Good bye, Verizon. See you in hell

Except we're getting Fios in about 2 years, and we have Verizon Wireless phones, and we kept the absolute basic landline. It took me 30 minutes to cancel the phone yesterday with Ryan The Tool. I told him what I wanted. He tried to sell me stuff. Every option he tried to talk about, I interrupted him and repeated what I wanted. I grew weary of this game and demanded a manager at which point he gave me what I asked for, cursed me (in his head of course), and transferred me to the internet department. It was 5:55 and those lazy idiots already had their phones turned off. They are supposed to be there until 6! The online chat person Ratchit called me Mr before saying he couldn't help me. I had to call them today and use the world's worst Voice Response Unit before I could talk to a person. The machine did not accept "I HATE YOU" as a reason for cancelling. Thankfully Ms Wright saw no point in arguing with me and promptly closed my account. I thanked her and let her know she was way more helpful than Ryan The Tool.

Microwave resurrection

Hubs seems to have fixed the microwave. I'm still not 100% convinced it's fixed, but we have used it about 5 times with no more fires. I guess we don't have to find the money to replace it.

I must be a God damned genius, Gump

I set up the wifi all by myself. Let the screaming at Verizon begin!!!! This is faster than DSL!!! Love it!!!

Happy Father's Days

This article struck a nerve with me. I agree that Father's Day is the often forgotten holiday. Daycare rarely does anything special for the dads because so many kids are being raised by single mothers. It truly makes me sick that fathers are depicted as bumbling idiots on TV. They can't remember to put the lid on the blender, the wife comes in with a condescending smile and calls Stanley Steamer. The husband can't spend a day alone with the kids and fix a healthy meal for them. All he can do is lament, "Where is your mother?"

My husband cooks better than I can. He takes the kids to the grocery store. He can be alone with the kids for a week when I travel on business and they are well fed, emotionally well adjusted, and adequately rested. Do they miss me? Sure. But they can handle being home alone with Dad and having fun with him. His kind of fun is different from mine. He plays blast off with the kids. If I'm in the car for Blast off, I get nauseated. Bedtime includes learning lyrics to Rush songs. He lets them watch more TV than I do. The list goes on.

So what am I getting hubs for Fathers' Day? Today we went out to Iron Hill for lunch because we won't be home tomorrow. I tried to get hubs some sandals, but he can't seem to find "the right ones". We do have cards, so I guess that's going to have to suffice.

Thank you, Mythbusters

Mythbusters is a family favorite. The kids really get into the experiments and we end up talking about safety. Today we went out to lunch for Father's day and Trinks was happy to show off her dart gun, made with a straw and a toothpick. She proudly announced that she got the idea front Mybusters.

Trinks' first 5K

I dragged Trinks to a 5K walk to raise money to cure pediatric cancer. I knew she could do it, but wondered if she could do it without whining. She did great! We walked to support the B+ Foundation. That's not a grade, it's an attitude.

The rain threatened to drench us, but cleared in time for the start of the race. We took our time and I enjoyed seeing the sights in Wilmington from the street level. We were over by the zoo and had to climb Monkey Hill. The biggest challenge was walking past the monkey house - ugh! There was a horrible poop stench. Trinks spent the last mile splashing in puddles. We finished in good time, had some pizza, a pretzel, fruit and drinks. Then I threw a soaking wet Trinks in the car and came home.

Cooking and garden update

Last night I made these potatoes to accompany the steak and veggies hubby grilled. They came out great! I love this site. The next meal I tackle is spaghetti with tomato and basil. It's getting exciting to cook again.

Over the weekend, hubby went golfing and I took the kids out to look for a new microwave. I bought nothing until we reached Home Depot. They don't carry the microwave brand I want, so I went to the garden section and bought dill, eggplant, cucumbers and zucchini. Hubs and the kids hate zucchini, but I promised to make bread and use a bunch of the flowers in a pasta dish we discovered in Italy last year. Trinks wants to make pickles. I just want to have some dill so I can make some more spanakorizo. And eggplant is always great to grill.

Day out with Thomas

It turned out to be an awesome day. Although we drove through a torrential downpour 5 miles from the event, it never rained at Thomas. So it was hot, muggy and crowded. But we rode the various trains, bought the obligatory Thomas T-shirt, ate whoopi pies and had fun. We were going to eat where we ate last year, but we just weren't hungry. Instead, we stopped by an awesome Mexican restaurant El Sombrero, home of 31 salsas. We sampled just one and it was incredible. Both kids couldn't get enough. Dinner was nice and then we piled back in the car, watched a little TV before shoveling the kids off to bed.



This is a picture of a rainbow - yup, it's faint. We saw this on the way to dinner when both kids were asleep.

Fire!

I think we have a problem. Our 15 year old convection microwave keeps catching on fire. I don't think that's safe. I just started looking at replacements. Ugh. It's time to decide if we really NEED it, or if we can work around it. We don't use it daily, but it is a nice convenience. But should we waste $360? I imagine that will be the topic of discussion while we drive out to Strasburg to ride on Thomas the Tank.

My job

I have known for about two months that my job is changing. It's been tense because the discussions were behind closed doors and I only had rumors to go on. Today is the day I learned I am changing departments. The funny thing is, my job stays the same. I just report up through a different chain of command. So I did the only logical thing I could think of. I asked for more money.

I like that Old Time Rock and Roll

And something about stinky old soul...

The kids took a break from walking and danced while eating their candy. They did well, kept the complaining to a minimum and ended up walking quite a bit.

What does Santa do after Christmas?

He walks in the Wilmington DE Relay for Life, of course! Santa handed out business cards, which stated that the kids were nice. He cautioned Trinks to stop blaming everything on her brother and clean her room, especially under the bed. The he told S to stop teasing his sister and clean his room.

No more pencils, no more books

Good bye 2nd grade! Trinks came home with her awesome report card. And then she started summer camp in the afternoon. She will be a kung fu expert by the end of summer. Tomorrow she has her first trip - she's going to the movies to see Up.

