How Well Do I Know My Mate? From Facebook

You may know, I am totally addicted to Facebook.  These stupid status things frequently float around.  I think they're stupid, but I secretly want to do them.  So, I will do them here rather than subjecting everyone on Facebook to nonscense they may not care about.  At least this way, my 2 readers are opting in for my crap. 

I did this recently with the top movies of each year of my life.  Here is the next one...how well do I know my mate.  I think my mate is Kim.  So, here you go: 

• She's sitting in front of the TV.  What is she watching?

• That's easy...a kid's cooking show.  Like Masterchef Jr. 
• What dressing does she usually put on her salad. 
• That orange French dressing from the buffet, if it's available. 
• Name a food she hates.
• Indian food.  Oh, and also snails.  
• You go out to eat and have a drink.  What is she drinking? 
• Well, she's pregnant right now, so hopefully Club Soda with lemon.  Otherwise, a glass of wine or maybe something refreshing like a mojito?
• Favorite type of music?
• The worst kind.  Country. Barf.
• What is her nickname for you?
• Snookiwookums?  Or asshole?  I'm not sure I have a nickname. 
• What is something she collects?
• Nothing...she hates clutter. 
• Where is her favorite place to visit?
• Hawaii.  2nd favorite is probably her parent's house. 
• What is her favorite thing for breakfast?
• Eggs Benedict
• What would she never wear?
• Crocks.  Not in public, anyway. 
• What is her favorite sports team?
• The Seahawks. 
• What is something you do that she wishes you wouldn't do?
• Oh, jeez...only one thing?  I'm gonna go with bite my nails. 
• What is her least favorite animal?
• Birds
• What could she spend all day doing?
• Watching kids cooking shows.  

My Favorite Movie from every year I've been alive

I saw this going around on Facebook and thought it would be pretty fun.  So, I am throwing it up for both of my blog readers.  Feel free to take a stab on your own pages or in the comments, if you want.
The rules are simple...list your favorite movie for every year since the year of your birth.  Not necessarily the "best" movie.  That's very subjective.  Your FAVORITE movie.  For example:  Amadeus is a fantastic movie and it won Best Picture in 1984.  But, that's the same year that Ghostbusters, The Karate Kid and The Never Ending Story all came out.  I would pick any of those as my favorite over Amadeus without denying the greatness of that particular movie.  

So there you go.  And here I go:

1977: Star Wars (that was easy)
1978: Superman (what a crappy year for movies)
1979: Alien
1980: The Empire Strikes Back
1981: Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (this one was hard as ET and Rocky III were also this year)
1983: Return of the Jedi (squeaks by A Christmas Story)
1984: Ghostbusters
1985: Really hard...but, Back to the Future just beats Goonies.
1986: The Three Amigos
1987: The Princess Bride (I bet you're surprised this beats out Masters of the Universe and Over the             Top!)
1988:  Die Hard...the greatest Christmas movie of all time!
1989: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
1990: The Hunt for Red October
1991: Beauty and the Beast (don't judge...or judge...I don't care!)
1992: A League of Their Own
1993: The Fugitive
1994: Forrest Gump
1995: Showgirls.  Just kidding!  Crimson Tide
1996: The Rock
1997: Contact
1998: Saving Private Ryan (this is also the year I lost faith in the Oscars when they gave Best Picture           to Shakespeare in Love)
1999:  Fight Club (BARELY over The Matrix)
2000: Bring It On
2001: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2002: Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2003: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
2004: Anchorman 
2005: Batman Begins
2006: The Prestige
2007: 300
2008: The Dark Knight
2009: The Hurt Locker
2010: Inception
2011: The Muppets
2012: The Avengers
2013: Monsters University
2014: Guardians of the Galaxy
2015: Star Wars: The Force Awakens 
2016: Rogue One

Pretty sure 2017 will be this one:

I might be a little obsessed - OR - Graphic Tees for Babies

So, I may have become a little obsessed.  And, my obsession is with baby clothes.  You know, the whole, "Oh my goodness, this is sooooo cute," gushiness that I hear from women anytime they see tiny baby shoes or something.

