Sunday, November 29, 2009

Weekend Fun

The last few days have been enjoyable. Friday, Boo and I spent all day at home together in our PJ's while Poppa worked from 9-3 and then got two new tires for the truck. Amazingly enough, including the "free" oil change, it came in at the first quote we got, which was about $30 less than the second quote for "if you want the oil change...". And Gak was in and out in very short order. I mean, I'm not thrilled at having to put almost $300 into the truck, but I needed to. This just means that I have no money to spend on my honey this holiday, but I'm sure he'll appreciate the truck being able to stop and not slide all over the road in icky weather. I know I will.
Saturday was a good day and a very good evening. Gak had to work his normal and then we had some friends over in the evening. I'm not sure who all was originally supposed to come over, but we had Kat and Scott and Zoe as well as Joan and Ant and Mel! Yep, Mel's out of the hospital. She got out Thanksgiving morning. Actually, I think I said that in my last post, but I'm too tired to look it up. Anyhow, she seems to be doing well and is very glad to be home again. She's not too happy with her meds, she says they're making her really tired. I can tell she's still worrying and stressing a lot, but I hope she realizes (and I think she just might) that these are big problems and that she can't tackle them all by herself and that there are lots of people who love her and want to help her. We'll see though. It ended up being quite a late (for me) evening, especially as I'd been up early and my sleeping has been worse than usual recently. (Can I tell you I'm so tired of waking up tired and cranky?? I know Gak's tired of it too....)
Anyhow, today Boo and I headed down to Am-ma's and PopPop's for the day. The goal was for Am-ma and I to make most, if not all, of the kids in the extended family's Christmas presents. No, I'm not going to tell you what they are this year, it's a surprise silly! Anyhow, we got 4 out of the 5 made and the 5th one is ready to go. I also got some work done on Michelle's present too. Other than a few more things on Boo's wishlist that we're going to get him and trying to figure out something cheap but wanted for my dear, sweet, wonderful husband, I think I've got things well in hand. Of course, I'm leaving his mom, brother and sister-in-law up to Gak. Oh, wait, I just remembered I have no clue what to do for my brother, Becca or my parents. Oh well. I'm sure I'll come up with something. I've got time. And if you're reading this, it won't be very expensive, but I hope you enjoy whatever I come up with. No, Becca, it probably won't be another scarf, even though you've enjoyed the last two, I think I need to find something a little more creative. *grin*
Anyhow, I just thought I'd ramble on and wrap up the vacation posts. I'm back to work tomorrow, bright and early. I really don't want to go back to work, but, in a way, I'm ready for vacation to be over. Don't get me wrong, I love my boy and love spending lots of time with him, but I either need to have enough time to have a regular routine of activities or whatever, or something part time to get me out of the house.
All I know is that on Tuesday when he goes back to day care, the wonderful ladies will be less than thrilled with his nap schedule. He's napped very well for me this past week, but usually either a short nap mid-morning and a long one in the afternoon, or a 2 to 2.5 hour one from about 11-1 or 1:30. Unfortunately, this will not work with his normal schedule. This isn't going to be pretty. At least he "graduates" into the "toddler" age group and the cost will go down by about $50 a week. That'll come in handy. He's not actually changing rooms yet, as there are only two actual "rooms" where he's at and the preschool age kids are in the upstairs room and the infants and toddlers are downstairs. There are only 2 babies at the moment, so most of the "infants" are soon to be "toddlers" so they're all staying together.
Ok. I'm totally rambling now. I'd better wrap this up and pour myself into bed so I can wake up in the morning.

Peace to all and may your vacations be good and the gatherings fun.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Thankful

Well, my parents just left, the boy is in bed and the house is quiet. It was a very successful Thanksgiving here. There was a minor coordination, or lack there of, issue when getting the dinner onto the table. The turkey was done earlier than I wanted it to be, there was a minor snafu with the sweet potatoes and just some general chaos, but nothing too major. The food was all delicious and there was plenty of it.
I have no pictures though, I was too busy cooking and then talking with mom and eating, that well... the camera stayed in the living room and I wasn't.
Anyhow, I have so much to be thankful for this year. I have all the normal things like the fact that I still have a job, and one that pays fairly well even, a loving husband and a wonderful son who really rocks our world. I have the above average things like my group of close friends and a family who I love and is there for me when I need them. And, best of all, today Mel came home from the hospital. She's healed in body, but not in spirit. That'll take much, much more time. And a lot of work, by everyone. There is hope, there is love and most importantly, we still have our Mel-bell, my Little Bug (who's bigger than I am now...).
I do wish my brother and Becca could have been here, but I can understand why they're not coming out until this summer some time. I wish Kat had been feeling better and I could have headed over there for a bit after dinner. I wish that Gak's family didn't live so far away and could have joined us. I'm just glad that we had as good a day and as great a family as we do.
Anyhow, I'm off to put on the PJ's and possibly go do a little "hunting" in Norrath.
Peace to all and may your gatherings be happy, the food in plenty and spirits high.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Birthday!


Well, today is my birthday. Yep, another year older and deeper in debt. Well, maybe not deeper in debt, but definitely no less in debt. *sigh* Something to work harder on in the coming year. ...Actually, wait... I paid off my student loan and I haven't missed any truck payments, so there's less debt! Now, if only I could get ahead of the credit mess....
Anyhow, I wasn't going to ramble on about my debt issues... I was going to tell you, at least a little bit, about the day. It has been a good one.
The morning was fairly nice even though Boo woke at 7 instead of sleeping in. Oh well. I also think we'll need to find something else for his breakfasts... I think he's getting tired of yogurt, or at least the banana and vanilla flavors that have been the only ones in stock the last few weeks.
After breakfast we all got cleaned up and ready for our adventure. We were off to the Aquarium down in Camden. It wasn't too bad of a drive and I didn't take any wrong turns. Traffic came to a bit of a stop around Center City, but this is why we left at 9:30 instead of any earlier.
We had a wonderful time at the aquarium. Much better than back in May when it was sooooo packed. There was one or two classes of kids there and a bunch of families. It was quite nice. Boo was much more into the fish this time. I just wish it wasn't so expensive. Thankfully, he's still free until June. Boo also did very well with his puppy dog backpack/leash. Yes, I leashed my son, but it gave him plenty of freedom and let me know exactly where he was and keep him from wandering too far. He spent a good bit of time walking, but also wanted to be carried some and rode in his stroller some. Overall, a good combination.
After exploring the aquarium for a couple of hours, we decided we'd seen everything and it was time to head home.
We didn't head straight home though. We stopped in at IKEA, since it was on the way. They have lots of neat kid things there. We ended up picking up a couple of things for Boo for the holidays, and for cheaper than I'd seen at other places. We also ate lunch there, which was yummy as ever. And pretty cheep too.
Gak surprised me with a birthday cake when I sent him across the street for trash bags. It was quite yummy.
Anyhow, I've got to go log in, a group is forming... and I'd like to be a part of it.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Not the Way to Start Vacation

I don't know how to write this post, but I need to. I've got a lot of things buzzing around in my head and they need out.
I'm officially on vacation for the week.
Unfortunately, it didn't start off so well.
You see, I spent a good chunk of time in the ER with Joan on Friday night. I had just settled into my PJ's and had gotten Boo to bed a few minutes before when my phone rang. I didn't get it in time since it was halfway across the house, and since I never programmed Joan's new (2 years now) number into my phone, I didn't recognize it. Within about a minute the house phone rang and Gak made it there in time. It was Joan. She was distraught. And then she dropped the bomb shell of the century on me.
"I'm on my way to the ER, Mel tried to slit her wrists."
I honestly don't remember what I said. I remember babbling something about needing to get pants on and actually remembering to ask which hospital. (There are many in the area and she does live about 30 minutes from me.) I change back into my jeans, call Kat to make sure she knew what was up and I was out the door.
The good news is that her friend who lives around the corner has a dad who's a fire fighter/EMT type. The even better news is that it wasn't all that bad physically.
The hard part is that Mel has to be admitted for 72 hours, and the only one allowed to visit is her mom. Nope, even though I'm on the list of allowed visitors, I can't go see her, the only ones allowed are her parents, and that means Joan.
In some ways we should have seen this coming. In many ways, we never would have. She was happy and joking around with her brother and a friend 10 minutes before.
Mel has had to deal with so much in her short life time. Her parents had a very messy split back in 2004, when she was 7. Her dad was the center of her world. Then, back in 2007 early in the year her dad passed away from brain cancer. I'm pretty sure I mentioned it back then. He had remarried and she liked her "step mom", but still, he was her dad. Most girls have a special relationship with their dads.... Then for the past handful of years she's been having to deal with her grandmother's health issues. Joan's mom has been living with them since around the time Joan and George split. Her health has been plumiting steadily the whole time. What's worse is she would be doing so much better if she'd listen to the doctors. There's also a lot of drama involved with anything having to do with Joan's mom. Now, finally, Joan's mom is in an assisted living place, but it's only a handful of blocks away, so the drama continues. Oh, and I'm not sure exactly how much is true and how much is exaggerated, but apparently her school life has been one level of living hell or another.
Mel hates hospitals and doctors with a passion. But she needs them. She needs help to sort out, deal with and process all this drama and angst and betrayal she's been dealt. This is more than just your average teenage issues. It really is heart and soul deep. I knew she was having a tough time, but to talk with her you'd never know exactly how deep the hurt was. Unless it was around when her father passed. Or if you mentioned her grandmother she'd get this pained and exasperated look on her face. (The woman is on oxygen, but continues to smoke... much to Mel's dismay. She's damned if she does and damned if she doesn't. She'll get yelled at by her grandmother if she won't like a smoke for her (don't get me started on that!) and yelled at by her mom if she does. She knows she shouldn't, and often wouldn't, but still... it's her grandmother.) If you mentioned school she'd mention a few friends maybe (and she does have a few close ones who are very upset and blaming themselves for some of this... but they shouldn't!) and says she's doing well, and her grades are very good overall (except math, she's struggling there...).
She's upset because she's missed too much school already. She's angry because she can't have her books. She's angry because she hates hospitals and wants to be anywhere else. She's chafing at the rules that have been and will be imposed. Part of her knows it's for her own safety and good, but she hates it none the less.
The only thing I can do is tell her I love her. I can tell her I'm here if she needs me, but I have to be careful not to say that too often or I'll sound like a nag and that I'm prying into her business. If there's one thing a pre-teen/teenager loves it is their privacy. Unfortunately, she won't get much for a while. The best thing I can do really is what I did Friday, and what I tried to do yesterday, be there for Joan. I know we've had our rough spots in the past and there are things we'll never, ever agree on. But that's not the issue. The issue is she's been my friend since I was only a few years older than Mel. And if you know me, you'll know that I will do anything at all for my friends, especially those who are in trouble or are hurting. I'd willingly go to the ends of the earth and back if it could make Mel stop hurting and heal the break in Joan's heart. I know I can't do that, but that doesn't mean I can't do something. Even if it's to just keep leaving little notes to them (and also Ant, who can't be left out of all this as he's lived through the same things and counted on the strength of his sister more than once. They're one of the few sibling pairs who have as close and strong a relationship as my brother and I do, or at least did.... unfortunately we don't talk as often any more.)
I have no idea if this post has made any sense or is well written. It's the junk that's been floating around in my head for the last few days and needs out. I'm angry, I'm hurt, I'm scared, I'm sad, I'm ready to fight, and I'm proud of my closest friends. I say that because of how many dropped what we were doing and came to the hospital, even if it was just to give Joan a hug, or spend a few minutes with Mel when we were allowed to. (She was asking for Scott especially, since they'd just been talking online about an hour or so previous. I think she knew that he was feeling a lot of guilt and anguish over it and wanted to reassure him it wasn't him.) We are Joan's family after all. I mean, her two sisters by blood didn't even bother to show up. Of course, her younger sister I'd never expect to in about a million years, but I had a hair of hope her older sister might. I guess I was right about her after all, I've never had a high opinion of either of them. Joan's the normal one in that family.

Anyhow, I think that's about all I have to say on that. Once I have more information that I can share, I will. Just please, if you're the praying type, please keep Joan, Mel and Ant in your prayers. They need all the help they can get and wouldn't turn it down.

After the shock and the sleep deprivation of Friday passed, I had a fairly good weekend. Well, as good as I could have with the thoughts and worries that were buzzing around in the back ground.
Yesterday I actually managed to get an hour or so worth of nap while Boo slept. I'll tell you, it did me good. The boy actually slept almost 3 hours! (And yes, he did manage to go to bed at an almost normal time too! I love my sleeping boy.) After Gak got off work, he absconded with our son and did some shopping. They went to Best Buy and I got replacement styli for my Nintendo DS (as Gak lost the last one on his trip to Vegas). They also got me the movie Up and the new TSO double CD. I haven't listened to the second one, but I love it. I love the story, which I have to finish reading, and the music is awesome as always. It's not Christmas music, but it seems to be a wonderful tale. Of course, I've got to finish reading it. That's part of the problem with TSO, they write musicals for lack of a better word, not just songs. Of course, this means it takes a few years between projects, but that's OK. I'll gladly wait for this kind of quality. I haven't watched the movie yet. I may try tomorrow, since it'll probably be a little too late to watch the whole thing when I get done here.
Today we were going to have people over, but with everything going on and Kat and Scott both not feeling so hot, we moved it to next Saturday. So, instead we went on a bit of an adventure. I would have preferred going to the park or something outside, but we still got out of the house. I had done the grocery shopping and some of the preliminary Thanksgiving Day shopping (I actually spent less than $100 at the new BJ's that just opened in town!). After everything was called off for people coming over, we piled into the Durrango and did the most American of past times. We went shopping. Mostly we went window shopping trying to figure out what we'd like to get Boo for Christmas. We picked up 2 PJ's for him at Carter's (the one part of his wardrobe that's the weakest is winter PJ's... he doesn't need the blanket sleepers, but something warmer than the summer weight shorts and short-sleeved shirts are needed. (He's in either 18-24 or 2T, when in doubt, get the 2T) We also had a nice "snack" at Panara because we hadn't had lunch. Or at least Gak and I hadn't, Boo did after his nap.

Tomorrow we're going to the Aquarium for my birthday. I have no idea when we're heading down there, but it'll be after 9 and before noon, I know that much. Other than that, we have no real plans. I'm just glad I have the entire week off. It'll be very nice. Oh, we are supposed to get new front tires for the truck on Friday and I'm supposed to bring Boo by work on Wednesday if I can.

That's it for now. As you can see, it's been a bit of a bizarre weekend, with part of it being so horrible and part of it being very nice. I will tell you I felt guilty for enjoying myself today, but I know that's stupid because there's not much more I could have done/been doing for Joan right this instant.

Peace to all and may your loved ones be safe and sound.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Look, It's Thursday!

Well, as you can see from the lack of words coming from my keyboard, that not much has happened this week. Boo continues to thrive. I continue to work. Gak continues to work. I'm just trying to get through until the weekend. I have all of next week off and there's some great things planned. Now, to get there. *sigh*
Today and tomorrow Gak has to work all day because his boss is doing some college hunting with his daughter. That'll make up for him not working next Thursday, so not bad over all.
In the not-so-great news, my brother's company got merged and he suffered a "reduction of force" notice... or at least that's what my company has been calling them. Yeah, he got laid off. But, he's much better with money than I am and has a bit tucked away (mostly earmarked for a house down payment, but there just in case) and got a nice enough package that he doesn't have to touch that next week. So... needless to say he and Becca won't be coming out at all this winter, which kinda bums me out. I wish we could go visit them, but we can't afford to either. Heck, we can't even afford to make it out to Oklahoma for the three of us. Ugh. Oh well.

Anyhow, I should probably get my butt moving. It's been hard motivating the last few weeks. Don't get me wrong, I'm still thrilled to have a job, but the job just doesn't thrill me. I think it might be partially change of season blues and partially that the challenging stuff just doesn't grab me that much any more. I'm just having a hard time motivating to get stuff done, and there are too many shiny things distracting me. My procrastination has come to the fore again and must be beaten into submission. It's going to take a lot of work, but it will happen... until the next shiny comes along. Aargh.

Anyhow, I'm off to get things together for the day and eventually get my son ready for the day too.
Peace to all and may your weeks be uneventful, but your motivation present.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Birthdays and Other Sundries

Today was my dad's birthday. Mine is in 8 days. So, we headed down to PopPop and Amma's house to celebrate. We were so very lucky that it was such a beautiful day. It got up to somewhere near 70 and was sunny and wonderful.
PopPop, Boo and I went to the playground in the park near their house after lunch. There were so many kids and parents. All of us were trying to make the most of what will probably be the last beautiful weekend day for quite some time. Boo had a pretty good time exploring the "new" playground. Yes, we'd been here a few times before, but he wasn't really walking yet. It was nice to get some time in with just me and my dad. I don't get enough of that, and he's not getting any younger.
We climbed, and slid and explored and swung and played with all kinds of things. Then when we were all done, we went back to the house and Boo took a nice long nap.
This was the best part of the weekend, getting a chance to spend some time with my family. Of course, if Jon and Becca were on the East Coast, that would be even better. They're not coming out east until maybe Christmas time. They got busy (with Jon's game being released on the 8th and Becca's been doing lots of work stuff too) and totally didn't get around to planning Thanksgiving. That's OK. We'll see them when they make it out here. I just wish we could afford (and had the vacation time) to visit all the family scattered across the country. I'd like to go see them for a change instead of everyone coming here. (Although, with a toddler it's definitely easier for people to come to me....)
Anyhow, I've got a boy who's trying (still) to not go to sleep in his bed, even though it's an hour after his bedtime. I was sure he was going to crash by the time we got to the turnpike, he was beginning to trip over himself, but nope, he's still going.
The rest of the weekend was just normal weekend stuff, and same with the end of the work week. I'm really not looking forward to going to work tomorrow, but that's just the insomnia catching up with me. Last night was really bad, but it wasn't my fault. The neighbors were playing their stereo loud enough for me to hear the base line until at least 1:00, if not 2. And I was tired to begin with. Oh well. I'm not going to complain, I think this is the second time in well over a year that they've done something like that. No use causing trouble over that. (I know there are many less tolerant souls out there, but... it really wasn't that big of an issue, since I didn't have to go to work today.)
At least I've got 5 days this week and then next week I'm off for the entire week. Which is good because I'll need the three days (well 2, because we're doing something fun on the 23rd) before Thanksgiving to get the house ready. Mom and Dad are coming up here for Thanksgiving. It'll be nice. It'll be really nice because Boo has his toys here and his bed here and it'll be easier to keep him out of trouble. Not that we don't enjoy visiting Amma and PopPop, but they haven't had to childproof the house in about 25 years or so (since my brother is over 30 now) and there are just too many things for Boo to get in to and his toys are all here and not there. Luckily Amma and PopPop are very tolerant when it comes to a little boy strewing DVD cases and plastic food containers all over the house.
Anyhow, there are some more pictures from today up on my Flickr. Enjoy. I'm going to go to bed now.

Peace to all and may your days and hearts be filled with sunshine and family.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

This, That and Other

My poor neglected blog. I haven't touched this space since Sunday, and here it is Thursday morning already. I really haven't had much to say. Although, every time I say that a 7-mile long entry seems to take shape. We'll see what comes out this time. But, I really don't think there's a lot lurking under the surface this time. (That and my fingers can't seem to stop tripping over themselves this morning....)