S finished last week and has been getting used to camp. He was so surprised that there is no seatwork in summer camp. Every morning he askes if it's ice cream day.

Random pictures from this weekend

I asked S to take the picture of the garden. Then I looked out the window and saw what Trinks set up, so I asked her to take some pictures. This is what I got. And the last two pictures are from the recital.

Our garden

I wanted to build a raised bed garden like Nothing Knew has. Hubs wasn't quite on board with the idea, so I punched holes in the old sand box, put a nice mixture of dirts, and then planted the banana peppers, cayenne peppers, and tomatoes. So far it's working. The herbs I planted are doing well, too. I have mint and cilantro in my salad this week - a wonderful treat!

Trinks' big week

Go Trinks, go!

On Monday, Trinks passed her kung fu test and earned her yellow green belt. She did a great job. Tomorrow she will get the belt at the graduation ceremony.

On Tuesday night and tonight, Trinks had rehearsal for her show. She did such a great job! Hopefully she will do just as well on Saturday in front of a live studio audience.

Last night we attended the scholastic awards ceremony for Trinks. She was on the honor roll and got a certificate. Apparently she got the equivalent of straight As. My dear, sweet, goofy child has a great brain that she somehow finds time to use when she's not minding everyone else's business or talking. I am so proud of her!!!!

I should be able to find some time this weekend to post some pictures. I have been feeling overwhelmed this week from all the running around and driving.

Burn baby burn, second child

I was out walking this AM. When I came home, S was sporting this burn. He claims he screamed and hubs never woke up. Trinks took care of him.

Some fun at Great Adventure

Another adventure in health

And this time it's not me. I am still itchy at times, but I have more or less recovered. Tomorrow Trinks is getting her first test on the road to determine if she has asthma. I freaked out on the office staff at the doctor's office today since it's been 6 days since we left a message that Trinks is still coughing. I repeated her long history of respiratory issues, our family history of asthma and our lung disease. I asked them to pull her full chart to see the patterns. I advised that the pattern of coughing - after exercise, when upset, and at night - was consistent with asthma. Hey - maybe I'm wrong, and I hope I am, but we need someone to take us seriously. So an hour and a half after I left the message, the nurse called back. We have an appointment at 3:30 tomorrow.

And then a miracle happened. Around 8:45, the phone rang. I didn't recognize the phone number, but picked it up anyway. It was our regular doctor, who wasn't in the office today. She was catching up on paperwork at home and noticed we called. She was concerned because she had been through all of Trinks' illnesses with us. She was involved with the very first problem we had, when Trinks was born and was breathing too fast. That was the first three chest X-rays. Seven months later it was the bronchialitis and another couple of chest X-rays. Two and a half years later, it was pneumonia and more X-rays. There have been countless episodes of croup, even after four when kids are supposed to outgrow it. So dr wonderful asked if we wanted to keep the same appointment time, but see her. I agreed instantly. I feel a little badly about ditching the other doctor, but I want to go with the one who has known Trinks since day one.

Tomorrow we get albuteral and a spacer. Trinks will get the peak flow test. Then we get to go back to see a specialist at AI duPont for a pulmonary function test. I have two sick days left and one vacation day left to schedule. FUN!

Oh Crap(per)!

It was a long expensive afternoon. Our major leak turned out to be a relatively minor expense. The outside faucet pipe thing split. We opted for a shut off valve, so it was a little more expensive. Then hubs had the plumber look at the leaky toilet. Alas, it was time to say farewell to the 22 year old toilet. There was a hairline fracture and other issues. The plumber advised it would cost $600 for a new toilet. I believe I said something unprintable and then asked hubs to go to Loews to get any other toilet. Who the hell would let a plumber put a designer toilet in, sight unseen? By getting our own toilet, we saved significant cash. We have water again and all is good in the world.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUDDDDDDDDDDGGGGGGEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Our minor trickle of water when we ran the dishwasher turned into a major leak in the basement. So we did what anyone else would have done under these terrible conditions. We turned off the water and went to work.

While this is a terrible problem, I am grateful we started to really focus on our finances lately. We have about 6 months of living expenses saved - assuming only one of us loses our job, we eat spam, and cancel all services and activities. While it will greatly pain me to move money from that account to fix the plumbing, I am not stressed out about it. Hubs took a half day tomorrow and the plumber will be here between 2 and 4. We are hoping for a large crack in a plastic pipe. It's kind of a funny thing to hope for!

I am not Greek, but I play one in the kitchen

I love Greek food. The last three times I've been in Chicago, I've walked 2.5 miles each way to get to Greektown to get awesome Greek food. It was worth every step and the long walk helped me walk off the excess food I consumed. This week I wanted to make some tzaziki - yogurt and cucumber - sauce. I found this site in my google search for the recipe. Not only did I find the tzaziki sauce, but I found this spanakorizo - spinach rice - recipe. We ended up having souvlaki with tzaziki sauce, crumbled feta on pita (I even went to the Indian store to get better quality pita), with the rice. I tasted the rice and it didn't taste like I cooked it - it was that good! I am planning on a three week trip to Greece in the next 10-15 years, so cooking and sampling the food is as close as I am going to get for a while.

A tale of two children

Over the weekend I asked Trinks to clean her room. I understand how overwhelming it can be, so I always let her pick one place to tidy up. She sets the timer and cleans one area for 15 minutes. Then we either move to another area, or decide she's done. As usual, she whined about it. But she did it. I asked S to pick up 2 pieces of dirty laundry from his floor. Fifteen minutes later, I checked his room. The entire room was clean, but the two pieces of dirty clothes were still on the floor. But there was no whining. And his room had been a complete wreck.

Is it Jesus?

I picked S up from school as usual yesterday. It was kung fu night, so I had a snack for him. Here is our conversation.

S: Do you have my snack?

Me: Of course

S: What is it?

Me: It's what you picked out this morning.

S: Is it Jesus?

Me. Yes, S, it's Cheez-its.

It only got funnier when he refused to share Jesus with his sister.

LRNs - I love you, man!!!!

