The Real Life of a Geeky Tai-Tai » Family

A Scare

Geeky — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:40:37 +0000

Some of you may not be aware that my husband and I repatriated just over a year ago after living in Singapore for nearly 4 years. While overseas, MANY things were replaced except for the roof and the central air. Last year, I knew that we would be required to have our central air replaced because of the freon issue. I was informed many times as the air-conditioner-repair-dude (ACRD) was recharging our system. I felt terribly guilty at the time, but $$$ preclude guilt on occasion.

Today, after suffering many HOTlanta days, some air-conditioner-replacement-dudes were in and out of our house ALL day long. Clyde and Hunter were very protective of me — as long as they were behind the baby-gates. ;-) Actually, they could “get” the scary ACRD’s if they were brave enough to try another route. They chose to stay close to Mama, and that was fine by me.

The ACRD’s were finally finished with our new HVAC system by 6 p.m. I inspected (read: FELT COLD AIR COMING FROM DUCTWORK), signed-off, and gave the check to the Chief ACRD (dude). About 15 minutes later, I fed Clyde and Hunter. Then another 15 minutes later it was time to go outside to do some “bidness”.

Well now, dontcha know? Clydie came running up the stairs all proud of himself doing “bidness”, but there was no Hunter at the door! Hunter is ALWAYS first at the door “peddling” away. So, I get off of my lazy-computer-addicted-butt to investigate. Clyde led me back down the stairs. I’m hollering and doing my special whistle for “come” for Hunter… no response.

No reason for worry, Hunter always comes when Mama calls for him…until, Clyde and I discover that the basement door is wide-open, all of the lights are on, and the GATE… OMG the GATE IS WIDE OPEN!

I keep doing my “Come to Mama” whistle and yelling for Hunter. ABSOLUTELY NO RESPONSE.

This is giving Clyde and me a very big stomachache because Hunter is ALWAYS by Mama NO MATTER WHAT.

Well, the ACRD’s changed all of that. Once Hunter discovered that the gate was open, he decided to go for a walk down our street because he loves to go taunt “Old Blue”, a big old German Shepherd who lives on our cul-de-sac. Fortunately, the cute 10-year-old-twin-girls discovered him, and knew his name. They immediately hooked-him-up to one of their pretty pink leashes and brought him home!

OK, he only went down the street a few houses, but I never thought he would be the one to leave our yard. I’ve always envisioned my pretty, Smilin’ Clydie would do that, and he didn’t.

I guess I’ve learned a couple of lessons today — NEVER trust ACRD’s to close a door, turn off lights, or MOST importantly, close a gate. The second would be, that our furbabies can always learn new “tricks”

Texas Hash

Geeky — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 23:23:51 +0000

Sunday, Patrick (aka Petro, Peteenabs, PDub, etc.) came up to help out with some

honey-dos. We decided that since his birthday is Friday and his friends are throwing him a not-so-surprise surprise party that night, we would celebrate his birthday. Our tradition has always been that the birthday honoree gets to pick the meal, and he chose one of his favorites, Texas Hash.

My mom got the first recipe from an old Betty Crocker cookbook. She gave me a new Betty Crocker cookbook when I got married, but Stupid Betty changed the recipe to something completely different (although it tasted ok).

I was tweeting about it, and one of my new Twitter friends asked for the recipe. I was going to post then, but Petro and I were having too much fun talking, sippin’ on some Stellas, and taking goofy pictures of each other in the garage! We were up until 2 a.m.

Geeky’s Texas Hash

2-3 lbs. lean ground beef

1 large chopped onion

1-2 jars Tostito’s Salsa (Medium)

1 1/2-2 cups Minute Rice or Uncle Ben’s Long Grain Instant Rice

2 11.5 oz cans of V8 (I use low-sodium)

Small bag of frozen corn

Chili powder

Crushed chili pepper

Lots of grated or sliced cheese (I used cheddar cheese)

If you have a very large skillet, all of the above ingredients can be combined and then baked in the skillet. Otherwise, use a 3 qt. casserole dish or you could use a lasagna pan. The key for Patrick, is that he loves all of the “burnt” cheese on top.

Pour rice into a bowl and add just enough water to cover it. Allow it to set while browning the ground beef.

Brown ground beef in a large skillet, drain and rinse-off fat. If it’s very lean beef, I cook the onion while browning the ground beef and drain any fat afterward.

Combine all of the ingredients and season to taste. Put cheese on top of the mixture and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour (or until the cheese is burnt the way Patrick likes it).

April 1, 1978

Geeky — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:19:50 +0000

Thirty-one years ago, Michael and I were married with about 75 guests in a beautiful contemporary church in Indianapolis. The church was famous for its pipe-organ that accompanied my grandfather’s gorgeous baritone voice. Oh, how he could sing! I was so proud of him.

