[Zhoen]

Tonight I was so bored I pooped in a box. Free and makes for an entertaining story, no?

(Ok, so it was one of those "skip-the-colonoscopy" kits... and you don't poop IN the box, you just ship it away in a box....) H is jealous-- because he already has early-stage prostate cancer, he has to get checked the "old fashioned" way... 🤣 🤣 🤣 Of all the things we tease each other about, I never thought, "I get to poop in a box and you don't!" would ever make the list...

So yeah, big excitement tomorrow is that I get to mail a box of poop. I've sent a lot of amusing care packages over the years, but this one in a first... but it's technically a medical necessity, so I don't feel bad breaking quarantine to do the quick drop off...

Because... oh yeah... I'm perfectly-healthy-but-quarantined... AGAIN!!!

This time it's DD14 who has popped positive. We've all been vaccinated, and hers was actually the most recent just a few months ago, but there ya have it! DD18 is feeling sick, too, but her test came back negative. H spends all his time in his man-cave, so we are just keeping him holed-up in there so he can start school next week without worries... He and DD14 never leave their respective caves (on different floors of the house) except for food, so I consider them separated enough.

If you're healthy but taking care of a sick person, it sucks extra-bad, because they are released from quarantine when (a)the symptoms are gone (b)no fever for 3 days (c) AND it has been 10 days since onset of symptoms. For the healthy caregiver, you are quarantined 5 days after your last exposure... which is their 10th day...

That's right... get sick= grounded for 10 days. Stay healthy= grounded for 15 days... (Or basically move out, which is essentially what we are doing for H so he doesn't miss his start of classes. As long as they are feeling better, it looks like both girls should be cleared to go back to school on Monday, but time will tell.

Meanwhile, I have mis-placed my glasses, so I can't be tempted to go out right now anyway! I think the universe is telling me something here... ;P

So yeah, grounded except for a quick drive to the UPS store2 miles from here for mailing of a poop box. My life is fascincating, no? 🤣🤣🤣🤣 But again, at least it's free... 😁

I'm so bored I may actually clean... ;P

 

[MaggieTru]

Except for the box of poop this is my coworkers situation. I think he was relieved when he got mild symptoms and a positive test. He will be back to work sooner than if he tested negative!

Happy shipping!!

 

[bookwormpeg]

Zhoen you are too funny.....the box of poop is new.....years ago I had to put a smear of poop on a cardboard piece of paper and send it out....took me about nine months to get up the nerve to do it.......can you imagine if box was delivered to wrong address? Or how about if porch thieves got it.....would serve them right....

Hope everyone ordered their four covid tests....and hope you won't have to use them...

It's getting cold here....we aren't use to this crap....they say it won't be like last year so I hope not....but I'm prepared and think I got the grandkids who live on their own fixed up so they can survive....

Grandson stopped by and I gave him extra blankets for him to cover his reptile cages....he has a snake and a lizard. ugh...last year he had to sit in the car with heater running to keep snake alive....he didn't get his sofa yet as it was raining tonite and last night they didn't get his boxes moved till 11.....they will come over on Monday to get his sofa and the boxes I have...he did take his pots and pans tonight...poor kid got up this morning and discovered he forget to get his silverware from his Mom's house....no spoons so no cereal...didn't have his pots and pans so no eggs....the little things....he's learning to be prepared better....

Had chicken thighs for dinner, dipped in garlic butter and used a box of stuffing for the crumb coating.....stuffing was 24 cents a box so I got four boxes.....they were really good....have enough for tomorrow night....I'm getting so I hate to cook...

Stay warm everyone...stay safe....Hope everyone has a great week...

 

[josantoro]

I did the Cologuard test 5 years ago, hoping to avoid the scope. But I got a (false) positive so I ended up getting scoped anyway. Clean as a whistle, the doc said. Hoping in another 5 years they will have come up with something better.

 

[dlrcpa]

Non-snow event today - all rain and lots of it. I'm OK with that and hubby doesn't have to worry about clearing the driveway. Going to the bank and PetSmart (use $10 off $40 coupon). Finished the sewing project so stuff can be put away. Need to do laundry and bake muffins or bread. Yet another dog club Zoom meeting tonight. I have decided this is the last year, just no benefit any longer and I can use the time for other things. Trying to get through it gracefully. Have a good day.

