Buffy

Buffy can turn anything in to a toy! She loves to knock things off the counter and bat them around - run off and hide things - as well as her own toys. This morning I woke up to find that she had knocked a bulb of garlic off the kitchen counter! There were pieces of the wrapping all over the kitchen floor and the carpet - and she had managed to pull out 3 cloves of garlic!! Oh . . .and did I mention that I discovered this at 330 in the morning! Muppet had a seizure and I was taking her to the kitchen so she could wander to her hearts content. I was latching the gate when she walked right through her water dish - spilled water all over the floor - and started slipping and sliding like Bambi on the ice!! It was when I was grabbing towels to mop things up that I started to see the pieces of garlic bulb! Oh how I love having pets!!

Hmm . . . . . . . . was Buffy just being like her namesake and spreading garlic around the house to keep vampires away!! Something to think about!

De

Hmm . . . . with how the day started . . . . I really thought it was going to be a horrible day. Got up and going this morning at a perfect time - not too early not too late - Muppet didn't futz around in the front - generally I have to say her name a few times to get her to focus on the purpose for being outside at such an ungodly hour. Got out of the house and on my way to the Park & Ride at just a little after 7! I looked at the schedule - figured I could make the 713 bus - or should I drive in - I could get there faster by driving but usually when I think that I get stuck in horrible traffic. So . . . . .take the bus . . . . drive . . . . . take the bus . . . . . drive . . . . take the bus! Well - I am trying to make budget cuts so I chose the bus - and made the 7:13!! The bus travels down Highlands Drive - turns onto the on ramp to I90 - a loud alarm starts going off and the driver pulls the bus to the side of the road and turns it off! WTH!!! Dead Bus - they weren't having any of the other one's coming down the on ramp pull over for us - we sat! Finally the driver got permission to take us to the other Issaquah P&R to try and catch another ride. Which we did - but the problem was - the 554 bus is half the size of the 218!! A very squishy ride! Got to work an hour later than I would have if I had driven!!

Work - Yay we got bagels today - Boo no Cinnamon Raisin ones - Yay went to Sbux for my weekly Hot Chocolate - Boo it was a different Barista and she didn't make it the same. It was busy at work - still trying to close out '09 and next week starts the Month End Close for Jan '10!! And 1099's had to be out today!! Then - I was getting my review today. Figured this was going to be the topper - in the past I always seem to get Blind Sided in my reviews - things brought up that no one had said anything about during the year. I was blind sided . . . . . but in a good way! It was better than I thought it would be - the things brought up that I need to work on were things I was aware of . . . . . things I thought I was doing a good on my reviewer agreed with. It was a very pleasant surprise.

A sign that I am doing a little better . . . . . . . I have the urge to bake! And not to bake something I always do but to try something new! So this weekend I am going to try Cinnamon Rolls. Found a very interesting recipe on the Internet that I want to try. If all goes well . . . The Finance Team will have Cinnamon Rolls on Monday!

Readers - have a great weekend! :-)

D

Ponder This

Got home late tonight - went to Happy Hour after work for a bit. When I went to catch my bus I was 30 seconds too late - I got there as it was pulling away. Let me tell you, Sound Transit Bus Drivers are not a happy group - never stop for anyone even if you are looking right at them and running towards them. Wouldn't have been too bad if it was earlier in the evening - but after 7 the buses only run every 30 minutes! 2nd and Olive is not a real fun place to be for half an hour at night.

A question for you to ponder - On my way to the bus I passed a couple groups of teens that looked homeless and were panhandling. Each of these groups also had dogs with them - looking tired, cold, wrapped under blankets. So - here's the question - Who do you feel more sorry for? The Homeless Teens or the Homeless Dogs?

Going to bed - Night

De

Tortilla Soup

When I got home tonight - started walking up the stairs to my unit - I could smell the aroma of something delicious cooking! I opened my door and was greeted with the warm smell of tomato, spices, garlic! I made homemade Tortilla Soup in my crock pot today! It is so good! I wasn't sure I would like it - but the chicken turned out so tender - the spices didn't over power the flavor they complemented it - the corn was still firm and crunchy! Delicious!!

Week one of meeting a New Years Goal - made dinner and tried something new! I think my next try is going to be BBQ Chicken!

Off to bed - need to get to work early tomorrow - I need to finish doing my regular job, pulling items for the auditors, and preparing 1099's that must be postmarked by Friday!

