Two Left Feet

In case I haven't said it before, I really, really like my job.  Much of what I like is that no two days are ever the same.  I also like the fact that I get to attend some pretty cool events.

January 4 I had the opportunity to attend a cool event - literally, it was about 20 degrees outside.  The new long term care center was being "topped off" (last steel beam placed atop the structure), and I was a part of the communication team present at the event. 

I had been prepped the day before as to how to dress.  We were told to dress warmly and to wear boots...it is an active construction site, after all. 

The morning of the 4th I got myself and the kids ready, and on my way out I remembered that I needed a scarf, hat and boots.  I ran upstairs to my bedroom closet and grabbed the items and rushed out the door.

My boss and I were going to ride together to the event, so when he said it was time to go, I grabbed my bag from underneath my desk and pulled out my blue boots.  Actually, I pulled out the left boot and put it on.  Then I reached in the bag and pulled out another left boot. 

I was suddenly struck with the hilarity of my tremendous oversight (haste DOES make waste).  In my rush, I grabbed two blue boots.  Unfortunately, their mates were at home in my closet.

I started laughing.  My boss asked me what was wrong and I showed him.  He chuckled.  I thought I may be able to get away with it until I slipped the second left boot onto my right foot.  I stood up and glanced down. 

I started laughing uncontrollably.  My boss was laughing, too.  I was shaking I was laughing so hard.  I felt like such a dummy.  Maybe anyone else would have slipped their dress shoes back on, but I decided to grin and bear it. 

Down the hall we walked.  "Hey, this isn't so bad!" But, I couldn't quit giggling.  Then a woman approached us.  I watched as her eyes glanced down at my feet while we were walking.  Her glance turned into a very obvious stare.  I busted out laughing.  I told my boss, "She totally noticed!"   

We made it to the construction site with plenty of time to spare.  I hung out (ahem, hid) in the car until closer to start time.  Once out, I took advantage of the snow and tried to cover up my left, I mean my right foot.  I was sure people noticed but was convinced they were all too nice to say anything.

When I got home I showed Chip how ridiculous I looked.  He just stared and said, "It looks like you have a prosthetic leg." 

Of course that made me giggle.

Footsteps

Tonight as I rocked William to sleep I told Abby to go lie on my bed and wait for me.  I could hear her fumbling around in my room as I sang songs to William.  Then I heard footsteps. 

Stomp.  Stomp.  Stomp.  The footsteps were very slow and calculated and they neared William's closed bedroom door.  I would have been sufficiently freaked out had I not known it was Abby.  The footsteps halted outside the door, and I saw a shadowy figure from underneath. 

I got up and opened the door, and this is what I found:

Deputy Detector Detective

UPDATE: My dear husband found the chirping smoke detector.  It was, in fact, one that I had overlooked...the one in the basement.  Thanks, honey!

Detector Detective

It's that time of year again.  Snow is falling, noses are runny, hair is static filled, cars are caked with salt, and skies are gloomy.  And if your house is anything like mine, smoke detectors are beeping.  Yep, I admit, I did not heed the age old time-change rule of changing out the smoke detector batteries and now I'm paying for it.

The beeping started last week.  "I'll change the batteries tomorrow," I'd say to myself.  A week of tomorrows came and went.  Finally I could take the beeping chorus no longer.  So, armed with a chair and AA and 9V batteries, I went on a hunt to find the offending chirper.

About halfway into my mission of trying to figure out the offender, I realized that I should probably just go ahead and change the batteries in all the detectors. 

But there was one non-compliant detector.  I changed the batteries, performed the test by pressing the "test" button, and screwed it back on the ceiling.  No less than 30 seconds later the darn thing was beeping again.  "Huh," I thought.  "Must be old batteries.  I wonder how long these batteries sat on the store shelf."  So, I put 3 more "new" batteries in.  Same thing; beeping continued.  I decided to try a different strategy.  "Maybe the batteries in the top row near the front are older than the ones in the bottom row near the back," I reasoned.  After all, the batteries in the back must have been put in the pack AFTER the front ones, right?  Silly logic, I know.

Try three: My logic worked!  The beeping stopped.  But wait!  There was yet another one chirping somewhere else in the house.  Was it coming from upstairs or downstairs?  Which end of the house was it coming from?

I set out on my hunt, dutifully changing out all of the batteries.  The detectors mocked me, however, as I kept hearing a chirp.  If I was downstairs, the chirping appeared to be coming from upstairs, and vice versa.  If I was in the kitchen, the noise seemed to come from the spare room, and vice versa.  I felt like a maniac running around the house saying, "Aha, I got you now!" only to discover that the noise was coming from somewhere else.

Yesterday I was at my wit's end.  There HAD to be a detector I had missed.  And there was!  Somehow I had neglected to find the one in the laundry room.  Surely that had to be the one that was still chirping.  Nope.

I have yet to discover which one is still making that horrid noise.  Heck, maybe they're all in on it.  Maybe they are trying to drive me nuts.  Maybe they are making me paranoid...

Tonight I plan on trying a new tactic: take them all down and place them next to me on the bedroom floor.  Maybe I can determine which one is the bad one.  Either that or the house will burn down because all the detectors are in one room. 

So, think about me tonight as you are snuggled up in your bed.  I'll be armed with batteries and caffeine just waiting for one of those detectors to slip up and beep.  Muhahahaha!