Thelma and Louise QUACK Me Up!

So It's been 6 months since we picked up Thelma and Louise from Rural King. And I've learned SO much! Besides the fact that they are cute.

First off, they grow SO fast! They were nearly fully grown at one month - they lost all their yellow fuzziness, for sure! I had no idea ducks grew that fast - they are not true ducklings for long!

But on the flip side, as they grew, their personalities came out! Who knew ducks could have such personalities - the two are so different in nature! Louise is a bit more of a mama's girl - she doesn't freak out if I pick her up and seems to enjoy being petted, once she settles down from being picked up (she squirms a bit, before she realizes she's going to get spoiled). She was also the first to come eat treats out of my hand. Thelma is a little more guarded... will run (waddle) as fast as she can to keep from being picked up. But it's never fast enough. So when she is picked up, she kicks her little feed, and starts breathing heavy (purposely, like she's pissed). It's actually adorable, and just makes me want to pick her up more.

And the interaction between them is quite interesting, too. I *think* Louise is the dominant one, most of the time. She, literally, will talk down to Thelma. But then I'll see Thelma, occasionally, push/prod Louise with her bill. Regardless, if they get separated, it's like you took away the other's heart! Loud quacking and panicked scurrying around. They are always side by side, even when they are 'running' from one corner of the yard to the other.

Thelma was my egg layer first, about 2 months earlier than I expected (started two months ago). But Louise was only about a week or so behind. And they are quite consistent layers, both in location (in their little hutch within their giant pen we built), and in timing. Every morning. Sometimes, one won't lay, which is normal. We'll see how it goes as we get into the winter. I've read different things on if they lay or not. Eric refuses the eat the eggs, though - not sure why. They taste similar to chicken eggs - maybe a tad richer, since the yolk is bigger. But I like them. I am keeping a few people at work supplied with them, as well. Might as well, since there is no way I can go through 14 eggs a week!

So if noting else, ducks are very much creatures of habit and routine. I love that, even though our backyard is not completely fenced-in, they never leave the back yard. They love their pool... but are hesitant to go to it if it's anywhere but in their pen or in the corner by the house. They quack loudly when I come home (especially if I take too long to come out of the garage). Kind of like a dog that gets excited. When I first let them out of their pen, they run/waddle across the yard, and try to 'take flight' as best they can... it's more like just a lot of wing flapping. Then they run back and jump in the pool or, if the pool's not out, they will settle into their routine of foraging around the yard, starting by the holly bushes by the garage, almost every time starting in the same place and following the same route.

They love berries. All berries, so far. Strawberries, blackberries, blueberries... and grapes. They will attack me over grapes. But even some basic romaine lettuce is a treat for them. They come running to the backdoor as soon as they hear the fridge door open/close(usually we just have the screen door pulled closed). They can be clear across the yard when they hear it - good ears! They just assume they're getting treats.

And did you know that ducks do yoga??? It's really just their typical stretching routine, but some of it looks like some yoga poses I've done.

All in all, it's been a fun six months! I never thought I'd own ducks, let alone any sort of farm animal. But they're a lot of fun, and pretty easy to take care of! I'm a little nervous about their first winter - everything I've read says, 'they have built in down coats, so they can handle it.' But I still worry - those same stories talk about their little feet getting cold. But they do love the slightly cooler temps we're getting now. Throw some rain in the mix and they're happy as, well, ducks! Rainy days equal quality mud time for them - I now understand the term 'muddy duck', as well.

Ducks! Who knew?!?

Duck, Duck... in the City?

So... we did something crazy over the weekend. And no one who knows us well will believe it, so there is photographic evidence here. But, here's the crazy thing we did... we bought a couple of ducks.

No... not to eat. To raise. As pets. Just because. Maybe we'll get eggs. Maybe not. But for now, they're just damn cute!!

So here's how it went down. Eric started going to Rural King a couple of months ago because he found out they sell things he needs for work (the maintenance side), in bulk form, pretty cheap. Think weed killer, grass seed, etc. I guess they like to keep things low cost for farmers, which makes sense (not to stereotype). Of course, he makes these runs on the weekend, so he takes me with him 'for company' on the drive. I never mind, really. Some of these trips to wherever he goes can be interesting.

So back to Rural King. If you've ever been there, or a place similar (like Tractor Supply Company), you know they sell baby chicks and ducks, as well as rabbits on occasion. As you walk through the store, you can hear the chirping. So naturally, the first time we went, we had to check it out. The chicks and ducks were so cute!! (I don't think there were bunnies this first time we went) We didn't think much, but after cooing over them for a few minutes, Eric dragged me away to finish getting what he needed.

We went back a few more times, and it seemed like the routine was for us to check out the baby animals before doing our actual shopping. Well, this past weekend, not he way down, Eric said, "Let's get a duck." I thought he was joking. Turns out, he wasn't. We talked to the 'bird keeper' on shift, and he said we really needed two duck -they're very social animals and need someone (or another duck) to interact with constantly. So, we bought two ducks. We couldn't have a lonely duck, now could we?!?

