vacation – Bitchypoo

5/16/12 – Wednesday

Over at Dinosaurs Can’t Eat Pizza, Nance and I made Sugar-Free Monkey Bread this week. And last week we made crock pot pork chops. Go check it out! (Spoiler: one of those recipes was awesome, the other one not so much.) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ … Continue reading “5/16/12 – Wednesday”

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Awww, my poor, neglected Bitchypoo blog. I still wuv you, but first I was preparing to go on vacation and then I was on vacation and then I was back from vacation, and apparently it takes twice as much time to get the house back in order as I was gone. So I’ve been doing laundry and cleaning and doing all the annoying little tasks that I didn’t do before I left because I like to do this thing starting about a week before I go on vacation where I say “Oh, I can take care of that when I get back…”

Stupid pre-vacation Robyn, you lazy whore.

I have approximately 1 million pictures from my trip to Maine. I still haven’t sifted through them, but I’ll include a few that are pretty much my favorite at the end of the entry so y’all can awwww, and then Thursday over at Love & Hisses I’ll post all the ones I want to share. Warning: there are a LOT. And yes, you bossy bitches, I will include some picture of the spud and I.

The trip was a quick one this time. Mostly, I wanted to see the baby (well, and everyone else, of course), and originally I’d planned to go back in August because Brian and Emily were talking about getting married then, and I was all about that. They ultimately decided to get married in a very very very small ceremony in June, and then at some point they’ll do a big wedding. Between the baby and Brian working 43 jobs and the house, planning a wedding would have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.

(Yes, I said THE HOUSE. They’re buying a house! This is a big big year for those kids!)

It was a really relaxing vacation. The spud came up from Rhode Island for a few days, and we hung around the house, had a family gathering one night so everyone could see the baby. There was shopping, of course, though I didn’t buy much this time around.

So yes, it was a good vacation. Made even better by the fact that when I flew home, I got bumped up to First Class for the first leg of my flight. That is the first time that’s ever happened to me, I’ve never flown First Class before. If it didn’t cost one million dollars for First Class tickets, I’d fly like that every time. I had a cup of Diet Coke in my hand before the door to the plane shut, and that flight attendant kept ’em coming. THEY EVEN GET SNACKS IN FIRST CLASS! Dude. Seriously, I could live like that. There was like three feet between me and the guy sitting next to me.

Don’t I have any readers who work for US Air and can make that happen for me on the regular? (I am mostly kidding because that’s probably against company policy and I’d have to claim on my taxes as income or some shit like that.)(Psst! Just between you and me, I’d TOTALLY accept any future bumpings up to First Class if you wanted to work some magic.)(I’m kidding!)(No I’m not.)

Unfortunately, the second leg of my flight was filled with people who made me want to clang them upside the head with my iPod. I mean, FOR GOD’S SAKE people, if I can hear you when I’m wearing noise-canceling headphones AND have my iPod almost at top volume, you are PONTIFICATING TOO GODDAMN LOUDLY and need to shut your fucking face. I need to see my trashy TV and try to figure out what the holy fuck Blair and Dan are doing in a relationship WITH EACH OTHER.

Reagan National is one shitty little airport, whether you’re going on vacation or going home, and I have LIT’rally written myself a note that says “For the love of christ, do not fly through Reagan National EVER EVER EVER AGAIN” and hung it near my desk (where it will undoubtedly be ignored and I will totally end up flying through that airport again next time). For the number of people I saw wandering around that terminal GETTING THE FUCK IN MY WAY both times I went through, it needs to be at the VERY least twice the size it is, if not three times. Fred said “Have they canceled your flight?” (because I was flying in the afternoon/ evening rather than first thing in the morning, and twice in recent memory that has bitten me in the ass and required me to spend the night at the airport, though it was Dulles both times). I told him that if they’d canceled my flight, I was going to leave and rent a car to drive home. I was NOT spending the night in that airport.

Reagan National and Newark: on my Do Not Fly list.

(On the up side, they had a Five Guys, although I don’t know who those five guys think they’re kidding with their so-called “little cheeseburger.” I couldn’t eat the whole thing, and I am not some frail and fragile flower. We have Five Guys(‘s?) around here, but I never eat there unless I’m traveling. It’s a thing.)

