I'm wiped, and it's only 8pm... could be because I had a spurt of motivation when I got home, which is shocking since it's cold and the spring is usually what inspires me to spring clean. Between the lingering odors (perhaps all in my head) from my displeased stomach on Monday/Tuesday and a dog with a loose hind end this afternoon I was inspired to sweep and mop the basement floor, scrub the kitchen and bathroom floor, clean the kitchen counters, vacuum, and pull the burgundy area rug out and prep it to put it back in the living room (instead of the lovely sheet I was using to prevent paw prints on the new carpet). Now if I could just get a spurt of energy that would finish the bedroom! Hmm, maybe I'll go eyeball more prints on allposters and try to decide.

Oh, I also woofed down some baked beans. How strange of a hankering is that? No, it isn't the second coming (miracle birth), so get that out of your head.

Unflipping believable. I know they were calling for it, but... it's snowing. *shakes head*

Not feeling fabulous today - my own fault (actually I blame the Irish car bomb), not the flu that is going around. Matter of fact, I think the flu would find my body down right unhospitable.

I have to give some major kudos to Bath and Body Works today. I got the package that I have been watching sit here in Johnstown since the 19th (stupid post office) and how lovely - the shampoo bottle is empty as it is throughout the box and has even soaked through the box. I'll put money down it was from sitting somewhere too long in the changing temps. Anyhow, I called and they were super to deal with and promptly offered to ship me another as well as to add anything else to my order that I wanted to buy with not cost on the shipping. Needless to say I do not need more stuff from there *rolls eyes* but it was nice to have a place handle the mess so nicely.

Got the hair recolored today - a slight change to how it was before, quite cute. Needs a bit of a curl put in though. Maybe I'll pass out early tonight so I can get up an get curling tomorrow morning before work - make up for looking so rough today.

I'll commence my whining that my weekend is coming to a close now. I had a little freebie sample of chocolate party (Hershey's Bliss) on Saturday afternoon (and a few drinks *smile*) so I got to see a few folks that I haven't gotten to see in a while, which was nice.

Today I slept in a little and then went on my standard Hunting and Gathering run. I also tossed in a stop at Penney's. One to get that damn ink tag off of the sweater I was griping about the other day and two to pick up my new quilt for the bed. YES I found something with pinks, whites, and blacks - at long last! I didn't get to my own housework, but I do feel like I accomplished something - tossingn in some slave labor down in Moxham. Again, I just got that comfy-homey feel. To top it all off someone nearby started grilling. UGH, I'd give anything for some fresh dead cow off of the grill - that smell! Too bad the beast in my back yard is probably all cruded up and wouldn't fire.

Hair appointment delayed until Tuesday... so I made a few other quick stops. Retail sales people - when someone purchases an item PLEASE remove the ink tags. This is the second time I've had one left on in just a few months time. I guess I'll be running back there in a couple days. *sigh* At least other appointments went quickly, despite the need to pause midway to apply some silver nitrate to my cervix. I am SO getting old.

Why is it that at 4pm I am wiped and can think of nothing more than crawling into bed and sleeping - but by the time I am free and able to execute my desires I am not tired, nor do I end up falling asleep until midnight or later, thus resulting in a sleepy bear in the morning!

Picked up a new vacuum for the apartment and I must say I was impressed with the little $80 Bissell. I think it did a better job than my vacuum. That said I decided to order some new filters to see if I can get some power back on my weapon of choice.

Today is a few more appointments, first the dreaded yearly *cringe* and then off to get my hair touched up. At least they get me out of work early. Until then it's time to grab my cape and become DOCUMENTATION GIRL!

Remember when I said "I can only hope that the massive numbers of old-school and/or hick mentality residents I share my state with are more gender-biased than racist" with regard to Hilla-beast and Obama? Yeah... nothing like the news proving me accurate in my view of my fellow Pennsylvanians.

It's disgusting:
"About one in five Pennsylvania voters said the race of the candidates was among the top factors in deciding how to vote, according to exit polls, and white voters who cited race supported Clinton over Obama by a 3-to-1 margin." ... "The New York senator easily won among Pennsylvania voters without college degrees and those from families earning less than $50,000 a year. Gun owners, rural voters and churchgoing Democrats also backed Clinton."

Hicks. Fucking stupid, racist, hicks.

OH! ... and my new bedroom lamp came last night. It is big, so very me, and bitchin. Again, remember I spotted this puppy on Overstock for $25, thought it was cute and decided to buy it after seeing it then on Amazon for $100+! Love it, love it, love it.

