I was going to set up Mr Moo's new camera phone so I could use it to make picture posts while we're gone, but I haven't the faintest idea how to use it and I'm too tired to figure it out right now. We'll be bringing the manual with us so I might be able to sort it in the next few days.

The car service will be here to take us to the airport in less than two hours. I had grand plans of getting some sleep tonight, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen now. Our bags are all packed with the exception of our toiletries (musn't bring our terrorist toothpaste onboard) and everything for the animals is ready for the temporary zookeepers. All I have left to do is collect a few things going in my carry-on bag and take a shower. Totally do-able in two hours.

I'm not sure how much I will get to post in the next few days since we'll be at a hotel in NYC and you just never know if the wireless internet will be working or not. I'll be able to use my aunt's PC once we get to MA on Wednesday, but if we start getting busy, my time online is the first thing to go. In a nutshell, I may make some posts during the next two weeks and, if I don't, I'll be back at it when I get home on September 10. Take care of yourselves, fishies. See you on the flip side.

Happy Anniversary, Mr Moo!

Here is a very rough outline of things I need to do in the next 12 hours or so:

- finish hemming my skirt
- get my bridesmaid outfit and shoes in a box and shipped to my aunt's house before the shipping place closes
- finish altering my dress for the rehearsal dinner
- get all of the animals and their supplies ready for the next couple weeks for my in-laws, who will be taking care of things
- get outside to do a tiny bit of yardwork out front and to water all of my plants
- laundry
- PACK
- and about 12 million other small things that aren't worth mentioning

I should also get some more sleep in there, but I don't think it's going to happen. The car service taking us to the airport will be here at 0345 and I have a feeling I will be busy right up until then. I sense much Sleeping on a Plane in my future. Better than snakes, at least.

"NAME THAT MOVIE" CONTEST - 070

Click here for the entry form.

This one will be up for a while since I'll be gone on vacation. I expect lots of entries in my inbox when I return from my trip!

I have been waxed, plucked and buffed. My eyebrows and underarms are ready to go on vacation. It's just too bad that the rest of me isn't ready yet. Sigh. How is it that a million and one things crop up that have to be done right before we leave on a trip? It's madness, I tell you. T-36 hours until we're on our way. I better get to it.

Boo!

My sister's dress is officially on its way to my aunt's house. If all goes according to plan, it will be delivered on Monday. I'm going to be a nervous wreck until I know it has arrived safely.

We harvested what I think was the last of our sweet corn tonight. We got five fairly good ears and one mutant (half-pollinated) one. There are several ears still out there, but they're much to small to be eaten. Two of the remaining might be edible in a few more days, but I'm not counting on it. With tonight's haul, I believe our total corn count for this year was 20 ears. Not too bad given our postage stamp vegetable garden. We've been jokingly talking about tearing out the lawn and planting our whole yard with corn next year. I'm sure Mr Moo wouldn't mind not having to mow anymore. Maybe we'll do a temporary raised bed in the corner or something.

Can you tell I have a lot on my mind with this trip coming up? I went to bed very late last night and it still took me two hours to fall asleep. Damn insomnia. And, here I am a mere five hours later. Up again and getting ready to get back to work. The plan last night was to finish up the alterations on my sister's wedding dress so I could get it in the mail first thing today. I didn't have that many things on the list of things still to do, so I thought it was a feasible plan. What I didn't realize is list item "sew remaining beads back on" involved 14 million beads and seven freaking hours. Dang! It was almost every single bead we had cut off to do the alterations. I thought we had managed to sew most of them back on when my sister was here, but looks like I thought wrong.

The plan now is to finish up the alterations this arvo and see if I can get it to the shipping place before the last UPS pick up, which I believe is at 1600. Not sure I'm going to make it, but I am going to try my darndest.

EDIT: I didn't get it done in time to ship today. I will get it boxed up tonight and send it first thing tomorrow.

Let me sum up the past nine hours or so:

If I never have to sew another bead onto something, it will be too soon.

Sis, if you're reading this, you SO owe me a Friendly's hot fudge sundae.

I'm going to bed now. Goodnight, fishies.

