Randomly tardy (again)

I always tell my kids to get their homework done ahead of time, especially if I know we have a busy evening nestled into our normally relaxed routine. However, I cannot seem to get in the habit of getting my blog posts ready in advance when I know my chauffeur and other glamorous duties will keep my fanny from hitting the couch until dangerously close to my bedtime. I am going to aim for quality here, as opposed to quantity of, random thoughts. (That is in no way to suggest that my typical showdown of topics and photos is anything but fabulous.) This may be brief (because I am too preoccupied to think about anything else), but I think your lives will be more complete...

I received this sign the other day while I was clipping coupons (you know, coupons that I never intend to actually use, but a very good exercise to keep my scissor skills up to par)...a sign that everything is going to be okay...

Monkey production is back with TuTu Cute, indeed! Just when I thought all of the creepy monkey opportunities had passed me by, just when I thought such collectibles were well past my price range. She is fully poseable! I can have a 365-day guarantee. This gives me ample time to spend quality time, take numerous photos (perhaps our family Christmas shot, as suggested by my daughter) before deeming her too fancy for our home. If she gets to be too much of a handful, (or more likely, I am unable to be a functional member of society due to my obsession with the adorableness of it all) I can just send her back. 

Do you see that sneak peek in the bottom left corner? DO YOU SEE IT?! I cannot stand the suspense of not knowing just how many of these touched by awesome creatures are in the collection. Is TuTu just a gateway monkey, sold at a reasonable price, to get me hooked? I know it says each on is only $29.95, but what if there are 100 of them?! (Seriously, what if there are even ten?)

**Please note: Anybody who happens to be new to my blog, please see here for my past simian findings. Also, please note that I do not wish to own any of them, (but see what I do own here).

Stop by Stacy's and bring her some snow, if you have any to spare!

 

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 46

I have previously mentioned how I tend to enjoy getting caught up in toy quests. I had been stalking the red bullseye for a couple of weeks looking for the series 9 lego minifigures. We had checked out the group online and agreed that there were some very fine offerings. (My daughter was not overly enthused with series 8.) Last week I finally broke down and clomped thru the doors of Toys R Us (shudder). Lo and behold! This made me happy!

I scoped out my work station and got straight to business. I usually start by feeling around in the packages to make sure that I have no duplicates, but then I start to get choosy and curious. For those of you who need my crash course in securing desired mystery lego minifigures, here it is: You know you are going to purchase at least one, so open the package and take out the little direction sheet that shows all of the available figures, as well as their accessories. This makes it much easier to figure out what you are trying to feel for. Oops, did a little bit of my nerd slip out there? Sorry.

I was so happy that I sent a text to my son, who I knew was having lunch in between midterm exams (just so you don't think I actually interrupted a class).

His response made me happy!

Uh oh, I feel a bit more geek rising to the surface as I responded...

(Seriously what valuable information could I remember if Star Wars Lego set numbers were not clouding my brain?) Anyway, just to confirm...

My quest made me happy. The fact that I got to be, in some very small way, a hero that afternoon made me happy. This mermaid made my daughter, and me, happy!

This excursion was followed by lunch with two lovely friends that also made me happy. I had a delicious salad that took up residence in my teeth...luckily, no photos there!

It is kind of SAD

Maybe, just MAYBE,  one of the items on my "problem list" that was printed on my paperwork from last week's doctor appointment for a sinus infection, is the culprit to my recent couch and chocolate addiction? I don't think the five day z-pac is intended for such an extravaganza. I took this quick photo with my phone, as I was unaware that they were going to let me actually leave with this bit of fabulousness to put on my refrigerator, you know, right next to the report cards. As far as other things I was unaware of? Items 1, 2, 5 and 6. (Item 3 is debatable.)

I do recall making a doctor's appointment, almost three years ago, because I felt like I was coming unhinged. It wasn't a "how can I get out of bed and why is there no joy" kind of thing, but more of a holycowmyworldfeelsinsaneistheresomepossiblewaytoslowthismessdown?! kind of thing. Okay, so I guess I will own the "Anxiety State Unspec". The nurse that day seemed very on board and understanding of my plight as I explained all of the stressors in my world at the time, and my inability to prioritize or differentiate between an actual issue needing attention and falling apart because we were out of bread. When my doctor came in, he decided to focus on my marriage, its healthiness in terms of a regular sex life (do I need to say the doctor was a male?) and he told me what book I needed to read to fix my marriage. The nurse tried to interject some of the items she apparently listened to me say. I know sometimes you have to fix home first, but believe me when I say I had other mighty things on my list that day.

