Let me start out with letting out a big SIGHHHHHHH. I am sitting at work and relaxing for the first time in a few weeks. The past two weeks has been quite a bit hectic for Emily and I.
Emily has been out of school for 2 weeks and has been running around like a mad woman ever since. Emily has this fear of relaxing for too long because she feels like she is just being lazy and should be doing other things. This phobia of not being too able relax is called drivejoshcrazy. But, she likes to keep busy, and this time of year there are plenty of things to do.
Lauren, one of Emily’s best friends, flew into town on Wednesday for Dan and Kristen’s wedding Saturday. From Wednesday on Emily was slammed helping out Kristen for the wedding. I had to work at the store all day on Wednesday and Thursday since we had Herman in an insurance class and the test on Friday morning. I had my renter moving in on Friday and had a ton of things to get done at the house, and Friday morning Justin, Meg, Norah and myself were heading off to Kansas City for my cousin’s wedding. So, it was a nice cram week for me. Wednesday and Thursday I left the house around 8:30 am and didn't get home until 8:30 pm. Now I realize that some of you work those crazy 12 hour days on a regular basis and I applaud your efforts, but I don't enjoy them and choose not to work 60 hours week.
The wedding Friday night was outside and very nice. It was great to see our family. I stayed out till 4:30, which I am slowly realizing; I am just too old for that. We wake up Saturday at 8:30 and hit the road. We had to stop a few times since Norah peed thru her diaper and soaked her shorts three times of Friday. We land in St. Louis around 2:00. Starting Friday, we had 7 people staying at the house, so quite the full house, but always a good time. Saturday’s wedding starting at 4:00 and by 2:00 and a metal rail gash in my shin, I am home and in bed.
Thursday I am back to Kansas City for a wedding that I am a groomsman in. His bachelor party, which I have organized, is Thursday Night. I am keeping the roads hot this summer! 3 weddings in 8 days: Come Sunday I will be sick of “Love is patient, Love is kind…blah blah blah…”PICK A NEW VERSE!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
A new member of the Tyler household
No No, we did not adopt a baby from Vietnam, Angela and Brad took the last one. Emily finally got a damn cat.
She has been wanting a cat since we starting living together, but when she first moved in Pat and Paul were still living there and we decided that 3 guys, a dog and Emily is enough people in the house. Then once they moved out put the house on the market so she decided to wait until we moved into our new house; but she couldn’t wait.
If you didn’t know, I am not a huge cat fan. I am okay with having a cat in the house, their just no dogs. Winston is sad when I leave and super excited when I come home. He needs attention and if he doesn’t get it, he pouts. He has his own attitude and if you piss him off, he will let you know; he is damn near a human. Now, a cat needs you to feed them, and that is about it. Sorry to piss in your cheerios if you love cats; to each their own, just not for me.
So, Emily brings a kitten home and now we have to pick out a name. We decided to name him Truman, after Harry S. Truman, who is from Missouri and with Winston named after Winston Churchill, we figured having him named after another leader was appropriate.
Now don’t get me wrong, Truman is a cute kitten and it is fun to watch him catch his own tail, but until he gets de-clawed on Tuesday, all I can think about is Truman tearing up the new couches. Truman also loves to play when we are trying to sleep, which is annoying as hell, so he spends his nights in his room (the office). So, once he gets his claws out and he calms down, I think I will grow to love Truman. But right now he is that annoying kid that just never shuts up and constantly has to be watched.
Winston seems to be adjusting to Truman nicely, he has his moments of jealously, but he pouts in his laundry basket for 20 minutes and is over it. When they first met Winston wanted to sniff Truman, and Truman kept hissing and trying to claw at him. Not sure what Truman was thinking, Winston could end him with one little snip, but Truman kept hissing. Over the past week Truman has learned that Winston is not going to eat him and they just ignore each other. Truman will play with Winston’s tail when it is wagging, until Winston gets pissed. I think Winston hates Truman, but knows that he has to put up with him, so he has accepted it and so have I.
