Good Things Come In 3s

Right? Isn’t that how it goes? Everything in 3s? I hope so because so far we have…

1. LT Fromage’s acceptance notice *

2. Some other really good news with a potentially freakin’ awesome outcome… but I’m not at liberty to talk about it. Soo…. Just know that we’re uber excited about something else around here!

3. And 3? Well, we’ll see!

Honestly, I’m so excited about items 1 and 2 I don’t even care what 3 is. I’m also so excited I’m having a hard time composing a coherent post. Bear with me.

* In addition to LT Fromage landing his dream job, he also gets to come home early from deployment to start his training. When I say early, I mean in a few months – long before he was even due home for mid-tour leave!

Talk about MEGA NEWS! I wasn’t expecting this man home until at least September, and that would be for a mere 2 weeks! I’m like a kid at Christmas, folks. Seriously, I’m giddy. And I’ve never used that word before.

Of course, LT Fromage’s early return is a little of a trade-off. On the plus side: This 12-month deployment just got a hellavuh lot shorter, but on the downside: It means that in just a few months I’ll be leaving behind The Little Apple and all my friends here. We’ll also be leaving the dogs for an extended visit with their gramma, as we won’t be able to take them with us initially.

(Let me just say, I have the coolest mamma eva to take our 200lbs of dogs for the next 5-8 months. Thanks, mom! You rock my world!)

Finally, and possibly most importantly, we’ll be moving away from my Thia place. I warned LT Fromage that when the time came to choose Him or the Thai place, I wasn’t sure what I’d do. But he won out (He knew he would!)

So… yeah. Waiting for Good Thing Number 3 to come my way!

Reentering the Blogosphere

Wow. It’s been a while *embarrassed smile*. Yes, I’m still here and doing fine. In fact, so fine I hardly have time to blog! Who would have thought that with LT Fromage away and quitting my job I’d stay so busy? But somehow, I’m busier now than I was when I worked full time and had a husband at home. Hm.

What’s going on in the Fromage household? Well…

We successfully rehomed all of the extra rodents! Well, to be more exact, one died (so sad, she was my favorite) and we ended up keeping 3 that I got too attached to. At any rate, we’re down to 4 mice and 10 rats, which is our maximum capacity (or maybe even a little over the limit…!). All of the other pets are doing well, and more importantly, not procreating.

Lots of girls nights, lunch dates and outings with my Non-Sucky Army Wife Friends. (One of whom just found out her 6-month-old daughter may have leukemia, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers). My mom will be relieved of her duties of phone-friend in about 10 months, but until then she’s always around when I need to hear another person on the other end of the line. (Thanks, Mom!)

I’ve basically stopped cooking. What’s the point in buying groceries, preparing, making, and cleaning up after a meal for one when my favorite Thai restaurant is on speed dial? *A little embarrassed to admit they now know me by name when I call in…* I do miss my kitchen time and I’m looking forward to LT Fromage’s return when we go back to eating home cooked meals every day (among other reasons!).

Lucky me, I’ve been able to talk to LT Fromage via facebook, Skype or the good old telephone nearly every day. Sometimes, for so long we sort of run out of things to talk about! Which is much better than what we anticipated as far as communication goes. (For those wondering, he’s doing well, er, as well as can be expected fighting for our freedom. Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers) We’re about a sixth of the way through and going strong!

Thanks for the thoughts and concerns, and especially for continuing to check in even when I'm not posting! Y'all are the best *big internet hug to all my readers*

Something in the Water?

There must be something going around because now instead of just one unplanned litter of rodents, we have 3 litters and one more on the way, bringing our current rat/mouse tally to a whopping 40. Yes. 40.

It’s as if every time I enter my office, my once place of solitude, someone else is nursing new babies. Thank God Petco already took back “Bianca” who turned out to be “Brian” and they’ll soon be receiving all of his offspring (the moment they’re weaned). Homes are being lined up for some of the 22 baby rats and I’m fairly confident that we have now separated our sexes. God, I hope so.

Apologies for the lack of funny/snarky/embarrassing posts as of late; I’m still adjusting to being geographically single. Which, for those of you who haven’t done it, means random breakdowns (usually somewhere inconvenient, like the grocery store, where you realize I’m only shopping for one now), crying at all the wrong times and showering becomes the most monumental thing I accomplish some days. Sounds fun, right? On the bright side, I don’t have to shave my legs if I don’t feel like it and cheese and crackers can constitute a meal if I don’t want to cook, so there are some perks. Plus “deployed LT Fromage” (There is a regular and deployed version of every Military husband) is even more thoughtful than usual (and he was already so sweet he could make your teeth hurt), so I’ve been getting romantic cards in the mail, flowers delivered and heartfelt messages on my facebook wall every time I log on. Best of all, with the man around the house gone, I know I won’t catch this baby bug that seems to have hit all the other female residents of the Fromage Palace!

Only… Eff. I don’t even want to think about how much more we have left to go on this deployment. Thank God for girls’ nights and tequila in the meantime.

And the Killer is....

LT Fromage is finally in the ‘stan. Please keep him and his boys in your thoughts and prayers.

Since my newfound “singleness” has ensued, I’ve been watching a lot of TV, Investigation Discovery to be precise. It’s amazing to me how detectives can find the smallest bits of trace evidence, a hair here, a bit of fiber there, and convict a killer.

