Hey Buddy, Can You Spare A Lung?

5 days and counting--I've been stricken with a nasty chest/head cold.

I spent my entire weekend cloistered in house working on removing my lungs out from under my rib cage--

one.hacking.cough.at.a.time.

I've managed to spread my plague to Lord V.

What's love if you can't share everything?

HM?

Good times, Peeps. Good times.

A Few Chanda Pics

I loaded a few Chanda--Columbia Gorge pics.

If you wish to see: http://akatseyeview.blogspot.com

A Tease...Cuz Jadey Whined :)

I took a pic on our trip to the Gorge with my iPhone.



The wind was so strong it almost whipped the phone from my hand!

Chanda Goes To The Gorge

I took a much needed half day off of work yesterday.

It was a luscious 70+ degrees outside so I packed Chanda's bag and Lord V and I piled into his little convertible and took off to the Columbia Gorge.


It's been awhile since I've been to the Gorge, even though its only 35 miles East of our home. A lot of the scenic views are now obstructed by massive tree growth which made taking pictures a bit tricky.

Lord V was very sweet and zoomed off to multiple outlets on the road so I could clamber out and snap pictures. Most of the pictures I ended up taking was in the little town of Stevenson.

A quaint picturesque town. There was this massive tree growing up against a auto parts store that had been painted a vivid royal blue. A stunning sight to see.

My eyes were too tired after our trip to do much photo editing--so I will attempt to upload some of Chanda's pics tonight or tomorrow.

It was such a relaxing time.

*sigh*

Good times. Good times :)

Hurrah for Sunshine!!

After months of grey soggy days--
The sun is here!

30 more minutes of work and then I'm off to frolic in it :)

I snapped some pictures (with my iPhone) during my lunchtime.

Go HERE if you wish to share in my joy.

*big happy grin*

Humpday Funny

Go HERE!

MiniWarrior in Action!

MiniWarrior has begun his Warrior training.

Booya!

Strange Sightings

On my way home Thursday morning from dropping MiniWarrior off at school, I turned onto the ramp that takes me home and a coyote stood on the side of the road.

I slowed to a crawl and stared at him.

He stared back at me with intense yellow eyes then trotted to the other side of the road.

I am a fan of Charlie the coyote on the blog The Daily Coyote and squeaked out CHARLIE! when I saw the coyote :)

Definite feral eyes but my heart squeezed a bit at his scared look when he crossed the road.

He had obviously wandered out of his known element and was lost.

For My Little Sister

You are in my heart.

A Little Levity

Walking back from a Starbucks run this morning, I came across a construction worker who was lifting some poles away from a tree he had propped them up against.

"Hm, my what big poles you have." I said.

He stood holding his poles and shot me a slightly shocked/dazed look of:

did I hear her correctly?!

I grinned and waggled my eyebrows at him

and as I continued on my way...

he howled with laughter, leaning against the tree with one hand while wiping tears of mirth with his other.

Is It Wrong To Want More?

I was given a project to work on when I was in High School so many, many years ago.

I was to create a scrapbook of what I wished for in my future.

I can't remember what I put in my scrapbook. I can only remember my disgust at the responses of the majority of the girls in my class.

They filled their books with ring sizes, house sizes, X amount of children, location of home and what colors their weddings would be.

I remember thinking "That's it? That's all you want?"

Now that I'm older I hear the same sort of talk from my peers.

They seem content with the idea of working til retirement, having a couple of grand kids and then fading off into nonexistence when they are in their 90's.

Again I find myself saying, "That's it? That's all you want?"

And...again...my scrapbook is blank.

I don't have any ideas of what it is I want...I just know...I want more.

I feel guilty uttering those words.

Guilty for there are many who do not have the wonderful things I have been given.

Guilty for having good health when there are those dear to me who are fighting for their very lives.

And yet, something still cries inside me.

I don't want to be content with working til I retire, having a grand kid and then fading away when I'm old.

I want to leave something of myself behind.

