Hi! It's time for an update on my life!
Unfortunately, I didn't see much else that was noteworthy on my way back to the Joe on Hwy 36 in Missouri. I did see the "Ale and Show Barn" or something like that, which I've always thought was interesting. And there's a really fun tall statue thing with a pig or a sheep or a cow on top of it. I've not been able to fully determine what it is, because I drive by it at 70 MPH. But someday I will find out.
So things are actually quite boring. I'm still in my temporary digs, living in a student apartment. We've gotten quite comfortable in the cramped space (I'm only using half of the apartment), and I'm quite used to not cooking and killing the environment with my toxic plastic utensils, cups, and styrofoam plates and bowls. My only complaint is that it's hard to spread peanut butter with a plastic knife. In fact, I'm really considering throwing out all of my stuff now, since I know that I can live without it. Except my furniture. I really want that back. I miss my couch and my dressers.
I went home this weekend. It was fun. But my parents' house is bloody hot! Granted, I keep my apartment like an icebox (I kept it that way when I lived off and was paying for it, thank you. The high cost in the summer was offset by the low cost in the winter.) But even Mom was complaining about it. My Dad gets cold now. So he keeps the house warmer. I have determined that this is a very touchy issue between them. My parents never fight. But I witnessed this discussion on Thursday morning (after a night of tossing and turning and waking up soaking wet), and it was pretty heated. However, it didn't stop me from mentioning how hot the house was to my Dad a few times. I even offered to pay for the extra electricity while I was home to turn it down a notch or two...
My main mission on Thursday was to do laundry. Yes, I'm 31 years old and I brought my laundry home with me. But I did it all myself, so shut up. I also was on call for my sister, who had wrist surgery a few weeks ago on her right wrist and can't do a lot around the house or with the baby. So we went for lunch and pigged out on Pizza Hut buffet and had awful service. I didn't even get a drink refill until we left. You know how I am about drinks, I always have to have liquid refreshment in front of or beside me. So she didn't get much of a tip. Anyway, we went to her house and crashed on the comfy furniture she has and talked about how crazy our mom is. (Don't worry, Mom knows she's crazy, and she's glad that the two of us are able to commiserate about it). Then she called Mom to find out if she could borrow her small vacuum. Mom said of course and gave her a very long narrative about where the vacuum was and what all the attachments were. When Carol got off the phone I said why don't I just go by myself to get this silly vacuum, because she wouldn't be much help with it anyway. And I assured her that I heard Mom's side of the conversation (Mom spends her days talking to people who can't hear, and Dad can't hear either, so she sometimes speaks at full volume) so I could handle it. So of course I grabbed all of the attachments EXCEPT the one that Mom really wanted her to try. Dammit.
So then I went home and finished my laundry. It wasn't long before the front door opened and my little Gracie walked in! She's the cutest. So I took some pictures and chased her around, we ate really late and got all cranky, but it was nice to have a family dinner :) Gracie showed us her new dance move--she twirls in place, just like her Momma does. She also likes to carry bags around and put stuff in them. She holds them in the crook of her elbow with her arm up, just like her Momma does. It's too cute!!
We went to Coralville to shop on Friday. Branden (my step-nephew) came with us, because he didn't have many other options for stuff to do. I think he just wanted to spend the day with me and Carol :) But he did really good. I decided to spend some of the money I had saved for moving costs on some work clothes, and the two of them played Stacy and Clinton and helped me pick out some stuff. I got quite a bit of stuff, but I'm taking a bunch of it back. I went kind of nuts. Plus, I'm getting back on the fatchick wagon soon, so I should save some of my cash for new skinny clothes!
Saturday was stupid and hot. I did get to babysit for a couple of hours in the morning, and Gracie and I both took a bit of a nap. I was exhausted for some reason. I had taken some initiative and turned the thermostat down a degree on Friday, so it was a little cooler to sleep in. But Mom and I both slept like dead people but still woke up exhausted. Blimey! But anyway, one of the things I did while I was at Carol's was her dishes. She has a rubber stopper for her sink that I used. I had one like it in my apartment off campus, and I hated it because it always got stuck so hard that I had to use pliers to get it out. And this one did the same thing. I asked her for some pliers because the stopper was stuck, and she was real confused. She came over and reached in with her left hand and got a real disgusted look on her face and exclaimed that I had put the stopper in upside down! This is why we make a good team. I can tell her that Vietnam is near Japan, and she can show me how to put a rubber stopper in a sink.
So anyway, after I admit that I was defeated by the sink, I left. But by then I was all hot and was getting really cranky for no reason. I ate some leftover pizza and got more cranky and depressed by the second. This was concerning to me, because I had noticed on Friday night I was really anxious and wanting to get away from everyone. It was strange. But then I realized by that point I had been on a decreased dose of my "happy pills" for a week. With the increase in the Lyrica for my Fibromyalgia, my Doctor thought it would be a good idea to lower my dose for my antidepressant. I was a little skeptical, because I take the AD for depression caused by chemical imbalances, not for depression related to Fibro and not to treat the Fibro itself. So once i realized that I said, holy heck, I don't need this. So I decided to put myself back on the higher dose. That started today, but of course I felt better yesterday and today, so it could just be that I was just agitated and hot on Friday and Saturday. But I'd rather not take my chances.
But Saturday night was the third annual "Margaritaville on the Mississippi" down by the river. I had mentioned in a post earlier that things were better in our flooded area in town. This is true, but it's also really kind of ugly and smelly down at Riverview Park right now too. And it was HOT. And they didn't allow lawn chairs this time, so we had to stand. Except we got there early enough to find a place to sit to watch the opening act under the awning area. We were right next to the river. Where people had dumped a whole lot of clam shells, shrimps, lemon rings, and other trash. Nasty smelling, and lots of flies. So when the opening act was done we decided to move out to the area where the Phins were playing. They are a Jimmy Buffett tribute band that the city brings back each year for it. They arrived in a stretch Hummer. Not kidding. So that explained the $12 cover charge. I was trying to be a good social person, but it was hard because I really didn't want to be around anyone and I was hot, and no one was there. It was deadsville. Thankfully, Carol and Bryan decided that it wasn't any fun too, so we left. It was sad, and I felt bad for being a poor evening companion. Hopefully next year they'll allow lawn chairs. That would have made it MUCH better. And skip the king treatment of this little bitty band. And don't have it at Captain Kirk's and call it a "Chamber of Commerce" event. Sorry, I get a little annoyed at my hometown sometimes.
Gracie spent the night at Mom and Dad's Saturday night, so on Sunday morning I got to play with her. She flung Cheerios all over for Tyler to eat. He kind of enjoyed having her around this time :) By the time she left and I packed, I had to eat lunch and get going. So I was able to go with Mom to Grandma and Grandpa's to eat lunch and visit with them and Aunt Beverly. Grandpa was happy to give me a bag full of my old Trolls that I had thought were gone forever. That was exciting. I used to collect Trolls in high school. I kept a few of them but got rid of the rest. I've been sad about that ever since. But it turns out that my Mom gave it to them for the younger grandkids to play with. Hooray! I decided to keep them at home for now, but I'm happy to have them back.
But I am a terrible granddaughter because for the last two trips home I haven't made it to visit my Grandma Delaney. And the last time was around her birthday, so I left a birthday card with Mom to give to her. And while I was home I found the card still in the dining room, put up so Gracie couldn't get it. So Grandma didn't get my birthday card and I've not been able to visit her! I feel awful. So I'm going to write her a letter, put it with her card, and print off some pictures of Gracie and stuff as an apology.
Finally, Carol had a purse party tonight, which I couldn't go to because I had to come back to the Joe. So she and my Mom spent a good amount of time looking for a purse for me, describing different ones, sending picture texts, and probably getting real frustrated with me. I think I ended up with a cute one, but I"m not sure. I need to call Mom and find out. So I'll let you know sometime what I got :)
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