Emily and Truman
Truman looking for the couch to shred up.
One more of Truman
Just one of the best dog in the world...Winston
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Golf, guitar, a support beam and a piece of Styrofoam.
As I get older, (and I admit, at the ripe old age of 26 I am still young but none the less, I have started my decline) I enjoy sitting and doing nothing with a few close friends. No plans to go out, no cell phones ringing, no worries about work…Nothing. I used to be the party guru who wanted to go out and party all weekend long. And not that I don't enjoy that from time to time, I just can't recover like I used to. The few hour hang over has turned into a few days. So, I myself leaning towards doing nothing. As the summer kicks in to full gear Emily and I find ourselves with no free weekend until August 23rd, the weekend before our wedding. So, I knew a few months ago that if I wanted a do nothing guys weekend, I better get it planned. Luck would have it Pat has a lake house and was planning this type of weekend.
He invited 20 people, which we all knew that only 5 or 6 of us would show up. It takes a special kind of person to sit on a dock for 7 hours doing nothing. I knew that Bear, myself and Pat would all go and have the time of our lives. We convinced Ben to come along and we proceeded to dream about the do nothing weekend.
(Follow this link and click on wedding party on the left hand side. You can meet Ben, Pat and Bear.
The Tuesday before we are set to go, Pat tells us that his folks sold the Lake house and we need a plan B. We had all 4 already taken off work, so come hell or high water, we were doing something. So, after a day on the phone, I found a nice little house on the lake with a private dock. . The private dock was the key, and the hardest thing to find. Most houses with a private dock will sleep 15 people and cost $300 a night and that was out of our price range. The plan was to stay at Mom’s on Friday, have a bon fire and enjoy the guitar playing of Pat.
We head down Friday morning so we could golf.
Ben was supposed to ride down with Bear and the week of says that he has to work that day and he will head down after he got off work on Friday, which he has said many times before and never showed up. The three of us prepare for the weekend without Ben.
After golf my uncle Mike calls and tells us about an all you can eat king crab leg buffet. Most of you don’t care what we had for dinner, but this was one of the best buffets we have ever had. $21 for all you can seafood buffet and all the king crab legs you can handle. If you ever find yourself in Greenview, MO on a Friday night make sure you go to Tupelo Honey's, I promise it will be worth it.
Much to our delight, Ben calls during dinner and says he has made it. Ben had called our bluff and actually showed up, we are proud of you Ben! Friday night went just as planned: golfed, ate dinner, drank some beer, and sat around the bon fire listening to Pat and Uncle Mike play guitar. We did this until 3:00 am.
He invited 20 people, which we all knew that only 5 or 6 of us would show up. It takes a special kind of person to sit on a dock for 7 hours doing nothing. I knew that Bear, myself and Pat would all go and have the time of our lives. We convinced Ben to come along and we proceeded to dream about the do nothing weekend.
(Follow this link and click on wedding party on the left hand side. You can meet Ben, Pat and Bear.
The Tuesday before we are set to go, Pat tells us that his folks sold the Lake house and we need a plan B. We had all 4 already taken off work, so come hell or high water, we were doing something. So, after a day on the phone, I found a nice little house on the lake with a private dock. . The private dock was the key, and the hardest thing to find. Most houses with a private dock will sleep 15 people and cost $300 a night and that was out of our price range. The plan was to stay at Mom’s on Friday, have a bon fire and enjoy the guitar playing of Pat.
We head down Friday morning so we could golf.
Ben was supposed to ride down with Bear and the week of says that he has to work that day and he will head down after he got off work on Friday, which he has said many times before and never showed up. The three of us prepare for the weekend without Ben.
After golf my uncle Mike calls and tells us about an all you can eat king crab leg buffet. Most of you don’t care what we had for dinner, but this was one of the best buffets we have ever had. $21 for all you can seafood buffet and all the king crab legs you can handle. If you ever find yourself in Greenview, MO on a Friday night make sure you go to Tupelo Honey's, I promise it will be worth it.
