2 woo-hoos for the price of one!

I entered a blog giveaway (okay, so I've entered a few.) and actually won!  Yay.  So, Thank you Dawn, I got my prize today!  I can't wait to read the book and the bath/body stuff smells yummy.

I weighed myself at the gym today...

Are you ready?

You won't believe it!

Cause I sure as hell couldn't!

I lost 6 lbs in the last two weeks!  I'm super excited.  With the exception of the 7Up I drank while sick, I haven't had anything but water and skim milk to drink the last two weeks.  I know, I gained 6lbs while I was hanging out with Andrea (gee, thanks Taco Bell) but I'm now back to my pre-vacation weight!

Catching up; gym, crying, roads, hotels and margaritas.

I did my gym thing today.  Yay me!  I spent my hour on the elliptical and when I got off, I felt as though I was floating on a cloud.  It was such a weird feeling that I actually said "Weeeee" out loud to a room full of women working out.  That got a few giggles and we all started talking.  Apparently gym ladies are all wanting to talk, but don't want to be the first to say something.  I've realized that if I set the machine at an hour and say to myself 'Self, you only have to do half an hour' when I get to that half hour mark, my self says back to me 'Fuck that!  I'm going the full hour!'  I'm an inspiration to myself.

I got my yarn for the afghan that I'm wanting to make for Andrea.  It's a similar pattern to the other one I was working on, but the colors match her house.  Claret, forest green, dark taupe and light taupe.  Already I can see it's going to be hard to give to her.  The colors work so well together and the stitches just seem to fall off my hook.  I'm putting the kids' afghan off until I finish this one.  I also priced the yarn for the baby blanket I'm wanting to make for Nick's best friend and his wife.  Over $50.  That kinda took me by surprise, because the yarn I need for Andrea's is way less, and they're the same price.  The baby blanket is going to be a LOT of work.  But I'm excited to do it.  I made one for my cousin and she loves it so much it hangs in her daughter's room, not allowed to leave the wall.

Another thing that I've started to notice about me, I get emotional when i work out.  Sometimes it's a scene on TV or a thought that pops in my head, but many times I find myself trying not to cry.  Even a song can do it to me.  And I don't listen to sad music!  I have to really work at it to keep myself from blubbering like an idiot on the elliptical or the weights.  I don't think other people will understand what's wrong.  Cause I sure as hell don't.

I'm pissed at the city right now.  Before the hurricane last week, for the past month or so, they've been re-doing the drainage on our road.  A good thing,  we live in an area where the roads flood even after a moderate rain.  Anyway, the drainage was laid about 3 or 4 days before the hurricane and they just left.  The road is torn up and they leave it like that.  The heavy rains from the hurricane washed the sand/gravel mixture they used to cover the drains away and now the westbound part of our road is 1/3 gone.  If you don't want to risk driving into the ditch, you have to drive in the east bound lane.  I really, really hope they fix it before school starts.  There is an Elementary school down the road and I can see a bus hitting the eroded part of the road and ending up in a 3 foot ditch.  Even the trucks that deliver to the nursery on our street have to drive carefully or they'll lose their load of trees to those monster ditches.

Nick's departure date got pushed back from the 1st to the 8th.  We had made plans to stay at the Mariott on the Riverwalk on the weekend of the 12th, but have to push back the plans because if the Navy plane takes a crap on them, we won't be able to to make the reservations in time.  I called the hotel and tried to get new reservations for the following weekend, but unfortunately, all the military rated room are gone.  That's pretty much the only way we can afford the place.  Fortunately, the Mariott has another hotel just two blocks away that has rooms avaliable and we'll be staying there.  There's a 'world famous' restuarant somewhere in the area, Mi Tierra, and we've made plans to visit it.  The sell margaritas by the liter.  Woohoo!  I love me some margaritas!

Aaaah!

Yesterday I called my in-laws early in the morning.  I asked them to come up and take the kids to the aquarium.  Since I was sick, the house was messier than I could stand and cleaning with kids in the house is a soul crushing endeavor.  They came at 9 am and kept the kids for nearly 5 hours, allowing me to clean the house, child free and to do the grocery shopping, child free.

I actually LIKE cleaning my house.  I know that sounds insane and I probably do need therapy, but if the kids are gone (or even if it's just Zuri, asleep in her room while Aaron is at school) I can crank up the iTunes and sing along while I do that deep down cleaning that every house needs.  I pledged all the wood in the house, moved all the furniture and vacuumed/steam cleaned under it.  I even added Downy to the steam cleaner and now my carpet feels like a soft, fluffy cloud.

