F is for Forgetful

And Flighty. And Frazzled. And Frustrated!
Lately my mind has been somewhere else.  My body is struggling to do the normal things (get up, get showered, dressed and to work on time, do laundry, dishes, and vacuuming...) and the absence of my brain is making even the simplest of tasks complicated.
I Forgot my phone at work on Friday.  This is the second time that has happened.  Each time I feel myself slipping a little closer to the Alzheimer's end of the Brain-Function scale.  I have started losing not only my phone, but my keys and books, and chargers, and remote controls, and Savannah's boots and jacket on a regular basis.  I can't even describe the frustration this is bringing upon me. 
My mind is struggling to come up with the correct words when I talk and is having difficulty organizing my thoughts. 
I really feel like I am losing it! 
Even as I sit, trying to write this, my mind is coming up blank.  What do I do???
I think part of the problem is that Savannah has started waking up several times during the night and not been able to soothe herself back to sleep.  Which means I am getting up several times during the night to rock her back to sleep.  She has also been so super extraordinarily incredibly horrifically grumpy.  She wakes up grumpy, is grumpy before eating, is grumpy after eating, is grumpy when I try to hold her, is grumpy when I don't try to hold her...you get the picture.  This is taking its toll on me.  Big Time.  I know this phase can't last forever.  I am chalking it up to teething.  And eventually her mouth will be full and no more teeth will come in.  Right??  In the meantime I am barely holding onto my sanity. This is what I feel like right now...

***I wrote the previous lines several days ago.  It is now Wednesday and things are gtting better.  Savannah is starting to work her way out of the grumps.  My mind is not completely normal, but I am able to recall simple words by concentrating reeeeaaaaalllly hard.  Hurray for small victories!

E is for Eulogy

In Loving Memory

of

Brutus Edward Smith

2009-2011

Brutus, you were a good fish.  You brought color and happiness to our life.  Even though you were only with us for a short while, you have made our home a better place.  You were a joy to have and we are thankful you got to be with us.  May you swim in large, clean pools of water, with lots of friendly fish and plenty of delicious worms to snack on.  Rest in Peace my friend.

A candlelight vigil was held in honor of Brutus

He was placed in a customized coffin, complete with an ornament sealed with x's and o's.

His casket was then engraved with his name and lifespan.

The viewing was attended by those closest to him.  Alex, Savannah, and Liz.  A moment of silence was given as we all said a special prayer for our friend.

An empty bowl stands in honor of the memory of our dearly departed.

Rest in Peace.

D is for...

Darling Dishes! 
My niece Kate is turning 6 on St Patrick's Day and has made it known that her heart's desire (other than a new baby brother or sister. ahem. Ruth Anne?) is a tea set.  I looked around online and at several stores, but all the sets I saw looked either too cheap and plasticky, too miniature, or like they were laced with lead.  Not good.  So I decided to go to one of my favorite stores...

Goodwill.
 I love that place.  I used to make the rounds every weekend just for fun.  Lately I have been trying to go only when I have something specific in mind.
Anyways, I picked up these lovelies...

I got a set of 4, with a couple extra pieces in case of an accident.  Aren't they so absolutely sweet?  I love them.  I am aware it might be a little nutso to give breakables to a 6 year old.  But I think she will love them.  I think she will feel so special using them and serving people tea or something like it. And I didn't spend a fortune on them so there will be no dismay should pieces get broken.  Plus I found a nifty little box for her to pack them away in.

See how perfectly they all are nestled inside?

I am so excited to have our first tea party together!  I will be sure to post pics when we do.


D is also for...
Dumpster Diving
I took my trash out this evening and when I entered the gated dumpster area I was surprised and delighted to find this little treasure...

Ok. Maybe "treasure" is stretching it a little.  It's basically one step up from milk crates.  And it looks like it belongs in a college dorm room. BUT it is sturdy, clean, and can help bring order to the chaos that threatens to take over my home.  I proudly picked it up and carried it back to my place.  Maybe "proudly" is stretching it a little too.  More like I glanced around furtively, thankful for the cloak of darkness the night provided, before holding it down and casually strolling back to my apartment.  All the while ready to ditch it and bolt should anyone notice that I was furnishing my home with trash.  Shhhh....
Thrifty Thelma; that's me!

C is for Cash

C actually stand for check, but cash sounds so much cooler.  Doesn't it?
Today I said a sweet farewell to my tax refund and off she went.


