my little mona lisa

**update**
so yesterday bibi spent the entire day at the orthopedic specialist vet at emory. when i went to pick her up, the dr. wanted to speak with me. he seems to be a very good doctor, and johnny and i both like him a lot because he explains everything in detail. anyways, he showed me x-rays that he took compared to post-op xrays that banfield took. he showed very carefully where the landmarks used for the ACL repair are and where the previous vet and drilled the holes in bibi's leg. not anywhere close to each other. in fact it was way off. the previous vet did some wacky procedure to my dog's leg and never bothered to tell us or explain any of it. i was seriously beside myself when we had taken bibi back to banfield when she had started limping again. i KNOW what it feels like to have bone-manipulating surgeries and it hurts! and i totally blamed myself for the failure of bibi's recovery. that vet never explained anything and she honestly didn't look like she even cared. i could seriously strangle her right now. we are getting the titanium implants for bibi asap. this surgery will succeed and i will make it my personal vendetta to make sure people do not take their pets in need to Banfield, which is the worst pet hospital on the planet.
*p.s.*
don't ever completely trust doctors. they are only human and at best make mistakes and at worst are incompetant. you should always do your own research in order to make truly informed decisions. i am learning this lesson the hard way with my own health and that of my family and pets. most doctors are evil. they work for pharmaceuticals and insurance companies, not for you.

**original post**
it may be hard for people to look at bibi and see what we see in her. i imagine she just looks like a short white dog with a big mouth and strong muscles but her expression is like mona lisa to me. you have to know her to read her expressions, and only johnny and i can do that. let me first off say that of all the dogs i have ever had or known, bibi is the greatest. the typical dog is happy, trusting, just wants to play and eat table scraps. bibi is way more refined than that. yes, she wants table food, but only if it's worth getting up and begging for. if you try to feed her a piece of - oh let's say cucumber - she will blink at you like, "seriously, you think i am going to eat that?". if all the other dogs are climbing over each other to get a piece of cheese - she will calmly sit and wait for you to bring her a piece (cause she knows we will) and oh so delicately take it from your fingers and (if it's suitably palatable) nibble on it. for a dog with jaw strength at about 320 psi, that's pretty unique. she has too much confidence to be greedy.

her normal disposition is pretty laid back. she does not get all crazy like the other two. yes, she gets happy and wiggles her butt and picks up a gift to give to people when they come over but she doesn't cry (syrus) or jump up and down like a retard (louie). if she is exceptionally happy, she will give out a long and deep bbbbaaarrrroooooooooooooooo! for extra emphasis. she likes to just lay and cuddle with you, be scratched and just loved on. sometimes she'll strike a pose and flip over onto her back and spread her legs out and wait for you to rub her belly like "come and get it". she definitely has a princess complex.

but what's so endearing about her is that even though we know how sweet she is, it's when she tries to act tough that really makes you fall in love. she'll wrestle with the other dogs and curl her lips but not in a mean growly way - more like a bitchy sneer. she gets all tough when you play the titty game with her (which involves pinching her little nippies and tickling her) but she loves to play. the one thing she never does is admit that she is in pain. i have seen syrus bite her and hold on to her cheek, but she does not flinch or let go of the toy. i know for a fact her back legs hurt her but she does not cry or anything - in fact it's hard for people to even tell she is injured. for that, bibi is super tough.

some people think she's ugly. or scary. or mean. she is actually none of those things. i kind of wish she wasn't fixed so we could have a second generation of bibi's but the best things in life never work out that way. it's the only way you learn to truly cherish those things that are great.

nuthin' exciting

..

landscape plan

wow. it worked. i scanned this little sketch on the copier at work and emailed it to myself and it worked! well, in case you have no clue what you are looking at, it is a site plan of my house. you have no idea how may times i have drawn this. at least 20 times. half of the time i draw it in CAD, just to be extra anal. anyways, i decided to take my time and be methodical about how exactly i want my yard to look. this may seem easy, but when you are me, it's not. pretend like there are about 50 pine trees at about 120 feet tall scattered all over the page. that's what my house currently looks like, and if you are seriously considering mowing down each and every one of those pines, you wanna be damn sure that you will be able to live with that decision.

