What a Thanksgiving!

I'm back!

I know you all missed me terribly - but I have to admit I had a great weekend (minus the 8 hours on the road).


First I want to introduce a new reader to my blog:

Meet Chep's Mom.

Don't worry she has read the prior posts. She does not live in denial of her packratism. She embraces it.

She's a spunky lady - but I can't say I expect her to create her own blog - so don't look for one anytime soon....

She did however embrace my new fangled idea of the Thanksgiving Tailgate. It was good times. We fried turkey, drank beer and played Pit.

This is Mr. Chep dropping the turkey into 350 degree oil.

If you have not had deep fried turkey - you should. It is tender, juicy and FAST!! This 13 pound turkey was cooked in just under 50 minutes.

And no - it isn't greasy!

You have met Chep's mom.

If Chep's mom is visiting - you can bet that Chep's dad will drop in from time to time.

This is Chep's dad.

He has my sense of humor don't you think?

Nope wasn't his idea to take the photo - but he did walk in with the pumpkin roll in a very provocitive location. I took advantage when he laid it on the table.

I crack me up.

It's getting late and I want to get this posted so I will continue with a post tomorrow about my future inheritence - aka: Chep Mom's collections.

Self portrait Tuesday

OK I cheated today. I am using a self portrait but from last year.

The top photo is of Me, Kelscraggly and our Prodical Friend Jen.

The bottom photo is of Jen and me.

Have a great Turkey Day if I can get online at mom's I will post.

Don't forget to check back next week to see photos from mom's pack rat house!!

The end of an era

I found out today that my favorite pizza joint in my hometown is closing for business. I actually make the trek back to NWIN for their pizza every few months. Just because I miss it.

It now appears that I will have to go elsewhere for NWIN style pizza.

It's been a sad day. Oh yeah and I found 2 more grey hairs. Urgh.

I'm hitting the sack. Tomorrow has got to be a little better.

Ciao.

House call

Why will I avoid leaving Iowa at all costs? My dog groomer makes house calls.

Pepper had her eyebrows done today. It's amazing what a little trim can do.

The Movie of My Life is a Cult Classic

The Movie Of Your Life Is A Cult Classic Quirky, offbeat, and even a little campy - your life appeals to a select few.But if someone's obsessed with you, look out! Your fans are downright freaky.
Your best movie matches: Office Space, Showgirls, The Big Lebowski

If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?

Thanks Writermom!

The Prodical Husband

We went shopping today to get peanut oil for the Turkey fryer. We came home with this:

It was my way to get Mr. Chep from begging for an I-pod. We do travel a lot and this will come in quite handy on the road. Mr. Chep has spent the evening attempting to install this little devise. That's OK - it has allowed me to play here and watch Harry Potter! The things we put up with when married to geeks!!

Google your what??

OK - Cheryl has some cool stuff on her site.

I am stealing this from her (which she stole from someone else - but whatever - still cool)

This is how you play.

Do a Google image search of the following and post the first (or favorite if you want to cheat, but fess up if you do) result for each:

• The name of the town where you were born
• The name of the town where you live now
• Your name
• Your grandmother's name (just pick one)
• Your favorite food
• Your favorite drink
• Your favorite song
• Your favorite smell

So here are all mine I used the first photo I found.

Lowell, Indiana

This is Main Street in Lowell. Growing up if you'd blink you'd miss our town. It's growing. We have an Aldi. So we're big enough to have bargain shoppers. Neat.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

This is aerial shot of Cedar Rapids. If you look closely you will notice there is an island in the middle of the river. This is May's Island and it holds our City Hall. We are one of three cities in the world that have their municipal buildings on an island (the other 2 are Paris, France and Osaka, Japan.) Nifty - I know.

Colleen

Nope. This is not my ass. I wish it was. I did however haul a lot of wood in one of my former jobs. This is Colleen from Survivor. Maybe if I watched that show I would recognize this ass.

Ellen

No my grandmother is not a body builder or a lesbian talk show host. She does however make a damn good banana cream pie.

Giordano's Chicago Style Pizza

No. Not Pizza. Chicago style pizza. Preferrably Giordano's. Did I mention I am a pizza snob? Cedar Rapids has no great pizza. Just decent - and that place JUST opened. Verdict's still out.

Tom Collins

Made with Beefeater's Gin. It was a toss up - I also really like Diet Coke.

Safety Dance - Men Without Hats

It is not music genius - but it makes me happy every time I hear it. The Barenaked Ladies have WAY too many songs I liked to choose just one. It's a good thing it wasn't your favorite musical group....I would have had to weed through a lot of porn.

Morning Dew

I didn't know how else to put it. When Mr. Chep and I go fishing early in the morning - it's the smell of the lake, the wet grass, maybe it's just morning. It's the best place on earth.

