Category: Family

Silly Rabbit, Tricks Are For Kids

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Remember the gift basket my mom made me for Valentine’s Day? Included in that basket were a pair of gloves. I put them in my purse and a few days later went to put them on when I became baffled. You see, one side has rubber balls on it for gripping, and it turns out my mom had accidentally given me two right-handed gloves. I called her and we laughed about it. The gloves were sold separately, and she had bought two pair, so she had two left-handed gloves at home. She mailed them to me and I received them yesterday along with this note (click to see a bigger version).

Another amusing thing that happened recently was what Joe did at Petco yesterday. We were checking out the ferrets nearby a guy who was buying a rat to feed his snake. Except Joe didn’t put two and two together (he didn’t notice the guy was holding a big bag of snake bedding), and assumed he was buying the rat as a pet. Joe asked the guy if it was his first rat and then went on to explain how we have one at home. Obviously the guy wouldn’t care since he viewed the rat as food, but I’m not sure he was really understanding what Joe was getting at anyway judging by his response which was that his snake was getting so big he’d soon be feeding it chickens.

I’ve been totally giving Joe shit about his observation skills since, quoting him, “Is that your first rat?” while he rolls his eyes at me. Luckily he’s a good sport and was ok with me posting this entry because I found the whole thing highly amusing.

When we got home I promised Templeton I’d never feed him to a snake. I don’t know if I could ever own a snake (they are boring anyway) because of that. It doesn’t bother me feeding crickets to my toad because they are nasty insects, but a cute little furry rat? Don’t think so.

Weekend Fun

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Birthday Cake

Friday we went to my parents to celebrate Brother #2’s birthday. We only had K with us since E had a school event he was attending. It was weird only being there for four hours because we usually go on a Saturday around 2 pm and stay until 11 pm but this time we were only there from 6-10. It’s also tough to keep track of everything that’s going on because it feels like everyone is vying for my attention at the same time, not that I’m complaining! I felt bad because my brother was feeling a bit neglected since my attention kept getting turned elsewhere. If only they lived closer we’d probably visit more often because they may be dysfunctional (and what family isn’t?), but they crack me up and I nearly always have a good time. My mom even gave me a cute Valentine’s Day basket full of candy and some socks and gloves. I love that she still does this for me even if I have to share the candy with Joe. ;)

Valentine's Day Basket

Brother #1 was kind enough to let us borrow a few video games for the PS3 and Wii. I’m not a big game player but I liked Rabbids Go Home for the Wii enough that I played it for nearly an hour today. That’s a record for me!

Christmas

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We had a nice Christmas with my family and the kids. We picked the kids up Friday evening and went to my parents’ for food and games. Many years in the past we had played something called Crazy BINGO, and this year we played Crazy Uno. All the prizes were numbered and inside was candy and money. E made out good winning $50 and K got $20. I was happy with my $10 and Dove truffles.

Christmas morning we ended up sleeping until 9:15 because someone (me) forgot to set the alarm. I set the alarm time, but I didn’t actually activate it, and it was easy to sleep late after going to bed around 2:30. We got home before midnight but I was wide awake and had fun looking for stuff for my new Kindle. I’ve probably messed around with it more than I’ve actually read on it so far, but that’s because I think it’s so cool. I even found an ePub version of Songwords (a book of Cure song lyrics) that someone on my favorite Cure fansite put together and expanded to include all the songs that they’ve released since the book has come out. It was easy to convert to the Kindle format using a free program called calibre. I’ve already added a handful of books, and a game, to my Kindle.

This morning I looked for a case at Target but wasn’t liking any of them. I looked online yesterday too but the only ones I like seem way too expensive when the case is a third of the price of the device, like this one which I really love. For now I will stick to my “homemade” case – a manila bubble envelope. But I digress …

After we tortured the kids by making them eat breakfast first, they opened their presents. K, of course, knew she was getting a new camera. She also got an iTunes gift card and a Discover gift card since she’s a bit difficult to buy for. E got many presents, but instead of listing them you can check them out in the photos below. The only item not pictured was a Sansa Fuze 4GB MP3 Player that was delivered after I had wrapped all the other gifts. Also, some of the presents shown are from my parents since we help them with the shopping.

I started on the ham early which was a good thing since it took a heck of a lot longer than the directions indicated. I really like Target’s Market Pantry spiral honey ham. It’s a decent price and it tastes good, plus it’s not huge since there’s only four of us. I made the regular sides – mashed potatos, corn, green bean casserole, mac & cheese, stuffing and rolls.

