More Untooning

I found another website that untoons toons. I don't think they are as well done as Pixeloo, but they have an extensive "library". Might be interesting to check out...

Worth1000.com

Fresh New Look

Thank goodness for good friends! I called Robert last night to confirm where we would be meeting to pick up the new couches and he told me he had come down with something and wasn't feeling well. I know plenty of people, so I told him to get well and passed the news onto Travis. He ran next door and recruited JR to help (awesome, cuz I have virtually NO arm muscles). Everything went quite smoothly actually. We drove to the seller's apartment in Travis' new truck and the guys loaded the couches while I carried the cushions and held the gate open for them. We took a five minute break so they could catch there breath before heading back to the houses. And guess what? It didn't even rain on the way home! AND the couches didn't fall off the truck! These are all fears I have EVERY time we move something in a pickup. (See: the trim incident)

JR helped us move the old couches out of the way and bring the new ones in. Travis likes them, except that they are higher than the old couch. I think it just needs a couch potato to break them in. We are keeping the futon for a month so my brother has a better place to sleep than an air mattress during his visit. Seriously guys - these couches were a steal.

Big couch

Love seat (even looks good with the new curtains)

To make room for the futon in the study, we had to move this chair out into the living room. It pretty much matches the new couches and it makes for more seating in the most-used-room of the house. I just may keep it in here!

Ocean View

Yesterday was utter chaos. I helped Ariel and Robert move into their new apartment in the afternoon. IT WAS SO HOT OUTSIDE. I think it was 93 degrees with a humidity of 91%. YUCK. We were all drenched. I think that they have enough stuff for two places between the both of them. They are hoping to upgrade to a two bedroom apartment soon. The one bedroom is very limiting for them.

After the move, I ran to check out a couch and love seat that I found for sale via a flyer on a bulletin board at work. They are selling for $200 which seemed like a steal, so I jumped right on that. I really like them so we are going to pick them up tonight. I just hope Travis likes them, too. I am a little nervous because the fabric is such a light color. That could be irritating in the future - due to all the cat and dog hair that I live with. Thank goodness for lint brushes! It will be a huge pain in the ass to move them out of the seller's apartment. The front door is absolutely tiny and the staircase down to the first floor is a winding one. I think it's worth it though. Granted, I won't be the one maneuvering the stuff around. Robert is returning the moving favor by helping us pick them up. I'm hoping I'll be able to carry the couches from the truck into our house. I'll be sure to get some photos up for you. Teehee.

After looking at the couches I ran back to Ariel and Robert's new apartment (with an ocean view, might I add) and we ate a spaghetti dinner on their balcony. Ariel had to be at work at 8pm, so I went home to take Travis over to pick up the truck. We need it to pick up the couches tonight. Travis convinced Chris to let us take it a few days in advance! Travis drove it to work today. I know he is super excited, but he tries to play it cool. I hope he doesn't plan on ever having me drive that thing. It is huge!

Shiny and Pretty

WOW. I have been busy at work lately! It's a good thing I suppose. Although it has been emotionally and mentally draining...

Last night Travis and I went to test drive the new truck he is buying from our friend Chris' dad. It's a great truck and Travis is very excited to make it his own. We are just waiting on paperwork at this point. Buying a vehicle through a private party is a lot of work!

I'm starting the countdown to my dad and brother's visit. My dad is coming on June 3rd and he's staying for about three weeks. It is undecided how long my brother will stay. I want him to stay the whole summer because I miss him, but my dad really wants him to get a job. I understand that and I know it is an important thing for him to learn. Hell, I started my first job the week I turned 16 (so my parents wouldn't have to drive me). I JUST WANT TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH LITTLE BRO. Either way, I'll get several weeks of quality time in. I am driving to New Orleans to pick them up from the train station. We won't be back until late.

My friend Sara has decided to start her own blog! I am addicted to blogs, so I look forward to another one by someone I know. Check out Sara's Satire whenever you get a chance. She wrote her first entry yesterday. I put a link up in the margin for easy access later. =)

Memorial Day Weekend

It was technically a three-day weekend at my job, but I ended up having to come into work twice. I still managed to fit in lots of David/Stephanie/Wednesday time though. They were supposed to get in on Friday evening, but Stephanie had to work late. They didn't reach Houston until midnight, so they decided to stay the night at David's grandmother's house.

Friday night we stayed in and played Three Man, a dice game, with Sara and JR. Phew, that is a bad game to play if you have anything to do the next day. We were all feeling a little out of it Saturday.

Diaper Boy

Have you ever heard of the song Superman by Soulja Boy?

