Insane in the Membrane

Labor Day weekend hasn't been filled with much labor but I'm afraid that's about to change. We are thinking about doing some painting and retrieving some stuff from storage. But digressing, Friday we headed to the land of Needles, Pilot, Rudy, Brando, et al for some visitin'. We had a great time as usual. We got to spend time with Rudy and Brando and the kids which was nice and I got to show off my Wii skills. Actually it was the first time I had ever played a Wii, but it was fun. Needles and Ragged did some yarn dying and I was responsible for taking pictures. Copper was particularly welcoming during our stay. He spent a lot of time getting lovins' from Ragged and I and he even got in our laps a few times. Ragged and I got home today after a brief stop at Barnes & Noble. It feels good to be home but it's sad to leave good company particularly when we have another day off. Tomorrow my parents are coming up for a visit. Mom called tonight to annoounce their arrival. I was considering throwing a cookout for them but I don't know if I have teh energy.

There Really Is No I

Time is a flyin. I will be in training three days this week and so I have to do all the work due next week in two days. I've been scrambling. On top of that, there's alot of family drama happening and I just want to go and lay on a beach somewhere and forget about it all. Not on a beach where it is hot but one where there's a nice breeze and the weather is warm. Tomorrow I'll be on the range and Thursday and Friday I'll be sitting in a classroom learning about CPR and team building. Can you imagine?

If I Never See Your Face Again

Sunday found Ragged and I sleeping late followed by visiting Ragged's mom again in hospital. We then came home and I knocked out some work work because this coming week is full of firing range and in-service days which will keep me from getting my actual work completed. Also, I went to my new health club and jumped in the pool for the first time. It felt so good. I also got my permanent membership card today. Tonight Ragged and I are going to fix dinner and perhaps watch a movie. We watched "Smart People" last night and enjoyed it.

Izzie caught in a yawn

A Baloo Is A Bear, And A Yonker...Well...

Today I took a three hour nap. Not a tour, a nap. And I have to say I feel worse then I did when I laid down. Also, I'm very sick to my stomach and feel like I could blow chunks at any time. Ragged says its the massive quantity of baked beans that I've eaten of late. I think it's something much, much more serious but I was never one to say bleeding when I could say hemorrage.

Izzie hunkers down as she watches a squirrel.

Much Ado

This week has flown by. Large chunks of time went by and I'm not sure how or when. The weekend is going to fly by too, I have a feeling. Ragged's mama is in the hospital so we've spent a couple of evenings there and tomorrow my parents wil be coming to the Boro. Too much parental contact for my taste. The weather has taken a turn for the worse and it's too hot to spend much time outside. Thankfully August is about finished and hopefully fall weather won't be far away. Now if I can just get some sleep. Ragged and I both have had difficulty sleeping of late. The cats are only partially to blame.

Plah-dow

Moving has changed alot of things. We have moved to what is probably the center of our town so we are closer to certain stores, people, and health clubs than we were before. We have started shopping at Kroger and have all but left Wal-mart behind (thank goodness). Kroger is only a couple or three blocks from our house. Also, we are closer to the hospital's health club rather than the Y (we are literally four blocks away), so today I switched my membership today. Ragged will have to wait until December to change hers as she gets a discounted membership through her work and has to wait until open membership times. Tonight I went for the first time and it was quite cool. The place is alot newer and bigger and has alot more equipment and classes to take and therefore is more expensive than the Y, but not my a whole lot. I'll probably save in gas driving to the Y as I'll be able to walk to the new place. So, if the next time you see me I'm all buff and toned, it's because we live so close to our new health club.

The Bat Man

Betwixt and between doing housey things, Ragged and I went to the movies to see "The Dark Knight". I don't go to the actual movies often, but this is one I thought would be better experienced in a large theater. So, we sat through 2+ hours of the latest Batman flick. Overall, I would have to say the movie was very good. It was very dark, however, and I wouldn't advise taking your chilrin to see it. There was a slew of good, A-list actors in it, and lots of minor actors you would recognize from various television series and other movies you have seen. It seemed like some of the characters were crammed into the movie just because of their star power (ie Morgan Freeman).

A couple of critiques I had about the movie was the voice Christian Bale did as Batman. Ragged informed me that the voice was a gripe of many-a Batman fan, so I wasn't alone on that one. The other was the female lead which was played by Maggie Gyllenhaal. I found her a poor fit into the movie. Her voice particularly was annoying. In addition, I think I've only seen her in one other movie that I liked, that being "Sherry Baby". Anyway, it's definitely worth paying 6 or 8 or 20 dollars to see, whatever your local theater charges and seeing it at the nearby cineplex will probably beat the hell out of seeing it on tv no matter how large it is.

There was a couple of good movies previewed that are coming out next year also. Don't ask me the names, I just remember thinking that I wanted to see them. So, go see "The Dark Knight", damn it.

Fast Forward to Friday

This week has rung me out like a wet rag. I feel like there is an Hawaii 5-0 size wave crashing down and there is absolutely nothing I can do. I can just say I'm sick of dealing with other people's issues, personality flaws, insecurities and generally their bullshit. It gets old and it's not like I don't have my own to deal with.

