It was a really good movie. It's based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald book and now I really want to read the book. I may have to go to the library today after work. I would definitely recommend the movie to everyone.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
I love buttons
Last night five friends and I went to see "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". It has Brad Pitt in it. Do I need to say more?
Saturday, December 27, 2008
New Shoes
We had a bit of a warm up today. I think the temperature got up to about 55 degrees. And in one day, we lost all of the snow that we had. There was probably a foot of snow in our yard and now it's almost all gone. That is very depressing to me.
I went running this morning and fully expected that I would be running in the road due to ignorant people that never bothered to clear their sidewalks after the last snow. Because the snow was melting, the stuff that was on the sidewalks had turned to ice. Solid ice. At one point I couldn't stop sliding. I thought for sure I was going to seriously hurt myself. At that point I said "F it" and went into the street.
Needless-to-say, I did not get my Yak Trax that I asked for. (I will be ordering them this week) When I got back home from my run I told Mr. Jeep I needed new shoes. He came up with a brilliant idea that never occurred to me...trail running shoes for winter! Genius! So we made a trip to the store today and I bought a new pair of running shoes. I'm very excited to wear them tomorrow.
I went running this morning and fully expected that I would be running in the road due to ignorant people that never bothered to clear their sidewalks after the last snow. Because the snow was melting, the stuff that was on the sidewalks had turned to ice. Solid ice. At one point I couldn't stop sliding. I thought for sure I was going to seriously hurt myself. At that point I said "F it" and went into the street.
Needless-to-say, I did not get my Yak Trax that I asked for. (I will be ordering them this week) When I got back home from my run I told Mr. Jeep I needed new shoes. He came up with a brilliant idea that never occurred to me...trail running shoes for winter! Genius! So we made a trip to the store today and I bought a new pair of running shoes. I'm very excited to wear them tomorrow.
Merry Belated Christmas
Wow! I didn't realize that it has been almost a month since I've posted anything. How horrible of me! I think the Christmas preparations have been keeping me busy. Christmas this year was a blast with LC. This is the first year that she actually understood what was going on and got the whole Santa thing. It was so much fun. She wanted two things from Santa: a doll/baby and a princess bear. A princess bear?? What?? That's what I said when she told me that's what she wanted. Being the good, I mean great, mom that I am, I googled "princess bear". And do you know how many flippin' princess bear hits came up? More than I could have imagined! I clicked on the Toys R Us link and they sell teddy bears dressed in Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Belle dresses. They were only $14.99 so I thought that wasn't too bad. What was too bad was that because I'm cheap I didn't want to pay the shipping, so Mr. Jeep and I went to the actual store. Luckily we went on a Thursday evening two weeks before Christmas. It wasn't that busy, but still too busy for me. As far as I'm concerned, LC never needs to know that Toys R Us exists.
The doll that Santa brought LC was also a major hit. I bought her a Chou Chou doll. If you don't know what they are, they are about the size of a newborn. There are several different types of dolls. The one Santa brought is called an interactive one. When you put the bottle to her mouth she makes drinking sounds, put her teddy bear on her belly and she says a couple different things, put her bib on and she says something about being hungry and a couple other things. Plus she randomly says several other phrases. Here's a picture:
The doll that Santa brought LC was also a major hit. I bought her a Chou Chou doll. If you don't know what they are, they are about the size of a newborn. There are several different types of dolls. The one Santa brought is called an interactive one. When you put the bottle to her mouth she makes drinking sounds, put her teddy bear on her belly and she says a couple different things, put her bib on and she says something about being hungry and a couple other things. Plus she randomly says several other phrases. Here's a picture:
She's a pretty cute doll. She was also the least freaky looking doll that I came across. LC loves her and has been taking her everywhere. Santa scored big time on this one. The other cool thing is that newborn clothes fit her. So when Mom to Mom sales (may be known as simply a rummage sale in other areas) start up again, I'll be buying newborn clothes for LC's doll.
She got a ton of stuff, way more than she needs. She also got a camera for Christmas. By 2:00 p.m. Christmas day LC already had 90 pictures on the camera. She has quite a few of my butt. And it wasn't like the pictures were an accident, whe was deliberately walking up behind me and snapping the pictures. She would say, "Ha, ha momma! I'm taking a picture of your bottom!" Whatever makes her happy!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Finally some snow
I turned on the news this morning to catch the weather and get caught up on what's been happening around here since we've been gone. Of course, the weather team is freaking out because we're expected to get 4-5" of snow between this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon. You would swear we lived in the South and never got snow. Every year it kills me. And it's not just with the first snowfall, we have to hear it every time we get snow. It's crazy.
Mr. Jeep and I were trying to get some last minute yard work done today before it's supposed to snow. We managed to get quite a bit done and then it started to rain. We headed inside and then it started pouring. Now that I'm looking outside, the rain has turned to a wintry mix and as time goes on it's turning into just snow. The drive to work in the morning should be wonderful.
In addition to the weather people freaking every time it snows, as a Michigan driver you also have to deal with the other morons on the road who drive like they've never driven in snow. It's crazy. We'll get a light dusting of snow and people will drive 15 miles below the speed limit! Driving in the snow is kind of like riding a bike, you never forget! Do you hear me? YOU NEVER FORGET! And if you do forget, then maybe you should move to a state that doesn't get snow.
In case you haven't figured it out, I love snow. We used to own snowmobiles and that was a blast. I also cross-country ski and have since I was about 10 years old. I can't wait until we can buy LC some skis. I'm sure she'll love it. I'm asking for a pair of Yak-Traks for Christmas. In case you don't know what they are, they're for your shoes. You put them on the bottoms of your shoes or boots in the winter and it gives you traction so you don't slip. Here's a picture:
I've been wanting them for a few years now and just haven't purchased them. They're only about $30. They'll be perfect for running in the snow and ice. I hope Santa brings them. And I hope they work as well as they say they're supposed to.
Mr. Jeep and I were trying to get some last minute yard work done today before it's supposed to snow. We managed to get quite a bit done and then it started to rain. We headed inside and then it started pouring. Now that I'm looking outside, the rain has turned to a wintry mix and as time goes on it's turning into just snow. The drive to work in the morning should be wonderful.
In addition to the weather people freaking every time it snows, as a Michigan driver you also have to deal with the other morons on the road who drive like they've never driven in snow. It's crazy. We'll get a light dusting of snow and people will drive 15 miles below the speed limit! Driving in the snow is kind of like riding a bike, you never forget! Do you hear me? YOU NEVER FORGET! And if you do forget, then maybe you should move to a state that doesn't get snow.
In case you haven't figured it out, I love snow. We used to own snowmobiles and that was a blast. I also cross-country ski and have since I was about 10 years old. I can't wait until we can buy LC some skis. I'm sure she'll love it. I'm asking for a pair of Yak-Traks for Christmas. In case you don't know what they are, they're for your shoes. You put them on the bottoms of your shoes or boots in the winter and it gives you traction so you don't slip. Here's a picture:
I've been wanting them for a few years now and just haven't purchased them. They're only about $30. They'll be perfect for running in the snow and ice. I hope Santa brings them. And I hope they work as well as they say they're supposed to.
Happy Belated Turkey Day!
The fam and I just got home last night from up north (that's what we Michiganders say when we head to northern MI, for those that don't know). We all left last Friday (before Thanksgiving). The first weekend LC, the dogs and I stayed at my parents' cottage. Mr. Jeep went to his mom's cottage with a couple of friends to go hunting. Way to manly for LC and I! Then Monday we all met up together and spent the remainder of the week at my MIL's cottage. It was very nice to take the week off of work and have a little vacation. There is a lot of snow up there.