My week has just been a series of miniature cluster-fs. Even VOTING was screwed up this morning. I've written, as Rex frequently states, a "strongly worded letter" and am letting that one go now. The other cluster that started up last night just has my mind twitching. I can't believe what I was asked to do. Partly because it's just absurd and partly because it felt like a test to which affection was tied (despite reassurances that it was just the male "I want I want now" mentality). It wasn't anything perverted - so get your minds out of the gutter!

Update: Vixen only got up twice last night - and she's had a bit more rice - hopefully by this evening we'll be feeling 100%. Time will tell I suppose.

It has been a very long time since I've had three distinct things to way within a 24-hour time span... but here goes post number three. So I pick up Vixen and the lady proceeds to tell me that she isn't feeling well, that she had diarrhea, and that there was blood in it. My baby! She's definitely got the runs, what I have seen since coming home was clear of blood, but I am still quite concerned. After several trips out Vixie is resting peacefully as a bit of rice puffs up in her tummy. Hopefully she'll be feeling better quickly. Fingers crossed for my baby girl.

Grumble growl... so I was running like a crazy woman over lunch. I think that is an indicator of how my week will be.

Dropped an item at the post office - no problem, not even a line.

Then I snagged Vixen and took her to Petco for her bath. Noticed a nice fresh wound... on her side. WTF? I swear these two squabble when outsiders will see it to make me look like a horrible mom - they've been good since the vet appointment. Argh!

Returned the sheets that shreaded to hell when washed. Of course somehow the price on the other pack that was there was $2 less than the one I bought just a few days ago - and then it rang up another $3 less on the transaction. Keep in mind, I tossed the packaging etc because I had no intention of returning the sheets. So... whatever. But of course the closest to the color I could get in a quality set ended up running me another $54. Frizzin frazzin... *curse & mutter*

Hit the Halmark and ran back to work - somehow this took closer to an hour and a half, instead of an hour. Curses! At least the day is almost done... I can rush over to the mall and hopefully get back to snag Vixie by 5:30 without an issue.

Tuesday I get to be an extra for something being filmed for another project and I get to be made up as burned. How cool is that? At least I didn't get assigned the role that has "preferably vomiting" listed after it. Hmm.

Wednesday I am doing another lunch run to gather items for a small afternoon gathering. I really shouldn't complain, I do like the girlie planning aspect of some of this running.

To explain my exhasperated post from last night... I had a hard to turn down offer that my mind, heart, and feet argued about. That's all I have to say on that. Maybe someday minds and hearts will be in agreement and it won't be a problem.

Ok, just typing all of this soothed my mind a bit. Now on with the day!

Damnit damnit damnit! I can't wait to see what warped dreams this will bring.

Word has it that one friend is out of the hospital (thank God), but alas, another has gone in (due to blood clots in her lungs). Please, keep her in your prayers folks.

My Sunday was productive, despite the rain outside. I made dinner (double-batch of Slip's special casserole so I'll have grub throughout the week) and brownies, finished cleaning the bathroom, started preparations for my Bliss tasting party (mmm, free chocolate), bathed Danika, and started to ready the bedroom for painting. Not too shabby eh? Why the special torture for D? Well, Vix goes to Petco for her bath tomorrow, she's just too much for me to handle in the tub. All this and not even 10pm. Time to sip some peach vodka and tea and click through the channels for a while.

The weather is just absolutely perfect... it was the type of day where you went about your business in a tee and shorts without getting too warm or catching a chill, the sun was out today and there was a light breeze. Last night the weather was about the same, so I took advantage with a leisurely drive. Secondary purpose of the drive was house hunting for an ex/friend. Nothing worse than the end of the evening awkwardness there. At least I wasn't alone on a friday night, comforting since I had a missed opportunity on Wednesday night. Also found a lump between Danika's shoulder blades last night, not sure what gives there... it is almost where a shot would be given, and she WAS at the vet recently, but trust me, I am still a bit nervous.

Today was all about my typical weekend practices - sleeping in, heading to Ollie's and Big Lots for miscellanea, laundry, dishes, and light cleaning. I also finally got an item that needs mailed out packaged up, unfortunately just after the closest post office closed. *grr*

I spent some quality time with my book and finally finished book 5 in the series I'm in. Most of this progress was made in between drinks and waiting for food at the Bouley. I was washing my hair tonight anyhow, so why not stink myself up with smoke first?