the real site plan has so much stuff on it you won't be able to see what's going on so this is really more of a key plan than an actual site plan. you can see how my house is situated on the site, kind of at a slant to the corner of the two streets. i have a driveway that ends really close to that intersection which is a pain in the ass so i want to build a small turnaround driveway. we are also building a new front porch very soon. the rest of the diagram just shows blocks of the land sectioned in different colors, and this is what i want to discuss.



let's start with the teal green section at the lower left. it is called "lawn" because that is exactly what it is. a very pathetic lawn. now, i don't plan on going leave it to beaver and obsess over having a perfectly green lawn but johnny does need something to call his own so i am letting him have a lawn to mow and fertilize. if it's a success, he'll be happy and i'll be happy. my only rule, no harsh chemicals.

going counter-clockwise to the right, the light blue section is called "bird & butterfly". this is the section that i will truly enjoy building because it is actually for my neighbors. we have a lot of people walk past our house everyday and i want to make a little spot for them to sit and relax if they wish. i am going to have a bench with a birdbath and plenty of bird/butterfly houses. i will plant bird and butterfly attracting plants and it will be pretty and smell nice. even though we have a lot of sucky neighbors, maybe they will lighten up after enjoying this little garden. i also want to put a hammock there....there's all kind of possibilities.

next is the green section called "orchard". here i will plant fruit trees like apple, pear and fig. i would also like to grow some nut trees, too. this orchard will provide food for people and wildlife as well as provide shade and privacy for the house. along the fence i want to grow all kinds of berry bushes to camoflauge the dog's yard, which is highlighted in yellow.

the dog's yard is going to require the most work. johnny thinks he can grow grass out there, which would be ideal. i also plan to build some retaining walls to control the soil erosion and make a doggy obstacle course to keep the dogs entertained outside. if you have any ideas for this, please please please let me know. i am also thinking about having a pond and building a new patio behind the house but that will be last on the list.

last but definitely not least is my most dreamed about chicken coop and vegetable garden. here is the most protected part of the yard, away from traffic and out of sight. this would be the smartest place to keep the chickens in case i have neighbors who hate chickens. no roosters, just hens. they will have space here to roam and hang out in the sun or chill out in the shade. i might build a small fence to keep them safe. below the chickens will be my vegetable garden. this spot gets really good sun and good drainage, but it is highly visible from the street so i must have a decent looking garden. this is where my creativity will have to come into play. i want to have boulders and all kind of plants, not necessarily just vegetables. so, i guess my veggie garden will have more than one purpose. hopefully it will work out!

that's all for now, gotta get back to work!

good news for you, bad news for me

nonetheless....there's still a chance.

30%

insert pics here

i'm going to come back and post pics of the snow here later, when i can get my camera and computer set up....

okay finally i am able to upload some pics. first of all, it's not because i am lazy that these pics are so behind. my pc crapped out, i had a huge ordeal getting a new dvd drive so i could reformat, then my camera crapped out and neither my pc nor my laptop could read the SD chip. so, how am i able to upload these now? well, i hooked up my busted camera to my newly formatted pc and the stars were aligned just so that i could copy what i had on the chip. without further ado...

SNOWSTORM '08 the day it snowed in georgia...



the day the snow started.....if you're not from around these parts you may not see the snow, but trust me, it's there.



louie's first taste of snow. he tried his best to catch every damned flake.



now it's really starting to come down! at this point, the grocery stores and gas stations are being pillaged by frantic masses of stupid people.



the snow is actually sticking. the flakes are big, fat and crunchy. it's been a long time since i've seen snow in person. it may be a long time before i see snow again....



