A Bead a Day

I had no idea

2012-01-25T21:15:00.001-06:00

THIS makes torturing my cat a little bit easier.

2012-01-24T21:51:00.000-06:00

So crabby old man cat Riley gets thyroid meds in tablet form every day. Actually it's only a quarter of a tablet, twice a day. He also gets an oral stool softener twice a day. I enjoy giving it to him SO much! Not. Now Jake needs the same thyroid meds, same amount, same form. Thank God she doesn't need the stool softener too. I get that stuff on Canada's black market. Don't want to break the law on a greater scale than I already am.

Riley is easy to give meds too. He doesn't like it, that he makes clear. But he knows food will follow so he doesn't fight. Jake on the other hand is like a Pez dispenser. I put that pill in her mouth, her head goes back and out pops the pill again, immediately. It's kind of amazing really that she can do it every. single. time. Brought her back to the vet today and she has only gained 1 oz since November. Obviously more of the meds are ending up in the bathroom rug than down her gullet.

Enter the pill shooter.

I'd never seen one before, much less used one. But tonight I held Jake by the scruff - which for you non-cat people, reduces many cats to kittens responding to their mother holding them that way, they get calm and hold still. Anyway, I held her still by the scruff, stuck the pill shooter (with pill inside) into the side of Jakes mouth and shot it! She looked at me like - what was that?? And then proceeded to eat the food she had been waiting for.

Oh please please PLEASE let this continue to work. You really feel like a failure when an itty bitty kitty defeats you every. single. time.

I need my dignity back.
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Maxine Monday

2012-01-23T05:40:00.000-06:00

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And they call this progress??

2012-01-17T18:29:00.000-06:00

I don't usually copy articles onto my blog but I'm making an exception.

JANUARY 17, 2012 12:00 A.M.

‘Dude, Where’s My Lifeboat?’
In the Italian cruise-ship disaster, another death knell for the age of chivalry.

By Rich Lowry

When they make the movie about the Costa Concordia, the cruise ship that grounded off the coast of Tuscany, there won’t be romantic tales about its captain. Italian authorities immediately arrested him on suspicions of manslaughter and abandoning ship prematurely. He might have been the skipper of the ill-fated vessel in all senses of the word.

A century ago this spring, as the Titanic entered its death throes and all its lifeboats had been launched, Capt. Edward Smith told his crew: “Men, you have done your full duty. You can do no more. Now it’s every man for himself.” One witness recalled seeing him, probably washed overboard, clutching a child in the water as the Titanic disappeared. A member of the crew always believed it was Captain Smith’s voice he heard from the water after the Titanic was gone, urging him and others on: “Good boys! Good lads!”

“Every man for himself” is a phrase associated with the deadly Costa Concordia disaster, but not as a last-minute expedient. It appears to have been the natural order of things. In the words of one newspaper account, “An Australian mother and her young daughter have described being pushed aside by hysterical men as they tried to board lifeboats.” If the men of theTitanic had lived to read such a thing, they would have recoiled in shame. TheTitanic’s crew surely would have thought the hysterics deserved to be shot on sight — and would have volunteered to perform the service.

Women and children were given priority in theory, but not necessarily in practice. The Australian mother said of the scene, “We just couldn’t believe it — especially the men, they were worse than the women.” Another woman passenger agreed, “There were big men, crew members, pushing their way past us to get into the lifeboats.” Yet another, agrandmother, complained, “I was standing by the lifeboats and men, big men, were banging into me and knocking the girls.”

Guys aboard the Costa Concordia apparently made sure the age of chivalry was good and dead by pushing it over and trampling on it in their heedless rush for the exits. The grounded cruise ship has its heroes, of course, just as the Titanic had its cowards. But the discipline of the Titanic’s crew and the self-enforced chivalric ethic that prevailed among its men largely trumped the natural urge toward panicked self-preservation.

Women and children went first, and once the urgency of the situation became clear, breaches weren’t tolerated. The crew fired warning shots to keep men from rushing the lifeboats. In an instance Daniel Allen Butler recounts in his book, “Unsinkable,” a male passenger trying to make it on one lifeboat was rebuffed and then beaten for his offense.

The survivor statistics tell the tale. More women from third class — deep in the bowels of the ship, where it was hard to escape and instructions were vague or nonexistent — survived than men from first class. Almost all of the women from first class (97 percent) and second class (84 percent) made it. As Butler notes, the men from first class who were lost stayed behind voluntarily, true to their Edwardian ideals.

They can look faintly ridiculous from our vantage point. Benjamin Guggenheim changed into his evening clothes that night: “We’ve dressed in our best and are prepared to go down like gentlemen.” Whom would you rather have around your wife or daughter, though, when there is only one slot left on the lifeboat? Old Guggenheim in his white tie and tails, or the contemporary slob in his Bermuda shorts and flip-flops?

