No, I'm not pregnant, yet. But Kathleen is! Having now passed her 22 week, they were able to do an ultrasound and determine that the doctor says Kas is having a .... are you ready?
*drumroll*
GIRL!
Yes, Charlie was a bit disappointed at first, but he's definitely come around; Kathleen made sure of that.
Believe me, Aunty Witchy is going to be mighty involved. :)
And I just realized that my year is shaping up like this:
Jan-Feb: Plan Kathleen's Baby shower with her mother in law and mom
March: Kathleen's Baby Shower
April: Mine, Alli's and Kathleen's birthdays -
Late April/May: Baby due!
October: Bachelorette Party for me
November: Wedding!
Man, I'm gonna be pooped by the time we get married.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Ch...ch...changes....
I know, I know. Where the HELL have I been, right?
Well, let's see....
I switched jobs in November right after ThanksGiving, so now I can (I think) tell you all the horrible stories about my former employer (without mentioning any names, I'm sure) and how there was a TON of butt licking and brown nosing people that weren't qualified to ride the short bus.... even with a helmet. Whew.
In my old job, I used to be a customer service rep -- who is leashed to a phone queue 7 hours a day, answers benefit and claims questions, has her day scheduled down to the minute, and felt I couldn't do #2 unless I planned it during my lunch.
I am now doing what I call my 'vacation job' - I work an earlier shift that I have the option to flex my hours with, I plan my own day, I no longer have a leash, and I handle Ambulance billing for a local hospital. It's fantastic! I actually feel like an adult for once in my professional life.
Yay me!
So I've been busy with settling into my new job amongst other things. More later. Trust me, MORE LATER. (<-------- Dave is watching me type. heh.)
Well, let's see....
I switched jobs in November right after ThanksGiving, so now I can (I think) tell you all the horrible stories about my former employer (without mentioning any names, I'm sure) and how there was a TON of butt licking and brown nosing people that weren't qualified to ride the short bus.... even with a helmet. Whew.
In my old job, I used to be a customer service rep -- who is leashed to a phone queue 7 hours a day, answers benefit and claims questions, has her day scheduled down to the minute, and felt I couldn't do #2 unless I planned it during my lunch.
I am now doing what I call my 'vacation job' - I work an earlier shift that I have the option to flex my hours with, I plan my own day, I no longer have a leash, and I handle Ambulance billing for a local hospital. It's fantastic! I actually feel like an adult for once in my professional life.
Yay me!
So I've been busy with settling into my new job amongst other things. More later. Trust me, MORE LATER. (<-------- Dave is watching me type. heh.)
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Wedding Fair Weekend
Okay, yeah so I know it was back on October 14th, which was a Sunday... and sure it was a while ago, but I thought I'd bring you up to speed.
When Kas came down to visit, we shopped 'til she literally dropped. Motherhood Maternity in store was a MAJOR LET DOWN! The Plus Size section SERIOUSLY was half the size of my bathroom - which is pretty small as a whole.
Beckah stayed over with Kas on Saturday night - Both of them passing out while we were attempting to watch a Wedding cake making video. I stayed up with Alli to watch. It was interesting.
The REAL fun began Sunday morning in getting ready to leave for the Wedding Fair.
Beckah was lovely enough to bring some super yummy thick cut bacon for us girls to have Sunday morning breakfast. She advised me beforehand that we could put it on baking sheets and cook it in the oven... and it normally takes a half hour.
I put two sheets of bacon in the oven and set the timer for half an hour.
Suffice it to say that I set off the smoke alarm and pissed and scared the crap out of Dave. *L*
Silly me..... burning bacon from the oven, and making horridly indistinguishable hash browns that I discretely tossed out in the trash. Yikes.
One thing after another; the four of us - Jen, Beckah, Kas and me all climbed into the van. Beckah had offered to drive and I declined...I felt I shouldn't be afraid of driving into downtown. I'm a big girl. Right?
Well.... I made a wrong turn the first time and we saw Sexworld from a distance. The vagrants at 11:45am in the morning made it a particularly homey scene as they sat against the building. I made two illegal turns to get back to the highway. What? There was no one around! I swear.
The second attempt to get to the Minneapolis Convention Center was much better - we found it, we parked, and then we all got out on shaky legs. No thanks to my driving. Tee hee hee.
It was a beautiful bridal fair. I loved the decor that Midway Party Rental put up around the convention center. Made me feel really quite well that I had chosen them. :) I got a few ideas about flowers - did you know that Chrysanthemums are the Winter flowers and come in a wide array of colors? And there were so many sights and sounds! I have now decided that DJs are slimy, sleazy, greasey monkeys. That is all.
The girls and I scoped out the freebies: chocolates, candies of all kinds, free cake samples (YUM), and about 2 hours into it, I couldn't take it anymore. There was no way I would last much longer, I knew. Beckah seemed surprised while Jen and the pregnant Kas seemed grateful. Trust me, the less time I spend with the mainstream, the better.
We adjourned to the Western 'burbs for an early Sunday dinner at Macaroni Grill, and then everyone went away and I slept. Alot. It was a long weekend.
When Kas came down to visit, we shopped 'til she literally dropped. Motherhood Maternity in store was a MAJOR LET DOWN! The Plus Size section SERIOUSLY was half the size of my bathroom - which is pretty small as a whole.
Beckah stayed over with Kas on Saturday night - Both of them passing out while we were attempting to watch a Wedding cake making video. I stayed up with Alli to watch. It was interesting.
The REAL fun began Sunday morning in getting ready to leave for the Wedding Fair.
Beckah was lovely enough to bring some super yummy thick cut bacon for us girls to have Sunday morning breakfast. She advised me beforehand that we could put it on baking sheets and cook it in the oven... and it normally takes a half hour.
I put two sheets of bacon in the oven and set the timer for half an hour.
Suffice it to say that I set off the smoke alarm and pissed and scared the crap out of Dave. *L*
Silly me..... burning bacon from the oven, and making horridly indistinguishable hash browns that I discretely tossed out in the trash. Yikes.
One thing after another; the four of us - Jen, Beckah, Kas and me all climbed into the van. Beckah had offered to drive and I declined...I felt I shouldn't be afraid of driving into downtown. I'm a big girl. Right?
Well.... I made a wrong turn the first time and we saw Sexworld from a distance. The vagrants at 11:45am in the morning made it a particularly homey scene as they sat against the building. I made two illegal turns to get back to the highway. What? There was no one around! I swear.
The second attempt to get to the Minneapolis Convention Center was much better - we found it, we parked, and then we all got out on shaky legs. No thanks to my driving. Tee hee hee.
It was a beautiful bridal fair. I loved the decor that Midway Party Rental put up around the convention center. Made me feel really quite well that I had chosen them. :) I got a few ideas about flowers - did you know that Chrysanthemums are the Winter flowers and come in a wide array of colors? And there were so many sights and sounds! I have now decided that DJs are slimy, sleazy, greasey monkeys. That is all.
The girls and I scoped out the freebies: chocolates, candies of all kinds, free cake samples (YUM), and about 2 hours into it, I couldn't take it anymore. There was no way I would last much longer, I knew. Beckah seemed surprised while Jen and the pregnant Kas seemed grateful. Trust me, the less time I spend with the mainstream, the better.
We adjourned to the Western 'burbs for an early Sunday dinner at Macaroni Grill, and then everyone went away and I slept. Alot. It was a long weekend.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Guess who turns 38 today?
Happy Birthday my Dave!
In true Dave fashion, he didn't want us to make a big deal out of my birthday. And yes, he got his wish. I was good. *G*
Saturday, October 6, 2007
And then my leg went numb...
Yeah, I know. What a way to grab attention.
Seriously though, I'm fine now. Last Thursday night I wasn't so certain when my left leg (the leg that has the clot in it) went numb and all tingly for a few hours. I wasn't panicked, but I was concerned and knew it was either a nerve that was compressed for some odd reason, or it was an unhappy thing concerning the existing clot.
Friday afternoon I left work for an emergency ultrasound at Fairview Southdale. Then was sent home to await further instructions.
Good news: From the ultrasound, they could determine that the clot hadn't changed - no bigger, no smaller, it's all good.
Better news: The tingly feeling with the previous numbness had to be due to a nerve. Which has happened before.... you know, like when you sit on the toilet too long, and then one of your legs goes numb.... okay, maybe I'm the only one that's happened to. uhhhh....
I see Dr. Weinshel on Monday again. Consultation to discuss moving forward. What he thinks I should be doing from here on out, whether it's ultrasounds once a month or if he thinks I should go back on the Coumadin. Cross your fingers and toes that he'll let me remain on the Lovenox. At least for right now.
Seriously though, I'm fine now. Last Thursday night I wasn't so certain when my left leg (the leg that has the clot in it) went numb and all tingly for a few hours. I wasn't panicked, but I was concerned and knew it was either a nerve that was compressed for some odd reason, or it was an unhappy thing concerning the existing clot.
Friday afternoon I left work for an emergency ultrasound at Fairview Southdale. Then was sent home to await further instructions.
Good news: From the ultrasound, they could determine that the clot hadn't changed - no bigger, no smaller, it's all good.
Better news: The tingly feeling with the previous numbness had to be due to a nerve. Which has happened before.... you know, like when you sit on the toilet too long, and then one of your legs goes numb.... okay, maybe I'm the only one that's happened to. uhhhh....
I see Dr. Weinshel on Monday again. Consultation to discuss moving forward. What he thinks I should be doing from here on out, whether it's ultrasounds once a month or if he thinks I should go back on the Coumadin. Cross your fingers and toes that he'll let me remain on the Lovenox. At least for right now.
Gurgle gurgle....
My tummy isn't feeling so well this weekend. Either I'm prego or it's the cheesey egg hashbrown bake we made this morning. I have no excuse as to why my boobs hurt, unless it's just because my hormones are gearing up for me getting my period here in a few days. Still, I have some small hope....even as I tell myself at the same time that it'll happen when it's supposed to. (But I want it to happen NOW! WAHHH! *lol*)
Every time I talk to Kathleen on the phone, I offer up prayers of thanks to the Gods. Her pregnancy is progressing just as it should, and she and Charlie get more excited as the days go by. I just hope and pray for them that this is a successful pregnancy. :)
Work is work. Helping others daily. I don't hate going into work, but after a while, the tedium gets to me. The busy season is coming though soon, which means we'll have very little time to breathe, let alone worry.
Next weekend the girls and I are hitting the Twin Cities Bridal Association Wedding Fair. Yay! Yeah, even though I'm not so much traditional, as many of you know. I think if anyone would ask why we're going there, I would say "I heard there was cake!"
Kathleen is going to be driving up next Saturday morning and we'll hit Motherhood Maternity stores locally - Ridgedale Mall and Eden Prairie Center Mall both have locations. Apparently Motherhood Maternity has super cute clothes for the lovely pregnant woman. I can only hope I get to utilize those stores too.
It's funny. When I was prego with Alli nearly 7 years ago, they didn't have much for the pregnant woman out in the hicks. I have to wonder if Kathleen would have still found the Motherhood Maternity shop if she hadn't taken my advice and gotten internet access 3 years ago. heh.
Every time I talk to Kathleen on the phone, I offer up prayers of thanks to the Gods. Her pregnancy is progressing just as it should, and she and Charlie get more excited as the days go by. I just hope and pray for them that this is a successful pregnancy. :)
Work is work. Helping others daily. I don't hate going into work, but after a while, the tedium gets to me. The busy season is coming though soon, which means we'll have very little time to breathe, let alone worry.
Next weekend the girls and I are hitting the Twin Cities Bridal Association Wedding Fair. Yay! Yeah, even though I'm not so much traditional, as many of you know. I think if anyone would ask why we're going there, I would say "I heard there was cake!"
Kathleen is going to be driving up next Saturday morning and we'll hit Motherhood Maternity stores locally - Ridgedale Mall and Eden Prairie Center Mall both have locations. Apparently Motherhood Maternity has super cute clothes for the lovely pregnant woman. I can only hope I get to utilize those stores too.
It's funny. When I was prego with Alli nearly 7 years ago, they didn't have much for the pregnant woman out in the hicks. I have to wonder if Kathleen would have still found the Motherhood Maternity shop if she hadn't taken my advice and gotten internet access 3 years ago. heh.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
AaarrrrRRRRR!
Happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day!
Okay, so I wore Dave's pirate shirt "Pirates of Yore", and attempted to borrow Alli's pirate hat from her Halloween costume for this year. Unfortunately, of all my body parts to be fat, my head is one of the least I'd expect to be! The bloody hat didn't fit.
So I decided to make do instead with the eye patch. Yes. I was sexy and daring. Going around saying "AAaaarr!" and "Avast matey!" all day was certainly a good way to break up the monotony of the workplace.
And no one had to walk the plank. Me be heartily disappointed. Arrrr.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Doctor Updates
So... I saw Dr. Weinshel on Monday.
This is the game plan - not much has changed:
Keep me on Lovenox. (yay)
Come back in 6 weeks so they can do another ultrasound on my left leg.
If a.) the clot or thrombus as its called is the same size, no worries.
If b.) the clot is bigger, I go back on Coumadin and scrap pregnancy for 6 months to a year - if I am not already prego, that is.
There's always hope. I have two cycles then to get knocked up. If not, then we'll wait until after we get married next November. It's all good.
That is all, good people.
This is the game plan - not much has changed:
Keep me on Lovenox. (yay)
Come back in 6 weeks so they can do another ultrasound on my left leg.
If a.) the clot or thrombus as its called is the same size, no worries.
If b.) the clot is bigger, I go back on Coumadin and scrap pregnancy for 6 months to a year - if I am not already prego, that is.
There's always hope. I have two cycles then to get knocked up. If not, then we'll wait until after we get married next November. It's all good.
That is all, good people.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Someone's Pregnant...and I'm borrowing her Fertility Monitor
Kathleen is FINALLY pregnant!! YAYYYYYYYYYYY!!! For the first time EVER, in her LIFE, she is prego.
Get it?
Prego! (It's in there.)
Okay, maybe you're too young if you don't get the Prego Spaghetti Sauce reference. Nevermind.
But yay!! So, she's due, funnily enough, at the end of April 2008. hehehe. Like we don't have enough going on in that month, what with MY birthday, Alli's birthday, Kathleen's birthday, Kathleen and Charlie's anniversary.... criminy! Let's just add another birthday in there for the heck of it. Why not?!
So we were talking the other night and she's decided that she's going to let me borrow her fertility monitor since she's pregnant (5 weeks officially ~ they were spreading the word on Monday). She's even giving me some of her pee strips - oh stoppit! They're UN-USED ones. Sheesh.
I think she's hoping I get prego here in the next couple weeks (Yay! I'm fertile the weekend before Alli starts school!) so she and I can share the experience of the nausea, the heartburn, backache, hemorrhoids, and horrendous gas together with a large dose of emotional rollercoaster of feelings on the side.
I have to wonder if we do, will we survive each other's crabbiness, bitchiness, and eating each other out of house and home? Keep you posted.
Get it?
Prego! (It's in there.)
Okay, maybe you're too young if you don't get the Prego Spaghetti Sauce reference. Nevermind.
But yay!! So, she's due, funnily enough, at the end of April 2008. hehehe. Like we don't have enough going on in that month, what with MY birthday, Alli's birthday, Kathleen's birthday, Kathleen and Charlie's anniversary.... criminy! Let's just add another birthday in there for the heck of it. Why not?!
So we were talking the other night and she's decided that she's going to let me borrow her fertility monitor since she's pregnant (5 weeks officially ~ they were spreading the word on Monday). She's even giving me some of her pee strips - oh stoppit! They're UN-USED ones. Sheesh.
I think she's hoping I get prego here in the next couple weeks (Yay! I'm fertile the weekend before Alli starts school!) so she and I can share the experience of the nausea, the heartburn, backache, hemorrhoids, and horrendous gas together with a large dose of emotional rollercoaster of feelings on the side.
I have to wonder if we do, will we survive each other's crabbiness, bitchiness, and eating each other out of house and home? Keep you posted.
"The Doctor isn't worried about you at all!"
Oy.
Tuesday night I ran by the ER just to say Hi to all my admirers there at Fairview Southdale. I came ready - pre-packed undies, enough romance novels to read for 10 hours, appropriate Cottonelle clean wipes, and socks...in my Dumbledore's Army bag, no less.
Seriously, I've had a funky feeling in my leg since last Tuesday. And after a day of moving around on it, my left leg began to hurt in the calf. Oh yes, you guessed it dear reader, it's another clot. Yay me!
