outta here!

Hey all...
We're taking off for Oregon today- actually in about a half hour!
I hope you all have an amazing time with family/friends over the Thanksgiving holiday. For those of you in Canada... I'm very sorry that you must wait until Christmas for your next big feast. I'll have a big bite of juicy turkey and stuffing in your honor.

Oh yeaaaaaaah! Vacation here we come!

See you in a week.

bertie_bot reporting for duty

I conquered Camfrog yesterday. Sure did. What, you don't believe me?

First I went into the webcam chat room 'invisible' so I could make sure there weren't any sketchy pervs on the prowl. I know, I'm a weenie.

As soon as the messages started bleeping all over my page, I popped on the mustache. Oh yeah, it did the trick. Some guys actually thought it was real. How sad, especially since it was a big handle bar style. Apparently I make a better looking guy than I thought! It started a big debate about how Canadian men prefer hairy women. Bertie made a few appearances- tricks and all. However I'm learning this was a bad idea because several people have asked to take her off my hands. One guy was really insistent on it. Good thing he's in Italy or Matthew would have to whip out his mad martial arts skillz.

Speaking of Bertie. She has the flu! Weird- I didn't know dogs got the flu. A bit ago she was sitting on my lap shivering, so I went and got her a blanket. As we got all settled she started doing the dry heave bit so I ran her into the kitchen. (I learned from last time that you have to run fast in order to avoid projectile vomiting on the carpet). We made it just in time. I felt so bad for her that I (being the dork that I am) found myself stroking her back and saying, "Shhhh.... it's okay." Hopefully she got it all out of her system- she's back on my lap in her blanket, groaning. Poor Bertie.

Matthew and I are going to Oregon on Monday for a week- do we ever need this break! I'm finding myself freaking out right now. Why is it that as soon as life gets wind that you plan to relax, it falls apart. Work was abnormally insane today. Many things, out of my control, happened on my two days off, and tomorrow (with only 5 hours left till holiday) I have to scramble to pick up the pieces AND hope a LOT of people want to buy furniture from me since I'll be gone for a week.

Funny, funny thing happened today, though! I know this is getting long, but bear with me. I promise it's worth it.

I have two guys that come in and buy furniture from me often. No, more like they put things on layaway, switch every item on the ticket, cancel a few things, take a few things home, return them, then put something new on layaway. And the cycle continued today. What's that? Yes, they are a 'couple'.
The 3 of us were up at the counter when Matthew walked in to bring me out for lunch. He dressed pretty nice and just got a haircut yesterday so he looked like quite the fine man specimen. One of the guys looked at him as Matthew walked by and said under his breath, "get out of dodge."
I looked at him, following his gaze, and said, "What? Are you talking about that guy?" And pointed at Matthew.
"Yeah."
"That's my husband. Did you know that?" I was pretty sure I'd introduced them before.
"Um, no... I do now!"
It was quite awkward after that. I thought it was really funny, but he was clearly embarrased. I couldn't tell if he was hitting on Matthew or if he was intimidated by him and being rude. In any case, we have a new favorite phrase.

double standard

Since my last webcam enthralled post, I have talked to:
-my friend Rachel in Thailand, whom I didn't know left the country. She's lived there 3 years and helps run an orphanage. You can see we haven't kept up with each other for awhile... but there she was with one of the little girls from the orphanage.
-cousin, Dan, from Oregon. The man is a genius, and responsible for getting us into the wide world of computer technology.
-Andy, my sister in Oregon
-"Pops", Matthew's dad in Canada
-friend Jessica in the twin cities
-last but not least, some pretty sketchy people on this site called Camfrog. Matthew found this webcam chat room the other night after he set up the whole thing. This leads me to the subject of today's post.

What in the world has the internet become that all men are viewed as (and mostly act like) perverts, and women, well they're just asking to be treated like pieces of meat?!

Matthew goes on this site (with me sitting next to him interjecting comments) and has a great time. Immediately finds 'friends'- if you can call not revealing anything personal, spending an hour harassing each other, friends.

Now it's my turn. I tell Matthew that I want to try talking to people. So we set up a screen name for me and I head into the room. IMMEDIATELY there is all sorts of beeping noises and little screens popping up with guys saying different variations of, "Hey baby, wanna chat privately?" Matthew freaks out and starts trying to figure out how to put me on 'private' mode so they can't do that. He can't figure it out so he comes into view of the camera with an angry husband look, shaking his head. He pipes up into the microphone, "She's married, guys. Leave her alone." As if that deters them. The messages keep coming, but with things like, "When is that guy gonna leave?"

