Here I am, another FriedDay… another update. It has been weird week for me. Not necessarily a bad week, although there were bad moments. I’ve been kinda emotional, tearing up at random times. Yep! It’s been a weird week.
Ben is still doing well in school. His sleep is still hit and miss, but with the weather staying pretty much the same, he seemed to even out a little also. Some nights he went to sleep easy, some nights he was still awake at 11pm. At least there weren’t any 2:30am, bouncing around and laughing like a deranged hyena nights, so that’s good. His behavior has been pretty good at school and at home. Not perfect… he’s a tween kid. If he was perfect I’d fear he was plotting world destruction.
Sunsets have been on repeat, along with the weather. The marine layer of clouds have been present every morning, so there’s been no sunrise to see. It’s typical Spring weather in SoCal… “May Grey” or “June Gloom” it’s called. Nice and cool in the mornings and evenings, nice and sunny with temperatures in the 70s F (20-25 C) in the late morning and afternoon… good for living, bad for stunning photography.
I don’t know which pictures go with which days, cuz they’re all the same, aren’t they? The Parrots’ visit was on Wren’sDay evening, that’s all I can be certain of. The Moon pictures were taken Thor’sDay night.
Let’s chat about what a DAY Thor’sDay was. It started like most days, the usual Casa Cuckoo stuff. The GLYSB took Ben off to school and that’s when I noticed that my battery on my phone was only at 50%. I plugged it in… nothing. I tried a different charger… nothing. I tried blowing canned air into the the charging port… still nothing. I’ve had the dang phone less than six months and already it takes a crap… swell.
Daughter had to work Thor’sDay night, so I needed to have a working phone. 50% battery probably would have lasted a couple days if I turned every off and didn’t use it, but it would’ve been “getting by“, a band-aid fix. Daughter and I discussed finances and I headed off to the phone place and got a new phone. Luckily the same exact model. Unluckily, it was the floor model I think, cuz there’s some bleed-through on the screen. Not horrible, and I can deal with it, but SHEESH! of course, right?!
I also needed to go by the grocery store. Sven needed greens, Ben needed Kit Kats and orange chicken, and I needed cheese! I went to Food 4 Less, which I hate, but it was right by the phone place, it’s cheaper, and they have Ben’s orange chicken. Plus, it’s not soul destroying like WallyWorld. I got the stuff on the list except for two things that Daughter asked for. UGH!! So I headed to Vons, got Daughter’s requested items, then home.
I’d had anxiety ever since I discovered the phone was toast. The heart racing, icky tummy kind of anxiety. It was still with me, even after the phone was taken care of. I decided to break my streak and skip walking. I really was NOT feeling well, and I was bothered that I was still feeling the physical symptoms of anxiety, with no cause… no cause that I was aware of. Both daughters and Ben were okay. So I sent my thoughts out to my friends. Something wasn’t right somewhere. I later found out who and where and what. Maybe it was a coincidence, but I don’t believe that.
Anyway, my walking streak was broken by one day. I was back at it today, FriedDay, so all is not lost. Here are some pictures from my walks this past week
My walk was a little later than I’d intended because I woke up with the after effects of all that tummy upset in my guts. I won’t go into details, but I wanted to be close to home for a few hours this morning. Oh, but that’s not the only reason I was delayed. Younger called me after Ben was put on the bus and I’d picked Daughter up from work, but she was in a bad reception area. She could text, but voice calls weren’t working. This is what happened
That’s the rental car. She couldn’t call to report it to them, and she needed to be at work, since she was the only one scheduled for opening in her department. I’m really glad she talked me into buying their insurance coverage instead of just using my car insurance. She can swap out the car after work with no problems.
On the subject of insurance, the Insurance Dude finally called her back, and said “It’s looking like you were at fault”. How she’s at fault when the other car hit her, and she didn’t hit anyone, is beyond my comprehension. We only carried liability on her car, so they don’t really care about her claim. She needs to buy another car, some pre-owned plain, inexpensive transportation. Poor Younger is stressing. Money worries are horrible!
There was a bit of good luck. Daughter was able to schedule Ben for his first vaccine shot on Monday 17th, after school. I’m still trying to get Younger to get hers scheduled, but it’s her decision. She’s not anti-vax, she’s a procrastinator and concerned about long term effects. I can accept a small part of her concern cuz I didn’t get her the Chicken Pox shot til she was twelve and had to get it for school. Older got Chicken Pox at daycare, and I was hoping Younger would get it too. The Kootie is very much different than Chicken Pox though.
I’ll leave you with Mr Sven
That’s it for my week. Emotional, lots of blah and a couple of minor dramas. Minor by Casa Cuckoo standards anyway. I’ll see you on Sunday and whenever I post again… or lurking in your comments.
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HUGS!!
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King Ben's Grandma 
I was horribly sick for a couple days with tummy issues. Saturday night thru Monday. I’ve been on a super bland diet since, sticking to yogurt and bananas and grahams. Idk why because my housemate ate the exact same food I did except for a coffee. Anyway ugh. Hope younger gets her car sorted out… car issues are super stressful for me. I was just commenting here that the sunsets have been so boring, and I haven’t taken pics of them either.
I jump on all vaxes as soon as I can. I trust them & science. Chicken pox can be a serious illness for some ppl, plus it sets you up for shingles later on. That’s why I was anxious to get the set of shingles vaxes, when they were available to me.
Have a peaceful weekend! 💕🌷
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I’m sorry you had a yucky tummy too. I’d rather have a head or chest cold, than tummy stuff. Mine is feeling a little better this afternoon. The adrenaline that goes with anxiety always upsets my stomach.
My concern with the Chicken Pox shot was I was worried it would wear off when she was an adult, and then she’d get really sick if she caught it. My German Measles vax wore off when I was pregnant with Younger. That’s why it was even on my mind. I’d planned on having her get the shot in her teens anyway.
I might be “woo woo” about some stuff, but I’m totally a Sciencey Stuff person too😉
Feels kinda wrong to complain about boring sunsets when the weather has been so nice 😆 Ah well… we PAY to have nice weather. Sunshine Tax🙄
I hope you have a chill weekend too! Minimal aches and pains🤞💕🦋
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I’m feeling sick right now… I don’t know what it is, something I ate? Ugh. But I loved your post and I enjoy the pictures, as always. 🙂
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I’m sorry you’re feeling sick. You’re my 2nd comment of someone not feeling well… time to get the tin foil hats out😱🤪
I had to restrain myself from labeling all of the stars in the last picture. I start geeking out on the sky and I could go on for days. Daughter gets a glazed look in her eyes every time I bring up the subject😆
She doesn’t care about the flowers and trees either. I think I dropped her too many times🤷🏼♀️😂
Feel better!💕💌💖
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I think it was the zinc pill… Ugh.
All better now (I think). 😵
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I’m sorry that you had such a stressful week. I do hope that your daughter’s insurance issue get sorted out. Take care of your self my friend. The pictures are wonderful, specially from your walks. Hugs
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Thanks Sadje!💕 She and I decided she needs to move forward under the assumption that she’s not going to get anything for her car. She needs to buy whatever decent car she can get and if she does get some money later, it’s bonus. Her car was a 2006, I think… it ran well, but it wasn’t worth much. 🤷🏼♀️
All of the flowers and the flowering trees are putting on a beautiful show. I was surprised to see so much fruit on several Loquat trees already. And the Magnolias are finally blooming. They smell so pretty.🌺🌻🦋🤗🥰
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I hope she finds a good deal. You’re such a tower of strength for your daughters. And it also helps that you’re practical and pragmatic too.
Great signs of spring.
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Look after yourself Angie. We got some ripples to make. ❤️❤️❤️
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Lots of ripples! CANNONBALL! 😘😂
💌💌💌
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Wow, your family is really being hit in the finances department. If bad things come in threes, maybe you’re done. We bypassed the rental insurance on a trip to France a few years ago. Someone keyed our car. We ultimately got our money back when our personal insurance kicked in, but the rental car company pulled $1000 from our credit card and kept it for about 8 months. That rental insurance seems like such a scam… until you need it.
