First Day Back At School

"Why are you so nervous?"  I asked myself as I drove to school.
This is crazy!

You are not the new girl.

You know where to go and what to expect.

You know everybody who will be in that room by their first name.  And the few new people will be thankful that you introduce yourself. 

You are dressed appropriately.

What is the big deal?

I get nervous like this every single year!  

And - just like all the other years - everything was fine.  There was no awkwardness.  Preschool Faculty Members always save seats for each other and sure enough, there was a seat saved for me.

I felt like I just left.  And, in fact, I HAD JUST LEFT!!

What do teachers do that first day back?

Well, there's the full faculty meeting.  Then there's the insurance provider/benefit meeting.  Then there's the grade level meetings.  Then there's the full faculty inservice/training session.

Lunch.

Division Meetings.  Intragrade meetings.  Bathroom Break.  (ha)
Planning Meetings.

Dismiss.

Today I had unexpected inconvenience of a migraine.  I haven't had a migraine since the spring.  I had gone all summer without an episode.  I could tell it was coming on.  Fifteen of us went to lunch together.  It's a tiny restaurant, you could describe it more as a tea room.  We took up more than half the restaurant.  So it was cramped.  But that wasn't the trigger.

The window.  I'm usually very careful to NOT sit directly facing a window.  Today I was thoughtless.  I just sat the first place I saw next to my buddy Melissa.  The window did have a shade but that was part of the problem.  The shade was a roller type and made out of some kind of weave.  So the sun shining through made quite a glare that hit my eyeballs like a laser.  Stripes, zigzags, tiny dots, twinkle lights - I shy away from them.  They are migraine in a bottle!

I felt the tingling in my tongue

I felt my fingertips tingle.

I had the sparkly aura in my peripheral vision.

I tried to ignore it.

I changed seats with the teacher across from me so I wasn't facing the window any longer.  I guess it was too late.

The smell of food being delivered only intensified the pre-pain symptoms.

By the time we returned to school I wasn't sure I could make it the rest of the day.  I managed to remain upright and attentive during the meetings until 2:30.  That's when they brought out a surprise birthday cake for a surprised birthday girl. The cake looked beautiful and I'm sure it was tasty but I had to make a quick exit.  I didn't even tell anybody I was leaving.  There was no time for chit chat.

When I got home I texted the Headmaster.

I feel much better now.  I take Feverfew and I'm always surprised how quickly I get relief.  Why didn't I have one with me for emergencies?   I sure have 3 of them stashed away now.

Tomorrow we will get our class lists.  I'm excited to see who will be with me this year.  Even with the anxiety and the migraine, I'm happy to be back.

In other news:  Ironman called.  He is homesick
The Engineer Called:  Tomorrow is his last day of internship and he's excited about that.
I.T. Girl and I had a nice easy conversation about being a Christian in a group of friends who can't relate.
And Dancer Girl cleaned up the kitchen for me.  And got the mail.

Now if I could just find something interesting to watch on T.V. my day would be complete!

Tell me your migraine remedy.  I need all the advice you have to give.

Mind Your Manners, People

I started my day out grumpy.  Today is my last day of summer vacation and I am not happy about it.  Tomorrow I return to work.  I need some more rest.

To make matters worse, I had a very annoying day.  It seemed like I came into contact with an idiot everywhere I went!

8:00am I had a doctor's appointment.  I was there just as a followup.  I met a new nurse who checked me in.  After a short discussion (and to make a long story short) she tells me that her 9 year old daughter loves the smell of beer.  BEER!  Why does your  9 year old daughter have a beer?  I did not comment but believe me in my head I'm thinking "here's your sign,"

9:30am  I decide to treat myself to a professional carwash.  Oh how I enjoy a sparkling car with a full tank of gas.  Yes, that's the ticket.  I drop the car off at the vacuum station and walk inside to wait.  The waiting area has a television set on.  The View?  Can you maybe put on The Weather Channel?  or the Olympics for goodness sake?  The ladies of The View can be entertaining but sure enough, it wasn't long before the talk turns to raucous sex.  I was not in the mood to hear it.  So I stepped outside only to be bomblasted with bad language coming from the mouth of one of the guys drying my car.  He wasn't angry, he was kidding and talking about his *** and his ***.  I couldn't get away from the sound he was whooping it up.  There was one younger man standing there who saw me and had an embarrassed look on his face.  I didn't say anything but I did slip one of the dollar bills I had designated for his tip back into my purse.  Of course he'll never know since I chose to just get into my clean auto and leave.

10:15am  I walk into ULTA.  I don't shop there often.  Okay, I never shop there.  But I had a coupon for 50% off on one Philosophy Lotion Product.  Why not?  There is a salon in the back of the store.  (who knew?) and the lady having her hair treated was talking loudly about her love of the mommy porn book Fifty Shades of Gray.  She was giving details of the plot and some of the language and once again, I couldn't get away from her.  So I left.  I wonder if she knew the entire store could hear her.

10:29 am I walked into Marshalls.  This is one store you can visit a dozen times and not find anything appealing.  But then on visit #13 you get lucky and find just the right bowl or vase or clock.  That's most of the appeal to me.  I like to browse and look and take my time.  It was quiet and I needed the break from crazy people.

Leaving Marshalls I was almost run over by a black car.  People!  Slow down in parking lots.  And by the way, do you see that Yield sign?  That means pedestrians have the right of way.  I saw the car before I stepped out onto the pavement.  I swear he sped up.  Where are your manners?

2:00 PM Dancer Girl and I walk into Office Depot to pick up a few school supplies.  It was crowded with Moms and school children.  I wasn't looking, but I sure heard the loud SH** this and SH** that.  I turned and looked.  A woman younger than myself with very little clothes on riding in one of those motorized scooters did not know how to control it and had run into more than one Crayola Display.  A manager stepped over to assist her and he got an earful.  She was so proud of herself telling him what she thought of the markers and notebook paper being in her way.

By this time I had just about HAD IT.

Today I'm wearing these pants.

  They are very comfortable.  The best part beside the rocking color?  They go all the way up to my belly button.  I don't like low riders for obvious reasons but the biggest reason is that I sit on the floor ALL THE TIME in preschool and I don't have enough hands to always be hitchin up my britches.  Walking out of hteparking lot I actually hear a woman MY AGE say to her daughter "Man, those are some PINK PANTS!"  I turned around and just stared at her.  She pretended to look at something else.

sorry the copy/paste picture is blurry.  I just grabbed it off the website.  But you get the idea.  By the way, I bought them at J. Jill and right now they are on sale for $39.99  Several colors.  Just so you know.  Thanks. 

Was today the worst day I've ever had?  No.
Have I met rude people before?  Oh yes.

Remember the days when men cleaned up their language when a lady was around?
Ironman has a friend who actually STANDS UP when I come in the room.  Amazing.
You may say that's old fashioned but I like common courtesy.

Have Good Manners gone out of style?

On the way home I rocked out to K.C. and the Sunshine Band.  Dancer Girl and I stopped and bought Icees.

Tomorrow it's back to school day.

Dentist

I went to the dentist today.  Tomorrow I have an appointment with a physician for a followup on my high blood pressure.

Talking to the doctor is not horrible.  That's not the part I dread.  I dread the waiting room.

The things I dislike about the dentist office  waiting room:

1.  The decor is early '60s and not in a good way.  Think about it, the '60s were not known for stylish furnishings.  Still the chairs are sturdy although so uncomfortable.  The carpet is industrial grade.  The "art" is the kind of pictures you'd find in a discount store.  They are not hung on the wall in any kind of artsy way.

2.  Don't even think about finding a magazine to thumb through unless you are a fan of Hunter's Weekly, Field and Stream, or Louisiana Sportsman.  There might be a Good Housekeeping left over on the rack from a year ago.

3.  When I sat down today I could hear Shania Twain singing over the intercom.   Another blast from the past.

Patients come in but exit at another door.  It's a little like

"roaches check in but they don't check out".  

But the worst part is the waiting.  Wait, wait, wait.

