Frinklin and I attended the Lipizzaner performance at the Tacoma Dome on Friday night. I forgot the camera, so I have no photos, but can link to these great pix posted by ResQdog51 on flickr.

The performance was pretty good. I was disappointed that they didn't perform all of the Airs Above the Ground. The Courbette, which is my favorite, was not included. I'm sure it's an issue of what horses they have available to perform at certain shows, still, I was bummed.

I could have done without the cheesy announcer and his bad jokes, but overall I recommend the show to anyone who loves horses, and especially to those who are dressage enthusiasts.

Posted by: Ensie at 11:34 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 124 words, total size 1 kb.

I am going to kill my sister. Or someone closer if I canÂ’t hold out until the end of May.

SheÂ’s the one having the big wedding on Memorial Day weekend and causing me to lose my mind because of all the stress. Do you think she cares? No, she does not.*

I was nice and eloped for my wedding. I didnÂ’t even ask her to watch our dogs while we were in Vegas, because we didnÂ’t go to Vegas. We went to the JOP.

But now there is the dress** (and all the accoutrements), the plane tickets (which have not yet been purchased), the finding of a pet sitter to care for the cats (and one long-suffering Cockatiel), and the boarding of the four dogs at two different locations. Add to this one mortgage refinance to finance all this stuff that is taking for-fucking-ever to complete.

In the meantime, our water heater started making a weird, high-pitched noise that my dad thought was a potential pin-hole leak and FrinklinÂ’s dad thought might be caused by having the water temperature set too high. We wracked our brains for two days trying to find the source of the sound, all the while trying not to claw each otherÂ’s eyes out because a constant high-pitched beeping/whining/whistling noise is EXACTLY THE RIGHT SOUND TO DRIVE ONE INTO TOTAL INSANITY. Thank God I was out of the house yesterday for work and Frinklin was upstairs, otherwise the carnage could have been terrible.

We finally broke down and called a professional in (Stop freakin’ - call Beacon! – that’s a little something for the Washington crowd). The expert diagnosis rendered us sane within a matter of moments:

(click to enlarge)

Best. Homeowners. Ever. And it only cost $50! The nice plumber was kind enough to leave us custody of the house, even though we obviously donÂ’t possess the mental capacity to care for it properly.

Now I have to go buy some cat food, because that’s what I do every week – buy lots of expensive, organic, homeopathic pet food. And then I have to clean my house like a fiend to try to make it presentable for the appraiser. And call the pet sitters again. And try to find a descent kennel that still has opening for Memorial Day weekend. And take all the dogs to the vet to update their shots and get fecal exams at least 7 days in advance. And pick up my dress at Nordstroms. And fax new documents to the mortgage broker (because the original ones I sent are too old, because it’s taking a really, really, really f-ing long time for the refi to close. Have I mentioned that?).

Oh, and I should really get on those $400 plane tickets. And I was silly enough to think that my parents would be the only ones going broke paying for this!

*IÂ’m totally kidding and I love my sister with all my shrivled heart.

**Although she knows IÂ’m hating the whole Matron of Honor dress wearing thing.

Posted by: Ensie at 09:29 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 512 words, total size 3 kb.

1 Oh, I really, really, really needed that laugh. Thank you. I'm sending good vibes your way ...

Posted by: tacomachickadee at May 11, 2007 11:07 AM (TqtxZ)

2 That's likely the best studfinder story I will hear all day. I can recommend Theresa's kennel out in Puyallup. 14720 58th Ave E Puyallup, WA 98375 253-531-2422 http://www.theresaspetcare.com/

Posted by: sparkrobot at May 11, 2007 11:36 AM (66H5I)

3 Thanks spark! There are, I suppose, any number of inappropriate "studfinder" jokes one could insert. We're going with Green Acres in Spanaway for the dog boarding, which was recommended by my mother-in-law. But I will definitely check out Theresa's for any future kenneling needs.

Posted by: ensie at May 11, 2007 12:07 PM (6We+3)

4 Yeah, the studfinder jokes running through my head is part of why I'm still falling off my chair laughing.

Posted by: tacomachickadee at May 12, 2007 09:07 AM (pg8e/)

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Normal Saturday errands involve a trip to Comic Book Ink, Target, and Mud Bay.