Let me interrupt myself here to say that I do believe in things like depression and anxiety disorders, and take them seriously. I would not laugh or judge a person who is struggling and trying to heal. But this? This list up here? I cannot take myself that seriously. I hope if any of you truly have symptoms associated with these mental health diagnoses, you get better care and advice than reading a book and getting your groove back on, plus a paper bag of anti-depressants that would've kicked in after about two weeks or so.

Apparently the "allergic rhinitis" that brings me in every six months or so is not important, or relevant, enough to make it to my problem list. It is also not warranted that I am asked how I am doing with this plethora of issues that I allegedly had one day. Nobody is concerned that I am not taking any medications. I didn't give them much of a chance (as in I took one) before deciding to try some exercise and healthier food (read: dark chocolate). They are not concerned that seeing all of these items in print might make me anxious or unable to adjust. Where else should my depressive disorder be specified, and how the hell have I gotten out of bed for the past three years?

Does it matter that I feel like the world is completely off kilter every February, or so? (Hot damn, it's coming right around the corner!) I don't mind the cold or the snow, but once that dreary rain hits...yikes! Gray slush? Gads! It's like a cyclical thing, like oh, let's say the Seasons. As if they Affect me somehow, like in a Disorder kind of way.

So anyway, now I feel an Elaine Benes-like need to swipe my medical chart! I would like a fresh start. Oh and by the way, at first glance I figured the plantar fascia thing was a throwback to the plantars warts I had frozen off my feet over eight years ago (again, very relevant and worth having displayed at every visit). Just for kicks, I decided to ask my friend google, and I felt a little uneasy about what I found. That diagnosis with the fibromatosis seems like something I would have noticed, or a physician might have mentioned...out loud! Nodules in the arch of my feet that make walking painful? No thank you, and how did I not notice. (And why hasn't anybody checked back in with that?)

I don't know why this whole thing amuses me to the point where I felt compelled to share it with all of you. Maybe laughter is the best medicine for whatever it is that I have. And chocolate, lots and lots of chocolate! I suppose exercise wouldn't necessarily hurt, but it certainly could.

Winterandom

Winter is back, and wants us to know it. It is fifteen degrees out with a windchill of -2. Bring it on, but just don't make me stay outside very long. Putting gas in the car was an appropriate amount of time to spend enjoying the briskness of it all. The lake effect snow bands are putting on a true show of their randomness. Case in point: Yesterday I had about six inches of snow at my house, my friend four miles (northwest) away had eighteen inches, and my mother who is about six miles southwest of us had absolutely nothing. After I gave my mom the word, she headed over for some cross-country skiing...

Proof that I left my couch.

My back hurts from the shoveling I did yesterday, after the wheel fell off the snowblower...again! (If you don't know anything about our snowblower, and would like to, click here.)  Yet, I still loves me some winter weather! Crap, I think I have to shovel the sidewalk again...Where are my minions!? Eyes on the prize, eyes on the prize...HOT CHOCOLATE! Pffft, this was calling me in a much louder voice (as you can see), and I didn't even have to put on a coat to enjoy it!

 The husband just sent me this photo...

I know I am not the only one of us here who loves it! (Tina? You there?) I went off to search for who gets credit for such a cool pic and found this link to more awesomeness by Kristina Alexanderson.

I ordered this adorable water bottle for my son for Christmas...

Apparently my being a Lego fan prompted that company to think I would be a prime candidate for these Valentine items, as they sent me this card today...

I am going to leave the commenting to the fireman's wife on this one. Walshie?

Thank you for your kind words (that were not at all like cough drop pep talks) when I was feeling under the weather. I think there is a name for this residual haze that I have going on...what is it? Oh, that's right...LAZY! 

And thank you to Stacy for giving us a place to put our random every week!

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 45

After yet another string of pep talks from my cough drops...

Seriously, I still think these are ridiculous!

...I was able to quit my whining and venture off in search of happiness. Luckily I only had to go as far as the kitchen counter to find a smile. My daughter's Hello Kitty Chia Pet makes me happy.

My son thought it was the perfect Christmas gift for his sister, who has been a "Hiyo Titty" fan since way back...way back when she talked like that. (Sigh.)

Hello Kitty's cuteness, and the nostalgia she brings, makes me happy.

