Friday, November 30, 2007

HellMart--ALWAYS low prices??

Well I had said I wanted to do a post about Wal-mart, so in the short time frame I have I'm going to give it a shot. While I used to be a big fan of Wal-mart, some things have caused my opinion to change quite drastically in the last couple years. There are a few things I have realized, and a few suspicions I have that I thought I would share.

1. Wal-mart's prices have gone up. I know prices have gone up everywhere, and I know they still have lower prices than the majority of grocery stores, but that doesn't change the fact that they are raising their prices. Which I know is necessary to accommodate for the growing cost of fuel (or so my husband says)...the reason this whole issue bothers me leads me to number two...

2. Check the dates on the food you buy at Wal-mart people. Seriously. Do you know how many expired or near-expiration date food I have purchased from this place? And it's not just one store. We have 3 here in town, 2 that were built in the last couple years. This has happened at ALL of them. I'm not just talking bread or cottage cheese, things that expire quicker...I'm talking frozen dinners even, the things that stay good for freaking 5 years or more. I have bought out of date frozen and boxed items from this chain. Including a Gerber Graduates meal, which REALLY bothered me. It's one thing to sell out of date food for adults...but babies?? Come on...how low can you go? It's just not right to charge us higher prices for expired or near-expiring food! Which leads me to number three...

3. My theory is this: Besides raising their prices, Wal-mart has found another way to make more money...I believe they make deals with manufacturers to buy food that is close to expiring. They get the food at cheaper prices, sell it to us for the "inflatedtomakeupforthecostoffuel" price, and voila, more money for them. It totally makes sense. The range of out of date items I have purchases, seen purchased by other people(I saw them returning the food) or that I have seen sitting on the shelves is HUGE...the items vary so widely, it's hard for me to think this could be just a big coincidence. The turnover at Wal-Mart is not that low. Food does not sit on those shelves very long. It's put on the shelves with expiration dates close to expiring. Now this whole issue really pisses me off. As if I have all the time in the world to sit and check the date on every damn thing I need to buy...esp. with a toddler refusing to sit in the cart 3/4 of the time, running around and thinking we need 10 cans of peeled tomatoes, 5 bags of cheesey poofs and multiple containers of cleaning supplies(is she trying to give me a hint??) and "EGGS mommy EGGS, CHEEEEESE!!!! CHIPS!!!!" It would be nice if I could go in the store and assume the food I'm about to buy is safe for my family to eat, THANKYOUVERYMUCH, without having to check the date.

4. Another thing I remembered last night as I was shopping at the dreaded HellMart...watch the prices that things ring up for...esp. if the item was on the end of an isle or in the middle on display, where they put their "specials." I don't know how many times I've bought something that was on special(or even just on sale), say laundry detergent or ground turkey for instance, because it was marked down to a really good buy...and lo and behold, when I've checked my receipt out in the car they charged me regular full price, not the sale price! This has happened to me so many times I've lost count. Even on little things, like boxed pasta salad mixes. One time they were on special for 77 cents a box for a 2 pack and when I got out to the car they'd charged me almost 2$! I returned it, because even though it was only a little over a dollar, I wasn't going to let them take advantage of me like that again. I'm too poor for that! So really try to watch the prices when they're ringing you up!

Now that I have all that off my chest, I will thank Wal-Mart for the $3.98 coffee pot I bought the morning after Thanksgiving...it had better work!

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Layered Pumpkin Dessert

As promised, here is the YUMMY recipe I tried out over Thanksgiving...it got rave reviews from our family!!


1 package (15 ounces) Hostess Twinkies (10 Twinkies)
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 container (8 ounces) frozen nondairy whipped topping, thawed, divided
2 packages (3.4 ounces each) instant vanilla pudding
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin
1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 cup milk
Additional pumpkin pie spice

Slice Twinkies in half lengthwise and place cream-side up, in single layer in 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Using a mixer, blend together cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and ½ of whipped topping until smooth. Spread evenly over Twinkies.

Combine pudding mix, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and milk. Whisk until well blended and layer over cream cheese mixture. Carefully spread remaining whipped topping over pumpkin. Lightly sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice. Refrigerate several hours or until set.

Makes 9 to 12 servings.

I confess, this recipe is off the Hostess website under the Twinkie section...but in my defense, I got it from a girl at work who found it over a year ago on the website...she brought the dessert to work and I loved it so much I asked for the recipe. I know it sounds weird, using Twinkies as a "crust"...honestly, I don't like Twinkies. Never have. But this dessert is awesome(if you like pumpkin)...

