Children in the gallery. Oh, y'all have heard the stories before. Today was a bit of a doozy. Wow.
Pardon me while I vent.
A mother, a grandmother and two boys came in. The boys were probably 8 and 10. I knew when they came bounding in the door that they were going to be trouble.
They had to touch everything. Obviously, the statement, "Look with your eyes," has never been said to them before.
They kept going in and out of the bathroom. On about the 10th trip (not exaggerating), I heard one pulling and pulling on the door.
(This is the point that I should remind all that I work in a converted house that was built in the late 1800's and the public bathroom is just your standard 1/2 bath with some storage shelves for boxes.)
I walked to the bathroom and saw a kid pulling with all his might, actually physically contorted, trying to yank the door open. His brother was on the other side. They were actually playing tug-of-war with the bathroom door.
I looked at him and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with?"
[still pulling] "Um, no."
"Is he okay? Does he need something? Is he all right?"
"Yes."
"Then please stop pulling on the door. I'm certain that he would like to use the restroom and will be out when he is done. Please don't pull on the door anymore."
I walked back to the counter and the grandmother and mother thanked me for saying something.
WHAT?! Why couldn't they? I purposely didn't say anything to them because I figured it wouldn't matter.
They stayed with mom, surprisingly didn't trash the place, but I did find later that the kid was standing on the toilet. God only knows why.
Later, I heard the wind chimes. I heard many wind chimes. Of course, it was the boys. Their mother had decided that after a time in our sister store, she was going to send them outside to burn off some energy.
I opened the door and said, "Boys. Some of those wind chimes cost close to $400.00 and I really don't want to see one of them fall on your head. I do believe that it would be a good idea for you to go shopping with the people that you came with."
A few minutes later, the grandmother appeared and stayed out there with them. They had been running, arms fully extended, to see how many chimes that they could whack on their "flight" through.
Not funny.
Apparently, she spent $600.00. That doesn't excuse the kids behavior. She was lovely when I spoke with her. So was the grandmother. The only time that the mother got upset at the boys was when one of them burped. My coworker heard it and had to tell me. After their poor behavior, that is the one that got reaction. Hmmm.
Smiles in my day:
- Two rainbows!
- K- is doing a really nice job with her reading. This will be our third week of reading/speech tutoring and I can see a definite improvement. She is reading with more fluency. Words are coming easier. The "1" books are becoming less of a challenge for her to read (though still challenging) and more enjoyable for her to read. She couldn't wait to turn the page this evening to find out what was coming up next.
- K-'s friend that moved back from Wisconsin will be joining her for Arts Camp over the next two weeks. They will have so much fun. I'm so glad that we were able to take advantage of Science Camp this week. We've had our morning walks. We've had our morning talks. Gosh. I missed that.
- The massive downpours we've had this evening. "Mommy, you know, we really needed that!" Yes we did.
- When I was doing tutoring homework with K- tonight, one task was to come up with words that rhymed with "sun." She came up with "bun" quickly, but then I told her, "At Science Camp this week, you are having lots of this." "Sugar?" (In reference to the sugar cereal that they serve each morning.) Well, yes, but not what I was talking about!
Have a great day!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Tales from the Trenches: FrogTape ain't so great.
This is the product that I bought. On the commercials, people have these beautifully crisp lines and can leave the tape on for 3 weeks. Me? Uh, no.
The tape was left on for a few hours. It did not lock out the white paint, despite the claim. The tape was rubbed down . A bonus? It removed a chunk of paint off my wall. (Part of that is apparently a white schloof where the roller got past me. Didn't know 'til later.)
Nonetheless, it did not do as promised. I paid $5.00 for a roll of tape that didn't work. On a different note, I do love the color of the walls! Now I'll enjoy that color even more when I go back over the spots.
For the record, FrogTape has some extensive tape instructions. Crazy, since it is only tape and they make it look all easy-peasy on the commercial. Wanna know what I'm talking about? Here's the link.
Argh.
Smiles in my day:
- K- had a great time at Science Camp! They started out with breakfast, which she flipped over. Why? They were little disposable bowls of Lucky Charms! Lucky Charms are illegal in our house, as we only have boring cereal like Grape Nuts (her favorite) or Rice Krispies. She learned a lot of things other than she's getting the sugar cereal shaft at our home.
