8/10/10

Wow, August already! 18 shopping days til my birthday!!

We got our yard seriously tore up yesterday – we had to have our septic field replaced. This is something that needs to be done every 40-50 years and there was no record of it ever being done since the house was built in 1940. Neat. It had old clay pipes that were broke in pieces from the tree roots growing thru them and everything. Hoping to put sod down to cover that mess, or it’s going to take several car loads of straw bales to cover new seed.

The new 2-track across the front yard.

Looking into the backyard.

So Angel went in last Tuesday to try out for the competition team at her dance studio & made the “All Starz” team. I’m proud of her! Tomorrow we’re going to sign her up for fall classes. There are 4 classes she has to take – conditioning, team tap, team jazz & ballet. But she also likes lyrical & hip hop, too. And wants to take a regular class, too. Either tap or jazz. She’s really torn about which one. I’m so glad that the studio owner set a maximum tuition amount because this could be some serious $$! Luckily they wear their comp costumes for the recital. It doesn’t look like someone will be trying out for sideline cheer this year!

Woohoo! 82 days til Halloween! I was on that psychotic kick collecting all those damn pallets & stuff and…..they’re all still leaning up against the side of the garage. I was going to start pulling nails & such last weekend, but obviously didn’t get to it. Oh well! I still have time.

My pallet & wood stash.

I got on the Halloween Forum online – it’s a cool place! There are tons of talented people who share their ideas and a good place to show what you’ve made to other people who truly appreciate it. I even got involved in a Secret Reaper – like a secret Santa, but we send Halloween stuff to each other! It’s going to be fun! I got plans to make a fence for the cemetery & a couple different coffins (a half-coffin for me & a full one for Linda) out of all that pallet wood. Those along with my zombies should be enough new stuff for this year. And I still have to paint last year’s coffin and do some touch ups & aging on the headstones. I don’t want to overwhelm myself. Oh yeah – and I want to make a grave periscope – a single bony arm coming out of the ground holding an eyeball. Yup.

Marilyn (because the face reminds me of Marilyn Manson)

Punkin Head - they still need finishing touches.

I got an email today from my Adopt-A-Platoon contact! They apparently have gotten what I’ve sent so far & he’s going to send me a CD & a card here soon. Can’t wait! We stopped on the way home tonight to get some more stuff to send over.

I’m going much better with my WW – I started going out walking in the morning before work. Which means getting my butt up as soon as the alarm goes off. It was easy to begin with, but all of a sudden I’m getting up before the sun! So it’s still fairly dark when Jack and I leave the house. Jack is my walking buddy – he may not protect me from much, but he’d let me know if anyone is getting near. We started Tuesday, 7/27 and Thursday morning I noticed he was limping some, so I left him home Friday (much to his dismay!) Then I finally realized that gee – my legs were sore – his probably are, too! Doh! But we’re good now. We go walk around the park – 35 minutes / about 2 miles and we alternate which way we go around so it doesn’t get boring. But anyway, I’ve had nice losses the past 2 weeks since we’ve been walking. Guess that’s what I needed to do!

I went last week to my first Oakland County ARPSC (Amateur Radio Public Service Corps) meeting, since I finally am a member. I had to submit info for a background check & it took FOREVER for that to come back. I didn’t realize they make a point of making new peeps stand up & introducing themselves – and Jim picked on me first. Now I’m working on a FEMA course so I can get into RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service). I admit I forgot how BORING a government study guide can be. I tried to study while waiting for the siren test Saturday & I found out quickly its going to be one of those things that I need absolute silence in order for anything to sink in. Pppft. I think I also volunteered me & Angel to help out at the Brooksie Way half marathon in October. Randy is usually net control for that.

So that’s about all that’s going on here!

8/10/10

Wow, August already! 18 shopping days til my birthday!!

We got our yard seriously tore up yesterday – we had to have our septic field replaced. This is something that needs to be done every 40-50 years and there was no record of it ever being done since the house was built in 1940. Neat. It had old clay pipes that were broke in pieces from the tree roots growing thru them and everything. Hoping to put sod down to cover that mess, or it’s going to take several car loads of straw bales to cover new seed.

The new 2-track across the front yard.

Looking into the backyard.

So Angel went in last Tuesday to try out for the competition team at her dance studio & made the “All Starz” team. I’m proud of her! Tomorrow we’re going to sign her up for fall classes. There are 4 classes she has to take – conditioning, team tap, team jazz & ballet. But she also likes lyrical & hip hop, too. And wants to take a regular class, too. Either tap or jazz. She’s really torn about which one. I’m so glad that the studio owner set a maximum tuition amount because this could be some serious $$! Luckily they wear their comp costumes for the recital. It doesn’t look like someone will be trying out for sideline cheer this year!

Woohoo! 82 days til Halloween! I was on that psychotic kick collecting all those damn pallets & stuff and…..they’re all still leaning up against the side of the garage. I was going to start pulling nails & such last weekend, but obviously didn’t get to it. Oh well! I still have time.

