Dried Apples

So here is my problem I'm trying to dry apples in my new to me dehydrator. I want the apples to turn out not brown and the research I found says ascorbic acid would work better then lemon juice, but I don't have a clue as to where to find pure crystalline ascorbic acid. So if anyone has an idea please let me know!

Fuzzy

and Strawberry Days was a let down not nearly as big as it usually is. So you didn't miss anything besides the Boy riding on a kiddie train all by himself.

Cat Litter and Baking Soda

Just to explain the topic, it's with regards to the emails I forwarded to everyone. Apparently the new high-tech scammers are now hacking voice mails to make you think you have a loved one in the clink, and forcing you to use your credit card to make an "account" to speak to said jailbird. Knowing this group, and some of the crazy stuff we claim we're going to do someday, I could buy it if someone had a wild night and wound up in the striped pajamies.

My come-and-get-me (...and-bring-bail-please) code phrase is "spatula juggling."

Also, I've been dosing my cat litter in baking soda. Surprisingly, this does seem to help with odors--even better than odor-control cat litters.

Also also, my free time has been evaporating like sprinkler water on the pavement. I thought I was going to be free to do Strawberry Days this last weekend, going to see Fuzzy and the boy--but no. Turns out I forgot Father's Day until Friday night, and due to my father's birthday in close proximity (and the Holiday Reassignment Rule), we had both Father's Day and Dad's Birthday on Saturday. Then we did Father's Day round 2 on Sunday with Mr. B's family, and I was required to attend because he's gone this week. I am alone with kitties, and it's a tough time for that, because we haven't had a lot of time for each other since I started my job.

Q I did check in on your kitties between Father's Days. Fuzzy, I feel like a really bad friend that I didn't confirm I wasn't coming. My cell phone battery keeps quitting at random and I don't know why; we'll find a time and I will come out to visit and make it up to you.

For Father's Day 2 (also Litha, summer festival) we went out and had a picnic in Estes Park. And now I want to move to Estes.

Alula

Adding to our Family

Firstly, Q, I know for a fact that you are not unintelligent. And you are not lazy. What you are is freakin' stubborn. Use a spell checker and proofread like a normal person and YES, you can change it overnight. (Oh, and now I get the topic tag...)



Second, I have a big announcement. A few months ago I had a dream that Mr. B and I walked into a shelter to adopt a cat, immediately bonded to different cats, and walked out of the shelter with two cats. Q can back me up that this dream did happen. I woke up in a cold sweat thinking "Thank God! It was just a dream--we would never be that impractical!"





Well. Guess what happened on Sunday?

No? Need a hint?




We went to a shelter just to look, and we walked past a room full of kittens. Like 10-12 of them, and Mr. B pointed at one and said "That's the kind of pattern cat I like." And I was all like, "Oh! They have a little black one--isn't she cute?" So we ask, and one of the shelter workers lets us in to play with uber kittens.

And then Mr. B is like "You know, I would hate to just get one and have it be lonely all day..."

Then we left--without kittens. We needed to get the heck out of there before something crazy stupid happened. We looked at kittens at two other places, and they were just as cute and friendly, and then we went back to the shelter. We interviewed 4 kittens one-on-one, and then walked around the donut-shaped cat room for a while, chatting...

And then something crazy stupid happened. And we haven't regretted it since.

This is Gretal, and she's 2 months old:

And this is Count, and he's 3 months old:

They came with the Bob Barker treatment, chipped, with a full month of pre-paid insurance, and with 2 months of food and very cheap startup supplies. They came named, too, but after talking about them all day we were kind of already attached to the shelter names. Count is now our resident urban tiger and trouble maker; Gretal is our resident baby kitty and cuddle bug. Gretal likes computers; Q has already taught her the finer points of World of Warcraft. Count likes climbing things with his claws; I'm pretty sure he thinks his name is "NO!"

But we love them both.

