Of Unicorns, white knights, and oceanographers

So when I was a little girl I believed in Unicorns. Or at least I wanted to. I also believed that life could be a fairy tale. That there were men who were chivalrous and gallant. And one day my white knight would come and sweep me off my feet. If he carried me off atop his white steed (Unicorn) all the better.

So, as we grow a little older we start to look at the world a little differently. And we start to realize that there are no white knights, no unicorns, and no castles.

Ok, so we adjust our dreams. We start to think about what we want to be when we grow up since apparently “Princess” isn’t truly an option.

So, at one point or another I aspired to be:
A zoologist
A teacher
A marine biologist
An oceanographer
A zoo keeper
A veterinarian
A prize winning National Geographic photographer
A physicist
An aeronautics expert
I was going to work for NASA
For the military
For the deep secret government.
I was going to travel the world
Maybe work for the UN
If nothing else I figured I’d have a walk up in Manhattan

So imagine my surprise when I found myself on Monday morning kneeling on a bathroom floor scrubbing tile. Hoping that our maintenance folks did a crappy enough job that the quality of the cleaning product would show. And then further add to my surprise when I was really disappointed that the floor was actually too clean.

Next picture me setting up a demo and having an entire bucket of sloppy yellow goo splashing up over the bucket and ALL over my jeans, my sweater, my arms, my shoes, the floor. I was a mess. But this didn’t phase me. I wiped myself down and went about my day.

So, by midafternoon I have dirty knees from crawling around on “clean” floors, I have yellowish streaks all over myself, and I have bruises on my leg from operating heavy machinery. And I was happy about it all. I really enjoyed my day. And I really enjoy what I do for a living.

Yesterday I helped with a training seminar for a group of people from the cruise ship industry. All the people in the group called a different country home. None of them were from the US. They were a very kind and very fun group of people to work with. The man from the Dominican Republic was telling me that his next assignment on a ship is in Venice – for three months. (green with envy I was)

Another interesting thing I noticed about the group was the way the men behaved toward each other. Unlike the macho homo phobes of these United States, the gentleman were very comfortable with each other. Touching, putting an arm around one another, these things were not unusual for them. Nor were they awkward. I was actually quite fascinated to watch them. Their interaction was very supportive, patient, and oozing camaraderie. The only way American men interact is to punch each other, get shit faced drunk, go out and kill something together, or sit on a couch and scream at a television in unison.

Now I know that not all men are like this here in the states. I get that. I really do. But I don’t think I have honestly witnessed that level of unconscious comfort between guys ever here.

Let the hate mail begin……………………

A Separate Peace

Alright, so if I have any readers left after the booger blog below, here is a slightly less Icky post.

This was one of those weekends that didn’t go to fast. I had a craft show on Saturday (not very good sales wise but oh well) The hubster made us an early dinner of fried spaghetti. One of my favorite meals.

Sunday was a nice day. We took the pups for a walk. Well, we took three pups for a walk and one pup for a carry. Caleb was terrified to be outside. He walked a little but kept wanting to walk toward the main busy road by us. I carried him all the way down the alley and then we put him down when we got to the sidewalk and lawns. He seemed to like that more. And he walked pretty well back to our house. But he’s frightened by being outside as well as by us still so he spent a lot of time cowering.

Lily did better. We put Caleb in the house and then continued our walk with the other dogs. Lily walked several blocks with us and around the park. She seemed pretty happy and she was very curious about everything she saw. She did very very well.
Fortunately despite how traumatized Caleb appeared to be he bounced back pretty quick and was happy and playful when we got back home.

The hubster and I went to the hardware store and picked up the giant paper leaf bags. This was the first year we used them. THEY ROCK! Oh man, I will never ever ever use a plastic bag again. They hold more, they stay upright and they don’t poke through from sticks. Did I mention that they rock!

We also now have a garbage company that will pick up yard waste that is put in a garbage can. That also is WAY better than the plastic bag. I was able to get up a lot of the leaves in the backyard and it was so easy. I also managed to pick up a whole ton of poop that were hidden by leaves. Ooohhhh goodie!

