More Random!!!

Apparently, my life is random. I'm certain that others reading this would agree that their lives are also random but since this is my blog, I'll discuss my randomness. Feel free to post your random in the comments (must contain PG-13-rated randomness because occasionally my grandmother reads this blog (when I remember to print it off and send it to her:))

Random update: Fairs: We didn't go to the Great Jones County Fair because it was a great 75 miles away. I mean, I like elephant ears but I'm far too practical/cheap to justify that much gas/time/energy just to reward myself with yummy gooey dough coated in cinnamon sugar, all dripping and warm..... Oh sorry, where was I? Right, the fair. So instead Matt and I went to the Dubuque County Fair which does not have a descriptive adjective in front of it so we didn't know what to expect. It was ok. I did have some complaints thought. First off, not enough cows and mostly Holsteins, no goats, and only a few rabbits. Come on people, where are the farm animals??!? Second, NO ELEPHANT EARS!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was dismayed, to say the least but I managed to keep my despair to a quiet howl on the midway, "Where are the ELEPHANT EARS!!!?!? I WANT AN EAR!!!!!!" while Matt quickly steered away from his deranged, somewhat psychotic, fair-food demanding wife. (This incident may or may not have happened. I leave you to judge) However, I have found that funnel cakes make an acceptable though not equal substitution. We did enjoy the pig racing and the BMX trick bikes doing flips in the air. Only at a Midwest fair would you have pig, actually piglet racing, and bike tricks about 20 feet away. FYI: the pigs were not greased. I checked.

Kitty randomness: Some of you might be tired of reading about our cats but they are funny and keep Matt and I giggling. Pets of all kinds bring so much joy to a house that I like to share it. Our cats bring a particular type of joy, namely, weird because that's how our cats act. The other night we had cantaloupe. It was delicious. Matt cut it up and we partook. About a hour later, I noticed Gus (you knew Gus was coming into this story, didn't you?) acting oddly, even for him. He was shaking and pawing at his head. I tried to grab him but he ran away from me. Eventually I tracked him to his kitty hide-out (a cat cube) and grabbed him out of it. He still wouldn't let me look at his head so I had to forcibly turn his face towards me. According to the sticker stuck on the corner of his mouth and whiskers, he is a delicious home-grown cantaloupe. While his belly is the size and color of a cantaloupe, I can't tell if he's ripe or not. And apparently when Matt threw the rind in the trash, he missed one part. Ahh, Gus, our special kitty....

It's time for Random time!

#1. Yesterday was the first Annual "Normal Gus" day. Actually we don't know if it was the first Annual but we certainly hope so!! As we all know, Gus is normally not normal. But yesterday, we had a breakthrough. First sign of normality: Normally at treat time, if 5 cat treats are given out, 4 are quickly eaten by Mac, the treat addict, and one sits in front of Gus while he thinks about whether or not he wants the treat. By the time he has come to the conclusion that yes, he wants the treat, it has been snarfed by Mac "Give me treats or I'll give you death" Lee. Yesterday, the total treat count: Mac 2, Gus 3!!! Gus ate more treats yesterday than he has all year. Matt said that Gus just went cat-wild over the treats! Good for Gus. Second sign of normality: Gus wasn't afraid of the plastic bag when I put it away. Normally, he runs in terror from the sound of lightly crinkling plastic. Not yesterday. Third sign of normality: He sat like a cat, tummy tucked in, paws parallel to each other and not like an old man, paunch hanging out, legs all askew. For one day, we had two normal cats. It was bliss......

#2. After much consideration, I believe that Belted Galways replaced Jerseys in the coveted spot of "Merrilee's Favorite Cow." While I will always have a soft spot for Jerseys in my heart, Belted Galways are funnier. (And yes, dear readers, that was the sole criterion) Not that I have actually met a Belted Galway but there is a herd near us. These are black with a broad white "belt" that goes around their middle. And I'm assuming they are from Galway. Many of the cows near us have the belt in the middle. Some, however, have the belt closer to their hind end, reminding me of boys who wear their baggy pants much lower than they should. These are the gangster rappers of the herd, the nonconformists, the hip, and the "cool ." They make me chuckle because I always tell them "Pull your belt up" again proving my oddity in talking to cows. However, since we're are driving by these cows and Matt already knows I'm strange BUT still consented to marry me, I feel safe in saying it. And I laugh at my horrible joke at the cows' expense. Also, about 2 miles down the road is a small herd with 2 Belted in it. We (Matt and I) have decided that these are the rogue spies of the bovine world, the "Beef, James Beef." (Portrayed by Roger MOOOre)(sorry, couldn't resist) Cows are funny....