They’d better not ever have to come to my house. All they’ll find is dog hair. Or cat hair. Or dust.

Seriously? Who’s house/car/clothes are so clean that a single finger print is useable? Uhm, not mine!

Another Poop Post

You know those once-in-a-lifetime dogs? The ones you never forget, and you're only lucky enough to have once? Satchel was that dog; sadly we had to put him to sleep just over a year ago. We still talk about him often in the Fromage household, usually in the context of picking on our current dogs, Erika and Buford, requesting that they be more like their predecessor. (For instance, Saturday morning, when I went downstairs to find trash strewn about, “Why can’t you guys just be more like Satchel? He didn’t pull this kind of $H!T!”)


It’s hard to narrow down the best thing about Satchel. Was it his wrinkly face that one could smoosh into utter cuteness? His ability to be so loving and gentle with everyone, puppies, babies and strangers, but ready to tear someone’s face off if they messed with his mamma ? Was it because he could be trusted with the run of the house and not get into trouble? The ever so gentle way he took food from your hand, using his lips so not to accidently nibble a finger? Was it his seeming ability to understand exactly what you were saying to him?

Those things were all wonderful, but the thing we miss most about Satchel? His pooping.


Yes, his pooping.

Satchel loved to poop and we loved how excited he was after he pooped. We think this stemmed from his younger days when we were housetraining. Since I was in an apartment at that time and had no yard, I was right there with Satchel, on the other end of the leash every single time he successfully pooped outside and boy would we celebrate when he did! Treats! Jumping! Exclaiming “Hooray! Satchel! Hooray! Good job, boy!”! I’m sure all of the other residents in the complex thought I was nuts, but it worked. He was housetrained in record time and the sense of pride and accomplishment he felt after pooping stayed with him for years to come. Even as an adult dog, then limited to the use of only 3 legs, he would finish his business and take off into a full sprint! Wagging, running and celebrating! (Although, Erika was trained the same way, but does not derive the same joy from this activity...)

We could watch him in the back yard, running until he met the fence, and on walks LT Fromage would take the leash and as Satchel finished, the boys would together run for blocks as I cleaned up what had warranted such excitement.

Satchel’s favorite place to poop was Home Depot.


About a year after Satchel came along, I bought a house. Home owners spend a lot of time at Home Depot, which happens to be dog friendly (perhaps no longer, after Satchel left his mark…).

Satchel often joined me running errands on weekends.


I always made him potty before we left the house. Really, I tried to prevent it.


As soon as we entered the store, Satchel scouted for the perfect place to poop; a long, empty aisle. The moment I became distracted he would hunch over…

Then he would run! A big, brown, wrinkly, 3-legged dog flailing about on the end of his leash (Or sometimes, if he was lucky, slipping out of his collar to dash up and down the aisles) as I bagged the pile he was so proud of.

Every. Single. Time.

They must have come to know us at that Home Depot. “Here comes that girl and her crazy dog… Get the hose out, boys…”

We miss you, Satch. See you on the other side. I hope they have Home Depot in heaven.

You love me, you really love me!

Thanks so much to Kara, from Visions unto myself , for awarding me this….

In order to accept (plus it gives me some substance to constitute an actual post) I have to list 5 guilty pleasures and pass this award on to three (just 3?) of my favorite bloggers….

Off we go…

1. Cheese. Obviously. I love all things cheese, all kinds of cheese, even nasty processed crap like Velveeta. Does that make me a true cheese lover, or is eating that some sort of blasphemy?

2. Green curry, Indian food of any kind, chocolate, margaritas and frozen yogurt. Not all togeth…. Wait, I just had a fantastic plan for supper!

3. Rodents. I collect them like some people collect stamps. Except most people don’t use small furry animals as postage, and stamp collectors hold their treasures in books, whereas I like to carry mine around in my pockets.

4. Cows. If it’s black and white spotted, I must have it. There are more cow items than cookware in my kitchen. And I have a lot of cookware.

5. MTV. Sad, but true. If I can get an afternoon marathon of Real World or Teen Mom, I’m a happy girl.

Now, I wish I was watching some trashy TV with a big bowl of curry and a platter of cheese on the side. A rodent snuggled in my pocket and my stuffed cow, Sir Loin would complete the picture. What a fantastic day that would be!

Enough day dreaming, gotta pass this on to some other worthy blogs….

Big Fat Gini

http://bigfatginiblog.blogspot.com/

Bre's Recipes

http://brerecipes.blogspot.com/

Life After the Aisle

http://ashleyisawife.blogspot.com/

Happy New Year!

Is it 2011 already? So many things happened in 2010, here’s a quick recap:

Launched this very blog and found myself 27 followers. Thanks, folks! You really brighten my day with your comments!

Acquired some new furry (and slimy) family members. Toby the cat, Clarence the frog, Mr. Clean the snail and a multitude of rats.

Weaned 2 rat babies, one from 2 weeks old, the other from just 8 days old!

LT Fromage and I celebrated our first anniversary; we went to Kansas City, ate some stale cake and fell even more in love (insert sappy awwww, here).

Hosting our very first Thanksgiving, for both families!, went off without a hitch!