I picked up two paper bags worth of leaves and dead brush from our front yard. Who the hell on HGTV said that an English Garden would be easier to maintain than a lawn. If I ever find out who put the idea in our head I’m gonna kill them. Our front yard is gorgeous but so so so much work.

So on top of discovering the wonder of the giant paper bag I also had my Ipod with me. I never had so much fun doing yard work.

While I was sitting in my yard cutting up some tall growing coreopsis (looks sort of like bamboo stalks and gets about 7 feet tall) the song “My Hometown” by Bruce Springsteen was playing. So there I was sitting in my front yard on a gorgeous fall day. A little girl was playing in the leaves down the street, a woman was out walking her dog, and an older gentleman was blowing leaves into piles. It was incredibly peaceful and while I was sitting there I realized that life, at least for that moment, was perfect.

Dreaming uh, well, just dreaming

So, watch out, this dream is a little on the ick side:

So, there I was picking my nose and there was this giant booger. And so I started to pull it out of my nose. And then my gum that I was chewing somehow came out my nose with the giant long booger. It was ridiculously long. Like 8 inches. Who dreams stuff like this? Seriously?

Blech

I woke up a little disgusted with myself.

What happened to dreaming about being on a pirate ship out in the Caribbean with Capt. Sparrow? Why can't I have dreams like that? Seriously? Why not?

Boogers. Sheesh.

Friday Eve

First, let me say I did add an addendum to my most recent blog apologizing to any reader that has spinning rims.

I also followed in the steps of Cynical Bastard and halloweenized my blog.

It is almost 10 on Thursday night and I am ready to begin my Happy Friday dance. Seriously, I think I must reward myself this Friday with a mocha and some quiet quality book time. And I may do the happy Friday dance all the way to Starbucks.

Ok, now let me apologize for actually getting coffee at the WalMart of java. Yes it is bad of me. But they are the ONLY coffee shop near me that makes a consistent and good mocha.

Now, on to other things.

I fear for reasons we don't understand we took a step back with Lily. She's totally fearful of us today. Actually this evening. I keep going over in my mind what we did today and nothing sticks out. I'm not getting upset just yet. Maybe she's just tired or maybe she doesn't feel too good or something. I'll see how she is in the morning.

On the other hand Caleb gets a little better every day. We still can't really approach him, look at him, or get him to come to us. But he will lay on the couch near us and let us pet him. And he will come over for some love. Each day he gets a little closer and hangs around for a little bit longer.

I have blogged before about the great Chinese take-out that is practically across the street. We ordered it the other night when we had company. I asked them to make General Tso's chicken with regular chicken meat and not the breaded and fried chicken. Kindly they made it for us. And if fact when the hubster went to get it, their son, Michael told the hubster that he had them make extra so they could try it and see if they wanted to add it to the menu. He's a sweet young man about 14 years old. He is a dog trainer that has a collie and a golden that he competes in agility with. He told the hubster that it would be a nice dish to add because it cuts a lot of fat and calories out of the meal. So maybe we did each other a favor? Anyway, it was scrumptious as always.

The hubster and I cut out of work a little early and went over to Como Conservatory. The place where we got married. We love to go there and wander around their gardens. Especially in winter it's a nice way to escape the cold and spend some time in a hot and humid atmosphere. They expanded the park over the past few years adding a huge new wing to the conservatory. When they first opened the new wing they had a fern room just started. Tiny baby ferns were everywhere. Now, about a year later they are HUGE. What a glorious room it became in such a short time. We didn't get to stay long as they have shorter hours in winter. But we made the most of our 20 minutes. When we go there it feels as if the whole world disappears. I'm so very thankful that we picked a place like that to get married in. I am confident that 20 years from now he and I will still be able to go there.

We always tell people that only two things really matter on your wedding day: 1. that you get married. and 2. that no one dies at the wedding. If those two things are fulfilled your wedding was a complete success. And everything else, the food, the wine, the dress, the flowers, they are icing on the cake. But maybe we should tell them one other tiny piece of advice. Pick a location for your wedding that you can always return to. A place you can visit time and time again that will hold that special memory near and dear to you.