Yeah baby... I took that whole $10 I got for getting 3rd place (out of 12) in our work fantasy hockey league amd spent it all in one place. At least the girl is representing high on the scoreboard.

The Chiefs are done, sadly, so I guess I'll be turning my focus over to the NHL. I'm pleasantly surprised that the Preds are giving the Wings a bit of a challenge... have I mentioned lately how much I loathe the Red Wings? Great battle going on between Philly and the Crapitals... very eager to see which the Pens will face next, I know the Caps are up, but anything can happen. C'mon would wouldn't love to see Sid vs. Ovey in a best of series? Devils and Rangers... not fond of either... if pressed I'd rather see the Rangers (see the Red Wings theme - cough cough Shanny) out quickly. Stars and Avs kicking, good to see. The other two match ups leave me unemotional at best.

Weather is great today - most everyone is gone as a result - talk about jealous! Ah well, hopefully I'll get things done this weekend.

A few smiles and laughs that entered my day:

1). I wouldn't have mentioned this one had I not other items to highlight, but to the geek who hacked Bejeweled to propose to his woman - that is so sweet, not to mention way better than being asked in a dark room with absolutely zero pomp and circumstance.

2). Trois acclamations to France, who is trying to make a law that would make it illegal to incite extreme thinness! Eat a burger honey.

3). The email that came out to let everyone know that there was a problem with email. I kid you not. If I worked for Nasa I would have cried instead of laughed.

I made up for slacking on Sunday by forcing myself to cross 5 things off of my to do list before I could go grub and hang w/ Rex for my standard Monday night evening out. So, the clean clothes are away (all two baskets full), the winter sweaters are upstairs - the lighter sweaters are back downstairs, the ceiling fans are dusted, the plants are watered, and a fresh batch of CDs have been put in the Tiburon. Woohoo!

To reward myself and to enjoy the semi-nice weather, we headed down the mountain so I could use my 20% bag at Old Navy (of course I only found 1 thing I wanted) and we grubbed at Outback. I am still full today.

Tonight it's off to the hockey game. Fingers, toes, and eyes crossed that the Chiefs will get back on the winning wagon and make a come back to show Cincy their not going to steamroll us.

Saturday morning I was up bright and shiney to attack the mound of gravel with the assistance of a few folk that were goodly enough to lend their hand to slave labor(thanks B and K!). By some miracle the five tons was spread quite nicely along the frontage and down the upper/thinned part of the driveway fairly fast. One great thing about having helpers is they keep my motivation going... when Rex decided to try to fix the toppled blocks surrounding the one flower bed I sure wasn't going to argue - In the mean time I pulled and raked the weeds from the other flower garden. After the triangle was re-established I cleaned out the other area and started spreading wildflower seeds and mulch. Two more big tasks out front - off of the list!

Today I am feeling a little bit of the effort in my back, but not too much. I suspect it will finish sneaking up on me tomorrow. I wanted to cross more off the list today but instead lounged a bit and chilled out. I blame the rain and the news reports of a possible inch of snow tonight. How rediculous is that?

Last night I swept the small rocks left over from the salt trucks from the curb and picked up mulch from the evil Walmart. I told you I'd start getting spunky when the weather turned. Granted, I've heard it might head back into the 40's later this weekend (go figure). That of course will prevent me from watersealing the apartment's deck for now, but I can do the preliminary scrubbing!

Since I couldn't match the current bedroom walls to a paint sample and it has been a rather long time since it was painted, I picked up another gallon of gray paint, some compound for the kitchen wall's holes, and a couple of rosebushes that I am hoping to sweet talk my mother into planting in the planters by the doorway. I also finally called to get gravel delivered... 5 tons. My muscles are aching at the thought of it, but it needs done. There are several other things on the to do list that highlight my revived motivation, but I know I won't get to everything this weekend. At least my mum will be there to crack the whip (and cook).

I also talked myself into buying a new lamp for the bedroom. I spotted it on Overstock and dropped it into my cart thinking it was cute and would look nice in there, but really sold myself on it when I found the same lamp on Amazon for an additional $90! Now to find the pink/pewter colored bedding I so want. Yes, yes, I know brown and pink is everywhere - but I promise you, I am a trend setter with bedroom colors. Whatever I spend months looking for becomes popular and overdone 6-8 months later.