.....and louie's still not calling it quits. just about every photo of him is a blur, this is the clearest shot i could get. this dog did not sit still for a second the entire time it snowed.



here's my night shot. the snow has really blanketed the ground nicely, making everything sparkle and look picturesque. i'm sure there's a way to photograph through falling snow, i just don't know how.



and here's the last photo for now. we took the dogs out to the field, they were over joyed. we were kind of worried about bibi's legs but we just did have the heart to leave her at the house so we put her sweatshirt on and hoped she would be ok.

camera woes

i know it's been a while since i posted any pictures or videos. the truth is, my home PC has been temporarily decomissioned while i have its dvd-rw drive replaced. it's been disconnected for a couple weeks cause i had ordered the wrong drive and had to wait twice as long. my next task looms ahead - i must figure out how to re-format my hard drive and do it all by myself. i bought an external hard drive and copied all of my files to it, so now i just have to reformat the pc. meanwhile, i am doing most of my computer stuff at work. the laptop is in the kitchen and also somewhat decomissioned due to a faulty battery. i sent it off to be "refilled" a couple weeks ago, so hopefully i will be getting it back soon. the laptop will also be reformatted - eventually.....

i am by no means a computer guru so i could just be potentially screwing up both of my computers. let's cross our fingers and hope not.

and now, on top of all this, my brand new camera is broken. it either got too cold or some snowflake got inside while i was using it during the snow "storm". now the lens won't retract and the screen just says "lens error". i'm not very happy at all.

but life is good. 2008 is going to be a great year, dammit. maybe i should get myself a really nice new camera. nope, can't do that. i keep forgetting about my financial crisis. the stock market's killin me! haha...like i know anything about the market... i just know i bent over backwards to buy myself a mutual fund. but it was a good move, and i don't regret it. in fact, i would put more money in if i had it.

we got bibi a new vet, who seems to be a really good one. he was very nice and more importantly, thorough. he explained the surgery she needs to have in great detail, with pictures, x-rays, and examples of previous surgeries. bibi seemed to like him too, so we are pretty happy. i think we will be going with him as our surgeon and hopefully as our family vet. she goes in this week for more xrays and possibly next week for the surgery. poor sweet little bunny....

so anywho, i have some pics and videos to upload from my camera before it crapped out. hopefully i will get a chance to upload them soon...but work is getting busier now and my mom wants me to be her project manger/assistant for her hotel. so yeah, it may take a little while....

blind for a day

...it's been an interesting week. started off boring enough, then bam! we get snow and i go blind.

yep, it snowed. someone answered my prayers and suddenly wednesday afternoon big fat flakes began to fall from the sky. in a panicked frenzy, everyone in atlanta decided to rush home around 5 pm. my usual route home was practically gridlocked, so i thought i might detour and visit with my mom. except she wasn't answering her phone. then johnny's stupid gps (it's called maestro - don't get it!) got me completely and hopelessly lost in downtown atlanta. it was momentary insanity. I finally made it home and played with the dogs outside.

louie has never seen snow. i wasn't there to witness his first snowflake but i hear it was entertaining. he was jumping around wildly and just having a happy-go-lucky time. bibi was having some fun chasing flakes, too. syrus was over it. his grumpy ass just stayed in the warm house. there was even enough snow for johnny and i to have a small snowball fight.

then the next morning i woke up with a mysterious eye infection. it was painful. i couldn't open my eyes because any light created a searing pain in my retina. my right retina, to be precise. my eye was completely bloodshot and at first i thought maybe i had pinkeye. nope. i had to take out my contact and i knew i wouldn't be able to drive to work, or even work period. i called in sick.

