Love is in the Air

This weekend was the first wedding of the summer for me. My cousin Brian finally married his high school sweetheart (and prior fiance!) after 30 years. 

I guess Brian and Joy had been dating when my mom and dad first started seeing each other 30 years ago. Then something happened and Brian and Joy split up after having been engaged (her wedding dress was the same one she made back when they were engaged for the first time) and they stayed friends all this time. 

Brian and his ex wife Kim have been split up for a long time, and then I guess Joy and her husband were having problems and things just ended up falling back into place and they finally took the plunge that they couldn't take when they were younger.

I think it's a great great love story and I was so glad that we were able to be there with them.

That was the only real excitement of my weekend. After we got home from the wedding, we went and hung out with my favorite little man Mason, riding bikes and playing video games.

Mason's Mimi and Bop (grandma and grandpa) got kittens and he says "take a picture of me with the kitty!" Love him.

Today I spent some time at the river with my sister, brother in law, and the dogs, worked out twice, and did chores. 

Back to the grind tomorrow.

Adventures in Petsitting

Some of you may remember this picture I shared a couple weeks ago:

Well, that hole has now expanded to cover my mom's whole dining room ceiling, part of that wall in the background, and into her bathroom. The water damage from her upstairs neighbors' broken water pipe has turned my mom's condo into a full on construction site practically. So my mom's insurance company has put her up in a hotel until it's all done.

Which means SOMEONE (aka Chad and I) are pet sitting. Luckily my mom's insurance pays for pet boarding, so we're getting paid a pretty penny for this task.

Meet our charges:

Otis (the 17 pound chunk of a cat)

Otis is a sweet cat, but VERY pushy. And my cat is NOT a fan of him. She will growl and hiss at him, then take off running and he trots after her every time, apparently thinking it is some sort of game.
 My only complaint about him is that he poops A LOT (seriously, his poop is the size of a big dog poop) and he doesn't care to cover it up in the litter box. 

Puff (the grumpy old man)

Puff is a mean old man, but he's been relatively well behaved. Sure, it takes him WAY too long to find the perfect spot to do his deed in the yard, but he mostly sleeps all day (he's approximately 95 years old).



Jasper.... Jasper Jasper Jasper. He is SUCH a sweet guy. But sweet lord, he can be STUPID. One of his more common traits is that he likes to walk under the other dogs while they're peeing, which ends with him smelling like pee. He also has a bit of separation anxiety, I guess you could call it. 
We don't let Puff and Jasper sleep in the bedroom for a few reasons. 1) Chad has a hard enough time dealing with Buck sleeping in the bed, so two extra bodies in the bed is a no go, and 2) they aren't the perfect pets when it comes to being house trained.
Back to the point at hand. We close the dogs in the family room at night. After about the 3rd night of this separation, Jasper had enough. We woke up in the morning to find that he had done this to our nice, pretty, lacquered pocket door:

I'm sure it really doesn't look that bad to you folks, but we were NOT happy. There was wood chips all over the place and it was just such a mess. Jasper is really lucky Chad didn't kill him when he woke up and found it.

Anyways, so far the only casualty has been the family room door, so we aren't doing too bad. And the money we're making will easily buy us a new door (and maybe make our whole house payment, by the time her damn condo is ready!)

Bossypants

Ah, the end of another thrilling, suspenseful week.

Or it's just the end of another boring, rainy week. Either way, I'm still going to share this book review with you.

Bossypants by Tina Fey

This book has been on my Goodreads list for a while. So while perusing my sister's bookshelf I decided I would take the plunge.

I don't have a synopsis to share with you, I'll just leave you with knowing that it's Tina Fey's autobiography. She talks about her start in comedy, a little about her family, and a lot of random crap.

The Good: There are some funny parts. 

The Bad: A lot of her references are to people I have never heard of, therefore taking away from some of the humor. And it's one of those books that jumps around to unrelated stories, which makes it one of those books that can be really hard to get into.

