Updates and Adjustments

     Lobster Day has come and gone. It was pretty traumatic for the lobsters and myself. Probably more so for the lobsters. I confessed doubt at my ability to kill my dinner to my friend Pam, whom we bought the lobsters from. She looked at me like I was crazy and told me I was not killing them, the method of cooking was killing them.
     I couldn't bring myself to throw them into the pot of boiling water. Partly because that would make me responsible for the death of the lobsters, but mostly because they are slimy creepy looking alien like things with lots of spider legs and long anteni and, just, no.
     After they were cheerfully chucked in by either Sue, Bearded Man or my brother, everyone would gather around the pot and watch. And the lobsters watched us right back, with dead accusing eyes. And it was horrible.
     After several people had to go through the grossness of cleaning the innards off their meat, they couldn't eat them. So, the guys at our shindig ended up with lots of lobster. I had exactly two bites, handed mine to Bearded Man, and poured myself a bracing Captain Morgan.
     My friend Sue has decided we should do a suckling pig next year. I don't know if I can deal with cooking another animal that is looking at me.

     Update on the house paint situation: It is still not in. We ordered it over a month ago at the Home Depot. They forgot to order it until the date it was supposed to be delivered when they received a call inquiring if it was in yet. Then the Behr company forgot to send it. Then the Behr company sent it on another truck, but, whomever took it off the truck put it someplace special and promptly forgot where. We are hoping it will be in tomorrow. It has given me an entire month to come to terms with the color we chose for better or for worse. We have several different sample colors painted on the side of the house. The last opinion we received was from a neighbor who said, "You know, I kind of like THAT one better...." as she pointed to a different color. Too late. After all the Home Depot drama, I am sure they will throw the paint at us if we change our minds at this point.

     Update on my daughter's bedroom cleaning situation: It is still not cleaned. Mostly because, the weekend they were supposed to start cleaning their bedroom, was also the weekend that all the VA telehealth nurses that are directed from the Buffalo VA were invited to our boss' cottage in the Finger Lakes. This was an all day affair, and, the kids essentially jumped out of my vehicle, ran past the boss and his wife, and jumped into the lake, where they proceeded to spend the entire day. No matter how much sunblock I coated them with, the girls in particular were completely roasted. Being unable to move for the next several days gave them a free pass to get out of cleaning.
     As we gathered kids and accessories to leave my boss' cottage that evening, George informed his sweetheart of a wife that "Next time, I  will help you do the cooking. We will make chicken nuggets and tacos. For dessert, you will have to buy a foot (shaped) pan. I saw a recipe on You Tube that shows you how to make foot candy."

     Speaking of George, he somehow learned recently that the middle finger is not a good one to wave around. I discovered that he had discovered this last Sunday in church. He had a very loud very long conversation with it  held up, making absolutely sure that this was not okay. My head was completely pounding by the time we left church Sunday.
     After which, I dropped mostly everyone off at home and took Lexi and Joe shopping for clothes. It took approximately 12 minutes to select everything Joe needed. Pants, shirts, shorts, socks, jammies. Done.
     According to my Fitbit I walked 2 miles at Walmart, in 2  hours, as we tried to outfit Lexi. Not only is it hard to outfit a girl in this day and age of completely inappropriate clothing, but, Lexi is between so many sizes, so everything had to be tried on first, too.
     It was exhausting. At the checkout, as I tried not to whimper at the total, I excitedly realized that I was just about done with school clothes shopping! Just a few odds and ends, but, for once I was ahead of the game! How great was that?? Then, I came home, collapsed into my recliner, and saw that the Hallmark Channel was playing Christmas movies all day. The whole "Ahead of the game " feeling was nice for the 2  hours it lasted, anyway.

     My Fitbit. It is my new favorite thing ever. And, if I was slightly more neurotic, it would also be the creepiest thing ever.
     I saw several of my coworkers from the Buffalo VA had gotten Fitbits, and the occasional Facebook post regarding them. After some research (meaning, I Googled them during a lunch break) I decided that a Fitbit would be a perfect addition to my whole "Move" craze that I have been on for the last 2 months. And, by chance, I found one at the store inside the Buffalo VA when I was up there getting supplies last week.
     I took it off before bed one night, and, happened to look at the little screen just as it flashed "HUG ME MORIAH". every once in awhile, I will catch  "MISS YOU MORIAH" "I AM READY MORIAH" SCORE MORIAH" It kinda gives me the creeps sometimes. If I think too hard about it, I would be a little nervous that it syncs to my phone and my computer and can monitor my sleep if I wore it to bed. So I don't because, boundaries. It's a little TOO friendly I think.
     Otherwise, it's this amazing little thing that you clip to wherever, and it tracks steps, calories burned, calories eaten etc etc. And, if you're into the creepy factor, your sleep, too. So far, I love it, and challenging myself to beat yesterday's self is kinda fun.
 
     My Move craze is headed toward the end of it's second month. Every morning, Turbo and I go meet my friend Sue, and we walk all over town. It began as a nice little stroll, but we added some decent sized hills to it, to make sure it was worth our getting out of bed in the morning. Mostly, we cannot breathe by the top of the last hill.
     I also have (FINALLY!!!) Begun Zumba! I went to my first official class this past Saturday, after seeing myself on a video my brother took of me trying to eat my poor lobster. Anyhow, being the day after a holiday, the only people to show up were myself and another newbie. I was completely drenched by the end, and all proud of my awesome workout. Till the instructor told us that she had gone easy on us because it was our first official Zumba workout.


      There have been a lot of changes around the household lately. Next week, Bearded Man will be starting a new job. During the day. This will be an adjustment for sure! He has worked second shift since before Kaila was born! My first thought was "OMG! What will we do with Turbo?? My baby is not spending the day in his crate! He cannot have run of the house - he will destroy it. I cannot leave him out all day." Somehow I have become extremely attached to this dog who drags me out of bed every morning for his walk, and who is usually by my side at home, and who greets me almost more enthusiastically than the kids do. If I could take him to work with me, it would be perfect. So, I need to figure out what to do with this creature once the kids go back to school in the fall.
     With the new work schedule, Bearded Man and I need to have a serious discussion regarding ownership of my recliner. Which has become his favorite spot at night. While he watches loud gory man stuff on TV. Evenings after the kids go to bed used to be quiet, no TV, ME in my recliner, and a good book. I am not even kidding when I say I detest the TV. And man stuff on it.

     My Father's health has declined considerably. He's been in and out of the hospital a lot, and the overall outlook isn't wonderful at this time. My Dad has beaten some rough odds before with his health, but, the medical professional in me is not seeing good things when I hear the reports. Hopefully he will be okay for a long time still.
 
     Anyway, hopefully the house will be painted soon, and I won't accidentally use the TV for target practice, and Bearded Man decides to adopt the couch for a favorite spot, and the Fitbit isn't nearly as creepy as I think it is, because I really like it, and I can continue all this exercise, and we don't get asked to leave George home from church, and we all adjust to all the changes at home.