It's FIRE time!

Amazing.

October 27th and we had SLEET. I was sitting outside DD's school, reading the mail while I waited, and all of a sudden I heard these little "tick tick" noises. Wasn't sure what it was until I looked up at the windshield. GAH! Little frozen bits of water! NOOOOO........!

That night, DH said, "I guess you want a fire tonight, right?"

What's a nice way to say, "NO DUH!" ??? :D

Ahhh, the first fire of the season. It was wonderfully warm, but I'm really not ready for winter to be here!!!

It's been chilly the past few days, but warming up a little each day. No more fires for a little while (I hope).












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The ongoing Saga of Stashie...

I tell ya, there's nothing like having animals around to liven up your life. :)

Things have been a little crazy here. So, when I need a laugh, I just have to look to the four-footed furbabies and I'm sure to be laughing in no time flat.

For example...

Stash has decided that he is our non-electric alarm clock. And normally, that would be fine, except that Stash's alarm setting keeps moving back by five minute increments.

First, he was jumping on the bed at 5:50 or so. Granted, we usually sleep until 6:00, but DH and I have learned to deal with missing out on sleep.

The first morning, it was amusing. Stash jumped on the bed. We tossed him off. He jumped on the table that's next to the window and proceeded to bang on the blinds. We chased him off. He jumped on the bed again. We chased him off and shut the door. He sat outside and clawed at the carpet under the door edge and made little "huffing" noises. I opened the door and gave up.

Well, the next morning, 5:55 turned to 5:50. Fairly same routine, with the addition of Sadie coming in to see if the cat was about to get in trouble. 'Cause you know she loves it when he gets in trouble. "Punish him! Punish him!" she thinks.

Morning after that, 5:45. Hmmm.... I don't like the direction this is headed.

Yesterday morning, 5:30. DH is now officially NOT AMUSED. Sadie is THRILLED. "PUNISH HIM! PUNISH HIM!" Stash sees DH's face and high-tails it.

"When are you going to teach this cat to cut that out?" says DH. "You have two options: he learns, or..."

"Hmph." says me.

Last night, we got in bed and Stash tried to get in with us. I had just dozed off when "thump" there he was, jumping on the bed. Well, being all loopy from having been woken up from a dream, all I could think of was "GET HIM OFF THE BED!" I picked Stash up and dropped him off my side of the bed....

...right on top of SADIE, who was lying on the floor!

Oops.

There was a HISSSSSS! Followed by a HISSSSS! and a dog jumping and a cat snarling...

"Make this work to your advantage!" said my sleep addled little brain to me, and I did the only natural thing.

I HISSED TOO!

Stash's eyes turned into dinner plates and he beat feet!

Didn't see him until we got out of bed at 6:00 this morning.

I wouldn't normally recommend this as a teaching method, but hey, if it worked, I ain't complainin'! :D

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Terrific Tuesday Tunes

My dear DH loveslovesloves this movie, and this song, and Daryl Hannah, and and and...

You get the picture.

Welcome to the 80's. Tease your hair, put on that neon pink Flashdance shirt and get ready. :)

Stash is making me CRAZY!

Stash the stray is slowly being incorporated into our family household, but it's taking a little adjustment. And patience.

Last week was a doozy in Stashie-land.

Last Wednesday, I put him out since I had to go to work. Since he's still new to tha family, I don't want to leave him and the dog alone for any length of time. Supervision is key, right? Anyway, when I left, he was sunning himself in the mulch in the front garden.

Came home around 1:15 pm, didn't see him, but didn't start to worry until dinner time. I took his food outside and rattled the bowl (which usually brings him RUNNING.) Nada. No Stash all evening.

Ok, not to panic. He had stayed away for a day at a time before, but he was usually back by breakfast time. I decided to wait until breakfast time on Thursday to panic.

No Stashie Thursday morning. Panic mode ON! :(

What with all the stray dogs, speeding cars, and coyotes we see around here, cats are taking their lives in their paws any time they step across the street. Of course, my mind just wouldn't let go of the gory images I was imagining.

I cried off and on all Thursday.

DH kindly refrained from an "I told you so..." but I knew he was thinking it.

When I drove up to the house Thursday afternoon after work, and there was no Stash sitting by the front door, I pretty much gave it up as a lost cause. :(

Later that evening, I went into the garage to get some meat out of the freezer for dinner. As I shut the door, I could have SWORN I heard, "Meow!" I looked around, didn't see anything. Then, another "Meow!" I couldn't figure out where it was coming from until I looked.... up. And saw a little black and white head peeking out of the attic opening. Stash was in the attic above the garage!

There is only one way into the attic -- via a ladder. We had left the ladder standing up after I got Halloween decorations down. He must have climbed the ladder and gotten into the attic, but then couldn't climb back down!

Apparently, Stash is a stoic man who won't cry or yell. My last dear kitty, Soco, was like that, too. Soco would get locked in the closet and wouldn't say a thing until she heard you pass by the door, and then clear her throat with a tiny little "meow", as if to say, "Um, excuse me, could you possibly see your way to opening the door?"

Anywho, poor guy was up there at least 24 hours. Once I got him down, he ate like a horse, ran outside to pee (probably held it the whole time, but I have to go up there later and check -- eww) and came right back in the house. He was skittish all evening. Who can blame him?

Remind me again why I love animals???

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Mama Yo Quiero...

...Ah Ah!

I was joking around with DD the other day and made up some words to a tune that was in my head. DD said, "Where did you come up with that tune?" I had to think about it for a moment, and then I realized it.

It was "Mama Yo Quiero" by Carmen Miranda!

