Or, as it has officially been dubbed in our department, “We’re Just Trying to Get Through It Monday.” There were birthdays celebrated today. So, now it’s:

We’re Just Trying to Get Through It Monday… Now With Cake!

It was hard getting up this morning. I managed to get out the door on time, but as I was getting ready to turn off my street, there was a van coming from the opposite direction, being chased by two dogs: a Pomeranian and a Yorkie. Vicious dogs, I’m telling you.

The driver of the van and I both put our vehicles into park. By this time, the Yorkie was alongside my car, so clearly, we weren’t going to be driving anywhere until we could figure out where these dogs belonged. They were very friendly, and having a high old time with their newfound freedom. Both of their bellies were dripping wet from running through dew-covered lawns, so clearly they’d been out cavorting for a while.

We found matching tags on their collars with a phone number. I called it and got voicemail. I left a message stating that I was out on the corner of X and Y streets with two little dogs who were clearly out having a good time, and to please call me back as soon as possible. Then, another woman who lives on the corner said we could put the dogs in her back yard until the owner could get them. So, I called and left another message with the address of the house.

I wasn’t here too long before I received a voicemail message from the very grateful owner, thanking us for rescuing them. I hope she didn’t scold them too much (normally, I’m not a fan of small dogs, but these little guys were both cute and friendly), but they definitely should have a time out.

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A week or so ago, JM’s friend called him to say that Best Buy had Wii Fit in stock, so I hopped into my car and headed over to get one. Never mind that we didn’t have the Wii console yet. We’d been told by his friend at Best Buy that the Wii was easier to find than the Wii Fit. True to his word, he let JM know that they would have some in stock when they opened this morning, and suggested that I get there before the store opened to insure getting one. So, that was my plan.

But then, my friend Wendy called me yesterday, from Target. Lo and behold, they had two of them in stock. So, she bought it. I stopped by her house with the cash and picked it up. YAY!

I love it. JM loves it. Even The Boyfriend likes it, and he’s not big on video games. But he was very interested in the Wii Fit and we played around with it last night after he came home from work. I like the fact that I can break a sweat playing a video game.

Tomorrow morning, I’m taking a little hike up the hill to our Student Rec Center on campus. They’re offering all full time employees free annual memberships. And since they have a track inside and I’ve been looking for a place where I can walk while listening to my iPod without worrying about traffic or getting mugged, it’s a win win.

My doctor should be happy when I see him in two weeks.

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I wouldn’t even be mentioning this if a friend hadn’t blogged about it, which in turn led me to looking at what people on BlogHer were saying.

I guess I just don’t understand why people are so upset about this. Oh my god a guy running for president cheated on his wife. I’m sure that’s the first time THAT’S ever happened. Personally, I’m much more concerned with the liars and cheats who are actually elected; and the lies they tell to that end up affecting  the entire world.

None of us on the planet is immune from making stupid mistakes that greatly affect the course of our lives. And if you can look in the mirror and say that you haven’t screwed up something? Give it time. You will.

Just call it my agnostic version of “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

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In a day that was already… well, shit, The Boyfriend topped it all this evening.

Last night, as we were on our way to get dinner, we called another couple to see if they wanted to meet us. They couldn’t, but my friend asked me if I was going to another mutual friend’s bachelorette party tonight. I told her I hadn’t heard anything about it. She said that the maid of honor had called her just the night before. I went home and listened to all the messages on the machine, but there was nothing from the maid of honor.

I thought maybe I hadn’t been invited because they figured I’d be a no-show. In the past year, I’ve missed a three baby showers, a bridal shower, a bachelorette party and a wedding. It’s not that I wanted to miss all of these events. Most of the showers occurred on weekends when I was working. The bachelorette party, I missed because I had no money to go out. And I was sick on the day of the wedding. I felt bad about all of it.

Keep in mind that I am also not exceptionally close to any of the individuals these events were for. For example, the maid of honor and bachelorette for tonight’s shindig have grown up together, whereas I have only been on the outskirts of their circle for the past seven or eight years. And it’s not as though we get together on a regular basis; I generally only see them when someone is throwing a party that we’re all attending; or when The Boyfriend’s band is playing.

Because I had missed so many events, however, and because The Boyfriend and I didn’t even RSVP for the upcoming wedding until the very last minute (we had to wait for his work schedule to come out), I thought that there might be a chance that I was deliberately not invited. And I wouldn’t have been offended.

But because of circumstances at home tonight, and the fact that The Boyfriend took off to a Tigers game when we could have been doing something together, I guess I was chomping at the bit a tad, wanting to get out of the house.

But whatever. I started to settle in for the evening, feeling quite ok with it. And then my phone rang. I answered it and it was The Boyfriend. I thought he was calling me to let me know he’d found his cell phone, but no… he’d stopped at the maid of honor’s house (whose boyfriend happens to be the drummer of the band) and he was calling to tell me that they were going to dinner at PF Chang’s.

“Who told you that?” I asked.

“Who do you think?” he responded.

