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August 14, 2003 Did you think I worked myself to death on Tuesday? For future reference, you don't ever have to worry about that. :) I wrote the following post last night, then got called away for kiddie stuff and never got to wind it up and post it. Today, I have finished washing and drying the rest of the laundry (about 10-12 loads, I'd guess) and today, I have to get them all sorted, folded and tucked away where they belong. Both Delena and Dylan are minus dressers, which is turning out to be a problem since school is going again and they have to be able to have their clothes organized enough to dress quickly. I need to figure out a new system for both of them clothes-wise, dig out some of their clothes they aren't using to trim down the herd and get their rooms clean. Beyond that, I don't have goals for the day. If I get those things done, I'll have accomplished a lot. On the docket for future attention is the total cleaning of the kitchen (bleh), the cleaning and organizing of the garage (so I can re-find that novel!!). It's a very, very pleasant day today temperature-wise (I just love California), so the doors and windows are open and a nice breeze is going (still need to get another box fan!) through the house and is really peaceful. Speaking of open doors, yesterday, I was thinking of my Aunt Allene. Aunt Allene wasn't my blood aunt, but was the aunt of the husband of my mom's sister (did you follow that?). My Uncle Delmar became the family patriarch when my grandfather died in 1967. We knew Aunt Alene and Uncle Charlie by proxy and anyone who knows my Aunt Alene is already family to her. She lives in Miami (pronounced "My-am-a"), Arizona and when Aunt Betty, Uncle Delmar and their family would drive from their home in Kentucky out to Arizona to see Aunt Allene and Uncle Charlie, Paul, the 3 boys and I would drive out from Southern California to meet them there, all converging on them at once. Aunt Allene would always have been cooking for weeks ahead of time. She prepared masses and masses of food, especially at Christmas time. She was the most incredible cook I've EVER met. On one visit to her, she told us a story that happened to her and her family that I've never forgotten. It was Christmas Eve and as was their way, her several children were all having friends over for their open house. Allene, of course, had cooked and cooked and cooked and had tables put end to end with table clothes covering them and food on every spare surface. The house was decorated to a fare-thee-well and Christmas music was on the stereo. People were milling about everywhere, so it was no surprise when the door opened and a teenage girl slipped inside and slid into a nearby arm chair. Someone took her coat and offered her a warm mug of spiced cider. After seeming nervous at first, she quickly settled into the warm environment and started having a good time with the partiers in the house, enjoying Aunt Allene's culinary offerings and the festive environment. After staying for a little over an hour, she thanked everyone and told them good-bye, then slipped out the door and was gone. Not long after that, two policemen showed up at the door and showed them a picture of her, asking if they'd seen anyone who looked like that. They all looked at each other, trying to figure out whose friend she'd been. As it turned out, no one had known her and everyone thought she was someone else's friend. As it also turned out, she had just killed a guy several streets away and had been on their street, trying doors, looking for an open one to slip into to hide for a while. Aunt Allene's response was typical, "Well, if the good Lord meant for us to take care of that poor girl for a while, then I'm glad we're the ones she found." :) I wub her. Anyway, on to last night's entry. I'll try and write tomorrow if kiddies and circumstances allow! ************************************* August 13, 2003 Man, this work stuff sucks. I'm trying to think all positive, but I'm just positive that it sucks. Yesterday, I spent three hours cleaning my bathroom (ended up scrubbing the shower floor with steel wool and that was WITH the miracle CLR. Then I cleaned my bedroom for another two hours, then got the rest of the house presentable. Today was a few loads of laundry and an intense carpet cleaning and I'm totally whipped. Gotta get used to this pace. When I've spent all of my days lodged in a computer chair exercising my mind alone, it's a challenge to get used to moving the old body around. Tomorrow is the boys' room, more laundry and maybe into Delena's room if the day goes exceptionally well. I'm also day three into doing something that I'm not going to mention much because every other time I've blathered on and on about it and ended up not quite making the goal I set (to say the least). If I keep quiet about it, I can sneak up on it and won't scare it away. So far, it's gone extremely well. I was a bit cranky today, but I've decided it's because I'm a little tired and because Nathan isn't reacting well to Dylan being gone all day. He's been really emotional and has gone back to communication in screams, which is causing one side of my face to pull up into some kind of strange contortion. I'm not cranky because of the thing that affects how my clothes fit and whether or not my rings are loose. I'm not. It's being tired and a fussy kid.
************************************* Sadly, I once killed an old man. I didn't mean to and I'm sure the statutes of limitations probably aren't expired, so it's likely pretty dumb of me to even bring it up. Oh well. I need to unburden. I was sixteen years old and very, very pregnant with Joey. I was having quite a pity party, feeling really sorry for myself and being not awfully pleasant to be around, I'm sure. My first three pregnancies left me horrendously nauseated every single day until I delivered and by month 8th, I was more than a little cranky. Mom got on some kind of pink high horse and decided that if I did good things for other people (an activity not particularly high on my list at that time), maybe I'd feel better about myself and my situation. Mom worked at a nursing home WHICH SHALL REMAIN NAMELESS TO PROTECT THE GUILTY, so she suggested that I make some cookies to take to the old folks when she went to work that night. I made some No Bake Cookies and put them in a pretty little box and went to work to hang out with her. They had little maps of the ward with room numbers and patient names identified, so mom put a red X on the rooms where the patients were on a restricted diet and couldn't have the cookies. The ward was a good size, so I knew I'd be carrying cookies and baby for quite a ways. It actually was a very nice experience. The patients were so grateful, not just for the cookies, but for the company. I was an easy and forgiving audience. About halfway through the trek around the ward, I came across an old man sitting in a chair in front of a room. His eyes lit up and he started chanting a litany of "I wanna cookie. I wanna cookie. I wanna cookie. Please give me a cookie. I want a cookie. Please give me a cookie." I checked his room number and it wasn't one of the red X forbidden ones, so I gave him a cookie and he woofed it down, gumming it hard like a man starved. He started in again almost immediately. "I wanna cookie. I wanna cookie. I wanna cookie. Please give me a cookie." I gave him a couple more and moved along. It took me almost two hours to finish the rounds between visiting and covering the area. My dad picked me up so that I didn't have to stay for Mom's full shift. Mom was late coming home that night and when she got there finally, she said she was late because old Mr. SHALL REMAIN NAMELESS had died very suddenly. He was a severe diabetic who used to sit in a chair across the hall from his own room. What'd he look like, Mom? *gulp* (yep) ************************************* Had the sex talk with Delena today (she's 11 in November). "It's getting to be time that you're going to maybe have a boyfriend. Kissing is cool. Cuddling is cool. Holding hands is cool. If he tries to get anywhere near your precious muffin or get you anywhere near his special purpose, you tell him 'NO way, Jose' and cast him away. They can be persistent about the muffin, but the muffin remains untouched until you're married. Period. Remember when you saw Mommy have Dylan and Nathan? You don't want to stretch like that until you're grown up and have a husband to wait on you afterwards. Just keep them away from the muffin until then, OK?" She got it and I think the muffin is safe. Just thought I should start covering the bases. ************************************* 8/14 So now I'm off to work! Have a great day!!
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I did find this cool
thing. It was on sale for $5 for 50 and I figured it was worth a shot.
It's vitamin supplement with green tea extract and it really works quite well.
I feel very good when I take them and it does the thing it sits out to do, just
does it with a little more safety than your average thing that does that thing.
(Can you tell I'm still talking in code?) I'll let you know in a few
months how it's going. Don't write to me about it or I'll think about it
and things could go stupid. Let's just let it happen. OK?
Ssshhhh.
