Oy

What a week it's been!

Seems like forever since I've posted here, but I really have not had much free time.

Last week M and I attempted to put up the Christmas decorations. Saturday I walked the dogs while she had some appointments to attend to and then we needed to run some errands. The front light in her car was out so I put on my butchie clothes and set out to fix it. Normally I am good with mechanical things but either my hands have gotten bigger or cars have gotten smaller. You used to be able to just reach down and pull out the bulb and then stick the replacement back in. Now you have to unscrew this, move that out of the way try to squeeze your hand down a tiny hole and then get enough leverage to twist the freakin' thing so you can get it out.

After much grumbling and cursing we had success. We went to the auto parts store found a replacement and as I attempted to put the bulb back in...I realized I bought the wrong one. I replaced the High Beam bulb instead of the regular headlight.

D'oh!

Also on Saturday we went to Target to take back some things we didn't want and to buy the movie Wall-E. (Damn cute movie, we highly recommend it). M was in a shopping mood so we did our very best to contribute to this nations failing economy by spending money!

We decided on a whim were are going to change all of the decorations on the tree AND we actually found decorations that we both agreed on! (My fabulous taste is starting to wear off on her).

Once home, M put all the packages away and I had the job of giving the dogs a bath. Westies are known for their bad skin as they get older and our one dog Corky has been scratching and itching for weeks now. They were pretty good about it. I only got mildly soaked and Casey tried to escape once but I got him before he could make a run for it.

M's task was to take all the dogs bedding and wash it. I think I had the better job!

After all rampant buying and errands for the day were done - we were pooped. Spending money can be soooo draining sometimes.

One of the purchases we made at Target was a make your own pizza kit. It came with a pizza cutter, sauce, seasonings and some kind of flour mixture to make your own dough. M went out to get some cheese and toppings and I settled in to make the dough.

I like to make bread, it's one of my favorite things to bake. I like the whole process and I don't use a bread machine. The kneading is very therapeutic to me so I know dough pretty well.

I followed the instructions to make the dough, added water, kneaded it for a bit and then put it in a bowl, cover it and let it sit for about 15 minutes to rise.

It never rose.

I waited a freakin' hour for that damn thing and it never rose.

Finally through anger, desperation and shear hunger I said fuck it and used the un-risen dough to make the pizza.

Per the instructions you were supposed to divide the dough in half to make 2 pizzas that would fit on a large cookie sheet.

Well, I could barely get MY dough to fit on ONE cookie sheet.

I stretched and I pulled and I coerced and I cursed but that dough wasn't going no where. It had no elasticity.

Screw it...I stretched it as far as I could and then plopped on the sauce, cheese, spices toppings and just as I was about to put it in the over M came over and said: "That's kind of an odd looking pizza!"

I glared.

She cowered

I replied through clenched teeth: "I fucking lost my patience with this damn pizza." through the damn thing in the over and hoped for the best.

Actually, it didn't taste too bad. The crust was a bit chewy, but edible.

We sat in our jammies, drinking wine, eating home made pizza and watching Wall-E.

Not a bad night actually.

On Sunday we got up early to take the dogs for their walk. It was COLD outside and we had a bit of snow on the ground. My dog loves the snow...he rolls and jumps in it. The bath from the day before was wasted as they gathered mud and goose poop all on their paws and bellies since they are so damn short legged.

Oh well, they had fun and we all felt a bit invigorated by the crisp cold air.

I don't know about anyone else, but before I put up my decorations I need to clean up the house a bit. Rearrange furniture to make a place fo the tree, remove the knick knacks so I can put up all the Christmas "shtuff" I've accumulated over the years. And this takes some time.

ALSO we decided now that the cold weather is here we needed to switch our clothes from spring/summer to fall/winter. We don't have a lot of closet space so we have to store the off season clothes up in the attic. AND we have to use moth balls to keep the little vermin away. Soooo, to keep us from smelling like old people, we have to wash all of the stored clothes first before putting them away.

This was a process.

It took a lot longer then we anticipated.

We never got our tree up and it's 2 weeks until Christmas.

M suggested we do it at night, but we're usually both so damn tired by the time we get home we don't have the energy for this kind of thing.

Maybe this weekend.

Monday's I normally work from home, but I went into the office to hand in my resignation.

Yup - I'm leaving the academic publishing world and am starting on a new and exciting adventure.

The new company I think will be a better fit for me. It's a small business, which I prefer, it's 100% woman owned and operated which is great AND after my initial training I get to work from home FULL TIME!

Weeehoooo! Yippee skippee!

The commuting 1 1/2 hours to work and 1 1/2 hours home really bites the big weenie. (Dive, I don't know how you do it). Traveling for business is also not what it's cracked up to be either. Yesterday I drove over 500 miles in one day. That is freakin' exhausting.

Luckily where I am going I will still be dealing with some of the same customers - Librarians so I won't go cold turkey.

Dec. 19th is my last day and I'm excited and nervous and all those things that you get when you start a new job.

It's good though, it's all good.

For the next week and 1/2 I will be trying to wrap up as many of my accounts as possible and make the transition as smooth as I can.

Now you know why I haven't been on the blogosphere lately.

BUT...I will be back.

Just not very often until things settle down.

Be well all!

Peace!

Oh no, say it isn't so Sarah!

This woman has stuffing for brains - she really does.

If you are a fan of Sarah Palin then please don't read this blog. To say I dislike this woman is just the tip of the iceberg.

On November 20th she visited a slaughterhouse to pardon a turkey then as she candidly responds to questions from the reporter the man behind her who is up to his knees in blood is slaughtering a turkey!

AND she said was there because she was having fun and glad to be invited to participate and "you need a little levity".

Later she states: "certainly we'll invite critism for this to, but at least it was fun."

Come on kids...we're going to the slaughter house to watch a turkey get his throat slit and then have some guy push him into a funnel so he bleeds faster...doesn't that sound like fun?

Hey - I know this is where our food comes from and for turkey farmers it's something they probably do on a daily basis, but didn't she know what was going on right behind her?

Here is the Slate version of the interview.



If you have the stomach, you can see the real video on YouTube, I'm not going to post it here.

INSOMNIA

Why is it when I am so freakin' tired - I can't sleep?

Ugh!

This is going to be a loooooooooooooooong day.

Need some happy talk

I was reading the headlines this morning and felt really depressed and stressed. The top stories were:

• Colorado Shootings May be Linked
• Bomb Hits Bus Carrying Kids in Pakistan
• Ice Storm Kills Six in Mid-West
• Mortar Shells hit Iraq prison - Killing 7
• 31 Dead After Migrant Sinks Boat off Turkey

I need something to make me feel a bit happier. To lighten the load a bit you know?

If you ever saw the musical South Pacific - you'll know this song!!!

The Kitchen

Once upon a day so cheery, I tried to work here, bleak and bleary,
Over many spreadsheets, presentations and quotes that are a bore.
While I typed out, nearly jumped out, suddenly there came a clanging
As of someone loudly banging, banging on my kitchen floor.
“Just the workers,” I sputtered, “banging at my kitchen floor,
Grating on my nerves to the core.”

Now the sawing and the clawing, as the workers put the floor in
Ripping, stripping, sanding, they move the dirt and clutter ever more,

As the sounds above me increase, my sanity starts to slowly decrease
And the concentration I once had has left me once more.
"Can someone please stop the clanging, stop the ceaseless endless banging
Of the workers banging at my kitchen floor!!!"