Yes, the tuxedoes look tacky now (it was the 70’s what can I say?), but still Michael was so handsome with his beautiful blue eyes gazing into mine when we said our vows. *swoon*

My sister, Tracie, who was in high school at the time, made my gown from a very complicated Vogue pattern. It was satin and lace, and all of the hand-sewing was done by Mom. It was the kind of gown I’d always dreamed of wearing.

I think the ceremony was only about 10 minutes, just long enough to get the job done! We had cake and punch in the church basement. After that, we were off to the clubhouse where my sister and brother-in-law lived for a reception/beer party, though, not until I got three of my fingers slammed in the car door! My fingers hurt for weeks after that! I wanted to cry like a baby, but I didn’t.

Michael and I had been buying LP’s especially for the party. I remember a couple of them now, “The Commodores” (with the songs, “Brick House” and “Easy”) and Billy Joel’s “The Stranger”. Of course we had our favorites The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd. We had a keg of beer, sodas, and a 6 foot long submarine sandwich. Mom made a bunch of salads, aunts and uncles brought dishes to serve too. It was windy, but warm and sunny so we could go outside and enjoy the weather. Just the weekend before, most of the Midwest had been hit by a horrible ice storm.

Most of our guests had driven over from Carlinville, Illinois and were staying at The Red Roof Inn on the south side of Indy. When the party was over, we all headed down there for more partying! Michael and I didn’t stay that long, but we could tell there were going to be some wild times at The Red Roof Inn because Busch beer-bottle labels were already being papered on the walls of one room. We found out later that the manager came to my father-in-laws room and asked him to stop the partying going on in room 135. He responded by saying “Hey, they are 21 years old, you go tell them…” Needless to say he went back to the front desk and didn’t say another word.

Michael and I then headed to our room for “our”night at the airport Hilton. He’d bought us the “Honeymoon” deal. We checked in, got to our room, and waited for the dude to bring us our champagne and roses. We waited… and waited…, and after about 40 minutes it was just too much! It was “business time”.

We got busy snuggling, and just as things were getting really fun, there was a knock on the door. Then the door was opening!

Michael scrambled from the bed. I got under the covers with only my eyes peering out! He sprinted to the door to keep the dumbass out of the room, grabbed a towel, and told the guy, “Uh, I’m kinda buck-ass naked here. What do you want?” Dumbass Dude says, “I’m here to deliver the champagne and roses that you ordered.” and therefore let the dude in to deliver the champagne while he hid behind the door!!!

There was my new husband, standing behind the door while the idiot bell boy brings in the good stuff. Suffice it to say the only one that got a “tip” that night was me…

And thus it began. And what a wonderful and warm ride it has been !

Sam’s First Snow

Geeky — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 22:29:47 +0000

Last week we had snow which is a rarity in Atlanta. They don’t call it “Hotlanta” for nothin’. I wanted to document Sam’s first experience (Hunter and Clyde’s second). This isn’t the best video I’ve ever done, but I’ve been busy with these little fellas!

This week? I’ve got the windows open, ceiling fans on full-speed, and I’m wearing a sundress while trying to stay cool in our 80-degree office. Our neighbors have started their aircon, but I just can’t do that. No, I need the fresh air — even though I do have allergies. They’ll be flaring-up soon enough because the pear trees are in bloom and the daffodils are already wilting. I wish I’d put in some hyacinths because I love the scent!

So, here ya’ go with my half-rate video. Still, these little guys are so much fun for me. I hope they are for you too.

Google Game

Geeky — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 18:23:44 +0000

The rules are described as: Go to Google and type in quotation marks your name and then “likes to” (ex. “Steve likes to”). Type in the first ten things that come up and repost in your own note.

Delmer, one of my favorite bloggers, played the Google Game today. While Delmer is a fine name indeed (though not as fine as the man himself), it’s not much fun when it comes to playing the Google Game. Still, I thought it would be fun to give it a try. When I Googled my awesomely hot and sexy name (thanks Mom) ”Diana likes to” led to the following hits:

Diana likes to block her head with gelato. WTH???
Diana likes to wake up early and run on the treadmill for 30 minutes. Obviously, that is NOT from one of my blog posts!
Diana likes to go to the pet shop. Hmmm…
Diana likes to get jiggy. I’m not sure what ‘jiggy’ is, but it sounds like fun to me.
Diana likes to contribute to The North Carolina Journal for Women in support of a women’s Ezine. I’m sure that The North Carolina Journal for Women would prefer I keep my “writings” to this blog.
Diana likes to give me the challenge of creating a new design. I’m all about creating challenges.
Diana likes to be needed and to care for others, and she often worries about the people she loves. Doesn’t everybody?
Diana likes to shop and what modern lady doesn’t? Uh, duh, ME!
It is this magic that Diana likes to capture in her own cooking by drawing on tastes and fragrances from around the world. My cooking is magical! Just ask my sons, they love my “blue box” macaroni and cheese.
Diana likes to chat online. No kidding! I wonder why she’s not on one of my friend lists?

