Spring is in the Air

Happy Earth Day. What have you done to make the world a better place to live?

When I got home today it was beautiful out. Being this close to the lake it can be a whole lot chillier than going inland a few miles. I walked the dogs around the park, this time avoiding the area with all the stick-tights. It took me 20 minutes yesterday to clip them out of Boomer and Riley.

When I got back, I decided I should get my ass in gear and ride my bike outside. I have been sorta riding inside but as we all know that is BORING!! I pumped up the tires, lubed everything up and wore my new shorts from Voler. I love them!! They have a really soft chamois in them and are a dream. The chamois is also anatomically correct for girls :) Thanks, Kim for the recommendation.

So off I rode. Not really knowing the best place to ride where I can avoid traffic, I went around Greene Park and back up KK to Howard. I then went to the lake and rode the bike path up to the yacht club and went back home. It was cold and foggy right along the lake. it was also hard cuz there were so many people walking, with dogs or strollers. You could never get a good rhythm going. I rode for about 50 minutes or so and estimate that I went about 10 miles. It felt good to get the legs moving and heart pumping again. The city really needs to get the street sweepers put as there is alot of debris on the roads. Towards the end of winter, the city used sand/salt mixture and that sand is still hanging around. Intersections were a bit dicey. I may end up driving out to near our old house and riding in the country again. That was nice as there was little traffic and decent roads.

Today at work, I may have wrote my death sentence. I have been working on a server upgrade project for our application for several months now. It is now ready for us to install it and my boss wants to do the upgrade on a Friday or Saturday night. Our maintenance window is Sunday evenings. Our major users of the application want us to do it on Sunday. Our vendor wants is Sunday. I want it on Sunday. My boss does not. So I did what I felt was right and went above her head to her boss. I told him the deal and he agreed with me. Sunday it is. Whoo Hoo!! That pissed my boss off to no end. I really do not care as I know I am doing what is right for our users. I am to the point that I have absolutely no respect for her and pretty much do what I want.

So tomorrow I get to chair a meeting with the vendor, my boss and her boss as we go over the details of the upgrade. Funny thing is, is that we have weekly meeting with the vendor. My boss has not been to one of these meeting in over a month. If she would have been there, she could have had these questions answered weeks ago. Now it is a big freaking deal. I'll keep you updated.

I want to give a big shout out to Kris. She is running a half marathon in less than a month for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training program. She is almost to her fundraising goal. She needs $55 more. I encourage you to go to her page and donate. I know that she will appreciate the support.

All the fresh air and exercise has really made me tired tonight. I'm heading off to bed.

ZOBMONDO!!

Would you rather....

Eat one long strand of spaghetti that you've sucked through your nose

----OR----

have a teaspoon of sugar poured into your ear?

I would have to go with the sugar. The spaghetti thing freaks me out.

Someone's in Trouble... and it's not me

I finally met the woman who owns the house next door to me. She moved into a retirement community a few miles away. Her house has been vacant for almost a year now.

She stopped over yesterday with her daughter. They were wondering what happened to the side of her house. I had to tell them that they guy who did the plowing on the driveway, hired by the realtor of the seller of my home, hit is with his truck.

It happened on the day that I moved in. We stopped over for the final walk thru before I went to the closing. I told the selling realtor that he had to get the foot of snow out of the driveway. I had movers that would be there in three hours and that they would not unload my stuff if the driveway was not cleaned off.

So the selling realtor knew some guy to who could plow. He came in with a HUGE 10 or 12 foot plow. It was way to big for the driveway. He got stuck and when some other guy was trying to tow him out they hit the house next door. Left a gash in the siding. There is also a spot where the gutter is crumpled and the foundation looks like someone put their fist thru it. I do not know when that happened but it has been there since I moved in.

The daughter was not happy to hear this. I would have thought that the selling realtor would have called them to tell them. He did not. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Today, they are all out there. The plow guy, selling realtor, owner, her daughter and 4 other people who look like they may the owner's other kids. Not sure what is going to happen but, it should be interesting.

I'll keep you updated.

Happiness is.....

...hearing the clunk, thunk and thud of the ice falling in the ice bucket of your freezer.

Thanks to my dad for hooking up the water line to the fridge so that I can now have filtered water and ice. I no longer have to go out and buy ice at the gas station to fill the cooler.

Happiness is....

a new battery in Boomer's bark collar!!

Can you say quiet??

Shake, Rattle and Roll

This morning there was an earthquake in Southern Illinois. How do I know this?? No, not because I watched the news or read it online. It was Ollie, my African Grey parrot.

It was 4:42 am (on my clock) when Ollie when crazy. At first I thought that he fell off his perch. This sometimes happens when he sleeps. But after about 30 seconds he was not settling down. It was then I had to get up, turn the light on and talk to him to calm him down. He was squawking up a storm which in turn set off Boomer. Rufus and Riley pretty much ignored them and continued to sleep.

I remember the last time there was a small earthquake. Even tho' it was hundreds of miles away, Ollie could feel/sense it. He made a big fuss then as well. It is amazing how sensitive he is.

As I am driving home this afternoon, I drive my the corner where there are 3 gas stations. After, I picked my jaw up, I realized that gas is now $3.69/gallon. WTF?!?! It was $3.49 when I drove in this morning. This is beginning to get crazy. I am going to revisit with my non-existent boss about working from home at least 1 day a week.

Have a good weekend.

Oh What a Beautiful Day!

So after a very productive day spent around the house, I had to go back to work today. It sucked. It was kinda funny as everyone asked if I was feeling better. I played it off like I had bad allergies that made me all stuffy and such. Only L knew the truth as I figured since I had it all planned out I should at least tell him. He was cool with it as he knows the score around there.

Trivia was fun last night. For whatever reason the beer was going down way to well. I surely felt it this morning as I was moving a bit slower than normal. Must be something about the warm weather that makes the beer taste so damn good. We kicked some butt in trivia as well. My knowledge of the fact that Seinfeld lived on the 5th floor came in handy as we were able to put the location of where each family lived in order from highest to lowest. It was Mr. Drummond (30th floor penthouse), George Jefferson (12th or 14th floor, I forget which it was), Jerry Seinfeld (5th floor) and Lucy Ricardo on the 4th floor. That netted us another 50$ bar tab.

it is now less than one month until camping season begins. I cannot wait. I will have to go out to my parents and open up the camper sometime soon. Pack all the crap back in it once again. My only hope is that E is able to join us this year. With his dad not doing well, it may be tough. Who else will make the awesome shrimp salad (with no peas).

That's all for tonight folks.

ZOBMONDO!!

Would you rather....Have a job swabbing athlete's foot cultures from between peoples' toes

----OR----

taking photographs of skin conditions for a medical publication?

I so have to go with taking pictures. Some of you know that I am not a fan of the feet and think they are nasty.

Here's to a Friday that goes by quickly.

Sick with Spring Fever

It is Wednesday.

As of right now it is 59 degrees out.

It is sunny.

It is spring.

I am at home.

I called in sick with 'spring fever'. Ok, so maybe I planned it a bit (ok, ok, maybe planned it alot) when I seen earlier in the week that the weather today was supposed to be really nice. I figured what the hell. I normally do not use many sick days so, what a better day to use it than today. I was up early and started cleaning out the flower (dirt/weed) beds in the back of my yard. It runs the length of my yard and is about 2 feet deep. I pulled all the dead leaves and grass and crap out. I filled up two garbage bags of stuff.

I had a meeting at 9 and another one at 10 that I have to be at. My 10 am meeting should be a good one. I am calling out one of my co-workers on something that L and I have been beating into his head for over a year now. He is just sloppy when it comes to doing his job. Yesterday, I found another error that he made. Because the customer was having an issue I had to fix it right away. I then got to thinking how many other people have their info messed up. So I pulled out the config file from the server and started looking thru it. I stopped counting after 105 people. WTF?!?! I was pissed. When I showed this to L, he was livid.

When we bring this up to our poor excuse for a boss we get the old 'he's new' or 'it is a language barrier issue' routine. Ok, he has been here for 13 months now. The honeymoon is over. It has nothing to do with language, it is pure sloppiness. He is supposed to check for this as L and I have reminded him no less than a dozen times. So he will have to spend at least a full day going thru and fixing all the entries that are screwed up. I know that we can edit the config file and do a mass update but, fuck that. He can feel the pain of his actions. He screwed it up he can fix it.

Like I said it should be interesting...

Ok, back on topic again... After I finish up the meetings, I want to go out and rake the leaves and twigs and such up from the yard. I am pretty anal about stuff like that and want it to look good. Plus it will be a pain when it comes time to having to cut the grass.

I need to figure out what to plant in the back yard in the beds. Maybe some small bushes or something. I would like to put something that offers a bit of privacy from the neighbors as well.

The grass along the garage does not get a whole lot of sun so I may try to put something along there as well. Any ideas???

ZOBMONDO!!

Would you rather....

Swallow a small fish tied to a string and pull it back up after three minutes

----OR----

gently swallow a live cockroach whole so that it lives until it reaches your stomach (no beverages or chewing allowed)?

Hands down, no question... I am going with the fish. I do not want something live crawling around in my tummy. Way to freaking gross.

Talk to ya'll later....

2008 MACC Fund Trek 100

It is once again that time of year. The MACC Fund's annual Trek 100 Ride for Hope. The ride is in support for childhood cancer on June 7, 2008.

I will be asking all of you to support me in my fundraising effort once again this year. I am dedicating my ride to two people. Even thought they are not chronologically children, they still have that child-like spirit.

1. Gambino, who is now breast cancer free. Rock on, girlfriend!!

2. My cousin, Scott, who lost his battle with cancer at the age of 42, this past September.

I will be riding the 42 mile route this year. Which means that I really have to get my ass in gear and start riding more. I have been riding a bit this past couple of weeks but maybe only doing like 5-6 miles or so. Riding indoors is boring. I can't wait to get outside and ride. Now that I live near the lake I can take some of the nice paths.

My fundraising goal is $500. You can click here to go to my web page and make a donation on the secure website. Your donations are 100% tax deductable (who can't use more tax deductions) Check with your employer to see if they will match your donation. Many will do so.

Bathroom Remodeling

I know that I have said I would have these pictures out here a week ago but I have been lazy and not felt much like posting. I also have been trying to get a picture that does the floor justice.

So here are the pictures of the floor. If you ever need to have tile work done, I would recommend A's son. He did a great job.

The floor is a travertine marble. Each piece has such different patterns and colors. They colors range from almost white to a gorgeous chocolate brown color. It was the colors and movement in the pattern that made me go with this floor.

Here is the floor from a distance. You can see the new register cover, toilet and vanity.



A bit closer shot. You can now see the different patterns in the pieces.




I tried to get a good picture of my favorite tile. It has such a warm chocolate color.




I still am on the lookout for a window covering and shower curtain. I am just not finding what I am picturing in my mind.

I plan on having the tub re-glazed but will have to wait until I can get a plumber in to put new pipes in. They have to rip out a wall in the linen closet and that will be pricey so I have to wait a bit for that.

Water, Water, Everywhere....

... but not a drop to drink.

When I get home this afternoon I notice that there is water on the counter by the sink. hmmm... that is strange. Did I forget to wipe the counter up after I washed the dog water dish out this morning?? I didn't think I slopped that much water around. I know it has been raining a lot today and I cannot see anything in the ceiling where it would be leaking from. I don't give it much thought.

I am making dinner about 5:30 or so. I hear a dripping sound. I notice that water is dripping in the sink. I thought that I had not turned the faucet off a few moments ago. I go over and turn the faucet handle. Nope they are off. I wipe my hand over the faucet to dry it off. I turn back to the stove and hear it again. Drip. Damn. I can't see where it is coming from so I stop and watch and wait. A few moments later there it is again. It is definitely coming from the ceiling. Fuck! There is a small nail hole near the light fixture that is dripping water.

After watching it for a few minutes, I call my dad. He tells me to call the roofer. So I do. I leave him voicemail and about 10 minutes later he calls back. He is on his way out and will be here shortly. Yipee!!

I am worried that somewhere in the ceiling is a whole puddle of water somewhere just waiting to soak the drywall and come splashing down. The roofer is here about 20 minutes later. He goes into the attic and find the problem quickly. The stink pipe?? (I think that is what he called it, I think it is the vent for the sink, basically) needed a bead of caulk around it as there was a bit of a gap and that is where the water was coming in. He caulked it up and the water stopped.

I was very impressed with how quickly he responded on got out here. Once he found the problem he fixed it and went on his way.

ZOBMONDO!!

Would you rather....

On the job, be accused of stealing

----OR----

sexual harassment?

This is a tough one. Neither option is good. There was a guy I used to work with when I first started at the bank. He was accused of sexual harassment and fired. Two years later he committed suicide by starting himself on fire. That was a gruesome way to go.

Fly like an Eagle

Another weekend has flown by. Friday, I met a some of the gang at a bar called City Lounge in Cudahy. It was really a nice place. Open, with a old fashioned feel it is well maintained and best of all smoke free. We watched the Badgers get destroyed by Davidson. It happens almost every game. The Badgers hit this pocket of time when they don't score any points. This time they could not overcome that.

Saturday, was round two of our poker tourney. I finished in 8th place this week. I played ok I thought but just didn't hit anything when I needed to. After that we played a cash game and I took 2nd. I was happy with that. Payed for my day. I got to meet Milton, the Yorkie Maltese, who was sooo cute. He was only 4 months old and so sweet. Unlike Boomer he didn't bark. That must be the Maltese in him.

Today, I did stuff around the house. Went to the freak show, I mean grocery store. I should know better than to go at 11 am on Sunday. I hit the after church crowd. Just because it is after Easter does not mean that you can wear your white sandaly type shoes with your black nylons. I wish I could have taken a picture of that. It was scary.

It sounds like Scott is having a good time on his trip in Tibet. I hope that he was able to avoid the protests and violence. Can't wait to see the pics when you get back.

The next few days are supposed to be cold and rainy. I just wish that it would warm up enough to not have to wear gloves and a hat when I walk the dogs. The plus side is that I was able to get caught up on my tv watching. My dvr list is empty. YEAH!!!

Have a good week everyone....

ZOBMONDO!!

Would you rather...

Drink one gallon of milk, and then ride on a roller coaster

----OR----

ride on a roller coaster behind someone who drank a gallon of milk?

Well, since I hate milk, I have to go with riding behind someone. Let's hope that the person is not a hurler.

Demolition Part 2

More bathroom updates and pics.....My dad and I ripped out the old vanity and sink a couple of weekends ago. It was a pain in the ass as the sink was practically cemented down to the freaking walls. It took a few crowbars but it finally broke free.







I primed and painted over the old yellow wall so I did not have to look at that color ever again in my bathroom. We then put the vanity, vanity top and sink and new faucet in. It went in pretty smooth. The hardest part was getting the dumb drain plug thingy in. Pain in the butt trying to line it up in a small space.



Next came the paint on the walls. I picked out a color called "Ocean Sighs". It reminded me of a tropical feeling. We got the medicine cabinet in and called it a day.



Next week, the tile guy (thanks for the great recommendation, A) will be putting in the travertine floor and repairing the tile around the medicine cabinet. My dad will then be putting in the new toilet and we are done. I decided to have the tub reglazed instead of replaced or one of the bathfitter things. That will have to wait a bit as the budget is now almost empty. That and I need to find a plumber who will replace the valve and pipes in the wall behind the shower. They will have to go in thru the hall closet, which is fine, but it is a task that will take several hours to complete and my dad wants nothing to do with it as the pipes and all will need to be replaced from the basement up. This could end up being very pricey. Anyone know a good plumber who is willing to work on the side for cheap??

I still need to get some sort of shower curtain and a window covering. I am thinking of either a white roman shade type of window treatment or maybe a bamboo blinds. Something to keep with the tropical feeling. Any ideas??

My cold is getting much better. A couple of days staying low key and some Nyquil seems to have done the trick. I hope that it is gone for good. This was starting to get ridiculous.

ZOBMONDO!!

Would you rather....

Have to put to sleep five puppies you just got

----OR----

a dog you've had for a year??

I would have to go with the five puppies. I would have less of an emotional attachment to them. After a year, it would be heartbreaking. You all know how much my dogs mean to me.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to all. The Easter bunny did visit the boys last night and left them a each a new toy. But Boomer, being Boomer has already ripped the legs off and stuffing out of one of them. Almost a record for him... about 3 hours before it was in the garbage. I took the other ones away for now. I really need to find toys that he does not destroy. Even Kong balls are no match for Boomer. He can rip chunks out of them just as easily as a stuffed squeaky toy. You would never think that an 8 lb Yorkie would be such a holy terrier. It is a good thing he is so damn cute.