David and Stephanie got to my house at about 10am Saturday and we made the most of our day. David's mom came with to watch Wednesday at David's grandmother's house and she wanted to go out to lunch at Pappasito's. I was thoroughly disappointed to find out Wednesday would not be staying the weekend with us, so I was 100% up for driving to north Houston to see her. I tell you what, that child is just SO precious. She's turned into quite the chunker, but its a huge improvement from her premie body. =)

We were back that night a little after Travis got home from work. Since we had such a late lunch, we decided to go see a movie before dinner. Travis scarfed down popcorn the whole time, so he didn't have much of an appetite afterwards. We saw the movie Iron Man and it was GREAT. Robert Downey Jr. was awesome as the hero. I recommend it to anyone who likes action films. That's another DVD I'll be adding to our library.

Travis was still working 10-hour days, 7-days a week, so we went up to Houston on Sunday without him. Stephanie had planned a surprise visit to a comic book convention for David. He LOVES Marvel comics (Iron Man was an appropriate film for the weekend!) and this would have been his first comic book convention, had it not been cancelled. I was disappointed and Stephanie was so upset she started to tear up for a minute! We had planned to go shopping at the mall with David's mom after the convention, so we just moved that up in our schedule for the day. They didn't bring Wednesday's big stroller on this trip, instead we stopped and picked up a little umbrella stroller.

Unfortunately, she got sleepy after an hour in the stroller. David ended up carrying her around so she could lay down for her nap. We walked into one of the stores and there was a clothes rod sticking out into the aisle - David accidentally scraped the top of Wednesday's head with it! She screamed bloody murder for a few minutes, but seemed to be alright. She fell asleep again almost immediately. Stephanie decided to file a report in case the scrape worsened. She used to work in retail and knows that there should be clothes hanging off those rods so this sort of thing does not happen. I bought a shirt for Travis from there and some hand soap from Bath and Body Works. Nothing big.

Wednesday woke up when we got back to the house that evening and she was ready for her banana cereal!

I had invited Ariel and Robert over for dinner that night, but they both had to work. JR and Sara still came over and we had a delicious grilled dinner, courtesy of my hard working husband.

After dinner, we taught David how to play Liverpool Rummy, while Stephanie and Wednesday watched Dazed and Confused on TV. We stayed up until 1 in the morning, just like we did the two previous nights. Our friends left the next day at about 10am and I chose to sit on my butt. I caught up on my DVR recordings and watched The Nanny Diaries. That movie was so-so. That afternoon I went into work for a little bit.

Travis sent me a text that morning saying that they were upping their hours to 16 in a day, 7-days a week. !!! This was bad news, mostly because he had stayed up late all weekend and Monday was supposed to be his chance to catch up. I wasn't expecting Travis until 11:30pm, but his supervisor was able to convince their boss to let them off at 8pm. That will be his schedule for the rest of the week. It still sucks, but at least Travis will be able to fit in a full night of sleep!

Live Nude Bugs!

The Sundance Channel has a new short series called Green Porno where actress Isabella Rossellini reenacts bug sex. They are mostly disturbing, yet strangely I cannot look away. The last two, Fly and Praying Mantis, shake me the most. This is probably not a children-friendly series...

Going home early today

Not a whole lot to write about today. Tuesday night we went up to Chris and Alexa's for Chris' birthday. Wednesday night I went with Sara and she picked out her wedding dress. After that we all went out for dinner and margaritas. Last night I stayed home and cleaned. And tonight David and Stephanie are coming to stay for the weekend! Which means Wednesday is coming too! Have a great weekend...

My Handyman

I have to give Travis some props today. He has been working seven days a week, 10 hours a day at the plant for several weeks now and he is still managing to get work done around the house. Last night I went with Sara and a couple of our girl friends to help her pick out her wedding dress. When I got home at the end of the night, Travis had completed numerous tasks, including yard work and replacing the locks on all our doors. He mowed the lawn and edged with the weed eater. He meticulously edged each stone that leads up to our front door from the driveway, which is awesome because I could no longer find the first two. He also picked up dog poop from the back yard and sprayed the yard deodorizer. I'm VERY excited about this because I hope to be able to actually enjoy our backyard when David and Stephanie come to visit tomorrow.

All of our door locks on the house and the garage now have the SAME key. It was very satisfying to throw away several keys from my key ring. Travis had attempted to change the lock on the front door a few days ago, but the bolt didn't line up with the door jam. It was nearly impossible to get in and out of our house. Picture me leaving in the morning with my purse, lunch, coffee and occasionally my breakfast, trying to turn the lock while systematically kicking the door with each nudge of the key. I was extremely grateful to find that he had fixed this problem last night. ALSO! He flipped the door around on the garage. I don't know what idiot put that door on so that you walked into the water heater instead of the side with the light switch, but my handyman took care of that too! He was a busy man last night and it only took three beers to finish everything. What a hero!