The Titanic went down, they say, to the strains of the hymn “Nearer, My God, to Thee,” as the band courageously played on. It lent a final grace note to the tragedy. Today, we don’t do grace notes. We’ve gone from “Women and children, first,” to “Dude, where’s my lifeboat?” As the women of the Costa Concordia can testify, that’s a long way down.

Maxine Monday

2012-01-16T08:48:00.002-06:00

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Cuh-razy! It's official.

2012-01-14T21:40:00.001-06:00

My laptop decided to give up the ghost a week ago, turning itself off for no apparent reason whenever it felt like it. Enter new laptop. It took me a week to transfer what I wanted to the new computer, moved some stuff to an external hard drive, took my time to get it all right.

This morning I pronounced it done. Being the geek I am, I thought I would try a restore on the old laptop which basically brought it back to Vista (shudder) and completely wiped out its memory of having a wireless card. Plugging into my access point was unsuccessful.

Oh well. Worth a try.

Played with the new laptop for a while and then went to do the dishes. When I came back to the living room maybe 15 minutes later - blue. Screen. Of. Death. On the NEW laptop! Rebooting didn't work, recovery disk didn't work - the only thing I can figure is that I am such a horrible user that in seeing what I did to the first laptop - this one killed itself before I could.

The cuh-raziest part? I feel immobilized without my computer. Like since it is not working, neither am I. I don't know what to do with myself. Apparently I need to know there is connectivity available to me - even if I'm not using it. I have to laundry tomorrow. How will I do it now?

Yep. Cuh-razy!

Posted from my iPhone.

Knew it was too good to be true!

2012-01-13T00:42:00.000-06:00

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We've had spring-like temps for the last month, but this is the Chicago area, I knew it couldn't last.

I just hope that getting a late start on winter doesn't mean it's going to end that much later too!

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Blood is next I'm sure.

2012-01-11T10:12:00.003-06:00

There were thousands of people who were given home loans that shouldn't have been. Many were interest only loans, balloon mortgages, many were given to people with no established credit, etc.

I have worked very hard for the last several years making sure my credit is good, have been at the same place of employment for 24 years, have offered up my first born child and still I'm pretty sure that next they are going to want to know the amount and exact placement of the stitches I had with that first child, as well as asking for the CD from my colonoscopy from 5 years ago.

Just sayin'.

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Maxine Monday

2012-01-09T05:21:00.001-06:00

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Can you say 'ANGRY'???

2012-01-05T13:03:00.000-06:00

There is an entire group of business people I wish would just throw themselves into the nearest erupting volcano. They are the weight loss vultures.

Don't you love the commercials that say "don't try our product unless you have more than 30 lbs to lose" as if it will be too strong for someone with a measly 10 lbs to shed? So you know it has to be great stuff! What about the ones where they say "all you women with muffin tops.." oh my gosh, why don't they just pick the thing we're really self conscious about and play on it!?

My favorite? Don't try our product unless you actually need to lose 'body fat'. Um .. okay. What else would I want to lose? Couch fat? Sidewalk fat? Another example of some jerk-a-saurus company implying that their product might be so strong that if you don't really NEEEEEEEED it, you shouldn't use it. Like - it might make you TOOOOO thin! As if any person who has struggled with weight thinks there IS such a thing.

When I hear someone say "if you have __ lbs to lose you may qualify for our free trial .." as if they care how much you have to lose and will evaluate your eligibility, I want to vomit on my shoes. On THEIR shoes. Puh-lease!

And what about the images? Women go from morbidly obese to slim and sexy (God forbid we forget the 'sexy' implication) with a 6 pack just by taking the pills, drinking the potion, whatever it happens to be. Cause you know, all those people who have 6 packs now - haven't worked really hard to get them at all!

Oh and don't forget the speed all these products work with. Overnight you will see the weight just falling off!

Unfortunately the weight loss industry is so huge simply because there are so many of us out here that are vulnerable to finding that key that's going to work for us. But if any of those pills and powders worked it would be the breakthrough of the century and would be touted by every health care professional in the world so it would be really nice if the people pushing all the crap out there would just stop.

Too bad they aren't nice.

Self diagnose with Pooh!

2012-01-03T23:16:00.004-06:00

Maxine Monday

2012-01-02T03:36:00.000-06:00

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A for entertainment value (It's NOT a Penis!)

2011-12-29T21:49:00.001-06:00

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Went to the doctor tonight, got weighed - actually gained about 4 lbs. Did not surprise me in the least. A nurse put me in a room to wait for Dr. Cute where I would have my fill done in a few minutes. There was a fluoroscope in the room. Basically it's an x-ray where you stand in front of this metal disk and the thing in front of you takes pictures while you watch your innards on the screen.