While this generally seemed spontaneous, we did, at least, gather supplies take care of them. Turns out, ducks are pretty cheap, in general - way cheaper than dogs! Each duck was $7, and a 50lb. bag of food was only $15. Which will likely last for months! We got them a little bins to bed them in until they get bigger, but it should do for awhile. I've been reading all about ducks since we got them - it should be interesting. Won't know the sex for awhile (unless I want to take them to a vet), and apparently, predators are everywhere.

But they sure are cute!!

Stay tuned for this adventure!

2014 Reflection

I don't normally do a year-end reflection post, but this morning, I was just thinking about all the stuff that happened this year, and I felt like I wanted to share.

The year really started out no differently from 2013. Eric had already been at his job for awhile, as had I. There was nothing forthcoming, that we knew of, that was going to make the year 2014 one of those years to look back on. And honestly, until spring sprung, that was seemingly the case. But I think the year started to get more memorable after I won those Boston Red Sox tickets. So we knew an awesome trip was in the works. And that was on top of the two wedding that came to fruition, both of which were 'destination weddings' for us (IOW - we traveled). So the traveling aspect of the year became that of a lot of travel memories, which was interesting since Eric's job no longer had that as a component. Together, we traveled to St. Jo, MI; Houston/Austin, TX; NYC (x2); Boston; Yuengling Brewery; Chicago; and of course, FL. And only one of those trips was via plane (to Texas) - the rest were true roadtrips. Separately, Eric went to Lansing, MI; Nashville, TN; and Philadelphia, PA for work. I, of course, did my girls' Caribbean trip and a late fall trip to FL to see my family. Not too shabby for travel in one year.

Then there was one component of Eric's work life that impacted me more than I imagined it would. He opened a fashion store. And while he was really just the money guy behind the creative minds, it wouldn't have happened without his incubator idea that he had been dwelling on for awhile. This impacted me in the fact that I had no idea there was a local fashion scene in Indy and I, personally, became one of the stores repeat customers rather quickly. Plus, the people I've gotten to meet in this fashion world that I didn't know existed has been quite a trip. It's a world I never would have met without Eric branching out himself. And the people are of such a different mindset than what I'm used to in 'my world' of engineering and development.

I'm not even going to touch on things that have happened in the world or even in my own neighborhood (which has really 'grown up' a lot this year). If I did that, I'd be rambling on for quite some time.

Finally, and most recently, there was the shift in my own job. While technically, there have been murmurings since the summer about this happening, the jump back to the development world really didn't come until late November. And wow... this is setting up 2015 to be another hell of a year. I'm not going to lie - I'm a bit nervous getting back on this side of the arena... but I'm sure once I'm going, I'll be right back in the groove.

So here's to a spectacular 2014... and hoping 2015 will keep the awesomeness going.

Another Reason We Need Our Garage Done

So those who know me, know that I am desperately waiting the completion of our garage. We're fully designed and permitted... but the ground froze on us before the contractor could get started. Boo. Personally, I'm still hoping he can find a week sometime soon to get the foundation in - once that's in, it's a go, regardless of weather. But he has to have a few days to get the concrete to cure, not to mention the ability to dig in the ground, with the temperatures above freezing (ideally, well above freezing). Eric's not as optimistic as I am.

So, to add to our desire to get this done, when we got back from our trip early this morning, we notice something looked weird with Eric's car, which was parking directly in front of our house on Fletcher. Before we even got out to look, I said, "I think your car got hit!"

Sure enough, someone tagged the left rear side, making the tire, which was now tilted, making the car undrivable. WTF. So, instead of waiting, Eric decided to file a police report right then, and called it in. While it was the middle of the night, they still had an officer come out and fill out the report, and I simultaneously started a claim on my State Farm app on my phone - might as well get the process going. With New Year's Day a couple of says away (ie - another day of closure for businesses), it'd be good to get the car in for repairs before so the process could at least begin.

We only know it was a Volkswagen of some sort that hit him - they left a hubcap behind. But no note was left. We can't help but wonder how they got home... the damage left on Eric's car had to indicate their car was in pretty bad shape, too. So it kind of sucks that we had to go to our insurance with a hit-n-run. This is not a 'no-fault state' like Florida, where your insurance always pays. So this really sucks.

So now we are waiting to hear from the insurance company on the next step. I guess the silver lining is that my car is available (for the most part) this week since I don't have to go into work. But then that leaves me stuck at home. I'm sure he'll get a rental later this week... but for now, I get to mill around the house.

UPDATE: I talked to our neighbor and she recalls seeing a car with a broken axle and deployed airbags 'parked' at the end of the block on Sunday morning. I wouldn't have thought the damage to Eric's cars would indicate that much damage to another car, but maybe? Or there was another car involved and Eric's was a third? This new info doesn't nothing for us, regardless... but it's interesting.

