Souping it up

Grandma's big Nine-Oh went off without a hitch. We had a great time and she enjoyed the surprises, despite her initial protest. I got to Baltimore and met up with 2bit and Chris. Boomer was also with them and very excited to meet me (and smell Sydne). We made it to Gma-Hoof's by 3 the next day and called her from the driveway. She didn't realize we were there until we were standing right in front of her window and had to tell her she could hang up the phone. :)

Friday night we went out to dinner at my uncle's favorite restaurant where I remembered the joys of fresh crab meat and scallops. Saturday was Gma-Hoof's surprise party, which worked out well because we managed to get her out of the house and set up the table so that when she got home, it was ready to go. She came in and saw me with the camera before she saw the table with the cake, punch, and other treats and immediately started fussing at mom because she "didn't want a big reception." Needless to say, once friends and family arrived she was the perfect social butterfly and loved every minute of it. Now, I figured dinner out and a party would take care of the birthday surprise, but no, there was more. Mom remembered that Gma-Hoof loved lobster and, once the party crowd cleared out, dinner preparations began with lobster tails for all. Once again, she was pleasantly surprised and asked whether she should expect any more surprises. We assured her that was the end and, when I talked to her on Wednesday, she was still "recuperating" from her parties and talking about how we managed to surprise her so many times. This past week was, well, cold. The weather has turned much colder; snow and ice have fallen with more expected today and tomorrow. As a result, I turned to soup and am trying my hand at winging it on vegetable soup. I figure if you put water, and vegetables in a pot for long enough, it has to be good. I guess I'll have to wait and see.

9-Oh!

Saturday is Grandma Hoof-n-Mouth's 90th birthday. So tomorrow I'm flying to Baltimore where 2bit will pick me up and take me to her new home. Hopefully, I get a little quality time with the SecretBro and Boomer (the new doggie in the family). Friday we head for Wakefield to surprise Gma-Hoof with a fun family visit and birthday party. I know she's not expecting me; I'm not so sure about 2bit's arrival being as much of a surprise. Despite the festivities planned, I am still bracing myself for a repeat of the verbal attacks from 2bit's wedding time. With or without the verbal banter, there should be good stories to report upon my return.

Catchin' up

In the last few weeks, I've been up to a million things and loving them all.


After Momma D was discharged we got to spend a few more days together before they flew home and I headed to the AMTA national conference in Louisville.
Time there was fun, but I worked harder than I have in a long time. Each day was 6 a.m.-ish until well after midnight. The University was well-represented with alums and current students. Still, despite the work, Meganne and I found ways to have fun and coffee, with our last night spent in an embroiled
battle of scrabble.


Plus, while I was in Lu-ih-vul my prediction came true. My beautiful nephew arrived...dimples and all (though I haven't seen the dimples yet). Welcome, Maddox Joseph!

The drive home was uneventful, that is until I got to town and encountered not one, but three, accidents within a mile of each other at my exit to get home.


Thursday brought fun in the form of friends and lots of food, but with the price of a damn early start (and a white Thanksgiving). Matt wanted to smoke the turkey using his fancy-shmancy grill. That required a 5:30 a.m. start; a start on which I was not planning as the thought of sleeping until 9 was firmly cemented in my head. Instead, I woke up and helped him make the brine, wash the bird and get the grill going.
At 6:30, the bird was on the grill and, being filled with coffee, I could no longer return to bed. Instead, I made the rest of the food I hadn't prepped the day before. The result of all the cooking and food from friends equalled one hell of a spread.

This was followed by a good nap, playing with a beautiful baby, and a heated game of Cranium, which we won. Then we sent home left-overs for all to enjoy. We did, however, end up with all of the desserts. Wonder how that happened...

Back home

Momma D was discharged this morning. Fully dressed in sweats with fun slippers, no more IVs, no more JP drains and just antibiotics to take, she is glad to be home. Sydne was more than thrilled to have her Grandma D back.

Now she's content and has a belly full of treats thanks to Grandpa Pat...

Extended house guests

Today was SO much better than yesterday. Momma D had a bit of nausea this morning, but it was quickly averted with meds. I had to head down to the office while Matt and Pat kept her company. I got a call around 12 that Pat was hungry and would like to grab some lunch, so I grabbed Molly and up we went. Momma D looked fantastic and had been up, gotten a shower and was feeling much better. She actually told Pat to call me and go for lunch. Once we got back, she decided to go for a walk and made it to the first exit sign (about 50 yards from her room). Then she was ready for a nap so I sneaked back to the office. After work I went back to her room to get Pat so he could come home and take a shower (he stayed all night) and get some dinner. She had gone for yet another walk and added about 20 more yards in distance and had a visit from 2 different pastors. So she's extra blessed today and feeling 100 times better. The ARNP stopped by said she could probably go home Friday or Saturday, but unable to travel for as much as 10 days. They were a bit shocked at the length of time, but more worried they'll make us nuts by being here so long. I'm just glad that everything is looking up for them. They can stay with us 'til the cows come home.
Peace and health

Update on Momma D

First, Matt passed the recital...YEAH! Diane came through the surgery with flying colors, she was doing well, in some pain, but everything was being handled through TONS of IVs. She slept well last night and was ready to go this morning, getting up for a walk shortly after we got there and planning on a day of Jell-o and other clear liquids. I headed down to work to test my patient and then went back up. Problem was, the upswing had stopped, she had been feeling pretty nauseous after trying to eat and got sick on her clothes and the bed. Bring on the phenergen, which made her sleep. The good part was the catheter was removed so that increased her comfort, but the rest has stagnated. She hasn't been able to get up and walk, save going to the bathroom, which is still progress, but the phenergen didn't work long enough causing other anti-nausea meds to be brought on board, and her fever from last night came back. On a positive note, her white blood count went back to normal (9,500). Now we just need the nausea to stop.

Damn!

So the happy-go-lucky time with the in-laws has taken an unexpected turn. Pat and Diane got here Friday night, all was right with the world. We got up Saturday, did our "thang" and after lunch Diane started to feel a little puny so while Matt and Pat went for pizza I fixed her some chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese. We stocked up on crackers and all the standard "feel better" foods. Yesterday she seemed to perk up a bit, we went to lunch, to the mall and to Lowes then came home. She went back to the couch and curled up again, but said she was feeling a bit better. At dinner she couldn't eat, not even bread and started having really bad stomach pain so the whole clan got in the car and headed to the ER. Around 10 Pat came out and told us to go home and he would call us when they were ready to be picked up. At 12:30-ish Matt decided to go back to the hospital since he hadn't heard anything. He came home at 1:30 and woke me (I fell asleep somehow, not sure how) to tell me Diane was going to have surgery in the next bit because she had appendicitis. Holy cow!
Fast forward to this morning: While I was getting ready for work (only about 4 hours) Pat called and told us she had yet to go into surgery, but would be doing so shortly. As soon as I got to work, I headed up to her room and caught them in transit to the OR and walked with her to the pre-op area until they wheeled her away. After surgery the Doc came out and told us she had a perforated, gangrenous appendix. Yes, gangrenous! The perforation has allowed some fecal matter into her abdomen so now we have to wait and see if it has affected any other organs. She's going to be in the hospital at least another day while we watch her organs and her white cell count (it's about 7,000 too high).
And did I mention, tonight is Matt's recital?!
Please send happy thoughts...lots of them

Happy Birthday * 2

Matt turned 31, Sydne turned 5 (or 35 in dog years). I'd say they both enjoyed it.

Relaaaaxing

Now that all the presentations are done, the abstracts submitted, the house almost clean (well, it will be eventually), I am finally stress-free, back to my OCD on cross-stitch self. It's such a great feeling. I also got my ego boost from Dr G. The ego that was bruised so many weeks/months ago was now stroked for the hard work and dedication. I guess the next time I start to whine, I need to remember, the good part will come, too...eventually.
Happy thoughts all the way around--

Almost Halloween Humbug

Now this isn't something I would expect in the great state of Iowa. South of the Mason Dixon, yes, but Iowa, no.
Good thing our Governor is on his toes! I'm also glad I bought my pumpkin from a roadside vendor (i.e., homegrown) and not from a chain.
Maybe we'll get taxed on Apples, Eggs, and other assorted items that can double as decoration...
Then these poor kids!! Geez!
Ah bureaurcratcs are fun!

Holy Halloween, Batman!

