Random Thoughts

I got my first perfume oil from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, one of the Sins and Salvation set, Envy. I picked it blind by the description that sounded cool, so I immediately put some on to try it and I kinda dug it - what luck! Now, at the end of the day, I realize what it smells like on me - Ralph Lauren Safari. I have managed to blind-select a perfume oil that will make me smell exactly like my mother.

My car has been leaking water from under the dash for almost 2 weeks. At first, I couldn't figure out why my pant leg was getting a little damp in the front - did I spill something? Lean against the car? Then it dribbled out when I was wearing sandals. It was clearly water. After a few days, it started pouring out every time I turned right. When I finally got it in three days ago, they said the drain hole for the AC was clogged and they drained half a gallon of backed up water when they cleaned it out. But now my car is musty and stinky.

Jean diapers? Really?

Seeing a commercial with Tom Bosley makes me realize how young he and Marion Ross must have been when Happy Days was filming.

The new Twilight: Eclipse album is out and it rocks. Seriously, The Black Keys are my new find off it - dirty and funky, a bit of late 60s beatnik feel to it. Hot. Also try Florence + the Machine, UNKLE, or Bat For Lashes (they do an awesome duet with Beck for the movie). Yes, the movies may suck, but the music kills.

I read somewhere that using an antiperspirant in your pits will make you sweat more elsewhere. As I have again encountered my annual summer athlete's foot infection, which I usually can't seem to get rid of, I trying deodorant in hopes that my feet don't sweat as much. First I picked up the JASON Tea Tree deodorant, which was ok, but I found the crystal deodorant, which rocks (excuse the pun). You no longer have to buy a giant rock, you can buy a giant rock in the shape of a roll-on deodorant bottle. And I don't stink! Nor am I really sweating that much more, so no antiperspirant needed. And it's unscented, so no pitty rash for me! Super bonus.

I'm going to be trying some alternate methods for eradicating my athlete's foot this time too, as my kind (moccasin-style that covers the whole foot bottom) is the hardest to get rid of. So here it is - hydrogen peroxide rinse at night, thorough drying and Lamisil AT. I will also be washing all my socks and shoes with Borax to kill the infection there.

Random Thoughts

Flushing the toilet does not mean you have cleaned the bathroom.

I hate tuna helper. So, apparently, do the children.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played with Fire, and The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest are highly recommended.

AT&T and Apple have conspired to screw me out of an iPhone until November of this year, even though I now have familial permission and funds to buy one.

Pants and I have figured out why they will be allowing iPhone users to upgrade immediately if their upgrade is scheduled anytime this year - they want them to sacrifice their unlimited data plan for one of the slightly cheaper data plans that cap out at 2GB per month.

I am highly attracted to the metallic turquoise nail polish I bought and put on my toes.

The Hammer slept in her underwear for the first time last night. And woke up dry. She has also decided that pooping in the toilet is not a sign of the apocalypse, and it's actually a fabulous way to get M&Ms (or, num-a-nums).

We have not canceled the satellite TV yet, as the cable thieves want to charge us for "activation" per outlet to turn on cable channels in the house. Isn't it just, like, turning on the whole house? We're already wired for cable TV. So we've been sitting on it and haven't pulled the trigger yet.

Random Thoughts

I don't like perfume. I wore it in high school and have experimented with it occasionally since then, but it's too cloying to me, too strong. I went to JC Penney today to check out Kat Von D's line in the Sephora section and I tried her Sinner fragrance. It's way too sweet and almost Avon-y. But then, I don't like perfume.

So I wanted to go back to using a bergamot body wash (which Pants hates), but The Body Shop doesn't sell that anymore. They have some mix thing, which I guess I'll have to check out before buying because it's quite expensive.

I had fully intended to sign up for a community yoga class, only to log on tonight and find out the class is full. Both classes, the Wednesday and the Monday class. I got on the wait list for Wednesday, but I guess we'll see.

Apparently there is an all-class reunion this summer in my home town which I will most likely attend. I have also been asked to be the matron of honor in a wedding in August and the dress is, how you say? Unflattering for the fatties. So it's time to get my ass moving.

