I Blame Cynthia!

I got my water bill the other day. Normally it is about $45.00. This month it is a whopping $82.19! I sat down with the bill last night and noticed the usage went from 5,000 to 20,400! That is a sizable jump! So, last night at church, I decided to ask a few home owners if they could think of any explanation for the increase! I asked Cynthia, who I sit next to in choir, and she said that I more than likely have a leak and to look in my water meter to see if there is water obviously flowing around in there.

So, after I got home from choir, (by this time is was dark) I trekked out to the water meter and pulled the lid off. I was on the phone with my dad to explain to him what I saw, seeing as he is much more knowledgeable than I am about the inter workings of the water meter. Anyway, I pulled the lid off and leaned over to look in and down goes my cell phone! Into the nasty water! It was dark and I was afraid to stick my hand in the possible snake and spider habitat to retrieve my phone so I just watched it. I just watched it die! After a few deep breaths, I stuck my hand in and grabbed my phone. It was too late! Now I am without a phone for a couple of days!

Moral of the story: Don't listen to Cynthia about water leaks or at least don't talk on your phone when you look into your water meter!

Also: If you try to call me today or tomorrow, I probably won't answer!

There's more than just a chip on MY shoulder!

Last night, I was in the backyard and I noticed my dogs playing with something on the ground. I went to inspect it and bent down to get a closer look. I didn't see it, but I felt it jump on me. I quickly brushed myself off and did not feel it or see it on me anywhere. I decided it must have jumped back off. I stayed outside for a couple more minutes and then went inside. When I got to my bedroom door , I felt it jump off of my shoulder! (Apparently it decided to stick around for a free ride!) Anyway, I looked on the ground at the largest spider I have ever seen! (Next to a taranchula!)

I quickly ran outside and yelled at Michelle for assistance. When she saw it, she decided she wanted to take this opportunity to expand her photography portfolio to include nasty spiders! As I was fetching her camera, he ran under my dresser. Michelle wanted me to help her get it out. I refused. I ran across the street and knocked on the first door that still had lights on in the house. The neighbor that I had retrieved to be my spider hero just happened to be a 4th grade science teacher. The neighbor hero and the crazy photographer captured the spider in MY tupperware! (I am not happy about this situation.)

Michelle took the spider to a remote wooded location this morning and released it back safely into it's natural habitat and more importantly, far, far away from me! I sent an email to whatsthatbug.com for assistance in identifying the monster! I will keep you updated on any information received. Until then, enjoy this photo!

Shopping with the Mr.

Yesterday Jeremy emailed me to ask what my evening plans were. I told him that I was going shopping. He asked if he could go because he needed some pistachios. I quickly responded with "um...no." Apparently he didn't get the picture because when I got home from work, he asked if I was ready to go. I decided immediately that I need to come up with some shopping rules for him. Here are the rules:

1.) No putting anything into the basket without my permission.
2.) No wondering off away from me with or without the basket.
3.) No complaining.
(Sounds like a child, huh!)

He broke all of the rules in our shopping trip last night. At one point, I found 6 boxes of Crystal Light in our basket. I made him put 3 back. I think that I was still being generous. When we go to the store, I have to tell him that he can only get 2 cheeses. He would spend $40 easy just on cheese. Last night he informed me that fish is the new cheese for him. He got 3 bags of fish! Yes, 3!

We seem to always go over budget shopping when he comes with me. Last night we were $40 over. If anyone has an idea of how I could get him un-interested in going shopping with me, I would greatly appreciate it!

Attention:

People!: I am not kidding about the black shirt. Who wants it?

Dawn Castor: Of course you can add me! You are so silly!

10 Things About This Week:

1. Goal of the Week: To have all laundry baskets empty at least once.
2. Shocker of the Week: I deep cleaned my bedroom/bathroom.
3. Regret of the Week: Wearing green underwear with my white pants.
4. Eww of the Week: I used the brush that sits in the bathroom at work.
5. Quite Time Tidbit of the Week: Love is a choice. Not a feeling.
6. Craigslist Find of the Week: A free orchid.
7. Highlight of the Week: Finding my husband's old diary.
8. Give-Away of the Week: I have a black long sleeved size 12 wrap shirt. Anyone want it?
9. Ridiculousness of the Week: My husband has over 250 dvd's.
10. Missed Friend of the Week: Sarah Reed

Plague Warning!

My aunt-in-law gave me some clippings from her honeysuckle. She brought them to me in a mason jar with water. I have been growing roots in my kitchen window for a while and just adding water when needed. Well, we went out of town this weekend and when we got back, I notice tons (by tons, I mean TONS) of things swimming in the water! We thought about waiting to see what they turn into (they look like itty-bitty tad poles!) Before we entered into the world of breeding unkown insects/amphibians/reptiles, I decided to put Yahoo! Answers to use. I posted my situation and received an answer fairly quickly. Turns out my swimming babies are mosquito larvae! We have since decided not to wait, we will be dispossing of them immediately!

What's that bug?

Today at work, I glanced over and saw a centipede making his way into the conference room. I got a co-worker to guard it while I went to get a man. I ran into the collection officer's office and informed him that we had a situation in the lobby. He immediately jumped up, with a panicked look on his face, and followed me to the bug. (I might have over reacted a tad!) After a quick inspection of the creature, he stepped on it and pulled a snotty Kleenex (I know it was snotty because I put it in there) out of the trash can and scooped it up and threw it away. Well, I became curious about this bug. I am not certain if it was a centipede or a millipede. So, I began to search the web and found a very interesting site that I want to pass along to you all. It is whatsthatbug.com. Basically, you can take a picture of a bug and they will tell you what it is and post it on their website. After searching this site, I am still unsure what he was but I am somewhat ashamed for killing him. I found out that these bugs eat other bugs that we don't want hanging around. I suppose I should have just released him into the wild...or at least onto Main Street.

This reminds me of a few other "bug situations" that I have had. One summer I worked at a girl's camp and accidentally kicked a scorpion into a swimming pool filled with screaming children. I also caught a pregnant spider in a film canister. We dumped her into a bathtub which caused it's millions of babies to spread out all over the place. It looked like someone dropped a container of pepper into the tub. That summer my cabin-mate and I also mistakenly cut off a lizards tail. We thought it was a snake! (I am aware that lizards and snakes are not bugs. I just thought I would throw that in!)

I will close with one other story. When Jeremy and I were dating, I called him up one night and informed him that I needed his immediate help in my apartment. Upon his arrival, I led him into the bathroom where I instructed him to kill the spider that had decided to occupy my shower. He said "ok, but I will never kill a bug for you again." To this day, he has kept his word.

P.S. During my research, I discovered that Oklahoma is a breeding ground for freakishly large centipedes. Woo-Hoo for Oklahoma!

Check out whatsthatbug.com