I’ve just been a swirling mess lately. There’s just been a lot going on at work, with the end of the school year, getting ready for our upcoming trip to DC/Pa, etc. So, brace yourselves for a random brain dump because I can’t seem to put a cohesive thought together for a real post.

So, in no particular order:

1. I’m really sick and tired of being sick.

I’ve been nursing this head cold for about 10 days now and it’s super obnoxious. Thankfully the fever left after the first couple days but the head cold part of it refuses to leave my body. I’ve been so stuffy, losing my voice frequently and coughing up stuff that should never be in a human body. I’m sure a lot of it is allergy -based but I’m also using the same test on myself that I use on E to decide if she’s sick or not — the snot color test. And mine’s green. We all know that means illness, not allergies. Today is the first day that I’ve woken up and been able to talk and swallow without first chugging a glass of water, so hopefully I’m finally on the road to recovery.

2. Further proof my body hates me: my foot is screwed up.

Coinciding almost exactly with my head cold has been another ailment. Last Friday, I woke up early to go to Jazzercise and could not step on my foot. It felt like someone had dropped a 30-pound weight on the top of my foot in the middle of the night. The pain is focused on my middle toe and the bone that travels up my foot, and it hurts so much I can’t even curl my toes. Since then, I haven’t been able to do anything that pounds on it (running, Jazzercise, etc). I have biked and swam a couple times, but even those activities left it aching. WTF? I’ve heard different theories on it, ranging from gout (my mom) to my shoes (Katy). I’ve been wearing my Brooks Ghost 5s to Jazzercise, so they’re probably way too heavy for that. The Jazzercise instructor told me it sounds like the bottom of my foot isn’t getting the right kind of support, and she said most instructors wear these Rykas:

 

They’re pretty cute, huh? Maybe I’ll get a pair when we get back from our trip.

In the meantime, I’ll just be gimping around.

3. Speaking of shoes and trips, I’ve joined the dark side. 

I’ve made fun of Tom’s for a long time. A long time. They’re pretty ugly, even when they’re cute. And I don’t think I really buy the “one for one” concept. How do we know they’re really holding up their end of that bargain? But time and time again, people SWEAR to their comfort. Even with those reviews, I always considered them the hipster version of Croc’s — ugly, comfortable shoes.

Then, when I went to Syracuse in February, I came home to discover my husband had bought our 5-year-old a pair.

And the child who complains that every pair of shoes hurts her feet was immediately obsessed with them.

So I caved. Twice.

But I had a good reason. Next week, we’re heading to DC and I knew I wouldn’t want to be walking around all day either in sneakers (because that’s not cute) or flip flops (because of the aforementioned gimpy foot).

I was nervous about ordering them online because my right foot is suddenly almost a full half-size bigger than my left foot (seriously body, you’re really starting to annoy me). So shoes fit me very strangely lately. I looked online for Tom’s retailers in our area and ended up in a store I’d never heard of — Zumiez at the Altamonte Mall. And I will be back.

They had a pretty big selection of Tom’s, but even better, they were having a pretty great Tom’s sale. There was a huge stack of them marked down, some as low as $35. And even better: they were having a buy one pair, get a second pair for 50% off sale. So I ended up with the two pairs above — for $55. Total. With tax. That means the pink pair was only $17.

Looks like I caved at the right time.

And dammit if everyone isn’t right — they’re comfortable as hell.

4. I’m a cat genius. 

OK, fine, I’m a genius at stealing other people’s ideas.

Out cat Blue is pretty great. And you should know that in general, I despise cats. But we really hit the cat lottery. She puts up with E’s constant harassment, including humoring E’s efforts to put doll clothes on her.

She’s sweet; she’s sociable; she playful.

But she’s had one big fault — she is ALL OVER me every night. She leaves everyone else alone but starting at about 4 a.m., she starts meowing in my ear, biting my fingers and ears, and even sits on my head.

I couldn’t take it anymore. Then, I think someone on Twitter suggested to me that I try squirting her with a water bottle when she attacks me. BEST.IDEA.EVER.

It only took two times for the message to sink in. And now? I’m back to a good night’s sleep (well, other than that whole sick thing). It’s amazing how quickly this worked, though. When she starts to bug me now, all I have to do is lean toward the side table (even if the bottle isn’t even there) and she darts away.

Who knew water could be such a powerful weapon.

5. Where has the time gone? 

By the time you’re reading this, E will probably be at her last day of preschool. Her graduation is Friday night, and the excitement meter is at about a 10 in our household. My mom and stepdad are here for the blessed event, and this has pretty much been E’s best week ever at school. They called it Senior Week, and each day has been a special day. On Tuesday, they brought their bikes and scooters to school for a full morning of biking around the parking lot; on Wednesday, they wore their bathing suits to school for water day (which sounded like so much fun); and on Thursday, it’s PJs, pizza and popcorn day. They’re wearing their pajamas to school and will have a big movie party watching “Tangled.”

We were so lucky to find the perfect school for our daughter. She has thrived there and has been so well loved. I can’t believe it’s been almost exactly three years since she started there. Here she is on her first day of school in June 2010.

Look at that tiny little pixie. I can’t even describe the tightness I get in my chest looking at that picture. It’s all just going so dang fast. And now she’s geting ready to start kindergarten. I know I’m going to blink and she’ll be graduating from high school. And then I’ll be following her to whichever college she chooses. She tells me now that she wants me to go with her so I’m putting it in writing. That means it has to happen, right?

And I’m spent.

Until next time.

Tom’s: yay or nay? And be honest: is their “one for one” just like George Costanza’s donation to the Human Fund? Anyone else have different sized feet? Don’t you think stores should sell shoes in different sizes???