He's Famous!

See that hot guy in the background on CNN?  Yup.  That's my boyfriend.  He's famous ;)  Howard works for the USGS and has spent the last week out in Missouri measuring the water flow on the farmland that was flooded when they blasted the levee. 

At first glance this picture looks just like a normal river, but if you look closely, you will see two silos and a barn nearly covered by water.  The man that owns this property called the USGS and asked them to go by and take pictures to see what state his land was in.  Unfortunately, his house has been washed off it's foundation and is actually pressed up against the trees on the left.  After they sent him the pictures of his property, he responded, "Looks like I've got a lot of work to do".  So freaking sad.

We Have a Garden!

Howard and I were adamant that this year we were going to have a real garden.  One that wasn't overrun with weeds.  One where you could actually distinguish vegetables plants from wild plants.  One that might actually produce something edible.

Yesterday afternoon, we finally made a real attempt.  We dusted off the shovels and hoes and spent three backbreaking hours digging away.  There were a few times we thought about giving up and making due with a smaller garden but we kept at it.  Here is our progress:

BEFORE

AFTER

Hard work really pays off sometimes!

What?  Why don't you believe me?  Because you know me and know there isn't a freaking chance I did this?

Fiiiine.  In reality I was in the living room watching Top Chef Masters and Howard was peeking out the guest room window marveling at the site of a man on a tractor tilling the garden in less than 30 minutes.

What can I say?  Paying for hard work to be done is more our style.

Thx Manda =)

Have I mentioned that I love getting care packages in the mail?  Because I so do!  Today I came home to find a package from one of my best friends, Amanda.  Inside was two different kinds of cookies, a loaf of banana bread and a bottle of sweet chili sauce I can't find around here.  I LOVE her! 

YUM!

Winner Winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered the CSN giveaway!  The winner is.......

KellFire said...


Warm & mostly sunny Southern California!!! We're actually looking into going there this year for Marshman's sabbatical. Sounds AWESOME! Wish I could go right now!!!

Congrats KellFire!!

I'll be emailing the gift code to you shortly =)

GIVEAWAY! Cure Your Winter Blues!

Today's ordeal makes me want to start searching luggage stores for some cute new bags to pack up and take with me somewhere warm and sunny.  Somewhere without ice and snow.  Don't get me wrong, I love the snow but there is something about the visual of sliding backwards down an icy hill to my death into a deep, rocky creek bed that makes me scream BEACH PLEASE! 

My parents have been soaking up the sun since early January down in Cape Coral, Florida.  They decided another Virginia winter wasn't in the cards and rented a house down there until April.  Do you know how awesome it is to call my mom on my way home in the snow to find out she's laying out on the deck in her bathing suit?  Or out on the boat fishing?  Or grilling up the 10 fish they caught that day for dinner?  SO AWESOME!  I'm hoping to make my way down there in early March for a bit of cold weather relief but it's up in the air with my job right now (Oh how I wish I could blog about my job...).

Anyhow, the kind folks at CSN Stores have offered up a $40 gift card to take away one lucky winner's winter blues.  All you need to do to enter is leave a comment below answering the following question:

If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go? 

That's it.  One comment per person please.  The giveaway will end Friday, February 11th at 11 am CST.  One winner will be chosen by a random number generator after the giveaway closes.

Good luck!!

PS.  I just watched the local news and we are getting more snow tomorrow through Wednesday night.  I sooo just came down with the chicken pox!

The Wrong Kind of Snow

What's the old saying?  Be careful what you wish for?  Well I've been wishing and hoping and praying for snow and we finally got it.  But I was hoping more for the kind of snow that keeps me out of work. Snow that lets me sleep in. Snow that I could watch out the window from my comfy, cozy bed. Snow that lets me crack a beer at noon. That kind of snow.


The problem with this snow was I was already at work since all they were calling for was a light dusting.  Instead about 7 inches fell in about 4 hours.  I finally decided to leave work around 11:15.  I drove really slow on the untreated roads.  Cars were stranded in ditches all along the streets.  I kept sliding but I managed to stay on the road.  The main roads weren't as bad but they still weren't plowed or salted.  Then I got to my back country road.  Of course it was a mess.  I could barely see where the road was and when I finally felt like I was home free, I slid backwards down the hill right before my driveway.  7 times!  Did I mention there is a long drop off into a creek at the bottom of the hill?  Because that's all I could think about each time I slid back down.  But I made it!  To my driveway where I proceeded to get stuck halfway on the road and halfway in my driveway. 

