MAY DAY, MAY DAY

No, it's not a distress signal!

It's a celebration!

On May 1st, aka MAY DAY, I have a 9:50 am appointment for "debanding" (that's what THEY call it, I call it 'ripping those suckers OUT!')

I called my Ortho Fat Bastard and talked to his wonderful receptionist, Denise. I figured that since my BLUE CROSS/BLUE SHEILD OF MINNESOTA, which, BTW, sucks ass, won't cover the surgery, then what are we waiting for (anymore!) let's get this over with!

Dr. Fat Bastard agreed, and we scheduled it for May 1. THAT means that on May 16th when I graduate from college, I can SMILE!

(OH, BTW, that is not a picture of my mouth, I googled for that... I will post a picture in May though!)

A few 'during's

Here's a couple of during pics, that's Emma being 'helpful'. She didn't do too bad as long as I watched her and her drips. She likes to paint, she likes to use alot of paint!

This was the Kilz coat. Now JP wants me to paint the frames and the doors, and I have a color chosen for that. Then, of course, I will want to replace the light fixture, it is awful and ugly and old.

This is just after one coat, I did a second one on Friday. It looks kind of sucky here, the tape was still on the edges of the door frames.

Saturday night I went over to Mom's bar for Mardi Gras night, that was fun. They had drawings every hour and I won a big bottle of French Vanilla Kahlua, which I have never tried, but it sounds just yummy. I think it will be wonderful with coffee.

I have to go back to classes tomorrow. That spring break went WAY too fast. I didn't even get a chance to clean out my books. All the old papers and tests and shit... really cluttering up things and darn nears wrecking the bindings on those damn things.

I graduate in less than two months and I just can't wait. I hope it goes by fast.

Meanwhile, my kitty has picked up a nasty little habit. She started peeing randomly throughout the house. I called the vet and she has an appointment on Thursday. The vet's assistant said it sounded like just a bladder infection, since Tiny is too young for incontinence, and she is spayed. I hope that's all it is, and that medication will clear it up. Until we find out and fix it though, I moved her out to the porch. She was NOT happy. She is an indoor cat 24/7, and the porch isn't heated. We put her out there with her litter box and food stuff, and she sat there staring in at us through the sliding glass door and YOWLED for hours. Her tail was all Christmas-treed out and her ears were laid back and she just GLARED at me. I feel bad for doing it, but holy crap, I can't have that going on in my house! I just hope she gets better.

Then there was bowling tonight. I did really well my first two games, had a 155 and a 142. Then it just sort of all went to shit. My final game was a stunning 88.

JP is sick, and for some reason he refuses to do anything about it. He is coughing CONSTANTLY and it is not a productive cough. He needs to get a good Vick's rub down, but instead he sits here in bed shaking the whole bed with his coughing. I mean, I have ear plugs but geez, even though I can't hear him, I can FEEL him coughing.

That's all for an update now, I will post more pictures after next weekend, that's when I will do the doors and frames.

Darn near full time

I was able to pick up quite a few extra hours at work this week, my "nikkydo" list suffered, but the money will be nice.

I did manage to paint the hallway, I have "during" pictures to post, but I think the 'after's will have to wait... turns out JP really liked what I did, but wondered if I was going to also paint the trim around the doors and the doors themselves! Um, well, I guess I can! So I have to go back to the store and get a gallon of paint in a shade darker than the walls, so it doesn't blend all in to one. That's what the dark wood paneling and the dark trim and the dark doors did, and it looked like crap.

I did not get my Stephen King book read, I did not get my book finished. I did get my closet cleaned out, and my top (read:naughty) drawer organized, and I got the pantry sorted through, too. That, in addition to working full days on Friday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I will also work all day on Monday and next Friday. That's all on the same pay period, so it should make for a nice sized check.

Tomorrow night is Mardi Gras night at my mom's bar. JP is on call, can't drink...hehe, I guess that would make him the DD. Except that he's feeling pretty sick and has a nasty cough tonight, and I don't think I want to drag him out tomorrow night in this weather. Yes, I said "this weather"...

We were almost thawed, most of the snow was gone. Until last night... it started snowing last night sometime, and it hasn't stopped yet! It's getting to be THE END OF MARCH and we have a frigging snow storm? Gawd, sometimes I really hate Minnesota.

