You are currently browsing the Inside Samantha’s Head weblog archives for May, 2008.
- April 1, 2009: Gardens and Carpet Cleaning
- March 31, 2009: Lorikeets, Cheetah, and Elephants... Oh my!
- March 28, 2009: Legoland
- March 22, 2009: Busy as a bee
- March 8, 2009: Someone at my door
- March 7, 2009: Can you find the poppy?
- February 22, 2009: Bacon on a doughnut?
- February 16, 2009: Go Ducks!
- February 15, 2009: A very Goonies day
- February 14, 2009: Now the door is misbehaving!
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Archive for May 2008
Live Long and Prosper
May 18, 2008 by samantha.
Val finally smells like herself again. She has only had seven baths, spent one night outside, and 4 nights in the garage. As a matter of fact, she was allowed back into her room today. She is very happy. I would like to say that she has learned her lesson, but I know better than that. I have learned a lot about how to deskunk a dog. Never wash them with water, since that only spreads the stinky oil. Instead, I have found that a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and dish soap work best. I will be prepared for the next time Val crosses a skunk.
On Friday I had a CT Scan. It was an interesting experience. I felt like I was on a Star Trek episode. I have always had problems with my ears and my ear doctor wanted to me to get checked out. They even had to inject me with some funky stuff that made me taste metal and made my body all warm. The tech even warned me that I would feel like I peed my pants. I am happy to say that I did not! It was weird. I am not sure when I will get the results, but I am not too worried. I have lived this long without my ears falling off!
Saturday, I got up at 5 am to go hiking in Joshua Tree National Park. I had never been and I was so excited. I meet up with a few friends and we started our adventure.
We were worried that it was going to be hot, but thankfully we beat the worst of the heat. We took a little hike, did some rock climbing, and survived our first trek in the desert. We had so much fun that we are planning additional trips. I was even more excited that I got to use my CamelBak. I rarely get to use it. One of my girlfriends suggested putting ice cubes into the CamelBak’s bladder to help keep me cool and it worked wonderfully!! I am also happy to report that I did not get a sunburn, bitten by a snake, or fall from a rock.
Finally, summer is here with a vengeance. It got to 103 degrees yesterday. It is horrible. It is times like this when I wished I lived in Siberia. Thursday was the first day I put the air on this year and it was having trouble starting up. I was panicking that it was not working. It took forever for it to cool down the house and now it is working well. Still, I am having the AC people come out tomorrow to check it. I would rather be safe than sorry. And in 100 degree weather, you would be very sorry!!
Posted in California, Friends, Val, Weekends, Travels, Rants | No Comments »
Baby Proof
May 17, 2008 by samantha.
Baby Proof, by Emily Giffin was just as bad as the two previous books I have read by the author. As a matter of fact, I think it was worse. It is the story of Claudia who’s goal in life is to not get pregnant. She gets married to a man, who also does not want kids, and things are going great. That is until her husband decides that he does want kids. Claudia gets divorced, but is miserable. I do not know why I chose to read this book. Maybe because it was on the sale table at Barnes and Noble or because I wanted a silly, easy book to read.
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The ER and a stink
May 11, 2008 by samantha.
I am no going to say it, but I am so looking forward to Monday! This weekend was a long and adventurous one. All day Friday I had a migraine. My migraines rarely leave me incapacitated, so I usually work through them. The pain is bad, but not bad enough to stay home. Still, I drove down to San Diego to my grandmother for Mother’s Day. My cousin was down there as well and I was anxious to spend time with bother of them. Too bad, my cousin decided to get sick. He was nauseous and in a lot of pain. I took him to the emergency room only to find out that it was food poisoning. It is always better to be safe than sorry.
Saturday started out good. My grandmother and I drove over to Encinitas for lunch and some window shopping. It was a lot of fun and nice to spend some time with my grandmother. We came home and joined a few more family members for a Mother’s Day dinner. I love my family, but I can only take them in small doses. Needless to say, dinner was almost too much for me. Then the night took an interesting turn. A skunk sprayed Val. I do not think that it was a direct hit, but enough to cause Val to sleep in the garage. We tried washing her in tomato juice in vain, but she is going to the groomer anyway.
For those of you concerned, but cousin is almost back to normal. He will survive!
My only other big news is that we have tickets for France!! I could not be happier! We are staying about a month and even making a quick stop in London. I am so excited.
Posted in Val, Holidays, Weekends, Travels, Family, Rants | No Comments »
Homeless Bird
May 11, 2008 by samantha.
A friend recommended Gloria Whelan’s Homeless Bird to me. This friend is not a fan of reading and when she recommended this book to me, I had to check it out. It was an easy and very enjoyable read. It is the story of a young Indian girl, Koly, who is married off at thirteen. She soon finds out that her husband is dying and her dowry was needed to try another cure. The cure fails and her husband dies. Now Koly has to learn to fend for herself. She has never been on her own, does not have a lot of personal possessions, and is unable to return home to her parents in fear of disappointing them. It as an excellent book that should be on every school’s reading list.
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We Are All Welcome Here
May 7, 2008 by samantha.
I loved this book by Elizabeth Berg. I have no idea how it ended up in my library, but I am so glad that I found it. It is the story of a young girl growing up in Tupelo, Mississippi. Diana is names after the Roman goddess and she is just as strong as her namesake. What we learn as we read on is that her mother suffered from polio and has had to live her in an iron lung. Raising a daughter, while confined by unbelievable odds, leads to a story that is both funny and amazing.
I do have share my two favorite parts of the book. Paige, the mom, wants to go outside and lay in the summer sun. But according to Paige, a woman cannot go out into the sun without being properly dressed. So, the housekeeper made a bikini, complete with fake boobs. Can you imagine a woman in an iron lung, sitting on the front lawn in an iron lung and a bikini?!!?!?
My other favorite part has to do with Tupelo’s most famous son, Elvis Presley. Since Paige was confined to an iron lung, she was unable to work and money was hard to come by. Diana and her mother struggled daily to make ends meet. Diana writes letters to Elvis, hopping that he will come and save the day. And wouldn’t you know it, he does! I do not want to give too much away, but I loved the ending so much I cried. This book was such a fun, quick read that I would recommend it to anyone.
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You Are Not A Stranger Here
May 7, 2008 by samantha.
This was the strangest book. I do know how I feel about it. It is a collection of short stories by Adam Haslett. The book was well written, but the stories themselves were just bizarre. I find it odd that that I felt like such a stranger as I read the book. I could not relate to the characters. I continued to read the next story in hopes that I would find one that I cared for. No such luck.
I will confess that I chose this book based on the cover. I love the spiral staircase so much that I am searching the Internet trying to find out where the staircase it. Does anyone know?
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