Much to our delight, Ben calls during dinner and says he has made it. Ben had called our bluff and actually showed up, we are proud of you Ben! Friday night went just as planned: golfed, ate dinner, drank some beer, and sat around the bon fire listening to Pat and Uncle Mike play guitar. We did this until 3:00 am.
We woke up Saturday and headed to the house and planted our fat asses on the dock and didn’t move for the next 7 hours.
Pat and I on the dock
When we finally did get the energy to get up and eat some food, we found out that Bear had drank just a little too much. Heading up the stairs he falls backwards off a four-foot drop off into a support beam. Now, Bear used to be a very large man, 330 pounds. He has lost 110 pounds this past year, but still is a big boy. The support beam apparently was not doing a good job supporting, because as soon as Bear hit that beam, it went shooting off a few feet. This would be the last we saw of Bear…he sleep the rest of the night. Before Bear went down for the night, he had the great idea to put a chair on a piece of Styrofoam and float out.
Bear on the S.S. Styrofoam in his now lost at sea Chiefs Chair
Luckily, he was too drunk to realize he had no way back, so I had to swim out and get him.
After dinner, Pat, Ben and myself really like the idea of sitting on the Styrofoam. So, we found a hose (no, there was no rope) and tied it to the dock and grabbed a cooler and pushed off. For the next 3 hours we floated in the middle of the cove…doing nothing, all while Bear was sound asleep in the house 100 yards away. The Styrofoam did end up floating away, with Bear’s Chiefs chair firming planted. The next morning we ate breakfast at Miller’s Landing, a restaurant in the same cover as us. We jokingly asked the waitress if she saw a large piece of Styrofoam floating away, and she said she did. Whether she was lying or not, we still like to believe that the S.S. Styrofoam is bringing joy to someone else!
Thanks to Ben, Pat and Bear for one of the best weekends I have had in quite some time. Next stop...Bachelor party part II
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Sell this House
We have quickly realized that living in a house that you are trying to sell sucks! We have been trying to sell our house since April 1st, and as of May 28th, have had only 6 showings. I have this grand idea of moving into a new house on August 30th (the day after our wedding), but that is quickly fading to just sell the house as fast as possible. I have spoken with many couples who have lived together before they were married and when asked how they feel now that they are married: their response is typical, “The same.” Maybe I am old fashion, but I want something to change, something different, something that says, “Now we are married!” But, as stated, living in a house you are trying to sell sucks, so if a good offer comes along, we will most likely take it and the dreams of moving into the house the day after our wedding fades away in the sunset. (sigh) Whoa is me.
It feels like we are living in a museum now. Each room in our house use to have it’s own feel, it’s own attitude if you must. The kitchen was black and white with the classic black and white tiled floor. The living was a dark purple, which sounds horrible, but actually worked really well with our milk chocolate couches. We had a full size and a love seat couch, giving the room a cozy feel: it was a great sitting room. The basement was my 49er basement. I had a large helmet on the wall, dartboard and big screen. 2 full size couches so my friends could come over and hang out. I have tears remembering my old basement. We had spent a week painting the up stairs various shades of light browns, and that was the last project we wanted to get done for a while: then we decide to sell the house.
Now, the whole house is a neutral color, the living room has one love seat, my basement has one couch, so if more than one person wants to stop by, they must sit on the floor. We have no pictures up, no clutter, no dirt, no…nothing. Now, the idea, as stated in previous blogs, is to stage the house. Give it a clean neutral feel that someone could move right into. We took out couches to make the rooms seem bigger, took down our pictures so a family could see their selves in the house, not Emily and I.
The upside is that we have a super clean house, the downside is that we have to make the house super clean every day. We leave every morning with the thought that someone could look at the house. Not that we were dirty people, it just puts a whole different level of stress on us living here.
We did purchase a black leather sofa and a matching recliner from a friend of mine who is moving to San Diego, so the love seat that is up stairs will move downstairs so I can have more than one person over now! The recliner will fill a much needed void in the corner of the living room. Mom has been begging us to put a plant there, but I know that it would die, really turning someone off.
