Shrinkage

Thursday, July 31, 2008 Posted In Edit This 2 Comments »

I know I cannot possibly be the only one noticing the rampant shrinking of everything I purchase these days. I know that money is tight, but not only are companies increasing their prices for every freaking thing, they are shrinking their products!

I buy dogfood in 50lb bags. I used to pay $16 for a bag. Now I pay closer to $20.00 for a bag that now weighs 44lbs! That's cuh-razy. Especially since I go through so damned much of it. Well, my dogs do. I'm not eating the stuff!

Also, food packaging is getting smaller. Even cheese! Even my usually-oblivious DH noticed that the individually wrapped cheese slices are mysteriously thinner. It is nearly impossible now to peel them from the wrapping without it splintering off into these tiny messy pieces. What the hell?

The one thing, however, that I have noticed that is not shrinking is my grocery bill! It has increased by about one third. I used to love grocery shopping. It was my peaceful escape, now I nearly have heart palpitations each time a purchased item *beeeeeps* across the scanner. I can barely handle looking at the total bill. I swear that last line on the receipt should say: Your Total Savings: HAHAHA!

*sigh*

Wednesday, July 30, 2008 Edit This 0 Comments »

It has been one of those days.

DH woke me up 45 minutes earlier than necessary because he forgot about my change in child care plans. This was after getting less than 5 hours sleep. Oh what I wouldn't give for a solid 8 hours of sleep. Sleep has become such a precious commodity!

I went ahead and hauled my ass out of bed, because once I'm awake, I'm up. I let the wutz sleep longer than normal while I snuck outside to feed our 9 dogs. It is a chore that I prefer to do first thing in the morning while it is still cool outside. For some reason they refuse to eat if it is hot and the food goes to waste. I go thorugh a 50lb bag of food every 5 days, so I try to conserve as much as possible with these guys!

Once I got back around to feed the dogs that are kept in the laundry room, I heard the wutz wailing something fierce. I dropped the bucket and ran through the house, leaving tracks of nasty mud on my light tan carpet. I flung the door open, only to realize that he was perfectly fine, he just thought his Daddy was in the bathroom because the light was still on. Once I told him Daddy was at work he was perfectly fine. But I still hate toddler hysterics first thing in the morning. I need at least one cup of coffee first, please!

Everything else went smoothly until I headed to work. On the way there my phone ran. It was my mother. She never calls that early unless something is wrong. I was right. She said that on the front page of today's paper was an article I she needed to tell me about before I saw it. A very close friend of mine from Junior High and High School was killed yesterday in a car wreck.

I cried all the rest of the way to work. And at work. Not a sobbing cry, but a mournful one nonetheless. Though we drifted apart from one another and our friendship naturally waned, I always loved him.

He took me to my first dance in seventh grade. We rode horses together. We teased one another mercilessly about who we were dating. We hung out together. I sat on the sidelines and watched him play football on Friday nights and we did quite a number of things at the field on other nights. He was such a huge part of my past, even though we haven't spoken in quite some time, I feel this loss deeply.

So, needless to say, my heart was heavy once again. I felt so tired and worn down all day. I finally made it home and got the wutz down to nap. I did a few chores, and thought I'd take a nap myself to, hopefully, improve upon my day. I figured I had at least another hour and a half before the wutz woke up. I set up the monitor so I could hear the wutz, and I curled up in bed. I grabbed a pillow, yanked up the covers and nestled in. Then, through the monitor, I hear "MOOOOOOOOMMMMMAAAA!" Oh no, heavens no! But yes, the wutz woke up after the briefest nap in the history of the world.



I'm just so done today. So so done.



(Sidenote: My friend leaves behind a wife and four kids. Please pray for them.)

PRK Update!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008 Posted In Edit This 1 Comment »

I had a checkup at the eye doctor this afternoon. He checked looked at my eyes and said all the whatever-is-inside looks like it is healing right on schedule. Yay! Then he checked my vision.

I am currently seeing 20/25!

How awesome is that??? I was really surprised because I did not think I'd have that much improvement. When I began this ordeal, the eyesight in my left eye was 20/200 and it was 20/400 in my right eye! What a massive improvement!

The even better news is, the doctor said that by my next appointment I will be seeing 20/20! I was floored when he said that. When I signed up for this, he told me he couldn't get 20/20, but apparently he was wrong! It is a very very good wrong, too. I mean, if a doctor is ever to be wrong, this is the kind of wrong a person wants to get!

