Through the Looking Glass

A new start

2010-03-31T00:01:00.001-07:00

I have decided that I have let this one languish long enough. I am having a hard time getting into it so have since decided to start all over again. If anyone would like to follow me to my new home it is

http://musingstangentsandothersuchnonsense.blogspot.com/

Things in my head

2010-03-01T21:05:00.000-08:00

*I spent the day doing the one thing I hate more than anything in the world. I did my taxes. And no, before you ask, I am NOT happy. Again this year I owe more than I feel comfortable, though I did much better this year than I did last year. I only owe about a third of what I had to pay in last year and though it will be a little tight for the next six weeks, I will pay it off by the 15th if it kills me. Once that is out of the way then I can worry about next years and paying in enough so that I can get a little closer to where I only have to write out a check for a couple hundred instead of a couple thousand. I have no desire to actually give them MY money to hang onto for the year, I would much rather owe a little bit.

*I'm not sure, but it is possible that I may kill my son. This is not good on so many levels, one of them being that he is the last tax deduction that I have living at home. I really wish I could figure out what his problem is with turning things in at school and remembering to complete them when he doesn't finish them at school. It's very frustrating.

*It's weird, my dryer broke sometime around the beginning of January. I decided that I wasn't going to rush out and buy another one until I had saved some money for it. Cash. But, as time has passed and the money has sat there, I realized that I actually LIKE hanging out clothes on the clothes line. I had a little bit of trouble at first with the whole softner scenario and the weather has not always cooperated, but I really, really like doing it. I thought it would be a pain in the butt to do since I work during the day but I have gotten into a pretty good routine and I think I will continue to do it this way. YAY! $500 for my taxes right there!!

*I read this book the other day by Joy Fielding, who is one of those authors that can keep you guessing. This particular book I figured out what was going on (possibly I have gotten used to her writing style) fairly quickly but it was definitely odd. It was about a woman who was hit by a car and in a coma. But she could hear everything going on around her. How strange would that be, you would almost be like a fly on the wall.

*Found out Friday my first grandchild is going to be a boy! We started buying things Saturday..lol.

*Feeling very introspective lately. Where the hell is THAT coming from???

*Had a bbq on Saturday with all of my kids and their families here. Also, some very good friends came over. With the prep work out of the way on Friday evening I was able to sit and visit with my girls and our friends and had a great time. We need to do this more often.

*Note to self: make dog an appointment this month for his yearly shots. Then pay vet bucketloads of money.

*Damn..more notes to self: Pick up new filter. Get oil changed. Make son an appointment for sports physical. Drop off lawn mower to get serviced. Mail MH dad's bday card. Pick up stamps. Call grandmother. Move money from paypal to savings account. Drop off rent check. Go online to Kinko's and order some copies to pick up for work.

* I really need to go through the closet in my office with all the POP for my job in it and clean it out. Especially since I just got a crapload of emails telling me that tons more are coming.

MUST TURN OFF BRAIN NOW!!!!!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly #2

2010-01-22T19:37:00.000-08:00

I kinda like this whole good, bad and ugly thing I have going on. Of course with my ADD issues I will probably forget about it in a couple weeks but for now it's working for me....

The Good:

*I have decided that I really enjoy hanging up my laundry and I am no hurry to buy a new dryer. We went looking at them the other day and found a few in our price range but I think we will put it off for a little bit. There is just something cathartic about hanging up the laundry on the line.
*More side jobs coming up for Mad Hatter, he is getting closer to his dream of working for himself.
*My oldest daughter gave me the best gift ever when she made me laugh so hard that I cried. She was on her way to work and had almost left her house without the lunch that she packed herself. Innocently I asked her what she packed for lunch and she said two tuna fish sandwhiches, 3 clementines, a baggie full of fresh blueberries, 2 frozen chimichangas, some yogurt and a couple nutri grain bars. She is 18 weeks pregnant and apparently is afraid of starving to death. This is the same person that barely would finish a meal before she got pregnant.
*My dad finally got the CD I ordered for him a long time ago. It is definately the one that he wanted and he is ecstatic with it.
*My friend who was in the hospital the other day is home and recovering now. They never figured out for sure what was wrong but they did rule out a bunch of really scary stuff. We are all thankful.
*It's been really nice watching my savings account balance grow again. The last few months really took a toll on it.
*I don't have all my 1099's or W2's in yet but it is looking a lot better than years past. Pray for me.

The Bad:

*Mad Hatter is becoming increasingly dissatisfied with his current job. Situations out of his control are making it impossible for him to stay in his current situation for much longer.
*I'm not sure if it's the age that Caterpillar is at now, if it's because he is a boy or because he is just trying to get on my last nerve but we are butting heads alot lately and sometimes I really would like to wring his neck. I am hoping this phase in his life passes quickly and he gets back to his fun loving normal self.
*My camera is seriously thinking about quitting on me. I probably take close to 200 pics a week on it for work and have had it for going on 2 years so I am sure that has a little something to do with it.

The Ugly:

*Mad Hatter's grandmother is not doing well at all. In fact, they do not expect her to make it through the weekend. We have already looked into air fare and it looks like he will be flying up there soon for the funeral.
*Mad Hatter's best friend's mother is not doing well either. His friend is having a real tough time of it, lots of different things going on his life that no one person should have to deal with all at the same time. His mom has been fighting cancer for the past 10 years and this latest round is winning. She is home with hospice and her family is around her.

Hoping that next weeks installment will not have any Ugly to it.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

2010-01-15T16:23:00.000-08:00

Well, it's Friday and I have made it through the week. It's been a pretty calm week, well except for today.
The Good:

*I got all my work done for the week and even worked on a few things for next week which means that I am actually ahead! Yeah, I know....spooky.
*The final tally of Caterpillar's grades came in and he passed everything. In fact, his lowest grade was a 74 in Math and since he does struggle in that class I am willing to accept it.
*MH actually was able to pick up a few side jobs. This is always a good thing.
*Found out that Cheshire Cat's new due date is June 25th. Not too much longer before we have a new baby to cuddle.
*It's warmed up a bit here so while it is still cool I am not turning into a popsicle.

The Bad:
*My dryer died finally this week. That is so not good on so many levels.
*I knew that I would be going out of town sometime next month for a few meetings at work. I also knew that it would be for a few days (paid for of course) I did not know that it was going to be the first week of the month and the way that I would find out was to get my itinerary emailed to me. I would have much rather had some details sent to me first...sigh.
*Got my new electric bill in this week and even though I froze through the entire billing period and never had my heat set above 68 my bill was $489. That is pathetically ridiculous.

The Ugly:

*I have a really good friend who is in her 70's. Another friend and I try to check up on her, especially since she is no longer working. We try to get together for lunch at least once a month. Today was that day. We waited for her for awhile and then went ahead and ate, thinking (and hoping) that she had just forgotten. The longer we sat there the worse I was feeling so we decided to drive to her house to check on her. Her car was sitting in the driveway and as I was contemplating the best way to break into her house to check on her a neighbor came over to tell us that she was taken by ambulance to the hospital the other night. After tracking her down and going to the hospital ourselves we finally were able to see her. She is in ICU where she is having internal bleeding they cannot control. She has been given several pints of blood and while they think she is getting better they still haven't found the cause. I will be going to the hospital to check on her again on Sunday and the only good part is that while I was there the social worker came in to get information from her so I am now listed on her emergency contacts so this will not happen again.

It's been something of a week and hopefully the good will continue and there will be no more ugly for quite awhile.

The Year of the Simple

2010-01-11T02:04:00.000-08:00

So far so good. I have spent the entire past week repeating my manta of "Keep it simple, stupid", and it has worked!
I managed to schedule everything I needed to last week, leaving room for those last minute things that tend to crop up. I also made sure I scheduled the stupid little things that I normally just try to remember and then when I forget I kick myself in the butt. The result was a completely stress free week complete with enough spontaneous things thrown in to keep me from being over scheduled.
I was able to spend time with my family and not be stressed out about things that weren't getting done. I was also able to make time for some phone calls with friends to catch up, one friend who called out of the blue on Saturday that I had not spoken to in a couple years. It was so nice to be able to just focus on that and not feel guilty that I was neglecting my family. I have gotten into the habit in the past few years to not be on the phone in the evenings and weekends when everyone is home so it was nice that when I received the phone call I had no qualms about just sitting down and chatting for an hour or so.
I have really been wanting to add a few things to my schedule but honestly I am afraid of upsetting the balance I am enjoying with work and family. If I can keep this up for the rest of the year then possibly I can regain my sanity and maybe not have to color my hair quite so often to get rid of that pesky gray that crops up more often than I care for. Guess we shall see.

A New Year

2010-01-04T23:41:00.001-08:00

For someone that hates change as much as I do, I get surprisingly chipper at the beginning of the New Year. It's a time for change, for goals, and lists! Lots and lots of lists. I absolutely adore lists. Generally I can come up with my own reasons for making a list but there is something about the beginning of a new year that brings out an insane desire to make a list, or two, or ten.

I spent the weekend getting my new day planner situated. I never leave home without it and have it within arms reach at pretty much any time. I'm pretty picky about dayplanners and I am one of those people that are difficult to buy one for so I always buy my own and then someone else gives it to me for Christmas. I know, pathetic but it works for us...lol.

I spent today getting all of my work things together and everything scheduled for the month. Since I am only working for two companies right now and one of them has monthly and bi monthly projects I can schedule everything right now at the beginning of the month. My other company is a weekly company but it's pretty easy to figure out what I am doing for up to three weeks in advance. I don't know why I didn't try doing this before. In the past I had always scheduled by the week and now I can't figure out why. This is so nice to look at my calendar and at a glance I can figure out what I am doing and can schedule anything else in between work. A friend of mine called today so we could get together for lunch sometime in the next couple weeks with a couple other friends. I was able to look at the calendar and tell her what days I had open without having to do anything. Simple. I like simple.

In fact, I have decided that I want this year to be the year of simple. Last year at this time I was working on 5 different projects, dealing with household issues, and the boys were doing Boy Scouts which kept my calendar pretty full on the weekends and sometimes even during the week. This year I think we are going to try for relaxed and low key. I am looking into adding a couple more temporary projects in which to fulfill other goals I am looking at, but I think for the most part I will keep it simple.

Room for Improvement

2009-11-09T21:33:00.000-08:00

I have been having a string of incredibly bad luck lately. So bad, in fact, that I haven't felt like updating anything really as it would just sound like whining.
But today I decided that while it could definitely be worse, there is ALOT of room for improvement. Of course, immediately after I made this life affirming decision to focus on the improvement, I received a phone call with more bad news.
BUT...we are focusing on the POSITIVE!

I have finagled some things around and decided that no matter what...we are not going to get a car that we will have to make a payment on. We have two more years to pay on MH's truck and we will revisit this topic then but for now we have more than one option available and will go with one of those.

Speaking of more than one option, one of the options that we have is getting MH's grandmothers car. This was originally a pain in the neck idea since they live 8 hours away and she wanted so much for the car even though it needed some work on it. Now things have changed slightly so we would pay $800 for fixing the transmission seals and stuff and then pay his grandmother $500 for the car. Originally she had wanted $1200 even though the transmission had a leak that needed to be fixed. Now, including one way plane fare the entire thing shouldn't cost more than $1500. Much better. Plus we know that the car was taken care of, has less than 40,000 miles on it and was lightly used. I'm thinking this is our best bet at this point.

MH has had alot of time off lately because of different things but it looks like maybe things are looking up a bit. Keep your fingers crossed.

While doing my job lately has not been as easy as it could be, I have at least been able to do it and have worked out a way to try to actually do it a bit better. Also, several contests that they are running lately can make it possible for me to get more money. I like money. I just wish it liked me as much.

All the time off I have had lately has given me a lot of time to clean my house and do things that I have been putting off. My bedroom closet is organized and that, my friends, is not easy considering what was in it and the size of it.

Cheshire Cat hit a raccoon on her way to work early this morning and messed up her radiator and AC. Thank goodness that she was fine and the damage to the car was repaired for less than $150. She was also able to get the car back this evening so everything turned out really good.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
Anton Chekhov

Thursday Thirteen # Who Knows What Number I'm On.

2009-09-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

Since I am still trying to get back into this whole thing I am going to use this as my to do list that needs to be done by this weekend.

1. Still have 54 small businesses in which to place new signage in.

2. 8 Walmarts that I need to audit electronics dept.

3. 4 Walmarts that I need to work in for another company in the HBA Dept. Thank goodness I can knock out these at the same time as the ones above this.

4. Since we are having company for the weekend I still need to shop. I have a grocery list already made but need to find time to shop.

5. Popcorn sales at Blockbuster tomorrow night from 5-8

6. Popcorn sales on Saturday morning on post from 10-2.

7. Make spinach artichoke dip and potato salad for BBQ on Saturday.

8. Make the pound cake for dessert for the BBQ,

9. Mop kitchen floor and clean the main bathroom.

10. Go to the bank and deposit several checks that I have not had time to deposit.

11. I'm gonna count this as seperate because it takes time of it's own.....enter the reports for all of the reports I am able to finish.

12. Pick up Jack's heartworm pills.

13. Kill Mad Hatter for not thinking that any of this is important.

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Happenings

2009-08-29T07:32:00.000-07:00

Wow....been a long time. Things have just gotten so busy lately and though there were many things I could have written about, I just didn't feel like it. Some highlights of the past couple weeks or so.

* School started this week and after a couple days of problems and headaches I think everything is going to work out. First day we found out that Caterpillar didn't get all of his shots like we had thought so they sent him home. Had to hurry and find a doctor that had an opening and got his shots. Next day, he ran a fever at school and had a pretty bad headache. Because of the increased panic over Swine Flu they wanted him gone NOW. Things started getting a little better after that and by Thursday the school system decided that they would extend the time for shots until Oct 1st. Sigh.

* Something happened to Caterpillar over the summer because I gave him the option to go to school on Wednesday since he still had a bit of a headache and he decided that he WANTED to go to school. This is NOT normal for him. He gets himself up at 5 am every morning and even has enough time to sit around and play on the computer before he goes. Hope this lasts.

*Mad Hatter's truck decided that it was going to die immediately AFTER filling the gas tank with $80 worth of gas. Took it to the mechanic and the engine is dead. $2200 later and we will have it back next week, we hope.

*I am down to two companies that I am working for and doing some extra work for now for a third company. Even with the decrease in companies that I work for I seem to be incredibly busy lately so I think I will just stick with these two.

*The anniversary of my mom's death is coming up quickly and I go back and forth with ignoring it and focusing on it. Not really sure how Monday is going to go. I keep trying to tell myself it is just another day. We'll see how that works.

*Popcorn season is here for the Boy Scouts. Every weekend we have something going on somewhere trying to make some money for the boys troop. Anyone want any popcorn?

*Mad Hatter's sister will be here next weekend. She and her roommate are coming to visit and we will bbq. The girls and their boyfriends will both be here also so it looks like it will be a full house.

And so goes life. Until the next installment.

*

Karma

2009-06-04T19:23:00.001-07:00

Things have been pretty crazy around here lately. I have been working more lately than normal but have really been loving the checks they provide.
Of course you know what happens when you start making a bit more money and you start thinking of cool things you can do with it, don't you?
You guessed it! The IRS sends you a letter letting you know that they feel a mistake was made on your 2007 taxes and after detailing all the reasons they feel that this is an error they tell you to please remit $1457.36.
Assholes.
And just in case that isn't quite enough, your son, whose father cancelled his insurance in February and you cannot get insurance through your job until October, decided that breaking his tooth in half would be fun. $400 later, he looks like nothing has happened and you cry a little.
Sigh.
So that extra $2000 that I made in the past couple weeks? It's gone. Now, Mad Hatter has a $2K job that he is doing next week. Let's see how that goes.
Other than that, things are fine. Facebook is addictive. And I am tired.

Not Me! Monday!

2009-05-04T08:34:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Since I have been having so much trouble updating my blog lately I have been on the lookout for something new to give me a hand...

I did not go camping this weekend with a whole troop of Boy Scouts and when raccoons came to the campsite and stole my marshmallows, I did not chase after it trying to get them back.

When I realized that I was not going to get my marshmallows back and really wanted a Smore, I did not drive all the way into town in order to get a new bag of said marshmallows.

When it was time for lights out I did not bring that same bag of marshmallows with me into my tent.

Nope, not me.

