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Sunday, August 8, 2010

Beach Party!



I need some beach music. 'Tis the season, right? Of course, the only surfing I've done (besides body surfing as a wee thing) is on ye olde intertubes. And the weather at my place has been foggy and cold for weeks -- no worries, I'm happy to share!

But anyway, I'm making a quilt for my friend, and other friends sent fabric -- and for the record, 3 aloha shirts plus a batik summer dress (plus plus plus) go a long way toward making a person long for some beach days, even if the person has bathing suit issues and burns to a crisp in record time.

My big antiwhine is, of course, that daughter came home from a year abroad yesterday! Her sleep schedule is pretty messed up; so far we see a little of her here and there, but in case of emergency, we might actually be able to do something when she is on the same continent. The cats are very curious about how her luggage smells, which makes me wonder what all is in there. Time will tell.

In whines, I am hopelessly distracted and not exactly cranking the work.

What's shakin' out your way?

49 comments:

KLee said...

W: I forgot to post awards. It's been so long since I hosted a WW week that I forgot I had actual duties at the week wound to a close.

A/W: Everyone was pretty nice about it, though.

W: I have an event planned for this weekend, which will take most of the weekend, and it involves camping. And, I am developing a summer flu. It promises to be an interesting weekend.

A/W: There will be fun to be had, though. I am looking forward to the kickoff of this big project that this weekend represents.

Kathy -- I hope your daughter recovers from all of that international travel. I didn't see your whine about her missing the train until I posted the awards -- that SURELY would have won something! I'm also curious as to how many times she bows to you or random other people until it works out of her system.

esperanza said...

W: Me and my cell phone got drenched with a glass of ice water at lunch today. I did not notice the cell phone till about 45 minutes later. It is resting in rice, hopefully to be resurrected tomorrow.

AW: The air conditioning wasn't working very well in there, so the ice water felt pretty nice after all.

AW: Mini Baboo likes to eat! From a spoon! This would not register on most people's antiwhine meter, but most people did not have to teach Sweet Baboo to eat.

And I'm already voting for KLee, because: camping.

kathy a. said...

bowing? hahahahaha! i'm sure she will bow at the japanese store, but...

i assume the camping features facilities, klee, hope you feel better, and wish you a good time!

yay, mini-baboo! crossed fingers for the damp cellphone.

Jenevieve said...

Yay for KLee! The awards (I finally got back here to look) were fab! I feel so special!

Not a lot in the way of Whines right now, because srsly, life is pretty okay. I drove out to see 2 feverish pigs today and the 13-year-old boy watched me wrassling with them (to give 'em injections) and was all, "Duuuude, I wanna be a vet just like YOU when I'm older". It made me laugh!

H is having some pook issues (of the sickness variety), which is a W/AW, since he hasn't had any accidents (!) but it's made his bum really sore. Poor wee man.

I made some blueberry cake for my birthday that was almost *too* buttery, but in a good way. YUM!!!

Liz Miller said...

Ate spicy food for lunch, and now my mouth hates me.

Sue said...

Clear fluid and Jello day. T-minus two hours until.....the Paristaltic Jug O Doom. Ugh.

4 Litres of the stuff! I'm enjoying my lemon jello now with some water, but at 5:00 I have to start the "prep" for my procedure tomorrow. I'm hoping that everyone who told me it wasn't so bad were right.

Whine: The cat is eating my Jello because she knows I'm busy on the keyboard.

Anti-whine: Jello on the cat's nose. ~snort~

Catch up with y'all on Wednesday!

Liz Miller said...

It's seriously not so bad. Seriously.

I even posted about it.

Liz Miller said...

Okay, the next day shows that I thought that consequences of the fluid were unpleasant. But I think that's mostly because it involved bucket loads of pook. The actual drinking part was fine.

esperanza said...

Sorry, Sue, but "enjoying" and "Jello" do not go in the same sentence. Hope it all goes well.

I need to rescind the phone whine, because it is now working!! Woo hoo!

However, I remembered another whine from yesterday. I got called "cute" twice. Grr. When one wishes to be taken seriously, "cute" is not a compliment. Take notice, church ladies!

Anonymous said...

Best wishes for your procedure, Sue!
:) neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

thinking of you, sue! not thinking too hard about where you must be at this particular moment, but as they say, this too...

Liz Miller said...

Thinking of you, Sue!!

Attempted to give blood this morning: my iron levels are at 11.9; need to be 12.5 to donate.

So I've had a finger stick for nothing.

Also, splattered my cream-coloured tank top with berry juice from my fruit parfait. My cardigan doesn't quite cover the splatter.

KLee said...

Love to Sue, and best wishes on her procedure today. Hope all has gone well, and it wasn't too awful for you.

