saturday started off

going pretty well.  I was going to start by washing my hair but instead ran to Lowe's, got some housework done, the baby came, the baby left, and I went to pick up some bbq for lunch.  By the time I got back from Clute with lunch, Cosme was hurting.  We were thinking it was a bug.  His stomach was aching, his back was aching, and he said it felt like he'd been kicked in the crotch.  The stomach and back pains led me to believe it might be gas.  We put a heating pad on his abdomen and he rested a bit.  After a while he started talking about how bad it was hurting.  I told him I wished that something like ibuprofen would help.  He said to give him some.  A couple of minutes later, he ran to the bathroom and started vomiting.  I googled pains near belly button and the first result was gall stones.  I read the symptoms and it didn't match.  The next suggestion was appendicitis.  I read the symptoms and they all matched, well, all except for the pain in the lower right side.  Oh, it also mentioned things you shouldn't do if your appendix is inflamed.  The top two were use a heating pad and any type of pain relief like ibuprofen... those could cause rupturing.  WebMD also said if you have three or more of those symptoms, you should get medical attention immediately.  I told Cosme we needed to get him to the ER.  I took him to one in town that stands alone and isn't connected to the hospital.  They got him back in a room.  At this point he was lying in the bed throwing up and that pain on the right side that he was missing from the list of symptoms?  It showed up.  I was sure it was appendicitis.  I asked the receptionist that if it was, where would he go.  She said they would transfer him to Pearland.  They still had to check him out so I went home to pack a bag and turn things off.  I got back and they said it was appendicitis and he was being transferred to Pearland for morning surgery.  I stopped by the house for a few more things and met him at the hospital.  I was really wishing I'd washed my hair first thing, like I'd planned.  You know how they always say to wear clean underwear in case you end up in the hospital?  Same goes for washing your hair.  Anyway, he got checked in around midnight and the surgeon was notified and said that surgery would be at 10:00 the next morning.  We slept as well as we could, him lying there in pain and me on a hospital couch with nurses coming in every 15 minutes.  A few hours later they said surgery would be at 9:30.  The doctor came, surgery was done, and that was that.  Today he feels like he was run over by a bus.

We've had better weekends.

On the plus side, we have leftover bbq

and ribs

and last night wasn't spent in a hospital.

Oh, I also got to take a shower and wash my hair.

Today I'm trying to get some cleaning done while resting and making sure Cosme is okay.  That said, I need to go check what time his next meds are due.

The baby likes to play

on the piano and I let her because- well, who am I to stop a potential prodigy?  Today we were sitting there and she was tapping/pounding on her keys while I tapped on a few others.  I hit a couple that sounded familiar.  Then I realized it sounded like Frère Jacques.  I messed around with a few more and minutes later, I had it!  Well, I had all but the ding, dang, dong.  For the first time in my 46+ years, I sat at a piano and figured something out.  Sure, it was only a kid song but still.  

Now if any skilled piano players see this (and by skilled, I mean anyone who knows Frère Jacques) and say my fingers aren't placed right or even near the right keys, I don't care.  Music is art.  Art is all about interpretation.  This is my interpretation of that song.  The end.  

Today I think I'll work on a little Beethoven or Debussy.  You know, I'll stick with Debussy.  I really like Clair de Lune.

Yeah.  That's not happening.  

Alexa, play Clair de Lune. 

I was out looking at

my plants yesterday and there's something in the cilantro and I'm pretty sure it isn't cilantro.  It looks similar though.

Here are the little baby leaves of it.

Here are the bigger leaves of it.

But look at it from back here.  The cilantro is on sprigs and this thing is a stalk.  It looks like parsley but I'm thinking it's a weed.  I guess I could smell it to make sure it isn't cilantro.

I don't know.  I opened my plant app to see and all the suggestions weren't anything close.  I guess I'll just pull it out and throw it away with the weeds.

I also used my app on these things growing on the neighbor's tree.

I figured out they're loquats.  I was tempted and picked one to eat.  I thought I was being sneaky but then realized Maggie's been eating them all along.

She spits out the seeds when she gets to it.

This wasn't the only seed on the ground...

Then I saw a caterpillar and ran inside.  My Earth Day outing was short-lived.  I think I'll stop being so curious and stick to the fruit I buy from Kroger.  I'll leave the backyard to Maggie and (for now) caterpillars.