The rest of the day was spent with the kids playing with their new toys and us doing the same. We also played a few games of Aggravation which we usually do when the kids are over. In all, a very nice low-key holiday.

Shower me with games

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Saturday we attended our nephew’s and his girlfriend’s baby shower. It’s been years since I’ve been to a shower which is a good thing because I’m not into that sort of thing. That being said, this one wasn’t bad, although I felt anxious when it reached 4:30 pm (it started at 2) and the guest of honor still hadn’t gotten to opening our gift. We needed to leave at 5 in order to get back home in time for game night which I was hosting and had planned two months ago before receiving the shower invitation. Luckily we did end up getting out of there on time and all my guests arrived late so we were home with plenty of time to spare. Oh, and I won the “Baby BINGO” we played. The prize was a box of mini diffusers in “Linen” scent which smell really nice.

Game night was a blast!!! It’s tough finding people who are truly interested in playing board games but once they were introduced to Aggravation, my friends couldn’t get enough. I don’t know why I even own so many other games when Aggravation is the bestest one ever! :) My new-found friends, which happen to be my new boss and new Director (and her boyfriend), are awesome. I feel very comfortable around them. We get along great on work and non-work levels which is such a refreshing change after all the bullshit I’ve had to deal with over the years. Joe really liked them too and I hope we all get together soon, although with the holidays coming up it might be awhile. Who knows.

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DST. Should I complain about it because everyone else is? Truth is I didn’t notice any difference in my sleep schedule. But I don’t understand everyone’s happiness about the light in the morning. I really couldn’t care less if it’s dark or light when I’m driving to work. I much prefer the sunlight once I’m off work. Also, now my commute into work involves the rising sun in my eyes and the drive home is the setting sun in my eyes. Woo hoo. Not.

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Recently they upgraded our computers at work to Windows 7. I have a laptop since I work from home once a week, so they installed Windows 7 on a new machine, a Lenovo ThinkPad. My old laptop is a Dell, which I loved, but they stopped supporting them at work, plus the Lenovo has a faster processor and twice as much memory. So while it functions better, I don’t like it because of the following reasons:

The internet cable port is on the side instead of the back.

The USB ports are on the left-hand side whereas they were on the right with my Dell.

The power code doesn’t wrap up nicely like the Dell one.

The control key is not the bottom-left key, the stupid function key is, so I’m constantly thinking I’m copying something when I’m really not. Are there no standards to keyboards?!? Pretty much every other one I’ve ever used has the control key in the bottom-left corner. WTF Lenovo? Do you think you’re special?

And most importantly, the thing is just ugly. No, FUGLY. Just look at the thing!

The 90’s called and it wants its laptop back.

Quick Update

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I know my posting has been erratic as of late. I think I’m really starting to feel bogged down by the internet and having constant access to it via my iPhone. All the Facebook and Twitter updates seem rather boring to me. Please don’t take it personally, I’m just starting to question the whole point of it all. Between that and the near constant multi-tasking I do at work in order to try and keep up, I’m starting to feel like I’ve lost any semblance of an attention span.

Here’s a bit of what’s been going on around these parts lately:

I’ve been able to feed my toad dead meal worms and crickets by using the laser pointer to trick her into thinking they are alive. Although I quickly learned I don’t even need to do that – she eats them right off the spoon that came with them; as soon as I place the spoon in front of her she licks them right off!

We’ve decided to renovate both upstairs bathrooms and found both floor and wall tile the first day we started looking. Now all we need are vanities, sinks, mirrors, hardware, and tubs. I’m simultaneously looking forward to and dreading this project. I know it will look beautiful once we’re done, since Joe did such a great job downstairs, I just hate the anxiety I feel when something in the house is in disarray.

We’ve decided to table the idea of moving after looking at too many undesirable places online and scoping out potential new neighborhoods. Not to mention that our own home has dropped so much in value that we’d sell it at a loss. There are probably 15 properties in our subdivision alone for sale right now and none of them look as nice as ours, so I think if we wait even another year we’ll be able to sell at a nice profit.

The kids and Joe’s parents (who are visiting from Arizona) have been staying with us since Wednesday. Even though we didn’t get to do what we planned due to the unpredictable weather (like hit a water park one of the days), we still had a good time. We saw some movies (Despicable Me (awesome) and The Last Airbender (terrible)), played games and stuffed our faces. We’re dropping the kids off after going out for an early dinner soon. I already cleaned the dining room and kitchen so that I don’t have to worry about it when we get back. I loved seeing everyone, but I’m ready for a little quiet time tonight (and no more HGTV for awhile) before I have to return to work tomorrow. :p

My Boys premieres tonight with two new EPs!