My hostas. Not my cat.

My hostas. Not my cat.

My hostas. Not my cat. Any questions?

Cute little rascals

I've been reading Cute Overload lately, which has made me highly susceptible to awww's when I find pics of cute little rascals on my camera. Must share. This is the wildlife that populates my backyard, as captured by my brother.

Heeeey, little buddy.

Hey heeeey, little buddy.

P.S. Please look at this puppy. The cute is killing me!

Memorial Day Fools

An impromptu Memorial Day get-together saw me playing host and consequently scrambling to tidy my house and yard. Inside, things went into closets, laundry stayed in the dryer and the bathroom sink got wiped down with a tissue. Outside, the helicopters were swept off the porch, the most obvious weeds were pulled and twigs that posed a tripping hazard were corralled.

When it comes to me as hostess, fooling the guests is all that matters.

No patio table? No problem. How about part of an industrial shelving unit and place mats, instead? Fooled!

Croquet is OK! And, my, that flower bed looks positively weed-free. Fooled!

Fun House Feast

Last weekend, I pulled off my first successful meal for more than two people and I'm still basking in the after glow. Back in January, Brian thought it would be a good idea to invite our entire family to my house for a meal; thus, the Fun House Feast (FHF) was born. I spent the better part of February fretting over the menu and finally, the week of the feast, settled on this (in random order):

• Spinach and brie chicken
• Mashed potatoes and chicken gravy
• Stuffed mushrooms
• Good bread
• Grapes
• Baby carrots
• Cheese and crackers
• Blonde brownies
• Strawberry cheesecake trifle
• Peanut M&Ms

I forgot to take pictures of the food (and everything else really), so here's a blurry picture of me nom-nom-noming on a baby at the FHF.

Monkeyin' Around

Last night around 11 p.m., both Brian and I heard what can only be described as a monkey. I was already in bed trying to fall asleep and Brian was in his room tooling around with a broken pair of headphones when we heard the first spooky strains of ooh-ooh-ee-ee-ee-ahh-ahh-ahh.

I thought I'd imagined it, but when Brian said he'd heard it too (and that he wasn't joking), I got a little panicked. Because, really, why on earth would a monkey be outside of our bedroom windows...or worse *gulp*, in my basement?! So, we each grabbed a weapon (I, a hammer, Brian, a crowbar) and proceeded to do a clean sweep of the house. We scoured every nook and cranny of the basement and went outside to survey the perimeter.

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, our search turned up nothing. While this little drama unfolded, I couldn't help but wonder, what really made that sound? An actual monkey? The neighbor's dog? Some prankster teenagers? A burglar? Ahh! To help me sleep I pulled barricades (trash cans, chairs, American flags) in front of several of my doors.

The monkey hunters in all their fierce bravery. I'm in my pajamas, people.

Sudsy-Wudsy Pudding and Pie

It was a full house this weekend! Chad and his friend Matt came to stay so that they could tailgate on Saturday and my friend Jessie came to stay just so we could chat and catch up with one another. I had agreed to dog-sit for my friends Lora and Josh, so their new Great Dane puppy, Suds, came to stay with me as well.

Suds was definitely the star of the weekend. His overall puppy-ness, mild temperament and lovable face caused a lot of baby talk*, empty threats to kidnap him and incessant petting from my house guests and me. He was just so good (except for one minor slip-up when he attempt to poop on a pair of my jeans, but all is forgiven. It had been raining and I just don't think he quite knew how to handle that.) and such a little lover, sleeping on my lap and cuddling up next to my feet. I even started to teach him how to shake. He did quite well, although I think he thinks that a shake is a combination of giving me his paw and licking my hand.

I drove everyone mad with this ridiculous baby talk phrase: "Sudsy-wudsy, pudding and pie, kissed the girls and made them cry. When the boys came out to play, Sudsy-wudsy ran away."

Suds and Suds with cool-dude rabbit ears.

Tuckered out from a day of fun and learning.

*My friend Kelly is solely responsible for spawning canine baby talk amongst my circle of friends. She pioneered this trend with her dog Foxy, using phrases like, "Hez-wo!" "What chu shink about wife?" "Aww, shank you for da kisshes." Translation: Hello. What do you think about life? Aww, thank you for the kisses.

When Blecky Comes a Callin'

My sister Becky and her husband, Blake (collectively known as Blecky) came a callin' last weekend, and it was just the motivation I needed to make some progress on my house. Without any solid, looming deadline for me to complete my home improvement projects, I really hadn't had a reason to move faster than a snail's pace. But with the arrival of Blecky, I knew I had to at least get the spare bedroom/office cleared out so they would have a place to sleep.

Now, prior to Blecky's visit, my spare bedroom-office combo had been acting as the Island of Misfits ("Nobody wants a Charlie-in-the-box!"). All the boxes of odds and ends and any other items I had never gotten around to putting away or didn't feel like putting away ended up there. It boasted a collection of sweaters, shoes, picture frames, luggage and other knick-knacks including a Christmas stocking and some old face paint I'd used to transform myself into a geisha last Halloween. Once I put my mind to clearing out the room, the work went relatively quickly. I even had time to arrange my books by color on the bookshelf. After most of the items were put away, I shoved the rest of the boxes against a wall and called it, "good enough". And the space I'd cleared was good enough. Blecky was able to get their air mattress filled up with no problem (I still need to get an extra bed). Actually, I just need to get all new furniture for that room. All the pieces in it are leftovers from my illustrious college career and have all seen better days, but not many, though, because I think the furniture was pretty crappy when I originally got it from Pamida. Ahh, nothing quite brings style to a room like a matching particle board desk and bookcase.

My s-bare room

My next bit of motivation is coming up in just two short weekends. My other sister and her husband (collectively known as Lola and Mike) and perhaps my mom will be dropping by for a weekend visit! It's just the thing I need to get the last remnants of wallpaper out of my dining room!