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Monday, October 31, 2011

Booooo!

Happy Halloween to all those celebrating! We seem to have some new kids on the block, so this year we might even get some trick-or-treaters.

Are you or yours rocking the costumes? Do tell!

Mixed W/AW on the work front: some things are moving right along, and others are festering a bit. Got more time for a big project, and my immediate response was to push that aside for a bit. Must. Keep. Going.

W: Have gotten myself on this committee. (What was I thinking?) And it is doing what committees do -- contriving ways to make people crazy. Sadly, the details are unbloggable, but some members of this committee have a past grievance about someone else. AW: I did not use the phrase "stuff it up your nose" in my response.

What's new in your world?

47 comments:

JenR said...

Back to work today. Stuff has been reorganized to the extent that I am not entirely sure what my job is right now. My mgr cleared my schedule for the day so I could wade through email - which I accomplished in about two hours due mostly to not caring. But hidden in those emails? Three weeks worth of training materials "pre-work" to be done in time for a training class that starts in two weeks. Everyone else has had 6 weeks to accomplish it. Yipee.

Liz Miller said...

Breast exam tomorrow.

Between toxic makeup and slave-labor chocolate, I'm feeling decidedly guilty this Halloween. Gah. Why do corporations have to ruin EVERYTHING?

kathy a. said...

ugh, jenr! that's a lot of "pre-work" for a training...

liz, good luck on the exam. toxic makeup??

esperanza said...

good luck, Liz. JenR, I hope the back-to-work plan goes smoothly.

W: Pixies with long memories of obnoxious whines may recall a year ago. All four members of the household were sick and we had to miss a special retreat geared just for us (clergy couples). We are supposed to leave tomorrow. 50% of the household has snotty noses. I'm taking wagers whether we go or not.

W: why must pull-ups be gender-fied? Does it matter whether Mini pees on a pink or blue pull up? Why can't they be green?

And another thing, why is Mini only potty trained for Mama, Daddy, and grandma? Other adults aren't impressed with her potty training prowess because she won't use the potty for them. Hence the pull-ups for the retreat this week.

Whine, whine, whine.

kathy a. said...

esperanza, i'm sure you are fully equipped with snot-fighting superpowers.

and, i don't count pullups as a failure. potty training is a process, and it is wonderful indeed to have pullups for backups. but ready to cluestick those manufacturing idjits who think pullups or diapers need color-coding by gender.

esperanza said...

kathy a, it is ridiculous. It's easy to find non-genderized diapers, but for some reason even the store brand pullups are separate. I'm a little twitchy about it, partly b/c of Halloween and all of the sex-ified little girls I saw tonight. Our giraffe and lion were cute *and* age-appropriate. So there.

kathy a. said...

yay, casa esperanza!

Sue said...

Good luck Liz!

Hooray to esperanza for not giving in to the "toddlers and too much glitter" pressure. As for the pull ups, I totally agree. Don't even get me started on toys. Oy.

Good use of self-control on the non-response kathy a.

AW: Breast exam from two weeks ago came back. Doc still doesn't like the description of it from the test in July - the "...of irregular shape..." part has him concerned. However, the October test said the irregular shaped whatever it was - is gone. So, yay.

AW: Doc did not laugh when I told him how I got my concussion. He did laugh when I told him I had seriously considered telling him that it had happened during an intense rugby match, but changed my mind and went with the altogether more truthful: Freezer - 1, Sue - 0 version.

He did all the neuro tests again and everything is fine. I'm still very very tired and have occasional waves of The Potential Bark, at which point I lie down and chant quietly "I will not bark, I will not bark, I will not bark."

Doc says the fatigue and nausea are normal and will go away in its own sweet time. Could be a week, could be months. No two people are the same. However, he did say that I hit the part of my head that causes the most damage. Because of where the door hit me, my brain was whacked back and forth a few times before I hit the floor (like shaken baby syndrome) and will take time to heal.

Time.

And sleep.

AW: I'm ok to go back to work.

AW: This week I was already scheduled to work from home as Study Leave, so I don't have to go to the office. Yay!!!

