Friday Ramblings

It's Friday. My brain feels like one of those non-gumball machines that has trinkets in it and you don't know which trinket is going to come out when you put your quarter in, but it's never the one you want. So, you end up trying over and over again until you've spent $3.00 in quarters on a temporary butterfly tattoo (because that's what you really wanted) and 11 other assorted pieces of junk that you toss in the garbage on your way out - crummy plastic glow-in-the-dark skull rings, multi-colored recycled rubber super balls, plastic game of jacks, miniature nunchucks key-rings, and temporary dragon tattoos. Yep, it's just one of those days... I would advise against putting your quarter in me, cause I just don't know what will come out of my mouth (or my crazy Friday brain)!

Seems today must be national bloggers' day off or something. I checked my daily reads before work today and only one of the 8 or so that I typically read had been updated since yesterday. That's unusual, and was slightly disappointing. You see, I slightly prefer reading a blog update over actually talking to a real person. I know - I'm a little weird like that. Particularly in the morning though, it's like I don't have the energy to have a real and honest conversation and I just want to read what (fake) people are up to. Okay, so they're not fake people, they're real people, but they're not real in my life. They're people who don't know me and aren't really talking to me, but I sort of pretend they are. They have no idea I'm even reading their words, but in my freakish mind, they're my friends! Yup, Hi John & Sherry, Donna, Melissa, Emily, Brook, Alyssa, Kate, Ree, Erin, and all you other pretend friends! Missed hearing from you this morning! Oh, except Ree, who did update her blog today! Hope your baby is feeling better soon! Have fun with the girls!


I am thoroughly enjoying a large, yes large, McCafe Iced Vanilla Latte from McDonald's this morning. I also truly appreciated the Fruit & Maple Oatmeal that I picked up there this morning. You see, I try not to eat much fast food and I try not to spend too much money unnecessarily, but I have a headache today and it's already felt like a long week (I know all weeks are 7 days, but some just FEEL longer!) and goll darnit I deserved this Latte and that Oatmeal. Could have been worse - I could be eating a deep-fried hashbrown patty or a greasy sausage egg & cheese muffin. At least I went with oatmeal with dried fruit. ...and the coffee? I never order a large coffee. I always order a small, but today I needed this large. You see, I have a headache... did I mention that already? My neck aches, my back aches, and I just feel a little crummy today. I am sure my body is fighting the cold that Cliff has had for almost a week now. He's starting to feel better though! Yep - just in time for me to feel miserable. I can't tell you when the last time was that he kissed me! He's been avoiding kissing me so that I don't get his awful cold. Can't wait for us to both be healthy so we can, well, you know, kiss again! Who knows - maybe I already have the cold and because I am woman (hear me roar), I'm still functioning like a normal human on the outside - maybe not at 100%, but still probably at 70%. Maybe if I were a guy, I'd be flat on my back, coughing and hacking and blowing my nose and whining a little. It's not that I think women don't get sick, we do - I get very sick once or twice a year. In fact a year and a half ago, I got H1N1 and was flat on my back miserable for an entire week. It's just that it seems I'm fighting some illness every other week - maybe it's a sore throat, an upset stomach, an achy back and neck (like today), a headache, or all of the above - but I still function, go to work, make dinner, etc. I have to say, for a guy, Cliff has done really well this week, being sick and all. He sounds terrible and he is a pain in the neck to sleep with (hey maybe that's why my neck hurts!), but he has been caring for Gavin, going to work, and functioning pretty normally, for a guy. I'm actually kind of impressed. Of course, he doesn't really have another option. I went about my week as usual, which kinda meant he had to go about his as usual too, since we're a team. And he didn't complain at all.


Wednesday night was my unofficial 'night off' this week. I hadn't really claimed it as my night off, and I did do Gavin's bedtime routine, but I also treated myself to a hair cut... and that IS a treat! The last time I had gotten a hair cut was last March, as in a year ago. The fact is, and you'd never guess it by looking at me (ha! yeah, right!), but I don't "do" my hair. Ever. Pretty much never. If you pay attention, you'll see a pattern. You see, I wash my hair about every other day, sometimes I go two days between washings on the weekend. Typically I wash it every other day, and on the days I wash it, I let it air dry. I am not willing to give up an hour of sleep / snuggle time / free time / house cleaning time to doing my hair every day. So, it's either shower or do my hair, one or the other, not both. On the days I shower, I comb through my wet hair with a little leave-in conditioner and then leave for work! Well, I do get dressed first and brush my teeth, but that's it. Shower, comb hair, brush teeth, get dressed, feed dog & cat, leave. That's my routine every other day. Oh, and if Gavin wakes up before I leave, then I MUST snuggle somewhere in there too! On the days that I do not shower, I brush and straighten my hair with a flat iron. Wash face, brush & straighten hair, brush teeth, get dressed, feed god & cat, leave (and snuggle when possible). So, on the days that I shower, my hair is au naturale, which is translated as wavy, slightly kinky in the back, straighter in the front, and a little messy. On the days that I straighten it, it is smooth and straight, and I like this look better. Anyway, when I went in to see Amy to get my hair cut, I wore my hair the shower day way and told her the that I did that so that she could see what it looks like on the days that I don't 'do' it and could therefore help me resolve the "issues" it has. She agreed with me... basically said, "yup, this is not good". Oh, thank you Amy. No really, I do appreciate her honesty. I wouldn't want her to say that it looked fine or to say, hey, I'll fix it. I wanted her to know that I will not be taking time to do my hair every day and that I needed a cut / style that would work with this plan, realizing that saying I will not do my hair to a hair stylist is probably a sin. Amy cut my hair, gave me lots of layers and more texture and recommended a product that would hopefully help my wave stay wavy through the day and not go straight and flat in the front while kinky in the back. I told her that about from about an hour after my shower and until about 3 hours after my shower, there is a window where I love my hair. But, it soon goes all "ocky" on me. Ocky is Gavin's word. Amy said "Duh." Actually she didn't say duh, I say duh to myself. Amy said "In that window, when you look at your hair and love it, you need to spray the hell out of it." Actually, she didn't say hell. But that's what she meant. She wouldn't say that. She's too sweet. So, anyway, I sprayed my hair this morning about an hour and a half after my shower and do you know what? Mid-day today... I still like my hair! She's a genius! Just wait until I color it next time, then I'll really love it! I hope!


So, it was my night off, I got my hair cut. Major treat to self. Then I did the grocery shopping - not so much a treat, but it needed to be done. And I got to / or had to - depending on how you look at it - put Gavin to bed. When I haven't seen him all day, it's a treat to put him to bed. I race home in hopes to get there in time to put him to bed. When I've been with him all day or all night, bedtime duty feels like more of a chore. It wouldn't be a chore if he just kissed me goodnight, gave me a snuggle, and went off to sleep. But, he doesn't. He dawdles, he fights bedtime, he decides he needs to poop an hour after I bid him goodnight, he cries, he slams the door, he comes out of his bedroom anywhere from one time to 12 times before finally going to sleep. I do have to say though, that I believe it's getting better. Last night, he was out of his room three times. He's to the point where when we tell him to get back in bed he either walks back there or simply says no. He's not crying and fighting like he was for a while. Last night he crawled up on my bed and said he needed to snuggle me for a little bit and then he would go back to bed. I don't want that to become a habit, but how can a momma turn down that request? The fact is, I want to snuggle him too. I would love to fall asleep snuggling him... but not every night. Some nights I have things to do or I would rather snuggle Cliff. And you can't be all wishy-washy and say that it's sometimes okay and sometimes not okay, because that's way too confusing for a two-year old. So, we need to stick to the rules. I tucked him back in three times last night and on the third time, he stayed there.


Speaking of treating myself, we had a really warm day this week. I think it was Tuesday. On my way in to work it was 27 degrees and by early afternoon it was 43 degrees. The following morning it -3 degrees on my way in to work. So, the high in the forties on Tuesday was a real treat. I just had to get out there and take advantage of the sunshine and warmth while it lasted. At lunch, I put on my coat and grabbed my purse and headed out. I bought myself a big slice of margerita pizza from Jakeeno's and a Dr. Pepper! I don't usually eat like that, but it was fantastic! I got out to my car, which was warmed from the sun on the roof of the parking ramp and I ate half of my delicious slice of pizza. I drove down Lake Street, people-watching all the way, down to Savers thrift store. I parked in front of "7 Mile Fashion" beauty supply & urban clothing store and ate the other half of my pizza slice and enjoyed the peppery fizz of my Dr. Pepper. The people-watching in this area is great. Lots of ethnic diversity. Kids waiting for the city bus, women in clothing that I think looks too tight, men in jeans that are sagging down to their knees. I do have to say that I am a minority in this area. I am a middle-class white person and I have to admit that I only saw three other white people on this trip and they were all three over 60 years old. Being the minority is interesting. You usually get looks from a few people who are wondering what you're doing there. While I enjoyed my pizza however, I was sitting in my car, so I was the watcher and all of the pedestrians were the watched. Interesting. The sun was warm, there was a 'flock' of sparrows flitting around the sidewalk, perching on a bird-poop stained Arbor Vitae shrub in a concrete planter. One sparrow perched on my side-mirror and watched me eat the pizza, his head tilted as if to say, "are you going to share that?"


I found a few treasures at Savers. Nothing big or incredibly noteworthy, but definitely a few fun things: 3 baskets, a jean skirt, and a sweatshirt for Gavin. One of the baskets I got is like a soft seagrass bowl-shaped basket. It's shallow (maybe 4" deep) and wide (about 18" across) and looks like a shallow bowl, but is flexible because it's woven out of a grass rather than sticks. It would be the perfect basket to fill with a soft fuzzy blanket and take shots of a newborn in. I always see newborn photos in this type of basket.  Of course,that means someone I know needs to have a baby so I can take their baby's photo in my basket! Gacin is WAY too big to sit in this basket - he coulr maybe wear it for a hat! Another of the baskets is a sturdy and deep oval shaped basket made of seagrass and rope and it has a big tall handle. The third is actually a black metal / wire basket that is very oblong and would fit nicely on the top of a toilet tank with lotions, soaps, and a spare roll of TP in it. It's cute. The jean skirt is slightly flared and a cool washed out denim- I'm hoping it will hopefully be the perfect style to wear with my new-ish boots. The sweatshirt I got for Gavin is an old and well-worn little size-5 green John Deere zip-front sweatshirt with an actual picture of a JD tractor on it and a stain on the sleeve that looks like paint. Yes, I bought a worn out old stained sweatshirt - it was $2 and will be PERFECT for Gavin to wear around the farm this spring.


I keep hoping that one of these thrift store trips is going to result in the perfect piece of furniture for our mudroom, bookshelf for our living room or a stack of perfectly shaped and sized off-white bowls. I guess I just need to go looking more often!

....Well, I have run out of things to say for right now. It's Friday and I'm looking forward to a nice weekend. I have plans tonight, tomorrow night, and Sunday afternoon. Nothing stressful, only fun and hopefully relaxing things. I'm looking forward to it.

Have a wonderful weekend. Enjoy!