On a brighter note, the NCAA tournament is going on. As of right now, there have been 28 games played. My bracket looks like this: 20 correct, 8 wrong. My husband's is 16 and 12. Yes, that's right, I am KICKING his sick little butt! And not only do I know NOTHING about college basketball, but I really hate it... basketball, the whole sport, I think it sucks. I picked my teams by guess and by golly. JP used ESPN and listened to so-called professionals... for example, in the Midwest, I chose the #11 seed Kansas State to beat the #6 seed USC because I like the Wizard of Oz... get it? Kansas? THAT is a prime example of the stupid logic that has me kicking butt! I love it!
But I have to work tomorrow morning, and I will post the 'during' pictures tomorrow. And now it is bedtime.

Saturday Night Out

JP and I went out last night. Some of the guys that he was in Iraq with were in town, so we met them down at the bar.

We had a good time, but I drank quite a bit more than I intended to. We got to the bar at 9, and left at 1:30. I drank something like 7 or 8 of my UV Blue & lemonade drinks. They just tasted so good, really going down nice...

You know how some days if you have a drink, it's like 'meh, take it or leave it'... last night there... leaving it was NOT an option.
Tomorrow is my last day alone during my spring break. I picked up full time days at the bank for Tuesday and Wednesday, and the kids will be home on Thursday and Friday... AND Monday. I decided to do the painting on Thursday, yes the kids will be home, but I figure they can help keep the dogs out of the hallway, otherwise I will run the risk of having textured walls! Little dog hair mixed in there, yeah, I'm sure that would look great!

Today was all about vegging and recovery, and we did do a major clean this morning, but now it's about 10 minutes to 7 and I want to go to bed... should have had a nap...too late now.

Pissed Off

But, as my Grandma used to say, it's better than being pissed on!

I got a letter today from Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Minnesota.
(I mention them because I hope someone googles it and reads how much THEY SUCK ASS)

They have denied my claim for my surgery. They're not saying it's not medically necessary, however (because there would be cause for an appeal, ya know! fuckers)
They won't cover it because I am too old. (age discrimination, anyone?)
Apparently, it would go through if I were a dependant child of the primary (that would be my husband, JP)

But, trying to see the bright side here, it just means that I can get these damn things off sooner! So what if I still have an overbite? It's worked for me for the past 35 years, I guess it will work for another 35 or 40.

Pretty much every piece of mail I opened today made me cranky. I also got a letter about Alex's 9th grade orientation (he's moving up to the High School next fall!) The orientation will be Tuesday, April 1, at 6:30pm... half an hour later is the induction for the National Honor Society that I WILL be at, because I have EARNED it. How does a mother decide what's more important? My son or myself... shit I don't know what I'll do. Worst case, JP takes Alex and Mom brings Emma and Eric to the Induction Ceremony. I don't want to miss this thing for Alex, it's a big step for him... but I also don't want JP to miss this accomplishment of mine.

I also went out and bought the paint this morning, and some KILZ for the primer coat.(thanks for the suggestion, I have used it in the past, and LOVE it) I got the rollers and brushes and drop cloths and tape all hidden in the hall closet. JP never goes in there, he has no need to. Monday I will do the cleaning and prep and be ready to slap paint on first thing Tuesday when he's out the door.
That's all for now, another shitty day in the life...

Here are the "before"s

ok, first off, the "art" on the wall, and I use the term loosely... it's a wrought iron "sculpture" of the Golden Gate bridge. It was a gift from (wait for it... you know it's coming)





the in-laws.



I.hate.it.

I always have. It's been in our homes no matter where we go, we can't escape it. It's been years. Hanging from it are those wreath/halo things you can get at any Ren Fest near you. Emma and my mom and I go to it as a 'girls' day' thing, and Em and I usually have to get one of these. I also have one hanging from my rear view mirror in the Kia.



Here's another one, real quick, because the hubby is coming



Second thing... that's Comet, JP's 'puppy'.