The bad news is that I have to contine with the Pred Forte drops for another month. I have to use them 4 times a day for another week, then 3 times a week, then 2 times, then 1 time per day for a week. Bummer. I hate that stuff. It is sticky and leaves this white filmy matter all over my eyelashes. I swear my eyelids are going bald from all the eyelashes I've lost because of the stuff. And I won't even tell you what it looks like stuck to my eyelids. Really. You don't even wanna know. I promise.

The worse news is he also wants me to continue the Restasis for at least 4 months. I don't mind those drops at all, except for their cost. They are $105 for a month's supply! That totally sucks.

But overall the good today by far outweighs the bad!

Yay me!

A Sieve...

Monday, July 28, 2008 Edit This 1 Comment »

That's what my brain is since getting pregnant. I could once remember anything and everytihng. Really, I could! Now, I can't even remember to make an itty bitty blog post until nearly midnight. But here I am now! In all the random nothingness...

But really... Where in the hell did my mind go? I miss it. If anyone finds it, please ship it back. I'd offer a reward, but obviously it isn't worth much.

TDK

Sunday, July 27, 2008 Posted In Edit This 1 Comment »

DH and I went to the noon showing of The Dark Knight. Wow. Just wow.

I loved it. The Joker was better than his predecessor, which surprised me. Fabulous acting. The story was more like a graphic novel than a comic book tale - there were several stories running at once. The depth of the movie surpassed the previous ones as well.

It was definitely an enjoyable ride. I won't say any more for fear of spoiling it for my lone blog reader. *waves*

Reading Level

Saturday, July 26, 2008 Edit This 1 Comment »

This blog's reading level? Not sure how I feel about this!

blog readability test

Movie Reviews

NO!

Friday, July 25, 2008 Posted In Edit This 1 Comment »

When did this become the default answer for everything?

It is the word that comes flying out of the wutz's mouth no matter the question asked.

Do you want to take a nap?
No.

Do you want to go outside?
No.

Do you want to stay inside?
No.

Do you want your favorite meal, a grilled cheese sandwich?
No.

Do you want a cookie?
No.

Do you want your Daddy?
No.

Do you want your Mommy?
No.

Do you want ice cream?
No.

Do you purposefully try to drive Mommy crazy by saying no?
Again he'd say no, but I believe the answer really means yes.

All I Can Say

Thursday, July 24, 2008 Posted In Edit This 1 Comment »

Shattered

Wednesday, July 23, 2008 Posted In Edit This 1 Comment »

I learned today that someone I don't really know suffered a tragic loss. It was a loss that shook me to my core and trembled my foundation. It was the loss of her two year old son. Her son was less than two months older than the wutz. No doubt my sense of anguish is from my ability to project just a tiny iota of what I might feel were I in her shoes. And I pray to God that I'll never know.

It truly was a tragic accident. Her daughter made a practice swing of a bat during T-ball practice. The bat, in swing, struck the little girl's brother in the chest. The blow sent the poor baby's heart into arrhythmia and doctors were unable to bring him back.

My heart shattered into a million pieces just reading the short message detailing the events. The tragedy of this family that I have never met face to face, nearly brought me to my knees with grief. So, I prayed. I prayed harder than I'd prayed in a long long time. I prayed for peace, for healing, for love, for guidance... all for this family. And I admit that I prayed such a tragedy would never touch anyone else I know, including myself.

All day I struggled with my sorrow. A small measure, indeed, compared what this family must be suffering, I know. But then tonight I chose to attend Wednesday night church service. Before the discussions began, for some reason I ended up retelling this story of this family. And tonight an entire congregation joined hands and bowed heads, literally, in prayer for a family they, too, did not know. It was moving. And I felt, that in spirit, I came to know these strangers today. I hope and pray again that they will feel some measure of peace very soon and that they know God and an amazingly large community is there for them.

The Eyeball's Connected to the...

Tuesday, July 22, 2008 Posted In Edit This 1 Comment »

..taste buds.

Seriously, who knew?

Because of this laser surgery stuff, I have to put eyedrops in my eyes a bazillion times a day. Yes. A bazillion. Don't doubt me. Would I overexaggerate about something so serious?

Anyways, about 5 minutes after I put the drops in my eyes, I start getting a terrible taste in my mouth. It is just awful. *yaks* At first I thought maybe I'd just eaten something that left a bad aftertaste, but then I kept tasting the same thing over and over. It didn't take long to pin it on the eyedrops! How crazy is that?

You'd think that after watching all of those insanely disgusting reality shows where someone swallows a spaghetti noodle then spits it out of their eyeball, it would not have taken as long to come to that realization. But, it did. So there you have it.