Mr Moo and I stay with my aunt and uncle whenever we visit MA. Since I hadn't spoken with my aunt in a while and we're scheduled to arrive at her house next week, I gave her a call this afternoon just to say hello and touch bases. In an attempt to be funny, when she answered the phone, I said, "Hello. I have a reservation there for next week and I was calling to find out what time check-in is." All I was expecting was a giggle. However, without missing a beat, she said, totally deadpan, "Certainly. Please hold while I connect you to reservations." Woman cracks me up.

Who might this pretty girl be?

Yeah, it's Zoe.

Earlier today, I discovered that we can take a tour of Fenway Park before we attend the game later this month. Click on the image to read more.

How cool is that? We've already decided to go just so we can touch the Green Monster. I can't tell if we'll actually be able to walk on the warning track or if they'll take us on top of it. Either way, it will still be fun.

Mr Moo and I went to the shooting range for some target practice last weekend. This was our first sheet. Mr Moo went first, so 3 of the 5 are his. Can you guess which two are mine?

I'll give you a hint. Women often are better shots than men. Woot!

Mr Moo is downstairs right now making eggs, toast and BACON! Are you on your way over, Dan? :-)

I didn't spend the day sewing like I had planned. Instead, I got a sudden onset migraine, threw up, ate some toast, took my meds and spent the rest of the afternoon lying down. I felt like crap, not only because I was sick, but because I knew I had a ton of stuff to do and I couldn't do any of it. Beh. At least the meds helped and we were able to get over to my friend's house to pick up my top. My headache is down to a dull roar now and I feel a lot better. We just had some dinner (hamburgers and more freshly picked sweet corn - yum!), which also helped a lot. I might try doing a little sewing in a bit and see if my head can manage to keep from exploding.

Yet more proof that our bathroom scale is messed up: I weighed two pounds less after my shower. Now, if I had been out mud wrestling all night, I might concede that I had washed off two pounds of dirt. However, such was not the case. I could understand weighing two pounds more after a shower, given that one's hair and skin would absorb water, but, according to my scale, that's not how it works. Methinks it's time to get a new scale.

Today is going to be a crazy sewing day for me. I've got a mountain of alterations and sewing projects to get done before we leave on our trip next weekend. In addition to a couple client projects, I need to get all of the garments going back east for my sister's wedding finished up and boxed so I can ship them out first thing Monday morning. I've got a little bit of work to finish up on my sister's gown and the dress I'm wearing to the rehearsal. Also, at some point today, Mr Moo is going to take me to my dressmaker friend's house to pick up the bridesmaid top she altered for me. I already have the skirt here. My shoes won't be ready until Wednesday, so they will either ship later or end up packed in my suitcase. Since Mr Moo and I are going to NYC for few days first, I'm trying to minimize the amount of stuff we actually carry with us. It will keep my suitcase weight more manageable and the fewer things I have to worry about sitting in the hotel room, the better. T-7 days until our departure and T-21 days until my sister's wedding. Woot!

I had a nightmare last night where Mr Moo and I went on vacation and got lost in the desert. Just when we thought we were about to die, we stumbled upon civilization. We hailed a cab to take us to our hotel. We got out of the cab when we arrived at the hotel and waited for the cab driver to get our bags out of the back of the cab. (Don't ask me how we still managed to have luggage after being lost in the desert for days. It was a dream. They're not supposed to make sense.) I couldn't believe my eyes when the driver just took off with our bags still in the trunk! Mr Moo tried running after him, but he sped away. We went into the hotel to see if we could call the cab company or some sort of lost and found department to get our bags back. The hotel clerk kind of laughed and said, "He didn't forget your bags. He stole them. You aren't getting them back."

Good grief. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

Look into my eyes. You are feeling verrrrrrry sleepy.

When I snap my fingers, you will go downstairs and open a can of tuna for me. Oh, and scratch me on the chin a little because I like that, too.

You say to-may-to, I say to-mah-to...

If you've ever said, "I can't..." about anything, watch this video. The following 4 minutes and 14 seconds could change your life.

I can only imagine a love like that. Visit Dick and Rick Hoyt at their website, Team Hoyt.

In addition to the corn, we also harvested the first round of cherry tomatoes over the weekend.

