Not. My. Day.

Sometimes it doesn’t pay to get out of bed.

Usually I wake up gradually and lay there quietly, planning out my day before the alarm goes off. Well, not this morning. I woke up from a really weird dream. It wasn’t bad, and it wasn’t good. Basically I was working for an obscure government outfit on loss prevention and alien apprehension. The “out of this world” kind, I mean. And I was at t he PX doing rounds when I stopped to watch a bunch of little drummer girls and one of them really, REALLY loved her pillow and talked to it, and one little boy made fun of it, and then a freakin’ tentacle slithers out of the pillow and grabs his wee-wee, and I pull it off, yelling at people to stand back as I get my gun out and start shooting at it, yelling at someone not to use the machete because the alien is like a hydra and would someone PLEASE bring me a lighter and a can of Aqua-Net©?? Whereupon after emptying two clips I promptly set the thing on fire.

Anyway, the point is I woke up all disoriented, and was not all here when I went to do the tea and coffee ritual. I grabbed the carafe and filter, and proceeded to dump the grounds in the sink, which is not necessarily bad, until you realize that you dumped the last of the coffee in the garbage can. So I reach down with some paper towels to sop up the mess, forgetting that the greasy foil from the baked salmon was in there. So now I had a very greasy, fishy arm to clean. Fine…FINE!!! I wash it off and start the coffeemaker and finish Hubby’s tea, and go to make the bed and set out his clothes. So I set out his shirt and pants, and then make the bed, forgetting the clothes are on it. Sigh…. undo bed, remove clothes, redo bed.

So finally I get my cup of coffee, and drink it scalding hot, because I do NOT have time to waste. I have to get back to my state of “normal” so I can take my mom shopping for groceries. She is cooking tonight, and I sure as heck do NOT want anything to interfere with that!!!

Last thing I need is to slip on a grape at the store and end up in traction, missing her pork roast 😉

In the Lateness of the Hour

Today finds me grieving for a friend. Friend on the blogs Roguetek sent news of his wife’s passing. Peonysong was a jewel. She was a sweet, thoughtful and giving person that NEVER took crap from anyone. She had a will of iron and the strength of whipcord, and never let anyone forget it. Her wish was to live her last days in Texas, and Roguetek made it come true.

I pray for strength and comfort for Roguetek and Peonysong’s family. I know she is now in God’s loving arms, free from pain, and now watching over him, for the job of a wife to take care of her other half never ends. And tonight before my prayers, I will have a “talk” with her, remembering the day we spent together while doing laundry 🙂

Rest in peace, my sweet friend!

Accidental Tourist

I was reading my List of Things To Do Before I Die™, remembering why I had placed certain activities, places, and things on it, when I came across this one:

#53– El Hierro, Islas Canarias

I still have relatives that live in the Canary Islands (which are not named for the bird, by the way). El Hierro, also known as Ferro, is the westernmost island of the group, and for a time was considered the westernmost point of the known world, as well as being the prime meridian.

El Hierro has no beaches, only rocky shores. That’s the main gulf of the island above. As I read my list, I tried to think of why on Earth I wanted to go there. It’s stark and sparse in population, and remote from the other islands.

And that’s the reason I wanted to go. To stand there, facing the ocean alone and unafraid, looking at what ancestors considered the end of the world would be humbling to my soul, and inspiring to my spirit. Sure, I would love to see beautiful places in the world. Who doesn’t?? But to be there, on the edge of the world, facing a setting Sun…that would be a thrill of a lifetime 🙂

Drive By Posting

Yep, it’s one of those days. A day when I can’t think of anything to write.

I’ve been having a lot of those lately.

It’s a lot harder to write when you avoid politics, religion, and *ahem* ….

Sex.