Yesterday was not a normal Saturday.

Started off the morning with a trip to Comic Book Ink and Atomic Comics for Free Comic Book Day. Then headed to the Tacoma Mall with my Matron (ugh) of Honor dress for my sister's wedding. I've been putting off getting it altered because I didn't have the right shoes or (ahem) undergarments, and you've got to have it all together before measuring for any changes.

Thanks to Lane Bryant (and the BRA6) and Macy's for shoes - I was able to get to Nordstrom today to drop off the dress. It should be ready in a week and only cost $16. Granted, I only need to have the shoulder straps shortened, but it's still a great deal! The bridal shop in Southern California where the dress was purchased estimated $135 for alterations. Yay Nordstrom!

I'll have to post a picture of the dress when I get it back. I was terrified it wouldn't fit or be horrendously ugly in the cranberry color, but it looks great!

After finishing up at the mall we did hit Target for our usual - needing three things and coming out with 20. Then after a brief stop at Lowes (they don't carry the brand of paint we needed), went across the street to Home Depot, where we found the much needed paint to touch up the spots where Perdi has chewed! the !! baseboards!!! (as well as one of the windowsills and the bottom of the built-in dresser!).

Seeing all the flowers at Home Depot inspired me to plant something in the window boxes on our house that have remained empty for almost two years. I wanted to try out the city's Tagro potting soil and buy local if possible, so we dove over to Gardensphere (under construction website here) in Proctor to pick up the supplies.

I highly recommend Gardensphere if you haven't been - the employee who assisted us was extremely helpful, and showed us exactly what we wanted when described. The Tagro was cheap ($4.95 for a good sized bag) and we even found a gorgeous hanging basket in addition to the window box marigolds.

Finally heading for home about 5:30, we found some crazy dogs waiting for us. Frinklin took Perdi to the French Lake Dog Park to blow off some crazy, and a little over an hour later returned home to find:

Topped off the evening with the movie Spider-Man 3, which is getting terrible reviews, but I liked (finally get to see Peter be a little bad, in a goofy, Sam Raimi kind of way, and there is the ever-present Bruce Campbell cameo).

Fell into bed about 1 A.M. - feeling exhausted, but good.

Lots of plans for Sunday as well, but so far haven't managed to get out of pajamas.

UPDATE: Shane, the owner of Atomic Comics, just called to tell me that I won one of their drawings. Two free trade paperbacks! Sweet! One for Frinklin and one for me. Now I just have to narrow it down...

Posted by: Ensie at 01:02 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 527 words, total size 4 kb.

1 I thought that looked like TAGRO potting soil. We just got four bags of potting soil at GardenSphere today as well. Time to transplant those starts!

Posted by: tacomachickadee at May 06, 2007 12:57 PM (pg8e/)

2 It's making the marigolds very happy thus far. Have fun with your gardening!

Posted by: ensie at May 06, 2007 01:27 PM (6We+3)

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In addition to visiting our friends at Comic Book Ink, today is a good day to check out some other South Sound comic book shops:

Atomic Comics in Tacoma
4020 S. Steele St.
Tacoma, WA 98409
253-472-1908
(between Borders and Wendy's)

Spy Comics and Books in Federal Way
1500 South 336th Street
Suite 12-A
Federal Way, Washington 98003
253-874-3084

Olympic Cards and Comics in Lacey
4129 Pacific Ave
Lacey, WA 98503
(360) 459-7721

Posted by: Ensie at 10:20 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The Gin Blossoms are coming!

I freakin' LOVED this band when I was 17. I was working as a camp counselor that summer and would listen to them constantly on my drives home. My first concert I went to sans parents was the Spin Doctors (I know), opening acts Cracker and the Gin Blossoms.

So many good concerts (hello, Indigo Girls!) and events (What is this, cake? I've never had cake before...) coming up...so little time (and money!).

Posted by: Ensie at 10:22 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 88 words, total size 1 kb.