So, if you know someone who needs a house in St. Charles, tell them to call me, so I can quit bitching.
It feels like we are living in a museum now. Each room in our house use to have it’s own feel, it’s own attitude if you must. The kitchen was black and white with the classic black and white tiled floor. The living was a dark purple, which sounds horrible, but actually worked really well with our milk chocolate couches. We had a full size and a love seat couch, giving the room a cozy feel: it was a great sitting room. The basement was my 49er basement. I had a large helmet on the wall, dartboard and big screen. 2 full size couches so my friends could come over and hang out. I have tears remembering my old basement. We had spent a week painting the up stairs various shades of light browns, and that was the last project we wanted to get done for a while: then we decide to sell the house.
Now, the whole house is a neutral color, the living room has one love seat, my basement has one couch, so if more than one person wants to stop by, they must sit on the floor. We have no pictures up, no clutter, no dirt, no…nothing. Now, the idea, as stated in previous blogs, is to stage the house. Give it a clean neutral feel that someone could move right into. We took out couches to make the rooms seem bigger, took down our pictures so a family could see their selves in the house, not Emily and I.
The upside is that we have a super clean house, the downside is that we have to make the house super clean every day. We leave every morning with the thought that someone could look at the house. Not that we were dirty people, it just puts a whole different level of stress on us living here.
We did purchase a black leather sofa and a matching recliner from a friend of mine who is moving to San Diego, so the love seat that is up stairs will move downstairs so I can have more than one person over now! The recliner will fill a much needed void in the corner of the living room. Mom has been begging us to put a plant there, but I know that it would die, really turning someone off.
So, if you know someone who needs a house in St. Charles, tell them to call me, so I can quit bitching.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Engaged and Graduated
Emily and I both want to thank everyone for coming to the party, the turnout was great. We really do appreciate all the love and support that we get from our friends and family. A special thank you to my Mom who headed up the decorating committee! Also, a big thank you to Fleetwood who made sure that none of us would have to be “that guy.” Fleetwood came into St. Louis from Springfield around 7:30 for the party and by 9:30 he was puking into a bucket at the bar and one his way home for the night. He decided to do as many shots as possible in as short of a time span he could. Needless to say, I don’t think he really remembers much of his trip to St. Louis, but hey..it was great to see him!
For anyone who was wondering, the band was Contagious, who I would venture to say that they are the best cover band I have ever heard.
After months of anticipation, the big night finally was upon us. I really enjoy planning events like this, and every since I left college I have not had the opportunity to plan many events, so I was pretty excited about it. Emily worked her ass off for her Master’s and getting a 4.0 while working a full time job is an awesome achievement and I wanted to make sure that she didn’t have to worry about a thing and that the party was awesome.
Emily graduated Friday the 16th in one of the more boring graduations I have ever attended. Luckily, when Emily walked across stage, she just kept on walking to the parking lot, so we got to leave after an hour and a half. They had only made it ¼ of the way through the hundreds of names, so I have feeling we would have been there for another hour or so had Emily wanted to stay. The speaker was one of the worst speakers I have ever heard. I keep thinking, “Bueller…Bueller…Bueller.” And to top this off, he was drowning on and on about a topic that I didn’t even care about. I can handle a bad speaker talking about something that I care about, or a bad topic with a great speaker. But a bad speaker plus a bad topic equals Josh wanting to shoot himself in the head.
We had friends coming in town Friday night so we could golf early Saturday morning and the girls had a day planned to go shopping, getting a pedicure and manicure and lunch.
Getting up at 7:15 kind of shocked the body, but a few cups of coffee got the whole body kick started. We had a great time golfing and I believe I have given Ben a new addiction.