Batman's probably the only character that didn't knock on our door tonight (except I live with him so no problem), but I did have Nemo, Squirt, Jeff Gordon and Dog the Bounty Hunter. There's something to be said for the creativity in this neighborhood. :-) Poor Syd-dog did not get a good costume this year like 2 years ago, but I don't think she minded too much.
And I am definitely glad that the day is winding down. I went through a roller coaster ride of cortisol today. I had a presentation to give to at The Nest to prenatal and postnatal mothers (and fathers) and was given the age range of 15-30 for the parents. Yesterday, LJ was really helpful as I pulled the curtains away from my eyes and talked to people I knew were moms, including my own mom (duh! Why didn't I do that a month ago?!). Work also had a few additional stresses, with the deadline for the call for papers looming over our heads (it's tomorrow). We have 5 studies to submit and don't have all of our analyses completed, including mine, and no time to collaborate to make sure my submission is coherent. But, hey, as long as my p-values are less than .0001, I'm golden. We also have fewer patients right now and amazingly all of our current projects are up to date with a few new ones started. The databases have been scoured for inaccuracies and corrected and I am literally creating tasks and asking team members for questions they have in search of new projects.
Matt & Syd-dog's bdays are Friday, his parents are coming into town Friday night and his recital is Monday night. While I realize that sounds stressing, I'm actually excited for it and I think I represented Music Therapy pretty well today, which also relaxed the heck out of me.
On the NC Homefront, my sweet Sis-in-law (i.e. Preggers) is now in her 37th week and 1-1/2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Something tells me I might not have to drive home while in Louisville (week before Turkey-day) because Maddox will already be here. Otherwise, I will be making a trip during conference to home to meet my nephew.
Lots of excitement, lots of fun.

I'm over myself now...regular non-pouting life resumed

The past week was wonderful; busy, but wonderful. One of my favorite BFFs from middle school, Bev, came to visit. While I don't have any photographic evidence we did manage to chill, have good food with good friends, and catch up on old and new times. Dad and Jo were supposed to come last weekend but, again, the airline gods were not in their favor and instead they trekked from home, to the airport, back home. All-in-all, it was probably a good thing because I was dead on Saturday after Bev's 5:30 a.m. flight requiring us to wake up at 3 a.m. (Yes, there is a 3 a.m.; it's dark).
Work has been better. I'm working on an abstract for an International conference. The results of this part will be my second paper submitted for publication and hopefully published. We've been pretty busy since our last conference and it looks like we'll have 5 studies to submit for posters or presentations.
Other than the normal stuff, I've been channeling my OCD into cross stitch. I've finished my dad's Christmas present (need to get it framed) and am working on 1 of 3 projects I have in the works. It's been a lot of fun to see the evolution of a piece of thread on a cloth. I'll post pictures as I finish the projects (I'll have to wait until after Christmas in case Dad happens to read this).
I am also very excited about Halloween coming up. I can't wait to see how the kids in this neighborhood do Halloween. I doubt it will be quite the same as 2 years ago (last year I hid in the basement with the lights out--sad, yes, I know). I also have a presentation that day for prenatal & postnatal women who are in the lower-income areas. I am supposed to talk about Music Therapy and the use of music for bonding between mother and baby. I'm a little nervous and excited about the same time. Plus the In-laws are coming next weekend. Can't wait to see Momma D with hair and no medi-port!
Until then, planning, planning, planning.
Enjoy your day!

Just blah

Talk about a 180 from yesterday. Today I am experiencing a combination of many emotions: happiness, frustration, anxiety, apathy, sadness to name a few.
Yesterday, one of my coworkers had a beautiful little girl. We anxiously watched their blog all day as they posted various progressions (and non-progressions) throughout the labor. It was wonderful and I was so excited for them. Their little girl arrived at almost 8 p.m. and I was so elated for their new, beautiful, health addition to their family. But almost as quickly as I celebrated for them, I felt a huge sadness come over me (with a bit of pre-emtpive jealousy). While I am so very happy for these 2 amazing people, I ache to have a little one of my own and it's not just the "oh, I 'd like to have a baby one day" kind of feeling. It almost feels like a need to have one. I don't think my life will be any more "complete" perse, I just have an innate feeling to be a mother, to have a little one. And, as more and more of my friends have children and I watch them together, I feel such an emptiness that I can't completely explain.
Work has been a bit frustrating, too, but in a different way than I'm used to experiencing. I'm starting to get more of the beaureaucratic stuff, I loathe. I'm always one who is willing to bend, willing to adapt to help others. But with one of our new projects, we're delving into new territory and I have begun to feel as though some others see my research as inferior. I have actually been involved in a conversation where someone teetered on the edge of the phrase "my research is more important," but it was quickly averted. Right now, I'm just blah and no matter how much I pull on my bootstraps, they just keep stretching...

Submitted, baby!

I have finally submitted my first manuscript for publication or at least for review (for now. It will be published). The undertaking was a bit more detailed than I remembered, but that is probably because the last submission wasn't mine. For my paper I found something that was wrong 5+ times before I hit submit without fear in my heart. So, to celebrate I took a cake into work. Actually, I got Matt to bring one for me. It was sooo good, but it got everyone wondering what I'm going to do once it's actually published. I'll have to think about that one as I work on paper #2. Soon I'll be able to honestly say that I've been published and not just in college newspapers as responses to editorials and the like, but in a peer reviewed journal that professionals will read (or at least have in a bookcase in their office).
Hope you have something worth smiling about, too!

Nothing special

The last week hasn't been very remarkable. Work was busy and, while there was a point where a coworker told the Big Boss that he owed me a six-pack, very little else was as challenging.
This weekend was fun and productive, though. Friday night, Matt took me to dinner at a new restaurant. It was pretty good, but I felt guilty about cheating on Devotay--my favorite tappas place in town. The food was good, not as good as Devotay, but Verde (the new place) had a blood orange cheesecake that was delicious and would compete with my tappas love. Another exciting bit (plus a large reason for my productivity) one of my wonderful friends, and former coworkers, came into town and we got a chance to visit for a little while. She had both of her adorable daughters with her. I'd only met one of them when they moved and had a newborn picture of the second, who just turned 1. They were definitely a handful, but it was still a good time and Sydne was a very good puppy. As a result, our house got a thorough cleaning, boxes put away, things thrown out and pictures hung on the wall. Finally, ornamental objects hanging from the walls!!

She's down, but not out

Mom and I have a had a really good time the last 3 days, though time has flown by. She is definitely a tough woman and hasn't let a single thing get in her way. Mom was especially excited about the possibility of the scooter when we went grocery shopping.
I could not stop from laughing most of the trip, especially when she almost took out a display of wine bottles. Nothing like quality time with Mom...
Drive safely!

Ah, Airports

Yes, they are as much fun as you remember from your childhood... Apparently, no one has had their coffee by 5 a.m. Our flight crew got in late last night so my 6 a.m. flight is now scheduled to depart at 7:20. The poor guys that are in charge of check-in looked so lost, I wondered if it wouldn't be more efficient to figure out how to check myself in (the kiosks didn't work :-)). It looks like I will spend a total of 2 hours only 20 minutes away from my warm, comfy bed, wishing I had stayed so curled up in the covers just a little longer. In the mean time, I'll enjoy people-watching although most are trying to sleep. It could still prove interesting as they try to navigate the oh-so-comfy chairs available.

Yeah, Friday

I am so glad today is Friday, I could sing it from the rooftops. This week has been good and challenging and busy. I had a moment of pouting yesterday (internally, of course) when my ego was bruised, but I've moved on and gotten over myself. Today, I rebounded with lots of productivity; I finished writing a new computer program for our research team, tested a few people for one of our newer studies (yeah for "normals"), and got everything together for me to be gone. I've decided that I am tired of waiting for feedback that will never come and am going to submit my first article and begin my second one.
Tomorrow I head out to Hky to "take care" of Mom. Turns out she has some plans for me that include keeping her cigar business in order (Matt has already given me orders of what to bring home for him), having a pizza party with her buddy, Joan, and taking her to the doctor. I plan on having a little talk with her doc about prescribing ototoxic meds for her, which, even in small doses, caused some tinnitus. Wanna be how long it takes me to ask him to request an audiogram?
I also started an online course on PHP and SQL on Wednesday, which I am excited to use to turn my Master's project into a more functional, user-friendly version for our patients. I'm in a class full of programmers, tech support people, and web designers. Yeah, I'm the outsider, but I'm excited to have such a large resource from which to draw. It's a wonderful day and I can't complain; I won't complain.
I hope your day is just as good!
Happy Weekend!

Poor Momma

Well, I know which segment of my DNA contained my graceful tendencies (or lack thereof). My sweet, sweet mother came home Friday from another "hard" day at the golf course and took the puppies outside. Good ole' NC finally started getting some much-needed rain and when Momma came back inside with the dogs, she slipped in her flip-flops. Turns out she is an all-or-nothing girl, just like me. She broke and dislocated her ankle, as well as tearing tendons. All this I found out at 10 p.m. Friday night when my sister called to fill me in. Yesterday morning, I got to call and talk to her (in the hospital), only to find out that she was scheduled for surgery at 12:30 and, oh yeah, my step-father is scheduled to fly to Munich in a week for his j-o-b, which will leave my partially-incapacitated mother at home. 2Bit is one week into her new job in DC, Gma-hoof can't get there and while, yes, mom has a lot of friends in the area, I would rather be there to take care of her.
But I did enjoy my mom's story on how *she* told the EMS workers what to do after she pulled herself to the kitchen, called 911, Stepdaddy, and her golf-buddy Andrea to tell her she wouldn't be able to go to Myrtle Beach for the tournament. (She has her priorities in order, for sure) Once EMS arrived, they brought the stretcher to her family room where she told them to stop there and she would come to them (she didn't want her floor or walls scratched). With her injured leg in the air--elementary school crabwalk-style, she pulled herself across the floor to the stretcher. One of the EMS guys told her he was going to pick her up and put her on the stretcher, "Oh, no," she said, "Let me do it." So she lifted herself up and onto the stretcher. Then they brought out an air-cast.
Mom: Don't put that thing on me! --so they didn't.
EMS: But ma'am, we have to stabilize you before we go
Mom: Got a sheet?
EMS: Yeah
Mom: Take the sheet and tie it to the top of the bus and use it as a sling
EMS: But ma'am, we should really...
Mom: No. Just use it as a sling. I'm not bringing my leg any lower.
EMS: Would you like something to take the edge off?
Mom: That would be great--so they gave her some Delaudid
Mom: Okay, guys. You're going to have to hurry up with that sheet, 'cause it's getting harder to hold my leg up.--thus ended the conversation in which my mom, once again, ran the show. The rest of the ride to the hospital consisted of them commending Momma for not crying or screaming or any of that. She simply told them that if she cried, she wouldn't be able to breathe as well, which would make it hurt more. She is one tough lady; that's for sure.

So, for the last several hours, I've been working on figuring out exactly when Stepdaddy leaves for Germany, checking my vacation/sick time at work to make sure I have enough and evaluating the the patient schedule to see if I can get everyone covered. The next step is to buy a plane ticket or just get the car ready for the 11-hour drive home. Honestly, I'd rather drive. I'm just very grateful I have so many great people in my department. Now to get it past Dr G and, if it works out, put all the plans I've made into action.

Be safe walking in flip-flops in the rain! :-)

We're not in Kansas anymore

Dateline Wednesday: And so we began on our family vacation. I was not exactly what one would call excited, having vivid memories of our last Family Vacay on 2bit's 21st birthday. That trip caught almost every possible element of Murphy's law one could encounter. I'll post that story later.
This trip included Matt, Dad, Step-mom, 2bit, SS hubby, Marshall bro, Preggers wifey (27 weeks along) and myself. Matt and I flew into Denver which went well, no problems, then on to Cody. The flight was interesting. We had a Cody "native" behind us on the plane talking with his neighbor about hunting. Turns out he had a great mullet to match his stories, no surprise. Our favorite was one about buffalo within Yellowstone national park that went like this:

You know, this time of year you have to be careful because the bison are "rutting" right now. (they're in heat). Two men were that driving through Yellowstone, they came up on a traffic jam created by Buffalo in the road. They were real close to the road, so close that the guy in the passenger seat stuck his arm out the window and patted one on the neck. It reared back and rammed the truck, knocked it off the road, broke the axle and knocked off the tire. I tell you, man, you gotta be careful around them.

Then once the plane landed and we were allowed to use our cell phones, he called his girlfriend and proceeded to ask "What are you wearing?" Seriously, he asked this loudly while the plane is still taxiing down to the gate. Once we got off the plane, into one of the smallest airports I've ever seen, I saw some of the most "interesting" people grouped together in one place. There was a whole herd of mullets and femullets, a woman with a purse made out of a skunk, men with mustaches and beards that emulated Buffalo Bill (or beards circa late 1970s or 1870s), and one guy whose mustache was so long it reached his clavicle--Braided!! Thus was my introduction to Cody, WY. Wowza!!!

Happy Trails to you...

What a waste of space :)

This morning I was driving to work and, as I got in the car, noticed the song that had been running in my head earlier in the morning was now on the radio at about the point that was cycling in my memory. The next song that came up next was "Let's here it for the boy" from Footloose, which I realized as I drove down the road I know every word. Put this on top of "Bust A Move" by Young MC, all the hymns and songs from 1890 to 1960s I need to know from hospice, and you get just a glimpse into the repertoire that runs through my brain. So sad, so sad. There has to be something better that could take up that space, at least where "Bust A Move" is concerned. If only there were a recycle bin in my brain. I'll bet I could have a significant finding that would benefit mankind if I could simply erase the really unimportant knowledge I possess.


Maybe that's why my dad wants me to try to go on the "Singing Bee." Will I do it? Nah

happy music to you

And so it begins, without me

Monday is going to be strange for me. This will officially be the first time Fall classes have started at the University and I will not be participating. January didn't feel like this. Maybe it's because I was still working on my paper and felt as though I was taking an independent study. Maybe it had something to do with the second semester; it didn't feel very different. Perhaps it's all been a transition; a slow transition from student to professional, from part-time to full-time. I don't know. All I do know is that my schedule will be the same every day, 7:30-4:30 but without homework, finals, or projects.

I don't think I'm going to miss taking classes, stressing over exams or trying to figure out different professors' ways of teaching, testing, etc. I don't think I'll miss it at all. I feel like it's time I step in a different direction at least for now. I'm still pondering the PhD or perhaps a Fulbright's in my future. My only challenge in remembering what day it is now that everyone's work schedule has changed. Eh, if that's all I have to stress about, I'm doing pretty darn good. :)

peace, love and no homework

"Papa Bear" scares me

We have an ice cream truck that travels daily through our neighborhood. Like all ice cream trucks I've ever known, it has various musical selections playing over a loudspeaker that sound very much like a calliope. This truck is different from any other truck I've ever heard in the repertoire that is chosen to call children like the Pied Piper. Actually, the music is pretty scary sometimes, especially in terms of flowing from one song to the next.

Allow me to illustrate with a sample of songs played (sometimes in this particular order):

Old MacDonald (not sure how many animals are on the farm)
Jingle Bells (in June, July or August--I guess they keep Christmas year round)
The Yellow Rose of Texas
A Time for Us (from "Romeo and Juliet")--not what I would call a particularly happy song
Happy Birthday (it's someone's birthday every day)
Oh Suzanna

If you catch the flow of it, you'll notice there is no flow and not all of the songs are what I would call "appropriate." There are actually times that I miss the repetitive music of "The Entertainer" without the bridge or ending, brace yourself, that used to play in the 'hood. (Yes, I said it, but only that. And even then that made me crazy because I'd have to sing the next part in my head so I wouldn't go insane.) At least that made a little more sense than random songs played in no specific fashion. I'm waiting for "Laura's Song" from Dr. Zhivago or maybe "I Feel Pretty" from West Side Story to be followed by something like "The March to the Gallows." Then the scary music circle would be complete. For now, I'm just perplexed and a little amused by the randomness of music that is believed to attract the small ones like moths to a flame...Oh and the name of the ice cream truck is "Papa Bear."

Ah, good friends

It's about time for me to write a post that's not grumpy or unhappy in any way. Dinner last night was much fun.

good people+ good food+good drinks=happy fun times

Last night we definitely had all 3. Matt and I met up with some great Oto people. One of my favorite former-Oto people has come to town for a visit, which necessitates an excellent meal full of witicisms and laughter. Mission accomplished. Despite my tendency to wither around 10 o'clock, I was not ready to stop the fun of the evening, especially since mint mojitos were $2.50 after 9. Unfortunately some of the attendees could not stay after the meal, which left me and Matt, Molly and my buddy BTK (who showed up later) to do the damage. Down we headed to the basement/bar area. We enjoyed many fruity beverages and mocked some of the screaming drunk dudes. Now I know that 3 mint mojitos takes me to a higher level of "happiness" that I haven't experienced in quite a while. Yet, by midnight, I was ready to turn into a pumpkin...actually more like a jack-o-lantern by virtue of the perpetual smile, which stayed with me most of the day even when my intellect did not. I forgot how much fun chilling with friends while drinking alcohol can be. Maybe it's because there were equal numbers of men and women and excellent conversation.
Cheers!

Hey, you! Get out of my bubble!

