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Monday, July 19, 2010

In Which She Swears, "This Week I'm Getting Organized"

Welcome to the Whiner's Ball! Your humble host is going to break up the procrastination this week by finishing a project, and taking steps to organize the office disaster. For example, yesterday I filled 5 bankers' boxes with stuff to move, convinced my beloved to clear my storage shelves of the 3 tons of items he and our son had placed there, and lost steam. But it's a start.

A long and complicated family situation is lurching toward resolution. My sister required a voodoo doll for stress relief, and apparently it has gotten a good deal of use in the past week. Probably should have made one for myself. And one for you. ;)

Long distance whine: Daughter is headed into finals, and she really really hates her roommate. Sample complaint: "She always leaves her hair in the shower drain." I'm just glad my Skype camera/microphone is not working, because it is hilarious hearing this one from a person who, as recently as her Christmas visit, dealt with her own long hair in the shower drain by twirling it into a circle and sticking it to the wall of the shower, so the shower fairy could take care of it. Mom has taken the high road, and only suggested that it is a short time to the end of the term.

In Anti-Whines, the Wednesday Whining moderators are pleased to announce that Esperanza will be joining the rotation of hosts!

34 comments:

kathy a. said...

P.S. whine -- Yesterday, my hairbrush took a leap straight into the toilet. (At least it wasn't the cell phone -- a salesman told me that was the leading cause of premature cell phone death, although I can't imagine why anyone needs a cell phone in such proximity to that body of water.) I decided it's time for a new hairbrush, anyway.

KLee said...

Welcome to Esperanza! I know she will do a bang-up job as a moderator! (Heck, she's got to do a better job at it than I have been doing for lo these many moons...:)

I made a quick trip home to CityOfMyBirth to see my ailing aunt, and it was a good visit, though fraught with emotion and strained nerves all around. On the way up, I must have gotten behind a truck at some point, though I'm dammed if I remember when, and now I have a cracked windshield that seems to be the Energizer Bunny of cracked windshields -- it just keeps going and going!

And then, to put a capper on an ass-tacular week, I went to the Mall on Saturday with hubby, and was so busy talking to him that I wasn't paying attention to DRIVING, and I crunched the bumper on our brand new car. Yeah. Sucky end to a sucky week. I gotta figure that my luck HAS to turn around some time, right?

esperanza said...

Ah, KLee, that is a sucky end to a sucky week. It's the heat that makes the windshield cracks spread (I'm assuming it's hot in your location).

Whine: Mini seems to be going through a growth spurt and finds it necessary to eat in the middle of the night again. Mama is tired.

AW: Sweet Baboo has been potty-accident-free for...4 DAYS! (I am dooming myself to an accident of epic proportions, I know). However, I am the manager of when she needs to go. Speech delay is a bit of a handicap here. She had her first outing with UNDERWEAR. Made the already-exciting grocery shopping event even better.

AW: preaching activity yesterday was much better than last week. Mini hung out next to me on her quilt and made happy baby noises for the entire time. Everyone thought she was adorable. And I was the first one there instead of the last.

Whine: something between ache and pain in the vicinity of my left ovary. Methinks the endometriosis may be back. But is that possible if AF isn't back yet? Dr's appointment is already scheduled for next month.

Oh, and another whine (aren't you glad? I'm full of them): Hubby's 40th BD is coming up, and he wants to have a party (this was a surprise to me, but ok). Problem: we don't want to invite the whole church, but....how to invite only some? (He's the pastor).

Sue said...

kathy a. - good luck with the continued packing. It really is exhausting, so pace yourself.

Yay esperanza as host!!! You rock.

KLee - so sorry about the crunching of the new car. That is so awful!

Anti-whine: It's my birthday. It's been a good day. My dad stopped by on his lunch break to say hey, I worked out, and hubby is cooking supper on the bbq in the rain (it always rains when he bbqs).

Both of my sons called, dinner served asap. Yup. It's been a good day.