Progress

I finally went back to the dr. today to follow up on my lab results from months ago when they tested me for rheumatoid arthritis. She went over my labs which were negative--not only for the rheumatoid but also for immune disorders of some type--and asked me more about the pain. I told her about the WebMD search I did that led me to Psoriatic Arthritis. She said she had no idea I had Psoriasis. I told her I never felt the need to say anything because I had no idea it could be connected. My psoriasis is getting worse...my pain is getting worse. I showed her the list of symptoms I printed off the National Psoriasis Foundation website and told her as I was reading over it for the first time I thought to myself "OMG, this might be what I have" and she kind of laughed and said "you were like, I have THAT and THAT and THAT"....she was really nice, took the time to address my concerns and really seemed concerned about my situation. One of the other drs in the practice is partners with a rheumatologist and he only takes patients by referral...she's supposed to get in touch with him, let him know my situation and get an appointment for me. I need to find a solution soon. Yesterday morning I hurt so bad it made me feel nauseous...I thought I was going to have to leave work and go home. I took some Advil and it took the edge off, but I still hurt. I'm starting to get really scared. It's never been this bad in my life. It's already to the point where it's getting hard for me to do my job, and even take care of Hailey and do housework etc. And Psoriatic arthritis, like other types, is progressive and degenerative. I'm terrified this is my problem, and it's just going to get worse. If this keeps getting worse, I might as well flush my dreams of having more kids down the toilet(and hope and pray Dan gets a decent job right out of school in a year). I'm half hoping they'll tell me I don't have arthritis at all, that it's somehow all in my head or I just need to eat more of some vitamin or something and it'll all go away. I guess we'll see...hopefully it doesn't take too long to get in to this other dr.

Some thank yous are in order...

I would like to think Crayola for making WASHABLE crayons. This makes the job of cleaning orange crayon smeared all over the inside of my dryer MUCH easier, and saved a whole load of our clothes.

I would also like to think the makers of Clorox Disinfecting Wipes. They are the reason my house is clean and disinfected...and the reason the inside of my dryer is no longer coated in orange crayon...


Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Still Alive

I'm still here, just been really busy. Between the holiday, being really tired for no apparent reason, my arthritis flaring up very badly(OW), work and everything, I have had no free time. I have lots of ideas for posts, including one about Walmart(or Hellmart as some of you refer to it) and an awesome yummy recipe to share! Also, Kristin I haven't forgotten about your tag--I've been thinking of my weird things to share! My mom is supposed to come over to help decorate our "kikamus tee" tonight (as Hailey calls it) and we're experimenting with the leftover turkey(hopefully making a baked noodle stuffing thing that sounds really good) but hopefully I'll have time tonight to do a decent post. If you read the other blog, I've got a long post in the works over there too, with some pictures. Speaking of pictures, we ordered a digital camera package...it was on special yesterday only on walmart.com for 188$...it's an HP which I know nothing about but it got really good reviews on other sites and it had all the functions we wanted. It also comes w/ a photo printer that prints up to size 5x7. The printer also has slots for various sizes of memory cards, so we can even print pics from my FIL's camera on it. I figured if we use it and don't like it I can always take it back to the store. But the camera alone usually retails for over 199$, so it was an awesome deal!

Lunch time...

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Bum Genius

Ok I had NO idea cloth diapers had come so far. While doing some further research on the subject I found that Kushies are sort of a cheaper version of a brand called Bum Genius. These diapers sound AMAZING. They look so comfy and soft, and they come very highly recommended. While the Kushies got (mostly) rave reviews on Walmart.com, that wasn't the case on other websites. The biggest complaints being that they're bulky and the outer layer of the diaper, the waterproof layer, is not soft and gets hard after washings. Apparently these aren't issues with Bum Genius diapers. They are more expensive, which is a downside, but I think the extra cost would be worth it to have a better diaper. I did ask Hailey's sitter last night if she would object to using cloth diapers on her(apparently most daycares refuse???) and of course--since she is wonderful and all--she said it would be no problem whatsoever. The main problem is the initial investment would be quite large. At about $14.95 a diaper, if I bought enough to ensure I wouldn't run out it would be quite a large sum. So what I'm thinking is this...I'm going to order a couple, use them on Hailey over the weekend, see how I like them, and go from there. If she LOVES them and they work well, I may order more. But I'm thinking I'll probably just test them out and see how they work...see if I'm comfortable with doing the whole cloth diaper thing, see how Hailey likes them, and then use them on our NEXT child...since Hailey's only got a matter of months left til she's potty trained (I hope...) Any thoughts??

Monday, November 19, 2007

Kushies, anyone?

