Two Posts in One Day

We had another household mishap. They’re starting to become routine which is scary. To refresh your memories before I tell you about the newest breakdown, our washer is still acting up and my retarded Dyson Animal is still broken. The newest thing? Our garbage disposal is broken. Let me tell you why.

I have a lazy teenager. Her only chore in our house is to unload and reload the dishwasher. For a normal person, this would take 20 minutes a day at the most. For her, it can take upwards of four or five hours depending on how much I yell and badger. Last night we had spaghetti for dinner. It took her about an hour to not clean all of the dirty dishes and to shove all of the unused spaghetti noodles down the sink which totally packed in the pipes and clogged them. Then, she neglected to tell us that she had clogged the sink up. I discovered this at about 10:45 last night when I was trying to wash my hands and the water didn’t go down the sink. I turned the garbage disposal on because 99% of the time, that’s all it takes. Nope. All this did was cause noodle water to explode out of the other side of the sink. I tell the Mister and he grabbed the plunger and tried clearing the drain that way. He plunged and all this did was pull more noodles up the drain. Then we tried running the disposal again and that’s when we had a massive geyser. Noodles and noodle water everywhere when the pipe burst its seal under the sink. By now it’s after 11 and we’re picking noodles off of ourselves and there’s nasty water all over my kitchen. The Mister took the pipes apart and snaked the drain with a wire hanger (we don’t have an actual plumber’s snake.) After some snaking and more plunging, he cleared the pipes. He put everything back together but when I tested the garbage disposal, more water started coming out of it. It blew some sort of seal on the inside of it. We know NOTHING about garbage disposals but I’m assuming it’s going to have to be replaced.

We didn’t get to bed until after midnight because we both needed showers. I literally had to pick noodles off of the Mister’s back. We were a mess. I am so not happy with my child that she should be entirely grateful that I don’t beat kids. In her roots, she’s a good kid but this laziness of hers is becoming an epidemic. And yes, I know. What else is a teen supposed to be but lazy? But GEEZ! That doesn’t mean I have to like it.

Considering the punishment and grounding I have in mind for her, my house is going to be the most un-fun place to be for the next week or so. Calgon take me away!

An Award!

Pam over at 30 Something gave me this award today. Considering how much I blog as of late, it was very generous of her to think of me. Thanks Pam!!!

Here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people may not know.
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they've been nominated.

7 things you may not know about me.

1. Coming up with seven unknown facts about me at this point in the game that I’m willing to share is a hard thing to do!
2. I feel more exposed opening up our soap business than I ever have in the six years that I’ve been blogging.
3. I got my carpet cleaned last week and it really gave me a feeling of contentment knowing that it was clean. How sad is that?
4. I don’t have time to read very much these days. This includes blogs, articles, and books that I read for leisure.
5. I think I’m a little addicted to Bag, Borrow, or Steal. I’ve spent a little bit of money there recently, hehehe.
6. I’m tired of living in Small Town, U.S.A. I need more.
7. You wouldn’t believe the amount of time it took me to make this list.

Now I’m supposed to nominate seven blogs for this award. Sadly, I’ve fallen behind in my blog writing and reading and I have no idea which blogs to nominate that haven’t already been nominated. :( I suck.

If I Didn’t Have Bad Luck…

After our infamous trip to Ohio, we arrived home to discover that our washing machine wasn’t working right. It was making noises like it was going to run a regular cycle but the lid wouldn’t lock and it wouldn’t fill with water. You can picture me with steam coming out of my ears. The ding dong machine isn’t even three years old yet.

So, I do a bit of research online and find a message board about my washing machine with people posting about similar problems. Their machines had the computer board go out on it which is about $200 just for the board to replace. This isn’t including a service charge or labor. Again, me, steam, ears. I have the worst luck with washing machines. My old machine had the shocks go out on it and that was $250 to fix.

