Ewww--Monday

OK, so the weekend was pretty good, barring certain occurrences.  We hung out, stayed warm, watched movies, and generally relaxed.  It was good.  Excemtp for the part where...Wait, let me get it all in order.
Friday night the boys had a sleep over at the grandparents house.  Nick and I cruised over to Cheyenne and ended up buying a new faucet for the kitchen.  It's awesome and so much better than the old one. We came home (fastest trip to Cheyenne ever) and stopped and got steaks at the store and some salad stuff and went home and grilled.  I didn't do dishes til the next morning, so it counts--someone else cooked and I didn't have to do dishes Friday night.
Saturday morning, I sorted and started laundry and then grocery shopped. The boys came home and in the afternoon we went and rented movies: The Hobbit, the Desolation of Smaug, Thor: The Dark World, Frozen, and for Nick, The Hunger Games. Movie fest was on.
We watched movies for the rest of the weekend, Nick put my new faucet in, he helped bunches with the laundry. Sunday afternoon, we were watching the first Hobbit movie in preparation for the second one and I was getting lunch fo the kids and us.  Bruiser wanted a sandwich instead of pizza and when I went to get the lunch meat out a full bottle--large bottle--of beer fell out of the fridge and landed on my middle toe. I think I might have broken that toe.  It's all sorts of lovely colors right now. I saw stars and may have said some unfortunate words. Way to end a weekend.
On the bright side the movies were good.  I really think the Hobbit was kind of miss named--the dragon should have died for it to be the desolation.  What we saw was good, but they really just pissed the dragon off, they didn't desolate him.

And now we will wait a year for the third part as we probably won't get to the theater to see it at Christmas.
I really liked that Frozen acknowledged that love comes in all sorts--true love can be romantic love or family love.  That was pretty cool.
So have you seen anything good recently?

Now for MMMM.  It's a freebie week so let's see, what shall we listen to today?
Let's have some fun: 

Smash Mouth: All Star

Barenaked Ladies: One Week

Lou Bega: Mambo No. 5

Just a bit of fun to start the week with a smile.

Friday Follies

Or confessions, whichever.
Made it through another week.  Friday is here.  Now to make it to going home time and all will be well with the universe. Or our little corner of it.
Confession time:

• We get a night out tonight!
• Boys are going to the grandparents.
• For an over night.
• We are going to run away.
• Sort of.
• We are heading to the bigger town 45 minutes away form our town.
• We are going to hit Home Depot to look at kitchen faucets and possibly gas stoves.
• The gas stove is a window shop sort of thing.
• We really want one, but it's not yet in the budget.
• We are getting a snow storm this weekend.
• Yep, more snow for us.
• I sort of swam this week for exercise.
• I don't have a cap or goggles, so I was limited to kicking, breast stroke and side stroke. 
• Got a decent work out though, about 700 yards.
• Turbo moved up to level 8 and Bruiser will test to move up to level 3 next week. 
• They're fish, slippery, fast learning fish.
• Easter is creeping up very quickly.
• We are not too sure what we are doing for the boys for Easter.
• Oh, the bunny will come, but what he brings is still up in the air.
• I started reading Dan Brown's Inferno.
• It's holding my interest, but he goes off on exploratory tangents that really interrupt the story.
• I find myself skimming the back story.  
• I'll pay more attention on the re-read.

So what's up with you? Got anything to confess?

Spin Cycle: Cats and Dogs

I have always had a pet--cat or dog.  I prefer cats, but enjoy dogs too.  Since I moved in with Nick we have had a succession of pets.  It started with smuggling a cat into our first apartment.  We weren't able to keep Chuckie--yes Chuckie, after the possessed doll--because he howled when we weren't home and we got "busted" for having him.  I took him home to stay with my mom.  We called him Chuckie because we would roll over in the middle of the night and find him staring at our heads as if he was preparing to attack. It was slightly unnerving.
Our next cat came a few months later, in the same apartment building, but she was quiet and the landlords let us get away with having her.

Tinkerbell as a kitten

She was fascinated by the fish.

