Smooth As A Babies…

So I live in a desert. Yep. A dry, hot, boring desert.

And I have realized recently that I am not exactly the spring chicken I once was.

Shut up.

My mother, and no offense to her, aged horribly. Her wrinkles and gray hair came at an early age. Smoking probably helped speed that along.

Anyways, at my age I think I look pretty alright. People often mistake me for a lot younger and are usually surprised when they find out my real age. I don’t have grays. It’s because I am a soulless ginger. Red heads generally gray later. I don’t have wrinkles too much either. I was never a make-up wearer and I have always tried to take care of my skin.

But the dry…

My elbows and my knees…

So I bought lotion. Do you have any idea how many bottles of lotion I have in my bathroom?

16.

I counted them. Little ones, big ones, some with all natural ingredients, some with fabulous fragrances…

And you know how many of them I use?

None.

I hate being all greased up. I hate greasy hands. And mostly, I just forget it is there. I am a busy person. Who has time to lotion? Not me.

Then I started seeing these commercials for this in shower lotion. These commercials are the creepiest thing ever. LIKE EVER....

And while I don’t want some creepy lady anywhere near me or any one I like, I thought maybe this in the shower lotion would be good. I could avoid the dragon scale elbows and knees and not be a greased up pig. And if it is there in the shower, I might actually use it.

So I bought some. But not this brand, I went with Nivea In Shower Body Lotion

AND IT WAS GLORIOUS!

I no longer have dragon elbows and knees. It was awesome. I am not all greasy.

I loved it so much I bought if for Mary on her birthday. Yeah. I know I am weird.

I use the cocoa butter version. It smells good. No one paid me to say that either. I just wanted to share it with you. Because it was that awesome.

Just Getting Fueled

There is a Valero station by my house. Like I can see it from my house.

Convenient?

Nope.

Most of the time I stop there, they are out of gas or the pumps are not working or the card readers are out.

How are you a gas station and you are out of gas?

Between my house and my job I pass that Valero and then another Valero before I head into the next town.

But the other Valero is about the same.

Seriously? How are you even gas stations?

Yesterday on my way to work I stopped at the first one to find it was out of gas. So I stop again at the second one because if I don't get gas I won't make it home. And I am not stopping for gas at midnight.

At the second one, half the pumps are out and the card readers don't work.

Fine.

I go inside and am waiting in a line behind a douche bag in white Oakleys who is buying a ton of Red Bull, Monster and those little red energy shots.

Yeah, he is a heart attack waiting to happen.

So he finally pays and goes out to get in his lifted truck.

I purchase just enough gas to make to work and home and to a real gas station.

I go out to the pump to get my $10 worth of gas.

And nothing.

I go back inside and he put it on the wrong pump.

Luckily he fixes it and no one else took my gas.

I finally got my gas and made it to work.

I don't think I will go there anymore.

Days Of Wine And Bacon

They say you shouldn't cook with a wine you won’t drink. I don’t drink wine. So where does that leave me? Buying the cheapest wine I find, that is where.

I found this pork chop recipe a few months ago and it has been a hit around here. Pintrest… is there anything it can’t do?

It calls for white wine.

I was going to make it a few weeks ago and I was out of white wine. Around the same time, Carolynn wanted me to make her and Michelle’s favorite, bacon fried rice. We were also out of bacon. So I ask David to pick up those two items on his way home one day.

He picks up the girls from school and heads over to the Winco. He picks up a $2.97 bottle of white wine and a pound of bacon. Quite the combo; Less than $6 purchase.

He takes it up and the cashier won’t ring it up for him. He shows his ID. Okay, he looks young. Good for him. But he has his ID so no big deal… Or so you would think.

But the checker won’t sell him the wine. She insinuates that David is buying this wine to give to Carolynn and Catherine who are with him. Because they are under aged and he looks like the kind of guy who buys $2.97 bottles of wine for minors. Or so he can get them drunk and take advantage of them. Whatever.

The manager is called and basically tells him the same thing. He tries telling them that they are his kids but no one is buying that. We just cook with it. They aren’t buying that either. They eventually let him make his purchase, after making him feel like a creepy child predator first.

I know a lot of dumb criminals.