The party was a ton of fun and Contagious really made the party. I did learn that the five hour energy drink, does not set well with my body. Ben was pushing these drinks like hotcakes, and after a few hours I decided to have one. After getting up so early and spending all day in the sun, by 7:00 I was a little worn out. Within 30 minutes of drinking this stupid drink my mind was going a million miles a second and my stomach felt miserable. I started to get real pale and sick. So, at 9:00 p.m. and only 6 beers, I am in the bathroom at Game Day puking: Quite the start to the night. Once I got that crap out of my system, I was ready to rock. The beers started to go down like water and the shots were flying around like crazy: hey, who I am to say no to a shot. Emily was quite the trooper. She is normally a 3 beer queer, but she was drinking all night and taking shots with the best of them. She did however puke behind the bar around 11:30, and then kept right on drinking. Hey, it was her night!
Sunday found us sleeping in until 12:30 and trying to be as lazy as possible. We had a house full of people, so we had to clean and I had to get the yard mowed, so something had to be accomplished, but let it be known, we did not like doing any of it.
Orlando
I did get Emily a trip to Orlando for graduation. Our good friends Bear and Amy have a time share and they are going to Orlando as well and we are going to stay with them. A big thank you to them for letting us stay with them for free. We got cheap plane tickets and a free place to stay, can’t pass that up. We are leaving July 28th, which means I will miss Norah’s 2nd birthday. I really hope it doesn’t traumatize her for life that her favorite person in the whole world is missing her 2nd birthday.
This is where we are staying.
Notable gifts. Gifts were not expected at all, and anything that we received was very much appreciated.
Emily received:
An IPOD shuffle, head phones and an arm holder for the shuffle
A gift certificate to a spa
A trip to Orlando, FL We received some gift cards to Bed Bath & Beyond which will be put to great use, a gift certificate for couple’s spa, 3 bottles of wine and candle and candle holder. I believe this covers the gifts, sorry if I left someone’s gift out.
Once again, thank you to everyone for the gifts and for coming to the party! Another blog to follow early this week.
For anyone who was wondering, the band was Contagious, who I would venture to say that they are the best cover band I have ever heard.
After months of anticipation, the big night finally was upon us. I really enjoy planning events like this, and every since I left college I have not had the opportunity to plan many events, so I was pretty excited about it. Emily worked her ass off for her Master’s and getting a 4.0 while working a full time job is an awesome achievement and I wanted to make sure that she didn’t have to worry about a thing and that the party was awesome.
Emily graduated Friday the 16th in one of the more boring graduations I have ever attended. Luckily, when Emily walked across stage, she just kept on walking to the parking lot, so we got to leave after an hour and a half. They had only made it ¼ of the way through the hundreds of names, so I have feeling we would have been there for another hour or so had Emily wanted to stay. The speaker was one of the worst speakers I have ever heard. I keep thinking, “Bueller…Bueller…Bueller.” And to top this off, he was drowning on and on about a topic that I didn’t even care about. I can handle a bad speaker talking about something that I care about, or a bad topic with a great speaker. But a bad speaker plus a bad topic equals Josh wanting to shoot himself in the head.
We had friends coming in town Friday night so we could golf early Saturday morning and the girls had a day planned to go shopping, getting a pedicure and manicure and lunch.
Getting up at 7:15 kind of shocked the body, but a few cups of coffee got the whole body kick started. We had a great time golfing and I believe I have given Ben a new addiction.
The party was a ton of fun and Contagious really made the party. I did learn that the five hour energy drink, does not set well with my body. Ben was pushing these drinks like hotcakes, and after a few hours I decided to have one. After getting up so early and spending all day in the sun, by 7:00 I was a little worn out. Within 30 minutes of drinking this stupid drink my mind was going a million miles a second and my stomach felt miserable. I started to get real pale and sick. So, at 9:00 p.m. and only 6 beers, I am in the bathroom at Game Day puking: Quite the start to the night. Once I got that crap out of my system, I was ready to rock. The beers started to go down like water and the shots were flying around like crazy: hey, who I am to say no to a shot. Emily was quite the trooper. She is normally a 3 beer queer, but she was drinking all night and taking shots with the best of them. She did however puke behind the bar around 11:30, and then kept right on drinking. Hey, it was her night!