 This is very similar to the check I sent off.  Except instead of winning the Iditarod Race, I declared bankruptcy.  And instead of it being TO me, it was FROM me.  And there were a few more zeros on the end of my check.  At least it felt like it.

My check was SO BIG in fact, that this group of elderly seniors (is that redundant?) saw me struggling to lug it to the mailbox and kindly offered their assistance.  Thanks Fred, William, Edith, Rose, Jan, and those of you too cool to remove your shades for the picture, even though I asked very nicely and used the secret password (please).  Oh yeah, and that's Martha standing center stage, hogging the spotlight.  Her portly stature came in handy with the heavy lifting though!

The funny thing is, that check was SO heavy, that once it was in the mailbox, it wasn't weighing ME down anymore.  Now lest you think I was GLAD to be rid of such a large sum of moola, I would like to inform you that I sent along a letter with it.  Something to the effects of this...

Dear Bankruptcy Man,
Here is your (please give it back) money.  I hope if finds (please give it back) you in good health.
You have very nice (pretty please) handwriting.  I realize your letter was (give it back) typed, but you DID take the time (I won't tell) to sign it personally and that looked nice.
I know you are a busy man (but I am a poor woman) so I won't take any more of your time.
I kept the Earned Income Credit because my lawyer said I could.  It was $71.00. (But I will trade you for the check if you want).
Respectfully yours,
Elizabeth (broke single mom) Smith

And then I put 2 stamps on it, because I think that will make it get to him even FASTer. 
It totally wasn't a big deal.  I mean, I was just like, Oh! That's right, I gotta send the check.  So I wrote it out real quick and that was that.  Barely even noticed the dent (Grand Canyon) in my checking account.
Also, don't tell anyone, but I just spelled it Grand Canion.  I don't know why.  Sounds like a new seasoning or something. (I am SO getting a copyright on that.)

Sooo...that was pretty much my day.  Just workin' and hangin' out and payin' the bills.  No biggie.  None at all.

B is for Birthday

Today's post is brought to you by the letter B.

It also happens to be the Birthday of the sister right below me in age.  She turned 25.  I am just a ti(6yrs)ny bit older than her.
So Happy Birthday to Heather!
The family all met at my mom's house for a spaghetti dinner followed by cheesecake and chocolate pie. YUM.  It was all so good.
I spent all day crafting a card for her because this year the family went in on a gift for her, so I didn't have anything for her to unwrap.  The sad thing is I took a picture of the finished product on my phone and it's not in there now:(  So you will have to let your imaginations run wild as to what it looked like.  Just rest assured it was fabulous.  Think colors, twirly yarn, pom-poms...the works.

This is Heather.  She is 25.  Today.

Heather has not had an easy life.  She has had lots of struggles, but has been sober for over a year now.  Kicking an addiction can be HARD.  I know this because of my addiction to fattening foods.  But that's another story.
She is working so hard to get her life together that what she wanted the most for her birthday was the Quicken Business computer program.  She is starting up a cleaning company and is making sure to do things by the book.  She is a lot more organized than I am.

Melanie

This is Heather's daughter, Melanie. She is not normally this messy, but you see we had spaghetti for dinner tonight.  Melanie took it one step further and used it as a facial scrub and hair mask.  You have to admit she looks VERY youthful! Perhaps she's on to something??   Melanie will have her first Birthday in April.  She and Savannah are going to be good friends once she learns to defend herself a little better.

 This is Heather blowing out her candles.  My other sister Sarah is holding the cake.  Sarah's Birthday is this month on the 20th.  As you can probably tell from the photo, she has a long history of working as a professional cake holder.  She is the number one requested cake holder in the tri-state area.  Look at the awe on the faces of those gathered around her.  It was a spectacular cake pose.  (Ok, that might not be EXACTLY accurate, but she DID work at Red Robin for several years!)

This is a closer picture of Heather.  And that aDORable girl she's holding is my sweet Savannah.  You know I had to get in at least one picture of her!

I am not apologizing for the stilted flow in this post.  I am having a sleepover at Ruth Anne's house tonight (so as to have more time for sitting and drinking coffee before work tomorrow) and it's harder for me to concentrate when it's not my computer.  That was not an apology.

I will end this post in a toast to Heather Lynn...

May you find happiness, peace, and success in this, your 25th year!  Salud!

And they all said "Amen"