Breaking Bad is my new favorite show.  My friend Eric recommended watching it, warning me I'd become addicted.  Well, I am.  It is very dark, but wonderfully written with superb acting. 

And with March Madness in full effect, I have no idea what is going on with the brackets.  I hate basketball. I do know that IU, Michigan State, and Michigan are still in it.  Which is basically the only thing I need to know at this point. 

Opening Day is around the corner and my Tiger gear is starched and ready to go.

I'm trying to get back into couponing.  Unfortunately, we don't have paper recycling bins to dig through (like I did in Bloomington) in Fort Wayne.  Jennie has one down the street from her house (I'm so jealous).  SO, if you are a reader, you have some change to send me the coupons via mail, I'll love you forever.  ANY coupons are greatly appreciated.

AND thanks to "upping" my medication, this past week is in the back of my mind.  Thank you, modern day psychotropic scientists.

AND finally, high fives and hugs are warranted to some amazing people this week....

Carrie Gorga, for providing me with valuable insights about epilepsy.  Her son, Finn, has been affected since birth.  He is a rockstar and she is a rockstar mom.

Matt and Brooke Dudley.  Matt was just diagnosed with AML, a form of leukemia.  While he is in for the fight of his life, I ask all of my readers to pray/send happy thoughts/good vibes for Matt and Brooke. 

Jim and Joan Norton, for being great grandparents to G.  Not only are they wonderful in-laws, but better g-parents.  They provide G with love and care, and are always available to talk and offer their support whenever it seems necessary.  XOXO.

Jamie Rahmany.  She is a perfect friend.  That is all.

A bad day is when you mistake your dog's anxiety medication for yours.

A bad day is when you are well aware you need to shower, and you attempt to cover it up with perfume, deodorant, and a clean shirt (and clean underpants, of course).

A better day is being able to gentle stroke the delishly soft ears of a 15 week old puppy who is the size of a women's size 7 running shoe.

And to continue the tradition of my friend Katie, here are five things about me:


1.  I am obsessed, OBSESSED with puppies.  No matter what size, shape, color, level of softies, I LERV them.  In my mind, they make everything better.  Obsessed.  Oh, I also think I can read their minds.

2.  I hate wearing jeans.  Jeans make me feel fat.  I was never skinny enough growing up to fit into Guess, Girard, or 7 jeans.  Thanks to Concerta, things have changed a bit.  But still, I hate wearing jeans.

3.  I think about skiing everyday.  I haven't skiied in over ten years.  Doesn't matter.  I miss it every day and still dream of being an amazing skiier (enough that when other people see me on the mountain, they stare).

4.  I think I'm crazy.   Not like Jodi Arias, but my mind goes 1000 miles a minute and I can't make it stop.  I seriously think about 100 things all at one time.  And I am usually thinking about things that have nothing to do with anything.  For example:  I'm hungry.  I want a minivan.  We need a different color front door.  I wish I was wearing sweatpants.  I love listening to 80's music.  Why didn't we get snow this winter?  (crazy, right?)

5.  I am addicted to junk food.  Coke, pizza, doritos, cookies, chick fil a sandwiches, etc.  LOVE it. 

6.  (For good measure) I think being from Michigan is the coolest.  I'm arrogant about my native Michigan status.  I want to start some "I'm from Michigan" club in Fort Wayne.  Cool, right?

I scored a brand new Boden trench coat at Goodwill for $6.  AND, Greta made friends with a crazy employee.  It was a win-win.  

Oooooh St. Paddy's Day.  How I remember the drunken debauchery, vomit laden toilets, skanky green tee shirts, lime jello shots, and the hangover that lasted two days.  In a nutshell, I miss St. Joe.  That is where I learned the importance of St. Patrick's Day and how such a holiday is best celebrated in the company of good friends, bad beer, and several opportunities to make really bad decisions.  Clearly, times have changed. 

Dave, Gertie and I traveled downtown to see the river (green in appearance), and possibly hear the remnants of a herd of bagpipers.  We were a bit late for the festivities, but we still saw two big firetrucks, several dressed up dogs, and lots of good people sporting their best green attire.  I also learned that Greta DOES HAVE some Irish blood in her, thanks to Grandma Norton and Grandma Koch.  Sadly, there is not one bit of Irish/Scotch/Welsh in me.

The rest of our weekend was spent lounging around the house, clipping coupons, picking up the basement, and doing a million loads of laundry.  By the looks of it today, it is as if nothing was accomplished.  So the plight of this domestic goddess continues.....

