So.....we have a new pet

That was the only text to an email I received on Friday morning at work from Chris. As many of you know, I tend to take in stray animals (learned it from you Mom and Dad!) so Chris and I constantly battle over little furry creatures I find lost in our yard. So I'm expecting maybe a puppy. He hates cats, so I knew that probably wasn't it, unless it was an itty, bitty baby kitten. So imagine my surprise when he starts discussing a lizard. Not just any lizard, but "Zeus". He had named it Zeus due to its "size and rileyness". Cally was trying to help find sneaky Zeus but was finally deterred by some thunder and Chris lost his scout. That was 3 days ago and the last time we saw Zeus. We keep hearing odd noises and assuming it was him. We even unscrewed the vent on the A/C but alas, no Zeus. Early this morning, we finally found him on the leg of the dinning room table- no thanks to the bloodhound. Apparently we didn't pay for the warranty on her sniffer. It took us about 20 minutes to catch poor Zeus as he kept running over my bare feet and legs. It tickled so much I would start laughing and lose focus. Once we'd find him, he would disappear. It was as if he borrowed Harry Potter's invisibility cloak or something. Maybe he was apparating to the other side of the room. After his weekend getaway in the Graham Bed n' Breakfast, Zeus was thankfully returned to the wild.

Insight into the Mind of My Husband

So when Chris is out of town, we completely use and abuse our cell phone family plan. I would like to shake the hand of whoever thought of that. Anyway, this last trip, Chris was away during one of our best friend's bday and naturally I was in charge of the cake (pictures to come). As I was excitedly describing Chris over the phone what kind of cake I was making, the following conversation ensued:

C: How come you never make me a cake?
D: Because when it's your birthday or any other special occasion that warrants a cake and I ask you what you want, you say 'Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake'
C: That's because it's yummy. Can't you make that?
D: No. And gross.
C: Well, couldn't you make me one of your cakes to celebrate a non-special occasion? Like me being married to you every day. We could have a cake that celebrates all my patience and tolerance.
D: Patience and tolerance?
C: Yeah! A Patience and Tolerance Cake!
D: Well then how come you've never made me a cake for all of my patience and tolerance?
C: Honey, all that is required to be married to me is Happiness and Joy!

I think I've finally met someone who can out argue me! I was laughing so hard by the end at his seriousness. We will keep you posted on the patience/tolerance/happiness/joy cake. :)

Why I'm a Wii-tard

I've never been good at video games. I think I was in first grade when we begged our parents for a Nintendo ES. I was never coordinated enough to catch up with Lake in Super Mario Bros to ever save the princess so I kept to Duck Hunt. Apparently sitting 2 ft away from the screen is cheating. Even then, I would become frustrated at the laughing dog.

A few years later my interest was renewed when I received the gift of a Barbie Nintendo game. This is sadly the only game we (oh yes Lake, I am calling you out) could never beat. We could dodge the flying fashion accessories, but the dang fountains at the mall got ya every time. I think Lake made it to the 3rd level once, but I never did make it to my dream date with Ken.

I think my problem was the fact that I didn't want to push the buttons on the controller so much as I wanted to "steer" the controller in the direction I wanted it to go. Oh, and yell at it when that didn't happen. 18 years later, someone finally read my mind and invented the Wii. I don't have to push all the buttons to go in directions, I get to move the controller! MarioKart finally has a wheel controller- the way I believe it was always "nintended" to. Sure I over-correct my pink kart (no Chris-not like in real life) and fall off Rainbow Road everytime, but I'm tons better than I used to be.

So what's my point? The point is, the stupid Wii is dangerous. Yes, it fights childhood obesity. Yes, it helps the elderly with physical therapy. Yes, it solved my own personal video gaming issues. But dangit, did the stupid bowling and tennis games have to make me sprain my knee?!?!? I popped it further at work today, so now it's all swollen. Enjoy the pic of my leg here at work today. Yes, that is ice duct-taped to my pants. Everyone there had a good laugh, you might as well share in the fun.