Waiting is not my favorite activity but I spent the 15 minutes or so alone in that room giggling like a jr high student. Because this was the image left on the screen from the previous patient.

Um, yeah. I know, right? When the doc came in I showed it to him and asked what it was. He obviously did not want to acknowledge what it looked like and proceeded to show me where it was actually a woman's stomach pouch and part of her breast and .. then he had to smile and admit he could see why I would think it was something else. Picture me laughing now. When he realized I thought it was extremely funny like any teenage boy would, he went and got the nurse and the receptionist telling them he needed them to help him with something. The funniest thing was the 2 of them looking at the screen and tilting their heads and not saying a word as if they were trying to make sense of some piece of modern art. Finally Dr. Cute says "It looks like a penis!" And those 2 women still weren't sure if they should laugh. Me? Tears. The doctor? Laughing too. And I am still not convinced that really is some woman's stomach pouch. No matter how I look at it I can't see that. Because below - this is my stomach. Looks quite different, doesn't it?

Click to see it bigger

Enjoy. :) :) :)

So this surgery thing ...

2011-12-28T23:09:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow I go back to see my surgeon, for the 3rd time since my surgery in August. Lap Band surgery. Right from the get-go after my operation I discovered that I could still eat anything I wanted. I spoke to a girl at work with a band who said she hasn't eaten steak in 2 years. I was able to eat it in my 2nd week. And when you don't feel that restriction - it's like just trying to diet the way you would normally - which I have proved I am no good at. Awkward sentence structure anyone? Anyway.

The doctor reassured me and told me everyone is different. Some people only require the band itself - that puts enough restriction on their stomach to make them cut way back on what they eat and how much. Other people require 1 fill, or 2 or more - where they fill the reservoir around the band with saline to make it tighter. I have had 2 fills so far. I can still eat a whole sandwich, I can eat chewy meat and taffy. Not together of course. The only time I have had any real trouble was one day at work when I ate a hard boiled egg and must not have been paying attention and didn't chew it as well as I should have or eaten it slowly enough. Next thing I knew I was nauseated and was sitting at my desk with my garbage can in my lap, waiting to throw up. But it passed pretty quickly and that has not happened again.

A couple bites of dry toast got a little stuck once, but then it passed and I was able to continue on and eat what I wanted. I don't even get too full very quickly.

As happy as I have been in other aspects of my life, this is my one disappointment lately. I admit I did not even attempt to eat well over the holidays, and I can tell in my energy level I've had too much sugar and in my waistband that I have eaten too much of the wrong things.

We will see what the doctor says tomorrow. He told me last time that he knows people who are overweight always feel like they are failing - and he doesn't want me to feel that I am failing with this. He said if I fail - that means he fails too. At least he's supportive and isn't going to beat me up. Obviously he is used to working with people who are really good at beating themselves up. He knows not to add to it.

We will see. Just one more challenge I guess, one more fight to win.

But tomorrow I need the doc to explain to me (don't know why I didn't think of this before surgery!!) why this isn't the same as a cow having more than one stomach! Look at the illustration. I eat and the top stomach gets a bit full, but since I take small bites and chew really well it passes down into the second stomach and I can just keep going. Right? No? Well he's going to need to tell me why that isn't true.

Because really, when you feel a bit cow-ish to begin with, you don't want to resemble one gastronomically too!

MOO-O-O-O!!!!

Oh. That rhymes. I didn't mean to do that. Really.

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Trying to enjoy the process

2011-12-27T22:21:00.000-06:00

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Y'know this house stuff is all so complicated. There are appraisals and applications and disclosures and Realtors and loan officers and attorneys and inspectors and contractors and sellers and .. and .. I'm sure there are more. I've come to really like my loan officer and my realtor, they are both great people and tons of fun. I know, not something usually associated with those positions, but I tend to break the ice right off the bat because if it's not going to be at least a little bit fun, I don't wanna do it. And oh boy some of this can be tedious.

If I look at my lady (my GPS - doesn't everyone call it their lady?) there are an incredible amount of addresses. Being the queen of online shopping I was finding properties faster than most - and emailing my realtor and asking to see the listing, why is this one so cheap, why is this one so something else ... to the point that if I were him - I might have gotten exasperated and started avoiding my emails! Instead he laughed and showed me what I wanted to see, gave me the information I requested. Great guy!

At this point I feel like when you're 2 weeks pregnant and don't want to tell anyone anything because you aren't sure what might happen before everything is certain. But things are moving along.

I've made some new friends during this process, and saw an old one too - all in all it's been a great experience so far.

Now lets just hope the pregnancy goes full term. I'll let you know when it looks like it might.

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I wish you joy!

2011-12-25T02:30:00.005-06:00

Feeling it.

