Oops!!

So this morning I was making a shortcut for my iPhone "desktop" for my blackboard classes. Ivanka (the iPhone) shortens the name of everything you save and drops out the middle. I wish I were kidding but she renamed my blackboard classes to "black asses".

My phone is racist. And apparently likes booty.

Great.

Did anyone else see Dr. Oldendick interviewed on WIS tonight?

That name pretty much says it all.

Peace out.

This was so tacky, But I was laughing inside the whole time

We have been trying to correct a problem with our credit card number on one of our bills for the past 6 weeks. This was my fifth attempt and it just sort of made itself available when they sent an automatic call to me today.

After some time on hold, I got to speak to a salesperson and explained the entire scenario to her. It probably took me a full minute to explain. To which she replies, could you speak up, I really can't hear you.

Uh .... you couldn't hear my minute long explanation and you are just now mentioning that?

Yes.

(this was on my home phone that works extraordinarily well in sound quality)

So, I raised my voice. To a level that was just below screaming at the top of my lungs and proceeded to have the calmest, loudest conversation I've ever had for the next 10 minutes. And she still hasn't fixed our problem, but oh how I'm laughing inside.

We can't do anything normal

We really need to do laundry. I wasn't aware how bad the situation was until today, when Dr. J was asked to put on a pair of scrubs (leaving only his underoos) ...

and I was surprised to see that he had broken the cardinal rule of not actually wearing the silly flourescent yellow boxer briefs with the large mustached face on them that your mom gave you for Christmas.

Fun with Dr. J

This morning we were talking about how they are making a movie on the book, Where the Wild Things are and saying that Victoria should read it as her first English book. Then we can all see it when it comes out.

Dr. J says, "I love this wild things stuff".

So cute. but not as cute as this. She is just very upset right now that she can't sleep on my tummy.

Pin Cushion

I've added several new things to my routine in the last few weeks. I should be getting ready for school but for the most part - I'm way ahead of ya! In an effort to keep my world as low stress as possible I did Let's Dish at teh end of July and have those meals ready-to-go in my freezer since then (we are partaking in the first tonight ... salmon ... mmmmm), I got my room and courses ready for school early, and I've started acupunture (what's a few more needles at this point, right?).

Acupuncture is something I've been considering doing for years anyway because I have a chronic back pain that my very patient husband will try and massage out from time to time, but truly, it's pretty bad. People have recommended Eastern Medicine to me for years and I've gone from thinking I'd rather have 3 squares a day of tofu and berries to being so desperate that I'd stick myself with needles if it would stop hurting.

Then our fertility specialist recommends doing acupuncture throughout our treatment, partially to increase blood flow, but partially to just de-stress. So my acupunturist (I feel very elitist saying "my acupunturist" by the way) is also treating my back pain.

All. But. Gone.

The biggest stress in my life right now is that my acupunturist is always running 30 minutes to 1 hour behind schedule. But thanks to Ivanka the iPhone, I'm kicking some Oregon Trail Tail.

Allow me to pass on the raving reviews that acupuncture works!!!

Nonparenting a 17 year old

Dr. J's sis (Vito) is living with us until mid-January. Vito is coming from a different culture, can understand quite a lot of English but rarely attempts to speak it. She's been here about three weeks and I think she's averaging about 1 sentence every other day. And then we have Spanish Day every Saturday ... and then it's like living with a mute-turned-hummingbird-paced talking for 16 hours straight. I think she even gets up early.

At home, Vito has a very different culture, having someone to cook all your meals, do your laundry, and clean your home. I think she's been blown away by the nonstop amount of things to do at our house. If we aren't cooking, we are cleaning up, or the dishwasher needs to be emptied, or the trash should be taken out. You guys are Americans, you know what we do all day long.

So she's been helping and hasn't ever resisted when we've asked her to do things, which has been great. But she isn't always familiar with how. Things she's learned since she's been here:

- you can't stack bowls one on top of the other in the dishwasher
- there's a lever on the vacuum so that the upright handle reclines
- how to run a dishwasher, washing machine, dryer
- how to clean a toilet
- every one has to stop at stopsigns (this was scary and driving lessons warrant their own post)
- that she likes peanut butter. a lot.
- that she likes eggplant, tuna salad, fish, and blue cheese. all of which she said she didn't like
- and she's already found a love of Aeropostle

That about summarizes our first few weeks with our houseguest (minus the driving lesson days). I'm now in my weeks that I'm going out of my way to stay low stress ... so I may turn over all driving lessons to Dr. J for a while. :)