Chumley and Wrigley

Would like to wish all of you a 

Happy

Healthy 

and

Hopeful

New Year!

And may all your dreams come true.

true love

I started wearing a mouth guard at night because my TMJ has gotten worse since moving here. It's obviously not the most attractive thing but it really does help to prevent headaches plus it saves my teeth. Tom calls me "Plastic Face" when I wear it.

Anyway, last night while in bed I had another coughing/sneezing/mucus flying fit. My last sneeze was more like a violent explosion and my mouth guard shot right out of my mouth. Tom thought it was a giant glob of phlegm and was happy I finally coughed it up.

I grabbed the mouth guard, sucked it back into my mouth then said with snot running down my nose, "Itsh not phlegm. Jush my mouth guard."

Yep. He is one lucky man.

a few of my favorite things

Just wanted to share a few things I recently discovered (some were Christmas gifts, some just random things):


Lululemon Athletic Reversible Pant- LOVE these! They are so versatile and fit like a glove. Plus they will last 10 years (providing you stay the same size for a decade)


Skechers Walking Shoe-Thanks to Rebecca for introducing me to these loveys. They are so comfortable and sturdy and also very stylish. And the little silver studs add a nice feminine touch.



Tidy Cat Small Spaces Litter-Finally a litter that can handle Chum's dumps! I just discovered this stuff and will never buy another litter again. This mix does not turn cat urine into gooey clay. It lightly covers the clumps and is very easy to scoop. (fyi: not a Christmas gift)



Aveeno Moisturizing Body Wash-We're all in need of some extra moisturizing this winter and I heard this stuff is really the best. Just started using it and so far, so good (and soft).



Puffs Plus w/ Lotion-I'm on box number 5. I will never buy a lotionless tissue again. Your nose will thank you for this.



Gray Cashmere Pashmina-One of my Christmas gifts and I wear it all the time. Indoors, outdoors, sometimes even wrapped up around my pajamas. So soft and snuggly and the gray goes with just about every color/shade.


Pine Scented Candle-Since we opted for an artificial tree this year I got a bunch of Pine candles and scattered them around the house. Makes you feel like you're in a forest. Going to keep these up throughout the winter.



Exact Eyelights Mascara-My sister got me this mascara and I really like that little hint of color. I have the blue and green tint depending on the day. Love them both.



Hunter Rain Boot-Thanks to my new friend I met through a walk with Wrigs, I now live in these boots on wet weather days. They are so perfect for Seattle's puddle filled streets.



Hunter Welly Socks-And I had to get a pair of Welly Socks too! (for added warmth and color).



Emergen-C pink lemonade-Vitamin C is a must have for everyone this time of year. The pink lemonade drink is really refreshing and fizzy. I made the mistake of drinking 2 packets at once because it tasted so good. NOT recommended!



Rolos-This needs no explanation.

Ghetto Garbage Can

Tom has nicknamed me "Destroyer of all things Good" because according to him, I have a tendency to break, damage and completely ruin things in and around our home. Take our garbage can for example.


It's one of those step cans and it sits sort of close to the back wall and Tom said, "Be careful stepping on this. Only step on it when it's pulled away from the wall a few inches because it will...

...chip the paint."

Woops.

So now Tom enters into "creative planning mode" and comes up with a solution for his ape-brained wife.

He affixes a Godiva chocolate box to the back of the can so it will not hit the wall.

Wrigs keeps sniffing this high tech masterpiece, hoping a chocolate morsel will surface.

Ridiculously foolish looking? Yes. But I must admit...mission accomplished.

Perhaps he should patent this latest invention. I'm sure I'm not the only ape-brain out there.

Though Tom may beg to differ.

Our next house...

...will have no windows.

This poor little soul hit the window while Wrigs and I were out walking. If I had been home, I could have kept him warm and maybe there would have been a chance he would have been ok. This is just hard to see and it's happening too often. I don't want to live in this bird-killing house anymore. Burial number 3.

I can't end on something sad so I'll let you all know that as I'm typing this the sun is beaming into my eyes through one of the bird killing windows. It's nice and I may just go blind as it pierces through my retinas like hot lava but boy does it ever feel good. Oh how I've missed you sun. Please stay for a few more months ok?

Btw, I am eating some cheese and crackers and all of the sudden I get this feeling I'm being watched. Chum and Wrigs are off doing their own thing so who can it be?


Seriously how creepy is this? Can you see his cheese face looking right back at me?

Reminds me of this one hit wonder, though my lyrics would be: "I always feel like, my cheese ball's watching me."

Ok I'm still sad about the bird. If we owned this house and weren't leaving in a few months I would have blinds or curtains installed on every window and keep them shut, (only allowing a beam shot of sun to peek through on the sunny days). I'm going to see if the owners will do something about this even after we leave. I can't help but thinking that this was the momma bird in search of worms for her crying babies, now left motherless, cold and starving in their exposed nest, awaiting their fateful doom.

