Sneaky

I like to capture pictures of my cats with the cell phone, because they are often not cooperative when I try to take a picture with the digital. Here are my favorites:

Gavin:


Leo:


Colin:


Man, I love these furry furry faces so much.

Careful, she tends to wander

I have finally gotten a chance to breathe at work, so I have time to update. L has not been feeling well lately - her wisdom teeth are really bothering her - so I've been carrying the department for the past couple of weeks. She gets them out on Saturday, so hopefully things will be back to normal next week.

My little bro had a birthday yesterday, and I forgot to call him. I don't think he'll be upset, but I'm going to call him as soon as I get home tonight. I have written this on my hand in red Sharpie marker so I will not forget again.

And now, a funny story:

When I was very young, I had the bad habit of wandering away from my mom in stores. I was so short, that in order to locate her, I would look for strollers, because she would usually be pushing my brother around while browsing. On more than on occasion, I would latch on to the nearest stroller, eventually looking up to realize that the woman pushing the stroller was not my mom. So off I'd go to find her.

Well, I have not outgrown this bad habit, as I proved while grocery shopping with Dave the other day. He was pushing the cart and picking out green peppers right next to me, while I was browsing the bagged salad choices. My decision being made, I placed the lettuce mixture into the cart. And heard a "Hi," causing me to look up at Dave. Only it wasn't Dave. Or the cart he had been pushing. I made my apologies, grabbed my salad and scurried off to find Dave. Mortifying! I finally located Dave and told him what had happened and he laughed and asked if he needed to hold my hand so I wouldn't get lost or go home with the wrong guy. hahaha. My new tag-line: Keep an eye on that one, she wanders.

*****

We took all five animals to my Mom's house over the 4th of July holiday. I am impressed with how well-behaved everyone was while in the car for over 5 hours. Gavin and Leo were a little impatient with one another a couple of times, and Colin got carsick on the way down to mom's, but that was it for problems. I think it helped that they were all in carriers: three cats in a medium-sized crate and two dogs in their big crate.

I was able to visit with family I have not seen in a while. It's always a little strange because I do not have much in common with the majority of my family. I do not think we would associate with one another if we weren't related. Plus, living so far away and not seeing them often always makes it awkward when we do get together. I am glad I got to see them, though.

We stayed home last weekend and tried to clean house a little bit. We hadn't done much of anything since Dave's parents left, so it was high-time to get our butts in gear. I will be doing the same tonight, since Mom will be here from Florida this weekend. She is flying out to California to visit Chris for a (slightly late) birthday celebration. This will be the first time that Mom has ever visited Chris and I think it will be good for both of them. Although, I really hope he cleans at least a little bit before she gets there.

Well, that's it for an update. Soon I will be sharing info about our garden and whether or not I passed the motorcycle driving test. Wish me luck!

I am in love with a robot

This one, as a matter of fact:


(© Disney/Pixar)

I saw Wall-E over the weekend and it was one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. I think the story was well done and the graphics were everything we've come to expect from Pixar and more. Wall-E is such an endearing character because he is so flawed and hopelessly romantic...wishing for more than his lonely existence on earth. Plus, look at that little robot face! What's not to love? Go see it. I promise you will enjoy it and it will be worth your ten dollar ticket and twelve dollar popcorn, candy and coke combo.

What else? Oh, it stormed last night. It hasn't stormed that hard since...well...oh, yeah, since I rode my motorcycle home on the day my in-laws were arriving from out-of-town. What was so neat about this storm, though, is that it was threatening all afternoon while Dave and I went and ran a few errands. Right when we pulled into the driveway, it started raining really hard. It waited until we were home to really get rough. We were already eating dinner when the lightning started, so we hurried to get done so we could watch the show. In Florida, we had severe thunderstorms all the time, but here in Georgia, they are rare. Mostly, it is just hot. And humid.

So the storm was short-lived and Dave and I watched it from the safety of our garage. Then, when it was all but over, the sky turned this amazing orange color (due to the setting sun) and there was a rainbow and also the departing lightning. So I grabbed my camera and captured this:


(Click here to see the lightning in action.)

A few random things...

I have been busy, internet, and I've been neglectful in my blog updating. But yesterday Kaylee had another seizure. She is fine; she snapped right out of it after a few minutes, just like the last time. I remembered that I recorded the first two instances on this here little blog, so I figured I'll just use my blog to keep track of her seizures from here on out.

Okay, now that the bad news is over with...here are five fun things I have been up to:

1. I finally saw Sex in the City and I'll admit, it was pretty good. A lot better than I expected it to be, since the reviews have been so mixed. I actually enjoyed the story and felt that the writer(s) did a good job of keeping it real. My only complaint is how much of a bad guy they made Miranda, but whatever. It really doesn't bother me that much. Dave went to it with me, but only because he did something that I could have held over his head for a very long time and he used this movie as a way to make me promise never to mention the incident again. So, I will make good on my promise and not even mention what he did here. But I wish I could because it was golden blogging material!

2. I have now seen all of the Bourne movies and I like them. The Bourne Ultimatum is my favorite. Are they coming out with a fourth one? I really hope they are. I love me some Matt Damon as Jason Bourne. Or David Webb. Or whoever he wants to be, really.

3. I have read three books in the past week or so and I am currently working on Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes. So far so good! The one I just finished was the fourth book in Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas series. I thin kit is called Odd Hours. Originally, I tried to check it out at my local library, but they take forever to get new books. The library man said a lot of people had been asking about that one, so I decided to donate it when I was done reading it. I'm so glad I did, but I wish they had counted it toward my late fees.

4. I have become something of a bad ass at Assassins Creed. I am not much of a gamer, but Chris bought me this game a while back and I just never made the time to play it. So now that gas costs a fortune and I can't afford to go anywhere or do anything fun that requires spending money, I am searching for entertainment closer to home. And I have discovered that playing video games is a cheap thrill. And so is assassinating people, apparently.

5. I am now riding the motorcycle to and from work every day. And I rode it to the library. I am getting to the point where I am actually enjoying riding and am no longer fearing for my life every time I gear up. Of course, it has been in the 90's around here lately, so that kind of takes some of the fun out of it. Motorcycle gear is hot. (Haha, I typed hott, at first. I guess it's that, too.) I just keep telling myself, 70 mpg!

Sometimes, I just don't know. And that's okay by me.

The in-laws are officially gone and now I want to just curl up somewhere soft and warm and go to sleep for about a week. Like a cat. I am so tired, but I did it to myself. I do not have any leave left, so I had to work while our company was here and I stayed up late visiting each night. YAWN.

The visit was nice, though I am always amazed at how differently Dave and I were raised. Dave's mother is very mothering, always wanting to know what is going on, hanging on every word, following him around. So completely devoted. This is completely opposite me and my mom and I just don't know what to think, sometimes. Things she did while she was here that my mom would never, in a million light-years, would do:
1. All of our laundry. She even washed the sheets from our bed yesterday.
2. She prepared dinner the first night she was here.
3. Dusted.
4. Made our bed every single day.
5. Walked into my room while I was changing, immediately after knocking, but without waiting for a reply.
6. Insisted on camera help.
7. Removed the teapot from the stove top every time we left the house. I would remind her that the teapot lives on the burner (turned off, of course) when she is not here, but she needed to put it elsewhere.
8. Went grocery shopping.
9. Packed lunches for our trip to Dave's games on Saturday.

Dave's dad is a lot more laid back and a lot less officious. He's quiet, an observer and a hard worker. He likes to stay busy busy busy and while he was here, he:
1. Helped Dave cut down trees. I think more than two, but less than five.
2. Planted even more stuff in our garden and flower boxes.
3. Burned leaves, brush, branches and logs from tree removal.
4. Burned our Pampas grass. "They will grow back even better. Like a phoenix."
5. Tilled our front island and removed the old pavers.
6. Helped Dave take the old refrigerator to the dump.
7. Moved my old futon mattress into one of the guest rooms, under the bed. We threw the frame away years ago, but I like the mattress and want to keep it for company or to use in a new frame someday.
8. Helped Dave with attic stuff.

Just typing all of this is making me tired. Okay, Yankees, you win. This southerner needs sleep!