I have one of Sue's patented stoopid meetings of Dooooom today at 1pm. I really have no one but myself to blame. Lemmee 'splain.

Most of you know my saga of volunteerism with that group that does activities with female-gender children, right? Most of the time, I love the work that I do with that organization. I really do -- the kids, the activities, and even the seemingly endless training that goes with it. Lately, (and by lately, I mean the last 2 or so years) our local chapter has been decidedly marked with middle school-type drama. People talking smack about each other, manipulation, telling tales about people to higher-ups, and generally not what one would call Good Behavior from some ladies who are darn-skippy well supposed to know better.

A good friend and I were approached by management to "take over" to see if we could smooth things out. Things are at that critical stage where we either sink or swim. Today's meeting is with the outgoing people who not as happy about the transition as we were initially led to believe. I have the feeling that I could be walking away from this with a tent peg or cookie box firmly lodged in my back. Or other choice locations that I really don't wish to discuss.

But, I can't really complain about it, because as I said, I brought it upon myself. Even though it will be for the betterment of the group as a whole if we get things "smoothed out", it still means really rough patches to start with...

kathy a. said...

liz is rockin' the old skool with splatter on a light top!

klee, crossing fingers for a decent outcome at the meeting of doom.

this distraction thing is bad today. there's work i really need to do, and some will get done, but i mostly want to go to the craft store, sew, noodle on the internet, and see if i can draw daughter out of her room.

Sue said...

Oh KLee - hope the ick meeting went well.

I'll post more later. Did NOT go well today. At. All.

Pixies, prepare the Super-Powered-Clue-Sticks-O-Doom for the A*s-hat of a doc I got stuck with today. What a jerk! Thank goodness I knew the nurse from back in my hospital days, or it all would have been even worse.

For starters, I told everyone from the first intake nurse to the doc himself that I wanted to be OUT for the procedure, I did not want to be "semi-conscious" on the cocktail of fentanyl and valium that they gave me.

I told the doc - looked right into his eyes - and said "It's going to take more medication than you think to anesthetize me. I'm very tolerant to meds."

Sure, I'm a donut away from 110lbs and 5 feet tall, so he ignored me. Next thing I know, he's shoving this thing down my throat to "freeze" my throat for the procedure - seems they're looking at both ends. Huh. No one told me that. Anyway, it hurt like hell and I just barely escaped barfing all over him.

Then the nurse said, "close your eyes and try to open them again." So I did. Close...1, 2, 3, 4, Wide Open. "Doctor, she's not out yet."

*crickets*

Sue said...

Tube down my throat, hurting like fury for about two minutes. What the H is this? Gitmo?

The nurse is wiping the tears out of my eyes as he's (literally) waving his damn finger in my face saying "Well, you have a bleeding ulcer. No wonder, with all that Advil you've been taking." At which point I'm still awake enough to say "Well, it was the only option my doctor ever gave me."

Wonderful Nurse then said, "I think she needs more meds before we start the other procedure." HE ROLLED HIS EYES and said ok.

While she's injecting the added anesthesia, he's already got the camera going and I'm gripping the side of the bed so I don't punch him. He took three biopsies, each of which I felt. They may as well not have bothered with the IV at all frankly.

He finished and left the room. Buh-bye. I was home half an hour later with hubby asking if they had even DONE the darn thing, as I didn't look even remotely sleepy.

My doc is hearing from me tomorrow. This is just plain wrong. I love you Canada. I love you universal health care. I despise you, a*s-hat internist.

Wah. Going to bed now.

kathy a. said...

oh, sue -- that's just awful, every bit of it. wtf about not anesthetizing you? about not telling you there was a top-end procedure, too? about still not anesthetizing you enough? not to mention the bleeding ulcer. or the bedside manner.

the Posse is already saddling up.

Liz Miller said...

HOLY GUACAMOLE, Sue. I'm so so so sorry.

Cluesticks at the ready.

esperanza said...

Sue, that is simply horrifying. Major cluesticks on the way, stat.

Miranda said...

I have my Cluestick at the ready for Sue a__-hat of a internist.

Sarah at ratatat said...

Oh Sue that's horrifying. Cluesticks ho!

Klee- good luck thwarting the mean girls all grown up.

KathyA - so glad your daughter is home!

Whine: yeast infection. Wait to see if it goes away. Nope. To the nurse practitioner on Saturday morning. Three day course of Rx. This morning, after the third day, still not better. Now maybe bacterial vaginitis. Trying Rx #2, a broad spectrum antibiotic.

Sorry for the TMI. Please let it work.

Anonymous said...