Wednesday we bought two sleds, the traditional orange plastic kind that can sit 2-3 people and the good 'ol saucer sled. There's this area by the cottage that we refer to as blueberry valley. Apparently it used to have all these blueberries plants all over and Mr. Jeep's family would pick tons of blueberries. In the 12+ years that I've been going there I have never seen a blueberry. But whatever. And it is a valley of sorts. You have to drive down into it or walk down into it. So needless-to-say there are some excellent sledding hills. After several times of me pushing Mr. Jeep on the sled or vice versa down the hill to get a path worn, we finally had a great run. LC didn't want to ride down with either one of us, she wanted to go by herself. And she wanted to go down on the saucer sled! That's my girl! I should also mention that it was later in the day and so it was getting colder outside. This translates into a very icy sledding run. Very nice!! At one point all three of us were standing at the top of the hill and LC wanted to go down by herself on the saucer sled. We said okay, put her on the sled and gave her a little push. She went flying down the hill, spinning round and round the entire time! She got to the end and hit the soft snow bank and tumbled over backward. She popped up cracking up! She loved it.
I'll have to post pictures later. Mr. Jeep got a really good shot of me going over ass over apple cart down the hill. I'm not quite sure who actually had more fun: LC or us!
Wednesday we bought two sleds, the traditional orange plastic kind that can sit 2-3 people and the good 'ol saucer sled. There's this area by the cottage that we refer to as blueberry valley. Apparently it used to have all these blueberries plants all over and Mr. Jeep's family would pick tons of blueberries. In the 12+ years that I've been going there I have never seen a blueberry. But whatever. And it is a valley of sorts. You have to drive down into it or walk down into it. So needless-to-say there are some excellent sledding hills. After several times of me pushing Mr. Jeep on the sled or vice versa down the hill to get a path worn, we finally had a great run. LC didn't want to ride down with either one of us, she wanted to go by herself. And she wanted to go down on the saucer sled! That's my girl! I should also mention that it was later in the day and so it was getting colder outside. This translates into a very icy sledding run. Very nice!! At one point all three of us were standing at the top of the hill and LC wanted to go down by herself on the saucer sled. We said okay, put her on the sled and gave her a little push. She went flying down the hill, spinning round and round the entire time! She got to the end and hit the soft snow bank and tumbled over backward. She popped up cracking up! She loved it.
I'll have to post pictures later. Mr. Jeep got a really good shot of me going over ass over apple cart down the hill. I'm not quite sure who actually had more fun: LC or us!
Monday, November 10, 2008
Run Like the Wind
So Sunday was my 10K run. My friend Elena and her sister Ro ran with me. They're my usual race running partners. I say that we run together, but in actuality we don't. We go to the race together, or meet there. And we all line up together, but as soon as we hit the start line we're all on our own. Elena usually weaves her way through all the people and goes off in the lead. Ro and I usually stick together for most of the race. Yesterday was a little different though. Elena still took off and started weaving through people to get ahead. I even weaved my way through quite a few people. I was doing pretty good and I thought I had lost Ro. She later told me that I was in her sight until about mile 4 and then I took off and she lost me. It was fun and I did pretty good.
Here's the problem from Sunday (isn't there always an issue?). I think it was somewhere around the 1.5 mile mark. I had my headphones on and was rockin' out to my music. Suddenly I started hearing some other music. I assumed it was coming from a nearby car or out of someone's house. I then looked to my right and this woman was pushing a double jogging stroller. She had an ipod music dock on top of the canopy of the jogger and the music was blasting away! I understand that you want to be able to hear your children and be able to talk to them, but other people do not want to hear your music. It was so loud. My next thought was that her kids ears must have been ringing. The music was right on top of their heads! After the race my friend Ro was also complaining about the woman and her music. I guess every race has to have one menace and double jogger lady was it!
Here's the problem from Sunday (isn't there always an issue?). I think it was somewhere around the 1.5 mile mark. I had my headphones on and was rockin' out to my music. Suddenly I started hearing some other music. I assumed it was coming from a nearby car or out of someone's house. I then looked to my right and this woman was pushing a double jogging stroller. She had an ipod music dock on top of the canopy of the jogger and the music was blasting away! I understand that you want to be able to hear your children and be able to talk to them, but other people do not want to hear your music. It was so loud. My next thought was that her kids ears must have been ringing. The music was right on top of their heads! After the race my friend Ro was also complaining about the woman and her music. I guess every race has to have one menace and double jogger lady was it!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
At Home
Well, there was no running this morning and no work. I decided, with much urging and encouragement from Mr. Jeep, to stay home today. I took LC to school and came back home. That's the worst part of it, I feel extremely guilty with me at home and LC at daycare. It doesn't seem right. I know I wouldn't get any rest if she was home, but I still feel guilty. She likes going to school, so I guess it's not that bad.
Hopefully I'll be feeling better tomorrow. Today will be spent on the couch reading my stack of magazines and surfing the Internet.
Hopefully I'll be feeling better tomorrow. Today will be spent on the couch reading my stack of magazines and surfing the Internet.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Will Work For Wine
My household is most likely going to be going through a major life-changing event in the near future. Mr. Jeep works for one of the big three. For the sake of anonymity I will not mention which one, but I'm sure if you're familiar with the Detroit auto industry, you'll figure it out quickly. The one he works for is most likely going to be sold/bought out by one of the other two. This means that Mr. Jeep will more than likely, check that, for sure lose his job. I'm trying not to get stressed out about it because truthfully there is nothing that we can do. It's just that it's such a crappy time for anyone to lose a job. (Not that any time is good) There are only two months until Christmas. And the way it looks we will either:
- Be making all of our gifts
- Not buying much
- Begging
It will probably end up being a combination of #1 and #2.
This also means that in my job search I need to find a position that provides good healthcare. That is ultimately our concern, the healthcare. I know we'll some how make everything work, but the healthcare aspect is a little tough. I can probably go to my current employer and ask to be under their healthcare and this is probably what will happen.
It's a tough, tough world and it's only getting tougher!
No Running?
So I started feeling like I was coming down with something on Thursday. You know, the achy joint feeling and something's just not right feeling? Well I had it. Friday, my throat started hurting and I was still achy off and on. Saturday and Sunday I was really achy and I had the chills. We ended up taking LC to the Zoo Boo Saturday night with friends and by the time we got back to the car, I was spent. Sunday I didn't leave the house and I felt like absolute doo-doo. I finally took my temperature and sure enough it was 100.9. And I really couldn't swallow. Every time I tried, it felt like I was swallowing razor blades.
This morning I couldn't even get my butt out of bed at 5:00 am to go running. I was still achy and my throat felt like it was sewed shut. Finally I got out of bed (I didn't go running) and grabbed the flashlight to look into my mouth. I saw the most bizarre thing...it appeared on the right side of my throat that my tonsils were swollen and then on the left side, the only way I can describe it is, it looked like a polyp and my uvula was swollen! WTF?!? Mr. Jeep looked at it and said "You need to go to the doctor immediately today." I ended up going to work (stupid me) and went to the doctor in the afternoon. It turns out I have tonsillitis and fluid in both ears. It's not an ear infection, just fluid which apparently is common when there is an infection. She put me on Augmentin tablets and told me to rest.
Rest? Did you hear that? Rest? Um, excuse me, how am I supposed to go running if I'm resting? I'm running a 10K on November 9th and I really don't need to be resting. I know I'll do fine even if I take a few days off to "rest", but what about my therapy (which is how I often view running)? I guess I'll see how I feel tomorrow morning. I really hate being sick.
This morning I couldn't even get my butt out of bed at 5:00 am to go running. I was still achy and my throat felt like it was sewed shut. Finally I got out of bed (I didn't go running) and grabbed the flashlight to look into my mouth. I saw the most bizarre thing...it appeared on the right side of my throat that my tonsils were swollen and then on the left side, the only way I can describe it is, it looked like a polyp and my uvula was swollen! WTF?!? Mr. Jeep looked at it and said "You need to go to the doctor immediately today." I ended up going to work (stupid me) and went to the doctor in the afternoon. It turns out I have tonsillitis and fluid in both ears. It's not an ear infection, just fluid which apparently is common when there is an infection. She put me on Augmentin tablets and told me to rest.
