Brown Headed Cow Bird

We have Brown Headed Cow Birds in our neighborhood and they frequent my bird feeder. Cow birds are really sneaky. And lazy. They lay their eggs in other bird's nests and let the other birds raise the young. Most of the time the babies quickly outgrow their nest mates and the "real" babies starve to death because they are pushed out of the way by the Cow Birds.

Anyway, I just heard a bunch of racket outside, and saw 4 birds land on the bird feeder shepherd's hook, and a smaller bird land on the suet feeder. The smaller bird was getting food from the suet feeder and flying up to feed the "babies", that were already bigger than it was! Geez. poor thing!

Yuki spends the night with Grandma

Eliz and the kids came down to Bloomington today. We went for a really long walk (well, it SEEMED long) about 2 miles. The good news is it really tired Maizy out. It tired Elizabeth and I out too. The kids, not so much.

Some how, Yuki decided he should say all night with me. So here he is. No nap for Grandma. We tried. "Yuki, watch this movie. Grandma is going to sleep." (Never fear, I was in the same room.) Eventually it was clear I wasn't going to get a nap.

Plan B. I'm dog sitting for a co-worker so we went to visit the dogs. When we left there we decided to go see Joe at work, and since it was about 5, we all went to McDonalds for supper. Then we went to Target and Bloomingfoods and home. 7:30. Bedtime is 8:00.

Currently it's 9:10. Guess who is still up and who doesn't want to be? It's hard being a Grandma.

Yawn.

Maizy

I took Maizy to the vet today to get her stitches out (spayed last week). The vet office we go to has 3 vets, and it's just a walk in kinda deal...you get which ever vet is on duty that day. So we've seen 2 of the vets before today.

Vet #1 (when she was 8 weeks old) - She's gonna be a big dog! Maybe even 120-140 pounds! She sure is pretty.

Vet #2 (when she was 12 weeks old for booster) - She's going to be big...maybe 80-85 pounds. She's a beautiful dog. (We were a little disappointed. But this vet has more experience than Vet #1, so we thought Vet #1 was maybe being a little enthusiastic.)


Vet #3 (today - 19 weeks old weighing in at 45.5 pounds) -I said, "So what do you think, Dr. Bob? How big is she going to be?" Dr. Bob laughed RIGHT OUT LOUD. "She's gonna be HUGE. Somewhere between HUGE and LARGER. She's got paws like a polar bear!" More laughter. She's a really pretty dog. This is the vet with the most experience.

At least they all agree she's pretty.

Of course only time will tell. I'm hoping for HUGE and a raise at work so I can afford to feed her.

HAHAHA.

Grrrr Grrrr Spring Fever Grrrr

Oh my gosh. I am in such a bad mood right now. I don't want to be at work. I have a beautiful view of a beautiful day and I'm stuck inside trying to return phone calls and work files.

Yuck.

Maizy and her frog.

One day when Maizy was a baby (ie, when she only weighed about 20 pounds) we got her a stuffed frog that makes a ribbet-ribbet sound. I'm frankly amazed that it has lived this long. Normally Butch tears up ANYTHING with stuffing in it. Somehow, Butch knows this is Maizy's toy and doesn't bother it. She LOVES it. Here is a picture of Frog and a video of Maizy playing with it.

The Joy of Bird Feeders

I have a shepherd's hook outside my living room window. I have a tube feeder, a thistle feeder and a suet feeder all hanging from this lovely contraption.

Today has been the best yet. Several goldfinches on the thistle feeder, a beautiful red wing blackbird on the tube feeder (singing to me. I'm sure it really was me he was singing to...) and a small woodpecker on the suet feeder. It was awesome. And, a testament to good bird food. I'm convinced the birds in the neighborhood can scope out the best food. So, I guess if you don't want to go through a tube of food every couple of days, get the grocery store stuff. It will last until it rots in the bottom of the feeder. If you want pretty birds get the good stuff. I recommend Wild Birds Unlimited Deluxe blend. I know you didn't ask, but I just like to share good stuff.

Earthquake 5.2

So, we had an earthquake this morning around 5:30 am. It was a 5.2, rivaled only by a 5.4 earthquake years ago in this area.

I am sad to say I missed it. Slept right through it. So, I've slept through tornados, hail storms and now an earthquake.