Big Project

Well, not BIG, but big enough.
During my spring break, I have decided to paint my hallway. I will post 'before' pictures, and you'll see why it MUST be done.
The people we bought this house from are the people who built the house. The entire upstairs is covered with dark wood paneling. Now, JP and I hate this, and as money has allowed, we have been working on it, our bedroom was remodeled after he got home from Bosnia, and it is beautiful.
They didn't drywall AT ALL, behind the dark wood paneling is 3/4 inch plywood... so even though I know we will be eventually ripping it out, and putting up drywall, I am going to paint the hallway. It's too dark, especially when the doors are shut. Down this relatively short hall are six doors. One closet, one linen closet, a bathroom, and the 3 upstairs bedrooms: Eric's, Emma's and ours. At the end of the hall is a full length mirror (put there by the previous owners) and in front of it, a bookcase (put there by me, because in the middle of the night it's a little freaky to see someone standing at the end of the hall, only to realize that it's just your own reflection!)

Now, for the sneaky part. JP will probably poo-poo this idea, saying "it's a waste" and all that other junk. But the way I see it, it won't cost a ton, because it's a small space. We are talking a gallon of primer and a gallon of paint. So I am going to have to get this "beyond the point of going back" within the 8 hours that he's at work. So my plan is this: One day I will do all the prep work, wipe down the walls, clean the cobwebs out of the corners and vacuum the carpet really well. I will buy the paint and rollers etc, and have everything from tape to drop cloths hidden in the linen closet. The next day, as soon as he pulls out of the driveway, I have to jump in to action! As long as I have the primer on full coverage before he gets home, it will be beyond going back and he can't stop me! But I am thinking that I may be able to get it done completely in one day, depending on the required drying time for the primer. I'm going to use a nice cream color, something rather neutral and light. I'm thinking I will do the prep on Monday and the painting on Tuesday. I will snap a picture of the hallway today when I'm home between school and work, and post it when he's not around. Otherwise, if he sees me blogging a picture of our dull dark hallway, he will know something is up!
So SSSHHHH! Don't tell him!
Who are we kidding, he's a man, I wonder if he'll even notice it AT ALL!

Mayo Clinic and "The Plan"

I just got a call from my Orthoasshole. Actually, it was his receptionist. She talked to me about Mr.Popular and his being booked through October, and had discussed it with Dr. Orthoasshole, too. He had another name, and with my OK, they were going to send my file to him, so they could contact me to set up a consultation. One hitch: This new guy, he's at the Mayo Clinic... as in, Rochester Minnesota. Which is the COMPLETE OPPOSITE END OF THE STATE... oh well, it could be worse. At least he is IN the state. And I do have in-laws who live just about half an hour from Rochester, too. So I OK'd it, and they're sending him a letter and my X-rays, etc. His peeps will call me, and we will go from there. I plan on, when they call to set up the consult, asking how far out this doctor is booked... if it's also October, well, then fuck it, I may as well stay local, you know?

Now, for the plan:

• I am DONE taking those pills. I haven't taken one in a couple of weeks, and I am feeling better. They just make me tired and I don't see that as a benefit.
• I am making a "NikkyDo" list. Kind of like a "honeyDo" list, but this is for me. Since I won't be recovering from surgery during spring break, I have a few ideas on things that need to be done around here, including cleaning out my "naughty drawer"... it's just too cluttered and it's hard to find the things I 'really' want...
• I am also going to force myself to READ a book FOR FUN during spring break. I just bought the newest Stephen King book (newest as of today, there may be another one tomorrow! LOL)
• In my sidebar, over there, I put up my winner banner from NaNoWriMo 2006. But here's the deal, I didn't FINISH the book. I made it to the 50,000 word count, actually, got to 53K, but the story is NOT DONE! I am going to try to finish it during spring break. Deal is, I KNOW the ending now, I know how to finish it.
• I am going to open a safe-deposit box at work. I get one free, as an employee. This is where I will "save" my London money. My silver jar is about 3/4 full, and has $335 in it. when I get to $400, I will take it to work and get 4 $100 bills and stuff them away. Hard to get to, even though I work right there... easy to NOT touch it til it's time to leave for London!

OK, so there's the plan... for now. But right now I have to get into the shower because I have a Senate meeting at noon, then class from 1 to 2. I bowled last night, not fabulous, but I did beat my average every game... 123 average, scores of 124, 125 and 130... not stellar, but not sucking ass, either.

Time to shower...

