Mostly Ghostly

I love my new neighborhood (how long am I allowed to call it "new"? I've been here a little over a year...is it like the how newlyweds are considered such until their 1st anniversary?").

This time of year is THE BEST in my neighborhood.  There has been a Halloween festival for the last 67 or so years.  It is a week long celebration that ends with a street fest the weekend closest to Halloween.

I already decorated my house (inside) with my Halloween stuff.  I have to be careful to not get candy too far in advance...there's too much risk!

This year, I am excited because I get to share the festival with my dear friend and her little girl.  it will be the 1st time they have been able to come and visit.

I know springtime is supposed to be the season for rebirth and such, but I dont know... Autumn seems to feel that way for me...

Bleeeh!

Ugh. When I bought my house a year ago, I had a few mice that were unaware of their eviction notice.  I hired Terminex.  Solved the problem, but their customer service was awful.  And by awful, I mean horrendous.  So, when it came time for renewal, I said “no thank you.”  I received a few pleading calls, but when your organization loses a client’s check and then decides to call the customer a liar only to find the check in the employee that you laid off’s car and all the customer gets is an “oops, my bad,” you are not the company for me. (Wow, that was a long sentence…)

Not even 2 days after the last call from the 2nd new District Manager, a mouse appeared in my house.  Now, I KNOW they didn’t plant the thing there, but timing was SO weird.

Two weeks later, nothing was happening…humane traps were still empty.  Then I saw the lil bastard again.  The next morning, I decided I had to get glue traps.  LESS THAN 10 MINUTES and wouldn’t you know it…

I was traumatized.  Dry heaving. Crying.  I WILLINGLY caught this creature and then had to dispose of it… 

I picked up the glue trap and… IT LOOKED AT ME.  The poor little thing looked at me with its beady little black eyes.  And squeaked.  By God, it SQUEAKED.  I threw the glue trap out into the yard and it landed face down. “Good,” I think to myself.  Yeah, but I didn’t  think about the fact that the thing was still shuffling.  So, I had to square up the shovel so that I couldn’t see the thing and through the tears and dry heaves, I dropped the shovel.

My Mom was visiting and I was pissed off at her, so I made her pick up and dispose of the body.

It both ruined my day & made me feel a little better knowing the thing was gone.  Dad’s support?  Yeah, jerk said “you know, if there’s one, there’s more…”

The 2nd one wasn’t as traumatic, but the dry heaves and gagging were still very much alive.

And this has to be THE creepiest thing of Mickey Mouse I have seen.

I’ve Missed You, Dear Blog

It’s been awhile…and I have actually missed writing down my random thoughts. There was a lot going on over the last year and I was exhausted ~ more mentally than physically ~ and wasn’t feeling very creative.

Lately, I have found myself thinking “oh, I should do a post about that” So, I may be back…we shall see!

(Almost) Right Back Were I Started From

I have that crappy Marylyn MaCoo from the 70's going through my head.  Except, that song was fun "Love is good, love can be strong..."  Yeah...fun isn't where I am at... I gained almost half of what I lost.  It is completely my fault.  I neglected the plan.  Don't get me wrong, there were definitely some circumstances (losing a job, finding a job, selling a house, buying a house, moving from the sold house to the bought house, getting acclimated in the new job, driving to & from new city to & from the new city...you get the picture...) that created challenges.  However, there were plenty of times - PLENTY - OF - TIMES where I conveniently forgot to care about myself in the right way.  My reasons soon became excuses and well, now I am paying.

I haven't decided if I like the Leader at the meetings I attend.  There are a couple of people there that I do really like.  I will give it a little time, but I may try the others. I know that Weight Watchers works, and not because their slogan says so, or because of Jennifer Hudson (anyone else hate that song she sings in the commercial... pick one - i think there are 2- both are annoying!). My 1st week back, I lost 1.6, but after a wonderful Trivia Night (full of snacks!) and a 6 hour roundtrip car ride, I ended up gaining a little bit this week. And, that's OK.  My weekend was fun and I was fully aware of my over eating.

Delightful

My birthday was at the end of February. I have to admit, I was delighted when I I received a handful of cards in the mail. We have made it so easy on ourselves to send wishes last minute via email or the various forms of media.  It made me feel special to have so many of my friends take the time to send them to me in time for my birthday.

Sad Little Bear!