Learning

Monday, July 21, 2008 Edit This 0 Comments »

Nothing new to report, really. My eyes are still fuzzy at times, which is a bit of a drag, but they aren't hurting, so that's good.

I am liking this blogger thing, so far. I spent hours last night looking for various templates. I like this one, but for some reason the posting date won't show up on it no matter what I do. Therefore, I'm shopping around for another template. I like to tweak them and make them my own, so don't be surprised if the stupid thing changes 110 times before I'm satisfied with it.

I'm a perfectionist, so I will work on it until it is exactly how I want it. But as I said previously, I'm also a lazy ass, so it may take a year. Or two.

Here's a pic of the wutz that I like, I just want to see how it posts on blogger!

I'm here. I think

Sunday, July 20, 2008 Posted In Edit This 1 Comment »

Okay, so I have my nifty blogger account. I have a link back to my WordPress blog. (please take time to check out my previous posts there, if you haven't already!) And I have my template all gussied up for the time being. I'm still not entirely happy with it, but it'll do for now.

It's a good start, I think! I'm excited about the change. WordPress was just pissing me off. I couldn't make it do anything with photos that I wanted it to do. So, i'm hoping this will be better. Much better. If not, I'm throwing in the towel.

It really is kind of vain, I guess, to have a blog, but I enjoy babbling, so for those glutton for punishment, or in need for a boring read before bed... here I am.

Moved to blogger, baby!

Sunday, July 20, 2008 Edit This 0 Comments »

Okay, I bit the bullet. My blog will now be locaged on blogger!

Too Much Perfection?

Please find future boring blog posts from me at that addy!

I hope to move prior posts over eventually, but if any of you know me, then you know I’m a lazy ass and it could be awhile - if ever.

I am finally (Feb 17th, 2009) moving old posts over from Wordpress.

WordPress Blog - Previous Posts

Saturday, July 19, 2008 Posted In Edit This 0 Comments »

Please visit my WordPress Blog to read previous posts:

Too Much Perfection? WordPress Blog

Wordpress vs. Blogger

Saturday, July 19, 2008 Edit This 0 Comments »

I think I hate Wordpress. I hate that posting photos is such a freaking effort. They don’t center properly and they just make the blog look like shit. I’m very unhappy. And I can’t find any layouts that will download properly. Maybe it is just me, I don’t know. But now with WordPress 2.6 available, I don’t think I’m going to make the effort to update. I think I may just make the switch to blogger before I continue posting here.

I dread it, though, because I hate the notion of losing what I’ve already posted. And the thought of moving everything over makes my head swim. So, I don’t know.

I just don’t like Wordpress.

PRK Recovery: Day 8

Friday, July 18, 2008 Edit This 0 Comments »

I think this will be my last boring blog about my PRK recovery until something miraculous occurs, but I did want to post today to say that my eyesight is much better from yesterday! I can actually read the computer screen without needing my drugstore granny glasses! I’m excited.

I can tell that my right eye is struggling to catch up. It feels tired, whereas my left eye seems like the vision is so much better. I knew my right eye was the weakest one, but I hope it improves between now and my next appointment. I’m a little concerned about it right now.

Overall, I’m thrilled to see such a big improvement overnight!

PRK Recovery: Day 7

Thursday, July 17, 2008 Edit This 0 Comments »

I’m back at work this morning. I survived actually doing my work with the help of a cheap pair of drugstore cheater glasses! They keep the text from being quite as fuzzy. Hopefully I won’t need them but for a week or so.

The doctor said my eyes should be 75% healed in two weeks. Then I’ll see the rest of the healing in another two weeks after that. So about a five weeks of healing from start to finish.

My eyes are tired now, though. I hope the wutz naps so I can put him down when I get home and then perhaps take a nap myself.

PRK Recovery: Day 6

Wednesday, July 16, 2008 Edit This 0 Comments »

My far-away vision rocks! I can watch TV with no problem, etc. But my reading vision is blurry blurry blurry.

So that’s all you are getting out of me today. It’s too freaking hard to see!

PRK Recovery: Day 5

Tuesday, July 15, 2008 Posted In Edit This 0 Comments »

Today was probably the roughest yet. The bandage contacts were driving me absolutely batshit. Everytime I’d put drops in my eyes - which is about 1,876,345 times a day - it would feel like the contacts were trying to float out of my eyes. It is such a yucky, scratchy feeling.