Never much of an outdoor cat, she liked the idea, but not the actual outsideness of it all.

Tinkerbell was a rescue cat and she lived with us for 16 years.  She played a mean game of fetch, could freeze the biggest guy in place by sitting on his knee and was dubbed Mean Kitty by most of our friends.  She had a habit of sitting on a knee and being fine until one tried to pet her. She also hated when we moved.  She would have been happy to stay in that first tiny one bedroom apartment Nick and I had when we got her.  After that when ever boxes came out she freaked.
Our next pet was a dog.  Nick had a friend who had puppies and Nick got to pick his puppy.  Tascha joined our family in November of 1996.

She had kidney troubles and left us in 2005. Nick loved her.  Her quirks were hating loud bangs, such as gun shots and fireworks.  She also hated cattle guards and would bark furiously when we passed over one. We still remember her when ever we pass over a cattle guard going done a dirt road.
Next to join the Jones family was Piper.  We got her the spring before we got married in 1998. She is still with us and very much a cat.

She must have fresh water in her bowl so she doesn't have to share with the dogs. I am also magic and can make water appear in an "empty" bowl by nudging the bowl to make the water move.  She likes to drink by dipping a paw in and daintily licking it dry--this is effectively used when drinking out of the toilet too.
Next to join the menagerie was Guinness in 2001.  A collie lab mix dog.  A little dumb, a lot neurotic about keeping us together, he fit right into the household.

He's getting old now at 13, he's slow to move, but still quite the herder.  He hates when we are not all together, but now will begrudgingly play with the newest pet, Thullee.

Yeah, we are pet people, not necessarily only dog or cat people.  They both have their perks and down sides. Dogs are under foot, slobbery and hairy.  Cats can puke right where you will step, only want attention at the worst possible moment, and they shed too. Wouldn't be without either.

Are you a cat person or dog person or both?  Spin it up and go see Gretchen and Ginny Marie, they would love to have you!

33 Things That Make Me Happy

Some times I have a hard time remembering the things that I have to be happy about.  This is a list that I need to keep in mind.  Things that make me happy.

1. Impulsive boy hugs.
2. Little boy snuggles.
3. Hearing "I Pooped!" from Bruiser (Like you have no idea).
4. Road trips.
5. Swim Lessons.
6. Routines.
7. Warm Sunshine.
8. Girl's Nights
9. A new book from a favorite author.
10. Time to read a book.
11. A warm bed.
12. New pajamas
13. A dinner 100% of the family likes.
14. New Big Bang Theory Episodes.
15. LOL Cats.
16. Camping trips.
17. The first shower after a camping trip.
18. The greeting Thullee give us when we come home, get up in the morning, sometimes leave the room and come back. Full body wiggles and a toy in the mouth so he can sing us his song of loneliness.
19. Seeing the fun the boys have creating forts.
20. Friday at going home time.
21. A clean kitchen.
22. Baked goods.
23. Nap time, for me.
24. A good night's sleep.
25. Good music.
26. Time hanging out with friends.
27. A comfy chair to read in.
28. A snuggly blanket--I get cold all the time, even in summer.
29. Shopping, any kind--thrift store, clearance, sales, house stuff, kid stuff, Christmas-really any shopping, even window shopping.
30. Movie Nights, themed or not.
31. A good beer or glass of wine after a long day.
32. Knowing that phone upgrade time is the end of the month. We both really need an upgrade from the phones we have right now.  So knowing upgrade time is coming is nice.
33. These guys make me very happy:

Yeah, that's a good list to keep in mind.  What makes you happy?

Ra-Ra-Ra-Random

So, we survived an overly interesting Monday. And now it's Tuesday, so let's random up the place:

• Nick got his first aura associated with a migraine yesterday. At least we hope that's what he got. He started seeing a streak of multicolored lightening in his right eye.  We went to the eye doctor so they could make sure it wasn't a detached retina.  No sign of that, but he will go back in a month for another check.
• The friend I watch country music award shows is back in town.  Tonight we will watch the ACMs and enjoy a glass or two of wine. I record it so we can skip commercials, acceptance speeches and such. We have fun critiquing the dresses worn and the performers.  Looking forward to it.
• This:

 

• We have some movies to catch up on--the Hobbit comes out today.  Weather pending and if it's available, we will rent it this weekend.  If the weather is fantastic, we will be out enjoying it, but chances and the weatherman say it's going to get crappy by Saturday. Whee, spring in Wyoming.
• Turbo leaves for his trip to the Teton Science School in two weeks.  He will be gone for four days. He's pretty excited about this trip.  It's his first trip away for multiple nights without a family member. I'm going to miss him, but he will have a blast.
• Turbo's birthday is creeping up quickly.  It will be over Memorial weekend and he's not sure what he want to do.  He'd like to have a swim party and sleepover, but we have told him he only gets to choose one of those options. Decisions, decisions.
• Nick has also challenged Turbo to a video game free 30 days.  Turbo has decided that he will try it in May, with an exception made for his birthday.  If he succeeds, he wins money to spend as he wishes. May just might be an interesting month--or he will drive me to distraction.

So what random do you have today?  Link it up with Stacy--she who is now Random Queen, or our fearless leader of the random!

Not Ready For Monday and MMMM

I'm really not ready for Monday.  We had a busy weekend adn lots of fun, but I could use a day to sleep. All right, I would really sleep the whole thing away, but it sounds nice.
Friday night we hung out with the kiddos and made them watch Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III.  Nick and I have issues with Jurassic Park Two. It was just too awful to even own. We made home made calzones and had a pretty nice evening.
Saturday dawned early--the dog thought that getting up at 6 was a fabulous idea.  I was less impressed with the idea. We got the normal chores out of the way and then cleaned house.  We were having company over and it was time to shake the winter dust off everything.  Our house looked great when we were done.
We took the kids and dogs to the park, even though it kept trying to snow on us.

We had a cousin over for a sleep over and our friends came over for dinner.  Grilled BBQ Chicken legs and thighs.  Dinner was oh, so good.
We vegged out on Sunday.  Papa had a birthday lunch we all went to and then I took a nap while Nick brewed beer. The boys played video games and we didn't do a whole lot else. It was a really good weekend.

Now for MMMM:  This week the theme is Songs about weather or with weather in the titles.
The Eurythmics: Here Comes the Rain Again

Joe Nichols: Sunny and 75

Scorpions: Winds of Change

So there is a rather eclectic selection of weather songs for this chilly Monday. We woke up to snow on the ground.  Not lots but enought o make every thing slick.  Fun, no?

Woot! Woot! Friday!

Yes, it's Friday and the countdown is on for going home time! Let's get to confessing and then feeling good for the weekend:

• I had a fantastic time at girls night out.
• My friend, who moved away in November is back and job hunting.
• I really, really hope she finds a job here and not far away again.
• Turbo caught a 24 hour bug Wednesday night.
• He was a lump on the couch until yesterday evening.
• And back at school today.
• Week two of regular exercise--if going twice a week to the rec center counts.
• I'm counting it.
• I put in two miles in 25 minutes on the elliptical machine I like using.
• It's slightly easier than the first time I got on it.
• I'm hoping that by the end of the month I start seeing some results.
• Nick has been swimming.
• The boys' swimming lessons are doing us all some good.
• We definitely need to get out of town--head for the hills.
• There's still lots of snow up there, but a drive would be good for us.
• We might have an interesting weekend.
• We will have a sleepover for boys.
• That should be fun.

So what do you have on for the weekend?  Big plans or just vegging?