Has anyone ever heard of Kushies? It's a brand of all in one cloth diaper that has gotten really good reviews. I just happened to see 2 packs at Walmart while I was there on my lunch break today that someone had returned to the store. I've wanted to try cloth diapers FOREVER. I seriously contemplated it when I was pregnant. But the whole diaper liner/separate inner liner thing seemed like such a pain, and too leak prone for me. These diapers are supposedly leak-free for the most part...no more leak prone than a disposable. They're machine washable and dryable. If you buy them on walmart.com they're only $42.74 w/ free shipping to the store for a 5 pack. We normally use the size 3 White Cloud Supreme diapers, which I LOVE...they are only like 13$ for a big box, which is I think 72 diapers? That normally lasts us a week to a week and a half maybe? I'm not really sure. Would it really be that cost effective to switch? The cloth all in one Kushies cost the same as about 3.3 boxes of the White Cloud diapers. Do I really want to have to wash diapers every night or every other night? I think I need to make a pros/cons list...anybody have any opinions and/or advice I would really love to hear it!




Pros:

Re-usable
Better for her sensitive skin(she's prone to rashes)
Supposedly cost effective
Better for the environment(I see you rolling your eyes Kayce!! HAHA!)

Cons:

Expensive initial investment
Have to wash them every day or every other day at least
They seem sort of bulky?



Sunday, November 18, 2007

The shower went GREAT! Only 2 people didn't come, and one of them sent a gift with another person that did come. The decorations turned out great, the mini heart cakes (while hideous looking--seriously, I should SO do this for a living) tasted awesome. The games were actually really fun--we played the one where you use TP to make wedding dresses in small groups, and the one where you read off a list of items people have in their purses and the person w/ the most things wins. People actually enjoyed the games. My sister got a lot of really great stuff too! It really couldn't have gone better. My only complaints are that we didn't get a picture of my sister and I together and we didn't get a picture of my nephew that was here(he's a month younger than Hailey, and she called him Big Boy all day hehe). I am so incredibly happy with how things turned out.

To eat we had the yummy ugly cakes I made (red velvet w/ cream cheese icing, my sis's fav), white chocolate covered strawberries and dark chocolate covered oreos courtesy of my wonderful mother, and chex mix (at my sister's request). Very simple and everyone loved it!

Hailey is passed out on my lap after all the excitement. She fell asleep at 5:30! I'm debating on going ahead and putting her to bed??

My dad caused a little crisis last night at my sister's house...she called me at 12:30 crying, so she ended up coming over and staying the night. The day started off really unfortunate but we did everything we could to cheer her up. It worked, and got her mind off things and she had a great time.

Another good thing that I forgot to mention yesterday...we got our other loan check in the mail yesterday! Things really are going great right now. Finally!

Saturday, November 17, 2007

A Blur

Today was a blur. The movie didn't get over til 2:30 am so I didn't get to bed NEAR the time I needed to. Hailey got up at 7:20. I "cooked" with her, gave her breakfast and did a load of laundry...and I was exhausted. I tried to lay on the couch, she tried to pry me off repeatedly "Get up mommy, get UP!" She was still tired too, so she was throwing quite a few fits. Finally I guess she got fed up with me because at about 9:30 she went and woke D up, telling him "Daddy, wake up! Get up! Color!" At 11:10 I couldn't help it, I had to lay down. My legs were killing me, esp. my knees. I fell asleep instantly, only to be woken 1o minutes later by my dauther crying at my bedside. Dan hoisted her into our bed, wondering out loud if my mom picked up the wrong kid Friday from daycare...she's never that fussy. Within 1 minute she was asleep. I slept with her for an hour, when I made myself get up because I could hear my mom cleaning in the kitchen...I felt horrible, she'd come over to help and what was I doing? Sleeping. The rest of the day is a blur. My house is for the most part de-cluttered and clean(except our bedroom)...the carpets are clean. My bathroom has a new bar of peppermint soap in the soapdish...and I'm exhausted. While waiting for the carpets to dry Hailey and I went over to our family friends' house and had McDonalds and helped them put up their Christmas tree...that was a lot of fun. I still need to make the cakes and decorate, which I'll do in the morning. And clean off the front porch. And finally decide on which games to play!! SIGH I just wish I had more time.

Knocked Up was hilarious. Quite crude, but really funny!

Ok, time to sleep...