i figured i would have to just let it follow its course so i took some echinacea/goldenseal and bilberry/eyebright. i made a hot chamomile tea compress and sat on the couch in a gloom. it became apparent quickly that this was no normal eye infection. my eye was in serious PAIN. johnny came home for lunch and thankfully decided to find me a doctor. since i don't have health insurance yet (i will on feb. 1st) i was trying to avoid the e.r. he found me a doctor in snellville, about 30 mins away. my dad took me there. and hour and a queasy stomach later, we arrived at the clinic. i was literally blindfolded because the teeniest amount of light in either eye inspired a searing pain in my infected eye. i had on my sleeping mask with the chamomile compress underneath and one hand on my dad's shoulder while he led me from the car to the building. i followed closely, knowing my dad he was very likely to walk me into a pole or have me trip over a curb. we went inside and even though i can't confirm this, i am quite sure he was lost and that we were walking in circles. he mutters to himself, pauses, mutters again, and continues on. somehow he walked me into tree branches (i thought i was safe indoors, but i was wrong!) and then finally we found the clinic suite.

the doctor gave me a pain reliever in my eye and i was able to open them. kinda. then she tortured me with her instruments and lights and announced that i had a corneal ulcer. which kinda freaked me out. it's actually common with contact lens wearers and it's from wearing them for too long. i walked out of there with thick sunglasses (on a very cloudy day) and went home with a teeny bottle of antibiotic eye drops worth $100.00. i had to put one drop in my eye every hour.

the next morning i was much better. i had a follow-up exam and got another bottle of the most expensive liquid on earth. i have to wear my dorky superthick glasses. my right eye looks like a zombie's. but i am happy, not so much pain anymore. still a bit light sensitive but i am optimistic for a full recovery.

this here is a prime example of how i work. i must learn ALL of my lessons the hard way. from now on, i cannot sleep with contacts in. in fact, i should probably be wearing glasses more than my contacts, which i know now are evil. i guess i could get lasik but i am too much of a chicken and don't have the couple grand to shell out for it. 2008 is going to be a great year, dammit.

weekend ramble

ugh. this financial challenge is not easy. i guess i am just stressing over it too much. we spent $93 this weekend at trader joe's, and then probably about another $60 at costco and kroger. ok, granted much of the stuff we got will last several weeks but i'm hoping that this isn't a weekly problem. maybe if the next three weeks grocery bill averages out to be $400 this month, i'll feel better.

...and then to top it off i totally forgot to bring my breakfast and lunch today. it's sitting on my kitchen counter. i made sure to pack myself a proper lunch and forgot it! grrr!!

plus, there are other things that we need or that i really really want that are not included in this new financial plan, and now i feel like a 3 year old at the grocery checkout line and my mom's telling me i can't have that candy. i don't know if i can stick it out!

for instance, an exercise machine. i spent a lot of time researching and thinking about this and finally found the perfect machine. remember, this is a part of my make 2008 a great year campaign. it's a combination rower/recumbent bike by stamina. i found someone selling it on craigslist for $300. i bought it. bad bad heather!

i also want this really cool beverage carbonating machine. johnny and i go through a crapload of ginger ale. if i wasn't around, johnny would drink nothing but soda. there is SO MUCH trash because of soda. bottles, cans, glass, etc. this machine would cut down on trash and we can control the amount of sugar in our soda. it's a win-win! but it costs $130!

i am also itching to get myself a new pair of really good mary janes and brown knee-high leather boots. i am not one of those girls that has a shoe fetish (like KIM) and i pretty much wear the same pair of shoes everyday but they are target shoes and will not last forever. i need some really good shoes. they will probably cost me from $60-$100. i also want to get myself some really good day and night cream. right now i don't really use anything, i tried oil of olay regenerist but it made me break out in hives. i recently got myself a really good facial cleanser by dermaE so i want to get the matching lotions. that's almost $40 right there. i placated myself by making some homemade skin oil out of grapeseed, jojoba, evening primrose and bergamot. my skin soaks it up pretty well but i can't go out in public with a greasy face!

