Photo meme - Canuck, Canuck

Awhile back, the Catless CatLady tagged me with a photo meme.  I'm always looking for an easy post, so why not?

The instructions (yes, I do follow them occasionally) indicated to pick the tenth photo in your first photo folder and post it.

My computer is full of photos of Cat and Evil Twin (and a few of Hubby) so imagine my surprise when I encountered this photo:

This gem is from our trip to the Maine coast last fall.  We took an excursion across the drink to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.  The only form of transportation we had once the ferry dropped us off was our own two feet.  We picked up a map for a walking tour and hit the pavement.

There were numerous older homes that had received facelifts (and hopefully new innards) and were restored to period architecture.  The variety of "periods" represented was amazing.  The influence is traced back to sea captains that settled in Yarmouth after traveling all over the world.

This one reminded me of Hansel and Gretel for some reason. I also thought it belonged in the board game CandyLand.

Tag, your it (no obligation, of course)!

More Stuff You Didn't Want to Know

Just for shits and giggles...er.....I mean sheets and gaggles....um... maybe it's shirts and goggles....

ReformingGeek?

Yes?

IT DOESN'T MATTER. GET ON WITH IT!

Ok.

I'm sharing with you today. That's right. After summer camp and all that Kumbayah togetherness, I'm opening up my heart and bearing all the geeky weirdness for your pointing and laughing pleasure.

Crazy Things That Have Happened To Me:
(If you want the "good stuff", you'll have to read this post.)

• I broke my leg on a swingset when I was four. I stuck my foot in the slat of the swinging carriage. The carriage swung. My leg didn't. Mom freaked out, of course. One hospital trip later, I had a fresh new cast on my leg. I learned to scoot around on my booty and I'm sure I could still beat up my little brother with my other leg, two arms, and a plastic baseball bat.
  

• I had those silly little pajamas with feet when I was a kid. Mom reminded me recently that I wore them backwards so they were all twisted around. No wonder I was complaining about how uncomfortable they were.

• My first boyfriend (that I can remember) was six-year-old Bruce. I was 10. Ha! Kidding. I was also six and I don't think he knew I was his girlfriend.

• I had to wear braces twice as a pre-teen/teen. I don't think they really knew what they were doing way back then when we traveled to and from the orthodontist in our 1970 Ford Country Squire station wagon. (Yep. That's one in the picture. Ours was green, though.)

• When I was about 10, I leaned against a sharp brick at a neighbor's house and ended up with stitches in my shoulder.

• I have broken my left wrist twice, both times falling forward and becoming one with the ground. Apparently, the ground did not find me worthy.

• Now for the deep stuff. Get your shovels handy. I am a firm believer in the following but let's just say they are often only aspirations. You will notice that my evil twin could not leave me alone while I was typing:

1. Get over yourself.

What? No. That's just not possible. My blog. My blog.

2. Treat others the way you want to be treated.
Bah Humbug.

3. Live in the present.
Dwelling on past events or always waiting for some future event isn't the key to happiness?

4. Let go of judgment; judgment of yourself and of others.
But. But. Wait. That can't be right.

5. Smile, laugh, and do something nice for somebody else every day.
You mean like telling your friend they have a hanging booger or spinach in their teeth? Or maybe not telling them? Hehe. I am very confused about this one.

6. OK.OK. At least do something nice for yourself every day.

Sheesh! That's enough of that. I'll leave you with this little "joke" I found in a recent email:

"I was walking down the road today and saw my roofer/template-author Abdul standing on his fifth floor apartment balcony shaking a carpet. I shouted up to him, "What's up Abdul, won't it fu@#$ start?."

Now, where's my wine?

This weekend I will be at an event sponsored by Hubby's work, so unfortunately, no blog fodder. That is, unless I do something especially geeky and/or goofy which almost never happens.

I wish.

Photo credit: station wagon: desertm@worldnet.att.net

Coons, Crazy Eights, and Cool Award!

Remember the Crazy Eights card game? Well, neither do I.