But in this case…

If you are planning on buying alcohol for minors, why would you bring them with you? Why would you make the purchase in broad daylight at a large market? And why would you buy a cheap bottle of white wine? And why would you need bacon?

Bacon…

People Of Wal-Mart

I got a tablet from Wal-Mart. David got it for me as a wedding gift. It is a really nice tablet and since I got one, Mary and Tonya bought one for Abby. It is a Hisense Sero 7. It only cost $149 and it works great. The only thing I liked better about my iPad, was my iPad was larger. This was faster and cheaper and worked great. But it is only available at Wal-Mart.

Michelle was watching something on it in the car on our way to San Diego. And she hit it with some toy and it got a little crack. And I had no protection for it… No case, no screen protector. I did think to buy a warranty for it. Anyway, the crack was small and I didn’t act on it.

The crack slowly got bigger and bigger and finally, I tell David we are going to have to get it taken care of. As a matter of fact, while I am telling him this, I get up and accidently drop it on the tile floor. I was so mad. Whole thing shattered and wouldn’t turn on anymore.

Luckily, I had bought that warranty. They issued me a gift card for the full amount of the tablet, plus tax the very next day. It was all done online.

So, here we go…

I go to the Wal-Mart by our house, but it doesn’t carry tablets. Only iPads. So I have to go the Wal-Mart Supercenter 20 minutes away. Not a big deal really, I bought it there in the first place. I got in and I can see the have several in stock. There are a few people waiting, so I look around and pick out a new case and screen protectors. When it is our turn, I am informed that they cannot sell me the tablet because the lock to that cabinet was broken. She called the supervisor. The supervisor tried a couple different sets of keys. No luck.

They call over to the other Wal-Mart Supercenter and find out if they have any. They are all out.

She says it will be several days before they can get a locksmith to fix it. Then she says that is the second time it has gotten broken in a month because some employee continues to try and use the wrong key to open it.

So tell me this…

Why does that employee still have keys? Even if being an idiot is not worth firing someone over, Wal-Mart is a big store. Couldn’t he collect carts? Stock Shelves? Sweep floors? Keys may be too advanced.

So, after I was disappointed that I had to wait, we went over to the baby clothes section. Michelle needed tights. She has winter dresses and she loves her dresses. They are pretty, she says. So we go to get her some tights. It took me a while to find where they keep them. The shelves say “Three Pack Toddler Tights 18 Months to 4T”, but there is everything but on these shelves. I search a bit and finally find her some tights. We pay for them and finally leave.

That Wal-Mart is relatively new and it is already ghetto.

Here Comes Santa Claus

Yesterday David and I went and did most of our major shopping for the holiday. We shopped all day. Shopped til we dropped. It was fun. We started with the mall. Our mall isn't that great, but it has what we needed.

First, we did lunch. David got a slice of pizza and I got some Japanese food at Edo Japan. (The line at the Panda Express was too long.) It was so good. I had never eaten there before. It is more expensive than Panda Express, but the food is worth it. I like it better. I can't believe I have been missing out.

Then it was on to the shopping. We saw our good friends Adrienne and Serenity doing their shopping. Adrienne's engagement ring looks so beautiful. They are a fabulous couple.

Anyway, we went to Sears, J.C. Penney, Barnes and Noble, Toys R Us, Claire's, Hot Topic (It's scary in there!)and a few more. David got a new ornament in the Hallmark store. It goes with this video...



I love it.

Then we came home. We barely got in the door and the girls were ready to go shopping. David was all shopped out, so I took the girls to Denny's for dinner and then to Target.

Then we did the grocery shopping. That is a lot of money spent.

But it was fun.

Today we are doing some Christmas baking. Chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies are done. So are mini loaves of banana bread. Sugar cookie dough and gingerbread cookie dough are chilling in the refrigerator. My special sweet Chex Mix is cooling on the counter. And Mexican chicken and rice is on the stove for dinner tonight. I probably should go to the gym to offset this.

*************************
T'was the night before Christmas,when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

Black Friday

I never went shopping on Black Friday. I always had to work or something. But this year, I got off at midnight anyway, so I figured I would see what it was all about and maybe pick up some good deals for Christmas.

Carolynn came with me because she figured she could get some good pictures for her current class project. David came too because he was concerned for our safety.

