So far, the day hasn’t been extraordinarily unlucky.  I did have to give Joanna my last $2 because she wanted to buy lunch today.  And there is something bizarre going on with my bank account that I am sure will not work out in my favor, but I don’t think that is unlucky so much as a pain in the neck. Besides that, everything seems to be fine.

I do have laundry to do.  I suppose that could be considered unlucky, but when don’t I have laundry to do?  How about cleaning?  That sounds extraordinarily unlucky, but again, it is there whether today is the 13th or not.

Of course, the power went out at the Small Town elementary school this morning, but since they got it back up and running, no one is coming home early.  I call that lucky, not unlucky.

Of course, it is only 10 am so things could take a drastic turn for the worst.  My mother would say I am tempting fate with this post.

Leave me a comment to let me know if you think Friday the 13th is unlucky, lucky or nothing special.

***Today on Facebook, I am thankful that the power came back on at the elementary school.***

Today is What the Hell Wednesday.  The Blue Monkey Butt sisters decided that I should be given one day a week where I bitch about things (I think it was so they didn’t have to hear me bitch every day) and this is it.  This is when I talk about some of the things that I can’t believe.

I may have mentioned in the past that I have big hair.  I had to share this photo with you (because why shouldn’t you see me at my worst)…

WTH?!? This is why I usually wear my hair in a ponytail.  Although, if I put enough time and product into it, it will turn out OK (ignore the red eyes, apparently Small Town Daddy has no photography skills).

Yesterday, one of the cats found, caught and disemboweled a mouse.  The shrieking that ensued was earsplitting (from Libby, not the cat).  WTH?!?  Where is Small Town Daddy when you need him.  I had to clean up the carcass all by myself.  It was extraordinarily unpleasant.

I was invited to an 80s party this weekend.  I have mentioned that I love the 80s.  My MP3 player could provide the soundtrack for the entire night.  But I don’t know what to wear.  I am 40 lbs heavier than I was in the 80s and I haven’t saved any of my clothes from that time period, except my prom dress, maybe I should wear that (oh, wait, I still have to deal with those 40 lbs).  WTH?!? How am I going to be the queen of the 80s without anything to wear?

I have another reminder event that I can’t remember what it means.  Today, I have on my calendar, “Feed the Hungry Event.”  WTH?!?  Was I going to feed the hungry?  Was there some type of event I was supposed to attend?  Was I supposed to bring snacks for hungry people?  Was it a reminder to eat breakfast?  I wish I could remember.  If I was supposed to be attending your Feed the Hungry Event this morning, I am sorry I missed it.

Today is Veteran’s Day.  For the first time, the kids are in school rather than having the day off.  WTH?!?  Yeah, I got nothing.  I am glad they’re in school.  I have no fighting, arguing or demands.

As part of my Facebook theme, today I am thankful for Entenmann’s chocolate chip filled cake.

Don’t forget to visit the girls from Blue Monkey Butt.  You can find out what others are bitching about today.

I have spent the past week as Small Town Daddy’s personal slave (and not in a good way).  Since I work from home, I am the one who gets to take the random (there is that word again) trips to DMV, the car dealer, the post office, etc.  Yes, all these trips were required to replace Small Town Daddy’s car.

Speaking of the new car, I can’t stand our car dealer.  Why do I feel like I need a shower every time I talk to him?  I am going to give you a tip, once you make a sale, stop.  Don’t keep pushing.  It just makes you unpleasant to be around.  I have to go back later this week to return the dealer plates.  Small Town Daddy says they just want to see me again.  Is that because they like my sneer?

My horoscope today says that I need to immerse myself in some good music or a feel-good movie.  I need to get away from it all on an emotional level.  I agree. Too bad I have too much to do.

I got a new phone on Friday.  I then had to return the new phone 2 hours later.  According to the repair guy, I “mangled” the charger and there was no way it could be saved.  I guess I didn’t know my own strength.  Now I am afraid to charge my newer new phone.

