Cleaning, napping, geocaching…
Well, another weekend come & gone. This one was a nice mix of fun and work…
Friday night: We stayed in and watched a movie (movie review forthcoming) and were generally lazy. We potentially had a neighborhood garage sale the next morning but severe storms were predicted so I was 99% sure it would be postponed so I didn’t do anything to get ready.
Saturday: Sure enough, it stormed and there was no garage sale. Instead I slept in for a little bit then headed over to a co-worker’s home to babysit her kids. She was traveling back from her business trip and didn’t have anyone to watch her 3 and 8 year olds for a few hours so I did her the favor.
Saturday night: We had intentions of going out to a movie but it never happened so instead we stayed in yet again, had spaghetti for dinner and watched another movie (review forthcoming as well).
Sunday: We had nothing planned so after sleeping in we headed out and ran a few errands. Since I had been cleaning out closets and cabinets for the garage sale I had also cleared out 4 bags of clothing as well as other odds and ends so we took them to Goodwill for donation. I anticipate sending more clothes their way because I intend to continue to go through my clothes but at least this was start.
Afterward we got some tapioca slushies and went in search of geocaches. Kenny was recently introduced to the world of geocaching by a friend and he wanted to go find some. He had his GPS and his handheld and the coordinates of two of the caches in the area we were in.
We found the park where the first cache was hidden but after 15 minutes of looking we weren’t able to find the cache itself. We hope to come back and try again. We had better luck with the 2nd cache though (I found it, thank you very much) and signed the log book inside it. It was more fun than I had thought it would be so I have gone ahead and signed up at Geocaching.com and will be joining Kenny on future hunts. It will be something Kenny and I can do together and he already has plans to create his own cache.
After the second find we headed home but first with a stop by Borders. Since I am actually reading once again, I am going through my pile of books and wanted to replenish the pile. I walked out with four new books I look forward to reading.
We also stopped at a local nursery. I pulled up the old pansies I had out front a couple of weeks ago and needed to find some new plants to replace them. I stuck with good old lantana since the butterflies love it but I picked a variety that is pink and yellow (like the one in the picture on the website I linked to) instead of just yellow like most of the lantana out there.
Sunday night: We napped when we got home and then I found some energy to go through a few more cabinets and find more stuff for the garage sale. It feels good to get this stuff out of there and find room once more. The cabinets and closets were getting stuffed with junk and they now are more reasonable. I don’t think I’ll get much for this stuff but a few bucks will be nice. Anything unsold gets donated.
I ended the night working late on a report for work that I had forgotten was due first thing in the morning. I stayed up later than I should but it’s because I started so late on it. It got done though!
Kenny flies out to Atlanta this morning for a week-long conference so he will be gone till Saturday – which sucks because the garage sale is Saturday and I may be sitting out there alone unless I can find someone to sit with me. Anyone want to volunteer?
OK, I better get back to work now! It is almost time for lunch!
Ginger Update
I realized that I hadn’t given you a doggie update. Remember Ginger’s lump? Well, we took her in Tuesday morning to have it removed and to go ahead and have her teeth cleaned too. The vet called and said that the lump ended up being just a fatty deposit and that no biopsy would be needed. As dogs get older fatty deposits under the skin are common – Ginger has several similar lumps on her stomach – but the vet agreed it was in an odd place and that is why she had wanted to have it cut out.
As for her teeth, the vet says they were bad too but none had to be pulled so that was good. She was happy to be home and was very perky and more energetic than Heidi had been. She shows no pain where her stitches are (she has a handful). You can poke the area and she doesn’t seem to care so that is good. It’s been a couple of days though and where the stitches are as is looking “lumpy” again but Kenny says it may be some swelling that is occurring while it is healing. We have to take her back in next week to remove the stitches so I’ll talk to the vet about this. Click on the picture to get a bigger image – that is a picture of her that evening.
Book Review #5
Another book read… This time is was Tuesday with Morrie by Mitch Albom. It was a short, simple read full of lots of advice on how to live a fulfilled life. Albom essentially interviews his dying professor and records in writing the advise the professor, Morrie, has to give. It was sweet and touching and tender and inspiring – but honestly, there was nothing new said. Maybe I wanted something a little more interesting than the standard concepts of cherishing people, not material things; not trying to rush through life; not being afraid to die because we all will… you get the picture.
It’s a short read though so at least he doesn’t pontificate too much and gets to each point quickly and simply. I am torn on whether or not to recommend it though. Read it if you like non-fiction I guess.