Sunday found us sleeping in until 12:30 and trying to be as lazy as possible. We had a house full of people, so we had to clean and I had to get the yard mowed, so something had to be accomplished, but let it be known, we did not like doing any of it.
Orlando
I did get Emily a trip to Orlando for graduation. Our good friends Bear and Amy have a time share and they are going to Orlando as well and we are going to stay with them. A big thank you to them for letting us stay with them for free. We got cheap plane tickets and a free place to stay, can’t pass that up. We are leaving July 28th, which means I will miss Norah’s 2nd birthday. I really hope it doesn’t traumatize her for life that her favorite person in the whole world is missing her 2nd birthday.
This is where we are staying.
Notable gifts. Gifts were not expected at all, and anything that we received was very much appreciated.
Emily received:
An IPOD shuffle, head phones and an arm holder for the shuffle
A gift certificate to a spa
A trip to Orlando, FL We received some gift cards to Bed Bath & Beyond which will be put to great use, a gift certificate for couple’s spa, 3 bottles of wine and candle and candle holder. I believe this covers the gifts, sorry if I left someone’s gift out.
Once again, thank you to everyone for the gifts and for coming to the party! Another blog to follow early this week.
Monday, May 5, 2008
If it ain't broke...don't replace it
If it ain’t broke...don’t replace it.
For the better, I have become very cheap. I have learned to live on a minimal budget, not because I really wanted to, but for a year or so of my life, I HAD to. I knew which bars had free food for happy hour and which bars had $1 drinks, so I could at least get out of the house, other wise I would loose my damn mind. I had some cavities that needed to be fixed, but no money. I am sure that many people have lived on a tiny budget, so I am not special; I am just giving you a glimpse into my past. Now, looking back it was good for me to learn how to live so cheap and on a budget. At the time, it was miserable. Now that I am back on my feet and able to buy hamburger buns to go with my hamburger, I am still living on that same cheap budget. I have this horrible fear of slumping back down to that broke state that I try to spend anything unless I have to. Here are two examples:
When I bought this house 3 years ago, I purchased a used washer and dryer for $175 for the set. At the time I was getting married in 10 months, so I was going to use this set for the time being and when we got married, get a new set. Three years later the bastards are still holding on, barely, but they are there. 1 out of 4 times the washer will quit mid-cycle and the water won’t drain, so we have to restart the cycle. This means we can’t leave the house for too long with the washer running, other wise there is a good chance our clothes will sit in water for way too long and the wash machine could overflow….again.
The dryer takes two full cycles to get our clothes dry: unless we are drying a shirt. Now, it did quit working a few months ago, but the place I purchased it from came and fixed it for $25.00. So, now I have a $200 set that has lasted me 3 years. I feel pretty safe in saying that I got my money’s worth out of them. So, until that wash machine quits working 100% of the time, they will gimp along, washing the clothes, little by little.
The BBQ grill is the other thing that is hobbling along. I love to BBQ, so the grill gets used 2 or 3 times a week. I have also had this grill for 3 years, which I guess is a year past its prime. The starter does not work, so I have to turn the gas on, which takes 5 minutes or so to get the gas flowing into the grill, then hold a long lighter and turn my head as I light it so not to loose all of my eye brows…again. The center piece under the grill has falling apart and catches fire every time, meaning I have to constantly move the meat around so the bottom does not flare up. I have long said that I need another grill, but as long as this one still lights, I am going to keep using it. Last month we were getting our deck re-stained so I had to move everything off the back porch. I decide that I can move everything by myself, which I later came to regret that decision. While moving the grill down the stairs, one stair at a time so to not have all the insides fall out, the one of the wheels gets stuck and the whole thing flips down the stairs. I must admit: I shed a tear. I knew she was a goner, she had her last fall. After the deck was done I gathered the grill up and all her pieces to see if she will light. I just knew that I was going to have to break down and by a new one. Emily was happy because she hates the ugly old grill. It is dirty and hard to use she says. Now, after 3 years of grilling, of course it is dirty, but that is what I love about it.
