My garage is clean and tidy!!!! Finally, I can move on and get excited about seeing John and my critters again. I have been driving around the area and checking out the local super markets and parks. I found a super market called Henry's Market, organic and fresh produce! Now I want to find a gym close by so I can work on getting my "guns" pumped up again! I feel different when I eat right and go to the gym on a regular basis. I get lots of exercise at work but it is not the same thing. I think John and I will really enjoy this southern California lifestyle... we better because we will never move this far away again. I cannot repeat that enough!
Hope your weekend is fun and don't forget to laugh out loud!
xoxo Inge
I absolutely love the 3 Stooges and this is one of my fav clips... it is labled wrong though there is no plumbing involved.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8xFUMTvHIs

Remember Murphy's Law? I told you that I found a place to live and I am grateful... but... even there I am facing challenges. I had to call the gas company to come out and investigate a gas smell coming from the garage... the culprit - probably the water heater. Did I mention the garage has so many spider webs and lint that has attached itself to the spider webs that it looks like the set on the t.v. show "The Munsters". Well, when the gas man arrived he verified that the water heater was in fact leaking gas and the lint hanging all over it was a fire hazard. He also found a leak on the doo-hickey that is attached to the dryer. Did I mention all the spider webs and lint that is in the garage? Well, there is also a very large motorcycle, a variety of lumber, 3 very old and disgusting looking car batteries, bags of potting soil, more lint all over the garage floor. In fact, there is only room for one car in this 2 car garage because there is so much crap from goddess knows who!

I was finally able to reach my landlord, after calling my real estate guy and he got me the phone number. Anyways, I told him about the leak and he did send his handyman out to fix the problem, which he did... but this morning I woke up to no hot water... I guess he forgot to light the pilot light. But, since I have to work around the public, and I don't want to be smelly, I decided to bite the bullet and take a cold shower... that is until the glass shower door came off the runner and I was holding the door in my hand. Now, I feel like I am on the set of "Green Acres".

The landlord assured me that the variety of crap would be removed shortly. I don't know how long shortly is but I do know that October 3rd John will be here with a large moving truck and a second car and the garage better be cleaned out or heads will roll and it won't be mine. Did I mention there is tons of lint and spider webs in the garage?

There has been soooo many things going wrong lately, especially getting people to do what they are supposed to do... I wonder if the universe is preparing me for management???
Or do these events have anything to do with mercury in retrograde?
http://www.alphalifetrends.com/mercuryretrograde.html
Hope your day is fun and don't forget to laugh out loud!
xoxo Inge

It's moving day!!!!! Finally, I have a place where I can have some peace and quiet. I can't help it, I am not one who can easily adapt and live with complete strangers. I sometimes have trouble living with my hubby. I am grateful that I found a job and a place to live and in the grand scheme of things it didn't take that long. I am grateful to Bryan , the real estate guy who found me this place and I am grateful to Debbie who told me about the restaurant I work at. I do have to give myself some credit though because I did get the job because they liked me at the interview, I was persistent, and I did my homework. I just hope I can get a good nights sleep at the new place now. I can count 2 times that I actually had a restful sleep. I feel for those individuals who have insomnia ... my hubby included ... I don't know how they make it through the day.
Hope your weekend is fun and don't forget to laugh out loud!
xoxo Inge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DZGPVnET5g

Tell me with a straight face, these pictures aren't racist?

I didn't want to jump into this political hotbed but since Jimmy Carter had the courage to give his opinion. I decided I will do the same. I worked on the Obama Presidential campaign last year. I live in California supposedly a liberal open minded state, but from my experience during the campaign, I witnessed and heard racial slurs regarding Obama on a daily basis. There were times that people used code words like Muslim, and there were a few times they just referred to him with the N-word. At the time I was working in the neighborhood restaurant and that is when I heard those type of remarks. Unfortunately I was not able to tell these bigots what thought of them because I was working. Fast forward to today and look at some of the signs that are clearly racist. Just listen to the crap that comes out of the mouths of Limbaugh and Beck, two over paid blowhards, whose job it is to inflame the fears of those narrow minded bigots. Do you think people would have had the nerve to bring weapons to health care meetings where the president was present, back when Bush was in office? I seriously doubt it.

