A couple of weeks ago my neighbor, who’s a veterinary assistant, was telling me about a cat that she had. She works with a local pet adoption agency and fosters the cats while they are waiting to be adopted. It took a while where we were able to get together since both of our schedules are a little hectic. I met up with her at the vet clinic that she works at. Which was kind of strange because we were placed in the bereavement room. I spent a good hour with her and instantly fell in love. She’s very warm and welcoming. Immediately starts to purr when you pet her. Now with my dog I was little worried though I was advised that she didn’t have a problem big dogs. At first Bailey and her were a little hesitant to make friends, but now they able to both stay on the couch with me while watching television. She loves my brother and is always meowing for him outside his bedroom door. If I can’t find her I know to look on his computer chair.
Oh and her name you ask. Ah yes it’s a little strange you might say but it’s Pyewacket. Yes really it’s Pyewacket. If you’ve ever seen the movie Bell, Book and Candle with Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak than you’ll understand. A classic. Why can’t they make movies like that anymore?
Here’s a picture of her. Yeah not easy getting a picture of cat I tell you. Especially when I don’t have the best lighting in my place.
As my brother stated to me when we got home from the clinic, “In the words of Charlie Day this is a slippery slope to being the crazy cat lady.” Yes it is.
This past weekend I took a couple of days off as I found myself with a surplus of vacation days left. Better use before the year’s over as with where I work they don’t roll over to the next year. I’ve kept myself pretty busy. Cleaning, throwing junk out, spending time with my family, and eating. Not really a vacation per say but at least I’m nor working right.
This past Friday my family had planned to go downtown to watch a new movie, A Serious Man. Good movie by the way if you’re a Coen Brother fan. I had looked up movie times a couple of days before. We had planned to go to lunch than to the movie. Our first desired location for lunch, The Red Iguana, was packed. No way were going to get in and make it in time. So we ended up at our back up place, Moochie’s. Fantastic as always. Okay to now we’re done with lunch and still had some time to kill. We stopped at the London Market for some yummy jelly babies and sherbet. Than we headed on down to Mrs Backer’s Pastry Shop for some Honey Girls. Delicious. I kind of felt like I was on my own little DDD tour of Salt Lake. Stopped at local smoke shop so that my father could pick up some new pipe tobacco. It’s finally getting close to showing time. So we parked at the theater and then popped by a friend of my dads who owns a vintage furniture store just down the street. I walk up to the booth and see that the times that I had written down were incorrect. I didn’t take into consideration that the movie times would change on Friday since new movies come in. Ugh!!! I felt so stupid. We technically would have only missed 15 minutes, but we wanted to see the whole thing. We ended up going to Costco and wasting time sampling food.
Now my parents are remodeling their basement. Since it’s just them they’ve decided to turn the basement into a lounge of sorts with a bar, a pool table and a big screen tv. Originally when the house was built there was a separate living unit in the basement. My father spent many of his Fridays throwing out junk, tearing down walls and ripping out drywall. This has been kind of slow process in rebuilding, but it’s getting there. My father right now is putting up drywall. In seeing that both me and my brother were there he decided to take us down to the Home Depot to pick up some more drywall to put on the walls. It may not be fun to do this everyday as a job, but I actually enjoyed it. It was fun handling a drill, though I only got to put one screw in. It’s kind of rewarding getting to build something and watch it take shape. I just didn’t like the part where the spider came out of the wall and I almost dropped my part of the drywall. Ahh sweet vacation.
The other evening I stopped at a burger joint to get a delicious Pumpkin Milkshake. In getting home I had a bunch of stuff to carry into the house: my purse, my computer, my makeup bag and my dog. I gracefully (or so I thought) was able to get everything out of the car and into the house. I was heading downstairs to turn the television on I ended up missing the last step and spilled the Pumpkin milkshake all over my shirt and purse. I’m a big klutz. I’ve always have been and will always been one. Can’t avoid it. It’s who I am. I think if you’ve read enough of this blog it’s a common theme in most of my post.