 

[Contrary Housewife]

6F this morning (-14C), luckily it's not windy. DH says all porch cats reported for breakfast. Food on the deck is still there and wasn't bothered by animals overnight. DH is concerned that the big freezer didn't thaw overnight but I reminded him it was too cold and will get a few degrees warmer today. We have a small space heater we can use, if we can keep it dry.

Otherwise, nothing much going on here today. Staying home, staying inside, trying to keep warm. Had planned beef barley soup for dinner but fridge is so full of leftovers we're going to have to eat some of it instead.

Went to auto refill a mail order prescription last night and noticed the price had gone up over $1000. No, did not add a zero there. Don't know if it is the new insurance or the new inflation, but jeez. How do retired/non working people afford medicine?

Hope everyone is keeping warm today.

 

[jettsmom]

Sunny and cold today. Not sure if I'll venture out today. I could do a target pick up, if they have everything in stock. We'll see.

We have one of those poop boxes sitting here. When dh agreed to it, he had no idea what it entailed. It's been sitting here almost a year now. The thought bothers him. I told him he could do it the way I do, just get the colonoscopy. He doesn't want to do that either. Then the holidays hit and with the way the post office runs these days and extra packages, etc., he decided to wait until after the holidays. I can only imagine what the people say when they open these boxes.

Going to fold laundry today. Make a grocery list. Don't need much, just fresh fruit and veggies. Maybe wet cat food and dog food. We have a stray that comes around occasionally. Dgd gave me a list before going to sleep a few nights ago. Beans, sour cream, red pepper, olives, salsa, chips, pretzels and BROCAMOLE. She was watching a video and they were making the layered dip. I'm glad she still has a few things she doesn't pronounce correctly. It was so cute I made her say it a few times. Didn't correct her yet. That's something she can help make.

Not sure what we'll eat tonight. I'll come up with something. Maybe some BLTs. I have some tomatoes to use up. I'll see if I have any beans in the pantry for baked beans.

 

[bookwormpeg]

CH that is horrible...I agree ....how do people afford it....that's a big jump....can you call and see if you can get some assistance on it?

I just had a colonoscopy few months ago and you don't have to drink that nasty stuff like you use to...you still have to drink stuff but it isn't as bad as it was years ago....it's no fun but I'm glad it's over and I have four more years before I have to do it again....

Chilly here this morning....I hate showering when it's like this but of course I have no choice so I suck it up....

Leftovers for dinner....

Got a huge box from two cousins last night filled with stuff for my shoeboxes and pencil packs. My sister will have plenty to do when she gets here....just taking tags off and packing is a job....and the trash...the toys are the worst...they have wires and that hard plastic and it's impossible to get off without cutting.....I can't see a child doing it....and in 3rd world countries they don't have ways to dispose of trash like we do....and of course, it takes up too much room in boxes....so everything has to taken out of package and tags cut off.....it all takes time....

Hope everyone is staying warm....we have to go out to pick up an auction I won last night....just stuff for my shoeboxes...I picked up my lamps on Tuesday and two are missing shades and one is completely wrong lamp and it's broken. Waiting to hear from them. I'm sure she isn't looking forward to talking to me about it...

Stay warm everyone....

 

[Contrary Housewife]

Yeah, BW, I spent a fun morning on the phone with pharmacy and insurance and got that straightened out. Hope you get your lamps refunded. Shame about the shades, they are sooo expensive!

Space heater is working good on the freezer, I think we'll be able to finish tomorrow. Will have to, it's going to be above freezing again by Saturday. Trying to dry all the towels again.

Made beef barley soup for dinner. It's funny how one carrot, one stalk of celery, a little onion and a tiny piece of cheap steak can turn into a big pot of soup. Must be that magic bay leaf.

Grocery ads came, front page looks good. I'll go over them tomorrow. Still feeling extremely tired today. Hope everyone has a good Friday.

 

[rujerro]

Peg- Sorry about the lamps. How rude. I still haven't received the replacement vacuum for the broken one that Target sent me....They received the broken one on Jan 10th....

CH- Did your pharmacy co-pay go up? Speaking of meds, Express Scripts won't cover 2 of mine. Wants me to take generic thyroid and cheaper insulin. My current doc won't write a letter to keep me on my current regimen so I pay retail. We don't really get along TBH. At some point, I'll just be working for meds. But I hope to find a new doc before that.

