Em won her school spelling bee on Tuesday. She didn’t want to win because she hates to get up in front of a lot of people, especially if there’s a chance of her getting embarrassed somehow. But she did it, and now she must face the upcoming county spelling bee. Naturally she’s desperately trying to talk her way out of it, but I think it would be good for her and I don’t think I should let her back out of it now. Plus, it’s not like she doesn’t want to be praised for her accomplishments, she likes the competition and always strives to be the best at whatever she does. She just has a pretty good case of stage fright and would rather not do things so publicly. Hmmm, this is a tough one, should I continue to reinforce the good things about this and not allow backing out as an option? Or should I consider that she just might not be up to something like this? Any opinions would be certainly be greatly appreciated. BTW, I also wanted to mention that my highly gifted nephew (my brother’s son) also won his own school spelling bee. He’s eight and in the third grade rather than the fourth like Em, but wouldn’t it be funny if they ended up competing with each other? Oy vey!

Well, Bub was offered his job back yesterday and he took it. So no moving away (bummer) but at least he’ll be a little easier to deal with now that this added stress has been alleviated for the time being. I also totally get why his boss offered to take him back, although I truly feel bad for the guy. See, he’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. Bub honestly is good at what he does, and he’s a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to puter stuff, so if it weren’t for his horrendous work habits and narcissistic personality, he might actually make a very valuable employee. But the pickins are pretty slim when it comes to qualified people who are willing to work in Jim’s price range, so he’d have to hire a couple of people with a lot less experience just to do what Bub is capable of. It’s a trade off, he has work that needs to be done now, and he doesn’t have the time or resources it would take to find, hire, and train more people to take over Bub’s job. The bottom line is, it’s a business decision. Jim must keep the money coming in uninterrupted, so for now, that means having to put up with Bub in all his vindicated glory. And believe me, Bub knows he has all the power now, which of course, has gone straight to his already inflated head. I just have to wonder how much longer this can possibly go on?

In other news, our poor little kitty has been terribly ill for the last few days. Poor guy, if it’s not one thing it’s another. He started vomiting over the weekend and was unable to keep anything down at all. So we took him to the vet on Monday where he got two shots in the butt and a 10-day round of antibiotics. The vet called it an undefined illness, meaning no bowel obstruction or real evident cause of the problem, although I did catch the mischievous little kitty drinking out of the toilet, so we assume that was most likely the culprit. I was relieved to hear that there was no obstruction since my mind had already conjured up all sorts of ideas that perhaps the Christmas tree incident really had caused some sort of internal damage. But alas, he is finally starting to feel better, and has even been able to eat a little yesterday and today.

Okay now, I have a confession; I have “issues” with peanut butter. I know, I know, they say a little peanut butter is good for you, y’know, good fats and all that jazz. But the emphasis here is on a little bit, and for someone like me, well…y’all know how that goes. So what’s a struggling former fat chick to do? Well, I either have to cut it out completely, which neither Em nor I would be happy with, or I search for acceptable alternatives. I am a huge believer in alternatives such as fat free butter spread, (great for baked potatoes, rolls, etc.) sugar free syrup, fat free Miracle Whip, (good for tuna salad) fat free or low fat sour cream, (also good for baked potatoes and tacos) sugar substitutes, low fat cheeses such as Kraft 2% American slices and 2% sharp shredded cheddar, low cal bread and low carb tortillas, etc etc. So naturally, I set out to find an alternative for this fat filled, heavenly creamy delight because I’ve discovered that a spoonful of the stuff makes my morning oatmeal oh soooooooo good, YUM! And here’s what I found; Peanut Wonder. 100 calories for 2 tbsp and only 2.5 grams of fat vs. 190 cal for 2 tbsp and 16 grams of fat for the real stuff. Now, don’t get me wrong, like other alternatives, it definitely does not taste the same as the real stuff, however, my objective here is to find something acceptable rather than just as good because they so seldom are. And this is definitely acceptable in my book. It’s not so great on it’s own, which is kind of a good thing for me since I won’t be tempted to just dig into the jar with a spoon, but it is excellent in my oatmeal as well as the peanut butter banana smoothie I made this morning. So far those are the only things I’ve tried it with, and have yet to perform the ultimate taste test, which is, of course, making a PB&J sammich for Em. I don’t plan on telling her about the change, I’ll just try it out on her and wait for a reaction. If there is none then we’re all set, and I can forego buying anymore of the real stuff. So wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed that she likes it, otherwise I may have to rely on my fledgling (of late) willpower, and I don’t even want to go there.