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 |  Breaking the laws of blogging, one entry at a time. |
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Wanted: For repeated blog faux pas, including, but not limited to: Obsessive ranting - guilty on 92 counts. Repeatedly beating a dead horse - guilty on 17 counts. Unnecessary use of curse words - guilty on 142 counts. Boring daily recounts - guilty on 45 counts. Pointless entries - guilty on 214 counts. Contradictory statements - guilty on 72 counts. Recounting toilet actions - guilty on 15 counts. Overdramatization of insignificant things - guilty on 152 counts. Overreacting to meaningless gestures - guilty on 22 counts. Unnecessary temper tantrums - guilty on 75 counts. Cruelty towards animals, superiors, peers, and inferiors - guilty on 146 counts. Repeated bad grammar, spelling, and opinionations - guilty on 214 counts. Suspect is considered armed and dangerous. Do not confront directly, instead call the authorities and slowly back away. Do not provoke suspect, as she is easy to agitate. The best action to take is to smile and nod. Any other response could lead suspect to rant and rave for days without ceasing. REWARD OFFERED FOR CAPTURE Dead or alive. Offending evidence: ![Merit Badge in Journaling
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| We just got back from taking the dogs to the vet. There's nothing like spending $256.00 and getting nothing more out of it than having a beagle release his anal glands in your face to make you feel like you're getting your money's worth. Storm has a skin tag on his leg that they're going to be removing in the next two weeks. That means I get to take him over to the vet's office, all by my lonesome, on the 14th at 8 am. It also means I'll get to deal with more anal gland releasing and gagging on the smell of dog shit where there is only dog farts. I was going to stop there because I thought it would be a nice note to end this blog on, using the words dog shit and dog farts in the same sentence and all, but I wanted to make sure that Problematic Content  knows I wrote this entry just for him. I spent $256.00 today to vaccinate my dogs and walked out 2 beagle-anal-gland-releases richer. Wanna smell? I'm sure there's some remnant anal juice on my slacks. |
| Wednesday, I got a massage to try to help the muscle spasms in my right hip and leg from the near-fall that I'd had a couple weeks prior. She spent 45 minutes working the knot out of my hip and it finally released. I felt good for about 30 seconds, and then my left side spasmed and knotted up to the point where I couldn't even lay on my back without being incredibly uncomfortable and near tears. She had me roll onto my side, which took quite a bit of effort and started trying to unspasm the left side. The spasms started traveling up my side and down my leg. She would get my shoulder relaxed, my middle back, and then start working on my hip again. She'd work on it for a few more minutes, and the spasms would travel upwards again. By the time the hour and a half was over (she gave me an additional half hour because she felt so bad for me), I wasn't fixed but I felt better. Then I came home and went to bed. When I woke up Thursday morning, both sides were spasmed again and I've been dealing with it all week. Ethan's 2nd birthday party was yesterday. It went well, although my back is all levels of hurting. I could barely walk when I got out of bed this morning. It's gotten better as the day's progressed, but this really is rather ridiculous. I've been spending so much time icing my back, soaking in the tub, doing the stretching exercises that help the muscle spams, working, sleeping, puking, whatever... The back problems are old. I haven't even hit the part of pregnancy where the back problems should even be a problem. I have an appointment with my midwife on Wednesday so I'm going to talk to her about it and see if maybe I can get a referral for a massuse so I don't have to pay $50 an hour to try to get this fixed. Maybe I'll get lucky and my birthing hospital will have a maternity massuse on staff that I can get an appointment with for free. The other hospital does, but I refuse to give birth there, plus it's further from our house. I'm 17 weeks on Wednesday. I'll be having an ultrasound after 18 weeks, so hopefully I'll find out whether I'm having a boy or girl. In the meantime, it's time for little 2-year-old boys to go to bed. |
| Fat Tuesday. Throw me some beads, Mister. I'll show you my boobies! (One of Ethan's favorite new words - thanks, Jason.) I had a paczki today. I'm going to have another, I think. I don't give a fuck if it nauseates me for a little bit. The end is worth the means, especially since it's only once per year that indulgence occurs. It's been a good day, sort of. I still have a bit of a cold, but I've gotten 2 decent nights of sleep without any sleeping pills. I used some Saturday night just to get to a point where I felt like I wasn't constantly exhausted. Since then, I've been able to sleep pretty much through the night - not even getting up to go pee until 5 a.m. I don't care who you are, that is a good night's sleep to me. I think that maybe I couldn't sleep because I was too tired. You know, like overtired? Maybe catching myself up a little bit (which I know doctors say isn't possible, but that's the only thing I can think to call it) is what I needed. In other news, I'm currently having to shop around for a new copying machine at work. I had no idea what I was doing when I started, but now I have a pretty good handle on the lingo. I've talked to one guy on the phone, had another visit the