I get everything put back together, turn on the propane, and 5 minutes later I hold the lighter in the grill and cross my fingers. WALA! It lights. Now the top two smaller grills, no longer fit, but I have the main one! So, gimp along a little longer grill, you, the wash machine and the dryer are troopers! Don’t let Emily tell you any different!
For the better, I have become very cheap. I have learned to live on a minimal budget, not because I really wanted to, but for a year or so of my life, I HAD to. I knew which bars had free food for happy hour and which bars had $1 drinks, so I could at least get out of the house, other wise I would loose my damn mind. I had some cavities that needed to be fixed, but no money. I am sure that many people have lived on a tiny budget, so I am not special; I am just giving you a glimpse into my past. Now, looking back it was good for me to learn how to live so cheap and on a budget. At the time, it was miserable. Now that I am back on my feet and able to buy hamburger buns to go with my hamburger, I am still living on that same cheap budget. I have this horrible fear of slumping back down to that broke state that I try to spend anything unless I have to. Here are two examples:
When I bought this house 3 years ago, I purchased a used washer and dryer for $175 for the set. At the time I was getting married in 10 months, so I was going to use this set for the time being and when we got married, get a new set. Three years later the bastards are still holding on, barely, but they are there. 1 out of 4 times the washer will quit mid-cycle and the water won’t drain, so we have to restart the cycle. This means we can’t leave the house for too long with the washer running, other wise there is a good chance our clothes will sit in water for way too long and the wash machine could overflow….again.
The dryer takes two full cycles to get our clothes dry: unless we are drying a shirt. Now, it did quit working a few months ago, but the place I purchased it from came and fixed it for $25.00. So, now I have a $200 set that has lasted me 3 years. I feel pretty safe in saying that I got my money’s worth out of them. So, until that wash machine quits working 100% of the time, they will gimp along, washing the clothes, little by little.
The BBQ grill is the other thing that is hobbling along. I love to BBQ, so the grill gets used 2 or 3 times a week. I have also had this grill for 3 years, which I guess is a year past its prime. The starter does not work, so I have to turn the gas on, which takes 5 minutes or so to get the gas flowing into the grill, then hold a long lighter and turn my head as I light it so not to loose all of my eye brows…again. The center piece under the grill has falling apart and catches fire every time, meaning I have to constantly move the meat around so the bottom does not flare up. I have long said that I need another grill, but as long as this one still lights, I am going to keep using it. Last month we were getting our deck re-stained so I had to move everything off the back porch. I decide that I can move everything by myself, which I later came to regret that decision. While moving the grill down the stairs, one stair at a time so to not have all the insides fall out, the one of the wheels gets stuck and the whole thing flips down the stairs. I must admit: I shed a tear. I knew she was a goner, she had her last fall. After the deck was done I gathered the grill up and all her pieces to see if she will light. I just knew that I was going to have to break down and by a new one. Emily was happy because she hates the ugly old grill. It is dirty and hard to use she says. Now, after 3 years of grilling, of course it is dirty, but that is what I love about it.
I get everything put back together, turn on the propane, and 5 minutes later I hold the lighter in the grill and cross my fingers. WALA! It lights. Now the top two smaller grills, no longer fit, but I have the main one! So, gimp along a little longer grill, you, the wash machine and the dryer are troopers! Don’t let Emily tell you any different!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sleep Tight: Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite.
When I was a child up until 5 years ago, I would wake up a few times a year in a “blood curling” scream. I will have to paraphrase my brother on this one, because I do not remember waking up screaming. He said that he never understood the expression of “blood curling” scream until he heard me screaming. We shared a room until I was 12 and I woke a few times during the night screaming and Justin said that it was one of the most freighting things he has ever heard. Justin would just cover his head and pray that whatever was getting me, would not hear him breathing under the sheets.
