Monday, November 30, 2009

Normal !

Normal.....hmm am I normal yet? Well I guess I have reached a new norm so to speak I have put up a new mailbox (Well that's a lie, I heard that my husband did it and it was there when I checked this morning so I guess it did happen) It is a very old mailbox a relic, maybe, but I prefer to refer to it as, vintage box, one that was so lovingly decorated by sis-in-law and now teeters atop of some old rickety post at the corner of our new lot of bliss.

I have been settling like a fool. Finding new homes for aformentioned crap and doing laundry, yardwork and all sorts of interesting and exciting stuff.

When we moved in we were notified by our lovely new HOA (home owners association) that the palm tree  MUST be trimmed and a paint dribble that was in our drive way MUST be cleaned up or there would be repercussions that could dent the pocketbook. I being the responsible home owner hopped on the bandwagon for a few seconds on Sunday afternoon. I decided that the long drooping berry fronds must go now instread of later, later being when our trash came (more to come on that later) and started hacking away at the surprisingly tough foilage. The berries were nasty, they were greasy little blobs that got everywhere and stained and stuck to EVERYTHING. After the first frond came down I realized this was a mistake and there would be much more work involved than I had planned and hopped off the bandwagon just as quick as I hopped on. Thank goodness my mom was there she helped me load up the mess and haul it to the dumpster.

So the garbage it should be a fairly easy job right? You put it out on the curb it gets picked up you take it back in. Presto. Right? WRONG. I decided on Tuesday of last week that considering that Thursday was Thanksgiving there would be no trash so I didn't bother to put the trash out, I mean DUH its Thanksgiving. I felt so smug, I had saved my self some extra work (I know I am a bit lazy sometimes I admit it). Thursday morning dawned and guess what I heard rumbling by, that is right the dang garbage truck. I was skating and skidding about in my stocking feet on the super slick tile trying to get the garbage. Alas it was not to be I watched it putter down the street ignoring my yelps of protest. I was so mad, its okay I am over it now but my garbage it a bit overflowing and it is a bit disgusting.

I have been channeling all of that leftover thanksgiving spread into some rather interesting dishes. I made some squash/cabbage soup tonight and sprinkled in some turkey for kicks it actually turned out quite nice. However I am need some new ideas for leftovers, Got any?

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Hey Diddle Diddle

Hey folks--

Just in case you didn't notice.....I haven't blogged in a while

Why you ask? Well I to be quite honest I haven't had a chance I have been working and promptly going home and doing something all wifely....hmm is that even a word.

We have offically changed addresses as of Saturday morning bright and early at 7 am to be exact. Now if you know me that is not my defintion of fun, to be up early packing boxes in a frenzy of moving, but I figured that,what the hey I don't really move that often so I may as well give it my best shot.

 I tell you, it is truly amazing how much crap (yes I said it crap) two people can accumulate.




I made this astonishing discovery close to 7 am when I was sifting through said crap in a daze. I saw 5 phone chargers ( FIVE!!!! and to 3 of those charges we do not own a phone that works) 2 car phone chargers and again those phones have ceased to exist. I have a can of soup, the date that is stamped on it states it is from 1950, hmm if this is the case I truly must submit it to a musem of some sort to preserve this rare artifact. I mean who can say that they have an unopened can of soup from the 1950's.
We have also made some semi- exciting finds as well we have 2 stud finders now because what do we do when we can't find something, I'll give you a hint, that is right we buy it. Along with the stud fnders we have several electrical switches that have not even been opened yet.

 Do you want to know something amusing ? I packed the crap......
Why did I do that? I have no answer except to say that in my sleep deprived state of semi-consiousness I was rapping "Thro it in da bag, Thro it in da bag" and it really made sense to me at that time. Oh well it makes for a really fun unpacking though. I found the cooking jar hiding under some shoes and coats and I find a picture of me and Mr D sandwiched lovingly betwixed toilet paper.

I have also been in a cranky mood lately.

