Today's theme of the day appears to be things that are Early. For instance, Billy woke up way too early this morning. It took a while to get him back to sleep, but thankfully he's snoozing back in his bed, snuggled under his new Thomas fleece blanket.

Another example. Today, we'll hopefully be doing early voting. Sweet. With Bill headed out of town next week during the election, we'll get it taken care of and I won't have to attempt to take the little one to the polls by myself. Not that I couldn't do it. It's a matter of want, really.

So far, that's all the "early" I've got. We'll see what the rest of the day brings.

Thank goodness it's almost the weekend. Except that means I have 2.5 days left to convince Billy that the dinosaur costume he wanted is not scary at all and that it's FUN to wear. Ordered online, you know. Cute kid wearing the costume on the website. The little one said he wanted it. He wanted to RRRRRROOOOOARRRRR. The costume arrives, and the little one wants NOTHING to do with it. Hmm. Fabulous.

Oh well. Happy Wednesday.

Posted by Karen at 09:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy Birthday to Clarkie, he's FOUR today!!

Posted by Karen at 03:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My dog Sumi had a tumor taken out in February. I noticed when we picked her up in NY this summer after our Hawaii trip that she had a new one, in the same spot, and it was rather large. I admit I have been a little lazy about taking her to the vet to get the new one checked out, because, let's face it, dogs get tumors all the time. At least, all the female dogs I have known long-term get tumors. Anyway, the past few days she has had, let's say "loose stools". I figure it's something she ingested while outside. But, it's been a few days, and she was fed nothing on the first day, and very little on the second day (much to her dismay). She then was either empty or constipated on the third day while back on regular diet, and now the fourth day she's back to loose stools.

Tonight, she vomited her dinner up.

I'm done being lazy. I'll call the vet tomorrow to see if they're open. Barring emergencies this weekend, she'll definitely be going in to the vet early next week.

Poor girl. She really is the sweetest dog I have had. She annoys me much of the time with her constant running off to see the neighbors and chasing things, with her intense fear of thunder, fireworks, and sometimes rain, and with her constant stinky ear infection, not to mention the mauling of my son. Ok, she didn't MAUL him, but she did nip him twice when he was just learning to explore. But anyway, she is very loving and well behaved otherwise.

So, we'll see what the vet says.

Posted by Karen at 01:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I just saw on my handy gas price widget that gas is $2.94/gal! That's down almost a dollar since this summer. Fabulous!

Posted by Karen at 10:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I guess it's been a few days since my last post? Not much going on although I seem to manage to keep busy.

I enjoyed my birthday a few days ago. It seemed to be an odd day. I am pretty pretty sure I wasn't down about turning 35, I mean, I don't feel any older than I did a week ago. But, I did have a slight case of the blahs on Tuesday. Could be attributed to the gloomy, monsoon-ish weather we have been having.

Billy has been all about the "No!" the past week. It's really tiring. He's stopped with the "I love you", now it's "too". He's surprising us each day with the types of sentences he puts together. My little boy is growing so fast.

I'm really sick of the politics, bailout, and crappy economy. I plan on holding on to my investments, and hope they climb their way back up out of the doldrums. Holy crap. We'll see what happens after the election is over.

I have a lot of things on my want-to-do list. Nothing is getting done.

On that note, good night!

Posted by Karen at 12:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I feel pretty accomplished this week. I got Billy's room painted ("Warm Breeze" blue), including the closet. The trim needs some touchups thanks to the paint that seeped under the painter's tape (what's up with that?). But I'm pretty pleased with the outcome. Now we can dress it up with the Thomas decals, put his name painting up, and get the room back together.

We woke somewhat early, considering it's the weekend. Showered and went to breakfast at Harold's Diner. Very inexpensive and homey in a cramped sort of way. We ventured to Walmart for a few things and discovered big changes at the store. We have been seeing them renovate the outside (gone is the blue and red, in with the brownish taupeish color). Inside, today, it was like being in a Target and then a KMart. Pretty funny. They've installed wood-type flooring in many of the departments, so it reminds me of the new Ala Moana Walmart. And since they are still in the midst of the renovation, the part that was underway was like a Kmart. Anyway, it will be pretty nice once it's done.

So, now time to relax and check my football scores, as well as put Billy's closet and room back together. Maybe he can sleep in his own bed tonight, after a week in mine.

Yesterday was John's birthday. Happy Birthday John!!

Posted by Karen at 01:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I haven't had any coke or soft drink for a week now. I want a coke NOW!

*sigh*

Must. Find. Will. Power.

Posted by Karen at 08:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A few days ago, I found out that United Airlines is raising their second checked baggage fee from $25 to $50 effective for tickets purchased on or after September 16, 2008 and travel on or after November 10, 2008.