My pallet & wood stash.

I got on the Halloween Forum online – it’s a cool place! There are tons of talented people who share their ideas and a good place to show what you’ve made to other people who truly appreciate it. I even got involved in a Secret Reaper – like a secret Santa, but we send Halloween stuff to each other! It’s going to be fun! I got plans to make a fence for the cemetery & a couple different coffins (a half-coffin for me & a full one for Linda) out of all that pallet wood. Those along with my zombies should be enough new stuff for this year. And I still have to paint last year’s coffin and do some touch ups & aging on the headstones. I don’t want to overwhelm myself. Oh yeah – and I want to make a grave periscope – a single bony arm coming out of the ground holding an eyeball. Yup.

Marilyn (because the face reminds me of Marilyn Manson)

Punkin Head - they still need finishing touches.

I got an email today from my Adopt-A-Platoon contact! They apparently have gotten what I’ve sent so far & he’s going to send me a CD & a card here soon. Can’t wait! We stopped on the way home tonight to get some more stuff to send over.

I’m going much better with my WW – I started going out walking in the morning before work. Which means getting my butt up as soon as the alarm goes off. It was easy to begin with, but all of a sudden I’m getting up before the sun! So it’s still fairly dark when Jack and I leave the house. Jack is my walking buddy – he may not protect me from much, but he’d let me know if anyone is getting near. We started Tuesday, 7/27 and Thursday morning I noticed he was limping some, so I left him home Friday (much to his dismay!) Then I finally realized that gee – my legs were sore – his probably are, too! Doh! But we’re good now. We go walk around the park – 35 minutes / about 2 miles and we alternate which way we go around so it doesn’t get boring. But anyway, I’ve had nice losses the past 2 weeks since we’ve been walking. Guess that’s what I needed to do!

I went last week to my first Oakland County ARPSC (Amateur Radio Public Service Corps) meeting, since I finally am a member. I had to submit info for a background check & it took FOREVER for that to come back. I didn’t realize they make a point of making new peeps stand up & introducing themselves – and Jim picked on me first. Now I’m working on a FEMA course so I can get into RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service). I admit I forgot how BORING a government study guide can be. I tried to study while waiting for the siren test Saturday & I found out quickly its going to be one of those things that I need absolute silence in order for anything to sink in. Pppft. I think I also volunteered me & Angel to help out at the Brooksie Way half marathon in October. Randy is usually net control for that.

So that’s about all that’s going on here!

7/26/10

Aaah. We had such a nice lazy weekend – no place we need to go and nothing we needed to do! It’s been a long time since that has happened!  But now it's back to the grind!

We took a family trip to Home Depot Saturday – I got on a kick lately to work on my Halloween stuff. I signed up on HalloweenForum.com and have seen a bunch of good ideas. Tons of people with great imaginations who like to share their creations and encourage others. Anyway, I raided the plumbing department & got PVC pipes & fittings to make 2 skeletons & one upper body to hang over the fence. Still have some work to do – like attaching foam to the “spine” and covering it with vinyl for the torso & I already added pipe insulation to flesh out the arms & legs. Then I have to dress them. I have the stuff to make a dress for the girl – who will be holding her head in her arm. I got some purple, black and white netting to create a flowing skirt for her, but one that will also dry easily after a rain. The boy will have a pumpkin bucket for his head and probably be wearing jeans & a really ugly shirt. And Fence Dude? I don’t know yet. I’ll have to find something for his head, and he just needs a shirt. I sort of screwed up with getting happy with the PVC glue.  I meant to leave the caps on the necks free so I could slip the bucket or whatever over the neck and replace the cap to held the "head" on.  But I glued them, too.  Crap.  Oh well - as far as I can tell that has been my only ooops.  Definitely need some fake blood, too. Can’t have a headless body with no blood! And hands. Then I think I’m going to make another coffin that is sticking up out of the ground & I’d really like to make a fence to go around the coffins. Pallets would work great. And also need some strobe lights. I have no lights on my graveyard!

Dry fitted bodies

Duct tape!

OK, I’m obsessed. I know I’m rambling but Halloween is just so fun! I woke up at 7:30 Saturday morning & my mind was racing with ideas. So I just had to get up. Linda asked me to make her a coffin for their yard, too. Sure! She’s gonna help me with it. Fun!  Tangent -  I have to put in a plug for the ratcheting PVC cutter! Totally worth the $13 !!! I measured & marked the PVC and Angel cut it for me. If a 12 year old can cut with it, you know it’s easy! And cut cleanly, too.  So the peeps (zombies?) are taking shape nicely.

OK, back to Earth. Thursday Angel got to go on a field trip to see a Tiger’s game. They won! Yay! I bet she’s secretly glad that the Club didn’t allow her to switch field trip packages after all. Water parks & park beaches probably look all the same after going to a couple.