OK, now I need to get busy Googling the definitions of “blocking heads with gelato” and “jiggy”.

Good Fences

Geeky — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:52:22 +0000

It’s been a very busy week here. As usual, I have a stack of ironing that is never-ending, stacks of paperwork to tend to, carpets to clean, but I’ve just got to tell you some stuff.

The Way-Hot Husband and Peteenabs put up a fence at the back of the yard! Woo-hoo! I no longer have to worry about Hunter and Clyde taking off after some critter. Still, I don’t want to leave them outdoors alone because of the hawks who know mah boyz are here. They circle over our yard every afternoon! WHH and Petee think I’m being over-protective, but if you could see these humongous hawks you’d be skeered too! Hunter only weighs 13 pounds. I’ve seen rabbits in our yard that were almost as big as him (their poops are almost as big too). Yesterday, I saw at least 6 of them soaring overhead and tried to get a picture with my phone, but it was too cloudy. I’ll try to get a better picture with my good camera sometime. Maybe someone can tell me what kind of hawks they are?

I’ve been volunteering for Havanese Rescue, Inc. since we adopted Clyde and Hunter. HRI is run solely by volunteers. There are no headquarters or kennels. We meet via email, a web group, and phone. One of our volunteers, Joan Ambrose, is also a breeder. Her dog, PJ, won Best of Breed at Westminster the other night. I am so proud, and I haven’t even met her IRL (in real life)!

When I signed up with HRI, I also opted into the fostering program. HRI has been rescuing a lot more dogs lately as have many other rescue groups. I found out the other day that a family may need to surrender their puppy this weekend because of illness. I was asked if I could foster him until he’s ready for adoption.

Who could say no? I am excited about being able to help a family who can no longer keep this little puppy, but I’m also scared to death of the feelings we’ll have when it comes time for him to go to his forever family. I fell in love with Clyde and Hunter the moment I saw them, and so has everyone else. This is new territory for this ol’ gal!

Speaking of territory… I’ve been cleaning the carpets doing my best to get the stains and odors out from mah boyz’ being all manly by marking their territories. I don’t want the foster puppy to pick up bad habits from these guys. I’ve tried all kinds of products, but my friend, Mary, suggested trying Nature’s Miracle. Ohmahgosh! That stuff does work miracles! If you’ve got pets, kids, or are just a slob like me, you need to buy that stuff by the gallon. Really! Go buy some.

Now, it’s time for me to figure out what I’m going to fix for dinner. Oh, and Mr. Shiny and MetalMom… I haven’t forgotten about your interview questions. I promise!

Hey, I’m Still Here!

Geeky — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:40:38 +0000

I just wanted to let y’all know that I’m alive and well, just a bit harried by computer woes over the last couple of weeks, broken glasses, and some other unfinished business.

My five-year old Toshiba laptop decided to crap out on me. It’d been acting strangely the last couple of months, but then the last week it would shut down each time I tried to connect any USB device or even just touch it. Fortunately, I had sense enough to back-up my hard-drive before she gave up the ghost.

I know you’ve all heard this before, but it really is important it to back-up all of your data on a regular basis. It’s not as difficult as it used to be in the days of floppy-disks and CD-ROMs, or the real floppy disks! I also use Norton’s online back-up for my Quicken files and Flickr for my photos. By the way, Flickr is free (now owned by Yahoo), but I upgraded to a Pro account so that I could create sets and collections.

When I was shopping for my new laptop Saturday, I saw 4GB flash-drives for $13 and 500GB USB mass-storage devices for $80. I realize that we’re in tough economic times, but do you really want to risk losing all of your data because your computer decides to do the nasty and crap all over you? Back-um-up, baby, back-um-up!

In other news…

My nephew, Eric, has started a blog, “Eric’s Blog: a look at life through color-blind eyes…”, and plans to attend TequilaCon ‘09 in Sante Fe, NM April 25! Please head on over there and welcome him to the blogosphere because I know you’re gonna love him — because he’s way-hotter than Tom Cruise, has a brain that Tom Cruise could only wish for, and he’s funny as hell!

Another of my nephews, Andrew, has also started a blog, “The Wayward Hoover”. He won’t be attending TequilaCon since he’s busy living on the other side of the world in New Zealand. Of course, he’s handsome, talented, and very funny too because, well, these are genetic traits that run in the family!