I think I mentioned I got new grill parts... Anyway, when I took the guts out of the grill, I thought before I put the new stuff in I'd hose all the crud out of the grill first. It seems like a good idea, right? Now, here's the background...

I have two hoses - the good one in the front yard and the old one on the backyard. The old one we only use for filling the dogs pool, and the new one is for watering and washing the car and all, so that's the one that has the sprayer nozzle on it. So, since there's already a hose in the back yard, I just took the nozzle off the hose in front and put it on the hose in the back. Then, knowing full well there's a crack in the old hose-I'd taped it up in the past- I turned on the water. Bet you can guess where this is going. Yeah, this was instantly catagorized a Bad Idea. When I turned on the hose, the pressure from having the nozzle on there blew the crack open, and water sterted spraying everywhere. But wait, it gets better! Rather than just turning off the water, I thought to myself, I bet if I turn the nozzle on, it'll release enough pressure and the hose will stop spraying! Didn't work. The dogs and I all got really wet. So, I had to turn off the water, drag around the new hose (which, by the way, I had debated over doing to begin with), switch the nozzle and then spray the grill. And the moral of the story is, common sense should ALWAYS rule out over laziness. So there.

My problem with doing this in the morning is that all the stuff I think about during the day is lost by the time I sit down here. My brian, I'm sorry to say, just doesn't organize things that way. I should probably start carrying a notebook around...

I told Mike that we had to go to Lowe's this weekend to buy lightsaber parts; and can you believe he ROLLED HIS EYES at me?! Some people! I suppose I'll appease him by letting him go over to EB Games...

I read a funny story the other day about these monkeys in India... well, here, you can read it...

Marijuana monkeys 20/04/2005 A gang of drunk monkeys went on a rampage through a village in India, injuring three people.
The monkeys had been boozing on liquor made of marijuana leaves, which they stole from outside the residents' huts in Baralapokhari village. Locals had been preparing the drink as part of an offering to Hindu gods for a religious festival, the Times of India reports.
Villagers fought back against the group of drunken primates with sticks and other weapons, finally managing to drive them back into the forest.
However, three people were injured in the battle and had to be taken to hospital.
© 1998-2005 DeHavilland Information Services plc. All rights reserved.

Heh...that's funny.

I don't know if I ever mentioned it, but last Thursday I opened up cereal boxes nine and ten...still no green lightsaber spoon! Seriously! I'd think they didn't really exist but for the fact that Alan got one. It's really unfair!

I opened cereal boxes eleven and twelve today.

I want a green lightsaber spoon.

You know what? They were red.

Damn the red spoons! Damn them all! Arrrggh!!!

I tried to borrow my mom's sewing machine last night to reinforce the seams of my cloak amd stuff, but when she tried to show me how it worked, we discovered that it was broken. It was doing the same thing that it did last time I borrowed it. Which is kinda good, because that means that I'm not hopelessly inept at sewing; the machine just doesn't work! Unfortunatly, it also means I still have un-reinforced seams. And yes, I know that's not actually a word. Maybe if I can get the money saved up I'll just buy one and teach myself-- but I have to buy my Bowflex first!

There's apparently some kind of wierd clothes-eating monster at my house...Brandon's lost all his school pants and Autumn can't find any of her sweatshirts. And I know for a fact that they had both those things in their clothes baskets last time they put clothes away-must mean it's time to clean rooms again.

I got a few random sorts of pics posted this evening...there's some from Easter (oh, it wasn't that long ago!)and another of me in Jedi garb...

Geeks rule!!

We revealed our secret angels at work today. You'll never guess who mine was...Renée! I had ruled her out early on because she'd had me before, and generally if you get someone you had before, you draw again. Not that I'm complaining at all, cuz I got lots of super cool stuff. She gave me a huge bag of toys today- Lord of the Rings Aragorn and Brego, cool miscellany, and TONS of nifty Star Wars stuff. I got a shirt, a cool light -up Darth Vader pen, a notepad, tin, lightsaber parts, and other cool stuff. All very fun.

I have my Lowe's shopping list for all the parts I need to build my lightsaber. I can't wait to do it! Once I get it finished, and find some leggings for the Jedi costume, I'll be able to join the Rebel Legion. Isn't being Star Wars geek fun!? I need to visit some resale shops to find the leggings.

We finally got a new burner for the grill, but it got dark before I could install it. So I guess I'm not grilling tomorrow...