Gin and Rummy

It seems that this game of Liverpool Rummy is becoming a regular occurance. I'm totally digging game night. =) We played a round this past Sunday. It went quicker than normal, probably because we had less people. Not that having fewer people in the game makes it go quicker. When there are a lot of people (which is fun too), it's sometimes hard to keep track of whose turn it is and which cards are on the table. This was just a leisurely evening in PJ's that I caught on camera. I almost didn't make it to the start of the game because I was SO WORN OUT from diving at Moody Gardens that afternoon. I was worried I wouldn't be able to lift my arms to feed myself dinner. Travis was awesome and prepared the meal, which meant a little less work. He got a wild hair up his ass and bought a bottle of Tanqueray. I knew if I had one sip of booze I'd pass out face first on the table, so I skipped out on a glass.

The Game

My sleepy hubby

Logan is still a little frightened of Callaway, but he's getting better. I thought this was hilarious, so I got a pic before they were posed. They just wanted to play!

Doggie Hug. Dexter and Callaway

Numero Quatro

This past Saturday I went to crawfish boil number four of this season. It was a wedding reception for JR's older sister, Lacy. Her and her husband were married in Las Vegas a few months ago and decided to have a party back home to celebrate with their friends and family. Lucky for me, I'm a friend of a family member. I carpooled with JR and Sara on the hour drive to get there. Sadly, it was cloudy almost the entire time we were there. It was supposed to be warm and sunny so that everyone could swim in the pool. I really wanted to get in (I love pools), but there were too many kids for it to be any fun. It seemed like everyone there had a child between the age of three and 13. The crawfish was good and spicy, straight from the first pot. There were also plenty of appetizers and of course, the wedding cake (and cookies) for dessert.

This is a photo of Lacy and I. You can tell by the look on my face that I am confident that there is smoke coming out of my mouth. Their friend brought two of these tables - they were awesome. They are made specifically for eating crawfish. The top was made out of metal for easy clean up and there were two squares cut out so that trash bags could be placed underneath. That way you could just throw away the shells and corn cobs as you ate. Wow. They mean serious business when it comes to crawfish.

JR threw Logan in the water until his lips turned blue. Poor kiddo! None of the adults wanted to get in the water because it was too cold.


Lacy and JR's other sister Brittany passed around this wonderful dessert. It was a strawberry that had been soaked in Kahlua and partially hollowed out so that it could be filled with a shot of Amaretto and topped with whipped cream. Delicious. I definitely plan on trying that at home.

On the ride home from the crawfish boil, JR got a call from his friends Ashley and Scott. They invited us to meet them at the Strawberry Festival just outside of Houston. We went up there and had a couple drinks, but I didn't have a single strawberry! Bummer. At least I got the dessert at Lacy's!

Body on Fire

I feel like I was run over by truck. My entire body is screaming. My abs are screaming. My rib cage, my back, my shoulders, my neck, my jaw, my butt, my thighs - all screaming. On top of that, I have bruises on my knees, ankles and ARMPITS. It all hurts. I'm still trying to decide if it was worth it. I got to do something that I've wanted to do for a long time and I'm not sure if I'll ever do it again. I was part of the penguin tank cleaning dive yesterday in the freezing waters comparable to the "South Atlantic".

The whole thing was a huge ordeal for me, especially because it was my first dive in cold water. Because of this, I had to try on wetsuits to find one that fit properly. It took two tries, which isn't bad. What made it so difficult is that the first one I tried was too small. I felt like I was wrestling a new skin for myself. And it was a stubborn skin. I finally gave up and requested the next size up. Thankfully, I was able to get that one on without too much additional pain. Since it was just an ordeal to get the dang thing on, I wasn't about to take it off to wait for my dive buddy (who is also the dive safety officer - lucky me) to get suited up. Instead, I sat in that neoprene sweating my butt off. The reason I have bruises in my armpits is because the suit is so thick that any bending, pushes hard on the joints. Strange place to be sore, let me tell you.

Once it was time to get in the water, I was hot and ready to cool off! It was definitely cold, but not as bad as I expected it to be. I wore a hood, gloves and boots, so the only skin exposed directly to the water were my lips. I'm pretty sure I looked like an idiot trying to get into that water. I sure felt clumsy. We did this during open hours, so the guests got to watch me getting in. Awesome. I was lucky and had on just the right amount of weights so I didn't have to adjust that at all.

This was a cleaning dive, so the whole point was to get in and scrub crud. I took a few minutes when I first got down to check out the swimming penguins. They mostly avoided us. I was told that they might peck at our suits occasionally, but none of them bothered me. The scrubbing part was a little difficult. If you think about when you are swimming in a pool, what happens when you push on the wall? Answer: You push yourself backwards. Duh. So in order to scrub the walls, I had to swim towards the wall as I pushed the brush against it. The whole thing was a struggle.

About 25 minutes into the dive, I suddenly rocketed to the surface. I had all the air out of my Buoyancy Control Device (BCD, its a vest you where that can have air added and removed to control buoyancy), so I didn't know what to do. Luckily, my dive buddy was scrubbing above me, so I was able to tap him on the shoulder and let him know I was on my way up. Turns out, the BCD I was using can get air stuck on the inside and you have to tilt your body back and forth to work it out. I've never used this kind before, so it was a new experience. After I knew what to do, we went back down. I was only able to stay for another 10 minutes before I felt like my feet were going to freeze off.

Getting out was the hardest part. Well, maybe a close second to the wetsuit struggle. I was so cold, and I was so drained from all the scrubbing, that I could barely pull myself out. There is a little wade pool to go into first, so it wasn't like pulling yourself out of the water onto a dock, but it was still HARD. The first thing I realized is that I had just been scrubbing algae and bird poop off the walls, which was subsequently floating in the water. When I pulled the regulator out of my mouth and tasted rotten salty water I was immediately disgusted. Then I decided I was too tired to think about it. I was on my knees and unable to stand up all the way. The tender at the top had to help pull me out. I was pretty sure I wouldn't make it down the stairs to where I had to take off my gear, but somehow I did.

As soon as I got down there, I filled my boots with cool water (warm water felt like scalding hot water) to help warm up my feet. I felt like I was walking on pins and needles. I had flash backs to playing in the snow when I was a kid. And when I pulled off my hood, I didn't have enough energy to get it off in one tug. I almost suffocated when the mask got stuck over my mouth and nose. Scary.

Notice how you can barely see the little penguin swimming by the glass? That's because the water is murky with poo and algae. The water filtration system then filters out the water.

Here's what I learned:

1. Remember what wetsuit size I wear.
2. Wear dive skin under thick wetsuits (its like a full body swimsuit that makes pulling on the wetsuit easier).
3. Invest in dive skin socks (for cold feet).
4. Maybe invest in dive skin hood (for easier removal of full hood).

This of course, is if I decide to ever go back and do this again!

PS - Happy Birthday Chris R.!

Nutshell tv

I'm not sure what Nutshell tv is, but this is a fun video with a nutshell in it. =) I like the music. It says something about alternative music videos and independent short films. That website doesn't seem to exist at this point, but if it ever does - I'm on it!

Carnivorous Cravings

Last night we had JR and Sara over for JR's birthday dinner. His birthday was actually this past Tuesday and we were originally going to make the dinner for him on Monday (Travis plays softball on Tuesdays and JR plays on Wednesdays). When Sara's family found out it was JR's birthday, they decided to stay an extra day and take them out for dinner on Monday. Therefore, our dinner was postponed until last night (Thursday). Got it? Good. Travis grilled steaks and potatoes on the grill, while I sauteed asparagus on the stove. The worst part of delaying the meal is I had to drool over those steaks every time I opened our fridge. Its strange because I rarely eat or want red meat, but when I do, I want it something fierce. Maybe I'm deficient in iron when that happens?

After dinner, we had dessert and discussed their wedding and honeymoon plans. I baked a giant chocolate chip cookie and attempted to write "Happy B-day JR" on top in icing. Turned out I was only capable of fitting "JR" on top. Lol! We took a break for a minute and kept Dexter and Callaway company outside. Then Sara broke out the game of Cranium. So fun. I suck at it, but its still awesome. I'm hoping we'll try Taboo next time. Another fave.

Logan is growing up so fast. I always remember my parents' friends telling me that same thing and thinking, "No I'm not! I feel like I'll never grow up fast enough!" Silly kids. I think that Logan is actually a little ahead of schedule when it comes to a lot of things though. He started walking at 10 months old and he's already starting to talk. A sampling of his vocabulary includes "ball", "mama", "dada" and "De-der", which is his way of saying Dexter. It really is amazing to watch him grow.

So. I woke up in the wee hours of the morning with a Charlie Horse. Ahhh! Those are the worst. Especially when you wake up to that. I think that is the third I have ever had in my entire life. Of course, I woke up this morning feeling like I had ran a marathon in my sleep. On just my left leg. Now I have this constant sensation like I'm on the brink of another one. I am terrified to even remotely point my toe. I'm sure you are on the edge of your seat with anticipation of what will happen next. I'll keep you posted. :/

Two great things hit our life in the past 24 hours. First, we received the refund check from our insurance company for Travis' truck. It was more than we were expecting so we are saving some of it away and using the rest as a down payment on the new truck. We won't buy it until after Travis is finished with the shutdown. He won't have time before then. Second, Travis officially received his first paycheck with his Journeyman's raise! That whole process seemed to take FOREVER. It's finally here though. Now I have the end of our credit card debt in sight!

Blanco

Now that I have my camera back, I was finally able to take a photo of the long awaited replacement curtains. I decided to go with long and white. Travis is going to cut a couple blocks to put behind the feet of the futon. I don't want the curtains to get that mushed look. It still feels horribly plain in this corner of my home. I know part of this is because we are still missing a lamp on that coffee table. I also despise that futon, but it is all we have right now. Besides, it is helpful when we have multiple people stay at our house. I want to buy a cover for it, but I don't know where to find those. Anybody? I'm afraid to buy anything online because I don't know if it will fit or not.

The other problem that we've been having is that the cushion falls down in the back. I tried cutting holes in the fabric and running zip ties through and around the bars (ghetto-fabulous, I know). Ya, that didn't work. It helped a little, but the few on the top tore within a couple weeks. The cats sit up there during the day to look out the window and there is nothing I can do to stop them. The damage is already done, I suppose.

Can you see Phage underneath the futon, laying on that folded blanket? I love my kitties! Well, most of them anyway. I've been wanting to move that hanging plant to another location, but I haven't been able to figure out where (not to mention the planter is ugly). It is difficult to get much outdoor light in my house, so it will have to be directly in front of a window. I'm hoping my next project will be to paint a tree stencil on the wall behind our TV in this room. I think that will add some pizzazz (yes, I just said pizzazz) to the room. Rachel already has the stencil. I just have to buy the paint and get the guts to do it...

You're never going to guess what happened last night. Actually, maybe you will. I was sitting at the kitchen table reading the Sunday comics, when I hear something drop into Callaway's kennel. The only reason this was weird (because Callaway is always going in and out of there) is because the dog was laying on the floor in the living room with Travis. I look over, and Bella is in there dropping a deuce! (Maybe because she can no longer reach his water dish?) I yelled at her to get out, repeatedly, and she didn't leave until she had finished!!

The nerve of that cat.

I don't know what to do with her! When I was cleaning up her mess, Travis noticed that she had peed in the back too. Ahhhh! Seriously, I don't know what to do with her.

Full Day, Part 2

Lastly, I bought some fish (at PetSmart)! Hooray! More often than not I have people asking me why I have an empty fish tank. I don't actually, but I only have bottom feeders, which can be hard to spot at times. I was told that I cannot use the tap water here for a tank because the fish will not survive. !!! What does this say about my drinking water?!?! Anyway, I bought Reverse Osmosis water and did a water change about a month ago. I figured this was long enough for the tank to readjust before adding some more fish. I bought two Gouramis. Nothing crazy because I want to make sure they will survive before purchasing more expensive fish. Bottom feeders are like cockroaches - nothing can kill them - so I can't go by their health. What do you think? (Please ignore the algae growing all over everything.)

There are 3 fish in this photo: two sucker fish and one Dwarf Gourami
Staring at himself in the mirror?

Buddies: Dwarf and Blue Gouramis

I didn't get a picture of the plecostomus because he likes to hide in between the coral. He is in there somewhere. I had a saltwater tank when I was in high school, but it took up a lot of my time and my mom's boyfriend-at-the-time helped me a bunch. This time I decided to stick with a freshwater tank. I don't have much free time on my hands and I would hate for those expensive saltwater fish to fall through the cracks.

We finished Sunday off with cards at Sara and JR's house. Sara's family was in town for Mother's Day and they decided to teach Travis, JR and I how to play a card game that was popular in their home growing up: Liverpool Rummy. After Googling this, I found that we played the Florida variant of the game, with money. We had a great time. Sara and her sisters are hilarious together! I told Sara that we're going to have to play it more often!

Full Day, Part 1

Travis is still in the middle of a shutdown at work. Right now he is working 10-hour shifts, seven days a week. It's not as horrible as the first time Travis did this when he worked 12-hour shifts, seven days a week. Talk about yuck! I'm glad I actually get to spend time with him in the evenings this time. On Sunday, Travis asked if I would bring him, and the three other guys who were working this weekend, lunch. I tried to go to this little fast food drive thru place, but it was closed for Mother's Day. What?! It's Mother's Day. Not Christmas. Instead, I went to Whataburger. I don't know if someone forgot to thaw the hamburger patties or what, but I had a 30-minute wait for our food. Along with EVERYONE ELSE IN THE RESTAURANT. I really just don't like Whataburger. I was getting worried I wouldn't get the food to the guys before their lunch hour was over, but I made it in pretty good time.

Sadly, I am not allowed in the plant so I could not eat with them. I figured this was a good thing because I had a kajillion errands to run and eating in the car got me on the move. I should not be allowed to eat in the Murano. As I was picking up my "bucket" of Coke, the top popped off and somehow I managed to spill the soda ALL OVER the front seat/steering wheel/center console. Ahhh! Coke is NOT GOOD for leather. I swerved off the road and jumped out to throw all the ice out. Luckily, I keep a bunch of napkins in the glove compartment for just such an occasion so I was able to clean up the liquid. But still, everything was sticky. After the car was taken care of I looked down at myself and realized that the right leg of my white sweatpants was saturated with cold, brown soda. Lovely. I made a detour back home to eat in the safety of my own dining room, threw my pants in the washer before it stained and washed everything in the car.

