ATL Admiration - Day 9

I asked Tarzan what he will miss when ATL moves out and he waxed very esoteric about it. "The paradigm of our life and what will be missing..."
Oy, man.
I think what he means, more specifically, is that he will miss there being another voice when we have heated discussions. He will miss having another librarian around, being able to share/pass on/collaborate with her about library stuff.
In many ways, we have kind of, sort of, felt a little like a launching pad for ATL and now that she really is flying out on her own, Tarzan is empty nesting a tiny bit.
He asked me "what will the next big project be?"

This is me and he's going to miss her too.

ATL Admiration - Day 8

The remote control.
I know, technology was a post a few days ago, but this is it's own category, believe me.
ATL has taught me everything I know about the television and the pieces that go with it and how to make it do what I want. I learned about streaming video and channels and especially the DVR, DVDs and the tuner and in particular the remote controls that each of those electronics has and what all the buttons do.
I will miss ATL and her ability to know what the difference between the square button and the triangle button.

This is me, stuck with only the Food Network now.

ATL Admiration - Day 7

I don't like to think of myself as old - and there are certainly many that I work with/for who are older - but email was only starting to be a thing when I graduated from college. Website addresses had to be typed in, as numbers. There was no .com, .net stuff yet.
Our wedding pictures were shot on 35mm film, not digital. Cell phones were super expensive, really big and not that useful.
I'm not a techno-phobe but it's all mostly new to me.
ATL is very mature and self assured, but she is eight years younger than me and therefore has eight more years in the technology/digital world we live in.
So, one of the many things I will miss about ATL is her understanding technology and being able to explain it to me.
Especially about my phone or my computer. She taught me to text, how to find the emoji keyboard, about Skype and folders in my email.
It's like having my own customer service representative.

This is me and I can't ever get anything new.

ATL Admiration - Day 6

Tarzan and I realized the other day that ATL has lived with us for almost nine years! Of course, we've always known, but the realization of it hit us. We had only been married for three and a half years when ATL came to stay with us, and we have changed over the years, more or less with ATL as part of the equation.
What are we going to do/be when she's gone?
How will our lives change?
What will we do?
Never fear, we have plans and goals and I'll keep you posted. But it's a little weird to think of regular life without her.

This is me and it's both scary and exciting.

My Favorite

My dream has been realized.
I love blueberries - there are never enough, they're expensive to buy in the quantities to sustain my craving, and they never last long in our house - but given the area of the world in which we live, I never thought it possible that we could grow our own. Blueberries typically require cooler temperatures than we have here in The Jungle (ask me about chill hours...do it, ask me!!)
This is not so...anymore. Geneticists have bred blueberry plants that can survive, even thrive, in the warmth that is The Jungle. (75 degrees Farenheit in February)
Tarzan and I were thoroughly educated on this blessed topic last summer when we visited his uncle, who lives even further south than we do; he has bushes everywhere!
I came home from that trip and ordered some southern blueberry bushes straight away from GrowOrganic.com:

Of course they don't ship plants all year 'round, so I had to be patient and wait.
And wait.
And wait.
But the blueberry plants finally arrived this week and I planted them.
I made sure to get big pots:

For two reasons, portability - in case I have to move them for more/less sun or to avoid the cats or cars or whatever - and so I can have HUGE blueberry bushes and lots of berries.
Then I put a shallow layer of rocks in the bottom, for drainage:

Special soil - blueberries like acidic soil:

Dug a hole and put the sucker in:

Then a layer of mulch to retain water - they still need lots of water, even in warm areas:

And some chicken wire to keep the cats from sleeping in the pots on the nice sun warmed earth. Watered them up and now I get to wait some more.
I planted three of the Sunshine Blue variety (lowest number of chill hours required) and two of the Jewel variety (only a few chill hours more). The idea is to see what grows best here in our little neighborhood and, because chances are small any of our neighbors are doing the same thing, to guarantee cross pollination.

This is me and they can't grow fast enough.

Once Again

You know how after visiting a store or a restaurant the server hands out an opportunity to fill out a survey or evaluate the experience - usually in exchange for the chance to win something or get a coupon?
Grocery stores do it.
Manicurists do it.
Shoe stores do it.
Even doctors do it.
Dentists don't do it.
And there's a very good reason that they don't.
Because no one has a good time at the dentist.
Ever.

This is me, not giving them a good evaluation.

ATL Admiration - Day 5

I will certainly miss ATL's willingness to share her chocolate with me/us.

This is me, and it's the little things.

ATL Admiration - Day 4

ATL has many talents and I will definitely miss her organization skills (some would say obsession) and the joy she has for setting things straight in a logical fashion.
My pantry, the shed, the back yard, the living room, the kitchen, my closet, my purse and probably every place in the house has been the recipient of her brain wheel turning.
In fact, my resolution for the new year was to clear out the clutter and reorganize the entire house. Taking one room each month and having ATL in my back pocket I was hoping to have a lighter and airier house by the time the holidays roll around next time.

This is me and I may never find anything ever again.

Work Environment

Nothing says January in the [fancy, schmancy, wealthy, entitled, uppity] part of town where I work, like the smell of sheep poo.
Apparently it's good for the grass.
Of which there is a lot up in them there hills.
There is also a lot of stone and concrete in those many squared footed mansions and given the governor's recent declaration about the state of the state, I think someone should start writing tickets or issuing limits on the amount of liquid that is allowed to water sidewalks and run in huge rivers down the streets in that neighborhood.

This is me and it's another world up there.