I want to rescue the sad looking little bear every time I go into The Container Store.  I love you, Bear!!

My Friends Keep Multiplying!

They haven't had the child yet, but my dear friends are expecting soon!  The funny thing about this one is that I bought the pattern "on a whim" because I figured one of my friends would be pregnant sometime soon.  A month later, I was able to start on this :)

Now, my sister is pregnant and I get to do another one.  She has also asked for 2 other items too.  I, of course, will try to oblige.

What I have come to realize is... I will never get to finish the non-gift items that I am working on.  But, that's OK, as long as I get to hug on the babies **swoon**

Grandpa's Christmas Cactus

I was pleasantly surprised when I looked out in my 3 Seasons room and saw the beautiful Christmas Cactus in full bloom.  YAY!!!  I was even more surprised when the smaller one next to it was in bloom too...that one hadn't bloomed since it had broke away from the momma plant a few years ago when I transplanted it after transferring it from my Grandpa's house.

The cactus was my Grandpa's and use to sit outside in the summer and then in his basement in the winter.  It always made me a little sad that it was hidden away when it was at it's most beautiful.  This was one of the 2 things of my Grandpa's that I have.  The other is a Chapstick.  The original "flavor."  Both things always remind me of him.

It generally blooms for me in April and then october, which was another reason I was so excited to see it in bloom now.  Lots of fun.

I'd like to think it's Grandpa's way of saying "Welcome to your new home."

Man, Sears has EVERYTHING!

I'll take one that's potty trained, please.

PANAMA. PANAmuhUHuh

I WON! I WON! I WON!

On a whim, I dialed into a radio station to try & win tickets to see Van Halen.  "It's 5:00 on a Friday...people will be on their way to their cars and fewer people will be calling in...right?"  RIGHT!  I won.  So exciting.

I was never a "fan" of Van Halen per se. I liked the songs that they played on MTV and I ooh'd and ahh'd when David did the back flip and then a front flip.  I was shocked along side my mom when she realized that he didn't really do a front flip. "They just played the backflip in reverse!"  We were devastated.

Anyway, here I am with 2 tickets.  The obvious choice is my dear friend, but she couldn't make it down to Indy on a Wednesday evening.  BUMMER!  There was only one other friend that I knew that liked them.  Thankfully, he was able to make it.  It was also nice since he works close to the radio station & was able to pick up the tix too :)

It was hard to come to terms with the opening act.  It was an odd juxtaposition from one genre to another, unless that genre was simply "the 80's."

Kool and the Gang.

I know, right?!  It was just hard to fathom, but then I read that this was at the personal invitation/request of Diamond Dave himself.  He had seen KatG in London last year and liked what he heard.

We weren't too hurried to make it there for Kool and his merry Gang, but we did hear a few of their songs.  Quite frankly, I was expecting James "JT" Taylor crooning "Cherish" and "Joanna" - We were dreading the finale which was unarguably going to be the dreaded "Celebrate."  I was pleasantly surprised - they avoided the ballads. "JT" - the dreamy lead in the 80's - isn't with them any longer.  But, with the their playlist, it didn't really matter.  I had completely forgotten that they did "Jungle Boogie" and "Get Down On It."   I think we heard 4 songs in total.  ("Too Hot" was also played).  Sadly, I knew all the words to their songs.

Then...the boys took the stage!  I had to laugh...Wolfgang and Eddie Van Halen walked on stage together...I thought to myself "wow, Eddie's beefed up...and Wolfgang is a bit scrawny..."  It was about 5 songs in when I realized I had them switched...

Alex still looks like he's 80 (sadly, such an unattractive man...).

David was a great showman.  We had to laugh at the fact that he forgot a couple of lyrics to some of their more famous songs...like "Jump" (yes, there are only like 5 words to the song...).  What I realized is that David is proof that an unattractive man can still be sexy.  I have no idea how or why. He's effeminate, does quasi yoga moves,  and is weird, but it somehow works.  Now, would I go off someplace with him?  Not for all the brown M&Ms in the world, but he just has appeal.

His voice was strong ~ even when he lost the lyric ~ and he interacted just enough.  He appealed to the crowd by referencing his being a Hoosier.

There are few times as of late where I truly feel like a prude.  The fellow attendees were definitely mixed.  There was a woman getting so into the music that she was convulsing out of time.  She almost looked like she was having a seizure.  At one point, the seizure caused her to straddle the man she was with...

