The advantages of a husband with major league spinal damage is you've got access to the good stuff. When I have bad cramps, he'll start pulling out bottles and ask how looped I want to be.

But, damn, he takes stuff that makes me literally fall over on half a pill. I hadn't felt that drunk since college, and that was the feeling that told me I didn't want to be drunk anymore. Forget thinking and doing anything productive, I was focusing just on keeping the horizon level.

I'm in a mood part of it is pms and part of it is fucking comcast.

I don't have a phone line, I'm not getting a phoneline, so fucking dsl isout but I swear to god every time It alk to comcast I get anothe rstor.

I've spent my entire damn evening at this point on the phone with them (granted if Ihadn't ranted then I would have been off the phone longer).

half my apartmnt has to be compnay worthy tomorrow, including my kitchen, becuase my landlord and a repair man are coming.

And I haven't made dinner. I'm tired and I want chocolate and someone to pamper me.

Barb, have you ever tried Ultram? I can't take Percocet, Oxycodone, or even Tylenol-3 without getting nauseated. But I can take one Ultram and function without pain. I take two and it's Happy, Sleepy, Bye-Bye Time. In a good way. I got it when I had shingles and it's the only thing I could take and still take care of the kids during the day.

Y'all are freaking my ovaries out. I haven't had a period for over a year and "BOOM" yesterday, started. The call of Bitches is strong.

My first week in college, I was at some orientation thing. I dropped a piece of paper I was carrying, and the guy sitting across the aisle from me, another freshman, picked it up, handed it to me, and said, "Here you go, ma'am." Totally confused me.

There was an OTC drug back in the early '80s called Cope. I don't know what it is, and it's too common a name to use the Google-fu on, but that was some damned fine stuff. The only thing that would knock down the neuralgia.

I'm starting birth control today, I got a script from the doctor, I thought it was going to be Yaz or something but it look like a generic, but I'll try it and see if it does anythying for the emotional hellish pms I've been having.

I've been getting weepy, panicy, not right thinking, hyper fight or flight the days leading up and that's not good. I kept having to talk myself down on Tuesday (this is just pms, it will pass, this is just pms, this will pass).

Percocet's stil a -codone, it's just oxycodone insted of hydrocodone (Vicodin). For whatever reason, that formulation works better for me. (Vic makes me itchy, spinny, pukey, etc. No amount of pain-stoppage is worth that.)

See, whereas I'm exactly the opposite--percocet makes me a puking machine, Exorcist-style. But Vicodin is my friend.

Careful when drinking with those, though, cause they have acetaminophen in them. Already doing stuff on your liver.

Oh, speaking of drug tolerances and whatnot, I need advice. My insomnia has been fairly bad this week, which is no surprise, after 5 days of vacation where my sleep schedule slid back toward its nocturnal setting, plus PMS and the start of my period.

I have taken Ambien three nights in a row now; a full dose on Monday night, and then half a dose Tuesday night and last night. (Even with the half a dose last night, I still didn't fall asleep until past 4AM, ugh.) I REALLY want to fall asleep tonight, but am a little apprehensive about taking sleepy drugs again. I don't think I'm completely dependent on them, but it still makes me twitchy. But. I want to sleep. Oh lord, do I want to sleep.

Advice?

Take half a dose, a nice, warm lavendar bath, and then warm milk. It's gross (unless you like it), but the [insert chemical here] in the milk really comes out with the heating and should make you sleepy.

Unless you've tried all of this and it didn't work, in which case, I would say read an encyclopedia.

So, since we're bitching about students. Oh, wait. We're not. Can I bitch about entitled parents who think it's ok to LEAVE THE SCHOOL PROPERTY while their children are playing on the playground...since I'm there--even though their children are not in after care (and without asking and/or informing me that they are doing this)?

I could strangle about five mothers right now. Fortunately, I have a very supportive principal, and these mothers will not be allowed to leave their children at school tomorrow until after they have spoken with the principal about the inappropriateness of such an act.

Yes, this means I was left with 30 kids in my care at one point today. And I couldn't go find help because I couldn't very well leave 30 kids unattended on the playground.