Perfectly Stated

"Everyone likes a piece of ass, no one likes a complete ass."

~ Rich Seattle

There ARE Enough Hours in a Day...

I'm just sleeping through them.

T decided that he just had to wake up earlier than usual today. After taking him outside to make a massive pile of poo, I don't blame him. I'd want that out of me as soon as possible too.

Because of T's incredible urge to go, I was forced to wake up at the ungodly hour of 6:15am instead of the usual 7:00am. I didn't know what to do with an extra 45 minutes. So, I did what an other domestic goddess (my husband is laughing right now at that description of my domestic abilities) would do. After taking the dogs for a brisk walk around the park, I cleaned the kitchen. That included doing the dishes from the other night that I was too lazy to do before (there is that domestic goddess again). I cleaned the living room and dining room and even started a load of laundry.

After all of that, I still had time to make coffee, shower, put on make-up BEFORE going to work and even fix my hair. But wait, that is not all... I took the dogs for a final potty break after they ate their breakfast and then I let my car warm up before leaving for work ON TIME. No rushing around. No forgetting to brush my teeth or forgoing make-up so that I'm only 5 minutes late as opposed to 10. I had time for everything, including chores.

After all that hard work that went into training the dogs to not get out of bed until 7:30am...how do I train them now to wake me up at 6:15am every day? Somehow, I don't think F is going to like this idea too much.

Mmm... Lunch

Mmm... Lunch, originally uploaded by Wander Lust1.

Halloween Candy Massacre

Fall Colors

Every year I promise I'll go out and take pictures of the fall leaves. It never happens... for one reason or another. This year, it still hasn't really happened... but I did walk out front a few steps a snap these shots... (I think it sort of counts)

New Site

Ahhhhhh.

That is the sound of me giving up my googlepages.com site and switching (manually, post by post)over to good old blogger. I was sick of archiving, not having comments and all that other non-blog stuff that comes with trying to keep a blog on googlepages.com. I hope I can get some more enjoyment out of blogger.

Howl-o-ween

I Could Be Better

A few doors down from us lives what appears to be a fun couple around our age. She drives a VW Jetta and he drives an old VW Bug (his 2nd in the last year, tends to buy, restore, sell etc.). Because of their German car fetish (not that I can blame them), we have affectionately dubbed them, "The Volkswagen Couple" .

B and I joke that VWC is missing out by not trying to go out of their way to befriend us. We are always looking for a way "in" and never miss an opportunity to say "Hello!" or "How's it going?" but we never make it past casual greetings - even though we have several VWC encounters in a week (or even in a day).

This evening, I was out taking the dogs on a crap-break. F was being awfully ornery and I was trying to calm him down and get him to focus on me. I was down on the ground, at eye level with him (while T was taking a crap) and trying to get him to sit.

"F.. SIT. SIT, F, SIT." Nothing. That is when both dogs looked up, T stepped away from his poop, and they lunged towards the side walk. I noticed a familiar, lanky, black and white dog walking on a leash. I didn't even have to glance up to know that the owner was VW Guy and he was probably smirking at me trying to get my wild beast to obey my fierce command.

Before my dogs lunged forward, I did have time to scoop up T's massive pile of poop, but not enough time to close up the bag. The bag of shit was still open, face up in the palm of my hand. As the dogs lunged forward, I tripped over my feet and tried to regain control of their leashes all whilst keeping my one free hand from slapping dog doo into my face. As this happened, VW Guy casually asked, "How's it going?"

My response? "I could be better! I have shit in my hands!" VW Guy then moved off of the sidewalk, towards the street. This allowed him to keep a nice row of parked cars in between us.

Somehow, I always know the right thing to say. Always.

Rub a Dub Dub

Two bostons in a tub ...

Chutney vs. Indian Kebab & Curry

We cheated on our favorite Indian restaurant this weekend.

We made the mistake of trying to go to Costco at 7pm on Saturday, not knowing it would be closed. Near the Costco parking lot, I noticed the new Indian restaurant, Chutney, which I had read about in the RGJ.

Curiosity got the best of us and we popped in.

Let me just say now that Indian Kebab and Curry (IKC from here on out) is still my #1 (with the only close 2nd being Naan and Curry in SF).