I want to mark this earth with an image created by my hand that says

Kat was here

I want

More.

Is that wrong?

They're Ba~aaack!

I can't remember if I blogged about this horrifying incident so I shall do so now.

When we first moved into this house (a year ago), it was Springtime and I was a rookie as to what that meant when one lives along the river during fishing season.

The river literally becomes covered with large men crammed into tiny fishing boats who wait patiently from predawn til post sunset for an attempt to catch an allusive Salmon.

One morning, while Lord V was away and MiniWarrior was at his Dad's house, I took a leisurely bath in the whirlpool tub, dragged myself out and after a brisk rub down with a towel, sauntered towards my closet to pick out some clothes for the day.

Walking by the bedroom, I thought "Hm, I really should put fresh sheets on the bed" and ambled over to begin briskly whipping off the sheets and putting on clean ones.

I was in mid stretch, struggling to pull the fitted sheet over the bed, when I got an odd sensation of being watched.

I turned my head and there...there... standing like deer in a headlight on their bobbing fishing boat, were two men looking through my (floor to ceiling)bedroom windows!

I yelped then hunched down to do a frantic sort of crab scuttle out of the bedroom and into the closet.

Now, a year later? I'm a bit wiser and keep the curtains CLOSED during fishing season!

A side story to this one:

I was telling the lady who helps clean our house (lets call her Sheri) this story the other day when she remarked at all the boats bobbing outside our house.

She laughed and exclaimed at how embarrassing that would be.

Mm hm. Yeah.

Next morning?

I awoke at 5AM to the sound of Lord V chuckling. I pried one eyeball open and peered blearily at him.

"What" I mumbled.

"Look!" He said, pointing towards the windows. "Sheri left the curtains open just for you!"

I rolled over and looked.

Yes indeedly.

The curtains were open midway and I could see the shape of a fishing boat bobbing in the predawn shadows...

ARGH

Humpday Giggle

An old Iowa farmer went to town to see a movie:
The Ticket Agent asked, "Sir, what's that on your shoulder?"
The old farmer said, "That's my pet rooster Chuck. Wherever I go, Chuck goes."
"I'm sorry, Sir, said the Ticket Agent. "We can't allow animals in the theater."
The old farmer went around the corner and stuffed Chuck down his overalls. Then he returned to the booth, bought a ticket, and entered the theater.
He sat down next to two old widows named Mildred and Marge.
The movie started and the rooster began to squirm. The old farmer unbuttoned his fly so Chuck could stick his head out and watch the movie.
"Marge," whispered Mildred.
"What?" said Marge.
"I think the guy next to me is a pervert."
"What makes you think so?" asked Marge.
"He undid his pants and he has his thing out", whispered Mildred.
"Well don't worry about it", said Marge. "At our age we've seen them all."
"I thought so too", said Mildred, "But this one's eatin' my popcorn!"

Navy Captain (Funny Commercial)

*snork*

Monday Ponderings

Still trying to build up reasons to justify buying this.



...

*sigh*

It would be so cool to be able to work on the tiny details of my photos.

One Claw Up and a Purr

Took MiniWarrior to see "Race To Witch Mountain" today.

Pretty good movie for a kids flick.

It was nostalgic for me to see it with my kid as I remember vividly watching the original "Escape To Witch Mountain" when I was about his age.

The boy, in my opinion, stole the show. I'm guessing we'll see him in other things.

And the "Rock" was delicious eye candy, as always ;)



Loach wanted to know who "The Rock" was...



I understand you not knowing who he was, Laochie.

It's a girl thing ;)

purrrr purrrrr purrrrr purrrr...

Homeward Bound...

No Chanda trip to the Gorge this weekend. MiniWarrior is not feeling so well and the sunshine is supposed to disappear.

*sigh*

I did have a very nice visit with the realtor lady who helped Lord V and I find our house. She is such a character I just love hanging with her. She always makes me laugh.

She is one of those genuine people that throw their whole heart into helping people. A treasure.

We spent the morning/afternoon with her and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Tomorrow--if MiniWarrior feels well enough--I plan on taking him to go see the Witch mountain movie. I remember watching that show on Disney growing up so I'm really looking forward to seeing the remake with my son.

Plus? The ROCK is in it.

'nuff said. ;)

I spent some time working on my Air Museum pics and plan on putting some of them up at my akatseyeview blog this tonight or tomorrow.

I've been reading the book "The Incredible Journey" to MiniWarrior. I saw a DVD movie of it in the grocery aisle Wednesday and snapped it up for him. He's watching it right now and laughing at Chance.

I'm (of course) partial to Sassy-the-cat.

I admit. When the old dog finally saw Peter again? I was a sniveling mess on the sofa. MiniWarrior nodded sagely at me when he saw my tears and said,

"It kinda pokes at your insides, doesn't it Mom?"

I couldn't have said it better.

Bring On The Sunshine!

Another Work week gone in T minus 98 minutes.

WOO!

I've been jonesing to take Chanda on a road trip up the Columbia Gorge but the weather has been too crazy.

Today the sun decided to poke its head out although the wind was still a bit bitey...but tomorrow promises to be a warmer day--so...

I received a happy email from Lord V this afternoon suggesting that we head to the Gorge tomorrow!!

Wee!!

Happy Kat.

Happy Kat!

Weekend Goodness :)

Spent the weekend with friends at a Beach house they rented on the Oregon Coast.

We really had a nice time relaxing and hanging out with each other.

You know how you can have many acquaintance friends but then there is a small pocket within those friends that you end up spending the most time with, like a little family?

I adore them and love it when all our schedules mesh so we can be together, if only for a day or two.

The weather was crazy. Snow, hail, rain, sunshine. It seems March doesn't quite know what she wants to do weather wise.

Sunday, after hugging everyone goodbye, Lord V and I headed up the coast to get some good Chanda picture capturing time in.

The rain was slashing down and then suddenly a pocket of sunshine smiled down and I clambered out of my truck to snap some shots.

The water was wild, stirred up to a frothy white. Seagulls flew in and out of the spray the waves were tossing high into the air. The air was thick with fine salt mist. I licked my lips and it was like slicking a salt lick!

On our way home we stopped by an air museum in Tillamook Oregon. The hanger was created during the 2nd world war to house the blimps. It was MASSIVE.

I tried to capture the size of this place but could not aptly do so. I will post pics of it when I have time to upload them in the next few days.

For now? You can see a few pics of our weekend at akatseyeview

Good times, Peeps.

Good times :)

MiniWarrior~ism

Mom?

Yes, Son?

I think I'm gonna just have a girlfriend instead of a wife.

Oh? How come?

'Cuz if I get married then I'll have kids and they'll be stubborn!

For Sale! One Slightly Used Soul...

Sweet mother of pearl...

I have found the perfect mate for Chanda.

Her dowry is a pricey 1k

But she is worth it.

Now...to find a buyer for my soul so I can afford it!!

http://www.wacom.com/cintiq/cintiq-12wx.php

An Evening Hike

I arrived home a bit earlier then usual from work yesterday evening.
It was still light out and the sun shone happily through open patches of clouds.

I stared out the window for a few minutes, reveling in the light then stepped out the back door and into the fresh air.

Beside our house are several acres of wooded wetlands. My feet turned towards it and I found myself hiking into the thick brush.

I climbed over fallen logs and picked my way through vine covered underbrush. It was slow going but each step that I took brought me deeper into a magical place where trees swaying in the wind whispered a soft melody to me.

A rain cloud passed over the sun and flung tiny icy raindrops on me but there, in the shelter of the trees, I raised my face and let them splash onto my skin.

A flock of seagulls, tiny specks of white against the black of the rain cloud, flew past skimming the tree tops.

The cloud moved on and the skies cleared. A half sliver of the moon smiled down at me through the lace of the tree branches towering high above me.

I felt a momentary pang that I hadn't brought Chanda with me to capture this but somehow it felt right. This solitary moment free from the things from my other world.