We went to the Wal-Mart. There was a line just to get in the store. There were police everywhere. It was crazy. We saw some swim moms there ready to tackle their shopping. They had a plan. I didn't have a plan. I should have had a plan. It should have been to stay home.

After about 20 minutes we finally get inside the store. It was a madhouse. The lines to check out stretched all the way to the back of the store. People had carts loaded with multiple TV's and all sorts of stuff. We went off in search of what we wanted. We found nothing. It had all been picked clean.

We left defeated. We didn't even try to brave the Target. We were scared for our lives.

Happy Thanksgiving

It doesn't feel like Thanksgiving to me though. I have to work tonight. So we had our Thanksgiving on Tuesday. But it didn't feel like Thanksgiving then either. We still had stuff to do. The world wasn't on Thanksgiving time. Catherine and David had tae kwon do. I had an appointment with the personal trainer at the gym. We enjoyed the morning. We played Monopoly and roasted the turkey. We made all the sides the day before. We ate a fabulous meal. But after that, we all went off to our various activities. Sherri and Taylor came over to enjoy a little Thanksgiving food with us in the evening. And we sent some pie to Chris who wasn't feeling well.

Speaking of pie, this was my first attempt at baking a pie from scratch. And I burnt the first one. Black. But luckily, the second pie came out delicious.

Today, we are relaxing. We made some turkey with rice with leftover turkey. We planned our Black Friday strategy. I get off at midnight, just in time to shop.

Robbie and Gena supposedly are coming this weekend. We are going to make them some BBQ pork sandwiches and a pie for Robbie. (Gena, like her brother, doesn't eat pie.)

I hope you all are having a fabulous Thanksgiving. Think of me tonight while you eat your pie. I'll b spending my night with inmates. Awesome.

Recognition

So I was in the Target with the girls and Catherine was examining a fabulous new Pokemon case for her Gameboy (Which she ended up getting in exchange for cleaning the kitchen.) I see a man shpping with his family, and I get that feeling... you know the one.. like “Hey, I know that guy!” But you can't remember where or in what context you know him from. Yep. But I am sure I know him.

Then I go down another isle. There he is again. I know that guy. I swear to it. And he sees me and there, he has that look too. But I don't say a word.

Why not?

Because if I can't remember him, what if he is a former inmate? Some drug dealer or pot grower or meth lab operator who has been recently released? Yep, I am paranoid.

Maybe he is an inmate's relative. I work visiting a lot. Perhaps I have seen him coming to visit.

Maybe he works with me. I don't think so. But maybe. A lot of people work where I work.

Do I know him from somewhere else? I don't know. I don't go many places. But I just couldn't figure it out.

So the girls and I leave that Target with our purchases. Catherine and her Pokemon case. Carolynn and her new Blue Ray movie (Burlesque). Me and my weed killer.

Then I get home, and bam, it hits me!

I totally went to high school with that guy. We were totally friends and in the choir together.

Yep. Paranoia. Thanks inmates. I appreciate that.

And So It Begins...

Today is November 1. You know what that means? Year 4 of NaBloPoMo! Yes! It's here! National Blog Posting Month. I hope I can make it.

I should have plenty of things to write about. I have my weekly work related posts. I have my Wordless Wednesday's and my Thursday 13's. There will be holidays, birthdays, and more excitement coming.

Today was rather eventful. I did some shopping. I went to Carolynn's school. I paid the rent. After last month's rent fail, I wanted to make sure we were good this time.

Now I am tired. We are having pizza for dinner and I am watching David and Catherine play Kirby's Epic Yarn on the Wii. It's epic alright.

Off On Sunday

I haven't had a weekend day off since March. Today was fabulous.

First, we went to get the tire fixed on my car. Yesterday, when I left work, I found a flat. Luckily a super co-worker of mine went and put on the spare. I made it home. First thing this morning, we were off to get it fixed. It wasn't fixable. So now I have two new tires and two old tires. I'll go and get two more new tires when I get paid again.

We bought lots of candy and prizes for the Halloween party Catherine is having. We went to the mall and got some lunch and looked around. We went to Party City for more Halloween stuff.

Then I took a nap. Yes I did. It was awesome.

