Happy Father's Day

I have been blessed for almost all of my life to have two Dads. One is my father by birth, the other by marriage. I used to call them Daddy Mel and Daddy Jim when I was young, but I think it was more for others than myself. Now people just have to use the name "Dad" in context to know to whom I am referring. :)

My Dad, Mel, is my father by birth. You'll know who he is because I look like him (with hair & in girl form!). I lived with him as an infant (through 8 months) and on weekends until I was almost 16. He is an amazing man, full of strength, emotion, and sense of family. Some of my behaviors were learned from him --- being organized, yelling at other drivers, and knowing what's important. We've both changed a bit since this photo was taken:



My Dad, Jim, married my mom when I was two. He took me to father/daughter dances and played a toy ukelele for me. He helped raise me and taught me what respect is, how to relax and enjoy life, and how to keep calm and bite my tongue when necessary (something I still have to practice!). He bought me my first two cars, both of which I drove into the ground. And we won't talk about when he repaired the neighbor's fence for me. :) Weren't we cool in our mod, 70s-style home?!



Both of my Dads walked me down the aisle when Todd and I married in March 2007. That was the way I always wanted it, and it was most likely the main reason I made it safely down the aisle! Here's a wonderful picture as the doors to the sanctuary were opened:



So HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to both of my Dads. I love them both, and I feel so blessed to have the love of two men that I can call Dad.

Crazy Dreams

This morning at 7:30, I was awoken by my husband telling me to go back to sleep. Doesn't make sense to you? It does to me! I was having one of my many crazy dreams & was trying to scream. It woke him up, so he was trying to wake me up (only to tell me to go to sleep!). If you know me somewhat well IRL, you probably know that I have very vivid and STRANGE dreams. Even though I've been up a while (which makes me forget lots of details), let me see if I can recap this morning's:

I was at school. There were more kids than usual in the halls, and I was trying to shuffle them to different place. I do remember there was a semi-shallow swimming pool area in the middle of the main hall, where my hall connects across to another and to the kids' restrooms. It was a beautiful, sparkly blue and clear. There were invisible retaining walls to keep the water in, so it looked as if the water was just standing freely. A few kids were playing in the pool and having a great time.

Flash forward to a party setting. It was like an awards banquet type thing and there were stairs involved. I was sitting on the stairs, directing traffic and getting on to wayward children. Actually, I think it was a wedding. I do remember the mother of a bride asking me wedding-planning question. Then I saw people sitting outside on a patio/deck with their chairs in a circle. I remember feeling unsafe, and people began to leave. I came inside to the looks of a cabin because the walls and doors were wood. I tried to lock one door and eventually did. I didn't feel like it locked well, though. I went to lock the second door and was getting increasingly frightened. When I tried to lock this 2nd door, the lock just spun on a screw and I got scared. That's when the assitant to "The Greek" from "The Wire" stumbled through the door. He was shirtless and had been shot, but there was no blood. I tried to scream . . .

. . . and that's when Todd woke me up. I think my words have just confirmed to you that I'm nuts. :)

Kitchen's Closed!

Monday night, while my meatloaf was baking, Todd called to me asking for help with the oven. I knew that dinner wasn't burning! Instead, the oven itself burned. The heating element just melted!

Now, I know you're wondering why the kitchen closed just because the oven died. The microwave and oven are a single circuit unit, so we lost use of both. And if you're wondering about my meatloaf, I carefully finished baking it in the toaster oven and it was good. :)

Well, my kitchen actually reopened by noon today thanks to a very prompt repairman. Now that the kitchen has reopened, I guess I'll get some cooking done.

The Movies!!!

I'm so excited!!! We're leaving in a little bit to see IronMan.

I know you're probably thinking I'm crazy for being so excited, but I am! We love movies (Todd even more than me), but we have VERY different taste & don't hit the theater very often. It's sometimes difficult to find ways to stay busy during the summer, and we're always looking for ways to get out of the house. I like Robert Downey, Jr. even though he's proven a lack of character through his many indiscretions. (But him in Ally McBeal? Oh baby!)

However, my FAVORITE part of going to any movie is popcorn. Especially when I can add my own butter and even get my fatass some refills. Get the napkins ready. OMG I can't wait!

Update - We saw IronMan & it was SO COOL. I even liked it better than the popcorn! (I couldn't dispense my own butter & the kid doing it put too much on there & didn't layer it like I asked!) ANYWAY --- go see IronMan. Very cool.

Please Leave Me Comments

I know you're here . . . whoever you are. :) I missed out on NaComLeaveMo, but just because I don't know you IRL doesn't mean I wouldn't love to hear from you. If you came over from my other blog, you've read this already. I want comments on both blogs. I know. I'm needy.

I'm out for summer vacation and will need lots and lots of attention until August 18th. Thank you in advance for your help! COMMENT AWAY!

More Bread Gone

One half-full package of hamburger buns. (Pippin thieves, Steve helps eat it, Mackey is clueless) When the bread is where it's supposed to go, maybe the dogs won't get it. *ahem*

Just sayin' . . .

Stevie's NOT the Host with the Most

Our friends Marc & Jess came over Saturday night to hang out & eat some food. Their little Boxer lady, Bella, came with them. We were so excited about having them over to play! However, Stevie was NOT happy about it. In fact, he was a downright jerk. She barked like crazy, growled at Bella, and even snapped at her. Guess who spent the evening in his crate?

Todd and I were so embarrassed. I felt bad for everyone involved because Bella just wanted to play with Steve and he has never snapped at another dog. (In fact, he got his ass kicked by a Corgie a couple of years ago. He's just a big chicken.) I'm sure Marc & Jessica were worried that our big, dumbheaded dog was going to chew up their baby.

On a couple of good notes, Mackey enjoyed having someone his size around for a while & Pippin played with Bella all night - even when Pipp got tired! Mindy would have nothing to do with all of the dog-ruckus, so she opted to stay out front and rest under the hedges.

Luckily all of the humans got along just fine. :)