Was that a WORM i just passed in the parking lot??!!

indeed it was. And it was huge and fat and 100% ick. Granted, it was dark outside and we’ve had about 60 days of frigid cold, so I don’t know how that thing could possibly have survived. So there are two possibilities: that sucker was basically freeze-dried back in November, or it was actually a small twig. And a slimy one at that.

Speaking of gross little vermin…my brother called today. Ha-ha, good one, right? No but seriously, he had to remove a dead mouse from his crawlspace the other day (so the plumber who came to fix the water heater “wouldn’t think less of him”). Not news-worthy you say? This is the kid who could not bring his 10th-grade self to get rid of a dead mouse in our garage, even WITH A SHOVEL AND WORK GLOVES. Let’s travel back to that fateful spring day in 1997….
i'll set the scene. picture, if you will:
dead mouse: still dead in the garage.
Mom: cowering just inside the house
Jeff: dry-heaving in the corner.
Time: ticking away, and school is about to start
Libby, recognizing we were going to be late for school if no one would take care of the dead rodent, picked up the mouse and threw it into the backyard. Done deal…
“Pull yourself together and get in the car Jeff…Mom, it’s gone... let’s get to school.”


My point? This recent ridding-of-the-mouse was a big step for Jeff. A big step.

Back to Jeff’s hot water heater. Of course , with no hot water, they can’t take a normal shower (or bath, in Jeff;s case). He explained his “solution” over the phone. One word: classic.
I’ll paraphrase the pertinent parts of the conversation:

Little sister: “Well hello, Jeffrey. How’s life?”

Big brother: “Not good, Lib. Not good.”

LS: (in empathic counselor voice) “Oh I’m sorry bro. What’s happening?”

BB: “The hot water heater broke, and I’m warming up water on the stove.”

LS: (using another counselor skill) “What I’m hearing you say is you’re upset by having no water. And you said you’re heating water on the stove. What for? Giving yourself a spongebath?” (laughs to self)

BB: “No, I found an old trashcan and I cleaned it out—we’ve been using that..” (utterly serious)

LS: “Jeff, have you considered the sheer irony of bathing in a trashcan?”

Apparently not. Apparently not…..keep your animal cleeeean…washawashawasha

OK, that last part is an inside joke. Sorry for anyone other than my brother who’s reading this. I know he’s a faithful reader. And he’s also one of the best people I know. Even if he DID let me take all the blame for finding and snooping through all our Christmas presents that one time. He’s still really proud of that.

So you may know that I’ve been fighting a quasi-sickness the past few days. Not bedridden by any means, but my throat is sore and my ears itch. Went out last night anyway…comedy club in Broad Ripple, but came home early because a.) we’re getting older, 2.) we were all tired anyway and d.) we had a 6-hour class today. So last night I got home and took 2 nyquil gelcaps. Accidently bit into one. Note to self and others: don’t’ do that again. or ever, as the case may be. Gel-cap Nyquil is 17 times more gross than the drinkable liquid, and after the initial nasty taste overwhelmed me, it turned my whole mouth numb. but I did fall asleep right quick.

In other news, I worked out on the elliptical for a while tonight. My apartment complex has a workout room, and I can watch TLC on the TVs down there….so my question is….
How is it that Jon and Kate plus 8 are cute and authentic and real (even though their kids fight and kate yells and mady’s a little drama queen), and the Roloffs are totally messy (kids also yell and matt’s full of impractical ideas) but completely endearing nonetheless…but the Duggars..the Duggars are annoying and hard to take, and need to stop making babies, for heaven’s sake.