I need to stop watching Lifetime Movie Network.

Coughing, sneezing, dripping, oozing.

Still not able to squash this cold/flu bug. And throw a horrific menstrual cycle into the mix and you've got one hot seeping mess. "Seeping in Seattle" the sequel, starring: ME. I've decided I'm only going to buy red underwear from now on.

Next subject!

I ate a whole entire pack of Rolos in one sitting. For breakfast. I know that's not healthy but it's what I do while losing quarts of blood at the speed of light. I'm doubling up on the iron pills this month even though it makes everything tastes like rust. Except for Rolos.

The snow is gone and it's now raining and soooo dark and gray. I really miss the beauty and the brightness of the snow. Even on the dark cloudy days, the snow seemed to light up the sky. I took close to a hundred pictures of snowy scenes the last 2 weeks. No wonder I'm still sick. I was out in it as much as I could be, because I knew it wasn't going to last. Right now, it's raining sideways.

Someone left a comment on a previous post about our spinning Christmas tree and yes it spun...for about 3 days. The spinner thing broke so now it just sits. Of course it broke on a not so great side of the tree so I'm stuck looking at ugly ass ornaments. By the way I forgot to mention that when I came back from California a couple weeks ago Tom had surprised me by buying and decorating the Christmas tree. It was so sweet.

Here's a pic:


We haven't had garbage or recycling pick up for 2 weeks because our street was snowed in. They are supposed to come on Wednesday. THANK GOD. Speaking of God, SUN BReAK!!! Gotta run.

Will post more snow pics later...

next year...

I'm getting a flu shot.

Still sick.

This sucks.

Should have asked Santa for more Puffs Plus with Lotion. I've gone through 4 boxes.

May attempt to make Christmas cookies tonight but not sure.

Just want to sleep.

What a thrilling post this was.

Maybe I'm sleeping. Not really sure.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here...

and predict that there's a slight chance we may just possibly have a white Christmas after all.

What do you think?


I just ate the traditional Christmas eve dinner: a cheese sandwich with hot sauce. Tom's working, so it's just me and the animals. Our plans to stay at friends tonight in the 'burbs were hampered by weather. I'm still working on Tom's Christmas present which may turn into his birthday present if it's not finished tonight. It's not like I wait til the last minute to get things done or anything.

It's just us...

...starting a new life, making new memories, creating traditions here in Seattle. It's starting to scare me in way, realizing just how much I love my husband. Weird that after 10+ years of marriage I'm sitting here thinking, "Yeah, I really do love my husband." Maybe moving away has given me a fresh perspective on what's really important in life. It's not always been easy, (as the majority of people who've been together for over a decade will attest) but right now, as I reflect on our life's ups and downs I feel so much love for him that it almost hurts my heart. He is the most unselfish person I've ever known and cares so deeply and genuinely for people. I never want to take him or what we have for granted. I feel so blessed to be a part of his life as we continue our adventure through the world together.

After all, it's just us.

Fire starter

Did you hear about these cute Snowman snow globes at Hallmark that were recalled? It says that if the sun hits it in just the right way, it takes on a magnifying effect and ignites anything in its path. Imagine that. "So, Fred, how did your house burn down?" "Oh it was just my happy Snowman globe."

Silly little Satanic snowman. (side note: Anyone who is willing to pay $100 on a Snowglobe needs to have their head examined.)

Anyway, I'm listening to the song I'll Be Home for Christmas and it bugs me. The part where they sing "please have snow and mistletoe and presents ON the tree?" Who the hell puts their presents ON the tree? If you ask me that's another fire hazard waiting to happen.

Oh by the way Merry Christmas Eve! I'm uploading a bunch of pics from our morning walk and will post soon.

For those of you in the snowy parts be extra safe and careful driving, walking, sledding, skiing, shoveling etc. As I type our I'm watching my neighbor shovel mounds of snow off his roof and for those of you in a similar predicament, please be careful and take your time! And for those of you not able to make it to your final destination this Christmas, I hope you are warm and can still find a little bit of Christmas wherever you may be.

Peace to all People!

zinc sucks

I'm taking all sorts of over the counter medicine to kick this cold/flu thing I've got going on. Tom bought these zinc tablets that dissolve on your tongue but taste like old pennies. After 2 seconds I spit it out. Tom hands me another one and I tell him that I'll just swallow it whole cuz I can't handle the taste. He says, "Just suck it, but don't swallow."

Hmm. Haven't heard that in a while.

While I'm upstairs sucking, he's downstairs watching the Bears game and every once in a while he lets out a Tourette's like yell of disgust and it makes me laugh so hard that I may or may not have peed my pants a little. No more liquids for me.

more snow (1st installment)

I can't stop taking pics and video of this snow!

