Here's Your Sign

Remember Bill Engvall's skit, "Here's Your Sign"? It's been on my mind a lot lately. Why, you ask?

Here's a few recent examples of what I'm talking about ...

This morning I mentioned that since Monday is MLK Day and the banks won't be open I'll need to use the van on Tuesday to do my banking so I can pay my bills this week. Gadget makes some off-handed comment that "I'll see if I can rush through my three doctors appointments so you can bank."
Me: "You don't understand, if I don't pay my student loan on time they'll repossess my degree"
Gadget: "Oh, that's not good. I'll make sure you get the van to go to the bank. Don't want them to repossess your degree."


(and why three doctors? I have no idea, she treats everything like it's top secret stuff. I'm hoping at least one - or more - of them is a psychiatrist!)

HERE'S YOUR SIGN!!

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The other day when the garbage disposal quit working I had asked Gizmo if he'd hit the reset button. He reaches for the wall switch and turns it on. A weak grrrrrr from the disposal "Yup, I just did and it still doesn't work".

(So much for his membership in the High IQ Society).
 
HERE'S YOUR SIGN!

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And that's just the icing on the cake!! I'll spare you the rest, only because the tic in my eye has finally stopped, and reliving it here may get it going again.

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Or Like Alien just posted on facebook ... "Common sense isn't a gift, its a punishment. We who have it, get to deal with people who dont" ... Story of my life.

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 Well, off to do some organizing in the "office". I've been putting it off for a few days. It's time I get off my butt ...

Seriously?

Since when do we drop ice cream on the counters and the floor and walk away from it?

For a week now I've been finding the counters gross with ice cream. Worst yet was not seeing it on the floor and literally sticking to it in my brand new fuzzy socks.

Care to guess who the guilty party is? Hint: it's a "she" and she eats the jumbo sized "gallon plus a quart" in two days time.

That's a lot of spills left ignored on my counters!

Yet to say something to the "he" half of this arrangement only gets me a "you need to relax, geesh". 

And that's just the highlight of the last few days around here ... broken garbage disposal due to trying to "over-feed" it (doih, there IS a reset button, USE IT! Geesh) and the drama of the power outage in their bedroom. Turns out to not be a blown fuse at all, but someone turned off the wall switch - making the outlet inoperable. Doih moment number ??? I lost count of all the doih moments here!!

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Calgon take me away. Far away!!

Or maybe I should start video recording this stuff? There aren't many who believe half of the stuff I blog about unless they see it for their own eyes ... or it might be worth the $10,000 grand prize winner on AFV.

Never know!!

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The good news is, Boss Man found some money and was able to pay me for what he owed me for last week. The bad news is, there's no income for this pay period which ends tomorrow, so this will be my payless week (or he'll pay me when he's got paying runs). At least with a little advance warning, I can prepare for it by stocking up on at least an extra week's worth of food.


January and the first part of February are typically slower for expedite shipping. Much slower.

 I definitely won't starve!! Thanks to Meijer's and their "ten for ten dollars, get the 11th item free" and a butt load of coupons I have. Of course, there's a few more ramen noodles, store brand hot dogs (yuck) and chef boy-ar-dee on the menu. Healthy stuff. NOT!

Times like these, I really have to thank my Gigi for teaching me the value of a good sale, and how to make the most of what's in the pantry.Not to mention her teaching me to save for a rainy day (or in this case, the rainy day being bill paying day, LOL). No bills will be late thanks to Gigi's methods!!

Gotta love that she always had a story to share about the Great Depression and how they survived it.

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 Guess that's all for now.

Gonna really try to keep this blogging thing up, even if it's only once a week ... once a week is better than once a month!!

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Just do me a favor, will ya? Can you all check in below in the comments area? I'm not sure who is reading. Or if like around the Looney Bin, I'm just talking to myself!!!!

Thanks!!

Two weeks and counting ...

And I still haven't seen Grandson except for those few minutes when he told me "I heard you didn't let Mom in the house ...". I'm really afraid there's a lot going on there that will need major damage control to undo.

And I'm pretty sure DIL isn't telling the truth about much of anything anymore.

On Boss Man's facebook today I read "I just love being made out to be the evil one ! Why, cuz I want to be happy ?! If you don't know me, don't judge me !!" I won't ask him, it'll only add fuel to the emotional fire he's already going through, but I pretty much know it's got to do with DIL and the crap she spreads. 

There's two sides to every story. I just wish certain people had the maturity to realize this. 

