- The little black snail died and polluted the tank and gave Simon (the Betta) a fungal infection. So I cleaned the tank thoroughly and added a little aquarium salt. Simon is quickly losing the white patches and getting back to his gorgeous green-blue color. Dyson (the large golden apple snail) didn’t care for all the commotion or the added salt so I moved him to the smaller tank. Now he’s sliming all over the place, but still moving about some. Hopefully after a few days of rest and separation, I can reunite them as healthy critters.
- The Kid starts school next week, entering the first grade. His teacher sent him the cutest postcard welcoming him to her class. I’m so hoping that this year goes more smoothly. The Kid’s behavior has improved this summer, but it’s just him and his brother most of the time, not an entire class of kids. So we’ll see how things go with the new teacher. He is sleeping better since his tonsils and adenoids came out, so there’s that, too. He’s also been working with Hubby on his writing and getting better all the time.
- The Kid is really into cartoons right now and starting to venture into territory I’d rather he didn’t go. I don’t mind Code Name Kids Next Door or Fanboy & Chum Chum, but when he starts getting into the more violent cartoons, I have a problem. I’m one of those weird Americans who would rather my kid see people get naked than people getting hurt/killed (not that we sit around with nudie movies on either, but you get my point). So we’ve told him that anything over a TV-Y rating, he has to ask mom or dad if he can watch. We try to keep an eye on what he’s watching, but it helps that he’s such an incredibly honest kid.
- Boo moved up to a big boy bed! Hubby’s folks had the head/foot boards that match the Kid’s, so we bought them a new frame for their mattresses and set up the matching bed for Boo (his mattress is nicer than ours!). He seems to be doing well with it. There was one rough night where he was up every hour or so, but he seems to have gotten over it. The worst part is that he’s a total wiggle worm at night and moves ALL OVER the bed. He’s already cracked his head on the headboard a time or two and somehow ended up on the floor this morning (if he fell out, he didn’t cry). It’s a happy and sad thought to think that we don’t have a use for the crib anymore, but our little Boo is 2 and a half.
- My job has been sucking lately. Only because I haven’t had much to do. Finally today I got to start a big project creating computer-based training for another girl in our greater department. I was SO happy to be doing CBTs again! Our boss has pigeon-holed us to the point that all I do is system administration for our training tracking system (when I’m not traveling) and my coworker was doing all the eLearning stuff. Lucky, for me, said coworker is busy with other project right now so he was more than happy to pass this one to me! I’m hoping this will help people see there is more to me than just being a system administrator.
- Went to a weekend crop last weekend and finished 22 pages. Not bad for me. Especially since I missed half of the first day when I was trapped in an airport trying to get back home. I’m about a year and a half behind on my scrapbooking right now so I was glad I got any time at all to get a few pages done and catch up with my Scrap Mafia girls. They are about the coolest bunch of ladies I’ve ever known. Even when we don’t talk for months, it’s like we were never apart.
- Speaking of women friends, apparently I need to remember who reads my blog and not be so rude to them on here. I would hope that folks would realize when I’m venting and just doing an emotional dump here, but I also realize that I use some strong words sometimes. So I’m sorry if I offended or angered anyone reading this.
- Speaking of reading, I am slowly but surely making my way through “The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest”. This book is very hard for me to get into. I really liked the first two, but this one is slow going and not really keeping my attention. Hopefully, I’ll finish it soon so I can start the new Patricia Briggs werewolf book.
I am so obsessed with my fish. Probably because work is infinitely tedious right now. And there he is happily swimming around in his little tank. Giving me minutes of entertainment before I focus back on more and more data entry.
I haven’t moved the betta over to the new 2 gallon tank yet. I’m letting it run for a few days before I toss him in. I was worried that it might get too cold (Bettas are tropical fish, you know) so I bought a heater for it, but the thermometer I also picked up has read a steady 79 degrees all morning. I think it’s the air vent on my laptop heating it up. I also considered getting a filter, but the tank comes with one (sort of) and the girls at Petco talked me out of it. And no piddly fish flakes for my boy, he only eats freeze-dried bloodworms. Mmm mmm good!
Yes, I know I’m spoiling him.
The snail is annoying me. When I had him at home, he was very active and crawling all over the tank. Since I brought it to work, he’s hardly moved. I don’t know if the betta has been annoying him, if the water conditions are bad for him, or if all the moving around freaked him out, but he’s been hibernating for about a week now. If he’s moving around at night, I can’t tell. He’s not dead, according to Dr. Google, because he’s still in his shell with his “trapdoor” closed and he doesn’t smell bad. But he is an incredibly boring pet and an ineffective algae eater, if he just stays in his shell all the time. I moved him over to the new tank today, so he’ll be in there for about 24 hours by himself. If the betta was bugging him (which I never saw him do), maybe this will give him an opportunity to explore before the betta joins him. I’m also thinking about adding one or two other snails to hang out with him.
Isn’t this just the most exciting post EVER?!! Well, half the women I know are pregnant right now, and since I won’t be joining them any time soon (or ever again), I have to get my “new thing to take care of” fix somewhere.
Sorry my first post back was so incredibly bitchy. The funk has decended this week and I can’t seem to shake it. Hopefully, it will pass soon.
In other news, did I mention I just got back from the motherfrakking Netherlands?!?! How cool is that? I stayed in a great litle village just a few miles from the sea and took a gorgeous bike ride to the beach one night. I was there for work, but I made sure to make time for fun this time since I was there for a week. On Friday night, I stayed at a hotel near Schiphol Airport and explored Amsterdam Centraal. For those up on your voetbal, you already know that was the night that Holland won against Brazil. Needless to say, there was great merryment in the streets. I’ll post some pictures and video soon.
During my mad travels over the last 3 weeks, I also made a stop in Raleigh, NC and picked up my very first designer handbag (yes, you heard that right: handbag. Not purse. Don’t be hatin’.). I was so impressed with Marty’s story of the stolen bag and the designer’s willingness to replace it for her, free of charge (who does that?!). Plus, the bags are so cute and damn near indestructable, I had to get one of my very own. Unfortunately, the bag I bought is too small for the great wealth of crap I carry around from day to day. Lucky for me, the very awesome Holly Aiken agreed to let me exchange my bag for a larger version when I return to Raleigh later this month since I haven’t used it!
Another exciting (to me) purchase was my new brown work shoes. My old ones were falling apart and I was having a terrible time finding a new pair that was comfortable and looked decent with a pair of khaki dress pants. These little gems fit the bill, with the caveat that I have to put band aids over the bone under my big toe otherwise they rub very painfully on that spot.
In kid news, the Kid smacked his little brother in the mouth with the metal gate that’s between the kitchen and the living room and chipped his front tooth. Luckily they both already had an appointment witht he dentist that week. Boo’s tooth is OK and the dentist filed off the sharp edge, but he’s going to have a chipped smile until his baby teeth fall out in a few years. The Kid has had a bad run of doing things that end up with his briother crying lately. I think now that Boo is getting a little older/bigger, he forgets that he still outweighs him by 50 pounds. I’ve got an older kid off the charts in weight/height and a younger kid below the 30th percentile. Add that to the fact that they’re 4 years apart and you can see that it’s a dangerous combination when they play rough (as boys are wont to do).
We have an appointment with the Kid’s principal and one of the teachers tomorrow. We had the school administer some additional tests to see if he could be accelerated to 2nd grade next year. Really, I’m not sold on him skipping grades (even though socially he does do better with older kids), I just want the school to formally recognize his “smarts” and teach him accordingly. It was ridiculous that a kid who reads on a 4th grade level (according to the school) be teached the basics of the alphabet and letter sounds for an entire school year. I want him taught on his level and to be challenged (more than just once a week in the gifted program), whether that’s in 1st or 2nd grade.
I’ve got a few other things I want to talk about, but I’ll save that for another post!
Hi! Remember me? No? Yeah, me neither. But for those who still read this site now and again, here’s what’s been on my mind lately:
- Been thinking about going public with this site. Well, it’s not private by any means, but there is a certain amount of anonymity from many of my friends, family and coworkers. I think I might write more if I knew people were reading and more people who knew me were reading, not random strangers. A lot of the bloggers I’ve friended on Facebook share links to their new posts there and I often wish I could do that. I don’t really talk about anything ultra confidential and I definitely don’t talk about work since the fiasco at my last job, so there wouldn’t be any harm in sharing my current posts (on the rare occasion I write one) with the folks who know me. However, there are archived posts where I vent about my family and friends that I’m not sure I want them to read. I wish I could password protect part of my archive without having to go post by post. I’ve been writing since 2002. That’s a lot of posts. Still, it’s something to consider.
- I think I may be perimenopausal. I’m only 33, but I’m really starting to wonder. For the last week or two, I’ve been having hot flashes, really bad acne and terrible mood swings. Clearly, my hormones are f***ed up (and I’m NOT pregnant). So I made an appointment with my OBGYN in 2 weeks to find out what is going on with my body. My prediction is he’s going to want to put me back on the pill. The last pill pretty much negated the lovely effects of the Lex.apro so it will have to be something else. I can’t afford for the anxiety to get worse right now, especially since…
- Work is crazy busy! We’ve reorganized and I’m taking on a completely different role. However, I’m still doing a lot of my old job too, which means I’m twice as busy as before. It’s making me feel VERY anxious and irritable. It’s not hard work, but it’s very time consuming and there’s A LOT of it. Plus, all of my coworkers are being stretched to the limit, too, so we’re all anxious and freaking out a bit. It also doesn’t help that our boss is a bit of a control freak (something I’ve told him to his face so no worries if I go public with the blog).