The Portland airport, on the other hand, is now about twice as big as it was the last time I flew to Maine. It’s absolutely AWESOME. And if they ever finish construction on the damn Huntsville airport, that’ll be awesome as well.

On one of my flights, as we were deplaning, I waited my turn to step out into the aisle. If you’ve never flown before, you might not know that when people leave the plane, it’s an orderly process wherein the plane empties from front to back. EVERYONE KNOWS THIS, but in this case, I was standing there in front of my seat (hunched over in front of my seat in a half-standing position, I should say) waiting for the aisle to clear enough that I could step out, when the row of douchebags sitting behind me hustled into the aisle and right by my seat. If they’d been able to read my mind, I tell you what – there would have been an Incident. Fuckers.

Alexander at 10 days old, with his wonderful parents.

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Previously
2011: Fucking Robyn Andersons. They’re all pains in the ass, if you ask me.
2010: No entry.
2009: No entry.
2008: Getting ready for surgery.
2007: They’d surely have fabulous gay parties and invite their fabulous gay friends and give my inner Mrs. Kravitz something to spy on.
2006: I’m READY FOR SUMMER, THANK YOU.
2005: I like cats. They’re good to eat.
2004: No entry.
2003: We’re some calendar-loving motherfuckers, that’s right.
2002: Kitty meeting.
2001: So… I guess we could probably sell your shithole…
2000: It sounds like there’s a lot to do in Gatlinburg, so it should be fun.

11/17/11 – Thursday

My new computer will be here later today. Thank god, because while I’ve never had any problems using my netbook to post entries while I’m on vacation, using it here at my desk is working my last nerve. The screen is just so TINY! So I’m going to put up a post here (obviously), but … Continue reading “11/17/11 – Thursday”

So I’m going to put up a post here (obviously), but I’m taking tomorrow off so that I can get my new computer up and running over the weekend and hopefully get back to normal posting on Monday.

PS: My Kindle Fire was waiting for me when I got home last night! I haven’t had the time (or rather, I should say I haven’t taken the time) to do anything other than plug it in to charge. That’s another thing I want to do over the weekend!

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My Life on the A* List.
*Or possibly the Z List. Or no List at all. Shush.

A month or so ago, Nance sent me an email with a link to this Knock Out Cancer event where Teresa Giudice (she is a Real Housewife of NJ, for those of you who don’t watch the more intellectual reality shows) was going to be appearing. Shirley’s 71st birthday was coming up, and Nance wanted to give her tickets to it, and she also wanted me to come up and go with them.

Since I haven’t been to Pennsylvania in over a year, I jumped on that immediately, and I probably had my tickets bought about 30 seconds after I got the email (okay, that’s a slight exaggeration, but only a slight one). I told Nance I couldn’t come up for long – just a couple of days – but that I’d definitely be there. I figured we’d stroll around the mall, people-watch, and perhaps catch a glimpse of Teresa.

Well.

Unbeknownst to me, Nance hadn’t got the plain old tickets – she got the VIP tickets for Shirley and I both, which meant we were going to MEET Teresa, up close and in person.

(Nance herself, though, had NO desire to meet Teresa. She was happy to admire her from a distance and see the pictures!)

Nance told me she had a surprise for me the night I arrived, and after they picked me up from the airport, she told me we were going to have an Italian meal consisting exclusively of recipes from Teresa’s cookbooks, Skinny Italian and Fabulicious. We had Cavatelli, some terribly delicious sauce I can never remember the name of, Bruschetta, and the most fabulous olive oil dipping sauce. The Fabellini isn’t out yet, so we had a Raspberry Sparkletini substitute. It was my first alcohol in like six years, and one glass (5% alcohol!!!) was enough to make me slightly buzzed and make my lips numb. (When it wore off, I had a second glass! And in fact, had some in orange juice the next morning. I have to admit, I’ve never ever liked wine, but that stuff was pretty good. Not that I’ll go rushing out to buy it, but if there was some around, I’d probably have some every now and then.)

My favorite part of the meal (here’s a shocker) was dessert, which was (were?) Holy Cannoli cupcakes – and they were SO good. I’m really not much of a fan of cannoli, but these cupcakes were really really good, and I plan to make them myself soon so that Fred can give them a try.