A girl needs her sleep. Never let anything come between you and your zzzz's.

Christy goes Green, but sees Red

In an effort to help the environment and be more "green" I decided to buy an electric mower. When I got home with it, Joe just laughed at me and said it would be a pain not running over the cord. I thought, "Seriously, how bad can it be?"

I found out yesterday just how horrible it is. I got a 100 ft cord. I plugged it in, started up the mower (so quiet! so easy to start!). I hadn't even been mowing 30 seconds before I realized what a horrible mistake I had made. I bet it took me 2 times longer to mow with that mower than it would have with a gas mower. I kept having to stop and throw the cord out of the way. I finished mowing, wiped the mower off, and put it back in the box. Before I bought the thing, I asked if I could bring it back if I didn't like it and they said I could. I saw an electric cordless mower while I was shopping for mowers but they are twice as much as the regular electric mower. So, today, Joe and I will return the electric mower and get a regular gas powered, smog inducing, noise making mower.

To quote Kermit the Frog, "It's not easy being green."

Simple question

I forgot my grocery list when I left the house this morning. I called Joe to see if he wanted to go with me to the grocery store, or just give me the list over the phone so I can stop on my way home.

J: I don't care. It's up to you.
C: Well, do you want to go or not?
J: It really doesn't matter.
C: OK. Just read me the list.
J: (Read the list, talked about a couple of other things.)
C: OK...I'll stop on the way home then and get the groceries.
J: OooooKaaay.
C: Do you want to go?
J: Do you need me? I can meet you there if you want.
C: Joe, I don't care if you go or not. Do you want to go? Yes or no.
J: I don't know...if you need me I can be there...
C: That wasn't an option. Yes or no.
J: Well, if you want...
C: (cutting Joe off) Yes or No!
J: O.K. Yes I want to go.
C: O.K.
J: But no I don't want to go.
C: Argh!!!!!!! OK. I'm hanging up now.
J: Don't be mad at me!
C: I'm not mad at you. I'm going to go. I love you. Have a good afternoon.

This could have been such a simple conversation.

Hey. Wanna go to the store?
Sure! or, No thanks.

It doesn't have to be this hard, does it? HA!

You should have heard the conversation about where to meet for lunch...

Meet Maizy

This is Maizy, our "little" puppy. She'll be 11 weeks old tomorrow and already weighs 22 pounds. her mom was a boxer (65 pounds), and her dad was a mastiff (150 pounds, but only 1 year old so not full grown). That's not exactly what they were aiming for at Maizy's first home. They were looking for a boxer mom and a boxer dad. But this just goes to prove that unless you can watch a dog in heat 24/7, you may not get what you expected. A DNA test proved Daddy was the Mastiff. HAHAHA~

Day Three on the Job Hunt

Joe's company unexpectedly closed his store. I say unexpectedly, although there were some signs. Other stores in the chains have been closed, but only when their contract at the mall they were in expired. Corporate was telling Joe's store that they had nothing to worry about because Joe's store is consistently #1 or #2 top sales in the company. Joe's store's lease doesn't expire for more than a year.

But last Tuesday one of the mall managers came in asking for the general manager to discuss the lease renegotiation. Joe knew then he had to start looking for another job, even though everyone was telling him not to worry, everything is good. Wednesday, Joe learned the owners were scheduling a meeting for Thursday or Friday to discuss the fate of the remaining 5 stores in the chain. We updated Joe's resume that night. Thursday, his boss called and said the store was closed as of that day, come get anything you might have left at the store.

No severance pay, no warning, no compassion. They even told Joe they weren't going to pay him for his vacation time, or the commission he had earned since the last pay period. It would cost a lot more in attorney fees to go after them than it would be worth.

So, after a brief mourning period (like a couple of hours), Joe started to work on looking for a job. Yesterday he applied for other pet store jobs. He's going to take the tests you need to take to get into some of the factories around here. His resume is ready to go and he's applied for some jobs on-line.

I told him that he just has to realize that his full-time job now is to look for a job. I think he's pretty motivated. Especially when I made it really clear to him how much money we don't have without his job. =) And how, TV, cell phone, lots of running the kids around in the car (gas) and other "necessities" of daily life are going to come to a screeching halt if he doesn't get a job soon. You gotta get 'em where it means something. TV and cell phone are huge to Joe. For me, it's more like eating out, buying books on tape and Starbucks. HA!