For dinner I made chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles. It was so good.

I guess this new work schedule does have it's perks.

Here Comes Santa

Last week David, Carolynn and I went to the Target. We were looking for a purse for Carolynn. As we were walking up to the Target, at a parking space right in front, there was a man getting in his car. He was a large man, with a long white beard. He was putting on a red coat.

David says “Look, it’s Santa.”

Carolynn and I look and have a little laugh.

However, directly in front of us were a little girl and her mom. The little girl heard David and got excited and started looking for “Santa”. Her mom saw, and laughed. She told her it wasn’t really.

Then she turned around and told David he was crazy. She was laughing.

We left the Target.

John, Paul, George, and Ringo

Yesterday I was too sick to go to work. You should never go to work sick. You should be mentally alert in a place like that.

However, I felt okay enough to go to the mall with the gang. We haven’t all gone to the same place at the same time in a long time. Since the Loser Cruiser is out of commission (until later this week) we all had to squeeze into the truck. It was not funny.

Anyway, we went and spent the day at the mall. Carolynn is officially un-grounded this weekend, so she was able to upgrade her phone. She got an LG Envy3. She seems to really like it. She and David each got new shoes. David hadn’t had new shoes in about 3 years. Carolynn just wears hers out fast. Carolynn also made her first visit to the Victoria’s Secret. That was difficult. My tiny little baby isn’t supposed to need bras. Catherine scored herself a new Pokemon thing. I got some bras of my own. (I know..TMI.) I also scored a Valentine’s present… The collector’s edition of The Beatles Rock Band. It has Ringo’s drums and Paul’s guitar and all the songs. We were playing it this afternoon and it is so awesome.

We went to Nick’s for dinner with Aunt Chris and some friends. It was so good. When we got home, the Olympics were starting.

I have to say, they replayed the tragic death of that Georgian luger a lot. It was very difficult to watch. The We Are The World remake was pretty good. But what was Justin Bieber doing in there? He looked so out of place. I am not a fan.

The opening ceremonies were kind of tedious. It was a long time into the show before they actually got down to it. It just wasn’t as cool as the openings of the summer Olympics. But it was nice and I stayed up and watched the whole thing.

Today, I have to be at work at 8. Then I have some groceries to buy. And some dinner to cook.

Let It Snow

Yesterday was a stormy day. It snowed off and on all day. Nothing stuck. The wind howled. The lights flickered. The Christmas lights are now falling off the house. It was so cold. It is still cold. I have to work tonight. It is going to be super cold. I know it. At least the weather is Christmas-y.

I am still having trouble getting in the Christmas spirit. My car is a piece of crap. Seriously. I hate it. If I don’t have to go to work, I am not driving it. Not until I can afford the repairs. Why do cars find the most inappropriate times to break? I still have bills to pay and Christmas presents I want to buy.

Here’s another added stress for you… Drizella has been digging out. She digs out and Gibby goes with her. She knows she is bad. When we catch her she slinks back and won’t come close to us. I don’t know what to do about her. Frankly, she isn’t a very good dog. She doesn’t listen. She steals food. She chews stuff up. She bites. And she digs. What am I supposed to do? If animal control finds her, we will get a big ticket and the added expense. Just what I needed right now…

And one more suck-fest to add to my Bah-Humbug spirit… Knott’s Berry Farm is free for me and the family until the 20th. It’s free for all law enforcement officers. I knew it was coming and we had been looking forward to it. But now, it looks like we won’t be going. Even though it is free to get in, we’d still have to pay for gas, parking, food (you have to get Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner), and maybe a souvenir or two. And with my stupid car being stupid, I wouldn’t try and drive it that far anyway until it is repaired.

Okay, sorry I am such a Scrooge. I am trying not to be. We are thinking about having a New Year’s Eve party. A long time ago, I used to throw a New Year’s Eve party every year. At the time, we had this grouchy neighbor who called the cops on us at about 10:30 PM. Every year. We were never that loud. She was just a Scrooge herself. Then for a long while, I had no one to invite to any sort of party. Now I do. And if my work schedule continues in the way it is, I will have New Year’s Eve off. So keep a look out for party e-vites. (They are cheap.)