I feel like my entire Sunday consisted of me rushing from one place to another, only to be forced to wait for whatever I needed. After the Whataburger fiasco, I had to sit at Verizon for 30 minutes while I waited for my turn. My cell phone was broken, but it turns out it there were a few loose screws on the inside, so the repair process was quick. Then I went and sat at Jared's for 30-minutes while they filled out all my paperwork for my ring inspection and rhodium plating. Since it was Mother's Day, our rings weren't ready for pick-up that day. We had plans for last night so I won't make it back to pick them up until tonight. =(

After all the waiting, I finally got to do something fun: PetSmart! I've been meaning to get there for weeks, but between Travis working the shutdown and his accident I haven't had a chance. Callaway was in dire need of some new toys. He is an aggressive chewer so I have to make sure to get him durable toys that he can't tear into a million pieces in five minutes. Bear with me for a sec, I'm going to talk pets... I bought three toys - one you can fill with water and freeze for outdoors, one is the everlasting Kong Ball and one is a toy you fill with treats so they have to figure out how to get them out. I also have been meaning to get elevated feeder. One, because Callaway is a medium size dog and I worry about the long term effects of having to lean down to eat. And two, because Bella keeps peeing in his water bowl. What better way to avoid this than to put it out of reach?! Callaway tends to be skittish about new objects in the house. The elevator feeder did not escape this fear. We've had to coax him to the food bowl since we got the thing so that he doesn't starve to death. I hope he gets over this soon. He's a finicky eater as it is. I guess when he gets hungry enough he'll risk being attacked by his feeder.

Of course, when I tried to get a photo of him sniffing the dish from three feet away Travis put his key in the lock of the front door so Callaway was immediately on the alert. The other products I purchased, that I've been meaning to do for months, are grass spot treatment and yard deodorizer. Callaway always pees in the same spot and the low pH is killing our grass. Plus, we don't clean his poo out of our yard as often as we should. I'm hoping the yard deodorizer spray will take care of this nasty aroma. When the elderly couple lived in the house next door before Sara and JR, I didn't worry about it too much. They rarely came outside. Now that a young couple with a baby have moved in, I feel bad that they have to put up with our dog's waste. Maybe now I'll be willing to eat dinner outside every now and then. It's hard to eat your chicken kabobs with the lingering stench of crap hanging around.

Getting too long. To Be Continued...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JR!!!

Congrats JR & Sara!!

First off, a belated Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there!!

JR proposed to Sara on Friday! Sara knew that he was going to get the ring, so she was very disappointed when he got home and said he couldn't get it. They had plans to go out and had an all night babysitter so Sara was ready to get going. Her frustration of no ring exaggerated her frustration of trying to get everyone out the door. With all these distractions, she didn't notice that Logan was carrying around a ring box until he threw it at her. Lol! As soon as she picked it up she knew what it was and her evening was made! She had the perfect opportunity to show it off on their night out.

Saturday we went to the beach so JR and his siblings could celebrate Mother's Day with their mom. I stopped by for a few hours (and didn't even get burnt!) and got a few photos of Sara and JR's happy family (and the new rock!).

Life is good. Newly engaged.

The ring.

Still not sure if Logan is giving his cousin kisses or a bite? Kids...

15-week-old Dexter: Sara's Mother's Day present.

PS - Obviously, I got my camera back! Actually, they were unable to repair it so they just gave me a new one. Thank goodness for Service Plans!!!

Crazy Call

Travis got a crazy call yesterday. He couldn't hear the guy on the other end very well, but he was screaming something about suing Travis for running into him. I'm thinking it was one of the guys from the 4-car pile up. What I'm wondering is HOW THE HELL DID HE GET TRAVIS' PHONE NUMBER?!?! Travis said maybe its written on the police report, which is public record. He's going to get a copy and see if that's it, plus it wouldn't hurt to have for our records. I'm nervous that our address could be on there too and I'm going to find some wacked out guy waiting for me on my doorstep when I get home. Ah! I guess this guy said he was going to come after Travis for the damages done to his vehicle. We don't know who it was exactly, but he was nuts! Travis told him to call his insurance company and hung up. He could barely hear him anyway. Nutso. This is so much fun. I love this stuff...

We had another momentary freak-out yesterday when we received a text message from our friend Miraj saying that someone called him looking for us and that we were hiding from him, then he gave the phone number. I was trying to figure out how Nutso-From-The-Previous-Paragraph could have found our friend's phone number too. Travis called Miraj to find out what this was all about before he called the number. Turns out it was just a joke and it was the number to the Houston Zoo, but holy cow! Talk about random. Thank goodness for a little joke here and there!

Anyhoo! Yesterday sure was a scorcher. I think it got up to about 90 degrees! It's only supposed to get into the low 70's today, which is perfect for my work picnic this evening. Travis is going to try to make it since he's still getting off work at a decent time. No big plans for this weekend except I need to wash the car.

