Why I Love Mah Honey-Man ~ Reason 22

[Be forewarned - - lots of really long and rambling sentences ahead!] Because this morning after I'd hollered from downstairs, "I love you!" and "Have a good day, baby!", etc., etc., I went out to the garage to my car to leave for work, and I realized I'd forgotten something, and when I came back inside, Owen had been meowing loudly after me, standing outside the closed laundry room door, and I could hear my honey-man sweetly calling for Owen from our bedroom upstairs, asking Owen what was wrong and to come up and see him...

And this was after Owen had kept my honey-man up all night, repeatedly bringing my honey-man a small, red, plastic tear-off seal tab from the lid of a plastic milk jug that Owen likes so much to fetch after whenever tossed. My honey-man awoke at least 4 times last night to discover Owen had placed the plastic tab either on his hand or arm, or near his face or at his toes, pawing each time at my honey-man for a toss of it. And each time, all my honey-man did was toss it for Owen!

Later today, I asked my honey-man how many times Owen had brought him the tab... and he said Owen had brought it to him 2 more times I'd left for work! Laughing, I told him that he should have gotten up out of bed to toss the tab down the stairs - - and then we both laughed, realizing Owen would have only brought it back upstairs for another toss!

Especially for Pet Owners

To be posted VERY LOW on the refrigerator door, nose-height...
Dear Dogs and Cats [OR RATHER, "Dear Otis & Owen"]:
The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and/or my food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help either because I fall faster than you can run. [THIS ONE IS MOST APPLICABLE TO OUR LIL' OWEN]

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm. [THIS ONE APPLIES TO BOTH OUR BOYS]

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, and try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years -- canine or feline attendance is not required. [THIS ONE, TOO, APPLIES TO BOTH OUR FUZZY BABIES, BUT OTIS IN PARTICULAR]

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough!

To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:
To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets:
1. They live here. You don't. [THIS ONE IS MY FAVORITE!]
2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That' s why they call it 'fur'nat-ure.)
3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly. [IN OUR CASE, I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW TRUE THIS IS]

Remember: In many ways, dogs and cats are better than kids because they:
1. Eat less
2. Don't ask for money all the time
3. Are easier to train
4. Normally come when called
5. Never ask to drive the car
6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends
7. Don't smoke or drink
8. Don't have to buy the latest fashions
9. Don't want to wear your clothes
10. Don't need a 'gazillion' dollars for college.

And finally [THIS LAST ONE IS SOOO IRREVERENT, I MUST ADMIT],
11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children

Why I Love Mah Honey-Man ~ Reason 21

Because my honey-man understands that knowing the reasons WHY something did or did not happen is almost more important than the situation itself, especially the knowing 'why' before one reacts to a situation. More often than not, there's always a good explanation.

Time to Catch Up

I was talking to a friend last night, who asked me if I now had the time I need to catch up... The short answer is no. And the long of it? I'll spare you, really.

However, here's the very best indicator I can offer as to how I am sooo NOT catching up just yet: Our darling Christmas tree is still up (oh, yes!), as is every other winter holiday decoration we have, all of it still out, and I am at NO point along the whole put-it-away process. I haven't even begun.

This morning, another friend asked if I was excited to have this next weekend to recoup from all our holiday hub-bub and our recent Keystone trip...

My step-mum will be in town, arriving tonight to help my sister move into a new place, and I expect we'll be helping out with that. I also have a federal grant proposal to draft by tomorrow, and to complete in final form by Monday, and I've got two chapters of reading for a new course I'm taking this semester, ANNND my honey-man and I, we have a date planned for Saturday night! PLUS an early morning hike at Red Rock for Sunday. Oh yeah, and I've got a date with some girlfriends that Sunday afternoon too, to go see 27 Dresses.

It is all really good stuff, yes, but I have this feeling our Christmas tree will soon be ringing in the month of February!

Kin'I Come Too?

How appropos is this lil' post of mine in light of recent events posted HERE, regarding a lil' Florida kitty named Gracie Mae?

My honey-man and I, we both believe that whenever we're about to go somewhere, the kitties know that sumthin's up - - they'll follow us around the house from room to room, they'll meow a lot in lil' questioning tones... they know we're gunna be leaving. This wouldn't be the first time this has happened, but Owen, before this trip, decided he was going to come along and placed himself in my suitcase... he stayed there for nearly 2 hours. I actually packed around him!