I spent 3 and 1/2 hours in the ER for them to tell me:
a.) It's a clot
And then called the MOHPA doc on call, Dr. Sang to decide if they wanted to admit me or not. They decided not to, and to have me call my regular Hematologist's office in the morning.
So they:
b.) Sent me home.
Now, the bonuses are that I got to sleep in my own bed and snuggle with my man. The negatives were trying to reconcile the ER docs telling me it's 'a minor clot'. WTF? Whoever heard of a MINOR CLOT???
I played phone tag all day Wednesday as a sat in bed, watching movies with Alli and reading, and generally entertaining us both with this HUGE pack of dry-erase EXPO markers I got - more on that later. Anyways... when it all came down to it, Doc Weinshel's nurse Brianna told me that I can resume all normal activity... they are keeping me on the Lovenox, it's probably a chronic clot that I just happened to notice (sure) and I can go back to work on Thursday without issues, and he's not all that concerned about the clot as it's nonocclusive (which is a fancy word for "not blocking anything") and fairly minor. Brianna kept telling me to wiggle my ankles alot though... Hmm. But yeah...
So this is where it is:
I'm still on Lovenox.
They are not putting me back on Coumadin anytime soon.
We can still try to get pregnant.
But THEN... I've been reading some scary shite the last couple days about the rate of maternal deaths. Most of them are related to c-sections and clotting. Well, DUH that's exactly the two situations I didn't want to see.
But then if you read the article completely, it brings up the fact that most of these women are black, in their late 30's and early 40's, and are unable to have the babies vaginally, and are obese.
I look at myself and think, Hmm...I'm 28, obese, but I would be a planned c-section, and I already take a whole bunch of anticoagulant drugs to keep me where I need to be as far as NOT clotting....oh yeah, and I'm a white chick with no other health problems to speak of...so far.
So in one way, I'm a bit concerned, but in another, I'm not. I would already be labeled a high-risk mother and should already therefore be receiving the best and most specialized care they can offer me.
But then I think about the Perinatologist, Dr. Ney, that I'd spoken to and seen for my D&C. She was so totally on board for me getting pregnant last I saw her. And if Dr. Weinshel is good to go, then I don't see why we shouldn't proceed as planned. I have faith in my doctors, but I'm certainly not ignorant after spending years around them.
Only the God and Goddess can guide us now. Blessings Be to all the harried and adored mothers in the world tonight. :)
Tuesday night I ran by the ER just to say Hi to all my admirers there at Fairview Southdale. I came ready - pre-packed undies, enough romance novels to read for 10 hours, appropriate Cottonelle clean wipes, and socks...in my Dumbledore's Army bag, no less.
Seriously, I've had a funky feeling in my leg since last Tuesday. And after a day of moving around on it, my left leg began to hurt in the calf. Oh yes, you guessed it dear reader, it's another clot. Yay me!
I spent 3 and 1/2 hours in the ER for them to tell me:
a.) It's a clot
And then called the MOHPA doc on call, Dr. Sang to decide if they wanted to admit me or not. They decided not to, and to have me call my regular Hematologist's office in the morning.
So they:
b.) Sent me home.
Now, the bonuses are that I got to sleep in my own bed and snuggle with my man. The negatives were trying to reconcile the ER docs telling me it's 'a minor clot'. WTF? Whoever heard of a MINOR CLOT???
I played phone tag all day Wednesday as a sat in bed, watching movies with Alli and reading, and generally entertaining us both with this HUGE pack of dry-erase EXPO markers I got - more on that later. Anyways... when it all came down to it, Doc Weinshel's nurse Brianna told me that I can resume all normal activity... they are keeping me on the Lovenox, it's probably a chronic clot that I just happened to notice (sure) and I can go back to work on Thursday without issues, and he's not all that concerned about the clot as it's nonocclusive (which is a fancy word for "not blocking anything") and fairly minor. Brianna kept telling me to wiggle my ankles alot though... Hmm. But yeah...
So this is where it is:
I'm still on Lovenox.
They are not putting me back on Coumadin anytime soon.
We can still try to get pregnant.
But THEN... I've been reading some scary shite the last couple days about the rate of maternal deaths. Most of them are related to c-sections and clotting. Well, DUH that's exactly the two situations I didn't want to see.
But then if you read the article completely, it brings up the fact that most of these women are black, in their late 30's and early 40's, and are unable to have the babies vaginally, and are obese.
I look at myself and think, Hmm...I'm 28, obese, but I would be a planned c-section, and I already take a whole bunch of anticoagulant drugs to keep me where I need to be as far as NOT clotting....oh yeah, and I'm a white chick with no other health problems to speak of...so far.
So in one way, I'm a bit concerned, but in another, I'm not. I would already be labeled a high-risk mother and should already therefore be receiving the best and most specialized care they can offer me.
But then I think about the Perinatologist, Dr. Ney, that I'd spoken to and seen for my D&C. She was so totally on board for me getting pregnant last I saw her. And if Dr. Weinshel is good to go, then I don't see why we shouldn't proceed as planned. I have faith in my doctors, but I'm certainly not ignorant after spending years around them.
Only the God and Goddess can guide us now. Blessings Be to all the harried and adored mothers in the world tonight. :)
What Color is Your Soul?
| What color is your soul painted? Purple Your soul is painted the color purple, which embodies the characteristics of sensuality, spirituality, creativity, wealth, royalty, nobility, mystery, enlightenment, arrogance, gaudiness, mourning, confusion, pride, delicacy, power, meditation, religion, and ambition. Purple falls under the element of Earth, and was once a European symbol of royalty; today it symbolizes the divine. |
 Quizzes and Personality Tests |
Thursday, August 16, 2007
"Wow, You're really letting your Geek flag fly with that bag..."
... so said one of my co-workers today, commenting on my "Dumbledore's Army" messenger bag. Yes, I AM that nerdy. And paired with a "Dumbledore for President" pin... well, the ensemble was complete!
Anyways... not too much new here. Alli was diagnosed with strep throat on Tuesday thanks to Urgent Care. Yay! She stayed home and bugged Dave Wednesday.... and seems to think if she's good enough, she just might get the Mario RC kart from ThinkGeek. Hm. Who possibly gave her that idea, honey? *Stares Dave down*
Ahh well...it's working as a bribe for now.
I started my Lovenox shots today (YAY!), meaning Dave and I can mambo 'til we drop and conception is a GOOD thing now. I'm taking down the baby-making ticker and replacing it with a wedding one until I have good news about a "wee bairn" to share. I have a doc appt on the 23rd for lab, to make sure the Lovenox dosage they have me on is enough, and then again on the 27th for a full check-over. THEN, on this Monday, I have my yearly fondle and scrape. *shudders* At least I don't have to turn my head and cough. Ain't NO ONE puttin' nothin' up my a$$. It has a sign that proudly hangs above stating quite clearly, "Exit Only".
My honey has ordered my laptop. YAY! Set for arrival at the end of the month. And we finally agreed on a beautiful, but not horribly expensive engagement ring. Yes. I promise to take good care of it.
And last weekend, we finally told my parents. Ahhh lovely Quarry Days weekend....
They seemed happy, showering us with congratulations. We'll see how long it takes before they try to cause issues - although they did agree that we can use their commercial kitchen for our caterers, Chefs Naturally.
It'll be all good. Right?
Anyways... not too much new here. Alli was diagnosed with strep throat on Tuesday thanks to Urgent Care. Yay! She stayed home and bugged Dave Wednesday.... and seems to think if she's good enough, she just might get the Mario RC kart from ThinkGeek. Hm. Who possibly gave her that idea, honey? *Stares Dave down*
Ahh well...it's working as a bribe for now.
I started my Lovenox shots today (YAY!), meaning Dave and I can mambo 'til we drop and conception is a GOOD thing now. I'm taking down the baby-making ticker and replacing it with a wedding one until I have good news about a "wee bairn" to share. I have a doc appt on the 23rd for lab, to make sure the Lovenox dosage they have me on is enough, and then again on the 27th for a full check-over. THEN, on this Monday, I have my yearly fondle and scrape. *shudders* At least I don't have to turn my head and cough. Ain't NO ONE puttin' nothin' up my a$$. It has a sign that proudly hangs above stating quite clearly, "Exit Only".
My honey has ordered my laptop. YAY! Set for arrival at the end of the month. And we finally agreed on a beautiful, but not horribly expensive engagement ring. Yes. I promise to take good care of it.
And last weekend, we finally told my parents. Ahhh lovely Quarry Days weekend....
They seemed happy, showering us with congratulations. We'll see how long it takes before they try to cause issues - although they did agree that we can use their commercial kitchen for our caterers, Chefs Naturally.
It'll be all good. Right?
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
*****It took me almost 8 hours to read this book. I'm not intending to release spoilers here!! I promise!!******
I have to say, I loved it. It was fantastic -and only the second or third time ever, that I've cried so hard about characters who have died or been killed.
Such an emotional response is only natural to give to characters that you have known so well over the last 8 -10 years that it's taken to get through all the previous books and wait hungrily to devour the last course.... the Deathly Hallows.
Death is never a joy to write, I'm sure. But I took comfort in the fact that a couple of the people she killed off were a 'couple' and in the romantic style, one could not have gone on without the other. Order members until the end, they fought beside Harry at the Battle of Hogwarts, leaving their newborn child to suffer the same fate as Harry... now a young godfather to a child who would know his parents sacrificed themselves for the defeat of Voldemort.
So much in this book made me cry. I think Alli, to quote Ron, would think mommy "...was mental, that one!". Reading each page and knowing this would likely be the last adventure to share with these characters - human with their flaws, written so well and lovingly drawn. If you are a reader of the Harry Potter series, you sobbed when Dumbledore was killed by Snape, you laughed and snickered when Ron found out about Harry and Ginny and their stolen moments...I'm sure your heart melted a bit, too.
And so, I read through the entire book, trying to process the story as I went, rushing but trying to savor the story, who was doing what, and what I thought was to be the foreshadow of events to come.
When all was said and done, I was happy for the most part. 3 deaths I found unnecessary, but I can see why she wrote them in. The Order needed to suffer losses and a large family has to lose someone, right?
The Epilogue was satisfying in the way that you knew what happened to the central characters - the best that was suspected all along.
Closing the book, it was 11:30pm by the clock. I felt weepy as I realized this was, again, the last adventure at Hogwarts....maybe EVER. Knowing what became of the characters was all well and good, but now I had nothing to look forward to at Hogwarts... or the Burrow.... or Grimmauld Place with Kreacher.
With everything tied up in a neat and tidy bow, I effectively felt left out as I looked inside the crystal ball and realized this was it. A happy exit for those who lived and thrived after Voldemort was destroyed.
I'm still stunned at the amount of reading and the auto comprehension I put my brain through yesterday; from 2:30pm until 4pm and then again from 5:30pm to 11:30pm. But of course, it was entirely worth it. And one day, when I'm not so emotional, I will read it again and hope to enjoy the epilogue more.
I can only wonder how Book 6 and 7 will fare under a screenwriter's script. Book 7 is full of so many places and so many close-calls. There's no telling how they'll be able to fit it all into a 2 and 1/2 hour movie. Maybe they'll make a 6 hour movie, released in two parts to combine Book 6 and 7. Hmm....
I have to say, I loved it. It was fantastic -and only the second or third time ever, that I've cried so hard about characters who have died or been killed.
Such an emotional response is only natural to give to characters that you have known so well over the last 8 -10 years that it's taken to get through all the previous books and wait hungrily to devour the last course.... the Deathly Hallows.
Death is never a joy to write, I'm sure. But I took comfort in the fact that a couple of the people she killed off were a 'couple' and in the romantic style, one could not have gone on without the other. Order members until the end, they fought beside Harry at the Battle of Hogwarts, leaving their newborn child to suffer the same fate as Harry... now a young godfather to a child who would know his parents sacrificed themselves for the defeat of Voldemort.
So much in this book made me cry. I think Alli, to quote Ron, would think mommy "...was mental, that one!". Reading each page and knowing this would likely be the last adventure to share with these characters - human with their flaws, written so well and lovingly drawn. If you are a reader of the Harry Potter series, you sobbed when Dumbledore was killed by Snape, you laughed and snickered when Ron found out about Harry and Ginny and their stolen moments...I'm sure your heart melted a bit, too.
And so, I read through the entire book, trying to process the story as I went, rushing but trying to savor the story, who was doing what, and what I thought was to be the foreshadow of events to come.
When all was said and done, I was happy for the most part. 3 deaths I found unnecessary, but I can see why she wrote them in. The Order needed to suffer losses and a large family has to lose someone, right?
The Epilogue was satisfying in the way that you knew what happened to the central characters - the best that was suspected all along.
Closing the book, it was 11:30pm by the clock. I felt weepy as I realized this was, again, the last adventure at Hogwarts....maybe EVER. Knowing what became of the characters was all well and good, but now I had nothing to look forward to at Hogwarts... or the Burrow.... or Grimmauld Place with Kreacher.
With everything tied up in a neat and tidy bow, I effectively felt left out as I looked inside the crystal ball and realized this was it. A happy exit for those who lived and thrived after Voldemort was destroyed.
I'm still stunned at the amount of reading and the auto comprehension I put my brain through yesterday; from 2:30pm until 4pm and then again from 5:30pm to 11:30pm. But of course, it was entirely worth it. And one day, when I'm not so emotional, I will read it again and hope to enjoy the epilogue more.
I can only wonder how Book 6 and 7 will fare under a screenwriter's script. Book 7 is full of so many places and so many close-calls. There's no telling how they'll be able to fit it all into a 2 and 1/2 hour movie. Maybe they'll make a 6 hour movie, released in two parts to combine Book 6 and 7. Hmm....
Getting My Book
I didn't think I was even going to get my DH copy on time - due to my issue with putting the wrong address down, my amazon order went to Kathleen & Charlie's, and yes, I tried to change it with amazon and they suck because they told me no (about a week to go before it shipped!).
So... I resigned myself to the fact that Kathleen would get the first book I ordered. I started checking around the internet. Walmart had a 97 cent shipping special where the website said the book would arrive on or around the 21st. That tempted me. I checked out Barnes and Noble. They could do overnight shipping guaranteed for $15 galleons. Guaranteed. Hmmm.
I put in my order with B&N and waited. I got an email from them the next day saying that oh by the way, they didn't have enough copies due to high demand and they would try to get me a book of DH in the next 30 days. It wouldn't let me cancel my order online their website so I called them, furious! I got Cathy from Customer Service on the line and explained my issue. She and a supervisor checked my order and it'd already been PACKED! *whew! WTF??* They told me I should be getting my confirmation shipping email the following day.
Lo and behold... I got the email. And hit refresh every half hour on the tracking information. Dave giggled at me and sent me this cartoon:
Saturday morning dawned clear and bright. About 10 minutes after waking up, I was rushing downstairs to Dave's laughter. I opened the door to a smirking FedEx guy holding my BOOK!
"Harry Potter, eh?" He grinned at the Do Not Open until July 21st" label as I mumbled something unintelligible and nearly snatched the package from his hands, closing the door practically in his face.
I calmed my racing heart and turned off my mind. Breakfast. Must eat.
I made sure to spend some measure of time with Alli and Dave... meals count, don't they?
And then...around 2:30, Alli gave me permission to start cracking open the book.
So... I resigned myself to the fact that Kathleen would get the first book I ordered. I started checking around the internet. Walmart had a 97 cent shipping special where the website said the book would arrive on or around the 21st. That tempted me. I checked out Barnes and Noble. They could do overnight shipping guaranteed for $15 galleons. Guaranteed. Hmmm.
I put in my order with B&N and waited. I got an email from them the next day saying that oh by the way, they didn't have enough copies due to high demand and they would try to get me a book of DH in the next 30 days. It wouldn't let me cancel my order online their website so I called them, furious! I got Cathy from Customer Service on the line and explained my issue. She and a supervisor checked my order and it'd already been PACKED! *whew! WTF??* They told me I should be getting my confirmation shipping email the following day.
Lo and behold... I got the email. And hit refresh every half hour on the tracking information. Dave giggled at me and sent me this cartoon:
Saturday morning dawned clear and bright. About 10 minutes after waking up, I was rushing downstairs to Dave's laughter. I opened the door to a smirking FedEx guy holding my BOOK!
"Harry Potter, eh?" He grinned at the Do Not Open until July 21st" label as I mumbled something unintelligible and nearly snatched the package from his hands, closing the door practically in his face.
