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Item: 4484966
Description: Simplicity Kingston 4-in-1 Crib - Chocolate/White
Quantity: 1
Status: Shipped via: FedEx Ground

YOU MEAN HENRI IS ACTUALLY GOING TO HAVE HIS OWN BED?????? I thought this dream would never come true!

The loser has to post a 500 word post on the winning team. 

I'm not sure the Admirer was over pleased about me being bought flowers by random customers but he carried them home for me and put them in a vase and apologised for not buying me flowers! :D

Edit: and thanks to this post .. I now know they are Peonies!

Anyway part of the conversation was as follows:

TA: "What have you done to my washing"

Cat: "Me, nothing, why?"

TA: "Well it's all soft and even my socks are soft and there was a lovely smell when I was ironing"

Cat: "Ahhh, that's simple ..."

TA: "How did you know to do that then?"

Cat: "Well, it's not exactly rocket science, but I've always used it.  Do you want me to stop using it?"

TA: "God no, I like having soft socks, I used to have to break them to put them on"

and before you guys have a go at me .. I am NOT doing his washing, but if I don't have a full load he shoves some of his in and vice versa and I like my clothes soft.  I have also shown him where the fabric conditioner goes and how much to use! :D

Mind you, for someone quite intelligent and able to look after himself, I found it strange that he'd never thought to use the stuff!

That's blokes for you! ;)

Here's the "rules"  Go to “Blog Stats” under your WordPress Dashboard. Click “Top Posts & Pages” and then choose “All Time.” Write down your top five posts of all time and the number of times that they’ve been viewed. Tag five other WordPress users.

I guess people do enjot reading about different Birth Stories and they do want to know a bit about you.  Which reminds me.  I probably need to update it. 

I am opting out of tagging, but feel free to tag yourself!

• Dog: Check
• Rabbit: Check
• Gekko 1: Check
• Gekko 2: (Fidget) .. missing!

Bugger!

I had to text my friend .. "er having a mini panic as Fidget does not appear to be in his tank"

A text came back saying that her little boy had probably put him on the bed whilst he cleaned the tank and obviously had forgotten to put him back, he was possibly hiding under the covers, or down the back of the bed  ...

Double Bugger!

Me and the Admirer had been kneeling and sitting on the bed peering into the tank to see if we could see the ruddy thing!

I stripped the bed and was grateful to find that there was no squashed reptile .. so he's probably down the back of the bed, but I can't get the bed out because it's sort of wedged in and if I move it I might possibly squash the gekko ... I've left water out for it but even if Fidget does reappear, it wasn't my intention to actually handle him!  Feeding them is enough of a nightmare!  The crickets I fed the other gekko I sort of opened the box and prayed that 2 would jump out!  I don't do bugs and stuff!

First a missing cat (icklesis) which finally tipped up about 20 miles away from home, and now a missing gekko .. next I think my mind might go missing!

Poodelate.  Well, it made sense at the time.

Revolufried?  We couldn't decide if it meant some newfangled frier machine that revolves, or some wonderful new fried food that was so revolutionary that it was, well, revolufried! (And really, it's all my fault, because I was the one who played Wii on the second turn and got the "that's not really a word" ball rolling.)

Missing from the pictures?  Vacake.  As in, you bring a cake to a party, but then leave early and take the cake with you when you go, instead of leaving it for the rest to enjoy.  As in, "Aw, man, Shelly made this awesome Angel's Food, but then she went and vacaked before Stan got any."

Hope your weekend was full of drunken scrabble goodness.

One time she took the boundaries of friendship a little far and I had Bingo the Rat, but we (rat and I) became great friends once I had steeled myself to pick him up and play with him - knowing that he was a very well handled, friendly rat helped!

On another occasion I had the snake too, but that was only over night and all I had to do was check that

1. it was still in its tank; and
2. it had heat, light and water ..

Last week I got a text ..

Hiya babe, hope the holiday is going well and no-one has died yet (do these people know me too well?).  Could you dog and babbit sit for me next week, Wed to Tues?

I replied that this was ok as the dog is old and sleeps alot after her exocet missile excitement over seeing me, and how hard can a rabbit be?

Only I discovered last night that I've been conned!