the good news: we got a lot done this weekend. we hung out with some old friends we haven't seen or talked to in a while - basically got to socialize! imagine that! so saturday was all fun and games. i got my first official post ankle-break pedicure and now i want to wear open-toed shoes. not happenin' but oh well i still LOVE french pedicures. then sunday was all business. we cleaned a lot of stuff in the house, including steam cleaning the couch (which was nasty because of the dogs), cleaning the bedroom thoroughly, and cleaned out my car. plus, johnny bathed all three dogs and i finally caught up on laundry. i don't think our household has ever been this clean. i still have to clean and organize my office and guest room, though. i just didn't have enough time for that this past weekend. perhaps next weekend. it was a pretty good weekend and that's judged by having a good fun-productivity ratio.

it's been really warm all week but a cold front is coming in and now the 7 day forecast has temperatures below freezing. good grief!! can we at least get some snow?!?

have you ever heard of blackle? i didn't know anything about it until this weekend when some friends mentioned it to me at a dinner party. it's a goggle search engine but with a black background so it uses less power on your monitor. pretty neat, huh? also neat - this website. go play some trivia and spread the word!

and lastly, i found this nifty link to a pocket-sized seafood selector. it will help you when you are shopping for seafood to remember what's safe and what isn't. hmmmm....

oh i just have to add one last thing - i just found out about tesco.com, a carbon neutral retailer...? but damn, they seem to be in australia....and as of 2008 Dell is carbon neutral....wow.

financial challenge 2008

ok, so i'm spoiled. i get it now. i buy whatever the hell i want whenever the hell i want and it isn't right. i wonder where all my money goes and it's like HELLO!! you went shopping and dropped 3 bills at LB and went on a craft supply hoarding spree!!

my name is heather and i am a shopaholic. i have no savings. i live paycheck to paycheck.

whew. now that my confession is out of the way i can begin my road to financial recovery. i hope. i've had long talks about this with johnny so hopefully he's on board with some of the drastic but necessary financial decisions i have made.

first of all, we spend way way too much money eating at restaurants. partly out of convenience partly out of laziness. neither is acceptable. eating out should be a reward, not a daily exercise. i am still looking for that perfect online meal/grocery planning website and haven't found one yet so i have to come up with my own system - which i did based on previous experiences.

instead of trying to figure out every meal i need to prepare for each day i am going to use this method. the heather method. i will sort a specific number of recipes once a week into the following categories:

• 5 dinners
• 3 lunches
• 2 breakfasts
• 3 snacks
• 2 desserts
• 3 beverages

i won't have any specific meal planned for a specific night but i will only buy the items i need according to the recipes for the above meals per week. and to make this even tougher, i have placed a strict limit of $100.00 per week for groceries. oh shit i accidentally swallowed my gum....dammit. anyways i figure if i can plan out which meals to make every week then we can save some money and use the leftovers for eating out, maybe once a week. i am only planning to make 5 dinners because there will be a couple night per week where we need to eat leftovers or maybe i'm too tired to cook and i can just make some ramen noodles (the souped up korean style, not the top ramen crap).

the next financial step is to figure out how to invest in my roth IRA. i have no clue so i need to research and set up a system that automatically deposits a set amount every month.

i am also trying to cut down on the principle amount of my mortgage so starting february i am going to pay $200.00 above the mortgage amount every month to help cut down the principle. this will in turn cut down on my interest as well. it's a win-win but it's going to be tough.

all of this means NO shopping sprees. if i need a new pair of pants, it has to fall within the budget AFTER i've made the above mentioned payments. the good news is that I will have a couple of credit cards paid off soon so i'll hopefully have more cash.

i'll try to keep myself disciplined and post my failures here for all the world to see.

*update*

i have just taken care of item#2. the roth IRA. in a bold move, i transferred funds from my line of credit to my investment account at fidelity. i bought myself a mutual fund for $2500.00. holy sheet, man. my first real investment. it's got a very aggressive profile so hopefully it will grow fast. i am going to contribute $100 every month this year. maybe next year i can contribute more per month. anyways, i applied this contribution to the 2007 tax year so i can still contribute up to another $4,000 for 2008. now all i have to do is pay down my line of credit!!

global warming? nah.......

