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Saturday, July 10, 2010

Optimism in the heat of Summer

This blog is dedicated to some optimistic friends, without whom I would cuss a lot more: Sadie (http://www.allnaturalme.com/), Cat, and Ryanne.

You've heard of 'Love in the time of Cholera', well this is kinda like that. But harder. I think. I haven't actually read all of the book. And I can't convince Justin to watch the movie. But it feels harder, so it is .. at least in my mind.
Like I noted in my last blog, Summer & I don't get along. So, it is especially difficult for me to be optimistic when I am sweating my ass off. --- Actually, I wish it were that easy. All this sweating and my ass ain't shrunk a bit!

But how can I possibly be optimistic with everything that is going on???

Well.....

*The clutter is SHEER LIVING HELL to be sure - actually, it isn't sheer, I can't see through it, I can't see a damn thing!! I can't turn around in this house without bumping into something. I can't find anything. I broke down into near tears because I couldn't find a saucepan, only to discover it was in the oven, which I thought I had looked in the other day -- apparently I either didn't look far enough into it or the gas fumes from me trying to put myself out of my suffering have fucked with my memory.
~But on the Bright Side ~ I am so fed up with the clutter this may well cure me of my cluttering ways. I am a clutter bug. And if it doesn't fully cure me it may well semi-cure me. Or maybe just cure me long enough to give the house a thorough organizing. Either way, it'll likely have a positive effect.

*After having lost the saucepan, and feeling like/knowing the house is a wreck, I have to admit to feeling like a complete failure as a housewife. Like I should be branded in the middle of town square and made to wear a scarlet letter 'F' or 'H' -- what fucking letter would you wear for that one??? Anyway.
~But on the Bright Side ~ Justin called me from Kroger's today. He couldn't find the aspirin. He said all they had was low dose. I assured him they had aspirin. Told him to look for something called "Buffrin" and that it was likely in a blue box. Then to look next to it for the generic stuff. He found it. Yes, I know I've gone through there a million times, unable to find something that I KNOW should be there, but explaining it to him made me feel better. Kinda like the time I had to walk him through how to use the Kitchen Aid mixer. Hopeless husbands make housewives feel accomplished. It's scientifically proven.

*The renovation is dragging on and on and on. I'm breaking out due to stress. The house is a wreck. I can't find anything. The kitchen is barely usable.
~But on the Bright Side ~ I can blame all the zits & break-outs, the insane clutter and mess of the house, all my stress, and my inability to have dinner ready on time on David Harmon .. aka the Magically Disappearing Contractor. And no-one argues with me. They pat me on the shoulder and offer sympathy & understanding.

*Foster, who turns 3 months old tomorrow & is almost as tall as our full-grown lab, and likely weighs close to 40lbs has out-grown his sleep-all-the-time puppy stage. He's now somewhere between the Toddler - 3 year old stage. He gets into EVERYTHING!! He brings plants in from outside. He has figured out how to unzip their eco-friendly dog beds, rip open the inside, and likes to chew on the "made from recycled plastic bottles" stuffing. -- Do I need to worry about BPA when he swallows that stuff??
~But on the Bright Side ~ His voice is beginning to deepen. If you've never heard a dog's voice start to drop, it is REALLY funny. Not as funny as the video clip of my little brother shrieking "STOP IT CARRIE!!" in a cracking voice, but still pretty damn funny. He also chases his tail, 'round and 'round and 'round. He trips. He slips and falls. He manages to sleep curled up around the toilet. He drools. He barks for food, sometimes just looking at the spot where is dish belongs and barking until we obey his commands. And, speaking of commands, he is learning them very well. And, he took his first full walk to the Farmer's Market today .. a little over a block away. Until now we've been having to drive there, get out and walk him around the market, and drive home. (English Mastiff pups aren't supposed to be walked very far when they're young because their bones & joints are growing so fast that, if they are exercised too much, you can damage them!) And, to top it off, he's still adorable as all get-out, so it makes up for him getting into everything.

*With everything else going on, the kids can quickly drive me up the wall. And I drive them up the wall. And they drive each other up the wall. My walls are full of tracks going up!!!
~But on the Bright Side ~ They love Tom Waitts song 'Big in Japan'.

They call it the "Silly Man Music" and will tend to, very randomly start singing it. Tristan originally would go through Kroger singing "Hey, but I'm Big in Your Pants" very loudly. It took a while to convince him it was "Japan" and not "in your pants". Misheard lyrics are twice as funny as the real ones.
Also, Shannon's learning to read has provided moments of peeing-in-pants laughter.

Shannon was reading this cup, from Outer Banks Brewery in NC, out loud. "Brewing, Cussing, Music." No, no Shannon, it's pronounced "Quiz-een" not "cussing." --- One day, when we open our brewery, I'm going to make that into a shirt - Brewing, Cussing, Music.

Here's to Optimism. And brewing, cussing, and music.

2 comments:

ryanne said...

I say, drag everything out of the house, a room at a time (your neighbor will love it), to sheets in the lawn and just go go through it like they do on clean sweep. Keep, Toss, Sell.

Carrie and Justin said...

I would reply that I would worry about the effect that doing that would have on the grass, but with the heat wave we've been having the yard is about as crunchy as it can get. --- Hmm .. a possible bright side to the heat wave?? Don't have to worry about killing the grass!