I stayed until the sun faded and the cool evening air began to pluck through my clothing biting into my skin.

I followed a tiny animal trail back to the gate of the woods and stepped out of the magic back into my regular world.

I walked the parameters of the yard and finally back to the house, flicked my mud covered shoes under the alcove of the terrace and stepped through the terrace doors and into the inviting warmth of home.

Lord V smiled at me over his magazine and I walked softly over to the bar filling a tiny champagne flute with water, arranging tiny purple flowers brought back from my wanderings inside it.

I set the little vase beside a larger one that held the first daffodils of the season, I had picked a few days earlier, then went about the business of making dinner while my insides hummed a soft happy tune.

For Cindy

If you have a moment, please go HERE and offer a tiny bit of cheer to Cindy--a fellow blogget.

She has recently lost her best friend to Cancer.

Nothing can fix the loss.

Nothing can change what is.

But a moment of cheer when mired in darkness goes a long way towards the first steps of healing.


Sending hugs to Cindy and her family.

Its A Germ War Out There!

Everyone I know (with exception of my little family) are sick.

Sick with some bronchial flu bug.

I've fortified my little family with the complete arsenal to head this off before it hits us.

Airborn? CHECK

Lysol? CHECK

Vitamins? CHECK

Hand Sanitizer? CHECK

Alcohol? CHECK. CHECK and...CHECK.

Everywhere I turn people are hacking and wheezing spewing flu germs into the air.

ARGH!

One guy came into work yesterday clutching his left lung he had just hacked out.

When I questioned him as to why he was at work as he wasn't scheduled to be here he said:

"Oh, I figure I'd better stay away from home so my wife and kids don't get this."

Gee.

Thanks

*grinds teeth and pops another airborn tablet*

Fang Issues

Took MiniWarrior to the dentist this weekend.

Apparently he has fang issues.

Two of his adult fangs have other teeth trying to come in behind them and are pressing on them corrupting the fangs.

He has to have surgery to have them removed :( then we need to discuss what to do after that in regards to braces. (gah!)

Poor little guy. He has no idea what's in store in his near future :(

Blog Slackah and a MiniWarrior Moment

Yes, I realize that I've become a dreadful blog slacker.

I do have an excuse though!

I maintain 3 blogs now so its hard to update them all every day.

If you don't know which other ones they are (yet)

http://akatseyeview.blogspot.com (photoblog where I put images Chanda captures)

http://iphone-city.blogspot.com (a photoblog where I put all pics taken with my iPhone of the city Portland where I work)

Now for other news...

I was riding bikes with MiniWarrior up and down our street the other day. He has officially out grown a little kids bike and now rides a 22 speed mans bike. (sigh).

We got to the top of the hill at the end of the street and before I could give my usual Mom admonishment of "look out for cars"... he paused and looked seriously at me.

"Mom, when I ring my bike bell, that means that you need to look out for cars, OK?"

"Good idea, Son. I'll ring mine if I see one too."

"No, Mom. I'll do it. You leave it to me. I'll protect you."

I looked at my not so little man staring across at me with adult eyes and felt a melting and a twinge inside me.

God, he's growing up before my eyes

I find myself clinging to each childhood moment with him now for they are swiftly disappearing into the wonderful man he is becoming.

Lookie!!

I received a call at work yesterday from one of my friends.

Me: Hello?

Friend: When are you going to be home?

Me: 5?

Friend: I'll be there. I got you something you're gonna love!

Me: Really? What?? WHAT??

Friend: Ain't tellin'. See you at 5!

I zoomed home after work. My friend along with her daughter had beat me there.

She grinned real big and handed me this.

I opened it and found this!



Girl squeal!!



!!!!!!



XOXO to my friend!!

Tick Tock

Tick Tock

Clicky-Clock

Go HERE to see more Valentines Day Cruise pics!

I Wonder If This Would Work On Cats?