ok, so it's the second week of january and it's like late spring outside. wtf? 3 weeks ago it was freezing cold. literally. last night there was a really strong thunderstorm, it woke me up several times and even got the dogs barking. i usually love thunderstorms like that but when you are living in a little shack surrounded by 100 ft. tall pines you get a little nervous....

oh and i still love microfiber.

and in case you haven't heard they found the hiker girl that went missing in the woods. she was beaten to death with a police baton and decapitated. i didn't know the details until this morning and now i want the asshole who did this to die a horrible death. please, just let us cut off a few of his limbs and leave him out to die by himself in the middle of nowhere. her boyfriend called up the radio station i listened to this morning and i was crying the entire way to work. i'm OK now but i cannot believe the DA bargained with this guy to not seek the death penalty if he showed them where her body is. wtf kind of stupid deal is that?? i hope some judge overturns it or something. i don't normally support the death penalty but cases like this make me question that belief. if someone heinously murders without provocation a completely innocent and defenseless person and causes them to SUFFER as they die - they should be put to death as well. i just don't understand how some people have the capacity to do such a thing to another human. so maliciously... if she was my sister, my daughter, my niece, whatever - i would want him to die. i just could not have any mercy in that instance. no legal method of death could be equal enough.

hearing about tragedies like this on the news makes me wonder what good is really left out there? my boss and i had a long lunch the other day and he said that there was some kind of study that said people generally lean towards good. i would love to believe that. i think people do, but have been gradually de-sensitized through the media over the past generation. i myself am admittedly de-sensitized in a way. i mean, when you see someone who needs your help should you not immediately help them? but then you sort of automatically ignore them and continue on your way. i find that when i do this i feel regret afterwards, but the response is so automatic i hardly notice that i am doing it.

case in point, my mother and i were driving on the freeway through atlanta several years ago when we witnessed right in front of us a car accident. a maroon-colored sedan holding way more people than it should skidded across several lanes and crashed into the median. we stopped the car and for what seemed like a long time just sat there watching. it didn't even occur to me to get out (on the freeway) and help them until my mother sprang into action. she got out of the car and ran up to the other car and i followed. an old woman was sitting in the back with like 6 kids, and they were all shell-shocked. everyone was not moving, so i helped get the kids out of the crunched car and my mom grabbed another kid from the other side as the couple in the front staggered out. i didn't think the whole time, i just sort of went on autopilot. we helped them to the side of the road as police and ambulance arrived. then mom and i just hopped back into our car and drove off. it was kind of a bizarre and surreal moment in time.

i think i was more amazed at my mom than anything else. she rarely showed compassion in front of me like that and i didn't know what to make of it. but then i felt disgusted with myself. why did i hesitate? the car could have blown up, and everyone die and it would have been my fault for not saving them. was i OK with that? did i feel like it was not my business or something? i wasn't paralyzed by fear i was paralyzed because i simply didn't know what to do. i was thinking about it too much. i felt powerless or something. well, that was then and this is now. if i were to experience the same situation i wouldn't hesitate. i hope that if it happened to me someone else wouldn't hesitate either.

the joys of microfiber

i used to love cleaning. in fact, i was neurotically clean and organized. it was soothing to clean every square inch of everything and it felt like i had accomplished something when i was done. not so much anymore. in fact, i've become to detest cleaning because it seems never-ending. as soon as i clean something, by the end of the day it's dirty again. i know a lot of it has to do with having dogs but i am not getting rid of them. my ankle also makes it more difficult to clean, like going up and down steps and basic maneuvering. i gave up on being a clean person. i decided to just get used to having a messy/dirty house and just trying to keep it from getting out of hand on the weekends. not anymore!! i have found my new favorite thing and it is called microfiber. i've known about it but i never knew how great it was at cleaning until i got my green e-newsletter and there was an article about how to clean your house without using chemicals. i didn't think much about it until i happened to be at target and saw they had a set of four on clearance. there's one for dusting, one for kitchen/bath, one for glass, and one for furniture polishing. i got a few more general ones cause they were on clearance, too. i am so glad i did.

