Thursday's Child Has Far To Go

Ahhh...maybe not THAT far, but it will seem like a long ways after being in the same house for a month and the same town for a few years. There's me (or my car)visiting Melanee in a month :D.

As hard of an adjustment as it was for me at first,(and probably for her too, being out of a house of her own unceremoniously and having to move in somewhere with a cat and a little dog)(and a sister for a week), my sweet friend Mel has moved lock stock and barrel to the beach!

And as much of a loner as I am, and as much of a neat-freak as I am, I am going to miss her and the adorable Little Pie, and her laid back kitty, Beau so much. I guess I didn't internalize the fact that she was really leaving, so in the few days before today, it started hitting me. Getting everything done that she needed to take care of before she left, we both realized it was becoming more and more real. When she sold her house and moved before, she always had a tether (all her furniture and belongings were in storage here, as well as the little dog she loved so much b/c she belonged to someone else then) back here. But now the only tether is her friends. She really has escaped the desert! As I told Little Pie the other day, since she's never been to the beach before "Oh, the places you'll go and the things you'll see!"...I'm so envious b/c I'd love to be in the same area too, and I know the doggies would love it! But for now, we're still here. Time will tell~ the doggies here are really going to miss Little Pie and Auntie Melanee though, that's for sure! I know she's going to find true happiness and contentment there and that makes me happy b/c she's a wonderful girl, a fabulous friend and she deserves it! YOU GO GIRL!

So, today I had planned just on getting the guest room and bath cleaned up and such, but got on a tear to clean the entire house, move furniture, and hang that gigantic painting (try hanging a 6 ft x 5 ft painting ALONE....aligning two hooks that far apart isn't as simple as it seemed, LOL...I had to make a few adjustments in the location of the nails I used for the hangers :S. But the house looks great and everything is clean. The doggies are wiped out tonight; you'd think they'd done all the work, haha.

So, a new adventure awaits us all, I'm sure of that! And Happy Birthday, Tim :).

Wednesday Cooldown

Ahhhh....FINALLY.....it's the time of year that I can actually drive with the top down~ without worrying about sweating to death or burning the bejeezus out of the leather! 'Course, I still have to have the A/C going, but there's something so freeing and primal about driving topless :). Especially on a beautiful, clear and sunny day with the mountains all around me. Now I get why our population triples beginning this time of year. As I still say; it's a great place to vacation, but I want outta here, LOL!
I love the Fall with the changing weather and the leaves changing colors and falling, falling, falling. But most of all, I love to "nest" and decorate. And dream about the holidays to come. Summer is the time for running around outdoors.

Yesterday, Mel and I went shopping~ one store, 4 hours, I don't think a single item went untouched or noticed at least! I've decided that Home Goods is my favorite place. The glassware and dishes alone, especially the seasonal stuff....an entertainer's Nirvana! If my digital was working, I'd have pictures of everything, just so I can remember what I want when I have the money for it, lol. Of course, this is the kind of place that if you see something you want, you'd better get it right then or it will be gone the next time. It's also the kind of place where you check your sanity at the door on your way in.
I swear, earlier in the morning, I had emptied my buffet (pictured behind the table above) of EVERYTHING (and it's packed FULL) so that we could move it to accomodate the new sofas, and all I could say is "I have too many dishes"

...so what did I do while I was there? I found a set of Tuscan style dishes and HAD to have them. They're PERFECT for Fall and for Thanksgiving. And there's so many other dishes that compliment them. Yep, I got more dishes. And I'm contemplating going back for some more; I got one Fitz and Floyd plate that is so adorable with a little chick in the center. It goes perfectly on top of the Tuscan plates. Hmmm...decisions, decisions. One plate I can use as an accent piece; more I can use as breakfast dishes. It's this change in the seasons that's getting to me. Time for new stuff.

Melanee is the one who's got the excitement going though. She leaves tomorrow after being here a month. The movers will be meeting her early in the morning to load up her stuff from storage and then she, Beau her kitty; and Little Pie, Max's Yorkie sister; are off to the beach! I know she's super stressed out but she's going to have so much fun getting settled there and I just know she's going to find happiness there. It's such a calming and healing environment and I can just see her and Pie walking along the boardwalk. I can't wait to see her place and help her decorate!! She got some really cute things though for it already. I hope she'll find a really nice guy there too; she deserves it.

So, today is a get things done day for both of us. I need to hang a 6 ft x 5 ft. painting on the wall and am having the darndest time figuring out exactly how I'm going to do it~ honestly, I remember the days when I just slapped a nail in the wall and hung things up (that was just after the thumbtack and poster days I think :D). Now, I've got 8 different measurements written down, marks on the wall and I STILL haven't figured out where to put the hangers, LOL. I want it to be done when dh gets home though; he's going to be surprised (particularly by the fact that I extricated the painting from behind every single other box that's stacked up in the 3rd car garage and have already gotten rid of the packaging it was boxed in. I'm so proud that I got it all done on garbage day, haha....now I just have to put all the other boxes I pulled out back so he can get his car in the garage :(. Oh well, it will be so worth it.

