Month: May 2009

  • Rain, Rain and More Rain Again!

    Today didn’t start out bad at all considering I had been up and down all night. I folded come
    clothes, hung up others, laid back down and slept for an hour or so and then back up and looking for
    something to do. I didn’t get much sleep but I didn’t feel very tired so I considered myself lucky
    since I was getting the baby around 7:30am.

    The Princess was right on time but sat down to talk for a bit since she was irritated that they had to
    be in the store an hour before it opened to *clean up and get it ready*. The crew that closed was
    supposed to do that before they left. Some bright soul at corporate had decided that this needed to
    be done to ensure that everything was absolutely PERFECT before the first customer walked
    through the door. The morning crew always made sure that the stock was out and that everything
    was neat. It did NOT require a whole hour of their time as long as everyone was working together.
    Of course, if you have ever worked, you know how that can be at times. Some people are just plain
    lazy and experts at LOOKING busy without actually doing anything. Been there, seen that. I can’t
    say I blamed her.

    Chewlee was, as usual, happy and loving. She brought a ball with her that she told me was HER
    ball. She’s been absconding with and keeping poor Baron’s balls for lack of one of her own. It’s a
    better size ball for her to practice trying to catch it. We played that for a while until she got tired of
    it and started kicking it around. I laughed and told her she should be a soccer player when she gets
    bigger.

    She ate lunch like she was starving. She might have been since she didn’t eat all that much
    breakfast. Just a container of yogurt and a little bit of cheerios. I gave her a big plate of chicken
    and noodles with carrots, celery and mushrooms. She ate every single bit of it. I put the TV on in
    the living room since she likes to watch it while she’s eating. I was surprised when the Beast came
    out and changed the channel to a kids station for her. I had put on the news since she doesn’t seem
    to care what is on as long as it is on and has commercials.

    When she was done, she asked for a icesicle (one of those plastic tubes with koolaid or some such
    thing in them that you freeze). I knew what she meant. I call them *sucksicles* since they melt so
    easy back into liquid and Chewlee loves to suck the juice out of the tube once she’s eaten all the
    *ice*. I gave her a half at a time and then she wanted more. Instead of giving her another one, I
    gave her a cookie stuffed with apple that she ate up and then was finally done eating. I was amazed
    at how much she had eaten. I think the kid IS growing and taking in the extra food she needs to
    help her grow. It seems like she went from 18 month sizes to 24 month quickly and now those look
    like they are almost too small for her.

    The Princess came home during her lunch break and brought some cheddar cheese popcorn with
    her. Of course, Chewlee rushed up and started with her *Please!! Please!!* wanting some. She ate
    quite a bit of those before her mother finally left to go back to work after getting kisses and hugs.
    Chewlee was ready for her nap by then and, when I put her to bed on the guest bed, didn’t give me a
    problem but went right to sleep for her usual two hours.

    Shortly after 4, the Princess arrived here to pick her up and Chewlee ran around giving the dog,
    Papa and me kisses then rushed to the door like she was afraid her mother was going to leave
    without her. The Princess had to laugh because Chewlee kept saying *bye* and throwing kisses as
    she was trying to push the screen door open to leave.

    It rained on and off all day long. I haven’t gotten out to inspect the garden to see how it’s doing yet.
    I plan on doing that tomorrow if we get a break in the rain. We are under three different alerts, flash flooding being the worst of it and that's supposed to apply until 9pm Sunday evening. It’s pouring down right now here and,
    for a while, I had no Internet or TV since they are both satellite. Bad weather, no service.

    The Beast decided to make bread today. He dragged in the breadmaker to do the dough. He lets it
    prepare the dough but then puts it into regular bread pans to make the final rise. He does a good job
    but always makes way more than we need or can use. And it’s still not like bakery bread. It’s a
    much heavier texture. My bread doesn’t turn out that way but I let it rise in a bowl first and then in
    the bread pan. I have two rises, not one. But you can’t tell a man anything. He has become an
    *expert* since he’s started doing this. Trust me, it’s been less than a year since the first time he
    made bread. How does that make him an expert? IAMT, I guess.

    I made a big pan of brownies yesterday and added some finely chopped walnuts to them since the
    Beast is still having a difficult time with his plate. Half the time he doesn’t even keep them in his
    mouth. I keep telling him to go to the dentist and see what kind of adjustment he needs but he
    doesn’t want to do that. I no longer tell him anything because he’s apparently an expert about that
    too. How would *I* know? I have both upper and lower dentures and have had them for years. I
    eat anything I want and don’t have to use pastes all the time either like he does. I just walk past him
    chewing something HE can’t and laugh inside.

    Well, time to get this posted since I seem to have the Internet back and the rain has lessened to a
    gentle drizzle. Love you all. Have a great day. I will try not to float away.

  • An Unexpected Holiday And Some Bad Storms

    I think one of the things I hate about satellite internet is that weather is such a huge factor in getting and staying connected. Cable may not be perfect but there are a lot fewer problems associated with it. Weather is NOT one of them.

