I am livid.
LIV-ID.
Okay, so here's the deal. Long time readers will know that I started out on Blogger, transferred to Wordpress after the first year, then recently made the switch back to Blogger for sheer simplicity of blog management. I'm now about to enter into the third year of Lizzie's Home.
When I was shopping around for a webhost for my dot com last year, I didn't have a lot of money to spend. In fact, it was an uphill battle getting Talented Hubby to allow me to spend any money on something that I had been doing quite well for free on Blogger. I eventually convinced him about the merits of the change to Wordpress and he then relented. Or I wore him down with my whining. Either way!
I chose a company I heard mentioned on a (then) big name blogger's website. As in, "go here, I personally recommend these companies." I was debating mentioning the name of this organization but after a day to stew about the situation I have come to the point where I honestly don't care anymore - the company is Very Commerce. Don't bother searching for a website. You'll understand why in a minute.
The plan was only $4 US per month prepaid (at $48) for a year. Thinking this was quite reasonable, I paid and had no problems at all for the entire year. In fact, I did not need to contact the company again after those initial couple of weeks of set-up, me being the green newbie and all.
In December, I was contacted by both Very Commerce and GoDaddy about the upcoming hosting and domain name expirations. I was also sent repeat reminder emails for the next two months, more so from GoDaddy for the domain registration but there were two or three from Very Comerce regarding the hosting as well. I knew I had until the end of February to make a final decision so I flagged these emails and pretty much ignored them while I considered my options.
Obviously I decided to switch back to Blogger and have been slowly manually uploading my posts back here for the last couple of months. I knew I was getting close to the wire with several months' worth still left to bring over so I logged on to lizzieshome.com yesterday, or tried to, to do a bit of a catch up session.
Hmmm, that's strange, I thought. Why can't I log into the dot com? Why am I being redirected to a Google results page for "lizzies home" instead? Must be my computer - it has been a bit temperamental of late. I'll check back later.
Later...
Still not working? Well this is odd. I wonder if Sarah is online?
I then log on to Messenger to find that yes, Sarah is online and willing to try to log on to lizzieshome.com from her end. She can't get in either.
Oh dear. I wonder if they've cut my hosting plan off two days early? Or maybe I got my dates wrong and everything expires on the twenty-sixth, not the twenty-eighth? Checking my email history I find that no, neither expires until the 28th so I should be good to go.
I am, by this stage, starting to hyperventilate.
I quickly typed up an email to Very Commerce querying the situation. I mean, if they're having major technical issues then that's at least something I can't control so I can relax a little while they fix it. To check that I had their current email address, I tried logging on to verycommerce.com, their main site. Nothing. No, not nothing. I was getting the same Google results page as when I tried logging in to my own site, except this time, obviously, the listed results were for "very commerce" instead.
Then I notice the first entry in the list of results Google threw up. It's for Very Commerce. Their main site. The same one I just typed into the address bar. The very same one that redirected me to the results page instead:
Attention: January 21, 2009. Very Commerce is going out of business. ... If you have questions regarding this matter send them to verycommerce@...
Ruh-row.
Nooooooo. NO NO NO NO NO!
I am not concerned with money, because I haven't lost any. I paid upfront last March for a year's worth of blog hosting on their economy plan, and I got that. Losing money is not the issue here.
What I'm extremely upset about is the fact that I (and I imagine, all their other customers) were given NO warning of the impending business closure. No grace period. Nothing. If I'd known Very Commerce was going belly-up I would have gone crackerjack on moving those old blog posts over. Did whatever I could so I didn't lose any content.
I did receive an email in January asking if I was intending to renew for 2009. It was a stock-standard mass mailout and it mentioned NOTHING about an imminent closure. I am checking the dates for that email (I can't access it right now with my computer issues, but soon) but there might be a chance it was sent AFTER the date mentioned above, January 21. If that is the case, then they were still soliciting business while going under. Not cool.
What happened to the customers who, unlike me, did pre-pay for another year recently before finding out Very Commerce was no longer operational? Do they get their money back?
I sent my email to Very Commerce yesterday, right before midday. I asked for a swift response because irrespective of the current hoopla I do still get (rightly) cut off from my blog on the 28th. At 8:57am precisely, according to Very Commerce. I'm thinking with the time difference between the US and here I might have until late evening on (my) 28th. To be safe, I'm giving myself until just lunchtime.
Or, in other words, approximately TWENTY-FOUR to THIRTY-SIX HOURS to rectify the problem.
As it stands now, lizzieshome.com is off the radar - prematurely and forcibly, I should point out. The hosting company going out of business meant (I guess) the servers running the show aren't supporting the site. I suspect they were hosting their OWN site on their own servers so the fact I can't get into their site either is a bit of a red flag. I cannot access any of my old content. Nearly 100 posts have gone KAPOOF! There were still SEVEN full months of posts to transfer - and as I said before, had I known the disaster that was about to occur, there's no way I would have been resting on my laurels with the transferring.
This is Not. My. Fault.
As far as Very Commerce is concerned, I could have changed my mind about re-hosting in 2009 at the 11th hour. If my measly $48 per year (which, by the way, was more like $60 AUD at the time) was considered chicken feed and therefore I was a disposable customer, then they need to consider that for all they knew, I was about to pay for their most premium hosting package. I might have been about to pay them a boatload of money. They didn't know! Haven't they ever seen Pretty Woman (and specifically this part)? And yes, I just referenced an 18 year old movie. Roll with it!
Contractually, they still owe me two days of blog hosting and clearly, I'm FIRED UP.
Why is there not protection in place for customers in situations like this? Why wasn't a warning email sent out? Gosh, even 24 hours notice would have been better than nothing. Why, if they knew on January 21 that they were going out of business, was I not immediately contacted, along with all their other customers, warning us that we needed to move our content ASAP? I haven't checked lizzieshome.com daily for a while but I sure as heck have been there within the last two weeks and I had no problem getting in until yesterday.
What if my old site was a BUSINESS? What if my source of income had suddenly been removed with no warning or chance to switch webhosts, or to let my customers know before it impacted on my business? What kind of money might I have lost had I been relying on Very Commerce then?
What might have happened had I been waiting until the very last moment to switch back to Blogger and hadn't even informed my readers I was moving yet? They'd be cut off and my blog would have disappeared entirely! Bloggers don't recover from that! As it is, my move back to Blogger has seriously impacted my subscriber numbers and page hits.