Sue, I'm so sorry! That's awful!!!! Lots of hugs to you!
Sarah, I hope it works!
--Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

yuck, sarah. crossing fingers.

daughter took the car out for the first time since her return, to run some errands. she about gave us both heart failure by allowing a strange woman with a walker to bully her into driving the person to a hospital in a nearby city. nothing bad happened, thankfully. she *knows* better, and was freaked and embarassed; so we practiced saying NO. NO NO NO NO.

so, klee is right about her needing to adjust. japanese people are unfailingly polite and helpful. one needs a certain urban "armour" to deal with the random demands of strangers.

Liz Miller said...

Kathy A. YIKES!
Sarah, I hope the meds work.

My bra just gave out. Underwire poking through. NOT FUN.

Liz Miller said...

I guess it's just too much to ask of a bra to both support the rack of doom AND last more than a year.

kathy a. said...

gah, ze bras. underwire poking the delicate parts is dreadful. can you pull out the underwires to avoid blisters? the rest of the infrastructure should be enough to get through the day...

Liz Miller said...

I am not really ready to try it.

Sue said...

Kathy a - yikes indeed!

Liz - will bra problems never cease? Thanks for reminding us what it's all about. Hope the day proceeds with no Bra-related Bloodshed. That would be bad. Can you push the wire in and find some duct tape? Up here in Canada, we seriously use that stuff for everything. (I actually have some in my car and in my desk at work).

I called the hospital chaplain to tell her about what happened yesterday. She was wonderful and gave me the name of the hospital's Ethicist. I'll be in touch with her once I feel a little stronger. Today I'm still a bit teary.

kathy a. said...

oh, sue. glad you got an "in" to the hospital folks. there is probably also an ombudsman who might help.

liz, that's ok. just an option. sue's duct tape suggestion is good.

Q: is it unethical to not tell daughter's dad right now about something, when one knows [a] he can't do anything about what already happened, [b] he will be in a huge funk and not sleep for days, and [c] the person who made the mistake is fully aware it was a mistake, and will not do it again? i'm looking for some peace and love during the short time daughter is home, rather than angst that won't accomplish anything. sigh.

kathy a. said...

p.s. -- she is a full legal adult who just spent a fireplacing year overseas, and is about to head off again to finish college. i'd have no qualms about telling all right now if she was younger. but this is a little magic family time before she is back to a place far away.

Liz Miller said...

Sue: Duct tape. Check. I will do that.

Kathy A.: I vote for the option of telling if not telling will make him upset that no one tells him stuff if he learns about it later. BUT: Here's how I would do it.

DAUGHTER tells him, thusly:
"Dad, I did a really dumb thing that I will never ever ever ever do again. Ever. Here's what I did. I am resetting my safety rules back to US settings, and I will never ever do it again. I need you to not freak out about this and I need you keep it together."

Liz Miller said...

I want a new bra
One that does what it should
One that hasn't come apart
One that doesn't poke my boob.

I want a new bra
One that looks nice
Not just plain black or beige
Maybe has a little spice

One that won't leave me aching
Complaining about my back
One that can stand up
To the doom that is my rack

I want a new bra
One that fits well
One with straps that don't fall down
One that won't start to smell

I want a new bra
A really comfortable one
One that can go in the wash
One that gets the job done

One that won't leave me aching
Complaining about my back
One that can stand up
To the doom that is my rack
To the doom that is my rack, Pixies.

I want a new bra
With a little bit of lace
One that doesn't cost too much
One that keeps my breasts in place

I want a new bra
One that does what it should
One that hides beneath my clothes
And makes me look real good.

One that won't leave me aching
Complaining about my back
One that can stand up
To the doom that is my rack
To the doom that is my rack
Oh the doom that is my rack yea yea

Madeleine said...

Hi Pixies! I'm back from my cross-continental travels. We had a fabulous vacation and I've now been dealing with the work left behind for nearly a week . . .

So I'm just popping in to say "hey, what a wonderful kind of day" and send love to all.

Especially Sue. Dear lord, how horrible. I'm sure the ethicist will get quite a surprise when you are ready to talk.

(Liz, the finger stick wasn't for nothing -- now you have an excuse to make steak for dinner!)

Anonymous said...

Liz for stylish whine, for sure!

Also, I agree with Liz's suggestion for kathy a. about how to handle things. (Also, in the post-confession conversation with husband, maybe point out how great it is to have such an empathetic, kind, caring daughter; also, how lucky it was that this "security breach" happened so soon after returning, and in proximity to parental units who could remind her to recalibrate her politeness settings to this country.what a sad sentence that is.)

And, finally, duct tape rocks!

