Friday, March 31, 2006

a beautiful day in the neighborhood

Yes, it's a beautiful day here.  And I'm not just talking about the weather (which was about 75 and sunny).  Today, two--count 'em, two--of our neighbors are moving out, if not gone already.  That's half of the house.  So technically, we've now been here the longest.  And guess what else!?  The one now-vacant apartment in the building is a 3-bedroom!  They say there's mice over there...we got rid of the "pets", we'll get rid of them, too.  We still have to check it out to see if it's to our liking...who the hell knows.

As for the other vacant apartment (the one we rented in September...with the redneck fridge), she left that place a MESS.  Beige carpets now black with mud.  Yucky stuff on the kitchen floor.  Stench of dog permeating the whole apartment.  Nail holes in the walls...and not your average ones--must've been holding up shelves or something.  And the worst part?  She didn't even have the decency to bring the keys to us--she left them on the kitchen counter, along with the mail circulars.  Granted, we had a set, but WTF?  To think--this is the same person who BEGGED us to give her the apartment in the first place.  How rude.

Bottom line...$200 plus cleaning costs off our rent mext month, and possibly a 3-bedroom apartment.  It's all good, I guess.

til next time...=)

yay! the 5'er!

Finally, after a 2(?)-week hiatus, Robin came back with a new 5er.  Here we go...

1. How do you like your pizza and who do you think has the best pizza?

I like my pizza hand-tossed with pepperoni, green peppers, and onions.  I used to make it myself when I worked at Domino's...MMMMMM.  Now I get my pizza from Papa John's.  Yum.

2. How many journals do you have online and are any of them private?

Let's see...4 AOL (under 3 different screen names), one Easyjournal, and on Blogger (which I haven't really used yet, but I'm waiting to make it look better).  So that makes 5, and none are private.

3.  Do you believe in heaven and if so what do you think it will be like?

I believe in heaven, but have no idea what it looks like.

4.  Tell us about one of your bad habits.

Smoking...need I say more?

5.  Everyone likes a good deal.  What was the last good deal you got?  You know...like buy one get one free kind of thing.

Hmmm...last deal...the pic frame below was a good deal--it was usually about $28, and I got it for $17.  Other than that, I can't think of any, since I haven't really been shopping lately.

til next time...=)

Thursday, March 30, 2006

project #2

This is part of my outside project.  I've been working on this since February.  This is part of my backyard, and it's a total mess.  It was worse before this pic was taken...

The neighbors, who were here about 12 years (more on them in the next entry), said it was much, much worse--the previous owner had junk cars where the cars in the pic are sitting, and there was a garage that just collapsed, it was so dilapidated.  It partially collapsed in the middle of the night.  It was so bad, the city had to step in and make him tear the rest of it down...made him get rid of all the cars, too.  Since then, no one has thought to clean it.  Duh...it's an eyesore--you can see it from the street, since next to our house is just an empty lot, and it's been that way for 30 years.  Wow...I see some entries coming from this.

So now we have taken on the task of cleaning up all the yucky stuff...our kids play out there, you know.  And we have to look at it.  There's picky bushes, big rocks, and loads of junk stuff in there.  When it's done, they'll have a nice place to play, including a little tree fort--you can see it behind the flag.  It's a little circle of trees, and it'll be nice once the leaves are on them.  It won't be a mess for long...I'm obsessed with making this look good.  I've done the majority of the cleaning by myself...I can't stop!!

I'm rambling, but I can go on for a while about this.  I'll save some for another entry.

By the way, I got a sunburn from being out there today.  Joy.

til next time...=)

local stuff

While out shopping at the mall yesterday, I thought I'd get some pics of the local attraction.  Right outside the food court, this is what you see.

These are trains from the Steamtown National Historic Site, right in downtown.

til next time...=)

project #1

I've had the past two days off, and I've been doing some work around the house, both inside and outside.  Actually, it's been more of the latter--I'm taking advantage of the BEAUTIFUL weather we've been having.  That and I'm cleaning up about 12+ years of leaves, garbage, and whatever else is in the yard.  Yum.  And it's going to take me at least a month to do...getting rid of all that junk with a few garbage cans isn't an easy task.  But anyway...I got the inside project done today.

