Overtime has been kicking my ass this week, and will continue to do so possibly forever. You see, another department wanted to borrow me for a while, and my boss said, "Oh no- she's much to busy!" Then came to me and said, "We need you to put in some overtime everyday so we can prove you're too busy to help them." Uh, yeah. Granted, I had offered to put in overtime if needed (I need extra $$ for painting, etc.), but I didn't think it would be everyday. Or for reasons like spite.

I've discovered that I have a possibly horrible perception of sugary toppings... several weeks ago I noticed a half-eaten container of Cool Whip was about to go bad. We didn't have anything to put it on, and I didn't want to throw it out, but it seemed wrong to eat it straight out of the tub. My solution? Put rainbow sprinkles on it. Cool Whip, while traditionally considered a "topping," ceases to be a topping by putting another topping on it. Now it is a tasty snack. Later I applied this same rationale to some leftover frosting: eating frosting straight out of the container is wrong, but add some rainbow sprinkles and Voila! Tasty snack. Today I took it one step further. We didn't have any leftover toppings, so I melted down a square of semi-sweet baker's chocolate and put rainbow sprinkles on that. Delicious.

Our elderly Greek neighbors have been yelling at each other all day again. Part of me is annoyed, and part of me really wants to learn Greek so I can figure out what they're saying. It could be really good ("Stop fucking my sister!"), but it could also be not fun at all ("This is the wrong kind of Metamucil!"). It's really a gamble as to whether it's worth learning another language. Maybe I'll just find a book on how to swear in Greek and start from there. After all, if they're not yelling obscenities at each other, how good can it be?

Speaking of obscenities, I've been experimenting with baking:

Yes, my cake says "Eat a dick." I started out slow, with Betty Crocker cake mix and frosting. I did make the light blue frosting by myself though. And I had to pipe it on with a plastic baggie, so give me a break on the lettering. It's a two layer cake, and it came out pretty well. And yes, there are rainbow sprinkles on it. Next time, I will actually make the cake from scratch (but still with pre-made frosting). And perhaps I will invest in one of those, um, frosting-piper thingies. You know, with the different tips?

The weather finally cooled down. I'm actually a little cold today, and last night I had to turn the heat on in the car- now that's exciting. Suddenly I'm very excited about knitting, and Halloween (which I'm taking off this year, just for funsies), and Thanksgiving... I love Thanksgiving more than life itself. Gasp! I just realized that September is nearly over. I have to go knit something.

My Lucky Day?

Yesterday I found this:

Yup. It's a four-leafed clover. My sister found one in her yard a couple of months ago as well, which amuses me to no end because our family is historically rather unlucky. I had hoped today would bring good luck, but alas... it was a day just like any other. Right now my lucky charm is being pressed, after which I will stick it in a little frame. Hopefully the color won't change! And I'll keep my eyes open for any luck coming my way... or leprechauns.

Last Thursday, my stepdaughter Cass came for a visit... her excursions out here are never long enough. I was lucky this time, in that Scott found himself unable to take off work on Friday- so I had her all to myself. We went shopping at Tyson's Corner and the outlet mall in Hagerstown, and had a pretty good time. She got a bunch of new stuff for school, and I got some new jeans.

On Saturday we ate Frederick's Best Cheeseburgers at Wags, and went on a Candlelight Ghost Tour of Frederick. The ghost tour could have used a couple more spooky locations, and bit less chatting. The tour covers 7 places during about a one mile walk, and took over an hour and a half. It was okay, but there was enough standing around while listening to stories to make my back ache towards the end.

On Sunday we drove around, mostly through West Virginia and Virginia. We ate Sonic burgers along the way, and took back roads through the mountains. I suspect scenic drives may be a lot more enjoyable for Scott and I than for Cass. We will make a note of this for her next visit... Sunday night we rented Strange Wilderness, which was very funny.

Monday we had breakfast at the Mountain View Diner- home of the best freaking french toast ever. Then we piled all my gear on Cass, and Scott took her for a ride.
Later that afternoon, Cass and I made friendship bracelets (she made the green and pink one, I made the other).
And now here we are. Cass got on a plane 6 hours ago, and we already miss her. The sting of having to go back to work tomorrow doesn't help either. I predict emotional overeating for at least two days. Maybe three.