Friday, November 16, 2007

To do

I thought it was amazing that my husband took it upon himself to go to the bank before it closed today to deposit our loan check. I was actually quite proud...and thankful, because I had a million things to do tonight and most of them required money! To start the night my mom treated us to Starbuck's, and I finally got to try the White Chocolate Mocha that Wendy recommended to me, and OH MY GOD it was amazing! Thanks Wendy!! I also ordered a few balloons for the shower Sunday(getting Hailey a FREE balloon in the process!), got Hailey her new coat and hat set from Old Navy(I've officially learned my lesson on bragging...while her coat from last season does indeed still fit her, I realized it's not roomy enough for her to really move in...it sort of holds her arms out straight like a little gingerbread girl and she is now refusing to wear it) and got the gifts and other shower necessities from Walmart. Imagine my surprise when I get home and check our bank account, and it's pending overdrawn! The loan check wasn't even pending deposit yet! I freaked out and brought the fact up to D and he said he hoped it didn't matter that he didn't endorse the check. !!!!!! He said there wasn't a line on the back to endorse it so he just didn't, and they didn't turn it over to check (they have ALWAYS checked when I've deposited checks over all these years, ALWAYS). He thought no line meant you didn't have to sign it. That really goes to show you just how little he knows about finances. So, I'm freaking out a bit and hoping all these charges don't go through tomorrow. If they do, we are going to be seriously overdrawn. D has his deposit receipt, and if that does happen I am going to take the receipt to them and tell them this was their mistake for not making sure he endorsed the check and get our overdraft fees refunded. Luckily my friend used to work at the bank in the cust. serv. center so she knows who I should talk to. Hopefully this won't be the case. But this means I have to get D's but out of bed by 9:00 tomorrow when the bank opens to make him go check on this whole ordeal. Which brings me to my To Do list for tomorrow:

7:00 am - Wake up to Hailey either knocking on her door, crying or calling for me "MOMMEEE!"

7:10 am - Change Hailey's diaper and get her some juice or milk, whatever she prefers

7:15 am - Find some cartoons on TV, do my normal morning restroom routine

7:30 am - Get Hailey a nana or waffle or whatever else she demands for breakfast...possibly yogurt with blueberries

8:00 am - Start the process of moving Hailey's toys to her bedroom. Organize everything that's left in the living room.

The rest of the morning(my mom's coming over at some point to help thank goodness) - Finish de-cluttering the living room. Clean off the bar. Load/run/unload/reload the dishwasher. Start laundry. Clean kitchen counters and floor. De-clutter and organize dining room. Vacuum. Make cheese ravioli and mozzarella cheese bread for lunch. Shampoo carpets (we had a little vaporizer incident in Hailey's room, which now smells like mildew much to my dismay). Take a break by going over to our family friend's house and help them decorate their Christmas tree while letting the carpets dry!

Afternoon - On the way back home stop by the party store for a couple banners or decorations or something for the shower. Also buy some plastic cups, because I forgot to get some when I was at the store tonight. Make sure D has done the things on his honey do list which include taking out the trash, hanging up the shelf in the bathroom so I can de-clutter the counter, hanging up his hat rack I bought him ages ago and he's never used. Clean hall bathroom. Wash rugs for bathroom again(I like them to be nice and fluffy!).

Evening - Make cakes. I'm making (at my sister's request) a confetti cake with rainbow chip icing. I'm also making her little heart shaped red velvet cakes w/ cream cheese icing, because those are her fav. My mom is making white chocolate covered strawberries and white chocolate covered Oreos. Fill extra ice trays to be sure and have enough ice. Keep doing laundry.

Finally, drop into bed exhausted. Sunday I should just have to set out a few decorations, get the bar set up with the cakes and snacks, wrap the gifts and tie up the balloons outside. My grandma and aunt are coming over early to help keep Hailey busy while I get last minute things done.

It sounds pretty simple when I write it all down like that. But I have a feeling I'm going to be running around like a chicken w/ my head cut off tomorrow. I am really looking forward to the shower Sunday though, and to be truthful this is my thing, I LOVE planning parties like this! I just wish I had more time so I didn't have to be so rushed. I borrowed my in-law's camera so I should have plenty of great pictures to post!

Ok I've gotta go watch a movie with D. He rented Knocked Up which I've heard is pretty funny and I've been wanting to see for a long time! We haven't been able to afford renting movies for a long time now!!

Before I go, here's the coat and hat set I got Hailey from Old Navy tonight...I got the coat on sale for $23!

TGIF

I'll start off with the good news. D got our 1st loan check today! This is the 1st one we applied and got approved for, the one that the school has been jerking us around saying they didn't have the money for us...the one we didn't think we'd have til the end of this year! AND, the 2nd loan check is in the mail to us right now, arriving any day(hopefully it's in our mailbox at home right now as I type this!!) That's really really good news. We're going to be able to get stuff paid off and have a Christmas this year! We're really excited about this!

I'm also excited about my sister's bridal shower this Sunday. I'm not too terribly excited about having to have my house spotless for these people(I LOVE having a clean house, but I just don't have the energy required to do EVERYTHING like I'd like)....but it'll be nice to see everybody and play a couple (hopefully fun) games. And hopefully my sister gets some neat stuff!