I am back being sick again. It is getting better today but still not good. It started last week with a sore throat and by Friday was hitting me pretty well. Last night, I took a couple of cold pills and went to bed about 11pm. (I had a wild ass dream that I'll have to share with you later. I should have known better than to take 2 cold pills). I woke up this morning about 9:45 am. I did get up about 5:30am to let the dogs out. Even Rufus decided to get up and go out. I skipped going to my parents and just went to Home Depot to pick up some electrical stuff for my dad. It was nice enough out to walk the boys a bit and then I layed in a big pile on the couch, snuggling with the dogs, watched 10 Years Younger marathon on TLC and dozed on and off. I figured that I better get up for now or I won't sleep tonight.

I know it has been awhile but here is the latest....

ZOBMONDO!!

Would you rather....

For the rest of your life, choose the same drink and the same meal to ingest every time you eat

----OR----

have someone else always choose what you eat??

Ok, this is a no brainer... for those of you who know me, know that I tend to be a bit strange with my eating choices. I will eat the same thing every day that I choose. It would be my luck that someone would make me eat a hamburger... and that would not be a good thing.

Have a good week everyone :)

Blow Me

I am stealing the title of today's blog from StB who had a post the other day about Mother Nature can blow him.

I think we (southeastern Wisconsinites) must have done something to piss God off. We get dumped on with snow about 6 weeks ago. It just happened to be on Ash Wednesday. Again on Good Friday, we get another foot of snow. I think this is someone's way of telling us that they do not want us in church as many churches were cancelling their Good Friday services until today. You know it is bad when the catholic church cancels service.

My driveway is about 120 feet long or so. It runs the length of the lot to the back where my garage is. It is hard to snow blow because the driveway sites right between my house the the neighbors. You have to blow the snow forward first and then off to one side. This makes it take twice as long cuz you have to move the snow twice. When I went out yesterday about 3 pm the snow was up past my knees in the backyard. I almost fell face first into the drifts.

This is a picture of my driveway from the top. There is still another 30 feet or so to the street.

I am really lucky that my next door neighbors are two sweet older men. They are brothers. They have been snowblowing my sidewalk and driveway up from the street to the up where the house starts. That makes my job so much easier. I am going to make them some Nana's Apple Cake as a gesture of my appreciation. It took me about an hour to clear the rest of the driveway and a spot for the dogs.

This morning, the brothers were up and at 'em about 6:30. I tried to sleep in but Boomer had other ideas. He thought it was much more fun to sit in the window and bark at the brothers while they were snowblowing. I tried to sleep some more but was up by 7:30ish or so. I got the dogs out and started the task of cleaning off the rest of the driveway. It was easier today that yesterday but the drifts in the backyard are about 3 feet high across the driveway. It took awhile to knock those all down. The sun is out and melting off the rest of the snow nicely.

I may look into getting someone to plow for me next year. Especially if we get the big snows. It is just too hard to find a spot to put the snow between the houses.

I think I may head out to watch the Badger and Marquette games this afternoon. That means that I have to get my butt in gear and get stuff down around here. I really need to go grocery shopping.

Half Nekkid Thursday

Just a cartoon I found that I thought was kind of funny....

Gone To A Farm

Did you ever had a pet when you were a little kid that all of a sudden 'went to the farm' to live out his last days?? Since we lived on a farm that story really never held water but I remember that we did have a pig called 'Arnold' that went to go live on another farm after he got to big for his pen at our house.

Well, the Onion has one upped that. The Packers are saying that they gave Brett Favre to a nice farm family somewhere. He didn't just retire to Mississippi somewhere. Ted Thompson and Coach McCarthy sent him off to live his days out where there are no injuries or winters. You can read all the details here.

I am sooo glad that the Onion tells the story as it really is. hehehe

An Irish Legend

An Irishman moves into a tiny village in County Kerry, walks into the pub and promptly orders three beers. The bartender raises his eyebrows, but serves the man three beers, which he drinks quietly at a table-- alone. An hour later, the man has finished the three beers and orders three more.

This happens yet again. The next evening the man again orders and drinks three beers at a time, several times.

Soon the entire town is whispering about the "Man Who Orders Three Beers."

Finally, a week later, the bartender broaches the subject on behalf of the town. "I don't mean to pry, but folks around here are wondering why you always order three beers?"

'Tis odd, isn't it?" the man replies. "You see, I have two brothers, and one went to America and the other to Australia. We promised each other that we would always order an extra two beers whenever we drank... as a way of keeping up the family bond."

The bartender and the whole town are pleased with this answer, and soon the "Man Who Orders Three Beers" becomes a local celebrity and source of pride to the village--even to the extent that out-of-towners will come to watch him drink.

Then, one day, the man comes in and orders only two beers. The bartender pours them with a heavy heart. This continues for the rest of the evening: he orders only two beers. Word flies around town. Prayers are offered for the soul of one of the brothers.

The next day the bartender says to the man, "Folks around here, myself first of all, want to offer condolences to you on the death of your brother. You know, the two beers and all...."

The man ponders this for a moment, then replies, "You'll be happy to hear that my two brothers are alive and well. It's just that I, myself, have decided to give up drinking for Lent."

Site Changes

I have added a few new link on my side nav. Stop over and take a look at them. They are some good sites with interesting people.


Getting Single... details a woman's journey through her marriage and divorce. It is also a podcast. You really have to go back and read it from the beginning to get a true sense of the story of her life. Check it out....


Not a Player, Rather a Predator. Roxy is a girl on the Easy coast who is completing her medical school residency. Always entertaining.


The Wife - Mrs. Chako's Side of the Story. The Wife is married to Dr. Chako who is a poker playing doctor in Iraq. The Wife is very funny and always a hoot.

ZOBMONDO!!

Would you rather...

As a brazen teenager showing off on class camping trip, drink a thimbleful of snake venom

----OR----

eat the tail off a dead scorpion?

First off, I'm glad that our camping trips don't have stunts like this. Second, I have to go with eating the tail. I would have a better chance at survival.

Demolition Phase 1

Bathroom demolition is under way. My dad ripped out the old medicine cabinet on Friday and temporarily hung a light on the way for me to be able to see. What a difference that made. I went from 30 watts to 75 in short order. I can now see if the shower and can see the spots that I missed shaving on my legs.

Here is where the old medicine cabinet was. I had the mirrored doors from the old one in there so I could see when getting ready for the day.

Here is the rest of the vanity and toilet. Notice the lovely yellow color and ugly floor tiles. Gotta love 1958 decorator colors.

Saturday was spent running errands.... after shoveling almost 5 inches of fluffy snow. Gotta love living only 3 blocks from the lake. I had to pick out paint for the walls, a register cover, and a vanity top/sink. It took me almost 6 hours but I can say that I am done buying stuff. Or at least I hope so.

I was supposed to go play poker at a friend from work's house on Saturday nite but by time I got home I was tired and wanted nothing more than to lay on the couch and spend some snuggle time with the boys. I am bummed that I missed the first week of the poker series tho. He is running a home tourney that will run for like 10 weeks. It will pay off the top 3 spots each week and you get points based on your finish each week. After 10 weeks the top 10 will play off with the top 3 taking home cash and the winner getting a buy in to a Potawatomi tourney. Not too bad of a deal. I will have to wait to see how the person who sat in for me on Saturday did. I am really looking forward to playing in live games more often. M is a good shit and hilarious when he gets drunk.

My dad came over today and put the medicine cabinet and the new light fixture in. I have even more wonderful light in the bathroom. He had to patch the drywall and got the first coat of mud on. My job is to do the rest over the next few days. I started sanding the door frames down. Who was the crazy person who thought it would be a good idea to have metal door jambs. That explains why everything is painted.














I did take the new vanity and vanity top out of the box and set them up in the spare room. I set the faucet on top and it looks so cool. All nice and shiny and clean.I can't wait to see the completed room. It will be nice to have one room done in the house

Zobmondo!!

Would you rather....

Be held in high esteem by one and only one person who you truly respect

OR----

by 10,000 people that you don't respect?

I have to go with the one and only person that I respect.

Another busy week coming up . Good thing the weather is supposed to turn around for the good finally. Peace Out!!!

