GetSheila

I Like To Sing-A

Okay, I know you have probably seen this on CuteOverload or received it via email, but my friend Natalie sent this to me - along with several additional hilarious kitty hijinks images - and I laughed out loud, stopping only to prevent an inadvertent escape of pee.

Clearly I watched too many vintage cartoons in my youth.

Tags: cats, i like to sing-a

If you believe carbohydrates are bad, stop reading

I love bread. Texas Toast is one of my favorite things.

Imagine my delight when I found they have Cheese Toast in addition to Garlic Toast. A taste test was called for.

The competitors:

Cheesy on the left, garlicy on the right.

Surprisingly, I found Cheesy just doesn't do it for me. Plain old garlic and butter and more butter and maybe just a tad bit more butter with some extra garlic thrown in just for good measure is more my style.

But don't take my word for it. Do your own taste test and tell me what you think! Or hey, got any other cheesy, garlicy, bready things to recommend? It is always good to have a backup plan.

Tags: garlic bread, texas toast

How I Spent My Summer Vacation, er...Weekend

Things I told myself totally needed doing so now they are off my list and I feel like I am making progress (because I am most comfortable living in denial):

1. Filled holes in guest bathroom walls after removing a multitude of nails the painters somehow did not notice were there so did not remove and painted right over.
   
2. Filled four 3/4 inch holes in the wall left by old DishTV and antennae cables that I fell on my ass pulling out of the wall when they got stuck and the end finally popped off never to be seen again unless I decide to tear the sheetrock off the walls to expose the studs and go looking for treasure.
   
3. Put a new tiny screw in the screen door latch plate after one of the original screws fell out who-knows-when and ended up who-knows-where.
   
4. Cleaned the outside of the BBQ grill the former owners left me that was gooey and disgusting. (I did not have the energy to tackle the inside.) This included unscrewing the 6 wood pieces that make up the side "counters" and tossing them in the dishwasher, along with the wire basket thingy and two extra wire grill inserts that were just as crusty at the end of the wash cycle as they were at the beginning. Of course all of this was necessary because of all the use I am going to get out of the grill over the winter. Ahem.
   
5. Cut a piece of 1/4 inch plywood to attach to the (broken) sheetrock that comprises the access panel to my attic, attached it to said (broken) sheetrock (after taping it back together and mudding it because, for god's sake, it's just sheetrock and besides I did not have any more and going to Lowes on a Sunday is just insane), and added a handle using one of the old crap handles I took off the kitchen cabinets. I felt very Design Remix when I was done.
   
6. Cut another piece of 1/4 inch plywood to attach over the pet door that connects the screened-in patio to the backyard so I can let the cats "outside" into the patio without letting them outside. Because I am overprotective and a closet sadist both at the same time.
   
7. Stapled a corner of loose screen down onto the wood frame of the patio using a regular desk stapler because I left my industrial-strength stapler at my sister's and the one the former owner left me was BROKEN. Thankfully, the wood frame of my screen-enclosed patio is so soft the regular desk stapler worked just fine. Or maybe that is not such a good thing. Hm. Time will tell.
   
8. Cut up the last of the moving boxes and stuffed the cardboard pieces into my blue recycling bin. Hurrah!
   
9. Shoved my old stove top and hood into my black garbage bin, after putting the burners, wiring, and anything else I could possibly fit into last week's garbage bin. All that is left to haul to the dump is the oven box and stove top basin.
   
10. Rearranged the garage so everything is now up off the floor and on the built-in shelves (with a few tiny exceptions that do not bear mentioning because I will be getting rid of them soon so GET OFF MY BACK, WILL YOU) so now I can back into the garage (for easier grocery unloading) without as much painstaking maneuvering around obstacles and the squishing of the body to get out the door, which will only open so far when you are parked eight inches from a giant piece of 1/4 inch plywood (used to cut the pieces at #5 & #6 above) that is leaning up against an old oven (see #9) that cannot be over any farther due to a bunch of moving boxes (please refer to #8)
    

Tags: home repairs, homeowner

I'd give up complaining but it is so cathartic

::Changes purple bracelet to the other wrist and starts over from day 0::

I do not understand Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

It is a spin-off or copycat or whatever you want to call it of the original Extreme Makeover, where plastic surgeons and other beautification experts take normal people and make them "better." They fix their teeth, cut their hair, suck the fat out of their stomachs or give them new boobs, and generally improve on what is already there.

But if the original program did it like Home Edition, they wouldn't bother spending all that time and energy fixing something they deem imperfect. They would send the imperfect human to the gas chamber, start over with someone from America's Next Top Model, dress her up, then give her the former imperfect one's name and call it a makeover.

Now don't get me wrong. I love Extreme Home, at least the last 20 minutes where I get to see a gigantic brand new home with all the latest technology, furniture styles, and building trends. (Though I could do without all the discussion of everyone's feelings.) But this is not a makeover. It is a demolition and rebuild. Calling it a makeover just seems wrong. *grump*

And since I'm bitching, all that for just one family? It seems excessive. The family usually gets a car, too. A brand new car. Or two. And a pool or something equally unnecessary yet fabulous. How many Habitat for Humanity homes could they build with the donated time, materials, and money that goes into one Extreme Home for one family, I wonder. But that would not make good TV. The sponsors would disappear and Ty Pennington would have to fall back on being a mere Sears spokesman until Hollywood found him another home improvement-related show to showcase his crazy ass personality.

And now Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is going to Hawaii so the cast and crew can have a holiday and call it work.

I wish it were me.

