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Gorgeous!

Our Condition is...

This afternoon while zipping down the highway at a whopping 40mph, I managed to snap these pics to show driving conditions. Actually, the pictures don't really show how bad the roads really were. There is a nasty layer of ice all over the pavement... I think maybe the one photo kind of shows that ;)

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Blizzard warning today. (deja vu-I'm in Ohio again?)

Let it Snow, Let it Sleet, Let it Rain...

Our first winter storm of the season is upon us. Last night little spits of rain and sleet were coming down but this morning it was loud spits of sleet. The wind is blowing something fierce and its blistery cold! I toyed with the idea of whether to try to make it to work or not. My favorite weather guy and the OHP were all over the tv telling people to stay home and not to get out on the roads. After a few phone calls, I decided to try to make it to the office, but leave about an hour later... so hopefully the typical morning traffic would already be at work - if they were even going to work.

I made it without mishap - some other misfortunate people did not. I saw a few semi's, cars and trucks off the side of the highway. From what I hear, its supposed to get really bad this afternoon. We'll see how long I stick it out here.

What I saw when I opened the door this morning.... ice.

Cat Tales

This past weekend, sis and fam visited out of town and TBC and I agreed to feed the menagerie while they were gone. It currently consists of two rambunctious dogs, Ho Kitty, three half-grown kittens from her first batch and the five survivors from her latest litter who are currently confined to the bathroom nursery. TBC did the actual labor involved and Friday evening he brought their only ‘daughter’ back to enjoy a slumber party reunion with her two full brothers, Oreo and Snickers. When she wasn’t licking my bare feet she was biting my hands and her constant, restless movement resulted in me having a heck of a time snapping this slate blur of frenzied activity. I think she’s a strong candidate for kitty Ritalin. As you can see, she’s a real cutie but I’m sure she is now scarred for life after her horrendous experience with us. No doubt she tearfully related her forced overnighter at her relatives’ house with faltering meows. It seems dear Snickers thought she was quite fetching in her soft, gray-striped, fluffy coat and took quite the fancy to her, avidly pursuing her with lustful overtures which she bravely deflected. His virtuous brother, Oreo, did not mimic Snicker’s wayward behavior but treated his sis with the respect their familial relationship deserved. Though certain this predicament would rear its head (hehe) in the near future, I’m wondering if Mr. Amorous hit pussy puberty sooner than expected. After observing his relentless pursuit of, er, tail, I foresee somber snipping in his near future.


Ways Blogging is Like Sex

11. At first, you’re just blogging once every week or two, but it’s not long before you’re doing it a couple of times a day.

10. A lot of kids fool around with blogs in high school but the serious blogging doesn’t start until college.

9. People really only have one good entry at a time, but will often fake multiple entries because they think it makes their readers happy.

8. It hurts when you’ve blogged and the next day your readers pretend like it never happened.

7. You know better than to blog when you’re drunk, but it’s just more fun, even if you do it with topics you wouldn’t have touched when you were sober.

6. The day after you’ve blogged drunk, you’ve got a lot of explaining to do to your regular readers.

5. Men blog like they’ve got an audience, but women like to keep it intimate.

4. You have to vary your technique once in a while, otherwise your readers will lose interest and you’ll drift apart.

3. When you first start to blog, you don’t ever have any long term readers but all you can ever think about is blogging. After a while, you do find some regular readers, but then blogging becomes a chore and you start to feel guilty if it’s been a while.

2. Most people blog at night, in the privacy of their own homes, but there’s always some jackass strutting around bragging that he prefers to blog in the office at lunch or at the local park.

1. Everyone knows that if he ever did in fact blog in his office or in the park, he was alone and just blogging into his palm.

Gimme More!

You can see a few more Farm pictures here.

Green Acres We Are There!!!

