vacation | Little Miss Drama Pants

July 26, 2010
by lilMDP 4 Comments

Sometimes Being Miserable Is Necessary to Be Happy

Case in point. Our air conditioner that has been struggling to keep up with the weather? Well, it maybe isn’t the AC’s fault. B had a friend in the AC business come over and add some more freon to the AC and then did some research. What he found out was that we needed more insulation in our attic. I think we had something like 2-4 inches of insulation up there and what we needed was more like 10 inches.

The math was pretty simple. Spend a few hundred dollars on insulation and employ blood, sweat and tears or a few thousand on a new AC and eat ramen noodles and mac & cheese for a few years. So we decided to do what anyone in our situation would do. We opted for the cheaper, more miserable option.

Setting up the machine

And my dear, sweet husband wanted to get the job done so we started this process around 2:00 pm yesterday afternoon. In about 100° heat with at least 80% humidity. Maybe 1000% humidity. It’s hard to tell anymore. Anyway, he tried to convince me that I had the “easy” job of feeding insulation into that green bin of horrors. You know, because he had it so much more rough than I did being up in the attic and blowing the insulation around.

After about an hour and a half after we started, I was covered in more insulation than got blown up into the attic (I keep typing “attack” for “attic.”) and we were only 6 bags into the 25. To say I was miserable was an understatement.

[flickrset id="72157624461919685" thumbnail="square" overlay="true" size="medium"]

You can click to make the photos bigger and see me covered in a fine layer of insulation. And this was after constantly wiping myself down to get it off me. Which, by the way, was doing its job smashingly well. Sadly, I had no need to be insulated. What with it already being 100° with lots and lots of humidity. And I’m trying desperately to stay cool any way I can. So that continual layer of insulation all over my body? NOT HELPING.

I finally managed to convince B that the reason this stupid insulation isn’t getting suck up into the hose (that I am no longer convinced we even need) and up into the attic because it’s too busy spinning around in the machine thingamabob and GROWING from the heat and humidity. So how about we call it quits for a few hours? Maybe we can start it again after dark? Or when it’s not so hot? Like maybe in December? No?

Damnit.

Then how about we stop for now and maybe start back up around 5 or 6? You know, when it’s NOT SO FUCKING HOT.

So we took a break. I had to de-fur myself before even heading upstairs where I promptly laid down in the floor and passed out. Have you ever been so hot and tired that when you pass out you have really weird dreams? Like the kind where you’re best friends with your ex-husband and babysitting his kids so he can get laid? No? Uh, yeah. Me neither.

ANYWAY. Moving along.

B woke me up a few hours later and we started the whole miserable process over again. However, I would like to say that I was RIGHT about the humidity and its effect on the stupid insulation and that once it wasn’t THE HOTTEST PART OF THE DAY, it started moving like it was supposed to. Also? The directions on that stupid machine LIED. It said to open up the suck-it-up-the-tube part 3/4 of the way. Nope. It needed to be opened up 1/2 way in order to create the proper amount of suction. Clearly the stupid thing was never meant to be operated during an Alabama summer. Especially in the middle of a heat wave.

Ugh

But I digress.

At the very least, it was somewhat gratifying to find that blowing 6 bags of insulation no longer took an hour and a half but only half an hour. Which was a really good thing considering there was still THIRTEEN BAGS OF INSULATION left to blow. And don’t get me wrong, it was still cooler than it had been, but it’s all relative and still REALLY FUCKING HOT and I was still getting covered in insulation.

Turning Furry

And in my delirium decided I was slowly becoming some kind of live action anime arctic fox. Except brown. So I must be a anime fox in a post-apocalyptic earth where snow is always brown, which is why I was turning into a brown arctic fox. And that would be better than looking like a furry teddy bear. Because I have pointy ears and bears don’t have pointy ears, but fox do. And how sad is it that snow is brown? And why is it that they say you should go green when really it’s brown… Sometimes it really helps to go a little crazy. It makes the time pass more quickly.

Because suddenly I was done.

Finished, But Not Happy

I was hot, sweaty, extremely cranky and covered head to toe in sweat covered insulation. But definitely done.

And, even though I hate to admit it, B was right about the insulation helping the house stay a little cooler. Today is the first day in WEEKS that the temperature in house has been under 80°. And that’s a really good thing. And right now? I am really happy. REALLY REALLY HAPPY. This is gonna be the best vacation ever now that this place has cold(er) air.

March 16, 2010
by lilMDP 4 Comments

Space Is Cool

But until spaceships are more spacious, I will keep my feet firmly planted on terra firma. I’m not traveling the universe unless I can do it in comfort. But yesterday we went up to the Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL. We learned and saw a lot of really cool stuff. Check it out:

[ichc-flickr-slide width="500" height="375" username="graceshadix" set_id="72157623635975602" player_r="71649"]

Today B and I went and got all set up on the Fitlinxx system at the YMCA in the morning and then took BAD Boy to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D with some friends in the afternoon. That movie is so freaking cool! I love Hatter. And now my little mini vacay has come to a sad end and tomorrow I will go back to work. le sigh

Oh yeah. And I still hate daylight savings with the fiery passion of a thousand suns.