office, and have another I'm waiting to hear back. I talked to the Canon guy, who said that it wouldn't be cost effective for us to switch to a networked color copier versus our 2-year-old color LaserJet. The Sharp guy told me that we'd save oodles per page, so I'm not sure who is telling me the truth. Either way, at this point I'm just putting together what we want to ask for to be put out to bid. The Canon guy said that with the way KPS is about buying cheap stuff, we'll probably end up with a Toshiba, which is what we're replacing because it's so old that there are no parts available to fix it when it breaks down. The rollers on the document feeder are worn out. The rollers on the paper feeder are worn out. We keep getting jams and we've been getting a "Call for Service" light for like 2 months that they can't fix because the parts aren't available. With the way KPS works, though, it'll probably be like next school year before we get a new copying machine. I'll end up having to deal with this 1/2 broke, piece of crap, until then, I'm sure. Things just move so slowly when you have to deal with all of the "red tape" in public institutions. In the meantime, we're celebrating Fat Tuesday by attending a Mardi Gras parade at a local school. Ethan gets to be Grand Marshall. I almost want to stand somewhere in the hall and yell, "Throw me some beads, mister!" as he passes by. I can't, though. That would be so very unmotherly of me. lol. |
| And on the 10th day, she made an entry. Hehehe. The past week or so has been crazy. I've had insomnia for the past few weeks, which have made me just exhausted by about 3:30 in the afternoon. I go to bed between 8 and 10 at night and wake up about midnight or 1 a.m. and I can't go back to sleep. Part of my problem is that I'm stressed because time is speeding by and I can't keep up with it. I spend a lot of time laying in bed, thinking about all of the things we need to do to get ready for the new baby. I think about how much money I need to set aside for doctor's bills. I think about what needs to get done the next day at work. I think about other things that make no sense or aren't important, but they somehow make their way into my brain. This week, I've been thinking about all of the things that need to get done before Ethan's 2nd birthday party next Saturday. Then last Wednesday, Ryan and Jenny had their little boy, Hayden. We went over to Borgess to see them after Jason got off work on Wednesday. Since we had left Ethan with J's Mom & Dad, we figured it would be easier, and it probably was a blessing that we did so. As we're walking out of the hospital, to our car in the parking garage, I hit a slick spot on the pavement. My right foot started to slide out from under me, but lucky for my, my left foot was on solid ground and Jason was walking beside me. He grabbed my elbow before my left foot could pull out from under me, and all that ended up happening was my right hip kind of wrenching and twisting around. Yes, I almost fell on my ass in that parking garage. But, thankfully, I didn't. If I had, though, it was an appropriate place to fall. I would have trotted my happy little ass down to the E.R. and had myself checked out. It didn't come to that, though, thanks to my own grace and my husband's diligence. Instead, I spent all night tossing and turning because my hip was throbbing. I called my midwife's office the next morning because I could barely put weight on my right leg without nearly screaming in pain. They told me to go see my general practitioner. At my GP's office, I was sent home with activity restrictions - no stairs, no lifting over 15 pounds, no pushing over 30 pounds, no standing for more than 5 minutes, no bending or squatting, ice packs on my hip for 20 minutes every 2 hours for the first 48 hours, then 3 hot baths per day until my next appointment. It sucked, but it did help me get better. I went in for my recheck on Tuesday afternoon, and he was going to give me some homeopathic trigger point injections to stimulate the muscles to heal faster, since I am still having problems with rotation and bending. Instead, he agreed to let me go to the chiropractor to see if that would help. I went and it did, but I'm still having problems with rotation. The bending has gotten easier. In the meantime, I'm still having problems with insomnia and sleeping for more than about 4 hours at a time. I've also been working pretty much full time the past week because CC needs a secretary for the office until she gets one hired. Add lack of sleep to lots of exhausting work, and I've been pretty much a zombie by the time I get home in the afternoon. I'm going to use some Ambien tonight at bedtime to see if that will help. It's the only sleep aid that seems to not be harmful during pregnancy, so my GP said if that doesn't help, I could come back and get some homeopathic remedies to see if they help, since they are proven not harmful to pregnancies. I've tried everything, short of starving myself of liquids before 6 p.m. I cut myself off at 7:30, and still wake up at 12 or 1, whether or not I have to pee. I tried drinking sleepytime tea at 6 p.m. to help destress. Nothing's working. Hopefully I'll get a full 8 hours tonight, with this Ambien. Otherwise, I'm going to really get desperate. PS - I plan on taking pictures of my pregnant belly sometime. I haven't touched my camera since Christmas time.  !!! |