Alula

No Canceling Birthdays

Sorry Q but their isn't a way to cancel a birthday unless you want to be unborn. Plus I don't think people want to cancel birthdays until they hit their 30's few years to go yet. Or get a man like mine who doesn't pay attention to birthdays at all.

Anyway I quit my job and now my boss has me working 6 days this week I'm starting the 3rd day today and then I get Friday, Saturday and Sunday off. and just have to survive next week till Saturday and I am walking away and not looking at another food service job again no matter how desperate I get.

Happy Birthday, Q!

Just so everyone knows, Q tried to cancel her birthday. Twice.

I uncanceled it. Twice. :)

Happy Birthday to Q!

Alula

P.S. Who keeps making superfluous categories in the tags? As an information management professional, I do draw the line here. Do we really need both crazyness (SP! craziness--I will become a bee-otch about this because I can now confirm that some 6-year-olds have better spelling than I have seen here) and weirdness? Work and (Un)employment? And WTF is "topic"? We do know how to use tags, yes? Click on "Show All" to see the existing ones?

Missing Marbles!

Hey Ladies!
I'm going a little nuts this week. I seem to be at high stress in the last few weeks of Mr. Q's deployment. Yesterday I spent almost all day in bed, and today I spent five hours ironing in my basement. I swear I was only down there for a hour, but I watched three movies.
I am gonna survive the end of deployment!
Mr Q! I order you to return home ASAP!

Good News!

Hey Ladies!
Wetpaw got into the school he wanted to. So there is a chance he is moving out before the fall semester! Woo Hooo!
Mr. Q and I might get to be a married couple!

Bragging Rights...

Sorry ladies I know no one likes bragging, but I am so happy that I have to do a little of it. I can actually grow beautiful roses! See here and compliment them if you think they are worthy. The stems actually go all the way down to the bottom of the two foot tall vase. =)

Proposed Mastectomy Law Change

http://www.mylifetime.com/community/my-lifetime-commitment/breast-cancer/petition/breast-cancer-petition

Hey Ladies,
Insurance companies are trying to push a bill though congress making Mastectomies a outpatient procedure. Can you say ouch? How about we cut off the insurance company's leg and send them home?
Lifetime has a petition on there web sight if anyone would like to sigh it!

http://www.mylifetime.com/community/my-lifetime-commitment/breast-cancer/petition/breast-cancer-petition
Thanks!

The New Job

The new job is great--for anyone that thinks I'm being too sad about a new job, I am. I still get to walk downstairs every day and see that place on the cupboard where the rat cage used to be and isn't anymore. I just haven't been in a mood to be happy--I use my happy at work so I can do all of my coping on my own time.

It rained today, which made me happy. Rained last night too, and I got to listen to thunder and pitter patter on the roof. Amazing.

But seriously, the job is fantastic and I'm really happy there. I started my projects today and for anyone that the government is inquiring to for background check, please don't comment on it here. It's between you and the government, and thanks for doing it.

What can I say about the new job...? I have my own cubicle. I have a flatscreen monitor. I have fantastic coworkers, whose names I almost have down. I really like my boss and my supervisor, and I'm totally in love with the position. I got an assignment from class over the weekend where I need to create an information architecture project plan for an existing or made up site; when I asked my supervisor if I could use the department site and send my plan off to the web team when I was done he said it was a fabulous idea. In fact, he said he encourages me to crossover as much as I can between work and school in this manner because it helps my education and improves government resources at the same time. Now I'm really hoping my professor at school approves the idea, because I will probably wind up sending off some suggestions to the web team anyways. I'm way into my web development side right now; for those of you who want to check it out, the school notes site I set up as an assignment for class is here: Words and Information.

I'm tired as all get out because as anticipated, Mr. B still does nothing around the house. In the morning he wakes up and gets ready for work, and I have to shower the night before because he "needs the bathroom in the morning." I wake up and make the bed, make the coffee, make the lunches, put in a load of laundry, unload and reload the dishwasher, check school activities, and then get ready for work. Yeah, it's bull. But someone will adjust or something will give.