Tags: home improvement, extreme makeover home edition

Teh Cuteness

The secret to the goodness that is CuteOverload is to read the title first, THEN look at the picture.

Case in point: Walter, I think you got a, er, growth there.

Go check it out. I'll wait.

*     *     *

You laughed out loud, didn't you? DIDN'T YOU?

Don't make me remind you about CuteOverload again, people. Surrender yourself to Teh Cuteness!

Tags: cuteoverload, kitties

I, Gardener

Okay, not really. Being surrounded by plants, a gardener does not make.

That sounded more poetic in my mind.

But hey! Look what my garden did all by itself!

Please ignore the part where whoever put that arrangement together obviously does not know what she is doing.

I wish they would hurry up and invent Smellavision so you could experience the divineness with me.

Tags: gardening, roses

Don't hate me because I go to the Spa

My hair stylist is going on maternity leave for three months. GAH!

This does not happen until mid-November but...IT IS COMING.

Did I say "GAH"?

Now that I have moved, I live an hour away from my hair stylist. As well as the woman who does my facials and massages. Plus my mani-pedi expert. You may think I should find new people here in town but you would be foolish. FOOLISH. It is so hard to find good pamperers these days. I refuse to give them up. Besides, it gives me a great excuse to go down and see my sister once a month. We will probably spend more time going out to eat and having fun than we did when I lived with her. Life is weird.

The hardest part so far has been getting all of my pampering appointments together on Saturday (I used to go midday during the week on one of my work-from-home days) and in the correct order. It is a tricky thing, that ordering business. If you are unsure what this "order" is of which I speak, let me share a few observances:

1. The manicure/pedicure must come after the facial or massage. You do not want to be getting out of - and then back into - your clothes with not-quite-dry finger and toe nails. Also, if you get a decent facial, it includes a hand and foot massage as well as warming booties on your feet. Disaster to a fresh mani-pedi.
   
2. The hairdo must also come after the facial or massage. Two words: scalp massage. You get this divine treatment with either a facial or a massage. At least I do, because my cosmetician is fabulous. No hair appointment following your facial? Bring a hat.

The problem with this ordering business is my People do not work all day Saturday and already have "standings" that I need to work around while still maintaining maximum back-to-back velocity, correct ordering, and travel time because my People do not work at the same salon.

Yeah, I should probably spend my money feeding the homeless but I don't. I feel guilty about that but I am not Catholic so it is only normal-person guilt, not God-loves-me-better-than-everyone-else guilt.

I can live with that. 

Tags: beauty is a serious thing

Weekly Peeves

No, this is not a new recurring weekly post all about my pet peeves. That would be boring. These are just a few of my peeves in no particular order, cuz I'm feeling peevy.

Are You Smarter Than a Sixth Grader?

The original name of this show was "Proof nothing you learned in sixth grade really matters later in life" but the network didn't think that was catchy enough. I suppose people go on this show thinking it will be easy money, then end up looking like morons. Or so I assume. I have not actually watched it. (Yes, I am peeved about a show I do not actually watch.)

TV shows that disappear as soon as I discover them.

Or sooner, and I stumble upon them in reruns only to discover I just watched the last episode ever made: Coupling, Red Cap, McCallum, Rebus, DaVinci's Inquest, Firefly.

Software that does not load properly so I have to uninstall and reinstall and tweak and finally just uninstall and give up forever.

Limp and not quite fully cooked french fries, the disappointment of which I do not discover until I am already back on the freeway and, are you kidding?, I am not going to turn around and go back!

Those commercials featuring "Bob." I do not need to know "Bob" needs medication to get his pecker up. I do not need to see his pride in his erection on national TV. It serves only to remind me that little blue pill is covered by insurance while birth control pills often are not.

So what is peeving you this week?

Tags: pet peeves, viagra

Ow

I have this weird ache in my hips. At least I thought it was my hips but now it feel more like the sciatic nerve area, wherever that is. I have heard of it but never experienced the horror. Please god, don't let me start now.

I tried stretching when I got home from work, after hobbling into the house from the car trying to remember just exactly when it was today that I hefted heavy boxes or otherwise performed lower-back-aching physical labor.

Mmm...nope, sat at my desk all day with only a short side trip to Mexican food for lunch at a real live restaurant where they bring you your food and everything.

Okay, it is getting worse. I think perhaps I should not be sitting up in a chair right now. I should probably go stand with a straight back and one foot elevated like in those beer commercials, but I suspect I will immediately become prone on the couch or in the bed as soon as I sign off.

At least I have my regularly scheduled massage on Saturday to look forward to. Luxury, schmuxury. If I had a Schedule C business, I would deduct it as repairs and maintenance.

Tags: sciatic nerve, aches and pains

Which Serenity Character Are You?

Do NOT tell me you have never heard of Serenity. Firefly? The greatest Western slash Space Opera slash Hunky Men and Kickass Women Fest EVAR? Sheesh. And you people make fun of me because I can't name all the Supreme Court justices.

I am Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic)

You are good at fixing things.
You are usually cheerful.
You appreciate being treated with delicacy and specialness.

Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic) 75% Malcolm Reynolds (Captain) 75% Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command) 65% Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic) 55% Inara Serra (Companion) 40% River (Stowaway) 40% Jayne Cobb (Mercenary) 35% Derrial Book (Shepherd) 35% Wash (Ship Pilot) 30% Alliance 25% A Reaver (Cannibal) 0%

Or am I Mal? Which one are you? Click here to take the Serenity Firefly Personality Test

via BadAstronomyBlog

Tags: meme, serenity, firefly