So how is your 2019 going? Mine is pretty uneventful, as made plain by the fact that I’ve posted nothing in a week. You’d think that with me not being on Facebook I’d have a lot to say here – but this is the first time in a long time my calendar has been mostly empty, and I’ve been savoring the nothingness that is my schedule thus far.
Work has been busy mainly because we had a new admin start and I’ve spent a lot of time training her. She’s almost a week in and I’m very jealous of her very casual week of training – we haven’t inundated her with a boatload of information with a goal of handing over the reins 100% in five days (which is how MY training was exactly one year ago). The result is she is not panicked (again, like I was), and she’s fitting in well. My own trip to our office in Georgia for training was postponed to February when I realized that my own personal schedule would not allow me to go out of town for a week. Next week I have a dentist appointment (good excuse, right?), followed by a concert with CootieGirl the week after that, as well as her new high school’s orientation night (we were rezoned and next year the kids will attend a different high school), and then the last week of January is CG’s junior year planning session with her guidance counselor and another dentist appointment – this time for CG herself. Since Denis is unable to take off from work to do those school appointments, it is up to me to go.
In other news, the inside of our house is still decorated for Christmas. Happy holidays, y’all! Yes, I know it is January 9 already but, to be honest, I just don’t feel like taking them down. I enjoy them too much. However, I know by this weekend the family will be demanding their removal, and I’ll need to pull out all the bins and do it. *sob* But, by George, I’ll be doing it while watching Hallmark Christmas movies because I still have almost a full dozen of them saved on my Tivo. Happy Hallmark holidays, y’all!
This past weekend I was working in the church nursery with the 2-yr-olds and one of kids bit another kid because the biter didn’t want to share his toy. It reminded me of the days when CootieBoy almost got kicked out of daycare because he was a biter. No matter what we did, he just had that instinct to defend with his teeth from day one and it was a tough instinct to break. And despite the “three strikes and you’re out” policy at our daycare, they let him stay – which is surprising. I think the only reason they let him stay was because he was so stinking cute. When he wasn’t biting other kids, that is. As for the biter on Sunday – he knew he was in trouble and when his parents came to pick him up he told on himself before we could. The other kid was fine although there were a lot of tears and hugs and soothing once we confirmed the bite wasn’t too bad.
Speaking of my kids, they have determined that I’m not techy enough for their liking. I’m officially a “Mom” when it comes to social media (according to them). My nickname of “IT Jaynee” at every job I’ve ever worked since 1991 is all for naught simply because they don’t like the way I use Twitter. CootieBoy perused my account over the weekend and groaned over some of my tweets, even though there was nothing wrong with them. “You used that hashtag, Mama? Seriously? You’re such a mom.” Not coincidentally (at least I don’t think so), my kids won’t tell me their Twitter handles. CB claims he only follows Pokemon things and never posts tweets, and my daughter just flat out doesn’t want to be associated with me on Twitter at all. Whatever. Pfft. I don’t need them. I’ve got plenty of other moms that follow me and appreciate my tweets and hashtags.  If you want to follow me on Twitter, just look for Cootiehog – that’s me.
Here’s a random question: how do you pronounce the word “appreciate?” Some say “uh-prish-ee-ate” and others say “uh-preesh-ee-ate.” I’m curious to know which pronunciation is used the most. I say PREE but listening to audiobooks I almost always hear the narrators say PRISH. Is it a regional thing? Do northerners say it one way and westcoasters another? Comment and let me know which way you say the word.
Last night while out to dinner with some of my book club ladies, I found out that next month’s book is “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles. That was one of my favorite books that I read in 2017, and I can’t wait to hear everyone gush about how gorgeously written it is, and how wonderfully formed The Gentleman is, and to have them all affirm that it is OKAY that he is in the running to become a Top Fictional Fake Boyfriend.
That’s all I have for now.  Hope your 2019 is just as exciting as mine.