Late Weekend Update
Sorry for the lateness in my weekend update. I actually stayed home from work yesterday because my allergies were knocking me out. Despite taking my Allegra, which did very effectively clear up my congestion, my head still felt like it was going to explode from the sinus pain. Ugh. I wanted and needed the break from work anyway. I am feeling much better today after sleeping half the day and spending the rest with my hubby.
OK, on to the update…
Friday night: Kenny’s old company (actually the place where we met) was having their annual crawfish boil and so we joined a couple more ex-co-worker friends of his and headed over. The company is located about a mile from our house and they left on good terms. We stayed there a couple of hours talking to people.
Saturday: I woke up early and joined a group of garden club ladies for a day trip up to Wharton. They were having a home garden tour. We spent some time looking at antique stores, had lunch and then visited the gardens.It was long, hot day and it was nice talking to the ladies but I didn’t get home till 6:30 PM (we left at 9 AM)!
Saturday night: I was pooped but also did not want to plop on the couch and fall asleep so we took up an invite from a friend and went over to his house. They were having a small party for his brother’s girlfriend and we ended up catching up with him while sitting outside enjoying some lovely weather.
Sunday: My allergies started acting up on Sunday so I slept in and was lazier than I would have liked. I can’t really remember what we did (we ran some errands) but I did manage to weed the front yard and laid out 5 bags of mulch that had been sitting in the garage for the last month – they were on Kenny’s side and the bags were preventing him from parking inside so he was getting annoyed.
Now it is already Wednesday and I am counting the days till Friday again! Yay!
Happy Earth Day!
I don’t usually post on the weekend but I wanted to write an entry for Earth Day!
We waste a lot in this country and I truly believe that we can each make a difference if we alter our behavior even just slightly. I am the first to admit I could do more but I also know I do more than most and I like to educate others so they can see how easy it is to do just a couple of seemingly minor but important behavioral changes… Here are the things we do on a regular basis to help the planet be a little healthier:
> We recycle anything plastic that is marked “1” or “2” – this includes most drink bottles as well a medicine and shampoo bottles.
> We also recycle aluminum cans, glass, plastic grocery bags, and phone books. My friends are now trained not to throw away their cans and beer bottles when they come over and you should see the haul I take to the recycling center after we throw a party!
> In addition, we now recycle every catalog, magazine and old phone book by taking it to an Abitibi paper recycling bin (I used to take it to the city recycling center). This helps the environment and helps the organization where the bin is located to raise funds for themselves.
> We annually recycle our Christmas tree (typically used to build up the sand dunes along our Texas beaches).
> I am ordering a small compost bin for the backyard and will begin be making my own compost using kitchen scraps and other organic trash.
> I try to use actual metal flatware at work instead of throw-away plastic utensils.
> I also use real glassware instead of throwaway cups at work (I have a coffee mug and a plastic glass for water).
> I buy larger food containers and make snack size portions using Tupperware or bags. We save money and avoid buying wasteful snack packs that come with all that extra packaging. One favorite is apple sauce – and you can recycle the glass bottle it comes in.
> I cut the plastic rings that come on 6-packs of soda before throwing them away. The rings end up in landfills where they can get into the environment and get snagged around an animal’s neck, eventually chocking it. By cutting it up you avoid that catastrophe.
Good Samaritan
On my way home from work last night I saw an accident. The signal was green for my side but a red truck sped through the light in the other direction and crashed into two of the cars that had started to go. The truck was not going slow and the light had been green for a few seconds, it had not just turned green. Since there were three cars involved and they all careened different directions (all of them partially up on the curb and median) the intersection was subsequently blocked so I stopped to see if I could offer any help.
I am glad I did. The driver of the red truck had her 12-year old son with her and his mouth was busted up. He had braces and he must have hit the dashboard because the braces had cut up his mouth and they said he was fading in and out. He must have had a concussion. There were several people helping there so I went to the other car where they said another guy had been hurt.
He was laying in the grass holding his side. I talked to him and finally figured out he didn’t speak English so I stayed with him the rest of the time and helped translate what the firefighters were asking. He seemed OK except for the bruising on his side. I am sure he will be in pain today though and he might have even cracked a rib but he looked like he would be OK. I told him to keep his head straight (per the firefighter’s instructions) and told them how old he was (28). I also asked the firefighters to tell me what hospital they were taking him to so I could tell his buddies who were calling his family (they had been nearby in a separate car when the accident happened and none of them spoke English). The driver of the 3rd car was fine and was also a coworker of the guy I was helping.