Here is some more good news… Yesterday I talked to my friend Paula. I had not talked to her for a couple of years. She moved and lost her job and I lost contact. But thanks to Facebook (again) she found me again and we talked last night. She is going through some rough times too, but like me she is working through it. Her husband is having trouble finding a job right now. I suggested he apply where I work. At least it is something.

Well, I guess that is it. I have to get ready for work soon. I will take my Scrooge attitude to prison. I am sure the inmates will enjoy.

Merry Christmas To All.

1000 Wishes

I cannot seem to get into the holiday spirit. At first I thought it was because we were so sick over Thanksgiving and we kind of missed out on the food. But I don’t think that is it. It’s more of a financial issues thing. Now don’t get me wrong, I get paid enough to pay all my bills and eat and put gas in my car. But that is pretty much it. It seems like every time I get a little ahead something happens. Last year put me in quite a hole. Sure, all the bills were being maintained, but nothing else was being taken care of. No clothes or household items. Once I started working we started taking care of that stuff… and if it wasn’t one thing it was another… Car repairs, broken appliances, broken TV’s, more car repairs…

Every time I would get a little ahead so we might enjoy a little money, something else happens. Like this time, the bank issues. In case you hadn’t read before, I had always gotten paid every other Saturday. So two weeks ago, on the Saturday I normally got paid, I had set up several bills to be auto paid and sent David out on some errands for me. He didn’t get far, because there was no money in the bank. The bank then charged us overdraft charges for all those things. Just over $130 in fees! Now, the money got to the account on Monday so I don’t see what the huge deal was, but they refused to reverse the overdraft fees. Anyway, I didn’t realize there were over draft fees until midweek, so those over draft fees caused more over draft fees. So I was short. Now I have to play catch up. At Christmas. When I could have used some of that money to buy presents… or pay for car repairs.

Yep, my car needs new front wheel bearings. Repair shops estimate $300 to $500 to fix it. Woo. Just another added expense right at the holiday season.

Anyway, I love the holidays usually. I love the decorations and the baking and the food. I love Christmas music and shopping for gifts. Thankfully, I had already purchased most of the girls’ presents. I also got a great deal on a huge artificial tree. But I just am not feeling it.

I figured it out… I don’t need a million dollars to be better. Just $1000 dollars. It will fix the car, and make some bills go away. Leaving my next paycheck available to pay more bills, buy groceries and baking goods and have some leftover to buy some gifts. I don’t have piles of debt. I have no credit cards. I just need one extra paycheck or so. Maybe I should play the lottery.

I am going to try to combat this holiday depression. After all, it isn’t about the presents…

Tomorrow I am wearing a Christmas shirt. My mom bought me a whole bunch of Christmas shirts last year. I think she was trying to fight off the Christmas blues I had last year when I was unemployed and miserable. So tomorrow I am wearing one. I made a Christmas playlist on the iTunes and loaded it on David’s computer so I could play it on his speakers. (I love iTunes home sharing!) David put up the tree. I haven’t decorated it yet. The Thanksgiving decorations are still out. I am making a Thanksgiving feast for dinner tomorrow. And I will give two hours to bell ringing at the K-Mart. Maybe that will put me in a Christmas mood.

Wednesday we will do the Christmas decorating and maybe watch A Christmas Story. I always love that one. I even have my own leg lamp. Also, on Wednesday night maybe we will have another game night. That always cheers me up and I remembered to buy a bunch of snacks to keep on hand. I know it is mid-week and all, but I have Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday off this week.

Anyways, if anyone is interested in game night on Wednesday, let me know. You can come check out my leg lamp in person.

And this concludes this year's NaBloPoMo. Thanks for reading!

It Can Only Get Better

The TV breaking last week, was just the start of things to go wrong.

Due to some banking thing, my paycheck, which is direct deposited every other Saturday like clockwork, didn’t get to the bank. Of course, my bills are set to come out the day I get paid, so unless my paycheck shows up tomorrow, we are in trouble. It should, but until it does… I can’t buy groceries, put gas in the car or anything else. Luckily, we have food in the house and David has a full tank of gas, so I can use his truck to get to work. I drove it today. It was an experience.

Another bad thing… If my check isn’t in the bank tomorrow, we won’t be able to go to Angela sing. I have been looking forward to that for weeks.