The one time that the horrible scream actually woke me up was my sophomore year high school. I was at a party and ended up sleeping on the floor next to a bed of three girls. I wake up with this blood-curling scream and of course the girls wake up screaming. My scream did not wake me up, it was the girls screaming that woke me up, and scared me, so I am now screaming in a normal, “manlier” scream. I realized what happened rather quickly and just played stupid. The girls were trying to describe the horrible noise they just heard, and none of them would even think that such a horrible, high pitch noise could come out of a guy, so I played it off and said that I heard it as well and had no clue what it was. At this time everyone else in the house had ran up to see what the hell we were screaming at, the whole time, I am just playing stupid.
I am not sure what triggers these horrible sounds, but I have not had an “episode” in over 5 years. I have warned any roommate that I have had: just in case, and Emily knows about them and I really do feel sorry for her if I wake up screaming in the middle of the night: I really believe Emily will piss the bed and pass out.
So, moving forward. The past few weeks I have found myself waking up doing crazy things. Most of them I do not remember, but Emily tells me about them the next morning. Two weeks ago I woke up begging Emily not to move her elbow since our elbows were connected. This went on for a few minutes. Emily says that I seem wide awake, I scarcely remember this happening, but I remember that I was truly terrified that the skin on our conjoined elbows were going to rip apart.
Last week I woke up Emily yelling and pointed up at the ceiling fan. Emily tried to ask me if the fan was going to fall and I mumbled yes and fell back asleep. Last night I thought that I cut my self and woke up holding my right arm telling Emily that I am bleeding, and I do remember Emily handing me a tissue so not to get blood on the sheets. I turned the light on, expecting to see a bloody mess on my arm: nothing. I am laying in bed holding a tissue for my "bloody" arm feeling like an idiot.
I am going to wake up once and there really is going to be a problem and Emily will be convienced that I am just having issues. All the while, the evil monster in the closet will get her first.
Justin also has had issues with waking up and doing weird things in his sleep, so I am not sure if something is crazy in our mind, or if Mom just gave us booze for nap time and it is rattling around up there. I don’t want to dive into Justin’s crazy night terror, that is a whole different blog that he needs to write.
The one time that the horrible scream actually woke me up was my sophomore year high school. I was at a party and ended up sleeping on the floor next to a bed of three girls. I wake up with this blood-curling scream and of course the girls wake up screaming. My scream did not wake me up, it was the girls screaming that woke me up, and scared me, so I am now screaming in a normal, “manlier” scream. I realized what happened rather quickly and just played stupid. The girls were trying to describe the horrible noise they just heard, and none of them would even think that such a horrible, high pitch noise could come out of a guy, so I played it off and said that I heard it as well and had no clue what it was. At this time everyone else in the house had ran up to see what the hell we were screaming at, the whole time, I am just playing stupid.
I am not sure what triggers these horrible sounds, but I have not had an “episode” in over 5 years. I have warned any roommate that I have had: just in case, and Emily knows about them and I really do feel sorry for her if I wake up screaming in the middle of the night: I really believe Emily will piss the bed and pass out.
So, moving forward. The past few weeks I have found myself waking up doing crazy things. Most of them I do not remember, but Emily tells me about them the next morning. Two weeks ago I woke up begging Emily not to move her elbow since our elbows were connected. This went on for a few minutes. Emily says that I seem wide awake, I scarcely remember this happening, but I remember that I was truly terrified that the skin on our conjoined elbows were going to rip apart.
Last week I woke up Emily yelling and pointed up at the ceiling fan. Emily tried to ask me if the fan was going to fall and I mumbled yes and fell back asleep. Last night I thought that I cut my self and woke up holding my right arm telling Emily that I am bleeding, and I do remember Emily handing me a tissue so not to get blood on the sheets. I turned the light on, expecting to see a bloody mess on my arm: nothing. I am laying in bed holding a tissue for my "bloody" arm feeling like an idiot.
I am going to wake up once and there really is going to be a problem and Emily will be convienced that I am just having issues. All the while, the evil monster in the closet will get her first.
Justin also has had issues with waking up and doing weird things in his sleep, so I am not sure if something is crazy in our mind, or if Mom just gave us booze for nap time and it is rattling around up there. I don’t want to dive into Justin’s crazy night terror, that is a whole different blog that he needs to write.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)