Sure wish I had an orange right now.  Oh, I think I might have apples.  Oh!  I think the daily photo challenge prompt might be apples.  I love it when things fall into place.  It might be an okay day.

yesterday was Easter and we

had a little get-together.  It was the baby's first so I put candy in her basket for Eric and Paige to share.  Next year they'll have to fight a little harder for it.

I even decided to put out a few decorations.

I went all out.  I might do a little more next year.  I will say this though, those eggs and that bunny basket came from Dollar Tree.  Those might be the cutest things I've ever bought there.  Speaking of cute things, I got a bunny box from Gigi's Cupcakes.  It was a box of 12 mini cupcakes.

They were cute.  For the record though, the bunny box was just a plain box and there were only three of the bunny cupcakes so it could have been called anything else.  Chick crate?  Nest nest?  Carrot cart?  Spring-themed variety pack of one dozen mini cupcakes?

All the cuteness aside, we ate.  It was an awesome spring day and perfect for grilling.  We had burgers, baked beans, potato salad and deviled eggs.  I grilled the burgers but also did the baked beans and deviled eggs.  I ate entirely too much and made myself sick.  By the time dinner and Game of Thrones rolled around, I was fine with just a sandwich.

Can we just take a moment for Game of Thrones?  Before going to bed, I had to get on YouTube so I could watch theories and predictions and one made a lot of sense.  It was actually two videos and the first was about the Night King and what he really wants.  The second video was more to do with The Night King and why there must always be a Stark at Winterfell.  It's a lot to take in right before bed.

I think I might need a GoT Oreo now... or two.

i braved the caterpillars

yesterday and went for a walk bright and early.

Well, just early because I didn't even need my sunglasses.  I only did one loop around, so 1.21 miles.  That's better than nothing, right?  I probably could have done another loop but then I'd have been rushing to get my other stuff done.  No walks today though.  It's raining.

When I got back home I did a quick glance at my plants.

Looks like something might be enjoying the basil before I get a chance.  (Unless that's just poor upkeep on my part.)

The cilantro is doing well.  The blurriness of it helps too.

I never planted more chives but what's leftover from last year seems to be doing well too.  Looks like I have enough to top a few baked potatoes.  Oh, maybe I'll put some on Easter's deviled eggs.

I've also been trying to get some more cleaning and clearing out done.  I guess I should work some more on that since it's raining and I'm not going for a walk.  I could easily go lie down and take total advantage of the rain and darkness but no, I slept really well last night so I'm just going to take advantage of that instead.  I'll put my well rested morning self to work.  Fun.

with the only two things

that are certain in life being death and taxes, I'm counting on death being a lot more pleasant than taxes.  Taxes suck.  Taxes, to me, are like car inspections.  I go into each hoping for the best but I panic because I really never know what to expect.  I'm not going to talk about any of that.  It's April 16th. Taxes are over and I've still got a few months for my car inspection.  That said, I won't go into the other ways I find the two so similar...

On a more positive note, Here are a couple of things I got a kick out of.

These cheeses that Aldi had before the Grammy Awards.

I don't think it's possible to pick a favorite title.


I don't know where Walmart is going with this.  Really?  A must-have for the home cook?

If this is a must-have for your kitchen, please don't invite me over for dinner.  I think I have to wash my hair that day.  Actually, if this is a must-have for your kitchen, I don't even think I can be your friend anymore.

Okay.  Time to get busy with chores.  Having clean towels after a shower is not overrated.

with the final season of

Game of Thrones airing yesterday, we had our own little watch party.  I'd been wanting deviled eggs so I knew I wanted deviled dragon eggs.  I looked on Pinterest to see how I could color the eggs.  I found one I loved.

At first the colors seemed a little bright so I added a little more black food gel but this time, directly to the eggs' shells.

I was so happy with the final results.

I present to you
Deviled Dragon Eggs.

I think I might always color my deviled eggs from now own.  Maybe pink and yellow for Easter?

Also on the menu:

Imp Shrimp

 Wildling Wings
These were just a bag of Kroger brand frozen hot and spicy wings.  I only made five because I don't eat wings but according to Cosme, they were really good.  He also wished I would've made more.