Rest? Did you hear that? Rest? Um, excuse me, how am I supposed to go running if I'm resting? I'm running a 10K on November 9th and I really don't need to be resting. I know I'll do fine even if I take a few days off to "rest", but what about my therapy (which is how I often view running)? I guess I'll see how I feel tomorrow morning. I really hate being sick.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Hire me, please
I have been looking for a new job for a long time and I desperately need to find something fast. I'm trying to get back into the healthcare field and there is nothing out there that is appealing to me. However, I am now at the point where I am willing to accept anything. My background is corporate wellness and fitness and also massage therapy. I would really like to find a wellness coordinator position, but they are so few and far between. Of course I'm also always open to accepting new massage clients. The economy is really putting a damper on the job outlook thing. I just keep telling myself that one of these days something is going to pop up and it's going to be fabulous!
Somewhat back to normal
I am happy to report that I think LC is back to being her normal self. The crankiness appears to be going away! Yay us!
Proper Etiquette Please
So I took LC to the zoo on Sunday. It was a total last minute decision, but I figured that since she had been sick and was pretty much in the house for the entire week, that it would be great to get outside. It was a nice sunny day, a little chilly, but still nice. A great fall day.
Anyway, here's the issue...in a crowded area at the zoo, or any event, where there is a perfect photo-op, make sure to look so that you're not stepping in front of someone else taking a picture. How rude! Our zoo has an exhibit called the Arctic Ring of Life (or something like that) and the big deal of it is that there is a clear tunnel to walk through or sit in and watch the polar bears swim around you. It is very awesome and often times rare to see the bears swimming in there. Every time I went to snap a picture of the polar bears, this woman would step directly in front of me. And she was coming from an angle where she had to see me attempting to take a picture. So instead I have about 3 pictures of this woman's fat head!
Anyway, here's the issue...in a crowded area at the zoo, or any event, where there is a perfect photo-op, make sure to look so that you're not stepping in front of someone else taking a picture. How rude! Our zoo has an exhibit called the Arctic Ring of Life (or something like that) and the big deal of it is that there is a clear tunnel to walk through or sit in and watch the polar bears swim around you. It is very awesome and often times rare to see the bears swimming in there. Every time I went to snap a picture of the polar bears, this woman would step directly in front of me. And she was coming from an angle where she had to see me attempting to take a picture. So instead I have about 3 pictures of this woman's fat head!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Como esta?
Yesterday morning I had to go to the bathroom and as usual I wasn't allowed to do it alone. LC was in there with me. Our shower curtain is a white shower curtain with flowers that I embroidered on the bottom with buttons for the center of the flowers. Very cute, if I do say so myself. LC has always been obsessed with the buttons. She doesn't try to pull them off, she just likes to touch them. So I got done in the bathroom and she was sitting on the floor in the bathroom and she says, "I'm going to stay here and look at the buttons." I said, "Knock yourself out." As I was walking out of the bathroom I hear, "uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, nueve, ocho, siete..." I know she got out of order at the end, but she.was.counting.in.spanish! I have never taught her how to count in Spanish. I stopped turned around and she started again. Of course I started praising her and telling her that was fantastic. I asked her if they're teaching her that at school and she said no. I asked if she learned it by watching Dora and she said no. The only I can figure is that she has picked it up from Dora.
I'm pretty impressed! That's my girl!
I'm pretty impressed! That's my girl!
Too Long
Wow! I can't believe it has been since August that I've posted. I guess I've been a little busy. Also nothing major has happened. Just the usual, work, fun with LC, trips up north, LC falling off the playground equipment at the park. Oh wait...that was major.
Monday I picked LC up from school and she mentioned that her head hurt. I asked if she had a headache and she said yes. On the way home, she mentioned a few more times. So when we got home I gave her some Motrin and we ate dinner. Mr. Jeep has a class on Monday nights, so it's just LC and I for the evening. We've also started meeting my GF Christa and her daughter Talia for a playdate (I hate that word and that hopefully will be the last time I use it) at the park. So after dinner I asked LC how her head was and she said great. So we went to the park. We went to their park this week and the play structure has a bridge that moves slightly for the kids to walk across. LC had walked across it a couple of times. I'm standing there talking to Christa and next thing I know, I'm watching LC fall off the bridge at the highest point. She landed on the sand on her back. She started crying and was just lying there. Instantly I notice that her lips are bleeding. She must have bit them on her way down. Christa and I both started to pick her up and then backed off because we didn't know if she had broken anything. So I did a quick assessment of her and she seemed to be o.k. I picked her up and she was crying. I checked her out for any bruising or bumps and I didn't see any. Finally she was better and was back to playing.
We went home and she went to bed. Around 10 pm she woke up fussing. Mr. Jeep went in there and LC was burning up. We took her temperature and sure enough, she had a fever. We had to wait until 11 pm to give her Motrin. We gave it to her and she finally went back to bed, only to wake up one more time during the night.
Unfortunately, I had to go to work on Tuesday. Mr. Jeep stayed home with her and took her to the doctor. This is the doctor's official diagnosis (it's a good thing doctor's have such a lengthy education):
"She has an ear infection in her left ear and some sort of germ in her throat."
WTF?!? A "germ" in her throat. Apparently the doctor did a throat culture and ruled out Strep, but could only come up with a "germ" for the diagnosis. I don't get it. Anyway, she put her on Amoxicillin and gave us drops for her ears. Up until yesterday (Friday) she was running a fever everyday. She seems to better, although today she is crabby as all get out.
It's a good thing she mentioned the headache when I had picked her up from school on Monday. Otherwise I would have been freaking out that the fall caused her to have the fever and something else was going on. It makes more sense now as to why she fell, her balance was probably off due to the ear infection.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Vacay
I'm on vacation. It doesn't feel like I'm on vacation yet, but I'm on vacation. The original plan was that Mr. Jeep was taking Thursday off and we were going to go up north. We would be staying at my MIL's cottage until Tuesday am. Then we would be heading to the Platte River Campground for 2-3 days of camping. Then we would be going back to MIL's cottage until Sunday. Well, some of that is still going to happen. I found out on Tuesday that my mom's uncle passed away. He was basically like a grandfather to me since both of mine passed away when I was 4-6 years old. Visitation was yesterday and today and the funeral is tomorrow. So we'll be leaving after the funeral and luncheon tomorrow.
I don't want to sound disrespectful, because I am deeply and truly saddened by the loss of my uncle. However, having said that, why do people insist on dragging funerals out? I know that nobody likes going to a funeral or having to go to visitation. But I really really hate funerals. I have made it crystal clear to everyone and anyone that may be involved in the planning of my funeral that I want to be cremated. I have also told Mr. Jeep that I would be perfectly happy and eternally grateful if there was no visitation for me. Have the service or whatever and that's it. I think it is just weird to sit in a room with a dead person for 1-2 days. And truthfully when I look at the person in the casket, I don't think of it as being them. Not to get all religious or anything, but their soul has move don. They are someplace else. That was just their shell and now they're gone.
Anyway, we won't be home until Sunday. So hopefully the week will be fine. No Internet for a week! What interesting things will we come home to?
I don't want to sound disrespectful, because I am deeply and truly saddened by the loss of my uncle. However, having said that, why do people insist on dragging funerals out? I know that nobody likes going to a funeral or having to go to visitation. But I really really hate funerals. I have made it crystal clear to everyone and anyone that may be involved in the planning of my funeral that I want to be cremated. I have also told Mr. Jeep that I would be perfectly happy and eternally grateful if there was no visitation for me. Have the service or whatever and that's it. I think it is just weird to sit in a room with a dead person for 1-2 days. And truthfully when I look at the person in the casket, I don't think of it as being them. Not to get all religious or anything, but their soul has move don. They are someplace else. That was just their shell and now they're gone.
Anyway, we won't be home until Sunday. So hopefully the week will be fine. No Internet for a week! What interesting things will we come home to?
Something's Wrong With Her
I haven't had a chance to write about our lovely emergency situation last Saturday. It was fucking wonderful. LC woke up a little earlier than normal. But wait, let me back the bus up a little bit. Mr. Jeep came home from his road trip that Friday evening. Long story short, his flight was delayed and he didn't end up getting home until a little before 10 pm. I let LC stay up since she was really looking forward to her daddy coming home. So she went to bed late Friday night and then was up early Saturday. Not a good combo.