Spin Cycle--Staycation

The concept of staying home and "vacationing" in your home town has been floating around for a while now.  This is a fine concept when you live in a big city.  Or close to a big city.  We, however do not.  Our town is about 30,000 people on a good day.  It is also a college town.  We don't have a mall.  We have a few museums associated with the university, but they are small. There's just not that much going on here to provide staycation activities. 
Oh, we have summer activities, and lots of outdoor opportunities, but one must be able to go outside to engage in said activities. Winter, the indoor options are rather more limited.
Nick and I have had sort of staycations.  Last Thanksgiving we stayed home and enjoyed the start of the holidays and over Christmas break we staycationed at home as well. But that was more just staying home with the occasional jaunt to the hills to cross counrty ski.  Not really what most think when you say staycation.
I will say Denver Colorado is about a three hour drive away and we have had mini vacations down there.  We keep meaning to plan more as there is a lot that Denver has to offer: Zoo (Bruiser has yet to visit the Zoo), Natural History and Science Museum and Imax, WaterWorld, Denver Aquarium, Elitches (a Six Flags Amusement park), Children's Museum, Butterfly Pavilion, the list goes on.  Granted, some of these are better visited in the summer, but we do need to plan a long weekend so we can go visit them.
It's times when the cabin fever hits that I wish our fair town had more indoor activities for kids, but the rest of the year our area is perfect--the outdoors call to us and we are easily seduced:

Yeah, for us the staycations are more camping holidays than staycations.  I'm not complaining.

For more on Staycations,  go see Gretchen and Ginny Marie, they would love to have you!

Anti Bucket List

Everyone has a bucket list, I've talked about mine a few times. But what about the anti bucket list?  You knw, those things you never ever ever want to do.  Or maybe do again? I can come up with some of those.

1. Sky diving.  Looks exciting, but I feel the plane is perfectly good, why jump out?
2. Eat liver.  Gross when I was growing up, and I know my palate hasn't changed enought o ever ever like liver.
3. Bungy jumping.  OK, so this isn't as popular as it once was, but it's still not for me.
4. Travel with extended family.  I love Nick's parents dearly, but I will not travel long distances with them again. Met them there? Sure, but not get there with them.
5. Polar bear plunge, ice swimming, or anything which requires me to get into freezing cold water.  I have a hard time staying warm and purposefully getting into cold water sounds stupid.
6. Dive with great white sharks.  I do want to go scuba diving at least once, but not so much with the big sharks.  Watching them on TV is close enough thanks.
7. Backpack anywhere.  I am not set up to sleep on the ground any more. To carry enough stuff so I could sleep remotely comfortably would require an extra me. So I'm content to camp with our camper and go on hikes.
8. Visit the Amazon.  It's the jungle and there's all those bugs.  Full body shiver. I really don't like things with more than four legs.  Again, here is a place I'm quite happy to visit via TV.
9. Run a marathon.  Not a fan of running, but I run for exercise.  I don't think I'll ever run a race.  Just not that into running.
10. Read Jane Erye again.  I slogged through it in high school and it didn't really catch my interest.  
11. Go back to high school.  Kind of why I have not attended any of my high school reunions.
12. Visit Las Vegas.  We probably will end up there again, but truly, I can think of so many places we want to go more. Since gambling isn't our thing, and we aren't way into night life, Las Vegas holds little appeal.
13. Run with the bulls or ride a bull. Those are big animals and the injury quotient is far to high.

Well that's 13 things that I will never do--or do willingly. What would be on your anti-bucket list?

Tuesday With the Randoms

Hey Tuesday, good to see you!  Nice to have Monday out of the way for this week. Now shall we get random?

• Turbo is figuring out his phone.  Nick and I keep getting fun and sometimes interesting texts from him as he learns to text with a regular cell phone key pad.
• We had homemade pork fried rice last night. The boys loved it and gobbled it up without complaints.  Turbo even took the leftovers (after claiming them before he finished his second plate) for lunch today. Amazing what a bit of soy sauce with do.
• I love this:

• Also this from Grumpy Cat:

• Swim lessons tonight and a chance to work out again. Kind of looking forward to it, kind of not.  It's exercise.
• I so wish that wine was a weight loss aid.
• We have snow this morning--not enough to stick, but it is falling out of the sky.  Gotta love "spring" in Wyoming. Shortest season of the year.
• What I could really use is some time here with cute cabana boys to bring me fruity frivolous drinks.

  

 What is your dream right now?
Get all random and link up with the lovely Stacy.