If you decide to do this - let me know so I can check on your site as well!

Our little secrets....

Writermom posted her fetish....I am posting - a weakness. This is a window into my soul. I am unsure why I am sharing this with all of you - maybe in a hopes that if I realize there's a problem...nah - it's just funny and I recognize that!

I have discussed before that my mother is a packrat. Growing up we had a lot of friends that came to the house. They would have plenty to drink - but the rest of the fridge was full of condiments.

They say - like mother/like daughter. I didn't get all of my mother's habits - but as far as the fridge goes....I am most definately my mother's daughter.

This is a full view of my fridge. Most areas of my house are tidy. This however is the exception. I am my mother. I am a collector of condiments.

Let's take a closer look at the contents shall we?

If you look closely at the first photo you will notice that my doors of my fridge have no real organization. Ice cream syrup is hanging out with some BBQ sauce, salad dressing, A-1 (which neither of us even use!) a bottle of wine that some guy at Brad's work made (which sucked BTW) and some lime juice. The photo on the right has a little more I have 2 (yeah 2) bottles of ketchup, mustard, mayo, miracle whip, tartar sauce, louisiana hot sauce, soy sauce, worsteshire sauce and caramel.

Ah yes - the shelves. There are tons of leftovers. But we are not here to discuss those. It's the condiment issue I am here to address. The photo on the left is almost ALL condiments. Jellies, more BBQ sauce, more mayo, sour cream, horseradish, salad dressing, pickles....the list goes on and on.

OK. Now that I have shared I have to make a vow to clean out. Reorganize. No harm no foul. Well the foul has been witnessed and I need to remedy the issue. Hopefully before the end of the year I can share with you my clean and totally reorganized fridge.

Anyone else got any dirty little secrets???

Self portrait Tuesday....

Inspired by: Writermom and FineArtist.

**It was Writermom that thought I should do it upside down this week - read the previous post you'll understand!

What the.......???

Sorry it has been so long - I have been fighting with Adobe to get this posted.

Some of you may be looking at the photo and thinking...WTH?

It all started on Sunday morning.

10:30AM. Phone rings. It's my mother.

Chep's Mom: I waited as long as I could to call. Is everything alright????

Chep: Yes - why??

Chep's Mom: The tornados in Iowa - we were so worried about you out there!


**WTH? The tornado hit like 1.5 hours from our home but she is not from Iowa - so I let it go**

Chep: Thanks - mom - but we are fine - the tornado was like 1.5 hrs away. So what's new?

Chep's Mom: Well your father - he's at mass performing again (my dad plays the harmonica with the choir....don't ask)

Chep: That's nice - so what else?

Chep's Mom: OH! I have decided that I am going to hang Virgin Mary upside down in the window.

**WTH??** This obviously requires a follow-up - so I bite:

Chep: OK.....WHY?

Chep's Mom: Well I heard that if you hang the Virgin Mary upside down in your window then the person you pray for will become pregnant!

**Oh yeah - I am 31 with no children - and my mother desperately wants grandchildren**

Chep: So is this a proven thing? Have you heard others speak of this?

Chep's Mom: Oh yeah - there were a couple of ladies that said they heard that too.

Chep: OK....so will it work if you do it?

Chep's Mom: YEAH! OH and now I am counting on you to screw your brains out OK?

Chep: I am aware of how it works *change subject VERY QUICKLY*

******WHAT?????*******

You notice I didn't totally freak out and make a big deal about my mother's statement. This is because this is the same woman that shortly after our honeymoon we went to her house to swim. She announced very loudly that she and dad were leaving for awhile and that they would turn off the light outside if we wanted to "swim" *WINK*

YIKES!

Anyway - I am fully expecting to arrive at my mom's on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to see Virgin Mary upside down in the window and for my mother to explain it to all that ask.

And you all wonder why I am the way I am.

Cat's outta the bag!

My Transgender Choice: Inspired by Cheryl

I was brought to Cheryl's site by her Which B-movie BadAss are you on Writer Mom's site.

I was intrigued by her most recent post which asked the question "If you could wake up tomorrow as a character of the opposite sex, who would you want to be?"

WOW. I never knew I could have this much trouble picking a male character I would want to be.

Now if you asked me who my favorites were - that would be a little easier: Jake or Charlie Harper on "Two and a Half Men". The more I thought about it I decided that waking up with an STD (Charlie) or with the hormones of an 11 year old boy (Jake) would not be fun. However; I must admit their antics are extremely entertaining.




OK - Neil Patrick Harris has had an array of interesting characters which is why his most recent character Barney on "How I Met Your Mother" crossed my mind (NO not Doogie Houser MD). He's funny, loud, and always trying to rope Ted (his best friend) into crazy little adventures. After a little thought I decided the point was NOT to select someone like yourself. Not to mention he's a man-whore (are you seeing a pattern here?)


