Back to the Daily Grind

Last night I sat down and thought about it ---- out of the last 14 calendar days, I've only worked 3! I took a full week off for my wonderful, awesome beach vacation.... went back to work for 3 days, then took Thursday and Friday off for the Princess's wisdom teeth. That makes this Monday HARD to face. I mean really, I have to work a WHOLE FIVE DAYS IN A ROW! (Ha!)

The Princess is recovering well.... the right side of her face has very little pain. The left side, where the procedures were more difficult, well, that's still swollen and has a lot of pain associated with it. Hopefully we will see more improvement today.

As for me, I've got an insane week ahead. We are on the countdown to moving the Princess into the dorm. 12 days. I'm hoping to finish up getting all the stuff we need this week so that the weekend can be spent organizing it all. I'm dreading this....

Not only the financial aspects, and the physical work your behind off aspects, but the real looming prospect of the empty nest. For the past 14 1/2 years it has been me, the Princess and then the addition of the Thing 1 and Thing 2. I'm not ready for one quarter of us not to be here on a daily basis. Wasn't the first day of kindergarten just last year? I am SO not ready for this!

But for today, its back to work for me. Joy!

Chipmunk Central

Chipmunk CHEEKS, that is. The Princess had all four wisdom teeth extracted yesterday. To the tune of $921.20. That makes for a double ouch. I still had $612 left in my FSA for the year so I paid the balance in CASH. However, that is going to be coming out of savings.

So, around here its been 'round the clock ice packs, pain meds, anti-biotics and ice cream. I'm hoping for a fast recovery because there is much to do between now and August 11 when she moves into the dorm. For now though, the Princess just texted me that she needs some water --- so off I go!

Not Enough Coffee On The Planet

Last night I had planned to get into bed, no later than 10:00. Well, that didn't happen. I finally crawled in bed at 10:45 and set the alarm for he Princess's curfew time. The Princess got home at 11:15, just after I had gotten to sleep really good. I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep.

At just around midnight, my cell phone starts ringing. Blocked number. Weird. But I answer it anyway. At the other end of the line was some very angry woman wanting to know why I was calling her boyfriend at midnight when he has to get up at 3. Huh? What? I told her I had no idea what she was talking about, but she insisted that someone from my number had called her boyfriend and she wanted to know why I was doing that! Huh? What?

After arguing with her for a bit (why did I do that?), I finally told her that she had obviously read the incoming number on her boyfriend's phone wrong and I was not going to argue about it any further. She told me that if I dared to call his number again, she'd go to the police for harrassment. I told her she was welcome to and just hung up.

After that, I had a hideous time going back to sleep, and then woke up again at 4. It is going to be a long day --- and I have a ton to get done today. This is my last day at work this week because the Princess is having all four wisdom teeth extracted tomorrow. Yeah, that's a $921 hit I'm not thrilled about taking right when tuition bills are coming due! Fun! Fun!

So Out of the Loop

I apparently just disappeared for a while. I know this is definitely the longest I've gone without posting. I was super busy leading up to my week long vacation on the sugar white beaches of Orange Beach, Alabama. And then, on vacation.... well, I wasn't really thinking about blogging. I've got a lot to catch up on!!!!!!

Let me just say, the vacation was fantastic! Lazy days at the beach and pool, several books read cover to cover, a nice tan, no sunburn, kept pretty close to my budget I think. All in all it was wonderful!

Now its back to reality which includes cleaning my disaster of a house (the Princess did NOT do a great job of keeping it neat and orderly while I was gone), oral surgery for the Princess on Thursday to have her wisdom teeth removed, getting the Princess's stuff ready for college (3 weeks away YIKES!) and apparent fruit basket turnover at work to face on Monday. This should be interesting I suppose.

I'll have much more thoughtful posts in the coming week. Right now, I'm going to sit back, enjoy my coffee and ignore reality for just a little while longer.

Of Blue and Gold Stars

Happy Independence Day! I think sometimes we forget what this day is truly about. It isn't about the fireworks, parades or backyard barbeques. It is about men and women who had the desire and courage to stand up to tyranny and fight for freedom. Whether they did it with a sword, a saber, a musket, a rifle or a quilled pen. They mustered the courage and put their hopes and dream into action.

Today, men and women still fight for that freedom, and their sacrifices should be recognized, and not just a couple of days a year. The Blue Star Flag pictured above is for those families who have a loved one currently in harm's way. These families fight their own battles on a day in and day out basis. The absence of the loved one at the dinner table. The bone deep fear if an unexpected knock comes on the door. If "the knock" comes at the door, then that blue star is replaced with a gold one. The gold star would mean the family's soldier had make the ultimate sacrifice.

Back in 2007, we were a Blue Star Family. My brother was deployed for 13 months. It was a very stressful time. I proudly flew the Blue Star Flag at my home and had a window decal for my car. Every time I heard a news story about fallen troops without names released, I held my breath and prayed that the knock wasn't going to come on my Mom's door. Then once we heard from my brother, I could breathe again. It was a stressful 13 months.

It was interesting how others, strangers really, tried to make that time easier. People would ask about the flag, and of course I'd always brag on my brother! Bag boys taking my groceries out to the car would comment on the Blue Star and tell me to thank my brother and thank my family. Sometimes valets at restaurants would refuse tips (and you KNOW they work on tips) and say that no, my family is doing enough right now.

One day I was going through the drive thru at Milo's Hamburgers (if you haven't had a Milo burger you're missing out, but I think its pretty much an Alabama thing!), anyway, I'd placed my order and was waiting for my turn to get my food and pay. I pulled up to the window with my debit card in hand and the cashier handed me my food. I tried to hand her the card, but she refused it, saying the person in front of me had paid for my order. When I looked puzzled, she said they had said for me to enjoy my burger and thank you for your family's sacrifice. That little thing, paying for a cheeseburger, no onions combo meal, made my entire day. And almost 5 years later, I haven't forgotten it.

So, if you see someone with a Blue Star Flag on their car or their home, thank them for their sacrifices and let them know that you will be hoping or praying for their soldier's safe return. The stress they live under daily is unimaginable. And if you see someone with a Gold Star, know that their soldiermade the ultimate sacrifice. Sometimes just knowing other people are supporting you can make all the difference.

Happy Independence Day everyone! And one last thought --- more pets go missing on 4th of July than any other day --- they get scared of fireworks and run off to try and escape them! Bring your babies inside if you can!!!! Y'all stay safe!



Rain, Glorious Rain!

So, we've had ridiculous heat for days, my house hasn't seen rain June 10th. My rain barrel was dried up. My plants were scorching. My AC was running full out and the temp in the house wasn't getting below 83 during the day. And then IT happened.

I was sitting on the couch, happily pinteresting away (because its too dang hot to do anything else!), when I heard a noise. A weird noise. It was real honest to goodness RAIN! I mean actual clear wet stuff falling from the sky!

And of course I had laundry drying on the deck...... by the time I got out there it was mostly soaked. Oh well. I immediately sprang into action! I moved the laundry. The stuff on the lower tiers of the rack were still dry so they are fine. The other stuff.... well, I think it costs more for me to water my massive amount of plants than to redo a load of laundry, so that's cool.

After I moved the laundry, I ran to my rain barrel to be sure the downspout was properly aligned. Then I moved my veggies and other plants from under the eaves where I'd pushed them to protect them as much as possible from the blistering sun. Then I got my next brilliant idea! I grabbed my watering can and ran to a different downspout and filled the can up! Several times! That water went on the plants on my screened porch. And then I also dumped some on the veggies that the rain was now watering naturally. I figured this wasn't going to be a very long shower so I wanted everything to get as drenched as possible.

That drenching also included me! I was soaked to the bone by the time I was done but I was happy happy happy! Final tally on the rain was about 1/4 inch, with a slight chance of a bit more to come --- I've also got a 2/3 full rain barrel (it never rained REALLY hard so it didn't get quite enough, but I'm good with what I got).

And then, miracle of miracles, the rain cooled it down enough to where the AC actually cycled off! How awesome is THAT?

It's a good day!