I spent my whole weekend running errands. It wasn't fun! We need to replace the cartridge on our shower and apparently we have the one faucet that no one carries parts for anymore - which wouldn't be so bad if the people in home improvement stores didn't feel the need to argue with me! This is the second time this has happened, too...we had to replace the cartridge on the other shower last year and after arguing with the people at Lowe's we finally found the part at Home Depot. So naturally we went to Home Depot this time...here's how it went:

Me: I need a new cartridge for a Delta faucet.
Guy:Cartridge?
Me: Yes, the white part inside the faucet.
Guy: Is this just one handle or two?
Me: Just one; it's a single knob shower.
Guy: Are they long levers or short ones?
Me:(feeling exasperated) No, it's a KONB!
Guy: Is it leaking or what?
Me:(duh)Yes.
Guy:Oh. Well, then what you need is to replace the seats.
Me:(arrggghhh!) No, I've already done that. I need to replace the whole part; I've already had to do it to my other shower.
Guy:So when you take it all apart, there's the ball in there?
Me: No! We don't have the ball-type faucet!
Guy: Oh! I know what you're talking about! You have the kind with the actual cartridge! (Note: Isn't this what I said at the beginning?!) Yeah, we don't sell those anymore....

I spent ages looking for shorts to wear on the weekends and stuff. See, the problem is that women's sizes in stores that I can afford only go down to a 4. More expensive stores sell smaller sizes, but I can't afford those, so I'm stuck shopping the junior section at cheaper stores. And how long do you think junior shorts are? Yeah, the "long" ones had about a two inch inseam. I'm sorry, I don't want my butt hanging out! So after much futile effort, I finally went to the clearance rack at Target, bought three pairs of size 14 girls pants, took them home and cut them off. Ha! now I have shorts!!

I'm one step closer to joining the Rebel Legion.(yes, I'm a dork!)..I got my Jedi boots! Can you believe it? The Force really was with me! Knee high soft brown boots. Now, all I need is a pair of sandy colored leggings and I'm good to go! I can't wait.

I spent my whole weekend running errands. It wasn't fun! We need to replace the cartridge on our shower and apparently we have the one faucet that no one carries parts for anymore - which wouldn't be so bad if the people in home improvement stores didn't feel the need to argue with me! This is the second time this has happened, too...we had to replace the cartridge on the other shower last year and after arguing with the people at Lowe's we finally found the part at Home Depot. So naturally we went to Home Depot this time...here's how it went:

Me: I need a new cartridge for a Delta faucet.
Guy:Cartridge?
Me: Yes, the white part inside the faucet.
Guy: Is this just one handle or two?
Me: Just one; it's a single knob shower.
Guy: Are they long levers or short ones?
Me:(feeling exasperated) No, it's a KONB!
Guy: Is it leaking or what?
Me:(duh)Yes.
Guy:Oh. Well, then what you need is to replace the seats.
Me:(arrggghhh!) No, I've already done that. I need to replace the whole part; I've already had to do it to my other shower.
Guy:So when you take it all apart, there's the ball in there?
Me: No! We don't have the ball-type faucet!
Guy: Oh! I know what you're talking about! You have the kind with the actual cartridge! (Note: Isn't this what I said at the beginning?!) Yeah, we don't sell those anymore....

I spent ages looking for shorts to wear on the weekends and stuff. See, the problem is that women's sizes in stores that I can afford only go down to a 4. More expensive stores sell smaller sizes, but I can't afford those, so I'm stuck shopping the junior section at cheaper stores. And how long do you think junior shorts are? Yeah, the "long" ones had about a two inch inseam. I'm sorry, I don't want my butt hanging out! So after much futile effort, I finally went to the clearance rack at Target, bought three pairs of size 14 girls pants, took them home and cut them off. Ha! now I have shorts!!

I'm one step closer to joining the Rebel Legion.(yes, I'm a dork!)..I got my Jedi boots! Can you believe it? The Force really was with me! Knee high soft brown boots. Now, all I need is a pair of sandy colored leggings and I'm good to go! I can't wait.

I've spent my morning watching the Star Wars trailer. I CAN'T WAIT!!! Reneé is going to the midnight showing on the 19th to see it. I was going to, but now that Mike works at night, I can't. I'm quite sad... The costume mock-up I've been working on is pretty funny...so far I've got shiny purple metallic tunic with pink and white barbie tabard. Pretty! I think the hardest part is going to be finding soft brown Jedi boots...I'm sure not buying brand new ones, so I'm going to have to luck into some at a resale shop or something. May the Force be with me!

Two more days to get through, then this week will be over. I can't wait. Yay!

I've spent my morning watching the Star Wars trailer. I CAN'T WAIT!!! Reneé is going to the midnight showing on the 19th to see it. I was going to, but now that Mike works at night, I can't. I'm quite sad... The costume mock-up I've been working on is pretty funny...so far I've got shiny purple metallic tunic with pink and white barbie tabard. Pretty! I think the hardest part is going to be finding soft brown Jedi boots...I'm sure not buying brand new ones, so I'm going to have to luck into some at a resale shop or something. May the Force be with me!

Two more days to get through, then this week will be over. I can't wait. Yay!

This week is never going to end. My mom's on vacation this week, and things always fall apart when she's not there...Monday we lost our electricity for nearly two hours, plus two people left eary and one person was out; yesterday, one person didn't come back from lunch because she got pulled over and had to go pay her seven outstanding tickets, which wouldn't be a big deal except that the other teacher in that classroom had been subpeoned in a custody case for one of the kids in her class and so wasn't there...so guess who got the class?

