Happiness is a Paved Road

Rejoice and be glad!  I am.

Mid summer, road construction (2 words that really have a negativity about ‘em, huh?) began on a stretch of road, just off my block.  I have very little choice about using this road as my street is a one way – going out directly onto said stretch of road.

For several weeks, it was turned into one lane.  Flashing arrows, barricades, sometimes cars had to wait their turn for the traffic going the opposite direction to stop before they could get through.  There is a city college along that stretch, as well as a strip mall (with a 24 hour Jewel/Osco), which both add to the traffic flow.  There were days when the traffic  backed up past my street, blocking the way,  so in order to turn right,  I had to either get really aggressive and push my way in, or wait for some kind soul to let me in. (Ha!)

OK, so eventually they were done doing some part of this project, and all lanes were open and cleared of barricades & arrows.

Woo-Hoo!  No – wait – no Woo-Hoo just yet!

They have not yet repaved said road – leaving all 3,492 (OK – not quite that many – but a hell of a lot!) manhole, sewer covers, whatever – sticking up a few inches.  So now, although all lanes are open….we now have an obstacle course.  You can either take you chances and hope you don’t ruin your tires or rims, or swerve every once in a while to avoid driving over these things that appear to have popped out of the street, praying all the while that there is no car next to you.

Ah yes, it has been a challenging few months.  However: (insert “Woo-Hoo”! here)  They have begun paving, yes, eliminating this obstacle course, transforming this demon into a smooth level road – no swerving required! This will make it almost nice to drive to work in the mornings (I said almost)

Grocery Store Rudeness

So,  my favorite daughter, J, has hinted a few times that I “don’t blog anymore”.  I decided to prove her wrong.

This morning, as I was strolling through the grocery store, a thought came to mind:   “Why are there so many rude people?”  I seem to come across many in the grocery stores.

Quite often, I find myself moving someone else’s cart over so that I can get through with mine – with the operator of said cart merely inches away, totally oblivious to the fact that I am trying to get through.  Or – do they know I am there and just don’t care?

Or,  I will be stopped, pulled to the side, looking across the aisle at something on the shelf.  Another shopper will begin to pass by, but then stop to look at something, while standing directly in front of what I was looking at.  Lo and behold:  I can no longer see, or reach for what I was looking at!  Again, I wonder,  am I invisible, or do you see me and really don’t care?

Today I had to ask the woman behind me, twice, to wait until I was through loading my groceries on the checkout counter before she loaded hers.  Twice! I was emptying my basket, placing my items, and hers kept  appearing!   Do you not see me here woman?  The cashier even told her to wait until I was though!  Why is she in such a hurry, and how is screwing around going to help any of us get out of there any quicker?

Why is it that phases such as “excuse me”, or “I’m sorry”, or “let me get out of your way” are pretty much non-existent these days?  Why are people  so selfish, and act like they are the only ones who matter?  It’s really sad.  I find myself apologizing, or saying excuse me and moving out of other peoples way when it clearly should be the other way around? Why am I saying it when the other person is the one in my way?  Am I a wimp?  No -  My parents just raised me right I guess.

No More Tears!

I decided it is time to start blogging again. To start it off, I decided to do an open letter to the nameless bastard(s) that will probably never even see it.

Attention bastard(s) who broke into my house the other day!

You violated me. You were in my house and took my things. How dare you!
You cut my screen, climbed in through the window.  Emptied out my jewelery boxes and grabbed the plastic bank of loose change.

OK, you suceeded, got in – stole – got out. You took with you several pieces of good jewelry, several with much sentimental value. You also are in possession of many cheap worthless pieces that I paid less than 5 dollars for. See, when it comes to me, I’m cheap, I don’t spend a lot of money on myself. The change bank, well, I’m sure that’s worth more than most of the jewelry you took.
The valuable and sentimental pieces, hell yeah, that hurts. I admit I’m extremely upset about those, and it is going to take time to get over that. Most are irreplaceable,  which hurts the most.  I hope you are proud of that.

I must tell you however, you missed a few things. Yeah, I have a chain with a angel medal and diamond ring that I occasionally wear that is not kept in my jewelry box. I keep it hanging on the small lamp on my dresser, about a foot from the jewelry box you emptied. Oops….guess ya didn’t see that, huh?
And also, I guess you didn’t see the small baggie with a few gold pieces inside. Yes, I was considering trying to sell those items that I never wear anymore, so I had them on the side there. I would imagine the pile of clothes I had left on my dresser the night before kind of hid them from your view. If you had just moved the clothes a bit, or looked on the side there, you would have spotted it. Oh well, too late now.
And oh, how unfortunate for you that I wear my wedding and engagement ring everyday! They were with me, at work, on my finger, while you were invading my home and stealing my things.
Lastly, I had 2 pairs of earrings sitting on the kitchen table, you know, the table you walked right past after cutting my screen and climbing in through the kitchen window. I tend to take my earrings off once I’m home form work, and have a habit of leaving them wherever I happen to be when I remove them. Although they were a couple of inexpensive pairs, ha, you missed them!

Well, just so you know, I’m pissed and and extremely upset, but you know something….I will be OK. I am not going to let you get the best of me. I refuse to allow you that power. I am going to continue along with my life as usual. I am going to slowly replenish my jewelry supply. I will not shed another tear because of your horrific actions. Each tear I shed is more energy for you – so that ends now!

Hope there is a special place in hell for you!

All Cookie Sheets Should Be Created Equal

Maybe you won’t think this is a big deal, and in realty, compared to all the problems in life, it isn’t.  Yet it bothers me.

It all started a couple of months ago, on a cold winters day, when I was baking cookies.  As I was plopping the dough on to the cookie sheet, staring at the burned on burnt that I just can’t clean anymore,  I realized it’s high time I go treat myself to some brand new, clean, smooth cookie sheets.  These have seen their day, time for out with the old, in with the new.

So, as I began my quest for a beautiful new set of cookie sheets, I began to notice something I find weird.  All the sets of 3 sheets come in 3 different sizes.  Why is that?  I find a set I find affordable, and the description reads:  Set of 3 measuring 14 x 16, 12 x 14, and 9.5 x 14.  Or 19 x 12, 17 x 11, and 14.75 x 10.

Why?  Why can they not all measure the same?  I like things even!  I don’t like the fact that if I go invest in a set of  3 beautiful no-stick easy -to- clean cookie sheets, they will each be a different size.  If I want 3 of the same, I have to go and but 3 sets of 1??  And of course, pay way more than I want to.  I will continue my search, maybe some day, some how, some where,  I will find the perfect set of 3 beautiful identically sized no-stick, easy-to-clean affordable cookie sheets. Hope my crappy cookie sheets hang in there for a while longer.

Pizza Better Than Foot.

Last night, my hubby, K, and I went out for pizza.  We went to a bar & grill not far from the house, a place where we have been going for years.  After we placed our order, we chatted about this & that.  A waitress who we “know” only because she has been there awhile, passed our table and greeted us with a friendly, “Hi, how’re you guys doing?”   We did the normal, “Hi, good, how are you?”.  Of course, she didn’t stop, kept walking.

Anyway,  I noticed something about her and said to K, “Is she pregnant, or did she just put on weight?”  She always had been a little on the heavier side, but her tummy just seemed a little bigger in proportion to the rest of her.  I couldn’t tell for sure either way.

I would have liked, if she was pregnant, to say “congrats!” “how are you feeling?”   “when are you due?”  All the normal questions women hear when they are expecting.  But – I could not tell.  I did not want to offend her if she was not.

I once asked a woman when she was due, she replied, “I had my baby 3 weeks ago”.   What’s the word?  AWKWARD!  No – STUPID!  I have never again asked a woman anything about her pregnancy unless I had firsthand knowledge, that yes, she is indeed currently pregnant.

So I felt bad not acknowledging this waitress’s possible impending bundle of joy.  But, I couldn’t take a chance!  Is there a politically correct way to ask a woman if she is pregnant, or just gaining weight?  I don’t think so.  Better to keep my mouth shut, this way I can’t put my foot in it!  The pizza tasted so much better knowing I did not insult, or embarrass anyone.

Miles Matter.

This morning, I was sad.

My favorite daughter J, is leaving this morning for a business trip.  She has recently gotten involved in new venture, loving it very much, and she is off to California for a week.

I am very proud of her accomplishments, and how far she has come in a short amount of time with this new business.   She literally got in at the very beginning of it, was there for the initial launch, and is helping it grow.  She is a lot stronger than she thinks.   I know she is enjoying it for the most part, and that is great to be able to actually enjoy your job.

So why am I sad?……When I dropped her off at the airport this morning, it made me sad.  Just as it did when I dropped her off a couple weeks ago for a 1 day trip.  Just as it does whenever she is leaving to go away.   We don’t live together,  I talk to her every day, but don’t see her every day.  What is the difference if I speak to her when she is 5 miles away, or 1500 miles from me?  Just knowing she is so far makes me miss her,  I guess it’s part of being a mom, something I’ll never outgrow.

Ready For July!

I just need a little venting space.

January has been cold, windy, snowy.  For the past week , the weather forecasters  have been making regular use out of the words:   Arctic, Frigid, Dangerous Wind Chills.   When they predict the high temperature of the day will be 2 below zero, you know it’s going to be a bad day.

OK, OK, I know this is Chicago, and it is January.  I have lived here all my life,  and I have lived through some really sucky winters.  But they tell us this is the coldest since 1996, and just cause I’ve lived through it before doesn’t make it any easier! (Hell, I walked to school in the snow, barefoot, uphill, both ways!)

Mercifully……..today the mercury is supposed to hit a high of 22!        Woo-Hoo!

Thank you letting me vent!

Doggone It!

Yes, that’s it exactly, “dog-gone”.

2 days ago, we met the 17 pound, 5 years old Jack Russell we were considering taking in.  They came to our house with her, I was holding my little 7 pound poof of a dog when they walked in.  Miss Jack Russell was so excited that she jumped up on me a couple of times, nipping at me each time.  Once she got my sweater, once my pants, leaving a small hole each time, and once she actually nipped my baby’s nose!    Needless to say, she did not make a good first impression. 

So, for about an hour and a half, we visited, asking questions, learning more about her, observing her behavior, checking out the amount of shedding she does. 

Each time she came near my poof, we heard a growl…..coming from my cute friendly “I love everybody” little dog.  She did not like Ms. Jack Russell.  Same reaction everytime, she even snapped at her.  I could count on 1 hand how many times in 14 years I’ve seen her do that!

So, despite her shedding and “active personality”, we had to say no.  My dog is top dog, and she comes first.  It’s not worth saying, “Let’s try it and see how it goes, and then end up having to get rid of Ms. Jack Russell after a few days…..if we could even last that long.

I’m sure there is a family & home out there just waiting for her and they will be a perfect fit.  I wish Ms. Jack Russell the best of luck in her search for a new family to love!

Shocking News.

So there I was,  wearing my ipod, singing along with Elvis, Tim Mc Graw, Celine Dion, and other friends of mine.  Went down to the basement, checked the dryer, found some clothes still a bit damp.  Figured while the clothes spin a  bit more, I’d take my exercycle for a spin too.

OK, done with my ride, still singing with the Beatles, Shania, and Journey,  went to check the dryer.  As I pulled out the dry clothes, I heard the crickle-crackle of static electricity, actually though the ear buds, and actually got shocked in my ears!    Who knew??  (J- if you knew, thanks for the warning!)

My lesson learned today:  Don’t wear your ipod when you take clothes out of the dryer – especially in winter when that Static Electricity Monster is hiding….waiting to jump out at get you!

Or….maybe I should use more dryer sheets?

 

 

Dog Days of Winter

Should we, or shouldn’t we?

We have an opportunity to take over the ownership of a 5 year old female Jack Russell Terrier. Due to having to move, the current owners must find a new home for her. Hubby & I currently have a sweet little poof of a dog, just turned 14, but still going strong. We had another one, but about 2 years ago, we had to send her to doggie heaven. Our little poof seemed lost without her, and hubby began talking about getting another dog to keep her company during the day. A few months later, I lost my job, so I was home with her for quite a while. We still brought it up now & then, but never got real serious about it. Until now. Don’t know. Twice the expense, twice the clean up in the yard, harder to find someone to watch them when we take a vacation. Jack Russells do shed (mine doesn’t)  and apparently, once they spot a rabbit, nothing can stop them This wouldn’t be my first choice of breeds, I like little poofy dogs, like a Maltese, Bichon, Yorki, along those lines. But….., we have been thinking (sort of) about getting another, she’d be company for my little girl while we’re at work.  Would I favor mine, and not be able to love the new one enough?  Yet, I feel sorry for the folks who have to give her up, and I’d like to be able to help them out. Don’t know.  This is tough.

I’ll let you know what we decide.