wednesday 9.23

It was rather moist this morning when I went walking. I am still struggling to find my groove.

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I just don't "get" the tattoos that look like you were bored in class and wrote all over your arms. Not that I really like tattoos anyway. I do appreaciate that some are beautiful and could be considered art. Connect-the-dot? Nope.

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I haven't heard one thing from my siblings and inlaws in regards to the album pages I did. Too little too late? Sure some compliments would be nice but what I really want to know if anyone cares. Should I bother continuing this?

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One more order. The plus side is that the recent orders have been small and no free shipping. Then again, it's mostly sale stuff and the $6 doesn't always cover the full shipping cost.

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Rather dull these days.

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Smoke detector started chirping last night. It was quiet enough and I slept. Tonight I heard it again. Ryan said it was OK but I knew it would bother me. I changed the battery. chirp! I removed the unit. chirp! I took the smoke detector out to the garage. chirp! It's in the ceiling and continues. chirp!

tuesday 9.22

Ryan is in a miserable mood. Making everyone else miserable. Happy Birthday. Bah!

I don't know what is wrong. He says doesn't want his bike. He says doesn't want gifts. I think he would have loved to crawl in my lap but I had to take a shower. He won't say but I wonder if he is feeling anxious about getting older. He wants to celebrate it and forget at the same time.

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TPF meeting today. More social this morning. I didn't get a chance to show my photos. Two new people today, Ross and Ana. He is a model photog and she is a doctor. She showed up to ask about cameras. I cringed but then realized she had a direction.

I am disappointed that I can't go this weekend to the car show. Rachel is busy.

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I packed a wrap for lunch then went to mosi. I paid for the membership then went to the Butterly exhibit. It was much smaller than I expected and the part where the butterflies were was locked. Disappointed.

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So I had to stop at Starbuck's to make myself feel better. I did only order a tall.

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Crud! When Ryan said it was a toddler bike I thought he was comme ting about the seat being low. But I got home and looked at the bike. It is smaller than Andy's. It's not a "toddler bike" but has 20" wheels meant for tricks. His current bike has 20" wheels. So I called the bike shop and the only one with 24" wheels is black (like Andy's) and a lot more money. Crap!

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A happy boy got off the bus today. And he wants to keep the bike. He opened his gifts and then sat down to play Sorry. Alone. Even though I offered to play. He got some money and was happy to put the $10 back in his bank. All is well.

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monday 9.21

Falling behind. Last week seemed to go so well that I got lazy and now I am behind. I have so many photos to edit, so many things I want and need to do. I hate this feeling.

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Disappointed in my latest buy from Shannon's. Somethings just don't last. I had to throw away a melon this morning.

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Disgusted at how much gunk had built up on my earrings. I hadn't taken them out of my ears in over a year. My left ear love has been itching. I took out my earring and hearly gagged at the build up. I tried hydrogen peroxide then vinegar and finally got them clean and sparkly with Charlie's Soap. I wonder if Wendy has this problem?

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Picked up Ryan's bike. I hope he rides it. He can be so fickle. I need to get home and wrap his gifts. Bother, they arrived too late. I'll have to do it tomorrow.

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Why did I think chai tea was decaf? Is doesn't affect me like regular black tea.

special olympics bowling

We were told that the class would be at the bowling alley from 10:00 until 1:30. I didn't want to sit there that long so I took my time getting there. I arrive about 10:45. It was crowded. One thing that I don't think about are the variety of dsiabilities. Andy has mostly been around kids with autism. I don't recall seeing any kids with downs or similar disabilities at his schools.

As I walked through, one boys was taking French fries left on the plates by those who had eaten and left. A group of high school (girl) volunteers looks shocked and giggled at him. It reminded me of the time when a 4 year old Andy did this at an outlet mall. The man whose fry he stole was European and felt it his right to smack Andy's hand. Yep, I was pissed but not at Andy.

After two passes through the bowling alley, I finally did spot Andy's teacher. She told me that the kids were outside waiting to come in. Apparently they did this in shifts. The behavior specialist asked about Andy wearing a size 8 shoe. Huh? No, she read that wrong. 10 1/2 please. Oh are they ugly these days. After the 90s fashion craze of wearing bowling shoes outside the alley, they have made the fluorescent! And Velcro!!

Andy was actually doing pretty well bowling until he discovered the foot foul signal. He thought it was fun to make the light go off and hear the buzz. He lost a lot of points that way. There were volunteers supposed to help keep order but they were mostly useless flirting with each other instead. There were 3 boys in our lane and they got to play 2 games. Everyone got a ribbon but they weren't award per lane. Andy got a 4th place ribbon which he wouldn't pin on. I don't blame him as they weren't safety pins! S got a second place ribbon and was very upset that he didn't get a first. T was mad that they wouldn't give her more food. Watching the other kids made me more grateful for mine.

friday 9.18

Very typical, non-exciting day.


