A jumble of random

There seems to be some clutter in my head. This is not unusual, but I must tidy up a bit in order to get myself ready for the a-z challenge that starts this Friday. Since the nasal decongestant I took will only address the physical issue, let's air out the random in hope of more clearer breathing all around.

That being said, let's take a deep breath as we look at the cause for today's evacuation of the high school my daughter attends...

I doubt this is a Pintrest approved project, as the lettering is nowhere near fancy enough. This stunt caused the evacuation of over 2,000 people on a blustery thirty degree day. Due to the fact that kids could not simply be held outside until the usual procedures were followed, (yes, sadly there are usual procedures) busses had to be routed to the school to take students, well…elsewhere. Some ended up at the elementary school across the street and some went to the middle school, and I saw about ten busses that were just lined up at the far end of the parking lot as other schools in the district must have been considered out of range for the length of time they anticipated their efforts to take. It was over two hours before kids were permitted back into the building. Luckily my daughter was somewhere I could pick her up from, as opposed to the those sitting on busses. I try not to dwell on each email that comes explaining what prompted the latest evacuation, and do not envy the administrators who become responsible for the safety of our children. I appreciated the relatively organized scene I found when I went to bring my daughter home. It is a frightening thought that these threats seem to have become almost commonplace in our district. Ugh, I can't really say anymore about this right now.

Maybe a baked good would help?

Oh, but nothing of the poop extruder variety please. Maybe something lighter and fluffy? Fanciful even!

Ah, that's better! The magical transformation of heavy cream into whipped cream had me mesmerized the other day. Yes, I know it just beats air into the liquid, but I am a simple woman sometimes.

Another thing that makes me feel better? A little shopping. I admit that Kmart has never been a happy place for me, nor am I sure the EIGHTEEN flyers in our paper this week will lure me in.

May you find your blue light special today!

Kids these days...

...are exhausting!
But worth it, right Foz? Foz?

I'm up! I'm awake! Is the boy still here? I don't want to let him out of my sight, as who knows where he might wander off to. 
He doesn't exactly "wander off" to college, and it is rarely a secretive thing. You have a couple of more days though, so maybe relax?

And leave you in charge? On Tuesday I let my guard down and ended up at the groomer! Plus, I am still trying to understand that move the other night. You know, when you let those six teenage girls displace my bed so some of them could sleep on the couch.

Um, it looks like you figured out a plan just fine. 
Where is the girl? Is it snack time?
Don't worry!
Can you just keep it down and call off your paparazzi?

A-Z Challenge Theme Reveal

Drumroll, please…

Sometimes when I am out for a stroll, I feel like Walking on Sunshine, by Katrina and the Waves, should be playing behind me. Of course there are also the days that find me moping under the weight of R.E.M.'s Everybody Hurts. I am sure you have songs that tell your story, or you at least have your go to favorites depending on your mood. The soundtracks of our lives.

Maybe you've been coming around here for a few years during this challenge and rocked out to the angsty eighties in 2013, hummed along with the sappy seventies in 2014, or got caught up last year in the nostalgia of the seventies television shows and their often amazing theme songs. This year I am going to go with movie soundtracks that matter (to me). Sometimes the plot is woven together with the music, other times there are just fantastic songs that act as more of a backdrop, or maybe there are just small snippets of songs played that you don't even notice until they are stuck in your head hours later. Every once in awhile there is just one song, in one scene, that is powerful enough to steal the show.

My alphabet is so close to being filled in, and I am excited to get started (and not just because A and B were locks). The challenge starts April first!

Enjoy your Monday, whichever way you choose...

Move your feet, lose your seat

Respect my space and the cushion I occupy. Do not touch the remote. I don't want to talk about it.

What's that? Who's there? I haven't sniffed those legs in almost eight weeks! Of course I will share his space and relinquish the remote. My boy is home!

Apparently the greeting was exhausting!

Getting to the random

I am not sure if these first two pieces of random are worth the wait, but I pass them on a regular basis and just kept neglecting to snap a photo. It feels good to finally share them!

If you have been needing a polygraph test, but were concerned about being uncomfortable, look no further...

...for as low as $99 you can find out if you are lying while remaining comfortable. I am now intrigued by the logo I must say, as nothing conjures the notion of truth more than a mythical winged stallion. Wait! I had not realized that exhibit a may actually relate to exhibit b...

...my garden will never be complete until I procure a giant miniature standard size pegasus of my very own! (I realized that I do not have a true frame of reference for the actual size of a pegasus.)

Make no mistake, I was at the check OUT window when I snapped this...

