randomly chaotic and frequently mundane

So I decided to highlight my hair by adding a little blond.  Mom pulled my hair through the cap (which brought her tremendous joy, I’m sure) and put in the highlights.  Um… there’s quite a bit more blond than I anticipated.  Not that it’s a bad thing.  I always looked good as a blond.  Come to think of it, I’ve been thinking about going blond again… so maybe next time I’ll do the whole lot.  The only problem with a frosting kit is that the cap gives you instant roots — you don’t even have time for your hair to grow out some before you have roots.

Gotta figure out something to do with Gage on Saturday.  Mom & Joe are having the breakers re-wired so the power’ll be off.  Gage doesn’t handle that well.  He walks around trying to turn things on and getting upset that they’re not turning on.  So I’m gonna take him out to do something.  Just dunno what yet.

there’s a dog in the house again.  She’s a puggle named Petunia and absolutely adorable.  She’s also sweet as hell.

Gage is doing really good in school.  Next year he’ll be in the more advanced Autism class, which is excellent news.  I’m so very excited and proud and all of that.  We’ve signed up for the Autism walk again this year.  We want to make it an annual thing.  Starting the fund raising so we’re not scrambling at the last minute to try to get donations.

Work is work.  One of our more unpleasant customers was in today — skunk lady.  She attempted to make amends for some of the nastiness she’s unleashed.  Alas, she was attempting to make amends to the wrong person.  Which was both disturbing and amusing at the same time.  Maybe she’s sincere.  I’m not sure I buy it.

Searching for a new car.  New used car, that is.  Found a couple of options that look like they’ll be reliable, budget friendly and kind of “fit” as far as me getting behind the wheel without needing 25 pillows to be able to see over the dashboard.  Shortness has it’s challenges, you know.

Read New Moon and Eclipse this weekend.  Good books.  Can’t wait to see the movies.  Now I just need to get a copy of Breaking Dawn and complete the series.  I dunno about that whole “Team Edward/Team Jacob” thing.  Frankly, I think Bella should stick with Edward and send me a Jacob.  I’d definitely like a Jacob in my life.  Or maybe an Edward.  Both at the same time could be interesting, too.  LOL

Traded Wolski????  Are you frakkin kidding me?  I just can’t wrap my head around that.  Wojtek Wolski???  Good lord that’s just insane.  That’s all I got to say for now.

So they were predicting another major snowstorm, 8 - 16 inches was the last prediction I heard.  The panic set in, people rushed to the store, people bought a whole bunch of stuff.  Yeah, we got like 4, maybe 5 inches.  Hell, they plowed the roads completely clean, right along the curbs instead of just down the middle.  It was that light.  I hope some of those people who had the “I must rush to the store now” mentality feel kinda stupid now.

about snow that makes people lose all sense of reason and sanity?  Seriously.  The way they flock to the grocery store at the first hint of snow and buy whatever they see.  It’s like they think they’re going to be snowed in for weeks as a result of a few inches.  Personally, when I hear about the snow, I think “damn, I gotta shovel again,” not “Oh crap! I gotta rush out and buy more food than my family can eat in a week!!!”  People just baffle me, seriously.  I mean, the last time I checked, they DO plow.  The last time I checked, we’ve all been through this before.   And what are you people doing at the grocery store in the middle of the day?  Did you seriously leave work early so that you could go grocery shopping in preparation for the storm?  It’s not so urgent people.  I’m willing to be that you probably had enough stuff in your pantry already.  Maybe you needed a few essentials.  Maybe you really WERE out of milk.  But it’s not like you needed to buy a cart load of crap.

And while I’m on the subject… what do you do with the eggs, bread and milk?  Are you making french toast?  I mean, everyone rushes out and gets eggs, milk and bread when they hear it’s going to snow.  Why that particular variety of items?  It sounds an awful lot like you’re making french toast while you’re waiting out the storm.  How nice for you.  Pray tell, how you going to cook those eggs if the power goes out?  Just a thought.

