My Backyard Moat...

It has been raining and raining and raining...and now my backyard has a moat of it's own!!!  However, in my house a little water has never stopped playtime...I have Labs and they LOVE water!

How Many Blondes Does It Take To Change A Light Bulb???

Pretty sure when you go to unscrew a burned out light bulb to replace it with a shiny new one it is not supposed to come out of the socket with out it's base!?!  Now I have the open metal base connected to a live socket and no bulb...hmmm.  I called Mom for ideas and she said she'd heard you could use a potato but I didn't have any.  In the end, with the breaker turned off I was able to unscrew the metal base without getting electrocuted and a new light proudly shines in the socket where this bulb casualty took place!

When idioms attack!!!

Dad had hip replacement surgery today and now has a literal hitch in his giddy-up!  Working at a hospital he was actually able to take home an example of the "ball hitch" component they use during surgery and it really looked just like what you see on the back end of a truck!  The photos here are similar to what he had, because I forgot to take a photo of the real thing when he showed me!

Urgent Care...Yet Again...Not for those with weak stomachs!

Frustrated...sick...tired...uncomfortable!!!  This is now my 3rd trip to the Urgent Care since October 7th because I'm STILL sick and feeling like crap!  I haven't had the energy to do anything and I've gotten very

slack with my bootcamp attendance.  By the time I get up and get ready for work I want to go back to sleep, but obviously I can't, so I head to work.  I am not typically a teacher to sit at my desk, I stand and roam the room during classes but not this month, I simply don't have the energy!  For weeks now I have been battling fevers, sore throats, and constantly (at least it seemed) inflamed swollen, spotted tonsils that made turning my head uncomfortable!  So far, on the first 2 visits to the Urgent Care they tested me for Strep Throat which came out negative both times and gave me antibiotics for the tonsil issue.  Each time, about half way through the antibiotics my tonsils would clear up and look normal again but a couple days past the 10 day regime they'd become grotesquely inflamed again!  This nastiness (for the 3rd time) and the fact that something is still attacking my body is what brings me back to the Urgent Care yet again!  The physician's assistant walked into the room and I swear he was carrying a Strep test in his hand and it took everything I had not to explode!!!  I calmly asked him and when he confirmed it was in fact a Strep test I refused to let him use it!  Seriously, did he read my file?!?  I've already been tested for Strep twice with negative results BOTH times and he thinks I'm gonna agree to it again, NO?!?  He looked a bit shocked at my reaction and excused himself from my room.  A doctor returned and I begged him to figure out what the heck was wrong with me and to please test me for ANYTHING but Strep!  At this point he obliged, and took me to get blooddrawn to test for Epstein-Barr virus, HSV1 (a herpes strain?!), and against his will, he went ahead and tested me for Mononucleosis, saying that people my age (over 30) rarely test positive for Mono because by that age you've probably been exposed and built up antibodies for it.  Anyway, he sent me home with a 3rd round of antibiotics and a script for Prednisone (a steroid to help the swelling in my tonsils go down).  He told me they'd call me for a return/results visit in about 4 days.  So guess what, all my tests were negative (thank goodness) except one...yup, this 32 year old girl tested positive for MONO!!!  No wonder I'd been so stinkin' fatigued!   To think I've been living with this for nearly a MONTH simply because it wasn't standard practice to test people over 30 for Mono!!!  It's known as the kissing disease, but can also live outside the body on food and surfaces for a time (if someone has coughing or sneezing symptoms) so I talked to Paul even though he wasn't experiencing any symptoms himself.  He confirmed that there WAS a girl in his office that currently had it right now!  Paul's brother had Mono as

a kid and so according to the doctor, Paul probably had been exposed as a child and built up the antibodies and therefore could spread it to me but not experience symptoms himself.  Who knows, but it's plausible?!?  Lord knows I haven't shared food, drinks, or kisses with anyone else (thanks to Mom...I'm a bit of a germaphobe when it comes to sharing food, drinks, chapstick, etc...probably why I wasn't exposed to Mono as a child or teenager)!  :-)

Urgent Care Visit...Warning, Kinda Gross!!!

I haven't felt all that well for a few days now.  I've been trying to tell myself that I must've caught some type of bacteria from our Lake Buena Vista trip because no one was sick around me and I rarely get sick enough that a dose or two of Nyquil and a good night's sleep doesn't fix!  My tonsils were swollen and my throat was on fire!  I had a date on Saturday and didn't want to feel this terrible, so I broke down,left work a little early (hoping to beat the after work crowd)  and went to the Urgent Care.  They tested me for strep throat but it came back negative.  They gave me and antibiotic and sent me on my way (nearly 2 hours later)!  Fingers crossed it does the trick!

A Termite Threat Calls for a BIG Black Circus Tent!?!

Mom had found some suspicious sand-like deposits near a couple door frames and hired a termite company to come check it out and give her suggestions on what it is and how to fix it.  The guy determined that the sandy stuff Mom had found was in-fact drywood termite pellets and he also found a couple strange mud tube cocoon-like structures that were evidence of subterranean termites that live in the ground.  Long story short, he suggested a combination of in-ground pesticide that would essentially create a protective moat around her house and a tent to kill anything living in the wood.  So we packed up photos and things in plastic to protect them and did all the other preparatory prerequisites from the list the guy gave her, then she packed an "essentials" suitcase and moved in with me for a few days!

Uh Oh...that's not supposed to happen!!!

It's Monday, June 20th, 2011 and I'd just gotten home after teaching summer school and running errands.  When I tried to unlock my back door to go inside the entire lock mechanism came out WITH my key!!!  Now, I'm no expert but I am pretty sure that THIS is not supposed to happen!!!  When I mentioned this to other people everyone quickly jumped to the conclusion that someone had tampered with the lock trying to break into my house.  I wasn't so convinced because the lock had been giving me trouble for weeks now.  Every time (before this) I

 had to jiggle the key around to get it to turn and the last couple days I actually had to steady the knob with my other hand to remove the key.  It seemed to be getting looser and looser until today, when it simply gave up and fell out I guess?!?  I gotta get it fixed one of these days though because I've already locked myself out a few times by twisting the bottom lock as I leave the house (out of habit) but from the outside there's no way to untwist the lock so I then have to go around to the front door to get in!  Problem is, installing a new lock means a new key or a locksmith to come out and key it the same as the rest of the house and all of that is just a pain--hence I have not yet fixed it!  

What Busy Looks Like!!!

With everything that's been going on in the last couple of weeks--crazy days at work (some longer than they should be as the spring semester gets rolling) and boot camp every morning I find myself with barley enough time to make it from one place to the next! This particular day I knew my gas gauge was low and my car said I had 20-some miles left before empty on my way to boot camp and I had every intention to stop at 6am on my way home so it'd be full for my drive to work. One problem though, in my haste to leave by 5am I forgot to bring my debit card and I didn't have any cash in the car so getting gas after class didn't happen. So my next plan was to get ready as quickly as possible so I'd have enough time to stop before work. One thing lead to another and once again I found myself without enough time...as I drove to work I watched the miles count down closer and closer to empty. The gauge said I had 17 miles left and work is about 13-15 miles away (I've never really clocked it) so I figured I'd make it. I knew that if I made it there were 3 gas stations right on the corner by school so I wouldn't need to go far after school. I drove into the school parking lot with 2 miles left according to my gauge and was relieved! After school Kim and I walked to the parking lot together when she realized she'd parked in the front lot that day and asked if I'd drive her around (of course I said yes, but admittedly I panicked a little to myself!). The gauge clicked down to one remaining mile as we arrived at her car and I told her to keep an eye out for me on the side of the road, because I may need a push into the gas station! I said goodbye quickly and made my way to get gas. As I pulled into the station my gauge clicked down to ZERO! So as you may have guessed, I did make it and was amazed at how accurate my car monitored my gas levels. I put $50 dollars worth of gas back into it and it STILL didn't fill it up! Note to self, make time to get gas sooner because it's not worth the stress on me or my fuel injector I'm sure! :)

Crazy Rain & Flooding in Bakersfield!?!?!

