There are two

‘There are two flu shots this year?’ That’s what the mom standing behind me in line at the flu clinic yesterday asked me- ‘yes’ I said, ‘two’. ‘What’s the second one?’ Huh? I’m sorry what was that? I don’t think I heard you right…right? Dooo…you watch the news? Read the newspaper? Go on the internets? Go to work????? How does one not know about the two shots this year? How, when every which way you turn this year we’re getting blasted with words like ‘worldwide pandemic’, images of people wearing surgical masks and parents shipping their kids off to school with multiple bottles (1 for the backpack, 1 for the desk, 1 for recess- ok so 3 at least!) of hand sanitizer with the warning that if they fail to use it and carry it with them at ALL times, a fate worse than a Saturday afternoon with no iCarly reruns (for my daughter anyway) awaits them. I turned around and said in my most non ‘have you been living under a rock?’ voice I could find (I had one of those?) and said ‘yes there are two- one for the seasonal flu & one for the Swine flu’ and pointed to the sign posted slightly above our heads. I turned back around pleased with myself because, hell yeah that counted as my good deed for the day. I had just helped the CDC out by informing a previously uninformed concerned parent that we are on the brink of global disaster. Yey me!

Yes, there are two and yesterday afternoon Kaitlyn got both! She still has to go back at then end of next month to get a booster, but half way vaccinated is better than not at all. She hasn’t ever needed one before because thankfully we were blessed with a very healthy girl and she has never fallen into the flu shot required guidelines- even when she was a baby. So now the Elston house has been mostly vaccinated and made ready for the impending pandemic that they say is just around the corner, next week I think(?). I say mostly because Paul & I haven’t gotten the H1N1 yet. Why? Haven’t you heard? Yup, there’s a shortage in just about every county and just the other day the manufacturer was on the national news saying ‘H1N1 won’t be available until next year…’. Next yeeeaarrr. But if I get the H1N1 shot next year, will it also work for the H2N2 virus that I’m sure is scheduled to hit next year as well?? No? Figures. I’m always behind the trends.

The two- H1N1 shot & Seasonal Flu shot, have you gotten yours yet?

Just on the other side

I'm not what you'd call a hot weather girl. By 'hot' I mean temperature and not this type of weather girl. I mean hoooOOOTTT. As in 'I just opened the front door but it feels like I opened my oven which has been cranked to 475 for the last 4 hours straight' kind of HOT! So I was, lets just say, apprehensive to spend a day in the middle of the desert at the The Calico Ghost Town for their annual Calico Days event. When I asked Paul where this place was, he just said 'just on the other side of Barstow'. Hmmm, I see. I took this to mean 25-30 minute road trip max. Ok, I could deal with that, it's Saturday, I can handle that. I'll admit I wasn't really into this little excursion, I mean after all, it was hot. Remember what I said about not being a hot weather girl? Yeah. So the thought of walking around some old mining town looking at 'old stuff' was not how I wanted to spend my precious Saturday afternoon. But I caved in and we went. The drive was long, I went total Bart Simpson and just kept asking 'are we there yet', and Paul just kept saying 'just on the other side of Barstow' and 'Barstow's just 20 minutes from our place', ummm, clearly his definition of 'just on the other side' is waaaay different than mine. His 'just on the other side' ended up being 45 minutes! To most people, thats not a long way, but to me, a trip that takes longer than 20 minutes is a trip that can be put off for another day thank you very much- preferrably on a nice cool autumn day. So we finally get there and ummm hello, this town is built into the side of a mountain, and what do you mean I have to climb up that mountain? Oh there's a shuttle, but that only comes around every 15 minutes. Right. 15 minutes that you will be spend standing in the hot beating sun...no shade...no misting device...no chilled water bottle cart. So I climbed. When we got to the top all I initially saw was what looked to me like the same stuff I had seen at Knott's Berry Farm only 5 months earlier. Soooo not Knott's. This little mountain top enclave was 100% authentic, charming and such an experience. Yes I hemmed and hawed the whole way there but once there, we had a great time. We partook in the arts & crafts, drank Sarsparilla, and sat in shady spots to listen to the many bands that took to each little stage. Good times indeed. My poor husband often has to push me out the door to participate in these types of activities. I'm not sure why that is. I will self analyze later and get back to you. I have many memories of that day now and they have filled the pages of my mental scrapbook. I will probably still hemm & haw when Paul schedules the next outing, and I will hesitantly go and I will have a blast, because 'just on the other side' of those moments, are pictures like the one above. For that smile, I will brave a hot desert anyday.