Last year, Bum received an honorable mention for a contest she entered at school.  The link the original story is here.  Since then, I've been thinking of framing the picture she drew and the award that went with it.  Yesterday, I saw AC Moore having a sale on picture frames, so I decided to finally do it.  Today, I finally got it done.  The final product:

til next time...=)

Monday, March 27, 2006

monday morning question

In "honor" of April Fool's Day coming up this week, what was the best April Fool's joke played on you or that you played on someone else?

Actually, I answered this last year--I haven't been able to top it yet (then again, April Fool's Day isn't until Saturday...).  It was actually a weekend assignment...see the entire entry here.

"Yesterday, walking home from school, Alexis mentioned to me that she was going to play pranks on her friends for April Fools' Day. You know, little things like saying there was a bug in their hair, etc. I didn't think anything of it, since she likes to play little tricks on a usual basis. Until this morning. I was trying to get her up for school, and she wouldn't get up. Then it dawned on me...April Fools! I told her she had to get up because I won a contest, and we were going on a plane to New York City. She literally jumped out of bed. I never saw her get up so fast. I also told her that we were going to be on Regis & Kelly (one of her favorite morning shows..too bad she doesn't get to watch it that often) for a Mother's Day contest that I entered. She bought it hook, line and sinker. I kept adding details as she got ready. I didn't let her in on it until she saw her school uniform. I thought she was going to jump on me--she was furious! But at the same time, laughing. Makes me wanna do it again. HEE HEE HEE."

til next time...=)

Saturday, March 25, 2006

me and my caffeine

Threadless.com Submission - oh sweet coffee

This is so the t-shirt for me.  Click on the picture, and you can see other t-shirts too.

til next time...=)

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

money money money

The tooth fairy will be coming soon...he's got three loose ones.  When asked if he what he was going to do with the quarters the tooth fairy was bringing him, he said. "not quarters...dollars!"  Man, tooth fairy's gonna have to take out a loan.

til next time...=)

whatever floats your boat

Isn't the pillow...the blanket is supposed to cover..oh, never mind.  I didn't do it--he fell asleep that way.

til next time...

Saturday, March 18, 2006

st patty's--a day late

Just to let you know, the cookies are gone.  Literally.  He didn't bring any home from school, and the ones I brought to work were gone by lunch (people started attacking them at 9am when I walked in the door).  Above is how he went to school, minus the shoes--he wore his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sneakers (they were green!).  The principal let his class (and only his class) wear green instead of their uniform.  Here's a pic of his head...

Joey sprayed it with what was left of the food spray for the cookies.  Unfortunately, Bum didn't have a party, but I still have a pic I can post.  The other day, they went over to the high school and watched a play or something...she got a set of pig ears and nose.  See?

Last pic...from this morning.  This is the only time they're this close and not fighting.

til next time...=)

Thursday, March 16, 2006

cookies!

Tomorrow's St. Patrick's Day, and Home Fry's class is having a little party.  To contribute, I volunteered to make some cookies.  Also, we're having a party at work to celebrate the holiday and to celebrate some of us coming "home".  Again, I volunteered to make cookies for it.  I ended up making 5 dozen cookies.  And of course, I promised to take pics of them.  Here they are!

Here's some of the green cookie dough...there was a neon green too, but they look like they're yellow.

See?  This is what they looked like after baking.  They're not done yet...

Here they are with the frosting on them.  But they're not green enough...one more step!

This is the final product.  It's a green spray icing.  I hope everyone likes them.

til next time...=)

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

go figure

You Should Be A Gemini

 

What's good about you: witty and energetic, you're simply the most fun to be around

What's bad about you: you're flighty - losing interest in people and projects quickly

In love: you enjoy the "honeymoon phase," but after that it's hard for you to stick around

In friendship, you're: likely to have many groups of friends, with many different interests

Your ideal job: mime, guru, or cartoonist

Your sense of fashion: casual and simple

You like to pig out on: fast food, especially burritos

 
The funny thing about this is...I AM A GEMINI.  I guess I act how I'm supposed to...lol. 

til next time...=)

