WanderingAmylessly 2.0

I'm ready to have my house back. We started our little home-improvement odyssey back in early October when we found out Lowe's was having a sale on Pergo. Even though Tim had never done any sort of floor installing, he emphatically insisted that he could do it and save us the $1,500it would cost us to have Larry, Curly, and Moe from Floors-R-Us put it in. Fast forward to now, and I must say I am incredibly impressed. My guy can, indeed, lay flooring. It looks gorgeous. Unfortunately, in the process, Henry and I caught the flu and Tim got a nasty head and chest ailment, sans fever. Then we discovered we had a leak around the chimney in the living room that ended up requiring a couple days work by several laborers who, in essence, rebuilt the covering around the chimney. Good news: no more mold and rotting boards. Bad news: major delays. One of the subfloor boards had to be cut out and replaced before the Pergo went down, and the sawdusty and smoky-from-a-hot-saw mess had us slee...

We bought H some Star Wars binoculars for his birthday. Last night, he went outside in the back yard and was out there for a long time. Tim stuck his head out to see what H was up to, and H had the binoculars focused on something and seemed very intent on what he was viewing. Although I wasn't there, Tim relayed the conversation to me: T: Hey buddy, whatcha doing? H: Using my binoculars. T: What are you looking at? H: I'm spying. T: Who are you spying on? H: The neighbors. T: Well that's rude. Why are you doing that? H: Central Command told me to. T: (Long Pause)So...what do you see? What are they doing?

I've been awful about blogging. Or not blogging. Whatever. I promise I'll be better soon. When I'm completely over my cough. When my house is back together after major renovations. When I get exercise back in my schedule. When I finish reading the latest Diana Gabaldon novel. Maybe when the holidays are over?? Seriously, give me another week to regroup. I'll be back with a vengeance. Until then, you need to find a hobby. You might want to try that anyway, if you're missing my rants and blabs that much. You could also pop over to my weight-loss blog for a scrumptious-yet-healthy fall crock-pot stew , courtesy Weight Watchers.

I kept hearing "Oh, what a shame, what a great guy" comments after police found former NFL quarterback Steve McNair shot dead in a downtown Nashville condo last summer. But the more I read about the guy, the more I think it's just another case of overpaid sports figure getting too big for his UnderArmour. Not that I think he deserved to be murdered. Just that I'm not all that surprised things went south, given the life he'd been leading. For example, I just read an article that pointed out McNair, a married father of four, had been dating his murderer, 20-year-old Sahel Kazemi. But wait, there's more. He had at least one other girlfriend, apparently. Leah Ignagni told police McNair had spent the night at her apartment two nights before he was murdered by his other girlfriend. Investigators learned from McNair's private security guard (who knew about the on-the-side chickybabes) that McNair was tired of Kazemi calling and bothering him when he was with his ...

We only THOUGHT Henry was better. Last night, no one got any sleep because H couldn't stop coughing. Miserable, it was. And this morning he woke up with a fever again. A trip to the doc assured us that he doesn't have pneumonia, just the godawful crud. Liquids, rest (with the help of Benadryl, the medical world's sedative of choice for children), ice cream (Henry's drug of choice -- Chocolate brownie chunk), and multiple episodes of Bindi the Jungle Girl. Tim still doesn't have symptoms. It will be a miracle if he gets out of this unscathed. Crossing fingers.

If what I have isn't the swine flu, I'd sure hate to experience the swine flu. Because whatever vile virus has attacked me has knocked me on my butt. From the way I'm aching, it knocked the rest of me around pretty soundly as well. According to the doc I saw yesterday, I do not have H1N1. They did the test. Have you had the test? It's not one you want to take. They jam a giant Q-tip up each nostril, straight into the sinus cavity, and leave it up there for 10 seconds. Which then caused me to sneeze several times all over the nurse. How hygienic is THAT? I also was treated like I had the Bubonic plague. They slapped a mask on me the second I walked through the door and ushered me straight into an exam room rather than having me linger in the waiting room with potential victims. I've been achy, had a temp of 102.6 at one point yesterday, runny nose, coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, itchy eyes...blahblahblah. This stuff always affects me differently than regula...

Please help our wonderful UI Children's Hospital in Iowa City get a spiffy game room for patients and visitors to enjoy. These kiddos endure much more than they should ever have to; they deserve some fun! Registering takes only a minute or so, and you can vote 10 times a day until the contest ends. The top three hospitals get the game room. Click here to go to the site. Currently, we're FOURTH! UGH!!!

