From the National Weather Service

IT'S THREE HOURS FROM BEING MAY!!! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!!!


Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City International Airport Last Update on 30 Apr 21:10 MDT
Lt Snow 36°F(2°C)

AWFUL OFFICIATING

I think the Houston Rockets paid the refs. I mean it...


On to Friday night. I think Little Bit will once again have to don the headphones/cone of silence that is his DS as we expose him to a shrieking, angry crowd of Utah Jazz fans. If we don't win I have to burn my D-Will shirt. Just sayin....

Go Jazz

We went to see the Jazz play the Rockets in Game 3 this week (first game in Utah). Great game...until the last two minutes. We lost. Bleah...and we were up until almost 1 a.m. on a school/work night to boot.

Benefits: I have a D-Will shirt (Deron Williams, above) and The Husband has a Carlos Boozer shirt. He bought this shirt, of course, so he can go happily off to work in Utah County with a shirt that says "Boozer" on the back and not get in trouble. Heh. Though I love Carlos, I could not buy the same shirt because then I'd be a copycat, thought about Korver but knew that I'd just be buying it because he's cute. I like the D-Will and he's probably the best player on the team, so thus my selection.

Go Jazz...I really want to be able to wear this shirt next week. Oh, and I found out Jerry Sloan, the coach, lives about a mile from us. Obviously in a MUCH better neighborhood.

Evil in the Family

I say on my profile I have "evil pets", some of you know some or all of these pets, others are not aware, so I thought I'd introduce you to the evil in our home.

First, there is "Casper". So named because when Big Bit brought him home from a friend's house as a kitten he was very friendly and still is. So, "Casper, the Friendly Kitten". He's approaching 13 now and other than arthritis and a heart murmur he's not doing too bad. Here he is with Big Bit, his savior from being drowned or eaten by dogs - his fate if left at our friend's house (well, now ex-friend and this was the least of her sins).

















Next, there is "Margarita", or as she is known at the AKC "Tequila's Margarita". Lest you think we are totally winos, her mother's name is Tequila and Tequila's owners own a liquor store. So, many of her pups names are references to alcohol. We call her "Rita" for short. She just turned 10. I will never have a lab again because the first three years are hell, but the last seven haven't been too bad. Except for she will eat anything.
















I think the young pets are the evil ones, really. Cynthia Rabbit is, I think, coming on 4. Don't let the sweet, fluffy look fool you. This animal is a diva and capable of a) kicking the dog off her bed so she can invade it. b) defending herself against the evil cat yet to be shown. c) Rattling her cage, flinging her bowl and toys around to make quite the racket; and d) Demanding a nose rubbing. We got her because Big Bit HAD to have a rabbit. Guess who cleans her cage....

She rules the roost.

Lastly, there is Bucky Katt, now aged 3, who has been seen before on a post. He shows absolutely no appreciation for the fact we saved his life from the Salt Lake County Animal Shelter. I adored the Siamese I had as a child and had always wanted another one. Boy, did I get one in spades.

He has destroyed one banister to the point we're probably going to have to do serious work on it before we sell the house as he would NOT stop clawing it for quite a while, even under threat of death, and he has a lovely habit of marking his territory, if you know what I mean. He also bosses around Casper and tries to steal his food, as well as Little Bit's water from his nightstand. I think we've finally worked out the destructive parts with lots of discipline and Hart's Pet NO, but the nocturnal wailings and stealth missions for food and water continue.



So, there they are...the evil pets...good thing they're cute.

Hey, Look What I Got In The Mail Today

After over six weeks of waiting. I want to wear it to drop Little Bit off at Scouts tonight, but I'm afraid the nice Brother and Sister who are his Scoutmasters will kill me.

Yes, We Can.

Miscellaneous Ramblings

Home from Reno, where we saw the Gin Blossoms - awesome show - I have my t-shirt reading "Gin Blossoms, Twenty Miserable Years" - since it's been 20 years the band's been together and their first album (nationally anyway) was "New Miserable Experience". Since I was getting ready to get a divorce when I bought their first album I had to laugh. Twenty Miserable Years, Indeed. It's been about 23 miserable years for me. Heh. Man, I am old.

Had a great time with Big Bit, got to eat at the few places that are things I miss about Reno and I didn't have to lay eyes on the EHFH once. Whee.

In other notes, we have taken the plunge of booking a major trip. Remember when I said I had to quit traveling so I could quit my job? Well, I'm working until next year, anyway.

