Found different washers that seem to be a winner - backed with metal! Of course, that effort was warm enough I needed to turn on the AC anyhow. Ah Johnstown, from one miserable extreme to another.

First night warm enough to warrant me turning on the ceiling fan... it didn't last long. If you recall a few months ago I worked to shorten the down rod a bit, apparently, something along that process path has left it unusably wobbly. Not sure what could create said issue, but I guess I'll be tinkering a bit today to try and resolve it.

Now I'm cookin' with gas! As many problems as I have with most outdoor equipment, I wanted to share a moment of joy with one particular piece that pleasantly surprised me. Allow me to preface by saying, my neighbor has been taunting me with delightful grilling smells for the past week or two, and it's been on my mind to get the grill running.

The (huge ass^tm)Weber grill that the ex and I bought roughly 10 years ago kicks butt. I haven't used it in a couple of years, so there it has sat outside with the cover on it, dealing with rain and the abundance of Johnstown snow. Needless to say I needed another tank of propane, but I figured there would be some other issues to tackle to get it running. Hooked up the propane this morning, lifted the lid, opened the gas tank, turned the knob, and pushed the ignite button awaiting disappointment. To my utmost delight - FIRE! First push, no need for the stick lighter or dismantling/cleaning. Weber, you rock.

The grill is out there sizzling away to kill anything off that is inside and I've scraped the bars etc. Ok, I guess now that I have a nice restained deck and a functioning grill I need to plan a cookout. Who's interested??

All reports say mom has been feeling better than she was, but as we all know this season isn't a good time for COPD or allergies.

As for me, I came home and whooped out a bit of basics: spraying some weed killer on the front lawn (which effectively means everything that is green in my front yard will be dead), some dishes hand washed and those in the dishwasher away, some boxes of books carried upstairs, and the vacuum run. Not too bad for a Thursday evening by any account... but I still got my butt on that treadmill and amped it up to 45 minutes as opposed to the 30 I've been trying to require of myself each evening. It definitely helps to toss in a movie to get through a slightly longer trek.

Tonight's flick was The Crow. I admit, I still love that movie, even though it's a bit cheesy, and I can still sense the ex tensing up at the scenes that made him nearly shake. At this moment I can say, with relation to exes and trying to be patient for Mr. Right:

Oh it won't rain all the time.
The sky won't fall forever.
And though the night seems long,
your tears won't fall forever.

Oh, when I'm lonely,
I lie awake at night
and I wish you were here.
I miss you.
Can you tell me
is there something more to believe in?
Or is this all there is?

What a completely frustrating and disheartening 24-hours. Last night just before bed the messages came through that mom went to the ER for breathing issues (again). Thank goodness for friends and family down there keeping such a close eye on her. She has yet another infection and is back on prednisone and whatever else. I guess she's feeling better already today, but it doesn't alleviate those nagging thoughts. I do worry too as she didn't have the A/C running, which she knows the dehumidified air helps her out. I don't think she's slipping mentally, she's just that fricking stubborn.

Today the cell phone just kept ringing, I'm sure that didn't aid my mood much. Granted some of those calls were in relation to someone finding my resume. Admittedly, while NJ and WV are at the bottom of my list of viable states to live in, the job itself tweaks my interest... so we'll see if their interest continues.

Nothing seemed to want to function for me today either - from websites we're at the 11th hour on to my browser/computer itself. Then there's the back and forth with my one doctor's office where one member of the staff is very helpful and the other is telling me that all I'm getting is a letter when I need a telephone call made (long story). Either way, it chaps my ass.

On a bright note, I did find a sweet flight price for a future vacation - and out of Jtown none the less. Fingers crossed that non-winter month flights have a better predictability factor.

While I know I should bust butt all weekend (given the length of my to do lists) I slacked a bit today. But it's suppose to be a day of rest, right? I did get everything back up on the deck, so that's something... and in a few minutes I'll find the motivation to get on the treadmill, marking the 7th or 8th day in a row. From there I'll grub, in part, some of the cukes I picked up yesterday that I put to marinade. I'm at the doorstep of dropping down on the scale (you know, somehow seeing a two digit shift means more), so I've gotta watch myself.

My rest included a trip to the theater to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Wasn't awful, but I can't say it was phenomenal either. It was a good enough watch.