Now to Saturday morning. Mr. Jeep and LC ate breakfast while I was doing something. After eating breakfast, LC wanted to go downstairs to color. So Mr. Jeep took LC downstairs and the dogs followed. I was sitting at the kitchen table eating my breakfast and attempting to read the sale ads in the newspaper. I could hear LC playing with Clifford downstairs. After several minutes of listening to her play with Clifford, I heard a crash and LC started crying. Then the crying stopped. I heard Mr. Jeep say something to her and then I heard him start coming up the basement stairs. So I got up to see what was going on. As I stood up Mr. Jeep yells, "Something's wrong with her! Call 911!" At this point he's in the kitchen holding LC and she's kind of limp in his arms staring at him. Apparently when Mr. Jeep went to pick her up she passed out for a couple of seconds. She was conscious by the time he got to the top of the stairs. So I called 911 and let Mr. Jeep do the talking since he was the one that witnessed the whole thing. Apparently what happened is that LC was chasing Clifford around the basement. Clifford decided to change direction and he came around the chair one way and LC came around the other way and well, I'm sure you're picturing what happened. They collided, head on. LC bounced off Clifford and fell to the floor, hitting her head on the concrete floor.
Now before everyone starts thinking that Mr. Jeep and I jumped the gun by calling 911, let me explain. LC has fallen on that same basement floor and hit her head so many times I can't even count. It's the simple fact that she passed out that had us concerned. She has never passed out before.
So a fire truck pulls up in front of our house and the fireman come in. LC had her face buried in my neck and wouldn't look at the men. Obviously I need to teach this girl a thing or two...a man in uniform (or in this case 4 men in uniform) come to your house, you take notice. They asked us what happened and basically said they couldn't tell us why she passed out. LC wouldn't even let them look in her eyes. So our options were: 1) let them take her in the ambulance; 2) we take her to the hospital; or 3) we call the pediatrician. I opted for #3. Mr. Jeep had to sign some waiver because we were declining medical care by not letting them take her to the hospital.
Did I mention it wasn't even 8 am yet?
We called the pediatrician and she did a full neurological exam on LC. LC passed with flying colors. In fact, LC was fine with everything until the doctor wanted to look into her ears and mouth. We basically had to hold her down while the doctor looked in her ears and mouth. The doctor was amazed at LC's strength, as most people are. She has been strong since before birth. That girl kicked the crap out of my insides and now occasionally kicks the crap out of my outsides.
The doctor sent LC for a CT scan. She was pretty positive that LC was okay, but since it was Saturday and they weren't open on Sunday, she didn't want to chance it. Let me go on the record right here and now, if you are ever given the option of either having your toddler have a CT scan or not having one, go with not having one. I would take the option of not having the CT scan and observing her for any abnormalities, rather than go through the hell of the CT scan. I won't go into all of the details, but I had to remind myself that we wanted to make sure LC was fine. Otherwise I would have snatched her up out of the CT scan room and went home. They had to restrain her and I was so angry that I almost started crying. Nobody but me is allowed to restrain her!
So anyway, she was fine. I'm sure she probably had a really bad headache. The CT scan came back great and there were no problems. It was a long ass day.
Now to Saturday morning. Mr. Jeep and LC ate breakfast while I was doing something. After eating breakfast, LC wanted to go downstairs to color. So Mr. Jeep took LC downstairs and the dogs followed. I was sitting at the kitchen table eating my breakfast and attempting to read the sale ads in the newspaper. I could hear LC playing with Clifford downstairs. After several minutes of listening to her play with Clifford, I heard a crash and LC started crying. Then the crying stopped. I heard Mr. Jeep say something to her and then I heard him start coming up the basement stairs. So I got up to see what was going on. As I stood up Mr. Jeep yells, "Something's wrong with her! Call 911!" At this point he's in the kitchen holding LC and she's kind of limp in his arms staring at him. Apparently when Mr. Jeep went to pick her up she passed out for a couple of seconds. She was conscious by the time he got to the top of the stairs. So I called 911 and let Mr. Jeep do the talking since he was the one that witnessed the whole thing. Apparently what happened is that LC was chasing Clifford around the basement. Clifford decided to change direction and he came around the chair one way and LC came around the other way and well, I'm sure you're picturing what happened. They collided, head on. LC bounced off Clifford and fell to the floor, hitting her head on the concrete floor.
Now before everyone starts thinking that Mr. Jeep and I jumped the gun by calling 911, let me explain. LC has fallen on that same basement floor and hit her head so many times I can't even count. It's the simple fact that she passed out that had us concerned. She has never passed out before.
So a fire truck pulls up in front of our house and the fireman come in. LC had her face buried in my neck and wouldn't look at the men. Obviously I need to teach this girl a thing or two...a man in uniform (or in this case 4 men in uniform) come to your house, you take notice. They asked us what happened and basically said they couldn't tell us why she passed out. LC wouldn't even let them look in her eyes. So our options were: 1) let them take her in the ambulance; 2) we take her to the hospital; or 3) we call the pediatrician. I opted for #3. Mr. Jeep had to sign some waiver because we were declining medical care by not letting them take her to the hospital.
Did I mention it wasn't even 8 am yet?
We called the pediatrician and she did a full neurological exam on LC. LC passed with flying colors. In fact, LC was fine with everything until the doctor wanted to look into her ears and mouth. We basically had to hold her down while the doctor looked in her ears and mouth. The doctor was amazed at LC's strength, as most people are. She has been strong since before birth. That girl kicked the crap out of my insides and now occasionally kicks the crap out of my outsides.
The doctor sent LC for a CT scan. She was pretty positive that LC was okay, but since it was Saturday and they weren't open on Sunday, she didn't want to chance it. Let me go on the record right here and now, if you are ever given the option of either having your toddler have a CT scan or not having one, go with not having one. I would take the option of not having the CT scan and observing her for any abnormalities, rather than go through the hell of the CT scan. I won't go into all of the details, but I had to remind myself that we wanted to make sure LC was fine. Otherwise I would have snatched her up out of the CT scan room and went home. They had to restrain her and I was so angry that I almost started crying. Nobody but me is allowed to restrain her!
So anyway, she was fine. I'm sure she probably had a really bad headache. The CT scan came back great and there were no problems. It was a long ass day.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
I'm Cute
Apparently I'm cute. At least according to LC I am. We were eating dinner on the patio last night and she pointed at me and said, "You're cute mom." I said, "Thanks LC. You're pretty cute too." Enough said.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Meltdown - Big Time
I pick LC up from school today and she's in a fantastic mood. She even gave her friend Brooklynn a hug and kiss before we left. We got in the car and I said we had to stop at Meijer on our way home to get diapers and some cheese. LC and I walk into Meijer and she's still in an awesome mood. She's joking with me and telling me about her day. We go straight to the diapers and get what we need. Thus leading into the beginning of the end. Stupid-ass me decides to go down the next aisle and look at the bibs. I forgot that is also the aisle with the sippy cups. I think sippy cups are to LC what purses/shoes are to me. She sees Princess sippy cups and says, "Oooh, Princess cups Mom." So I decide to be nice and let her get them. Her Daddy is out of town, she's in a great mood and I'm feeling hopeful. I hand them to her. Then I decide to look for popsicle molds. I wanted to see how much they were. I couldn't find them, so I decide to go get the cheese and get the heck out of there. All of a sudden LC says, "Lunch box Mom!" So here's where my stupidity really kicks in...I stopped and went back to where the lunch boxes were.
Yesterday morning while I was looking at the sale ads in the paper, LC started looking at them and spotted lunch boxes. She asked if she could get one. And I stupidly said that she could get one someday. Well apparently today was someday, at least in her mind.
They weren't on sale and there was no way in hell that I was going to pay full price for a lunch box. So I told her no that we couldn't get one, but she could get the Princess cups. You would have seriously thought that I just cut off her arm and leg. She started screaming and thrashing in the cart. I made a beeline for the cheese. Then I made a beeline for the checkout. The whole while LC is screaming, crying and thrashing. I went to the self-checkout, scanned the diapers, scanned the cheese and grabbed the Princess cups and put them on the shelf. There was no way in hell that LC was getting anything and being rewarded for her tantrum. This set off a whole new round of screeching. We left and got into the parking lot (still screeching). I had to put a WWE move on her to get her into the carseat. She screamed the whole way home, screamed getting out of the car and screamed coming in the house. And all she was screaming was "LUNCHBOX. LUNCHBOX. I WANT MY LUNCHBOX." I decided to try and be nice and say that I have a lunchbox she can have and we can put Dora or Princess stickers on it. "NO STICKERS. NO STICKERS."