That is all.

May 30, 2009
by lilMDP 4 Comments

sigh

There is something incredibly therapeutic about being at the beach – even when you have a sprained ankle. And it’s always hard to come back home afterwards. This time around it really helps that we’ve got a few days to decompress and get used to being back at home before heading back to work. But if we could have it our way, we’d have just stayed down at the beach.

(click to embiggen)

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Can you really blame us? One day soon, I think we’ll seriously looking into getting our own place on the beach. Just as soon as we win that lottery we always talk about playing.

Every photo I took this year (which weren’t many) were taken from the balcony. It really killed me that I only made it out into the sand and water once the entire trip thanks to my stupid ankle, but being exiled to the pool was really not all that bad. It could have been so much worse.

But next time I plan on not hurting myself so I can enjoy the entire beach experience ON the beach.

May 25, 2009
by lilMDP 8 Comments

Shopping Is Dangerous

Yesterday afternoon, my SIL and I decided to hit the outlet mall to get in a little Memorial Day Sale action. I was in search of some new shoes for work. And I found several pairs. While we were in the ?Clark’s outlet I found my shoe nirvana. One pair in particular were so cute and comfortable that I decided to go ahead and put them on. Now, it has been awhile since I’ve worn wedges, but these weren’t too terribly high and were so much more comfortable than the flip flops I had been wearing up until then. I put them on, paid for them along with my other purchases and headed out the door, SIL in tow.

We walked for quite awhile with no problems coming from this particularly adorable pair of shoes. We hit several more stores and were actually heading back to the car to swing around to the other side of the outlet center when disaster struck. And this, folks, is where is gets not only incredibly ugly but oh so embarassing.

I wish I could tell you that I saw a kid in the street and some stupid frat boys barreling down on said kid in their SUV, but alas, that is not what happened. What happened is that I slowed down and stopped in front of American Eagle (I think) and then promptly rolled my ankle AFTER I STOPPED WALKING. And as I rolled my ankle, I heard a “POP.” I was instantly in pain and hobbled over to a nearby bench. Thankfully said bench was not far away at all. I looked down at my ankle only to discover that I now had what looked like two ankle bones. Things were not looking good.?

At this point, I handed SIL my keys, told her to get the car and called B. B was slightly less than helpful since he was a six pack to the wind on the beach. I decided to play it safe and SIL and I headed down to the hospital to get my ankle checked out. Did I mention the part where my FIL, SMIL and other SIL had just driven over from where they were staying to hang out with us on the beach? I have immaculate timing.

Turned out that B (after calling me eleventy billion times) got his dad to drive him up to the hospital. While he was on his way up, my SIL and I were in the ER waiting room giving my info to the registrar. This woman, while nice enough, has obviously never been out of state, much less seen a map. When she asked me what city I was born in, I opted to give her the country of my birth instead of my city because it really doesn’t matter with me. I told her, “Saudi Arabia.” She looked at my SIL like a deer in headlights and asked her to spell it. Oh yeah, and when I handed over my insurance card? ?She looked at the name on it and asked if B was my father. Nice, eh?

We made it back into a room fairly quickly and as the nurse was situating me in the room, she said, “And I’ll just go get a chair for mom to sit in.” Mom being my SIL. DOH! We both looked at each other with pretty much identical opened mouthed looks of incredulity. 1) My SIL does not look old enough to be my mom, 2) is NOT old enough to be my mom and 3) LOOKS NOTHING LIKE ME. The nurse did a whole hell of a lot of back tracking and left the room.

After that, it was fairly standard ER procedures. I had my ankle and foot x-rayed and was seen by the doctor and two interns/residents and was finally told that I had a sprain, but nothing was broken. By the time the x-ray techs were done with me, B had made it back to my little room in the ER. When the third intern/resident told me I could leave in a wrap or a boot and I opted for boot. He went out and got it and came back in. When he knelt down to put it on my foot, B said to him, “If that fits, you’ll have to take her to the ball.” We all had a good laugh and then I finally got to hobble out of there.

Today, I am confined to the condo with my foot propped up while I sit out on the balcony and stare at the pool below me and the beach just beyond. I’m hoping that by tomorrow I’ll feel more like venturing down to at least the pool. But for now, I’m playing it safe and staying off this stupid ankle.

May 22, 2009
by lilMDP 1 Comment

But of Course

We’re headed to the beach for a little family vacay only to be heading towards rain. Isn’t that just grand? I guess we’ll get more water than we bargained for while we’re there.?

Still, it beats going in to work.?

Better go find plenty of knitting projects to work on while we’re gone.