I'm a bad person because I honestly don't care about the new Pope.  While I am sure Catholics are happy, the word on the street is that the new Pope Francis is ultra conservative---no likey the gays, no likey gays adopting babies, noso likey planned parenthood or contraceptive....welp, no likeys across the board.

I have not considered myself Catholic in sometime, but strangely still feel elements of guilt when I swear, eat meat on Fridays during Lent, and not remember the high holy days.  I suppose my overall opposition of the Catholic Church is somewhat at an all time high, considering the reading and research I've done on the sex abuse cases and lack of responsibility by the Vatican for the last 40 years.  I saw the new HBO documentary, Maxima Mea Culpa, last week and it was horrifying.  HORRIFYING.  It is disgusting, the lack of compassion and consideration of these boys, now men, who are faced with horrible images of their past, at the hand of a person or persons they once trusted.  Quite honestly, I hope the new Pope has an excellent PR team, because at this rate, the Vatican needs it (in my opinion).

I am sure I have some of my blog readers who are devout Catholics and dedicate their daily lives to living their faith.  I commend them on their devotion to a higher power.  HOWEVER, I have some concerns with a church that seems to very much be JUDGMENTAL on some of God's creations---men and woman who are gay, men and women who choose to use birth control, etc.  I'll be more than happy to be a part of a church who promotes messages of LOVE, unity, compassion, and understanding, and most importantly, teachings that help people look within themselves, not others, to make the world better.   I've said it once, and I'll say it again:  If  Jesus Christ was cruising around the planet now, I'm sure he'd be NOT TOO HAPPY with the state of things.  And I'm most certainly sure he could care less about folks who were born loving people of the same sex, and those folks who live STD free lives using birth control and adopting babies by themselves.  Seriously.

Sorry about the rant....it has been on my mind.  Organized religion in general is a hot button for me.  As my friend Amanda says, "It is your path.  You'll figure it out."  In the meantime, I'll stick with not stealing, killing, or hooking up with my neighbors.

Secondly, let me revisit my frustrations with folks who have no debt.  While I applaud them (standing up, waving my arms, shouting from the rooftops), I don't know what that is like.  We are experiencing MAJOR crunchtime with our medical debt from Greta's birth and all things related.  That, compounded with basic living expenses, a car payment, a mortgage, and school debt, the Norton household is not such a happy place.  HOWEVER, I am forever thankful I have my health, Dave is healthy, Greta is pretty healthy, and we have food on the table.  I know living from paycheck to paycheck is a norm that I need to accept, as many people do.  And for the those people who don't have to do that, Mazel.  Have fun.  Enjoy it.  I just don't want to hear about it.  Again, I'm happy for you.  I think it is great that folks take grand vacations and buy new Dansko clogs.  Wonderful.  I don't need to hear about new car purchases or jewelry purchases, as they are an absolute waste of money, along with new fancy clothes, handbags, and electronics.  We have one television and it is too big.  I do, however, need a new laptop because the battery cord is broken.  Let's brag that our dishwasher works and my clothes dryer works.  I love my 8 year old vacuum and my 7 year old Subaru.  While I wish my Suby was bigger, I'm happy it runs.  My point?  There are people that have it WAY WORSE.  I think of them often and pray their hardship ends.  If I won the lottery, I'd buy people houses that can accommodate their family size, and pay off some of their bills.  It could be worse for us---it is just annoying when I am well aware that it didn't have to be this way and a hasty OB/GYN decided to seal our fate so she could enjoy her vacation. 

And finally, Greta and I are home from her 3 day EEG at Riley.  It sucked super bad, but because Greta is a strong black woman, she faced it with courage and did outstanding.  I am so proud of her.  If I could buy her a pony, I would.  Moreover, I am so thankful, indebted, forever grateful for my amazing mother in law and my girlfriends who came to visit.  They made it so much better, and to be honest, I wouldn't have gotten through the 3 days without them.  The text messages and phone calls were great---I know we had lots of people thinking of us. 

House update:  We still haven't heard from the attorney.  The weather is warming and we need to get that room/outside wall/chimney fixed.  Let's hope we get some resolution soon.

Happy Thursday.

P.S.  I'm also thankful I'm not a drug addict.  I've been hearing stories from friends of people they know going through withdrawl and matters related to addiction.  My heart goes out to them and their families.  Addiction is a horrible disease and I surely recognize how horrible it is---

Monday Updates:

Welp, I didn't get the job.  No worries over here, though.  Too much traveling and my potential boss doesn't have her own penis to swing around.  Yes, she is that kind of woman.

Biscuit now has staples in her leg, because of re opening the wound started by Beans.  She went after a rabbit, partially killed it, and came back in the house with a nasty gash.  6 staples later and a $250 bill to prove it, she is on "house arrest."

