I was heading out

to run an errand on Thursday.  I was going out through the garage and the door wouldn't open.  I went out through the front door and did whatever it was I was heading out to do.  I didn't think much about the garage door and just mentioned to Cosme to use the front door when he got home that evening.  I was busy on Friday and didn't think much about the door, until I got home later that day and had to walk all the way around to the front door.  I went out to check out the situation, being the garage door expert I am, and I saw the problem.

A broken spring.  Since it was late (already after noon) on Friday, I decided to wait until Monday to call anyone about it.  They came out yesterday and, of course, my springs aren't a standard size and need to be ordered.  So until Thursday, which happens to be my next garbage day and I can't say 100% that it will be fixed by the time the garbage truck rolls around, I need to figure out a way to store my garbage since my cans can't leave through the garage.  (I'm not rolling my nasty can through the house.  It's disgusting and I almost told the garbage men to take it a few weeks ago.)  Oh, and also until then, I'm buying as few things at a time as I can from the grocery store.  I can only handle one load from the car to the front door before I get annoyed.  Whatever.

The eclipse was yesterday and I didn't watch.  Cosme took his welding hood to work.  I was here at the house and only accidentally looked up once.  (It wasn't to see the sun, I was doing something and had to look up and there was the sun.  No worries, I'm fine so far.)  Afterwards, I saw this how-to for eclipse glasses where all you need is a cereal box.

Where are they buying their cereal?  I eat a lot of cereal and I have never seen a box that big.  Not even Costco sells them in boxes that big.  All they do is bundle up regular boxes and there you go.  That looks more like a box that a vacuum cleaner came in.  Or maybe an assembly required shelving unit.  Or maybe they ordered their cereal from Amazon and they're using the Amazon box because the cereal box is still in the pantry.  I don't know.  I do know that cannot be a cereal box.

I'd really like a box of cereal right now.  I have plenty and I'm ready for breakfast.  Lucky Charms sound delicious but... one box is almost empty and that just means more garbage I have to store until Thursday.  Ugh.  Maybe I could order a new, non-disgusting garbage can from Amazon and save that box for the next time I need an empty "cereal" box.

so two days after

I made the raspberry bars, they were gone.  We didn't eat the entire tray.  Actually, it was headed in that direction so I piled some bars on a plate and took them to the church for the office to eat.  Then I baked chocolate chip cookie bars with another Pinterest recipe.

They're okay.  I'm just not the biggest fan of chocolate chip cookies.  Sure, I like them but if given a choice, I'd probably pick something else... as long as there weren't any raisins... or coconut.

Speaking of which, we went to get a donut the other day at Shipley.  I always ask if they have any hot donuts and lately they've all been "warm".  My warm and their warm are clearly two different things.  A cold donut can really get me worked up.  I was so mad.  We went a few days later so that maybe we could score a hot one.  Again, they were "warm", or as I call it, cold.  This time I wasn't going home with a cold donut.  I drove to another place and asked if they had hot donuts.  Oh. My.  She handed me the bag and said to be careful because they were still a little wet.  Yes, they were so fresh the glaze hadn't fully set.  It was awesome... except for the fact their donuts have a slight taste of coconut.  To the regular person who isn't bothered by coconut, it's probably not noticeable but I don't like coconut.  But really now, I set all my coconut differences aside (as hard as it was) and I powered through that hot donut.  It was serious.  I had glaze on my face.  I just can't figure out why they taste like coconut.  Maybe a drop of flavoring in the glaze?  I don't know but if they didn't do that, those donuts would be TOTALLY awesome.

Another thing that can get me worked up?  Game of Thrones.  Last nights episode was (once again) SO INTENSE.  It took me a while to be able to go to sleep.  I was amped up.  I've read different theories on the Night King and I have a feeling it's Jon Snow's father.  Anyway, I did a search this morning to see if I could come across any new theories.

"who is the"

My phone might be a little amped up too.