Thursday Thirteen....NOT

2009-04-23T18:50:00.001-07:00

I am not sure what in the world is wrong with me lately but for the life of me I cannot seem to come up with a Thursday Thirteen. I love the idea, seriously I do. I just can't seem to come up with anything. Possibly, it's because things have been so crazy around here lately. Maybe with everything that has been happening for the past two months and all the extra brain power that I have had to use in order to think for other people, I have lost the ability to make lists. OH GOD! NO! Anything but that!
Anyway, I think I am going to just go with the flow for now. Instead of sitting here forcing myself to think of something I will stop forcing my brain into something it apparently doesn't want to do.
Oh yes, flow. That reminds me. Why is it that all the major roads in Austin have to have anywhere from 2-6 names? And why is that GoogleMaps, YahooMaps, MapQuest and my damn Garmin can never seem to figure out a consistent way to get me to where I am going?? I am so tired of getting lost whenever I go there.

A Random Mixture of Stuff

2009-04-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

Wow...time sure does fly doesn't it? I have such good intentions with things and then life swoops in and gets in the way. Let's see...things going on......

*Dormouse found a place to live and is moving out this week. Or maybe next week. Who knows? She found the place at the beginning of the month and paid her deposit and the first months rent. She has the key. She has moved stuff in. She has not, however, gotten the electric turned on. This could be partly because she wrecked her car a couple weeks ago and although she has full coverage there is a deductible. She has also been borrowing my car for the last week and a half while waiting for hers to get fixed. Please let it be fixed soon.

*Mad Hatter's best friend has been staying with us since last Thursday due to some personal problems at home. It's been nice getting to know someone who has known him longer than I have and to hear about all the old stories they share.

*Because updating my blog seems to be a chore I decided to try out that whole Twitter thing...let's see how that pans out. For the record I am whiterabbit08.

*With Mad Hatter's friend here, my house has gotten some much needed repair work done. So far, new pantry shelves and bathroom painted. This weekend MH promised my bathroom would be tiled. I just need to figure out what exactly this power that his friend has that motivates MH and somehow bottle it.

*Has anyone tried those Bacardi bottled Mojitos, Mango flavored? Those are the best things in the world. I strongly recommend them. Beware though....I hardly ever drink so I thought I would just have one or two and before I knew it, seven of them were gone.

*The other day I was complaining because all of my glass baking dishes have disappeared. In a totally uncharactaristic burst of fate, I found a website that was having a mega sale on Pyrex baking dishes (9x13 AND 8x8) for $1.99 EACH. Shipping was $6.95 so I bought two of each to make it worth it. So for $15.98 I have four new Pyrex baking dishes.

*Work is work....I should really play the lottery more often.

The Tax Poem

2009-04-09T21:50:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling a little cranky lately about taxes in general and a really good friend of mine sent me this (not sure if she meant to make me feel better or worse..lol)

Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table
At which he's fed.

Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.

Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for peanuts
Anyway!

Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.

Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.

Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.

Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass.

Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won't be done
Till he has no dough.

When he screams and hollers,
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He's good and sore.

Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he's laid.

Put these words
Upon his tomb,
"Taxes drove me to my doom..."

When he's gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax.

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Sales Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA) Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring & Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.

We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest
middleclass in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What in the hell happened? Can you spell "politicians?"

And I still have to "press 1" for English!?

Is it me...............

2009-03-31T13:31:00.000-07:00

or is my dog weird?

Daylight Savings sucks

2009-03-22T23:38:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has spent any time with me whatsoever can tell you that in October I start getting absolutely giddy with anticipation for the ending of Daylight Savings. Of course now I have to wait until the first Sunday in November, but that is a whole nother story.
Ever since the time change a few weeks ago I have had the hardest time acclimating to an actual night schedule. I was doing really good getting to bed by midnight at the latest, but for the past couple weeks I can count on one hand the times I have actually made it to bed at a decent time. I still get up at the same time in the mornings, I am just not getting enough sleep. And it sucks. Alot.
This is why I have come up with a plan.....a plan that will get me back on track, and keep me on track forever.
Everyone needs to set their clocks back one hour. (I really gotta get that hour back) We will then never touch the clocks again. EVER.
Just think of it, there are lots of benefits to this. We will never have to deal with changing the big heavy clock that sits on the wall and has to be taken down in order to move the time forward(or backwards, as the case may be). We will never have to wonder which of the eleventy gazillion clocks in the house have already been changed and which ones haven't. We will never have to deal with trying to remember how to change the clock in the car, even though we have owned the same car for 6 years and have had to change it twice a year since owning it.
Of course I will have to deal with losing that giddy feeling when time change begins.....but I think I can live with that.

Thursday Thirteen #5

2009-03-18T21:02:00.000-07:00

Thirteen Ways to Determine if You Have Lost Your Mind

1. You call your boss to tell them about a problem you are having in a store and 5 minutes into the call, just as you are getting completely annoyed by her because she just is NOT getting it, you figure out that you have called the wrong boss about the wrong project.

2. You park your car in a parking lot and then promptly not only forget where you parked but which car you came in.

3. You decide to do a little home bookkeeping and pay your water bill and your electric bill. Three days later you get a nice little email from the electric company letting you know that you only paid a third of your bill and to please remit the rest..NOW. So, you look up your transactions on your online banking and realize that you paid $305 to the $#&*(% water company.

4. You spend 20 minutes on hold listening to elevator music only to realize the answer to your question the second the customer service rep finally picks up.

5. You spend several hours over a period of days setting up an invoice system only to realize that you have spelled the name of the company wrong on every invoice you have printed.

6. You have medication that you have to give one of your two dogs every day and somehow get them mixed up and give it to the wrong dog, even though they look nothing like each other.

7. You consistantly pull up to get gas on the WRONG side of the car even though the gas gauge has a nifty little arrow pointing to the side the gas cap is on.

8. You go to the cable company to get a different DVR because yours has decided that recording is only an option, not a neccessity, and after standing in line for 10 minutes and setting it on the counter, you realize that you have brought in your dvd player.

9. You go to great lengths to set up your new camera and make sure the battery is charged and put it in your camera bag. You then proceed to take 36 pictures for work that day and when you get home you realize that you forgot to put in your memory card and not one of the cords that you have anywhere in the house fits your new camera.

10. You buy a birthday card for your friend and are all proud of yourself for being so organized and when you get home you realize that you forgot to grab an envelope.

11. You decide to make spaghetti for dinner and brown the meat and make the sauce and even make the salad before realizing you have NO pasta of any kind anywhere in the house.

12. You take a job as property manager without first checking how the last tenants left the property.

13. You wake up in the morning and do it all over again.

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In the Corner of My Mind....

2009-03-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

I have a schedule. Seriously, I make lists and use my day planner religiously. I need to have my life scheduled in order for me not to go completely and totally crazy. Unfortunately, my life is not conductive to schedules because things change in the blink of an eye and life gets complicated. All by itself. Dammit.
Yesterday was kind of a bust in the working department. While I was able to get all sorts of things completed for MH and his partner, I was unable to do any of my merchandising work. Okay, no problem. I would get it done today with no problem. Right?
Yeah, right. Never works out that way. Right now I am sitting here waiting for the repairman to fix my vent. He is supposed to be here anytime now....sigh.
List of things to do today.......
*6 different store visits with at least 4 jobs in each one.
*Scout Meeting at 630pm HERE. At my house. That I have not had time to clean.
*Pick up the things that the boys need to make their patrol flag from Hobby Lobby.
*It's culture month for the Scouts so all the boys have to bring a food of their culture to the meeting. Good thing the ones that I am responsible for are Chinese and Mexican.
Those are the things that I have left to do. I have gotten some stuff completed today already. Sigh.

ETA: The #%&*@^% repairman just called to say they wouldn't be able to make it out today but would be here by 8:30 am tomorrow morning. GROWL!

And again bullet posts save the day........

2009-03-14T18:33:00.000-07:00

I just recently looked at the date of my last post and realized that I completely and totally missed February. How does a person miss a whole month??? I realize that it was a really short month, but still.
I then realized that I haven't been able to read the blogs that I usually read because, yet again....life got in the way. I hate it when that happens so I am making it a point to go through my reader and catch up on everything that I have missed while I have been "living".
Life got a little complicated there for awhile but I finally think that I have things together and hopefully get back to doing the fun things in life. Like Thursday Thirteen...I really miss it, although I have thought of a bunch of different things to do my list on...I just never got around to it.
Anyway....some of the things that have been keeping me busy lately.......

*I started playing World of Warcraft so that I could spend some quality time with Mad Hatter and decided that I actually liked it (go figure). Unfortunately, even that has suffered lately as I have maybe logged in three times in the past two weeks.

*Mad Hatter and his friend have decided to go into business for themselves. Now, this is actually a good thing because the way he is working now is costing us a small fortune in taxes. Please do not ask me how much we owe this year in taxes as this will cause me to start twitching again and I just recently stopped. Anyway, my role in their business partnership is basically secretary, shopper, planner, and all around gopher. Can I just say that they do not pay me near what I am worth?

*I am still working part time for four different companies but one of the companies that I work for has slipped precariously close to full time as I am getting at least 30 hours a week. This has made for some interesting juggling of work and home life.

*The company that I work the most hours for decided to have a three day business meeting this week in Dallas. I flew in Tuesday morning and didn't get back until Thursday night so this week was pretty much a bust for getting things done. However, they paid me for the week and also fed me so much that I had trouble buttoning my pants on Friday when I was dressing. Also, the beauty of email made it possible for me to keep up on doing estimates and printing out invoices in the evenings so I was able to keep up on that stuff and not get behind.

*I realized that the poor dog was behind on his shots and about the same time he started chewing the pads on his front paw. So taking him in to the vet for his allergy shots, regular shots, and antibiotics topped out the bill around $250.

*My car decided, since I spoke in it's presence about not wanting to have a car payment to confuse my poor checkbook at this time, that it should start falling apart on me just for a laugh, not once, not twice, but three different times. Now, on one hand the total for all of these things has not exceeded $400 and I have had use of the "company" car during his "sick" moments (which incidentally, I absolutely love and have decided that I want to keep it and pet it daily) however, it's really a pain in the butt and I am tired of dealing with taking it back and forth to the mechanics.

*This time of year there is alot of different Boy Scout events going on and damned if I can keep track of them all, even with my day planner and my lists. So many camping events and then there is the Scout show at the end of the month which we have been trying to prepare for in our spare time.

*Did I mention that I have become a property manager? Yeah, probably cause I am trying my best to forget about it myself. I did manage to find a lease template online and have modified it to serve my purposes so that was helpful. Thank you internet!!!

*This gets it's own line just cause I wanna complain about renters who trash places and leave it filled with all of their belongings and then move out. And then have the nerve to call and want their stuff back. My response? Pay for the damages, the past due rent, and my sanity...it's all yours. Until then......bite me.

*Date nights. Those are my saving grace. Mad Hatter and I decided a few weeks ago that once a week we need "us" time. And so, once a week we do something with just the two of us. I love date nights.

Okay, that is enough for this month's post. (Kidding!)

Whiterabbit..out.

Have you lived?

2009-01-27T23:26:00.001-08:00

I saw this on Tara's blog and shamelessly stole it....

Do you think you’ve really lived so far? This is a list of 100 activities–some I have experienced (bold), some I have not (regular)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Bathed in a river (if it doesn't have hot and cold running water then um NO)
7. Been to the Taj Mahal
8. Walked on a glacier in Alaska
9. Caught and held a snake (I wasn't always quite as squeamish as I am now)
10.Spoke in front of a big crowd (But I didn't like it at all)
11. Bungee jumped (Sooooooo not happening)
12. Had a whirlwind love affair that broke your heart (Haven't we all?)
13. Found an arrowhead or fossil
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Rescued an animal
16. Ate sweet breads, glands or tripe (not sure what these even are….)
17. Seen Mount Rushmore in person
18. Grown your own vegetables (I was a kid but it still counts)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hiked to base camp on Mt. Everest
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Watched an animal being born
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Learned a foreign language
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Stayed up for more than 24 hours
31. Trained a dog to do cool tricks
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Can drive a stick shift car
37. Won over $1000 in a raffle or lottery
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (Does a rock climbing wall count?)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Been serenaded
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Broken a bone
47. Started your own business
48. Quit a job because you were totally unhappy
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the Eiffel Tower
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain passionately
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Joined a prayer group
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
62. Gone whale watching
63. Received flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (Dachau in Germany)
67. Bounced a check (Not for a really long time, thank goodness)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the changing of the guards in London
77. Broken something extremely expensive
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Got a tattoo
83. Been to a coffee shop in Amsterdam
84. Seen the aurora borealis in person (Huh?)
85. Read the entire Bible (Not yet but about 3/4 of the way done)
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life (Does it count that I fed and medicated my children?)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Toured the UN
95. Hiked to Machu Picchu
96. Swam in the Indian Ocean
97. Conversed with someone when neither of you spoke each others language
98. Dirty danced
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Acted in a play

I only had 44 out of 100.....looks like I got some living left to do..........

Things that are good to know.....

2009-01-23T09:46:00.000-08:00

* If your hot water heater explodes it will only do so on a holiday weekend and when you have procrastinated about doing laundry, running the dishwasher, and showering.

* If you procrastinate putting gas in your car by ONE DAY it will go up 30 cents a gallon the next.

* If you decide to cut down on the amount of food that you make for a meal eleventy gazillion people will show up at dinnertime.

* If you procrastinate getting your car inspected then something that will keep it from passing will happen to it.

* If you decide to take a short cut because you are waaaaaaaaaaaaay too busy to wait for traffic lights, then you will inevitably get caught up in a traffic jam the likes of which you have never seen before.

* If you procrastinate watching all of the shows that you have recorded on your DVR until you "have more time", the DVR will eventually self destruct and you will lose it all.

* If you save $100 on a particular bill don't get excited...your electric bill will mysteriously double.

* If you breathe a sigh of relief because the new school that your child will go to does not have uniforms then the next year they will rezone everything and your child will go to the one that has the uniforms.

* If you wash your car......it will rain.

* If you put off picking up Boy Scout handbooks for the boys who are crossing over TOMORROW you will find that everyone is out of them and have to drive 80 miles in which to get them.

* If you put off posting to your blog for three weeks you will get some really weird emails.

Wow.....2009 already

2009-01-04T22:19:00.000-08:00

Could someone please explain to me where exactly 2008 went? Seriously, I know that it was just here but it really doesn't seem like it was around for a whole year. I think I was gypped.
I have resolved to not have this problem at the end of next year. For one thing I have decided that this year is going to be a better year than last year.
The past couple weeks I have been thinking about it and decided that with dad's stroke and subsequent assisted living issues and mom's declining health and then her death in August, it just really hasn't been the best year. However, I think I was looking at it wrong. Those things just happened last year. It's not like there is anything that I could have done to stop it. And while the whole year had a gloomy cast to it, I don't think that I really did anything to counteract the whole thing.
So this year I want to do things a bit differently.
While working is very important to the whole "paying of the bills" thing, I am going to try not to let it take up such a big part of my life. I quit one job already, though for some reason I am still working at it for the next two weeks and I will quit another if that is what it takes.
Also, I am going to try to be better about spending actual quality time with my family. The holidays are always so packed full of togetherness and family time and we don't get to do enough of that throughout the year. I am going to work on that.
There is also the financial aspect of our lives that I want to work on. Life is way to short to owe so much money. So I am going to work on trying to get our debt paid off and money in savings.
There are various other little things that I want to do this year. Things that I have been meaning to do and just haven't gotten around to for one reason or another. I have it in my handy dandy little notebook that has all my other lists in it.
Speaking of which did you know that there is a list of the top ten New Year's Resolutions?
* Make more time for family and friends.
* Quit smoking.
* Start exercising.
* Got back to school/take a class.
* Get out of debt.
* Advance in your career, make more money.
* Get into philanthropy and community involvement.
* Quit drinking.
* Lose weight.
* Get out of bad relationship/find true love
I really hate being typical, but unfortunately 6 of those things are kind of on my list.

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-24T20:36:00.001-08:00

Okay, while I still have not quite found all of my Christmas spirit, I did find some. All presents are wrapped, except the cookbook scrapbook that I am making for Cheshire Cat. I am still putting the finishing touches on it but I am really happy with how it has turned out so far. I did some last minute shopping today but managed to stay within my budget because of some awesome sales I found. We had a nice easy dinner tonight, crockpot meatballs (THANKS GALE!!!!) and there was nothing leftover. Hot chocolate and cookies and "It's a Wonderful Life" with friends and family and the day was complete.
Caterpillar is not really happy since I told him that no present opening would commence until Cheshire Cat and her family arrived in the morning, so after extracting a promise that she would be here as early as possible, he allowed her to go home.
It's been a very strange season this time around. I went through the motions and tried my best to stick to traditions. And it worked. Today was a really good day. I wish it would have been colder, maybe snow a bit, but I live in Texas so it's not like I am surprised. Tonight was a bit different, as we usually just have family here but having friends over was good too. Surprisingly good.
Merry Christmas to all of you......I hope yours is as good as mine is turning out to be.

Missing: Christmas Spirit

2008-12-22T20:13:00.000-08:00

Reward offered.

Christmas is usually my favorite time of the year. I love the traditions and the time with family. I love the baking and cooking and the smells in my house from the cinammon. I love the music and the shopping and the picking of that just perfect gift for the people I love. I love sending the Christmas cards and I love receiving them. I love the decorating and sitting in my living room at night with the lights off and only the tree lights blinking. Sometimes, I am alone. Sometimes, Mad Hatter will join me and we will talk. And sometimes my kids are there.
This year however, I must confess something.
I have faked my Christmas spirit.
Honestly, I did not set out to fake it this year. I knew that I wasn't "feeling it" this year but I kept figuring that if I went ahead and forced myself to do stuff then it would eventually just all fall into place.
So I went Christmas shopping not once, not twice, but four times. I went with Mad Hatter once, twice with friends and this past weekend I went with Cheshire Cat and Aiden. I have baked every weekend since Thanksgiving and given gifts of food to all that we know. I sent out Christmas cards. We decorated the house and tree and wrapped presents and hung the stockings on the chimney with care. We have a little one here alot now and at 4 years old he still believes in Santa. I love that. We went to see the lights out at the lake and stopped at Santa's Workshop for cookies and hot chocolate. We have done fundraisers, this past weekend we did a food drive and we have tried to give back to the community and among our friends.
I watched Christmas movies, put on my Christmassy earrings and even wore a damn red and green sweatshirt while serving hot chocolate during the Christmas parade.
Dammit....I have tried.
But it's still missing.
This has been a tough year, health wise for alot of people in our families. And it's getting a bit tougher. Mad Hatter received a call from his mom tonight about his grandmother. They are not sure if she is going to make it. She is in the hospital and has an infection in her blood. They had to remove one of her veins and have her doped up on morphine and tons of antibiotics but it's strictly a wait and see thing now. I am praying for her now and feeling a bit selfish too. I don't want to leave my kids here to go up there for Christmas, but I will if we need to. Mad Hatter is incredibly stressed out about all of this and I truly understand where he is coming from. I have had problems with both my mom and my dad's health this year. So, I am just praying to get through Christmas and hoping that everything turns out okay.
But I still can't find my Christmas spirit.

A Mystery for You

2008-12-19T23:18:00.000-08:00

Okay, I need some help here. I need someone to explain this to me because I am completely and totally stumped.
I just spent 3 hours in the emergency room with my 12 year old son. When I got home from work today he was home and on the computer playing WOW. No problem there, this is pretty normal but he was moaning and complaining that his ribs hurt.
Well I really didn't think too much of it because he was also eating two HUGE sandwiches and I just thought he was whiny cause Mad Hatter was making him get off the computer so he could play.
So Caterpillar goes into the kitchen and by this time he has tears in his eyes and is being very short with us, so I went in there to adjust his attitude and he is bent over. Mad Hatter came in and had him pull up his shirt and an area in the front of his rib cage is swollen. Noticeably so.
So now, as I am collecting my Mother of the Year award, I am on the phone trying to find out if possibly the doctors office is still open and I can get an appointment. No go, but they told me to take him to the ER to make sure.
So off we go to the ER.
On the way there Mad Hatter and I are quizzing him to determine what could have happened. The only thing that he can think of is today at school he fell asleep while watching a movie. His friend hit him to wake him up but I just cannot for the life of me imagine that he hit him hard enough to hurt him like that.
Xrays came back and they believe his ribs are cracked, which of course they could do nothing about except give him pain killers. So right now he is in his room, playing Xbox, while in happy Vicodin land.
Now, yesterday his sister totalled her car and walked away from it without any injuries, just some stiffness and aches. Today, this child who was nowhere near the accident,cracks his damn ribs without any noticeable provocation. I swear, the whole time I was in the ER I kept waiting for CPS to show up and accuse me of beating him in his sleep.
I just don't get it. How in the world could he have cracked his ribs and not actually remember HOW it happened?????? Is it possible that his friend actually hit him hard enough to crack them????? Is this one of those freak accidents???? Or did I really go in there and beat him in MY sleep?????

Thursday Thirteen #4

2008-12-18T12:06:00.001-08:00

Thirteen Things I Probably Won't Get for Christmas This Year

1.A 2008 Saturn VUE Hybrid.

2.A new walk in closet with built in shoe shelves and cubbies for my purses.

3.An office to put all of my stuff for work so that it isn't located in seven different places.

4.An assistant to help me find where I have placed everything.

5.An endless notebook. Why has nobody invented one of these????? I hate changing notebooks when I run out of paper and I don't want to use a binder. I just want to pick a notebook and NEVER run out of paper. Is that too much to ask?

6.An on call masseuse. With warm hands.

7.A free pass to Starbucks at any time.

8.To lose 40 lbs without having to do anything at all, like exercising and eating right. I wanna be able to eat cheesecake and not have any ill lasting effects.

9.A gigantic custom built kitchen with a huge island and cabinets as far as the eye can see.

10.Maid service....or children to magically remember to pick up everything they put down.

11.Happy customer service people. I just want to go into a store and not have to feel like I am inconveniencing someone when I need to ask a question or heaven forbid, check out.

12.A card from the electric company with a note telling me that since I am such a good customer, they are going to comp my bill for the entire year.

13.While I am at it, how about an endless bank account? I write out a check or swipe my card and it goes through no matter what I buy.

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100 Things

2008-12-17T00:16:00.000-08:00

I was finally able to finish this list.....took me long enough.

1. I was born in Long Beach California
2. My dad was in the Navy so we moved around a lot when I was a kid.
3. I am the oldest child.
4. I have one brother.
5. My brother and I are not close.
6. My dad is living in the Vet’s home in Missouri after suffering a stroke.
7. My mother was in a nursing home for 7 years before she died in Aug.
8. I had my oldest daughter one month after I turned 16 years old.
9. I have three children total, one boy and two girls.
10. I have had many jobs in my lifetime but currently I am a merchandiser.
11. I work freelance for 2 companies and was hired as an employee for 3 others
12. I was married twice
13. I am now living in sin and liking it a lot better
14. My marriage life expectancies tend to run about 5 years
15. I have been living in sin for almost 7 years now with the love of my life
16. Christmas is my favorite holiday
17. I love the lights and family traditions my kids and I have started.
18. I love to read
19. I have only been able to pass this love of reading onto my oldest daughter
20. Although my middle daughter has recently gotten into it
21. I hold out hope that my son will someday understand the joy of reading
22. Mad Hatter is the 1st person that I have ever met that reads more than I do
23. My favorite color has changed throughout my life
24. Right now it is pink
25. I always have to have something to drink near me.
26. At home it is always sweetened iced tea
27. When I am driving around it is usually a cherry dr pepper from sonic
28. I am addicted to Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha lattes.
29. I do not make enough money to be addicted to Starbucks lattes
30. My favorite flowers are lilies
31. I have undiagnosed ADHD
32. I know this because I have absolutely no focus
33. Oh look! Shiny Thing!
34. Mad Hatter seems to think I have OCD
35. Just because I have certain things that must be done certain ways
36. Personally, I think he’s nuts
37. I hate cleaning bathrooms
38. But cleaning kitchens do not bother me
39. It sucks that I have two bathrooms
40. Since my oldest has moved out, she has become one of my best friends
41. I didn’t think that I would survive her teenage years
42. Or that I wouldn’t kill her
43. My middle daughter still lives with me. She is 18.
44. I hope to have that kind of relationship with her later.
45. If I don’t kill her first
46. My eyes change colors with my mood and what I am wearing.
47. Sometimes they are grey, blue or green
48. I am 5’10
49. I am so not telling you what I weigh
50. I love shoes and purses.
51. My closet is not very cooperative with my shoe and purse addiction.
52. It is much too small
53. People with no sense of humor annoy me
54. I like to cook
55. But cant sew to save my life
56. Although I did once make my son a fake fur vest for a school play
57. I am in the process of doing my first scrapbook
58. It’s a present for my daughter for Christmas
59. I really need to hurry up and finish it.
60. When doing laundry I don’t mind folding clothes
61. But I really hate hanging them on hangers
62. I am a Taurus
63. I hate cold weather
64. Unless I don’t have to go anywhere and can stay home all day
65. I can’t stand to sleep in socks
66. So I have cold feet every single night
67. I have colored my hair since I was 13 years old
68. It was blonde for the longest time but now is reddish brown
69. My house seems to have a revolving door.
70. Mostly at meal times.
71. My grocery bill is totally obnoxious
72. I am not a very organized person
73. But I really want to be
74. One thing I seem to be very good at is organizing fund raisers
75. Which is why I am in charge of all the ones for my sons Boy Scout Troop
76. My ideal vacation would be somewhere alone with Mad Hatter.
77. I didn’t ride on an airplane until I was 25 years old
78. I really didn’t like it
79. It might be because it was to Germany with 3 kids, by myself.
80. I have since rode a plane many times
81. It’s gotten easier, but I still don’t like it
82. I can’t function without my day planner and notebook.
83. My notebook contains all my lists.
84. I am a consummate list maker.
85. I’ve always wanted to visit Ireland
86. And find a pot of gold
87. I have a very neurotic dog.
88. I’m not sure he realizes he is a dog.
89. I have always wanted an herb garden.
90. But I tend to kill plants so I keep putting it off.
91. I am a procrastinator.
92. But I am trying to reform myself.
93. It’s not working very well.
94. I am not a morning person
95. I can't get up in the morning without hitting the snooze at least twice.
96. I got my first tattoo when I was 35.
97. It will be my last.
98. I miss the fact that my kids were once cute babies but I dont want anymore.
99. I will hold out for grandkids instead
100. This was really hard!

Thursday Thirteen #3

2008-12-11T21:41:00.001-08:00

Thirteen Things That Made Me Smile Today

1. The Bell Ringer in front of one of the Walmarts I was in today. I am in different stores several times a week and most of the time they ring their bells with a look on their face like they have the worst possible job in the world. Today, this particular Ringer was ringing his bell to the tune of Jingle Bells and dancing along with it. It was downright cute, made even cuter by the fact that he had to be 108.
2. A segment on the radio today while I was driving where they were discussing the worst possible gifts you can get for your child's teachers. They had teachers calling in with their two cents worth and some of their comments were just hilarious. BTW...for what it's worth, mugs, wooden or metal apples of any kind, and body lotions all seem to be things they would rather not get any more of.
3. The text that Mad Hatter sent me in the middle of the day that just said "I love you". AND it wasn't even because he wanted anything, at least not that he has mentioned yet.
4. Baby snuggles. Emily called today and asked if I would please please please babysit for a few hours until Dormouse got off work and could take over. She has been sick for a couple days so she was feeling all lethargic and wanted to just sit and snuggle in the chair. Sometimes I miss when my kids were little.
5. A clean garage!! I came home from work and Mad Hatter was outside cleaning out the garage. And I didn't even have to threaten to smother him with a pillow while he was sleeping.
6. A Christmas card from an old friend that I haven't seen in almost 10 years and haven't even talked to in over a year.
7. A pretty ornament from one of the managers at one of the stores I service monthly.
8. Baking Christmas cookies with a bunch of 12-13 year old boys for the bake sale we are having on Saturday. They had alot of fun and so did I.
9. A friend who called me today and asked if there was anything she could do to help me out with the bake sale on Saturday and the gift wrapping tomorrow since she cleared a bit of time in her calendar. God knows I needed some help!
10. The look on Mad Hatter's face when he found out that the reason his computer keeps crashing is because it needs a new thingamajig. Yes, I know that is not very helpful but when the person told him what it was he ordered the part and told him that he wouldn't charge labor. The look on his face was priceless when he heard this.
11. An email from my dad who just got a new computer and is back online now so it will be much easier to keep in touch with him. Course now I can't get through on his phone line to talk to him cause he is always on the computer.
12. Dinner. That I didn't have to cook. When Dormouse came home from work she brought a bunch of hot wings and fries because she knew that we had the meeting at our house tonight and that I wouldn't have time to cook. AND, she didn't want me to give her any money for it!
13. Gas for $1.38 a gallon!!!!

A day in the life of

2008-12-10T19:36:00.001-08:00

It's been awhile since I have updated and since I know that you are all on the edge of your seats wondering what is new in my life, I will just have to put you out of your misery.
Well for starters, I have been working ALOT. I have had two different meetings in the past couple weeks with different DM's from companies that I work for.
I have also been planning a Hot Cocoa/Bake Sale for the Parade on Saturday and only a portion of that includes the actual um, you know, baking, which incidentally I have not started yet because I am a procastinator.
There was also the birthday BBQ from hell this past weekend, wrapping of presents, christmas cards finished and mailed out, more shopping, doctors appointments, vet appointments, various meetings involving the scouts, popcorn money pickups and dropping off at the council.
Wow...I am tired just thinking about it. But alas, all good things will come to an end and after this weekend where I will spend Friday wrapping presents at the local bookstore for donations and then Saturday serving hot chocolate and various baked goods for money for the troop, I will just have to worry about things like day to day household stuff, work and Christmas.
CHRISTMAS!!!
Which brings me to the checklist, which when I pulled out my list, actually looks pretty good.

*Christmas cards filled out and mailed.
*All presents that have been bought already are wrapped and under the tree.
*Both boxes that must be mailed next week are already started and am just waiting for a couple things for one of them and I will take both of them to the Post Office as soon as it comes in.
*Cheshire Cat's scrapbook is about half done.
*Mad Hatter is done.
*Aiden is done.
*Jayla is done.
*I just need to pick up a few things for Caterpillar but I know what they are so I am good there.
*Grandma is done.
*Praying that Dad's book that I ordered comes in but I have a contingency plan if that doesn't work out.
*Need to pick up two more things for Dormouse but I know what those are and will pick them up in my "spare" time.

Now I just need to figure out something else for Cheshire Cat and something for Alvin and I should be done.
I think.

Ain't Family Grand?

2008-12-01T14:24:00.000-08:00

Could someone please explain to me where in the hell this year has gone???? The other day it was February and then I blinked and here it is December!
On one hand things are progressing as well as can be expected considering it's DECEMBER 1st!!!
Decorating is done, present shopping has been started, wrapping paper is bought, christmas cards are bought and sitting there waiting for me to get my head out of my butt and address them, weekends are planned out for the next few weeks, and lists have been made. I have even made a couple batches of christmas cookies and we have already started watching Christmas movies. So many movies, so little time.
On the other hand, I haven't wrapped anything yet, I haven't addressed my cards yet(though I do have stamps!!) I haven't finished my Christmas shopping yet, and I really need to at least get the stuff bought quickly that needs to be mailed.
Let's just focus on the good for now, shall we.

At least we got the decorating done.

I'm almost famous

2008-11-20T17:39:00.000-08:00

You should watch the news tonight.

Now, I won't necessarily be ON it. I will be the person that was annoying the newscaster while she redid the segment she was doing in one of my stores today, over and over and OVER again.

While standing in front of the display that I needed to get a picture of.

I am really hoping that they use the one that she was glaring at me in. I got tired of the whole "fake laughing when she was screwing up" thing that she had going on and just went ahead and did what I needed to do while she was trying to translate what "Walk up the aisle and around the corner while saying your line" meant.
Geez...some people have NO sense of humor.
or urgency.

A meeting of the minds

2008-11-14T10:09:00.000-08:00

I am all packed and ready to go camping. This weekend is the 100 year celebration of the Boy Scouts so we are going as a family. It should be noted that this is the first time that I have went camping since I was a small child. Of course Mad Hatter is not really happy with me because some of the essential things that I am bringing with me are not things that he believes belongs with camping.
First, is my moisturizer. Hello! I dont go ANYWHERE without my moisturizer. And it's not like I packed all of my makeup or anything.(Well at least none that he knows about)
Then there is the sheets and blankets for the air mattress. There is no way in hell I can sleep all cooped up in a sleeping blanket. Geez.
How about the cutting board and the disinfectant cleaner? Those are important, I would think.
Hand sanitizer........never leave home without it.
I threw a hot pad into the bag and he almost had a seizure. I asked him if, while cooking, he has ever had to grab something to pull the pan off the fire cause it was too hot and he finally shut up about that one.
He even had a problem with me bringing my camera and extra batteries. I just don't understand the man.
So see, this should be a very interesting experience. If we can make it though this weekend without Mad Hatter shooting me then I will be back on Sunday to tell you how it all went.
If, of course, I don't freeze to death out there since it is supposed to be 30 damn degrees.