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I sure hope it’s done! They gave Younger a minivan 😂😂 She called me after she got the new car and was freaking out. I asked if she felt like a “Soccer Mom”😆
The insurance really does seem like a scam, but I’m SOO glad Younger talked me into it! Especially the way our insurance company has been so slow and uncommunicative.
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What a week! It really sounds like you guys went through a lot. I am glad that the rental car worked out, but that is a shame about her own car. I would be stressing too! And I can imagine how you felt with the broken phone. When big things break it really takes a toll until they are fixed. I can relate to internalizing that pain and am glad you are feeling better. I am seeing on social media a lot of teens getting vaccinated. Bob and I got the Moderna and are both waiting for our second shot. I haven’t seen Pfizer around us. I am going to have to do some research because our bigguns really want to be vaccinated too! That is great Ben has an appointment!
It is always great to end with Sven 🙂 He makes me smile. Here’s hoping you have a better or smoother or happier week ahead! I am hoping to post something on Monday or Tuesday – we’ve had a crazy week too. I spent Mother’s Day at the soccer fields and my birthday in the ER with Bobby (again – twice in two weeks for separate issues) so I am hoping to celebrate those lost days at the beach tomorrow to listen to my favorite sound of waves crashing on the shoreline. I’ll keep you posted!
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Oh yes!! A beach day sounds wonderful🌊😍 especially after your week🤪🤦🏼♀️ I knew about that games, but that’s awful that you had to go to ER… again? Bobby has been making quite a few visits. What needed stitching, or splitting, or casting this time?
I’m sure if Pfizer isn’t around now, it will be soon. Parents will be making phone calls😉
Looking forward to the update, especially the relaxing at the beach part!💕🤗🥰🌻
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The first trip was to stitch up an elbow to the face in a basketball tournament. The second was for root canal pain. Those darn invisalign – he didn’t follow the rules and ate and drank with them in. So if he had a soda they sugar would just sit on his teeth. There were no dentists around that took our insurance but one thought they would be on the insurance formulary in another week so we tried to wait and it blew up in my face. Now I have to pay an ER bill and I had to pay close to $1000 for a root canal. But he is out of pain. I guess that is the good part!
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Ugh! Dental insurance and lack of, is why all of my teeth had to be pulled and now I have full dentures. In my 40s!
Medicare doesn’t cover dental, vision or hearing. It’s rotten that so many people have to suffer because of lack of basic Healthcare.
🤐🤐 getting off my soapbox
I’m glad he’s not in pain anymore, and I hope he’ll remember not to eat or drink with the aligners in. He’s gonna look like Frankenstein’s Monster with all his stitches scars😂😂 I hope the other team got a penalty at least🙄
I say you wrap Bobby in bubble wrap and confine him to his room for a while. He’s having a run of health stuff lately.🙄🤦🏼♀️ Not great for your mental health. 💕💌💖
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I know! He was lying on the hospital bed last week just moaning in pain as I tried to joke with him that I think he has surpassed Catelyn for the most times to the ER. He failed to see the humor at the time. Hopefully we are all done with those trips for a long time!
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As we’ve babbled about before, I totally get the anxiety/empath thing. I have anxiety, in general, anyway, but if I’m peaking and I can’t think of a current trigger, I know that someone I know somewhere is going through something. It just might take a while to figure it out.
And car issues suck, full stop. I also have a 2006 (Toyota RAV4), and it’s been a GREAT car. But it’s seen better days, and it’s time that I start thinking about a replacement. Of course, there’s that pesky financial issue. I’m on a strict budget (retirement, doncha know), and there ain’t no room in that mess for a car payment. So I need to figure something out, but I really don’t want to. You know how it goes…
May I be so bold as to mention that maybe you could get insurance on your new (possibly floor model) phone? It’s annoying paying 16 bucks a month for something I might never use, but there is comfort in knowing that if it loses its functioning mind I can get a free replacement. (As long as the issue is internal or mechanical and not the result of me accidentally running over it in the driveway in a weird spasm of happenstance…)
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I actually do carry phone insurance, but I found out that it’s through an outside company and can take days to get a replacement. It might be useful if I am flat broke and can’t afford to replace on my own. I was in that place where I just wanted the mess fixed NOW. I may still try to file a claim and see if I can get at least a partial refund, but I’m not holding my breath.
