35

Yesterday was my 35th birthday. 

I worked in the morning and came home to find A had made this special banner. If you're a fan of "The Office" you will understand. If not well I just can't have your type stopping by to read. Nah, just kidding. 

A has been asking for weeks...or maybe it's been months about what I want to do, where I want to go, what I want for a gift. 

My choice was to stay at home and have dinner. She loves to cook. I requested grilled shrimp. She came home with these monstrous prawns.

 Soaking in a marinade of key lime juice, green chilies, garlic, onion and ginger.

 And grilled to perfection...even out in the pouring rain.

Served with my favorite grilled asparagus and baked potato.

 

I asked for a margarita cake this year. The cake and the glaze contain tequila, triple sec and margarita mix made with key limes. Once you go to the key limes, you can't go back.

We played in the yard with the dogs. When the rain came we took a nap and then got up and drank margaritas. Not a bad birthday at all.

New Levels of Insanity and a Tacky RV Make-Over

Meet my 2 newest house guests.

 Leeza

Chantelle

Let me stress that they are only guests and will be heading to their own homes in less than 2 weeks. They are sweet and polite but there are entirely too many dogs in this house. Leeza and Chantelle's addition brings us to the insane number of 10. Yes, that's right I said TEN!!      When I sighed and muttered those words this morning, A practically dropped to her knees rejoicing that I realize that fact. 

When A and I finalized our trip to Ohio, we couldn't very well leave without at least offering to transport any dogs that needed to head east. We have foster homes along the route and with gas prices, well transports are becoming more limited. Early last week it appeared that we weren't going to have any extras along but by the middle of the week, two adopters had contacted us about meeting along our route to pick up their newest addition. By Friday, I had it all planned out and Saturday I picked them up while doing my previously planned transport. I can't help but be amazed by the dedication and efficiency of the people I work with on a regular basis; four people came from four directions and dogs were swapped, 3 headed for adoptive homes and another 6 headed for the first time into a foster home. It was a good day.

Between all the seemingly non-stop rain we have managed to get the RV road ready. The all important engine maintenance and wheel and tire conversion was completed a few weeks ago. Then we decided to start a little make-over on the interior. We plan to paint but don't have time to get into that yet so we started easy by covering the retro sea-foam green 1987 interior and replacing the curtains with bright colors and now we're kind of hippie-ish. 

Before

A said she wanted bright colors and I aim to please. In the rear there are two more windows with turquoise, purple and pink curtains and I covered the rear bench with a bright polka dot sheet. Now I can't wait to start painting.
For the driver and passenger seats we chose blue Hawaiian seat covers. Once A got a look at those, she decided she wouldn't be satisfied without a dashboard hula girl to complete the look. Meet "Sweet Leilani". I found her and several others on Ebay. A made her choice and I had her shipped to us from Hawaii even though I'm sure her point of origin is China. Looks like she is more traveled than us already.

What can I say except that when we decide to go tacky and cliche, we go all the way. 

My favorite part of this picture is A's lumbar support pillow in the driver's seat. :)

Before placing Leilani on the dashboard for our hula-ing pleasure, A just couldn't resist finding out what she had on under that skirt. For the record, she has a yellow bikini. 

Here in Minnesota, spring has finally arrived in some way, shape or form. It's been extremely rainy and cooler than normal but that doesn't stop life from struggling forward. The farmers may not be able to get into the fields but the plants have managed to push through the soil. The leaves appeared on the trees overnight and my hostas shot up like magic. The rosebushes are filling out and the ants are already working on the peony buds. A planted her salsa garden; herbs, tomato and pepper plants yesterday between scattered thunderstorms. We just can't keep waiting for mother-nature to get her ass in gear.

This Life is All Just an Adventure (And A Long Post)

I woke up this morning to thunder and lightening and hail. For one brief moment I thought I should get up and check things out...but then I rolled over and my muscles groaned and I decided I wasn't going anywhere. I looked at the kitty sleeping on my pillow and moaned, "Can't I have just one more day at home?" A few hours later I got my wish; work called to tell me my schedule had fallen apart. Yeah, I get to stay home.

My weekend started at 5pm Friday on a gloomy note. I left work and as I turned toward home I could see a huge storm cloud in the distance. All I could think was great, finally a beautiful day stuck indoors and just as I get to go home, here comes the rain again. Fuck!!
Luckily is was just a quick moving rain cloud and I just missed the sun-shower as I drove up to a lake just 5 miles from my house. Instead I was treated with a view of this beautiful rainbow.