Shopping with kids is a test of wills.  Does Aaron have the will power to scream from International foods all the way to Baking or will he give out before we even hit Canned goods?  Can I resist the urges to push the Buggy full of kids into the Deli area and run the other way?  When the cashier says that a screaming, crying Zuri is so cute and she'd take her off my hands, how hard will it be for me to not jump up and down, clapping and yelling 'Yippy!'?  I can shop with kids. I can get in and out of the store in 45 minutes or less, getting 90% of what we need.  The only problem is that I spend a crap load of money.  Some on junk.  I start throwing random items in the cart, walking through the store like a mombie (mom zombie...), trying not to cry as I get LOOKS from other people.  Other times, the crap load of money is spent because I want to get out of there so fast, I don't price compare.  Who gives a shit if peanut butter A is 33¢ an ounce and B is 23¢ an ounce, I don't have time to read that!  Just give me the brand that's closest to the beginning of the aisle so I don't have to waste time going all the way down.  

This time, I spent an hour and a half shopping.  And got everything we need.  For two weeks.  With the exception of milk and fresh fruit/veggies, I don't have to step foot in H.E.B. for the next 25 days (I know that's longer than two weeks, but b/c the in-laws had the kids, I went a week early and still have food left from last trip).  I even spent less than usual.  Cause my brain actually remembered the coupons, I got some buy 2 get 1 free deals and I price compared everything.  It went so well, I'm actually considering a babysitter when I need to do the shopping. I figure $15 is worth the serenity in the store. 

ICK. afghan?

Yay, I'm finally feeling 'human' again.  Last night was the first time in a few meals that I've eaten something besides crackers.  I've been hanging on the couch, or at the computer, crocheting while I wait to no longer be sick.  

What have I been crocheting?  Why, the ugliest afghan ever known to man.  Basically, I've taken all the crappy scrap yarn that I have and am weaving it into a fugly afghan.  

Okay, it doesn't look THAT bad yet, but it'll get worse.  This is only the center strip. I'm out of the green and the yellow.  I think the next two stripes will be red, brown, pink, blue, rainbow and maybe a different yellow if I have enough.  It's for the kids.  Yep, it's pretty ugly so far and it'll only get worse, but at least I won't have the rubbermaid container full of yarn anymore.  It'll all be woven in a giant, ugly square and hanging off the back of my couch.

It's good practice.  Nick's best friend is having a baby in Oct (the due date is actually Z's birthday) and I've been 'tricked' into making an afghan for Andrea.  Since I haven't finished a project in about 3 years, I need something to re-teach me.  It's actually been going pretty good.  Reading the pattern has been hard, but if I take it slow and write it out long-hand, it actually makes sense.  Also, by my count, I've only dropped 4 stitches.  Which is good, earlier attempts that I've tried have had a dropped stitch a row, which makes my squares look like triangles.

Nick has discovered that saying the word 'yarn' out loud is fun.  So when we're on the computer together, talking over the internet, I'll hear him say 'Yarn' every once in a while.  He's like, twelve or something.

Speaking of Nick, he got an offer to go TFO (temporary flight orders).  Basically, he'll be flying along when they're using his equipment to catch any issues before they hit the ground.  Kinda in-flight troubleshooting.  He's excited about it.  It means he gets to go to school in P.cola FLA (which he loved last time he was there) and gets to hang out with the aircrew in flight suits.  Also means more pay if he meets monthly flight hour requirements, but that's way down the road.  He has to pass the classes first.

Sick and fishie ramblings.

We survived the storm yesterday.  Yay.  We're actually drying out quite nicely.

I've missed the gym the past two days.  Yesterday because the potential floods and the tornado warnings in our area and today because I woke up feeling like I was going to throw up.  This is not the typing of a happy mommy.  I'm not sure where, but I've caught a bug from somewhere.  All I've been able to eat today is saltines and drink 7Up.  The thought of anything else makes me sick.  I'm also super tired.  Like, don't even want to get out of bed tired, want to lay on the computer desk while I type this tired.  So tired that I got books in the mail and they are still sitting in a pile, not read, not shelved.  For those of you who know of my obsession with my books, you know this is bad.  I've been using my new phone (Yay) to keep up with things on the web.  It's good for something.  I managed to get a nap for about 2hrs while Zuri napped and Aaron was mesmerized by the TV.  He keeps asking to go to the Aquarium and I plan on taking him tomorrow if I'm feeling better.  

He wanted to go yesterday and cried when I told him we had to wait for the hurricane to come through.  He didn't understand the storm thing, we've driven in rain before, so I had to tell him that because of the Hurricane, they had to take the fishies out and make them safe.  We wouldn't want anything to happen to the Fishies.  That seemed to work for yesterday and 'mommy is sick' worked for today.  But he keeps talking about 'the big bridge' and going to the aquarium.

I plan on dosing myself with NyQuil tonight so I can sleep like the dead and manage tomorrow like I need to.

Well Hello Dolly!