I bet you are wondering why I needed a new phone.  I had a perfectly good pink phone that I have had for 3 years (did I mention that it was pink).  I didn’t even close it in the car door like I did with its predecessor.  Since I now work from home, I wanted to be able to use my phone to check my email.  Not my junk email (of which I get quite a bit), but the important emails.  From my friends and readers clients.  Now I can always be reached (I haven’t decided if that’s a good thing, I will let you know).  Sadly, since it is a business phone, it isn’t pink.

On Facebook, I am doing a Thanksgiving thing.  Every day, I need to post something for which I am thankful.  Sadly, today’s entry was that I am thankful I don’t have to go anywhere today (it’s the small things).  I can’t do sweat pant day since both girls have friends coming over (I wouldn’t care with the kids, but their parents will come to pick up at the end of the day.  I should probably get dressed for them).  My schedule this year is not conducive to sweat pant day.  Obviously I have done something wrong with my scheduling and it all needs to be redone.

That is it for my random Tuesday thoughts.  Stop by to visit Keely to see what the rest of the random world is thinking.

Edited: Day was changed to reflect Tuesday rather than Thursday.  Apparently, I really want it to be Thursday so every week I start out wishing everyone a happy Thursday on Tuesday.

Melissa is one of the homeschooling bloggers I visit a lot.  I like Melissa.  Not only doesn’t she judge me (admit it, some of the homeschoolers can be judgey), but she offers information and activities that even a mom who doesn’t want to spend all day with her kids can enjoy.

Anyway, Melissa is offering a giveaway.  She is giving away a first grade Sylvan workbook for language arts.  Joanna is in first grade (I’m just sayin’).  While I don’t homeschool, Joanna has some difficulty with language arts so this workbook would be a great way to bring her up to speed.  I want to win this book.

You can only get one chance to win.  So I am asking a favor.  If you do not have a first grader in your life, will you enter the giveaway and win the book for Joanna?  I am asking because I never win anything and I am hoping you do.  If you do have a first grader in your life, move along, nothing to see here (oh, and those links above, they don’t work).  Keep going, we will be back tomorrow with an entertaining post.

So if you would be willing to enter to win for Joanna, click here and help her win a Sylvan workbook to get her caught up with the rest of her class.

If you follow a lot of blogs you know there are many different activities on Wednesday (I guess Wednesday is just considered a boring day).  There are things like Wordless Wednesday, which implies I could actually be wordless (although that might be a nice break for those around me).  This led to Wordful Wednesday, which implies I will have a lot to say about a single photo.  None of these gave me a warm fuzzy feeling so I never participated.  Then the ladies over at Blue Monkey Butt developed a theme that was all about bitching.  Finally, something I could get into.  So I tried it last week.  And the response was overwhelmingly positive (OK, maybe it was lukewarm, but I choose to think positively).  So welcome to What the Hell Wednesday.  These are things that I really can’t believe are happening around me.

Yesterday, I wished everyone a Happy Thursday.  WTH?  Apparently I was lost due to the time change (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it).  Only one person pointed out that I was an idiot (I am not saying no one else noticed, but…).  Thank you, Jen for noticing and pointing it out so politely.  I could have said it was a test to see if people pay attention, but it was really just a mistake.  I have been very distracted with the whole car dying and having to chauffeur Small Town Daddy all over town.

Speaking of Small Town Daddy, why do I have to drive him everywhere?  WTH?  Can’t he walk.  Isn’t that why God gave him legs?  It’s only 10 miles to the train station, buddy, start walking.  I will even get him a glow-in-the-dark jacket so no one runs over him in the dark.

Libby is in middle school this year and I think the school is purposely trying to confuse me.  WTH?  First of all, they work on some bizarre schedule reflecting A-F days so the schedule is different every day and every week.  Try to keep track of which days your kid should bring her trumpet to school (I can’t even try).  This week and next, her school has parent-teacher conferences which means the kids get out early a couple of days each week.  This week it is Wednesday and Thursday, next week is Tuesday and Thursday.  Is it my imagination or does this sound unnecessarily complicated?  I certainly can’t keep track of it.  I have put everything on my calendar and will just hope I don’t leave her sitting on the front stoop.

I keep getting emails telling me that someone is flirting with me.  WTH?  First of all, I am a little old for Internet flirting.  Second of all, is it really flirting if I need an email to let me know.  Third of all, what is Small Town Daddy going to say (He will probably ask if I will give that person a ride without bitching incessantly).