I seriously don’t get it.

So let’s see… Shortly before Valentine’s day, my great aunt passed away.  It was sad.  She was a really great woman.  Some of my fondest childhood memories were spent at her house, playing in the fields, playing with the dogs. and eating one of my favorite foods ever — chicken pot pie (not the kind you’re thinking of though).  I wish I’d gotten the recipe for that when I still had the chance.

On Friday, I got some stunningly terrible news regarding one of my best friends in the world.  Let’s just say that the news was heartbreakingly earth-shattering.

On top of that, my Grandmother died this morning.  We’re all pretty shaken up, but holding in there as best as can be expected.  Gage doesn’t know what’s going on, he’s just upset that people keep bursting into tears.  Grandma was great.  I loved visiting her when I was a kid.  I wish I’d been able to take Gage down to meet her.

Add to that the two major snow storms we had and the hellish days they made at work, and so far February is turning out ot be one hell of a bad month.  Calgon, take me away.

So the previously mentioned co-worker isn’t working there anymore.  It’s sad, and it feels like a missed opportunity.  There’s been some level of flirting for awhile.  I never jumped on the opportunity.  Not having his number, I don’t have any way to get in touch with him.  I might ask around and see if anyone’s got his number.  I was thinking that it would be cool if I can get his cell phone number… then I can send him a bunch of suggestive text messagees until he figures out who it is.  That would be all kinds of fun.  For me, if not for him.  If I strike out on the phone number, I guess I can just chalk it up to a missed opportunity. *le sigh*

So I was checking out a site called CinemaMob, which I found to be quite interesting. It would certainly be cool to have access to unlimited videos on my cell phone, if I had a cell phone that was capable of playing them. It’s something that I will definitely have to look into when I can get an upgraded phone. It would be fun to be able to have access to all kinds of videos to entertain me when life starts getting to me and I need to unwind. A little something I could take with me everywhere I go. I qualify for a phone upgrade with my provider in 3 months. In the meantime, CinemaMob is being bookmarked for future use.

So I was thinking the other day… so often, I get asked by people, perfect strangers what’s wrong with my son, or what’s wrong with me that I have him on a “leash” when we go out in public.  Well here’s the thing, YES, I do use one of those kid harnesses with a leash attached when I take my son out.  My son has Autism and he doesn’t usually like to hold my hand, and when he does, it’s never for a very long period of time.  It keeps him close to me, even if he gets distracted by something else.  It prevents him from running out into traffic.  It’s a safety measure.  If you don’t like it, screw you.  I’m not going to apologize for doing whatever it takes to keep my kid safe.

But I digress.  People ask me these questions.  I tell them my son has Autism.  99% of the time, the response is “I’m so sorry…” Excuse me?  Why are you sorry?  He’s my son, Autism doesn’t change that.  I wouldn’t trade anything in the world for the joy of having that little boy.  In fact, I think I’m blessed, because I appreciate the little things so much more because of it.

Spontaneous I love yous for example, you know, the ones that come without hearing it first.  The ones where a child will simply say it, completely out of the blue.  My son will, with prompting, often repeat the phrase “I love you” to someone who has said it to him.  But very rarely does he say it spontaneously.  Other kids do it all the time.  I think I got 4 or 5 spontaneous I love yous from my niece today alone.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s special when she tells me she loves me and it’s dear to me.  But it’s nothing compared to my son saying it.  He’s given very few people a spontaneous I love you, and I’ve noticed that when he does he has perfect enunciation, he looks the person in the eye and he is very focused.  It’s as if, for just a moment, the sensory jumble/overload that he endures every day clears and he’s saying “this is me, the real me who’s hiding inside here and I have to tell you this now because I don’t know how long it will last… I love you.”  That is a moment that brings people to tears.  I’m the most frequent recipient, I’ve heard it 4 times since he was born.