On Thanksgiving we all packed up and headed to Cousin Tonya's house. She, the hubby and two darling kiddos live way out in timbuktu country side clear on the other side of the state. We cityfied folks had a grand ol time gettin' down and gettin' dirty. Sheri and I climbed into the cow pit and manhandled manuer (sp?) - cow poop.
We climbed on top of the huge bails of hay and ran across them. They are alot bigger than you think... and from the top they are even bigger!
Richard took his turn. Actually, we made him go first to make sure it was safe... before we got up there to mess around. All the kids had been playing on them all day...
Another Glamour Shot of us two standing high on the bails.
Us perched on the fence looking out over the countryside. I'll get more pictures posted and notice my hair is always a mess. Sheri's can blow and it's still picture perfect... I, on the otherhand, always appear to be eating mine.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

I’ve always been crazy about old pathways (and apparently I’m not alone) as they are filled with romance and mystique. I love to scrutinize where a road begins, or sadly, where it finishes its vital course. Route 66 played an enormous part in the history of American highways and much has been written about “The Mother Road.”

Two of my favorite personal reminisces are of Highway 12 on the Outer Banks. Parts of it are forever washing away and as the landscape plays hide and seek with the encroaching sand, the vista changes with each passing storm. Abrupt curves in the otherwise straight road tell the tale of the constant fight to keep the highway one step ahead of the hungry ocean. The bends are the result of rerouting the road after erosion and storms gobbled up dunes and pavement.

North Carolina Highway 12, which provides access to the Outer Banks and connects its communities, is another line in the sand. The state has spent tens of millions of dollars rebuilding, relocating and trying to protect the highway only to have sections of it continually washed away by the sea. Critics say it is an exercise in futility and a waste of state and federal tax dollars. To some, Highway 12 is a symbol, not only of the problem on the Outer Banks, but on most of the state’s barrier islands.

I also fondly remember the eastward development of Highway 64 back when the extension only got as far as east of Rocky Mount. As the years past, it morphed from a sleepy two-lane ribbon of pavement winding through every small town to a bustling four-lane bypass marching toward the welcoming beach.

It is only proper and fitting that I remain completely fascinated with these most famous stretches of ancient construction…

Hadrian's Wall (Latin: Vallum Hadriani) was a stone and turf fortification built by the Roman Empire across the width of Great Britain to prevent military raids by the tribes of Scotland to the north, to improve economic stability and provide peaceful conditions in the Roman province of Britannia to the south, to physically mark the frontier of the Empire, and to separate the unruly Selgovae tribe in the north from the Brigantes in the south and discourage them from uniting. The wall was the northern border of the Empire in Britain for much of the Roman Empire's rule, and also the most heavily fortified border in the Empire. In addition to its use as a military fortification, it is thought that the gates through the wall would also have served as customs posts to allow trade taxation.

Sections of Hadrian's Wall remain near Greenhead and along the route, though other large sections have been dismantled over the years to use the stones for various nearby construction projects.

Hadrian's Wall was 80 Roman miles long, its width and height dependent on the construction materials which were available nearby. It extended from the west from Wallsend on the River Tyne to the shore of the Solway Firth. TheA69 and B6318 roads follow the course of the wall as it starts in Newcastle upon Tyne to Carlisle, then on round the northern coast of Cumbria. The Wall is entirely in England and south of the border with Scotland by 15 kilometres (9 mi) in the west and 110 kilometres (68 mi) in the east.

In the months after Hadrian's death in 138, the new emperor, essentially abandoned the wall, though leaving it occupied in a support role, and began building a new wall in Scotland proper, about 160 kilometres (100 mi) north, the Antonine Wall. Antonine was unable to conquer the northern tribes and so when Marcus Aurelius became emperor, he abandoned the Antonine Wall and occupied Hadrian's Wall once again in 164. It remained occupied by Roman troops until their withdrawal from Britain. In the late 4th century, barbarian invasions, economic decline, and military coups loosened the Empire's hold on Britain. By 410, the Roman administration and its legions were gone, and Britain was left to look to its own defenses and government. The garrisons, by now probably made up mostly of local Britons who had nowhere else to go, probably lingered on in some form for generations. Archaeology is beginning to reveal that some parts of the Wall remained occupied well into the 5th century. But in time the wall was abandoned and fell into ruin. Over the centuries a large proportion of the stone was reused in other local building which continued until the 20th century. A significant portion of the wall still exists, particularly the mid-section, and for much of its length the wall can be followed on foot.