- I picked the kitchen table light up this evening. I wasn't able to find it online, so I was concerned that they were discontinuing. (I was able to find it online a few weeks ago.) Turns out it was $12.00 cheaper at the Lowe's that I went to than the one that we were shopping at. Now, I think that the ceiling fan is actually cheaper at our usual Lowe's.
- Hubs worked on the light above the sink all day long. Bless his heart!
Have a great day!
Monday, July 19, 2010
My mama.
My mom went this past week for an ultrasound of the fibroid that they found this past spring. When she went, they found that not only is it 3 times the size that it was three months ago, but that they are having issues "finding her ovary."
Um, it is there-- somewhere.
So, the ultrasound tech seemed to be cool. Mom was okay.
Then the doctor called.
He's scheduled mom for an MRI and a full blood work-up this week. She's scared to death. You see, my grandmother and my aunt (Mom's sister) were both diagnosed with cancer in their early to mid sixties. Both died as a result of the cancers that they had.
My grandmother died of colon cancer. She had complained to her doctor on numerous occasions, and she put her on anxiety meds. It was only after it was too late-- an ovary and spots on her liver-- that the colon cancer was diagnosed. Grandma lived for 2 years. I will say that she definitely did not have quality of life.
My aunt died of brain cancer. She was diagnosed with a glioblastoma, walnut-sized when removed, but also her brain was cancered. She participated in a study and extended her life from 6-15 months tops to 3 years. She did have quality of life up until about the last 6 weeks. However, in her case, the cancer caused swelling and her brain stem actually twisted as a result. My aunt passed away not even two years ago.
Now back in the spring, they did a biopsy of the uterine wall. Everything was just fine. If this is an ovarian tumor or a fibroid that has consumed the ovary, the likelihood that it is benign is about 78%. Most certainly, my mother will need to have her ovary removed. At this point, she would be happy to go under the knife tomorrow. She just wants it out.
This is an important lesson to all of us. My mother has passed menopause. She still goes for yearly exams and her midwife told her that since she no longer menstruated, it was important to know that no bleeding whatsoever was acceptable. If she had bleeding AT ALL, there was something wrong and it needed to be investigated immediately.
Thank God she told my mom that. Most women would have ignored the extremely scant appearance that she experienced and would have gone on with their day.
My mother is a wreck about the MRI. I'm cut from the same cloth-- we're both extremely claustrophobic. Just talking about the MRI puts my mom into a near panic attack. She asked me how it was and I accidentally freaked her out more. I told her to ask for drugs. She said that she won't and she doesn't think that they would give them to her.
Knowing what I know, if ever I have to go back in, I need drugs.
So if you will, please pray for my mom. She's a wreck. I feel God's peace about this, but it still doesn't hurt to put some folks on a direct party line to Him, eh?
Smiles in my weekend:
- We attended a beautiful wedding. It was in an church without air and a picnic reception in an old barn in the 93+ degree heat. Other than that, it was lovely.
- It rained this evening for the first time in, well, a long time. The grass is a lovely shade of brown and is crunchy to the toes.
- The kitchen ceiling got painted today. It was no small feat, but I got it done. Tune in tomorrow when I vent just a little.
- Laundry washed dried and ALL! put away. Ooo! It was so blasted hot that I ran my tennis shoes through the wash and they dried lickety split outside.
- K- has science camp all week at her school, so that means that we'll get our walking feet back on! Oh, I can definitely tell that I haven't been walking like we were.
- Being able to take advantage of some lovely sales and coupons this week. Hubs took K- out while I was painting. He called to see if I wanted anything and I asked him to stop by our little home owned grocery chain to pick up some sale items. He was able to get a dozen of corn for $2.00 and a case of Star Kist tuna for 50 cents a can. We got other good stuff, too. :)
Have a great day!
Um, it is there-- somewhere.
So, the ultrasound tech seemed to be cool. Mom was okay.
Then the doctor called.
He's scheduled mom for an MRI and a full blood work-up this week. She's scared to death. You see, my grandmother and my aunt (Mom's sister) were both diagnosed with cancer in their early to mid sixties. Both died as a result of the cancers that they had.
My grandmother died of colon cancer. She had complained to her doctor on numerous occasions, and she put her on anxiety meds. It was only after it was too late-- an ovary and spots on her liver-- that the colon cancer was diagnosed. Grandma lived for 2 years. I will say that she definitely did not have quality of life.