Being the internet junkie I am, I wanted to find it on YouTube so DD could hear the song. Of course, since I don't speak Spanish, I thought the title was something like "Ma Mayo Karo." You know, like a truly weird sandwich made with mayonnaise and Karo Syrup or something. DD, who is in her third year of Spanish, took one look at what I was typing and laughed and laughed and laughed! Then she corrected my spelling. Hey, I took French!

YouTube search yielded this video first, and I remember it well:



That's one of the few Tom & Jerry cartoons that I truly like. However, I knew that I heard the tune first somewhere else, not on Tom & Jerry. Further digging found the true source: LUCY!



I love the look on the burro's face. :D

Ahhhh, don't you love it when you have a mental "itch" about something and can finally "scratch" it? *sigh* I feel so much better!

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Terrific Tuesday Tunes

If you're a child of the 70's, I'm SURE you remember this song... and no, I don't remember this at all, I'm too young, don't know what you're talking about... :D

Seriously, we listened and exercised to this version of "Chicken Fat" in PE in elementary school, but I also remember the Nanette Fabares version, and it was also played on the old "Wonderama" kids show. Wow, memories!

Get up and start getting rid of that Chicken Fat!

Outside my window...

I've seen this list on some other blogs and thought it was a nice way to give readers a little "snapshot" of my morning frame of mind. I think I'll try it!


Outside my Window... is a little bit of FROST! ARGH! However, the sun is shining and the sparrows are trying their darnedest to eat from the thistle feeder that we set up for goldfinches.

I am thinking... that FlyLady is calling to me and my timer is ticking. Let's have a "hooray" for starting back in with FlyLady!

I am thankful for... the fact that DH still has a job.... so far.

From the kitchen... some dishes still soaking to get off the chili we had last night.

I am wearing... jeans (see "frost" comment), black turtleneck and my "I'm with the BAND" sweatshirt

I am reading... I just finished Cold Mountain. I caught the movie for the first time last week and I can't get it out of my head. After having read the book, I'm even more impressed by the movie -- excellent adaptation of the book. That's rare, nowadays!

I am hoping... that this round of layoffs spares my DH. Unfortunately, it didn't spare my brother, who is now out of work. Need some good thoughts going up for him!

I am creating... the Storybook (Creative Memories digital scrapbook) for our vacation to the beach this past July. Almost done!

I am hearing... the ticking of my timer, the ticking of our clock and some construction noises from the other side of the subdivision.

Around the house... gotta vacuum -- the dog is shedding like crazy! Laundry is fairly caught up, so hooray for small favors!

One of my favorite things... the little oak desk that I just got from a lady on craigslist. It's exactly what I've been wanting for years and years, it fits in the space perfectly, and it was incredibly reasonable. Woot!

A few plans for the rest of the week... working at a new place on Thursday, so I hope it goes smoothly. And the usual mess and mayhem. What else is new? :)

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Terrific Tuesday Tunes

A song I sing to Sadie to make her howl. :D

Whoa.

Okay, I know I'm a LOTR nut, but I'm sure even those who didn't see the movies (all 3 of you) would agree that this is, like, totally incredible.


see famous look-a-like faces

LOLCATS

Made me laugh.out.loud. :D


more animals

The Stash Man

Hangin' out with DH on the front stoop.























Giving me his usual "serious" face.

Stashie rocks.

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Blog Challenge -- Countdown Lists

10 Things I Want to Do Before I Die:
*BE ON THE RADIO! I wanna do voiceovers or be a D.J. when I grow up!
*Go to Australia
*Learn to play the trumpet
*See my kids get married
*Learn how to build custom furniture
*Learn how to reupholster (are you spotting a trend here?)
*Build my very own scrap room
*Get my photos scrapped and journaled
*Use fondant on a cake! :D
*Sing with a good choir again
*I wanted to go to Australia Zoo and meet Steve Irwin, but I have to cross that one off my list. :(

9 Places I Last Spent Money:
*Wal-Mart
*Repeat 8 more times!!! :D

8 Sounds I Routinely Hear Around My House:
*Laughing
*Arguing
*YELLING
*Music
*Whining
*Fans running
*Washing machine running
*Sadie barking

7 Real Restaurants Where I Last Ate Out:
*Rail Heads in Midway (old converted railroad depot)
*Two Twenty-Two in Georgetown (fancy SCHMANCY!)
Thank goodness for my Homemakers Group or I’d have never eaten there!
(The rest are not “real” restaurants, but hey, when you’re a mom, you deal!)
*Arby’s
*Mickey D’s
*BK
*DQ
*Giovanni’s Pizzeria

6 Things I've Recently Scratched Off My To-Do List:
*Took tons of stuff to Goodwill
*Trimmed Sadie’s toenails
*Printed photos for Alex’s party guests
*Took book donation to library
*Ordered new door handles for the car… now if I could just figure out how to install them!
*Kissed my hubby (on my To-Do list every day)

5 People I Don't Know But Would Like to Hang Out With:
*I can’t narrow it down to just 5 and would hate to upset anyone.

4 Songs That Make Me Happy:
*Zippity Doo Dah (the original and sometimes even the Tom Hanks in Splash version… “Mister Mango on my shoulder...”)
*Oh, What a Beautiful Morning
*Prince Ali (from Aladdin)
*Indian Love Call ("When I'm Calling You-oo-oo-oo....")

3 Things I Hate To Do:
*Wash the dishes. Hate it hate it hate it.
*Go to the dentist.
*Make mistakes.

2 Things I'm Really Good At:
*Making my family laugh.
*Crafty stuff.

1 Bad Habit:
*Can’t ever get Birthday Cards in the mail on time!!!