My stomach is killing me and I am crying!!!! Thank you for introducing me to Cake Wrecks. Can't even pick a favorite. Is it Sexual Harassment? Naked Mohawk Baby carrot jockeys? OMG! Look at as many of these as you can!!!

I'm not broke, but I'm badly bent

Today was picture day at the dance studio. I dropped $42 on pictures - and that was one of the cheaper packages. Tomorrow is kung fu pictures for Trinks - another at least $20. The S has pictures at his kung fu class on Tuesday. Add that to tickets to the ballet show ($17 per ticket - are they nuts???), purchase of the dance video and the fact we just booked our Boston trip, we arrive at the title, which is one of my favorite Tractors songs. Somehow I forget that May is more expensive than December.

The art of traveling in NJ

I am headed to NJ again tomorrow. I feel I am in NJ for most weekends lately. Usually time is split between parents, but this time I am going up to see my grandmother and go to a birthday party. Hubby is golfing, so he misses the fun. Last week when I was up there, I bought 4 pizzas for $20. The cashier rang up the sale and I handed over the $20. She continued to stare at me while telling me that I owed another $1.40. I guess I gave her a blank look, so she repeated it. I then remembered that there is sales tax in NJ. And to add to this week's fun, it is now hot enough to melt the EZ Pass from my windshield. I just have to remember to find it before starting the trip.

But all in all I don't mind the trip to NJ. My grandmother has been doing poorly and I have been in complete denial that she isn't well. She just started dialysis today and that may give her the best chance of quality of life. It didn't go as great as it should have, but it doesn't mean it's not going to work.

The kids are looking forward to the birthday party at Mets Fan's house. It's always a fun time and it will be nice to hang out for a bit before returning to DE in the thunderstorms.

RIP Omron pedometer

I accepted the fact that my trusty, loyal pedometer no longer works. Although I would love to blame the company for faulty design, I can't. I left it in my pocket and it went through the wash. Oops! So I kicked it up a notch when I went to replace it. I can now track my progress online! Go me!!!

They are MY genes, not yours

I can't believe genes have been patented. This is ridiculous!!!

To Mohawk or not

S wants a Mohawk. Hubby refuses to consider it. To me, it's just hair. It's easy to get rid of. So, hubs wants people to comment on what they would do, especially Mets Fan. If you don't know how to comment, send me an e-mail.

Health update

I will post this and then it's bedtime. I'm TIRED!

I am on reduced prednisone and Zantac. I stopped taking the Atarax because it was making me nuts and I was getting better. The rash doesn't itch unless I get too hot. I think I'll go walking tomorrow. According to all my research, I have between 2 and 5 weeks before I stop looking like a freak.

Worms

We hardly even notice our beloved worms. All the veggie scraps have been going to them and they seem to be happy. Hubby seems to enjoy them, too. I'll have to get a picture of them chewing through the scraps one of these days. I fed them tonight. I think in the next couple of weeks I can harvest the casings for the garden. Meanwhile, the yardwaste composter is growing rapidly. Damn weeds - too much rain has caused too many weeds!!!

My best mother's day

In stark contrast to last year when I almost killed my son twice, this year rocked. I skipped the Race for the Cure this year to spend time with my grandmother yesterday (more on my vacation to De Nial at some point). After the funeral for my cousins' grandmother, I went up to visit my grandmother in the hospital. She was in decent spirits, has a lousy view and got cranky when you took away her ice chips. After the visit, I picked up the various pieces of dinner and headed back to my parents'. I didn't make it back to DE until 10:30. I had a shot of vodka - and then passed out.

This morning, I rolled over, squinted at the clock while holding my throbbing head and screamed when I saw it was 9AM. The kids never even made noise when they got up. So I called them up and they got together with hubby to bring me breakfast. Trinks gave me my presents - a bunch of pictures, and a homemade book. She even drew a picture of the two of us watching the Simpsons together. It was really nice. My headache was from lack of caffeine, so I eventually got out of be to make some coffee - never let non coffee drinkers make coffee is a rule I adhere to. Then I dragged everyone outside for a day of weeding and yard work. At one point I realized I was all alone with my iPod and caught the three of them inside watching TV. But then they left and took the car to be washed, pick up some veggie plants and go grocery shopping for the week. I had three lovely hours ALONE before they came home and hubs grilled bratwurst. We watched America's Funniest Videos, read books and put them in bed. They must have been tired since we haven't seen Trinks at all. She usually springs out of bed several times before we have to threaten her. It'll be fun if she continues her sleep walking tonight. She walks in our room crying between 1 and 3, talks to us and tells us she loves us, then goes back to bed.

Saying good bye to a classy lady

Yesterday I attended the funeral of my cousins' grandmother. She was a constant presence in my life since before I can remember. This lovely, gentle woman was always kinds and always wanted to know what was going on in your life. She was truly a treasure who will be greatly missed. Although she was 96, she seemed timeless and continued to enjoy her life right up to the end. May we all be blessed with a life life that.

I was a good mother today

I ditched work just before 3 with no plans to return. I made it to school only 5 minutes late, and was definitely not the last mom there. The look on my son's face was pure joy. He kept hugging me and touching me to make sure I was there. I was then serenaded with three songs about what a great mother I am. Then it was time for cookies (made and iced by the kids), fruit, and punch. S "shared" cookies with me. He wouldn't give me the cookie - he would break microscopic pieces off and give them to me. But he gave me great presents - a picture of the two of us, a picture of just him, a card, and a paper hug. I love the hug the best. I can take it on business trips and wrap it around my shoulders for a hug when I need it.

After the party, I dragged S to K-Mart to get cards and possibly plants. We ended up getting getting everything but plants. Oh well. We made it to Trinks' kung fu class on time and then hit Lowes for plants. It was nice to hang out with the kids without being frantic about getting places on time.

Be quiet, Daddy!