My aunt died of brain cancer. She was diagnosed with a glioblastoma, walnut-sized when removed, but also her brain was cancered. She participated in a study and extended her life from 6-15 months tops to 3 years. She did have quality of life up until about the last 6 weeks. However, in her case, the cancer caused swelling and her brain stem actually twisted as a result. My aunt passed away not even two years ago.
Now back in the spring, they did a biopsy of the uterine wall. Everything was just fine. If this is an ovarian tumor or a fibroid that has consumed the ovary, the likelihood that it is benign is about 78%. Most certainly, my mother will need to have her ovary removed. At this point, she would be happy to go under the knife tomorrow. She just wants it out.
This is an important lesson to all of us. My mother has passed menopause. She still goes for yearly exams and her midwife told her that since she no longer menstruated, it was important to know that no bleeding whatsoever was acceptable. If she had bleeding AT ALL, there was something wrong and it needed to be investigated immediately.
Thank God she told my mom that. Most women would have ignored the extremely scant appearance that she experienced and would have gone on with their day.
My mother is a wreck about the MRI. I'm cut from the same cloth-- we're both extremely claustrophobic. Just talking about the MRI puts my mom into a near panic attack. She asked me how it was and I accidentally freaked her out more. I told her to ask for drugs. She said that she won't and she doesn't think that they would give them to her.
Knowing what I know, if ever I have to go back in, I need drugs.
So if you will, please pray for my mom. She's a wreck. I feel God's peace about this, but it still doesn't hurt to put some folks on a direct party line to Him, eh?
Smiles in my weekend:
- We attended a beautiful wedding. It was in an church without air and a picnic reception in an old barn in the 93+ degree heat. Other than that, it was lovely.
- It rained this evening for the first time in, well, a long time. The grass is a lovely shade of brown and is crunchy to the toes.
- The kitchen ceiling got painted today. It was no small feat, but I got it done. Tune in tomorrow when I vent just a little.
- Laundry washed dried and ALL! put away. Ooo! It was so blasted hot that I ran my tennis shoes through the wash and they dried lickety split outside.
- K- has science camp all week at her school, so that means that we'll get our walking feet back on! Oh, I can definitely tell that I haven't been walking like we were.
- Being able to take advantage of some lovely sales and coupons this week. Hubs took K- out while I was painting. He called to see if I wanted anything and I asked him to stop by our little home owned grocery chain to pick up some sale items. He was able to get a dozen of corn for $2.00 and a case of Star Kist tuna for 50 cents a can. We got other good stuff, too. :)
Have a great day!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Haiku Friday: Weeds
Volunteers of green,
Crowding, blooming, reseeding,
More for me to pull.
Smiles in my day:
- Library group. It was a little corny today, but the kids enjoyed it.
- After library group, K- and I drove out to hook up with Hubs at his work so that we could go with him to help at a parade. K- and I rode on his work float and were candy tossers. We were some very popular people!
- Hubs temporarily putting the kitchen back together, while I cleaned and did laundry. We make a great team!
- Sungolds are ripe! Rachael, K- loves them!!! Thank you for sharing!
- K-'s continued quest to find ripe ground cherries.
- While this isn't a smile in a bigger sense, it was funny. I went to get dressed for work on Wednesday, was water spraying my shirt and when I flipped it, I found that a bird had left me a gift on the back of my shirt that I hadn't seen while I was outside folding from the line. The gunk did come out, but it makes me laugh as one of those things that happens when you use the sun to dry your clothes.
- The tomatoes love the heat and I've had to tie them up because they are flopping over the tops of their cages. The Sungold tomatoes are attacking us as we are coming in the back door.
Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
All that sadness and they still remember that we're here.
Nature, that is.
Remember last week's post about the massive tree removal? Well each day I've woken to the sound of chain saws and shredders at 7:00 AM in the too-early-morning-for-that, but we've noticed that our visitors haven't forgotten us.
We had a Downy Woodpecker at the plum tree yesterday.
A few days ago, K- and I saw a hummingbird nectaring at the butterfly bushes.
We've had the hummingbird moths return and I didn't see them at all last year.
We've had Red Admirals, Monarchs, Painted Ladies, Black Swallowtails, Tiger Swallowtails, Silver Spotted, Great Spangled Fritillaries, Peck's Skipper and the usual Cabbage Whites.
Chuck, the resident chipmunk, seems to be very happy popping in and out of his creature home on a regular basis.
We hate to see the loss of any tree, but sadly our lack of shade is now starting to become familiar. We're getting used to our new light.