Have a great weekend!

Beatboxing

Gives me goosebumps...

I see a new truck in our future

Travis is playing softball with another team this season and they play on Tuesdays. Shannon and Chris came up to watch his early game last night. We found out yesterday that our insurance adjuster has decided to total Travis' truck out, which means he's on the prowl for a new vehicle. We got even better news when they told me how much they are quoting the truck at, so we will be getting some money back for a down payment on whatever we get next!! Chris brought a description of his dad's truck, that is for sale, with him up to the game. It's a 2005 Dodge Ram crew cab with a V8, towing package and a tool box. Everything Travis wants in a truck!! He probably won't be able to get it for a month because we have to wait for everything to be finalized with the insurance company and the lender we used for the S10. In the meantime, Travis is pimpin it in the Neon. LOL!

This video just made me laugh and laugh! I've watched it about 20 times now. Maybe you have to know my friend, but either way I think watching two grown men do this is hysterical. Supposedly, they were testing out a new video camera to make sure it worked. You MUST turn the sound on for this one...

Our Cinco de Mayo

SO! After all the chaos last week, Travis and I decided to make the best of our weekend. Friday night we were supposed to go up for dinner at Chris and Alexa's, but we postponed until Saturday because Chris got called out on ANOTHER flight. Thankfully it was only for a few hours so he was back by midnight. Instead, we stayed home and ordered a pizza and watched the movie Cloverfield. I was sooo excited about this film because I felt like there was all this hype about the monster. Well let me tell you, if you have ever had any motion sickness - DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE. This movie has been compared to the Blair Witch Project, which also caused nausea due to the uses of a hand held camcorder. I wasn't worried though because I didn't have any problems watching that one (except that it scared the crap out of me). Besides being dizzy, I could barely tell what was going on because there was never a clear shot of anything and the entire film was extremely dark. Barf. Travis and I stared at the wall for 30 minutes just to get our bearings back. We ended up going straight to bed since neither of us felt very well.

Saturday we got up bright and early to get a few quick things done around the house before heading to the beach. The day looked nice and the Weather Channel said we had a wonderful weekend ahead of us, but when we got to the beach, this dark ominous cloud rolled over and it got very chilly. When the clouds hit the ocean, something very strange happened. It looked like fingers reaching down to touch the water. Don't know what it was, but it was cool!

We sat in the car for a few minutes to make sure it wasn't going to rain, but were soon heading onto the sand to set up shop. I didn't strip down to the bikini for about 15 minutes because of the chill, so when I finally did I FORGOT TO PUT ON SUNSCREEN. Bad Nikki! Travis didn't put any on either. That's not unusual though because he thinks he's invincible. I did remember after sitting in the sun for 30 minutes, but still, I'm fried. Travis and I were a pitiful sight for the past couple nights. We were either burning up or freezing or arses off. Ugh, I hope this ends soon!


The beach was so dirty. You may be able to see the line of trash behind me. Oh, and there's a dust storm up by those green umbrellas. It was windy!

For lunch, we went to a reggae bar and grill and sat outside to further the sunburns we were not yet aware of. After a day of fresh air and a drink at the bar, we were ready for a nap. I rarely take naps because for some reason it takes me an hour to ungrumpify and be back to my old self. The only reason I did on Saturday is because I fell asleep on the ride home!


Saturday night we used our rain check and went up to Chris and Alexa's for burgers. Chris had spent the day rebuilding his boat trailer, so we helped him get the boat back on it. It took four of us an hour of pushing and pulling, jacking up the boat, and pushing and pulling some more to finally get that stubborn thing to go back onto the trailer. Chris still need to bring it down to the dock to get it to balance properly. We had to head home because Travis got called into work on Sunday. =(


Since Travis was gone all day, I decided to help take care of a few things on his to-do-list. I woke up when Travis left and couldn't fall back asleep, so I got up and tidied up the house. Then I set out to mow the lawn. I had to take a break between the front and backyards - it was hot out! I had to run into work for a little bit and then I went grocery shopping. I spent the rest of the day doing laundry. Check out this moth that kept me company in the garage all day (that's where our washer and dryer are). Sorry it's blurry.

We have some great friends. Sunday night we had dinner at Sara and JR's and Monday night we celebrated Cinco de Mayo with fajitas and margaritas at Shannon and Chris' house. Seriously - that's three nights in a row without having to make dinner!!!

Travis Drama Update

It turns out that the insurance adjuster just took the truck on Friday. We won't know for about a week what the verdict is on whether or not we'll keep it. Travis is hoping it will be totaled because he's worried that they won't notice something, like a cracked block, that will cause us trouble down the line. He's already been looking up trucks online. Ha! My hope is that if it does get totaled out, there will be some money leftover to go towards a down payment on a new vehicle. Travis is confident that we'll get something. I just worry about everything. Well, here's the damage:

I still don't understand how the truck he ran into ended up ON Travis' hood. That big dent above the right blinker is where the tire was sitting. Travis said he and a couple other guys had to lift it off so the tow truck could get to it. Crazy. Here's hoping for a better week than last!!