We also tried BLK Water, and I have to say: that stuff was NASTY. At first it tasted like stale water, and then there was a metallic aftertaste. DO NOT recommend.

Felina and the netbook sharing space on my lap. I’m biting my nails and listening to Nance. I spend way too much time touching my face, I’ve decided.

We were up super late (I honestly don’t think that I went to bed before 1:30 the entire time I was there – and considering that I’m usually conked out by 10, that was seriously late for me!) and then the next morning after we all finally got up, we had a fabulous brunch (waffles, eggs, bacon, fried taters, and ORANGE WEDGES (Shirley!))

Then it was time to get ready, and Nance tried to show me how to pose like a Real Housewife, but I perhaps don’t have that particular skill down just yet.

Ya don’t really see them staring at the ceiling all that much, do you? Perhaps that should be my signature pose.

Check out that big wad of gum. Klassy, I am.

Far too amused by myself.

Seriously cracking myself up.

Nance in the mirror.

Nance does animal hair patrol on Shirley.

When we were ready, we headed out. Due to some miscommunication, we arrived really early, and settled down in Starbucks to watch the registration desk whilst sipping Starbucks drinks.

The instant we saw someone check in at the registration desk, we were over there like a shot to check in ourselves. We handed over our tickets, Shirley and I got our VIP passes, and then we walked down the mall and were told to wait in front of Larrimor’s. We were the first VIPs to show up, and we kept looking into the store, figuring they had her hidden in the back somewhere.

Eventually more VIPs showed up, and we waited and waited. And waited.

(Teresa Guidice is known for being late, so to have expected her to be there exactly at 6 was maybe dumb on our part.)

They finally let us into the store and pointed us toward some food and said she was on her way. We chit-chatted with the other VIPs (who were all very nice, and a couple of them were REALLY funny). After I don’t know how long, maybe half an hour, during which we were getting updates from the store manager (she was driving rather than flying, she had to be back in New York the next day, Juicy Joe was with her (which turned out not to be true)), all of a sudden the atmosphere in the store changed.

Teresa walked in, greeted us all, and started talking to and posing for pictures with whoever approached her. Though Shirley and I had been at the very front of the line, we were at the back of the store when she walked in (we weren’t sure whether she’d be coming in the front or through the back), so we were nowhere near the first to talk to her.

When we finally got to the front of the line, I said “Hi! I came from Alabama to meet you!”, which in retrospect makes me sound like a superfan or something, when the truth is that I would probably have flown up to meet just about anyone; flying up to attend this thing was just an excuse to hang out with Nance, really.

Anyway, I said that to Teresa and she GAVE ME A HUG, which I wasn’t expecting. Then Shirley said “Oh, I see, she gets a hug because she came from Alabama!” and Teresa hugged her, too!

We got to stand there and talk to her for longer than I would have expected, and Shirley and I had her sign our cookbooks.

Side note: we were apparently the only VIPs who’d thought to bring our own cookbooks (I didn’t actually own them until about a week before I flew to Pennsylvania; I got them through Amazon specifically to bring with me), and the other VIPs were all “Ugh! Why didn’t WE think of that!”

Truly, I need to practice my posing-for-pictures smile in the mirror a little more.

If you watch RHoNJ, you’ll recognize this expression. I don’t remember what she was talking about, but she was excited about it!

I can tell you that she was really nice, and very warm. She openly answered the nosy questions that people asked (her father just got out of the hospital; he gets pneumonia a lot. She hasn’t seen Melissa since the reunion. She doesn’t talk to Kathy. She laughed when someone said they were “Team Teresa” and again when someone called Caroline “A pain in the ass.” She summed up the whole Joey/ Melissa/ Kathy thing by saying “Family is hard.”), which surprised me – but then, I’m sure she gets asked those questions a LOT. I’m sure she does a lot of personal appearances, and it’s not like I was going to tell you that someone made her mad and she flipped a table or anything, after all, you know?

It was definitely a fun experience, and I’d do it again.

After we posed for pictures and had our books signed, Shirley and I headed out to look for Nance and Rick, who were walking around the mall seeing the sights. We looked around a little, checked out a few stores, and then decided we were hungry and it was time to go.

We didn’t realize until the next day that Teresa had actually had a question and answer session later in another part of the mall. If we’d known, we would have attended. My only gripe about the whole thing is that it wasn’t quite as organized as it should have been.