At home A had the same idea and took a picture from our backyard. 

It ended up being a lovely evening and we spent it at home.

Saturday I woke early to a beautiful sunny day. It was a little cool, only in the 50s but perfect weather for  walking/running. It was especially nice for me who had not been out training for over 2+ weeks because of the cold rain/snow.  We actually made it out the door and to the 5K early (because I'm usually running late) and we got to see the 1/2 marathon runners start. 

Before the 5K, the 5 of us posed for one last photo just in case someone dropped over beside the road.  I have to admit that some of us (mainly me) were kind of lazy 5Kers. We walked up hills and jogged down. We just wanted to finish before time was up. I did get a little stressed at one point. We came around a corner and the Boy Scouts were set up handing out water. Someone asked how far to the finish and I swore she said we were 1 mile in. At this point I'm starting to panic, "OMG A, did she say we've only went a mile! That can't be right! We still have 2 miles! I can't go another 2 miles!!" Picture that I'm panting and wanting to die. A just tried to reassure me that only a mile left, "Just keep thinking Blood Mary, Bloody Mary".  I told her I don't like Bloody Marys that damn much! 

All my life I've heard of the mythical "Runners High". What a fucking joke! Afterward I had that damn lactic acid burn in my legs and the girls told me that was supposed to be a great feeling. I told them that feeling is only great if induced by wild, mind-blowing sex. Otherwise, it's a waste!

The girl who had my camera didn't know how to turn it on, so she didn't get a picture of us crossing the finish line. But we finished in 39:22. The first of our group finished in 32:04 and everyone else fell in between. The average finish for the whole 5K was 41:26 so we were all better than average. Bonus, no cramp in my side!

Afterward, Bloody Mary, beer chaser and a huge-ass breakfast that calorie content surpassed what I had just burnt off. I will admit, that after my belly was full, I agreed to do it again next year. I'm a glutton for punishment.

We came home and spent some time outside with the dogs. Last year at our rescue auction I won a dog agility set and wanted to try out the tunnel; some sniffed it, others just avoided it. A thought it would be a good idea to climb in and maybe entice the dogs inside.

Okay, now they're interested.

 Jill even went inside for a minute.

But then she got stuck and the dogs scattered. Notice, I take pictures but don't rush to help her. I wonder what my neighbors think. Even after all this, we had to go grocery shopping plus I had extra stops to make. By the time we came home that night, I could barely walk. Every muscle in the lower 1/2 of my body was screaming and I was asking myself why the hell do I do these things without properly preparing.

Mother's Day went off without a hitch. A and I both invited our mothers out to brunch at a nearby restaurant. It's on the river and they have great outdoor spaces and a lot of feeders and nesting areas to attract birds and other wildlife. It was busy and they didn't accept reservations but the awesome breakfast was worth the wait. 

After the moms went home, A got to work installing a new stereo system in the RV. Sounds simple until you realize the RV is 24 years old and so is the old radio. We knew we needed to install new speakers but when we pulled the old radio out, well things were just wired differently back then. The radios didn't need as much power and there were only 5 wires. A new stereo has more like 15-20 wires and needs additional power from wires that don't exist. This endeavor required removing part of the dash, a Dremel to cut a larger opening and sacrificing the cigarette lighter for extra power. All in all, it worked out well and A gets an A+ for effort on that project.

Tonight I was doing my regular dinner preparation for the dogs. Here there is not just throwing some kibble in a bowl. There is food to be soaked and softened for the old toothless dogs, chicken to be cleaned and divided evenly (okay, I admit the old man gets a little extra) and all the while there is dancing and leaping and scratching and woo-wooing and the chirping of LuLu. Tonight during all this chaos, A stood leaning against the counter watching. When I asked her what she was smiling about she just simply stated "If this all ended tomorrow, you would miss it." I rolled my eyes and sighed and muttered sarcastically about this glorious existence I live. This is how I've spent almost every evening for the past 5 years and she's right, I wouldn't change a thing.

I've been a bit absent here but I have a good excuse; once again my procrastination has caught up to me. I've been cramming some online continuing education classes in to complete my licensure requirements. Suddenly, it's my birthday month and I find myself unprepared. I'm happy to finally have that done. In two years, I'll probably find myself in the same boat. I've also taken on some new responsibilities with the rescue. Somehow I fell into Home Visit Coordinator for the Midwest. Huh? It is basically working with other rescues to find people to complete the home visit in areas where we don't have our own volunteers. The woman who was handling it had some medical issues with her husband so she's got her hands full. I have no experience but I'm sure I will find my way and I have great experienced people guiding me.