Smiles in my day:
- The last day of work for the week. Believe me, the week end and weekend have me very busy.
Have a great day!
Remember last week's post about the massive tree removal? Well each day I've woken to the sound of chain saws and shredders at 7:00 AM in the too-early-morning-for-that, but we've noticed that our visitors haven't forgotten us.
We had a Downy Woodpecker at the plum tree yesterday.
A few days ago, K- and I saw a hummingbird nectaring at the butterfly bushes.
We've had the hummingbird moths return and I didn't see them at all last year.
We've had Red Admirals, Monarchs, Painted Ladies, Black Swallowtails, Tiger Swallowtails, Silver Spotted, Great Spangled Fritillaries, Peck's Skipper and the usual Cabbage Whites.
Chuck, the resident chipmunk, seems to be very happy popping in and out of his creature home on a regular basis.
We hate to see the loss of any tree, but sadly our lack of shade is now starting to become familiar. We're getting used to our new light.
Smiles in my day:
- The last day of work for the week. Believe me, the week end and weekend have me very busy.
Have a great day!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Tales from the Trenches: Invisible
Do you ever feel that people don't see you?
Please understand that I'm not suggesting that we are the center of everyone's universe all the time and forever. That's not at all what I'm talking about.
I pulled down our road and there were several concrete vehicles (mixer, pick-ups and whatnot) down one side of the road. There was a gentleman, we affectionately call them pickers, with a truck and trailer on the other side of the road. That made for a very narrow passage, except for the fact that he was bent into his window looking for something, blocking the road. This went on for about 5 minutes. I did not honk, but really wanted to. When he looked up, he gave me a weird look and waved his arm at me like it had been all clear for years. If I had tried to pass through, I would have smooshed him into the truck door, yet he was mad at me.
We were out shopping for new kitchen lighting fixtures on Saturday. We found what we wanted at Lowe's, but wanted to double check a mom and pop just to give them a fair shake. When we went to leave the parking lot, K- said that she wasn't fully strapped in. I stopped at the end of a parking aisle to let her finish. (Equivalent to being the end cap on a grocery store shelf.) We had a van pull up and almost run me over so that they could have the front space right. next. to. me. I had to actually back up to get around the van. Hubs laughed. "Um, is it just me or did he just try to drive over you?" I told him that I was glad that he was there, because I'm certain he wouldn't have believed me otherwise. No, I didn't honk or say anything.
When we walk in the evenings, when people are coming from the opposite direction, we remind K- to "skinny in." More often than not, we are run off the sidewalk altogether by folks who decide to walk "stuck togedder" (K- speak) instead of making room for us. I told Hubs that it is like playing sidewalk chicken and I always chicken out.
I've had older women run me over and yell at me when standing in line at a school function, waiting to get in to be seated.
I had kids that were fundraising all laughing together and talking with their advisor that had the door to the grocery blocked. I admit that I gave them a frustrated look that their advisor must have seen, because he did have them part the seas.
I'm short. People reach over me. People just walk ahead of me in line sometimes.
When we were at the Franklin Park Conservatory, we were in their glass house for their butterfly release. Hubs watched a guy walk all the way up from the back to about where I was standing. We were up front and K- was watching the lady take butterflies out. She was giving details about them before releasing them. I was taking photos as I was standing there when all of a sudden, an arm reaches in front of me with a camera and just starts taking pictures of the butterfly lady. Never mind that I was standing there with my husband and child taking photos. Hubs said that he was about 2" away from me and that he had his arm around me to shield me from being plowed over.
Folks are physically incapable of holding doors open. I hate that they skinny in the door so that they don't actually have to spend that extra 2 seconds trying to do nice for someone behind them. (This always happens at Kohl's.) This happens all the time, but it was most irritating when I had K- in the stroller.
What about you? Do you feel invisible sometimes?
Smiles in my day:
- Hubs and K- had a great Happy Daddy Day together.
- Our butterfly is now all cozy in its chrysalis and will be a butterfly in about a week.
Have a great day!
Please understand that I'm not suggesting that we are the center of everyone's universe all the time and forever. That's not at all what I'm talking about.
I pulled down our road and there were several concrete vehicles (mixer, pick-ups and whatnot) down one side of the road. There was a gentleman, we affectionately call them pickers, with a truck and trailer on the other side of the road. That made for a very narrow passage, except for the fact that he was bent into his window looking for something, blocking the road. This went on for about 5 minutes. I did not honk, but really wanted to. When he looked up, he gave me a weird look and waved his arm at me like it had been all clear for years. If I had tried to pass through, I would have smooshed him into the truck door, yet he was mad at me.