De

How Long Is Too Long

When is the appropriate time to take your Christmas wreath off your door? There are 2 neighbors of mine that still have theirs up - one is a real pine wreath - no Christmas things on it and the other is definitely Christmas - ribbons, baubles, lights! It just seems that a month is long enough - it's not like they don't see it every day when they leave and then come back home. Holidays are over people!

Nothing to really report on about L - she logged into unemployment yesterday and answered the questions so she should get her first check this week. She has an interview for a cashier position on Friday - cross your fingers.

De

No Drama - Just Hope

No Drama to report - just some mature steps in the right direction! I feel hopeful! L called and got her unemployment reopened and should get her first check next week. Her and E have worked out how to split the rent. She texted me last night that she has an interview next week! It's just amazing the turn around I am seeing with her. I hope she gets the job - would be a good self-esteem booster. I can't remember if I blogged much about last weekend - I had a great time with E & L - they were over for dinner and laundry! We played Wii Mario Party 8 - I've never played this before and E was very nice and helped me figure things out. There was one mini-game that he said was really difficult so he played my character for me. :-)

We were going to play Wii Sports but the disc seems to have walked off! I priced it at Target - Amazon - Best Buy - and they wanted $54 for the game!! I like the bowling and Tennis but so not for $54! I went out on eBay and there were a few auctions going on - I got my bid in on one - I had the highest bid - then someone swooped in at the last second and out bid me :-( No problem - there was another auction going on that was ending in 2 hours. I just sat and watched it - when there was only a minute left I swooped in and placed my bid - got it for $27.97!!! Less than buying from the store and less than the first auction ended at! Should be here either today or Monday.

No big plans for the weekend - need to catch up on some DVR shows - straighten up - and fold some laundry! I know - exciting plans!

De

Outlander!

I just finished the book Outlander. It is the first book in a series. It was amazing!! If you are a fan of Twilight and/or The Time Travelers Wife you will love this book. It’s an Epic Love Story – fantasy – and historical romance. It touched me deep in my soul just like Twilight did. I could feel the joy and the anguish as things were happening. Diana Gabaldon (the author) is an amazing writer. I don’t know how I didn’t know about this series before. The first book was released back in 1991. There have been 3 – 5 years between each book release so I am kinda glad that I didn’t start in the beginning – it would have driven me crazy to have to wait 4 years to find out what happens next. There have been 7 books in the series released so far and from what I read on the Internet Diana has said the series is not finished! Outlander is a large book – 600pages – but it is so worth your time! Be warned – if you are an emotional reader like I am – be prepared with Kleenex! I wasn’t and of course I was on the bus on my way in to work!

I do love having my Kindle! I finished reading Outlander on the bus last night and immediately downloaded the second book, Dragonfly In Amber! No having to run to the bookstore or wait for it to be delivered! Yay! I think I may take a few days off from reading it though. I remember reading the Twilight Series in a week – I was emotionally drained – told ya, I’m an emotional reader!

De

North Wind

The wind was a blowin this evening! I stopped at Target to run a couple of errands - on my way out of the store the wind caught me by surprise - it hadn't been blowing at all when I went in and I wasn't in there very long. It almost knocked me over a couple times and I had to grip the handle on the shopping cart to keep it from getting blown away from me - got to the car very fast though with the wind blowing both me and the cart! At the car I let go of the cart to grab my purse and bags - the cart started rolling very quickly away with help from the wind! I grabbed it and guided it to a curb so it wouldn't roll into any cars. I turned back around to head toward my car when I saw a sight that made me smile. A little girl was standing on the walk way - arms outstretched - letting the wind blow her around as she tried to keep standing up - and she was giggling!! Not a care in the world - just enjoying what Mother Nature had provided her! When do we lose that ability? All I could think about was getting home without limbs falling on me, hoping the power wouldn't go out, and how incredibly cold it was. Growing Up Sucks!

De

Spaghetti Lasagna

Wow - you are so lucky I'm still here! A car almost took me out in the parking garage this evening. I got off the elevator on the 4th floor - turned to the right and went to step out a little bit to see if any cars were coming - it's a bit of a blind spot - this car came up so fast and zoomed right past me - never even put on the brakes! As the car zipped by me I looked at the driver - a young gal - who never even saw me and probably doesn't realize how close she came to hitting me. Why you ask? That would be because she was too busy Texting!!!

Yesterday's dinner with L and E was really enjoyable! I went and picked them up around 2:30 - brought them to the house - and L started up her first load of laundry! She did hers and then E did his. While the washer and dryer were going L hooked the Wii back up out in the living room so we could play - we were going to play Wii Sports but the disc has been misplaced - probably in a box somewhere. So we played Mario Party 8 instead - it was fun - I'm sure they were a little frustrated playing with me seeing as I had never played this one before and they had to keep explaining to me how to play the mini games. We then had dinner and watched two of the Fringe episodes I had on my DVR - E likes this show so we were able to talk about what was going on - which was nice because I usually have to watch them on my own.

