Me! Me!

Story just related to me. Keep in mind, my mom is extremely mouse-phobic.

They (bro, SIL, boys, parents) are all heading towards a restaurant. Tyler races ahead and holds the door open. A LARGE mouse runs from nowhere towards the door. Everyone starts running towards him, yelling. He's all WTF is with you people?! I'm being helpful! Mouse runs inside. Mom and PJ climb on benches in the foyer, Mom STANDING on them. Restaurant is full. People start chasing the mouse, grabbing boxes, trying to herd it. At one point, it is chilling on my brother's shoe and he tries to use his mouse-fu to grab it, but it isn't a pedigreed lab-mouse and doesn't freeze, but leaps to the host podium and then runs into the kitchen. Chaos ensues.

My fam decides to eat anyway, is seated. But my mom has tucked her pants into her socks and PJ won't put her feet on the floor. Servers are seriously freaked, kitchen staff keeps letting out shrieks. But no one leaves early. And despite the fact that my nephew let the damned thing in, the manager comped their meal. So they tipped the server the cost of the meal.

And...all the involuntarily childless stab themselves in the reproductive organs...

Woops, yeah. That was ill-considered. I don't know if there's a way to say that I want to respect anyone's desire for a child, while at the same time believing that it's unhealthy to insist that only the creation of children is worthy. Those of us who have no children still have worth and contribute to society. It can't be only about giving birth.

Good luck getting shit done, msbelle. You seem so efficient it is hard to believe anyone would ever fire you. People baffle me.

Mouse! I ... don't know if I could have eaten there.

sara, I like CoverGirl Lashblast. It's in a fat orange tube.

Did Maybelline discontinue Full'N Soft? mascara I can't find it anywhere.

I don't think so -- I bought the waterproof version a week or two ago at the grocery store.

Well, I've been paying my own damn insurance this whole time, so I guess I could freelance as a packer/organizer while looking for a job with insurance. I am leery of going into anyone's home that I do not know though, so what, referrals only? Start with church people and friends and get the word out? I could TOTALLY do that. I should see what people charge, but I guess anything that covers more than gas would be better than sitting on my buttocks.

If it weren't for the insurance, I'd suggest you go freelance as a fixer. Personal packer, organizer, planner, cleaner, plotter.

I have idle daydreams of importing msbelle to Seattle for a week or so to help me get organized. It would be amazing.

Considering that xmas morning we awoke to a kitchen awash in insulation (seriously, a pillow's worth) and it being Bama, resigned to mice, much as I am resigned to rats in the alley here. Though I really think their kitchen bandit is a fucking squirrel. They've tried every type of poison and trap. No luck.

My father will never cease to confuse me. We finally got his Christmas cards. K-Bug and I each got a check. CJ got a note in his card that extra money has been added to his college fund. (a) Ok, that is nice and (b) my dad started a college fund for CJ? Yes, K-Bug had one that covered her first year of college so I shouldn't be surprised. But it is still the first time I've heard of this.

DO IT, msbelle. Part of the beauty of you packing for me was that it was fairly impersonal (except for the part where you had to talk me down/make me go away knowing my freakishness.) You have the knack for knowing when to query, when to not. And frankly, the shit I can't find? I packed it. Your system was awesome.