There are things that I may be missing.  People have asked me about missing out on things because my son isn’t “normal” but I don’t think I’m missing out on anything.  My son is different, so the things I experience may be different.  I’ve seen my son spend an hour fascinated with a lady bug crawling on his kiddie pool and then on his arm.  Looking close, breathing on it, touching it’s back… When he was done watching the lady bug, he picked it up and put it on a dandelion.  I’ve seen my son successfully turn our front yard into a dandelion garden in the span of one summer.  The salad was excellent.  My son finds fascination in things I never noticed before, or that I took for granted before.  But when I play alongside him, I find myself having fun that I wish I’d discovered as a child, too.

My son’s not broken.  There’s no reason to be sorry for me.  My son is different, and yes he can be quite challenging.  But he’s extremely special and perfect in every single way, as far as I’m concerned.

So I splurged today.  My feet have been killing me for months.  Up until about 2 months ago, I was wearing the same shoes every day that I bought before my son was born.  Since I work on my feet, they were not happy with that arrangement.  Didn’t really feel like I could justify buying a new pair though.  Mom had a pair that were a few years younger than the ones I was wearing and I took those.  They were a little better, but my feet were still hurting every day.  To the point where it was difficult to walk, to be honest.  So today I splurged.  I got myself a pair of shoes for work.  two, actually.  That way I’m not wearing them out faster by wearing the same pair day in and day out.  HUZZAH!

Nice.  Here’s a ratings guide to the best online casinos, poker rooms, and gaming sites on the web.  A nice resource if you’re interested in online gaming, whether you’re just starting out or if you’ve been playing online for awhile. Knowledge is power, and when you’re playing at online casinos for real money, you want to know what you can expect from the sites you log into. I know when I decide to spend my money at any casino, whether it’s brick and mortar or over the web, I want to have some information on what they can offer me ahead of time.

Ran up to he grocery store with mom today… the one I work at.  One of my co-workers was there, a guy that I’ve been attracted to for quite some time.  He’s tall, good looking, a nice guy, etc.  We were chatting a bit while mom cashed in some scratch off lotto tickets.  He said something about wondering what would happen if he kinda threw himself in my direction.  The only thing I can think is that he might be interested in me.  I’m thinking I might be interested in him being flung in my direction.  That would be certainly interesting and probably quite enjoyable.  Dunno if I should read it that way though.  I know he was involved in some way with one of the other girls at work, but I don’t know what the nature of their relationship was, how it ended, etc.  Might be something worth pursuing, that’s for certain.

I’ve always loved the idea of vacation homes. For years I’ve wanted to rent a house at the beach and spend some time with family, friends, alone, whatever.  I’ve done the hotel thing and it’s just not as great as it sounds.  For starters, I love to cook, even on vacation, I want to cook.  A vacation rental would give me the opportunity to cook my own meals.  That would also save me a little cash and waistline since when I can’t cook for myself, I tend to go for expensive food that’s bad for me.  luxury vacation rentals also tend to make a separation between the common areas from the sleeping areas via a living room and separate bedroom(s).  Always beneficial when you either have a larger group of people spending the time together, or if you’re planning on inviting new friends back to your place. The added space and comfort that you get with vacation rentals also makes it well worth it. Vacation rentals just seem like the right way to go to me. Like a home away from home.

This has been a paid post.

The Olympics are of some interest to me.  Well the WINTER Olympics.  Actually, only a few events in the Winter Olympics: Men’s Hockey and Figure Skating.  That being said, I’d like to say GO USA MEN’S ICE HOCKEY TEAM and GO LATVIA MEN’S ICE HOCKEY TEAM.

Why Latvia?  My favorite player is from Latvia.  He’s playing on the team.  He’s the captain.  Karlis Skrastins is awesome, and I think he deserves the joy of an Olympic Medal.

Your lover will love you even more if you get them a pinata