one thought leads to another thought..

So when I finished brushing my teeth and started to floss.. I thought of that new commercial about that reality marriage show coming soon.. where they show couples fighting and I guess "referee" them through their differences. One of the couples is fighting over the wifes nasty habit of flossing in bed! Yuck!.... aaaaand that led me to remember the time I went into my insurance office and the receptionist was flossing... Yep and she walked right up to counter and continued her flossing.. I thought I was gonna GAG~... I mean reeeeaallly! All inappropiateness aside..HOW DO THESE PPL FLOSS WITH OUT A MIRROR???
Which brings me to this.. Flossing makes your bathroom mirror..ICKY! To remedy this ickiness I keep a small spray bottle filled with distilled water to clean the mirror with. just mist on and buff off with soft absorbant towel or paper towels. Cleans very well and leaves no streaks. or film like windex can. Make sure it is distilled water!
I use it to clean car windows.. the glass panes on my doors and light fixtures.. surfaces that I'm not sure of....
And about that soft absorbant towel... Do not use fabric softener on towels! Itleaves a slick coating on the towels which lessens their absorbancy!!

I have been and am increasingly busy with the puppies..They are SO CUTE! I have most of them spoken for and even the Mommy dog is spoken for!

Since you saw me last....

I had intentions of posting regularly on this when I started, then life got in the way. The holidays were very busy as I hosted 2 big family get-togethers, each with over 20 people! I also had a houseful of critters. My daughter and boyfriends 2 dogs, my own 3 cats, and my youngest daughters pregnant dog who gave birth on the 28th to six puppies! So I have had a LOT of pet messes to clean up! Because of course, the 100lb dog with the sensitive stomach just couldn't resist eating half a bag of cat food and then puking it up in my bedroom in the middle of the night. The miserably pregnant dog in strange home didn't manage her increasingly urgent bladder calls efficiently. The little yorkie poo would miss his potty pad. My old stroke victim cat can't seem to manuever the litter box any more.. so he stands in it, but the poop and pee land outside the box! Luckily I have this little dirt devil handheld cleaner. It sprays,scrubs and vacuums up the messes wonderfully. Speaking of carpet cleaning, I have a new fave! For years I've had a Bissell steam vac. It worked well.. but the stains would always reappear within a few weeks, and the heavy traffic areas would look dirty again. I was in Sears looking at carpet care products and discovered this Capture brand cleaner. It is a dry cleaning method. First you mist the area with the soil release spray, then you sprinkle on the powder.(which is thick and dampish)A brush comes with the kit and you can screw a paint pole or broom stick to it. Then you brush the powder around with brush and wait 30 minutes before vacuuming. Now for my advice...
Wear a mask... I felt kinda coughy during and after, which surprised me cuz it wasn't flying around or anything.
Use a bagless vacuum cleaner. I have a tank that uses bags that cost a buck a piece and the powder clogs them up fast. So I borrowed my mother in laws bagless.
The carpet came out great and has stayed great! No waiting for it to dry, no dirty messy water to dispose of!

Update from last post:
Son seems to be doing better,,, Has started talking to us more.. Granted, he was asking for money for rent and food.. I think the reality of the financial mess he made of his life has hit him. Though he still will not contribute it to Bipolar.. says he was just under stress. He did get a job at Noodles and is trying to get on at local automotive plant. Hopefully he can get back on his feet financially and save some money to finish school. The problem with him not taking meds and getting treatment though is very scary to me. He might not have an episode for years.. or he might next week.
But, he did tell me he loved me last night on the phone when he said goodbye...

Back to the puppies! The mommy (Millie)is a little shih tzu my youngest daughter and her roommate found on Halloween. She was scrawny, scraggly, had a broken leg that had been left to heal on it's own and was jumpin with fleas.. and newly knocked up!
So I voluntered to midwife. There are 6 of them, 4 boys, 2 girls. They are a joy to look at,,so roly poly and cute! Hopefully their eyes will open soon, they will be 2 weeks old on monday.

So,, Word of Wisdom for today-- Don't eat yellow snow!