We're waiting.  Dolly is coming and we're ready for her.  She's only going to be a Cat 1 when she hits the coast of Tx, which isn't bad.  We're at the northern tip of the storm.  I've been asked by a few people if we're evacuating, but since just north of us, about 10 miles north, it's no longer a hurricane warning, it's a tropical storm warning, we're staying right here.  I have moved my car out from under it's customary tree, just in case.  And we have plenty of water, just in case.  A good amount of canned goods, some cash and a car full of gas.  What more could you want?

People aren't even freaking out yet.  I got gas and the lot was empty, even though the station was 10¢ lower than usual.  The grocery store beside my house isn't more crowded than usual and people are going to and from work like it's nothing.

I went to the gym again today.  For some reason, I wasn't feeling well and nearly tossed my Raisin Bran Crunch all over the elliptical, but I managed to hold it down and finish my usual workout, even though it wasn't as 'intense' as it normally is.

We're on the downward slope of Nick's deployment.  Only 6 weeks to go.  He's started making plans over what he wants to do with his two weeks of leave when he returns.  One of our plans was to go to the Mall of America and spend a week or so up there.  Instead of that, we've decided to pay on our truck and get some of it taken care of, and stay in San Antonio on the Riverwalk instead.  Nick was cruising the hotel sites and found one he liked a lot.  He inquired online about military discount and it's the BEST we've ever heard of.  50% off!  He booked it without bothering to ask me because the deal was awesome.  We probably won't get a room overlooking the walk, but who cares?  We're getting the Mariott for the rate of the Motel Six!  We also plan on going to San Marcus to the Outlet mall for our little shopping trip.  Nick has lost about 30lbs and needs new clothes and will also need new shoes.  Might as well get them cheap.

Aaron starts school on the 25th of August.  I don't know how he's going to take it.  He's really good with routine.  You get him on one, and he won't stray from it.  But breaking a new routine in is really hard. I look forward to him going back, he had a lot of fun these last 2 years at HeadStart, but I'm also worried the new teacher won't understand him.  That she'll think he's a 'problem kid' instead of understanding that he needs a little more direction in the beginning but once it's established, he's a really happy kid.  I can see me having to pick him up early a bit in the beginning.  Luckily, we've met with his principal and she understands that though Aaron is no longer 'special needs' (he was discharged from speech therapy at the end of last year), he still might need some social adjusting that other kids developed while he was working on speech.  We'll see I guess.

Sunday Scribblings #120~ Ghosts

Sunday Scribblings

When I was in High School, I hung out with some interesting people.  One of my favorites and probably one that I was closest to was 'J'.  J was a fun, hippie chick that wore 'vintage' clothes, listened to the oldies and drove a volvo named Bob.  She lived in the center of our small town, about two streets off of Main St.  Sophomore to Senior year I spent a lot of time at her house.  Sleep overs, after school hanging out and at one time, before prom, a 'work out' session every Tuesday and Thursday.

One night, we and a few other friends decided to go to the old graveyard and hang out, trying to scare each other.  These are the types of graves that are long forgotten.  Leaves covering all the burial plots, all the headstones cracked.  It's at the very end of a road, secluded from every thing, surrounded by trees.  The place ghost stories begin.  At one point, someone started telling scary stores.  Nothing really major, just the 'bump in the night' stories older kids tell to their younger siblings to creep them out before a big sleep over.  We all giggled nervously but enjoyed the thrill of the scare.  After a while, we realized it was getting late and it was time to go home.

Walking to the car, one of our friends screamed and fell to the ground.  We all turned to look but when we saw her face and the expression of horror followed by 'Something grabbed my foot', we ran for the car.  Leaving our poor friend near tears on the ground.  There were about 5 of us, besides the fallen, and you could probably hear our screams clear across town, the guys included.  There was a hip high fence surrounding the graveyard.  A few of us slowed only to climb it.  I vividly remember one of the girls jumping it like she was an Olympic huddler, never slowing.  We get to the car, throw open the driver's side doors, which are closest to the graveyard.  It's a bottleneck as we all try to get in at the same time, nearly crying as we are trying to get away.  'J', the driver, gets in and starts the car.  Without waiting for the rest of us, she pulls off.  One of the guys slides across the roof, landing beside the car, wrenching open the passenger door and jumps in on the move.  This is the stuff of movies.  

Somehow, we all (well, except for the one we left behind in the graveyard) manage to get in the car.  We go about half a block before our fear subsides and we realize 'screaming chick' isn't in the car with us.  We go back to get her and find her standing on the side of the road, furious at us.  The trees in the graveyard were as unkempt as the headstones and some of the roots had pushed up.  Once she calmed down enough to look, she realized her foot was twisted up in some roots, not the skeletal hand of death pulling her to hell.

