Happy Halloween!

So, Brett came over for the weekend.  He agreed to take the girls out trick-or-treating.  Awesome!  I was off the hook, and could be home to pass out sugary treats to neighborhood kids.  Double Awesome!  I saw some cute little kids.  I love little kids in costume.  Heck, I love little kids in street clothes, too.

I am dog-sitting this weekend.  Mom and Dad ran off to Branson for the weekend, and poor Sadie was left all alone.  She is having a sleep-over with Hawkeye this weekend.  Hawkeye loves it...for about a minute.  Then, she just annoys him.  It's so funny.  Right now, he's lying in the far corner of the room, glaring at her.  She's lying under Brett, hoping that he drops candy.

OK, I have a ton to say, but I'm tired and lazy, so I'll post more tomorrow.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

A better day

Well, first let me say "sorry" about yesterday's post.  I don't get like that very often, but when I do, it's nasty.  I should delete the entry, but it's an honest place that I was in.  I'm leaving it.  Maybe it will help me not go back there.

I woke up this morning, deciding that I was going to have a better day.  It's all about attitude, and if I roll with the punches, not getting worked up, I can deal.  That's what I did.  Only small road blocks popped up, and I dealt with them just fine.

Now, I'm enjoying Survivor, with Grey's Anatomy and ER to follow.  It's a good, typical Thursday, and life is good.  Oh yeah, and I purchased cookie dough from my BWF Michelle's son a while back, and it was delivered today.  Hot chocolate chunk cookies.  Mmmmmm.

Mentally drained

Today I just feel like I've had it.  From the time I leave home, until the time the girls get to school, I call and get called at least 10 times.  I call 2-3 times to make sure they're on track to be ready on time.  They call because they've lost a sock, or forgot an assignment, or aren't sure how many muffins I said they could have or because one used the other's deodorant.

I'm blessed that they are old enough to get themselves together and walk to school.  I no longer pay a ton of $$$ to day care.  I'm a mother, and I'm mothering.  I get that.

Work is getting more and more mentally draining.  It's getting busy and I'm dealing with some coworkers who won't pull their weight.  I'm fixing problems that others have caused, and multi-tasking on things that need my undivided attention.

It's my job.  I answer phones and emails, fix technical errors, check orders, and deal with customer's problems.  It's in the job description, and I get that.

From the time I get off work, until the time that I'm home, I call or get called at least 6 times a day.  I call to let them know that I'm on the way.  They call because someone has the music too loud, there are no pencils (yes there are, in the drawer,) the cat almost got out,  is it OK to have a snack cake instead of the predetermined snack, there's a muffin left and they both want it, etc.  

I'm blessed that they are old enough to come home after school and do their homework with no help most of the time.  I'm not paying after-school care.  I'm a mother, and I'm mothering.  I get that.

I'm staying up late to make sure that laundry stays caught up.  I get the coffee pot prepped for morning, figure out breakfast plans, and tidy up a bit for the next day.  I'm getting 6-7 hours of sleep, and my lazy body wants 8-9 hours.

I'm blessed to have a warm home to wake up in, a washer and dryer to do laundry in, and food to feed my family.  I'm a mother and  I'm mothering.  I get that.

I know that I'm being over-sensitive tonight.  I know that I'm just tired, and it's making me whiney.  I don't want to complain, because 100,000 other mothers out there are doing the same things, with fewer resources.  There are latchkey kids at home at the age of 8, instead of 13.  I am quite blessed, and I won't give up.

It's just a pity-party kind of night, and I'm tired.  

A more uplifting post tomorrow, I promise.  No matter what.

Crying alone in my bedroom

So, I was over at Mom's blog, and saw this post.  As I sit here alone in my bedroom, I bawled like a baby.  I love animals.  I truly love them.  Cats are NOT my animal of choice, but I laugh daily at the antics of our feline family members.  I've grown fond of even them.

Hawkeye is the best dog I've ever owned.  He's loyal, loving, and well behaved.  Add in silly and personable, and you've got a great friend.  I thought I ran over him a couple of weeks ago (turns out I barely clipped the end of his foot, and he never even limped,) and when I heard that yelping that only a hurt dog can do, my heart stopped.  If anything happened to him, I don't know what we'd do.

Even my silly sharks bring me a lot of pleasure.  Watching them and the hierarchy in the aquarium (plus, that plecostomus is one ugly dude) is peaceful and fun.  A visit to Mom's wouldn't be complete without throwing the frisbee for Sadie, or saying hello to Blue while touching his velvety nose.

Yes, animals are an awesome blessing.  I don't know WHAT we'd do without them.  If you don't have a pet, I'm sorry.  If you're allergic, I'm sorry.  If you've never hung out with animals, no other humans around, I'm sorry.  They have a way of sensing what's going on, and knowing who the good guys are.  When Kevin and the girls are gone, Hawkeye lies close to me, and watches over my every move, making sure that I'm safe.