It is moments like these that make me say I do not want any more children. I began making dinner and she kept coming into the kitchen (screaming) all the while I'm calmly talking to her. I was so proud of myself with how calm I was. You would have seriously thought I was back on the Lexapro. Finally I asked her if she wanted to see my lunchbox. She said, "Yeah. I want to see it mom." So I showed it to her and showed her that she could put her sippy cup in there and she was happy. It was as if I flipped a switch and Crabby Patty left. (Crabby Patty is LC's alter ego. She's been with us since birth) And then the rest of the evening she was an angel.
This is where I go back to thinking that having another one wouldn't be so bad. It's a fucking viscious cycle I tell you!
Yesterday morning while I was looking at the sale ads in the paper, LC started looking at them and spotted lunch boxes. She asked if she could get one. And I stupidly said that she could get one someday. Well apparently today was someday, at least in her mind.
They weren't on sale and there was no way in hell that I was going to pay full price for a lunch box. So I told her no that we couldn't get one, but she could get the Princess cups. You would have seriously thought that I just cut off her arm and leg. She started screaming and thrashing in the cart. I made a beeline for the cheese. Then I made a beeline for the checkout. The whole while LC is screaming, crying and thrashing. I went to the self-checkout, scanned the diapers, scanned the cheese and grabbed the Princess cups and put them on the shelf. There was no way in hell that LC was getting anything and being rewarded for her tantrum. This set off a whole new round of screeching. We left and got into the parking lot (still screeching). I had to put a WWE move on her to get her into the carseat. She screamed the whole way home, screamed getting out of the car and screamed coming in the house. And all she was screaming was "LUNCHBOX. LUNCHBOX. I WANT MY LUNCHBOX." I decided to try and be nice and say that I have a lunchbox she can have and we can put Dora or Princess stickers on it. "NO STICKERS. NO STICKERS."
It is moments like these that make me say I do not want any more children. I began making dinner and she kept coming into the kitchen (screaming) all the while I'm calmly talking to her. I was so proud of myself with how calm I was. You would have seriously thought I was back on the Lexapro. Finally I asked her if she wanted to see my lunchbox. She said, "Yeah. I want to see it mom." So I showed it to her and showed her that she could put her sippy cup in there and she was happy. It was as if I flipped a switch and Crabby Patty left. (Crabby Patty is LC's alter ego. She's been with us since birth) And then the rest of the evening she was an angel.
This is where I go back to thinking that having another one wouldn't be so bad. It's a fucking viscious cycle I tell you!
It's Coffee Bitches
I know this has been discussed a million times over in a million different ways, but I still need to say something. Mr. Jeep and I went to the Tigers game Friday night and then used some Marriott Rewards points to stay downtown. We stayed at the Marriott in the RenCen. In the morning we decided to go to the Starbucks in the RenCen for coffee and bagels. Let me stop this story right here momentarily. I don't frequent Starbucks. It's too fucking expensive. And frankly, I think their regular coffee is disgusting. I love strong coffee, I'm a black girl all the way when it comes to coffee. But their coffee is bitter. I do however enjoy their Cafe Mochas. Having said that, the only time I really go to Starbucks is when I have a gift card. As I previously said, it's fucking expensive and I'm cheap. End of story. (at least that part of the story)
Okay, now back to my original story. Tigers game, stayed at Marriott, decided to go to the Starbucks in the RenCen...we get in line, there was one person in line in front of us. I had a gift card and I also had a coupon for a free drink. The coupon is good for any kind of drink, any size. So it comes to our turn. There's a worker on the right and a worker on the left. Left girl asks if she can take our order. Mr. Jeep and I were still in the process of deciding what pastries or bagels we wanted. So I order my coffee...a Venti Cafe Mocha with skim milk and no whipped cream (don't forget I'm doing the Weight Watchers thing). Mr. Jeep says he'll have the same. So Left Girl walks away and gets our cups ready. So we're standing there and she says (very rudely pointing at Right Girl), "You pay her." Meanwhile, we still hadn't ordered the fucking food. So Mr. Jeep tells Right Girl, "I'll have a cheese danish and cinnamon chip scone." (he has abandoned Weight Watchers for the time being) Right Girls looks at Left Girl and says, "they're not done. They want food. I need a cinnamon chip scone and a cheese Danish." Left Girl gave Right Girl a look that basically said, "Are you fucking kidding me?" So I ask what type of bagels they have since it's not obvious exactly what flavors they are. You would have seriously thought I just asked Right Girl to recite the entire Declaration of Independence backwards! She rattles off the flavors and I order a blueberry bagel. She punches in the total on the register and it comes to $5.82. So I'm thinking this crazy bitch didn't charge us for the coffee. Well Left Girl immediately caught onto it and said, "they also have 2 Lattes." (and when doing Left Girl and Right Girl's voices be sure to use the voices that Adam Sandler, David Spade and Chris Farley used in the Gap skits on Saturday Night Live) Now our total is upto $13.85 or something ridiculous like that. I attempt to hand her the gift card and my coupon and she stares at me, drops her jaw and says, "We.do.not.take.those. We are an independent franchise and we don't accept them." So now I'm pissed. I said, "You don't take the gift cards either?" She says, "Yes. We take those" like I'm trying to pay her with a piece of shit or something. If Right Girl wasn't going to take the gift card, I was out.of.there. I could have gotten a decent meal for that price. Mr. Jeep and I got our food and our coffee and sat down at a table. Mr. Jeep was pissed, "I really didn't appreciate the attitude." I said, "Yes and the thing that kills me is that they make fucking coffee!!!"
Note to all Starbucks employees everywhere: Your title may be Barista. But what that translates to is Coffee Maker. You make coffee! That's it. So don't treat someone that has a higher education and far more important job than you like a piece of dog-shit. Some people save lives, some balance the national debt, some rule countries...you my dears make coffee. So stop acting so self-righteous and holier than thou. I can stay home and do the same fucking job you do for nothing!
And don't get me started on the whole size thing! God forbid you don't order a Talle, Grande or Venti. God forbid you order a small, medium or large. They look at you like you just ordered in Greek. And that brings me to the one shining moment of that whole Starbucks debacle. The man in line behind us ordered "2 large coffees." Genius!
Okay, now back to my original story. Tigers game, stayed at Marriott, decided to go to the Starbucks in the RenCen...we get in line, there was one person in line in front of us. I had a gift card and I also had a coupon for a free drink. The coupon is good for any kind of drink, any size. So it comes to our turn. There's a worker on the right and a worker on the left. Left girl asks if she can take our order. Mr. Jeep and I were still in the process of deciding what pastries or bagels we wanted. So I order my coffee...a Venti Cafe Mocha with skim milk and no whipped cream (don't forget I'm doing the Weight Watchers thing). Mr. Jeep says he'll have the same. So Left Girl walks away and gets our cups ready. So we're standing there and she says (very rudely pointing at Right Girl), "You pay her." Meanwhile, we still hadn't ordered the fucking food. So Mr. Jeep tells Right Girl, "I'll have a cheese danish and cinnamon chip scone." (he has abandoned Weight Watchers for the time being) Right Girls looks at Left Girl and says, "they're not done. They want food. I need a cinnamon chip scone and a cheese Danish." Left Girl gave Right Girl a look that basically said, "Are you fucking kidding me?" So I ask what type of bagels they have since it's not obvious exactly what flavors they are. You would have seriously thought I just asked Right Girl to recite the entire Declaration of Independence backwards! She rattles off the flavors and I order a blueberry bagel. She punches in the total on the register and it comes to $5.82. So I'm thinking this crazy bitch didn't charge us for the coffee. Well Left Girl immediately caught onto it and said, "they also have 2 Lattes." (and when doing Left Girl and Right Girl's voices be sure to use the voices that Adam Sandler, David Spade and Chris Farley used in the Gap skits on Saturday Night Live) Now our total is upto $13.85 or something ridiculous like that. I attempt to hand her the gift card and my coupon and she stares at me, drops her jaw and says, "We.do.not.take.those. We are an independent franchise and we don't accept them." So now I'm pissed. I said, "You don't take the gift cards either?" She says, "Yes. We take those" like I'm trying to pay her with a piece of shit or something. If Right Girl wasn't going to take the gift card, I was out.of.there. I could have gotten a decent meal for that price. Mr. Jeep and I got our food and our coffee and sat down at a table. Mr. Jeep was pissed, "I really didn't appreciate the attitude." I said, "Yes and the thing that kills me is that they make fucking coffee!!!"