I think that is probably all I have to complain about this fine morning.  I am sure I could think of more, but do you really want to hear it?  So, Happy Friday Wednesday and let me know what is bothering you today.

Happy Tuesday!  If you’ve been here before then you know that Tuesday is all about random.  We (and that is the royal we) will be sharing everything random that pops into my head.

As I write this, I am watching my local news.  I don’t know if it is news in your area, but my local news keeps talking about ground beef that is being recalled.  The most recent sell by date on the beef is September 28.  Now this leads me to wonder if I have somehow fallen into a black hole and traveled back in time or if other people take the sell by date a lot less seriously than I do. Shouldn’t they have recalled it before most people would have eaten it rather than a month later?

Today is election day here in the US.  That means all of the schools are closed except for ours.  Since we only have 1 voting machine, they can stick it in the community center and don’t need to use the schools.  While I believe that voting in the Small Town probably merits its own post, too bad.  Suffice it to say that I know many of the people running and I am not sure that’s a good thing for any of us.

We are in mourning here in the Small Town household.  Small Town Daddy’s car has died.  And not in a get it to a repair shop kind of way but in a we have gotten it to a repair shop and the guy said it isn’t worth fixing kind of way.  It was 13 years old and we will miss it.  In lieu of flowers, donations in its honor should be sent to GM.

We are going to have to buy a new car (ok, a new to us car).  We are open to suggestions, keeping in mind that the Small Town is covered in snow for about 4 months out of the year.  Until we get a new car, I will be driving Small Town Daddy around like a chauffeur (I bet you can guess how long that will last, why can’t the lazy bum man walk already).

So that’s all that is random here in the Small Town.  Don’t forget to stop by and visit Keely, The UnMom.  She originated all that is random.

Notice the fine sewing detail on Libby’s Mother Nature costume (what a fine, fine sewing job).  Joanna is a Sweetheart Bat although she looks more like a cheerleader.

Standing next to the girls in the above photo is ghost boy.  He is not allowed near the street because I keep threatening to hit him with the car.  Notice he is tucked between a stump and a rock.  There is no way to get a car to him (believe me, I’ve tried).

Now, time to start Christmas shopping.

In other parts of the state, the swine are active.  I understand being careful in those parts of the state where there are hundreds of cases.  But we are still one of only 3 states where the flu is only regional rather than widespread.

And what about school?  Is spending 7 hours locked in a building with 600 kids really that much safer than 2 hours locked in the same building with 150 kids?  It’s not like the kids were going to mingle with outsiders.  And all 3 of the moms organizing the social are germophobes (yes, that includes me).  I can’t imagine we would even allow germs to be present.

The kids were pissed.  Libby spent the day coming up with a list of creative adjectives to describe the superintendent.  It was one of my proudest moments.  That kid has quite a vocabulary.  When she ran out of words, she accessed a thesaurus and was able to discover even more words.  It seemed to make her feel better (although yesterday I said something she didn’t like and she said the list now describes me do we may have to banish the list).

In addition, Joanna’s school has canceled her Halloween party.  They do an annual parade for the parents, followed by classroom parties.  The parade will still happen (since it is outside and all those germy parents won’t be in the school), but the parties have been canceled.

This brings to the forefront a dilemma that I have been wrangling with recently (like many moms across the country if not the globe).  While I know the swine flu shot is not yet available, what should I do when it is available?  Should I vaccinate the kids (I, of course, am too old to deserve the vaccine).  I originally thought, no.  I would not vaccinate.  I am lucky that both of my kids are healthy so the flu shouldn’t pose a danger to them.  They wil be sick, but they will recover.  Until I found out about a cousin of mine (Joanna’s age).  Who was hospitalized for 3 days due to complications.  She was healthy (and fortunately, she will be again).  What would happen if my girls got sick and then developed complications?  Could I live with myself?  The answer to that question is a big, fat no.

