WTF(riday)

the other evening, as i was watching TV...minding my own business, i turned to the left and saw this.  can you guess where this is?

maybe if i zoom out?

ignore the dusty picture!

on this particular evening  the demon had a sandwich and some mac n cheese for dinner.  instead of putting his dish in the sink and the container in the garbage, he thought putting this crap behind the picture was the better option.  this sat behind the picture for 3 nights until i noticed it when i turned in that direction!

WTF?!

i hope you all enjoy your weekend.  i am taking the week off of work next week so i can't promise regular blogging, however, i do promise to return soon with loads of fun pictures!

why, why, why?!

growing up i remember sitting with my grandpa as he either watched or listened to the cincinnati reds play baseball or the cincinnati bengals play football.  for years he would shake his head in disgust...he would always moan and groan at their missed plays and losing games.  i would always ask myself "if he hates them so much why does he always watch/listen!?!"  obviously, i'm a lot more like my grandpa than i ever realized....

if you've read this blog for longer than a week you most likely know my love for reality tv.  (here, here & here..are just a few examples)  until recently i had no idea about anything related to truTV.  as i was clicking through the guide i noticed storage hunters.  hmm... well i do love storage wars so it must stand to reason that i would also love storage hunters.  right?  

wrong.

what a crappy show!   and what the freak is up with that chic's hair?!  one episode it's almost normal and the next episode it's a full on mullet.  weird.

and don't get me started on such shows as lizard lick towing, hardcore pawn, & operation repo.  although, at least the episodes of lizard lick towing, that i've watched, have left me laughing hysterically as they get whooped up on as they attempt to repo the vehicles.  i mean, who drives their own car into a lake to avoid a tow!!??  i've seen it twice already on that stupid show.

don't get me wrong...i'm sure most all of reality tv is fake and/or staged.  really, i get it.  but c'mon.  every single show that i've seen on truTV - a station that claims "Not Reality.  Actuality." - seems completely and totally staged.  staged with people that have bottomless pockets of money to bid on storage units (yet seem to just make up prices that these items are really worth), people that go completely ape when approached by a tow truck, and psychotic person after person trying to pawn fake jewelry for obscene prices.  

i can't be the only one that hates all things truTV can i?! 

more importantly - why can't i bring myself to turn OFF these stupid shows?!!? 

the first step to defeating an addiction is to admit one, right?  well... it's obvious.  i'm 100% addicted to awful reality television.  

now..on to step 2?

this is how summer should be spent.

this has become the normal demon face as soon as i bust out any camera.  "c'mon moooom!  no more!!"

it's obvious that it's super risky to have any type of camera near the water unless you're lucky enough to have some sort of waterproof protection or a specific waterproof camera.  so far, i've only been brave enough to take my phone near the pool and not my digital camera.  thankfully, i get decent pictures with my new phone.

even though it's just my phone camera, my phone is definitely not cheap.  the above picture is a shot of the demon as he spent 5 minutes standing in the cold air as a punishment for splashing me my phone!  obviously, the punishment didn't phase him considering...

...the threat of punishment didn't seem to keep him from splish splashin' everywhere!

after a lot of jumping and splashing it was time to rest.

this time last year we had just come home after his second surgery and were just uncovering the pool.  i am beyond thrilled that he's able to spend this summer doing everything that he loves instead of spending days on end confined to a hospital bed in pain.

it's amazing to see how far he's come.

flea market gold.

this past saturday we (my brother, the beast and the demon) went to a local flea market - trader's world.  seriously, click that link!  i never knew there was a site for trader's world until i just did a quick google search to link it here.  ahhh, good stuff.

i posted, on my facebook, how the demon chose to spend his money but for those of my readers that are not on my personal facebook here ya go...

yes that is my living room mantle and no i had no idea he was going to purchase this as i sent him with the beast - on their own - to grab this last minute purchase!  what a surprise.

you may be asking yourself... why did the boys go off on their own? i am excited to tell you the reason!  i had just made a very heavy, amazing, wonderful,  purchase and my brother was hauling the item to the jeep.   

here,  let me show you...

meet Quincy!  for years we've gone to flea markets and i would take a very long time staring at the gnomes.  not quite finding one that i loved.  for those same years my brother and the boys have tried to talk me into getting gnome after gnome and i have always backed out at the last minute.  not this time!  i'm still not 100% sold on Quincy (yes, *I* named him) because i'm not too excited about the fact that he has a hole to hold things in his hand.  we're on the hunt to create a fishing pole and string.   

as of right now, i don't plan on painting him.  i think i like the whole eyeless zombie look.  