I have had a nice steady post at work for a while. I worked hard for it and worked hard doing it. But in reality, I was just filling in. The guy I have been filling in for was out with a knee injury. Well, he came back. I am glad for his knee, but it really messed with my schedule. With his post, I had Thursday’s and Friday’s off. That would have meant all holidays off. But now, I have no idea. I won’t know my Thanksgiving schedule until later this week. They were kind enough I give me Thursday and Friday off this week since that it what I had before the other guy came back.

Last night we went to Tabi and Kathy’s house for game night. I made cheesy potatoes to take. But I didn’t have time to bake them. I decided that I could just bake them there. As we pull out of the driveway, I asked David to hold on a second (we were in his truck) so I could take another look at the address. I put the casserole on my lap. He didn’t’ hear me and went, so I was now covered in cheese sauce. We go back in the house so I can clean myself up and regroup. We get back in and I am trying to be as careful as possible. But when I get out of the car at Tabi’s, I am again wearing cheese sauce.

Other than the sauce, we had a great time. We had so much food. All of it was good. We played games and talked and just had fun. We played Disney Scene It, Scene It, and Trivial Pursuit. Next time we should have game night here. We have two Scene It games for X-Box. We have a whole closet full of board games. (All of last night’s games were ours.)

I hope you all enjoyed yesterday’s Blog Swap. Thank you Rammi for switching with me.

Until tomorrow…

The Great Pumpkin

Today we went on an adventure of epic proportions. Okay, not really epic. But it was fun. We drove to Oak Glen, California. We wanted to check out some fall colors and get some apples and pumpkins. Apparently everyone else in the world had the same idea. Parking was difficult. But we had fun. We looked in a bunch of shops. We saw some goats and peacocks. We walked though apple orchards and a pumpkin patch.

First we stopped at Parrish Pioneer Ranch. It smelled so good there. There was a bakery that must have had some good stuff because the line was out the door. There were shops and apples. They had the goats there and a cowboy show.

After that one, we went to Mom's Country Orchard. This was our favorite. We all agreed that the people were the friendliest. We got to taste a bunch of apple butter and other apple products. We also got to try some apples and some fresh peaches. It was a small store, but #1 in our book. We didn't buy anything when we went there at first, but after a day of checking out all the other cool places, we ended up going back and buying some apples and stuff. We got a bag of Spartan apples. Carolynn and her friend Marissa (who was joining us on our adventure) got caramel apples. I got this apple barbecue sauce I tried while I was there. It was sweet and spicy and so good. I am going to put it on some chicken for dinner tonight.

Our third stop was to Riley's At Los Rios Rancho. This one was very popular. They had so much going on. They were the one's with the pumpkin patch. David, the girls and I searched for the perfect pumpkins.







In the end, only Carolynn found a pumpkin she liked. The patch was pretty well picked over and there was so little to be found. So many squashed or rotted. Oh well, at least the view was nice.



After our day of soaking in Autumn, we stopped at a park in Yucaipa and ate a picnic lunch before heading back to the desert we call home.





Since we ended up with only one pumpkin, we stopped at Apple Valley's own pumpkin patch on our way home. David and Catherine picked out some more fine pumpkins for them to take to the pumpkin carving party they are going to on Friday night. Now they each had their own pumpkin.



We saw Taylor and his girlfriend, Charity, at the pumpkin patch picking pumpkins. (Awwww.... how sweet and adorable.)

So that was our day of adventure. Now we are relaxing at home. Carolynn's friend has been dropped off at home. Catherine has eaten at least 6 apples. I have chicken cooking and I am going to put my new barbecue sauce on it.

Honestly, this has been one of the best weekend of the year.

A Random Pile Of Information

Catherine is grounded. Apparently, she did not do her homework and had to do one day detention last Friday. Rather than go to the detention (during recess) she went to recess and then hid when her teacher caught her. Then, when she was busted, she had to bring a note home. That was on Friday last week. On Tuesday, her teacher, Mrs. Lord, called and asked me if I got the note. I never did. Catherine told her teacher she gave me the note, but I forgot to sign it, then she forgot to bring it. Since she lied, didn’t do her homework, and ditched detention, she has detention for the next two weeks during all recess and she is also grounded.