I know now there was no ghost. No boogie man waiting to grab us, but back then it was the closest thing to a ghost we had come to.  When we retold the story, we'd leave out the roots.  We'd go to other grave yards and supposed haunted spots around time late at night, trying to find a real ghost, trying to get the crap scared out of us.  Nothing marginally as close to as scary as that ever happened to us again.

WHY??? Oh, and I've found Nemo.

Today, I got a phone call from my in-laws at 3:30.

MIL: We're almost there!

Me: Almost where?

MIL: To your house!  We're at exit 30.  (my exit is 4)

Me:What?  I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow!

MIL:  No, G[FIL] told you we were coming today, we left at noon.

Me: Fuck.

Okay, I checked my messenger, and this is the message my FIL gave me:

WE ARE AT THE END OF OUR WITS WITH HIM. WE WILL TRY AND LEAVE HERE AROUND 12 NOON. WE WILL CALL YOU WHEN WE LEAVE.   LOVE G

Do you see any where in there where it said "Coming on Friday?"  "Coming tomorrow?"  No, I don't either.

So I did the DIL scramble.  Hiding shit in corners, cleaning stuff that hasn't been cleaned in weeks and putting the porn away. (kidding about the last, our porn is carefully hidden already.)

Besides that, I got to go to the gym again today.  For some reason, I was pumped.  I flew through my workout, high on endorphins.  It was probably the best workout I've had in a while.

Until I stepped on the scale.

I knew when Andrea was here I was eating too much junk.  Since I left her house nearly 2 weeks ago, I've gained 5 lbs.  That puts be back really bad.  For the next six weeks, I can't slack off.  Doesn't help that the MIL wants all of us to go to Splashtown when Nick gets home.  I CANNOT look like a whale in my butterfly/black swimsuit!  I just can't.  So it's exercising and dieting to the extreme.  The only think I'll drink for the next 6 weeks is water and the occasional gatorade when I get my workout headaches. No junk food, no sweets, nothing that makes me happy. No Fast Food.  It's all evil.

Aaron came home today, that's why the in-laws were visiting.  Dropping his butt off.  They just can't hang.  He comes running in the house with a spatula.  The story is that one day while helping gramma with the dishes, he dried a spatula and it looked like the one Spongebob uses, and he begged her for it.  The MIL, of course, gave in.  So now, my son's new favorite toy is a silver spatula.

He's going through a Nemo phase.  He's obsessed with the movie.  Wants to watch it all the time.  I keep buying copies because he keeps screwing them up.  I finally got smart though.  I downloaded it to iTunes.  I'm going to burn a copy and let him keep it in his DVD player until it's so scratched up it can't be used anymore then burn it again.  That'll save me a few bucks.

Gym again, Phone too

I went to the gym again today.  yay me!  Unfortunately, I wore the wrong socks and now have a giant blister on the arch of my foot.  It's about the same size of my entire pinky finger.  I could feel it coming on, but didn't stop to fix it because the only fix would have been going home and putting on new socks.  I guess I'll just have to suffer through tomorrow.

I ordered a new phone because when Nick comes back, he'll want his old one and my old one sucks.  I've been looking at the Blackberry, the Blackberry Pearl and the Palm Centro.  Andrea got the Pearl while I was at her house and I played with it a little and really liked it.  Instead of ordering it, I ordered the Palm.  Sprint has a policy where you order a phone and if you don't like it, you can return it in two weeks and get a new one.  I was worried the Palm would be too wide and the keys too small, but it's actually really easy to use.  Also, it has the added plus of a stylus.  And it's pink!  I've been playing with it, seeing how easy it is to access things on it and since it's pretty easy, I think I'll keep it.  At first, it seems like a lot of phone.  But lately, I've realized I'm pretty forgetful and I have phone numbers, addresses, passwords, account numbers, birthdays and appointment date/times all over the place.  I'm flipping through books, digging in drawers and looking at old calendars trying to remember all that I have going on in my life and my friends/family's life.  I figure a phone that is also a PDA type device is the way to go.  I'm not planning on throwing out all my paperwork, just in case something happens to the Palm, but I'm not going to have to dig anymore.  So that's a new step in getting me more organized before Aaron goes to school next year.

A boring entry...

I went to the gym today for the first time in a month.  Wow.  Though I did the same workout that I was doing before, and I actually completed it, I still feel like I'm dying.  It's amazing what a month of slacking off can do to you.  I did feel really good when the trainer came by and said "Looking skinnier!"  Even though I know she's probably lying, it still feels nice to hear it.

Aaron is still at the in-laws.  I did get an IM from them though.  They can't do it.  He's too much work.  My MIL conceded that taking care of Aaron was way too much work and she's admitted that she now knows why my house isn't looking like a museum all the time and why I'm always burned out.  I think that means I win.  Yay, points for me!

Zuri has throughly surprised me.  Today while looking at her Dora ball, I pointed to the butterflies on it and asked "What are these?" Thinking I'd have to tell her, just wanting to try and add a word.  "Beeflies" she said to me, all excited.  Okay, so not exactly what I was looking for, but DAMN close!  I started laughing and bounced the ball off her head and she looked at me and said "Sorry!"  I think she was telling me to say I was sorry, so I apologized while trying not to giggle at her.

I got to wear my new shoes when I went to the gym.  Those are some damn comfortable shoes!  I'm always worried about spending money on things like that because they feel really good in the store, but when I get them home and wear them out, my feet will hurt.  Not this time.  They felt awesome.

Nick got off the boat last night.  He said it was the worst boat he's ever been on.  I guess when you're used to the 'roominess' of a carrier, all other ships can seem cramped.  They also didn't have the coffin lockers (Lockers that are located under the mattress and you open it like the lid to a coffin and keep your belongings in there) and the beds were stacked 4 high instead of 3 high, like on a carrier.  Another issue, the 'big' lockers were all occupied.   A few Marines had left the ship to go to Iraq and instead of finding somewhere else to secure their belongings, they left them on the ship, so no one else had lockers.  Many of the guys were living out of bags for the week.  Not a big deal, unless you think of how small and cramped everything is.  And, of course, because they didn't have lockers, they had to worry about thieves.  Nick didn't know they wouldn't have locker space and he brought his electronics from the hotel with him.  He had to carry his laptop and iPod everywhere he went.  Even with that, someone still managed to swipe his iPod.  A little pissed at that, but there's nothing we can do other than fill out a report and maybe it'll show up.

That's all.  Just a boring ass entry.

Sad

Andrea left today so I'm a little sad.  But, on a happy note, I have 8 wine coolers, 2 bottles of liquor, 1/2 of a pie, a freezer full of 'slush', a tattoo and VERY red (we re-dyed it, Red Hot) hair to remember her by.

Unfortunately, her leaving means I have to go back to losing weight.  Oh well, I guess I'll be throwing the pie in the trash and putting the alcohol away for now.

New Tattoo!

Andrea and I got tattoos!

We've been discussing matching tattoos for a few weeks now, but could never settle on something we both liked and a location for it.  Finally, we settled on a Japanese Kanji for friend on our foot, right in front of the ankle bone.

A few pics of us getting them done.

Guy drawing the tattoo:

Andrea waiting:

Getting it done:

Me, actually reading the paperwork (there is a warning that the tattoo is permanent.  Der.):

Mine getting done:

Finished result:

And yes, it is the true kanji, we didn't pick it out at the parlor, we got it off a kanji website and I have a painting in my room that has it on it.  So it doesn't mean 'bitch ass americans' or something else silly.

Friday Feast #196 (#3)

Friday Feast!

Appetizer

When was the last time you had your hair cut/trimmed?

About a week and a half ago.  I got layers put in it.

Soup

Name one thing you miss about being a child.

Innocence.  Believing just because I could.  

Salad

Pick one: butter, margarine, olive oil.

Butter.  Yep, it's fatty as hell, but it has the best flavor.

Main Course

If you could learn another language, which one would you pick, and why?

I have two choices.  Japanese because I've always wanted to travel to Japan and knowing the language would make it so much more fun than not knowing and German because my mom is from Germany and I've always wanted to go and see the country.

Dessert

Finish this sentence: In 5 years I expect to be…

Still chugging along.  I don't have any expectations for my life other than trying to learn from my mistakes and trying to be a better person, have my kids be better people and to make my life better as I grow older.  I guess that means all I expect to be in 5 years is better than I am now.

The Toilet (da-da dum [scary music here])

About two months ago, my bathroom toilet got clogged.  I tried the plunger, reaching in there, the hot water method and draino.  Since none of that worked, it became clear that Aaron had thrown something in there.  Of course, it could have been Zuri, but since Aaron has always had a fascination with the toilet and putting things in it, I'll blame him.  Three weeks ago, I asked my FIL to come down and take the toilet apart to get what ever was in there out.  After five minutes in the bathroom, he comes down and tells me the valve is broken and we need the water shut off so change it.  I call the apartment complex and since our water is connected to the whole building, they have to shut it off and do the work, but won't fix the toilet because it's probably a toy meaning 'Not our issue'.  I went to Andrea's the next weekend, still with a broken toilet.  She's remodeled her house and knows how to install toilets, so when I told her of my issue, she volunteered to help me after we get the valve replaced.

The first thing we do Monday morning after returning Sunday is put in a work order for the toilet.  The hot maintenance guy comes and turns off the water, fixing the valve in a few minutes.  After he leaves, Andrea and I go to Home Depot and buy what we need to fix the toilet.  New wax rings and bolts because the ones on it are so rusted, they might break when we go to take them off.