At this stage, I've had no contact with Very Commerce - and yes, I do EXPECT an email within 24 hours given the serious time implications of this. 24 hours is just about up now. As of this moment, I am still a paying customer.
The whole situation is completely, utterly ludicrous and I just want to scream. Like, really, REALLY loudly. I can't understand how I can go from absolutely no complaints about their service (I never even had a downtime all year long) to wanting to bang my head against a wall until my ears bleed, I just can't.
If this serves as ANY warning at all to you, please let it be that you never, ever go with a smaller webhost. Stick with the hosting packages offered with GoDaddy or other seriously-large companies - ones that are less likely to go out of business. I was too eager to save a few bucks (there's not really that much difference between GoDaddy and Very Commerce) and though I have not had cause to complain about their service until now, at the very last moment, the dog's breakfast they've made out of things now all but negates that entire year of calm.
It also makes me wonder what their response time would be had I been a Moosh In Indy, Scribbit or Pensieve. I've never wanted to be a big name blogger and kick some hosting butt more than I do right now!
I need chocolate.
WHERE'S THE DARN CHOCOLATE!!!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Oh My Goodness! Tomorrow Is The Twenty-Fourth!
Auuugh.
Four days left to transfer old blog posts.
I really hope I didn't get my dates wrong!
Four days left to transfer old blog posts.
I really hope I didn't get my dates wrong!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Why Normally Non Fizzy Drinking People Should Not Buy Pepsi On Sale
Auuugh. A couple of weeks ago I sent Talented Hubby out to the supermarket to get something dull and boring, like perhaps milk or bread or potatoes. He probably came home with those things (and twelve other items no doubt) but he also came home with an on-sale carton of Pepsi.
The Pepsi? 'Tis evil in a can.
If we don't have 'the fizz' in the house, I don't tend to crave it. We are not totally angelic in this area and might pick up a 1 litre bottle of Coke every couple of weeks (which is promptly dealt with and forgotten in the space of 24 hours) but except for a few rare occasions in all our years of marriage (eight years tomorrow!), we are not really people who are One With The Multi-Pack.
It turns out that having Pepsi (an inferior brand, in my humble opinion, but that's what you get when you marry a frugal man and Coke isn't on sale) on tap is not such a smart idea. For starters, knowing its there sets the tastebuds a-salivating. Then I can't think of anything else that could possibly ever quench my thirst and so I crack open a can. The first mouthful tastes wonderful. Then it's gross. But I drink it anyway. Because we bought it on sale and darn it, I'm in frugal mode this week so wasting it would be a crime.
The result of such a spike in caffeine consumption (I don't drink coffee and have dropped my tea drinking right back over these warmer months) has been dramatic. I'm Flubber-izing off the walls for about half an hour then I'm blech. And meh. And auugh. All in together. Until the headache hits.
I know. I'm a slow learner.
In other news this week, Jay (I have come to the conclusion that 'Master J' is too tedious to type and just 'J' doesn't fit in alongside 'Boof' and 'Moo' very aesthetically - hence J will now be creatively known as 'Jay'. I know. I'm all about the fan-cee) has been given a new responsibility. Since he wakes up at the butt-crack of dawn every single day of the year, including school holidays, he is now responsible for letting the dog out.
Problems which immediately sprung to mind when hatching this plan (hereafter known as Operation Mama-Needs-More-Than-Two-Hours-Sleep) included, but were not limited to, the following:
Jay is not known for this direction-understanding qualities.
Jay gets distracted easily in the mornings, especially when confronted with 'the pants-wearing sponge man'.
Charlie is spending his nights barricaded into the laundry room, creatively holed up using the toy box lid across the doorway. Jay would need to slide this out of the way.
Jay would then need to walk immediately to the back door, ensuring Charlie follows him because the dog has a wake-to-wee bladder capacity of approximately seventeen seconds.
If Jay forgets to take the dog outside, and just lets him out into the (mercifully tiled) family room, wee-city.
Once the dog is outside and has done his business, Jay needs to remember to leave the screen door slightly open so Charlie can get back in again.
If Daddy leaves for work during this time, Jay needs to be responsible for keeping the dog inside while Dad backs out and rolls the garage door down again, then open the screen door again (he forgot yesterday - I woke up to Moo in my face crying because her bum was wet. When I asked her what happened, she said Charlie had whizzed on the floor and she'd slipped and sat in it. A second child had also stepped in it. Instead of calling out to Mum from where they were, they walked through the house - 'nuff said).
Did I mention Jay is autistic?
Actually, he's doing an okay job, considering. I still have to leave him a note on the kitchen table reminding him of each step of the process (what cements in a regular kid's brain, takes that extra bit longer with Jay) but apart from yesterday's mix up, so far, so good. It gives me 30-60 mins extra sleep each morning - sorely needed because, um, this caffeine? IT IS KEEPING ME AWAKE AT NIGHT.
Ooooh, but a side effect of all this night-time energy has finally culminated in a project I've been wanting to tackle for, I don't know, FOREVER, and I'm especially tickled pink because this version has actually worked where the others have failed dismally. I won't keep you in suspense for very much longer, but I do still need to take a few photos and write up the jumbled Pepsi-fueled bullet points in my brain into a cohesive post.
Oops, nearly late for the school run!
The Pepsi? 'Tis evil in a can.
If we don't have 'the fizz' in the house, I don't tend to crave it. We are not totally angelic in this area and might pick up a 1 litre bottle of Coke every couple of weeks (which is promptly dealt with and forgotten in the space of 24 hours) but except for a few rare occasions in all our years of marriage (eight years tomorrow!), we are not really people who are One With The Multi-Pack.
It turns out that having Pepsi (an inferior brand, in my humble opinion, but that's what you get when you marry a frugal man and Coke isn't on sale) on tap is not such a smart idea. For starters, knowing its there sets the tastebuds a-salivating. Then I can't think of anything else that could possibly ever quench my thirst and so I crack open a can. The first mouthful tastes wonderful. Then it's gross. But I drink it anyway. Because we bought it on sale and darn it, I'm in frugal mode this week so wasting it would be a crime.
The result of such a spike in caffeine consumption (I don't drink coffee and have dropped my tea drinking right back over these warmer months) has been dramatic. I'm Flubber-izing off the walls for about half an hour then I'm blech. And meh. And auugh. All in together. Until the headache hits.
I know. I'm a slow learner.
