On Hiatus

Friendly greetings. I know I vanished again. For that, I am sorry. What a wretched woman I am. I have good reasons though and some good news. I will have blog posts. Lots of blog posts and lots of photos. However, they will be currently unpublished and will be published sometime in the future. When I'm home I'll try to keep up with your flickr streams and blogs. You can still email me at butterflynjesus @ gmail dot com for a shout out.

I know I should have had the courtesy to say I was taking a hiatus. My bad. My blogging has been erratic at best this last year and 2006 was a very tough year in many ways. I had something of an epiphany when people I knew had their blogs and webpages read by people they knew, who reacted in undesirable ways. My blog was receiving way more hits a day then I ever thought it would, some through unsavory searches, and I got a little freaked out. I've met so many great friends through blogging and sharing my photography, but I don't deal well with attention and so I'm a work in progress. I had to step back and evaluate my blogging situation for the safety of my family. Yeah, my offspring are twerps, but they're mine and I must keep them safe from boogeymen. And embarrassment.

I'll be crazy busy most of the summer and will traveling to San Diego, Kentucky, Michigan, and northern Wisconsin. Don't feel bad if I don't return emails right away, I can be a slowpoke. Come back in a few months to get caught up on the last few months of my insanely crazy and interesting life in marathon fashion. Until then have a fun and safe summer.

Lissa

Hello, Goodbye

Yes, I know it has been almost two and a half months since I posted. In my defense, The Husband changed the PC set up again and since I have to use his computer now, I'm at his mercy. Between coming out of what felt like three month long bad mood and computer problems I've just been burnt out and unmotivated.

Our TV is now a gigantic monitor. The keyboard and the mouse are wireless and the desk is the couch. For some, you're thinking--sweet-- for others, like me, you're wondering how that even works. Well, it has taken me forever to get used to it and I hated it at first. Just figuring out how to work a new TV remote (yes, he got his big TV) could require one to take a six week workshop. Nevermind figuring out how to switch from TV to the PC, back to TV, to DVD, RGB, HDMI, and blickety black. Then somehow we got a virus, which of course is my fault, so now I'm on some old laptop that The Husband's mom gave him. It's a dinosaur. I'm learning how to type on this tiny little keypad and the result is that it looks like a drunk orangutan has gotten hold of my computer. It happens more then you would think.

I shall not complain though. I can finally get back online, even if my wireless connection just quits workly constantly. Like my dryer. And my wits end.


The Husband tells me that it must be a user error. Which is his answer for everything being the Software Tester/Engineer Genius that he is.

I'll give you all a little update because I feel like a schmuck for not doing so and even worse for not being able to respond to all your emails. I read every single one. I try to keep up. But I just haven't been able to respond as often as I'd like. I didn't set out to intentionally just drop away the last few months. However, between living my crazy life and a long, dark winter accompanied by mild depression I just sort of needed to drop away and go into survival mode. It's not you, it's me.

I've mentioned we have a new TV. Cause, you know, TVs are an important part of a man's life and he's only been pining for a big screen for years. He settled on a 50 inch HD plasma flat screen. Size does matter. I don't want to hear about TVs ever again. I have my camera, he has his TV, we're even. Only I never have time to learn how to use my DSLR whereas the TV has been on since it came out of the box. What would life be like without hockey, boxing, and let's not forget, Ninja Warrior? I wish I knew. Although, watching reruns of Northern Exposure in HD is rather cool. Not to mention how bitchin' the Food Network and HGTV looks in 50 inches of HD. Paula, Giada, and Bobby are like totally in my livingroom now and they don't care that it's messy or smells like dog.

The kids never got to go to the Christian Retreat that weekend. We ended up not having the money. How's that for priorities? It was before T.R. (Tax Return) And it hopefully showed us why we have to GET BACK into preparing for things AHEAD of time. Procrastination is bad kids. Just say no. Have I ever mentioned that I met The Husband in a high school accounting class? Go figure.