I just entered "who is going to clean my pantry" but it didn't offer any suggestions.  I guess that one's all on me.  I'll go do it.  I'll pretend there's a hot glazed donut waiting at the finish line, minus that coconut flavoring.

at one point I

had it in my head that I wanted to make raspberry thumbprint cookies so I bought a jar of raspberry stuff.  This stuff right here to be exact.

I knew I needed to make a dessert yesterday (just because we didn't have anything sweet in the house) so I went to my Pinterest dessert board.  I saw the thumbprint cookies and that really sounded like more effort than I was willing to put in.  I started scrolling through recipes that sounded easy enough and then I'd check the ingredients list to see if it was doable and then I came across THIS one for Strawberry Shortbread Bars.  While it sounded easy enough, I knew I didn't have strawberry jam on hand.  Then I remembered the jar of raspberry.

Thank goodness it only makes a 9x9 pan because they're good.  They're REALLY good and just as awesome, they're REALLY easy.  I'll definitely make these again... but no time soon because they're kind of addicting.  Maybe next time I'll try them with strawberry like the recipe calls for... or maybe even blueberry... YUM.  I won't deny it either.  I already had one this morning.

I should probably get up and walk away because the longer I sit here and stare at this picture, the more I'm tempted to reach over and grab another one.  I don't guess there would be a problem with that.  Raspberry fruit spread and shortbread.  Isn't that basically like having toast with jelly?  I like the way I think.

i talked about

Archer yesterday more than I did Maggie.  I also gave Archer his own day for the "starts with A" photo challenge while Maggie didn't get anything for "starts with M".  Instead, I made up for it with "starts with N" and did her nose.

To make up for that, I'll give Maggie a little more airtime.

This is the picture I used yesterday but I cropped it down a little bit.

I also liked this one.

I really think Maggie likes having her picture made.  This was another contender but it doesn't really focus on or highlight her nose.

There are always so many to choose from with Maggie.

But while I do get more usable shots with Maggie than I do Archer, she still has lots of off moments, like this one here

 Or this one.

 How can you go wrong with a dog making a crazy face?  You can't.

we've had mushrooms popping

up all over the place.  I was in the laundry room and I noticed the "short person seven iron" leaning in the corner.  (I keep it there to reach things up high and the angle of the club is perfect for latching onto detergent bottles and my box of light bulbs... not that I ever reach for the box of light bulbs.)  When I saw the seven iron, I knew what needed to happen.

I went out to the back yard and went to town on the mushrooms.  As soon as I'd hit one, the dogs would bounce off after it.  I finally yelled stop enough and they quit but then Archer just kept barking at me.  He doesn't like me swinging golf clubs.

Earlier that day I was doing something in the front yard and they wanted me to feel sorry for them and set them free.

Fat chance.

On Friday we went to a few bars in Eric's neighborhood.  We stopped by a place called the Wilde Collection.  While there, I saw a girl and told her not to move that I wanted to get a picture and I promised I wasn't weird.  Then I showed her the picture.

I blurred out her face only because I have no clue who she is and never asked if I could post it, not to add to the creepiness of the look.

Then she had her friend get one on her camera.  (patting myself on the back for the good eye)

We looked around a little more and I spotted what type of coyote I'd be if I were a coyote.

After looking around there and then hitting up a few more shops, we headed to another bar.

That was where we were when I decided I'd reached my limit and was good.  And to everyone who kept going, I thought "have fun with that".  We ended up at Eric's place and stayed for a little bit and then headed home.  I think we're all ready to do it again.

i ended up making that

quick trip to the wildlife refuge yesterday.  I didn't see much but I'll show you what there was.

There was this guy on his morning swim.

And then there was this guy.  Blurry, I know.

And while I couldn't focus very well since I was fighting off a butt load of mosquitoes, there's another blurry shot of this guy's bath time.

There were lots of bubbles and ripples coming out of the water and I was hoping to see an alligator emerge but the best I got were those guys flying through the sky.

This guy was just standing there thinking.

And since I had to keep the windows up and the air was on, my lens was a little foggy by the time I was exiting but this guy was sitting on the sign so I got a hazy picture of him too.

Then he did like me and left.  I can't tell you what any of these birds are, I just like to take pictures of them.  Next time I'll take my little mosquito repellent gadget and try to do better.

cosme really enjoys

tennis.  He plays or practices a lot and likes to try new things to work on his technique.  The other day he was trying something new that could apparently be done in the house.  He got his basket and racket and who knows what he was doing because I was lying in bed playing cards and started hearing a certain noise every minute or two.  I asked what it was and he said he was trying something.  I told him to be careful and not to break anything.  (Isn't that rule number one as a kid?  No playing ball in the house?)  I kept hearing the noise and then the noise sounded a little off. 

Me: What did you do?
Cosme: Nothing.

(No steady thumps coming from the other room.)

Me: I'm the mother of a boy.  I know you did something.  What did you do and what are you inspecting for damages?

Cosme walked into the room laughing after that because he was busted.

He was more concerned about his racket and I was more concerned about the built-in.  In the end, there were no damages, I think. 

Speaking of practicing and trying new things, I thought for a second about going to the wildlife refuge yesterday but decided to keep on with my chores.  Then I thought about doing it again today but I need to be home fairly early.  It's not that I want to try anything new or that there's anything in particular I want to practice, I just felt like going to see if I see anything.  I don't know, maybe I'll still head out there and and maybe make an hour out of it.  Ugh, but then I'll have to stop and get gas.  I guess it can be on the way though.  Maybe I'll do it.

I guess I'll go make my bed and get dressed just in case I'm still in the mood when the sun comes up.  I could also go check the weather report and make sure it's not going to be raining.  Now that I think about it, there's been a lot of rain lately so maybe I should check the website for the status of the lakes out there.  All that water makes me a little nervous. 

Oh, screw it.  I'm going. 

i went to kroger on

Friday and a lady was handing out free samples of Beneful.

The cashier also gave me a bag so I came home with two decent sized dog food samples.

Later that evening I let the dogs out for a bathroom break.  I used one of the samples to lure them outside and gave them extra time for running around along with the bathroom.  I woke up Saturday to the sounds of scratching in the cage and Archer whining.  I hurried to the living room so he could go out for the bathroom and I smelled it.  The gagging followed.  You know it's going to be a good day when you wake up to dog diarrhea.

Cosme got the cage outside and I was left to the gagging cleaning while he got ready for work.  I got the inside mess cleaned up with a little help from Scentsy and a scarf.  Then I remembered that Antonio was coming to mow.  Mowing means I have to lock the dogs up in the cage.  Well, I couldn't lock the dogs up until the cage was cleaned and the dogs couldn't come back inside to the cage until they were cleaned.  I managed to get the cage and patio cleaned off (and Maggie eventually figured out she wasn't helping and decided to get out of the way)

but then I decided to take a break and bake a chocolate sheet cake.  I stuck the pan in the oven and heard the weed eater.  I couldn't get the dogs in the cage so all I could do was get the leashes and stand outside and hold them.

"I think I hear it over there!"

Side note: I'm pretty sure that's only mud on Archer.  At least that's what I told myself.

"Wait, maybe it's over here!"

A few minutes later I remembered the cake that only bakes for 20 minutes that also has to have the frosting poured on while hot.  At least I had the dogs on the leash at this point so I was able to get them to the cage and then just had to wrestle them in.

You know there was a struggle when one of the leashes unclips and comes off in the process.

After that it was okay for a while.  The timer went off, the cake was frosted, Cosme came home, we both washed the dogs, I rewashed the cage liner and that was that.  A little later we gave Lucille a partial bath... that went as expected.