Bipolar Strikes Again

So.. this illness punched our family in the gut once again in mid September. The victim this time was my beautiful 21 year old son. Tall, smart, funny, athletic, senior student at prestigious business school at a Big Ten University.
I was sure my children would escape this inheritable disorder that runs in my husbands family.. The possibility that any of my precious children would have this gene was unthinkable to me. But here it is.
The big Manic Drama event happened in Sept.. but looking back over the last year..it really started last winter..He would call me and be pretty low, classes were hard, life in the Fraternity was getting old, lonely/wanting a girlfriend, letdowns in friendships, and a scary comment he made to me.."Sometimes I think I'm losing my mind"
I talked to him, encouraging him, and even tried to get him to go to the University Health Center. Then the next day I would ask if he went to the center and he would say that talking to me made him feel better. He started calling me when he would be walking to and from classes and I got the feeling he needed that lifeline. Then he came home for summer break. He had a job for the summer working with a national youth sports association, where he would be traveling for 2 wks at a time and then be home for 2 weeks. He had his life planned out... Add another major at school(International Business) and then the following fall study abroad. So rather than graduate in May he would graduate the following December. Then he was going to join the military and do officer training.While these plans seemed ambitious and hard both mentally and financially..I admired the way he had it all planned out and offered my full support!
Over the summer when he was not traveling I started noticing his grouchyness. He would fly off the handle to me for the littlest things.. and he was drinking every night. I felt like the drinking was a self medicating thing..like he needed it to calm down.Then in Aug his work was done and he moved back to College town and set up house with 4 other guys. He would say he bought this or that and he's going to do all these things.. like stand up comedy..make a documentary..etc
I was starting to recognize the signs...Mania
he came home in mid sept on a wednesday to trade vehicles and as soon as he came in the door he proudly showed me his new tattoo..talking a mile a minute, telling me all his plans and projects...telling me that God is speaking to him, that he is experiencing waves of inspiration. Oh God,,,I knew for sure... I tried to talk to him about the family history of Bipolar and begged him to see a doctor. Of course, he said NO! Then he went back to school and would not talk to me for days...Finally on that friday one of his frat brothers called to tell me they were all worried about him. Unfortunately there isn't anything that Mothers, Fathers, or friends can do!
Well on sunday night Husband and I went to bed, sleeping fitfully, worried about our boy! Then at 4 in the morning he shows up.. All excited,,Saying he HAD to get to Mt Rushmore to save the world and Dad had to go to. My instructions were to get my sister and go to her sons house and set up my Sons website. He said that Jake Gyllenhall was living in him and lots of people were working through him..he was Euphoric and talking loud and saying some wild things. He chugged a beer because he said he needed to calm down, his chest was pounding. Then he went to take a shower. So I told my husband to just go along with it, but offer to drive... and just drive him to the hospital. Of course when the arrived there..Son knew what was up and didn't want to go in. Finally he agreed to go in but would not cooperate. We told the Doctor everything and he got a hold of a judge and they put him in a mental health facility for a 72 hold. When that was up, the psychiatrist petitioned the court for a 90 cay commitment to be spent inpatient or outpatient at the Dr's discretion. He ended up being in the hospital for 10 days.while he was in there we got rough idea of what he had been up to. Wild spending. And I mean WILD SPENDING! "Money is no object" spending on his credit card. He has hardly spoken to us since. He hates us. He rejects the diagnosis of Bipolar and refuses to take meds. Since leaving the hospital he has moved back to hometown, no job, renting an apt on cash advance from credit card,, took a trip to Los Angeles and stayed at the Westin ($)
Today he called his Grandparents..crying.. They went and picked him up and he is at their house 4 miles away. I don't know what to do....... My poor boy....

Suds

So.. you ran out of cascade, the dishwasher was full and you decided to put liquid dishwashing soap in the machine. . " It will be alright... what makes the difference?" you told yourself as you latched the door shut and pushed the button to turn it on. As you continue with various kitchen chores the water is filling and heating up in the machine. So far, so good. As you walk to the laundry room to empty the litter box you hear the familiar whooshing as the machine starts the wash cycle. Still confident, you de-litter the cats box and head back into kitchen to wash your hands. On this journey you think the dishwasher sounds.. well.. unfamiliar..kind of muffled. Upon entrance to the kitchen you see thousands of foamy bubbles oozing out of every nook and cranny of the machine! Aaaaa! You open the door and they come billowing out.. WHAT TO DO?!?

GRAB A BOTTLE OF VINEGAR AND POOR IT IN THE MACHINE!! Shut the door and start the machine again.. give it a few seconds.. then reopen to see if the bubbles have decreased, if not add more vinegar! It really works! Has something to do with PH values of soap and vinegar. Soap being alkaline and vinegar being acidic and they neutralize each other. Whatever.. I learned that in Beauty School during the chapter on Shampooing. So always use proper dishwasher detergent in your machine....( and keep a bottle of vinegar around just in case) ;)

like inkpens and umbrellas...

What goes around, comes around. Sage words that imply a profound karmic cause to the events that shape our lives. People, situations, things, they all come and go through our life. Let's talk specifically about things. Inkpens and umbrellas. What free spirited gypsies these objects are! They travel into and out of your life without your notice till you need one. Then you either can't find one (that works) or you find a treasure of them in your junk drawer or closet that you have no recollection of aquiring. Advice goes around and comes around in much the same manner. I will be digging into the junk drawer and closet of my mind and offering advice on love, household chores, parenting, products, hair and skin care,,,etc. Why? ...I fancy myself a know it all! ;)