We did some shopping over the weekend. My favorite purchase? New sneakers!

And they were on sale, too. Woot!

"NAME THAT MOVIE" CONTEST - 067

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Mr Moo's aunt and uncle sent us a greeting card just to say hello.

Inside reads: Just a little card to put a smile on your face.

Oh, it worked. :-)

Moo's 10 Second Movie Review

I watched this movie last night and really liked it. It's all creepy and disturbing, but in a good way. And, if the story isn't creepy enough for you, seeing 6 foot tall Christian Bale weighing just 120 pounds should be more than enough to make up for it. Yikes! The character was written as a human skeleton and he certainly fit the bill. I'm not sure if he's completely dedicated to his craft to have lost all that weight or if he's just certifiable. Either way, I thought he was terrific in this.

If we didn't have giant power lines running behind our house, we would have a perfect view of the sunset from our backyard.

Do you think the thousands of people who would be without power afterwards would mind if I took a chainsaw to the poles? :-)

I had the most horrible nightmare last night that the neighbors on our west side (who we adore) moved away very suddenly and a family from the Seventh Circle of Hell moved in. They had two very large dogs and were bringing them into our yard whenever the dogs had to relieve themselves. Needless to say, they didn't clean up after the dogs. They started digging up the grass to put up a fence about 10 feet past the property line - on OUR side. They decided that they didn't like some of the plants growing alongside our house, so they just went ahead and cut them down when we weren't looking. And the list goes on and on. I woke up in a complete panic. Currently, we have very nice neighbors on both sides of us and across the street. I don't know why I'm having dreams like this. It must be my stress about other things manifesting itself. I think I would rather have a stomach ache.

Otter Pops - simple frozen treat or fruit flavored crack in a plastic tube?

I swear I'm going to need a 12 step program for these things soon. I can't stop eating them. Thank goodness they have only 15 calories each. Granted, my blood sugar is so whacked I'm probably going to end up in a diabetic coma soon, but my caloric intake shall remain low. Yea verily, it shall.

Excuse me now. I believe I hear Alexander the Grape calling for me.

A couple weeks ago, I bought a pair of (not so comfortable) shoes for my sister's wedding in September.

I took them to the cobbler on Saturday to see if he could cut away some of the fabric so they didn't dig into the tops of my feet so much. Just short of laughing out loud, he made it very clear that he isn't set up to do that kind of work and wouldn't be able to help me out on this one. He offered to stretch them, but he couldn't guarantee any results. I decided it wasn't worth it to spend the time and money on stretching them only to, more than likely, end up with shoes I still couldn't wear or return. So, back to the shop they went.

Even though every fiber of my being hates the place, I went over to David's Bridals to see what they had for dyable shoes. Amazingly, I got lucky and found a pair that actually fit me well.

I don't really like them all that much, but I'll be wearing them under a full floor-length skirt and no one will see them. I'm just happy to have shoes that don't hurt. They were marked $39.99, but, turns out, they were on sale for only $19.99. Score! And just when I was starting to think that maybe DB isn't as bad as I had thought, I had to stand in line for over 20 minutes to check out while one sales clerk rang up a ginormous bridal party and several other employees stood around right next to the other register and did nothing. Yup, I still hate them.

I've fallen in love again... with a house!

This house was pictured on the cover of a real estate brochure/magazine I recently received. I love the house and especially how cozy and inviting the front yard looks. I looked up the listing online. It has hardwood floors throughout, granite countertops, an indoor pool, gorgeous landscaped grounds, views of the river... a virtual steal at only $990,000. ((cough! choke! gasp!)) Do you think, if I ask really nicely, Mr Moo will get it for me for my birthday? :-)

After much arm twisting (yeah, right), Mr Moo hooked up the electric fence around our vegetable garden last night.

We're having problems with what we believe to be raccoons stealing our corn. I wouldn't mind sharing a bit of it with them if a) we weren't growing so little of it already and b) they didn't completely pull down and, thus, kill the stalks. They've already attacked about a third of what we've planted. You can see in the photo that none of the stalks on the left hand side (behind the tomato plant) are even close to full size because they're all secondary shoots.

As of this morning, it looks like the fence has claimed its first victim and we're guessing it was a cat. The evidence was one dead mouse and a whole lot of displaced dirt right at the edge of the bed. It suggests a cat was carrying its kill and was going to cut through our garden. It hit the fence, got shocka shocked, dropped the mouse and did a whole lot of backpedaling to get the frell out of there. I sent Mr Moo out to take a picture of the evidence, but the mouse was gone by the time he got out there. Looks like some other animal got lucky and got itself a free meal.

Mr Moo and I did a jigsaw puzzle last night.

It was relatively easy. It only had 550 pieces and we did the whole thing in just a couple hours. I think we need to break out one of the 2000 piece puzzles soon.

Moo's 10 Second Movie Review

I'm still not sure if I liked this movie or not. I was so caught up with being jealous of how close their family was that I kind of stopped paying attention to the rest. Granted, they were a bunch of vicious b*tches to everyone outside their family, but they really did love each other. I guess I was torn between being jealous and hating them all at the same time. Anyhoo, anyone else seen this one? Care to share your opinion since I don't really have much of one?

We had a new visitor to our backyard the other day.

We've seen dragonflies before, but never one this bright red color. It looks orange in the photo, but it really was red. It was very cool looking. There are a few more shots of him in my photo catalog under "Animals - Insects - Dragonfly".

Mr Moo's head or a spiral galaxy?

The hair on the crown of Mr Moo's head grows in a nearly perfect spiral. Since he's so much taller than me, I don't get to see it very often. However, when I do, I'm always completely fascinated by it. I finally got him to sit on the floor so I could take a photo. I felt like the Hubble Telescope taking it a picture of this:

An actual conversation I had with Mr Moo...

Me: If you suddenly became a mutant like one of the X-Men, what do you think your mutant power would be?
Mr Moo (as proud as can be): Farting! I'd be The Spleen!

Heaven help me.

"NAME THAT MOVIE" CONTEST - 066

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Mr Moo is downstairs attempting to install this on the family room PC:

It's a new game that he received for his birthday a couple weeks ago. He's having some trouble with the installation. I believe he's discovered that the cheapo sound card he bought for that machine is a little too cheapo and there is no sound. I'm getting the distinct impression that he'll either get it working tonight or we'll be going out to buy a new sound card tomorrow.

Josie and I are supposed to be paying a visit to the vee-eee-tee again today.

However, I'm not feeling so hot so I canceled the appointment and asked the receptionist to have the doctor call me instead. Our vet's office is on the other side of town. I don't feel up to driving all the way over there when I don't feel well and pay them $75 for an office visit just to have him tell me that her eye still isn't better and to continue her on the medication. We can do that dance over the phone. Josie's conjunctivitis (pink eye) cleared up (finally) a couple weeks ago. However, the eye developed some cloudiness, which the doctor determined to be inflammation underneath the outer layer of the cornea. I've been giving her eye drops for two weeks now and it's still not cleared up yet. He examined her thoroughly a couple weeks ago and there were no abrasions or any other serious problems with her eye. I think she's just a very slow healer.

Wow. I came across a website today that blocked you from entering unless you are using Internet Explorer as a browser. How incredibly rude and stupid. And, to make matters worse, it's a site for a non-profit charitable organization. I wonder how many people have turned away and how many donations they've lost because of this "feature". Their webmaster should be strung up for this one.

A recent photo of my latest cross stitch project:

I haven't worked on it very much lately, but I have made a little bit of progress. I knew when I started this one it was going to take years to complete and I was right. It's been over two years since I started this one. To see other photos of this project, visit my photo catalog and look under "Crafts & Hobbies - Cross Stitch - Birth of Christ".

TODAY'S WORKOUT: 60 minutes on the bike (12.5 miles)

I worked out, sweat, showered. You know the drill.

My bridesmaid dress for my sister's wedding arrived last week. It looks like this except it is navy, not light blue.

My sister chose a long A-line skirt for all of the attendants to wear and allowed each of us to choose the top we wanted. We'll all be wearing different style tops, but they'll all be navy. I can't begin to explain how grateful I am that she let us do this. I'm a lot older than her and the other bridesmaids and would have been very uncomfortable wearing any of the strapless/sleeveless/backless scraps of fabric that they're calling tops these days. Thank you, Sis!

Unfortunately, the top is not fitting well at all. The shoulders are much too wide and the sleeves are so tight I can hardly get my arms in them. It's incredibly difficult to fit a garment on yourself and I was getting concerned as to how I was going to get it done. I called a fellow dressmaker friend of mine today and she agreed to help me out. I'm going to spend an afternoon with her in a few weeks to do the alterations and to catch up since I haven't seen her in an age. I now officially have 3.5 weeks to sort out my shoes and lose a few more pounds.

"NAME THAT MOVIE" CONTEST - 065

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TODAY'S WORKOUT: 60 minutes on the bike (12.7 miles)

My mileage is starting to go up. I think it's time for another increase in my target heart range. Today, I watched the second half of Million Dollar Baby, the movie I started watching during my workout a couple days ago. My advice to anyone who watches movies while working out - don't watch anything that will make you cry. Good grief. I could hardly breathe. I think I'll be sticking to comedies and vampire movies from now on.