Appian Way

In ancient times, Roman roads were considered monuments. Over a period of centuries, the Romans built an efficient network that ultimately stretched for over 50,000 miles in an area than now belongs to more than 30 countries. The first important via publica, or highway as it would be called today, was the Via Appia, or Appian Way. Known as the queen of roads, it linked Rome with Brundisium, the port city that was the gateway to the East. This road took its name from Appius Claudius Caecus, the Roman official who started building it about 312 B.C.E.

Roman roads were carefully designed and were built to be solid, useful, and beautiful, with a destination by means of the shortest possible route, which explains why many have long straight stretches. Often, though, the roads had to follow the natural contours of the terrain. Where possible, in hilly and mountainous areas, Roman engineers built their roads halfway up the slopes, along the sunny side of the mountain. For road users, this position minimized any inconvenience that might be caused by adverse weather conditions. Roman roads, then, have proved to be extraordinary and lasting monuments that one may still view today.

And who can forget that mythical trail from childhood, the glorious Yellow Brick Road? Whatever the goal, it’s about the journey, not necessarily the destination. Here’s to wanderlust and adventure!! ;)

It's Never Easy

As I previously mentioned, Richard and I avoided the public on Friday and opted to stay home and work around the house. After a few mishaps:

me stepping on a light, breaking it, picking up the string to put a new bulb in and it shocking the @#$! out of me (they were still plugged in); hanging lights all around the house only to come up about 4 feet short of finishing; readjusting half the lights to try to come up with the extra 4 feet; deciding 'screw it... we'll go buy more lights' and plugging them in where we stopped (to test the lights); finding that the outside outlet doesnt work; rerouting the extension cord thru the garage to test the lights; then finding about 1/3 of the string that shocked the @#$! out of me doesn't work and it's on the highest peak over the garage

We proudly displayed our lights on Friday night with a black space where the 1/3 of the string wasn't working, and then on Saturday, Richard and my dad replaced the bad string, added lights to finish out the house and checked out the outlet that isn't working. We now have working and completed christmas lights.

Sticking to my Plan

Do not ever attempt to go to the 'great sales' of Black Friday! Especially stores like CompUSA or Best Buy. I'm so shaken up by the whole experience I dont think I can even blog about it. It was complete and total hell. I will never do it again!

We went to CompUSA last night at 9:20ish to get a couple of things. We walked in, grab our goods and stood in line for 1 1/2 hours! It was hot and stuffy and we were tired. Then about 1:30am we went to Best Buy and the line was so flipping long that we decided to get some sleep and go back this morning to see what was left.

Nothing was left. The whole damn store was gone except the high dollar stuff (they were trying to push off onto people)... yet people were still there packed like sardines and fighting like i'd never seen before.

I have never shopped the day after Thanksgiving... and I will never try it again.

We hung Christmas lights instead.

Gobble Gobble

The Topfive.com’s 5 Thanksgiving Dishes Served in Celebrity Homes

5> Mark Foley: bone-in rump roast with Blackberry(TM) sauce

4> Pat Sajak: veal! of! FORTUNE!!

3> Madonna: not-givin'-the-baby-back ribs

2> Donald Rumsfeld: a big helping of crow, with sour grapes and humble pie

1> Michael Richards: one career, over easily

Party Weekend

Richard was recruited to take party pics. Here has is evaluating his material... and some hilarious videos that he shot while none of us were watching!!!
That's me... trying to gather all the kiddos up after the DJ had announed P's party to the party area for pizza, cake, cokes, gifts, etc. I noticed (after looking at this picture) that C stands just like me. lol
Richard shooting more video/pictures.
The party stuff. Clean. Before any pizza sauce, spilled Dr Pepper, buttercream icing or chocolate crumbs got smeared all over.
The two hot chicks there were working the party. These two add sizzle to any young man's party!!!


Finally I'm getting some time to get some of our Birthday pics out. This year, P decided to have a skating party to celebrate. We reserved a party area complete with assistant (hired) to set up, serve and clean. I love this plan! You can go here for a few more pics and some more of the story.

Conversation Took a Detour

My sis and I have been plotting our Black Friday shopping day - that's the day after Thanksgiving shopping day if you didn't know - and our conversation today went a little off the deep end, as usual. Piper is my doggie niece.