Last night was the first chance we had to take down the toilet.  We set it up all nice and neat.  Towels to catch any water that leaks, a wet vac to suck the water out of the toilet, new bolts and new wax ring.  It looked like it'd be an easy task, maybe 30 minutes worth of work.  Of course, someone hates us and instead it took over 3 hours.

First, the bolts just spun.  There was only enough room for one to work in the bathroom, so Andrea was squished in the corner with wrenches, ratchets and screw drivers, trying to get the nuts off.  She was eventually victorious, and threw the hardware across the room in celebration.  Of course, some jackass decided that caulking the toilet to the floor was a good idea.  So we spent about 15 minutes cutting the toilet free of the floor.  Once it was free, we pulled it up and away from the hole.  We expected a bit of water/poo to come at our feet, but nothing came out.  At least we knew the clog was in the toilet and not in the pipes.  Unfortunately, the clog wasn't where we could see it and just pull it out.  Andrea got a coat hanger and pushed it up in the hole, trying to see if anything popped out.  Nothing.  She asked me if I had anything more flexible.  I brought her the dryer brush.  She snaked it into the toilet, but when she went to pull it out, it was caught.  A few jerks and it came free, sending a spray of poop in the air.  Andrea shrieked "Is that GRANOLA???"  which had me nearly peeing my pants.  Since the brush wasn't working we were a little discouraged.  For some reason, and I'm not sure why, we maneuvered the toilet into the shower stall.  And turned the water on.  Oh, and did I mention, the window is open and while we're doing this, asses in the air, people are walking by, looking in my window.

We left the toilet in the shower for about 30 minutes, water running in it.  We were going to take a photo of one of us on it like we were using it, shower water running with shampoo in our hair, but since no one wants to see either of us naked, we'll leave that up to your imagination.

While the shower is running on the toilet, we discuss our options.  It's decided that we'll just buy another toilet.  Fuck it.  This one is obviously screwed up, can't be fixed and not worth the effort.  The only issue, how to get it down stairs.  We both discuss the mental image of us carrying the poopy toilet downstairs, one of us slipping and both of us ending up at the bottom of the stairs, covered in toilet water, having to call 911 because we've both broken our lets.  Not a great way to meet doctors.  Another option was to throw it out the second story window, letting it smash on the sidewalk, splattering the surrounding buildings with poo water.  This was a serious option until we realized it wouldn't fit through the window.  So we had to figure out something else.

Finally, it was decided that we'd get a toilet auger and go in there and try to push it out from the bottom (I know most people would have thought of this first, but since I'm sure it's a toy, probably a ball, we knew it wouldn't work just to go in and try to pull it out.)  Andrea bought an auger and went to work on it.  Going in from the top didn't give us anything, so we flipped the toilet over in the shower stall and went in from the bottom.  One pull delivered us a plastic bag that had treats in it from Aaron's end of the year party at school.  We celebrated and figured that was all.  We righted the toilet in the shower, filled the tank with water and flushed it.  The water was still moving slowly, but we figured it was because there was no seal to create a vacuum.  So we (for some reason) flipped the toilet BACK over, putting it upside down in the shower again and started spraying it with bathroom cleaner.  

Now that we had a clean toilet, we went to move it out of the shower.  Andrea got in behind and I went to the front.  We cleared the lip of the shower stall and went to set it down on the floor, still upside down.  As we were lowering it, we heard a bouncing sound.  A little yellow ball fell out of the bowl of the toilet and bounced clear.  Besides a few scratches from the auger, it looked new.  At that moment, we felt justified in removing the whole toilet.  The constant spinning of the toilet freed the ball, something the auger wouldn't have been able to get out.

Andrea set the new wax ring and the new bolts.  We both grabbed the toilet, put it gently back on the hole and Andrea started bolting it back down.  On the second bolt, she heard a 'pop' but kept tightening.  She said, 'It's done!', went to move the ratchet and the whole bolt assembly came out with it.  The thing that holds the bolts to the floor was broken.  Of course.

So now, I have a functioning toilet.  We did a leak check, it's fine.  Instead of lifting the whole toilet and trying to fix the bolt, Andrea just pushed it back into place, making it kinda hold the toilet, but kinda not hold the toilet.  So if you ever come to visit, don't shake the upstairs toilet.  You can use it, just don't push on it.  Or rock back and forth on it.  I don't know how well that'll hold, I'm just hoping it'll make it until we move out.

Neither of us have laughed so hard in a long time.  Andrea said that was the most fun she's ever had changing out a toilet.  It's the most fun I've had in the bathroom.  Though, now, I have to buy a new dryer brush.  I'm SO not using that one again.

Just a little housekeeping

Andrea and I have been so busy!  Separately, we get nothing done but a little laundry and a few dishes.  But together, we can move mountains.  Sometimes the thought comes to me, 'She didn't come here, all the way from Louisiana, to help me re-organize my house.'  But when I try to suggest something else, she says she's having fun, so we keep at it.  

We have hung shelves in the living room for decoration:

Shelves in the laundry room for function:

And worked on an art project for my living room because the wall looked so bare:

We even got the fireplace cleaned off, so that if I wanted to, I could enjoy a nice fire (which will never happen.):

It's really nice to have a super organized house.  I always get plans and ideas but never have the drive to carry them out.  The kids always distract me, or the project seems too big to tackle alone.  While Andrea is here, we get an idea and work on it and while we're trying to finish that end up doing 90 other things.

So, if you ever need to clean out your house, ever need to re-organize a closet, invite a good friend over to help you do it.  Having someone to laugh with can make even the most disgusting task (we're changing out a toilet later on tonight) seem like a lot of fun.  

What? It's been 4 whole days?

It's been about 5 days since I've written anything.  At first, I was because I was busy, then, Thursday afternoon, Andrea's neighbor was working on their back yard and somehow took out the whole neighborhood's internet.  So besides bootlegging off of local businesses, we were internet-(and CABLE!!)-less for the rest of my time there.

I'm back in Corpus with Andrea.  And now able to give a little bit of an update...

Wednesday night, we had to bring some paperwork and medicine to Andrea's uncle.  He lives in Mississippi.  Before we could go, we had to drive to her mother's house on the other side of N.O. and pick up some things.  of course, we get distracted in N.O. and try to fine Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's house.  It's somewhere in the French Quarter and Andrea even knew the street name.  We cruised it twice and could not find a house that was celeb. worthy.  We ended up asking and found out the cross street, but by then, we had given up and went to find Marie Laveau's grave.  Andrea's husband gave us a graveyard name that he found on the internet, but we couldn't find it.  Instead, we decided to walk through a random graveyard and take pictures of the grave-sites.  Right before dark.  It was extremely creepy and I noticed on our return walk, we were much faster and much quieter than when we first came through.

We were going to return to N.O. on Friday with a google map of both places, but when we found out there was going to be a festival downtown and many streets were to be roped off, we changed our minds.  N.O. is hard enough to navigate when all the streets are open, we'd probably drive into the river if we tried.  Instead, we had a BBQ at her house and made lots of food.  Once it got dark, we took the kids out front and shot fireworks.  It was Aaron and my first time playing with them.  I did hold a sparkler, so be proud.  We only had one mishap, one of the fireworks miss-fired and went sideways instead of up, right at us.  We all screamed, the kids ran but no one was hurt.  After a few moments, even Aaron was ready to light more.

Saturday was our driving day.  We got a horribly late start because Andrea's husband is trying out a new job and he had to work until 5.  Even with a lunch stop and many "I have to go POOP"s from Aaron, we managed to get to my in-laws in nine hours.

Sunday, we all work up and went out to breakfast with Nick's grandparents.  It's a tradition.  Every Sunday, wake up early, go to Rolando's for breakfast tacos and then go shopping.  because Andrea had never been to San Antonio, we took her to The Market downtown.  It's basically a fancy flea market.  You can get anything there and it's a lot of fun to look around and see all the pretty things from Mexico.  

After shopping, Andrea, Zuri and I left for Corpus.  Aaron will be staying with my in-laws for two weeks to give me a break and he can play in their yard, which we don't have.  On the way down, we stopped to take a photo of the Ghostbuster's car.  Yes, a car that looks just like the car from the movie.  The house it's in front of seems to be abandoned and also has a hearse in front of it, but it's there, right off I-37.  The good news for me, Andrea was just as excited to see it as I was and got out to take the pictures while I sat with the car running just incase the owner of the house really was there and was a crazy with a gun.

When we got to my house, I gave Andrea the grand tour and instead of going to bed like we should (only 3-4 hours of sleep a night for the past week) we got the brilliant idea to clean out all my closets.  Four bags for Goodwill and three trash bags later, I now have very clean closets. 

This morning, we woke up and went shopping then out to lunch at Jason's Deli.  While sitting there eating our GIANT spuds we made plans on how to better organize my house.  We bought shelves, baskets, a filing cabinet and plastic bins.  Since about two this afternoon, we've been hanging shelves, re-arranging sofas, moving pictures and cleaning out my computer desk.  It's been six hours and my house looks crazy good.  At first I felt guilty for Andrea helping me do all this around my house.  But it turns out she really enjoys sorting through other's junk and getting free stuff out of it.  Kinda like yard sale shopping without spending any money.  As of now, I've given her a computer, an alarm clock, PS2 games for her kids, bunches of clothes and other little random stuff.

