Two of My Internal Organs Were Worthless Mo-Fos

So I kicked them to the curb. Gall bladder and ovary. Actually I didn't have a beef with the ovary, it was just hanging out, doin its thing, but it started growing an evil alter-ego cyst-er who was simply not invited. I was supposed to have laproscopy, but I swear Dr. Doogie gave me a c-section to get that party crasher out. Benign, yea! So I thought it would be a good idea to salvage the post-op work week by working from home, but Vicodin thought otherwise. I've already had 2 naps today! I've come to accept the imposed slothiness of it all, and am enjoying the whole doing nothingness. The house looks like hell, dishes and laundry are piling up, no food in the fridge, but I've got a jar of peanut butter, a spoon and the remote. Time. to. veg. Awesome! All for now, Nugget

Those Little Saké Cups are for Taking Shots, Right?

Team Nugget can really be dense sometimes. Like when we think we can go out to a nice dinner (something other than fast food or Mexican) with the Little Nugget. I mean, how many times do we need to be reminded? Apparently many. Because we have a keen ability to block unpleasant experiences from our collective memory. Call it our superpower, if you will. Otherwise, why would we keep trying to take our oh-so adorable, albeit fidgety offspring to public places confined by the typical social expectations. You know, like not screaming "NOOOO!!!!" seemingly out of the blue: we're used to it so we no longer have the startle reflex, but most other diners are unaccustomed to spontaneous bursts of adrenaline during their meal. Makes you feel alive, eh?! Our gift to you! You're welcome! :-)

Team Nugget had a hankering for sushi the other night, AND we had a coupon. Score! So blinded by our fog of naive forgetfulness, we loaded up for a family outing. Woo-hoo! Usually the amnesia is short-term, as we gain consciousness as soon as we walk in the door and see 1) it's a nice, quiet restaurant and 2) there are other customers who seem to enjoy the quiet nature of said establishment. Fuck! I will share with you now:

Team Nugget's Strategies for Peaceful & Harmonious Dining in Fine Restaurant Settings, a.k.a. "Damage Control"

1. Order alcohol, tout de suite.
   
2. Waste no time in ordering food, and pray to God it arrives quickly.
   
3. Swiftly unpack the Squinkies and other well-chosen distractions from the Little Nugget's poodle purse.
   
4. Even though you are going to a restaurant to procure food, ALWAYS BRING BACKUP FOOD. Food delivery is NEVER fast enough.
   
5. Once food has arrived, eat! Enjoy and savor it, of course, but just know everything could fall apart at any minute!
   
6. When they come to ask you how it tastes, ask for the check! You just never know when you may be shamed into an abrupt departure!

Bon appetit!!! That really is our survival guide, for reals.

OK, so we weren't shamed *this time*, but we did make a quick departure as Little Nugget REALLY liked the sound her sassy boots made on the hardwoods, and she wanted to make sure everyone knew. That and she felt compelled to do a special sushi house interpretive dance in the exact spot where the wait staff come in and out of the kitchen.

After we escaped to the privacy and non-judgemental embrace of the car, I realized I had forgot to finish my Sake. I was really tempted to burst back into the restaurant, grab the tiny shot glass and down that sucker.

I'm sure the other diners would approve.

All for now,

Nugget

It's Not You, It's Me...

This is so hard to say. We've been together for such a long time now, which makes it even harder...I'm breaking up with you, Michaels.

We had some good times. When I got those weekly 40% Off the Price of Any Item Coupons (excluding sale items, magazines, books, Martha Stewart items, Cricut items, clearance items, or anything else you want), I couldn't wait to hook up with you. It was intoxicating. I remember the first time I introduced you to the Little Nugget. She gasped "Oh Mommy, look at all the colors!!!" I knew just how she felt. We both thought you were "the one".

But something happened. I don't know. Maybe you started phoning it in. Maybe I just raised my standards. But all I know is I need a store that can give me what I need.

I've started seeing another store. It's a locally owned store. There, I've said it. Their beads are all drilled on center. And the holes are straight.

But we can still be friends, right? I'm sure I'll need some craft paints or a new sketch book from time to time. And hey, you're the only place I can get butter rum Life Savers, so we've still got that!

Take care of yourself, Michaels. It was good knowing you.

Nugget

Sick Day

Since Saturday I've had this sore throat that I've tried to will away, but overnight the vile plague unleashed a torrent of snot that could not be denied.

I'm sick.

Hubby Nugget just took the Little Nugget to preschool, and here I lie, cup of hot tea in hand, buried under my snuggie and a pile of used kleenex.

Mrrr.

Would you like some cheese with my whine?

Updates are in order since I haven't posted for a month.

How bout them Chiefs? I'm blocking last week's game out of my memory...bring it up and I will deny it ever happened. I'm talking about the Playoffs! Woot! *must get over cold by Sunday!!!*
We're in the playoffs baby!!!

On other fronts...

Team Nugget embarked on a yet another campaign to potty train the oh so stubborn Little Nugget, necessitating my absence for a month. I was doing laundry and mopping the floors non.stop. I'm happy to report she is peeing in the potty now, not in her panties. Don't ask me about poo. Sigh.

OK, I'm going to go take some cold meds and lay down.

Nugget

Walmart, You Cause Me Great Vexation!

I admit, I begrudgingly patronize my local Super Walmart and am rewarded with modest savings on Team Nugget's sundry needs. But more importantly, I go there because I enjoy the fact that Satan's House of Cheap Milk and Prescriptions has self-checkout.

The reasons are three-fold:

Being the ocd-type organizer girl that I am, I REALLY enjoy having all my refrigerated items packed into one bag. Not an unreasonable request I think, it just makes it so easy to unload once I get home.

There must be some serious overloaded grocery-bag accident litigation floating around Walmart HQ because those crazy bastards will only put a couple of items in each sack. I get that, but I don't want to deal with all that stuff to carry. I've got a toddler, people! Streamline, that's the name of the game. Even when I give them my reusable bags (when I remember to bring the things) they still will inevitably ask, "You want the milk in the bag?" No, I want to carry it with my teeth! YES I WANT IT IN THE BAG! I know it's heavy. I'm a big girl, I can handle it. Put it all in there! Don't act shocked that I don't want you to give me 15 to twenty bags to carry in the house while corralling the Little Nugget. I can consistently fit ALL my groceries into those 4 reusable bags, every week. That's why I like to bag it myself.

Chit-chat. I'm not the most social person. I'm an introvert. But I can make small talk. Without frightening people. I can't say the same thing for some of the cashiers I've encountered. This I hold to be a Universal Truth: regardless of the retail establishment, they inevitably put the most socially inept people in contact with the customers. Quick story, all true: checking out the other day (different store, not Wally), Little Nugget quickly turning into a pumpkin. I give her (bribe her with) some Smartees, and the cashier says OUT LOUD, mind you, "Oh I used to SNORT those when I was a kid..." (emphasis seriously mine.) I'm all like Oh really, that's nice, well have a nice day! All the while, I'm thinking WTF?! Why would you share that with a stranger, let alone one with a child. RIGHT. THERE. Mommy, what's snorting?...Granted, this was an extreme case, but I've had lovely chit-chat with many cashiers about how their brother just got out of prison, etc, etc...oh, and the ones who clearly don't like kids, but try to pretend? Stop it. You're not fooling anyone, and it just comes across as creepy.

Alas, dear reader(s), today I discovered that my local Walmart has removed all the self-checkouts.

Crap.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Nugget

One of My Internal Organs is a Worthless MoFo...

I refuse to believe that my gall bladder would go all wacky on me THE SAME WEEK my husband has his removed (he's recovering nicely, BTW!). I'm really starting to think that his evil organ has possessed mine...kinda like Paranormal Activity, only more like Pear-Shaped Organ Inactivity. HA!!! I crack myself up!!!

Other Random Observations (I'm really too tired to write in a more coherent fashion, although it never stopped me before):

Little Nugget's torso is now a size 3T, but her arms and legs are a 4. Tall girl. Can't wait until short-sleeved, shorts and skirts weather. That should disguise it for a couple of months until the rest of her catches up.

She might be starting preschool soon, not sure what to think of that yet. Oh I know what I think, but feel a little guilty for being so excited...lining up all the artsy-fartsy crafty projects and such. Should be finding out soon if they have a place for her. Mommy will be learning how to make glass beads soon after.

....sorry distracted by Idol...

STRANGE dreams lately: my new boss and the new AA trying to kill me; Crazy Bitch AWOL neighbor stalking me and my Nugget on vacation; giant spiders taking over and various spider mayhem...OK, nightmares really. And late night foot cramps. Not sleeping well (explaining the black circles under my eyes...not just misplaced mascara...) Waaa!

...Danny Gokey!!!....

Couldn't stand the irony this morning of taking the Little Nugget with me and Gammy to a Weight Watchers meeting, her shoving a fistful of yogurt raisins in her mouth and gnawing on them chipmunk-style, puffed out cheeks and all. Made me giggle. She has her Daddy's metabolism. :-)

Speaking of diets, I really did nothing this week but eat cheese, at least that's how it seemed. Yep, lost weight. Go Milk!
......
Someone I work with is an alarmist. They need to take a Lexapro and leave me alone. It's not my problem they're that way. I make my deadlines.

.....

No matter how hard I try, every time I contact IT at work, I look like an idiot. I should know better. And I do. Me: "Oh hey it's doing that thing I said it wouldn't do" IT Guy: "That's because I just remoted in, I'm doing that" Me: *hanging head in shame*

At least I'm smarter about computers than anyone else in my department (crap). Oh yeah, I'm testing out some $5,000 piece of software at work. I finally got the DELETE button to work today. *jaw clenched* 27 days left on the test, woo-hoo!

No wonder my gall bladder's pissed.

All for now,
Nugget

You Know You're Just Dying to Find Out...

Bat-Assed Crazy Neighbor Update:

When we last met, Mr. Crazy was packin it all up, laundry appliances and all. It was quiet for the rest of the weekend, with the exception of a late night visit to pick up God-knows-what. Crazy Bitch was still AWOL, but we didn't think anything of it, since it was Valentine's weekend, and honestly if I suffered a breakup then, I'd probably not come home to face the empty house either.

So Monday morning, I'm sippin my coffee, and I hear noises next door. Being the concerned (nosy) neighbor that I am, I peeked through the window to see Mr. C's buddy (Mr. TOW-Mater) drive off with the new trash bins just delivered by the city a week earlier. So now I'm thinkin WTH? And then it dawned on me: Mr. Crazy did NOT leave Crazy Bitch as previously thought. Seriously, we think they skipped town! OK, I didn't see this one coming.

Again, being the concerned (REALLY nosy) neighbor that I am, I of course contacted our real estate agent, thinking she might have some insight. And just like a good piece of gossip, she was on it like stink on shit. (I don't know if she's a gossip hound, I just thought it sounded good when I wrote it...sorry.) No it's not in foreclosure YET, but they might have thought if they left town before it happened, nobody could find them! HA!

She suggested we call the city, and we plan to, but honestly I don't want to jinx it. So we've given it a couple of weeks. There has been snow on the ground most of the time and no sign of activity. *crossing fingers*

I think this calls for a happy dance!!!! *shakin it*

Oh Hell Yes!!!!
Nugget

Really There are NO Excuses, but Try This One On For Size...

I SO had good intentions to rock hard on the remodelling project(s) underway and for about 2 hours I really opened up a serious can of whoop ass.

Yes, we sat around for some time this morning leisurely drinking our coffee and watching the renno-fest marathon that is HGTV on Saturday morning: Holmes on Homes, eh, and some other ones. I don't quite remember, it's all a blur of fencing, tiling, dry walling...And you'd think that would put a fire in our belly, but people, we were tired and clearly in need of much greater motivation than mere TV personalities were going to provide. At least for me. Hubby Nugget had far greater initiative at that point, but I needed additional prodding because I was tackling the dreaded problem: the butt-ugly, unevenly applied popcorn ceiling that the obviously EVIL previous owners put up. There really should be a law against that, if not some code violation.

Having already accepted (due to my habitual viewing of HGTV) that I will have to slip coat every square inch of wall in the house (the alternative being new drywall), I had yet to reach acceptance about what needed to be done with the ceiling. I envisioned water, drop cloths, breathing aparatii, and hours and hours of horrible aching tedious dirty work.

And all that was true, except the hours and hours part. The ceiling had been painted, so no need for water. I just knocked off the popcorn part, and was done in less than two hours. Which is awesome, except I had really just expected to work on that today, and wasn't really in the mood to start slip coating. (I have to psych myself up for something I've never done before. Well, I've done slip coat, but that was on plaster, no biggie. This is 50-year old sheet rock. Nuff said.)

Plus when I got done, then allowing clean-up time, it was about 4 o'clock, which really is too late in the day to start something new. Ehem. Now don't get me wrong, I've been busy: I cannot tell you how many messes and toy box explosions I've cleaned today. Plus laundry sorting...oh yes, and Monkey wrangling. That's job number one.

Oh who am I kidding...I feel like an unbelievable lazy turd right now, obsessively checking Facebook and the Blog-o-sphere for new updates. Busted! But I did do all that stuff today. I just feel bad that I should have done more. Oh well, some days you just need a day off...oh wait...TOMORROW'S MY BIRTHDAY!!! Well if that's not an excuse to be a slacker for 2 or 3 hours, I don't know what is!!!

Check out the computer game that's been occupying much of my lazy turd time: Pure Hidden. If you're into seek-and-find games and like really pretty, relaxing graphics, check it out! (note to self: must remember it's OK to take some relaxation time!!!!)

All for now,
Nugget

I Know You Are, but What am I?!

There are few things about the 80's that are worthwhile mentioning. Yes, it was a dark time of mullets and Three's Company to be sure, but a few bright stars shined like a beacon of hope in the bleak days of my teenage years.

Let us start with the unbelievable Hello Kitty store at our local mall--I KNOW! A whole store devoted to Hello Kitty and Pals. You could see the sparkly pink goodies glow in the distance, beckoning you to peruse their unbelievably adorable goods, and maybe to perhaps part with a small portion of your allowance...I still have my Hello Kitty scissors don'tcha know. And yes, I know Hello Kitty dated pre-80's. But it hit the Midwest in the early 80's, so there.

Luckily, HK lives on, and Thank You God, my daughter is a fan. Which means I can buy HK gear until my heart's content, and this pleases me. No, I'm not all "oh I love Hello Kitty so much I'm going to turn my house into a pink dollhouse of Kitty-lovin shame,"

nor will we be totin' this regal firearm...

but we have a number of sticker books and a stuffed doll or two. And some hair accessories. And socks. I feel pretty good about that, and it satisfies my unresolved childhood desire for absolute cute. See this blog for the antidote. It's hilarious!

Item number two of the few good things that emerged from the 80's: Pee Wee Herman and Pee Wee's Playhouse. God I loved Pee-Wee. Yes, Paul Rubens the person ran into a bit of trouble (what with the movie watching habits and all), and as a result the Playhouse was cancelled. I understood, but it was sad.

But guess what? He's back! There have been 2, count them, TWO Pee Wee sightings in the last week:

Sighting 1) Conan O'Brien's show (sorry you have to endure an ad first)

Sighting 2) Doing an iPad review (hilarious!)

Nothing pleases me more than to see Pee Wee Herman again. Hell, you can even become a fan on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter.

Infinity!

All for now,
Nugget

Dumb and Dumber...

I believe you've been introduced to our neighbors. Such a joy, it's like having our very own reality tv show right next door!!! Yea!!!


So the other night we noticed they had moved their pickup down to the back of their very long driveway. This would be of no interest usually, but on THAT day, we had received another fair amount of drifting, blizzardy-type snow. We sensed a new opportunity to mock them mercilessly, which we really don't need one, but it helps to justify our ridicule.


While getting ready for bed, Hubby Nugget and I bet whether the Crazy Twins would in fact be able to back that beast up the hill the following morning. To sweeten the deal, we speculated where the likely falling-off-the-driveway-into-our-yard spot would be. HN really didn't want to think about that as we have at one point a 3-5 ft drop-off between the two properties divided by our fence.




Prophecy fulfilled! Did I mention it was also like 6 degrees that day? So Mr. Crazy Neighbor gets out there and starts digging snow from the back tires (although it might have been easier to just shovel the driveway PRIOR to this endeavor, but I digress....), and Ms. Crazy Neighbor is standing out in the middle of the street barking orders at him. I'm sure he appreciated all her helpfulness, I know I would. So the scene continues like this: dig out tires, burn rubber, slide deeper into our yard, dig, burn rubber, slide deeper into our yard.

At this point I guess he thought he had better tell me what had happened (cause it's not obvious at all! duh!). He's really not much of a talker, really, just kind of mumbled some stuff about getting his friend to pull him out. I was sympathetic, told him don't worry about the plants there, just some irises and you can't kill them, and he missed the rock wall. Apparently this had slipped his mind because he had the "oh shit" look on his face. And I only mentioned this because it's my beloved ROCK WALL GARDEN. As sad as I am that it's all planted, I really don't want to rebuild that wall.

So here comes his buddy to tow him out of the two ft. snowdrift in our yard with a mini-sized pickup! The thing couldn't even get enough traction on the road to move the chain, and when he finally melted a hole in the snow with the burning rubber of his tires, the chain went YANK and jerked the stuck truck VIOLENTLY. In the meantime, Mr. Crazy Neighbor has his foot to the floor burning holes in our yard. By the time they came to their senses, the truck was in a far worse position than before, now perpendicular to the driveway with the cab precariously resting near my rock wall. Nose deep in snow drift. AWEsome! Good job guys!

Now this is where Mr. Crazy Neighbor has a "lightbulb" moment. He really thought this was a good idea, and that frightens me: "We're really stuck, can I just drive out across your front yard?" Seriously. I shit you not. So this is how it went down:

Me: Um, I don't really feel comfortable with that...

Mr. CN: I will shovel your yard first...(yes, he really said that...I KNOW! He wouldn't shovel his driveway, but now he's gonna shovel my whole front yard?! )

Me (barely able to contain myself): Uh no, we already have water problems in the basement...

Mr. CN: I won't cause any damage...(Oh yeah, how 'bout when you get stuck in our front yard!!)

Me (head exploding from overexposure to stupidity): Um, there are water lines under there...