But really, I have no complaints. I got to rub shoulders with a reality star (YOU KNOW YOU’RE JEALOUS), I got to hang out with friends, and I didn’t have to scoop a single litter box while I was visiting.

In my book, that adds up to an A+ vacation!

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Anarchy is reigning here at Crooked Acres. Since Fred sleeps with his bedroom door closed, when I go on vacation and there are only a few fosters present, he usually lets them have the run of the house during the night as well as during the day. He did that while I was in Pennsylvania, and when I got back I decided to let Charlie, Patty, and Everett stay out overnight and see how it went.

It went pretty well, actually. The three of them go a little crazy at bedtime, but they settle down pretty quickly, and though Everett came to visit a couple of times during the night, I slept okay. So out they’ll stay ’til they toddle off to Petsmart (whenever that is – STILL no Peppers adoptions, grrr.)

Everett and Charlie snoozing. You can see Everett’s faint stripes.

Chuckles, annoyed.

Everett and the white whisker.

Charlie’s wondering why Everett gets his own bed, while Charlie and Spanky have to share.

I like how they’re using the bed liner as a divider so they don’t (horrors!) touch.

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Previously
2010: “She doesn’t love you,” Fred would tell Coltrane sadly before he closed the door.
2009: “I wonder if that’s the Gulf of Mexico or the Gulf of China,” Fred joked as we drove by on Sunday.
2008: Fred snorted “You should just start wearing overalls!”
2007: Hey! I was decluttering last year at this time, too!
2006: Here’s Doctor Robyn’s list of diagnoses.
2005: Cat hair on the seat of your pants! It’s the Next Big Thing!
2004: Do you suppose that cats realize that when we kiss them, it’s a sign of affection?
2003: NAS-TAY.
2002: No entry.
2001: No entry.
2000: Thanks, y’all, for your emails regarding hamster sex.
1999: So, I didn’t get the kitten.

11/16/11 – Kitteh Wednesday

I got home last night, thank god. I really thought for a while that I’d be spending the night in Dulles – my flight from Pittsburgh left almost an hour late, and the scheduled layover in Dulles was… an hour. Somehow, they made up time in the air, though, and I made it onto my flight from Dulles to Huntsville by the skin of my teeth! When I got home and booted up the computer, I found that (insert all the obscenities here) my computer had shit the bed. Fred messed with it and then finally threw up his hands.

Today, I thank god for (1) Netbooks (which is what I’m typing this on), (2) Amazon Prime (which I’ve had since it was created) and (3) Carbonite, which will hopefully painlessly restore all my files! Of course, with the number of pictures that need to restore, it’ll take ’til Christmas!

So for today, I show you animal pics from Pennsylvania, a few of my kitty pics, a picture of me looking like a smug bitch, and tomorrow, the recap of the trip, okay? Okay.

First, me looking like a smug bitch. Don’t you want to slap me? You know you love me and my taking-pictures-of-myself-in-the-Starbucks-bathroom self.

Next, as a reminder, here’s Maddy 5 years ago:

And now:

Didn’t she grow up gorgeous?

Julie, who loves her Daddy (Rick) beyond all reason.

Julie curled up for a snooze.

Miss Sadie:

Felina:

(I only got the one picture of Felina this time around. She’s such a spoiled little brat, but I love her so!)

Waldo:

(I had a hard time getting a decent picture of him, but trust me: he’s gorgeous!)

And, as always, pictures from the plane:

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“What?”

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Previously
2010: We were walking down the aisle of chips and sodas and I looked up and THERE WAS DAIRY STOCKING GUY.
2009: Because I am such an utter badass, I ran in place and screamed.
2008: No entry.
2007: “I am NOT ‘ratty looking’ and YOU, M’dme, are a pure-d grade-a gutter slutting WHORE. Good day to you.”
2006: He’s such a know-it-all motherfucker.
2005: Elizabeth Wurtzel strikes me as spectacularly self-absorbed (pot! kettle! black!)
2004: Stuff I’ve bought.
2003: No entry.
2002: No entry.
2001: No entry.
2000: “Hey!” I said, shaking the cage. “Stop that!”
1999: No entry.