For us it is a vacation from the world every time we step through those doors. We take each other's hand and we walk through the most beautiful place on earth. At least to us.......................

The Good, the bad, and the downright ugly

The Good:
Whoever came up with the idea of putting blinkers on the side view mirrors of cars. Genius I say, sheer genius.

The Bad:
Whoever came up with the idea of spinning rims. They drive me nuts! For one, the people that have them tend to be psychotic drivers to begin with. Add to that the fact that they always look like they are moving and you get a whole lot of distrust in driving. Primarily this bothers me at stop signs and stop lights. I mean I would already assume that the tricked out punks that do this to their car would already run a stop sign/light. So now that it looks like they are moving even if they aren't. Yeah, it's just bad. And frankly it pisses me off.

The Downright Ugly:
The road in front of my house. Why? Because we never have a clue when they are going to come street sweep. So our cars are usually parked in front which ultimately means we never get swept in front of our place. Dang it!

Conversation with the hubster:

Newt: "Hey honey, where ya going?"
Hubster: "Outside to work on the garage"
Newt: "Ok, have fun."
he then walks toward the front door
Newt: "I thought you were going to work in the garage?"
He turns around and shows me one gloved hand and one bare one.
Hubster: "I am, but I have to find my other baby first."
Newt: while laughing hysterically; "check Lily's kennel"

Search terms that brought people to my site:

red spotted newts can live in sink drain - I've tried but it's kinda smelly
"i love high heels" blog shoes sandals" - yeah, it's what life is all about
happy friday dance - yep, there is one and I will be doing it tomorrow

What countries were my visitors from:
Unknown - don't remember this country on the map
UK
Australia
Korea
Netherlands
Japan
Brazil
China
Turkey
Switzerland
Saudi Arabia
Romania
Portugal
Europe - uhhhhh, when did this become a country?
Nicaragua
Philippines

Addendum to today's blog: Newt would like to issue a formal apology to anyone she might offend by implying that spinning rims are stupid. I mean, they are stupid, but it's your personal choice if you have them. So if I offended any of my handful of readers out there in blog land I really truly do deeply apologize. And I promise to not make fun of you until after you pull away from the curb.

Random Tuesday

My most interesting thoughts come during a shower.

Now that winter is coming my rings don't fit very well. My fingers shrink a bit from the cold so now my rings fall off too easily.

I like tapioca pudding. There, I said it.

I finally watched Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Not too bad a movie. Damn are they two beautiful people.

I need to do laundry.

I like Dharma and Greg. I wish I could be a little more like Dharma. She's such a great generous free spirit. Of course she is also tall..............

I would pay millions if they would stop reporting, talking about, and writing about JonBenet Ramsey. Good grief will it just DIE already. These kinds of thoughts are why I could never be Dharma.

Does anyone know anybody that successfully met someone through eHarmony?

How many people out there actually try to match their kleenex box to the room? Do you care what picture/scene is on the box?

They are having a cutest puppy contest at a local tv station. Of course hands down we have the cutest puppies. But how do we pick which one? Should we send them all in? And if we do, would it be fair to get the first through fourth prize? Or is that being greedy?

The hubster has scouts tonight. I hope I can get some quality reading done. That would be SOOO nice.

Uh oh, he just said that the heater isn't working. Oh goodie. It's 30 degrees outside and we have no heat. Wait, I KNOW that it was on earlier. I think he is just confused. Or it just broke. Great,fabulous. FANTASTIC.

This is one of the suckages of home ownership. You can't just call the super to fix it. Sigh.............Oh, he got it working..........

I stopped this morning to get a scone at the Black Sheep Cafe. Unfortunately the scone wasn't as good as it has been in the past. I hope they aren't heading down hill. That would not be good. Or maybe it would be. Then I wouldn't crave their stuff. Oh well. I guess time will tell.

When did penguins become the IN thing for movies?

Alright, that's enough randomness for the day.

Hugs to everyone

Gaining a little faith in tomorrow

Perhaps it is the concern of every generation but when I observe kids today I get a little nervous about the future. I fear we are heading toward a society of "me first" people with attention spans shorter than the time it takes the hubster to channel surf. I have noticed that the only place you see the younger generations shopping are either electronic stores or Abercrombie. I can count on one hand the number of under 30's I see in a bookstore. Ok, I understand that not everyone likes to read but I think there used to be a time when more youngsters could be found in bookstores and libraries.

The lack of kids interested in reading is not the only reason I fear for the future. I see a level of violence, and shallow personalities existing at a level unprecedented in history. Or am I just getting old and cranky?

Maybe my parents said the same about my generation? And their parents said the same about them?

But over the last few weeks a few things have happened that helped to ease my fears for the future. And that there are a few good kids out there.

First and foremost there is Tink. She's not exactly a kid but she is a young adult. She is wise beyond her years and she has an amazing gift of observation and contemplation. She is also a responsible person so much so that she owns a home. Not too many people her age do. Nor do they have such a good sense of family values. There aren't enough years between us for her to be my daughter but if she was I would be proud as punch.

Next there is my girlfriends son. Bless his heart he is a seventeen year old boy with a lovely and perfect girlfriend who wants to wait till after marriage to have sex. And he knows that she is such an amazing catch and he respects her so much that he is okay with waiting. Who does that anymore?????? This is also a young man that has found his happiness in farming and in taking care of his mom. He defends his baby sister and makes sure that no one messes with her. He is a young man with values and with his priorities straight.

Another friend of ours has three amazing children. One is heading off at the end of the month to join the coastguard. He is a boy that lives his life to his own tune and his own drummer. He is not a follower. He is not ashamed to call his dad Pappa. And to him having dinner with his family and having days reserved just for his family is ok. He is a very popular kid that hasn't had to give up his values.
He is popular in his own individuality and he would never walk over someone to get even farther. My friends daughter is much like her brother. She is a beautiful child inside and out. She too goes through life with her own private tune in her head. She is also an accomplished harpist. Her beauty and strength has boys falling over her left and right. And she accomplishes all of this just like her brother, with grace and with respect for everyone. Neither of them would EVER put someone else down to make themselves feel better. They don't have a petty bone in their body. The third child is still young but I can see in him so much of his brother that I know he too will be a marvelous adult.

Lastly I met an amazing young woman at the craft show on Saturday. She and her mother were selling candles, soap, and jewelry that they had made. They brought with them Jacob. A 16 year old orphan with Downs Syndrome. This young woman was his caretaker who had him for the week while his foster parents were on vacation. She was infinitely patient with him. And you can see that he adored her. She is in her third year of Sign Language and is teaching Jacob to communicate with her using signing. He is non-verbal so she is hoping to be able to break through with sign language. Jacob is very good at video games. She had to go out to the car to get the power pack for the DVD player. She gave him her little Nintendo game and signed to him to find the red star she needed in her Mario Bros. game. By the time she got back with the power pack he had found the star and handed the game back to her. She thanked him and got him set up with his movie. While we chatted I learned that she is attending the U of M to get a degree in Special Education. She has two other girlfriends at the U that are also learning various aspects of special education. One is going to specialize in speech therapy and one in physical therapy. Then the three girls plan to open up a school for the mentally handicapped. I honestly didn't think there were young adults out there that would have an interest in something so selfless and "unglamorous" a career goal. No hate mail please. I just don't know how else to word what they are going to do. Special Education is a very difficult field that most people prefer not to have to know about or be exposed to. Unfortunately we are a society that likes to pretend that there aren't children out there that need special help. And in a world where the car you drive, the house you live in, the clothes you wear, and the perfect children you have is the only thing that matters it's surprising to find people that still have their heads screwed on right.

So, I guess what I am trying to say is that there is hope. For all the negativity in the news. For all the war, the doom, the violence, and the hate. There are little rays of hope.............