And yes, I've run into a few of their friends around town. You'd think I was a home-wrecker the way they treated me!! Hello? Hear both sides of the story before you go condemning anyone ... and I told both of these individuals exactly that!! 

So, I'm not expecting this to be a clean divorce. Shit's gonna get nasty if it continues the way it is now. 

Oh, and DIL has yet to return to get the rest of their stuff. I need it gone so I can finish taking over that bedroom as my office. Yesterday I went to the different stores in the area collecting a few boxes. Tomorrow I finish moving everything from Grandson's bedroom (and the bathroom) into her old bedroom ... this way at least, I don't have to look at it. Wonder how mad she'll be when I empty my bedside table that she put in her room without asking me and put it back in the "office" room. I really don't care ... and I don't have to be nice enough to box the crap (I should dump it all on the floor but won't).

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I'm not a doctor (or nurse), nor do I pretend to play one at home ... so bear with me while I fumble my way through this ... 

Dad was in the hospital, as you've read on facebook by now (and past blog entry). Something about his blood count being so low. They took him off cumadin (sp?) and started giving him massive doses of vitamin K. It's helped a lot. He was released from the hospital yesterday. He will need further testing and possibly have heart surgery to fix a weakness caused by a decade of cumadin. The problem is that the first procedure, a rather "simple" one, may not be possible as he's already had quadruple by-pass surgery. A more complicated surgery may be needed, pending the results of the further testing. So, it's another stay tuned story ... 

The story of my life lately!! 

But, what pissed me off ... Gadget ... not only does she think that she knows medical procedures ("I worked in a hospital, I know medicine" ... no, she was a receptionist in a hospital. This does not give her the ability to even suggest medical advice to anyone!). When I went to update Gizmo about his grandfather's condition, Gadget just has to pipe in with her "diagnosis", telling me that "they" are wrong, and they don't need to crack open his chest unnecessarily. I said something like "you really need to hang your degree in medicine on the family room wall for all to see". 

The icing on the pissed-off cake was when she started telling me when I could visit my dad in the hospital, that these were the hours that she needed the van to pick up her son from work. Hello? MY fathers health isn't as important as YOUR son's getting a ride back to his house? And you know damned well I told her that, too!! He has other family in the area (he lives with one of his grandmothers) and friends who would be happy to help him out (hell, even Alien said she'd give him a ride when he needs it). 

Immediately after that, I made the excuse that "my dinner's getting cold" and left before she could get out her response. I know I pissed her off, she was yelling something at me as I left their bedroom. 

Too bad. Too freaking bad.

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It looks like Butterball will finally be starting pre-school this week! They've been through a battery of placement tests, including speech and hearing. Alien just has to take him in for his eye tests, but the school said they could wait a week or two, and actually are moving forward in the meantime to get him into pre-school. 

Personally, I think pre-school will do the kid a world of good. The boys don't get much socializing time with kids their own ages, and now that Butterball is 3 years old, it's the perfect time to get him enrolled in "Head Start". And they're already working on getting JJ pre-enrolled for next year (he'll be two in a few weeks). 

Speaking of JJ. I get some time with him in a few days while Alien and Butterball are doing their "meet and greet" at Head Start. Yay!!! He's my little cuddle bug and helper ... we'll "play" in the new office room (grandma will clean and he'll probably help). After which we'll cuddle to read a story or two until his momma and brother return. 

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My Pinterest addiction has slowed down a bit in the last few weeks. I'm still at it, but no where near as bad as before. Instead of pinning a ton of things, I'm more into actually reading the pins I have collected, especially if they have to do with small gardening. I've been doing a lot of planning lately with how I want my small veggie garden to be. 

My backyard is pretty much unusable with the number of mosquitoes that call the neighbors back yard home and explore my backyard, too. But, I'm looking into mosquito repellent plants (since the neighbor is no help in removing the problem). I'm also tempted to ask Brother Deere to build me a few bat houses to mount to the side of my shed. I know bats love to eat the little blood sucking skeeters. 

It'll probably be at least a year until I can really start using my backyard again. It's a northern exposure, with lots of shade trees, so I doubt I'll be able to use it for much more than lounging around (maybe a picnic table, kiddie pool and kiddie play structure). I really think it's too shady back there to support any sizable garden. I know, I know ... I've lived here 18 years with a backyard we've rarely used. How sad is that?