I gotta go hug my dog, now.

To destroy a camera

Kevin found a digital camera (an old one) at a garage sale last year.  The lady selling it said that things were out of focus, but for a couple of bucks, it was worth finding out if it was user error.  It was not.  This is a POS camera.  It has since developed (get it?  Developed?) new problems.  Tonight, Natalie asked if she could destroy it.  Why not?

After a smack or two from a hammer, we had this:

Ever wondered what it looked like behind that back cover?  Now you know.  Of course, Natalie wasn't satisfied, and now Monica was interested.  What would happen if each took another couple of swings:

This is the other side (front) of said camera.  It was a tough little bugger, but it finally came apart in a wild splendor of pieces, just as Natalie had planned.

Oh yeah!  We have FUN around here!  I would try to explain how things work, or how this is a one-time thing, or how electronics are delicate items...but...But I thought this was WAY more fun.  Yeah, I'm warped like that.

Now, since you lived through that nonsense, let me share with you tonight's view of Mom's hill.

Beautiful, no?

Unplanned visit to Grammy's house

A while back, I got a very affordable computer from Walmart.  It didn't have a monitor, but I can get monitors at work for a song, if I don't mind the old CRTs.  Kevin got her all hooked up and things were fine for a few days.  Then, it bit the big one.

No telling what happened.  It had ridden down there in the back of the pickup, plus it was pretty old and slow to begin with.  I think it was just tired.  She was sure she had done something wrong, because she has no experience, but she couldn't have caused what was happening.

A bit after 5 last night, I told Kevin, "I can't fix it from here.  I think I'll just go down there."  He agreed that, despite the fuel involved, it was the best solution.  Monica was at a friends house, so Natalie and I jumped in the truck and headed South.  She and I are great travel buddies, and we laughed and sang and acted silly for three hours before arriving in Carthage.

I tried everything in my limited repertoire to get the poor thing running.  Diagnostics tests found most things OK, but the display adapter wasn't happy.  That wouldn't explain everything that it was doing, but it would explain some.  I gave up and went to bed, then woke up this morning and started messing with it again.

I finally cried "Uncle" and told Linda that I didn't think I could fix it.  She decided it would be best to buy an eMachine like my new one, so off we went to WalMart.   We went back to her house and set it up.  After several updates and the long setup process, we got her online once again.  I feel better about her chances with a new machine.

Now, we just need to set her up with a digital camera!  LOL  When we left, she had some things added to favorites, knew how to get to her email, and was playing a very competitive game of Hearts.  (Please don't tell her that those other three players aren't real people.)

Now, I'm home in my comfy living room, while the 20-25 mph wind howls outside (gusts are close to 50 mph.)  It got warm today, but it's blowing so hard, I fear we'll be transported to Oz if we step out there!  "Auntie Em! Auntie Em!"

Intolerable actions

So, I was reading Heather's blog, and I had the thought: There are certain things that I can NOT tolerate.  We agree on the one she talks about, but I considered coming up with a list of 5.  Gosh, that was easy!  I wonder how long the list would get if I gave it more thought?

1. Cheating on a spouse/partner.  This is the greatest evil.  If you are unhappy with your choice, then leave.  Kevin and I made that agreement years ago.  If you're unhappy with me, then let's call it quits.  You go double-dippin' and I may kill you.  I'm just sayin'.

2. Disrespectful children.  Sure, my kids are allowed to joke around, "No, Mom, I will NOT clean my room!" But they dang sure better be headed in to clean when they say it.  I am the adult, I make the decisions, and you will treat me (and other adults) with respect.  Other people's kids tend to tick me off.

3. People in their own world.  You know the ones.  They block the isle of the grocery store while chatting with a friend.  They block the fast lane, going 60 in a 70 while chatting on a cell phone.  They wander around, forgetting that there is anyone else in the world.

4. Taking credit for another person's work.  If I've put blood, sweat and tears into a task at work, and you are thanked by mistake, you DANG sure better stumble all over yourself to correct the situation.  If I find out that you took credit for my work or idea, I'll hang you out to dry at the first opportunity.

5. Pushing your beliefs on me.  I don't mind if you share your beliefs.  In fact, I'm fascinated by things that I'm ignorant about.  However, if you try to convert me, or force me to believe the way you do, then you better hope that I decide to cut off contact.  The alternate reaction is not a good one.

Wow, I'm getting mad just thinking about these things.  I better go play on YoVille to relax.  Anyone have ideas for their top 5?  Leave a comment or do a post of your own.  I'd be interested to see what drives you over the edge.