Battled a house full of fleas, which included bathing 2 dogs, 3 cat baths and hours of flea spray and vacuuming. Fromages: 1, Fleas: 0!

Bought my first gun, learned to shoot and even completed a pistol course!

Began medical transcription training and made the Dean’s List (If anyone knows about a job opening for transcribing autopsy reports, hook a sister up, will you!)

Broke my diet soda addiction! (Smokers trying to quit: I feel for you) I’m down from 6 a day, to less than half that number in a week!

Drove back to Colorado to see a Rockies game (oh yeah, and the family, too)

On a solo drive back to CO for my sister’s bridal shower and blew a tire half way home. With both dogs in the car. On a Sunday. Drove a quarter of the way home on the spare tire at 55mph.

Stood as Matron of Honor at my little sissy’s wedding, where I found out my new brother-in-law’s grandma could drop it down lower than any of us young ‘uns!

And so, so much more. I wish I could list it all!

Upcoming in 2011, be sure to check out my new blog (don’t worry, it’s an addition, not a replacement), 365 Days in Pictures – a photographic journey. And, as always, keep checking in here for more Fromageness!

Christmas Recap in Pictures

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree....

Decorated with home made ornaments inspired by Country Living....

"The Cheese Nun" was opened and made me so glad.... (Thanks, LT Fromage!)

Then I opened this cow purse from "Mom" and from "Dad"

LT Fromage's stocking was overflowing with treats....

Left over turkey bones the ratinos did eat...

The dogs both got rawhides, despite being naughty....

Next year we'll save money and just give the cats all the paper....

Christmas oh-ten, you were such a good one. I hope all my readers had just as much fun!

Multiple Choice

Lack of recent posts has been due to

A) Taking a leave of absence from work to deal with my anxiety disorder

B) Hand feeding an 8 day old baby rat every 3-4 hours day and night

C) Cleaning cat pee off of the love seat

D) Screaming at the dog for unwrapping the gift “she got” for her daddy (That was FROM you, Erika, your name was in the FROM spot, not TO, D@MNITT)

E) Hanging cow Christmas lights in my cow kitchen (An early gift from LT Fromage, since he got to open one early… er, Erika opened it for him)

F) Winning the lottery

G) All of the above

H) All of the above except for F

If you answered H, you’re correct. I’m at home for a few weeks (maybe longer, if I qualify for short term disability). I wish we’d won the lotto, but alas, my recent activity has included no such luck. I’m supposed to be using this time to de-stress, however most of my time has been spent trying to undo the damages caused by our four-legged kids and playing wet-nurse to a little boy we call Florian Geyer who’s little eyes and ears aren’t even open yet. (Ok, the baby isn’t stressful. I actually kind of like all that mothering I get to do for our new little guy).

So, folks, please bear with me. I’m still around and blogging, but if I don’t post quite as often for a short bit, assume it’s because I’m re-stuffing the cats’ stocking (again) or dealing with a couple of dogs who’ve eaten every last shard of glass from a broken cake platter. Cross your fingers that I actually will manage to get some down time so I can drink some Red Thai Chi Tea (say that 5 times fast!) with LT Fromage, open some gifts (if the dogs don’t get to them first) and read a good book or two.

Merry Christmas to you and yours from us and ours in the Fromage household!

Things I Hate: Being Bald

Have I mentioned before how much I hate Mondays?

Know what else I hate? Being bald.

See that? (Look away from the rat for a second, look to the right…) A bald patch. One of many.

I don’t even know where to start here….

First of all, I’m sorry about the quality of the picture. We did finally find the digital camera connector cord thing, but I still took this with my phone. Old habits die hard I guess.

Second, I’m sorry I look like I just woke up. I did. This was taken at about 4:57AM. This is the beautiful swamp monster (er, wife) that LT Fromage gets to wake up to every morning. (No wonder he’s gone so often! Hm…)

Lastly, because I know this is what you’re most confused about, pardon the rat on my head. Ok, it’s just weird, I know. I don’t feel like I could defend myself if I tried. That’s Howie. At any given time I have at least one rodent crawling on some part of my body. (For anyone keeping count, we’re up to 7 now) As I write this post (at work), I have Ruger snuggled in my pocket. Crazy rat lady? Perhaps. If I’m not yet, I’m well on my way to earning that title. Stay tuned.

Anyway, now that we’ve cleared all that up, did you notice it? The bald spot? I have 3 more, but frankly, I think subjecting you to this one picture was enough. You can just take my word on the others.

Why can’t the hair on my legs fall off? Or my upper lip? Or my chin? Or my…. Ehm, lady parts (because God knows, I guess you all know now too, how much waxing there hurts!).

Really? When I lose weight it’s always in my boobs (and I don’t have much to spare there!) and when I lose hair, it’s from my head. So unfair. Why can’t this stuff work in my favor?

Maybe I’ll just start covering my head in rats. Like one of those coonskin hats, you know? I might get some weird looks, but at least they would distract from my balding.

Back in the Saddle Again

After a rough few days, I’m back at work. I prefer to use my sick days when I’m feeling good; D@MN having to use them (plus vacay time! eff!) for when I feel like crap.

In my down time, I did manage to Christmas-fy the Fromage Palace. Or, at least I’m off to a good start! (ETA for the tree is Sunday!)

The stockings are hung on the balcony with care. Except there is some sharing going on. The cats are sharing a big red paw, and all 5 rattinos will find a can of oysters in their community stocking (Otherwise, we’d need a much, much longer balcony!)

The cows are ready for Christmas (Oh, by the way, the dogs ATE ALL OF MY COW COOKIES. And broke my cake display. Notice Erika has a “naughty” stocking with a piece of coal attached.)

My grandfather’s antique box is filled with “snow” covered, cinnamon scented pine cones and LT Fromage’s beer steins are even in the spirt, donning a big red Santa hat.

The doorway is draped with snowflakes and lights,

And once you reach the kitchen, red and white flowers from LT Fromage, next to my Christmas candle sticks set the table for all the yummy snacks like....

White and milk chocolate dipped candy canes and pretzels

Sugar cookies loaded with pistachios, milk chocolate and dried cranberries

Spicy chocolate; white chocolate peppermint; mint chocolate and eggnog candies and truffles piled high on the tabled (and safely removed when we’re away and the dogs are inside!).

Recipes for these goodies to follow. Also, be on the lookout for the very first Lady Fromage give away!

Remember to follow me on Twitter for up to the minute, life shattering updates like “if I hear one more Taylor Swift song I'm going to shoot myself. Just putting that out there." Or the new Question of the day; today’s being: What part of the gingerbread man do you eat first? (Gini, get your mind out of the gutter! *wink wink*)

Livin’ the Dream

Some years ago, I purchased a cow shaped cookie cutter. If you don’t know it by now, I love cows. However, I don’t love cookies as much as I do cows, at least not sugar cookies (the only ones that really hold their shape. I tried making cow chocolate chip cookies…. Fail.) But last night, my dream became reality, we finally made cow cookies (and I didn’t burn the house down in the process!)!

I rolled out the dough, cut lots of little bovines and baked away until their little toes turned golden brown. Once they cooled, we iced. I even bought black decorating icing and those fancy little tips (which didn’t fit, by the way; we ended up squirting icing into sandwich bags and cutting the corner off. Resourcefulness: just one of my many gifts.) I even went so far as to buy little pearl sprinkles for eyes. Hardcore? Maybe; but I’ve been waiting for this day for quite some time.

LT Fromage decorated his cows with red and green spots, since he was in a festive mood (er, I was hogging the black icing).

Santa’s not the only one who likes cookies and milk, so when LT Fromage finished his snack we poured some leftover milk into a cat-sized mug for Toby, who sat on the cow rug and helped finish off dad’s drink. Before we finished up, we carefully made 5 dime-sized cookies for the rats (The Ladies). The dogs didn’t get to partake in the festivities. Sorry, guys.

Giant snowflakes and tiny twinkle lights are hanging and the garland, nativity and stockings will soon emerge too. Best of all? LT Fromage suggested we go pick out our tree… THIS WEEKEND. Shocked? You should be! This comes from the man who grew up in a family who was getting their pine on Christmas-freakin’-eve! I, the polar opposite, erected my fake greenery as early as November 1st when I was a single lady. I thought this gesture was a peace offering since I slept on the couch the night before, but in fact, it’s due to his work schedule; this being the only weekend we can go unless we want to pick up a scraggly tree a few days before the holiday. Whatever the reason, we get the tree this weekend, and I can’t wait!

And finally,

I started Twittering. Yeah, they got me. Be sure to follow me (on the side bar to your right) so you can get updates on my super exciting life every time anything semi-awesome happens. C’mon, you know you want to!

D@MN it Feels Good to be a Gangsta

One night in December, after an evening of pizza, Wii and lots of drinking with our couple friends S & J (My best Non Sucky Army Wife friend), we met “Gangsta Gangst”, J’s alter ego.
We had a lot of laughs at his “gangsta name”, because J is not, in fact, a “gansta”, not even close. He wears sweaters and watches Food Network. LT Fromage also wears sweaters and we're also Food Network junkies, so the 4 of us can discuss the Iron Chefs for hours. It’s no surprise that we’ve become such good friends. Try as we might, none of us are quite gangtas, though.

I began to feel jealous, if fellow sweater-wearing, Food Networking-watching, early-bedtimer , J could have a Gangsta name, why couldn’t I? LT Fromage said he would work on it.
A few days later, driving home from a Monday night date (We try to get some good Margaritas….er, I mean Mexican food, on Mondays), it came to him. “I’ve got it!” he said, “Lady Fromage.” Of course!

I love, LOVE, loooovvvveeeee cheese. LT Fromage claims that if I was an animal, I would be a mouse. (Although a good friend once suggested badger… Aw, that’s mean. Oh, and then those boys MOO’d at me, so maybe a cow, also... But I digress).

When LT Fromage is away, most of my suppers consist of an array of cheeses (I always keep a minimum 6 selections stocked in the fridge at all times), jellies and jams, crackers and breads. Pair that with a bottle, er, glass of wine and I’m in heaven. Our older cat, Garrett also loves cheese, so when LT Fromage is not home, Gare and I can be found indulging on delectable dairy products together while we watch trashy MTV reality shows. (LT Fromage does not delight in cheese to the extent that I do; he prefers meals that are slightly more… diverse and substantial. He also doesn’t enjoy trashy MTV specials. His loss)

On a recent drive home from St. Louis LT Fromage took me to The Cheese Store. This is exactly what it sounds like. That is, Heaven.

I limited myself to 5 cheeses; however I sampled each and every one in the store (some more than once) My final purchases:

*Havarti with Dill (LT Fromage's favorite)
*White Cheddar with Onion and Garlic
*Cajun Cheddar Curds
*Smoked Mozzarella Curds
*White and Orange Cheddar Curds

Other favorites:

*Goat cheese. Plain ol’ is my favorite, but it’s also delicious with herbs and other add-ins.
*Gorgonzola. I make a fab-u-lous sauce to go over steak (or Portabella mushrooms, for me), and I always buy an extra tub so I can snack on the tasty chunks while I cook.
*White Queso. Pretty dee-lish, when you get it at an authentic Mexican restaurant!
*Brie. I even named a pet rat this, once. If ever you have an opportunity to eat baked brie, try it! I promise you’ll eat every last bite!
*Swiss. One word, Fondue.
*Smoked Gouda. O.M.G…. Oh, yes, yes yes!
I’m also a sucker for- this is embarrassing – Velveeta. Sorry, I can’t help it. Heat it up with a can of Rotell, you’ll love it too.

And there you have it. The backstory of my cheesy name. Now you know, and knowing is all the power (*wink *wink, LT Fromage!).

Winnie or Drew?

So yesterday, Drew (one of the local morning show hosts on the local radio station, another one of my “friends”) described the upcoming weather as, “blustery”. A word I’m fairly certain I haven’t heard said by anyone but Winnie the Pooh.

According to Drew, “blustery” apparently means “rain overnight, rain the in the morning, and snow in the afternoon.” I couldn’t reach the bear for his input from on the meaning of this cutesy word. (However, upon google image searching "whinnie the pooh blustery" this was what came up. Enjoy.)

Well, Fall, it’s been fun. Thanks for hanging around so long (no sarcasm intended here, we really did enjoy a spectacularly long fall season this year!). I enjoyed the lunches in the park, walks in the evenings and your slight chill when the window was left open at night. Thanks for the beautiful colors; however, if you could refrain from dropping those leaves all over the yard next year, I’d appreciate it. They look much better on the trees and they’re a pain in the @$$ to rake up. But that’s my only criticism.

Dear Winter, eff you. No matter how cute you try and make yourself by hiding behind charming descriptions like blustery, you still suck. Thanks to you, I’m frightened to open the heating bill, the dogs track mud all over the house and I’m soon going to be reacquainted with my ice scraper. Get lost, winter. No one likes you.

PS: I thought I’d put the snow to good use last year and let it hide all of those pesky leaves under it. Great idea from about November until March. Then I had to rake up soggy leaves. Turns out that was a bad idea. …..

It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere

Just when you thought I couldn’t get any more redneck, I brought home 2 more rats Nina (isn’t she cute sitting on LT Fromage’s hand?) and Ruger. Yes, the latter is defiantly named after my gun. H3LL yeah. Our rodent population is now at 5.

Ruger is so tiny (can you tell?) she’s not actually weaned yet, so I’m feeding her bits of soft bread soaked in condensed milk every few hours. She’s even coming to work with me (take your rodent-daughter-to-work day?) so I can keep her fed and hydrated. Of course, she hangs out in a travel cage nestled into one of those reusable grocery bags, because I’m not sure my coworkers would be stoked to see a rat chillin’ on the reception desk….

While I’m probably in the running for Rat Mom of the Year, my employer isn’t so happy with me because I’ve had quite a few doctors’ appointments recently (You thought it was due to the rat, didn’t you?).

Now, I’m not sure if this is fair, but I’m told my job “will no longer be protected” if I keep seeing the doctor. Uhm, this kind of irks me because I’ve still got a positive balance of paid hours and I’m legitimately at the doctor for something that needs to be addressed like, now. Nothing like getting punished for taking care of one’s self, right? Eff. I’ll be visiting HR later, armed with a note from one of my doctors. Hopefully I don’t walk out with a pink slip.

So, please forgive my lack of posts on my blog and comments on yours. I’m busy trying to keep my job, juggle my multitude of visits to the hospital and keep the tummy of a little rat full. All while LT Fromage is gone again, of course.

It’s 11:30 on a Monday morning; is it too early for a bottle, er, I mean glass, of wine?

100 Things

I’m speechless (Not really. I’m never speechless), this is my 100th post. In honor of this mile stone, here are 100 things. Not really related things, funny or impressive things, but 100 things none the less.

My list of 100 things.

1. My highest score in solitaire is 735. Which is the highest possible score. NBD
2. I can reach 97 WPM with 97% accuracy
3. I can hold my breath for 1:14
4. Jolly Ranchers always give me hiccups
5. I love grilled cheese sandwiches with sliced jalapeños
6. Or onion and tomato
7. Or dipped in ranch dressing
8. Pretty much anything can be dipped in ranch dressing for that matter
9. I was home schooled until my senior year of high school
10. When I was a little girl, I had an imaginary friend, a horse named Acorn
11. I broke my left ring finger in high school and set it myself, it still bothers me when it’s cold out
12. I love Splenda
13. I add red pepper to hot chocolate, it’s so yummy
14. I’m terrified of earth worms
15. When I was little, I killed a butterfly in a jar using a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol, even though my mom pleaded with me not to
16. I’ve had a stereo stolen from my car and my house broken into twice
17. I worked in an animal shelter where I had to euthanize peoples unwanted pets, I quit working there when I realized I had stopped feeling sad about them dying
18. Ringo is my favorite Beatle
19. I carry 3 types of anxiety medications at all times
20. I starred in the spring musical my senior year in high school (Once Upon A Mattress)
21. I was awarded “Most Improved Dancer” by the cast
22. My favorite color is green
23. I have prosopagnosa (face blindness)
24. I burp when I yawn
25. I read really, really fast
26. I’m not sure if I believe in ghosts, but I am sure that if they’re real, there are some in my house
27. My favorite number is 27
28. I always tip at least 20%
29. I have giant feet, some of my shoes are size 10 ½ wide
30. I had to buy men’s hiking boots because they don’t make women’s that fit me
31. I can’t hike anymore because of patella femoral syndrome in my right knee
32. I love cemeteries, I find them peaceful not creepy
33. However, I do have an abnormal fascination with death
34. I love the old Window’s Entertainment Pack with Chip’s Challenge, Rodent’s Revenge and Tetris
35. I hate the number 35
36. I bruise very easily. I’m afraid most people think LT Fromage must beat me at home
37. When I was little, I had a crush on the Nickelodeon cartoon character Doug
38. My favorite Starbucks drink is the pumpkin spice frappuccino, but when it’s out of season I order a caramel frappuccino with a half cream base
39. I have a paw print tattoo behind my right ear, in memory of all of my pets I’ve lost and the ones I’ve had to put down because there was no room left for another unwanted animal
40. I can fall asleep anywhere, any time. My parents used to think I had narcolepsy
41. I’m the oldest of 4 children, 2 of whom my parents adopted. I love my family so much
42. LT Fromage and I laugh all the time. I’ve never seen a couple who laughs so much and can be so silly, except maybe on TV
43. Last New Year’s Eve I caught our kitchen on fire making breakfast. The fire department had to come put it out
44. We now own a fire extinguisher
45. I love tanks and have a small collection of 1/144 scale miniatures
46. My favorite tank is the Stingray, but it was never mass produced
47. I’ve only been on public transportation once in my life and I was terrified
48. The Office is my favorite TV show
49. I’m also recently lovin’ Arrested Development
50. LT Fromage and I went to Sicily, Italy for our honeymoon, which was amazing except…
51. Our luggage was lost in Rome, so we didn’t have our things for the first day
52. Also, the water was out 50% of the time, so we only showered every other day
53. And we ended up sleeping on separate couches because the bed was so uncomfortable
54. I’m terrified of stopped school busses
55. I dated a guy who went to Annapolis, later married a man who graduated from West Point but was never involved with anyone from the Air Force Academy, despite living only an hour away, while the other schools are on the east coast
56. If while walking, an object is between me and my companion, I have to repeat the phrase “bread and butter” until we are no longer separated
57. I get nosebleeds when I’m nervous
58. I got two nosebleeds on our wedding day (one about 5 minutes before walking down the aisle. In my white dress. The second at the reception immediately before pictures)
59. I had nosebleeds all the time when we started getting frisky, which is a pretty good mood killer
60. I love diet Pepsi, but usually buy Sam’s Club brand diet soda. I won’t touch diet Coke with a 10 foot pole
61. Generations ago, my family owned the Coca Cola company
62. I once stole an Obama sign from a deli window and am guilty of removing an Obama bumper sticker in a parking lot on at least one occasion
63. I didn’t grow out of stuffed animals like my mom predicted I would. I still sleep with “Sir Loin”, a cow LT Fromage gave me for our first Christmas (He had no idea when he bought that cow that he’d be sleeping with it 3 years later)
64. I once ripped the seat of my pants dancing with my friend at a gay club
65. I also ripped the seat of my pants at a county fair while showing my dog
66. My current favorite pair of jeans are wearing thin in the bottom, so to prevent another rip I’ve duct taped them on the inside
67. I live by the phrase “If you can’t duck it, chuck it” (except sometimes I use another work that rhymes with duck)
68. The song “The Reason” by Hoopastank makes my ears hurt, much the same as nails on a chalk board does. Only worse
69. So does the sound of the new Sun Chips bag
70. I don’t believe in the territories
71. I also don’t believe in umami
72. I once cut off my own skin tag with nail clippers
73. I can’t swim
74. I had no idea it would be so hard to think of 100 things. Eff, what was I thinking?
75. My favorite color is green
76. I was raised Protestant, but converted a few years ago to Roman Catholic
77. I got to stay in a Monastery when I was in New York for LT Fromage’s graduation
78. At the present time LT Fromage and I own 2 dogs, 2 cats, 4 rats and a frog
79. Our older cat can sit, speak and roll over, the younger can speak and sit up to beg
80. I own and can shoot, disassemble, clean and reassemble my own gun (Ruger SR9c)
81. T-Rex is my favorite dinosaur
82. If it was socially acceptable, I would totally hole up in the house and never come out. Except to pick up an order of green curry (to go, of course) once in a while
83. I have to sleep with one leg out of the covers
84. I love stadium nachos and M&Ms. Yes, together
85. Blue M&Ms are my favorite, even though I think the Red M&M on the commercials is the best
86. My current favorite commercial is the Geico “Bird in the Hand” one
87. Or maybe the Skittles Tube Sock
88. Or the shake weight, because that is too crazy funny, and not on purpose
89. My birthday sometimes falls on national donut day, which is great, because I love donuts
90. I also love cheese, anything to do with cheese, and also green curry
91. I’ve read my favorite book, Life of Pi at least a dozen times
92. I basically live in my “Nothing Tips Like A Cow” hooded sweater
93. I’ve got a space heater with a remote, it’s set up so that I can turn it on to heat the bathroom before I even get out of bed in the morning
94. I’m a die-hard Colorado Rockies fan
95. I love cooking
96. But I can’t bake and always end up frustrated when I try
97. I live for Christmas and, before I was married, would bring out my (artificial) tree on November 1st
98. Now we wait until the first day of Advent and buy a real tree
99. I love antique stores
100. I hate funnel cake

Those Rednecks with the Rats...

On Sunday I got to shoot my Ruger for the first time, I loved it! Afterwards, LT Fromage and I finally patronized Starbucks for toffee and pumpkin lattes (our first this year!) before embarking on the Ghost Tour on Fort Riley. Other highlights include Mexican food and margaritas, a doggie play date at the park and a yummy Sunday brunch. I hope everyone had a great weekend as well!

Our rat population doubled this week. Until recently, we had 2 little girls, Holly and Lili Marlene. There was a period of time where we couldn’t bring home a healthy rat, we lost 3 this year, so when Holly was feeling under the weather last week, we were prepping ourselves for introducing yet another new rat. Thankfully, she got better quickly but it got me to thinking that perhaps rather than keep 2 rats, we should have 3, so that in the sad event we have another death, no one would be left all alone (Rats like to stay in colonies, they get mighty lonely without a buddy!). After getting to OK from LT Fromage, I picked up a darling little girl on my way home from work last week and we named her Jenny Wren. Not 48 hours later my boss was attempting to rid herself of her little girl (who happens to be Jenny Wren’s sister). To avoid her fate of dropped off at a pet store for snake food or let out side to brave the elements, LT Fromage and I met my boss in the Burger King parking lot and we took, who we are now calling Keltie, home with us. All 4 ladies are happy, healthy and getting along wonderfully.

Yup. We’re that crazy red neck, gun shooting couple with all the rats. You just wish you were this cool... ;-)

On a slightly less happy note, LT Fromage is no longer commanding his troop. A Captain finally arrived and took his (rightful) place; unfortunately, it meant LT Fromage was booted out and into a desk job. The Change of Command ceremony was yesterday so things were a little somber around here. Every day that passes also leaves us a little less confident that the opportunity for a big change will come through. Please keep fingers crossed, however, since we haven’t given up hope yet!

I feel like I should apologize for the lack of posts lately (But then I think, “Hey, this is my blog, I can do whatever I want, I don’t have to say sorry!” But I’ll say it anyway…). Things, as always, are pretty busy at work and home, not to mention I’ve been spending a ridiculous amount of time at the doctor lately. Not to mention all the time it takes now to care for all those rodents…

108 cans of green beans

Why is my truck bed full of canned veggies? Preparing for some kind of Y2K? Stocking a bomb shelter? Making enough green bean salad to feed LT Fromage’s whole troop? (Everyone at the grocery store thought we must just love green beans!)

Nope. They’re for the dog.

Our black lab, Buford, is a chunky guy. He came to us that way, and while we’ve helped him drop some of those pounds (He was 97 when we got him last year, he’s down to, last we checked, high 80s) he’s still got something like 15-20 to go. Yikes, that’s a lot for a dog!

(oh, my, Buford! Your head looks so tiny on your giant body!)

My in-laws have a chubby dog too, and last weekend they told LT Fromage what they’re doing to help their pooch shed some pounds. I didn’t believe it at first, but it’s legit. Green beans.
Apparently, you can substitute up to ½ (but we’re only replacing 1/3) of your dog’s food with canned green beans to help with weight loss. The veggies fill their belly up, so no one is hungry, but don’t add calories to the meal. Who knew?

Buford hasn’t been to the vet for an official weigh-in yet, but he looks a little better already.
The weirdest part? He loves green beans. Apparently, most dogs do. He licks his dish clean after every meal, after wolfing it down before the German shepherd, Erika, gets to it. Even the cats try to sneak a bite from his food!

Yup. That was the highlight of my weekend, green beans on sale - half price! LT Fromage was in the field, I was home reading the entire “Surviving Deployment” book I picked up while trying to imagine what a year of weekends alone would be like (keep your fingers crossed – still waiting for word about this big change…!). Oh, yeah, also totally awesome this weekend was the marathon of Sister Wives on TLC. Uhm, yeah, love it!

Things I’ve Been Doing Instead of Blogging

Visited the national WWI museum in Kansas City, which wasn’t as freakin’ awesome as I expected, but was still pretty alright. Best part was the tower where you could see, like, all of the city (D@MN, I really wish I could upload pictures from the digital camera…). Worst part was the tank selection, they only had one and it was a stupid French tank. I like German tanks best, followed by American. French and Russian don’t do much for me…

Ate at the Brick in Kansas City. My new life goal is to eat at as many places featured on Food Network as I can. Great goal, right? Big dreams. Anyway, we’d originally planned to check out Swagger, since the menu looked good (and the huge beer selection was also a factor…!) and it was on Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives. Friday night we were watching Food Network and Guy was at the Brick in Kansas City! Pretty much a sign from the Food God’s, so we went there instead and it was dee-lish. We had a few beers and some fried mushrooms with horseradish dipping sauce, then selections featured on the show: LT Fromage ordered the meatloaf sandwich and sweet potato fries (I’m pretty sure both of us would kill for sweet potato fries, they are that amazing, folks). I got a brie and granny smith apple sandwich. Sounds like a weird combo, but on rye bread with apple butter… uhm, probably the best thing I’ve eaten in a while (besides my true love, green curry, of course!). I also got the sweet potato fries, of course, with sides of mayo and their special chipotle catsup, which was as yummy as Guy said it would be.

Already finished season 6 of The Office. Some episodes were less than stellar, but near the end they hit their stride again and brought it with some awesome moments. I gotta call Pam out though, she’s sort of turned into a bee-ach this season. What’s up with that?

On Sunday LT Fromage and I went shooting, I decided I need my own gun. A girly gun. Because I don’t know what his is exactly but I have a hard time holding on to it because it’s massive. When I accidently shot straight into the ground about a foot in front of my target I concluded that a smaller, lighter gun that I can hold on to might work out better for me. Also, I want it to be pink. LT Fromage is doing some research because the pink one I picked out is only a .22 and apparently wouldn’t have much more effect on an intruder than a can of pepper spray.

We finally got the computer back and everything on the hard drive was lost. Eff. Mostly it’s pictures we’re bummed about – 3 years worth, including ones from our honey moon. Sigh. LT Fromage got us a service that backs up everything now. We learned that lesson the hard way. On the bright side, for the last year I’ve griped about not being able to upload pictures from the digital camera (we… or maybe I… lost the connector cable thing) but at least we’ve still got the last 12 months of pictures saved on there.

And finally, we’re now entering week 3 of fall here in the Little Apple, which apparently, is about 2.5 weeks longer than the typical fall folks here are used to. We got apple and cherry ciders this weekend and made some more beer cheese soup, in the evenings we take the dogs for a walk and “smell fall” and I look in peoples’ windows (I can’t be the only one who loves looking in windows… from the street I mean. I’m not getting all up in their flower beds or something!). I wish it would stay fall forever, or at least fade into something besides winter because I hate scraping ice off the windshield and single digit temps.

Toby the Meerkat

What a beautiful fall day it is here! I hope everyone is enjoying this same weather, wherever you may be.

I had a crisp apple for lunch today in the park, a squirrel and a yellow butterfly for company. A wasp came by, but luckily he didn’t stay long. It’s so nice to enjoy some time outside with a good book (see the side bar for what I’m reading now), even if it is just an hour.

LT Fromage is away (again, as we’ve come to be used to, thankfully it’s only 3 days this time) so tonight will be nothing more than frozen pizza while I watch a few hours of Teen Mom, but I’m looking forward to cooking later this week. I’ve enjoyed our recent trips, but have been looking forward to eating at home again. Last night I was dreaming of the big, fluffy pieces of stuffed French toast I’ll make on Saturday (If you’ve never had stuffed French toast, it’s a must try!). I can’t wait for this weekend, to make beer cheese or maybe broccoli cheese soup and sourdough bread (with the help of my handy bread maker, since baking is not my strong point!), beef stew and bourbon peach cobbler. Soon, I’ll be able to pick up fresh apple and cherry ciders on my way home from work, I can’t wait!

Besides the fall weather and yummy warm foods, a few other things that I’ve been enjoying…

Arrested Development. Have I mentioned before that Netflix + a bluray player = awesome? It does. We just started season 2 and I think it’s tied with the Office for best show ever (Oh yeah, and Teen Mom).

Sweet potato fries dipped in mayonnaise and BLTs with baby spinach (with “fakin’ bacon” on mine, of course!). I don’t know how we both forgot about BLTs, but neither of us had thought of them in years until recently, now, we eat them on Sunday afternoons, yum.

Green curry. Yup, I’m still pretty much obsessed. We tried a place in Kansas City that got great reviews, but I still say nobody beats our little place here in The Little Apple. I think before LT Fromage accepts orders to another post, we’ll have to scout out the Thai restaurants before making any decisions… At least I finally know how to make it at home.

Our cats, Garrett and Toby. Gary already knows sit, speak and roll over so we’re working on beg. Toby can stand up like a little meerkat and it’s one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen, his balance is unbelievable. Next we’ll take on speak.

(They could be brothers! Tobes even has the same stripes)

“Smoke A Little Smoke” by Eric Church, “Walking Away” with Zak Brown Band featuring Allen Jackson and Deirks Bentley’s entire new album “Up on the Ridge”; also, “If I Die Young” by Band Perry and “Just By Being You” from Steel Magnolia.

Klondike Bars. Like BLTs, another long forgotten treat. The perfect dessert.

Lamebook.com, regretsy.com, awkwardfamilyphotos.com and awkwardfamilypetphotos.com.

Enjoy the fall weather, before winter sneaks up on us! And make some stuffed French toast this weekend, you won’t be sorry!