House Chris-tening

We had to have our first dinner party and we figured what better way than with a set of grandparents, our two best friends and two dogs? I don't know which was more exiting:

- having LOTS of counter space to cook and prep with
- not having to move the table into the living room so that we could fit 6 people in the dinning room
- or Muffin puking on the new couch :) Gotta love microfiber- it came out!!!!!!!

New Neighbors

We live on the corner, so we only have one next door neighbor. We don't know their names, but they are....how to say....good for blog postings? The dad is probably my parent's age and has met both of our fathers. As my dad worded it, "He's a good ole boy from the South". He actually tried to talk us out of buying our house because "others" were moving into the neighborhood, "you know, not of our kinfolk." You can read into that however you would like. He is very congenial to us. We can always count on him coming out of the house in his wife-beater and stonewashed jeans which is extremely complimentary to the robust shape and ruddy complexion.

Today we learned he has two daughters. The oldest, about our age, came out while Chris was power-washing the house. Being the friendly guy he is, he shouted hello. She gave a very condescending "hey" back. Trying to make friends, Chris pushed the conversation further. Noticing she was rather dressed up for 10am he asked, "Going somewhere fancy?"
"No. Just out."
"Okay." At this point Chris was going to let it go. But apparently she was not done with her snippity tone:
"So, you've been doing a lot of work for them?"
"uh, yeah?"
"That's good. The last people didn't really keep it up very well. I'm glad to see they hired someone to take care of the place."
Chris never did tell her he was man enough to work on his own house.

And for our last new neighbor, here is a picture of Mr. Long who we met at the park tonight. We apologize for the graininess, but it was taken on a cell phone!

It's Coming, Be Patient

I WILL post pics of the new house.....when it's ready. Chris has gone back to work now and I haven't stopped, so it's kinda hard to find time to unpack. As soon as I can get a shot of at least one room that doesn't look like a cardboard jungle, I will post a cool before and after shot. Okay? So thank you for the emails, comments, and Facebook messages, but I have not forgotten. They are coming.

For those of you still interested in a great new house story.....Thursday night was priceless. I came home from work about 7pm, still light out and the garage door opening wasn't working. The thing is only 3 weeks old, so there is no way the battery is dead. I was on the phone with Dad, who as the ever (please note Dad, I did not say over) protective father that he is, asked me to make sure no one was inside and had just cut the power. I wasn't scared or paranoid when I thought it was just a cheap, dead battery. Now, maybe a little. So I open the front door with my key (I know, it's sooo Stone Age! Next thing you know, I'll have to get off the couch to change the channel on the TV!) and Cally comes running out. Intact guard dog is always a good sign. So I check all the rooms and realize the power is out. I check the breaker, which is flipped to on. Hmmmm..... Then I check the water......also not on. This cannot be good.

So I call Chris and ever so sweetly and calmly ask if he did indeed switched the utilities into our name. "Oh Deya, they do that for you!"
"What?!?!"
"Yeah. Whenever they see a transfer of property ownership, they automatically switch it into your name."
"Um, I don't think so. What in the world would give you that idea?"
"That's how it works in Canada."
I very rationally and again calmly reminded him we live in America and that is indeed not how it works here. So four hours of sweet talking on the phone and $200 later, we had power and water.

Final score: New House-2 Chris-0 or USA-1 Chris-0
Either way, I think he needs a hug.

Chris' Everest

The last owners of our house decided to take all the light fixtures and ceiling fans with them as a parting gift. Apparently, the higher the cost of the fan, the better the instructions and assembling materials. Chris put together the first ceiling fan in the main room no problem. The next one, in our bedroom, was his Everest.
First of all, let me say that Chris is very handy and great at putting things together. What did not help the situation is that every bedroom is wired all weird. They all have the ceiling fan power going to the hole in the middle of the room and then the light power going to a hole two feet away. So poor Chris had to rewire the room first.He assembled (on the ceiling) and disassembled the wretched fan five times before we had to return it to the store. After returning it to Lowe's, he convinces the man to sell him the floor model- already assembled! They took it apart anyway. :( Once he got it home, he realized they forgot to give him the ceiling mount bracket, probably still attached to the store. Long story short, it took a total of 8 installs for our little fan to work! But it works!!! You can't live in Florida and not have a ceiling fan in your room. I'm pretty sure there are laws.