Toes and Such

J. just left to take Chloe to the groomer who is working at the Petco in Livermore.  Livermore seems like a long way to go to get her groomed but she is the shaggiest beast of a dog and needs to be pampered and cleaned up in the worst way.  The groomer is also doing grooming at her home right around the corner from our house but she's booked into September for her Tracy clients that don't want to drive to Livermore.  So my sweet, retired hubby will trek over the Altamont with her, spend some time doing a Trader Joe's shop and then trek back with a trimmed, sweet smelling dog.  Chloe will be so happy to be trimmed - she spends a good chunk of the day lazing around panting at the 'heat', silently willing us to turn the thermostat down....but we won't.  Less fur will be a help.

I had both sides of both big toenails 'surgically' removed yesterday and at the moment, the toes are bandaged with pressure wrap.  They look like giant cake pops at the end of stubby sticks.  At 3PM today, I can remove the huge bandages, do the first of many warm water Epsom salt soaks and then re-bandage with just good old large Bandaids.  I'm thankfully not having too much pain and am hoping that's a good sign - though they are very protected at the moment from bumping and such so I'm not sure how it will be when they have no padding.  And I haven't put on shoes yet - so...there's still that challenge.

Thankfully, I'm off work this week so nowhere to be or go for the most part.  Just piddling around the casa with my guys.  H. joined me on a trip to Jackson Monday and we had a blast.  He's my lucky charm and while we didn't win 'big', I did arrive home with a bit more than I left with so that's good. We had fun and whenever he was near me, I'd hit something.  It was a nice day though any hopes of pleasant conversation on the drive up and back was immediately dashed with the realization that he would just konk out on both drives - headphones over his ears and sound asleep within minutes.  Oh well.  It was still a lot of fun and he is great company - sleeping or not!

J. and I have tickets to see Mary Poppins at Gallo this Saturday - it will be a fun show, I'm sure - a professional touring company and in the big theater.  Looking forward to it!

J. has been in touch with B. more than I - they catch up via texts most mornings.  I don't think B. has phoned home since he was here - and he will be back in a few weeks for a three week vacation...of course, I am entering 'year-end madness' and will be putting in very long days in August to get stuff done - and all of it must be done a tad early due to my Arizona vacation.  Should have thought it through a bit more - but perhaps not thinking it through is best 'cuz had I thought it through, I would have never done it.  :-)  Carpe diem! and all that -

Update:  cake pop toes are gone.  Undid the bandages (after the required 24 hours); took a shower (OK to get toes wet); 15 minute Epsom salt soak, carefully dried, Neosporin and fresh Bandaids applied.  They feel pretty good all things considered - when H. saw them in the soak, he was completely grossed out.  I don't think they look all that bad, really.  :-)

J. went to get us take-out sushi for dinner - last of the Christmas gift cards.  Chloe had a good trip to the groomer and looks so pretty - she is so proud of her sleek, thinner fur coat!  I've paid some bills; gotten an Amazon return ready to ship and also created a treat box for my cousin's daughter - hopefully will mail both tomorrow (with J.'s help).

Lazy mid-week and still have four days left.  I'm ready to go back sort of - but still glad to have more time off ahead.  I bought some suet cakes for the bird feeder stand we've installed and want to do some things outside in the morning before the heat gets unbearable.

It's Another Sunday

It's 5:12PM and I will shyly admit that I'm still in my PJ's.  And it's not that I haven't been doing stuff - it's just the stuff I'm doing is dirty, messy stuff so I figured why get showered and dressed only to get completely gross?

Cleaning the oven and yard work.  Not continuously but enough.  My rings are off my fingers and I will need to do a repaint on my manicure when the oven is done - if it's ever done.  It's coming clean beautifully but it takes so much time to wipe and rewipe to ensure all the cleaning spray is off every surface.  Grrr.  I always forget what a PITA this job is.  Our oven is technically 'self-cleaning' but the self-cleaning mode gets the oven so incredibly hot, I just avoid using it - especially in the summer.

We are making plans for H.'s move to Houston.  He has a CT scan planned and it should be scheduled in the next couple weeks - then another appointment with the oncologist the first week of August. H. has lost some weight (worrisome) but his blood work was fine - so assuming the scan doesn't show any changes, he will be good to go.  The M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is in Houston so it's a great city to move to if you are a cancer patient.  We will find a doctor (hopefully one who specializes in Hodgink's) and our oncologist will make the referral so H. can have a primary oncologist in Houston when he gets there.

I keep reminding him how important it will be to keep up with scans, blood work, follow-up appointments.  For a kid who struggles to make himself food when he's hungry, I have concerns about his looming independence, but oh well.  It's time for him to fly.

J. and I are looking forward to trying out boxed wine (ready whenever you want a little wine) 'cuz we don't buy it now for fear it will be gone when we want some.  Same story for good bottled wine which we enjoy so much but can't afford to have around lest bottle after bottle make it's way to a party somewhere.  Or sometimes the party is here in our absence.

The garden plants we purchased from High Country Gardens are doing so beautifully and are holding up really well with the limited water we are able to provide.  Our shower water is working - but it's still a scant amount compared to what they need.  Once they get settled in their pot or in the garden, they seem to do absolutely fine with little water - it's just giving them enough to get them going.

Work is sort of quiet at the moment - many folks on vacation which is sort of nice.  I've been cleaning out files like crazy and tomorrow, we will work on the storage room.  The annual shred event will have tons of shred from the stuff in my office - been here almost nine years and am finally getting rid of stuff I've kept 'cuz I wasn't sure I'd need it - and now I know I don't.

I work Monday through Thursday this week and then (fingers crossed), I'm off until 7/27!  No plans other than piddling around the house - and one trip to Jackson, most likely.  Once that break is over, 'year-end madness' will officially ensue and it will be non-stop for the month of August.  And then same for September.  Cancun in October the dangling carrot that will hopefully make it all worth it. The grip to Prescott in September will also be fun - and B. is going to go with us!!  He will take a shuttle from Prescott to the airport and fly home from Phoenix the Sunday before the holiday - he's excited to see the Grand Canyon (as am I) and seemed happy to come with us -

Time to work on the oven some more and then J. will fix orange chicken for dinner.  OH - we tried a new (to me and J.) Mexican restaurant last night and it was FANTASTIC!  H. has been going there for years and raves about it - so we got take out and it was super great!  Can't wait to go again and it may be a weekly thing.

Girls Aren't the Only Ones

Who says the mom of boys can't enjoy a little mother-son pampering now and then?  H. and I ventured to the local nail salon - he got a mani/pedi and I got a mani.  On the way there, he tried to back out of the pedi saying 'I'm embarrassed 'cuz my toes are so bad' and I said 'that's exactly why you need a pedicure'.  He loved it!  But I'm sure he'll never admit it.

I said we could do that monthly and then said 'well, not if you're moving to Houston.  But you could get mani/pedis there, I'm sure'.  He said 'um, that won't be happening there'.  So I suggested adding 'no pedicures' to the Con list of his move to Houston.

I'm not above guilting him into staying.  I suggested he could be brave and bold and insist on getting pedicures to care for his feet if he moves - so we'll see.  It's personal hygiene and to heck with 'macho' attitudes.  He enjoyed it and he'd have nice looking nails if he did it regularly.

Why is it that nail salon staff think nothing of scolding their customers?  I finished my manicure and sat at the drying table while they finished H.'s pedicure.  Then he went over to the waiting area - and we waited.  And we waited.  I got up to pay (in advance of him being finished) so I could run my errand to the bank and then treating us to Starbucks and said 'he's waiting for a manicure'.  The lady who did his toes said 'why didn't you say that before' and I replied sweetly 'we did say it when we came in - twice'.  Grrr.

J. is visiting his brother in San Leandro today.  I'm not sure why he decided to go today - given he has five days at home alone but it was today he had to take off.  I feel distance creeping in to us and it's unsettling.  Not helped by dreaming that he and I were traveling together and he kept missing the bus, getting left behind - and then when he'd get caught up and rejoin, he'd kiss another lady!  Not me! The first time in the dream it happened, I was 'well, he was just happy to have found the group again' and felt it was sort of just an excited 'yay!' kind of kiss.  But the second time?  Not so sure.

Dreams....weird.

Changes Afoot?

I am on vacation for a few days....technically unpaid non-work days using up carryover days...but any day I'm not in the office is a vacation day to my psyche.  Not much planned and that's the way I want to keep it - though I do have a haircut this afternoon and then dinner with a friend on Thursday. Friday may be mani/pedi with H. (believe it or not - his toes need tending).  And then a lot of yard stuff, pool time.