Walked

Pulled two orders

Did some laundry

Showered

Ate lunch

Starbucks

Groceries

I told you, dull.

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I had to leave Starbucks because the laptoppers were sucking all the bandwith.

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Andy came off the bus crying. A's mom wasn't home so they brought Andy home and then will go back to A's. Andy hates when this happens. He would rather have the bus sit at A's house and wait. In past years, one of the boys getting upset made the other one upset. Then it would twice as long to calm them down.

thursday 9.17

When did life get some busy? OK, I exaggerate. But it seems like I have something to do everyday that takes me out of the house. This is good since I feel like I have been house bound for too long. House bound is also an exaggeration. I had a job. It was in my home. I stayed at home to work. I was not house bound which is probably why I felt the need to go out to lunch everyday. Which is odd since I don't consider myself very social. I ate lunch alone and buried my nose in an eBook. Perhaps it is just leaving the house that is the goal. No, since a walk should work but it doesn't seem enough. I think I need to see other people in the world. Which means I cannot retire as a hermit afterall.

(Yeah, I know. Weird stream of consciousness.)

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Always follow your instincts. I almost grabbed another shirt to change after I went to the zoo. But I reasoned that I wouldn't be staying that long. Doesn't matter, I was sweaty in about 10 minutes! Now my shirt is damp and a bit chilly sitting in the car.

It was another good visit. I saw the African penguins and the Wallaroo Station. There are so many new things since my last visit to that area. Bunderling the koala is new and cute but rather boring. They are nocturnal and sleep a lot! Besides, he is behind glass with a flourescent light behind him so photos are crap. The small bats have been replaced by huge fruit bats. Yuck! The small jeep ride has been replaced by a small roller coaster. Why do they have to have rides at the zoo? Another new addition are the budgies. Lots of cute chirpy birds up close. I am sure they were cursing me for not feeding them.

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Expect a lot more zoo photos next week.

wednesday 9.16

Separate beds is a good thing. Or at least sticking to your own side of the bed.

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Andy suggested wearing socks and tennis shoes today. It's a good thing in case he has to wear bowling shoes. His new sneakers fit well with some room for growth.

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(Oops! I forgot to blog about bowling. Well, I have a lot of poor pictures to go through so I guess that will be another blog post. Maybe this weekend?)

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I had every intention of being good. Then I asked Andy if he wanted some pizza for lunch. "Yes!" And he waited patiently for the 10 minutes. It was a little 7" pizza. I cut it up and took a bite of the crunchy crust. Oh it's been so long since I have had real pizza, even at a bowling alley. I had baked salmon this morning and made salmon salad with it and wrapped it up on some flat bread. I had a cheese stick and a peach. It was in the car. But...

Did I mention that CiCi's Pizza was across the parking lot? I'd never been but was always curious. So after the bus left, I checked the nutritional info for CiCi's. It wasn't bad as long as you limit yourself to 2-3 slices. Oh... I had 6. But they seemed so small! And well, some of them sounded so... interesting. Let's see, nothing was labelled so I am not exactly sure but I think I had Alfredo with bacon, ham and cheddar, cheese, macaroni and cheese and mushroom. None of them were great. I probably won't go back. I almost got dessert but then remembered that I have to bake cookies. Why waste calories on something that won't be as good as what I make?

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Then again... I am not sure these cookies are going to be that great. I thought I was making them the same size as Martha reccommends, but then they are a little over cooked. They still taste good and chocolatey but are a bit thin and too crispy. And I had no idea I would use over half a jar of sanding sugar! That can get expensive. I think the chocolate sugar cookies are easier and better. I would like to get a good butter cookie recipe like Dorothea used to make.

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tuesday 9.15

Man! Tuesday mornings are busy! Once Ryan is on the bus, I hop in the car and go to my photography meet-up. I hate being late but there is nothing I can do. All guys today and me. Others had their thumb drives and were asking for critique. I hope not every meeting goes like this. I know most of the stuff Jeff is explaining.

I went to, wait for it, Tijuana Flats for lunch. Just as I walked in I got an email saying that TF was now following me. On Twitter that is. I did opt for a little different meal, spinach and artichoke quesadilla. It was OK. I prefer the plain cheese better.

I found Evening Primose Oil at Target! And it is a lot cheaper. This bottle has 75 capsules of 1000 mg for $6.99. The price at The Vitamin Shoppe was $10.99 for 25 capsules of 500 mg.

