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Sunday, September 20, 2009

Just Stuff

Criminy, it's been a busy few days.



* I knocked out a ghost story called A Shadow of a Distant Life for a local suburb's writing contest. Grand prize: publication in a book that'll be available for rent in their library system and a public reading. Not exactly a game-changer, but it felt damn good to devote some time to fiction, regardless of the contest's outcome.



* As money is super-tight, we've started to actively chip away at clearance sales and whatnot to get Christmas under control. I was about to detail some of the deals, but YaYa sometimes reads this, so . . . ixnay.



* We ran out of gas in the van and had to push it a good block and a half on a busy street. Not a pleasant experience, that. When we got to the actual filling station the slope was proving too much, but a Good Samaritan came and helped me get it over the (literal) hump. A moment later a woman, noticing our problem, moved her car so as to allow us easier access to a pump. I thanked both of them in the little Spanish I know and said a well deserved prayer of thanks for both of them.



* Good riddance to Johnny Sakalis on Project Runway. Not only a hack, but a liar too. BTW, they should dump Nina Garcia and keep Marie Claire's Zoe Glassner. I'll be damned if I can find a decent picture of her on the web, but every time she appears on screen I gasp and say "omg she's cute!". I mean *every* time, something that has worn a little thin on Lisa's nerves (imagine that).



* LuLu has been plagued with a deep cough and unproductive sleep for some time, and we've had a handful of doctor visits about it in the last month. Long story short, she's been diagnosed with asthma, which runs on both sides of the family, and several bad allergies.

After further testing, she has been determined to be allergic to: tree pollen (slightly), mosquito bites, ragweed (slightly), dust mites (incredibly so), shellfish (there's a relationship to dust mites there I'm told), and cats (highly).

We've put a allergy cover on both her mattress and pillows, banned the cats from her room, and put our large HEPA air filter near her door. We're not going to molley-coddle this, and she WILL be doing everything she would be doing otherwise, but our heart does go out to her.

The good news? The doc thinks that once her allergies improve so will her sleep, and her grumpiness.


* I ran into the daughter of the founder of Mazo's, an iconic hamburger stand on the south side that's been in business since before WWII. I suggested they add the ability to add credit card payments. How practical, I said, is a cash-only business in this day and age? She actually seemed to consider it and pronounced it a smart idea. We'll see if it's implemented.

* Smiley had an eye appointment, and not only came away with "perfect eyes" but pronounced each word to the doctor so clearly it made Lisa tear up. :)

* I spoke with someone who attended the 10,000 strong Tea Rally held yesterday in Milwaukee. I was working, but from what she said it was a hell of a good time and guest speaker Michelle Malkin rocked it. (you can ck out Malkin's blog on my sidebar).

4 comments:

Bridgett said...

An award for you on my blog. :)

http://booplustwo.blogspot.com/2009/09/award-giveaway.html

Joann said...

Chris (my son) had allergies too, and asthma. UGH!! What a hassle it was... but times passes and they DO grow out of it. I feel for you (and Lulu) my friend!

Bernadette said...

Chris has awful allergies...all of the ones you listed above except for shellfish, which is strange because he's highly allergic to dust. I just keep the house clean and dust a few times a week, and we use allergy filters. As for the pets, Chris tends to grow into them...the longer he's exposed, the less reaction. Around other people's cats is the hardest on him, I'll even break out sometimes and I'm not allergic. Regular bathing helps, but it's hard to bathe cats...usually it's the dander that is the allergy, not the cat itself. ..from our experience, gray cats tend to be harder to tolerate than other colors, not sure why.

anyhow!..that's great news about Smiley :) coming along nicely.

agree with you on Project Runway..sooo glad it's back on though, I missed me some Tim Gunn.

::note to self, double check gas gauge::

Bridgett said...

Oh man. I hope LuLu is feeling better. Poor kiddo.

And great news about Smiley! And as a mother of a child who didn't speak until he was almost 5, I understand Lisa's tears.

BTW, we're having major issues with Christmas this year too. It's going to be a much smaller affair than normal. :(

XOXO