Note to all Starbucks employees everywhere: Your title may be Barista. But what that translates to is Coffee Maker. You make coffee! That's it. So don't treat someone that has a higher education and far more important job than you like a piece of dog-shit. Some people save lives, some balance the national debt, some rule countries...you my dears make coffee. So stop acting so self-righteous and holier than thou. I can stay home and do the same fucking job you do for nothing!
And don't get me started on the whole size thing! God forbid you don't order a Talle, Grande or Venti. God forbid you order a small, medium or large. They look at you like you just ordered in Greek. And that brings me to the one shining moment of that whole Starbucks debacle. The man in line behind us ordered "2 large coffees." Genius!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Stop Talking Bob Costas
I've been watching the Olympics. I love the Olympics. I love everything about the Olympics. I love swimming (go Michael Phelps, you are one bad-ass Mother Fucker!). I love beach volleyball. I love indoor volleyball. I love diving. I love track and field. I love gymnastics (the men are questionable). I love tennis. I hate Bob Costas. The guy annoys the piss out of me. I hate his little comments that he has to put in everywhere. I hate his voiceovers. I hate the way he pushes his voice. You're not funny Costas. You'll never be funny. The only reason people laugh at your dumbass comments is because you have been on NBC for.ever and you probably have some major pull at that network.
And it just occurred to me tonight that the other person almost equally annoying to Costas is Mary Carillo. She's not funny either. And what is with her voice? Watch the woman (I think she's a woman) when she talks. Be sure to look at her neck muscles. It is so obvious that she is also pushing her voice. What woman (again I think she's a woman) pushes her voice? If you haven't been watching the Olympics, she does these special interest clips about the Chinese culture. For instance, this evening she did one on acupuncture. The background information on the acupuncture was interesting. It would have been better if I didn't have to listen to Mary Carillo. And to top things off, the segments start off with her sitting on one couch and Costas on the other. They have some not funny banter between them, do the segment and then return to the 2 of them on the couch. Costas, of course, attempts to be funny and Mary Carillo laughs like a hyena. Just give me the damn events and leave the banter out of it. That's all I ask.
And it just occurred to me tonight that the other person almost equally annoying to Costas is Mary Carillo. She's not funny either. And what is with her voice? Watch the woman (I think she's a woman) when she talks. Be sure to look at her neck muscles. It is so obvious that she is also pushing her voice. What woman (again I think she's a woman) pushes her voice? If you haven't been watching the Olympics, she does these special interest clips about the Chinese culture. For instance, this evening she did one on acupuncture. The background information on the acupuncture was interesting. It would have been better if I didn't have to listen to Mary Carillo. And to top things off, the segments start off with her sitting on one couch and Costas on the other. They have some not funny banter between them, do the segment and then return to the 2 of them on the couch. Costas, of course, attempts to be funny and Mary Carillo laughs like a hyena. Just give me the damn events and leave the banter out of it. That's all I ask.
I'm Back
It has been a while since I've been here, but I'm back. I've been busy with work, home, LC and looking for a new job. If only I could find a new job. I would be so happy. No, make that ecstatic! I keep getting my hopes up for nothing. I keep telling myself that one of these days a new job is going to turn up and hopefully it will.
Mr. Jeep left this evening for the entire week. He'll be back on Friday. He's going out of town for work. So I'm single parenting it this week. Here's the sucky part about this...Mr. Jeep will never know how it feels to be a single parent for an extended period of time. Right after LC was born (about June, she was born in March), he had to go out of town for work. He struggled with whether or not he should go and I told him it was fine. Usually when he goes out of town for work it involves quite a bit of overtime which = a lot of extra money. So here I was a new mom trying to figure everything out with this new baby and the daddy leaves. I am not exaggerating when I say that as soon as I dropped him off at the airport and he walked away, I started panicking. And to top things off, LC cried the entire way home from the airport. I seriously considered pulling over several times just to breastfeed her so she'd quiet down. I think he was gone for 2 weeks that time. It was the longest two weeks of my life. Everytime I talked to him I wanted to cry. Actually, every time I talked to anyone I wanted to cry during those 2 weeks. But I made it. And when I picked him up from the airport, he had the nerve to tell me that it was super hard on him being away from LC and I for 2 weeks! Whatever dude, you weren't stuck with a newborn.
So anyway, LC and I will be sticking it out alone with Marley and Clifford this week. Keep your fingers crossed that everything goes well. I'm thinking of stopping tomorrow and picking up a case of wine. I know a few people that go to Trader Joes to purchase cases of wine. I may have to do that.
Mr. Jeep left this evening for the entire week. He'll be back on Friday. He's going out of town for work. So I'm single parenting it this week. Here's the sucky part about this...Mr. Jeep will never know how it feels to be a single parent for an extended period of time. Right after LC was born (about June, she was born in March), he had to go out of town for work. He struggled with whether or not he should go and I told him it was fine. Usually when he goes out of town for work it involves quite a bit of overtime which = a lot of extra money. So here I was a new mom trying to figure everything out with this new baby and the daddy leaves. I am not exaggerating when I say that as soon as I dropped him off at the airport and he walked away, I started panicking. And to top things off, LC cried the entire way home from the airport. I seriously considered pulling over several times just to breastfeed her so she'd quiet down. I think he was gone for 2 weeks that time. It was the longest two weeks of my life. Everytime I talked to him I wanted to cry. Actually, every time I talked to anyone I wanted to cry during those 2 weeks. But I made it. And when I picked him up from the airport, he had the nerve to tell me that it was super hard on him being away from LC and I for 2 weeks! Whatever dude, you weren't stuck with a newborn.
So anyway, LC and I will be sticking it out alone with Marley and Clifford this week. Keep your fingers crossed that everything goes well. I'm thinking of stopping tomorrow and picking up a case of wine. I know a few people that go to Trader Joes to purchase cases of wine. I may have to do that.
Monday, August 4, 2008
The Dress
Mr. Jeep and I have a wedding dinner thing to go to this Saturday evening. This meant that I had to go buy a new dress for the occasion. I really don't enjoy dress shopping. I like to buy clothes with color and somehow whenever I have to buy a dress, I usually end up with something black. There have been exceptions, but the majority are black. I went to Lakeside Mall Sunday morning and I thought I was doing great by getting there before 10:30 am. I figured I would be done before noon and the day wouldn't have been wasted. I get to the mall only to find out that the stores don't open until 11:00 am. WTF?!? The only store that was open was Sears. I ended up taking my time looking at clothes at Sears until it was almost time for everyone else to open.
When it got to be about 10:50 am, I decided to head over to Macy's. Apparently I didn't walk slow enough because I still had about 8 minutes to go when I got there. So I sat outside the store and decided to wait. I don't know if anyone else has ever been a witness to the opening of a Macy's store, but it's something. A little before 11 am, a guy makes an announcement to the store employees that the store will be open for business in about 1 minute. This was the announcement by the over-zealous announcer guy:
"Okay everybody the store will be open for business in 1 minute. Place everyone, places. Get into position. Is everyone in position? I'll be opening up the upper level gate first. Do not let anyone in until I have completely opened the gate. Lower level - don't open the gate until I have given you instruction to do so. Is everyone smiling? Is everyone ready for a great day? O.k., I'm opening up the upper level gate. Here we go...3, 2, 1 and Macy's is open for business! Yay! Welcome everyone to Macy's! The lower level will be opening in a few seconds!"