There is definitely a group of people who are angry a black man is President and they will hate him no matter what he tries to accomplish.

I also am shocked at the amount of rudeness that is in society today. I don't know if it is a symptom of all these reality shows where rudeness is the norm... have you seen those spoiled rude girls, the Kardashians? But rudeness today is rampant whether it is the politicians or protesters or shock jocks or at the MTV awards. Have you heard the phrase, United we stand, divided we fall?

I think it's time to bring back Miss Manners and learn to have a civil discussion and stop the bullying and plain bullshit or we should prepare for a huge fall!

Don't forget to laugh out loud, especially when watching those narrow minded, ignorant jackasses make fools of themselves!

xoxo Inge

I think the greatest invention ever is the cup of coffee. It has saved my life and countless other lives through the years. Ask my hubby... I don't ask for much in life but mess with my morning cup of coffee - heads will roll! This past week has been hell for me and if it weren't for my daily morning and afternoon cups of coffee to help me through it... well it would most certainly have been hell for the poor blokes who had to work with me. I don't know who invented it but I bow before them... great inventer of coffee!

Hope you stay awake to enjoy your day and don't forget to laugh out loud!

xoxo Inge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2y_GwKzxck

What is one of the worst case scenarios that can happen to someone with ocd? To have one of their fears come true. The other day I locked my keys in my car with the ignition on. I left for 30 minutes, came back couldn't find my car keys and then looked in my car. This is the one time in a million I decided not to check my purse a dozen times to make sure I had my keys. In fact I did not check even once... I didn't think about it... my excuse is I am tired because I have to get up at the butt-crack of dawn to go to my new job. Unfortunatley, for someone having ocd this will make me justfy - in my mind - that I have to check for my keys a dozen times and while I am at it - check the front door to make sure it's locked, and since I am at the front door why not go inside and check the stove to make sure I turned that off! I told you I get worse when I am stressed out or I guess tired. I have found a routine that does help my ocd and that requires me to be mindful of what I am doing and not put myself on auto pilot especially when I am preparing to leave my house... that is to tell myself out loud that I am turning off the stove... I am locking the front door... I have my keys, etc. The key is to say it out loud - somehow that makes it real to me and I can be assured that I can trust myself and not have to recheck my actions.
Hope your coming work week is good and don't forget to laugh out loud!
xoxo Inge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpHeSKu0_LU

I have been on the job for 3 days... working in BOH...translation... peeling potatoes, slicing, dicing, bananas, carrots, peppers, helping make 50 banana pies. I am exhausted when I get home... ten hours on my feet - I knew it wouldn't be easy but I am grateful for this job... now if I could only trade in my feet for some new ones with more tread, then maybe they would not hurt so much.

Hope your weekend is fun and don't forget to laugh out loud!

xoxo Inge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UVGFfm4o50

I have an official start date, this Wednesday! Finally!!!!! Now all I need is the perfect place for us to live...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNXEzdunIqI
Hope your weekend was fun.
Don't forget to laugh out loud!
xoxo Inge

What an emotional roller coaster ride this weekend was. I looked at those rentals and the house turned out to be a duplex... nothing wrong with that but no air conditioning... next! The townhouse was so nice but the only down side is the highway 5 South is literally next door! Actually it is an overpass but still there is some freeway noise. I liked everything else about the place, so I will put that in my short list.

Remember when I blogged about how prospective employers do a background check? Well, try renting something now a days! I had to fill out so much paperwork to apply to rent a home I thought I was applying for a home loan! Credit check to the tune of $30 each application, for each home - non-refundable... employers verification, checking and savings account numbers and balances, personal references, credit card balances and account numbers, past residences and on and on! If you think you have a right to privacy in the good ole USA, think again! Thanks to computers there is a file the size of War and Peace on each of us, thank you very much! I already got all pissed off but decided that if I wanted to live in a home and not my car I have to play the game but my sensible hubby pointed out as soon as we have a key to a place, I will change all the account numbers and therefore lessen the chance for identity theft. Ha!

