Let me give you a quickie backstory. 

We moved in and the upstairs toilet backed up from Day One. Even after plunging, it never worked. 

We put in a maintenance request and forgot about it. 

System ate the maintenance request so we put in another one. 

Not having use of that bathroom was not okay and started to get frustrating. 

Well, after several weeks the landlord said any toilet or drain clog issues were OUR responsibility and not theirs. 

So I threw up my hands and remembered a friend told me that snaking a toilet isn't that hard and she learned using YouTube. 

I made a trip to Walmart, bought a "toilet auger" thing for something like $15, watched a tutorial, and went to work. 

Once you get the hang of using the thing, it's not that hard! The learning curve isn't steep or I'm just naturally good at it (probably the former, y'all.) 

I snaked it, flushed, snaked again, flushed...and then flushed with toilet paper. 

Nope. Still backed up. 

I repeated the above process and got really frustrated. 

So, I did what any millennial would do and turned to Google! 

After ANOTHER repeat of the snake, flush, snake routine I added plunging into the mix. Then I snaked it again for good measure. 

Cue the Hallelujah chorus here BECAUSE I FREAKING FIXED IT. 


The moral of this story is: There's probably a YouTube tutorial for it and you're probably more handy than you think you are! 

Today...
I won't feel bad about not sharing a snack with my kid. That's mine and they get plenty of special foods they enjoy. 

Today...
I'll go ahead and vacuum/sweep up a couple of errant Lego pieces, because I've reminded often enough.

Today...
I'll let my kids watch extra TV so I can read a little, because my mental health is important too. 

Today...
I'll play Classic Rock in the car instead of something conventionally "kid friendly" because sometimes you just need Metallica. 

Today...
I'll let playing in the hose count as bath time. 

Today...
I'll hug and kiss my kids a little extra and not hesitate to tell them I love them. 

I confessed on my Facebook recently that I didn't know how to properly pronounce Samhain until a few years ago. 

In my defense, I didn't use it in every day life. 

I also didn't learn to pronounce some names like Joaquin and Siobhan until I was in my 20s. My little corner of the world never had use for these names. If I came across it in a book I would muddle through and make something up in my head. (Like most of us did with Hermione) 

But I do have one slightly embarrassing story...about roadrunners. 

First of all....they're real. Yes, I wasn't 100% sure on that until my late teens. 

Let me use this moment to remind you I lived in suburbia. 

The only exposure I'd had to roadrunners was when it was being chased by the coyote on my television. 

So when I was riding in the car with my husband, around age 20, and he stopped to point at the side of the road while exclaiming "Look! A roadrunner!" I got excited. 

And immediately pouted because I couldn't see it. 

It was standing RIGHT on the side of the road. Literally right in front of me. 

But I'd never seen one before...not even in pictures. 

In the cartoon, the roadrunner and coyote are the same, fairly large, size. 

Yes...I was looking for an emu sized bird on the side of the road.

My husband still laughs at me when this story gets mentioned.

I use it as an opportunity to point out the "classic" movies he's never seen. (Who hasn't seen The Fugitive? Seriously?) 

Pajamas are on, pizza is ordered, cheesy movie is chosen, and book is on hand. I'm ready for 2016. 

I have higher hopes for the upcoming year than I did for this last year. I'm going into it in a much better place. I also have a plan of attack instead of a wishy-washy list of maybes.

1) Work on my home. 
I'm doing the "52 Weeks to an Organized Home" challenge...again. She also gives daily declutter missions that work with that week's zone. I only have one kid at home so it should be a little easier this round. 

2) Speaking of the kid at home...
He's expressed a desire to learn to read so I'll be dusting off the BOB books and working with him a bit each day. 

3) Read for myself too.
I have a goal to read and review 50 books this year. I read many more than that in 2015 BUT I didn't review them all on my blog. You deserve better for being awesome readers. 

4) Work on my novel. 
It's written. The majority of the hours are done. I need to edit and start sending it out. I literally haven't looked at it in a year so I'm hoping my "fresh eyes" will help. 