Thinking back (again thanks to that milkshake) to my high school days I earned my hard-earned money by working at a local drive-in. I cannot tell you how many times I broke things there, created messes, or just plain did stupid things. I repeatedly broke the soda machine. I once broke a light in the storage room by pulling on the cord to the light too hard. I broke the towel dispenser once. I even left the grill on over night. Horrible. You would’ve thought that I would have been fired, but no I ended up quitting for some stupid reason.
Let’s move onto eating. You would think this is an easy task, but for me it’s not. You see I cannot for some unknown reason seem to finish a meal without food ending up somewhere on me. I’m not exaggerating. I carry a tide pen in purse for a reason. In high school I had a boyfriend who was embarrassed to invite me over to eat with his family cause I was so messy. Terrible, terrible, terrible. I think I should invest in some kind of adult bibs. Ah hah! My idea to make a million. Why is it that my cleavage seems to attract food as well. I know that I’m not the only one with this problem. I don’t wear very many low-cut shirts, but I always end up finding crumbs down there.
Not only am I klutz but I’m terrible at losing things. I repeatedly lose my car keys. Last winter I had lost my keys on the way from my car to the house. In the meantime it snowed while I was hanging out with my parents. In searching the house for probably thirty minutes we moved the investigation outside and ended up finding the keys after shoveling the driveway. What a pain?! Now I have backup plan in place for such case. When I was younger it always amazed me that I could ask my mom where something was and she instantly knew. I wish she could come over to my house and help me find that remote. Oh and that pair of shoes. And that tube of mascara I loved. And……
This year I decided to dress up. Not only once but twice. Pretty good I have to say. I dressed up as a 50s housewife first off. Have to say this really wasn’t a costume for me. I dress like this all the time. I wore one of my Bettie Page dresses with the cute apron my friend Stacie made me for my birthday. Thanks Stacie!
What was interesting was what other people perceived me to be. I was just going for something generic but people we’re going for something more specific. First comment I received was at the Costco. One of the sample ladies said, “Oh look we have Betty Crocker.” Okay that works. Than later on at Target I ran into a couple from my old ward. The husband called me Julia Childs. Okay I guess that works too. As I was waiting for my parents to get through the checkstand a lady in her motorized cart said I was a perfect Mary Poppins. Uh I guess. The best though was going to Spoons n’ Spice to get my mom a potato ricer. I actually had a customer come up to me and ask me where the knife sharpeners were. I just smiled and kindly pointed to the knife section. The ladies at the counter also thought I was a young Julia Childs. We talked about her cooking show and her book My Life in France. One of the girls told me I looked like one of the ladies on Mad Men. Ah, best compliment.
Than later that evening I went out with my brothers. I wore my other outfit. Also a Bettie Page dress. I just decided to add a black wig, a beret and some smoky eye shadow. I was going for a spy look a la Natasha from Rocky and Bullwinkle, but I didn’t want to have to draw a huge unibrow. I liked it how it turned out.
It was a fun going out and spending time with my brothers and their friends. It’s something I rarely get to do since we really don’t like to go to the same kind of parties, but I like being their designated driver. I got to a meet a lot of nice people and actually ran into a guy I went to school while studying Photography. Small world I tell yah. There were some really interesting costumes. We had a guy in a slutty Hermione costume, Peter Pan & Tinker bell, a hipster, and your obligatory slutty girls. Yah can’t have a Halloween party without them right? Later that evening we ended up at another party by our house. We only stopped by for probably thirty minutes. While they were saying goodbye I decided to go and get the car. As I’m trying to warm up the car I look down the street and notice something in the middle of road. So I turn on the headlights to see one of the girls from the party laying in the middle of the road. Looked like she was sleeping. In the meantime another car was driving up the road and stopped to help her. Luckily she was able to walk back to the party to pass out on a couch. I didn’t end up getting home till three. I’m already starting to think of ideas for next year.