“There are two people living in that house,” I said, knowing full well that he hadn’t even seen the maid of honor.

“But only one of them is here now,” he said.

I said something about not having any details about where they were going, he repeated the restaurant and then said, “In about an hour.”

And that, my friends, was the extent of the details provided to me about tonight’s festivities. I still haven’t heard anything from anyone who is actually going. And until I do, I don’t consider myself invited.

And instead of allowing me and the maid of honor to save face by having her apologize for not calling (or not getting the message, as her boyfriend might have left a message on MY boyfriend’s voicemail - if so, it was quite vague), and me saying it’s ok because I had other things going on anyway, now it’s an entirely different situation.

Also, since The Boyfriend has told his drummer the situation, he’s basically played the part of the junior high school kid’s mom, who had to call one of the other parents to get her kid invited to the birthday party.

Thanks, Mom.

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Ok, not really all that hot of a date, but The Boyfriend and I have so little time together since I’m back on days that we had been trying to make a point of spending at least a couple of hours together on Thursday nights, before he goes to band practice. Lately, though, we’ve fallen out of even that.

Yesterday was a horrid day, hence the reason I didn’t post. It was one of those days where nothing much was going right. My emotions are a roller coaster. I can go from feeling extremely good about a situation (generally involving work, because I’m really excited about my job right now) to not even wanting to exist anymore, within mere hours. I was so bent out of shape over everything last night that I just got into my car and left. I drove across town to my friend Peg’s house and hung out with her until 9:30. It helped me settle down enough to come home and go straight to bed without screaming at anyone. Or worse.

Things are so screwed up at home. It’s utter chaos. Fall semester is going to start in about two weeks and I’m not even remotely excited about it. In fact, I’m dreading my classes. I’m dreading the weekends spent trying to catch up on the homework I don’t have time or energy to complete during the week. My house is a disaster, I have family staying here for an extended time and it’s wearing on my nerves, and I can’t even get a couple hours of peace and quiet with The Boyfriend.

So, I text-messaged him today and asked him if he wanted to go somewhere for dinner after I got home from work. His response: “YESSSSSSS!!!!!”

And so we did. We went to one of our favorite watering holes, because a Reuben sounded pretty damn good to me. I also had a blueberry margarita, which was a pretty color and not too bad tastewise. The Boyfriend ordered a Bloody Mary and the bartender suggested it with gin, which was new to us. I took a sip and oh my gosh it was awesome! The gin gives it a little more of a zing. Also, the bartender said garlic Tabasco sauce is key. I almost wanted to trade in my margarita for one, but I didn’t.

Anyway, it was an enjoyable couple of hours and I’m feeling a little more relaxed tonight. Part of that has to do with the fact that the recent heat wave finally broke. It’s dropping down to 58 tonight. Good sleeping weather! I might actually get to use a blanket.

Tomorrow is Friday, it’s going to be a gorgeous weekend. I’m crossing my fingers for some kick-ass motivation to make a dent in this disaster I call home.

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I’m starting to think it’s not a coincidence that HOT is the theme for August NaBloPoMo and a crushing heatwave is taking over the country. I’m not in Texas or Oklahoma, but it’s 79 degrees in northwest Ohio at 10:10 p.m. and my northern blood doesn’t like this at all. AT ALL.

It’s too damn hot to write anything remotely coherent. I’m going to drink some more water and try to fall asleep in front of a fan. Because there is no central AC here. Which means I’m feeling pretty damn bitchy.

*Growl*

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Hang out with the cats in the backyard:

Go to Smoke on the Water for ribs, and get free samples of Heineken:

And watch Polka Floyd:

Go to The Blarney with friends…

This is The Boyfriend with our friend Mel:

And this is Mel’s boyfriend Matt with me. We’re CRAZY!!!!

And drink mojitos:

Our waitress was my sister-in-law’s doppleganger. Fifteen years or so younger, but the likeness was absolutely uncanny.

Fun weekend! I think The Boyfriend is working this Saturday and Sunday, so I’m glad we got out when we did.

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Zola has been exhibiting some interesting characteristics lately, interesting in the sense that she’s acting very much like Mickey in some ways. We’ve been letting her out lately, first for small amounts of time supervised and now for longer periods unsupervised. I didn’t really want to go that route, but given that she spent the first eight months of her life outside, it was clear that she wasn’t going to be happy strictly being an indoor cat.

What’s funny is that frequently, she’ll go to the door to be let out, and then stand on the outside patiently waiting for me to join her. So, I do, and then we head out to the backyard, where she proceeds to hop up on the bench next to me - just like Mickey used to.

The Boyfriend said that energy can’t be destroyed and that Mickey had a good life and maybe her energy is now part of Zola. It’s an interesting thought, and rather comforting.

Still, Zola has a personality of her own and she’s still very much a kitten at heart. Today, on one of our excursions outside, she immediately spotted something in the flower beds and stalked her way into them. Moments later, she came back over to the bench, carrying something in her mouth. I was relieved to see that it was a dead leaf. I wasn’t quite as thrilled to realize that the leaf had been covering up some kind of insect (I suspect it was a cicada or katydid).