I calmed my racing heart and turned off my mind. Breakfast. Must eat.
I made sure to spend some measure of time with Alli and Dave... meals count, don't they?
And then...around 2:30, Alli gave me permission to start cracking open the book.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Updates
Okay.... so Kathleen has found out she is currently not prego. She is okay with it for now and knows that ovulating is 99% of the battle... and the Femara is doing it's job! :)
We went and saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
One word: AWESOME!
Faithful to the book, it was fantastic. SEE IT NOW. YOU MUST SEE IT!
And then....
We made another major purchase ladies and gentleman.... Drum roll, please....
A Sleep Number bed! Yep, we went today to the store in Ridgedale Mall and we got our sleep numbers (Dave is a 45- 50, and I'm a 45- 55). It was kinda wierd laying on the bed that probably so many other people have slept on. It gave me the willies a bit... but they gave us our own pillow towels to gently place on the pillows so my freshly washed hair wouldn't get cootified.
In the next two weeks we can expect to see our new sleep number bed. WAAAHOOOOOOOOO!!
And ..... Alli had her first real eye exam today - Dave and I had our own, too. Turns out those 'headacks' Alli's been mentioning are quite possibly real.
Dave didn't get new glasses... but it's a cute picture of them, eh? :)
Isn't she cute? She's so excited to have glasses!
We went and saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
One word: AWESOME!
Faithful to the book, it was fantastic. SEE IT NOW. YOU MUST SEE IT!
And then....
We made another major purchase ladies and gentleman.... Drum roll, please....
A Sleep Number bed! Yep, we went today to the store in Ridgedale Mall and we got our sleep numbers (Dave is a 45- 50, and I'm a 45- 55). It was kinda wierd laying on the bed that probably so many other people have slept on. It gave me the willies a bit... but they gave us our own pillow towels to gently place on the pillows so my freshly washed hair wouldn't get cootified.
In the next two weeks we can expect to see our new sleep number bed. WAAAHOOOOOOOOO!!
And ..... Alli had her first real eye exam today - Dave and I had our own, too. Turns out those 'headacks' Alli's been mentioning are quite possibly real.
Dave didn't get new glasses... but it's a cute picture of them, eh? :)
Isn't she cute? She's so excited to have glasses!Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Circle of Life
So on Monday afternoon I got an email from Kathleen.
"OHMYGOD! I woke up this morning and I'm OVULATING! OHMYGOD I'm SHAKING!!"
I emailed her back with "I TOLD YOU SO! GET ON IT!!!"
She said that her and Charlie had been talking the night before, and they had kinda talked about how maybe her dad could give them a nudge in the right direction.... and then all the sudden, the next morning, to have her ovulating according to the Clear Blue Easy monitor.... Her mom, Linda definitely said it was a blessing, which it is.
So now, in the circle of life, where a death has occurred, so must a birth.
Believe me, we ALL needed to hear this good news, despite her saying earlier this month that she wouldn't tell anyone if she even ovulated. *l* We all just needed to know that good things can still happen.
So cross your fingers and toes. I'll start the baby blanket to get a head start. ;)
"OHMYGOD! I woke up this morning and I'm OVULATING! OHMYGOD I'm SHAKING!!"
I emailed her back with "I TOLD YOU SO! GET ON IT!!!"
She said that her and Charlie had been talking the night before, and they had kinda talked about how maybe her dad could give them a nudge in the right direction.... and then all the sudden, the next morning, to have her ovulating according to the Clear Blue Easy monitor.... Her mom, Linda definitely said it was a blessing, which it is.
So now, in the circle of life, where a death has occurred, so must a birth.
Believe me, we ALL needed to hear this good news, despite her saying earlier this month that she wouldn't tell anyone if she even ovulated. *l* We all just needed to know that good things can still happen.
So cross your fingers and toes. I'll start the baby blanket to get a head start. ;)
Monday, July 2, 2007
In Memory
Grandma Linda, Grandpa Gary, and Alli (about a year and a half ago)Man Dies In Boating Accident Near Lake Sturgeon(WCCO) A man is dead after a fatal boating accident on
Island Lake near Sturgeon Lake, Minn. Wednesday.The accident happened around 4:30 p.m.Gerhardt Pfeifer, 64, of
Sandstone, Minn. was attempting to get water out of a boat by pulling the plug
and driving rapidly around the lake.Witnesses said Pfeifer was driving around in circles very fast,
hit a wave and was thrown into the water.One witness got into a pontoon and went out to try to save
Pfeifer, but was unable to bring him up on the boat by himself. He held Pfeifer
above water until help arrived.Once on the pontoon, CPR was performed and
Pfeifer was brought to shore where an ambulance was waiting.He was immediately transported to Mercy Hospital in Moose Lake
where he was pronounced dead.Pfeifer was not wearing a life jacket at the time
of the accident.
What they didn't tell you is that he was my best friend's dad and she and Charlie and his wife saw the whole thing happen. And that it was Charlie & Kathleen's boat that he flipped accidentally, causing him to fall out and drown. Because, despite his 20 some years in the military as a medic and then later as a Physicians Assistant, and later, his service at the Federal Correctional Institution and Duluth Camp, he didn't know how to swim.
If you know me, I've told you what happened. I've told you how I had the dubious honor of driving Linda, Kathleen, and her grandmother Margie in the very van that Gary had helped me pick out 5-6 months ago....never knowing that I would one day be driving behind the hearse that carried his body.
At one point, Kathleen asked how fast I was going. The hearse kept slowing down and speeding up as it followed the firetruck escorting us. Kathleen laughed and said it was just as Dad drove; he would never set the cruise.
I laughed and said "I don't know about you guys, but I think it'd be kinda rude to pass a hearse..." and Kathleen chimed in with "....and flip him off as you go!" So for a moment of time, giggles filled the van from all of us. And then we remembered why we were there.
Gary was what I imagined my dad would be if he was still around. He was a good man, a wonderful dad, and a fantastic grandfather. He and Linda always treated Alli and I as one of their own - and they still have. It was a long and harrowing weekend.
When Kathleen called she was hysterical and Dave couldn't get a word out. I called her from where I was, and then she passed the phone to Charlie who asked, "How soon can you get here?"
We drove up to Sandstone on Wednesday night and clustered with the other gathered peoples - family and some friends. Thursday was a blur. Friday was the wake, with the funeral on Saturday.
Alli cried. She wasn't scared by Gary's body in the casket. She was sad. She knew he'd never be around to play horsey with her and Dillon again, not tease her again about bugs, or be around to fix her bike tires and watch her play in the playhouse. No more Grandpa Gary.
Maybe I'll talk about this more later. Maybe I won't. I was there and present for the family all weekend. I think now is my time to finish grieving in private.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Good thing I'm getting a new lappy
While Dave and I were debating ways to load a funny video of Alli to YouTube or wait, I decided to head downstairs and let him finish his technical ways to see if he could figure it out.
I came back like half an hour later and attempted to start up my computer. Lo and behold, I got a black screen of DEATH. AAAHHHHHH!!
Of course I turned and ran right to Dave.
"Honey! Honey! My lappy won't load up! What were you doing??"
He looks at me and tells me he just shut down the programs and gave up trying to load Alli's video. He has no clue why it won't even give me the welcome log-in screen.
After a few minutes of conversation I decide to go back downstairs and watch a movie and clean. He is deep in thought.
Two hours later I come back upstairs, ready for bed and he is STILL working on my laptop. Sweet, sweet Geek.
My sweet and loving geek stayed up until 2am to turn my laptop into Frankenstein and brought it back to life. He came to bed, I was barely awake; "honey, I saved your stuff!"
"Stuff" to me means that he just saved the last 7 years of digital files, pictures of my deceased sister, Andrea, Alli's life beginning at age 2.... so many wonderful memories. My sweet and loving man.
And so I say, after he brought it back to life and now has a back up system set for me to back up my lappy to a place on the web constantly unless I turn it off, it's a darn good thing he is who he is .... AND that I'm getting a new lappy. tee hee.
I came back like half an hour later and attempted to start up my computer. Lo and behold, I got a black screen of DEATH. AAAHHHHHH!!
Of course I turned and ran right to Dave.
"Honey! Honey! My lappy won't load up! What were you doing??"
He looks at me and tells me he just shut down the programs and gave up trying to load Alli's video. He has no clue why it won't even give me the welcome log-in screen.
After a few minutes of conversation I decide to go back downstairs and watch a movie and clean. He is deep in thought.
Two hours later I come back upstairs, ready for bed and he is STILL working on my laptop. Sweet, sweet Geek.
My sweet and loving geek stayed up until 2am to turn my laptop into Frankenstein and brought it back to life. He came to bed, I was barely awake; "honey, I saved your stuff!"
"Stuff" to me means that he just saved the last 7 years of digital files, pictures of my deceased sister, Andrea, Alli's life beginning at age 2.... so many wonderful memories. My sweet and loving man.
And so I say, after he brought it back to life and now has a back up system set for me to back up my lappy to a place on the web constantly unless I turn it off, it's a darn good thing he is who he is .... AND that I'm getting a new lappy. tee hee.
I Sneezed
Sunday was hulaciously BUSY for me. I decided to tackle Alli's room to rearrange her furniture and give her more space to play on the floor if she wanted to. Her closet was a nightmare with Blue's Clues and Barbies all over the place, scattered with the occasional horse or horse accessory here and there.
I had just moved her bed from one wall to another, after vacuuming and cleaning our guinea pig, Chloe's, cage when I sneezed. I'd been waiting to head to the potty, but figured I could do it in a bit - after I moved her toys out of the closet.
I sneezed and I peed myself.
Now, take a minute, and hold your absolute horror. The last time I peed myself I was like 5 months pregnant and I was laughing so hard I peed down my leg.
Luckily, it wasn't a free flowing fountain this time, but it was enough for me to need new underwear AND new shorts. Yeah. Sad, eh?
I have to admit, when I told Dave the look on his face was priceless and we laughed together. I guess my muscles are weaker than I thought. Makes me think something's wrong with my body. Something *more* could be wrong, I mean. tee hee hee
This made me question myself the rest of the day. Heading to go to the bathroom...again.
I had just moved her bed from one wall to another, after vacuuming and cleaning our guinea pig, Chloe's, cage when I sneezed. I'd been waiting to head to the potty, but figured I could do it in a bit - after I moved her toys out of the closet.
I sneezed and I peed myself.
Now, take a minute, and hold your absolute horror. The last time I peed myself I was like 5 months pregnant and I was laughing so hard I peed down my leg.
Luckily, it wasn't a free flowing fountain this time, but it was enough for me to need new underwear AND new shorts. Yeah. Sad, eh?
I have to admit, when I told Dave the look on his face was priceless and we laughed together. I guess my muscles are weaker than I thought. Makes me think something's wrong with my body. Something *more* could be wrong, I mean. tee hee hee
This made me question myself the rest of the day. Heading to go to the bathroom...again.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Babies
These days right now it seems like everyone I know knows someone who is pregnant or has just given birth....or is about to!
My best friend, Kathleen, and her husband Charlie have gone through multiple resources trying to get pregnant. Kathleen has PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) and has been steadily losing weight on her own for the last year in the hopes it would have a drastically good effect on her fertility.
This month, in precisely 10 days, she *should* begin to ovulate with the assistance of Femara.
And the bitch won't tell me if she does or doesn't ovulate until mid July. ARRRGHHHH! Seriously, I am THE WORST PERSON to wait for surprises!
According to one study she and I found online, nearly 3/4 of all women placed on Femara to encourage fertility conceive within 3 months and carry to term. Wow. Considering this is the first real infertility medication that her new doc has prescribed, I'm astounded and can't WAIT for the outcome! :) As I keep telling her, now that she has a doc that will actually listen to her and work with her on how to conceive, this medication is just the first step in a long line of many that she can try before ever having to touch artificial insemination or in vitro.
So everyone... cross your fingers and toes for Kas & Charlie. They've been married 6 years and trying that entire time. If anyone would be awesome parents it'd be them for sure!
And speaking of my own baby front.... Yeah? See that ticker up there? It says 2 months. Really, it's fibbing a bit. I decided to go with 6 cycles - because by the end of the 6th cycle I have a doc appt with my Hematologist, Dr. Weinshel, and he can give me the all clear-go ahead when I see him July 19th (I think!). Yay.
The other night Kathleen and I were kidding around... imagining having a wedding with both the bride - myself - and the matron attendant - Kathleen - totally prego and with bellies out a foot from our bodies. We laughed ourselves silly. Then I told her that it would serve me right if she delivered on the day of our celebration - just like I was in the hospital having Alli when I was supposed to be her Matron of Honor when they got married. *L* Luckily, our friend Megan stepped up and they quickly altered the hulacious gown for her small stick figure for the wedding instead. Sigh. Always a bride and never a Matron.
My best friend, Kathleen, and her husband Charlie have gone through multiple resources trying to get pregnant. Kathleen has PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) and has been steadily losing weight on her own for the last year in the hopes it would have a drastically good effect on her fertility.
This month, in precisely 10 days, she *should* begin to ovulate with the assistance of Femara.
And the bitch won't tell me if she does or doesn't ovulate until mid July. ARRRGHHHH! Seriously, I am THE WORST PERSON to wait for surprises!
According to one study she and I found online, nearly 3/4 of all women placed on Femara to encourage fertility conceive within 3 months and carry to term. Wow. Considering this is the first real infertility medication that her new doc has prescribed, I'm astounded and can't WAIT for the outcome! :) As I keep telling her, now that she has a doc that will actually listen to her and work with her on how to conceive, this medication is just the first step in a long line of many that she can try before ever having to touch artificial insemination or in vitro.
So everyone... cross your fingers and toes for Kas & Charlie. They've been married 6 years and trying that entire time. If anyone would be awesome parents it'd be them for sure!
And speaking of my own baby front.... Yeah? See that ticker up there? It says 2 months. Really, it's fibbing a bit. I decided to go with 6 cycles - because by the end of the 6th cycle I have a doc appt with my Hematologist, Dr. Weinshel, and he can give me the all clear-go ahead when I see him July 19th (I think!). Yay.
The other night Kathleen and I were kidding around... imagining having a wedding with both the bride - myself - and the matron attendant - Kathleen - totally prego and with bellies out a foot from our bodies. We laughed ourselves silly. Then I told her that it would serve me right if she delivered on the day of our celebration - just like I was in the hospital having Alli when I was supposed to be her Matron of Honor when they got married. *L* Luckily, our friend Megan stepped up and they quickly altered the hulacious gown for her small stick figure for the wedding instead. Sigh. Always a bride and never a Matron.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Weekend of Joy and Pain
Friday night, Beckah came over to hang out and make deeeeelicious pizza burgers. Definitely a keeper of a recipe! We proceeded to gossip until our eyelids grew heavy and we gave up the fight with the Sandman (around 11:30pm). I know. We're sad and pathetic.
Saturday morning I woke up bright and early, packed up Alli and our wonderful Candy Land treats that Miss Beckah has been so sweet to pick up when she drives through St. Paul. Their all-nut bridge mix is my biggest downfall...so far. And they have these cool, sweet-tart like blocks that look like Legos(!!) of all things and get this: they actually DO lock together. A little frosting between the blocks and viola! One awesome, edible decoration. Hmmmm...something to think about.
Anyways, we headed out to Hinckley to meet Charlie and Kathleen to see Pirates 3.
If you get the chance. SEE IT. It's cute - even though it made me cry. SERIOUSLY. And please, WAIT until after all the credits to see what happens "TEN YEARS LATER...". It was bittersweet. But I have to say, because of the last shot of Orlando Bloom, I now think he's kinda cute...of course not as cute as my Dave...but really, it's not like there's any comparison there. ;)
After the movie, having stuffed ourselves with popcorn and candy, we decided to head back to Kathleen & Charlie's house and begin the garden. Oh boy. Muscles I didn't know I had ache! I'm either waddling like a duck or walking like a zombie to compensate for the shooting pain into my legs and behind my thighs. Apparently I need to do more hard labor; walking on the treadmill doesn't make me feel like this!
We of course ended up making the obligatory Wallyworld run around 9pm Saturday and spent far too much time in there looking for things that Alli needs for her summer daycare. Waterproof bag, reusable lunch box - preferred insulated, the cooler blocks, towels for days they spend at the pool....
The next morning was Sunday. We were scheduled to meet with Sue, one of the owners of the Country Garden Retreat at 11:30am.
Kathleen, Alli, and I made it to the location by 11:27am. And waited. And waited some more.