But, alas...mine is much more specific.  You see, babies have their own version of the graphic tee.  Something that, if you know me, you know that I love.

Now, I am not the oogly boogly mushy gushy type.  Even when Desmond was little, while I knew my kid was adorable, you would never hear me be all like, "OMG, he is sooooo cute!  Look how cute he is!!!"  And, I especially never did that with clothing.

But then I see something like this:

I mean, COME ON!  It's got R2D2 on it and it says R2 Doo Doo!  Cuz babies poop a lot!  Get it!

Or, what about this one:

It's got the Gold and Crimson of Griffindor AND Snuggle this Muggle totally rhymes!  And, with the hat.  OMG!!!

Finally...what about this:

It's Snoop Dog, yo!  Except, instead of Money, it's Mommy!  Get it!  It's a play on words!!!

Whatever...I do what I want. 

I have, of course, purchased all of these.  And there are others.  There's a super cute Yoda hat with ears that I am excited to put on him.  He's gonna look so awesome!  

Playing with new themes

Trying to mix it up a bit.  I like this theme, but I can't figure out how to get rid of the couch.  So, if you're looking at my page while the couch is up, I'm working on it.  If you're looking after it after I have figured out how to get rid of the couch, then nevermind.

Update...ok.  That one didn't work.  I don't think there was any way to get rid of the images that Blogger chose for that theme.  So, trying another one.

I like how this one is broken into boxes.  But, it appears to look better when I add images.  So, I will need to add either images and/or video to my posts all the time so it doesn't look stupid.  So, for this one, I give you this picture!  It's of the Kardashians.  Because, that's what Google gave me when I hit "I'm feeling lucky."

Rain, Rain...go the Eff away!

This year has been tough, weather wise.

I was talking to a coworker, not that long ago.  Both of us have been in Seattle for a long time.  I forget how long for her.  But, I've been here 17 years.  We were discussing our general feeling of "blah-ness" lately.

Like, seriously...I have been down, dude.  Just generally bummed out most of the time.  She was in a similar place.

I said I thought it had something to do with the weather.  It's been dreary a lot, lately.  She says, no...we've lived here long enough.  We should be used to this annual darkness.

I disagreed...I feel like this year is worse than past years.

Turns out, I am right.

We have broken a 122 year record for rain this year.

I don't dispute the fact that Seattle is gloomy in the fall and winter months.  But, it's tolerable.  Even with my Arizona blood, I have acclimated enough to take in the regular sun breaks and eat up the amazing spring and summer weather to be able to push through the gloomy times.

Not this year.

This year, we didn't get sun breaks.  This year, there were 3 "mild and sunny" days between October and March.  And, I ain't gonna lie...it has sucked.

The sun is finally starting to pop out again.  We had a nice weekend, this past weekend.  The sunshine was broken up by spots of rain, so no day was perfect.  But, it was much more tolerable.

But, I am all done with the rain!  All done!  Go away!  Come back in November when you're invited!

Pet Peeve of the Day...Bus Jerks

UGH!  You know what I hate?  I hate assholes on the bus.  I hate them in general, but today I was annoyed by a specific type.

That type is the one that misses his stop and then gets mad at the bus driver for not accommodating him. 

I take the bus to work almost every day.  Have for years.  Even when I lived in Tacoma, I was on the 545 to dowtown Seattle every morning.  Today, I take the C Line from West Seattle to downtown.  Drops me off about 5 blocks from my office. Takes about 40 minutes. 

Here's the thing...when you are on a bus for that long, often you find yourself dozing off.  I don't doze on the bus too much because it's always standing room only and the simple fact that I am touching a stranger keeps me wide awake.  However, I get how others will doze. 

Well, when you doze, there is a chance you won't wake in time to catch your stop.  That sucks...but I get how it happens.  

However, when it happens, you should get off the bus as the next stop and how on another going the opposite direction to get you where you need to go. 