- My cell phone contract is up in 2 weeks and I’m debating if I want to get a better phone and keep my current plan, get a better phone for my hubby under my current plan, or get a pay as you go phone and plan. I never call anyone and I get very few calls either (for an extrovert, I’m very introverted) so it doesn’t make sense to pay for 500 minutes a month that I never even come close to using. However, I would like to be able to access Facebook and check my email on my phone, which I can’t do now. Do you have a NON-smartphone that does that?
Random updates for those who might still be reading…
- The Kid has officially been slapped with the label of “gifted”. This means he’s bussed to another school for the all day gifted program once a week. Mrs. O (the gifted teacher) is awesome with him, challenging him and yet remaining firm when he gets out of control. She reported back that he has an IQ of 132, for whatever that’s worth. I’m just glad he gets a chance to get out and learn HIS way without being held back in the areas he excels. I’m not saying these two things are related, but his behavior has improved remarkably in his regular class since he started the gifted program. Imagine that!
- Boo is just as smart as his big brother, in his own way. The moms in playgroup are jokingly accusing him of “showing off” when he starts spouting his huge vocabulary (like “Skeleton!” at the Science Center). Even people at the grocery store today were commenting with amazement on the 21-month-old shouting “Quesadilla!” in the ethnic food aisle. He recognizes at least 90% of the alphabet and has started counting objects up to three on a regular basis. His two loves right now are Sesame Street and Max & Ruby (Max is a bad little bunny!). I do believe that Sesame Street contributes a lot to what he knows. The Electric Company (original) taught the Kid to read. TV isn’t all bad.
- There’s a pretty major change a-coming at work, but I can’t talk about it just yet. It’s a good thing though and I’m excited about it. An opportunity to get back to some of the things I’m most passionate about. I’ll be give more details in about 2 weeks.
- I wore a dress to work yesterday. No, seriously. Stop laughing! Unfortunately (or fortunately), there is no photographic evidence.
- Two things I really want to buy when I get some money: a dressy coat and some knee-high black boots. These things may or may not be related to my former dress wearing. And the fact that I’ve bought more jewelry in the past month than I ever have before. I’m just full of surprises, aren’t I?
- OMG, I got so fat in Vegas. Well, technically I was already fat, but eating those huge meals and sitting in presentations all day did not help. I came back and started 750mg of Met.formin XR twice daily. This should help me lose some weight, if only because I spend half my time on the toilet (TMI!). I’m still not dieting really, but I am working out on the elliptical 3x/week. I do well with eating at work: I eat a sensible breakfast and lunch and don’t snack in between. However, once I get home I eat a carb-laden dinner and inevitably cap the night off with chocolate or ice cream. And weekends are just a wash since I forget to work out and just eat whatever’s handy throughout the day. I’ll get there, but right now I’m slowly easing into the lifestyle changes.
We totally need the “Clean Sweep” people or at least a Merry Maid to come out and take care of this for us. And this is BEFORE Christmas, people! I can only imagine the horror after another toybox throws up in our house.
Please note that the following video contains images which may upset neat freaks and those with OCD. Viewer discretion is advised.
Instead of talking to my OBGYN about the BCP vs. mental meds, I’ve just decided to stop taking the BCP after I finish this pack. It’s just not worth it. I don’t even know how much the BCP helps with the PCOS symptoms and my chances of getting pregnant are extremely slim to none. So after this week, I’ll be finished with this pack (except the placebos which I never take anyway) so hopefully my serotonin levels will be back to normal before the Christmas madness really begins.
In the New Year, I want to try some other things for dealing with the PCOS. I want to go back on Met.formin and start exercising. The Met.formin will lend itself to eating better too, since there are awful GI side effects if you eat high fat/high carb foods while on it. Getting my insulin levels straightened out and losing some weight should help with the PCOS symptoms and maybe keep me from continuing down this path to Type II Diabetes. Then there’s the fatty liver that would also benefit from a few less pounds. I know I need to do it, I just need to get myself pumped up mentally and the holidays are not the time to start trying to eat right and exercise. I’ll wait until January before I give up pumpkin pie!
Do you have weight loss plans for 2010? What diet plan or exercise regime are you planning to follow?