Halloween is slowly gaining on me. The girls got their costumes. Catherine is going as a vampire. Not one of those trendy Twilight type vampires, but a traditional Dracula type. She is ready. Carolynn is going as Mrs. Lovitt from Sweeney Todd. As far as I know, they both plan on going trick or treating with Allison at Joe and Nicole’s house. We saw Joe and the gang last weekend at Party City while we were shopping for costumes. Allison had not decided what she wanted to be yet. I am sure she will be cute. I probably will not be there, as I am scheduled to work that night. David will have to take them and take a million pictures. And I will make sure we take enough candy this time. Last year we ran out.

Next Friday, David has been invited to a Halloween party at his friend’s house. They are having pumpkin carving. Once again, I am scheduled to work. David and the girls went to a party there for the Fourth of July as well. I am sure they will have a good time. I am making them cupcakes and cocktail weenies to take with them.

I am working a lot. I am working on a project at work that is proving very challenging. I work a lot of hours and I do like my job. Today is a day off though. It is nice to relax.

On Sunday we are planning to go to Oak Glen. We are taking a picnic and going to see some fall colors. Maybe we will pick some apple s and get some pumpkins. It should be a nice day.

Next month I plan to go see my friend Angela sing at a nightclub in Los Angeles. I never went to a nightclub before. It’s not one of those kinds like you see Paris Hilton at. It’s more of an old fashioned night club. It sounds very cool. If I don’t have to work...

I think that is all. Well, it is all I can think of.

The Road To Nowhere

I went over to the Best Buy to see if my camera was ready. They are still waiting on a part. I was looking at some really nice cameras while I was there. I REALLY want one. I mean REALLY REALLY want one. To the point that I am willing do stuff to get one. (No nothing criminal or dirty, people quit thinking that.) I am talking about cleaning, cooking, babysitting, car washing… anything it takes.

David and I took a drive to Barstow today. David is trying to expand his hunt for a better job. I like to get out of the house every now and again. First, we stopped at the outlet mall. Umm… there was nothing there. It was mostly closed up with only a handful of stores. There were plenty of places to eat right there though. We stopped and had some burgers at Bob’s Big Boy. We then drove through Barstow and went to Barstow Station. It used to be a cute little shop along the Route 66 with historic memorabilia and souvenirs. Now it is a dump with some old flea market type junk for sale and a liquor store. I did manage to find some cool post cards to send to Joey and Kayleigh. Barstow sucks. Just so you know.

I have been watching a lot of Gangland today. I am totally obsessed with this show. I am doing some cleaning and laundry. I need to get my uniforms ready for my week. I haven’t decided what is for dinner. I have been such a lazy bum the last few days.

Highly Recommended

They changed my hours last night from midnight to 8 to 10pm to 6am. So I got home two hours early. Now I am off until Tuesday night. Yesterday morning I stopped at Jack In The Box and got breakfast for me and the girls. I had this Chorizo egg burrito and it was so good. Carolynn wanted one, but I had got her the croissant sandwich she likes. So this morning I stopped and got her the burrito. She got up early and ate it and went directly back to bed. It is good, but a little spicy. I highly recommend it.

After I enjoyed my morning sleep, Catherine and I went to the Best Buy to see if I had a warranty on my camera, which had been broken since Catherine’s softball championships. As it turns out, I did still have a warranty, so they are sending it out for repair. If it cannot be repaired, then I get a new one. This is why I love Best Buy and always buy my electronics there and get the warranty. It is so worth it. Just another thing I highly recommend.

Yesterday Catherine signed up for the fall softball season. It is a non-competitive season. She should have fun and get her more improved for the spring season. It was also cheaper. After the softball sign ups, we went for ice cream at McDonald’s and then to PetsMart for the dog food. They were having a pit bull adoption drive there. They had some really pretty dogs there. But Pit Bulls are very difficult. They have a lot of high energy and require a lot of handling. They are not my kind of dogs. I got my Gibby. After the PetsMart, we went to the Winco for the food. I had a craving for old fashioned root beer barrels. I got a big bag of them.

The girls completed their first week of school. They are enjoying it so far. We didn’t end up going to this week’s concert in the park. It was just so windy. Also, I was going to meet some friends there and one of them had a death in the family. I was so sad for her.

