My daughter's life flashed before my eyes yesterday morning...

not my daughter but has the same affliction

So..everyday I wake my kids up at 6:30.  This includes going into my daughter's room and getting her dog to take it outside, shaking her leg (the daughter, not the dog) and saying in my cheerful morning-person voice, "It's 6:30, time to get up." (Yeah, I know, don't hate me because I'm happy in the morning).  Then move on to the boy's rooms to get them up and let the other two dogs out.  The boys have to be to school an hour earlier than she does so she doesn't usually get out of bed til the second wake up call at 7:00 am.

The boys are up, the dogs have gone out and are happily munching their kibble.  I'm grabbing a morning facebook fix with a cup of tea.  All of a sudden she comes stomping out of her room, slamming the gate(that keeps the dogs out) behind her, stomps up next to me, and on the verge of angry tears says to me me, "WHAT WAS SO IMPORTANT THAT YOU COULDN'T COME AND WAKE ME UP AT 6:30??!!"  I have to admit, for a fraction of a second I was dumbfounded.  Who had body snatched my sweet little girl and dropped off this raging, green-eyed hormone monster while I was sleeping?  Fraction of a second over, I looked at her and said, "You have exactly ONE minute to get your butt back in your room and try that again, this is the first and last do-over you're going to get.  Don't come back out until you can talk to me with respect and apologize."  In my calm but mean voice.  I could see she thought for a second, and then she walked back in there.  She was in there for a few minutes.  She came out, said she was sorry and then I explained to her how this wake up thing works.  "I wake you up as a courtesy because I'm awake and I don't mind doing it.  YOU are 11 years old, own an alarm clock, and are perfectly capable of getting yourself out of bed.  You HARDLY EVER get up when I wake you up at 6:30, you don't get up til 7:00 so why would I think you wanted to get up at 6:30 without you asking me?  Lastly, don't ever speak to me like that again."

So that's why her life flashed before my eyes, she nearly got throttled before 8 am.  She's USUALLY like me in the morning, good mood, ready to get up and start the day.  When she was a baby she'd wake up and be so happy, playing with her hands or feet, smiling and laughing.  I don't often miss the baby days, but that day I sure did.  She seemed to snap right back to her old self after that, I guess sometimes they just need to be reminded the world doesn't revolve around them. 

Walking and positive thoughts

  So I walk, I decided this spring that I was too fat and I worked in an office job, at a desk all day. I was coming home sore every day..and not getting any healthier. So I walk, I started out at a mile a day, now I'm up to 3.5 miles a day and I've lost 20 ponds. I could stand to lose a lot more but at least I'm better than I was. I like my shadow(which I'm having an awful time getting a good pic of) and my dogs are healthier too. 

My walking buddies for today, I don't usually take all three of them together, but the ones left behind go ballistic and try to get out the fence, so I gave it a shot.  Made it back, no blood was shed, and but for a blister on my finger we did fine.  Usually if I have all three I make one of my kids go too so they can handle a dog.  Luckily two of them are small so it's not too much work.  

That brings me to the Positive thoughts, I have to admit not all my thoughts were positive while walking my three dogs, but usually I try.  I see on my facebook newsfeed a few of my 'friends' must have taken a challenge or something where they have to post 3 positive thoughts everyday.  Now I do understand that this is actually a challenge for some people, as this is what I've been told, and especially with Robin Williams dying recently of suicide, but I just can't fathom not being able to have at least one positive thought everyday.  It must be absolutely awful to have to live that way.  I don't have an easy life, and I can't say that it has ever been stellar, but let's just talk about the last couple years.  My husband died of brain cancer, I was laid off because of downsizing from my full time job, and my landlords decided they want me to move out so they can sell the house that I live in.  Maybe I'm just lucky, maybe I don't have whatever gene it is that keeps people in the pit of despair.  Have I gotten depressed before, sure, but not long lasting, devastating depression.  There is just too much beauty in this world that lifts my spirits to be stuck there.  A beautiful sunset/sunrise, a blooming rose on my rosebush, a pretty butterfly, puppies, my beautiful kids, the fact that I wake up and take another breath everyday.  Yea I have plenty of crap to get down in the dumps over, and sometimes I get there, I just don't have the time to stay. Life moves incredibly fast, if you don't move with it the best moments are lost forever and you can't get them back.  I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings, I just don't GET it...I just don't, and I don't think it's something you can make people understand unless they've been there.  I am incredibly sad that the world lost Robin Williams, where was his support system?  Didn't he have anyone to talk to? No one?  Such a tragedy.

No need to worry...no man will even consider looking at you!

As if cramps, bloating, and PMS weren't enough, women are also blessed with the fabulous hormone related acne outburst that comes with your "monthly gift" as well.

Just in case you had ANY thoughts of going out and maybe feeling attractive for any reason, you can just bottle that shit right back up and seal it away for at least a week...probably longer.  EVERY freakin' month, it's like a GIANT flashing sign, to any dude on the planet, guess what here comes your favorite big red pimple to go with all the other fun.  Do guys get that?  Probably not, but every woman you see knows, why? Because they have the same problem!!  Add in the bloating and the impossible to resist chocolate cravings and it's a wonder that all women don't weigh 400 lbs.  Not sure why we were blessed with all the drama, what do guys get?  They have to masturbate for 5 to 7 days because they can't get near us without the possibility of extreme bodily harm?  Oh poor them! I feel so bad for them...NOT! 