...I was just stifling so much giggling at the notion that the dermatologist's office (as in, not the pediatrician's) was having enough problems with folks touching the shamrocks that they felt a sign was necessary. There was a certain amount of urgency indicated by the hand written note...no time to print that out! I was going to suggest that perhaps they had a leprechaun infestation,  but decided these people were not the joking around kind. (And this is not the first time they have provided fodder here.) 

Sprung?

On Wednesday it was 75 degrees here...spring?! I got to visit with some of my neighborhood bitches, take a couple of walks and sit on the porch for a bit.

Today it was over 30 degrees colder than that. I was a little disappointed...

...but went outside about 20 times anyway.

Randomly overachieving

Things have felt a little stressful around here lately it seems. What do they call that? Oh, life. Yes, that's it! I have been feeling a little overwhelmed by my underwhelming performance in various areas of life, plus a side order of being tired from not sleeping very well (those might be related stories). I am pretty confident that you understand what I am talking about. 

Anyhoodles…did I just say "anyhoodles"? Let's hope tonight is the one where I get some decent sleep! I have this one piece of random, this flicker of hope…

Oh eBay, how did you know what I needed to be told? Go forth my friends and find that thing you are doing at an "above standard" level, pat yourself on the back and of course, have a handful of m&m's to celebrate.

Murmur

Oh, hey! Hi there. I'm a little embarrassed that you caught me there without my gown. It was a bit drafty.

At least I didn't get the part where you were licking germs off the floor. Seriously, rule number one of the doctor's office is to not lick anything!
I have no idea how you people resist.

Well, Foz, do you want to tell people what's been going on?
Could you?

Sure. Fozzie was diagnosed with a heart murmur about a year and a half ago. He got to visit a cardiologist and have a fancy echocardiogram . He was not at a point where he needed any treatment, so we just kept an eye on him.

Go on, tell them about the coughing.
Right. So Fozzie started coughing a couple of weeks ago, so we went to visit the vet. After some x-rays, it was determined that the murmur has progressed, and Foz has entered the early stages of heart failure. The good news is that we caught it very early and he has since been stabilized with some good old human heart medicine. Our little cardiac patient.
Tell them the rest of the good news!
Um, the coughing stopped?
Yes, and...
Aaaaaand?
Well, Dr. H told you the medicine would make me have to pee more, so you have to let me out now whenever I ask. 
Yes, that IS great.
For some reason I get little balls of bread twice a day.
(wink, wink)
Everybody seems even happier than usual to see me. Even those times I woke you up in the middle of the night to go out when my belly hurt.
Maybe you caught something from licking the vet's floor?
You didn't even get mad when I pooped on the floor early that one morning.
No, I didn't.
I still felt a little badly about it...

No worries, Foz. You have plenty of time to make it up to me.

The random persists

I kept thinking that maybe I should pull back a little on the Tuesday random posts. Sometimes I have other things I think of talking about on Tuesday mornings, but push them to the back burner, where they ultimately fall off the side of the stove and get wedged in by the cabinets, and by the time I find them again they are all smushed and fuzzy. 

I could change things up, that is if I was the kind of person who could actually change things up.  

I also realized that there were some bits of random literally laying around on the kitchen counter, waiting for their time to shine. Not only do I get to fill my requisite blogging, but also shuffle papers off the counter and clear a little more space off my phone? Win, win, win!

Sometimes when I am not thinking about writing, I wonder how much fun it must be to make jewelry. Finding just the right stones, metals, or charms to make something incredible and unique. I long for my craftier days, and then I see these…

…where do you go with those?

I am very sorry for Dawn and she was far too young, but am relieved to know that you don't HAVE to order the ornament with her name...

 …"Any name here". I am sorry, but I have obviously hung onto this one for awhile, and it still cracks me up.

The Monkey in the Field gave me this one...

Quick! Somebody call Cinderella and tell her the prince is ready, but slightly more casual this year in his Ballroom jeans. She might want to lose the glass slippers (again). Oh wait, I see, this is not an ad for denim suitable to wear to the ball. Oh no, it is something far more incredible...

…the "crouch gusset" so the prince can protect his jewels. This catalog actually had a couple more gems, but it seems like we should just sit comfortably with this one for a bit. You say that is not only being a tease, but also does not move this catalog off my counter? Good call! Go ahead...

Yup. And if those aren't man enough for your man, or in case you haven't seen the television commercial version of this one...

…I don't see that I need to add anything here, other than $22.50 may seem like a lot for a pair of underwear, butt (see what I did there?) if that no stink think is guaranteed? Just sayin'!

This, right here?

When I sent this picture to my son, his immediate response was "100% true". This is a source of pride and madness for me.