I chalk it all up to sleeplessness, new environment and such. This morning as my husband dearest called out to me 5 times in utter distress that he "couldn't find the cereal" and "where was it" I was a little less than understanding.

Oh well all I can say is that I can strive to do better, be more understanding and patient. I sure have praying that prayer fervently as words of destruction leap to my lips ready to cut like a knife doing irreparable damage to the people that I should love the most.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change
Courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Ola Wednesay

Ola Wednesday!  My friends I have fallen behind a bit in the blogging world. I am sorry :( I have been having so much fun doing absolutely mundane things that I haven't really had a chance to catch you up on them.

Monday: Was well.......Can I remember? No I can't really remember. The days have started swimming together in this great pool I call life and I can't really remember exactly what I did. I suppose if I did remember it it went something like this.
 6:30: Alarm goes off interrupting my dreams of splendor. I always rummage through all the odds and ends that has come to occupy the end tables, before I find that beastly little pest that has summoned me to the new day. I snooze for another blessed 10 minutes. Before I have to pry open my stubborn lids and rally myself for whatever I have coming.
By 7:15 I am usually headed out the door. Some days better prepared than others. But usually not I am not going to lie.
7:30 I have landed in my chair at work and have a ball of time for the next 8 hours. I usually try to spice up my lunch hour with some exercise and then.....hold your breath people here comes the finale.
4:30 Home again, Home again jiggety jig.
I usually unwind myself with a good hour of reading blogs and catching up on facebook, talking on the phone you know the essentials....okay I do play a few games to. I know it is a waste of time but it is my secret addiction like coffee, sleep, food something along those lines.
During that hour I also am thinking "What should I plan for dinner". By the time the hour has ended and I have realized that just saying those words in my head will not make dinner appear and I usually start rummaging in the icebox to see what I have to use up.
Mr D usually arrives about this time and I can't tell how glad I am to see him. I really do miss him when he is gone.

After that its just the usual nighttime routine  I know what you are thinking Riveting and I can't complain because it is what I have created and I change it when I am good and ready.......


Sunday, November 15, 2009

A Day at the Park


Look at the Olive Tees.... and the Palm Trees

A we just had to have the Diva shots


It was very beautiful weather out side

Wait the fountain will come on........it may be a while

Sushi


Sushi for breakfast or rather an avacado roll for breakfast along with a banana supper yummy.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Dirty

Dirty dirty  yep that is what my house has become lately. Dust bunnies hide in every corner, dishes are teetering precariously on the kitchen counter and a variety of clothing is draped and  lovingly looped about every room.

I have an excuse... well sort of, I am still in the midst of packing my life away and am finding it hard to confine to boxes all of my precious junk. That and the fact that I become extremely distracted and sentimental when I pack these days. For instance a card that was mailed to me ages ago must be re-read, reminiced and sweetly shown to Mr D. (who finds the card as amusing as my dawdling over the packing) and then placed in a safe and secure place. This my friends adds up to hours wasted and few boxes packed.

The dirtiness of the house also kinda weighs on me but not in a way that makes me want to clean unfortunately. I have taken to the phrase "if you can beat it join it" mentality, if you will and have literally thrown up my hands for the past week at all of the spectaculor mess that has accumulated.


Well hands up no more!

I am changing this state today. I have already cleaned myself  and have made a serious dent into the dishes situation. My next phase of cleaning will involve wrangling the clothes and boxing up the remnants of the remaining cubords and closets. I am like a general planning my next strategy in the War on Dirt. Yes it has come down to war, any parting words you ask?

I shall prevail......Forward .....March

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Blah

I have the Thursday blues.

What are those you ask, they are very accute symtoms that usually arive on Thursday evening and they usually come on after you have eaten dinner and are settled down in your nest for the night.

They usually begin with frustrated thoughts, followed by minor disappointments and are cemented in with a bad hair day that you didn't know you had until that night.

Thats right they are all in you head my friends but they are hard to shake. The only thing procedure that I could prescribe and that I have had work well for me is several nights of good sleep and alot of sunshiny days.