Sick and Tired

I am finally getting over a cold. It has been coming on now for the past couple of weeks but decided to rear its ugly head late last week. It doesn't help when everyone else around you is sick as well. I ended up missing two days of work. I got off easy as a few people at work were out more than a week.

The boys and I are adjusting to our home. Boomer has finally stopped barking every time the furnace kicks in. Which is a good thing at 3 am. Rufus still misses soon to be ex hubby and wants to sit on my lap all the time. He is good to cuddle with as he snuggles up and nice and small.

Went on Saturday with my dad to pick out bathroom stuff. I got a vanity and medicine cabinet. My dad was nice enough to pay for it as an early birthday present for me. That was so nice of him. I did not expect that at all. I ordered the faucets, towel bar, lighting fixture last nite. Today, I stopped at the tile shop and ordered my flooring for the bathroom. It is a Mojave travertine marble. It is really pretty. Have to give some big kudos to A's son. He gave me a nice price on the installation and I got a very nice discount on the tile. All to do now is get a vanity top. All I know is that I want a counter and sink 1 piece thing. Then I don't have to worry about ever caulking it. I plan on taking some before and after shots. I'll post them in the coming weeks.

I did finally get all the ice off of the driveway. No more skating rink. My dad helped me chop it all off on Sunday. There is one section that still has a pile of frozen snow on it but I can now get into the garage easily enough. Now if I only had power in the garage I could use the door opened instead of having to open it manually each time. If I could only get an electrician to call me back to come and fix it.....

Well, that's all for now.

Talk to you all later.

This and That

So a little over a week has passed since I moved into my new house. I am getting settled and starting to feel more comfortable in the new digs. I still have to get more dressers. I am used to having much more closet space and really only had my underwear, bras and socks in a dresser. I now need to find homes for the rest of my clothes. I would like to get them out of the buckets I have them in now. Maybe this next weekend, I will take a trip to the furniture store to get a couple of dressers.

When I bought the house it came with a one year home warranty. Basically it covers anything that can go wrong with the house for the first year. I used it on Friday. I called to have the furnace cleaned and checked out. It seemed like it was running alot but wanted to have someone take a look at it. They came out on Friday. He opened it up and started it up. Took one time for it to turn on and he could tell that the induction motor was bad. That was the train like sound that it was making. I was lucky that these guys were authorized to do warranty work for me and called the company up. 15 minutes later I had them authorized to replace the motor and a limit switch. It cost me a $60 deductible. The bill would have been $583. Good deal on my part.

The dogs are getting used to the place. Rufus, I think really misses soon-to-be-ex-hubby. He has kinda moped around here and has been really clingy the last couple of days. Not like him at all. All three dogs seem like their digestive systems are messed up a bit. Everyone has had the runs and made messes in the house. Thank goodness for carpet cleaners.

My boss is coming into town tomorrow. We are to get our reviews. Should be interesting. I know that I got a 5.8% raise and a smaller bonus than last year. I have a post that I started several weeks ago about how she threw us under the bus on a project. I should go back and clean it up and post it. I have said this before.... she is a nice person and treats us fairly well but is not a very good manager. Oh well.... at least I will get a few good meals outta it.

ZOBMONDO!!

Would you rather....

As a man, find out that your fly was open all day

----OR----

that your shirt tail was out, you missed a belt loop, and your pants leg was stuck inside the top of your sock?

Have to go with the open fly. Hey who knows what kinda good stuff you may be able to see?!?!

Getting Settled

The last couple of days have been hectic and tiring.

On Thursday, hubby moved out of our house. All went well and the weather held out and snowed later in the day after the movers were done and gone.

Friday, dawned sunny and cold. We closed on our old house. It is just a 23 year old kid who bought it. Mom and dad are forking over quite a bit of cash to him. Must be nice to be 23 and own a 225,000 home. oh well.... We ended up waiting about an hour for the funds to be disbursed so that I could take the money and go and close on my new house. Meanwhile, mom is at the old house supervising the movers. Dad is at the new house ripping up the carpet in master bedroom. The floors underneath are red oak and look ok. They need some cleaning and all but for the most part are ok.

The movers I think were really wondering how I was going to fit all this stuff into this little house. I know I am.

By the end of the day I was tired and cranky. At one point I had 25 boxes in the kitchen and no idea where to put the shit. Most of it went down in the basement for now. I will go thru it little by little and get it sorted out.

Today, A and K came over to help me unpack some stuff and organize. The jury is still out on how to arrange the furniture in the living room. With one wall having two windows and the other wall broken up by a closet it make my options limited. A and K did a good job of helping me stay on track and finding new homes for things. I really appreciate your help, guys. THANKS!!!

I finally got my internet and tv hooked up this morning as well. I am lost without internet and tv....Now I have to get my dvr all set up and I am ready to go..

It is really nice to be in a place that is all my own. I look forward to my new life.

My ass is dead tired and I am heading off to bed in a few minutes. I will try to get some pictures posted in the next few days. Just have to remember which bucket my camera is in.

Have a good weekend all... Talk to ya later.

A Reason Not to Work Out

Just say Ouch!!

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

The weather in Wisconsin has been crazy this year. We get snow, then cold, then it warms up and we get rain and the snow melts, then it gets cold again and then it snows... or it just freakin' keeps snowing. I am getting tired of shoveling almost every day. Luckily, it was warm enough out earlier today to melt some of the driveway off. I was able to get the end of it cleaned up so it is not a skating rink. Then we got another 1-2 inches that had to be shoveled off tonight so that I did not have to shovel when it was 0 out tomorrow. It was light enough that it only took like 15 minutes.

I drove by my new house today and seen that roof is not finished and the driveway is a mess. The old shingles and crap is now buried under a foot of snow. The people who are doing the snow removal, could only do a path to the front door and back to the garage. All I can say is that it had better be cleaned up by Friday when I move. I am not shoveling or snow blowing that so I can move in. I'm pissed that the roofer did not have a dumpster (like his quote said) to get rid of the mess. At least then it would be contained.

Packing is going well. All I have left is really food, some dishes that I am still using, clothes and a few knick knacks. We made another run to the dump to get rid of more stuff. The fire pit had a rust hole in the bottom of it so that went.

I had an old love seat that I gave to my sister. Hubby and I take it over there this morning and when we get there, her landlord is there. My guess is that he was kicking her out. When we walked in the place it was a disaster. It turned my stomach. Food and crap like a dirty diapers on the floor. There were like 7 razor blades laying in the living room alone. Thanks goodness, the youngest two kids have no idea that the razors are used for her crack habit. Now I know why my oldest niece lives with my parents. I would be embarrassed as hell to bring anyone over into that house. If I were her landlord, I would have told her that she has three days to get the place clean or get out. She still has her Christmas tree up. She said that until the kids put away the presents that are under it she can't take it down. Not sure why she can't take the clothes and games and put them away. She is the parent. You can't expect a 5 and 6 year old to keep a house up when she can't. Oh well.... someday it will all come crashing down around here. I just hope that the kids don't have to pay the price.

ZOBMONDO!!

Would you rather....

Eat a newly born baby rodent

----OR----

a small sack of crawling caterpillars?

They both are really nasty but I have to go with the baby rodent. It is one thing and then you are done.

Stay warm!!

Good Guesses

You all had good guesses but all wrong. The answer was...... use a snow blower. We got a bunch of snow on Friday and soon to be ex-hubby wasn't going to be home until late so if I wanted to leave the driveway I had to get the snow off the driveway.

I had to call hubby to tell me how to start it and once I got it started it went well. It was moving a bit fast and did not know that the self propelling feature was controllable. My arms, chest and back were soooo sore the next morning from trying to slow the damn thing down. Oh well... I now know.

We got another blast (ok, more like a dumping) of snow today. I am very lucky that I can work from home if the weather is bad. The drive in would not have been too bad but the drive home would have been miserable. Today was kind of a wasted work day. Had a few meetings and got some packing done. But not a whole lot of real productive work.

I am getting tired of the snow. It seems like it is snowing every few days. Just enough to be a pain in the butt. Does Mother Nature not realize that I am moving in 9 short days and would like to not have to trudge thru snow to do so. I just keep thinking that I only have 4 more days of work and then am off for a week... just wish it was some place nice and warm.

Co-worker, L, just came back from a cruise. He is all nice and tan. He and his partner went on a gay cruise. I love hearing the stories. They guys are crazy. And the pictures.... all I can say is that is is a good thing that the boat has a photo shop on board. Not sure if some of the pics would have not been printed at a regular place.

