Rosco's New Hat

Its almost summer...the sun is shining...the economy is crumbling...rich people are starting to get nervous. Do you know what all of this means? Garage sales baby! I got up early today and headed to the richest, trendiest neighborhoods in Denver and I scored a few good deals.

I picked up these four prints for $2.00. Afterword, I headed to Hobby Lobby for frames. These ones were $12.00 a piece but it was 50% off day...so the whole project totalled $26.00. My hallway is no longer sad and lonely.

This print is about 13" by 16" and was fifty cents. The frame cost $10. Its in our bedroom until Shawn gets home and reminds me that I don't live alone and butterflies cross the "is this too girly?" line...but its soooo pretty.

This purse was $2.00. It is brand new and adorable. When I got it home I realized its from Saks Fifth Avenue. I don't shop there, because I'm poor, so I don't know exactly how much it would cost but I think its more than $2.00.

These little dishes were a dollar a piece.

My first thought was to use them for jewelry. They are the perfect size for organizing rings.

But when I bought them, the previous owner explained that they are for food, such as relish. I didn't know they made dishes for relish. The thought of these little dishes being so versatile got my creative juices flowing.

Perhaps they could hold hair clips.

Maybe used as a hat?

Even a fruit display..er.

Rosco has requested that I stick to my original idea. He's a smart boy.

Now, these baskets don't technically qualify as "garage sale finds" but I got a good deal. I found them at Hobby Lobby when I was looking for frames and they were just over $2 a piece.

So that was it for today. I didn't actually make it to too many sales. Quality vs. Quantity people. Next week, I will be dragging my sister along, so the pictures might be a little more entertaining.
Before I go...I wanted to update everyone on my herb garden. My lil buds done sprouted y'all.

Well, most of them. The oregano and thyme are on their own little timeline apparently. Ass holes.

Also, this little fucker sprouted up in the middle of my chives. The pictures are from my phone so I couldn't get a very clear shot, but its definitely not a chive. The leaves don't look familiar, but there is definitely some sort of nug....I showed Shawn and he thinks we should just smoke it. I'll let you know how that turns out.

When I was loading the pictures of my plants, I found this pic from last week in Boulder. Anyone have any clue what kind of dog this is? Aside from Horseadoodle. I want one. And I want to ride it to work.

Peace out bitches.

Happy Momma Day

So last weekend, my sister and I attempted to be good daughters and surprise our mom for Mother's Day. We started making plans a few months ago and everything seemed to be going smoothly. We should have known better.

Our plane tickets were coming courtesy of Frontier Airlines. They have a deal set up with the restaurant I work at that allows me to get standby tickets for pretty cheap.

I've used these tickets in the past and haven't had any serious problems...except for that one time I went to Mexico and almost didn't come home...and then ended up in the hospital. But that is an entirely different blog. Considering the wonderful internets were saying that our flight had plenty of seats available, we weren't too worried about our standby status. Unfortunately by the time we got to the airport, our 7 pm flight was sold out and we were bumped to a flight at 6 oclock the next morning. For some reason, we thought it would be better to forget our flight to St Louis and go to Kansas City instead. We switched our rental car reservation to our new destination and headed to Kansas. The plane ride was...interesting. I don't know which part was actually the worst. I'd say its a three way tie between the drunk pilot, the ridiculous man in front of us yelling about alien investors funding 9-11, or the off duty pilot sitting behind me repeatedly telling his wife that the plane shouldn't be making those noises unless its about to crash.

When we finally landed in the wonderful Kansas City, we were informed that not only did our rental car reservation vanish, but so did all of the available cars. We had to switch to a new company, pay about double our quoted rate, but we finally got a car. After getting lost in Kansas City, a quick stop at Walmart to buy Mother's Day flowers, and a midnight trip to Wendy's, we were finally began our 4 hour trip to the rents' house. At about 1 in the morning, I started getting really tired and worried that I might have to pull over for a nap. About the time I told my plan to Casey, the universes aligned and did what they felt necessary to wake me up. Perhaps it was the full moon. Perhaps it was the thick forest. Perhaps it was the fact that Missouri is a scary ass place full of critters with a death wish....whatever it was, I quickly woke up when I realized there were thousands of animals waiting to be hit by our car. In the 4 hours it took to drive home, we passed at least 50 deer, dozens of opossums, about 6 skunks, 3 armadillos, and a few rabid dogs.