Onward and upward! God has something in mind...

Exciting ride to work

It snowed last night, maybe an inch. I left home for work at about 7:10 am, and the road had been plowed, but was still snow covered. As I pulled out of the addition I live in, my car started to slide into the intersection. Thusly warned of road conditions, I began to slowly drive up the hilly road to get to the main highway. I was about 3/4 of the way to the top of the hill when my car decided it wasn't going to go that way. I began to s-l-i-d-e backwards. A pickup managed to get by me before my car turned broadside in the road, blocking both lanes. I put the car in neutral, stood on my brake, pulled up my parking brake and finally my car stopped sliding just before I went into the ditch which leads to a small pond. Whew! Then I realized I was still blocking both lanes and I started praying that no one would top the hill and hit me. I carefully put the car in reverse, and was able to back enough to turn to go back down the hill. But really, it just slid back down the hill. I had no control whatsoever.

I decided to go a different way, and had a difficult time with sliding on the road there, too. But once I made it to a main street, everything was good.

It was really sort of thrilling (except for when I thought I was going to drive into the pond...). Gosh. I don't know how we ever got anywhere on the farm when it snowed. The hills there are much worse. I think we had snow tires, though. If it wasn't almost March, I'd put snow tires on my car now.

It's snowing again now, and I go home in another 45 minutes. Once I'm home I think I'll stay there until tomorrow.

Yuck

I have a cold. Yuki got it first, and gave it to Sarah. Sarah happily passed it along to me. My nose is stopped up, I have a cough that's driving me crazy, my head hurts, and I'm a little grumpy. Thankfully I'm the only one home, so no one has to listen to me. The really sad thing is that every time I sneeze real hard or cough more than once, I pee. I blame it on my children. They did it to me while in the womb. Little brats. Even 20 years later they are still wreaking havoc on my body.

I'm trying to decide if I should stay home from work tomorrow or go buy some Depends... I'm thinking I'll work from home. Much safer that way.

Yay!

Our townhouse has been subletted out so we don't have to pay rent! Woo-hoo!

Now that we have a little extra money, we are going to buy an LCD tv. Looks like we can get a 42", but Joe really wants a 52" screen. Geez. Can we say, "The TV totally dominates the room?"

Anyone have any suggestions on brand?

The day draws nearer...

Only 6 days to closing! We needed to get Sarah's room painted and she was dragging her feet. So last night, after a dinner of bacon wrapped filets, onion rings and corn dip/fritos (gotta get the veggies in...), I casually say to Sarah,

"I'm going upstairs. And I'm going to do one of two things. Either I'm going to paint or I'm going to pack your closet. If you come help, I'll paint. If you don't, I'll pack your closet. If I see anything I don't like, I'm throwing it away."

The room got painted. It looks nice.

Amy's Famous Fritos Dip

At least, it's famous in our family. She made it this summer when Teresa and I were back to see Mom and we had "The Tornado That Shook The Beds And Tore Off The Garage". But I digress. On to more important matters of food.

Amy made this dip and here is my slightly modified recipe:

1 can original Rotel tomato (drained)
1 can Nibblets corn (drained)
1/2 cup (or a big handful) of shredded cheese-I usually use Monterrey Jack
1/2 cup (or a couple of big spoonfuls) of full-on Mayo (low fat? yuck!)
3 or 4 sliced green onions
salt and pepper

Mix it all together, put it in Grandma Crouse's speckled bowl covered with plastic wrap and let it chill for a while in the fridge. Serve with Frito's Scoops.

I'm telling you. At first, you kind of say to yourself, "What? Corn and tomatoes as a dip? With MAYO?" and you aren't sure you like it. But it's addictive. It grows on you real fast. Sometimes I eat it without the chips. It's probably the only way Joe and Sarah and I get any real veggies at all.

So last night, for supper, we had chicken and dumplings, and the "corn dip". Sarah got a phone call, and was gone for 14 minutes. She came back and the entire bowl was gone. She ate plenty before she got the call, but you snooze you lose when it comes to this dip. She was SO distressed, that Joe volunteered to go out in the freezing cold to get the ingredients to make more!!! That's how good it is!!!! Try it.