Well, not much else to say for now.

ZOBMONDO!!

Would you rather....

Clip a homeless stranger's disgusting toenails

----OR----

clip your own toenails and eat the clippings?

Both options turn my tummy but would have to go with doing my own. At least I know where my funk came from.

Trying Something New

What did I do today that I have never done before??

A beer to the first person who guesses correctly.

Hint.... I will probably do it again in the future although hopefully not often....

Things That Make You Go Uhhh... Yeah....

I was reading a blog of my next door neighbor earlier this evening. She is a very nice person but not the sharpest pencil in the box. Here is the first line from yesterday's post.

"It is 35 below wind shield factor and -4 degrees outside today"

My first thought was what the hell is the wind shield factor?? and what is 35 below that factor?? Is that the factor of when your wind shield will break?? something else??

Now me, being the anal person that I am, would have written the sentence this way "It is -4 degrees outside today with a wind chill of -35 degrees".

I may not be a good writer but I know proper grammar. I try to always read thru my posts before publishing them to make sure that they make sense.

The last week has been busy. I am getting things packed up and tossing things out. Nothing like moving to get you to go thru stuff. I hope to get alot of the stuff packed up this weekend.

The roof is almost finished on my new house. I stopped over on Tuesday to check it out. It looks nice. I hope that they got all the debris cleaned up before the wind kicked in or the neighbors will not be very happy with the shingles and crap all over the place. Other than that things are progressing right along with the selling of our old house, my new house and the divorce.

ZOBMONDO

Would you rather....

Run over your daughter's new puppy

----OR----

forget her birthday for two consecutive years??

I'm going with forgetting the birthday. I'm too much of a dog lover to run over the dog.

Let's Blow the Roof Off of This Joint

I got me a new roof, folks. The sellers are going to pay for a new roof as well as fixing the radon issue. I go tomorrow to pick out the shingles and gutters. What fun!! I am just glad that this is all over. The last couple of weeks have been very stressful for me and I am normally a person who handles stress pretty well, or so I think anyway. It is a relief to know that I have a place to live and to call my own. The dogs, bird and I will settle into our new life in our new home in less than a month.

I will find out in the next few days if we can get into the new place a bit early so my dad can rip the carpet up in a couple of the bedrooms before I move in. That will be easier to do if we are not moving stuff in at the same time.

Sunday is the big game. What game you may ask?? If you are listening to the local media, there is nothing else going on in the world except this game. The only good thing with the Packer coverage is that we don't have to listen to the political coverage. Not sure which is worse right now. I think it is important that people get to know who they will vote for but it is crazy. I wish that the candidates would have mandatory campaign spending limits. It would even the playing field.

American Idol has started. I love to dvr it and watch later. I can get thru a 2 hour show in about an hour once you knock out all the commercials. There were a couple of people who were really good. Should be another fun season.

ZOBMONDO!!

Would you rather....

Have to walk on five-foot stilts for the rest of your life

----OR----

always have to ride a unicycle to get around?

Have to go with the unicycle. Just think of all the great exercise you would get.

A Roof Over My Head

The inspection on my new house was last Saturday. All went well except for one big thing. The roof. It probably should have been replaced at least a year ago. There were shingles that had no gravel on them anymore.

So, we are going back to the seller to have them pay for a new roof. We are talking a complete tear off on both the house and garage. They are balking at it a bit. It will probably cost 5 grand to replace. That is coin that I can't really afford at this time. We are now at the point of getting a few estimates to see what the cost will be and try to negotiate. To top it off the radon test came back at 6.9. EPA guidelines say that anything over 4.0 needs to be fixed. It will cost the seller another grand to remediate that. My realtor talked to the other realtor and learned that the sellers are frustrated. Don't blame them. The house has been on the market for over 8 months and they now have to shell out some cash to get more stuff done.

I think that it was not a good sign when my realtor sent me link to a few new houses to look at. Bad thing is that none of them appealed to me.

At this point I am back to waiting again. This sucks. I can't sleep, which for me is very unusual. It doesn't help when hubby's work calls at 11:45 pm and wakes me up cuz he doesn't answer his cell phone. I tossed and turned the rest of the night. My ass is draggin but I want to stay up until about 10 or so, so that I can hopefully be tired enough to sleep.

ZOBMONDO!!

Would you rather....

Not eat for three days

----OR----

not sleep for three days?

I have to go with the eating. I can stand to lose a few pounds. I'm already not sleeping very well.

Go, Pack, Go

By now, most everyone knows that the Packers beat Seattle and are now heading for the NFC Championship game. Since the Giants beat Dallas, the game will be played at Lambeau Field.

The Dallas/Giants game was a good one. I wanted the Giants to win because I think that the Packers will have an easier time them. The Packers never play well against the Cowboys, especially in Dallas.

The game was a fun time. Everyone was at Big Momma's. The bar was crowded but not too crazy. It was fun seeing everyone. We don't get together enough during the winter months. Afterwards, went to K&J's for Pizza and Eddie Murphy's Delirious. The best part is the Goonie Goo Goo bit...

Eddie Murphy: [as his drunk father] Your wife's a Bigfoot, isn't she, Gus? Your wife is a Bigfoot, isn't she? That's why the bitch's moustache is so motherfuckin' thick... 'cause you shaved the bitch down and taught her to speak. I know a motherfuckin' Bigfoot when I see one! Don't bring a Bigfoot into my home, Gus! With my children? The bitch can't talk! She can't walk a flight of steps! She's not trained well, Gus! She can *not* walk steps! I'll bet she climbs the fuck outta trees, though, don't she, Gus? Doesn't she? DOESN'T SHE? But you got to not bring her around here - fuck her! And your motherfuckin' children? They're Bigfeet, too. They're half-Bigfoot, Gus, 'cause the motherfuckers is 6 years old and have Afros 17 inches long. They're little hairy motherfuckers, just like their mother. Look at the motherfuckers! You know how I found out they was Bigfoot - when I realized your wife was a Bigfoot when I took your kids fishing last week. I put the motherfuckers in the boat, Gus, and I took the worm and I put it on the hooks. And they both sat there, and they put their poles down in the motherfuckin' boat, and slammed their faces in the water for 2 minutes! And I think, "What the fuck are these kids doin'?" Then they start moving their heads like this

[quickly shakes head back and forth]

and the motherfuckers come up with fish! I jumped back and said, "Can you believe this motherfuckin' shit?" Then the kid took the fish out his mouth and looked at his brother and said, "Goonie-Goo-Goo." What the fuck is going on here? Normal kids don't do shit like that, Gus. But I'm gonna tell you something, motherfucker. You can take your motherfuckin' hairy fat-ass wife moustache bitch out the fuck, you can go upstairs and get the motherfuckin' dog and scoop up the shit and take Eddie and get these mothafuckin' long Angela Davis afro-wearin' motherfuckin' kids of yours and put them in the motherfucking "Goonie-Goo-Goo"-mobile and get the fuck out! And if my wife don't like that, she can get the fuck out, too!

[Eddie mimes his shoe-throwing noise] You missed me, bitch!

Good Night Detroit!

I Don't Get It

I went out to the USPS website to change my address and found that to do it online costs me $1.00. WHY??? I can fill out the info online, print it and stick it in the mailbox tomorrow and it will cost me nothing.

Does this seem a bit odd to any one else???

It's Official

I got the call about 30 minutes ago. I got the house. I am now the proud almost owner of a cute 3 bedroom, 1 bath brick ranch in St. Francis.

Here is a pic of the front of the house. If you want to see more go to the post from the other day. The link is on there.

Things went smooth. They countered this morning at 142,000. We came back and said ok, we will take that but pay most of the closing costs. That is about 2500 so, it works out well. Now more of my money can go towards the down payment.

I close on both houses on Feb 15th. We will be moving that day as well. Now, I have to call and line up the movers. We are going to try to work it out so that they can pack all the stuff up and then drop hubby's off at his new place and then send the rest on to my house. All I know is that it is worth it to have them haul my elliptical up and down stairs. That thing weighs a ton!!

Not alot that I want to do right away. 1. Rip the carpet out of the bedrooms. There are hardwood floors under the carpet. Hopefully, they are in good shape. 2. Paint the kitchen. I like pink (remember, I ride a pink bike) but not really my thing in the kitchen. When we painted here this summer, we have a bunch of paint left over and I can use that. It is an off white color which is fine for now.

