Weekend Update

We here in Oregon had a most BEAUTIFUL if not very warm weekend..
I tried my best to enjoy it!
Today was filled with re-cooping from a little fun I enjoyed last night.. Details to follow...
And this evening I decided to go do a bit of mowing after it cooled down a tad. I had a couple of helper/supervisors. Annie took a couple of laps but tired easily~ Sucks being an old broad dog.. Sigh
Snowshoe on the other hand stuck with me until it got too dark to watch where I was going. What a goooood boy!



Evening setting in my wee valley
Now as for yesterday~
My GF Connie and I decided to go have a girls night out at a casino at the beach after work. It is about a 50 minute drive from here so we met up in an adjoining town and I left my car there and off we went! We partook of the buffet dinner there and man-o-man was it GOOD!
Connie started with a fresh made to order Caesar Salad and cold shrimp
I had a dinner salad and shrimp....
I sampled the prime rib and crap legs then treated myself to a small slice of sugar free cheesecake. I had to say it was better than any store bought regular cheesecake I have ever had... Wish I knew that recipe!

We arrived rather late in the evening and the place was packed so we wandered awhile and listened to music in the bar then settled into a row of penny slots. It was around 10:30-11 and the fun started. We acted like a couple of kids playing next to each other and cheering each on as we hit bonus rounds. The machines were giving us just enough to keep playing so we just enjoyed the night out.

THEN!

I hit a bonus round that just didn't seem to end!
Count them up babies! That's a lot of pennies!
[at this point it was almost 1am!]
At about 3 we decided we had better hit the road lol

As we pulled into the town where I had left my car we giggled like high-schoolers that had snuck out for an all night party as we watched the sun rise over the mountains. I tell you I haven't had so much fun [without the nasty being involved] in a very long time. Plus it was very nice to come home with extra green in my wallet!



It was a long sleep deprived weekend so Annie has instructed me it is night-night time....
Hugs!

Cruel Words?

Today I was called a midget!
Now granted I do know I am short...
That is why my kitchen cupboards were installed so low.
It is a fact.
But~~~
Does the husband of the woman who alters my uniforms have to point this out to me?
No- I think not.
He walked into his wife's workshop and blurts out:
"Oh, so this is the midget.."
I can't help it if they make our shirts so long that when I tuck them in
they bunch around my knees!!
He also dubbed me the half shirt girl.
What did I ever do to him?

**grin**

If I save up all the scraps I could clothe a 3rd world country!

Fun with IPhone?

One of the reasons I adore the Internet is because it affords me to keep in contact with my 5 kids. I love the fact they all keep in touch on a daily basis and sometimes I just follow along with their threaded e-mails and I just have to chuckle. Let me share a few from this past week. My son B that just moved to PDX has received an IPhone for use at the workplace. He also has found a new use for it. To make his Mom CRACK the hell up at his antics. I love the way he looks at the world and enjoy the input from the other hun~yucks.


E-MAIL ONE
Titled
"My work sells Tab, aren't you Jello?"
Response from his twin sis...
"They called it "Canned pop". That's my favorite part!"




E-MAIL TWO
Titled
"Why you should spend more than five bucks on a bottle opener!"

Response from Oldest SonIL
"Why you should spend more then 5 dollars on a bottle of wine..:)"
B's answer: "It was a $7 wine dammit! :)"
Response from J's GF; "I dunno, seems to me like it makes an even nicer spout! As long as you ignore the shards of glass, of course..."



E-MAIL THREE
[my personal favorite]
Titled
"Traffic sucks!"

Response from my oldest daughter: "OMG OMG OMG!!!!!! That is HILARIOUS!!!!


I have to agree!

Welcome to the world of the spawn of Cheese.....
You may go back to the sane corners of the Internet now... Thank you
lol

Ranting to smiling in 120 minutes~

I had an odd day. Last night I was just whooped so I crashed at 8 PM. Big mistake... woke at about 2:30 AM thinking it must be time for work. Um NO!
Surfed awhile and then forced myself back to bed and woke with the alarm at 5. Weird ass dreams haunted me for a bit but finally the coffee kicked in and I was rarin' to go. Had a fun commute with SF but... I think he is going to check me in for coffee re-hab if I can't take my coffee mania mornings down a notch or two... Sometimes I don't think he "GETS" me. heheheh

So I get to work and find out [woofuckinhoo] that it is time for my yearly route inspection. This entails supervision counting my mail etc.. and going with me in the back of the vehicle in a jump seat and timing my deliveries. I could have denied them due to the fact I am still on restricted duty, but I pretty much am back to full duty so what the hell I know I have passed every inspection I have had and I might as well get it over with. Well come to find out that they are doing them a little differently than normal and have a special vehicle all set to take instead of moving the jump seat to each carriers car. That really sucks. I have my truck set up just the way I like it and maintenance has raised my seat just enough to help with my being "vertically challenged". Oh well I will go with the flow and after a wee bit of bitching I go to do my vehicle check and make sure all lights work, horn makes noise, adjust mirrors and just an overall walk around. This is done daily before we start to case our mail so if anything is awry the vehicle crews can come out and address any issues.
Ok..... so I walk out and unlock the door and climb in... What do I find?
The fucking truck smells of cat piss... Yes you read that right... CAT PISS!
I am NOT happy at this moment and go inside to whine a bit more. I share my displeasure with L my floor super and he says... wait for it......