Personally, I don't like tomatoes. We grow them for Mr Moo. He had a few yesterday and said they were incredibly sweet and yummy. That's a good thing because he's going to have about 400 million of them to eat over the next couple weeks. The only other veggie we grew in the garden this year, besides the tomatoes and corn, is cucumbers. Of the three plants we planted, only one survived (damn slugs) and it's not doing very well because, since the corn got big, it's in the shadow of the stalks most of the day. I'll have to remember to plant it somewhere else next year if we do corn again. There is a single cucumber on it right now though that will be ready to pick within a couple days and I'm sure a few more will grow before it's all over. However, I don't think they'll come in until after we're gone.

"NAME THAT MOVIE" CONTEST - 069

Click here for the entry form.

And, once again, I am harshly reminded that I am indeed allergic to my cats. I cleaned the litterbox earlier tonight. Unbeknownst to me, when I took the hood off, my arm brushed against it and I got a tiny bit of urine on my arm. Within about two minutes, my arm was on fire. I washed it immediately, but I'm not sure it was quick enough. My arm is now very red and splotchy (hives - oh yay) and I've got a welt where the urine was. Looks like it's going to be a Benadryl kind of night.

We harvested our first ears of corn for the season yesterday.

The electric fence is working great. We haven't lost a single ear or stalk since we started using it. According to the plant tags, the corn isn't supposed to be ready until later this week, but I was much too impatient and hungry last night. We punctured a few kernels to test for readiness (there should be a liquid center and it should be cloudy, not clear) and were very pleased to find a few of the largest ears were more than ready. We'll be leaving town for my sister's wedding in less than two weeks and I was getting worried we wouldn't get to enjoy anything from the garden before we left.

I did some online research and learned we've been cooking corn on the cob for much too long. We've always boiled ears for 10 minutes, which is much too long. Apparently, you should never boil them for more than 5 minutes tops and that's only if you bought the ears at the store and they've been sitting around for a long time. If the ears are really fresh, as little as 30 seconds can do it. I followed another piece of advice and started the water boiling before we went out to harvest. The second you cut an ear off the stalk, the sugars start to convert to starches. The longer the time between cutting the ear and cooking it, the less sweet the corn will be. The water was already boiling and ready to go as soon as I came back inside so all I had to do was shuck the ears and get them in the pot.

Total time from stalk to pot: less than 4 minutes. Let me tell you, the advice was sound. The corn was absolutely delicious. I put some butter on it because I loves me some lard, but it would have been perfectly good with nothing on it. We tested a few other ears that aren't quite ready to be picked just yet, but will be soon. I can't wait!

Since I knew we were going to be doing some bizzaro alterations to the neckline of my bridesmaid dress for my sister's wedding, I bought a couple yards of two different types of trims to possibly use to hide things a bit, if necessary.

We ended up not needing them, but I didn't bother trying to return them because it wasn't worth it. I dropped my shoes off at the cobbler's today to be dyed. Just for the frell of it, I asked him if he could try dying the trims at the same time. I was interested in seeing how well he could match the color in case I ever need to do something similar for a client in the future. The trims are made of rayon so they should accept dye. He made a face at first, but said he would give it a try after I explained that it was only a couple dollars worth of trim and I didn't care if it didn't work out. I just wanted to see if it could be done. As I was about to leave, I asked approximately how much everything was going to cost. He said the shoes would be $35. That's a little more than I was hoping to spend, but, seeing how I bought the shoes on super clearance, I wasn't too worried about it. As for the trim, I was expecting him to say it was going to cost a few more dollars, $5 tops. Imagine my surprise when he told me it would be an additional $25-30. Who what now?!?! $30 to dye a handful of trim??? Ack! I asked why it would be so expensive. I assumed he would have some sort of vat of dye that he could just dip them and it would take all of 30 seconds to do. Turns out, he hand sprays everything with some sort of sprayer and it would take forever and a day. Fair enough. May I have my trim back, please? Good thing I remembered to ask.

Sleeping hard.

So many of my photos of the kitties come out too dark because the lighting in this room is so strange and/or poor. I tried using the flash on this one and I've decided I don't like that either. It's too harsh, even with a hella lot of PhotoShopping. I just can't win! And, don't worry, kitties. This doesn't mean Mommy is going to stop taking your picture every 10 minutes. She doesn't give up that easily.