So here we are, it's my 2-week Christmas Break and the stinking weather is forecast to be rainy THE WHOLE WEEK!!! Luckily there were a few days of reprieve now and again which was just long enough for things to dry out a bit before the next downpour hit! In a matter of a few days Bakersfield got record amounts of rain and we almost attained our annual rainfall estimate within these 2 short weeks of December! Our canyon roads were blocked due to massive rock slides...down south they were dealing with unbelievable mudslides and all around workers were busy trying to keep roads clear of water and debris. The city was handing out free sandbags for people who couldn't keep the water away from their homes. I was lucky, my backyard was a daily lake that would eventually soak up into a sponge-like marshy consistency when the rains stopped, but it stayed away from the house. Mom's house wasn't so lucky...her drains just couldn't keep up as you can see in the photos! On two or three different days I went over to help sweep the water away and twice we had to let water out of the pool because the rain had caused it to rise so much that it was almost overflowing! However, on Thursday Dec. 23rd (the one in the photos) the water on the patio came all the way in and ended up about 4 inches deep! On a previous day we'd moved all of the patio furniture as far back as possible but it was not far enough for this day! We'd gotten over an inch of rain in about an hour and it had been steadily raining prior to that! With the ground already saturated the water had no place to go and after that 1-hour downpour all the planters were overflowing, the pool was overflowing, the neighbors' yard was overflowing into mom's yard and the patio was already underwater! So we opened the main drain in the bottom of the pool (which then sends the water out to the street through a big hose) and got all the water out by sweeping it from the patio into the pool. The pool ended up looking like a swamp but we figured we could fix that later and besides...the planters had been overflowing dirt and worms into it for days now! Our plan had worked--the water was gone and the forecast actually called for a partially sunny Christmas Eve with rain expected to return Saturday afternoon for Christmas. We all decided that Friday the 24th would be the best day to drive to Exeter to visit Grandma Nita & the cousins to celebrate Christmas because we wouldn't have to wonder if things were flooding while we were gone! Then on Saturday the 25th with the help of Wayne (really we just helped him) we dug out some of the drain pipes to see why they couldn't move the water out...and what we found was unreal! Wayne cut a section of pipe and with plenty of brute force pulled out a snake like clog made of roots, dirt, and God knows what that was a full 4 inches in diameter and at least 3 feet long before it broke! Clearly that anaconda of muck was the reason water struggled to pass through! He got out as much as he could from the pipe that went underneath the cement slab and then replaced the pipe we could get to with a thicker pipe in hopes the roots wouldn't penetrate and grow inside of it again!

Man Made Carpet Catastrophe!

For years now, I have had cool mats for Baylie (especially in summertime) because she has so much hair and tends to run hot anyway! I've always bought the Canine Cooler brand and had never had problems with them before. Once I had Ginger too I decided to buy one for each of them and I found that the Cool Bed III was cheaper (NOW I KNOW WHY!!!). Ginger's barely lasted a summer before it began leaking because she tends to be rough with things, but Baylie's was nearly 2 years old before I caught it oozing water! During Christmas break I got online to try and order new ones in hopes that the off-season price would be low enough to purchase the Canine Cooler brand again. I was able to get them for better than half off but this is NOT where the story ends! When I went to get her old one outta the bed room I lifted it up to realize the WHOLE underside of it had green and black mold spots all over it!!! The smell was overwhelming the minute I lifted up the vinyl bed--I almost gagged! I spent the next week carpet cleaning with special cleansers made to remove mold smells and when that didn't work I resorted to bleach in hopes it would kill the smell. Sadly all the bleach did is make my bedroom smell toxic and the moldy smell was mixed in! It was unlivable and the girls and I were displaced into the spare bedroom for most of my vacation! Knowing it was hopeless after pulling back the carpet (after the 4 attempts to shampoo it) and seeing the HUGE stain I decided it was time to come up with a plan B! I went to a few different stores getting quotes and suggestions for flooring and decided to go with the faux wood laminate. I began by taking home sample after sample trying to decide upon a color. Once I did, I set up an appointment for the earliest possible--for two reasons; I was still off work and could be home and because I really wanted my bedroom back! Stay tuned for the upcoming photos of my new floor!

