Ceasefires

Today I am sitting in my dining room typing this as my sister, nephew, and potential future brother-in-law are passed out asleep in my living room. Circumstance has turned us into somewhat uneasy roomates. With my mom's prognosis as yet unclear, and the arrangements of her placement still needing to be ironed out, the family has come together as best it can to attempt to weather this storm. I wasn't exactly sure this would work out; my sister and I are polar opposites in both looks and personalities in addition to the almost ten-year age difference between us. She's the social butterfly, the one with her finger on the pulse of every new trend. I am the aloof one, the one who likes to be around others when I am comfortable with it, but that generally prefers solitude over a block party. Last night, my sister told me that her job was able to transfer her to Texas permanently, but that it would mean she'd be working in San Antonio. Given that a two hour commute each way is impractical, that means she will have to move there. I was kind of hoping that things wouldn't work out with her job because then she'd stay in my area. We both realize that we are way to different to live in the same house, but the same area would be nice. It would be nice to get to know my nephew better, and my sons could use some constancy and some family in their lives too. They have been hurting so much with T gone. I had also hoped we could work on our relationship. She and I haven't had the best, and now that things are peaceful for the first time in a long time, I thought we could try to reach a common ground. I wish it didn't take my mom's diagnosis to bring us together, but life isn't made of beautifully poignanant, scripted moments.

Believe it or Not

I was excited when I first heard heard about the Implanon birth control implant.  It seemed like a perfect fit for me.  I got the implant, and I was very happy with it.  Earlier this year, it was time to get a new implant put in.  That's when the trouble started...

They could not find the implant! Four people searched for it.  I was asked if I had been messing with it.  I hadn't.  The only thing I was guilty of was taking the damn thing for granted.  I used to check for it every day when I first got it, but after a while, I became complacent and forgot about it.

I was told that they could not put a new one in without pulling the old one out.  Then I was told that there was no way to find this thing using an xray because the first generation of the implant has no radiographic capability.  I was told that Implanon representatives recommended using an ultrasound to find it, but that the machine would have to function at a minimum of 15 gigahertz to pick it up.

So here I find myself in the waiting room of Scott & White Hospital here in lovely Temple, Texas.  Metroplex and Fort Hood don't have the imaging capabilities needed.  I'm wearing a hospital gown and jeans.  At least my toenails look nice!

Surrounded by pregnant women who are staring at me in puzzlement, I'm called to the exam room.  Long story short, the tech couldn't find my implant either...back to the drawing board!

Bullying

My oldest son was talking about his seventh grade freind today, and he told me he feels very badly for the kid because he is always getting bullied. He says his friend told him that bullies even broke his legs. I asked if his friend had told the teachers and his parents about the bullying. My son says the teachers haven't really done much in the way of a response. This frightens me, especially with so many tragic stories in the media of kids committing suicide because they could no longer cope with being tormented. I try to have conversations with my kids about bullying frequently, and I always tell them that sometimes people will not like you no matter what you do, and that meaans that the problem is them and not you. I also encourage them to talk to their teachers, and to me if they have any problems. I feel bad that as a parent, that seems to be all we can do as a society. our kids deserve better.

Whew!

I am so happy the weekend is over.  Have you ever had a weekend go so awfully wrong that you wonder what was the point of getting out of bed in the morning? For me, it happened this weekend. 

By now, everyone has heard of the crazy ants that are invading Texas.  My house has been overrun.  I'm not sure if this is the species that has invaded, but wanting to take no chances, I called an exterminator.  This is after spraying myself and not finding their point of entry.

I discovered one of my bathroom cleaner killed them on contact.  Extermination and housecleaning in one fell swoop...multitasking rocks!
Regrettably, my cat's food bowl did not survive the onslaught, so it was given a distinguished funeral; its final resting place, a ninety-six gallon trash can. 

I decided to dedicate Friday night to my latest Dragon Age 2 runthrough.  Unfortunately, gaming nirvana was unattainable to me, given that the monster crack that appeared in the bathroom linoleum had expanded to rival the San Andreas fault line. 

Damn! I pulled out my phone book and searched for a handyman.  I looked for licensed and bonded and in my area in the phone book.

Josh from Phoenix Renovations came to my rescue; we agreed on a price and he started work the next day.  He was incredibly efficient and he and his assistant cleaned up all the mess from their work.  They are grouting the floor today.

My next major issue was that the stove has been malfunctioning for a while.  Usually, resetting the circuit breaker and jiggling the cord works.  Not on Friday.  When I went to jiggle the cord, it shocked me.  I stopped shaking and went to the fuse box and cut the power to the range. 

Armed again with my phonebook, I called Mr. Electric.  The receptionist said having someone come out on an emergency call would be prohibitively expensive.  Enter Mike Harris, who called me and gave me his price and said he'd be at my house in an hour.  The guy is my hero.  Ten minutes after he got here, he found the problem: a loose wire connected to a stripped screw on the control panel of the stove. 

Later Friday night, T calls to inform me he had been pulled over for having a broken brake light.  My heart sank, as I wondered how much this repair was going to cost.  T said he checked the fuses and bulbs and couldn't figure out why the light was not working.

He told me his only options for repair are Pep Boys and Midas, both companies we have had bad experiences with in the past.  By this time, the potential cost has me panicked.

He said Pep Boys would charge us fifty dollars to start looking for the problem, but that they said that if it was electrical in nature, that charge could increase exponentially.

This is why I am so happy this weekend is behind me!

Electronic Books

I finshed reading my first Nook book earlier today. It was David Gaider's Dragon Age: The Calling. I have always been into books, and while I am enjoying my new Nook immensely,there is something about the smell of old books that I wish could somehow be part of this equation. The Nook has incredible potential,, however, especially for college students who could then go through school without ending up with a trunk full of books they don't intend to use again and may not be able to resell...I know I could certainly benefit from having less stuff around!In other news, last night's ratatouille was a resounding success with my oldest son. This comes as a complete shock to me because he is usually a horrifically picky eater and would rather be tortured than eat most vegetables. I did make some changes to the recipe I had, namely for the sake of experimentation. Where it said to add diced tomatoes, I used sun dried tomatoes, I used tomato paste instead of tomato sauce, and I used shiitake mushrooms instead of white ones. I was surprised by how hearty this dish was. I didn't realize an all vegetarian dish could be so satisfying.

Something New & Something Newer

Dinner is almost finished and I think the ratatouille came out great considering I have never made it before.  I also have lemon peppercorn chicken baking in the oven.  My Nook came today and is charging as we speak!

I cannot wait to give it a test run tonight.  I think I will also treat myself to a bubble bath.  I wonder what to read first...the possibilities are endless, but I am leaning towards a Dragon Age novel. 

I do miss T horribly though.  I can't wait to be with him again!

I am actually blogging from my Nook right now! I think it is too cool! It set up in a jiffy and I have downloaded my first book. Tonight I will curl up with a book for the first time in a long time.

Surviving

I haven't written in a long time because my mom has been in and out of hospitals for the past month and the experience has been incredibly stressful and draining. I finally caved in and bought myself a Nook. I bought it because I have come to the realization that I have way too many books, and because of me being a full-time college student, I hope to save money on my textbooks. In this economy, every little bit helps. My Nook arrives tomorrow. I can't wait. I fund a purple case, even though I wish it was a deep purple case instead of lavender, but if annoys me too much, I'll put stickers on it.

I think the first book I am going to buy for my Nook is a Dragon Age novel. I have decided I am making ratatouille tomorrow for dinner. Wish me luck, it's my first time making the dish. I like to try out new recipies when T is gone so I can see if it's worth making for him when he is here. I'll post pictures of it tomorrow.