FIFTY Dollars. For up to a 50 lb. bag. One Way.

Not that I planned on flying United (Sorry to my dear friends that are employed by this airline!) ever again after the last fiasco where they Lost? Misplaced? ... our bags even though we had to pay for the extra bags. But, they have just sealed my boycott.

I just wish Southwest Airlines flew to Oahu!

Posted by Karen at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's that dreaded time of the year again. No, not tax time, or holidays.... Anit-virus software expiration. Seems so RIDICULOUS that I have to pay to keep my machine secure from the !@#$ out there that release viruses and spyware. I guess I wouldn't have to care if I didn't conduct business such as banking etc.

I have for the past, oh, I don' know, maybe 10 to 12 years used Norton. I have been virus-free, as far as I recall, so I suppose it is doing it's job. But, is there a less intrusive, less startup-impacting software out there that does the same job? I have been using the Internet Security or 360 version of Norton, because I abhor spam. But, I also have purchased Ella for Spam and I don't think the spam feature is even working on my latest stupid Norton. So, my question to you is, do you have any suggestions on what to use? I have pondered:
Kapersky
AVG
McAfee

I think all those anti-virus companies are the ones that release the viruses anyway... it's all about job security.

McAfee does have the Total Protection for $59.99 for 3 machines, which is good because we have at least 2 to protect. So, any thoughts?

Posted by Karen at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy Birthday Cora!!

Posted by Karen at 01:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This is getting ridiculous. I'm still kind of behind the times on the whole pig and lipstick thing, but my focus right now is the Snopes link regarding Sarah Pailin. The link I received no longer contains the original information it had when I first viewed it, because I vividly remember seeing the status as True. Now, it says that there are multiple statuses.

The Snopes link: http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/kilkenny.asp

And, the main reason for my posting about it... Just because they say it's True on Snopes, doesn't mean the content is necessarily true. Snopes has a few letters written by Wasilla or Alaska residents. And, basically what it comes down to is that everyone has their opinion of Sarah Palin. It's the facts that matter. Since I am an independent, I appreciate when the issues and facts are presented.

FactCheck.org - http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/sliming_palin.html

Now, I need to find info on the whole pig thing....

Oh. My. GOD. I can't believe I am writing about POLITICS.

Posted by Karen at 01:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Okay, anyone that knows me knows that I don't pay much attention to politics. However I found myself watching the Republican National Convention. I then took the time to watch Obama's Democratic National Convention speech on YouTube.

Interesting stuff, but here is what struck a chord with me:
1) Obama sounds like an arrogant man.
2) It is painful to watch Cindy McCain speak. Were there three teleprompters?
3) Palin is a great speaker.
4) So is Obama.
5) And McCain.
6) I don't like watching the conventioneers dance!
7) Never take what they say at face value.
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/factchecking_obama.html
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/factchecking_mccain.html
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/gop_convention_spin.html
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/gop_convention_spin_part_ii.html

The factcheck.org articles make for a good read.

Posted by Karen at 01:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It was sunny (most of the time) yesterday, and now I wake up to stormy weather. Seems we're eye to eye with Hanna, but thank goodness she's offshore. This latest image of category 3 Hurricane Ike scares me, though.

Posted by Karen at 08:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

And, we're... Home again, home again, jiggity jig!!

Thank goodness we're home, 2 months away from home (New York, Hawaii, Myrtle Beach, and Singapore for Bill) has been tiring. We had a good time with family in Myrtle Beach. Some fun pictures and videos to post... later. Only about 500 miles away and it was a relatively quick trip back home, but man was I tired last night! I could have gone to bed at 7pm, but held out until about midnight.

The day will bring our football draft, lots of laundry, grocery shopping, and house cleaning.

Posted by Karen at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Off to Myrtle Beach for the week. We'll be leaving early Saturday morning (well, that's the intention). We'll be there until next Saturday. Should be fun and interesting, never been there and we're sharing a house right on the beach. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures!

Posted by Karen at 01:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our baggage and car seat arrived in Cleveland six hours after we did, after several phone calls with United. Of course, when the bags arrived, no one from United bothered to call us to let us know that they arrived. Bill found out because he called to find out if they ever made it onto one of the flights. They said they were just going to see if anyone picked them up and if not, they were going to put it on a plane to Orlando at 6pm. WTF?!

Air travel leaves much to be desired. At least no one was gnoshing on my grinds....

Posted by Karen at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well, we made it back to the continental US. We landed in Chicago around 5:45am. Our next flight was two hours later 6 gates away. AND THEY LOST OUR BAGS. I am never flying United again. Ok, they didn't lose our bags. They just didn't put them on the plane to Cleveland.

Needless to say we are slightly pissed off.