In other news this week, Jay (I have come to the conclusion that 'Master J' is too tedious to type and just 'J' doesn't fit in alongside 'Boof' and 'Moo' very aesthetically - hence J will now be creatively known as 'Jay'. I know. I'm all about the fan-cee) has been given a new responsibility. Since he wakes up at the butt-crack of dawn every single day of the year, including school holidays, he is now responsible for letting the dog out.
Problems which immediately sprung to mind when hatching this plan (hereafter known as Operation Mama-Needs-More-Than-Two-Hours-Sleep) included, but were not limited to, the following:
Jay is not known for this direction-understanding qualities.
Jay gets distracted easily in the mornings, especially when confronted with 'the pants-wearing sponge man'.
Charlie is spending his nights barricaded into the laundry room, creatively holed up using the toy box lid across the doorway. Jay would need to slide this out of the way.
Jay would then need to walk immediately to the back door, ensuring Charlie follows him because the dog has a wake-to-wee bladder capacity of approximately seventeen seconds.
If Jay forgets to take the dog outside, and just lets him out into the (mercifully tiled) family room, wee-city.
Once the dog is outside and has done his business, Jay needs to remember to leave the screen door slightly open so Charlie can get back in again.
If Daddy leaves for work during this time, Jay needs to be responsible for keeping the dog inside while Dad backs out and rolls the garage door down again, then open the screen door again (he forgot yesterday - I woke up to Moo in my face crying because her bum was wet. When I asked her what happened, she said Charlie had whizzed on the floor and she'd slipped and sat in it. A second child had also stepped in it. Instead of calling out to Mum from where they were, they walked through the house - 'nuff said).
Did I mention Jay is autistic?
Actually, he's doing an okay job, considering. I still have to leave him a note on the kitchen table reminding him of each step of the process (what cements in a regular kid's brain, takes that extra bit longer with Jay) but apart from yesterday's mix up, so far, so good. It gives me 30-60 mins extra sleep each morning - sorely needed because, um, this caffeine? IT IS KEEPING ME AWAKE AT NIGHT.
Ooooh, but a side effect of all this night-time energy has finally culminated in a project I've been wanting to tackle for, I don't know, FOREVER, and I'm especially tickled pink because this version has actually worked where the others have failed dismally. I won't keep you in suspense for very much longer, but I do still need to take a few photos and write up the jumbled Pepsi-fueled bullet points in my brain into a cohesive post.
Oops, nearly late for the school run!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Things That Scare, Bother and Annoy Me
In the true spirit of bloggy disclosure - and also because I've been a slacker this week and ignored my blog totally - here is a by-no-means-exhaustive list of the things that I find disturbing (the level of disturbance varies greatly, as does whether I consider these things to be fears or annoyances, LOL, so make your own call):
- Tiny snakes (I can see the big ones in time)
- The garage door hitting me in the head when I'm lifting it (the door opener isn't working, so its the modern-day equivalent to 'opening the farm gate' for us at the moment)
- White-knuckling it through air turbulence. I can count the number of plane trips I've done on one hand (and that includes the return journeys - I am so, so sheltered) but darn it, I've seen my fair share of Plane Crash Investigation episodes.
- Children (like, 5 year olds) drinking Coke (possible exception at McDonald's, but only because I can't be sure their cups don't actually contain water or juice).
- My 10 and 8 year old niece and nephew on Facebook. Yeah.
- Yo Gabba Gabba, Teletubbies, In The Night Garden, and Boobah. When did children's television get stupid? Even Sesame Street always made you use your brain!
- Catching the 'school bus' (the public transport system here usually designates one run each weekday afternoon - around 3:30 or so - as a 'school run'. Here in the city there aren't so many school-specific buses so students catch the regular public transport en masse). Had to do this yesterday and I have never been on a bus with brattier teens in my life - and the students were from a Catholic private school to boot.
- People who continue to drive and use a hand-held mobile phone at the same time, despite it being illegal. I count at least five people doing this every time I leave the house.
- The fact that my old blog hosting plan runs out on February 28 and I still have seven months of posts to transfer back here.
- People daring to have babies I can't cuddle! I mean really. How selfish! (this little pink bundle was the recipient of these!)
- Dogs who chew (I'm looking at YOU Charlie...grrr)
- Not being able to go 'op-shopping' (thrifting) at the moment.
- Children's 'walking harnesses'. Just a personal thing.
- Mobile phones for five year olds. You're not allowed to have them in class at our (primary) school, so you leave them at the front office and pick them up at the end of the day. What's the point? If Mum's late picking you up, what's wrong with going to the office and having the ladies there call home? Are you ever that far away from your kids that they need a phone before they can read? (Exceptions, obviously, are older primary kids, say 11 or 12 years old, who regularly walk home by themselves. There are hardly any phone boxes around anymore so calling home is difficult).
- Man-eating chimps.
- This. For SO MANY REASONS, least of all the fact that her parents regularly allowed boys to sleep over, and she's already had six different partners and a kid with dubious paternity by the age of 15. Where were her parents!!! (and yes, I'm aware there's a whole side issue regarding the parents and what they wanted to get out of the situation - comments on that link not censored or kind, be warned).
- This entire debacle. No further comment.
And finally, and perhaps most importantly:
- McD's forgetting my barbecue sauce!
I have an exciting post in the works for you for sometime next week - something really useful and practical. Stay tuned...
Monday, February 16, 2009
Health, Whole Foods and Peeing Dogs
I love that feeling you get on the flip side of being sick. You know the one - your brain has stopped exploding, you can breathe without falling into a crumpled mess, and extra fluid (usually in the form of phlegm, but clearly not restricted to that, auugh) stops leaking from various orifices.
The world stops spinning and you actually begin to feel somewhat normal for a change.
I'm always shocked when I get sick, because it doesn't happen all that often. I'm usually the one wiping feverish brows or cleaning up vomit spills, not the one laid up on the couch watching bad, bad daytime television and wishing I was dead. Honestly, does anyone actually watch Dr Phil anymore? (Shudder).
So life is normalising, and for that I am overjoyed. But my energy level is DEAD IN THE WATER. I mean seriously, undeniably, dead. It-hurts-to-hang-out-the-laundry kind of exhausted. I was kind of expecting that, to a degree. After all, it's not all that often one gets pneumonia - and the doctor did warn me I would not be my usual peppy self for several weeks. But this puts a serious spanner in the household routines.