Later on, we're going out to dinner~ our last meal together before she beaches it. I'll miss cooking dinner for her and I bet dh is going to miss having her around to laugh at his corniness (I'm a little over it after 10 yrs). I'm happy for her though, and the realization that she'll be gone again is just starting to hit me. It's hard living with someone else when you aren't used to it and it was a little rocky at first, but there's just nothing like a friend who "gets" you. Or at least accepts you and your annoying habits and makes the best of them. I can take some lessons from her in being more tolerant of other's idiosyncrasies, that's for sure. Maybe that's why she's a great personal assistant and I'd be a lousy one.

Anyway, since this is a "get-things-done" day, I guess I'll go get some things done (and expound on DWTS later).

Saturday Night Fever

Oh my gosh! Did we ever have fun today! I had NO idea that it's been so long since we'd been to the Indian Wells Club for anything. We used to go there all the time for breakfast on the weekends, but dh has been so exhausted usually, we just stay home on the days he's home. For some reason, he got a bee in his bonnet and wanted to meet our friend, Tim there for lunch.
The new IW Club has been totally remodeled (it was actually torn down and redone); a project that took 2 years! YIKES..where does the time go? I can't believe it had been that long since we'd been there.

I was amazed at how incredibly different and beautiful it all was. Waterfalls and waterways are always pretty beautiful, but living in the desert, you really come to appreciate them in a whole different way! And water they had!

I will try to post a photo, but it won't come close to doing it justice. When you drive up to the front entry, there's a huge waterfall in front of the valet parking area and that's just the begining.....

When you walk into the lobby, there's a reception desk and behind it is a big granite wall with water spilling down the front of it. I thought that was pretty fabulous, but then I went into the ladies room~ Oh MY GOD!

There was a mirror that stretches probably 12-15 feet across that's facing the main doorway and it's got water spilling over IT....below it is a grainte trough that runs the length of the mirror (or width I suppose)with the water faucets placed at intevals along it. Absolutely gorgeous. The materials they used in the flooring and the walls; the doors, everything are just exquisite! The stalls in the bathroom are a thick frosted glass with a large mahogany frame around them and when you open up the stall, there's of course, the toilet, but behind and above the commode, is a niche that's probably about 3-4 ft deep with a block glass window at the back which spills light into the area and they have a piece of beautiful glass art sitting in the niches.

The bar itself is a gorgeous design; such a huge difference from what it used to be! And the drinks are AMAZING! I went wild and ordered a Bloody Mary, which was practically a meal in itself! They put it into a very tall glass, then stuck a green onion into it on one side of the glass with the long tops sticking up above the rim of the glass. Over that, they put a ring of sliced red bell pepper. On the opposite side of the glass, they had a green olive and a pickled spear of asparagus, and to gild the lilly, they set a chilled prawn on the side of the glass! Fabulous presentation! And the asparagus spear was DELICIOUS! As was the drink.

The food has improved drastically also, although Tim had the tuna melt and he wasn't impressed. That's what I usually order, but I knew they had never done a very good job on them, so I was glad I hadn't opted for it this time. Dh and I both had burgers which were perfectly cooked, great flavor and served beautifully. The service was excellent too and they had a sort of carousel with flat screen tv's across from where the tables were so that people could watch whatever game they wanted to. It was really pretty impressive. I love good surprises :), and this was definitely one!
If you're ever in the Indian Wells locale, it's a must-see; you won't be disappointed!

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Bill and Happy Birthday Nancy! I love you guys!

Friday I'm in Love

Actually more like "Friday I'm sick". I've had something like a cold since Tuesday. UGH. I detest being sick and feeling like crap. Which is pretty much what I feel like. Kinda like having a perpetual hangover. Thank goodness for Alka Seltzer Cough and Cold. Or cold and cough..whatever. It helps. The saving grace is that Max is better; maybe I caught it from him, haha.

I feel pretty lucky that he IS ok b/c yesterday when I was walking into the master bathroom, I saw him sniffing at something on the floor (and the Lord knows there shouldn't be ANYTHING to sniff at on my floors, LOL) and I went to look at what it was...it was a SCORPION! ICK! He was about 3-4 inches long and sort of a clear-yellowish color. I HATE them. So I squished him and sent him to scopion heaven. That's where all scorpions should go. I can't wait to move out of the desert. I will NEVER miss it. Anyhow, that's a subject for another day.

