Fishing!

Busy sewing lately...

Caught my first fish last Sunday when I went out to Skronky's Uncle's farm pond to see some of his family (and there were donkeys!!). He and his cousins were fishing so, of course, I got brought into the fun. The first one I reeled in we had to keep because he swallowed the hook (we let the rest go)! Skronky cleaned him up and ate him later in the week!

Enjoyed playing with Marie all day Tuesday - She's getting so big, so fast!
Otherwise, just been sewing, reading, watching Dad & Dork play Bad Company on Xbox. 'Tis a charmed life.
Hope everyone is well and having a lovely weekend!

Manic Monday

Called about my pictures today... He "thought he had called me already" so was surprised that I hadn't picked them up yet... So I'll be picking them up tomorrow after work since apparently they're not open today? I'll keep you posted. Since that was roughly a month ago I'm not sure I even remeber what they're supposed to look like (other than being of me, I assume)?
The fish are doing well. Just hanging out. I need to get them a couple more shrimps to keep them company (since the old ones died, remember?) but keep forgetting to pick them up. The cat has showed renewed interest in them...
No really interesting calls today. I have learned that silica gel packets are not toxic (they only say "do not eat" because they could be a choking hazard), if you take your spiriva capsule by mouth instead of with the inhaler you shouldn't have any problems, and that kids eat the weirdest stuff. This includes but is not limited to: paint balls, a whole tube of tooth paste, pesticides of many forms, household cleaners (esp sprays), plants of all sorts, vaseline, spackling paste, and dry erase markers.
No sewing accomplished this weekend. Made up some soaps that smell like my perfume and my brother's body spray (seperately, of course). Dork and I cooked dinner for Dad on Father's Day: cajun fried rice with homemade apple crisp and vanilla ice cream for dessert. I also tried out a granola bar recipe that I found on the Food Network website; turned out alright even thought I had to substitute a few things. (Had one on the way to work this morning, as a matter of fact.) Very sweet and sticky.
Apparently we're going to have a "bake-off" or two at work... sounds like fun... Yay! Now I'm off for lunch! Much love and happy thoughts for Monday!

Fish attempts are real!

Quick note before bed: I cleaned the fishes' tank Tuesday evening like a good pet owner. It took roughly fifteen minutes to get them to go from the tank to the huge cup of water so I could clean their tank without worrying about hurting them. THEN. OH THEN. This morning when I went to feed them in their nice clean tank one of them tried to commit suicide by jumping out! I barely opened the lid and it jumped! WHY?? I yelled a loud yell-type of word and scooped the fish up in the lid of the fish food (it was in my hand since I was feeding them, remember?), returning it to the water within seconds. But still. I though I was going to have a heart attack! Crazy fish! They both seem to be doing okay right now but we'll see when I try to feed them tomorrow if suicide is still on their minds. (Is it bad that since I can't tell them apart I have no idea which one to monitor more closely? Or have I just worked with that sort of person too much that I'm transferring associated behaviors to my fish now??? He was probably just very ambitious about eating right?? Right?? I'm a good fish owner, I really am!!!)

Thai food, Friends, movies, Engaged minors

Oh, too much human interest hoopla... Gracious! When will it end???
Fish update: Heifer and Sundance are still swimming and enjoying life as much as anyone can with a memory that lasts less than a whole minute... Random neurotic chasing of each other aside, they're pretty darn cool.
Had some really awesome thai food today. I ordered what I always do from this particular establishment (Padthai Glass Noodle Style - Glass noodles stirfried with chicken, bean sprouts, ground peanuts, and homemade sweet and sour sauce served with shredded carrot and cabbage), which I would link if they had a webpage. So yummy...
This week included a large dose of being found by/running into old friends. A couple of friends from HS popped up again out of the abyss of "where are they now?" to say hello. Hope they stick around to entertain me...
Happy birthday to my oldest male cousin! Pretty soon we'll have another teenager in the clan, woohoo!
Saw both "Employee of the Month" and "Little Miss Sunshine" within the last twentyfour hours. EotM was like every other boy meets girl, loses girl, wins back girl movie ever made but still worth seeing. Humorous anyway. LMS was funny while at the same time often disturbing. I was happy with the way they ended the film though so it gets a great recommendation from me!
I foolishly attempted to recreate the results from a recipe for lipgloss that I found online. Silly, silly me. It didn't turn out well (ask Mum, she'll agree) as it was gritty, something that lipgloss should never be. But it did crack me up so all was not lost...
This morning I watched an episode of MTV's "Engaged and Underage" with Skronky. If you like reality shows, you'll love this one. You get feuding families, spoiled brats, bridezillas, fights, cake, religion, ethnicity, delusions, and naivety all rolled into one show. I can't say I like it but it was... interesting to see, I suppose. I cannot imagine being married right now, much less when I was seventeen as the couple on the episode today was. Seventeen! I was worried about graduating high school, getting into college, and living in the dorms, not dealing with married life and all the responsibilites that go with it! Goodness! Kudos to those who try it; blessings toward a happy life.
Happy weekend to all!

PreSemester Jitterbug

I can't believe break is almost over! Tomorrow I go back to days of classes and site visits, exams and assignments. Where did that full month of break go?
Right now I'm working on laundry and getting reorganized for school. I always underestimate how much work I put into getting organized each semester; You'd think I would get it set and leave it all neat but somehow I have a way of undoing my own organization quicker than a cyclone...
I finally settled on names for my fishy friends: Heifer and Sundance! Thank you to those who endured my machinations about such a minute detail and for the lovely suggestions. The swimmers are right now enjoying their hourly pacing up and down the side of the tank, neurotic little fishes that they are. The cat took about 10 hours to discover them that first day and the minute she did, she really did! She wanted to sit next to them (I'm sure that's all she wanted to do, right?) and got very perturbed at me for not letting her play with the pretty swimmy things. I put masking tape rolled on the surface of the table next to the tank so the next time she got up there she was very confused and not a little miffed. I don't think she's figured out anywhere else to sit to terrorize them so she just lurks on the floor, shooting me mean looks now and then.
Speaking of which, last night I was sitting on the couch talking to Skronky on the phone when all of the sudden, out of the blue and without any warning, the cat jumped up on the back of the couch and bit me on the back of my head right next to my ponytail! Then she perched at the far edge of the back of the couch looking at me like, "What? You got a problem with me? What then??" So I pushed her off (it's only about two foot to the ground) only for her to rebound two minutes later to the same place, this time purring like she just got the best meal of her life. I swear she must be psycho or something. Or maybe she's just gettting old and nuts? Whichever, blessings on all those who live with a crazy attack cat!
It's still very, very cold outside and there's ice everywhere. I think it sleeted here all day Friday, most of Saturday, and part of Sunday. I'm so glad we haven't lost power! With all this ice that's a definite possibility; It's happened before and I'm sure it will again. The dogs are enjoying this weather, silly things, since they like eating the ice! Due to the icky weather making the roads slick I haven't left the house since Friday when I went with Dad to pick Dork up at school (they got to leave early since the weather was looking bad even before noon). I can hardly wait to test the roads tomorrow for school...
Before this weather front started I got to hang out with some friends from undergrad on Tuesday. Had a good time; I'd missed getting to laugh at stupid stuff with Julia. Too bad there wasn't a Food Challenge on the telly!
I did some baking yesterday while Mum made a chicken pot pie; peanut butter cookies, cherry turnovers, and (not baked) toffee fudge. (By the end of those I was pretty much all out of creative power.) The things I call turnovers I guess are really just fruit filled pie crust pockets but isn't turnover a much shorter name? And they *could* be turned over...
Well, I suppose it's time to get back to organizing. Hope you all have a lovely week and enjoy your MLK Jr. Day off of work (if you are so lucky)!

A Cold + Some Fish

I am still alive! I survived my first cold attack of 2007. [We're assuming it was a cold since it's not allergy weather and I didn't really have any symptoms that pointed to, oh say, the plague. (Or plaque!)]
So I spent most of this last week (from Saturday to Friday, literally) puttering around the house, taking meds according to a schedule, sleeping very often, occasionally helping with home improvement projects about as much as a zombie can, and not wearing any makeup, contacts, or matching clothing. Grandmum came by sometime mid-week and declared that I looked very pale. To which I had to chuckle to myself since, duh, I am very pale. I suppose she just hasn't seen me without makeup in years, plus the glasses I hardly ever wear in public, compounded by the fact that I had *just* woken up when she arrived (ie the doorbell woke me up!). Yay for such complimentary observations!
Skronky and I went to get my Christmas fish today! They're two very cute Harlequin Rasboras! He had gotten me a little aquarium for Christmas with a certificate to the aquarium/fish place to get some swimmers after the "bowl" was ready for them (it's not really a bowl, rather more squarish? Not sure how to describe but bowl is much quicker to type) so we finally picked them out today. They're currently in my room enjoying their new home (I assume since they've not been very vocal about it), swimming around very prettily. Skronky, having been given the authority to name one of them, chose "Heifer" so I now have the task of choosing a name for the other one. Mum suggested "Helga" but I think they might both be boys so that might not be quite fitting... Any suggestions? (Others that I've thought of include: Cowboy, Boomer, Hoss, Sundance... Please help?)
Well, hope ya'll are enjoying life and living it to the fullest! Shoot me a comment with your fish name suggestion, please, and I'll let ya know what I picked later this week!