Bill is on the phone with their CS right now trying to find out exactly WHERE and WHEN we might see our bags again. Because the bags are apparently STILL IN CHICAGO even though they said they would be on the next flight out.

*sigh* What a way to end a great time. Stay tuned...

Posted by Karen at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is for Cora, since she physically tagged me.

What are (non-work) things on my to-do list?
1. Sleep
2. Do more "sightseeing" (Kailua/Lanikai Beach, Makapu'u, etc)
3. Go to the swap meet
4. Pay bills
5. Plan the rest of the week

Five snacks I enjoy:
1. Mochi!
2. Salty/Savory/Crunchy stuff (Hurricane popcorn, mochi crunch, crispy crunch, cheddar popcorn, etc)
3. Maui Onion chips & hummus
4. Pickled Mango (Aunty Berna's)
5. Sweet Potato fries or chips

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Buy houses for family, along with an additional house for us in NY and HI.
2. Pay for education for family members (young and those who want to go back to school)
3. Fulfill the wishlist needs of Hawaii local schools (http://www.communityhelpingschools.com/)
4. Fund Bill's Brilliant Ideas
5. Fund research for a cure for cancer

Places I've been to that I'd like to go back to:
1. Spain
2. France
3. New York City
4. Yellowstone
5. Germany

Jobs I've Had:
1. accounting (data entry, junior accountant, billing)
2. food slinger (taco bell)
3. telemarketer (call for donations for firefighters fundraiser)
4. computer programmer
5. technical consultant

Posted by Karen at 07:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've been in Hawaii for the past two and a half weeks and have I been doing much besides working? No. Working. Working. Working. At least I have been able to spend a little time with the family in the evening. I did take one day off last week to go shopping. I don't exactly remember where we went. Might have been Ala Moana. Boy has that shopping center morphed. Got to see Grandma & Grandpa & the aunts & uncle this past Sunday, which was nice! I only got a few pictures though. Hopefully there will be another opportunity to get together again before we leave.

Darn the airlines too for making me so paranoid about buying anything. Why? Because of the 50lb. limit per bag, and the extra baggage costs. So now, I look at everything and do some calculations first. I do need to find some gifts to bring home, but other than that, I plan to bring home some foodstuffs. Not macadamia nuts. Seems you can get those anywhere these days. Well, except for the special flavors, like Maui onion and garlic...

Anyway, just thought I'd write a few lines. I actually have Cora's car today so I have a bit of freedom. So, maybe I'll go galavanting to the Mall later. Work has slowed down for the moment so I am taking advantage of the off time. Finally...!

Posted by Karen at 10:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There are an awful lot of white hairs on my head. *sigh* Bill says I'm overly sensitive about it, but that's all I see when I move my hair around in the mirror. Yikes.

I did get a hair cut tonight. Yay! It's a few inches shorter, and has a bit of layering to it. It's okay. It'll be better once I color it to cover the whites. :-)

Posted by Karen at 10:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was looking in the pantry for something for Billy to have for breakfast. I came up with applesauce and mixed fruit. But, Billy spied something WAY better. Mini Yakko arare.

Since there is no reasoning with him yet and denying him would only result in a massive shrieking fit, he got a little bowl with a little bit of arare. The entire time he was eating the tasty bits, he was expressing his pleasure, "mmm mmm mmm!!"

You have to hear and see him to appreciate this. We went to Friendly's the other night for a bite to eat, and he was VERY exuberant in his Mmm Mmm Mmm'ing. Kind of embarrassing, but so cute. At least he wasn't screaming and crying (at the moment).

So, there you go. Mini Yakko arare, the breakfast of little champions.

Posted by Karen at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I am soon to be caffeinated again... I have coffee in the freezer that needs to be consumed! I took advantage of my Amazon Prime membership (free 2 day shipping on select items) and ordered a new coffee maker. I can't wait (and won't have to, for very long) to get the personal coffee maker by Black and Decker. It has a travel mug that the coffee brews right into. I currently have a Gevalia machine that I received for free, but it brews 12 cups of coffee, and I just can't drink more than 1, maybe 2.

Anyway, I'm excited. I looked at the Senseo etc, but really... I am not an avid coffee drinker and those machines have iffy reviews and are quite pricey for my use. I think if I end up drinking it every day, I become overly jittery and lose my mind. This new machine will be nice for when I feel like having some Kona coffee or whatever. The old machine will be stashed away for when Bill's parents visit.

Posted by Karen at 12:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Have been feeling generally icky all day. Achy body, headache, nausea. Don't feel like doing anything. The rain has finally come to us. We really needed the rain, and it finally started yesterday in a fierce thunderstorm. I've recovered from my initial Melbourne Thunderstorm experience when I first visited here back in 2002, and have returned to appreciating the fierce weather. It's storming pretty hard out right now. Yippee! The grass and especially my bouganvillea's are enjoying the drenching rain. But, it contributes to my weary-soul feeling.

Amazon.com sells mochiko! I bought it since I have Amazon Prime and have had yucky boxes of mochiko lately from the local asian store. I will be making mochi soon! I made chi chi dango after my last craving post, and it was so good, but some parts got squishy after a day of storage. Maybe Cora's mochi, with some chocolate and peanut butter.

Maybe my weary-soul feeling is because the world is full of bastard people that I have been reading about in the news lately. Thank goodness I have wonderful people in my life.

Posted by Karen at 05:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We've heard of the saying that all roads lead to Rome. Yesterday I had a good laugh as I swiveled my chair away from my desk to get up, and saw this sight. The view is skewed, since I am obviously not in the chair anymore, but yes. In this house, all roads lead to Mommy!

Posted by Karen at 06:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am SO craving fresh warm mochi. I just searched sis' blog for her mochi recipes, but didn't find any!! I think I'll make some microwave mochi to tide me over til I make tri-colored mochi.

Posted by Karen at 01:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So much for deep sea fishing, again. Foiled by rough seas. Hopefully we will go later in the week, or perhaps just another day.

Posted by Karen at 06:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We're in a frenzy here with party prep and Bill's Dad ending up in the hospital early this morning! He's on antibiotics and will probably be there for a few days.

Filled my tank up, $3.794/gal on Thursday at Sams Club. The Mobil had it for $3.989, while Walmart had it across the street for $3.819.

I was thrilled that David Cook won Idol. Shocked, but thrilled. I was sure that Archuleta won it, especially with a closer like "Imagine". I wonder if Simon ate his words from Tuesday night because he knew that Cook won? Or, was he being genuine? We'll never know, will we...

Back to party prep. Billy's birthday is on Monday, but our party is tomorrow. Can't wait to go to sleep tonight. My feet are killing me.

Posted by Karen at 11:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Excited and nervous... I finally get to go deep sea fishing!! Bill is taking me out on a charter boat on Tuesday. This is my birthday present from last year... Maybe I'll catch an ahi!! Well, fat chance, but nice to dream.

Posted by Karen at 05:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, news today is that American Airlines is introducing a $15 charge for your FIRST CHECKED BAG. Of course, there are exceptions, however this angers me since the airlines, one by one, are charging you for everything now. As if the airfare price wasn't enough?? Are they going to start charging you for the ability to breathe? Isn't that already included in the airfare??

How about they start cracking down on the idiots that bring those extra carry-on bags. You know, the rolling bag, the laptop, the huge shopping bag full of who knows what, the other shopping bag, and the huge hobo bag?

We won't be flying anywhere anytime soon if we are going to have to pay extra to bring a bag.

Posted by Karen at 01:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've been looking at news articles at our local newspaper, the Florida Today. Seems every article contains discussion posts by people that just have nothing but stupid things to say. For instance, a young man, 18 years old, has been missing since November. Police have not found the body, but apparently circumstances are such that they are calling it a homicide. The picture accompanying the article is of the man, holding his arms about shoulder-width apart, slightly wider. He is dressed in a very baggy t-shirt. So, what are people posting about? They are commenting that maybe they should get a clue from the picture, he's at Subway getting a $5 foot-long sub. Or, maybe he's at the Big and Tall sitting on a chair, but no one sees him because they think he's a pile of dirty clothing.

I'm so irritated with these people. Seriously. Thank goodness we've got the constitution so that we have the right to speak freely, and demonstrate how insensitive and stupid we are.

Posted by Karen at 01:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ok, I don't know what is going on, but for some reason the comment feature is broken here and on Cora's page. Seems to work fine on Bill's . Probably because his is the main journal. Bah. So, for now, comments are not working. Probably been this way since we came back online after the last mishap.

Posted by Karen at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hauoli la hanau, little baby brother!

Holy crap. THIRTY?!?!

Posted by Karen at 12:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Have to pack the living room stuff up so that the floor can get installed in here tomorrow, so this is going to be a quick post...

I can't believe who got the boot from Idol tonight!! Sad!!! But, getting down to the end, so you know someone good has to go home. This week's songs sucked for the most part.

As mentioned before, the flooring is going in. This has been hell, but it will be so worth it when it's done, and it really is almost done. The bathroom got tile yesterday and today. More to come on Friday. The wood floor has had two days of progress. The exterior had primer applied. The baseboards are waiting to be installed. I think the last thing that will go in will be the vanity, but that should be soon.

Oops, got side tracked, now gotta finish breaking down the desks n stuff.... Later!

