I'm crap at posting

I've had the worst sinus infection ever, even missed almost a week of work thanks to it...and I've had two moms staying at the apt w/hubs and I... is that enough excuse?

I got this in a forwarded email and I have some friends who could take this to heart. Also, reading it reminds me just how wonderful of a Real Man that I married.

40 Ways to NOT become a "Friend with Benefits"

1. If a man wants you, nothing can keep him away. If he doesn't want you, nothing can make him stay.
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>2. Stop making excuses for a man and his behavior.
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>3. If you have ANY doubt in your mind about a man's character, leave him alone.
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>4. Allow your intuition (or spirit) to save you from heartache.
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>5. Stop trying to change yourself for a relationship that's not meant to be. .
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>6. Never live your life for a man before you find what makes you truly happy.
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>7. If a relationship ends because the man was not treating you as you deserve then heck no you can't "be friends." A friend wouldn't mistreat a friend.
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>8. Have faith in God regarding your relationship, but don't let faith make you stupid. God does things decent and in order.
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>9. Don't settle.
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>10. Don't stay because you think "it will get better." You'll be mad at yourself a year later for staying when things are not better.
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>11. The only person you can control in a relationship is you.
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>12. There's only one 'reason' a man dumps you; he doesn't want you.
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>13. Always put yourself and your happiness first.
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>14. Maintain boundaries in how a guy treats you. If something bothers you, speak up.
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>15. Like from the show Sex and the City, if he doesn't call, he just isn't that interested.
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>16. Know when to cut the cord, don't be strung along
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>17. Don't fall for the "I'm confused role". Remove yourself from the situation to let him figure things out (but don't wait for him, move on).
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>18. If you want to have a clue as to how he will treat you, watch how he treats the WOMEN in his family (not just mom).
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>19. Do not make him into a quasi-god. He is a man, nothing more nothing less.
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>20. Actions speak louder than words.
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>21. Never let a man define who you are.
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>22. If he cheated with you, he'll cheat on you.
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>23. Just because he says he loves you, doesn't mean that he won't hurt you and it doesn't mean that you are meant to be with him.
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>24. Know that you deserve to be the number one person in the life of the #1 person in your life.
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>25. Love is a verb.
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>26. Learn to give up your lifelong task of trying to make someone unavailable-available, someone ungiving-giving, and someone unloving-loving.
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>27. A man will only treat you the way you ALLOW him to treat you.
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>28. If you don't love self...you can't love anyone else.
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>29. You cannot mend someone else's broken heart
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>30. You need time to heal between relationships...there is nothing cute about baggage...deal with your issues before pursuing a new relationship.
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>31. You should never look for someone to COMPLETE you...a relationship consists of two WHOLE individuals...look for someone complimentary...not supplementary..
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>32. NEVER give more in a relationship than you are getting out of it.
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>33. When actions and words conflict, believe the actions. Respond to the actions.
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>34. Don't fall for the "I'm not the loving type"...when a man loves you there is nothing in this world (within reason) that he wouldn't do for you.
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>35. Make him miss you sometimes...when a man always know where you are, and you're always readily available to him he takes it for granted..
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>36. When it's time to let go; let go.
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>37. Don't fully commit to a man who doesn't give you everything that you need. Keep him in your radar but get to know others.
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>38. Never believe a man that tells u he want to be with you, while he's with someone else, - if he wanted to be with you, he would make it happen more sooner than later.
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>39. Don't be a man's door mat , make him open the door for you, because a real man would do this on his own.
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>40. There is someone out there worthy to be in your life, let out the trash so he can come in.

I'm onto them

Max and Charlie, our two apartment felines, are trying to pull the wool over our eyes. There is nothing that these sweet little four-footed furballs could do wrong, especially if the humans were sleeping at the time.

Last night they managed to get into the garbage like the clever raccoons that we left behind in Baton Rouge. And woke me up this morning like innocent starving kitties who spent allllll night taking up half the bed. They let me know that they hadn't eaten in hours, their water bowl was dry, they didn't know who had made that mess on the kitchen floor or tried to put the bathmat in the litterbox. Must've been the neighbor's kitty.

Tonight I'm hiding the catnip.

Happy Mardi Gras y'all! Way too early this year, but nevertheless, Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler! I'll add some Mardi Gras pics from last year later.

Checkin In

If you had seen our apartment last week before we cleaned on Saturday,you would have freaked. We cleaned it though, using real rags andcleaning solutions...we just didn't have time until Saturday. It's hard when you work 12-13 hour days and have to come home and cook. Thank god for that George Foreman grill, I love that thing. The crockpot is useful too, but I'm sick of recipes that use cream of something soup. It all tastes the same. And I made the mistake of putting pork chops in there, they just fall apart and you have to pick out the bones...plus after 12 hours everything burns.

Speaking of, I have a lovely browned pork chop soup available if you're up for it?

It has snowed for the third time this week, but barely under an inch,and we're going through a heat wave so it is melting (highs in the 40s and 50s). Pete took the truck to a fixit man who said he'd need $350 to fix it by replacing the spark plugs and doing a coolant system thingy. Pete instead took the truck back and bought a manual from Autozone to find out how to fix it himself. Do you think he can do it? He ain't no bob vila I can tell you that. He tried to fix our garbage disposal (didn't know about the reset button) and he hit the pipe under the sink accidentally and broke a hole in it. Landlord said he'd fix the garbage disposal, but the pipe is our problem b/c we broke it. So Pete heads to home depot...four times in one week b/c he says he can't find a pipe that fits. I went with him a fifth time and saw that the pipes are all two sizes. 1 and 1/4 or 1 and 1/2. I told pete that it would be ridiculous for our pipe to be a different size than those two and I wanted the sink fixed THAT night (it had been a week) so I made him buy BOTH sizes and two kinds of a connector bit that I found (he had given up and said Home depot didn't have what he needed and I found it in 30 seconds)... we went home, he attached the right size and the sink STILL leaks.

I think I should find those bob vila time life books on ebay to get him.

He also put up a new showerhead for us... which took three trips to Home Depot and one trip with the wife to find the correct connector bit. But the grooves in the connector and the showerhead aren't the same size so it leaks/spurts out water to the wall/ceiling even with the plumber's tape. He is so fed up that he wants us to just deal with the leak.

I didn't have the heart to tell him that I don't even like the showerhead.

Virginia Tech has screwed up again with my paycheck, they paid me for the 40 hours that I missed during Christmas when I came to visit, so this paycheck they docked me those hours... PLUS another 20 hours. When I inquired why, I found out that because I was on
leave-without-pay before and after a holiday, I did not get the holiday pay... so I did not get paid for Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve or the other corresponding holidays. So my paycheck for two weeks is only for 20 hours of work. Not ONLY that, but they lost my direct deposit information - a SECOND time and had to mail me a paycheck from blacksburg. However, it has been a week and has failed to reach me here. And I won't get my travel reimbursement until February 10 (for relocation) but that is actually going to be direct deposited. Because of the delay, I get to pay the bank lotsa overdraft. I hope they wash windows for the money I'm payin' 'em.

There was an apartment fire on our street the other night. We were leaving the grocery store nearby (you can walk to it....if you're a crazy Englishman or Washingtonian) and saw 5 firetrucks go towards our neighborhood. I can't tell you the horror I felt at the thought of nobody rescuing our kitties in the fire. It wasn't our apartments though, but ones next to ours, and I don't think it was too bad. I suppose it's good to know that even with a little fire, five fire trucks will immediately come.