We also had a visitor for a week. Miss Leaha was our first foster. When she was adopted I cried for a week even though she was rowdy, unruly and bossy. She was adopted by a woman and then returned to rescue 7 months later because the woman was working all the time and Leaha was alone too much. Since then she has been in another foster home, but we wanted to get her into an area where she could get more exposure. She came here on a stop and then onward to South Dakota. She's such a pretty girl; almost 4 years old and still looks like a puppy. I was happy to see she's not quite as sassy these days.

Last Saturday we spent the whole day at PetsMart for an adoption event. There's no way to describe it except exhausting. Still we packed up all the dogs and supplies and hauled everyone out into the cold rain in hopes of finding someone a home. This little girl Cassie is always a star and charms everyone, but for some reason she's still here. Don't tell A that I really don't mind since she's my little cuddle buddy most evenings.

Maybe I need to start dressing them up like this...Oh, I want to so badly!

May 1st we woke up to 33 degrees and snow flurries. We said fuck it and brought the RV home anyway. I'm happy to report it started right up and we had no mouse damage. We have just four short weeks until we leave on our first road trip of the season. Honestly, it's all I can think about these days. I NEED to get he hell out of town. I'm hoping that a vacation will drastically change my point of view.

She Knows My Weaknesses

I swear, A is on a mission to keep me chubby! I just ordered a new swimsuit...one of the most depressing things a woman can do and then I came home today to find this waiting for me in the kitchen.

Damn, damn, damn her! 
(And yes, you know damn well I ate them too.)

Tag, I'm It!

Kym over at The Cuteness of Curiosity tagged me for this one. Thanks Kym.


The Rules:
* Thank the person who tagged you.
* Share 7 random facts about yourself.
* Tag a few of your favorite bloggers and let them know.


So let me see what I can come up with for this one. Hmmmm.


1. I love the beach and can hang out there all day but I don't like swimming in the ocean/lake/river. I hate the fact I can't see what's down there. If something in that water touches me...ugh! I imagine whatever it is resembles this and I can practically walk on water to get outta there!

On that same note, I will jump out of an airplane at 15,000 feet but the idea of scuba diving or even snorkeling out in open water freaks me out. I guess I've seen Jaws too many times. I will not consider a submersible either.

2. I'm addicted to Stride gum (sweet peppermint is my fav), Excedrin, purses and shoes, especially flip-flops.

3. I don't remember ever really wanting children. Through my 20s and into my 30s I kept waiting to see if that "need" would ever emerge. It never has and I now think I was born lacking that in my genetics. 

4. I hate carrots and celery but love spinach and brussel sprouts. Makes absolutely no sense, I know. 

5. I am almost always running late...for work, appointments and life in general. I always say I'll be late to my own funeral. My lateness is usually exaggerated by the fact I stop to catch cats in the ditch or take turtles across the road. A on the other hand is always early so if we are going somewhere together, we balance each other out.


6. I NEVER leave the house without make up. I'm not saying I'm completely done up but I at least have few swipes of mineral foundation and mascara at the bare minimum.

7. I'm afraid of the dark and always have a nightlight. It used to bother A but now even when we stay at a hotel on in the RV, she always leaves the bathroom light on with the door cracked so I will be comfortable.


So I'm breaking the rules (again) and not tagging anyone but would love to read 7 Facts about any one of you. 

This And That and Some Other Stuff Too

For the last couple weeks A and I have been trying to get our butts in gear for a 5K. One of the women I work with did it last spring and afterwards she was talking about how we should do it as an office this year. At the time I said yes and then forgot. She didn't and 2 weeks ago pulled out the paperwork. Holy shit, we've only got 6 weeks (down to 4 weeks now)! Really it's only 3.10685596 miles (I had to look it up) but well I'm just not a runner. I've always believed that the only running I should do is for my life. Since I live kind of low key, that opportunity has never presented itself. I'm more of a speed walking kind of gal. I imagine I'll do a combination of walking and jogging since I'm not in it to beat any certain time; just to finish before time is up. That means I may coast in at 44 mins and 59 sec but damn I will be finished in time and then we're off for Bloody Mary's.