I ended up calling Dave after 10 minutes of sitting there and wandering outside in the beautiful porch/deck areas around the house to get the phone number. Then I called.
Ring Ring....
Voice: Thank you for calling the Dakota Lodge. How may I help you?
Me: Hi, is Sue available?
Sue: This is Sue.
Me: Hi Sue! This is Witchy Andrews....
Sue: Hi Witchy.... OH CRAP! I'm SO SORRY! You're there at the house! OHMYGOD! I'll be there in 10 minutes!
And then she hung up the phone. Kas and I laughed so hard. This poor woman, who had to 'ave been so busy this weekend because of the MS Bikethon was so harried and just stretched so thin.
Never fear dear reader: Sue was a wonderful guide and apologized profusely while we toured the inside of the house. So many bedrooms and other rooms... incredible lighting and deck space. Just a beautiful, wonderful house. I gave her $500 for the deposit, even though they only ask for $250 - just so we can start paying down on the nearly $2k location fee. But it's SO totally WORTH it.
I have to say, we were cracking up. Alli kept going around and sniffing the closets.
When we had visited Schwyzer Lodge at the Audubon Center, she had talked about how they had "stinky closets" and asked if this place had more stinky closets -- to which we responded "no"...but she kept opening doors and sniffing inside them! She was proud to report to Sue that they had "no stinky closets!"
So we are officially getting hitched as of November 1st, 2008. Rehearsal dinner and Halloween Party will be held the night before on Friday October 31st. Convenient, huh? Party and candy one night, party, candy, and cake with alcohol the next night.... we've got it all planned. And what with 20 beds available at the retreat, anyone too drunk will still be hoofing it back to their own hotel room, but the other, more responsible members of the party and friends may stay at the retreat. Yes, that's me sticking my nose up in the air. I'm going to be hoity toity when I think of the possibilities of people puking on the carpet. *L*
I have a ton more pictures of the inside of the house, but it's mostly bedrooms and bathrooms - pretty much to show Dave how many bathrooms their are, and how I checked the toilets to make sure they were clean. (And yes you can DRINK this water. Neat trick, huh? No, no, no! You purposely misunderstood me... I didn't mean you could drink the toilet water. Just the tap water, in general. And it doesn't smell! Yay!)
I am now going to bed. Forsooth I am tired. No, I have no idea where that word came from. Leave me alone. I'm going to bed. :p
Saturday morning I woke up bright and early, packed up Alli and our wonderful Candy Land treats that Miss Beckah has been so sweet to pick up when she drives through St. Paul. Their all-nut bridge mix is my biggest downfall...so far. And they have these cool, sweet-tart like blocks that look like Legos(!!) of all things and get this: they actually DO lock together. A little frosting between the blocks and viola! One awesome, edible decoration. Hmmmm...something to think about.
Anyways, we headed out to Hinckley to meet Charlie and Kathleen to see Pirates 3.
If you get the chance. SEE IT. It's cute - even though it made me cry. SERIOUSLY. And please, WAIT until after all the credits to see what happens "TEN YEARS LATER...". It was bittersweet. But I have to say, because of the last shot of Orlando Bloom, I now think he's kinda cute...of course not as cute as my Dave...but really, it's not like there's any comparison there. ;)
After the movie, having stuffed ourselves with popcorn and candy, we decided to head back to Kathleen & Charlie's house and begin the garden. Oh boy. Muscles I didn't know I had ache! I'm either waddling like a duck or walking like a zombie to compensate for the shooting pain into my legs and behind my thighs. Apparently I need to do more hard labor; walking on the treadmill doesn't make me feel like this!
We of course ended up making the obligatory Wallyworld run around 9pm Saturday and spent far too much time in there looking for things that Alli needs for her summer daycare. Waterproof bag, reusable lunch box - preferred insulated, the cooler blocks, towels for days they spend at the pool....
The next morning was Sunday. We were scheduled to meet with Sue, one of the owners of the Country Garden Retreat at 11:30am.
Kathleen, Alli, and I made it to the location by 11:27am. And waited. And waited some more.
I ended up calling Dave after 10 minutes of sitting there and wandering outside in the beautiful porch/deck areas around the house to get the phone number. Then I called.
Ring Ring....
Voice: Thank you for calling the Dakota Lodge. How may I help you?
Me: Hi, is Sue available?
Sue: This is Sue.
Me: Hi Sue! This is Witchy Andrews....
Sue: Hi Witchy.... OH CRAP! I'm SO SORRY! You're there at the house! OHMYGOD! I'll be there in 10 minutes!
And then she hung up the phone. Kas and I laughed so hard. This poor woman, who had to 'ave been so busy this weekend because of the MS Bikethon was so harried and just stretched so thin.
Never fear dear reader: Sue was a wonderful guide and apologized profusely while we toured the inside of the house. So many bedrooms and other rooms... incredible lighting and deck space. Just a beautiful, wonderful house. I gave her $500 for the deposit, even though they only ask for $250 - just so we can start paying down on the nearly $2k location fee. But it's SO totally WORTH it.
I have to say, we were cracking up. Alli kept going around and sniffing the closets.
When we had visited Schwyzer Lodge at the Audubon Center, she had talked about how they had "stinky closets" and asked if this place had more stinky closets -- to which we responded "no"...but she kept opening doors and sniffing inside them! She was proud to report to Sue that they had "no stinky closets!"
So we are officially getting hitched as of November 1st, 2008. Rehearsal dinner and Halloween Party will be held the night before on Friday October 31st. Convenient, huh? Party and candy one night, party, candy, and cake with alcohol the next night.... we've got it all planned. And what with 20 beds available at the retreat, anyone too drunk will still be hoofing it back to their own hotel room, but the other, more responsible members of the party and friends may stay at the retreat. Yes, that's me sticking my nose up in the air. I'm going to be hoity toity when I think of the possibilities of people puking on the carpet. *L*
I have a ton more pictures of the inside of the house, but it's mostly bedrooms and bathrooms - pretty much to show Dave how many bathrooms their are, and how I checked the toilets to make sure they were clean. (And yes you can DRINK this water. Neat trick, huh? No, no, no! You purposely misunderstood me... I didn't mean you could drink the toilet water. Just the tap water, in general. And it doesn't smell! Yay!)
I am now going to bed. Forsooth I am tired. No, I have no idea where that word came from. Leave me alone. I'm going to bed. :p
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Hopes and Dreams
I've had my share of hopes and potential dreams being dashed. I'm certainly no stranger to disappointment.
However, I was absolutely CRUSHED when Dave, Alli, Kathleen, and Kathleen's mom Linda went with me to Schwyzer Lodge and we saw up close and personal what it was like.
The outside is well kept and charming in a rustic way - just what we wanted. The grounds themselves, not so much.
Rotted logs that had once been used as camp 'chairs' for the visitors sat on the side of the house, while more rotted picnic tables were available for use a bit further down the side. No room for a tent. And the mosquitoes. Have I told you how they loved us?
From the first opening of the door, the musty, damp smell assailed me and made me want to vomit for a second. Then I took a deep breath and thought of candles. Lots and lots of scented candles and opening all the windows to let them air out for a very VERY long time. I was giving myself a pep talk in my head, "I can do this! WE can do this!" as I would glance furtively over at Dave every so often to try and catch his expression.
The downstairs was fine - just smelly. Nice large living room and dining room, and three season porch. We could have worked with that. The kitchen was clean, but small, the bathroom generally clean and a nice big shower with a fold down corner seat. I was all OVER that.
Then we toured upstairs.
No lights in the main entry. The three showers upstairs are DISGUSTING. There was some serious orange shite on the bottom of the stall showers. Rust? Residue of some kind? Who knows. I do remember seeing a sign that went on talking about how the water was fine to wash with, bathe in, but please don't drink... oh yeah, and don't mind the smell.
Smell? Smell?! Water isn't supposed to have a smell!
The bunk beds were another joke on me. Dave and Kathleen barely touched one set of them and they WIGGLED so bad I thought they were going to dismantle right then and there! Cobwebs were abundant in the dark rooms of the dorms. A singular fan sat by it's lonesome on a 60's table. A mattress was missing from the top of one of the bunk beds.
It's the creature comforts I can't give up, ya know? Like a MATTRESS.
So, so, SO disappointing. So disappointing I haven't posted pics. It's just too depressing.
The one bright spot in the tour is the lady who showed us the Lodge, Sandy, let us know that while she wasn't trying to dissuade us, if we wanted something a bit newer, we could always check out the Country Garden Retreat just down the road a few miles.
We all looked at one another, thanked Sandy, and off to Hinckley we jaunted.
Country Garden Retreat is a hundred times BETTER than Schwyzer - even if you're just looking at the pictures on the website alone. It's amazing! Dave and I recalculated. It would be $600 more than Schwyzer, sleep more people, and is a much newer building with manicured lawns and enormous space. Dude, we were sold.
I've been in contact with the proprietors Sue and Steve and will be meeting them on Sunday at 11:30 to view the site. Cross your fingers and toes for us. I don't think I could handle getting let down again after falling in love with a location.
However, I was absolutely CRUSHED when Dave, Alli, Kathleen, and Kathleen's mom Linda went with me to Schwyzer Lodge and we saw up close and personal what it was like.
The outside is well kept and charming in a rustic way - just what we wanted. The grounds themselves, not so much.
Rotted logs that had once been used as camp 'chairs' for the visitors sat on the side of the house, while more rotted picnic tables were available for use a bit further down the side. No room for a tent. And the mosquitoes. Have I told you how they loved us?
From the first opening of the door, the musty, damp smell assailed me and made me want to vomit for a second. Then I took a deep breath and thought of candles. Lots and lots of scented candles and opening all the windows to let them air out for a very VERY long time. I was giving myself a pep talk in my head, "I can do this! WE can do this!" as I would glance furtively over at Dave every so often to try and catch his expression.
The downstairs was fine - just smelly. Nice large living room and dining room, and three season porch. We could have worked with that. The kitchen was clean, but small, the bathroom generally clean and a nice big shower with a fold down corner seat. I was all OVER that.
Then we toured upstairs.
No lights in the main entry. The three showers upstairs are DISGUSTING. There was some serious orange shite on the bottom of the stall showers. Rust? Residue of some kind? Who knows. I do remember seeing a sign that went on talking about how the water was fine to wash with, bathe in, but please don't drink... oh yeah, and don't mind the smell.
Smell? Smell?! Water isn't supposed to have a smell!
The bunk beds were another joke on me. Dave and Kathleen barely touched one set of them and they WIGGLED so bad I thought they were going to dismantle right then and there! Cobwebs were abundant in the dark rooms of the dorms. A singular fan sat by it's lonesome on a 60's table. A mattress was missing from the top of one of the bunk beds.
It's the creature comforts I can't give up, ya know? Like a MATTRESS.
So, so, SO disappointing. So disappointing I haven't posted pics. It's just too depressing.
The one bright spot in the tour is the lady who showed us the Lodge, Sandy, let us know that while she wasn't trying to dissuade us, if we wanted something a bit newer, we could always check out the Country Garden Retreat just down the road a few miles.
We all looked at one another, thanked Sandy, and off to Hinckley we jaunted.
Country Garden Retreat is a hundred times BETTER than Schwyzer - even if you're just looking at the pictures on the website alone. It's amazing! Dave and I recalculated. It would be $600 more than Schwyzer, sleep more people, and is a much newer building with manicured lawns and enormous space. Dude, we were sold.
I've been in contact with the proprietors Sue and Steve and will be meeting them on Sunday at 11:30 to view the site. Cross your fingers and toes for us. I don't think I could handle getting let down again after falling in love with a location.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Engagement... Ring? Laptop? PDA?
As Dave has seen the exchange rate from US to Ireland hit the toilet and circle the bowl a few times, he has been having second thoughts about my engagement ring. It's now more than $2k US dollars just for the ring, alone. It was around $1400 about 6 months ago, but did he buy it then? NoOOOooOOOooooo... of course not.
About 3 weeks ago, I killed the 6 year old PDA that Dave had given me for my eBooks. Have I mentioned lately how much I love eBooks? You pay $5.99 more or less, and you can download the newest bestseller using Mobipocket (LOVE!) and read it the same day without leaving the comfort of your home, or ordering the physical book online and then paying for shipping&handling. That's just annoying. When I order a book, I want to read it NOW.
I was packing up the PDA to take it home and it seriously just slipped from my hands and it's protective case and slammed to the floor, hitting the metal foot under my work desk. Ow. I knew it wasn't going to be pretty. Sure enough, the screen was sliced diagonally in half. I brought it home, depressed, distressed, and wholly miserable and sorry. Kindly enough, Dave was glad I was okay - apparently the liquid inside the LCD screen is poisonous and could have leaked out. Ew.
So since then, I've been PDA-less.
Yesterday he brought up the idea of possibly getting me a lesser engagement sparkly ring and also giving me a tricked out PDA. I seriously considered it. If they can engrave the words "Will you marry me?" on it, why the heck not? I took the old one everywhere with me... so I'm certain the new one would follow me, too. What a way to announce you're engaged, eh.
Tonight it was the "Honey, we could always get you a brand new lappy...." line. Now that has me in it's grips, too. I would SO LOVE a new laptop - something less heavy, and with more memory that doesn't freak out on me every time I try to play something from YouTube on here. Again, I told him I would still require a small sparkly ring with the tricked out laptop. And again, the laptop would have to have the words "Will you marry me?" engraved on it somewhere noticeable. Talk about a technology heirloom.
The fact that I would consider any of the items and down grade my ring should speak volumes.
About 3 weeks ago, I killed the 6 year old PDA that Dave had given me for my eBooks. Have I mentioned lately how much I love eBooks? You pay $5.99 more or less, and you can download the newest bestseller using Mobipocket (LOVE!) and read it the same day without leaving the comfort of your home, or ordering the physical book online and then paying for shipping&handling. That's just annoying. When I order a book, I want to read it NOW.
I was packing up the PDA to take it home and it seriously just slipped from my hands and it's protective case and slammed to the floor, hitting the metal foot under my work desk. Ow. I knew it wasn't going to be pretty. Sure enough, the screen was sliced diagonally in half. I brought it home, depressed, distressed, and wholly miserable and sorry. Kindly enough, Dave was glad I was okay - apparently the liquid inside the LCD screen is poisonous and could have leaked out. Ew.
So since then, I've been PDA-less.
Yesterday he brought up the idea of possibly getting me a lesser engagement sparkly ring and also giving me a tricked out PDA. I seriously considered it. If they can engrave the words "Will you marry me?" on it, why the heck not? I took the old one everywhere with me... so I'm certain the new one would follow me, too. What a way to announce you're engaged, eh.
Tonight it was the "Honey, we could always get you a brand new lappy...." line. Now that has me in it's grips, too. I would SO LOVE a new laptop - something less heavy, and with more memory that doesn't freak out on me every time I try to play something from YouTube on here. Again, I told him I would still require a small sparkly ring with the tricked out laptop. And again, the laptop would have to have the words "Will you marry me?" engraved on it somewhere noticeable. Talk about a technology heirloom.
The fact that I would consider any of the items and down grade my ring should speak volumes.
We are geeks.
I think....
We may have found our officiant.
Since Dave and I are not active members of any coven(s), and preferred to be solitary eclectic as unattached people, we wondered who would be able to officiate at our ceremony who would possibly understand where we were at in our lives.
Recently, we've been discussing going to services at the Lake Harriet Spiritual Community Center (hey, any place that has a Psychic Fair has got to be down wi' da Wiccans), not only for us and our growth, but also so Alli can experience other children in families just like ours. It's something we'll be looking into further.
Anyways, I had emailed a few different officiants last week to see if anyone would respond - including the current officiant for Lake Harriet. Nothing. Not a peep nor a phone call.
Monday morning at about 2am I sent a message on one officiant's web page requesting consultation information, giving Dave's and my spiritual path; thinking "Heck, it's probably another dead end."
Lo and behold, Reverend Leslie contacted me back with:
"Dear Dave & Witchy,
Greetings! Thank you for contacting me about your ceremony, and congratulations! It is always an honor for me when people of kindred spirituality allow me to assist in creating their celebration. I would love to hear what you have in mind as far as a variation on handfasting. Let's talk soon...I have some nice material that I have written for other Wiccan and Druidic ceremonies and I would love to share ideas. November 1st...how exciting!
