Rhode Island makes 32
Topic: Daily Posts
Yesterday, we went to Rhode Island. We visited the historic Blackstone River Valley on a beautifully, warm, sunny spring day. That trip to Rhode Island added one more state that I have now been to. I don't actually remember Nebraska, and I didn't count states that I flew over, but here's the list of states I have visited:

1. Illinois (born there),
2. Missouri (lived there),
3. Michigan,
4. Wisconsin,
5. North Dakota,
6. South Dakota,
7. California,
8. Kansas,
9. Tennessee,
10. Georgia,
11. Kentucky,
12. Florida,
13. Montana,
14. New Hampshire,
15. Maine,
16. Ohio,
17. New York,
18. West Virginia,
19. Oklahoma,
20. Colorado,
21. Pennsylvania,
22. Nebraska,
23. Massachusetts (live there now),
24. Arkansas,
25. Alabama,
26. Maryland,
27. Connecticut,
28. Wyoming,
29. Indiana,
30. Iowa,
31. Montana,
32. Rhode Island

Left is:
1. Washington,
2. Oregon,
3. Idaho,
4. Nevada,
5. Arizona,
6. New Mexico,
7. Texas,
8. South Carolina,
9. Louisiana,
10. Mississippi,
11. North Carolina,
12. Hawaii,
13. Alaska,
14. Utah,
15. Minnesota,
16. New Jersey,
17. Virginia,
18. Vermont

"Keymaster" or "I am an Idiot"
Topic: Daily Posts
I found them! The keys! They're found! No, they weren't in the freezer.

Apparently, when I came home from walking the dog on Sunday night (the last time I had them), I put them on a CHAIR in the kitchen. Then, I quickly pushed in the chair under the table with the long table cloth on it. Then, for three days straight, while trying to recover from our "weekend hangover", we ate all meals in the form of junkfood and empty calories on the comfort of our sofa in the living room in front of the mind-numbing television. Then tonight, while finally getting around to cleaning the kitchen, I took the tablecloth to wash out the lobster stench and rearranged the table to remove one chair. Voila! There they were! On the CHAIR! Somewhere stupid where they don't belong!

Oh sweet, sweet Shaw's Card, Stop & Shop Card, PetSmart Card, Petco Card, Bob's Card, Vitamin World Card. I've missed you all. I'll never be so careless again.

Drunken Underoos Internet Shopping
Topic: Daily Posts
Why am I allowed access to BEER, CREDIT CARDS, and SHOPPING at the same time? Oh sweet internet, I love you. Not only can I shop in my underoos, but I can be completely drunk while doing so.

Among the items aquired during drunken internet shopping sprees are: Old Navy capri pants (with $5 shipping!), NUMEROUS Nine West shoes, CDs from amazon.com, a subscription to Maxim magazine for Pete (what was I thinking?!), and, as of tonight, a new blog. I'm testing out typepad's blog service. I have to say that I thought it would be different from tripod. Not so much. Thankfully, they have a 30 day FREE trial period, so I can cancel at any time - any time after a few beers, as that seems to be when I make my MOST rational decisions......

Spring? No, it's "Not Winter".
Topic: Daily Posts
In New England, we don’t so much have “seasons” as we have Winter and Not Winter. The Winter portion of the year is obvious: consecutive days below 0 degrees, 3 feet of snow at all times, wind chills hovering around absolute zero. The Not Winter portion of the year is trickier. Just as it begins, we get slammed with a cold snap and 6 inches of snow. But now, I believe that Not Winter has begun. We have had successive days above freezing. Not too long ago, the last traces of snow disappeared from our yard. And today, ladies and gentlemen, I did not wear my winter coat to work. I wore a jacket. Our high for the day (two days in a row): 58 degrees.

The beautiful synergy of this weather and the recent time change (giving me a whole extra hour of daylight) has awakened the sleeping Martha Stewart in me. It’s Not Winter! I think alphabetize the linen closet! Raise 234 varieties of tomatoes,! Send hand-made thank you notes to everyone I know! Start a chicken farm! Re-upholster the furniture! Learn to hand-tie authentic alpaca rugs! Take up conversational Japanese! And that’s just this weekend!

Last night, the wild Martha Stewart hair up my ass caused me to: rake the yard - making sure to get the dead leaves, grass, and sticks carefully to leave the newly planted grass, chop and marinate beef, chicken, and veggies for kabobs on the grill – with separate marinades for the beef and chicken to bring out their unique flavors, order plane tickets for the upcoming bachelorette party, take the dog for the Long Walk up the giant hill (as opposed to the Short Walk, which he hates), email everyone in my inbox, call my sisters, clean the living room, all while leisurely drinking a beer. I totally deserved that beer.

papertiger12, version 2.0
Topic: Daily Posts
Recently, it's become painfully obvious that the freebie tripod blog is not working. Lately, the biggest problem has become the damn pop-up ads. Is anyone else having this problem? Today, even after I closed the pop-up ad of the flyswatter, the buzzing fly sound persisted. It wasn't until I CLOSED THE BROWSER that I got rid of it. WTF!?