Anywho, we get back from Ohio and we’re pretty broke. We are able to get our machine to work if we unplug it and reset the computer EVERY TIME WE RUN A NEW LOAD so this is what we’ve been doing. I finally was able to get a repairman out today and the DING DONG MACHINE WORKED FINE FOR HIM!!!! WTF?!?! I had to pay him $59 for a service call for him to tell me the freaking thing was fine. In addition to feeling like a complete and total idiot, this repair call is occurring right in the middle of a phone conference for which I have to keep muting myself so I can talk to the guy. SHEESH!!

He did tell me that it probably is the computer board going out and I could go ahead and have him replace it if I wanted him to. I opted to wait even though I’m fearful that the board will crap out on me in the middle of a cycle and leave me with a washer full of wet, drippy, soapy clothes. It just seemed kind of silly to pay to fix something that was working.

Oh. And my wonderful Dyson Animal is broken too and the nearest repair shop for that is an hour away. I’m telling ya, bad luck. If I didn’t have it, I wouldn’t have any luck at all.

I’ve Come To Realize

1. I’ve come to realize that my chest-size…
is good enough for me. On the small size but at least I don’t have to worry about being able finding the right bra and I can wear pretty lacy bras too.

2. I’ve come to realize that my job…

is something to be envious of. I can’t tell you how many people have asked me how can they find work from home jobs.

3. I’ve come to realize that when I’m driving…
I obsess too much over how other drivers suck. It makes driving something that I don’t enjoy doing in the least.

4. I’ve come to realize that I need…

more self control. Oh. And a vacation.

5. I’ve come to realize that I have lost…

touch with too many good friends.

6. I’ve come to realize that I hate it when…

Mondays roll around and completely cherish weekends and holidays.

7. I’ve come to realize that if I’m drunk…
It’s not as much fun as it used to be when I was younger. Now it kinda makes me feel stupid and immature.

8. I’ve come to realize that money…

is a necessary evil and I am happier when I have it than when I don’t.

9. I’ve come to realize that certain people…

need to call more often while other certain people need to bite me.

10. I’ve come to realize that I’ll always …
be a realist and judgmental and an over-protective parent and a good listener and techno-geek and a homebody.

11. I’ve come to realize that my siblings…

Will always be a source of wonder for me. Both of them can be pretty weird.

12. I’ve come to realize that my mom…

and I will never be as close as we once were.

13. I’ve come to realize that my cell phone…
is both my lifeline and the thing that weighs me down.

14. I’ve come to realize that when I woke up this morning…

the banging I was hearing wasn’t my dogs in the trash but the next door neighbors taking their trash out.

15. I’ve come to realize that last night before I went to sleep…

I stayed up too late watching the season finale of True Blood on my DVR. I still haven’t decided if it was worth it or not. That episode was just weird.

16. I’ve come to realize that right now I am thinking…
I have a ton of stuff to do that doesn’t involve blogging. I need to get to homeschooling, reading my assigned reading for the week, and I have client work to do too.

17. I’ve come to realize that my dad…
is one of the most intelligent people that I know and that I get my temper from him.

18. I’ve come to realize that when I get on Facebook…
I have a hard time figuring out what is so much fun about it.

19. I’ve come to realize that today…
is a beautiful day outside for a change. The sun has been shining since daybreak.

20. I’ve come to realize that tonight…
Is my night to cook. I’m making spaghetti with homemade red sauce, garlic bread, and a salad. Not very imaginative but it’ll be great.

21. I’ve come to realize that tomorrow…
is just another day. I have nothing special planned.

22. I’ve come to realize that I really want to…

Take a vacation.

23. I’ve come to realize that the person who is most likely to repost this is…
nobody I know, heheh. You should though if you’re reading this. It’s kinda therapeutic.

24. I’ve come to realize that life…
is gonna happen no matter what you do. So take those lemons and throw them at someone.

25. I’ve come to realize that this weekend…
will hopefully be fun for reasons that I can’t disclose.

26. I’ve come to realize that marriage…
is what you put into it. It’s ups and downs. It’s not perfect. And still, it’s warm and fuzzy.

27. I’ve come to realize that my friends…

are TOO FAR AWAY!!!

28. I’ve come to realize that this year…

Wasn’t a banner year. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that next year will be better.