The decor was very new and trendy... it was a very snazzy & elegant looking place. The staff was SUPER friendly and more than willing to share their story with you if you asked (as the people sitting behind us did).

The menu was a little smaller with some different items and lacking other items. It wasn't nearly as descriptive as the menu at IKC. We also were not greeted with the peppery plate of Papadum (or any plate of Papadum) as we usually are at IKC.

We paid a whopping $8 for one large bottle of Taj beer. Yikes!

I had the Chicken Tikka Masala (I didn't find it to be dry, unlike the writer of the RGJ review)- $12.95

B had the Lamb Vindaloo (B described as a cacophony of tastes, though B would frown on my use of that word in this context) - $13.95

They didn't ask us about how spicy we wanted the food ... just made it spicier than what we order typically at IKC. The food was very good... at least as good as IKC.

We had garlic naan. I disagree with the writer of the RGJ article, I didn't like Chutney's naan. However, I have never had "authentic" indian naan, so of course I would prefer the naan with butter.

Unlike at IKC, our food didn't come out and get placed on fancy warmers.

I kind of missed that. Nor were there flat screens with Bollywood
movies and Music videos flashing around above our heads. Which I am ashamed to admit, I find rather entertaining.

IKC and Chutney both have lunch buffets. IKC's is $6.95, naan extra. Chutney's is is $8.95 .. but I think it includes naan, a plus.

All in all, IKC has an atmosphere that I like better. I kind of like their slightly cold and disgruntled staff. I also like their bar prices and menu options better.

Feeling Knotty

I started my very first knitting project on Thursday night. Though I believe that after this, I'll never want to knit another garter stitch again!

This was as far as I got:

Some how, I am supposed to knit NINE 10" x 10" squares... ALL using just the garter stictch. Then they all get put together to form a baby blanket. It is from the Lion Brand website. The pattern is called (don't laugh), "Country Cousins". OK, you can laugh. I'm using the Lion Brand Homespun yarn because it is soft and machine washable. You can (supposedly) even dry it. This color is "Covered Bridge Red" and the other color is going to be "Chili" ... stitched together with a cream color.

I have a feeling I'll be presenting the mom-to-be this blanket along with an IOU for a much nicer knitted piece in the future.

Who knows if I'll continue to knit after this is done. Strike that, I must complete one more baby item for my soon to be new little cousin. Or she's getting a very nice, handmade item from somewhere else ;)

Pizza Pizza

Tuesday night, I made a pizza from some store bought dough. Not just any store bought dough... but delicious, 99 cent, made fresh, store bought dough (found in the lunch meat section at WinCo). This pizza was too beautiful to not post about.

The toppings were pretty basic:

Garlic tomato sauce, five cheese blend, pepperonis, mushrooms in olive oil, onions (to B's dismay), fresh garlic, bell pepper, and fresh tomatoes

We even got super classy and served it up with a $3.24 bottle of Merlot (also from WinCo). I wont comment on the wine.

Twittery Goodness

Have you discovered the fabulous* world of Twitter? I have.

*by fabulous, I mean completely useless but still kind of fun in an I'm sure people really care what I am doing at all moments of the day sort of way.

Tick Tock Tick Tock

Tick Tock Tick Tock...

'Tis the sound of my biological clock. No matter how hard I try and deny it .... aw who am I kidding... I haven't come CLOSE to trying to deny it..... I HAVE BABY FEVER by golly .. and I am PROUD of it!

This time however, I have finally gone off the deep end. I honestly think that I have been trying to over eat so that my belly will expand... making it look like I am pregnant. Apparently, there is some CRAZY side of me that believes I can ACTUALLY get pregnant if I eat this much!

Yikes .. I know. I can believe I am admitting this. But I just caught myself doing it last night. Tsk Tsk. I am ashamed.

So... to shock my system... I looked up the (astronomical) cost of child care today. HOLY CRAP! That was my first initial reaction ... then I thought.... ok we can do this. But I read on ... "If you child shows any signs of illness, you will be notified immediately and the child will be sent home.... If you child is too sick to play outside, your child should stay home."

What? Kids get sick all the damn time! How am I supposed to handle that?

Stay at home.

I know I know. Trust me... I KNOW. That is what I want to do..... what I have always wanted to do. However, we are not in the position to have one of us quit working right now.