Another shot of Senor Frog from Tuesday.

Mr Moo and I tried something complete new and different this evening - yoga!

I'm still not 100% sure how I managed to talk him into doing this workout with me, but he did it. Well, he tried real hard anyway. "Flexible" is not exactly a word I would use to describe Mr Moo.

We rented the DVD through Netflix (yay for try before you buy!) and I really like it. I have never done yoga before and wasn't quite sure what to expect. When we hear the word "yoga", most of us have images in our heads of contortionists twisted up like pretzels writhing around on the floor. This was nothing like that at all. It's geared towards beginners so all of the moves and poses are relatively simple and straightforward. The host, Alan Finger, describes the movements very well, too. I've never done yoga before and I was able to get into a lot of the poses with only a quick glance at the television screen to confirm I was doing it properly. He's also very good about pointing out spots where it's easy to falter (pull your stomach in now, be careful of your back here, etc), giving frequent reminders to breathe (which is an easy thing to forget to do when you're straining to maintain a pose), and discussing ways to alter the poses if you're not quite as flexible as the people in the video. By no means was this an intense cardio workout, but I definitely worked my muscles. I can already tell my arms are going to be very sore tomorrow. Will be interesting to see how Mr Moo holds up.

I must be allergic to posting these on the first of the month or something. I already know September is going to be late, too, because I will be out of town for my sister's wedding. Sigh. Anyhoo, here is this month's Cows in Shining Armor calendar image (click to see full size):

Kobe Kowsumoto
Tough in battle yet tender in the rump and flank, Kobe Kowsumoto lived by the tenets of mooshido, the code of honor revered by all samoorai: Protect the weak, moo only when mooed at, and always encourage others to eat more chicken. But time stands still for no cow, and the traditional ways were done away with by the corrupt Burger Eaters. Rather than submit, Kowsumoto led a revolt of the other samoorai, known to posterity as the Kobe Beef.

"NAME THAT MOVIE" CONTEST - 068

Click here for the entry form.

Recently, I've noticed an increase in the amount of stiffness and pain in my upper back, shoulders and neck. Ah, the wonders of sitting at a desk all day long. In an attempt to keep from becoming a complete cripple, I decided to start a more comprehensive stretching program. While I was surfing around Amazon.com looking for stretching DVDs, I noticed someone mentioned, in a review, that they rented a particular disc from Netflix and tried it out before buying. Lo and behold, it's true. You can rent exercise DVDs from Netflix. Cool! Who knew? I know I, for one, hate purchasing DVDs, especially exercise ones, sight unseen and discovering that they completely suck. What a waste of time and money that is. Well, no more! Granted, Netflix doesn't carry every single title, but I was surprised to find how comprehensive the list really is. Anyhoo, this arrived in the mail last week:

Total Stretch For Beginners by Tamilee Webb, creator of the Buns of Steel series. There are two different programs on this DVD. The first, "Body Stretch for Beginners", is broken down into three 10 minute sections: standing, sitting and floor stretch. You can do them individually or all together. 10 minutes goes by pretty quick so, if you don't do all or some combination of them, it can seem like it's over before you've even begun. However, if you've only got 10 minutes, she does cover most of the major muscles so it's better than not stretching at all. The second program on the disc is "Beginner's Stretch for Flexibility". It's a single 30 minute stretching program with a meditation/relaxation bit at the end (and some rogue ducks who keep trying to interrupt the shoot). This program covers a lot of the same stretches as the segments in the first program. However, since it's a single program, the flow of the whole thing is a bit more smooth and there's chance for some repetition, which is good.

I really like this DVD. I've been doing the standing and floor stretches together (I can't be arsed to get a chair - heh) or the "Beginner's Stretch for Flexibility" program every day. In just a few days, I've already noticed a change. It's not a huge one, but there's definitely a little less pain and tightness, and I feel a bit more limber. Granted, when I started, I was a completely stiff mess so it's not surprising that I'm feeling a change already. Someone who isn't as sedentary as I am probably wouldn't notice a thing. I'm liking it though and will definitely be buying this one before too long.