This is a picture I took awhile ago. Every once in a while I will house sit for my department manager. She has two Scottish Terriers, Katie and Abby. Abby was camera-shy. Anytime I would pull my camera out she would hang her head down and would avoid the camera. Kate on the other had was a natural. She was telling me the other week about how she had noticed that there was dirt in the water dish. She wondered about why there was dirt in the water bowl, but didn’t see any dirty paws. So she didn’t think anything of it. Later that evening she had let them out the backyard before bedtime. When she tried getting them back into the house they wouldn’t answer her. She noticed them congregated down by her garden. As she walks over to them she notices that they are chewing on something. They had both got into her garden and dug up her carrots. Tricky little puppies.
It’s Fall. That means it’s baking season. Every Sunday we have a big family meal that my mom prepares. Our deal is that she makes the dinner and I make the desert. During the summertime I try to abstain from baking as it heats the house and it’s more refreshing to eat fresh fruit. Since the weather has gotten colder I’ve taken to baking again. I love cupcakes, but I also love pie. There are so many varieties it never gets old. I think I could be Bubba on Forest Gump just listing all the different kinds of pie you can make. The great thing is in looking through my parent’s kitchen I came across some old cookbooks that belonged to my grandmother. She had a collection of Betty Crocker cookbooks from the sixties. So awesome. It not only gives you recipes but also etiquette for hosting a party. I love it! Makes me want to through a Mad Men party for the finale. The other week I made a Peach Pie and this week I tried my hand at making a Chocolate Pecan Pie. Haven’t tried it yet as we’re all full from my mother’s homemade Spaghetti. Here’s a picture to drool over.
So what’s new with you? Uh, yeah it’s been awhile. I’m a slacker. I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it many more times. I keep thinking of smart and clever things to post and than I never get around to typing it. Too much effort you know to actually sit down and concentrate. Here’s a list of past events:
-Dog dying (I’ll write a post about this sometime)
-Start of the stake YW volleyball with myself in charge yet again.
-Attended an awesome farewell this past Sunday. Wonderful talks. The people of Stockholm are blessed to have them there. I know they will do many great and wonderful things while serving.
-Purchased a new video game console. Which led to the purchase of a new television to play the new video games on. Which than led to the new purchase of a couch to watch said television on and not feel cramped.
-Oh went to a totally magnificent concert a couple of weeks ago. I went to see The Killers. Oh my favorite band besides The Beatles. Strange thing happened after one song they had to go back stage so that the crew could fix a lighting situation. A brief fifteen minute delay, but the well worth it. The person who came with me was mildly surprise at well they perform live. Great seats as well. My third time seeing them in concert and probably the best so far.
-Started to learn French. (Inspiration for learning: Inglorious Basterds, Joan Holloway and Theirry Henry. Enough said) If this like any of my other pet projects I will fail miserably but I’m taking it slow and hopefully will stay with it. In my sixth grade class we had to do a report on a foreign country. My country. Can you guess it? France. I’ve always loved it. I studied Spanish in school because of my uncle Ralph, but I’ve always deep down wanted to learn the language of love. My goal is to be able to watch Amelie without subtitles and understand everything.
-Have had some photography sessions. I”m always kind of wary to agree with someone to take their photo. Ever since graduating, I’ve always had a low self esteem about my photography. My last semester in school I had a teacher from H E double hockey sticks. Everything I presented to him was garbage and never worthy of his high expectations. I can handle people critiquing my photos but this guy just got under my skin. For some reason I always think about that whenever I go through any of my photos. What would he say? Does this meet his expectation? I’m slowly trying to get away from that. Not every single photo I’m going to take is going to be perfect. But as long as my client is happy, than I’m happy. That’s all that matters.
-Dog watching while my parents are away in Puerto Rico. Trying to walk three dogs at once is no fun at all. Try cleaning up three piles of poo and not gag. Not easy.