2011-12-21T23:14:00.002-06:00

Many times in my life my happiness hinged on whether I was in a relationship and if I was - whether it was working or not. You always hear that you have to love yourself before you can truly love someone else, you have to wade through your own garbage before you can share it with someone else. Er.. or something like that. But none of the knowledge stored in my noggin made a damn bit of difference when it came to what I felt in my heart. And my heart always seemed to be breaking.

Fast forward several years and I have trouble reaching deep and touching those emotions again. They are remembered but they are no longer felt.

I do not believe I will ever be willing to marry again. I have a feeling my relationships will always be a bit at arm's length. Yet knowing these things I still find myself being content and satisfied with myself. At peace even. My kids are great and I am making moves in my life I never imagined doing on my own.

It seems this is the season for realizing that life is good. Pretty sure I've never felt it as much as I do now, and it feels amazing.

52 has been a very good year.

Maxine Monday

2011-12-19T05:47:00.001-06:00

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They laugh!

2011-12-18T11:02:00.001-06:00

.. when I say I'm properly medicated now. And I do say it as a joke. But when I think back to the years between oh ... 20 and 40 with some teen years thrown in for good measure, I was depressed. More depressed than I knew. And at 35 when I started to pursue treatment for it .. it took me YEARS to find the right meds. And now - it has made such a difference in my life from confidence to anxiety (or lack of) to happiness and coping skills I have been heard to say the only way you will get these meds away from me is someday prying them out of my cold dead hands. I never want to go back there again.

So when I say yep - I'm properly medicated now and they laugh - I'm laughing right along with them. That's something I may not have been able to do once upon a time.

And I am grateful.
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Wanted:

2011-12-17T22:44:00.002-06:00

This. I really want this coffee table. But since it generally runs about $450.00 - over $500.00 with shipping, it's not going to be mine.

But this one - is made from pallets. You have to know which pallets to pick, what they've been used for and which ones are made from treated wood and which are not. But pallets are cheap - or free - if you know where to go.

Which brings me to -

WANTED: ONE MAN (or woman) IN THE NW SUBURBS OF CHICAGO WHO CAN BUILD ONE FOR ME.

Eh? You think I'll find someone? Cause I really like that table. If I had the proper tools and knew where to look for pallets I might try it myself.

I float like a butterfly .. okay maybe not.

2011-12-16T22:13:00.001-06:00

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My middle name is not Grace. There have been falls. Sometimes there has been ice involved, or curbs or stoops or even .. ahem .. flat ground. Sometimes the surface itself is not even involved in the fall - until I hit it, that is. Cats under my feet do not usually get me, although they try, God knows they do. But that thing where you move from one spot to another by putting one foot in front of the other - that tends to be tricky for me. I have no idea why.

My daughter mentioned the other day that she shudders to think of me buying a house that has stairs I would be treading every day. Hmm. My thought has always been - good! Exercise! Her thought is - oh no! Death trap!

Somehow those thoughts have not entered my mind when house-hunting. Maybe they should.

Nah! I'll let my daughter have the thoughts and I'll just be careful. :)

**Edited to add: My realtor let me know he was not available on a specific date because he was taking a class. Since I want to know everything I asked what he was learning. His answer proves that my unsteady footing is well known.

To deal with clients
Like how to break a clients fall
Normal stuff

Ahem.

Is this kitchen okay?

2011-12-14T21:57:00.003-06:00

It's not really big, but it's pretty, right?

Finally.

2011-12-13T21:21:00.001-06:00

Sitting in a coffee shop this evening with some time to kill, waiting for my friend to arrive I spent about a half hour reading my Post Secret app. If you're familiar with Post Secret, the app is different. Instead of just secrets there are a lot posts about longing for love, lost love, bad love, and any other kind of love you can imagine. There are also a lot of 'days sober' and disturbingly - many 'I don't want to live anymore' posts.

Being a moody and depressed teen (and adult, for that matter!) myself at one time, I had to look around and say - damn! I'm pretty doggone happy with things these days.

Really. Thank God.

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Maxine Monday

2011-12-12T05:23:00.000-06:00

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**Family - please remember Maxine does not necessarily speak for me.

Thank you.

I cannot believe this is in my freezer!

2011-12-10T21:10:00.000-06:00

It was funny on Saturday Night Live. But I haven't had any desire to try this. My daughter has, and this pint belongs to my son. It defies logic.

Christmas is my holiday

2011-12-08T23:14:00.000-06:00

Not like it doesn't belong to anyone else. In the way that it has always been my favorite and I love, Love, LOVE my Christmas tree every year. Except this year .. I just didn't quite feel like it. Maybe because of the house hunting, I feel like I'm halfway out the door already, not sure. But the idea of putting up my big, full, detailed, did I mention BIG tree this year was just not appealing. So I bought myself a 40 dollar skinny tree (pre-lit) and decorated it in pastels with a few splashes of red. This suits me for Christmas, 2011. Hopefully next year, this will be only one of two trees in my new house!

