I am a planner. I will come up with a very specific, highly defined plan. I don't always stick to my plan, but I'll be darned if I don't have some sort of plan in mind, regardless of what adventure I am beginning. Granted, I'm not as bad as my friend Corey who was pained to go into the grocery store without a list. I know, I know...I'm a list person too, but we were buying groceries for one meal. One. For the two of us. I digress...
Earlier this week I decided I was fed up with the fact that one little button on my cell phone wasn't working. It was the "up" key. This was especially annoying when I would scroll through my contacts and go too fast and then not be able to go up and select the right one. I called tech support to try to remedy the situation. Apparently a lot of dropping on the ground is not good for your cell phone (and is not what the company calls a "manufacturer defect").
After much research I discovered that I was eligible for the deepest discounted upgrade and made the decision to purchase a similar phone for under $20. It rings, the buttons work, great. That was my plan.
I've mentioned before that my dear friend Joe is always willing to come along for the ride, right?
So the two of us visited the T-Mobile store, and as I walk over to the more conservatively-priced phones, Joe heads straight for the fancy stuff. Apparently, the phone he had been trying to convince me to get (the one he has) was available to me at 50% off ... oooh. And I kind of wanted it. I had been carrying around my ATC cell phone, my personal/BeautiControl cell phone & my Palm Pilot (now about 4 years old) and it was just too much. So the SDA is a phone and holds my contacts and my calendar and syncs to my Outlook and has internet capabilities and more I'm sure, if I sit down and read the manual.
I was interested but skeptical, and over walks Mr. Salesman. Now Mr. Salesman is not a very good salesman. He doesn't know much and just stands there and Joe tells me all the reasons why I need this phone. I ask a question. Mr. Salesman says "I don't know," and Joe answers. This continues.
I decide to buy the phone.
We get into a discussion about commissions because I'm feeling sort of bad that I talked to T-Mobile woman on the phone for nearly an hour the other day, but now I'm buying it from Mr. Salesman. Mr. Salesman says that the phone people don't get commissions--they provide customer service "for the good of the company."
So we ask, "Do you get a commission?"
"Yeah, "he replies.
Joe then spends a great deal of time trying to convince Mr. Salesman that he should buy Joe a coffee from Starbucks (right across the parking lot) because I wouldn't have purchased the much more expensive phone had he not been there (and this is true). Mr. Salesman completely ignored him. It was at first a bit uncomfortable and then really funny. We would talk about him in the third person as he was organizing my new toy.
He didn't blink, and nothing tall, grande, or venti was exchanged.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Adventures in toddler-hood
The other morning, after the twins' bath, Kyle went pee-pee in the potty.
Then he wanted to go more, but he wanted me and Dylan to leave the room. He shut the door to the bathroom and came out a few minutes later yelling, "I went potty! I went potty!" We rushed in and he had pooped in his potty. I was so excited, so I ran to get Michael.
Meanwhile, Sasha had eaten the poop.
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Fairly regularly, Dylan has been getting out of his own bed and climbing into our bed at some point during the night/very early morning. This morning around 4:00 AM, he made himself comfortable right between me and Michael. About 30 minutes later, Kyle came padding in, and I heard him sort of collapse somewhere on the ground. When I checked to see where he was a few minutes later, I saw him fast asleep on Sasha's bed. He stayed there until 6:45 AM when I picked him up to get him changed and ready for day care. It sounds silly to think of a little boy sleeing on a dog bed, but actually Sasha is the only one in the family with a memory foam mattress, so Kyle was quite smart to commandeer her bed.
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The unfortunate thing about Dylan coming to our bed in the morning is that when Michael gets up at 6:00 AM for work, Dylan gets up too. I am not a fan of this set up. My goal is always to sleep as long as I possibly can, and this morning was no exception. In fact, I was completely exhausted this morning. Dylan must have sensed my sleepiness because instead of saying, "Mommy get up!" he went to the kitchen, got his bowl from the cupboard, selected his cereal of choice, and brought both to my bedside so I could pour it for him. Then he stood there and ate his cereal dry and watched Kyle who was asleep on the dog bed.
