CAUTION: Woman In Progress

Alyssa likes to "read" to Ethan. Ethan likes to pretend he's paying attention. While she can actually recognize some words and write her own name, she can't actually read. What she CAN do is memorize the stories as her mama reads them to her and recite it back. I think we've got a genius on our hands here. Also? She'll be four in a couple of weeks. FOUR. *gasp*

Ugh. My teeth hurt and I think I may be getting a few weeks jump on some PMS because ya'll? I'm in a craptastic mood today. Or at the moment, anyway. Shortly after I got to work this morning, A im'd me that we're meeting Mrs. B for lunch today. Mrs. B who retired last year. So yay! I haven't seen her in a while except for a brief run-in at Wal-Mart a couple weeks ago. (Yes. We clogged an aisle for half an hour.) I really don't need to spend the money on yet another lunch outing as this will be the third one this week but life happens and it's just money and all that. Plus, it's Mrs. B! She's SO worth it. Because I am a good daughter, I invited Mama to tag along. She and Mrs. B have been friends and worked together for YEARS. I was being NICE. However, what's that old saying about being nice will get you shot in the face or something like that? Isn't there a saying along those lines? Oh, right. Let no good deed go unpunished. Being shot...

Literally. Ya'll, I wish ya'll could've seen this dude's office. It's like the Hilton of dentist's offices. Which is ironic, sorta, since it's across the highway from the Hilton Garden Inn. Deep, comfy, luxurious, leather couches in the waiting room. Lots of glass and big tall windows. Plush carpet. Granite countertops in the exam rooms. Flowers. It even has a coffee station in the waiting room called "Java Central" with the fancy starbucks-esque lidded cups and cozies. I felt like Julia Roberts when she first walked into the Regent Beverly Wilshire with Richard Gere. Minus the thigh high boots and bad wig. Also minus Richard Gere. Bummer. The exam room they put me in to wait for the dentist (endontics guy=endontist?) to finish up with the victim patient next door was open and airy. It had a huge tinted window directly opposite the plush exam recliner they put me in and I stared out at the view of the four lane highway for thirty minutes. Actu...

This may be one of those stories where ya just had to be there and ya'll won't find it funny at all. It is kinda lame. But Daddy and Sis2 thought it was hilarious. Then again, it does involve me behaving foolishly so there is that to consider. Anyway, Saturday morning was rather interesting. After shopping and breakfast I got busy doing laundry and cleaning and stuff. (No, that isn't the interesting part.) All of a sudden the smoke alarm started going off in short bursts. Nothing was on fire and it's done this before so I wasn't concerned--just annoyed. While it's wired into the house, I think the battery back-up is dying. I can't figure out how to get the cover off of it to see if it even HAS battery back-up, though. So it did that a few times over a five minute period and stopped. A little while later I was deep in the midst of rearranging furniture (this is what I do when I'm restless) when it started going off again. This time in longer bursts. ...

One of my co-workers' sisters died this weekend. She was only 23. Tragic. I didn't know the girl other than by stories my co-worker told. My co-worker--like me--has two sisters. And like me, she's close to both of them. I can't imagine the agony losing one of them must be. I don't want to imagine the agony. For as much as my sisters may drive me crazy at times, losing one would be more painful than losing a body part. I may could learn to function without a foot or an arm but I'd NEVER learn to ever truly function without my sisters. My sisters are my best friends. They keep me sane and grounded. They, unlike no other, make me feel a part of something amazing. They are as much a part of me as my soul is. To lose one...it doesn' bear thinking about. So my thoughts, prayers and sympathy to my co-worker in this tragic time. May her sister's soul be at rest.

You know how they say death and bad things come in three's? Well, my recent financial headaches have probably found a third. And this time its ME that's defective and need repair. Went to dentist yesterday for regular cleaning and described some pain I've been having with a couple of teeth. Did x-rays and couldn't find anything conclusive but they suspect that the roots are dying. So Tuesday I have an appointment with a specialist to see if this means I'm to have a couple root canals. Gah! Meanwhile, he gave me scrip for antibiotic in case there's an infection. I haven't filled it yet because it was 4:30 before I got finished with the cleaning and did not want to go wait at the pharmacy. And how sad is it that I'm more stressed out about the COST of any possible root canals than I am about the actual root canal???

Milk Duds, Peanut Butter M&M's, Whoppers, Mike and Ike's, Sour Skittles, Jolly rancher's Gummies Pretzel M&M's, BBQ Pringles, Pizza Pringles, Movie Theater Butter Popcorn,  and White Cheddar Popcorn "dust". One of the big things Emmy and I did while she was here with me in June was a movie day. And not just ANY movie day. A Twilight Saga Marathon day! We went to visit Granny early that morning because we both needed to see her and I had to take her some scones. (I had scones coming out my ears!) But after our visit we went back to my house, grabbed those boxes of candy and snuggled in for the long haul. We closed the drapes, cut off all the lights, grabbed our respective spots (me on the love seat, Emmy on the recliner) and giggled over how pasty and dumb Edward is and how amazing and hawt Jacob is. (We're both team Jacob all the way.) We ate strictly candy during the first one. Then we took a lunch break and ate pizza. We popped po...