Dad was all excited. He now has a project to work on for the rest of winter. I should just put a bed in one of the rooms and have him move in. Save him money on gas.

Have to meet with the attorney on Thursday. We have to draw up papers that releases hubby from any legal or financial responsibility for my new home. Lots of stuff to do. It will be a busy month. I can see me burning alot of vacation time up in the next month.

Well, time for bed. I have not slept well the past few nights. I think I will sleep much better knowing I now have a place to live.

Good Night everyone!!

The Wait Begins

So, the offer was submitted this morning. Now comes the waiting.... The seller's have until end of day on 1/8 to either accept, reject or counter offer.

Think good thoughts!

House Hunting - Day 3

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. Back at the house hunting. Today's trip only consisted of two locations. Both is St. Francis.

House 1 - nice location on a dead end cul-de-sac. The house was well maintained and had been owned by some dead old people. The kitchen and bath were recently updated and had nice fixtures. Windows were fairly new. Living room was small. Entire house had hard wood floors. It had only been on the market like 10 days and my realtor must have known the other realtor and said that he did not think that they would some down much if any in price. It was at the very top limit of my budget.

House 2 - nice location across from a park. As we drove up, I knew that this would not work. There was no driveway or garage. You parked on the street. YUCK!! The property was on an alley but there was a 20-25 foot drop from the edge of the lawn to the alley. That's not working for me. We did not even go in.

My realtor is a great guy. He is friends with my co-worker L. So after we looked at the houses, we stopped at a little bakery for lunch. We bought some hot ham and rolls and ate and chatted. He does alot of real estate for the Bucks. We are eating lunch and he gets a call from a rookie player who shall remain nameless at this time. He cut the tire on his Range Rover and needed to get a new one. Except that no place around here could get one in for like a week. He bought the vehicle in Chicago. Last week, when it was in the shop for something else, he had my realtor's truck. Rookie called realtor and said that the truck kept stalling out on him. First thing realtor asks is if there is gas in it. He says yes, he just filled it up. It then dawns on him that he put gasoline in. Not diesel fuel which is what it runs on. Realtor needs a new engine. Rookie said that he would buy him a new truck. This is like the 4th or 5th thing that has happened to him and vehicles in the last 4 months. I told realtor that I would be rookie's driver. He laughed and said that he has already recommended that he get a car service.

In the end, I decided to put an offer in on the house in St. Francis. Realtor thought that since it has been on the market for so long, we should be able to get a deal on it. We are offer of 135,000 to see if they bite. He figures that they will then counter with 140 or less which is perfect for me. I am waiting for Realtor to email over the paperwork so I can sign it and away we go.

I'll keep you all updated on the progress. Keep you fingers crossed.

House Hunting - Day 2

Today, dad and I went out with my realtor and looked at more houses. We went to look at 4 new ones and back to the one I liked last week.

Started out in Cudahy, This one was a foreclosure. It was a dump. You could tell that it had been empty for over a year now. Needed a new driveway, had no gutters. The only nice thing was that it had nice refinished hardwood floors.

House 2 - was back to the one in St. Francis that I liked. When we went out last week to look at it, it was with my realtor's associate and my realtor wanted to look at it so he could see it for himself. I still liked the house. I know someone who lives across the street so that would be nice as well.

House 3 - It was in a nice location on a dead end road behind Zablocki park. Long driveway. As we walked up the driveway, you could see that the garage was crooked. Quite a bit. As we walked in, you could see that the rest of the house was off as well. The fridge was tilted about an inch or so. It looked like the house was a small cottage at one time and they added on to it. This was a definite no as well.

House 4 - Was a few blocks away. As we drove up, we noticed that it was the smallest house on the block. The garage was tiny. I don't think that my truck would have even fit in there. The owners were at the house. As we walked in, there was an odd odor. Kinda gross. The house was crammed with stuff. For those of you who know me, I hate clutter, especially when it looks like a dump. This was what the house looked like. Do you think if you wanted someone to buy your house, that maybe you would run a vacuum through quick. Not these folks. Besides the fact that there was no basement this was a no as well.

House 5 - It was on Honey Creek Dr. Nice area, but very close to the freeway. You could hear the traffic and it was loud. The house was very well maintained but small. Two of the bedrooms were like 9x9. Way to small for me.

One thing I have learned was that there is a reason that alot of the homes do not have pictures of the interior on the web. They are dumps and there is not much you can do, even with Photoshop, to make it look better. I just have a hard time believing that people live in this kind of crap. They are all fairly decent neighborhoods. Not like I'm looking in the inner city somewhere.

So, I think I have decided to put an offer in on the St. Francis house. My realtor is going to look at the comps in the area and see what a reasonable offer is. I think we have the fact that it has been on the market since last May going for us. They may be willing to deal. I am hoping that all works out. Keep your fingers crossed.

ZOBMONDO!!

Would you rather....

Have a see-through nose

----OR----

entirely white eyeballs?

Well, since I have a cold going on, the see-through nose would be quite gross at this time. But it could be fun to gross people out. hmmmm... what are your thoughts??

Reflections of the Past Year

The past year has seen many changes in my life. At this point I am not sure if they are good or bad but they are changes none the less.

The biggest one has been my marriage falling apart. I always thought that if we had made it 10 years or so that it would last forever. We would grow old together. Little did I know that I would be traded in for a 23 year old. I had to put up with alot of stuff for over a year before I told any one that there were problems. All I have to say on that is that I hope you are happy with the decisions you made.

My divorce will be final on April 8th. This will be one of the most difficult things that I will ever have to do. But this as well, will be a good thing, in the long run. I will learn how to be myself again and not have to rely on another person for my happiness. I will make my own happiness. it will be scary at times but I will get thru it (can you say thank god for therapists!)

Work has been a struggle as well. I have taken on more responsibility and become more of a leader on my team. I can say with pride that I have accomplished alot and grown along the way. I have learned things and done things that I did not know I could do. That is a good thing. The sad part of the work thing was that earlier in December, the person that I considered my mentor left. That was extremely difficult. I am hoping that once she gets established in her position that she thinks of me and asks me to join her there. She is heading up a new department at a local hospital. This area will be implementing a Change Mgmt process for the entire organization. Meaning that whenever, the IT dept does something in the bank it is documented and done in a control manner. This would be something that I would like to do and sorta do now.

The world has lost many good people as well. My cousin, who at the age of 43 succumbed to cancer. E's mom, who I did not know, but she did a good job of raising E. (except for teaching him how to fart, hehe). Pat, who lead a good life and had a kind word for everyone. We will miss you all.Tonight, I will head over to P&K's home. They are hosting the annual New Year's Eve celebration. I have the polish sausage in the oven now. It smells yummy. There will be the white elephant gift exchange. Be scared people, I am moving soon and am cleaning out closets. That is always a hoot. I will spend the evening with great friends and have a good time. I also have to clear out the fridge in the basement so I will have a mix of various alcoholic drinks in my cooler.

As I look forward to the new year, I will be soon moving to a new home. Not sure where yet, but for the first time in 20 years, I will be living on my own. It will be the place where I can put down some roots and begin my new life.

Goodbye 2007. No offense but you have been a crappy year for me. Hello 2008. I hope that you bring me and my friends and family all that we hope for.

House Hunting - Day 1

Today, I took my dad and we went out looking for a new house for me. We seen 5 houses. 2 with some possibilities and the other three were no way in hells.

House 1 - Started out in a nice neighborhood on 21st and Plainfield. Not too far from St. Roman's and E's house. It was an estate sale. The sellers were the original owners and had done nothing to the house in the lst 30 years. It needed to have some foundation work done but the seller was paying for that. It had good structure and a nice layout but was very dated. Green sculpted carpet in the living room. Kitchen counter was off white subway tile that was 40 years old. I could live there but would spend quite a bit bringing it back into the modern era.

House 2 - was a foreclosure on Waterford. Just around the corner from Big Momma's. I walked in and basically said no way. We were not there more than 5 min tops. It would take ALOT of work and money. Too bad as it looked cute from the outside.