At least I was home though.  I got the shovel and the salt and tried for an hour to get my car out of the road.  I couldn't for the life of me figure out why my car wasn't moving.  I felt like I had shoveled out all the ice and snow around the tires, but it just wouldn't move.

(So here's the part I debated revealing.  I left this minor detail out when telling both Howard and Leslie the story immediately after it happened.  But I've come to terms with what an idiot I can sometimes be so here goes.)

When I first got stuck and left the car in the road to grab the shovel and the salt, I pulled the emergency break up so my car wouldn't slide backwards into the ravine on the other side of the road.  And then?  Yep, I never put it back down.  That's why my car wasn't moving.  Genius, right?  Luckily when a bus came up the hill and I went to try one more time so they could pass by, I noticed.  I was able to get my car far enough up the driveway so the bus could get by.  But that was it.  I was finished.  So here she sits.  She looks happy there, right?

Matt =)

When my friend Matt and his girlfriend Katie were visiting for Thanksgiving, Matt commented on our DVD collection.  He had noticed that although I had Saw I, II, V and VI, I was missing III and IV. 

See, back in 2006, I made Matt go see Saw III with me in the theater.  He had no desire to see it but being a good friend and knowing I wouldn't go alone and couldn't talk anyone else into it, he sucked it up.  Despite the fact he hadn't seen the first two, he liked it.  And so he started back at the beginning by renting the movies and has followed the series ever since. 

After a particularly emotional day (due to being overwhelmed about career making decisions that will affect the rest of my life...nothing big or anything), I arrived home from work and found a package from Matt.  I wasn't expecting anything so it took me by surprise.  Inside I found the following...

No idea why but I just lost it.  I could barely see my phone as I tried to text him.  The tears would not stop coming.  He just made my day.  He wanted to make sure I had all the movies for a Saw marathon.  Guy best friends can be so awesome and thoughtful.  I suggest you go out and get yourself one.  But don't steal mine!

Thank you Matt.  You are the bestest and I love you.

I'm Back! (For Now)

Sooo...hi!  It's apparently been over a month since I've last posted.  My bad.  I'll make it up to you all with a brand new giveaway starting tomorrow!  Am I forgiven? 

I'd love to tell you all what's been pretty much keeping me from writing the past month or so but as Ashley explains here, there are things regarding your employment that just can't be put out there if you still want to have a job the next day.  I'll sum it up by telling you the following:

I had another job offer.
I really considered it.
I went back and forth for weeks.
I made the decision to stay with my current job (my wonderful, awesome, amazing current job - just in case anyone from corporate is reading this...HI!).

It would have been nice to discuss it all here and maybe get some input from you all but I know I made the right decision for me in the end.  Now hopefully I can get back to my regularly scheduled blogging.  HA!  Like that will ever happen.

Well, Hello World

How've you been?  Good to see you, my old friend (name that song).

Soooo yeah, it's been forever since I've come on to update here.  I could come up with a million excuses but I'll just stick to I suck lately.  Plain and simple.

Moving on...

***

Early in November one night, I was watching tv in the family room.  Howard comes running in from the garage asking if I heard a loud crash.  He swore something happened outside.  He takes the flashlight and goes out onto the porch to look for the source of the noise but we can't see anything with the measly flashlight beam in the pitch black.  Then we see highbeams light up the field across the street from us.  Except these highbeams are coming from the middle of the field themselves.  A place they do not belong.  Howard calls out to the driver to ask if he's alright and the man yells rather incoherently back about having a driver on the way to get him.  Not 10 seconds later, a car comes speeding down the road and stops to pick him up.

Obviously we decided to go investigate what happened once he was gone.  It seems he missed the curve in the road and drove straight off the 5 foot ledge into our neighbor's field.  His front right tire was bent sideways and the front part of his truck was completely smashed in where he had hit the ground nose first.  It was obvious he left in a rush as all the windows were down and doors unlocked.  All of the items that were once in his truck bed were scattered throughout the field.  The truck still had not been moved the following morning so I was able to snap a pic from our porch.