Via Email:
Me: Best buy is selling a 17" flat panel monitor for blah blah blah...

Sis: Uh no i don't think i will, So what time do you want to b there?

Me: Well, sherri was telling us we need to be there about 3am.... but dang that is early!

Sis: YEah but i can believe it b/c that is why i have never
done it b/f. Lets just go at 3 and sleep in the car if we need to we can set our alarms on our phones to go off every 30 min to make sure we are the first in line and take a thermous of coffee

Me: Okay. bring blankies. And hot choco... I don't do coffee

Sis: We can bring Piper too cuz she will keep us warm and if we get too hungry and cold we can eat her and wear her fur.

Me: No... I'm on a low-fat diet. Remember?!?! The doggie doctor said she is a fatty mcfatterson. She isn't lean meat. However, we can put a barrel around her neck with $5 in it and send her to the local 7-11 to get us beverages and snacks. That's a win-win. We get fed and warmed... she exercizes her tubby legs. :)

Sis: You know what that would work, i like that idea and maybe she will get discovered by a hollywood producer and be the star in the next big dog hit movie and we will have a HUGE shopping spree on Piper!!!!!!!!!!!

Me: Yes! Then we will have to quit and work for Piper full time. I'll be her manager because I don't mind being short with her and giving her the 'what fors'. You just be her sassy doggy momma with big hair and giant sunglasses.

Sis: Oh and we will need more bling...

Me: Yes... I like big bling. Piper is going to have to work hard
and she's going to have to get in shape. That means no more Taco Bell and no more sneaking 5lbs of valentines day chocolates while no one is home!

Sis: Yeah and no more sleeping all day, we are going to have to work harder on our walks in the morning and chase more cats... we are also going to have to get me the helium boob. Oh hell while i am at it i will get
liposuction in my cheeks (all 4) and you can have it for your boobs.

Me: Sweet! I knew that dog would be of use some day!
If she had a cell, I'd call and wake her up right now and make her run laps in the living room. I might give a shout out to the neighbor and have them bang on the wall to get her doggy butt up!

Sounds like we have the whole day planned out well..... *giggle*

Borat - The Movie

Last night we finally had a chance to go see Borat. Eric had told Richard that there was a few parts... well, one in particular that he couldn't believe he was watching, but he wouldn't divulge any details. We had no idea what we would see... but when that part came, we totally realized what he was talking about!

It was gross to see the chunky dude whackin to Pamela Anderson's picture in the Baywatch magazine, but it was even more grosser (is that a real word!?!?) to watch him wrestle Borat - totally butt naked! To watch flubber flouncing in the wind and nut sacks being shoved into another guys face and then watch as Borat was being forced to smell big dudes butthole (EEEWWWWW) while the guy sat on his face and said something to the effect of 'smell my ass' or 'lick my hole'. Heck I can't remember exactly what he said because we were too busy laughing and watching the whole circus act on the screen.

I'm so glad we sent P and C to see another movie. I hope I didn't ruin for anyone... but even though I shared just that little part, you still need to see it to get the whole effect. Oh my....

Go Buckeyes/Browns!

SATURDAY
11/18/2006
3:30 PM EST

Words of Advice

Ohio State fans are insane hooligans. Not all of them, of course. Not even most. But enough of them.This may sound like a hopelessly partisan statement, but let me explain. It has been known for many years that opposing fans, especially Michigan fans, get treated very badly in Columbus. Not only will you be cursed at, you may have beer or urine hurled at you. You may also be shoved or punched. If your car has Michigan license plates, the police will frequently ticket you for trumped-up infractions. I have not heard of these things happening with any regularity in Ann Arbor.This year, the University of Michigan sent an e-mail to fans traveling to Columbus. It reads like a State Department warning to tourists visiting a hostile Third World country. Some of the advice:

- Try carpooling to the game; if possible, drive a car with non-Michigan license plates.
- Keep your Michigan gear to a minimum, or wait until you are inside the stadium to display it.
- Stay with a group.
- Stay low-key; don't draw unnecessary attention to yourself.
- If verbally harassed by opposing fans, don't take the bait.
- Avoid High Street in Columbus.