It's supposed to be cooler here today; in fact, they SAY (but we ALL know that "THEY" lie) it will only be around 87. That's 87 give or take 10 degrees of course. That's the part they don't mention :S. But that's good enough for me. I'm ready for some cooler weather. I saw some beautiful white pumpkins at the store the other day and could just picture them arranged with Fall leaves and a big metal-edged lantern-type candle holder on the front entry. Well, not HERE, of course, because the pumpkins would be caving in on themselves after a day or so in this heat. That wouldn't be very attractive. But I can think about it anyway. Kind of like I think about the fountain I want to put there, haha.

Today is going to be a stay-at-home day I think. I don't feel like going anywhere or doing anything and we're going out to lunch tomorrow, so I need to get well for that. I just need to figure out what to make for dinner since the hubby will once again, grace us with his presence for the weekend.

I made the MOST delicious chicken tacos the other night~I've been telling everyone about them~ they were in Martha's Everyday Food magazine this month (Oct). They're called Chili chicken tacos and you put everything in the crockpot! It was SO easy and it turned out so tasty. Not only that, I discovered those already made taco shells! I know, I know, they've been around forever, but I've never ever bought any or even tasted any.....and I actually bought regular corn tortillas just in case I chickened out (no pun intended ;)) and decided I just couldn't use the pre-made ones. But they were the perfect ticket for these tacos...I got Mission brand and they weren't the least bit greasy; they were light and crunchy. Something new and different to add to the cooler weather repertoire.

So, off to get well....

Ruby Tuesday

I love Tuesdays. Why? I'm not sure, but I think it's because it's not Monday :).

Monday is always total cleaning,linen changing, laundry and get the garbage containers out day. And yesterday somehow, I realized I needed dryer sheets before I could even start the laundry, so that took up some time. So I was sort of behind all day long.

But Tuesdays are so much better for me. And today, the Y.E.'s went to the groomers! I'm SO EXCITED....I can't wait to see them when they're done. Mel's Little Pie went too, so we'll have 3 super cute Yorkies in residence here :D. I think we've decided we should parade them down El Paseo afterward b/c they'll be so cute. Aren't we goofy? I'm especially excited about Madison; this will only be his second grooming appt. since I've had him (probably his second EVER) and the first time I was afraid to have him cut too short like I get Max b/c his hair is so different. I was afraid he'd be bald, LOL. But his hair had been so matted before, it looked like he didn't have much hair, but he really did.

Poor little Max had a little gastro-intestinal issue yesterday....don't know what he ate, since I watch pretty much everything that goes into his mouth, and he didn't have any problem EATING all day or running around, so I guess he's ok. . At least he'll eat his food with plain yogurt on it. And I gave him one of Madison's Pepcids just to help out. I hope I haven't plugged him up now :S. Great nurse I am, haha.

I am horrified by the Wall Street plunge yesterday. I wonder what will happen next? I know things will get better SOMETIME, but it's scary isn't it? And with the elections coming up; ay yi yi! If I think about it too long, my stomach starts churning, so I'll divert my thinking to more pleasant things....at least, things I can do something about. I just empathize with anyone who's heavily invested in the stock market~ it's like, you'd lose if you pulled all your money out just prior to the House vote, and now it's a no-brainer. It would be a hard decision I'm sure. The only way it could have been a positive would have been if they'd voted for the bailout. I guess it really is gambling.

So, I found what looks like a good recipe for chicken tacos (I wonder sometimes if anyone eats as much chicken as I do? I eat a LOT of it..grilled, roasted, sauteed, poached, rarely fried, but if it can be made with chicken, you know I've probably done it in the last week) in the latest issue of Martha's Everyday Food...think I'll make that for dinner for me and Mel tonight. Results of DWTS will be on, so it's defintitely a stay-at-home night for me. I need to get on that sourdough too; the starter has either fainted or outright died, so off to the kitchen I go......oh, the reason for the title today; chicken chili tacos with SANGRIAS :D.

That Sunday, that Summer

Wow, WHERE does the time go? It's so weird how having guests in residence changes your entire routine, no matter how you try to maintain some semblance of normalcy.

I will admit to being maybe slightly over-organized. I can't help it. I was an ICU nurse since I was 21 yrs old, and if there's one thing we are, it's organized and prepared for anything. You learn pretty quickly that if you don't get the mundane and boring things done right upfront (that would be bed baths, room organized, making sure emergency supplies are where they should be etc, that when things go to hell in a handbasket, you can either be calm and efficient, or a screaming meemee and look like a total ditz, along with compromising someone's life. I usually chose the former.

