Land of Osbourne

  Rachel....or whatever  I am posting this on my blog to clear a few things up, on the off chance you stumble this way and read it.   I know what happens when I email you.    First and foremost, you need to know that I will never forgive you.  Nothing you say or do will ever change that. Additionally, although you're my sister biologically, not only do I not recognize you as such, and never will, I also no longer feel any sort of kind or loving emotion towards you at all.   That will also never change.  You know, and I know that Bernie  GAVE  me Susie's wedding ring.   He didn't give it to you, he gave it to me.   I know the EXACT date he gave it to me, the occasion and why he gave it to me.  In the past, I've asked you to return it to me. You vehemently refused numerous times and finally said that if I gave you "Mike's File" back, you'd give me the ring back.  I sent the file to Mom. YEARS AGO.  Y...

  The car on the left, AKA Clarke is the 2000 Chevrolet Camaro that John bought for me after selling his Harley Davidson. The car on the right is our 2002 Pontiac Trans Am Firehawk, (8,000 miles on it!)  This car: Is our 1993 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 DRM 450       AKA Christine  This is a Doug Rippie tuner car, modified by Doug Rippie Motorsports We’re having it sent out today to have a new gas tank and exhaust installed. We haven’t driven it for a few years. Less than 60,000 miles, engine rebuilt has about 30,000 I think?

My family’s anthem. If you’re a member, you know the lyrics by heart 

Well readers,  Within the next few days, I will no longer be employed by Hunter Douglas.  On May 12th, it was decided to close the Roseville and Chicago locations of Hunter Douglas. June 1st, myself and my 2 employees began the difficult job of clearing out the office.   I'm sad to be forced to leave this position, as I've been in this industry since January of 1999.  First Steven Fabrics, then Warren Steven, then HD came in and I wound up here.  Fingers crossed I can find something that will make me happy.  In other news, John and I adopted 2 kittens from a gal in Cambridge.  One looks like a tabby/bengal mix, the other is mostly white with a few tabby markings.  Originally, we were just going to adopt the tabby we named Maverick (looks like he has a giant M on his forehead).  The gal we got them from asked if we'd consider adopting his brother, Marshall too, as the two were very bonded.  Sure why not.   Welcome Mave...

Growing up, both of my parents were full time workers.  My Dad worked at the Twin Cities Ford Plant, and my Mom worked for GNB Batteries.  From time to time, Mom needed to go on business trips.  When that happened, Dad would cook. (I'd imagine you can see where I am going with this)  Dad wasn't really the greatest cook, and as such, my sister and I both knew that if Mom was going out of town, that meant Dad was going to cook.  And if Dad was going to cook, that meant only one thing.  Oh Ick.  Oh Ick is one of Dad's favorite meals (I really can't conceive of why), Oh Ick consists of overcooked elbow macaroni and tomato soup. I am not exaggerating when I say we would CRY if he made it because we both hated it so much, which is where the name, "Oh Ick" came from.  Oh Ick has evolved somewhat over the years, and has now become a staple at family gatherings, to the point that when handing out pot luck assignments, someone alw...

​For some people, music isn't a huge part of their lives. At the most they'll listen to the radio in the car, or when the alarm clock goes off, but really no more than that.  For me however, music is a huge part of my life, and I think it stems from my upbringing and what I was exposed to from an early age.  My Dad was in a band when he was younger with some cousins, they had a group called "Dukes of Earl".  My Dad's cousin was the lead singer, who as it happens is a huge Elvis Presley fan as I am. Dad plays the guitar, banjo, drums and piano.  I played piano, so did Mom.  When I heard or discovered a song I really liked, typically I'd go and get the sheet music so I could learn it on the piano.  Music accompanies my life daily.  Monday - Friday at work, when I am working on an order entry project, I love having my music playlist keeping me company.  On the weekend, when its housework time, I can't do it without music.  When I am ...

Since I was a teenager I have almost always had some sort of aquarium or fish tank.  When I lived at home, I had one in my bedroom, then later moved it out to the kitchen.   When John and I moved into our first apartment together, I brought my aquarium with me, and had one at nearly each of the locations we lived thereafter.   Fast forward to our current residence.   I again had a large aquarium and stand (that was given to us for free), and decided to set it up with fish, as its been a while since I've had a set up. Initially, I wanted fancy goldfish, mostly because they're easy to care for, you don't need a heater because they're cold water fish, they're not expensive and they're pretty.  A friend of mine reminded me that goldfish are always looking for food, and will constantly disrupt the gravel making a mess.  Okay, so I reluctantly went the tropical fish route.   I chose lots of little fish, tiger barbs, ...