My Beating Heart, Be Still

Swamped

I am completely swamped at work. I've spent the last month and a half completely dismantling the interface of our CRM and I have to have it released to production by Monday. Missing three days last week didn't help.

Tin Top

I love the tin top Samurais but the problem is convincing my son that its still cool even if the roof doesn't come off.

I'm Back

From the brink of death. I told you those pumpkin seeds would have serious repercussions. Three days of work and most of my weekend. Lost forever.

Note to Self

Eating too many pumpkin seeds has serious repercussions.

Rain, Rain Go Away

I wanted to paint my house today.

It rained off and on all morning, so I started painting my shutters in the family room.

The afternoon came and the sun peaked out a few times and I thought that I was good to go, but as soon as I set up my ladder (the first picture) the skies opened up. Try again tomorrow.

Barron von Richthofen

Oh MAN. I'd love to buy this car, but unfortunately I've never replaced a barron before. Is there anybody out there who could help me replace the barrons in this car? I should called Advance Auto and see if they have a barron set in stock. Maybe they have barron set removal tools for rent.

Rare

You don't see International pickups for sale every day.

Cuckoo for Coconut

Lady and gentleman we have a winner. The Goya Coconut soda is 12 ounces of pure unadulterated carbonated goodness. Its very smooth and has a light, pleasant after taste. I didn't think anything would be able to wash away the stink of the Malta Goya, but the coconut soda did.

Sunday was dreary too

It's amazing the difference in weather between cold, wet, dreary Sunday and today, a warm, sunny Wednesday.

Anyway, even though Sunday was just like Saturday I did manage to get the 2nd coat on the front of the house and finished the first coat on the side.

One of the things I don't like about my house is the complete lack of anything resembling architectural detail. Specifically, eaves and trim around the windows. I'd love to do that some day, but its not in the budget now. Too many other projects. One thing I would like to do is add muntins to my windows to give it a more colonial look with fake divided lights. Not sure how I am going to accomplish this yet, but I'm thinkin'.

Oh, and my new shutters arrived today! If the weather is nice this weekend, I could have the trim painted and shutters up on these two sides of the house. That would be, as they say in Poland, sweet.

Malta Goyaaaaauck

Yesterday while buying the ginger beer I noticed several other flavors of soda from Goya and I was intrigued. Today I picked up a bottle of Malta Goya, a non-alcoholic malt beverage says the label.

My initial impression upon popping the top was one of disgust. A cloud of sweet molassesy air went straight up my nose. The first sip nearly made me lose my lunch, if I had eaten lunch yet that is. Its like watered down molasses. For my next magical trick I am going to drink high fructose corn syrup on the rocks.

I'm determined to drink the whole thing though (still working on it as I type). The taste lingers on the palate for a long time. Time for another sip.

*shudders* Blech. Hispanics can keep their Bud Clamato and their Malta Goya. I won't infringe on that part of their culture anymore.

A Sissy No Longer

The first time I ever tried ginger beer I hated it and was called a sissy. I took it like a man because, quite frankly, I was being a sissy.

A few years go by and one day while at my local Kroger (pronounced: kay - raw - jer) I bought a four pack of Stewart's ginger beer and willed myself to like it.

And now, like a hobo has his Wild Irish Rose, I have my ginger beer.

Restaurants to which I have been

We've been to two seafood restaurants recently. One blew, one was the complete opposite of blowing. Hmm. No. I guess that would be sucking, which isn't right either. It was fabulous.

Spinnaker's

Bland, plasticky food only a nursing home resident could love. Their claim to fame is bread cooked and served in a flower pot. Kinda cool, but what does a flower pot have to do with the sea? Absolutely nothing. If it had been cooked in a chum bucket, well, now, that would be something.


Shackleford's

I was leary of the newly opened Shackleford's because of my Spinnaker's experience, but I needn't have worried. The food was spectacular.

From the dinner rolls to the calamari appetizer (I shouldn't have told my daughter who liked it that she was eating squid) and finally to my scallops florentine entree, I was in heaven. I ate some from everybody's plate when they couldn't finish their meals. That doesn't happen very often.

Here's the description of my meal from the menu:

Pan seared jumbo scallops served over wilted spinach, apple wood smoked bacon and
sautéed fondant potatoes. Finished with hollandaise.

Me so hungry right now.

Sun baked

The price is too high and it looks like its been sitting out in the sun for a long, long time, but t-tops and a V8 are pretty cool, and rare.

It was a cold and dreary day

And I got a coat of paint on the front of my house while eyeing the threatening clouds all afternoon.

I borrowed a bigger ladder from my neighbor across the street because mine is a girly 16 footer. My neighbor and his dad are originally from Vermont. The first time I met his dad I discovered he has a really thick northern New England accent. I hugged him and weeped. I stammered ayuh ayuh ayuh ayuh in disbelief for minutes.

Anyway, about the ladder. The peak in the front of the house here wasn't too bad. I don't like being up on ladders too much. My property slopes down to a creek so the back gable, which is about 4 feet higher, is going to put me so far out of my comfort zone that I will have to go on Google maps to find my way back to it.