10/19/10 – Tuesday

Guess what? That’s right, more vacation pics from Myrtle Beach! Today’s theme is birds, boardwalks and other random stuff. Click on any pic to see the much bigger version. One single cloud on a bright and sunny day. Sandy foot (do not mistake that perfectly pedicured foot for mine. There’s a reason you never see … Continue reading “10/19/10 – Tuesday”

Guess what? That’s right, more vacation pics from Myrtle Beach! Today’s theme is birds, boardwalks and other random stuff. Click on any pic to see the much bigger version.

One single cloud on a bright and sunny day.

Sandy foot (do not mistake that perfectly pedicured foot for mine. There’s a reason you never see my feet!)

On the Myrtle Beach boardwalk.

Myrtle Beach boardwalk, to the right.

Myrtle Beach boardwalk, to the left.

In case you were wondering where he is.

Second Avenue Pier.

From the Second Avenue Pier, looking up the beach.

That face is one that’ll give you nightmares.

Drying off.

Barefoot Landing.

Hibiscus.

Sea Captain’s House Restaurant – we ate a mighty tasty breakfast here.

Birds flying low over the water.

Seagull over the water.

Birds over the water.

Is there a name for these? They seem to be rocks or shells eaten away by something small (or perhaps worn away?) My father said he thought there might be a specific name for them.

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Starsky, scheming.

Starsky, considering his gut.

“Paws up, y’all!”

“I SAID ‘Paws up, y’all!'”

While I was in Myrtle Beach, Fred decided it was time to let Starsky and Hutch have a little more room to roam. The first day, he let them explore the hallway and the bathroom. That went well, so the next day he pulled the half door across the end of the hall and let them have the run of the upstairs. That also went well, so now every morning I open the door and let them have the run of the upstairs, then we put them back in their room at bedtime. (They are never appreciative of being put back in their room, and howl at the door for a few minutes to tell us how mean we are.)

They would LOVE to have the run of the house, but they’re still little guys so it’ll be a few more weeks before that happens. For now, they get visitors in the form of Miz Poo, Jake, Elwood, and Reacher. Elwood’s mostly interested in their food, but Jake loves the babies.

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“And you are…?”

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Previously
2009: That is some godawful NASTY FUCKING HORRENDOUS FUCKING SHIT.
2008: No entry.
2007: I do an excellent Bob Dylan imitation. Just ask Nance!
2006: I know. I’m going to hell. At least I know I’ll have good company!
2005: I WILL BE THE VICTOR, DAMNIT!
2004: More Myrtle Beach.
2003: No entry.
2002: No entry.
2001: I’ve turned into a crazy cat lady for real, haven’t I?
2000: The spud turns 12 next week, can you believe it?
1999: I’ve been out of sorts all day.

On vacation

I’m in Myrtle Beach (it’s GAWJUSS here!), but the internet access is spotty for me for some reason. Thus, I am taking the rest of the week off from posting. I’ll likely post when I get home, because I have a couple of entries (cat pics & movies) that I pre-wrote. Things will be back … Continue reading “On vacation”

I’m in Myrtle Beach (it’s GAWJUSS here!), but the internet access is spotty for me for some reason.

Thus, I am taking the rest of the week off from posting. I’ll likely post when I get home, because I have a couple of entries (cat pics & movies) that I pre-wrote. Things will be back to normal, posting-wise, Monday.

Try to live without me, y’all. 🙂

8/11/10 – Kitteh Wednesday

This is Maddy: She was my very first bottle baby, way back in 2006. Nance fell in love with her over the internet, and she and Rick drove down to Alabama – the first time we met in person after years of internet friendship! – and brought her home. This is one of my very … Continue reading “8/11/10 – Kitteh Wednesday”

This is Maddy:

She was my very first bottle baby, way back in 2006. Nance fell in love with her over the internet, and she and Rick drove down to Alabama – the first time we met in person after years of internet friendship! – and brought her home.

This is one of my very favorite foster pics I’ve ever taken:

When Maddy was still with me, she loved to sleep on the printer next to my desk. Someone asked “What does she do when you need to print something?” I didn’t know, so I found out:

(No Maddys were harmed in the making of that movie. Her pride was a little bruised and she stayed away from the printer from then on, but she was fine.)

At four years old, Maddy has grown up to be gorgeous, if a little antisocial. I managed to get one single picture of her.