Downsized....again.

It has been an exciting day,  I got a phone call on my way to work and it was two of my best friends on speaker phone calling to tell me that one of them had been "let go" that morning, well that one happens to work at the same place I do and has worked there for 19 years.  She's good at her job, works tirelessly, takes on special projects, is the manager for our floor and just basically the model employee.  She was at work this morning when the new CFO and the HR lady walked into her office and started explaining to her why she was being let go, and that they would wait while she cleared out her personal belongings and was escorted out the building.  Well her and her husband were sharing a car today, and she and I live about three minutes apart so she asked them if she could just wait til I got there and I could give her a ride home.  They told her no that I had work to do and that she couldn't wait in the building or even in the parking lot, she needed to leave the property...yes this is how they treated this big hearted woman who's given them 19 years of service.  So she walked across the street to store there and waited for her husband to pick her up.  Did I mention it was also rainy?  Yeah...nice, real nice.

 So I heard all this one the phone on the way to work.  When I got out of my car and walked toward the building (I was off the phone by now) I see the CFO standing there.  I say "good morning" and he asks if he an see me for a minute.  I guess.  So I asked him if I was getting fired too.  He said nothing.  We go into an office where the HR gal was waiting with a folder of paperwork and then they explained to me why I was being "let go" due to downsizing.  I was not allowed to get my personal effects from my desk, I was not even allowed to go near the elevator, I was escorted out the building and to my car.  I told them, "well at least I don't have to wait in the store parking lot...that was really rude".  So I was right.  In all 8 of us employees got downsized today.  For me, yea it sucks, but I hated that job anyway, and I was already looking for another job, they just gave me a shove into being more serious about it.  I'm just really disgusted with how they treated my friend.  After that many years, to just throw her out in the street. WTF!?  I hope they go out of business, dirty bastards.

 Went home filed for unemployment, went down the MI works office and got registered, can't wait to find something better!  Made a great dinner that I would usually not have time for, and can't wait to sleep in tomorrow!  Moving on to better things.

Is it wrong to love the bathroom at work?

Is it?  Here's why I love the bathroom at work...

It's nearly always clean (now that the other building tenants moved out) and smells nice.  I said "nearly"  there is that one time a day when someone must go in there and drop ass like they've been holding it for a month and it reeks like a bloated corpse.  There is an automatic air freshener, but that just makes it smell like flowers covered in shit.

The toilets flush like Niagara Falls, and even if they happen to get clogged it's not my problem.  I just pass the word on and it gets fixed.

They are women only so it's pretty rare that you ever find pee on the seat, unless someone brings their toddler to work.  Well I guess if you're a hoverer(apparently that's not a word, blogger underlined it) it would be possible, so maybe they are just better about wiping it off afterward.

The trash is emptied nightly so there's no nasty trash, or floss hanging out of it, or anything like that,  AND I don't have to do it, another bonus.

There is not STUFF all over the counter that no one can seem to put away, you know toothbrushes, combs/brushes, toothpaste, empty toilet paper rolls, pony tail holders, hair clips, etc...

Lastly, there are FOUR toilets, glory glory hallelujah!!  So no matter when ya gotta go, chances are there's an open toilet.  NOT always the case in my house.  I live with my four pigs..I mean kids, 3 of which are boys, and ONE bathroom....the bathroom is truly nicer at work.

P.S. FORGOT ONE!  No one knocking on the door as soon as  you go in.  It seems like lately AS SOON AS I walk in the bathroom and shut the door my daughter is knocking on the door.  To which I say, "What do you need?"  She says, " I have to go to the bathroom".  So I say, "Well so do I!". Sheesh!  I thought I was beyond the years of having to pee with the door open, but now I wonder why I even bother to close it.  She's 10 yrs old, it's not like she's 2 and needs to go RIGHT NOW.

Snowpocalypse? Winter Storm Ion...or whatever you wanna call it.

This is the beginning before the actual storm started.

So the kids are still on Winter Break well until tomorrow...or supposed to be.  However we are in the midst of a "blizzard" and school has already been called off and our whole city declared a "snow emergency" by our governor.  So the kids are excited, honestly so am I as it lets me sleep in a half hour longer when I don't have to take them to school.   Not sure about most parents, but I love a good snow day, we live in Michigan and its been a few years since we've had any good snow to speak of over winter.  We went out and shoveled the driveway and we had a good time, laughs and fun and it took hardly anytime at all.  The we went in the back yard and shoveled a path for the dogs since we have two small once and a lab.  Watching the dogs play in the snow was so much fun. This is our 9 month old puppy's first snow and she was having a great time playing in it.

I have to admit, I love the snow when it's like this...when winter has snow and fun, instead of mud and rain.  We've had some really crappy winters as of late, so it's nice to be able to enjoy a good snowy winter for once.