Overall, I was disappointed. Don't get me wrong, there were times when I was laughing outloud. But there was also a lot of times where I had a hard time even getting through one page because it felt like overkill on some of the jokes and it didn't have a storyline to draw me in. 

I give it 2.5 out of 5 stars.

The Perils of a Relationship with a Hobbyist

In case you hadn’t noticed, Chad is a bit of a hobbyist.

He’s always got something going on that takes up all his time. These things include (but are not limited to) hunting, fishing, dirtbiking, snowmobiling, jet skiing, drinking beer, shooting, eating chili dogs, and hating naps.

For those of you who do not have significant others that are addicted to hobbies, let me give you a little information about how it is to live with one.

You frequently make a meal for two and eat by yourself.

There is no such thing as sleeping in on the weekends, there are always fish to catch, deer to hunt, or toys to ride as soon as the sun comes up.

You have to schedule time together. At least 3 days in advance. And never on a full moon.

Summer months are the worst because the days are long, and activities go from sun up to sun down (if not longer).

There is always a cooler outside the front door, ready to grab and toss in the truck (you don’t want your beer getting warm!)

You get really used to being able to watch Say Yes to the Dress and Dance Moms, and then suffer withdrawals when the man of the house actually gets home at a reasonable hour and wants to watch something more manly.

There is sporting goods laying all over the house. You have multiples of everything (ie: one pole for bass, one for trout, and one for bobber down)

Housework falls to the wayside. The only time the empty beer cans get cleaned up is when there isn’t room on any surface to put a fresh beer down.

So to my friends who aren’t familiar with the particular task of dealing with a hobbyist and are suddenly faced with this dilemma, these are my tips:

·         Make sure you have plenty of chick flicks available to watch

·         Don’t expect too much of your man during the prime hobby seasons. All you’re doing is setting yourself up for disappointment.

·         Try to keep your emotions under control. I know, I know, sometimes you want to scream and yell and throw a fit because you aren’t getting any attention. Hold on to these emotions for when you REALLY want something. Otherwise your tears won’t have the desired effect… you will have cried wolf too many times. When you do cash in on all the hours of loneliness, milk it for all it’s worth.

·         Ask to tag along from time to time. He will be happy that you are taking an interest, and he will LOVE being able to “teach” you the tricks of the trades. Not only will you get some time with him, but it will also score you “cool” girlfriend/fiancé/wife points.

I hope this will help you navigate through the life of a hobbyists’ wife!

Gripes and Gratitudes

So I was thinking about having a complete bitch session in this post, but then I remembered that I'm trying to have a more positive outlook on life, since a negative attitude doesn't enhance life.

So I decided that I will offset my angry words with a positive thought on the subject. Okay? Go.

Drivers. Particularly the slow ones.

Sweet LORD, get out of my way! I swear to you, every other car I was behind today was a Buick going 10-15 under the speed limit. I get it. It's Sunday. It's a little rainy out (rain, in Seattle? NO...!). But if you're not willing to go the speed limit on the freeway, get the eff  into the slow lane! It's people like you that cause traffic, because you and your slow driving friends decide you all want to go 58 in a 70 and you all drive right next to each other across all the lanes. Don't worry about the rest of us normal-speed-driving people behind you trying to get shit done. You guys just take your time.

On the plus side, I appreciate that you are driving safely. But please do so in the slow lane.

People who bitch about being in the military.

I LOVE our military. I love that we have such brave men and women who put it all on the line to do what they have to do to protect our country. Hats off to you, I wouldn't be able to do it.

However, if you voluntarily sign on to be in the military, especially people sitting on a base somewhere partying every weekend and not in a dangerous place, please don't log on to facebook and talk shit about your job. I don't know anybody NOT in the military that regularly goes online and starts bashing their bosses and jobs... sounds like a good way to get fired to me! I don't think you were given any false hope that it would be all glamorous and hearts-flowers-kittens stuff. You're getting free housing, and a free education in most cases, as well as the chance to play tourist in a lot of amazing places (obviously not ALL people in the military get these things, but the ones I'm friends with have). Suck it up, and stop signing on for more time if you hate it so much.

