Framed Foundation

Hair of the Dog

I know caffeine affects me. I know that it makes my nightmares ten times worse. And I know that Dr. Pepper tastes freakin' fantastic. So when my friends were over, popping open cans, I reflected on what I knew, and then I took a can.

I was wired until midnight, and then my dreams were vivid and brutal reenactments of Game of Thrones, et al., which I haven't read since 2003. When I woke, my eyes were bright red and my entire body cried out for more sleep.

"The caffeine was a bad idea," I mumbled to Kevin, several times.

"To be fair, you knew that going into it," he said.

And if I hadn't, he had reminded me. So that was his way of saying, I told you so.

I just groaned. I knew it was my own fault, but I also knew that I had to get through the day ahead. So I grabbed another Dr. Pepper on my way out the door. No cure like the hair of the dog that bit you.

Who Is John Galt?

what he said

Spam

I got a spam comment today:

"Finally, an issue I'm passionate about. I have been searching the internet for hours looking for information of this caliber..."

They posted this on Post-Extraction Beauty.

I'm so glad my puffy face inspired passion in someone!

Before

Construction begins on our home on Monday. So today we drove out to the site to take Before pictures of our lot.

Post-Extraction Beauty

Saving Time in a Bottle

Until our vacation in July, I cannot take any time off work. As long as I hit 39 hours each week, I will accrue enough paid time off to take a week for California. And after that, another six months of saving time so I can take a week to Illinois for Christmas. With that end in sight, I have worked my time despite dentist appointments, an oil change, surgery, and now a cough. I am a miser, counting and recounting my hours in lieu of gold coins.

When Heather gets married in May, I will take a day off, but only after working 39 hours over a four-day period. By the time July 2 comes, I will have 45 hours of vacation at my disposal...unless something goes wrong and I am forced to use any of that extra 13 hours over the next 3 months. It is against those unforeseen emergencies that I am saving now. I am coughing at my desk against the day that I can't get to work for being too sick.

Besides, I will only have 4 hours with which to play this fall. If I lose 4 hours, I lose my Christmas vacation. Again. So that blessed 13-hour safety net will be a source of comfort during football season too. It's a stressful way to operate, but I do at least get a few paid holidays along the way. And let's not forget that I get every Saturday off this fall. Every single one. That's almost as good as a vacation.