The Mouse

I'm not going to say I grew up a sheltered life, but I was lucky enough to almost always live in a new house. Not just 'new to us', but actually 'new', as in, we watched it get built. I didn't know about living in old houses, and what comes with living in an old house, until I moved in with Eric into his 100+yr-old house.

Recently, I discovered a true negative to the old house, with the creaks and slanted floors and drafty windows... the ability for vermin to get in (especially when it gets cold outside). A mouse. I've never seen a 'wild' mouse before. At first, I didn't know what I saw. It was a blur across the floor, and I jumped. Eric shrugged it of and said, "yeah.. I thought I saw a mouse earlier, too. If you think you saw one, then you did." About this time, he darted again, this time a little too close to comfort for me (still halfway across the room, mind you). I screamed this time, and curled up into a frantic ball. Eric just laughed at me. But he finally humored me and got up to see if the mouse was hiding behind a foot stool, and thought it was gone. I was still on edge. Then I saw it again, and by this time, I'm freaking out so much I'm near tears! And I have no idea why it freaked me out so much - I just never had a mouse in my house. I felt so... violated!

We didn't see him again and, in fact, Eric was convinced it left the house, since it warmed up a bit, again. Then, I came home to find what I thought was to be a perfectly fine loaf of bread in the garbage. I just assumed it was Eric being Eric about bread - he throws it out when it's just close to the expiration date. But then he told me he thought a mouse got to it. Uh oh.

Now, we are not dirty people, by any means. We have some clutter, just like anyone, but I'm OCD about dishes in the sink or leaving any plates around, let alone food out. So this really kind of got to me... where did this little sh*t come from and why our house??

Other than putting EVERYTHING in the fridge or high cabinet, we didn't change anything about our routine, at this point. We had no idea where he was 'living' and where to try to trap him. Then last weekend, I was cooking standing at the sink, washing a plate off, when I swear I felt something scurry past my toes along the kickboard. I looked and saw nothing... but was now on high alert. About 10 minutes later, I see him scurry under the fridge. And I saw him, in full mouse view, this time. For some reason, truly seeing him and just not a blur made me ready to mouse hunt... I was going to get the sucker. Or so I hoped/thought. I texted Eric and told him to bring home traps. In the meantime, I stood guard so he couldn't get out from under the fridge.

Oh, and he tried! He's poke his little head out, and I'd jump at him, knowing it would only scare him and there was no way I'd catch him by doing that. We played this game until Eric got home. He threw out a couple of the sticky traps on either side of the fridge and we left the kitchen.

Alas, no mouse. He was too smart for that. So we positioned the two traps a little better around the kitchen in hopes he's get stuck overnight. But again, no mouse. So I looked up some mouse traps online and found a simple and seemingly effective (and humane) trap. Put some peanut butter on the inside, bottom of a small glass, balance it upside down, with one side of the rim on a nickel, and let the heavy, easily off-balance glass do the work. I set up my trap (even with the sticky traps still out) and waited. I thought surely he's knock this over within a day.

A few days later (Friday), and the glass was unmoved. But wait... I looked a little closer. The peanut butter was GONE and the nickel was rotated 90 degrees so it couldn't roll with the weight of the glass. WTH?? Did this mouse take physics??

Yesterday, I was in the living room and heard a noise in my fish tank cabinet. I knew it had to be the mouse. Either that, or one of the fish got out. So I briskly opened the cabinet... but didn't see him. I shuffled stuff around, but still no mouse. An hour or so later, I heard the noise again. I ran over and opened the door, and there it was, just sitting in the cabinet. It darted out the back (there's no back on these cabinets) and I ran to get one of the sticky traps. but again, no luck. So I proceeds to investigate what he had found in the fish tank cabinet. Wow... the little sh*t found old fish food I had long forgotten about. So that was quickly removed and put in the trash. Now he had nothing to go after there.

Then I heard a noise behind the couch... where I was sitting. This freaked me out a bit because I couldn't see it... hopefully, it was just the same mouse. And just a mouse. So I cautiously looked over the back to see a bag of candy that had fallen back there some how... it definitely matched the crinkling sound.

I should mention that every time I removed a food source, I'd hear the mouse, again, in the same vicinity, squeaking up a storm. I think I was pissing it off.

That was the last straw. Eric decided it was time for the old school snap traps. I told him I didn't want to know where he set it, and it couldn't be anywhere I'd see it before him (so he could check it). Basically, there was no way I'd be able to see the dead mouse in the trap. So he set it before we went to bed last night

This morning, Eric woke me up by nudging me and tell me the mouse is dead. He was all excited because he heard it go off just a few minutes earlier, and continued to go into detail of what the whole thing sounded like. I tried to get him to stop - I didn't want to know. I just asked him to please make it all go away before I came downstairs. And he did.

So now comes the fun task of complete disinfection. That's been fun today... and gross, because the damn mouse left a trail of where he'd been. I've cleaned out the fish tank cabinet and all the counters in the kitchen (we had done the floors after the first round with this damn mouse). But I think I might have to go a second round of cleaning here shortly, for my own sanity. Here's hoping that is was, indeed, just one mouse. I really hope the next time I see a blur, it's my mind playing tricks on me.

Ding Dong the Pole is Gone!

So after about six months of bugging the crap out of AT&T (it started with IPL), the guy pole that was in our back yard is GONE!

I know this sounds like a trivial thing to all of you that have never had to deal with this... but you have no idea how huge this is! This means we have no excuse to NOT start our garage finally! There can't be any foundation issues, now.

Except that our permits haven't been issued yet. They're in for approval, but not yet. And since we in a historic district, we have the added step of having a pre-con meeting with an IHPC person. Bleah!

It's weird, though.... the pole took up very little space, and the guys, themselves, have been gone for months. (The picture shows where the pole once was...) But when I look out back, our yard seems bigger, somehow. It was just a pole... and, at one time, a wire.

Of course, that 'big feeling' will be short lived, as the garage will quickly close our backyard in. But it'll be worth that sacrifice.

Living the Single Life

Eric went away on a fieldtrip with the mayor on Sunday. And doesn't come back until tomorrow night.

I know... a weird start to a blog. But this is the first time I've had the house to myself for this long since before he quit his job a Kite, when he travelled ALL the time. Quite frankly, it's kind of weird to not have him here at night. I mean, he still works a lot, so sometimes I only see him for dinner and then when he comes to bed... but I'm not used to have the remote control to myself. And the couch. And the bed.

Though I gotta admit, it was nice to veg in front of the TV for a couple of nights, without someone griping about the stupid comedies I like to watch. I love some mindless TV (usually sitcoms), which drives Eric nuts (he picks apart everything from plot lines to character flaws).

On the down side, I didn't cook at all. Which some would say is not a bad thing. I had some leftovers tonight, and last night I had cereal. Yes, cereal. I love cereal and have considered making it my three meal-a-day diet. But I kind of missed making some 'real' food, even if some of what I cook is pretty mindless, too. Cereal is just SO much easier! And, sometimes, tastier.

But alas, this little experiment is done tomorrow night. Even if his work schedule and quirks drive me up a wall some days, I still love him. It'll be good to have him home.

Fall...

So the change of the seasons is upon us. Weird, since we didn't really get a taste of summer until the last month or so. And the past couple of weeks already started feeling like fall, complete with some leaves starting to change colors.

Fall came too fast this year. I want more summer. Not just because of the year flying by fast, but because I actually want some more hot weather! You know... the type when you breathe, you can feel the hot air as you breathe it in. Just call it a weird quirk I have.

And also, there's now the looming knowledge that winter is much closer than we'd all like to think. And I still don't have a garage. Have a nice big patch of dirt and a hole with utilities stubbed... but no garage yet. This makes me sad. I can't deal with another winter of digging my car out. It sucks.

For some reason, I'm just not into the onset of the cooler weather and really am not looking forward to the changing colors. it's just kind of 'meh' in my mind right now. And I've never been one of those people that associate cooler weather with football because, well, I grew up in FL. So football can play on in warmer weather... if it would just stay that way.

So this feeling of 'blah' does not bode well for the upcoming weeks and months. If I'm already dreading winter, what am I going to be like when it's actually here???

*sigh*

I guess one positive is that I can look forward to my boots and coats that come out in the cooler weather. I also have a few cozy sweaters that I look forward to wearing. But I can't even get hyped about that yet. I just want summer back.

You Just Never Know What You'll Find...

I think most everyone who reads this knows that I live in an old house. Like, really old house... 100+ years old. It's not my dream home, but it was more ideal than my former home up in Fishers, for Eric and I, when we got married . It's a way better location and much bigger. It was also the one hobby Eric had going - working on an old house. This is his third.

Thankfully, he had most of it done before I ever brought one box down. He kind of had to, with the condition is was in when he bought it. It had been in the same family for decades, and it the later decades, it had been divided up from a single family home into three rental apartments. The plus side to that was nothing was ever painted, so most of the original woodwork just had to be cleaned up. The bad side of that was the fact that you had weird walls build and more kitchens then you needed. So that's what Eric spend the first few years doing - turning it back into a single family home. He had a few surprises along the way, both pleasant and unpleasant. For example, the original wood floors were still mostly intact... just buried under multiple layers of vinyl. Probably the coolest discovery was that he had a true parlor in the front of the house, complete with a knee wall and columns that had been enclosed into studs and drywall at some point. While they weren't pristine, he was able to restore them pretty well.

To date, not much had been done outside. He has redone/repainted about half of the siding, which is a feat on all it's own (I'm trying to convince him to hire someone to do the rest). The front porch was rebuilt by his old contractor, with a finish upgrade to the floor itself (from painted wood to stained wood). But the backyard... aside from putting in a vegetable garden, nada. We're working on getting a garage started, and knew there was a smaller garage or carriage house (literally) at some pint, since the foundation was still in place. But it didn't seem as if they did much else out back.