I think I have a target on me this week. There must be something in the air that says, "Hey, I don't mind you invading my space. C'mon over!" It's not just one day; one day I can handle, but every single day this week (and it's only Wednesday). Monday and Tuesday's invasions were Cambus edition, as is usually the case when you put large quantities of people into a small, moving space. Yet, there are precautions I like to take to keep people out of my bubble, when possible. Monday morning was the worst, so far, with a trifecta of bubble invasion (physical, auditory and olfactory).
There is a woman who rides the bus to work every morning at the same time I do. Somehow she always manages to have her cell phone glued to her head. These conversations are usually regarding horses or tack. While I do my darndest to avoid listening, at that volume, it's hard to miss.
Anyway, back to Monday. It was another day of cell phone glue. With my luck, horselady was on my bus and ended up sitting right beside me. Actually, she sat on part of me and I moved. Then once we were both spacially separated (by an inch), she began bouncing her legs fevershly, shaking my seat. Of course, the cell phone conversation continued. But the third invasion of my bubble, and definitely the worst, is that she smelled like vomit and she was on her way to work. Ewwww. So as soon as that bus stopped, I bolted for the door and could still hear her talking 25 feet behind me.
Tuesday was another bus day. Only this one was partially my fault. I got on the bus that indicated it was going my way. What I failed to notice was that once I got on, the sign was changed and I ended up riding the nearly empty bus the entire opposite route until it looped back to its original position chocked full of International students. While I respect other cultures, the only thing I wish other cultures would respect about America is the use of deodorant on a regular basis. Worse yet, the guy who forced himself into the now very small space between me and another person, forced open his book to read in the now significantly smaller space, smelled of cigarettes. It wasn't recent smoke; no, it was the dingy I've smoked for 30 years scent.
Today's space did not take place on the bus, but in another small, cramped space--the elevator. After a super-fun lunch with BTK and Molly-fabulous, we hopped onto the elevator to head back to work. The next floor we hit caused an influx of about 8 very loud women, followed by a stop on a floor where housekeeping was waiting, but did not get on. One of the VL women made a comment about a lot of mops which resulted in, as BTK put it, a sonic boom of laughter from one particularly loud lady--twice. The next floor, a woman and what I perceived to be her husband carrying a flower. One of the VL ladies commented on the flower; I looked and may have made a polite smile because the man began talking to the other ladies, but reached up and touched my arm. Dude! Do not touch me uninvited! EVER!! Especially if you haven't known me for less than 15 seconds, if you don't know my name, and if I don't initiate any sort of interaction that would prompt you to touch me. NEVER! I freaked out (internally) and waited until we could make our exit. Once I got over the heeby-jeebies, 15 minutes later, rinsed my arms and hands with antibacterial goop, I moved on. But geez, people, stay out of my bubble!

In happy news, I get to hang out with wonderful people tonight for some excellent food (and beverages).

it's been brought

We got our "damage deposit" back today; not "security deposit" as most places call it, even as our leases called it, but "damage." They kept well over half of it, charging us for things they are completely ridiculous. I'm angry. I'm furious. I have taken quite a while to calm down to the point that my hands have stopped shaking. So, yeah, I might have to sue the landlords. These 2 individuals are the closest for me "hating" someone as I have ever had and, unfortunately, that's a tough competition. I'm going to walk my dog and breathe...a lot!

Big Hair

I must admit, the hair in most of the pictures doesn't look too big and there aren't any of me, go figure, but I do have a few. Enjoy!

insight into me

When I was little I loved to watch movies, the happy kind where everything comes out as it should. Growing up, I stuck to movies with those themes. Even Clueless seemed to fit the mold; regardless of challenges everyone ends up happy. Sometimes I still wish my life would be that way. In high school, I was on the homecoming court, but didn't win. I was friends/acquaintances with a lot of people, but never in the "popular" crowd. I dreamt that Matt would proposed in some elaborate planned-out manner, not in his bedroom in his parents house while they sat downstairs unaware. I always believed my Dad would be the steadying force when I got married; instead, he was a source of disappointment. I thought he'd toast me at my wedding, he didn't.

I'm not begrudging my life, the people I know; the ones I love and who love me. I wouldn't give up the friendships I've made and the people who've touched my life for anything, but I think I've always wanted my life to have a Disney moment; that perfect, picturesque scene where birds sing on cue, the sun sets to just the right colors and people break into spontaneous song. I still hope for it, but I know those are the movies. They are created, scripted, shot and re-shot to be perfect. Still, something inside secretly wishes for that, longs for it, knowing it's all make-believe, but wanting the reality. That's what makes them so wonderful; that's what sucks me in a gives me hope that my Disney moment is yet to come.

What a weekend

I must admit it was so nice to not have to be anywhere this weekend, that I took full advantage of it. Saturday consisted of chores; simple things like vaccuuming, cleaning the floors and countertops, and doing a little bit of shopping for groceries and pieces of felt for my new kitchen chairs. Of course, while I was putting the felt pieces on my chairs, I noticed not one, not two but several scratches in my brand new table. So needless to say, I quickly called the furniture store (politely, mind you) to let them know that I was extremely unhappy that a brand new item was so damaged. The poor/sweet guy that helped me first asked if I was sure they weren't part of the design. Um, when there is scratching across the grain on wood, it's bad plain and simple. So we have a new one coming.
Needless to say, I thought that would be the extent of my excitement for the weekend. Boy was I wrong. My wonderful husband decided he wanted to take me to brunch on Sunday. It was somewhere we hadn't been before, but since it's close, we thought we'd give it a shot. The food looked amazing: omelet station, waffle station, huge table to desserts, and even more food. I was planning on small rations of all the things that looked so appetizing. Matt was all about the BBQ ribs and the waffle station, though he decided to save the waffle for his second trip. While we were eating, I noticed he looked like he was trying to convince himself he could finish the rib he was holding. He polished off his water, asked for mine and began hiccupping. Then I saw the look, the one that means, "I'm gonna be sick." So I grabbed my napkin and we bolted for the bathroom. Only he didn't quite make it there, but managed to not make a mess in the middle of the restaurant. 5 minutes later he's still in the bathroom. My first thought, food poisoning. This isn't good in a busy restaurant with a huge buffet. When we finally got himself together, we went back to the table, but in 2 minutes he was off again and gone for at least 10 more minutes. On this return to the table he said he thought his throat was closing, like he couldn't swallow and then took off for the third time to the bathroom. I immediately started freaking out because now I'm not thinking food poisoning, I'm thinking he's allergic to something he ate. I paid the check, got the car and picked him up at a side door where he proceded to once again vomit. Off to the ER we go. (Who knew the ER would be so busy on a Sunday at 1?) We waited an hour to get a room (the nurse was pretty sure it wasn't an allergy since he was breathing okay), then waited another hour for the doctor. By then, he was completely a-symptomatic, but whatever. When the resident did finally make an appearance, he shared that he thought Matt may have had an esophageal spasm, which are hard to diagnose without a history but not uncommon. So we had to wait a little longer to make sure Matt could eat some crackers and drink some Sprite without problems and then we would be good to go, after the attending signed off. So he ate the crackers and 45 minutes later, the attending showed up, talked with us a little and explained the scenario more and sent us on our way. 3 hours later, we get home, pack Matt's suitcase for camp, buy him a smoothie (he was starving) and send him to his concert.
Not the common Sunday in this household...

peace (and small bites)

weddin' update

What can I say about Oklahoma except that it was one long drive? I really liked the University though I think ours has more "stuff" immediately around it both for students and the community. Their campus, while equally beautiful, left many fewer options to explore, but the surrounding areas had many more options, especially from chain restaurants and stores.
Thursday night we rolled into town around 6:30, dropped of Megan at a friends house and headed over to a location that causes me to have queasy memories from childhood, Chuck E Cheese. We got to meet some of the other bmaids and Matt had a super time playing skeeball. He finished off the night at 550 tickets (well, between the 2 of us, I shared) and used them to get toys for everyone in the wedding party. The toy, which he selected before beginning his quest for tickets, was a small ring version of mits used to catch velcro-covered tennis balls and actually turned out to be harder than the larger version.
Friday, we went shopping and found outfits for the rehearsal dinner and all around fun stuff. Matt even bumped into TC at the CVS pharmacy when he went to get me a curling iron. The rehearsal was long, longer than anyone (including the bride) expected. Basically, the preacher went through the entire set of vows and had Lucas and Erin repeat them, which meant that basically they were married because they even kissed at the end. The only missing part was the rings and, since they're technically a symbol and they did that vows part anyway, they were married before the night was over. The rehearsal dinner was barbecue, but it was attached to a gas station. It made the statement of "Eat Here, Get Gas" have a whole new meaning. So because of Matt's encounter earlier in the evening, we got a chance to hang out with TC and her husband for a little while, which was awesome since I hadn't seen her smiling face in several months. Good times...
Saturday, oh Saturday can be summed up in 2 words: Big Hair. My hair appointment was the first of the day, 8:30 am. I arrived early, per my usual habits, and began the hairspray, back combing, more hairspray followed by hairpins and other methods of torture by hairstyling. When it was finished, I felt very "Steel Magnolias," but with my sunglasses I was Katherine Hepburn circa 1960...At least mine wasn't the biggest of everyone's and a little better than the "prom hair" some of the girls wore. All in all, the wedding was beautiful and long. Lothar gave a toast at the second reception that was very good, actually better than I expected from him. Then we hung out with Lucas's fam for a few hours and shared stories about him. All was good save Lucas's dad in pajama pants and no shirt (not the prettiest sight I've ever seen).
Now there's only one wedding left to go, Friday night, then I'm hoping our life will return to normal, well, as normal as they can be.