Greta still has a nasty cold with a gross runny nose.  I'm totally buying stock in a company that can make a toddler friendly Dayquil.

Dave has officially put me on a budget.  I have already accepted his "no more house expenses" challenge, repurposing as much as I can with what we already have.  I've made it my mission to his up the ReStore and Goodwill before I venture out for new products.  And couponing is more important than ever.  Too bad there aren't coupons for milk, eggs, fruit, vegetables, and half and half.

Oh, don't send a package via FedEx.  It is way too expensive.  We found a post office 10 minutes away, (and it happens to be down the way from my favorite used furniture store).

I'm hoping to get more of my friends on the coupon kick so we can trade/swap/clip together.  (like on Mr. Mom.  "I'll trade you one Tender Viddles....")

We are heading back up to the D in the very near future.  I can't wait to go to the Salvation Army near Mom and Dad's house and hopefully meet up with some old friends (Katie Ketner).

I will be eating Leo's while I'm home.

I will hopefully be heading downtown to take some much needed photos for a home project I am interesting in starting.

There is a great outlet mall near Mom and Dad's--they accept coupons, so I'm hoping to get some clothes for Dave and myself.  My pre baby clothes don't fit well (thank you, Concerta), so I'm all about some new duds.

We are looking forward to our NEW dishwasher being delivered tomorrow.  DON'T BUY A SAMSUNG.  Thankfully, Best Buy was able to exchange our crap one for a new Bosch.  Super pumped.

Spot Shot is the best carpet stain remover ever.  Of all time.  Ever.

And we have no snow......no mi guesta winter in Fort Awesome.

Oh winter.  At this point, I'm not a fan.  Long gone are the days of blankets of white (hu-white, in the South) fluffy stuff that Beanie and Biscuit go nuts over----instead, we have been "blanketed" with sleet, rain, freezing rain, freezing drizzle, and a teeny tiny amount of snow.  NOW, it just looks gray, wet, and gross.  Yep, wet shoes, wet paws, and lots of mud.  No mi guesta.  In an effort to get myself out of this wet winter funk, I've thrown myself into finding a new job.  Yep, Carrie's my name and job hunting is my game.  Much different the days of having a simple resume send-off and a nice phone call greets you days later.  Instead, I have been spending hours on the computer, surfing the world wide interweb and sifting through postings on linkedin.  I really do feel for those folks who have a household to support.  At this point, employment for me means paying off our credit cards, medical bills, and car payment faster.  By faster, I mean by 2020.  I didn't even mention our school loans---that is a separate blog on a separate day (that will result in tears and a possible broken toenail from throwing my foot through the drywall). 

While these are not complaints, it is an opportunity to just dig my heels in and find something.  Thankfully, Dave has a good job and Biscuit's vet visits have not exceeded $1000, just $500 in the last 2 months.  Yes, rabbits and Beanie's teeth do make for nice matches for Biscuits.  Poor pup pup.

So I had an interview in South Bend yesterday---bought the suit, strapped on some fake nails, brushed my nails and pulled out the fancy paper for some resume printing, and headed NW in the hopes to get some serious looks at my professional potential.  Of course, it was a glorified cattle call and I walked out of my one hour "session" feeling just okay.  I usually  nail the interview portion, as in pageant talk, but this time....I just felt okay.  We shall see.....if it doesn't pan out to anything, I am still searching for something else.  I really want a sales rep job in northern Indiana.  I am not afraid of travel, per se, but I would like to be home in the late evenings to see Gertie and Dave.  I know traveling parenting is NOT FUN.  Again, I am optimistic in the hopes I will find something in the next 2 months.  Greta is almost 2 and I have been home with her the whole time.  It is time for her to pack up her puppy back pack get on the bus to puppy school.

And now, a break for some random thoughts:

I just made some dog treats for the pups, and they taste delicious.

I bought a new suit this week.  The pants?  Yep, a size 6.  I love Concerta.

My basement is a disaster.

I'm sick of cleaning up dog poop and dog barf on the carpet. 

Don't ever buy a Samsung dishwasher from Best Buy.  Horrible customer service.  A piece of garbage machine. 

Tom Steele Tire in Fort Wayne is cheap, fast, and efficient.  They have my business forever.

My current obsession? Finding good deals and Gymboree, specifically, buying socks.

I want a job recruiter just magically call me out of the blue.

Gypsy Sisters, the tv show on TLC, sucks.  Such a let down.

Went to go see Bozer in Chicago with Gertie last weekend.  He is amazing and smells delish.