I went outside to do some yardwork this evening. While I was deadheading my roses, I had a visitor.

I haven't spent a lot of time outside this summer so I haven't seen much in the way of wildlife like I normally do. It was nice to see Mr Frog though. Healthy frogs mean a healthy garden.

Something that irritates the crap out me... Nowhere on my local news station's website's weather pages (and there's lots of them - storm alerts, zone forecasts, pollen reports, etc, etc) does it list the CURRENT TEMPERATURE. What is up with that?! How hard is it to montitor the freaking temperature and post it on the site? They can tell me dew points and barometric pressure for the past 100 years, but they can't tell me what the temperature is right now? Come on!

Mr Moo. Taken a few weeks ago with his new Razr camera phone.

He's so cute. :-)

Moo's 10 Second Movie Review

I watched this movie while I was recovering from my food poisoning and I have to admit, I didn't really care for it. I can't put my finger on the reasons why though. I love musicals. The singing was good. The story was compelling. The acting wasn't awful. And I definitely loves me some Jesse L. Martin. Maybe it was the fact that I felt like crap and wasn't enjoying anything. I do know that I felt let down by all the hype. I've heard people go on and on about how earth shattering this musical is. I just didn't see what all the hubbub was about. Yes, it's poignant, especially considering the backstory of the composer, and it celebrates being a nonconformist, which, I think, is what so many people love about it. I just didn't find it all that profound. I think I'll chalk up my distaste to being sick and maybe watch it again another time when I feel better.

So, this is what it feels like to be human again. Wow. What a rough couple of days. At least, I think it was only two. What day is it today? Anyhoo, I'm feeling loads better today. I managed to get some relatively decent sleep last night, which helped a lot. I'm still aching a little bit, but nothing like yesterday. Yesterday, I couldn't even sit upright in a chair for more than 10 minutes at a time without feeling like I was going to fall over and die. I think some ibuprofen and a little bit of stretching will get me through today with no problems. It's good to be back.

The good news is I'm not dead. The bad news is I'm still having moments when I wish I were. Guh. My upset stomach has calmed down for the most part. However, I ache all over like I got hit by a bus. And, while the thermometer says my fever has gone down, I'm sweating unbelievable amounts still (I'm on t-shirt number four already today) and alternating between being feeling like I'm on fire and freezing to death. I did some reading online about food poisoning and these are all common symptoms. It's also been less than 48 hours since I first got sick, so I'm not too concerned that I'm not 100% better just yet. My body just needs a little more time to recover. Let's just hope that happens sooner rather than later.

I'm heading out shortly to spend the afternoon with a dressmaker friend of mine. We're going to do the alterations on my bridesmaid dress for my sister's wedding. While I do alterations like this often, I'm a nervous wreck when it comes to altering my own things so I like to have someone else do them. It's also nearly impossible to pin fit yourself unless you're a contortionist. Besides, I haven't seen her for an age and it will be nice to spend some time together. Time to make myself a quick lunch then I'm off. Later, fishies!

Our house just shook like crazy for about three seconds. Earthquake or me being crazy?

EDIT: Looks like it was an earthquake.

That's a reading from a seismograph located on Mount Hood. The epicenter was just north of Portland (about 20 miles away) and it was a magnitude 3.3 earthquake. Currently, there are no reports of damage or injuries. 3.3 is a good sized quake. I could really feel the house moving for several seconds. The cats managed to sleep through the entire thing though. Figures.

I'm trying out yet another new air freshener.

It's a Method vanilla and apple aroma pill and it seems to be performing well so far. The room my office is in is very large and most air fresheners just aren't strong enough to scent the entire room. The best part of this air freshener? The instructions on the back of the box:

1. Holding fragrance bottle upright, remove cap. Do not remove wick. It's pretty important.


2. Keeping fragrance bottle upright, insert into bottom of aroma pill.


3. Rotate bottle clockwise until it is tight. You know, righty-tighty.


4. Rotate plug of aroma pill to accomodate your vertical or horizontal wall outlet. Insert aroma pill into wall outlet with glass bottle pointing down. Do not turn sideways or else fragrance oil will spill. Gravity is mean like that.

I have an incredibly important question for you.

The Breakfast Club - drama or comedy?