UPDATE: You ask for it, you get it. BIG HAIR!
More pics to come

On the road again...

Tomorrow we head out to Oklahoma, which causes the theme song to the musical "Oklahoma" to run through my head with visions of Steve Martin running around with an eye-patch banging on a pot while screaming "Oklahoma" over and over again (If you're clueless, you must watch Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.) This trip will be for wedding #5, bridesmaids dress #3. I am a little excited to get out of town. Even though 2bit's wedding was just a little over a month ago, it feels like forever. I'm hoping the trip to OK will be enough of a break for me. At least I know my only task is to bring something "borrowed" so i've packed 2 pairs of earrings, a necklace and my tussymussy. I'll probably bring other things just in case, but I'm pretty sure one of the pairs of earrings will be the winner. Oh, and this wedding will be HUGE. By huge I mean there are 7 attendants for the bride and 7 for the groom, it's being held in one of the largest churches in OK, and the whole church was invited. Not to mention, Lucas has the boys doing a tbone quartet and when I asked if they would be playing from the balcony (as they did for mine), he said "no, they'll be seating people there, too." HOLY CRAP!
We're also going to have a fellow wedding attendant riding down with us. I think it'll be a good time. I've not spent too much time in conversation with her; mostly our interaction has been that of cordial conversation. I'm just hoping we have stuff to talk about without the uncomfortable silence for 10 hours. Yikes! At least we'll have Mad Libs and snacks, that should cover about 20 minutes or so. Oh, and Matt's going to install his XM radio in my car. That's right, MY car. Teehee! He's got the CD changer in his, it's only right my car gets some extra attention.
Oh well, enough mindless ramblings. I'm off to Oklahoma, OK-L-A-H-O-M-A, Oklaho-ma!

Happy fourth o' July

What a wonderful day! I have to admit I did absolutely nothing today, maybe even less than nothing. First, I slept 2 hours longer than my normal waking time (ahhhh), then I helped Matt put together our new patio furniture. Okay, so maybe I was a little bit productive. I also installed the bracket for our flag. I've always wanted to have a flag on my house. I wanted one when we lived in the ghetto, but I was pretty sure it wouldn't stay there very long. The rest of the day was spent doing something I have missed terribly--reading for the fun of it. Granted, it was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but it had nothing to do with anything I can apply in my daily life so I thoroughly enjoyed it. I also spent about an hour or more playing with Carter, the 3-year-old who lives behind us. He had a very cool plastic swimming pool and slide and loved showing me how it worked.
Matt took off early for his gig in CR, which I found out after he left would be choreographed to fireworks in the area. Unfortunately for me, I decided sitting on the back porch a little longer was a good idea. I enjoy being able to sit outside without hearing vulgarities and thumping. Tammy and Brad even invited me down to the park with them to watch the fireworks, but I declined because of sweet Sydne and her fear of things that go "boom."
I only made it back in the house at 10 'til 9, turned on CBS and realized they were televising the whole concert. Man! But, I got to see the last piece, Stars and Stripes Forever. It's one of my favorite marches, but the piccolo solo (or should I say piccolos solo--there were 5) was horribly out of tune...horribly. I am going to blame that on the heat and timing. After all, pitch changes dramatically in varying temperatures and over time, so let's hope they tried to adjust the pitch, but went in the wrong direction. The best part occurred closer to the beginning of the piece, when a camera came into focus right on the Tbone section, with my sweet honey's face in the middle of the screen. It was awesome to see him playing, which made me feel guilty I'd miss the earlier pieces. Almost immediately the phone rang; it was Ken asking me if I was watching. He and Lisa had just turned it on about the same time I had and they wanted to make sure I didn't miss it. We preceded to laugh together and then hopped off the phone to enjoy the rest of the piece and watch fervently in hopes of seeing him play again. Alas, it did not happen, but I'm glad I got that shot.
Tomorrow is back to the grind, but I get to play with the kiddos again. I am determined to get my paper in better form, too. Afterall, the plan was to have it our before Memorial Day. Yes, I realize that was over a month ago, but that's what happens when you keep adding analyses of the data. Have I mentioned research rules?

I've got a peaceful, easy feeling...

Yesterday morning, I starting loving the new neighborhood even more. We woke up, looked out the bedroom window and there, walking down the street, was a doe. She was just walking very nonchalantly on the other side of the street. Of course, once Sydne saw her, she started growling and ran downstairs, which resulted in the pretty little deer jogging back in the direction from which she came.

If that wasn't cool enough, a few hours later, I looked out our back window and, sitting at the edge of my neighbor's driveway, was a beautiful redheaded hawk. Of course, the robins and chickadees weren't as happy to see them as I was, though it was fun to watch them dive-bomb him to chase him off. Of course, my compulsion to take a picture resulted in the hawk taking off to the light post across the street. He stayed there a little longer then decided to head west, with a trail of birds attacking him as he flew. Apparently, robins can be bullies.

chillin' solo

I'm feeling a little lonely tonight. Matt's off at a bachelor party and I'm just sitting at home waiting for the call to be the DD.
Sydne and I walked around the block so we could get out of the house. She got to meet the kiddos next door. Both were completely infatuated with her and she loved every minute of it. But now I'm back home; I'm back to watching TV and wishing I had something better to do. It's a little sad when I start reflecting and realizing I only really have about 2 people I can hang out with (besides Matt) and, while I love them both, I know they don't want to spend their free time with someone whose life is so terribly exciting. Maybe that's why I've gotten so big into mundane, repetitive things like cross-stitch; it takes up time and I can do it alone. But for tonight, it's a girls night. I already watched Center Stage so I guess the rest of the night will be chick flicks and TLC shows...

Bring it on "bee-ches"

So yesterday there was this feeling, a feeling of relief (now I'm having "Pee in the Woods" running through my head--it's a song. No I didn't write it). We got the couch out of the basement and, despite Stuff and Goodwill both turning it down (yes, both stores are obviously on crack. It's a good couch!), we put it on the street to find a new home, albeit a ghetto home. *attention, the rest of this post is a rant, an ordinal, ranking rant (yes, ordinal and ranking)*

Anyway, this morning I put the keys in a card and provided the landlords with the new address so they can send us our money. Well, while Matt was in the shower, and I already at work, She-landlord called and left a message that they wanted to know what the status of the house was, the couch, when we could do a 'walk through' and that the lawn needed to be mowed "like it was when (we) moved in." First off, yes, they were in our old place yesterday before we ever gave them keys or anything so that's how they knew to mention the couch. Second, we have never had to do a walk-through before and have always gotten our deposit back. Third, when we moved in, someone was already living next door and they mowed the lawn. It was not and I repeat NOT mowed in celebration of our entry into that piece of crap property! Matt, recognizing that I am the more diplomatic of the two of us (don't know where he gets that from) asked if I wouldn't return her call since, on the message, She-landlord addressed it to me. I returned the call, but He-landlord answered the phone. I told him the couch was out, the keys were on their way to their home, that we did not have time to do a 'walk through' and that the lawnmower had been moved to our new home and we had no way of taking it back to the ghetto. His response, "so the grass will be long." (Um, yeah.) My response "I have no way of getting it cut." So he said, "well, alright, we'll take a look and get back to you."

Okay, so first things first....They suck as landlords and, by my guess, as people in general. Second, what the frickin' deuce?! The people that are moving into our place won't be here until August and I'm pretty tootin' sure that the grass will have grown by then. Third, the grass cutting was not on our move-out checklist, which in itself was pretty ridiculous. Fourth, the checklist is not listed in our lease and neither is the walk-through. So while I am glad to be done with them and hope to never have to see them ever, ever, ever, again, I secretly hope they do something stupid so that I (with Tenant Landlord Act in hand) can give them a legal F&*K YOU! (Teehee)

Ahhhhhhhh

That's the sound of freedom, folks. Freedom from evil, crooked landlords who believe they have the right to do what they want; landlords who don't hold up their end of the bargain but fully expect their tenants to do theirs.