Baby Mop makes your kid work for his bottle

If you have a baby, the chances are good that it's not pulling its weight around the house. You feed it, you provide a roof over its head and you change its diapers. The least it could do would be to help clean up around the place.
That's possible with the Baby Mop, an outfit for your baby that cleans while it crawls. It's a genius product, really. Now only if you could figure out how to get a baby to make you a cocktail at the end of the day we'd be all set.

Valentine Cruise

**UPDATE** I have posted a couple of pics of our cruise HERE!

Lord V and I spent Valentines Day on the Portland Spirit; a ship that offers dinner while they cruise along the Willamette river in Oregon.

I purchased a Valentine colored handbag and used it to smuggle Chanda aboard so I could capture images of our cruise.

Lord V was very sweet and endured bracing cold weather to hang with me above deck while I zoomed around the deck snapping as many pictures as I could.

I would pause from time to time to enjoy the scenery outside Chanda's eye view and used those moments to snuggle with Lord V, nestling in his warmth!

I will post some pics when I have time this weekend. There were some amazing sights of mansions that lined the shores of the Willamette!

I think my favorite sight was the maze of bridges that we drifted under that criss- crossed the Willamette into the city.

XOXOX to my Lord V for an amazing Valentine adventure :)

Pre-Valentine Calastetics by Dr. Guido

Look, Peeps. Has the thought of Valentines Day gotten you down?



Afraid you won't be able to squeeze into the red lil' sexy scrap of lace you've got shoved in back of your lingerie drawer?




Don't despair! Dr. Guido is here to fix you up with a fast and easy exercise program that's mrowrverlous for the belly and thighs



Guar-en-teed to leave your mate a purrring.



Everyone ready now?

Leg UP!



And One and Two and Three and Four



And



One and Two and Three and Four



And




One and Two and Three and Four



Oh yeah. Feel the burn, Baby. Feel. The. Burn.



And Three and Four and



Alright! Shake it off now. Let's relax. You've done a fabulous job!




Get some rest cuz tomorrow? We PARTAY!!



HAPPY VALENTINES DAY, PEEPS!

Humday Goodness!

Hmm yep. You guessed it.

It's my Friday!

WOOP!

Although with my bad Thursday/weekend karma of late, I'm a little nervous to start celebrating my weekend...

One of my coworkers recommended that I go to his Chiropractor. I did, yesterday and it was quite the experience.

First...the Chiropractor didn't *crunch* on my bones or adjust me with any ominous *snap* *crackle* and *popping*

What she did was run a laser machine contraption over my body over and over while strange quacking noises told her where my body was miss-alligned and needed work.

She "adjusted" me by gently tapping on pressure points.

The entire time I lay on her table a skeptical dialog was going through my head.

What the shizzle is she doing?

What the hell is that quacking noise?

I'm so gonna be a participant on Oprah for people who loved to be scammed.

Well...at least its only 35 dollars.

What could it hurt?

Folks, I gotta say.

It was possibly the most bizzaro medical experience I've ever gone through--but today? I'm pain free.

Absolutely. Pain. Free.

And?

I'm going back on Saturday for some more "adjustment"...

So it goes to prove. Sometimes bizzaro medicine? Is all it's quacked up to be!

Home Today

I am home from work today. Still laid up with back troubles.

A very good friend of mine who is a professional masseuse came over last night and worked me over. (Have I mentioned how much I love my friends?!!)

It hurt like heck but helped. She and I ended up laughing hysterically mid massage as I'm very ticklish and kept waffling between yelps of pain and squirming laughter.

I lay in the hot soothing whirlpool afterwards til I resembled my 82year old mother...

Alas, the pain slowly crept back during the evening. I'm glad I took the day off of work.

I can (finally) sleep at night but it's fitful as the pain awakens me and demands I move into another sleeping position.

I feel like a 5'4 flopping Salmon dressed in Hello Kitty PJ's.

For those of you who live with chronic back pain...I commiserate deeply with you.

I know this will eventually pass once the inflamed nerves settle down.

It's just hard not to sulk in the mean time.

ARGH!

Best laid plans...

I woke up Thursday morning with a terrible backache and stiff neck.

I spent the entire weekend battling it with meds and heating pads, etc.

I have no idea what I did to my back. I suspect its some kind of weird flu that's attacking a weak spot.

Very strange but...

Lord V took wonderful care of me and today I'm well enough to attempt work. Rah. Rah.

Saturday plans of a Chanda trip to the Gorge were not met (obviously) but I did have a moment of joy!

MiniWarrior was playing pirate and buried a pirate treasure box in the woods beside our house.

He made a map and informed us that at 5pm he was going to dig up his treasure.

Lord V and I chuckled and I assumed the (by then) half rotted treasure chest would be dug up someday by a stranger years later...but I underestimated my MiniPirate.

He faithfully watched the clock and let us know in minute increments that it was soon to be 5pm. Pirate treasure time!

Exactly at 5pm, with pirate map, shovel and plastic machine gun in hand (he's a progressive pirate)...he tromped out to the woods to unearth his treasure.

Lord V and I trailed behind him and I managed to document it with the video setting on one of my cameras.

Dang kid cracks me up!

Yer Humpday My Friday...

WEE!!

I have absolutely nothing to blog about other then to brag about it being my Friday.

Sad, ain't it?

I'm not free yet, though.

Gotta 'nuther 1 1/2 hours to go.

No grand weekend plans.

Gotta take my baby truck to the dealership tomorrow morning for some repair.

Some snow chains went rogue and flew off my front tire in their bid for freedom and gouged a hole in my wheel well liner--ripping a few wires in the process.

Grr.

If its sunny on Saturday? I hope to drive Chanda, Lord V and MiniWarrior out to the Columbia Gorge to capture some pics. I've been jonesing to get out there but the weather hasn't cooperated.

*pokes a sulky tongue at Winter*

Y'all have a grand Humpday!

Hide It Under A Bush...OH NO!

I'm gonna let it shine...




I found this disturbing item this morning.

WTF, my Peeps?

W.T.F.

To Sleep A Good Sleep...

For years now I've been living with 4-5 hours of sleep a night.

This? Is due to me being a rebel and having not quite grown up (yet).

It seems I'm always busy and never have enough personal time.

So, I try and make time by staying up longer so I can enjoy some "me" time.

Guess what?

When you grow past 40 years of age?

The candle you've been burning at both ends becomes a pathetic burnt out stump!

*sigh*

I've decided to (finally) grow up a bit and get my sad, creaky, tired body to bed on time.

Sunday night I got 7 1/2 hours of sleep. And last night? 7

I know, right?

Usually I get that much in an entire work week!

*ssssssssssssstretch*

*ahhhhhh*

Yeah.

I'm feelin' good.

This being "mature" thing just "might" be OK.

"Might".

*clutches my hello kitty to my bosom and pokes a tongue at you all*

Do They Make Hello Kitty JockStraps?

So I came into work today all excited to talk to the guys at work about the big game.

My glee was met with a lip curls, full body shudders and followed by the words:

We don't watch football!

I just stared at them thinking

Sweet Jesus, I'm working with the Big Bang cast!

Apparently Geeks do not do sports.

I felt a gleam of hope when my boss came in and asked us if we watched the game.

I said Hell ya! All sorts of happy to finally have someone to talk to about the game!

I yammered excitedly about nachos and beer consumption and winning toe touch touchdowns.

We exclaimed our amazement about the 100 yard interception by the Steeler line backer and the marvelous ending touchdown to the game...

And then?

He said, " I don't usually watch football. I did this time cuz I love the puppy bowl. Did you watch the puppy bowl? They had kittens during the puppy bowl halftime! They were so cute!"

And his Superbowl drink of choice?

Pomegranate tea.

Christ on a crutch.

I swear I had to make a bathroom run to see if somehow the Universe had turned on its axis and I might now need a jock strap to hold my "junk" in.

Which has me wondering.

Do they make Hello Kitty Jockstraps?