We Are Pretty Boring

Sometimes it's hard to think of something to blog about since our lives are pretty...um..dull.

Here's how we spent our Sunday: Had our coffee and some breakfast-no eggs since we were out of them and no eating out since we already did that twice this weekend. Last night we went across town to Carrow's since we had a coupon for 50% off one entree with the purchase of another. Definitely not worth it, Carrow's is about the same as Denny's which I didn't realize until after we got our food.
We needed some stuff from walmart so we did our shopping there and then went to Von's for the groceries. Note to self: Keith likes to browse, only go shopping with him when absolutely necessary. I spent half my time in Vons waiting at the end of each aisle for him to catch up.
We've had some strange weather this weekend so we came out of Von's to hurricane force wind and big fat rain drops. A few hours later it must have been the eye of the hurricane because the sun was shining and everything was calm.
After lunch, I went into my studio to do a little work and take some pictures. Keith spent the entire afternoon rolling up coins. He had been throwing his change into a big glass jar and the jar was full, so he sat there watching his new war documentary that he got at walmart and rolled up over 250.00 worth of change. I told him to save it for the new saw that he wants.
That was our fun and exciting Sunday. I wish he had done some more work on the remodel, but he does deserve a day off to just roll coins I guess.

Cats and More Wasted Time

I did it again, I watched American Idol last night. I'm so glad the show was only an hour this time. The highlights were the very strange man with the really long fingernails and the big fan-very odd person, but he's had his 5 minutes now. The most heartwarming one was the 16 year old who'd had issues with his vocal cords, he had a good voice and seemed like a really nice kid. The one guy who's been trying out with his mom taking him all over the country really needs to tell his mom that she needs to find another obsession.

We had some sun yesterday so the kids took advantage of a sunny spot in the bedroom.






























Like Keith says, these cats may have cost us thousands of dollars but it's moments like these that make it all worth every penny.

Buddy is so funny, he has one special little fluffly jingle toy that he just loves. He runs around the house jingling with the girls chasing him trying to get the toy. If anyone gets to close, he growls at us with the toy firmly in his mouth. We upended the couch the other day after I noticed the kitties were getting low on toys and it was like a kitty toy smorgasbord under there! There must have been 30 toys plus a few magnets from the fridge and a charm or two from my workroom under the couch. We stopped by Petco to check out some new toys and got a bag full of the discounted Christmas kitty toys for 7.00. Who cares if they have Santas and stuff on them, the kittens thought it was Christmas all over again!

Oh, and if you don't have insurance in this town, don't try and go see a urologist. Our doctor made an appointment for Keith with one, so Keith took the day off work-with no pay-and we were turned away because we don't have insurance right now. I guess the uninsured are the new lepers.

Cute Kittens and Crash Update

I just love it when the kittens are cuddled up together sleeping, they look so sweet! Never mind that as soon as they wake up they'll find something to get into.





























Keith called Katie last night to see how she was feeling and got a little more information about the crash. The police estimated that the drunk that caused the whole thing was going about 90 when he crashed into the back of the Fed-Ex truck. The roof of Katie's car is now about 3" above the neckrest on her seat, she said the airbags kind of pushed her head down into John's lap-good thing or she probably would have had her head crushed. All the glass in the windshield and driver's window is shattered and John did get a cut on his head. The Fed-Ex driver is in critical condition.
Her insurance company has already arranged for a rental car for 30 days and is wanting to get her car repaired rather than total it, so we'll see if the body shop thinks that can be done.
Just hoping the poor Fed-Ex driver makes it through all this.

Two Crashes

The first crash came last night when the phone rang and a crying Katie was on the phone asking for her dad. Katie is Keith's daughter-my stepdaughter-and my first thought was 'oh no she's lost her job or has broken up with her boyfriend'. As I listened to Keith's end of the conversation, it became clear that she had been in an accident. She and her boyfriend had been driving in the fast lane on the freeway to meet some friends for dinner when a Fed-Ex truck that was on the other side of the freeway came across the divider and crashed into their car. She was still in the car and the paramedics had just gotten there when she called Keith. He kept asking her if she was hurt, is she okay, what happened? She just kept saying a Fed-Ex truck had crashed into her car on the driver's side and yes, the air bags went off, and no, she didn't think that she was hurt except that she had bumped her head somewhere.
They talked for a few minutes and then hung up so the paramedics could take a look at her and her boyfriend, John. She called about an hour later from home, said the paramedics told her to see her doctor today and that it looked like she was okay. I don't think the Fed-Ex driver fared so well, though. She said a drunk driver with a three year old child in the car rear-ended the Fed-Ex truck causing him to lose control and crash over the freeway divider, hitting Katie's car and spinning them around, and then two cars that were behind Katie crashed into the Fed-Ex truck, spinning him around. She said that the Fed-Ex driver was taken off in the ambulance and debris and car parts were all over the freeway. Her car is probably a total loss, the front end is pretty much ripped off. Keith said that he is always a little afraid that one day he's going to get that phone call where Katie has not been so lucky in an accident, this is about the fifth accident she's been involved in, and she's only 25. She does like to drive fast and doesn't always pay enough attention to what's going on around her, but this accident was definitely a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, not her fault at all. We're just really glad that all she has is a bumped head, if not for those side air bags she probably would have been seriously hurt or killed. We're now just hoping that the drunk driver who was taken to jail has some insurance to pay for all the damage he caused, and we're hoping that the poor Fed-Ex guy lived through it.

