Holy Canolli!

My apartment is finally clean and I'm outta there. Yes! And I owe it all to the crazy-eyed bald guy on your left. There was some crazy dust that my fridge was putting off that coated just about everything in my house; I think soot from the fireplace helped too. Magic Eraser was the only thing that worked. I had to scrub cabinets, shelves, windows, walls, counters, everything three times.

1. Damp sponge to dust.

2. 409 cleaning to make the Magic Eraser last longer.

3. Magic Eraser.

4. Wipe off nastiness the ME got off with damp sponge.

I am totally exhausted and don't ever want to clean again. Unfortunately my brain is still in cleaning mode. I keep looking around and thinking to myself, "Magic Eraser would totally clean that up... make it look as good as new." I even attacked my sink today with a pumous stone to get rid of hard water stains. Argh.

As far as new news is concerned I have no job and for the first time ever I will file for unemployment. Yup, I'm really moving up in the world. Hopefully I'll find something soon.

Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone had a good one and made out like bandits. One day I hope to celebrate like Clark Griswold! The lights people, not the drama. Seems it always the other way around though, huh... Gotta love the holidays!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

The only thing I have decided to do this year is feast on champagne (selection chosen by the non-drinker bf... should be interesting) and chocolate dipped strawberries sprinkled with crushed pistachios and - get this - injected with Grand Marnier. Had it for dessert on Xmas Eve and just about died. The waiter asked if we had used our tongues to clean the plate. We didn't, but boy was it tempting!

Get your spook on!



Meet the Absinthe Fairy and Dr. McDreamy... otherwise known as me and my new man Shawn. :) The Halloween party was a blast and pumpkin bowling was the highlight of the evening just like last year.








This year Kara chose to use herself as the ball. I suppose a lemon is kind of roundish in shape.









In other news, we all finally got laid off but at least we have severance for a few weeks after the new year so cross your fingers for me that I find a new job so I can save the money and use it for other endeavors!

Kids say the darndest things...

So I'm talking to my niece on the phone and she is trying to convince me to bring Sugar when I visit next. (How cute is that?) I tell her that I can't do that but when she sees me she can see Sugar. She tells me that will be great and how badly she wants a kitty. I tell her she has a long time yet to be able to have a kitty, knowing that while she lives at home that will never happen as her daddy has put his foot down, hard, on this one. She says in response, "I know, I will have a kitty when mommy and daddy die." So matter of factly too. Deadpan. I just about died laughing. I could hear my sister and her hubby in the background doing the same too. Apparently that is what her dad tells her. "You can have a kitty when I die." So that is what she has been telling everyone; that she will get a kitty when daddy is dead (mom sometimes makes it in there too). Be careful what you tell your children. They are listening...

It's de ja vu all over again...

The past week has been so bizarre. The whole six degrees of separateion no longer applies to me. All I need is two, with one of them being match.com or being a Coug.

1. Saturday. I went to the Cougar game at Qwest Field and tailgated beforehand with Tarah. The four cars that happened to be parked next to the one she came in were all my college friends that I hadn't seen since 2002 or so. Total coincidence, Tarah didn't know the other people. It was great catching up with everyone.

2. Saturday. Then, when I went to my seat at the game, it turns out that my date was roommates with my chemistry study buddy Jen. And Jen's friend, Shannon, was the date's best friend who I sat next to at the game and also knew from school. Weird.

3. Sunday. Met up with a guy for brunch and discovered that we grew up in the same town, lived within a half mile of each other (but rival high schools) and went to the same pre-school! Creepy.

4. Tuesday. Went on a date and we're talking about music and it turns out he knows my ex and all his friends (some of them were in the band we were talking about) from their Doxa church. He actually knows them better than I ever did. Really weird.

5. Thursday. Another date and another coincidence. This time the guy used to date my Micro study buddy back in school. I have lost touch with her so I'll be getting her email at long last. This is just crazy though!

I've got another meet & greet on Sat so we'll see what other things pop up unexpectedly. This guy just moved from Canada so I think it is slim to none that I'll have another moment. But you never know with the way this week has been going...

Morning faux pas...

So I am getting ready to go to work this morning going through my usual routine. I'm on my way out the door and I set my purse down by my shoes and bend over to put them on. It was then that I realized that I had neglected to put on a key item of my wardrobe... PANTS! I was ready to walk out the door without pants! The sad thing is that I only realized this AFTER my brain noted that I couldn't put my shoes on yet because I wasn't wearing any socks. I think I need to reassess my priorities.

Wake boarding!!!

The first time I attempted water sports was ~98 when Rick and Erika were engaged. I tried forever to get up on the water skis to no avail. Then, last run of the day, I got up! The force of the water however depants me, so much so that my bikini bottoms were dangling by one ankle. (The skis were too big so they slipped off easily. Thank goodness they float!) I was able to maintain my modesty but only by letting go of the handle bar. Sigh. Since then I have tried several times to either water ski or wake board. The only thing I have managed has been inner tubing, but really, how hard is that?



Then, yesterday, I tried again with wake boarding. I popped up on my first try! It was amazing! The guys in the boat said the look of surprise on my face was priceless. :) I'm so happy that I can finally do it! After several face plants and what I'm sure was enough force to give me a concussion I was able to switch feet, cross the wake, and stay up for a good amount of time. Unfortunately I could feel the pains of my efforts not long after leaving the lake. Today I feel much the same as when I was in a t-bone accident a few years ago. Getting out of bed was interesting and bending over is pure agony. But I was able to stand up!!! VICTORY!

Dinner party anyone?

Horror! My beautiful china pattern is being discontinued! Shame on you Royal Doulton! Even though this isn't the best time for me financially (job instability and all) I have purchased an obscene amount of china. That's it to the right, Moonlight Rose. I called in some early Christmas present favors and my next credit card bill will cause heart palpitations but I'll have place settings for eight and be all set for a royal tea party. The financial plus side is that I'm getting it all for ~80-90% off the retail price. I am on a deal alert list for a Royal Doulton outlet store so that is how I found out about my pattern and the sale. The outlet store is already a good deal where everything is discounted 30-40% to start with and then starting Labor Day weekend everything is buy one get one free. It makes me feel a little bit better knowing that I am getting a super deal. Now I just need a dining set that will seat eight and to live somewhere where there is enough guest parking...

No fried chicken for YOU!

Ok, I give up. I can admit defeat. I am incapable of performing the simple task of frying chicken. It does not matter what temperature it is frying at or how long it sits there in the pan, the middle will not cook unless the outside has been thoroughly scorched and removed of all tasty flavor. Three times I have had to stop frying and put the stupid chicken in the oven for twenty minutes so that all nasty Campylobacter, et all, will die a hot, horrible death. I think this is God's way of saying, "Holly, thou shalt NOT eat fried chicken." But I WILL prevail. Fried chicken is good and just because I didn't grow up in the South does not mean that I can't eat it. It just means I can't cook it.

Go Blue Angels!

Got to see these guys in action yesterday over Lake Washington. There was one sneaky one that buzzed right by us unexpectedly which caused all manner of chaos with the babies, dogs and local birds in attendance. It was SO LOUD you could feel it in your belly! The planes were so close you could read the writing on the planes (Fat Albert too) and sometimes see the guys' helmets! (Though after looking at the Blue Angels' website it appears there may have been female pilots in attendance too.)


After that it was off for a visit to the Reptile Zoo in Monroe, home of the Reptile Man. Always wanted to stop by because it looked like a fun tourist trap but I discovered it is a really neat place that just happens to be in the middle of nowhere. The world's ten deadliest snakes were in attendance (all alive mind you, no taxidermy here) as well as tarantulas, an empire scorpian and a two-headed turtle!

Below is a West African Bush Viper. I think it is pretty.


Have you ever seen an Alligator Snapping Turtle? They are uuuuuugly. Would not want to meet up with one of those; the one at the museum was 3 feet long! There were HUGE anacondas, pythons, cobras and alligators. They let the tortoises out in their backyard too! The one outside while I was there just cruises around, slowly, and munches on the lawn. In fact, that is what both of their names are: Cruiser and Cruisella (if I remember correctly). Very neat. I recommend going if you are a herp fan or if you just like seeing creepy crawly things behind the safety of glass or plastic.

Cure for the summertime blues :)

Here are some pics from the rafting trip this summer. First, me riding "bow maiden". I still can't believe I was able to hold on. Our guide said that he thought I'd be a floater for sure.



Next, our boat (all members visible). The look on the faces of the two guys in front is priceless! Note how the big guy isn't even paddling. He fell out two minutes into the first rapids... top heavy I guess.

What a blast!

It has been SO hot here lately! Western Washington was never meant to be anywhere near 100ºF. Things have cooled down a bit this week but I hope history doesn't repeat itself until I have AC or Central Air (yah, I'll be able to afford that). Seems the rest of country has the same problem only slightly amplified... In the meantime, Sugar will be practicing her "dead kitty" impression on the floor while I do the same on the couch but with an intermittent spray from the squirt bottle normally reserved for my plants.

Work, who needs it? Oh wait, I do...

Today feels like a Monday. Here is the sentiment for today:



I am actually working but, at least for today, blogging is so much more fun!

The Purrrfect Lifestyle



Here's my orange creamsicle Sugar. My blog just wouldn't be complete without my baby. For pictures of actual children that I love please visit my sis' blog.

Welcome to Hollywog's Pond!

Cheesy, yes but it was the best my co-worker could come up with on short notice. Apparently I couldn't comment on Erika's blog without creating my own. Hmph. So here it is. I have joined the hordes of bloggers at last. Let's see if I can keep up with it.