Writing blogs makes you less cranky.

I need to ask myself what’s reasonable.  Of course I’m never going to seem happy if I am always viewed as the bad guy.  Ant told me that everything’s cool until I get home.  I told him that hurt my feelings and that I knew exactly what he meant by saying that my family reminded him of the English.  Maybe someday he’ll read all these blogs and have some idea of what my side of things was like.  This morning I’m fired up about why I’m responsible for all the frigging housework and chasing after Ant and making sure the animals are fed, walked, clean, healthy, happy… and I still have to clean up after their barf and other functions.  I can’t even write my next sentence without sounding whiny, but good grief, no wonder I’m so pissy.  I would like to create an infallible system to share responsibilities.  Somebody’s got it pretty easy right now.

Okay, so now that that’s out, I feel better.   Now as a reward for reading my list of accomplishments, I’ll tell you about last night.

So I come home just as Chris is taking off for work.  I had 99 calls yesterday and somebody told me that in the 8 years they’ve been dealing with the VA, I am the most helpful person they have ever spoken to.  That had me feeling pretty good, so it didn’t bother me that Ant asked me what was for dinner as soon as I walked in the door.  I told Ant we would be going to the grocery store after I got back from walking the dogs (alone, since Ant still has a cough, I’m only slightly bitter) and asked him to please write out a grocery list.  When I came back, I found stuffed shells on the list.

“But we had stuffed shells not that long ago,” I said.

“Yes, but Daddy made them, and they were terrible.”

Well, okay.   So we went to the store and Ant did not make a scene, a mess, or a pest of himself.  He let me match sales with coupons in silence.  I took him to Blockbuster and let him pick out a movie and when we got home, the sprinklers were on.

The sprinkler by the door shoots out across the walk, probably to water the rosebushes against the garage.  This makes it interesting to get to the door.  I grabbed a handful of bags and just ran for it, shrieking.  My theory was that sometimes dumb luck applies, but I got sprayed in the face.  I waited on the porch to see how Ant did.  He carefully hid behind the car door, distributing grocery bags for equal weight.  Then he moved up to the edge to watch the rhythm, but misjudged the distance and got sprayed in the face just by standing there.  I was immediately consumed with the kind of laugh that you just can’t keep up with.  Ant almost lost his composure, but held it tight and tried to time his launch anyway.  He saw an opportunity and ran for it, but got sprayed in the face again.  We giggled our way into the kitchen to put the food away.  Ant went to start the movie while I started making dinner.

“Really?”  I hear Ant ask.  “REALLY?”

“What’s wrong?” I call from the kitchen.

“The sprinklers JUST turned off.”

Such is life.

Manic Thursday

I love my outfit today.  I just knew what to wear today and I feel so happy.  I've got this nice stretchy black top with 3/4 length sleeves, my awesome new jeans from Wal-Mart (who knew) and my gray Mary Janes.  I have these rainbow sherbet socks and they crack me up with this nice, sleek outfit.  As I walk you can see little slivers of yellow and purple craziness.  I look all put together until you catch a glimpse of my true age.

Tonight is new puzzle night!  I'm so excited!  I found another one of those puzzle piece within a puzzle piece puzzles, if you could follow that sentence.  This one will be much harder than the last one, so how exciting is that?  About as exciting as that 1000 piece Toulouse-Lautrec puzzle I just finished: so exciting at first, then you realize that it consists entirely of brown pieces with bits of a weird green.  Once you finish the border, you look through the box and say, "Shit!"

Chris was on the same page about Ant deciding to miss school yesterday.  Since he took his free time yesterday, we will be taking his free time this weekend.  Uh-huh.

"But I told you I didn't feel good enough to go to school!" Ant cried.

"Maybe in your sleep, because I don't remember hearing anything.  Besides, I certainly didn't give you the ok."

"True..."

I love it when logic gets through.


Do you ever have the urge to throw something?  Not in anger, but entertainment?  I used to have these urges to throw tapes or cds out the car window, but I've only followed through with that once.  Sometimes I just want to wing something across the room because it feels like it would fly nicely.  Lately I have the urge to launch something over the top of the cubicles and look confused like everybody else.  Nothing dangerous, maybe a balloon or something.  Draw a smiley face on it to increase morale.  Maybe an inspirational quote or interesting fact.

That's my update.  Feel better now?  I do.

Chris calls:

"Did you know that Ant was home?"

Excuse me?  I heard his alarm go on and on, got up, woke him up and he got up and went into the bathroom.  I went to take a shower.  By the time I got out, it was already past 7 when he leaves for the bus stop, so I went about my business.  Little turd went back to bed.

He's been sick, but uhhhh... WE decide when you stay home, ding dong.  I don't know if I can restrain myself from grounding him.  I called him and said the house had better be spotless when we get home.  Chris is also pissed, so this evening ought to be fun.  We should just take the damn door off the hinges-- many problems could be solved that way... and more created, but for now I'll just heave a big sigh and roll my eyes a lot.

I've been all kinds of aggravated today, but that has been alleviated greatly by making patients attempt to pronounce the medications they want to refill.  I had one guy today call me to change an appointment, then get all bent out of shape that now he had to "ruin his calendar."  What?

Almost done.

Independent 11-year-old

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/11026

This is good stuff.  I can't stop giggling, which is good, because today is poopy.  I already have 45 calls, which is a little crazy.

I won't spend all day telling you how frustrating the morning has been.  I choose to focus instead on last night.

I ran errands after work and got contacts (Yay!) and jeans that fit AND are long enough!  What the hell!?!?  Even crazier, I found them at Wal-Mart!  I am so relieved!  Thanks for researching that for me, Ma!

I went to the music store to buy Ant a drum book for school- he's going to be the kid at the back playing percussion!  How fun is that?  Ant told me the name of the book was "Essential Questions."  Now, sounds a lot more like a philosophy class to me, but he swore that was it.  I went in and asked for "Essential Questions" and got exactly the look I expected.  It's actually "Essential Elements."  Yeah.  Just like how the other day Ron came up and Ant told him to get off the freeway at Exit 73.  Ron called back, lost of course, and Ant's on the phone trying to give him more directions.  Exit 73... good grief.

So after my errands I drove home and found the trash can and recycle out front.  No reminders necessary!  Inside, I greeted the boys and we had dinner early.  Cold baked chicken, fresh french bread, and green beans, with mini cupcakes for dessert.  Gotta love those things, only about 15 carbs apiece and full cupcake taste.  Mmm.  Then I dragged the boys and the dogs across the street to go play.  I got a Wiffle bat and balls for their Easter baskets and it was the perfect day for it.  Ant wanted to skate, but Chris told him no.  We played for a long time in the grass, trading off as batter, pitcher, and fielder.  Jasmine chased her monster and Riley barked at the Wiffle bat and both of them got lot of exercise from running around.  We were out there for so long that the girls gave up and laid in the grass.  She stayed close to me for a while, then wandered over to the fence for a pee break.  The next thing I know, I am missing a dog.  We started calling her and Ant said she probably went home.  I told Ant to run home to see if she was there and we grabbed our stuff and followed him.  He yelled from the house that she was there.  I guess she just got tired.  She's an old lady now.  When Ant walks her, she often escapes her collar and runs straight home, ignoring his calls.  She's never left me behind before.  I mean- in her 11 1/2 years on this earth, she has never left me behind on a walk.

When we got home, Riley ran to me like she does every time she sees me.  I tried to scold her, but she looked at me like I was overreacting.  It's like Ant- as if she's saying, "Whatever, I know where I live.  I can go home if I want."  I am careful when I walk them to cross the street at the crosswalk, so I'm pretty confident that's where she went, but that isn't much of a comfort.  What was funny was that she must have been on the porch when the sprinklers came on because she was sprinkled and not amused about it.  But this reminded me of years ago in Leesburg when Chris went to work and forgot that the dogs were out back.  A HUGE storm hit and Riley got out through a hole in the fence.  A neighbor was watching the storm and saw a white plastic bag flying down the sidewalk and then realized it was a dog.  She was staying on the sidewalk- even while terrified.

I've got to watch out for her more now, because she gets tired faster and apparently, she'll just go home.

Anyway, it was really nice to be outside at sunset when the clouds turn pink, playing Wiffle ball with my boys.  We all had fun and for once outlasted the dogs' energy.

So that's what I'm thinking about as I sit here counting the hours... today will at least be a walk.  Maybe some more Wiffle ball this weekend.  Happy thoughts.

Say it with me, now.

What the hell, lunch?  I'm not even done eating yet.

I want internet at home and in order to get that, the ball park must pay Chris today.  Apparently their turdy accountant is dragging his feet weekly with Chris's check.  I'm about to go down there myself- Chris is too nice.  He thinks he's being assertive enough, but he does not have any idea how to nag.  I am a pro, he ought to let me go talk to this guy.  Of course, that's not a good idea but maybe it would inspire them to never want to see me again.  How hard is this?  You work, you get paid.  You don't get paid, you stop showing up to do the work.  Or worse, you look henpecked when your S.O. shows up to berate your boss.  If he doesn't have a check in hand by the time I get off work today, I'm going up there.  Yes, I'm getting paid (on time!) but one paycheck is not enough to support several months of being out of work.  We're still digging out from under some bills and I am going to flip my lid if Chris isn't holding a check when I walk out of here in about an hour.  Big money, no whammies.

Ladybugs

It's rare to capture all three animals in the same shot.

Riley thinks she's a cat.  And those are my socks over there by the lamp.  I was trying to decide which crazy pair to wear with my work outfit.

PSA

My picture from a couple days ago:

No, I was not taking pictures while driving, why do you ask?  I was struck not by another car, but by the dark sky behind us and the storm ahead of us.  I promise to TXT L8R.