Dlrcpa- I hope the extra time away from the dog club is beneficial for you.

DH found chickens to smoke. He is making jambalaya tomorrow. The turkey is still thawing so I'll make that on the weekend. I made orange cranberry muffins tonight.

 

[Contrary Housewife]

Rujerro, yes my co-pay for one med went up over $1000 more than it was last year. I was on payment assistance, and when our ins changed at the new year the account didn't get transferred over. I hate having to make all the phone calls but they make mistakes and if you don't call them on it, it costs you. I'm blessed with two great doctors that listen and get me the good drugs. I hope you're able to get another doctor with a more progressive attitude. Lack of care at early stages makes a big difference later.

Smoked chicken and jambalaya sounds so good right now. I want to do orange cranberry bread this weekend, too. I got 2 extra bags of cranberries before christmas.

 

[Grammarbug]

It’s sunny but cold. Got my house cleaned and laundry done. Taking Dgd to the movies today and probably lunch. Her school is out today because of UIL contest being held. We both need an outing. If we go early, the theatre will be almost empty. Nothing on the agenda today. Need to go to Kroger as they have pork shoulder 99 cents a pound and will make great pulled pork sandwiches for the weekend.

 

[rujerro]

A very eventful day today.
I needed meds and didn't hear back from the doc so I started the process of doing a online doctor through GoodRX....But the doc called in a script (yay) and I'll have to call the CC to get a refund but that's ok..

I called Target to see where my vacuum is.....Well, he said there was a glitch on their end. It will be here on Wednesday and he emailed a $10 gc for my trouble.

The strike is over and we can all return to work. We still need to vote on the contract, however. I have no idea what's in it but both sides are promoting it. I'll make my own decision on that one.

DH made jambalaya and I'll probably make enchiladas with leftover chicken tomorrow. The oven kicked in and I'll bake something- banana bread or berry muffins (blueberry or cranberry).

 

[Contrary Housewife]

Ruj, glad to hear you can get back to work and that you got your prescription.

We finished thawing the iceberg this afternoon. Only lost one chicken breast to the feral cats. It was the new girl who got into it. She is very friendly now, came right up and let me pet her. Been below freezing all day but tomorrow is supposed to be much warmer. I got the freezer cleaned inside, a few sticky spots and the inevitable gunk that collects in the bottom. All the food back in, sorted by type. Found some gr beef and a lot of chicken I didn't know I had. All the towels have to be washed now.

Was tired and just made spaghetti and a salad for dinner.

GB, that's a good price on pork shoulder.

 

[Zhoen]

It's been sitting here almost a year now.

If it's been that long, his doctor will not be looking for results anymore... so if he does decide to do it, remind him to (a) check the expiration date on the box (yep, poop boxes expire...) and (b)contact his provider to find out the results.

And BROCOMOLI is adorable... but I wouldn't want to eat it

DH found chickens to smoke.

I read this and my first thought was my dumb featherbabies with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths... 🤣

I am glad to hear the strike is over... so much stress is terrible!

In the news here... the state dept of health has LOST.THEIR.DAMNED.MINDS!!! DD14 is still symptomatic and feeling like crap, but based on the date of her first symptoms, they cleared her to end isolation today. This is new-- we also got notified through the schools that kids only have to isolate for 5 days now-- either from their first symptoms, or from the date of the test if they are asymptomatic (so again, healthy kids are grounded longer than sick ones, since the tests are hard to get...)

Our plan is still to send her back Monday, IF she is no longer feeling like death... and when they called to ask about her yesterday, the only guidance they gave for the rest of the family was "listen to your body... if you feel sick, don't go to any family gatherings or things..." NOTHING at all about work, or shopping, licking old people... etc... gee, I wonder why we've been having numbers above10k daily lately...

I'm not telling the family about the release from quarantine-- they don't need to know. We are going to sit here like good little bunnies and not breathe on people until the cooties are under control. End.of.story...