I pretty much avoided housework completely for two weeks. Which should tell you something about the state of things at the moment. And then we got a dog. Who poops and widdles and requires a garden trowel-toting yard patrol about twice a day (and I've never been more grateful for a small yard since the day we moved in). But my point is, dogs, especially new puppies, are a lot of work. The bulk of which has fallen on my shoulders. And between Charlie-dog and just maintaining the 'household equilibrium' so to speak, I'm beat. I keep looking around the house, wishing I had the muscle tone to lift the broom and get at those cobwebs in the corner of the family room (yeah, I've got cobwebs, don't judge me). And then I sigh and lay back down on the couch where I promptly fall asleep until Charlie licks my hand to tell me to get his dinner. Thankfully he is the only one of the mammals in this house who does that, otherwise I'd be getting some strange looks from the other mums in the shopping centre food court, that's for sure.
And does anyone else do this? I keep getting wild thoughts floating through my head, leading me 'down the rabbit hole'. I read a post (well okay, many over the last year or two) referencing the book Nourishing Traditions, so I went looking for it at my local library. Hoo-eee, that book is popular. I had to get on a queue and only just picked it up this week after booking my place before Christmas. I'm also restricted to a 2-week loan, since there are ten other people on the list after me. Okay, so this little 'rabbit trail' actually originated well before I got sick, but after I picked the book a few days ago I got it in my head to begin researching the NT method of eating.
First thing that sprung to mind? Like within the first chapter? Not for us. If my very conservatively-eating husband so much as let a sip of Kombucha or Kefir pass his lips I would pass out. However there are many principles that did make sense (the kidney and liver-eating parts? Not so much) so off I went, researching a more general 'whole foods' diet and what that would encompass. Apparently I am meant to be grinding my own wheat (which I'd actually love to try), baking bread (which I don't do), drinking only whole milk (that part's easy - it's the 'raw, unpasteurized, non-homogenized' part that freaks me out, not to mention not having even a hint of a source for this), eating only butter (I checked the supermarket today - short of making my own, there's not even a butter that hasn't had something added to it), eating organic fruit and vegetables (sigh...I know its better for you, but it would double our produce budget in an instant) and chowing down on grass-fed-only beef and free-range organic eggs.
How do people manage all that when they don't have ready-access to farmers' markets, a Whole Foods store (apparently this is something I also need access to - pity there aren't any down here) or know someone who raises cattle on grass? And for that matter, Australia's in a drought! My lawn is yellow - where is all the grass these cows are meant to be eating!
Okay, I'm making light of the situation, and there are many points that truly are valid, such as the notion that foods that are as close to their natural state as possible would be the healthiest choice. But the practicalities of implementing all of that is phenomenal. I live in a suburban area, with access to two supermarkets within walking distance (I don't drive - ten points to Lizzie from a global warming standpoint, LOL) and a third a short bus ride away. I can get regular ol' beef, the grain-feed type and the supermarket does a good free-range egg, but organic vegetables are extremely expensive and we don't live close enough to a market to make a trip worthwhile. About the best I can hope for is a monthly (or so) trip to a stand-alone fruit and veg store with better prices than the supermarket. And I'm usually crazy-ecstatic about saving those few bucks. And don't even get me started on whole wheat berries - I'd have to mail order them. I can just see the look on Talented Hubby's face - who would promptly march down to the supermarket and buy me perfectly acceptable regular flour just to save everyone the hassle (and expense!)
How does one change their mindset from 'good generally healthy foods (not organic) at cheap to moderate prices' to 'this is going to cost me an absolute BOMB but I can tick the eco-friendly box now'?
Charlie needs to pee. More on this subject later...(isn't that just the most awesome subject-ender ever? LOL)
The world stops spinning and you actually begin to feel somewhat normal for a change.
I'm always shocked when I get sick, because it doesn't happen all that often. I'm usually the one wiping feverish brows or cleaning up vomit spills, not the one laid up on the couch watching bad, bad daytime television and wishing I was dead. Honestly, does anyone actually watch Dr Phil anymore? (Shudder).
So life is normalising, and for that I am overjoyed. But my energy level is DEAD IN THE WATER. I mean seriously, undeniably, dead. It-hurts-to-hang-out-the-laundry kind of exhausted. I was kind of expecting that, to a degree. After all, it's not all that often one gets pneumonia - and the doctor did warn me I would not be my usual peppy self for several weeks. But this puts a serious spanner in the household routines.
I pretty much avoided housework completely for two weeks. Which should tell you something about the state of things at the moment. And then we got a dog. Who poops and widdles and requires a garden trowel-toting yard patrol about twice a day (and I've never been more grateful for a small yard since the day we moved in). But my point is, dogs, especially new puppies, are a lot of work. The bulk of which has fallen on my shoulders. And between Charlie-dog and just maintaining the 'household equilibrium' so to speak, I'm beat. I keep looking around the house, wishing I had the muscle tone to lift the broom and get at those cobwebs in the corner of the family room (yeah, I've got cobwebs, don't judge me). And then I sigh and lay back down on the couch where I promptly fall asleep until Charlie licks my hand to tell me to get his dinner. Thankfully he is the only one of the mammals in this house who does that, otherwise I'd be getting some strange looks from the other mums in the shopping centre food court, that's for sure.
And does anyone else do this? I keep getting wild thoughts floating through my head, leading me 'down the rabbit hole'. I read a post (well okay, many over the last year or two) referencing the book Nourishing Traditions, so I went looking for it at my local library. Hoo-eee, that book is popular. I had to get on a queue and only just picked it up this week after booking my place before Christmas. I'm also restricted to a 2-week loan, since there are ten other people on the list after me. Okay, so this little 'rabbit trail' actually originated well before I got sick, but after I picked the book a few days ago I got it in my head to begin researching the NT method of eating.
First thing that sprung to mind? Like within the first chapter? Not for us. If my very conservatively-eating husband so much as let a sip of Kombucha or Kefir pass his lips I would pass out. However there are many principles that did make sense (the kidney and liver-eating parts? Not so much) so off I went, researching a more general 'whole foods' diet and what that would encompass. Apparently I am meant to be grinding my own wheat (which I'd actually love to try), baking bread (which I don't do), drinking only whole milk (that part's easy - it's the 'raw, unpasteurized, non-homogenized' part that freaks me out, not to mention not having even a hint of a source for this), eating only butter (I checked the supermarket today - short of making my own, there's not even a butter that hasn't had something added to it), eating organic fruit and vegetables (sigh...I know its better for you, but it would double our produce budget in an instant) and chowing down on grass-fed-only beef and free-range organic eggs.
