To Cleveland I go!

The drive should take 14 hours - it once took over 20 (yikes!). Hopefully, I'm there in 14 or I might be a little crazier.

Today was my last day at work. It was a little bittersweet, but I've very happy to be done and I'm very sad to be leaving ZennieZou.

I've got a big surprise for her when I get back, my treat.

Surreal

Tomorrow is my last day. I can't believe its already here and I can't believe it took so long to get here. Some of the co-workers that I like and I are going out for Chinese food for lunch. Yum!

I'm really going to miss ZennieZou. Big sigh. At least I know where she works so I can stop by for a visit.

Yeah. Working with ZennieZou has been great. Too bad Volty is there to mess things up. I really could have stayed longer without him.

Baba and the ER

Last night (Saturday) was Baba's first trip to the ER. Lots of fun. Friday night he didn't sleep great - he was up a lot and was screaming in his sleep. Saturday morning he woke up kind of crabby, but Zippy and I had to pick up Zippy's sister's flowers (her wedding was on Saturday - I'm trying to decide what, if anything, I want to say about that event) so we left Baba in my parent's care.

Baba came to the church for pictures around 12:30ish - still not feeling great. Every couple of hours he would start screaming and thrashing around, making it even more difficult to hold my 30 + pound premie (premie because he was born a week before his due date, he was 9 lbs 12 ounces when he was born). As the night wore on, the episodes got longer and closer together. We decided to suck it up and pay the $70 co-pay around 3 in the morning - since he had been screaming for three and a half hours at that point.

The ER doc did the usual - felt his stomach, checked his ears, H&P, vitals, drew blood, and took X-rays. His X-rays were amazing. From his stomach to his exit, his small and large intestines were filled with bubbles. Big bubbles, little bubbles, medium sized bubbles. The boy had gas.

And the cure for gas? Um, nothing. We just have to wait until it works his way out of his system.

So, after about 3 whole hours of sleep, we have been dealing with a very crabby because he is in pain boy all day. It is now 5:30 pm and Zippy is trying to put Baba to sleep. Baba did not sleep much last night either and the lack of sleep, teething, and gas is making Baba one happy boy. Anyone want to borrow him for 24 hours or so. I could really use 8 to 12 hours of sleep.

Corn Quiz

Guess what we had for dinner tonight?

A. Filet Mignon














B. Salmon














C. Chicken














D. Corn on the cob














Give up? Fine, I'll give you a clue: It starts with corn and ends with on the cob!

Deep cleansing breath in, deep cleansing breath out

If I hear "I think it would be better if you do it this way," "I think this way would be better," or "pollution is not Agency billed, it is direct bill because this is an automatic renewal binder" one more time, I'm going to scream.

It is very difficult and frustarating to try to train someone who knows everything about everything (including the fact that my child is going to be crushed by our garage door if we get a garage door opener).

4 more days. Deep breath. 4 more days.

I've taken to hiding in the files, at the scanner, and in the bathroom to stay away from the temp that Volty and Neville have found, J. They found another winner.

On a happier note, I spent $29 grocery shopping this morning and saved $32. There were several items Rainbow paid me to take. Yeah double coupon Wednesdays. There. I'm much happier now. No more thinking of Mr. Know-It-All until tomorrow.

I wonder if J and Dumbledork got into a "who knows more" contest what would happen. Would both of them keep talking until they passed out or would they each declare themselves the winner?

Bedtime Stories

We've been reading to Baba since he was born (no, I did not read to him while he was in my belly - kinda thought that was a little weird). We started with the "traditional" choices, picture books, fairy tales, etc.

Baba really likes his picture books during the day - especially the "boo" book (its a Halloween book with kids dressed up in various costumes. He opens each page and says, "boo!" scaring himself) and any book with pictures of animals. At night, we've moved on to meatier fare.

Currently, Zippy is reading "From Earth to Moon," the Apollo program biography. Having read it more than once myself, I can say that it is quite good (I'm a bit of a space cadet myself and love all aspects of space travel - real and imaginary). Next on the bedtime story list: "War and Peace" or "The Complete Works of Shakespeare." Is 17 months too young to understand the subtleties of "Ask of me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man?"