Now - it's been awhile since I made my Spaghetti Lasagna in the Crock Pot. So it wasn't as good as it could have been - although E really liked it and even took some leftovers home. So - for those of you who have asked for this recipe her it is - along with some tips!

• Spaghetti Noodles
• Your Favorite Spaghetti Sauce
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese and Parmesan Cheese

Prepare your noodles and make your sauce. My sauce is - ground beef browned - add 1 jar of Ragu Original Style, 1 pkg of Spaghetti seasonings, 1 small can of tomato paste, and water to thin the sauce as needed.

Oven - preheat to 350* Using a 9x13 pan place a small amount of sauce on bottom of pan then start layering - Noodles, Sauce, Cheese, repeat until pan is full making sure to finish with layer of cheese. Bake in oven until cheese is melted all the way through.

Crock Pot - Follow the same layering procedure. Tips I learned from making this yesterday. Don't cook the noodles fully on the stove as they will cook more and soften up in the crock pot. I have found if you make it the night before and refrigerate that it cooks better in the crock pot - set on low for 8 hours.

Time For Bed!

De

Before And After

Let me preface this post with this . . . . What you are about to see is the result of having a headache for 4 months - every day, all day long, never ending, from sun up to sun down.

L and E planned on coming over on Sunday to do laundry and have some dinner. This energized me to finally get some house cleaning done - not to mention that I have now gone 2 straight mornings without having a headache first thing.

The worst room in the house is probably the kitchen - and seeing as how I was going to have to cook on Sunday I needed to get it taken care of. In order to do this I also needed to finish the project of turning my coat closet in to a pantry closet. SO that is exactly what I did - I put up shelves, cleaned out my kitchen, and straightened up the living room.


So here is the before picture (remember the beginning of this post!)







And here is the after picture! I know - Incredible huh!?!








Here is a picture of the beautiful shelves I put up (and they are still up!)







And . . . last but not least . . . . is a picture of the can of soda I found in a 12 pack. I am so lucky it didn't explode all over the carpet!!

De

Things That Make You Go Hmm . . . . .

• Why do people push the elevator floor button when the get on even though it has already been pushed and is lit up. It was 5:00 so everyone was leaving to head home, I got on at the 20th Floor and a gal gets on at the 15th Floor - looks at the floor buttons - pushes the L button. Didn't get us to the Lower Level any faster! Hmmm . . . .
  
• Another elevator thing that makes you go Hmmm . . . . . people who get on the elevator and repeatedly push the close door button. Have they never watched suspense movies - pushing the button never makes the door close any faster!
• Why is it that when drivers see a cop car on the side of the road they always hit their brakes . . even when they are already going under the speed limit? Hmmm . . . . . .
• People that moved in to the unit below have a Welcome Mat with pretty butterflies and three rocks that have lady bugs, flowers, and welcome painted on them. They have switched out the door locks for a deadbolt and a doorknob with a key lock and a keypad for entering a code. Hmmm . . . .are visitors really welcome?

De

Accountability . . . Bleah

The same person who pointed out that I hadn't blogged in a week - I believe "FAIL" is what was said. Well - as we were discussing our plans for the evening I said that I didn't feel like grocery shopping so I was probably going to just head on home - she then pointed out that I had said in my blog that I was going to do the grocery shopping and so I had too. What?!?! I was too tired - she said no excuses and that I needed to be accountable! Dang! I could always say I did the shopping but not do it - yeah that would be lying and not very accountable! So . . . . . . I stopped at the grocery store on my way home from the Park & Ride! When I got there I realized i had left my shopping list at work. Hmm . . . . I could go home and do this tomorrow . . . . but I'm sure I would hear something like - That's a Likely Story! Was it an accident leaving my list at work - just my scrambled, forgetful, brain - or was it my subconscious because I didn't really want to stop at the store. Hmmm . . . . . . something to think about. I did do some shopping - I'm sure I forgot something and probably picked up some items not on the list.

Yay for Friday tomorrow! Long week - just wanna sleep in! L and E are coming over for dinner on Sunday - a family dinner! :-) I am planning on making my Spaghetti Lasagna and having bread and a salad. Need to think of something for dessert. I figure I can put the lasagna together on Saturday in my Crock Pot and then start heating it up on Sunday. Gives me a good reason to get some chores done around here too.