I'm also contemplating a container veggie garden or two in the front, under the front windows. Nice southern facing exposure and in containers they'd be harder for the local bunny population to feed on. I'm thinking galvanized horse trough sized containers would be perfect. Now to locate affordable ones, lol. 

I even know what I want to grow. And the all important when to sow the seeds time frame. Not too bad for someone who, until last year, had never grown anything - let alone planted a single seed!! 

Last year's attempt at growing tomatoes taught me a lot. There's still a lot this urban "farmer" needs to learn, but I'm really excited about the whole thing. 

Not to mention, it's an affordable way to get some better foods in my system. 

We know I'm all about "affordable". 

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Curious thing ... Gizmo just texted me "are you eating with us tonight?" ... it's unusual for me to be asked about dinner. I'm usually on my own. I wonder what brought this on ... yesterday AND tonight? We know the world's not ending ... that came and went on December 21 ... so what's up? It's not being cooked at home, but carry out, so I don't have to question if the cook is poisoning the meal. 

Maybe they feel sorry for me? Last week was a no pay week for me (I will get paid eventually), and I have to "budget" my menu items more than normal to make them stretch until the next pay day. 

Could she feel bad because of how piggish she's been the last few days whilst Daddy was in the hospital? Did Gizmo say something to her?

Who knows? Anything is possible around here. 

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Heaven knows, NORMAL will never cross my threshold. Never!!  

January 9, 2013

You know, it's funny ... this is the first time I've written 2013 on anything. LOL. None of my bills come due until the end of the month, let's see if I get it right when I'm writing out my checks!

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So, DIL still hasn't moved all of her crap out of the house. It's very inconvenient for me to have to wait on her. Then again, when has she ever thought of the convenience of others?

I've spoken to my son about his needing to talk to her about moving everything out and all he says is "don't push this, Mom. Last thing I want is to put her under undue pressure". Hello? Undue pressure? How about my storing her crap here for FREE. It's in my way ... and I want it out ... yesterday!! I need to re-do Grandson's old room. I'm in dire need of a "real" office!! I need a proper (uncramped) place to work!

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Now that the nest is a little emptier, it's so much easier for me to figure out who is (was) responsible for what. Or ignored is probably better. No more overflowing trash because *someone* wouldn't empty the trash can, or science experiments left in the fridge for someone else to deal with. No more finding laundry abandoned in the washer, left for someone else to deal with (or as I'd do, put the now smelly pile of wet clothing in a pile on the concrete laundry room floor to further rot). 

Now, if I could figure out WHY there's no teaspoons and only two tablespoons in the drawer. I doubt DIL would take them with her (and leave all the other cutlery) ... and Gadget denies they're in their room (which I suspect is the case). Poor Gadget, no one else to blame anymore!!

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Oh yeah, Son still needs a new blog name, doesn't he? I guess I'll call him Boss Man. Nothing else seems to pop at me as far as appropriate nicknames goes.

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January 5th was Brother Deere's birthday. Mom and Daddy took us both out for our birthday dinner. Went to a little pizza place near Brother Deere's house. Nice place. Didn't order pizza, had the lasagna instead. Yum!! 

Mom had to pick me up so I could go to dinner. She let me borrow her van to drive myself home. It was nice having the use of a vehicle for the rest of the night and part of the next day. And yes, I took advantage of it and did some much needed errand running the next day before taking the van back to her. 

I forget how much I enjoy having a vehicle at my disposal at all times. No having to coordinate my needs or desires with someone else's schedule. 

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So ... Mom's been really excited for me that the nest has two less "birdies" in it ... or one less birdie and one less birdbrain. We've been talking about what I'd like to do with the house with the additional room. Well, it's only one room for now ... since Boss Man will be staying here for a while longer his room won't be available for my purposes yet. But still, one room is a good start!! Like I said, that room will become my office. Part playroom, too, for when the grandsons are over to play. At least until I have another room available to house their toy box. 

I know, I should be making that room entirely mine ... lock the door when the kiddies are over. 

I will, but not until after the family room is finished!! Then I can put their toy box there.

I love Mom's plans ... "as soon as another room vacates, YOU take it over, make it 'visitor unfriendly', so there's no room for so much as a cot". Heck yeah! Best plans I've heard so far!! 

Mom also thinks I need to tear down the wall between the two smaller bedrooms, make it into a master suite for myself, and make the bedroom I'm now in as my office. Hmmmmmm, tempting, very tempting. She's already volunteered Brother Deere for the work! 