Then he wanted to go more, but he wanted me and Dylan to leave the room. He shut the door to the bathroom and came out a few minutes later yelling, "I went potty! I went potty!" We rushed in and he had pooped in his potty. I was so excited, so I ran to get Michael.
Meanwhile, Sasha had eaten the poop.
--------
Fairly regularly, Dylan has been getting out of his own bed and climbing into our bed at some point during the night/very early morning. This morning around 4:00 AM, he made himself comfortable right between me and Michael. About 30 minutes later, Kyle came padding in, and I heard him sort of collapse somewhere on the ground. When I checked to see where he was a few minutes later, I saw him fast asleep on Sasha's bed. He stayed there until 6:45 AM when I picked him up to get him changed and ready for day care. It sounds silly to think of a little boy sleeing on a dog bed, but actually Sasha is the only one in the family with a memory foam mattress, so Kyle was quite smart to commandeer her bed.
--------
The unfortunate thing about Dylan coming to our bed in the morning is that when Michael gets up at 6:00 AM for work, Dylan gets up too. I am not a fan of this set up. My goal is always to sleep as long as I possibly can, and this morning was no exception. In fact, I was completely exhausted this morning. Dylan must have sensed my sleepiness because instead of saying, "Mommy get up!" he went to the kitchen, got his bowl from the cupboard, selected his cereal of choice, and brought both to my bedside so I could pour it for him. Then he stood there and ate his cereal dry and watched Kyle who was asleep on the dog bed.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Sally Hansen lies
I did something kind of stupid this evening.
Wait, let me rewind and start from the beginning. After work I went to happy hour at Applebees with a friend (Could that place be any cheaper? Oh my goodness . . . 2 very tall beers and 3 appetizers later, we were out $16--actually only $6 because we had a $10 gift card). The kids are with my parents for the night, so I stopped at Linens & Things because I had a gift card burning a hole in my wallet and thought I would buy a scale (since I'm trying to gain weight and need to start paying attention to these things). After trying many scales ranging from $29 to over $100, I discovered that they all sucked. I JUST went to the doctor and was weighed by their super-fancy scale, and all of the scales at the store said I was 7-10 pounds heavier than what I weighed at the doctor. Since I know I didn't gain 7-10 pounds in a week, the scales must all suck. So, what to buy? I found myself in the random iPod accessory section and selected a lovely iPod dock that is also an alarm clock. I love it.
So, I'm home now and have played with Sasha a bit and hooked up my snazzy new iPod dock and decided to take a relaxing bath in my enormous tub that has not been getting as much use as it should. I put my Therapeutic Bath Minerals in the tub and applied my Fango Seaweed Masque and listened to my iPod, controlling it with a lovely little remote. Ahhh, heaven. Notice I haven't done anything stupid yet.
After my bath I decided to continue pampering myself by waxing my eyebrows. Please note: waxing one's own eyebrows should never be paired with the word "pamper" or any derivation of the verb "to pamper." Damn that facial waxing kit! A couple of months ago a friend told me to go to a particular Albertson's that was going out of business. Apparently, all of the items were 25% - 80% off, so I stocked up on household items that I needed anyway. While I was there I encountered a do-it-yourself facial waxing kit. I'd always wondered if they were good and thought I'd try it out and save the $15 or so I spend to have my eyebrows professionally waxed.
There is a reason people charge you money to do this to you.
First I had to microwave the wax so it was warm and pliable but not too hot. Then there's a little plastic paddle you use to apply the wax. The paddle is cute and all, but it's really not great when you need to be precise. Also, I should add that the instructions told me that if the wax was too hot the paddle would be blue but if the wax was the perfect temperature the words "wax is ready" would appear. Neat, huh? Except that when I took the paddle out of the box, before I even touched the wax, it said "wax is ready." Oh really?