Hope you're enjoying the run-up to Christmas!

Maxine Monday

2011-12-05T05:11:00.003-06:00

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Who is next?

2011-11-29T19:42:00.002-06:00

Jakie with her feeding tube

Usually I write about Riley, my crabby ol' man cat. He's old, he's crabby, and he has a thyroid condition. But he's not who I wanted to write about today. Today - it's Jake. Jake is a girl. She's the kitty that has always been the favorite because she is so sweet and friendly. She will climb on anybodies lap, and tends to gravitate to people who don't like cats or do not want contact with cat hair. She's nice like that.

Back in 2006 Jakie developed hepatic lipidemia. Lipidosis. Something like that. She stopped eating and drinking and we finally had to resort to a feeding tube to get her to eat again. Not too long after the feeding tube was removed, she went right back to her full figured self again and all was well.

Yesterday after being
manhandled by the vet.

Recently my daughter pointed out to me how tiny Jake was looking. Me - huh? What are you talking about? Well when you see them every day .. and when you use rationals like - well she's getting old, she's shrinking - you just don't realize what's happening. And I knew she was eating - I have made sure of it ever since her episode of anorexia.

Took her to the vet yesterday, Jakie weighed 11 lbs last time she was there, now she is only 6 lbs. I am such a BAD fur-mommy!!! Got the results of her blood tests today, turns out she too has a thyroid disorder. Actually pretty common in older cats. Sheesh. And actually, that's the good news because I was worried it was diabetes which is much more complicated to treat in a cat.

The doc is calling in a prescription for Jake, I gave her one of Riley's pills tonight and will pick up her script tomorrow. Hopefully she will gain some weight and be her old Jakie self again, and just maybe I will start paying closer attention to my kitties. BAD FUR-MOMMY!!!
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Maxine Monday

2011-11-28T05:29:00.000-06:00

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House selling tip #2

2011-11-27T15:13:00.001-06:00

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If you want to sell your house, especially in this market when the odds are in the buyers favor, GET OUT OF YOUR HOUSE when someone wants to see it!!

Many of the homes I've looked at have been unoccupied, no furniture, nothing. And some have people still living in them, but no one was there when we went through. But then there are those houses where the owner just insists on being there.

Let me tell you it's awfully uncomfortable looking at someones home with them right there. You don't open closets, don't comment on the floors or cabinets you hate, you wonder about things you are not comfortable enough to ask about or look at with the owners there. Good manners tells you to take your shoes off (a good idea anyway) and to tell someone what a lovely home they have. But that is not what you are there for. You are there to evaluate the home by your own standards, which may mean talking out loud about what changes you would want or need to make whether it is paint colors to removing walls or ripping out some of the homeowners hand picked light fixtures. Not easy to do when the people who picked those light fixtures are within earshot.

There is one home, a cute cape cod that I have been wanting to see. We have asked 3 times and each time the owner would have to be there. After seeing 2 other homes with people in them, I am not willing to do it again. FINALLY I have a couple of days off and the owner has agreed to be home to let us in (no lock boxes for her!) and then she will leave - at noon on Tuesday.

I do not know if she always wants to be there because she thinks we will steal her blind or what, but to me it feels like she really doesn't want to sell her house. Still ... it's on the market and I finally have a chance to see it! Bad side though, trying to see it so many times - I'm bound to be disappointed by what it actually is - but we will see. At least I actually get to go inside! SHEESH!!

So the actual tip is - if you want to sell your house - don't make people BEG TO SEE IT!
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During the best of times ..

2011-11-24T05:03:00.001-06:00

... and the worst of times

There is always something to be thankful for.

Maxine Monday

2011-11-21T05:40:00.000-06:00

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Br-r-r-r-rrrrrr!!!!!

2011-11-19T01:20:00.000-06:00

If you're selling your house and have moved out, please leave the heat on. You don't have to leave it on 70 degrees but can you at least leave it in the 60's? I mean .. unless you don't want to sell your house.

I cannot speak for anyone else but for me, it's hard for me to picture myself making a home out of an empty house when I AM FREEZING MY TOOKUS OFF while seeing it!!!

Just sayin'.

Good enough

2011-11-16T22:20:00.000-06:00

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When I was married, the money was handled by my husband. I was so conscious about saving money, I never shopped or bought so much as a diaper without asking him first. He went out and bought himself $800.00 suits (in the early 80's) but I wouldn't even buy myself new socks without running it by him. We had children, I grew up in a house, I wanted my children to grow up in a house.

