Share bits from my world

I went to a beginning quilling class. I just loved it! I can see myself using this on the cards and postcards that I make and send so often. When I got home my youngest son (5) wanted me to show him how to do it. He was quite the quick learner, too.

I have just had two days off. Two days in which I basically did nothing. I had no chores really, other than the basic stuff. I had no plans. I mostly stayed around the house and watched movies and other non-productive things. What I really did, was post a lot on 43Ts. In fact this has been a record breaking week for posts out of me. And I think about 3 of the threads were me bickering with people. So the embarassing part is this.. my friends that I work with, who have been at work or otherwise occupied this weekend are due to be back here sometime soon and are going to see just how much effort I put into being a slacker.

Some people have those little goose statues they dress up for holidays, we have a training dummy. Officially Officer John Baker.

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My family and I did. Probably one of the best I have had in years. Everything was soo nice. We did our Christmas last night, because today I had to work 12 hours. We got a little restless at work today, and took pictures of ourself with the training dummy dressed up as Santa. Then changed his outfit, and made him into baby New Year. Scary to find out what your 911 operators are doing? Nice day, not too busy. Naked guy walking around on an overpass, tamales and lots of chocolate and cookies.

I am challenged when it comes to getting pictures into posts, so they follow as their own posts.

Sharon and I were both chomping at the bit for four to come around so we could get off work. Our Christmas party was that night, and we were going to go get some beer at Circle K and then go the casino where the party was going to be held and meet our friend Shawna there, because she had gotten a room there. We were going to get ready there. But I digress. This was why we were feeling a bit antsy and happy though. I got up and started ball flinging. This is an activity that I made up out of sheer boredom and my frequent need to burn off excess energy. We have dowels at work that are used to reach up to the ceiling to slide the AC vent covers back and forth. On top of one of these dowels is a little white ball, that used to be an antenna topper from Jack in the Box. He used to be Jack I am sure, but long ago he lost any recognizable features. Then he became Sharon Jr and I drew red curls and a smirk on it. That faded out and now Sharon has made him into a pirate. You have to pull the ball off of the dowel and then barely push the dowel back in, then aim for a wall, which should be about 15 or so feet away. There is a certain wrist flicking technique you must master to send the ball flying perfectly. Not enough, he comes off early and hits the ceiling, too much and you over reach and he hits the floor. Oh, and he comes off the stick with the most satisfying sound. A sort of shwooshing sound of the stick being whipped, a cork pop sound as ball leaves stick, and then a nice thwack as it hits the wall. A good shot makes the ball come back to your feet so you dont have to run around too much. Anyway, I got up and was standing in front of the radio where Sharon was, just mindlessly thwacking the ball over and over when Jim decided he wanted to try. So I let him in on my methods. Sharon, being Sharon.. could not resist trying it. Of course she could master such an easy thing. And she wanted to do her little butt shaking, I am so bad, strut. So she got up and gave it a try. Of course we realized we could add more fun to this, some competition, AND some danger. We decided to duel. I found another ball, but he was complete with reindeer nose and antlers and I just knew that was going to throw him off. I didnt want that ball. I couldnt find another stick either. So it came down to having to take turns. I stood down by the wall while Sharon took aim. It was very hard not to flinch, especially after the whip pop sound. She missed, and it was my turn. She did flinch the first time, but vowed not to be a puss ever more. Another turn for her, and so far we havent hit each other. Sharon starts feeling cocky and begins talking smack to me while I am winding up. She believes that I have displayed an inability to hit her so far and shes feeling safe and determined not to flinch. I however have had months of practice with thwack ball. She starts sing songing, and I let it go “Ooh, ooh. Two for flinch..” Shwoosh, pop… FACIAL! Woo hoo! I hit her smack dead center of the face! She went down! She dropped straight to the floor and began writhing around. Except it wasnt out of pain like I would have liked, it was from convulsions. She was laughing so hard she was crying and trying to control her bladder and I hit the floor about the same time with the same symptoms. To her credit she never did flinch. Now Sharon hates not having the last word, or the last hit. So I should have known this wasnt the end. Our boss came in so I figured this put an end to our little game. Silly me. She sat there with that dowel and ball in her lap, biding her time. I got up to do some actual work and turned towards sharon.. when WHACK.. she let it fly, at a range of about 3 feet and it hit me straight in the gut. I went down, mostly for comedic effect. She began creating a eulogy. I was laying on the ground and she was looking for flowers because she thought I should lay there a moment with my eyes shut, holding some flowers upon my chest. She immediately sprang into creating a set and a story. This is why we entertain each other all day long. Weird mix of Roller derby, queer eye, pranks, sarcasm, cynicism, competition, inspiration, smartassology, airheadedness, dorking out, ass whooping and word butchering. Our boss took the sticks away now, so I guess I will have to create a new game. This is a picture recreating the events except Sharon is sitting down.