Tomorrow is a happy day. First, it's Friday. Second, it is the day before the birthday of one of our ladies at work, one of our wonderful ladies at work, which means lots of yummy treats will descend upon her. I just ordered a dozen of the most delicious muffins to take in. I feel bad for not cooking, but I just got home (and it's 9:35 pm) after getting the couch out of the ghetto. That ended up being more of a feat than I ever thought it would. Funny how the phrase "taking the door off the hinges" means something entirely different to Matt than it does to me. In my mind, it means taking the pins out of the hinges; to Matt it means unscrewing the hinges from the frame of the door. Guess which one takes longer... :) It was a bonus because Meganne's Matt and E-flat came to help. Meganne's Matt helped me rehang the door and E-flat helped get the ole' couch out of the basement.
I have to admit that E-flat is a loyal friend. He's the type of person that drops whatever he's doing to lend his truck, muscles and insights into moving furniture. His only flaw is that he can be a "hellicopter friend." (a phrase I got from Molly) That means, he tends to hover frequently. In our case, he calls to see if Matt will play Texas Hold'em, Risk, Basketball, and other obscure games. At times, it's super-fun, but most times he calls on days where we want to lay low and hang out together. So Matt's off to hang out with E-flat and the gang; his payment for the assistance in moving. I have several acts of contrition to do for Meganne's Matt. Word to the wise, it's not a good idea to swear in front of a pastor (current or future), especially in German, when he's Lutheran. Ooops, double-oops, and triple-oops.
I'm betting I'll sleep well tonight. :)
-peace, love and health

Almost done...

One of my friends from work, who lives near the 'hood apartment, asekd me today if she lived in the ghetto. She felt she lived about 5 blocks away from the edge of the ghetto, an approximation with which I concur, but it made me think and somehow I was able to quantify whether or not she lives in the hood. Granted, I had to paraphrase Jeff Foxworthy (which scares me just a little), but here's what I came up with:

If your street (and neighboring streets) appear on the Daily Activity Log of the Police at least 5 times or more per week, you live in the ghetto.

So to make sure this was an appropriate assessment, I went through the blotter for the last few days and, sure enough, there is at least one listing per day of my former street. And I thought 5 was a high number.

I hate spyware!

Somehow, I have managed never to have an ugly virus or spyware enter my computer over the last 7 years of owning my own. Yet, somehow, this weekend was the end of my lucky run. (Notice I am not blaming this on Matt. I seriously think it's my fault) Sometime on Sunday, I was noodling around and came across a warning and then noticed not one, but two programs were downloaded to my computer. I looked at the User Agreement for the first and stopped reading after the first sentence, which basically said, "By downloading this software, you agree to let us track the websites you visit and provide pop-up windows in related areas." I'm sorry, but who in the hell wants pop-ups on their computer? Isn't that why there is a specific tool in every internet search engine that blocks pop-ups? So, I immediately uninstalled that piece of garbage (when I probably should have deleted it outright) and ran SpyBot (which I love), which was fairly sucessful but couldn't get rid of 3 programs that it found. With a bit of grumbling here and there, I went to work and asked Brian to recommend some software that would knock it out. He gave me a disk he said he trusted, which I installed and ran between the chiropractor and massage. It also found lots of crap, but still I got those stupid, freakin' pop-ups.
Today my computer got to go on a field trip....to work. Again, Brian tried his magic, downloading lots of spyware killers, but to no avail. So it looks like next week, while working around July 4 vacation (um, yippee), I will be completely rebuilding my poor little laptop to try to rid it of the nasty infiltrating spyware. Not to mention, I will owe Brian big time, maybe a few good steaks will do.
If only there were a way to make spyware harrass the crap only out of those people who create it. I just keep remembering karma will get them...one day.

If I'm not even, does that mean I'm odd?

That's what Dr G asked me when I told her I was off to the chiropractor to get "evened-out." For the past 2 days my left and right shoulders have not been level, not even close with the left shoulder a good 2 inches higher than the right. My only thought as to why I was off kilter is the numerous Cinderall moments during the vicious cleaning in the ghetto. So this morning, with 800 mg of Ibuprofen already underway, I headed off to work. At 10 I started counting down the time until I could redose (with 3 hours remaining). So I made 2 appointments; one with a chiropractor and another with a masseuse. The chiropractor was good, I got all evened out with a few snaps, crackles, pops and groans. Then I had to wait for 5 hours for the massage. It was a visit, well worth the wait and now I feel like Jell-o, but in a good way.

The girl that gave me my massage was someone I hadn't met before, but I instantly liked her. I realized tonight that although my life is far from exciting, I have lived in places and had experiences that give me some great stories. After all, how many people can say they've been to Mayberry (yes, Andy Griffith land)? So I had a great time talking about not only the crazy people in the ghetto, but also other people I have known and experiences I have had. So I think in these last few days of any connection to the ghetto, I'll have to reflect on the crazy (and not so crazy) people I've encountered over the last 3 years. From Mohawk Man to the kids up the street, there should be some good fodder for someone's pen.

It's been a hard day's night...

and I've been working like a dog...
Today I spent over 5 hours cleaning and it wasn't even the new place; it was the ghetto. We received a ridiculously detailed list to clean from the Landlords which includes washing the windows inside and out. Um, there are screens on the windows and no way to remove them to wash the outside. Plus, I'm pretty sure that has never happened. Still, I did a lot of work. We vacuumed every room, edges of the room, baseboards, registers and then there was the kitchen. I rinsed out the cabinets, cleaned the top of the stove, cleaned under the lid of the stove including the underside of the lid. The oven was my biggest challenge (and only injury--I burned my pinky) as there was something crusted on the bottom that I scrubbed off. Then I cleaned the refrigerator, which now looks like brand new. I finished by getting on my hands and knees and scrubbing the floor with a brush about six inches long and 2-1/2 inches wide. Needless to say, I didn't get it all done, but you can tell where I stopped. So tomorrow I envision myself cleaning the rest of the kitchen floor and completing some of the requests (Who ever asks tenants to wash/wipe down doors?) It looks like the rest of the night will consist of a long shower, curling up with a blanket and Ibuprofen, lots of it. Bet I sleep well tonight.
peace and love

crooked, crooked landlords

We have 6 days until we have to officially turn over our keys to the ghetto abode, but I am hoping to make it sooner. The past few weeks Ken and Lisa have shared their saga of the "Security Deposit" and given me even more insight into recognizing what conniving people our former landlords are. Monday I went over to try to do some cleaning and get more stuff out of the place. I knew Mr. Landlord had been in to install additional smoke detectors (he asked Matt about it), but the first thing I noticed once I walked in was the lighted ceiling fan attached to the living room ceiling, a new addition to a room that previously had no lighting. So I cleaned the bathroom floor, scrubbing around the base and washed the baseboards. This morning (after all the rain), we got a call from Mrs. Landlord (who I'd rather give a much less flattering name) saying that because of the rain, Mr Landlord might be in the property to check on flooding in the basement, because other places were having problems. Matt dropped me off at work and headed over to do some cleaning and get the last few things out. When he got there every door in our apartment was unlocked and open. The screen door on the side of our house was not even latched and no one was around; no minivan, no truck, no Mr. or Mrs. Landlord! (Some of the items still in the house included Matt's computer) Matt called me because he was so very, very mad that he knew he would say something inappropriate if he called, so I did it. I called and ended up talking with their daughter who said she would pass on the message and have them call Matt; no one ever did.
THEN I got a call from Lisa. After giving Mr./Mrs. Landlord a significant hard time about the 30 days (that ended yesterday), she got her security deposit back minus the carpet-cleaning fee. That, I was happy about. Then I got an additional tidbit of information about Mrs. Landlord, she conveyed to Lisa that she wasn't worried about having to do work on the apartment after they moved out, but said she thought she would have to do "a lot of work" on our place. What the hell?! Nothing like getting slammed by a lying, cheating, stealing slumlord.
So needless to say, I was tempted to leave the place in as horrible a condition as I could, so she wouldn't be disappointed, but I think I am going to clean it up, take a crapload of pictures and sue the holy hell out of them if they try to keep any of my money. But unlike Ken and Lisa, I am not going to let them know about my knowledge (or possession) of the Tenant Landlord Act. I'll let them dig their own graves. They've done a pretty good job of screwing themselves my moving crap into their other places. They're not keeping my honest money.
Now to sell the downstairs couch...

update for the week

It's been a busy week. Lots of things to do, but nothing terribly important. So here's the update

Monday
I worked all day. Then Molly came over afterwards to do laundry and hang with a bottle of yummy wine (mmm, wine). It was super fun, except that I fell asleep on the floor (I'm so cool).