Sam's Club is still technically Walmart

Because of this connection, it should not be surprising that there would be a Walmart baby IN Sam's Club. You know Walmart babies, right? No matter what day of the week, what time of day or night, there WILL be a screaming child in Walmart. Once the little bugger gets wheeled or dragged in the door and starts wailing, it BECOMES the "Walmart Baby"

Mom and I went to Sam's on Sunday... midday, early afternoon. Walmart Baby? Check. And you know, if you've ever been in one of these bulk stores, everyone just sort of Zombie walks up and down each aisle, looking to the left and then slowly turning to the right... checking out each side to see what wonderful deal might be lurking just ahead. Like Dawn of the Dead... the original ones, slow and lumbering, not like the new movie where they're more alert and quick.

So Mom and I get in line, assume the lumbering pace only to find that the Walmart baby is about half a loop ahead of us. That means that in the middle of each aisle, we meet them. Think of figure eights around each row... Mom and I finally, after being ignored with the looks and the loud grumbling and the disapproving sighs, decided to break ranks. We wheeled our heavy, hard to steer cart and GOT OUT OF THE ZOMBIE LINE! I was worried at first that Sam's minions would come and order us back, not being good little soldiers and all. But we loitered in the office supplies area and browsed some (pretty ugly) clothes while the Walmart baby made a few extra laps and got about 3 aisles in front of us. We stepped back into Zombie Line and enjoyed the peace and quiet. We had to be careful not to shuffle too fast, we didn't want to catch up to the Wailer, but the rest of the Zombie Shuffle was lovely.

I did really well, too, I even got my own freebie! I checked my receipt after we left, and realized that the checker did not ring up my paper plates. I (of course) bought a huge bulk of them, two stacks of 300 plates bundled together. If I remember correctly, the price sign said $9 and change, but it wasn't on the receipt! WooHoo, love to get stuff free. I don't feel a bit guilty either... Sam has a buttload of money and 600 paper plates WILL NOT break him. hehehehe

I have made some decisions about stuff and will post them later. Good things, really.

He's not the only game in town!

So Friday I blew... well, if I HAD NUTS, I'd have blown one.
I was pissed.
I called "my" oral surgeon, to find out if they had submitted the crap to my insurance company yet. Yes, they have. No, they haven't heard back yet, could take up to six weeks (little pissed here) I tell her, her being Nancy, the NICEST woman I have ever wanted to kill. Don't kill the messenger, MY ASS.
anyway, I tell Nancy that I had been hoping to schedule my surgery for my Spring Break, which is coming up. She stops me and says that unless I'm talking about Spring Break '09, it is not going to happen. Um, excuse me? She tells me that Dr. Iverson only does one surgery PER WEEK, and he's already booked well into OCTOBER! Fuck's sake, I wish someone would have told me this SIX MONTHS AGO! I would have forced us to switch insurers back then and get it approved THEN, so that I could have the fucking surgery NOW.

OH! OH! And then! AND THEN! She gives me even better news... upon hearing this crap, I ask her if it is required that I be wearing my braces when I have the surgery... she says "Yes, and not only that but you'll need to wear the braces for six months AFTER, too!"

(Insert SEVERAL minutes of 'the f word' here and kicking and crying and more swearing)

When I went in for a consult to get the braces TWO YEARS AGO, I was told that I'd be wearing braces for a year and a half, to two years... Now, if I stick with this oral surgeon, it will be THREE YEARS MINIMUM before I get these fucking things off!

I'm just tired of them. I want them OFF NOW.
So after calming down, I came to this conclusion: I will be wearing braces at my Graduation, which I DID NOT WANT TO DO. But I am going to call my Orthodontist today and get him to recommend some other oral surgeon who does more than one per week (slack-ass lazy fucker). Now, I know that no matter the oral surgeon, I will still have a six week wait for the insurance to decide to cover it... but if I can find a different oral surgeon, maybe once the insurance goes through, I can actually SCHEDULE THE DAMN THING, instead of waiting another SIX MONTHS before even getting the damn surgery!

So I had a pretty shitty day, but my weekend got better once I figured out what to do about it.
I have to pay attention in class now, but I will get back later today and tell y'all about the exciting trip to Sam's Club that my mom and I took on Sunday....

Love the Breathe-Right Strips!

I nudged JP TWICE last night... as opposed to beating the crap out of him for 20 minutes, 4 times per night!

Now I just have to find these things in BULK!
Flat, I definitely recommend getting these if Bat is driving you batty!

