April 23, 2009

  • Wow, busy couple of days!

    Hello kids! How the hell are ya?! I hope you are all doing well. It's not long before the weekend starts, I am sure you are all gearing up! The weather here is gorgeous and I am looking forward to a weekend of more of the same.

    Well, last I left you I was going to try to get moving and get some things accomplished. Boy did I!! I guess it was just before 7:00 at that point. I headed to the back and got dressed and promptly got to work. I cleaned our bathroom first. I must admit I was touched with a light case of pissed. I had to take a razor blade to get wax and some other unidentified sticky/hard substance off of my counter tops in the bathroom. This is what did it. I don't mind cleaning the house, as a matter of fact, that is my responsibility, home and not working. However, I don't appreciate, nor do I intend having to clean up after people. So, I talked to Tancy about it and should it arise again I will not be the one to clean it up. (Just for clarification it wasn't there from Tancy, the culprit shall remain nameless.) But I scrubbed our bathroom from top to bottom before I moved on to the hall bathroom. This bathroom was equally cruddy and I must have scrubbed for 10 minutes or so to get the paint off of all the surfaces in there. But I finally got it up and the bathroom looks much better now. I scrubbed it from top to bottom before moving on to my next item on the list... sweeping and mopping both bathrooms. Got all that done and put those cleaning products away (if you keep picking up after yourself as you go it makes finishing up much easier) and grabbed the next round.

    My next step was our bedroom. Put away our pajamas, collect any dirty clothes, make the bed. Move the dog bed, sweep the floor and then dust. Once all that was done I actually diverted from my path and loaded the dishwasher so as to free up the kitchen sink. I made clean mop water and headed back to mop our bedroom floor. I closed each completed rooms door so that no one (me or the puppies) tracked up the clean, wet floor. On to the back bedroom. Straighten everything, sweep, dust, mop. Lillie's bedroom just needed swept and mopped.

    I swept and mopped the hall way. Then I moved into the livingroom. I emptied out the mop water (I am very particular about my mop water) and swept the livingroom floor and kitchen floor. I then got my dusting stuff and dusted the livingroom good. Wow, it's amazing how much dust collects... especially in the places you don't look! LOL. After I was done dusting I made fresh mop water and swept the pantry and utility room (the last rooms to be swept) and then mopped the pantry, utility room and kitchen. You guessed it, then I emptied out my mop water.

    It was a bit early, about 10:00, to get ready for lunch with Tancy, but there wasn't much else I could do at that point, so I decided to get a shower and start moving in that direction. The shower felt great. Something about a shower specifically after cleaning house all morning. I got myself dressed and got the puppies settled in. I put away the cleaning stuff I wouldn't need when I got back home from lunch and I was out the door.

    I was early, but I had a plan. I knew of this bagel shop on my way that I wanted to stop at for lunch (Tancy had requested McDonald's but this would be soo much better). I was overwhelmed with the options on the board, so I just had them make our sandwiches the way we like them. I got Tancy an onion bagel, toasted of course, with turkey, onion, tomatoe and pickle. I got a salt bagel (wow, it was good, but my lips stayed puckered for a good while after lunch) with ham and tomatoe. I had them put cream cheese and chive spread on both (fresh I might add). I also got some fruit salad and a bottle of water. By the time I got out of there and to the plant I was right on time. I had to wait just a little bit for Tancy, but I didn't mind.

    We made our way to a picnic table, I took out all the goodies. Tancy was impressed. Unfortunately the wind was so bad we had a hard time enjoying our lunch. We managed, but it was tricky. Before long it was time for her to go back to work so I took her to where the guys who dropped her off for lunch were and once they came out of the plant she joined up with them and I headed home.

    Once I got home I changed back into my grubby clothes so I could get back to work. I mopped the living room floor, that was all I had left to do in there and I was ready for the floors to be done. Honestly, it just absolutely wrecks my back to do the floors... but I couldn't stand it. What else can you do at that point? I mean, really, whats the point in cleaning the house if the floors aren't done? It just doesn't make sense. While the floor was drying I finished cleaning the kitchen. Unloaded the dishwasher and put those away, wiped the counter tops down good and the stove too. I put all the dirty rags and such in the washer so that would be out of the way too. I cleaned off the table and wiped it down. I sat down for a bit and let my back rest some. Before long I got up to wipe the glass door off the living room... snotty little nose prints were just more than I could stand anymore. LOL. And then I wiped the glass doors off the kitchen. I sat back down and as soon as I did thought about the fact that the outside of the glass doors off the kitchen were muddy from the dogs jumping, pawing, etc. So I fixed a bucket of ammonia and got a scrub brush and went to work. Tancy called just as I was getting into it to say she was on her way home.

    We knew Mandy had passed her test at work so Tancy wanted to take her to dinner. I told her to call Mandy and let me know for sure. I was gonna finish up what I was working on and then put on some decent clothes. I got the doors finished, much better, though they could still use some attention. Tancy called to say that she had gotten Mandy on the phone and we were gonna go pick her up and take her to dinner. I headed inside, put away all my cleaning stuff and got dressed.

    Tancy hit the door, changed her shirt, made a potty run and we were off to Mandy's. We picked her up, went and ate Chinese. We had a good visit and laughed and just caught up. Then we took her home and headed home ourselves. It was already after 8:00 and it takes 45 minutes from Mandy's house to ours. We were both tired too.

    We made it home around 9:00. I moved the wash to the dryer and Tancy took out the trash. As soon as I had all my end of the day stuff done I headed to the back to get my pajamas on. Tancy checked her refugium and then headed to the back herself. Our TV was out because our roof guy moved the dish and we couldn't get a signal now. I called Dish and they scheduled someone for sometime between 12 - 5 today. We got settled into bed and she watched Bill Maher that we had on DVR, thankfully we had DVR. It's so weird how you react to not having TV! I watched it with her, since his format has changed I enjoy it more.

    Scout's having trouble with her ears still, we gave her another dose (I had given her a dose around 5:00 because she was so irritated) of benadryl and hoped she would settle down. I don't know if you have ever heard a dog try to scratch their ears with their throat, like people do, but that's what she was doing at 10:00 last night. Poor thing, it took her quite a while to settle down. We agreed that I should call the vet and see what they recommend. Once she settled down we were both asleep pretty quickly.

    Thankfully I slept better last night than I did the night before. I was back to my side of the bed. I don't think that has anything to do with it... just happened to sleep a bit better last night. I also managed to remember to set the coffee pot last night, so this morning when I got up the coffee had already brewed. Yay! I love it when that happens. LOL.

    I let the pups out to potty and got their breakfast. I fixed our coffee and then let the puppies in and fed them. The TV was out, so there wasn't that normal morning noise. Seemed strangely quiet. Tancy left for work at her usual time. When she did I got dressed and got a few things done around here right quick and then headed to Wal-Mart for some groceries. I think I left the house by 6:00.

    I had been making a list for a few days. This aggravates me because lately it seems like I am "grocery" shopping no less than once a week. It's aggravating for a couple of reasons; 1. It isn't like I am cooking 3 meals a day... we are still eating out... so we aren't going through that many groceries, 2. I am apparently not getting what I need in my previous trip to need additional items so soon, 3. I don't like shopping. So, I made sure that I had a proper list and checked it before leaving the house. I also grabbed my coupons that I had been clipping. When I got to Wal-Mart I almost wondered if they were even open... honestly, there wasn't almost no one there other than the people who were working. Nice!

    I got my coupons out (should have done this at home... but I'm learning) took out what I needed, checked expiration dates and put them in order of how I would move through the store (so I didn't miss anything). I strayed from my grocery list only if I had a coupon. I got everything on the list except coffee (can only get it at BiLo) and the bulbs for the light over my stove (can only get those at Lowe's). I saved $10 with the coupons I had. Now, I know this isn't alot... but like I said before, I am learning. I didn't have a coupon for everything I bought. It wasn't double coupon day or anything (I don't think Wal-Mart does double coupons). But I was pretty happy for any savings. For my first round I think that was pretty good. It, at the very least encourages me to keep working on it and learning to be a smarter consumer. The savings that wasn't measured though, that I have diligently been working on, is buying the lesser priced items. For example, there's a brand of milk that looks like the store brand that is nearly $5.00. But if you go down about 4 doors, there's the other brand of milk that looks like the store brand that is $2.48... big deal, especially when I buy a gallon of milk at least once a week (sometimes more). I also buy stuff that's reduced if you buy more than one (only if it is actually cheaper, you have to pay attention). So, I couldn't tell you what the savings might be there... well, I guess I could, but I don't want to be that obsessive.