***

The day before the local elections were held, I was driving down our road on my way to work.  I was going through the 25 mph residential zone when I saw a truck coming towards me.  It suddenly stopped in the road.  I proceeded towards the truck when all of a sudden the police lights came on and I realized it was the sheriff (the only police officer in our entire town).  He drove slowly at me then stopped with the radar gun pointed in my face.

Officer:  34 in a 25mph zone...
Me:  *cringe face*
Officer:  I know you're late.  Slow down and have a good day.
Me:  THANK YOU OFFICER!

Guess who had my vote for sheriff the next day?

***

I know I've written before about my office mice, but now we have house mice.  This I am NOT cool with.  Howard has set some traps and has caught a few here and there.  For all I know, he's caught a ton but I ask him not to tell me about them because I just don't want to know. 

I came home from work one afternoon and walked into the kitchen.  I went to toss some trash into the trash can under the sink but noticed Howard had taken the trash out and not replaced the bag.  So I grabbed a new bag from under the sink and pulled the trash can out to replace it.  And something jumped at my hand.  I was so startled, I flung the trash can across the floor where it, thankfully, landed upright.  It took me forever to catch my breath and find the courage to pick the trash can back up and take it outside to let it go.  And then I'm sure he came right back in.

***

We weren't able to make it home for Thanksgiving this year but our friends, Matt & Katie, decided to come out to KY and join us.  Which means I had to do more than get Chinese take-out and sit around in my pajamas all day watching football.  It was worth it though.  We had a lot of fun.  We even introduced them to Spice Jenga!  Don't let them try and tell you it's not fun.  Thanks for visiting guys =)  Here is proof I cooked.  So what if half of it came from a box or can? 

***

And just because, here's a picture of the sunset from last night.  Forgive the picture quality, I was driving but it was just too amazing not to get this on film.

Check Yes or No

When Howard and I got back from Nashville and picked up the dogs at the boarder's, we were told Copper is a tad chick crazy.  As in she had to separate her female dog Winnie from Copper all weekend long because he was mounting her every chance he got.  Howard and I decided it might be a good time to get him neutered. 

I called the vet that was recommended to us and asked about pricing.  The assistant told me it would be $82.50 for the surgery and anethesia so I made the appointment for Thursday morning.  I arrived at the vet yesterday morning all set to fork over the agreed upon sum and Copper.  The assistant handed me a form I had to sign first.  Included on that form were several add-on options.  And all those options cost additional money.  But of course!  She explained that they are all very highly recommended to ensure my pet's utmost safety.

If you don't want your dog to be in pain, check here!  $10.50



If you want take home medication so he's not in pain later, check here!  $16.95


If you want a catheter already in place in case medication needs to be issued in an emergency, check here!  $26.70


If you want an EKG performed before surgery to ensure there won't be any complications, check here!  $55.10


If you don't check every box above, you are a cold, heartless, indecent bitch.
 
I began envisioning getting a call later on in the day. 
 
Dana?  We have some very bad news.  Copper has passed away during surgery.  That EKG you checked no for could have prevented it.  But since you're a heartless bitch, you probably don't care anyway.
 
The end total was somewhere around $250.  I checked every one of those boxes.  Because I love that damn dog.
 
 

I Spy...

A horse tied to a hitching post at Walmart.  What?  Your Walmart doesn't have a hitching post?

A cow wandering down the road to our house. 

Hey there Bessie!

A little dog unaware he's having his "boys" removed on Thursday.  Sorry buddy!

Procrastination At It's Finest

When the NFL schedules came out back in April, I immediately checked the Titans website to see if they were hosting the Eagles at home.  When I saw they were, I did a little happy dance and called up my brother to see if he wanted to drive up from Atlanta to meet Howard and I for the game.  He of course, being a die hard fan, said yes. 

And that was that.

Days passed.

Months passed.

The game is this weekend.  What can I say?  I'm lacking in the planning department.  Thanks to Howard, we at least have tickets already.  Though they were a complete ripoff.  BUT at least we have them.

Last night I decided it was finally time to get the ball rolling and plan out the rest of this trip.  I called my dog boarder first.  I was ready to explain it was a spur of the moment trip (what? she wouldn't know any better!) and I am sososo sorry but PLEASE!  I didn't even get to beg and plead because the line was disconnected.  Cue insta-panic.  There is no one else in KY that I would trust with my dogs.  Not.A.One.  I called again.  And again.  Hoping each time that it would magically go through.  I scoured the internet looking for additional numbers, land lines, websites, etc.  Anything.  I came across her business website which had a contact form.  I was able to get my begging and pleading done that way.  Then I crossed my fingers.