How do people manage all that when they don't have ready-access to farmers' markets, a Whole Foods store (apparently this is something I also need access to - pity there aren't any down here) or know someone who raises cattle on grass? And for that matter, Australia's in a drought! My lawn is yellow - where is all the grass these cows are meant to be eating!
Okay, I'm making light of the situation, and there are many points that truly are valid, such as the notion that foods that are as close to their natural state as possible would be the healthiest choice. But the practicalities of implementing all of that is phenomenal. I live in a suburban area, with access to two supermarkets within walking distance (I don't drive - ten points to Lizzie from a global warming standpoint, LOL) and a third a short bus ride away. I can get regular ol' beef, the grain-feed type and the supermarket does a good free-range egg, but organic vegetables are extremely expensive and we don't live close enough to a market to make a trip worthwhile. About the best I can hope for is a monthly (or so) trip to a stand-alone fruit and veg store with better prices than the supermarket. And I'm usually crazy-ecstatic about saving those few bucks. And don't even get me started on whole wheat berries - I'd have to mail order them. I can just see the look on Talented Hubby's face - who would promptly march down to the supermarket and buy me perfectly acceptable regular flour just to save everyone the hassle (and expense!)
How does one change their mindset from 'good generally healthy foods (not organic) at cheap to moderate prices' to 'this is going to cost me an absolute BOMB but I can tick the eco-friendly box now'?
Charlie needs to pee. More on this subject later...(isn't that just the most awesome subject-ender ever? LOL)
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Always Go For The Extended Warranty
Okay - I don't know how long I'll have to post today. My laptop is being more than a tad temperamental. I am LOVING the fact that we opted for the three year extended warranty when we bought it. We are currently 2 ½ years in.
Last night it started going wonky - Internet Explorer wouldn't load sometimes, things would freeze up and so on. I immediately panic and snaffled Talented Hubby's external hard drive and on a rare stretch where it was working, I went nutso copying all my important documents and programs and such. Since then, the internet has worked only sporadically and about half of the other programs on the laptop flat-out refuse to work. I uninstalled a bunch of useless stuff I don't need and TH will weave his techno-magic when he gets home but it looks like we'll have to do a clean strip (whatever that means!) and there'll be casualties.
I hate it when computers break. Sigh.
In other news - and something I'm sure you've been extremely concerned about, LOL - I finished the last of my antibiotics today! Woot! I still have a niggly cough and just don't feel completely well, but I'm a lot better than I was last week and for that I am surpremely grateful. Pneumonia is one heck of a ride, that's for sure.
Charlie the Wonderdog has settled in pretty well - I'm still on poop duty (auugh) and I'm still the one who gets up early to let him out (I'll have to train the kids to do that) but other than that he's a good little dog :) He can't go for a walk around the neighborhood for another week and a half due to his shots but in the meantime we're doing some basic training at home and getting him used to the leash. And, he LOVES to chew on baskets. He has totally destroyed his bed and is making short work of the shoe basket and other baskets I have about the place. He's not so great with the whole 'no' business, but he's learning, LOL.
Oh, one other thing before I go. You might notice a 'Printables' section in the sidebar. At some point I'll be reposting all my older printables here but in the meantime, I've put up three differently-coloured versions of a Daily Docket, inspired by Simple Mom (I love that site, by the way, one of my faves!)
I really hope my laptop decides to co-operate when I go to post this! If it's completely on the way out, we really can't afford to replace it and the maker will probably try to just fix it at first. I'm thinking a Mac sounds FANTASTIC right about now...sell me on the Mac folks!
Last night it started going wonky - Internet Explorer wouldn't load sometimes, things would freeze up and so on. I immediately panic and snaffled Talented Hubby's external hard drive and on a rare stretch where it was working, I went nutso copying all my important documents and programs and such. Since then, the internet has worked only sporadically and about half of the other programs on the laptop flat-out refuse to work. I uninstalled a bunch of useless stuff I don't need and TH will weave his techno-magic when he gets home but it looks like we'll have to do a clean strip (whatever that means!) and there'll be casualties.
I hate it when computers break. Sigh.
In other news - and something I'm sure you've been extremely concerned about, LOL - I finished the last of my antibiotics today! Woot! I still have a niggly cough and just don't feel completely well, but I'm a lot better than I was last week and for that I am surpremely grateful. Pneumonia is one heck of a ride, that's for sure.
Charlie the Wonderdog has settled in pretty well - I'm still on poop duty (auugh) and I'm still the one who gets up early to let him out (I'll have to train the kids to do that) but other than that he's a good little dog :) He can't go for a walk around the neighborhood for another week and a half due to his shots but in the meantime we're doing some basic training at home and getting him used to the leash. And, he LOVES to chew on baskets. He has totally destroyed his bed and is making short work of the shoe basket and other baskets I have about the place. He's not so great with the whole 'no' business, but he's learning, LOL.
Oh, one other thing before I go. You might notice a 'Printables' section in the sidebar. At some point I'll be reposting all my older printables here but in the meantime, I've put up three differently-coloured versions of a Daily Docket, inspired by Simple Mom (I love that site, by the way, one of my faves!)
I really hope my laptop decides to co-operate when I go to post this! If it's completely on the way out, we really can't afford to replace it and the maker will probably try to just fix it at first. I'm thinking a Mac sounds FANTASTIC right about now...sell me on the Mac folks!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Meet Charlie
This is Charlie. He officially became part of the family last weekend (Charlie lifts a paw to say hi).
He's a 12 week old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and he's just gorgeous (clearly, our brains don't extend past the most obvious name possible). We've not had a family pet before - in fact, I haven't lived with a pet since moving out of home 12 years ago - so it's a bit of a steep learning curve for all of us, but so far I'm happy to say Charlie has settled in quite well. A bit of whimpering on that first night (he's sleeping in the laundry room) and since then he's gone off to bed beautifully - and for the last few nights we've woken to dry newspaper. Yay Charlie-dog!
He's a bit mischievous. I mean, he is a puppy He's like the equivalent of a not-quite-2 year old. But he's having to learn the routines of the house the hard way and I must say, he seems rather indignant at the absurd notion that 'his people' do not share his love for chewing on socks. The kids have the habit of shucking their shoes and socks immediately upon getting home, then stuffing the socks into the shoes. Charlie now thinks the shoe basket near the front door is his personal toy box and his favourite game is Steal The Sock And Make A Bolt For The Backyard. He is being reminded quite often that it is NOT. I have zero lung capacity with this pneumonia thing and I can't chase him. Little terror.
He had his 12 week shots yesterday, as well as his microchipping. Vets are expensive, aren't they? Hoo-eee. We just paid more for a consult, flea/worm medications, microchipping and vaccinations than one entire child's school fees. And there's a whole aisle that just opened up to me at the grocery store - one I've been able to avoid until now. Wet food vs dry food. Pet mince vs chunky dog food 'log'. Premium vs Lower-end brand. Chicken vs Beef With Vegetables. What kind of training treats do I buy? Dog biscuits? Is marrow-bone flavoured better than gourmet chicken flavoured? I don't even put that much thought into this house's human meals!
The kids are enamoured - after all, its not often a 'lifelong dream' (Moo's words) of pet ownership comes to pass. However, I'd like to go on record about something.
Mummy is just a wee bit sick of picking up doggie poopie.
Somehow, conveniently, I got suckered into poop duty. And feed-the-dog duty. Where's the justice in that? I'm sick! A few weeks from now, when we've all settled in well, the kids will be taking over the feeding duty but I'm not so sure I like the idea of my kids going anywhere near dog poop just yet. It's bad enough that I have to endure it, but honestly? I will likely vomit the second one of them cries out something like, "MUMMEEEEEE! It got on me! I got POOP on my hand!"
Because, as it turns out, there actually is something worse than dog poop.
Its seeing one of your children covered in dog poop.
He's a 12 week old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and he's just gorgeous (clearly, our brains don't extend past the most obvious name possible). We've not had a family pet before - in fact, I haven't lived with a pet since moving out of home 12 years ago - so it's a bit of a steep learning curve for all of us, but so far I'm happy to say Charlie has settled in quite well. A bit of whimpering on that first night (he's sleeping in the laundry room) and since then he's gone off to bed beautifully - and for the last few nights we've woken to dry newspaper. Yay Charlie-dog!
He's a bit mischievous. I mean, he is a puppy He's like the equivalent of a not-quite-2 year old. But he's having to learn the routines of the house the hard way and I must say, he seems rather indignant at the absurd notion that 'his people' do not share his love for chewing on socks. The kids have the habit of shucking their shoes and socks immediately upon getting home, then stuffing the socks into the shoes. Charlie now thinks the shoe basket near the front door is his personal toy box and his favourite game is Steal The Sock And Make A Bolt For The Backyard. He is being reminded quite often that it is NOT. I have zero lung capacity with this pneumonia thing and I can't chase him. Little terror.
He had his 12 week shots yesterday, as well as his microchipping. Vets are expensive, aren't they? Hoo-eee. We just paid more for a consult, flea/worm medications, microchipping and vaccinations than one entire child's school fees. And there's a whole aisle that just opened up to me at the grocery store - one I've been able to avoid until now. Wet food vs dry food. Pet mince vs chunky dog food 'log'. Premium vs Lower-end brand. Chicken vs Beef With Vegetables. What kind of training treats do I buy? Dog biscuits? Is marrow-bone flavoured better than gourmet chicken flavoured? I don't even put that much thought into this house's human meals!
The kids are enamoured - after all, its not often a 'lifelong dream' (Moo's words) of pet ownership comes to pass. However, I'd like to go on record about something.
Mummy is just a wee bit sick of picking up doggie poopie.
Somehow, conveniently, I got suckered into poop duty. And feed-the-dog duty. Where's the justice in that? I'm sick! A few weeks from now, when we've all settled in well, the kids will be taking over the feeding duty but I'm not so sure I like the idea of my kids going anywhere near dog poop just yet. It's bad enough that I have to endure it, but honestly? I will likely vomit the second one of them cries out something like, "MUMMEEEEEE! It got on me! I got POOP on my hand!"
Because, as it turns out, there actually is something worse than dog poop.
Its seeing one of your children covered in dog poop.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
I'm Published Elsewhere! For The First Time!
Oooooh! My piece Miracles In The Flaws is up on Blog Nosh Magazine's website!
It's all about our eldest, J, and our experiences during the the early years after his autism diagnosis. Go check it out!
(And subscribe to Blog Nosh while you're there, because it's filled with great content).
This is my first official piece picked up for republication outside of my blog. Does this mean I get a fan-cee blog button?
It would certainly help clear the pneumonia-blues, LOL.
Official "I'm semi-back but still suffering somewhat" post to come later today.
It's all about our eldest, J, and our experiences during the the early years after his autism diagnosis. Go check it out!
(And subscribe to Blog Nosh while you're there, because it's filled with great content).
This is my first official piece picked up for republication outside of my blog. Does this mean I get a fan-cee blog button?
It would certainly help clear the pneumonia-blues, LOL.
Official "I'm semi-back but still suffering somewhat" post to come later today.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
(Hopefully) Short Blogging Hiatus
I think I'm about as sick as I've ever been, and I mean that honestly. I am not living, I'm merely existing this week. The antibiotics are (thus far) not the magic pills they were intended to be and so I'm still having all sorts of problems with coughing and breathing, to the point where, if things haven't improved within about 36 hours, I'm going to re-visit my doctor first thing Monday morning and ask for more intensive treatment. I would not be adverse to spending a night or two in hospital if it licks this blasted thing once and for all.
CAN. NOT. TAKE. IT. ANYMORE.
Until I can breathe again, I'm signing out, pretty much. I might pop back in a few days but I'm thinking this might end up being a minimum week-long absence.
But on the bright side? THE HEATWAVE IS BREAKING. Good lordy, it took its sweet time...
CAN. NOT. TAKE. IT. ANYMORE.
Until I can breathe again, I'm signing out, pretty much. I might pop back in a few days but I'm thinking this might end up being a minimum week-long absence.
But on the bright side? THE HEATWAVE IS BREAKING. Good lordy, it took its sweet time...
Friday, February 6, 2009
Get Ready For Fabulous, Germ-Tastic Lizzie!
Well, it's official. I have pneumonia. DAGGAMIT!!!
Pneumonia means weeks, not days, of recuperation. Doctor tells me I should be feeling a whole lot better at the end of my 9 day antibiotic cycle (currently on day 2) but I could be coughing in some format for weeks.
Joy.
Okay, pros and cons:
Cons - exhaustion, housework suffering terribly, bored out of my skull each day because I don't have the energy for even basic household routines and thus are forced to endure daytime television and/or movies, feeling useless because I can see the house falling to pieces around me and I can't pick up the slack, having to walk the kids to and from school each day (still in heatwave, auugh) which utterly wipes whatever energy reserves I may have left in a day, food has lost all pleasure and meaning, I am often out of breath and have trouble carrying on a conversation, we have no food in the house on a day-to-day basis and Hubs has had to do just about daily grocery runs after a full day at work (he just loves this part), I've slept on the couch two nights running so I didn't keep my darling husband awake all night (he's had to get up early for work) and said husband is, uh, having to, um, stand on the sidelines, in a manner of speaking :P Oh, and we've got Valentine's Day and our wedding anniversary before the month is up.
Pros - forced (in a massive, overdone way, meh) to slow down, my awesome Hubs has been wonderful, my kids are giving me backrubs, I've discovered I can actually take 'horse pills' if enveloped in Nutella and washed down with a lime flavoured slushie, I haven't had as many headaches (maybe I'm just not noticing them as much, what with all the muscle spasms and kill-me-now coughing fits?), haven't had a very taxing week, obligations-wise (just the school runs) and it has been very easy to chill out under the airconditioner (which, ironically, probably helped the infection along but in a catch-22 situation, there's no way we'd be coping in the heat without it) And I managed to lose 6 kgs (13lbs) in five days, but in totally the wrong way so it won't last.
One day I will look back on February and laugh.
If I'm still breathing by then.
Pneumonia means weeks, not days, of recuperation. Doctor tells me I should be feeling a whole lot better at the end of my 9 day antibiotic cycle (currently on day 2) but I could be coughing in some format for weeks.
Joy.
Okay, pros and cons:
Cons - exhaustion, housework suffering terribly, bored out of my skull each day because I don't have the energy for even basic household routines and thus are forced to endure daytime television and/or movies, feeling useless because I can see the house falling to pieces around me and I can't pick up the slack, having to walk the kids to and from school each day (still in heatwave, auugh) which utterly wipes whatever energy reserves I may have left in a day, food has lost all pleasure and meaning, I am often out of breath and have trouble carrying on a conversation, we have no food in the house on a day-to-day basis and Hubs has had to do just about daily grocery runs after a full day at work (he just loves this part), I've slept on the couch two nights running so I didn't keep my darling husband awake all night (he's had to get up early for work) and said husband is, uh, having to, um, stand on the sidelines, in a manner of speaking :P Oh, and we've got Valentine's Day and our wedding anniversary before the month is up.
Pros - forced (in a massive, overdone way, meh) to slow down, my awesome Hubs has been wonderful, my kids are giving me backrubs, I've discovered I can actually take 'horse pills' if enveloped in Nutella and washed down with a lime flavoured slushie, I haven't had as many headaches (maybe I'm just not noticing them as much, what with all the muscle spasms and kill-me-now coughing fits?), haven't had a very taxing week, obligations-wise (just the school runs) and it has been very easy to chill out under the airconditioner (which, ironically, probably helped the infection along but in a catch-22 situation, there's no way we'd be coping in the heat without it) And I managed to lose 6 kgs (13lbs) in five days, but in totally the wrong way so it won't last.
One day I will look back on February and laugh.
If I'm still breathing by then.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Dum Dum Dum DAH!
In approximately one hour from now, a man who is not my husband will be looking at my chest.
Okay, so it will be the inside of my chest, and the guy will be a radiographer, but...
I have to have a chest x-ray. The doc thinks possible pneumonia and put me on antibiotics last night as a precaution. Best case scenario? It's not pneumonia but some other weird bacterial infection and thus the antibiotics will do the trick and I'll start to feel relief within the first day or two. Next option - it IS pneumonia but the antibiotics will help and so will stronger, targeted medication, ie, once they know what it is, they can treat it effectively and I'll get relief. Last option (and heading into 'worst case' territory) - It's viral (thus antibiotics ineffective) or some other weird unknown infection that they can't treat and I have to suffer through it.
I'm on Day 6 now. I don't know how much longer I can cope. Slept on the couch last night because I had an almighty coughing fit that lasted upwards of an hour and sent my system into shutdown so I literally couldn't move without wanting to stab myself in the neck with the nearest blunt instrument. Housework is NON-EXISTENT. The kids are eating every convenience item known to man for their school lunches - with the heatwave then this, nearly two weeks into the school year and I haven't baked at all, and that really annoys me.
And these antibiotics? GOOD GRIEF. I told the doctor I'd prefer capsules rather than tablets or liquid, because I have a particular issue with swallowing pills, and he obliged - but the capsules I ended up with are like horse pills and taking my first dose last night was pretty brutal. Especially for someone whose throat is already swollen. The first one actually got stuck and I panicked. Choked down the second one marginally better. Point is, I have to battle this three times a day for a week and the prospect doesn't exactly fill me with joy.
I'm being whiny again, aren't I? Sigh. Update coming...
Okay, so it will be the inside of my chest, and the guy will be a radiographer, but...
I have to have a chest x-ray. The doc thinks possible pneumonia and put me on antibiotics last night as a precaution. Best case scenario? It's not pneumonia but some other weird bacterial infection and thus the antibiotics will do the trick and I'll start to feel relief within the first day or two. Next option - it IS pneumonia but the antibiotics will help and so will stronger, targeted medication, ie, once they know what it is, they can treat it effectively and I'll get relief. Last option (and heading into 'worst case' territory) - It's viral (thus antibiotics ineffective) or some other weird unknown infection that they can't treat and I have to suffer through it.
I'm on Day 6 now. I don't know how much longer I can cope. Slept on the couch last night because I had an almighty coughing fit that lasted upwards of an hour and sent my system into shutdown so I literally couldn't move without wanting to stab myself in the neck with the nearest blunt instrument. Housework is NON-EXISTENT. The kids are eating every convenience item known to man for their school lunches - with the heatwave then this, nearly two weeks into the school year and I haven't baked at all, and that really annoys me.
And these antibiotics? GOOD GRIEF. I told the doctor I'd prefer capsules rather than tablets or liquid, because I have a particular issue with swallowing pills, and he obliged - but the capsules I ended up with are like horse pills and taking my first dose last night was pretty brutal. Especially for someone whose throat is already swollen. The first one actually got stuck and I panicked. Choked down the second one marginally better. Point is, I have to battle this three times a day for a week and the prospect doesn't exactly fill me with joy.
I'm being whiny again, aren't I? Sigh. Update coming...
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
An Announcement
I will give ONE MILLION DOLLARS* to anybody who can cure me.
Thankyou and goodnight.
* There is no guarantee that it will not be Monopoly money. I'm just puttin' that out there.
