Hair Cut & Ultrasound

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Saturday (02/23) I had my hair cut at one of those training academies. My optometrist’s daughter is going to school there so she cut my hair. I went a bit too short – I had about 5-6 inches taken off and now my hair is flipping out instead of under like I prefer. That always happens when it just hits my shoulders, so that’s going to be annoying for a few months until it grows another inch or so. It is nice not having to deal with all the tangling, though, because it was just too long and I kept putting off getting it cut because I’m never happy with the end result. No matter how I explain it, they can never quite get it how I want. Maybe I am unreasonable. But it’s even, and now that it’s shorter I can get away with not blow drying it every day and it looks ok. It even looked ok today without having to wash it, so that’s a bonus, especially because it got washed three times on Saturday. I washed it before my appointment not knowing they have to wash and condition it before the cut as part of their training. Then later that day I washed it again because my head always feels itchy after a cut. So now my poor scalp is a bit dry. I’m glad I didn’t have to wash it this morning as to give it a little break.

Sunday (02/24) we went to a matinee showing of Happy Death Day 2U which was… interesting. It was a bit hard to follow and had some plot holes (what movie doesn’t?), so I think I preferred the simplicity of the original, but the sequel wasn’t bad either. It’s definitely one that makes more sense if you see the original first, though.

This morning I had an ultrasound of my gallbladder, etc. and what a frickin shit show that turned into!

I arrived 15 minutes early per their directions and was told the tech was running late and wouldn’t be in until 9:30 am. So I opted to go home and come back since it’s less than 10 minutes from the house. When they called a bit later to tell me she will definitely be in at 9:30, I should have been more skeptical because the story was she locked her keys in her car and would be leaving her house at 9:15 am. Considering it wasn’t even 9 am when they called to relay this info, that meant she THOUGHT she’d be done at that time. Because if she already had her keys why wouldn’t she had already left her house? So I arrived at 9:35 am and could tell by the call I overheard that she still hadn’t left her house. What kind of rude ass bitch waits until AFTER the time she’s supposed to be at work, a place that has patients waiting for you according to a schedule, to call and give an update?

I was about to go off on them and cancel my appointment but somehow they were able to have a different tech do the procedure. Which was painful, by the way. And isn’t supposed to be according to the woman. So either it hurt because of my fibro, or I’ve got tumors all over me or something. She did say I was very gassy. Maybe that’s because even though I didn’t eat per their instructions, I wasn’t told what kind of food to eat at dinner which would have helped things (non-fat per my cousin who has had the procedure before). Also, I was told not to drink either and that was incorrect. Drinking water could have aided in my food digesting better and having less gas. So note to self – research the proper way to prepare for the procedure since these people don’t know how to communicate effectively. Ugh! Just glad that is over. I cleaned the upstairs between my two trips there so now I can spend the rest of the day relaxing if I so choose.

Valentine’s Day & Puppy Playdate

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We decided not to do anything for Valentine’s Day this year because, eh, who cares? We don’t need anymore trinkets or candy. So imagine my surprise when on his way home from the airport on Thursday Joe came in with tulips and an Oreo ice cream cake. I just knew my cousin had something to do with the cake because I was talking about it with her just a few hours before on messenger. We’ve been enjoying that cake almost every night since. I have to say, though, that it seems like they add a bunch of cool whip to it to help it freeze harder. Maybe the regular Oreo ice cream is the way to go in the future. But I’m happy I finally got my first ice cream cake. I’ve been wanting one for a long time.

Friday (02/15) evening we went to Home Depot in search of a piece of particle board that would better match the cabinets. We got one from Menards but it wasn’t the right shade. Well, turns out neither Home Depot, nor Lowes, whom we had visited a week prior, carries such things. So it’s back to Menards in hopes they’ve stocked in a better matching color.

We also brought our paperwork from when we purchased carpeting from them 15 years ago in hopes we could order a small square to patch the holes Wookie chewed in the carpet. No such luck since they no longer have that particular item in their inventory. I could just kick myself for us throwing out the whole big roll of extra carpet we had sitting in the garage. Who knew we’d get a dog and need it someday? Ugh! My next step is contacting the manufacturer to find out if they can tell us whatever equivalent they have in the same color. Trying to pick out the correct color by memory is not working. Note to future self – keep at least a small sample of the extra carpeting next time to make such things easier. If all else fails I guess we’ll have to keep the plastic in that spot or go with hardwood flooring at some point, neither of which I’m happy about. I actually like carpet in the living room, but with how often Wookie throws up on it, it’s only a matter of time that it will need to be replaced. I clean it thoroughly every time but still.