Actually, I do remember something like that and the eights wreaked all kinds of havoc. But that's not what I'm posting about. I'm scribbling about the "eight things" meme that I got tagged with awhile back. I'm still working on it and I may be working on it until the zombies come for us.

Recently, in the land of Geek:

1. I've discovered that this thing called CURRENT when swimming IS NOT a good thing. The last time I went to practice my freestyle, HairyApe and his family were in the lanes next to me. HairyApe was a lightning bolt in the water (I'm not sure I like the thought of that...) but he sure made some waves. Or maybe it was the little kids over by the slide or maybe it was just the way the moon, the stars, and the planets were aligned or that poppy seed muffin I ate. Whatever. I had a very hard time swimming the line on the bottom. If that's anything like "walking the line" I would have been in big trouble.

2. I do not like having raccoon eyes from wearing swim goggles:

"Is you rat?"

3. Young people are not as flexible as they should be. Recently, some high school and college students have attended my morning yoga class on Tuesdays. These are girls that are thin and look healthy but they are surprisingly lacking in flexibility. Touching their toes? Um, no. Raising their arms over their head with straight elbows? Um, no. Fatiguing after just a few reps of abdominal exercise? Yes. This scares me and I think it may be related to a lack of focus on fitness in schools these days.

4. I'm beginning to wonder if I do have a twin. My former boss called the other day and finally realized she was talking to the wrong person. She moved to a different fitness club so I'm not even on her list of instructors.

5. Kharma sometimes presents itself as Murphy: When the weather is nice, I have to sit at a desk inside a freezing gym all day.

6. I've never been on a four-wheeler but I plan to give it a try in a few weeks. I have been on a wave runner and if I had my choice, I'd rather do that but giving the absence of a large body of water at the planned outing, I guess I'll try the four-wheelers.

7, 8 and beyond is an update on the neighbors:

• The Peckers (yeah, you read that right):
  

• The new neighbors seem to be thriving although I saw the neighbor's cat hovering outside the pen a few days ago. Hum.....I have not seen that cat in awhile and I was wondering what the chickens were eating.....

• Mrs. Parker: Nosy has been away for awhile. Last week, I saw the RV in her drive and then she was gone. Note: It's just an assumption that the RV took her. It could have been zombies or aliens.
  

• Mr. Slither: The FEDEX driver just told me she ran over a huge black and tan snake last week. She said it was headed away from my yard. Hum.....how did I miss that thing slinking through my yard and were you brave enough to click on that link?
  

• Ms. Jailbird: There is a zebra that has moved in a few miles south of me. It's being elusive behind its white picket fenced yard. I'll try to get a photo soon.

• Stan Stinger: I saw a scorpion in the shower area at the gym. It's a good thing I planned on showering once I returned home!

Now for the award. I love awards. I've got plenty of space here. Bring them on!

Kidding. Thank you Funnyrunner for this award. I'm honored when someone thinks of me. Notice that this award has text describing its origination. I had to go and check because I did not know what that phrase meant. I'm still not sure but that's the name of the blog. Anybody know Filipino? Good luck with the google translation.

The instructions are to give it to 15 other bloggers. I don't play by the rules. Anyone is welcome to this award. Enjoy.

Coming up next week: Humor Bloggers Dot Com Summer Camp. I'm attending so expect a couple of posts about the activities! These people are a few squares short of round so you never know what's going to happen.

Photo credit: baby raccoon and dog: evenparerogers.com on flickr.com, Creative Commons license, see sidebar, chickens: ReformingGeek).

Get Some Caffeine, it's a MEME!

First of all, thanks for all of your nice comments about my new blog design. I'll probably stick with this one for awhile, or at least until the next one. Ha! Check out the tabs at the top if you haven't already. I've got a tab for VE's "spoof" of my blog and there is a tab that describes the geek family members that aid me in my attempts/non-attempts to reform.

Now on to the ABC's meme, with a little flair of course. Meadowlark did this on her blog, Just Wandering Through. She did a great job and I didn't need caffeine to get through it. I hope you won't either.

A - Age: Yes, like a fine wine.