In-laws just arrived - back later.

Liz Miller said...

Happy Birthday!!!!

Sue said...

Thanks!!

Anti-whine: Yummy dinner cooked by hubby.

Whine: Son the Younger (who lives in town) was too sick tonight to come for dinner - dang summer colds! He did call, which was nice.

Whine: Son the Older is on his vacay in Jasper, Banff and Kelowna. He called from a rest stop by the road near Revelstoke. Very cool.

Sue said...

Yet another Anti-whine folks: Son the Younger asked me to go with him to Minneapolis in late August to see "Wicked"!!!!

I've always wanted to see it. I've had the soundtrack for years, now I'll actually get to see the play.

He's either the sweetest young man in the world, or he knows that his own car will never get him to Minneapolis. I choose today to go with the first - 'cause he is pretty sweet and always good to his Momma.

Whine: Head pounding from all the excitement of the day. To be expected really. Hopefully next Tuesday in Duluth at the pain clinic will see the end of "knife in the temple" nights for me - at least for awhile.

Jenevieve said...

Whine: Totally ashamed of my newfound love for Eminem and hip-hop in general. Where'd that come from?

AW: Passed CA boards! I'm some paper-processing away from being officially licensed in CA!

W: So. Epically. Tired. I've driven 9 hours in the past 2 days. Yuck!

AW: Settling into our gorgeous new flat. Huge oven! Dishwasher! Wooo!

Jenevieve said...

Happy Birthday, Sue!

Sarah at ratatat said...

Happy Birthday Sue! Sounds like a great day. You deserve it. Hope the headaches abandon you in honor.

Yay hostess Esperanza! And glad to hear that preaching went well, children were good, and potty accidents have been avoided.

Go Kathy Go! Get it all done. Or make some progress. And yes, get a new brush. On the toilet cell phone problem, I would think it has to do with them falling out of pockets. At least I choose to think that.

Klee - wow that's a bad week. Hope you have a quiet transportation week.

Whine: Not enough hours. Or sleep.

Whine the second: we're having a rummage sale this week. I put ads in the paper. I don't feel ready.

purple_kangaroo said...

My spouse has reached his last straw with the animals and with the wife trying to play farm girl in the middle of the suburbs, while living in a fancy-pants yuppie neighborhood where I stick out like a giant wart on the smooth face of the neighborhood.

Using chemical-free methods of yard and insect management, including things like coexisting peacefully with some weeds in the lawn is a stretch--putting rabbit manure on our garden was worse. As someone who cares deeply about sustainable, local, healthy and humane food, loves animals, enjoys farming, is not a Born Organized, coloring-within-the-lines person and is definitely NOT a fancy-pants yuppie, I long to live on a little farm in the country. But I don't. And trying to live like a farm girl in Fancy Pants Neighborhood is a stretch.

The decisive moment was probably when I accidentally threw a headless, bleeding, flopping chicken at DH in our kitchen. Long story. No, we don't raise chickens--we just have the dog and lots of rabbits. And a garden. Which actually hasn't been planted yet, because the person who was supposed to rototill it for us never showed up.

I am currently trying to cut down on the rabbit herd significantly, and redesign the rabbitry. It's a much bigger and more complicated task than I had expected.

My goal was to have it done by the end of this past weekend. I'm not even close. I'm fighting a flare-up and feeling discouraged, exhausted, sore and overwhelmed. But I must get it done as soon as possible.

purple_kangaroo said...

Oh, and pixies--etiquette question. When an acquaintance sends you an e-vite for a party to launch their MLM business, is an RSVP really necessary? Or can I just ignore it with impunity?

emily said...

Happy Birthday Sue!

You go, Sweet Baboo!

Congratulations Jeni!


My whine: Local supermarket is reorganizing! I can't find things *and* they have all sorts of temporary shelving in weird places, making shopping cart navigation a challenge. (Someone actually laughed at me--at least she was gracious enough to apologize.)