Rest Easy

The last of the three brothers, Baal, has been defeated and the World Stone, tainted by Baal's evil touch, has been destroyed.

I am such a nerd and up way past my bedtime.

Tomorrow I am meeting my sister and the colonel for lunch. Yum.

No time to say "hello"...."good-bye"

I'm off to kill Baal.

And the award goes to....

Today was the doings at my Auntie Sue-Sue's house and the presentation of the Second Annual Irving Frank Memorial Award, a very prestigious honor given to whomever exhibits the most Irv-like behavior during the year.

My grandpa Irv (my dad's dad) passed away in 2003. He was a very interesting man. He served as a Marine in World War II, had five children with my grandma, took care of my grandma during her descent into Alzheimer’s (she is still living), and had no, none, zero, zip, zilch patience. A trait which he passed down to his children and his children's children.

When Irv moved his mother (my great-grandma) into the nursing home, he couldn't get her TV to pickup channel 5. She said, "But I like channel 4." All of her "stories" where on channel 4. He said to his mother, "You can like channel 4 while watching channel 5." That's classic Irv.

Anyway, after he died, his children got the delightful task of cleaning out his town home. After several dumpsters had been hauled away, they found what would become the Irv Memorial Award. We aren't really sure what it is. It is three pieces of wood nailed together. There is a handle on top and something on the bottom. Whatever it is, it is a thing of beauty.

Whoever wins this award adds something to the award, my aunt Dice added "Irv" written in nails during the inception of the award and my father (last years winner for removing his own stitches after surgery) added a light switch that doesn't do anything.

The winner this year was.....drum roll....my aunt Dice. Third place was a three way tie between myself (I drove almost 10 miles with my brights on because some guy had cut me off. I would dim my lights for oncoming drivers, but as soon as the innocent person passed back on my brights would go), my uncle Todd (also driving related), and my Auntie Sue-Sue (also driving related). Second place went to my aunt Dice's partner for use of the "Irv-stare" (kind of like the care-bear stare only scarier).

And what did Dice do to top all that, you ask. Well, one Sunday, after receiving communion, she said to Sue-Sue, "this bread is stale and this wine tastes like shit!"

Nominations are being accepted for next year's award. I can hardly wait.

PS Half.com if you are reading this, if you send me one more email that my order is confirmed and being processed I'm going to have to shake my fist at the computer. I don't need 12 (so far) emails telling me the same thing. I get the point, so stop sending them. Thank you.

How could they?

I went to go get a hairs cut this morning (yes, I was going to get all of my hairs cut) and Fantastic Sam's was out of business. How could my one hair cut every 6 months not support them? I'm a little sad. Their haircuts, with shampoo, were $10.99. That's a good deal.

I'm off to shower and then to the "doings" at my aunt's house. Tonight, I'll announce who won the Second Annual Irv Memorial Award. I know you all will be waiting by my blog in anticipation.

Back to School

When I went to orientation on Wednesday night, I thought I was having a heart attach when I added up the price of my books (over $530). I thought, I can do better than this.

And I did.

I just ordered the last of my text books for this semester and my total came in at $408 and some odd cents, including shipping. Take that AU bookstore.

That's like over a $100 in free money. I should go shopping.

Who Cares!?

Last night I had DMS orientation (yee-haw, but on the plus I did see the lab where I will pretty much be living for the next two years. Anyone want to come in and get "scanned" so I can practice my skillz?) and I won a T-shirt and a windbreaker.

How did I win a windbreaker? you ask. Well being the generous person I am, I will tell you. I won it by not caring. Bingo! There was a raffle. But since they didn't start the raffle until 7:30 (almost my bedtime), no one was left. They kept pulling ticket after ticket after ticket and no one was there to claim their prize. So the prize patrol decided to ask trivia questions. The head prizateer asked, "Who is the quarterback for the Vikings?" Everyone in the room yelled, "Some dude who I've never heard of," and I yelled, "Who cares!?"

And I won because I was honest. See, honesty pays.

Lima Beans

I strongly dislike lima beans. There, I said it. All and all, I'm not much of a bean girl. I have learned to eat black beans, I dislike baked beans, I like green beans. The list of beans I don't like is definitely longer than the list of beans I do like.