Mini Pigeon Pies
Or, little quiches that were another Kroger brand frozen appetizer.  We finished off all but one.

Spears of the Unsullied
I already had the asparagus but picked up some prosciutto to wrap them for a little something special.  I also sprinkled them with parmesan cheese before I baked them alongside the quiches.  We ate all of these too.

Then of course, Ned's Head Brownies.

We had all this while catching up with last season.

By the end of last season's finale, I can't forget that we finished it all off with

White Walker Milkshakes
It would've been better to have them in our silver goblets but those things don't hold much.

After that we were stuffed and I was ready to throw up.  On the bright side, I forgot about how I felt as soon as the premier started.

Something also clicked at the finale of last season, watching the Night King fly around on his newly acquired dragon.  If the dragon allowed the Night King to ride it, does that mean the Night King is a Targaryen?  It's all too much.  I need answers... and snacks.

there are always reports

of how much happier dog owners are.  You're happier... You live longer...  I think it's time they start doing studies not on how happy the owners are but what breed it is that's making everyone so happy.  I'll tell you what they probably aren't, that's a lab mix and Australian shepherd/boxer mix.  We've got one of each and they're seriously a couple of arseholes who are on my last nerve.  Would I cry if they were gone?  Of course.  Would I be so much happier if they were satisfied being in our backyard and not getting loose?  OF COURSE.  I don't know what to do anymore and I'm really close to giving up.  We've beefed up security at the perimeter so well that now they've decided to go through the fence.

They were caught escaping over the weekend.  They picked a weak board on the front of the fence and bit their way through it.  Eric was pulling up and saw them so that was a quick save.

I was sitting in the quietness yesterday evening and heard yelping and whining.  I ran outside and saw the noises were Archer cheering Maggie on to hurry before they got caught as she ate a hole in the fence.

The only thing left is living locked up and only being let out under surveillance.  My dogs are in maximum security prison over here.  The pen, the big house, the grey bar hotel... they're in it.  For my own sanity, I hope it's not a life sentence.  I'm hoping they'll see the light and turn their lives around.  Will they ever be good, decent, law-abiding dogs?  I'm keeping my hopes up but I'm not counting on it.

then reality hit and

my celebration of spring was halted.

Yuck, yuck, YUCK.

On the plus side, my cilantro looks pretty awesome.

Cosme had a brunch burger from Sonic a couple of weeks ago.  When we decided to pick up some breakfast over the weekend and he suggested Carls Jr., I said that was fine and I'd see if they had something similar to the brunch burger.  I'd never ordered one but something about a hamburger with an egg on it just sounded good.  We got to Carls Jr. and the only thing they had was with sausage and not a burger patty.  We went to Sonic.  I pressed the button to order and they let me know it was no longer on the menu.  WTF?  It was only there for like a couple of weeks!?  We left and went to Jack in the Box.  They do have a brunch burger... on a croissant.  I got it and it was good.

When Sunday rolled around, I had absolutely nothing scheduled.  Well, I had housework to do but as far as anything on the calendar, there was nothing.  I knew there was a storm coming so I got started on chores.  I wanted to take full advantage of the bad weather so I got what needed to be done out of the way and once the sky got dark, I started lighting candles and getting ready for the 60-70 mph winds, lots of lightning, and heavy rain.  Now, I'm not complaining about anything because I was not looking forward to any hail or tornadoes but that didn't last very long.  The best part was right before the rain when it got super dark, but then everything got really still and I didn't like it.  The lightning was pretty bad but a few minutes later, we were blowing out candles and getting out of nap mode.

I got a few more chores done and then I was determined to do something artsy but wasn't really sure what.  I did have an idea.  Those daily photo challenges I do, what if I used the topic for a different medium as well?  Fine, so what would I do?  I felt like messing with paints.  I brought this out to help me think...

Then I just started messing around in a sketchbook.  One of the weekend topics was in bed.  My photo was to the point.  Here I was in bed.

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in bed. #fms_inbed #fmspad

A post shared by madame72 (@madame72) on Apr 6, 2019 at 5:09am PDT

What else happens in bed?  You dream.  I wanted to get a little psychedelic with the eyeballs but the colors I had just didn't work.  I stuck with golds and silvers.  I still think it needs some crazy colors swirling in the eyeballs.  Maybe later.

It's not awesome at all but I felt better after doing something.  When I get that bug, it sticks around for a while.  The only other thing I can compare it to is being hungry but not knowing what you want. I need something sweet. A donut? No, that just doesn't sound good. A cookie? No, I don't know what kind.  Chocolate? No, just not right.  A white cupcake with white buttercream frosting?  Always.   Then after you have that cupcake, everything is fine.  In this case, the cupcake was paint.  I got it out of my system for now.  I really don't like painting but I was in the mood.  Maybe next time it'll be drawing.

So, that was the weekend.  If I keep talking about everything though, I'm afraid the bug will bite again.  That's fine and all but right now I don't have time and will be SOL.  I'm ending here and starting my weekday morning routine.  If I don't, there's a good chance I'll need that cupcake too.

i went to Dairy Queen

yesterday to pick up lunch.  Not crazy about their burgers, I ordered a steak sandwich... or a Dude.  I had them cut the lettuce and tomatoes.  When I got home, I wiped a lot of mayo off the top and added pickles.  I took a couple of bites and realized that wasn't mayo but Miracle Whip.  I'm fine with MW but that's not what I was expecting on this steak sandwich.  And wow, did they hook me up with the MW.

Keep in mind, this was after I wiped a lot off the top.  It had to be at least a quarter of a cup spread on there.  I couldn't eat it.  It was way too tangy and well, it was just bad.

I ate my fries and sipped on my iced tea.

Luckily, I'm not big on ice in my drinks.  You know though, if the Miracle Whip spreader and ice dispenser guys switched places, I probably wouldn't have complained.

By dinnertime, I was starving.  I was so happy to see Mom walk through the door with a Sonic pretzel.  A little bit later we ordered dinner from the restaurant at the airport and it SUCKED.  Most of Eric's dinner ended up in the garbage.  You know when there's something that smells so bad it's like everybody has to smell it out of disbelief?  That was Eric's egg roll.  I passed but I heard it smelled like dirty armpit.  I didn't bother with it because I was busy looking over my steak.  I should've taken a picture of it because there really were no words.  I did leave a Yelp review.  The only way I could describe it on there was that it looked like it had been run over a few times.  Oh, it was overcooked too.

All that really makes me appreciate this bowl of oatmeal.

the allergens brought

their A game today.  Good grief, it's bad.  I took Zyrtec first thing and I'm hoping it's strong enough.  It's been about an hour and my eyes are finally clearing up but this sinus pressure is still lingering.  It's not horrible but it's there.  I looked on pollen.com and today looks a lot lower here than a lot of the country and it's down a whole lot from yesterday.  When I look on weather.com, it shows higher levels.  Whatever.  Something out there today is bad and means business.  The numbers don't mean anything if my eyes are too full to see and there's too much pressure in my nose.  

You know one thing that is feeling awesome?  My skin.  I ordered Cindy Crawford's face stuff and it came a week ago today.

So far, it's okay.  My skin feels smoother but I think it looks about the same.  Now I just need to decide if I want to keep using it.  It's one of those things where they auto ship it once you sign up.  I like it and all but there are a few things I don't think I'd use.  I might have a week or so to make the final decision but I'm pretty sure I'll get sidetracked and forget about it.  I'll end up checking the mail and have a package with bigger bottles and then I'll be charged for the next three months... or until I remember to cancel my subscription.  Hey, I could end up liking it and keeping it.  Who knows?

Also, I can think of worse things than getting stuck in a face cleaning system's shipment list.  How about being the Groom of the Stool to Henry VIII?

i'm starting to think that

these quizzes really don't get me.

No thanks.  I'll pass.

Totally unrelated to the bullet I dodged by not being a part of Henry VIII's court, a lot of times my dreams happen.  I feel like when things do happen and I mention after the fact that I dreamed about it, it's just like oh, okay.  Most times, if it's bad dreams, I feel like if I share it, it's less likely to happen.  I'm sharing my dream from last night.  It jumped around between people and places but there was a fire.  It was a big fire and I know my car was there because it caught on fire.  For some reason, all the people there thought it would be good to get in our cars and drive fast so the wind would blow out the fires.  I know that's not how it works but it was a dream...  Anyway, we got in our car to leave and at that point I was in Brazoria.  The fireman, who was with an EMS guy, stopped at a different house where a man was having a medical emergency.  I told him the fire was on the next street over and asked if he needed a ride.  He hopped in our car with his hose and that was that.  I woke up worrying about a fire.

Now I'm going to go rest while Little E is napping so I don't have to worry about being too tired to stay awake today.  Too late.  I hear stirring.

today is day four

of Mom brought over a bunch of meat because the freezer didn't shut and it all started to thaw out.  We had bacon sandwiches for breakfast.  Last night we had sausage with leftover potato casserole for.  Eric's going to take some home today.  I think I might make steak bites with a vegetable today.  I also need to freeze the steaks I bought on Saturday.  I'll probably be ready for shrimp on Friday.

Looking around on fb last night, I figured the best way to get back into the social media vibe was definitely with a quiz.  Based on my preferences in classic rock, Buzzfeed guessed my age and gender.

Hmm.

There are a few bands who I know their music but not the best at remembering some of the names of songs.  One of those bands is Led Zeppelin.  In most cases, I think I need the name of a song repeated where I can sing along for the name to stick.  I had to search one of the song options to see which one it was, Black Dog.  That was my song choice for them.  My problem is I had another song of theirs in my head and I didn't know the name of it.  Sure, I could google the lyrics but I'm not the best at lyrics either.  Strolling skunkman...  Luckily for me, I can search what I think it is (I'm usually not too far off).  So, I did a search for "walking down the street just the other day" and google pulled up "walkin' in the park just the other day".  I know it's Misty Mountain Hop and I kind of remember that now but the only other problem is I thought it was Misty Mountain Top.  It'll always be Misty Mountain Top in my head.  Clicking on another recommended video, I know Over the Hills and Far Away and I think I like that one the best... until Heartbreaker comes on.  I leave it and turn the radio up.  Once it gets to Living Loving Maid, the radio has to be cranked up more.  It's kind of like Metallica's One.  That song has to be listened to with the volume up, especially from about the middle on.  But anyway, Led Zeppelin is one of the bands I have a hard time remembering some of their song titles.  I didn't have any problem with the Guns n Roses options, I knew I'd pick Patience.  I'm not a big AC/DC fan but I picked Thunderstruck because if I were to listen to one of their songs, it'd be that one.  You get the idea.  What quiz will pop up today?

Another thing popped up yesterday and it reminded me of Lauren.  How many times did Dumbo make you cry?

I know she cried for the original but sheesh, this new Tim Burton Dumbo...  Look at that thumbnail.  He looks sad.  She might actually need kleenex for this one.

Okay, I've rambled on long enough. (HA! I do know Ramble On without having to google other lyrics.  See what happens when I hear the name repeated clearly?  It sticks.)  I have about an hour to take a shower and get to the store and back.  I'm pushing it but it should be simple enough.  It's five minutes down the road, it's not like I'm Going to California...  I'll be here all week, folks.

It's the first day of a new month

and I feel almost totally determined to stick with a photo-a-day challenge.  I've mentioned it before but this is what's on my mind today... again.  Sometimes I just get bored and this has been one of those times, that and being busy.  I haven't been as active on social media lately in general.  Like I've said before, I just get tired of it.  In case I wasn't sure if I was an introvert...  Oh, another thing.  I've mentioned how I gave up letting people get to me for Lent, remember?  Well, it's a lot easier to not let people bother me if I just avoid them.  Like a book I saw at HEB once, People Can't Drive You Crazy if You Don't Give Them the Keys.  Anyway, social media.  I haven't been around as much.

I plan to do the photo challenge this month.  I need to.  I'm already thinking about today's prompt of fun.  My mind is stuck on the cabinet of games.

Somehow, in this mess of a cabinet, I'm going to find fun.  I think what might be equally fun is cleaning it out and getting rid of things.  I think I have something in mind for my picture that could work.  Maybe I'll clean the cabinet out afterwards.  Or, maybe I'll just add it to the list I started last night, the list of things to clean.  The first on that list is this desk.  I don't think I can take much more of it.  It looks like a disaster but it's an organized disaster.  Since it's in the kitchen for all to see though and not tucked away in an office, I should probably make it look like less of a disaster.  It will get done.  I have my boxes assembled for all the papers that need to be shredded.  The city will take five boxes per vehicle and I have until April 13th.  I've already started.

Game on.