-Thinking of Halloween ideas. Anyone have any good ideas?
Okay that’s all I can think of writing. It’s a start right. Maybe I’ll have to share some photos. Till tomorrow.
Awhile ago my parents decided to get a new dog. While I was searching the local classifieds for a new couch I decided on a whim to see if anyone was trying to sell a Scottish Terrier. We use to have a little scottie dog that we adopted from the local Humane Society. She was the cutest little dog ever. While going for walks she liked to be pulled while she layed on her back (only on the grass) or she would always hide her bone somewhere in my room typically in a pile of dirty clothes or underneath my covers. But alas she was hit by a car on Christmas Eve after she got out of the backyard. Poor puppy has been greatly missed and my mother has always wanted another scottie dog. Now when I clicked on search up popped a little picture of an adorable little black dog with these big puppy eyes as if saying please take me home. It was love at first click. I immediately dialed up the number provided to make he was still available. Luckily he was as he was roughly 75 miles out of town living on a farm. I set up a place for my father to meet them at. Now we’re not quite sure why this dog was being given away. I had called and received one story and my father had called and received a totally different story. The only for sure reason we can come with is that the woman’s husband wasn’t very nice to him as he will not go near my father. He’s my mother’s shadow; following her through out the house. We named him Buster (waa! waa! leche) after a character on one of our favorite shows. I prefer to call him Dog Draper since he’s a handsome little dog. I’m thinking I should make him a tie to wear every day.
I know your probably thinking, “Ugh one of these post”. Yeah yeah say what you want but I actually had to think really hard to come up with 15 things I would think no one would know about me. (Well I’m sure some people already know some of these things but they may be pleasantly surprised).
1. I can recite every line in Bridget Jones’s Diary. Let’s just say I watched it every day for four months. It never gets old. Could watch it a million times more.
2. I love my dog but I can’t stand it when she licks me. I don’t even like to touch her nose. Freaks me out. What’s funny is that she knows it. When she really needs me to let her out or she’s hungry she licks my hand.
3. I still sleep with my teddy bear Snuggles. My longest relationship ever and I’m not ashamed to say it’s with a bear.
4. I’ve never broken a bone or had stitches.
5. I don’t call people. I don’t know what it is. I feel like I’m bothering people when I call them. There are a few exceptions to the rule, but it rarely happens. Think about it when was the last time I ever called you?
6. I’ve been stranded at an airport all by myself. I had a full on breakdown with the lady at the counter and was crying my eyes out that I was stuck in this crappy city when I needed to be somewhere else. Funny thing this also happened to my parents in the exact same airport with the exact same airline and they offered them a room in a this really nice hotel. Me on the other hand had to spend the night on a couch and had to pay $7 for two slices of french toast in the morning.
7. I don’t drink alcohol but I collect wine. A certain kind of wine named after one of my favorite entertainers. My collection is worth over $2,000, but that probably doesn’t mean crap in this economy.
8. I love to sing Karaoke so much I have my own machine. Given it’s an actual kids toy, but it works well. I would like to thank my family for putting up with me for so many years by listening to me try to make it through On My Own. It’s awesome that I have my brother’s Xbox now and I’m able to play Rockband anytime I want. Not many songs I can sing on there, but it’s a lot more fun.
9. I have Gone with the Wind collector cards. Ha, I bet you didn’t even know they existed. I even have the extra bonus cards. Yeah know there an investment. I’ve got lots of little investments all over. (name that movie)
10. I share the same birthday as my great grandmother, one of the coolest ladies ever. She was born in 1899. She was the fourth lady in the state of Utah to receive a drivers license. She lived through covered wagons, locomotions, numerous wars, and the 80s. One of my most treasured possessions is a mirror and brush set that my great grandfather gave her the day they were married.
11. I love cheese, but I hate Milk. I think it’s gross. I will eat it with cereal, but it has to be skim. Something about the taste. When I was younger my brother and I would always fight over which was better for you water or milk. Stupid argument I know. Especially for an six and eight year old.