September 2, 2008
by lilMDP 6 Comments

Labor Day Goodness

Yesterday was one of those days that are just perfect. I spent the whole day in my pajamas and didn’t bother to put on a bra until almost 4:30. The weather was fantastic and it was just one of those awesome lazy days. B started smoking meat around 10:30 am and I spent the better half of the morning looking at wordpress themes. [aside: I'm planning on changing the blog from free to self-hosted over the coming weekend. The web address will stay the same, but if you are following me on an RSS feeder, you will probably need to update that. /aside]

The second half of the day, I spent outside with B while he kept an eye on the meat. It was awesome. We drank beer and enjoyed the weather. We talked about plans for the house and ourselves – individually and as a couple. Or at least we tried:

Me: Can you please stop grabbing your crotch? I’m trying to have a semi-serious conversation with you!

B: I can’t do that. I’ve been drinking since noon.

Me: All right, fine. Can you stop saying “Woo!” when you grab your crotch?

B: Yeah, I can do that.

August 11, 2008
by lilMDP 9 Comments

I Need A Time Machine

Warning! This post is extremely picture heavy. There are 331 pictures in my flickr set. And that’s just what I uploaded, not what I took. Plus 1 video of the Boy riding the waves on our float. I maybe went a little wild with the picture taking. But! I finally got up the courage to experiment with the manual setting of my camera (that I’ve only owned for TWO YEARS, but I digress) and had a lot of fun taking pictures.

ANYWAY.

Last week while you guys were toiling away, we were at the beach having the time of our lives. I want to go back. Now.

Vacationing with B is an odd mix of the Griswolds and a pack of beach bums. Half the day we would be goingoingoing! and then we’d be all, “Ok, we’re done going. Let’s sit on the beach and have a beer or three and watch the Boy fly the kite or run around with wet sand.” It was awesome.

Some of the goingoingoing!

Dolphin Cruise

Money Shot!

Hanging out on the Beach

LED Frisbee. Coolest. Frisbee. EVAR.

“The ocean is just not my thing.”

Beach Scenes and Sunsets

August 4, 2008
by lilMDP 5 Comments

Pssst

I kinda meant to post this sooner, but as we were running around all weekend getting ready for the beach, this post got lost in the shuffle. (It’s hard work getting ready to go on vacation.) We’re down at the beach for the week so you won’t be hearing a peep out of me on here after this post for the rest of the week. I will be around on twitter though, so you can keep up with me there.

So don’t be too jealous while we lounge and relax and play on the beach while you slave away in corporate hell. See you next week!

May 27, 2008
by lilMDP 6 Comments

In Which I Politely Brag about Everything

I decided to take Friday off last week to have myself a nice little mini-break and man was it nice! I lollygagged around the house before heading out to get my license renewed (blech), pick up some knitting needles and meet my girlfriend from college for lunch (yay!). Well, all the relaxing I did really paid off because I now have the best license picture ever. EVER. It was a super nice change.

I picked up my knitting needles and when I did, the damnedest thing happened. Two balls of yarn jumped into my bag. So did a needle sizer. It was the strangest thing ever. Luckily, it was sock yarn, so it didn?t count. And can I just say? Toe-up magic loop sock knitting is my new boyfriend.

Lunch was fantastic and we did tons of catching up and then shopping. It was absolutely fantastic.

The coolest part of the day also involved the hottest skin melting part of the day. Weird how that happens, huh? My new to me car arrived and when B got home, we went and picked it up and signed away the next 5 years of our lives for it. It was totally worth it, though. It is *extremely* fuel efficient. And that right there is reason enough to make out with it. But if that isn?t enough for you, it also has navigation and XM radio and easy to clean factory rubber mats instead of carpet. I?m swooning right now just thinking about it.

Wouldn?t you make out with this car?

Also, can I just take a moment to once again tell you how much I love my phone? I took that picture with it Saturday morning. Not bad, huh?

Also, my husband makes the best brisket and ribs in the world. The ENTIRE world. Seriously. He can smoke some meat like nobody?s business. You know how good his ribs are? I don?t like ribs, but I will eat his every time. That?s how good they are.

Best four day weekend ever. At least, in a very long time.

There was, however, one black cloud moment this weekend when we came home from visiting with family yesterday. We got home to discover that Charlie had somehow managed to pull the power cord to the Wii into his crate and chew it into 3 distinct pieces. We didn?t kill him, but it was a VERY close call. We decided that pooping out power cord for the next couple of days will probably be punishment enough. That and instilling fear at the sight of any power cord in the house. Bastard.

March 19, 2008
by lilMDP 9 Comments

Imminent R&R

More than likely you will not hear anything out of me for the next two days on the ol’ blog front. However, I’ll more than likely be on twitter.?Why?

Because we’re going on a MUCH needed vacation! Yippee!!

We’re taking a trip to the mountains. Gonna get a little sight seeing in, maybe some hiking, some snow boarding and/or skiing and of course, I’ll be keeping my eye out for yarn shops.

Y’all have a great weekend and I’ll see you next week!

Little Miss Drama Pants

a hot asiany mess

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