Last Friday, I took the two odd hours of vacation time I need to use to be off early - and of course, that was the day the crew arrived to prune the trees.  While I guess the trees are 'pruned', they look no different on the outside - most of the trimming was done on the inside so when you look up, you see a much more open space still surrounded by the tree canopy.  The blue jay family vacated the premises during the process (of course!) and I feared they wouldn't return - but they did.  I put out shelled peanuts on the patio table and added a bird waterer to a nearby tree so they are hanging out.  I will put peanuts in various feeders, too, so they will have plenty.

I went to Jackson yesterday and for the second time in two months, the person sitting next to me at a machine that I was just thinking 'I should play it' won $16,354!!  She started the bonus round and I sort of held my breath but thought she would win the mini 'cuz she had two of every symbol and usually the final pic in that situation results in the mini or the minor (small wins)....but her final pick was the Grand!  She was so excited - very young.  There with her grandfather and so thrilled about winning.  (She whispered 'I've lost $700 tonight and I'm so relieved to have this win!).  As always, while I was 'dang it all to heck that it wasn't me', I was very happy for her.  Someday, it will be me. Just not last night.

I returned home very late (the event that got me up there went until 10PM and I played an hour after that on a very hot machine, praying it would hit the $3.6M jackpot - it didn't).  Slept in a bit this morning.  I arrived home with more than I went with so that was good.  Not hugely more but at least I didn't lose it all.  That's a 'win' in my opinion.

H. has decided he wants to move to Houston to live with his best friend and his family. His best friend  J. moved there a couple years ago and is now working as a fire fighter.  J.'s dad has invited H. to come - there is a bedroom in their home that is "H's room" and according to both the friend and the dad, there are plenty of jobs there.  H. has an oncology appointment next week so we will talk to his doctor about possibly doing a set of scans pre-move and then suggestions for how to go about finding an oncologist in Houston to work with for follow-up.  H. can stay on our insurance until he's 26 so there shouldn't be any issue.

It will feel 'sad' to see him go but I do think this would be a good move for him.  The friends he hangs out with here and folks that do things he doesn't want to do (smoking at the top of the list) and he's having a lot of issues finding work here.  You'd think with Amazon in our town, it would be easy but this 'new' way of hiring is so challenging - online applications - how do you get noticed as one of thousands of online applications?  He's ready for a fresh start - and honestly, I think J. and I are ready, too.  It's hard wrangling H. constantly and I know the best friend's dad will be on H.'s ass constantly - and that's probably a good thing.  Non-parental ass-whooping has way more effect than parental sameness.

H. was thinking he would sell his car but I think he could drive there.  He won't need to really take furniture, etc. - just clothes, laptop, electronics, etc. - and some of it could be UPS'd there, too.  Then J. could fly home.  I think he should keep his car 'cuz it's paid for - and we can arrange to transport it there on a truck if he's worried about driving it.  (It's not in bad shape so I'm not sure what his worries are but it's all manageable).

We saw a Groupon offer for a 16 day trip to Barcelona, Florence, Venice, Rome and Paris for a really great price - but I can't bring myself to do it.  I told J. 'I came home so incredibly exhausted and sick from our last trip - and that was one city'.  I don't have any recoup time on these jaunts - I arrive home, take one or two extra days off for jet-lag recovery and then BAM right back into my busiest work season...working seven days a week to get budget done.  I still feel so exhausted by our last trip that the thought of another one is just a huge 'ugh'.  Which led to conversations about J. maybe going places himself - and that would be fine, I think.  He wants to see places that I'd love to see - like India - but can't imagine doing.  (Then he found a guided trip with A/C coach to India and I can see myself doing that...so we'll see).

We've both got the travel bug but....

We are traveling to Phoenix over Labor Day weekend to visit my aunt.  She's a persuasive 90 years old and we will visit her at the cabin in Prescott.  We are looking forward to it but in hindsight, I should have looked at doing it the next weekend 'cuz I have a board meeting the Tuesday we fly home so that will be interesting.  Board prep done days earlier to be available to get there and then getting home in time to be at the meeting by 5PMish.  Should be do-able - but if I'd studied the calendar better, I would have chosen another weekend - it will be fine, though.  Glad we are making the trip 'cuz the holiday does provide an extra day!

Update complete, for now.  I will try to write more to be sure I keep y'all updated.  It's looking like we could be empty nesters again by the end of summer -

Mini Vacation

I returned from Jackson victorious.  Just not the way I'd hoped.

I had a nice three days.  Was telling Jim on Sunday that I thought I would come home Monday.  But Monday morning arrived and I just felt like staying.

I wish the story ended with 'and it's a good thing I did because I won a huge, life-changing jackpot' but that is not the ending.

Still, it was a nice few days stepping away from home and work.  And while I didn't win much of anything, at least Monday resulted in a day of staying pretty much even - enjoying little jackpot hits here and there and thus restoring my faith in.....well.....just the faith that everything works out the way it's supposed to.

Compared to so many others in the casino, I gamble for the fun of it.  Jackpots under life changing amounts are nice but not uber-exciting.  I don't scream like a crazy person when I win $50 (as one woman not far from me did). I don't hit the machine when I've lost.  I sat down at a machine last night and hit a bonus round first spin and the guy next to me had to grab the sides of the machine and take several deep breaths at my luck - compared to his, I guess.  I don't 'need' it - so I don't have to fret that much.

So as usual, more than anything, the time away reinforced just how incredibly blessed I already am. We already are.  Sure, I wish I had won hugely - don't we all wish that when we venture into a casino?  But truth is other than truly life changing amounts (the few and far progressives in the millions), winning or losing is no big deal.  Winning is a lot more fun than losing...but either way, it's all good.

There's one more players event on the 30th of June that I plan to go to - 'cuz entries into the drawings are based on your previous months play and I've played a lot this month.  After that, I will go back to normal - my 'extra' money will still go into Fun Money and once in awhile, I will venture to a casino. I also have a September jaunt to Prescott, AZ and will venture to a casino there with my sweet cousin and she and I are going to live it up on my accumulated fun money.

After that, fun money will accumulate and I think I'll start increasing donations to charities we favor. It will feel good to use 'extra' money for good.

Tomorrow is back to work.  Three days this week and two days next week.  I'm off W-F next week (Friday is the 4th holiday).  Then two weeks until I'm off for a full week.

I plan to wear jeans this week and work on cleaning out files and getting things staged for our annual shredding event.

I've been busy as a bee since I got home - played with Chloe until she collapsed on her side to catch her breath.  (Petco closed here in Tracy so we are sans groomer at the moment.  The groomer at Petco that always took care of Chloe lives right around the corner from us - but we waited too long and she's getting married and not available for a bit.  Poor Chloe needs a trim pretty badly 'cuz it's hot under all that fur).  I've been tidying up, taking out recycling (three times so far); ran a load of towels; took H. to get some lunch at McD (which he didn't eat much of.....he worries me).  Waiting for J. to return from his golf trip down near Fresno - he stopped at Gallo in Modesto to pick up tickets and we're going to see The Music Man this Sunday!!

That's all the news at the moment.  Quiet here at the homestead and looking forward to seeing my sweet hubby soon.  I've missed that man!

Greetings from Jackson

I'm drinking wine out of small plastic bottles and eating Hostess Powdered Sugar Donettes.  I feel like I'm 16.  The wine is not bad (Sutter Home White Zinfandel) and the donuts are delicious.

I procured supplies for my weekend away at Walmart yesterday and went when I was hungry.  Big mistake.  The donettes were an impulse purchase.  Yes, I regret it.  But they are delicious.  I am enjoying them.  We stopped shopping at WalMart pretty much - but I needed a variety of things including food, non-food and garden items - and going there saved a couple other stops on my list of places to go yesterday - so guess I will add it into the errand rotation once in a while.

There is a concert here tonight - Salt 'n Pepa - never heard of them - but there is quite a crowd here. The casino was mobbed so after losing more than I wanted to on my first day here, I headed back to the room.  Internet is spotty and a call to the front desk revealed 'there are a lot of people here and we thing that's causing issues'.  Hmmm.  It's up for now so will try to do a quick post before I lose it again.  Hopefully, the wine will kick in and I can try to get to sleep soon.

I look forward to this get away with great anticipation.  Yes, I miss 'my guys' - I really do.  But I relish the time alone and look forward to a couple days of 'just me' time.

Yesterday (before WalMart), I visited a podiatrist.  I've never sought out care for my feet - never had a single pedicure; avoid people touching my feet.  I stopped wearing open toed shoes in my teens and just never thought my feet should see the light of day.  I've spent years dealing with ingrown toenails on both big toes and the methods used to manage them over the years have left those nails less than attractive.  But that will all change - 'cuz on July 21st, I'm going to have an in office procedure that will remove the sides of both nails that grow in - and stop them from ever growing again.  With some healing and tending as they heal and regrow sans the constantly ingrown sides, they should look 'normal' after a few months.  Maybe six.

The podiatrist was amazingly nice - said this 'issue' is one that many people just like me have dealt with for years - and she knows that when it's done and they are growing more normally, I will be thrilled with not having my status defined by the state of my nails.  I can't wait!!  They will be sore for a few days but she said most folks wear shoes the first day - and I am coincidentally off the week of the procedure so it will be fine.  I can limp around the house in flip flops if I need to -

We've installed five gallon paint buckets in two of the three bathrooms to catch the water that runs while the hot water gets to the shower.  We've been using that water to keep the patio pots moist and also sometimes are able to work on some of the dryer parts of the lawn.  We're trying really hard to conserve.  J. did an experiment with the dishwasher and put in plates with dried on food - no pre-washing - and they came clean!  So we aren't pre-rinsing dishes quite as much.  I shut off the shower after I'm wet, soap up, then rinse off.  I wash my hands with a little water, turn water off, add soap, lather and then rinse.  It's sort of amazing the small changes we've made that we hope are helping - while simultaneously thinking 'these are things we should have been doing all along'.  Water is precious. Especially in California.

I want to profusely thank two dear friends who mentioned that they'd notice the lack of postings; that they still check (one every single day!!).  It's nice to feel connected to people I care about via these musings and I do miss these ladies so much!!  I have been remiss in posting mainly 'cuz of time but will try really hard to do better.  Even if I have to move my wake up time ahead another 1/2 hour or so.

J. said one day not too long ago 'what happened to the good old days when we'd just get out of bed, make coffee, shower and go to work'?  Facebook is my short answer.  Followed closely by "The Internet" and online banking.  There's just so much out there now to 'connect' to daily - and I sure can't do most of that at work.

The conference in Livermore was very good and I will try to post more on the topics that revealed themselves over the course of the two days.  We had a great time - most of the district admin team attended and it was a lot of fun 'bonding' time as well as very informative.

OK - time to think about going to bed.  I forgot to turn the AC on when I left the room around 5:45PM and it was really hot in here when I got back...but it's cooled off now and I feel sleepy.  Wine in teeny bottles does that.....

Still Here. Are You?

I've officially become a blogger who never posts.  Geez.  How did that happen?

It's OK 'cuz I'm pretty sure no one is reading.

Another month whizzed by.  Last night, the 2015-16 budget for our school district was officially approved and I can segue back into something that remotely resembles a life.  Budget is always the absolute hardest task I have on my plate of hard tasks and it is always a long, not-slow slide into frenetic last minute stuff that never ends.  Until it does.

Life observations:

Sometimes, I feel like I control my emotions so well, I simply have none.

And then B. comes home.  

And then B. leaves.

And both those events leave me pounded with emotion.  I drove him to the airport on Sunday and drove home with the hugest lump in my throat.  He heaved sighs all the way from home to the freeway until I finally asked 'you OK?' and he replied 'the goodbyes are never easy'.  And that's the truth.  They never are.

He will hopefully be home again in a couple months for his mandatory summer leave.  Fingers crossed.  Though he did gently venture out and say 'maybe I will take a little trip' - and I vividly recall my very first true adult vacation wherein I did not visit my mother - and how liberating that felt.  It's one of my strongest young adult memories and I know how amazing that 'break' is - so I hope he does that.  It's time.  He'll be 26 in January so it's logical that visiting the homestead is not the only option.

Other news:  we have a family of Blue Jays living in our tree.  The mama and her four (!) babies come down from the trees every day for a little bit and hop around.  They stick close together and it's so fun to watch them.

We are getting that same tree (and every other tree on our property) trimmed next week so I'm sure hoping it won't be an issue - just thinning out a bit.  Since they are old enough to come down and fly around, I think they will be fine.  I hope so.  I'd rather do it now when I know they can fly vs. waiting until there are nests with eggs again.

Today, I'm heading over the hill to Pleasanton/Livermore for a work related conference - and again tomorrow.  I sort of got strong armed into going and wish I hadn't agreed to go but I'm sure it will be interesting.

I'm off Friday through Tuesday and heading up to Jackson for a few nights - can't wait!  Yes, it's Father's Day Sunday but J. can do what he'd most like to do - watch golf all day.

I am having horrible cramps in my feet and this morning, I awoke at 4:30AM and hopped out of bed trying to get my right foot to stop cramping.  Finally just gave up the repeated in and out of bed and got up for the day.  Which I regret at the moment 'cuz it's approaching 6AM and I am so sleepy, I can barely keep my eyes open.

The commute over the hill will wake me up.