I dislike supermarket shopping at the best of times, but the reorganizing makes it a miserable chore.

I can only hope that the new layout is an improvement over the last reorg. (which truly s*cked, but I was used to it.)

Sue said...

Oh emily - I SO understand your grocery store frustration. I really don't like shopping at. all. The fluorescent lighting is murder on my head and the large crowds crank up my anxiety level to a ridiculous level. I hope the reno is done soon at your store.

Whine: Uber Tie-Tie. Honestly, this is THE longest month in history. I'm sure of it. Everything on my desk can technically wait until after my holidays, but I have to be here, so I just sit and stare it. No energy to actually *do* anything just yet, but it's early in the day.

Oh August, where art thou?

Anti-whine: Thanks for all the pixie birthday wishes!

kathy a. said...

Oy, KLee! Part of me thinks the first little dent breaks the car in, so the next one doesn't feel so bad -- but there is no possible silver lining to the windshield cracks of doom...

Esperanza -- yay, Sweet! yay, Mini! bleah on the ouchie. The party's awkward, no? What about surprizing him with a cake after church [so everyone feels included], then something much smaller at home?

Happy belated Birthday, Sue!

CONGRATULATIONS, Jeni!

Good luck with the sale, Sarah!

Hugs to PK -- the rabbitry will get done, step at a time. If you RSVP "no," then the hosts won't bother you again...

Classic supermarket whine, Emily.

Jenevieve said...

I concur with the supermarket whine! I got blessedly used to shopping at the cheesemonger, butcher, fishmonger, etc.(me: I want 'X', them: here you go), so going to supermarkets here has triggered tons of old anxiety about shopping. Boooo!

Days said...

Happy birthday Sue!
Happy hosting Esperanza! Hooray for Sweet Baboo!
Congratulations Jeni!

So sorry to hear about car damages, supermarket re-orgs, and summer time sicknesses.

I am with Sue: this has to be the longest month in the history of time. Can it be over now, please?

AW: Summer camp = best experience of DD2's life, or so she claims. Am so relieved.
AW: Kitten. Adorable. A delight.

kathy a. said...

Oooooh! Baby kitten!!!! Does it have a name yet?

Sue said...

Yes - definitely need kitten name to brighten up this "Month That Never Ends" ~sigh~ Honestly, I want to scream at the calendar "MOVE ALREADY!!!"

Whine: I shouldn't really stay awake at night worrying about my grown son's debt, correct? Weeelllll, I do. He's up to his eyeballs in debt. He has a good job (he makes more than I do for goodness sake) and shouldn't have trouble keeping up with bills and such. He's just always had a champagne-taste for the best of everything. How that happened while he was growing up in our ever-frugal household, I have no idea.

Ack.

We never have to worry about him moving home because there just isn't space for him. I do think, however, that bailing him out financially is going to sting us until he gets his inheritance. He's such a great guy and he's smart about everything else - he just has zero concept that what you put on your charge card has to eventually be PAID.

Pixies - could you give him a gentle clue-sticking? I wouldn't want it to hurt too much - just enough to scare him out of the red and into the black.

kathy a. said...

Sue -- the word you want is NO. Emergency, ok -- credit card debt, NO. ER, yes -- my phone's cut off, NO. You must be firm about this. The bank of mom and dad is closed. I'm perfectly serious about this, and the firmness needed. You all will do better, and he will learn something, if the terms regarding finances feature the word NO very prominantly. He is smart; he will figure it out.

kathy a. said...

But I personally will cluestick him, for asking Mom for help when he makes more than you do. I mean, WTF? He knows better.

esperanza said...

Nothing makes me feel like an old curmudgeon more than a grocery-store rearrangment. Harumph.

Birthday party dilemma has been resolved. Kathy, I favored your solution, but we have instead opted for an all-church Open House. Will call in reinforcements.

kathy a. said...

hey, esperanza -- sending some veg & dip your way, plus cheese & crackers -- no-lose potluck options. ;)

Jenevieve said...

Oh, esperanza, sending some brownies and fruit salad your way! Have fun!

W/AW: I somehow got talked into starting work tomorrow instead of Monday?! Eeeep!

Sue said...

You're right kathy - the word is no. Parenting just never gets easy does it? ~sigh~

No.

No.

No.

Got it. :)

Days said...

Oh, good luck Sue. I have the hardest time saying no, but it is probably for the best in your son's situation. I will lend a cluestick as necessary.

Good luck Jeni for a smooth first day.

The kitten is generally referred to as The Kitten, although we have also been calling her Sprite(my oldest DD's suggestion), Squeakers(mine), Ninja(my son's), Jingle Cat(DD2's) and Sergeant McFluffyboots(the hubster) with some consistency. My youngest just calls her the Meow-Meow. We may just tell the vet that her name is Identity Crisis when we take her in for her first shots next week.

Sue said...

I can't recall the author at the moment, but I read somewhere that a cat has three names:

1. It's scientific name (species, genus..)
2. The goofy name chosen by the humans that are owned by the cat.
3. The name the cat chooses for itself - generally much more dignified than the names in #2.

We think our kitteh has some kind of monarchy, or at least the suggestion of royalty, in the name only she knows. We can tell by the way she rolls her eyes when we call her Truffle. :)

kathy a. said...

Oh, Sue is stylin'! The Naming of Cats, by T.S. Eliot.

kathy a. said...

Days, our pets have multiple names -- the official one for the vet, and all the varied nicknames. And we are sure they have personal names, too, no doubt reflecting their particular strengths.

Sue said...

Ah, of course - T.S. Eliot, how could I forget that??? This aging thing is becoming less appealing all the time. My brain transforms into pudding quite often these days. At least I think it does, I don't remember. Ha.

amy said...

Re: the RSVP issue. Just say no. I know that when I've got an event to plan, I'm fine with people telling me no (unless it's a dear friend who had better call me to tell me why, and really there is only one of those) because it helps me plan. It's the no-responses and the maybes that give me anxiety. So, say no and move on. No big whoop.

Technology Whine: I do most of my internet-ing from my phone these days, but it won't let me log in so I can whine properly. It's frustrating, but I suppose if I have a smartphone, my life is Not That Hard (tm).

KLee said...

Car windshield is fixed, though I do look appropriately trailer-park-y with the blue painter's tape holding it all in place until the adhesive has cured. (Why does this make me think they liken my vehicle to bacon?)

Deductible of $100 saves us from having to foot the entire $335 bill for said new glass.

Crunched bumper remains crunched, though appraiser has been out and cut us and the body shop a $730 check for repairs (yeowch! Boy, I really do it up right, no?) The shop is delaying in order to gather all and sundry parts for the fixing. I take the car in on Monday morning at 9. I am hoping that I won't be without it too long. It's not good when the insurance guys tell you what your daily allowance for a rental is, is it? My poor car. I'm a SUCH a doofus.

Days said...

KLee - $730 is not too bad at all IMHO. DH's best friend owns an autobody shop, so I'd say that's pretty reasonable and shouldn't be a long fix. I crunch a bumper a year on average, but the cost usually ends up being parts plus a case of beer, so I can't complain.

W: Hubby agreed to a work function on Saturday, after we made plans to head to the cottage for a four-day weekend. Promised the kids already but can't take them all by my lonesome.

AW: 16 year old niece will come along to help, if bribed.

W: It's much more difficult to bribe a teenager these days, methinks. Cash bribe + car privileges + evenings off.

AW: She really is a good kid.

W: I was really looking forward to spending the weekend at the cottage with my hubs.

W: Biopsy scheduled for next week. Ick.

kathy a. said...

((( days ))) you know all pixie fingers are crossed about the biopsy, i hope. xoxox

yeah, there is serious inflation in the teen bribery sector of the economy. but methinks a weekend getaway is worth it.

awards in a while... keep whining! this work stuff keeps getting in the way.