Tonight was movie night. S chose Madagascar 2. About a half hour into the movie, hubby started snoring loud enough to wake the dead. Trinks yelled over, "Be quiet, Daddy". S is a boy of few words. He walked over, picked up the couch pillow and threw it over hubby's face

We exceeded proficiencies

Remember the social studies assignment I bitched about? We got a 4 out of 4!! Go us!!! And the kicker is the teacher loved the coats of arms I printed out. To hell with all the pictures I lovingly stapled at the end!

Drug haze

I spent today completely out of it. But the good news is the itching finally stopped around 3. I look like a freak, but I think I can return to work tomorrow. I was so out of it I couldn't remember if I took my 2nd dose of prednesone, so I spilled out the bottle and counted. Atarax is a powerful drug!

My big accomplishment today is I finally transferred my iTune library to my new computer. Go me. But I picked up the kids, took them to the library and then got Trinks' new medicine and I am now getting ready to cook hot dogs for dinner. Fridays are usually junk food night, but hubby is working late, so I'll just move junk food night.

oh sweet release

Got my steroids, drove after taking atarax and now I am completely ready to pass out. I expect good things tomorrow, but tonight I am on fire! My whole body burns!!! I may even go back to work tomorrow.

Time to start acting

I went to Trinks' appointment with her this AM. It was hot, so my coat was off. Her dr spent more time with me, correctly gave my diagnosis, gave me her recommendation for drugs, then gave me anti itch samples. Trinks is fine - needs to be on nasal spray. At that point, she went dramatic and collapsed on the table crying. I got her calmed down and promised we wouldn't force her to take it if she really didn't want it. I think she's going to take it.

I got to my appointment on time. My dr looked at my welts and thankfully agreed with the diagnosis and then informed me it doesn't itch. What???? I told her I was going crazy with itching. She prescribed another antihistamine, Atarax, which is also a cheap anti-psychotic. Fine, I won't be able to drive, but it will make me pass out tonight. She flat out refused to give me steroids unless I didn't improve. In about 15 minutes, I am calling back to claim I scratched through my skin and I am bleeding a desperately need drugs. In the mean time, I am digging through my expired medral dose pack to get another 60 mgs of prednisone. This insanity must stop. I hate steroids, but there is a time for everything.

Not hives

Can you believe it? I don't have hives! I have erythema multiforme (EM). There's really nothing they can do for me unless I am in respiratory distress. The dr did give me 60 mgs of prednisone and I was back from the ER in an hour. I still itch and I slept on the couch clutching a bag of frozen green beans.

Going to the ER

I can't stand it anymore and it spread to my mouth. Bring on the strong drugs!!!! Driving in glasses after 2 benadryl should be fun.

Agony

Hives

I spent today home with Trinks. She's having belly issues and I have hives EVERYWHERE. The only painful ones are on my palms and the soles of my feet. It's hard to describe how hives feel. I think the best comparison I have is the memory of when I was around 9 and stepped on an underground bee hive. I was stung about 50 times. Bee stings are just a pinch, but the itching afterwards is horrific. Hives are like that, and NOTHING takes the itching away. It feels like bugs are crawling around, just under my skin and it spreads until there is no other place for the hives to go. The steroid cream really doesn't work, heat spreads the hives, and frozen veggies take the edge off. We're having frozen green beans tonight - they are already defrosted! I would have poison ivy any day rather than face hives for an hour.

I am no stranger to hives. I grew up getting hives after swimming in really cold water. I was a fish and nothing kept me out of the water, so I had hives a lot until I outgrew them. I'm not sure what brought this outbreak on - it could have been pressure urticaria, or any of the other miserable urticarias. No test will ever pinpoint the cause, and solutions are few and far between. People get hives from unknown origin all the time, and sometimes they last for years. Hopefully mine won't.

Tomorrow Trinks and I have appointments in the AM. Hubby will have to tag team Trinks' appointment so I can get to mine. I don't think I can go to work tomorrow - the hives will reach my face shortly and I don't want to have to explain what's going on to everyone I come in contact with.

Ocean City NJ

Here are some pictures of the scenery from the MS walk today. I would love to post more, but I am covered in hives and am fighting the urge to get a knife to peel my skin off. I think I'm going back to the dr tomorrow, but I doubt they can help. It's definitely hives, not poison ivy, and there's really not much they can do for hives.

And in other sick news, Trinks can't stop coughing, but hasn't puked again. S puked yesterday, but seems back to normal. Hubby remains healthy. I think Trinks is going to the dr tomorrow - four weeks of coughing is not great. We've tried allergy meds with no relief, so it's time to explore asthma. Fun.

I'm an excellent driver

Hubby bought a toy this week.

Puke with no fever does not equal swine flu

I was awakened to Trinks screaming from the hall. Then the lovely sound of puking FROM THE HALL. Hoping the stain remover works, or we will have a beautiful red design on the gray carpet. I'm kind of happy to be escaping this afternoon.

I gave up

I went to the dr today for the poison ivy. I am NOT itchy, but my leg is weeping and I thought it was infected. I'll spare the details. My dr is on vacation so I had to see her backup dr. For once, I would love to see a middle aged dr without him treating me like a child. I am not stupid, nor do I want someone patting my head and giving me drugs and telling me I will be fine. Once he realized I was NOT drug seeking, he did change a bit to offer advice. I ended up accepting a prescription for topical steroids. Now the key is to control the weeping so I can wear pants. We'll see how this goes. The good news is the tea tree oil I got yesterday seems to have worked really well in drying everything else out. I just need to research how to get rid of this allergy forever. There has to be a way.

Trinks new clothes

Longwood and Winterthur

A picture is worth a thousand words, however, the pictures of spring at Longwood and Winterthur are worth a million each. This was birthday weekend. Hubby and his mother share the same birthday tomorrow and we spent this lovely weekend at the Hotel du Pont and hit Longwood on Saturday and Winterthur today. We have been to Longwood so many times over the years, but I never get tired of the beautiful gardens. They are never the same! It's been years since I last went to Winterthur. It's very different from Longwood, but the gardens are just as nice, plus the "house" is spectacular. I grew up with parents who collected antiques, so I spent many vacations touring historic houses. Winterthur is just plain spectacular. It is well thought out and gorgeous!