You may remember the backhoe we had to trench in utilities over the 4th of July weekend. That was fun. Well, we never fully filled in the trench because Eric wanted to make sure a few connections were made, first. With the impending winter upon us, we spent this past weekend filling it in by hand and, also by hand, leveling out the other remaining mounds of dirt so we could reseed and not have a huge mudpit all winter. Eric had just started throwing in dirt when I noticed some bricks along the edge of the trench. They were too perfectly straight to be remnants from the old cistern that was removed. So we did some exploratory dirt moving and found a brick path. At this point, I was excited, and took it upon myself to find out how far this thing went. Well, turns out it likely led from the back porch to the old garage, because we uncovered quite a length of it. Judging from the amount of dirt on top of it, I would say they just threw sod on top of it at some point. Why would you do that??

So now I have a solid path to walk on most of the way to my car (since I park out back). It still needs to be cleaned up a bit, but that's the easy part. Maybe. We also might explore some more and use it and/or modify it to use when our garage is done. Maybe. Since we still have no idea how we're going to finish off our backyard next year, this idea might not be feasible. But for now, I'm just excited to not have to walk through mud.

Bikeshare

So... another thing I preluded to in a previous post... the bikeshare program we have in Indy. It's been officially dubbed as the Indiana Pacers Bikeshare locally, but the parent company is called B-Cycle. Which I was surprised to find had locations all over the US. All of which we can use our Indy membership with.

So for those who have no idea what a bikeshare is, it's actually quite simple. You can pay by the day or by the year (or, in come cities, by the week or month is also an option). The membership fee includes rides up to a half-hour at a time before you need to either dock it, or get charged an additional fee for the next half-hour. The rates are really reasonable, too, and if you live in an area with them, it's worth it. Eric and I have our own bikes, but still chose to join.

So why, if Eric and I have our own bike, do we use a bikeshare? There's advantages. First off, the cruiser style bike is easier to ride in the urban landscape. Secondly, we don't have to worry about locking up our own bikes at our destination. We just un-dock at one station near our house (or wherever), and re-dock it at a station near of destination. And finally, we don't maintain these bikes, which also means less maintenance on our own bikes.

Eric likes to use his membership to get to/from meetings since he works downtown and most of his meeting are downtown. He doesn't typically go to meetings that require a tie, so it's easy. I'm a more leisurely user, mainly on the weekends when we want to go grab something to eat. It's just so easy! There's even baskets on the bikes that allow for you to haul some small stuff, like a small grocery bag, or books, etc. Again, just easy!

This was not our first encounter with a bikeshare. Chicago has had a few forms of a bikeshare now. Ours is like a sixth generation version of a bikeshare... and I think they finally have it figured out. So if you're ever in a city that has any form of a bikeshare, don't be afraid to check it out... it's not just for locals, nor is it just for the tourists. It's for whoever wants to ride.

The Boom Lift

As most people who read this know, Eric and I live in a old house. Like, really old. Eric bought it off of a guy whose family owned it for decades, and had done NOTHING to maintain it, let alone update it.

That was about six years ago. By the time I moved into about four years ago, Eric had done a lot, including restoring nearly all the original hardwood floors and trim. He found a few pleasant surprises along the way... and some not so pleasant. But the inside was looking good and the last major project was a master bath (we'll leave that for another blog one day).

One thing he learned in his house renovation experience is that, except for a bad roof, always fix the inside up fist because that's what you live with and see everyday. If you make it look pretty from the outside first, then everyone enjoys your old home but you, because you have chaos on the inside that you look at everyday.

That's not to say he's done nothing on the outside. The entire front porch was rebuilt, and we get nothing but compliments on that. But the big project outside is the siding. It's an old house, with old wood siding. And since we live in a historic district, it has to stay as such, which means the maintenance is a nightmare, in my opinion. He's done some, but I'm all about virtually maintenance free brick exteriors - this siding crap isn't worth the effort. I think brick looks nicer, too.

ANYWAY, the maintenance thus far on the siding has be horrendous (mainly for Eric). As I said, the previous owners did nothing, and I'm pretty sure most of what's up there is the original siding from 1905-ish. Okay... so maybe they've done something since then, but there was nothing done over the last couple of decades, while it was a rental. The lower level is easy enough... even the second level isn't so bad. But it's the upper attic level and the peaks beyond that level that are impossible. The priming, painting, replacing, and just the up and down on ladders makes it an extremely slow DIY process.

With the prospect of a garage being built this summer, Eric wanted to finish the back. Made sense. So last week, he proposed renting a 60' construction boom lift for the long weekend. I didn't even argue - if it meant getting it done, I was all for it. So he did. That thing is crazy! But, over the past few days, a lot got completed. The entire back - DONE! He even drove it around the front and made a few repairs to the front upper eave and painted all but the very, very upper peak that's set back a bit... which you can barely see from the road. The fixing of the eave by a contractor would've cost the rental fee alone, so it made it so worth it.

Now all that's left are the sides of the house... which are two very large faces with few windows. And lifts can't fit in the side yards, so it's back to the ladders and scaffolding.

But the lift was fun... kind of cool to play on. Yes... I went up on it, too. Not like Eric's amount of time up there, but I had to experience it. But I'm glad it goes away on Friday... the thing is monstrous! But it sure was worth it.

Spring Break?

I'm not sure if it's because I live in a cold northern state, or if it's an epidemic brought on by spoiled millennials... but when did Spring Break become such a big deal outside of the college form of Spring Break??

I know I sure as hell never went anywhere for Spring Break growing up - I was just happy to have a week off school! Granted, I already lived in FL... but I kid you not, I know of at least six coworkers/clients that are 'away on Spring Break' this week. WTH? When did this become the norm to actually take a family vacation on Spring Break?? Working and actually being productive (because you can converse with people who you need to) is almost as impossible as it is the week between Christmas and New Years!

I get this was a crappy winter. But really? You have an obligatory need to actually go on a vacation, just because the school calendar gave your kids a week off? You'd think that since 'spring' is finally here, you'd want to just enjoy that and the fact that you can enjoy your own outdoors. I don't see where taking a week off of work makes any sense, especially from the standpoint that everyone else seems to be doing the same thing.

I grew up in FL. This time of year annoys the crap out of Floridians. I think it's worse than snowbirds. At least snowbirds, while old and mostly slow, don't all flock to the exact same place for a week straight. They kind of take up residency and have a clue. It's no wonder Disney can charge $100/ticket now.

Is this jealousy speaking? Maybe. But I didn't grow up with the thought of spring break as anything more than a break from school. Even in college I was a little baffled by the party mode that happened. At least then, the age for partying made it seem a little more tangible.

I digress. I call this week over and pointless in the realm of productivity. Sure.. I want to go to FL, too. But not with everyone else. I'll just go visit my family another week.

Guns and Media

With the shooting that happened at Purdue University this week (just a short 45 minutes NW of Indy), the media quickly started making speculations and reporting the 'news' as they read things on Twitter.

I'll let that sink in for a minute.

There has been gun violence for as long as there have been guns. I really question whether or not there truly is 'more' per capita then there was for me growing up. I think the media just overhypes things more. The first very distinctive thing that happened 'close to home' for me was when I was 10... William Cruse went on a shooting spree right there in my hometown of Palm Bay, killing six people and wounded even more. It made national news. Our little town of Palm Bay wasn't so unknown anymore. The next significant event (for me) occurred in junior high, when someone I had known for years, the 'class clown' that everyone knew, shot himself in the boys bathroom off of the common area in the center of the school. My dance team was right there practicing. What if he had decided to take out others with him? It took awhile for that one to sink in...

Both of these events were in the news... but after a press conference was held, and after something 'official' was issued to them. But then, social media didn't exist yet, so I'm sure that's why. But at least as we watched the news, we were getting facts. Now, the news changes as the social media gets updated. I get that news outlets want to be the first the 'break the news' to the world... but is it worth getting the public in a over-amped state of panic? As if we don't already have enough helicopter parents in this society that overreact to every damn thing that happens. Just because you have access to information doesn't mean it's accurate, or should be used in any capacity as 'news' to the public.

But back to the guns themselves. Why does Joe Public need to have access or the ability to by military/police grade weapons? And don't give me that Second Amendment BS. Do you really think our forefathers ever thought weapons would become so advanced that they could shoot multiple rounds a minute? No. I have no problem with people owning a gun for protection... but you just need something that can fire one round at a time - most people can't handle more, nor do they ever LEARN how to handle it. And hunters... why on earth do they need a semi-automatic weapon to kill a deer?? Doesn't that kind of take the sport out it? What happened to just using a shotgun?

I'm really not sure why it is legal for Joe and Jane Public to buy, or even own, anything automatic. There's no reason for it. And these 'collectors' out there? Let's make them register as collectors and pin some responsibility on them if their guns get stolen and used in a crime. Of course, we can't even pin that back on gun shops yet, so I know I'm dreaming big. I know amping up the laws won't completely fix things, but at least it gives the courts something to prosecute. Right now there are way too many loopholes.

Quite frankly, I'm tired of hearing about all the shootings. I'm numb to it. Each time one happens, I seem to care less and less. I could ramble on about 'kids these days' and blame political correctness and the ACLU for being idiotic in what they go after... but then this blog would turn into a short novel rather quickly.

So our dysfunctional politicians just need to get their heads out of their asses and stop trying to protect everyone's feelings, and just do what's right for once. Turn down that bribe from that lobbyist, and actually vote the way your constituents would want you to vote. Leave your own agenda at the door for once, and actually focus on the bigger issues in this country. Is that really too much to ask? Is your bank account really not big enough yet? Because I read most of you are millionaires now. Maybe learn to feed your ego in some other way.