"Oh a carrier in the office was displeased with his evaluation and we think he peed on the jump seat but we don't have proof...."

Um... Why in the hell did they leave the jump seat in the vehicle? They covered it in plastic and everyone since then has had to endure this smell. NOT ME!

As luck would have it our postmaster showed up for a little visit and ol' Cheesy marched right over and shared her displeasure with him too!
Let's just say he made a call and had a new jump seat delivered before I had to leave for the street. [good part #1] lol

The day turned into a BEAUTIFUL spring day with just enough warmth to make me smile. I like L my super and he is pretty laid back so I just went about my day as usual. He came into the place where I do lunch and was pretty funny with the crew and I think he may visit there again... he LOVED the soup as much as I do! Only bad thing is I have misplaced my debit card somewhere after that.. I KNEW I should have accepted his offer to buy... dammit.

There is one street I call felony flats that has a bit of a history housing some not so smart customers but since I took over the route most of the trouble makers have either moved or gotten with the program.[IE: blocking boxes -etc] L tells me some folks who helped carry my route while I was laid up commented that they no longer dread delivering there because "Cheese has them trained". This made me smile as we rounded the corner to see 2 guys sitting on the stoop of one of the duplexes. He comments [not very nice but did make me giggle a bit] "There they are -awaiting there checks in the mail". At this point we see they have their truck blocking the boxes. Funny thing is this house is vacant and I am wondering who this is? Oh well new tenants I suppose and at this point one of the guys JUMPS up and runs to the truck, starts it and moves it across the street before I am finished with the previous row of boxes. As I pull up to the offending row the guy gets out of his truck and hollers out " Well shit if I had known it was you I would have continued my break!" At this I look up and see that it is a retired carrier from another office that I used to work at. How Fun!

He is clad in work clothes and knee pads and I asked him what the hell he is doing in these parts? Seems he is doing renovations in his retirement. His wife told him to find a hobby or find a divorce lawyer... hehe I always like her wit. Then the second guy who was seated on the stoop strolls up and it is ANOTHER retired carrier who I absolutely adored working with. At this point I get out and get 2 wonderful bear hugs and just caught up for a couple of minutes. L put down that I was doing box maintenance LOL! what a trooper. At this time the customer who lives in the adjoining duplex came out and yells... " HEY I don't get hugs at MY mailbox.. NO FAIR!"

Sometimes you just have to smile when a potential crappy day makes a 180~

Where the Magic Happens~

Sometimes when things in your life go a little awry~ Something good happens because of it.
Last week not only did my coffee maker go tits up but my toaster got hot under the collar too. I won't even go into the fact that the lifeline to my semi -clean home [the vacuum] was having issues also. So I took a wee bit of my tax refund before sending the rest off to the nether land I call Visa..and I invested in a new toaster. I already had a coffeemaker in the pantry that I got awhile back so I was safe there.
The problem?
The new toaster is IMMENSE! It didn't look like a tank online so I had to find a new configuration to my small kitchen. Counter space is limited and drawers are non-existent. I had to finally whittle down some utensils and do away with one of the crocks I use instead of drawers. As I moved things around to find that sweet spot~ I found that it was WAY past time for a kitchen scrub down. Being laid up for so long took it's toll and as of yesterday I was actually able to go on tip toe so I took on the challenge! I know I know- it still looks cluttered but I HAVE to have all my toys within reach so I can maintain my title as "Most Humble Goddess of the Kitchen".



Note~ One perk to getting a notion to blog about this is as I uploaded the pics... I now can see where the fuck those reflectors I bought last winter ended up. How often do you actually lean over your stove on tip toe and take a picture of the full counter top? [Maybe I should do this more often and maybe I will locate that cat we lost about 5 years ago? ok maybe not..]

The new toaster AKA The Tank..and coffee maker... My lifeline to being a human-


I feel so accomplished!
This time next week I can lose the big ass 'script bottle for the freakin' dog!

The Omen!

Today I had some excitement! But first let me back track to yesterday's NY Times crossword..... [sorry about the stains...sunscreen lol] See the clue and answer to 17 across? Well today I got to meet the wonderful Hall of Fame'r Bobby Doerr... How fun is that?!? He let me get a picture taken with him and gave me a signed baseball card



I asked him if he had a single son, he was a real looker in the day! Sometimes it's the little things that can just make your day..and he was pretty feisty for 90!
GO SOXS!

Swine Flu Fatality

And we all know who
gave it to him...

