Shelby's Life and Whatnot

Happy Anniversary!

Sad to say--I'm a horrible daughter. Yesterday was Mom and Dad's 40th wedding anniversary! Congratulations! Only 10 years left ;).

The Rats of Spring

Some of you may have already seen this over at BoingBoing, but I had to post it here. Kevin hates hamsters with a passion, while Brad and I raised several over the course of our childhoods and I think they're cute. Kevin, however, could not pass up the following poem, which is attributed to an 8-year-old boy in Georgia named Schecky. Link here. Don't miss the secret message!

But They're So...Normal!

I've finally gone back to the podiatrist. Back in Germany I was having major problems with plantar faciitis. At one point I could barely walk it was so bad. We went to the happy German podiatrist who made up some orthotic insoles and that cleared the problem right up. Then I did nothing else about it. 3 years later, I'm working at a job that requires a lot of being on my feet. My old arches and heels started hurting again, so I went to the podiatrist here. Unfortunately, I have the beginning of a heel spur on one foot and a flattening of the bone on the other. Neither is a good sign. He has prescribed orthotics again, except this time they will be a major, permanent kind. The ones I got in Germany, as it turns out, were really only temporary. The ones I'm getting this time are rock hard and look pretty intimidating.

On the first visit he did my foot exam and then watched me walk and announced that I had SomethingSomething, which was that my arches were fine while my feet were up, but as soon as I put any weight on them they completely collapsed. Yesterday I went back to have casts of my feet made as well as a lot of measurements for the Big Momma Orthotics. He was checking my flexibility and was just flabbergasted at my ankles.

"You don't wear high heels very often, do you?" he said.
"No, never. I hate them."
"I can tell. Your ankle flexibility is positively normal!"

He went on to say that he hadn't had a female patient in years with normal ankle flexibility. And throughout the appointment he kept coming back to it--"I can't believe how normal your ankles are!"

Since that seems to be the only normal thing about me, we'll just hold on to that. I should get my new orthotics in about 2 weeks.

Only One Thing Smells Like Bacon and That's BACON!!!

My friend Dave linked to this YouTube video that I had to share here. Unfortunately, I can't post the video itself, so I'll just give you the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvxgM3lr-mg

It's for one of the greatest commercials ever--Beggin' Strips. Beggin' Strips are dog treats that smell like bacon. The commercial is from a dog's point of view (you see the end of his snout as you travel around dog-level) and he smells bacon. He cruises through the kitchen looking for the bacon saying things like, "I smell BACON! Baconbaconbaconbaconbacon! Only one thing smells like bacon and that's BACON!" as well as Dave's personal favorite, "What's in the bag?! I CAN'T READ!"

Go watch it. And understand why my dad and I are always saying Baconbaconbaconbaconbacon.

My Job

Today's conversation:

Guest: "Is it always this crowded?"

Me: *looks around* "No, it's usually more crowded."

There were about 10 guests on the floor at that time.

Hot Water!

Thanks to my wonderful husband and even more wonderful (sorry, honey) Grandfather-in-law, we now have very cool hot water. Haha, get it? Cool hot water? Cool as in awesome and not cold! Haha!

Yeah.

It all started last week when for some reason, Kevin decided to open the cabinet of the water heater. It's on the outside of the house and opens to the back yard. Good thing he did, since he found the drip pan underneath to be full of water. He wet-vacced it up and after some examination discovered that our water heater had just worn through.

We talked about how we wanted to replace it. We've been interested in tankless water heaters for a long time. A tankless water heater is basically what it sounds like. It's a unit that just heats up the water on demand instead of filling a tank and keeping it warm. The advantages are twofold--one, it uses less energy because it doesn't have to keep a big tank of water hot and fill and heat the tank over and over--it just uses the energy when you need it. Two, it offers an unlimited amount of hot water, which to someone who likes really hot baths and showers, is perhaps the most appealing aspect.

I'm so shallow.

At any rate, there was a definite price difference between the tankless and a new regular one, and even though we'll be saving on our gas bill, realistically it won't be enough to offset the initial cost. However, I have to say that I was really moved by the movie An Inconvenient Truth (which we finally saw--and if you haven't, please do) and the idea of having an appliance that is just better for the planet is really appealing to me. Financially we can swing the extra cost, so we decided to go for it. Al Gore would be so proud.

Unfortunately, the installation turned out to be harder than expected. We knew we needed some more power and more gas to the area, so Kevin called the Sainted Grandfather-in-law (heretofore known as Grandpa Lee), who is a retired electrician (among other things--the man has many talents). It didn't help that the product manufacturer left out a part in the packaging. Thanks. Kevin and Grandpa Lee turned off the hot water and went to work while I left the house and went to my work. When I arrived, Kevin and Grandpa Lee were very frustrated and hadn't been able to fully install it.

The next day I again went to work and arrived home to see a sad, bitter carcass of the old water heater laying on the grass, anchoring a piece of string holding open the door to the water heater closet. I went in to find a very frustrated Kevin who reported that they still hadn't been able to install it and that they were close to their wits' end. At that point I imposed upon the Sainted Grandmother-in-law to make a short visit and take a shower. Kevin braved a completely cold bath. But he's hardy like that. I am not.

The good news is that when I arrived home from work today, I found a very happy (and clean) Kevin! The installation was a success and we now have hot water again. I'm going to try it out tonight :).

Thanks Honey!

Alas, Poor Cell Phone...I Hardly Liked Thee

To butcher a little Shakespeare for you there.

My cell phone has officially died. The good thing is that I never really liked it to begin with--it looked great online and seemed like a good idea, but had all of these "features" that were annoying or didn't work right or were just plain superfluous. It drove me crazy. I can't say I'm sorry to see it go.