What you don't do is yell, "BACK DOOR!" at the top of your lungs 100 feet after the stop and then proceed to yell obscenities at the driver because he won't stop for you.  Drivers have a route.  And, while I have never been a bus driver, I am pretty sure there are rules they have to follow on where they can stop and open their doors.  Pretty much, at a bus stop.  Not at the next stoplight.  If they were able to do that, everyone would want to be let out as close to their home or office as possible.  Not to mention the havoc that would throw traffic into.

This isn't the first time I have seen this.  Drives me nuts.  It's my job to get off the bus when I am supposed to.  It's not the drivers job to come wake me up and then accommodate me when I oversleep.

That is all.  

Conversation Pieces - Whats better? Maui or Target?

Ok, I am sharing this story second hand.  Hopefully, I am able to properly convey it as it happened.

The scene is the car ride home from work.  The characters: Desmond and Kim.

Desmond: "I am jealous of Max R. and Edie?

Kim:  "Why?"

Desmond: "They get to go on vacation for spring break!"

Kim: "Oh yeah...where are they going?"

Desmond: "Max R. gets to go to Disneyland and Edie is going to Maui."

Kim: "Maui?!  Maui is one of my favorite places." 

Desmond: "I know.  Mine too."

Kim: "Well, Grandma is visiting for spring break this year.  And she'll probably take you to Target."

Desmond: *pause* "I honestly don't know which one is better!"

Kim:  "Really?  I know which one is better."

Desmond: "Yeah...I know.  Maui is better.  They have a Target in Maui." 

Quincy Update #6

Well, Quincy is back.  I mean, minus the eyeballs.  But, his demeanor is certainly back.  Maybe too much.  I mean, how do you tell a dog to just chill out and lie down?  You've still got stitches, dumbass!

Day 1, night 1 and most of day 2 were really hard.  QP was in obvious pain.  Crying, whimpering, panting.  It was tough.  We didn't sleep that first night.  Vet gave us some new pain meds.  I gave those to him immediately on Day 2.  Shortly after, he conked out.  That evening, while still a bit drunk, he started to bounce back.

Saturday and Sunday, fugetaboutit.  The dog won't sit still.  He'll occasionally start panting randomly.  But outside of that, he seems to be his old self.

Unfortunately, in his cone of shame, he is having a hard time getting around.  He can't feel his way around and the cone messes up his hearing...he can't tell where we're talking to him from.  This doesn't stop him from walking around all day and running into things.  He really hates the cone.  We've been taking it off once in a while, when he's lying down.  But, his stiches are getting itchy.  So, that time has become very limited.  But, despite the cone and the fact that he has no clue where he is going, Quincy insists on walking all over the house, getting lost and then whining for us to come get him.

Seriously...I can't find a purpose to his exploration.  He'll find his bed, he'll find his crate, he'll find his food...but, he won't do anything with them.  Maybe he's just exploring.  But, seriously...someone teach me how to speak dog so I can convince him just to lay his ass down and get some rest while his surgical wounds heal!

Ok, so despite my complaining at the constant clicky clack of nails on hardwood by a dog who should be resting, this whole thing makes me really happy!  The first night, I was nervous.  I thought I had put my pooch through more pain than was necessary.  But, now, now only am I happy that he appears to be bouncing back, but I am wondering if there may, in fact, be some improvements.

For example...we've suspected that Quincy is also mostly deaf.  We can call him, but he has trouble identifying where the sound is coming from.  Like, I would be on his right, I would call him and he would turn to his left...almost like he only had one working ear.  I would have to shout commands like SIT.  And...he completely stopped noticing knocks at the door.

Well, today, as I am working from home, sitting at my usual spot at the dining room table and drinking my coffee, I set my coffee cup down on the table with it's usual mild *thunk*.  And Quincy went nuts!   BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK...while trying to figure out which way he was supposed to go to attack the intruder.  He hasn't done that in a long time.  And, the thunk wasn't that loud.  This happened twice today.

Could all be in my head.  But, regardless, it makes me very happy to see him recovering so well.  This process cost us a lot of money.  And, as much as I love my dog, the practical side of me was worried that it would only make things worse or that he would still only have a few months.  But, so far, I am seeing my old Pants come back to life.  The goofy faced, stump shaking, needy little bastard that he is.