Join the dip revolution.

10 days to moving day

On the one hand, 10 days sounds like an eternity. We close on the 29th and we are very excited about the move and getting settled in to our new home. It can't come soon enough. On the other hand, OH MY GOSH WE ONLY HAVE 10 DAYS TILL MOVING DAY!! Yes, we have a lot packed. Yes, we have an idea where everything will go. Yes, we even decided to have a local moving company come move all our stuff. But we have SOOOOOOOOOOO much more to do.

Yesterday, Elizabeth came down with the kids. We had asked a kid to come over and paint Sarah's room here at the apartment so it would be back to it's original eggshell color. (Her room is a bright orange and bright green.) At the last moment, he called and had to cancel. So, Elizabeth and Sarah and I attempted to paint Sarah's room. We KNEW we were going to have to put on a coat of base to help cover the colors. What we didn't know was how many coats. AND, some of the paint "slid" on the wall. What a nightmare. By the time we were done with the first coat, the baby was hysterical, Yuki and Sofi were bored to tears, and I was ready for everyone to leave. So I told everyone I'd have to go buy another gallon of Kilz2 and we'd work on it again later. Which really means, Sarah will work on it again later. She's the one that wanted to paint the walls originally and I told her at that time that she would have to paint it back. I was just being nice yesterday. It's her baby now.

It is REALLY REALLY cold here. We've been so spoiled by temps that don't get below 30 degrees, and suddenly it's 0 degrees with an ungodly windchill factor and a winter advisory telling us it's cold outside, so be careful out there.

Time to get back to watching Bobby Flay make comfort food. I wish I wasn't the only one that loved meatloaf. It just sounds so good. So does Chili. Of course, making either one of those items would mean I'd have to go to the store. I wouldn't want to take the chance since the National Weather Channel tells me it's cold outside and my blood might freeze right in my veins if I venture out. So, I guess I'll just dream about the meatloaf and make chicken instead.

Yuki strikes again

Elizabeth is in the garage putting recylables into the bins.

Yuki walks out and says: "What the hell are you doing?"

Elizabeth, taken aback, says: "What did you say?"

Yuki: "What the hell..."

**********************

Elizabeth calls to tell me this, and I am cracking up. I ask her who says that. She said she doesn't know. I think it's the damn t.v.

Comments from outside...

Most of you know we have snakes. Lots of snakes. And some of them are BIG. They unfortunately reside in our living room right now. When the blinds are open you can see the snakes through the window if you are standing outside. So yesterday some kids were outside the window looking in at the snakes.

Kid 1: Whoa! Look at those snakes! They're HUGE.

Kid 2: Wow! I wonder what kind they are?

Kid 1: I know what kind they are...those are the kind of snakes that can kill a man!

Kid 2: That's creepy! Let's get out of here!

On the face of it, I really wouldn't want anyone to think that my snakes could kill anyone. They aren't poisonous. They probably could strangle a person (the bigger ones) but you'd have to be pretty weak to not be able to get them off your neck, and if you're dumb enough to put them around your neck in the first place perhaps you deserve your fate.

But on the other hand, if all the kids in the neighborhood are afraid of our house because of the snakes, maybe none of the little hoodlums will break in and try to steel anything. HAHA.

Happy New Year!

Well, here it is the New Year of 2008.

I have duly recorded my weight in a top secret place known only to me, lest someone stumble across it and realize that the number on my driver's license is not correct. But, it's not that far off either.

I'm drinking my vitamin-filled morning beverage that is supposed to give me 100% of all the vitamins and minerals I need for the day. Joe and I each got our own gender-correct canister at GNC last week. It's not supposed to be a meal replacement, but I'm thinking it can't be bad with milk and a frozen banana or some blueberries. That's more than I get for breakfast most of the time anyway.

So last night I was lying in bed thinking of New Years Resolutions and how they need to be do-able. Most of my thoughts centered around work. I didn't make any personal goals (other than work) because I know I won't keep them after about one and a half days. But the work one is really more for my sanity than anything else, and I'm going to try hard to keep that one.

"I will work my diaries every day and will not roll them to the next day(s)." There. It's in writing.

Happy New Year! Blessings to you!