These are the fish that the kids pet. I swear S was going to fall in as he was trying to feed them.



Lovely dining room.

The winner is hot water

I scalded myself in the shower at the Hotel du Pont this AM. I have not itched once! I did have a problem with the rash weeping through my capris, but I am still itch free right now! I didn't have any banana peels with me, or I would have continued that experiment as well. Now I need to locate local honey and figure out how to be more aggressive after exposure.

Myth Busters, Posey style

I find it amusing how people who post "cures" know little about how poison ivy actually spreads. No, it does not spread from scratching. It takes three weeks for the whole reaction to come out. So last night I googled some cures. No, I didn't save the site, but I did 2 things this AM. I put my arms under scalding hot water for about 5 minutes. I have pink arms, but no itching. Amazing. Then I had S eat a banana and rubbed the inside of the peel on my legs. Again - instant relief. My stomach is itching like crazy! My last test is probably going to be vinegar and baking soda paste. If that fails, I will use Kosher salt.

I think I can get through this without steroids. I have 13 more days before this reaction is gone. In the meantime, I am going to track down some local raw spring honey. If it doesn't sensitize me to the poison ivy, at least it will taste good.

Poison Ivy

Yes, I know what it looks like. No, I'm not stupid. Yes, I am stubborn and thick headed. I want the damn stuff out of my yard!!! Hubby won't help me get it out of the yard because he might get a reaction. F that! He should suffer with me!!!! So since all my attempts to get the non allergic people to come help me have failed, I am stuck with getting this mess out of my yard alone.

So this time I decided to see how long I can take the itch. The last outbreak last year lasted longer than the steroids, leaving me to question if the steroids actually work, or if I should just wait the 3 weeks for all of the poison ivy to finish it's dastardly deeds. I turned down my first opportunity for steroids. I have 2 weeks left. And boy am I itchy! It's on my legs, belly and arms. I am now on my second glass of wine and I will finish the bottle before I go to bed.

And nope - haven't learned a damn thing from this.

When Facebook and real life collide

So I spent today in NJ hanging out with my grandmother. I'll probably post about what's going on at some point this weekend. But we had a lovely visit this AM, then my mom and I picked up my grandfather and met my sister and the Divine Ms M at Gus' Diner. After we ordered, my mom smiled and waved to someone. I turned around and it was one of my friends from Facebook, who I actually haven't talked to in real life in the last 15-20 years. But I know her sister is getting married, and what her results in all quizzes are. It was really strange!

Take your child to work day

I have one happy child, and one sobbing child this AM. Trinks is finally old enough to come to work with us, but S has 3 more years to go. It's going to be a busy day! I still have a ton of work to do, my book club meeting, and I am heading to NJ tonight. Phew! I'm tired just thinking about it!

Trinks update

I realized I never officially updated Trinks' condition. Her X-rays came back fine. So now we wait for her to outgrow this. I only had to call the idiots 4 times. I left 3 messages. When I finally got a live person, she said, "Oh, you called yesterday." I added, rather nastily, "And last week!" She proceeded to tell me she couldn't access the X-rays. I felt like asking why that was my problem when she told me Dave would call me. Dave seemed very confused by my voicemail, and sounded stoned. I called back Jennifer, and left a rather irate message questioning Dave's competence. Jennifer quickly called me back, gave me the good news and I assured her I was done.

Worms are eating my garbage!!!!

My worms arrived from Uncle Jim's farm in PA. I was not expecting them until tomorrow. Trinks and I got home from ballet and threw some bedding into the 2nd working layer, put the 1,000 worms on top of that, put the next layer on, and then added the veggie and fruit scraps.

Put some garlic on it

My dear sweet son HATES chicken. Passionately. But he eats it after whining about it. He only likes three types of chicken - my garlic chicken, chicken nuggets, and chicken strips. So I told him tonight we are having broccoli with chicken. If nothing else, this boy eats veggies by the ton. I mentioned he had to eat a little chicken and after he melted down demanded I put garlic on the chicken before he would eat it.

As annoying as that was, he later amused us by watching Wheel of (mis)Fortune and guessing recess when the word started with an R. He got really mad when the person didn't guess it. Then he declared the man wasn't that ugly. Oh my. He's really funny!

An umbrella

Hubby wants an umbrella for his birthday. Sounds simple, right? If you answered yes, then there is no chance in hell you have ever shopped for sunglasses with this man. Absolutely impossible! I spent a long time reviewing items at various online stores, while he played Goldilocks - too big, don't want the hook handle, a flower - are you serious? All this from a man who steals my Winnie the Pooh umbrella with no shame. I have a feeling we will go to the mall together, again and again and again. Why can't he want Rock Band 2? I offered to buy it for him and he said it was too much. By the time I finish scouring the whole freaking world for the perfect umbrella, shelling out the money for the game will be a fantasy.

Hubby shaved

Every once in a while, hubby shaves his beard. He decided he was sick of it last night. I just shake my head because he looks so weird with no facial hair - and I'm still not sure if I forgive him for shaving right before our wedding almost 13 years ago. I kept laughing this AM as the kids studied his still sleeping face. Trinks said she was freaked out by it. S kept asking why daddy looked so strange.

And the rain rain rain came down down down

And if you aren't familiar with the original Winnie the Pooh movie, you have no idea what I am talking about. So my day was very productive, running around in the rain. I pumped gas, got on the road and met Trinks and my mom at the hospital. Although the scheduler assured me that they NEVER ran behind, we waited 1.5 hours to see the f-ing dr. Don't get me wrong - I know specialists run late all the time and you are supposed to accept it because they know you need to be there. I strenuously object to the scheduler lying to me.