    I left Wal-Mart with all my groceries loaded up and headed home to put them all away. Initially I was only going to put away the stuff that needed to be refridgerated or frozen. I still needed to go to Lowe's and BiLo. But I decided to put it all away and be done with it. Once that was done I lit out again. Lowe's first. Went right to the bulbs and was out like a flash. On to BiLo. I spent a little more time than I expected in there... but it was for good reason. They only had one brick of coffee on the shelf. That wasn't acceptable since I could see at least one more brick, I just couldn't reach it. So I got an employee over with a step stool and he got down what they had for me. I hadn't picked up one item at Wal-Mart that I wanted because I thought I had it at home... turns out I didn't have it, so I got it at BiLo. Then I was out of there for sure. Back home, unload and put away those items. Change out the bulb in my hood over my stove, good deal!

    Our roofing guy was back. He's been making progress getting all his shit cleaned up around the house. Thankfully. I am sick of looking at it all. I paid some bills and balanced the check book. Sucks how there's nothing left. Oh well, I'm also thankful that it was there to pay the bills with. I sent Sonia the mailing address list per Mandy's request and Sonia and
    Gary got the physical address for the plant (per Mandy's request). I
    talked to Sonia on the phone a bit. They may make it out to Mandy's on Saturday night.

    Tylor came by before too long to get Lauren's ball glove. I took out the B-B-Q for him to heat up for lunch. I had a tomatoe sandwich. He replaced my busted flood lights with the new ones I had picked up this morning. I love that kid. He's a mess and depending on who you talk to there's just no telling what descriptions you might get... but I think he's a sweet heart. All I have ever had to do was ask him nicely to do something, or in today's case, let him know I need something done and he will take care of it for me. I can appreciate that. He probably wouldn't like me saying he's a sweet heart, but I think he is. When I met him, I never expected to feel like he was my nephew, he was already 18 and I'm only 7 or8 years older than him... but today, I can tell you absolutely that he is my nephew. Our relationship is obviously different than mine with Zach, I was actually around before Zach was born (barely), but he's just as much my nephew. So yeah, I love me some Ty. He stuck around a bit longer. The Dish guy was here and in and out of the house. I don't know if he was being protective or just hanging out... either way I didn't mind. But when the Dish man cleared out Ty did too.

    Just before Tylor left I started re-filling my bird feeders. The bird seed was completely gone out of 2 of the 4 feeders. Another was about half empty. I also picked up another humming bird feeder (I had one like it last year, but can't seem to find it) that suctions to a window. I filled it and stuck it to the living room window where we can see the humming birds come up to feed. I love watching the humming birds. With three feeders and the butterfly bushes we should see a good many this year.

    I sent my Thank You note, the only one that came back undeliverable, back out to its intended recipient. It's really taken me too long to get that back in the mail. Oh well, whatcha gonna do?! I got pork chops to make Pops delicious red-eye gravy. I am going to be gettin' on that here in just a minute. I also got the stuff to make Tancy butterscotch pie. It's her favorite and I thought I'd be sweet, for a change. Haha!

    I called the vet about Scout. They want us to bring her in, of course, just to rule out an inner ear infection or something that is actually treatable. They said that they can give her a shot for the itching, even if it isn't an infection and that would help her to stop with the scratching, etc. So, we have an appointment for 10:15 in the morning. I am telling you, we can't go a day without something on the calendar. Yesterday was a clear day. Oh well, gotta take care of Scout. It wouldn't be right to have a pet and not take care of them, so we make the appointment. I hope she doesn't have an infection... but an explaination to what she's got going on would be nice. At least then we would have an idea of what to do for her.

    Right now I am thinking a nap would be really nice... but it's already pushing 2:30 and with any luck Tancy will be home by 6:00. So I don't want to waste my time napping when I could be getting dinner (and dessert) going. It seems like I have done more today. But I can't think of anything else. With that said, I just thought about the fact that there are some things in my fridge that need to go bye-bye... so I'm gonna wrap this up, take care of those things and get dinner and Tancy's pie going.

    I hope you all have a great day and a great weekend. I don't know when I will post again... Tancy will be on vacation for the next 10 days. Our anniversary is Tuesday!! 5 years! I will try to blog on Monday since we have a doctors appointment. It'll just depend because Monday is a busy day (OB first, then Chiropractor... home for a bit or whatever errands we might have... then back into town for our Birth & Beyond class). At the very least though, ya'll enjoy your weekend.

    Love to all!