While having brekkie with Mr Moo this morning, I read a blurb in the paper that mentioned July 29 is the 25th anniversary of the wedding of Diana and Charles. I read it to Mr Moo and asked him, "Do you think we'll make it to our 25th anniversary?" Seeing how it's a beautiful sunny Sunday and we were relaxing and sharing a lovely breakfast together, silly me expected a response somewhere along the lines of, "Of course we will because I love you so very much!" What did I get in actuality?

Him: Umm, probably?
Me: Probably??
Him: Well, you never know. A plane could fall out of the sky, crash on the house and kill us both before then.
Me: Yeah. Or I might hit you over the head with something, too.
Him: See? You're getting it!

Mr Moo is taking me to a bridal shop today so I can, hopefully, find some shoes for my sister's wedding. Wish us luck!

EDIT: Well, I bought a pair of shoes, but I don't love them. They're a little tight across the tops of my feet. I need to take them to my cobbler to see if he can either stretch them or cut them down a bit for me. If not, they're going back. They look like this:

Just a plain small-heeled pump. Exactly what I wanted.

TODAY'S WORKOUT: 60 minutes on the bike (12.4 miles)

I didn't work out yesterday because I had a stomach ache all afternoon. No excuses today though.

The little oak tree growing in the middle of our vegetable garden has gotten a lot bigger this year. Here is what it looked like at about this time last year:

And here's a shot taken back in May of this year:

I really need to take a photo with a measuring stick so you can see how much it's grown. I'm a terrible judge of measurements, but I think it's got to be close to a couple feet tall. Hard to believe just two years ago it was a little acorn some squirrel or blue jay stuck in the middle of my veggie garden. We seriously need to consider getting it moved this fall before it gets any bigger. I haven't a clue where we'll move it to, but it's got to come out before it completely takes over the raised bed.

Do you think I'm cute?

Then why aren't you in the kitchen getting me some tuna?

Dear Jaymz, former contestant on So You Think You Can Dance:

When the host asks you whether or not you took Nigel's advice from last week about preparing more for your solo dance, the correct answer is "YES, I practiced like a fool all week.", not "No, not really." Are you stupid or something? You don't admit to doing whatever the frell you felt like doing and damned be the judges when you're standing in front of them right before they decide whether or not to send you home. I thought you were too cocky, but Mr Moo hit the nail on the head when he said, "No, he's just an idiot." This, my friend, is why you were sent home tonight.

Moo's 10 Second Movie Review

I watched this movie while I worked out yesterday. I found it was surprisingly good. It's set in a future where people can buy implants to record their entire lives. Robin Williams plays a man who edits these life recordings after the people die so their loved ones can save the best moments and watch them at the funeral. Naturally, there is a lot of controversy over these rose-colored edited versions of people's memories, but you'll have to watch the movie to find out exactly what happens. Robin Williams gives another fantastic performance playing an eccentric loner with issues. I'm always amazed when I remember that this is the same man who played Mork. I think he's a wonderful actor. The plot had a few holes and the movie had some pacing issues, but overall I found the story intriguing and suspenseful, and I wanted to see more when it was over.

"NAME THAT MOVIE" CONTEST - 064

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TODAY'S WORKOUT: 60 minutes on the bike (12.2 miles)

I seriously needed to workout after yesterday's gluttony. Also, my dress for my sister's wedding arrived on Monday and, while the skirt is so big it's falling down, the top is a wee bit tight. I need to get focused and lose a few more pounds.

I had to laugh when I read the article on cnn.com today about Rush Limbaugh and his latest brush with the law over the mislabeled Viagra bottle.

The state attorney's office said Dr. Steve Strumwasser's name was on the Viagra bottle, not Limbaugh's.

Strumwasser, who is Limbaugh's psychiatrist, told authorities he "agreed to have his name on the label in an effort to avoid potentially embarrassing publicity for the suspect," according to a filing by the prosecutor's office.

And this story is now running on virtually every single news outlet across the nation? Yeah, that plan worked well.

I'm supposed to be having a consultation appointment with a potential new wedding dress client today at 1400. However, when we scheduled the appointment a couple weeks ago, she didn't have pen and paper with her and she said she would call me back another time for my address and directions. Well, she never did call back. I now have the fun task of trying to track her down to find out if she's even still coming for her appointment today. The fun never stops.

EDIT: I left her a message at the only phone number I have for her. Now I hurry up and wait.

EDIT 2: Wow. She actually called back right away. Turns out, she isn't going to be able to make her appointment today and will call back tonight to reschedule after she gets her work schedule for the coming week. I gave her directions to my house at least so all we need now is a new appointment day/time.