The Solution : (drum roll please)

I go back to school. (ugh) I need to do it.. kids or no kids... but I've been putting it off. So, my husband and I have decided that if I became a bookkeeper (working towards becoming a CPA ...I am currently doing some bookkeeping and love it) that I could work from home. Therefor, providing me with a flexible enough schedule where if my child gets sick or .. heck .. just wants his/her momma..... I'll be there!

We'll see how strong this baby fever REALLY is. Right now, it sounds much easier to just keep working my regular job, enjoying my evening and weekends with my husband and avoid going to school ... but that scenario does not allow for a baby.

Come spring semester.... off to community college I go ........ (wish me luck).

Karma's a Bitch

Just yesterday I was talking to my friend C about how her dog had ripped to shreds one of her houseplants... and just yesterday I had thought to myself... "Ha. I'm so glad my dogs don't do that sort of thing."

Well... the B.T. Gods must have laughed out loud as soon as they heard that and thought, "We'll show her..." because check out what happened today....

I walked into the living room and found this MAGNIFICENT sight.....

They even drug the dirt into their "bed" ...

and over by the kitchen and the table... I found a lone pile of dirt ...

Ah ha... right under the table ... the victim ...

Now ... who dun it?

With a face like this .. he had to be guilty ...

Let's inspect his mouth, just to be sure...

What about the other fella?

------------------------------------------------------------------

I hereby find the defendants, F&T ..... GUILTY!

Those conniving little hooligans! I KNEW they were being TOO quiet!

***my fault though... as I left the screen door open and the plants down at their level.. with out the exercise pen gate around them (plants) like I normally do.... ***

Congratulations

So, not only is today OFFICIALLY my one and only grandmother's 80th birthday.....(Happy Birthday Grandma... even if you don't use the internet!)

Today is also the day that my cousin and his wife received a referral for a ridiculously cute, 10 month old baby girl from Ethiopia!

I'm interested in adoption very much. They've been great answering questions and keeping me updated during this process. It isn't over yet... but I am glad they finally know "who" their little one is!

Mindless

When we take road trips, I often get tired of our music selection (all 9 days worth of music on the iPod, I know I know). The idea of purchasing an audio book often comes up, but .... is always squashed by my practical husband.

The night before our flight to Kansas City, I decided that I WOULD purchase and audio book from iTunes. My husband had an entire box of old man books he had just received from amazon... so I was entitled to good "read" as well.

Somehow, I managed to not realize that it is much easier (and preferred) to read while flying, as opposed to driving.

So, there I was sitting in Salt Lake City during our four hour layover listening to Eat, Pray, Love. Everything was fine... except that my eyes had no where to look. I was stuck people watching... which meant I was always getting caught looking at people.

Note to self: In order to avoid being that creep person staring at everyone in the airport, READ the actual book! Audio books are great for road trips... not so great for airplanes.

Warm Fuzzies

While out of town, the boys wrecked havoc on M&C's house.

M managed to capture a few quiet moments of snuggles with the boys and their large friends.

F & Nikka

T & Xiao Gou

Hot in Here

My goodness! While a cold front is moving in here... and we could possible have 1-2" of snow tomorrow morning....... Kansas City is going to be 90 DEGREES!? What?

Plus, let's not forget to mention that we'll be flying in AND out of thunder storms this weekend. Ugh.

Have I mentioned that I don't like flying? OK, I take that back. I don't like the possibility of turbulence... and I HATE take-offs!

Black and White

This weekend, we took T&F on the ditch trail ... here are a few pics taken with brother-in-law's Nikon SLR ....

The Boys:

The Scenery:

My First

I made my first EVAH casserole last night! Well, apart from the obligatory green bean casserole for holiday dinners and the infamoustater tot casserole.

I attempted a, mostly from scratch, chicken and broccoli casserole recipe I found on the Cooking Light website. Except, I used FULL OF FAT products .... so my dish wasn't exactly fit for Cooking Light! I also decided to add a little rice to the mix.

Here she is...

Ain't she a beaut?

I was proud of myself. It was DElicious... but it took FOREVER to make. Oh, and let's not count the number of dishes used to make this dish! I was a good girl however, and cleaned up after myself.

I'm currently enjoying the left overs for lunch.

Now that I've discovered the wonderful world of casseroles... I can't wait until my friend's cookbook comes out.