Is Today Monday and Someone Forgot to Tell Me?

2008-11-05T14:12:00.000-08:00

The day started out as pretty normal. Woke Caterpillar up and told him to get ready for school. When he came out of his room Mad Hatter noticed that he was wearing the jeans that he wore yesterday and they weren't looking so healthy, if you know what I mean. So he told him to change. Caterpillar told him that he was wearing clean jeans so Mad Hatter went into his bedroom and checked the clothes hamper for the ones he wore yesterday. Guess what? They weren't there. So, he told Caterpillar to "CHANGE NOW!"
I was in the bedroom and MH was in the kitchen when Caterpillar came out of his room, yelled goodbye and ran out the door. A couple minutes later MH went into his room to check the dirty clothes hamper and lo and behold, there sat a pair of jeans. Folded up jeans that had not been worn at all.
Instead of changing his pants the little cretin pulled a clean pair out of the closet and threw it in the hamper.
Fabulous.
So I go to work. I am in a Best Buy where several weeks ago I had a GPS reset. This store could not find the new demo units and I have searched the backroom over. I have spoken with every single person that works in that store that would possibly know anything about it nobody has a clue where it is and they all claim they have never seen it.
I have gotten several emails and phone calls about these missing demo units and I have given names of people they can call to verify this fact.
Guess what I found today? The stupid box of demo units was sitting in the stack of boxes that come in daily that they have to scan in. It has apparently been sitting in this stack for the past three weeks. I never looked at it because I am not supposed to pull anything from that pile and I would have thought that weeks ago this would have been taken care of. Course, I had no time to get this project completed today so I will have to go back in the morning and do it.
Fabulous.
Now, the whole reason that I found this box with the demo units in it is because I was over in that area searching for a screwdriver in order to do another project. So I get the screwdriver and get all the stuff I need to do this other project. I pull off the part of the display wall that I need to work with. They have sent me the wrong bracket to use for this project. Siiiiiiiiiigh.
Fabulous.
At this point it just seemed like the best thing to do would be to just come home and pray that tomorrow is a better day.
So, how was your day?

Thought for the week

2008-11-03T21:23:00.000-08:00

Isn't parenthood supposed to get a bit easier as your kids get older? Specifically, when they become adults aren't you supposed to be able to relax just a smidgen and not have to worry about them as much?
I only ask because I am considering strangling my 18 year old daughter and I just wondered if this was something normal.
I remember when my oldest was 18, I had moments when I wanted to strangle her. Wasn't anything specific that I can think of now, but I do remember having them occasionally.
Possibly I am just blocking and in three years I won't remember the exact reasons that I am thinking about strangling her now. I suppose that is something to think about.

Updated Update

2008-11-01T12:55:00.001-07:00

Sniffffff. Excuse me, this is going to take a moment. I finally called this morning and ...sniff....my laptop, my beautiful shiny laptop, the one I know how to use, the one that I have gotten used to over the past few years, the one that I know as well as I know my own face, it has died.
Moment of silence please.
I have a new one now, and I am trying to make peace with it, but it is going to take awhile. It is a Sony Vaio and so much different than my little Gateway. I will have to see how it goes.
Incidentally, the problem with my old one was jibber jabber technical something or another that had to do with replacing the motherboard which would cost more than buying a new one.
Excuse me for a bit whilst I mourn.

Update

2008-10-31T08:59:00.000-07:00

Guess what I received yesterday? Go ahead, guess. I'll wait.
Give up? It was the stupid cord for my computer.
YAY!!!! Right?
After all that drama it turns out that it wasn't really the power cord at all. Now, that's not to say that I don't need the power cord. I do. But right now the power cord is slightly useless since the little prongy thing in the back seems to not be working.
So yesterday I packed up my laptop, grabbed the power cord, and went to my local computer physician. He did a bunch of little technical stuff with it, pronounced the little prongy thingy dead and after gently wrapping it in bubble wrap, promised that he would get back to me today in order to tell me how many thousands of dollars that it will take for me to get my computer back in full charging power.
I really, really miss my computer.

As the Post Office Turns

2008-10-28T15:42:00.000-07:00

It's been about a year since I complained about the post office in my neighborhood. Incidentally, if you were wondering, I finally received the check I was waiting for in June, along with several missing 1099's and W-2's.
A couple weeks ago the cord on my laptop decided to give up the ghost. I searched around for one that would work on my computer and am praying that it's not the little prongy thing in the back that is messed up. Of course I won't know that until I actually get the damn thing in.
Anywho........
I ordered it from Ebay and have since been awaiting anxiously for my precious cord to arrive. Of course I have a tracking number in which to make things easier for me to ~~stalk~~ check on the progress of my package. So imagine how happy I was yesterday to see this:
Detailed Results:

Delivered, October 25, 2008, 10:45 am, KILLEEN, TX 76549
Arrival at Unit, October 25, 2008, 8:07 am, KILLEEN, TX 76549
Processed, October 25, 2008, 12:15 am, WOODWAY, TX 76712
Processed, October 24, 2008, 3:00 am, FORT WORTH, TX 76161
Processed, October 20, 2008, 11:17 pm, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94188
Electronic Shipping Info Received, October 20, 2008

But wait! The 25th was on Saturday. This didn't make any sense. So, I called the post office to ask "What gives??"
I call the post office and speak directly to the postmaster because I am not a stupid person and I do try to learn from my mistakes. I explained the whole sordid story starting with the fact that I had the tracking number. He asked for the tracking number and proceeded to check it out to make sure I wasn't making things up. After checking and seeing that yes...it states that it was delivered to me, he then started the blame game.
PostMaster: "Well, have you looked through all of your mail?"
WhiteRabbit: "I have been waiting for this package for a week so yeah..I checked all my mail"
PM: "Maybe someone got the mail on Saturday and forgot to tell you"
WR: "I have one key for my mailbox and I am the only one that checks it"
PM: "Well we give you two keys...."
WR: "Regardless, I have one now and I am the only one that checks the mail. When I go out of town the mail stays in the box and nobody will check it until I get back"
PM:"Well, did you check the person's rating on ebay to make sure they actually sent it?"
WR: "Dude, check your computer screen again. The seller sent the package. It got lost on YOUR watch."
PM: "Well, maybe we can have the postal carrier check again and I will ask him about it when he gets back. Maybe he put it in the wrong box or something."
WR:"Well if he delivered it on Saturday, then yes, he put it in the wrong box cause it was NOT in my box. When will you speak with him and get back to me? This evening?"
PM:"Um no, he gets in really late from his route but I will call you first thing in the morning. What is your number?"

Fast forward to this morning. No phone call. So I tried to call him and the phone was consistantly busy for 3 solid hours. 3 HOURS! Finally, around 12:15 I was able to get through and he told me that he would have to call me back after speaking with the postal carrier who was going to look through everything. So I came home checked my mail and no package. Mail had been delivered but no package. Sigh.
So I called back and was placed on hold for 20 minutes before I hung up and called back. I was then told that he was busy and couldnt come to the phone.
Then my head exploded.
Okay, it didn't really explode but the long story short is that someone else has the stupid power cord that fits my damn computer and there isn't anything I can do about it. I just have to hope to God that the seller insured the package and if not that he is a nice person because honestly, he did everything he was supposed to do. It's not his fault that my post office sucks.

Question

2008-10-27T09:13:00.000-07:00

Do you think it's rude that I wait for Mad Hatter to leave the room after helping me hang up the clean clothes on hangers so that I can fix the ones he put on there wrong? I don't want to discourage him from helping me and get irritated about ONE MORE THING that I neurotic about but seriously, I really need the hook on the hanger to be facing towards the left when looking at the garment from the front. I know, I know. Maybe I am a touch neurotic.

Thursday Thirteen #2

2008-10-23T19:55:00.001-07:00

Thirteen Things that make me crazy

1. Mismatch socks. I know that seems a little um...OCD, but seriously, how hard is it to wear TWO MATCHING SOCKS!!!?
2. Towels not folded properly. Yes, we have established the whole OCD thing so get over it. I don't see why towels cannot be folded in half, in half again and then in thirds. It's not like I go to other people's houses and refold their towels or anything but in MY house they better be folded MY way.
3. Toilet paper sitting on top of the holder. How lazy can someone be to just put the new roll on top of the holder without actually putting it on the damn holder?
4. While we are on the subject of toilet paper, how about putting it on the holder in the right direction. The paper goes on the roll over NOT under.
5. People who call my phone and when I don't answer, call over and over again. Do you have no life?
6. People who do not seem to realize that they are not at home when they go out to eat. Last Friday Mad Hatter, Caterpillar and I went to a local Chinese Buffet place to get something to eat. While there I noticed not one, but two different girls who came in wearing pajamas.
7. People who lie. Especially when they lie in such a way that one could not possibly believe it, yet they expect you to anyway.
8. People who have no sense of humor. How can you get through your day without a sense of humor, seriously?
9. Calling a customer service number of any kind (Dell and Gateway are the worst) and getting someone who barely speaks English and what little they do speak is in such a heavy accent that you can't be sure that it really is English.
10. Trashcans. Okay, trashcans themselves don't annoy be but the trashcans in my house do. Apparently they can only be emptied if myself or Mad Hatter actually SAY "empty them". Did you know that approximately 10 more pounds of trash can be shoved into the top of the trashcan after it reaches the top of the rim?
11. The baggers at my local grocery store. Why on earth do they bother to sell the reusable grocery bags if they are going to get all pissy about it? And please tell me why they insist on wrapping things in PLASTIC bags before placing them in the reusable bags???
12. My bluetooth earpiece. How come the rest of the free world can get them to work but me, not so much?
13. Forwarded text messages. I didn't mind so much the emails that were forwarded constantly to me but for the love of God.....do you HAVE to text them to me too?

To sleep or not to sleep

2008-10-21T19:07:00.000-07:00

For weeks now I have been having a problem with sleeping. It started when I came back from mom's service. I KNOW! That was a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time ago!
It progressively got worse. First, I was up until 1 or 2 in the morning. Then it got to the ridiculous stage where I was up until 4 or 5 in the morning. I tried sleeping pills, not drinking any caffeine, everything I could think of.
One day a couple weeks ago I even decided that instead of going to sleep at 5 am, I got ready for work and left without sleeping. I figured that I would be exhausted all day long but by that night I would be ready to fall into a coma.
Um, no.
I was dead tired all day long and all evening long. I stopped working around 4pm, went to the gym, came home, made dinner, did laundry, did my reports, took a nice relaxing bath, cleaned up the kitchen, and went to bed around 10.
At 11:15 I got back up cause I was driving Mad Hatter crazy tossing and turning. I finally went to sleep at 3am.
Needless to say, this was making me nuts. I don't punch a time clock but there are things that I need to get done and by not actually getting out of my house until 11 in the morning this was making life a little difficult.
Flash forward to Sunday. It was a busy day with friends from out of town. By that evening I was totally exhausted so I figured that I would be able to actually go to sleep at a decent time.
I was in bed by 9:00 and sleeping great by 9:15. At 11:30 I glanced at the clock and was in a panic. I was scared to open my eyes fully because I was afraid I would wake all the way up and be up all night long again. Unfortunately, by midnight I was up again and couldn't go back to sleep until 4am.
This was making me crazy. I needed to sleep and I needed to get up earlier in the mornings in order to get my job done.
The other day Mad Hatter bought me some Melatonin. It's a natural way to get your body moving in the right direction for sleep. I took one last night at 8pm and was in bed by 10pm. I slept all the way through and when my alarm went off at 6 this morning I was up and moving. It was great! I had an incredibly productive day and wasn't tired at all through the whole day. I had enough energy to work until 4 and then go to the gym. I took another one about an hour ago and am starting to feel that nice sleepy feeling that has been eluding me for so long.
Keep your fingers crossed that I am cured!!

Am I a bitch?

2008-10-13T20:27:00.000-07:00

Maybe I am making too much of this. It's entirely possible that I am just looking for something else to be annoyed about.
I have a large dog. Who barks. Loudly.
Now, it's not the barking per se that I have a problem with, although it is a bit annoying and I am seriously thinking about investing in a bark collar.
My problem arises with the fact that when people come to my door he barks at them. He also stands at the window beside the door and looks out.
The problem that I have is that there are certain people that come to my house that when they see the dog at the window will back all the way up until they are standing beside my driveway. They will then talk in a normal voice that I am unable to hear unless I walk all the way outside and down the sidewalk.
I have noticed that only certain people are doing this.
* People there to fertilize my lawn.
* Salespeople
* Religious recruiters
* Salespeople who say they are NOT salespeople but somehow or another still have something they are selling that they wish us to buy.

This annoys the crap out of me on so many different levels. First, I hate answering the door to pushy ass people. Second, don't make me do the work of coming out and walking to you in order to tell you I'm not interested.
So am I being a bitch if, when I answer the door and the person is all the way at the other end of the sidewalk, I stay at the door and if I am unable to hear them I turn around and close the door? Not that I really care about being perceived as a bitch or anything. I have worked long and hard for this title.

Thursday Thirteen #1

2008-10-02T19:24:00.000-07:00

Thirteen Lists I Have Lying in a Notebook
1. Daily To Do List
2. ToDo list of things that I really mean to get done but never seem to get around it This would be the list my children hate to have things for them end up on.
3. Things that need to be done but not right this second. This would be for things like make Cody's physical appointment and will be marked off this list when it is transferred to my Daily list.
4. Phone Calls I need to make. Believe it or not there are about 5 calls written on this list right now
5. Fall cleaning list. If I dont write it on this list then I will have a clean house but dirty vent covers.
6. Bills to Pay list. You would think this would keep me from being late with anything and while I admit it's easier than it used to be I still falter with this.
7. Grocery list. I just wish my family would communicate with me about things they use the last of.
8. Christmas list. This is where I write down everyone I have to buy for and jot down ideas for these people.
9. Clothes for everyone that is needed or will be needed in the future. Every time I am doing laundry or whatever and notice that someone needs socks, new pants, more shirts, whatever....it goes on this list.
10. Weekly work list. It seems to work better for me if I write down everything on Sunday so that I can get a good idea of how to divvy things up.
11. Monthly work list. Some of my jobs are monthly jobs so it's easier to keep them seperate from the weekly jobs.
12. Things to buy list. This is the list that things such as books I want to read, school supplies for Cody, ect are listed.
13. List of places I want to go when I finally have my nervous breakdown and run away from home. Okay, this one was added in last minute since I only had 12 lists (which incidentally is pretty damn sad) But I think it was necessary.
You may think I am exaggerating but seriously these are all in my notebook which Mad Hatter looked at today and decided that it was official...I am nuts.

Driving For Dummies: Chapter 1

2008-09-24T17:21:00.000-07:00

On the right side of every steering wheel of every car is a lever. This lever can be pushed up or down in order to indicate the direction that your car will be turning. Push it up to turn left and push it down turn right. Simple, huh?
This will negate the need for other drivers to call up their psychic abilities in order to determine what the hell you are planning to do.

ARGH!

2008-09-18T20:24:00.000-07:00

Know what tomorrow is? Go ahead. I'll wait.

It's National Talk Like a Pirate Day! Have you hugged your pirate today?

I have a tendency to wear my mind on my sleeve, I have a history of taking off my shirt

2008-09-08T22:17:00.000-07:00

It has been an incredibly long few weeks but I think that I am ready to step back into the land of the living and actually attempt to ya know, live.
Mom died a week ago yesterday and her funeral was on Saturday. I was actually able to make it back home for it and for that I am eternally grateful. I feel a bit more peaceful now, though there is still regret for things that I can't change.
Now onto other issues.....
I have had my problems with what my family ~~lovingly~~ describes as OCD and ADD. I have focusing problems and at times will get all distracted by one point that usually is not the MAIN point of whatever it is that I am working on or talking about. I also have those little idiosyncrasies that I do all the time that makes whoever is around me absolutely bat shit. Lately though, it has gotten a bit out of control.
Now, I am not completely oblivious to my issues. I know that right at this particular moment in my life I am feeling really out of control so I am trying to compensate by having control over EVERYTHING ELSE. I recognize this. It doesn't help me at all though. I have this new thing that I keep finding myself doing and I really thought that I had been fairly slick about it but apparently my ~~loving~~ annoying family has been just humoring me.
I use hand sanitizer, ALOT.
I have a little travel container that hooks onto my purse. I also have another one that hooks onto each of my bags. I have a small bottle in my car. I have a large bottle in the kitchen by the sink and one in each bathroom on the counter. I use them all the time. Repeatedly.
I have bought 6 large bottles that I use to refill the smaller ones in the past few weeks. I think I have a hand sanitizer problem. And they noticed....they have all noticed and have apparently discussed it amongst themselves. But surely it's just sanitizer, right? It's not like it's crack or anything. I can..um...I can stop anytime I want.