12. My favorite kinds of movies are foreign and documentary. Comedies are a close third. I think it’s awesome that you can wat ch a movie about some completely different part of the world. Learn about a different culture or about some event that happened.
13. I’ve been to a concert by myself. I went to see Bright Eyes at Kingsbury Hall. Yeah maybe a little depressing to go all by yourself, but probably one of the best concerts I’ve ever been too. On a side note I’ve been to the movie theatre by myself plenty of times. I had a discussion with someone one time who told it was more pathetic to go the movies all by yourself in the evening than in the daytime. Why would it matter what time of day you went your still going by yourself. I don’t think they’re is anything wrong with going out all by yourself. It’s nice sometimes just to have a moment to yourself.
14. My favorite song ever is Honey Pie by the Beatles. Huh? You’ve never heard this song. Yeah a lot of people haven’t. When I was younger I used to pretend I was tap dancing with my baton while listening to this song. Maybe that’s too much information but that goes to show you how long I’ve listened to the Beatles. I don’t think there will ever be another band like that ever again. My next favorite song has to be Something from the Abbey Road album. That song is soooo good.
15. Okay I couldn’t really come up with 15 things. At least I tried.
I don’t get to see my distant relatives that often so it’s always nice to be able to spend time with them when I can. This past weekend I went camping with my mother’s side of the family. When we arrived there my little cousin McKenna came up to me and asked me to color with her. My uncle told me that she had been waiting all day for me to come so she could ask me. She took my hand and lead me to her trailer where we decorated pictures of my little ponies. After we arrived everybody else slowly started trickling into the campsite. The last to arrive were my mom’s sisters who were traveling with a baby and a very grouchy three year old. For them the two hour trip turned into a five hour excursion of constant screaming and non-stop potty breaks. They arrived just in time to set up their tents while the sun was setting. Sadly no ground fires were allowed so we retreated to our tents to rest up for the next day.
It was incredibly hot but the lake was very cool and refreshing. I love going boating as well. I was able to get up on the wakeboard after a couple of tries, but I wasn’t able to do anything besides trying to stay balanced. With a homemade plug made out of pvc pipe and tape we were able to use a tube that someone had left in the boat from last year. Not the greatest but it worked pretty well. I was able to take both of my cousins for a ride on the tube. When we first got ready to go my dad yelled out, “Who’s going first with Peggy?” Charlotte (Charlie) immediately screams out, “ME!!!”We were able to get on the tube without tipping and enjoyed a good five minutes being pulled across the lake. After we were done my brother pulled us towards the boat and pulled Charlie from the tube. Now it was McKenna’s turn. As my brother is helping her to get on the tube Charlie starts to have a fit. Screaming and yelling that it was her turn and that she wanted to go on the tube again. My dad in turn kept telling her she had her turn and it was McKenna’s now. After a couple of loud screams she finally gave up and retreated to the front of the boat. Again we spent five minutes being drugged behind the boat though this time there were a lot more waves. Once we’re back on the boat and drying off McKenna looks at me and says, “Thank you Peggy for being my tube buddy” How sweet is this kid. My mom was telling me that earlier when they took her out on the boat she told my dad “Thank you for the boat ride Steve” and than when they were getting out, “Steve, thank you again for letting me ride in your boat.” This kid is only four years old. She’s more polite than most people who are four times her age (her older sister for that matter). Just blew me and my parents away. I would hope that if I ever have kids in the future to be able to teach them the time old tradition of manners.
The trip for the most part was great. The dogs behaved well. I was able to get some heavy reading in with my latest book. I got a little bit more sun, though I think my legs will always stay white. The weather took a turn for the worse Saturday evening when some black clouds rolled in. Sunday morning it was still windy and didn’t look like there was an end in sight. So we packed up our belongs and headed back to town. I really do like camping, but I think deep down I’ll always be a city girl.