B - Bed size: We finally parted with our waterbed several years ago and went with separate beds. I'm just kidding. We have a queen size bed.

C - Chore you hate: Dusting does not bring me great pleasure, just a good sneeze.

D - Dog's name: Nooter. Didn't you know that Nooter is everyone's pup?

E - Essential start your day item: Green tea, OJ and TOAST, duh.

F - Favorite color: Purple

G - Gold or Silver or Platinum: Yes, and lots of it.

H - Height: According to my mom who is 5'9, I'm short. I'd love to be 5'6 but I find myself just short of 5'5 on most days. Got heels?

I - Instruments you play: Piano, flute, recorder, air guitar (very poorly according to Hubby)

J - Job title: Gym Grunt and Fitness Instructor but I still think of myself as a Business Systems Analyst in the corporate world. I occasionally fancy myself a writer.

K - Kid(s): No goats here. Oh, wait. You meant children? Nah. Just puke-ball the cat.

L - Living arrangements: The House that Jack (or Juan) cheaply built.

M - Mom's name: Dot

N - Nicknames: ReformingGeek, RG, Reffie, Girlfriend, anything else I consider flattering. If it's unflattering, see the letter "R" and duck.

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Medicine allergy (My neck swelled up and Mom freaked out, of course.)

P - Pet Peeve: Cats that puke..... Sorry about that but it said "pet" peeve. As for people, I don't like snobs and stupidity, and for things, I don't like water all over the place in the bathroom. Wipe the counter, please!

Q - Quote from a movie: I got a little carried away: "Make my day" - Dirty Harry , "I'll be Back" - Terminator, "I am your father, Luke" - Duh. "The Styrofoam, it weakens me" - Bolt", "Yippee ki-yay, mother fecker" - Die Hard, "Bring out your dead" - Monty Python

R - Right handed or left handed: Right but I'm working on my left hook.

S - Siblings: One brother.

T - Time you wake up: It depends on the party.

U- Underwear: Do you mean have I burned my bra? Of course but I will find one to wear if you're coming over. As for the other girlie garments, let's just say there are no granny panties unless it's laundry day. I'm not promising you a thong, though.

V - Vegetable you dislike: Beets and brussel sprouts (Yeah. I know that's two).

W - Ways you run late: I'm usually early but if I'm late, I probably lost track of time or didn't realize it would take that long to get from A to B. I always blame Brain Fog.

X - X-rays you've had: I wish I had x-ray vision but I don't think that's what's being asked. I've had my wrist x-rayed after crashing on downhill skis, and yes, it was broken.

Y - Yummy food you make: Homemade Mexican Stew, Cookies!

Z - Zoo favorite: It wouldn't be the snake exhibit.

You read this far? Wow! I'm impressed. I have some very aromatic flowers for your reward:


This rose bush is giving out some good vibes this year after a disappointing season last year (Hum....sounds like the Texas Rangers.)

Photo credits: Pink Rose Blow-out: ReformingGeek on a friggin' hot day in Texas!

Do Re Mi Mi Mi Mi...

Let me just clear my throat from that high note I was trying to hit in that title. I've been working on that high note all week and I finally hit it. After I put the broom away from sweeping up the broken wine glass, I'll get on with the post.

Uh ReformingGeek?

Yes?

You're supposed to be doing a meme. There is no singing required.

Oh. I'm so embarrassed.

So it's been another exciting Saturday at the ReformingGeek household. Yep. I started off running a 5K and it just didn't stop from there. I am very proud to report that my driveway is now free of tree poop. This will last for about 5 minutes or until the next storm arrives so that's why I took a picture. This is what my driveway is supposed to look like:


I'm getting to the real post. Please be patient.

I love blog fodder. You can thank Quirky for this post. I even sent her money just like she said in her post.

Sweetie, the check's in the mail.

I have to list things that are just plain wrong but there is one that is oh so very, very WRONG.

Quirky was right. This was a fun meme.