5) Exercise more. 
I'm not dieting. I can hear the fitness peeps gasping and readying their typing fingers to tell me I won't lose weight if I don't work on my diet too....so let me tell you that I don't really care. I have an awesome body. It's not perfect and finding clothes can be hella difficult...but it's shapely and gorgeous. My husband loves it and his opinion is the only "outside" opinion I care about...I want to exercise to feel better. If I tone or whatever in the meantime? Awesome. But changing my body isn't my goal here. 
.....and I really don't want to give up pizza. 

6) Find things I like to do. 
Whether it's alone time or my "one new thing a quarter" time, I want to figure out how I like to spend my free time. That will probably be reading a book at Starbucks but I'm willing to shake things up....like possibly read at a different coffee shop.

I'm ready to take on 2016.  

Sometimes these can be amusing so go with it! 

I'm going to post the last 5 images on my Instagram page. I'm doing so with zero commentary. If you want to come up with your own story for what's up with the pictures PLEASE DO and tell me about it in the comments! 

If you do this on your blog let us know so we can see your randomness too!

I know I said no commentary but I have to point out the skeleton cat one. 

My husband made me take it down after Halloween (I resisted for weeks) and I asked "If I can do something Christmas with it can it go back up?" He laughed and told me sure. I figured I'd put a Santa hat on it or something and then I stumbled across the stuffed Santa Claus... A little rolled tape to stick everything in place and I have Christmas themed decor. 

The kids were thrilled. My husband laughed out loud at work. I earned many internet cool points. It was a good day.

When I don't have an immediate idea for a blog post I tend to browse "writing prompt" posts by other bloggers. 

This one suggested discussing an embarrassing moment. 

Oh dear. Which one? 

So I decided to go with the one that came to mind first. It's not the worst memory ever and I definitely survived just fine...but I still cringe and blush a little. 

Let me paint a picture. 

Highschool. So already things are awkward. Those of you that weren't popular but not TOTAL outcasts know what I'm talking about. 

Now, I had an eating disorder around this time so I was pretty skinny. Like, most of my pants didn't fit kind of skinny. I had a pair of black pants that were like a cross between workout pants and dress pants (before "leggings that look like other pants" were cool. Trendsetter. Right here.) I wore those things to death because they fit well, were comfortable, and I could come home and immediately workout. 

I remember I was in my Comparative Politics class. I knew most of the people here AND the guy I had a major HOLY CRAP I CAN'T crush on was in this class. Obviously I had to play it cool. (hahahaha) 

Class hadn't started yet so I was chatting with a friend. I squatted down to whisper to her and felt a rip....

Right in the crotch of my pants...

Did I mention I wasn't wearing any panties that day? 

Yeah. That happened. 

There was a nice cool breeze on the lady garden before what happened truly sank in. 

The tear was HUGE. Like, no way I could go about my day and just keep my legs together and pray. 

My favorite pants had betrayed me. 

Or finally decided to rebel against constant use. 

I borrowed a jacket from my crush (OH GOD) and had to let the teacher know I'd torn my pants and needed to fix them. 

This involved leaving and knocking on another teacher's door (the one that taught sewing class) and begging for a needle and thread...

And then slipping into a bathroom stall to hastily sew the hole up enough to last the rest of the day. 

By the time I'd returned the supplies and returned to class, word had spread. 

So you want to start a family!

Are you....are you sure? Have you read the blog? 

I kid...mostly. 

I try to keep things real with my advice here on Sarcastic Parenting so here is a list of 5 realistic ways you can prepare yourself BEFORE you get pregnant!

1) Sleep on your side!
Belly and Back sleeping will be a thing of the past. Don't "get it all in now" because you'll have trouble transitioning later. Try to roll onto your side if you wake up sleeping another way. Bonus if you can become accustomed to sleeping on your left side (something about arteries and blood flow)

2) Enjoy your favorite foods now!
Especially things on the "no no" lists (rare steak, soft cheese, sushi, etc)! Eat those now and SAVOR EVERY BITE. Take your time drinking that glass of wine or mixed drink. 
Eat the things you love because your taste buds might change. It's usually joked about in the form of cravings and "ice cream and pickles lolz." You may develop a sudden love of salsa or find that you can't be in the same room as someone eating pizza. ENJOY IT NOW.