See Those Slopes?

We're in Keystone right now with my immediate family - - my honey-man and I flew in to Denver, CO, early yesterday morning with my sister. We were at the Vegas airport by 4:45 am! Because our Keystone trip dates were pushed forward this year by two weeks, unlike previous years at Keystone, skiing over New Years, the angel boy-O isn't with us because he's gotta be in school... Honestly, it feels downright wrong being here without him. All day yesterday, any time we saw a lil' snow bunny kid or any of the kids playing in the heated pools, or any children in general, we'd look at one another and our bottom lips would slip outward, our heads down, feeling sad.

But it is what it is and we're here and we should make the very best of it, right? We've tried to promise one another that we'll not let this arrangement, sans the angel boy-O, ruin an awesome opportunity. It's just hard though, as this trip is the ONLY family vacation we ever have from year to year with my family...the angel boy-O should be here. Next year, unless the dates coincide with the boy-O's holiday time, I don't think we'll do this again.

Lucky for us, as long as we work to keep our inner conflict in check, the set up here is INCREDIBLE! Our condo is the best ever! I'll write details later... we're all about to literally walk out the front door, and onto the slopes!

Why I Love Mah Honey-Man ~ Reason 20

Because when I told him last night that I want to go back to graduate school and why (and not at all using so few words, geesh), he totally surprised me and told me to go for it, with his full support. I don't know what else I was expecting. He wuvs me.

Gimme Some Cake!

Here are my birthday cakes... The taller of the two was made from an angel food cake box mix, and the shorty was our from-scratch effort. We made TWO angel cakes for 2 reasons: #1) In order to compare the box mix to the one made from scratch, and #2) we needed 2 cakes to have enough for 19 people (was kind of an impromptu birthday party), not counting any babies [and #3, we needed the box mix as our back-up, in case we royally screwed up the first!].

And the winner?

First let me explain that the reason the homemade angel cake is smaller than the box mix version is we had issues with my tube cake pan, which we didn't figure out until after we'd filled it with our batter.... as the pan leaked, we lost about 1/6 of the batter! So, we took it out of the oven and gently dumped the batter back into the mixing bowl, and while my honey-man ran off to Kmart to buy us a new tube pan (my hero), the batter began to liquefy during the wait... BUHT, in the final taste test, it won over the box mix, hands down! We had 7 people try both ( 4 of which, didn't know which was which) and it was unanimous.

What's Your Favorite Kind of Cake?

This may be a bit of copyright infringement... but it's such an awesome card though, and I must share! I soooo love it. It's puurrrfectly hysterical (especially when I hadn't realized it included a 'special poster' until 5 minutes or so later)... [The Angel Food Cake reference is quite apropos, oui?]

Makin' me some Angel Food Cake

Later tonight, my friend Ryan and my little Grams (she stands under 5 feet), who's in town from Bear Lake, are both coming over to make me an Angel Food Cake from scratch! It is only upon Ryan's insistence (which I do appreciate) that we're trying to make one from scratch (although we do have a boxed mix as our back-up just in case we blow it)!

And why make an angel food cake, let alone any cake at all? Well, because I'm so angelic, of course! and I like cake!? - Not exactly, although I do love cake!

First of all, angel cake is my favorite kind of cake, hands down. Okay, but why make a cake? ~ we makin' a cake cuz it's mah birfdee tomorrah! That's why! YAY! We're even going to try making the 7-Minute frosting for it, just like my mum used to make... In fact, we'll be makin' LIGHT PINK 7-Minute frosting, no less... Wish us luck!

A little Background Info: I am making a valiant, concerted effort to avoid anything remotely similar to sulking behavior on my birthday this year, from now on, and forever more!

Why I Love Mah Honey-Man ~ Reason 19

On New Year's day, we went to see the new Sweeney Todd movie... and I was completely unfamiliar with the story, only knowing it involved a demonic, murdering barber...

When my honey-man found out I new nothing about the play, he challenged me with amused disbelief, and when I explained I only knew it was a musical (and I really didn't know it was a musical) about a demonic, murdering barber, he again challenged me, that if I new that much, I just had to be familiar with the story... When I insisted I knew nothing, he asked how I knew Sweeney Todd was a murdering barber...