I gave the last of my cash to Renée last night, but she didn't call me, so I guess we didn't win the lotto. Darn. I was thinking it would be nice to sleep till seven every day. I can't wait till tomorrow, at least it's payday for Mike...

wow...nobody's heard from me in week! How can you cope?? I've actually been pretty busy...I've been in one of those re-organizing moods that hit me every so often. Plus I have to make room for my Bowflex...I can't order it till next month, but I had to make room now, cuz once I start moving stuff, it takes me awhile to stop. And I've been spending a lot of time on my Jedi costume...I really need to learn to sew! I really, really, really want one of the cool reproduction lightsabers that they have on Wal*Mart.com, but I don't have a hundred and thirteen dollars to blow on a toy. Darn. And yes, it's sold as a "collector's item" but by golly, I do play with my toys! I'm not in it for value, I'm in it for enjoyment!! There's a bunch of cool new Star Wars legos, too...

Oh! speaking of toys, my secret angel got the world's super-duper coolest ever thing yesterday!! Whoever she is, she loves me. Anyway it turns out that McFarlane toys-the company that makes the NHL action figures that we collect- (check out spawn.com for all kinds of cool stuff) also makes DRAGONS! Yay! I have to have them all. I got the Fire Clan dragon and it's so cool!!! I'm very excited about it. As if you couldn't tell.

There's something in my grill...the stupid dogs were barking at it ALL NIGHT! My neighbors probably hate me.

I finally got around to making an appointment for an eye exam so that I can get new contacts. The ones I have are so nasty and scratched up it's amazing I can even see. They're supposed to be replaced every year, but I think I've had this pair for close to six years. I imagine I'm gonna get a pretty good scolding from the eye doctor this afternoon...

Guess what? Brandon likes Star Wars!! Yay, yay, YAY!!! I'm so excited!! I got a cool Mace Windu guy at the store yesterday. He swings his lightsaber when you squeeze his legs. OK, so it's a little cheesy, but Mace Windu's cool. And we got a Titanium series Star Destroyer. It's also super cool... Six more weeks! I can't wait!!

I find it amusing in a dark sort of way that the correctional facility in Mansfield in on a road called Heritage Way.

Brandon's got this thing in his class where on Fridays he takes something that starts with a certain letter. Today we have long E and the only thing I can think of is Ewok. And I don't have one of those anyway. Speaking of toys, my Darth Maul toy has somehow had his lightsaber broken - I'm quite disappointed. I didn't get to go out and buy any of the new Star Wars toys that came out on Saturday either, and now all the good ones are gone. It's not so much that I couldn't afford to buy a few of the toys, but then I'd have to give Mike money to spend, too; then we'd spend eighty instead of forty. So. No new toys :(

I had my dogs in the garage last night while the storms passed through; when the rain stopped around 8:00, I was going to put them back outside. I opened the door and Zephyr came in, but I didn't see Missy right away. Then my car started shaking, and I'm thinking, did she squeeze under there? Then she comes flying out the window -apparently I had left the window down after I came home yesterday and she just hopped in and made herself comfy. There's probably dirt all over in there now...

There's a section of highway between here and work that's closed off right now; traffic is being diverted into the exit only lanes on both sides if the highway while they repair the bridge. Maybe it's just me, but it makes me a little nervous that they can just tear up the top of a bridge, toss some stuff in there, and then cover it all back up and call it fixed. Isn't that like sweeping trash under the rug?

The lack of hockey is starting to take a toll on me. I feel adrift on the Sea of No Entertainment. I think I'd rather like to take up paintball. Mike said no, but what does he know? Blasting the crap out of my friends sounds like fun. Of course, the fact that I've never shot a gun of any stripe might be a bit of an impediment... plus I'd need money... But still, sounds like fun.

I think Brandon has pink eye, so I guess I get to miss most of work today. Yay. Good thing Mike worked lots of overtime last week, since now my check will be bitty.

I finally have my entryway all done. It looks nice; I'm happy with the way it turned out Now I just have to decide how I"m gonna do the floor...

I listen to the weather every morning on the radio at 4:30. I can't remember the guy's name, but it's a guy from Texas Cable News who does it, and he's as good as any other weatherman--I mean, he's no Troy Duncan, but he'll do. Anyway, I'm listening yesterday and he gives the forcast, chance of rain and all that, then he does overnight and weekend. Then he kinda pauses, and goes "There's something on the radar headed toward the Metroplex..." then he just stops and signs off. Something? Storms? UFO's? ICBM's? Santa? What's that all about? It was a bit amusing...

I've bought four boxes of cereal trying to get all the cool lightsaber spoons, and I've gotten ALL red ones. I traded one to Renée for a blue one, but I still need a green one. Ooo, I also got super-cool M&Ms; one's a Darth mix with dark chocolate peanut M&Ms and cool dark colors, and one's a Jedi mix with light colors. And cool PEZ dispensers; one's a Wookiee and one's Darth Vader. I'm pretty sure Mike thinks I'm a big ol' dork. I can't wait...