I am, however, a bit bummed about the fact that I hadn't bothered to keep an actual phone book, and now I can't get it to turn back on. Therefore I've lost the telephone numbers of multiple people now. If you think I may have lost your phone number, you're probably right. Please email me at shelby@happybeagle.com and let me know what it is. Yes, I'm looking at you Kat, Wendy, Sherri...

Meet The Robinsons

We just got back from seeing the new Pixar film, Meet The Robinsons. It was fantastic! I highly recommend it! We had a great time. There are so many references to other movies and places (one of my favorite was where they pan out to see the world of the future and there's a Space Mountain and a sign that says, "TODAYLAND"), you could watch it for hours and never get them all. It was really fun for the adults. We didn't have a child with us, but I think it would be great for them too.

Meet The Robinsons is also playing in Digital 3-D at Downtown Disney, so my mom is planning on taking Corie and Mini-Me to see it there, and I'll meet them. We saw the regular version but I think the 3-D version would be even better.

Perfect Stranger

Last night we saw a wonderful play at the Mark Taper Forum called Distracted. The play was basically about a young boy who is diagnosed with ADD and how his parents and other crazy people handle it. I highly recommend it. It starred Rita Wilson, who is Tom Hanks' wife (Tom was not in attendance that we could see, but if he was we had better seats than he did). Another actor stole the show, however. He was incredible. He played 4 different roles and each was so distinct and unique, often bouncing back and forth within a line. He really was very versatile and talented, and the entire play I sat there thinking "I know him! How do I know him? He looks familiar but I can't put my finger on it."

Well Kevin figured it out when we got home. He played Balki Bartokomous from the popular tv sitcom of the late 80s/early 90s, "Perfect Strangers." If you don't know what I'm talking about, don't worry about it. If you do, then yes, you should be as impressed as I am. He did a great job, really.

I'm A Spring-Cleanin' Fool!

Yes, it's that time of year--Spring Cleaning. Except this year's different--I'm actually cleaning! I'm finally getting rid of that huge pile of clothes that's been sitting in the corner waiting to go to charity for two years *rolls eyes*. But here's the funny part! I cleaned out all of those clothes a couple of years ago since they didn't fit. They were too small, and I am truly my mother's daughter in that I just toss things out rather than save them. Of course, I'm only partially my mother's daughter because while I tossed, they didn't quite make it out. Which has turned out to be a good thing! Now I've lost a ton of weight (yay!) and as I was going through these clothes I thought, "Hmmm, I wonder if they fit me now?" A lot of them do! I found my favorite pair of jeans (they fit!) and some dresses that I just loved (fits!) and some shorts (now I don't have to buy new ones for summer!). It was like going thrift store shopping, but I didn't have to leave my bedroom and I already liked everything I had. It was actually a lot of fun.

Now, however, we have 8 full trash bags of clothes. I can't believe we've got this much stuff. I also went through a lot of Kevin's stuff and laid it out for him. Unfortunately, he is not my mother's daughter, so he had more stuff saved up than I did. Still, he did part with a lot of clothes, and we're all proud of him. Kevin has just gone through and itemized the clothes for tax deductions (apparently he's a little too much like my father) and now they're actually on their way out the door. Well, he's going to do a sweep through the garage to see if there are any other boxes or bags of clothes that might need to be included, but I'm pretty sure we've got it all here.

Aside from the clothes, I'm also selling some bigger items. I've decided to rid myself of the twin bed in my office. There are a couple of things I want to move in here (a family toy box, for example) and the bed just isn't all that handy. Sorry if you wanted to come spend the night by yourself--it's air mattress or the couch for you now. I also put up the old oven on Craigslist. It's currently right by the door of the garage, and I figured I either need to sell it or I'm just going to take it out one day trying to park my car. As icing on the cake, I'm selling that ugly not-our-style lighting fixture that used to adorn our dining room. I may be taking a quick peek in the garage to see what else is easily accessible that I could sell or give away. Out with the old and in with the...well, out with the old, at any rate!

Not a Lot to Report

I'm definitely feeling better with the stomach thing. My head cold is still hanging in there though--ugh. My nose is quite stuffed, which makes it annoyingly hard to breathe. Imagine that! Work is still going well. I really enjoy it most of the time, but sometimes it gets a bit frustrating. Strangely enough, it's the parents who get much more frustrating than the kids! I'm getting pretty good at the job overall. For the first time in my life, I'm on the drawer end of a register. The first time it popped out to give out change I jumped backwards because I totally wasn't expecting it--haha. Yesterday I came close to giving someone a 100% discount instead of a 10% one, but luckily I caught myself in time. Well, luckily for me, but probably not the guest--haha.

Feeling Better!

Hooray! I'm definitely on the mend. Kevin feels fine today too, which leads us to believe that his trouble may be more related to the hamburger he ate and not being in the same house as me. Nothing much else to report except that I'm feeling much better.

Still Recovering

I'm still on the path to recovery. I ended up in the ER last night for some IV fluids. I'd gotten really dehydrated and was also feeling really out of it mentally. It was very surreal. The doctor was asking me questions checking on my mental state, and he asked what day it was. It went like this:
Me: "Sunday"
Him: "What month?"
Me: "March."
Him: "April?"
Me: "April?"
Him: "April 1st?"
Me: "April Fools!"

Haha just kidding. I actually said that I'd forgotten that the day was the first of the month since I'd been flat on my back for the previous few. Anyway, I was sent home with some of the good nausea medicine (Zofran). I'm glad I didn't have to stay. I seem to have shared the fun with Kevin too, because I'm nice like that. He's also experiencing some tummy upset so we're a fun family right now. I'm going back to work on Wednesday so let's hope I continue to improve!