So I'm sitting there waiting for the lower level to open. I can see 2 employees on the other side of the gate, but they're not budging. (apparently announcer guy means business when he says not to open until he has given the instruction) About 2 minutes or so go by and this other customer who had also been waiting, decides she's not going to wait any longer and walks under the gate and goes in the store. A few minutes goes by and the gate is still not opening. I'm not a patient person, so this is killing me! I almost walked up the stairs to the upper level and went in the open gate on the upper level. Just as I'm contemplating this, I see what I now know is announcer guy come running through the store toward the gate. He says to the 2 employees, "Good morning! Are we ready?" As he's opening the gate, he peers out of the gate and has the big-ass stupid grin on his face. By this time the other 2 employees have joined him at the gate. When the gate was open he says, "Good morning everyone! Welcome to Macy's! Have a great day!" The other 2 also say the same thing. With this kind of a welcome I was expecting champagne, strawberries, something. But no, that was it. It was the strangest thing. Although, I shouldn't complain because at least it was nice customer service.
I wonder what announcer guys real title is...Macy's emcee? Macy's greeter?
Anyway, I didn't find a dress at Macy's. By-the-way, their map is totally wrong! The dresses are not where the dresses are supposed to be. In fact, I never found them. I left Macy's and headed to Jacques Pennay. And this is where I found the dress. I'll have to take a picture of it because the one on the website doesn't do it justice. I'll post that either later this evening or tomorrow. I also had to go buy a new bra because the dress is pretty low-cut. When I got home and told Mr. Jeep this fact he was extremely excited about that aspect of the dress. LC's response was, "Oooooh, so pretty momma! Pretty tutu!"
When it got to be about 10:50 am, I decided to head over to Macy's. Apparently I didn't walk slow enough because I still had about 8 minutes to go when I got there. So I sat outside the store and decided to wait. I don't know if anyone else has ever been a witness to the opening of a Macy's store, but it's something. A little before 11 am, a guy makes an announcement to the store employees that the store will be open for business in about 1 minute. This was the announcement by the over-zealous announcer guy:
"Okay everybody the store will be open for business in 1 minute. Place everyone, places. Get into position. Is everyone in position? I'll be opening up the upper level gate first. Do not let anyone in until I have completely opened the gate. Lower level - don't open the gate until I have given you instruction to do so. Is everyone smiling? Is everyone ready for a great day? O.k., I'm opening up the upper level gate. Here we go...3, 2, 1 and Macy's is open for business! Yay! Welcome everyone to Macy's! The lower level will be opening in a few seconds!"
So I'm sitting there waiting for the lower level to open. I can see 2 employees on the other side of the gate, but they're not budging. (apparently announcer guy means business when he says not to open until he has given the instruction) About 2 minutes or so go by and this other customer who had also been waiting, decides she's not going to wait any longer and walks under the gate and goes in the store. A few minutes goes by and the gate is still not opening. I'm not a patient person, so this is killing me! I almost walked up the stairs to the upper level and went in the open gate on the upper level. Just as I'm contemplating this, I see what I now know is announcer guy come running through the store toward the gate. He says to the 2 employees, "Good morning! Are we ready?" As he's opening the gate, he peers out of the gate and has the big-ass stupid grin on his face. By this time the other 2 employees have joined him at the gate. When the gate was open he says, "Good morning everyone! Welcome to Macy's! Have a great day!" The other 2 also say the same thing. With this kind of a welcome I was expecting champagne, strawberries, something. But no, that was it. It was the strangest thing. Although, I shouldn't complain because at least it was nice customer service.
I wonder what announcer guys real title is...Macy's emcee? Macy's greeter?
Anyway, I didn't find a dress at Macy's. By-the-way, their map is totally wrong! The dresses are not where the dresses are supposed to be. In fact, I never found them. I left Macy's and headed to Jacques Pennay. And this is where I found the dress. I'll have to take a picture of it because the one on the website doesn't do it justice. I'll post that either later this evening or tomorrow. I also had to go buy a new bra because the dress is pretty low-cut. When I got home and told Mr. Jeep this fact he was extremely excited about that aspect of the dress. LC's response was, "Oooooh, so pretty momma! Pretty tutu!"
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Back from the Woods
So we ventured up north this weekend. We went to Mr. Jeep's family's place in northern MI. It was just Mr. Jeep, LC, Marley, Clifford and myself. It was very nice! That is the first time we've been up there alone in about 4 years. (a very long drawn out story that will be reserved for a future post when I need something to write about) The weather was fantastic. Saturday we went to the beach at Higgins Lake. LC had a blast playing in the water. She was a little hesitant at first about going in the water. After we put her in her inflatable jet ski and took her out in the water, she was fine. As soon as we got back to shore she wanted to go back in. So Mr. Jeep and I walked her in the water and then she didn't want to get out. It was a great day!
In fact LC was great all weekend. I think she had one minor meltdown all weekend and it was really nothing and was resolved quickly. She was polite, loving and had a great time. I was beginning to think we took the wrong kid. And then of course as soon as we get home, the real LC came back out. She was tired, so she was cranky.
Speaking of which, she probably wouldn't have been so tired if Mr. Jeep hadn't decided that he had to have munchies and had to have something to drink. This of course required him to pull off at a rest area, while LC was zonked out in the backseat. Of course as soon as he stops the car, gets out, slams the door and opens the hatch on the back of the car, LC wakes up. I immediately was pissed off, to say the least. After he finally gets back in the car and we're on our way down the road he looks at me and says, "Why are you so pissed off all of a sudden?" I said, "Did you not think she'd wake up as soon as you stopped and started making all that noise?" His response, "No, I didn't think." UGH!
In fact LC was great all weekend. I think she had one minor meltdown all weekend and it was really nothing and was resolved quickly. She was polite, loving and had a great time. I was beginning to think we took the wrong kid. And then of course as soon as we get home, the real LC came back out. She was tired, so she was cranky.
Speaking of which, she probably wouldn't have been so tired if Mr. Jeep hadn't decided that he had to have munchies and had to have something to drink. This of course required him to pull off at a rest area, while LC was zonked out in the backseat. Of course as soon as he stops the car, gets out, slams the door and opens the hatch on the back of the car, LC wakes up. I immediately was pissed off, to say the least. After he finally gets back in the car and we're on our way down the road he looks at me and says, "Why are you so pissed off all of a sudden?" I said, "Did you not think she'd wake up as soon as you stopped and started making all that noise?" His response, "No, I didn't think." UGH!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Total D-Bags
Yesterday on the radio they were talking to a guy that created this douchebag site. It is totally hilarious. It is definitely being added to my frequent reads. He calls himself Douchebag1 or DB1 for short. I shared it with Mr. Jeep last night and he was cracking up. DB1 also has a book out that is available on Amazon. I wonder if they'll ever have it at the library?
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Miss You
LC has been doing this new thing whenever she gets home from school, grandparents, etc. She'll come up to me and say, (in the cutest voice possible) "I miss you today Mommy. I miss you." Then she'll go up to the dogs and say, "I miss you today Marley. I miss you." And then she'll repeat it with Clifford and Mr. Jeep. Yesterday it was followed by several hugs and kisses.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Identity Change
Hey, I haven't been here in a while. Work has been crazy busy and when I get home the last thing I want to do is sit at the computer. We've also been having wireless issues at home and so I haven't been able to use the laptop. I'll probably be chatting a lot in the next couple of weeks. Yahoo!
I've decided to now call Little L, LC. Those are actually her initials and for ease of blogging it's better that it's shortened.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Back to Normal (almost)
I've been busy and haven't been able to give an update on Little L's scab on her nose. It fell off on Tuesday while she was at school (that's what we call daycare). That was the first thing she told me when she saw me Tuesday. And that's pretty much what she told everyone that she saw.
