So, I have strep.� A pretty nasty strain – it didn’t respond to the penicillin I was first prescribed, so here I am on a second antibiotic.� My throat was swollen so that it hurt badly to swallow.� The doctor prescribed Tylenol with Codeine.

We filled the antibiotic order separately from the painkiller (I didn’t have my ID on hand and it’s a controlled substance).� When we filled the painkiller prescription, they gave me pills instead of a syrup.� I didn’t realize until later, and then it was too late.� I just started taking the pills.

But they’re uncoated, and large.� It’s painful just to swallow soft things, so it’s really bad swallowing these pills – which are supposed to help with the pain.� =)

Every week, I take a quick trip to the store to grab some food for the hotel room (has a full kitchen).� I get a per diem, and because I work noon-10, don’t really get to go out to dinner or lunch.� Instead, I get things to cook or snack on in the hotel room and eat “meals” at the hospital.

One discovery I’ve just made – and will probably get every week until the project ends – is this granola-like stuff called musli.� It’s amazing – has healthy-tasting stuff like oats, rice puffs, bran flakes – but also has dried bananas and oranges, and nuts in it.� Yum!

Also, it’s funny – it’s Swiss, and the name of the product is “Good For You.”� =)

My father-in-law has a saying:

In this instance: three adult-sized people, a bag of Bugles, and a full-sized concert string bass.� And all of the doors closed.

Two of our teenagers were in a production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella.� These IPS (inner-city school system here in Indianapolis) plays and musicals are amazing – the kids are great, and the staging and costuming is always very creative.� There’s not a lot of money for the fancy stuff like there is in the township and suburban schools, but that just makes the IPS productions more memorable.

Anyway, Kaylin was in the chorus and had a couple of speaking lines, too.� We were so proud of her – she’s beautiful and very good at what she puts her mind to.� =)� She put her mind to this musical, that’s for sure.� Here’s a fun after-picture of her in some of the props:

My dog got beat up by a vampire dog.  After a being attacked by a “borderline” dog at the doggy daycare, he has puncture wounds on the top of his head and on his neck.  Look at this!

The daycare is a great place, and the owner is really good with dogs.  She ran Jake over to our vet and took care of him and bill.  She’s also not taking that other dog back.  This kind of thing happens rarely, she tells us as we pick up our dogs (and so say friends who also use this place), but it just figures that our poor super-sensitive Jake is the victim. 

The vet gave us antibiotics and pain meds for him.

Dave picked up the dogs last night (Lindy at the daycare and Jake at the vet) – apparently Lindy was really confused and concerned that Jake wasn’t around.  He said she couldn’t wait to get out to the car, and then when she didn’t find him there, she started crying/whining until she picked up his scent at the vet.

Jake is fine.  Dave says he looks sad, but he’s a hound – he always looks sad.  Dave also says he’s pretty lethargic – but the dog just spent 3 days and nights running around with tons of other dogs, as well as having a traumatic experience.  =)  I’m betting he’ll be fine soon – he’ll just look crazy, what with the shaving and all.

She looks like an anime baby in this picture!� Those ^_^ kind of eyes…� =)

So, the sisters and I decided that french toast would be a fun brunch.� I’d mixed the eggs and cinnamon already, put two pieces of soaked bread in the skillet, and asked Leah to grab the syrup.

“There is no syrup!” she tells me.

A last-second Kroger run ensued, and we had our french toast.

I later cleaned out the cabinet, and lo and behold:

Huh.

My old jeans disintegrated.

David found some pretty interesting things in that sludge – this was the funniest:

We don’t have any snorkels.� Best guess is that the neighbors’ grandkids got carried away.� That’s a loooong throw, though…

My David spent a couple of days cleaning out our pitiful nasty little pond.� The water has been green for a year, and since winter has become as thick as sewer sludge (so thick that the pump doesn’t pump it).� Smells just about as good, too.

Needless to say, we haven’t been too excited about clearing it – but it’s that time of year.� I was all for paying someone to do it – we don’t have a lot of time and I would rather clean the house than fool with something foul in the back yard – but my frugal David wanted to do it himself.

So I told him, “Have at it.”

Here he is after phase one – and yes, that’s some SERIOUS nastiness on his hands: