Tot's Thoughts

Christmas Tip: Tree Lights

2010-11-23T17:07:00.000-05:00

I love Christmas tree lights. I don’t know as that one can ever have enough. In fact, my parents finally set a rule for me when I was growing up that I couldn’t have light strands totaling more than 1,000 lights in my bedroom. I’d take a staple gun & weave them across my ceiling, around the walls, on multiple small trees in my room, etc. Dad called it a fire hazard; I called him Scrooge. Potayto-Potahto.

At any rate, lights can be a royal pain in the butt to get on a tree—and pre-lit trees never have enough for my liking. So, I came up with an alternative to this dilemma a few years back. My solution: icicle lights. Yes, those very same lights you can put outside of your house also make for a quick fix to an under-lit tree. (Make sure you get the ones with the green cords & the same light color as those already on your tree.) While I do love clear Christmas lights, I do make the exception to do solid-colored lights when it matches the tree’s décor. For instance, I have blue lights that I put in the center of the tree (so that it glows on the inside) when I put my blue-themed ornament set on it. Then I put the clear icicle lights on it, so as to not overdo it with the colored kind.

How does this work, you ask? I shall tell you, kind reader. Fret not. First, you can eliminate any visions you may have of these strands of lights just dangling willy-nilly to and fro from the tree. That’s not what we’re going for here. Refer to my Christmas Décor blog entry for a picture of my tree. That should give you a picture of what we’re going for:

http://kadertot.blogspot.com/2010/11/christmas-tip-decor-purchasingdecoratin.html

What you’re going to do is, starting at the bottom, somewhat loosely wind the icicle lights around the tree, using the back of the tree to hide plugs, transitions to other branch rows, etc. Then, you start at the bottom and work the lights into the tree. Slide the cord back in, working the dangling strands into the branches, so that you get more lighting from the inside out. Don’t let them drop down or dangle or anything—just weave the cords into the branches. You may find that, when you get to the top, you have extra length. That’s just fine—work it back down the tree, making sure to stretch it out as much as possible so that it doesn’t look like a huge cluster of lights on one section and not on the other. It’s a super easy solution to adding hundreds of lights to the tree while only using a couple of strands. (If it helps in determining how many you need, I have two strands—not sure of length, but whatever’s standard—for a 7.5’ tree.)

The other part of Christmas lights that can be frustrating is when it comes to storing them. Many end up with globs of lights that are knotted together and just total messes. There’s no need for it when there’s a free solution. Get a cardboard box and cut the lids flaps off of it. (The bigger, the better.) You can cut a small inlet on the edge of it, in which you would slide the end of the cord that has an open plug, giving it an anchor point. If you don’t cut the inlet, no biggie. The cord will stay in place when you get it wrapped around the flap enough. Pull the cord as tight as possible while you’re wrapping it—and wrapping the long-way on the flap works the easiest. Be absolutely sure that you start with the open socket, as you want to end with the actual plug. That way, when you go to use them the next time, you’ll have the end that you need right off the bat, without having to unravel them to get to the other end.

To secure the end of it, take a couple of feet of the cord and wrap it around the flap from side-to-side so that it pulls the wrapped lights that went on end-to-end towards the flap and keeps them more secure. Then, tuck the end into one of the loops. When you go to put the lights on the next time, you simple have to untuck that end, unravel those couple of feet and then you can unravel the rest of the lights as you work your way around the tree. It works the same when you go to take them off—ravel them onto the flap as you undecorate. You are saving yourself a bunch of time and headache by doing so!

Christmas Tip: Tinsel Alternatives

2010-11-20T23:13:00.000-05:00

Growing up, my parents had this shaggy metallic tinsel (that most likely was NOT fire resistant, now that I think about it) that somehow lasted years and years. And by years and years, I mean I think my mom still has some of it in her Christmas boxes even today. When the tinsel rope broke, we taped it. (Not only were we poor, but we had no shame either. Sometimes this can also be a lethal combination, as evidenced by 95% of Wal-Mart’s customers…) The tinsel was in gold, silver, a gold and silver combo, red and blue. And we used it all. On the same tree, no less. (I prefer to call that look “traditional”.) At the time, it was probably quite stylish. In case you missed it, it isn’t stylish today. (Neither are those “icicle” metal strands you fling on tree branches. Nor is flocking…though I do have a good story about that from my high school days. I’ll save it for another day.) And, unless you have a five-year-old, popcorn strands are also out.

So then, you wonder, what can you use instead?! Many things. Many, many things. A naked tree, even, is more preferable than to use that shaggy tinsel. But, here are a few alternatives that have worked for me or others I know:

1) Ribbon. You’ll most likely need to get the wired ribbon, which admittedly can get a bit pricey (again, buy post-Christmas and save it for the next year). That tends to create the best look. And, if you’re handy at tying big, beautiful bows (I’m not; gratefully, Artis is), then you can buy lots of it and also make a tree topper out of it so that you have a more coordinated look & not some freaky glowing angel with a plastic skirt looking back at you from the top of the tree until you take the tree down. Be sure to buy very neutral colors on this (golds, silvers—red or green if you’ve got a more traditional look) so that you can use it for some time without it looking out-of-style. (To store it, keep the rolls it came on & re-roll it on that. Alternatively, you can cut a flap off of a cardboard box and use that as the core around which you wrap the ribbon.) You can either do ribbon in circles around each row of branches, or you can do ribbon cascading down the sides of the tree from the top—which is another great time to use a bow tree topper with the same ribbon.

2) Bows. I suppose you could do bows in addition to ribbon strands, but that could go bad very, very quickly. So, it’s best to do one over the other. The nice thing about bows is that they’re usually a little easier to store (though they do require re-fluffing from having been flattened) and you can vary bow sizes on the same tree (just don’t get too crazy with it). You can also use more patterned ribbons on this & it won’t look as insane as if you were to use the same patterned ribbon in rows around the tree or cascading from the top. Be sure to get the floral wire for this, as you will need to be able to secure the bows to the tree itself. (Plus, floral wire is really thin & isn’t noticeable against a green tree.)

3) Picks. When I bought my first grown-up tree décor a few years back, I came across some decorative picks at the store. There were really long sticks with silver pinecones affixed to the ends of them, along with picks of silver tree branches and also long, coiled decorative silver sticks. I imagine that each of these items was originally intended to be used in large floral arrangements, but I found that they work great on trees too! They add a fun dimension to it. The sticks tend to be hidden at the center of the tree by the time you put on all the other ornaments. With the ornament set I bought last year, I bought cranberry picks that were designed to be used on gift boxes. They have much shorter sticks on them, so it was a lot easier to work with & yet accomplished the same goal. You see the cranberry groups sticking out of the tree here and there, giving it a fun look while not being nearly as glaring as silver tinsel that’s been taped together. Another good type of “pick” you could use would be peacock feathers. (Again, it’d be for a very specific look. But, it would add another dimension and some fun color.)

4) Bead strands. I’m not talking about Mardi Gras-style bead strands here. You’ll need to find ones that are specifically designed to go around Christmas trees, but when done correctly this can be a really elegant touch.

5) Feather boas. Now, before you think I’ve lost my mind, hear me out. How, you ask, is a feather boa any more stylish than taped-together tinsel? It is when it’s part of a very specific look & when done well. I would not recommend doing a feather boa on a regular pine tree. You need a colored tree—silver, white, black, purple, pink, blue, etc., to pull this one off. You’re also going to have to go with a really elegant look or a really playful look. Anything in-between would be disastrous. You’d probably end up looking like a psychotic hooker attacked your tree. And that’s never a good look. Instead, consider doing a white tree with black feather boas, clear lights and gold & silver ornaments. Or, do a purple tree with pink feather boas, lime green and bright blue ornaments, and solid-colored lights that match. (I’m not a fan of multi-color lights, so I’m a strong advocate for solid colors.)

Remember, regardless of which method you use, put it on the tree before putting on the ornaments. Tinsel, or tinsel alternatives at least, can really make a tree’s overall look come together. I can’t wait to see what I find at the post-Christmas sales this year!

Christmas Tip: Decor Purchasing/Decorating

2010-11-15T16:42:00.002-05:00

Greetings!

So, I was a busy little bee this weekend & got one of our Christmas trees put up and decorated. I know, I know…it’s not even Thanksgiving. But, here’s the deal—if I didn’t do it this weekend, it wouldn’t have happened. And I’m not about to skip putting up my Christmas tree. The next several weeks are jam-packed, so it was a necessity—and a fun necessity at that!

In putting up said tree, I was reminding myself of little tricks and tips here and there that I’ve either learned the hard way or acquired from various people over the years. (For those who don’t know me, Christmas is totally my holiday. Well, mine and Jesus’. I just lease the bulk of my share to Santa.) It was while thinking these things over that I realized it’d be good to write them down, which lead to the thought I should share them with others too, which lead to the thought that I’m a slacker at blogging & this would be the perfect thing to write about…as long as I can remember to do so. So, I shall share tips & tricks as they come to me. Some may come across as no-brainers, but hopefully something useful will be shared.
I should also warn you that, while I love to do things over-the-top, I am also quite frugal and always on the lookout for a good deal. Which leads me to one of the two tips I’m sharing today:

1) Buy your Christmas supplies a year in advance. I know it can be a pain to store things like wrapping paper & that it takes up space (under-bed sweater boxes work well for this purpose), but it’s well worth it to save. How? By hitting up the post-Christmas sales, of course. Target is my personal favorite for after Christmas sales & I usually buy once it gets to 75% off. Three years ago, I bought my first Christmas tree & all the decorations. I was out on my own & wanted to have a tree, of course, but I wasn’t going to pay through the nose for it. So, I waited out Christmas without my own tree & then loaded up. I spent about $250-300 total. What did I get? $1000-$1200 in ornaments, lights and a tree. You can imagine how much stuff I got. It’s ridiculous. My logic at the time was that if an ornament ever broke (they are a unique design), I’d never find a replacement. So, I bought out the leftovers of the entire line from two different Targets. Everything from tree skirts, area rugs, wall hangings, table runners, ornaments—all of it. In there, I got a 7.5” pre-lit tree that is quite nice and was normally $200. I paid $50 for it. Well worth every penny.

Last year, I decided that I may get sick of the ornament styles I bought & so I wanted to get an alternate style with which I could interchange the overall look. I spent about $125 (since I already had the tree and lights) and still loaded up plenty on a beautiful Swiss chalet-style set. That’s the look I went with this year. Since Artis & I combined households and we each had a tree, we put mine upstairs and positioned it such that you can see it from the entryway too. It looks great, if I do say so myself! I couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out.

Anyway, I know we’re all very much a “want it now” society. But, if you can wait it out and buy post-Christmas—and not just intend to, but actually do so—it’s so worth it. I have $1600-$1800 of Christmas décor for one particular tree & my out-of-pocket cost in a three-year period totaled $400-450. Not too shabby, I say!

2) Tree decorating tip: Start big, end small. This may seem like one of those no-brainers I mentioned, but it surprises me by how many people clearly get it wrong—and you can tell this just by looking at a tree. When decorating, after putting on your lights and tinsel (or tinsel alternative—I’ll save that topic for another day), put your largest ornaments on first. Do not go astray and start putting little ones on too. Sort them out by size & get those large ones on there. Once you have all of those positioned, then you can fill in the empty spaces with the small ornaments. If you have small ones you want to make sure go on the tree, put those to the side and make sure you position those first, after placing the larger ones. If you have too many small ones you want on there, you can always go back and remove larger ornaments you feel like you can ultimately do without. It can be likened to a haircut—you can always take away, but you can never put back. In this case, you can never give the tree back some open space if you didn’t plan for it in the first place. It looks ridiculous & you can totally tell when someone first put on all the small ornaments & then later tried to cram on the big ones. Avoid this visual disaster.

And here, dear friends, is a picture (using my phone’s camera, so it’s not exactly brilliantly done) of the upstairs tree I did yesterday:

Sickening.

2010-11-13T00:53:00.000-05:00

(Warning: This is not a happy blog entry & deals with a very sad crime involving a child. I have so many emotions going through my head right now that I have to get them out somehow if I ever hope to be able to fall asleep tonight. Thus, this entry...)

Back in college, I volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) to help ensure that the needs of abused children were being brought to the attention of the court as the various proceedings took place. The volume of training for this included some heart-wrenching information & statistics that to this day, I cannot fathom. All of those feelings of shock, profound sorrow for the abused innocent children and utter rage for those who would heap such abuses upon them all has come back to me each time I read an update on a local news story that involves ten-year-old Zahra Baker.

Zahra, who looks as sweet as can be, had bone cancer & as a result of this, she ended up with a prosthetic leg and hearing aids in both ears. Her biological mother lives in Australia & hasn't seen her since relinquishing custody when Zahra was a baby, due to post-natal depression. Her father & step-mother, meanwhile, live here in NC. The step-mother seems to be straight from Hell--to the point that multiple neighbors and family members have said in various articles that they told her to not beat Zahra, but she wouldn't listen to them. (At one point, the step-mother beat the poor child so hard that her own hand became injured.) Because the step-mom kept them moving around so much, Child Protective Services was not able to investigate...nor did anyone physically remove her from the situation.

In these moves, it apparently allowed for her step-mom (and possibly her dad) to kill her & no one would be missing her or notice she was gone. Her prosthetic leg had been found a week or two ago, her mattress was located in a landfill not too long ago and her remains were found today. Initially, they tried to stage it as a kidnapping--the step-mom wrote a ransom note trying to make it appear like someone had meant to go to her husband's boss's house, rather than theirs. (It was a ridiculous plot and only went downhill from there.) Instead, Zahra had apparently been long dead & no one can confirm having seen her for the last few months.

The abuse heaped upon this poor girl, who had already endured so much with just her health issues alone, is almost too much for my brain & heart to handle. What makes it all the worse is that this beautiful little human being went missing and no one besides her parents even noticed--for months! I understand logistically, given their frequent moves & no family close by, how this could be--but it still just doesn't make sense. Maybe it's not that it makes sense so much as it is that I wish that were not the case. I wish she had been noticed, not just when she went missing, but when she was alive & living under the same roof as a monster. I can only pray that she went quickly & did not suffer anymore than she already did in her far-too-few years.

I don't really know that I typically have strong feelings about the death penalty, but if I don't normally, I definitely do now. And even that does not feel like it's sufficient punishment for these two "parents". I know that Zahra's earthly troubles are over & that she is finally at peace--I just wish she'd known great happiness and peace in this life too. Meanwhile, I hope that justice is dealt swiftly & severely to those who were involved in this senseless murder. I just don't get it. I don't get how anyone can abuse another--let alone murder them--and particularly a child! It just makes me sick.

Anyway, I apologize for the depressing rant, but I needed to purge myself of some of these thoughts & feelings. Just reading the latest news article, announcing the discovery of her remains, has put me in such an upset state that I know I will have a hard time falling asleep & that my dreams will be horror-filled. Yet, I know that I'm fortunate, because for me it's just one night--for poor Zahra, it was every day and every night.

Bless her little heart; may she rest in peace!

Easiest From-Scratch Peach Cobbler EVER

2010-10-19T14:53:00.000-04:00

Greetings!

I know there's a peach cobbler recipe out there somewhere that involves a yellow cake mix, butter, and peaches, but I came across an even tastier & super easy recipe while trying to find the cake mix one. And, what's even better is that this one is made from scratch, so it sounds like you worked much harder than you actually did. That's always nice, of course.

So, I made the cobbler the other night and it was indeed really tasty--particularly the cake part of it. Yesterday, I went to the fridge to get some more of it (and was going to primarily make sure I got more cake than peaches) but then I opened the container to find that Artis had beat me to the punch & had eaten the bulk of the cake, leaving me peach slices. I was not amused. After lecturing him (and then later admitting I was going to do the same thing to him that he did to me), "we" (read: Artis) decided I needed to make another cobbler...but without the fruit. And I did. And it was amazing. And I discovered a cake that I'll now use for my strawberry shortcake recipe, in place of the butter biscuits I currently use.

You're going to laugh when you realize how easy this recipe is, so without further adieu here it is:

1 stick butter
1 C self-rising flour (important that it's self-rising)
1 C sugar
1 C milk
2 C sliced peaches, drained if using canned (though I'm thinking any fruit would be good in it)

Steps:
1) Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2) Melt the butter in a square baking dish. (I just put it on the stove and melted it directly in the baking dish so as to not dirty another pan)
3) Mix the milk, flour and sugar together until it's mostly incorporated. (it'll be a little lumpy)
4) Pour the batter over the top of the melted butter. Don't stir. (some of the butter will come up the sides and over the top of the batter; that's just fine)
5) Spoon the peaches on top of the batter.
6) Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top is lightly browned; the edges may brown a little more than the top, but you don't want the middle to be doughy so make sure it really has started to brown on top.

That's it. No, I'm not kidding. The thing about using the self-rising flour is that as it bakes, the batter rises and the peaches sink down. So, it turns into a tasty buttery peach cobbler. And, if you skip the peach part of it, just bake it a few minutes less and you've got yourself one tremendously easy and tasty cake. As previously mentioned, I plan to use this as strawberry shortcake cake, with sugared strawberries and my should-be-famous cream cheese whipped cream all piled on top of it. Mmmmmm.

I'm off to find a towel to dry off my keyboard, now that I've salivated all over the poor thing...

Cupcakes. (a.k.a. Imposter Cakes)

2010-09-28T23:23:00.006-04:00

As a typical rule, I am not a huge fan of cupcakes. I would rather have a cake. Why? Because there's more of it to eat. (Unless you are referring to a mini bundt cake. In those cases a cupcake may actually contain more substantive sweet content than said cake. On the flip side, "mini" and "cake" do not belong in the same sentence.) And, I don't like edge pieces, which is essentially what a cupcake is all the way around. I like soft and gooey center pieces. (While that reminds me of the current state of my mid-section, the soft and gooey center piece of a cake is MUCH more appealing.) At any rate, a cupcake connoisseur I am not. But that is not the case with Artis.

As sad as it is to admit, we have traveled 30 miles each way just to go to a cupcake shop for one single cupcake, simply because Artis had a craving. (Sadly, this has not been a singular event. However, the first time we did that it was also a great excuse to break in the Porsche convertible. Nothing like wind blowing through your hair and frosting flying into your face to make for a perfect summer evening...) In fact, Artis would eat cupcakes every meal of every day if he could. And not just any cupcake...vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting. I describe that as "boring". But, as one who is not a fan of chocolate, vanilla suits him best. By the way, don't even get me started on his non-love of chocolate. Let's just say that an otherwise-fantastic relationship has almost come to an abrupt end on more than one occasion because of his expressed disdain for the blessed food I so cherish...nay, worship...however, being the good Christian I am, I forgive him and allow him back into the fold/relationship each time. (But only after he bribes me with promises of Godiva.) Alas, I digress so as to get back to the subject at hand...imposter cakes.

About two months ago, Groupon had a special for a half-dozen cupcakes with free delivery from a local baker. (I say "baker" as opposed to "bakery", as I do believe the woman operates her baking operations from her own kitchen & I call that "kitchen" not "bakery".) It was a great opportunity to surprise Artis with a little gift. So, I ordered a couple of the gift certificates and used one to send him some cupcakes at work, retaining the other for use at a later time. (i.e., for me) My gift note read something like "Happy day, Honey Bunches! Love, me" I knew that Artis would know exactly who sent it, while still keeping his personal life private from his staff. (He's big on that whole separation of work and personal life thing. Therefore, one can imagine my horror upon discovering that the co-worker he most affectionately discusses at home did not, in fact, know he's gay & yet I had invited said individual and her husband to his surprise birthday party last year. There was an emergency conference call with his brothers over that one, which started with me saying, "Boys, what the hell have I done?! He'll kill me." Gratefully, it all worked out splendidly in the end and we now hang out with this other doctor & her glorious husband.) Again, I digress...

So, Artis got the incognito cupcake delivery & I immediately got a text thanking me for sending them, in which he also exclaimed that they were the best cupcakes he's ever had. Surely, I thought, he's just being kind so that I won't think he's ungrateful. However, once I got home I realized he wasn't being kind...he'd eaten all but two of the six cupcakes in a matter of a couple of hours. On my drive home I'd had a phone conversation with him, in which I'd requested he save me at least a bite of these bits of gold with frosting. (He swore that each cupcake had at least one pound of butter in it. I suggested that logistically it would make more sense to assume the cupcakes were made with crack, rather than a pound of butter, in order to make them so addictive and yet small in nature. He relentlessly stood by his bulk butter claim.) He told me I'd need more than a bite & even offered up an entire cupcake to me. As previously stated, I'm not a cupcake fan, so I didn't think I'd really want more than a bite. And then I took that bite... I apologized later for eating 1/6th of the gift I'd sent him, but I just couldn't help myself. They were actually THAT good! So, it stands to reason that when it came time to decide upon his birthday dessert (his birthday is this coming Saturday), I would go the vanilla cupcake route...despite it being against my nature & all that is good and holy.

I managed to convince myself that I could make a superior cupcake, so I set out to find the perfect recipe. Have you ever tried to seek out the perfect cupcake recipe? Everyone seems to claim theirs is "the one". This did not help my cause. Eventually I decided upon a vanilla bean cupcake and was going to make salted caramel buttercream frosting. While tasty sounding, I just prayed the recipe would turn out to be correct, as there would be no time for a trial run. In entertaining, one of the rules of thumb is that you never use your guests as guinea pigs--particularly if it's the main dish being served. But, I was ready to throw caution to the wind (heck, I did it with the orange mustard lil' smokies we served at our Christmas party, and to much success at that) and even went so far as to buy a pastry bag and tips so that I could do more than just glob the frosting on with a butter knife. (Note: I have never used a pastry bag. That is how dedicated I was to making this venture a success.)

Along the way, I got another brilliant idea to incorporate (that I can't divulge here yet; I don't know that Artis will read this, but in case he does I don't want to ruin my surprise) and that sealed the plans to do the cupcakes. And then a funny thing happened...I got busy. I mean busier than normal. MUCH busier than normal. So, I scrapped all plans to be Marty Stewart (a clever nickname assigned to me by a coworker) and reverted back to ordering from the baker that produced those delicious crack-infused cupcakes. (I was also quite relieved when Artis said he'd rather go out than stay in for his birthday dinner, thus saving me from cooking an outlandish meal for 12 people. He's so good to me.)

All was lining up nicely...and then I came across this blog tonight during a moment of non-motivation (similar to the one I'm having now)-- http://mingmakescupcakes.yolasite.com/

Do most of those recipes/pictures not look incredible?! And easy?! It has me questioning my plans all over again & I'm all sorts of ready to crank up the Kitchenaid and break out the cupcake tins right this very second. (Granted, despite his dedication to the cupcake--he's requested we go out to get some three times in the last three days alone--Artis would probably murder me for waking him up, as his love for rest actually does outweigh his love for cupcakes. But only slightly.)

So now I face a quandary. Despite my schedule these next few days not easing up, do I still attempt to be the wonderful boyfriend & make a unique cupcake for him as an expression of love...or do I stick by the easier and safer route, keeping my order for the drug-laced cupcakes I know he'll love? Part of me feels guilt for leaning towards the latter option...but then I'm reminded of the fact that the ingenious custom birthday gift I got him cost what some would pay for a car payment in a given month. And my guilt is slightly lessened by this reminder. Does that make me a shallow and horrible person? I hope not. Perhaps I need to go on a cupcake run/eating binge to assuage my guilt...

Need empathy & compassion? Don’t come to our house.

2010-09-20T16:46:00.004-04:00

Well, don’t come to our house for that if I’m not home. I can be an empathetic & compassionate person. Artis, however, struggles a bit in this area, as evidenced by this morning’s melee. So, if one car is in the driveway and it’s not Klaus, just keep on goin’.

Bright and early, I was getting ready for work & brushing my teeth. I don’t recall exactly what I was thinking about at the time, but I’m positive that it was something angelic and harmonious. Charitable acts were surely involved. Meanwhile, a brute demon (aka Artis) lurked downstairs, watching television & thinking non-angelic and non-harmonious thoughts…probably wishing me harm. I was scrubbing away at my pearly whites when a contact lens wearer’s worst fear was realized...OK, maybe not WORST fear, but certainly not something one looks forward to…an eyelash went underneath my contact and was scratching away at my eye. I liken it to be much like a cat at a scratching post…it was ferocious. While I avoided screaming, I did have to immediately squeeze not one, but BOTH eyes shut because it hurt that badly!

Gentle reader, you’ll recall that I was in the process of brushing my teeth when this happened. In my haste to try to get this horrendous pain out of my eye, I pulled my toothbrush out of my mouth while the motor was still running & the toothbrush head was still spinning, because I needed both of my hands for this one. Not being able to see a thing, I was just sure I’d managed to fling white toothpaste specks all over the bathroom and the black polo shirt I was wearing.

I was able to squint my left (non-attacked) eye open enough to find my contact lens case, but then I realized my solution bottle was empty, so I ended up having to open a new bottle mostly by touch since I couldn’t keep my good eye open long enough to see if I was making progress with the beastly wrapper. I eventually got it open, got my contact into the case, and doused it with solution so it could sit while I assessed the situation. And it was not a pretty situation. Despite the eyelash floating in the solution-filled lens case, it still felt like it was in my eye. I eventually got the scratching to stop, but by then my eye was red & puffy. The base of my eyelid looked like it was filling with blood because it was so red.

Surely, I thought, an eye doctor will have nothing but supportive & kind words to say to make me feel better about what I’d just encountered. Even more than that, surely, I thought, the one I love will be ever-so sympathetic to my plight, and the feeling of cat nails being scratched across my naked eyeball will somehow be lessened by his kind words. The fact that both facets of an eye doctor & the one I love are embodied in the same personage just made it that much better. Or so I thought.

After cleaning off my dusty eyeglasses & getting them onto my face so I could see again, I made my way downstairs to tell Artis of the trauma he’d just missed upstairs. I told him that it was so painful that I momentarily thought that I may have to have my eye removed. And that there may have been blood. Rather than being met with any type of kind, sweet support, what did the beloved eye doctor say to me? He said, “Stop. I’ll hear none of this. Look—you must watch my favorite part of ‘Talladega Nights’! I recorded it for you to see.” What he didn’t realize is that it was a close call—I’d almost gotten to where I wouldn’t have been able to see this movie clip…or anything else ever again using my right eye.

And so, unsupported & rejected in sympathy, there I sat listening to the movie lines that held more importance than my vision…”Dear eight pound, six ounce little baby Jesus…”

Checking in.

2010-09-18T12:49:00.002-04:00

Hello, neglected blog!

It has been a crazy several weeks filled with travel, madness, illness, the backwoods of Georgia (I'll have to tell you about that in a later post), furniture shopping, painting, re-painting, excessive work and plenty of cheesecake. Today isn't any calmer (I'm about to go to Lowes to buy moving boxes so I can get packing the last of my apartment in order to be prepared for the movers...whom I still need to schedule for next month) but I did want to check in and say "holla!". Yes, holla. Just go with it. I'm also adding on a little side button, but I'm not sure if the design of it will work with the background of the blog. I like it so much that I may have to change the blog background itself...even though I like that too. Ack! I'm so tired of liking different designs and trying to make them work as one. It has been the story of my life as we continue to combine households & belongings. Let's just say compromise has been the name of the game lately...

Anyway, hope you're doing well!

~me

Kade the Horror Movie Survivor

2010-08-25T17:19:00.000-04:00

I was just reminded of something that happened Sunday night & while I wasn’t laughing at the time, I can now.

Artis’ brother, Mont, headed out for the night and said he wasn't going to be home until the next morning. Artis went to sleep & I was sitting in bed reading emails, but decided to leave Tobi out on her floor pillow for a while, with plans to put her in her crate when I was ready to go to sleep. Since Mont was gone & no one else was going to be in the house to rile up the girls, I left the bedroom doors open. And that was a mistake.

A little after midnight, both girls completely flipped out and started barking. I hadn’t heard a single thing to set them off. (When the garage door opens, for instance, you can hear it upstairs since it’s right underneath the master bathroom.) So, I told them to knock it off. That didn’t work and before I could even stand up, they were both out the bedroom doors and down the stairs! Tobi still isn't supposed to run or do stairs, so I went running after them. As I was heading down the stairs, I screamed, "Bitches, get your furry little asses back up here!" That didn’t deter them and they rounded the corner towards the family room and hallway that leads to the garage. I went running across the living room & dining room and right as I was about to round the corner, I saw the silhouette of a man coming in my direction. I let out a scream...and then realized the silhouette was of a man holding Tobi…and then realized that man was Mont, who had come home after all. He came in through the garage & I didn’t have the TV on or anything, so I don’t know how I missed hearing him, but the girls were sure on top of it.

Artis came downstairs a minute or so later & said that he had wanted me to go down first to face whatever scary thing was lurking there so he didn’t have to. He’s continually telling me that he doesn’t think I’d be good at defending myself if I needed to, so I thought that was rather interesting. So, I reminded him that I once took a Facebook quiz that determined that if I were in a horror movie, I’d be the one who survives. (He doubts its validity, but whatev. It came through Facebook; it must be true.) He said, “Right. Because running downstairs all by yourself in the dark & then standing there screaming when you see someone walking towards you is certainly behavior a horror movie survivor displays.” Whatever. I know I’d totally survive.

Anyway, Tobi got put in her crate for the night, I shut the bedroom doors so Matza couldn’t go running off again, and I went to sleep…with a baseball bat close by. Afterall, what horror movie survivor doesn’t have a baseball bat close to them?!

Really? I mean really??

2010-08-16T12:46:00.003-04:00

Greetings & salutations!

So, this weekend held a pretty full social calendar & lots of errands/to-do tasks. (It was to the point it all blurred together & I had to ask Artis last night what day it was. He, of course, thought I'd lost my mind--and I had. I literally could not remember what day it was & if I needed to get up early this morning. Sadly, I did. I hate getting up early.) In the mix of birthday parties, weddings and trips to the mall & every store known to man (aside from Wal-Mart, of course, as I'm now on my way to hitting my two-year anniversary of boycotting the place), we had a wedding dinner to attend for my former roommate, Erik, and his lovely now-wife, Kate. It was an absolutely beautiful ceremony at Duke Chapel, with the sun coming through all of the huge stained-glass windows so perfectly. The ceremony itself was truly personalized to them & their mixed beliefs & it was done really well. Artis' favorite part was the reading from "The Velveteen Rabbit". My favorite part not related to the ceremony was the organist playing "Canon in D" & "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring". It was amazing to hear it coming from all of the huge pipes all over the place. Anyway, it was followed by a dinner back in Raleigh, at which we were assigned to lucky table #13.

The food was fantastic & plentiful (just how it should be), the decorations were beautiful (they did black & white as their colors; white hydrangeas on black tablecloths looked particularly cool), and overall the company was great...except for the guy immediately to my left. I was not a fan of him. I don't even recall his name, but that's not relevant because I can certainly recall his actions.

It all started with him thinking that every word out of his mouth needed to be heard--and there were plenty--by the whole room and that every one of those same words was beyond hilarious. His one cue should have been when his girlfriend (bless her heart for dating him & being seen in public with him) turned to him and said, "Honey, no one cares." But, gentle reader, that was not enough for him. He missed the cue and kept on going. While I could regale you with stories of his horribleness, there are two funnies upon which I choose to focus:

1) The water glass. Artis & I were there before Slob (that's what we shall call him) and his girlfriend, Pitied, so I'd had a chance to drink from my water glass. Keep in mind that I'm addicted to Burt's Bees lip balm, so most glasses I drink from end up with a lip print. The glass on Saturday night was no different. Not only did it have my lip print on the edge, but it was half-empty too. Did this stop friend Slob from mistakenly confiscating my glass? No. Did it stop friend Slob from drinking from it? No. Did I attempt to stop friend Slob from doing so? No. OK, so I didn't stop him because I didn't see him with my glass until after the fact. I went to reach for my glass & realized it wasn't where I left it. That's when I put it all together. So, I told Artis to use the now-spare glass of water to the right of what should be his glass & I'd use his so that we were back on track. He said he didn't know if the glass next to him had been used (it hadn't--it was filled to the brim & lip print free), so to stake claim over his glass, he drank a little from it. For some silly reason he thought that would stop me. It didn't. I said, "Oh, thanks for testing it for me." And with that, I took his glass for myself, drank from it, & he had to get the new one. (Don't feel too bad for him--there was an open bar & he'd taken advantage of it, so the water glass wasn't the only beverage in front of him.)

B) The butter incident. I find butter to be one of those tricky things when eating in public. When too solid, one tears the bread while trying to spread it (trick: if it's an individual pat in a foil wrap, put it between your hands for a little bit; your body heat will warm it up enough to where it's spreadable & the foil will keep it from getting on your hands. I find I have to do this most frequently at The Cheesecake Factory, where they pretty much serve frozen butter every time.) or the butter breaks apart and little bits go all over the table (or on your clothes). When melted completely, it's all-too-easy to flick it while dipping & thus get oil spots on your shirt and the tablecloth. So, I thoroughly enjoy a nice whipped butter that is easily spreadable and not too soft. That was what was served at the dinner. It was perfect.

I passed the bread basket to Slob & he grabbed his roll and got a knife full of butter. He spread the butter on the roll, but then still had some left on the knife. At this point, a normal person would put the knife on the edge of their plate, use the butter on something else on the plate (like the roasted vegetables, for instance), or even scrape the remaining butter onto the edge of the plate if need be. Not Slob. No, no. Slob did one better--he took that knife & showed the tablecloth who's boss. Yep--he smeared his knife back and forth on the black tablecloth, leaving streaks of butter roughly 8-10" long to the right of his plate. I kid you not. It was one of those moments when you question your own sanity & if you really did just see what you thought you saw. I elbowed Artis; he looked over & his jaw dropped. That's when I knew I wasn't seeing things.

Combined with the girl across the table from me who says she isn't used to going to "those types of fancy functions" and didn't know which fork to use (there were two forks...the salad fork and the dinner fork. Not too difficult.), but said that it was because she was too busy in her line of work, saving lives as a CNA. I'm sure she does a great job & all, but really? Can't learn what a salad fork is compared to a dinner fork because you're a CNA?? Wow.

Anyway, it was a rather interesting dining experience, but we did have a great time overall & really enjoyed visiting with the two girls next to us and the guy seated between Pitied and CNA. They were all quite nice people...and they weren't using the tablecloth as their personal plate.

"It's a choice." So is me not punching your face.

2010-08-11T12:56:00.003-04:00

Greetings!

So, I have a gripe today. It has to do with ignorant people. I want to punch them. Hard.

For the purposes of this discussion (albeit one-sided, unless someone posts a comment...), I shall post the definition of "ignorant"; my focus is on the second listed meaning.

ig•no•rant/ignərənt/Adjective
1. Lacking knowledge or awareness in general; uneducated or unsophisticated.
2. Lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about something in particular.

The "in particular" in this case is not about gay marriage, which is of course one of the most heavily debated topics right now--it is simply about being gay in general. In thinking over much of the hate-filled debate (being flung by both sides of the aisle) in the gay marriage issue, it occurred to me that there is so much misunderstanding and confusion in definitions of basic concepts, only causing the whole subject to get more volatile. So, we're taking it back to the basics & I'm sharing my thoughts--with random & long tangents to be interjected, I'm sure. (Side note: I have been asked by several people what I think about gay marriage, but that will have to be another discussion saved for another day.)

Being gay. Well, it's definitely not for the weak. I do know that much. I also know I didn't choose to be gay. We'll get back to that in a moment. First, back to "being gay". In my opinion, this is where the greatest, biggest, hugest, most monumental confusion exists & it annoys me beyond belief at how ignorant people are in understanding the basics with this & in combining two separate components to make "being gay" mean anyone that's living a gay lifestyle. Once this ill-placed assumption is made, the scriptures start a flying & the hateful words are flung under the name of Christianity.

What people seem to forget is that there's a difference between a person being gay and a person who is gay who chooses to act upon those feelings. A HUGE difference. One is a sin; the other is not. When someone is tempted to do an action, there is no sin. Sin does not occur until a person actually moves forward with their temptation and completes said action. What's interesting to me from growing up with the strong religious surroundings I had is that so few people actually get that component--and I feel I know this because of all the thousands of members of my church that I encountered over the years & of all of the counsel I heard, only ONE person ever bothered to point this out to me--and so people needlessly waste time hating themselves for being tempted because somehow they're falling short. Not only should they not hate themselves when they act upon their temptation, but they certainly shouldn't be so hard on themselves when they simply have a temptation enter their minds. But that's not generally how it works--and I imagine this is the case in most religions.

Considering that, as a whole, our nation is filled with people who have religious backgrounds to some degree, it shouldn't shock me that this root misunderstanding leads to a whole heap of hatred spewing directed at others who are different from one's self, but it does (shock me, that is). Why? Because we, as a human race, should be bright enough to have gotten past this by now! Instead, we listen to others, believe without question what's told to us or what traditions are handed down to us. (In the case of self hatred due to basic temptation entering one's mind, I think it's more of a societal norm passed on, rather than a verbalized thing--though there are plenty of verbalized ways in which this attitude is manifested in sermons or religious lessons.)

So, in general terms (not even dealing with homosexuality), we have the bulk of people confusing temptation and actions for being one and the same, resulting in a tempted person being viewed as a sinner--even if they never complete the tempted action! It'd be like a person thinking of stealing a candy bar & being labeled a thief just because the thought entered their mind. This overall attitude leads a person to view themselves that way (resulting in no leeway for personal mistakes) & often that person is surrounded by others who would view/label them the same if they knew of the person's temptations in the first place. Because of this, most people are afraid to open up to others because of the judgment (perceived or actual) they'll face. This is why most gay people have a hard time "coming out". This is why many gay people choose to commit suicide over coping with this.

In some cases, it mentally is just too hard for a person to see that they will be OK and that they can get through this. When appropriate support systems aren't in place--and sometimes even when they are, though it's generally the former over the latter--and a person not only feels alone in the world, but that they will be hated by those around them if they only knew the truth, they hate themselves and believe that God must hate them too. It is then not at all unfathomable to comprehend why some would choose death over life. This is so incredibly sad to me--life is such a beautiful gift & I absolutely HATE that anyone would ever feel that death is the only option. Do I understand why they may feel that way? Absolutely. More than I care to think about, truth be told. But, it still saddens me to no end.

Alas, I digress. But, I hope you can see how dangerous this line of thinking can be and why certain things (like someone coming out) can seem more difficult than staying "closeted" about their challenges.

Back to the fundamentals of "choosing" to be gay...

I did not choose to be gay. I did, however, make a conscious choice to act upon it. Was it a difficult choice to act upon it? Yes and no. Yes because of my religious beliefs & my own judgmental attitudes; no because I knew it was the only way that I would ever be able to release my self hatred and find any level of peace within myself.

Saying that someone chooses to be gay is the same as saying someone chooses to be straight. You can argue that point with me all you want, but I'm telling you that being gay was as much of a choice to me as you (assuming you're straight) had in who you'd be attracted to. Why would I, particularly considering the social & religious ramifications prevalent in my life, have purposely chosen this? And, not only that, but I knew this about myself from a VERY early age--so early, in fact, that I couldn't have fully understood what making a choice like this meant, let alone understood how to stick to this choice into adulthood. Instead, I spent my years praying and fasting and praying and fasting and praying and fasting, all in hopes that I would "pray away the gay". I even tried bargaining with God so that he'd take away the thoughts & feelings that came to me all too naturally; that clearly didn't work. So instead I was told to change my natural attractions.

If it helps to mentally wrap your brain around the concept of changing the feelings of who you're attracted to, I'll use this analogy--think about how you feel about the opposite sex (again, assuming you're straight). Think about how you feel when you pass someone on the street, see someone at the mall, etc., and how naturally you are drawn to check them out, find some to be attractive, etc. If you're married, think about how attracted you are to your spouse--and how attracted you were to the various people you dated before finding him/her. Now, imagine that a large population of people told you that you're wrong for being naturally attracted to those people & that instead, you need to be attracted to someone of the same sex. Not only that, but you need to be attracted to the exact same degree--to the point you can see yourself married to them & spending the rest of your lives together. You literally cannot, even for a nanosecond, follow your natural attractions and instead you have to switch your entire self to only find the same sex to be attractive. Seriously stop and think about that for a second. Remove all your doubts that this is how strongly gay people feel--accept it as fact, even if just long enough to think this all through. Can you then see how telling someone they're making a choice to be gay is such a ridiculous statement to make? Can you see that a gay person is no different than you in that they have natural attractions just as strongly as you do--but that they are just directed differently? If you can't, then repeat the exercise until you get it, or at least somewhat get it, before reading on.

Now for the second part of my two-part point: acting upon being gay. So, go back in your mind for a minute to the moment when you understood how much of a non-choice it is to be gay. What do you do at that point? Do you swear yourself to a lifetime of celibacy? You could. Do you decide you'll never kiss a soul you're attracted to or go on a date? You could. Do you decide that you're going to date, but that your dating life will only ever consist of single dates so that you'll never get attached to any one person? You could. My point is that THIS is where you have your choice. While, depending upon your religious & personal beliefs, the choices may not really be that attractive or desirable compared to what others get to choose from, they are indeed still choices that you have to make. And, as I hopefully got the point across of earlier, those are the choices for which you'll be judged come Judgment Day--not for your attraction to the same sex. Will I be held accountable for the choices I've made and will make in life? Absolutely. So will you. Do I wish I'd had better options in some areas of my life? You bet. You probably do too. But, I didn't, so in the choices that I do have, one that I've made is that I'm going to live the best life I can with what I have to work with. That's all any of us can do.

So, after all of this, perhaps you can now understand how insulting it is for a gay person to be told that they chose to be gay. No, my friends, we did not. I daresay 99.9% of gay people wouldn't have chosen it if it was, in fact, ever a choice. As the debates continue about what rights people should have based upon their sexuality, I'd hope that if you didn't before, you will now stop for just a second and realize that the fundamentals of many anti-gay arguments are formed upon ignorance--that is, lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about something in particular. And my hope is that, whatever you choose to believe, your beliefs will be more soundly based upon a greater knowledge of what it's like for someone on the other side of the fence.

I've said my peace. Amen. :)

Tobi the Escape Artist

2010-08-09T13:53:00.003-04:00

Anyone who knows me knows full well that I love my dogs dearly...but I was about ready to murder Miss Tobi yesterday!

She still has around four weeks left of crate confinement before we can start letting her do a few stairs & get back into her regular routine. Once she is to the point she can do stairs, we still have 2-3 months before we can really let her get fully back to normal running around. However, she's antsy. And I can't blame her. I would be too if I got ran over and then was caged up, despite the fact I didn't do anything wrong in the first place. But, explaining that logic to Tobi clearly doesn't work. She just seems to think she's getting punished. And she's bored out of her mind. We give her toys during the time she is crated, but it's not quite as fun to play with them when no one is playing with you. We also make sure we keep her crated a minimal amount of time when we are home and able to have her lounge next to us.

She is pretty well trained to not leave the confines of her floor pillow & she's only on that if she's not right next to us on the couch. So, I don't feel overly sorry for her simply because I know how little her time in the crate really is compared to the time she spent crated pre-accident. But, I do still feel bad...especially when she does her pitiful whine. Yesterday, she was upstairs in her crate while we were getting groceries put away and cleaning; she carried on and on with "oooooooow oooooow eeeeeerrrrr" and then I'd say, "Tobi, stop." A few seconds later, we'd get another "ooooooooow ooooooooow eeeeeeerrrrr" echoing down the staircase. "Tobi, knock it off." Again, "ooooooooooow oooooow errrrrrr." "Tobi!" ...and then a defeated "err." I couldn't stop laughing; it was so stinkin' cute. She had to get the last "word" in.

Yesterday afternoon, however, I wasn't thinking she was so cute. We had a million and one (no exaggeration) errands to run. In-between some of them, we stopped by the house to drop a load of purchases off. The girls were just fine and still in their crates. We decided we'd better grab some lunch before tackling the rest of our to-do list, so we went up the road to a tavern we really like. After being there for about a half hour, Artis' phone rang and it was his brother, Mont, who had just gotten to the house. All I heard was Artis say, "She did what?! Is she OK?" My heart plummeted because I could just imagine it was one of the girls, but figured it was Tobi and that she'd somehow re-injured herself.

He hung up and said, "Tobi escaped from her crate and met Mont at the door downstairs." Now, I know that Tobi's crate door was latched & I know it wasn't that I just thought it was latched. If that particular crate isn't fully latched, it's noticeable. With a couple of her other crates, the mistake can be made. Artis asked me if I was positive I'd latched it & since I knew it had, we both started laughing at the fact she had managed to yet again get out of a crate. The last time she escaped crate confines, she had wedged her nose in the zipper closure and managed to get the door unzipped. She met us at the door of the garage as we were coming in, with a, "Hello! Welcome home!" excitement. We were home about a minute and then ran out for ten more minutes, putting her back in her crate before leaving & making it such that the zipper couldn't be opened the same way. So, when we returned and found her happily greeting us yet again, we were perplexed...until we saw that she had chewed through the vinyl mesh air vent on the crate. It was a collapsable travel crate, so I didn't expect it to be 100% perfect, but still...the thing died in a day. That's when we switched her to have a steel crate, hoping she didn't secretly have a file hidden with which she was going to whittle down the walls and escape again.

What really irked me about yesterday is that for her to be greeting Mont at the door meant that she went running down the stairs and across the hardwood floors. The few times we have let her walk in the house, she has to have extra support to make it across the hardwood floor without slipping. I just don't want her to re-injure herself or make it worse so that she won't make the anticipated full recovery. So, I had words with her about that. She'd better have listened.

Meanwhile, we had friends over last night & she got to be too much to handle, so I put her in her crate so she could still see everyone, but not be so crazy. We watched her as she put her paw through the crate door and batted at the latch to get it to slide open! That's when it was decided that we're going to have to padlock the door & that we'll leave the padlock unlatched, but situated such that she can't figure out how to get it off the door to where she can smack the latch open. If that fails (which it probably will after about a week), we'll then lock the padlock. Artis said that we may have to go with a combination one; I'm thinking that's fine, except that we can never say the code in front of her or she'll figure out a way to unlock it with the code.

What I don't get is that this 8-lb. monster has an incredibly sharp brain & can learn things incredibly quickly--yet she struggles when it comes to some of the basics like "shake" or "beg". Maybe if we make it seem like it's something we really don't want her to do, she'll actually start to do it. Does reverse psychology work on dogs? Hmmmm...

Latest Adventure: Homemade Vanilla Extract

2010-08-07T22:53:00.010-04:00

So, in case you didn't know it, I'm the attempted version of Martha Stewart. In short, I try to be domestic...and usually end up with pretty good results...but the struggle along the way is often a mighty one. The burden is great.

My latest attempt to be like Martha was when (months ago) I decided I needed to make my own homemade vanilla extract. Those reading this blog (aka Mom) aren't the intended recipients, so I'll also share that I'm giving this away as part of a goodie basket this year for Christmas. I happen to make pretty tasty biscotti (I drizzle it with chocolate--how can it NOT be good at that point?!), so my plan is to put together baskets for friends that includes a bunch of biscotti (a single batch makes around 60 pieces), a bottle of the homemade vanilla, and a recipe card for the biscotti. I, of course, will be using the homemade extract when making the recipe. I figure that this is a great gift for a few reasons: 1) it's homemade and from the heart, II) it's tasty, and C) it's cheap. I think it'll be around $10-15 total for the entire gift basket--and that includes the basket itself. The challenge I face each year when giving gifts (and one that I imagine most people can relate to) is that I want to give something great to everyone I know--but I can't afford to do all that I want to in the gift arena. This idea helps solve a few problems on that front & also allows me to more easily give couples gifts. (It's always hard to know if both people in a couple will like the same thing...and there are only so many movie night gift baskets one can give before it becomes tiresome.)

The interesting thing about homemade vanilla extract is that a single batch can easily last for years. How? By adding more vodka (or whatever alcohol one chooses to use) to the bottle as it runs low. The same vanilla beans, in fact, remain in the bottle. Sure, you can switch them out or add more in--especially if the vanilla starts to get weak--but the point is to use the same vanilla beans and allow the vodka to absorb from them and darken over time. The longer it sits, the stronger vanilla one has to work with. Rather than running to the store to spend a ridiculous amount of money for artificial vanilla extract that's full of sugar, one simply needs to put in a couple of ounces of vodka when the bottle's level starts to drop a bit. So, this is also the gift that keeps on giving. (Vodka can be surprisingly cheap, so it's really quite economical.)

I decided to make a picture tutorial of how to go about completing this VERY simple process. What you need is:

3 vanilla beans
1 cup vodka
1 bottle with a tight fitting lid
kitchen scissors
measuring cup

That's it. A few interesting notes about the top three items:

1) The vanilla beans can be purchased on ebay for really cheap--much cheaper than if you were to buy them at your local market. I paid $6.57 for 24 grade A Tahitian vanilla beans, and that included shipping. Things to look for: the vanilla bean should NOT be dry or brittle. You want it very pliable. I bought from a highly trusted seller that had a picture of their vanilla bean tied into a knot; this showed that it was indeed a pliable bean. You also only want to use Grade A beans; the country of origin doesn't matter so much, but I have read that Madagascar beans can leave an oily film on the surface. This is not the case with Tahitian, so I went with that.

2) The vodka does not have to be the top brand. In fact, I bought the cheapest. By the time the vanilla beans work their magic, the vodka quality doesn't matter. (Plus, blind taste tests have shown that most people can't tell the difference between the vodkas--and in the story I watched about it a while back, most of the testers actually picked the cheapest brand as their favorite for taste.) If you are concerned about the quality of the vodka, you can use a Brita filter & run the vodka through it a few times. This will lower the alcohol content some, but it will produce a higher quality. (Or at least that's what my research said; I've never actually drank vodka so I'm just going off of what I read from multiple sources on that one.) I paid $11.75 for 1.75 liters.

3) I bought my bottles at Home Goods. TJ Maxx, Ross, Marshall's, and any other discount home goods store probably has them too. You can use a mason jar & decorate it with ribbon, but my problem with that is that it doesn't make it very pourable. So, I found bottles that were both cool looking, had a tight fitting cork, and that had a pour spout. I paid $2.99 for each of them.

Now for the easy part--putting it all together. (Collecting the ingredients was MUCH more work for me than any of the actual assembly. I made my first-ever trip to the liquor store today, incidentally. Of the list of things to have, I only had the scissors and the measuring cup to begin with.)

First, assemble your ingredients. For most, that should be a no-brainer. Make sure your bottles have been washed & dryed too. This is everything together:

That is one dozen of the vanilla beans on the plate, but I'm only using nine of them since I'm starting with three bottles. I plan on making seven batches total, but I need to find more bottles first.

Begin by slicing each of the vanilla beans down the middle, leaving about an inch connected at the end. This is part of why it's so important to have pliable beans--it should feel almost like licorice. This is one split bean:

I left a little more than an inch connected on each one, but that's just fine. You could actually leave them unsplit & this would work, but just not as well or as quickly. This is all three beans split and ready to go in a jar:

Don't they look like dancing legs? Well, maybe that's just me...and I swear I didn't sample the vodka.

Next, put the beans down into each jar. It's also important to note here that a taller jar works best for this very reason.

Then, measure out one cup of vodka. (Be sure to use a liquid measuring cup with a pour spout.)

I realize you know what it looks like to pour a liquid into a measuring cup, but I thought it looked kind of cool so I took a picture anyway.

Once you have your cup measured, slowly pour it into the bottle that contains the vanilla beans. I would've taken a picture of that, but it's a little hard to do when both hands are holding onto bottles and measuring cups--plus, since I shake a lot anyway, the pictures were already tricky to do. So, just imagine me standing over the sink, pouring the vodka into the bottle. This is what the end result looked like:

The trained eye will catch the fact that the vodka doesn't cover the vanilla beans in this case. I think I had beans a little longer than normal, so I cheated a little and added more vodka to the bottle than what the recipe calls for. Will this throw off the whole thing? No. It will simply add a little bit of time for the liquid to turn the dark color we're going for. However, the difference in quantity was so minute (it was less than 1/4 cup of vodka divided among the three bottles in order to top all of them off) that it won't really matter. This is what they all looked like when topped off and corked:

Aren't they kind of cool looking? I can't wait to see them as they darken! It should take approximately two months before it's concentrated enough/dark enough to use in cooking. I wanted to make sure I allotted enough time to make sure that happens, so I've got about four months before I'll be giving these away. Once filled, they need to be stored in a cool, dry, dark area. Exposing these to light will reduce the effectiveness of the process. Also, do not put these in the freezer because that will also slow the process down significantly. Every week or two you'll want to shake the bottle. Otherwise, you just let them be.

A few side notes:
-Store any unused vanilla beans in an airtight bag or container. Alternatively, you can throw a vanilla bean in a container of sugar to create vanilla sugar. There are several tips & guidelines online for how to best do that, so you may want to read up on that. Vanilla sugar works great in baking.
-You don't need to adjust the quantity of vanilla used in any recipe if you're using this instead of store-bought extract. Use the exact same amount that the recipe calls for.
-This can last for years; if you notice that the vanilla is losing its color over time, simply add another split vanilla bean to it.
-You can use other types of alcohol in place of vodka. Each will create a unique flavor; vodka just happens to be the simplest to work with.

That's pretty much it--the first of my bottles are "brewing" in a cupboard & I'm looking forward to seeing it all happen. Hopefully this will make a great gift that will bring my friends a great quality baking product they can enjoy for years to come! As Martha would say, "It's a good thing." As I would say, "It's a great thing!"

Stubborn Tobi.

2010-07-21T12:27:00.003-04:00

My little 'fro monster is clearly feeling better. She hates being cooped up, whimpers and cries when she's left in her crate long enough for me to make my own dinner (she either has to be crated, held, or right next to one of us on the couch as long as we can quickly grab her if she tries to jump), and now she has started refusing to take her medicine.

We had been putting a little bit of peanut butter on one of her tiny treats before hiding a pill in the middle of it so we'd have less of a battle when it came time for her to take her meds--three times/day. And then she decided to get picky with the peanut butter. No longer could I pre-make all of the treats for the day in an effort to save time. She had to have just the right consistency with the peanut butter & it couldn't be remotely stale. If it wasn't to her liking, she'd simply open her mouth and let the treat fall out onto the floor. And then she'd just look at me with a "You failed. Try again." attitude. It reminds me of Goldie Hawn in "Overboard", when her butler, Andrew, serves her caviar that is not up to par. Put some golden tresses on Tobi and you've pretty much got the same scene. So, we made sure she had fresh peanut butter & that was going well.

I'm not quite sure what happened, but pretty soon that extra effort wasn't even good enough for her. She got to where she won't let even the freshest peanut butter pass her lips. So, rather than adding a foreign food (like cheese--in which pills can easily be pushed) to her diet & dealing with any ramifications from that, I instead decided to just give her the pill on its own. It's actually not a full pill--it's 1/4 of a pill that is just larger than a Tic Tac to begin with. So, it's a very small bit she had to be fed. You'd think it would be a relatively easy task. Not with Tobi.

Yesterday morning I thought I'd make the whole experience of me essentially shoving my finger down her throat a lot more fun by singing to her about how she needs to swallow her pill without spitting it out. I then thought that doing so operatically may be that much-needed extra special touch that would make her think, much like Lindsay Lohan must, "Oh, taking pills is fun! I can do this!" But, instead, it was met with Artis shouting from upstairs, "Is Tobi whining and screaming again?? What happened to her??" (She initially screamed a lot when she first came home. You'd just look at her wrong and she'd scream. Thankfully, we got past that.) I said, "No, she's not screaming. I was singing to her operatically about how she needs to swallow her pills without spitting them out." I almost added "Jerk." to that, but because I'm Kind Kade I held back. (My response to him was met with, "Oh. Oops." Yes oops, Artis. My singing--even when operatic and with medicine as the subject--cannot be compared to that scream Tobi emits from the depth of her being. Nothing on this earth can compare to that scream. She puts infants to shame with her vocal abilities.)

It only took two or three stanzas/tries before I got her to take the pill. It was relative success...but briefly lived. Last night, it took five times when I first got home before she'd not hide it somewhere under her tongue and spit it out as soon as I let her open her mouth. What's worse is that she spits it into her bushy beard, so I have to work at getting a soggy, disintegrating tiny pill out of this mayhemic hair. It's not an easy task--especially because she gets wiggling about and there are only so many ways to hold on to her right now. Last night's bedtime pill time was the worst yet; this morning wasn't a walk in the park either. So, I'm just glad that Artis takes care of the afternoon dose today--and that we only have four more days of pills to deal with anyway.

Meanwhile, I get to continue prying her mouth open, while trying to avoid her crazy razor sharp fangs as I shove a little speck of a pill down her throat. It'd be so much easier if she'd just go back to loving Jif. Maybe she prefers chunky...

It's the Weekend Update Not With Tina Fey!

2010-07-19T12:51:00.002-04:00

Here it is Monday already...is it just me or are the weekends flying by faster than previously felt?! I do not approve.

Meanwhile, it was a pretty laid back weekend, as weekends go for me. On Friday, Artis & I broke our own rule by making plans with friends. We went to dinner with the gang, rather than having our usual Friday night "QT with the Cutie" time. (QT=Quality Time) Because our lives get so insane, we found that it's easiest to schedule one consistent time that we can just hang out with each other. That time would be Friday nights. Sometimes we sit on the couch staring at each other, asking, "So, what should we do?" Other times we actually have plans to have dinner somewhere or to go to a movie, while still other times we simply dwell in the same space and watch the TV shows that we DVR'd during the week. (You can tell we live such exciting lives when we're camped out watching TV on a Friday night.)

Well, last week we were supposed to have dinners with two different couples but those had to be canceled due to conflicts. Therefore, we did get to spend a couple of evenings hanging out during the week, since I was not motivated to work and we had all this free time now with the two cancellations. So, when Artis said he wanted to go to dinner with a couple of our friends on Friday night, I was just fine with that. It turned out to be our whole gang (don't worry--we don't have an assigned color, so you're safe to wear whatever color you'd like to around us and we won't cut you) and we went for pizza at one of my favorite places, Moonlight. We always get their bruschetta, because it's the best thing on earth, and the Earth, Wind, & Fire pizza. (Grilled chicken, roma tomatoes, avocado.) But, we also usually get an extra loaf or two of the homemade bread they use to make the bruschetta. As was the case on Friday night. I had kind of a rough day on Friday, so I was in a cantankerous and anti-social mood, but I was happy to spend time with everyone and to get said bread.

On Saturday, I spent the morning doing errands (unfortunately, I couldn't get Tobi's pain meds since the pharmacy closed & didn't leave her Rx at the vet hospital front desk), then Artis sent a text saying he wanted to go to the matinee for "Inception". I got back to the house at 3 pm & he pulled up the showtimes, only to realize the matinee was at 3:15 pm. It's a good thing we live close to the theater. We made it in time to get most of the previews (Artis LOVES watching the previews; I hate them) and then we watched what I think is one of the most amazing shows to hit the big screen in decades! I should clarify here that I am not a sci-fi or fantasy fan normally. Harry Potter would be about my only exception to that & I was more in love with the books than the movies. In fact, I've never even seen all of the movies. So, for me to enjoy this movie so much was an anomaly. But, enjoy it I did! It was incredible. I love it when a movie makes you use your brain--well, sometimes I like those kinds of movies. Other times I just don't want to have to think, so brain numbing entertainment is in order at those junctures.

Anyway, we watched the movie & then went back home, where I worked and worked and worked. Oh and we went to dinner, where we learned (through eavesdropping on his convo with the table next to us) that our waiter is working towards an undergrad in eco-sciences, a degree with which he hopes to change how homes are constructed so as to lessen the anti-earth footprint construction leaves in an area. So, that was fun.

On Sunday, I woke up and made Artis & Mont my mom's French toast recipe and my grandma's Cinnamon Cream Syrup recipe to go with it. It is one of my most favorite breakfasts & not one I've shared with Artis before. Typically I don't share any breakfasts with Artis because during the week, I eat my Nutri-Grain bar & on the weekends, I usually sleep until at least 9 am and Artis gets up around 6 am. So, he's ready for lunch when I'm jumping in the shower to start my day.

I spent Sunday working (got lots done!) and then we went to dinner with a friend, prior to going to the Star Wars concert. Dinner was at a new place & I think I will happily frequent there. They were polite, relatively prompt, and the food was tasty, but what won my heart was two things: 1) They put hand sanitizer at each table! Genius! and B) They had four giant screens playing on the wall, with speakers and controls at each table so you could decide what you wanted to listen to and at what level. It was sooooo much better than loud blaring overhead to the point you can't talk to each other. (We had that very thing happen when one of Artis' optometry school buddies came into town and we took him to a pub downtown. We didn't realize it was karaoke night & it was literally so loud we couldn't scream to where the person next to us could hear us. It was awful.) Anyway, so ten brownie points to the restaurant.

Now, you know how I said that sci-fi and fantasy aren't really my thing? Yeah, so about that Star Wars concert. Not my choice or idea. Artis' company has a suite, so he got us tickets through that. I do enjoy orchestra music, so that was the draw for me. I did not, however, look forward to running into all sorts of creepy people in bizarre costumes. Gratefully, there were fewer than I thought there'd be, but that actually was a disappointment in a way. Because of our vantage point, I was hoping for copious quantities of photo opps. But that was not to be. Instead, we (two of Artis' friends joined us) had a fun time chatting, listening to the music, and an interesting time taking in the ambiance...which included an old man wearing a "My Lightsaber is Bigger than Yours" t-shirt in a size about two smaller than what he should've worn. I also did have fun running into an old coworker & his wife; it was great catching up with them.

After the concert, we zipped on out of there (I must say, the VIP parking and entrance were awesome--there's even a designated exit lane just for the VIP parking so we were on the main road in no time), and I went back home to work. Come bedtime, I was ready to murder Matza. Tobi and Artis went to bed at their usual early hour; Matza and I went to bed at 1 am. I got Matza into her new bed & she sat kind of funny. I whispered (so as not to disturb Artis) to her that she needed to lay down. She didn't budge. So, I shone my cell phone light on her only to realize the beast was peeing on her new bed!!! I about killed her. So, I got her and the bed out of the room as carefully and quietly as possible. I got Matz and the bed all cleaned up, grabbed one of her other beds from downstairs, and we attempted it all over again. She seems to have avoided urination on this one, so we were good to go. I don't know what gets into her sometimes.

Tobi, meanwhile, spent the weekend lounging and being clingy. We ran low on her pain meds and since the pharmacy had done all their mess, we had no choice but to space out her meds Saturday and Sunday. She seemed to be just fine though and is putting more and more pressure on her rear right leg. As long as I get her to hobble slowly outside, she'll take the time to use that leg a little more. Otherwise, she speeds along to do her business and get back in my arms so she can go back inside. We have one more week of pain meds and then we're through! Artis & I couldn't be happier about this. He usually goes home for lunch, but now he doesn't have a choice, since she has to have her afternoon dose. I, meanwhile, run around in the morning and evening to get each of the girls taken care of, fed separately, and in their appropriate spots (Tobi at Artis', Matza at mine), etc. It's exhausting. At least the meds being done and over with will remove one component of that saga. In crappy news, however, the hospital "forgot" to bill me before for one of the surgery fees, so I got an $1100 bill on Saturday to add to the other craziness this all has cost. Sigh.

And that is my weekend in review. I'm now off to look into this whole money tree growing thing, so as to be able to pay for Tobi's vet...

A night straight from the circus book.

2010-07-12T17:49:00.002-04:00

Well, it was an uneventful eventful weekend, if that makes sense. Maybe saying "uneventful busy" makes more sense. Either way, nothing overly crazy happened, but we sure stayed busy. Last night, however, did get a little crazy for a bit.

Tobi is doing a lot better (doubling her pain meds did her a world of good) and isn't doing her handstand walk nearly as much. In fact, this morning she even used her right rear paw to get some balance! It was a nice moment because she hasn't done that since leaving the hospital. She did that more and more before leaving the hospital, but once she was off the IV meds and the oral ones weren't as effective, she immediately regressed and refused to put her paw down at all. We spent lots of time holding her and letting her sit on the couch next to us throughout the weekend so she'd not feel like her life was nothing but staying behind bars and being fed medicine.

In the past, Tobi hasn't been so bright and has failed to realize she could escape during the times when I accidentally leave her crate unlocked. So, last night I didn't think anything of leaving it unlocked while I took Matza out first to do her business--especially since Tobi's not a big fan of movement right now anyway. I adjusted Tobi's bandages, left the crate unlocked, and then went out of the room for just a minute to grab Matza's leash. When I returned, Matza was gone. I was trying to be quiet because Artis had already gone to bed (this was about 11 pm) but I loudly whispered up the stairs for her to get back downstairs. She LOVES bedtime and had already headed up to bed when I wasn't looking. She sauntered on down, I took her outside, and she wouldn't pee. At all. None. Zilch. The dog pees more than anything I've ever seen, so this told me she'd probably gone somewhere in the house since I last took her outside. After walking all over creation in the heat and humidity (it was sooooo nasty out--I was sweating like you wouldn't believe), I finally gave up and took her back inside, whereupon I discovered Tobi's crate door wide open with no Tobi inside the crate.

I looked all over the first floor and couldn't find her, which made me just sick to my stomach because I knew she'd have gone upstairs to find Artis. She is not allowed to walk at all, other than to go outside to the bathroom, so climbing stairs was completely out of the question. But, that's exactly what the little monster did! I turned on the light to the stairwell and saw the furball laying on the second-to-the-top stair. I guess she got tuckered out and laid down for a nap. Anyway, I walked up to get her and told her, "Tobi, no, no. This is not what we do." And that's when I found what else was missing--Matza's pee puddle. It was on the stair right above where Tobi had stopped.

I was so exasperated. Walking all over with Matza in that blasted humidity was bad, but so was running all over trying to find Tobi. I trudged down the stairs with her and got her outside, she did her thing, and I went in to start cleaning the carpet. Unfortunately, all of the commotion had woken Artis, so he was already up cleaning it. I felt so bad. And so mad. And so sweaty.

Eventually, we got the girls in their beds, Tobi drugged up for the night, Matza lectured, me de-sweated, and we were able to pass out pretty solidly since Tobi didn't cry during the night. Hooray! Hopefully tonight will be much less sucky and I'll be able to just take them out to do their business without all this mayhem!!

When life gives you broken limbs...

2010-07-10T10:20:00.004-04:00

...walk on your hands. Well, that seems to be Tobi's motto as of late. It's quite freaky looking, but the little beast will get up on her front paws and walk herself all over the yard--and even go to the bathroom--without setting her hind paws back down on the ground. Artis caught a little bit of it on film last night; once I told her it just wasn't right, she want back to all four paws. But only for a second...then we were back to being in the circus.

Lord give me strength.

2010-07-08T15:01:00.005-04:00

I come to you as a very tired man. A very, very tired man who feels like he has been awake for 48-hours straight. Delirium may set in soon...perhaps it already has.

As joyous as it is to have Tobi Knish at home, the emotional, mental, and physical toll it is already taking is seemingly overwhelming the joy. Case in point: Last night.

After a very arduous day that included a 2 1/2 meeting during which my mental capabilities were thoroughly tested, I left the office and headed to package some orders for shipment today. Then, I went home and walked Matza, processed a few customer payments & answered emails and then headed over to Artis' to care for Tobi at about 7 pm. Fortunately, he had beat me home so I didn't have to walk her. Instead, he was sitting in bed playing on his laptop and watching TV while Tobi stayed in her crate close by. (He didn't want her to have to sit by herself while he chilled downstairs.) So, I did what any sane person in a fragile state would--I collapsed on the bed. And then I got up and held Tobi for a while. And then I mixed peanut butter into Tobi's food in hopes it would make her want to eat. It seemed to work.

I then attempted to work; I put forth valiant effort, in fact. But, it was not to be. Instead, I let Artis persuade me (and I put up ever so strong of a fight, of course) to watch a movie. We started "Shawshank Redemption", which I'm pretty sure I've seen before but I can't remember. We got about an hour into it and it was time for Tobi's pain meds and a trip outside. So, I took her outside and was so happy she finally did all of her business! (It's the little things...)

I got her back inside and got her settled, listening to her screams before her front pain-free paws had even touched the carpet. Dinner for me was not to be. Eventually, I decided that the girls and I would watch TV together. I fell asleep on the couch, waking up to Tobi's screams because I had moved and her right rear paw had touched the back of the couch. (It's the leg that's the most sensitive right now.) So, I took her up and got her into bed...screams and all...and went back out myself. A couple of hours later I was wide awake listening to her whimper. Then, I was awakened again by her repeated cries. I thought it was 6:30 a.m. It was 3:20. This continued on throughout the night, with Artis giving her the next dose of pain meds at 6:15. She screamed (and tried to bite me again) when I took her outside, screamed when I brought her back inside, and at 8 am I thanked the Lord it was time for me to leave the house to go back to my apartment to get ready to go to work.

Just a few hours of good, quality sleep would be nice at this point. I don't see that happening in the near future. Meanwhile, I have a call in to the surgical tech so I can further discuss her pain meds and the fact she's no longer attempting to put any weight on that rear right paw. She had started to make progress and now doesn't seem to be. I'm concerned about her rehab. If she were a human, she'd have a structured rehab program & I feel like she probably needs the same if she is to truly make a full recovery. I tried calling a rehab center for dogs, but the phone number online is incorrect. That sucks.

At this point though, sadly, I think to myself, "What's a few more hundred dollars? It's just a drop in the bucket of expense called 'Tobi'." Even if she doesn't get into a fully structured program (that includes warm water hydrotherapy), I do need some guidance on this. And, I need to discuss the pain management with the vet hospital, so I hope they call me back soon. It's one thing to give her IV meds when she's staying in a cage all day with very little activity or human contact; it's a whole other thing to send her home where she's going to be on oral meds & taken outside more frequently to avoid the whole pee pad situation. (Plus, she can't be bathed for a while, so that would be a total nightmare.)

I do know one thing though--I CANNOT handle eight weeks of this if every day is going to be like these first two have been. Even a week of it is too much for me. Speaking of weeks, it was exactly one week ago this morning that the whole horrible situation began. How time flies. Well, in this case drags miserably.

Lord, give me strength.

Tobi's home! (Now the real fun begins...)

2010-07-06T23:03:00.002-04:00

All day today I looked forward to getting my Tobi home. The seconds dragged on and on like hours. Finally, I made it through crazy traffic (the genius working for the NCDOT that decided to shut down large portions of two major roads, while also detouring one to the other, needs to be shot) and got to the hospital on time for pick-up at 6 pm. At 7:30 pm, I finally got Tobi in the car and headed home.

Once home, I realized that her crate was not going to due afterall. She barely fit into it pre-surgery (she's my gentle giant that just kept growing), but it wasn't horrible. Plus, in the midst of all the craziness I still hadn't decided upon an alternative crate that would best fit all of our needs. Therefore, I hadn't ordered one or gone shopping for one in person either. Well, that was a mistake I had to fix. Meanwhile, I also needed dinner.

So, I left the girls with Artis and did something completely against my nature--I went to Petco. Yes, it's true. I supported a box store. What can I say? I was desperate. Anyway, I went and got this $90 crate and then stopped and got dinner at a drive-thru on my way home. I was gone for maybe 30 minutes. I came back in the door to find Artis looking all frazzled while he sat on the floor, Matza was in her crate freaking out (she hates being in her crate), and Tobi was sitting on a towel in the middle of the floor just shaking away. All hell had broken loose in that 30 minutes! It turns out that Tobi wasn't fitting into her crate at all, so he let her out, but then Matza attacked her to try to play, which caused Tobi to scream from the pain, so he put Matza in her crate and Tobi was left scared and shaking on the floor because he didn't dare touch her since he couldn't handle hearing her scream again. So, I picked Tobi up and held her close (she immediately stopped shaking), let Matza out of her crate so she'd stop barking, and eventually ate dinner while sitting on the couch with Tobi right next to me.

Meanwhile...

I decided that $90 was too much to have spent on a crate, so I got looking on Craigslist. I found two that sounded promising--one was only $30 and much larger. It looked brand-new and the seller lived close by. I emailed her and she immediately wrote back. She was willing to meet tonight, so we made arrangements. In the meantime I had Tobi back in her crate to get her to try to lay down. She made herself extra big, looked pitiful, and kept crying. Artis refused to make eye contact with her because she was milking it for all it was worth. So, I left her in there long enough to run over and meet the seller and get back home. Once home, I got the crate in place and all good to go. I got back downstairs to collect Tobi and what did the monster do?? She laid right down and curled up in her small crate!!! Yes, she in fact fit the entire time and had just been being a stinker while I was running all over creation to get her this bigger crate tonight. I just now tried to get her out of the smaller crate so that she can go to bed in the big one but she doesn't want to move. So, despite my extra efforts to get it all ready for her tonight, it was all for naught and she's spending the night in her small crate. Sigh.

I can tell we've got a long road ahead. Artis is terrified he's going to break her, Matza won't leave her alone, Tobi just wants to sleep and cuddle with me, and I don't have any clue about what I'm doing. Artis half-jokingly said he thinks we should call the vet hospital and tell them that they were wrong--that she's not ready to be home and that she needs to come back and stay or they need to come here to take care of her. I think once these first few days are over with and we get a routine figured out, we'll be OK. Until then, I may lose my mind trying to survive.

But, I still am just so happy she's home--I can ruffle up her crazy 'fro any ol' time I want to and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Tobi Update: Coming Home Tomorrow!

2010-07-05T13:53:00.004-04:00

This morning's visit with Miss Tobi Knish was fantastic! She took several steps when the surgical tech first put her down, then she peed on her own, and then she sat down without screaming or looking overly uncomfortable!

We sat there petting her and talking with her for quite a while, during which she got up and walked around several times and she let me pick her up and move her to where she could sit down more comfortably--and she didn't scream or try to bite me then either! The surgical tech said she is doing incredibly well and that they are all just amazed by her recovery, especially considering what happened to lead her to this point. She is well ahead of what they expected from her and told us that they're weaning her further from IV drugs so she can come home tomorrow evening! From what we saw today, it's very encouraging. She mostly just walked on three legs (her right leg is still really painful) but she has started doing more tap-and-touch actions with her right leg and she appeared to have stood on it for a bit at one point.

Here is a picture from today:

And here are two videos of her:

(Ignore how I look...we had to be at the hospital at 8:30 am on my day off. I was looking all sorts of raggedy.)

Needless to say, we're quite excited about our model little patient's progress! (The surgical tech's words--not ours. :))

Tobi Update!

2010-07-04T15:55:00.004-04:00

So, today was an awesome day--Tobi walked for us!!! It was both exciting and painful to watch, all at the same time. She made it on three legs and used her back right leg as little as she could, but it was progress! Her back right leg is going to take longer to heal because the break where her pelvis and hip meet was not a clean one. Part of her hip remained attached to her pelvis, so it's a more tender spot for her. But, the fact she was even trying to walk was incredible.

Also, she has had a bunch of her medicines reduced so she is a lot more aware of her surroundings. She actually looked at us and recognized us (she was so out of it yesterday that I don't know as she even recognized who she herself was), plus I got a couple of licks out of her too. Oh, and as we were sitting there in the yard of the triage center, she saw some people walking across the way and started doing her deep little growl--it's sooooo Tobi! Normally we're trying to get her to stop growling and barking at every thing and everyone she sees, but it was so welcomed to have her back that we couldn't help but encourage her!

Yesterday, when the surgical tech picked her up to take her back in, she screamed and cried and tried to bite him. Today, she let out some groans and tried to nip at him a little bit, but it was nothing like yesterday. So, maybe tomorrow she will drop the biting part. Lord knows that little girl has some powerful jaws! (I did make some progress on the hand wounds by switching out to these gel-filled bandages that really seem to help. As long as Artis doesn't go crazy sterilizing the wounds, it doesn't hurt too bad.)

Tomorrow we're going to see her early in the morning and we'll try to get her to walk a little more. She may actually be home as early as Tuesday! We're working out the logistics for how this will all work. The current plan is that Tobi will stay full-time at Artis', while Matza and I travel back and forth. Tobi will be in her crate almost 24-hours/day for two months, so we're trying to make sure she doesn't get overly excited and want to get out and play with Matza all the time. Logistically, it's just not so fun. But, the thought of having her home is so exciting!! The problem is we probably won't get much else done at night for the next few weeks because we'll be hovering over her every move and encouraging her for doing the most basic things. I think she'll probably end up wishing she were back in the hospital just to escape our smothering, but whatev. She can cope. We need our Tobi back home.

Anyway, it's all great progress and we couldn't be happier!!

Update on 7-5-10--

Here is a video from yesterday's visit:

The day the nightmare began.

2010-07-02T17:42:00.002-04:00

I wish I had something witty or remotely happy to write about, but I don't. Instead, I'll write about yesterday--which is the day the living nightmare began for us.

The day started off normal. I had fallen asleep at Artis', so I was heading home with the girls so I could get ready for work and head back out. I always take a back route to avoid major roads; along this route there's a three-way stop in a nice quiet residential area. I was approaching the stop sign, slowing down and going about 15-20 mph. Tobi and Matza were in their booster seat in the backseat of Klaus, with Matza hanging her head out the window and Tobi doing her usual sit-and-stare thing. I was looking forward when I heard a thump against the side of the car by Tobi & Matza. I looked in the side mirror to make sure they both were OK and all I saw was Matza. Right when I realized Tobi had fallen out of the window, her restraint's buckle broke and she went under the rear wheel. I can't even describe how sickening that feeling was. It all happened so fast but in my head it's like a movie in slow motion. Painfully slow motion at that. In my head I have enough time to slam on the brakes before the buckle broke, run around the car, and get her back in her seat. But, the reality is that it wasn't at all like that or that easy.

I immediately threw the car into park, jumped out, and ran for the back of the car just praying she was still alive. I kept thinking, "Oh please oh please oh please just let it be her leg I ran over." I wouldn't have been excited about a broken-legged Tobi, but if anything had to be ran over it would be the least traumatic & seemingly the easiest to fix. Tobi was laying on the ground, screaming as only Tobi can, with this terrified look in her eyes as I ran towards her. There was a car behind me--a white Mazda--and he had seen it all happen. I picked her up as gently as I could, trying to hold her close to me, but she kept pulling her head back. As she did, she bit down onto my right hand, which had been supporting her head. She was so scared and so hurt & I am just sure she was trying to figure out where all this pain was coming from, so she went after the only thing she could--me. I pulled my hand back and I recall thinking about how amazingly strong her grip was. It felt like all of her teeth had sunken in a good inch on both sides of my hand. I got my hand back and she bit it again right as I did. I kept saying, "Tobi it's going to be OK...ouch! Tobi please don't bite...it'll be OK baby...OUCH! Tobi please stop..." And, as much as it hurt, I was in such shock that I was oblivious to just what damage she had done.

The guy in the white car pulled up and said, "You just ran over your dog. She's really hurt & you need to get her help." Really? I hadn't thought of that. I said, "What part of her went under the wheel? Was it just her leg?" He said, "I don't know but she's really hurt. You hurt her a lot." I said, "You don't know what part of her was ran over?" And with that he drove off. The way he said it was so rude--as if I'd purposely put her under the wheel. He made me feel like the worst human being on earth. I just wanted to know from him what he saw so that I could tell the vet what all got hit the worst. When I'd gotten to her, she was trying to stand up and wasn't putting weight on her right leg. I didn't realize at the time that I'd driven over the top of her entire lower half.

Even though it feels like I had a five minute conversation with the jerk, in reality it was more like 10-15 seconds from the time I jumped out of the car to the time when I had Tobi in the front seat. She was so terrified. I put my hand on her to keep her stable and I floored it from there. My mind was everywhere at that point. I called my boss and left a message to let her know I wouldn't be in. I don't recall what I said, but I do know it had to have sounded ridiculous because I couldn't focus. I then called Artis, who was just leaving the doctor's office after some testing. I said, "Where are you at?" He said, "Getting into an elevator. What's wrong?" I said, "I was driving. And then Tobi fell out and her buckle broke...and I drove over the top of her and she's hurt and scared." I was completely in tears and trying to not totally lose it at that point, but it was so hard not to. I don't even remember driving a stretch of the road, but I remember where I was when I was talking to him because he asked where I was and where I was going. I told him which animal hospital (the closest one I could think of, even though we'd never been there; I just knew she needed help fast) and he said he'd meet me there. I turned on my hazards and drove 70 mph down the street, got to the hospital quickly, and I got Tobi inside. (Matza was still with me too and in the seat.)

I ran in looking all sorts of wonderful--I'd not showered, my hair was standing straight up, my hand was covered in blood, I was in total shock, and Tobi was a mess. They took her from me, got as much info as they could to get going, and then I went and got Matza. I brought her in and held her while they evaluated Tobi. Artis showed up and they brought him to the exam room. As soon as he walked in, Tobi started wagging her little nubby tail (it was docked before I got her and while I wouldn't have done that, I still think it's cute on her). That was the first time I felt like it'd be OK. It was also the last time for quite a while that I felt like it'd be OK. The doctor took Tobi and did a bunch of scans on her, but told me I had to go to Urgent Care to get my hand taken care of. I could've cared less. I said I'd wash the blood off and wrap it in a towel and it'd be fine, but she said that I'd best help Tobi by taking care of myself too.

So, I took Matza home, cleaned myself up, and went to Urgent Care while they got Tobi stabilized. It took forever at Urgent Care. I kept asking how much longer and they said just a few minutes. "Just a few minutes" turned into 45 minutes in which I could've been taking Tobi from the vet to the triage hospital, where they were going to have to do surgery. I texted Artis to see if he'd just write me a prescription for a basic antibiotic so that I didn't have to wait any longer. I figured that's all they'd do since Tobi's up-to-date on her shots, I'm current on my tetanus shot, and the wounds were not that bad. Plus, they don't typically stitch dog bites even if they are bad. Right as Artis wrote back and said he would, Tobi's vet called to see where I was and so I stepped out of the room to talk to her. Of course it was right then that the nurse came to get me. I walked back into the waiting room and the other patients said I'd just been called. I said, "Of course I was. It figures." Fortunately, I didn't lose my place in line and they came back for me. I got in and out quickly, then went over to get Tobi.

I met with the vet for a few more minutes, paid the $450 bill, and got Tobi and her IV so I could take them over to the triage hospital. I had put one of her floor pillow beds in the front seat of Klaus and made a nest for her; the vet's covered her in blankets and pillows to provide more stability and cushioning for her. It basically looked like a giant pile of bedding with a Tobi head sticking out of it. I put my hand over by her and she cuddled against it, licked it a couple of times, and then took a little nap (or tried to) while I drove. It didn't take long to get to the triage center and they were expecting us. So, they had a nurse at the front door to open the door, another nurse with a walkie talkie who paged the triage team when I ran through the door, and five triage team members who came running and got her from me. The receptionist called me over, told me it would be OK, and then had me do some slow breathing with her.

The one thing I must say is that I could not be more impressed with the kindness of all of these professionals through all of this. From the unknown vet's office to the strangers at the triage center, every single person was so kind and helpful.

They assessed Tobi for a while, put me in an exam room to wait, and then eventually came to give me an update. The vet had told me most of what they said, so it wasn't too big of a shock. The fortunate thing is that the vet originally thought her bladder may have gone outside her stomach because they couldn't see it in the initial scan (right before getting in the car, Tobi had peed, so her bladder was empty & that's why it didn't show), but at the triage center they didn't feel that was the case. The problem was that Tobi was too hurt to put the little ultrasound probe against her stomach, so they couldn't tell for sure.

Artis came and sat with me for a while, at which point we had to discuss whether or not to pay the $5-7K they were estimating the surgery would cost (the low estimate had to be paid in full up-front) or if it'd be best for her to be put to sleep. I told him I couldn't and wouldn't decide that. I'd sell my furniture and all that I own before I did that to Tobi. He said we needed to consider her quality of life post-surgery, so I called the surgeon back out and had a talk with him. Artis had to get back to see patients, so he left before the surgeon came back. I asked all that I needed to, they told me she'd most likely make a full recovery, and that was all I needed to know. I paid and then left.

They put her in the ICU shortly after I left because she'd started to go back into shock and her heart rate was dropping. The good thing about her going into the ICU was that visitation was actually easier than if she'd been put in the intermediate care. It was quite bizarre, but whatev. I went home, completely lost it all over again, cuddled with Matza, and then Artis & I had dinner while waiting for visiting hours. The orthopedic surgeon called to give us the final details of what they proposed and it all sounded quite positive.

We went and visited her and it was so tough. I thought it'd make me feel better to see her, but it didn't. Artis couldn't handle seeing her like that and in those conditions, so he had to leave the room and wait in the lobby. I talked with her, petted her, and kept my head close to hers so she'd stay calm. The second I didn't, she'd start to cry. I finally couldn't take it any more myself and so I gave her some love and left.

She remained stable through the night and they were supposed to call me before she went into surgery this afternoon. They never did call, so at 4:30 I called to see what the deal was. They said she'd just come out of surgery and was in recovery. The receptionist said they'd call me soon with details. They still haven't called and it's now 6:30, so I just tried them again. The receptionist said she'd make sure they called me soon. I hope they do.

Last night Artis and I talked about how it felt like a nightmare that you can't seem to wake from. It felt like a surreal nightmare until about noon today. Then reality started to sink in that this is really happening. I hardly slept last night, I've been at the point today where I feel like vomiting when I think about it all, and I could not feel worse about the whole thing. Coming back into the house with Tobi's empty collar, walking Matza by herself, only being greeted by one dog when I got home from work, and not being able to tell Tobi that we're not barking and instead we're just being quiet has made my life feel completely void. Poor Matza gets to put up with me constantly cuddling with her and carrying her everywhere and I know she can't wait for Sister to get home.

Tobi will be in the hospital for at least five days and then mostly immobile and resting for 8 weeks. After that, she can start resuming some normal activities and we should be OK from there. It's just getting to that point that's tough. But, she did survive a Volkswagen going over the top of her and she's only 8 lbs., so I daresay she's a good fighter and will be OK in the long run. It's me that looks to be the long-term mess...

Buh-bye, baby. Sniffle. Sniffle.

2010-06-29T12:39:00.002-04:00

So, it's official. I have started the process of shutting down my "baby", Second Coats. I haven't put any focus on it for some time & it's no use to drag the inevitable out any longer. So I'm closing the site and retaining the URL in case I decide to use it later for some reason.

It's kind of bittersweet. Bitter in that it was something I created from scratch--it was a concept, a lot of hard work, and then reality--and I hate to see it go. It's sweet in that it served as a tremendous launching pad to get me to where I'm at today with Bark Slope. Do I make mistakes running Bark Slope? Yes. But fortunately most of my big mistakes were done with Second Coats. Had I not started Second Coats, I'd never have even known about Bark Slope. So, I'm grateful for all that it did bring to me and for the knowledge I gained from it all.

Now comes the "fun" process of closing it down from the legal aspect, selling off the inventory I don't want to use for Bark Slope, and getting it all squared away so that I don't have to worry about it anymore. It's weird because I don't feel like I'm necessarily closing a chapter in my life--it's more like turning a page in this case. Bark Slope and Second Coats had so many similarities (the big glaring difference--Bark Slope makes money; Second Coats does not) that the experience of the two of them intertwines mentally and emotionally for me. It's like the chapter starts with just one character, but then the character ends up with a cohort...and then the character dies and the cohort is the only one left and the chapter keeps going without him. (It sounds like such a happy storyline when I put it into an analogy. Perhaps it's best I not do that...)

So, while I will miss the satisfaction of going to Second Coats' site and knowing exactly what it took to get it going, I won't miss the added stress of having both businesses going at the same time. It was with Second Coats that I experienced the wrath of Hurricane Hanna, threw out my back while setting up my weekend booths at the flea market & then had painful physical therapy to get back on track, and that I spent countless hours in the heat and humidity every single Saturday for months on end while running said booth at the flea market. My life became dictated by Second Coats' needs, which was a great introduction so that taking over Bark Slope wasn't such a shock.

It was also with Second Coats that I met so many great people (like the girl who runs a dog rescue in the midst of the endless surgeries to try to repair her shrapnel-torn body that was injured while she was a soldier in Iraq), learned that I could put my dreams on paper and then turn them into reality (as happened when I designed my t-shirt line, which later made it to the shelves of retail stores; there's nothing quite like walking into a store and seeing something you designed sitting on their racks), and that I gained business maturity I never thought I'd have.

So, yes, it's with bittersweet feelings that I close Second Coats--but rather than saying "goodbye" I instead say "thank you".

Deux days. Deux posts. Deux anniversaries.

2010-06-24T10:07:00.004-04:00

Bonjour!

Deux?? Bonjour?? Well, I'm channeling my inner Jean-Pierre this morning, what can I say?! (If you were to hear me say this post's title in person, I would say it with an accent that sounds like that of a French harlot mixed with the voice of Lumiere from "Beauty and the Beast". And I'd have thrown in "croissant" and "oui, oui...but not on this carpet" somewhere in there too.)

At any rate, this is two posts in two days--and there are two anniversaries today. The odds of this all happening in relation to the number two...they're phenomenal. (Or we'll pretend they are because we're creative like that.)

"What, pray tell, are the two anniversaries," you ask? I shall tell you without further adieux...my little croissant. [insert French laugh...wo hooo hoo] Oui oui. Baguette.

Anniversary Un:

It was on June 24th, 2006, that Darin and I left the motherland (Utah) and started our pilgrimage across America that ultimately lead us to our current locations of DC and Raleigh. We packed up Luh-fawn-duh the Honda (mostly with Darin's crap, of course...I packed light) and trekked for mile upon mile upon mile, with multiple adventures along the way. You can read about it/see a picture of the interior of Luh-fawn-duh packed with Darin's voluminous belongings by following these links to previous posts surrounding this illustrious event:

http://kadertot.blogspot.com/2008/06/noteable-anniversary.html

http://kadertot.blogspot.com/2008/06/picture-to-commemorate-anniversary.html

Anniversary Deux:

It was on February 24, 2009 that I first met Artis. (If you've done your third grade-level math correctly, you have deduced that it is in fact our 16-month anniversary today. A noteworthy event, despite not being a whole-year anniversary number.) So, I've had 16 months of wonderful bliss.

OK, so maybe not bliss those first few months in which I was an emotionally closed-off beast with protective walls far stronger than anything Fort Knox can tout. But they were still wonderful months. The bliss just came later...after the walls started to crumble. Let's just say that I cannot sing Beyonce's "Hello" lyrics to describe our initial encounter and time together. (She'd sing it something like this: "You haa-uh-d me a-uh-t hellooo hellooooOOOO helllooooOOOOOooooOOOOooooooo.") It's not that I didn't like Artis, but it wasn't head-over-heels infatuation from the moment we met. That all happened over time--and, in looking back, I wouldn't have had it any other way. We developed such a great friendship, despite our polar opposite personalities, and it was upon this foundation that everything else has been built.

Without getting all schmaltzy and nauseatingly sweet (I'll save that for the whole-year numbered anniversaries), I will simply say that I'm very grateful for the 16 months that Artis and I have had together--both the good and even not-so-fun parts we've gotten through together--and I look forward to many more!

Anyway, lots to celebrate today--the anniversary of a new life in so many ways. And a wonderful life at that, I might add.

Until next time, I bid you adieux, mon ami!

~moi

I am back. And in better shape than my favorite crackwhore.

2010-06-23T10:14:00.010-04:00

Greetings, gentle readers! (OK, so that's giving myself far too much credit. Make that "reader" in the singular form. Gracious, I may as well just address this as "Dear Mom,"...)

Don't ask me why, but for the last two weeks it's been gnawing at me that I need to start blogging again. Not that it's ever read or is even that interesting...or that it was even missed for the last 1 1/2 years since I last wrote...but it is a good outlet to release all of these random thoughts and ideas that cross my brain in a given day. And there are plenty.

I should preface today's thoughts by saying that my most productively genius moments actually occur while I'm in the shower. Odd, I know, but for some reason that's when I can solve most of the dilemmas in my life...and I must say that I've come up with some pretty darn tootin' good ideas while wearing nothing but some shampoo and a smile on my face! (Interesting side note: I also tend to solve problems in my dreams & then wake up thinking about it, apply what I dreamt, and it usually fixes whatever has been taxing my ever-fragile brain for far too long.) Yes, I have indeed been known to take multiple showers in a day not only because I have this OCD need to be clean, but because I'll have a need for something to be solved.

And then there are other shower times that result in absolutely nothing but a random ride on the roller coaster through my brain. Sometimes that roller coaster derails entirely. And the cart falls off the track & smashes into the ground. And the airbags do not deploy. Enter today's wreck/subject: my favorite crackwhore, Whitney Houston.

It's a long, convoluted story, but in short--I was showering and thinking about my friend Greg's recent blog posting, which reminded me of a similar posting of mine in which Friend Cammie Jan commented in reply to what I said and quoted a Whitney Houston song in the process. That's where the cart left the track and started on the downhill race towards asphalt.

So, Miss Whitney. I've always loved her and was saddened when there were no more wonderful albums being released...and even more saddened (read: disgusted) when I watched her and Bobby Brown on their [gratefully] short-lived reality show. The scene that stands out most to me--of all the wasted hours spent watching...which was, embarrassingly enough, many--is one that involves Mr. and Mrs. Brown, a toilet, and Whitney requesting Bobby's help in handling something. Literally HANDling something. I'll leave it at that before I vomit. Anyway, I figured then that her career and future were in the crapper, so to speak. Needless to say, I was quite surprised to hear that she was planning a comeback. And I was hopeful. Yes, friend, I was ever-so-hopeful. Hopeful that "The Voice" was back and would produce songs that I could sing not only in the shower, but also belt out while driving, grocery shopping, getting my haircut, walking the dogs--heck, anywhere that I could share the joy of singing a Whitney Houston ballad. Sadly, it was not to be.

When Whitney was on Oprah I decided that she'd end up needing to have two comebacks. The first attempt, already in full swing at that point, wasn't going so well as was. Then, when she told Oprah she was no longer on drugs and was living the good life, I looked ahead to what is bound to be a future "Oprah" episode: "Whitney Lied". Apparently, I am not alone in thinking this:

http://www.showbizspy.com/article/192855/whitney-houston-lied-to-oprah.html

Her response was too odd. I just didn't buy it. So, in my envisioned future episode she'll tearfully admit to Oprah that she lied during her first visit, feels awful but thanks her fans for standing by her, and is now on the path to recovery after she does a short stint in rehab. (Let's just hope the second interview isn't also a two-episode saga like the first one.)

Aside from all of this, there's a small problem with her first attempt (and it's a feeble attempt, at best)--the woman can't sing anymore. To me, that's an issue here. I offer up, as evidence, this little piece of Hell (aka footage from a Whitney Houston concert in Australia)--

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_2HWA0zN_o

Is it just me or does she speak her songs now, rather than sing them? And, I don't think that looooooong pause before the "And iiii--eeeee--iiiiii" was all just for dramatic effect. I think some of it was just so that she had time to store up enough oxygen to get through the next part. Much like a bagpipe. But bless her heart for trying.

Anyway, while I do try to think the best about [most] people and hope for positive outcomes in [most] situations, I do not think it is to be for my favorite crackwhore. Not this time anyway. Perhaps after the second "Oprah" episode she'll be here to stay. Meanwhile, I need to go shower again; I can't stop thinking about that revolting reality show episode. And I feel dirty.

Until next time... (hopefully sooner, rather than later)

~me

Improvement.

2009-01-07T12:38:00.002-05:00

Ha! Look at this! Only one week since my last post and here I am again! I call that progress. Go me!

Well, speaking of progress, I am currently thinking about my New Year's resolutions. Typically, these fly right on out the window for me once 12:01 a.m. hits on January 2nd, but this year, I've got a reasonable list mixed with both personal improvements as well as projects to accomplish. It is through this delicate balance that yours truly will be an almost-perfect person by December 31st. (Note that I did not specify a year...)

How am I going to achieve this level of perfection, you ask? Well, I shan't keep you waiting--here (in no particular order, just like most other things that come out of my brain) is part of my list of projects/improvements:

~Project: Make my life easier in 2010 by keeping excellent business records in 2009. I obviously keep records of everything...they just aren't exactly organized, so I'm now going through and re-creating my business finances for the past year. It is not pretty, no. It is not fun, no. Heck, it's not remotely enjoyable and may ultimately lead to me being obese from overeating due to stress...BUT, I will prevail and do better next year. To my credit, I am pretty savvy when it comes to analyzing, sorting, etc., so it is going smoother than I originally thought it would...but it's still ugly.

Now, a project would not be complete without steps ultimately leading to its accomplishment. So (mainly to help myself out here by having it written out), here is how I plan to accomplish this overall goal:

1) Use QuickBooks beginning right now. I have already done my inventory (handcounted almost 2,000 individual items) and know what needs to go into QB. Now, it's just a matter of uploading it all and then utilizing the invoicing features through QB as the year progresses.
2) Keeping a spreadsheet that tracks all money owed to me by other vendors who purchase inventory from me. I often forget what is owed until I start looking through my emails.
3) On Sunday nights, I shall sit down and balance my checkbook, make sure I've updated QB with the week's sales and inventory changes, etc. No more of just filing the statements as they come without looking them over. (Horrible, I know.)

~Project: Re-vamp my website and entire company structure. Yes, it sounds a bit odd, but it must be done. I have some great ideas and have been dragging my feet all year to get them done. Not this year. I know what those ideas are (and trust me, they're great--but obviously I'm not going to post my business ideas online as I've already been burned a bit too many times even with fellow vendors that I trusted) and I will accomplish them. One in particular could not have better timing, given the economy. Odd that the economy crashing could ultimately help me with an area that will increase my sales. Anyway, to accomplish this goal I shall:

1) Offload as much of current inventory as possible to other vendors, etc.
2) Finish new product selection by end of January; have product descriptions and photos completed by end of February. Upload all of it to the site by mid-March at the very latest. You wouldn't think it would take this long to do this, but unless you've updated a site of your own you won't get it if I explained it. Again, trust me--it's a beast. It takes approximately 30-45 mins per item to get it all in the system and uploaded. Considering I have over 100 different products and plan to continue offering the diverse items, switching it out is a considerable amount of time--and keep in mind that I still have to work FT to put the food on the table.
3) Depending upon tax return, but hopefully by end of March, I will have a new logo and site created for the wholesale division of my company. Currently, it all operates under one name and there are plenty of issues that come along with that. In order to better market my products, I need to have a separate company name and logo. More on that some other day.

~Personal Goal: Cut my eating out and unhealthy food consumption drastically...but in baby steps so I'm not totally bitter. How?:

1) Take lunch to work no less than three times per week.
2) Make dinner at home on the weeknights no less than three times per week.
3) Allow for eating out one meal on the weekends.
4) Purchase Chips Ahoy and ice cream no more than once every two months.

~Personal Goal/Project: Get my life organized...especially my home. For me, my home reflects my life; you can easily judge how I'm dealing with life just by looking in my bedroom, for instance. Currently, you'd think I belonged in a state mental institution. What my bedroom condition says to me is that I live too chaotically, have very little organization, live with too much excess, and don't take the time to have a place for everything--let alone everything in its place. Accomplish through:

1) Creating files for 2009 filings (this will also help with Project #1) so that the situation is not made worse moving forward.
2) Sorting daily mail into three piles--needs immediate attention, review by end of week and make a decision, and junk/needs to be shredded. On Sundays, while balancing my checkbook, I will review my "make a decision" box and get it emptied for the next week. For the "needs immediate attention" pile, I will not go to bed that night until I have made some progress with it.
3) Doing my laundry and then cleaning out my closet by the end of January. Then, moving forward, the clothes will either go on a hanger or in the hamper, rather than piling them about. The same goes with shoes--they go back on their respective shelf. Laundry shall be done weekly instead of monthly or bi-monthly and the clean laundry will go to its correct place instead of sitting in the clean laundry basket just to wrinkle and then get re-dryed to de-wrinkle, etc.
4) By the end of January, completely clean out under bed and on desk so that all paperwork is sorted, boxed, or shredded.

~Personal Goal: Give myself some personal time to clear the mind and to allow myself just to be...no phone, no IM, no facebook, no email, no TV in the background...nothing. Just me. (And maybe Matza, as she deserves more Matza time too.) Doing so by:

1) Nightly giving myself five minutes (hey--it's a start) after I get everything ready for the next day (and right after taking care of my "needs immediate attention" stragglers) to just relax. I'd say a project would be to read more books, but this past year has proven that a) I don't have time and b) when I do find time, I fall asleep within two pages of any reading--no matter how interesting the subject. I'll ponder looking into giving myself two hours or so on Sundays to read, go to the park, write letters (yes--by hand), etc.--it may be good to do this right after balancing my checkbook. However, at this point, I'm going to be doing well just to accomplish half of these goals. What I'd really like to do is devote at least one solid hour with no interruptions each night just to work on Second Coats' items. As it stands, I put a few minutes here and there, then overload on the weekends (though I've been a major slacker lately there), and then panic the whole week that things didn't get finished.
2) Reading scriptures or the Daily Guideposts message each night (during my five minutes, perhaps) so that I stay more spiritually grounded.

OK, at this point you're probably thinking "why do I care?!" and that's fine--just keep that to yourself. Listing this all out was more for me than you anyway... :) Regardless, I have a few other goals and I hope that come December 31st (elusive year again), I will have achieved at least half of my goals. Aim low, achieve more often, I say. (OK, plus I want to be realistic here...I do know myself, afterall.)

