Ten Things of Thankful, Birthday Edition!

Remember, you can join Ten Things of Thankful by linking up with Liz at Considerings.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy (I’m not sure that’s how that goes, but I don’t really give an eff, because it rhymes. Just call me Big Dawg if that ain’t it.).

Banner is courtesty of Mental Mama, and that link will also take you directly to her TToT for the week.

Without any further adieu:

 

1)  Maybe I should have been like Mama and labeled mine “10 Things That Didn’t Suck This Week.”  That’s kind of how I’m feeling.  My first thankfully thank-you, though, IS to Mama.  We were chatting and I am pretty sure I was moaning about how I really just needed a six-pack of Budweiser Cheladas (I don’t drink), and she brought DBT right into the picture.  Practice opposite to emotion.  My main emotion right now is intense anger and anxiety, directed at ol’ DSB (who can do nothing about all the shitty things he has done, even if he wanted to), so I am doing TToT because it makes me joyful and hopeful.  You get that — joyful and hopeful being opposite to anger and anxiety?  Sometimes I forget.  😦

 

2)  I am thankful for the support of my family.  I promise, this TToT will not be a rerun, because I always mention family, but it’s just THAT DAMN IMPORTANT.  My family is everything to me and sometimes, I lose sight of how hard this is on THEM, to always be there for me, someone who has special and magical bipolar powers.  For a perfect explanation, go to yesterday’s entry and read the comment from QueenofDaNile (mom).  I read that this morning and it made total sense.  For the first time in a long time, actually, it made sense.  I would copy and paste, but you wouldn’t get the full effect unless you read the post, as well.

 

3)  I am thankful for large packages of toilet paper and paper towels.  When  you’re buying them, you’re thinking, “Nine dollars?!  Really?!” but it’s so nice to rarely run out.  Thank you, Madre, for teaching me this invaluable lesson (and buying the last package of TP!)

 

4)  I am thankful my sister is going to come help me clean this gawdawful mess up on the 10th.  I’m nervous, too, though.  What if she sees the squalor and runs?  What if I can’t keep up?  Ok, frankly, what happens when I can’t keep up?  I just keep remembering her words, “I love you unconditionally.”  “I would never judge you.”  Okay, breathing in and out now.  In, out, in, out.

5) Feeling a bit more frivolous as we go, and not to say that TToT is frivolous, but let’s all eat a piece of cake this weekend, because it is TToT’s 1st birthday!  I am so thankful I found this gem and I look forward to it every week.  I have missed a couple of times and I was always so disappointed when I didn’t make the deadline.

 

6) I am thankful for all the new toiletries and laundry stuff that my dad hooked me up with.  I am smelling clean all the way around, and I kinda like it.  The people around me probably appreciate it as well.  I hate to shower, and the soaps he bought me are very motivating.  And who knew that buying Tide would be a big difference after buying the $7 Purex all these years?  And having dryer sheets again has been phenomenal.  Now if I just had some elves to come put all this laundry away!

7) I am thankful that I was too lazy tonight to go and spend my grocery money on ice cream.  I really reaaaaaallly wanted a salted caramel shake from Sonic, a little bit of heaven, but I resisted.  That’s $2 I’ll have to buy healthier stuff with, and I’m not packing extra poundage onto my rear end.

 

8) I am extremely thankful that the Kizz Wizz was not injured and did not escape when a huge limb came crashing out of a tree in my back yard a couple days ago.  It happened while I was at work, and I was beyond relieved to see her trotting out her doggie door toward me.  Big thanks also to the tree service who were here the next day and totally took care of things in a matter of hours, including cleaning up after themselves.  The Big Dawg came and put the fence back up, and now we’re in business.

Not my yard, but a branch just that big!

9) I am thankful for all suggestions for new music.  After DSB, I am so sick to death of country that I could spit.  It’s on the radio all the time at work, all the presets in my car are set to it (there is not a decent radio station anywhere around here), and the only times I can get away are either with silence or Pandora.  Too bad Pandora doesn’t come in your car…or does it?