Tuesday
"Murphy's Law"Day--Got to work early and had a voicemail (which never bodes well). Alyssa was sick, dizzy, bad stuff so she wouldn't be able to come to work much less help with the MT session. On top of that Soomie was getting her wisdom teeth removed and Megs was being a camp counselor. (No problem, I can handle that, right? Right) Then I got an email from the student leaders of the group saying the theme for the session had changed from "Transportation" to "Bugs" and the session is only 3 hours away. So the hubby scored massive brownie points when I called saying "I'm sending you pictures of bugs, please print them out and bring them to me along with construction paper." No only did he do this, but he printed them on photo paper because it was clearer and called to see if I wanted them laminated (which he did) and bought me a whole packet of construction paper when he couldn't find the stuff we already packed. Luckily, the session turned out very well and got great responses from all the staff.
After work was more furniture shopping, still no luck but looking. I did get a new pedometer interested to see how many of my 10,000 steps I get each day.

Wednesday
Nothing terribly exciting, just work. I went to Target after work to find some more "bug" items for the kiddie's group on Thursday morning and had to stop myself from over-shopping. It was getting to be a lot of fun.

Thursday
Kiddie session went okay. There were a few places I could have changed things that just came to a screeching halt. I think giving the kids more of an opportunity to move would have helped, after all they are 3 years old. I also got my data back regarding part of my study and the results came back just as I had hoped it would. After work, hubby and I had dinner with a group of people from school and then watched Rocky Balboa. Now, I'm not a huge Rocky fan. I usually watch them to be with hubby, but for some reason, I really liked this one. I mean, a Sly Stallone movie actually made me feel something other than sympathetic pain (ala broken bone), an emotional response. That was followed by a night of attempting to sleep through very loud claps of thunder and a terrified puppy. Oh, and my brilliant sister is now a PAC. Way to go, 2bit!

Friday
First, yay for Friday. The day was very lacking in things to do (no patients, no files to score, no data to enter), but I worked on the paper. I desperately want it to be done, submitted and either accepted or rejected, but done nonetheless. Lunch today was my favorite, sushi, with the lovely Jana. We had a great time talking and chatting about anything and everything. After lunch, nothing was accomplish, but good times with good people. I tried to work on my paper some more, but spent the majority of the afternoon chatting with everyone else who stopped by my office.

The weekend looks like thunderstorms, but I hope I'll get a chance to sleep.

goofy post

I love the FURminator! No, it's not an animal version of Arnold Schwarzenegger's character, it's an amazing tool. I saw an infomercial for it and thought, "hmmm, if it actually works, that would be cool." Last night Matt and I went to Yo-Mama's for supper and wandered into the pet store next door when we were sufficiently sushi-ed. After playing with a very cute Golden Retriever puppy (with a pointy dome on her head), we started to leave, but knew I would need a peace offering so that Sydne wouldn't disown me. Matt started looking at random treats to get her and I happened to notice a TV monitor with an advertisement for the FURminator. So I asked the girl behind the counter whether they sold them there or just advertised/teased their customers. "No," she replied," we have them over here. Now there is a bit of sticker shock, but my parents bought one for their three cats and they love it." Well, Matt and I discussed the purchase of one because, yes, they are a little more expensive than one might want to pay for a brush/comb, BUT considering I am having to run a Swiffer across my floor every day to pick up enough fur to make a small dog, we decided it was worth it. (I bought a smaller, blue one since Sydne loves to be brushed anyway)
Once home, Sydne would not stop sniffing me, clearly pissed that I smell like another dog. So we took her out to the back yard, taking a bag with us (we were told to have bags--multiple--ready for the fur we would remove). We gave Sydne her newest pig ear and I began to brush. HOLY COW!! There was seriously a significant amount of fur coming off and Sydne, well she looked like she was stoned; eyes half-opened, gazing across the year with a pig ear hanging out of her mouth. I truly wished I had a camera for that image. We managed to fill up one bag before Matt recognized my OCD monster beginning to emerge and made me stop before I got too carried away. (I still kept going for about 20 minutes after that) But I have to admit, anyone with a dog or cat that sheds NEEDS to get one of these. In fact, I'm going to go use Synde's again--small doses may be better for me than one big event. Plus, it will save on Swiffers.

a sad Friday

This morning Matt and I found out that sweet, little Kennis passed away. Her mother's note on her blog made my heart just break. Posted at 10:33 this morning,
"I wanted to let everyone know that my angel is gone to heaven. She passed 45 min ago."

It's one of those situations where I want to be able to do something to make it better, anything, but I know there is nothing I can do to change what has happened. My heart hurts for her parents and her little sister. She fought for a long time and was a very brave and very strong little girl. Even though I know she's not in pain and she's not sick anymore, I know her family is so very sad. If you are a praying person, please pray for her family. If not, please think a happy thought for them.
Bye for now Kennis.

Sydne made a friend

My puppy has officially made a new friend in the neighborhood. We took Sydne outside for some play time (ie, fetch) and while she was taking a break between runs, we heard a wimper across the street. I looked over and there was this pretty little black dog just crying in our direction. Sydne noticed and ran as far as her leash would let her; then they both stopped and stared for what felt like 3 minutes. The staring was followed by numerous play-bows and barking. She had a little girl with her (little = 10 or so) who decided to take her for a walk. Meanwhile the dogs are still eyeing each other and continuing to wimper the "I wanna play with you wimper" I've heard so many times from my little girl. So I called out, "You can bring her over if she's nice." So here comes this dog, dragging her little girl behind her. Tails are wagging feverishly; lots of sniffing to be done; followed by chasing.
Maddy is a beautiful black Border Collie who is so sweet and so soft. She and Sydne made an instant connection. They started running around the yard (with Syd's 25 foot tether) playing chase as much as they could. It was really a happy sight for Syd-dog; like ebony and ivory (let the music begin. Thank you, Paul McCartney). Plus, we found out the previous owners of this house? Not so nice. They actually fussed at kids for playing in their yard the day they moved in! Now I can understand the build up over time if kids are messing up the yard, being too loud, etc., but considering the reports are that the people never used their yard or their porch? That's just mean! Maybe that's the Southern in me...At least our neighbors should like us better.
Happy thoughts for a happy puppy!

Carried away

The last two days have been pretty quiet. Work at the hospital and some time for friends. Last night I joined Megs, Max, Matt and John at B-dub's for yummy dinner and trivia. Megs, John and I all won one game and then consumed yummy chocolate cake. I only ate a little being completely stuff with wings and onion rings. Afterwards, I got to go shopping, which doesn't seem that bad except I got to shop with the hospital's procurement card (i.e., shopping with other people's money). I bought a ton of toys for the kids in our program. Amazing what you can find at Target for $4.99! MP3 players, Transformers, Polly Pockets, stamp and stickers boxes, the list goes on and on. I filled an entire cart (only one, I did restrain myself that much) with lots of toys, but I have to admit that I did get a little carried away. From what I calculated, I bought approximately 50 toys. The check-out lady was really impressed with my shopping skills.
This morning, I got to unload my haul. I felt like a kid myself and wanted to play with all the toys. I got the seal of approval from the ladies I work with, except Maura who said I sucked because my team had better toys than hers, but I still take that as a compliment. Well, normally, we keep all those toys in a Rubbermaid bin, a 20 gallon or so (?). Well, let's just say my excitement got to the point that the bin was full as well as the cabinet in front of the bin. Yay for toys! There will be some happy children coming to visit us in the next year or so!