But, what about complications from the vaccine.  The last time a swine flu vaccine was rushed to market, it led to a number of cases of Gullain-Barre syndrome.  That scares me even more than the flu.  I will admit, my kids (especially Libby) have an extremely negative reaction to shots so I have never gotten them a flu shot.  In Libby’s case, a flu shot would be worse than the flu.  So what should I do?  It may not even be an issue since by the time the vaccine is available, the flu may be finished, but I am a mom so I worry about it.  What are you doing about the regular flu and H1N1 vaccine for your kids?

Yesterday I went to the doctor to get a cortisone shot.  WTH?  If you have never had a cortisone shot, they inject your joint with a needle the size of Rhode Island.  It doesn’t hurt as much as you would think, but I always have a bad reaction to the shot and develop something called cortisone flare.  It is impossible to describe but hurts like nothing you can imagine (it makes childbirth look painless).  Luckily I still have Vicodin left over from my last shoulder surgery.  Elle suggested I needed peanut butter cups to go with the Vicodin, but I didn’t have any.  Hershey bars with almonds made an acceptable substitute in an emergency (yes, I have hit up the Halloween candy.  Give me a break, I’m in pain, I need chocolate).

Libby is going to be Mother Nature for Halloween.  This required me to actually make her costume.  There was sewing involved.  I still have holes in a couple of my fingers but she is going to be very flowery in her costume.  She has to wear it for 3 days, so let’s hope my sewing holds up.

Joanna is going to be a Sweetheart Bat.  While there was no sewing involved, the costume did look a little trashy in the photo.  WTH?  There is never an excuse for a 6 year old to look trashy.  Luckily, I got it slightly big so it looks a lot less trashy on her than in the picture.

Today is picture day for Joanna.  They are not taking the class photo because so many kids are out with the swine flu.  Yes, it has hit Joanna’s class hard.  By the time they get those vaccines out, everyone will have had it already and wont need a vaccine.

I have to quote JD who does things so I don’t have to (see, she even does it on my blog.  She says things so beautifully so I don’t have to), “I agree: 100+ ladybugs is the opposite of lucky. One ladybug, alighting on my arm, is a beautiful reminder that not all bugs are horrifying. 100 ladybugs invading my house? That’s proof that all bugs are horrifying.”  She was responding to some people’s objections to our vacuuming of hundreds of ladybugs when they invaded my house.  In addition, according to Rebecca (I would link, but her link didn’t work), they are not Lady Bugs at all, but Japanese Lady Beetles and they want to bite my children and stain my furniture (I am not sure which is worse). WTH?

So, let me know what you think of What the Hell Wednesday.  If you like it, I will continue.  If not, I will stop torturing you with the things that are bothering me (or just do it every day).

Hello and Happy Tuesday!  It’s time for Random Tuesday Thoughts.  If you aren’t familiar with Random Tuesday Thoughts, it is the one day a week where I share the good, the bad and the ugly that I have been thinking about.  RTT was started by Keely the UnMom.  I guess that makes this Canadian, eh?

When I mentioned the ladybugs that invaded my house, a couple of people suggested we should have left them alone instead of vacuuming them.  They mentioned the fact that ladybugs are lucky.  My feeling is that all things cease being lucky once there are hundreds of them.  So, bite me.

This coming Sunday is my favorite day of the year.  No, I don’t have a strange attraction to El Dia de los Muertos, I just can’t wait to turn the clocks back an hour.  While I know I wont actually get to sleep an extra hour, I am hoping that it will feel like I am.

So, what about those pilots who missed the Minneapolis airport.  Since they were using their laptops, does that mean that they were on Facebook when they should have been flying the plane.  I guess that’s why so many corporations block their employees from Facebook.

Libby has her first school social this week and her first dance next weekend.  Am I just overprotective (OK, I am overprotective) or does 5th grade seem really early to start this type of thing.  I don’t want to tell her she can’t go, but if she is doing this now, what is she going to do for thrills in high school?  I have decided to volunteer at both events.  If I have to volunteer around town to spy on my children, so be it.  Somehow, in my zeal to attend the social, I ended up on the committee to organize it.  I had no idea until I received an email thanking me for volunteering.  Wait a second, I don’t remember volunteering.  I just wanted to be there to spy on my kid offer any assistance I could.

Well, that’s it for the random.  Stop by to visit Keely, the UnMom and hear all about what’s happening in the frozen north.