House 3 - was on Burrell just north of the airport. Cute from outside as well. Walked in and noticed that the crown molding was about 1/2 inch from the ceiling. Also had a odd layout upstairs. Tiny bathroom. Needed more work than I wanted to do. Did have nice built in china cabinet and hard wood floors

House 4 - In Cudahy. That right there is strike 1. It was a couple blocks from Ladish east of Packard. This was a foreclosure. Walked in and thought not bad. Nice living room. Had a fireplace. Kitchen was large and sunny and had lots of counter and cabinet space. Then we went upstairs. YUCK. There is no way in hell that my bedroom furniture would fit up there. Basement was odd as well. It was like they divided it off into a bunch of tiny rooms. I think that they were bedrooms. Did have a nice fenced backyard and 3 car garage... it was on a alley. Strike 2.

By this time, I was a bit discouraged. Was I not going to be able to find something in decent shape in my price range? I don't want to have to put alot of money in to in just to make it livable.

Then came house 5 - In St. Francis. Looked cute from the outside. A plus was that someone had shoveled the walk. This was also an estate sale. Only one owner. When we walked in, I liked it already. The carpet was nice enough that we took our shoes off. Living rooms was nice size. Had old people drapes in it but was painted a sunny yellow and had lots of natural light. Kitchen was smaller but in decent shape. It was pink in color but that can change easily enough. Continued on thru the rest of the bedrooms. They were smaller but could easily knock the wall out between two of them and make a nice master suite. Bathroom was ok. Has yellow sink, toilet and tub but the shower area was in good repair and not moldy or gross looking. Went downstairs to the basement. Here is where we sold dad. He was already planning on how to finish it off. It was a nice 10 course basement. Very clean. I really liked this house. Under the carpeting was oak hardwood floors. I think that would be the first thing to do. With three dogs carpet does not make a good fit. Here is the link to the realtor's website... you can look at the pictures from here. They show the house pretty well. This house would be move in ready condition. Even better is that they have already come down in price about 17,000. Wonder if I can get them down another 10 or so.... my realtor seemed to think so as this house has been on the market for more than 60 days already and it appears that it was on the market earlier this summer as well.

Well, enough about that for now.

ZOBMONDO!!

Would you rather....

Date someone who talks to loudly

----OR----

someone who looks like they are constantly staring?

I have to go with the talking loudly. The staring thing would be too creepy.

Being Homeless

I hope everyone had a good Christmas. Mine was fine. Went to the parents. The nieces had a good time. Ate too much food. Parents and sis got soon to be ex hubby new bath towels and housewares for his new place. A bit odd but he needed the stuff. I told my parents to hold off on getting me anything cuz I will probably need stuff in the new house. They can buy me stuff then. So I got a Shih Tzu calendar for now.

So, it looks like I will be homeless by Feb 15th. We accepted an offer last week and the inspection went well today. It was only on the market 5 days before we had an offer, 8 before we agreed on a price. If all goes well with the guy's financing, we will close by the 15th. Which means that I have to find a new place to live.... and quick. My financing is all in order so I'm not worried about that. Have to get some final settlement documents back from the attorney before it can go to underwriting, but that is no big thing.

I have a list of like 15 homes to look at. All over town. Some in South Milwaukee, Cudahy, Bay View and Greenfield. I have a list of things that I know I want/don't want. Don't want to live on an alley, don't really want a bungalow style house, prefer a 1 story home, need a garage, would like a fenced in back yard, would like central air, has to have a bedroom big enough to fit my king bed and dresser. I know I am picky but hey, it's my money and I want to spend it wisely. As I look at places, I will try to post pictures and updates online for all to see. Maybe I'll set up voting.

My dad got a GPS a few weeks ago. It is the Mio DigiWalker 320. Very cool. I have been 'borrowing' it for a few days. Ok, more like he needed me to print out the manuals from the dvd and I told him I would if I could use it. The one thing that it does not have that he really wanted is the text to speech option. So that instead of it saying turn left at next intersection it says turn left at Main St. Dad thinks he may take it back and get the other model that has this feature. Depending on how big my bonus is in Feb, I may get one. I was amazed and how accurate the thing was. It show where the openings to do U-turns were on streets and could even tell which lane I was in on the three lanes on the freeway. It is very cool and could see it being used when we camp. No more letting A or K pick the routes.

ZOBMONDO!!

Would you rather....

Be a 12-year old still in third grade who's liked by classmates and teachers

----OR----

a 12-year old in college who's considered a total freak?

I have to go with the college freak. Better to be smart than dumb. Besides, by time they are 25 or so, it will even out.

Men, Don't Try This At Home

How not to open your car door in the winter.....

Better than Weight Watchers

I was in Wal-Mart buying a large bag of Purina for my dogs and was in line to check out. A woman behind me asked if I had a dog........


Duh!


I was feeling a bit crabby so on impulse, I told her no, I was starting The Purina Diet again, although I probably shouldn't because I'd ended up in the hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care unit with tubes coming out of most of
my orifices and IV's in both arms.

Her eyes about bugged out of her head. I went on and on with the bogus diet story and she was totally buying it. I told her that it was an easy, inexpensive diet and that the way it works is to load your pockets or purse with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry.


The package said the food is nutritionally complete so I was going to try it again. I have to mention here that practically everyone in the line was by now enthralled with my story, particularly a tall guy behind her. Horrified, she asked if something in the dog food had poisoned me and was that why I ended up in the hospital.


I said no..... I'd been sitting in the street licking my butt when a car hit me.

I thought the tall guy was going to have to be carried out the door.

ZOBMONDO!!

Would you rather...

Get stood up at the altar

----OR----

have someone stand up during your wedding and reveal that your spouse-to-be has been cheating?

I have to go with someone standing up and revealing. Then everyone who is there will know what kind of person the spouse-to-be is.

Movin' on Up (to the East Side. OK, Maybe Just to the OC)

Things are just moving right along. We put the house on the market yesterday morning. We had one showing yesterday and another two scheduled for tomorrow evening. YIKES!! I'm not sure if I'm ready for this or not. I guess I have to be.

The realtor said that he will not do any open houses until after the Packer season is done. Hopefully that is in early Feb. He said that he can spend 2 grand on print ads and not have a single person show up. That is fine with me. I would just as soon not have all the nosy neighbors traipsing thru the house.

The thing that scares me now is that I have to find a new place to live. What I would like and what I can afford are not the same (are they ever??). With the boys and Ollie, I would have to get a house. Apartment living is not very conducive to barking dogs and a parrot who likes to be loud (when he gets going he can be louder than the dogs are). I did think about getting a roommate but that is not very appealing at this point in time.

If you know of any houses for sale in the 120-140,000 range let me know.
ZOBMONDO!!

Would you rather....

As a man, be stinking drunk at the birth of your first child

----OR----

Have the worst hangover of your life on your wedding day??

Hmmm..... as I think about this, I figured that half the men are hungover on their wedding day and the kid was probably conceived when he was stinking drunk, so what does it matter??

Well, if anything develops, I'll keep you updated.

Happy Birthday, Riley

Today is Riley's birthday. He is 5. It is hard to believe that it has been 5 years since we got him. I remember when we adopted him. He was so cute. His tail moving a mile a minute. It looked like a clock pendulum.

On our way home, we took him and Rufus to the bar to show him off. Riley proceeded to whiz on the floor (hey, he was only 8 weeks old).

I can't imagine my like without Riley. He is the happiest little guy. He will always play or give you kisses when you are sad.

This is one of the first picture we took of him. Doesn't he look like he is mad?? or giving you the evil eye??



Here he is from last week.


What a handsome boy.

Ice, Ice, Baby

I awoke this morning, to find the driveway covered in about an inch of snow. I took the dogs out and made the decision.

I am staying home today. We are supposed to get more snow and ice.

I have the option to work from home. Today it came in handy. Co-worker, J, called me about 6 am and said she had been driving for almost 40 minutes and was on 794. She was at a dead stop. She said she was getting off at the next exit and going back home. I then called, L and told him to stay home. He said he was thinking the same thing. It may not have been bad getting into work today for him but it would have been a cluster fuck getting home.

My 'office assistants' have been hard at work this morning. Making sure that I get no work done. I was on a conference call and they decide that they are going to bark at every car and person going by the house. Now it is every 30 minutes or so, someone has to go outside. They go when they are out there but then they putz around and looks stupid standing in the driveway in the rain. They can hold it all day except for today. Now they are relaxing.

Yes, K, I still have my fall leaf sheets and comforter on the bed. I will be changing it over to my winter theme later today.

Can't believe that Rufus actually lifted his head up to look at me.

ZOBMONDO!!