Quincy is currently living on my front porch because, quite frankly, i want to show him off to the world!  

who knows, now that i have a little back yard, maybe i will go crazy and purchase a whole gnome family to keep goober company.  or just maybe, i'll start looking for all sorts of barnyard stone creatures and create my own little inner city farm!   you know, a farm that will never really smell farmy... a win win.  as a matter of fact, i was mere seconds away from buying a pot belly stone pig.  seriously.

or maybe i just need to get more sleep and i'm really just losing it :)

project completed.

imagine the timing!  i posted this on thursday morning and thursday evening i get the text letting me know he (my friend's hubby) has time to come and install the railings.  happy day!  he arrived around 7pm and worked into the dark to finish everything.  

i'm so happy this is finished.  it's one project - on a list of many home repairs - that i can cross off.  we had the option of only installing one railing but i figured, with my luck and the luck of my entire family, we'd be safer with two.  definitely.

the only problem i can see developing from the removal of the ramp is the obvious lack of places to hang our wet pool towels.

... and wet bathing suits.  normally we would cover the railings on the ramp with each of our wet things... i guess we'll have to use what we are left with!  we'll make it work.

oh... i found a place that i think momma would approve of - for goober.

can i just say... he is NOT light.  yikes.  i haven't attempted cleaning him up just yet only because i'm clueless when it comes to anything crafty.  i don't exactly know where to start... maybe he looks better worn and chipped?

oh!  and one last thing... truck appreciates his water dish finding its home back on the porch - the completed porch. 

i'd say he approves.

the funny faces of b-ball.

source

see the face of the best basketball player ever?!

anyone that's ever seen him play has also seen "the tongue".

source

i'm thinking there's something to this whole "funny basketball shooting face" thing.

now, maybe if the boys can master this whole  "crazy legs while shooting hoops" thing.. they too can be as great at basketball as  

the michael jordan!

enjoy your weekend.

oh, before i forget... it's been a few days since i've "trained" ya'll.

a whole new view.

the pictures in this blog were taken prior to receiving my new camera... just fyi.

remember this post?  well, here's what we've been up to...

this project has been in the works for years...at least in our minds it has been.  the wood was deteriorating and instead of putting more money into wood and repairs it made more sense to remove it, especially because we didn't need the ramp.  momma and i would talk about removing the wheelchair ramp and putting steps on the back porch.  since she had a visiting physician, she really only left the house twice a year.   the plan was to purchase a portable wheelchair ramp to use for those trips (to the dentist) and then the back yard ramp could be removed.  time slipped by everyone and last year she was moved next door.  then, our excuse for continuing to put off the project was the expense that came along with building the steps.  since the battle with a certain life insurance policy was fought and won, i had some money to finally get this project going.  not only that, but my driveway is in severe need of a fresh coating of blacktop and it only made sense to do this project first as the ramp was imbedded in the driveway.

first things first, i was not prepared for the emotions that would flood my mind as the ramp was being taken down.  not easy... at all.

i also needed someone to disconnect and remove the wheelchair lift.  the lift has not worked for years and i was willing to give it to anyone that wanted it to scrap as long as they got it out of the way.  the task of removing the lift proved to be a lot more difficult than the ramp itself...but they got it done!

seriously, look at how awful my driveway looks!

end of day 1...

the ramp has been in place for about 25 years.  as i was walking by the dining room window the next morning i actually had to look twice.  it has been a surreal experience...

the next step was to frame out the main part of the porch and pour some concrete.