Posted by Karen at 02:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

First off, Congratulations to Jen and Dave! Married on Sunday. So excited. Five years ago, who would've thought this would happen?! Wow!

In other news, I think we might actually come out ahead with this year's taxes!! This is a first is a LONG time. Well, we still owe money, but the stimulus payment should cover it plus a little. So, yay. We'll see though.

The house is coming along. The painter put the primer on the interior walls today. The paint was delivered, so I expect to see color tomorrow. Yeehaw! The flooring is going in next week. I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel. We have such an excellent contractor.

Started thinking about Billy's birthday party. I guess it's going to be all about Thomas this year. I don't have a problem with it. He just LOVES Thomas, and the book that Mr. Phil sent to us is read to him every night, and some times before naptime as well. I think I'll have to start expanding the library since Billy actually will sit still for a story (about Thomas) now. Publix has three different Thomas cakes, and then there's the merchandise at Oriental Trading or Celebrate Express. Lots of stuff Thomas! My aim is for nothing too stressful this year.

Oh well... toodles for now. Remind me some day to post about the icky new neighbors.

Posted by Karen at 01:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I so feel like I am Jimmy Bighead in Summer of Sam.

SHUT. THAT. DOG. UP!!!

God. Some dog in the vicinity has been barking for 2 HOURS. Non stop.

Rawr!
Rawr!
Rawr! Rawr!!
Rawrrrr! Rawr RAWR!!

Jesus christ. I am going to go insane. How is it that their neighbors are putting up with it? I hope who ever lives next to the dog is logging it down and making a complaint. Otherwise, they must be deaf. Or dumb. You never know around here.

Posted by Karen at 11:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am so over this project. We don't really get to sleep anymore, it's more like naps here and there. Bill is finally getting some rest, and I'm tryiing to wrap up a document.

Need a vacation. I hope that this weekend brings some much needed R&R for all of us. Maybe we can finally take Billy to the zoo.

Posted by Karen at 05:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After sampling a bite of these wonderful bars at Costco, I had to buy it. Meet Mrs. May's Trio Bars. In one word, YUM. Almonds, pistachios, and cashews, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, raisins, dates, and either blueberry, cranberry, strawberry, or tropical fruits (pineapple, mango, papaya). Try it!

I love going to Costco, probably only because I always go to Sams since Sam's is only a few miles from here, and Costco is about 50 miles from here. But, they seem to have better stuff at Costco. And, Costco sends you coupons! I bought two big canisters of dishwashing tabs (electrasol) for $10.86 (BOGOF). And, Costco has some cool crafty stuff. I unfortunately forgot to use my Amex rebate coupon for Costco. I don't even know where I put it. Oh well.

Other stuffs...

Continue reading "Weekend" »

Posted by Karen at 12:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ok. I just wrote and entry and blew it away when I clicked on a link I didn't mean to click on. Grr!

Anyhow, I ran across this website, Gaiam.com that had a few items I thought was worth a mention here.

Toilet Lid Sink - First thought? Ewwww!! Second thought? Ewwww!!! But, how brilliant! I wonder how many of these they sell.

Opal Soap Rock - this is beautiful!

Moonphase Clock - very interesting clock. Thought of sis.

Crystal Salt Lamp - I don't get how this works, doesn't say if there's a bulb in there or what. Pretty, and interesting too. If I was a rich (wo)man, I'd buy this just to check it out.

Oh well. I made a purchase since there was free shipping on orders over $40 (coupon code AFJD), but didn't get any of the items above. I'd love to tell what I got, but it's a secret ya know.

I do love this site. Never heard of it before, but very cool.

Posted by Karen at 10:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Recently, Billy has been doing some things that amuse me and surprise me. I posted previously about the deviousness of my child. Last night, he did something that made me laugh and then left me feeling a little strange. He had just finished his bath and I had him on the changing table for the nightly ritual of getting dressed, lotion, brushing teeth, etc. He is a "big boy" now and wanted to do the lotion himself. He's been struggling to get the bottle cap open, and he's now mastered that, but now he just can't figure out how to get the lotion out of the bottle (thank god). So, he's sitting there turning the bottle upside down and pressing it on his legs and arms. He's getting a little annoyed, and apparently I was too close to the bottle and he thought I was going to interfere. He grabbed my hand, pushed my hand away from him, and then pointed to the bathroom. He did this two or three times. I was amazed. He was trying to tell me to go away. Of course, the longer I sit here and think about it, the sadder it makes me. Ah well. It's inevitable, right?!

I bought this bottle of bubble bath from Target the other day. It's Thomas the Tank Engine berry-scented bubble bath, and it had a light up figurine that came with it. Totally cool!! You touch the sensors at the bottom, or put the sensors in water, and the lights inside turn on and makes for a glowy Thomas. It broke at the beginning of his second bath using the toy. Doesn't light up anymore. Awww!

