Tuesday Stuff

It so nice not to be at work right now. Even Lance is jealous! And I'm usually jealous of him because he has a lot more days off than I do.

I stayed in bed for a long time this morning. Took a muscle relaxer last night because my neck/shoulder/upper back pain is back with a vengeance. It didn't really make the pain subside any, but it knocked me out pretty well.

But I'm up now. No plans for the day other than to go see Kathy around 1. It's gradually warming up a bit outside. Once it's in the mid-40's or so, I can bundle up a little and take Reece for a walk. It's about 40 degrees right now.

I found a couple of potentially awesome freelance writing gigs this morning. Already put in my application for one of them. The other one will involve a little time and effort to apply, as I have to print out hard copies of everything I'm submitting electronically and mail them off to England.

Right now, I'm just going to enjoy some tea and the peace and quiet.

The Man and the Macaw

From an email I just sent Kathy, who left me a voicemail message and an email, because she has a stomach bug and cannot get together with me today:

I'm so sorry to hear that you are sick. Maybe this little story will cheer you up.

Reece and I went down to the Green River Trail this morning for a long walk. At the beginning of our walk, we met a man with a macaw on his shoulder. I swear this sounds like the start of a joke, but it's not. I mean, who sees people walking around a golf course with giant parrots? So I said hi and I asked him if his bird could talk. His bird responded to my question, saying "hello." Then he started barking at Reece (the bird, that is, not the man).

Reece was thunderstruck by all of this. I don't think she had any idea what to make of it, and after a few minutes, she decided that indifference was the right response. So we walked alongside this man and this bird, the man and I making pleasant conversation, the bird taunting Reece every once in awhile with various tones and inflections of dog barking.

Finally, she had enough, and sped up her pace considerably, so we were forced to tear away from them. He had to stop anyway so his bird, whose name was Sunshine (or Sunny), could go potty.

I hope that made you smile.

Feel better!

Yeah, I was going to post about this anyway, but I kind of like the way I told this story in my email, so I just pasted it here.

Anyway, we just got home. I got Kathy's message and was disappointed, as I had really been looking forward to spending time with her. But these things happen.

So since I had planned to make soup today, and I had the ham already thawing in the fridge, I went ahead and put it together. It's simmering on the stove now. It'll be lunch for today and the rest of the week. Roasted corn chowder with diced ham and I'll sprinkle some cheddar on it when it's done. And some oyster crackers. It smells awesome right now, and after that long walk, the soup will hit the right spot.

I still have some other soup mixes I can take over there for another time. Or, as I mentioned to her before, we can make pancakes.

So...how shall I spend the rest of my day? Watching movies? Reading? I have a bit of shopping I need to do too, so I suppose I can take care of that.

Ok...

This soup is awesome.

And I have other flavors to try. But I'm so happy I can order more online.

This stuff seriously tastes like it simmered all day on the stove. Sooooooooo good.

(no subject)

I ordered a few things from Avon. I have never really ordered anything from them before. Normally, if I can't pick up something I need at a drug store or Target, I won't bother.

But my skin's in bad shape. I've tried a lot of different stuff from Target or Walgreens or whatever. I'm desperate.

So I ordered a facial cleanser from Avon. I hope it will help improve my skin. I still get bad breakouts, and I'm at the age now where I have to start worrying about wrinkles. I need something that can address both those issues. The Olay I'm currently using isn't cutting it. Neither is Neutrogena.

In addition to the facial cleanser, I picked up a hand cream and a foot cream, both of which were on sale, and I needed those items anyway.

Order total: $33.70 (including tax and shipping). I paid via Paypal.

So tell me why Paypal is telling me that Avon is going to deduct $39.10 out of my checking account?

You better believe I emailed their customer service. This is ridiculous.