| Woohoo! We're supposed to get close to 20 degrees today! Get ready for the heat wave and help me dig out my shorts, people! lol. It's pretty bad when 20 degrees sounds like a warm temperature, but compared to 17 below before wind chill, with a wind chill of 25 below, 20 degrees is like summer. I'm going to make a conscious effort to get some of the reviewing I owe done today. I'm feeling good this morning, so far, despite a small amount of gagging when I first woke up and a single dry heave while I was going pee. I have to work most of the day today, though, so we'll see how I feel following a long day at work after having a 4-day weekend. I also have to work a full day tomorrow, and probably until 3 on Friday to make up my hours. I'm usually exhausted after a half day, but my energy has been picking up over the past week or so. Did I mention that I'm 14 weeks today? Yay! No more 1st trimester! My sex drive has started picking up. My morning sickness should start dying down. I should be able to feel the baby moving in the next 2-4 weeks, which I'm excited about, and in 5 weeks I'm having another ultrasound to check my ovarian cyst (and the gender, since we're already going to be looking). It feels like forever away, but I know it'll go fast if I concentrate on something else. Anybody want some snow that didn't already get some? I can put it in a jar and ship it to you. We have plenty to share. |
| I haven't had to work much in the past 2 days. With temperatures in the negative range and wind chills up to 25 below, it's been too cold for the district to require students to wait for busses or walk to school. I technically am considered administration/support staff, so do not fall under the blanket of teachers and school officials who get the school year schedule, including all of the snow days. Teh lame, but my boss is cool enough to tell me to take the day off. I did go in for a minute today, just to check pending transportation arrangements, phone messages, emails, and to verify a meeting that had been tentatively scheduled for tomorrow. I also went over to my boss's house and helped her try to get out of her driveway. She had 2 feet of snow at the end of her driveway from the road plows and, at 60-something years old, she doesn't need to be out in negative temperature weather shoveling 2 feet of heavy plow-snow from the end of her driveway. Of course, being pregnant, I don't need to be outside shovelling heavy plow-snow, either, so I used my minivan to barrel through it and at least make some kind of tracks for her to use as a means to get out. I told her if she couldn't get out to give me a call and I'd either have Jason bring his snowblower over and dig her out, or I'd at least give her a ride to work in the morning. I'm hoping that my morning sickness is just going out like a lion, because it picked up the past couple of days again. I am having a high amount of heartburn and sinus drainage, so I'm sure that's adding to the weak gag reflex. I just keep on keeping on, hoping that it starts to fade in the next week or so. At least I've been able to keep it mostly under control, although this morning I came close to calling my doctor's office because I was starting to feel dehydrated. Yesterday was the worst day, ever. I stayed home all day with Ethan. We didn't go anywhere because it was too cold for him outside. I had an apple with peanut butter for breakfast, which I thought would be mild enough for my stomach, and probably would've been fine if Ethan hadn't elbowed me while I was hiccupping. Then I was running to the bathroom and ended up puking 1/2 the contents of my stomach into my hand and mouth before I made it to the toilet. Fast forward through the rest of the day, and I did OK at keeping my stomach on the even-keel. I stayed away from the soda because the sugar wasn't boding well, ate a few fruit-juice popsicles to keep myself hydrated, and sipped at Propel because even the sugar in it was too much for my tummy yesterday. I ate some cucumber slices soaked in water and some baby carrots, and then some potatoes to try to get some pottasium. Jason made spaghetti for dinner, and that was my downfall. I debated whether or not to eat it because of how my stomach had been all day, but damnit, I love me some sketti. At least I loved me some sketti. I only had a small bowl! Honest! It was about 3/4 cup of noodles and just enough sauce to give the noodles a light covering and then a glass of milk to try to balance the acidity, plus 2 tums to prevent heartburn. I felt it creeping up my throat, but I took a shower because usually that helps with the sinus drainage for a bit so I can calm my stomach down. Not this time. I had just finished brushing my hair, lotioning up, and getting dressed. As I stepped from the hallway and into the kitchen, I turned to run back to the bathroom. My stomach didn't even give me a chance and I ended up throwing up in my hand again. Once at the toilet, not only did I have puke on my hand, but toilet water splashed back up on my face and my clean shirt. Then a spaghetti noodle got stuck in my throat and was making me choke even more, so I had to reach my hand up into my mouth to pull it out. Definitely not the highlight of my lifetime. I ended up having to take a second shower to clean myself up because I ended up with puke in my hair, all over my face, on both of my hands, and toilet water splash-back everywhere else. Probably TMI for you all, but yesterday was my most violent morning sickness day, and it will forever be ingrained in my memory when I had to reach down my own damn throat to pull out a regurgitated spaghetti noodle. I thought I'd ingrain it into your brains as well. lol. |
| That was the lamest Superbowl Pregame show, ever. I love Cirque de Soliel. I love that they featured a Miami artist. I love that they featured a Miami composer. But the whole thing was way too arty-fartsy for football. You can't even watch all of the acrobatics with the distraction of the artwork or with everything that was going on over the 100-yard stretch. It easily competes with last year's halftime as the most pointless Superbowl performance in history. Prince is performing at halftime, which cracks me up. Last year's halftime was way tame because of the whole Janet Jackson boobie debacle from two years ago, and they follow the most pointless performance of the year with someone who is known for his indecent behavior on stage. I'm hoping we get to see a butt cheek, at least. It wouldn't be Prince without some kind of indecent gesture or exposure. After that pregame show, if the game itself is boring, they have to have some kind of spice at halftime. Prince, please don't let us down. |
| Jason's getting an attitude because of the gagging and hormone crap. I'll be fine one minute, and then I'll cough because I get post nasal drip going in the back of my throat or something, and then I'll start gagging because of the coughing. It's really gross, but I can't help it. He told me yesterday that he thought I did it when it was convenient for me so I could get out of doing stuff, which isn't the case. I can't take the smell of any raw meats, any cooking meats, and I even have a hard time with some cooked meats. I can't take the smell of old ketchup, ranch dressing, salsa, pickles, or pretty much anything that's sat on a plate long enough that it has an odor strong enough that I can smell it from across the room. The dogs' body odor makes me gag. The kitty litter, if more than a day old, makes me gag just walking past the basement steps. If I get too cold, I gag. If I get too hot, I gag. I gag with Ethan's poopy diapers (and usually throw up, too). I gag if I'm damned, and I gag if I'm not. I'm dealing with this just fine. I avoid stuff that I know will make me throw up, which is just about everything I mentioned above. It irritates him because he pretty much has to do all of the cooking, all of the dishes, and all of the laundry because he refuses to change the litter box everyday. I feel bad because it isn't a "mind over matter" thing. I tried putting my mind over the matter, and it resulted in me throwing up on the basement floor. What do I do to let him know I appreciate all of what he's doing? I hate feeling like I take him for granted. |
| With the blizzard and everything, we accumulated maybe 8" of snow, which seems less blizzard-like than it really was. Those 8" were accumulated in about 3 hours, and an additional 6-12" were accumulated in snow drifts. It's still snowing, too, but the wind gusts have stopped. It's still bitter-ass cold outside, though. When we went to the store, we put an additional sweatshirt on Ethan, plus his winter coat, plus 2 pair of socks under his boots, plus a hat, plus a scarf, and then wrapped him in a blanket to take him to the car and from the car into the store. Since he won't wear gloves or mittens, we made sure to wrap the blanket around his hands. With how cold the temperatures have been, I'll be surprised if there's school tomorrow. We're sitting in 5 - 10 degree weather, with a -25 wind chill. Tonight, it's supposed to get down to -5 before wind chill. Our energy bill for this month is going to be like $400, I'm sure. Punxsutawney Phil can kiss my ass with his early spring prediction. We're not having an early spring here, we're having a nasty, bitter, late winter. Jack Frost and Old Man Winter are getting the last laugh here, that's for sure. Fuck a bunch of groundhog bullshit. They're handing us our asses on platters up here. My Mom and Dad are planning on going to Grand Rapids for the auto show tonight, and I'm going to call and try to talk them out of it one more time. GR got about 17" accumulation with snowfall and drifts, and there were a ton of car accidents on the highway yesterday that resulted in it being shut down. It just isn't worth them risking their lives to go see some cars. I don't give a crap if they won the tickets. They're better off eating the zero they spent and figuring out a safer way to spend the evening. As Ming-Ming would say, "This... is... sewious!" |
| They closed down US131 this afternoon because road conditions were so bad. Jason's uncle has been in the hospital all week. Carrie and Kevin were driving up from South Bend to see him and left before the bad weather started. They were about to Three Rivers when it hit, and the state police had already closed down the highway, thankfully. They turned around and went back to South Bend, rather than braving the back roads. It really was a treacherous blizzard. I can't believe we even drove in it. While we were driving home this afternoon, I was gripping the door armrest so hard that my hand started hurting. At one point, I had put my arm on the dashboard because I instinctually was bracing for an impact, until Jason told me to put my arm down so it didn't get broken if we got in an accident that deployed the air bags. It took me about an hour and a half to stop shaking once we finally got home, and then we realized we only have one roll of toilet paper and no kitty litter (and the boxes need changing desperately - I can't even walk past the basement door without gagging!) Alright. Ethan's still asleep and needs to wake up. Off to get him up and then we have to go to the store. Thankfully, the blizzard has cleared. Hopefully the snow plows have done their jobs on the main road because we have to go to the store to get shit paper and kitty litter. Blah. |
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Whatever you do, hang in there, he'll be sleeping like a big boy in no time!