Here's a picture of the scab before:
I Wear It Well
Last night for dinner I made burritos. This is a staple in our house. We decided to eat on the patio. Little L ate about 1/4 of hers and then decided to pick at the burrito (like she normally does). She opened it up and stuck her finger in the bean/hamburger mixture and started eating it that way. Next thing I know she's getting out of her chair and walks up to me and smears something on my arm and then starts smearing it on my shoulder. I looked at her and asked her what she was doing and she just smiled. Mr. Jeep says, "that would be bean that you're wearing". Little L then proceeded to do it 2 more times. Each time sneaking up on me and me not realizing what was happening until it was too late.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Who Needs Clothes?
I ran to the grocery store Saturday afternoon and while I was gone, Mr. Jeep and Little L decided to pull out the kiddie pool. When I got home they were having a blast playing in the pool. I started cooking dinner and told Little L that we would eat on the patio since she was in her bathing suit. We all sat down to eat and Little L got done eating and decided to start running around the yard. She finally walks up to me and says, "No bathing suit momma" and proceeds to strip off her bathing suit and swim diaper. I asked her if she wanted to put clothes on and she politely told me no. She then decided it would be fun to ride around the patio on her bike completely nude. Mr. Jeep and I basically had the attitude of "whatever". We have a 4 foot privacy fence on our patio, so none of the neighbors could really see her and she was having fun. I'm pretty sure if she had it her way, she would be nude all the time. Ahh, to be 2 and not have a care in the world!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Bad Momma
Call child protective services...I'm a bad mom! This morning as I was getting ready for work, I put 3 tampons on the kitchen table next to my purse to take with me. Little L came walking into the kitchen. I turned my back for a second and I heard, "Ooh, what's this?" So I turned to see what she was talking about. And there she stood with a tampon in her hand, biting down on it like it was something delicious. I said, "No, Little L. Those are for mommy only" and grabbed it out of her hands. At this point she began wailing and throwing the biggest tantrum. I put them in my purse and went to put our dogs downstairs so we could leave. When I came back upstairs, she was standing on the chair trying to get into my purse. I picked my purse up and she began throwing another tantrum. It wasn't until we were finally in the car and pulling out of the driveway that she calmed down. All over a tampon...go figure.
How Do They Not Notice?
Since about the middle of March I have lost approximately 25#. It's not like I was huge or anything. I have put on a little extra weight over the past few years and wanted to lose it. Plus I wanted to use it as a motivator to get back into my regular running routine. And I found out with my health insurance I could join Weight Watchers at a very reduced cost. Mr. Jeep has been wanting to lose weight for a while and I figured if I joined he would be more likely to stick with it. So we started WW on April 1, 2008. Depending on the clothes, I'm down about 2-3 sizes. All of my family has noticed and made comments and all of my friends have noticed and made comments. But have any of the boneheads at work said anything? No, not one word. Not that I'm expecting them to be falling all over me, but you'd think they'd say something. Our maintenance guy has complimented me on it.
I suppose it goes along with my theory that I'm invisible at work. I never get told anything or asked anything. This is one reason why I'm looking for a new job (not to mention I'd rather be working in the healthcare field). Truthfully, I really only have a problem with 2 people in the office. But those 2 people really annoy the crap out of me. I could go on for days about them and most likely will at some point. The one has been out on maternity leave for a few weeks and comes back on Tuesday. The other one I ignore as much as possible, which isn't hard considering how she also ignores me. It's wonderful!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
A Few Confessions
I have a few guilty pleasures that I try to keep hidden, but most of my friends probably already know about them. I love to read about celebrity gossip. In fact I check the gossip and photos on People.com almost daily. I enjoy watching TMZ, although I don't always get to watch it. And obviously I read the tabbies when I'm in line at the grocery store. I look at it as giving me a break from reality. Mr. Jeep used to always give me grief for reading Star or People, but now he's the one that's turning on TMZ. And on occasion, he'll know some celebrity gossip before me. Funny how the times have changed!
I guess I'll save some of the other guilty pleasures for other posts.
Huge Tumble
Little L has these flip-flop type sandals that have straps on the back. When she's playing outside she is not allowed to wear them because she always falls. Last night we went to a store and I decided to take her outside while I was waiting for Mr. Jeep to get done. Little L decided to start running back and forth in front of the stores on the sidewalk. I told her to be careful and sure enough two seconds later, she fell right on her face. I thought for sure the kid's teeth were knocked out. She started screaming and holding her mouth/nose area. She wouldn't let me look at her teeth. Finally she allowed me to examine her nose and it was not good. She has a huge scrape from the bridge of her nose to the tip and another scrape under her nose. The teeth are in tact. The funny, or not-so-funny thing, is that after she calmed down and was talking, I couldn't figure out why she sounded funny. So then I started wondering if she had chipped a tooth and I just didn't see it (we were in the car at this point). Then I turned and looked at her in the backseat and sure enough her lip was huge! It's hard to tell with her because she has really full lips anyway. Mr. Jeep said it looked like she had collagen injections.
So we went home, cleaned her up and put Neosporin on it and she seemed to be fine. This morning it looked about the same and her lips were back to normal. I'm freaking out that she's going to have a permanent scar on her nose from this, but I think she'll be o.k. (at least that's what I'm trying to tell myself.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Public Restroom Pet Peeves
Hello lady that came into the bathroom and had to use the stall right next to me. Why? Why did you have to use that stall and couldn't use one of the four other ones that were open? I will never understand this. I've had this discussion with my husband about the men's room. He said it's a big no-no for a guy to use the urinal directly next to someone else when there are others that are open. It's kind of the same thing with the women's room. I know there's a wall between us, but come on!
While we're on the subject of restroom pet peeves, my other one is people who use their cell phones while going pee or otherwise in the restroom. I think this is really disturbing. I can't tell you how many times I'm at work and in the bathroom and I hear someone come in the bathroom on their phone, go into a stall, grab an ass-gasket and proceed to have a full blown conversation while taking a piss or shitting. How nice for the person on the other end of the phone to hear you and how nice for everyone else in the restroom to hear your entire conversation. The logistics of balancing the phone, wiping your ass and pulling up your pants is beyond me. And majority of the time, they're the ones that don't wash their hands. I don't get it.
While we're on the subject of restroom pet peeves, my other one is people who use their cell phones while going pee or otherwise in the restroom. I think this is really disturbing. I can't tell you how many times I'm at work and in the bathroom and I hear someone come in the bathroom on their phone, go into a stall, grab an ass-gasket and proceed to have a full blown conversation while taking a piss or shitting. How nice for the person on the other end of the phone to hear you and how nice for everyone else in the restroom to hear your entire conversation. The logistics of balancing the phone, wiping your ass and pulling up your pants is beyond me. And majority of the time, they're the ones that don't wash their hands. I don't get it.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Let Me Introduce Myself
I am 35 (almost 36) years old. I live in a suburb of Detroit. I'm married to a wonderful man that both frustrates me and excites me at the same time. We've been married since June 2002 and have been together since April 1996 (yes it was a long engagement. A girl has to be sure, right?). We have one beautiful daughter who turned 2 in March. And we have 2 crazy dogs: Marley - a German Shorthaired Pointer and Clifford - a Redbone Coonhound (he is Clifford the Big Red Dog). My daughter, I'll call her Little L (or her alter-ego, Crabby Patty), my husband and the dogs will provide many hours of entertainment on this blog.
I work full-time. I'm currently working as a legal assistant in a law firm. Although, this is not my background and not where I want to be. I have a degree in exercise physiology, but got burned out on it and decided to seek other options. When nothing came up, I took the first job I could find. It was supposed to be temporary, it's been 5 years. Three years ago I went back to school and became a massage therapist. I absolutely love it, but am not quite sure I want to do it full-time.
I'm fairly new to the whole blogging thing. Yeah, I know, get with the times chick! A friend of mine got me turned on to Ashley's Closet and I've been hooked ever since. I've been telling my husband that I need a blog. In order for me to keep my sanity, I think I need a blog! So this will give me the opportunity to vent my daily frustrations: mommyhood, wifedom, work, dogs, stupid people, observations and whatever else might come my way.
I want to keep the anonymity for now since I don't know where this will take me. Names will be changed to protect the innocent or if you're not so innocent, you'll be given a lovely nickname.
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