I don't have classes today, and I don't have to work at the bank until 2:45, which is odd, usually on Fridays my boss has me come in and work all day. I am always scheduled for a short shift, but she usually asks me if I WANT to come in and work the whole day. I always say Yes, because I love money. But Barb is on vacation this week, she'll be back on Monday, so my partial day STAYS partial! How nice, I actually got things done this morning!

I FINALLY got my New Orleans pictures printed out, but I will NEVER do it at Walmart again... holy shit, it was 111 prints and it cost me $33.10! I am certain that it's cheaper to upload them to Kodakgallery.com and wait 2 days for them to mail them out to me! Oh well, live and learn.

Now I am back from my errands and I am going to take a long hot shower and enjoy having time to get ready for work instead of rushing around! It's still too cold, otherwise I might even go out in the back yard and scoop poop... oh, well, darn I wish I could...maybe over the weekend! LOL

Product Review

Ok, so Consumer Reports I am not...

But I did get a good night's sleep last night, but not for the reason you're thinking. Yes, he did use the Breathe-Right strip, but because I wanted to leave nothing to chance, and I was dead tired, I also used my little gift to myself... the earplugs!

And can I just say DAMN, they work great! I don't know if he was snoring or not, because I heard NOTHING!

Now, tonight, I will go plugless, and he will wear the strip... and tomorrow I will have a review of the Breathe-Right strips.

I don't have class tomorrow, and I don't have to work until 2:45, so if I don't sleep well tonight, I can sleep in to make up for it!

Kicked out of bed

Last night, well, this morning, about 2am, I finally got the big snorebag to wake up and I shouted "why don't YOU go sleep on the couch?!"

I said "YOU" with emphasis because the night before, I was the one to go out and finish the night on the couch.

He grabbed his pillows and the afghan off the foot of the bed and left. I slept SO WELL from 2 am until shortly after 6 when the alarm went off.

He came in to get ready to shower and was giving me a hard time for yelling at him... "You really hurt my feelings" and crap like that. He was kidding, of course. He says that he thinks his snoring has gotten worse lately because of this head cold that has been hanging on lately, he says he hasn't been completely UNstuffed for quite some time.

But I know better.
My doctor, upon hearing that JP has suddenly become a snorer asked right away if he had gained any weight lately... um, YES, probably about 15 to 25 lbs in the last couple of months! Doc says THAT will cause a person to suddenly begin or become worse in the snoring category.

So Chubby needs a diet and exercise plan, and his own bedroom until he gets back to the roughly 190-200 lb guy that I'm used to sleeping with.

Actually, when I get done with classes I am going to run out to the store between classes and pick him up some of those Breathe-Right nose strips.

I just got back, Jeremy needed to go out and get pop for our fundraiser tomorrow, so we carpooled out to Wallyworld and I got JP the Breathe-Rights and got myself some earplugs.

Peace will be restored.... I hope... for his sake.

Getting back to normal

I went to school, I went to work, and then I went bowling... that's it, that's my Monday.

My average before tonight was 123, best on my team... sad, I know.
I bowled pretty good tonight, got a 135, a 127 and a big whopping 156.

I was even smart and did my homework that's due tomorrow between classes today, so now that I'm home, I can go to bed because it's been a long day and I am tired!

Hockey Tournament

The final hockey hurrah of the season, the tournament hosted by us... There are 12 teams here, roughly 80 girls ages 8-11 and their parents and their grandparents and siblings and holy crap there's a TON of people in our town!

They had a shoot-out between games today. Any of the girls on any of the teams could sign up. The shoot-out consisted of each girl getting 5 pucks to shoot at a goal. They had a ply board cutout in front of the goal, with only 3 spots open, each corner and dead center. We had prizes for the top 3. The prizes? iPod Nanos. Of these roughly 80 girls, my daughter, no, let me say that again: MY DAUGHTER got 3rd place. And she won it in a 6 way tie shoot-out. I was so proud of her. She was the only Laker girl to even get in the top 10.

So now my daughter has one of the new iPod Nanos and I am green with envy! She's also got a running tab of $10 for the goal she scored yesterday. So far for the tournament (3 games so far, one more tomorrow) she is sitting at 1 goal and 4 assists.

Damn, she's good. I am so proud of her.