My apologies to Britney.

Ever since I saw that nerdy guy on the commercials talking all seriously about suction and how things should work, I have coveted a Dyson vacuum cleaner. So what if they’re yellow, which is not my favourite colour by a long shot? I have a serious dust allergy (let’s face it, I have a serious *everything* allergy, so why is this news?). When I do chores, I get hives and asthma attacks (this never got me out of anything as a kid, by the way. I would be all “But my aaaaallergies!” and Mom would say “Put on a dust mask and CLEAN YOUR DAMN ROOM”. I never understood why we couldn’t have a maid). A vacuum cleaner that actually works well and is new (as opposed to our very old, very good-working but also huge and clunky and you have to fill it with water vacuum) would be quite helpful to me. If I ever used it. Which I might. I might! Stop laughing! Especially if I win one for free– Domestic Diva is having a contest to win a pink (Not yellow!) Dyson vacuum cleaner.” If you want one, you should go check it out (thanks, Carrisa). But I hope that you don’t win, and that I do (just kidding! I hope that everyone wins!)(but mostly me!).

… Do any of you still dress up? Or do any kind of Halloween celebration? Those of you with little kids, you must, right? Unless you don’t recognize Halloween as a ‘thing’ or whatever. Which is also fine.

Halloween is one of my favourite holidays, even though it’s not a holiday really (you don’t get a day off, do you?). As kids we would go out trick-or treating, then as we went through our candy, we’d watch that super-scary Disney Legend of Sleepy Hollow (I would never get all the way through it, although I’d try). Oh my Lord I was SO FREAKED OUT by that frickin’ headless guy. Even now watching the clip I’m a little jumpy.

I stopped trick-or-treating I guess around 8th or 9th grade. After that I’d stay home and pass out candy. That’s what I’ll be doing tomorrow evening… tomorrow day (I’m so disappointed) I have an appointment so I’m missing work and my chance to dress up. I was totally excited about dressing up! Dangit. Anyway. Next year.

My parents live out in the country and one of the main things kids do up there during Halloween (I don’t know if it’s kids, but, well, when I was a kid it was my fellow kids so I’m just gonna keep assuming) is set big piles of tires on fire (horrible) and knock over mailboxes. It’s gotten so badly the past couple of years that my parents and the other people on their road are considering getting one set of group cbu mailboxes just because they’re that much more difficult to knock over.

I’m kind of just blabbering now but it’s because I’m ALL FREAKED OUT from seeing the headless horseman! I don’t want to try and go to sleep now because maybe I’ll see him and he’ll chase me and try to chop my head off or something! YIKES!

Well.

No need to watch any horror movies this year. I am providing you with all the terror you might need, by linking to Perez’ site. You might have nightmares, but don’t blame me:

Thanks alot, Danny Bonaduce.

(Don’t click that link unless you’re all alone, somewhere where seeing Danny Partridge in his birthday suit isn’t going to get you fired)

Apparently Dan Dan was at some Erotic Ball (ha! the jokes just write themselves!) and a photographer was also present, and thought it was important that the world see… that.

I kinda wish it had all taken place in Las Vegas instead of San Francisco. At least what happens in Vegas stays there.

The barking did eventually stop and we had a great Sunday of grocery shopping and watching Fantasy Island (okay, I’m the only one around here who watches Fantasy Island).

Until about 11 pm, when the barking recommenced.

Yeah, this is gonna be fun.

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For the longest time, since we moved into this house in fact, our next-door neighbours were a couple we affectionately referred to as “The Oldsters”. Kenny and Verna. They were in their mid-sixties and really cheerful and nice. We’d chat while hanging our our laundry or when I was out gardening or whatever. Rob would shovel their walkway for them. One time I locked myself out of our house and Kenny invited me in their kitchen to chat while waiting for the locksmith. You know, like neighbours do.

Sadly, The Oldsters moved away back in August (their daughter and granddaughter were moving in with them, and they needed a bigger place). Almost immediately, a new set of neighbours moved in. These ones were okay, too, if not up to Oldster standards. We’d say hi when we were both outside, but that’s about it. They parked on their lawn, which was weird to me what with the huge driveways we get around here. But they were nice. And, being that the husband was a long-distance trucker and the wife and little girl would travel with him, they were only home maybe two days out of the week. That was fine by me. I could handle lawn parking two days out of the week. But then the husband got transferred somewhere (like, a month and a half after they had moved in!) and off they went.

Today, we have new neighbours moving in. And I am really trying to reserve judgment. But since about 7 this morning (SUNDAY MORNING SUNDAY MY ONE DAY OF REST PEOPLE), their Little Dog (I believe it’s a Papillon… it’s extremely cute) has been tied outside, barking. And barking. And barking. Hopefully it’s because they’re moving in and don’t want to step on it if it’s inside the house but it’s been five and a half hours of the barking and oh, am I not impressed. But, like I said, reserving judgment. Totally. For now.

I just emptied a bunch (like thousands and billions) of photos off our card onto my flickr account. They go back to July, so three months’ worth. Go check ‘em out!

I am soon going to be availing myself of a flickr pro account, because we take way too many photos and I like to have access to them all. Anyway. Here are a couple that I like especially (click to embiggen):

camping gear

Today was kind of an adventuresome day, when it came to getting my meds.