That being said, I usually avoid the frozen veggie mix with lima beans. I just pick them out and throw them away anyway, so why waste valuable real estate in the frozen veggie bag with lima beans. Throw some broccoli in and I'm a happy camper. So the bag of veggies with the lima beans that I detest somehow made it into my cart (I blame a certain Baba Goigoi) and made it onto our table for supper tonight.

I tried to be a big girl. I really did. I tried to eat my lima beans without making a face (mustn't scare the boy off beans, you know) and then I noticed that Baba was eating the lima beans and nothing but the lima beans. He paid no attention to the stuffing, chicken, corn, green beans, or carrots on his tray. So I traded him, straight up, his stuffing for my lima beans. Aren't I a good mom?

Wictory!

I went to high school with a foreign exchange student from Germany who said her 'v' like a 'w' and her 'w' like a 'v'. We did the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe my junior year (I was Susan, Zippy was Peter. I was called Incest Sue until I graduated) and once we defeated the White Witch a resounding "Victory" would go up from the cast, save the Germany girl who shouted above the rest "Wictory!".

No that you know the origin of "Wictory!" I can go onto the real post. I finally found, after much, much searching a copy of Animaniacs, Vol 1. It was released on July 24 and I have been searching for it since then to give Zippy for his anniversery/birthday present. Tonight, after listening to the Target lady say that the first shipment didn't even make it to the shelf because the employees bought them all, we found one.

WICTORY!!!!

And, even though Zippy's birthday isn't until Sept and our anniversery isn't until Wednesday, I have given him his gift. I buy presents, but I can't wait for the actual date of the gifting event to come.

One Simple Rule

When it comes to parenting, Zippy and I are pretty laid back. We pretty much let Baba do whatever he wants provided he doesn't hurt himself, someone else, the cat, or the house. We let him eat whatever he wants off of our plates or his, which has turned out pretty good considering he snubs his nose up at ice cream - he prefers to pick out the fruit and eat that. All furniture and/or people in the house are jungle gyms (if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!).

We do however have one rule that is never broken when it comes to Baba:

No naked weenies out of the bathroom.

Baba knows this rule and tries the stealth attach to get out of the bathroom when he is in his natural state. The stealth attach involves crawling instead of walking (apparently we can't see him when he is on all fours) and giggling. Very tricky. We almost never catch him when he is in stealth mode.

Girl! I'll call you on my cell phone.

I got a new cell phone. Its a flip phone, the same phone, I believe, that ZennieZou has. I downloaded all the free wallpapers and ring tones that were available (they were free). And now, I have one ring tone and one wallpaper that I have paid for that I can download.

Such tough decisions.

I'm tempted to pick the Yoda or Darth Vader ring tone (it would match the Darth Vader cling in my car, but the breathing is a little creepy) or a Monty Python ringer, but how can I choose between "The Knights Who Say Ni," "Bring Out Your Dead," and "A Witch"? I wanted a song - a little BNL or R. Kelly or Shakira or the list goes on. But I can't decide!

And I spent way too many hours listening to the various ring tones online tonight. But, I suppose the ultimate ring tone choice doesn't really matter all that much. My phone very seldom rings.
But I'm almost sure that I am definitely thinking about going with the Muppets backdrop. Right after I get sick of the free Walk the Line backdrop I downloaded.

Part Monkey

I've always been fairly certain that the small child living with us is part monkey.





Almost a year ago he learned how to pull himself up to standing by holding onto the couch. Since then his goal has been to scale Mount Couch and reach the Wili Stronghold, accomplishing his ultimate goal: leaving no safe place in the house safe for the cat to nap in peace.




Mission accomplished. Next mission, should he choose to accept it: Stacking toys and other objects that aren't nailed down in a make-shift ladder to escape the confines of the living room via scaling the baby gate. Stay tuned.

I've Got a Sinking Feeling

Our house is sinking. Literally. I guess technically our whole house isn't sinking, just the slab that our walls and second story rest upon. There. I feel much better.

This is our bathroom. You can see under the wall (always a good sign) into the utility room.

This is in our kitchen. Our fridge, she leans. And the cupboard next to it has been lifted off the
floor. I feel like I need a V-8.