Next time I visit, I’m bringing the GOOD camera with me, and I WILL get a million good pictures of her gorgeous face.

@ @ @ @

I’m on my way home today. Fingers crossed that all my flights go well and I don’t have to spend the night in Charlotte!

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Previously
2009: Check out all the awesome new Fiesta ware I got in Pennsylvania!
2008: For the record ~~Bill Phillips~~ emus are very violent when you offer them a cup of corn.
2007: No entry.
2006: “You pipple giffs me zee headache.”
2005: God, I love the internet.
2004: Three days into the school year, and I’m sick to death of bus issues.
2003: My weekend can be summed up thusly: long periods of mind-numbing tedium broken with a stretch of horrified disgust, with a soupcon of panic tossed in for good measure.
2002: Maine recap.
2001: No entry.
2000: No entry.

8/9/10 – Monday

My sites have been moved to the new host, but things are still a bit wonky around here. I know you can’t leave comments – you’ll get an error if you click on the “comments” link – but you can always email me if you want. I’m hoping that things will be back to normal … Continue reading “8/9/10 – Monday”

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“We can go, too?”

I love taking pictures from the plane.

Julie’s a little needy.

Felina’s decided I’m not so bad.

Waldo’s a pretty boy – but it’s close to impossible to get a good picture of him. I shoulda brought the good camera with me!

So, hi! Yep, I’m in Pennsylvania visiting with Nance and the clan. We’re having fun, laughing our asses off, eating like crazy, and so far Felina hasn’t barked at me even once.

Tomorrow, we’re going on a road trip! Woot!

There might be an entry tomorrow, or there might not. I’m only here ’til Wednesday, so things should go back to normal – posting-wise – Thursday or so.

7/12/10 – Monday

I’m headed home this afternoon, so here’s a quick one (with plenty o’ pics) to keep you occupied. I’ll be back on Wednesday to put up a kitten entry, Thursday with a buttload of vacation pics, and then Friday with a real entry. (Assuming, that is, that I don’t get stuck in Detroit overnight, the … Continue reading “7/12/10 – Monday”

(Assuming, that is, that I don’t get stuck in Detroit overnight, the way I got stuck in Newark last year.)

If you’re visiting Maine in the near future and were hoping to eat lobster, I’m so sorry. I ate ’em all. Better luck next year!

The spud arrived on Monday and left on Friday. In between, we dragged that poor child all over hell and creation. She didn’t seem to mind, though.

She’s still got Edgar. I still miss Edgar.

My great-nephew (and my nephew and his girlfriend) came to visit (we coordinated visits so we’d be here at the same time. They drove from Maryland, and they’re leaving to drive back tonight). I always forget just how entertaining they are at 16 months.

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Random animal pics.

Ichabod, the whippet (I think) at the shop Magnolia, in Bath.

Luci(fer) (or possibly Lucifur, I didn’t ask!), the big hunk o’ kitteh who lives in my sister’s neighborhood and belongs to her neighbor. (Hi Pat!)

My sister’s cat, Tigger.

My sister’s other cat, Punki. Who is pretty sure she’s a princess.

Da Benj.

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Previously
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: Nest = empty.
2006: If you could possibly NOT lay three inches from me and spend 63 hours slurping on your asshole so that I am driven into a homicidal rage and forced to run you out of the room, I would very much appreciate it.
2005: They’ll be fine, they’ll be fine, they’ll be fine, they’ll be fine…
2004: And I’m not even a George Michael fan. Though “Faith” rocks the casbah.
2003: No entry.
2002: Fred: “It’s dick in your mouth good!”
2001: No entry.
2000: You know, life would just be so much simpler if I were already queen of the world and in charge of punishments and such.

7/5/10 – Monday

Greetings from Maine! I got here Saturday morning after a fairly uneventful trip. I did walk into the airport and see a sea of non-English speaking kids in Space Camp t-shirts, all standing in line at Delta, and all WILD. I feared they’d be on my flight to Detroit, but they weren’t. (Alabama to Detroit … Continue reading “7/5/10 – Monday”

Greetings from Maine!

I got here Saturday morning after a fairly uneventful trip. I did walk into the airport and see a sea of non-English speaking kids in Space Camp t-shirts, all standing in line at Delta, and all WILD. I feared they’d be on my flight to Detroit, but they weren’t.