Yesterday, as I said, my doctor’s office had told me that they would write me a new prescription, and I could pick it up this morning. My doctor has also wanted me to get some bloodwork done since oh, forever, so I figured that since I had to take the day off anyway (barfy and dizzy does not a good educator make) I might as well get that over with, too. Back at the beginning of the month when she had called to let me know about the bloodwork that needed doing, she said she’d leave the order sheet or whatever it’s called in my file, and I could pick it up from her receptionist when it was convenient for me and take it to the lab. So, I fasted (oh you must know that fasting is HARD for me!) and bright and early this morning off I headed to my doctor’s office.

Before I continue I have to say that my GP is a wonderful, wonderful doctor, who knows what she’s doing and is great with basically everyone she sees. She’s been my doctor since I was five. BUT, she’s seriously overworked (there is a major doctor shortage around here) and is juggling patients from 8 am to 6 pm, every day, so the following is pretty understandable, I think.

So. I moseyed over to the doctor’s office at about 9 this morning. I asked for my prescription and my bloodwork paperwork, and the receptionist told me that Dr. X was sick and had had to leave early yesterday, and wasn’t yet in today. She looked for the stuff for my bloodwork, and couldn’t find it. We concluded that that paperwork was probably at her other office (Dr. X goes out to the country one day a week because there are no doctors at all out there). Rose (the receptionist) told me she’d call me when my stuff was ready. I came home and became comatose in the bed.

Rose called me at about 4:00 to let me know that everything was ready for me, so off I trotted again to the office. When I got there, the receptionist handed me the paperwork for my bloodwork (of course by this time I was no longer fasting, and besides the lab closes at noon), and a prescription for… vitamins. No, that’s not a euphemism for Thank God Tom Cruise Isn’t In Charge Antidepressant Vitamins. She’d written me a prescription for pregnancy vitamins.

Great, except that I’m not pregnant.

Finally got that all cleared up, went to the drugstore, got my prescription filled (have I mentioned that now that Rob’s medical insurance has kicked in, combined with mine, prescriptions are free? Thank goodness for jobs… we now have super-affordable life insurance and prescription coverage), and finally I’m fully medicated and able to function.

Speaking of which. I am really, really happy to have my medication back. They have helped me immensely during some very tough times. At the same time, it freaks me the hell out that only three days off them has rendered me a nauseous, dizzy mess. Luckily for me, I am tapering off, and by the end of November will be (hopefully) finished with them. And if not, at least I’ll be on a much lower dosage.

I lose everything. I put my keys down, it’s as if they are immediately sucked into a black hole. Same with pens, pencils, hairbrushes… just basically everything.

And now somehow I’ve managed to misplace a bottle of my medication. I didn’t realize it Monday or yesterday. It was only this morning that I realized I hadn’t taken my meds in a couple of days– because I woke up feeling as though I’m dying. Like, seriously. Dizziness, headache, gross nausea; it’s bad and wrong and I don’t like it, not one bit.

Rob and I have searched this house from top to bottom (including actually moving things and looking inside drawers! shocking!) and my meds are nowhere to be found. Luckily, when I phoned my doctor’s office they told me she would write me a new prescription and I can pick it up in the morning.

Until then I will by lying perfectly still on the sofa, not making a sound.

They moved Daylight Savings around, didn’t they? When do we fall back now? Because oh boy, People. Oh boy, people. Much like a fictional cat named Roast Beef, I think I need some more sunlight in my life. Sunlight that I, too, would name Dave.

Because lately? Even though I’ve been going to bed at 8:30 (pretty much) every night? 6:45 am comes along and I can’t get up. So I hit snooze, again, again, again, and again. It’s kind of funny. When there’s sun around, I’m okay. But if it’s dark, my body is like “WHAT ARE YOU MENTAL OF COURSE I AM STILL SLEEPING WHY DO YOU WANT ME TO BE OUT OF THE SNUGGLY BED COCOON THAT IS IT I OBJECT!”. And that’s a very feasible argument for a body to make, don’t you agree?

So. Daylight Savings will be a bit of help. I could look for some Phoenix real estate. Because moving to Arizona? Perfectly doable treatment for the S.O.-S.A.D. Or maybe I need to get one of tose lamps and shine it on my noggin at all times. Whatever I do, I need to start to WAKE UP!

Our friend Erika had a very quick visit to the Island. I wish it could have been longer, seeing as we hadn’t seen each other in a year, and won’t for at least that long again, since she’s leaving in less than a week for a year in New Zealand. BUT, at least we got to see her for a tiny bit!
I brought Rob to work when I got home from school (ask me later how I feel about our opposing work schedules), and when I got home, there she was, sitting on our step like a hobo. We went out to the boardwalk for a bit, then out to supper, and then we came back here to our very-decidedly-not-an-Orlando vacation home. By this point, after having chased 12-year-olds around all day, my brain was pretty much mush so I became a TOTAL LOSER. We spent the next hour sitting side by side on the couch with our laptops. And I was ready for bed by 9:00.

Yep, I tell you, I’m the hostess with the mostess.

So, Erika, I hope the tiny visit we had was good for you! Next time I promise to be more… awake.