Application. This stuff is ridiculously sticky. I'm trying to apply small amounts and strings of wax are sticking to my cheeks and eyelashes. When I try to remove the wax from the non-waxing places, it sticks to my fingers and no amount of water, soap, or abrasive towel-rubbing is getting rid of the wax. OK, now time to pull the wax from my eyebrow area. Not bad. I'm used to the sting, and it actually feels kind of good to me. But there's a residue. And it's hard to get to some areas without risking wax getting on other parts of my eyebrow that I still actually want. I do the best I can do and then scrub my face to try to remove any excess wax, but there's some still on my actual eyebrow and all of the hairs are bound together, mocking me. All I can do its wait for it to dry and then try to flake it off without yanking out the rest of my eyebrow. Horrible thoughts of eyebrow baldness are seeping into my mind, and I notice lots of little hairs that I was unable to get with the wax (because of precision), so I pull out the tweezers.
I hate tweezers.
I tweeze and tweeze and tweeze until the two eyebrows look decent. Not bad, I guess. The wax is still clumped on my one eyebrow, so I reach for the conditioning/finishing oil that comes in the kit. It's supposed to soothe and soften the skin and hair. Onto a cotton pad it goes, and I apply it to my eye area and OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL IS THAT HORRIBLE HORRIBLE PAIN? Conditioning oil, my ass! My eyebrows are now bright red and on fire. It doesn't feel like this at the salon. I dab my eye area with a tissue and reach for some facial moisturizer, hoping that will soothe the stinging. Nope, it feels worse. Tears are filling my eyes as I reach for all of these horrible, horrible products and toss them into the garbage can.
Never ever ever again!
Wait, let me rewind and start from the beginning. After work I went to happy hour at Applebees with a friend (Could that place be any cheaper? Oh my goodness . . . 2 very tall beers and 3 appetizers later, we were out $16--actually only $6 because we had a $10 gift card). The kids are with my parents for the night, so I stopped at Linens & Things because I had a gift card burning a hole in my wallet and thought I would buy a scale (since I'm trying to gain weight and need to start paying attention to these things). After trying many scales ranging from $29 to over $100, I discovered that they all sucked. I JUST went to the doctor and was weighed by their super-fancy scale, and all of the scales at the store said I was 7-10 pounds heavier than what I weighed at the doctor. Since I know I didn't gain 7-10 pounds in a week, the scales must all suck. So, what to buy? I found myself in the random iPod accessory section and selected a lovely iPod dock that is also an alarm clock. I love it.
So, I'm home now and have played with Sasha a bit and hooked up my snazzy new iPod dock and decided to take a relaxing bath in my enormous tub that has not been getting as much use as it should. I put my Therapeutic Bath Minerals in the tub and applied my Fango Seaweed Masque and listened to my iPod, controlling it with a lovely little remote. Ahhh, heaven. Notice I haven't done anything stupid yet.
After my bath I decided to continue pampering myself by waxing my eyebrows. Please note: waxing one's own eyebrows should never be paired with the word "pamper" or any derivation of the verb "to pamper." Damn that facial waxing kit! A couple of months ago a friend told me to go to a particular Albertson's that was going out of business. Apparently, all of the items were 25% - 80% off, so I stocked up on household items that I needed anyway. While I was there I encountered a do-it-yourself facial waxing kit. I'd always wondered if they were good and thought I'd try it out and save the $15 or so I spend to have my eyebrows professionally waxed.
There is a reason people charge you money to do this to you.
First I had to microwave the wax so it was warm and pliable but not too hot. Then there's a little plastic paddle you use to apply the wax. The paddle is cute and all, but it's really not great when you need to be precise. Also, I should add that the instructions told me that if the wax was too hot the paddle would be blue but if the wax was the perfect temperature the words "wax is ready" would appear. Neat, huh? Except that when I took the paddle out of the box, before I even touched the wax, it said "wax is ready." Oh really?