"Animal Sitting" does not just include fluffies!  It.also.includes."scaleys"!

One scaley .. Fidget the Gekko (name suggest anything?) is well handled, the other is being "animal sat" for someone else (oh great - cue me killing it!)  Apparently I have to feed them crickets (live) and grubs (live) .. every other day!  My cup spilleth over with joy, can my life actually get any better?

I shall be going to meet the "scaley" side of the household later this morning to get distructions (very possibly literally) on how to care for these wee beasties .. I think The Admirer might have a new job!

PS: Incidentally on The Admirer side of things, we have had, since I have been back, some very long, in-depth conversations about what is going on from both sides and what I want (and don't want) and what he wants and what we both want.  This holiday really helped clear my head .. I didn't really "miss" anyone (other than my bloggy friends   ;)  ) and I wasn't plagued by "what am I going to come home to" which is what used to happen with Pig, and I was able to throw myself into enjoying it for a change.

I am much more focused on "me" and not letting stuff get to me .. I just need to keep telling myself that life is too short and to enjoy it! :D

I was doing some ironing this afternoon. It's actually a chore I enjoy...bringing order out of the chaos of bad creases, that type of thing. But there is some ironing that I don't enjoy. The pleated khaki skirts that our youngest daughter wears to school, for example. I am not opposed to a school dress code. The rationale for that type of thing makes lots of sense to me. I'm not wild about school uniforms, but there is some logic to those, too.

However, I can't figure out why anyone would deliberately choose a school uniform that requires extensive, finicky, nerve-wracking ironing of pleats. Must have been chosen by folks who don't do a lot of ironing.

So next time, they should consult me, Dave "Iron Man" Hornor.

after going out to a club with mvp and PK, i somehow got separated from them and started walking. i walked and walked and walked forever and ever, stopping to ask people where the T was and turning around, backtracking, etc. a horrendously long walk... eventually, i'm walking down a pier. i get to the end and all i see is water everywhere around me. endless miles of water. i'm so depressed. i can't believe i walked all that way and now i have to turn around and walk back! then, all of the sudden, i'm in the water...i think someone floated by and gave me a raft, because i wasn't sinking and i wasn't swimming/drowning. i was sitting in the water, this bright blue water with the sun shining down on me. i looked up at the immense landscape of water all around me and said to myself, "i'm going to miss mother's day."

seriously! that was my dream!

i don't know...do you think i'm making too much of this, my first mother's day???

I also drank far more than I should and got sunburnt.  I saw some sights - not all of them I want to remember .. just think Essex!

We strolled around the castle, wandered round the lanes, visited Dom's favourite shop in the world, i.e. the Sweet Shop and sat in the pub, in the sun and then we ate some more.

Dom's friends are very very friendly and I laughed so much that at one point I had to leave as the tears were about to roll down my face and it would have been a tad embarassing!

PS: Next time Dom, I'm coming for a week! :D

Oh my God, WHY is it taking so long for this line to get to the front? All I want is a dozen doughnuts!  I swear they're conspiring against me.  This always happens!  I hate this, I am never shopping here again, I should totally leave.  But I didn't bake that coffee cake and it might be our last day so I have to bring something in.  I'm the Mom.  If I don't bring something in, I am a bad Mom.  And after yelling at a few of the kids to work more, YouTube less, I have to! OMG this is taking so f*ing long!  WTF!?! "Yes, hi, a dozen doughnuts, please."

Later...

OMG why are you two cashiers talking to each other instead of taking orders as quickly as possible? Can't you tell it's lunch time? My blood sugar is low and I have a headache and I just want my stupid sandwich rung up so I can go outside and eat in the YET AGAIN FREEZING COLD OMG I HATE NEW ENGLAND Al Gore was basically right but the ice age is ALREADY here and I AM NEVER GOING TO SEE ROSES AND BEACHPLUMS AGAIN and "no, no carrots or chips, just the sandwich."  I should have gotten the carrots.

Later at the parking garage...