Mom

2008-08-21T21:52:00.001-07:00

I have had bad days. I have had bad weeks. Hell, occasionally I have had bad months. But this month....this month just sucks.
I am sitting here right now awaiting a phone call. A phone calling telling me that my mom has died. And I am having a really hard time trying to figure out how I feel exactly.
My relationship with my mom was always difficult. We tried, somewhat, both of us at different times. She would make an effort and I would avoid it, then I would make an effort and she would avoid it. It just never really seemed to work out.
Then seven years ago she had a stroke. About 3 years before her stroke she was diagnosed with MS. About a year before the stroke she had fallen at work and broken her back. That was the beginning of the end.
She has been in a nursing home for the past seven years. About four years ago she pretty much stopped communicating with everyone. She didn't recognize me on my trips back to Missouri and she just pretty much gave up all hope.
I have tried to make it back there at least once a year and spend time with her. I just got back.
Last Friday my brother called me to tell me that she was not getting any better. She had contracted pneumonia after having her feeding tube put in and the antibiotics were not helping. The doctor told him to contact the family and get them here.
So Dormouse and I packed up her car and headed up there. We drove all night and arrived the next morning. She made it through the night and everyone was amazed that she was getting better. Her breathing was starting to get better and she was finally able to cough which was necessary in helping to clear up her lungs. By Monday she was focusing on our faces and it seemed that, at least for now, she was gonna be okay. Her sister had flown in from California and we both needed to be getting back home so Wednesday afternoon I headed back and today her sister headed back to California.
She took a turn for the worse.
Her lungs started filling with fluid again and she couldn't breathe. Her oxygen levels dipped down into the low 80's and now her kidneys are starting to fail. It could happen at any time.
I know she has not had any kind of life for a very long time now. She doesn't talk, she doesn't really recognize anyone. She doesn't watch tv, she doesn't participate in anything. She sleeps. She wakes up and she naps again. Now that she has a feeding tube she doesn't even get to eat the pureed stuff they have been feeding her for the past few years. So even the pleasure of eating is gone. I know that it would probably be better for her....her body is worn out and is pretty much done but its really hard to let go...She's only 59 years old. I really thought that I would be relieved. I thought that it would be better for her...she's suffering so much and I know this. But there is a part of me...this part of me that has longed for a relationship with my mother like the one that I have with my daughters. I want to be able to call her and tell her what is going on. I want her to call me and tell me what is going on in her life. I want to be able to go shopping with her, go to the movies, have a holiday celebration. I want all of this and more.
I just want another chance to do it all again.

Bullet posts....the lazy bloggers friend

2008-08-17T22:16:00.000-07:00

Because I am so scatterbrained and can't seem to keep up on anything I am doing I have decided that I will just bullet point the highlights to save time. There are so many different things that I could think of to write about but sometimes having too much to say is just every bit as bad as having nothing to say.

1. Dormouse is safely home where she belongs. Her friend came over yesterday to wait for her and brought the baby and since Dormouse wasn't going to be home until tonight she and the baby just stayed over. Was very very strange to wake up to a crying baby last night.
2. I broke my toe. And it hurts.
3. Cheshire Cat has officially been laid off from her job and is now unemployed. She will begin looking for a new job as soon as she stops hyperventilating.
4. Today was Cheshire Cat's boyfriends birthday. Don't remember if I ever introduced him but since he has become a main character we will just call him Al. His little boy is Aiden. (Cant seem to shorten that...lol) Also, Dormouse's friend and the baby will hereafter be referred to as Em and Jay. We got a cake and when the girls got home we were able to have cake and ice cream.
5. Did I mention that I broke my toe and it hurts?
6. Jack's (the dog just in case you are wondering) fur was all dead on the undercoat and we have been having a terrible time trying to get it under control and unmatting it. Well...I always wanted a hairless dog and I now seem to have one. He was completely shaved this weekend and is now about a third of his normal size. He looks so pathetic and I feel so badly for him. He wont be able to go on walks for awhile cause I don't know if his ego can handle the other dogs laughing at him.
7. Caterpillar decided that he wanted to be able to see instead of having shaggy hair. Instead of waiting for the next day so I could take him to get his hair cut he decided that he would cut it himself. He now has VERY short hair.
8. Toe still hurting here.
9. The good news about the toe thing is that it has taken my mind off my hurt shoulder.
10. I spent all day Saturday cleaning Dormouse's room (and hyperventilating) and went through all of his clothes. I now have two HUGE bags of clothes to take to goodwill unless anyone happens to need boys shirts in a size 16-18. The pants never make it to goodwill as he is way too hard on them.
11. I hear a mouse!!!!!!!!!!
12. Crap! I just checked and its in the damn trap. Everyone is asleep, dammit.
13. Tomorrow is Monday.........I hate Mondays
14. I have almost completed back to school shopping. Maybe a couple more pairs of jeans and a few shirts.
15. It's gonna be a very very very long and complicated week.

Good News/Bad News

2008-07-28T20:43:00.000-07:00

~~SAM~~
FLORA
~~MACK~~
JOE

~~SAM JR~~
~~MACK JR~~
JOE JR
FLORA JR
JOE'S FRIEND MIKE

That is the most recent tally with sightings and all....I am not happy

Immigration Issues on the Home Front

2008-07-27T14:22:00.000-07:00

Immigration is a hot topic lately. Political parties are arguing back and forth about the best possible solution for this problem and nobody seems to have come up with any clear cut answers.
Now, I don't profess to have all the answers. Hell, I don't even have some of the answers for this national dilemma, but I may have a few answers for my own personal immigration issue.
A few months ago the powers that be decided that the field behind my house should be cleared and used for "something". Now, nobody seems to know what this something is but damn it when it becomes clear the field will be ready and able.
Unfortunately, the clearing of that field caused all of the field mice that called that place home to pack up their little bags and find classier digs.
I do not like mice. I also do not like spiders, frogs, bugs that are the size of cantaloupes (I'm looking at you palmetto bug!!) or snakes. Mice though, mice are particularly disturbing.
About a month and a half ago I started noticing the problem. At that time we actually had a cat so the cat caught it and actually took it outside and the little mouse scurried off and did whatever mice do. I was happy with this result. While I don't like rodents in my home I do not want them dead. Seriously, my karma points are at an all time low and I just don't need the hassle. But then the cat ran away (should have been my first clue to the mouse dilemma). A couple weeks later we found one floating in the dog's water dish (oops...apparently switching the food and water dish confused the little suckers) so that brought the tally to two. Well, unless that was the same mouse and it found its way back into the house. Then I started hearing things scurrying around here and there and while sitting here innocently in the living room on my laptop one night I looked up and one scurried past me and ran under the tv stand.
Okay, that was a BIG problem. Apparently they were not happy with the garage and the kitchen anymore. They were taking over the entire house!
So today I went to Lowe's in search of little mousie cages that would capture the mice so that I Mad Hatter could capture them and remove them without actually killing them. I searched and searched but all I could find were traps that would kill them. "I don't wanna kill them" I whined to Mad Hatter. "I just don't want them to be roommates anymore."
Apparently this was too much to ask so I left the store and went to Walmart thinking that since they carry EVERYTHING surely they would have this.
Nope. Nothing that didn't say KILL THE MICE on it. Sigh.
So I resigned myself. I told Mad Hatter that I would just have to make little name tags for them so I could at least pretend they were pets. I thought that maybe I could just print up little eviction notices and possibly half of them would be offended enough to find a new home.
And then I went to the grocery store where I found, right there by the bugspray, what I was looking for. Little itsy bitsy house like things that you put the bait in and it captures them and DOES NOT KILL THEM. Then you take it outside, open it up, and let it scurry out in hopes of finding a new home. SWEET!
So I bought 4 of them and put peanut butter in each one. I also explained to Mad Hatter that he was to take no out of town jobs for the next month or so because I am not going to be left here explaining to the little mice that they have to wait til he gets back to let them free. So now I sit here waiting patiently for the Joe, Mack, Sam and Flora to get a hankering for peanut butter. And pray they haven't reproduced because I have run out of names for these furry little illegal aliens.

I need a twelve step program

2008-06-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

I have too many lists. Waaaaaaaay too many lists. I actually have on one of my lists that I need to make a list. Seriously, it's right there, number 23. I can't make these things up.
Mad Hatter gets very annoyed with my lists. So do my kids. Inevitably, someone will ask me to do something or they will tell me that something needs to be done and I tell them that I will put it on my list.
They all know what this means. It means that it will never get done.
I have every intention of getting my lists completed. I love crossing things off...making that big ol line right through the task at hand. But I don't do it. And you wanna know why I don't do it?
BECAUSE I AM A PROCRASTINATOR.
That's right. Hi, my name is White Rabbit and I am a procrastinator.
Procrastinating has been my biggest downfall for years. It costs me tons of money every year and it makes me crazy. I know that if I just do something and get it completed then I won't have to think about it again (well until the next time that something comes up). I know that I will feel better about things if I get them done. Unfortunately, it doesn't help.
My job is a TERRIBLE job for a procrastinator. Oh, its nice and all that I don't have to punch a time clock. And it's great that I get to make my own schedule for the most part. I get my assignments and then I have a certain amount of time to get them done. Some of them I have the entire month, some only a week. Some are very small windows. Every Wednesday I have one assignment that is due. It's not that bad of an assignment, really. It's not difficult at all. And I have Mon, Tues or Wed to get it done. The last two weeks I have completed it on Thursday...sigh. Again, procrastinating.
I have noticed that I do better when I am held accountable for things. So I am making this vow now.....I will sit down this weekend and will figure out all of my assignments for the coming month. At least most of the ones that I know about. I will write them, IN PEN, into my day planner and I will not come home from work until these things are done. I will not fluff off a day, if I want to take an extra day off it will not be on Mondays anymore. I will have to work extra hard to get it all completed so that I can take Friday off. I will also get at least 5 things on my big master list completed. These are stupid things like find a new doctor that takes my new health insurance and make an appointment, or pick up Cody some new shorts for the summer, or check out Goody's going out of business sale. Five things, every week. That's not so bad.....as long as I don't procrastinate.

Crabby R Us

2008-06-24T20:55:00.000-07:00

I am having a bad week. I am pretty busy this week but honestly, it's been worse. This week I have resets of the PC Speaker displays in Circuit City to do. I did one of them today and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I hate having to do electronic resets where I have to hook up stuff and pray for them to work but it really makes me feel good when I finish and everything works exactly the way it should. It was pretty pathetic but I pretty much made every person working in the store come over and ooh and ahh over my display when it was done. MH is right...I am high maintenance.
When I went to leave the store today I was met by a man at the front door selling almond chocolate bars for $2 each. He told me that it was to support drug addicts who want to get help. So of course I had to open my damn mouth, without thinking as I often do, and said "So, you're saying that I should buy a $2 and 500 calorie candy bar to help people who just WONT SAY NO" Luckily, the man had a sense of humor and I actually bought the candy bar from him. While walking to my car I wondered to myself if calories count if the candy bar was to help a charity. My conscience prevailed however and I was sitting at a stop light when I noticed someone standing with a sign asking for food or money so I gave them the candy bar. (SO QUIT GOING BACK AND LOOKING AT MY FOOD DIARY AND NOTICING THAT I DIDN'T PUT IT ON THERE!)
Honestly, I think the reason I am so crabby today is because I ate like crap today. Actually, this morning I didn't eat anything but I drank a crapload of calories and I always feel like crap when I don't eat anything til dinnertime. Gotta remember to take a sandwhich or something with me tomorrow.
It's only Tuesday so surely this week will get a little better, right?

Calories that shouldn't count

2008-06-22T14:13:00.000-07:00

In my quest to count calories I have encountered many questions regarding weather or not to count the calories for certain things.

1. When cooking something and having to taste it to determine if more seasoning should be added should you really try to break it down to the bite? I mean come on, it's not like I am eating half a serving or something (most of the time)
2. When you are eating mozzarella sticks and you have portioned them out to just have two of them and your significant other is sitting over there chowing down on his plateful, complete with ranch dressing to dip them in, should it really count if you just reach over and dip your mozzarella stick into his ranch dressing? Didn't I read somewhere that calories from stolen food do not count?
3. When in the midst of a nervous breakdown and you are pacing back and forth and burning more calories than you actually are consuming, should you have to count those if you don't count the pacing as exercise?
4. When cleaning off the table and there is one piece of bacon left on the plate from breakfast that you don't want to waste by throwing away, does it count if you just pop it in your mouth or is that considered clean up?
5. When cleaning out the refrigerator and coming across that last piece of quesidilla in the glad ware container should you count the calories consumed or is that, like the above question, considered clean up?
6. Again, another clean up question. When cleaning out the nightstand on your significant others side of the bed and coming across a mostly empty bag of reeses pieces do you count the calories for the leftover candies that you scarfed down while frantically making sure that nobody is watching?
7. When someone, without your knowledge, brings you a latte, do you have to count the calories or should that be considered being polite?

This dieting thing is turning out to be more confusing than I thought it would be.

Announcement

2008-06-18T21:12:00.000-07:00

I am annoyed.

That is all

Success!

2008-06-17T11:37:00.000-07:00

My brand new, less than a year old smoothtop Maytag range has stopped working. Okay, the oven works great, the three smaller burners all work just fine. The bigger burner that normal people use for oh, let's just say EVERYTHING, works so-so. But only on high. Have you ever tried to cook everything on high. Yeah......doesn't work so well.
So I tried to call in to get it fixed. I have actually tried on numerous occasions but the run around just got to be too taxing for my poor little head.
Today, however, yes today I sat down and determined that I would get to the bottom of who exactly is responsible. After two friggin hours on the phone with 9 different people I have an appointment on Thursday....sometime between the hours of o'dark thirty and o'my god it's time for bed!

It's official...I'm a wimp

2008-06-16T20:50:00.000-07:00

For years and years and years I was always the tall skinny one. Now, I didn't particularly think I was THAT skinny....especially once I hit my 20's. I was fairly comfortable with my weight then, as evidenced by the fact that I could eat half of a cow and follow that up with a vat of ice cream and not have any evidence of the fact later.
I have now found the evidence. In the past 5 years I have gained 50 lbs and a whole bunch of blobby sections on different parts of my body. Yeah...not so cool.
For the past couple years I have whined about it but not done much beyond the whining, which apparently is annoying to my family. (Poor little skinny ass wimps)
This has all changed recently. A few months ago I started cooking things a bit different and started buying different things at the grocery store. I don't have cookies or chips in my house anymore. If my kids want a snack they need to grab some yogurt, or string cheese or apples or maybe even a granola bar. Strangely enough, they really aren't that upset about this. Go figure.
Then last week I joined Curves. I was just going to check it out. You know, run in and see how everything works. I really didn't want to deal with having a contract or anything. I just wanted to see what it was all about. One of my friends has been trying to talk me into going for about a year now but I just never seemed to have the time. So I wander in and ask about prices and things and they set me up with an appointment to come back later on that day so they can go over everything with me. Okay, that doesn't sound so painful. So I went back and OMG they were brutal. First she gave me this thingie that somehow or another read how much body fat there was on my body. THEN she made me get on a scale. Then....while I was still trying to adjust to the fact that the scale actually yelped when I got on ......she came at me with the dreaded measuring tape!!! A measuring tape!! ON MY THIGHS!!!!!!!!!!
Oh the horror!
So needless to say, after that little bit of persuasion plus selling I was begging her to let me sign a contract.
I am supposed to go in three times a week so I decided that I would do Mon, Wed and Fri. Unfortunately, my first day there happened to fall on a Thursday so I figured that week I would do Thurs and Sat.
I went in on Thurs and thought everything went pretty good considering that I haven't exercised in probably 10 years. I did the stretchy thing, I did the two rounds on all the machines and I felt pretty damn good. I was dripping with sweat when it was done but I felt pretty energized.
Then I woke up on Friday morning and almost died. My calves were KILLING ME. I had to work that day and wouldn't you know it .....that was one of those days that I had 11 different stores to do. Which means not only walking around those stores but also walking from the parking lot TO the store.
Did you know that 90% of the parking lots in my area slope upwards slightly? Yeah...me either.
Did you also know that it is damn near impossible to limp properly when you don't have a clue which leg hurts more?
Luckily all I had to say was ..."New gym membership" and everyone seemed to understand.
By Sat morning they were still hurting but I was afraid that I would never go back so I went anyway. I made it throughout the entire thing, but just barely.
Sunday was much better and though it still hurt I managed to actually go shopping without having to hobble.
Today when I went the muscles were still straining but I managed to get through the routine without fire shooting out of my legs so I figure that I am making a bit of progress.
Honestly, I knew I would have some discomfort but damn.....this is downright embarrassing! I'm a wimp!