As If I Need Another Reason...

It's really hard to understand how people don't seem to notice the direction this country has taken. It's honestly disturbing. While waiting for my smoothie last night at Panera, I caught a glimpse of this headline. I thought, "That can't possibly be right." Later at home, I read the full article, and noticed that Keith Olbermann is pissed too. We all should be.

I don't have any formal education in law or political science, but I seem to remember going over the Constitution a few times in school. And I seem to remember that there is even a specific Amendment in the Bill of Rights that protects us from this sort of thing. A quick Googling tells me that this is, in fact, the case:

Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Hmm. So much for the Constitution. It's not like the Bill of Rights is some sort of list of principles on which this country was founded, right? And we definitely shouldn't send irate emails to Congress.

It's time to renovate the next bedroom! Mostly it will be a place to relax in solitude, away from the TV and each other; but it needs to house a guest or two (on rare occasions). Unfortunately, even a twin bed takes up half the room, so some creative thinking is in order. We were able to find a small futon at our local Sam's Club that should work nicely- it's something like 86" wide, as compared with the standard 93" futons we saw. Getting that sucker in the car was pretty fun... The box dented the roof of my car, so we sat in the parking lot, pulled the sucker out of the box and put the smaller pieces in the backseat, and the mattress on the roof. Right now it's sitting in pieces, waiting to be assembled.


Last weekend we painted the ceiling and trim, and this weekend we're doing the doors and walls. The room will be a dark sage, and I'm really excited to see the color go up tomorrow. So far I think we've spent about $760 on paint, the futon, wooden blinds, hinges and doorknobs. We still need a small end table, bookshelves, lighting, and some decorations. Then of course, the new floor. We plan on putting in bamboo floors ourselves sometime in September. That should run us about $300.

Of course, as we fix one thing, it's inevitable that other things go awry. First the little rack we use for the dog leash came down. We had it screwed into the drywall (nothing fancy- it's only holding a leash) behind a closet door. While two little wood screws may be plenty to hold up a little rack and leash, it's apparently not enough to keep it attached to the wall when the leash loops around the door handle and then someone tries to close said door. Oops.

Next time we'll watch out for that. Then, earlier today, Scott grabbed a hand towel off the rack and the whole thing came with it. One of the set-screws holding it on had come loose, so it's an easy fix, but there is an ugly new mark on the wall. Stupid, cheap towel bar...

We also finally replaced the missing/broken window screens. After learning how easy it was, I wish we had done it earlier. The house looks much less ghetto without ripped and missing screens.

It's actually sort of difficult to remember that all the things we're doing to the house will pay off in the end. We've been in a new apartment almost every year for six years, and it hasn't sunk in yet that this is OUR house. When we paint a room, we're fixing all the little defects that eat into the value of the house, and we don't have to ever worry about painting it white again in a year before we move out or risk losing part of a security deposit. When we finally get around to improving the kitchen and bathrooms, it will add assloads of value to the place! I'm sure it will sink in over time.

Shit! And also, I am a dork.

So there was this thread on a forum... it was basically one woman who said, "Show me your hair, I'm looking for ideas!" And I just had to read it. And I just had to see a woman with super awesomely wicked dreads. Shit. Shit! Now I really want dreadlocks again. I tried once before.

Exhibit A:

Apologies for the crappy webcam photo, we didn't have a digital camera back then. Anyways, they were super cute, but I had them all waxed and rubber-banded and they were so freakin' itchy and I got impatient... and they came out. I had them for about 3-4 weeks total. Poor Scott worked so hard to make them, and I sat for an afternoon with a bottle of conditioner and brushed those suckers out.

Unfortunately, now the longest bits of my hair are approximately three inches long. It looks like I won't be getting those dreads for quite a while. So for the next year or so, I'm going to NEVER get a haircut (not even a trim), and try to stay nice and healthy for maximum hair-growth speed. There's nothing that will make your hair grow faster, but it can sure as hell grow slower if you don't take care of yourself. I've put a piece of paper, a ruler and a pen in my bathroom so I can keep a log of how long my hair is getting. Technically, hair only needs to be about 4 inches in order to dread it, but I'm not really keen on the spiky look it gives you. I'm going to aim for 8-10 inches, or about a year. Also, I'm implementing a ponytail rule: they are to be worn sparingly, and never slept in. I had a TON of breakage from ponytail abuse before I chopped off all my hair, and I don't want that to happen again.

As for what will change when Dread Time comes: I'm going to get them done by a pro. The woman on the forum said it's a good idea, and she's probably right. Also, I will be aware this time of the itchiness and work involved. Plus I've got a couple new tools in my belt: first is a felting needle, and second is a crochet hook. The innerwebs tell me these are pretty effective at maintaining nice, tight, dreadlocks.

My sudden desire to be knotty-headed leads me to my next topic: in which I am a total hippie and a nerd. I don't know what it is lately... It started when I was sick last week, and I made an off-hand remark to Scott about how I was going to look for a cure in one of my witchcraft books. I have several occult books, given to me by my brother back when I was in junior high. I can't let them go. Anyhoo, that led me to go look at them again. I have an almost perverse attraction to all things religious and spiritual. I don't want to practice or follow any of it, I just want to know about it. All of it. So anyways, I'm looking though these books, and reading about crystals, and I'm reminded that my birth month has two birthstones: aquamarine and bloodstone. I've never been fond of aquamarine; it's barely got any color, and it's girly. But bloodstone is something I could get behind! Frederick has a rock shop, Earthly Elements, so I went in a bought a bloodstone. I was even able to find one with a decent splotch of "blood." While I was there, I also got a pendant: it's supposed to help me communicate better. Here they are, my magic hippie crystals:

Ironically, the "communication" crystal is mostly aquamarine. There are two other smaller stones on top of it, but I forgot what they are.

Then, while I was looking at those occult books again, I came across my Tarot instruction book. I dug out my Tarot cards, and looked at the book... I bought them together in 2001 in a crappy little magic shop. Six years later, and I finally crack the book open and learn that it's for a different deck than the one I have (the Rider-Waite deck). Super. So I went to the bookstore and got a new book. So far I've done readings for myself and the dog, using the book the whole time. One day I'll memorize the whole 78 card deck, but it will take a while.

But you see that bag the deck is on? I made that! I decided that my deck needed better clothes than the box they came in, so I went to Joann Fabrics and got a couple fabric remnants (cheap!). I got a red satiny fabric and a black sheer fabric. I also got some cord for a drawstring, and sewed the little sucker up that night!

Not too shabby! Now I just have to learn to cope with being a fortune-telling-hippie-nerd for the rest of my life.

Das FURminator ist gut!

If you've never heard of it, the FURminator is a deshedding tool, which claims to reduce shedding up to 90%. I picked one up at Petsmart a couple months ago, after hearing a lot of praise on the innerwebs. Little Spencer has a fondness for napping on the couch, which leaves a nice sprinkling of black fur all over it, and they say it will totally reduce the amount of fur on the couch (or carpet, tile, whatever). I nearly choked when I saw the price ($30!), but it comes with a guarantee, so what the hell, right?

Spencer was a little confused at first, because his last brush was this one, which didn't really require, um, delicacy. But the FURminator is sort of sharp and pointy... I didn't want to injure my little man, so it became imperitive that he sat still. I can't imagine raking through his fur as roughly as the video on the FURminator website- I tend to be really ginger as to not mess up his skin. But holy crap does that little brush do a great job! Look at what I pulled out of my little piglet:

For reference, the brush is 6 inches long. I should have taken a shot from the side too, because the pile is probably two inches high. And Spencer is a twenty pound pug. That's a lot of fur. The little sucker works pretty well! I really notice a difference in the week following a brushing. There's definately less fur scattered around the kitchen (where it shows the most), and less on the couch too. Best $30 I ever spent! So if you own something that sheds, don't hesitate to get one.