It snowed again ALL day yesterday. Here are some pics from my short walk with Wrigs earlier this afternoon. I'm still not over this sickness, have been in bed the last 3 days but needed to get poor Wrigs out for some exercise.








And for those of you in need of some snowy scenes, here is some video:

Our quick walk into town:


And then our walk home:








I have a bunch more photos to post that were taken from inside our house. I'll start to upload those now.

If you want a good cry

Last night Tom and I watched P.S. I Love You. This is NOT the movie to watch when you're suffering from a full head of mucous. I pretty much cried throughout the entire thing. It's a movie for couples, singles, widows/(ers), divorcees, basically anyone will be able to relate to some aspect of this movie.

Only disappointment was Harry Connick Jr's. character. I wasn't buying his role and the camera angles made him look slack jawed throughout the majority of the film. Not a good choice in my worth nothing opinion.

But as a whole, the movie was phenomenal. Just make sure you have plenty of kleenex on hand.

Has anyone else seen it? Your thoughts?

Wrigley's Snuggie

Ever see that commercial for the Snuggie? While it looks cute and cozy on the women and children, the men wearing it look like child molesters. Anyway, Wrigs would like to demonstrate his version of the Snuggie with his Blankie. He's been swaddled up in it every night since it's been in the teens and 20's. And he's able to stick his arms through so he can still partake in every day tasks.


Like knitting:


Or sipping his evening Scotch on the Rocks (Chumley got him hooked on these):


Or reading his Christmas stories:


And texting:

Wrigs texts his lady friends all day long that he now has Carpawl tunnel syndrome. Thankfully I switched his plan to unlimited.

I'm sick

And here are my 2 nursemaids.

Glands the size of golf balls, chills, body aches, runny nose, ear ache, sore throat and extremely stiff joints. Started feeling this yesterday after my blustering walk to the mailbox. I never warmed up. Our streets are still iced over so I'm homebound another day and I plan on sleeping most of it. Not how I care to spend these last several days before Christmas. It hurts to turn my head.

Everything I try to eat tastes like rotten butter or sulphur. I can't even stomach my Ginger man cookies. I feel like crumpled up paper.

some news clips for my friends/family in CA

(and for Rebecca in Chicago. Oh how I wish you were here watching this with me! We would for sure pee our pants!)

The sliding cars make me laugh so hard (as long as no one is hurt of course):


And here's a clip in West Seattle:


It stopped for about 2 hours and now it's starting again. I duck walked/slid to the mailbox to drop off the last batch of Christmas cards and forgot how difficult it is to stomp through thick unshoveled snow drifts. Now I'm curled up on the couch watching Life is Beautiful shoving those damn gingerman cookies into my gob. I don't feel so hot.

Why my jeans don't zip...

Ginger Man Cookies
+
Vanilla Frosting

=

Serious Food Addiction

Try as I might, I can't stop eating them.
Six pounds and counting...


HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

A happy ending

This is the little sweet heart that hit the window. Thankfully, not as hard as the last bird but still, he was pretty shaken up. He was shivering quite a bit, so I bundled him in a soft towel and kept him warm for about 15 minutes. Then he hopped right onto my arm, looked at me for a bit, pooped, then hopped up to my shoulder where he sat for about 2 more minutes before fluttering off into the snowy sky. I think he's going to be ok.



Wrigs kept watch and was happy to see him fly away safely through the trees.



All is back to normal.



And the snow is still coming down.

Thunder snow???

At 5:30 this morning Tom and I were jolted out of bed by a loud bang. I thought for sure it was a big rolling earthquake and the ground was cracking beneath us, about to swallow us whole. Then, a blinding bolt of lightning. We flipped on the news and realized it was just Thunder snow. WHAT???? We've officially seen it all.

We're getting slammed with more snow and it's so unbelievably beautiful. Tom actually jogged into work today and said many cars and buses were left stuck on the hilly streets. People are even abandoning their cars on the freeways and it looks like night of the living dead with all these people wandering around aimlessly. OMG I love it so much!!! Ok funny news lady just said rather emphatically, "There's no reason for anyone to be outside unless it's to build a snowman!" They are now showing people slipping and sliding.

Here are some pics:








I'm having trouble uploading pics. I'll add more later when I figure out what is going on. HOLY F*CK! Bird just hit window

psssst Beverly...

Hello lover. Chumley here. My mom's in the other room wrapping presents so I thought I'd hop on here and send you a note.

I got a new bed.


Do you like it? It's heated.


And there's plenty of room for you my love. I was thinking we could, oh wait here comes Wrigley. Hang on...he's...trying...to...take...the keyboard...from me-


Hello Beverly! It's Wrigley! I have a warm bed too!

But I don't like to share.
p.s. my brother has a crush on you...