I did manage to find some time to have fun. I went to my dinner party and had a great time...even indulged myself with a couple glasses of wine. I have a new feathered friend, Fred a parrot. It seems Fred has decided she likes me and enjoys the back rubs I give her. She does not like many people so I am honored to be one of the chosen ones. I miss my family so much... it is going on 5 weeks so I am hoping it won't be much longer and we will be together. For now I will take the friendship of Fred and of course her human parents Charma and Ken.
Have a fun Labor Day and don't forget to laugh out loud!
xoxo Inge
Oh and another successful Burning Man comes to a close...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdDTymRJMrg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9I1j2uyveE

Tomorrow I look for housing with a real estate agent... not buying... renting. I guess some of the real estate companies manage properties now. I don't know if this a new thing or what but either way I am grateful! Weeding out all the crap on craigslist has been a pain! I guess craigslist is both a blessing and a curse. There are alot of thieves that take advantage of free advertising. I wonder if there was as much of that when we all had to pay to advertise in newspapers? My guess is - no. Anyway, I will look at two places and they are both close to where I will be working so I won't have to spend so much time on the freeway and spending my paycheck on tanks of gas.
I still do not have a training date yet. I am impatient, of course. If I knew when I was starting I could maybe go home for a bit. It has been over a month now and I felt depressed this afternoon. I also missed Austin - it is 3 months now since he passed over. My foot is still swollen and it has been 6 weeks since I fell. I may have fractured some of the small bones on the top of my foot. It does feel much better though and I am grateful for that. I guarantee this is the last time I stay away from the family for so long. Next time we move it will be close by. No more 10 hour relocations for us!
Hope you have a fun weekend and don't forget to laugh out loud!
xoxo Inge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JZgSIR_r_c

In general I do not like reality shows, but I am guilty of watching some. It started with "The Osbornes"... I got a kick out of that crazy family. Then there is "Tori & Dean"... I like that show because even though they are a Hollywood couple they have the same issues that all married couples deal with - without the drama that so many reality shows interject, like "Jon & Kate plus 8"... I never watched that show because I did not find it entertaining to watch a bunch of kids wandering around doing whatever kids their age do and I did not like Kate... the few times I did see the show for a few minutes she was bitching about something and then turning around and acting the victim... two characteristics of some women that drive me crazy!

Now I am hooked on "Hollywood Husbands"... I guess it is because my fantasy is to have John be my house hubby. I would enjoy being the bread winner and having John take care of the house chores. Maybe someday...

Now for something... serious... sort of... I want to make a confession because I think there are more people out there who experience the same thing and by giving it a voice maybe I can control it better. OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I don't have it as bad as some people... I don't wash my hands 100 times a day... mine is more like "Monk"...you know the guy who is a police detective on t.v... a modern day Columbo with OCD. I worry about things I have no control over... I have phobias about germs - I don't like to shake peoples hands, I don't touch public door knobs, I don't like my silverware to touch the table in restaurants, I hate flying (in an airplane) and elevators. I think my phobias basically revolve around control issues. I have not been medically declared a nut but I know secretly I am and I have come to terms with it and my hubby puts up with it. I try to laugh about it but there are times that it really bugs me and I spend the day or most of it trying to reason with myself to stop it. It is much worse when I am stressed and job hunting and house hunting kicks it in high gear. Even though on the outside I seem normal, inside I feel tense, fearful, depressed. Sometimes my symptoms are obsessive thoughts... if I have an issue with someone I can replay that scene over and over and over again. I usually add things that I wish I had said and then that person's reaction. I am sure while I am obsessing, the other person is sleeping soundly or going about their business without a clue. I know it really is about me... well, there I said it and now you know... this hip, together, well dressed, opinionated chick has some issues. I guess that is just a part of being human but I don't like to admit such things because I like to live by the creed "Never let them see you sweat". Anyway, now you know.

Have a good week and don't forget to laugh out loud!

xoxo Inge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYg9BFKIj38