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Sorry, was side-tracked ... Mom just called. Dad had a doctor's appointment today. His blood counts were extremely low (she didn't say which test however), so the Doc told her to take him to the Emergency Room to be admitted to the hospital for (yet another) blood transfusion. Wish I knew which blood test came back low ... all I know is his number was 6 ... where the norm is between 10 and 12. Does that give you any ideas, Amy? I'd like to know what's going on, but Mom's no good when it comes to the technical stuff!! 

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Where was I? Oh ... I was going to mention a neat savings system I just discovered on Pinterest. Don't know what to call it, but it's a weekly savings challenge sort of thing. At the start of the new year (or whenever one starts this plan) you save a dollar for the first week, week two you save two dollars, up through the year ending with 52 dollars on week 52. In total I'll have saved $1,378. 

Not a bad little savings plan.  Funny thing is I had no singles in my wallet, so I'm a few weeks ahead of the game already ... week four should be a ten dollar balance, I'm there now and it's barely week two. LOL!

Even with my little salary with 1te (One Time Express), I shouldn't have problems until about week 40, LOL .... but by then I'm hoping to have a second job, one that has more hours and better pay ... to where it won't take up almost half of my weekly pay! LOL.

Long Overdue Post ...

Happy New Year!!

What an ending to last year, and to the incoming New Year.

Been lots going on here. Where to start?

Christmas went well for the most part. Got all I asked for, and then some. My cousin MMcB hosted dinner this year. Amazing ... the McB side of the family has never ever hosted a holiday meal. Now they'll be hosting 'em all. I don't think they know it yet. LOL.

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A few days after Christmas (Friday, Dec. 28), DIL moved out with Grandson. She'll soon be called XDIL, that is if I ever blog about her again. I don't anticipate it, but you never know. But then again, the way she's lied about the last week when she's here to get her property I don't expect her to play nice through the coming months.

She called Married Son tonight and told him I was hovering over her while she was packing up Grandsons toys tonight. Um ... not hovering (exactly) ... we talked the entire time she was packing up his stuff, and I even offered her use of my flashlight when something of Grandson's fell behind the desk. When she went to her room to get some of her stuff packed, I came into my room ... now how's that hovering? However, when it comes to the furniture in Grandson's room I will be watching ... it's MY furniture and DIL hasn't exactly respected any of my belongings in the 7 1/2 years she lived here!! I worry when she takes the bed out (it belongs to them) next week that she won't give a damn and damage my furniture! Why would she respect my forty-five year old bedroom furniture when she's moving out? 

I can't wait until her crap is all gone, and I don't have to deal with her anymore. But, we've known for years how I feel about her anyway. All I can say is good riddance.

Oh, and Married Son does plan on staying here at least during the divorce, possibly afterwards. He's planning on suing for custody. He's working towards being at home all the time, hiring drivers to do all the road work, while he does things that'll keep him local and home every night by dinner time. Which means if he's working, having a live-in Grandma to watch Grandson while he's working will be an asset.

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I need a new name for Married Son!! I have no idea what ... Gizmo was Single Son's nickname when he was little ... talking to Married Son he said he'd kill me (not really!) if I used his childhood nickname as his blog name ... Goober!! He suggested Boss Man, but I don't know about that one. Guess it's better than Married Son when he'll soon enough be divorced.

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Not much going on with Gizmo ... Gadget is still around and still trying to be the "lady of the house". At least she does their dishes (half the time anyway), doesn't leave laundry laying in the bathroom, doesn't miss the trash with her lady supplies, etc. Gizmo is talking about moving out towards the end of the summer. In the meantime he's got a bunch of fix-up projects he's doing around here, starting with the family room - paint, new flooring, the works. The first coat of paint is up, the old carpet is out (it was here when I moved in 18 years ago, and badly needed to be replaced). Now that the holidays are over the project can continue.

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Alien is also talking about 2013 being the year of the divorce. I told her I will help with the boys, but not with finances or with a roof over their heads. Her Papa (my ex father in law) has given her the house she lives in now, under a few conditions. She has to have a job to pay the bills, a reliable car to get her to work, dump the loser (his words) and fix up the house (he'll pay for materials and help with the work). She has to keep it up for five years, then he'll sign the house over to her free and clear.

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It looks like things will pull together this year. Finally!! Is it possible this is the year the nest finally empties?

Like they say at the end of those old time soap operas ... "Tune in next week when we find out if our young starlette's dreams come true" Okay, fine ... not so young ...