So, be careful driving, you just never know what's coming at you.

The second crash is not so dramatic. This morning I was peacefully sitting at the computer when I heard a huge crash coming from the kitchen and the sound of numerous panicked cats running in all directions. I went looking to see what happened and found the stopper from the sink in the middle of the floor, the salt and pepper shakers lying on their sides on the counter with pepper all over the counter, and my pitcher that I keep my utensils in was still upright on the counter but with a huge hole knocked in the side of it. I have no idea how this all came to be.

Mmm...Coffee and Getting Sucked into the Void

I'm enjoying my second cup of coffee this morning. I've always loved coffee with splenda and sugar free french vanilla creamer but had quit drinking it and opted for tea-with splenda and sugar free french vanilla creamer-for quite a while. We just bought a new coffee pot and now I fill it up after dinner and put the coffee in so Keith can flip it on at 4:30 am and have some coffee on his way to work. He convinced me to try Dunkin Donuts brand coffee, and you know what? Beats Starbucks or any other brand I've tried hands down. We get the breakfast blend which has a nice mild flavor and doesn't give you the jitters or that coffee stomach like some brands do. Yummy stuff!

Now, I used to be an avid TV watcher and had my favorite must see shows, but in recent years I all but quit watching regular TV. We don't have cable because we are cheap and don't want to spend all that money for 100's of channels only to find out that there's still NOTHING ON TV!!!
I do buy shows such as The Sopranos and Six Feet Under on DVD so I can watch them when I want to, not when the TV gods say that I must watch. I just recently got Dead Like Me and am getting hooked on that one. Dexter is great, too, and of course, Nip Tuck. What did I ever do before the DVD was invented?

Well, I watched crap like American Idol. I saw the promo for it on Tuesday and before I knew it I was sitting on the couch at 8pm being sucked into the American Idol wastelands. I CAN'T STOP! Last night I was ON THE COUCH AGAIN for the second installment. Two nights wasted on this drivel. Four hours out of my life being sucked away.
What is it about this show that makes me want to sit on the couch like a slug and stare fascinated at the TV screen for two hours a night? It's like a train wreck, a bloody accident on the other side of the road, you just have to look.
And watching that poor chubby little 16 year old with the sick mom trying to sing and then those tears running down her face just about broke my heart. Even though I know it was probably all in the script. I guess American Idol is the modern equivalent of the old Freak Shows at the carnival-yes I want to see the Geek who bites the heads off chickens or the Fat Lady or the Two Headed Boy-you betcha!

Wedgies

Friday night we went to one of our local 'minor league' -or whatever they call it in basketball- Bakersfield Jam basketball games. One of the local businesses was having a sponsor night and gave away free tickets to other local businesses so Keith got free tickets at work. It was a really good game with our team, the Jam, behind by a few points all night. They almost had it at the end, but ended up losing by 2 points. They even have their own version of the Laker girls, a bunch of cute girls that looked to me like they were in high school who danced and pom-pommmed throughout the game. A few drawings and basketball toss games were thrown in during time outs and ends of quarters. One of the prizes was a 25.00 gift certificate to Goodwill. Only in Bakersfield would you win a gift certificate to a thrift store.

The best part of the night was the half time entertainment-a troupe of ballet/modern dance kids who put on a circus themed dance. The littlest girls were in gauzy costumes that suggested lions and tigers, some were in ringmaster type costumes, and some had bright orange tutus. The little lions and tigers were in cages at first and then escaped to do their dance. One of the little ones must have had a serious wedgie-as she awaited her cue, she did some major digging of that leotard out of her bottom. I could just imagine her proud mother on the sidelines catching that moment on video!

And since I don't have a picture of the game, here's a circus themed pendant!