In the end, two ladder trucks came, one policeman, two ambulances to take each injured person away and three tow trucks (for each vehicle) came. The cars were all totaled, all the airbags had deployed and if the two cars that had been hit had had passengers, those passengers would have been seriously injured (I heard the firefighters talk about that). It was all over and cleared in about 30 minutes – the firetrucks got there about 5 minutes after I walked up and everything was very efficient. I was impressed!
I am glad it was not worse and I am glad I was able to help. Too often we try to stay out of someone else’s trouble but it was the least I could do and I hope I made that gentleman a little more comfortable.
Doggie lumps & clean teeth
Time to bore you with some doggie updates…
Heidi: Even when Heidi lived with Kenny’s grandparents she has always had bad breath. Ever since we took her in about 3 years ago our vet has told us that we need to have her teeth cleaned. Since that was not going to be cheap (they have to fully anesthetize her to do the cleaning) we have been putting it off. We finally decided we shouldn’t wait any longer so today I took her to the vet and had it done. The vet has called and says she did fine but they did have to pull a couple of teeth. They weren’t molars though so I don’t think it should cause her any problems eating. She also said she had really bad tarter cleanup so we will have to give her a weekly treatment to prevent further damage. I think it will be some topical treatment that we “paint” onto her teeth. This should be interesting. LOL.
Ginger: A couple of days ago Kenny noticed a lump on the side of Ginger’s throat. It is on her jowl, under her ear. If you click on her picture you’ll see it better in the larger photo. The lump is soft and it does not seem to be bothering Ginger at all but it is too prominent to ignore so since we were taking Heidi to the vet today I brought Ginger in as well. The vet thinks it is a cyst but she still wants to go ahead and cut it out. She drew some blood to make sure those levels are OK and then we’ll have to schedule her for the surgery. The vet wants to clean her teeth as well since she will already be under general anesthesia. This ain’t going to be cheap either. *sigh* It needs to be done though and she is definitely worth it! I’ll keep you posted!
Click on the images below to see the cuteness up close!
Chili, colored eggs & corned beef!
Wow, the weekend flew by! Here is my Easter weekend re-cap:
Friday night: Headed over to Lawrence’s house for an evening of chili with friends. Kenny made his chili while Steve made his spicier version. Had a good time catching up with people including Hanna & Kathy.
Saturday: Got the house ready for our “Egg-stravaganza” at 2 PM. Friends brought their kids over and we all had fun dying eggs that afternoon. Here are the eggs I colored and the cool Star Wars egg kit I found at Target. It seems like the kids had a lot of fun and it was fun to see everyone’s offspring (LOL) and how fast they are all growing up!
Saturday night: After everyone left we cleaned up and plopped down on the couch the rest of the evening and watched a couple of movies (movie reviews in a separate post).
Sunday: My Mom came over in the early afternoon and cooked us a wonderful early dinner of corned beef. Yummy! She stayed the rest of the day and we all took after-supper naps. LOL. Once my Mom left Kenny and I found our 2nd wind and started to install the under-cabinet halogen lighting we bought a couple of months ago. We got 2/3rds of the way though and it looks great. It was an easy install and makes such a difference in the kitchen. I’ll take pictures this week when we are done.
Now it’s another work week and it’s already Tuesday. If only the work day would fly as quickly as the weekend did! *sigh*
My photo is in a travel guide!
I few months I was contacted via my Flickr account and told that one of my pictures from my Hollywood trip was shortlisted for inclusion into a free interactive guide called Schmap. I was recently told that the picture – a nice shot of the Griffith Observatory – made the cut and can now be found in the Los Angeles edition – download it for free here.
The Schmap Guides are using the Creative Commons License and populating their guides with pictures taken by Flickr members, linking back to them and giving them full credit. I think it’s a great idea, the guides look extremely useful and I intend to use them myself. Houston will have one soon and they have the major domestic and international cities in the works. Go check them out!
Book #4
Looks like I am staying on track towards my goal of one book a month – I just finished the fourth book of the year and it was Douglas Coupland’s Eleanor Rigby. I think this is my second Coupland book and it was a good read. Unique story-line and good follow-through despite a hokey plot twist at the end. It was another easy read which is perfectly fine with me since my brain is too tired nowadays too follow anything more complicated. Still, I want to be entertained, not bored and this book fit the bill perfectly. As far as a mini-description? I guess it’s a story about a woman’s journey and self-discovery. It’s not truly woman-centric though so don’t let that scare you. Pick it up if you like to read modern-day fiction novels.
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