Random recoup

Don't worry, I already know that it isn't Tuesday. I took the news a little rough at first, but the antibiotics the doctor prescribed  to wage war against my sinuses made it easier to accept. (Which is good because the meds are doing squat for my head, well except for my hair, that I could have sworn looked shinier last night...and that was after showering, so not even an oil slick type of shine. Still graying at an alarming rate though. Am I rambling? Yes. That is probably on the side effect sheet.) I tried to shake myself out of a funk this morning by going to Kohls. I had a gift certificate, two returns and a 30% off coupon, so how could I possibly have not felt better upon leaving the store? Let me tell you how I left the store...empty-handed! I almost called the doctor's office to tell them just how dire my situation had turned. I had even considered doing some bra shopping, but then saw this...

...and figured I was clearly not on the right track if that was NOT a bra.

I also walked out of Target empty-handed! The one thing that kept me from rushing straight to urgent care was that I did feel like organizing something, so I marched myself to my basement instead. I guess it was restoring order therapy that I needed as opposed to retail therapy. I get that whole feed a fever/starve a cold...shop a sinus infection/purge a cough thing mixed up I guess.

I packed up the Dickens' village until next year as the crowd started looking a little gamey...

 

Speaking of the holidays, my son got this little item in his stocking...

...no, he doesn't golf, but come on...pure comic gold for a fifteen year old boy, with a $1 price tag.

I did not spot these gems until the other day...

...complete with a cape?

Since when did breakfast become so gruesome? Guillotine?

I noticed that I lost a few followers last week, and was going to ask if it was something I said, or did...then I realized that the people who left were probably not around to answer, so instead...THANK YOU!!!!! Thank you for hanging out here and reading. You deserve cheerleaders, lots and lots of cheerleaders!

Seriously? Can you believe how many cheerleaders were on hand for the girls' varsity basketball game last night?

Stacy has some random going on over at her place too!

52 Weeks of happiness - Week 44

I was s happy that I got to go cross-country skiing this past weekend! The weather was perfect and the conversation made the ninety minutes or more each day (almost) fly by. I was so happy that I thought to bring my camera. I charged the battery so that there wouldn't be any disappointments. It wasn't until I took that camera out of my pocket, while we waited for some snowmobilers to go by, that I realized I had not put the battery back in. Oops!

Maybe taking super fun pictures did not make me happy this week, but the skiing still did, so I am willing to settle for the cellphone shot!

Toasty random

So it is 64 degrees in our house now. I've got my bathing suit on, a fruity drink with a fancy umbrella...sorry, now that I have scarred you with that vision, I will admit to my cup of hot tea and the fact that I just unwrapped the blanket from around my heavy wool sweater. All of the climate changes got the best of me I think, and I am pretending to not notice that I feel sort of achy as well. So, moving on...

I stopped by my young friend's store the other day to see what sort of "sirese  bisnise" might be going on.Another deal on "spiruls" maybe? This was the note we found...

...but sadly, I could not find the "clerense" rack!
 
Here is a far more frightening store at the new Destiny USA...which reminds me, how are so many of you resisting the urge to come here? DESTINY...DESTINY USA! How important does that sound? Anyway, not sure if this is a dress shop, or a classy headless mannequin showroom.

I don't think I would have ever wanted to see what the wedding dress I got could have looked like on someone with an entirely better different shape.

My son asked me to take a picture of this address on an ebay package we were sending out...

Seriously, would you be able to say you lived there with a straight face?

Think about toys coming to life, and then please tell me what I interrupted here...

Ummm, kids' cake, right? I think not with those clam shells, Kelly! You are at the wrong bouncy fun house.

Before I go crank my heat up until I sweat, just because I can, I have to tell you something. (Actually it is something that I REALLY hope I don't have to tell you!) When I was talking to the man who installed our new furnace, I mentioned the tag that National Grid filled out explaining why they had shut our furnace down yesterday morning. He mentioned that the man did not take a piece of our heating pipe with him...um, excuse me? Apparently there are numerous people who turn their furnaces back on after they have been deemed unsafe and turned off. Yes, he said it happens a lot, so sometimes something is taken to make powering back up impossible. People are told that dangerous levels of carbon monoxide are coming from the furnace and they flip it right back on. He told me he has had people yell at him to leave saying they are just going to flip the switch. He has pulled fuses in such cases. Like I said, I don't think I have to tell you this, but if someone with a magic detector wand tells you that your furnace is unsafe, just say thank you and do not touch the damn switch. I told my furnace installing friend that I didn't think the National Grid man believed for one second that I might touch that switch. Thank you for indulging me on my public service announcements related to this cause.