Application. This stuff is ridiculously sticky. I'm trying to apply small amounts and strings of wax are sticking to my cheeks and eyelashes. When I try to remove the wax from the non-waxing places, it sticks to my fingers and no amount of water, soap, or abrasive towel-rubbing is getting rid of the wax. OK, now time to pull the wax from my eyebrow area. Not bad. I'm used to the sting, and it actually feels kind of good to me. But there's a residue. And it's hard to get to some areas without risking wax getting on other parts of my eyebrow that I still actually want. I do the best I can do and then scrub my face to try to remove any excess wax, but there's some still on my actual eyebrow and all of the hairs are bound together, mocking me. All I can do its wait for it to dry and then try to flake it off without yanking out the rest of my eyebrow. Horrible thoughts of eyebrow baldness are seeping into my mind, and I notice lots of little hairs that I was unable to get with the wax (because of precision), so I pull out the tweezers.
I hate tweezers.
I tweeze and tweeze and tweeze until the two eyebrows look decent. Not bad, I guess. The wax is still clumped on my one eyebrow, so I reach for the conditioning/finishing oil that comes in the kit. It's supposed to soothe and soften the skin and hair. Onto a cotton pad it goes, and I apply it to my eye area and OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL IS THAT HORRIBLE HORRIBLE PAIN? Conditioning oil, my ass! My eyebrows are now bright red and on fire. It doesn't feel like this at the salon. I dab my eye area with a tissue and reach for some facial moisturizer, hoping that will soothe the stinging. Nope, it feels worse. Tears are filling my eyes as I reach for all of these horrible, horrible products and toss them into the garbage can.
Never ever ever again!
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
No like matches
Driving the twins to their sitter today, I had the privilege of eavesdropping on a wonderful conversation. It blows my mind to think that not very long ago they shared the same crib, the same bouncy chair, the same bassinet and even the same womb. When they were little, we worried that they didn't interact with each other as much as we would have liked. Now, they're like little partners in crime. Actually, prior to our car experience, our entire family was in our master bathroom/closet (dog and cat included), and Kyle was upset about something . . . Being scolded for slamming the door, I think. In any event, he was totally what Joe would call "butt hurt," so Dylan went over to him and gave him a kiss. It was so incredibly adorable.
Now back to this morning. The conversation went something like this:
Kyle: Dylan, where's the sun?
Dylan: (looking) There Kai-kai! There!
Kyle: Where?
Dylan: Over there! Oh, flags Kai-Kai! Flags!
Kyle: Flags! Bird, Dylan! See the bird?
Dylan: I see the bird!
Kyle: Go to Val's house? Mommy, Val's house?
Me: Yep, you're going to Val's house.
Dylan: Mommy, I push the button.
Me: OK.
Dylan: Mommy, I push the button. I no like to walk. Mommy hold and I push the button.
I love how they understand me and understand each other. It's such a joy to experience this. We do have hiccups in the learning process, though. A few nights ago I was getting them into their PJs, and Dylan picked a Nemo top and a Nemo bottom, but they were from two separate Nemo sets. I tried to get Dylan to change bottoms:
Me: Dylan, let's wear this one. See, it matches.
Dylan: No. No like matches.
I did get him to switch so he matched.
Now back to this morning. The conversation went something like this:
Kyle: Dylan, where's the sun?
Dylan: (looking) There Kai-kai! There!
Kyle: Where?
Dylan: Over there! Oh, flags Kai-Kai! Flags!
Kyle: Flags! Bird, Dylan! See the bird?
Dylan: I see the bird!
Kyle: Go to Val's house? Mommy, Val's house?
Me: Yep, you're going to Val's house.
Dylan: Mommy, I push the button.
Me: OK.
Dylan: Mommy, I push the button. I no like to walk. Mommy hold and I push the button.
I love how they understand me and understand each other. It's such a joy to experience this. We do have hiccups in the learning process, though. A few nights ago I was getting them into their PJs, and Dylan picked a Nemo top and a Nemo bottom, but they were from two separate Nemo sets. I tried to get Dylan to change bottoms:
Me: Dylan, let's wear this one. See, it matches.
Dylan: No. No like matches.
I did get him to switch so he matched.
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