at first it was hard for me to let go of the idea that i had to use some kind of spray or soap to clean my bathroom (my first test area). but i thought - you have to at least try it. so i wet the cloth a bit and wiped. eh. it was ok... i could still see millions of microscopic bacteria swarming on my vanity. but then i just used it like a rag - got it nice and wet with hot water and just wiped everything down and it cleaned so well!! i didn't think about germs anymore. i was pretty pleased. then i decided to test out the "glass" cleaning cloth - thinking for sure it would fail but to my complete surprise it worked like a charm!! i think i spent about 30 mins. in my bathroom marvelling at how easy, simple, and chemical free my sparkling bathroom was. next was the kitchen.

i used a different microfiber cloth and used it pretty much the same way - thoroughly wet (but wrung out) with hot water and just wiped everything down. i had to rinse it pretty often because my kitchen really was filthy. but it cleaned it up perfectly - cut through grease and picked up any dried food particles. i ended up wiping down the entire kitchen - oven, microwave, cabinets, drawers, fridge, etc. with one cloth and absolutely no chemicals!

i hand washed my microfiber rag and hung it to dry on the kitchen sink faucet. i love my new cleaning tool. i thought about how much money i have spent on cleaning in the past and i am astonished. countless boxes of those addictive swiffer dusters, bottles and bottles of anti-bacterial counter wipes and glass cleaners. and to my total humiliation and shame - those evil megaharsh cleaners like bam! and 409. all kinds of toilet bowl cleaners, bathtub scrubbers, heavy duty tile & grout soapscum cleaners, furniture dusting spray, hardwood floor cleaner, and carpet stain cleaner and de-oderizer. i was even addicted at one point to those stupid carpet powders that you vacuum up which gave poor bibi awful skin rashes and probably didn't help my asthma. for every surface in your house, there is a cleaner, polisher, & deoderizer for it. well, not for me anymore. i am using my microfiber, vinegar, baking soda, and essential oils to clean. i feel so much better now. and my house sparkles!

i am a reformed cleaner. and i shall spread the gospel.

p.s. i just had to add this handy dandy factoid - microwave your (wet!) microfiber rag for 2 minutes to kill 99% of the bacteria - and it cleans your microwave! you can do this with your toothbrush, too...

field greens and peas

johnny had been complaining about how he MUST HAVE field greens and peas for his first meal in 2008. I think we ended up having dim sum. his theory is that if you eat field greens and peas on new year's day it will provide you with good fortune for the year. there are many superstitions like this around the globe. unfortunately, i didn't know exactly what kind of dish he was talking about. in korea, we ate a porridge that had beans in it so i was assuming he was talking about a dish in particular. well, it turns out field greens and peas could be anything leafy and anything legume-like. coincidentally, one of the dinners i had planned out for this weeks menu was a lentil soup, loosely based on a few recipes i had found online. some called for ham, some called for spinach. i made one up using collard greens, smoked turkey legs, lentils, and butter beans. i cooked it in the slow cooker all friday thinking it was going to be a disaster because i totally just made up a recipe and i had never made anything like it before. well, to my pleasant surprise it turned out to be the most delicious soup i have ever made. i baked a small loaf of crusty bread and served it with the fresh local dairy butter and johnny inhaled it. he said, "this is what i wanted for new years day!" oh...
i had to take a picture of louie, who is such a mama's boy. he follows me everywhere i go - even to the bathroom. if i close the door (which for some reason i hardly do....) he busts through. i'll sit on the toilet and he will make himself comfy on the bathrug and chew on a toy or something. sometimes he'll just sit and watch me, which can get a little awkward. but he's just so cute. i happened to have the camera in the bathroom so i snapped this photo.

look at the concern on his face. he wants to know if i am O.K. i don't know why he does this but it can be annoying. but cute. sweet louie - such a good boy. such a little monster. he has a fetish for yarn now that i made the lining for my yarn basket and left it in the living room. johnny has come home to a giant sized version of cat's cradle in the living room curtesy of satan jr. but look at that face, how could you stay mad?