Nothing Much

I'm going to try and write a little in my blog most days, but there's really nothing much to write about today. I was going to post a cute picture of Buddy napping with Keith from last night but the picture came out all blurry. Buddy seems to have a special bond with Keith, he is his lap cat. If Keith is laying, sitting, or sleeping anywhere, along comes Buddy to curl up with him, usually with his rear end very close to Keith's face. I guess the kittens see him as daddy because they all run to the door when he gets home from work, just like little kids. Since I'm here all day I'm just not as exciting.
Looks like Keith's lump is probably not cancer, but he needs to go to a urologist and have a biopsy so they can figure out what it is and how to go from there as far as treatment-removal of the lump or meds to shrink it. He has an appointment Monday morning for a needle to be stuck in his testicle to get a sample. I'm sure he's really looking forward to that.
I need to get off the computer and go work on some stuff or maybe clean something, I always get sucked into etsyland first thing in the morning and before I know it a few hours have gone by. Here's the latest things I've been working on.














I found some paper at the scrapbook store with vintage type valentine images to make pendants with. I wish I had kept all my valentines from grade school!














I'm working on some wood pendants with scraps cut from an atlas. There are some strange town names out there! This one would be great for any Simpsons fan.

Woof Woof Woof

Woof woof woof arf arf arf arf ...woof woof woof...arf arf arf...this is what I am listening to this morning and last night and yesterday and the day before...woof woof woof arf arf arf.
There is a really big dog that lives in the backyard behind us, we not so affectionately call him Cujo. His owner is a single man who is rarely if ever home. Woof woof woof...arf arf arf. I feel sorry for the poor dog stuck in this backyard all day and night but I am reaaalllly tired of listening to him. Woof woof woof...arf arf arf...woof woof woof...arf arf arf. Sometimes Keith will go out there at 11 pm and squirt him with the hose. Woof woof woof...arf...eeek! Silence.

Yes, I Used to Work at Wal-Mart

I just got back from the post office and a trip to the local Wal-mart to get some more mailing envelopes. The cashier was one that I used to work with and of course she asked if I'm ever coming back to work there. Um, NO!
It's kind of embarrassing to admit that you work or have worked at Wal-mart because of the connotations that only the truly desperate unemployable people work there, which is partly true. I had a good paying, but incredibly stressful office job that I quit to move inland where housing is cheaper. I tried the usual temp agencies and applying for jobs in the paper with dismal results, and went to Wal-mart since it's right around the corner and any job is better than no job. I started out as a cashier making 7 something an hour. The job really isn't that bad except the being on your feet all day and then the after the store closes jobs that they make cashiers do. All the merchandise that customers would leave at the checkouts or around the store when they decided that they really didn't want to buy it had to be put back on the shelf by the cashiers. That's hard when you really don't know where everything goes or even what department it goes in. One night I had to put away a huge basket of women's clothing that I had absolutely no clue where it went or what rack it went on. I was so tired and nearly in tears and then just thought 'F*ck it, they're getting stuffed wherever I can find a spot!'
I was a cashier for almost a year and then was offered a position at the service desk, which was a lot better than cashiering, at least you could go to the bathroom when you needed to instead of them telling you that you should have gone on your break and you'll need to wait. Utter bullshit there-great way to get a urinary tract infection. The service desk led to a position in the cash office which was a little more money but way more stress. There were some in the office that were a little difficult to work with and very immature-the office manager to be exact. If you made a mistake she would become very angry and not talk to you all day-to 'punish' you I guess. After about 9 months of that, Wal-mart decided to revamp the departments and get rid of positions that really weren't a necessity. They decided to have one person in the cash office from 6am to 3pm and then one person overnight from 10pm to 7am to handle all the posting of the receipts and counting all the cash overnight. You were allowed to choose one of these positions based on your seniority and me being the latest hired was left with an overnight shift of 2 nights in the cash office and 3 nights on the floor as a stocker, complete with a pay cut. So, for about 9 months I worked overnights, stocking and cash officing, and that was the worst employment experience I've ever had. Trying to sleep in the day is really hard and I never got enough sleep, so I was always exhausted and cranky.
So, when my etsy shop started really taking off I discussed the possibility of quitting Wal-mart and trying crafting full time with Keith. It's worked out pretty well and basically I make about the same amount of money. Would I ever go back to Wal-mart? Again, a huge NO-I'd go work at Taco Bell or McDonalds first.
That's not to say that working for Wal-mart is always horrible-they do employ a lot of otherwise unemployable people and do offer some pretty good benefits and experience. But, the thought of working there again makes me feel a little nauseated.

I'm Hungry

The cat bowls are full, a brand new bag of kitten chow just brought home from the store is on the counter and just too much to resist. You'd think these kittens are starved and never get fed they way they tear into a bag of cat food. Must taste better fresh out of the bag.