De

"FAIL" Blog

It was brought to my attention this afternoon that I haven’t updated my blog in over a week. I think the word that was used was “FAIL”! I didn’t realize that much time had gone by! So either I am losing days or this month is just flying by!

Not a lot of Blog Worthy happenings this past week. I could write in detail about my headaches and the annoying ringing in the ear but I am sure you are all getting a little tired of hearing about that – I know I am tired of hearing the ringing! Last week was Year-End Close and it was awful!! The finance system was having issues the previous week – which is when I usually do the bulk of my close processes – so when Close Week officially started I was already 2 days behind schedule. I put in long hours – got very stressed – extremely bitchy – Just wanted the week to end. Saturday I had a severe headache so I broke down and took a Vicodin. One minute I was chatting online with K and the next I am waking up and it is 600 at night – the whole day was gone! I felt better but I hate having a wasted day – I ended up feeling like I only got a one day weekend. Sunday I drove up to have dinner with my parents. I hadn’t seen them since Thanksgiving! It was lots of fun – catching up – having a home cooked meal that I didn’t cook. Mom got a book on knitting sweaters for Dogs – she is going to try and make sweaters for all her Grand and Great Grand Puppies! I was able to get Muppets measurements without any problem and I chatted to K and Linds to get measurements for Bailey and Kara. Little Miss Kara was afraid of the tape measure! She kept hiding from Linds so finally she used a string and then measured that. Puppies can be so funny sometimes.

Monday I stayed home from work and kept all of the lights off in the house. Felt better so I went in to work on Tuesday. Tuesday night I was going by L’s place to drop off some mail for her so I called and asked her if she wanted to get dinner with me. E had to work 3 – 10 so it was just L and I but we ordered a To Go box for E. He called while we were at Red Robin – which is very close to the QFC he works at – he was on his dinner break so he came over and ate with us. L just seems so much happier and relaxed these days. It really is a dramatic change. After dinner E went back to work and we followed him there – I was going to buy a few groceries for L because her Food Stamps card doesn’t get refilled until the 20th. Instead of asking for a lot of stuff she was very appreciative whenever I put something in the cart and even told me no on a few things because she thought it was too expensive! I Know! L said that! But they should be good for a week or so.

The plan for tonight is to go by the grocery store for me on the way home – get a few things to help in my goal to eat better and not have cereal for dinner! We’ll see how I feel when I get off the bus. This morning I went to read my Kindle on the bus – it had been a few weeks – my battery was dead L So – I watched a few things on my iPod and I will charge up the Kindle when I get home. Oh – I am also going to try to start using the Wii Fit again – L has the controllers but I found a new one on eBay and won the auction to get it for 12.99! Good Price! Hopefully it is here in a week and then I will get started “working out”!

OK – break time is over – I’m gonna get a few more things done and then try to catch the 5:04 bus home.
De

A Couple Muppet Stories

I Love my Muppet - don't get me wrong - but she has been both a wimp and a pain this week.

Monday Muppet and I went to bed - I was on my computer and she was curled up on the pillow next to me. In came Niki - L's cat - she jumped up on the bed and went straight to the same pillow - she sleeps on it when we aren't home and sometimes during the night she curls up there. She was very surprised to see Muppet on her pillow - she walked around it and kinda tried to push Muppet over and off the pillow. I told Mup that she was there first and to stand her ground - don't let the bully make you move. Niki glared - Muppet cowered - Niki stared - Muppet looked to me. Muppet then got up and moved - Not just off the pillow but all the way around to the other side of the bed and curled up tight behind my knees. WIMP!!

Last night she was a horrible bed buddy. She started out by digging into the bed - under the covers - moving everything all around. I told her to just knock it off and made her lay down next to me. I fell asleep about 930 - only to be woken up by an insistent licking on my face!! WTH - I turned to look at the clock thinking that maybe it was close to getting up time - but oh no - it was 1115! What! I haven't been asleep that long! I tried to roll over and go back to sleep but Mup kept licking me and running around the bed. Damn It - I got out of bed - pulled on some sweats - threw on some shoes - took the damn dog outside. Man I miss that backyard in TX! She did her business and then started sniffing at the darn trees - yeah, not putting up with that! I grabbed her and dragged her back to bed. You would think this would end it - but I got another lovely wake-up at 330 - this was one of those - face in your face - Mom . . .Mom . . . .Are you awake . . . . Whatcha Doin Mom. I was able to get her to go back to sleep.