About 60 million Americans experience mental health problems in any given year. One in 17 lives with the most serious conditions. Fewer than one-third get treatment. Observed each year during the first full week of October, Mental Illness Awareness Week serves as a time to raise public awareness of serious mental illnesses such as major depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, as well as post traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders. I'm celebrating by visiting my psychiatrist tomorrow and my therapist on Wednesday! How convenient is THAT?! Actually, I admit that this awareness week crept up on me. Funny how you forget you're crazy when you're feeling normal. I use the word "crazy" in a sort of self-deprecating fashion. I'll fully admit to the double standard...I'm allowed to use it, you're not. At any rate, my meds -- three of them at the moment -- are at therapeutic levels and I'm trying to cope with the stresses and stumbles...

I cannot believe the stealin' deals I got consignment shopping today. Henry has been hurting for clothes ever since the weather turned colder. All his pants had ripped knees or cut off his mid-section circulation. All his long-sleeved shirts showed his belly when he lifted his arms. So I hit the shops this afternoon. In a little over an hour, I managed to find an array of items labeled: Gap, Children's Place, Carter's, OshKosh, Ralph Lauren, Old Navy, and a few Von Maur brands. I managed to snatch up 5 pairs of jeans (with NO rips, incredibly), a couple pairs of khakis, 1 pair of cords, 5 shirts (rugbys, long sleeved-Ts, etc.), 3 sweaters, a soft and fuzzy pullover, and -- the major score for the day -- a Columbia winter coat. Grand total? $105. A. Maze. Ing.

(Those of you who frequent my weight loss blog, I apologize for the repeat.) I made this tonight. And it was terrific. The WW site called it "like a burrito in a bowl." The only problem came at the end of the meal when Tim was taking his last few bites. He bit down on what have been the only chunk of jalapeno in the salsa. And it must've been one doozy of a chunk. He claimed it was the hottest thing he'd ever eaten. Ever. Anyway, watch out for that. Otherwise, it pretty much rocked. Mexican-Style Brown Rice Casserole WW POINTS® Value: 6 Servings: 6 Preparation Time: 12 min Cooking Time: 30 min Level of Difficulty: Easy Ingredients 1 spray(s) cooking spray 4 cup(s) cooked brown rice 1 1/4 cup(s) salsa 1 tsp ground cumin 15 oz canned refried beans 10 oz frozen corn kernels, thawed 4 oz canned green chili peppers, mild, diced 1 Tbsp chili powder 10 oz chopped frozen spinach, or collard greens, thawed and set to drain in a strainer over a bowl 3/4 cup(s) low-fat shred...

In the course of my work the other day, I ran across a word that made me proud! I didn't really know what it was, what it represented, what it meant, but hey, it can't be anything but fabulous right? It has my NAME in it, after all. Amygdala. Got a nice ring to it, don't you think? A bit gutteral, with the 'g' plopped down there in the middle. Overall, quite intriguing. I had to know more. So I did a search. This almond-shaped group of nuclei, located within the temporal lobe of the brain of humans and other complex vertebrates, is crucial for our everyday functioning. Wow! I hit the jackpot with this! And then I found out exactly what this bit of brain matter does. It performs a "primary role in the processing and memory of" ...ironic drumroll inserted..."EMOTIONAL REACTIONS." Go figure, Miss Emotional Basketcase has an entire section of the brain named in her honor. (I won't even go far into what I found when I looked up another word featur...

At breakfast, Henry looks out the sliding glass door -- H: Mommy! We're getting attacked! Me: By what? H: By birds! Look! Me: Oh wow. That is a big flock of birds. H: No. It's a rogue squadron of birds.

I don't know why this bugs me so much, but it does. We found out today at work that we are adopting a "business casual" dress code and will only be allowed to wear jeans on Fridays (along with an appropriate, professional looking shirt). I swear, we must all look like a bunch of Neanderthals, the way the memo read. No flip flops. No floppy sandals (I'm guilty of that, but I'd like to point out that I pay a lot of money for them and they don't look bad, just noisy). I think that's my biggest beef. The "no, no, no, no" tone. As though the higher ups have been cutting us some slack but we're really pathetic and barely know how to tie our shoes and zip up our fly on our own. So they're going to step in and guide and direct our wardrobe choices. Maybe it'd be better if I worked at Target. At least there, you know...red shirt, khaki pants. There'd be no searching the closet for what to wear every day. There'd be no advance planning ...

"When your happy hour cocktail includes ibuprofen, you know you're getting old." "Real life doesn't have a process document. You just deal with it." "She used to give me a hard time until she realized I enjoy the fight. Now she leaves me alone." "Budgets. Errrrrrrrrgggghhh!" "Someone scheduled a meeting. And forgot to invite the meeting leader." "This skirt is from high school. It just keeps giving and giving! The waistline keeps giving and giving, too..." "The very last thing I'd ever think to do when I'm on vacation is check my work e-mail. What is WRONG with him?"

I just read a story that made me fuming mad. I've been angry about the disparity between physical and mental health insurance coverage before. But what I read made me hit the roof. A story online at ABCNews.com describes the struggles of 17-year-old Emily Gomez, who suffers from a severe eating disorder. At one point, her doctor said that her parents had to get her help or she'd die. So they got her treatment at a center that specializes in the disorder. Written in the fine print of their Blue Cross Blue Shield coverage, however, is a notice that the policy caps coverages for mental illnesses at $2,000. Because eating disorders are considered a mental illness, the insurance company refused to pay anymore than that. Even though the treatment cost the Gomez family more than $50,000. It cost me well over $5,000 to give birth. My company paid that, not many questions asked. But people who are dying, who contemplate suicide, who stop eating, who have serious need, aren't worth a...

See that beautiful array of purplish colors to your right? See 'em? Bee-yew-tee-full, eh? That's about the color of the pinky toe on my right foot. However, looking down at it at this moment (because I'm not wearing a shoe at work because I cannot fit a shoe onto said foot), I'm beginning to see the tell-tale greens and yellows seeping through. That's a good sign, isn't it? Still hurts like a bad word. A reeeealy bad one. Like one that could make my daddy the sailor blush. How'd I do this, you ask? How anyone breaks her pinky toe. I slammed my foot into something heavy and somewhat immovable at a high rate of speed. Actually, I don't remember the details. It happened when I was awakened in the middle of the night by a sick child (who later vomited and retched and expelled his guts out for hours...to get some idea of the urgency with which I propelled myself into the living room). I think it was some sort of toy/gadget/device the kid had failed to pick u...

Henry and I headed out to the apple orchard last Friday for some fruit picking. I didn't have high hopes. Last year when Tim took him in October, the trees had fallen victim to a fungus or some blight that left the apples small, speckled, and not at all appetizing to look at. However, this year the trees practically burst with color and sweet fruity goodness. So much so, we got carried away with the Honeycrisps and the Song of Septembers. $35 later, I'm thinking ... who the hell can eat $35 worth of apples?! I mean, there's only so much you can do. Especially when one person is sincerely trying to lose weight and yet has a passion for homemade apple pie and ice cream. We've given some away to friends. We've eaten our fair share right off the core. I did make a lovely little caramel apple tart, recipe courtesy Weight Watchers. But the proudest I've been in my effort to slice through the 101 ways to eat a piece of fruit happened tonight. I created a heart-healthy,...

I wondered why I spent the first half of the movie (500) Days of Summer humming the tune, "I Kissed a Girl." Then it hit me. Like a bucket of bricks. They're not the same person, but they could be! Zooey Deschanel, the actor (who is, I might add, also a singer, which totally confuses things), and Katy Perry, currently atop the pop music charts and the who-would-you-do lists of lesbians everywhere, look like twins. Honestly. Wide eyed stares, long lashes, bad bangs... And I'm not the only person who thinks so. Google "Katy Perry and Zooey Deschanel" and you'll get about 500 Posts of Something similar to what I'm writing here. It's a whole lot of whocares. But I couldn't let it slip by without at least a little, "How 'bout that, people?!"

Go. See. This. Movie. Seriously. It's amazing. Side-splittingly funny moments in IKEA and a group dance sequence set to a Hall and Oates classic. We couldn't ask for more! But more is given, including spot-on acting by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel (who is sincerely a dead ringer for Katy Perry, doncha think?...photos to follow) and an astounding sountrack. Watch the trailer. Listen to the music. Go see!!!

Anyone else have one sneaky-evil-devil of a time thinking up new computer passwords? It's bad enough that the IT folks at work insist we change up our passwords every month...which feels like we're changing every two weeks; just when my fingers have begun to automatically remember where to go each morning, I get the "your password will expire in 3 days, would you like to change it now?" prompt. And no, I would not like to. Ever. Neverever. ***raspberries*** Then there's the fact that I need a password for the computer itself, one for the network on which I store information, one for the timecard software site, one for benefits, one for the secure ftp site, one for professional development training, one for the department's online communications tool, one for my retirement account, one for the site where my junk mail goes to get it out of any situation where I might accidentally open it and unleash a corporate-wide plague on the system. They must each be differ...