ATL Admiration - Day 3

Anyone who knows me, knows that housecleaning is not at the top of my list of favorite things to do. In fact, it's not even the top thing on my list of things I really don't like to do, I dislike it that much. And because of the other many things that I have to do, I don't clean that often.
The reason my house does not look like an episode of Hoarders is because of ATL.
She has helped me immensely over the years, vacuuming, dishes, dusting, laundry, wiping down the stove, cleaning the bathroom - including the shower, which is a major task.
She actually enjoys cleaning and it's much less irritating for me to have the company and help so once in a while I actually pull out the rubber gloves.
I'm not sure where I will find the motivation now.

This is me and I'll have to find the Lysol myself.

ATL Admiration - Day 2

So, one of the first things I will miss about ATL, when she moves to her own place (far, far away from me) is the fun we have watching television shows together. Tarzan is often busy with the bishop-ing thing, family genealogy, school and his spare jobs and ATL has been my companion in watching silly, girl shows that make Tarzan roll his eyes and sigh. (Glee anyone?)
We recognize actors from one show to another. We quote to each other, we laugh, we mock and say at least once every show "and that's why one doesn't drink," or "and that's why one doesn't have sex before marriage."
We've had a good time and it's telling that the first thing we both thought when she accepted the job was "What are we going to do about watching Downton Abbey?"

This is me and I'll have to learn to watch alone.

ATL Admiration - Day 1

I'm conflicted.
ATL just got a really fantastic job, so I'm extremely excited and happy and proud of her too.
But it's in a city almost 2 hours away, which means she will be moving out of our house - she's been here for almost 9 years - and on one hand that makes me sad because I will miss her but on the other hand it will be interesting to see what Tarzan and I can do on our own but on the other had it's almost like empty nesting and on the other hand she will be in charge and her job will be cool but on the other hand...
It's a lot to take it.
It'll likely take a few weeks to get the whole thing figured out and we have a lot to do in the mean time but I will post 30 days of things about ATL; things I admire, things I will miss, reasons why it's been cool having her here, that kind of schmaltz.
So, congratulations ATL!!

This is me and today is the beginning.

Things I Didn't Say

How irritating is it when someone screams at you for doing what you were told to do?
Don't spend too much brain power on it.
It's very, very annoying.
Stingy sent me to show a house and told me to park in a specific place.
I was not supposed to park in that place and the individual who objected to my being there did not hesitate to tell me so. And why. For an extended period of time. At a high volume.
I am proud to tell you I did not say any of the things I was thinking. I didn't take off my sunglasses and look at him and I did not tell him my name despite his demanding it 47 times and not actually waiting for a response.
Here are some of the other things I did not say.
[when he demanded to know who I worked for] I did not say that my employer is the one who told me I could park there.
[when he was telling me that he had "been waiting for 3 minutes"] I did not say that he is taking far longer than 3 minutes to yell at me.
[when he said he was a doctor] I did not say that he should be spending his time saving lives rather than yelling at me
[when he said he was a doctor] I did not say that giving local girls larger implants wasn't the same as curing cancer.
I think I might have a vicious, sarcastic tendency.

This is me and I hope we sell this one soon.

Beginning To See

I begin to see the point of Twitter.
Not that I am going to start an account over there. Goodness knows I can't manage my blog or email and phone calls in any sort of a regular manner so adding more technology and responsibility would definitely not be a good idea.
But.
I begin to see how it could be a good thing to have a place and a quick way to post clever ideas, funny observations and adventures before one FORGETS THEM.
I had two really good ideas for posts today and by the time I got to the car, I forgot what they were.

This is me and it would be handy.

There Goes The Inspiration

I am really annoyed that I am sick AGAIN. Really very angry and frustrated that this is happening so soon.
I was sick at the beginning of December and it ended with a cough that hung on all through Christmas. Then on New Year's Eve I started sneezing up a storm and could feel the phlegm building up in the back of my throat.
I had plans, man.
Here I am, less than a month since the last time I was sick, coughing and sneezing and blowing my nose.
Again.
ATL and Tarzan have developed the very same cold so none of us feel like doing the fabulous cleaning/organizing/straightening/purging plan I had scheduled for this last week before Tarzan goes back to school.
I blame visitors-from-out-of-the-city and their foreign germs.

This is me and it is not the way I wanted to start the new year.

Happy 2014

This is me and it's a new one peeps.

Could Be Worse

It's still a little unsettling for me to have Thanksgiving and Christmas in the warm with the green grass but it could be a worse life than living here where it's 76 degrees on December 31st.

This is me and it's a shift I can live with.

Always The Same Trouble

One morning, two weeks before Christmas, I woke up, got dressed and after brushing my hair out, this is what I had going on in the bangs area:

I tried with the fine toothed comb:

And it sprang right back:

I had needed one for a while but I decided it was time for a hair cut.
That same day.
I went to a place that allowed walk-ins, wasn't too expensive - it was a cosmetology school actually - and explained my dilemma. I have pictures from the last time I was happy with my hair, which was when PhatFiddle got married - he has two kids now - and try to get hair stylists to copy it. I have tried this the last four times I got my hair done.
This time, I came out with something a little different than what I asked for:

But I really like it.
A lot.
The trouble is, I can't recreate it on my own. I ignore the back and let it dry as it will. I don't have time every day to blow dry my whole head and doing the back is annoying anyway and I don't care if it's a little less straight.
My bangs, however, I take more time with. I don't let them air dry, or pin them down, I use a styling serum, I blow them straight out and then up, for volume, and then over in a wave. I do it everyday and they won't go the way they are supposed to.
Anyone? Thoughts?

This is me and I can't get it right at home.

Merry Christmas 2013

This is me and:

Everybody!

Every Year

Another Facebook classic:

This is me and it's true.