Last post of the night…
Hold on, let me get a drink for this….
Ok. If you read this in any kind of dailyway, I pretty much list off my activities for the day. So, even though I had good intentions when I woke up this morning (early , so that I could watch the WGN Morning News—I even texted what kind of underwear Pat Tomasulo should wear to co-host his first Regis & Kelly Show on Tuesday—sad), basically I did nothing. The road to Hell…
Drank coffee. Bitched and moaned when I had to take the car to the brake shop, which we desperately needed. Grumped about having to go buy windows and stain and rocks for the house to make it look nicer. Hated the lunch I ate, even though I picked the place. Was bored at the Pet Store getting feeders for the cannibal Oscars (which are getting big–I’m going to do a before and after post when I sober up in the morning because I’ll never find the old pictures in this condition). Sat inside and played BeJeweled on the computer and Facebook while the BF cleaned off the roof, gutters and patio in the blazing midday sun. Perked up a little when we had to go get the car, brand new brakes—so nice!–only because I knew we had to go right past a liquor store! Yay! Happily walked around said liquor store picking up various drink items for tonight and tomorrow. Drove car home thinking about making delicious martini’s and laying across the couch like a lump. Sitting here, right now, drinking second martini and typing about the things that I won’t be finishing up tonight. Like…
The laundry.
The kids room. So close too! Got it painted and ready to re-build. Got proof too! See pics below! I was going to save them for the big before and after unveiling, but who am I kidding?? I might not even finish that room now until Sunday or Monday. HA. All I have to do is hang curtains and move the furniture back. Oh Cursed Vodka!!
Another thing I didn’t do was run. And I feel bad about that. It’s been 2 days; three when I wake up tomorrow. (I did paint for those two days—today was just pure lazy) It’s going to suck running around out there for 4 miles, maybe more, as punishment, with a hangover and reeking of booze sweat but I can’t get behind. I have a five mile race in one month and you saw those butt pictures. Eee-yew…did any one else just feel a chill?? Goosebumps. Or giant lumps (of fat in my pants—yuck). I’m not even telling you where those pictures are or linking it. Find it yourself.
What I am going to do though, is finish this up, post those pictures (the walls and windows really did turn out nice–good work SoberLisa!) and make some moves on my BF. (Too much information???)
Like Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, once said (and she totally rocks):
“One drink makes me want to go to bed.
Two drinks makes me want to go to YOUR bed.”
Goodnight, Chicagago!



Sad news from our aqua-world.
Something was wrong with Mason’s puffy-eye goldfish for quite some time now, but we didn’t know what. We could tell though, that it didn’t look good. And survival of whatever ailed it was not hopeful. After a hard fought battle, he struggled desperately this week to live, I am sorry to say, that he is gone. As of last night, I found it necessary to put him out of his misery.
And without even one bit of exaggeration or sarcasm, I really felt sorry for that poor fish. And I am not ashamed to say that I cried. In fact, I am crying right now typing about him. Watching him try to eat and breathe and swim was just awful. If you could imagine yourself ever wondering if fish have feelings or if they suffer at all, you would know that it could be true looking at this particular goldfish.
I watched him a few nights ago searching the water for food. I could tell he was having a hard time finding it. He used to have very big bags around his eyes when we first got him, that’s the type he was. Just recently, the puffs were beginning to grow again. Sometimes they do. Unfortunately his life was rough from the start. We didn’t know at the time that those kind of goldfish are susceptible to getting those baggy eyes punctured. Which happened almost immediately. The internet said he may die from it. But he didn’t. In fact, he recovered and looked better than ever.
Then a few of the other goldfish Mason had in his tank started to attack him. They eventually ended up nipping off one of his three, long, tail fins. Then just as abruptly, they stopped. The puffy-eye seemed fine even after that. He swam a little weirdly and not always straight, but he was very tough and endearing and had personality, if a fish can, and we really fell in love with him.
Let me just say here, that we have had A LOT of fish come through this house. I mean, A LOT, a lot. And we have dealt with many dead fish so it’s not like we are over prone to fish affection but, this one really did seem special. It’s weird until you own a really good one and then you see. At any rate these last few weeks we watched him suddenly grow bigger and bigger. His body started to get fatter and fatter as if he was going to burst. We managed to get one picture of him, looking pretty good for all his trouble. You can kind of see where he was becoming so fat. In the last 2 days his scales seemed to be lifting off of him and I knew we were close to the end.
Then last night when I went in to feed him, puffy-eye was laying at the bottom, kind of half-in and half-out of Mason’s decoration Colosseum. He was gasping but not moving. It didn’t look like he would be able to get himself out of there. So, I nudged him free and he floated helplessly to the top, just staring at me, gasping for air (?). I couldn’t stand it. He LOOKED miserable. I don’t care what anyone says, that fish was not without some kind of pain. So I ended it for him. And I cried.
I feel kind of silly for being overly emotional about a fish, but he was part of the Aqua-World that we have been creating all the years of my children’s lives. And I cried, because Mason and Stevie really loved that fish too, and they weren’t here to see him go. They knew when they left that there was a good chance he would be gone by the time they get home next week, but I was kind of hoping that little guy could have made it, or suddenly got better and been perfectly normal again. But it was not to be.
So this is my little eulogy to another fish that has swam in and swam out of our lives yet again. He was a funny, puffy, silly, lopsided little fish that we adored.
Rest in Peace.

And if you would like to read more about the love these little fish seem to invoke, please click here.
Hey Jesse! Here’s your moment with the big fish!
I’d love to say more but we are about to lose our power in the house. We have an electric problem that is being fixed, right now!

Jesse. Kentucky. Big-Mouth Bass.
Terrarium Aquarium
Ecosystem in 2 Liters. Ours for the summer. Ours forever. We have the world, literally, in our hands.

For the boyfriend…

125 in the dark...
…For being such a good sport about me staying up all night posting my idiocy on the internet: A picture of the fish tank that really highlights all the effort you put into it. It’s beautiful. I love you. L.