And then I said, to my honey-man, who never watches TV nor YouTube or anything in terms of popular media, who even avoids movie trailers, so as not to spoil the stories,

"It's not too hard to guess when all the promotional media features a deranged looking man, brandishing a bloodied barber's straight razor, standing near a barber's chair."

His 'oh yeah, duh' chuckle is the very best. I just love him for it.

Happy Spankin' New Year, 2008!

From out on our bedroom balcony, we just watched the Las Vegas Strip's New Year fireworks - - 12 minutes of fireworks going off the tops of seven of the Strip's main casinos (at least from what we could see and count)...

The angel boy-O called us from Utah, and my honey-man's father called us from Montreal...

Here's to hoping 2008 brings major change to our world, for good.

Belated Most Merriest Merry Christmas Greetings!

Okay, it's New Year's Eve day, I know... and I'm just finally online to wish everyone a belated Merry Christmas! We've been out of town, just back to Vegas last night.

BUHT, I do hope everyone had a good holiday, the best to you and yours!

And the Preliminary Results?

So, I'm 32 and I've had a colonoscopy - no one in my family can beat that, suckas!

We got up before 6am to be there by 7:30am... and it wound up taking less than 15 min. to drive there, so we cuddled on the two-seater bench and watched the Today show on the big LCD screen TV in the waiting room, and we were reminded why we don't watch TV.

I went under at 8:50 am.... the plebotomy effort for my IV took longer than the colonoscopy itself. They had to stick me in 3 different places before the IV worked. I was released from the recovery room by 9:30am, and I have ZERO recollection of the bummy procedure, and I thank my lucky stars for that.

And so, did they find anything? Yeah. I've been told I have "rectal erosions."

Say what?

Neither Google or Ask.com, nor WedMD offered much information, so I'll leave it at what the RN said, something along the lines of "your rectal tissue has crater-like ulcers." Now, how do crater-like rectal ulcers cause chronic constipation, I dunno. And why I have them at all, no explanation was offered. I have to wait 2-4 weeks before I can set down with anyone to be told more and to hear the biopsy results. - Wish me luck -

Why I Love Mah Honey-Man ~ Reason 18

Not only does my honey-man wish our fuzzy babies a sweet goodbye when he leaves the house, he tells them "Bless you" whenever either one sneezes.

Nuthin' But 'Clear' Liquids

Today's the day before I have a colonoscopy ~ what fun! So far today, I drank a 10 oz bottle of lemon magnesium citrate by 9am, and I took 2 Ducolax pills at 11am, and thereafter, I've had 64 onces of 'Mountain Blast' Powererade infused with 255 grams of Miralax. For breakfast? I had a mug and a half of beef broth (yuck!), and for an early dinner, I just finished a mug of chicken broth...along with 32 oz of diluted, but really nummy, White Cran-Peach juice from Ocean Spray, also infused with Miralax.

In the last 3 hours, I - - well, I could say a lotta different things... but I won't!

You Look So...Butch

We were in Burbank for the past weekend for one of our favorite parties of the year, a white elephant party held by my honey-man's business partner and the fellow's lovely wife (who's a fantastic cook!). We had a wonderful, wonderful weekend - - and it was our first chance to unhook, to remember what this upcoming holiday season is all about ~ family and friends!

Before we left, I got my haircut yesterday... the chicky I saw did a wonderful job thinning and 'chunking' the texture, unlike the woman I'd seen for my 2nd cut, post-long hair. Last night though, on our way home, we'd stopped at a Starbucks, and I caught a glimpse of myself in their public restroom mirror, and I was, um, kinda shocked upon closer review of my new hairstyle, yet I couldn't put into words what exactly was wrong with it, but something was definitely wrong. Once we were home in Vegas, and we'd had dinner, and we'd taken a shower, and taken care of the kitties, and we were back upstairs to get ready for bed, I was staring at my reflection in our bathroom for a moment, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I spoke my realization aloud with my honey-man off to the side, not far away, lying on our bed:

"I look totally butch"

And then? - My honey-man confirmed that that is exactly it... I look totally butch with this haircut. All I'd need is to give up the make-up, dress like a man, and don some leather choker-type necklace.