Thank you to Stacy for allowing some of us to be fashionably late to the random party!

Random postponed...

Today I am letting myself off the hook, as the temperature is currently 58 degrees in our house as we await our new furnace installation tomorrow. My fingers are too cold when I type on an average day, but just now I froze my buns sitting on the leatheresque office chair. I will be here with the random tomorrow afternoon (as I am sure the furnace man will be much happier if I have something planned, other than shuffling stuff around my basement and asking him for moral support as I figure out what to get rid of).

Before I sign off though, I must share what I am thankful for today...I am thankful that I called National Grid when I thought I smelled gas outside this morning. It was actually carbon monoxide...you know that odorless gas...unless there is enough of it pumping out of your furnace. Yes, we have a detector near our bedrooms, and I will be buying at least one more tomorrow, and no it had not gone off...yet. It is the yet part that kept me rattled for several hours today, as one of the furnace people commented that he had never seen a reading so high in a residential furnace stack before.

Please protect your family, and have functioning detectors. Our house is only twelve years old, so I was a bit stunned. Time to go snuggle up with my peeps...good night from my chilly nose to my chilly, and as I said before, ever so grateful toes!   xoxox

52 Weeks of Happiness - 41, 42, 43

Yikes! I fell behind here a bit, but in my quest for organization on at least some small level, I am going to try to get caught up. Of course I am also a fairly decent rule follower (on occasion) so I have my calendar in front of me, along with some date stamped photos because I wouldn't want to cheat! (Yes, it is bizarre to me as well exactly when I choose to have some standards for myself.) Sooooo...

Week 41 - Otherwise known as the one that should've been posted around December 20...

The holiday concerts were one thing that made me happy that week.

Second row from the right second seat in.

It was difficult for me to actually see my son during his concert, but I was happy that he and his friends were willing to cheese it up beforehand...

Week 42 - Ho ho ho!

Once the final throws of stress melted away, the holidays made me very happy (and not just because of the food and cookies). This picture from Christmas Eve captured the current oldest and youngest members of one side of our family. It made me happy to be able to celebrate with loved ones.

We packed up the sleigh on Christmas Day and hit the thruway so we could catch up with another side of the family. There were two babies born this year that we had not had the pleasure to meet, so it made me very happy to do so!










Oh, and we were also in attendance for the annual gifting from Tres Zie (three aunts). There was singing (in English and Italian) about how all they wanted for Christmas was a notecard from their children, and then we all received packs of notecards for various occasions, complete with custom stamps. We were told we could only send the cards to each other...have they met me? It made me happy to witness this spectacle with the rest of my cousins (missed you Anthony, Sara and your babes), as the usual second solo performance has never quite captured the moment like this did.

Week 43 - Snow!

It made me happy to get outside and enjoy the sights and sounds of the beautiful snow! I got new boots for Christmas, so I was very happy to have warm feet for a change.

Hope you all have been finding much happiness as well lately!

Random recap

So little to say, and so much time...wait, scratch that and reverse...better yet, let's just go with it! My voice is still not 100%, which I just can't understand as I am sure you have assumed that I have kept my mouth shut and resting for the past week. Maybe it is back and I have just forgotten how annoying my voice actually is?

It is time to push off a few of the holiday leftovers on you that are still kicking around...

It needs to be documented that the Christmas Eve dinner I advertised as being served at 4:15? Check that clock!

Maybe when Amanda handed me this tray of cookies, I asked if it was okay to hide it, instead of sharing. And then maybe I did exactly that!

No shame...absolutely none!

Somebody with one of their favorite gifts...

Thanks, Grandma Sue!

Aaaand somebody with one more reason to hate us apparently...

Maybe I have not had the opportunity prior to this to tell you how much my kids love eating snow.

We might not have had big plans for New Year's Eve, but here is proof that we were celebrating...

Even the pizza was hopping...with bubbles?

Even though I didn't feel particularly lousy, I was still not terribly appreciative of the pep talk on every cough drop. Who wants to be told they have "survived tougher" and to "get back in the game" when they are just trying to keep vertical?

Well this hardly seems like an adequate representation of how I spent my Christmas vacation. I am not sure that photos of the seven bags of stuff I hauled out of my closet to donate would make my life seem much more glamorous or express the joy I truly felt this holiday season surrounded by loved ones, laughter, cookies and eggplant....oh, so much eggplant...four glorious days of breaded fried eggplant. Stop. I was doing so well being over it!

Happy New Year dear friends!

Thanks to Stacy, for firing up another year of the random!