(Alabama to Detroit to Portland is such an odd route.)

Debbie picked me up at the airport, and we went to lunch at The Olive Garden (why yes, I flew to Maine and immediately went to a chain restaurant. What’s your point?), then did a little shopping before we went to her house and hung out for a little while. Brian and his girlfriend Emily The Adorable showed up a while later, and we headed over to my parents’ house.

The visit has been fun – there’s been plenty of eating, believe me, between the ham Italians from The Kitty Korner, the whoopie pies, the cookout on the 4th of July (strawberry shortcake!) and today Liz picked us up and we went out for lobster rolls at The Sea Basket.

“We” being the spud and I – the spud drove up from Rhode Island this morning, arriving in three hours and 20 minutes, and she’s staying ’til Friday.

There’ll be more shopping and eating this week – that’s what vacations are all about, after all! My oldest nephew and his girlfriend and their son will be up later this week. We’re not sure yet whether his visit will overlap with the spud’s visit or not, hopefully it will.

Expect posting to be somewhat spotty this week. I have lobster and whoopie pies to eat, y’know. I’ll be home again next Monday. I’ve taken only a few pictures so far, but I’ll hopefully stop slackin’ and start snappin’. 🙂

Dude needs to put on a shirt. Seriously.

The sign Of random capitalization, At Friendly’s.

My brother’s house. This picture doesn’t do justice to just how cute it is.

If you’re in the market for a falling-down house on a teeny piece of land where you might be able to see the water if you lean to the side and squint a little for the low low LOW price of $74,000, do let me know. On the up side, my brother lives right next door, and he’s a very good neighbor.

Benji in the sun.

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The day I took Sheila and the other Rescuees to the adoption center, I vacuumed first. Sheila did not appreciate this turn of events.

Unfortunately (I blame the holiday weekend), none of the Rescuees were adopted Friday or Saturday. Reports, however, are that they were perfectly fine and snuggly and talkative, so I have high hopes that they’ll be adopted like crazy this week.

Corbett and Reacher. I’m sorry – have you EVER SEEN ANYTHING CUTER?

Bolitar and Reacher (and in the back, Franco).

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Miz Poo would like you to know that behind you! There’s a serial killer! Or maybe just a cereal killer! Or possibly nothing at all! Same diff!

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Previously
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: I like me a crisp pickle.
2006: One more year, and we get to move out to the country where we will hopefully be acres and acres from the nearest neighbors, and children will not treat our yard as their very own. One more year, one more year, one more year…
2005: I’m all about the quick and easy, wink-wink-nudge-nudge-har-har.
2004: If you set off fireworks for three hours straight, starting at 7:30, you are not only an asshole, you live near me.
2003: No entry.
2002: A bunch of links that are probably no longer good.
2001: Pictures from Maine.
2000: Unfortunately, I forgot that when I say things like “Let’s go skinny-dipping and watch the fireworks”, what I actually mean is “Let’s go skinny-dipping and watch the fireworks”, but he hears “Let’s go swimming naked and get frisky in the pool under the fireworks.”

7/30/09 – Thursday

There’s a new Simon’s Cat! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * So, I am home again – I didn’t post yesterday because I had to whip this house back into shape (I did … Continue reading “7/30/09 – Thursday”

There’s a new Simon’s Cat!

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So, I am home again – I didn’t post yesterday because I had to whip this house back into shape (I did some housework on Tuesday, but since I was running on, literally, two and a half hours of sleep, I spent most of the afternoon napping). It’s amazing how much work needs to be done after only four days away.

When we got to the airport (AHEM, SLOWPOKE NANCE) Tuesday morning, the security line was very very long, and it made me nervous. Then I tried to use the kiosk to get my tickets, but when I punched in that I was flying via Delta (which is what my itinerary was showing me), it kept saying that another airline was handling the flight. I was all “What the fuck?”, until an agent wandered by, and I grabbed him and threw myself upon his mercy and he was all “Dumbass, you’re flying NorthWest.” DIDN’T SAY THAT ON MY ITINERARY, FUCKERS.

So I got my ticket and then went to stand in line to turn over my luggage, and I was four or five people back in line when they called my name and destination, and I reacted by bellowing “HERE!” and waving my arms. Which is when the ticket agent looked over and told me to go OVER to where they were calling my name.

