What Did I Sign Up For?

Someone didn't show up for their shift today. So, I had to stay an additional 2 hours at work to cover for her. Not only that, every single person I called to help step in, either didn't call me back or simply wouldn't help out. There was one person who I accept their excuse, because it was real. So, my poor daughter had to stay with me in an empty daycare room waiting for other children to play with. They never showed, but we had to stay open, "just in case." We all got to bed late. Oh, did I mention that I started working at 9 AM? And I finished at 8 PM. Think I'll cut it short tomorrow.

Another Reason Why I Won't Cut It

I know my hair has been long for a long, long time, but I still have no intentions of cutting it off. Mind you, a few days ago I did have it "trimmed" which involved removing about 2 inches. It was more than I wanted, but it is still technically long. In any case, it won't go much shorter than that. Here are my reasons: Other than it being grounds for divorce, it is something that Farrah loves to play with. She tries to brush or comb my hair. She watches me do it and tries to participate. The other night I discovered a game with her. I took my hair and covered my face and asked her, "Where's Mommy?!!" and she pushed my hair aside and burst out laughing. We did this several times until it was time to go to bed. Finally, the best thing that I do with my hair that my little girl loves are the 'lion kisses' she receives from me. She's been getting 'lion kisses' from me since she was born. When she's on her back, my hair falls forward when I'm playing with her and it brushes across her face, tickling her. She closes her eyes and laughs until I steal a real kiss from her. How can I take away Farrah's lion kisses just for change for me? I can't and I won't. So, I will end up being one of those moms when I'm 40-something, who needs a major make over because I haven't changed my look since I was 20 years old. It's sad but I accept my fate. This may end up embarrassing Farrah, but it's something between the two of us that we'll get to share for a while.

Ode to My Electric Blanket

I am always cold. Always. It's called poor circulation. My daughter has it, too. Just feel her hands, feet, and nose. They are the same temperature as mine. Frozen. When it is time to get into bed, I tend to dread it. Mike likes to keep the house about 5 degrees lower than I like it. It's not to save money or energy for the environment, it's just that he is always hot. Mike's body temperature is surface-of-the-sun, hot. When I touch his skin, I can hear a sizzling sound like bacon on a skillet. One night, I remembered that I had an electric blanket stashed in my closet. I grabbed it and decided to throw it on my bed and set it to HIGH. After preparing for the evening, I got into bed and LOVED it. I usually have to wear sweatpants, a heavy shirt, thick socks and toss an extra blanket on my side of the bed in order to tolerate the evening. This was different. This was wonderful. This was going to change the way I slept during the winter forever. Even if it is 19 degrees outside, Mike likes to keep the window open and the fan turned on to keep the air "circulating". Now I can go to bed without having to wear the sweats, socks, and heavy shirt. Go ahead and leave the window wide open and the fan blowing, because my blanket will protect me and keep me warm and content. Thank you electricity.

Oh, Valentine.

You know that Valentine's day is right around the corner when on every corner you see street vendors with their massive gifts for the folks who forgot that the 14th of February means get a card, flowers, or something for your loved one, or else face the horrible consequences. I was driving by one that was near our gym and had passed it a few times before, but I decided to turn and look at what they had while at a stop light. They were selling these huge baskets with a bunch of "stuff" in it all hand wrapped with beautiful red suran wrap. There were also giant stuffed animals. They were huge and just plain silly. When Mike showed up at work today, we were sitting together laughing about these vendors. I was telling him how hilarious some of these things were. There was a giant dog that had a face like Emma (my old dog) with matching paws, but it looked like the manufacturer ran out of fabric and threw on some pink to make it look like it was wearing a lovely sweater. We were rolling, just laughing at the stupid stuff that people will buy each other on this day of Saint Valentine. When Mike and I left work, I stopped off to pick us up a romantic meal from Weinershnitzel. That's right. When I walked through the door with my tired daughter on my shoulder, what should I find staring me in the face? A ridiculously giant cow sitting next to a giant basket, filled with stuff, and wrapped with beautiful red suran wrap. Mike was hiding from me. I thought I was going to die. I had spent a good 10 minutes in Mike's office laughing my ass off about how shitty these things were and come to find out, he apparently didn't agree. He had picked it up a few hours prior to my basket slandering episode. Of course, this made us both laugh so hard. He kept saying, "You were making fun of me!" C'mon, how could I not. Oh, the prizes we found in the basket o' stuff. There's a big fluffy heart with red feathers wrapped around the edges (which I plan to hang from my office door so that people know to leave me alone while I take care of payroll), a box a chocolates with peanut butter filling which Mike told me I shouldn't eat, another stuffed animal, a styrofoam heart, silk & plastic roses which I intend to put in a vase right away at work, and finally the packet of miscellaneous bath and body products which we are both concerned will give us a few nice cases of yeast infections. Oh! I almost forgot the 24 carrot gold chain with the gold heart. I wore it for about an hour before it started to hurt. Mike, honey, I love you so much that if you got me a bag of dirt, I would cherish it. You're wonderful and I thank you for my gifts. Thank you for thinking of me. You're awesome.

A Cool Find

The other night, I made an interesting discovery. The air in Washington has been so dry lately, that my and Mike's lips have been suffering from chapped lips. We were looking everywhere in our bathroom for chap-stick, carmex, anything. We found nothing. However, I did find a little something. I found ointment for chapped nipples. Hmm. I wonder... So, for shits and giggles, I put some of the ointment on my lips. Ahhhh, so soothing. I figured, our nipples are sensitive, so are lips. It is safe for babies to ingest, should be fine for me. I put it on before I went to bed and woke up with perfectly soft lips. Now I keep one of the sample tubes with me in my purse. I think it will take me a lifetime to use the "large" tube in my bathroom drawer.

I also discovered a remedy for SEVERELY dried lips (the type that are peeling off of your face). It was another one by accident. Mike's lips were in horrible shape one night and were in a lot of pain. Out of no where, I told him to put the Neosporin with pain reliever on his lips. The next morning...healed! I should write one of those "heal yourself at home" books.

On another note, I'm watching the Caucuses for Super Tuesday. Go OBAMA!

Why?

Why am I awake? It's soooo early. Farrah woke me up around her usual time at 3:30 in the morning for her diaper change and her bottle of water. After that, it was down hill from there. I ended up staring at the ceiling for at least another hour before deciding to come downstairs, turn on the news, and start typing. I am not tired though. I think it is because my mind is racing about the many things I have to get done for work today. In fact, if I don't get it done today, I'll have to go in tomorrow and finish it. Yikes. I am always excited to go to work because it is fun, but I get overwhelmed with all the different ideas I get to change or improve things. Anyway, this is what I do. I wake up, I think of work, I think of missions that Mike and I are on, and by the time I finally get the thoughts off my mind, I am tired and ready to go back to bed. However, when that happens it is usually time for me to get up anyway. I just get screwed.

Dammit.