29. I’ve come to realize that my ex is…

I don’t have an ex significant enough to talk about.

30. I’ve come to realize that maybe I should…

get lunch and stop being so lazy. Oh. I should probably also answer some of the work emails that have been coming in over the weekend and today.

31. I’ve come to realize that I love…

my life. I love my kids, my husband, my dogs, my job, going to school. I love it and consider myself lucky even though I’ve been saying I need a vacation. Everyone needs a break every once in a while.

32. I’ve come to realize that I don’t understand…

People who blindly trust. People that have to follow the crowd just because it’s trendy. I don’t understand violence against children.The list goes on. There’s a lot about this world and the people in it that I will never understand.

33. I’ve come to realize my past…
has gotten me to where I’m at today and it’s made me the person, wife, and parent that I am today. Overall, I don’t think I’m such a bad person.

34. I’ve come to realize that parties…

make me nervous. I can’t relax in the midst of a bunch of people. And it gets worse the older that I get. The thought of actually hosting a party makes me sweat.

35. I’ve come to realize that I’m totally terrified…
of something happening to my kids or my husband.

What’s for Dinner?

We’re busy this year. BUSY. The Mister and I both started the fall semester Tuesday. We’re only taking two classes a piece this semester but add jobs, kids, and homeschooling to that and it’s more than enough. So, we came up with a way to balance out the home life stuff and I had to share because I’m excited about it, lol.

Mondays and Wednesdays, dinner is my responsibility. Tuesdays and Thursdays, dinner is the Mister’s responsibility. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will be either take out, leftovers, or a joint collaboration. I LOVE IT!! And today was the first day the Mister cooked dinner, lol.

He made chicken fajitas, nachos, and rice. It was great. He could have made boiled hotdogs and I would have been happy so long as I didn’t have to come up with the idea and cook it.

I’m sick to death of dinner. Dinner sucks. By the end of the day after working, doing homework, and homeschooling the youngest, I could really care less what we have for dinner. Have a sandwich, bowl of cereal or a handful of chips for all I care. Seriously. But I think this will make me more interested in cooking again. I used to like to cook but cooking and eating your own food night after night gets old.

So, YAY!!

Left or Right?

I don't and never have considered myself to be an overly political person. I think that it is beyond ridiculous that if you call yourself a republican that you automatically agree with every other republican, that you all have the same views, and that you all have the same priorities and values. Vice versa with democrats. I call myself neither a republican nor a democrat but more of a centrist with left leanings. This may be considered odd by some because we're a military family but that's just how I am. My dad, however, would be appalled because he's very much a conservative, heheh.

I've also never been one to agree with people or ideas because of trends or because something is the "popular" choice. I make up my own mind based on facts that I can see for myself and not blindly believe what other people tell me. I like to think that I make informed decisions.

All that being said, I'm going out on a shaky limb to say the following about the President's address to students.

I've read the text of the speech myself and I don't have a problem with it and the message it is conveying: Stay in school, achieve your goals, get your diploma. What made me angry in the beginning is that the whole thing was made out to be like the President was using this speech as a method to push his agenda on our kids. Turns out, in all honesty, that that wasn't the case. I think the Whitehouse should be blamed for not presenting the speech for what it was correctly from the get go. What REALLY made me angry is that on Friday, I called my daughter's school and asked if the student's would be watching the speech today in classes. This was before the text of the speech was available to be read beforehand. I was informed that they would be recording the broadcast to show at a later date after sending home permission slips to parents first. I found out today that that wasn't, in fact, the case and that they were showing the broadcast as they deemed it appropriate to the curriculum for the day. I feel like I was lied to or at the very least, misled. In the end, I would have been angry if the Whitehouse had intended to broadcast the speech without allowing parents and educators to read the text first and know ahead of time what they were exposing the children to. In my opinion, it is the only responsible thing for parents and teachers to do, to know the materials that their kids are reading and watching before the kids actually read and/or watch it. They, and I, would do the same thing with any movie.