Liz said...

The GOP in my county has created quite a shit storm.

Liz said...

Am Posting from cell, so am sending hugs to all.

esperanza said...

Yay for good news, Sue! Sorry about the continued bark and fatigue potential, but at least you can read now.

Don't get me started on toys either. We've pulled a lot of toys out of my parents' attic for that reason.

kathy a. said...

sue, glad the exam came back fine, and that you're better. (but yuck on the barky feeling...)

liz -- saw the article. wow. nuts.

Liz said...

Doctor thinks I'm clear. Concerned re: family history. Took blood for genetic testing. Sending me for comprehensive mam and possibly MRI.

Anonymous said...

Totally agree re the genderified versions of toys/books etc.
However--just a thought and probably giving the industry WAY too much benefit of the doubt--is it possible the color-coded pull-ups have different amounts of padding in different places?
Just a thought.
:)

Yay for clear mammograms--
Hugs for Sue and her concussion!

:) Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

ack, liz! glad your doc thinks you are clear, yay! but yikes, what's a "comprehensive" mam, if round 2 wasn't one? and MRI??

you will do this already, but ask a lot of questions. the procedures themselves are stressful.

these decisions are highly personal, specific to your situation, and and yours alone. i am at a higher risk because of my sister's breast cancer -- so i'm aware and monitoring. but i did turn down some suggestions of my HMO, because i really could see no benefit.

Liz said...

She didn't do a mam today, just a manual.

Anonymous said...

Medical Anon, back again. Still sick, still no diagnosis. Went on Oct. 17th for a CT scan, and got the results YESTERDAY, on Oct. 31st. I am *very* unhappy with the fact that not only did it take 14 days to read a scan, call me and say, "There's nothing abnormal on the scan, either in the pelvis or abdomen", but also MASSIVELY unhappy that I had to be the one to call them (four times) to get said results.

Also, in a hugely disproportionate colossal "eff you" by the universe, I got a notice yesterday from the radiology department at the local hospital and my insurance company that said that scan was not considered "medically necessary" and they won't be covering it under insurance. Needless to say, I do not have out-of-pocket to cover that. I thought that's what insurance was for....

At this point, I can no longer afford to find out why I'm vomiting all the time and losing weight. I'll just have to suck it up, apparently.

Anonymous said...

Oh anonymous, I'm so sorry!
Hugs to you.
--Neighbor Lady

Liz said...

Med Anon, have your gp fight that insurance call. If you still have no answer for your illness, then the test WAS medically necessary.

Elizabeth said...

((Med Anon))

And what Liz said.

Sue said...

((((med anon))) that's so awful!

I had a comprehensive mam a few years ago. The only difference was that they use different plates to get about six different views as well as the usual ones.

Yay Liz for the good result today. Fingers crossed for the genetic tests and further investigation.

AW: drove today for the first time since concussion.

W: came home after a few errands so utterly exhausted I barely made it to the bed for nap time. This is going to take some time.

kathy a. said...

((( medical anon ))) what liz said -- fight those bloodsuckers, and get your GP to help! they will often back off the "not medically necessary" thing if you push back with the reasons it was justified. chapter and verse. with doctor note harmony.

really sucks that you didn't get any answers, too. xoxo


((( sue )))

Liz said...

At my comprehensive mam now. Radiologist lives in my neighborhood. I reminded her to vote next weekend and talked up my candidates.

Liz said...

Next tuesday is what I meant to type

kathy a. said...

go, liz! two birds, one stone. fingers crossed.

kathy a. said...

my son's job moved, so it is now an hour away. his car has 250,000 miles on it. you see where this is going, right? his car is messed up; he is trying to limp it back to our house so he can get parts and work on it. oy.

Sue said...

(((kathy a))) We're going through the same with our youngest. His car is palliative at this point. I keep reminding myself that at it could be worse - at least he wants the car for work. At least he's working. At least he's not lounging on our couch etc..... but oy, we're bleeding funds on his trainwreck of a car.

Liz - award nomination for maintaining Doorbell queen status even at mam. Go Liz!