Since then, I've been too shy to say anything, for fear of giving someone the wrong idea. It's confusing being a married woman sometimes. Before Matthew, most of my friends were guys. Things change, though, and I am not upset about that at all. Matthew doesn't ask that I drop all of those friendships. Those relationships have just changed a bit to consider his feelings and my respect for him. Trust is extremely important in any marriage relationship. I never want him to have doubt.

So back to the Camfrog incident. I have come up with one last solution to try. Today I'm going to visit Camfrog as a boy. We bought these fake mustaches over Halloween and have a boy wig lying around. Since Matthew goes into that room and NEVER gets harassed, I'm pretty sure I will be a much more unattractive boy than he is, and will not be bothered. Hey, if everyone has anonymous identities, why not?

Disclaimer: Matthew and Cristina Cherry are not internet hermits that spend every spare moment chatting with strangers in chat rooms (nor do they condone this lifestyle). They are, infact, quite normal. Their interests include: Jesus, listening to music, teaching their dog useless tricks, harassing Walmart employees at 3am, and watching movies till their eyes bleed.

the eye

Fun story time!

The other night I was typing an email to a gal that was a student of mine in China (when I taught there in 2000). I decided to see if she was on MSN- and there she was! The neat thing about it- she and I lost contact for the last 4 years. I had no idea where she was, and she found me on the internet, completely out of the blue. Exciting in itself... but now we are chatting like old chums! I love it. The greatest thing- she had a webcam. It was like she was right there in the room with me- I could hear her and see her clear as day! How great is that!?

Matthew and I were inspired.

Today I came home from work, and there it was. It keeps staring at me. Have you ever seen Short Circuit? It's like Matthew stole one of those eyes and put it on top of our monitor.

Now all I need is someone to chat with!

productive nausea

Monday when I was home sick I found a bit of energy. I drug (or is it dragged) myself off the sofa and found my paints and a blank canvas board. Inspired by my new blog design I painted a bird eyeing 'the' flying worm. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Click on the BlogGallery link to the left for a direct link. You can get a better view if you click on the picture then, when it enlarges, click on the box that appears. It will give you more detail.

Thank you for your comments. Even if you think it's terrible, I enjoy hearing personal interpretations. Try not to beat me down too bad, though, I am still sick. *cough*

Fry Forum-bring it!

Good morning Starshine, the Earth says, "Hellooooooo!"

This post is dedicated to Ore-Idea Extra Crispy microwave french fries. For those of you who ordered your coupon, and are dying to give your opinion on how they tasted... here it is!

Pictured above is the kind I picked out to try. Regular price is just over $1. There is not a lot in the box, so don't expect to feed 3 or 4 people with it. I did the experiment when I was babysitting our friends' little 2 year old girl, Rayna- there was just enough for the 2 of us.

Very clever concept for cooking them- you actually sandwich the fries between the two walls of the box and they become baking sheets in the microwave.

Most of the fries did come out nice and crispy, although I had some bad soggy ones too. Rayna enjoyed them, but I think she liked the ketchup more. She would dip the fries and suck the ketchup off, which led to not eating the fries and just dipping her hands in the ketchup and sucking on them, then smearing it all over her face. I, however, was able to control myself and actually eat the fries- they were pretty good!

Overall opionion: 4 stars out of 5. I like them better than the regular frozen fries, but I'd still rather jump the fench in our backyard and go to BK. But hey- free is free, right?!

Okay, for all you who've tried them, leave your comments and your rating! If you haven't and still want to get in on the 'action', go to: www.freeeasyfries.com and get yours. We'll wait.

the course of phlem

I'm getting better... I think... really congested, though. Funny how when I was really sick I would've been a jerk for leaving work, but now that I'm actually feeling a bit better but hacking all the time, I think everyone at work wished I would go home. Ha! I did break out the hand sanitizer a few times to make them all feel more at ease.

While the assistant manager was out today, this guy came in and dropped off this large metal hanger shaped thing. He implied she'd know what to do with it, so I didn't ask questions. I jokingly tried to shove it into her mailbox and we had a chuckle. When she got back, I showed it to her and she was clueless as to what it was. As I was holding this thing, I spotted a chunk of hair and flesh stuck to one corner and had a mental flashback from my childhood.

There we were, us 4 sisters, rollerskating in our garage. This day was different, though, there was a deer hanging upside down, in the middle of the garage, by it's feet- no skin, no head, blood dripping from it's neck.