Last weekend I went up north to Linda’s place on the lake. I’ve only been up there once before, a couple years ago. At first she was just going to take Angel & I was excited because Randy was working at the Mid-Michigan MS150. I was going to get all sorts of stuff done around the house. Then Laurie said she was going up and that I should go, too. Crap. I ended up compromising and went up Saturday. Jack & I were on the road by noon. I have to say, it felt really weird to drive for 2 ½ hours by myself! Felt like I was escaping or something!

Me & Angel on the boat

Laurie & I ready to tube!

Lisa & Angel's tribute to their cousin Catie.

So I (we) got up there and went across the street and played Bocce Ball with Laurie, Scott & Annie (Annie & I rock! Undefeated all 3 games! Not bad for not even knowing what the game was!) Then we went tubing. Laurie didn’t like to ride with Lisa or Angel, since they made fun of her for laughing. So we rode together & laughed like idiots together. We were bouncing around and it was like I went in slow motion going over the side. I was aware of the water being warm all around me and I came up laughing. Dave (driving the boat) thought Laurie was crying, not even caring that I was gone – hmmmpf! But she was laughing just as hard as me. Mainly because she could hear me across the water! It was a good time. Then we went & had some burgers, and went back out on the pontoon for a sunset cruise around the lake. Beautiful! Then we went back and sat around the fire for a while. Everyone laughed at me when I came walking up with my jug of pineapple juice under my arm, pulling my little cooler on wheels. I was keeping my Malibu on ice! Anyway, with the exception of my cup that got kicked over & the one I made for Laurie – I polished off that bottle myself. I was pretty HAPPY! I also learned that my knees don’t like to bend that far, so it was tough to squat behind the trailer to pee. At least I didn’t fall over or get any mosquito bites on my butt. Once I finished my bottle, I realized I was cold so I went to bed. Lisa & Angel had gone to bed earlier & took the dogs with them. Jack really did not like Scott at all. Don’t know what it was about him, but Jack would just stare & growl at him. He had no problems with Jeff so it wasn’t the “stranger” issue. Anyway, Jack apparently didn’t like his blanket on the floor of the trailer because he was up on Laurie’s bed! So once I found a plug for my phone charger, I called him over & he slept with me. He’s never got to sleep on a people bed before. He also takes up a lot more room than a cat! I woke up once to see what time it was and he was lying in the crook of my legs. He popped his head up to look at me and his jowls were all squished up in what we call “bed face”. I couldn’t help but giggle at him. It rained early Sunday morning and it was kind of chilly. I was perfectly happy wearing jeans & my hoodie! Dave took us all out to breakfast and when we went back, Linda wanted to go out on the boat. I don’t think I ever reluctantly put my bathing suit on before, but I did this time! So we went tubing again, then Linda wanted to go to the beach. The shallow water was colder than out in the middle of the lake! So we didn’t stay there long, plus it was sprinkling. We went back & packed up the cars & just got in then when it started to downpour – perfect timing! Linda rode home with me because Dave left while we were out on the boat. They usually leave early to miss traffic – don’t blame them!

I signed us (the Love fam) up for Adopt-A-Platoon & just got my contact info the beginning part of last week. I sent the first package of munchies out Wednesday. Now that I know how to do the customs forms, it’ll be easier. I had to ask the post office lady how to do it. Makes me feel good to know that a little something I’m doing will make 25 people happy and make their life just a bit brighter. This transportation company is in Afghanistan and they currently have 2 injured peeps from IEDs. Scary! Reading stuff like that in the news doesn’t mean much, but knowing that MY platoon has encountered them is totally different. More real. Yeah, they probably don’t even know about me/us yet and I already consider them mine. I really only need to send one package a month, but I’ll probably send 2 – one full of goodies & the other full of stuff to do and other whatnot.

LisaLulu did pretty good in her horse show 2 weeks ago. She didn’t place, but it’s tough for a beginner to compete against kids who have worked with a trainer since they were little. The first class was bad – she was nervous & Captain acted up so they went to the middle and the ringmaster led her out. She rode both English & Western. I think she was more confident in Western, although Captain didn’t use his low gear required for it. He didn’t lope, he straight up galloped around the arena! But he looked good! I didn’t get many pics because I was using Lisa’s camera for her!

Angel asked Laurie if she could have her birthday party at her house this year. She wants to have a “Hobo Weekend” type party with sleeping in the barn, etc. Alrighty then! This will be fun to work out the details to! Mainly HOW to get kids there! I wouldn’t expect the parents to drive them up there, so we’d have to shuttle them. Guess she won’t be having a HUGE party like she wants!!

So anyway, that's all the excitement here - other than the pallet & miscellaneous pallet lid I brought home from work today - the begiinings of my graveyard fence.  I'm taking my hammer to work tomorrow to break down some other wood frames and bring them home, too.  This is one of the few times I miss having the Hoopdie!

Oh yeah - Our septic field apparently has failed - so we get to have our back yard dug up! 

Ominous blue flags.  We now also have yellow & orange flags, too!