I can’t even type that without blushing. Sigh… Anyway, finding fluff to write is hard, especially when I live such a boring life, placed myself on a financial diet, and been having sadness issues. No, I don’t think I am suffering from depression. If I were, the WORLD would know it. I would make sure of THAT!! A blog is a personal journal of observations, but one that should never be used to vent a spleen. There are plenty of things that have upset me, but none belong here or on a social site. Stuff like that should be kept private, in my modest opinion. Except when they decide to air dirty laundry, dragging your name in the fray because Aunt Bunny said you were her favorite and Guido gets mad at her and calls her names, telling the world Aunt Bunny shaves with a straight edge and that I’m only her favorite because I have her mustache*. Then it’s ok to throw down because bullies will NOT be tolerated!!

Where was I? Oh, right… lack of content. Tomorrow I will have a nice post up. I figured by then my imaginary friends will be talking to me again 😉

*Names were changed to protect the innocent.

Sundays, and Doughnuts, and Dogs

Well, it’s Sunday. We have a houseful of guests, so I suggested to hubby to go get DOUGHNUTS!!

We were triumphant in our endeavors. We returned with many delectable varieties for the masses, including this one for moi:

Raspberry-filled glazed deliciousness. You are drooling, I can tell. But Life has a way of making fun of me when I least expect it. You see, this post was originally going to regale you with the sweet nothings of the aforementioned doughnut. But alas, it is not to be. As I got up to get more coffee, my big dog Lenny took the opportunity to help herself to my slice of heavenly sinful sugary goodness!!!

That. Broke. My. Heart.

So, I shall make do with a kolache. And an additional cup of coffee to quell the desire to yell at my dog for taking the one joy I looked forward to today. But not to worry. I’m sure the Moscato will be flowing this afternoon 🙂

Snap Like a Twig

There are days that I feel it coming on. The need to just… SNAP!! Of course, when I do feel the need to do so, my only targets are the dogs, and all they get to hear is “Blah, blah, blah!! Blah, Lenny, blah!!” Seriously, they just end up looking at me like I’m in need of Xanax™ or a swig of Moscato. They are very judgmental. Lucky for the family, the need goes away in the afternoon, so they don’t have to deal with it. Much.

And with the cacophony this morning, I may have need of my BRAND NEW SWITCHBLADE!!!

What can I say? Hubby knows me well 😉

It’s Past Noon, and I Haven’t Done More Than Most People Do Before 9 AM

In short, I have done one load of laundry.

That’s it!!

I really don’t count making doggie appointments, coordinating with in-laws for a visit, taking Eldest to ROTC, digging up old addresses for security clearance, paying bills, and getting dinner prep done as part of my chores. Those are just incidental things.

On the plus side, I did find an almost full bottle of glue in my scrapping stuff, so I can now finish that shadow box thingie I have been working on for weeks. But for now, I have to put my nose to the grindstone.

Here’s hoping it doesn’t wear me down, but instead ends up polishing me to a beautiful sparkle!! 😉

White Rabbit

Yes, I know. I’m late, I’m late!!!

Friends of ours are moving today for Washington, D.C., and we went over to say our goodbyes. Part of military life is uprooting and replanting. Another part is distributing potted plants and gardening tools, and what’s left in the fridge. Tonight we will dine on Kielbasa and spinach salad with feta!

Seriously, I’m late because I’m lazy. Lately it has been a bit problematic for me to find a topic. It may be writer’s block, or it may be that there is nothing going on, or maybe that everything funny to me, just sounds silly to y’all! The kids are fine, Hubby is fine, the dogs are fine, and the snakes are just there as usual, so I assume they are fine, too.

So, there you have it. I’m stuck in a rut. And all things being equal, I would rather be in Fiji.

Where would YOU rather be?? And don’t say “Philadelphia” 😉

Comfortably Numb

I am not one for a lot of excitement. I’m pretty much the most boring in my family. But that’s not a bug. It’s a feature.

At the school, I usually volunteer for the most menial jobs. My favorite is cutting the Box Tops to size. I can sit there and do that for hours. Counting band instruments? Count me in! Organizing tempera and acrylics? You betcha!! I love doing that stuff. It numbs the senses, letting me think.

Lately I have had the need for meniality. The more numb I am to emotional stuff, the better I function for the family. Compartmentalizing isn’t my strongpoint. Not by a long shot. But finding a way to do the everyday things that need to get done is important. Having a set of habits helps, such as the coffee ritual every morning. I now feel the need to yell at a speck of dust that dares to think to settle on the coffee table. It’s not an obsessive thing by any stretch. Ok, the yelling may be. I can’t help that. Ok, maybe I can. STOP JUDGING ME!!

Being numb isn’t always a bad thing 😉

Needles in Soft Haystacks

Well, not real haystacks.

Yesterday was an adventure. And by “adventure”, I mean “roller coaster”. I hate roller coasters. I prefer to keep my feet on the ground and enjoy the scenery rather than have my life flash by in a blur. But every so often one has to get on to prove to oneself that the roller coaster is not the boss of you!

Anyway, I had another mammogram done, as well as an ultrasound. I want to stress that everyone in the Radiology Department was beyond awesome. That doesn’t mean the mammogram was gentle, by any means. To add insult to injury, she had to retake it because she didn’t get enough on the squishy plates. Talk about an ego killer. Once she was done, I went back out to wait for the ultrasound. I felt relief because how bad can the ultrasound be, right? They place a bit of gel in the questionable area and swipe a transducer across to get an image. Piece of cake, right? WRONG!! It turns out it wasn’t just one nodule, but several, and as the technician swiped the transducer across it pushed against a tender area causing a rather large amount of discomfort. To make things worse, she kept missing it, because the cysts kept moving, so she had to dig juuuuust a little more each time to get a good view.

Owie….

Not my actual ultrasound, but a good representation.

Now, imagine about 20 of them. Two of them were proving to be difficult, so the radiologists decided to drain the fluid in each one. And you may ask, just how is this done?

By inserting a syringe and withdrawing the fluid!!

Normally, this is were most people would totally wig out. And I came close, but when push comes to shove, you do what you must, right? So, I sat there as they explained the procedure, and told me how they would apply a local anesthetic so that I wouldn’t feel the needles (one for each cyst). That sounds good so far. Anyway, I laid flat on my back so that he could see the outline of the cysts better, and that’s when he noticed the bruise on the left haystack.

Doc: Wow, what happened here?

Me: Uh… long story.

Hubby: *snickers*

Me: A dog bit it, ok??

Doc: (laughing) This sure isn’t boring.

By now I was just itching to get this over with and done, but of course it’s never simple. I thought the local anesthetic was topical. Noooooooooooo…. it is injected. So there I am, on my side, arm way up over my head and falling asleep, scapula digging into the hard pillow used to prop me on my side, and the resident telling me to stay as still as possible and that I will “just feel a pinch”.

It’s a damn good thing he was a gorgeous redhead because I wanted to kill him on the spot. I was holding Hubby’s hand, clenching it actually, whimpering as quietly as I could, when I started to feel like my arm was ballooning. It was just like being at the dentist’s, only instead of drooling all over my arm just went totally limp. Thank you, Lord, for good drugs. As I watched the ultrasound, I see a needle being inserted into the area, and the resident wiggling it ever closer to the cyst. And what happens? The cyst decides to play coy, and move around!! GAH!!!! So he wiggles some more, into an area that is not completely anesthesized. Um, OY!! But as a good patient, I stay very still, and finally see him prick the cyst and withdraw the fluid. The second cyst was less problematic, but had to be wiggled into place. It was a very weird feeling having one’s haystack be moved around like that. But all good things come to an end.

Now it was time to go over recovery instructions. I figured it would be relatively simple stuff, watching for infection, keeping the swelling down, etc. I was taking it all in, until the nurse said I can only take acetaminophen for pain.

Excuse me??

I don’t get 12,000 mg ibuprofen?? No Vicodin?? NOTHING??? Acetaminophen just doesn’t work for me. I asked her why only that, and her reply was to prevent more bruising and bleeding in the area. To which I almost said, “That’s what Band-Aids™ are for, right??” But I was a good patient, and did as I was told. As I thought, acetaminophen did nothing for the pain, but the cold packs did. Unfortunately I couldn’t sleep with those, so I was a bit uncomfortable, but at least it beats the alternative.

So, in answer to y’all’s question, yes. I do have matching bruises now 😉