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I made some popcorn this afternoon. I don't know what possessed me but I decided to find out exactly how many calories it was. Oh my... ! OK, I have to cut down on the butter and I have to limit the amount I eat. Good grief! Now it is dinner time and I find myself without an appetite.

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I got the cookie dough made. But I will have to bake them tomorrow. When, I am not sure. Tomorrow is Special Olympics Bowling in Zephyrhills. Can I manage 3 1/2 hours without getting bored?

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Tetris is fun but not relaxing. I used to have Bejewled on my Palm. I remember there being no time limit and I equated that to relaxing. So I purchased it for the iPhone. It's not relaxing either. But it is fun.

monday 9.14

I am Starbucks. My plan was to come here and catch up on all the blog an internets reading in my queue. So far I have spent 30 minutes on Twitter and and adding to the pile. Really, I should have done the reading this weekend but...

I made the mistake of buying Tetris for the iPhone. Then Ryan wanted it. OK not a big deal. But in order to add it to Ryan's iPod, I had to disable restrictions. I left them off and then he tried to buy an app. "I don't have a password." Uh, no and you won't get one either. Surprising, he went into his bank for the $10 for Madden NFL 10. He did have some trouble in the beginning but is doing better with it now.

I started reading a real live book! It's one I got recently in the bargain section. Unfortunately, it's one I have already read and have on digital. Oops. Yes, I am still reading it. It's a decent book. Yes the outcome is predictable but I am enjoying reading the details again.

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Hmm... the barista at Starbucks is fickle. One day I got a refill for $.54. The next day she gave me one for free. Last week it was full price. So I asked someone else about the policy. OK so technically lattés are not included. Then why did I get such a good deal those 2 days? Perhaps she didn't know either. So now the venti is a better value. But my DCI I Am Not a Paper Cup is only 12 ounces. I guess it's telling me one tall per visit is enough.

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I spent some time reading from Instapaper. At least half are better read on my desktop so I moved them to appropriate folder. But when will I get to them? I need to accept that I can't read it all not view every video that comes my way. How do those who watch TV, have jobs, social lives, etc, do it all?

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It's probably a good thing but all the fruit was gone by today's breakfast. I could not go to Shannon's as they are closed on Mondays. I went to Publix and got some peaches and cantaloupe. I hope they are not bad. (The melon is almost tasteless.) I also remembered to look for Diswasher Magic. They have it for $3.99, way cheaper than my last bottle. They did not have any Evening Primrose Oil which is supposed to be good for brittle nails. To prevent them, I need nothing to cause them. The pharmacist had not even heard of it. I checked google and the closest place is The Vitamin Shoppe at slug mall or Brandon. Hmm... Do I want to spend over $10/month on this? And it will take about 6 weeks to show results.

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friday 9.11

Routines can be good. Until you forget you are meant to be doing something different that day. After Andy left, I went inside and started to update my blog and post photo of the day. Once I was finished, I realized I should have taken a shower so I can leave for the zoo after Ryan gets picked up. Bit I had enough time and showered and dried my hair and now I sit waiting for his bus. His original pick up time is 8:42 but they are usually late.

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The zoo was fun! When was the last time I said that? Oh right, never. I have never gone by myself. I have either been a kid myself with a school group or with my own kids. I could take any shots I wanted and go anywhere. And I did. I only did the Asian and primate areas but took over 800 shots. I am so glad I decided to go back for my battery. I needed it. I am not sure how the long shots will come out. I am too shaky. I tried to brace myself against the railings but... An annual for an adult is only $45 and an additional 10% off if I get one this month. I can see doing this on the way to the chiropractor.

Now I am hungry.

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Lunch was good.

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I stopped to take some photos of the Hamner Fire Tower. I liked the sky behind it. I guess 800 photos from the zoo wasn't enough.

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I thought some more tea might be good. The zoo charges over $5 for a tall tea, no latté. (I was going to take this out once I realized my dyslexia mislead me. The tea is $1.55, not $5.15.) Glad I had gotten one on the way. Yelp! showed no places along my route. So I skipped it. See, being lazy can be good.

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I am glad that Tijuana Flats finally posted the nutritional information. Seeing what the difference in calories the regular cheese and low fat cheese, I may have to make the switch. I might try it next week.

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Andy's new sandals came today. They fit but seem a little hard to get on. I think it is because he has a high arch like his dad. Maybe Tevas might be a better option.

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Saturday 9.12 I have whittled the 825 photos down to 209. Then I whittled some more and found 41 photos that I would like to process. Expect to see some of them next week.