We were out shopping for new kitchen lighting fixtures on Saturday. We found what we wanted at Lowe's, but wanted to double check a mom and pop just to give them a fair shake. When we went to leave the parking lot, K- said that she wasn't fully strapped in. I stopped at the end of a parking aisle to let her finish. (Equivalent to being the end cap on a grocery store shelf.) We had a van pull up and almost run me over so that they could have the front space right. next. to. me. I had to actually back up to get around the van. Hubs laughed. "Um, is it just me or did he just try to drive over you?" I told him that I was glad that he was there, because I'm certain he wouldn't have believed me otherwise. No, I didn't honk or say anything.
When we walk in the evenings, when people are coming from the opposite direction, we remind K- to "skinny in." More often than not, we are run off the sidewalk altogether by folks who decide to walk "stuck togedder" (K- speak) instead of making room for us. I told Hubs that it is like playing sidewalk chicken and I always chicken out.
I've had older women run me over and yell at me when standing in line at a school function, waiting to get in to be seated.
I had kids that were fundraising all laughing together and talking with their advisor that had the door to the grocery blocked. I admit that I gave them a frustrated look that their advisor must have seen, because he did have them part the seas.
I'm short. People reach over me. People just walk ahead of me in line sometimes.
When we were at the Franklin Park Conservatory, we were in their glass house for their butterfly release. Hubs watched a guy walk all the way up from the back to about where I was standing. We were up front and K- was watching the lady take butterflies out. She was giving details about them before releasing them. I was taking photos as I was standing there when all of a sudden, an arm reaches in front of me with a camera and just starts taking pictures of the butterfly lady. Never mind that I was standing there with my husband and child taking photos. Hubs said that he was about 2" away from me and that he had his arm around me to shield me from being plowed over.
Folks are physically incapable of holding doors open. I hate that they skinny in the door so that they don't actually have to spend that extra 2 seconds trying to do nice for someone behind them. (This always happens at Kohl's.) This happens all the time, but it was most irritating when I had K- in the stroller.
What about you? Do you feel invisible sometimes?
Smiles in my day:
- Hubs and K- had a great Happy Daddy Day together.
- Our butterfly is now all cozy in its chrysalis and will be a butterfly in about a week.
Have a great day!
Monday, July 12, 2010
There was a weekend. I'm sure of it.
A short post to say that I'm tuckered. This past weekend gave me a hormonal run for my money that kind of mucked up plans to paint. There were a few days that I traded my paint brush in for 2 Advil every 4 waking hours. Thankfully, the intense pain left after a few days and Sunday I was good to paint.
Y'all, I'm happy to announce that my walls are finally now La Fonda Terra Cotta. I'm also happy to say that it only took one coat, since we had two coats of primer.
I can also say that I bumped into the ceiling a few times and a couple of times, the wheel runners on my trimmer got paint on them (unknown to me), so I will be hitting them with Kilz a few times before I paint the ceiling.
Yes, I'm painting the ceiling after the walls. Trust me, I knew that I would whack the ceiling and the terra cotta is a darker paint. It's all good. I'm going to Frog tape newspaper to the border of the ceiling and go to town probably next Sunday. (Too much going on beforehand.)
We had two parties on Saturday.
We even managed to have a little fire on Sunday night.
If you'll excuse me, my pillow is calling me.
Zzzzzz.
Smiles in my weekend:
- Much!
Have a great day!
Y'all, I'm happy to announce that my walls are finally now La Fonda Terra Cotta. I'm also happy to say that it only took one coat, since we had two coats of primer.
I can also say that I bumped into the ceiling a few times and a couple of times, the wheel runners on my trimmer got paint on them (unknown to me), so I will be hitting them with Kilz a few times before I paint the ceiling.
Yes, I'm painting the ceiling after the walls. Trust me, I knew that I would whack the ceiling and the terra cotta is a darker paint. It's all good. I'm going to Frog tape newspaper to the border of the ceiling and go to town probably next Sunday. (Too much going on beforehand.)
We had two parties on Saturday.
We even managed to have a little fire on Sunday night.
If you'll excuse me, my pillow is calling me.
Zzzzzz.
Smiles in my weekend:
- Much!
Have a great day!
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