sharing [Gaffigan style]

I'm an oversharer, but on this topic [What topic? Oversharing? Did I miss something? I'm confused already. Hmmm, maybe I'm not going to like this blog.] I've done pretty well I think. I don't know, maybe the whole customary/traditional wait-time for sharing on this topic [WTF? What topic does she keep referencing. I think she may have lost her mind.] is falling to the wayside these days, like white shoes after Labor Day. So after many weeks of not discussing this here, I'm ready to share. [Well, it's about time, missy.]

I'm pregnant. Due in April. :)

Kitty Cat Claws

We got a stair runner installed this week. Yeah! No more carrying the dog (Zulu) up the stairs. Though he’s still hesitant, we know he won’t slide so he has to make it up himself. Sometimes he runs right up but for unknown reasons other times he still scoots up backwards on his butt. Odd.
The kitties love the new runner. They’ve missed carpet in the house. D immediately purchased a catnip ridden scratching post for them which now sits on the stair landing. It beckons to them – ‘why scratch this carpet when you could get high scratching this.’ I hope it works. I have seen lots of fur on the steps, and often I have to step over a nappy Tate. The stair runner is supposed to make the stairs safer – no one apparently told Tate though.
Next on the home improvement docket? Well, D is painting the front porch so technically that will be finished next. However, the next big project to be started will be the addition of a ½ bath to our laundry room. I think D is scheduling with the plumber for their soonest open slot. Once this room is done we can move upstairs to remodel that bathroom. Yeah! We should have done this sooner.

jumped on the bandwagon . . .

ISTJs are responsible, loyal and hard working. They have an acute sense of right and wrong and work hard at preserving established norms and traditions. Because of their deep sense of duty they are dedicated to everything they do and are very dependable. ISTJs care deeply for those closest to them.


Lots of presidents are ISTJ . . . okay, only 6 out of 43.
Real ISTJ People
Andrew Johnson - American President
Benjamin Harrison - American President
Elizabeth II - Queen of England
George H. W. Bush - American President
George Washington - American President
Harry Truman - American President
Herbert Hoover - American President
Jackie Joyner-Kersee - athlete (heptathlon)
Warren Buffet - investor, businessman

Spare time

I haven’t felt like I’ve had a lot of spare time lately, so hence not much blog time. Of course the lapse in time lends itself perfectly to a list-style blog entry.

I went to CPK for ACG’s birthday today. I had leftovers that I had to graffiti with my name and the date. T recently had her CPK leftover pizza stolen from the refrigerator. Who does that? What has our work environment turned into? So as the afternoon slump hit, my mind turned to a slice of pizza as a snack and pick-me-up. I envisioned walking into the pantry, opening the door and my pizza being gone. Then I’d have to walk the halls – each and ever row – looking for the box in someone’s trash. I’d find it of course and leave huge red-Sharpie notes all over the cubicle stating “Caught!” and “THIEF.” I even went so far as to contemplate taking my cell phone so I could get a picture of the perp and post it on the fridge for all to see. Lucky for the potential perp, the pizza was safe and sound – and yummy.

I went to Texas this past weekend. It was the big move weekend. My sister-in-law moved out there at the start of the new year and by April it was decided my mother-in-law would also move out there. So D, and his sister and I spent time in April choosing a new home for her (by home I mean nursing home). We narrowed it down, but one stuck out as the best. They have a new social director who seemed open to residents’ ideas for activities. D’s mom loves all the social activities and would have tons of ideas. Plus this place has a live-in dog and birds – and they seemed more kid-friendly than the other stuffier locations. And after all she was moving down there to be closer to her grandkids. Though D did note the first place had a “hot” admissions woman. Surely this would rank as high on the list of demands for his mom.

The weekend was okay. It was sweltering and I was sick most of the time. But I got a lot of quality time with AJ and baby K, pool time, and a birthday party for D’s sister’s kids. A dual party . . . . 1-yr for her son & 2-yr for her daughter. I’m really glad to be home though. I’m not feeling completely back to myself, but I am feeling better. I really think once the Ohio heat wave dissipates I’ll feel even better.

I went to . . . nowhere. I just wanted to start yet another sentence like that to be lame. Ha! We had our air ducts cleaned yesterday. I was super excited about this and could have overlooked the turning off of our A/C for a few hours during the hottest part of the day on possibly the hottest day of the year. However, I could not overlook the smell. Apparently they backed their diesel spewing truck up to the house to hook the hoses up to, and then the house proceeded to fill with diesel fumes. Nice. WTF? Can the company not swing getting their trucks exhausts taken care of? Really? Will it be cheaper to clean my house when I call and rant at them? It’s disgusting. The downstairs still smelled this morning and some of my things smell too. And these are things I brought home after work, when the truck was long gone. Rowr!

You may be wondering (or maybe not) how our other home improvements are going. The front porch is nearly done, just needs painted. The bathrooms have quotes in the mail. I think landscaping is off the list now. It’s rather late in the season, and it’s been too hot and dry for our poor plants anyway. Next year we’ll do more on that front and maybe add a hammock. The outside room has had all the stuff photographed so now we just need to put it all on Craigslist. A couple things may end up on Ebay, but really at this point it’s all about to end up in the front yard on trash day with a “FREE” sign on it. I want to be able to use my room! We’re planning to make it into an office/outdoor den. It’ll have an enormous TV that anyone is welcome to steal. It weighs like 200lbs and once it’s gone we’ll get a newer, nicer, lighter, locked down one. Somehow I think it’ll be safe and sound out there. Hmmm, what else? Oh yes. The stair runner is on order and installation will be scheduled soon. I’m super excited because our little dog, Zulu won’t go up the stairs on his own. He slips too much on the new wood and he’s afraid. So we have to carry him. It’s ridiculous and must stop.

Okay, that's it for now.

31 Flavors

No, it’s not another blog about cupcakes. There are plenty of full-time cupcake blogs out there. I cannot, nor do I want to, compete with those. Guess again?
No, it’s not about Baskin Robbins ice cream, or ice cream in general. In fact, it’s not about food at all. At least I don’t think so. Sometimes my blog entries surprise me by where they end up.
Okay, so what’s my other favorite thing to blog about, other than random lists? I do love lists. Birthdays! Specifically, and selfishly, my birthday.

Today is August 1st. And that begins the 31 days of Shannon turning 31. I’m taking the idea from AJ, though I’m rather certain she’s never named any of her April month-long birthday celebrations. She does celebrates the entire month though, and so shall I. I’m just not sure how I’ll be celebrating each day, but I will find a way. Everything will culminate on or near the 30th of course, but I will also have to plan something for the 31st so the final day is not anti-climactic.
If you have celebration ideas, send them my way. So far everything sounds like too much work – like cooking and baking ideas. Trouble is, I spoil myself all the time. At least, I think I do. Rarely is there something I don’t do, buy or eat if I really want to. So finding 31 special things may be difficult. I'm not even sure what today will hold. We’ll see.