Up To

This weekend and this evening, Ragged and I have spent alot of time out on our porch. Today, we actually have the French doors thrown open to allow for more air and kitty circulation. As a matter of fact, I'm writing this post on the porch as the temp didn't get above 79 today. In addition, we've eaten most of our meals out here and I have to say it's great. I forgot how civilized people live having been in the ghetto for so long. Ragged has alot of energy and alot of ideas about what we need to do with the house. Today she brought up having a yard sale and a party. Can't we do just one and then rest for a month before doing the other? I guess not. We also cleaned the inside of my car with our little shop vac we purchased at a deep discount at Christmas. The thing sucks like a Hoover. I don't think my car has had that small of an amount of cat hair in it since I had cats. I'm in the mood to start painting but Ragged hasn't decided what she wants to do. We have bought a rug for the bathroom and we are going to use a color from it for the walls. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, the same color pallet is creeping into the living room. We're going from all brown to all blue. When we picked up Ragged's parents from the airport, we search for some bedding and came up empty again. We are having a hard time. I've been spending my time working on the house and watching the Olympics. I got to see live (well as live as it gets) when Michael Phelps and his team won the gold medals. It was exciting and fun for the U.S. to be on top. Ruining the whole thing was intermittent cut aways to Bush, and he was even interviewed and he came off so arrogant. Maybe he's always been like that. Usually I can't make myself watch him speak. Anyway, that's all that's going on around here. Oh, and the new cord we bought for our new computer has ceased to function. We have to send it back to the company. I could kick myself for buying a cutrate power cord.

080808

The Olympics started last night. I watched some of the opening ceremonies with all the althletes marching in. Of course, I wanted to see the U.S. and I got to. I was disappointed to see Kobe Bryant strolling through with the group. I was also a little disappointed with how the delegates from the other countries seemed to walk with pride and dignity while the U.S. folks looked like a bunch of college kids marching to spring break. Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe I'm being too critical. Anyway, we have nearly 700 athletes in the Olympics and our population is over 303 million.

Today, Ragged and I rose up early and immediately went to the porch where we found cool weather to the point I had to throw a throw around me. We wagged our computers outside and our cups o' coffee and add a few cats to the mix and you have about as perfect of a morning as it gets around here. On our agenda today are yard sales, the farmer's market, the storage facility, maybe some painting, basement organizing, car cleaning, neighborhood walking, etc.

Oh, and yesterday I rediscovered the joys of bologna. As I was hurrying through Kroger during lunch picking up a few things, I was overcome by the desire to eat bologna. I bought a package and hurried home to enjoy it. Add a couple pieces of bread, a slice of cheese, and mayonnaise and voila, you have the perfect lunch that will take you right back to the simple days of childhood. Bologna may be the ultimate comfort food, at least for me. Nah, that's macaroni and cheese.


I couldn't find any pics from our tour of the Olympic training facility in Colorado Springs, so here you go.

Colonoscopy

You Are a Colon

You are very orderly and fact driven. You aren't concerned much with theories or dreams... only what's true or untrue. You are brilliant and incredibly learned. Anything you know is well researched. You like to make lists and sort through things step by step. You aren't subject to whim or emotions. Your friends see you as a constant source of knowledge and advice. (But they are a little sick of you being right all of the time!) You excel in: Leadership positions You get along best with: The Semi-Colon

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

I couldn't disagree more...well, except for the brilliant part. He he...

Charge It

This morning I woke up with the chickens and went out on the porch for a little readin'. I've dedicated myself to reading at least one chapter each day from the most latest Darkover book I recently picked up. I'm enjoying it greatly but can never make myself sit down and read. I should have it under my belt by the end of August. Anyway, after reading a bit, I got sleepy and went back to bed. Ragged got up and tried to rouse me for a walk, but I was so sleepy at that point, I just had to stay in bed. I finally got up a little after 8. We then bebopped down the street to a yard sale which yielded nothing and then we returned home for some bre'fast. Peanut butter and crackers and juicy juice for Ragged and a half a bagel and milk for moi. After showers, we took Ragged's parents to the Big E to the airport for their much anticipated trip to Ireland. We ate lunch at Moe's with them and then sat at the airport for awhile chatting and waiting for their flight. Ragged's parents invited us to go to Costa Rica with them in February or March and Ragged and I stared at one another in indecision. Although that sounds like an enjoyable trip, we have learned that traveling with parental units is anything but enjoyable. Eventually we saw them off and then Ragged and I went shopping. Of course, Ragged had to go to Knit Witts and meanwhile went to Barnes & Noble. We then went to the mall. I had initially wanted to buy some brown dress shoes and a black belt and maybe some polo shirts for work if I found any good deals. Well, honey, let me tell you I think we were at the mall for four hours buying up the place. I walked away with two long-sleeved button up shirts, seven polos shirts, and a pair of pants. Old Navy and Dillards were having a whale of sale and I stocked up. Ragged picked up a few things as well, but I out shopped her by a mile which never happens. After finally finishing up there, we had dinner at Logan's Steakhouse. Rejuvenated, we hit Linens N' Things and nearly found some new bedding. We then went to Target where I proceeded to buy a new hairbrush since my old one is wearing out. I also got some new socks and t-shirts. Add on to that a new house, new living room furniture, and a new dining room set, I'm like a whole new person. Next week I'm trading in my spare tire and receding hair line.