I must confess that I have been feeling all wrong lately..... I have been feeling like there is an itch I just can't scratch or there is something looming in my future that I know nothing about and I am getting fed up.

I can't put my finger on it. Maybe it is the clouds looming over head for the last couple of days, or it could be the impending move. AHHHH

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

November is time for thanks....

I thought I'd reflect a little on the things that I have to be thankful for a little earlier than Thanksgiving. I mean I seriously have about a million and 1/2 things that I could be thankful for this minute. I am resolved  to turn over a new leaf and make a dedicated effort to focus any un-wholesome thoughts directly to thanksgiving mode, starting with numero uno......

1. My precious family, I mean what would I do with out them? They are truly the folks that love you no matter what and I mean no matter what. They have seen me at my best and at my worst and they truly are the apple of my eye.

2. On this Veteran's Day I truly would like to call attention to all of the brave men and women who have been there through thick and thin supporting our country and I would just like to say that I am very thankful for everyone who has been towing the line or has towed the line. Three cheers for you


3. I would like to starting being thankful for things now that you wouldn't think to be thankful for. I mean we all know we are thankful for food, housing, clothes, I mean DUH we should be. (I mean I certainly don't wake up in the morning and think to day I would like to starve and run through the streets naked and sleep under the stars just for kicks, if you do I give you props)


4. I am really thankful for toilet paper, It is a very multifunctional tool that would make my life very uncomforatable if it suddenly went amiss. It can be used to blow you nose, clean up makeup mistakes, wipe UHUM you know along with a variety of other things that  do not pertain to the aformentioned UHUM.


5. I am really thankful for my phone, it has gotten me out of many a pickle and it keeps me connected with all sorts of groovy peeps.


6. I am thankful for good music, there is nothing like a good jam session to lift the spirits

7. I am thankful for flowers they are 1. beautiful masterpieces of artwork 2. the smell good  what is better than that


8.  I am thankful for a sweet kisses and cuddles from Mr. D

9. I am thankful for many happy memories that are stored deep in my heart.


10. I am thankful for smiles they make the day seem sweeter


There is  more of this thanksgiving coming....I just needed a little preview


What are you thankful for November 11th?



Tuesday, November 10, 2009




Do I look confused??



Today I was thinking about how important words are to the communcation of the human species, not only do they get us what we need and want, they can paint the pictures that are bouncing around in our heads.


I have really been trying to use my words to paint interesting pictures. I do have alot of fun and interesting things happening to me every day it is just up to me to be able to articulate what is going on in a fun interesting way. It is taking some work let me tell you.

I was really antsy today at work, I kept glancing at the clock every half a second and you know how that is...... the clock has only moved a half second so it seems that life has slowed down to a whisper of time.

The day was just so beautiful I wanted to move my desk outside just for the day ;)  The sun kept calling my name and when I left work there was just enough of it left, it kissed my cheeks. I just had to take a drive that was all there was to it. I opened my windows, put in some lovely Gwen tunes and  took the long way home. I also stopped at the Mekong Plaza. As I browsed through the veggies I kept visualizing all the tantalizing dishes I could make with this and that and every time I go there I see the durian fruit. It is spikey and blobby not a very attractive speciman and I just have to smell it. I have heard that it is one of the stinkiest foods out there. However I have never caugh a whiff of this so called "stink". I am sure all the little Asian ladies think I am strange as I leaned over this bin sniffing the air like a hound dog on a trail. After my little smell ritual I took my self home and promptly lost all ambition to make any food of any kind. So it is left over ambition tonight for supper. How is that for a word painting?



Monday, November 9, 2009

Monday...

I am glad Monday is here! It means that it starts the week so we have another weekend to look forward to.Speaking of looking forward to things I notice that when I don't have a trip of somekind or some kind of shenanagan planned I kinda feel blah. I just feel that the hum- drum of life starts to kick in and before you know it you are chasing your tail like a dog.