And it seems that so it goes in life. Take care of the scut work up front and the rest of the day you can do whatever you want and actually enjoy it. Instead of continuously thinking "I should be doing ....(fill in the blank)"....I hate that; it takes all the enjoyment out of relaxing. I envy people who have adopted the "don't do today what you can put off til tomorrow" or "tomorrow's another day" attitude. I guess I've seen that sometimes tomorrow ISN'T another day too many times.

So, I'm not the girl who gets up and leisurely sips her coffee while reading the morning paper. EXCEPT on Sundays.

When you don't work outside the home, every day is sort of like the one before. Get up with the dogs, let them out, feed them, walk them, feed the cat, clean the litter box, feed the birds, clean the cages, water the plants, get any laundry going, pull out the ironing I need to do for dh, clean anything that's out of place and plan dinner so that I can get out to the store before it's too hot. Then if I have any baking I want to do or dog treats or Madison's rice and turkey that needs doing, that gets done. I try to get my computer stuff done in the morning as well so that I can concentrate on other things; at 1 PM I start ironing and catch the soaps (thanks Mom for getting me hooked on them again)...but I've found that at least it makes ironing a more palatable task and dh doesn't have to beg me for shirts for the week; now I just need to set up my bike trainer for the days that I'm not ironing;).
At least something productive gets done while I'm doing something mindless. Oh, that's for those of my friends who "tsk tsk" over me watching the soaps; I actually DO have things to do at the house :P.

And then, one of my favorite parts of the day is right around 4 pm when I can finally chill out with the doggies and a glass of wine while we watch Ellen, who makes me laugh and makes me happy. Only things have gotten slightly out of order here, but it will get back to normal soon.

I really don't like feeling unproductive and unless everything I need to do and want to do is done, I don't feel right about just sitting around chatting; I've got ideas and plans that need to be researched or just figured out strategically and logically. And you know how unless someone's on the same page as you are, it's just a waste of breath to blabber about things. I'm not the kind of person who says "there's something out there for us". I'm the kind of person who says "this is what I want to do; so how do I do it?". More of a concrete term type of person.

Of course, I guess it's a lot easier when life doesn't get in the way; things like packing or moving or dealing with sick children or pets or spouses or friends.

I'm blessed. For many reasons, not the least of which include being fit (or relatively so...at least ABLE to be fit) and healthy, having good friends (some being able to maintain a confidence a little better than others I've found recently); and a great family, wonderful (and at the moment, healthy) animal companions, and a computer (hahahaha).

And SUNDAYS. I can stay in bed almost as long as I want (well, I still have to wake up early b/c the Y.E. are up with the birds, but sometimes they aren't insistent about being fed the second their little peepers open) and my husband goes to get the Sunday paper and I can play on the computer while I'm having my coffee with the Y.E. on either side of me. I can plan what I want to do for the next week, plan what I want to do for the next year, let my dreams run wild then reel them back in, and just be STILL. I feel organized, I feel hopeful, I feel happy and serene. It's SUNDAY!

It 's Just another Manic Monday

Oh yeah, RIIIIGHT....it's SO manic here, LOL. NOT.
This morning is absolutely, incredibly, phenomenally beautiful! A little breeze blowing, and cool enough that I my mind was jostled enough to recall that I really DO own sweaters and jackets. Maybe I'll be able to use something like that before the end of the year. That should be a question mark after that sentence, not a period, LOL.

I finally got some decent sleep last night, even though dh was up around 1:30 to get ready to leave (earplugs are FABULOUS things!). But....it's Monday, so Yayyy....I get to CLEAN and do laundry and iron today! Not that I HAVE to do anything, but it seems the best way to keep things in some sort of order here; get it all done on Monday and then I don't have to let it furrow my brow the rest of the week. Or race around to get things straightened up if someone unexpectedly comes by. I hate that.

Doggies are all doing well, although I just caught Madison with some of that sticky stuff they stick junk in magazines with. It's amazing what he finds at floor level (as in, HOW did it get there to begin with???).

We watched the Emmy's last night. For a change, I thought it was actually interesting and entertaining. It's almost shocking the number of shows I've never even heard of, and they're winning an award for them. You wonder how so many of these shows do so well when there's so many of them on so many different channels. I guess there's more people watching than I could ever imagine. Or there's a lot of people out there who watch an inordinate amount of tv! And I thought I watched a lot! Everyone looked so nice all dressed up; I can't think of anyone that I saw that looked really bizarre; like when Bjork came with the swan draped over her neck. I always wonder what's going thru their heads when they put something like that on and they make the decision that it looks good on them. I guess they save the good stuff for the Oscars though, LOL. Anyway, even though I enjoyed them, apparently the media HATED them....ooooh, I wouldn't want to be in any of the Emmy's producers shoes this morning! Goes to show what I know.

Ok...now, to figure out what the heck I'm supposed to be doing with this sourdough starter; the ongoing saga, haha....Halloween is coming :).