Soooo, if you weren’t already aware (and you might not since I password protected the original post): A few months ago I became the world’s biggest hypocrite and started taking Lex.a.pro (periods added to avoid spam) to deal with my anxiety issues. Why am I a hypocrite? Because before I started taking meds, I was the first one on my soapbox to poo poo antidepressants. Oh, you don’t need that! Just exercise! Just make some changes in your life! Just talk to a therapist! You don’t need those freaky deeky brain chemical altering drugs! Until you do.
So I’ve been taking 20mg of Lex.a.pro a day since August and it’s made a world of difference for me. I feel NORMAL, whatever that means. I feel more confident and more like myself from 10 years ago. Well, that was until this week. See, almost 2 weeks ago I started taking birth control pills(BCP, Re.clip.sen to be exact) to help with the PCOS symptoms and make for damn sure a miracle doesn’t occur and I end up pregnant. I chose Re.clip.sen (really I asked for Ortho.cept, but apparently they’re the same thing) because it’s recommended as a “less androgenic properties” pill. (You can read my post about that here.) However, I think something between those two drugs is causing my anxiety to go bonkers. Literally. Yesterday I felt as bad as I did before I went on the Lex.a.pro.
I emailed my Nurse Practitioner (who is the bomb!) and she suggested I call my OB to try another pill. She doesn’t think the BCP is making the Lex.a.pro less effective, but it may be increasing my anxiety. (Don’t tell my NP, but I took an extra 10mg of Lex.a.pro last night and I do feel better today.) Honestly, if the BCP is the cause and the whole reason I’m taking it is to help with PCOS symptoms, then I might as well just stop taking it since another brand of BCP probably won’t be as effective at helping with PCOS symptoms. This may require a call to an Endocrinologist. I’m self-diagnosing and self-prescribing and that’s really not good.
So anyhoo, I’ll keep you posted on the meds situation just in case someone else out there is having issues like mine. Is anyone else having issues like mine? Or have you had issues with BCPs and anti-depressants/anti-anxiety meds? Email me, if you don’t feel comfortable posting here. I’d really appreciate your view!
Mother of the Year award nominee, No Minivan presents her top two terrible mama moments for today:
1. Sent the Kid to his room because I was trying to take a nap on the couch and he would not stop annoying the crud out of me. I could have tried some redirecting or even attempted to give him the attention he was so desperately asking for, but, no. Mama was tired! Come on, with all the books and toys in his room, it’s not like it was punishment. Really!
2. Got to wondering this evening if I should have taken Boo to the doctor last month. Are there mandatory vaccines he needed at 18 months (and let’s not get into the vaccine debate)? This poor kid is so suffering from Second Child Syndrome. I don’t take as many pictures, he has nothing but hand-me-downs, and now I can’t even remember when I’m supposed to take him to the doctor.
Thank goodness for Twitter updates or I’d have totally blown NaBloPoMo yesterday! Hey, it’s not cheating anymore than a Wordless Wednesday post!
For those who haven’t caught on to my love of scrapbooking, let me tell you right now: I am a whore for the scrapbooking supplies. I never have enough time to crop (which is why I’m over a year behind), but I can’t resist a good deal on kits, paper packs and general embellishments. I used to just be a paper whore, but now I stock up on everything if the price is right.
Two sites that I am loving right now are ScrapbookSteals.com * and PeachyCheap.com *. They are both daily deal sites, similar to Woot.com, but for scrapbook nerds, instead of computer nerds. You can even sign up for their daily alerts or their RSS feed so you don’t miss a single deal! I’ve purchased from both sites now, but haven’t received my order from PeachyCheap yet. They seem to be kind of pokey on shipping out, but I’ll let you know if the product makes it worth it. ScrapbookSteals shipped fast and I got an incredible Pink Paislee Christmas kit for only $19.99 (including shipping!). It includeed tons of great paper, die cuts, stickers and glitter. I’m very pleased with that purchase.
In other bargain hunting news: Michaels * Black Friday flyer has been posted at BlackFriday.fm and it includes 60% off Cricut cartridges! And now you’re saying to yourself, I don’t need no stinkin’ Cricut! What if I told you you could get a Cricut machine for only $98?! I paid $200 for mine over a year ago.
Other hot ticket items include 50% off Ott-Lite True Color lighting. I got one of these for my birthday and I love it! It’s great for matching paper colors when you have 65 different shades of red. Plus, I’ve also been told they can help with SAD and improving mood in the gloom (like now!).
Apparently, they will also have 55% off Scrapbooking Storage. If you’re a scrapbook whore like me, you probably need an extra bag or two to haul all those kits you picked up at the last scrapbook expo! Even if you don’t have much yet, by the time you visit PeachyCheap or ScrapbookSteals every day for a few weeks, you’ll need more storage!
Happy shopping!
* This is not a paid post (unfortunately). No one pays me to hawk their wares (unfortunately). I just sincerely like these businesses and wanted to pass along the good word.
