Adventures with Mrs. Doodlepunk

[sksamboots]

Eeek another week Mrs. D, I hope it's better than the last

[Anna Green]

Ms. Doodlepunk, I have been self absorbed and missed your birthday. Sorry. Happy Birthday! I hope it was good and someone pampered you. I really enjoy your journal, the humor and insight. You are such a gift to us even when you are up to your ears in preteendom.

[Mrs. Doodlepunk]

Ms. Doodlepunk, I have been self absorbed and missed your birthday.

Honey, if you look up self-absorbed in Webster's, there is my picture. All this journal is about lately is my whining about all the stuff going on here. I have not read anyone else's stuff for quite a while.

Some day this will all be blown over and things will be back to my normal insanity. Meanwhile, I really need to have someone hide the peanuts.

[Mrs. Doodlepunk]

Baby steps today. I have NOT eaten any peanuts, I have not killed anyone, and I have not yelled at anyone.

Even the tech support kid at the wireless internet place that is trying to now be our phone company, I didn't yell but I DID tell him how displeased I was with the service I've been getting so far. I wanted to say that I was "seriously displeased" but at would have smacked way too much of Jane Austen. Instead I just said that so far I'm just not impressed.

Had to go look up the quote. I just love the internet! "I take no leave of you, Miss Bennet. I send no compliments to your mother. You deserve no such attention. I am most seriously displeased." Lady Catherine De Bourgh.... WHAT a woman.

[Anna Green]

I think that could be a noble mantra for many in the world, that is the...

"I have NOT eaten any peanuts, I have not killed anyone, and I have not yelled at anyone."

I want sheets with it written on them as well as other Ms. Doodlepunkdoms, like the old Holly Hobby sheets that said stuff like, "When little plants begin to grow tall, put a prop so they don't fall."

[ncyg46]

i am sitting here smelling the most delicious teriyaki chicken with wasabiaki sauce on it....keep me strong!

[Mrs. Doodlepunk]

Forgot to mention that I DID almost cause two accidents while driving. I am definitely on the edge of something. I think I need a break.

NO peanuts tonight, I resisted and filled myself up with some sweet corn and banana chocolate ice cream instead. Forgot to put some flax seeds in it but that's OK.

[ncyg46]

you be careful! You are too important to get messed up with an accident! I am meeting a McDougall Friend from Florida tomorrow for lunch and we are going to a totally vegan restaurant...

http://lovinghut.us/phoenix/

take a look at the menu...and send suggestions!

I am looking at the spicy eggplant!

[Birdy]

Mrs. Doodlepunk, I really can relate to the stress you're under. And I admire the humor you still muster in spite of it all. But I hope you do get a break tomorrow.

[Ege Bamyasi]

Isn't tech support just so grand?

My last job actually involved doing that for a couple of years. The call center where Jeanette and I both worked had Logitech as one of its clients, and we had a division for mice/keyboards/webcams/speakers/gaming devices, and another for the Harmony remotes. I was very proud of the fact that I earned a bonus check almost every month after month six or so because I wouldn't let a call go without solving a problem unless I didn't have a choice. My phone etiquette was also very good even in the most stressful of situations, which really helped. My call handle times were very high, but I guarantee I saved the company many times over in Warranty Replacements I didn't have to grant. Compare that to most of the rest of the floor, which either couldn't solve problems effectively, or just pushed to get replacements authorized just to get people off the phone. Anyway, I'm just thinking back to my time in the trenches. Don't mean to ramble....

I hope you are able to continue to stay away from those peanuts. They're one of my fatal flaws too, to be honest. I haven't had nuts of any kind in the house since coming back to McDougall, and I'm not going to start now except for maybe some crushed walnuts to use in certain recipes. I don't like those enough to graze on them out of the bag, so they'll be safe.

All things considered, I think you're handling a tough set of circumstances very well. If you have to come here and let things spill, then so be it; that's why we're here! I hope things will settle down somewhat for you soon.

[Mrs. Doodlepunk]

thanks for the visits, kids!

Today is going very well so far. We are not going anywhere today, just staying home and enjoying the nice weather, low temps and low humidity.

Yesterday I bought a new Hoover carpet steamer, and just finished doing the living room, hall and master bedroom. Six spots of doggie puke (long story) and only two of them are beyond hope. I soaked those with stain remover right away, but they had already been there too long when I found them. Sigh. But I just love this new steamer. My old one had finally gone on the fritz, it was the one with rounded tanks. It would have cost 70 bucks to fix, this new one cost 100 dollars less than the old one and is way better. It's the one with square tanks and I am in love, it's way easier to use, doesn't have to be emptied quite as often, and is easier to clean up and put away. This is my fourth carpet steamer machine, which seems like a lot but they cost less than professional cleaning and when you have kids and dogs..... like my father always said, you should never buy new carpet if you're buying dog food regularly.

But I love my dogs. I don't like the guest dog who's here quite as much as my own Teddy, but think that if I could find the source of the bad odor from her breath I could fix that and things would improve greatly. Also train her to not weasel out the door and run away like an earwig, that would be good too. At least Teddy loves her and plays nice with her.

We have at least one big vat of food in the fridge. Yesterday I did a bag of potatoes, just baked on the rack, and also a huge dish of onions. Later on I will cook more brown rice. We have sweet corn, tomatoes, pickles from the garden, and lots of bread for the guys. The big vat of food is chop suey. I also have some big mushrooms for grilling, so we are all set for at least two days before I have to go to the store again.

Oh, and the peanuts are almost gone. I'm not buying more, and I haven't eaten any in a whole 24 hours or more.

[sksamboots]

OOO You got me all excited about the vacuum cleaner. Can you come over and do my floors? I really hate doing floors, just so time consuming. I figure if you do it, it will come out much better anyways. I just don't like moving all the furniture...Then you have to put it all back. Your doing great!! So glad your here today

[Tina]

I do believe our carpet shampooer-steamer is the best investment we've ever made in our house. It allows parents, children and animals to coexist harmoniously with carpet and upholstery (most of the time). And if you ever have a 100-year flood like we did a few years back, you will be so glad you bought it!

[Mrs. Doodlepunk]

I just told my mother that I don't know how she raised 5 kids without one of these things. Just one carsick episode and it pays for itself! Don't ask me how I know this. Yuck. But, we still have that car 10 years later!

I had two Bissells and they didn't last long, then this first Hoover lasted 5 years. Hope this second Hoover does as well as the last one, according to my vacuum cleaner repair guy, the square tank one is the one to buy.

The carpets are dry, and now I have two boys fighting over who gets to run it the NEXT time. This might work out really well.

[ncyg46]

in my house in Florida I tore out all the carpet and installed 1866 sq ft of almond colored tile with dark grout! I used a shop vac to clean it. In my mobile home I couldn't do that so I got the tightest berber I could and vacuumed it also with the shopvac!

Here we have 1 ft of carpet which looks disgusting but haven't found a place yet that can do the floors with the slide in pergo or something like that. I want this darn carpet out!!!!!!!!! Someday!