I digress.

Trip Anxiety

I'm not sure why... and it really seems to be for no reason... but before I travel, I get very anxious. Doesn't matter how big or small the trip is, though the bigger it is, the worse it is... but I feel like I'm forgetting something, or I'm racking my brain about any problems, or I just get plain excited. And except for foreign country visits (or cruises), I shouldn't care about any of that!! I can buy something once I'm to my destination!

But I do. It doesn't matter if I make a list, lay things out a week beforehand, plan every detail myself... it just lingers there the day/night before a trip. it doesn't matter if I'm driving or flying... makes no difference. Here I am today, leaving for FL tomorrow, and I even have the day off work. But I feel like I'll never get what I need to do done, and that I'll forget some vital piece that needs to go with me.

And then there's the weather forecast. It's supposed to rain. How big of a damper will that put on things. Will Eric get anxious if it's raining. How much time will it add to our trip?

Kind of sad really. Eric laughs at me. He thinks it's hilarious that I get so worked up over trips. I even admit it's a little crazy. I got over this briefly, when I was traveling a lot for Kite. But that was so long ago and I've travelled minimally since then.

Oh, well. What can I do, right? As long as I realize that's all it is, I'm fine. And once I'm into my travels, I'm fine. Just something in my mind won't click before that point to tell me , "Everything is going to be all right..."

Blockbuster FAIL

I'm sure you've heard by now that Blockbuster, as a company, is going away, 100%. A company that much of my generation grew up with and, despite the change in formats, seemed like it would survive, as all other similar companies failed. I remember when I got MY first Blockbuster card... it was a big deal, for some reason... not sure why.

So where did they really go wrong? Their downfall obviously started awhile ago, since they filed for bankruptcy back in 2010. And I can tell you, it has been horrible customer service since then, on the DVD by mail front. You could tell Dish Network really didn't care about that part of the business. But I think anyone who watched the whole bankruptcy filing and buyout happen saw that coming.

So what then? Did they try to hang on to the DVD/Blue-Ray format too long? Were they too slow to change? Did they not have enough options? They claimed to have movies a full 4 weeks sooner than any other the other services (ie Netflix, Redbox). But if they can't actually get the movie out to you within those 4 weeks, what's the point? So was it bad customer service? Did they just focus on the wrong outlet for too long (DVD's/Blue-Rays vs. digital download)?

I think it was a combination of all the above, actually. I think they underestimated the popularity of people who wanted to just stream movies as TV/Gaming Systems and other devices became capable of doing that. And they were slow to jump on board, where as Netflix was all over it. Instead, they tried to compete with Redbox by putting kiosks as gas stations. And when they finally got on board with the streaming, a majority of devices were already right restricted by Netflix. In the meantime, they continued the hard format route by trying to allow people to interchange the store and mail experience, to 'make it easier with no fees'... but by getting rid of fees, they got rid of a revenue source. And hence, the downward spiral quickly escalated.

Pretty sad, actually. At one time, Blockbuster was on top of it all, squashing any other video store and making movie theatres nearly obsolete in the process, as more and more people would just wait for it to come out on video. And now, by the end of 2013, they will be no more. Just a memory for my generation to yammer on about to our grandkids.

Bye-Bye, Blockbuster.

Will Power

Will Power. Some people have it. Some people don't.

Eric does not. I love him to death, but if there's junk food in the house, he'll find it. And he doesn't know how to stop once he starts. If I don't buy junk food, he'll go out and buy some and eat it. I kid you not, I feel like I need to hide stuff from him and give it to him as a reward for good behavior. Well, maybe not that bad... but I do need to only allow so much in his sight at one time. But that might just be his vice. We all have them

I think I have good will power when it comes to junk food. I can buy a bag of candy and it'll last a month or more. I'll see it in the pantry, but just don't care. My vice is more likely the computer. But even then, it's more of 'once I get on, I can't get off the internet' type of things. If I never get online, I don't feel the need to. Or maybe it's my lack of ability to not procrastinate...

A true test begins today and I start a bit of a cleanse. Eric said he'd do it with me, much to my surprise. But it's only 15 days, and only the first five days are really restricting. All you're really doing is jamming a lot of fruits and veggies into your body in the form of smoothies you make from fresh fruit/veggies, greek yogurt, protein powder, etc. I wouldn't do it if it didn't seem doable like some of the all liquid things out this. This one, you're just taking solid food and 'smoothifying' it. Yes... I just made that word up. I'm looking forward to it.

So we'll see how good my will power really is. And maybe I underestimate Eric's.

And Just Like That, It's Done

So my title is a bit of a teaser. You're probably thinking I'm going to write a blog about the end of the government shutdown. Yes... it has come to an end. And somehow, it cost us a lot of money to end. How did having the government closed cost more money than if it stayed open? And it was even less impactful, since they plan on giving all the furloughed employees their back pay - which is a good thing, don't get me wrong. But I know I'm scratching my head trying to figure out what the point really was, other that to thoroughly piss off the American People. Which I must admit, mission accomplished.