The kids have been sick since Tuesday with a nasty virus and I will probably be home again with them tomorrow. I will probably have to go in to work tomorrow and get my laptop, and I probably should have gotten it last week so I could be working. I had that dream again this morning that I'm back in college and there is one whole class that I realize I haven't gone to and I'm going to fail. This is my recurring dream when I feel work is getting out of control.

I really need a makeover. I need a haircut. Some highlights.

Maybe I'm just having some end of winter blahs.

Random Thoughts

I just heard on Jezebel that the FDA just put out a new warning on Singulair that it can cause depression. GAH! So my allergy/asthma med and my anti-depressant are canceling each other out?

I cut my thumb big time Friday night and ended up in the ER with 4 stitches. I honestly thought it would be more and that there would have to be internal stitches as well. The cut is about an inch and a half long right on the crease at the base of the thumb. The bleeding caused a huge bruise extending all the way around my thumb up to the first knuckle and all the way down the palm to my wrist underneath the thumb. But I managed NOT to cut the tendon, which would have required an orthopedic surgeon. Again.

I saw a really funny commercial this morning and clapped my hands together laughing, and it really, really hurt.

We now have 7 fish and have become fish people. The cat mysteriously has never even checked out the tank, much less sat in front of it watching as I would have expected.

I am a regular commenter on Jezebel and 70-80% of my comments get promoted. I'm kinda proud of that.

I have a new pair of tennis shoes on the advice of my LPT and she thinks I'm probably gonna have to wear them almost exclusively for the next 6 months. I also have a new pair of Doc Martens, but I haven't been able to break them in totally yet for them to be comfortable.

We bought a new water softener and a new lawn mower and bagger this week. I was talking to my dad today and he was fixing his garage door opener and I said, "Oh yeah, that's on the list, but the doors and openers aren't REALLY broken yet, so they're pretty far down the list." One day, we'll actually fix stuff before it's completely broken.

Speaking of which, I had to take my car in and get the hatch-lock-opener thingy fixed, as it was coming off and finally completely broke in half a few weeks ago. And I got the marker light wires fixed, which have been hanging off the back of the car since last winter, when they were torn loose by a giant chunk of ice.

Oh, and my wedding ring, which was digging in on one side so bad I hadn't worn it in months. They re-rounded it, re-sized it, soughtered it so the two halves wouldn't stretch anymore, and polished and re-tipped it. Now I can wear it again comfortably - so happy to have it back!

Kitten is mostly potty-trained: she hasn't had a pee accident in almost 2 weeks, although we still put her in a pull-up at night. But, she won't poop in the toilet. She is actually pooping now and I don't want to discourage that, but she won't try it in the toilet. I don't want to leave her in underwear at night until she will poop in the toilet, as she usually waits until we change her into one at night to go. Any advice?

And The Hammer won't go in the toilet AT ALL. I've tried bribery (m&ms, her own fish, a Thomas train table). I've tried reverse psychology (I don't want you to go, you are my baby and I want you to stay out of school and stay with me). I don't know where else to go here. This kid will probably train in a day if she would JUST GO. Any advice here?

Random Thoughts

My costume last night didn't pull off as well as I had hoped - I couldn't find my ice skates and it's not nearly as funny to show up as Nancy Kerrigan without Pants walking around behind me with a tire iron. I did get to explain to several people why the limp is my own, though. And Puck had my back on the explanation - he voluntarily glowered over me several times through the evening.

On a related note, my ass wasn't nearly as awful in the tutu as I imagined it would be...

It's official, I hate daylight savings time. And Halloween candy. The Hammer threw up all night last night and the kids were running around like wild animals all day. I finally took them out into the back yard to try to run them around a little bit. It turns out Kitten is a bit of a runner, The Hammer is aces at shooting baskets, and they can both catch a ball fairly well. Nice surprise in a day full of yuck.

I didn't expect to need a second set of sheets for The Hammer's new "big girl bed" just two days after installing the first set, but had to go out an buy one today while the other is in the wash. See above.

I'm taking advice and I've been seizing teaching moments with the girls, like talking about the letters on the Stop sign today, showing them the number 9 when Kitten kept saying talking about 99 in the store, and talking with her about caterpillars and butterflies after reading a book where a caterpillar who felt very dull turned into a beautiful butterfly. I still wish Kitten was getting a full day of that kind of learning, but I guess I'll keep working on it and see what happens.

We love our aquarium and our 3 little fishies, but one of them is apparently a "schooling" fish and keeps annoying the crap out of one of the others, following him around all the time. I need a couple more so they can school together and leave the other fish alone. And yes, they are all male. The chick at the pet store said they could tell and I'm trusting her on that. She also said that any babies would probably get eaten, but I don't think we're ready for Wild Kingdom in the living room.

We also have to keep the food up in a cabinet so the kids don't feed them constantly and far too much. And the fish come up to the top, front and center, whenever the kids come to the tank. Pavlovian much?

Random Thoughts

I went up north this weekend with my parents, who were in town for my grandfather's 80th birthday. My stepdad threw out his back early last week and it was a bit disconcerting for the two of us, me in a wheelchair and him unable to stand upright, to watch seniors, ages 70 to 95, dance every polka while we couldn't walk. My grandfather and his fiance (congrats!) are in better shape than I am. Although I apparently hear better.

Oh, and the reason I went up with my parents is that my husband heard about my plan to drive up to Aitkin on Saturday with the girls for the party and turned to look at me like I had grown another head. A furry bear head, with cabbage growing out the top. It did not take him long to convince me of the insanity of his taking 2 children under the age of 5 and his crippled wife on a 2 1/2 hour trip, one way, to attend a party where he would have to do all the child-minding while I sat in a wheelchair, and then drive us 2 1/2 hours home just a short time later. When I can only sit in the front seat of a car comfortably for about 20 minutes.

It was nearly 3 years ago that my grandmother died of Alzheimer's and we're really happy that my grandfather has found someone to share the rest of his life with. We were thrilled to hear that they got engaged this weekend, although we didn't think they ever would. It became clearer when he told us a story at dinner about one of their dance couples that were not married. She had a stroke and her children blamed him for "forcing" her to dance all the time and they would not allow him to see her at all. I know, the polka drama is overwhelming. But they weren't married and he had no rights over her kids so if they wanted to be unreasonable, they could. Thankfully, we met my future grandmother's family at the party and they seem quite nice. Everyone is very happy for them and there don't seem to be any hard feelings or awkwardness from anywhere. Even grandpa's step-children (the children of my deceased grandmother from her first marriage) were at the party and seemed genuinely happy for him to have found someone so nice and with whom he can share his interests (read: polka).

She is also a State/Nationally-ranked bowler and can whoop his ass on the lanes. It intrigues him, I think, that she's better than he is. Go Lou!

My mother asked to borrow Twilight, which I promptly re-read and gave to her. I also read Finger-Lickin' Fifteen, which she had just finished, while we were up north. I thought I had brought another book, but I forgot to throw it in my bag so I had to settle for Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley, which I found in the room I was sleeping in. I also finished that little nugget of wisdom before my return home. I have decided not to finish Pride and Prejudice and Zombies because, although the premise was irresistable, the writing is a little drab. I might continue long enough for Charlotte to rot away as a zombie without Mr. Collins noticing. I'm also reading Undead and Unreturnable (more vampires) courtesy of Suzuri and her fabulous Mai Tai pinata, but I'm a bit concerned about what I've missed, as it's a series and the book is somewhere in the middle.

Someone has taken umbrage with my carefully stenciled cedar mailbox (it's actually a reject card-holder idea from the wedding, if that makes more sense) and has started whacking it. First it was broken on one side, then it was really wobbly, and now it has fallen off the pole. My neighbor was nice enough to put it up by our door and Pants put it back on the pole this afternoon so we can get mail tomorrow. I will have to get a new mailbox, one that is apparently not as enticing to vandals, as no one else's box appears to have been whacked.

I go back to Dr. Pittman on Wednesday to get more x-rays and a schedule for physical therapy. I am trying to come up with my list of questions so if any of you remember something I told you I was going to ask at my next appointment, or have lingering questions about my condition, please leave a comment.