I am a happy camper thanks to how much I accomplished today. I admit, I wasn't thrilled to be awake before 8am, but after a bit of slow movement I decided to haul to go get my new drivers license photo. They open at 8:30, but thanks to computer problems, I didn't get out of there until around 9:30. Whee. I watched three sets of teens (two male, one female) come in with their mothers (why always the mother) to have their driving exam. It made me smile to see their nerves and to reminisce about so very many years ago. I did point out to the ones that sat by me however that they were lucky to have the guy with the pot belly, tee shirt, and baseball hat... I had the fear of the statey with his full out hat and attitude!

From there I ran through Ollie's for some odds and ends I needed for to do items, hit home depot for a replacement tomato plant (yay), and then I headed to have some grub with Slips and Beff at the Bouley. Back to the house to catch up with eL-eL (briefly) and the secret weapon to continue some slave labor.

As a result, my deck looks healthy again with a fresh coat of redwood stain, and we put in the low voltage lights (one doesn't want to light up, but I'll come back to that some other day). I also managed to scoop up the scraps of grass since it was quite high when it got mowed thanks to all of the rain and remove some of the mess from behind the fence. The grass is probably why my head is displeased, but it's not like it normally would have been - maybe the allergy shots are working! I feel quite accomplished today. Maybe I COULD get the house into marketable shape in a reasonable amount of time.

Um, where's my tomato plant?

Last weekend I took the solo survivor - the one tomato plant that grew from a seed to a whopping 5 inches or so and had about 7 leaves on it - and put it into a larger pot out front.

Today I peeked into the container to make sure the soil was still damp enough and - it's gone! What critters steal the entire plant?! I guess I need to go buy a larger plant. *sigh*

Only Tuesday? Well I made it productive none the less! Last night I headed for a long overdue massage even though I wasn't feeling the aches and pains that have started to plague me as I've gotten older.

Both last night and tonight I made way for treadmill time. I'm so incredibly proud of myself so far. It's already getting easier to get my rear on there, I feel better - I'm awake in the morning, I don't want the coffee I gave up, I'm not eating as much and my body is okay with it! These are good things as I'll need all the help I can get as I move forward... I know there will be plateaus I'll need to push though, and probably way earlier than I'd like.

Tonight I also made myself proud by cranking out 3 1/2 loads of laundry, folding and putting it away... but there's more! I ran out right after work to get another dehumidifier as the old one had a piece break off which prevented it from running. *sigh* Hooked up the new one and figured what the heck and took the old one apart. Got the broken piece back in place and attempted to glue it together, but I think a result of that needed fix is that the auto-stop switch won't kick over, at least so I suspect. That's okay, I'll use it as a secondary, turning it on in the evenings on humid days like as of late, and killing it by morning. Yay! I fixed it!

Didn't accomplish a ton today, but I did do some dusting and tidied up the coffee table. I'm a bit stiff/sore from the past two days worth of effort. I also got my butt on the treadmill, yay! Today I weighed in 7 lbs lighter than where I started, so I can't knock it, but there is very far to go to get back to where I was when I was readying to leave NC.

I also showered up and made my way to Szechuan downtown to see Kath, Mark, and Mikey - it's been so very long. I gotta make sure to plan more time with people as I have the past two days, it helps get me out from inside my own head, a definite necessity.

Tired once again. The girls didn't want to go to sleep last night, but worse still were up way too early this morning! After they woke me up and I headed to the living room they decided to nap, how completely unfair is that? At first I took to waking them up as they did me, but eventually embraced it and also napped for a little while. I was still out of the house and moving by 10:30, so it wasn't that bad.

After picking up a set of low voltage lights and doing some other miscellaneous running I was back and ready to get on top of more of my to do list. With much slave labor from eL-eL and the Secret Weapon, my rear gutters are cleaned, the dogs are brushed, the bulbs are reset out front, grass is removed from the one side bed, weeds are pulled, a new flag is hung, and more seeds are sown. Not too shabby at all.

Since I was a bit up on hours from earlier in the week (and the strange recent phenomenon by which I've been up and at work by 7:30 4 out of 5 days this week) I left around 3 today, hauling home, trying the pressure washer that gave me issue last Saturday. Still wouldn't light up so back it went. No hassle, refund issued, went to Lowes instead to try another. This one kicked up and survived washing the entire back deck (YAY).

Of course, now once it's dry I'll need to reseal it, not looking forward to that part. I did use the GE Weathermate that I've been clutching to for a few years on the apartment deck, so that one is covered. I wish I could still find that stuff for sale. Gladly, I got my 20 minutes in on the treadmill this morning before work, because now I'm a bit pooped and want nothing more than dinner and to flop down in front of the TV for a few.

