Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Ouch.....my aching head.

I have a headache today. Its at the base of my skull and all day I have been trying to figure out what is causing it. I'm not stressed at work because my boss is off hiking the Great Wall of China. Its not allergies because I have been breathing freely for the first time in months. Its not from chewing too much gum, because I have cut back since all that maltitol and sorbitol can give you the winds something fierce! All the usual suspects have been ruled out.

Then, as I am reaching for my head to touch the affected areas again, it dawns on me....headband. Not the 1980's Olivia Newton-John type, the 1960's Jackie-O, Polly the Preppy type. Those wide ones with the maddening grip, just behind the ears. Since my hair is leftover 'beach hair' from the weekend, I've had to get creative. Short of an Ed Hardy hat, that will probably be Friday if I can hang on that long, I have employed various styles of updos and ponytails, all in an attempt to make my hair appear....well, clean. It actually IS clean, it just had that light dusting of salty sea air that gives it that extra.....well, oily look. Baby powder and a headband are my friends, just not today.


Enough of that. The fun of the week is that the building across from me is about to be torn down. I live on a small alley street in Hermosa Beach, where the speed limit is 15 mph and I will sit out there on the weekends enforcing it! Oh if only I had a spike strip! The problem is that we have elderly, kids and people with pets on our street. Not to mention, you step out my door and you are ON the street....no sidewalks. And now with this building coming down, we will endure fourteen months of waking to jackhammers, diesel trucks and other audible cues that something is first coming down and then going up. Ah, just how I wanted to spend my summer. Where is the Extreme Home Makeover team when you need them!?!

The worst part is that I may be losing my neighbors Karen and Stan.....yes, the ones with the opium couch. I love those two and they are the best to get into mischief with, as well as patrolling the alley for 'evildoers'! (There are WMD's hidden somewhere! I'm sure the Bush would back me up on this assessment!) Karen works from home and she will lose her mind if she sits through all this at her doorstep. For me, its across the street and I go off to work, but for her it is 8 feet from her front door. Sucks. Already we've had the gas company out to disconnect the gas line and they jackhammered while blocking my garage with their huge truck when I came home from the gym yesterday morning. When I was trying to figure out where to put my car, the guy acted put out and annoyed but waited till we were all of 10 feet from him to start jackhammering again. "HEY JACK@$$! WE DON'T HAVE EARPLUGS AND I ACTUALLY NEED TO HEAR IN MY PROFESSION!!!" I was grumpy yesterday.....really grumpy. I ran into Karen as I drove off to work and she asked me to keep an eye out for apartments for them and since I was grumpy, I said "Hell no! I'm not gonna help you guys leave the neighborhood!" Selfish, I know, but I did mention I was grumpy. (sniff)

Peanut had PT today (acupuncture) so I ran him across the street to drop him off. If anyone knows LA, they know Olympic Blvd is a speedway. People should have numbers on the sides of their cars because I swear they think they are in a Nascar race. Nothing like playing a little real life Frogger to keep you on your toes! Peanut loves it at the PT office. He doesn't mind being poked or bent like a pretzel because he gets treats. Endless treats. Its the equivalent to doggie heaven, the treats are plentiful and often, so he's like "Mom who?" when I leave him. Good, it gives me an hour of not having a warm chihuahua tucked under my arm EVERYWHERE I go.....even the bathroom! If I don't bring him into the bathroom, when I come out he will look at me and pee right where he is standing. He's smart. Now, if I could only get him to do the dishes or pay my taxes.


Friday, June 13, 2008

Let's begin.

This is all my sister-in-law's fault.  So blame her if I put you to sleep.  (Note: Don't read this while driving)

Yes, I recently got a link from my sister-in-law to her blog page about the 6 inches of June snow they received....in Montana. In Montana, things like that are possible.  I ended up reading all past blogs because I was interested in what she, the nieces (DD#1 and DD#2) and 'the husband' were up to.  I really enjoyed the updates of Chester and the (avalanche victims) tennis balls.  She puts a strike through the 'avalanche victims', but this blog site won't let me do that.....although they may and I just haven't figured it out yet.

Anyway, I figured its a cool way to give friends and family a snapshot of my life that will keep them up to date and hopefully entertain!  We'll, see.  I'm not eating sugar these days and I don't really drink, so you may be done with me after two posts.

So!  What have I been up to?  Well, work, chihuahua exercises, working out, eating and drinking a lot of water.  I drink a gallon a day.  Try it sometime.  Endlessly entertaining.  Not really.  More like a million trips to the bathroom.  Think of it as cardio.

My 18 year old dog, Peanut, has begun physical therapy.  He is 3 1/2 pounds and has a neurological disorder that makes his legs go stiff.  Each day I have to sit with him and stuff treats down his gullet so I can stretch his legs out.  He's a good dog and doesn't really mind as long as the treats don't run out.  Today he had to do hydrotherapy at the clinic, where they walk him on an underwater treadmill.  He wasn't real keen on it.  I think he thought he was getting a bath and I always make him just stand there, so when the floor started moving, he got confused.  They said thats normal at first.  

I have wonderful neighbors and the most entertaining are Karen and Stan.  They are surfers, have been married 5 years and have no children....yet.  They always have the grill going and a good movie or two, so on occasion, I commute the 30 feet across the street to hang out with them.  They are great company and always have good stories to share.

Last night they were unveiling the couch they had just bought on ebay to replace the 'stoner futon' they have had for years.  They live in a one bedroom beach bungalow that is cozy (small) and so the futon has been helpful to accommodate guests as a fold out.  The couch they saw online looked wide, tall and like the back pillows would hit at the top of your shoulder blades.  So it seemed like a nice replacement and still quite lounge-y. 

I turned the corner to the garage where they unwrapped it, saw the couch and could not contain my laughter.  Karen came over and grabbed my head shaking it and saying "It looked bigger in the picture!"  This poor thing, although beautiful, was maybe 12" from the ground and about as wide as a skinny twin mattress.  The back pillows are those round roll pillows, so when you sit down and lean back, you could roll right off the back!  Apparently they will now be turning their house into an opium lounge.  They also ordered a chair that they will unveil tonight.   Just looking at it wrapped up, I can already tell you its also challenged in its height from the floor!  Should make for an interesting evening!  I'll have to bring over a hookah and some drapes!

Ah....work.  I love what I do.  Challenging, interesting and continues to force me to use my non-linear thinking.  Oh hell, who am I kidding.....I get to watch movies all day.  I have become a worker bee to one studio in particular.  I actually don't mind the work.  Its better than when I was working trailers for WWII video games where people actually had body parts blown off.  Can only take so much of that.  So now I am immersed in bubble gum pop and that's just fine with me.  Lots of pink, fireworks, and upbeat music.  You get these songs stuck in your head and find that you sing them at times you wish you didn't.....like standing behind a gorgeous man at the grocery store checkout.  I'm single and I'm sure they think "She's got kids cuz why else would she be singing that?"  Yea, I like pop music and I'm okay with that!

It's Friday night and I would LOVE to go order a pizza and veg in front of the tv, but I am 8 weeks out from my next competition and I need to eat 'clean'. (Healthy and boring)  I don't have much planned for the weekend but laundry and the beach.  Ahhhh, the beach.  I love it there.  I could never live anywhere else.  Maybe if the waves are good, I'll drag the ginormous surfboard down the hill and try not to drown.  Maybe....otherwise its, a book, chair and a nap.  I think I'll just plan on the latter.  I'm sore from all the gym stuff I have to do.  So, yea, I'll just be taking a nap!  

Happy Friday!