Somehow, we managed to stay awake, not hit any creatures on the road, and made it to the house just after 5 in the morning. Casey and I grabbed the balloons and flowers, smacked a couple bows on our heads, and creeped up the driveway.

Mom came out on the porch and screamed, cried, screamed some more, cried a lot more, and was generally pretty damn happy. Dad came out and there were a few congratulatory high fives for pulling off a completely secret trip without Mom having even a clue.

We spent Saturday just hanging out with our parents, went to the Ozarks for dinner, played some cards (which Casey and I dominate at of course) and enjoyed our short trip. Unfortunately, Sundays flights were even more booked than Fridays. We were pretty much guaranteed to never get back to Denver if we relied on our standby tickets. Mom and Dad ended up buying us tickets through United to get us home Sunday afternoon. In the end, our cheap plan to get to Missouri and back, ended up costing our parents around $600. For some unknown reason, they seemed to think Casey and I visiting for one day was worth that much. I think they are crazy. The trip home wasn't as eventful as the trip there. We drove back to Kansas City midday Sunday so there weren't as many animals darting in front of our car. Oh except for this horse.

He hung out in the middle of the road for a while until a man with overalls and no teeth came out yelling something about mangy horse glue. The horse listened to our advice and ran away as fast as possible.

We got to the airport two hours early as advised by every travel advisor in the world. Unfortunately these advisers have never been to Kansas City International Airport. I work at Denver International Airport, so perhaps I'm a bit spoiled when it comes to expectations when traveling. I am used to, well, people at the airport...security at the airport...running water at the airport. Ok, maybe Kansas has running water but...

Denver International:

Kansas City International:

We definitely didn't need two hours. Five minutes was plenty to get to our gate.

The airport may not have many passengers, but they do have a gift shop.

I didn't buy anything.

I have a feeling this man would have liked that shirt though. Twilight anyone?

We made it home, safe and sound. Mom loves us, and more importantly knows that we love her. And I have no desire to ever visit Kansas City again. Happy Mother's Day Mom. Sorry, Dad, Father's Day won't be this exciting. I may buy you a golf club though.

Dear Ridiculous Woman Walking Her Ugly Dog,

Please don't give me dirty looks when I walk by you. My dog and I were simply trying to enjoy the sunshine on our little walk. You saw us a half a mile away. You stopped walking, turned around, and watched us coming toward you and that tangled rat you call a dog.

You refused to move. For absolutely no reason, you chose to discontinue your walk, stand right there in the middle of the trail and wait the ten minutes it took us to catch up to you. You had a horrified look in your eye. You saw my beast walking toward you and you were petrified but you did not move. I could tell five hundred feet away that you were convinced he was going to attack you. You saw his razor sharp teeth, and you waited for them!

You glared at me as we approached. You pulled your dogs leash, called him closer, and never broke eye contact with my ferocious killer. The closer you got, the more your hands trembled, the bigger the sweat drops on your forehead.

As we passed you, you mumbled something in a shaky voice and glared at me with lasers shooting out your eyes. My dog eyeing yours. Your dog smelling his own ass.

I completely understand if you are afraid of large dogs, sharp teeth, being eaten alive. I understand that not everyone will find my dog cute and cuddly. I also understand that if you had half a brain, you would not stand and wait for the creature of your nightmares to approach you. You chose to stand there and wait TEN MINUTES for us to catch up to you and then you had the nerve to give ME dirty looks!?!? My dog is fairly well behaved and honestly couldn't have cared less about you. He was slightly intrigued by your dog, but he also finds piles of shit quite entertaining, so I wouldn't be too proud of your pooch. He didn't, however, try to eat your face. So get over it. You have every right to dislike my dog's breed, or hair length, or drool. But if you are not fond of him, please don't stand there and wait for us, only to give me the death stare....just keep walkin!