Tee-hee

What a fun day! This morning was our first music therapy group with kiddos at the speech and hearing center. I didn't actually participate today because Dr G was absent. Still, it was fun to watch the other part of our gang play. We have a 20-month-old boy, a 2 year old girl and a 3 year old boy; all have either a CI or a hearing aid. They are sooooo cute. I was a little jealous that I didn't get to play, but I got to make fun comments with the SLPs in the observation room. It makes me smile to think about that 30 minutes of today.
This afternoon was sooo slow. Alyssa and I ate lunch outside and soaked up some Vitamin E as well as split-pea soup, my first time trying it, which I'm guessing had other yummy vitamins. Afterwards, though, it was really hard to get anything done, mostly because we were so productive this morning that there was little else needing attention. So we looked at Alyssa's pictures from her Appalachian trail hike last week and my pictures of 2bit's wedding. An hour later, we tried again to be productive, but to no avail. We then imbibed in cookies (if you can imbibe in cookies) to celebrate the last day of one of the students...mmmm, cookies. The funniest part of the day came when I went to mail my orientation evaluation. It was a rather interesting survey; one in which I included the need for either treats earlier in the morning (not 10:30) and/or a better breakfast (i.e., a full, yummy one like everyone else mentioned before my orientation).
Anyway, on the way back to my office, I bumped into a girl one of my friends has been quasi-interested in for some time. (He and I eat lunch together almost daily because we seem to be hungry at about the same time and haven't really fit into another lunch group in our department.) We call her "Beetlejuice" because every time we talk about her (or mention her name 3 times), she calls him. While trying to make polite chit-chat with Beetlejuice, she pointed out what I thought was my "Financial education" pamphlet I had just received in my campus box saying "oh, is that new?". Only it wasn't the pamphlet, she was pointing out my wedding and engagement rings. Almost immediately, I could see the wheels turning and I knew what she was thinking. So I proceeded to tell her that I have been married for almost three years. She followed with "huh, I never noticed." So I tried to give her an excuse like, "well, I don't always wear my engagement ring because the stone isn't set right. "Yeah, maybe that's it" she replied and very quickly indicated that she had to go. Thus, the end of our conversation...
Needless to say, I speed-walked back to my office and emailed this dear friend, letting him know what had transpired. My last sentence was "I think she thought I was making a play for you." He returned the timely notice by coming over to my office IMMEDIATELY and we both did our evil, you-gotta-be-kidding-me laughs and then went home...what a day. Betcha he gets a call tonight.
peace & love

Monday, Monday

...do you hear the Mama's and the Papa's in the background?...Well, it's the first of the week. Nothing spectacular to report, except, oh yeah, I don't live in the ghetto anymore. Yippee! I managed to leave for work at the same time I used to leave the old place and I got to work earlier. That's right, earlier. What a happy problem to have.
Coming home this aftenroon was equally "horrible": straight shot home; no problems with traffic; neighbors politely waving as I pulled in. I think this new neighborhood may help improve my exercise regime. Since Sydne doesn't have her fence yet, I took her for a walk around the neighborhood. It was only the short route but I'm sure we'll do the larger version after dinner. Maybe we shouldn't put the fence up. Then again, I don't know how much Matt would like walking her at 6 a.m. when it's below freezing.
peace

GO ME!

I don't mean to toot my own horn. Okay, maybe I do (toot! toot!)but I just assembled my bed all by myself. I realize that may not mean much, but it's a queen-sized, (heavy) metal, sleigh bed. Matt told me I should wait until he gets home, but he was supposed to be home an hour ago and still isn't so, not to be redundant, Go Me! Girl Power rules!!!!
I picked the matress and box springs off the floor, which wasn't easy to start with. Who knew those things were so frickin' heavy? I put my frame together (no easy feat), put the box springs into the bed--they sit in the frame, added the matress and made it up so it looks nice and pretty. I probably gained between 5 and 10 bruises, but hey, I did it all by myself. Now I'm eating some deliciously chocolate, Cold Stone ice cream in celebration (but just a little bit). There's a thunderstorm rolling in. What a great night for blustery wind, some thunder and rain.
peace and girl power!

-insert Cheshire grin here-

What a week it has been! I have been through the emotional roller coaster of packing, waiting to close on my house (making sure the money goes through), closing on my house, and moving. What happy, happy times (with the exception of the aforementioned waiting for $$--and even then it was short-lived).
Most of last week is a blur, waiting for Thursday and Friday to come. Thursday was a fun time, especially the, oh, 45-minutes where we weren't sure the money would be there in time for the closing. But once it was, it was a happy time. Friday I was so excited to move that I woke up at 6, got ready and left my house at 7, stopped at a great coffee/pastry shop on the way to work bought muffins to take to the hallway of wonderful women I work with, or who tolerate me (I worked a half day). I was pretty distractable most of the morning while I waited for noon to arrive. Then I kidnapped Alex (for his muscles), bought him lunch and made him help us load the truck along with Trombonium and Lothar's wonderful girlfriend, Suzanne. We got all of the big stuff out of the ghetto-house and into the wonder-house by 3:30. We spent the evening drinking beer and feeding grilled food to our movers. We also met our backdoor neighbor, whose name I never got. So until I get a chance to get his name, I've been calling him backdoor-man (I'm so creative). Anyway BD-man seems innocent enough. He has three boys, the youngest I believe to be about 20 months or so. He was talking to Matt when I walked out, but made it a point to mention the fact that there are a lot of children in this neighborhood; new baby across the street, little one next to that one, pregnant woman next to that one. He tried to do a little backpeddling, but was still pretty adamant that we need to conform to the neighborhood standard. It was "interesting" to say the least.
Saturday morning, I hopped up to get the day going and getting the ghetto-place more empty. Lisa and Ken showed up around 10:20 to help me move the things that won't fit in the GPrix. They are a God-send, an absolute Godsend. We spent about 4 hours moving various boxes, lamps, shelves, cabinets so now I have almost nothing left in the ghetto place---except I realized a few hours ago that I have no shoes for work tomorrow. Give you one guess where I'll be going around 7-ish tomorrow morning. But I digress...I got a chance to show Ken and Lisa around the place. I think they were pretty impressed. While we were in the back yard, BD-man was playing with his littlest one and I waved in a neighborly fashion, to which he responded "You need to get one of these." Yeah, I can just run to Target and get myself a kid so that I'll fit the neighborhood norm. All he had to do was have an orgasm. I'd have to get fat, push the kid out, breastfeed and all the other fun things that come with having a baby.
BUT I AM NOT COMPLAINING. VERY NOT COMPLAINING!! The biggest worry I have around here...well, I don't have one. All the kids race around here on their scooters. It's awesome.
Oh, and we met our next door neighbors tonight; Clint and Nicole and their 2 kids, Adison (18 months) and Joe (8 months-adopted). They are both too cute (the kids), but I have a soft place in my heart for Joe. I'm betting it's the dimples; deep, cavernous dimples. Clint and Nicole are really nice too. He's a high school Chem teacher, but has a horrible, monotone voice (poor chem class). Maybe that's the nerves of meeting the new neighbors, but I think it should become commonplace. There are a lot of houses for sale and people moving in & out. Saturday, people moved into the house across the street. It is sooooooo nice to sit and watch TV without worrying about my house shaking or crazy crap going on outside.
It's nice to sit and watch the Tony's on TV...even if I am secretly looking for Dad & Jo. They're there. Yes, they went to the Derby, now they're at the Tony's. I'm glad, though, Dad needs the breaks. He's been working too hard for too many years. And sometimes Disney just isn't enough.
Happy days, sweet dreams!
-peace and love

new paint job

I know this last week is gonna be a doozie! "How do I know this?" you may ask. That's simple, catboy got a paint job. Judging from the outcome, I can be pretty sure it wasn't professional work. The best part is this time I actually saw cars slow down and stop while driving down our street. I watched as passengers' heads stuck out the windows of vehicles driving by, careening to see what the heck was wrong with that car. That's actually a first. I mean, I figured in the past this happened, but I actually got the opportunity to witness it several times today.
Now there's a question about whether this new coat has some hidden meaning behind it. Is it a comment on the dichotomy between good and evil; happy and sad; heaven and hell (per his previous magnet)? I don't know. I find it ingenuitive to incorporate his former decorations into this new aesthetic covering. Yes, he did divide the doll's face in half. I didn't get a close enough look to check the cat's head, but pretty sure he was consistent. Just another fun day perhaps. Or maybe he was bored. Anything is possible. Still, it's scary that he works with people who have cognitive delays. You be the judge.

up to my eyes in....boxes

I have had a great weekend. There wasn't one particular thing that made it great; it was just a good combination of things. Friday night, we got to go downtown for dinner with some friends. They were setting up the tents for Art Fest so I didn't get to see any work, but the buzz of people around and the music in the air was awesome. (The bottle of wine didn't hurt, either). Saturday was spent mostly packing boxes, happily packing boxes, and hanging out with friends from work. That basically consisted of going to their house, setting up for the cookout, watching all the testosterone leave to pick up the new kiddos' playhouse and running inside when it started *pouring*. About 45-minutes to an hour later, the men returned and were thoroughly saturated (I think we could have wrung them out, not just their clothes). Still, I had fun hanging with Linda and grilling. That was one way I felt like I was being productive. Today, packing, packing and more packing. I've gone through 4 rolls of bubble wrap and filled many a box with fragile items as well as books. I haven't even reached the "damnit" box yet, which makes me very happy because I was sure I would already be there by now. Still have a long way to go, which proves I have too much crap, but that's the fun of moving. As George Carlin said (to paraphrase), you buy a house, fill it with junk so you buy a bigger house to fill with more junk. I look forward to that possibility.