The dr and the students were great. They put Trinks through a bunch of tests and explained she's probably just growing incredibly fast and things haven't caught up with each other yet. She's 4'4" right now. She had to do some neurological tests because she's asymmetrical - both her left leg and left arm have issues when she walks and runs. So that's when the fun began. Hubs figured everything everything was under control and went back to work. The X-ray person informed me AETNA would not cover X-Rays at the hospital. AETNA sucks! They don't cover logical things, and I could go on and on about the substandard service we have to use because we have those assholes, but I will leave that for another post. So we piled in my mom's car, headed down the street to the place AETNA would cover and got X-Rays. By the time we returned to the hospital, the office was closed. So tomorrow I'll figure out what to do. At least the people in the X-ray lab were great and printed a picture for Trinks to keep. I expected the pictures on a cd, but I guess that was expecting too much.

So, Trinks is back in NJ enjoying dinner at Europa. I am exhausted, but happy to know her leg seems .

A rare occurance

I am home today. Later, I am taking Trinks to A. I. du Pont hospital to have her leg looked at. The poor kid turns her left leg in so much that she trips herself when she walks. But when she runs, it's straight. Hopefully we'll figure out a way to straighten it out!

So I am enjoying an empty house right now. This is perfection!!!

Hell has frozen over

click on Hortense's blog on the right.

Smart Talk for Women: Victoria Rowell

I just returned from the Hotel duPont where I enjoyed the Smart Talk lecture. Someone has to die before tickets become available, so if there is ever an available ticket, I jump on it. Tonight was Victoria Rowell. I was a huge fan of hers from the Diagnosis Murder days, but I never her story. This woman spent her youth in foster care and wrote a tribute to the women who raised her, and what she learned from them. She was a wonderful speaker who enjoyed interacting with the crowd. She encouraged everyone to follow their dreams and not wait. I placed her book on my library request list - can't wait to hear the rest of the story.

Hire this guy

Check out some college humor. He graduates in May and could use a job.

Sugar Honey Iced Tea

My son was playing in the house center at school when he told his friend Sugar Honey Iced Tea. Thank goodness he didn't say the real word, nor did he know what it really stands for.

Hold the worms

I received a wonderful phone call from the worm people. First, it was a LIVE person. Second, he apologized. Apparently the weather is terrible where the worm beds are and sending them next week will be dangerous to the worms' health. Now I don't really care when I get the worms, but this was really awesome that someone took some time from their day to call me instead of sending me an e-mail. Considering all the complaining I have done about other companies, I thought I would share how awesome Abundant Earth is.

Worms, worms, worms, worms

I ordered one THOUSAND worms today. They will arrive next week. I'm nervous and excited at the same time. In about 2-5 years, I should have 15,000 - 20,000 freaking worms!!! What am I getting myself into??????? Fishing, anyone???

Eventful day

While at work, I was presented with many interesting invitations. Here's what I am planning to do:

All the Great Books (abridged) - April 9, Wilmington DE

Smart Talk - Victoria Rowell - April 13, Wilmington DE

Charity walk for pediatric cancer - April 18, Pike Creek DE

MS Walk - May 3, Ocean City NJ

Walk across DE - November 1 - DE - Nothing major - it's only 14 miles. Since it's 2 weeks after the 3 Day, I'll be in great shape.

All of this just came together today. I'm not entirely sure about the show on 4/9, but I think we can make it to the theater after ditching the kids.

So here's the thing. We need people to walk with us in Ocean City. Please let me know if you want to walk. It's 4 miles on the boardwalk - can't get better than that!!! Ivy has been going through heck with getting her full diagnosis and has compiled impressive research on her blog. The way she explains stuff makes non medical people understand. And the MRI pictures she posts are pretty cool.

Can-O-Worms

This week we are opening a can of worms. Yes - we just picked up the worm composting system yesterday. My aunt gave me the composter and some books to help me get started. Trinks wanted to start composting so now we have two different types - the yard waste and the worm one. I saved all the veggie scraps from my egg dish and salads for the week. I saved the coffee grounds, too. Now all we need is the worms. Hubs will take care of that with S on Tuesday while Trinks and I are at ballet. Hopefully this will be as fun as it sounds.

******Ok - I just read farther down on the page I linked to - I am struck by the following: They can be bred easily at home or school. Hmmmmmm.

Hey it's good to be back home again!

Yes, I listen to John Denver. And it perfectly describes how I felt today. Yesterday was a great day, but it was a bunch of running around, DE to NJ, to Atlantic Highlands, back to Marlton NJ, to Philly before returning home. The four of us left DE around 7:30. I dropped hubs and S off in Marlton and headed to Freehold. Trinks and I had a nice visit with my grandmother. She was in the hospital until today. Then Trinks and I headed to my sister's house for my niece's birthday party. The party was a wonderful marionette production of Sleeping Beauty in Atlantic Highlands. I especially loved that after the show, the puppeteers came out and interacted with the crowd to answer questions. Trinks and I ran out after cupcakes and made it back to Marlton in time to pick up hubs and parents to go to a wonderful dinner at Kanella in Philly. Every thing was amazing! Then it was back home to collapse! The kids stayed with the in laws so we could sleep in today.

Today was a nice productive day. I worked in the garden, steam vacuumed our room - counting down the months/years until the cat dies, did laundry, watched (and loved) August Rush, made lunch and breakfast for the week and am finally relaxing. The kids came home all excited about their day, we ate, bathed them and tried to put them to bed. Trinks has springs in her bed and came out 3 times before finally settling in. I am now sitting on my unmade bed, procrastinating about putting the clean sheets on the bed. The clean sheets are about 3 feet away from me, but I am so comfortable right now. I've renewed the library book I've lost, paid some bills, and pet the cat - yes the one we are counting down the life expectancy for. Phew! Almost bedtime.

Two Gallons

I found out that I have donated two gallons of blood since I started donating blood in DE. And I am on my way to my third! I should be able to donate another 2-3 more times this year. I'd love to get to 5 gallons!

Look at me! I'm a Safety Monitor!

My flair arrived today. I am an official Training Walk Leader. I just need to schedule a few walks...

Free Mammograms

I just added the mammogram button. Kathi sent it to me, I checked it out on Snopes, and then I posted it. While it does NOT work the way it says it does, 1.3 women will get a free mammogram every day It takes 45,000 hits to get 1 free mammogram. Please start clicking daily!