Whenever I think of running, I start feeling that sharp knife pain in my side and I remember those horrible days in gym class when you had to do laps around the football field. I tried every suggestion to stop from cramping but nothing ever worked. It was a miserable experience and then afterwards I would be forced to go back to class and take a math test or give an oral report. My god, I just realized I'm still traumatized.

The weather is finally improving and just this week the snow is finally gone from my yard and most of the world around us. Still there are no real signs of life out there yet but maybe I saw some buds on the trees. This means we have finally started taking LuLu out into the yard, after we catch her of course. 

She's more comfortable but still a work in progress. She will come take food from our hands and lick peanut butter off our fingers. She scratches at my leg when I'm getting her dinner ready. Every few approaches she may let us scratch under her chin or behind her ear for maybe 5 seconds and then she's off again. Catching her means cornering her and I have tried to limit that as much as possible. I see her watching the others get attention and can tell she wants to join in; 9.5 weeks in and only a little progress. I still have hope since it took nearly 8 months before I could touch Orville without catching him.


Around here life with 8 dogs is still kind of a zoo. It has been wonderful to be able to just leave the back door open when we're home and let the crew wander in/out as much as they want. It really is like living in a house with 8 toddlers and no matter how much we try to dog-proof the house, they find things to get into. I mean look at this book. It's been on that spot on the book shelf for months and just today they decided to rearrange the cover. I didn't find all the pieces so I can only assume someone ingested it.

Plus it doesn't help that we bring home exotic new things like a pineapple.

Look at Cassie take that thing down. We watched for awhile and then I asked A if pineapple on the list as being poisonous to dogs. We couldn't remember so took it away just in case.

My little earless cat Tippy watches it all with disgust. I know she misses the days when there were no dirty smelly dogs in her house.

We used that pineapple to make my "This Shit is Gonna Kill Ya" Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Made with two sticks of butter (the real stuff) and topped with a mound of real homemade whipped cream (why try to save calories now) and you can feel your arteries forming a new layer of plaque. 

Saturday A and I went to check out a tattoo artist and made a little side trip to check out the Minnesota River. It's high and there is flooding but it's in the places that it usually flood every year.

In the past they have closed this bridge when the water was too high. Even with all the heavy flooding predictions this year, it's not even close. We wandered along the riverbank and around the municipal campground and as we walked through the playground and back to the car I noticed this piece of paper on the ground. I thought it looked old and flipped it over with the toe of my shoe.

It's army postmarked December 23, 1943 and addressed to Iowa. Such an interesting find and I couldn't believe it wasn't wet, wrinkled or damaged in any way. 

Saturday night we stopped to visit with our friends Faye and Jeff. He had an Elvis show in the town where I work. We had a lot to catch up on since they had just returned from Hawaii a few days prior. This bar isn't my favorite place to go since 90% of the people in there are patients at my clinic. I don't want to talk to people about work or their dental problems and I really want to maintain some professional distance. That means I sit and quietly visit and hope people don't approach me. Even going to the bathroom can be a gamble since I've been cornered in there a few times by people pulling at their cheek and saying "Take a look at this." Ugh!!!

I did have an unexpected encounter with an old friend that I haven't seen or talked to in nearly eight years. We had a falling out; we were both mad and hurt. A and I chose to extract ourselves from the high-drama situation and have kept a distance since. The two of us visited and laughed and after a short time it was like no time had passed at all. I've been "over it" for a long time already but it was still nice to finally put those things fully to rest.

A has been wanting to get another tattoo and I'm planning one for my birthday this year. We had heard good things about this artist and stopped in to check out his work. We didn't have time Saturday but A made an appointment this afternoon and came home with fresh ink on her right shoulder. Isn't it sweet how she sacrifices her body to test things out for me? :)

I took this picture as soon as she came home and I'm glad I did because shortly after it was red and swollen. This is a car decal that A picked up in Key West during one of our trips. We took a photo and she took it in and he did it all freehand. He did an awesome job and I'm getting excited to have him do my first tattoo in just a few weeks. 

So the RV comes out of storage next weekend. Yippee! 

When we first brought it home, we considered doing some painting inside to lighten it up a bit. It's brown paneling and so dark but then we thought we would just keep the retro feel of it. That was until I came across these pictures on an RV blog (Kate and Terry-Travels in Cholula Red).  A really thinks we should do some variation of this paint job.

Love it or hate it? Should we consider doing something like this?