With that said, I'm really sorry but I have to complain a bit. Well, not really complain, more like just be sad for a minute. I am so incredibly glad it's Friday. I really don't mind my job, even though it can be stressful at times. I don't mind being constantly busy...it makes the days go by faster! What is bothering me and making me want the weeks to fly by, are the attitudes of the people I work with. I really get along with all of 2 people in this building (I think there are something like 16 people in the building)...coincidentally, those 2 people are the other 2 "new" people. One, being my boss, started here 4 months before I did. Her boss is her husband's best friend. When I started here everybody made it clear to me that nobody likes her. I never have been able to figure out why. She is such a nice person, and like me she just wants to fit in. The other person is a woman that started the end of August, replacing me as the receptionist when I got my promotion. Again, everybody tells me they can't stand her. "She's too helpful!" they say. "She's into everybody's business!" ?????? From what I can see, she's just very serious about her job and wants to be very thorough...and yes, while I have seen her go a bit overboard trying to help people that come into our office, is this really something to hate her over? Maybe annoyed a bit, sure, but to write her off completely? I do sort of get along with one other person, but really I think it's because she's my father in law's friend's wife. So she knows our family and therefore she can't really be rude to my face. She tells me what everyone thinks of the other 2 women I get along with here. I'm not a stupid person, although I may seem it at times(I blame it on mommy/wife brain aka I'm so tired I can't think straight syndrome). I can pretty much deduct that if someone talks bad about others to my face, and others obviously don't like me, then it's pretty certain she talks bad about me behind my back as well. Even though she swears that's not the case. These women are in their 30's, 40's and 50's. And yet they act like they're in high school. It really is quite ridiculous. And really, it's not even the fact that they don't "like" me. I'm an adult, I know not everyone I meet is going to care for me. These women(and 2 guys) have their tight little group, that until January of this year was completely un-broken by "newbies." Add to this the fact that I'm a bit socially inept and come across sometimes as a weirdo(or a bitch, which I was surprised to find out in the past!)...I knew not EVERYONE was going to like me. But come on! The whole building not liking the 3 new people? Seriously? What hurts is when one of the other people bring in pictures of their kids, or their kids themselves, everybody gathers around and talks forever about how cute the kids are. When my boss or I bring in our kids, people MAY get up and walk by to take a peek but they don't stop and chat, don't talk up how cute the kids are, don't try to interact with the kids. ???? It makes me feel so crappy. And nobody wants to see my pictures. If I ever do get up the guts to go around and show pictures of Hailey, nobody says anything about them. Like she's the ugliest thing they've ever seen or something and nobody wants to admit it. Seriously, that's how they act. It just makes it hard, when you know everybody's talking behind your back(ok I'm not just speculating or being paranoid here, I have literally walked in on conversations about me and they DIDN'T STOP TALKING!)...I was so excited to work here, everybody seemed so nice! And then I refused to be rude to my now boss(she was then just a coworker) because as I told everybody, I didn't have a problem with her like they did, and since then nobody has liked me. I really hate having to deal with this everywhere I go. The place before, the "Hell Hole," I hated my boss and the way they ran things. But for the most part I got along with my coworkers great. They made my days the tiniest bit bearable. Now it's my job keeping me here, the money it provides and the way they run the company...and the people are the downfall. I guess you just can't have it all, but darn that sure would be nice! Hopefully I won't have to be here forever. Until then, I just wish people would quit being so blatantly rude to me, or at least tell me they don't give a crap flat out so I'd quit wasting my time trying...

With that said(and thanks for listening), I am very excited about getting Hailey's pictures taken again finally after all this time. I'm on the hunt for an outfit, a dress or pant set or something! Has anyone seen anything cute lately anywhere while they were out shopping?? I haven't been shopping forever since I haven't had the money!! Hailey still wears about 18 months...if I have time later tonight I may post some ideas I have, to get your opinions!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

I need everyone's input!!!

Since we're getting this money and we're getting more than we need to pay everything off, we're going to reward ourselves and buy a new digital camera(after all the bills are paid off of course...we do have our priorities here). The one we have royally sucks, it's the Kodak Easyshare 5.0 megapixels. The zoom is horrible and grainy, and the flash makes everything look dark! I used my father in law's Sony Cybershot, I think it was 7.2 megapixels, for the concert. And while I was NOT impressed by the blur reduction(hello, it was still so blurry!!) I was impressed at the brightness of the shots and the clarity of the pictures. We have no idea which brand is best, which zoom range (what's the difference between optical and digital zoom???) or any of that. I do know I DON'T want a touch screen. We need a camera that reduces blur, zooms in a decent distance and has a fairly high megapixel. I'm really big on photography, I LOVE taking pictures, and it's incredibly frustrating to me that I have such a crappy camera now! I do have a regular 35 mm camera that takes awesome pictures, but 1. somethings wrong with it and we need to get it fixed and 2. I've gotten so used to the instant gratification of digital cameras that I NEVER use the 35 mm anymore!