Monday, March 13, 2006

woof woof

This is the dog who wreaks havoc into our lives.  She's half rottweiler, half bull mastiff, so you can just imagine how big she is.  We bought her from a rottie breeder--both mom and dad are AKC registered, and even grandma was on the premises.  Her name is Princess, she's three years old, and she's a biotch.  You know, the same one who did a number on Bum's ear back in August (but was provoked...by Bum), and got Bum again (scratched her face that time) a few months back (again, brought on by Bum).  Other than that, she's a pretty good watch dog, barking at everyone who walks in the house.  She's crate trained, and she's an awesome dog.  Now if we could train Bum like we trained Princess, then all would be good.  Sigh.

til next time...=)

Saturday, March 11, 2006

scavenger hunt #65

It's my first hunt with the new camera, but I had to wait to get pics.  This week's category is green, so what better way to show that than Scranton's annual St. Patrick's Day Parade?  It's the fourth largest in the country.  Both the governor, Ed Rendell, and Lynn Swann (who is running for governor this year) were here.  It was a gorgeous day--sunny and about 60 degrees.  (Can you believe it...me and Bum's faces are now sunburn...in MARCH.)  Here we go...

Home Fry and Bum.

St. Patrick in all his glory.

I know it's not a green Mummer, but I thought it would be nice to include.

This one was just too funny to leave out.

My alma mater.

til next time...=)

Friday, March 10, 2006

5'er

This week's 5'er, brought to you by the color green...and Robin, of course.

1. What is your least favorite GREEN vegetable?

I would have to say spinach, but I've never tried it, so who knows.

2.  Did you ever wear GREEN on St. Patty's day so you wouldn't get pinched?

That's a rule?  Never heard of it...but pinching (or being pinched) wouldn't be a bad thing...lol.

3. If you have grass in your yard is it GREEN in the winter or brown?

Definitely brown.  It's like that now...where there is grass anyway.

4. Ever have GREEN beer?

Nope--I don't like beer...it's the mixed drinks and shots for me!!!

5. Have you ever been told you had something caught in your teeth that was GREEN?

Probably.  Maybe even today, when I was eating Brussel sprouts.  Oops.

*Bonus question*

Do you know who GREEN Day is?

Yup--they came out when I was in high school.

til next time...

a little update

I talked to Martin the other day--he said he's not selling the house.  He also told me someone is moving out of the apartment--the first one we rented to.  She's moving April 1st, and we'll be renting it out all over again...ugh.  Renting that apartment is not an easy feat--it'll be advertised as a two-bedroom, but from the looks of it, you're lucky if it's a one. 

In a way, we're glad she's moving--she's one of those ones who likes to talk behind your back, and exaggerate the truth.  Case in point--the other day, she called up here to let us know that Martin was here, and she told Joey this story about how Martin said we've been nothing but trouble since we moved in, that she's going to get someone to shut the apartment down, how she's going to get a lawyer and sue Martin, yada yada yada.  When I called Martin the other day, I asked him about it, and he said it was all BS (his exact words).  He said he just wants to be rid of her.  So I guess that's a good thing.

til next time...=)

tag!

Got this from Sharon...go try it...
 
Copy and paste in your journal, then leave a link back here to your J.  So others to learn more about them! 
 
  
1. Four jobs you have had in your life:
Let me think...directory assistance operator (twice), convenience store cashier (4 times), short order cook, and assistant manager at a fast food place (twice).
 
2. Two movies you would watch over and over:
Better Off Dead and Dirty Dancing.
 
3. Four places you have lived:
Scranton, PA
University Park (State College), PA
Pittsburgh, PA
Mount Holly, NJ
 
4. Four TV shows you love to watch:
American Idol, Lost, Grey's Anatomy, and Law & Order (any of them).
 
5. Four places you have been on vacation:
This is not easy...
Boston, MA
Washington, DC
Allentown, PA (Dorney Park)
Pittsburgh, PA (to visit friends)
 
6. Four web sites I visit daily:
My journal, Bloglines, Photobucket, and eBay.
 
til next time...=)
 

six-pack pix

I saw this going around, so I thought I'd try it.  Joe the Journals Editor came up with the Six-Pack Picks, in which you pick six of your favorite journals, with some sort of theme going on.  I'm taking the way route for this one...I'm picking "S" journals!  Here we go...

The "S"tupidsheet Guy

"S"omething New

"S"ometimes I Think

"S"till Randomly Rambling...

"S"creamin' Remo

"S"lashfood

I think you should try it too...it's a way to find new journals, too.

til next time...=)

Thursday, March 9, 2006

toys...second attempt

To those of you who get my alert, sorry about this morning...as soon as Joey saw the pic of him on there, he was like NO...he hated the pic, so I took it off.  Oh well.  To those of you who didn't get the alert...I finally got a new camera!!  I have other pics to show, so without further ado...

Bum...

Home Fry...

Joey's new toy...a deep fryer.

And if you look at the sidebar, you'll see a new pic of me!

So there you go...as you can see, I guess I'm making up for lost time...lol.

til next time...=)

Sunday, March 5, 2006

get this...

Joey said I have "Titanic boobies".

--They're sinking...lol. (I know he's kidding.)

Gotta get him with a good comeback...any ideas?

 

til next time...

doesn't seem right...

Martin, the landlord, called here today about 1pm to tell us that a friend of his was coming to appraise the house around 3pm today.  Not too much of a notice, but I guess we were ready.  Good thing I was cleaning up the kids' room...it looked like a cyclone hit it.  Back to the phone call--he asked me if the new girl downstairs was moved in, and I told him yup.  He then told me to let her know that they were coming.  I asked him if he would like me to tell the other tenants about this...he said NO--the appraiser wasn't looking at that side, anyway.  Hmmm...sounds strange, since the other side of the house looks like sh*t.

So 3:00 comes, and here's this Jewish guy (friend of Martin) at my door, along with three other people, one of which is a little kid.  They all walk in the house, take a quick look around, and leave.  Huh?  That's it?  Then they go downstairs, and do the same thing.  After that, they ask about the other side, and proceed to go in there, and they start asking questions about the kitchen wall over there (it's caving in, and you can see it from the outside too).  Then they all left.

Little sidenote here: At the last house we were living in, the landlord at one point was going to sell the house, so he had it appraised.  The guy was there for over an hour, measuring and taking pics and such.  However, when potential buyers came to look at it, they just looked around and that was it.  And the appraiser sure as hell didn't bring his kid with him.

Our conclusion?  It wasn't getting appraised--it's already on the market, and the people who were here today were potential buyers.  What's next, who knows.  The next time Martin calls here, however, I'm going to ask him what the hell is going on.  As tenants of this apartment, we have the right to know.  There's four families' livelihoods at stake here, and keeping us in the dark, well, it's not good.  I'll keep you posted as the events unfold.

til next time...=)

just chillin

Wow...it's been almost a week since I've been here.  Hell, the last time I was on the computer in general before today was sometime Friday.  That's not like me...lol.  I just haven't been in the mood to be on here...I dunno.  I haven't been doing much otherwise, just hanging out.  I caught up on e-mail and journal entries this morning...so that's good.  Let's see...it snowed the other day.  Oooh.  I think that's the only highlight of my week.

Wait!  Yesterday Bum went to her first confession!  That's a big thing!  It was a cute little ceremony, and she looked good in her new dress.  She did good...although we thought she should have been in there longer--the hell she's put us through this week alone should have left her in the box for at least an hour...lol.  She'll be receiving first holy communion in May.  Her dress is already bought, but it might not fit her--that's what her great aunt gets for not taking her when they bought it...DUH.  Hopefully I'll have a camera by then...keyword being hopefully.  It'll be interesting for me to see, since I never did this (I was baptized Catholic--that's it).  After all, Mom wasn't really accepted there, being divorced and lesbian...there's more to that, but anyhoo. 

Joey and I were debating whether we were going to do this, since for the most part we think Catholicism is one big money making scheme.  Just my opinion...I'm not going to start a huge debate over this.  Don't get me wrong--I am Catholic, but not a practicing one...meaning I don't go to church on a regular basis (the last time I was in church before yesterday was when Home Fry was baptized).  Around here, if you don't go and donate to the church, they kick you out.  WTF??  There's more to my reasoning on this too, but it'll take too long.  That's all I'll say for now.  Hopefully I won't get any hate mail or mean comments about this...lol.

Wow...for nothing happening, this turned out to be a fairly long entry...lol.

til next time...=)