I failed to mention yesterday that Libby and I went back to the vet Saturday. Actually this time it was a different one as our usual veterinarian was out out town. Thursday morning she started acting weird again and was shaking her head a lot. I was worried but thought maybe she just had a hair stuck in her ear or something and if she was still doing it when I got home from work, I'd take her in on Friday. Well, when I got home from work, she was still shaking her head, though not as often and when I checked her ears, one of them was full of gunk. Nasty oozing gunk. (Parenting puppies is almost as glamorous as parenting children!)  She's never had pristine ears but this was thick and nasty looking. Coupled with the shaking head I figured it couldn't be anything good. So, called her vet and talked to one of the techs who informed me that the vet would be out from Friday until sometime next week but that I could come pick up some ear cleaning solution. Wasn't rea...

Somebody was inordinately thrilled with the mail carrier Saturday. And, well, that somebody isn't actually pictured here. The Devil Pup couldn't care less even if you paid her in treats and belly rubs. But she loves Mama's bed. And Mama loves messin' with her. Although, she does look a little bit excited over the cover model on this Stephanie Bond book, right? I was, too. He's smokin' hot. So thanks for that little visual snack, Harlequin Art Department. She wasn't equally thrilled with the cover of this Susan Gable, though. "Who dat girl is and where'd teh muscle-y may-un go, Mama?" I'm with ya there, Libster! I'm sure the Gable story is awesome (it's got a good start, anyway) but the cover art can't compare to the Stephanie Bond one. In fact, I'm thinking of color copying that hottie and making him the book cover for ALL my books. And maybe a poster on the ceiling over my bed. Bet that's a home improve...

They were making "snow" angels in the carpet. I don't think it worked out all that great for them but they had fun anyway. What a pair, those two.

I love how horrified she always looks whenever I make her take a picture with me. Poor baby. lol But I REALLY love when she gets a good outtake over on me. Apparently she was still enjoying her supper. Silly girl.

As you may recall, Libby turned 5 on June 26. Just so happens, this fell on the week I was at home. When I asked her what kind of dessert she wanted she said, "Carrot Cake, Mama!" Okay, so what really went down was me going through a list of non-chocolate desserts asking her what she wanted. She got most excited when I mentioned carrot cake so I took that to be her request. Yes. I realize how silly this sounds. I sound like one of those crazy women who dress their dogs and carry them around in purses, don't I? But I lubs my Baby Tater (one of the DP's gazillion nicknames) and as I have discovered a love of baking, naturally I wanted to bake her something. Enter, these:  Frosting two and a half dozen mini cupcakes is an exercise in patience, lemme tell ya! I got a mini-cupcake pan for Christmas last year so I thought, Hmmmm...Baby Cupcakes for my Baby Tater! And believe it or not, these are from SCRATCH. No Duncan Hines required. Although, Duncan Hines do...

So. The $1100 weekend. It started out innocently enough. I baked a batch of vanilla bean scones Friday night and nearly made myself sick (and drunk) eating them warm out of the oven with a Bailey's glaze. (I bought a bottle on my way home Friday afternoon.)  See this glee? It would not last long. But the Bailey's came in handy. For some reason I'm really into scones right now. I've experimented with three recipes so far. The best was one for orange scones that I found on PW's Tasty Kitchen website. I made those while I was on stay-cay week before last. (I still owe you pics and posts on that, right? My bad.) Emmy couldn't get enough of them. Anyway, so Friday night was pretty great. Scones. Bailey's. Say Yes To The Dress on TLC. Libby was fine. I was fine. It was good. Well, except for the air pump on the septic tank. But I was still able to flush and shower so it's all good, right? Saturday morning I woke a little later than normal as I...

The plural of "father-in-law" (or whatever-in-law) is "FatherS-in-law" not father-in-laws. Thanks, Me P.S. Could you lay off me for a while? I've had my share for the next little. Also? I'm broke. *smooches* For the rest of you, I'll be back later (or tomorrow) with my harrowing woes of the weekend. A little preview: I spent over $1100 in three days. And not on anything fun. :-(

Home maintenance, that is. This morning I made my first unexpected call to a repairman to fix something at the house. Since we just passed the two year mark ( June 18th!) it's actually not that big a surprise. And actually, it's a not huge thing. The air pump thingy on my septic tank is messed up. (What is it with me and septic tanks , anyway??) It has this little buzzer alarm thingy that goes off when it's no longer working properly and when I got home yesterday it was buzzing up a storm. The only other time I've heard the buzz to even know what it was was during my home inspection when the inspector plugged it in and it buzzed. That time it had some broken hoses which the home seller replaced before we closed on the house. Unfortunately, this time I don't think it's gonna be that simple. I checked all the hoses and the cord and everything looked fine. So I figure it's the pump itself that's burned out or something. Since it's just turned 12,...

1.) I just ordered Jennifer Weiner's latest book Then Came You and Taylor Swift's Speak Now CD from Amazon. Now both Amazon and Ms. Visa LOVE me. 2.) Where has International Cafe's Toasted Hazelnut Cappuccino been all my life. Checking in at $2.98 a can it is a WAY tasty alternative to Starbucks. Yay for cheap (instant) yummy coffee! 3.) I love that I get to research book titles, have lunch at the local indie bookstore and buy hundreds of dollars worth of books and call it my JOB. One of the perks of my new "position." Some days life ain't so bad, ya'll. ;-)

Miss me? Don't answer that. ;-) I was actually back yesterday but catching up at work after a week away is always a big task. I'm still not completely caught up but I consider wading through the 200 emails I accumulated a major feat. I wanted to give ya'll the run down of my week (I have a few pictures!) but time is still a hot commodity around here. Lots to do, still. And lots to do the rest of the week. Maybe next Monday. Because ya'll will still care about as much (meaning: hardly at all) by then, right? I just wanted to stop by and say "Hey!" to my peeps. So, "Hey peeps!" :-D