I finally gave my two week notice two weeks ago, but somehow my boss thinks that if I take a two week break I can get myself orgranized again and back into a routine so I can come back. Um, no. I've been there two weeks too many. For the money I make, it's not worth coming home at 11:30pm or later two nights a week. I can't get up in the morning, I'm rushing our school work on the days that I work, and the repetitive motions are driving me nuts. I feel like a robot and not one of the hot ones in Stepford Wives.

Hi, did you enjoy your meal? How was everything? Would you like anything else? Do you need a receipt? I'm too smart for that crapola.

I like most of the people that I worked with, I really do, which made it hard to leave. But I'm not there for friends. I was there to help supplement our income when The Husband wasn't getting overtime. And now he is. Working in a resturant was crazy and I'm getting too old for other people's crazy.

On Easter Sunday, which I didn't work--thank God--some kid or perhaps a woman wearing a skirt and a thong, you never know crapped on the floor right outside the ladies bathroom. If that weren't nasty enough, some other woman stepped in it with her alligator skin pumps and tracked it from the bathroom to the hostess booth. When she finally realized she was fertilizing the floor with human ut-oh she began throwing up and proceded to run around the retail portion of the store in her stocking feet while having a nervous breakdown and screaming, "There's $@*# on my shoes". The general manager was wiping the mess off of her shoes while apologizing profusely while he no doubt tried to remember the manual protocal for when customers step in poop. It's on page 33. I studied hard. The woman wasn't totally unlucky, because the store prepares for such things by selling $30 slippers. Yay. For all her trauma she got a free pair of slippers and a gold card to come back again "on the house".

'We're sorry you stepped in doo doo in your new $200 pumps while in our store. Here's a coupon, hope you'll come again.

That's just another day at work. I do enough of that at home. The sick thing is, I bet there will be copy cat acts popping up all over in the area. Yep. Someone will have Jr. whizelate on the floor and then push him into the mess. "Oopsie' I falled in to someone's pee pee. Can I have slippers and fish fry?

Just the other day I watched a mother complain that the Indiana store doesn't have peels on the fried apples or pickles on the burgers. She was so unhappy that she wasn't going to pay. She wasn't even eating a burger! Her kid ordered it and she took the burger right away from the kid in order to avoid paying. Funny how the woman got halfway done with her own meal though. It "ruined" the taste of the burger for her five year old. So she said. That's odd, considering her child didn't mind practically eating the paper menu, her own hair and several unmentionables from her own nose. Or maybe the kid is just so hungry from her weirdo mom pranking every resturant she visits that she has no choice but to gnaw on anything she can get her hands on. It was 45 minutes after closing and the blitch was picking over ten cent candies. I wanted to bludgen her.

They don't pay me enough to deal with that. I always meant to post about the craziness, but it wasn't worth fighting withw the computers.

For those emailing about Vinny. He is doing very well. Although he himself takes to occassionally crapping on the floor. He's so cute that I overlook this annoyance. His new favorite thing is sleeping under the covers and snuggling up as close as he can get. He's by far The Husband's dog, but at night when he's sweepy sweepy, he wants me. I must be the warmer of the two, which only reminds me that I'm still thirty pounds overweight. He only lubs me for my chubbyness. He can walk on his hind legs and he can now stay while waiting for a treat. For those of you who have Boston Terriers, you know how much they fart. The dog has chronic gas. He gets so bloated I begin to look for a string to tie to his three quarter inch tail when he floats away. But he gets relief when he farts loud and often. It comes in handy when you want to blame your own smells on someone else, but most of the time he's clearing the room. And not only does he fart loud, but he's scared of his farts. He jumps up and panics and begins to look around as if to ask, "Does anyone else here that? Something loud is barking at my ass. I felt it. It's trying to get me!! There it goes again!!" I do it all the time.

Then he jumps and runs away to hide somewhere. "Vinny, it's just gas. Knock it off and get back into bed. Nothing is trying to get you."