She tormented her prize for a while and at one point, chased it a little too close to me for comfort. I got up and moved closer to the house and talked to my mom who was still inside. A minute or so later, I noticed that Zola had her nose to the ground, looking for the bug. I hadn’t noticed anything getting away, but she had clearly lost it. I walked a little closer to her and asked her where it went. Obviously, she didn’t answer. But she did turn away from me just enough for me to notice her “victim” had managed to attach itself to her collar.

She had no clue.

I had my cell phone with me, so I quick snapped a picture. Between her moving around and my trying to avoid the bug, it’s a bit blurry.

She never did figure out where it was. A few minutes later, she must have thought it was back in the brush, so ran back in. When she came back, she was bug free.

Mickey would have had it. But Zola has plenty of time to fine tune her hunting and gathering skills.

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I mentioned to my mom yesterday that my thyroid medication seems to be a little more effective now that I’m taking it in the morning, because I don’t feel quite so irritable lately. I spoke too soon.

We were at the drive-thru of a well-known fast food restaurant for lunch today and first of all, I was mildly annoyed when the woman taking my order couldn’t hear me and I couldn’t hear her. But we resolved that issue and all was well. When I pulled up to the first window to pay her, I realized she was the manager.*

I tried to pull up to the second window to retrieve our order, but a white mini-van in front of me hadn’t given me enough room to do so. At first, we thought they were making sure they had all their food and that seemed to be the case as the driver started to pull up a bit further. After stopping again, it became clear they’d been asked to pull ahead and wait. In the meantime, the employee at the window greeted me, looked ahead at the van, shook his head and said, “Some people just don’t know how to drive.”**

He then apologized for also having to ask me to pull ahead, and suggested a parking spot off to the side. I wasn’t irritated by that; I understand that they get slammed sometimes, and this was a strange time of day (2:30) for a lunch rush. So, I said, “Sure, no problem.”

Except that it *was* a problem, because there was a line behind me and I had no room to back up, and I was already within a foot of the mini-van’s rear bumper. I started to cut the wheel and try, but it was clear there was no way. I honked the horn and heard voices yelling unintelligible things in response. So, I yelled, “If I hit you, it’s not going to be my fault!”

At this point, the passenger (male) got out and started yelling at me, “She can’t pull up, there’s someone in front of us!” Miraculously, she did manage to pull up at that very moment. As I maneuvered out of the spot I was in and made the turn into the indicated parking space, I saw there was easily four feet or more between her front bumper and the car ahead of her, which my mom and I BOTH pointed out. Both the driver (female) and her companion screamed at us that the other car had JUST NOW pulled up, and for good measure, the guy yelled “BITCH!” at me.

Yeah, well I see your “BITCH!” and raise you: “Fucking bitch!”

I know. Really mature of me.

I guess the thyroid medication might need a little more adjustment after all.

* The manager who was nowhere in sight even though she had three vehicles of very aggravated people, some of them cursing at each other. And it was a completely different third employee who meekly brought out everyone’s food. Not very managerial, in my opinion.

** In my defense, the employee at the window had a much better view of the entire situation, and he still seemed to think that she could pull up further. So, I really do think she was just being… well… a fucking bitch.

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I signed up for NaBloPoMo monthly again. I’ve been bad about blogging lately, so I wanted to challenge myself to get back to it.

This month’s theme is “Hot.” Not sure if I’ll be keeping with the theme, but it’s one I can certainly relate to. It’s actually not terrible here today. Or maybe it’s just that I’m mostly immobile. For the past several months, we’ve been dealing with a situation in our kitchen that was getting progressively worse: slow drains.

It was on the agenda for the weekend, but The Boyfriend decided he wanted to have his Saturday free for golf and “Smoke on the Water,” one of Toledo’s two annual rib cook-offs (and the only one we’re going to this year since the one that used to be for charity is now strictly for profit). So, he determined that the drains were going to get done last night.

First he popped off the trap. Holy cow, it was disgusting. I took it outside and sprayed it out with the “power wash” setting on our garden hose. But that didn’t solve the problem, so I had to get into the pipe beyond the trap with a snake. The Boyfriend tried, but he doesn’t have the touch. There’s a certain trick to it, letting out the right amount of snake and just being patient enough to work through it.

I pulled out a whole bunch more disgusting gunk and then had him put it all back together while I poured baking soda and vinegar into the drains, followed by boiling water. I did this twice and while I’m not sure it’s completely taken care of the problem, the drains are flowing and the double sinks are no longer backing up into each other. More baking soda and vinegar is on my shopping list, because I’ve read that this is a good monthly prevention.

Unfortunately, the position I put myself into last night while snaking has left me pretty much unable to move today. Somewhere in this house, I have some muscle relaxers. If only I could get up to look for them…

But hey, that means if it really is hotter than I think it is, the lack of mobility will help keep me cool, right? Gotta find the silver lining. Other than, you know, having the drains cleaned out.

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