Only a few days late with this month's Cows in Shining Armor image (click to see full size):

King Art-Herd
Much myth and legend surroundeth the tale (and tail) of King Art-Herd, defender of Graze Britain against the barnbarian burger hordes. With his Lady Guineveal by his flank, he and his Knights of the Round Stable did bring hope, stability and, yea, chicken sandwiches to a troubled and hungy land. Legend sayeth that Moolin the Magician proclaimed him king when, as a calf, 'twas he alone that could withdraw the sword Excowibur from a particularly tight-packed hay bale.

My in-laws and some other members of Mr Moo's family are coming over in a couple hours for a small impromptu BBQ. I'm still in my pajamas and haven't even started cleaning the house at all. Oy. It's going to be a crazy afternoon.

Happy Independence Day, peeps!

EDIT: Everyone has gone home. The house is picked up. And Mr Moo and I are ready for a nap. I think everyone had a good time today. I know for sure that no one went home hungry at least.

Mr Moo chose today to switch out our old router for a new wireless one. I've been without internet for most of the afternoon and it will continue to be spotty at best for the rest of the evening. Needless to say, the MooCams are down and will be for a while yet. Sorry!

Mr Moo has finally conceded that his mobile phone is beyond saving. He went out and got hisself a new phone yesterday.

It's a Motorola RAZR V3. It's a cute little phone, but seems a bit flimsy to me. Then again, I'm death on small electronics. He started getting it set up earlier and seems fairly pleased with its features so far. All I know is he better figure out how to change that horrible default musical ring thing soon or we'll be learning if it can survive being tossed from a second story window.

"Parade" is a mini-magazine that is distributed as a supplement in the Sunday newspaper here. There is a regular column in it called "Ask Marilyn". People send in questions for Marilyn, who, supposedly, has the highest IQ ever recorded. One of the questions from today's column reads:

Whenever I see a man and woman riding a tandem bicycle, the man is in front. The back pedals need more driving force, so wouldn't it make more sense for the woman to ride in front?

I posed this question to Mr Moo to see if his answer would match that of Marilyn E. Coyote, Super Genius. He didn't say anything right away, so I asked him, "If you and I were to ride a tandem bike, would you sit in the front or the back?"

His response: "I'd sit in the front because I break more wind."

Oh, you got that right, Mr Moo.

I can't remember if I ever mentioned that the house on the east side of ours went on the market about two months ago. If not, consider yourself informed now. Those neighbors have two small children already and are thinking of having at least one more. They also have a foreign exchange student living with them. Given that their house has one of the smallest (if not THE smallest) floorplans in our subdivision, it's understandable that they want/need to get into a larger home. Surprisingly, they have really struggled finding a buyer. When the houses across the street went on the market, they sold within just a few days. I thought for sure this one would sell likewise. They did have an acceptable offer relatively early on, but that deal fell through when the potential buyer finally realized that our homeowners association would not allow him to keep his giant boat, camper and trailer on the property. Well, duh. I don't know what the guy was thinking. In the first place, the lots here are so tiny, I don't know how he would actually fit all three on the property. And no planned community like this anywhere around here allows any of those things. The houses are barely 20 feet apart. Who wants to have some RV storage yard 10 feet away from their house? I have to admit I'm glad that deal fell through.

We kept checking the realtor's "for sale" sign out front every day waiting to see a "sold" sticker. Even we were starting to get dismayed for them with every day that passed. Good news though. The sign came down early last week and our new neighbor started moving in on Friday. I saw some activity yesterday afternoon so I went over to introduce myself and say hello. It's a woman and her two dogs (who, so far, have been incredibly well-behaved - phew!) who have moved in. She's retired and moved here from California since her daughter lives elsewhere in our subdivision. I didn't get to talk to her for very long since she was in the middle of painting, but she seems very nice and I think she's going to be a great neighbor.

Mr Moo is snoring up a storm and my patience is wearing very thin. Thus I am awake at this unnatural hour. Grrr.

Moo's 10 Second Movie Review

How many different synonyms are there for the word "crap"? Wow. This movie was two hours of awful. I can usually find something good to say about almost any movie, but this one has stumped me. After watching the bonus features, I learned that the director used nothing but natural light for this film. I can appreciate the attempt, but it just didn't work. I remember talking to Mr Moo throughout the entire thing about how terrible and distracting the lighting was. I won't even bother listing the myriad of other things wrong with this movie. Just remember, when you see it at the rental store, it was bad and move along.

I found this photo of two children with an apparent death wish somewhere online last week.

If you ever needed a reason to not have children, this would be it. I can't even imagine walking into my living room and seeing this. You'd have to laugh though. If you didn't, you'd lose your mind.