Duh.

Then Nance and Rick hung with me while I stood in the security line (which was moving a lot faster than I’d expected) until they could go no further, and I got my hugs (Nance hugged me. I about fell over from the shock; Nance is not a hugger, as she’ll tell you herself!) and went through security lickety-split. The security agent barely even glanced at me as I walked through the metal detector. I found my gate, got some breakfast, and pretty soon boarded the plane.

The rest of the trip went smoothly except for the part where we boarded the plane in Detroit, they shut the door, and then we sat there for twenty minutes waiting to push back from the gate. Turned out, they’d had maintenance come in and fix a microphone, then needed to wait for the okay from Memphis (where the plane operates out of? I guess?) to leave. Which took multiple faxing of the paperwork by the pilot or the gate agent.

(It blows me away that they had to FAX PAPERWORK before they could get the okay. What fucking century is this??)

On the flight to Huntsville, I was lucky enough to have an empty seat beside me so I stretched out and watched Gossip Girl on my iPod, and just basically chilled (literally, because it was motherfucking COLD on that plane).

So, it’s good to be home, of course. I had a great time in Pennsylvania, though, and I have to say that Nance, Rick, Shirley, and Trey really know how to treat a guest. I got home and was like “What? You mean I can’t just sit on my ass on the couch and surf the web on my laptop? You want me to do WORK? No fair!”

I finally got to see Shirley in her tube top, which I didn’t even realize at first, and it was NOT the horrific sight Nance makes it out to be, I promise you.

I’ve stolen some pictures from Nance for your perusal, and you can scoot over to her site to see more pictures in this entry and this one.

Fancy Nance, trying on hats at the antique mall.

Nance was taking a picture of the game, and this guy was standing there, and apparently the flash was just a wee too bright for his princessy eyes. He made SUCH a big deal of how the flash had hurt his eyes, and how no one ever takes pictures in there. Total princess, this one. I’m surprised he didn’t fake a faint. We were unsympathetic.

Trey and I after our ride on the Pitt Fall (the ride where they hike you up six miles in the air and then drop you for ten minutes). See that little girl in the tie-dyed t-shirt? She was on the ride with us (there are four seats, and with Trey and Rick and I, there was an extra seat; she was apparently going to ride by herself) and she was appalled at the fact that I screeeeeeeamed and then took a long, gasping breath and then screeeeeeamed again. I’m a very loud screamer.

Trey and I on one of the roller coasters. I don’t know who that guy behind me was, but he was certainly giving Nance the eye.

Rick and I went on this one. It goes upside down, but it goes upside down slowly, and then you hang there, and you’re sure you’re going to fall out, but then it goes swinging all the way over. It was awesome – my favorite ride, for sure.

SO smug ’cause I got TWO baskets and won Shirley a Steeler’s bear (I choked on the third basket, though, damnit). Note that Trey is completely underwhelmed by my basket skillz.

I’d like to blame Nance for getting awful pictures of me, but apparently I stand around looking like an idiot all the time. I wish I had Brittany’s skills (she’s Alex’s girlfriend) – any time a camera was pointed in her general direction, she grinned prettily. Not a bad picture was taken of her.

Ice cream sammiches! Nance is all “Hellew, luvah.”

Note that Rick and Trey are mildly amused, and I’m guffawing like a loon. Which I did the entire time. Poor Rick – the ride totally tossed us against him, and he got squished.

Country bumpkin in the big city.

Trey and I rode this one. TWICE. I do not care for the sensation of lifting up off the seat on the downhill section of this ride, thank you. In fact, I believe I bellowed “OH SHIT!” a few times. Trey totally tattled on me to Nance.

Dorks on parade.

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“Oh, were you gone? I hadn’t noticed. Is it Snackin’! Time! yet?”

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Previously
2008: Creating a Monster.
2007: Now THAT is a signal I understand.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
2004: My crap, is my scalp FRIED.
2003: I’m still thinking of killing her.
2002: Getting impatient, because Fred hadn’t carried the bag of food upstairs and poured some fresh food for his majesty, Tubby started bitching “Give me food, damnit!”
2001: “Remember when you moved that dresser? That was cool.”
2000: No entry.