1. I believe in the 5-second rule. If food falls on the floor and is picked up within 5 seconds, it's edible.

2. I will occasionally use fake flowers outside (Don't tell my neighbors.)

3. I put off dusting as long as possible. When the cat starts pawing his name on the mantle, I get it done.

4. I put off washing my car as long as possible. When Hubby writes "Wash Me or it's MINE" on my windows, I wash it.

5. Recently, I collected road kill from all the squished wild animals that I've seen while out running (coyote, rabbit, bobcat, domestic kitteh, dog, possum, raccoon, armadillo, Nooter) and made road-kill stew. I told my guests it was a new recipe for my famous Mexican stew.

6. I don't enjoy talking to my mom on the phone. That's right. May lightning strike me down.


DANG! I was just kidding. I didn't really want that to happen!

7. I have watched the last 3 episodes of Star Wars more than most sane people. Oh, wait. I'm not exactly sane so this is totally irrelevant.

That's all I have for now. That wasn't too bad, was it? Please feel free to sing this meme if you're in the mood.

Happy Easter and think nice thoughts about this little bunny. No bunny stew, OK folks?



Photo credits: Lightning: Brian Auer, flickr.com Creative Commons, bunny baby: unknown, ReformingGeek driveway: Real Cat. No rights reserved.

The Oceanic Six Meme

There is some kind of meme going around where you have to list six things about yourself that frankly, nobody gives a rat's ass about (Humor me. It's margarita night and they were really [hiccup] good tonight). Nobody asked me to do this meme but when has that ever stopped me?

I have conveniently renamed this meme to the Oceanic Six meme and will list weird things about myself. For those of you that don't watch Lost, weird things always happen to the six people that "survived the plane crash and were rescued from the Island but are now back on the Island....apparently".

Anyway, so here goes. Things I'm sure you've always wanted to know about me but were smart enough not to ask:

#1. Yes. I'm a cat lover and a sucker for a sweet kitty (So why don't I have one?) I never liked cats as a child. I thought cats growled at you. My BFF at the time had to explain purring.

It was dogs. We had poodles. Hubby tells me poodles aren't really dogs. Poodles and chihuahuas; noisy squirmy rats disguised as dogs. I miss having a mutt. We have no fence and I don't want one in the house and we won't be getting a fence so there will be no mutt. I hate logic sometimes.

Dogs are excited to see you. Cats like you to think they are excited to see you but it's all an act to manipulate you to comply with their commands. If cats can kidnap the HumorBloggers mascot Chester, then we know we can't trust those growling, hair-throwing, hairball-hacking, dirt dropping, curtain-tearing, stinky-turd-dropping, SBD-farting buffoons. WOW! Did that cover it?

So that was #1. Moving on.

#2. I like Peanut Butter and Bananas (but not on a sandwich). They make a mean muffin. It must have been the ghostly visit from Elvis as he was swirling around in Purgatory. My dad also liked Peanut Butter and Bananas. I'm sure he and Elvis are getting along swell in the Great Beyond when he's not haunting my mom's house with additional attempts to stop gap any problem with duct tape and bailing wire.


#3. I walked up and down the Leaning Tower of Pisa in 1976! This was before they closed it for repairs and stabilization. I'm glad I had a good sense of balance. Mom stayed down below on a bench thinking I was crazy.


#4. I think I left some brain cells in Florida. The Mission: Space ride at Epcot scared the daylights out of me but not until I tried to leave the ride upright. I slowly walked to the exit holding on to Hubby. I've never felt so weird and disoriented. My head hurt for several hours and I kept thinking I should go lay down. I found out later that it used spinning to create centrifugal force to simulate the G-force effects (at least it did a few years ago when I went on it). Me and spinning are not friends. Six Flags had a ride called the Spindle Top. I couldn't do that one either.

#5. Hubby's Sunday school teacher when he was six turned out to be my uncle. [Insert music from the Twilight zone.]

#6. Hubby and I went to the same college and the years overlapped but we did not meet until a few years later at work.


OK. WAKE UP! It's over. Feel free to do the weird stuff meme. You can even call it the Oceanic Six meme if you want.

Puppy in towel photo: Origin unknown. It was from a well-traveled email.