This is my dog Ruby. She is a ridiculously tiny Chihuahua and an unbelievable diva. I have always been a big dog person. In fact I like them big and tough looking.. just like men. LOL But I digress. I wanted a Doberman or a Bullmastiff but didnt have the space for one. The rational part of me would have researched smaller breeds until I found the perfect match, like say.. a French Bulldog. I also wanted a purebred dog, of show quality so that I could begin showing.. though I know I dont really have the time for that yet either. Then along came Ruby. I had Chihuahua stereotype problems. I never would have wanted one. The whole Paris Hilton, dog in a purse, shivering, yappy, bug eyed thing. I found out about Ruby.. who is a Coachella Chihuahua, coming from a long and illustrious line of backyard babies, through a friend of a friend. I said no way. Then I said let me just get a look at her. So I met this guy named Jose in the parking lot of a Shell gas station, and he pulled a milk crate out of the back seat of his Impala and there was Ruby. The teeniest tiniest little thing ever, with milk chocolate eyes, shivering and panicked looking. My Mother instincts immediately kicked in and I started cooing. The weirdest part of all is this big tough esse guy Jose passed over a litle towel that smelled like home, a bag of Eukaneuba puppy food in the smallest size imaginable, and pee pee pads which he explained to me. I paid 99 dollars for her. Dont ask me why it was 99. I love this dog with all my heart. She is embarassing though. You cant take her anywhere. If it is less than 80 degrees outside she is shivering. I did not socialize her as a puppy and shes got that whole mean Chihuahua thing going on. People love her and come running and she turns into this eye white flashing teeth barring spastic. At home if I sit down, she is instantly in my lap. You can not fling yourself upon my bed anymore, because she might be buried in the blankets and she could get smooshed. When I get home from work she cant even breath she is so excited. She starts wheezing and hiccuping. I decided if I was going to be a dork with a Chihuahua, I would celebrate it. I bought her a collar on ebay with swarovski crystals and a little ruby heart charm. I am crocheting her a sweater right now. How is this for an embarassing admittance? Oh, and the best part? All of my friends who say they hate Chihuahuas… want one just like her. She wins over everyones heart. (Shes nice to people after about 10 minutes) Anyway, this entry is getting long. Here is a picture of her this morning. She would not cooperate though, it was cold and the grass was wet and she was not happy about it.

I was taking my son to school this morning, and its absolutely beautiful. The sky is all bright blue and crisp, and I remembered my goal to take pictures of anything and everything. So this is the view from my front yard. I love Palm Springs. I love the Desert.

Sharon and I fishing somewhere in Mexico. I was severely drunk and can not remember where it is we actually went. But it was fun. My goal was to catch a big fat fish which I could make into fish tacos, but what I caught was a big fat buzz instead. More than that actually. I caught a whole bunch of Sculpin, which are absolutely no fun at all to catch. They basically just fling themselves upon your hook and then play dead. They have poisonous spines and are amazing looking.

Anyway, this is one of my favorite things to do. Beer, friends, Mexico, Sharon, fishing.. Who could ask for more? Somehow I need to parlay this into a job.

Typical Sunday morning in dispatch. This is a picture of my daily must-haves at work. The rotation might change slightly from day to day. But these are pretty much basics. Laptop computer, with game of the moment. Right now it is Sid Meiers Pirates. I am looting the Caribbean. Yarn and crochet instructions, which is a new thing. Diet Coke, of course. Taco shop menu, and the piece de resistance.. A chorizo, egg and bean burrito with potato. Salsa, of course. The only things missing are some books and magazines and my little down comforter which I take to work every day, oh and whatever CD is in rotation at the time. This probably gives the impression that I am messing around more than actually working… but we have a lot of down time, and I must keep my little pea brain occupied or I go nuts and start bothering co-workers.