Ooops~

A little set back in the re-coop of the ankle and leg. Seems I am having woes with subluxation of the plantar fascia tendon and the tear in my injured ligament of my ankle called the Anterior (meaning front) Talo-Fibular ligament, or ATFL for short. The PT taped me up to test a theory he had and he was right!
A few new exercises and a little different shoe bed are in order and I should be fine.
Cripes~

Family time....

Mommers day was celebrated by my clan Saturday at MY mommers house!
You know it's a good day when the driveway and half the block is filled with your spawn's vehicles.


My mom's yard was in full bloom and the weather was fantastic.

My 3 sons showed and my 2 wee ones came to hang with the big kids. My 2 daughters were unable to make the trip. My bro, his family, my sis and a friend from high school who considers my mom her mom also were there. The house was full! Just the way my mom likes it.

My kids brought me these gorgeous tulips.....
A Tigger cup~~


And a wonderful fuchsia to kill....

BBQ was the fare of the day with sides of you name it... lol
The furfaces hung out on Mom's back forty during eating time as they don't have the best of manners in a crowd with food... brats....
My middle son made dessert and I made homemade ice cream to go on top... as you can tell our family isn't all about the food right?

As I went through my photos.... I hit me how much my oldest looks more and more like his Dad every year... It's very eeire.....
The youngest and his main squeeze were of course inseparable and eewy gooey sweet.. we all had cavities by the end of the day.
Before the wee ones had to leave, Elle and I got to spend some alone time in the front yard talking about life, bumble bees and gardening.



It was a wonderful day and once again I realize just how blessed I am to have been given the children in my life. I wish for all of you a love of life and of those around you.
Happy Mothers day my friends!

Leg Update......

Well I started my second phase of PT this week
and boy howdie do I feel it!
But I am seeing some improvement
in my range of motion and pain levels...
weeeeeeeeeeeee

We have decided that the combat boots are still a bit much for all day wear so I just slip [I use that term lightly lol] them on before I hit the street. The pain they were causing has eased and it is GOOD to be a mailman again!

My new PT is rather handsome as men go... I think he may be gay though ... not that there is anything wrong with that ... but it makes it tough to fantasize that he will massage further up my leg than my knee!

I did find it rather comical when he first started to maneuver my leg and as he bent over he has a large bald spot right on top of his bean.. he has fairly long hair and it reminds me of a friars do.... It took all my willpower not to say something inappropriate.. but give me a couple more weeks and I will more than likely say something. It is so hard being Cheesy.

Anyhooooo I am mending and feeling like my old self~ almost. It is SO good to be back out in the living world again even if 3 days in a row I have gotten SOAKED to the bone in the torrential rains we have been having but the next 3 days are supposed to be wonderful and I have them off!
MMMmmmmmMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

I will be traveling the next couple of days so hopefully I will get to break out the picture taker and share some of the green I call Oregon. Tomorrow I plan on getting laid! Oh ok that was a bit crass eh? Tomorrow I plan on spending some wonderful moments with SF and share some air and skin time... Was that a little more romantic?

Saturday I will be tripping up to my Mom's house for a family BBQ as Sunday is her church day and we all have Saturday off except for my daughters. Oldest is in NC but younger one is in the Masters Program and has classes on Saturday ... sigh.... But she did send me a FUNNY card and she also gets to go see La Boheme

Sunday I plan to rest! {oh and clean this dump I call home}
I got my Mom a digital photo frame and had so much fun going through all my files last night loading it up. Took me until midnight to finish loading them all but I think she will like it. She is not a puter gal so this will be fun to share pics with her this way. She will cry... why is it so fun for me to make my Mom cry?

Cuz I can!
Ya ya I earned the name my father gave me years ago....
Shithead.

Well you all have a faboo weekend and kiss your Mommer Units if you can... if not...
Kiss a strange woman on the street....

Maybe I'll get lucky again!

Condiments?

HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO !!

Slather me up with mayo



and pour me a 'Rita!

May Showers??

May Showers Bring.......
May succulents and....
Future fruits in bloom!

And YUMMY scents.....


And..... the smell of wet dogs.... sigh

Easy Breezy Dinner

Peppers and Fettuccine with Ground Meat

INGREDIENTS
1 (9-oz.) pkg. refrigerated fettuccine
1 lb. lean ground meat [beef, turkey, Italian Sausage]
1 green bell pepper, cut into thin bite-sized strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin bite-sized strips
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/3 cup purchased pesto
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic power

1. Cook fettuccine to desired doneness as directed on package. [2-5 mins] Drain; cover to keep warm.

2. Meanwhile, brown ground meat in large flat bottomed pot over medium-high heat until thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain.
[I cook the pasta after I have tossed in the peppers. Times out just about perfect]

3. Add bell peppers; cook and stir 4 to 6 minutes or until peppers are crisp-tender.

4. Add half-and-half, pesto, salt, pepper and cooked fettuccine. Reduce heat to medium; cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally.
If you like a saucier pasta~ you can double the cream and pesto....

Makes about 3 or 4 good sized servings!

Friday Funny?

{Click Image to Biggify}

They traced the origin of the new strain of swine flu back to one little piggy who went to market when he should have stayed home.