I always get thrown off when there’s a three-day weekend, today feels like Monday.  And of course that means by Friday I’ll have crammed five days worth of stuff into four, making it seem like a really long week.  Funny how that works.

If you follow me on Facebook, you would have seen the unexpected visitor I had the displeasure of encountering last week.  If spiders give you the heebie jeebies, you’d best avert your eyes and scroll past this next picture.

Yes, I did stop to take pictures before going after it with a broom – 10 pictures to be exact.  I wanted to make sure I got a good clear shot while I was wigging out, desperately hoping it wouldn’t decide to jump on me in retaliation for the flash.  After getting grossed out by looking at pictures of spiders, I’m pretty sure it’s a Grass Spider (Agelenopsis species) aka Agelenidae – Funnel Weavers that are harmless (well, they can bite, but they don’t have venom that will cause issues for most of us humans).

Those suckers move fast, as evidenced by my shrieking as I chased it under my desk with the broom. I’m pretty sure I squished it. I hope.  I saw what looked like a curled up spider in the bristles of the broom, so I laid it flat then stomped the living bejesus out of the broom bristles. If it was there, it’s definitely dead. At least the broom is. 

In other news…  Princess Nagger is still loving school this year (a big difference from the past two years – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, teachers make all the difference) and even though there’s an increase in the homework quantity, she’s even embracing that, like a detailed drawing for a comic strip:

I wish I would have taken a picture of the book she was working from for her homework, because the dog she drew looks identical to the one in the book.

I was called “young lady” at BJ’s last week from someone who is probably close to me in age (unless she looks young for her age, too).  Totally made my day.  Why is it that most of us women don’t like to be called “Ma’am”?  Probably the same reason I’ve told Princess Nagger I never want to be called “Ma”.

There’s a creepy guy at Walmart that always accosts me for a hug – he used to work behind the customer service counter, and has always been overly friendly.  Now he’s working out in the store and if I see him before he sees me, I make a beeline in the opposite direction.  Luckily Target recently remodeled and opened a grocery section so I can shop there instead of Walmart. 

The only reason I was still doing half my monthly grocery shopping at Walmart was because they were the only ones in the area (aside from the higher-priced local grocery stores) that carried Vanilla Coke.  They stopped carrying it for some reason – when I talked to the store manager about it, he said it’s up to the Coke distributor to stock a variety.  Which seems odd to me – you’d think the Coke distributor would have to stock whatever the store requests. 

Even though the manager said he’d leave a note for the Coke distributor to make sure they stock Vanilla Coke, it hasn’t happened in over 2 months.  So I’ll just save myself the hassle and avoid Walmart like a plague.  It does suck that I have to pay an extra $1.25 per 12-pack (unless it’s on sale) by getting it from Giant instead, and adds yet another stop to my 2-3 store excursion for semi-monthly grocery shopping. 

Why do I insist on getting Vanllia Coke?  Two reasons, really – one, because I like it better than regular coke, and two, because the hubby drinks coke way faster than I do, but he happens to dislike vanilla.  Having Vanilla Coke in the fridge guarantees that when I do indulge, there will be some in there for me – if it was all regular, it’d be just my luck that when I wanted to indulge, it’d be all gone. 

I have to stash chocolate where he can’t find it, too – he’s a chocaholic but I’m not a big chocolate fan.  I do get a chocolate craving now and again, so I have to have a secret stash in case of emergency.  If the hubby knew where the stash was, there would never be any emergency chocolate.

I saw this on Facebook last night and just had to share here, too:

The importance of hashtags.  Princess Nagger not only got a kick out of it being dinosaurs, but using the word ‘noob’ – since that’s her favorite new word instead of ‘dork’.  And with that, that’s a wrap for this week – join in on the fun, random up, link up, hop around and most importantly have fun.

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Keeping the random alive – feel free to snag a badge and play along – one for my wino friends:

Stacy

And one for my non-wino friends:

Stacy

 

 

I’m also linking up with two stellar ladies, Shawn and Impulsive, the lovely hosts of Talk To Us Tuesday. There are no rules so link away.

Seriously Shawn
 

Once again I’m hopping aboard this fun friendly train – if you’re traveling on the train, be sure to leave your link so I can follow you back!