I know many people don't like setting resolutions, but I don't see why that is. To the naysayers: A common excuse is that you only fail at your goal and then feel bad about it each time--but why should you feel bad? At least you took the time to look for ways to improve. I firmly believe that subconsciously we each work towards our inner-most desires through our daily actions--recognized or not. So, if it's something you truly desire to change, I think it'll work itself out eventually anyway. In the meantime, why not keep on keepin' on with a better vision for yourself in mind?

And with that, my friends, I shall close. Adieu.

до свидания 2008; Živijo 2009!

2008-12-31T13:49:00.006-05:00

Shalom friends and few readers!

While I realize it's been a few weeks since my last posting, it is nonetheless much shorter of a time period than my previous gap in sharing the gab. And, it is indeed an apropos time to post; a time in which to reminisce about my previous year--the smiles, the tears, the laughter, the pains...yes, it's all there friends. (Well, except for tears, but still...there would have been tears if I could bring myself to do it as there were plenty of opportunities in which to let a little saline activity occur.) To re-cap this year of so many changes in my life, I shall go in chronological order of monthly activity. I will not remember all, I'm sure, but there are some biggies mixed in.

January: Possibly the biggest event of my year occurred in Januar; I officially began my own company. Depending upon the day, this was either the best decision I've ever made, or the worst idea I could have possibly had. :) The stress and time commitment can't even be described; yet, neither can the satisfaction. Many who know me think I have no issue with being proud of myself; truth be told, I have a hard time allowing myself to be proud of any accomplishment. Starting my company, however, was enough to let me be proud of myself. I know what has gone into it and what plans I have yet to fulfill with it and I can safely say, it's not been easy nor will it be any time soon. However, if it were easy, it wouldn't be worth having. I am so excited about the plans I have for my business in 2009! This will be my make it or break it year...let's hope that one year from now, I will be typing another blog stating how well things went.

February: I like to not think of February. This was the month in which I had a disastrous break-up that resulted in me being stalked for seven months until I had to take legal action. That seemed to do the trick, however, and life is good. The bulk of the month outside of this was spent getting in inventory, getting it all set up, and uploading it to my site.

March: Ah, March. This was the month in which the site officially opened. It required a ton of attention getting it all going; I also had gone through several seamstresses by this point (or seamstri if you will, which I'm sure you will). However, I found two amazing seamstresses that are still with me. (I also learned to not put all of my eggs in one basket and split out my product lines to two different people. This was one very important lesson.)

April: I don't remember much about April and there's not anything outstanding on my calendar, so we'll skip this month. I'm sure it was lovely though.

May: Hmmmm...same seems to be true for May. At this rate, we'll be caught up on the whole year in no time.

June: June was a great month! Actually, I just remembered what happened in June, so that explains what I did in April and May...I got ready for June. My grandma's 80th birthday was in June and we threw a huge surprise party for her. The party was held in Idaho in the town where she and my grandpa lived most of their married lives, but she now lives in Utah. Being in NC made it a bit difficult to wrap up all the party details, so I went to UT for the week prior to the party and helped get it all pulled together. It was an absolute blast! It was also during this month that my family abandoned me for a trip to Hawaii. Not that I'm bitter...

July: According to my calendar, I painted the office walls in July and I certainly recall how fun that was. In even more fun happenings, however, I headed off to Tucson for a few fun-filled days with friends there. I had an absolute blast. I came back at the first part of August. But also in August...

August: The weekend after Tucson, I headed off to Boston to help get my sister, Kami Jo, settled in for law school. I'm so proud of her! She's done so well thus far! My mom and I went for a few days and played tourists too. I cut my hand while putting together her dresser, I do recall. Otherwise, it was an incredibly great trip and I can't wait to go back...when it's warmer. I also went tubing on the Dan River in Virginia with a group of friends; it was one of the funnest things I've done in a long time and can't wait to do that again this next summer!

September: September was a month I'd much rather just forget as well. It was during September that I had the disastrous time at the Raleigh Wide Open. Just a week or two ago, I finally settled with Allstate for 10% of my actual losses. (Note to all: Do NOT ever use Allstate for insurance. You are not in good hands.) I'd prefer to just move on out of September; besides, there's a blog entry regarding those days anyway if you want to read up on that mess. Oh, but one interesting side note before leaving the subject--the other night I was going through my DVR recordings, cleaning out the old ones, when I came across the evening news for the night of the RWO. I had heard I was on the news (or at least my destroyed booth was) multiple times during the morning news. In fact, my roommate saw it on the news and then called me; this was how I first found out there was damage. Anyway, I had recorded the evening news but couldn't bring myself to watch it. I finally did the other night. My destroyed little mess was on there four times in one story! I'm so proud... (Note the sarcasm.)

October: October started off so fun with a trip to the Virginia mountains with friends. We rented a beautiful log "cabin" (read: "mansion") and got to see some amazing country. It was an absolute blast and it reminded me of fun trips like that I'd make with a group of friends back in Utah. Definitely worth it to go. I came back to a little bit of hell...a tonsillectomy. Somewhere in the earlier months, I had thrown out my back and had done months of physical therapy, plus I screwed up my knee and was doing therapy for that too. It was while in the middle of this that I got strep throat for the third time this year and my doctor sent me off to the ENT specialist. He took a two-second gander at my illustrious tonsils and immediately asked when I wanted them out. As the flea market is closed in October (the FM is where I do the most sales for Second Coats), it worked out perfectly to do this then. My mom was a lifesaver--and I do mean lifesaver--and came to stay with me for about two weeks. I could NOT have made it through the ordeal without her. Well, without her and double-doses of Oxicotin. I lost 18 lbs during a three-week time period and was just miserable. However, here I am two months later and have re-gained 17 of those lbs AND I can eat and drink like a normal person again. I could not be more grateful to be past those hellacious weeks.

November: November is always a favorite month for me, because of my birthday of course. This year, Kami Jo came down to Raleigh to spend Thanksgiving with me. We had an incredibly relaxed and fun day...before deciding to shop Midnight Madness at the local outlet mall. It was Hell. Pure and simple. We left there, drove back to Raleigh and straight to Wal-Mart for me to buy my KitchenAid mixer...which I got for cheap (comparitively)! I was so excited. I have used it twice so far, which is saying a lot considering how little I actually do cook.

December: December has flewn by in a whirlwind. Darin came to see me one weekend, which was great, and I also had my first Shaggy Soiree for Second Coats! It was a goal I wanted to accomplish by the end of the year and I did it. I've been able to book parties off of that and hope that this side of my business continues to grow. For Christmas, I flew to Utah for the 24th-28th to experience a great time with my family...and a whole lot of cold and snow. However, it was nice to be able to spend time with them all!

Today: Today, of course, marks the end of the year; but I must say, it does not mark the end of lessons learned and experiences had during the previous 364 days. It has been a crazy roller coaster of fun, craziness, trials, more fun, and more trials. I head to the beach in about an hour from now, as that's where I'm celebrating New Year's. I wanted to be one of the first to welcome in 2009...and where else could that occur than watching the sunrise at the beach? I look forward to bringing in a new year of new beginnings, refreshed continuations, and all sorts of fun times. Sure, I know there will still be plenty of trials, but I also know that I will get through them just like I did in 2008. I feel so very blessed to have the friends and family members in my life who love and support me through thick and thin. They are all so truly amazing and I can't wait for another 365 days of experiences with them! I already have planned monthly trips through the end of April and am now working on my summer plans; I guarantee there will be some great memories formed during this time.

So, here's to saying so long to 2008 (a year I'm not particularly wanting to repeat) and hello to 2009, a year full of opportunity! Happy New Years!

~me

PS--For those of you who are the uneducated sort and don't know what my entry title means ;) , the pronunciation for the Russian "goodbye" is "do svi-dan-niye", while the Slovenian "hello" is pronounced "zhee-VEE-oh". And now you know. (Enter NBC's chiming bells that always accompany "The More You Know".)

Meanwhile, back at the blog...

2008-12-12T10:39:00.002-05:00

So, it was a mere two months and one week ago that I last wrote a blog entry. Not bad, Kade. Not bad. Way to stay on top of it. Well, I had the best of intentions to stay up with it, but then life kind of got in the way. As you well know if you were in any sort of contact with me in October, I had my tonsils yanked out and the whole experience sucked beyond all suckiness. I can safely say that I would not wish a tonsillectomy upon even my worst enemy. (Not that I have a worst enemy, but if I did, I'd not wish that upon them is what I's jus' sayin'.)

Lying there day after day, hepped up on oxycotin and morphine, I had plenty o' blog entry prepared in my head. I even had pictorial representations (commonly referred to as "pictures") ready to help illustrate my experience. However, two things stopped me from doing this:

1) Did I mention I was hepped up on oxycotin and morphine? Enough said on that.
2) After sending one of said pictorial representations to a friend, the response was, "Ewwwww. Gross. Did you have to send that?" I deduced from this less-than-enthusiastic response that broadcasting said images would essentially just add more pollution to the internet.

So much for documenting my journey sans tonsils. Instead, I had silence. Lots and lots of silence. Heck, it hurt to swallow Jello, so there was no talking for some time...just grunting. Yes, I know. Very Neanderthalic of me. Fortunately, Dear Brenda (aka "Mom") was on hand to listen to my grunts and, except for the unfortunate incident that included a toilet bowl plunger and my ear, I do believe she translated these grunts quite effectively. Thanks, Ma!

After getting through this little rough patch, as we shall call it (as opposed to "the time during which Kade was experiencing absolute Hell and prayed for a respite from his excruciating pain"), I went on to live life...and lots of it.

So, here I am two months and seven days later, ready to conquer the world again...or at least the occasional blog entry. Since the holidays are upon us and Lord knows what that means--time with crazy relatives who are not safe from being mentioned in a blog entry--I have just one thing to say: Stay tuned.

Before and After

2008-10-05T22:27:00.004-04:00

Tonight at a dinner with friends, the subject of weight loss came up. When discussing that I've lost 67 lbs. to date, the one friend, Kevin, did not understand how it is that I weighed enough to lose that much weight (I've only recently met him, so he didn't see me when I was "fluffy"). Well, my other friend, Justin, so kindly explained that I was a fatty and that I did have the weight to lose. :) I told them that if I had my pictures from Christmas to show them, they would understand. Well, since I didn't have them to show at dinner, I will instead show ya'll here. I should preface this by stating that I don't like either picture (they're just bad pictures), but they do emphasize my point.

Having said that, here I am in December 2007:

And here I am in June 2008:

Quite the difference, I do believe. YAY! :)

The Literary Society Upheaval

2008-09-23T15:00:00.001-04:00

So, I belong to a very elite group known as the Literary Society of Oberlin Road. Others call this a “book club”, but we are above that. We are a literary society. Anyway, the group is comprised of me and three co-workers—Beth, Christine, and Leigh. Leigh and Christine were the two founding members and as such, Leigh appointed herself as president and Christine as VP. I can’t remember Beth’s title, but as I am always the one who is behind, they dubbed me “jackass”. (This is in reference to the card game in which the loser has to serve the winner—the “king”—and is basically the scum. In fact, in Utah we called it “scum”, not “jackass”.)

Well, the other day we had a bit of a ruckus take place within this prized group. Christine beat Leigh at finishing the book, so she decided she would be President and announced this via email earlier in the week. Leigh did not take too kindly to this and pretty soon we were all embroiled in a literary society riot via email. Though much was left unsettled, I do believe I’ve vacated the position of Jackass and am now a VP. This is how it went down. (I’ll abbreviate names by using first initial.) I should preface this by also saying that what started this is that our meeting date of the 22nd had to be changed, but all of this scheduling adjustment took place while I was gone on Friday. I came back to a dozen emails discussing all of this. And that, dear friends, is where we shall pick up the events that lead to my promotion…

K: Wow—I missed a whole convo. I am fine with the 29th, though I did finish the book last night anyway. Go me! :)

L: I finished the book, too! 4 hours before Kade did… :) [and, she did…I finished at 2:30 a.m.; Leigh finished at 10:30 pm.]

K: Still doesn’t save your presidency.

C: Nice Kade, I mean Vice President!! :)

K: That’s right! VP Kade. Go me! How quickly I have risen up from the rubble of jackassdom…Leigh’s new residence.

B: Ok ok. This has gotten out of hand. Don't you have to have 100% of the vote when there is an impeachment? So...looks like I'm that swing vote. Hmmm, I'll be open to bribes at this time.

L: I don’t see any type of impeachment going on. Seems like he’s appointing himself VP so that obviously still leaves me as President, right?

K: You missed that Christine appointed herself President, thus opening her VP spot (which I now fill), thus opening my spot (which you now fill). The cycle of life…and book clubs.

L: Okay, whomever can name the town where Sonia and Cameron grew up first gets to be President…

[she immediately replies with the answer]

C: Wow, Leigh. I kind of feel bad for you right now…

Not going down without a fight, huh?

Dear diary,

I am feeling a little sad right now because I have been usurped by the book club.

K: And not going down very graciously or with much dignity, I might add. :)

L:

Dear Diary,

I am feeling great today! There was a mild ruckus over the Presidency of Book Club but I am victorious! Its so funny b/c they seem to think there is another option other than me as the President but I’m not worried at all. I mean really, like anyone else is even remotely qualified. I have started to doubt whether the others even read the books…I think I saw a “Cliff Notes” version hanging out of Christine’s purse the other day. Anyway, it sure does feel great to be me for another day! TTYL, dear diary.

Leigh

K:

Dear Journal,

Today was an interesting day…perhaps “bittersweet” would best describe it. It was first sweet, in that I secured my new position as VP of the illustrious book club to which I belong. The hours of hard work in proving my dedication and ability really paid off on this one! I wonder if I get a reserved parking space? Note to self: check on this during next meeting.

The bitter—nay, sad—part of it all is that the club’s former president, upon being ousted, clearly got delusional and had a very public nervous breakdown via email. How I feel for her; it must be rough to be so troubled and in such a public arena, let alone to have it documented forever in the annals of email. I’m always torn at these junctures. Do I remain friends with the crazies in hopes that my friendship will somehow help them through? Or, should I save myself from hours of listening to a whole heap of blah blah blah poor crazy me crap and just cut ties? It’s so perplexing. While I decide this, I must be sure to try to treat said member the same I always have—while hiding my stares and shock over her current state, discreetly discussing the matter with other club members in a way that will keep her thinking we’re not concerned or suspicious over her newly revealed lunatic status.

It is tough to be me. Well, kind journal, as always, thanks for listening. I value your support and insight and will report back soon.

Remaining only yours,
Kade

C: I have been crying with laughter over here all morning. I wonder if my cubbies think I even work anymore….

K: Perhaps it’s not just the ousted president about whom we should worry. Is this normal? Does this insanity come with the office of presidency? If so, I don’t think I want it.

And I don’t. I have enough issues without adding more insanity. So, instead, I shall remain VP and enjoy my promotion while poor Leigh is relegated to that of being Jackass. How she struggles. :)

Silly Matzaroni

2008-09-09T16:46:00.002-04:00

So, after the RWO disaster I was left with a whole bunch of inventory that was damaged or stained to where it can't be sold. There was one pair of hot pink kiss PJs that were in Matza's size and as I'm too lazy to wash her other pairs of PJs, I decided I'd keep one pair for her. I put them on her last night and she was looking all sorts of cute, as evidenced here:

However, I think Matza may struggle with sleeping in these ones, as evidenced by what I found when I woke up, seen here:

Bless her furry little heart. She kept on sleeping, even after I pulled them off of her head. Silly Matzarella. :)

Hanna...how I loathe thee.

2008-09-07T12:19:00.006-04:00

After several months, hundreds of hours, and a good chunk of money, I was ready for the Raleigh Wide Open III, taking place downtown September 5-6. It was supposed to be two days of events (combined with the grand opening of the new Raleigh Convention Center), with an anticipated 100,000-125,000 people in attendance. I had been fortunate enough to have my application accepted--without being waitlisted even!--and was really looking forward to it all. The week before, I was on track to have everything done in time (which included me staying up until 3 and 4 in the morning each night for several weeks to accomplish this). I thought at the time, "the only thing that can screw this up is the weather. Watch...a hurricane will hit." Well, I should've just kept my big fat mouth and brain shut, as that forecast was more accurate than most weathermen ever are.

As Hurricane Hanna hit Haiti and there was talk that it might ultimately move to the Carolinas, there was also talk that it could easily disipate and all would be well. As the week moved on and it was clear that it was headed for Raleigh, I figured the event would be postponed. I was really hoping it would be postponed, actually, as the turnout would be low, the weather a mess, and the whole event would just be so much better if it weren't in the middle of a hurricane. Unfortunately, Raleigh City officials and event organizers did not bother to think the same thing, so as of Thursday morning, it was decided that the event would move forward--despite weather tracking showing that the storm would hit right in the middle of the event. As I had paid my non-refundable $275 entry fee, in addition to the $1000+ spent on inventory, I couldn't afford to back out. So, I made extra preparations, which included buying large bricks to put under all of my boxes to get them off the ground and out of any rain water and buying canopy weights that I then filled with 200 lbs. of sand, in an attempt to make sure the winds would not cause my tent to move.

On Thursday, September 4th, my friend, Justin, and I went downtown late that evening to set up the booth during the early set-up hours. They had forgotten to clear the street of illegally parked cars earlier in the day, so there was a two-hour delay, since they had to literally tow every single car off of the street. We waited this out and got it all set up--noting that it was already getting really windy. The next day, I was there bright and early to get the inventory set out and organized. It took about four hours to do so, as there was so much more than I normally have and the space was pretty confined--and the wind was awful, slowing me down tremendously. Throughout the day, there was wind and rain--and then it got progressively worse. At one point, one of the tent walls was hit so hard with the wind that it bowed inwards, knocking two towers of toys on to the ground (despite having bricks on them to weigh them down). This damaged about $150 in inventory that was now wet and dirty from landing on the ground. I was not happy about it, but I couldn't think too much about it, as I was busy trying to re-arrange the booth so that it wouldn't happen again. The wind was coming in from the north, so I made sure I moved almost everything off of the table by the north tent wall. Then, the rain started to get worse and my sand-filled weights only served to hold the water from flowing down the gutter and instead, right into my tent. I tried to re-route the water with bricks, but this only made it worse. So, I abandoned that and just started stacking boxes on the tables to try to get them up and out of the rising water.

This seemed to work and it got me through the evening, but my booth was not looking too hot at this point. Rain had blown in through the front of the tent, getting a lot of inventory wet and also getting water in the dyed willow baskets. The dye from the baskets was brown and got all over the scarves I had in them, in addition to staining the white tablecloths on both tables. Needless to say, it was a very stressful day with very few sales. Two fun things were when Arrested Development and Chuck Berry each played on the stage next to my booth. I was able to stand at the front of my booth and watch them. Chuck Berry in particular was very cool to hear in person. Also during the slow times, I re-drew the advertising on my chalkboard/dry erase board, as my previous designs had washed off earlier in the day.

By the time I left on Friday night, I had a good amount of damaged inventory, a cramped booth that was looking pretty ghetto, and my nerves and back were shot. I was in so much pain. But, I figured that once the worst of the storm had passed on Saturday morning, I would be able to re-do the booth and had some ideas as to how to fix it appearance-wise without having to buy new tablecloths, etc. Before I left on Friday night, I made sure all of the walls were secured, the weights were all in place, and I moved the tables and inventory to the center of the tent so that the bowing walls wouldn't knock anything down. All of the cardboard boxes were on top of the tables and everything was about as secure as it could be, given the circumstances.

On Saturday morning, I went to the show at the last possible minute so that I could actually get a little sleep AND not have to deal with the weather mess for any more time than already necessary. The show was supposed to resume at 11, so I planned on being there around 10:30 to re-adjust the tables and inventory, etc. At 10:00, I was just finishing breakfast when my roommate called. He said, "Are you at your booth?" I said, "No, I'm still at home. I'm about to head there, why?" He said, "Well, you might want to get going because they just said on the news that there is a dog apparel booth whose tent has blown over and the inventory is getting wet." (Later, I found out he'd seen the actual footage of my booth that the news kept playing over and over, but he didn't want to tell me the extent of the damage so that I wouldn't freak out before driving there.)

I hung up from speaking with him and called the event organizer, Mary Pat, who did not answer her phone. Since I couldn't get an exact account of what was going on, I figured I'd better take garbage bags just in case there was any significant amount of wet inventory. I hydroplaned on into the city, the wind blowing like crazy and water everywhere. I first drove by the street where the festival was being held, because we technically weren't allowed to drive to our booth until after the show closed on Saturday night. As I was passing the street and heading to the parking garage, I glanced down the road to see that there was a tremendous deal of damage to most of the booths. I circled around the block and decided to drive down the street despite the rules. Besides, all of the barricades had blown over anyway, so I wasn't actually moving it all myself.

Once I started down the road, I figured my booth was probably a little more damaged than what Erik had let on. Tent after tent was tipped over and one booth in particular was really badly damaged--their painted wooden lawn signs were all tipped over, broken, and drenched. I got down to the block where my booth was and my jaw hit the ground. What I had envisioned to be a tipped over tent and tables standing there getting wet was not at all my reality. A police officer stopped me right as I got to it and asked where I was going. I pointed at what was left of my booth and he said, "Oh, you own the mess? I'm sorry. Good luck!" And it was exactly that...a mess. It was the most destroyed of the booths and by destroyed, I mean completely unrecognizable, other than for the plush toys and clothes that were floating in the inches of standing water from one side of the street to the other. In fact, one box had literally been picked up by the wind, carried across the street and sidewalk, and slammed into the side of the Sheraton. There was inventory everywhere--including down in the storm drain.

I didn't even know where to start. The wind was blowing like crazy, the rain was soaking me, and all I had was the box of garbage bags. So, I decided I'd first bag up the various items and then start dealing with untangling the displays and crumpled tent. I removed the one tent wall that was acting the most like a sail and still moving the tent while I was in the middle of it. It was a bit scary, as it was moving this metal despite the 200 lbs of sand still attached. While I was working on this, Mary Pat (the event organizer) called me back and asked if I was at my booth and wondered if anything got wet. I said, "You could say that, Mary Pat." She said, "Well, we're hoping to resume the show at 1 o'clock. Do you think you'll be up and running again by then?" I had to explain to her that everything was destroyed, including my tent, and that I was there bagging it all up in garbage bags. She said they'd not cash my $275 check and would see what the city would do to help me out too. We'll see. I'm not holding my breath on that one.

Anyway, I looked across the street to see that a huge amount of event staff and hotel workers were standing behind the windows and doors at the hotel, just watching me deal with all of this. It was really rude. Eventually, a random older man was walking down the street and came up to help me. We were making progress and chatting, when a team of about a dozen event staff showed up to get the tent canopy and walls removed to prevent it from moving further. Then, about a half dozen of them stayed to help me bag it all up and get it in the back of the truck. In the middle of it all, the older man (John), disappeared without saying a word. I would've liked to have thanked him, despite having told him thank you while we were cleaning. I hope he knows how much I really appreciate his generosity, as for a while, he was the only one helping while others looked on. Oh, in one really odd moment while the whole group of people were there helping to clean up, a guy came up and asked us for a pen, as he was talking to someone and needed to write something down. It was totally out of place and odd. I was pissed. I flippantly said, "somewhere in this mess is a pen. If you can find it, it's yours." He thought I was serious and headed in to look for it. To make it even crazier, I looked over to see a pen floating in the middle of the booth space. I pointed it out to him and told him he could have it. When he left, I said to one of the ladies helping bag stuff, "Who the hell asks someone for a pen when it's clear that something is wrong?!" She said she had thought the same thing.

Anyway, once I got everything loaded (sans the tent frame, which was too mangled to ever use again), I headed home. I wasn't planning on touching any of it for the rest of the day because I was so upset. But, as I was lying on the couch moping and feeling like crap (I've had a really bad cold for a few weeks now...I guess I'd better go get seen this next week), I decided that the humidity would probably ruin any salvagable items quickly, so I headed outside and started going through it all. I stood at the back of the truck and used the tailgate as my table. I went through bag after bag and sorted it all into three groups--the pile I knew I'd need to chuck as it was too ruined to attempt to save, the pile that may be okay once I wash them, and then the pile that was just fine for the most part. There was one small box of completely fine items. And dozens of bags of not-so-fine items. It was really sad. I took the few Tupperware boxes, along with the tables, back to my storage unit. Fortunately, I had put most of my t-shirt inventory into my stacked Tupperware drawers before leaving on Friday night, so it was mostly spared. I thought it was totally spared until I got to the storage unit and realized the bottom drawer had a couple of quarts of water in it (incidentally, as I didn't have any towels with me, I had to open a dog bath towel from inventory and it worked quite nicely--if you need a superabsorbent towel, I highly recommend this: http://www.doggy-toys.com/product_info.php?cPath=34_52&products_id=504). I also had water in my cash box (no cash in it--just coins and blank credit card receipts) and so I had a bunch more to clean up. About 10 shirts ended up being wet, but not dirty. Considering my t-shirts were a $3000 investment, I was beyond grateful that most were spared.

So, today I am headed to the laundromat with my piles and piles and piles of dog clothes, in hopes that I can salvage most of it to where I can sell it for super-cheap at the flea market this weekend. I am out a lot of money in lost inventory, but I'm hoping to at least get some money out of it. The other sucky part is that I was counting on having a bunch of this inventory for the show I have coming up in three weeks. But, that clearly isn't going to happen, so once I assess the situation further, I'll know what I need to order in for the show and can go from there.

Anyway, that is the loooooooonnnnng and the short of how I came to loathe good ol' Hurricane Hanna. She is a hosebeast, in my book. I do not heart her in the least. However, I am beyond grateful that it was only "stuff" that was ruined. Had the storm hit during show hours, I would've been in the booth and would've either been killed or seriously injured--not to mention that customers could've been there too. Though I'm upset about the loss--especially after investing so much into it time, money, and effort-wise, I still know that it could have been worse. Besides that, it gives me a chance to step back and look at how I want to next proceed. I have two more weeks of flea market this month and then will be closed until November, so I may wait a little bit before running out to buy a new tent, etc. We'll see.

In the meantime, here are some pictures for your perusal that will show you what the booth looked like before and after beastly Hanna came for a visit...

Before it all got ruined:

A straight-on shot of the booth. I was happy with how it turned out, other than that there was an oil slick on the asphalt and the tablecloths aren't long enough to cover the boxes underneath. (I had already planned to get ones made that would be light blue and go to the ground, so now that my white ones are stained and ruined anyway, it's more reason to move forward with getting that done.)

This is one corner of my toy display. Notice the gray brick on the base of the toy tower. I eventually had to put two bricks on each tower base and even that didn't hold them down once Hanna hit.

My treat section. I had just picked up the treats that are in the Chinese take-out boxes, the paper bags, and the little Halloween bags at the front of the table. Almost all of it was lost.

This is what I drew when I got bored, after the first one got washed away in the rain.

The other side of the sign...

A little blurry, but the clouds looked really cool over the buildings downtown when I left on Friday night.

The first tent I saw--which made me decide to drive down the road instead of going to park the truck.

My booth...or what was left of it.

Another side shot...

The amount of standing water was insane. That's the tower of Tupperware drawers that my cash box and t-shirts were in...

Yet again, more damage...

The tent frame once all was said and done...

Funny.

2008-09-04T01:05:00.002-04:00

So, I'm catching up on reading about the looming Tropical Storm/Hurricane Hanna, expected to hit Raleigh sometime this weekend. An article on MSNBC was explaining how several local cities are preparing. It was under the Cary section that I found this little gem:

"That emergency kit should contain non-perishable food items and water for each family member for at least three days," said Deputy Chief Jay Poole with the Cary Fire Department. "Any medication that may be needed." -- Maybe paraphrase this so it's a complete sentence?

I did not write that last sentence about paraphrasing--they literally printed that in the article! Talk about some goooooooood proofreading there!! I also like that in the dateline of the article, it reads, "Raleigh, NC dash".

I do believe MSNBC will be hiring for qualified editors in the near future, as I sense some job openings coming along.

Wow.

2008-08-30T01:01:00.002-04:00

About the only word that I can think of at this moment is exactly that...wow. So, I was sitting here trying to get motivated to finish up my work so I can go to bed and get up at 5:30 in the blessed (working my flea market booth tomorrow), but got a bit sidetracked reading a blog from a musician on MySpace whom I like. He's got a really good voice, nice style, and isn't necessarily mainstream sounding. But, that's neither here nor there. It was while reading his blog and the subsequent comments that I stumbled across one written by a man named Marquest. (I'm assuming his distant cousin is Mapquest.)

This is how it read:

"Greetings! in the name of the Lord Jesus who is God most High.God bless you! Brother Gavin! And continue to keep God first in everything that you do! And to keep loving people from your heart that you may become beloved. For there is an old saying, "No man is an island unto himself" Or in other words we all need each other and are dependent upon one another. So, continue to be humble, sincere and passionate about conveying God's heart through music.May God bless you always! in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.Marquest BurtonP.S. Also please pray for a precious and valuable sister and friend to me (whom I am fully persuaded that shall be my wife one day) Jessica Broyal to receive Christ Jesus as her Lord and Saviour. And pray for me that God prepares me to be a good husband unto Jessica."

OK, so I consider myself a relatively religious and/or spiritual individual and I definitely love the Lord, but I read this with my mouth wide open in shock that someone would be so over the top in a blog comment for a blog that had nothing to do with religion. I thought, "Good heavens, there are some loons out there." And then I realized, after looking at the guy's name and location on the side of his comment, that "there" is actually just about 20 minutes up the road, as he lives in Durham, NC. So, then, I got even more curious (and saddened that he lives just up the street) and checked out his profile. These are some of his blog titles (I'm not correcting his grammar so you get the full effect):

"Jessica: I saving myself sexually for you in marriage!"
"Jessica: I am your angel (God has assigned me to you)"
"To Jessica: You are my lady and I am your man! (It is meant to be)"
"To Jessica: Our relationship is about to blossom! (I love you)"

Coupled with his profile quote: "The grace of a wife delighteth her husband and her discretion will fatten his bones. (Ecclesiasticus 26:13)", and the fact he reveals right on his profile that he tried to fill a void he felt in his life "with listening worldly music, ungodly movies, and internet pornography", I'm saying--RUN, JESSICA, RUN!!! Though I can appreciate him trying to be a good person and do right, I think the man may be off his rocker a bit. In the first blog about how he's saving himself for marriage, he even goes on to include a video promoting chastity. He also makes sure to point out that various churches he has visited over the years were not for him, as he found that the church members "were not faithfully following all the principles, statutes, and commandments of the Lord God most High."

I thought it was nice of Mr. Marquest to determine who was being faithful and who wasn't. He states that he went on to find a church loves, was baptized, and started speaking in tongues. All in all, it's a very interesting read and quite the way to fill some time while procrastinating! :)

My back: an update

2008-07-29T17:20:00.002-04:00

So, I feel like absolute crap today and don't feel like writing much, but I did want to catch ya'll up on the latest with my back. (I have some sinus thing going on--heading to the doctor's office on my way home as they said it sounds like a sinus infection and I don't want to have it while I'm on vacation--plus it kills to swallow, so I haven't eaten today and I'm a bit bitter.)

I got the MRI results today and there's both great and bad. The great part is that it's not a herniated disc or completely pinched off nerve. In fact, my spine looks great they said, so this confirms my long-standing suspicion that I am not, indeed, spineless. Anyway, I apparently have done something to a muscle that is now inflammed and putting pressure on a nerve (thus the loss of feeling in my leg), so they're looking to treat that.

I will continue with the Flector patches (a really slimy anti-inflammatory patch--probably about 6" by 8"--that I place on my back over the most painful area), but will also start a couple of months of physical therapy and a few months of electro-shock "massaging". I'll have a machine that I can wear all day (except driving and then it comes off while you sleep) that is supposed to massage the muscle back into shape. She also said that the physical therapy for the back will most likely include massages, which I'm all for as I've never had one and I've been wanting one. So, that's a bonus. The downside is that I hate physical therapy (this will be my third time doing it--and the knee therapy about killed me) and when they did the electro-shock thing to my knee last time, it burned my skin and left a scar. I did not heart it one iota.

My hope is that this time around, it will be less painful (not quite sure how--I can't lean backwards at all without it absolutely killing) and that I won't get burned or scarred...literally and figuratively. If the physical therapy doesn't work and I still don't have feeling in my leg, we'll move on to nerve testing at that point. I personally think that between being shocked all day and doing the therapy, I should not have to get to that point and will be just fine. It would also be nice to have some muscle strength back. It's really creepy to not be able to have full use of the extremities.

Anyway, I need to get going--there's usually a 2 hr wait at Urgent Care. Urgent Care= quite the misnomer. I hope all ya'll are doing well!

Love,
me

The straw that pinched Kade's back nerve...

2008-07-25T11:45:00.002-04:00

Greetings, friends! Long time no blog. I've been a bit busy and life got a little insane, but I have a moment in which I'm sitting here feeling unmotivated to work, so I shall write instead. Besides this, by writing this once, it will save me several phone calls and overlooking someone I should've caught up on details, as that tends to happen a lot with me.

Well, so it was not exactly a straw that pinched my back nerve, and I'm not even sure it's a back nerve that's pinched, but that's what I'm calling it for now. I don't even know what caused all of this mess, really. My guess would be that setting up the flea market booth did some of the damage, but who knows? This is what I do know...