So who did I decide on? Well Greg Sanders from CSI. He's witty, smart and let's face it down right sexy (plus he's got the best hair of the bunch too!) Anyone who has the ability to be a geek and get the ladies is worthy of waking up with (oh I mean as!)

So how about you? Who did you choose? Oh and don't forget to visit Cheryl's site and tell her too!

A Cowboy???

Big Boo-tay!

Which B-Movie Badass Are You?
brought to you by

My assignment as requested

Writermom asks - and we deliver.

Let me explain WHY I chose the item I did.

This is Froggie. This is Peppercorn's FAVORITE toy. When she plays with Froggie - it makes me smile. There's nothing I enjoy more than being happy. SO - I guess this is my favorite inanimate object.

Oh yeah - don't laugh.

Random Crap.

Visiting somewhere new? Or want to rediscover the town in which you live?

You may want to visit this site before you take your trip http://www.roadsideamerica.com/.

That's all I got today.

Lame.

I know.

Maybe tomorrow.

Employment Loyalty vs Employment Diversity

A couple of weeks ago a guy at work and I decided to make a list. No, nothing productive like things to do - more like a competition - on who has had more jobs. OK - can't say I'm proud - but I won.

The Jamoker's blog about Gahoogle Jamokes inspired me to talk about my employment history and how even loyalty can sometimes make it harder to find a job. Logical? I think not.

Before I moved to Iowa I worked at the same place for 6 years. It took me several months to find a job despite the fact that I had a degree and experience in management. Was it the reason I left? Poor interviewing? (could have been) or was it fear that I had worked at one place for too long and was lacking experience in different jobs that caused me trouble?



One thing I will tell you - my current employer was IMPRESSED that I had worked in so many different positions. It apparently made me marketable to this employer. Who knew? Maybe I should have listed my entire list on my resume.

Curious to see the list? Here is it.

1. Academic Administrative Assistant - (Current)
2. Recruiter/Trainer Staff Management (left for employment closer to home)
3. Trainer/QA Specialist - GC Services (company closed)
4. AnswerNet Operator - GC Services (Promoted)
5. Customer Service Operator - GC Services (position change)
6. Assistant Park Manager - LCPRD (relocated)
7. Bartender (seasonal)
8. Stage hand - IU MAC (graduated)
9. Short Order Cook - IU Food Service (injury caused me to resign)
10. Groundskeeper - LCPRD (seasonal)
11. Concession/Rental supervisor - LCPRD (seasonal)
12. Programming assistant - LCPRD (seasonal)
13. Cashier - Burger King (seasonal)
14. Umpire - AAU Softball (seasonal)
15. Babysitter

OK - 15 different positions - many with the same company. So I guess it isn't that bad - and I am only on the 4th company since I graduated from college.

Is it fair that Google requires a 3.0 to continue to an interview? NO. Is it fair that Whit who has been with the same company for 8 years has a harder time finding a job than I did? NO.

I will say - that each employer searches for the best fit - and I would be willing to bet because I graduated with a 2.58 I most DEFINATELY would not fit in at Google.

And my father who worked at the same company for 30 years would not fit in with a company like the one I work for now.

What am I trying to say? If you're searching for a job and it takes awhile don't let it get you down.

Remember: The job I found after 5 weeks of being laid off from GC Services - I HATED. I will say this - it's better to wait and find a good match than to take the first thing to come along. The year and ahalf with the job I hated was the longest in my life! So take your time when looking - you don't want to wear the wrong size shoes forever!

Pickles Needs a Female Cousin Soon...

Chep is letting me come over here to write about the MIL.

This is her with Pickles this weekend.

The MIL has a thing about big clip-on earrings.

She has a thing for putting them on small children.

I am glad she now has Pickles, because Jack was really getting tired of having to wear them.

Ahem.

Random Post

OK - I am still feeling a bit - well let's face it - CRAPPY. All I do is cough. It sucks.

Here is my lame post for today.

Inspired by Segue's post "The Greatest Dayton Picture ever" (or what I like to call Indiana proof of hillbillies in KY), I thought I would show the greatest picture from Duncan, SC.



A year ago I spent 6 weeks in Duncan, South Carolina on business.

Each day on my way to work I passed this roadside phenomenon.

This is a photo of an ACTUAL roadside vending machine found in Duncan, South Carolina. I am not making this up. Hell who could?

It's a 24 hour milk vending machine.


$3.00 will buy you a gallon of Whole, 2% or skim milk. 24 hours a day - 7 days a week. No need to locate a 24 hour supermarket at 2am to get your milk.