Fortunately, the eye doctor removed the contacts this evening! He put the numbing drops in my eyes first, which made it easy to remove the lenses, but the drops gave me a near-instant headache, which I still have. Ergh. A leftover Vicodin should fix that up right quickly, though.

I’m supposed to put drops in my eyes four times a day for the next two weeks. Then the dr wants to see me again. He claims that I should be about 75% healed. Two weeks from that date, he says that I’ll be nearly 100% healed. I’m looking forward to the final results!

But, headache aside, I’m feeling much much better already with the contacts being GONE!

And on another positive note, my parents are going to take the wutz tomorrow morning and keep him all day so I can actually have a full day of peace and quiet, which I didn’t even get while I was attempting to recover this weekend after the surgery. I am sooooo looking forward to it.

PRK Recovery: Day 4

Monday, July 14, 2008 Posted In Edit This 0 Comments »

I woke up this morning with delightfully clear vision! Which lasted all of five minutes. Then it was back to the hazy, blurry view that I’ve been enjoying for the past pair of days. The good news is that the double vision seems to be gone. Thank goodness for minor blessings.

I had a checkup appointment this afternoon. He said something (don’t ask, I dunno) was 90% healed. He sounded pleased, so I am pleased. I go back late tomorrow afternoon to have the bandage contacts removed. I hope that will make my eyes feel better, but I’ve read it will make them seem tender all over again for a little while. We’ll see!

The doctor was surprised that I didn’t feel any pain during the recovery. I didn’t. It was a little uncomfortable, but there was never any true pain. I’m grateful for that, too! Lucky me!

More to come tomorrow…

Exciting, I know.

PRK Recovery: Day 3

Sunday, July 13, 2008 Posted In Edit This 0 Comments »

Wow. My vision sucks today. I am seeing ghosting, haze, and quite often I’m seeing double! So, Lisa, don’t ask how many fingers you are holding up because I’ll be seeing twice as many!

I know it is all part of the healing process, but it certainly is annoying! And I can feel the contact in my right eye everytime I blink now. It is annoying as all hell.

That being said, there is no pain like the doctor had warned me about. So I guess I’m lucky in that regard. Yay for me.

I’ll update tomorrow when, hopefully, I can see again.

PRK Recovery: Day 2

Saturday, July 12, 2008 Posted In Edit This 0 Comments »

Last night wasn’t terrible. I was actually able to watch half of a movie before I became too sleepy to stay awake. Unfortunately, I woke up at 2:30am with a wutz foot jammed into my spine. Oy. Upon waking, I realized that my eye mask that I’m supposed to wear was MIA. It took me several minutes of fumbling in the dark to find it resting on the floor beside my bed.

At 3am I got up and went to another bedroom to sleep. It was just too hard to fall asleep only to be kicked awake again. I slept peacefully until after 7 this morning. When I woke up my eyes felt perfectly fine. Until I put eye drops into them. That’s when they began to sting again. It took me about 30 minutes to get all of the various drops into my eyes.

I then waited until 9:30am to take the painkiller they gave me. I didn’t really need it but I wanted to be prepared since the doctor said this afternoon and Sunday would be the worst of it. After that I took a long hot shower, while being very careful not to get my eyes wet.

Right now my vision is very hazy and blurry, so if there are typos in this, do forgive me. I just wanted to post a quick update!

More to come tomorrow.

I Survived!

Friday, July 11, 2008 Posted In Edit This 0 Comments »

I survived the PRK surgery! Yay me! It wasn’t bad. The valium was actually very very good. My eyesight is already much better. I can even see my bedroom clock, which I definitely could not see before without glasses!

Right now it feels like I have soap in my eyes, but the doctor said tomorrow and Sunday would be worse. I’ll find out soon enough.

So far, so good, though!

Tomorrow

Thursday, July 10, 2008 Posted In Edit This 0 Comments »

By this time tomorrow afternoon, the good Lord willing, I’ll be able to actually see! For a few hours at least, until my vision is stolen away again by the healing process that I’ve read about in about 1600 different articles found on Dr. Google. Apparently the vision fades in and out for the first couple of days while the healing process begins. Following that, about fifty percent of the healing process will occur in the first two weeks. It’ll be up to 5 months before my eyes are completely healed, though.

I think my nerves are pretty played up about it right now. Either that or there was way too much caffeine in my coffee. I’m pretty certain it is nerves, though. I’m fretting.

I’m just ready for it to be over and done with.

Tomorrow.



P.S. While it is my goal to update this blog every day, I may have to mentally compose the new couple of days worth and post them once my eyesight returns to some semblance of normal.