end of day 2...

keep in mind that this job is being done by two guys that do these types of "side jobs" after they get off of working their full time job.  there were a couple nights that they stayed well past dark to finish what needed to be finished.  it was those nights that these guys put in over 16 hours of hard work in some incredibly hot temperatures. i'm blessed to have such amazing people in my life, willing to go above and beyond to help me. 

a few days later, after allowing that first bit of concrete to harden, they returned to start framing out the steps and the slab of concrete to go on the top.  since it was July 3rd and they knew they had the following day off, they decided to start pouring the concrete for the steps.  it was another late night for them but they really accomplished a lot.

end of day 3...

it was at this point that i was a little confused.  looking at this picture, take a look at the big drop off from the porch to the first step!  my exact thought was "whoa, that's a big step!"  but i had confidence these guys knew what they were doing and were gonna get it done!  unfortunately, they ran out of concrete and couldn't finish things off just yet.  we have 2 other doors, in addition to our back door, that exits to the back yard so this project was never a real inconvenience.  well, the dog may argue that fact.  he is such a baby when it comes to steps so getting him to tackle the basement steps was an adventure.  but, once he did he had no problems.

the next day they were out they completed the framing of the steps.  i missed getting a picture of the end of day 4.  after allowing that concrete to harden they came and removed all of the framing to reveal the completed project!

end of day 5...

what a huge difference.  we're not totally finished yet.  he is going to come out soon to attach a railing on each side of the steps and then voilà!  done.  at least with the stairs/porch.  the yard has a long way to go.  and, as far as truck is concerned...he's adjusted well and is darting up and down the steps like he's never been afraid at all!

not one day goes by...

...that i don't think about her.

i've heard that exact sentence many times over my lifetime.  i often wondered exactly what it meant.  does that person mean they constantly think of their loved ones that have died?  why would they be triggered, every day, to think about them?  a stupid question really.  it's not that i doubted their sadness - i just never completely understood.

now, i understand.

from tv shows and commercials to songs and current events... i think about her daily - a lot.  

every night i lay my head to pillow with the hopes that she will be in my dreams.  i'm still waiting.

every picture i take i think to myself how much she'd love to see what's going on with the outside world.

the other day the demon made a comment to me.  he seemed disappointed as we were talking about the new ice age movie that is playing, currently, in theaters.  he was upset because since we're not going to see it in the theater he thought he would never get to see it because "we probably won't buy the movie since grandma isn't here to buy it."  you see, while i go out and purchase the newest horror movie as it's released.. it has always been my mom buying all the children/family movies.  it's those movies that she loved to watch and loved even more watching with the kids.  and as far as the demon was concerned - without my momma - he would not get to see those types of movies.  i had to reassure him that he didn't have anything to worry about, i will get him the movie but i know, ultimately, it's watching them with my Momma that he misses the most.

i know it hasn't been long at all since her passing but i sincerely can't wait for the day that i can think of her and think of only good things and not be overwhelmingly sad.

birds, birds, and more birds.

yesterday i mentioned i bought a new camera.  since it rained saturday, i didn't get a chance to play around with it too much.  during one of the breaks in the rain i thought i could take it out back and test out it's zoom.  i'm no stranger with mega zoom cameras.  my kodak Z981 provided decent pictures at a long range.  i loved taking it to the zoo because it normally, didn't disappoint.  however, i could never get the hang of working the settings to get an overall crisp picture.  probably my lack of patience had something to do with it also - but after a very disappointing outcome of the pictures from one of the demon's christmas programs i retired the kodak. 

anywho.. after doing some research i found that this was the best choice and after debating long and hard about getting yet another camera... i did!   my canon is still a fantastic super compact camera that i will always try to have with me on hand but the lumix is the camera i will be taking places when i want a more detailed picture or want to capture something from a distance.

okay, back to the point of this post - birds.  this is how far away i was from my grannie's bird feeder...

you can barely see the birds...right?

my first shot was to see how well i could zoom in on the birds eating on the ground.

not too bad!  i know it's not as crisp as a picture could/should be but it's not disappointing.  

next up was the bird feeder - that's where i was impressed the most...

i mean, seriously!  look at that bird going in for a landing!

 

this big guy came swooping in and scared off all the little guys.

after i took, what i thought was more than enough, pictures of the birds i turned to my left and saw some flowers.  usually, they are covered with bees so i thought i could get a close up of one of them - hoping to not get stung.  but, for some reason, there were no bumble bees around.  this is the only guy on the flowers so this is the best i could get...

definitely not the best but far from my worst.  if i had more time and light i may have practiced more with the camera.  all the pictures taken in this blog were taken with my camera in full auto.  i can't wait until i have a nice sunny day and better subjects to practice with more manual controls.  

i'm thinking a zoo visit is in our near future, i need to practice!

extreme frisbee golf.

saturday,  all morning long it poured down sheets of rain. my brother sent me a text asking me if i was up for some extreme frisbee golf and i said sure... what better way to spend a rainy saturday than to get soaking wet and muddy tossing hard discs at baskets?  by the time i was dressed and ready to go it had stopped raining.  eh, but we were still hoping it would start back up again, therefore, i didn't bring my new camera.  (that's right, i got a new one..i have impulse control problems, so what!).  

unfortunately, it never did rain while we were playing so instead of extreme frisbee golf we had to settle on regular ole frisbee golf . double unfortunately,  the rains left the air humid and extra warm.  not fun considering i hate sweating!

 as we were playing i started noticing so many trees with knots on them...

i stopped and said - "Oh wow!  This is pretty, I wanna get a shot of these trees."  the beast responded "No.  That is ugly!"  he knows nothing!   anyway.. the further into the woods we walked the more trees i found with these knots on them..

sorry for the blur.. camera phone.

i started to wonder if something was wrong with these trees?  is there something wrong when a tree develops these types of knots/growths on their trunks?

what ever the reason, i thought they were beautiful and really regretted not having my new camera. 

as we were almost to the last hole (basket?  what do you call them in frisbee golf?)  i noticed something on the back of my brother's shirt.  it looked like dirt but as the beast looked closer he said it was a bug.  my brother shook his shirt and it flew away but landed right back on his back.  i thought.. hey! let me get a shot of this thing...

i had to crop this to death to get it close enough to see anything but, eeeeks!  it looks like a bee getting freaky with another bug.  is that possible? lol do bugs find "love" with different species?  because, whatever that is on top of the bee is not another bee!  

maybe the bee was dead and whatever that bug is on top was carrying the bee?  either way, it was creepy!

we went on to play the front 9 again but that was all i could take, i was a hot, sweaty mess.

fighting the funk.

i've been MIA lately around this blog world.  i'm having real issues with the funk but i made a promise to myself to try to post at least 3 times a week.  i was already having a hard time dealing with everything then add to that the loss of my blog pictures - i've not been up to blogging.  in fact, i've not been me for a little while. 

anyway.. here we are, wednesday, and this is my first post!  oops.  i don't have too much to say so lets start with a picture.

one day while the boys were playing around in the pool they decided to try to fit behind the ladder.  neither one of them had a problem.  go figure!  i struggle daily with food and trying to lose weight and both boys are like walking stick figures.  

we finally made it to kings island in the evening and stayed for the fireworks.  while i did not get a good picture of the fireworks (only had my phone with me) i snapped this one of shake, rattle, and roll...

whew, just looking at that ride in motion makes me queasy!  the boys don't ride it often, but it's one of the rides in the park that almost guarantees no wait time.

finally, this is my view lately...

this is the demon through my pool float.  for the most part, my time spent in the pool is laying on floats or dangling my feet from the ladder.  the demon enjoys annoying every second of my time spent in the pool so his time is spent throwing basketballs, splashing, and swimming (and therefore kicking me) under my float.  

i can't believe that we're almost to the middle of july.  i have been seeing back to school commercials and store displays recently.  regardless of how super annoying he and the beast may be..  i wish we had more time off together!

until next time...