Thankyou and goodnight.
* There is no guarantee that it will not be Monopoly money. I'm just puttin' that out there.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Thank You Thank You Thank You...
...sweet, sweet drug companies for deciding to make decongestants in tablet form. I am drugged up and waiting for relief as I type. Any minute now would be awesome. I'll be right here. No pressure or anything.
My muscle soreness seems to have diminished a little today and I've developed a nifty way of coughing that seems to bypass my throat completely (I am very clever - you can book me for pox parties), minimising the rawness there. Swallowing is easier, but my tastebuds are still completely dead. And as a cruel, cruel twist of fate, my appetite dwindled to nothing over the weekend and in three days I lost 4 kgs (almost 9 lbs) . My body went through cold turkey detox promoted by lots and lots of iced water (good for throat and heatwave) so I guess its hardly surprising but also a little annoying to know that weight will snap back onto my thighs faster than I can blink once I get rid of the lurgies.
I watched three movies yesterday, two while lying prone on the couch while Talented Hubby was at work and the kids were in school. Sunshine wasn't worth the film used to record it but A Mighty Heart was a little meatier. Not the happiest endings in either film really, which made last night's television screening of The Devil Wears Prada far more palatable.
I am so tragic.
More soon...
My muscle soreness seems to have diminished a little today and I've developed a nifty way of coughing that seems to bypass my throat completely (I am very clever - you can book me for pox parties), minimising the rawness there. Swallowing is easier, but my tastebuds are still completely dead. And as a cruel, cruel twist of fate, my appetite dwindled to nothing over the weekend and in three days I lost 4 kgs (almost 9 lbs) . My body went through cold turkey detox promoted by lots and lots of iced water (good for throat and heatwave) so I guess its hardly surprising but also a little annoying to know that weight will snap back onto my thighs faster than I can blink once I get rid of the lurgies.
I watched three movies yesterday, two while lying prone on the couch while Talented Hubby was at work and the kids were in school. Sunshine wasn't worth the film used to record it but A Mighty Heart was a little meatier. Not the happiest endings in either film really, which made last night's television screening of The Devil Wears Prada far more palatable.
I am so tragic.
More soon...
Sunday, February 1, 2009
I Am Cursed - CURSED I Tell You!
Testament to the fact that I am really, truly sick, I was up at 6am this morning.
This is not normal behaviour for me.
I actually managed to catch Talented Hubby before he left for his dayshift, and believe me, that never happens in Not Sick World. My throat was burning from all the coughing and the heat of the day was already becoming apparent and I was extra tired and grumpy so I got up for a drink of water (ouch) and I think TH about fell over in surprise. I took a medicated throat lozenge (which does pretty much zero but makes me feel at least a smidge in control of my own life, a feeling sorely lacking this week) and went back to bed. Last thing I remember is crying 'cause my throat hurt so much.
The kids mercifully let me sleep another couple of hours. Sweet, sweet children. After I'd made breakfast I slunk off to the shower where I washed my sick, limp, 'on the cusp of greasiness' hair and deliberately avoided shaving my legs because hello? My pale, gaunt face alone would scare people - and more specifically, husbands - away and thus why bother expending the energy needed to deal with the stubble on my legs? I was in the shower for a long, long time, slowly turning the tap to full-cold. Um, perhaps not the best thing for someone suffering from a chest cold but I was craving the feeling of being COLD for a change. It didn't last long. I was dry and hot again just walking from the ensuite into the main bedroom, sigh.
I hate being sick. I think it hits me worse because it happens so rarely - I'm usually the one playing nursemaid to the others, notably Talented Hubby, whose immune system was shot after a bout with glandular fever (mono) a few years back and who now catches every sniffle going around. I very occasionally get a couple of days of a runny nose in the middle of winter, but it's not uncommon for me to coast through entire years (or two) with nary an illness. It used to bother me, this 'always looking after other sick people' business, but I no longer think that way. Case in point - this morning, my darling husband gave me a kiss on my feverish forehead and it felt so wonderful I was *this* close to begging him to take a personal day to look after me. He doesn't know it yet, but he'll be brushing my newly-washed hair just as soon as he walks in the door this afternoon, LOL.
I know I'm being a grumpy old sod and I will be posting something more profound than weather reports and in-depth accounts of the expulsion of my green phlegm later today, I promise.
Right after I eat this bowl of icecream for lunch.
Hey, there has to be some perks to being sick, right?
This is not normal behaviour for me.
I actually managed to catch Talented Hubby before he left for his dayshift, and believe me, that never happens in Not Sick World. My throat was burning from all the coughing and the heat of the day was already becoming apparent and I was extra tired and grumpy so I got up for a drink of water (ouch) and I think TH about fell over in surprise. I took a medicated throat lozenge (which does pretty much zero but makes me feel at least a smidge in control of my own life, a feeling sorely lacking this week) and went back to bed. Last thing I remember is crying 'cause my throat hurt so much.
The kids mercifully let me sleep another couple of hours. Sweet, sweet children. After I'd made breakfast I slunk off to the shower where I washed my sick, limp, 'on the cusp of greasiness' hair and deliberately avoided shaving my legs because hello? My pale, gaunt face alone would scare people - and more specifically, husbands - away and thus why bother expending the energy needed to deal with the stubble on my legs? I was in the shower for a long, long time, slowly turning the tap to full-cold. Um, perhaps not the best thing for someone suffering from a chest cold but I was craving the feeling of being COLD for a change. It didn't last long. I was dry and hot again just walking from the ensuite into the main bedroom, sigh.
I hate being sick. I think it hits me worse because it happens so rarely - I'm usually the one playing nursemaid to the others, notably Talented Hubby, whose immune system was shot after a bout with glandular fever (mono) a few years back and who now catches every sniffle going around. I very occasionally get a couple of days of a runny nose in the middle of winter, but it's not uncommon for me to coast through entire years (or two) with nary an illness. It used to bother me, this 'always looking after other sick people' business, but I no longer think that way. Case in point - this morning, my darling husband gave me a kiss on my feverish forehead and it felt so wonderful I was *this* close to begging him to take a personal day to look after me. He doesn't know it yet, but he'll be brushing my newly-washed hair just as soon as he walks in the door this afternoon, LOL.
I know I'm being a grumpy old sod and I will be posting something more profound than weather reports and in-depth accounts of the expulsion of my green phlegm later today, I promise.
Right after I eat this bowl of icecream for lunch.
Hey, there has to be some perks to being sick, right?
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