A Few Unrelated Rants

So to give you an idea of the mood over here, I started this morning after being up until 3:30am, plunging a toilet.

After being in the ER with a friend last night, I have decided that unless I am dying or bleeding profusely and even then probably not, I am never going to the ER. I know they do what they can and it isn't a slight on the whole ER but what an awful experience. I have been to the ER so many times and I can tell you, when I took Nico in for the split open head and asthma attack, the nurses and doctors were wonderful. When I took Gia when she fell and her head was bleeding, again, they were the best ever. When I had my surgery and then got sick, they were horrible. One person told me I had one thing (a bladder infection) and then five minutes later, someone else told me something different, none of which was what I actually had which was bronchitis. Last night was ridiculous. Three hours later and we walked out of there with my friend feeling stupid for going. Let me tell you what else, the ER at CDH on a Monday night after midnight is a scary, scary place. It was packed and I swear there was a woman there that I was afraid was going to die before anyone got to her. Once we were seen, the one nurse was wonderful and also thought there was a good reason for why my friend was there but then the ER doctor (and why on a very crowded night did it seem like there was only one?), who we did not like at all, came in and was so dismissive that both of us felt stupid and shamed for being there. Oh, but I REALLY enjoyed going down memory lane with him as he told us of all his daughter's injuries in her 17 years of life. That was fun at 3:00am.

My fourth graders have a field trip today. I care deeply for the state of our environment. Really I do and I will probably be judged and looked down upon when I say this but I know I am not alone. I might be the only one saying it but I KNOW I am not alone in this. Asking me to pack the twins a "waste free" lunch for this field trip is asking a lot. Maybe the packet came to us last week and my kids are terrible about giving me that stuff or...maybe they did and in all this chaos, I forgot. It's a crap shoot. Could be a little of both but this morning after no sleep, my darlings let me know that I need to pack them a waste free lunch with little Tupperware (like I am letting those out of my sight and into the hands of my 10 year olds that can't even remember to give me a field trip packet). I even thought to myself in the hours we were waiting last night that today would be an "Uncrustable" day, which means, an Uncrustable, a fruit cup, a bag of chips and a HoHo. In other words, the opposite of "waste free" and the result of two sets of tears today. Tommy, especially, was very upset because I don't have a canvas lunch bag for him and I get it. I freaked out until I saw that it said the waste would just have to come home which was fine with me but still not fine with the twins. Soooo much complaining and whining. "This is just like my regular lunch." "Ummm, I can't really drink Sprite. It bothers my stomach." "Why can't I just use the new Tupperware?" "Can you peel my banana so I don't have the peel?" This is not a rant against their teachers. It was not them that required this. It was the place where the field trip will be and again, let me say, I love the environment. I want to save the environment. My use of disposable diapers, water bottles and lots of little plastic baggies of food and other items might say otherwise but really I do.

I never felt like I had fat fingers until I got a touch screen phone. The amount of typos is off the chart and actually laughable when the auto correct tries to figure out what I am saying. Apparently it was elves and fairies that developed those screens. Am I the only one that has trouble with that?

I have stayed well within the 1200 calorie allowance I get in order to lose some weight. I have eaten nothing but two eggs a day, bananas, carrots, apples, Lean Cuisine meals and once in awhile to change things up, grilled tilapia. Admittedly, exercise has not been as often as I should (and with the day I am having so far, today doesn't look promising either) but I have really been watching what I eat. I have had one Coke (and it was half) in a month and probably 3 alcoholic beverages. I stepped on the scale (I know, D.W. I need to chuck it) the day before Mother's Day and I am up 3lbs. I know...I have heard it all...I need to exercise. I might not be eating enough. Yuck, yuck and yuck. I am going to try Brad Pilon's plan "Eat, Stop, Eat." I'll let you know how it goes. I thought 40 was the new 30 (or is the the old 30?) and let me tell you, I wish that was true. I was 10lbs lighter at 30!

I'd love to hear what diet plans work for you. I know it's a lifestyle change and that I need to exercise more but did a plan kick start your loss? I'd love to know.

Or, just tell me your terrible ER stories or that you have fat fingers too. :)