Where are my keys, where's my parking slip, why can't I find anything, even when I TRY to put it in the right place I can still never find it, even if I made myself the Tote of a Thousand Pockets I would still forget where stuff is, damned memory, damned medications that make it worse, I'm so stupid I can't even remember where I put my damned keys EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE RIGHT WHERE THEY OUGHT TO BE AND I LOOKED THERE ALREADY I swear to God, I'm just going to get piercings and attach everything to my body, "Hi, here's my ticket.  ATM, not credit card, please."

Later driving home ...

WHY do they always DOUBLE PARK in the South End during rush hour?  Damned yuppies live a half block away but God forbid they actually go home to their paid-for-parking space and then WALK back to pick up supper that they've called in on their CELL PHONES which made them WEAVE IN FRONT OF ME WHILE DRIVING and NOT USE THEIR TURN SIGNAL and otherwise drive like a MORON.  C'mon people, Country Style Pad Thai tastes better for a bit of a walk to pick it up, and don't you know that leaving your black SUV IDLING WHILE DOUBLE PARKED WITH THE HAZARDS ON means it will NEVER BE SPRING AND I WILL DIE IN DARKNESS?

So then I called my old life coach (Becky Castro of I Love Monday Mornings, she's wonderful and brings new meaning to the phrase "lends a new perspective") and had a wonderful conversation and cheered right up and was able to be helpful to her while getting what feels like undeserved praise for my own current situation and reminded myself that all I needed to do when I am feeling medication-mixed is to call someone who will cheer me up.

And then I stopped for ice cream and twinkies at the grocery store.  Because Ice Cream is a mild but quick-acting a mood stabilizer.  (Based on a scientifically rigorous sample of one.)  What, you didn't know that?  Hie thee hence to your grocer's freezer aisle, posthaste!

My girls are not as, ahem, generous as the ones in this picture, so I can use the light padding and underwire to boost the little that I've got. However, the between cup sizes thing (say, oh, between none, and just a little?) can be uncomfortable. I stuck with the Victoria's Secret T-Shirt bras for a long time after replacing my Cacique Invisible bras (damn you, VS, for swallowing Cacique whole!)-- I stuck with them for too long. But, a few months ago, I went shopping with my friend C at the nearby outlet center, and she purchased some of these bras on the recommendation of the slightly-too-earnest-and- somewhat-stalkery saleswoman at the Hanes/Bali/Leggs store. (We also bought some of Barely There's underwear, which I already knew was the next most comfortable thing to going without.) C. reported the very next day that this bra was her new best friend.

You know what? C. is right (well, she's always right, but she's especially right here)-- this bra is my new best friend, which in my mind means that I feel comfortable-- no more grabbing at sliding straps, or tugging at creeping chest bands. The fabric is soft, it's smooth under fabric, and while it's not sexy, it feels good on, like flannel jammies for your breasts. It stays put-- no more falling out or stuffing back in. And... I don't even notice I'm wearing it. Plus? I noticed that my side profile looked just a tad bit bustier than it has in the past-- it made my rack look like, well, a rack, rather than a shelf, or a board, or whatever. (Why do we call it a rack? Racks are flat, aren't they?) I stood straighter, walked taller, smiled more, and got flirted with three times on Monday and twice today. And that, cher Readers, is the test, since I'll take all the flirting I can get. I am so totally going back in the next two weeks to buy some more.

]]> http://cataclismical.wordpress.com/?p=626 Thu, 01 May 2008 08:38:39 +0000 cataclismical http://cataclismical.wordpress.com/?p=626 On Monday I had to drop my car off for a service and MOT and pick up the mechanic's van .. this meant I by-passed my usual junction on the A3, as the only really convenient place to meet was the Pub which is the next junction!

On Tuesday night I had to drop off the mechanic's van and pick up my car, fresh from its service and MOT (which it passed - thank god!!), so I had to bypass my usual junction again and meet him at the Pub.

Last night, whilst having a blonde moment (or some might say senior moment), I sailed past my usual junction and so ended up going to the pub again! It was only as I had reached the point of no return that I realised what I was doing!

It gave my best friend a good laugh, it gave the landlord a good laugh .. in fact everyone was laughing!

Have I have totally lost it?

Okay, here it is:

Any ideas?