Here are some pics, in case you are wondering.

This is what we were dealing with before:

This is post cat scratch.  As a refresher, it was his left eye we were originally going to have removed.  The bulgey one.  Then the cats happened and his "good eye" became the worse eye.

Taken after I picked him up post surgery.  He was much more energetic than I expected.  My guess is that he was probably a little freaked out and happy to see me.

 Desmond has felt pretty bad for QP this whole time.  But, now that he is showing his old self, Desmond is adjusting well to his eyeless pooch.

This is from this morning.  For the 15 seconds I got him to stay on his mat.  Shorty after this, he was moving around again and I threw the cone back on.  His new Halo arrives today.  That should help him out, as well.  Good thing he doesn't have eyes so he can't see how ridiculous he looks in it.

Yes...it looks a little bit "American Horror Story."  But, as the vet said, it's purely cosmetic and is a bigger deal for us than it is for him.  I do miss his eyes.  They had personality!  But, I am happy he's not living with a constant headache, anymore.

Now if only he will sit still long enough for them to fully heal!!

Quincy Update 5

THE EYES ARE OUT!

It's funny, at the beginning of all this, I was sad that QP had to lose an eye.  Now I am relieved that the eyes are out.

The surgery went well.  No complications.  Both eyes are out.  He's still puffy, but that is supposed to go down in the next 48 hours.

Unfortunately, he seems to be in a lot of pain, now.  When I picked him up, the Dr (different Dr. than the one that chewed me out) mentioned that he suspects Quincy is probably already feeling some relief.  Unfortunately, when the anesthesia wore off, I don't think that's the case, anymore.  

We didn't get much sleep last night.  It's pretty pathetic.  He whines a lot, right now.  Just lays there and cries.  It's heartbreaking.  Just spoke to the vet and we're gonna get some new meds to manage the pain.  Supposedly, right now is supposed to be the worst of it.  I hope that's the case because, man he's making me sad.

I'll post a picture a bit later after the swelling goes down.  Right now, he looks really sad.  He probably is really sad.  You guys have seen enough sad Quincy pics, lately.  I'll wait until he's looking a bit better to show him off again.

Quincy Update Part 4

And the saga continues.

First of all...if you own cats, keep them in the house.

On Saturday, Quincy started favoring his right eye (the one the cat scratched) again.  Keeping it closed and flinching if we got too close.  Then, Saturday afternoon, it got HUGE!  He was clearly in pain.  Sunday night was rough.  Panting, whining.  Sunday, we gave him his pain pills and tried to keep him comfy.  I mean, he's scheduled to have both eyes removed on Monday.

Well...apparently I am a horrible pet owner.  Took him in to the ophthalmologist this morning.  She looked at it and chewed me out for not calling them.  Apparently, due to the swelling, he can't have surgery (again).  We need to get the swelling down.  And, she's concerned about my lack of communication because I should have called.

I informed her this just happened.  Started Saturday after afternoon/evening, blew up on Sunday when they were closed.

But, I know they're on call, she tells me.  He should have been been on anti-biotics as soon as we saw this.  So...I suck.

Anyway...I was presented with 2 options.  Do the surgery, but Quincy's eye is at high risk to "dehiscence."  Her preference is to send him home with a heavy anti-biotic treatment and get the swelling down.  There's no guarantee that it will work.  But, she wants to try.  So, we're trying.

This is all very tiring.  It's been emotional already, just thinking of the surgery this pooch has to go through.  But, this is the second time I have prepared myself for it only to have it not happen.  He is clearly in pain.  And, seeing him in pain hurts me.  I have to keep asking myself if this is all worth it for the little guy.  Am I just doing all this and spending this money for myself?  I can't answer that.  Most likely at some level that's true.  I told myself this morning that if they wouldn't do the surgery, then it was probably time for the next step.  I even asked the doctor if we should be considering that.  She said "No...he just needs to lose the eyes, at this point."  But, when the heck will he lose the eyes?

At this point, he'll lose them on Thursday.  But, none of us can keep doing this.

Here's what he looks like, btw.