TuesdayTrain

 

More Tuesday hops – if you’re stopping by here from there, please do me a favor and follow via LinkyFollowers – since I was robbed of my GFC followers when the cads at Goggle decided to boycott non-Blogger blogs.


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25 Comments

  1. I’m not overly terrified of spiders, but I would’ve shrieked if I saw that one too. It’s bit and ugly. So glad that Princess Nagger likes school this year. Hope she continues to have a wonderful school year.

  2. That is one disgusting spider. Hope it doesn’t have little ones hanging out.

    That’s got to be a great feeling to know that Princess Nagger is loving school. You’re right, a teacher does make a difference.

  3. What a large spider! My cats would have had a blast chasing that one, unless I was able to talk my husband into catching it and letting it go outside. I have to save up spider karma–it’s a long story.

    Glad that Princess Nagger is still enjoying school!

    l
    Tina would like you to read ..Post-Holiday RandomMy Profile

  4. That cartoon is vaguely Gary Larsonish. Very funny. I gave up soda in January. JR has declared that he is giving it up when his last case runs out. We will see. Teachers can and do make all the difference in how a child will do at school. I’m glad to hear PN got a good one.

  5. Glad I am not the only one who has giagantic spiders floating around… Where I live they are building webs everywhere. the other day I rushed out of the house to head to work, and walked right into one. I thought I was going to D-I-E!
    Hilary would like you to read ..Slip Sliding Away….My Profile

  6. Yeesh, that IS a creepy spider! My husband is under the impression that there are no creepy bugs up in that area of the country but he is WRONG! I used to like Vanilla Coke too but now I am strictly Coke Zero, unless I run into one of those machines that mixes a million flavors and then I get raspberry Dr. Pepper because it’s so weird!
    claire would like you to read ..Random (Talk to us) Tuesday – One week later editionMy Profile

  7. I don’t like insects of any kind…ugh… and you are so right…A good teacher makes ALL the difference. Each year with my kids I’d pray for a good one. We were fortunate to have some wonderful ones, and only a few horrible people who should have been kept far away from kids. May your luck with teachers continue!!!
    Meryl would like you to read ..He## YES! Graphic Novels Should be Used to Meet Core Curriculum Standards: Here’s Why And A List of My FavoritesMy Profile

  8. We found a mouse and I wanted to die, I’d much rather have had a spider in the house, but I hate spiders! Or any creeping thing. I’d be screaming too.

    I think it’s awesome you’d go to walmart even with a creepy guy all for Vanilla Coke, that stuff must be really good! 🙂

  9. Here’s a tip and maybe it will work for your local Walmart. In the past, I’ve been able to call our Walmart up and say, “You stock ABC brand, but you don’t have this variety. Can you special order a case of this for me?” I bet yours can do this, too. It’s worth a try, if you haven’t already done it.

    I just love the cartoon at the end, so funny! Oh yeah, PN is a good artist. Keep encouraging that in her. Who knows where that can lead her. Thanks for hosting, my friend!
    Cathy Kennedy would like you to read ..I love love LOVE your choices!!! I just love Retro…My Profile

  10. I had a massive spider at my house this past spring. Like, massive. Biggest I’d ever seen in real life. I had to call my friend to come kill it for me. NASTY!!! You’re brave for not only taking the time to photograph it ten times, but also for killing it yourself!!! haha!

  11. That spider totally gives me the creeps. I can just picture you trying to take photos then stomping the hell out of the poor broomstick. That’s totally how I would handle it 😉

    It’s great PN is loving school. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that J-Man will love it this year, okay maybe love is a stretch. How about tolerates it on an almost daily basis. I’d settle for that

    Don’t get me started on that Ma’am thing and I hate being called Ma. It just makes me cringe!

    Thanks for rocking the random for so long!
    Elle would like you to read ..New School Year ResolutionsMy Profile

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  13. Vanilla Coke…I wouldn’t drink that too! Seems like a good strategy for keeping your Coke stocks intact. I would rather go for a Diet Coke. But I guess this product can still get its market because of its unnatural taste that some would definitely love to try.
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