Next I moved on to booking a hotel for Saturday and Sunday night.  We wanted a hotel right next to the stadium downtown so we could walk our drunk asses back to the room after celebrating the Eagles win with a night out on the town partying.  Every website I searched came back with SOLD OUT.  Cue 2nd insta-panic of the night.  Turns out, there is some big country music thing going on this Saturday.  And unless we were willing to spend upwards of $300 per night in a hotel I will not even remember being in, we were going to have to change our entire plan.

Late last night, I got an email back from the dog boarder stating she was, in fact, still boarding and could keep the dogs this weekend and that no, she didn't hate me or my dogs, it was a problem with AT&T.  So there's that.

But our plan of getting a hotel downtown, walking to the stadium, tailgating, cheering on the Eagles, drinking too much and stumbling back to the hotel is no more.

Now our plan is getting a hotel 12 miles away, finding a parking pass somehow, driving to the stadium, assigning Howard as designated driver, tailgating, cheering on the Eagles, drinking too much and having Howard drive us back to the hotel.

I see no problem with this.

$40 CSN Stores Winner

Thanks to everyone who entered!  The winner, according to Random.org is Ashley with her oh so very sweet comment:

ashley said...

i'm commenting so i can get the stool and then destroy it to crush your beautiful dreams

Enjoy crushing my dreams!  Luckily I know she's kidding...I think.  I hope.

An email will be sent to you with your gift certificate from CSN Stores soon!

People Love Me!

I know I've said it before but it needs repeating every so often.  I have the most thoughtful and amazing friends.  I received two packages in the mail in one week! 

Back in early October, Heather organized a 5K run complete with shirts.  She mentioned possibly sending me a shirt if there were any left over after the race.  She had purchased some navy blue volunteer shirts as well as white participant shirts.  I told her I'd love a navy one if she could make it happen but I'd be happy with a white one as well.  The week following the race, she told me all she had left were white ones.  I was pleasantly surprised when I opened my package Thursday afternoon to find this:

She tricked me!  And she sent me a cute little hippo as well =)

And then today I found another package waiting for me.  Amanda and I talk about food and recipes a lot.  Probably more than normal.  She knows I can't find quinoa or tahini in grocery stores around here so she took it upon herself to send me some.  I had mentioned that I would like to try quinoa and make my own hummus.  On top of that she sent me a bunch of cd's and a Sookie Stackhouse novel that she's been wanting me to read.  Love!!

Thanks for making me feel so special ladies!!  XOXO

Giveaway Reminder

Just a little reminder that the $40 CSN Stores giveaway ends tomorrow at 1 PM!  Click HERE to enter!

Oh and look what showed up on my doorstep Saturday.  Full-size Ziploc freebies!

$40 CSN Stores Giveaway!

The lovely folks at CSN stores are (yet again) sponsoring a giveaway!  One lucky winner will receive a $40 gift certificate to be used at any one of CSN's many stores.  The possibilities are endless!

If I could win my own giveaway, I would use the certificate towards a counter stool for our kitchen.  We've been looking for the right one since we moved in to our house back in January.  None of the ones we've looked at work for us.  In addition, I absolutely hate our current kitchen and table and chairs and didn't want to waste money trying to buy a stool to match them.  I've had them since Jack was a puppy and the legs on the chairs are almost completely chewed through.  Thanks little buddy!

My parents recently told me they would be getting rid of several pieces of furniture and I was welcome to them as long as I could get them from Virginia to Kentucky.  One of those items is the kitchen table and chairs I grew up with.  I just found the perfect counter stool to match the set!  And on top of that, the entire set and this stool match our cabinets.  I love it when things just work themselves out.

All you need to do to enter is become a follower of my blog (if you aren't already) and leave a comment (one comment per person). 

Let me know what you would buy.  Or what the weather is like where you are.  Or just say "hi".  Anything goes =)

Giveaway will end Tuesday, October 19th at 1 PM CST.  Winner will be chosen by random generator. 

Open to U.S. residents only.

Good luck!!

The Bird

Yeah, yeah.  I know, I suck.  But here is someone who doesn't suck.  My niece.  Just a few months old and already taking after me.  Love her!