For a period of about a year or maybe it was 2, we lived in a one bedroom apartment. Our queen sized bed and a mattress on the floor for the kids along with 3 dressers were all crammed into one bedroom. But to me - we were saving money for a house.

When we bought the house, it wasn't long before I found out my marriage was irretrievably broken, not even worth going to counseling (according to him) and I could not keep my house for long after that. It was a few years in total, but I had to sell it or I would have lost it.

Since then my living arrangements, furniture, everything has been "good enough". Not "good", but "good enough". My $50.00 thrift store couch has lasted me for a number of years. My car is 10 years old, the house I live in was not one I liked when I moved in but it was again, good enough.

The guy I was dating for many years after my divorce would fix things or build things for me but it was always with that "good enough" attitude, not necessarily good, but good enough. It was what I was accustomed to. Good enough, and not expecting more.

It's only been in the last year or so that I've started to get fed up with "good enough". I have worked very hard for a long time, why can't I have "good"? If I have worked for it, if I am supporting myself and can afford it, why do I still feel guilty about wanting "good" now??

This is making finding a house very difficult. (well, that and the fact that I am CRAZY!!!!)

Just sayin'.

Maxine Monday

2011-11-14T05:26:00.000-06:00

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Best things I've purchased on Etsy lately.

2011-11-12T20:39:00.000-06:00

This magnet. I made my own magnet for the dishwasher but it wasn't nice and sturdy and was getting ratty and ready to toss. This new one SO fit the bill.

Click the pic for the shop

This purse organizer. I am always on the hunt for the perfect purse but it's mostly the inside, not the outside that fails me. They all become a black hole for my stuff which I manage to rummage through and flip everything around so nothing is available at a glance. Hoping an organizer will address my real issue with purses.

Click the pic for the shop

These beads. Crackle agate, aren't they pretty?

Click the pic for the shop

I didn't buy this bracelet on Etsy, but it is what I made with the beads above - and am selling on Etsy.

Click the pic for the shop

I never get bored searching Etsy. The creativity of people never ceases to amaze me!

Sign me up!

2011-11-07T22:23:00.000-06:00

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Spent most of Saturday running from one house to a townhouse to another townhouse to .. and in the middle of it and far from home the lady in my car who gives me directions decided to think a USB was plugged into her and would only wait for further instructions from a computer. Nice.

Almost put an offer on a townhouse that was really nice, until the trek home took over a half hour and 2 tolls and I decided I didn't want to live in **Egypt. It was really nice, though, backed up to woods with a deck upstairs and walkout patio below. Nice. But .. Egypt, remember.

Today was Riley's drinking day, getting out of work on time was difficult as it was and then after feeding the crabby old man cat I managed to corner him and get him in his carrier for the drive to the vet. The drive ... the drive apparently required keys. Funny, that. Keys! Who would have thought?

You know how you're supposed to retrace your steps to figure out where you left something or even what you were thinking earlier? Yeah. Heh heh. I released Riley from the carrier while on the phone with the vet, talking over the lady's hysterical laughter when telling her why we couldn't make it. She said we still had some time if the keys showed up so when I hung up the phone I tried one more time.

Retrieving a fresh garbage bag to start transferring garbage from the half full can one piece at a time to the bag - hoping to find my keys - which you know would be at the bottom because they weigh more than paper towels and paper plates. But for some reason I stopped before actually digging into my garbage treasure trove and went over to the counter where my mountain o' mail resides.

Well I'll be! Of course! The kitchen junk drawer! Who DOESN'T keep their keys there!??

Mind you, I had only been home for about 20 minutes, and 18 of those minutes were spent looking in the pantry, the refrigerator, bathroom, bedroom, between the cushions on the couch, under the telephone table and chair by the door, in the Halloween candy, outside in my car ... in the cat carrier once I freed Riley, in the utility room .. but of course. The junk drawer!

Why didn't I think of that??? I guess I did. Ahem.

Is there a support group for losing your mind?

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Maxine Monday

2011-11-07T05:37:00.001-06:00

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C'est la vie!

2011-11-01T22:43:00.002-05:00

Whatever will be, will be .. oh wait. That's que sera, sera .. they both mean the same thing anyway. Basically. So no, I did not get the townhouse. There was already a contract on it and well .. it's time to look elsewhere. They say things happen for a reason right? I mean - it's not like I cook or anything, why do I need a perfect kitchen??

Anyway, onward and upward. Something else will come along.

Overheard .. (is that one word or two?) ..

2011-10-31T22:44:00.000-05:00

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.. at a Mexican restaurant with my kids. A couple entered after us that could only be described as elderly. They sat in the booth next to ours. At some point my son started making faces .. and we got quiet trying to figure out if he was having a seizure or playing a word game or .. just being Andy I guess. And then we heard the woman at the other table say "Yes, and anything you want to kill .. they have it there for you."

Um-m-m .....

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Maxine Monday

2011-10-31T05:43:00.000-05:00

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Amazing days ..

2011-10-28T20:51:00.000-05:00

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It's been over 15 years since my divorce was final. It's been just about 15 years since I had to sell my house so I would not lose it, and embarked on an adulthood of continuous renting. There have been many days when I thought I would never be able to ever own my own home again.

Tonight I went and looked at 2 townhouses. The first one was all redone - new floors, new paint, new kitchen, new appliances, upstairs, downstairs, full basement, 2 and a half baths ..

Is it wrong that I may put an offer on the very 1st one I looked at? It's beautiful!

But oh my - scary!

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Maxine Monday

2011-10-24T05:15:00.001-05:00

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Suddenly cardboard.

2011-10-23T11:45:00.000-05:00

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Recently there has been a new development in my makeup routine. There is a small area of skin on my face that has succumbed to a combination of (probably) age, sleeping position, and sleep apnea mask to form ridges. Yes, I said ridges. It's only a small area but it has become an issue because the end of my right eye brow runs into it, and I have to draw that part on. Have you ever tried to write on corrugated cardboard?

Yeah. My new challenge. Welcome to MY life.

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Shopping in the Husky section.

2011-10-17T20:00:00.001-05:00

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Most MOBs (mother(s) of the bride) go out and get their dress as far ahead of time as the bride, sometimes with as many fittings too. But say the MOB was having surgery and just had NO idea what size she would be on that very special day. Well she would have to wait until much closer to the wedding.

The end.

was considered

Okay, a very abbreviated version of the story - about 2 weeks before the wedding I went shopping with my daughter. Plus size shopping is a demeaning experience to begin with because there just isn't the selection you might see in 'regular' sizes.

I tried on a few dresses, we went several places, drove hither and yon and did not find anything. So I went to my laptop and started to search. 4 dresses, 3 pairs of shoes, 1 purse and expedited shipping later, I was almost confident.

Except the first dress was too big and I didn't really like it. The second dress was too big and I really didn't like it. The 3rd and 4th dresses were both too small and of course I loved them. But altering smaller to bigger? Uh.. no.

So one more dress - Macy's - online - expedited shipping ... got here on time. It fit beautifully and I loved it. But it was the wrong color. My daughter had some colors that were going to be acceptable and some that were not. This was a not. (Didn't help that I refused to do sleeveless!) A few calls were made, some tears were very nearly shed .. the replacement dress came 2 days before the wedding.

Still the wrong color.

So the day before the wedding I went out by myself, found a dress and shoes and the wedding was lovely.

The end. (Abbreviation is not within my skill-set obviously.)

**Still working on the return shipping.

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Maxine Monday

2011-10-17T05:02:00.000-05:00

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Three things.

2011-10-11T20:40:00.000-05:00

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1) I need to do better with exercise.

2) I need to pay more attention to my jewelry.

3) I .. I .. forget.

There were three things I was thinking about today that I was resolving to do.

There were three things in my mind when I left work today. How can I resolve to DO something when I cannot even form the thought into a resolution before I forget it? Gah!

Really??!!

Um .. to be continued. I guess.

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Maxine Monday

2011-10-10T05:46:00.001-05:00

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And sometimes ..

2011-10-06T19:49:00.001-05:00

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.. you just feel special!

Don't turn your back for a minute!

2011-10-03T20:32:00.000-05:00

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So what is it that happens when you turn your back? When you think you're paying attention, being mindful, and alert?
THEY GROW UP!!!!! And next thing you know you are standing by their side giving your blessing, love, and support at their wedding.

I got to walk my daughter down the aisle so-to-speak, what a privilege and joy! I have no pictures of that yet, but I do have some that I took during the evening and would love to share.

Point a camera at Dani - she makes a face! I wonder how many pics turned out like this!

But she can whip out that smile when she wants to.

Adorable pic of the brides part of the bridal party - Dani, Kristine, Liz, and Vince!

Fun was had!

Affection was expressed

Talents were exhibited

And there was this, the reason for it all.

A wonderful start to a wonderful life!

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Maxine Monday

2011-10-03T05:19:00.001-05:00

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Fun!

2011-10-02T16:28:00.001-05:00

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A small slice ..

Bride & Groom - Dani & Dan
Bride & Mother of the Bride - Dani & Me
Member of the bridal party & 21 year old photo booth attendant - Kristine & "Photobooth Guy"
Mother of the Groom & Mother of the Bride - Sharon & Me

More later ~
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Today is the day!

2011-10-01T04:00:00.000-05:00

I like to be of service to the public

2011-09-28T21:38:00.000-05:00

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If you have this vacuum cleaner ...

Do not get anywhere near cords for blinds, curtains or draperies. And if using the hand tool, do not use anywhere near ping pong balls.

And I really, really mean it.

You're welcome.

Yesterday it was 90 degrees - wasn't it?

2011-09-27T11:55:00.000-05:00

Chicago is a city of extremes. Not sure I've ever seen us move gently from one season to the next and more often than not we speed wildly from cold to hot to monsoon to draught with nothing in-between. This year looks to be no different.

Guess I wouldn't know what to do if we had a warning when the season was going to change. Oh - the calendar? *Snort!* Doesn't mean a thing around here.

Maxine Monday

2011-09-26T04:16:00.001-05:00

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Good to know!

2011-09-22T18:58:00.000-05:00

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The driver's side window controls in my car. Yours may be similar.

FYI - when that top button is depressed in the wrong direction - you do not have to take your car in to have the problem with your windows looked at.

You're welcome.

Posted with permission

2011-09-20T22:55:00.000-05:00

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The bouquet, completed this evening.

Perfect for a fall wedding. It's coming up soon!

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Maxine Monday

2011-09-19T05:34:00.001-05:00

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Eat, walk, shower.

2011-09-16T21:57:00.001-05:00

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So let's see .. had surgery, had to go back to the hospital, consumed massive amounts of antibiotics, went back to work and discovered - I can eat any doggone thing I want. Smaller quantities - but nothing has given me a problem. Good news? In some respects but right now I have not had my band filled so do not have as much restriction as someone who has. And if it were uncomfortable to eat certain foods there would be more restriction that way. Waiting for my first fill is frustrating but I understand they are waiting a bit because of the infection. It's gone, but they would have to put a needle right into the spot where the skin was infected and they don't want to take any chances. So, weight has been lost but it's slow going right now. That's okay, healing has gone well and I feel almost totally normal except for the button under my skin. But I am finding that feeling normal means I also have the impulses to eat normally. That means badly. It's a good thing that whatever I do eat - I can only eat about half as much as I used to.

So ... I've been walking. There is a bike path behind the building I work in so at lunch you can find me out there walking and getting inappropriately sweaty in my work clothes. Who am I kidding? Jeans, top, and gym shoes. Work clothes, ha! It's a nice path though, pretty, and only one bike has passed me so far. It's also nice to take that break in the middle of the day to get outside and clear your head while enjoying the scenery and wildlife. Birds, squirrels, geese .. and today a bonus - clouds of gnats! It's been educational too, I now know what a hedgeapple is and if I had a large rural property - I could see planting those dense trees as a wind break or to keep my cows in. Or goats. Or dogs? Whatever. More likely a husband if I had one. I could never afford a large property on my own.

Last weekend I had the joy of being mother of the bride - at Dani's wedding shower. What fun! It's been my experience that you go to these things and you open gifts from people you don't know because your future mother-in-law invited everyone she knew - and the gifts are nothing you wanted or registered for because your future MIL told everyone not to buy you that stuff because it was frivolous and what you really needed was every day stuff and your favorite color is blue even though you very specifically told her you didn't want blue in kitchen stuff.

Wait - that was MY shower. Ahem.

Dani's shower was quite different. It was a smallish group and there was no one there Dani had not wanted there herself. It was a book themed shower, and there were book related games as well as a hysterical multiple choice question game about how well you knew Dani - I won! :) Being her mother was not considered cheating. It sounds cheesy but we were not supposed to say certain words - Dani, Dan, marriage, wedding and something else .. or you would lose your paperclip. If someone said one of those words and you called them on it - you got to take their paperclip. I did discover that Dani's future MIL and I were particularly vicious in pursuit of those paperclips - must be something about getting jaded as you get older - we didn't care who we had to call out - we just wanted to WIN!

It was actually fun, we laughed the whole afternoon as well as ate wonderful food made by Dawn, Dani's friend who did a great job with the whole thing. One thing I particularly liked that was very sweet, was the tree Dawn made for Dani. When guests arrived they pressed their thumb into a green ink pad and put their thumb print onto a picture of a tree - each thumb print becoming a leaf where the person would then sign their name. Of course I tried to write MOM - but since I never actually write anymore - I wrote Mom with only enough humps to be an N instead of an M at the end, and when I tried to correct it - it came out looking like Mona.

Oh well. Dani will always know who Mona is. Dawn framed the picture and gave it to Dani at the end of the shower. So sweet!

Oh - and in case you were wondering - Sharon (future MIL) won the paperclip game. :)

Next post? The adventures of a MOB who puts off buying a dress because she doesn't know what size she will be when she attends the wedding, and then tries to find a nice plus sized dress for the occasion - in a hurry. (switch to voice dripping with sarcasm..) Now THAT was fun.

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Maxine Monday

2011-09-12T05:14:00.001-05:00

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