Tomorrow, we plan on making wall art for the new blank wall in my living room.  I'm thinking of going to Hobby Lobby, cutting fabric and mounting it to a wooden frame I'll make.  I'm so picky about art, this might be the only way I can find something I like.

Tree Guys and Trampoline.

For some reason, when we're together, Andrea and I can't have a normal evening.  The past 3 nights have had a lot of interesting things happening in them, so much going on that I've had problems keeping up with the photos and my blogging!

On Monday, Andrea had some men come out to her house to start clearing out the trees so they can level their yard.  Their home is in a flood zone and in order to make it safer for them and a place they can live in, they have a lot of yard work to do.  So, Tree Guy and Chubby Tree Guy came over at night and started cutting down the trees.  After they left, after dark had set in, Andrea and I went to the Daiquiri shop, where it was $6 large (32oz)  drinks.  We each got one, planning on going home, chilling at the house, sipping our drinks.  Well, her older two kids were up.  One is 12 and the other is 14.  Andrea is the type of mom who has one of those relationships with her kids where she can talk to them and they can talk to her.  Nothing is out of bounds, as long as you're showing her respect.  32oz of Daiquiri and an hour and a half later, Andrea and I were hyper, but not drunk.  Did I mention it was around 2 a.m.?  

For some reason, one of us got the brilliant idea to jump on the trampoline.  Probably me.  The boys came out with us and jumped as well.  Then they got the camera.  Great...

After that, the boys thought they'd teach us how to dance.  We have no rhythm.  But I have a recorder, and I got Andrea dancing... Making an ass of herself.

Okay, enough of that.

On Tuesday, Tree Guy and Chubby Tree Guy came back.  I forgot to mention earlier that there is an unwritten rule around here.  When people do work on your house, you buy them beer.  Not that Tree Guy needed it, he came to work every day pretty toasty.  At least they were the cheapest in the phone book.

Tree guy insisted on scaring the shit out of us.  By climbing 60 feet up in the air and hanging upside down and other freaky shit.

He also insisted on Andrea cutting down the tree.  I decided to hold the camera, especially when he told me to get on the rope and help pull the tree down.  Umm, no.  You're getting paid, not me.

Last photo, a pic of Andrea, posing with Tree Man.

You would think it'd end there.  But no, not when we're together.  At midnight, Andrea, her sons and I decided to get Taco Bell.  When we get to the intercom, none of us, but Andrea has a clue what we want.  She orders food for a platoon and then turns to me.  I put mine in as well.  She asks her sons what they want and we get the usual, "Ummm, I don't know" and Andrea yells at them, "What do you fucking want??"  I think I heard the guy in Taco Bell laughing.  The boys order, and we pull around, only to have both of them say they want more.  Damn teenagers.  So we get to the window and add onto our order.  Taco Bell guy is of course, trying not to fall over he's laughing so hard.

Ten minutes later, pulling into the driveway, Andrea realizes she didn't get her drink.  Instead of doing the 'normal' thing, and drinking the damn drinks we have already in the fridge, we decide to drive all the way back and get her drink.  Because you need Pepsi with Taco Bell.  (That's according to Andrea).

Pulling off the interstate, Andrea screams "Is that my tree guy???"  And it was!  Walking across the street, with a bagged beer in hand, is drunken Tree Guy.  We roll down the window, scream "Tree Guy!!!!" and his lanky ass comes running up to us.  With blood on his nose.  According to him, he was sitting on the side of the road, drinking his beer, when a dog ran up, bit him on the nose, and ran off.  Awe, tree guy, don't lie.  You fell down.  You drunk mo-fo.

We did get our drink.  And Taco Bell Guy was laughing his ass of at us, but I think it was more so because drunken Tree Guy was sitting on our hood yelling "Everything is bigger in Texas".  They even gave me a free lemonade.  We dropped drunken Tree Guy off at the side of the road (he lives in a motel... a real winner that one) and went home for our Taco Bell feast.

Yum.

Photo Journal, New Orleans

Andrea and I went to N.O. on Sunday.  Mostly because the N.O. you see at night is very different from the one during the day.  The night is full of drunken debauchery, and the day is full of culture.  It's hard to pick a favorite.  While I went mostly to take photos of the buildings, I managed to get a few of the atmosphere:

We also went and took photos of two large catholic churchs

St Joseph:

St Louis Cathedral:

While in St Louis, we managed to set off the alarm.  It actually happened when we opened the door to the sanctuary.  I call it the heathen alarm.  They must have known.  

A nun working the gift shop told us that it did that randomly and by opening the door, we couldn't have set it off.  That made us feel only a little better.  Finally we found our courage and actually went in.  The inside is just as beautiful as the outside

The Sanctuary:

I took a few random photos of the buildings as we walked around.  I really do love how the buildings look.  There is a lot of detail work in them, even the 'common' buildings.

Random Buildings: