Not Nearly as Bad as it Looks

Two posts in as many days. You see, my mom went out of town today (the kids are joining her Sunday) so I feel bereft and edgy. Not really, but I also know that if I don't post when she is out of town she'll have my hide.

And I got another of those little burst blood vessels in my eye. Same eye (left), same quadrant of that eye (upper left corner). This is the third time in five months I've had one of these (called a subconjunctival hematoma) and although it's not really that serious (just looks hideous), I was advised to go in just to rule stuff out.

Good news! I am not in imminent danger of stroke. My blood pressure is fine, I'm not going blind, and I am not possessed by a creature known in human cultures as the devil (or an Ood), while on a planetoid orbiting a black... what? Quit looking at me like that.

It's just that because this has happened before, this particular little blood vessel is a tiny bit weak and more prone to blowing. Looks ugly, but no damage.

And of course I have a job interview next Wednesday (wish me luck!) so I look like I've been punched in the eye. Thus is life.

Jenn Becomes a Luddite

You may know that we here at Chez Gamers' Babes are fairly electron-savvy. We love our tech. We read and watch science-fiction, the Hubs is a science geek, we game, we have umpteen electronic gadgets, and we're fairly comfy with them. Comfy with the kids using them too; as long as Lizzy's not sticking things in electrical sockets we're good.

So I was a little shocked at myself in the aisle at Target today, when I heard these words come out of my mouth: "Aren't there any toys that don't require batteries anymore?" (and no, not those kinds of toys; stop that.)

All this while trying to find Viewmaster slide reels for Lizzy, who is going to Grandma's Condo with Abby and Grandma and some cousins early next week. But apparently Toys-R-Us has them so I'll get some tomorrow. Until then I shall grit my teeth and persevere.

Speaking of which, I can now bite! Permanent bridge and my teeth all like connect in the middle! I can chew! It's freaking amazing. They even look like real teeth, and I think they feel like real teeth; it's hard to tell because it's been almost a year since I had teeth there. Bizarre feeling. Now all we have left to put in is a partial "flexi-plast" bridge on the lower left, because there's a spot in the back that needs a tooth there and because it's in the back there's nothing to anchor a regular bridge too. So this thing is rather like the retainer one gets after braces have been removed, except with a tooth or two attached.

Then it'll just be regular cleanings and probably a night-guard. Won't that be cool?

Moms

Remember this post, those of you who read my Google Plus posts? Me complaining (I hope at least somewhat good-naturedly) that I can't even go to the bathroom alone without the kids knocking on the door.

Which I realize is a common complaint for parents.

But my mom forwarded said rantlet to her friends, and one of them sent me a card via my mom today.

It says (with the bits in parentheses being the ones she wrote in):

(You can always pretend) it's your birthday.
Go to the bathroom alone.
(Good luck! S)

My birthday is in September.

This kinda made my day.

Because moms just know.

The Plot Thickens

Yeah, so between shoveling out my apartment (we've decided not to move this year unless we find an excellent deal in the next two weeks and this place is Too Small for us and All Our Stuff. So Some Of Our Stuff is leaving.). Between that and Math of Doom, I'm not having the emotional energy to blog daily. So unless something momentous happens, I'll be blogging Sundays after my math is done for the week, UofP weeks being Monday through Sunday. I'll even put it on my List.

So... this week, let's see... 

Went to a job fair - tiny one - at the UofP Bellevue campus. Not many recruiters, but it's nice to have corroboration that I'm doing the resumes and networking right.

Went to see Spiderman with the spouse (it was Amazing! No, really it was. Managed a (light) Queens accent and everything. Peter Parker at his most adorkable.)

Got a sore ankle - feels like a light sprain - that I don't remember actually injuring. Always fun. Given that Lizzy treats me like a climbing tree, it's probably not surprising though.

Abby going to a series of sleepovers with friends and - being nine - never being satisfied with that and wanting more.

Oh! Had a Game Night with some of our best gaming friends. Our game nights have gone by the wayside, for several reasons, not the least of which was that all of the usual suspects are in school with different schedules, and that Lizzy becomes a whinybutt Klingon when she doesn't have kids her own age to play with. But this particular set of friends invited us over, and their oldest child is Lizzy's BFF, so circumstances were just about perfect. Any game night in which one laughs enough to require one's inhaler is a good game night.

Next Week

Next week I start math again.

Dammit.

And my house is a wreck, my rent is being jacked up when the lease expires in August, and when even the Hubs gets a cleaning bug, it's time to buckle down.

Because math makes me panic - the Hubs was very careful when he suggested that my block might be emotional rather than physiological, and it's both - because math makes me panic, I have decided I'm going to go back to scheduling out my days. Not just dentist on Thursday but dentist on Thursday at 10. Not just homework done by end of week but math homework from 9-11, vacuuming from 11-11:30, lunch from 11:30-12, cleaning kitchen from 12-12:30, and job hunting from 12:30-2.

Because if I don't, when there's something (like math) that ramps up my anxiety levels, the rest of the stuff won't get done. The need to make lists and the issues with higher-than-arithmetic math are part of the same physiological learning disability - a sequencing thing. Add the (yes, dear) emotional panic on top and nothing gets done. Plus I get bitchy.

Don't worry, there'll be plenty of time built in for other (fun) stuff, like after the dinner dishes are done there'll be nothing but the usual round of getting Lizzy to bed and spending an hour watching Doctor Who with Abby. And after Abby goes to bed my time is my own.

The Hubs'll have to pitch in with putting Lizzy to bed one night or two a week while I hit the University's scheduled math tutoring hours. Lizzy's extra job will be cleaning under the dining room table (and Leanna's when she's here; the two of them drop more food...). Abby's will be taking out the garbage and recycling.  They all put away their own folded laundry and tidy up their room already.

I need a new notebook.