Matthew Cuthbert died, again

I have sobbed for this man no less than 10 times in my life, and I'm sure I'll weep for him many more times. I am talking about Matthew of Anne of Green Gables fame. Trinks and I hit the all important sad chapter and I cried like a baby the entire way home from ballet. Trinks handled it rather well, but I couldn't stop the tears. I was especially moved by Mrs. Allen's advice to Anne when she was concerned about enjoying life after Matthew died. Mrs. Allen let Anne know that Matthew enjoyed when she laughed and had a good time, and he would like to know she was still enjoying life as she always had.

This really spoke to me as I have such a hard time reconciling myself to the 3 Day. I really enjoy this event. I enjoy pushing myself in training, I love being pampered by the crew during the walk, and I just love feeling like I make a difference. And then I think about Karen and wonder why I should enjoy myself because she isn't here. Believe me, I would never walk again if it meant I could see her again. When I become rational again, I realize it is ok to have a good time with this. And Karen would never stop me. It's just hard sometimes.

Random thoughts on a Tuesday

It feels so surreal, but I am sitting in the car typing while Trinks is in ballet. I have some lovely classical music playing on my iPod and my phone is charging. It just seems so bizarre how my life revolves around this technology. But, more in line with my goofy mood, why the hell doesn’t fake excel work as good as the real one?? No Control Y? Is that even legal??? How else can you repeat random commands without wasting precious minutes of actually re-doing the activity? And no Control C, X, or V? You mean I have to use the freaking mouse? Get real! She’s a cute mouse she’s only used for when I’m not typing. I am definitely a keyboard kind of girl.

And in the vein of tiny annoying things - what the hell is a chuzzle and why do I love them so much? And furthermore, how did I lose my “free preview” when I didn’t even finish a game? I think I need to step away from the computer and take a walk. I had a lovely 3.5 mile walk at lunch and am amazingly refreshed.

Happy Birthday Karen

Today would have been Karen's 37th birthday. At times I'm still stunned she's gone. So instead of focusing on how sad I am she's not here, I want to focus on the time I am grateful I had with her. And to celebrate, I am giving blood. I couldn't get an appointment today - although I will call after 9 to see if someone cancels. I give blood regularly (it's all about the nutter butters and oreos) and keep asking if I am a candidate for platelet donation. Karen needed a lot of platelets and I aim to replace them. The blood bank doesn't really want me to to that because of my rolling veins. At some point I'll wear them down.

The main thing I miss is Karen's laugh. She laughed often, which made me laugh too. Karen could also laugh at herself. She made sure she enjoyed her life. I miss Karen bragging about how little trash she created. It would crack me up when she would report how much trash her neighbors put out every week. She recycled everything. And she figured out how to reuse as much as possible. She was really frugal, too. She could stretch a dollar and only buy things she absolutely needed. I didn't fully appreciate this until after she was gone. Now I find myself being frugal and it's finally making sense. I find myself smiling when I pick up a new frugal skill. Karen would be so proud. I miss talking to Karen on the phone. It would always be a long conversation, interrupted by yelling at the dog, cats, and children.

Happy birthday Karen. My life will never be the same.

Isn't she gorgeous?

First pair of Glasses

So I took Trinks to the eye dr today. Then we went to the mall to get glasses at Lenscrafters. Since her eyes are pretty bad, I wanted her to have then for school on Monday. She hasn't stopped smiling since she was told she needed glasses. Hopefully she'll feel the same about braces.....

New Laptop

I LOVE my pink laptop with spring green mouse. I am sitting here tying on it, however I am tethered to the internet. Oh well. Small steps. I will take my 3 Day conference call in the office on my half dead cell phone and explore my new computer.

Laptop

I spoke to the people who are holding my laptop for ransom. FedEx promises it will be released today when they get my signature from the doortag. I can't believe I missed the guy by 20 minutes!!! I doubt I will set it up today because I am going out with Kathi tonight. But, I am thrilled that it was released by Evil Dell. I think I'll get a Mac next time.

School project

Why do teachers insist on making the parents do reports? Trinks has to write about her heritage and customs and ancestors. First, she left the paper explaining the project at school for a week. Then the instructions are annoyingly vague, with absolutely no guidance. I know other kids parents are writing the report for their kids, but we made Trinks write hers. I think the facts are roughly accurate. No grandparent is going to read this trash, so I think we are safe with our half truths and possibly wrong facts. So I was VERY happy when the teacher gave me permission to type the paper. It's due on Wednesday and I just need to finish arranging the pictures to accompany the report. I learned my lesson with dioramas last year. Teachers don't really want kids to do their own project. Trinks did an awesome job, but her 6 year old abilities were criticized. I guess we're expected to carve crap out of wood or make everything perfect. I have no patience for that. I already got through grade school. I have no desire to do all that stuff over again.

Spring has sprung

I love spring. I love spring more when the weather is spring-like. This weekend the weather was PERFECT! I spent hours outside working in the garden. I have clear flower beds in the front and started working on the back. Since Trinks insists we compost, I no longer worry about getting all the weeds into a bag. Somehow that is very liberating. Hubs and I dug out trees, raked leaves and pruned things up, when we weren't writing, I mean helping to write, Trinks' heritage project. More on that later.

I managed to get rid of some poison ivy from behind the shed. I started itching, so I got in a hot shower, scrubbed my arms raw, slathered alcohol and benadryl on my arms and popped a zantac. The first bubbles have disappeared. I'll spend the next 3 weeks looking for more rashes. But it was well worth the effort. This coming weekend, I look forward to creating my raised bed garden. Hubs won't rent a rototiller and I damn sure won't hand till the rest of the beds. I found a great area in the back where the cucumbers can climb, tomatoes will do well, and all children are above average. Oh wait, that last part is Garrison Keilor's line. Maybe I'll take some pictures to post later this week because MY LAPTOP IS COMING!!!
Maybe even tomorrow!!