I go back to my previous blog... lesson learned - vote every single senator and congressman out of office at the end of their term. I don't care how long they've been in office. Obviously, it's been too long to have something like this drag out.

No... what my blog is really about it the end of our I-65/I-70 South Split road construction! Can you believe that was the top story on our newspaper's website?? Not the government 're-opening' and coming to terms... but about the fact that trucks can drive through downtown again. And I, for one, couldn't be happier! It opened two weeks early!! No more trucks throwing on their engine brakes and they go through my quiet little residential area at 1am. No more lines of traffic out my front door. No more complete lack of preparation from INDOT on a project they already had practice on when they 'fixed it' the first time.

As I sit here tonight, in the normal quietness I've become used to (granted, still not as quiet as the suburbs), it's a nice quiet to listen to. If nothing else, the construction project made me appreciate what silence I do get downtown. Also, next time they plan on shutting the interstate down near my home, you can guarantee I'll be at any public hearing, making sure I see their FULL maintenance of traffic plan.

Pumpkin Spice

Is it just me, or is pumpkin spice flavored EVERYTHING overly abundant this year? Was there an explosion of pumpkin farms in recent years. Or did they come up with the perfect pumpkin spice flavoring in a lab somewhere in the past year?

Seriously. I don't really get it. But I've seen it EVERYWHERE already, and in EVERYTHING!

It starts every fall at Starbucks. Maybe they're the cause of this chaos? They hype up the release of the Pumpkin Spice Latte every year, and the past few years it has seemed to be even more hyped. I think last year they even had a contest for certain cities to have it released there early. The 'big release' came as it usually does this year. But then, shortly after, I stared seeing it in everything. Dunkin Donuts does a donut every year, too... no biggy. But Panera has a bagel, too. And I saw a Pumpkin flavored yogurt at one of those self-serve yogurt shops.

Go to the grocery store and it gets crazier!! Pumpkin Spice flavored English muffins, breads, coffee creamers, coffee syrups, Hershey Kisses, M&M's, cookie dough... the list goes on! And then you get out of the food realm and into the scent realm.. how many things can you make smell like pumpkin?!?

Thankfully, I like pumpkin flavored (and scented) stuff. But this overload might kill it for even me! I do believe there is too much of something good. And what does this lead to next? An overload of peppermint at Christmastime? Let's not kill all of the good flavors and scents out there.

Paw Paws

So here's a question for you... do you know what a Paw Paw is?

I found out what a Paw Paw is last night, when Eric and I had dinner out at a local restaurant. It was a noshing kind of dinner with a couple of small plates, and then for dessert, we got homemade blueberry waffles with fresh Paw Paw. We ordered it, with no idea what Paw Paw was, and didn't even think twice about it until after we ordered it. Then we looked at each other and wondered, what is Fresh Paw Paw? Is it like a compote? Some sort of fruit hash?

Google to the rescue! Turns out, a Paw Paw is a fruit all on its own! Ever hear of it? It actually a native TROPICAL fruit of North America. Go figure! And it's not native to the tropic region, like you'd expect, but actually native to the eastern US, even up into Michigan! It has a very short fruit bearing season (like, NOW for only about 3-4 weeks), but the fruit it produces is quite tasty! I don't want to just write what everyone else writes about it... but it's hard not to describe it the same way. It's sweet, smooth taste similar to a mango and banana mixed together. Unique, yet familiar.

So anyway... I will likely stalk the stores and farmers markets for Paw Paws over the next couple of weeks. And I told Eric, in all seriousness, I want to get these in our backyard. We'd have to get two trees for pollination, but they're not huge trees. We'll probably have to wait until after the garage is built, though... don't want to shock them with construction! But if we could grow these in our backyard and just have them whenever we want in those few weeks, that would rock!

Arrival of Autumn

Autumn finally arrives today... and I'm not quite sure how I feel about that.

I say that because, quite frankly, after fall comes winter and I KNOW I'm not ready for that. I could skip winter all together this year. Don't need 'the season' and don't want the cold.

Besides that, we didn't have much of a summer! It was so mild until August, and even then, we only had about a week of a real summer!

So what will this Fall really bring? A lot of the trees started dropping leaves because we had such a long dry spell, so I'm guessing the colors won't be that great this year. I, personally, don't tie fall to football, other than dates - I don't feel a need to 'bundle up' to watch a football game. And the drop in temperatures? Well, we never really had a hot summer, so that gets negated.

I guess I do like wearing my sweaters and boots. But my office is so cold in the summer, that I've been wearing some of my lighter sweaters for awhile now. And wearing my boots means I put my sandals away, and that actually kid of bums me out.

So I'm just having a hard time about getting excited about the change of seasons this year. I just see nothing positive ahead... maybe Christmas. But I'd much rather just keep my warm temperatures around a little longer. Must be the FL girl in me just trying to get out.