At least we will have no problem when we want to sell our house. A sinking slab isn't that big of a deal and I think it does a lot for the resale value. Right? Right? Right!???

I should mention that our townhome is less than a year old. We closed last August 26 and moved in on Pork Chop's 21st birthday.

I'm off!!!

I must go through Kurast Bazaar to reach the Upper Kurast and then defeat the High Council. After that, I must make my way through the durial of hate and pay a little visit to Mephisto, Diablo's brother.

Yes, I'm a nerd and yes, I'm avoiding doing anything that could be constrewed as constructive or useful. Plus, Zippy is taking a half day tomorrow to discuss mudjacking with Mr. Owner-of-the-crappy-construction-company-that-built-our-sinking-home tomorrow morning so I get to sleep in.

I'm melting.....

I'm not really melting (gotcha!) but I believe our house is. Sort of. Our foundation has sunk about an inch in the last year. I'm sure that's good for the re-sale value.

Donnay Homes (our builder - who we are less than thrilled with to say the least) has come up with the brilliant plan to bore a hole in our floor and then pump high pressure mud into said hole and hope it doesn't hit the sewer or water pipes but "firms" up the foundation instead. Brilliant! Mud-jacking (yes, this is the technical term) sounds like a great plan. Lets do it to your house first, Mr. Donnay.

I have several questions regarding this procedure. 1. Why? 2. Who the heckiepoo (yes, another word that needs to be added to my running dictionary) came up with mud-jacking? 3. How much of a mess are you going to make? 4. What happens if you mess up? 5. Is my house going to collapse? 6. What happens when the mud dries? 7. Is this going to happen every year? 8. Why didn't you build it right in the first place?

Baba vs the Big Boy Bed

In exchange for our crib, which is actually Zippy's brother, Bil's, crib, we got the toddler bed. Or "the big boy bed" as we've been calling it. We've had it for two weeks and we've been telling Baba that he can play on it, sit on it, climb on it, and pretty much do whatever he wants with it EXCEPT sleep on it.

We carried on like this for two weeks. Baba would climb on the bed and proudly sit looking at us and we would say, "That's Baba's Big Boy Bed, but Baba won't be a big boy until Friday so Baba can't sleep in it until Friday." And then we would go play.

Clearly the tension and excitement of the big boy bed was building.

Finally, after much waiting and anticipation (more on our part than anything) Friday (which actually turned out to be Saturday, but its not like Baba knows the difference) came. Zippy followed our normal bath time routine (remove most of the water out of the tub and relocate it to the floor, remind Baba that there are no naked weenies out of the bathroom, put on pj's, and Baba throws a fit to let us know how unhappy he is to be going to bed) and laid him down in the big boy bed and.....



Nothing. He laid down, fell asleep, and we didn't hear a peep out of him all night (well, except the part were we heard a loud crash because he had fallen the 6 inches from the toddler bed to the floor, but he didn't wake up. Zippy just lifted him back into bed and that was that). I thought it was going to be an uphill battle full of sleepless nights involving Baba joyfully playing in his room instead of sleeping, he is free to escape his bed at his little heart's desire.

I fear the fallout is coming.

I'm late! I'm late! I'm late for a very important date!

No time to blog tonight you see, I'm late for a very important date with Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. It has been a long time since my assassin, Hi-Ya, and her friend, Abhiya, have taken on the undead minions. The word needs our help.

Speaking of hi-ya and hi-ya-ing (karate chopping), when we were growing up we had a rule if you got caught hi-ya-ing at the table you had to do the dishes (okay, okay, I'll admit it. This rule is still in effect. Doesn't my mother realize how mature we've become and we would never dream of hi-ya-ing at the table while she is looking?). Ditty and Poopsquirt got caught a few times and even have a song about hi-ya-ing at the table. It's quite nice.

"Oh we were caught hi-ya-ing at the table.
Oh woe is us! Oh woe is us!
Oh we were caught hi-ya-ing at the table.
Oh woe is us! Oh woe is us!"

And it pretty much goes on like that until the dishes are done or my mother would pretend the dishes were done so they would stop singing.