    I got a call from the Princess around noon when I was expecting the baby to be dropped off. She told me that Johnnycakes didn't have to work so he was going to keep her at home. I was so happy to know that since it meant that I could get a few things done around here. Wash. Change linens. Throw rugs. The weather was bad so it was just perfect. The bad thing was the dog. He gets nervous when there is thunder and lightning. If the Beast and I are together where he can be near us both at the same time, he's okay. But, since I was in my computer room mostly, he kept coming into my room, laying down for a bit and then back out to be close to the Beast. Back and forth, back and forth. I'm surprised he hasn't worn a groove in the floor.

    My day has been pretty much just spent worrying about the storm, if our power would be knocked off (it wasn't, surprisingly) and cringing from some of the lightning that struck close to the house. It's been a long time since I have lived in anything that was mostly aluminum (our siding). We did live in a mobile home for some years in Florida but after that, it was cement block homes. It makes me very nervous at times to know this place could be blown apart easily. With no basement, there's no real place to hide and be safe. It's either our walk-in closet or one of the bathrooms.

    Worse news of the day is that these thunderstorms will be with us for five days yet. *shudder* I'm sure we will end up with a totally neurotic dog and flooded garden by the time it's over. The land is mostly clay so it doesn't absorb well and there's not a lot of places it can even run off. Our poor neighbors in back of us could end up with a flooded yard...and they don't have a crawl space underneath so, if the rain comes down in enough volume, they could end up with water in the house. It's the way the land was graded when the house was built....we are up about four feet or so from the back of their house. Our crawl space under the house is about another four feet or so, so it would take a lot of water for US to be threatened that way.

    All day long, my weatherbug kept chirping to let me know about alerts, watches and then warnings. Like I couldn't just listen or look out my front door and tell what was going on. PLUS, it sent me emails in case I didn't notice the chirping of my weatherbug on my computer. Duh. If it was on, I was there....LOL. I did manage to take a nap for a couple hours and that's the only reason I am still up at this hour. I need to get to bed. It's quiet outside now and the Flood Warnings are cancelled for the night. Guess it's time.

    Love you all and have a better day than we will be having. More thunderstorms expected and I get Chewlee early since her mom has to open the store. At least she will be getting off around 5pm. I won't have to worry about her bath.

  • At Least I'm Not Screaming Any More

    I got up this morning with a lot of trepidation but my legs were feeling a bit better. Good thing because Chewlee was here by 7am. I can get up and down from a chair without screaming or biting my tongue. The calves still are killing me but loosened up from this morning. Another day or two and I should be as good as new. LOL....I wish!

    The Beast looked up the waterfall information about Gadsden and decided he had to go there. He had been told it was NOT a difficult walk to it so he took the chance. It's only about a 45 minute drive from here. I wished him luck as he went on his way. At least he left the dog home this time.

    When he returned a few hours later, I asked him about the walk to the falls. He said it was a nice walk...not too bad at all. EXCEPT....it was all downhill to the falls. That meant it was UPHILL all the way back to the car. He did NOT look good when he got home. He got some great pictures of the falls there, however, so he felt it was worth the agony. He's been in hog heaven all evening playing with them and his new photo program that his brother sent him. It's a lot more complex in some ways but much easier he claims once it's set up. I have no clue and really don't want to know. It's just NOT my *thing*.

    Chewlee was in a fantastic mood today. she was hardly naughty at all....notice the word *hardly*. She is no angel but, for the most part, she was much better today. And she was in a loving mood again. I love those days. She wants hugs and kisses and will be in the middle of playing and then run over to you for a kiss and a hug then back to playing. We went through all her books again today, two catalogs, two magazines and the Walmart insert that came in the mail. She just loves to look at all the pictures for *mommys*, *babies* and *doggies*. Today she wanted to know what some of the items in the Walmart insert were. I guess they were unfamiliar to her. Things like blenders, Wii programs, exercise equipment and Mother's Day cards.

    I gave her a bath and dressed her in a new outfit her mother bought for her. It is so cute. A little skirt with bloomers built into it. I called them shorts but I guess I am wrong on that. I thought bloomers had elastic on the legs and these are more like shorts so go figure. The top has stars and butterflies on it and they sparkle so the baby just thinks they are beautiful. She had to run to the mirror and check herself out. Then she started blowing me kisses while looking at me in the mirror. It really was cute.

    The Princess found out today that, if she gets the job with AT&T, she will have to go to Atlanta of all places for two weeks of training. They pay her for it and provide a hotel room. They even provide the money for her to return home on weekends (when possible). That poses a bit of a problem but one that's not insurmountable. When she told Johnnycakes, he felt that between him, Kym and me, we could manage to take care of Chewlee for while she's gone. After that, she would be making enough money to provide day care full-time so the only day she would need someone is on Saturday. I think that Kym and I could manage that. We could even share, I'm sure. It would certainly not be a burden to anyone. The AT&T rep that has been working with her all this time told her to use him as a reference. It should be a plus because HE is the one that hired the guy that the Princess will be having the interview with on Monday.

    Well, I am tired and it's late. I need to get myself to bed and let my body heal. Love you all. Have a wonderful day.