At one point, I leaned over and said to my friend, "I think someone is smoking POT?!"  His response, "Duh."  He then proceeded to point out about 4 people.  One had just exhaled.  There was a cloud of smoke hanging above us.  Ugh.  I thought that pot was suppose to mellow people out? "depends on what is mixed in with it."  Ick.

The sound system was tough.  There was a lot of distortion, but it was a rock concert, so I dealt.  All-in-all it was a really fun night!

Plus, it was free...all on a whim!

Mellow Yellow

Quite Nice!

My sister came to town for my birthday and we ate our way through the weekend.  We wasted no time.  She got to town and we scarfed down delicious Indian food at India Garden in Broadripple.  YUM, followed by "oh dear God, dear GOD, I can't move!"  Gluttonous.  I wasn't hungry for a full day.  That didn't however, stop me from snacking later.  By the time I went to bed, I had such a horribly distended belly that I couldn't get comfortable.  I had to call on my ol' friend Pepto Bismol to try and alleviate some of my discomfort.

We had a delicious breakfast at a local place, DuFours.  I don't care for the place at lunch (I am far too picky and they have a lot of fancy thing that have spinach and mushrooms).  BUT, their breakfasts are de-lish! Perfect portions and, most importantly, they know how to cook bacon!  It was crispy, but not burned.  Greasy perfection!

We spent the day at a spa in Carmel. It was nice, but probably wont go back.  We will go back to the restaurant we found for dinner though.

Both my sister and I both like to go to non-chain places and we love international cuisine. We found a Moroccan place that looked promising.  It is located where a cafe had been for many years.  I knew this because it is right across from where a former roommate had lived right before we rented a place together.  It was a bit weird being right there...the roommate ended up being a violent ass.  I didn't let the proximity to the past ruin my evening though.

Other than it being a little breezy/chilly where we were, the place was cute and friendly. Mint tea YUM; hummus, YUM (but it seemed less flavorful the more I ate it?); and then, the main dishes.  I had a "tajini" (stew made in a steam pot).  I chose the chicken with carrots, peas, and pickled lemon.  I could have had a little more lemon, but it was otherwise divine.  The chicken melted off the bone.  YUM!  My sister went with a couscous, chickpea, and raisin dish.  It was sweet and I am not one for vegetarian dishes usually, but when they taste like that... YUM!

While the desserts were tempting...we were ready to explode, so opted to not have a "Meaning of Life" moment.  By the time we got home, we were ready to split the rest of the homemade chocolate cheesecake.  I guess we could eat another bite...no bucket needed.

Practicing What You Preach

Recently, I have been struggling with a situation where a friend that always seemed to pride their self on how good of a friend they are has decided to write me off.  It has bothers me, but it's not up to me at this point.  I have heard that she has tried to share things that I shared with her in confidence.  This bothers me a great deal.  A great deal.  I have not give up hope though.  I believe that the friendship is worth the fight.  Time will tell.

Instant Gratification

"I want it now. I want it now. And I want it all." Freddy said it all. He summarized our culture very succinctly. 

A few months ago, I decided I needed to try & curb my habit of instant gratification.  If I wanted something, I went & got it.  I justified it to myself by saying "well, I know I am going to end up with it, so what does it matter if I wait until I have the cash on hand or just put it on credit?"  I know I am not the only one that has that, or at least a similar, perception.  There wouldn't be the credit card consolidation "support" organizations out there otherwise. "They wouldn't give me credit if I wasn't supposed to use it" was my mentality.

So, I am trying to hold myself to avoiding this.  I really want a new television.  Really. And, I know that "prime" television buying season is just about over (Black Friday through Superbowl).  BUT, I have told myself that I can't buy one until I have the (nominal) credit card balance paid off.  I say "nominal" because as an adult, I have always had credit card debt.  I got caught in that trap at an early age and couldn't recover.  I am now at a point where I believe I can get out of it.  To work, I am going to have to get out of the "I want it, so I buy it NOW" mentality.  It's kind of funny when I reflect back on the conversation I have in my head; it sort of sounds like a parent speaking to a child. "But I want it!" "I told you not now." "But I WANT it!"  "I said NOT NOW." *inner child stomps off pouting* **inner adult straightens self, stands tall, but secretly feels a twinge of "should I get it for them and be the cool parent?"**

ugh...my inner adult has got some work to do...