 

10) Last but not least, I am very pleased that my local library APPEARS to have the entire Jack Reacher collection, as well as one other (that I’m blanking on the name of, but that Marilyn recommended).  And that’s where I’m headed.  I no longer feel angry (in the name of opposite-to-emotion, Mama!).  I feel like I need to lay a good long while in bed and get my book read, as it will be auto-returned for me on the 2nd.

 

 

 

Consider it Googled

First day back to work since the plague struck last Thursday.  I thought I would feel kind of crappy by the end of the day, and did to a certain extent.  For one thing, I was not really hungry all day.  I had a few Triscuits for breakfast and then some almonds around noon.  Oh, and I guess Dr. Love was really generous and gave me a whole corner of his chicken sandwich.  Other than that, nothing.  Strange for me, because usually I eat regular meals.  Maybe I should get sick more often.

The hand sanitizer and bleach spray are coming out in full force at work.  I had our porter deep-clean my office today and even talked her into leaving me with my own little bottle of bleach spray.  Inmates use my phone sometimes, and it is in style in prison to wear a lot of Vaseline on your hair.  Um, yeah.

I knew that flu season was coming because there is a gallon size bottle of pump hand sanitizer at the access points to the facility.  And it’s gone done about a quarter since they put it up new this morning.  Prisons are disgustingly full of germs.  Almost more MRSA than in a hospital.

So, I need to get my flu shots.  I am going to check and see if they give them at the clinic at work, because they do a lot of times.  My co-workers scoff at that and tell me they wouldn’t go in there if they were dying, but that’s who did my shots last year and it worked out just fine.  I think it really depends who is on duty, and if that nurse on duty actually knows and likes you or thinks you are just that uppity DOC bitch.

After getting off work, I went to the grocery store.  And started to feel hungry.  You know that’s never a good thing.  I stayed to my list, but also bought some soy cheese that I am hoping isn’t as revolting as soy yogurt is.  I actually had to throw that stuff out.  And, yes, Dr. Love, I did throw away an entire half-gallon of Walmart brand chocolate soy milk.  Wasn’t even edible.  Here, I owe you $2.50.  We’ll just put it in your brownie points account.

I am now having the perfect evening.  I am blogging with a Chelada at hand, an amazing dinner bubbling away.  I accepted (at least for today) that I still have a lot to do at work, but I don’t need to give it a second’s thought after I clock out.  I petted my dog, chatted with my birds, and planned out some dinners for later this week.  It’s all very luverly.

And before ya know it, Dr. Love will be home and I can regale him with stories about taking 25 items through the self-checkout line at Dillons, incurring the wrath of that young mother buying store-bought cookies last minute for some Halloween event.

Speaking of Halloween, my dental hygienist asked me today if I have decorated for Halloween.  When I said, “Ahhhh no” she asked me, in the most serious of voices, if I was going to put up any fall decorations.  I think Megan has a little Martha in her.

My step-mom has decorated for fall.  It is very pretty, but at this point I am just thankful to be not living in chaos.  We still have tons of boxes out in the garage!  And a downstairs bedroom that hasn’t been put together yet.

But I do admit, I’m jealous of those people that decorate for fall/winter/spring.  I wish I had those kind of Martha moments in me, and sometimes I think I do, but my Martha energy almost always gets diverted into cooking.  Or coming up with a new way to organize something.  Or sitting at QoB’s table drinking Cheladas, stirrin’ up shit.  You SO know that Martha does that.  She totally does.

May I just mention how disappointed I am that Pandora has flipped it’s white belly to the corporate blady-blah and, well it just sucks now.  Commercials and all.  Time listening limits.  And when you create a station, it will start to suck after about a month.  This issue may be why the music I have been sharing is less than stellar, or it may be because this post makes #232 and I’m running out of songs I like.  Any suggestions are appreciated.

Kate Nash, I‘m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance”