Last Night- My Power Outage Journal

The storm was approaching, the power went out,  and my journal began…

3:07 pm–  The power’s out and I kinda like it. Cutting off communication with the outside world  is just what this family needs to focus on one another and enjoy each other’s company. I’m going to snuggle with Ana and read her a book.

3:38 pm– I’ve read 18 books, shoot me now. By the time I got to book #7 I was just making shit up. God help me if she tells anyone about the time Jessie gave Buzz a “Woody”. I thought it was funny but I can see how it might look bad.

4:02 pm– Collin just got home from school and Brian came down from his upstairs office. I’m going to suggest we all hang out in the family room and maybe play games.

4:15 pm– Brian and I just argued over whether or not to order pizza.  He’s afraid the pizza guy will get stranded here during the storm and we’ll all be forced to put on pants and entertain him until it lets up.

4:18 pm – Get dressed bitches, I just ordered pizza!

4:26 pm– I can’t take it! Between the yelling, the balls to the head, and the god awful farting (who’s doing it?), I’m going to lose it!  I’m starting to get a headache from clenching my jaw.

4:29 pm – Turns out it’s Mr. Bojangles who’s been farting.  But quite honestly, his timing couldn’t be better. Every time he farts I claim it was me and excuse myself to the bathroom. I’ve been using the alone time to build a shrine, a memorial to my sanity. It sits next to the pedestal sink so everyone can pay their respects while they’re peeing.

Goodbye Sanity. You will be missed. Love, Me

4:32 pm– I’ve decided I can’t do this all night.  I’m currently scouting out possible hiding locations for myself come nightfall. I’m leaning towards the pantry.

4:34 pm– My god, all this family wants to do is eat. I scratched “pantry” off my list of hiding places.

4:36 pm– Using only a paper clip and the dry skin on my arm, I’ve inconspicuously written a list of items that I’ll need to survive through the night. It’s pretty bare bones.  I imagine this is what my camping list would look like if I was ever crazy enough to go camping.

Provisions

-A bottle of Cabernet from the Napa region

-A selection of cheeses (Gruyere, Stilton blue, an aged cheddar, and a herb Havarti)

-Crackers

-Corkscrew

-My Chocolate chip bag from Costco

-Water

-Bucket to pee in

 

4:38 pm – Ana keeps calling me “poopy stinkybutt”. Whatever. I’ll be gone soon enough. Come on darkness.

4:43 pm – it’s getting darker. Our pizza has arrived and I’ve eaten in preparation. I have a full belly and I’m feeling giddy.

4:46 pm – I’ve decided on the coat closet as this saves me from dragging down a pillow and blankets.

4:52 pm – All my supplies are in place. I realize it’s crucial that I take the necessary precautions to thwart any attempts to find me.  So far I’ve hidden all the C and D batteries that could be used to power their flashlights in case they orchestrate a witch hunt. I’ve even sprayed myself with Febreze so the dog can’t track me.

4:54 pm– In 6 minutes I’m going into the closet.  My euphoria has inspired me to write…

Darkness has finally fallen

and my memorial burns bright

buried in the winter coats

hidden from all sight

 

I happily pour my Cabernet

with a snow boot up my ass

I can’t hear your constant bitching

and to that I raise my glass.

-K.S.

 

4:59 pm – the power came back on. Goddamn it.

A Tip for Tuesday – Jewelry Cleaning

Cleaning Your Rings-

I have a great tip for removing dirt, hairspray, saliva, blood, etc., off of your rings. What? You say you don’t have blood on them? HAHAHA! If you have kids then you most definitely have traces of blood (and poop) on your jewelry. If you shined a black-light on your rings you’d vomit. Trust me.

Step 1.

The first thing you’ll want to do is soak your rings in alcohol to loosen the debris. I like to use Popov vodka. But if you don’t have Popov vodka (and you shouldn’t unless you live in a dorm) you can use Southern Comfort or Black Velvet Whiskey-basically any jagged alcohol capable of eating a hole through your bathtub.

*That was just an expression, you shouldn’t be bathing in any of that shit, you might go sterile.

Step 2.

After soaking your rings you’ll want to either rinse or lick them clean, depending on the time of day. I usually ask myself “Is it noon yet?”

*Tip within a tip- Pour the remaining alcohol on your kitchen sponge, countertops, or open wounds to kill nasty germs!

;

Step 3.

Put a pea- sized amount of toothpaste on a Sonic Care toothbrush. You can really use any vibrating toothbrush but I find my husband’s Sonic Care toothbrush works the best. The keyword here is “husband’s”. Don’t use your own, that’s disgusting!

He doesn’t have one? Then get him one for his birthday, Christmas, or Hanukkah. If you’re having trouble justifying the expense then I want you to think of it this way, you could buy a sonic jewelry cleaning machine for $199 or get a Sonic Care toothbrush that will keep your guy’s teeth white and make your diamonds sparkle for under $100. Now that’s a savings! It just makes good economical sense.

Now, I shouldn’t have to say this but…put the toothpaste on BEFORE turning on the toothbrush. Once you have the toothbrush humming make sure to work it into every nook and cranny of your ring. It’s important, however, that you don’t press too hard or the bristles will flatten out and 1) it won’t clean as well and 2) your husband will suspect you’ve done something bad with his toothbrush. Though he probably won’t suspect jewelry cleaning, he may assume crevice cleaning (which I’ll address in another post).

Step 4. Rinse the rings under warm running water. But make sure to close the sink drain before doing Step 4 otherwise this might turn into a $500 plumber bill.

Notice the badly needed manicure.

Voila! A shiny new ring like the day you got it from your sweetheart…or in my case, like the day you got it from the jeweler because you traded your old one in for a bigger one because you suck at sentiment. Sorry Brian.

(Brian, I was so kidding about all of this. I totally use my own toothbrush, because that’s the right thing to do.)

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A summary of the supplies you’ll need. I highly recommend putting the vodka away after each use.

My Saturday (a poem)

We went to our neighborhood Pig Roast on Saturday. It was a lovely event and I would have enjoyed myself more if I wasn’t so stressed about the following…

We were going to a party

where there’d be lots to do

so I asked darling Ana

to go pee and to go poo.

;

She refused my request

and walked out the door

when we got to the party

I asked her some more.

;

In line for the bungee

she said she was fine

but I knew she hadn’t pottied

in such a long time.

Next was the moonbounce

and I begged her to wee

her look said “you asshole,

I don’t have to pee!”

Waiting for face painting

I bribed her to go

but she glared at the cookie

and shook her head “NO”

(bitch)

When I finally gave up,

’cause she just wouldn’t piss,

I heard a tinkling sound

and sadly saw this…

The End.

Free Advice Friday – Job advice from the girl with no job.

Dear Kim,

I was thinking about getting a part time job, something that I can do for extra money but still be here when my kids get home from school. Any advice or ideas?

Thanks,

Pam in Brokeville, OH

 

Dear Pam,

At one time, I too was in search of a flexible part time job. It’s always been important to me to have a stash of cash that’s all my own. In the past, my primary income came from reselling the birthday, valentine, and Christmas gifts given to me by my husband. I listed them on venues like eBay or Craigslist and always under the seller name ‘Cauliflower69’, Brian knows I hate cauliflower so he’d never suspect it was me. But I think he recently caught on because lately my gifts are mostly underwear and perishable food items. FYI- finding a buyer for underwear, even those listed as “New Without Tags”, is a lot harder than you’d think.

Needless to say, the change in my financial status made it nearly impossible to support my addiction to animal print ballerina flats. Zebra, leopard, giraffe, pigeon- you name it, I have to have it! Pam, did you know that there isn’t an outfit in your closet that wouldn’t look better with a pair of animal print shoes? But here’s some advice, if you can only invest in one pair of animal print ballerina shoes, buy Chameleon- that son of a bitch goes with everything!

Anyway, back to the job search advice…I looked at a lot of possible part time jobs that would give me the flexibility necessary for a stay at home mom. Sadly, I lacked the body and the “willingness to do anything” that most of them required. I did, however, stumble across one that held some promise, something a mom might know about. It was listed under Scalp Services/ Lice, and the ad read something like…

Want to meet exciting and interesting people? Enjoy the rush of the heebie jeebies? Yearn for the thrill of the chase while invading the personal space of another? Want to feel like a cowboy of your own tiny rodeo? If you answered ‘yes’ to these questions then the challenging career of Lice and Nit Removal could be for you.

The perfect candidate will possess a positive attitude, a strong stomach, nimble fingers*, and be extremely near-sighted.

*acrylic nails a plus

 

I seriously considered applying for it myself, I even thought about what my business cards would say:

Kim, Lice Location & Extraction Officer
“Lice: Hair Today,Gone Tomorrow!”
Remember, if you’re not “picky” about your nit removal company,
you may be left scratching your head!
(234) 555-LICE

But my friends pointed out that flip-flop season was just around the corner (flip-flops are a much cheaper habit to support). They also said they would never meet me for happy hour if I was coming straight from work. Maybe you have less judgemental friends, Pam. If so, it’s worth checking out.

Good luck to you and your job search!

Kim

P.S. – I enclosed an old pair of ballerina flats that you can wear to your first interview. They’re size 8 and in Salmon (the fish, not the color), the iridescent scales say “I think outside the box”. You’ll thank me when you get the job!

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