Of Commas, Fleas and Fairs

Did you know there were grammar rule changes by Chicago Manual of Style this year? One change made? The possessive apostrophe for words ending in "S". It used to be correct to write:

Those are Jesus' sandals.

Now we are supposed to write:

Those are Jesus's sandals.

Secondly, I saw this on Facebook and conpletely agree. Another change in the works? Making the serial comma (the comma that comes before the "and" in a series of items) obsolete. This picture illustrates the need for that comma to STAY quite nicely:



*sigh*

There are more, but those were the ones that made me saddest.

Yeah, I'm a grammar geek.

Took Dakota to the vet yesterday. Brandy asked: Could the reddish/brown spots on Dakota's skin be blood from where she was bitten? Or like a strange bruise for the same reason?

Brandy! :::ding ding ding::: You're a winner! Yep, the vet said they were bruises from flea bites, which just break my heart. I feel like I've let her be horribly tortured over the last week while I tried to cure them naturally.

Yesterday, I bought some Capstar Tablets. Yes, they're a pesticide and I don't love feeding her what is essentially poison, but it seems as though there was no other certain and complete way to rid her of fleas. I also got Frontline for the cat. AND the vet recommended strongly that my house be cleaned top to bottom (didn't I just do this for cockroaches? I hate pests.) starting with laundering anything that can be and then mopping, scrubbing, etc. everything that can't for flea eggs.

I did all our bedding yesterday -- that took FOREVER. Today I tackle all our rugs and the cloth whoosies I put under our lamps and knick knacks. Plus I'll probably sweep, mop and dust.

It's actually really quite wonderful that we have so much hardwood -- fewer places for flea eggs to hide.

On Monday, I'm going to flea power all our carpets. It has to stay down (and rubbed in vigorously) for at least an hour, so I'll probably apply it and then leave for a bit so the dog doesn't get into it. Then I have to vacuum it back up (and they recommended I put a flea collar in my vacuum canister).

I swear, I think fleas might be worse than cockroaches.

So, those are my big plans for the weekend, especially since it looks like the Deerfield fair might be out -- the weather just keeps getting worse for the weekend. Next year? I think I'm going to try the Hopkinton State Fair.

Anything exciting in the works for you this weekend?

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You Are a Straight A Student

You are highly observant and mindful. You take in a lot of information, and you're very perceptive. You are smart, clever, and perceptive. You know how to synthesize and process information. You have excellent people skills. You can talk to anyone. You are high achieving without being too competitive about it. You simply like to succeed.

The Classroom Test

Yeah... pretty much right. Though I wasn't straight A's (much to my dismay) I did graduate in the top ten of my class. I liked school :-)

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This and That

A quick post... because life is still getting away from me.

DD has her first ever school pictures today. :-)

Used a flea comb on Dakota yesterday. Discovered they work quite well, and that she has more than one flea. I still wouldn't say it's a massive infestation, but I did find 10 or so. Still working on containing it on my own, but she's developed odd brown spots on her skin that look like either dirt or freckles (not flea dirt... that's entirely different) and I'm concerned about those, so a trip to the vet may be in order. *sigh*

The weather has been gorgeous -- no frost yet, which is odd, but I'll take it. I'm still pulling the occasional tomoato from my garden, though they tend to be split on the top (that always happens near the end of the season ... wonder why?). I still have a few green beans, too, but that's it.

Lexie is still settling. I suspect this will be a very long process. She's fine with just me and the DH, but DD stresses her a bit (DD wants to hold her and play with her and whatnot ... I pretty much let her be) and she still thinks the dog is a threat.

She does like to play with the laser light though. :-)

Otherwise it's all the same here. Busy as heck to the point I can barely breathe, but I'm managing. If only I could discover how to survive on no sleep, life would be better.

Ah well....

Have a great hump day!!

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You Struggle With Impatience

You never feel like there is enough time in the day. You are overloaded and overburdened. You tend to take on more than you can accomplish, and you drop the ball when you're not looking. Life is short, but you're making it shorter by not giving yourself the rest you need. If you only slowed down and took your time, you'd actually get more done.

What Do You Struggle With?

Uh.. yeah.

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Cats, Flea, and Loving School

Not that I don't enjoy having an affectionate cat for a change, but it sure makes using the computer a challenge. She loves to sit in my lap and roll all over the keyboard. *sigh*

She still loves DH the most. Cats crack me up... it's like they find the person who hates cats and they target them. The other night I was working and she was settled in my lap, but then DH got up and was in her line of sight. She immediately jumped down and ran over to rub on his legs. If anyone can win him over, I think she might be able to.

My dog has flea. Yes, you read that right... one flea. At least at a time. I search her entire body for fleas, and every time I look I find ONE. I kill it. Then several hours later, I'll look again and find ONE. No matter how hard or how long I search, I never find more than one. It's the weirdest thing. She's had two flea baths (she may not speak to me if I give her another one today) but she can't tolerate the chemical flea drops. They burn her skin.

So I'll keep searching, picking, using the flea comb and bathing her. She'll get uninfested, even if it has to be one flea at a time. I wonder if it's a zombie flea and just keeps coming back... undead...

The cat has a flea collar on... but I haven't seen any fleas on her, though she has scratched one ear enough it has a scab. No ear mites I can see either. But I wanted to take her to the vet soon anyway, just for a once over, so we'll see what they say.

The joys of pet ownership.

The weekend was pretty quiet. I'd planned a big day of housecleaning yesterday, but DH got called into work at 1 a.m. Sunday morning, got home at 9 a.m. and I made him take a nap... which turned into nearly all day. He got up around 2 p.m. poor dude. But it really limited what I could do. I did manage laundry (that's in the basement) and I swept, mopped and scrubbed toilets (the glamorous life). It's something.

The excitement never ends.

Last night DD said to me enthusiastically: "Yay! Tomorrow's Monday. I get to go to school." Then quieter, but no less joyfully: "I love school."

I wonder when that will wear off?

I tried bloghopping a bit yesterday, but Google Reader kept locking up my computer. Maybe there's a better way to keep track of blogs I follow? Anyone?

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

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You Are Charming and Impassioned

You encourage others to take a leap and to take action. You know it's hard to make that first step sometimes. You are easily distracted. You prefer to multitask, and you're always adding a new task to your list. You have a positive attitude. You try to keep a sunny disposition, even when life is getting you down. The potential for great leadership is there, as long as you don't abuse it. You have a lot more power over people than you might think.

The Autumn Leaves Color Test

About 75%...

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