Cat (Door) Burgler

STILL don't have my desktop up and running. Well, it is up and running but no internet hookup quite yet. Luckily my laptop is wireless, so Voila!
But I can't download pics like I prefer to, so--- another blog sans photograpica!!
Lo Siento, amigos!!

Annnyyyhhoooowwwwwwww......
Monica and I are SO PROUD OF OURSELVES!
We were out wandering the neighborhood and came across a house with a cat door that was exactly like the one in my former home, so we broke in (the occupants weren't home!), made friends with a very pretty stripey tabby cat and a very cute beagle puppy dog, dismantled the cat door and took it right out the front door! In fact, Monica was so bold as to carry it to our house. RIGHT OUT THERE ON THE STREET.... while I followed along in the car and made comments.
Appalling the lack of neighborhood security around here!
I mean, I can't count the times I have stolen cats out of these people's front yard and does anyone stop me? Noooooooo
So, we took it inside and, amazingly, it fit into one of the sliding glass doors JUST LIKE IN THE OTHER HOUSE.
And it screwed in JUST LIKE IN THE OTHER HOUSE
And it is all set!!! JUST LIKE THE OTHER HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!

So Monica tried to crawl through it so the cats would know what to do.

After the fire department left we had brownies!!

We are exhausted from all our nightly home improvement projects.

What did you do for fun tonight??? (Comments, people!! I Crave Comments!!!)

Pip Sighting

For those of you who have been wondering where Pip has been lately, he was sighted recently in my local Albertsons grocery store.

He wouldn't speak to me, however, so I don't know how he was going. I imagine he is embarrassed to have resorted to crude advertising as a means of support.

Middle Aged Woman Moment

The other day I had one of those annoying Middle Aged Woman Moments. I was at Best Buy arranging to have one of the Geek Squad people come over and mount my little flat screen tv because my sisters cat has knocked it off the dresser twice and since it somehow survived thought I had better make better arrangements.
Now, about that cat. This is Jinxie. Jinxie has been living with me since Monica moved to Lancaster a year or so ago so she is kinda my cat except when she is bad.
Then she is Monica's cat.
Annnnyyyyhoooowwwwwwww
I am standing there filling out paperwork in between texting Brandon with questions (side note-- this man has been seriously patient with me and deserves a medal) and this assistant manager starts talking to one of the sales people about how disgusted with his mother he is because.... wait for it.... wait for it...
SHE TEXTS PEOPLE!!!
OMG
And he goes on to say how she is like in her LATE 40s and she is WAY TOO OLD to text and how she even........... are you ready for this...... says stuff like LOL.
O
M
G
What kind of seriously narcissitic woman does he have for a mother? Does she think she is a teenager or something??
The humilation this young man suffers......... The INHUMANITY!!!!!!!

LMAO

Random Saturday Morning Thoughts

Houston: We have solved our problem!!!
We have Swamp Cooler!! Or, to put it a little more gently, Evaporative Cooler. For those of you who are not educated on such a thing, let me enlighten you. Air Conditioning has to do with LOTS AND LOTS of electricity and some kind of coil thingie and is ducted through the house (but if it is my house it doesnt move the air). An evaporative cooler is a unit that puts out air from a stationery position in the house (in our dining room window) and you route the cold air by opening windows where you want it to go. It has a motor that runs the air through pads that are full of water and the water evaporates and creates cool air. They work great except when it is very humid, then you are SOL. I have always had one of these. I have one in my Loy house where my electric bill was about $60.00 at the highest this summer running the cooler 24/7. Now partly that is because the electric company gives me a discount of $25.00ish a month for not running my AC unit.
Annnnyyyyhooooowww... we now have the cooler running in the house and I am estatic to say that it works!! It was very cool downstairs and even the upstairs were okay. And I even cooked dinner last night!! And we slept in our own house! We have been spending most nights at Monica's apt because it was just too hot to sleep.
So.... on to other things....
I bet you are wondering how the cats are adjusting to the move. Most of them are doing fine. The cat door isn't installed yet because Lily (Monica's kitty) has only been an indoor kitty so we have to get her used to going outside first, but the rest of them are going in and out as they ask permission. Malley and Boris keep going back to the old house and trying to convince Brandon & Jericho that there has been some sort of horrible mistake. I have loaded them up a couple of times and taken them home. I can only imagine what the neighbors think.
I am happy to report that the neighbors finally fixed their house alarm, but not before we had to finally call the police. If you missed hearing this go off it was rather like a tornado siren going off 5 times a day for 10-45 minutes at a time. Very annoying.
I miss being in school. Yeah, I am weird. I am jealous of Claudia at work who is taking online courses. I am bored. HEY, I ADMITTED I AM WEIRD.
Oh, here is something. We have named the house. It is called Wilner Feniamson. Apparently it is an Okie and could even be male. I don't know how we could end up with a male house since the occupants are all feminine. But that is what the girls came up with Fenner Williamson blended together. Creative girls, huh.

Update

So the deal with the AC is a design problem (not enough and too small duct work apparently) as I have asked several neighbors and they all discovered the same not so happy fact that the AC doesnt work right in these 2 story houses and everyone has installed evaporative coolers. Everyone, but they say it works well and the electric bill is tiny in comparison. My other house also had a swamp cooler installed.
Which we will be doing asap.
Like making the call tomorrow.
Tonight we plan to sleep on the floor at Monicas apartment because sleeping on the floor is better than baking in bed all night long.
Ug
Also, the cat has managed to knock my flat screen tv off the dresser twice, counting last night at about 4:00am. So today I visited best Buy to get a wall mount-- which is what I had in my old house.
Yikes......

Sunday Morning

Long time no see!
So, where to begin?
I have just been overwhelmed with stuff going on, fighting the monster (decided not to capitalize and give it any extra power) and still don't have my computer set up at home yet. I am on my laptop right now at Panera because #1 it is too hot in my house and #2 I don't blog from work.
So... about that heat problem. The AC in the new house doesn't work right. It is HOT HOT HOT in there all the time. And it is making us sick. So we try to stay out of there as much as possible. We have had someone look at it and give us some suggestions since the unit does work but there are design problems or something. I am confused. And Hot.
Otherwise we have about a million boxes to unload.
And I am too whiney to blog. So catch you all later!
PS: If I forwarded an email about sponsoring Brandon & Jericho for the diabetes walk a thon please consider making a donation to this very worthy cause. I have a neice and nephew with this disease that really needs a cure!!!
Loves to all--

Wordless Wednesday

Welcome to the Freak Show

It is so gratifying that my blog is so much fun for you all that I am now getting requests to blog about certain items or circumstances.

Sunday at church a certain someone
(who's face has been pinked out to protect
her freak-it-tude asked me to blog about her interesting way of keeping her legs smooth.

This makes me wonder: How long has she been hoping to see me so she could tell me this-- because you gotta know I was right on this one.
Did she miss half the sermon wondering if she might see me? Did she make a note to herself on her 'to do' list: Remember to talk to LeAnn about fascinating blog opportunity because we are all sick of hearing about her new house and we haven't even started with the 'after' pictures!!
I insisted on pictures because I figured you might think she had told me this in confidence and I was blabbing it all over the internet.

No, Dear Geeezers, she ASKED me to blog about this.
Then a nicely dressed fellow asked me what my blogs were about because apparently he writes deep, thoughtful blogs about weighty issues. How, I ask, could I tell him what my blogs are like!

Annyyyyhhooowwwwwww........
Are you ready for this weirdness?

Are you sitting down?

She tweezes her leg hairs.

Oh yeah, she plucks out the hairs.

That is just weird.
Or maybe it it just me.


Nope, it is weird.

Our Trip to Hollywood

Our trip to Hollywood on Saturday started out a bit rough.

My poor niece was carsick. I can relate-- I ALWAYS got carsick as a kid. I still do sometimes! About the time we were almost to the mall she needed to throw up. RIGHT THAT MINUTE. And there was no where to go because we were in traffic. So my sister hands me a half full 44oz soda and says to dump it out so Becca can use that instead of barfing all over the car. In a moment of complete idiocy and instinctual reaction, I go to throw it out the window. The CLOSED window. So... I am drenched in soda and Becca is still gagging. It was just as well I didn't throw it all over the car next to us anyhow! I only wish we had caught this on video because that had to look hilarious. Here is Monica and Becca after she felt better.

So we get to a gas station and she gets sick- poor little gal. I remember those days.

Here is a picture of Lauren and Becca in the EXACT SAME SPOT that she was in for the Tokio Hotel concert a year ago today.








And here you can barely see the Hollywood sign behind them on the hills.

We had decided to go on one of those tours of stars homes but that wasn't going to work for Becca so she and her mom went to see G Force (that guinea pig movie) at the El Capitan theater and Lauren and I went to see lots of gates and ginormous trees and bushes that stars live behind. Including the gate of the mansion where Michael Jackson died. I got very sunburned and carsick from the twisting turning roads in the Hollywood Hills but it was fun! We went town Rodeo Drive too.

Then we met up with Monica and Becca and went in the mall and did some shopping at the Build A Bear place and the Hello Kitty place and had lunch. On the way back to Lancaster we decided to stop at the Kohls in Santa Clarita and stop by the mall there. I can't even put into words what we looked at in the Valencia mall but I will give you a hint: You hardly ever see these kinds of stores in malls anymore. I can't say more. It is too scary. The Kohls was a treasure trove! We found a lot of cool items for the house including a great rug for the living room that was 50% off so that was cool. Sure it is butt ugly, but it was cheap. We have our priorities straight in the Fenner-Williamson Home for Single Mothers.

While we were gone our painter/incredibly handy man Alex The Wonderful discovered that there is a leak in the upstairs plumbing so he had to cut out part of Laurens closet but he can fix it. And also he discovered that 3 of our ceiling fans were wired badly and are fire hazards. And the toilet in the master bathroom seals have deteriorated and the water gushes out when you flush it. I like Alex. He can fix anything. I am going to have him move into the spare bedroom and keep him for a pet.

Annnnyyyyhow...... the painting is supposed to get done today. We went by last night and the house was primered and it looked so beautiful--- imagine what it will look like when the real paint it on. Gone is the Los Angeles Lakers Purple and Gold and the black family room and the brownish red bedroom.
It is pristine and it is going to look like a brand new home.
(sigh)

Shouldn't I be MOVING or something??

I am going to be a very bad girl tomorrow.
And play hooky from all responsibilities.

I am not going to pack.

I am not going to work.

I am not going to clean.

Whatever shall I do?

The four of us girls who will be sharing our new house are gonna go shopping.
Now, before you really think we are shirking our responsibilities let me tell you that the painting of the new house is in full swing. I was over there earlier and they have the prep work almost done. They have done an amazing job with the prep. I am SO IMPRESSED. My kitchen is covered in brown paper and plastic. There is no way a drop could get on my cabinets or my counters. And they are working through the weekend so we really cannot get in there and do anything.
Soooooooo a day off is in order!

We are going to go to Hollywood tomorrow to the Hollywood and Highland mall.
If you don't know Southern California-- that is where the Oscars are held (yeah, that is a mall!) and that is where all the walk of fame stars are. We might go see a movie at Grahmans Chinese Theater even.
Rebecca is very excited. This is her first trip to Hollywood. I told her not to expect much, lol. Lauren has performed at the Kodak theater (a week after the Oscars a few years back for a cheerleading competition)
Rebecca wanted to know when Hollywood opened. HA! It is sad to see someone lose their Hollywood Innocence. That moment when you realize that there are not celebrities wandering all over the place and that Hollywood is run down and dirty. So sad. But she is 10 years old now and a California native-- so it is time.
Lauren is excited to commemorate the year anniversary of meeting Tokio Hotel IN PERSON! And seeing them in concert in the mall area.
It is going to be a lot of FUN!
Don't be jealous.

Okay, go ahead.... Be jealous.....

Family Room Decorations

And a few items we found that seemed destined to live in our family room.
First--- the ceramic UCLA signs. These actually were in the yard decorations section. BUT COME ON, that is just RIDICULOUS! Who would put this in their YARD???

Now I didn't go to UCLA, but I should have. And when I was in junior high these were my class colors. Yeah. The Lancers. Deal with it.
So I think that is close enough. I need one of these for our family room.


Are you people remembering that Monica and I are registered under the wedding registry at Target? I hate to harp on that because you know I hate to get gifts and all, but just in case....


And if I can't have one of these then Monica and I really need a bar sign that says "Tiki Bar" because you gotta know we are putting in a wet bar in our new house. I mean, no one can party like my sister.
There was this one time down in San Diego.........
Wait... my niece reads this............... Never Mind.............. And it is only $129.00 A few of you can go in together for it... if you are that cheap.....