Anyway, thank god Bill is coming home tonight. He's somewhere over the ocean, maybe around Hawaii by now, on the way to LAX. Finally. Those international trips are horrendous.

Have a great week...

Posted by Karen at 08:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Holy Crap. I just looked at my Myspace profile, and realized something.

I got my associate degree TEN years ago. Where the heck did the years go??

Posted by Karen at 01:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have been getting a call from 1-847-463-5737 EVERY DAY for WEEKS now. They keep asking for Bill. I keep telling them he's not available. They say it's just a courtesy call, they'll try again later. The one time I got them to actually talk to me, they said they were calling from CitiCards and blah blah. I said he was not interested. And then? They called again. And AGAIN. AND AGAIN. AND A G A I N!!!

I just registered a complaint with the National Do Not Call Registry.

Posted by Karen at 06:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Glad we didn't get hit with the massive power outage. Apparently there's a huge outage in Florida, 4.4 million affected.

In other news, a woman found half a frog (the top half) in her caesar salad from an unnamed restaurant. Someone posted this on the forum regarding the article.

What's worse than finding a frog in your food? Half a frog!

OMG that is just too funny.

Other comments: "Is she OK? Does anyone know if she CROAKED?"

"No, but she 'hopped' right over to her attorney's office!"

Posted by Karen at 02:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Life has been a little crazy lately. Bill is out of the country, the construction is in full force, work is grueling, and my child is part monster. (The other part is all sweetness and good things). The house is in shambles. Nothing is where it should be, somethings don't even has a place for it to be. The floor has crud all over it thanks to the junk being tracked in the house from the construction stuff. Plus, there's junk being tracked around from the interior areas that are being worked on. And, it's humid so the floor feels a million times worse. The kitchen faucet continually leaks ever since they moved the hot water heater. I tried to remove the cartridge from it to clean pipe-crud from it, but couldn't, thus it's still leaking a gallon every 25 minutes. I had to shut the hot water off from under the sink and have to turn it on when I need hot water. My attempt to fix a fill valve on one of the toilets was futile, it still leaks. My dumb dog took off yesterday after a woman walking her dog on a leash. Thank goodness nothing happened. Except the dumb dog (my dumb dog) is again at the top of the poop list.

The good parts are, I finally was able to strip the beds down and wash the accumulated dust off of them from when the bedrooms only had 3 walls. (Really. Two bedrooms lost a wall each last week.) My vacuum cleaner, that I thought was broken, is working again. My monster/sweetie is napping. My desk is almost clutter free on one side. The toilet that I replaced the fill valve on doesn't leak as much as it used to. I can start putting some things back in Billy's room since the drywall is done. It just needs to be painted. We've made selections on the entry doors, flooring, and pretty much have the fixtures selected.

I fell asleep with Billy last night when putting him to bed. That was around 11pm. I normally try not to sleep, but if I do take a "nap", it's usually from an hour to two. Last night, I slept until 6:15am. Oops. I knew I was tired though.

Oh well. Back to work since he's sleeping. Peace and quiet. No whining or crying. No hammering, sawing, or drilling.

Posted by Karen at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Billy made me laugh twice yesterday because of the way his mind was working.

Continue reading "Mischievous Should Be His Middle Name" »

Posted by Karen at 02:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My dog has been on the verge of being sent back to the pound, and this morning she really could find herself on the way there.

It's raining. She's freaking out. I put her in her kennel. The rain subsides. I go to take her out, and in the process she manages to bend my ring-finger nail halfway back, away from my finger.

It hurts, and it's bleeding.

Damn dog!

Posted by Karen at 07:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, a couple of months there was that whole homicide thing in my neighborhood... right around the corner from us. Here's a follow-up article from the local paper.

Continue reading "My Neighborhood, Part II" »

Posted by Karen at 09:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Woohoo! What a great finish for the Giants. I'm thrilled another Manning has won a Superbowl!

Posted by Karen at 10:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's been pretty busy here, and lots to write about, but no real motivation to write. I've started countless entries, and either never find it in me to finish them, or my attention is required somewhere else.

Some things I've meant to write about
1. The continuous stream of crappy news from O'ahu. Cyrus Belt, most of all.
2. Construction
3. Movies: Stardust. The Invisible. Live Free, Die Hard.
4. Tantrum Boy

Continue reading "Recap" »

Posted by Karen at 02:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's 35 degrees here... with the wind chill it's probably mid-20s. Whoa! Isn't this FLORIDA?? Bill saw on a forecast that flurries are possible. I'd say this is almost like being back in NY, except that things are still green here.Thank goodness for that.