Randomness

On Saturday, Howard and I left the house to head into town to attend BBQ on the River.  Before even leaving our small town of Wingo, we came across a gathering in the middle of the town square parking lot.  I'm not sure what was going on.  There were some booths with cotton candy and hot dogs and popcorn.  There were some games for kids to play.  And then there were long tables filled with clothes and people were just rummaging through them picking out what they wanted.  I am still extremely confused as to what was really going down.  All I know is I couldn't pass up snapping a picture of this true Kentucky redneck game. 

Toilet Paper Toss! 

We lasted maybe 2 minutes before deciding this was too much for us to handle.  We promptly left and headed out to BBQ on the River, a huge BBQ competition downtown on the waterfront.  We walked around and nothing sounded appetizing to either of us.  Howard asked if I'd rather eat at the little deli downtown and that sounded much better than BBQ so I agreed. 

We began walking towards Kirchoff's when I realized it closed at 2 pm and went to check the time on my phone (It was 1:53 in case you are wondering).  This isn't such a great idea while walking down a cobblestone street in flip flops.  My right flip flop caught the lip of an upraised stone and I began to fall forward.  I swear it happened in slow motion and my brain was going, "hahaha, you tripped, you silly girl, now catch yourself with your left foot".  But then my left flip flop caught another stone and my brain was like, "hmmm....this isn't good".  And down I went.  HARD.  Did I mention there is a BBQ fest going on and only like a gazillion people around to witness my epic fail?  I landed first on my left knee and I swear I heard it shatter.  Somehow, I managed to avoid any other injuries.  Not even a scrape on my hand.  Howard was trying really hard not to laugh at me considering everyone else around was very concerned about me and he didn't want to look like a total asshole.  I was able to pick myself up and hobble off attempting to laugh away the pain.  I guess it wasn't my knee that shattered, just my pride.  Also, I would like to state for the record, that I did not have an ounce of alcohol in me at this time.  I would never have fallen if I had.

The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful.  Just a lot of football and booze ;) 

And just because, here are a couple pictures of Friday night's sunset taken from our front porch.

Stop Your Janglin'

Last night, Howard's favorite team, the San Francisco 49ers were playing last year's Super Bowl Champs, the New Orleans Saints.  Howard didn't have much hope for this game so his game plan was to get really drunk in hopes that he wouldn't remember how badly they got beat in the morning.  Much to his surprise, they played well and had a chance to win up until the end.  However, Howard's plan was already set in motion and there was no turning back.  Needless to say, he was pretty wasted when the game ended and it was time for bed.  Like normal, I took the dogs' collars off so we wouldn't be woken up by their incessant jangling.  All was quiet in our room until I went to turn over and my necklace made the slightest jingle. 

Howard:  (muttering) Take their collars off.
Me:  I did.  It wasn't them.
Howard:  Then who was it?
Me:  It was me.
Howard:  (bolting upright in bed) DANA, TAKE YOUR COLLAR OFF!

He immediately put his head back down and was fast asleep.  I, on the other hand, couldn't stop laughing.  And of course, he has no recollection of this.

I Heart Truck Drivers

Today has been insane.  Absolutely nothing has gone right.  I haven't had a day like today since I first started.  Don't get me wrong, I like to stay busy.  It makes the day go by faster.  But when you are busy because everything is spiralling out of control, well, that just plain sucks.  Thankfully, I got a call a little while ago that made everything right again.

Me:  Thanks for calling ***.  How may I help you?
Caller:  OK, where are you?
Me:  Um, I'm in the office.
Caller:  No, where is your business?
Me:  Off of Route 1241.
Caller:  Well, I'm on Canal Street like you told me.
Me:  No, I didn't tell you anything about Canal Street.
Caller:  Well, the broker did.  So how do I get to you?
Me:  I don't know.  I don't know where you are.
Caller:  I came in from 41 to 60.
Me:  I'm sorry sir, I don't know where either of those roads are.
Caller:  OK, well then how do I get there?
Me:  I really don't know.  I need to know where you are.
Caller:  I'm on Canal Street in Henderson!
Me:  I'm not sure where Henderson is.
Caller:  YOU ARE LOCATED IN HENDERSON!  HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW WHERE IT IS?
Me:  Because I'm not located in Henderson.  I'm located in Hickory.
Caller:  Oh.........  Is this WSI?
Me:  No, this is ***.
Caller:  [Click]

Thank you random truck driver.  You made my day.