About three weeks ago, my right leg started acting a little odd after I'd sit for any length of time. It was almost like my leg was asleep, but without the tingling feeling. It just hurt. I'd hobble around and it would go away after awhile. This went on for about two weeks. It just got worse and worse. I'd sit up in bed and then try to stand up, but had the same issues. It was really odd. So, this past weekend was a bit rough and by Monday afternoon, I was doubled over the arm of my desk chair, contorted in all sorts of ungodly ways, trying to find some sense of relief. I called my health insurance's nurseline, but they weren't much help. I almost asked the lady if she really was a nurse, as she kept recommending that I take Ibuprofen, despite me explaining that because of a stupid condition I have, Ibuprofen causes internal bleeding. I'm not sure what part of that she thought would be okay. Anyway, she said I needed to be seen within 24-hours, so I called my doctor's office to get an appointment, only to find that they were booking three weeks out. Rather than just go to a random doctor or to Urgent Care, I instead emailed my doctor's nurse, whom I have a really good relationship with (a personal email address too). So, she said that she'd try to work around the system and get me in this week, but in the meantime, to check out the Carolina Back Institute. They offer same-day appointments online (though not when you call), but I was still able to get in yesterday (Wednesday). Laura (the nurse) said she'd be able to get me in today, so it was a better idea to go with the back institute, as I could get in earlier and I'd end up getting referred to them in the end anyway. (Plus, even though it does require an actual referral to go there, Laura said they'd just act as if it were an official referral should it ever be questioned, even though it wasn't an official office call.)

So, yesterday, I went on in to the back institute (that has a MOST unfriendly receptionist), where they poked, prodded, x-rayed, and prodded some more. Oh, and inflicted pain upon my legs too. I looked lovely in a green hospital gown that was an XXL, as that was the only one long enough for me (it looked especially great considering my significant weight loss, as I looked like a little kid wearing a tent). They asked a million questions, including several about whether or not I'm experiencing numbness or tingling. I explained that I didn't feel either, but that my leg is really weak. (I can't put full weight on it and I limp as I walk, which is really weird as it's back pain yet my leg is acting stupid.) Well, they did the reflex test and my legs flailed appropriately, but when it came time to what I like to call the torture test, that's when there was a slight problem.

They use an instrument that resembles a pizza cutter--but it's a long skinny metal handle and a tiny wheel with spikes, but it's just like a pizza cutter--to test for numbness. The lady warned me it would hurt, as it's like needles running along your skin, but to let her know if I could feel it more on one leg than the other. She started on the outside of my left leg, which I fully felt, before moving to my right leg, which I did not feel so much. Then, the inside of both legs had the same result. Finally, she did the top of my left knee and I definitely felt it; I didn't feel the right side. She then tested for strength by placing her hand in front of each leg, while I pushed against them. Then, she put her hands on top of my knees and had me push against her hands. When it came to my right knee, she said, "Push." I said, "I am." And, I was. Just as much as I was with my left...or at least it felt that way to me. So, though I didn't think I had numbness in my leg, it turns out that I actually have very little feeling in my right leg at this point and even less strength than I thought. It's kind of an odd feeling actually. When I had my first knee surgery, they struck a nerve that resulted in me losing all feeling in my shin for months and months. It kind of tingled, but for the most part, there was no feeling. I could literally pull on my leg hair and not feel it. Normally, it would hurt quite badly. Eventually, the numb space shrunk to where I have the majority of feeling back (just one little section left that I'll never have feeling in again). But, that had the tingling--this just has no feeling. Very odd.

At this point, I go in for an MRI on Sunday and the results are due back on Tuesday. I have an appointment that afternoon to get those results. I got a PA when I went in, which normally I like the PAs better than the doctors, but not this one. We don't even know what's wrong with me and she's already discussing physical therapy, steroid injections, and surgery. I do not heart that. I think it's much less serious than an injury requiring surgery and my plan is to do every form of treatment BUT surgery. After my first knee surgery, the pain was gone and life was good--but my knee still didn't feel the same and hasn't ever since. I don't want that with my back. They said to let pain be my guide, so I'm still going to have my flea market booth this weekend (I'm taking off the following three weeks due to vacations and trips with friends/family.) I figure that any further damaged caused by setting up and breaking down the booth tomorrow will show in the MRI on Sunday, will all be treated starting next week, and I'll have three weeks of recuperation. It all works out beautifully.

At this point, I'm grateful I'm at least able to hobble about and function close to normal, that I have great insurance, and that financially, it's not a big issue as I have plenty of money in both my health reimbursement account (free money from my employer to help cover 1/2 of my $1000 deductible) and a lot in flex spending to cover any remaining cost. I'm going to use all of my remaining flex spending at the end of the year to pay down my braces, so I don't want to have to use much of it on my back issues, but I can use some and still make a huge dent in the cost for my braces.

So, that's the latest here. Life goes on, the flea market booth is doing very well, I'm making some great contacts, and I shipped off my first wholesale order this past week. Wahoo! I've got another retailer who placed a wholesale order with me that I'll be fulfilling next week when the products are back from my seamstress. (She's sewing my clothing tags into the t-shirts another company made--but they're my designs, so I want them tagged. :))

I hope all ya'll are doing well!

Love,

Designs ala Kade

2008-07-14T00:26:00.003-04:00

So, it just dawned on me that I've never posted a link to the March of Dimes collateral I designed for this year's 5K here in Raleigh. You can enjoy my work by viewing it at the following link:
http://www.run4babies.org/Registration.php

If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you'll see two "Register by Mail" options--one is the form and one is the brochure. I designed both of them, but the brochure (as you will see) was a beast. It's a two-page tri-fold brochure, so picture it that way, otherwise it will look really odd. We have them in print too (which reminds me--I need to grab some to put in my portfolio), but they are also able to be printed from online so that more runners can be reached.

Anyway, I just had to share in my excitement now that I remembered it. :) Hope all is well!

Happy Birthday, Derriere!

2008-06-30T11:17:00.003-04:00

Today marks the 27th birthday of my beloved friend, Darin...aka, Derriere, Dakin Pulsion, etc. In honor of this auspicious occasion, I offer up a list of 27 memories and/or reasons why I am glad Darin is my friend. Sadly, it did not take long to come up with so many bizarre memories...but that's what makes our friendship fun. Afterall, we are Kade and Darin, Darin and Kade. We fight like an old married couple, finish each others thoughts, and I think we may have even been separated at birth. We'll have to do some DNA testing there. In the meantime, I share with you my...

27 Memories/Reasons of Why I'm Glad Derriere is my Friend

The entrance to Nebraska. Who else could I possibly have enjoyed/endured that with?!

A-nnette Willie and the many, many, many years of jokes we’ve gotten from her. We’ve ridden her a long time…but that’s one ship that keeps on sailing. More of a pontoon than a ship, but whatev.

The uteran bulge. It deserves its own line.

The road trip across America…the rain, the Kleenex, the cargo strap, the motel searches, the endless word games…

Deli sandwiches from the convenience store fridge at 2 a.m., somewhere in Ohio. That was Hell. Let’s not do that again.

The overpass…peeing into an oncoming car…oh, wait…

Denny’s trips…Erica and her heaving bosom, ready to do CPR on you at any given second—particularly the mouth-to-mouth part.

The many adventures in good ol’ Aggie.

Cemetery drives with no headlights…and thus, little voyages off the road.

Cub River…locking the pregnant cat in the bathroom with Jen, making not-so-fun discoveries of pre-marital trysts happening in MY bed…

You’d rival A-nnette Willie in any beauty contest…well, except for the swimsuit competition, of course.

Lava Hot Springs…Bertie and Gertie; Arthur A. Rowsell; the dead bird; evenings eating ice cream and watching movies all night.

This is hard…do I really have to do 27?

The fact that you did not want me back in “your” hot tub, after I jumped in the hot tub with Billy Bob and Nalani’s boiled urine and sweat. You’re so selfish. Gosh.

“You want menus? For here?”...and then looking so out of place at that fun little diner in Downy, Idaho. (Why did we go back?!)

My first trip to DC back in the day…spilling my HOT chocolate on you…you being a thermostat Nazi. (“Shhh…Cammie Jan. Don’t tell Darin. He can’t find out. He’ll beat us.”)

The many weekends of you escaping Grandma Flo’s, sleeping on my floor, and being Brenda’s “good son”.

The OBX…your bus trip, my speeding ticket, swimming into the nest of baby jellyfish.

Hanging up on you the night you were mugged in NYC…pleasant for us both, I know. “Just remember, Darin, you can depend on me in any situation…just make sure I’m fully awake first.”

The sugar cookies shipped to Brazil via boat. Bless him.

You inhaling pillow fluff and subsequently vomiting in the kitchen sink. Ah, graduation. Fun times. “Why Miss Scarlet! He’s dead!” (And you almost were.)

Googly Eyes and the one quarter that provided hours of entertainment…and the Oreos at the payphone.

The many nights at the convenience store with Kris and Jeff…mixing sodas to see which combo was good, eating nachos, laughing to no end, etc.

What? What?

The cornfield…and discovering the corn was not edible for humans.

Hitting the deer and then trying to lasso it off the road. What were we thinking?! You laughing non-stop while I was having a heart attack. (And, I did NOT kill the thing…it was still twitching.)

Despite your many flaws…and I do mean many…you are a tremendous person whom I am blessed to call “friend”. You accept me for who I am, put up with my sometimes (and very rare) not-so-bright ideas, and are always there for me. Plus, how many people have provided me with so many years of crazy memories and so much laughter? Not many.

Happy birthday, friend! I’m looking forward to 27 more years of insanity, adventure, and copious hours of laughter…

A Picture to Commemorate Pilgrimage Anniversary

2008-06-24T00:52:00.005-04:00

I forgot that I have the perfect picture to use to help commemorate mine and Darin's voyage across America. It will also give you an idea as to what I'm referring to in my emails re: the cargo strap and the overstuffed backseat. Good, good times. This was at the very beginning of the trip. We were not smiling this much at the end...

A Noteable Anniversary

2008-06-22T23:05:00.003-04:00

As Darin pointed out earlier this evening, this week marks the two year anniversary of our pilgrimage to the South. We left Utah in Luh-fawn-duh the Honda (my beloved Accord) and had quite the drive across the country. I went back through my emails and found the two emails I had sent to my friends and family, updating them as to our travels and adventures. I shall paste them here for your enjoyment. Ah, memories...

Email #1 "Greetings from Zanesville, Ohio!"

Hello Friends!
Greetings from the other side of the country! It has been quite the adventure and we're only on our second day. Right now, we're in Zanesville, Ohio, which is 78 miles out of Columbus (Columbus is quite the beautiful city at night). We were hoping to make it into West Virginia tonight, but we're bushed. It's 12:45 a.m. and we've been driving since 9:00 a.m. We didn't get to bed until 4:30 a.m. That was twice as much sleep as we received the night before.

I was pretty much packed by Thursday night, but I still had a few things to throw in and then my room to pick up. I also wanted to go spend time with my family and then had to pick up Darin in Brigham. We got back to my house at 1:30 a.m., got the car packed, and then we were up until almost 4:00 a.m. getting stuff finished. We then woke up at 6:30 and got on the road. It was rough. Anyway, we survived the drive through Wyoming (the UGLIEST of states) including seeing some giant statue of Mary or Jesus (we couldn't tell which it was) and then we got to see a trailer house with teepees built into it. Like, permanent, concrete teepees built into the middle of a trailer house. It was insane. Don't worry, I took pictures. Anyway, we then headed into Nebraska and that is where the fun began.

A few miles into Nebraska, Darin was driving and noticed this HUGE field full of cattle. He was like, "Wow! That's a ton of cattle." I meanwhile was studying the atlas (Did you know Ohio is the 7th most populated state in the US?) and looked up and said, "That is a lot of cattle." Those were almost the last words I spoke. The cows were not just any cows. They were primed and ready for the slaughter, which meant they were fed a warm grain and it stunk to high heaven. We coughed, we gagged, we gulped down the vomit, and we tried to hold our breath. Because we were crying and laughing so hard, that proved impossible. So, we shoved our noses in our armpits to smell the deodorant over that hideous stench. I was brave a couple of times and tried to see if the smell was gone. It wasn't. It honestly was the worst smell on earth and lasted for MILES!! I would rather smell ten dead skunks at once than smell that again. That was our introduction into Nebraska. It was almost a death by toxic fuming. The reason I know about the warm grain, etc., is because I was texting my dad at the time, who drives through that area constantly. I told him I was taking my last breath and that it was due to these horrible cows. He wrote back, "Oh, those ones on the right hand side? Yeah, that's pretty bad. There's a rest area a few miles ahead. Pull over, walk around, and get a cold drink. It will help with the sickness." I don't think anyone will ever understand how bad it was unless they were to smell it themselves.

OK, so beyond the cows, we kept seeing urine filled bottles by the road, mile after mile. I couldn't figure out what I was looking at, until Darin explained that a lot of truck drivers do that to save time and then throw them out. That made me sick to my stomach too. But, a few miles later, we were both sick as we looked over to see a lady vomiting by the side of the road. OK, OK, I'll stop with the nasty details of the trip.

So, last night, we were planning on making it to Des Moines, Iowa. We were so exhausted though and tried to stay in Omaha, Nebraska instead. It turns out there was some college world series going on and the entire town's motels were booked, including all of the towns for the next two hours. We were exhausted, couldn't find a place to sleep, and we were starving. We finally found a place somewhere by Elk Horn, Iowa. I almost ran over a family of raccoons, but due to my sharp sight at 2:00 a.m., I avoided the tragedy. The funny thing is that Darin and I were playing the either/or game earlier in the day and one of his questions was, "Would you rather run over and kill an entire family of kittens or watch Duchess get eaten by a boa constrictor?" Of course, I'd much rather run over the cats. Anyway, a few hours later, there we were, with me almost running over a mama raccoon and her four babies. Disaster was avoided, so I hope Duchess doesn't meet up with any boa constrictors.

OK, so we couldn't get food b/c everything was closed, so we backtracked several miles to an open gas station to grab some junk to get by on, including refrigerated deli sandwiches. It was awful. But, for those of you who have seen me when I'm tired and hungry, you know it was best that I get something, anything really, to eat. It was essential. So, we were up early this morning and have driven about 1800 miles, maybe a bit more, between today and yesterday. We've driven through Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and most of Ohio. We're going to hit it tomorrow and try to get to Washington, DC by 1:00 p.m. I am aiming to get to South Boston, Virginia by 5 p.m. I'll head into Raleigh on Monday morning. I have an apartment now and a roommate, so that'll be fun. I'll meet him on Monday or Tuesday. I'll still be house sitting for the week, but will be able to drop all of my stuff off at the apartment so I'm not unpacking twice. I limited my packing to 120 shirts, 40 pairs of pants, 25 pairs of shoes, and then a lot of crap that I just had to have. Darin didn't do much better, so poor Luh-fawn-duh the Honda is loaded to no other. Bless her soul for surviving so far. We bought a cargo bag for the top of the car for luggage and it's stuffed too. The straps go through the car and hook inside, so now the door seals are separated making it soooooo noisy in the car. We solve this by stuffing kleenex and toilet paper in the door frame by the straps. We are both about the same height and the straps hang down a few inches from the roof of the car, so we are slouching down in the chairs to avoid having a strap pushing down on our heads the whole time.

OK, OK, I'll let ya'll go. I need to get to bed and this e-mail is long enough to keep you busy for a while. I hope you are all doing well. I'll catch ya' later. Have a blessed day!

Love,
Kade

Email #2 "Greetings from Raleigh"

Hello friends!
I have made it! 2600 miles later I am here. It was quite the trip full of fun and adventure in mile after mile. Darin and I made it to DC yesterday evening about 5 hours later than planned, so I didn't get to my Virginia destination until late last night. We had spent the night in Ohio and drove through West Virginia, Pennsylvania, back into West Virginia, through Maryland (HORRIBLE TRAFFIC!!) and then into DC from there. I took off from DC last night and drove down to Clover, VA and stayed with some friends there, before driving down to Raleigh this afternoon. I only got severely lost once I got to Raleigh itself. It's going to be quite the adventure trying to find my way around this town.

Yesterday, we hit a ton of rain storms, which didn't help us in getting to DC in time either. In fact, this morning the news was that portions of DC flooded, including the home of my friend's niece. It sounds quite bad. Anyway, not only did this put us behind schedule, but we also had other issues because of this. We had the cargo bag on top of the car, with the straps coming through the doors and connecting inside the car itself. This proved to be quite noisy as it made the door seals not work properly. To combat this, we had stuffed kleenex in the door jam and that had worked for us...until the rain that is. Of course, the tissue absorbed the water, sending it right to the inside of the car, dripping down on us. I was driving and it wasn't so bad on my side for a while, but Darin was getting dumped on. So, I had him pull a bath towel from the backseat and we used it to blot the soaked car and strap. (The car roof material inside the car window was soaked and dripping too.) We were just trading the towel back and forth as mine occasionally dripped, but pretty soon that wasn't enough. So, I had Darin dig through the pile in the backseat and find another towel, so we could both wrap our arms in them and try to not get soaked. Can we say ghetto?! But, it was still way fun. I drove by the Watergate tower, the Federal Reserve, and the Kennedy Center yesterday, which were places I didn't see last time I was in DC. I'll have to go back up and explore a few times while Darin lives there. It was weird driving out of DC because I wasn't at all concerned with sightseeing, but that is one main place to visit for that. It just became another place on the map to drive through.

Anyway, I forgot to mention in my previous e-mail that most of you got, that in a freakish accident I managed to dislocate my jaw while flossing my teeth. I know, I know. No need to make comments on this one. Anyway, it has hurt like no other and there have been so many times on the trip that we were laughing so hard at stupid stuff and it didn't help the situation. So, now I have a swollen jaw and it hurts to even chew food. Well, I thought this was bad enough. But, it gets better (or worse as the case may be). While driving out of Maryland, I tried to take a picture of the "Welcome to Maryland" sign b/c I had missed it on the way in. Logistically, I had to turn around in my seat (no, I wasn't driving at the time), duck under the cargo case straps, and over the tremendous pile of junk in the backseat, all while trying to keep my seatbelt on. Needless to say, it flopped. Not only did it flop, but I pulled a groin muscle (too much info, I know) and it started cramping. So, I'm screaming and laughing while trying to straighten out my leg, keep my jaw shut, and take a picture. It was horrible. It didn't help that Darin was laughing hysterically as well. But, I think I would've done the same if it were him. To make matters worse, the picture didn't turn out. However, despite all this, I am here safe and sound.

I have a job interview tomorrow and I should move into my new apartment this next week. Come next week it's going to be really rough when I have to cough up a fortune for rent and utilities. Short of prostituting myself, I'm going to have to do anything and everything to come up with money.

Well, on that happy note, I must bid you all adieu. I need to go get ready for dinner. Also, my cell phone only works if I sit in the rocker on the north corner of the front porch, so if you call me, you'll most likely get my voicemail. I'll try to check them periodically and call you back when I get a sec. I hope all is well with each of you. Take care and have a blessed day!

Love,
Kade of the South

It's hard to believe it's been two years already! The road trip was indeed an adventure, but the two years since then have proven to be quite the adventure as well. I don't know as I ever want to make a road trip across the country again, but it was worth doing once. Anyway, I'm glad I am here in Raleigh and that all has gone well since moving here and I look forward to many more fun years to come!

Utah We Love Thee

2008-06-18T20:03:00.029-04:00

After months and months and months of work and preparations, an unpleasant smelling plane ride, and a small fortune, we pulled off my grandma's surprise 80th birthday party last week! I headed off to Utah a week early to complete the final purchases and plans, which ended up turning out great. Grandma didn't know I was in town, let alone that we were having a party for her. So, it was all very, very fun. Meanwhile, I tried to also pack in as much as I could when it came to spending time with my family and friends. Having said that, here are a few pictures from my week.

The triple rainbow--This is from my sister's backyard and it doesn't show the third rainbow, but there actually was one behind the one to the far left. I've never seen a double rainbow, let alone a triple. It was very cool.

My most favorite boys on earth--my nephews Aydyn and Kyeler. Ayd is identical to Kye when Kye was that age. Absolutely adorable.

The gym/cultural hall at the church all decked out for Grandma's party. (It looked much cooler in person.)

Part of the spread that fed the masses...

This is the centerpiece for each table. We did a beach theme, as Grandma loves the ocean. So, the Carribean blue tulle is supposed to look like waves, with the ceramic bowl in the center holding white sand, a flickering votive candle, and seashells. We had 80 yellow (sunshine) and blue (water) balloons about the room.

This is me, my mom, and my sisters. The funny thing here is that, despite us clearly not planning, Mom and Kodi still managed to match.

This would be me and my sisters (Kami on the left; Kodi on the right). Such a happy trio are we.

And here I am with the birthday lady herself... I seriously have the greatest grandma ever. She could not be cooler if she tried.

I'm a bit disappointed that my camera was being stupid, so the picture of Grandma walking in and being surprised did not turn out like I had hoped. But, nonetheless, here it is...

This one turned out a little bit better, but it wasn't the initial surprise shot...

After the party, the adorable nephews (Kye is on the left; Ayd is on the right) had a blast playing in the balloons, as witnessed here...

After the party was over, Mom and I stopped at the local convenience store to grab some bottled waters for our ride home. The clerk behind the counter is the son of the lady my grandma sold her house to when she re-married several years back. Mom chatted with him for just a moment, but he thanked us for having the party there in Malta, Idaho. He said it meant a lot to everyone there that we thought of them and that there were strict orders throughout the valley to not breathe a word of the party so the surprise wouldn't be ruined. It was kind of a challenge to plan a party to be held in a different state and in a town with very limited resources. There wasn't even a suitable motel or hotel in town, let alone a grocery store, bakery, etc. So, we had to haul it all in. To give you an idea of the scenery, we stopped along the side of the road so I could take this shot (can we say "desolation"?!)...

Oh, I almost forgot to post the picture of me, my sisters, my grandma, and my cousin. On that side of the family, I only have two cousins. The one who is missing was out of state and is about 10 years younger than me. Otherwise, this is it for that side...

All in all, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Utah, despite the limited play time, all of the work, and the stress of getting it all together in time. But, I loved seeing my family, some great friends, and re-connecting with some people I hadn't talked to in forever and a day. I wish I had more time to see more people, but unfortunately, that's not how it worked out. However, it was well worth the trip, but particularly because it was for my grandma, whom I love and adore. I can't imagine my life without her. So, happy 80th birthday to Grandma and happy Utah trip to me!

Nokia Nonsense

2008-06-11T00:57:00.003-04:00

Welcome to post #50. I just happened to notice that as I logged in. Very fun. Speaking of fun, I have quite the story to tell from tonight's interesting experience.

I was gone the whole day, returning to my mom's house late this evening. I grabbed some take-out on my way home from a restaurant I used to frequent and was sitting at the dinner table, eating and chatting, when the doorbell rang. Mom said, "Great. Another salesman. I don't need another security system." Well, it was certainly not ADT. It was actually the really strange girl from just down the road who is often seen just wandering about. I'm not quite sure what her deal is, but Mom and I certainly got to know her well tonight.

She said, "Can I please use your phone for two minutes? I have an emergency phone call I need to make." Mom asked if it was local or long-distance, to which the girl replied that it was long-distance. So, Mom handed her cell phone to this er, um...lovely?...girl, who promptly invited herself in and plopped down in the recliner. Meanwhile, I stayed at the kitchen table and listened to the girl's conversation, in-between chatting with Mom. Of course, we could only hear one side of the conversation, but these were some of my favorite lines:

-No, I'm not cheating on you. I said that as a joke to get you going.
-No, I didn't ever sleep with Dustin.
-No, I didn't ever sleep with John.
-She's just trying to break us up.
-Well, maybe if they shove two tubes up inside me, they can get the things out. (Lord only knows on this one...I was a bit nervous myself just hearing that.)
-I don't want to marry the wrong guy. Remember how drunk the last one got and then he got me drinking coffee every day. I'm waiting 2 1/2 years to marry the right guy.

There were plenty of other little things she said here and there that made me cringe, but those were the ones that got the most laughs from me. The really crazy thing was that she didn't seem to care that she was sitting in a total stranger's living room, with two people listening in on the convo. I whispered to Mom that we should move to the couch and just stare at her to see what she does. But, Mom didn't like that idea.

In the beginning, I told Mom that I'd give her maybe five minutes and then ask her to leave. Well, after the first five minutes were so bizarre, I told her to give the girl 10. Then, at 10 minutes, we were just getting to the good stuff, so I told her to go for 15. I said, "Mom--this is great blog material. We have to keep listening." At 15 mins., she asked the girl to please wrap up the call. At 20 minutes, she told the girl to wrap up the call, to which the girl responded that she needed two more minutes. Mom said, "You told me two minutes when you got here. It's been twenty." And with that, the girl ended her convo with a "Yeah, I need to go...Well, because I'm using someone else's phone...OK, love you, bye!"

Mom said, "You told me you would be two minutes and that was twenty. It also was not an emergency phone call like you said it was." She said, "I'm sorry. I had to call my boyfriend to straighten out some crap." Mom quickly saw her to the door and sent her on her way. A little bit later, a text came through that said, "I need to talk to Hidee. Please have Hidee call me. I need to talk to her." So, I'm going to assume the girl's name is Hidee, but who knows? Either way, it was truly bizarre and was one of the more awkward moments of my week. Based upon Mom's reaction, I can safely say that Hidee will not be using Mom's phone again. Ever. And that, my friends is the tale of the nonsense that took place tonight on Dear Brenda's Nokia. OK, I assume Mom's phone is a Nokia, but if not, I'm still going to go with it as I like the alliteration of Nokia Nonsense. :)

View from the Top

2008-06-08T01:53:00.002-04:00

So, I’m currently sitting on the airplane, about an hour into my flight to Utah. I’ll just copy and paste this later, but while I’m the middle of this hell known as flight #1855, I may as well write. A couple of days ago, a co-worker and I were discussing flights and I said, “hopefully I’ll end up without having screaming children, stinky people, or obnoxious people next to me and no children kicking the back of my seat.” Well, the children are plentiful but not screaming yet…otherwise, I totally jinxed myself.

I have never had to use the vomit bags on a plane before (though my sister Kodi has—funniest story ever, but I can’t think too much about vomit or I will completely wretch at this point, so I’ll have to save the story for another time); I have had to seriously consider using the “Feel Better” bag on this flight. The man and woman next to me are a lovely couple…if you enjoy men with fingernails two inches long and completely dirty, a lot of loud chatter, and having your seatmates eat the stinkiest food one could smell. I seriously have no clue what it is—it looks like very damp pita chunks that were baked with a whole heap of nasty. When they first opened their carry-on bag to pull out said grossness, I concurrently smelled what I assumed to be a skunk. I thought…how odd that the skunk smell is coming through the air vents. (Keep in mind I’m going on three hours of sleep here and haven’t fared much better many nights this week.) Then it dawned on me that the plane could not have hit a skunk (don’t worry—it didn’t take too long to come to this conclusion).

This led me to start looking around me for the source of the abomination. Turns out I only needed to look a couple of inches to my right. Now, the couple is Asian and I do love me some Asian people, but I think the food they clearly learned to cook in the motherland should not have made its way with them to America. It is complete and total air pollution. Polar bears are drowning because of these people's cooking and ensuing pollution. I was eating my tasty Biscoff cookies (incidentally, my favorite—I heart Biscoff cookies) and then BAM!...almost instant vomit. So, I did what any sane person who doesn’t want to vomit in public did-—I turned away from the stench source, put my finger under my nose so I could just smell Biscoff remnants, and took the smallest breaths possible. I thought I’d either hyperventilate or sniff so hard my finger would be inhaled. It finally got to the point that the smell was dying down…and then they went for seconds. Out came the Ziplock of Putridity AKA the skunk that had been ran over 100 times and left in the baking sun with a bit of sewage poured on top of him came back to life. I prayed they would nibble quickly and feel satisfied with their consumption. I think my prayer may have been answered as the food has seemingly been tucked away. Darin is the only person who will appreciate this, but Darin, think Nebraska feed lot and combine that with limited air supply. It’s a miracle I’m alive.

So, in other fun, I’ve got the pre-teen girl in front of me who thinks it’s great to keep turning on and off the overhead light, while bouncing all over the place in her chair (my laptop screen touches the back of the seat so it’s a jiggling away); I also have the little boy behind me that is attempting to make seatback kicking an Olympic sport. He would take the gold without a doubt. Giving his parents crusties has not worked yet. (I indeed gave them “the look”…how else will they learn?)
OK, I reckon that’s enough griping. Anyone who has spent any time around me when I’m tired and hungry would well be able to picture the look on my face and the bitterness I’m exuding right now. However, in good news not only did I enjoy my cookies, but I also have the coolest TV screen in front of me. It’s cooler than the typical seatback TVs on normal planes. This has HBO, Food Network, 10 movie options, complete CDs of any genre, and it’s all touch screen. I can even control the headset volume and overhead light though the screen. I tried to listen to Madonna’s “The Confessions Tour” CD, but I wasn’t overly impressed. So, I’ve moved on to The Killers new CD. (Side note: the little pre-teen beast is about to get more than just my knee punching the back of her seat if she keeps it up. I am passively aggressively sending a message while bruising my knee in the process. Good times.)

Anyway, the music is excellent, the cookies delicious, and I have been able to get some work down for my site. So, that’s all a bonus. And, as I just typed that last sentence, my little female neighbor reached for the food bag again. I got a whiff of the stinky and was sure I was doomed…but apparently she just bumped that bag while getting out a most-delicious smelling orange. I can handle orange. I heart orange. I’m currently thanking the good Lord above for oranges. It was a great idea. Go God! OK, so I’m sure I’ll be cast to Hell for that one, but maybe not as I am giving Him props. Anyway, I’m off to contemplate my eternities of suffering that are sure to ensue. And, I’ll also be thinking of how excited I am to be going to Utah for the week. Wahoo!!!!!

A BlackBerry? No...a Lemon.

2008-05-28T09:08:00.002-04:00

I hate my phone. Yes, hate. In the past few months, I have experienced the following with this supposed technological marvel--the BlackBerry Pearl:

-It wouldn't send picture messages for weeks
-It deleted the internet browser on its own
-It's stopped receiving texts...twice. The first time was during a break-up, only making the whole situation worse as it looked like I was being an @$$ and ignoring my texts
-It deleted all of my 465 contacts, while I was trying to do a software update in an attempt to fix another problem it had. My favorite part of that fiasco: I did backup the data--or attempt to--but, when I went to restore it all, I found that the backup file was "corrupted", resulting in hours of work trying to recover the contacts; I got back 430. I'm still discovering who the 35 missing are. Oh, and when that whole thing happened, it froze my phone up and wouldn't let me call anyone--and I was heading out on a blind date, with no capability of checking in with friends to let them know I was fine. It was awful.
-It has started deleting all of my messages before I can even get them open--or the second I close them, they'll delete
-At random, my inbox (which I do not keep overfilled anyway) deletes texts or emails, sometimes all of them at once
-The phone freezes up regularly and gives me that stupid twirling hour glass--usually at the most inopportune times too
-In the middle of texting, it will switch from doing "SureType" to doing the multi-tap alphabet on its own
-The camera zoom has completely failed to work
-The scrolling mouse thing only works occasionally and when I try to scroll to select the correct word from the SureType list, it doesn't work and picks a random one, resulting in me re-typing the word several times before it accepts it

-And, the latest saga: I sent a text to some friends and family members this morning, letting them know that, yet again, my phone is not receiving texts. I know this because I was mad at a friend for not answering me yesterday, so I yelled at them. But it turns out they answered me--twice--and I just didn't get it. Grrr. Anyway, I sent the text this morning and almost instantly, I got a call from some random Utah phone number (801 area code). I thought, "Hmmmm...this is really early for Utah time. It could be an emergency, but it could just be a wrong number." So, I let it go to VM and then immediately checked it. This is how the voicemail went:

"Yes, if your phone number is (...), please stop texting my son! He's 12 years old. We live in Ogden, Utah. He just got a text saying that your phone is messed up and this is the 10th text he's gotten from you. Please stop texting him! We have to pay for every one you send."

I called back and apologized and got his phone number to see if it just happens to be one number off from any of my family members', but it wasn't anywhere even close. I told her I was taking the phone in today to be fixed...again...and then apologized again. After hanging up, it occurred to me that my phone has done some pretty stupid things. So, I went into each family member's record to make sure his number didn't get added into it somehow. Sure enough, my phone replaced my sister Kami's cell number with some random 12-year-old boy's cell number. AAAAAHHH!!! I so want to smash the thing...but instead, I will do the calm thing and make Verizon replace it. I called them yesterday again anyway and they said they'd do whatever it took to make me happy. They'd better stand by that, as I do not need a $300 piece of junk that texts random 12-year-old boys. Not cool.

OK, I have said my peace...amen.

My Morning in Madea's World

2008-05-23T13:54:00.002-04:00

A year or two ago, I was introduced to the incredibly funny, yet poignant, Madea movies. Today, I lived for a moment in the world of Madea.

My dear friend and coworker, Beth, invited me to her son Cameron's pre-school graduation, which took place this morning. It was a fun little affair that was attended by dozens of people, including me and Beth's friend, Lynn. Lynn is a cracker, just like myself, so we looked like a fun little white couple...the only problem being that none of the graduating children were white. Lynn said, "I bet there are plenty of them wondering which child could possibly be ours." So, we had our little chuckle and then the program started. (Beth, meanwhile, was off to the side of the room taking pictures, thus leaving us to look like a couple as she is also a very pasty white cracker--OK, she's actually quite tan, but I still wanted to get in a jab.)

I looked at the program to find the list of graduates, which included Kadayia, A'Ameerah, and Miyah. The teacher's name is Daphaline. That's fun. These poor kids don't have much of a chance at having their names pronounced correctly in Kindergarten and beyond. Anyway, the program was really good and started off with the kids dressed in garb that reflects the career they hope to have when they grow up. Cute little Cameron was a firefighter, courtesy of some last minute--yet brilliant--shopping that Beth and I did yesterday. They did their songs, introductions, etc., and finished that part by dancing the Macarena--yes, the Macarena--before heading off to get into their caps and gowns. (Incidentally, I think most of life's milestones are getting out of control in regards to the money and effort put into celebrations--it's insane.)