Would you rather....

Sit naked on a pedestal in the middle of a crowded park

----OR----

sit naked on a platter with an apple in your mouth at a gala dinner party?

I have to go with in the park. No real reason why. Hopefully the weather is better when I'm doing that than it is now.

The Gathering

Tonight was the neighborhood Christmas party hosted by A & R. As always the food rocks. We had crab cakes, stuffed mushrooms, some cheese pastry stuff puffy thing (they rocked!). The new item was the shrimp bloody Mary shooters. The were shot glasses filled with shrimp, celery, scallions, and topped off with bloody Mary stuff (nice technical term, eh?) All you had to do was add a little bit more tomato juice and down they went. Had to remember to chew before you swallowed. They were soooo good. I'll have to get the recipe.

Some phrases that were overheard were:

• Dude, you're stirring your shot.
• Your baby looks creepy.
• Just lick the toothpick, it won't hurt.
• Here, pull my finger.
• The Hog SUCKS!

They were said by:

• The guy who was making fun of the guy who was trying something new and was drinking a German apple schnapps with a cinnamon stick in it. This was still in the shot glass.
• 5-year old Emily, who told the hostess that the doll in the nursery was creepy and scary. The hostess is due in 3 weeks.
• The host who dipped a wooden skewer into the jar of Cajohns King Cobra sauce and gave it to the guy who was doing the apple cinnamon shot. I smelled the sauce and burnt my nose.
• The guy who had to fart. And it wasn't E.
• The guy who won the Van Halen concert & trip to Seattle from the HOG. Between the snow here and the deluge in Seattle. It took 11 hours on a plane. The seats at the concert sucked. The hotel gave him a dirty room, which they moved him to a new room when he complained but not before he cleaned out the mini bar in the old, dirty room.

ZOBMONDO!!

Would you rather....

Have five bottles stuck on the fingers of one hand for a year

----OR----

a bucket stuck on your foot for a year?

I have to go with the bottles. I am hoping that I get to empty those bottles before they go on my fingers.

Can you Read This??

You would think by now that I would know better. I know that my will power is nil when it come to this. So why do I do it.

'CUZ I CAN!!

I had reserved a book (Clive Cussler's The Chase) at the library earlier this week. They called yesterday to say it was ready for me to pick up. I really only meant to stop in and pick up just that one book. 4 books later I walked out of the library. Damn!! I already have like 10-12 books more to read that I bought that are waiting to be read. I had to pay my 1.60 fine in order to get my new books. A small price to pay, tho'. The scary thing is that I was only in the library less than 5 minutes. I reserved another book yesterday, so will have to hurry up and get reading. I certainly think that my tax money is well spent on the library system.

Books for me are like crack. I can't go into a bookstore and not buy anything. This week at work we have our charity book/movie sale. I ended up buying like 4 more books. At a buck a book, it was a deal. I'll donate them back next year.

I could easily drop 100 bucks in a bookstore in no time flat. And that is even shopping the bargain book area. Harry W. Schwartz's is one of my favorites.

My favorite is when they have book signings and you can meet the author and have them sign your book. I probably have a couple of dozen books signed by various authors.

Some of my favorite are Jodi Picoult. She has a new book out on March 4, 2008. My friend, Natalie and I are going to her book signing in mid-March.

Janet Evanovich write the Stephanie Plum series. If you ever want to read a series that will have you laughing out loud start with "One for the Money" and work your way up. Between all the cars that she has that get 'destroyed' and Grandma Mazur, who likes to go to funerals as a social event she will have you rolling on the floor laughing.

Philip Gulley writes Harmony series. They detail the life of Sam Gardner, a small town Indiana Quaker minister. They are sweet books and detail a simpler kind of life. If you have ever lived in a small town, you can relate to some of the people.

I think that reading for enjoyment is not emphasized enough. I read everything I can get my hands on. I read the newspaper every day (Gambino, I'm trying to keep you in a job). Pretty much the whole thing. Sometimes, I skip the Sports section if there is nothing interesting. How else can you learn about what is going on it the world?? I started reading at an early age. I was reading Nancy Drew books before I started kindergarten. I remember spending most of my allowance on books at Drew's or if it was a big day and we got to go to the mall, Walden Books. To this day, you will still find me with my nose in a book quite often.

In taking a lead from Scott, who is starting his own book club (screw Oprah, hehehe), I will try to post reviews of the books I read. I am starting Nicholas Sparks - The Choice. (It is only a 7 dayer at the library)

So, my faithful readers, what books have you read recently? Who are your favorite authors? Talk back, guys!

Mexican Food Commercial

Can you tell I have nothing else to post other than finally clearing out old emails and posting funny videos.

I am pretty sure this could also be taken from a camping trip with the gang!

Chicken Chili Verde

It's recipe time. About once a quarter our work has a charity lunch. People make food and other people buy tickets to eat the food. Proceeds go to charity. The theme this past time was chili's and stews.

Someone made this fantastic Chicken Chili Verde recipe. I would called it more of a Mexican chicken soup. Whatever it is good!!

6 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
3 cans green diced chilis
1-2 large diced onions - this depends on your taste. I find that one large onion is plenty
2 tbsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 very large can of chicken broth - I think is is 6 cups or so.
1 tsp chipotle pepper
1 tsp ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic
4 roasted tomatillos, pureed (or just mushed up)
2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Mix all items and cook for about an hour.

I also added a small bag of ditilini pasta.

I hope you enjoy it!

Let it Snow.. Let it Snow.. Let it Snow

Welcome to winter in Wisconsin. It is snowing/sleeting/raining out. Yuck. It started several hours ago and I have had to shovel a path from the front door to the middle of the yard so the dogs could go to the bathroom. Poor Riley was not happy when he thought he was still walking on the porch and fell off into a snow bank.

I took advantage of the time to go through a bunch of my old Partylite stuff that I no longer use and stuck it out on eBay. If you are interested in any of it, click here to check it out. There is some Christmas stuff and some regular stuff out there. I have a couple more things I want to stick out there but am too lazy for now.

Things are moving along with the divorce. We put the house up for sale. All that is left to do is get the carpets cleaned and we are good to go. I am still undecided on what to do. Do I buy a condo? no outside maintenance but no yard to call my own and nowhere for the dogs to romp. Buy a fixer-upper? Cheaper but will spend money to fix up. Will keep my dad busy tho. Buy a place that is move in ready? more expensive but shouldn't have to do much work to it. I guess I will have to get looking at places and then weigh my options.

Went out for the Packer/Dallas game on Thursday. It was a good time. Packers lost but I expected that. I just had more fun gabbing it up with everyone. It was good to see a few people who I have not seen in a long time. OMW, that means you.

At work this year we have to solicit peer review from three of our co-workers. I thought about it for awhile and picked three people who are from wildly different areas of the bank and that are not in my department. I am hoping that my boss recognizes that the people are very different and that I touch many areas with the stuff that I do. I do think it is odd that we have to solicit this feedback. Normally, it is the manager who does that. My MN co-worker sent to it L and I. Bad mistake on his part. I will be brutally honest and he probably won't like it. He is not up to snuff and should be re-deployed somewhere else. But the boss likes him so he stays. L and I still spend an hour or two each week cleaning up his mistakes. Now we document them in an email to him and copy the boss on it. Eventually, she has to figure out that we are spending alot of time and energy on coaching him. I hope she does anyway.

Speaking of Coach, if anyone feels especially generous this year, I would like this Coach bag. I can use a new one. I still love my plain black one I got several years ago but hey, a girl can use a new purse now and then. This one is also cute. I got a similar one this spring that was the summer pastel patchwork one. I should really hit up the Coach outlet in Kenosha. That could be dangerous tho.

Well, I'm going to go and catch up on my DVR stuff now. I started watching this new documentary on Sundance called Nimrod Nation. It takes place in Watersmeet, MI. It is the upper peninsula of Michigan. Watersmeet is on the border between MI and WI. It is interesting. People all talk like they were in the movie Fargo. Except that had more of a western twang to it. Check it out. Sundance also had a series called Live from Abbey Road. They take three artists and let them perform at the Abbey Road studios made famous by the Beatles. Paul Simon was one of my favorite.

ZOBMONDO!!

Would you rather....

Be a woman with a mustache

----OR----

a man with large breasts?

I'll have to go with the mustache. I can cover that up easier. Man boobs are not an attractive site.

See ya'll later.