presidential caucas

i am so politically confused. i wish i knew more about it all but i make do with what i got. i'm kind of sad to see dodd drop out cause i liked his tenacity in supporting the constitution (go habeas corpus!) but i kinda knew he wouldn't make it. i have done lots and lots of research and it all seems to lead me in circles, but i found a pretty good website to help me figure out which candidate suits me best. you fill out a profile (you have to register) and a questionaire. then it gives you a really easy to read pie graph of which candidates match your profile. according to it, i am most compatible with mike gravel, whom i know next to nothing about. after that it would be dennis kucinich but unfortunately i now think he's a little crazy, no offense, i really like the guy... then after that it's john edwards whom i don't really know if i trust. he's too airbrushed or something. the furthest dem from me is hillary and even then she beats out the closest rebublican to me who is huckabee. i would rather die than vote for him. i cannot believe anyone would want a preacher as a president. are people that adverse to paying taxes? i mean c'mon everyone pays taxes! i think we should be trying to make better use of tax money instead of selling out to pay less. after that it guiliani. i dont trust him either. i need to find out more about this mike gravel, even though i don;t think he's got a flying chance. i'll probably end up voting for obama if it turns out to be between him, hillary and edwards. maybe i need to research edwards more....

oh i almost forgot - if you are wondering what to do with your xmas tree take it to be mulched! There's a program in our area (possibly in yours, too) called Bring one for the chipper and if you bring your xmas tree to a participating home depot, they will give you a dogwood seedling for free! We are doing that this weekend, I can't wait!

ssshhhhhh.....

today is our 5th year anniversary. i wonder if he will remember, especially since i have mentioned it like 100 times for the past 4 months.

don't say anything, i am going to wait for him to say something first.

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It's 2008!!

I really have high hopes for this year. this is going to be a very good year, so help me god. or whoever's out there....

last year undoubtedly sucked, as i mentioned before and shall not dwell upon anymore, despite the several really good things that happened. but i swear nothing bad will happen in 2008. i am going to work harder to make it so. that means i will be more careful, more thoughful, more diligent, more honest, more disciplined, more inquisitive, more aware, and put my health at the upmost priority. i have made a few subtle changes recently that i think will carry over to make 2008 a better year. i am really putting into effect some eco-conscious rituals at my house. i am using better products, learning more and more about living a greener life. i am going to take up gardening more often and learn how to grow things (first i need some sunlight which means i need to cut down some trees!!) and how to store them. i have been cooking more, broadening my repitoire of recipes and experimenting (successfully!!) with my own concoctions.

by the way, I AM DONE ENTERING MY IDP CREDITS!!!!! jeez, that was a pain in the ASS. now all i have left to do is mail off the packet to my old supervisor an he then signs off and mails it out to ncarb. after tallying up all my credits so far i have burned through 487.71 with 212.79 to go. holy sheet. that means i can probably start testing by fall. i need to be leed certified by then or else i will never do it. i hate tests!!!!

for new years, i got johnny and i tickets to see a stand-up comedian. it was my first comedy show so i didn't know what to really expect, but it was actually really good. the comedian's name was tom simmons. johnny and i ate not the most stellar food so next time we will eat beforehand. then we went home and i played final fantasy until about 15 minutes before midnight then we watched the ball drop on times square. man, dick clark is OLD. i thought the man was dead but he still looks the same, even though he sounds like he's 100. anyways, right after that i played more final fantasy then went to bed.

we had a pretty relaxing holiday, did some thorough cleaning and a little organizing. i am going to switch my office with the guest room and we are going to have a huge garage sale to get rid of a bunch of crap. 2008 is about being happy, healthy and content. we don't need so much crap and i refuse to just buy everything retail. i shop craigslist.

oh, and i almost forgot. i planned on getting pregnant fall 2008. we shall see how that goes. if i still like johnny by then maybe we'll hook up.