrical Band)

Over the past two days, I've made two name frames. One for Jeff to place above his theater (or is that "theatre"?) room. I couldn't get a very clear picture on this because 1. it's hanging up above the door already; 2. there's a hallway light directly in front of it so there was some "lighting issues"; 3. it's behind glass creating other reflective/lighting issues. You all will just have to take notice of it as you enter the McCarthy Monoplex. Speaking of the McCarthy Monoplex... I FINALLY saw Pirates of the Caribbean - Curse of the Black Pearl. Yes, it's the first Pirates movie. Yes, it's been like 3 years since it's been out on video. Yes, I'm a little slow. Yes, I loved it & can't wait to watch the two sequels.

The second frame I made was for my Tastefully Simple consultant, Shayna. This is her family name & I'm told it will reside in her Hawaiian themed room, hence the "bolder" colors. At first I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with this designer paper. I also *thought* her name may have been too long because the other name frames I made had only 6 & 7 letters. Bridgman is 8. As it turned out, I made the letters a little bit smaller than my other frames, but bigger than I thought I needed & it totally turned out A-OK. I also at last minute, added some ribbon to give it a little more color or "life". I REALLY like the way it turned out. I hope she does too & will recommend my frames to other friends &/or family members.

Summer, in my mind is officially over as of September 1st. Sure, we'll have a few more warm days ahead of us, but for all intents and purposes, it's done. Labor Day weekend has come & gone. The kiddos have gone back to school. Last night there was a rain & lightning storm like there's no tomorrow.

Things to look forward to in the upcoming months: Veterans Day (our next 3 day wknd & the start of many holidays right after one another). Rain & lots of it accompanied by umbrellas broken in the wind. Dark mornings & lots of medium extra hot, non-fat beverages courtesy of Seattle's Best Coffee. A scaled back Christmas.

Today, I am thankful for:

1. My SMCU umbrella I received 4 years ago

2. Having enough time in the morning to eat breakfast AND pack a lunch

3. Birth control pills

4. Greek

5. Water

What irks me today:

Today, I am irked by people who are blindly unkind towards others. I'm especially talking about those who talk about others behind their back regarding things they may not have control over. There is a man who rides my train & he is not the most pleasant looking or smelling man. I'll admit that much. But, I've never actually spoken with him. I've seen him roaming around the Value Village area of Auburn & my guess is that's where he shops for clothing & household items because that's either all he can afford or all he chooses to afford. At any rate, I can't make judgments about him because I don't know his situation. But, it really makes me mad that there are others on the train who have made comments & gestures amongst themselves regarding the smelly man. Perhaps he can't help his situation & he's doing the best he can with what he's been given.