Bits & Pieces

I woke up this morning to a raging thunderstorm. While I would have appreciated it yesterday morning when I had nothing to do...eh, not so much on a Monday morning.

I got soaked getting in the car and then had to fight the monsoon in order to get to work. Pair that with some sinus issues I'm having and it's just not a good start to my week.

Anyway, let's catch up.

I'm declaring victory over the gnats! I haven't seen one all weekend & would be happy to never see one again.

Two weeks ago my new neighbors moved in next door. He is a sheriff in our county & they have two kids. Guess that's the end of our nekkid "clown" parties.* (<--code word alert)

I had an attack of lazyitis so I didn't paint my shutters this week. After much thought I'm going to pass on purple & neon green, instead trying the classy black suggested by so many. Thank you!

I dyed the blonde right outta my hair last week. S said that he preferred the bleached streak but an overall color was much needed. To cover the {cough}gray{cough}. Now I just gotta decide if I want to do that again or go for something more drastic. I'm thinking hot pink...

Several bloggy pals have given me awards over the past couple of months that I have failed to acknowledge. My apologies to all of you...I horrible about not reposting them quicker but I DO appreciate them.

Thanks to April, Lana & Christina! (I hope that I didn't leave anyone out!)



*I'm totally joking about the "clown" parties. Pinkie promise.

What's been bugging me lately

This pesky little bug has been driving me crazy. Well crazier than I was to begin with.

Lest you did not recognize it from that very microfied picture, that is a GNAT. And the bane of my existence right now.


I swear I feel like that picture looks. A little "gnatty" and a lot aggravated. Those little bastards are EVERYWHERE.

We had a couple in my kitchen before we left for vacation so I created a homemade trap and caught them suckers.

Or so I thought.

But then I saw some in West Virginia.

At work they have been bugging me (pun completely f'in intended) all week.

Then yesterday there was TWO in my car. IN. MY. CAR.

Why the hell would they be in my car? I don't have fresh fruit in there. Hell, I don't have ANY food in there except when I get groceries, which is temporary obviously. Cause I like take it out when I get home & everything.

I'm starting to wonder if my skin is giving off some overripe banana scent. Maybe my shampoo reminds them of a moldy strawberry. Perhaps my lotion is just the right flavor of fermenting grapes.

I don't know but I cannot take it anymore.

Bugs watch out cause the Gnat Hunter is in the house.

**If you've ever experienced a similar problem with gnats, here is the homemade trap that I used. Fill a small, shallow dish with cider vinegar & a couple drops of dish washing liquid. Cover the dish with plastic wrap, making sure it is tight. Use a rubber band to secure if necessary. Then poke several small holes in the plastic wrap. (I used a fork.) The pests are attracted to the vinegar but then get caught in the sticky dish washing liquid & have a hard time getting out of the plastic wrap.

"Trim the Fat" Tuesday (+ a ?)

I took a little break from TTFT last week since I was on vacation. I'm happy to say that I did consume lots of water (and sweet tea but that's another topic) & I got PLENTY of exercise. BUT...yes, there's a BUT...I didn't take my vitamins. Heck, I barely remembered to take my Yaz everyday.

Out of sight, out of mind. ~sigh~

Since I've been back, I'm still drinking water & taking my vitamins again. I'm not that happy about it, but I'm doing it.

My vitamins suck ass.

Initially I was taking a large, horse-sized multivitamin that nearly choked me every morning so I asked for recommendations. Someone suggested the chewable variety so I ran to CVS and picked up TWO bottles. (Buy one get one free- I couldn't pass that up!)

It's like chewing a large, horse-sized piece of "orange" flavored chalk. It is disgusting & I dread chewing them. I've even considered just swallowing them without chewing but I don't know how that would work once it's in my gut.

So here are my goals for the next week:

1. Drink 4 glasses of water a day.
2. Buy NEW vitamins.
3. Take vitamins everyday.
4. Do 20 minutes of exercise 3-4 days a week.

You'll notice I wasn't specific about the type of exercise. Instead of limiting myself to videos, I want to be able to count lots of walking or working outside in the yard. So basically my goal is just to get off my bootay.

So how did you do this week?

If you are participating in "TTFT" don't forget to link up at Angie's place!
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Before you leave me, I need a little advice.

It's time to paint my shutters...



...but I can't decide what color. HELP!

What I did on summer vacation...Part I

We went to the great state of WV

to visit with our pals. D&D are originally from NY (I ♥ NY) but have moved all over.

Last year they left us moved to WV & we had not been up since New Year's so we were overdue for a visit.

We arrived fairly late on Sunday so our first outing wasn't until Monday morning when we got to see their daughter in action.

I'm convinced she's the next Maria Sharapova...



After her match we got slurpees & I insulted the nice West Virginian cashier. Completely unintentional. I swear.







Then we road tripped to Gettysburg PA where we toured the battlefields & other monuments.
(That's the Gettysburg Address in case you're wondering. -->)











It's located on this building, which was actually at the end of our tour. You are used to me being backwards by now right?










You can see acres & acres of battlefield from the top.



And my hubs on the steps...


Before that we were at Devil's Den


Where S climbed up...

...and the kids gave me a heart attack.


Across from Devil's Den is what I refer to as the "pee house"


Remember the "castle" from yesterday's picture?

It might not be a real castle but it's as close as I'm getting...and as a Queen, it was my duty to be photographed in the "castle".


This concludes Part I of my summer vacay...Peace out!

Sometimes Reality Sucks...

I'm back to the real world.

Early mornings
Alarm clocks
Work

All things that currently suck in my real life. But I won't whine (too much) because we had a great vacation.

We spent lots of time with our friends, coming back in time for our dart match and then we were off again to visit a potential college for SS. Our very first official college tour.

When did I get so old?

Saturday we took a ride up interstate 81 (again) & went to a wooden bat baseball game. Then yesterday we went shopping.

To put it mildly - I'm beat.

That's the short version of my vacation but I have lots of pictures to download & share so more details will be coming...

I missed you guys!

Greetings!

God Bless America...

Have a fabulous, safe holiday...

Happy 4th of July!