Buttcrack Thirty

Baba has not gotten the message that Momma works late every other Friday so we should sleep in every other Friday (and we wonder why he stopped sleeping through the night on a regular basis. At any rate, since I've been up since buttcrack thirty I have accomplished a lot.

1. Had a nutrious breakfast of generic Fruity Pebbles and milk.
2. Watched the weather on Fox 9.
3. Stopped watching TV because Baba decided a snowstorm was his new favorite show. (He turned the channel to 4, which we don't get and started jumping up and down in excitement for the fuzz we were watching).
4. Started cleaning up the garage sale mess from last weekend.
5. Stopped cleaning up the garage sale mess because Baba had climbed into the stroller (how does he do that?) and was ready to go for a walk.
6. Went for a walk.
7. Played at the park.
8. Have done 2 and a half loads of laundry.
9. Brushed my teeth, twice.
10. Had a snack (Baba had toast and fruit, I had toast and peanut butter).
11. Blogged.
12. Went shopping online but decided against investing in any more clothes. I've got tuition to pay for.

I have accomplished so much today.



I would have rather slept past 5:30.

A Strange Little World

This - blogging - is so bizarre. I get wrapped up in the writing and let everything flow freely. Instead of sugar coating everything, which I am ever so good at doing, I forget that someone I know will read this. People that I know and love that I've invited into this strange distance of intimacy will read this. Secrets that I've keep hidden so well for so long I confess here. Things that I would never ever say out loud because I wouldn't know where or how to begin I can say here.

Like my adventure into depression and how every day is still a struggle to keep my head above the water. Unless you've been there you don't know what it feels like. There are not words dark enough to describe the abyss that can encompass you. There are no words to describe the loneliness, the misery, the heartache, the anger, and the raw, ugly feelings that grip your being and hold on tight.

I've always written. It is safe to write. I have boxes and boxes of journals that I've filled - momentos of my misery and of my happiness. I can deal with my dramas in a notebook, resolve them to my satisfaction, and close the book, pretending everything is okay. I am so good at that.

In almost everyway, I cannot wait to quit my job. Knowing that I have less than a month to go is such a huge weight off my shoulders. Not having to deal with Scuzy, Volty, Neville, and the Vile ladies will be most excellent. Leaving ZennieZou will be difficult. Who will get me to do stupid things for a breakbuck when breakbucks are no longer a valued currency? Who will I bring silly things back from vacation for, my treat? This is why I stay at jobs I hate too long. I meet awesome people who I enjoy spending time with and don't want to leave them in a bad situation alone.

Stay on Target....

My friend, ZennieZou, claims that there is a $50 surcharge every time you enter Target. Up until now, I have silently disagreed. I mean, I always end up spending more than I intend at Target, but $50? Please! I am too cheap for that foolishness.

Until tonight.

Yes folks, I spent $82.69 at Target tonight. On what?! You may ask. I'll tell you. They were clearancing out diapers, wipers, and other baby needs. I was not strong enough to resist. Plus, I had coupons.

Pull-ups: Originally $18. I got 'em for $12.60 (I had a coupon for $2 off, but I met a guy at Target who's wife died and left him with 3 boys - two of them still in diapers, so I thought he could use the $2 off more than I could).
Huggies Diapers: Originally $25. I got 'em for $18.20 plus I had a $1.50 off coupon! (Normally I don't buy Huggies or Pampers - give me Luvs. They work and they are cheap)
Wipers: Originally $15. I got 'em for $9.10 plus I had a $1 off coupon.

Plus, I had to get some other needs - undies, drugs (I still have a cold), and fruit snacks.

So all in all, not a bad night. Yes $82.69 is a lot of money, but I figure Baba is set on wipers until he is out of diapers. Yes, I'm still trying to justify my indulgence at Target.

Plus I bought a pair of super-cute shoes that were on clearance for $4.48. How could I resist that?

Swimming in a Sea of Snot

Besides "Fleas. Adam had 'em." This is probably the best poem ever written:

Sick ~ Shel Silverstein
"I cannot go to school today,"Said little Peggy Ann McKay,
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash, and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more--that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut, my eyes are blue--It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke--
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in,
My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb,
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is--what?
What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is---Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play!"