More Random Than Necessary

I have recently delved into the marvelous world of vacuum repair.  The intake hose on our vacuum keeps popping off, which considerably reduces the suction.  It's a Dyson, so it is not "supposed" to lose suction, but it is also several years old and well used.  (I was going to make a snarky comment about suction, but this is a family show, so fill in your own thought there.)  I can completely understand why a vacuum might want a rest, but Maisy sheds her weight in dog hair everyday. I can't afford to fall behind.  I am trying to decide what to do with the hose. My first instinct is to just superglue the hose in place, but that likely voids some obscure warranty clause written by trained monks in some random monastery. Does a warranty still matter after six or more years?  I will have to think about it.

There was a column on Slate.com yesterday that really ticked me off.  This woman was describing how much trouble her dog was now that she had kids.  Her inconvenience was an excuse to treat the dog horribly and blame all her problems on the poor dog.  She even discussed wanting to drown her pet!  I wanted to punch her right in the face. We had 4 cats and Sandy when Zane was born, and we managed to take care of all of them lovingly. The animals were a little freaked out by the new arrival, but then again, so were we.  We all dealt with it.  It's not the dog or cat's fault that a parent cannot handle the changes in routine, but if you can't deal with it, find the pet a nice home where they will be loved rather than scapegoats.  Except that if you can't manage to take care of a dog or a cat, you probably shouldn't have kids, either. 

Last week Zane got to meet several of the San Antonio Scorpions.  They had an autograph session followed by an small camp for the kids.  My son made himself right at home.

He marched right up there to get his ball signed, and he asked them all about Skylanders, FIFA2013, and the Gold Cup(a competition which the USA Men's Soccer Team just won, thank you very much) just like they were his besties.  For the most part, all of the players were friendly to him, although there were a couple who did not seem to know exactly what to do.  Which is normal--Zane is almost a force of a nature.  The coolest thing for me as a mom was watching how these professional soccer players interacted with the kids when the mini camp started.  The littlest soccer players had a great time, even though they were in 99 degree heat at 6pm. 

I have purchased just about all of Zane' s school supplies. There were a set of Markers that I could not find, not even on Amazon. I also did not buy the antibacterial hand sanitizer, because I do not want Zane to use that stuff.  (He can use plain soap and water, which does the same thing without resulting in a resistance to antibiotics.)  I am still irritated about the uniforms that Zane will have to wear. Who in their right mind puts a freakin' white shirt on a five year old?  I don't even own a white shirt, because my chest is a stain magnet! I guess that I will have to stock up and buy 14 white shirts to start off the year, in preparation for the stains to come.

Amazon is putting in a warehouse here, in Schertz, Texas.  Tons of new jobs is a great introduction to the area, and I think that everyone in the area is looking forward to the grand opening.  Since I order a ton of stuff from Amazon, I wonder if they would just let me drive up?  Maybe they could put in a drive-thru at the warehouse, where you can order your stuff online and they bring it out to your car.  With a side of fries.  

 Stacy is in the process of moving to the West Coast but I'm keeping the random in her honor:



You can also go and check out the fine ladies Shawn and Impulsive at Talk To Us Tuesday!



Have a great day, and if you're in the heat zone this week, stay hydrated!

Randomly Yakking

Things have been just whirling by this month--next week it's AUGUST!!!  I am of course, not ready for summer to be gone.  Most of my summer was spent recuperating, but I swear I had intended to clean out the house and take a bunch of stuff to Goodwill.  Now I will be happy if I finish cleaning out my old desk at work.   I would really love to have a cleaning lady to help me, but right now that is out of the budget.  I do intend to revisit the idea--my sister-in-law and mother-in-law both have people come in to clean up the house, and neither of them work outside the home.  Why not me?

One should be careful when opening a case of Gatorade:

Cats just love boxes and small containers that they can squeeze themselves into, and Zena is no exception.  I suppose that she was attracted to the sound of the plastic, and it was nice and cozy in there.  She does the same thing with the television receiver, even though it is behind glass. But I can't get mad at that face, and she knows it.  So as long as she doesn't start chewing through electrical wiring, I don't make her move. 

Ooh!  The royal baby has arrived!  I'd feel sorry for the new parents, and sympathize with how little sleep they will be getting, except that this baby comes with a nanny, among other employees, to help out.  I am sure that a number of us would give our right arms to be able to get a few hours of shut eye, let alone watch our child while we enjoy a full eight hours of uninterrupted sleep?  I wonder if there is a Royal Diaper Changer, and if so, how much does it pay?  I expect it might be a bit more than minimum wage.  That certainly would be an interesting note on one's resume. 

My mom hands me a stretchy bracelet the other day.  It has pink and white beads. Turns out that the beads were made from flowers.  The flowers that were at my grandmother's funeral.  A memento mori, certainly. I'd rather have had something else, but I guess that everyone grieves in their own way.  I don't even know if my grandmother liked the color pink.  I suspect that she did; the entire outside of the house was painted pink.  I do know that I am not fond of pink.  When I see someone wearing all pink or driving a pink car, I automatically think of Mary Kay.  Weird, I know! 

This is an artist's rendition of my dog.  If it is stinky and in the trash, she has to have it.  Especially if it is embarrassing, like one of those --ahem--feminine products. Yeah, those items are her very favorite.  Maisy will get her nose into the can and pull the offensive item right out, which isn't the bad part.  No, the bad part is that she takes the wad to the living room and quickly proceeds to tear it into shreds.  Tiny, tiny shreds.  Did I mention that the pieces are tiny?  Try cleaning all that up in less than five minutes, when your parents have just texted that they are on the way. 



Go visit Stacy--help her stay sane while she packs!

Also, go check out these fine ladies--Shawn and Impulsive Addict for Talk To Us Tuesday!