Away For The Weekend

We just got back from visiting my sister at school. She had her senior recital (she's a performance major), and she was Hermia in "A Midsummmer Night's Dream." A great play, and she did beautifully. Lots of physically comedy, especially between her and Demetrius. She flung herself about him and clung like glue. It was hilarious. It was great to see her and watch her perform. Plus, I got some shopping done and got out of Albuquerque for awhile. Yay!

Christmas Loot

So, yeah. I got a TON of stuff this Christmas. Wanna see?







The Xmas tree and "loot"















You know you've been naughty when Santa
leaves a roll of pennies in your stocking.








Tearing into loot













Loot on the way home.

I'm So Lonely

The hubby is off on a business trip until tomorrow night. It's funny how big our little apartment is when there's no J around.

But, it's been a really good day other than that. I've gotten a lot of work done today. The place is shaping up nicely, if I do say so myself.

I just took a short break to write this, so I guess I'll get back to work. We bought a huge bookcase off a local classified site for only $25! While it was an awesome deal, yours truly completely forgot one very important aspect.

"Do we even have room for it?"

Nope. So I've got to figure out a place for it. But yay! I got a new bookcase! :)

Sleep tight and have a great Monday!

Cute Rats?? Why yes...yes they are

"Uptown Rat...living in her white handbag world..."



"Which way to Macy's?"



Is your shopping buddy this cute?? I think not! :)

Nature...Naturally

I'm tired. My bones are tired. 6 miles of wading through thigh-deep water on slippery sharp rocks trying to avoid sinkholes and climbing straight uphill have worn me out.

The story of how I came to find this out goes:
I suggested we (me, my hubby, my sis and our friends) go camping for my birthday. After all, we had this great tent, propane stove, cookware, etc. that we got for our wedding 2 years ago, but had never even taken out of the boxes to make sure we had actually gotten the items.

The powers that be decided otherwise. For 6 weeks, each weekend has had one reason or another that we couldn't go- rain, fires, no fires allowed, working, etc. There just came a point last week where I gave up, threw my hands in the air and said, "Forget it! We're going to the woods this weekend, rain or shine, dead or alive." And that was that.

This morning we headed out for a day in the wilderness. We decided to make it a day trip, as camping was still out of the question. I packed sandwiches, water and our friend brought chips. We piled in his truck (J, me, my sister and him) and headed out to Jemez, about an hour and a half away.

We got there and trekked down the steep hills to the river, crossed the river and had lunch under a tree. That was great. Then we started on our hike to the cliff diving spot that Jemez is well known for. It's about a 3 mile one way hike.

The thing is, you have to go through the river. You actually have to make part of your hike in water only! I did not know this. I had to sacrifice my tennies for the good of the team. Off we went, me slugging along in my favorite shoes.

It wasn't bad though. The water was refreshing, and the day was glorious. Warm, but cloudy so our skin didn't feel like it was buring off our bodies. However, I did find one thing out. If you walk in your shoes in a river, you're gonna get sand in your socks.

Boy! Does that ever hurt! Ouch! I was constantly rinsing my shoes and socks out so I could move comfortably.

We finally got to the cliff-diving spot. I chose not to go, because I hadn't known this was part of the plan before we left. Otherwise, I would have brought an extra set of clothes. Our friend was the only one to jump. He had a great time, and so did we watching him.

Finally, it started to rain. We figured we'd better head back. My legs were the consistency of Jell-O and this point. I was carrying the camera, and I just prayed that I wouldn't collapse in the water. The rocks are not only slick but they move around too! Staying upright is a real feat. I was just exhausted by the day.

My husband likened my pace to "Sloshing along. Wherever your foot lands is where you go." And you know what? He was right! I staggered back all three miles, not once stopping to rinse my socks and shoes for fear that if I ever sat down I wouldn't get up again.

Upon reaching the truck, I dumped about a pound of river rock out of my shoes, and doggedly climbed into the truck. I slept most of the way home, and then slept some more once I got home. I'm still tired. Just thinking about it makes me tired.

I'm going back to bed!

Happy 4th!

Today is our Independence Day. yay!

Hubby is off work, and we're off to see a movie with a friend. Then perhaps a barbeque or something. I dunno.

Dad's surgery is tomorrow, so I'm going by to visit with him a little bit today.

That's all for now.

A Quarter Of A Century

Today's my birthday. I'm 25. Feeling old, but not so bad.

My sis left this message on my machine:

(to the tune "Happy Birthday")

Happy Birthday to Lynn
Happy Birthday to Lynn
You look like you're 21
And you're a perfect 10!

Awww...*sniff* Will have to spoil her rotten for that. :)

My husband's version:

Happy Birthday Little Peng
Happy Birthday Little Peng
Happy Birthday Little Pe-eng
Happy Birthday Little Peng

I'm feelin' alright. Yay me!

Sham...you're next! (doom music) haha

And finally, dad goes in for his surgery on July 5 to have his cancer removed. We'd appreciate any healing thoughts you might spare. Not too worried, but you never know...

FIRE!!

Wait, wait. Let me explain. First, I'm tired. I was stressed, scared, angry and ready to shoot a certain someone. Second, I don't feel well. It may be residual or just because I ate too many "bad" things at dinner. Third, I don't want to write this up as it will infuriate me, but I'm hoping it will help me feel better in the long run.

Here goes:

Our apt. is on an outside walkway, on the second floor. It is an old building, and our front door overlooks a courtyard. There is 1 apt. across from us, and then the railing to the right, serving to make the walkway a balconey.

Our fabulous apt. manager, whom I already dislike- *flashback* He threw a still lighted cigarette nearly on my toes, and said "Oh, I didn't see you there." No sorry, no nothing. Guess the ashtray concept eludes him entirely. He's a total, unresposible slob that doesn't care if he litters and doesn't clean grafitti off our walls and lets the dumpster overflow. Our landlords are essentially slumlords, and people will deal because of the prime location (across the street) to the university, so they don't care what he does as long as he gets rent to them. This fabulous apt. manager of ours set up a couch next to our across the hall neighbor's door for his smoking location. As he was friends with those tenants, they would all sit out there and smoke. And of course, the smoke wafted into our home. (We don't have sealed doors or windows, either.) They have the right to smoke, and I have the right to not breathe their smoke in, right? Well, the rules of the apt. are that we can't smoke, but I guess rules don't apply to him. The whole building, walkways and ceilings included are made of wood, and some are painted. Tinder. Fire Hazard. *Back to the story*-pulled an unforgiveable stunt.

Apparently, after flicking a butt and not finding where it went, left to go about his business. (Found this out after the fact.) I noticed a burning smell in our apt., like burnt marshmallows. When it got worse, and smoke started filling the front room (we had the front door open), I went to investigate. I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. My sister came out to help me, and found the problem.

The couch arm, beneath the cushions was smoldering into fire! We quickly started pouring water on it, while J walked to the apt. manager's and asked to see him. He was in the shower, so J very calmly and cooly told his smoking buddy that "your couch is on fire." Dude moved more quickly that I bet he's ever moved in his life.

He and J dismantled and tore apart the couch. As it got more oxygen, it got hotter and hotter. They managed to get it under control, and got the volatile part seperated. The apt. manager wandered down, and asked what happened. When J told him, he just laughed and said he couldn't help because he had to go.

I guess that worthless piece of human matter doesn't have time to do his JOB. And the worst part was J kept telling me not to worry about the smell, and we were about to head out for the evening. For HOURS. If no one else had noticed, that couch and everything around it could have gone up, including my ratties! You can't imagine how much that thought terrified me. See, on the other side of our apt. is the staircase, and our door is in the middle of a wind tunnel. The foam in the couch would have gone up and all the wind whistling through would have resulted in WHHOOOSH!

And the apt. manager could have cared less. I'm calling the owners tomorrow, but I doubt they'll care as nothing really happened, and none of their property was damaged. But it's the principal of the matter. This man should not be managing as he is careless and could care less. He's proven his irresponsibility over and over, and this is the final straw. I will not tolerate my and my family's safety be compromised so some jerk can get his nicotine fix 4 apts. down from his own!

Can you guess who I'm livid with? What a day...

My MIL

J's aunt is in town this week from Cleveland. She went up to visit his mom in Durango, and they came back to Abq. today. We had Thai with them for dinner (yum!) and mom is coming over here once she's dropped Aunt Anita off.

She's such a nutty hippy, but she's got a really good heart. She brought me some cute cookie cutters, 2 in the shape of Moose. :) I am happy.

She's leaving early tomorrow morning. J is happier about it than he should be. ;)

Anyway, it's fun having her here. We really should go visit her more often. She only lives 3 hours away. J gets irritated at her tho- I can understand. It's just a parent/child thing. Maybe I'll convince him we should go up for a couple days.

I still can't find who's bleeding. There's no fresh blood, so everybody cross your fingers and hope that it's over with. I really don't need more rat drama.

And my sister is home from collegio today. My mom is home from her month in Virginia. Everyone is back, and everything is back to normal.

As normal as can be, anyway.

She's Healing

I finally got a call from the vet. We decided to let Coda just heal on her own, as she's made significant progress since Friday.

My friend from elementary school met up with me the other day, after not seeing eachother for many years. We were supposed to go out for sushi this week, as he is moving to TX on Sat. Anyway, the phone number he gave me belongs to someone else. Tomorrow I'll go to his mom's house, and leave a note for her to have him call me. Hopefully, he'll get it before it's too late.

And...I guess that's about it. J got back from his job interview last night. Sounds like the place is really great to work for. I hope he gets the job. At least then we'd be able to move out of Albuquerque, and our household income will double. Yay! We're not doing bad now, but hey...you can always do better, right? And we'll get out of this (pardon the term) rathole of an apartment. I mean, when you have to fight the roaches for everything, you know it's time to move. ;)

I have to get exercising. *sigh* 6 miles is a lot of work. But, I've gotta do it. After all, I'm determined to look better than my sister. And I can't do that sitting here being a computer-veggie.

Halfie

is doing great! She hasn't messed with her incision at all! I'm so proud of her. She's eating and running about...just sleeping more than usual. Otherwise, she's acting pretty normal. Yay normal!

And here's my sister's 5 things...

If I could be a bonnie pirate, I would slice every guy who has ever cheated on me or disrespected me into 2033 neat little slivers.

If I could be an actor, I would make anyone who saw me believe in the magic world of the play.

If I were a professor, I would tell my students what I expect from them and then keep my word.

If I could be a vet, I would have an open line of communication between me and the animal so I know exactly what they need.

If I could be a doctor, I wouldn't charge you so much to make you well.

More to come...

Gettin' out of town

We're leaving tomorrow for my sister's play. The weather says it's going to be hailing and raining down there. Yuck!

I'm looking foward to being back home. I get tired when I travel, and I think I've got a sinus infection, so I'm gonna be one sleepy rat-mom.

Well, that's about all I've got. I went to see my friend's rattie the other day, but I don't really want to talk about it. J says "you can't save them all." But I want to!*sigh

Have a wonderfully restful weekend, and I'll see you on the other side.

Long Day

Today was one heck of a long day. But it was a great day.

I had to go to my mom's earlier for an in-home party she was having. It was pretty lame. The dish that was made was an egg-something. I despise scrambled eggs. But...I ate it to be polite. :)

My husband spent some time with his best friend today, which was great. He doesn't really keep in much contact with him, so today was a good thing. They got to "catch up" while rat-mom was away. hee hee

When I got home, we left for our Aunt's house. My husband's relatives from Poland are in town for the weekend. My husband's family are THE MOST amazing people in the world! Seriously, they are great.

We learned how to make Polish Maddogs (polish vodka, raspberry syrup and tobasco shots), what naughty words in Polish were, and other great things. Olga and Ana were wonderful.

My husband's family is so open and accepting and they love me. They are so different from my ex's family. My ex's family made sure that I was left out of the loop, and didn't know what any of their stupid jokes were about. They quoted movies non-stop, but of course they never told anyone what the relevancy was. They constantly harrassed me about my choice of clothes, nails, hair-do's, jobs, schooling, etc. Apparently making fun of me was a great pastime.

Then my ex would get angry at me and tell me I wasn't trying hard enough to get to know them. Ass. Of course, it was never his asshole family's problem. They were "perfect." Everything was my fault. He never ONCE stood up for me. I tried talking to his mom and sister and they would just walk out of the room while I was talking. I was ignored at every turn. Y'know, really made to feel that I didn't belong and I KNEW IT.

But anyway, my husband's family is a million times the opposite. They try to make me feel welcome and they're fabulously wonderful. I can't believe the man of my dreams has a family to match.

You probably care more about the rats, right? Well, they're free-ranging now. Half Rat is sitting by our door. Her little nose is pushed under it as far as it can be, and she's so happy sniffing the outside air. She's grinding her teeth and just having a great time.

Rat rat is being "velcro rat" tonight. It's wonderful. She jumps on the side of the chair, and just clings to it. She's too cute. Gad, I love her to little bitty rat-sized bits. She's adorable. (Insert very happy, giddy rat mom here.)

Rat just jumped up into the chair to see what I'm doing. She's sniffing about the laptop and basically getting in the way. I didn't realize her underneath the computer (which is on my lap) for awhile. I don't know how long she was there. She was just all pitiful, sitting there trapped, waiting to be "rescued", because she wanted to be with me.

I am one content rat mom.

We Are Family...

My sis and Half-Rat.
My sis and rat!