Blackmail!

Wednesday, July 09, 2008 Posted In Edit This 0 Comments »

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P-R-K

Tuesday, July 08, 2008 Posted In Edit This 0 Comments »

I am scheduled for that PRK laser eye surgery Friday morning. I am supposed to be there at 7:30am. When I get there they will administer a dose of Valium. Yay for that. However, I am starting to get nervous about the surgery. I wonder if I could get that Valium a few days in advance???

I keep wondering about the recovery process. Dr. Google has revealed some very worrisome blogs regarding the PRK recovery process, but I am trying to convince myself that it is a worst case scenario type thing. Right? Right!

I am nervous, though. Quite so. I am not going to back out, because I’m a full throttle kind of girl. Once I make a decision, I barrel down that road like I know what the hell I’m doing. No doubt, this will be no different.

But, did I mention I’m nervous?

What's in a Name?

Monday, July 07, 2008 Posted In Edit This 0 Comments »

Camera

Denim

Diezel

Sailor

Kal-el

Puma

Coco

Banjo

Free

Apple

Moses

Poppy

Rocket

Racer

Rebel

Rogue

Dweezil





What do these names have in common? They are all the names of children of celebrities. I’m quite certain that’s not surprising to any of you. However, I have to wonder if these celebrities sit around and try to think of names their children will absolutely hate them for later. I would. Wouldn’t you?



Now, add to that list the name Sunday. Yep. Sunday. That’s the name of the little girl born on a Monday [today] to Nicole Kidman Urban. I guess they couldn’t name her Monday, because everyone hates Mondays!



Don’t get me wrong. I love original and creative names. But some are just downright terrible! Poor kids. Poor poor kids.

I have one (or three) of these...

Sunday, July 06, 2008 Posted In , Edit This 0 Comments »

4th of July

Saturday, July 05, 2008 Posted In Edit This 0 Comments »





Roadkill:
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Happy 4th of July

Friday, July 04, 2008 Posted In Edit This 0 Comments »

Make sure you celebrate the 4th with a fifth!

Recalls

Thursday, July 03, 2008 Posted In Edit This 0 Comments »

The wutz’s crib has been recalled. It is part of that massive BRU/TRU Jardine crib recall. It isn’t a massive deal for us, because the wutz doesn’t use his crib anymore. I just have to wonder about all of the poor people that still actually use their recalled cribs. What are they supposed to do in the meantime?

Apparently, the terms of the recall require taking the crib apart and returning specific pieces of the crib. Once you’ve taken the crib apart, those pieces, along with the indentification labels, must be UPSed back to the company. It will take one to two weeks to process the refund and for them to issue you a voucher.

Great. Why is it that I get imagines of poor babies sleeping in blanket line drawers for two weeks? Seriously.

Also, why is it that when a company makes such a grievous error, the consumer is the one that has to jump through all of the hoops? Is it really necessary? I certainly know it isn’t fair!

Ennui

Wednesday, July 02, 2008 Edit This 0 Comments »

It’s a French word. It’s a Sylvia Plath poem. It’s what I’m feeling today.

It is a beautiful word. I think it may be one of my favorites. Perhaps my very favorite. But really, there are so many to choose from.

The real pity is that the word seems to be slightly miscontrued when transferred to the English language. Yes, we use the word as it is — as it is pronounced. But the meaning is slightly slanted. If you look it up in the dictionary, you’ll find that it means boredom. However, that’s not exactly how I’ve always perceived it to be. Melancholy might be closer. Yet that’s still not right…

It’s not a feeling of boredom, and it really isn’t melancholy. It is a feeling of its own. It’s not unpleasant, but not entirely enjoyable either.

It’s odd. And I’m odd for pondering the meaning of a single word in a blog.

Great Recipe!

Tuesday, July 01, 2008 Posted In Edit This 0 Comments »

Caramelized Garlic Chicken

* 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 T oil
* 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 4-6 garlic cloves, chopped
* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions
1. Sprinkle the salt and pepper onto the chicken.
2. In a medium to large sized skillet (I like cast iron) heat the oil over medium-high heat until almost smoking.
3. Add the chicken breasts and garlic to the pan and brown the first side of chicken, about 5 minutes.
4. Flip the chicken and brown the other side, about 3 minutes.
5. Remove the chicken from the pan and add the brown sugar to the pan.
6. Allow the sugar to melt about half way and add the cream.
7. Bring to a bubble and add chicken back to pan
8. Simmer for 3-5 minutes and serve over butter egg noodles or rice.
9. Enjoy!