And another one bites the dust

2008-06-09T21:32:00.000-07:00

It's finally over. My daughter is now officially a high school graduate. (SOB!)

No...really. I'm fine. It's not like this is my first time around with a child graduating. But it just FEELS differently than when Cheshire Cat graduated. Dormouse just doesn't seem to be as old as CC. Not to mention that 6 hours after graduation she was on her way to Austin with her dad so they could fly to Missouri for the summer. (SOB!)

Anyway.....

This weekend was, well....it was interesting, for lack of a better word. MH's family was supposed to get here on Saturday afternoon and the girls dad was supposed to fly in on Friday. Of course you will take notice that I used the word SUPPOSED. The girls dad was here right on time, just like he was supposed to be, however, MH's family decided it would be fun to come down here a day early. And not tell us. Until they were half way here. Yeah...fun. (SOB!)

Well that worked out all okay. His parents got a room and his sister, brother and the little boy his sister is taking care of all stayed with us. That wasn't so bad. The girls dad stayed with Cheshire Cat in Austin so they were only here during the day and in the evening. That was a little trickier.

Imagine if you will.....being in your ex wife's house for an entire weekend with her inlaws and friends. I actually felt sorry for him at first. Until he decided to get a bit creepy. Now, keep in mind that I have been divorced from this man for 15 years. I haven't really had anything to do with him at all besides on the phone for the past 8 years. (This would be where it comes in handy to live two states away from your ex) Honestly, the man has had his issues but I really don't remember him being ......creepy. He would sit there and not say a word. Just stare. And then there were several times that I was standing somewhere doing something and he would just come up and stand there looking down at me. He is pretty tall so that wasn't a major feat, however it was just the way that he did it. The girls and I have joked in the past that it really wouldn't surprise any of us to find out that he had a hidden second life. And that he was a serial killer or something. After this weekend though...I don't think it's really a joke.

I could have lived with that whole thing though but he had to go and make Dormouse cry. Long story short......For the past few years he has talked about the fact that he was going to give her one of the cars that he and his wife have. Even to the point of calling it her car when discussing it with anyone. He did the same thing for Cat when she graduated also. Told her she was getting a car but then she went and had to pay for most of it with the money that had been given to her over the years for birthdays and christmas. He placed it all into a bank account and that was what it was used for. Well she went up there to work for the summer and got the car. Dormouse was supposed to do it this year but now all of a sudden he has to buy her another car because they dont want to get rid of the "Dormouse's car" So now he is upset that she doesnt have enough money saved and that he will have to drive her back and forth for work. Um...get over it. Who the hell do you think has driven her to and from work and everywhere else she has needed to go for the past 18 years??? Now, this is not a surprise to him. He knew when coming down here how much money she had. Why did he choose this weekend when everyone was here and there was so much commotion going on? And then when she started crying he wouldn't let her out of her room cause he told her she was too upset to go out in the other room. GRRR.

But he is now gone and barring her wedding and college graduation....I really shouldn't have to deal with any of that anymore.

I was having a really hard time getting pics of the graduation ceremony since nobody was allowed down there with a camera. I am hoping that they will send the proofs of the photos that they took as they were getting their diplomas so that I can buy some. I am feeling a bit out of focus now....my baby has graduated and I only have one left. (SOB!) I am really proud of her, but please tell me that this icky, don't know what to do with myself feeling goes away. (SOB!)

It's that time of year again

2008-05-22T18:41:00.001-07:00

It's the time of year where I must say goodbye to my favorite television characters for the summer and pray they return in the fall. Last year I had to say goodbye to both Charmed and Gilmore Girls. This year it looks like I may luck out and get to keep all the shows that I watch and love. But what about the characters????
Let's start with Bones :
I have watched this show from the beginning and though alot of people complain about it, I have always liked it. The season finale however, really threw me off. In the preceding episode it looked like Booth had been killed and the opening scene in the season finale did little to dispute that since they were all getting ready to go to his funeral. Now, personally I really felt that there was no way they could kill off his character and I really had a feeling that his death had been faked somehow. Of course the writers came up with the same logical conclusion though they came up with a really half assed explanation for it. I however, will forgive them for this faux pas specifically because they finally ended the "Gormogon" mystery. I was surprised, not shocked, about the way they brought that around. Someone in the Jeffersonian had to be involved as his apprentice and though I did not believe for a second that it was Hodgins (way too obvious) I was caught off guard when it was revealed that it was Zack.

NCIS
This is one of my favorite shows of all time. I love Mark Harmon and Mike Weatherly. The show would just not be the same without either of those people. For months now I had heard that someone would be getting killed off by the end of the season. There are seven main characters and it would definitely be one of those seven. Gibbs, Tony, Ziva, McGee, Abby, Jenny or Ducky. After careful consideration I determined that the only one of these that I would be comfortable with losing is Jenny. And because the writers over at NCIS carefully check with me before making any major decisions, they concurred and Jenny was killed within the first hour of the two hour season finale. I knew there would be fallout from this and that the team would take a beating, however it never occurred to me that the new NCIS director would decide that he should play God and split the team up. The season finale ended with Ziva getting sent back to Israel, Tony getting assigned to a ship and McGee getting reassigned to the cyber division! No, no, no NCIS writers. Bad writers!! Someone, somewhere better be gearing up to fix this immediately in the beginning of the next season or I will be incredibly upset.

CSI

Seriously, I haven't been into CSI for quite awhile. Though I was really happy when Sara left,I just never quite got back into that adoration I had for this show in the beginning . I did manage to tune into the finale because I knew that this would be Warrick's last hurrah and figured that I would see how they did with that. Seriously....there is nothing that CSI could do to beat the season finale years ago when they buried Nick Stokes alive. That show had me sitting on the edge of my seat and I honestly have not been able to get back to enjoying it as much as I did then. As the episode progressed and it came out the Warrick had been set up I really thought that he would just say "Screw it, I'm done." or else he would get fired because of his personal problems or something. I did not expect him to be shot, point blank, while we all sat and watched. It should make for an interesting few episodes at the beginning of next season so I will probably tune in to watch that and see how it plays out.

Criminal Minds

OMG...where to start?? JJ finally announced that she was pregnant and it was so touching the way that Hotchner was upset that she didn't tell him. Morgan was in fine form and the premise of the episode was very compelling. I mean come on......all these murders and different suspects in each one? Brilliant! But the ending...oh the ending. The last scene is everyone getting into their vehicles and of course they all have dark colored SUV's. Hotch, JJ, Morgan, Reid, Rossi, Garcia and Emily. All in different vehicles! And then one of them blows up! IT BLOWS UP! And so now I have to wait until the beginning of next season to find out who. Personally, I am going to go on the line and make my assumption right now. I believe that it will be JJ and though she will lose the baby and Will will be killed, she will somehow survive. That is just my theory.

House

I have been bored with House this entire season. Ever since Cameron, Chase, and Foreman left House's team it just hasn't been the same. I caught a few episodes throughout the season and got to know some of the new team members. I was never overly crazy about Amber but I was really glad when she and Wilson got together. I really enjoyed the episode where he realized that Amber was just a female version of house. It was hilarious. I really looked forward to seeing where they were going to take that relationship and how House figured into it. Amber was involved in a bus crash along with House, whom she was actually just trying to help. Of course she took some flu medication and before her kidneys had time to actually process it the bus crashed and damaged her kidneys, making the medication poison the rest of her body. They put her in a protective hypothermia while trying to figure out what is wrong with her but when they finally figure it out, there is nothing they can do. So, they wake her up so that Wilson can at least spend the last few hours of her life with her and that was the most heart wrenching thing I have watched in a very long time. The look on her face as Wilson explains what happened and when she realizes that there is no hope for her. The range of emotions ......disbelief, horror, terror, and sadness. All within seconds. Seriously, this woman deserves an Emmy! This was, without a doubt, the best season finale of all...and from a show that I wasn't even sure that I liked anymore! There was no way to watch this without your eyes tearing up just a little.

So, now I play the waiting game. There is never anything on during the summer worth watching, at least nothing that I have found. But I will have the fall to look forward to......someday.

People who have annoyed me today

2008-05-16T22:29:00.000-07:00

1. The GM at one of my stores who decided on the very last day of the week to get everything accomplished that "on second thought he would really like to have that display built"
2. The school nurse who called me while I was working over an hour away to tell me that my son had an accident during Field Day and really needed to be taken in to see the doctor. After traveling at high speeds to get back here because I have the only insurance card for him we realized it was just a little sprain and he was fine. I swear school nurses are the bane of a working mothers existence.
3. The manager of another of my stores who called me to tell me that a display came in and she wouldn't have time to get it up and I really needed to get it out of her storeroom. So tomorrow I will be putting up her damn display.
4. The Altell Information Operator who, when I called the first time to ask for the number to my kids doctor, gave me the wrong number to the wrong place but hurried and transferred me to the automated system before I could finish telling her.
5. The Altell Information Operator that I called the second time to complain about the first and get the number that I needed.
6. The Altell Information Operator that I called the THIRD time to complain because his coworkers were morons and the second operator gave me the friggin fax number.
7. The doctor's office, who decided that in the midst of my incredibly stressful day that putting me on hold for 15 minutes would be a good idea.
8. My District Manager who called me today to apologize because she forgot to order my plane tickets when they were only $150 and now that they are $450 I will have to drive to Dallas instead on Tuesday morning.
9. My sons school who seems to think that I am an amazing person who can pull a fake fur vest out of my ass for his school costume that is due on Monday.
10. My daughters school who calls with the automated message about paying book fines or else they will hold her grades and her diploma for ransom. The books are all turned in on Monday and they are scanned in with the numbers. Now, I was waiting until this happened so we can determine weather or not someone else has her book. When I called the school to tell them this they explained that it was really a long shot and they really wanted to make sure that they get the money turned in by Wednesday. I asked them if I sent in a check and then someone turns in the book does that mean they will contact me and reimburse me. She was unable to answer this simple question.

See.. I was just trying to do the wrong kind of lists. These are really easy!
Please tell me that tomorrow will be a better day

SEND HELP!!! I'M BEING ATTACKED BY BOXES!

2008-05-14T21:26:00.000-07:00

I know this is a little dark but this is my entry way. No, that is not what my wall looks like.....that is a stack of boxes that were sitting there when I walked in my house this evening. Actually, you can only see six of the boxes. There are NINE.

I have a small car. No gas guzzler for me! Since I drive on average 300-500 miles a week that is usually a good thing. At times like this however, not so good. How in the hell am I going to get all these stupid boxes into my car?????

On another note.....Dormouse's graduation is coming up quickly. I really need to get things together and start on the many of projects that we wanted to get done before then. On Friday afternoon we will be going to pick up the tile so that the kitchen, dining room, entry way and both bathrooms will get tiled, hopefully before next weekend. Mad Hatter has decided that he really wants to do some painting. I have no problem with this but I told him that all the other stuff needs to get done first and if there is any time leftover then he is more than welcome to attempt that.

Mothers Day was really nice. All of my kids were here and it was also Dormouse's 18th birthday so we just combined it all and it was great. I got flowers from Cheshire Cat and from Mad Hatter but since my birthday is on Monday I figure that is okay as long as someone pulls a really nifty present out for me!

2008-05-07T21:17:00.000-07:00

I have a dog. His name is Jack. This is my dog.

He is a very cute dog and I actually like him most of the time but seriously, can this dog get any more nuerotic????

For over a week this stupid thing has been limping around and acting like he was dying. Over the weekend it got really bad so on Monday I called and made him an appointment for the next day and took him in to be looked at.

Have you ever had a car that made funny noises and you take it in to the mechanics and all of a sudden the car decides that it is going to run better than it did when it was brand new? That was my dog yesterday.

He stopped limping about a half an hour before the appointment. I took him anyway because I ~~didn't want to feel guilty about not taking him~~ am a good pet owner and wanted to make sure that he was okay. So, the vet feels him up and moves his legs all over the place and checks everything out, just to make sure. And then charges me $111.95 for the entire process, INCLUDING muscle relaxers for when he gets a bit stiff. I don't get muscle relaxers and trust me...after writing that check out I NEEDED THE DAMN MUSCLE RELAXERS!!

So Jack is fine and I put him in the car and we drive home. I let him out of the backseat and followed him into the house. He limped the whole time. Damn dog.

In which I attempt to think positive

2008-05-05T21:29:00.000-07:00

I have a friend who has a weekly post of things that she is thankful for. She generally lists ten things every week that has happened and it's always so refreshing to see those happy little moments and even when she is having a hard week she always manages to find ten little things that make her smile.
I thought I would shamelessly steal her nifty little idea, if for no other reason than I really hate Mondays and they always seem to be screwed up.

1. Caterpillar managed to not only pass his TAKS tests but he also has a solid C average in Math which means that he will very probably pass the 5th grade!!!
2. While shopping today I actually remembered to bring my coupons and my total came to $190 but I only paid $130. I actually saved almost $60 in COUPONS!!!
3. Work has been piling on so much lately and though I am a bit tired (okay, can we say freakin exhausted!!!) the checks have been really nice.
4. I only had to fill up my car twice last week instead of three times. (yeah, I know I am stretching it there)
5. Dormouse managed to get her book fine down from $250 to $125 (seriously stretching it now)
6. Mad Hatter has not managed to get me sick yet.
7. Ummmmmmmm.......geez. I am really bad at this. Okay, thinking positive. I have a fairly easy week this week at work.

Oh hell.....I will have to work on this positive thinking thing a bit. I apparently suck at it.

Tomorrow is Earth Day

2008-04-21T12:58:00.001-07:00

Awhile back I purchased some of those reusable shopping bags in an effort to "do my part" for the environment. I have found that I actually prefer using them over the plastic bags for a number of reasons. First, those bags hold a whole lot more than the plastic bags you get from the store. I can fit the contents of 4 plastic bags into one of my reusable bags. Second, they are much sturdier than the plastic bags so no ripping and having stuff fall all over the place. Then there is that feeling you get, just because you are doing something that has an impact on your environment.
I have noticed in the time I have been doing this different reactions from the people working in the stores. There are some that just get annoyed because by you bringing in your own bags it seems to completely and totally throw them off their game and they just don't like it. Then there are the oblivious ones who attempt to bag your groceries in the plastic bags and then place the plastic bags INTO THE REUSABLE ONES. Now, you would think that this was a completely moronic thing to do but apparently there are people that bring their own bags in that PREFER that their stuff gets bagged first and then placed into the reusable bags. Then there are the ones that just don't understand that they are supposed to put your items into that bag. They just don't get it and no amount of explaining seems to seep through to their tiny little brains.
I went to the store today and bought a bunch of stuff totalling $125.....and managed to get all of it into all 5 of my bags......this was almost 3/4 of a cart full of stuff. I carried the two 6packs of cokes by their nifty little handles but the rest of it fit comfortably into all of these bags and though a couple of them were kinda heavy, when I came home I was able to carry in all of my groceries all at one time without having to make multiple trips.
I have spent my life using disposable bottles ..one right after another. I have filled a bunch of landfills with my three children's disposable diapers and I have probably used the equivalent of a football field in paper towels but I am trying. I will bring in my cup to refill instead of getting a new paper cup for my drinks at the convenience store and at Starbucks. I will use my reusable shopping bags whenever I go to the store. I will recycle what I can in my neighborhood. I will use the cloth napkins instead of paper towels or paper napkins. It's not much......but I want to do my part.

Sure is quiet .......

2008-04-05T13:55:00.000-07:00

I am alone in my house. All alone, well okay the dogs are here and Caterpillars cat is here, but my family is NOT. I have had blessed moments of peace and quiet over the years with one or two of my kids being gone for the night, but Mad Hatter is usually here with me to make the time go by a little quicker.
Last night MH and Caterpillar left to go camping. They will be home late Sunday morning. Wednesday, Dormouse left to go to Galveston with her class for the Regional FCLA conference (which incidentally they won first place and are going on to Nationals sometime in the summer) She will be home some time late tonight. So last night I was alone all by myself cleaning carpets at midnight. Today Cheshire Cat came over and we went to lunch and she and her boyfriend are outside cleaning her car but she will be leaving soon and I will be alone again.
The last time I was alone was back when my girls were 7 and 4 (they are almost 18 and 21 now) and they were with their dad and my ex husband was out in the field. It actually took me a good part of the evening yesterday to backtrack and think of that.
Carpets are clean now...maybe I should go clean out MY car

Just Supposing

2008-03-30T22:03:00.000-07:00

Let's just say that "someone" was driving around in a big town that just recently has opened a whole bunch of new toll roads. And this someone was driving around in said town with absolutely no clue where she (or he since this is hypothetical) is and only a vague idea of how to get where she/he wants. And let's say that without realizing it, this person accidentally gets on a toll road. And when approaching the toll gate this person realizes "HOLY SHIT, I DON"T HAVE ANY FRIGGIN CASH!!!"
So, this person frantically searches the floorboards and the bottom of her (okay apparently this is a female hypothetical person) purse for change to pay this toll and realizes that there is no way in hell she is going to come up with enough pennies to pay for this.
Now, just supposing, this person drives up to the toll guard person and asks to use debit or credit or hell even a check. This person then goes on to explain that she didn't mean to get on this toll road and really isn't sure how it happened and since it wasn't planned she didn't get any cash. And then she babbles incoherently all the while more cars are piling up behind her and finally the poor toll booth operator just tells her to just go, don't worry about. So she thanks him profusely and babbles for another minute or so while this poor man just wants her to get the hell out of his lane.
Just supposing

Letter

2008-03-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

Dear Attendance Office

As per your new policy of insisting that students are no longer privy to their absence details and instead must have their parents request the information for them so that said parents can then turn around and give the information to the student, I am requesting the details for my daughter's absences so that we can figure out why you are only showing her absent in the classes that everyone else she has talked to has also been absent in. I can only imagine that the teachers on those day must have had a really easy time of it with, at this count, more than half of the class absent.
I would also love to know at this time why exactly this policy was put in place. I realize that rules are needed for the "students own good" however, I cannot for the life of me think of one good reason why you would not give this information to my child. You explained to her, in your condescending tone, that I would have to get this information because you are not allowed to release it to her, however, you then went on to tell her that after I get this information she would have to take it to the classes in question to get it straightened out. So, this pretty much lets out the Top *Secretness* of the information. Also, is this a written rule somewhere or is this one of those rules that gets made up as the day goes on because you are having a bad day and want to take it out on someone?
A Disgruntled Parent

*Spellcheck has decided that this is not a word but I am going to use it anyway. It's my policy.

On Notice

2008-03-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

I would like to take this opportunity to put a few people on notice:

Sonic drive thru people: Either do your job or get another one.....I am not inconveniencing you by showing up and ordering. Without people like me doing this you would not be getting paid.

Time Warner Cable Customer Service: And I do use the words "customer service" very loosely. After waiting on hold for 23 minutes do not treat me as an imbecile. I KNOW what a plugged in modem looks like and have been turning on and off my computer for quite a while now.....don't get snippy at me just because I have already tried to do these things myself before calling and bothering you.

Circuit City salespeople: I realize that I am not a customer so you are not as diligent about making sure that I am being waited on but please keep in mind that if you ignore me studiously for 20 minutes and then ignore the fact that I am waiting on a manager, it will be going into my report, which goes to your corporate office. Most times a customer isn't going to take the time to call your corporate office to complain however I am required to through my reports.

TAKS Tests: You suck, nuff said.

Nationwide Insurance: For the love of God, CASH THE DAMN CHECK I MAILED YOU 3 FRIGGIN WEEKS AGO!

Dormouse's High School: For two weeks straight you called my cell phone every single day with a recorded message telling me that there was a Black History Month Gala coming up on the 27th of Feb but you couldn't take the time to make one little phone call concerning the upcoming TAKS tests or the Senior Class Trip Meeting. After telling the students to hurry, hurry....get your parents to come to the meeting TONIGHT, the person in charge of the meeting was 20 minutes late and then spent most of the time complaining that not enough students or parents were showing up which was causing the trip to cost over $300 per student. Then, just to add insult to injury, after insulting the parents of seniors this year, we were told that it was our DUTY to our children and their school to volunteer to chaperone this trip, which incidentally would only cost us $250 each. Blow me.

That is all.

The difference between men and women

2008-03-09T23:04:00.001-07:00

We say "remind"......they say "nag"

At 10 am this morning
WR: "Don't forget to call your dad today, it's his birthday"
MH: "Yeah, I know.....I will call him later"

At 3pm this afternoon
WR: "Did you call your dad yet?"
MH: "Ya know, when you nag me about doing something it just makes me not want to do it"
WR: "Okaaaaaaaaaaaaay"

At 9pm this evening
MH: "SHIT! Why didn't you remind me to call my dad!!?"

And then I killed him

The End

Good Week

2008-03-05T22:58:00.000-08:00

Life has been pretty good lately. It's been busy around here but it hasn't all been work which is unusual. We get so busy around here just dealing with bills and jobs and life that we don't have alot of downtime where we can spend time as a family.

Saturday Caterpillars Cub Scout troop had a 3 mile hike. Mad Hatter, Caterpillar and I loaded up the dog and drove to the meet up place. We had alot of fun and though I was tired when it was over I was really glad that I went. Mad Hatter spends alot of time with him doing the cub scout thing but I hardly ever go with them. They were both nagging me about going on the next family camping trip.....as long as I have an air mattress then I will go. It's only one night....what's the worse that can happen. Okay, maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that.

When we got home Dormouse was back from tutoring and Cheshire Cat had brought her boyfriend and his little boy over so we had a pretty full house. It was really nice and we had a really good time.

Mad Hatter has been sick all week.....stomach bug that he better not pass on to me. He took off part of the day yesterday and all of today cause it had gotten so bad. He was feeling better this evening so hopefully will be able to go to work tomorrow.

Other than that, everything else has been going really well. Work is leveling out .....not that it's lessening or anything, but I think I have found a fairly healthy balance. Now if I can only figure out how to sleep at night.

Reasons why I have an imprint of my steering wheel on my head

2008-02-21T19:23:00.000-08:00

I cannot for the life of me understand why exactly I seem to attract the most obnoxiously stupid people in the world. I have been sick lately so my patience is pretty much shot but honestly......what is wrong with these people.
First thing this morning I received a phone call from someone at 7:56 am. Now.....usually I would already be awake but since I have been sick I haven't been sleeping worth a crap and didn't go to bed until 4 am. This phone call was from one of my bosses to ensure that I remembered that NEXT MONTH is when we start calling on certain stores. Yes....I can totally understand why it is necessary to CALL before 8 am to ensure that I know that this is happening as opposed to ....oh I don't know............EMAILING!!!
So I get up and decide that I may as well get something accomplished today. I have a bunch of work to get done because I have been screwing around all week and not getting enough done. I go into the kitchen to get a drink and of course the sink is completely stopped up and there is a sinkful of water and God only knows what else sitting in it. Sigh.
I finally get out of the house and receive a text from Dormouse whining because she forgot her lunch money. Okay...yes I understand that she needs to be responsible and everything but honestly it's not like she ALWAYS does this and shes so damn skinny she can't really afford to skip meals so I run up there to get that done.
Okay...now I can go to work, right? Um.....no. I forgot to pay the damn water bill. Sigh. Okay, no problem. I drive downtown and get in the nifty little drive up line. I never remember how much my water bill is so I just write the check out and round up cause I know it was $8something. So I write it for $90 and put it in the little slot. Ooops....effective yesterday we are no longer allowed to go through the drive thru lane without having your bill on you. SIGH. Alrighty then.....I pull around, park in the parking lot and go inside. There are only two people standing in line and NOBODY at the counter working it. Why, you may be asking? Well, because both of the ladies that were working were working on the DRIVE THRU!!! Eventually, one of the ladies came over and started waiting on the lobby customers. It's finally my turn so I hand her my check and she proceeds to start looking up my account by my name which of course is on the check. She then asks if the account is in my name and I tell her no.......it's in the name that is on the Memo portion of my check. She looks it up again and says "Oh....you are paying too much." "Yes", I tell her, " I generally just get a credit for the next month" Well this confused the crap out of her but finally after asking if this was even possible to the other lady she hands me my receipt. Oops....I have $17.64 worth of credit because apparently it wasnt $8something it was $7something.
At this point and time I decide that it is too much trouble to quit smoking today so I stop at a convenience store and get a pack of cigarettes. The total was $4.77 ( Yes, I know I shouldn't smoke, yes I know that is expensive ...get off my case!!) I actually had cash so I handed the lady $5.02 expecting to get a quarter back. OMG!!!! After trying to patiently explain this to her I finally gave up and took my two dimes and 5 friggin pennies because she couldnt figure it out.
Finally, I was able to go to work where my day got a lot better because I was able to actually, you know...um work. But now I have a headache from banging my head on the steering wheel repeatedly today.

Love Is.........

2008-02-13T23:20:00.000-08:00

Pink cupcakes

Mental Health Day

2008-02-12T09:36:00.000-08:00

Remember how I said that I was scheduling my Nervous Breakdown (and yes....Nervous Breakdowns are that important that they should be capitalized) for the 16th? I decided that I have had enough little mini ones to make up for that and I will not be needing to use a whole Saturday for it. In fact, I decided that I am tired. So I am taking a Mental Health Day.
I went to Cody's meeting this morning. I was there bright and early without the benefit of Starbucks but still managed to keep my sense of humor. I heard about how bright my son was, how well spoken my son was, how funny my son was.......and how lazy my son was. However, I really, really, really like his teacher. It seems that her son acted the same way Cody is acting and he is graduating from MIT this year so there is hope. I told her that I didn't even care at this point if he actually WENT to college....just please oh please graduate! I really like how she makes sure that I know what is going on but doesn't do the blame thing that so many teachers seem to want to do. Yes, I know that I choose to work outside the home (though honestly, I do like to feed him occasionally so having a job does enable that) but, short of standing on his head and following him around to ensure that he has absolutely everything and then actually does it and then TURNS IT IN is pure and total torture. I cannot for the life of me comprehend why in the world a child will whine and complain about actually doing the work and then not even bother turning it in! Sigh.
It is nice and quiet in my house right now...nobody watching tv on the highest setting, no sounds of tv coming from the kids bedrooms, no arguing, no nothing. Just blessed quiet.......well except the cat sneezing and snorting every twelve seconds. But other than that ......silence. I need to take a Mental Health Day more often.

Just another Manic Monday

2008-02-11T19:43:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned how glad I am to be home? Seriously, even though there is the everyday mundane stuff to deal with...cooking, cleaning, chauffering, appointments, work.....doesn't matter. I really missed being home.
I was able to spend the weekend getting my house together and organizing everything for the entire week, so that I can actually get something accomplished. I have noticed that I don't function very well without taking the weekend to organize. If I put it off and try to do it during the week in the mornings before I leave, I get all discombobulated and out of control. I don't know why I even try anymore, I think I am getting too old to be spontaneous. I need strict schedules that do not allow for procatination of any kind.
Tomorrow is the annual meeting with the ARD committee at Cody's school to determine weather or not he still needs some extra help with math. Judging by his grades I would assume this would be a no brainer but he has this laziness issue and "forgets" to turn things in. This is the first meeting that I will have with this school since he switched schools at the beginning of the year. I really liked the counselers and the facilitator at the last school. However, I really like his teacher this year, so I am hoping that everything goes smoothly and they don't take away the extra tutoring. The way it goes right now he gets help during school from the Special Education teacher and has two days a week of tutoring. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Dad was moved to another facility today. His insurance decided that he wasn't making enough progress at the costly rehab that he was in, so he was moved to another facility and hopefully that will help. He informed me while I was up there that he wanted to come down here with us so I have been looking into someplace that will be able to help him. Right now he needs more care than I can possibly give him but that doesn't mean that he will always be like that. Because of other serious issues he cannot live with my brother but if we can get him to the point that he can be somewhat self sufficient then we will have him move in here with us, though we would probably need a bigger place to accomodate wheelchairs or walkers. I spoke to him last night on the phone and apparently he is very serious about coming down here because he asked me about it several times.
It's really weird. I dont have the best relationship in the world with my dad. Never have. I can count on one hand the number of times I have actually spoken to my dad on the phone in the last 5 years. Last night, while talking to him I spent over 30 minutes on the phone with him because he didn't seem to want to hang up. I don't think I spent that much time on the phone with him if you added up all of those phone calls together. In recent months we emailed pretty regularly but that was it. I'm not really sure how to handle this newfound dad thing. I am not stupid, I do realize that right now they only reason that he is wanting so badly to come down here is because I am the lesser of two evils. I'm not saying that my dad doesn't love me, nor me him....because of course I love him, he's my dad. And I am sure that he loves me too. I think part of the problem is that I haven't lived near my family, any part of my family, for almost 20 years (And can I just interject...THANK GOD!) I guess maybe I am a little rusty on this whole family thing. Then there are the complications that have arisen that just make things ugly but somehow, someway, things will work out.

Life Altering

2008-02-07T19:26:00.000-08:00

For the past few months I have felt at the end of my rope. I have felt that I was barely hanging on by a thread and this past week has stretched that thread thinner than a pre pregnancy Nicole Richie.

It has been one thing right after another, with each one thing being a little bit worse than the last. And that scares me because I feel that I am sitting here waiting for the next thing to happen and all I am doing is damage control in my life.

I am not living. I am reacting. And I don't like it. I think about the future and what I want from it. I think about it but I am not doing anything to get to it. I am working and freaking out over things that I am unable to control and it has made me incredibly angry. It has also made me incredibly exhausted and run down. Today I could barely keep my eyes open, and this was after sleeping in my own bed for 8 hours straight last night.

I have decided that I have to make some changes. Changes are going to have to be made anyway because of other things going on but I am not working at my best like this and have let way too many things slip through the cracks. I am tired of chasing my tail, so to speak, so changes.....they be coming. As soon as I find my sanity.

It's probably in the clothes hamper, under the dirty clothes.

Southern girls dont drive on ice.

2008-02-02T08:49:00.000-08:00

I am a southern girl. I wasn't born a southern girl...in fact, I was born in California. I was raised in Virginia for the first part of my life and after the age of 10 moved to Missouri where I lived to the ripe old age of 18. After leaving Missouri, I moved to Georgia for 8 years and then went on a brief stint to Germany for 2 and a half years. I then moved to Texas where I have been since the begining of 1999.
The point to all of this is that I do NOT do snow. I do not like snow and it does not like me. My brother has not stopped giving me a hard time because in my advanced age I seem to have not only developed night blindness but directional dumbness. The other night, it snowed. It snowed ALOT. Not as much as the people around here were expecting but HEY! I'M FROM TEXAS DAMMIT! CENTRAL TEXAS! WHERE IT DOESN'T SNOW!!!
Anyway, it snowed. And I still tried to make it out to Columbia where my dad was. I drove out there at I70 was fairly clear. Then I took the exit.
Did I mention that I have a rental car? Yes, I have a rental car. I have a rental car that has Florida license plates so I have to assume this is a Florida car. The windshield wiper fluid is FROZEN. The windshield wipers are crap and as I look out over the parking lot where my car sits right now, I swear it shivers. Poor car.
Anyway, back to the story. I got stuck...in Columbia....without my suitcases.....because of snow. How embarrassing is that? I just couldn't see anymore. I couldn't stop sliding all over the streets. And, I couldn't find the damn interstate! So I got a motel.......apparently the only motel in existence that does not have wifi. I found the mall....bought some clothes and toothbrush and toothpaste and holed up all by myself in this little room until morning, when I could see and drive without sliding all over the place.
I wanna go home.

And yet, another excuse not to blog

2008-01-27T11:42:00.001-08:00

Wow, I am really bad at this updating thing. In my defense however, this is my first day off since the weekend before last. I have been busy trying to get everything done so that I can take a week off at the end of the month. I fly out on Wednesday afternoon and have all of Monday and Tuesday completely booked in order to make this possible. I will pack on Wednesday morning and rush off to the airport, hopefully in enough time to get there before my plane takes off. If I were any more prepared I swear it would be scary!
It's been an interesting few weeks. I have spoken to my brother more in the past couple weeks than I have spoken to him in over 10 years.....and this is not necessarily a good thing. I now remember WHY I don't like speaking to him often. He's an ass. Enough said.
Dad is in the rehab place and recovering, I don't think it's going to be possible for him to recover enough to be able to live on his own, which is a problem in itself, but we will figure out the best possible scenario and hope that it works.
I did a demo yesterday. I hate demos. I really, really, really, hate demos. Did I mention that I hate demos? Cause seriously, I hate demos. I stood there, like a dumbass, in heels for 6 hours. I spoke about the product to people and answered their questions to the best of my ability seriously for the first 4 hours of it. After that, I got bored and tired. And my feet hurt. ALOT. So, I started spicing it up a bit. When asked how the product worked, I responded that it was "magic". Once I started answering like that, the product FLEW off the shelf. Who knew?
I have really got to get better at this whole updating thing. I think of stuff all the time but for some reason I never get it written. Will have to work on that some. I think it's already on my neverending list of things to do......probably number 190,543

Sigh

2008-01-14T21:22:00.000-08:00

I am making the announcement now that on Saturday, February 16th I will be busy having a nervous breakdown. Don't call me.....I will be busy.

Well, it's a new year. It had been a fairly decent start to the year, I had actually managed to pay off a few bills and get caught up on a couple others without having to completely deny myself the essentials of life (STARBUCKS). I had plans laid out to pay off a few other things and start a savings account for emergencies. Specifically, we had decided that with my mothers bad health and both of MH's grandmothers not doing so well it would be a good idea to build up an emergency account for traveling. Sounds responsible doesn't it?
My brother called me on Friday to tell me that he was on his way to the hospital where my dad had been admitted. The mailman had gotten worried when he noticed the mail had not been picked up in a few days and went into the house and found my dad. Apparently my dad has been lying for well over a year to everyone and has not been in to see his doctor at all and has not been taking his blood pressure meds. He had a stroke. And it was a fairly major one. He has no use of the left side of his body at all at this time and the MRI showed a significant area was damaged in his brain. They also found something in his heart that worried them so they ordered an electrocardiogram to be done. Suprisingly his heart looks pretty decent so they are no longer worried about that but they are worried about his recovery.
My dad's home is ........well, let's just say that it's not very habitable. He has refused over the years to move or to even let us help him to clean it up. He no longer has a choice in the matter. My brother and I have decided that if he is able to go home again and live on his own then he will not be doing it in that house. I am trying to put off going up there for a little while until we can determine his recovery. He will be heading over to a rehab place hopefully by the end of the week if they can find someplace that will take him. I am hoping to head out that way by the end of the month and that we will be able to determine something. I sent my brother some money to get a storage place and we will begin to sort through the stuff in dad's home. He has already taken a few items out of the house which was a good thing since the house was broken into the very first night that dad was in the hospital. We will get anything that is salvagable into storage and then go from there. If dad can go home then we will get him an apartment near my brother where they can check on him more often. If not, well ....I guess he will be going to an assisted living facility since my brother cannot care for him in their home.
The next few weeks will be spent getting everything in order here to be able to spend a week in Missouri. The week in Missouri will be spent running from one nursing home to another to see both of my parents and trying to clear out my dads house. I am really, really, really needing to have that nervous breakdown.

The Complexeties of Changing Your Address

2008-01-02T21:54:00.000-08:00

If you have ever moved then you have had to change your address with the Post Office. It all starts with filling out the change of address form and sending it in to your local post office. But, really...it's much more complicated than that.
I have not been getting my mail from my old house. I put the change of address form in a few weeks ago, but still nothing. Not one little yellow sticker on any of my mail. Plus, I am missing some stuff. So, I called the post office and asked to speak to the Postmaster as I have had run ins with other employees and to save time and my sanity I figured it would be easier to start at the top.
He was very helpful (NOT) and incredibly condescending while explaining the intricacies of forwarding your mail.

1. You fill out your change of address form and put it in a mailbox or drop it off at the post office.
2. It goes into a big box where it sits for God only knows how long before some well meaning employee picks it up and asks "So, should we do something with this?"
3. It is then sent to the forwarding station with a copy sent to the old postal carrier.

It is important to note at this time that I only moved a mile away. I am using the same post office, just a different carrier.

4. The old carrier will then take all of the mail that is addressed to the old address and put it in a little pile to be sent to the forwarding station, which incidentally is located at a totally different post office.
5. This mail then piles up until someone gets tired of looking at it and then the forwarding station will send the customer a letter stating "Hey, we have your mail. Do you want it?"
6. If they hear nothing from the customer then they will assume that the address is good and eventually will send the mail.
This entire process is supposed to take 10 days. It has been 15 days. And, I haven't even received the letter yet!!
So after listening to the Postmaster wax poetically about this process, I expressed my amazement about the efficiency of their system.
"So, what you are saying is that you sent my mail to another post office and I have to wait until they sort through it in order for it to be sent BACK to you so that you can send it on to me???"
I don't think I will be getting my mail anytime soon.

The Post in Which I Get a Little Sappy

2008-01-01T22:25:00.000-08:00

Wow......I have been seriously neglecting my blog lately. I should really get better about this.
It's now a new year. Time and again I have made resolutions and by the 3rd of January, well let's just say that I have a really easy time justifying NOT doing something. This year I am resolving to NOT make any resolutions. I have goals.....but I will not call them resolutions. (Yeah.....cause by calling them something else I can justify not doing them. Sometimes I am my own worst enemy!)
My goals this year are the same as every year. The same as every one else's. Nothing new and exciting. My main goal is to just try to make it through 2008 with my sense of humor intact and what little sanity I have left.
New Years Eve in Wonderland was very staid compared to years past. I picked Dormouse up from the airport that afternoon and she decided that since she missed us she would spend the New Year with her family instead of running off to a friend's party. We spent the evening playing Mexican Train Dominos and having a blast. Yes, even Mad Hatter had a good time. We didn't even have the tv on in the background to hear the ball drop and all the hoopla that goes with that. In fact, we didn't even realize that it was midnight until we heard all the fireworks going off in our neighborhood. We were all in bed by 12:30 am but that was okay with us. We spent it doing something that we really should have spent more time doing throughout the past year. We spent it as a family, laughing, talking and just being together. Hopefully, the new year will bring more of that.

Shopping?......Check!

2007-12-23T16:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning I awoke at 5:15 am, grumbled about the fact that not only was it cold, it was still dark! I fumbled through my closet attempting to find something to wear, which was a feat in itself since I haven't had a chance to do laundry in almost two weeks. I finally settled on a pair of jeans and sweatshirt and dressed quickly, still grumbling about the cold and dark. Cheshire Cat showed up a few minutes later and we left to go shopping with a friend of mine in the next town, stopping only once for a latte at Starbucks. By 3pm I was pretty much done with Christmas shopping and approximately $600 poorer.

So yes, Christmas shopping is completed, with the exception of Cheshire Cat's boyfriend. MH even helped me to wrap all of my booty including the things that were strategically placed throughout the bedroom closet and under the bed. So, everything is bought and wrapped and placed under the tree and now the only thing that I have left to do is catch up on all the other stuff I have let slide in the past two months of furious working my tail off.

Speaking of which, I have been awaiting this lovely four day weekend as this is the closest thing that I have to a vacation and trust me...I need one. I have also been awaiting this because I really need things to calm down with work. I have always had a problem with saying NO. I always figure that I can do one more thing and it's really hard for me to turn down money. So, someone will ask me if I can take on several more stores and I say "Sure, no problem!" and then I jump through my butt trying to get it all done. Well, with the close of the year and the end of the 4th quarter I usually lose a few accounts because they do not need servicing as much as they do during the busiest time of the year.

HA! Each and every time I talk to one of my DM's I find out that I have something extra going on in the month of Jan or Feb. One of the companies that I work for will have resets going on in January.....this means that each of the 18 FRIGGIN STORES will have to be reset instead of just servicing it. Okaaaaay. No problem. Then I hear from another DM with "good news!" We will be servicing this new product and they have 3 more stores that they are adding to my list and "oh btw....for the next two months these will need to be visited every two weeks instead of every month" Fine. Then there are two other companies that are adding things to my list every week.........Sigh. So, I'm not really sure that I am going to be less busy at all! But at least the whole holiday season will be over and I won't have to deal with that!

Random Thoughts

2007-12-19T21:07:00.000-08:00

Sooooooo, how's it going? Yeah, um.....your hair looks really nice today. Seriously, have you done something new with it? Okay, fine.....NO I HAVEN'T DONE MY CHRISTMAS SHOPPING YET!
I have a plan though! My friend and I are going to get up early on Saturday morning and we will finish it. I have purchased a few things. Nothing for Mad Hatter, but I have the kids almost taken care of. A few more things for Caterpillar and Cat and then something for Cat's boyfriend and his little boy but I am finished with Mouse so that is something!
~Unfortunately, I have wrapped nothing. I have stuff stashed all over the house but have not had a chance to wrap anything. The only things under my tree right now are from other people. Must get that completed this weekend also.
~ Mad Hatter and I both have a four day weekend so your prayers that we don't kill each other with all this wonderful togetherness would be much appreciated. Thank you.
~I have to take Mouse to the airport tomorrow to spend Christmas with her dad.....that really sucks
~Why doesn't the Starbucks here in town stay open 24 hours? I could really use a latte.
~I have two working days left until Christmas and these people are brutal! They push, they shove, and they move my displays around and screw everything up for ABSOLUTELY NO REASON!
~I have received many more Christmas cards this year. I am going to assume this was in part because of my post on my old blog about the mailing of Christmas cards being a dying art. Just goes to show you....whining DOES help.
~My car still has not forgiven me for taking him up into the cold Panhandle with snow and ice. It keeps making growling noises at me.
~I have been a mother for 20 years and for the first time in my entire mother career I had a child come home from school and tell me that he needed shredded lettuce to take for the Christmas party.
Okay, there. Updated. These are the thoughts that ran though my head and out of my fingers. Are you scared yet?

Trying not to freak out

2007-12-17T22:37:00.000-08:00

Um.....did you know that it's almost Christmas? I'm just asking cause um.......it's almost Christmas. Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? I only ask because....I'M NOT DONE!!!!

This has been a freakishly busy month for me. I have been doing this job for two years now but apparently I just wasnt as established with it as I am now because I have way too much work and nowhere near enough time to get things together this year. I should have known, the past three months have been a nightmare so I should have realized that December was going to be horrible.

I have a crapload of work to get done this week and like the complete and total dumb ass that I am, I had forgotten that next week was Christmas, meaning that there were at least two, possibly three days that I will be unable to get into the stores that I need to in order to actually work. What this means for me is that I am going to have to try to get as much done this week of next weeks work as possible or I will possibly have a meltdown.

This past weekend we went to the Mad Hatters parents house where I had high hopes of finishing up my shopping. Considering that it is an 8 and a half hour drive each way and we left on Friday evening and got back Sunday evening, I apparently lost my ever lovin mind to think this was possible. I bought TWO friggin presents!

Dormouse will be spending Christmas with her father in another state this year. She will be flying out sometime on Thursday. I should probably look up her itinerary to find out when I need to have her at the airport but right now that just seems like way too much trouble. She will be getting her senior pictures taken while there so there are things that must be done that I have finally marked off my never ending to do list. She has had her hair trimmed and we picked up one more outfit for her to change into for her pictures. We also were able to pick up her prescription tonight and I took her to the bank to cash the checks she has been hording for the past few weeks. I believe that I am almost done getting her prepared and since this is only Monday I am pretty damn proud of myself. I don't know if I mentioned this or not, but I have this procrastination issue that crops up occasionally, generally causing panic and disarray to my normally chaotic life.

As for Christmas shopping? Um....yeah, I will have to get back to you later about that.

Reasons I Need Therapy

2007-12-09T22:35:00.000-08:00

I was sitting here thinking about life in general and trying to come up with a blog entry when I realized that I was crazy. No, wait a minute. Hear me out.
The whole reason that I started this blog was because I really enjoyed the catharsis that I got from just sitting down and typing out things. I just wasn't happy with the mechanics of how everything worked at the place I used to post. Mostly because, it stopped working.
For months I sat around while doing mundane tasks, thinking about what I wanted to do with my new blog. And I mean literally .......it took months. I wanted something catchy, I wanted something that reflected me. I wanted something kind of cute. Well now that I have it ............damned if I know what to do with it!
So I ignore it, because that is much easier than actually having to think about it. I don't even know how to label this blog. I have kids and I'm a mommy.......does that make this a mommy blog? I don't know if I wanna be a mommy blog. I mean, yes I write about my kids but I also write about other things too. So what is this? Does it matter really? And why is this keeping me up tonight? I should be sleeping.....wait, isnt that a song? Great...... just lovely. Now, I am going to be up all night trying to think where that line came from.
See, told you I was crazy!

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas

2007-12-02T17:44:00.000-08:00

I was finally able to get all three of my kids in the house at the same time by waiting until Saturday night at 10:30 pm after Dormouse got off work. I called the Cheshire Cat and she brought her boyfriend over to help too. Also, Caterpillar had a friend spending the night so there were 7 people and two dogs in my tiny little living room trying to assemble the tree and decorations......Mad Hatter and I got drunk on eggnog so we were pretty useless. Not really, but we thought about it ...ALOT.

So.....tree is up, decorations are done, I finished my christmas card list today, and have so far baked a couple batches of christmas cookies so I guess the holiday season has officially began. Caterpillar is sitting in the living room under the tree watching Christmas movies and in a few minutes we will go in the kitchen and bake christmas cookies for his cub scout meeting tomorrow. I really, really, really need to get crackin on my christmas shopping though....

I am hoping to be able to have an easy week this week. I know it will be easier than the previous weeks have been, but I just want super simple stuff to do so that I can get caught up on all the errands that need to be run, like NEW TIRES so I can get my car INSPECTED since it is EXPIRED!!! I just need two....just the two rear tires, I just haven't had time to do it . I will try to get that done tomorrow and then I will go get the car inspected. I think there is a 5 day grace period so hopefully I don't get pulled over. I just recently remembered to put on my new license plates that I got when I paid for my registration this year. I hate it when they do that, it has taken me 5 years to memorize the plate number on this car and just as I have it down pat, they change it on me. Like I don't have enough things to try to memorize........

Small town friendly

2007-11-29T23:29:00.000-08:00

In my job I drive ALOT. Usually I go through the same towns and go the same way every time I drive. Today however, was different. I had to drive to a town 3 and a half hours away to train a new hire for one of the companies that I work for. As I was driving I noticed that I had forgotten to put gas in my car before I left the big town that I was working in. ACK! Not good, considering that half of the towns I go through do not have gas stations. My gas light came on about 12 miles from the next town and I prayed that I would make it AND that they would have a gas station. And by pray, I mean that I promised God that I would no longer do anything that remotely resembles anything fun. As luck would have it, I did make it and there was a gas station.

I pulled into the gas station and stared at the gas pump totally confused. There was no fast pay slot to put my card in. Okkkkkkkay. Well I come from the land of "YOU MUST PREPAY FOR YOUR GAS BECAUSE WE DONT WANT TO HAVE TO WATCH YOU TO MAKE SURE YOU DONT DRIVE OFF" So I went into the little building and was greeted by the perkiest gas station attendant I have ever seen in my entire life. I grabbed something to drink and walked up to the register and asked for $30 on pump 4. She looked at me like I had grown two heads!

Perky Lady: "Honey, you havent gotten any gas yet!"

WhiteRabbit:"Yes, I know...I was going to prepay you for it"

PL: "Honey, we trust you ...go outside and pump your gas...it's fine"

WR: "But I would really rather not have to walk back in afterwards"

PL: "It's okay honey...I will hold onto your Dr. Pepper for you and you can pay for it all at the same time"

At this point, I just figured that it was easier to go outside and pump my gas, rather than argue with her and be called honey anymore. So, I walked outside and pumped my gas.

When I came back in the store she had my drink and gas all rang up and told me that I looked like I could use something to eat. Well, yeah...I suppose I was a little hungry. So she hooked me up with these tasty looking popcorn chicken things with some bbq sauce. I paid for my purchases and by the time I left she was calling me by my first name.

I got in the car and called Mad Hatter to tell him about this freakishly friendly little place that insists that I pump my gas BEFORE I pay for it. I told him how nice Esther (she introduced herself as we bonded over the popcorn chicken) was and how helpful she was in making sure that I had something to eat.

I got off the phone and started eating my popcorn chicken bites with my bbq sauce when I noticed two things....first...the bbq sauce was expired and second........I had the worst case of heartburn I have ever had in my life!

Now I have to wonder.......was she TRYING to poison me????