We are taking the boys to London in December. We leave Christmas afternoon and return on January 2. We are all excited, and yesterday stood in line at the Reno post office for over an hour (!) to get Little Bit and The Husband's passport applications submitted. Big Bit already has one and I had to get one for work a while back, so we were covered.

Now, for the rest of the year, we'll be saving to be able to afford to eat on the trip and buy souvenirs. And, I'm trying to figure out how to get up to Great-Grandpa's house in Matlock. So far, I'm only seeing a train trip that will cost a good $300 for all of us, and that is a bit steep. But, as my mother says, if I get this close to his birthplace for a whole week and don't go see it I am the most ungrateful great-grandchild ever. So we'll see. I'd love to bring Grandma back some photos of his house.

Look Out World

Big Bit has a driver's license. Sigh...man, I feel old. It seems like yesterday it was him (age two at left) and I in my first place "by myself", dependent on no one. Well, I wasn't by myself, I was heading up the team that in many ways we still are, even if we don't see each other every day. Somehow, when I see him at almost 6 foot tall, handsome and smart in every way...he really still looks like this in my mind's eye. So I can't believe someone would give him rights to drive a car. By himself. Surely his feet don't reach the pedals.

I'm proud of you buddy. Even if you do make me feel old.

GRRRRRRR

Hey good news, I'm still employed and maybe Sybil is working on resolving her five personalities. 'Bout time. When I leave this job I want it to be on my terms, and hopefully not because I have an ulcer.

However, there is disappointing news afoot, take a look:

Here's the latest National Weather Service update for our little slice of heaven. Someone needs to explain to the snow gods that it is mid-April and this really can stop anytime!

Late Afternoon: Rain and snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 54. Breezy, with a northwest wind around 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

Tonight: Snow likely, mainly before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 28. Blustery, with a northwest wind between 21 and 24 mph becoming calm. Winds could gust as high as 38 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Here's a picture of the houses across from ours - usually you can see mountains and a field behind them (click on the picture to get the full effect, if it will blow up for you):

It's going to be a long week

Needed a bit of humor here - I have an extremely uncomfortable conversation coming up at work tomorrow (or it may be today as it's approaching midnight) and I feel like I am Young Skywalker except I'm not going to be talking to anyone remotely resembling my father, much less someone who seems gives a damn about me. Yes, Sybil and I are having "the talk". So I went and found this...really we did have a great weekend, it's finally over 70 here, at least for a few days! We are getting ready to see Big Bit next weekend and the ever-famous Gin Blossoms in Reno, which should be fun. Keep your fingers crossed I'm still employed, or at least I hit the lottery last night and just don't know it yet.

Oh, and that I am half as tough as my really awesome grandmother, 90 years old, broken leg, surgery and all and still hanging tough. I have lots to live up to.

Yikes.


see more crazy cat pics

Happy Anniversary to Me

It's not really a secret - I don't like my job - the job I uprooted myself, The Husband and two Bits over. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but as time has gone on, it's become more apparent that, in fact, it's not. Partially because I work for someone I can (not) affectionately call "Sybil" (For anyone not familiar, it's a TV movie. With Sally Field. Look it up.)

But, today, it is the end of two years in my present job. And, because of that, starting today, if Sybil does her dirty work, I can say, in the words of Eric Cartman "Screw You Guys, I'm Going Home." I don't have to pay my relocation costs back to the company, no more.

FINALLY. The last two years have been longer than the 9 years I spent with the EHFH (Ex-Husband From Hell).

Whew.

It's Always Something

Funnily enough, this post came on dooce.com yesterday (trust me, it has a link to my weekend activities):

http://www.dooce.com/2008/04/07/woman

Heather (who I don't know though I wish I could) is my "Daily Chuck" link. She is mucho irreverent but funny and very smart. She is the person who graduated from BYU I wish I could have met but haven't. Well, besides Jim McMahon. (see Steve, there's a BEAR HUG!)

As a last link to my 80's weekend, here's the first song that Mr. S. opened with at the concert. Though a fan, this is the first time I heard this tune which came out in 1999 or so. I loved it upon listen.

It really is always something...so I relate.

Forever a Crush

This was the weekend of the Rick Springfield Experience. He was playing in Wendover, so The Husband, Little Bit and I packed our bags and headed for "normal" (sadly, I am saying a border town in Nevada is "normal". Shows you where I am at these days.)