My honey-man told me to not say or do anything about it, and to just wait and see what people at work would say to me, as no one there is too shy about holding back, if they like something or not...

Well, I'm about to leave work for home, so I just called my honey-man, and he asked me how people had responded to my hair... We didn't have many people in today, but here were some of the comments offered, the first listed being the very first of the day before I'd even unlocked my office door:

1) [apply sing-song, baby-talk voice] You look like a wittle boy.
2) [apply questioning inflection] You look so tomboy-ish (?)
3) [apply peppy tone of forced reassurance] It'll grow out fast.
4) [apply 'matter-of-fact' tone] You look like a boy.
5) [spoken as if my dog died] In two weeks, you'll be fine.
6) [spoken w/slowly mouthed awe] Wow, a lot of 'face' to see now.
7) [spoken nervously] Well that's sporty.
8) [spoken as if trying to convince oneself] I think it's cute.
9) [asked to avoid stating an opinion] Does your husband like it?
10) [spoken as if discussing lawn care] Good thing about short hair is it grows out fast.

And the best one for last...
11) [spoken w/ jabbing amusement] Just in time for the holidays, eh? This one's gunna be well documented.

I think if the bangs and sides around my ears had been left longer, um, the above comments would not be so very, very applicable. But yes, thank goodness short hair grows out fast! And yes, dammit, I hope everyone forgets to bring their cameras this Christmas!

Now with Even More 'Christmas'

I had my French final yesterday (and I believe I'll be getting an 'A' on it by the way = YAY!!! + a huge sigh of relief!), so last night, after getting home after 9pm for my first totally french-free evening in months, I took the chance to catch up a bit... I finally decorated our banister with the remaining pine boughs I'd kept outside for the last 12 days! It's a bit more than my honey-man was expecting though. CORRECTION: It's A LOT more than my honey-man's used to in terms of holiday decor...

When I first began with only a couple bough pieces set on the lower banister, I could tell he was rather, um, concerned, asking questions about their placement and would the wire damage the banister rail, and what about this and that, and, and... and I had an answer for each question, and, thankfully, he returned to his office to work! [now apply baby-talk voice] = He's sooo cute.

Anyhow, once the lower banister was covered, I'd called for him to come peek at my progress, so he came down and expressed his full skepticism... and again, he returned to his office to leave me at it. [again, apply baby-talk voice] = He's too cute.

So anyhow, cut a bit to the chase here, eh? Well, once the boughs were all spritzed and it was all done with pine cones added and satin ribbon placed and coiled, I called my honey-man for a final time, to come down and take in the full affect...

Again, a lot more than my honey-man's used to, but HE LIKES IT!

[Note in the picture, the very cute Owen, sitting on a spindle base, inspecting the job]

And here's our chrimpus tree: I must mention I have new-found hatred for our chandelier...Mind you, I have never been fond of it at all, and now? I want to rip it outta the ceiling! = It entirely blocks the view of our gorgeous sterling silver star tree topper we'd bought in Ireland as our wedding gift to each other.
Both pictures are fuzzy due to the low light... Our tree doesn't look even half as cute in this pic as it is in 'real life!'

If I Were a White Elephant...

...I'd be a set of 8 crazy, curly, brightly colored drinking straws, enough to accompany 8 formal place settings....


This coming weekend, my honey-man and I will be off to L.A. to attend our favorite Annual Holiday White Elephant party hosted by some dear friends of ours in their Glendale home. Of course, a weekend to L.A. means we'll be seeing the angel boy-O, who also attends this party, along with his mommie, Wendy and his Batman-Dad. EXPLANATION: 'Batman-Dad is the new alias I've chosen for the great guy who's also known as Wendy's new hubby's and the angel boy-O's step-dad, but refering to him as either "her husband" or "his step-dad" seems insufficient, lack-luster recognition, and I can't think of a more normal alias, like 'Bob' or 'Tom.' Oh! Oh! I know! We could call him "Bowie"?! = he's a HUGE David Bowie fan (understatement), or would that be kinda sacreligious? I guess I should ask him how he'd like to be refered to here, since I don't use their common names... END OF TANGENT.


Anyhow, so we'll all be at this white elephant party together! And actually, since my honey-man's relocation to Vegas last June, whenever we go to L.A. now, we stay with Wendy and her lovin'-man. Hmm... "lovin'-man" might be a good alias... I got my honey-man, and she has her lovin'-man? I'll still ask.


We also have plans this weekend to see The Golden Compass on Saturday morning, all of us together, as the angel boy-O's tribe of parents. We even had a vote... The Golden Compass vs. Alvin & the Chipmunks. The decision made was a fun lil' development...

Tossing Out an 'Update'

Okay, so um, where have I been lately? #1, I've been studying for my French final exams!!! All day yesterday, I studied my French, and although I did do my hair and make-up, I never got dressed! I never left the house, yesterday. I was in my night top and bath robe with slippers on, allll day long.

What else? Um, we put up our chrimpus tree the weekend before last -- I will someday post pictures, once I have at least taken some! - - so unlike me to have not taken any! Uh, and this morning at 7am, I was at the dentist getting a chipped front tooth on its 7th or 8th chip all fixed up for the 3rd time, since the two other for-free fixes hadn't kept. My DDS told me I can't eat my crisp granny apples anymore without cutting them into slices first!?! *sniff, sniff* I LOVE EATING WHOLE APPLES! That's part of the 'whole' experience! And what else? Oh yes, my honey-man and I, we have managed to gain 10 lbs each since we got married 3 months ago... a mixture of happy fat, plus alotta stress at work (both of us), and several parts achy-heartache, missing the angel boy-O. Oh and on Saturday, we received a disc of our recovered Honeymoon pictures! Almost all of them were recovered! Haaaah-llelujah! And what else? Um, I've been studying my French? And I've been talking on the phone with friends and family, whenever I can, still trying desperately to catch up with everyone I haven't spoken to since before and after we got married!?! Oh, and I managed to holiday shop online for over two-thirds of everyone on my gift list. Oh yeah, and I finally got a new phone to replace my sad lil' Nokia brick, who's LCD screen had gone a bit whacko on me... I'm now a reluctant owner of a flip phone. Yes, I've finally joined the rest of the masses; my new cell is a flip, it's got bluetooth and it doubles as a camera, BUT it's a Nokia still, nonetheless.

My current to-do list:
Grocery shopping and buy new kitty food
Change kitty litter boxes
Trim kitty claws
New air filters for Matrix and Echo
Order rear windshield wiper blade for Matrix
Launder darks and synthetics
Mail off Netflick and Columbia DVD return
Buy LOTS of postage stamps
Mend my slippers
Send Letter to CIE Tours
Send Letter to Theatre Banshee
Write out my Heal Your Body affirmations
Decorate the handrail w/ pine boughs and ribbon
Get my hair cut again (so not used to this), dammit!
Locate and purchase the 'biggie gift' from Santa
Locate and purchase gifts for the ladies in my office
Sweep out the garage sooo...
...we can put christmas decor storage boxes away
Replant the mint and jade plants
Send out wedding gift thank you notes, dammit!!!
French Final this Wed. @ TEN AM
MS Captains Rally also this Wed.
Maria's image modeling competition also on this Wed.
Locate White Elephant gift for this next weekend
Locate a 2nd White Elephant gift for Idaho
Leave for L.A. this next weekend
Make & Send Holiday cards = over 110 this year
MS Walk Committee meeting, Mon. 17th
Prepare list of baked goods for xmas give-away
Bake the list of xmas baked goods to be given away
Sew Father & Son matching PJs for Xmas
Renew Matrix auto registration - go get SMOG test
Pregnancy test before colonoscopy on the 20th
Colonoscopy the 20th, joy-oh-joy!
Gift exchange w/ my sister before leaving for Idaho
Rinse the AC's airfilter - gotta do this before 'next year'
Flush water heater - looks like not until 'next year'
Clean refrigerator coils - also looks like not until 'next year'
Clean dryer's vent track - " " 'next year'
Finish the Enlightened Stepmother 4-heaven's sakes! (only 1 ch. left)
Finish Wedding Book via Shutterfly by Dec. 31st
Finish our Cruelty-free Home Products list (another story)
Write & Send Letter of Complaint to Luxor