Convienent - yes.
Fresh? Not so sure.

I passed this machine everyday for 6 weeks - at least 4 times a day. I never once saw anyone insert dairy products into the machine.


Why do you think that is? Well I would suspect the reason is: there were not one, not two, but three 24 hr supermarkets within a 10 mile radius of this machine.

Funny - this is a machine I would expect to find in rural Indiana or Iowa. But alas, it was found in a fairly populated area in South Carolina.

Do you have an odd photo to share? A local oddity? Find it - and share!

The Formation of the Princess

OK - 2 days ago I started a blog about my parents and their creative side.

I should continue that blog - however I am a little loopy from the drugs. Bronchitis. FUN.

I will add one photo and call it a night.

This one shows of the start of the decline of the "Kiddie Parade". OH - don't get me wrong - the "floats" got better and better as I got older. This however led to putting me deeper and deeper into costume.

Nope - I don't have an older brother. A younger sister. My first taste in cross dressing.

Giant section of chicken wire to change into a giant flag: $15
Costumes for children: $10
Turning my sister into a princess because she got dragged in the rain so my parents could win the KIDDIE Parade: Priceless

(wonder if they found that section to fight those nasty squirrels WriterMom is so worried about)

Hopefully I will have more spunk tomorrow.

Ciao.

Pepper's little adventure....

If you haven't already figured it out - my husband and I don't have children (either that or I don't like them much because I have never mentioned them)
I do however have a dog.

Meet Peppercorn.

She's a 3 year old Miniature Schnauzer and she's like my baby.

She has a "house" (otherwise known as a kennel) next to our bed and she sleeps in it each night. We don't force her - she chooses to sleep there.

My husband (for whatever reason) must close the door to the bedroom when we go to bed. I guess he thinks if someone breaks in - that if the door is closed - they can't get in. "OH well the door is closed - guess I can't go in there..." Whatever.

Anyway - last night I went to bed after my husband and the house was dark. The dog followed me to the bedroom - but apparently did not follow me in. She spent the night - out of her comfort zone. Here is her story:

10:30pm on couch with master.

Ahhh....that one smells like dinnner....see what she thinks of that one.

Blah blah blah does she EVER stop trying to talk that blogger lady into moving to Iowa? Does she ACTUALLY believes anyone will move here? OK sounds like she's done. Finally time for bed.

**Lights darken**

SHIT - where did she go? I was just behind her. She actually almost stepped on me. Damn it's a good thing I'm fast. *BAM* Shit. Door. How do I get in? **rattle rattle** Shit - can't hear me.

I think I'll sit here at the door. Maybe she'll check on me. (5 minutes pass) Well I had best find someplace else to go. This floor is cold.

Couch. Mmmmm...not as nice without mom. Chair! I like the chair. Mmm....smells like....eww I was farting over here. Still smells. Can't stay here.

Maybe I'll check the bathroom. MMMM toilet paper. I had that once. It's fun. I ate it. I pooped it out for 3 days. The masters gagged every time they cleaned up the caca from the yard - that was great. OOhhh but it stopped me up something fierce.

Check the kitchen. Cool stuff in the kitchen. OOhh potatoes. Ate those once too. Threw them up. Smart. Not Smart.

Nevermind. I'll just wait. Right here. By the door.

And that's where she was when the alarm went off at 5am. At the door. Like nothing happened. The unconditional love of a dog. It's great.

The Cardboard and Duct Tape King

As I mentioned in Homemade Halloween my parents were the creative type. They put some time into Halloween costumes but took great pride in what our town called "The Kiddie Parade". Here is a little backround on the event. Held over Labor Day weekend kids of all ages ride bicycles, drag wagons or walk down main street dressed in little outfits trying to win ribbons for the best costumes.

I'm not sure how my parents got so involved in this "Kiddie Parade" maybe it's because I was barely able to walk when I first entered. I think I won - and my parents being the competitive types they are wanted to win again - and again.


It started off simple. I am guessing from the looks of this photo I was about a year and a half.

Mom dressed me as Raggedy Ann, turned my wagon into a block and had me pull it down the street.

I think we won.

And so it began.




Little Bo Peep
I dragged my sheep
To the end of the street.
I was 3
Yes that's me
Oh yeah - and we won - SWEET!




This was one of the last times I got be a girl at the Kiddie Parade and by far one of my favorite "floats".

I even got to ride my tricycle. For those of you who care the wings were made of chicken wire and those little squares of tissue paper.

I believe this photo was taken in 1979.

My parents diassembled the wings LAST WEEKEND to use in their garden to protect their bulbs from being eaten by squirrels.

And Writermom thinks her parents keep things for a long time. I will say one thing for my parents - they did ACTUALLY need it for something!