#3. Our tomatoes have blight. Again. Stupid rain. It's been so wet they haven't had the chance to dry out. Stupid rain. I haven't been able to work outside because of the, well, you know.

#4. We might go to the Great Jones County Fair this weekend. It's in um, Jones County, in case you weren't certain. And I'll let you know if it is truly "Great," "Good," or just "Okey-dokey."


Well, I think that's all my random thoughts for today.

Updates, updates, updates

This weekend my dad finally had knee replacement surgery. It only took Mom years of nagging for it to happen. No one in my family is stubborn! Anyhow, Dad is doing well and at home, enjoying his new armchair (which I also enjoyed and must admit that it is quite comfy) Dad, I'm glad you had the surgery and I know that in time, you'll be glad too.

Also, as for my classroom vents, we changed rooms and now I (along with most of the class) sit on the opposite side of the room from the annoying girls. The professor is doing what he can to get them to keep up but they need to learn that this isn't high school; no one is going to hold your hand. One of the girls has now missed two days of class, which is equivalent to 2 weeks of a normal-schedule class. So I sit next to three other girls and we help each other work out problems and discuss topics. Ahh, productive students....

I'm less annoyed with the world now and feel better about things (i.e. I'm not going to start yelling in the grocery store about the quality of crackers available.)

And, I think that this weekend, I might get another elephant ear!!! I'll keep you posted!

I'm mad and I'm not going to take it anymore!! No, not really...

Recently I've been getting annoyed with the world. I don't have a clear reason why, just a general "ticked" feeling. Here are my current top three pet peeves: (I'm glad that I'm typing that because I'm not so certain I could say it. Just tried and nope, can't)

Anyhow,
Issue #1. Our neighbors left for several days. From Saturday until Monday evening, their cat was in an open upstairs window yowling nearly constantly. It broke my heart. Their cat is kinda "borderline" domesticated and feral. He'll let you pet him and then hiss at you. Keeping him locked up doesn't help much with the "feral" issue.
Potential Solution: Tell them the next time I see them that Paws really missed them and that he was yowling for nearly 3 days straight in the open window. Offer to go over and check on the cats since their cats can't do anything differently than ours. If it happens again, call animal control (too harsh??)

Issue #2. The girl behind me in class back talks to the professor who doesn't do anything about it but it annoys me for him. Greatly. (Am I getting old?? Or just wise enough to know not to back talk professors. It's not cute or clever.) She is also very immature, which shows through almost every day. Uggh, I'm getting annoyed just thinking about it.
Potential Solution: Tell her to be quiet!!! No, that's what I WANT to do. I don't have any but does anyone have any thoughts.

Issue #3. Annoying lady at church. I won't go into too much but let's just say that she's THAT lady, the one who looks/sneers at you when you come to church 5 minutes late.
Potential Solution: Avoidance has worked thus far, why change? Also, wake up 5 minutes earlier.

So all of these petty annoyances have made me wonder what is going on. Is the world changing or am I? Does anyone else ever feel this way? This morning on my way to school, a car turned left right in front of another car who had to stop to let the first car go by so it wouldn't hit it. The second car beeped it's horn at the first car who flipped off the second car. Why? For not hitting it?? For letting them know that they almost caused an accident??

Sorry this post is a downer. But, since life is a constant process to improve, I have decided what to do to counter-act all these annoyances: something unexpectedly nice. Hold doors for people. Let them go first. Do what I can to help them. I know that I'm not the first to think of this but I do feel that if by making my world a little better, then I help the entire world. Pass it on!!!!

Things I learned this weekend:

1. Even when you are standing in the shade, you can still get a nasty sunburn. For proof, look at my lobster red shoulders.

2. Husbands can be quite shocked to learn that their wives have apparently never realized the validity of #1. (Matt was in disbelief that I didn't know that and my excuse of "But I was in the shade" didn't help my case)

3. Old glass breaks pretty easily. Especially when you're chipping away old window glazing. So now I have two more windows to replace. Oh well.

4. Free musical concerts bring a crowd. On Saturday we went to a free big-band concert and it was fabulous!!!!!!! Really enjoyed it but unfortunately there was no dance floor. Not that we can dance but we really like to give it a shot.

5. I'm in a minority of women whose husbands FORCE them to buy clothes. Matt made me buy more teaching clothes this weekend. We were looking through the store and I had one item to try on; Matt had 6 for me to try on. He's very good at shopping for women's clothes because of all the time he spent with his mother and sister shopping for clothes when he was a little boy.

6. We need a backwards dictionary or one that lists the definition of the word and then gives the word. I need it because I usually can think of the definition of the word but not the word I am looking for. Here's my quandary: Last week as I was driving into a neighboring town, I ended up following an Amish buggy. This town has been trying to crack down on people speeding into it and has set up those "Here's your speed" digital read-outs on the edge of town. As the buggy passed by, it was going a whopping 8 miles an hour. But just the sight of the buggy passing the speed-monitor was .....and here's where I need my dictionary. The word I want is not: ironic, oxymoronic, but more like "out of sync, out of place, seemingly backwards from the norm" Can anyone help me with this??

Happy Father's Day, a day late...

Happy Father's Day to all the dads in the world!!!! Thanks for being our Dad!!!!

I know that most people think that their father is the best in the world, which is perfectly acceptable, but I know that mine is the best!!!

Top ten reasons why my Dad is the best:

10. Willingly taught me to drive a manual car and didn't get upset when I "killed" the car numerous times or ran stop lights because I didn't want to face 1st gear again!

9. Understood that math and I are not friends even though he is friends with math.

8. Accepted that sometimes I brought home stray cats and dogs because they either a. needed a home or b. our pet was "lonely" and clearly needed a friend.

7. Helped me refurnish a corner cabinet that had been through a fire and had had blue paint spilled on it even though others said we should just get rid of it. It is a family heirloom and turned out to be solid cherry. A true diamond in the rough!!

6. Is always willing to answer my home improvement questions.

5. Is patience exemplified.

4. Even when I was out of college and technically grown up, he would wait for me to come home after being out with friends before going to bed. He wasn't upset that I was out late, he just wanted to be certain that I got home safely.

3. Drives 14 hours to see Matt and I whenever he can (Mom comes too, but this list is about Dad, sorry, Mom) And with driving, a Dad wisdom nugget: When traveling, if you put it (casserole, paint can, milk jug, etc.) on the floor, it can't fall off.

2. Continually shows how to be a good person and how to use the correct tool for the proper job. As he says, "If you have to force it, you're probably doing it wrong."

1. While he will always be my dad, he is now and forever more my friend.

I'm smarter than a tub of window glazing!

This weekend we had beautiful weather, so I decided it was time to tackle the windows. Well, not literally "tackle" because that could be very painful and/or destructive. On Friday, I started on a window that no one will ever see because it is at a very odd angle and location. Scraping and scraping old window glazing, old paint off the windows, and the flaking paint off the window sills is a great, yet productive way to spend your weekend!!

I figured out the glazing process and now have two windows scraped and reglazed. Only 22 more plus 5 basement windows. I love all the windows in our house but now I'm starting to wish we lived in a cave...

We also went to a one-year old's birthday party this weekend. Matt's cousin Eric and his wife Katrina threw a party for their son who turned the big "1." It was so much fun. He is a very happy baby but he really didn't like playing with his cake very much. I don't think he liked the icing on his fingers. It was supposed to be a Curious George cake but it looked more like the losing monkey from a monkey knife fight, missing an ear and his tail. It was the joke of the party. Luckily Katrina didn't make the cake so we could just make fun of it without hurting anyone's feelings.

Also, just to continually proof that Gus the cat is special: On Sunday night, Gus was sitting in the window. Having just discovered the "open" window means that he can sit in the window AND be inside at the same time, he was enjoying the evening breeze when he suddenly became hungry. Looking up he saw a paint chip from one of the 22 windows not yet tackled. Before any human could stop him, he reached up, grabbed the paint chip, and ate it. Yes, the cat ate paint. Now, I know that children can eat paint chips but no one ever mentioned that cats might do the same thing. Luckily, we don't have to worry about developmental disorders with Gus because he is already disordered.


So that was our weekend: scraping windows, smushing cake, and a paint-eating cat.
A very destructive weekend!!!!