Posted by Karen at 09:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy New Year!

So much for a Warrior win... Too bad they didn't put Graunke in much earlier. At least it looks promising for next year for the Warriors. Still, a very disappointing loss :-(

Posted by Karen at 01:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas (if it applies). We're currently in New York, and sitting in the truck outside of a Dunkin' Donuts to get free wireless. Ha ha. Had to submit our timecards, so the trek was necessary. Unfortunately for Bill, he is having trouble.

Here's a quick summary, and I'll probably go into detail some other day... Anyway, we got here on Saturday morning after driving all day Friday. It's COLD. We went to the Bills - Giants game yesterday. Wow. COLD.

That's all for now. We're celebrating Christmas tonight at Kim's, so it's time to go!

Happy Holidays!

Posted by Karen at 04:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bill just told me about the murders that happened earlier this week. I'm completely bothered by it because the first house in the following article is just around the corner from us!!

I didn't hear a thing when it happened.

My eyebrow is twitching again.

Continue reading "My Neighborhood" »

Posted by Karen at 02:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Billy decided to wake up at 2:30am and I think he didn't go back to sleep until around 5 after much mommy-begging and rounds of Goodnight Moon... I think this may be a very long day. He has a runny nose, so I think that made it hard for him to get back to sleep.

Hoping for a migraine-free day. Yesterday's was debilitating until I stepped away from the office and spent some couch time with Billy. Either I needed the few minutes of napping that I got, or the motion of laying down did me some good.

Posted by Karen at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Why, oh WHY doesn't anyone have my mother's fruit cake recipe?! Shame on everyone for losing it, including Mom.

This was a fruit cake she used to make for the family and contained no alcohol. I can't even imagine eating a fruit cake doused in liquor. Yuck. I remember lots of sugar, butter, flour, eggs, and containers of candied fruit. And nuts, but if I were to make it today, I'd leave the nuts out. Seems like such a simple recipe, and I vaguely remember equal portions of ingredients, like 4 cups of sugar, 4 cups of flour, 4 eggs, etc. But, maybe that's not right.

If anyone comes across the recipe, please share!!

Posted by Karen at 11:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This may very well be the worst preview for a song ever. After listening to the clip, my face was so scrunched up. Wow. The song is free from Amazon, though after listening to the clip, they couldn't pay me to download it.

The nice thing is that Dashboard Confessional and KT Tunstall have free downloads too. There's even some Sophie Milman for Cora. I downloaded the KT Tunstall Drastic Fantastic album after listening to the clips, and I really love most of the album. It was only $5.99!

Posted by Karen at 09:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Trying to keep up with posting more regularly. It feels like the past few days (weeks?) have been frenzied with multiple projects keeping me busy.

Coming down to the wire with the enhancement specs. The numbers are dwindling, and there's a light at the end of the tunnel, but meanwhile... ugh. Other projects include Christmas shopping, website stuff, Christmas present-making... too much!

Watched We Are Marshall tonight. Great flick. Matthew McConaughey was a bit much with talking out of the side of his mouth, but still enjoyable as the coach. Enjoyed the rest of the cast as well. Nicely done. We pass through WV on the way up to NY, and as depicted in the movie, it is quite picturesque. Never really enjoy it when we're passing through though. Especially the bit where we have to drive through the town Summersville. You're going at a nice pace, and then get stuck driving through the town, traffic lights and all.

Made Smores Cookie Bars tonight using a recipe from the Hershey cookbook. Yuck. I guess "yuck" because I used marshmallows instead of marshmallow creme (is there a difference?! apparently so!). So the marshmallows basically melted and made a nice chewy candy caramel in certain places. The rest of the cookie bar was much like a chocolate chip cookie, but not. Oh well. Will not likely make that again.

Posted by Karen at 01:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, enough of that! I got about 3 hours of interrupted and restless sleep. If it wasn't the baby waking me up, it was the continuous stream of disturbing and down-right scary dreams.

Continue reading "Gorgonzola Salad, Chopped Steak, and a Few Nightmares Please" »

Posted by Karen at 06:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have been suffering all day with a nasty migraine, or what I thought was a migraine. I love it when I take Excedrin Migraine and it works. I hate it when I take it and it doesn't work. Felt so sick this afternoon, I crawled into bed next to Billy, who was already napping. Nausea and pain... ugh. Must not be a migraine since Excedrin didn't make it go away - it did for a very brief while, then it came back :-(

Talked to mom today, she wanted to me put in her application for social security since she was having trouble with getting through on the phone. That was a long and painful process simply because the baby restless and there are a zillion questions. Ugh, again. She did say that she was going to ride w/ Aunty to Vegas as Aunty passes through with Cousin to AZ. So, sis, looks like you'll have your day with mom yet...