Earlier I was doing some laundry and I got new laundry soap. It’s Gain Apple Mango Tango. It smells so good and then it gets the clothes really clean. I highly recommend it too.

For those of you who follow me on Twitter or are my Facebook friends, you already know we have an announcement coming on Tuesday. Come back tomorrow for a little hint.

Friendship

This always makes me think of Trisha.

Last weekend, my friend Tabi and her family were unable to attend my barbecue. They had an emergency come up. So I invited them over for this Sunday. I was very excited. First off, I haven’t seen Tabi since I graduated high school. Second of all, I haven’t got very many friends and certainly none that live nearby, so I was glad to finally have one that lives right here.

This week has been long. David’s truck broke down last weekend. It wasn’t a major issue, but until he could get it fixed, he couldn’t drive it. I got so used to him having his own vehicle. This was also my first full week back to morning watch, also known as the midnight to 8am shift. My sister is visiting from Hawaii and my parents had a little barbecue of their own on Tuesday evening. Then on Thursday my sister and I decided to get some burgers and go to the concert in that park. As I mentioned previously, the concert blew chunks and I got a flat tire. (Pictured- Nathan and Sarah)

Friday and Saturday I called around trying to get a price quote on David’s car repair. It was figuring around $200, if it needed the repair we thought (a new water pump). Plus we would have to have it towed there. Mostly, I hate mechanics. I am afraid that every one of them is trying to rip me off. This was confirmed to me by the large number of mechanics I have met behind bars. I was totally convinced that I would have it towed to a mechanic who would tell me, “Oh no, it’s not the water pump. The whole radiator needs replacing, and while we were in there we found another $500 dollars worth of repairs.” I mentioned this via Twitter which updated my Facebook status. (Yep, you gotta love the technology.) Anyways, my friend Jackie saw my Facebook and left me a message telling me her husband was a mechanic and also worked at an auto part store and perhaps he could help. So I told her the problem and her husband, Alan, agreed to fix it for $120. No tow truck, no rip off mechanics. They said they could come on Sunday. I suggested they come in the late afternoon so it wouldn’t be so hot. And that is when Tabi and her family were coming, so we could all hangout together. (Jackie knew Tabi in school too. As a matter of fact, Jackie and I have known each other since I was in the fifth grade and Jackie was in the fourth grade.)

So Sunday evening, Alan and Jackie came and Alan fixed David’s truck. (It was the water pump and a hose needed replacing.) Not only did he fix it, but David learned a bit about car fixing himself. That wouldn’t have happened from an auto repair shop. Jackie and I hung out while the truck was worked on. Then Tabi and her family came. We had a great time catching up. Tabi has a great family. They have two boys, one is 10 and one is 6. It was so funny… The little one had such a crush on Carolynn. He followed her around. He ate what she ate (even though he would have preferred the hotdog, he took some chicken because Carolynn did.) Later, David ran to the store and Carolynn went with him. The little guys face fell. Tabi said he looked like someone had shot his puppy. When Carolynn was gone, he came and sat by me and I asked him if he liked hanging out with Carolynn. He turned all red and hid behind a napkin. Anyway, we sat around and talked, reminisced and caught up on what has happened since high school. David and Alan fixed the truck and played Wii games. We had a blast. I hadn’t had friends over in years. Not since Trisha came out to visit. And before that, maybe one time Heather came over in Kenosha. We will absolutely have to do that again. I forgot to take any pictures though. Next time.

Yesterday I took Catherine school shopping. Catherine is so much cheaper. For about $170, Carolynn got two pairs of bright pants, three tee shirts, new shoes, a book bag, a necklace, and a bunch of bracelets. For around $150, Catherine got…

This sweats outfit… Including pants, shirt and jacket.

This dress, she calls her cowgirl dress.

This shirt and these jeans. David says she looks like Harry Potter.

She also got two pairs of shoes, a pack of socks, a backpack, and new cables for her computer and a desk chair. Now both girls are all set for school, which starts on Monday. What happened to the summer?

Last night, I went and saw Public Enemies. It was pretty okay. There was a lot of shooting and gun fights. But Johnny Depp was hot, so all is good.