Wednesday, April 30, 2008

The Keys to the Kingdom

Whoa. You ever do something so monumentally dumb that even you can believe you did it? Yep, that's how I started my day.

I woke up late this morning after egregiously hitting my snooze button over and over again (on not only my dual-alarm clock, but my tri-alarm phone). Tells you a little about how sleep-deprived I am with my usual 65-hour work week, huh?

Anyway, in racing to get out the door, I couldn't find my keys. My main set of keys, you know, the one that has not only my car and house keys, but the only set of office keys I have, as well as my key to the bank vault. You know, those really important ones?

I always leave them with or in my purse. Always. Couldn't find them, looked all over. Finally decided I must have left them in the car; where else could they be? I couldn't have left them at the bank, as I need them to actually lock the vault. So I know they aren't there...must be in the car.

Resolved to this, I flung open the door while simultaneously barricading Pudder from escape. I heard a strange tinkling noise.

There, hanging in the door, are my keys. I unlocked my door yesterday, got distracted when Pudder ran out, and apparently went in with the keys left hanging in the door. All. Night. Long.

Good think I live in a nice neighborhood. Oh, and that I have an attack cat as backup, just in case.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

007-Tampa

Yeah girls!! 75% of The Girls got to whoop it up in Tampa in honor of Natalie successfully defending her dissertation. Now a Doctorate of Philosophy in Physics (PhD), she is really a rocket scientist...holy crap, I have smart friends!!




Geb & I flew down to Tampa 007-style. That is, Nat didn't know we were coming. Nat's hubby Dean and Nat's parents were in on it, but everyone kept the cat in the bag. We went to this Thai restaurant, sat and waited for the arrival. Upon walking in, we could tell it was taking Nat a minute to put it together. (You know when you see someone out of their usual context, it's like, "Huh?"...kind of that deal!) I think when we took this picture, there was still some shock/ disbelief going on. Or, the beers were starting to do their thing...






We partied well into the evening, going to Nat & Dean's favorite local haunt, The Copper Top. I love those kinds of places - always good beer, loads of local color, and seedy bathrooms. It felt just like home!




And the next day headed out to Clearwater Beach for some relaxation, recovery, and reminiscing. It was an awesome day overall; beautiful weather, hot boys (way too young for us, but whatever), good food, and plenty of ocean breezes. Loved it!











Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Puder ("Putter")

So my little princess, Ms. PuderPants, or Putt-Putt for short, has decided that going outside to survey her kingdom is not only her duty, but her right. Shortly after returning home from work every night, I am greeting by an incessant yowling that only abates upon a) receipt of a treat, and b) Puder's release into the wild. Well, into the patio area near my door, at least.

Here is Miss Kitty, keeping a close watch on the birds in the yard. No stalking or hunting as of yet, although she may be waiting for the right opportunity. God, who spoiled this cat? Oh yeah, that was me!

Monday, April 14, 2008

Mundane dating

So I'm back in the dating world after taking a hiatus. And things are...well, a bit dull.

I went out with this guy Jeff on Saturday. He sounded super nice, had a good sense of humor (online) and was up for going to a totally random event: the Minnesota RollerGirls. Let me explain.

Back when I was a teacher, I had the fabulous Shawna as my student teacher protege. Shawna has continued with teaching, and in her spare time, does roller derby. The Minnesota RollerGirls is an elite group; they have to try out, attend boot camp, and all this crazy stuff. They are crazy; Shawna's RollerID is "Sugar Cain". Check out her profile; hilarious: http://www.mnrollergirls.com/teams/atomic_bombshells/sugar_cain.php

Anyway, I suggested to Jeff that we attend the final bout of the season, after meeting up for drinks at Sweeney's on Dale Street. He was cool with that, so we made plans.

Drinks were fine; I did most of the talking, and Jeff just kept saying, "Yeeeeeeeeeeep," like a good Minnesotan, drawing it out and everything. And he'd use that to fill in silence, instead of taking the initiative to move the conversation in a new direction. (I did occasionally shut up, in case he wanted to take that opportunity to talk. No luck.)

Anyway, we headed to St. Paul for the RollerGirls. They were highly entertaining, although I had no clue how to keep track of points earned or why the crowd cheered, except that fights and falls seemed to be crowd favorites. I tried to get Jeff to talk some, but mostly got the same as what I had gotten at the bar. By the time we left and I got dropped back at my car, I was not sure how to say 'bye without also saying, "I don't think we fit." So I copped out and said, "Well, I had fun; give me a call if you want to do this again." And then today, I emailed him online and gave him the brush-off that I wasn't brave enough to do in person. Said I thought he was great, but I didn't feel that spark, etc.

In conclusion, I'm back in the dating game. So far, nothing exciting. But there's always next weekend...

Friday, April 04, 2008

Weekend Visitors


So I had some of my family down this weekend, partly for a visit and partly for a bathroom renovation. No matter what, and no matter who else is around, I always find myself snapping pictures of the cutest child in creation - yep, my niece Livia! Her mommy and I took her to the MOA to see Dora and all the Nickolodean characters - she was in awe of what she saw. "We saw Dora! And Boots! And Diego!" she reported to her daddy later that day.




She certainly was enamored of SpongeBob SquarePants, who had his own fountain. In true Livia style, she hurled money at 'Bob, delighting in the splash, and, most likely, the frivolous spending of money. She is a girl, after all. And grandma takes her to the mall sometimes, where the throwing of money into fountains is now a ritual.






Her favorite part of the whole mall excursion, though? Riding on the escalators! "That was a good ride!" she exclaimed after a fairly sure-footed dismount. Jess and I got a kick out of that.



Back at the house, we played outside as well; Livia collected sticks and pylons and just ran amok. We let little Miss Kitty (Puder) out as well; she wasn't as well-behaved as Livia - had to chase the cat more than the kid.

I'm looking forward to future visits. Apparently Liv fell asleep on the way home that day, and stayed asleep for most of the ride. Upon waking up, she now thinks Auntie Di lives nearby! Oh, I wish it were so.

But soon enough, it will be warm out, and maybe Liv can come down to Auntie Di's house again...and discover that there's a pool, too!

I miss my little Liv!! How cute is that kid? Seriously.