Even though he's stinky, he doesn't roll his eyes or talk back.

The Children were all baptized this sunday. It was such a blessing. I wish the pictures turned out better but I didn't have enough time to practice choosing the best settings for movement and reflection of light. I shall have to post about the baptism and upload pictures. Oh, and there weren't any gremlins coming out of them. My grandma embarrassed me though in church by loudly proclaiming that the pastor should dunk them under twice and hold them down for good measure. We were in the first row. Need I say, that the only ones who speak louder then children under eight years of age are old people? And now I've been officially mortified by both.

Oh, and I can't forget LiL' J is now seven. His birthday fell on Good Friday this year and he took it as a positive omen. He told me, "Guess what?! I'm the luckiest boy in the world. My great-grandma is coming out, my birthday is on Good Friday, I have a half day, I get spring break, and I'm getting bapatized on Easter!"

Gotta go, the dog is peeing on the chair.

Thursday's Thirteen

Thirteen Things about Butterfly Girl

1. I dislike my job. Leaving my husband and kids for $7.50 an hour is so not worth my time and effort, even if it's only two or three days a week. I'm quitting soon.

2. The man that fell and fractured his leg called me where did he get my numberto ask me if I'd write up a statement for his lawyer-he'd like a summary of what I saw and what the condition of the parking lot was like so he can get the townhouse insurance company to settle with him. Um, what did I see? I saw a man lying on the ground. I gave him a blanket. The condition of the parking lot was cold. It was lightly dusted with snow. It was probably a little slick since it was 7am in the morning. That's what happenes in winter time in Wisconsin. I don't appreciate him trying to get me involved as some witness for him when he's trying to SUE the townhouses I HAVE to live in until I find a house to buy. Dude, it's Wisconsin, there are no parking lots with radiant heat, you're going to slip on black ice.

3. My feet are freezing. I can't find my other super fuzzy-wuzzy slipper sock. When I do find the culprit that hid it, I'm going to sue for pain and suffering. My foot is numb and feels like a frozen rock. Since it's cold in Wisconsin in January (something my neighbor doesn't realize) my family should be held responsible for losing my slipper-socks.

4. I'm on a diet. I'm trying to lose twenty pounds by July.

5. I had three pieces of butter cake with chocolate fudge frosting today.

6. I'm not working on #4 very hard. Mea Culpa.

7. The three oldest are going to a Christian Teen retreat this weekend. I'm very happy for them. They need a break and some time to chill out with some friends. I hope they can forge some new friendships too. Their social life has been rather lame lately.

8. I have the weekend off without even asking for it. That's almost unheard of in the restaurant business. I'm keeping my ringer off in case they realize how stupid that was.

9. I threw out a whole bag of paper piles in my bedroom. I have no idea why I had saved so many years worth of receipts, bank statements, and other totally useless pieces of paper. It felt good to purge my bedroom of unwanted junk. I might even paint and hang some of my photography up.

10. Vinny is sitting behind me on the couch, after failing to woo me out of some chocolate cake. He thinks his adorable face and lip will get him anything. We believe he's chanting, "Wook into my wiiiiip." He's now asleep and snoring so loud I nudged him awake. They need to make CPAPs for Bostons.

11. How could it be possible that I'm only at number eleven?

12. King of the Hill is on. Peggy Hill cracks me up every time. Who wouldn't like an enthusiastic, freakishly large footed, unemployed substitute Spanish teacher from Texas? You have to see the episode where she dresses as a nun to teach at a Catholic school, even though she was still Lutheran "on the inside". And chubby Bobby Hill is so cool. "Hey, I don't know you. That's my purse!!

13. The Husband was looking at big screen TVs when I came home tonight. Tax returns are coming up and when we're caught up on bills (will that ever happen?) I have a suspicious hunch that I'll come home one day to find a ginormous TV in our living room. Our living room combo is rather cozy so that ought to be interesting. If it comes with a new couch, I'll be good. I think I can handle that.


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