Yesterday was a fantastic day. Mr D and I went looking for appliances which we desparately need for our new house. We had a lovely drive together and before you know it Mr Sanchez had sold us a spiffy "new" washer, dryer and refrigerator. They even delivered! Yeah- since I am not a fan of loading heavy machines and such into the back of my truck and then waiting for my back to start screaming, I was sold from the get go. I still have quite a bit of packing to do.. as I write this large stacks of hungry boxes glare at me waiting for me to stuff them to the brim. But tonight I shall have to ignore their mockery since I am soooo tired. Even as I write this I am not sure if I am making that much sense. I am more rambling than writing, its like that phase before you go to sleep when you are talking and before you know it your waking up and you don't even remember falling asleep.

Well I guess I will have to remember falling asleep since I still need to do the usual nightime rituals.....

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Wednesday---- the week is half full

Happy Wednesday! Wednesday night is a good night for me, not only does it have one of my favorite television shows on but it is the downward side of the week. So all take a moment and breathe in Wednesday night.

On another note......

Why must the drummers drum so loud!!! And the same stupid beat!!! I am so fed up with this madness on my peaceful Wednesday night.Dahh dahh dumm dahh dahh dumm repetativly for several hours.

Before I go I must tell you a story that happen to me today was pretty fun and sad acutally. I was fixing my self a terrific lunch today at work arrugula and tuna on a tortilla, anyhow in the midst of this preparation I managed to drop some of the tuna on my shirt. Yuck and gross together I don't want to smell like a fish all day. I started dabbing like mad at the spot with some soap and water. Everything was coming along and the spot was going away. Whew. I poured some salad dressing on the arugula and a drip fell off the spout however I caught it with the same finger that had been scrubbing at my shirt, low and behold I forgot about the soap on the finger and promptly stuck it in my mouth, soap dressing and all. It tasted horrible. I gagged a bit and ran my tongue under the sink for a bit to rinse out the taste. I guess I must remember do as mother says and not lick you fingers......

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Guess what I found in my black beans..............................

A goat head that is right! Just like a little devil waiting to stab my tongue.
This delightful fall day has been full, yes full of this or that blended together with a whole lot of yeah or nay.
I had to be at an important appointment today at precisely 4 pm. I started out in earnest to make this appointment, I printed maps and let everyone know that I had to leave work at such and such a time to make it from point A to B, I even called Mr. D to make sure that he got to the appointment to. Ahh everything was in order or so I thought.
I was driving serenely down the freeway when much to my chagrin, I noticed I had been driving the wrong way for a good 20 minutes, going north instead of south. I hastened to the next exit and turned about like a top on steroids. I called the important folks I was supposed to meet to inform them of my negligence. I was then informed that they were leaving and that if I wasn't there very quickly I would have to forgo my said appointment. I started feverishly weaving in and out of traffic. I made my exit and guess what, wrong again. I circled the building I was supposed to be in several times before I finally recognized it. I hustled through the door under the disapproving eye of the receptionist and made the appointment!!
The point of this story is to allow you self lots of time for instances where everything is right but you.

Monday, November 2, 2009


Mr and Mrs C. looking at the lights of Phoenix


I love this perfect picture of an old chapel in Boston

Flowers lift the spirit


Its fall in Boston ! Black eyed susans in Maine


Fresh Lobsters right off the boat

Lights of Phoenix, Mr D and the Maid








Well the Mesa maid has moved to china !!! Just kidding I was referring to the page overhaul that gave my tired old blog a much needed nip/tuck. Not that I am a super fan of going under the knife but change is always interesting, and that is how it is going to be people interesting.

Well folks big news here, as well as change, exciting change. The maid is moving yes she is to a real house. Whoopee. The maid may have been upgraded to queen status. Hmm that has a nice ring to it Queen of Mesa.......

Have been enjoying the much cooler weather as of lately and since it has been cooler, be and Mr. D have been enjoying the outdoors alot more. I shall post pictures as soon as I find my camera.