I apologize for the long absence. I make no excuses other than the traditional holiday rush that seems to come at me like a locomotive every year. I solemnly swear that I will attempt to be more regular in my posts for the rest of the holiday season. . . now I am off to wrap some presents.

I received this little story from a good friend for Thanksgiving, I thought it was great, so I’d thought I’d share. Have a Happy Turkey Day, y’all!

A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a
bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary.

Every word out of the bird’s mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with
profanity. John tried and tried to change the bird’s attitude by
consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything
else he could think of to "clean up" the bird’s vocabulary.

Finally, John was fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot
yelled back. John shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and
even ruder.

John, in desperation, threw up his hand, grabbed the bird and put him
in the freezer.

For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed. Then
suddenly there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a
minute.

Fearing that he’d hurt the parrot, John quickly open the door to the
freezer, the parrot calmly stepped out onto John’s outstretched arms
and said, "I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and
actions.

I’m sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I
fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and
unforgivable behavior."

John was stunned at the change in the bird’s attitude.

As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change
in his behavior, the bird continued, "May I ask what the turkey did?

Brief note that the Torto family and the Colley family are converging in Madison for their first shared holiday. I am getting very nervous and running around with a million things to do before they all arrive. I have about four or five to do lists for myself. Just wanted to post something to warn about the pending collapse I might have. If I survive, will be sure to update all with highlights from the Torto-Colley Summit.

Last night Shawn and I took Walter to a Howl-O-Ween party at the place where he goes to doggie daycare/boarding. Several costumes were attempted: Devil, cowboy, Bears Fan, however they all either fell off of him immediately or he looked so sad wearing them that I couldn’t keep it on. He ended up wearing the neckerchief from Shawn’s old boy scout uniform. Above are the attempts at the devil horns. Please notice the look of disgust and resignation. I love how he can make me feel childish and beneath him, when HE is the one who scared of the vacuum and will eat goose poop if given the chance.

Lest you think that we are narcissistic dog owners, the proceeds from the party went to the local guide dog training place. The dogs also had a blast playing with each other, eating doggie cookies shaped like ghosts, and bobbing for hot dogs.

Told Roz about it on the phone and I think she summed it up in one sentence: “You really need to just have a kid.”

I think I’ll end with that. I am now going to get high on fructose. Happy Halloween.

Sorry for the lull in the postings, things have been rather busy lately. Rather that an extra long, rambling post, how ‘bout we do a list to sum up?

Survived boredom of Shawn being in HK, mostly by working on some new art pieces and having long conversations with the dog.

After much anxiety, figured out that the Jeep needed a new battery, got one, and have been zooming around in relative security ever since.

Working out, meeting with trainer, getting ass kicked.

Trip to CMH to see good friends, have a lot of laughs, and realize how much I miss everyone.

Trip also included debacle of OSU losing to Penn State. Ugh!

More working out. Shin splints. Stair master. Ass kicked.

Carved pumpkins with hubby last night. Still hold pumpkin carving title belt.

This weekend we had some friends make the trip from CMH to go see Ohio State play Wisconsin here in Madison. Good times were definitely had, especially since the Buckeyes were able to eek out a win on Saturday night. It was so great to be able to see everyone and hang out like we did in CMH. That is really the only thing that I truly miss out here. Shawn and I were quite the social butterflies before and it has been a hard adjustment to going from a overloaded social calendar to hearing the crickets chirp. I am already looking forward to our trip back to Buckeye Country for the OSU/Penn State game on the 25th.

Had a great time at Club Ponderosa this past weekend. Perfect Labor Day weekend, good times with the family, swimming, and even a carnival. Great way to end the summer for sure. We brought my nephew back with us for the week while Roz starts back to work. So glad that we live close so that I get to do things like this now. I feel like I missed out a lot with him and the rest of the family while I lived in CMH, so it is great to be able to get some QT with him. Highlights included taking him back-to-school shopping and going to see Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Tomorrow I’ll be driving him back down to the Chi, then on Friday will be coming back with Roz, Angi, and Josh to go to see The Black Keys on Saturday. Can’t wait!

Sorry for the long break in the postings, but July started out a bit hectic. The Torto family had a situation that needed everyone to band together, but all is getting better and things are slowing returning to normal.

A highlight of the past few weeks was that my sisters and nephew came up to MSN to visit. So much fun having us all together and laughing a lot. Went to the local pool for a few days with was great. I was sad to see them go home and am already looking forward to another visit.

Fourth of July was also a bright spot as well, although Mom and Dad were in CA, the rest of us got together at The Ponderosa for some good times. Highlights included swimming, a beetle invasion, good tunes, and of course, fireworks courtesy of Uncle Pyro (aka Shawn) which were fun, but held to a minimum in deference to Sylvia’s concerns of her house being consumed in flames while her and dad were gone.

Now that all the dust has settled, I am looking forward to getting back in to a routine here at the house. Need to get back to the gym and also get cracking on digging out those art supplies.

Finally. . . we are officially in the house!! We closed on Friday evening, and yes, I didn’t launch over the conference table and throttle the mortgage person. She is lucky to get through it unscathed. Although there was a funny moment when she talked about horses hating her . . . must ask me about that one! But enough about her, we are in!!! We started moving stuff over on Saturday and then spent the night last night. Albeit on an areobed, but yeah! Tomorrow the movers come with our beloved stuff, I can’t wait!!


Quick note: We are STILL not in the house. More WF insanity. Will not discuss, but will focus on better things.

Memorial weekend was just what the doctor ordered. My sister and two of our friends made their maiden voyage on the Van Gelder bus line to visit Shawn and I this weekend. This was supposed to be a celebration of our moving into the house, but alas it was not meant to be. Friday night we welcomed them Wisconsin style, with plenty of cheese, beer, and wine to be consumed. Saturday we started off at the fabulous Dane County Farmer’s Market. Was sorely disappointed that they were unable to experience the best chocolate long johns (we got there too late) but they did get to savor some excellent cookies. Saturday night we took them to Porta Del Alba. Fantastic Neopolitan pizza place. Yum Zum. Then the night of debauchery ensued. Highlights were gay lumberjacks, Paul’s juke box, cop chases, and a Dance Party USA. Yes, people were dancing on chairs. LOVE IT! Sunday we hit the Brat Fest. I love this state.

I am so grateful that they came up, it was just what Shawn and I needed to get our minds off of the ridiculousness of the closing on the house. Hopefully, we will be in by the next time the Van Gelder Trio make a return trip.