So hope she sleeps through the night tonight. I'm exhausted from long days at work and way too much still to get done. Got home too late again tonight to make enchiladas :-( So far I have had a handful of Swedish fish and a swig of coke. Thinking I may need something a little more nutritious.


In Memoriam - K's cat Tiger died today. He was 15 years old and was definitely K's cat. He would only let her hold him and he loved her as much as she loved him. He will be missed.


My health update - Saw the Neurologist yesterday. He doesn't know what caused the headache or why it is still here. He prescribed a different drug that is supposed to restart my pain receptors - kinda like hitting control-alt-delete / Restart on your computer. We shall see. He has no idea what's causing the constant ringing in my right ear. Doesn't think it's related to the headache. Probably just one of those things that I will need to live with. Oh Joy!

OK - I'm gonna find something to eat and head to bed. First I need to get the Drooly Bug Cat off my lap - Niki is drooling on me :-P

De

Where Did The Weekend Go

Man - time is flying right on by - it's already Jan 4th.

Saturday I went in to the office to catch up on work that couldn't be done when the system was down. Afterwards I went over to Lyd's to visit "the boy"! He is growing like a weed. Lyd put together some pictures in a really nice frame for me. So Sweet! My Little Cougar! Isn't he cute!!

Sunday I went to brunch with the 40 Something Club. We went to Pomegranate Bistro in Redmond. I had never been before. The food was good . . a little on the pricey side for the amount of food you get but . . . . . what you do get is very tasty! It's not a large place so if you want to go there for Sunday Brunch best to get there early or make a reservation. It was a small group - supposed to be 6 but there were only 4 of us that showed up. One couple and a guy who would not shut up! You know the type - expert on everything - never lets anyone else have a chance to talk. Afterwards I went to the UW Bookstore in Bellevue . . the only place on the eastside that actually carries a good selection of WSU items . .I know weird right?!?! Well . . .they are no longer going to be carrying Cougar stuff :-( So they are having a Cougar Close Out Sale 40% off everything :-) I picked up a sweat jacket I had seen back in the summer which I thought was way too much to spend on a sweatshirt . .40% off though puts it right at my price.

Monday - Back to work again. Today was a very weird day . . .I felt angsty (thanks R for the word!) all day long - kept feeling like I was forgetting something. On my way home I started going through my mind and actually couldn't remember what I had done at work!! Bad memory aside . . it is kinda weird . . . I know I printed out invoices and worked on Credit Card data . . but I don't think that would take all day. So . . . either it did take me all day, I did more than that and just don't remember, or else I blacked out for part of the day. Not sure which one of them is worse. Very strange! I am thinking this might be a good thing to tell the new Dr tomorrow. Fuzzy brain - loss of time - nauseous - headache - lights hurt. Yup - starting out 2010 the same way 2009 ended!

Keep you updated!

De

2010!!!

What will you call this year - twenty-ten or two thousand ten? Your first decision of the New Year!

New Years Eve was like any other day - I went to work, came home, went to bed. I am so incredibly exciting!! Worked a full day - although not sure you can really say "worked". Our finance database/software was down until 230 - so, most of the day. It was down all day the day before. Now, at any other time of year I might be excited to have a "down" day but we are heading into month/year end close - other Finance People will understand my frustration and stress. AP - my part of the Finance Group - has a lot to do before the first work day of the new month - if I don't get my stuff done it effects others down the line. So - I pretty much lost 2 full days of work. I will be going in tomorrow - Saturday - to get as much done as possible before Monday. Because of the nature of the system problem I can't login from home to do any work so I will def have to go in to the office.

Today I went and ran a couple errands - after being woken up at 5AM by Muppet needing to really go outside. Man I missed the TX Backyard! It was cold - pouring down with rain - I so did not want to have to go outside. Luckily Mup doesn't like the rain much either so she was quick about it. Got her inside - wrapped her in a towel - went back to bed. Telling her I can't believe she woke me up at 5 Fricken AM on a day I could sleep in!!

The University Bookstore in Bellevue is having a Cougar Closeout Sale - they must not going to carry WSU items anymore - I drove into Bellevue today only to find out that the UW Bookstore was Closed for New Years Day! I thought all stores were open on New Years Day. I may have to go by the store before heading in to work tomorrow - or go by after work.

Most people make resolutions on the first day of a new year. Most popular are lose weight, exercise more, budget better. Those are very broad goals - very big and overwhelming. I have decided to make smaller - reachable goals - that can be added on to throughout the year.

• Cook an actual dinner at least once a week.
• Try a new food or recipe once a month
• No more L Bailouts

Those are a start - they may change or be added to.

Still thinking about a new title for the Blog.

De