Stores that don't carry all their sizes.

I don't know that i have a positive side to this one. But I really hate it when I look at something online and I really think I'll like it, but when I got to the store to try it on, they don't have the size I need in the store. Do they not understand that big girls need to try stuff on before they buy it? Of all the people, we are the ones that can't just buy things without trying them on first!!

I want this dress for a hawaiian themed bridal shower, but don't wanna buy it without trying it on first...

Mondays. Those bastards.

I know I'm not alone here. The only good thing about Mondays are that... wait... nope, nothing.

Anyways loves, that's what's on my mind. Nothing exciting to report about the weekend. Did a little fishing, got some sun, drank some wine, broke into my own house. The usual.

Double Trouble

It's another double review kind of Friday.

Northwest Angle by William Kent Krueger

During a houseboat vacation on the remote Lake of the Woods, a violent gale sweeps through unexpectedly, stranding Cork and his daughter, Jenny, on a devastated island where the wind has ushered in a force far darker and more deadly than any storm.

Amid the wreckage, Cork and Jenny discover the body of a teenage girl. She wasn't killed by the storm, however; she'd been bound and tortured before she died. Nearby, underneath a tangle of branches, they also find a baby boy, hungry and dehydrate, but still very much alive. Powerful forces intent on securing the child pursue them to the isolated Northwest Angle, where it's impossible to tell who among the residents is in a league with the devil, but Cork understands that to save his family he must solve the puzzle of this mysterious child whom death follows like a shadow.

This book is #11 in the Cork O'Connor series... which I'd never heard of and never read any of the previous books. But it ended up not being a factor when I read the book.

The Good: The story starts off with a bang and there are SO many little mini mysteries that come up. As soon as you get through one heart pounding scenario, another one starts a few pages later. Also, it's written well enough that you don't have to read the previous books to know what the hell is going on.

The Bad: I can't really think of anything "bad" about the book. I guess the closest thing I can come up with is that it has a lot of Native American language references in it because the characters have some in their heritage. But it defines all the words, so it really doesn't detract from the story at all.

Overall, I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars, and I am really excited to go back and read the other Cork O'Connor novels.

Lost & Found by Jacqueline Sheehan

Rocky's husband Bob was just forty-two when she discovered him lying cold and lifeless on the bathroom floor... and Rocky's world changed forever. Quitting her job, chopping off all her hair, she leaves Massachusetts - reinventing her past and taking a job as Animal Control Warden on Peak's Island, a tiny speck off the coast of Maine and a million miles away from everything she's lost. She leaves her career as a psychologist behind, only to find friendship with a woman whose brain misfires in the most wonderful way and a young girl who is trying to disappear. Rocky, a quirky a fallible character, discovers the healing process to be agonizingly slow.

But then she meets Lloyd. A large black labrador retriever, Lloyd enters Rocky's world with a primitive arrow sticking out of his shoulder. And so begins a remarkable friendship between a wounded woman and a wounded, lovable beast. As the unraveling mystery of Lloyd's accident and missing owner leads Rocky to an archery instructor who draws her in even as she finds every reason to mistrust him, she discovers the life-altering revelation that grief can be transformed... and joys does exist in unexpected places.

The Good: It's a book about a dog! And there is an air of mystery that keeps you turning the pages. It's also got a pretty damn good ending.

The Bad: There's a lot of strange random things that are mentioned that don't really seem to have anything to do with the story line. I mean, I suppose they add to the development of the characters in some cases, but not enough to really be relevant to the story.

It was a fast read, a good story with a little bit of everything. Overall I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Does It Get Any Easier??

I'm clearly referring to my newest hobby... running.

I've heard all this mumbo jumbo about how something gets easier once you turn it into part of your routine... do it regularly and you won't even notice that you don't like it.

Horse shit.

Don't get me wrong, I do love the way I feel after I run. I feel like I've accomplished something, and my body feels happy (most of the time at least).

But I still REALLY dread the thought of it. 

Maybe part of it is because I have been running regularly for weeks now, and I haven't lost ANY weight. Granted, I really haven't changed my diet at all, but still. I've always been told that increasing activity and exercise will DECREASE the number on the scale. 

Why is this not happening?!

Anyways, I suppose for now I will try to keep slapping a smile on my fat face and showing up to run in the mornings, and hope that miraculously one of these mornings my scale will reflect the progress I think I should be making. 

Boo hoo, woe is me!

Stream of Consciousness

I love the smell of rain on hot pavement.

Mom came home from shopping today to find water pouring out of her dining room ceiling. The maintenance people were still ripping more ceiling out when I left...

I completed my 5k I've been training for yesterday. It was hard, and I HATED it while I was running it, but my friend Greer pushed me and I am SO glad I did it.

She bought me breakfast as a reward afterwards.

Fall City Days has come and gone... another great year of our local street fair. Good times, good food, good people.

I accidentally on purpose ordered myself a new dress and pair of shoes this morning. 

Boo for tomorrow being Monday!!!

Late to the Party

I meant to have my Pinterest post all ready to go this morning, but instead I got sucked into yet another episode of Bug Juice... but it appears as though Michelle didn't have a post ready to go today anyways, so I guess I will just post the button so you can go check her out anyways.

Obsessed

I know obsessions aren't healthy, but sometimes you just fall into them.

Right now, there are so many things going through my head that I can't stop thinking about, so I thought I would throw them down here on the old blog and maybe get them stuck in your head too.

Bug Juice

For some reason the other day I got this damn show on my mind and couldn't stop thinking about it. So I decided to start watching it from the beginning on You Tube. SO FREAKING AWESOME. I would be lying if I told you this show didn't spark my love of reality TV.

Velveeta Shells and Cheese

A while back I wrote in a post that McDonald's was my guilty pleasure. Times have changed... I have moved on to the cheap, creamy goodness of the liquid gold. Especially since I've been doing so much running, my body seems to crave carbs, so I feed my soul with shell shaped pasta and fake cheese.

Runner's High

Okay, I don't really know what Runner's High is, but I LOVE the feeling I have after I'm done running. Don't get me wrong, DURING my run I can't help but say to myself "bitch, you're too fat for this shit!!!" but after the fact I feel oddly refreshed and accomplished. Good thing, since my 5k is on Saturday, so it's time to put the hammer down.

So there you have it friends. Those are the things on my mind lately... the things that get me out of bed in the morning (those and work, unfortunately. Oh, and my cat and dog. They can be very rude in the morning).

Fishin' for a Livin'

This weekend was pretty mellow and fun. 

Friday night, Chad and I went to Dick's Sporting Goods to get some fishing lures for a fishing competition we were going to on Saturday. Chad even took me to my favorite restaurant, Chang's Mongolian Grill!

Anyways, Saturday morning we got up kind of early and went to meet up with Chad's dad and his girlfriend to head up to the lake.

Things didn't go so well for me... I didn't catch anything. Except a couple good shots of a mama duck and her three little ducklings

It was a $20 buy in, and there was the opportunity to win $100 each for 3 different categories... biggest trout, biggest bass, and most fish caught.

We were going for bass, since that's what we normally do when we go fishing, plus most of the other people were just trout fishing. Since I wasn't catching anything, I eventually just sat back and let Chad do all the casting where he wanted to. We had 5 minutes to go and Chad had caught a couple smaller bass (1.5 pounders mostly) and we knew the other boat that was bass fishing had caught almost a 3 pounder. Anyways, Chad cast out with 5 minutes left and hooked up to a big mama fish that weighed 3 pounds 10 ounces (not as big as my fish last weekend, but we can't all be as awesome as me).

In the end, Chad tied with his dad's girlfriend for most fish caught, and she won for biggest trout and Chad for biggest bass, so they each walked away with $150.

Maybe when Chad is slow at work, I'll just tell him to go scout fishing competitions and we can keep ourselves afloat that way, ha.

That was really the only exciting thing this weekend. Today I spent my time grocery shopping, laundry, weeding, and doing dishes.

Hump Day

Happy Wednesday friends!

My days this week seem to be flying by, yet somehow it's only Wednesday... how can this be?!

Anyways, we all know that Wednesdays are the day to not actually write a real blog post and just share our favorite pins...

I have to say, I don't so much mind the process of embedding pins anymore, now that I've got the hang of it, but I DON'T like the "Pin It" button showing up there... it blocks out important parts of the pictures sometimes! 
Well my pets, I am off to scrounge up some breakfast and lunch, start some laundry, and head off to the daily grind.

Never Ever Ever

I'm gonna try this new link up out and see how it goes...

Never Ever Ever

*Will you find me snacking on carrots
*Do I pass up the opportunity to snuggle with puppies and kittens
*Will I stop loving Harry Potter

*Do I like to think about my dog not being around anymore *Will I choose living in the city over living in the country *Will I be able to decide which holiday I love more, Halloween or Christmas

Anyways friends, I hope you're having a killer week so far (killer in a good way...), I know mine is going just peachy.

Weekend Stuffies

This weekend was fairly mellow for me, but still pretty awesome.

Saturday I worked a few hours at what is called the "Bike Rodeo" in Snoqualmie Ridge, which is essentially a day for kids to learn about bike safety and whatnot. There is all sorts of fun stuff going on (face painting, bouncy house, etc) and our company has a table every year giving out free popcorn. Normally I avoid those kinds of things like the plague, being as that I don't like children, but it was actually quite enjoyable. It was fun to see the cute kids and dogs and stuff, and an easy way to make a few extra bucks.

After that, I spent some time with my mom learning how to clean this damn pond on our front yard. And then my mom managed to unearth some magical treasures in our garage, including this bad boy

VIntage Lite Bright! Don't hate.

Then today Chad and I got up and headed up to Lake Alice to get some fishing in.

My first cast brought me by first bass of the year!

Little guy, but I'm clearly very proud (don't judge me on my lack of makeup... and shower)

Then two casts later, came this beast

This is my biggest fish EVER. 3 pounds 13 ounces. Let's just say that not only did I think my pole was gonna snap in half, but I thought I was for sure gonna be pulled into the lake (I don't have real great balance in the boat). 

Chad is a really proud fiance about this one... he's been going around showing it to everybody and telling them all about it.

Then we had to get off the lake to have a late lunch at his grandma's house, but before that, his cousin Ryien stopped by with his dog Bear.

I love this dog... he's less than a year old, but SO mellow and gentle. And pretty damn cute.

And Buck is pretty selective about his friends, but Bear is one of his faves.

Just a couple of hound dog cousins sniffin' away in the yard!

Anyways, my weekend is now about to end with bell choir rehearsal, dinner, and hopefully a movie with my love.

Photo Dump

In all my computer issues lately, I have had a hell of a time trying to get pictures up here to show you (such as my new desktop won't recognize my SD card, my laptop won't turn on anymore, etc etc), but I remembered this morning that I have this nifty little netbook in the basement that could connect to internet AND take my SD card.

So, here are some snapshots from a few happenings these past few weeks.

This little booger (literally, check the boog in his nose) turned 1 in May and tons of people came out to celebrate this joyous occasion.

Here comes mom with his cake... VERY excited!

A few days later, my favorite little guy Mason turned 4!!!

Checkin' out his haul from his Mimi.

Dustin got his hands on Mason's new gun (complete with removable clip and "bullets")

Another of my favorite littles... miss McKenna Mae turned 2!

McKenna had a polka dot party and the decorations were so dang cute!

Buck and my sister's puppy that we were puppy sitting for them. (buck is NOT happy about sharing the couch with her)

Kahlua thinks that she is still little enough to sit on your lap (for the record, she's NOT).

Anyways, those are some of the things that I've been up to (May is clearly a big birthday month for children). 

I hope everybody is having a nice weekend!