A week and a half until the primaries here in PA... to express my support for Obama, I've decided to add a small challenge to raise a few bucks for him. If you're so inclined and want to help make a difference - click away!

Moxham, glowing embers, and fond feelings... that was last evening rolled into my standard trifecta. So I was headed to grab grub at the Bouley, since I had the perfect excuse of visiting Ms. Sophie and I see the huge column of gray smoke as I headed down Ohio street. My first thought, as it has been a long time fear of mine for my fuzzy girls, is that this is of course in Mork's place. As I get further down the hill I realize the smoke is more straight ahead and my heart sinks further, oh no, what about the soon to be location of Prime Design Solutions! Ugh.

Long story short it was coming from the right street, but the wrong building - thank goodness! I eased my mind with two cherry cheesecake martinis and the company of Rex, in case anyone is wondering *smile* and got back to the tasks at hand.

So as I am out strolling with Ms. Sophie and the sun is dimming from the sky I started to wish that my place was instead in Moxham. Sure we looked at places there, and they were less expensive, but it wasn't where we ended up. Is the crime higher? Perhaps - but it feels more like "home", the houses are closer together and remind me of walking the streets in Altoona. As an added "touch of home" bonus there were all kinds of dinner smells wafting in the air, perhaps because the weather is finally nice enough to toss open a door and enjoy the breeze.

Today the sun is out and it is bright and comfortable. The girls did NOT want to come back in this morning - so hopefully they'll behave outside for the day. They can tell me how nice it was, since I am stuck in a dark corner with the closest window a several minute walk away.

I love Royal Caribbean, but they have some issues with data. First, show the user everything. If it says cruise fare and there is another line that says taxes and fees there shouldn't be some taxes bundled into the cruise fare... and if there is, don't be surprised when people call you out that the math isn't working out when changes are made. If you provide me all of the details I wouldn't need to call and nag you about the way you calculate modifications to the trip. Ok enough moaning.... I have a buddy for my trip, it's like 150 days away, and my memory of a $200 onboard credit leaves my mouth watering for a mojito.

Are you sure no one wants to make a quick Bermuda run before my fall trip?

Donut day! I was feeling generous and energetic this morning, so I swung into Iggle on the way to work and snagged two dozen ass-swelling orbs of delight for the group. Had a good, albeit unproductive, evening last night. I headed straight from work to dinner with Mithy and Addy - how dare the waiter at Applebee's shun us on balloons - I WILL get balloons when I want them.

From there to Home Depot to grab paint samples, alas, none of the grays match the current bedroom color *sigh* Perhaps Lowe's has different colors? Could I be that lucky? I really don't want to repaint the whole room, even though it could probably legitimately use a fresh full coat since it was painted way back in 99.

A wee bit later I headed down to tend to Ms. Sophie, who just seemed happy to hang out with me for a little while. On the way back home I decided I wanted my routine Monday night drink so I told Kirkus T Rex to get mixing and crashed his place for a round of fruity blender beverages. Like I said, unproductive... but in a good way.

Time to whine about the weather just a little more. Friday morning I wore my winter coat to work. Gratefully it did start to warm up later in the day and has stayed in the 50-ish daytime temps since then, but it just isn't good enough for me right now. A majority of my spring motivation truly hinges upon the sunshine and temps that have me throwing open a few windows. The smell in the air will get me cleaning up the last few leaves and laying fresh mulch with flower seeds. I think it will get me moving on the holes in the kitchen wall too.

Bad news, I don't think the bedroom gray paint remains somewhere in the basement. So determining what color it was we picked so many years ago will require a bit of effort and luck. Maybe I'll find the motivation to head to Home Depot this afternoon to get a few paint samples to start the matching process. Maybe I'll get lucky and remember the name on sight... fat chance.

I shouldn't be allowed to watch Discovery and all of those other health and medical-type shows. Not too long ago I saw an episode that involved someone becoming paralized as a result of low potassium levels. This then had me thinking of Satin. We had stopped giving her the kBr (potassium bromide) as we tried to diagnose what was going on with her weight loss etc. Could her issues on her final morning have been hyperkalemic paralysis from low potassium?

Way back in the day we had tested her for Addison's disease which has symptoms of muscle tremors (remember she was epileptic) and lack of appetite. Of course, Addison's create concern with what - but of course sodium and potassium - potassium bromide. It's been a few years, she had a great life and I have no regrets - but I will always wonder if I could have done something different for her. I guess I should focus my brain power on work.