3) Make your bathroom a nice place. 
You'll be there a lot whether it's peeing, puking, or any other of the fun things pregnancy might bring. 
Stash a comfy pillow under the sink (tile is hard on the knees). Paint it a color you like. Put up some art you won't want to light on fire when it's 2am and you're in there for the 15th time peeing. 
​
4) Grooming!
Are you one that enjoys having smooth legs or other areas? Start getting waxes regularly. There will be a time when you can't reach (or see in some cases) these things. Getting the hair waxed regularly NOW will make it softer and easier to deal with later on. 

5) Self Care
Look, pregnancy can be awesome. It has sweet and funny moments. It's also full of nausea/vomiting, weird pains, weird swelling, heartburn, etc... Start a routine of taking a few hours each week (a whole day or a little bit each day) where you take care of YOU. Read a book, watch your favorite show with your feet up, fix your nails...whatever you like. If you make it a routine NOW, you won't feel bad about taking the time when you're pregnant. Trust me, your body is going to be working HARD to literally grow another human. It's okay to take time for yourself. 

For those keeping track, surgery went well. Zero complications, overall blood loss was that of cutting your hand. Total surgical time was about an hour (the minimum time for this type of surgery). 

I'm at nearly 2 weeks of recovery at the time of writing this. I'm mostly off the narcotics and relying on Motrin for pain. I still get tired easily and sore quickly...but I did have body parts removed so that's to be expected. 

I think it's going to really settle in when my period comes and goes with no actual period. 

I go in later this week for my 2 week followup. He'll probably be checking the few internal stitches I have and making sure my external incisions have healed well. 

Along with that, July brings another Camp Nanowrimo. This camp I'll be working on revising my 2014 Nano project "Dream Harvest." 

I hate revisions, but it's necessary. I have a checklist so that makes it easier. 

I'm also running two discussions on my Facebook page each week. One for "Pretty Little Liars" and the other for "Under The Dome." That doesn't include the weekly Book Chat event that I also host. 

Did I mention it's JULY IN ARIZONA?! That means heat. Lots and lots of heat. 

Like, over 100 most days. Usually up close to 110. Which is awful because generally: 

So now you're caught up!

This weekend, I attended my first ever Comicon!

I feel like I earned a special Geek Badge or something. I even went in costume, which is an additional badge. 

We really need merit badges for Geekdom. 

Anyway, because it was my first attempt and I tend to have issues with crowds...I only bought a single day ticket and stayed for 4-ish hours. 

It. Was. Awesome. 

Even in just those few hours, I had more fun and felt more comfortable than I did when I attended Beachbody Summit a few years ago. 

Like I said on Facebook: These are my people!

Whether you were decked out in street clothes, a geeky shirt, or full costume, you could look around and find a hundred people just like you. With over 85,000 people in attendance, you weren't alone in your nerdy desires. 

When I saw the decked out Impala (modeled after Baby in Supernatural) I didn't think anyone would judge the squealing noise I made or my big grin while snapping pictures. 

That's why we were there! 

To be geeks! To find people that enjoy the things we enjoy. To learn from the pros on costume making, writing, etc...

To be ourselves. 

I got several compliments on my simple costume. It made my DAY when I walked in to registration and someone walking out greeted me with "Hey, Cas!" (my character's name)

In just a few hours, I got to relax (as much as I could running around to panels and trying to make my way through the massive exhibitor hall)

Because in those few hours, I didn't feel judged. 

Don't get me wrong, I don't care as much as I used to about what people think. But there are still times when I'll dampen my enthusiasm for a certain TV show or movie because no one else is as excited as I am. At Comicon? Everyone is excited about their favorite geeky venture. EVERYONE. You don't spend money on tickets, merchandise, photo-ops, autographs, etc unless you love it. 

I'm already planning my cosplay for next year. I told my husband that I'm going all 4 days and would love if he came with me but I'm fine going alone. (Which is HUGE for this socially anxious introvert) 

I'm also going to start a "Comicon fund" so I can have money for autographs, photo-ops, and various merchandise. (The people that publish the graphic novel I love were there! I wanted a signed SOMETHING but didn't have the cash)

Mostly, I'm already looking forward to having 4 days of being able to let my geek flag fly and not get side-eyes or eye rolls because of it.