While the kids were changing, Miss Dalphaline called upon volunteers to come forward. Several parents did go up. (I must say how impressed I was with the involvement these parents, grandparents, aunts, cousins, etc., have in the kids' lives. It's apparent that they care.) Well, what did these volunteers end up doing? They did exactly what was printed in the program they'd do--the electric slide. Yes, the intermission at pre-school graduation was parents doing the electric slide. It wasn't just the initial volunteers that danced, either. There were people getting up out of their seats to dance with the rest of them once they realized what was going on (they clearly hadn't read their programs).

Immediately, I thought back to Madea's Family Reunion and how they all danced the electric slide in the middle of the yard; then, I remembered an Oprah show where she said that any time black people get together--weddings, funerals, BBQs, it doesn't matter--they inevitably end up doing the electric slide. They even did it during that Oprah show. Today, there were people cheerin' and doing the whole "mmmhmmm" shouts, while a group of parents at the front were totally dancing away. The floor was shaking (not the sturdiest or newest of buildings), people were clapping and stomping, cheering, etc. And there, in the middle on a chair made for a five-year-old, was me...the sole white man looking like most white men watching others do the electric slide: I didn't know what on earth I was watching.

It was an absolute hoot! I feel cultured--much like a pearl--and can now say that I have sat through the electric slide--in a preschooler's chair, no less. Don't count on seeing me actually dance the electric slide any time in this lifetime, but I was indeed witness to its performance. I must say that it was a fun experience to step into the world of preschoolers and the electric slide, before coming back to the office and getting back into my own world. But, for a moment, I got to be like Madea. Hellurrrr!

My Beloved Camilla Juanita: Homage

2008-05-19T21:00:00.004-04:00

As anyone who knows me can well attest, I absolutely love and adore my most excellent friend, Cammie Jan (aka Camilla Juanita). Those who know me can also attest to the fact that I share my love through much sarcasm and joking. If I'm kind to you and am not remotely sarcastic, it generally means I don't like you. Put into an equation, it would break out to be this: Me=Nice=You not liked. Anyway, I normally would not put a personal phone or text conversation online, but Cammie Jan made me chuckle so much that I couldn't resist on this one. I shall be known as "me" in this little scenario; Cammie Jan will be called "CJ"--creative, I know. I think it must be a gift from God or something. Anyway, this was our little text moment (only partially edited as some can't be repeated here):

CJ: I'm waiting for my car to be fixed and the old man next to me is reading an article about male enhancement pills. Are they a hoax? the article asks.
Me: Yes. They fail me every time.
CJ: Gross.
Me: The article asked, so I answered. :) Actually, I have no clue. But, a Dateline-type show investigated & said they're a hoax. You can share that with the man.
CJ: I'd rather not strike up a conversation with him.
Me: Hon, you're no spring chicken. This is not the time to be picky.
CJ: Shut. It. Now.
Me: I just don't want you to lose out on Mr. Right.
CJ: You're not helping.
CJ: Maybe I should take those pills.
Me: You already have a glandular problem. Let's not make it worse. Plus, there's the mustache issue to take into consideration too.
CJ: God made me what He made me. I take no credit.
Me: It's probably best you don't.
CJ: I won't. Would YOU take credit for THIS?
Me: Not so much. But to each his own, I say. :)
CJ: I just don't think I will. I was born this way--why you gotta hate?
Me: Oh, Shoog. You know I love you right down to the last hair in your bushy 'stache.
CJ: So, I'm hairy. What do you want from me?
Me: For you to utilize the spa waxing option.
CJ: Truly. Why are we friends?
Me: Because your mama pays me. That and the fact I think you're the best thing since sliced bread.
At the same time I sent that, this came from CJ:
I'm asking Brenda for a significant raise.
CJ: I'm not better than sliced bread?
Me: What can I say? I heart me some carbs.

But, the truth of the matter is that I heart me some Camilla Juanita. Cammie Jan is indeed one of the absolute best people on this earth and definitely one of the greatest influences, confidants, supporters, and examples in my life.

To think, those many, many years ago (first grade, to be exact), young Cammie Jan watched me run away from home (my mom wouldn't let me go to a friend's house for a sleepover); she sat there with my sisters and all of their friends, laughing away at me. Here we are over 20 years later and we're still laughing--only this time, it's not always me we're laughing at. (Usually, but not always.) Cammie Jan has one of the biggest hearts on this earth, gives (usually) sound advice, listens to me whine and complain, and even occasionally laughs at one of my stupid jokes. She is, in my book, perfection. So, Cammie Jan, know that you're loved from afar (and from a Kade, too)--and that you don't really have a 'stache problem. That was just me showing some love. :) Well, I must go pee, so off I go...

Vehicular Modules (a.k.a. Cars)

2008-05-14T00:51:00.003-04:00

I am peeved. Today, I had to have the inspection done on my car and it cost me $30. This has to be done yearly--including emissions--whereas in Utah, it was every other year. Last week, I had to pay my property tax on said car (yes, in NC, they actually charge a property tax on vehicles--even those vehicles one doesn't outright own, which is utterly ridiculous) to the tune of $250, which is a decrease from what I paid last year. This is all in addition to the yearly license and registration fees I pay. Oh, and I had to pay sales tax on my property tax payment. Yes, paying tax on tax.

Anyway, I sat down and calculated how much my car costs me each month once I factor these ridiculous taxes and charges into the monthly payments, while also adding the insurance and fuel costs. Not counting oil changes or maintenance and being VERY conservative on the fuel costs, my monthly car expense is approximately $585! That's almost $600 to drive a freaking vehicle! The sad thing is that even if I drove a cheaper car, it wouldn't be saving me that much as the fuel would cost the same, the taxes wouldn't decrease that much, the insurance wouldn't drop that much, and it would take a very cheap car to get my payment to drop significantly as the current payment isn't that horrible. It works out to be over $200/month more than what I spent on my car in Utah, while my payments on my new car only went up about $100--and my insurance dropped by $25/month too. That means I'm paying over $100/month in extra fees, taxes, etc., as a chunk of my payment also goes to taxes. It's ridiculous and I do not heart it.

My thought at this late hour is that NC needs to re-think the property tax idea on vehicles, especially when it's not technically my property. The car is the property of American Honda Finance Corporation until it's paid off. Alas, I digress...but I'm still angry.

Mi Madre

2008-05-12T00:26:00.003-04:00

On this, the day/eve we celebrate our mothers, I would like to take a moment to celebrate my wonderful mom. Mom has many nicknames--Dear Brenda, Brendella, Ma, Mama, Mamacita, Old Woman, etc. However, regardless of how I refer to her, the fact is that I have the coolest mom ever!

Mom is definitely not like other moms--or at least moms that I have known. For example, this was her birds and bees talk: "Honey, even though I hope you'll wait until marriage to have sex, you're going to do what you want to do. But, whatever you do, use protection! If you're too embarrassed to go buy condoms, I'll buy them for you. I'm not about to let you screw up your life. You have too much going for you." And with that, I had my birds and bees knowledge. (For the record, I'd be much more embarrassed to ask my mom to buy me condoms than I would be to just go buy them myself. But, the thought is what matters here...)

My mom is also infamous for her love of shopping and all things clothes. I do not fall far from the tree, but at least I came by it honestly. So, many fun memories involve spending the day or an evening with mom, getting some cool duds and usually a dinner too. Back in the day, I greatly benefited from Mom's generosity in this arena as if I saw something I wanted, but couldn't afford it, she'd buy it for me. But, it wasn't the "stuff" that mattered here--it was the fact that my mom was always willing to spend time with me and do everything she could to make sure my needs and wants were met.

Things weren't always the easiest for Mom. When she and my dad divorced, she put herself back through school, worked full-time, and had me and my older sister Kodi to take care of. Yet, despite this, she still managed to pull off many 4.0 GPA semesters and graduated with honors. I didn't get a single 4.0 in college and I only had a job to worry about--no kids or great financial worries. I am very, very proud of, and thankful for, my mom showing me that all things are possible--even when the odds seemed overwhelming.

Another time that stands out to me as a time when Ma showed her true strength is when she and my step-dad divorced. Despite the fact that she was giving up a very comfortable lifestyle and knew life would suddenly become much tougher, she did not complain. The night we moved out of the house and into a condo, we had dinner at a local drive-in cafe. The tab came to $16 and some change. Mom said, "Well, we won't be able to do that very often." I said, "Do what?" She said, "Eat out like this." It was then that I knew life had really changed. Afterall, this is the same woman, who just two months previous, had spent (along with my stepdad) over $700 on one dinner for ten of us, as we celebrated their anniversary. Perhaps this money was ill-spent, particularly considering the marital outcome, but regardless, it was spent. Two months later, $16 was a big deal. And yet--she never complained. It was just a transition in life for her.

Many, many nights...and I mean MANY...I would spend hours lying on Mom's bed while she went about doing whatever it was that she was doing and we would just chat away. She'd come and go in and out of the room, but would keep up with the conversation. Usually (well past midnight) she'd tell me it was time to go to bed and after a bit more chatting, another "midnight chat" would conclude. During college, the chats would occur several times a week. It's a miracle either one of us could function as we'd stay up so late visiting.

Three years have now passed since Mom and Scottie were divorced and life is much, much easier and better for Mom than those first several months--but her attitude is the exact same. She is just as generous, wise, concerned, involved, and conscientious of what's going on in mine and my sisters' lives--not to mention what my nephews are up to. She pays attention to each of us--but isn't intrusive. She's still one of the first people I turn to for advice, support, or for a pick-me-up talk when life isn't going so well or I'm stressed. I know she doesn't always agree with my choices and when I fall flat on my face, she's the one who is there to make sure I'm okay--not to tell me "I told you so". I have to have a third knee surgery and I want my mom to be here with me. So, I called her up and told her I need her to fly across the country and be here with me for a week. She said, "When do I need to be there?" She didn't complain about the inconvenience or cost of time and money. Mom is the type who would jump on a plane in the middle of the night to get to me if I needed her that badly.

When I told her of my plans to move across the country, without a job or apartment, to start a whole new life, she didn't tell me I was stupid or that it was a horrible plan. Rather, she said that if it's what I wanted to do, she was behind me all the way. And, she made to point out that if I needed to move back home, the door would always be open. When I went on my mission, I didn't want to have to give up using my favorite chap stick, shampoo, or hair gel. On the mission budget, there was no way I could afford such luxuries--let alone find the products locally. So, Mom would regularly make sure I had these "needs" met. When I left the MTC and found that I couldn't fit everything in to the suitcase I'd gone to the MTC with, she overnight couriered a new, larger suitcase for me. When I had my 22nd birthday dinner, she mailed my favorite salad dressing to the church member whose house we were eating at, as the dressing wasn't found locally either. When we baptized a lovely lady named Linda, I wanted to give Linda a framed photo of the Hawaii temple she'd once visited 25 years previous. There wasn't time to get it ordered, shipped, etc., through regular means. Mom went out and bought it, then overnight mailed it to me so I'd have it in time and Linda's day would be even more special. When I told her of a picture another lady we baptized had fallen in love with, Mom found a copy of the painting and then framed and matted it herself (she's very crafty), before shipping it to her. It now graces the entryway to this woman's house. My bleeding heart finds charitable purposes on a regular basis--and Mom only moderately whines before opening her wallet to help me achieve whatever it is I'm trying. Sometimes, it's a weekly thing too. And yet, she still is willing to help whatever cause I've found to be my latest.

She is a great friend and mom to all of my friends, makes sure everyone is taken care of, would make me (and any friends spending the night) breakfast on the weekends, and just all around goes out of her way to make sure I'm taken care of.

There are a million acts of kindness and fun memories I could share about my mama, but I think I've offered enough insight to let the random reader get a feel for just how special and wonderful my mom is. I hope to have even half the humanity and wisdom she has--I would be a very blessed person to have that. Ma has a wonderful example to follow, in the form of my incredible grandma; she, in turn, has given me a wonderful example to follow. Sure, Mom is not perfect (the time she picked up the wrong dog at the groomer's comes to mind--but at least she was willing to pick up my dog for me in the first place), but she's as great as they come and I'm so blessed to have her as my mama. Happy Mother's Day, Ma! I love you like a fat kid loves donuts!

License Plates

2008-05-07T00:00:00.002-04:00

Today, my drive to work was kept interesting simply by paying attention to the license plates around me. The pimped out, bright green Audi driving next to me for the bulk of the time had a plate that read "APOSTLE1". Now, I'm not sure if the guy is claiming to be an apostle of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, but I would dare bet that as I live here in the Bible belt, it would indeed be what he is claiming. Call me crazy, but I don't know as an apostle of the Lord would be driving a bright green, pimped out Audi while wearing sunglasses with bright gold earpieces. It's just not quite right to me.

Then, after staying along side my religious friend for some time, I got to the stoplight...and was stopped right next to a car that's plate said "CATER". How I would have loved to be a person behind either of us. As my plate reads "KADER", reading from left to right it would have appeared as "CATER" "KADER". What are the odds?

Anyway, while I'm thinking of vehicles, I must say that I am not hearting these recently appearing bumper stickers that read "I (heart) my wife!" I think it's great these people love their wives, but does it really take putting it on a bumper sticker to prove this? Did these men do something to royally piss off their wives to the point they had to reassure them that they love them by applying a cheap piece of paper with adhesive to their vehicles? Or, is it a self-affirmation that they need to see each day in order to keep them motivated to stay in their marriage? From the few I've seen so far, I can tell you it's not that these are Don Juans or Casanovas of any sort that are fending off the potential marriage threats (i.e., mistresses) by letting it be known up front that they are married. I just do not get it. However, the vehicular accessory choices of others does help to make my commute fly by as I end up spending most of my time behind the wheel pondering these sorts of thing, so for that I'm grateful...even if I do think these people are crazy half the time.

Friends, Family, and Fun!

2008-05-03T16:29:00.002-04:00

An updated slide show/video without the problems the first one had...

Hmmph...

2008-04-28T21:46:00.002-04:00

Well, as many know, I've been looking for a new job and have been in the holding stage for one job in particular for about a month and a half now. It's kind of sucky, but I think it will come through and it'll be a nice raise...to the tune of $10,000 more/year. In the meantime, I found another opportunity that would be awesome in SOOOOOO many ways--especially the $20-30,000/year raise.

Well, anyway, this particular job has so many perks to it, above and beyond the pay. A friend of mine is the recruiter filling the position and she tried to get the hiring manager to bring me in for an interview. Unfortunately, she wouldn't do so. The reason? No, it's not lack of experience...it's that I have too much experience. That's right! At the ripe ol' age of 27, I am overqualified for a job. I couldn't believe it. The pay raise is tremendous and the job is phenomenal...and yet I have done too much marketing to even be able even get an interview. Go figure. Oh, and I should mention here that this position is with one of my current employer's largest clients.

So, today, I ended up at this client's site, attending a meeting to go over some fundraising ideas, as we'll be partnering with them for an event this fall. Who would be sitting right across the table from me? None other than the director of marketing who felt I was overqualified. The meeting went sooooo well that after the meeting, the VP of Global Procurement for this major telecom company came up to thank me and tell me he's so excited I'm on the project. When I introduced myself, he remembered that we'd met a year ago. I was quite impressed.

Anyway, so after that, my co-worker (who was also presenting some great ideas at the meeting) introduced me to the marketing director...and I saw the lightbulb go on in her head once she realized who I am. Well, this was done on purpose by my co-worker (she told me later) and it provided a great opportunity for me to discuss my current marketing projects with the co-worker loud enough for the marketing director to hear as we walked back to the office in front of her. Interestingly enough, this marketing director stopped by the HR dept later (where I was at the time) to visit with the recruiter who filled the position for her and said in a loud enough voice, "the guy you wanted me to inverview had great potential, but just wasn't the right fit for the position." I loved that we both made sure we talked loud enough for the other to hear. So passive agressive...I love it.

The cool thing is that we'll both be working on this project for the next four months and so hopefully she'll see that though I may have more experience than she wants, that's not a bad thing. We're working towards raising $60,000, which is a ton of work, of course, but that's even more opportunity to show her I'm worth consideration for future openings. We'll have to see what happens. In the meantime, I'll continue to be my passive agressive self...and trust me--I'm overqualified at that too.

A Slideshow of Fun

2008-04-24T22:31:00.002-04:00

For some reason, the slides won't automatically transition. So, hit the purple play button (a new window will open). The slideshow will start to play and once the title page fades out, hit the pause button twice. Then, the slides will automatically change. Odd, I know. Anyway, enjoy!

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

A Puzzlement

2008-04-23T15:10:00.004-04:00

When one clicks on a window (like a Word doc or a new email) and then starts to type while the computer is still processing, the text doesn't appear. Once a person re-selects the window/text box/document and starts to type again, the text appears. What puzzles me is this...where does that first text go? Is there like a magic hidden folder somewhere that contains all of those random letters that never made it on the page? It is indeed a puzzlement.

Open mouth...insert foot.

2008-04-19T21:41:00.002-04:00

So, today was the SPCA 3K walk in downtown Raleigh. Over 1,000 people were there with their pooches--it was an insane sight. I dare say it's one of the biggest dog walks ever. The walk went very well and it was quite fun--I even found a company who may be a vendor of my products, which is very cool. And, there were 80-100 of my business cards given out, as everyone loved the t-shirts that I had on Matza and the rest of the team (you can find them here: http://www.secondcoats.com/product_info.php?cPath=35_38&products_id=577

Anyway, after all was said and done, we were sitting around chit chatting, with lots of people stopping by to pet Matza and the other dogs that were on our team. (Incidentally, I dare say my little attention whore was the most photographed dog at the walk--the professional photographers didn't seem to be able to stop taking photos of her.) One little family, which included an adorable little black boy in a stroller, came up to pet her. The little boy was crying and trying to get out of his stroller. So, Jamie said to his mom, "I'm sure he's thinking 'Set me free!!'" Enter awkward moment. Um, the choice of words was a hoot. Here Jamie is saying that a little black boy is screaming, "Set me free!" I couldn't stop laughing internally.

After the family walked off, Jamie said, "I probably shouldn't have said that. It's just like saying, 'Set my people free!'" It was a hoot! If you fail to see the humor in this, you need to a) lighten up and b) get a sense of humor. It seriously was quite the humorous moment. Anyway, the walk was great, the laughs were fun, the dogs were plentiful, and I am glad I was able to do it all! :)

Two in one day?!

2008-04-17T23:21:00.002-04:00

Yes--it's true! I am actually writing two blogs in one day. The first blog is something I intended to write yesterday but didn't get around to. Anyway, a friend and I were discussing personalities, astrological profiles, birth order profiles, etc. last night and it reminded me that a neighbor of mine has a great book about birthdays that's totally accurate on me. It's not one of those "it could fit anyone" things either--it's actually pretty descriptive and would not fit the average person. I really don't believe in the whole astrology thing, but I still find it to be fascinating.

I found this on Wikipedia regarding us Sagittarians. For me, it's also pretty accurate actually. See what you think... (Especially in the traits, likes/dislikes, and career sections)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagittarius_(astrology)

Awkward

2008-04-17T13:07:00.002-04:00

So, the funniest--yet very awkward--moment happened yesterday. My beloved friend, Beth, had to take her car in to the shop. It turned out to be a bit more work (and money, of course) than she'd planned and they weren't able to get her car back to her until today. (Incidentally, they said it was the catallitic (sp?) converter, which is very close to my original diagnosis of it being "dirt in the transmission tube".)

So...Miss Beth needed to get a rental vehicular module and your's truly took her to get said rental. I asked if she needed me to wait (we were meeting up at a restaurant around the corner once she got her rental) and she told me to go on ahead and get a table while we still could and that she'd call if she needed me. About ten minutes went by, with me snacking away on chips and salsa, when that phone call came. "Um, Sweetie...can you please come back over here? There's an issue with my card." I said, "Can't I just give them my card number over the phone?" She replied, "They said you have to come in and sign." I said, "Hmmm...well, let me figure out a non-tacky way to tell the waiter that I'm not just here for free chips and salsa and that we'll return." The waiter didn't speak English very well, but he got what I was saying and even agreed to hold our table (even though the line to get in was literally running out the door and onto the sidewalk).

I got over to the rental place to find that they ended up not having the car she'd requested, so instead she was stuck with a mini-van. :) That was fun...I chuckled, as Beth is NOT a mini-van person. Well, once the rental agent got done making fun of my signature (a common occurence), we headed off to the restaurant, relieved to find that they had indeed saved our table...my napkin and cup were exactly where I left them. We had a most enjoyable lunch, but Beth did not enjoy her mini-van, not only because it's a mini-van, but it also wreaked of smoke and was filthy--inside and out.

Today, we went back over to return said mini-van and I let the agent know we were less than happy about the rental's condition. He apologized and said he hadn't had a chance to clean it before renting it out again. Unacceptable. So, I said, "What is it that you're going to do to take care of the situation?" He said, "Well, I can give you $10 off the rental cost and I'll make sure I don't ever rent out another vehicle again without cleaning it, even if another customer has to wait a moment." I told him that would work, but then he went even further on the bill and knocked $25 off. It was most kind of him. Beth was obviously very happy, but I dare say I made her a bit embarrassed when I posed my question to him. The thing is, I've learned that it's THE question to ask when something is not right. "What are you going to do to fix this situation?" has gotten hundreds knocked off of vet bills, restaurant tabs, etc. I heart it.

Anyway, the whole thing was a mess, but it worked out. Good times.

Devil Dog

2008-04-10T10:56:00.002-04:00

So, I have come to the conclusion that Satan himself possesses my little doggy on occasion. Yesterday would be one of those occasions.

I got home late yesterday (working out some details with the seamstress for the crate cover design) and was on a phone call with one of my graphic designers, only to be interrupted by my roommate (he can be rather rude at times) who stated he had something important to tell me. What, pray tell, did he tell me, you ask?

Well, it turns out that Matza somehow climbed over the barrier he built to keep her out of his bedroom during the day (but which allows his cats to come and go) and not only got into the cat litter, BUT she also found and ate an entire bag of chocolate-covered espresso beans! Now, of course chocolate is never a good thing for dogs, but it does take a very large quantity to kill them. It usually just makes them vomit to get it out of their system. Matza chose not to vomit. Instead, she chose to leave a big ol' pile of nasty on the freshly-cleaned living room carpet. But, that was not the only consequence of her snacking.

Chocolate-covered espresso beans do have chocolate on them, obviously, but they also have the espresso bean...complete with caffeine. My dog is hyper enough without caffeine. I, unfortunately, got to experience Matza on caffeine last night and this morning. It's still not out of her system. At one point, I was begging her to drink a ton of water to help dillute the caffeine in her system. I couldn't handle it. By bed time, she had not only terrorized me relentlessly, but the cats also fell victim to this possessed pooch. She took to biting their tails, in-between running underneath them while they walked. She had seemingly calmed down enough to sleep, so off to bed we went. Note the word "seemingly".

No sooner had I fallen asleep than I was woken by Matza literally running in circles around the perimeter of my bed. She couldn't have cared less that I was there--she just ran over the top of me. I grabbed her and wrestled her to the bed (surprisingly tough when she's on caffeine, even though she's only 7 lbs.) and tried to get her to calm down. That worked for a little bit. An hour or so later, the terror with a tail was at it again, but this time, she added some barking for that extra special effect. I yet again tackled her. After the fourth or fifth time of this, I almost layed on top of her for the rest of the night. At 7:00, she was pacing back and forth at the foot of the bed and then jumping up on top of me after so many paces. I pinned her under my arm and could feel her heart beat going like crazy.

She settled down for a few minutes--pinned to the bed the entire time--but as soon as my alarm clock went off, she was barking and running around the bed and the room. While I got ready for work, she kept coming in and pacing around the bathroom to let me know she was ready to go outside. I made her follow our usual routine, which drove her nuts. Once we were out the door, she nearly choked herself by running to the end of the leash and pulling harder. Repeatedly. I seriously was ready to cut the leash and just let her run to wherever her little caffeinated heart carried her.

We'll see how she is tonight, but for her sake, she'd better be much, much calmer or she's getting the Vodka that Erik suggested I give her in the first place. It's either that or a priest to cast the devil out of her. Either way, the caffeine must go.

Kade's Lush Connections

2008-04-03T22:18:00.003-04:00

How fitting--I just learned that Bill W (the one whose friends attend the AA program he started) was born on my birthday--but about 95 years before me. Regardless, Bill W was born on November 26th, which is very fun. So, does this make me a friend of Bill W?

My Weekend Update

2008-03-17T11:11:00.000-04:00

So, I reckon it is time yet again for an update. Time just flies and so the opportunities to update my blog completely escape me.

To give the Cliff’s Notes version, the business opened (www.SecondCoats.com) and I decided to take a well-deserved short vacation.

For the non-Cliff’s Notes version: I went to DC for my short vacation, leaving Raleigh on Friday evening and getting back late last night. Darin, of course, lives there, and Cammie Jan flew in from Tucson on Saturday, so the Fearsome Threesome…The Rat Pack…CaJaDarKad…whatever the three of us are called (this is more inside joke for Darin, Cammie Jan, and myself than anything)…had a bit of time to hang out.

The drive up wasn’t too shabby, other than having to call a potential drunk driver in to the state police. It was a bit on the crazy side. Upon my arrival, we went to dinner at a good Italian place that was very tasty, though I was hungry enough at that point it wouldn’t really have mattered if it had been bland and horrible. Well…maybe not. It probably would have. Regardless, it was me, Darin, Darin’s gf Melanie, roommate Adam, and Adam’s gf Emmy. After dinner, we went to a birthday party for one of Darin’s friends, which of course was just a load of fun for me, only somewhat knowing one person who was there. Thank heavens Melanie is very nice and talkative…we had fun chatting.

After that, we headed back to Darin’s, where he and I both fell asleep watching this horrible, awful, scary show that gave me nightmares. Saturday, we got up and went shopping for a swimsuit for Darin (he had some fun in one store, as it turns out they have a very odd communal changing room) and I, meanwhile, bought me some more shoes. Because I need them. Badly. We went to a couple of stores and then headed over to the airport to pick up Cammie Jan, after which we headed into the District for a delicious appetizer meal of grasshopper tacos and guacamole. Well, I say delicious, but by delicious, I mean the guacamole was quite tasty. The tacos were very spicy and very crunchy and I can’t say I’d necessarily have them again. If I was really hungry and there was a lot of water on hand, then yes, I would eat them again. Otherwise, I’ll leave my grasshopper portions for others to enjoy.

After the tasty little vittles, we went to the portraiture museum and looked at a few exhibits from the Lincoln inauguration ball, as well as the Steven Colbert painting that graces the entrance to the bathrooms. We then met up with Cammie’s friends Rachel and Carrie. I knew Carrie from my last trip to Mexico (ole! ), but I hadn’t yet had the pleasure of meeting Rachel. All of us went shopping for my adorable oldest nephew’s birthday present, and while in China Town, some very nice firefighters invited us to come in and climb around in and on the firetrucks. We got some fun pictures there.

We then headed off to pick up Melanie to go to our next interesting meal of the day…Ethiopian food. Now, I did not think that the Ethiopians have food and I believe I have discovered why that is—it’s all here in America at Ethiopian restaurants. They seemed to be everywhere in DC. There wasn’t too much on the platter that wasn’t spicy (Kade + Spice = Misery and Sweat) and I must say, the foods that weren’t spicy weren’t entirely enjoyable for me. Yes, I’m a picky eater, but I am willing to try new things. This was one of those that I’ll probably not have again. I also didn’t care for not using silverware…not my cup of tea.

Anyway, after dinner, we headed back to Darin’s and though he and Melanie chickened out, Cammie Jan, Rachel, and I headed off to the District to go dancing at Black Cat. It was most enjoyable! We danced for almost two hours—it was ‘80’s night—and my knees are definitely still feeling it. But, it was a blast!

On Sunday morning, we headed up to Gettysburg, PA, to do a little site seeing. We had a great lunch at a home-cooking style diner, followed by lots of site seeing, and then we had ice cream at a fun little malt shop there in town. Darin and I headed back to DC, so that I could get on the road to Raleigh, while Cammie Jan, Rachel, and Carrie stayed behind to do more exploration.

Other than the snarled traffic for 20 miles, it wasn’t too bad of a drive back until I had to stop at a gas station to use the restroom. It was one of the most disgusting bathrooms I’ve ever been in. I would’ve been better off peeing in the woods. There was scum caked to the urinals, writing everywhere (including etched in the mirror), and the kicker was that instead of a soap dispenser, they had a bar of hand soap! It had hair stuck to it. I almost vomited. Anyway, back on the road, I caught up on a bunch of phone calls and learned that it’s not necessarily a bad thing that I missed my nephew’s birthday party as not everyone (i.e., an adult figure of step parentage) played nice.

I picked up Matza at Beth’s last night, after learning that Matza had been a complete and total terror while I was gone. Poor Beth had to deal with Matza messing all over the house, biting her own dog, attacking her cat, and keeping her up at night with a lot of movement and barking. So, I picked up the brat and took her home, where she was her usual little self and thankfully didn’t try to pull any of that with me. I think she was just reacting to being out of her usual environment, with different people and a different routine. It’s still very embarrassing.

The one good thing Matza did this weekend was she got along fine with some of Beth’s guests who are black. It sounds crazy, but I have a racist dog. She seriously wigs on me anytime she sees a black person. It’s beyond mortifying and I have worked at breaking this habit of hers. Well, my work seems to have paid off, as Beth said she did just fine. I could just see it going down horribly and Beth’s guests coping with this ridiculous, barking mutt. However, I’m grateful it wasn’t the case. :)

So, today I’m back at work while Darin is flying to Florida for vacation and Cammie Jan is still in DC playing for a few days. How I would heart that. Instead, it’s a Monday at work and I have a FULL week of work for my business and a big party to prepare for as well. Yeehaw. However, I am grateful I finally had a fun, relaxing weekend and was able to spend time with my wonderful friends as well as to spend time making some new friends. They’re good people and I’m very blessed to have them as friends.
As a side note, if you texted me this weekend, I most likely didn’t get it. My phone is having issues, apparently. I’ll have that looked in to.

Well, back to work I go…have a Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

~me

The "Express" Lane

2008-03-09T23:37:00.002-04:00

So, while I'm on here editing my blog, I figured I'd take a moment to post a blog...more of a complaint and gripe, really, but in blog format. Well, last night at about 9:30, I realized that I was out of laundry detergent. As I don't like to shop on Sunday, but knew I had to keep doing laundry today if there is any hope of getting through the piles and piles and piles of dirty clothes (about 10-15 loads in all). So, off to the store I went.

I quickly grabbed my detergent and headed to check out in the express lane...you know the one--12 items or less, right? Well, the two ladies in front of me (and I use the term "ladies" loosely here--more to describe their age than their maturity and couth), had a cart FULL of crap...and then they wanted cigarettes too. I was about ready to ask them which 12 items they would be purchasing, when the woman behind me said, "Lord, help me." This made me chuckle and calm down for just a moment--long enough for them to fluster the cashier and get him all screwed up with the type of cancer sticks they wanted. I was livid. I was knee-deep in laundry (literally) and work on my site, so it wasn't as if I had all night to stand there waiting for them to get through their monstrous cart load.

What I don't get is how people can be so inconsiderate. I'm a very busy person, so every minute counts with me. This is why I go to the express lane...I expect it to be express. If I had wanted to stay in line for an hour, I'd go to a regular line. So, my thoughts at this hour are that there needs to be a magic button at the express lanes for cashiers and fellow customers alike that once pushed, will cause the person and their over-limit cart to fall into a big, black hole...never to be seen or heard from again. The world would be a much better place without these hooligans amongst those of us who follow the rules at the checkout stand.

My dog...what a little bitch!

2008-02-27T22:25:00.002-05:00

OK, so I love my dog dearly and all, but that little wretch is lucky she's not at the pound tonight given her actions this morning. I called her to come into the kitchen to eat her drug-laced treat (the only way I can get her to take her Prozac without shoving it down her throat) and she didn't come running like she usually does. So, I went in to my bedroom to see what the deal was, when I found her hunkering down on a pillow on my bed like she was in trouble. I knew then that she'd gone to the bathroom somewhere in the house.

Well, as she'd been in the living room, I went in there first to check. Sure enough, she'd left a lovely pile on the carpet. So, back in to my bedroom I went to spank the little beast. However, this backfired on me as the second I spanked her, she peed on my pillow! Seriously. Oh, I was mad. It's a good thing it was on one of my old pillows, rather than on one of the $30 pillows I just got and hadn't had the time to put in a pillow case yet. Anyway, she is not on my good list and my thought is that it's a good thing she's so cute as otherwise, that mutt would be on the street.

Karma

2008-02-17T17:27:00.002-05:00

Well, I am just hoping that dear ol' karma doesn't come and bite me in the butt for making fun, but I do have to share today's fun tidbit.

I was heading back to Raleigh from Hillsborough this afternoon, when a car got right on my bumper...and I mean the grill of that car was a nibblin' away at my poor Don Pedro's heiny. So, I did what any sane person would do...I tapped on my brakes. Well, this pissed the guy off and he threw his hands up in the air, like I have some control over speeding up or getting out of his way. You see, there was a slower-moving car in front of me and a huge truck and horse trailer to my right. So, I wasn't able to go anywhere. I threw my hands up in the air back at him. Well, I guess the car in front of me thought that I was motioning at them, which I wasn't as they were driving the speed limit--but in the fast lane, so they got over. This allowed me to speed up and get over.

I was most excited to see that there was a police SUV three lanes over from where I was with the nimrod right behind me. So, as soon as I could, I got over in front of the huge truck and let the jerk fly on by. Apparently, he didn't realize that the large white Suburban with giant black letters that said "POLICE" on it was an actual cop, as he flew right by the cop going about 20-25 mph over the speed limit. I said to my friend, Justin, who was in the passenger seat watching this all go down, "I so hope they pull him over." Justin said, "I doubt they will." But, right then, the cop sped up and was clearly pacing the speeding car.

Well, we were coming up on our exit, so I was a bit disappointed that we wouldn't know the outcome and Justin didn't think we would either, but I was most elated to see the reds and blues start flashing behind the creep, right as we were turning off. Take that Mr. Ford Focus. So, though I'm hoping karma doesn't come and get me, I am most happy that for once a driver who deserved to get caught was actually caught indeed. Good job officer, whoever you are!!