I've decided that I've lost a few pounds, unbelievably sitting here on the couch, and I can only think that it's from eating at home so much more, not eating downtown for lunch every day. Go figure.

Random Thoughts

Pants and I have decided that after my long recovery and convalescence on the couch, the living room furniture will be banished to the basement and we will have to get something else. Between the broken leg, the last 3-4 months of both of my pregnancies, and his vigilance with The Hammer keeping him up nights, the cushions are going to be on the floor soon.

I got sucked into a bit of nostalgia tonight and googled my ex from high school. Turns out he has 7 albums, 6 available on cdbaby.com for download. I'm tempted to download New Year's Day off his last album - D-Day for our relationship. They call it a catchy disco/Motown tune. You know you wanna hear it.

Since I was in a stalkery mood, I tried googling another ex, but the name is far too common. Bummer, dude.

But all this talk about CDs and writing music makes me want to write a novel. I'm just not sure I can write something that isn't complete drivel. Alas, I still don't think I'll sign up for NaNo this year. I will have some atoning to do come September for this leg thing that should last well through the end of the year.

Both Kitten and The Hammer ate ceasar salad tonight. With lettuce and everything. Kitten even asked for more. Holy crap, my kid's eating a vegetable! Lettuce counts, right? Even smothered in ceasar dressing?

I swore off the Unisom today because not only does it make me sleep until noon, it also makes me all wobbly when I get up. Bad combination, wobbly and crutches. I'm trying the relaxation instead.

Finished Pat Conroy's Beach Music today - for the fifth or sixth time. The first time was on cassette tape in my Pontiac driving from Michigan to college at the end of spring break. I wept my way through my entire home state in the middle of a snowstorm, so heartbreaking were the last 10 or so chapters. I return to the book every few years and it's one of the few books I own that actually looks like I've read it.

Other Random Thoughts

Mostly non-leg related.

Meimei has taken to calling herself "The Hammer". As in, "I'm the Hammer!" And going forward, that is how she will be known here. We're hoping it's a reference to Handy Manny, but all the tools have names. So I guess she's The Hammer.

I think I'm going to pick up crocheting again, since I seem to have some time on my hands...

For some weird reason, my nails are absolutely fabulous and I have no desire to bite them. It certainly can't be the drugs I'm on, but I have no idea why they look so nice.

Does anyone know anyone who can cut fine hair and is willing to make a house call? I just want a straight cut about chin length without the pain of hauling my leg into a shop.

We have started the ball rolling to get our roof replaced. Next up, basement refinishing...

I got up and made the kids toast this morning. And got them some milk. Yay!

More Random Thoughts - Busted Up

So, I had a post about how this all happened, but for reasons I'll go into later, I deleted it. Anywho - this is the scoop:

Girls Adventure Weekend (GAW) was a ropes course at the Audubon Center of the North Woods. As a side note, we rented the climbing wall Friday night for those who wanted to do some climbing. After about 2 hours of climbing, I was going to do one more try at bouldering, which is more about endurance and problem solving than strength. It's horizontal, and your feet never go higher than about 3 feet up the rock wall. You also are not on ropes, though, but you have a spotter. Long story short, my foot slipped off a foot hold and I fell off the wall, landing all my (considerable) weight on one leg. The biggest problem is that I misjudged the distance and I was about a foot higher up than I thought I was. If you judge correctly, your body prepares for landing, which is what happened every other time I fell off the wall bouldering. If you judge poorly, your body doesn't know how to prepare and you break stuff.

The ambulance had to come and carry me out of the barn on a backboard. The ride to the hospital was torture. As a side note to AKJ, though, if I was speaking mostly in sentences and able to make snide comments, it hurt less than birth au naturel, which I judged at a 9. Because a girl's gotta have somewhere to go, right?The ambulance ride might have gone up to a 9, though.

Anyway, the greater Sandstone Medical Center, which my husband assures me was two double-wides parked together, splinted the leg, gave me some morphine, and kept me overnight since it was already almost 1 am. Pants came and got me in the morning and drove me to Mercy ER, who told me to call the Ortho clinic on Monday. Over the weekend, SIL called the MD she works for and he told her to make sure we see Dr. Pittman (Oh, Dr. Pittman!).