Happy Birthday, Hottie!

I'd just like to add that today is my man David Beckham's 33rd birthday. Here's a link to a photo gallery that the radio station I listen to put up. THANK GOD FOR THIS GALLERY. =D

The Week From Hell Continues...

Well, this evil week reared it's ugly head again. I have almost felt guilt for the past year at all the good fortune that Travis and I have had. Our friends Chris and Shannon have unavoidable, sometimes horrific drama on a daily basis it seems and they are good people. They don't deserve that. I always wonder how we have been so lucky. I think this week is making up for everything. Travis was driving home yesterday from working with his old boss and got into a car accident. This is UNbelievable. Shannon pointed out that we should be thankful that Travis still has a job so we are able to deal with this better. She also noted that Travis is okay. These are all things to be grateful for.

Travis was driving down a fairly busy street when the truck in front of him slammed on his brakes. Travis slammed on his brakes also, but there was not enough time to stop before rear ending the guy. Unfortunately, the truck he hit did not have a rear bumper AND it was slightly taller than Travis' truck so he drove UNDERNEATH it. Ahhhhh! He said the tires were up by his windshield. Turns out, it was a four-car pile up, so Travis wasn't the only one at fault. The first guy ran off, so no tickets were issued. Travis said his air bags didn't deploy, but the engine was leaking all sorts of fluid. It wouldn't start, so the tow truck took it away. Luckily, one of Travis' work buddies was driving by and saw the accident so he turned around to keep him company and then drive him home. Just to be safe, Travis took the tool box and everything out of his truck back to the house. I had to laugh at the pile of his stuff in our garage when I got home.

Another positive thing here is that we still have my old car. Travis is going to drive that around until we can figure out the replacement vehicle situation. The insurance adjuster is going to the wrecker lot to decide if the truck is salvageable. I am hoping we owe less than it is worth so we'll get some money back for a down payment on a new vehicle. I am doubtful though. We are going to try to run up there after work to see if we can get some pictures (with our old crappy camera). If we do, I'll try to get some photos up.

Then to top off this beautiful week, we woke up to the scent of cat pee and crap in the kitchen again. I guess those plug-ins aren't working as well as we had thought.

TGIF!!!!

Bruhaha

Yesterday was a roller coaster ride from hell. It was horrible. Travis called me almost first thing in the morning to tell me he was fired from his job. I think I had a minor heart attack right at that moment. He said he was sitting in the work truck with another co-worker while a third was getting their daily permit (that they need before they can do any work) and his boss came up and yelled at them for sleeping on the job. He slammed the door and walked off, so they weren't sure what was going to happen. By the time they made it out to the job site, their foreman told them not to unload their tools and head straight to the office at the front. Of course, Travis knew exactly what that meant. He took it very maturely and didn't throw a fit about it, even though it is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS. They have to sign a piece of paper stating why they are being fired and theirs said it was for sleeping on the job. Travis didn't agree, but there was nothing he could do. I don't understand how someone could make such a rash decision at a moment's notice. It is insane to me that they would fire last month's employee of the month because he was waiting for a permit that is REQUIRED to work in the plant.

Travis immediately decided to go into Houston to apply at the plants. Since he has his Journeyman's license now, he is eligible for more positions. Travis' old boss, from when he did residential electrical, said that he could come back and work for him anytime, which is always a nice back up. Even though he would get a raise from what he was getting paid there before, it doesn't quite cover what we need for our newest large purchase. When Travis applied at one of the locations in Houston, they really liked him and invited him back to take a written test in the afternoon. In the meantime, Travis applied at several other locations. He said the test was very difficult, but he passed it!

When he got out of his test, he found he had four missed calls and a text from his ex-direct-boss at the plant. Turns out he was able to convince the higher bosses that Travis was too good of an employee to lose and they invited him back to work at the plant. I guess the other guy that was in the truck with Travis had gotten a written warning for sleeping on the job in the past. They assumed that was what they were doing in the truck and chose to fire that guy for it. Unfortunately, they thought they had to fire Travis for it too. This is absolutely unreasonable because Travis has never received a warning for anything (not to mention he wasn't actually sleeping on the job). After getting off the phone with them, the Houston plant called and asked him to come back for an interview.

Despite all the bruhaha, Travis decided to take the job back since we need it so badly. He is getting a warning and a three-day, unpaid suspension from work. He goes back Monday and will work for his old residential boss in the meantime to help bridge the financial gap. I am extremely stressed about the instability of this job, but this is all we have for now. Cross your fingers for us that Travis doesn't get fired for wiping the sweat off his brow this week. God forbid he take any time from working!