Time to see if more sleep shakes this demon-pain away.

Posted by Karen at 02:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Got my CNN Breaking News email tonight, and was pretty shocked to see that it involved a gunman in a mall in Omaha. Hope everyone I know there was far away from Westroads and is safe and sound.

Posted by Karen at 02:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The temperature has dropped nicely. It's now 71 degrees and sunny out. I love this weather, wish it was like this year-round.

Bill is off to Fort Lauderdale this morning. Ok, actually he's already there. I'm taking a little break before digging back into work. Billy is tired and rubbing the tag from his bear-blanket on his eye. He just fell off of Bill's chair. He loves to race us to our office chairs and enjoys climbing and sitting on them. We're going to have to get a third chair!

I have been trying to get Clarkie a bicycle. First for his birthday (it didn't work out) and then for Christmas. Amazon was having a decent sale on kids bikes. And, it said free super saver shipping. So I have all this stuff in my shopping cart and go to check out. And What?? They want to charge $30 shipping. I think I've been in this situation before and must be why I didn't get the bike in the first place. Apparently it's free shipping, unless you're not part of the 48 contiguous states, for some items. Boo. I really don't know why businesses see it differently than a package that might be just as big that they still offer free shipping on. Doesn't make sense. Oh well. So, now I'm back at square one for Clarkie gifts. I have some ideas...

Time for lunch.

Posted by Karen at 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Thanksgiving holiday left me feeling quite blah. Just because I've been spending a LOT of time in front of the computer working, doing journal stuff, and shopping for deals... I'm feeling lethargic, overwhelmed, and frustrated. I developed an eyebrow twitch!

Continue reading "Blahdom and Twitchiness" »

Posted by Karen at 01:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy Thanksgiving... a little late. This holiday weekend so far has been about food, shopping, relaxing, and catching up on tv and movies.

Continue reading "Thanksgiving Catch-up" »

Posted by Karen at 03:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Billy has been a little chatterbox. He says things like: Big Jet, Jet, There he is, Here (or there, can't really tell), Doggie, Hello, Hi There... But the funniest thing was said tonight...

Continue reading "Shi shi!" »

Posted by Karen at 12:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It's been a quiet night, once Billy went to bed. Bill fell asleep as well, so I've been sitting here trying to catch up on some work, along with football stuff.

Continue reading "Quiet Night" »

Posted by Karen at 12:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A very disappointing week for me and football.

Continue reading "Football Sunday" »

Posted by Karen at 10:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well, that was a tense few minutes! Don't read if you don't know the results or don't want to know (hey, did they broadcast the game there?)...

Continue reading "Hawaii/Nevada Game" »

Posted by Karen at 02:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Okay, the title of this post has to have you asking if I really said that. Me? The girl that only buys music from iTunes?

Continue reading "iTunes - Not worth it?!!" »

Posted by Karen at 11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Just another Sunday here.

Continue reading "Another Sunday" »

Posted by Karen at 12:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Okay, okay... I have to revise my rant on the Patriots.

Continue reading "Revision for Rant on the Patriots" »

Posted by Karen at 12:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm due for a rant. The New England Patriots really piss me off.

Continue reading "Rant: New England Patriots (aka cheaters)" »

Posted by Karen at 12:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here he is, our first jack-o-lantern. He lost a tooth while being prettied up, but he's not complaining!

Posted by Karen at 11:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday Dear Little One,
Happy Birthday to you!

Hope your birthday was a great day, I know your Mommy thought it was the best day ever, three years ago!!

Posted by Karen at 12:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's Sunday, and you know what that means... Football!

Continue reading "Conflicted with my Lineup" »

Posted by Karen at 03:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Billy's hair was getting a little long. Our last trip to SuperCuts was awful (the first trip was great, we had Mandy! Witness it on YouTube) and he came out with a horrid cut, and I had to fix it myself. This time, we decided to cut it ourselves. He was a good boy during it all. I, on the other hand, was a little sad that his hair was coming off like that with the clippers. Bzzzzzzzzz. The curls fell off. Bill assured me that they would grow back.

Continue reading "Shave and a Haircut" »

Posted by Karen at 12:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just a quick entry to put SOMETHING on this page. Our old site is out of commission and I have quite a few choice words to say about it. Another time, maybe.

For now, we are up again, but not completely back. There's a lot of work to do for Cora to try to get the archives back. As for me, I am probably not going to have old entries. I'd have to hunt down a backup of the entries, and I think it would be a year old or so. We'll see.

I'm pleased with the new host. We're all on the same server, same host, etc. Some nifty things that we can add. But, it's late and I think it's time to try to sleep (again).

Stay tuned folks!

Posted by Karen at 03:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)