Do you see what I see?

My window view for the last couple months included a barren oversized flowerpot, and sometime during my extended weekend a tropical paradise grew outside my office.

As I watched the palm fronds dance in the wind, my thoughts went into overdrive. Some might stop at thinking it's a beautiful flower/plant arrangement. Me, not so much.

Wow, those palm fronds could really come in handy! Just think if it were Black Friday and our office neighbor was Target instead of The Ultimate Tan... it's 3am with a line of people wrapped around the parking lot when the sky opens up and unleashes a flood of rain.

You don't have a tent and forgot your umbrella, but spy the palm fronds waving across the parking lot. Next thing you know, you're in Survivor mode and start weaving the palm fronds together to form a roof to your soon to be shelter. Thank goodness you took Basket Weaving 101 in college.

So, is this what you see in the photo too?

The Extended Weekend

I'm surprised this is my first blog in May, considering I spent my free time over the last two weeks with my leg elevated because of a calf tear. I suppose I didn't have much new to talk about and thought better of it to post the seriously bruised pics I've taken.

Anyway, last Thursday I was knocking through things at work because I had to leave early for a dentist appointment and then had the next day off of work. I was quite flustered and remember tweeting this picture at lunchtime, wishing I could bring Jinkies back to work with me. It was simple, he was an additional stress reliever to the regular 3rd Rock from the Sun episodes I watch over lunch.

The work day would finish up okay, I'd learn I didn't have any cavities, head over to visit with Theresa who would stop in on Sparky the next day... and then I would return home around 5:40 to find my little buddy Jinkies had peed blood on the stairs. I was not ready for this. I had thrown my work cares out the window and was looking forward to my day off.

Thankfully the vet let us come right over. Poor Jinkies ended up being an absolute mess. Scared to death, drooling like Turner from Turner and Hooch, alcohol swabbed for the blood draw, peeing on himself, and then the subcutaneous fluids administered to him started to leak from behind his shoulder blade.

Friday morning I found out the blood tests all came back within normal range, which definitely gave me a sigh of relief. With Mom and Theresa stopping in on the pets during the day, it allowed me to enjoy my time with Tom on our way up to the Cubs game.

Well, the first hour went without a hitch anyway. Between the flat tire and some of the most fantastic driving I've seen in quite sometime, it will be a drive I won't soon forget. Thank goodness the donut tire held up the rest of the way there and back!

Two things to note in this photo. The Cubs marquee was painted green because it was a throwback to the 1930's during the homestand, and that's what color the marquee was back in the era. And please note the weather was rainy.

Not only was it rainy, but it was COLD, see your breath cold! We took a walk around the stadium, grabbed some food, and then headed to our seats about a half hour before the game. The tarp was just being pulled off the field, so we watched the field get prepped and the teams warm-up.

We didn't last too long in our original seats because the wind was blowing straight at us. Besides not wanting to get chilled to the bone, I wasn't real thrilled about the tears continually running down my face. Below is a pic from seats #2. We found ourselves under the upper deck behind home plate. Still cold, but lacked the biting wind.

After the 3rd inning, we went in search of hot cocoa and relocated to some seats right along the walkway, so we could nab the hot cocoa vendors as then popped up the stairs with a fresh batch.

Just like in Spring Training, the Cubs weren't able to pull out a win for us. I still haven't heard Go Cubs Go this season, and that may have been my last chance. Despite the crazy travel and the inclimate weather, it was a fun day with my big brother.

WWE Peoria

Without Sugarland on tour this year, I've had an event withdrawal and opted to expand my horizons. A few weeks ago I took in Blue Man Group with Mom and Laura. It was great time and funnier than I anticipated. But having sat in the 2nd balcony... I have a lack of photos to share.

Tonight was another new experience. I talked my way into going with Adam and Westley to see a WWE Live event in Peoria. I regret to say that I missed a great opportunity to use glow sticks. 

The Main Event was supposed to include Randy Orton (butt shot below) and Daniel Bryan (current WWE World Heavyweight Champion), who I know as the guy with the goat beard. Bryan was an unfortunate no-show because of a family emergency, so we saw some randomness at the beginning, which lead to setting up a 3-on-3 Main Event to happen later in the evening.

I only watch wrestling when Adam is so kind to invite me over. But out of the handful of times, I've acquired a great dislike for Fandango. Dude's gimmick is dancing... dancing terribly!!! He probably wouldn't get past the first week on Dancing with the Stars. As evidenced below, I had to sit through a match with him in it! I'm happy to report he lost!

The following pic is from the match where I really started to get into the event. Why you ask? Well, I started a baseball style chant for Justin Gabriel and it caught on!
Here we Justin, Here we go! [clap-clap]
It was awesome!
Let the laughter and tears start.
As usual, my cheering jinxed his match... ya know, because it's not like they're planned or choreographed or something.