As far as the Tarot readings for your guests, this added invitation makes your email to me twice as sweet. I love the tarot. The cost for having me there would depend on what sort of readings you are interested in and how many of your friends & family you think would want a reading. I find it difficult to do any sort of real reading in less than twenty minutes. I have on a few occasions done very short "mini-readings" which are,of necessity, more light and entertaining (usually for fundraising festivals). So if you want to offer people a serious reading it might just come down to time...I would be able to read for three people maximum each hour, so for half of your guests it would take seven hours.
It may be easier to discuss these ideas live!
Will you give me a call? I look forward to hearing from you!
Leslie (XXX)XXX-XXXX"
Okay, now seriously, how warm and welcoming is THAT to open in your email inbox??
I just responded back to her about an hour ago letting her know our story, and giving some other information, asking when was a good time to call her. I hate feeling like I'm intruding on a person when I call after 7pm. Especially one you'd like to hire.
I'm sure she'll mail back soon... I would love to have her do mini-readings for those who would like one. Now all I need is a psychic and/or mayhaps a palm reader.
I know, I know. We're not all that normal. Who cares. :)
Since Dave and I are not active members of any coven(s), and preferred to be solitary eclectic as unattached people, we wondered who would be able to officiate at our ceremony who would possibly understand where we were at in our lives.
Recently, we've been discussing going to services at the Lake Harriet Spiritual Community Center (hey, any place that has a Psychic Fair has got to be down wi' da Wiccans), not only for us and our growth, but also so Alli can experience other children in families just like ours. It's something we'll be looking into further.
Anyways, I had emailed a few different officiants last week to see if anyone would respond - including the current officiant for Lake Harriet. Nothing. Not a peep nor a phone call.
Monday morning at about 2am I sent a message on one officiant's web page requesting consultation information, giving Dave's and my spiritual path; thinking "Heck, it's probably another dead end."
Lo and behold, Reverend Leslie contacted me back with:
"Dear Dave & Witchy,
Greetings! Thank you for contacting me about your ceremony, and congratulations! It is always an honor for me when people of kindred spirituality allow me to assist in creating their celebration. I would love to hear what you have in mind as far as a variation on handfasting. Let's talk soon...I have some nice material that I have written for other Wiccan and Druidic ceremonies and I would love to share ideas. November 1st...how exciting!
As far as the Tarot readings for your guests, this added invitation makes your email to me twice as sweet. I love the tarot. The cost for having me there would depend on what sort of readings you are interested in and how many of your friends & family you think would want a reading. I find it difficult to do any sort of real reading in less than twenty minutes. I have on a few occasions done very short "mini-readings" which are,of necessity, more light and entertaining (usually for fundraising festivals). So if you want to offer people a serious reading it might just come down to time...I would be able to read for three people maximum each hour, so for half of your guests it would take seven hours.
It may be easier to discuss these ideas live!
Will you give me a call? I look forward to hearing from you!
Leslie (XXX)XXX-XXXX"
Okay, now seriously, how warm and welcoming is THAT to open in your email inbox??
I just responded back to her about an hour ago letting her know our story, and giving some other information, asking when was a good time to call her. I hate feeling like I'm intruding on a person when I call after 7pm. Especially one you'd like to hire.
I'm sure she'll mail back soon... I would love to have her do mini-readings for those who would like one. Now all I need is a psychic and/or mayhaps a palm reader.
I know, I know. We're not all that normal. Who cares. :)
Monday, May 28, 2007
Wedding/Handfasting Update
As some of you who read my blog know, I have found the place that I think we should unite. It's a nice little lodge/house situated off the Audubon Preservation Center between Sandstone and Hinckley, MN.
Good ol' Schwyzer Lodge.
To quote:
"Schwyzer Lodge
The historic Schwyzer Lodge is available for rental for your seasonal family fun. Situated on the shores of Grindstone Lake, this beautiful, charming lodge is an ideal property for a quiet getaway for family and friends. The Lodge has four bedrooms and can sleep up to 14 people. A fully equipped kitchen, fireplace in the living room, three bathrooms and a large screened porch facing the lake make up some of the amenities of this secluded retreat. Plus, you have access to over 530 acres of Wildlife Sanctuary."
I don't know...I just saw it online, and it felt right. I can't wait to see it in person this coming weekend.
Yep. Dave is even going to take some time off this weekend to go and see it with us. Of course I've asked Kathleen and Charlie to come along too - Kathleen is one of the attendants to call quarters for us.
I also asked Beckah if she would so honor us to call quarter; I would love to have my brother Alex call a third quarter, but well...we'll see if our parents will allow him. That leaves a fourth quarter personless. Hm.
Josh, my buddy from work who has a partner with him in a catering business, suggested that he, his girlfriend, Janan his partner, myself and Dave all sit down to dinner and hammer out some details for the cuisine. Dave and I are thinking hearty, down to earth food - lamb stew, veggie stew, artesian breads & cheeses,and possibly a roast for the main meal with the typical vegetable accoutrement, followed by....cake.
Now, the cake has been interesting. When Beckah came over to visit Friday night, Dave and I finally hammered out what we *think* we want. Waning, Full, and waxing moons. The two half moons will be two layer chocolate cake with strawberry filling? Maybe? While the full moon we'd like to be three layers: top layer vanilla, followed by pumpkin butter filling, then spice cake layer, more pumpkin butter, and another layer of vanilla cake. Butter cream frosting as an allover? Yum.
The groom's cake will be shaped like a jack o'lantern and we'd discussed it being carrot cake (without raisins) and cream cheese frosting. Mmmmmmmm....
We shall see. There's just an incredible amount of work to yet go into this. I don't think the planning will seem real until we start paying for things... when money disappears out of your pocket, then things become MUCH more real.
I still haven't had much luck with the gown portion, or what the attendants will wear. I'm not too concerned at the moment. Kathleen might be pregnant or just have had a little one by November 2008 (Gods willing!). I might be in the same boat myself (also, Gods willing!) and would rather wait a bit to see what is going on closer to the wedding.
Mind you, when I was prego with Alli, I didn't gain a pound of fat. But when she was born, I lost 20 in water weight I didn't know I had!
Good ol' Schwyzer Lodge.
To quote:
"Schwyzer Lodge
The historic Schwyzer Lodge is available for rental for your seasonal family fun. Situated on the shores of Grindstone Lake, this beautiful, charming lodge is an ideal property for a quiet getaway for family and friends. The Lodge has four bedrooms and can sleep up to 14 people. A fully equipped kitchen, fireplace in the living room, three bathrooms and a large screened porch facing the lake make up some of the amenities of this secluded retreat. Plus, you have access to over 530 acres of Wildlife Sanctuary."
I don't know...I just saw it online, and it felt right. I can't wait to see it in person this coming weekend.
Yep. Dave is even going to take some time off this weekend to go and see it with us. Of course I've asked Kathleen and Charlie to come along too - Kathleen is one of the attendants to call quarters for us.
I also asked Beckah if she would so honor us to call quarter; I would love to have my brother Alex call a third quarter, but well...we'll see if our parents will allow him. That leaves a fourth quarter personless. Hm.
Josh, my buddy from work who has a partner with him in a catering business, suggested that he, his girlfriend, Janan his partner, myself and Dave all sit down to dinner and hammer out some details for the cuisine. Dave and I are thinking hearty, down to earth food - lamb stew, veggie stew, artesian breads & cheeses,and possibly a roast for the main meal with the typical vegetable accoutrement, followed by....cake.
Now, the cake has been interesting. When Beckah came over to visit Friday night, Dave and I finally hammered out what we *think* we want. Waning, Full, and waxing moons. The two half moons will be two layer chocolate cake with strawberry filling? Maybe? While the full moon we'd like to be three layers: top layer vanilla, followed by pumpkin butter filling, then spice cake layer, more pumpkin butter, and another layer of vanilla cake. Butter cream frosting as an allover? Yum.
The groom's cake will be shaped like a jack o'lantern and we'd discussed it being carrot cake (without raisins) and cream cheese frosting. Mmmmmmmm....
We shall see. There's just an incredible amount of work to yet go into this. I don't think the planning will seem real until we start paying for things... when money disappears out of your pocket, then things become MUCH more real.
I still haven't had much luck with the gown portion, or what the attendants will wear. I'm not too concerned at the moment. Kathleen might be pregnant or just have had a little one by November 2008 (Gods willing!). I might be in the same boat myself (also, Gods willing!) and would rather wait a bit to see what is going on closer to the wedding.
Mind you, when I was prego with Alli, I didn't gain a pound of fat. But when she was born, I lost 20 in water weight I didn't know I had!
Magick Points
Dave and I have implemented a system where Alli can earn "Magick Points" - it's basically trying to teach herself self-control, and internal checks and balances.
He's taught her breathing techniques to help her curb her attitude and the yelling that's been happening for the past few months that we were at a loss as to how to deal with it. It's been working, somewhat.
Each time Alli can tell us how she used her "magick" to calm herself, help someone out, etc, she earns a point towards a real magick lesson - a small ritual, a lesson on a few herbs, time spent casting and explaining a simple spell (a protection spell would be the first one we should be teaching her).
So far, she has earned and lost, and is currently at zero.
Eventually she will have to learn some self control if she wants to learn what we have to teach....
One can only hope!
And I will say this, for all that I don't discuss rituals and BoS information, I tend to be quite private in my practicing of the Craft. I am more than willing to share information with people face to face, but simply posting it online in a blog, I consider to be most reckless. Spells are spells are spells. All magick should be taught and created with great discretion and safety. So you will not find much in the way of me giving out spells and chants to raise the cone of power in this blog. Just a side note.
He's taught her breathing techniques to help her curb her attitude and the yelling that's been happening for the past few months that we were at a loss as to how to deal with it. It's been working, somewhat.
Each time Alli can tell us how she used her "magick" to calm herself, help someone out, etc, she earns a point towards a real magick lesson - a small ritual, a lesson on a few herbs, time spent casting and explaining a simple spell (a protection spell would be the first one we should be teaching her).
So far, she has earned and lost, and is currently at zero.
Eventually she will have to learn some self control if she wants to learn what we have to teach....
One can only hope!
And I will say this, for all that I don't discuss rituals and BoS information, I tend to be quite private in my practicing of the Craft. I am more than willing to share information with people face to face, but simply posting it online in a blog, I consider to be most reckless. Spells are spells are spells. All magick should be taught and created with great discretion and safety. So you will not find much in the way of me giving out spells and chants to raise the cone of power in this blog. Just a side note.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Some days, I wonder
And I'm sure you do, too - why I'm marrying Dave - especially after that last post. Peeing in the sink. Sheesh!
Trust me, he really IS housebroken. You have my word on that.
My nerd is a geek of the highest order. He moved halfway across the country to be with Alli and I, knowing it would be easier for him to move to a telecommute position, than it would be for me to up and leave here and try to find work and affordable daycare in DC. He worships the ground I walk upon - most of the time - and he can be the sweetest man alive (except when he sneaks upstairs and scares the SHITE out of me while I'm doing laundry), and he loves spending time with us. He is the reason Alli will probably grow up and become a scientist after their numerous experiments they've had with dry ice, and the planting/potting that took place yesterday. He teaches her things I could never think to....
But the real reason I love him is his quirks. The way he thinks about things - his thought processes boggle my mind because his brain never seems to sleep. Seriously, he codes in his dreams! But when he is single-minded and focused just on me, or our family, it makes it all worth it. By "all" I mean: All the weekends he has worked, all the hours he has had to eat while fixing code he broke, and trying to help, but not quite knowing what to do and then making a problem bigger. Typical male, that.
Sure, he hasn't remembered to pack my lunch on a consistent basis for the last few weeks, but he's had code and the conference on his mind. He's been right grumpy lately, too while playing catch-up constantly. But when he heads to bed with me and holds me, it makes almost everything all right.
So yep. Mark the calendars.Circle the last week of October and the first week of November. We still haven't narrowed an actual date down yet. I'm hoping that will come with the ring. We've picked caterer (shout out to Josh & Janan!), still searching for a good reception and ceremony location, still need to find a dress, and figure out what the hell kind of theme we're really going for. Piece of cake, eh? Ahhh crappies. We still have to figure out the cake, too. Flowers. Other dresses. Officiant. Does the list ever end? Thank the Gods we have a little less than 18 months left to plan.
Trust me, he really IS housebroken. You have my word on that.
My nerd is a geek of the highest order. He moved halfway across the country to be with Alli and I, knowing it would be easier for him to move to a telecommute position, than it would be for me to up and leave here and try to find work and affordable daycare in DC. He worships the ground I walk upon - most of the time - and he can be the sweetest man alive (except when he sneaks upstairs and scares the SHITE out of me while I'm doing laundry), and he loves spending time with us. He is the reason Alli will probably grow up and become a scientist after their numerous experiments they've had with dry ice, and the planting/potting that took place yesterday. He teaches her things I could never think to....
But the real reason I love him is his quirks. The way he thinks about things - his thought processes boggle my mind because his brain never seems to sleep. Seriously, he codes in his dreams! But when he is single-minded and focused just on me, or our family, it makes it all worth it. By "all" I mean: All the weekends he has worked, all the hours he has had to eat while fixing code he broke, and trying to help, but not quite knowing what to do and then making a problem bigger. Typical male, that.
Sure, he hasn't remembered to pack my lunch on a consistent basis for the last few weeks, but he's had code and the conference on his mind. He's been right grumpy lately, too while playing catch-up constantly. But when he heads to bed with me and holds me, it makes almost everything all right.
So yep. Mark the calendars.Circle the last week of October and the first week of November. We still haven't narrowed an actual date down yet. I'm hoping that will come with the ring. We've picked caterer (shout out to Josh & Janan!), still searching for a good reception and ceremony location, still need to find a dress, and figure out what the hell kind of theme we're really going for. Piece of cake, eh? Ahhh crappies. We still have to figure out the cake, too. Flowers. Other dresses. Officiant. Does the list ever end? Thank the Gods we have a little less than 18 months left to plan.
Hot Fuzz and other tales
Dave and I have 4 bathrooms.
One on the main level, two upstairs, and one in the family room in the basement. Remember this. It comes in handy later.
Last night, in anticipation of Mother's Day and me kinda bugging him for a 'date night' movie, he was able to find "Hot Fuzz".
First off, if you liked "Shaun of the Dead" (based off American zombie films), you'll love "Hot Fuzz" (based off American cop-buddy movies like "Bad Boys") - same quirky, slapstick Brit humor that caricatures American movies perfectly. We loved it - two thumbs up!
Around 2am, we've finished "Hot Fuzz" and are onto "The Prestige" (which I have to tell you, I thought it was pretty stupid - seriously, magicians.... excuse me, ILLUSIONISTS, out for revenge against one another, and it turns out at the end Illusionist A actually has a twin that you've never heard tell of the entire movie and that's how he does impossible tricks).
Well, I really have to pee and I head to the bathroom and tell Dave to keep the movie rolling because I know what's going to happen - the wife is going to drown during a water chamber escape sequence (which sets up the vengeance scenario). He stops the movie anyways and says he has to pee so bad, I'd better hurry up.
I tell him, "Go on! We've got 3 other bathrooms and a sink in this one!"
He comes back with "Don't you dare me...."
Keep in mind, we are both tired, a bit cocky, and I'm a tad cranky right now with my period and all... "I dare you to pee in the sink!" flies out of my mouth.
I laugh nervously and he looks at me, and proceeds to cross to the sink and pee in it.
I don't think I've been so shocked at him about anything as I was last night. Seriously, who pees in a sink???? Walk the 50 feet upstairs to the other bathroom and go!!
Ugh. I made him clean up his mess - yes, the area has been sanitized.
And then I told him I would have to blog about it.
Never dare your mate after midnight to do anything. They just might follow through. Oy.
One on the main level, two upstairs, and one in the family room in the basement. Remember this. It comes in handy later.
Last night, in anticipation of Mother's Day and me kinda bugging him for a 'date night' movie, he was able to find "Hot Fuzz".
First off, if you liked "Shaun of the Dead" (based off American zombie films), you'll love "Hot Fuzz" (based off American cop-buddy movies like "Bad Boys") - same quirky, slapstick Brit humor that caricatures American movies perfectly. We loved it - two thumbs up!
Around 2am, we've finished "Hot Fuzz" and are onto "The Prestige" (which I have to tell you, I thought it was pretty stupid - seriously, magicians.... excuse me, ILLUSIONISTS, out for revenge against one another, and it turns out at the end Illusionist A actually has a twin that you've never heard tell of the entire movie and that's how he does impossible tricks).
Well, I really have to pee and I head to the bathroom and tell Dave to keep the movie rolling because I know what's going to happen - the wife is going to drown during a water chamber escape sequence (which sets up the vengeance scenario). He stops the movie anyways and says he has to pee so bad, I'd better hurry up.