I think I've found the solution to our national energy problem. All I know for sure is that I'm in possession of a remarkable renewable resource. What I desperately need is for someone to evaluate my data and then advise me on how to proceed in order to bring the greatest good to the greatest number of Americans.

Our collective future could be determined by a yellow Labrador retriever named Lottie. She has a wonderful disposition and grows a completely new coat of hair every 18 to 24 hours. I know this because of the physical evidence that accumulates throughout the house, day after day, regardless of how often I fight back with my broom and vacuum cleaner.

Some dog owners may dismiss me as a wimp. A typical response happened not long ago when I met a friendly couple at a highway rest stop. They had two canine pals in their car, and after some cheerful small talk I began to tell them about my endless battle against the shedding enemy. They just grinned and said, "In our house we think of dog hair as a condiment." Very funny, but my situation is way beyond the laughing point.

Two factors keep me in a state of consternation and confusion. Once the individual fibers have launched themselves from Base Camp Lottie, they can travel great distances and circumvent any physical barrier. They're in kitchen drawers, in the shower, in all sorts of places the dog has never been.

The other tendency I've noticed is truly ominous: The hair may have developed the ability to self-replicate. I realized this after returning from a short vacation. Lottie was at a kennel, and I had performed a robust cleaning of all floors prior to departure. And yet, upon my return, replacement hairs had stationed themselves in various nooks and corners, sometimes forming alliances with balls of dust and other particulates.

Birds used to retrieve some of the output for their nests, but lately they seem to have given up. I'm half-expecting to find a note in the backyard, scrawled in finch-script: "Enough with the hair! We need twigs, too!"

But one man's problem is a nation's opportunity. Has any scientist researched the practicality of replacing coal-fired power plants with new versions fueled by a never-ending supply of dog hair? Other promising possibilities: (1) automotive fuel additive (great opportunity for catchy brand name – Petkinol, Labrodiesel, or PetroK-9); (2) compressed pellets for use as mail padding to reduce styrofoam production; (3) wall and attic insulation (marketing slogan – "Turns your home into your second-best friend").

I envision an army of Lottie-like canines leading us into an era of energy independence. In the meantime, my ongoing battle against the onslaught of surplus shedding continues.

Lottie is asleep on the sofa as I write. The house is quiet, but I can still hear tiny noises. It's the sound of little dog hairs, talking among themselves. I know they're plotting against me.

Author: Jeffrey Shaffer writes from Portland, Ore.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0404/p20s01-ussc.html

You know what else? You work in a conference room, in conference room chairs. I mean, it's fine for, like, conferencing and stuff, but if you're going to put out a bunch of computers in a conference room and type at them all day, well, really, there's a lot of room for improvement, starting with task chairs and trackball mouses.

But really-- I wonder if I can get a contract that stipulates a comfy chaise lounge, a laptop, and a weekly neck and shoulder rub?

Considering that I don't even have the lounge at home, probably not. But I can dream...

So help me, all I could think was "he'd better put that phone down and watch where he's going."

Yep, hell.

These dropped into my in-box today .. they did cheer me up!

The chirps aren't sharp--
the trills aren't shrill.
But the waking me, at dawn,
thinks their proudness
and their loudness
makes their tweets
less sweet.

I was watching Men in Black on Tuesday (or possibly Wednesday) - when it was doesn't really matter, but I decided that as I'd seen it before and I was tired I would go to bed and miss the ending.

So there I was channel hopping and I turned onto, wait for it, a repeat of Men in Black, now for the scary part, at exactly the point almost to the word, that I had turned the TV off at earlier in the week!

So I stayed up and watched the end!

Not interesting I know, just odd!

See also, cordfusion: What happens when you fail to make a habit of storing similar-looking headset cords in different places, and then can't remember what goes with what.

Related, keyfusion: What happens when you don't store your keys in the same pocket or section of your totebag/briefcase all the time, and then can't remember where you put them, leading to as much as five minutes of curse-fueled pocket-patting and/or tote-searching, usually in the sleet, snow, wind, rain, or a combination of all of the above.

Extricord:  The process of untangling and/or preventing the entanglement of one's mp3 player and cell phone handset cords with/from the rest of one's purses, backpacks, briefcases and tote bags, having finally undone the Cordian Knot.