Mr. CN: I'll just drive out...(oh yeah right)

Me: Um sorry no. But you're in a perfect spot for a tow truck to pull you out...

Mr. CN: (mutters to himself, stomps off sullenly...)

This exchange makes Team Nugget wonder...would he have just driven across the yard if I hadn't been home? Yes, he is just that big of an idiot. Moving to the country is very appealing...

All for now,
Nugget

Damn I'm HOT!!!

And not in a good way!

So I've been sitting here at my computer as I am apt to do when I'm putting off laundry, and I realized that I am SWEATING! Now anyone who knows me is aware that I have the metabolism of a sloth and rarely break a sweat, even in the dog days of summer, and even then only if I'm performing some sort of hard physical labor in direct sunlight. So I thought there must have been some kind of heat wave in the house and got up to check the thermostat expecting it to read something like 85, but no. 71 degrees. I blame this entirely on my daughter.

See, I had the Little Nugget late in life, the ripe old age of 39. (Yeah I KNOW that's not old, but you tell that to my God-forsaken hormones!). I was standing in the middle of JCPenny's buying my Sweet Hubby Nugget a Valentines day present when I suddenly felt like I was burning up on fire! I was beet red! I thought "wow that's weird whats up with that?" Since me and the newly Hubby-d Nugget were working on expanding Team Nugget to three members, I had my suspicions. We'd only been married a couple of months, so it seemed kind of unlikely, but hey, miracles can happen. So I picked up a pee test at the store and told my sweet Nugget about the urinary celebration we were to have the next morning promptly upon waking. I was convinced of impending pregnancy as my body was acting STRANGELY.

There is a point here, and I'm getting to it, just be patient.

So the pee test of goodness commenced, and...nothing. NOT pregnant. Dude, I was bummed. Hubby Nugget was bummed. So on we went about our days at work. Except I had a huge commute and TONS of time to reflect upon the news. Being prone to thoughts of impending doom, I suspected that I had misread my hormones and was not pregnant, but in fact starting MENOPAUSE. Which made me sad because I surmised we were too old to have a kid, blah, blah, blah. That's just how my brain works, and why meds are awesome (I wasn't taking them at the time, rest assured). So the next day, struck by a nagging sense of curiosity, I decided to check out via the interwebs (both of them) the accuracy of those "super accurate" home pregnancy tests. And guess what. They're not that accurate and give FALSE NEGATIVES! Dude, I was simultaneously stoked and freaked out!

Since we had super-awesome health insurance at that time, it was cheaper for me to just go get tested at my doctor's office than buy the test again, which is what happened the following Tuesday, and the rest is history. And now we have the Sweet Little Nugget of Goodness! Voila!

So ok, this is not supposed to be a story of our pregnancy, but it is closely tied for me to the subject of Menopause, because after I had the Little One, I became keenly aware that I was no longer experiencing pregnancy-related hormone fluctuations, but that the pregnancy had in my opinion jump-started my hormones into peri-menopause gear. Damn.

So yeah, it's ALL my daughter's fault. I'm just sayin.

All for now,
Nugget

Delusions of Reindeer...

With all the Christmas decorations finally brought down from the attic and unpacked, I have to say...where the heck is all my stuff?

Last year at the end of the season, I had a huge haul of deeply discounted Holiday goodies that I ensconced in the Rubbermaid Tubs of Goodness for safe keeping until this year. I have so far resisted the urge to buy more decorations this year, confidently telling myself, oh you don't need anything this year, you got so much stuff last year we'll have plenty to decorate with!!!

I was so excited to get the ball rolling that I had to try REALLY hard to not start decorating after Halloween, but now it's time, and I just couldn't wait to see the look on the Little Nugget's face when I showed her the lovely raffia reindeer nestled under the Christmas tree. But Dude, where are they? Hubby Nugget assures me that there is nothing left in the attic, and I believe him, but this makes me wonder...did I imagine all these great decorative riches? Because my little pile of decorative items is rather paltry.

The problem could lie in the methodology used in deep discount end-of-the-season shopping itself. Grab it, throw it in the cart. No contemplating...contemplating is for people who lose out on sale items. You take the time to think, and someone else will grab it off the shelf quicker than you can say...hey I wanted that! If mildly interested, throw it in the cart. Once all the Clearance items have been perused, head over to the Store's price check station and THEN contemplate whether your booty is trash or treasure.

Yes, the reindeer made it to the cart, but I'm a little fuzzy past that point.

You may or may not recall, the entire holiday season for me last year was dampened by this horrible plague that would not vacate my body. So ravaged by a secondary ear infection, I could have very well thought that the reindeer made it to the cashier, when really I shoved it next to a pile of over-priced towels (ha-ha just kidding). Except I have proceeded through 2009 expecting this giant booty of Christmas decorations that awaited my liberation from their plastic cocoon, including the reindeer in question.

Sigh. Forgetting stuff sucks. I'm just sayin...

All for now,
Nugget

The Straw that Broke the Camel's Back

That would be today at work.

Every once in a while, as is the nature in my department, there will be some person who will magically be perceived in some vulnerable or weakened position in standing and the others will be filled with great joy in tearing that person to shreds and dancing in the blood of their victim. It usually goes in cycles, and the victim is usually someone who is support staff, or one of the other faculty members should there be shifting alliances (which there always are). Even the chair is not immune to such carnage.

So I guess someone put the bull's eye on my back recently without my knowledge, because it is now my turn, and today I just decided I was tired of it. You know, going the whole day without eating because your stomach is churning is just not how work is supposed to be, especially someone who is good at and enjoys what they do. (Yeah, and this is also one of the reasons I've not been quite so prolific in the NaBloPoMoFo, sorry)

So today I wrote a nice little email to the pesticle in question and my boss, outlining why what he is doing is considered harassment, and that in the future I'd appreciate it if he'd step off and let me do my job. It felt pretty good.

Still no response, but I'll be on the lookout for the ravaging natives when I go into the office tomorrow...

What Was I Going to Say?

I had the idea, pushed the "New Post" button, and FORGOT what I was going to post about! Seriously, this getting old crap REALLY sucks! OK, getting oldER. But still, po-tay-to, po-tah-to, it's just not cool. I'm only 42. Isn't that supposed to be like the new 32? Honestly that's how I really feel. But sometimes, I feel like one of those people who remembers when microwave ovens, personal computers and cable TV were new. Oh crap.

I know, I've already posted about such unpleasantness, but I'm forgetting stuff now within like 10 seconds of thinking it!!! I get owies and have no clue how or when I was injured. I really want to get a Nintendo DS so I can get Brain Age!!! And I now find people in their early 20's to be quaint, but mostly quite annoying. I call random people under the age of 30 "punk-assed kids."

Don't get me wrong, I remember what I was like to be 19, 20'ish. But I am so over that. Now that I'm in my 40's it's so clear. 20's were all about drama (it all seems so much more important then). 30's were about figuring out who the hell you are (at least for me). 40's, well honestly, I'm really digging the 40's. Except for the short-term memory loss, achy joints and tendency to retain fat, it's pretty awesome.

And I will expound on that some more tomorrow, after I get some sleep...zzzz!

Pathetic!!!
Nugget

Diversions of Goodness

I'm looking for a new game to play. I've never really been a game player, but I've been giving it a go as a way to unwind after a busy day.

When I joined Facebook, I really got into Farm Town, as witnessed here. When I say I, I mean we, in that Hubby Nugget was equally enthralled with this time-wasting endeavor. I have to give the Town some cred for making me realize that a relaxed Mommy is a happy Mommy, one that requires less drink to achieve the desired relaxation level.

But all good things must come to an end. My love affair with Farm Town began to fade. I looked to Facebook for another and began playing Farmville. But really it was just a rebound relationship. Who am I kidding.

I re-evaluated my priorities. It wasn't about the coin. It wasn't about the small house versus the farmhouse versus the mansion. I was perfectly happy with the farmhouse (more closet space, but not so much that you felt compelled to become a compulsive shopper). And I really didn't even care about the crops. Oh I did at first, but that was just a means to an end. Plant the crops, harvest the crops, sell the crops, get the coin. Coin in itself doesn't bring happiness, no, Coin brings choices, and choices are good. I digress. What I'm trying to say is that I realized what appealed to me about Farm Town was the fact that I could design elaborate gardens and mazes, and THAT was cool.

So while I am simultaneously amusing myself and cursing Jungle Jewels, I would like to invite someone to create an awesome landscape gardening game app. I bet it would be HUGE. Or not. I know I would enjoy it.

All for now,
Nugget

No Threads Tying Any of this Together into a Unified Theme...

Just some more random thoughts that were too complicated for a tweet, but not substantial enough for a whole post.

Item number 1: This morning Little Nugget asked me to "Take off panties," (all signs point to impending potty training success!) and when I picked her up, I emerged covered in urine that squirted from her squishy pull-ups like an overripe tomato. Her reaction? "It's full." Indeed! Who knew LN would have such a dry sense of humor? Good stuff!

Item number 2: Not content to put away my gardening tools for winter, I decided to make a tiny little "greenhouse" out of my minuscule office window, which frankly gets more sunlight than any window at home. I found tiny little pots at Michaels and planted little sedum and scottish moss starts, so hopefully I will have a nice little group of plants for the garden next year. Pictures are forthcoming, of course. And it makes walking into the office a little happier in the morning.

Item number 3: (Totally hypothetical scenario and in no way represents any known person, fictional or real) Today at work the departmental pestical stopped by and stuck his head in my office, said he was going to make a run for coffee, and would I like him to pick me up something? I'm still stunned. And I fully expect that he's done something to jeopardize my job and is just covering his tracks by pretending to be nice. If this story was about a real person, I'd be SO on to him!

Item number 4: We cannot keep clothes on the Monkey. She's going though a semi-clothed phase. I hope she outgrows it before high school.

Item number 5: Yea! Hubby Nugget just got the heater to come on! Yea! Time to whip up celebratory Manhattans!

All for now,
Nugget

Sheesh...

I can't believe it's been this long since I posted anything, apologies!

Just Between Friends Sale: Been a bit busy lately getting stuff ready for a local kids-stuff consignment sale, it just started this morning! Woo-hoo! I am proud to say that about 6 rubbermaid storage bins worth of Monkey's stuff have left the house!!!! Space, precious space!!! So I've been busy hanging, pricing, tagging, packing 149 of the Little Nugget's outgrown toys, clothes, room decor stuff!!!! I'm very happy about our newly found square footage, although now that's done I have to shift my focus to giving the house a good scrubbing due to my general neglect in the past few days...sigh.

Visual Resources Land: This week is the first of the semester, so VRLand has been quite busy for the last month, getting everything ready and such. I am STILL working on the Ancient project, even though I was hoping to be done by now. Happily I finished Imperial Rome last night which was a mammoth file of about 800 scanned images that needed to be cleaned in Photoshop. I'm now wearing a wrist brace. :-( Nearing the end of the project though, only have to prepare images for Early Christian, Byzantine, Medieval, Romanesque and Islamic architecture and I'm done with that Professor's class. I know, sounds like a lot, but after Greek and Roman, it's a breeze! I'm tired of cleaning dirty emperors. And I'm happy to add that ALL classes being taught in our department (except one) are being taught with digital images this semester! I rock super-hard!!! The other one should be digital by January (fingers crossed, unless I have to have carpal tunnel surgery first!!!!)

I haven't had my coffee yet, so I must attend to that toute de suite. More to come I assure you, dear reader(s), I have pics to post...

All for now,
Nugget

I Have Not Forsaken You...

Although it may seem that way. I've just been distracted...again. Hubby Nugget and I have been unwinding these days with the Facebook phenom, Farm Town.
I was going to publish a screen capture of my farm, Avatar Acres...but I'm having technical difficulties! Anyway, I have wheat and watermelons planted right now...Hubby Nugget's got wheat to harvest when he gets home from work! I have lots of animals too, including FOUR goats, yes, FOUR goats. Can never have too many goats. I won't go into the details of how to play this VERY addictive game, but check it out if you're on FB...my animals are sounding off in the background as I type...he-he!


What else has been going on...you know, I've had several blogs rollin around in my brain, but now that I've cranked one up on the 'puter, I'm drawing a blank...


So I guess we'll go with random thoughts, should be interesting. You've been warned.


Random thought #1, titled "WTF?!"


Not to sound all Paris Hilton or anything, but our daughter is stunningly beautiful. To that, add a little bit of sassafras, well, a lot of sassafras, and she's irresistible. We know this for a fact because everywhere she goes, young boys are taken with the sight of her and rendered speechless like tiny little toddler-sized deer in headlights. Young ones (like 18 months) and older ones (like 3 or 4 years old) alike follow her around in stores, parks, zoos, swimming pools trying to win her attention...luckily she is clueless about this right now. But we are so screwed when she gets older and hoping she will go though a prolonged awkward period that lasts through high school, maybe even college.


Random thought #2, also titled "WTF?!"


Where did summer go? I just read somewhere that local institutions of higher learning will be starting in 4 weeks. All I can say is HOLY CRAP! See, I'm still working on mammoth projects for two of the professors in our department. I'm doing OK, but I still panic at the thought of only 4 weeks left. Mind you, I have to have this done BEFORE the semester starts. Oh I'll finish, I always do, but not without several anxiety attacks prior to completion. And to make things more awesome, Little Nugget has done something to jack up Photoshop on my computer that I work on at home...so I have mucho image editing, but cannot get rid of the stupid hand icon so I can, oh I don't know, DO MY WORK!?!! Sorry just another thing for me to worry about, no doubt Hubby Nugget can fix it, but I worry, it's just what I do.


Random thought #3, titled "No really, I am in Weight Watchers."


Nobody forces me to eat birthday cake or scrumptious birthday bacon cheeseburgers, but when you have back to back birthday parties every weekend since the first week of June, it wears on your ability to say no after a while. Again, I take full responsibility for the choices I have made, and while I gained NO weight, I still haven't lost any either. We are now in the clear until October, so no excuses pour moi. Upside my head. And heiny. Got Hubby Nugget (and myself, he-he) a Wii fit for Father's Day, gonna fire that bad boy up! Word!


What else...hmm...


Random thought #4, titled "MAN it's been hot..."

Much too hot to garden in the last few weeks, then too rainy...but this is a perfect gardening weekend. Unseasonably cool, low humidity, no rain in the forecast,...and no plans other than hanging out in the yard. Sa-WEET! Hopefully Crazy Bitch next door won't make it unpleasant with her unbelievably LOUD speaking voice. "Conversations" peppered with exclamations of "FUCK" and "SHUT UP" are also a treat. I say "conversations" because nobody really ever talks when she's around, because she.doesn't.shut.up. AWEsome neighbor. OK she gave us a bunch of plants from her yard (thereby reducing the value of her new house by about 5 grand, stupidhead), but that still doesn't make up for her high level of annoyance. I see you talking neighbor, but all I hear is "Crazy Bitch!!!" Dude.


Random thought #5, titled "Lovin the Duck..."


Little Nugget loves Word World. She has one dvd that she loves, but I got her another the other day just because. This one is just stories about the character Duck, who she loves. OMG I've never seen the girl so tickled about something before in her short life! She cackles at this dvd and gets so wound up! It's been so worth it just watching her run around repeating the dialog and quacking like Duck! Good stuff!


All for now,
Nugget

One Strange Day...

Have to blog this because it's just been a weird day...

1. Gammy and Dapaw were at it again, tag-teaming injuries. (for those of you who are unaware, the first incident was a couple of years ago when dad had foot surgery, Mom was taking care of him, ended up breaking her shoulder, and he had to take care of her instead!) So Dad did this ill-advised maneuver on a loading dock, flipped backwards, mom catches him in mid-air, thereby preventing his head from crashing into the pavement, but in the meantime, he kicks her accidentally while in motion, now she possibly has a torn hamstring. Sigh. Other than that, everyone's OK. No broken bones.

2. Went to go pick up Hubby Nugget's vehicle at the dealership, it was being fixed and maintained in preparation for our trip, only they didn't have it done because there was another warranty part that was broken, need to replace it, here's your rental. Uhhh, is it OK if we drive the rental to Denver? Ummmm, no. As a joke, HN asked if they would give me a new hubcap to replace the stolen one in lue of the rental and they said "DONE!" I guess they really didn't want us to drive the renter over two states, in the mountains...

3. Traffic on way home from dealership was so slow due to several wrecks, so we dove into a Buffalo Wild Wings to wait it out and have early dinner. Also, we were hoping to re-establish our World Domination in the trivia game. So we were enjoying our tasty Guinness's and they start moving this table next to us to make for more seating. Except the burly guy picks the table up and attempts to lift it over our precious Little Nugget's noggin. Talk about maternal instincts kickin in!!! Before I knew it, I was screaming "AACCKK!" and placing my hands over her head like a useless hand helmet. In the process, I knocked over my tasty beverage! I was freaked out on adrenaline, let me tell you!!!! I guess the guy was afraid we might sue, so he bought us another round. So that was pretty nice. But we only finished second in the trivia game.

4. Little Nugget had SO MUCH FUN at the RESTAURANT (this is odd in itself). Not only did she eat a WHOLE CHICKEN TENDER, but when it was time to go, she didn't want to leave! Now this is usually the girl who wants to leave as soon as she's done eating. No. We were ready to leave before her. She REALLY liked the trivia keyboard thingy. Might have to get one for her for her birthday.

So there you have it.

Must be some weird planet alignment or something.

All for now,
Nugget

New Battles, New Headaches...

Ten minutes ago, Little Nugget decided that she wanted to play in her room with the door shut. When I showed her the error of her ways, I was greeted with an unceremonious tantrum.

What's up with that?! Of course Team Nugget collectively said "Uh, no, no and NO!"

Seriously. Am I being unrealistic when I assumed that type of behavior wouldn't darken our door until she was at least, I don't know, 10, 11, 12? You know, the dreaded "tween" years, the period in which we hope, as older parents, that we will have finally achieved a level of functional senility that will render us blissfully unaware of the shameful activities in which our daughter could possibly associate herself? (Disclaimer: Yes, we're being positive role models, trying our best to turn her into a science geek so that we won't have to worry about boys or other bad influences)

But still. Come on. She's TWO AND A HALF!!!!

We are so screwed.

Nugget

Addition to post: Now she just put herself to bed...SHE'S GROWING UP TOO FAST!!!!!