Meanwhile, I have been reading a ton-- finally read the Percy Jackson Quintet. Not interesting enough to bother with all the spin-offs... Read the Maze Runner, it sucked so bad that I read the synopsis for the rest of that series and decided it's not worth my time. (I've tried to read most of the bigger YA series as they have come out-- twillight, shadowhunters, hunger games, divergent, the giver, etc...-- many are very well written and it helps me understand a LITTLE of what is going through my kids' heads... but damn, that series is just crappy. I can't believe it was popular enough to spawn TWO movies...

So, tired of reading about dramatic teenagers dying and/or saving the world, I started a fluffy little piece, but it is a bit TOO fluffy... might have to go back and re-read some favorites that I know are good...

 

[dlrcpa]

Ruj, good news. Hope everything gets back on track.
13 degrees here, just not handling the outside dog walking time well, have been keeping it short. I added extra layers but still cold. Have yet another ZOOM dog club meeting. 3rd one this week (emergency one this morning.) I think about resigning all the time, probably should just go ahead and do so. See how this morning's meeting pans out. Thawed some chicken yesterday, probably make into wraps with cream cheese, ranch, salsa and some leftover bag salad stuff. Have a good weekend or try anyway.

 

[Contrary Housewife]

Cold and sunny this morning, climbing toward freezing and supposed to get into the 40's. I am done with this cold spell. Woke with a headache and could smell the kitchen garbage from the bedroom. So there's cleaning to do this morning. Maybe open a window later for fresh air. Got a pile of donations to put in my car for next week, too.

Otherwise should be a quiet day at home. Will look and see what vegetables are left and do the menu plan for next week. Tonight's supper is potatoes and bratwurst.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

 

[dlrcpa]

Used my virtual 10' pole (as in won't touch that) at the dog club zoom meeting. We have a dog event upcoming. There is a national news program looking to film footage at such an event and a non-club member suggested our event. Well I can think of 100 reasons for the club to decline that opportunity (i.e. the judges and competitors who paid entry fees for a chance to compete with their dogs and not expecting to be on camera and extra people milling around). So I said if there is camera crew there then I won't be there as a volunteer. And I'm not even doing a critical job, just outside supervising parking (because I don't want to be inside the building due to COVID. ) So that idea was voted down, hallelujah. Honestly it's like there is no common sense any more.

 

[marthamfi]

Glad the strike is over Rujerro and I hope the new contract is good for you. Sunny here so every tiny speck of dust and cat hair is showing. would get ds to do outside windows but hoses turned off. Will track down smells cus damn cat peeing in places again. peed on my bedroom mat too again. pushed the dishcloth around the kitchen floor for the spots cus not properly mopping with boys at home..a waste would last about two minutes.

I agreed Zhoen! some books and shows I just read the wiki. Ds homelearning teacher tried to get him to read the giver and I am he won't.. doesn't matter if that is the gr 8 book to read. we did see the movie once. said will get him to do a novel study on white fang cus I had the workbook. honestly think most classics are only read in school like catcher in the rye etc. But there are lots of good ya authors out there. my mom got into hunger games last year.

Here we still have restrictions masks indoors etc, venues limited. so more tickets cancelled for stuff for events I bought. but now not doing contact tracing..basically if sick stay home but no one has too. Govt put in though starting this month all employees get 5 paid sick days a year pt/ft if a company doesn't provide them. would have been nice all those years working full time w no benefits. will piss of my company but they don't like a lot of rules here.

watched an older hallmark movie all these years ago..lots of good actors..murder mystery but campy and fun ..they need to do more of them and all the main people are over 50. dh was out w friend and picked up canned cat food and milk. not sure what is for dinner ..out of the freezer or leftovers. should get off my bum and clean something!

 

[jettsmom]

Sunny and warmer today. Dh went to work for a little bit. I'll run back to the store for a few items. Decided on French toast for dinner tomorrow. Need bread for that. Dgd wants a rootbeer float. Barqs rootbeer isn't good in a float. Needs to me a milder, smoother rootbeer. Will also get some orange soda for orange floats.

Haven't done much today, except clean up after dgd. Will probably start a load of laundry soon.

Dinner tonight, dh will eat either a steak or some chicken wings. I bought some chicken bites (looks like Chick-fil-a) from Sams yesterday. There's some onion rings in the freezer I need to use up. Or I'll make a box of pasta. Dh said we need to stop eating out. Yes, we do. We spend way too much eating out. But I've been wanting bbq for a few weeks now. Oh well.