more bummin'

With weather like this ...

... why not continue to hang around the beach??  

Hey, I even found a fun ferry and a ferris wheel.  

I didn't do the ferris wheel, but I did do the ferry.  

So did my car.  Although this isn't my car; it was my car's view.  Yep, my car got to view a BMW.  It's probably never seen one before so it was good for it to get up close and personal with it.

And because I'd seen my car before, I got out of my car to see some other sights.  Perhaps I just wanted to see the BMW a little closer.  Or the water.  Yeah, the water.  We don't have water in Texas.  Well, we have water ... just not water.

We don't have no streets named this in Texas ...

Nor any cities named this ...

We do have welcome centers ... but they're not as cute as this one.  I like being welcomed in California.

So, welcome to Oceanside, Kris.  You are officially 'side an ocean.

And loving it.

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Welcome to 2015!

Did I learn anything in 2014?  I'm sure I did ... I must've.  While I struggle to think of anything admirable that I did or tried to do or even just wished for, I thought I'd try to think of something wonderful to wish for in 2015.

My husband and my daughter have never made New Year's Resolutions, therefore I've stopped making them.  That is not something to brag about.  As a result, I've given up trying to lose weight, eat healthy, save money and just be an all-around nicer person.

THIS YEAR, HOWEVER ... my husband has asked me to take on a New Year's Resolution.  And with the help of the internet and my friends, I am going to try to keep this resolution.

Does he want me to lose weight?  No, that's something I want to do.
Does he want me to save money?  Well, yes, but he didn't say that specifically.  Not last night anyway.  How about being a nicer person?

B I N G O !!!!

Rick has asked me to stop picking on him.  So ... here goes.  Wish me luck.

In the meantime, I've figured out what it was I learned in 2014 ...

Christmas trees go on sale a week before Christmas.
If you put your tree up early (in October) your stress doesn't lessen.  It just lasts longer.
Your elderly dog becomes a puppy again when you toss her a toy.
If you clean your fridge, you'll just have to clean it again eventually.
Laundry doesn't do itself.
If you call your car insurance to ask how much your policy will go up if you have an accident ... you'll get to find out.  They count THE CALL as a claim.
Dishes don't do themselves.

And finally, if you decide you want to work a retail job as Christmas help, you will never find the time to actually work at it.

So ... what did I really learn?  Stay in bed and pull the covers over your head.  You'll get just about as far.

Oh, and even though pizza will never be as good in Texas as it is in California ... you WILL learn to accept it.  And eat it.  And like it.  Really, you will.

That last one, folks, is the most important lesson of 2014 that I needed to learn...

:)

I'M BACK!!!!!

Good grief!  I've been through you know what and back!  The blog broke, disappeared, jumped up and did some twists and landed flat on its face.  I've had to teach it some new tricks, some first aid techniques and I had to put a few bandages on its knees.  Yes, those knees were quite scraped up!

But alas, I'm back.  It's back.  We're back.  Bruised, but back.

So ... where were we???

When last we chatted, I had gone on a little road trip to take Rick for a FULL exam for agent orange exposure.  We got our knees bruised on that trip, too.  Rick was put through a battery of tests and then told he might get 30% of a pension.  His eyes brightened but we are smart enough to know not to put any stock in that thought.  We will continue to fight the good fight though.

Then, I believe Thanksgiving happened.  But that paled in comparison to the 4 days of ICE, ICE and more ICE that we had visit us during the first week of December.  I directed a play and, of course, the performances were to be during that blasted ice storm.  Oh we got the play up and running but not without a ton of headaches to recoordinate every performance, make sure every actor was available (and not all of them were) and reorder catered food from ANY restaurant that happened to be open during the ice storm.

Here's what we were dealing with ...

Pretty, yes?  But don't be fooled.  This is NOT snow.  This is solid ice.  And you can't walk on it.  Heck, you can't even drive on it.

This was looking out from my kitchen window.  Imagine trying to fool your dog into going outside onto this.  I had almost convinced her it was snow (which she likes) until ... she stepped on it ... and slid clear to the fence.  Once I stopped laughing ... well, okay, I'm still laughing.

Everything that could freeze ... did.  That's ice hanging from a tree outside my window.  That's also ice sitting on top of each branch and leaf.

The grocery stores, when we finally could leave our houses four days later, were bare.  Folks here are smart and stock up.  Kahles, however, are not that bright and tried to go shopping AFTER the ice storm.  Above is the fruit section of the produce department.  I dare you to find an apple or a banana there.

 

This is the meat section.  Not a stitch of meat to be found.  NONE.  I put this photo up on Facebook and a friend of mine told me it looked like a war zone.  And you know what?  It did!  I was never so thankful for canned goods in my life!

And, now that the ice storm has passed and we are enjoying nice 70 degree days again ... yes, 70 DEGREE DAYS! ... this is still sitting on my patio.   

Really?  70 degrees out and this refuses to melt ... TWELVE DAYS LATER!

Oh well.  The dog just steps over it.

So...

That's us for the last month.  The blog is here to stay.  I'm so sad and sorry that I lost it briefly.  But let's pretend that never happened.

:)

* * N E W S F L A S H * *

This is probably just big news to me. And only me.

But... it tickles my fancy to share it.

caughttalkin.blogspot.com can now be accessed at kriskahle.com too!

Whee!

Oh, wait. That means I have to have all of my little business cards reprinted. Oh, wait. That means I have to have all of my mousepads reprinted.

Sigh.

Just kiddin'. This here little ol' blog will still come up at the original address. And the new address. If you only knew how long I'd been trying to do this.

Seriously, years.

Ever since the original blog was destroyed in a fire. Well, a finger fire. At the hands of my keyboard-burning daughter. Long story, never mind.

But I won!!

The battle is over.

Try it. It works. kriskahle.com

That's me!

P.S. I did get this message from my post folks, though...

Your blog is in transition. Your blog's new address is kriskahle.com. Since it takes time for this new address to be available all over the Internet, you can still get to it at caughttalkin.blogspot.com.

Your new address should work for everyone after at most 3 days. At that time we will redirect your readers from your old address to the new one.
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2007 vs. 2008

2008 is rapidly coming to a close and I am so thankful that this year has been better than the last. In fact, 2008 has been a breeze compared to 2007.

2007 was a rough and tumble year... with two deaths and six different jobs for me. I was not only busy, but I was very unsettled. I couldn't find a job that held my interest... and actually, we were still "newlyweds" here. Well, not that kind of newlywed... but we were definitely NEW to Frisco, Texas. The honeymoon was still going on, but it was marred by my mother's illness and death and my brother's heart attack and subsequent death as well. Yes, it was busy.

We ended 2007 with Elizabeth being in a somewhat rebellious stage... and being grounded... and battling to get ungrounded so she could spend New Year's Eve with her boyfriend... which Rick gave in to.

Yep, it all ended on a high note. Not.

I embraced 2008 willingly and lovingly. I was ready for a brand new start, a brand new year. And it did not let me down.

It has been a slower-paced year, a much more settled time in my life... and I'm almost sad to see it end. However, it isn't a true sadness. It's actually a peaceful time. I like seeing a peaceful year close.

Elizabeth has plans for New Year's Eve and Rick and I are just finalizing our plans. And this year I'm looking forward to spending the evening watching that ball drop. (Note: I hate watching that ball drop but I'm okay with it this year... since Rick is so excited about it.)

Yes, 2008 was a very nice year.

Dreams were fullfilled. And for the first time in quite awhile, I'm excited to see a new year begin.

Hello 2009!

A New Blog, A New Beginning...

Until February 19th of 2007, I had a blog. I blogged. And I enjoyed running to my computer every time a thought popped into my head. I loved my blog. It served as a release for me - of everyday life's musings and it also served as a little journal. One that I knew I'd enjoy reading at a later date.

You know what? You have to back up those blogs though. I've learned that now. I didn't think I'd need to then. After all, computers never crash, right?

And on February 19th, I got the silly notion in my head that I could do this for profit. That I should do this for a profit. And why not? Other bloggers did. Dooce did. I would, too.

So, late one night in February, Elizabeth and I petitioned Google to read my blog and put their advertising on my website. Google complied. I had enough readers and my content was up to par with their standards. So, Google was going to be displayed on my blog.

And I would be rich. Anyone who clicked on a Google ad through my website would add to my winnings. My riches. My retirement fund.

Aah, but those teenagers. They are brilliant but they are impatient. They can figure anything out but only if it's in their time and only if it's immediate. Elizabeth is no exception.

Late one night in February, Elizabeth and I lined up the Google ads and positioned them exactly where we wanted surrounding my blog text.

But late that same night in February, something went terribly wrong. The Google ads didn't lay down correctly. The Google ads stole my formatting and my masthead. And my life. My blog was frozen.

No problem. Just hit the back button. However, those teenagers can be so impatient... mine being no exception. After hitting the back button once and seeing that things were moving too slowly... Elizabeth promptly turned off the computer with the hopes of rebooting and freeing up some space.

Rebooting does not help in all cases. Rebooting freezes you. Rebooting can rob you of the ability to move the text (or ads) that you have just laid down. Rebooting permanently cements your errors. Rebooting ruined my life. If only we had let the back button do it's magic. If only we had waited.

No amount of technical support could help me. And I was willing to pay big bucks for said help. There apparently was no one in the world smart enough to undo what Google had done. What Elizabeth had done. And what I had done through my greed. I had wanted ads... I had wanted to be rich... and now I never would be. The blog was frozen and gone forever.

AND... exactly one year later... after I have semi-recovered and mourned the loss of blog #1, I proudly introduce blog #2 to you.

http://www.caughttalkin.blogspot.com/

Welcome to the ongoing saga of "Trails of the Kahles" - part 2.

So much has happened in the past year, too. But this is a new chapter in my life and one which will be starting fresh. The past year was really quite interesting but it went unblogged, unrecorded. But we are now ready to continue the journey of blogdom.

Enjoy!