My problem is everything "photography" that I know relates to a regular 35 mm. All the classes I had were based on that and had nothing to do with digital other than some basic photoshop editing(which had nothing to do with a digital camera obviously). I even know how to develop 35 mm film and print the photos! But megapixels and zoom ranges and the different brands of digital??? Forget it!! I need help!!

So, besides any advice or tidbits of info any of you can give me about digital cameras, I also would like to know what kind of digital cameras you all have and their specs. Also your opinions on them, or any other digital cameras there are out there!

ANY advice would be great!! Thanks a bunch in advance!!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

**

The concert was awesome...after we left I had a message to call my mom, Hailey had come down with something pretty suddenly. After we got back in town, I picked Hailey up (3:00 in the morning). She has croup. I've been home with her since then, except this afternoon my mom was able to take off work so I could go in to work for a grand total of 3 hours. I spent the afternoon basically doing odds and ends and barely making a dent in my stack of work that has piled up.

We still haven't gotten any loan money yet. The disbursement for the 2nd loan we were approved for was mailed today. It says to allow 5 to 7 days. I'm hoping the mail will be extra speedy and we'll get it by Fri. or Saturday. Needless to say, we need it bad. Things just keep going from bad to worse, financially.

Since Hailey is doing better D and I are going to the live broadcast at a local movie theater tonight of the last Garth Brooks concert(my mom is watching Hailey at our house, much to Hailey's delight). Pretty excited about that. We've already planned on wearing our Garth TShirts we got at the concert Monday night. Because yea, we're nerds like that. :o)

Monday, November 12, 2007

Hello Monday

I have just a few complaints this morning to get off my chest...please bear(or is it bare?) with me.

~I'm tired! I stayed up late last night cleaning the kitchen and bathroom...as in I didn't go to bed til after midnight. People are meeting at our house before we head off to the concert, and I didn't want them to see my house looking crappy. Most of them wouldn't care, but one girl(who just happens to be pregnant by accident) is very judgemental and b*tchy and I just couldn't bring myself to be like "Yea my house is messy so what! I have a kid and I work full time!" No, I cleaned, and I did a good job, but now I'm tired.

~My psoriasis is really acting up. So are my sinuses...I'm attributing both to the incredibly dry air we have floating about right now. It hurts to breathe, and my scalp is a flaky bleeding mess (makes me feel so grody, seriously--even though nobody can see it but me)...BLAH

~We have no money to take to the concert with us today, which means we'll be relying solely on his mother's mostly non-existent generosity for things like food and the MUST HAVE concert T's.

~I have one hell of a canker sore right below my bottom lip...I get these quite often because my jaw is a bit crooked which means my bite is a bit off. SO I frequently bite myself, which then turns into a canker sore almost immediately. It hurts like a you know what right now. And my glands are swollen because of it, so that sucks too.

~My husband has this issue with how I have to have clocks set fast to get anywhere on time. Our living room clock has been 10 minutes fast for the last 2 years. I get dressed in there, as he's still sleeping in our room...I also get Hailey ready for the day in the living room. So I need that clock to be set fast. My husband decided to finally change it for daylight savings time last night. This morning I thought I was doing GREAT on time! Only to get out to the car and see that I was running 12 minutes late. Yes, my lovely husband not only put the clock back an hour, he also set it to the correct time instead of 10 minutes fast. SO nice of him to warn me. Love the looks I got from my bosses this morning as I walked in exactly 12 minutes late. :o) Thanks hon.

~I'm worried that my MIL is going to ruin the day for D. Last night I had D ask her over the phone what she's wearing to the concert tonight. Her answer? "Why does SHE need to know?" ?????? Obviously she still has a huge burr up her butt that she can't shake loose.

Nevertheless, I'm still really excited about going to the concert tonight. D's super excited. I hope my camera takes good shots, as it normally doesn't in low light, so I can have tons of pictures!!! I'm trying to get his mom to take their digital which is way better than ours, but so far she's politely ignoring everything I say! :o) I just hope the rest of the day goes well!!

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Randomly Me

~I'm a very caring person
~I try to be thoughtful, but sometimes I forget and wind up being very self-centered(I attribute this to having WAYYYY to much on my mind)
~I worry way too much. About everything. Almost to the point of obsession.
~I liked playing with Barbies as a kid, but only to set up a mall and let them shop. I have always loved shopping. I am jealous of people that have money and can buy whatever they want.
~I care too much about what others think of me. I tell myself it doesn't matter, but there's no denying it...it does.
~I like tiny things. As a kid I used to collect miniatures. I even had little mini rolls of TP in a box labeled "miniatures for emergencies"
~I'm not a dog person. Dogs can be cute, don't get me wrong. Until they get close to me, and I hate their smell, and their slobber, and I'm allergic so they make me sneeze and snot...and I absolutely cannot stand dog poop. In the house, in the yard, ANYWHERE. It's just gross.
~I love pie. Fruit pie is my favorite. Any kind of fruit pie....mmmmmmm
~I'm obsessed with my daughter. She's the best thing in my life and the only thing that can make me happy no matter how down I'm feeling. I've come a long way since she was born.
~If I could have any job in the world, I would either be a stay at home mom or do something outdoors.
~I wish I'd accomplished something cool in my life, like getting my PhD or publishing a book or being an actress...but I have no drive, and don't want to do the hard work it takes to get to those goals.
~My favorite holiday is and always will be Christmas.
~I have a love/hate relationship with snow.
~I don't drink enough water. I'm doing good if I drink 1 glass a day.
~I actually don't drink much period. Maybe 2 cups of something a day. Somehow I'm still not dehydrated.
~I am clueless about fashion.
~I love how shiny my hair is when I use good shampoo.
~I hate how I'll look in the mirror and notice how pretty my shiny hair is, and then look closer and realize how sucky it is to have Psoriasis(which means a flaky, sometimes bleeding scalp--nice huh)
~I don't feel truly comfortable around any of my friends anymore...it always feels a bit awkward, even the one I've known literally my whole life...even my little sister...the only person I'm truly comfortable around anymore is my husband.
~I love the fact that my husband and I have been together since we were 16 and 17 years old.
~I have a scarily accurate gut instinct, and over the years I've learned to follow it.
~I don't go to church. I do believe in God and I pray every night. I also like some of the ideas of other religions, like Buddhism. I think every religion has flaws and good points.
~I am seriously sad that the Harry Potter series is over. I finished re-reading the last book, and now I feel kind of lost.
~My thought process is usually very jumbled and random, kind of like this post.
~I crave and need organization and I hate change. But my life is so unorganized and busy, and I never have a set plan...I'm stressed nearly all the time as a result of this.
~I hate parties, I won't step foot in a bar. I don't like going out. I would rather stay in, rent a movie and order a pizza.
~My friend thinks I envy her life, and I think she envies mine.
~I loved the break from my daily headaches(sometimes migraines) while I was pregnant. I have had them for as long as I can remember. The first one I remember having was before I even started kindergarten. I've taken so much Tylenol in my life it doesn't affect me at all anymore.
~I wish I was a professional photographer. I take awesome pictures with my regular Nikon camera...it's broken right now though, and we haven't had the money to get it fixed.
~I collect wheat pennies and bicentennial quarters. My mom pointed out the difference to me when I was a little girl.
~I love flowers.
~I made mashed potatoes from scratch by myself from beginning to end for the first time last night. They were bland :o)
~I don't like seasoning...I use very little salt and an even smaller amount of pepper. The only other spices I use are garlic powder and onion flakes.
~I think I don't mind bland food because it doesn't irritate my stomach.
~My mom's mom taught me how to cook and sew before I was even 5 years old.
~I have very little energy, I always have. Lord knows why. I say it comes from my stomach problems, slow digestion and IBS...my body has to work so hard to digest food, it doesn't leave me with much left over energy. It could stem from my immune problems I suppose. Who knows. But it sucks being so tired all the time.
~I almost pass out on roller coasters.
~When I was a little girl I used to wish I lived back in the olden days, when there was no makeup and women didn't work outside the home and there was no TV.
~That would never work because I'm a germaphobe.
~I love hot chocolate in the winter, with lots of those little dehydrated marshmellows!
~I love camping
~I love fishing
~I want to wait a while til we have another baby...maybe a couple years even. I'm loving having a toddler way too much!
~My toenails are almost always painted a color pretty darn close to hot pink
~I never paint my fingernails...if I do, I just pick it off.
~I rarely read the forwards that people email me
~I like my coffee with lots and lots of french vanilla creamer. If that's not available, I like to use whole milk.
~I like my tomato soup with whole milk, not water.
~My favorite snack is cereal.
~I hate talking on the phone.
~I'm partially deaf in my left ear, so I say "huh?" a lot. My daughter now says "huh" a lot as well. It's quite cute actually.
~Sometimes when I'm talking to somebody my daughter tells me to "stop!" I talk too much.
~Sometimes when I'm talking everybody tunes me out, except my daughter...she's such a good girl
~I don't really like chips. I like sweet more than salty. My daughter took after my mom, and is now obsessed with chips. I buy Pringles just for her. And I don't feel bad about it.
~I pride myself in how well my daughter has turned out. She's my biggest accomplishment in life, even if I wasn't that into her in the beginning.
~I hate smoking, and if you do it around me I'll exclaim loudly how gross and disgusting it is. My step-siblings smoke and think I'm irritating because I don't.
~I love sequels to books and movies. When a movie or book is over, if I liked it, it makes me sad...I always wish the story went on.
~My favorite pens are the basic black or blue Paper Mate brand.
~I like the fact that I have dark skin, and that Hailey's skin has darkened up as well.
~My favorite color is blue.
~My least favorite color is orange. I don't have a single orange article of clothing.
~I love going out to eat, but never get to anymore. We always go out to eat on my birthday.
~I have exercised induced asthma. That + heart problems makes it hard to exercise. Good thing I don't like to!
~People generally think I'm a bit odd when they get to know me. I like to think I'm just quirky.
~I LOVE artichoke hearts on my pizza.
~95% of perfumes/scents give me headaches. It was because of this that I was VERY upset when Bath and Body discontinues their Country Apple scent...and also why(back when they discontinued it) I bought the last case of the body spray in that scent that they had in the store!