At some point there was an intermission because you had to let all the beer drinking fellows and young kids hit the restrooms. There were a couple BORING matches, before they got to a triple tag team match. Below was the intro for Goldust and Cody Rhodes.

Oh yeah, while the slow, stale matches went on... I was entertained by Adam's random exclamations and his echo sitting next to Westley. The super, die-hard wrestling fan below was something else! I have a feeling his wife didn't know what she was getting herself into.

As the wrestling continued, I became increasing distractible. The wrestler below with his back facing us was part of 3MB (Three Man Band) and had a rhinestoned logo similar to Harley Davidson across his butt. I could not turn away from the constant sparkling.

The Main Event featured The Shield who couldn't be bothered to enter or exit the ring the traditional way. Based on their wet hair and shirts, you may think this was taken after the match, but no, this was as they entered in from the concourse behind us.

The Shield ended up winning the 3-on-3 match. There was quite a bit of hair tossing where you could see a spray of mist from their soaking locks glisten in the spotlights. Their punches, slaps and kicks to the face were quite dramatic when timed with the flinging of ones chewing. Had the gum not been red or blue, you could have imagined it to be a tooth flying across the ring.

I did not expect to have as much fun as I did tonight. Some of the moves were so fake they brought on laughter, while some of the falls left me cringing and wondering how their tailbones are still intact. A few of the gimmicks were beyond ridiculous, like the party dude and his posse (seen below to the left of the blue shirted guy was a penguin costume). But to see the diehard fans fully invested reactions was priceless.

Safe to say a fun time was had by all!

Oh, I did did much googling to get some of the details correct. Here are the final results for those interested.

Cat and Dog Habits

Yesterday I stayed home from work because I was feeling really puny. Days like that, when I have cat purring on my chest and dog warming my feet, make up for the random habits I've acquired since becoming a cat and dog owner.

1. Cut the handles on plastic grocery bags.

Once upon a time when Jinkies and lived in my parents' basement, I was upstairs in the kitchen talking to my mom. As our conversation went on, I could hear Jinkies in the stairwell meowing. He's a cat, he does that sometimes. But the meowing changed to yowling, so I rushed to investigate. My little buddy tried to walk through the handles of a plastic grocery bag and got one stuck extremely snugly around his pudgy little belly.

2. Throw my dental floss away in the kitchen garbage can.

I don't have a top to my bathroom garbage can and find it disturbing to see my cat walking around the house with dental floss hanging out of his mouth. Plus, I'd rather not bring him to vet for obstruction surgery. Note: This habit also flows over into anything with a string or thin plastic pull tab. Extra Note: Balls of yarn are also banned from my house.

3. Keep way too many things on the kitchen table.

My kitchen table has a constant pile of stuff on it. The stuff is to protect the house plants from the cat. I suppose one could always build some sort of protective chicken wire cage with nicely painted wood frame. The motivation might be there, if I actually used my kitchen table. Or would I use my kitchen table if it was clear?

4. Always put away and rinse dishes.

The trend of items have been leaning towards a curious cat, but this habit was developed thanks to both of my furry little friends. Dishes must be returned to the kitchen. Leaving them on the coffee table or surface lower than a kitchen counter when not in the same room (even for a minute) is not acceptable. Rinsing them off is not exactly mandatory, but strongly suggested. (If they can't smell it, they won't go after it.)

5. Store chocolate in the microwave.

Chocolate has a strong scent, and Sparky has quite the sweet too. He will go to great lengths to get the chocolate he's not aware can cause him harm. I learned this lesson one day when I forgot I had an oversized super-extra dark chocolate bar in my briefcase. I left the living room long enough to take a shower and when I came back there was tin foil on the carpet. The Sparkster dug into my briefcase to consume the chocolate bar as fast as he could. That was an expensive mistake. Thank goodness for vets and pills that make your dog upchuck.

6. Hang bread in a grocery sack from a cabinet pull.

Yes, my pets are scavengers, but I do feed them on a regular basis and they get occasional treats. You wouldn't know that when you wake up in the morning or when the clock strikes 4pm. Anyway, bread and any sort of baked good is seen in the eyes of Jinkies as fair game. He'll drag it off the counter and wrestle it. The baked good is never salvageable, you find it left for dead with puncture wounds, bite marks and squished beyond recognition.

7. Cover beds with a vinyl tablecloth.
I currently don't have an offender... Thank Goodness! Unhappy animals act out. I used to have a very sassy cat that would "show me" her dislikes by peeing on things. In order to save the beds, I purchased vinyl tablecloths that I could use as a bedspread. Note: This habit does resurface during long vacations. Don't want to be on the receiving end of a furball acting out.

I'm sure there are plenty of other habits I've acquired whether I'll ever realize it or not. These are just the first ones off the top of my head. Life would not be the same without my little buddies.

What's going on?

I think it's as simple as I've been thinking too much. About what? Well, pretty much everything. So, what's the plan? Get back to my happy place. How am I going to do that? Take one thing at a time. That should at least get me one step in the right direction.