My next phone (years from now please) will have wireless charging. Charging ports seem to be my bane. 😫
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It’s sad to see people breaking into cars. This happened to Andrew and they stole his Taekwondo 4th degree black belt. He hasn’t recovered it or ordered a new one, so basically has given up the sport/teaching.
He has an interview tomorrow for a full time excel job in a near by town. It’s exciting. I had to give him a “come to Jesus” talk last week about getting serious about finding a career. It’s painful to get serious with our kids. He’s so sweet and innocent and i know he didn’t appreciate it, but someone has to be the hard ass.
It’s devastating to not have a cell phone working. Glad you got it replaced. Shame on them for giving you a dud. Take it back again. We rely on these for safety, our calendars, and life in general. Too bad they have become so essential.
I’ve had more anxiety recently too. No explanation. I think it’s cause we’ve been through a year and a half of trauma watching what this pandemic has done to the world, and is still happening in India.
Also masks aren’t essential now, but we are exposed to people that aren’t vaccinated and could be carriers.
Read new variant is causing young kids stomach problems and fevers which is new. Bummmmerrr.
Take care of you Angie and breathe.
Teri
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Good luck to Andrew! I hope he gets hired and it turns out to be a perfect fit!!
I started a new medication yesterday for my psoriasis. Its a cancer med that is supposed to slow the growth of skin cells. Unfortunately, since it’s a med developed to fight cancer, it has some side effects. I’m feeling wiped out after one dose. Luckily I only take it once a week. I think I’ll pick a different day next time, instead of the middle of Daughter’s 3 nights of 12 hour shifts 🤦🏼♀️🤪
Don’t forget to take care of YOU, Teri! You take care of everyone else, make sure you’re at the top of that list!
💌💌💌
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Thanks so much. I need to hear this. Friday i was in Petaluma with a friend ALL day. Will blog about it soon. Yesterday I took my Mom out ALL day for her bday. And today we visit Ken’s elder uncle and cousin. Should be great to see them, but I miss my chickens and i need to sew 🧵 and I have seeds that need to be planted.
Hoping you feel better today
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Gosh, what a week. My thoughts are with younger for things to work out. It’s a real pick me up to get a good dose of Sven 😄🐉🫐🐛💕🎶✨🤗
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Poor Younger is hanging by a thread at times. She’s got some leads for a new car. She’s mostly concerned about not having a down payment. I told her that sales people need to make sales, and the pandemic hurt a lot of businesses… she should talk to them, see what they can work out.
Sven is always good for a giggle. He’s having a lazy day today. It’s cloudy, damp and cool. He’s laying under his heat & UV lights. Such a rough life🙄😂😂
💕🌻✨😎🐛🦋💖
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Wishing you a better week this week! I always enjoy your pics – reminds me I need to take a walk each day. My oldest is eligible for the vax, but she is terrified and completely melts down at the mention of it. School ends in about a month here (for summer) but worried it may be required for fall…. never a dull moment, that’s for sure.
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I’m so glad that Ben doesn’t care about shots. Its the waiting, keeping him from wandering or touching everything that is the problem 🤦🏼♀️
Never a dull moment is absolutely right!🙄😂💕
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Any anxiety always goes straight to my tummy so I understand how you felt – it’s not pleasant. Sorry to hear about your youngest’s problems. Car accidents and dealing with insurance companies is never a good experience. Loving the pictures of Sven, especially the one with his tongue out mid-action!
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Sven tongue is always good for a giggle! It usually takes him a few tries before he gets anything with it😂 He gets mad at me for standing there taking pictures. I swear, he gives me a look like “it’s all your fault I can’t get my blueberry” 😆 It couldn’t possibly be that he’s too far from the dish 🙄🤦🏼♀️
Is your tortoise up and about? Brumation all done? It’s been a weird Spring here. We’ll have normal weather for a while, then the temperature will get really warm, then we’ll have a big drop, and a little rain. Not normal for SoCal.🌻💕
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Yes, Tufty is awake but we have been having some unseasonal weather here too – cold and wet – so he hasn’t been outside in the garden much. Hoping that will improve soon as he gets bored in his tortoise table all the time!
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