Friday, June 27, 2008

someone should have told me...

one day i will create a list of ALL the things i wish id been told about life in general...but knowing that will be a lengthy ordeal and that today my time is extremely limited (i have a preggo massage appt followed by a highlight courtesy of my babies daddy...it could potentially be the best day of the summer for me) i will keep this focused on one particular issue.


potty training. its done. after putting it off for 5 long months (ive been itching to do this since her 2nd birthday but kept making up somewhat legit excuses to procrastinate this joyous and monumental occasion), gk was apparently ready and after a week of being a 'big girl' has only had 2 accidents. i am thoroughly impressed by her quick transition and consider it a sign that she was in fact really ready to make the switch. and that she is truly the genius her parents have always believed her to be.


what i wish someone would have told me is how, for the love of all things sanitary, do you keep a 2 year old from touching EVERYTHING in a public restroom??? i am pretty even tempered with gk most of the time, trying hard to keep my tone relatively pleasant while firm. however, i have been sent way over the edge every time we enter one of those germ infested hells known as public toilets as i practically beg, threaten and yell at her to please STOP touching...the seat, the tp dispenser, the nasty metal trash cans...the list goes on and on. there has to be a trick or a support group or a manual, something to help with this part of the process.


the most disgusting of incidents occurred as gk was two steps ahead of me entering the nastiest of restrooms and tripped on a small ledge and fell flat on her face...her face. her clean sweet face. of course her little palms were spread out on the sticky floor as well. i could have thrown up right then and there. and then, to top it off, there was no soap dispenser in this place. there should be a law or something about that. anyway...tips are welcome, hand sanitizer donations are appreciated and thanks for feeling my pain.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

same question...every 4 years...

i dont mean to ever bring politics onto my blog and most of you would probably be surprised at how i vote, why i vote and the things that motivate my decisions. but as the election draws nearer, the one thing that remains the same in my mind every 4 years is the question of 'is this really the best we, as a country, have to offer up to lead the free world?' dont misunderstand me, the two in the game at this point are nothing to sneeze at. its just that i am left inspired and simultaneously uncertain. i am hopeful but not sure exactly what for. i am left wondering how a country that has managed to produce the monumental figures in our history as well as current leaders with 10,000 lb brains, always ends up with two people, who while intelligent and experienced in their own right are the only options. i will vote, it is my right and my obligation, but it will not be because i think there are no better candidates. it will be because i am forced to choose between the choices our system has put in place. its sad that such an exciting privilege and opportunity often times leaves me feeling underwhelmed.

Monday, June 23, 2008

cell phones behaving badly

i love technology. i really do. particularly in the incredibly small doses that i currently have it in my life. i enjoy reading some blogs, shopping and researching online, keeping my ipod up to date and being available by phone 24 hours a day.

the cell phone has to be the greatest invention next to velcro and maybe stretch denim and while my phone (like every other piece of technology in my life) will always remain smarter than i am, with countless features i will never bother to learn, much less use, it is a welcome fixture in my life. and while i may never understand how it really works, i do know that towers are involved, roaming is no longer an issue and they function best if they have not been exposed to water.

water would be what caused the latest malfunction of my cell phone...actually my moms cell phone that was in my care for the weeks leading up to my stateside cell phone purchase...which is now complete if you need my number.

in order to complete the loan paperwork for our home purchase (which is also complete if you need my address) i needed to contact the county courthouse in omaha, nebraska to have a few documents faxed relating to the sale of our last home. sounds simple enough. i realized the morning i needed to make these calls that the phone had been sitting in a wee bit of water all night long, but somehow was still able to dial the necessary numbers and hold the connection long enough for me to make my requests to denise in omaha. simple enough. i hung up, went outside and began a morning of sidewalk chalk and coffee.

an hour later i came inside and heard voices. not the kind youre thinking...i followed the sound to the cell phone which was closed but talking. there was a clearly annoyed voice saying something about 'who IS this??' i picked up the phone to see who had last been called and it was kind denise at the county courthouse. kind denise did not sound particularly kind. i was about to check the rest of the call history when it started ringing again in my hand...not for me to answer, but for someone else being called by the phone in my hand. i tried to hang up, to stop the call, to even turn the phone off, but to no avail. it was denise again sounding thoroughly angry and wanting to again know who was calling. finally, she hung up and i was able to check the call history. oh. my. gawww. there were 97 calls to the courthouse. 97!! as in three shy of 100, which quickly became 2 shy as it again started ringing in my hand. CRAP. i took the battery off the back to avoid call number 98 and began wondering what i should do.

i waited a few minutes before putting the battery back on and turning the possessed phone on. as soon as it was powered up, calls 99 and 100 were placed. clearly i had pushed the courthouse office to a point where someone was probably going to get hurt. i wondered if there was some poor employee who had just gone through a break up and some ex was wrongly being blamed for all the calls or even worse.

so, crazy cell phone was disabled again and we called the provider who graciously removed all the calls from our bill and talked us through ways to trouble shoot the issue. the phone dried out and hasnt caused any problems since.

the next day, denise actually called me and mentioned there had been a problem faxing one of the documents to me the day before. she apologized perfusely for not calling me sooner, but explained they had been having major phone issues the day before. i told her it was perfectly okay and that i completely understood. i was only tempted for a brief moment to disclose my part of the phone issues but quickly decided against it. im still wondering if full disclosure falls into the new truth leaf ive been turning over. im thinking it doesnt. at least not this time.