An update...

2008-02-11T01:31:00.000-05:00

Well, it's 1:30 in the morning and I really should be heading to bed, but I figured I'd take a moment to post an update, since it's been about three weeks since I have done so.

I have been sitting here for the past hour trying to get my product photos re-sized, as from what my web designer says, I'll be uploading product pictures and descriptions within the next few days. Wahoo!!! I can't even put into words how excited that makes me. It has been sooooo much work and stress, so to finally be at the point that I can see some real progress is really exciting. It's amazing how much behind-the-scenes work it has taken too.

At this point, I have most of my product in (with the exception of my own designs, which are currently being produced) and all of the legal, financial, and advertising stuff seems to be under control. I got word on Friday that my start-up funding has been approved, so that's very exciting too! I have been financing all of the start-up costs out of my own bank account and on my personal credit cards, which is just not fun. It's how most start-ups begin, but the stress of seeing $20,000 on my credit cards is enough to give me a heart attack. It will be nice to have the business finances separated from my personal accounts, as they should be anyway. I set my company up as an LLC so that all legal liabilities would not affect my personal finances (if someone sues me because their dog choked on one of my products, I don't want to lose my retirement fund :)). However, by mixing the finances, I also open up the flood gate of liability too. By getting all of that separated, I can go back to keeping that liability line well drawn.

In super exciting accomplishment news for this past week, I was able to not only get the financing done, but I also signed with an advertiser to do 60,000 mailings in Raleigh's high-income neighborhoods (it's kind of fun to think that my neighbors will be getting an ad mailed to them for my company that's located next door to them) and I'm looking at doing television ads a few months down the road. I also gained an even better connection than I previously had to have my catalogs printed. These catalogs will be used for home parties for product ordering, as well as for those who go to my website and request to receive a catalog.

Also this week, I got all of my inventory moved to my new storage unit so most of it is out of my living room and bedroom now. :) I went over yesterday to work on getting it all arranged and was excited to find that another shipment had been delivered, right to my unit. It's great because UPS, FedEx, etc., all check out a key at the storage company office and secure the shipment inside my unit. So, I don't have to mess with trying to make it to my apartment office before they close to pick up shipments, or worry about hauling the inventory around and lugging it in and out of my car. The cost for the storage unit is well worth it as this is a huge relief for me. I can be on vacation and have my inventory continue to arrive and be securely stored.

Additionally, I decided on Friday night that I'm going to carry my own line of dog collars and leashes and purchased some products yesterday to get going with that. I'm meeting with two of my seamstresses tomorrow night anyway to go over the final mock-ups of my initial designs in all of the color combinations I picked so that I can get the photos taken and edited, etc. Well, I'm also going to run the collar and leash idea by them as well. I think it'll be really easy for them to do it, so hopefully they'll agree. I am also meeting tomorrow with the person who is doing my custom picture frames that will match my dog crate covers and bedding line. I'm really excited to see how that turns out! The seamstresses are starting in on my bedding as soon as I sign off on the dresses, as I have a tentative appointment with a local retailer who is interested in carrying my bedding line through their store. There are two or three other stores I am still going to be approaching to see about them retailing my products, but at this point, I'm more focused on just getting the products pulled together. It seems like there are still a billion and one things to do, with so little time in which to do them. I told my mom that she needs to come stay with me for a few months so that she can help me get all of this finished. It's too bad she's not retired.

In other news, I have just gotten through four days of Matza having an allergic reaction. My guess is that she reacted to the fertilizer they just put on the lawns. Her skin just went insanely pink and puffy all over--it looked SOOOOOO painful. I called the vet to see about getting her in for a steroid shot, but the vet first had me give her 1/2 teaspoon of children's Benadryl every 12 hours. That seems to have worked, but it took a couple of days before it really showed a great improvement. The poor thing was just a suffering. I tried everything I could think of to help calm her skin down and I'm glad the Benadryl finally worked. I had to have her Prozac prescription renewed and the dosage increased as it seems to be helping, but not quite enough. We'll see how the new dosage goes.

Well, that's about it for me. I reckon I'd better get to bed. I hope all is well with all ya'll!

Hasta,
mi

Handyman Kade

2008-01-19T14:48:00.000-05:00

Well, this is too funny and well worth taking time away from all I need to do to blog about. I just got today's mail and amongst all the credit card offers, corporate identity design offers, and the Val-Pak coupons, I found a little interesting tidbit...well, not so little as it was a huge, blazing orange envelope. The envelople contained information inviting your's truly to become...a member of the Handyman Club of America! Yes, friends, it's true. According to the invitation, "it's no secret among [my] friends and family that [I am] an outstanding handyman. As someone who is passionately devoted to do-it-yourself home improvement and maybe even woodworking, [I'm] exactly the kind of person [the] Club is looking for." (At this point, I checked to make sure I hadn't accidentally gotten someone else's mail.)

As anyone who knows me can well attest, I am about the least handy person that exists on the face of this planet. I make Bob Vila look like a god. As a prime example of this, the letter came with some freebies, one of which was a Drill Guage. It's a large plastic disc with holes cut in it with the size of the drill bits listed to the side of each hole. I had to read further in order to figure out what this contraption is. I thought it was just an odd drill bit holder or something. What a wonderful freebie. And, speaking of freebies, though I won't be sending my $12/year subscription dues or joining the Minentonka, Minnesota-based club that is not for "lukewarm handymen", I will, however, fully utilize the free address labels that have the Handyman logo, complete with hammer, next to my name. This, at least, is proof that I am indeed a handyman. Even if I don't know how to be handy.

An Update

2008-01-16T00:35:00.000-05:00

Well, it has indeed been some time since I last posted. However, life has been beyond insane for me and it doesn't look to be slowing any time soon. I am only about two weeks away from my company launch and it's absolute mayhem in my life right now. To top it off, I had to deal with the vet for two days over Matza's care (or lack thereof) as they ended up giving the poor little pooch a chemical burn from the shampoo---which I told them not to use in the first place. $364 and a whole bunch of steroid shots and stress later, she's doing much better. However, she's also now on Prozac as she's a very anxious little dog that bites her own fur off her back. It actually seems to be helping, but it's kind of a pain as I have to put that and her allergy pill inside a little dollop of peanut butter on top of one of her treats so that I don't have to shove the pills down her throat. She just thinks she gets a treat every morning. Little does she know. :)

In other news, the seamstress I had hoped to use has turned out to not be completely what I had hoped for. She sent me an estimate last night for $5000 to draw four patterns--and that doesn't include materials cost or the fact that I'm the one who came up with the actual designs. So, we're back in negotiations, but I have a feeling my kick-off date might be affected a little. Well, that or I'll just have to open without that part of my product line (which was the whole inspiration to begin with, so it's kind of a bugger). However, I have enough other vendors and items I'll be utilizing that it won't really destroy everything. I am just stressed on that one. Despite this, everything else is going very well--I just wish I had about three of me and 50 hours in a given day so that I could sleep AND get work done. I finally have all the inventory shelving and storage in place--after dropping the metal storage shelving on my big toe last night, crushing the thing and skinning the top of it off. That kind of hurt. However, the shelving racks look great and not at all tacky in my room. I had to spend a small fortune to pull this off, but I think it was worth it as I worked very hard to get my room to look how it does so I don't want to ruin it now.

I also got my new laptop (which I'm using now to write this) and I am beyond in love with it already. It is beyond fast--plus it has 250 GB of hard drive memory and a 500 GB back-up hard drive, so I think I should have enough memory space there. I also got my color laserjet printer, shipping scale and postage/label printer (they print side by side so I don't have to change out the label rolls to print both), my VOIP phone (which doesn't have to be hooked directly to my computer, as the base of it hooks directly to my wireless router while the cordless phone sits in the other room on my desk), my phone lines are good to go (toll-free, local, fax), the merchant account is all ready as soon as I get the final info back on my business checking, the zoning permit, LLC certification, and business license are all official and back to me, I got my business Visa card--but also had to bump my personal card to a $10,000 limit in order to cover all these crazy start-up expenses, I have my contractor and consultant agreements and confidentiality agreements all in place, my accounting software, etc., is all set up, and I have wholesale accounts set up with more vendors than I will possibly use at the beginning. I will order in about 750 t-shirts by the end of this week, once I narrow down which of the 70+ sayings I want to start with. I have my Duds for Studs, Stitches for Bitches, and Couture for Charity lines to divy those sayings amongst, but I still am not going to use all of them at first.

Oh, and in the middle of all of this, I've still been getting law school apps together (I have no idea at this point if I will go this fall or if I'll postpone, as it all depends on how the business is going--but I want my options open), and I have also been designing new product lines I hope to roll out soon too. My actual full-time job has been, um, interesting, to say the least. So, I'm looking at some options for change there. Essentially, my life is one big upheaval at this point. I spend so much time working that the rest of my life gets neglected, but at this point I don't have much choice. I found myself having friends over the other night for movie night--but I ended up sitting on the couch with my laptop, typing away while the movie played. I'd like to just have one night where I could relax without stressing over what's not getting done. I just keep reminding myself of how much progress I've made and how great the final product will be because of this work--somehow that helps to offset the lack of sleep and the stress I feel.

Other than that, there's not much to report. I wish I had my own apartment with no roommate, but that's a story for a whole other time. Meanwhile, I have to finish up some vendor stuff and then get to bed since I have an early morning meeting with the Durham Bulls marketing person, since we just signed to be their group sponsor again this season. I have been trying to get that marketing strategy put together, but then I also have a lot of other projects and a complete revamp of this quarter's contractor newsletter that I thought I was done with...until the senior VP wanted even more added. So, today was spent writing article after article in an effort to cover all the new material and double the size of the newsletter. Granted, this will be one of the few times the newsletter is this big, but it's just a lot of work to get through in two days as I want it completely finished and sent to all 750 contractors by this Friday. Anyway, enough chit chat. I'm going to work and then off to bed.

I hope all is well with each of you! And, remember, no dog deserves to be naked! (hint. hint.)

Kade becomes an LLC...

2008-01-03T03:24:00.000-05:00

Hello all!

After months of planning, secrecy, and a whole lot of work, it is time for you and your pets to benefit from my labors! So, grab the dogs, leash up the kids, and hold on tight as we're down to less than one month until the planned date for my company to go live!! Yes, kids, its true--in less than 30 days, you can step in to a totally different custom canine clothing and accessories buying experience that you will not find anywhere else! (Believe me--I've looked.) So, start saving the pesos and measuring your pooches as the day is fast approaching for you to be able to purchase:

-Custom designs fresh from the runways of Raleigh--though you'd think it were France! You can purchase Second Coats' own designs in generic sizes from XS-XL or you can custom order any of the items using your own dog's specific chest, neck, and length measurements! Want to personalize it or give it as a gift? Monogramming and gift wrap packages are also available for a nominal cost!

-Your own custom designs! That's right--you, too, can be a fashion designer! Have a wedding coming up? Why not have your dog match the rest of your bridesmaids by ordering a custom matching dress? With Second Coats' Custom Canine Couture program, you can custom order any apparel item (not just dresses!) to be made to your specifications...you can even use your own fabric if you have something especially specific that you need to have made! Plus, you can always add monogramming to your custom design for that extra unique touch.

-T-shirts as unique as your dog! That's right--these tagless t-shirts are exclusively designed for your dog by Second Coats with sayings that can't be found anywhere else! Be sure to check out the Stitches for Bitches, Duds for Studs, and Couture for Charity t-shirt lines for great designs at great prices! Plus, a $5 donation will be made on your behalf to the Wake County SPCA for each Couture for Charity purchase. Do you have your own saying that you want printed on a t-shirt for your dog? No problem! Second Coats can take care of that--and even let you design multiple shirts that you can give as gifts or keep for your own fur baby!

-Custom-sized hand-knit sweaters tailored to your dog's specific measurements! Second Coats offers hand-knitted sweaters in a variety of colors, sizes, and styles, but you can even expand that offering by ordering your own custom-sized sweater! Monogramming is also available for this great find.

-All-natural skin and coat care products, including shampoos, conditioners, between-bath spritzes, oatmeal soaps, flea protectants, paw rub, and more! Many of these items not only help reduce a dog's allergies, but also promote healing for hot spots, dry skin and allergic reaction areas.

-All-natural treats that will treat your dog as well as you do! Whether it's bakery fresh hand-made cookies, organic "sushi", fortune cookies, or even breast cancer awareness treats, Second Coats has your doggy's dessert covered! Second Coats features many all-natural treat options that are rewarding to your dog's health and happiness! Plus, to help preserve your pet's dental health, Second Coats offers all-natural toothpaste that is safe for your dog to swallow and a custom-designed dog toothbrush that will make the task of brushing much easier and effective for all involved!

-Spa items that will make bath time fun--and more convenient! Whether it's a highly absorbent Turkish bath towel, a plush bathrobe, or a bright yellow rubber duckie, Second Coats has your dog's bath needs taken care of. Tired of trying to hold onto the soap while scrubbing your fur baby? Try our bone-shaped oatmeal soap-on-a-rope. The rope allows for the soap to be hung around the dog's neck so that you know exactly where it is at all times. Need storage for your canine companion's spa accessories? Second Coats has that covered too with exclusive bathtub caddies and bone-shaped chrome baskets that will hold it all! You can even take the dog spa with you with our convenient travel-size packages--or you can even give them as a gift!

-High-end accessories--necklaces, collars, and leads that are available in both leather and eco leather! These beautiful and well-made items vary from a basic collar on up to a Fox & Hounds designer leather collar with Swarovski crystals--with plenty of options and price points in between! Need a Swarovski crystal necklace, tiara, or hair clip for your little furry royal? We've got that taken care of too! From tear-drop amber crystal necklaces to sterling silver collar charms, your dog's accessories are only a click away!

-Designer dog bowls and storage containers with handpainted designs, customized writing, and all-around great style! If you're looking for some of the most exclusive and unique pieces around, Second Coats is your place. With designs containing French twigs, paw prints, Fleur de Lis and a handfull of other options, you can find exactly what you're looking for. Both designer stainless steel as well as custom high-fired and restaurant-quality porcelain food and water bowls can be found at Second Coats! Need something to store your pets food or treats? Check out Second Coats' stylish food and treat canisters that will keep your all-natural foods fresh while keeping your counter-top or storage area stylish and organized.

-The most unique, trendy, and tough dog toys around! If you're looking for a plush Chewy Vuitton or Sniffany & Co. chew toy, you'll find them in the same Doggy Doo Dads section as some of the toughest toys around--the Tuffie Toys collection. Tuffie Toys are designed to take on even the strongest dog without sacrificing style and fun! With seven-layer stitching and black nylon stitch covering, these toys are built to play with the big dogs! Do you need something for your pooch that's highly prone to allergies? Check out our organic cotton and all-natural chew toys that will help your furry little allergy sufferer enjoy play time! Your dog can be a dog again without suffering all of the side effects of allergies!

-Custom-designed and coordinated crate and bedding sets that keep your dog comfortable while allowing your house to maintain its style! Exclusively designed by Second Coats, our beds work well both in and out of your standard-sized crates (S to XL)--but there's much more to it than just a bed! You can also order a crate cover that completely matches your dogs bed--and it comes with a handy travel pouch so you can take it where you go! Designed with several great features, including a slit for your crate carry handle to pull through, this product is not only stylish but useful as well! Noises are muffled and light is dimmed, giving you and your dog a more restful night and a more pleasant traveling experience. Crate covers are also recommended by veterinarians to help ease a dog's nerves and provide a safe-haven for them too. Though highly useful, these items are often bland or boring--until now! Want an even more customized look? Why not add monogramming to the bed cover or crate cover? To complete the ensemble, you can purchase a matching picture frame that has the same fabric as the crate and bed covers! The bed covers are machine washable and the inserts are hypo-allergenic, further helping your dog's overall health. Need a custom bed made? No problem! Contact us and we can take care of your order, whether you need a specific size, a custom cover, or both!

-Unique, high-end designer beds that look like they're fresh from Paris' runways...or European speedways! If you want a Furcedes, Furrari, Chewnel #5, Chewy Vuitton, Sniffany & Co., or taxi or limo-style bed, Second Coats can offer your pet the most stylish sleeping arrangements around!

-Products for the ultimate dog owner! Whether it's stylish necklace charms for the proud parent, Swarovski crystal paw print earrings, silver bone-shaped keychains, or designer dog carriers, Second Coats has the items to help dog owners show their style and pride! Moving to completely practical items, in addition to the numerous all-natural products and pet carriers that Second Coats offers, pet owners can also purchase biodegradable waste pouches as well as pet medical kits that come complete with basic first aid instructions and over 50 first aid products! (Plus, each medical kit purchase helps give back to disabled individuals as they are employed to assemble these stylish medical bags!) Also, keep an eye out for the planned future addition of Bissell's ultimate pet care vacuum line! From basic wet-vac spot cleaners to the ultimate in ease and luxury--Bissell's Spot Bot Pet--Second Coats looks to offer even more exciting products to help ease some of the frustrations that can come from cleaning up after a child with four paws.

-Gifts to treat yourself or a friend! Why should dogs be the only ones to get treats? Second Coats offers unique gift baskets in every price range so that you can give the very best at a price you like! Whether it's a spa gift set, an all-natural-themed basket, a newborn puppy start-up basket, or a custom Christmas gift, we can take care of it all! Can't find what you're looking for or have a unique theme? Contact us and we can assemble a unique and stylish gift basket to match your exact price point and theme. Still can't decide on what to give? Second Coats gift certificates make a great gift and are available in $25 increments! Even with just one $25 gift certificate, you can let your friends know you care as they can purchase multiple top-quality items that they won't find elsewhere!

Second Coats has everything covered for you and your pet--truly giving your fur baby a designer second coat that you can be proud to show off! Great products at great prices are only a web address away! So, start thinking now of the custom designs and pieces you want your pet to have and be sure to watch for the grand opening website announcement! (Plus, special discounts, prizes, and coupons will be given too!)

Second Coats
Designer Doggy Duds

Late Night Thoughts

2008-01-02T01:30:00.000-05:00

Shalom!

Well, I should be in bed--I should've been two or three hours ago, actually--but I have had so much to do that I haven't quite made it there yet. To further procrastinate my head hitting the pillow, I shall write a long (yet riveting) blog.

I am sitting here surrounded by piles and piles and piles and piles of Christmas decorations, bags of cookies and empty pizza boxes, a great new coffee table centerpiece, loads of unpacked luggage, a yet-to-be-assembled storage rack, and two little white furballs that are sleeping soundly. One furball is curled up in her pajamas and is on a pillow next to me. The other has curled up on the back of the couch, resting against my neck and shoulders. Were one to walk in and see my apartment at this very moment, the scene would appear to be an unorganized trash heap complete with furry critters everywhere (myself included, I reckon as I haven't shaved in a week's time) and yet there's so much explanation behind everything here--and lots of fun memories too.

The Charlie Brown Christmas tree sitting across the room from me--looking even more pathetic than it did two weeks ago, if that's even possible--is a reminder of this evening's gift exchange I held with a friend. The nice Christmas tree that graced my living room for the past month (on loan from said friend so that I had a good looking one for my party a few weeks ago) was taken down earlier today--before we had a chance to do our gift exchange. As it didn't feel like Christmas without a tree and all the festivities, I dragged my roommate's hideous tree into the middle of the living room, put Matza in her elf costume, and put Christmas music on. The only thing that wasn't so Christmas-like was me yelling at everyone to get some dang Christmas spirit and stop being so crabby--followed by orders to report to the living room full of Christmas joy and happiness. Once past that, it was great.

The empty pizza boxes and open cookies bags tell of a fun-filled evening spent with friends, during which we just relaxed (for the most part) and watched British comedies. It was one last hoorah before having to return to the real world of work in just a few hours from now. Tonight was the first time I had ordered pizza online. It was quite fun, actually. I do love me some pizza.

The Christmas decor piled around--to the point it consumes most of my living room and dining area--was acquired yesterday and today, as I decided to take advantage of post-Christmas sales and thus bought my first Christmas tree (artificial, that is) and cleared out two Targets in order to have plenty of coordinated decorations, lights, and ornaments. Even more than I love pizza, I love me a good sale. So, $250 later, I have $1200 worth of Christmas stuff. Needless to say, my tree will not be bare. As I am not remotely a patient person, I can not wait a full year before I see the whole thing put together, so I am putting it together in the next two days and I will enjoy it for the month of January. Crazy, I know, but I want to see this tree in all its glory. As I bought enough decor for two trees and then some, it should indeed have some glory to it. In my shopping excursion at Target, during which I filled the baskets and bottom racks of three carts (an utter and complete pain to shop with), I also found some cool stuff to use for a coffee table centerpiece. So, that is now prominently displayed too. It was a battle tonight to get everyone who saw it to agree on how it should all be put together. Ultimately, since it's my stuff anyway, I did what I wanted and I am quite happy with the results. Go me.

The furballs are my own beloved Matza and my co-worker's dog, Lacy. Lacy is basically a miniature version of Matza (if you can picture that, as Matza can't get much smaller herself). Lacy is about three pounds and is a white fluff ball. She's a hoot too. She's now gotten herself wedged between the cushions on the back of the couch, with her butt just dangling in the air--yet on she sleeps. It was quite the menagerie of animals here earlier today. Not only was there Matza and Lacy, but Peanut (my friend Adrian's dog) was here and of course my roommate's cats, Milo and Morris, were here too. Then, I was also dog-sitting for another co-worker (I didn't keep Bailey here, as he's 130-lbs. and would eat Matza in two bites--well, one if he didn't chew), so I took off for a while today to go take care of the big baby. It's about a 30 minute drive each way, so it isn't the most convenient thing to do, but I do it at least once a month and Bailey's just too cute, so I can't say no. He's a mix of pitbull, St. Bernard, yellow lab, and something else...an overgrown saliva gland perhaps? I can't remember. Anyway, it's quite the combo, but he's adorable. I told him he should've been named Fifi and I think he kind of liked the idea. He will stand on his two hind legs and dance with me (eye-to-eye almost) and he loves his walks around the lake.

As for the luggage, it's sitting unpacked and in the hallway, as I have been too busy to do anything with it since getting back from Utah on Sunday night. I usually don't get a bag unpacked until about a month or two after returning from a trip, so heaven only knows how long it will take me to get around to unpacking TWO bags. As the cats are curled up on top of the luggage while I type this, it makes me think I need to get unpacked quickly so as to not have my luggage smelling like cats. I'd put it in my bedroom, but there's no room there as I've re-arranged my furniture in order to put the yet-to-be-assembled storage shelving unit in my bedroom. The storage unit is going to hold all of the inventory for my business and has been a big ol' pain in the heiny to deal with as there just wasn't room for it. I had to move Matza's tent in order to have space and she's not a happy camper (no pun intended).

Speaking of my company, I am excited to announce that I have found a web designer who is incredible and is going to design my site for about $3000 less than he would normally charge for a basic site. It's my uncle's best friend and he owns his own design company that is very successful. He is giving me the "friend of the family" discount, which is also going to include about $40,000 in free upgrades and software that he's rolling over to me as his large clients have already paid for it. I couldn't be more excited! Part of the reason I'm up so late is because I just got done e-mailing him pages and pages of notes and design ideas, along with rough sketches I did on the flight to Utah, in order to give him an idea of what I'd like. This is the same reason as to why tonight was not totally relaxing, as I was working on all of that while trying to be sociable and watch the show too. The designer, Kayvon, and I had quite the discussion on the phone the other day and the information I sent tonight should move us much further along so that the site can be on its way to my (hopefully) February 1st kick-off! Wahoo!

I also have come up with two additional products I want to develop that don't already exist in the market--or at least that aren't nearly as well-designed or developed as they should and could be. So, that's on the agenda to get to at some point, but as I'm already putting 50-75 hours/week into just getting the thing up and running, I think the extra product development is going to be a slower process than I'd like. Fortunately, my consultants are going to sign my agreements next week so that I can get them working and have my proprietary information protected too. That will definitely help and I can get them working on further ironing out some of the new product details I won't have time for right away. I have ordered in about 35 items that I'm going to be testing out and those should get here in the next week too (actually, the shipping confirmation notice just arrived in my inbox, so they will be here this week!). I have my Articles of Organization ready to go (there was a bit of a snag with those, so I had to delay the submittal of such) and I have my PO box, my business Visa is on its way, and I have all of my equipment ordered and so all of it is either in production or shipping right now, with the last of it arriving on January 16th.

It almost gives me a heart attack each time I make $1000s in purchases, but I'm quickly learning that you do indeed have to spend money to make money. Gratefully, I'm a very fiscally responsible person so I know I'm not buying frivolously and I definitely do not pay asking price for anything, so that has helped too. So far, I've almost been taken for about $5000 in hidden charges and even in a phishing scheme too, but I am following my gut instinct on everything and reading the fine print in every contract and agreement that hits my desk. I never thought there'd be so many dishonest people openly functioning in the business world. I'm not so naive as to think all are honest, but the ratio of honest vs. dishonest people is of a completely different proportion than I would have guessed. It's really quite sad, but I am fortunate to have found so many honest and good people and companies.

Well, I do believe that is all for now. As it's 2:30 a.m. and I have to be up in just a few hours, I suppose I'd better sign off. My thoughts at this hour are many, but the overriding thought is that I'm incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful family and friend support system, a great life (I didn't say it was perfect--but it doesn't have to be perfect to be great), and a loving Heavenly Father that watches over me and blesses me, despite my seriously high amount of flaws and imperfections. I couldn't ask for anything more than what I have as I don't even really deserve this much.

On this, the first of a new year, I can honestly say that I am happy, blessed, and fortunate to be in the place I am at in life. This upcoming year has more challenges for me than I can even anticipate (just looking at the variables with starting my own company AND law school gives me more than enough to think about, let alone living everyday life and knowing that I have a third knee surgery coming up in a few months--I just have to find some time to schedule it in), but I know that despite the problems that will undoubtedly come my way, I can make it through with the support of my God and my family and friends. For each of you, may 2008 be the best year of your life and may you be blessed beyond measure with good health and personal growth! Happy New Year!

Chompers

2007-12-20T14:08:00.000-05:00

I realize I have been awful at calling, emailing, etc., these past few weeks and I apologize. To catch you up on two major happenings:

1) I am getting braces next month, but will be able to go with the Invisalign ones and I only have to wear them for 5-7 months!!!! I am very excited at the short time period and that I was able to do the less expensive, less painful, and less obvious looking option.

2) I am starting my own business that will open in the next two months or so!! I will give more details later, but I have the website address secured, some of the vendors lined up, two employees lined up, and I'll be applying for my business license soon. I also already have several interested customers and one person who has asked if I'll be a third-party vendor to their grandson's company. I have come up with a solution to a problem and thrown in some fun too, so I couldn't be happier. I am holding off on posting my idea online until it's all organized, but just know that it's coming up! I have been working on this for months and have kept it completely underwraps--even from my own mother--until I had complete info worked out.

So, my thoughts today are that I'm very blessed and grateful that life is progressing well. I am also very pleased with my very cautious self for not only putting myself at risk financially, but also at risk emotionally as this business venture is my baby and I am nervous at sharing it.

Anyway, I hope ya'll are doing well! Have a great day!

Love,
me, LLC :)

The things one learns...

2007-12-16T23:19:00.001-05:00

So, I have been sick now (yes, again) for a whole week. I am sick of being sick. Anyway, I finished off an entire box of Tylenol Severe Cold, which did help with the headaches a lot and earaches a little bit, but I finally came to the realization that it was just not going to cut it. With that, I headed off to Urgent Care today and got in right before they closed. Turns out I do have a severe cold, but also tonsillitis, so it's a good thing I went as I need an antibiotic. I also remembered to ask for an inhaler refill, as the ones I have on hand have all expired and that, of course, is no good. Anyway, during this fun today, I learned two things:

-While reading a magazine in the Urgent Care waiting room, I learned that if you gargle just regular water (no salt or anything) for 15-seconds, three times a day, you cut down your throat-related illnesses by 36%. For me, this is a huge deal, as that's where I get sick the most--in my throat and in my lungs.

-At the pharmacy, the colorful pharmacist (who once told me about her mental illnesses and the treatments for such--and whose son is getting married to a girl from Pakistan on Dec. 23rd--and she's sewing the dresses, but her sewing machine is on the fritz and has to go to the repair shop) asked me if I knew how to correctly use an inhaler. I told her that, given my 15 years of inhaler usage, I did indeed know how to use an inhaler. She said that those who have used them the longest are the worst offenders. I thought, "Not me." But, she insisted she demonstrate to me how to correctly use the inhaler and though I'm proud of myself for doing almost everything correctly, I have been screwing up on one thing--the actual inhalation. She told me that I'll use the inhaler and think I got ultra-albuterol as the difference will be so noticeable when I do inhale correctly. Though I think the lady is a bit much to take at times, she was correct as I do feel like I have ultra albuterol this time. Wahoo!

So, my thoughts this evening are that though I haven't felt like doing much--let alone learn new things--I'm grateful that I had to wait a moment for the doctor so that I could read that magazine article that can only help and I'm also grateful that I have a good pharmacist who takes the time to make sure I'm well informed. OH! And, I did learn one more thing tonight while watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition--there's a device you can hook your cell phone to that allows your incoming texts to appear on your television screen! That's very exciting, considering my text addiction. Anyway, I hope all is well with each of you!

PS--Only one week until I'm with my family in Utah! WAHOO!!!

A new adventure!

2007-12-15T01:27:00.001-05:00

Well, it is extremely late and I should be in bed, especially considering that I have my big Christmas shin-dig tomorrow evening, but I had to take a moment to post about the new accomplishment I have under my belt!

Tonight, I worked on getting the party favor bags ready for tomorrow, which required me to....hand-dip pretzels in milk chocolate and then decorate with colored white chocolate! It was a triumphant moment for me when I looked over the finished product. So, my thought at this late hour is that though new things (no matter how trivial they may seem) can be very scary, it's well worth the try--particularly when chocolate is involved!! :)

I'm a regular Christopher Columbus!

2007-12-05T14:10:00.000-05:00

Today, my friends, I made a most interesting discovery--very comparable to Chris finding America (even if he wasn't the first one). Incidentally, Queen Isabella is a distant, distant cousin of mine, so it stands to reason I would make such a great discovery. This is also a find with which you--yes, YOU!--can experiment and see for yourself!

This all started with me trying to give a friend the directions to my house. So, I typed:
"Park anywhere but in the covered parking and I’m on the main floor in apt #818." (You can open MS Word and copy this sentence there if you want to try this for yourself.) You will (or should, if your Word works the same as mine) see that "I'm" is underlined with the green squiggly line, suggesting a recommended change. If you right-click to see the suggestions, you will find that it suggests using "I is" instead of "I'm". Now, "I is" would never be a correct usage in any sentence, so the fact that it suggests this is not only odd, but very witty in that MS didn't catch this. But, wait--it gets better! (Much like a Ron Popeil offer...)

Change the sentence to read "Park anywhere and I'm on the main floor." Now, the "I'm" has another suggestion--this time it's to use "I are". Again, this is never acceptable usage so truly an odd suggestion and oversight by supposedly intelligent programmers.

Based upon these amazing discoveries, you can clearly see that were you and I, Kadeopher Kimberumbus, to take a voyage together we would obviously find other amazing things that could also change the world! My thought is that it's a good thing I'm--or should that be "I is" or "I are"?--a fan of traveling, as it's clear that the world needs my genius to be spread abroad.

Drunks, dogs, and dentists...oh my! (A long post)

2007-12-04T22:04:00.001-05:00

I wrote this earlier today at work and it wouldn't post, so here it is now...

Well, it has been a few days since I last wrote and needless to say, much has happened. Saturday night was my company Christmas party, which was a night of fun, food, dancing...and an open bar. This was the first mistake. Not for me, mind you, but for plenty of others who don't know when to stop. The second mistake was having different bartenders and not keeping track of how many drinks a person had, thus resulting in me seeing many co-workers and their spouses in a totally different light. As soon as one particularly reserved co-worker came sloshing up to me and was beyond loud, I knew I was in for a fun night! Actually, it was a lot of fun--the food was great, I have a lot of awesome co-workers with whom I love to visit, and I love me some good music and dancing, so dance I did! A co-worker took some pictures of me and another co-worker tearing up the dance floor to a disco song, which I'll post here later.

I danced for hours and dragged others on to the floor with me, resulting in even more fun. Sure, I dance like a white kid from Utah, but as I really don't care how foolish I look, I just had fun and enjoyed the time. I was sweating like a stuck pig (granted, pigs don't sweat; but, if they did and they were stuck, this would be comparable to how I looked after the hours of dancing). The party continued on well into the night as we moved from the hotel ballroom to a club there in downtown Raleigh. I had been to this club before and had enjoyed it, but this time it wasn't nearly as much fun. I was D.D., as usual, so I couldn't just take off once I got bored either. The more interesting parts of the evening were when a co-worker's date started another co-worker's hair on fire while lighting his cigarette; another was when a guy literally collapsed next to me. He hit his head on the concrete floor and was completely out. I immediately thought, "Alcohol poisoning!!" So, I bent over and was checking for a pulse when he came to. It was a huge relief. I picked him up off the floor and draped him over his drunk girlfriend's back so she could drag him out of the building.

I had agreed to dog-sit for another co-worker, so by the time I took home one co-worker and her significant other, it was really late and I still had to take Bailey out to do his thing. Bailey is a 125-lb. St. Bernard, pitbull, yellow lab mix. He's huge. He's such a big baby too...and sooooo sweet. I just love my Mr. Bailey--except for when his nails haven't been clipped and he jumps up on me. He almost pierced my nipple once by doing this. Anyway, I drove to Cary and took Bailey out in the freezing cold and we made a quick trip around the lake. I got home and took out Matza and Peanut, finally having my head hit my pillow at 4:45 a.m. I was exhausted. However...

A friend of a friend of a friend, Crystal, has a dog, a male Bichon Frise, that she is giving away as she can't keep him in her new residence. I had looked into adopting him about a month ago, but it sounded like someone else had taken him. So, it was a bit of a surprise when I got a call right as I was heading out to the company party, asking if I'd consider taking him. Well, I didn't have the time to run to Durham to pick him up before the party and I didn't want to get him and immediately abandon him in my apartment, so I arranged to get him the next morning--not realizing I'd be out so late. When I called to arrange for a later meeting time, I seriously sounded like I myself was drunk. It was awful. I was sure Crystal wouldn't want me to come near her dog at that point. As a small example of how the conversation went, this was the opening sequence:

Me: "Hello?"
Crystal: "Hi Kade, it's Crystal."
Me (Half mumbling): "Hi Crystal, it's Kade. Oh wait. You knew that. You said 'Hi Kade'. Oops."

Anyway, despite my drunken-sounding state, she still agreed to let me take "Roo" for a few days to see if he was compatible with Matza, etc. I wasn't so sure about him when he basically fought me away from him when I picked him up to go with me. Crystal had to sit with him in my car to get him to calm down enough for us to leave. Anyway, I had Matza, Peanut, and Roo (named after the Winnie the Pooh "Roo", as he hops a lot when he walks) on Sunday afternoon and evening, which was a bit of a nightmare. You see--Matza is back in heat (I thought I had more time in which to get her fixed) and Roo is not fixed. Keeping them apart and then walking all three of them was a bit of an overload. It made me realize I should definitely not adopt Roo. I can not handle two dogs. However...

My friend, Adrian, decided that he wanted to try out Roo and see if Roo would be good for him to adopt. He renamed him "Rolfe", while I called him "Rolfie", and Rolfie's personality really started to come out more yesterday. He is the sweetest dog and beyond calm. I'm used to Matza (who could never be described as being calm), so this was quite the change. Well, long, long story shorter, Adrian decided today to adopt Rolfe, whom I re-named again last night (this time for good). His new name is Sir Toby Hopsalot Kimber-Powell. As Adrian says I am part owner, I thought the hyphenated last name was best. :) We call him "Toby" for short and he really responds to it quite well. Other than waking at 4:30 this morning, as he wanted to go outside, Toby has been quite good and it'll be nice to have him around to perhaps help calm Matza and give Peanut more energy (she's getting a bit old). He's one year old and is about 15-17 lbs., which is unusually big for a Bichon. He is basically Matza on steroids.

I keep them in different houses during the day--one at my house, one at Adrian's--so that we don't have mini-Matza's running around. However, they all get along very well and even Peanut (who has an especially hard time with other dogs) is okay with him for the most part. He didn't want to leave me this morning to go to Adrian's (admittedly, he does like me more than Adrian, but I think that will change the more he's around Adrian) and I can't wait to see the little furry trio tonight.

This morning, I ended up back at the dentist to have impressions done for Invisalign braces. It wasn't too bad--I read a smutty gossip magazine while the hygienist did her thing--other than that I found out it'll be an additional $1047 per tooth for veneers that I'll need once I have all the extra space between my front teeth. It sucks, but I don't want to look like a hillbilly. I reckon I'll be in this about $10,000 by the time is all said and done, but I'll have one heck of a smile. :) (And my deep bite will finally be corrected, thus saving my jaw and teeth from more damage.)

Anyway, now that I've written a novel, I must get back to work. My thought is that life would be so much easier if I were independently wealthy and didn't need to work. I could spend my days accomplishing errands, doing charity work, socializing, and traveling the world--not to mention playing with dogs and laughing at drunks. In the meantime, I'll just work on a proposal instead.

Hasta!
me

Bumper Stickers

2007-11-30T12:36:00.000-05:00

I have never understood bumper stickers. That is to say, I have never understood the need or desire to use bumper stickers--I usually don't have a problem understanding the message. So, I am continually perplexed by cars I regularly follow on my commute to work with stickers all over them. I am convinced that one car in particular is held together entirely by bumper stickers. I don't think any more stickers could possibly fit on this beast. It's hideous. My favorite is the one that says, "Dear God, Please save me from your followers". I chuckle at that one each time, but it doesn't change that fact that I think bumper stickers are tacky (not to mention stupid to put on a car, particularly when it's for a politician who isn't going to be running the whole time you own the car).

When I ended up behind this giant bumper sticker with wheels this morning, I got thinking about what I would write if I were to create a bumper sticker. These were the two winners I came up with:

* Driving the speed limit is NOT a crime. Speed up!
*Tolerance is not a sin!

I thought that those effectively cover two of my biggest pet peeves: slow drivers and bigoted, hateful, close-minded people.

So, with this in mind, to the old man in the tan Corolla with "I <3 Taiwan's Independence" (as do I, of course), the middle-aged woman in the really old gray Accord with "whY aRe yoU yoU?", and the young lesbian in the red Echo with "Pro-Constitution/Anti-Bush", I say to you that I tolerate you (even though I don't understand why you put these stickers on your car), but that you really get on my nerves on a regular basis as you are three of the slowest drivers on this earth! SPEED UP!!!!

And then... (A long update)

2007-11-27T23:24:00.000-05:00

So, I had a great rest of my birthday last night. I had an incredible dinner that could only have been made better by having my family there. Otherwise, it was perfect. I was surrounded by great friends, amazing food, my favorite cake (triple-layer chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, raspberry sauce, and fresh raspberries on top), and my beloved furry friends (Matza, Peanut, and Lacy). It was wonderful. I spent a great deal of the day on the phone talking or texting friends and family who called/texted to wish me a happy birthday (and oh my word, talking with my nephews was one of the best things of my day--they couldn't be sweeter if they tried), as well as reading multiple e-mails, FaceBook and MySpace comments, and cards in the mail. I couldn't have asked for anything better, as anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I don't really have any needs and I clearly fulfill many of my wants. So, the best gift for me this year was to simply have time visiting with friends and family, whom I love tremendously. It was just a nice day and a great kick-off to my 27th year.

Today was not nearly as fun as yesterday--nor would it be considered a great day even if yesterday was a normal day. It all started with my dental appointment that I had planned on only lasting an hour or so. Three hours later, I was out the door with a $5,000 potential dental bill (plus another $5000+ in related expenses---more on that in a moment), an appointment to go in again next week, and a whole heap of stuff on my mind. Good thing it's a bit slow at work (I wrapped a present at my desk to kill some time today), as I spent my afternoon trying to get everything figured out. Essentially, the problem is that I need braces. I know--you wouldn't think it to look at my teeth as they are perfectly straight and already look like I've had braces (though I haven't). But, as I have what's called a deep bite (as opposed to an overbite) and I grind my teeth to the point I've gone through two $500 custom mouthguards this year, I have no choice but to get braces to help stop the grinding and save my teeth from being destroyed. I had a consult with an orthodontist last year and she said I could get away without having to have braces for about two years as long as I wore my mouthguard every night without fail. Well, here I am a year later and it's not looking possible to wait that second year.

The dentist is having me come in next week to get impressions of my teeth in order to send them to Invisalign (the clear braces that are more like a mouthguard, but have to be worn all day and night). The people at Invisalign will look over my impressions and see if I even could get away with going that route (as opposed to the $6000 metal bracket braces). They will also send back pictures of what my teeth will look like throughout the progression of me wearing the braces. Here's the 411 of how this will work and the pros/cons:

Pros:
-It turns out my dental insurance actually covers $1500 of adult orthodontia, which is amazing since adults are not usually covered under most plans.
-I will have my teeth problem corrected and will ultimately save myself teeth problems and extra expense and pain in the long run.
-There are payment plans available for Invisalign, to where I could stretch it out to a five year period and with the insurance of $1500, I'd reduce my monthly payments to less than $100/month.
-It's less unsightly to do Invisalign than metal bracket braces.

Cons:
-It's $5000.
-Did I mention it's $5000?
-I could not be "normal" and have the problem of having too big of teeth for a small mouth. Instead, I have the exact opposite issue. (Yes, I have a big mouth--but my teeth are too small.) So, rather than having to worry about finding enough space for my corrected teeth to fit, the dentist says I'll actually have major gaps--to the point I'll look like a donkey in the front teeth section. My teeth will be kept together in the back and all of the spacing will be concentrated into the front teeth, which brings me to my next problem...
-I would need to get veneers for my front teeth, as I'm not going to look like a donkey and the veneers would cover the gaps.
-Veneers will run me about $5000 more than the cost of the braces.
-I won't have my same dental coverage as of next fall when I go to law school, so if I'm going to take advantage of saving 25-33% (depending upon if I go with Invisalign or metal), I have to do it soon. Plus, I don't want to have to go to a different dentist right after having them put on, so I want the bulk of my treatment done while I live here in Raleigh. This puts pressure on me and my decision.
-Oh, and it's $5000.

Neutral at this point:
-The dentist said my entire profile and looks will change, as my teeth will be brought further forward. This could improve my looks (heaven only knows how appreciative I'd be for that) or make me look worse (which would suck). So, this is a neutral point for me right now.

There are also some other problems going on that the dentist is concerned about, but I won't scare/bore you with those details until I know more. I've ordered my past panoramic x-rays from my dentist and the ortho for as many years as I could get a hold of in order to help my dentist do a comparison to what showed up today. Once that is done, I will be able to share more details and be more informed. (My feeling is that it's nothing and that I'm just fine, which the dentist said could very well be the case.)

So, there you have it...today was not nearly as fun as yesterday. BUT, the good news is that yet again, I have no cavities. GO ME! Well, it's about three hours past when I had hoped to get to bed, so me and my freshly cleaned pearly whites are going to hit the hay. May you each be experiencing great dental health and may your ortho bills be non-existent. :) Those are my thoughts at this late hour.

~me

PS--To those whom I have not yet spoken with, THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart, for making yesterday such a tremendous day. Sure, today sucked, but I know it'll be just fine as I have the best people in the world in my life regardless of whether my day is good or bad and how big my dental bills are. :) So, thank you!!!

My Birthday: The Should-be National Holiday

2007-11-26T17:10:00.000-05:00

Good evening, friends, neighbors, countrymen...but please don't lend me your ear, as that'd be nasty and I have two perfectly good ones of my own, thanks.

It is now 5:11 on the eve of my birthday. I have 19 more minutes to be at work, but as I don't have anything going on at my desk right now, I shall write a blog instead of work. I suppose I could've done this at any point during the day, as I've put maybe 30 minutes of actual work in today. The rest of the time I have spent shopping for handheld vacuum/spot cleaners. I had a great deal in my shopping cart at homedepot.com, but by the time I did my price comparison shopping and debated over spending any money, the item was gone. Alas, such is my lot in life for being poor/fiscally responsible.

So, what, you ask, am I doing for my birthday? Well, it all started off with me making a mad dash to get ready for work, only to have to go back in my apartment twice for forgotten items, and subsequently arriving at work 18 minutes late after driving in dense fog. I arrived to find the obligatory birthday card from my co-workers on my keyboard and my boss telling me he was taking me to lunch for my birthday, along with some of the other managers.

After a swamped morning of....well, nothing but partaking of Cyber Monday, we headed off to this Mediterranean restaurant I've heard a lot about. It was most delicious. I won't attempt to spell the various foods I had that I hadn't tried before, but suffice it to say, it was most delicious and worth going back to eat again. We rode in my boss's BMW, which I must say is certainly a vehicle to which I aspire in regards to purchasing. It was so comfortable.

I spent my afternoon looking for good vacuum deals and reading reviews, along with chit-chatting with co-workers. I am about to shut down the laptop and head on home so I can go to my "surprise" birthday dinner with a bunch of friends. I know what part of the menu is too, but I will be surprised about some of it. I love surprises (not to be confused with the kind of surprise that involves someone jumping out at me from a dark place or closet/grabbing me during a tense moment in a scary movie), but I always manage to find out information beforehand that ruins it for me. So, I'll go act surprised and just enjoy the evening with some great friends. I wish my family and Darin and Cammie Jan could be here, but I'm grateful for the friends that I will be able to spend time with and I'm also glad I was able to spend a few days with Darin and Cammie Jan anyway. I'll see my family next month, which will be here before too long anyway.

So, though my day wasn't entirely exciting, it has still been a great day and I look forward to having a great evening too--and hopefully a great year ahead, as I embark into my 28th year of life. Thanks to those in my life that truly enrich it and make it a life of which many could be envious, as I have such great people around me. Not everyone is so fortunate and I'm grateful that I can be one who is. Happy Birthday to me, I say!

A day of thanks...

2007-11-22T22:12:00.000-05:00

Greetings from Darin's computer. I'm typing this on his computer, while he sits on the other couch working away on his blog using my computer. Unusual, yes. But, that's not the only thing out of the norm today. Overall, this, by far, has been one of the most unusual Thanksgiving days I've ever had. How, you ask? Well, I shall share with you how. It all started this morning, when Darin and I ventured forth for breakfast--at Bojangles, where I enjoyed delicious boberry biscuits. They are most choice. Anyway, following this, Derriere and I took a short drive through the amazing roads lined by trees with amazing colors before coming back home to watch TV for a while. We finally got out and about again, heading over to my complex's gym where we worked out for hours and hours. OK, well, maybe not hours, but for a good 20 minutes at least. After that sweat-provoking experience, we headed off to my friend's indoor pool (even though it was warm enough today that we could've swam outside just fine). After swimming for a bit, we came back and cleaned up and then headed off to that ever-popular Thanksgiving dinner--Chinese food. I had sweet & sour chicken. I suppose sweet & sour turkey would have been more apropos, but given my disdain for that nasty poultry variety, I wouldn't have eaten it anyway. So, after our festive dinner, we headed off to our next part of the holiday meal--hot fudge sundaes at McDonald's. Oh, we did take a little detour to CVS, where we bought some bags of peanut M&M's to go with our hot fudge sundaes. Anyway, we are now at my house watching TV and waiting for Cammie Jan's arrival. We will go collect her from the airport in about fifteen minutes or so. I just checked the flight arrival website and she's flying along at 601 MPH right now and is 180 miles away. So, she'll be here shortly.

Despite the rather unusual Thanksgiving day (we're doing our Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday), during which nothing was the same as my usual traditions, there is one thing that remains the same--my gratitude for so many things. I am especially grateful this year, as so much change and progress has happened in my life during the last 365 days. I am grateful for my mostly-good health and for my job, home, vehicle, dog, etc. But, even more than this, I'm grateful for my family and friends. I have such a tremendous and fun support system that I truly love and I could not survive without. My mom, sisters, bro-in-law, nephews, and grandma are all amazing and I miss them tremendously. However, that's not my only "family" that I'm grateful for. Besides many others, my dear, long-time, always faithful and wonderful friends, Darin and Cammie Jan, particularly mean a lot to me. I am so happy they're here (or almost here) and that we can spend some time together, even if it is only a few days. It's better than nothing. Sure, I talk or text them almost daily, but it's even better to have them here in person. Above all else, I'm particularly grateful for the lessons my Heavenly Father has allowed to come into my life since last Thanksgiving. I don't even feel like the same person, as so much growth and maturity has come into my life. It's amazing. So, my thoughts on the eve of this fun and unique holiday are that I'm so very blessed with things much more valuable than any material possession. I am blessed with a family and friends that couldn't be any better and with good health. What more could I ask for? Nothing--unless I wanted to be really greedy. So, to all who read this, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! May it truly be a day of gratitude and may the year ahead be another year of great blessings and joy!

Thanksgiving

2007-11-21T13:53:00.001-05:00

As I sit here at work, wondering why on earth the office is even open since I have nothing to do, I can't help but think of the upcoming Thanksgiving feast! I am so blasted hungry. Fortunately, we're closing at 3:00, but I don't think that'll be soon enough. I will most likely have devoured my fist by that time. However, though the hairy fist would be tasty I'm sure, I think I will just hold off on that and dream of how tasty the feast I have planned will be. This, dear reader, is what I have planned for the Thanksgiving consumption:

Appetizers: Seasoned Oyster Crackers; Ricotta-Blue Cheese dip with green apple slices, crackers, and cheese straws
Sides, etc.: Cranberry-Orange Sauce (I make this every year and it just gets better and better each time); Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta; Orange-Scented Green Beans; Mashed Red Potatoes with Brown Gravy; Sweet Potato Casserole; Pimento Cheese Stuffed Celery, Olives; White Yeast Rolls
Main Dishes: Peach-Glazed Cornish Game Hens with Cranberry Cornbread Stuffing; Turkey Breast Cutlets with Pan Gravy

The best part in all of this is that it's for a grand total of three people (counting myself). So, there will be more than enough for all and we'll have some mighty tasty leftovers too. :) I also can't wait for Darin and Cammie Jan to get here--I am bouncing off the walls in anticipation. It's been almost a year since the three of us have been able to spend time together and as they're very much a part of my family, it will be great to have them around.

Well, on that happy note and with those thoughts, I'm heading to the kitchen to scavenge for food. Perhaps I'll find a crumb or two to tide me over.

Time flies...

2007-11-18T23:26:00.000-05:00

...whether you're having fun or not. This has been a most crazy week for me and not all of it was fun, but yet the time has flown and I realized I've neglected my little space on the Net. So, despite the fact I should be in bed as I've got a full Monday ahead of me, I am going to take a moment to share in life's happenings.

Those who know me can attest to the fact that I am, without a doubt, a bargain shopper. So, it should come as no surprised that I found and wholeheartedly took advantage of a great deal last night at Target: I bought an automatic shower cleaner! (Well, two of them actually--in addition to three CDs, a DVD, a box of chocolate chunk cookies, four bottles of Old Spice body wash, and a...well, let's just call it an item shall we?) So, I bought this shower cleaner that I've been wanting for some time. It was marked down from its $20 retail price and came with a $5 Target gift card, leaving the final price at just over $13. This, my friends, is a good deal. It not only includes the actual machine, but Energizer batteries to run it, an attachable shower caddy, and two bottles of cleaning solution as well. This made me very happy, as I HATE (yes, I said "hate", which I don't normally say, as it's such a powerful word and very rarely warrants use) to clean the bathroom--particularly the shower. Sure, I do it and regularly too, I might add. I just don't enjoy doing so. However, if this little wonder does all that it's designed to do, my days of scrubbing my shower are over. So, I have made a mental note as to how the shower looks now and I'll be watching it over the next few days to see how it changes in appearance. Heavy mildew build-up is supposed to disappear in 12-14 days and as I don't have heavy build-up, I'm hoping for miracles in just a few days. I shall keep you posted on this marvel.

My one concern is that the Scrubbing Bubbles solution container (yet another reason I bought it, as I seriously heart Scrubbing Bubbles) says that the solution is safe to be sprayed on soap, shampoo, and body sponges. How is this possible? How can a liquid designed to remove heavily cakes mildew be safe to use on the human body? If I notice my skin start to evaporate or turn transparent, I will know that this product is not, after all, safe.

So, there you have it--another thought from Tot. I hope all is well with each of you and that you have a most wonderful Thanksgiving if I don't talk to you before then! (PS--Only 8 days until the blessed event---my birthday, that is! :))

Vomitville

2007-11-11T16:52:00.000-05:00

...lovely title, eh? Well, this time it is not me who is sick, but rather my poor, cute little doggy, Matza Ball. She is sick as a dog...literally. She has vomited non-stop since about 2 a.m. The nastiest was when she threw up on me. Fun times. So, I have a sick little baby and I am a nervous wreck. I called the vet four times as I debated over taking her in or not. They said they'd charge $400+ for testing and they'd transfer her to the emergency hospital and observe her overnight. As that sounds ridiculously expensive, I've opted to watch her at home for the next 24-hours and feed her a bland diet. I just got done boiling her some chicken and rice, which is so far staying down. Meanwhile, I fortuitously borrowed a spot cleaner from a friend of mine and so I have it on hand to continually clean the carpet from Matza's episodes. It's very handy and I've decided I must have one for myself. Well, it's back to nursing my little baby better...so much for the rest of my plans for today.

Kade the Lush

2007-11-08T15:14:00.001-05:00

I have decided that being an alcoholic may not be such a bad thing. I may start working on this venture in a minute or two here at my desk. Sure, I am not a drinker and sure, being a lush costs money and liver life...but, at this point I'm not caring so much, given the incredibly insanely busy day I've had. And it's only 3:30. Look out whiskey...here I come!

Roomies vs. Vomit: Which is worse?

2007-11-07T16:51:00.001-05:00

Well, today brings yet another crappy day of illness to my life. I feel so nauseous and I don't know why. I have been feeling just fine the past few days, but now it's a whole heap of yuck all over again. In the meantime, I discovered that my roommate not only paid his rent late last month, incurring a late fee that he didn't completely pay off, but that he also has failed (for the fourth month) to get our electricity switched over into his name instead of the apartment's. He was able to get out of the last $200 fine for that one, but now he's got another $50 fee to work on. Oh, and he didn't write a check big enough to cover the rent this month, as he forgot how much he's supposed to pay. I e-mailed him today and broke down all the finances for him, as he seems to struggle with them. He can't even remember from month-to-month how much he is supposed to pay in rent or even how much our total rent is. I am tired of having to act like his parent. I have to ask him to do the dishes, take out the trash, clean his cats' litter box, etc. It is ridiculous.

So, here I sit amongst an apartment full of dirty dishes and nasty kitty litter (I took the garbage out last night, so at least that's missing from this equation), feeling like I need to vomit as my stomach is just killing me, and I can't tell which I dislike more--feeling sick or having a roommate. My thought is that I will absolutely, positively not have a roommate during law school as school is going to be stressful enough without having to parent someone else's child. Those are my angry thoughts at this hour.

Pancakes and Grapefruit Juice

2007-11-04T13:16:00.000-05:00

So, this morning I woke up feeling very motivated. Not so much a "Solve World Hunger" movitated, but more of a "Solve Kade's Hunger" motivated. With that level of motivation, I decided to venture forth and make breakfast...pancakes, actually. Now, this may not seem like such a challenge or even a big thing, but keep in mind that this is me here. I have never made pancakes on my own. Given today's experience, I may not be making them on my own again any time soon.

You see, I am challenged...almost handicapped, if you will (which I'm sure you will), by my own visions of grandeur. I think, "I shall make pancakes," but in reality, I'm thinking of these beautifully round and golden gems that would be featured on the front of any respectable cooking magazine sold only to those with the most discriminating tastes. So, it's no wonder that I'm thoroughly disappointed at this moment.

Sure, I could follow the directions for "Melt in your Mouth Pancakes" (except I was a bit confused when they said "blend ingredients"--does this mean until smooth or just until all ingredients are incorporated?? Why can't they specify?!), but when it came time to actually cook them, I was presented with a challenge. My first issue was that I don't own a flat griddle. So, I used a large frying pan. I didn't heart using a large frying pan. Everytime I flipped my not-so-golden-or-round lumps of cake, they would end up not flipping so smoothly and would thus leave raw batter over the edge and down the curved side of the pan.

Then, there was the issue as to how much batter to put on at one time. Sure, the recipe says scant 1/4 cup, but since I was using an over-sized coffee mug to scoop the batter into the frying pan, the focus became more on trying to dump less on the stovetop than it did on measuring the amount making it into the pan. However, despite these challenges, I learned that by moving the pan around a bit when the batter is first put in, one can make a bit better of an actual circle. My first attempts were oblong and angular things. Next, I learned that though the directions say simply to make sure the griddle is "hot", keeping the pan on medium-high to high is not the way to do this. The pancakes "cooked" during this particular phase sure were melt-in-your-mouth--well--they'd have to be as they were just raw batter in the middle of dark brown crispy covers.

So, by the time all was said and done, I had cooked up a heap of expirementation, which didn't taste too bad when combined with lots of Brummel & Brown, a mouthful of peach jam, and a big swig of apple juice or milk. I was able to down almost five of my succulent little batter masses by utilizing these extra measures. While I'm thinking of it, for those who are fans of fruit juice, if you haven't tried the "Simply Orange" brand juice line, you are soooooo missing out. Not only is the "Simply Orange" great (as orange is my favorite juice), but the "Simply Grapefruit" and "Simply Apple" are also absolutely delicious and I highly recommend them. It is as the title suggests--it's 100% juice with no sugars, additives, etc. And, it's amazing.

The grapefruit one made me think back to the mornings spent at my grandparents' house, when we'd have fresh grapefruit with powdered sugar sprinkled on it. I was half tempted to sprinkle some powdered sugar in my juice as it would've made the moment perfect. So, I guess this actually proves in the end that some experiences do pan (no pun intended) out to be as wonderful and amazing as they are in one's head. Yes, I suck at pancake making and my attempts in no way reflect what I envisioned. But, at least the grapefruit juice, for instance, completely matches how I remember wonderful times spent with my grandparents.

Sure, I can't physically go back in time to to their house in Idaho and those great mornings spent fighting with my sisters over who got to sit in the single counter stool, but I can go back in my mind to those times when I felt loved beyond measure. So, I guess that instead of giving up completely on being able to make pancakes, I should continue to attempt it, as who knows...maybe one day I'll taste a melt-in-your-mouth pancake and it will take me back to this time in my life, when I also feel happy and loved beyond measure. I reckon that's motivation enough to keep trying things that I don't do so well or haven't ever tried. Next up on the new experiences agenda...painting the frame of a wall hanging. Again, something I've never done before--and the paint is black. Pray for me. :)

A better day...

2007-11-03T02:00:00.000-04:00

So, it's incredibly late (i.e., 2:00 a.m.) and one would think I'd be in bed...but clearly, I'm not. Why, you ask? I shall share...it's because with all of this virus crap all week, I've done nothing but sleep odd hours and now my internal clock is so messed up that I am wide awake when I should and could be sleeping. So, to fill this time, I will write today's adventures.

It all started when I went in to work...at about 2:00 p.m. I was feeling really crappy again this morning, but talked myself into going in as I have several projects I wanted to work on that I couldn't do at home. I am supposed to be able to log in with my work laptop from home and have access to all of the office networks, etc., but something is wrong with my home network when I go to do so. Therefore, to access the files I needed, it required me throwing on jeans and a sweater and dragging myself into the office--drag being the key word here. My boss told me to turn right around and go back home, but I told him I think I'm past the contageous point (I'm not sure if I am or not, but I am so sick of being cooped up at home that I had to escape somehow). Anyway, I got a few things done at work, planning to leave by 5:00. At 6:00, I was finally out the door. It's amazing to me how often that happens--time just gets away from me. But, at least I have a really fun and interesting job, so that helps.

Well, I got home and took Miss Matza out for her evening walk, which involves picking up the mail too. What did I find in my mailbox? None other than an acceptance letter and 25% tuition scholarship offer from Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan! I had just turned in my application to them two weeks ago, so I was surprised to see an acceptance so soon. I was very happy about this, as it ensures that I'll be going to law school, even if all of the other schools don't offer me admissions. To celebrate, I made two friends, Adrian and Beth (along with Beth's two adorable kids, Faith and Cameron), go with me to Red Lobster for dinner. I had to twist their arms soooooo hard (note the sarcasm). I ordered the endless shrimp feast, but while eating my first helping (buffalo shrimp), I discovered something that did not at all resemble a shrimp. I poked it and it was hard, so I broke it open with my hands to find that it was a part of the shrimp bag wrapping that had been breaded and fried. It wasn't the most appetizing thing, but it didn't completely ruin my appetite--because right then and there, I knew it was free dinner for Kade night!

I called over the waiter, who immediately got the manager, who came and apologized profusely and said they'd buy my dinner and dessert. Then, after a while, another manager came over and gave me a gift card so that I'd come back again. I had a bit of a pile up of shrimp dishes on my plate, as the kitchen all of a sudden sped up and got my refills to me two seconds after I ordered them. So, the waiter boxed up a bunch of food for me, along with my free dessert, and filled a giant take out bag with all of my loot. Beth and Adrian looked at me in disgust as I lugged the bag of freebies to the car. It was most enjoyable. I'm all about freebies, as anyone who knows me can testify.

The thing is, a shrimp wrapper in a shrimp dish is not that far-fetched or disgusting as say, a finger or a condom or a bandaid or a hair or...well, you get the idea. So, it really wasn't so bad that I wanted to vomit or anything. My thought is that I'm all about freebies, so anytime that a kitchen worker at Red Lobster wants to throw in a wrapper piece that will result in me getting $40 in goodies, I am all for it. And that, my friends, was my day and my thoughts at this, 2:22 a.m.

Later,
Tater

Colonic Activity

2007-11-02T00:13:00.000-04:00

Well, let me first start this blog by stating that what I'm going to write is probably a bit different than what you're thinking when judging by the blog title. It's probably not nearly as disgusting as your thoughts are, you nasty individual. :)

So, I was just sitting here (no pun intended) thinking about the colon. Why, you ask? Well, I shall tell you. I was going through my favorite URLs list and came across one I had titled "Informative Ulcerative Colitis Site". As I haven't visited this site in some time, I ventured forth to see what exactly I had found that was so informative. You see, I, like 500,000-2 million other Americans, have ulcerative colitis. When I was first diagnosed last Fall, I had no idea what on earth that even was or how it would affect my life. So, I did what any normal person would do and I started to do my research. This research lead me to the site I titled as "informative". (For those wondering, this is the site: http://www.medicinenet.com/ulcerative_colitis/article.htm

There was an ad on TV the other night about some new ulcerative colitis site, but I can't remember what the URL was. I'd be interested to see what is being said on that one. Fortunately, in my case, this was detected very early on and so I am one of the lucky ones. I have to take incredibly expensive aminosalicylate anti-inflammatory drugs on a daily basis (to the tune of $15/pill), but this should prevent any further spread of this disease. Anyway, that's not the point of this blog. The point is this: Every one (particularly those over 40) needs to have a colonoscopy done--and don't put it off!! Just the other day, a co-worker told me that they went ahead and had a colonoscopy done, as I had encouraged them to do. Yes, some would say that it is odd that I'd encourage co-workers to have colonoscopies, but given my family history of colon cancer and my own personal genetic diseases related to the colon, I can not encourage any one too much to have this done.

And, I should note here that colonoscopies are not nearly as horrible as you'd imagine them to be. The worst part of it is the preparation, during which you either have to drink two 16-oz. bottles of the nastiest saltiest liquid you'll ever taste, or you'll have to take approximately 30 salt pills that are also very nasty. However, once you're past downing this liquid and through with, shall we say "vacating the colon", it is not bad from there. You're totally unconscious during the procedure and it does not take long at all. I think the longest it's ever taken for me is about 45 minutes. It really is a fast, worthwhile procedure that you (yes, you!) need to stop putting off!

OK, now that I have my strong admonitions done, I shall share a site I just found that made me laugh out loud (or LOL, if you will--and I'm sure you will). I need to add this exhibit to my list of must see places. After all, how often can one experience walking through a 20-foot long and 8-foot high replica of a human colon, I ask you: http://www.preventcancer.org/colorectal/

So, with that thought (crappy as it may be :)), I shall bid you adieu for now. But, remember, a healthy colon is a happy colon. And those are Tot's Thoughts.

Not-so-Happy Halloween!

2007-11-01T00:18:00.000-04:00

Shalom!

Well, I am a bit bitter today. I woke up feeling ill again (under the weather would be an understatement) and this made me anything but a happy camper. I finally dragged myself from bed and made it to work at about 2:00 pm, as I had a few projects I needed to work on. It was also "Cube or Treat" today, for which I had signed up, so I stopped at the grocery store on my way to work and picked up some good ol' Little Debbies for my contribution. I had planned to make some clever, homemade, and festive treats, but illness prevented that from happening.

So, as I was pulling into the store, I passed a delivery truck for some cigarette company and on the side, the slogan read, "From our farm to you...", as if to imply that the cigarettes were nothing more than just tobacco fresh from the farm. They forgot to mention that it took a detour when it left the farm and traveled to the store by way of a large factory where toxins and seductive packaging were added. Slight oversight on their part, I think. It pissed me off, actually. I knew then that I was not feeling well, when I let a delivery van ad make me that angry. This anger later re-surfaced when I received a holiday catalog from Harry and David at work. I don't know which company first sold my information, but I now hold the distinction of getting more mail on a daily basis than anyone else in my division. This includes the executives. Once people see that I'm in marketing, the push to sell me something is phenomenal.

Anyway, getting the catalog didn't anger me, but the picture on the front did. It was of this perfect pear half, without a single bite taken from it, but there is a spoon shown dangling in front of said pear half with a bite of this fresh pear all ready to be eaten--and pear juice dripping from the spoon. Why would this make me angry, you ask? It's because the stinking pear half didn't have a bite taken from it, so how did a bite end up on the spoon???? I know what they were trying to achieve with the look, but where's the logic? How can a bite of a pear appear on a spoon, when the pear hasn't been touched? Grrrrr...I'm getting worked up over this all over again.

So, I clearly am not feeling up to par today. The doctor took a blood sample and tested it for mono, given my mononucleousis-ridden history, just to make sure I didn't have it again, but as I expected, the test came back negative. It doesn't feel like mono anyway...the only similarities are that I'm dead tired and my whole body aches. Other than that, I have no sore throat (sore being a term that in no way accurately describes the amount of pain one experiences in the throat with mono---"razor-sliced with salt and lemon juice poured in the gaping wound" is a little more of an accurate description of that pain), my spleen isn't painfully swollen, and my liver is not so enlarged that I can see it through my t-shirt. So, I didn't need a blood test to tell me it wasn't mono. However, it is good to rule things out I suppose.

Anyway, I am working at home tomorrow and probably Friday too as I am contageous and am supposed to be resting, drinking lots of fluids, taking Tylenol, yada yada yada. The one good thing in all of this is that the doctor told me I can't do any exercise or keep up my usual routine, as I'm supposed to take it easy. So, at least I have a doctor's orders to be a slacker. :) (Hey--anything to relieve some guilt from my very-guilt-prone self.) Besides, this is apparently the reason I find myself back in the position of being ill, after feeling so great on Monday. I overdid it on Monday, after three days of sickness, and that brought this whole thing back on. Alas...

Well, Matza is starting to snore, so I take that as my sign that it's time for me to go to bed. I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Later,
Tater