"This 'hanger' is no ordinary hanger- it's a deer hanger- and recently used!" I dropped it and ran to the bathroom to wash my hands. Apparently her husband's buddy dropped it off so she could bring it home for him to 'use'.

Tomorrow is my 'Saturday'. Typically an exciting day of cleaning and lounging. Tomorrow, however, I am forced to spy for my manager. (I got suckered into it because I was sick at home Monday, on an extremely busy day). I will be driving over an hour to another furniture store to 'check out the competition'. The whole secret shopper aspect makes me feel like a secret agent-plus, I'm looking forward to the drive.

I better go- Bertie is scratching loudly at her metal bowl. Hint perhaps? I really shouldn't think about bearing children till I can remember to feed the dog on a regular basis.

sick day

Someone built a fire in my throat, and it's not been giving me the 'warm fuzzies'. More along the lines of sinus headaches and the 'shakies'.

Needless to say, no work today. I slept until 1:30 in the afternoon and laid around ALL day. Too bad I wasn't healthy to enjoy it.

100% wiped

These are the events of the last 4 days:

Thursday.
-Cleaned the apartment. Well sort of. If you count sitting on my rear watching videos for about 3 hours.
-Packed a few things and moved into our good friends Jon and Kelli's house. They had a retreat so I watched their 2 year old little girl, Rayna.
-Matthew and I ordered tasty taco pizza. Yummm... Taco Pizza I loooooooove you!
(Matthew stayed there at night when he was done with work-something about staying in someone else's house overnight freaks me out.)

Friday.
-Round about 7am Rayna awoke and was ready for action. Thankfully the girl is easily entertained by videos. Until 9am I changed the videos every half hour to keep her occupied. It bought me a little more sleep time.
-Fed Rayna breakfast. Had a Kix moment. I turned around to see her holding the box upside down and Kix flooding the table.
-Did 5 loads of laundry in their (NO QUARTERS!!) machines.
-Made lunch for the three of us when Matthew had a break from work.
-Played all day with blocks, playhouses, books, etc.

Saturday.
-12 hour sale at Slumberland. Thankfully I was pardoned the last 3 hours because I worked the whole 12 hour Saturday sale 2 weeks ago.
-Went home with my date for the night, Taco John (Matthew was out working the fields)
-Watched my $1 Shirley Temple dvd "The Little Princess"
-Bought Matthew 'The Office' first season then proceeded to watch 5 episodes when he got home.

Sunday.
-Up at 7am to go to both first and second service at church. For good cause, though! Our senior pastor heard about our prank caller, Crystal, and asked that we say a few words in front of the congregation. Sort of a reminder why they are investing in the youth facility we are building. Crystal was SO NERVOUS, but she went up there too. Great stuff!
-Worked 1-6 at Slumberland.
-Bible study at 6pm. Fell asleep about 32 times throughout the audio tape we listened to. Doh!

a tuesday came and went.

Once again, I am quite happy that it is the end of the day. I really look forward to coming home to my blog Monday and Tuesday nights. Reason: 12 hours of talking to every sort of customer you can imagine completely boggles my mind. Plus, Matthew is playing Farmer Guy and is out plowing fields till all hours of the night.

Today I got to talk to Janice again- this time on the phone. She called because she couldn't find her receipt for the mattress set she purchased yesterday. She thought for sure I wouldn't let her have her bed because she'd lost it. When I told her she could indeed still have it- she was thrilled and said quite loudly into the phone, "DON'T FORGET- MISS AMERICA COMES ONLY ONCE A YEAR!" Then she asked if, when the boys come to bring her mattress set on delivery if she could ride in the truck too. It was so cute. Unfortunately I was a wet blanket and told her she should wait at the house so she could let them in when they got there. She would gladly have walked a mile or two to our store just to ride in the delivery truck back to her house. I've come to enjoy our visits.

You know, I've completely forgotten to mention my new blog gallery! I don't know what my problem is. I've been feeling heavily medicated lately. Could be the nasty sore throat I've been fighting off. In any case, I shall talk about it now. On the left side of your screen, you'll see a link to 'Objet d'art'. Click on it. Do it now. Well after you finish reading what I'm saying here anyhow. Matthew and I designed this blog page for my art things. I really enjoy making things that inspire people's creativity. I hope this blog achieves that, though in person is always better.

Please let me know what you think!

Here is a link in case you don't have the energy to drag your mouse all the way over to the sidebar:
http://cristinacherryart.blogspot.com