Some background, first, on my crush on Rick Springfield:


First experience:

My age approximately 6 , his age approximately 23, his picture in TigerBeat Magazine. I hadn't even heard the man sing and I fell madly in love. He even beat Donny Osmond and David Cassidy and I had my hair cut like David Cassidy's for heaven's sake.

Second experience:

I first saw him in concert my freshman year of college at the Boise State Pavilion (now, agh the Taco Bell Arena. Reesh). I had 4th row center tickets which I stood in line at Karcher Mall for an hour to get (these were the old days they didn't print the tickets off the computer and you picked the best seats; they already had an assortment assigned to them to sell and 4th row was the best I could get). I paid all of a whopping $15 to see him and thought "Man, they are charging too much for concerts these days!" Ha.

The show was great. I literally still remember a moment when his eyes met mine (or I thought they did, he was probably blinded by the lights and had no clue who was out there, period!) and I was just like "Wow". My heart stopped. I knew how the girls watching the Beatles felt. And, no, I haven't felt like that in any concert since, including seeing Paul McCartney which was GREAT.

Third experience:

Big Bit was 9. We had taken him to Las Vegas for Spring Break. I know, we sound like the worst family ever but HE ASKED TO GO THERE. At that time Vegas was "Family Friendly". There were some amusement parks activities at most/many of the casinos (some of which are still there).

We saw that while we were there we saw that Rick was starring in a show called EFX at the MGM Grand. Had to go! Big Bit, of course, had no idea who this person was. He said "Well, he couldn't be as good as Aaron Carter, Mom." (Eh?)

We were going to dinner at Emeril's Fish House at the MGM before the show. We got there a bit before opening and were hanging around outside waiting to get in. A few lucky folks were admitted early to wait for their tables. The Husband nudged me and said "Don't you know that guy over there?" I looked into Emeril's and yes, there was Rick Springfield, sitting with his family.

We were seated pretty much next to Rick, his wife and boys, but I studiously pretended to ignore them while sneaking glances at him every five seconds. The whole time, Big Bit was nudging me, "Mom! Are you gonna talk to him? I firmly said "No, I'm sure he gets bothered all the time and he should enjoy this meal with his family." I could have kicked myself afterward.

At the end of the show, which was really cool, Big Bit turned to me and announced "Mom, he is even better than Aaron Carter". And I had to say "I told you so!"

Fourth experience:

Concert last night. The man is almost 60 years old and let me tell you, he is, as they say, "hawt". He hasn't lost a step and for the first time in the almost 35 years or so of our "relationship", I laid a hand on him. Twice. He came thatclose and I, as with many of the other ladies in the audience, couldn't help it (and he didn't seem to mind). And no, I didn't grab his butt. I still have a small amount of dignity.

Gotta get loose

I don't think I've mentioned...the town the Husband and I work in is the site where the infamous (and much beloved by me) movie "Footloose", starring Kevin Bacon, Sarah Jessica Parker and so on was mostly filmed.

There is something to that movie, because a lot of times when I am in it (that town) I feel like I'm being told I can't dance. Figuratively, that is. Kind of how I feel about the whole state, actually.

Anyhoo, I get a giggle when I go to KFC for lunch and think of Kevin Bacon being 10 feet from where I turn to get my lunch. It is, indeed, a small world.

And trust me, he was quite right to be fighting "the Man". We need a "Ren" in Utah just now.

Bye Bye Mr. Football Guy

This is both highly amusing and heartfelt. I hope that Mr. Favre surfs the web sometimes and gets warm and fuzzies from how much these people love him. I guess "us people".

Old Movie Favorites

Another old movie I saw a couple of weeks ago - "VisionQuest". My cousin, the Bear lover and Packer hater, Steve, happens to be the cousin of Shute - the bad guy wrestler in the film (Steve, no reviews on the website for this classic? Heh). Having met the man himself when very young, I was totally impressed someone I "knew" (barely) was in a movie. And, I loved the movie, filmed in Spokane, WA, where I spent a bit of time packing around my little cousins (I barely remember Spokane but I know I liked it and I had fun packing them around!).

At any rate - hadn't seen the movie in years, and had forgotten that once upon a time I owned the soundtrack including this John Waite classic. And yes, I mean that. I love this song. I was so glad to get reminded of it - ran off to ITunes immediately and downloaded it.

Here's to cheesy 80's movies, videos and some great music: