Trip to Oceanside

Went to Oceanside with my honey. I am very impressed with the pictures I can take with my new little camera; especially the moving water pictures.

Valentine Day has never been my favorite. I hate the cheap roses, the balloons and the crappy chocolate. To me, nothing says "Let me show her I love her by putting forward the least effort and thought possible". If you can't give me something I'd LIKE for Valentines day, or if you put it off until the last second, at least man up to it!

So, our local (and only) grocery store had a Valentine drawing for a HUUUUUUGE teddy bear. I think between me and my honey my name was entered into the drawing 5 times. It wasn't to hard. Every time you bought something, they would hand you a piece of scrap paper and have you put your name and number on it. Very straight forward and small town. Gotta love it.

Monday I came home to a phone call from the manager Randy telling me I had won the second prize in the drawing. Now, I hadn't even known there was a second prize, so this was a nice surprise. I changed my clothes and walked down to the local market to collect my prize. I don't know what I was thinking it would be. When I was handed the prize, I almost laughed out loud. It was the biggest, cheesey-ist cheap chocolate filled Valentine heart I had ever seen! Esh! They handed this thing to me with such joy, so thrilled for me that I had won! I noticed my name on a piece of yellow construction paper, taped below the shelf they had the heart and the teddy bear displayed on, where everyone could see it! As I walked home with this monster box of chocolates tucked under my arm, everyone I passed said "Congratulations! You won!"

*blink*

They all knew what the box of chocolates was from, and they were all aware I had won this magical drawing. They were all thrilled for me.

IT WAS HILARIOUS!!!!!!!!!!

I really live in a small town. Really. When I got home, I tried one chocolate, spit it out, and decided to take it to work and share my spoils of Valentines day. I have never- nor will I ever be again-so thrilled to win something I so hate! It was a comical little adventure, and made me love this town even more!

By the way, the heart is 16 inches in diameter and 17 inches tall.

Quite the handsome man he is!

My little guy, Pug.

I just finished another ATC swap. It was an 'Altered Playing Card' swap. We had to leave one corner of the card showing so you could see the number and suit. We could do whatever else to the rest of the card. I had 3 swap partners, one, who loved dolphins, one who loved fiction on the Loch Ness monster, and one who is even more of a Sudoku addict than I am.

I decided I needed to use glitter. LOTS of glitter. Been in a 'need it to sparkle' sort of mood lately. Funny how I used to hate glitter, and now I want to glue it to everything!

The back of the Loch Ness card says 'Jewel of Loch Ness'. Of course, I had to use the diamond suit for my my little monster. Used the Joker for the dolphins because they are playful creatures of the ocean. The 9 was used for my Sudoku addict partner because 9 is the highest number in the game. I picked the heart suit because she loves the game so much. I felt it was kinda like fate that she had been assigned to me (because we both love that darned game so much) so I put made up fortune cookie fortunes on the front. Enjoy!

Up for a little bit. Needed food in my stomach. Oatmeal with blueberries was the only thing that sounded good. Now I will peek in on some journals and go back to bed. Amazing that I can even sleep anymore. Feel like that is all I have done this weekend. Bleh.

A post. Now in bite sized pieces!

I went home last weekend. It felt good to see my family, and to spend time with my friend Tami and catch up. I spent part of Saturday wandering Pike Place Market. I haven't been there in a while, and I always love watching all the people. There were a few shops I don't remember seeing, and must go back and poke around in them and see what treasures they hold. I also had a cup of coffee at my favorite coffee place. Tullys. We have 3 in Portland, but none of them are close enough fo me to get at on my way to work. Thus, I am tortured with Starbucks. Really don't like how they burn their beans. Le sigh!

I listened to the coyotes for a few minutes last night. The were very close, and singing like crazy! It was beautiful to listen to. Michael would always go out with a shotgun and shot off a few rounds to scare them off, even when they seemed miles away. I never understood that. When they were close, that was another thing. I understood not wanting them to be comfortable on the property. Cats and chickens must stay safe.

I have had a cold the last few days. I went to take a nap yesterday after work, and it has turned into a 15 hour sleep-a-thon. Pug came in when I went out to listen to the singing, and just left a few minutes ago. He is a good snuggler!

I am off to get a cup of tea made and think about doing something productive. I think I'll be napping a lot today. I feel better, but need to actually be better for work Monday.