So, I shall be in search of blog/web hosting that will meet my needs. This may involve (*gasp*) PAYING!!

You've been warned.

You've Been Pittsnogled
Topic: Daily Posts

Thank you, March Madness. Pittsnogle is a household word, especially in this household.

Instant Karma's Gonna Get You
Topic: Daily Posts
This morning, after the dog woke me up at approximately 6:32 am to go outside, I let him out, took a potty break of my own, and tried to go back to sleep on a glorious Saturday morning. The sun was shining, birds were chirping, making it impossible not to get up. So, I did, waking up Pete in the process. I decided it was finally time to drop off at Goodwill 2 of the 3 bags of clothes and housewares that had been sitting in the corner of our bedroom for the last month. Since Pete was headed half-way to where I was, I made him carry a bag to the subway. I left him at Government Center and headed over to Goodwill.

After schlepping all the way to Cambridge with overstuffed bags of stuff, I sucessfully dropped off both bags. So, lighter and hands-free, decided to do a little shopping before I met back up with Pete. There's a Payless Shoe Source down the street. I sometimes go there to find cheap slides to wear when picking up dog poop from the yard and running down the street to get a paper. Last year, I found the PERFECT pair there. Unfortunately, I ruined them when I accidentally stepped in a puddle. They were never the same and I had to throw them away. I loved those shoes. This year, with no luck, I had checked several times to see if there was anything close. But today was different. Today, I had donated to charity! Payless had a lone pair of the EXACT shoes from last year in my size. For $12.

Next Saturday, I'm gonna donate that last bag of clothing. Then I'll check in at the apple store to see if the iPods have been clearanced to $59....

Lizard. It's What's for Dinner.
Topic: Daily Posts
Him: Look. (pointing to the building along the sidewalk) "Retail/Restaurant" space for lease.

Me: (looking at the window and seeing "Salamander" in a modern, sleek font, painted on the windows) What are we going to open, there?

Him: A restaurant...named "Salamander".....where that's all we serve.

Me: That's disgusting.

Him: That's why it's closed, now.

I-I Want to Tha-ank You......
Topic: Daily Posts
Last night, I was at work until after 6 pm, which sucked, big time. In a bad mood, I called Pete from the subway station to make sure he was on his way home to let the dog out. He could tell I was irritated to shit. After an abbreviated conversation due to poor reception, I was irritated with him and I hung up to get on the train. I was irritated at the stupid passengers. I was irritated with the dumb subway system. I was really irritated with work, which unfortunately has been a norm lately. I was irritated at traffic as I crossed the street to walk home. I was irritated at the weather for being so unseasonably cold. Irritated! On St. Patrick's Day! Damn it all to hell!

Then, when I got home, Pete had taped a "menu" to the outside of the door, duplicating what I had done weeks earlier. Perhaps it was a white flag from inside that he was more than willing to do what it takes to get me out of my bad mood. It may have been a warning to me to straighten up my attitude because no one inside that door did anything to irritate me. Whatever it was, it worked. I read through the menu with such humorous choices as: Lil Turkey Muffins and Mocha Latte of Love. I was immediately back in a good mood, ready to watch some basketball, update my bracket, eat some pizza, and have a beer with Pete. Happy St. Patrick's Day! All the bad things that had pissed me off all day were wiped away by one small gesture. Ain't love grand?

Sick Day
Topic: Daily Posts
I came home sick from work. I have that about-to-get-a-cold feeling in my head: headache, achy neck, extreme exhaustion, post-nasal drip. I guess if I'm still sick tomorrow, I can stay home for St. Patrick's day, get really drunk, and watch the tournament. Alcohol goes great with all those cold medicines....

When I got home, I found that Tiger had pulled over his new food bad and had a little Iams snack. Luckily for us both, he's free-fed and doesn't gorge himself when he finds food. He also found a plastic bag full of pennies. He broke into them and scattered them pretty much everywhere. I hope he didn't swallow one.

Also when I got home, there was a package from Pete's mom containing Easter goodies, including my yearly Pease's egg with my name on it. She also sent a really cool picture frame that looks very Cape-Cod-beachy with white washed wood and sisal fibers. I'll have to find something good to put in there. It will be perfect for the beathroom.

I picked up the food and pennies then Tiger and I lied on the bed together while he napped and I flipped around on the tv, mostly between DIY and HGTV. I actually watched a show where two women wallpapered a kitchen. Watching wallpaper go up is only one step above watching paint dry.

I couldn't sleep so I got up to do a load of laundry, eat most of that Pease's egg (....it was just sitting there mocking me....) and to do a little email and surfing.

I really just want to go back to bed and wake up tomorrow, fresh and new, ready to face the day.

Ugh.