My MIL has been waiting for me to have a break down, and today was the day. I became convinced I had a blood clot in my calf, which is the biggest danger to me now, and broke down sobbing this morning about what a burden I was. And how bad I stink. I called Dr. Pittman, who happens to be on call this weekend, and he said it was pretty unlikely with the blood thinners I'm on, but I should have it checked out. I went to the ER to have an ultrasound, which was fine of course. He said that it hurt so much because it was a "horrible" break. He actually used that word.

Yes, and an added bonus to all of this is that I get to give myself a shot of blood thinner in the stomach every day for the next 10 days. Yay!

Random Thoughts - Busted Up Edition

So, I'm here on the floor in my home leg-bending machine, and thought I share some items regarding my broken leg.

My leg machine will be my best friend for much of the next three weeks. It's just a machine that I strap my leg into and it slowly bends it up and down to whatever degree I have it set to, which is currently 50. It is not painful and actually feels kinda good. The number one purpose is to keep me from getting a blood clot, but it will also help my mobility later and keep the soft tissue from adhering to the new hardware in my leg.

My orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Pittman, is very young and handsome (and married, sorry ladies). When people asked who did my surgery, they all would say, "Oh, Dr. Pittman!" with an undertone of, How did you get God to do your surgery? Even so, he said this severity of break was something he had never seen before and he had to put in bigger plates than expected and change strategies on the fly.

I had new x-rays done on Monday before surgery and a CT scan. On Tuesday before surgery, we brought him the DVD with the CT scan on it so he could put together a plan. He came into OR prep and told me he was going to stop taking pictures because it just kept getting worse with each new view.

Turns out I didn't just break my tibia and fibula. The knee sits on the tibia in what's called the tibial plateau. Which I crushed. There were dozens of breaks in the base of the plateau, and several in the fibula as well. On the pictures showing the hardware they put in, some areas look cloudy - it's because of the numerous breaks.

I don't have a cast. I have dressings over the incisions and a foam isolator, which velcros around my leg from mid-thigh to ankle and is effectively my cast. I am allowed to have the isolator open and/or off if I'm sleeping or in the leg machine or if there is no possibility of being bumped or knocked into - i.e. when the kids aren't here or are sleeping.

As far as pain, I'm not really in any. It's kinda nice. In the splint, I was constantly afraid of moving the wrong way or even protecting the leg the wrong way and hurting it. I had those dreams a couple of times where you are slipping or falling and you jerk yourself awake trying to stop yourself. Ow. Owie owie ouch ow. But now, not so much. It actually doesn't hurt any more.

Not that I'm not in any pain at all. The muscles in my leg are all very sore, like I worked out really hard and overdid it. They said it was from moving the muscles to get the plate on the bone and then moving the muscles into place. That even sounds painful. That's the real reason for being immobile for two weeks as well - let the muscles and soft tissue calm down and let the bone start healing up around the screws behind the plate.

And yes, I did get cadaver bone put in. The fall crushed my cartilage too, so he plumped up the cartilage and put in some cadaver bone as a scaffolding for more cartilage to build up around it. They said it would work it's way out of my system in about a year, but Kashka assures me if I have a hankering for brains in the mean time, she'll help me corner some bad people. On the Robin Hood theory, you know. And I need help, since I can't really outrun them. In exchange, I promised not to eat Kashka's brains. The rest of you are on your own...

Random Thoughts

Kitten decided to potty train herself this weekend. As long as she wasn't wearing pants of any sort, she did pretty well, but seemed to forget herself if we put jeans on her and had three accidents that way. So she ran around in her underwear most of the weekend. But she seems to really have the idea of it, at least peeing. And she's excited about it.

Pants and I went to a graduation party with a large Indian family and it was FABULOUS. I can now claim a minor obsession with all things India. The food was amazing. The family was gorgeous and so hospitable. The dancing was a mix of club and traditional India. The clothes were absolutely opulent. And damn, in addition to the high school graduation we were there for, there was a new MD, a new Masters graduate, and a bioengineering major. I bet that gets him farther than an English degree...

The kids have been staying up late - last night Kitten was up past midnight. In her room, but still. What do I do with a kid who will just sit up in her room for hours and not go to bed? I hear duct tape is frowned upon.

We put up the swing set that MIL and family gave the kids for the summer. Yes, I know we didn't want one. Yes I know we live no more than 100 feet from a park. THAT'S WHY WE BOUGHT THE HOUSE. But oh dear, she was sure we needed one. So now the kids have a swing set. Yep, the same metal swing set you remember from when you were little too, with two swings, a two-person glider, and the attached slide. Great.

Random Thoughts

Meimei has turned into The Beast again. Don't know what's going on, could be molars, could be growing pains or acid reflux, but she's been a complete basket case for 3 days. Wild screaming fits. Mood swings. Willful misbehaving. She's an imp, but she's usually not malicious about it. She purposefully dumped a cup of water on the table today and then pretended to drink out of the empty cup when I called her on it. Grrr.

I believe that my foot problems have developed into Plantar Fasciitis. Which is to say, my feet really hurt if I'm not wearing very expensive shoes. Many of my sandals either got worn to death last summer or are causing blisters, so I'm on the hunt for a new pair. I found a fabulous pair of Ettienne's that are a bit dressier in black, but I need a brown pair. I bought a pair of Borns, but I'm actually pretty unhappy with them. I might have to go buy the expensive pair. When I get paid again, I guess.

In the end, it's all another symptom of TFF. Too Fucking Fat. I'm up over 200 again because of our recent spate of fast food dinners. Ick. Nothing fits and my body can't take this.

I'm fighting off another viscious round of athlete's foot as well. I think I'm on the tail end of it now that I know specifically how to cure it when it gets that bad. And as an added bonus, my heels have been well-buffed and moisturized and my toenails are painted.

Product Plug: If you are looking for an awesome quick nail polish, try Sally Hansen's Insta Dry. It honestly goes on with one swipe, one coat, and dries in 60 seconds as promised. It will start wearing off in just a day or two at the tips of your nails, so it's not particularly long lasting, but if you're on your way somewhere and looking for a quick fix, this is the one. Not that I've ever polished in the car on the way to say, a wedding or anything.

Pants and I are looking into the purchase of a new water softener. We have a tiny bit of extra money from the garage sale/regular monthly budget, which could nearly pay off another credit card. However, our water softener doesn't work any longer so all of our dishes are covered in mineral deposits. You hate to invite anyone over when it looks like the glasses are covered in soap. So we're starting to feel that the water softener is a "must do now" project, but we don't want to skimp, either. We want to make a smart purchase, not just the cheapest purchase. In that vein, Pants also wants to replace the water heater with a tankless unit and move the water softener to where the water heater was. This turns a $600 project into a $2000 project, but I can't say he's wrong. It gives us more room in the laundry/utility room and makes the sink in there actually functional (currently the water softener is kind of in front of it, making it difficult to access). Plus, it's energy efficient, thus saving us money on our gas bill and getting us a credit on this year's taxes. But it means putting the purchases mainly on a credit card (which is running a deal for no interest for 12 months on appliances) and having another bill to pay.

But I'm really tired of our dishes looking gross and weird.

Oh. And we are now a nukkie-free household. Cold turkey.

Random Thoughts

I burnt the crap out of my face today. I was so windy and cold, I never thought to put on sunscreen.

On the bright side, we completed the garage sale today and I hear we might have made over $300. And I got rid of all that crap. And we may be having another one in the fall at MIL's house.

We sent the nukkies to the nukkie fairy tonight. I ran to Target at 9:30 to pick up gifts from the fairy, but at least Meimei was asleep by the time I got back. The nukkie fairy very nearly went overboard with a pony barn and a keyboard, but found she might be overcompensating and got them each a plastic monkey cup and plate instead. She even put back the new purses in the checkout lane.

In other gifting news, Kitten's birthday is today and we got her a scooter. However, since she's totally "Careful Carol", she basically pushes it like she's walking, she doesn't really ride on it. Four years today. I'll always remember her birth as the one that didn't make me want to chew off my own limbs.

I finished the vamp crack, including the new book, and now I'm not sure how I'm going to wait for the next one. I felt like the last two didn't really tie together very well, but maybe they don't have to. They're far enough into the story that the books can be a little bit more random and the fans will still read and enjoy.

And now I'm on the waiting list for the Book Crack selection.

News around el Casa del Pants

We have had far fewer colds around here this year, but the stomach bugs seem to have hit us much harder. We are in our third one this year. Kitten threw up this weekend in the middle of the night and we just talked her back into her bed tonight. She has been sleeping on the floor because she was afraid her bed was going to make her throw up again.

Back in January, Kitten failed her kindergarten screening. I was heartbroken and embarrassed and angry and never mentioned it. Well, Kitten had her first appointment Monday for her special education referral. They will come to daycare tomorrow to watch her play with the kids and talk to her a little bit more and Pants will take her in on Friday for what I think is her last appointment. But the paperwork I have had to fill out, I tell you, nothing can make you feel so horrible as these questionnaires. Part of it is because the questions are meant for kids all the way up to 5, but you don't know that when you're filling in the ovals. Some of it is because there are a few things you don't ask your kids to do in front of you, like hop on one leg at least twice. I don't know if she can do that! The rest is the realization of where we should be at with some things are aren't because we don't make Kitten do them. Apparently she should be completely dressing and undressing herself by now. I tend to just do it for her because it's faster in the morning. So yeah, we have some work to do.

They gave me a good tip though. Put a black dot on the inside heel of each shoe so they can get them on the right feet by themselves. They really want them to be able to get dressed completely independently. It works, though.

I've been in a cooking frenzy this week: pot roast, chicken alfredo (cheated from a box), chicken and corn stew, barbecue beef in the slow cooker. Mmmmm.

Random Thoughts

I have 2 new-ish novels and am looking to trade for something else. Maybe Twilight? Hate being out of the loop.

• The Spellman Files - Lisa Lutz - this was a fun read, but offbeat enough to be interesting.
• In the Woods - Tana French - one of the best books I've read in many years. I was hooked in the first paragraph and it kept me through the whole thing.
  

We were contacted yesterday about some possible fraudulent charges on one of our credit cards and it turned out they were. Oddly enough, though, whoever used the card only charged about $60. Hmmm. We haven't received any more notices, but we'll be watching. In the meantime, we both went onto our Amazon accounts and deleted our stored payment options. Two of the charges were to them. The other three were $1.44 charges to New York Times Digital. Daily paper anyone?

Awesome. London has started to put in shoe vending machines around nightclub districts. You know, for women who are dying to take off their heels at the end of the night.

Damn, I think I'm getting athlete's foot again.

For my out-of-state audience, MN still only has one senator. Franken is up by 225 votes, but Coleman is dragging the issue out in court. This is the one reason the Dems don't have a 60 seat majority. No idea on when we might seat a second senator...

I have an appointment to get new glasses tomorrow. The pair I have (which I hate) popped the nose-piece out again and the screw disappeared. I could try to get them fixed, but it's been two years and I probably need a new pair. Cheap glasses don't really last more than 2 years, and quite frankly, this pair was barely good for 6 months. I'm torn on whether I should just go to Target, though, or if I should take my older Titanium pair that I loved and wore for 5 years to a more expensive place and just have the prescription updated. It will most certainly cost me around $50 at Target. Not sure what the cost will be at the other place, but may call them tomorrow.

Random Thoughts

After about 6 weeks of struggle and tripping over ourselves, I finally feel like we're making headway on our bills. 2 miscellaneous debts and 1 full bill paid off, now another 1/3 of a credit card paid, total should be paid off in a month or two. Starting to feel like maybe this won't take 10 years to fix.

Still can't get the kids potty trained. Both are excited to wear underwear but neither will actually pee in the potty. I don't know how to make a kid pee in the potty. Reaching the end of my rope. College in diapers? That's been done before, right?

I am quitting PR for good, effective March 1. I honestly can't keep up the kind of energy it takes to run it and I am ruining it instead. Time to get out. Deep discounts coming soon...

Pants and I are going to spend a few hours the next 3 Saturdays in cleaning out the basement (crawlspace, main room, office) so we can decide what we're gonna do. He's not sold on the framing and insulating, but perhaps when we rip out the bench and he sees there is NOTHING behind it but cinder block.

I am starting to think Kitten has ADD. She failed her kindergarten screening (we are waiting on the referral for additional screening to be scheduled) and mostly because she made silly errors. She has a hard time focusing through an entire board game with me. She finds it difficult to sit still to get changed. She is constantly moving. The worst part is that it's so foreign to me. I can't imagine having that much energy to burn, but I'm trying to adapt. If anyone can suggest more active activities, I'm open to it. I've been doing Lion Hunt with them (twice!) each night, but we're going to have to return that to the library.

Now looking 25% less hillbilly

So Pants' brother hauled the Intrepid away last night, leaving only 3 cars in our driveway: the Scion, the Escape, and the truck. I'm just happy to have that thing out of the driveway.

Other news:

Kitten smacked her head on a plaster column this afternoon and got a giant goose egg above her eye.

We got our tax refund back. For the first time in months, I have money. It'll be gone tomorrow, but today, I have money!

I just baked a huge ham and will be trolling recipeeps for anything including ham.

We've cracked 20 degrees!

Which puts the weather nearly 45 degrees higher than it was yesterday morning. Brrr!

Some random thoughts for you:

Meimei is getting through the molar issue, although still no molars to be seen.

My husband is now having a bromance with World of Warcraft. This is worse than football season.

I am now fully medicated at 100 mg of Zoloft. I'm not sure it's enough. I'm really tired and the house is a mess.

The refrigerator stopped giving us water and has stopped making ice and we think the well pipes have frozen. Gonna have to open the well door to warm up the area, thereby making the rest of the basement extremely cold. Damn.

Random Thoughts

My jaw is sore - TMJ sucks. I've been trying to sleep on my back with just a small rolled sweatshirt under my neck, a pair of rolled-up boxers as lumbar support, and a pillow under my knees. I feel like a vampire in a coffin. I wonder if Pants will find my with my arms crossed over my chest and stake me in my sleep.

Kitten discovered a couple of old nukkies in a backpack and turned into a screaming, raging 3-year-old. We have given up the nukkie battle for now. After the holiday, we hope to remove them from both children.

Had a rather successful show on Saturday, even with a preview of my December sale. If you are interested in product, stay tuned...

Got my Christmas cards done and printed. Bets on when they will get mailed? They're cute as hell, though.

Random Thoughts

I read yesterday that Rick Astley is enjoying a surge in popularity due to "Rickrolling," where seemingly unrelated internet links bring surfers back to a video of "Never Gonna Give You Up." I have yet to experience this, but I felt an immediate surge of nostalgia for a person who shall remain nameless, unless such person wishes to out himself/herself in the comments.

Our great state is in the midst of the closest Senate race in MN's history. The votes separating Al Franken (D) and Norm Coleman (R), the incumbent, which started at 700-ish Wednesday, is now down to 221. Much focus is being placed on the "undervote," or 25,000 ballots that registered a vote for president, but not for the Senate race. Overwhelmingly, the undervotes have favored Obama. There are also 8900 ballots that didn't register a vote for President, which concerns election officials for such a closely-watched race. These 33,000 ballots will be reviewed by election officials to see if there was an intent to vote that didn't get read by the machines. Although the count is down to 221 votes, this race is totally up in the air with 33,000 ballots out there to read. Even if it's already looking good for the democrats.

I went into the Minute Clinic on Tuesday for the pressure in my ears (got a flu shot and the pnuemonia vaccine too). She said they were full of fluid, but not infected yet. They might be infected now, but I'm not sure. I know they're still full.

In other medical news, my podiatry appointment is finally coming up on Tuesday. I had thought about cancelling it after the horrific itching stopped, but I think I will go anyway and just get another opinion.

I should really stop watching HGTV, it just makes me want to do stuff that costs money.