The Gremlin named Jackie

This is Jackie the Jack Russell, doesn't he look sweet and innocent

No, I did not name him. Jackie was found running around outside my work on a busy street. He was so adorable and friendly and just so full of life and it was obvious he normally wore a collar, even though he wasn't wearing one now. I put an add in the local paper and on craigslist and then a few days later I took him to the vet and they discovered he was microchipped! I was very excited because he was such a sweet little dog and I just knew someone had to be missing him.

I tried contacting the owner on his mircochip and when the number didn't work, I sent a letter to the address. Nothing. Slowly it dawned on me that someone had abandoned him and was not trying to find him.

But he had wormed his way right into my heart and I knew if no one was looking for him he had just found his new forever home (even as I type this he is snuggled between my calves).

He loves to play with Shadow and sometime poor Shadow is worn out and just wants to be left alone...Jackie only has an on or off switch and when he is on, he is a little ball of energy.



He is an excellent squirrel spotter and once he spots one he gets Shadow in on it too. They are convinced one day they will actually catch one of the squirrels and the squirrels love to taunt them mercilessly.





Jackie is a crazy Gremlin impersonator and he is convinced he is as big as a 100 lb rottweiler. He has a knack for nailing all guys in the balls as soon as they walk in the door. And he is utterly fearless. And he is also the best little snuggle bug ever. I adore him.

Here are my boys looking like they aren't up to anything and as pretty as can be.



I love Shadow too!

May Day

Yes, it's May Day, but more importantly...it's my BESTEST FRIEND'S BIRTHDAY!

Her mom likes to tell her it was the one and only time she was on time for anything. May 1st being her due date. I would have to agree with her mom, but I love her anyway. She just operates on Jen-time.

She is also a smidge irked that she missed diamonds as her birthstone by one day. One freaking day! But emeralds aren't too shabby either.

I taught her how to drive. She would talk for me in large groups because she knew I hated it. I killed the moths and she killed the spiders. I am happy to let her turn a year older a whole month and half before I do so, she can tell me how she likes it and I can decide if I really want to do it too :)

Jen and I met a week before our sophomore year of college. She was the Resident Assistant and I was the Hall President (anyone who knows us now, knows this was destined to be the ultimate pairing leading toward world domination). And we were not impressed with each other. I had just driven 500 miles in 8 hours, a large portion of it on one lane highways stuck behind slow truckers. I was tired and cranky. Jen had already been in the dorm for a week prior to my arrival and I think was going a little stir crazy. The only people in the dorm that would house 50+ girls in less than week at that time were Jen and the other RA and now me.

Jen was new to the dorm and I was a "returner". She began asking me all kinds of questions about the house (our dorm was actually a co-operative and while still technically a dorm was in a house, similar to a sorority only totally NOT a sorority). She wanted to know all the house traditions and what was the cook like and how did it all work, etc etc. I just wanted in my room so I could start unloading my car. All I could think was, "Will this girl ever SHUT UP?!" and she thought "Wow, this girl is a total bitch!"

After school started there is an annual competition for all the residence halls aka dorms. It is called GDI (God Damn Independent), it was the counterpart of Greek Week on campus. We were "independent" of the Greek System. Each dorm competes against the others and a winner is named at the end of the week and gets a trophy and, more importantly, bragging rights for the year. GDI was the week Jen and I really bonded. We were both EXTREMELY competitive and determined that our dorm was going to win! P.S. we totally did!

The rest my friends is history. Jen and I lived together for 7 years from the time we first lived together. Sometimes people say you can't live with your best friend without ruining the relationship. That wasn't the case for us. We lived really well together, there was never any disputes over what belong to who, everything was just "ours".

After school I decided to move back to Oregon and Jen decided to move with me. She didn't want to stay in Idaho and I told her she could live with me. We moved back to Oregon and lived with my parents for almost a year. Then we got our own apartment. Along the way we acquired 2 kitties and a crazy scottish terrier.

Then Jen met Brad, the love of her life. It was hard for me to relinquish my spot as her number one. I had always been her other half, she was the Jen in my JenErica and I was the Erica in hers. No mere boy had ever come between us before, but Brad was different. He was "the one".

After two years in our apartment, Jen moved in with Brad. Those were some of the hardest times in our relationship. Because after 7 years of everything being a certain way it was all changing. Even though it was logical and we knew it would happen eventually it was still difficult. There were tears and fights, but we came out the other side, our friendship still solid and going strong.

This august Jen and Brad will be getting married and I am so excited for them. I am also lucky enough to get be by Jen's side as her maid of honor. This august will also mark 9 years that we have been friends.

We turned 21 together, we graduated college together, we turned 25 together! We even work together (how sick is that?!) I am excited for us to experience marriage and babies and grandbabies and retirement together. Because I know that is how long Jen and I will be friends.

So, today on her birthday, I want to wish her the happiest birthday yet and I know there will be many more to come!

Happy 28th Birthday, Jen! I love you!



Best friends

No we have NOT been drinking! Why do you ask?

We love the 80's!

Thousand Word Thursday

Completely blocking out the people sitting behind me on the ride while my youngest brother, Alex, has an identical expression as me and my middle brother, Sam, makes it look like his hands belong to Alex, all while trying to not fall out of the "log".

This picture makes me laugh everytime I look at it!

boys and their caulk

Mike has decided to get his house ready for an appraisal to refinance. Sweet, cool, whatevs.

Wait, did I mention that this means he is now replacing ALL his baseboards and door frames so they match his new window frames? And painting several rooms in his house. Including the kitchen and that means the cupboard doors and drawers too! And THAT means I "get" to help.

I am a little less thrilled about this now. And seeing the hallway and kitchen with out door frames and without baseboards makes me more than a little nervous. The "boys", Mike and his buddy Little Jon, are notorious for having genius ideas and starting projects, but for whatever reason they never quite get completed. All I know is there better be baseboards and door frames up throughout the house by the end of the week. Little Jon says by Thursday, but I will be generous and give him through the weekend to finish.

Also, do you even know how many cock jokes they make while talking about caulking? I was in the back room feeding my cat, Maggie, which of course means I was talking and singing to her and LJ is outside the window (the open window) and he says to me, "Hey, you're talking to your pussy and I am playing with caulk." Then he giggled like a schoolboy. Boys are D-U-M dumb!

And to top off my "excitement" about these projects my project karma decided to teach me a lesson for being such a doubter. As I was trying to open the 5 gallon paint bucket I nearly ripped off my right pointer finger nail. And yes, it hurt like a mother and I am sure the cats learned some very choice words. There is quite the bruise under my fingernail now and it may turn into a blood blister and need to be drained...I am soooo lucky.

Keep your fingers crossed that everything is completed quickly and the house is returned to normal!

I hate being a grown up

What do you do when you realize your boyfriend will never marry you? How much time do you give it to see if he will decide that you are the one he wants to be with?

As hard as it is to admit, today I came to the realization that Mike most likely won't marry me. I don't think he will marry anyone. And it hurts to know that somehow I am not enough or what he is really looking for.

We have been together a little over a year and he still can't tell me if he can see himself married to me or having a family with me. He says he loves me and we seem happy. But lately I have begun to wonder...am I wasting my time?

I know that sounds harsh, but I DO want to get married and have children and create a family. And if that is not going to happen with Mike, then I need to figure out what my next step is.

I feel like I am in this constant state of limbo. I am not quite sure where I fall into the grand scheme of things. I live in his house and there is no vested interest for me here. It is not my home, it's his and he lets me stay...for now.

Maybe Mike doesn't want to get married and have kids because he is too busy being a big kid himself and doesn't want to deal with the responsibilities and obligations that come with being married and having a family. Maybe he wants to stay a "Toys R Us Kid".

It just sucks all around. I feel stuck. I love him and want to be with him, but if he doesn't see a long term future together, then I need to move on. I am stagnating in this world of "well maybe".

So...what you're saying is...you want a blizzard

As I sat watching the end of the news, I decided that I wanted a Blizzard from Dairy Queen. My intent was to just make a quick trip to Dairy Queen and be back in time to watch Jeopardy. Instead, actually making it out the door took longer than the drive to Dairy Queen and back. Jeopardy had already started by the time I got back.

Me: Hey, Mike, where is the closest Dairy Queen?
Mike: Why do you want to go to Dairy Queen?
Me: Because I want a blizzard.
Mike: Oh. Goes back to playing WoW
Me: still looks at him expectantly…nothing

Me (several minutes later): screw this; I will look it up myself (mumbled to myself)

Several more minutes pass as I search online for the nearest Dairy Queen.

Me: Hey, I am going to Dairy Queen.
Mike: What? Why?
Me: Beeecause, I WANT a blizzard (didn’t we just have this conversation?)
Mike: Oh. Well, I kind of wanted to go with you.
Me: Yeah, that’s not really possible because you are playing your game.
Mike: Yeah. Goes back to playing WoW
Me: looks at Mike thinking, HELLO!
Me: So, do you want anything?
Mike: Oh, yeah, I think I want their #1 blah blah blah…are you getting a meal?
Me: Nooo, I want a blizzard (again, didn’t we just have this conversation?)
Mike: Alright, then I will just get a blizzard.
Me: What kind of blizzard?
Mike: Hmm, Reese’s Peanut Butter or maybe….thinking
Me: raises eyebrow and tries to wait patiently
Mike: I think I want a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and Mint Oreo.
Me: Those are two different blizzards.
Mike: Can’t you mix them?
Me: Um…no.
Mike: Well, what kind are you getting?
Me: I am not sure yet, but I am thinking of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.
Mike: I don’t trust the look on his face: Well what if you get that one and I get the mint oreo one and we trade off?
Me: Well I am not sure if that is the blizzard I want, I wanted to look and see what other kinds there where when I got there. And I think they have a new one I might want to try.
Mike: Alright, just get me a Reese’s Peanut Butter one.
Me: Okay, sounds good. I will be back. Grabs purse and keys and leaves quickly.

30 minutes after I started this conversation I was home and had my blizzard.

How to 'Fly a Sign'

As a social worker I consider myself somewhat of an expert on the art of 'flying signs'. For all you "laypeople", flying a sign is what we call, in the "industry", panhandling with a cardboard sign on a street corner.

Below are some key points I think are important for successful sign fly-age:

*Don't write a novel. I am driving, most likely not stopping for long at a light and frankly I don't have a lot of time to read the essay you wrote on why I should give you my money. Be concise.

*Write BIG! I should be able to read your sign from several car lengths back. If I am squinting trying to read your sign as I am passing you...not good.

*Use a dark marker. On a tan cardboard sign, dark colors stand out and are easier to read.

*Don't make drug or alcohol references. A sign with "4:19" on it or one that says, "why lie, I want a beer", does not encourage me to give you MY hard earned money.

*Gimmicks can be okay..."Bet you can't hit me with a quarter" "Dancing for change" Both clever and original, you may just get some of my money.

*DO NOT under any circumstances approach my stopped vehicle if I do not have my hand out the window indicating I am giving you money. People, especially women, do not like when strangers approach their window, especially unkempt, scary men (yes, I am stereotyping). I will not be giving you money if you do this. I will lock my doors and get my cell phone out to call 911.

And lastly....

*Don't tell me you are a "struggling student". I will stop my car just to bitchslap you, but I will not be giving you any money. I have been a broke student, but you get financial aid which helps cover living expenses. I lived off of ramon noodles and free pizza for several years. I have no sympathy for you,I am still paying off my student loans!

Follow my simple guidelines and you could be earning spare change in no time! Best of luck in your sign flying!