Saturday (02/16) we took Wookie to K’s house for a puppy playdate and she peed on her throw carpet. WTF dog? At least she didn’t puke in the car since we took mine! She’s very confident roaming her house now, at least when we’re there. We left for about twenty minutes to get some food and she sat in front of the door waiting for us to return. We plan to leave her with K for the weekend in the spring to take a road trip and I hope she adjusts ok so we can build up to leaving her there for a week when we go to Disney. I don’t know how parents leave their kids with strangers all the time. I guess it gets easier? I know K would never do anything to hurt her but I still get nervous thinking of leaving her with someone else for an extended period.

Sunday (02/17) we were pretty lazy because it was snowing and Joe had to leave for the airport in the late afternoon anyway for a work trip to Seattle. His flight was getting delayed later and later so he changed to an earlier flight which was also delayed, but at least he made it to his destination! His original flight ended up being cancelled entirely.

I had actually won tickets to see The Price Is Right live @ the Chicago Theater for that night and ended up having the tickets transferred into my friend’s name so she could go instead. When I originally entered the contest in October I didn’t know I wouldn’t be able to attend. Figures. At least it wasn’t something more exciting. I mean, I would have gone for free but I’m not broken hearted about missing it.

Monday (02/18) Wookie had a grooming appointment and later that afternoon I went to Dollar Tree in search of a few specific storage bins that weren’t in stock. Between that and how crowded it was thanks to it being President’s Day, it was a disappointing trip.

Decluttering Ninja & The Ammonia Incident

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I’m completely obsessed with decluttering this year. I reorganized the bottom potion of the hall closet again and am getting rid of some decorative candle-related items that I haven’t used in years. I’m talking over a decade!!! Why I kept hanging onto it, I have no idea, but the more often I declutter, the better I get at letting things go. Along with other stuff, I now have three decent-sized boxes of donations plus a handful of items I want to try and sell. In the past month I’ve also decluttered under the master bathroom sink, all of our paperwork on a snow/ice day where the office was closed last month (and now have two bags of paper to shred), my nightstand, the pantry, the kitchen cabinets, the “junk” drawer, and under the kitchen sink.

That last one is where I ran into an issue. Wednesday evening I was rounding up all the chemical-based cleaners I no longer use (and had forgotten I even had) when I found a bottle of Ammonia. I decided I was going to bring it to work the next day to see if they wanted it, but apparently it had a small hole in the bottom. It kept getting wet, so I left it in the kitchen sink overnight. Thursday morning, I opened the bottle so I could place some saran-wrap inbetween the bottle and cap to seal it better, when, unbeknownst to me, the bottle starting leaking much quicker. I had placed the bottle on a paper towel and a minute later it was soaked. Me, being an idiot, sniffed it, and it burned so bad! At that point I decided to pour it down the sink, slowly, to keep the fumes to a minimum. Despite that, the house completely stunk and I was worried it would bother Wookie, so I ran around opening windows to air the place out. I ended up being a few minutes late to work because I didn’t want to leave until I was certain the fumes were gone. I ended up bringing a bottle of Windex, 409, and a few other things to work and there’s actually space under the sink now. I will NEVER buy ammonia again. That stuff is evil!

Oh, and apparently we had an unknown hard-on for hydrogen peroxide – I found two bottles under the master bathroom sink and two bottles under the kitchen sink, and there’s a bottle in the cabinet above the dryer. The funny thing is we barely use it so WTF is going on? I poured out the three really old (expired) bottles and kept two. I think that’s plenty. Plus it’s dirt cheap.

It’s funny how I’m more concerned about chemicals now that we have a dog. Apparently our own health wasn’t important? I am now on the hunt for pet-friendly floor cleaner I can either buy or make myself. I have been using vinegar and water which seems to work ok, but I don’t think it cleans the floor as well as say, Mr. Clean, but I read that is really toxic so I need a better solution (literally).

Saturday Brunch

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Saturday (02/09) we headed to the Oak Lawn area to have brunch with the kids and ES. We went back to the same restaurant where we ate in August with Joe’s dad, aunt, and cousin. I ordered the same thing too, although it wasn’t quite as epic as last time. That being said, it was good to catch up with the kids since we mostly only see them on holidays.

We all gave E grief about his lack of communication skills (between him not answering texts, and not letting his sister know he was actually at home and not busy like she thought, they were about twenty minutes late arriving since they drove together). I think for our own sake we’re going to stop showing up early (or even on time) when it comes to them because there’s almost always a reason they’re late and it’s aggravating waiting around. We’re two very punctual people and don’t understand how they manage to make it to school and work on time. In any case, we have tried not take it personally and chalk it up to poor time management skills. The lack of response to texts is more frustrating, though, because it’s just plain rude. It’s especially so when we’re forking over (see what I did there?) $75 for a single meal, you know? Of course, E always takes the teasing in stride (everyone was getting on his case, but in a good-natured way) and he even gave us two copies of Aggravation he found at thrift stores. We now have 5 copies of the deluxe edition and 1 copy of the original and only two of them we’ve purchased ourselves. He spent $25 on one of them which we think is too much, but neither of us can think of a way to tell him to stop buying them without sounding ungrateful.

After brunch we ordered a pizza at the place where my brother, B, got me the Hawaiian for my birthday earlier this month. We did half pineapple and canadian bacon and half sausage and took it home for later. Came to find out later that it was national pizza day so that worked out nicely!

We didn’t do much on Sunday other than shopping and a trip to the library.

Laser Michael Jackson

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Wasn’t feeling so hot on Saturday. It started Friday with excessive sneezing and a stuffy nose, so I decided to take it easy and not go anywhere. I also drank plenty of water and starting taking zinc. It either helped, or I wasn’t developing a cold in the first place, because I felt fine on Sunday. We ended up going to IKEA to grab breakfast and look around. We came home with a few things – two decorative white pots ($6) that I put on the fireplace mantel, a scrub brush ($1), another bed for Wookie ($13) since she loves her current one so much, 4 grey potholders ($4) as ours were desperately in need of replacing, and a big blanket ($4) I plan to cut into strips to create a snuffle mat for Wookie since the ones on Amazon sell for $30 which seems rather high for strips of material to hide treats in. Hopefully mine comes out good enough that it’s a challenge for her. She caught on quickly to the treat game we got in January and can get all of them in a minute or less. She’s been really bored lately too since it’s been too cold/wet to take her on walks. Later the same afternoon, we headed to Cernan Space Center to catch the 3 pm showing of Laser Michael Jackson. Of the three shows we’ve seen, I found that one to be the least entertaining. I’m sure some of that was in part due to the incredibly inconsiderate woman several rows below us who insisted on filming every song with her phone which created distracting lighting. It’s not as if the guy running the show asked for people to put their phones away or something. Also, for whatever reason they didn’t play two of the songs listed as part of the show which was disappointing.

Monday I met up with my friend C at the mall for lunch. I stopped at Savers beforehand and ended up finding a cute sweater for only $1.50 and a purple t-shirt for $2.75. Both are long enough to wear with leggings which is perfect since that’s what I tend to wear lately.

At the mall food court I got a sandwhich from Great Steak which was good, as always, if not overpriced at $7 for the size.

After chatting for a couple of hours, C and I went to Bath & Body Works to shop. Actually, I just went to get my freebies. I earned a reward for spending over $100 so I got a free rose gold candle stand normally priced $15.50. I also used a coupon to get some rose balm for free. Interestingly enough, the coupons they mail must be based on your spending habits because my friend’s coupon was good for a free item $6.50 or under whereas mine was only $5.50 and could be only used toward body care items. I also had a coupon for a free item with purchase for my birthday which was expiring, but I wasn’t interested in anything, so the cashier used it against of my friend’s items so she didn’t have to pay for it, which was nice. I don’t like playing full price for anything in that store, plus the candles weren’t on sale and I’m not looking to add to my wallflower or hand soap collection.

My goal this year is to use up everything I have before buying any new stuff, which is why all I’ve really purchased lately is home decor, and I’ve been making an effort to donate the stuff I have stored away that I pass over every year instead of putting on display. My taste has changed a lot and I like more simple looking items now. Joe said it’s like our decor is maturing and I agree.

My friend and I also went to Hobby Lobby to look around but we didn’t buy anything. Nothing really striked me plus none of their Easter decor was on sale yet.