Today I waited 30 minutes.  It's not always that long.  Sometimes it's longer, other times it's quicker.  But there's always a wait.

 The young woman that calls my name will always say, "I'm so sorry for your wait."
I will always reply, "Oh, that's alright."  What else could I say?  It's just one of those things.

The good news is that my dentist is a no pain operator.  I've gone to him for years and I have never felt a thing.  I've had a lot of dental work but it's been easy breezy.  Until it comes time to pay.

Family and Money

Recently Ironman was given some money through an inheritance.  He calls it "our money".  But I feel better calling it "your money" since the relative he inherited it from could never quite get my name right.   I had met him many times but the family is quite large and honestly I think by the time I married into the family there were so many new people this particular uncle could not tell us apart.  He did love Ironman, though, and so when he died several years ago it was bittersweet.  You  know those times when someone is quite old (pushing 100) has lived a full life but has been suffering with bad health for years.  So when the time comes you are peaceful with the knowledge that they are no longer suffering but you feel sad for yourself having to continue on without that soft place to fall.

We found out that he had left Ironman and other family members some money.  It's enough money for us to replenish our college fund that has taken a hit paying for The Engineer's education, to add a substantial amount to our retirement and maybe take a trip.

Until just a few weeks ago, Ironman and I had not been on a trip alone for years.  YEARS I say.  We had a few days alone in Nashville.  What an easy, relaxing, sweet, fun trip we had.  I had forgotten what it was like for it to be just us.  We are always falling over ourselves to make sure the children are comfortable, fed and  enjoying the day.  That can be exhausting!  In fact, we are exhausted!

This morning he asked me where I'd like to go.  We have no plans to go anytime soon since school starts in three whole days!  Here are the two places I'd like to visit.

1.  I'd love to visit Chincoteaugue when they bring in the wild ponies.  Oh, Misty of Chincoteague how I still love you.

2.  Portland.  Don't ask me why.  Probably the weather and the adventure and the sightseeing.  I've heard there is the world's largest bookstore in Portland.  I need to google that.  I'd like to fly into Portland, rent a car and drive around and around.

Years ago Ironman and I flew to Boston, rented a car and road trip through the Northeast.  We visited Kennebunkport, Plymouth Rock, Martha's Vineyard............  all that before we had children.  By the way on that trip everywhere we went there would be at least one person who would comment on my accent.  Accent?  What accent??  I don't have an accent.  :)

Today Ironman left for a week.  When he gets back we are going to get serious about time alone.
Is it bad to be looking forward to an empty nest?  I've got years until that happens but I'm not dreading it.  We have reared these children to make wise decision.  Provided them with everything they need to set out on their own into the big, beautiful world.

One day when our last one flies the next I will turn to Ironman and say,

"GOT THE TICKETS?" 

Happy Sunday

A Quiet House

The best time of the day is first thing in the morning.  All I can hear right now is the hum of the refrigerator.  Everyone is asleep upstairs.  So far away I can't hear the snoring.  Even our dog is asleep.

Ironman left for the golf course.  He was making so much noise in the kitchen I thought he must be remodeling.  He's a noisy fellow.

A book that I ordered arrived yesterday.  Let me back up and say I was surprised this particular book was not available in digital form.  Thus the ordering.  I saw the author on Dr. Phil.  It's not a relationship book.  Are you surprised?  It's written by one of those doctors from The Doctors.  The one that is the plastic surgeon.  I rarely if ever watch that show.  If I'm in the mood for some health advice I much prefer Dr. Oz.  But back to the book.  Each chapter has "secrets" for looking younger, healthier, brighter skin, fewer wrinkles, etc.  Hey I'm up for it.

Just yesterday I could wash my face with Lava and my skin be smooth and clean.  Now I have to do research and check labels on simple things like lotion and soap as fragrance tends to give me a rash and any other harsh additives can irritate my now dry skin.  By the way, it's the same way with shoes.  In my younger days I could wear any style, any material.  It mattered not.  I don't remember ever even getting a blister!  But now I have to have the exact fit and arch and no man made material.  They can't pinch my toes or slip on my heel or be too high or too low.  It's exhausting.

I have a story about some Clarks Shoes I owned once which explains why I never buy the Clarks brand.  I slipped them off at the back door.  Dancer Girl comes into the kitchen.  Here is the short conversation:

DG:  Is Meme here?
Me:  No.  Why do you wonder that?
DG:  I saw her shoes by the back door.


Okay folks, that was enough for me.  I refuse to wear Meme shoes.

Back to the book.  I flipped through it last night and found a recipe for a sugar scrub.  Yes, please.
Whipped it up in a jiffy.  Flew to the bathroom.  Sat on the side of the tub.  My oh  my..... heaven.  Wow.  My poor feet.  They were so, so thankful and delighted.  I can't wait to use the scrub again today.

Here's the recipe:


3 Tablespoons cream
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ground almonds
2 Tablespoons olive oil

Mix.  Store in air tight container in the refrigerator.  It only takes a small scoop per foot.   I estimate this recipe will make enough scrub to last me 2 weeks easily.  I'm going to keep track.

Speaking of my feet, I'm also following a regime on my left big toe that I saw on the Dr. Oz show.
Quickly:  6 or 7 years ago......... yes, YEARS AGO....... I had a group of friends who walked 5 miles a day religiously in our neighborhood.  I got new shoes.  I noticed that they rubbed on my big toe but I was new to shoe problems and it wasn't a horrible feeling........... I just let it go.  Just those few months of wearing those shoes to do my walking regime damaged the toe.  Within a year I had a full fledged ingrown toe nail.  I tried everything.  I mean, EVERYTHING to remedy the situation.  Years passed.  Sometimes I felt like it was getting better.  Then it would hurt again.  Then the toenail turned an odd greenish awful color.  I knew I needed medical attention.

Skip forward:  After 5 years......... yes, FIVE YEARS...........we moved to a large city and with my new job came better medical insurance and fate intervened.  The job required a physical.  On my nickel.  So since I had to go to the doctor I asked her to take a look at my toe.  Yeppers.  Ingrown.  And a fungus had invaded the nail.  Ugh.  Great.

One week later I returned and she cut out the ingrown part.  WOW!  Instant relief.  She told me it would have never gotten better on its own.  I was so relieved.  I started on an oral laminal.

Lamisil, blood test, lamisil, blood test, lamisil.

The only improvement I noticed was the nail got thinner.  But so did all my other nails.  The fungus never cleared.  And the side effects of the medication were inconvenient.  Headache, bloating, dizziness.  After 6 months my insurance would no longer pay for the medication and I was tired of taking it.

Just last week I was cooking dinner with Dr. Oz.  I mean, I was cooking dinner.  The Dr. Oz show was on turned down low in the keeping room.  I ran toward the TV when a woman in the audience began describing her TOE FUNGUS.  WHAT?  Everyone!  Quiet and still!  I must hear!  What did Dr. Oz say?  VICKS VAPOR RUB. 

Within an hour I was at CVS with VVR in my hot little hand.  I've been using it faithfully now for a week.

Drum roll............. after all this time............ my toe is healing.  There is just a tiny area at the tip of the nail that is still discolored. It will soon grow out.  The rest is clear and healthy.  I've been taking photos every few days and plan to send them to my best friend in the whole world Dr. Mehmet Oz.

Puppy Dogs

I graduated from LSU.  Ironman graduated from Louisiana Tech.

Yes, we are unequally yolked.  (inside joke)

This week we are mourning the loss of the Louisiana Tech mascot, an English Bulldog.

Sadly, the puppy dog (4 years old) was left outside too long and died of a heat stroke.

Tragic.

My heart was broken. 

I can't bear the thought of a dog outside in this heat with no shelter or cool water.  Apparently no

human was there to check on him during the day.

And so today I'm posting a few photos of my dog.  

Navy.

He is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever.

Age:  11 years old (on September 1) Or 77

Weight:  96 pounds

Appetite:  Hearty

Energy Level:  More than me!

Favorite Game:  Fetch

Favorite Activity when alone:  Sleeping in the sun

One little quirk:  He will not eat if you are watching him.  

It's comforting to me to have a big dog in the backyard.  Makes me feel like I'm home.

Last night the news of the LaTech Mascot's passing was on television.  Dancer Girl exclaimed, "That dog died?  What happened?"
Ironman:  "He was left outside so long that he died of a heat stroke."
Dancer Girl:  "Was he an old dog?"
Ironman:  "He was four years old."

Long pause.

Dancer Girl:  "How long do dogs live anyway?"
Ironman looked at her.  "Do you want to know the truth?  Probably 13 or 14 years.  Somewhere around there"
Dancer Girl:  "How old is Navy"
Ironman:  "Almost 11"

We didn't say much after that.

How was today? H.O.T.

Whoa!  It is HOT outside.    I just have to say it again.  It is HOT!  And to make it even worse there isn't even a slight breeze.  Nothing is moving.  Just heat baking everything.

I cleaned today.  My back patio was dusty and grimy.  I swept and then scrubbed the pavers.  I just love shiny flooring.  I moved the dog's igloo back into the corner of the yard under several bushes.  He's been digging there anyway so I know he favors that cool spot.  He's always been a digger.  

I drove to Chick Fil-A and got in line at 12:15.  I got to the ordering board exactly one hour later and drove away with hot food at 1:39.   I did have a moment of wonder that there was no traffic guard helping the cars flow through the line.  Lines were forming from all four corners of the building.  I pulled into line and just stayed with it creeping closer and closer.  It is what it is.  

Speaking of traffic, I'm a "let-er inner".  I always pause and let a waiting car pull out in front of me.  Yes, always.  I am mindful that the other driver could be one of my own children who  is a nervous new driver.  Or maybe that little act of kindness will start a chain of thoughtfulness.  

Here's a classic story.  It doesn't really have anything to do about letting another driver into the line of traffic, but it is a driving story.

When The Engineer was a baby, he was a crier.  Oh was he ever.  That little tiny baby could cry and cry and cry and never seem to wear himself out.  One particular morning he was on a super crying binge.  I guess he was 3 or 4 months old.  Finally after hours and hours of fussiness and downright blood curdling screaming I decided we needed to go for a ride.  I was hoping we could drive around the city for a half hour and he'd fall asleep.  Hope. Hope.  Let me be sure you realize I had on a ratty t-shirt and probably yoga pants.  Hair was a mess, no makeup, probably no freshly brushed teeth.  My nerves were shot from the lack of sleep, the endless crying sounds and the overwhelming responsibility you feel with your first newborn.  

I buckle him in securely, check the gas gauge, and we're off.  I drive and drive.  After 10 minutes the crying is still going on.  So I open a baby bottle and in my olympic feat of contortionism I hold the bottle in the baby's mouth (who is in the back seat facing backwards, of course) while driving.  In traffic.  

Now in this city there's a traffic circle.  It's hard to navigate on a good day.  On a day when you are twisted sideways listening to a crying baby for hours on end, looking like a wild woman this circle is a nightmare.  I'm in the outside lane of the circle.  A white car behind me gets right on my bumper.  So I manage to change lanes.  The white car changes lanes.  Now I'm on the inside lane so I can't exit.  I have to go around again.  The white car follows even closer now.  I'm getting pretty angry.  Don't mess with me, white car.  THEN I hear honking.  IS THAT CAR HONKING AT ME?  ARE YOU KIDDING?  So I slow down.  Slow, slow, slow.  I'm going to force this idiot to go around me.  I'm stubborn too.  I'll slow down to 10 m.p.h. if you wanna play the game.   After a minute or so the car pulls up beside me and honks.  I look and before I could control myself I.............. not a proud moment..........but I displayed the one finger salute.  The one and only time I've ever done that.  And it was so easy.  Happened before I even knew............ like my hand was operating on it's own.  At the same second my eyes focused on the driver and passengers in that white car.  

My Brother In Law and 2 nephews........... and were they hooting and hollering about my "wave"  Oh my gosh they enjoyed that.  

It's been a classic story that I'm sure will be handed down.  I was embarrassed at first but now I can laugh at myself.