But the one thing I want more than anything on this earth. Something that is destined to be my most prized earthly possession next to my Bobby Sherman records and my wedding dress.........

This lamp.

It is at Lowes. I don't even know how much it costs because when you find something that SPEAKS TO YOUR SOLE (Get it---- your SOLE???) (OMG, do I have to explain everything to you guys??)
When you find it you MUST HAVE IT. Regardless of the cost.

I mean, don't you WANT me to be Happy????

Yard Decorations

And so, a new phase begins in the
Continuing Saga of "The Pickford Renovations"
The painters started today. This is very exciting. I prayed for them. It is a BIG job.
Alex says that they will absolutely be done by Monday. Alex is my painter guy. I wonder if he knows that he is being blogged about. That could be one of those things on his bucket list. "I could die happy if only someone were to blog about me...." I know I wish someone would blog about ME!
I digress.........
So Sunday Chandra and I were out running amok (amok, amok, amok) (Tell me someone gets that reference???) and one of the stops we made was Lowes. There were so many interesting things to see at Lowes. We fantasized about our perfect dream kitchens. She bought me pink measuring cups! We looked at all the pretty plants and flowers and thought about how nice it would be to have a beautiful yard. We scoffed at how small bottom freezer refrigerators are. We took pictures. Oh yes, I did.
Because when you find the perfect decorating items you want to be sure to remember where they were.

Here is the before picture of the back yard so you can picture this in your imagination. The front yard looks a lot like this except everything is dead.

(Cricket sounds)

(tap tap... is this thing on??)


For today, a peek at the wonderful yard decorations we found:





If we decide on a western theme we have many wonderful choices:
We have the faux skull that seems perfect paired up with the beaded gecko right next to it. I know it is hard to see the gecko. It was a little too dark. It is lovely. And it is only $15.99





Then we have the ceramic Boot

There was also a ceramic hat but I guess I didn't snap a picture of that. My camera battery died in the middle of this photographic adventure so I had to go buy more batteries.
Luckily the lighting was just as bad when I returned.







My friend Chandra was nice enough to help me get a good picture of this very tempting armadillo because said lighting was so bad.
I was like "Hello Lowes!! People are trying to photograph ugly lawn ornaments here! Can we get a little natural light or something?"
Anyhow..... Should we go for a New Mexico Santa Fe type theme, there is the perfect ceramic armadillo just waiting for us. And also, please note the green ceramic chili right over Chandra's left shoulder. You can't miss that.




Finally if we decide to abandon the "My yard is completely dead so we are going to try to pretend that we actually planned it that way" approach we could do a 180 and go with a beach theme. After all... you can call it dead yard in the middle of the Mojave desert or you can call it beach.
So if we do go with beach theme here is photographic evidence that Lowes has crabs.

Oh yeah, I went there!

Sweet Irony

I am thinking that the previous house owners never quite got around to reading this book I found in the den.............

We Have House!!

WE GOT OUR KEYS!!!

And last night we cleaned out almost all of the junk and took almost all of the millions of yards of wiring that went up and down the walls and around windows etc! It was the best tired I have felt in a loong time!!!

It is so exciting! Thank you to EVERYONE who has been praying and sending along good real estate vibes!

Some interesting things have come to light!
There were 35 bottles and cans of beer in the now-defunct beer cupboard!
Monicas Expedition doesn't fit in our garage! How crazy is that???? It isn't a very deep garage.

CONTEST FOR GEEEZERS: Take a guess at what we are going to do with the extra space in there. And if you already know, no cheating!!!

While we were there one of the neighbors came over and introduced himself. Seems like a nice guy. He says "So how do you love the Lakers Room?" I was like... well it looks like it was a fun room but it is going to be lovely soft neutral colors by the weekend. He laughed-- says he spent a lot of time over there and that room was patterned after one he has in his house! LOL Then he says "What do you think about the kitchen?" I said that it is AWESOME (it is) and he says
" the previous owner is still paying on that" I was like Ooookkkkaaayy... That is really sad. So then we talked about him at least getting his pool table out etc..... Interesting conversation for sure!
Okay gang, off to work!!