That's my two cents....
--neighbor lady

kathy a. said...

thanks, liz and NL. and yeah, i have left this up to daughter to confess -- but some pro-active talk might help her do that thing she is dreading, and that it will be OK if she can get to that point. she knows i've got her back; we've had the discussion addressing kindness, and she responded "yeah, but that was really stupid."

Sue said...

Liz for style! Liz for style!!! AND for remembering what it's all about - of course.

Days said...

Argh. My comment has been eaten twice now.

The sort version:
Sue, that sucks. Really. So sorry.

Madeleine, welcome back.

Liz for style.

Boo to yeast and meetings of doom and the constant need for stranger danger reminders at all ages(my 14 year old niece recently hopped in a car with an unknown man) and camping and all sorts of medical maladies.

My kids are full of I'm bored and it's too hot and there's nothing to do, and s/he's bugging me, and gimme gimme gimme etc, ad nauseum and it's driving me up the walls.

Also, no word yet from my employer about a leave of absence or short term disability or drastically reduced hours or whatnot.

kathy a. said...

oh, days! that is too too much. if there are HR people, go see them in person. or go see whomever is filling the slot for human resources/compliance with disability laws/etc.

http://www.findlaw.com/ might be a resource for looking into employment &/or disability law in your state.

Sue said...

Oh Days, how horrible! The Pixie Cluesticks are at the ready.

Days said...

Er, cluesticks are probably not necessary. It is a whine of waiting to hear news and slow bureaucracy rather than any concern about being denied sick leave, especially since I am employed by a DPO. However, the cluestick offer is much appreciated.

kathy a. said...

slowness in time of need is cluestick-worthy.

esperanza said...

Sorry to not check in...overwhelmed with Teh Family Visit and preparations thereunto. Good times, but introvert me is already tired. They're here till Monday.

kathy a. said...

keep whining. i've got an eye appointment in the a.m., and i'm not quite sure how many years it's been -- and what do i know about frames? can anyone really tell how they look w/o lenses in, anyway? -- so awards will be late.

passing the refreshments.

amy said...

There is so much I want to say to pixies this week, but I don't have time! Oh noes!

The big breast cancer walk is TOMORROW, and I'm packing today, but of course nothing can be easy. In this case, I've lost one training bra and at least one pair of socks that I NEED. Ugh. Hopefully, whining works.

I love you all, and I'll be thinking about you while I walk. After all, if it hadn't been for your support, pixies, I'd have bailed on this and then hated myself for bailing.

It's going to be an emotional weekend. A dear, dear friend was diagnosed with breast cancer this week, so I've asked my team's tee-shirt printer to add her name to my shirts, last minute. So sad. :'(

If you are interested in the walk, add me on Facebook. Put a note in with your F/R (like "pixies" or "WW") and I'll add you straight away so you can see the 1.5 zillion pictures I plan to take. :)

emily said...

Sign I am not getting enough sleep:

This morning, I started putting the coffee grounds in the water reservoir, rather than in the filter basket. Then I had to figure out how to clean it out (without coffee!)

a/w: at least I noticed!(and no permanent harm done)

Maybe I should start setting up the pot the evening before?

Liz Miller said...

This week has been all about the wardrobe malfunctions.

My purse strap unbuttons the brown linen shirt dress I'm wearing. A crucial button.

WHAT HAVE I EVER DONE TO THE WARDROBE GODS THAT THEY ARE PUNISHING ME???

Amy, I'm interested! Friend me! (E1izabeth Amy Mi11er)

Sue said...

Liz - sometimes the wardrobe gods can be really touchy. It's never an unimportant (as in, tucked in) button that catapults across a room - no - it's ALWAYS *that* button that goes. You know, the one that holds the only firewall between the girls and the world. ~sigh~ I shake my pixie fist at the wardrobe gods. They should play more nicely with someone so nice as you.

Good luck Amy - you'll be great. If I'm not already friended on fb, by all means do so. You can email it to me at
suecanatgmaildotcom.

Anti-whine: the Risk Management staff called me back this morning after I got up the nerve to call yesterday. A really nice woman asked me to relay to her what had happened. She will pass this on to Dr. TortureChamber's supervisor and I will hear from the supervisor next week. She assured me that I won't have to talk to Dr. TC at all. She was very compassionate and kind. It doesn't hurt that I baptized her baby boy a few years ago. Just sayin... Sometimes a small city isn't a *bad* thing.

Also, I have a follow up appt with my family doc, so I cancelled the one with Doc TC. I feel better already. On the other hand, these old boys cover each other's back, so next week's call could go either way....

Liz Miller said...

Hooray for the fact that the world has only 50 people in it! Sue, I hope that Dr. TC gets given the same treatment he gave you.

Liz Miller said...

Amy, nevermind, we're already FB friends!