I tell him, "Go on! We've got 3 other bathrooms and a sink in this one!"
He comes back with "Don't you dare me...."
Keep in mind, we are both tired, a bit cocky, and I'm a tad cranky right now with my period and all... "I dare you to pee in the sink!" flies out of my mouth.
I laugh nervously and he looks at me, and proceeds to cross to the sink and pee in it.
I don't think I've been so shocked at him about anything as I was last night. Seriously, who pees in a sink???? Walk the 50 feet upstairs to the other bathroom and go!!
Ugh. I made him clean up his mess - yes, the area has been sanitized.
And then I told him I would have to blog about it.
Never dare your mate after midnight to do anything. They just might follow through. Oy.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
What have I been up to?
Dave made it to his Minneapolis-based web developers conference "CF: Objective"; at which he had such a blast it's scary. It ran the dates of May 3th-6th. Kathleen came from Sandstone to help with getting Alli off the school and picking her up from the bus. It was good to see her and I know Alli loved having Aunty Kathleen around. :)
Seriously, the first night at Sofitel (Thursday), I called him after midnight and he was half in the bag. Funny. He never drinks at home....
The second day (Friday) that I talked to him, he told me he was hanging out with a bunch of old, married web developers for the most part, and was in Nerd Heaven. (Let me take this chance to thank Jared, apparently the main organizer, at CF: Objective--- Thank you for keeping him safe and sound, and letting him hang around other nerds just as cool as you. :))
Saturday, I went shopping to a bunch of new age shops with Beckah (we missed you Jenn!) and Alli, who had a great time. Costco came first, and then the delicious Little Oven. Yum! Stonehenge, Eye of Horus, and Evenstar were quite nice little shops. We are planning an extended treasure hunt in June/July for additional shops...
Work is work is work. I seem to be inundated lately with requests that are time consuming and quite repetitive. I am still waiting to hear about one of the other positions I applied for. It would have been nice to know by this Friday like the supervisor has promised, but for the grace of the Gods go I... sigh.
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This weekend I am experimenting with food. Friday night Jenn and Beckah came over (Alli was a terror while Jenn attempted to teach her the names of the strings. Oy.
I attempted to make red rice with chicken - arroz con pollo. Most of it came out good, but the rice on the very bottom was a bit crunchy. I suppose as long as everyone lived past the rice and chicken, it's all good. A really yummy fruit salad was our dessert...
And then... they went home and I passed out.
Alli and I were going to Sandstone but I just didn't feel like driving an hour and a half. Tired, crabby, crampy...yuck. Ladies, we've all been there I'm sure. No one wants to move when they feel like every motion could cause a flood in your lower region. *cringes*
Saturday we hit Target though and finally picked up some more potting soil and pots to plant various seedlings Alli has brought home from school.
As a family we tilled the soil in the pots, re-potted Alli's tree she received from school for Arbor Day, planted some sweet pea seeds, and some other things. Dave really got into it and is now putting out terrarium style bags with tomato seeds and chili seeds in them in hope they will sprout for us to plant.
This is why we need a place with land. Our balcony can only cut it for so long with plastic pots and window planters. We do have green thumbs and would like to plant and nurture things to watch them grow. No matter how entrenched in technology that he and I may seem to be, we do have that nurturing spirit we would like to pass onto our children. One thing is certain; we will be having our own garden wherever we may buy a house. I will demand it. :)
Seriously, the first night at Sofitel (Thursday), I called him after midnight and he was half in the bag. Funny. He never drinks at home....
The second day (Friday) that I talked to him, he told me he was hanging out with a bunch of old, married web developers for the most part, and was in Nerd Heaven. (Let me take this chance to thank Jared, apparently the main organizer, at CF: Objective--- Thank you for keeping him safe and sound, and letting him hang around other nerds just as cool as you. :))
Saturday, I went shopping to a bunch of new age shops with Beckah (we missed you Jenn!) and Alli, who had a great time. Costco came first, and then the delicious Little Oven. Yum! Stonehenge, Eye of Horus, and Evenstar were quite nice little shops. We are planning an extended treasure hunt in June/July for additional shops...
Work is work is work. I seem to be inundated lately with requests that are time consuming and quite repetitive. I am still waiting to hear about one of the other positions I applied for. It would have been nice to know by this Friday like the supervisor has promised, but for the grace of the Gods go I... sigh.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
This weekend I am experimenting with food. Friday night Jenn and Beckah came over (Alli was a terror while Jenn attempted to teach her the names of the strings. Oy.
I attempted to make red rice with chicken - arroz con pollo. Most of it came out good, but the rice on the very bottom was a bit crunchy. I suppose as long as everyone lived past the rice and chicken, it's all good. A really yummy fruit salad was our dessert...
And then... they went home and I passed out.
Alli and I were going to Sandstone but I just didn't feel like driving an hour and a half. Tired, crabby, crampy...yuck. Ladies, we've all been there I'm sure. No one wants to move when they feel like every motion could cause a flood in your lower region. *cringes*
Saturday we hit Target though and finally picked up some more potting soil and pots to plant various seedlings Alli has brought home from school.
As a family we tilled the soil in the pots, re-potted Alli's tree she received from school for Arbor Day, planted some sweet pea seeds, and some other things. Dave really got into it and is now putting out terrarium style bags with tomato seeds and chili seeds in them in hope they will sprout for us to plant.
This is why we need a place with land. Our balcony can only cut it for so long with plastic pots and window planters. We do have green thumbs and would like to plant and nurture things to watch them grow. No matter how entrenched in technology that he and I may seem to be, we do have that nurturing spirit we would like to pass onto our children. One thing is certain; we will be having our own garden wherever we may buy a house. I will demand it. :)
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
I'm good at taking tests
Did I tell you dear reader that Dave shaved on Saturday?
No, no, not just a simple trim here and there; he shaved his ENTIRE beard/goatee/fumanchu and mustache OFF.
We're talking gone. No more facial hair.
He had tried to explain to me that when he was working years ago, co-workers used to call him 'baby Dave' because without facial hair, he looked so young. I pooh-poohed him and dared him basically to shave it all off.
HOLY SH&*%&%*$!!!
Mind you, he's MY man and I love him and think he's hot, while other people look at me strangely. Without his facial hair he not only looks younger but I think he's *MAJOR HOT* in MY book. *L*
Seriously, I couldn't look at him straight for more than half a day. The first kiss between us, without him having the beard... was weird. It felt like I was cheating on Dave with.... Dave. He joked, saying "Ahh..we'll have to come up with who's name you call out later, baby." and wiggled his eyebrows at me. I just about fainted. *L*
So we had a nice, physical weekend beginning on Sunday because we couldn't very well be physical at Kathleen & Charlie's house - that's just rude for visitors to fool around in their host's house, in my humble opinion.
Needless to say, Dave & I have been exhausted. hee hee hee.
Well, tonight he tells me grudgingly that I passed the test.
The test for what? I ask him.
He stops and says he doesn't know if he should tell me and I have to promise not to get upset with him and to not take it the wrong way.
I agree, all the while thinking in the back of my head that I messed something up, or he's going to tell me that I have a larger ass than Mercury... it could be anything.
He goes on to tell me that his two previous girlfriends FREAKED OUT when he shaved his beard. As in they told him they hated it and for him to NEVER do it again.
And here I am, LOVING it and thinking he's the hottest thing to rock my world in ever, without the facial hair. No wonder his ego .... and other parts... felt larger this weekend!
No, no, not just a simple trim here and there; he shaved his ENTIRE beard/goatee/fumanchu and mustache OFF.
We're talking gone. No more facial hair.
He had tried to explain to me that when he was working years ago, co-workers used to call him 'baby Dave' because without facial hair, he looked so young. I pooh-poohed him and dared him basically to shave it all off.
HOLY SH&*%&%*$!!!
Mind you, he's MY man and I love him and think he's hot, while other people look at me strangely. Without his facial hair he not only looks younger but I think he's *MAJOR HOT* in MY book. *L*
Seriously, I couldn't look at him straight for more than half a day. The first kiss between us, without him having the beard... was weird. It felt like I was cheating on Dave with.... Dave. He joked, saying "Ahh..we'll have to come up with who's name you call out later, baby." and wiggled his eyebrows at me. I just about fainted. *L*
So we had a nice, physical weekend beginning on Sunday because we couldn't very well be physical at Kathleen & Charlie's house - that's just rude for visitors to fool around in their host's house, in my humble opinion.
Needless to say, Dave & I have been exhausted. hee hee hee.
Well, tonight he tells me grudgingly that I passed the test.
The test for what? I ask him.
He stops and says he doesn't know if he should tell me and I have to promise not to get upset with him and to not take it the wrong way.
I agree, all the while thinking in the back of my head that I messed something up, or he's going to tell me that I have a larger ass than Mercury... it could be anything.
He goes on to tell me that his two previous girlfriends FREAKED OUT when he shaved his beard. As in they told him they hated it and for him to NEVER do it again.
And here I am, LOVING it and thinking he's the hottest thing to rock my world in ever, without the facial hair. No wonder his ego .... and other parts... felt larger this weekend!
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Dave is a garbage picker
There was a potluck last Wednesday.
It was decided that I would make granola bars and some No Pudge Fudge Brownies.
Granola bars were made and cooked without issue.
No Pudge Fudge Brownies were in the oven whilst I was working on my parent's website, sitting in Dave's office with him and he was working while listening to music.
I had set the timer.
But I never heard it.
I cremated the No Pudge Fudge Brownies at approximately 8:40 pm on Tuesday night. I was quite PO'ed and felt Dave should have lowered his music. As I quick took them out of the oven, with the scent of misery and burnt fudge dreams in the air, I decided to quickly scrape the pan of what I could and soak it before they hardened up. This I did, and put the charred remains into a piece of random foil and threw it away in the garbage.
Keep in mind, burnt beyond recognition; will taste awful and ashy. In short, nothing good will come of it.
Dave rummages through the kitchen after I've yelled at him for having his music too loud and it burning the brownies. He wonders where I've put them. I tell him they are ruined and are in the garbage.
What does he do?
He goes into the garbage to CHECK.
Secondly, he takes the foil pouch containing the charred remnants OUT of the GARBAGE and starts to check it out, proceeding to EAT part of IT!!!
Men. Boys. Fools. Let's just feed them from the garbage cans from now on I guess. It might save on money.
Ew.
It was decided that I would make granola bars and some No Pudge Fudge Brownies.
Granola bars were made and cooked without issue.
No Pudge Fudge Brownies were in the oven whilst I was working on my parent's website, sitting in Dave's office with him and he was working while listening to music.
I had set the timer.
But I never heard it.
I cremated the No Pudge Fudge Brownies at approximately 8:40 pm on Tuesday night. I was quite PO'ed and felt Dave should have lowered his music. As I quick took them out of the oven, with the scent of misery and burnt fudge dreams in the air, I decided to quickly scrape the pan of what I could and soak it before they hardened up. This I did, and put the charred remains into a piece of random foil and threw it away in the garbage.
Keep in mind, burnt beyond recognition; will taste awful and ashy. In short, nothing good will come of it.
Dave rummages through the kitchen after I've yelled at him for having his music too loud and it burning the brownies. He wonders where I've put them. I tell him they are ruined and are in the garbage.
What does he do?
He goes into the garbage to CHECK.
Secondly, he takes the foil pouch containing the charred remnants OUT of the GARBAGE and starts to check it out, proceeding to EAT part of IT!!!
Men. Boys. Fools. Let's just feed them from the garbage cans from now on I guess. It might save on money.
Ew.
Muffins the Size of a Small Child's Head
My birthday is the 6th. Alli's birthday was Wednesday the 18th; Kathleen's on the 19th, and Kathleen & Charlie's anniversary on the 21st. Oy!
On Wednesday I took a half day off from work to take muffins into Alli's classroom to celebrate her birthday.
They honestly didn't look as big online as they are in reality.
Believe me. I was so frackin' nervous about taking in muffins to 22 kindergartners that I'd never even see, let alone met. I knew cupcakes were expected...or cookies.
To prevent problems I emailed the teacher who said muffins sounded like a wonderful idea. I still couldn't shake the feeling that the muffins might cause a birthday muffin mutiny that would go down in history. It was possible. These kids were capable of anything, in my mind.
Luckily, the kids were WOWed, simply because of the size of the muffins, it was all a success.
Remember when you were little? It was the sheer SIZE of something that got your attention, right? Yeah, well these muffins did the trick. Eighteen chocolate chip, eighteen lemon poppyseed (no, I didn't mention drug testing jokes), and eighteen blueberry. Of course, the chocolate chip went first, and when all was said and done, I only ended up taking 12 muffins home.
Alli had a great time handing them out to her peers though, and their rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" shows how old I am. They've totally messed with the classic "you look like a monkey, and you smell like one, too" ending.
Happy Birthday to you
Cha Cha Cha
Happy Birthday to you
Cha Cha Cha
Happy Birthday dear Alli
Cha Cha Cha
Happy Birthday to you
HI YA KUNG FU,
WE LOVE YOU PIKACHU!
Yikes.
And of course, when she came home she opened her now much loved Legos Princess Belville stables set, her Littlest Pet Shop monkey 'tomagotchi', and other presents.
On Thursday, April 19th was Kathleen's 28th birthday. We decided to have a joint birthday party on Saturday the 21st, like our tradition has become where her family comes over to her house and we all have dinner and yummy, yummy ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. Who can resist?
I had the ABSOLUTE best Wild Rice soup- EVER that Kathleen made along with some wonderfully fragrant bread. Fresh. NICE.
More Littlest Pet Shop gifts later, and a trip to Wal-Mart (don't say it, PLEASE don't say it lol), we went over to visit my folks on Sunday.
I know I mentioned this before, but I am helping my parents set up their e-commerce site online through Sam's Club for their "Mama's Salsa". Truly awesome salsa. No, I'm not linking to it...yet. It's not even halfway done. Dave is assisting in some key elements - like my lack of knowledge with Corel Paint X and PhotoShop in general. So on Sunday we took some good pictures to play with. Got some real cute ones of my younger brother, Alex, eating chips and salsa with Alli as the "Quality Control" picture.
Cute little buggers, huh? My brother Alex and my daughter Alli are the 'beautiful people' in the family. So why not use them. And so now, after another eventful weekend, I try to gather resources and put their salsa website together. Wish me luck... and Dave luck for not killing me as I interrupt him every 15 minutes. hee hee hee. ;)
On Wednesday I took a half day off from work to take muffins into Alli's classroom to celebrate her birthday.
They honestly didn't look as big online as they are in reality.
Believe me. I was so frackin' nervous about taking in muffins to 22 kindergartners that I'd never even see, let alone met. I knew cupcakes were expected...or cookies.
To prevent problems I emailed the teacher who said muffins sounded like a wonderful idea. I still couldn't shake the feeling that the muffins might cause a birthday muffin mutiny that would go down in history. It was possible. These kids were capable of anything, in my mind.
Luckily, the kids were WOWed, simply because of the size of the muffins, it was all a success.
Remember when you were little? It was the sheer SIZE of something that got your attention, right? Yeah, well these muffins did the trick. Eighteen chocolate chip, eighteen lemon poppyseed (no, I didn't mention drug testing jokes), and eighteen blueberry. Of course, the chocolate chip went first, and when all was said and done, I only ended up taking 12 muffins home.
Alli had a great time handing them out to her peers though, and their rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" shows how old I am. They've totally messed with the classic "you look like a monkey, and you smell like one, too" ending.
Happy Birthday to you
Cha Cha Cha
Happy Birthday to you
Cha Cha Cha
Happy Birthday dear Alli
Cha Cha Cha
Happy Birthday to you
HI YA KUNG FU,
WE LOVE YOU PIKACHU!
Yikes.
And of course, when she came home she opened her now much loved Legos Princess Belville stables set, her Littlest Pet Shop monkey 'tomagotchi', and other presents.
On Thursday, April 19th was Kathleen's 28th birthday. We decided to have a joint birthday party on Saturday the 21st, like our tradition has become where her family comes over to her house and we all have dinner and yummy, yummy ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. Who can resist?
I had the ABSOLUTE best Wild Rice soup- EVER that Kathleen made along with some wonderfully fragrant bread. Fresh. NICE.
More Littlest Pet Shop gifts later, and a trip to Wal-Mart (don't say it, PLEASE don't say it lol), we went over to visit my folks on Sunday.