Sincerely,
The lady who's dog is much much more handsome

Disclaimer.... None of the photographs used in this blog actually depict my dog, or the other dog in said situation. After many failed attempts to get Rosco to make a "fierce" face to the camera, I decided it was best to use stunt doubles for dramatic effect. He does not really look like a bear or a monster. In the future, I will leave the "fierceness" to Tyra.

Rosco wants you all to know that he is in fact a very sweet, very mellow young man who has never once in his life shown his teeth to anyone but the dentist. He's also wishing that his mom would quit blogging. Right now.

Angry Beavers and Coors Light

Last night, the boy and I made a trip to the Adam's County Fair. Growing up in Germany, I have high hopes for a fair. I imagine great beer, juicy brats, loud music, beautiful soldiers, and scary rides. Apparently, stateside festivals are a little different. They attract a type of person that I did not think resided in Colorado. I was wrong. So very wrong. I learned a lot about people, culture, and farm animals yesterday and I'd like to share this awakening with you.

We got to the fairgrounds around 4:30, which it seems was far too early. The rides were not running, the games were not playing, and the food was just hitting the grill.

We wandered around for a bit, got some bbq on a stick and crappy beer, and talked to a vendor about how my moisturizer is giving me cancer. After that enlightening conversation, we discovered the farmer's mecca at the fair. There were giant tents filled with animals, and people hustling about everywhere. After a few confused moments, we realized these animals were engaging in some sort of beauty contests.

The first animal I met was this horse. I took his picture because he reminded me of Matthew McConaughey.

Next, I discovered Olivia Newton John's fan club. I'm still not sure why these sheep were wearing spandex, but it was entertaining.

They weren't getting physical, physical...but they were looking fly and that's all that mattered.

Next, I met a pig who's either narcoleptic, or a lush. Or perhaps both.

About two minutes after taking that last picture, I was attacked by his cousin. Okay, maybe attacked is a slight exaggeration, but there was a large pig, running in my direction, and a boy chasing it with a stick. It was traumatizing.

Next, we moved on to the "Small caged animals" pageant. There were quite a few interesting rabbits. Did you even know there were multiple kinds of rabbits? There are actually rabbits who are small, and not just because they are babies, and there are also rabbits that are almost as big as my dog. Well, maybe as big as your dog.

This rabbit used his double chin as a pillow, which I thought was genius.

This bunny's hair was so crazy that you couldn't even find his face. Unless that's his butt. I'm pretty sure its his face.

This one was just cool.

He was for sale. I considered bringing him home, but then I remembered that rabbits eat your face while you sleep. So I changed my mind.

Next, I learned that if you kneel down and attempt to take a picture of a caged turkey, he instantly think you are going to pluck all his feathers out, stuff an onion up his butt, and throw him in the oven. This turkey was trying to make this process easier by fluffing himself up to make his feathers more accessible for the plucking. That was nice of him. Then he tried to bite my face.

It was about this time that I realized there was poo on my shoe. That's when we headed to the Monster Truck show. At the Miss Adam's County Piggy show, there were lots of wranglers, big belt buckles, and cowboy boots. At the monster truck show, there were many tank tops, receding hair lines, and not so many teeth. There was however this rebellious little girl who seemed to like beaded bracelets. The boy made jokes about raving skanks and Ecstasy. Who knows. Oh, there were also trucks. Big ones. Monsters, if you will.

After the show, I ran into this guy, twice. I took the second encounter as fate, and a reason to take his picture.

Before we went home, the boy won a prize for me...well more for our dog.

He was quite proud. He informed me that the stuffed animal was from the show "Angry Beavers". I made the angry beaver ride a tractor.

When we got home, Rosco was quite please with his beaver. Then he ripped its nose off and spilled his insides all over my living room. The angry beaver made me angry, so he now lives in the dumpster.

Well, that was my night. I learned a lot about animals, and poo, and trucks, and overalls. I learned that the boy likes to tell baby cows about his love of veal. I don't think he even eats veal, he just likes to tell stories to animals. And I learned that its perfectly ok to go to the fair in overalls and no shirt. G'night.