Cautiously Optimitic

I received a note from Dell that my laptop has been mailed and should arrive on Tuesday. More than likely I will pick it up at FedEx on Wednesday, but I am ok with that. I just want to get a system that doesn't take FOREVER to change pages. And I can't even blame the DSL for the slowness. It's this darn desktop!

I feel like a ton of weight is off my mind....

A full 10 inches has been removed from my head. I woke up this AM and couldn't stand brushing my hair any more. I got to work, called Penneys and got my hair hacked off. I love it. I have the ponytail and will mail it to Locks of Love this weekend. Wa-hoo!

ALL 16 ARE NEGATIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kathi just called me as I walked in the door and let me know all 16 nodes came back negative for cancer. Next week we are going to celebrate!!!!!!! No chemo or radiation!!!!!

Recession impacting college choices

Some of you may know the star of this segment from ABC in NY. No, he doesn't do his laundry at home.

I was shrankled

S made up a word for when you get hit by lightening in Mario Kart. He calls it "getting shrankled". Sounds good to me!

Kathi

Ivy pointed out that I had not updated Kathi's health. Oops! Kathi came through surgery just fine. Unfortunately it will take a week to get the results. Bummer. I am an impatient person, so it really sucks. But I talked to Kathi yesterday and she sounded awesome. As awesome as someone who just came out of surgery could sound.

Dirt cheap dinner

Last week, we took advantage of Super G's dinner special. For $6.99, you got a rotisserie chicken, 32 oz of sherbet, a bag of frozen veggies and some kind of sparkling water. Hubby went to pick it up and they had no chicken available. He complained to customer service, since the chicken is guaranteed to be there and he ended up with a free dinner. He just had to wait for the next batch of chickens to come out. Now that's GOOD service.

Update on Dell

I ended up ordering another Dell laptop. I still don't understand why they cancelled my order and their well trained robots were completely useless in explaining. They told me it was FTC regulation, however the link attached to my cancellation notice had expired so it wasn't clear. I know that service has declined in all areas, and service is mostly handled off shore by non native English speakers, but trying to get people to fix things is ridiculous. I had horrible experience both on the phone (even with a supervisor) and through the Dell chat when I was trying to buy the laptop. I was NOT nasty until the end of the chat when I wished Dell would go bankrupt, but I was still treated terribly. I realize Dell doesn't care, or they would have exceptional service. I asked Iggy, the chat guy, where the breast cancer laptop was. He informed me it wasn't available anymore. I got rid of him and found one. How can they let uneducated people assist with sales?

This is the reason we don't have Comcast as our internet service yet. The guy came out, couldn't answer how we could get wireless from the modem he was installing so hubby sent him away. Hopefully we will come out of this recession with a better educated workforce. I completely understand why people become hermits.

Prayers for Kathi, please!

Kathi is having surgery tomorrow. Hopefully this will the end of her breast cancer adventure. She has to have a sentinel lobe dissection. Boiled down, that's a dissection of a lymph node to see if her cancer spread. The odds of it spreading aren't great, but it's always possible. If they discover any cancer in the node, the surgeons will take more nodes to see the extent. She's nervous, of course, and I won't be happy until I get the phone call she's alright!

Dell Sucks

For some reason these geniuses cancelled my laptop order. I was given less than 24 hour notice before it was cancelled. I am barely able to use this ancient desktop. It's been delayed twice. Now I am on the phone with India while these morons tell me there is nothing they can do. They are completely unable to help me.

I am torn - do I reorder the computer from these idiots or go to another company? I hate ordering things from people with terrible customer service, but Dells are really good. But again, if I have a problem with the computer, do I really want to wait on hold forever before some robot tells me to calm down, there's nothing they can do to assist me?

*****It's now about 1.5 hours later and I am abusing people in Dell's chat. Why do they need to know what I am using the computer for? Just give me what I ordered. And make damn sure it's pink.

What are titties?

So how would YOU answer that when a four year old boy asks you that? It's not as hilarious as Nothing Knew posted, nor as amazingly funny as the guest post I am waiting for from NJ Teacher, but it was amusing enough to get me laughing.

Oh Shit!

I was looking on Amazon for composting books I can request from the library and am hung up on this book. I really think I have to check it out.

Trinks earns a yellow belt!

Trinks did an awesome job on her test for the yellow belt! She nailed her form and looked so ready and confident!! My computer crashed again last night, so pictures will have to wait until tonight. Tomorrow is her graduation.

Don't.Touch.The.Remote.Ever.

So I came home for lunch today to see the new TV. I picked up the remote and tried to change a channel. All I saw was snow. This prompted hubby to yell the title of this post at me.

The TV is amazing. I can see all the beads of sweat on the boxer hubs was watching. He's now watching Lost and since I can't figure out what the hell is going on in that show, I am in the office typing before retreating upstairs to the crappy TV. Perhaps I should finish a book.

Speaking of books, I am reading How to be the Family CFO - really awesome finance book, and The Egg and I - a piece of frugal fiction from 1945. I got the names of both these books from JD over at Get Rich Slowly. So far, both are great.

And let's talk about movies. We watched Beyond the Sea, the Bobby Darren story last weekend. It was pretty good. Very much like Jersey Boys - the story behind the music. Then I watched Beyond belief about two incredible women who lost their husbands on 9/11, gave birth a month or so after, and then decided to help the Afganistan widows. Amazing. The next two movies are Eulogy and Inspiracion.

No School, Day 2

Today there was no school. I figured that out yesterday and asked my mother in law to keep the kids one more day. She agreed immediately. Now I confirmed that Trinks has no school tomorrow. My boss is out until May. I can't take a day off during this time. Hubby took two days last week when we had strep and has Wednesday off for all of our appointments. I am beyond frustrated - there is really no such thing as backup daycare these days. I guess Trinks can come to work with me yet again. I think I'll toss in the sled and she and I can sled together at lunch. Or I'll keep checking kung fu to see if they have a day camp.

Frustration

I am so frustrated with this computer. I have pictures from our trip to Harrisburg, Hershey and Crayola, but I don't have patience to wait to load them. But, I should have my new computer as soon as next week. I CAN'T WAIT!!