Then on Sunday...


SUNDAY
11/19/2006
1:00 PM EST

I Found Your Old Pal, Sis....

OMG OMG OMG!!! I found someone on MySpace! I can't wait to tell my sista'. She is gonna crapola! *laughing hysterically*

I can not wait to tell Sheri who I found.... haha... it's one of her classmates and it's a hoot!!!

I can hear her gasping for air.... some silence... then bursts of laughter. *snicker*

Is this mean of me!?!? *giggle*

Spider Skirmish

Nothing went right yesterday and the cold and windy weather didn't help matters. I showed up for work with my attractive bloody left eye (broken blood vessel) and wearing a lovely ripped lavender sweater. And then things really plummeted downhill. Now I know I’m not the only one who occasionally comes unglued at work and unsheathes her sharpened claws but yesterday featured a Circe Meltdown of epic proportions. The first order of the day was the ongoing power struggle with the Spider right at the stroke of 8. As I have expounded upon in an earlier post, the Gossip Queen arrives promptly at 7 am, parks her rather plump posterior on one of our vacant chairs adjacent to my desk and eagerly awaits the arrivals of her cronies to trail in and join her in the morning gabfest. Chaos College’s workday commences at 8 am and in the perfect world, she would be seated at her desk in her building across campus ready to hit the ground running. Alas, this is not a perfect world. Chatting on the cell phone with sis, I rounded the corner to find the bull session in full swing. I threw my bag and purse on the desk and informed sis I wasn’t going to be able to hear her and flounced out in a huff as Gabby Bitch loudly declared, “well she’s pissed.” No shit, Sherlock! We go through this every week and you know very well how thrilled I am to see you first thing in the morning acting like this office is your personal domain. When I returned she was gone but the skirmish was far from over.

Indian Tacos were sold in the lounge and I knew she’d be over to gobble her quota. Sure enough, before noon I glimpsed her ambling down the hall in anticipation of consuming these gastronomic delicacies. I left for the gym and upon returning found her coat still slung over the rack waiting for its lazy owner to retrieve it. At 2:20 pm she finally decided it might be time to end her prolonged 2 ½ hour lunch and wandered in. By this time, I was feeling ashamed of my unprofessional hissy fit, decided to let bygones be bygones, smiled pleasantly and greeted her. And what was her reaction? I got a glare and silence for my efforts. Fine! Around 4 pm I was proofreading a document when my peripheral vision glimpsed her again entering my area in search of the Grand Poobah’s signature for her timesheet. (Oh, the irony). Never looking up, I squelched questioning her on her honesty regarding her lengthy noon break. Knowing precisely where boss lady had headed, I vowed to not offer the info without being asked and the inquiry never came.

I haven’t seen her today and doubt she’s even here as she is strictly part time. Her friends are glaring at me today so I know my "unfair overreaction' has made the rounds. Fortunately we have a three-day workweek coming up and I think it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say we all long for this much needed break from our work playmates. The saga continues...

Hard Day at Work

It was freezing cold today and I've yet to warm up.

I got to spend part of the morning and most of the afternoon at a Technology conference. I sat in on a presentation about blogging in the workplace and how beneficial it can be for the employees and for business... and alot of other things that I pretty much already knew. Richard and I then made a mad dash to the Happy 45 minutes in the main Vendor area. They were doing door prizes so we stood and listened for our names. They were giving away IPod Nano's and tons of other really cool toys! I noticed that everyone seemed to have a funny looking glass of 'pop'. I surveyed the room... and the glasses... and finally found the cash bar! They weren't kidding about Happy 45 minutes! I thought for sure it would be cookies and coke/water/tea - you know, the usual. I, of all people, should know that techies do hospitality up right!

However.... our previous session ran too long and we didn't make it in time. The cash bar closed before we could get anything to drink - and that included a diet coke. We somehow managed to make it thru our next session where our poor presenter (President and Founder of the company) had to present with no mic (batteries ran down) and battling all kinds of background noise because they were tearing down the displays before the thing was even over.

All that to say..... it was cold inside too! It was freezing outside and inside the Cox Convention Center it was freezing cold... just minus the wind. I came home and made a big pot of chili (which the fam just loves cuz I rock at making it :) ) and headed to the gym for an hour of cardio to warm up. I can't wait to curl my freezing toes around Richards warm legs *giggle* He likes it best when I wait til the little moment when he's just about to doze off to sleep and then I hit him with my 10 little ice cubes *giggle*

Twist of Fate

Something I’ve been meaning to discuss is the ongoing problem of countless accidents we rural people encounter from morons who fail to negotiate obvious and clearly posted turns on the country roads leading to and from the boonies. What seems to be the problem, people? It’s not like the signs are hidden just to trick you and then all of the sudden, SURPRISE! an unexpected bend jumps out causing untold grief as you lose control and swerve wildly to avoid smacking into the fence just waiting to mangle your precious car (and sometimes you) all to bits.

There are several choices of road I can take to work and yesterday sis was in the lead by a few miles as we made our way to our respective employers. As we yakked on the cell, she informed me there were skid marks and a lone car grill stuck in a large bale of hale at the first sharp curve. Sure enough, some idiot had missed the turn completely and his vehicle became one with Straw City. Mr Excellent Driver managed to make it five miles further up the road before abandoning his dented POS pickup and hoofing it to the main highway. There it sat, abandoned, forlorn and grill-less as responsible working people of the world discussed his predicament on their morning commute. By the return trip home, no trace could be found of either one. I mentioned this incident to TBC last night and we compared notes. Apparently this accident had occurred on Sunday afternoon in broad daylight not long before TBC observed a skinny, unkempt individual swiftly walking away from said vehicle. My guess is this upstanding member of society had been high and/or drunk and could easily have found his sorry ass in jail had the cops been called. It doesn’t help that country roads are fine places to drink and drive while blithely tossing empty bottles out of the window with reckless regularity. We even offer a neighboring drug dealer to meet your hallucinogenic needs. (Our motto: you bring the booze, we’ll front the pharmaceuticals). Needless to say, this adds to the plethora of wrecks that may be found on our crafty corners.

There are two specific areas that tend to trip up the majority of visitors: 1) At what I affectionately call 'the zigzag' in the middle of my road and 2) the “Y” where two nearby lanes break off and head in perpendicular directions. The homeowners near either of these hot spots have long given up keeping their fences intact as they can count on having them run through on a regular basis. For the most part, the accidents haven’t been fatal with one exception. One pleasant early fall day two years ago, four joyriding teenagers traveling at a high rate of speed crashed into the large tree on the Y owner’s property and two were killed. As much as we like to poke fun at stupid, overindulging adults missing the turns, this was a sad, tragic crash that shouldn’t have happened. This hazardous area now posts more signs than ever in an effort to avert further tragedies. In conclusion, please drive carefully when traipsing through my neck of the woods as you may become the topic of local gossip and blog fodder.

Ho Kitty

While we love our little adopted darlings Oreo and Snickers (or as TBC calls them, "BW" and "YouToo") with their playful spirit and affectionate purrs, I’ve received disturbing news regarding the female that gave birth to them. My sister shares living space with this trampy little feline named Callie along with the remnants of her first motley brood. They were all in pretty pitiful shape when sis graciously consented to take them in and nurse them back to health. Now that Mz Welfare Kitty is back on her feet so to speak, she has returned to her wanton ways. This purring vixen seductively winks at any passing Tom and if that isn’t obvious enough, her little red light in the barn, mass distribution of catnip-scented business cards and late night booty calls to her many ardent suitors requesting a ‘date’ leave them in no doubt as to what this calico seductress has in mind. Thanks to her being unable to meow the word ‘no,’ she just recently delivered Batch No. 2, surpassing her first litter of 6 by two bringing the grand total to 8 and just like the initial crew, this assortment represents all colors, creeds, and ethnic origins. Yes, before Litter Numero Uno was out of Pampers or past training wheels, this equal opportunity huzbag has singlehandedly triggered a massive cat population explosion in Okiedokieland. Brother-in-law has warned me to expect a sneakily deposited purring package on my doorstep in the very near future…