Thank God!!!!!!!

We just found out we got the loan! We should have the money mid-month! We're going to be able to pay everything off, I'm not going to have to worry about money anymore! I am so unbelievably excited. Although I don't think it's fully sunk in yet. It will when we get the money! I can finally go stock up on groceries and I might even be able to buy Hailey a couple things for Christmas! It's a good day. I think I'd jump up and down if I wasn't so darn tired!

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Feeling Old?

My little sister is getting married the beginning of December. I can't believe it. This is the girl who said she was never getting married, never having kids. I knew it was just a matter of time before she grew up and came to her senses. I was with her through the whole "When's he going to ask me????" drama...and now they're talking about what their kids are going to look like, and it's really exciting and a tiny bit sad at the same time! I am so incredibly excited to have her catch up to me as far as having her own little family...we're already planning get togethers and backyard barbecues with the kids. It's so nice(and fun!) to sit and dream about our futures together! But when did she get old enough to get married? Are we seriously getting that old? I'm going to be 25 next month. Holy crap I'm going to be 25! I've always thought of 25 as the year I would officially feel like an adult. Of course I feel mature, but I mean 25 is 25...hell in my family that could be middle-aged! Ok that was a morbid thought, forget that. I'm afraid I'm just rambling...

My beautiful sister in her wedding dress, from the back of course to protect identity. And that's me hiding behind the curtains--see the flash? Yup that's me...

Monday, November 5, 2007

Restroom Etiquette

Why is it that the bathroom here at work(with 2 stalls) will sit empty all day. ALL day...until I have to run to the bathroom urgently(you know my stupid IBS!). Then somebody always follows me in, ALWAYS! What the heck is the deal?? And I am not about to take a crap with other people in the room, no way...so I have to make some excuse. If I haven't gotten into the stall yet, I just wash my hands and leave. If I am already in the stall, I just act like I've already gone and flush the toilet and wash my hands and leave. Basically I don't get to take care of my business, and am left in pain. One time I tested it, and left the bathroom only to return 5 minutes later...ANOTHER person followed me in. I tried this 3 times in a row that day, each time someone else following me in. Seriously. It's like some cruel sick joke. I so miss the private bathroom w/ the lock on the door from my old job. That was probably the only good thing about that place...I could poop in peace.

Furthermore, while I am on this subject...even on the rare occasion I do get the bathroom all to myself, I have to sit and stare at this irritating sign:

Restroom Etiquette:

1. Used paper towels should go in trashcan, not on the floor.

2. Air freshener should be used to help eliminate odors.

3. Please check toilet seat after use and clean if necessary.

Please be considerate of others when using this restroom.

A copy of it resides on the inside of the door to each stall and also on the wall next to the sinks. I read it over and over and think DUH, seriously? Does this person think we are complete idiots? I can only imagine that this sign was aimed at a former employee, as I can't see any of us that work here now leaving pee splatters on the toilet seat or littering the floor with used paper towels. Although, as I was leaving the restroom this afternoon I did notice a paper towel on the floor NEXT to the trash can instead of IN...I am sure we'll have an email tomorrow about how to properly use the bathroom trash receptacle. Just as a "little reminder" you know...and I can't help but wonder who dared to break the rules...