W: A friend of ours died this week after falling off of a ladder and experiencing an intracranial bleed. The loss for his family is so sad. The chill up my spine is worse than any Hallowe'en experience could ever be.

AW: I did some damage to my brain, but I'm still here. It's so very scary to think of what might have been, so instead I'm looking out the window at the beautiful autumn day we're having.

Liz Miller said...

(((Sue)))

amy said...

Lintiest. Sweater. Ever.

amy said...

Many hugs to medical anon, liz, sue, and any pixie in need this week! Here, I'll send around some plastic vampire teeth, leftover from the h'ween party. They always cheer me up. :)

Days said...

Hugs to Liz, Sue, Medical Anon, esperanza for their worthy whines and also for anyone else who is not afraid of catching something viral, since everyone in this household has a cold right now, including the dog and maybe the youngest cat.

Greatest desire right now is to have the energy and the strength to get myself a vanilla latte from the cafe down the street. Pathetic we are.

kathy a. said...

amy's showing off! going for old skool AND mullet...

((( sue ))) i'm so sorry about the loss of your friend.

kathy a. said...

days!!! so good to see you, even if the energy is low. you can just boot that "pathetic" thought right out the window.

Elizabeth said...

(((Sue)))


Whined earlier, but it seems to have been eaten by the internets. Can't remember exactly what it was, but probably some variant of the usual too much work/ too little time whine. And then I got the sick kid call from the school (with husband out of town) so I had even less time to do the same work.

Sue said...

Wish I could deliver the vanilla latte Days!

Amy for Concise. Whining. (is "lintiest" a word, or did you make that up? It's too early for me to tell.

Sorry Elizabeth for sick calls from skool. Bleh.

W: It's O'Dark Thirty here. I should still be in bed. But alas, this morning at 9:00 is the only time I can meet with our music director re: Xmas music. She will be out of town for awhile, so it's now or early December.

AW: She's coming here. I only "sort of" got dressed. I put on my favourite yoga pants instead of leaving on my jammies.

W: Yesterday's work (in preparation for today's meeting) knocked the snot out of me. I greatly under-estimated my level of actual energy.

In my imagination, I thought there was a lot more in the ole energy bank than what was really there. It was like going to the drive-thru cash machine and looking at the chequing account balance.

Days said...

W: Youngest came home with a sizable packet of homework and a note instructing us to call the teacher to discuss her progress.

AW: Teacher said DD is well ahead of the rest of the class and they will be adjusting her work level to keep her engaged and challenged and the homework is optional review work.

AW: This is completely unexpected and appreciated since we have had exactly the opposite experience with our son. The school would rather let him be bored and disruptive in class than go the extra mile to challenge him.

AW: Caffeine has really perked me up. My oldest offered to walk down and pick up that latte for me this morning.

AW: I have really great kids.

kathy a. said...

oh, sue. sorry about the energy bank running low. but talking about christmas music, at home -- that's happy at least! and something to cross off the busy holiday list.

yay, days! it makes such a difference when a teacher sees the need and goes the extra mile! also, whew that the note from the teacher turned out to be such great news.

keep whining! awards tomorrow.

bleah. i just noticed something that doesn't feel right in the left girl. i am a longtime member of the lumpy boob club, and this one's a little ouchy, so i know what this probably means -- zip. but guess i should get scheduled for some squashing.

Liz Miller said...

((Kathy)) Get that tata checked.

((Days)) You do have great kids.

amy said...

Whining works. I was in the middle of typing a crabby whine about being on terminal hold with the pediatrician's office regarding new allergy meds for Tater (who is having an asthma and allergy flare that started while we were out trick or treating), and lo! Behold! The nurse *finally* answered. Bonus: it was a quick and easy conversation.

Sue, when I left my concise sweater whine, I didn't know if "lintiest" was a word, but I was so overcome with lint, I kinda didn't care. ;)

Dear Universe, could we quit with the sick kids? I think all of us pixies would appreciate a break. kthxbai.

Days, I'm so happy for you about the latte. I hope it was extra yummy for you. :D

Re: the gendered toys, diapers, pull ups, etc. -- I am so glad I'm not the only one who hates it. It's tough on both sides, too. My daughter loved the Toy Story pull ups, and I never took much garbage for buying her the "boy" ones, but god forbid I buy my son the Dora ones! He loves Dora, but NOOOOOO, I get all kinds of sideways looks for getting them for him.

Part of my big middle finger to the Super Separate Gender types is that I've arranged for Santa to get Tater and the Tot a joint gift -- a big pink dollhouse. She'll love it because it's a dollhouse and it's pink, and he'll love it because it's a dollhouse and it's pink. Happy kids are my goal *and* my reward.

Kudos to esperanza for the age-appropriate costumes and hugs for the little darlings -- I bet they were just precious!

Anonymous said...

I love the big pink dollhouse idea. My son and daughter share a pink dollhouse, and I think they play with it about equally. Happiness all around.

W: Long day at work. Hard day at work.

--Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

why wouldn't "lintiest" be a word? we have a flexible lexicon, as you fireplacingly well know.

the genderization works against all kids, but especially when boys like pink, i think. nobody gave me crap when my daughter wore handmedowns from her brother, or liked "boy" things.

(then again, the barbie aisle at ye olde box store is enough to make a feminist bark. i held off, pixies, but somewhere in this house or garage is a giganto bin of barbie stuff that my daughter has directed me to destroy, should i ever find it, because now she's embarassed that she loved it so much, and also that her aunts all gave her ever so much barbie once the mama-ban was breached.)

legos are the way to go. my son forbids us to dispose of his giganto bin of legos -- which everyone used. and i think he should just take them to his house now, but that's another issue.

Sue said...

Agreed - "lintiest" is part of the pixie lexicon.

Days -so awesome about great kids who double as delivery baristas as needed.

Kathy a - yup, get the tata checked out. And don't even get me started on legos. The tender middle part of my little footie cringes at the very thought. Those suckers HURT when left in hallways in the night. It's a well known fact that Lego pieces jump into the middle of the hall while we sleep. I gave all of ours to my nephews once the boys didn't ant them.

AW: three hour nap this afternoon. This morning's work was good (you're right kathy, it's good to have it done and even better to have such a great music director) but required an extensive energy-restoration time.

W: I seriously hope that I don't feel like I'm running on so little energy for long!

KLee said...

Hi, pixies! It's been a bad week here -- we got news late Sunday evening that one of our local Girl Scout leaders was killed in a car crash. Apparently, the crash was so bad that when she arrived at the hospital there was "no brain activity." To make matters even worse, she was a single parent of an 18 year old girl AND she was traveling to attend her 17 year old niece's funeral. The universe has GOT to stop kicking the crap out of this poor family.

The leader did her student teaching at my school and often worked as a substitute, so our school is raising money for her family, and catering a meal for them next week.

She was a great lover of talking on the phone, and I feel tremendously guilty that the last time she called me, I avoided her call because I did not want to get embroiled in a long conversation that I could not get out of. I feel guilty that I wasn't a better friend to her, and now I won't have any more chances. But, most of all -- I hurt for her daughter. They were so close, and I can't imagine what life will be like for her.

Praying pixies, please send out good thoughts to the cosmos for Candice tonight. I think she needs all the prayer she can get.

Thank you.

And, thank you for being here, whenever we need it. WW helps me in so many ways, and I don't express it enough, and I certainly don't do my share of hosting anymore.

kathy a. said...

((( KLee ))) Sending love for your friend, and all who loved her -- especially her daughter. So heartbreaking. xoxox

Anonymous said...

((((KLee)))))
(((((Candice)))))
So sorry--and I know that you were a good friend to her, and the phone thing just makes you human. Sorry for the guilt on top of the pain. She was lucky to have you as a friend, and I am sure she felt your love, and that her daughter will feel it now.
Prayers and hugs for you and their family.
--Neighbor Lady

Sue said...

((((KLee))))) so very sorry. What an unspeakable tragedy. Prayers ascending.....

Liz Miller said...

KLee, not feeling like talking for a half-an-hour is really okay.

Sending hugs and love and prayers.