I'm tired of being forced to be so close and be so incredibly far away at the same time. I think about the people that somehow found their prince after being crapped on and how it all seems like it was worth it to get to the right one... and the ones that had the epiphany that brought them around to recognize what was right in front of them. To the people that can look for a day or two and have a date, you suck. I just don't understand how you do it. OKCupid has been a waste, Match has been a waste, the real world is a waste. I simply don't know what rock to look under.

Head hurts. Prb from being out in too much sun light today. Why am I so broken?

After I gave up on the outdoor endeavors this morning I made my way upstairs and pulled together another light car load for Goodwill and a couple bags of garbage (old lia catalogs/flyers, etc). Only caught a few minutes on the treadmill, as I was starving and wanted nothing more than a shower and dinner at the time.

Last night or the night before, how sad that I can't keep track Vixie caught another back yard rabbit. Fortunately, she was feeling gifty and brought the whole thing to the back door without gutting it for me.

I'm going to try and write this without swearing, but please insert obscenities throughout to try and grasp how ticked off I am right now.

It's 12:04pm. I was up by 9 and outside. First I cleaned up the dog crap and then decided to give the pressure washer a shot. It started after some tries... but is once again near spraying gasoline. It ran briefly but then died. Ok. F it. I'm tired of fighting with it and it never working when I need it... so I am going to buy another at home depot, an electric one.

I go, I make my purchase, and $180 later I'm on my way home. I get home and start unpacking it and it doesn't seem quite right, it's no where near what is on the front of the box. Clearly, this is the much cheaper version. BACK to Home Depot... first official waste of an hour of my life for the day. I make the exchange and come back home and get the new one running with little trouble. Excellent. I cleaned off the apartment deck, the siding out front, and the concrete steps.

Now I wheel this thing to the back yard to start cleaning the main deck.

I plug it in... no light. Tried to reset, nothing. (Insert a few extra curse words here) It will not run. I tried several other plugs and a variety of crap that shouldn't matter and nothing. So my $180 worked for about 45 minutes and I barely got stuff done. FML.

Why do I try? I'm so tired of being stuck all by myself and floundering like an idiot. If God exists, (which while I do believe, some days I wonder) what did I do for him to hate me so?

Last night, with much thanks to all of this rain, the little one managed to completely muddy herself in 10 seconds outside. In desperation I made a strange attempt that worked out quite well... Saffy showered with me. She didn't love it, but she didn't have a fit about being in there, it was easy to get her cleaned up and dried off, well, mostly dry. Then there was the hour with the hair dryer to make her a not completely wet doggy sleeping on my arm.

So she's clean, but even as I type she's standing at the door eyeballing the area by the fence with all of that delightful mud.

I came home to an email from PetSmart offering discounts on Martha Stewart pet products. Really? Please go away. The only thing worse, but perhaps more fitting, would be Alyssa Milano Pet Products.

Sunday, as hinted at, I did more cleaning in the living room, but I also ran and spent nearly $80 on flowers for the pots out front. The little bastages best not try and die off on me. I was also cooking like crazy making dark chocolate brownies, stuffed shells, meatloaf, and sweet potato casserole. Lots of left overs to be had in this house!

Yesterday I promptly forgot about a booster shot for two of the three girlies, so here I sit today waiting to go to a replacement appointment before work.

In other worlds I've been trying like hell on Match.com once again. 20-some messages and 20-some winks and nadda in replies worth getting. Of course, the mutants are out full-force. Seriously not cool.

Made good progress yesterday, but didn't get through the CDs. I do however have a huge container of DVDs that didn't make the cut. Plenty still to do in here today. The sad thing is, after finishing in here I need to do the same in the dining room and one bedroom upstairs. Blah! I need to just keep promising myself that if I get the place respectable I can then hire someone to do the weekly cleaning and get that annoyance off of my list.

I wanted to plant some flowers in the pots and whatnot for out front this weekend, but so very little actually grew in the little containers that it's not worth it. I guess I'll be going to buy some flowers again this year.

I think today deserves to be a baking day too... it's slightly overcast and was raining when I first put the dogs out this morning. So, I guess a run to the grocery store is in order. I almost feel bad moving from this spot as Vixen has clearly found the most comfortable place in the world on the other end of this couch.