One Foot on a Banana Peel

Steeler football time, that is.  In honor of tonight’s game and all Steeler fans everywhere…..

A Steelers fan, a Browns fan and a Titans fan were all in Saudi Arabia,
sharing a smuggled crate of booze. All of a sudden the Saudi police rushed
in and arrested them. The mere possession of alcohol is a severe offense in
Saudi Arabia, so for the terrible crime of actually being caught consuming
the booze, they were sentenced to death!

HERE WE GO Steelers…HERE WE GO.

I’ve made it through three days at the new job.  That makes it sound like a chore and really, it isn’t.  I very much like it.  There is soooo much less stress than at the company I used to work for.  As long as you don’t commit a felony or do something unbelievably stupid they pretty much leave you alone. 

Adding to my good mood is my hubby.  We don’t always have the greatest of relationships…mostly due to his workaholism and therefore lack of time and energy to devote to any kind of closeness, not any major problems.  The one thing he’s always been is supportive of anything I want to do.  He’s always told me to go for it and if it falls through, he never rubs it in or makes me feel bad about it.  The Avon business has been my latest endeavor and he’s been great about me buying demos and promotional packs and whatnot.  His philosophy is that you have to spend money to make money.  Still, I feel guilty when things are a little bit tight for us at the moment.  He could legitimately say it’s costing way more than it’s bringing in, but he knows it takes time to build a business and every time I get another order he makes a huge fuss and tells me how proud he is of me.  Gives me the warm fuzzies and makes me want to do really well.

Well, I am off to find something to feed my family for supper and then…..probably a little television and bed.  I am so unbelievably tired.  My body has not adjusted to the new schedule of up at 4:00 and bed at 10:00 yet.  Probably by next week.  I hope.

Blinkie by LilMsGlitter

The first day of school…..and back to work for me.  With my new job, I have to leave the house waaaay before Megan needs to be up for school, so my mom definitely has to come wake her up and make sure she goes.  Meg is horrible to try and wake up.  It’s best done from a distance with a very long stick, because she wakes up snarling no matter how early I send her to bed.  I came home to an empty house-no sleeping children or carcasses of grandmothers so I guess all went well.  Meg was kind of excited today since she’s starting the sr. high.  Wait a week or so till the newness wears off.

No problems for me, either.  Both of my runs went by without a hitch.  There aren’t a lot of kids on either one and they were all pretty well behaved.  I didn’t get lost and I didn’t miss anyone.  Hopefully it will go as well this afternoon when I run it backwards.  I did get home kind of late, but that’s because unloading the littlest ones is always a nightmare the first few days. 

Drive safe and watch for kids and buses.

That’s what last night’s concert was.  OMG, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pavillion is such a cool venue.  It was the first time we’d ever gone there.  It’s, well, basically a giant pavillion with a lot of the seats under roof, but there are also some out in the open and a huge grassy area of "lawn" seats where for a great deal less money you can bring a blanket or beach chair (though, they rent those).  There are plenty of food stands and beer/Jack Daniels coolers/margaritas are never more than a short walk away from where ever you happen to be.  There are actual clubs in the place and bathrooms….it’s the first time I’ve ever been to an event of that size where there were enough toilets to meet the need.

Anyway, on to the concert.  A couple of guys by the name of Rushlow Harris , who are signed with Toby’s company, Show Dog Records, opened the show and they were followed by cutie, Joe Nichols.

Joe did his hits like Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off, Size Matters, What’s a Guy Gotta Do to Get a Girl in this Town?, and Broken Heartsville.  He also did amazing covers of Hank Williams Jr’s A Country Boy Can Survive, and Family Tradition.

Toby’s concert opened with a mini movie/commercial for Ford trucks that was incredibly clever and funny.  It merged into the show when the screen dropped and there was Toby and the truck just like in the film. 

The big man was lookin’ hot ladies!  He’s lost that little bit of weight he’d put on in recent years and is looking seriously buff.  I thought all the ladies in the place (myself included) were going to faint when in the process of scratching at a bug (they were really biting last night) he hiked up his t-shirt enough to show his belly.

Toby did all his biggest hits from I Should’ve Been a Cowboy right on up to It’s a Little Too Late.  He even did Weed with Willie.  He’s a real showman.  The music was awesome and the effects were fun….plenty of confetti canons, pyrotechnics, smoke, lights, etc.  At one point he brought out another new talent at Show Dog, and his co-star in the upcoming movie, Broken Bridges, Lindsey Haun.

They sang a duet and she sang the song Broken from the movie.  The video has been playing on CMT this week.

So, it was a great show and I was tickled that the man doesn’t bow to pressure when it comes to his beliefs.  He still sings his patriotic songs that got the Dixie Chicks’ knickers all bunched up and a few others that have offended in the past.  I have a lot of respect for how the man handles airing his beliefs.  Unlike a certain female band, he doesn’t resort to name calling, public trashing of elected officials and insulting of his own fans. He has some class about the whole thing.  He is simply who and what he is and you can like him, hate him or not care….it isn’t going to change who he is.  That’s called integrity.

TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT, PEOPLE!

I’m off to see…

But you knew that, didn’t you?

It’s not like I’ve kept it a secret.

I. AM. SO. STINKIN’. EXCITED.

After yesterday’s post, I guess it wouldn’t be too hard to figure out this subject is now on my mind.  I did some digging around on the internet and learned a few things.

Cutting falls under the catagory of Self Injury or SI, which also includes such behaviors as punching yourself or other objects to bring pain, pulling your hair, poking objects through body openings, and breaking your bones or bruising yourself.  It afflicts more females than males.

It is not a new disorder, but is getting a lot of media attention lately that may make it seem like it.  Adding to the confusion is that the experts apparently don’t even agree on the frequency of occurance.  One article I read said cutting is rare.  Another said about 1 in 100 people hurts themselves.  The numbers are probably skewed somewhat by teens who engage in the practice without truely having the disorder….there are apparently those who cut themselves seeking to be seen as "edgy" and therefore gaining a measure of acceptance/popularity.  I don’t know how rare it is.  Matt’s girlfriend is the third girl I’ve known that deals with cutting.

True cutters engage in the practice as a way to cope with emotional pain.  A majority of them are the type that hold their emotions in.  For whatever reason, they don’t have a better method of coping.  Some describe the pain as building and building pressure and the cutting releases the pressure.  Whatever the reason behind it, relief is the goal.  My mind will just not wrap around that kind of pain.

Yet another study found that teens who cut are more likely to engage in unprotected sex.  It also found that self-cutters are significantly more likely to be white, female….and to have histories of sexual abuse.

I just want to cry thinking about a child sitting alone, sighing in relief as they mutilate their precious body.  What on earth are we as a society doing to our children that they have so much pain inside that they see this as the only path to relief?

To find out more:

KidsHealth.org

4Girls.gov

Discovery Health

Eurekalert.org

Yesterday’s fun filled activity was back-to-school shopping.  We went to the mall near Matt’s apartment so we could see him and take him out for lunch.  My mom went with us, which I had qualms about, but she wasn’t too bad and we managed to get along.  I just tuned her out when she carried on about how ugly and stupid today’s fashions are….and I walked away (or just ignored her if that wasn’t possible) when she’d make horrible comments about people of (insert any of the following) race, color, religion, size or basically anyone who isn’t just like her.

Anywhoooo…we did a good bit of shopping and between Amma (what the kids call my mom) and I, Meg came home with a lot of stuff.  All we still need to get is bras.  Shhhhh, don’t tell her I told you that.  She would "die." 

We also got to meet Matt’s new girlfriend.  She seems like a nice enough girl.  It was hard to tell.  She hardly said anything and was so insecure that Matt said she’s sure we hated her (within the first 2 minutes of meeting her).  Nope, don’t hate her, but I do have some concerns.  The girl comes with a lot of baggage.  There is something wrong with her stomache…the acid is destroying it and also working on her esophagus.  She told Matt she isn’t expected to live past 30.  Matt said she could be doing better than she is if "her mother’d quit drinking and buy her the medicine." Oy. Then there are the scars.  She was a cutter.  Matt says that’s in the past.  As for the insecurity and shyness, Matt only hinted that there are issues and reasons in her past for it.  They seem pretty devoted to eachother, so for now I guess all I can do is wait and watch and pray that the relationship is healthy.

We had lunch at Bahama Breeze.  Big mistake.  None of us had eaten there so we didn’t know what the menu was like.  Limited comes to mind.  It was caribbean flavored which meant lots of chicken and seafood and all prepared in unfamilar ways.  Mom, Matt and I liked it.  Megan has a food sensitivity to chicken so couldn’t eat any of that and none of the seafood appealed to her.  Matt’s girlfriend is a very strict vegetarian.  There were two salads and one appetizer on the whole menu that didn’t have meat in them.  I don’t think she really liked her salad and she didn’t eat any of the appetizer I ordered with her in mind.  At least Mom, Matt and I liked our meals.  I wouldn’t say we loved them, though, so guess we don’t really have to go back there.

My new boss called me during lunch.  I thought something was wrong at first, but she called to offer me a couple of short runs that I could do between my high school and elementary runs.  One is 4 stops for a ritzy private school and the other is running kids from the catholic school to the public school.  Since they don’t require me to start earlier or finish later I said yes to both and my pay took a dramatic jump.  Gotta love that!

Well, we’re off to high school orientation this morning so catch ya later!

Okay, so it wasn’t exactly a run-in with Cujo, but it was scary enough.

Yesterday afternoon I had to go to training for my new job.  Megan being 14 (albeit, a slightly immature and irresponsible 14 thanks to A.D.D.)* I gave her permission to play in the neighborhood with friends while I was gone.  It’s what she does all day when I am home, anyway.

My cell phone started ringing around 3:00, but I was unable to answer it at the time.  It was after 4:00 when I got the chance to check the messages.  I had 3.  One from a neighbor.  One from Megan.  One from Tim.  Apparently, Meg and one of her friends were playing in a yard that they have been in many times before and petting the owner’s dog.  Meg said she had just petted it and it had licked her hand when out of nowhere it jumped up, growling and grabbed her shirt, getting a bit of her tummy, too.  The dog kept trying to get her as she tried to get away from him.  She isn’t mean to animals and has always been around dogs so no one is sure what happened.  He ripped the shirt and she has puncture wounds but thankfully none so deep she needed stitches.

The poor neighbor was beside herself, especially with Tim and I not home.  She took Megan to the pediatrician’s office to be checked, bought her prescription (antibiotics are routine in dog bite cases), bought the Neosporin, bought her candy (a lot of candy), and gave her money for a new shirt.  She also called several times asking how Megan was.  Meg’s fine.  All she is worried about is what kind of shirt to get.  We’re trying to reassure the woman that all is okay and we don’t hold anything against her.  She wasn’t irresponsible in any way.  The dog had no history of violence and in fact, Meg’s played with him lots of times.  He was in his own fenced yard.  Meg was invading his territory.  The neighbor wants to put him down since the incident has to be reported to the Health Dept. and he will have a "record" as a vicious dog.  We keep trying to tell her we think that’s a bit premature.  Meg will stay out of their yard when the dog is out and they just need to be watchful when any of the neighborhood kids are around.

Other than all that….my job training went pretty well.  I’m going to drive my new run on Thursday to get the hang of the roads (my route is sooooo booney-fied).  I also had bloodwork done yesterday morning.  I’m 42 and have never had my cholesterol, triglycerides, thyroid and whatnot checked out.  My doctor thought it was about time.  Imagine that.

*Yes, I know ALL 14 yr olds are immature and irresponsible to at least some degree.  It’s the nature of the beast.  It’s just that with Meg, one of the big problems with her A.D.D. is impulsiveness and lack of judgement.  She gets an idea into her head and there doesn’t seem to be anything in there that argues with her when it’s a really bad idea.  It just seems like fun so she goes with it….then gets incredibly angry later if she gets in trouble for it.

I had two comments on the last post.  One said the video blocks the comments and one said it blocks part of the blog.  When I view the blog, everything looks okay to me.  What exactly are you seeing?

UPDATE!  Okay, okay….today’s "the day the music died."  At least until I can figure out how to make it fit.

I’ve got the whole day ahead of me and I can do whatever I want.  Tim’s at work and Megan went to a sleepover birthday party last night that isn’t over until 3:00 this afternoon.  Hmmm.  What do I want to do? 

I already slept in a little (8:30 is late for me).  I thought about going to the farmers’ market and all the garage/yard sales I could find, but in keeping with my newly frugal attitude….I talked myself out of that.  I’m sure I could find stuff we could use, but there really isn’t anything we are in dire need of, so….

Staying home and doing some of the things that need done around here wins out.  One thing I’ve decided to do, will I’m sure, have my husband shaking his head.  Three weeks ago I had him help me move the computer desk into a corner of the kitchen and the china cabinet to the corner just inside the doorway to the livingroom where the computer desk was.  I loved the switch.  I still do….in theory.  It just isn’t working.  I swear the kitchen table has grown.  Everything fit and worked so well at first.  Now it seems no matter which way I want to go around the table, I can’t.  Either the chair for the computer desk is in the way or someone is sitting at the table and I can’t get by or the dogs are in the way.  How on earth could it have worked and now it doesn’t?  So, today I am going to switch them back.  The main reason I switched them in the first place was to open the flow of traffic going into the livingroom.  The fireplace was still there at the time.  With it gone, the furniture and flow of the room is totally different and the desk can go back.

When the job is done, I’ve promised myself a trip to either the local country decorating store (to see if they might have a shade for my iron lamp that will work with the new look of the livingroom) or (and this is the one I’m rooting for) a trip to Barnes & Noble to wander about getting drunk on the scent and feel of new books.  Maybe I’ll even treat myself to one.

Depending on how Tim feels, we will probably get started on putting up the paneling tonight.  We bought 17 packs of pine, tongue-in-groove planks last night.  We need a few more, but honestly, even though the stuff is budget grade (we’re painting it so we don’t need the really good stuff) you’d think the condition would be such that it was usable.  We had to sort through Lowe’s entire stock to come up with what we got.  The rest was in awful condition.  Oh, some of it looked fine on the flat, but the tongues or grooves were a mess so you wouldn’t be able to lock them together.  I asked how they could sell such stuff and Tim said because your average Joe-I-want-to-try-what-I-saw-on-HGTV doesn’t know any better.  So, if you are average Joe (or Jane) beware.  The big companies might be sticking you with inferior materials and this isn’t the first time we’ve run into this.  Nearly every time we shop for lumber we have to sort through a disappointing amount of warped, twisted, or disfigured boards to find enough good ones.

Well, off to the bank before it rains and then back here to do the switcheroo.  Have a great weekend!