It also ticks me off that parents who agree with me are automatically labled as being eccentric conservatives or unpatriotic or conspiracy theorists. That kind of thinking says to me that people think that because I choose to be involved with my children's education and because I care what kinds of media that they are exposed to, that this makes me a crazy parent. I think it makes me a responsible parent and I don't defend my point of view.

Does all this make me more of a republican, fanatical conservative? I don't think so but I do think that it should be beside the point altogether. First and foremost, I'm a parent and then I'm a concerned, informed citizen. I think everyone, lefties and righties, need to get a grip.

Random Saturday Ravings

I'm taking a mini non-vaca this weekend. What in the world is that? It is where the Mister and I have turned off all of our phones and they aren't scheduled to be turned back on until Tuesday morning. Yay!! I couldn't be more excited. If you need to reach me, try calling the oldest child. I'm pretty much ignoring email and Twitter this weekend too. If you don't have the oldest child's phone number, sorry bout your luck.

I stole this meme from Literary Feline's blog. Read on!

Share your ABC’s

Available or single? Married
Best Friend? The Mister of course
Cake or Pie? Pie. Apple if you want specifics.
Drink of choice? Pepsi
Essential item for every day use? Toilet paper.
Favorite color? I'm into the green family right now.
Google? Way superior to Bing.
Hometown? All over Ohio.
Indulgences? Video gaming. At my age, it's just embarrassing to admit out loud
January or February? Neither and YUCK!!
Kids and their names? Four daughters (humans and dogs) named Morgan, Sidney, Bailey, and Hannah.
Life is incomplete without…? Pets
Marriage date? May 1996
Number of siblings? Two: An older brother and a younger sister. Yes, that makes me a middle child.
Oranges or apples? Apples
Phobias and fears? Rushing water.
Quote for the day? "Friends may come and go but enemies accumulate." Oscar Wilde
Reason to smile? The thought of no phone for three days makes me smile.
Season? Summer
Time Travel Destination? England in the 1500's. A scary time and place but I would love to have seen the Tudor court first hand.
Unknown fact about me? My middle name is...
Vegetable you hate? Asparagus
Worst habit? Procrastination
X-rays you’ve had? Wrist and chest.
Your fave food? Mexican
Zodiac sign? Cancer

I'm going to finish this post off in the same manner that Literary Feline did hers.

Random Thoughts for the Day:

• I was completely, thouroughly, and totally irritated at my job for the first time since I started working 16 months ago, yesterday.
• Both of my kids are grounded to their rooms this weekend. First time ever for that too.
• I can't wait for the new television season to start.
• Last night I had a dream that the remnants of Erika reformed into a Cat 5 hurricane and skimmed up the entire eastern seaboard.
• Ohio State football season starts today.
• I think my marketing class is going to be fun this semester.
• I want a stuffed crust pizza from Pizza Hut.
• I think that's going to be dinner.
  

The Grind

Pardon me while I whine and vent.

I need a vacation. Not the pseudo-vacation that we took to Ohio where the only person that might define that as an actual vacation would be Hitler or maybe Stalin. I worked almost every day that we were there and I was stressed out beyond belief. That was not a vacation. I’m talking the variety of vacations where there are no kids, no relatives, NO EMAIL, and limited access to a phone. What there is, is lots of books to read at my leisure. sleeping in until I feel like getting up, staying up as late as I want because I know that I won’t have to get up the next morning, and nobody for company except for the Mister. I need that. Seriously. I think I’m getting an ulcer and I know that I get migraines way too often. I’m about sick to death of hearing my incoming e-mail sound on my BlackBerry. That thing never freaking stops. I hear it in my nightmares. I can be reached way too easily and too many people know that.

Do you know the last time that I had a real vacation? A vacation where work and/or school wasn’t hanging over my head? That would be March of last year when I visited Jennifer in California for my spring break and even then I was thinking about having to hit the books when I got back. I suppose that’s not so bad when I look at it. It’s only a year and a half ago. Whatever.

A vacation. Seriously, And soon. I need one or you might be hearing about some crazed lady from North Carolina in the news.