Our 1st Visit to the 24hour Emergency Vet.

It was Friday night (10-29-10) after one of the loooonngggeeessst weeks I'd had in a while and it was around 11:00 at night. I was going through the standard nighttime routine of taking the girls outside to pee just before we go to bed but it was crazy windy and the girls were distracted to do their business. So I figured if we kicked the ball around a few times they would quit paying attention to the blowing trees, run around the yard a bit and then pee so we could go to bed. Five minutes into playing Baylie had gone but I was waiting for Ginger (who was finally in the process of sniffing out the perfect spot)...I kicked the ball one final time--and tragedy! The ball took off strait towards my patio pillar and Baylie was running at full speed to get it. Typically the girls are really good at judging the ricochet and they'll scoop up the ball off the rebound. This time Baylie did not wait...I don't know if she thought she could out run it or if her depth perception was skewed by the dim lighting but she dipped her head to get the ball and her eye collided with the stucco covered pillar. At first I figured it was just her shoulder but she came off yelping and I hurried her into the house into the kitchen where I had enough light to check her out and I was horrified! Her whole eye socket was filled with blood and she was bleeding from multiple other spots around the eye. I instantly feared the worst--I worried that she'd hit the corner of the pillar and blinded herself! I started blotting off all the blood, grabbed leashes and got both girls into the car on my way to the Emergency vet...which is across town! Mom was able to meet me there after dispatching for the football games and helped with Ginger while I quickly filled out the paperwork for Baylie to see the Doctor. The vet said he'd need to clean up the wound before determining the need for stitches and said he'd do a special eye wash to check and see if she scratched her cornea. Luckily, when he brought her back in the room he said her eye seemed to be fine, she had reactive pupils, directional movement, and he saw no scratches! The vet said that he really couldn't put stitches in her gash without it pulling down her bottom eyelid so it would just have to heal in itself. He prescribed some antibiotics to help fight infection and told me to keep it clean. He said it'd probably take a couple weeks to fully heal and she will most likely have a scar where the hair won't grow back but I was just relieved to hear that she was going to be alright (especially her sight)! I took the pictures after we got home around 1:30 in the morning and both girls were exhausted so it was strait to bed after that! The next morning Baylie's eye was gooey but once I took a moist rag to it I was happy to see it looking less swollen. Baylie was lethargic all day Saturday so we laid low and she and Ginger slept away the majority of the day. Now it's beginning to scab over and the swelling is allowing her to open her eye better so I think she'll be back to good sooner than later!

Front Porch Frogs...EEEW!!!

My front porch light has recently decided to start working (after nearly a year long sabbatical) so I didn't dare turn it off for fear it would never work again! Having the light on has caused a chain reaction of problems and once I realized I had a frog buffet on my front porch I of-course took pictures and then turned off the light! The next day I rinsed away all of the bugs and frog poo in hopes that they would go in search of a new location. Without the light drawing in the bugs I have greatly reduced my disgusting frog population, although there are still a few hopefuls that remain!

Ginger vs. My House...Ginger wins AGAIN!

Ginger plays tug-of-war with my house and Ginger won!!! Mostly my fault...well, not really but I did enable the tugging ease. You see, the weekend prior Ginger ate through my hose (when I'd left it out back) and there was about a foot of hose still attached to the spigot that I never gave a second thought to (BIG mistake!). After a day of work I stopped at the supermarket and didn't arrive home till nearly 5:30 so I have no idea when the destruction actually happened. I walked into my house and noticed a strange noise...water running??? Sure enough...Ginger had used the foot of hose to play tug-of-war with the house and literally ripped the spigot off the wall!!! Water was shooting out of the exposed copper pipes and my backyard looked like a lake (which both girls seemed to enjoy)! Called Todd's Plumbing service and he was so nice to come strait over even though he was technically off work and heading home. I turned off my water main to stop the waterworks and Todd was able to fix my problem in about 30-40 minutes (and didn't even charge me extra for the after hours call---Thank you Todd's Plumbing!!) :)