I know I mentioned this before, but I am helping my parents set up their e-commerce site online through Sam's Club for their "Mama's Salsa". Truly awesome salsa. No, I'm not linking to it...yet. It's not even halfway done. Dave is assisting in some key elements - like my lack of knowledge with Corel Paint X and PhotoShop in general. So on Sunday we took some good pictures to play with. Got some real cute ones of my younger brother, Alex, eating chips and salsa with Alli as the "Quality Control" picture.
Cute little buggers, huh? My brother Alex and my daughter Alli are the 'beautiful people' in the family. So why not use them. And so now, after another eventful weekend, I try to gather resources and put their salsa website together. Wish me luck... and Dave luck for not killing me as I interrupt him every 15 minutes. hee hee hee. ;)
Oops Update
Ha!
Good news: On Monday April 16th at about 2pm the Period Fairy came to visit. She stayed for several days. For this, I am grateful. My doctors would have seriously killed me. I would have maimed myself at the very least. No successful baby-making until I've had 3 more cycles.
And... more good news. We got Dave's chromosomal tests back from Methodist Hospital. He has ALL normal chromosomes! YAY! This means that there's really no reason why we can't have a normal baby with 1 head, 10 fingers, 12 toes... wait...? what?? There's only supposed to be 10 fingers and 10 toes??
Alli... let me count those again.... ;)
Good news: On Monday April 16th at about 2pm the Period Fairy came to visit. She stayed for several days. For this, I am grateful. My doctors would have seriously killed me. I would have maimed myself at the very least. No successful baby-making until I've had 3 more cycles.
And... more good news. We got Dave's chromosomal tests back from Methodist Hospital. He has ALL normal chromosomes! YAY! This means that there's really no reason why we can't have a normal baby with 1 head, 10 fingers, 12 toes... wait...? what?? There's only supposed to be 10 fingers and 10 toes??
Alli... let me count those again.... ;)
Sunday, April 15, 2007
even my eye lashes are exhausted
We had a long, fun, interesting weekend where I played tech support to my second parents, Gary & Linda who are Kathleen's dad and mom that have known me since middle school when we moved to Sandstone. I also played computer support for my parents (no, really, don't ask; it involves helping them complete their website and them having malware on their PC). And then we have Kathleen who bought a 5.1 speaker set up and we realized no, she doesn't have a 5.1 soundcard. Oy. My aching head. *L*
Some highlights from the past few days:
I sat down and had a frank talk with Linda about 'the planning' - and if I haven't mentioned it, Dave and I have started looking into what options we have for our Wiccan/Pagan ceremony and any kind of reception. Mind you, there's no ring yet and no, I'm not bitter. It'll happen when least expected. Or he'll forget and remember at the last minute before we actually get married to actually ASK ME and present the shiny bauble.
Anyways, I explained to Linda about how Dave and I are not Christians... which, she kind of blanked for a second and asked what we believed in. I gave her the version of "We're pagan" to forestall any further questions. Sometimes, you just don't want to use the "W" word because, inevitably, it leads to those lovely cliched questions like "Do you worship the Devil?" And I get tired of sighing deeply and gathering my patience to say, "NO! The Devil is a Christian invention!!! HONEST!!"
I can almost guarantee that 95% of the people who will attend the 'reception' will have no clue what we believe in, only thinking that Dave and I are somewhat eccentric. Funny stuff, that.
Some highlights from the past few days:
I sat down and had a frank talk with Linda about 'the planning' - and if I haven't mentioned it, Dave and I have started looking into what options we have for our Wiccan/Pagan ceremony and any kind of reception. Mind you, there's no ring yet and no, I'm not bitter. It'll happen when least expected. Or he'll forget and remember at the last minute before we actually get married to actually ASK ME and present the shiny bauble.
Anyways, I explained to Linda about how Dave and I are not Christians... which, she kind of blanked for a second and asked what we believed in. I gave her the version of "We're pagan" to forestall any further questions. Sometimes, you just don't want to use the "W" word because, inevitably, it leads to those lovely cliched questions like "Do you worship the Devil?" And I get tired of sighing deeply and gathering my patience to say, "NO! The Devil is a Christian invention!!! HONEST!!"
I can almost guarantee that 95% of the people who will attend the 'reception' will have no clue what we believe in, only thinking that Dave and I are somewhat eccentric. Funny stuff, that.
Friday, April 6, 2007
My Birthday
I turned 28 today - this evening, if memory serves, at about 6:50pm.
I don't really feel any older at this moment than I did this morning. Over the years I've learned not to expect too much. I mean, it's not like I woke up this morning to streamers and balloons and a massive rheumatoid arthritis flare up. *L*
No. I woke up, greeted the morning with a smile as I listened to Dave snoring so loud he shook the bed. Then I got dressed as usual, knowing that I only had to work a half day. Sheer joy.
One of the gals at work made me a yummy-licious chocolate cake with rainbow sprinkles. I made sure that someone else cut it as I'm still recovering from a small cold/flu that hit me up last week and didn't want to contaminate the cake today. Other friends at work brought over helium balloons and put more goodies in my easter bucket, and even brought me a present or two. Sweet, sweet people! Thank you ladies! ;)
I came home around noon, grabbed Alli and we returned to work as 'visitors' so Alli could have her yearly visit with the people I work with and act all shy and retiring. Wouldn't you know I couldn't make her stop talking all the way home. lol
Dave of course told me that in addition to the Doc Martens shoes he bought for me, he had something else. The something else turned out to be a BEAUTIFUL Birthday Wreath from Calyx & Corolla
which happens to be affiliated with the Vermont Teddy Bear Co. While I didn't get a VT teddy bear for my birthday (which I'm good with), he did get another beautiful red box with gourmet chocolates. Yum. No, no, DOUBLE Yum.
Dinner tonight was a fabulous feast from a new local Chinese delivery place. Highly impressed with the packaging AND we got free doughnuts from them! Later came the chocolate cake... yummmmm... and the chocolate chunk frozen yogurt. *wistful sigh* Would that my belly could hold any more chocolatey goodness, for I am fit to burst!
After speaking with friends and some family, I am ready for bed. I have to say, I was quite surprised; my grandmother who lives in Hawaii and is pushing late 80's actually sent me her yearly birthday greetings... in EMAIL. Yes, my grandmother is extremely special. What can I say? *L*
So we open up another year... a year to be older. A year to become wiser. A year to build better friendships, and repair old relationships with previous friends and family members. A year for hope. :)
I don't really feel any older at this moment than I did this morning. Over the years I've learned not to expect too much. I mean, it's not like I woke up this morning to streamers and balloons and a massive rheumatoid arthritis flare up. *L*
No. I woke up, greeted the morning with a smile as I listened to Dave snoring so loud he shook the bed. Then I got dressed as usual, knowing that I only had to work a half day. Sheer joy.
One of the gals at work made me a yummy-licious chocolate cake with rainbow sprinkles. I made sure that someone else cut it as I'm still recovering from a small cold/flu that hit me up last week and didn't want to contaminate the cake today. Other friends at work brought over helium balloons and put more goodies in my easter bucket, and even brought me a present or two. Sweet, sweet people! Thank you ladies! ;)
I came home around noon, grabbed Alli and we returned to work as 'visitors' so Alli could have her yearly visit with the people I work with and act all shy and retiring. Wouldn't you know I couldn't make her stop talking all the way home. lol
Dave of course told me that in addition to the Doc Martens shoes he bought for me, he had something else. The something else turned out to be a BEAUTIFUL Birthday Wreath from Calyx & Corolla
which happens to be affiliated with the Vermont Teddy Bear Co. While I didn't get a VT teddy bear for my birthday (which I'm good with), he did get another beautiful red box with gourmet chocolates. Yum. No, no, DOUBLE Yum.
Dinner tonight was a fabulous feast from a new local Chinese delivery place. Highly impressed with the packaging AND we got free doughnuts from them! Later came the chocolate cake... yummmmm... and the chocolate chunk frozen yogurt. *wistful sigh* Would that my belly could hold any more chocolatey goodness, for I am fit to burst!
After speaking with friends and some family, I am ready for bed. I have to say, I was quite surprised; my grandmother who lives in Hawaii and is pushing late 80's actually sent me her yearly birthday greetings... in EMAIL. Yes, my grandmother is extremely special. What can I say? *L*
So we open up another year... a year to be older. A year to become wiser. A year to build better friendships, and repair old relationships with previous friends and family members. A year for hope. :)
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Oops
Honey,
Remember the "No Glove, No Love" policy we instituted along with the famous "Rhythm Method"?
If you're reading this, we may have had an oops on April Fool's Day. It was 13 days into my cycle.
And that's no joke! *L*
Remember the "No Glove, No Love" policy we instituted along with the famous "Rhythm Method"?
If you're reading this, we may have had an oops on April Fool's Day. It was 13 days into my cycle.
And that's no joke! *L*
Things I Don't Assume
After talking with Matt about Dave adopting Alli, I realized that it's something that Dave and I have never really talked about. I know why I've never brought it up - I didn't want him to feel pressured into doing something he really didn't want to. Although I know Dave loves Alli, right now, another man is footing the child support bill.
I went to talk to Dave in his office after dinner and asked him,"I know we've never talked about it, but DO you want to adopt Alli?" I hastened to add,"You don't have to if you don't want to."
Dave cocked his head to the side and looked at me, asking guilessly,"Why wouldn't I want to adopt her? I'm Daddy to her now, might as well go all the way." He smiled and laughed at me a bit.
I was just kind of floored.
He responded additionally with,"There was never any question that I would adopt her in my mind."
So... apparently, he's already decided he'll be adopting Alli if Matt agrees to it.
Some days, Dave just melts my heart.
I went to talk to Dave in his office after dinner and asked him,"I know we've never talked about it, but DO you want to adopt Alli?" I hastened to add,"You don't have to if you don't want to."
Dave cocked his head to the side and looked at me, asking guilessly,"Why wouldn't I want to adopt her? I'm Daddy to her now, might as well go all the way." He smiled and laughed at me a bit.
I was just kind of floored.
He responded additionally with,"There was never any question that I would adopt her in my mind."
So... apparently, he's already decided he'll be adopting Alli if Matt agrees to it.
Some days, Dave just melts my heart.
The Longer Version (for Beckah)
I got a call from my tax lady, Elyse. My taxes were rejected for e-filing because basically, Matt tried to claim Alli as HIS dependent. (Sure, sure, and PIGS will fly out of his ASS!)
Upset and ticked beyond all belief, I saw the chunky refund check we'd be getting now floating away....beyond my grasp... and thought about the $1800 her daycare is going to cost this summer, the clothes she needs, the new shoes I've been looking for for her...
I called Matt up and left a very calm and civil message on his voice mail after scrounging through old emails for his phone number. (Mind you, he still lives at home, at age 30 with his mother and father and however many cats they have.)
He called me back about a half hour later, beligerantly stating that he's 'always claimed Allison' on his taxes. BULL DOO DOO, I said to him; if 'you claimed her previously, you would have gotten a denial because I have claimed her every year without issue.' I very calmly asked him what made him think he could claim her, he tells me that during our divorce proceedings, he thought our lawyers had agreed he could claim her as his dependent and it should be in the divorce decree. I told him very kindly, I wasn't calling him a liar, but I would need to see what we could find on this since I don't recall EVER agreeing to that.
After that phone call, I made several others - to Dave, to Elyse my tax lady, and to Dave again. Turns out, if I tried to refile, letting Matt claim Alli this year, I would have to pay in $638.00 for federal - which basically means that I paid in over $8000 for daycare last year, taking home between $15,000 and $18,000 - taking additional money out of my check AND I'D STILL HAVE TO PAY.
How sick is that? Really.
So... I went home and rampaged my way through old files looking for my divorce decree - November 14th 2002 we were officially divorced. Did I ever tell you why? Ohhh no? Well let's put it this way - my ex was a traveling district manager for a pre-paid cell phone company who liked to chat online. He ended up falling in love and as far as I can tell, cheating on me WHILE I WAS PREGNANT with some girl he met online. Heh. She was fatter than me, too. Go figure, eh? He asked me for a divorce when I was 6 months pregnant. What a prince.
Dave and I pored over the divorce decree and it stated nothing to the effect of who would be claiming Alli for taxes - although a letter from my lawyer to his told him basically I would be. The follow up response to my lawyer's letter didn't even address the tax claim issue.
I did talk with my best friend, Kathleen - who it just so happens, her father in law is a professional tax man as I like to call him, and she told him what the story was.
He said according to the definition of dependent, the fact I have sole physical custody of Alli and am her sole source of support and nothing was hammered out in the decree, I would be the one with the legal right to claim Alli as my dependent.
Dave and I grappled with what tack to take with Matt - steam roller or sincere honesty. I decided to go for sincere honesty, and if we had to later, Dave would get involved if I couldn't hardtack my ex.
I called Matt back. We were on the phone for more than 20 minutes. I told him what I'd found and that he wasn't eligible to claim her as his dependent and the IRS would be auditing and researching both of us if he did not agree to do an amended tax filing. He said at first "It doesn't matter. The IRS takes whatever return I get and puts it to the back child support." I told him that unfortunately, we don't see that - we see the weekly takings, the $85.xx a week which totals to $344.00 a month and while that helps immensely, it barely covers her daycare during the school months and I was looking at $1800 in childcare costs just this summer.
He growled at me and told me he was broke, and he was barely making ends meet, still living with his parents, and that if he re-did his taxes, he would probably owe.
I explained to him calmly that's what payment plans are for because Gods know I've had to do my fair share of those being a single mom.
He started to get snarky at that point and asked "What about your new husband?"
I assumed he meant Dave and I sighed into the phone, "We are not married yet - we're thinking of next Fall. And contrary to who and what you knew me as when we were married, I am QUITE independent now. Alli is not HIS responsibility, although Dave has offered several times to help out where he can."
Matt got quiet, "Well congratulations. And I don't mean that in an ignorant way."
Again, sighing, "Thank you Matt."
Matt: "Is he going to adopt Allison?"
Me: "That's entirely up to you Matt. You'd have to sign off on the paperwork and we really haven't discussed it because we're not even at that point yet."
At this point, I don't remember what set him off exactly but he started crying and telling me how I kept her from him, and took away his reason for living, and he hadn't seen her in 5 years. I told him, "Come on up Matt. You can see her - I've never knowingly kept you from her. Come up and visit; she's not traveling anytime soon though. And the biggest thing is that she already has her Daddy here...we wouldn't know how to explain you. She's not able to comprehend the situation at this age."
He started in crying again. I feel badly for him - I do - but if he hadn't screwed around with someone else, we might still be married and a family unit, where she might have known or recognized him as her father. This really isn't possible now.
I again repeated the very first portion of our conversation; either he does an amended tax return taking Alli off, or I file with her as my dependent as I'm allowed to, and the IRS does it's research; I guarantee they will still be sending me a refund, but it'll take a few months longer or more to get here.
Again I reiterated the necessity of the refund Alli and I would be getting back; promising him stubs of what I paid for daycare if he deemed it necessary. I just wanted to get the point across to him that SHE needs this money - for clothes, for daycare, for a new bed...
He turned beligerent, "Well I hope you're happy; you always get what you want. Don't you? I hope you're happy now. I'll try to file that amended paperwork. But I'm broke right now and don't know if I can afford to pay -"
I sighed deeply again,"No, Matt, I don't. I just want you to do what's right. You don't have the benefit to file with her as your dependent. That money is Alli's." I lowered my voice to soften my thanks, "I appreciate you doing this. Thank you."
We ended up disconnecting a few moments later as his voice took on more of a sarcastic, long-suffering tone --- suggesting that he believed I was getting my way again. He did at one point say he was going to talk to a tax lawyer and I encouraged him too - but then again, how could he afford one if he was broke? Wonders never cease. Dave and I are giving him until Thursday. If he doesn't call by then like I requested him to, then I will call him and we will play out the little phone call all over again I'm sure.
Typing this... has exhausted me. But still more to come.
Upset and ticked beyond all belief, I saw the chunky refund check we'd be getting now floating away....beyond my grasp... and thought about the $1800 her daycare is going to cost this summer, the clothes she needs, the new shoes I've been looking for for her...
I called Matt up and left a very calm and civil message on his voice mail after scrounging through old emails for his phone number. (Mind you, he still lives at home, at age 30 with his mother and father and however many cats they have.)
He called me back about a half hour later, beligerantly stating that he's 'always claimed Allison' on his taxes. BULL DOO DOO, I said to him; if 'you claimed her previously, you would have gotten a denial because I have claimed her every year without issue.' I very calmly asked him what made him think he could claim her, he tells me that during our divorce proceedings, he thought our lawyers had agreed he could claim her as his dependent and it should be in the divorce decree. I told him very kindly, I wasn't calling him a liar, but I would need to see what we could find on this since I don't recall EVER agreeing to that.
After that phone call, I made several others - to Dave, to Elyse my tax lady, and to Dave again. Turns out, if I tried to refile, letting Matt claim Alli this year, I would have to pay in $638.00 for federal - which basically means that I paid in over $8000 for daycare last year, taking home between $15,000 and $18,000 - taking additional money out of my check AND I'D STILL HAVE TO PAY.
How sick is that? Really.
So... I went home and rampaged my way through old files looking for my divorce decree - November 14th 2002 we were officially divorced. Did I ever tell you why? Ohhh no? Well let's put it this way - my ex was a traveling district manager for a pre-paid cell phone company who liked to chat online. He ended up falling in love and as far as I can tell, cheating on me WHILE I WAS PREGNANT with some girl he met online. Heh. She was fatter than me, too. Go figure, eh? He asked me for a divorce when I was 6 months pregnant. What a prince.
Dave and I pored over the divorce decree and it stated nothing to the effect of who would be claiming Alli for taxes - although a letter from my lawyer to his told him basically I would be. The follow up response to my lawyer's letter didn't even address the tax claim issue.
I did talk with my best friend, Kathleen - who it just so happens, her father in law is a professional tax man as I like to call him, and she told him what the story was.
He said according to the definition of dependent, the fact I have sole physical custody of Alli and am her sole source of support and nothing was hammered out in the decree, I would be the one with the legal right to claim Alli as my dependent.
Dave and I grappled with what tack to take with Matt - steam roller or sincere honesty. I decided to go for sincere honesty, and if we had to later, Dave would get involved if I couldn't hardtack my ex.
I called Matt back. We were on the phone for more than 20 minutes. I told him what I'd found and that he wasn't eligible to claim her as his dependent and the IRS would be auditing and researching both of us if he did not agree to do an amended tax filing. He said at first "It doesn't matter. The IRS takes whatever return I get and puts it to the back child support." I told him that unfortunately, we don't see that - we see the weekly takings, the $85.xx a week which totals to $344.00 a month and while that helps immensely, it barely covers her daycare during the school months and I was looking at $1800 in childcare costs just this summer.
He growled at me and told me he was broke, and he was barely making ends meet, still living with his parents, and that if he re-did his taxes, he would probably owe.
I explained to him calmly that's what payment plans are for because Gods know I've had to do my fair share of those being a single mom.
He started to get snarky at that point and asked "What about your new husband?"
I assumed he meant Dave and I sighed into the phone, "We are not married yet - we're thinking of next Fall. And contrary to who and what you knew me as when we were married, I am QUITE independent now. Alli is not HIS responsibility, although Dave has offered several times to help out where he can."
Matt got quiet, "Well congratulations. And I don't mean that in an ignorant way."
Again, sighing, "Thank you Matt."
Matt: "Is he going to adopt Allison?"
Me: "That's entirely up to you Matt. You'd have to sign off on the paperwork and we really haven't discussed it because we're not even at that point yet."
At this point, I don't remember what set him off exactly but he started crying and telling me how I kept her from him, and took away his reason for living, and he hadn't seen her in 5 years. I told him, "Come on up Matt. You can see her - I've never knowingly kept you from her. Come up and visit; she's not traveling anytime soon though. And the biggest thing is that she already has her Daddy here...we wouldn't know how to explain you. She's not able to comprehend the situation at this age."
He started in crying again. I feel badly for him - I do - but if he hadn't screwed around with someone else, we might still be married and a family unit, where she might have known or recognized him as her father. This really isn't possible now.
I again repeated the very first portion of our conversation; either he does an amended tax return taking Alli off, or I file with her as my dependent as I'm allowed to, and the IRS does it's research; I guarantee they will still be sending me a refund, but it'll take a few months longer or more to get here.
Again I reiterated the necessity of the refund Alli and I would be getting back; promising him stubs of what I paid for daycare if he deemed it necessary. I just wanted to get the point across to him that SHE needs this money - for clothes, for daycare, for a new bed...
He turned beligerent, "Well I hope you're happy; you always get what you want. Don't you? I hope you're happy now. I'll try to file that amended paperwork. But I'm broke right now and don't know if I can afford to pay -"
I sighed deeply again,"No, Matt, I don't. I just want you to do what's right. You don't have the benefit to file with her as your dependent. That money is Alli's." I lowered my voice to soften my thanks, "I appreciate you doing this. Thank you."
We ended up disconnecting a few moments later as his voice took on more of a sarcastic, long-suffering tone --- suggesting that he believed I was getting my way again. He did at one point say he was going to talk to a tax lawyer and I encouraged him too - but then again, how could he afford one if he was broke? Wonders never cease. Dave and I are giving him until Thursday. If he doesn't call by then like I requested him to, then I will call him and we will play out the little phone call all over again I'm sure.
Typing this... has exhausted me. But still more to come.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Oh NO you DIDN'T!
Dave has returned into my good graces. Long story short, he spoiled me with lots of time just for us and the family time with us and Alli and it was fabulous. That's the good part.
The incredibly bad part of my day came today when I had H&R Block go and file my taxes.
The IRS rejected my taxes; my return (which was a nice chunk of change) has been put on hold.
Apparently, someone else is trying to claim Alli as a dependent.
I immediately thought of my ex husband - Matt. And boy was I EVER surprised.
I researched to find his number (because we're just such bosom buddies, ya know), and was leaving him a voicemail inside of 20 minutes of finding out he had tried to claim her on his taxes.
He called me back - turns out he's telling me he's always claimed Allison on his taxes - which couldn't be; he would have been rejected like I was today, and that supposedly he's telling me I agreed he could try to claim her as a dependent.
Umm...NO. Would HELL NO be too much?
Seriously, between two phone calls where he alternated between abrasive, civil, tearful, and civil again, we discovered that he screwed up. Big time. And I had to convince him that he DID f*ck up and is taking funds away from Alli and things she needs - like daycare $1800 this summer.
Per my discussion with Dave, we discovered that the custodial parent is to file and claim the dependent on the taxes - unless a previous arrangement has been made, which it has not. Believe me, I pulled my copy of the divorce decree. There is not a WORD stating he gets to claim her. Pfft!
He hasn't seen Alli since 2002 - and he claims I've 'kept her' from him! Puhlease!! He lives in St. Louis, MO. He hasn't been here to see her and I refuse to let her travel alone, let alone out of state without me.
So as it stands now, he either needs to do a tax filing amendment --- OR --- I file by paper and the IRS will research and review both of our taxes and audit as appropriate. He said he would try to file an amendment. *l*
There's more to this story - like the pleading, the congrats on Dave, and adoption of Alli. But those are all best served in another posting.
The incredibly bad part of my day came today when I had H&R Block go and file my taxes.
The IRS rejected my taxes; my return (which was a nice chunk of change) has been put on hold.
Apparently, someone else is trying to claim Alli as a dependent.
I immediately thought of my ex husband - Matt. And boy was I EVER surprised.
I researched to find his number (because we're just such bosom buddies, ya know), and was leaving him a voicemail inside of 20 minutes of finding out he had tried to claim her on his taxes.
He called me back - turns out he's telling me he's always claimed Allison on his taxes - which couldn't be; he would have been rejected like I was today, and that supposedly he's telling me I agreed he could try to claim her as a dependent.
Umm...NO. Would HELL NO be too much?
Seriously, between two phone calls where he alternated between abrasive, civil, tearful, and civil again, we discovered that he screwed up. Big time. And I had to convince him that he DID f*ck up and is taking funds away from Alli and things she needs - like daycare $1800 this summer.
Per my discussion with Dave, we discovered that the custodial parent is to file and claim the dependent on the taxes - unless a previous arrangement has been made, which it has not. Believe me, I pulled my copy of the divorce decree. There is not a WORD stating he gets to claim her. Pfft!
He hasn't seen Alli since 2002 - and he claims I've 'kept her' from him! Puhlease!! He lives in St. Louis, MO. He hasn't been here to see her and I refuse to let her travel alone, let alone out of state without me.
So as it stands now, he either needs to do a tax filing amendment --- OR --- I file by paper and the IRS will research and review both of our taxes and audit as appropriate. He said he would try to file an amendment. *l*
There's more to this story - like the pleading, the congrats on Dave, and adoption of Alli. But those are all best served in another posting.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Ostara & Work
Wednesday, March 21st was Ostara for us Pagans and Wiccans.
Mind you, I'm not a huge fan of lamb, but it seems to be traditional in most recipes I've seen for almost all the Pagan holidays.
So of course... we had real lamb chops, stuffing, and corn. We didn't perform any rituals, but during dinner I kept thinking about the worries of the winter... and how the equinox was a time for renewal and Spring, and tried to let go of previous worries and start new again.
I applied for a couple new jobs at work and agreed to let my nerves go in silent prayer as I munched on lamb chops and general dinner conversation flew around me.
Starting over is hard. Letting things go that you have no control over is harder.
I found out today that the first job that I REALLY wanted had started the second interview process - and it didn't include me. You want to talk about feeling inadequate?
I've been where I work for more than 2 years, have worked every product offered by my company, and excel in what I do, assisting members and other co-workers. I'm known as a 'go to' person for my team... and yet, I get passed over for someone who hasn't got a clue about a number of products and they are not a person anyone likes, and then someone else who has been there less time than I and hasn't been trained or gotten down even the basics of the products, and .... so on and so forth. Sorry, I hate bitching, but right now, I feel like I've been kicked like a puppy waiting faithfully by his master's stoop for a scrap of food.
Trust me, I'm no ones idea of an annoying ass-kissing, know-it-all who has a huge mouth... so I guess that disqualifies me for the position that I wanted. Because that's all that's left of the pool of employees who applied.
I came home tonight and consoled myself with half a pint of Ben and Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup ice cream. It's juvenile I know, and I have moved on from 'feeding my inadequacies' like when I was in high school, but I felt like I DESERVED that damn ice cream. I also think I f'd up my interview for the second position I applied for but I can't go into details on how or why. It just all seems like bad news today.
So I came home, cried to Dave, freaked out Alli without meaning to, and ate a quiet dinner with my family, learning that Dave 'had to work' tonight.
Now this is where I pull you aside dear reader and tell you that he has worked every night that I can remember, and every weekend with the exception of one when Alli and I went to Sandstone to visit Kathleen and Charlie a few weeks ago. Dave stayed home and relaxed on that Saturday, and has been behind since that time. Whether he realizes it or not, I feel like I've been kicked twice today - which I tried to explain to him tonight.
I get that everyone needs to make a living. I do. But I had one of the shittiest days I've had in a long, long while at work and I come home to him telling me I shouldn't be upset about it, and although lets me cry on his shoulder, tells me that he has to work tonight and doesn't know when he'll be done.
It's now 8pm. There's no telling when he'll be done. I'm feeling a craving for more chocolate. Did I mention that I have my period right now, too? Yeah. It just gets better and better. *L*
Mind you, I'm not a huge fan of lamb, but it seems to be traditional in most recipes I've seen for almost all the Pagan holidays.
So of course... we had real lamb chops, stuffing, and corn. We didn't perform any rituals, but during dinner I kept thinking about the worries of the winter... and how the equinox was a time for renewal and Spring, and tried to let go of previous worries and start new again.
I applied for a couple new jobs at work and agreed to let my nerves go in silent prayer as I munched on lamb chops and general dinner conversation flew around me.
Starting over is hard. Letting things go that you have no control over is harder.
I found out today that the first job that I REALLY wanted had started the second interview process - and it didn't include me. You want to talk about feeling inadequate?
I've been where I work for more than 2 years, have worked every product offered by my company, and excel in what I do, assisting members and other co-workers. I'm known as a 'go to' person for my team... and yet, I get passed over for someone who hasn't got a clue about a number of products and they are not a person anyone likes, and then someone else who has been there less time than I and hasn't been trained or gotten down even the basics of the products, and .... so on and so forth. Sorry, I hate bitching, but right now, I feel like I've been kicked like a puppy waiting faithfully by his master's stoop for a scrap of food.
Trust me, I'm no ones idea of an annoying ass-kissing, know-it-all who has a huge mouth... so I guess that disqualifies me for the position that I wanted. Because that's all that's left of the pool of employees who applied.
I came home tonight and consoled myself with half a pint of Ben and Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup ice cream. It's juvenile I know, and I have moved on from 'feeding my inadequacies' like when I was in high school, but I felt like I DESERVED that damn ice cream. I also think I f'd up my interview for the second position I applied for but I can't go into details on how or why. It just all seems like bad news today.
So I came home, cried to Dave, freaked out Alli without meaning to, and ate a quiet dinner with my family, learning that Dave 'had to work' tonight.
Now this is where I pull you aside dear reader and tell you that he has worked every night that I can remember, and every weekend with the exception of one when Alli and I went to Sandstone to visit Kathleen and Charlie a few weeks ago. Dave stayed home and relaxed on that Saturday, and has been behind since that time. Whether he realizes it or not, I feel like I've been kicked twice today - which I tried to explain to him tonight.
I get that everyone needs to make a living. I do. But I had one of the shittiest days I've had in a long, long while at work and I come home to him telling me I shouldn't be upset about it, and although lets me cry on his shoulder, tells me that he has to work tonight and doesn't know when he'll be done.
It's now 8pm. There's no telling when he'll be done. I'm feeling a craving for more chocolate. Did I mention that I have my period right now, too? Yeah. It just gets better and better. *L*
Friday, February 23, 2007
An ER Story
Alli had her first head trauma Thursday night.
Apparently she had an accident at school and slammed her forehead into a metal bar (I still don't understand how this happened!) and scratched her nose and chin up.
I had a 5:40 doc appt to check my INR and Protime, so I picked up the family to come with so we could head out to dinner afterwards.
Appt went well, so we headed to Boston Market for dinner and I noticed how lethargic she seemed and the size of her HUGE bump on her forehead. She was also complaining about her head hurting, that she had a 'headack' and that she was dizzy. We decided to rather be safe than sorry.
We went to Urgent Care first. They referred us to the hospital.
And so... we went back to Fairview Southdale ER. I'm starting to think of it as home after all the visits these last few weeks. I saw at least 3 nurses last night that I had had when I had been there previously. Even John, the nurse who had to stab me 4 times to get my IV in last Friday was there. I felt like we were family reuniting. *L*
We waited about an hour and a half before they called Alli to go back for a CT scan to make sure there was no bleeding in the brain because the size of the goose egg on her forehead that was frightening.
She loved the cute and fuzzy blue gown we changed her into, and received stickers from a couple nurses, a bendy doll that was a ballerina, and a necklace of metallic green Mardi Gras beads in the shapes of dice. Yes, she was a spoiled - and brave - little girl.
The ER doc confirmed she has a mild concussion and should be watched - if fever, vomiting, or unusual behavior, then take her back into the ER for additional testing.
But yes... she is okay. :) Her first head trauma. What a milestone. *L*
Apparently she had an accident at school and slammed her forehead into a metal bar (I still don't understand how this happened!) and scratched her nose and chin up.
I had a 5:40 doc appt to check my INR and Protime, so I picked up the family to come with so we could head out to dinner afterwards.
Appt went well, so we headed to Boston Market for dinner and I noticed how lethargic she seemed and the size of her HUGE bump on her forehead. She was also complaining about her head hurting, that she had a 'headack' and that she was dizzy. We decided to rather be safe than sorry.
We went to Urgent Care first. They referred us to the hospital.
And so... we went back to Fairview Southdale ER. I'm starting to think of it as home after all the visits these last few weeks. I saw at least 3 nurses last night that I had had when I had been there previously. Even John, the nurse who had to stab me 4 times to get my IV in last Friday was there. I felt like we were family reuniting. *L*
We waited about an hour and a half before they called Alli to go back for a CT scan to make sure there was no bleeding in the brain because the size of the goose egg on her forehead that was frightening.
She loved the cute and fuzzy blue gown we changed her into, and received stickers from a couple nurses, a bendy doll that was a ballerina, and a necklace of metallic green Mardi Gras beads in the shapes of dice. Yes, she was a spoiled - and brave - little girl.
The ER doc confirmed she has a mild concussion and should be watched - if fever, vomiting, or unusual behavior, then take her back into the ER for additional testing.
But yes... she is okay. :) Her first head trauma. What a milestone. *L*
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