Now everything is back to normal, except for the fact that I'm a little sore when I chew on one side of my mouth.  I think it might be one of my crowns but then I'm hoping it's sinuses and will go away as I continue with Flonase.  I REALLY hope it's sinuses.  I mean like REALLY, REALLY hope it's sinuses.  Not only do I not need any dental issues right now, I don't WANT any dental issues... ever.

I guess I'll go fold laundry and worry about my teeth for a while.

i'm feeling better

today.  Actually, I was feeling better yesterday but I spent a lot of time in bed.  I could do a few things and then I'd have to take a bed break.  I think it's just from not eating and the lack of Coke.  Once I had that Coke yesterday, it's like a light appeared at the end of the under-the-weather tunnel... and then I went to lie down.

Now I just have a little cough that I need to go away and maybe that'll help the soreness in my throat go away completely.  I'm sure I'll take a nap soon because I went to sleep pretty late.  The last time I looked at the clock it was 2:30.  Then I lied there thinking about supernatural things like orbs, ghosts and being watched and when I finally dozed off, I had crazy dreams.  The alarm clock went off at 4:30 and that was that.  I tried to fall back to sleep after Cosme left but here I am, still awake.  I guess I could use this time to do some more disinfecting.

I looked on fb yesterday and I swear, if this place shares this article one more time I'll have to unlike their page.  This time I got screenshots just to share.  I read some of the comments this time and saw that I wasn't the only one who thought this author's discovery was no discovery but she has definitely been living under a rock.

I've gone ahead and highlighted the parts where the author makes us look like we have no idea what we're doing.

If they share this one more time I might, before I unlike the page, have to comment asking they add some sort of disclaimer.  There really needs to be something to put this all on the author and note that not all of us Americans are... I don't even know... clueless?  Honestly, I know it's not a big deal but something so simple shouldn't be wasting my screen space.  There are plenty of quizzes that Buzzfeed could be throwing at me in that spot, like finding out what kind of cheese I am.  Now THAT would be helpful.

this was my view

yesterday.

I came down with something that I thought was strep but I tested negative for strep.  I got two shots on Sunday (one steroid for the swelling and I can't tell you what the other was for because I was miserable and out of it).  Anyway, they told me I'd feel better by yesterday and I did.  I woke up and knew I needed to wash my hair and all the germs off of me.  That also meant I needed to strip down the bed so I could spray and wash everything.  I started the mattress pad washing and got in the shower.  When that shower was done, I just wanted to get back in bed.  There I was, piled up on the floor with all the bedding in their piles to be washed while I had a clean blanket for my nap.  I eventually got enough washed for us to sleep last night but the bedspread is in the dryer right now.

I haven't run fever but I still have white spots in my throat.  I just knew it had to be strep.  As many times as I've had strep and know the symptoms... Oh well, at least the shots helped.  The fever was bad.  I took ibuprofen every four hours and it kept coming back.  Whatever they gave me knocked that out too.  It might've been an antibiotic of some kind.  I'm pretty sure the doctor said something about my results being negative but he didn't want me to have to make another trip because it hasn't gone away.  I think.  It's all a haze.  I went to a new place here in town, AngletonER.  I don't know the difference between urgent care or a stand-alone ER but that's where I went.  I hope I don't ever have to go back but I would recommend them to anyone and I'd definitely go back if needed.  They were nice, fast and they fixed my problem.  I guess I'll wait until I get the bill though before I carry on anymore.

I haven't had any desire for Coke.  That's a true sign that I'm not good.  Well, that and I haven't been hungry either.  I just made myself half a sandwich and was only able to eat about half before I'd had enough.  This Coke I opened is a different story.  It's awesome.  I've been drinking nothing but Gatorade and really wanted something different.  I've seen people slam their fists on tables when drinking or eating certain things and that's me with this Coke.  Boy, does it burn my throat but dang that stuff is good.

I guess it's back to the bedroom for more rest between laundry cycles.