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Monday, August 26, 2013

Pet Peeves Week

Bring 'em on!   What gets under your skin?  Possible categories include but are not limited to:  household tasks;  stupid driving tricks;  grammar violations;  untoward habits of our nearest and dearest; and annoyances at the cubical farm or equivalent.

Dishes, for example.  Apparently, nobody in my entire family has the ability to rinse dishes except me, despite years of training loving encouragement. We all dislike unloading/loading the dishwasher, which is why we got this fabulous double sink, with an extra deep side in which to stash the rinsed dishes until someone (me) gets around to the dishwasher.  And still, we have the spectacle of dishes, pans, and cutlery laying around the counter and stove and the other sink, preserving the remains of whatever was on them for posterity.  Because no, despite the promotional claims, our dishwasher does not handle food dried to the consistency of cement.  Harrumph. 

Regular whines and anti-whines are, as always, most welcome. 

35 comments:

esperanza said...

Pet Peeve

"your" and "you're" mix-ups.

I am the only person who can smush plastic bottles and put them in the recycling can. All other people must leave them sitting empty on the counter for the professional smusher to arrive.

kathy a. said...

There, their, and they're.

"Professional smusher" is an early contender for mullet. ;)

Automotive category: turning left at a 4-way stop this morning, giganto truck was in such a hurry that he nearly mowed me over from the right/rear. 4-way stops are supposed to be little pockets of zen, where everybody slows down and proceeds politely.

Miranda said...

My pet peeves are that my oldest usually has my car and my daughter usually has my laptop so I'm stuck at home without internet. I have my work machine but um, I do enough of that all day long.

People who don't understand the vital importance of the Oxford comma.

kathy a. said...

Oh, prize-worthy, Miranda.

esperanza said...

You know what makes the last week of summer even longer? Rainy day. VERY thankful to have the rain. But, this day has approximately 4502 hours in it. So far.

kathy a. said...

much sympathy, esperanza! i used to have all kinds of emergency backup ideas for such times -- videos! art projects! let's cook! prizes when the toys get cleaned up! -- but the supply runs low at the end of summer, that's for sure.

esperanza said...

Yeah, I busted out a couple of "new" toys that my mom sent home from their attic. That's the last trick up my sleeve. We made cookies yesterday. I'll turn on the tv if I have to, I guess.

kathy a. said...

art projects: macaroni, beans, buttons, fabric scraps, colored paper, etc. -- can be used for gluing projects, like collages. [you need white glue for 3D objections, but glue sticks work for paper.]

macaroni necklaces -- this can be a 2 day project if you use food color on the mac the first day, dry overnight, and string the next day. need mac with holes, like rotini or elbows or wheels. use a shoelace, or put heavy tape at the end of yarn so it acts like a "needle."

cardboard box projects. larger ones can be trains etc. shoeboxes are great for dioramas or mini doll houses or stuffed animal beds. decorating boxes -- use what you've got and go wild.

for future reference, such as winter break -- colorful pipe cleaners and plastic beads with larger holes can turn into jewelry, holiday ornaments, decorative touches for a gift, etc. do beading over a plate or box lid, to minimize escape.

i miss little kids. ;)

kathy a. said...

* i meant OBJECTS. although you might have objections to bean mosaics, too.

Sue said...

Great pet peeves pixies!

Sorry about the long day esperanza - bean mosaics sound like a plan.

Pet peeve: when I see the words "should of" when "should have" is clearly intended by context. The slow and painful death of the English language. Sigh.

There are others, but that one comes to mind today.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Long days here too, but because Mr. Q is back at school! (The teachers are back a week before the kids.) E's emotional all day long, because Dada is gone for the first time in two months, and then when he gets home, she cries and only wants me!

We broke up the day today by taking her over to play with some kids. She's more tired and sad now, but was bearable during the day.

How many days until Christmas break?

Pet peeve: living in a new development means having construction workers thinking they can stop their pick-up trucks and vans in the middle of the street, or zip around without checking, even when they're not actually within their construction site. Stressful when you're driving a small car!

Also: construction material on the road. We got a screw stuck in our front tire.

esperanza said...

We made it. They're in bed. Tomorrow has some already planned appointments, thank goodness. Lalalalala winter break lalalala can't hear you.

esperanza said...

And great ideas, kathy a, though I have a pesky moral objection to playing with food. The shoe box ideas sound fun...maybe later this week.

kathy a. said...

QWP -- oh, poor E. yay, friends! she'll get used to the new routine, i promise. xoxo

esperanza -- wrestled with foodstuffs as art myself, so i hear ya.

JenR said...

Speaking of playing with food - my pet peeve is daycare sending home food-covered art projects weeks after they have been hanging on the walls there. Bonus points of the cheerios/pasta/beans/marshmallows are covered with glitter. Yuck. Just throw it out - please don't put it in my kids' school bag.

esperanza said...

ew. That's all. Ew.

kathy a. said...

Food that is edible uncooked -- cheerios and marshmallows -- that is bad bad bad for glue projects. Must.Keep.Boundaries.

But there are artful food possibilities, such as these delicious penguins.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Today, I've discovered that the following don't mix well with babies: loud alarm clocks (even in the next room), hanging blinds (E is hell-bent on breaking them), and sliding doors. Actually, that last one doesn't mix with absent-minded parents of mobile babies. (I accidentally knocked her over with the door, and then was stuck on the balcony while she cried against the closed door. Even worse, Mr. Q did the same thing on Monday! It's a miracle we've managed not to break her yet.)

kathy a. said...

Oh, QWP! Nothing makes one more Alert than a mobile baby. Suddenly, they're everywhere, with superpowers! :)

AW: Feeling more upbeat than I have for a while. It's good, making progress on the work albatross. The SIL drama has settled down; think she is adjusting to her facility. Also, daughter has a job interview tomorrow with a place she really wants to work!

Anonymous said...

Fingers crossed for your daughter, kathy a.

W: Feeling like I may have allergies, a slight tickle in my throat.....? I can not get sick right before school starts. I. CANNOT!!
I. MUST. NOT!!!!!

so many whines of the overwhelmed here, but slightly optimistic whines when I think about the students....

--Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

Go away, tickly throat! Best to you with the start of school, NL -- your students are so lucky.

esperanza said...

W? AW? According to 3-4 different pairs of pants, one of my thighs is larger than the other. Has it always been this way? Related to carrying Baboos on that side? Now that I've noticed, it's distracting.

esperanza said...

I am full of Old Skool contenders today:
sunscreen in my eyes

kathy a. said...

V. old skool, Esperanza.

kathy a. said...

So, catch this -- the UPS man came this afternoon and said they had a pickup scheduled for Dish TV. Couple weeks ago, Dish TV sent a big empty box to our house, addressed to SIL, so maybe we should have seen the UPS guy coming, but WE DO NOT HAVE THE EQUIPMENT. I guess it was left at SIL's old house, a mere 2.5 hour drive from here, when she was evicted 5 months ago. It is impossible to call these people and explain things. So hopefully the UPS guy can tell them she's in a nursing home now.

Modern communication -- ain't it a wonder? ;)

Liz said...

Muffin Man is at middle school orientation.

kathy a. said...

Already?! How did that happen? Congrats to MM and mom and dad.

Liz said...

I KNOW! It all goes so fast.

W: Have admitted that the cool and summery brown linen sleeveless shirt dress really doesn't fit me and never did. (Button gappy-ness over the rack of doom).

kathy a. said...

have you tried the small safety pins between the buttons? there are usually extra layers of fabric in the button area -- try to secure it under the top layer so nothing shows. (this fix works better if you can pull the dress over your head with the boobal area buttoned, so you don't have to mess with the safety pins each time.)

Liz said...

The boobal area won't go over my rack of doom buttoned. The safety pin thing was used for a few wearings, but I'm really accepting the fact that if I have to pin, it just does. not. fit.

Depending on the bra I'm wearing that day, and the time of the month, even the pin doesn't solve the gap issue.

kathy a. said...

damn.

Liz said...

Yeah. Anybody want a brown sleeveless shirt dress?

esperanza said...

Sorry for the non fitting dress, Liz.

AW: "meeting" today with fun colleagues/friends, using my brain.

Also AW: Both Baboos did fabulously well at Meet the Teacher for school #2. Tuesday it all begins!

W: School #1 has proportions of population relatively in sync with our whole community: 1/3 anglo, 1/3 hispanic, 1/3 African-American. Maybe a little heavier on Anglo and Hispanic. But, basically reflecting who you see at the grocery store. School #2 seems to be composed entirely of Anglo teachers and students. Wondering why...price, hours, convenience all about the same. Both meet at/sponsored by churches. Both have non discrimination policies. What's going on here?

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Both schools are in the same community, with the same factors? So odd.

W: So. Tired. Every muscle tired. It was my dad's 60th birthday today, and I did a turkey dinner and chocolate zucchini cake w/ chocolate meringue frosting. Not quite single-handedly, but close.

AW: It was a nice day, and the meal was amazing. (If I do say so myself.) My dad got to spend his birthday with E, and E was the Ideal Baby today.

AW: leftover cake. Chocolate zucchini cake with fluffy frosting for everybody! (It will certainly be my breakfast tomorrow.)

esperanza said...

Yes, QWP, they are a block away from each other.

Hope you have some time to recover today. And thanks for the breakfast cake! Delicious.