Anyhow, yesterday was Veteran's day. Those who serve their country should get more than Memorial Day in the spring to remember the fallen and Veteran's day in the fall to thank those who have served. I'm sorry, but these men and women put so much on the line every stinking day. In this country, they don't have to do it. At least not currently, since there is no draft. (That's a whole different topic... in this day and age why do young men at age 18 have to register, but women don't? I thought we had an equal opportunity armed services... oh, wait... never mind.... I won't ask if you don't tell.....)
Anyhow, back closer to my topic. The people who willingly serve our country get little pay and even less thanks for doing it. That's just not right. I mean, we shouldn't turn into a military state where the military is king, but we should give these people a little more thanks, or at least tell them a little more often. I know I'm remiss in this myself. I take their service for granted.
I'm not even going to go into the whole Ft. Hood thing, other than to say that the one place on Earth our service men and women and their families should feel safe is on our own American soil. I don't have all the details (barely any really), but this was a horrible event and it saddens me.

So, with yesterday being Veteran's Day and working for a company that actively recruits vets and tries to treat them well, I had the day off yesterday. Well, off from work. You never get a day off from being Momma. And, I like it that way.
Unfortunately yesterday was a bit of a gray day, so Boo and I couldn't really go anywhere in the afternoon since I'm broke and the only good "free" things are outside. Yes, we could have gone to the library, but he's still in a bit of a book destroying phase, so I don't really want him destroying books I haven't payed for yet. Don't get me wrong, he loves being read to right now, but they're still pretty yummy and don't always bend the way he wants them to. But, Boo didn't mind a low key day at home. But having spent an entire day at home just me and the boy, I realize that this apartment really is way too small.
Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of room in general. We've got two nice sized bedrooms, a good sized living room, a dining room, kitchen and bathroom. But, there is no space just for Boo, other than his bedroom, and that's not very big all things considered. And even then there are things in his room he needs to stay out of, like the diaper pail. The living room is very nice, but very narrow. Therefore, as soon as he spills his blocks (a favorite game currently) you can't walk anywhere. And forget it if someone else is home and on the couch or a computer, suddenly the room seems half the size.
It's also a good thing that Boo didn't mind a low key day because his momma is exhausted. I'm trying to remember the last night I slept close to "right" and I can't. It had to have been a month or more ago now. And it's not that I'm not tired. I'm very tired. It isn't that I've got a billion things chasing themselves in circles in my head, most of the time I don't because I'm too tired to keep thoughts there that long. And no, it's not because I'm pregnant. I told you months ago now, we're not going to be trying again any time soon, just because of finances. If and when we can get those under control and/or get raises again, we'll see. (Besides, trying would require energy I just can't seem to find, much to both Gak's and my disappointment....) I just have been sleeping worse than usual. Take last night. I went to bed around 9, read about 3 pages barely, couldn't keep my eyes open, so I turned off the light. I promptly lay there for the next 3 hours just on the edge of sleep, you know, that warm fuzzy area where you're not really awake and aware of the passage of time, but you know you're not asleep yet. Yep, I heard Gak get off the computer and come to bed and I thought it was way too early, but it was midnight. Then the tossing and turning resumed a bit and the sleeping for an hour or so and waking up started. No reason. I wasn't feeling anxious about anything or like I'd forgotten something or worried or anything like that. I didn't wake up wheezing or not breathing or coughing or anything physical either. Nope, just woke up like most people would in the morning when they don't have an alarm waking them.
And this wasn't the first night of this. I can deal with the occasional bad night. I can even deal with two or three of them in a row. But, I can't remember a night in recent history where I've slept more than 2 hours at a shot and haven't had a period where I've woken up every 10-15 minutes for a couple of hours in the middle of the night. It really is beginning to wear me down. Oh well. I've got a doctor's appointment next month (two actually, my semi-annual allergy/asthma/whatever's bothering me and my other, less fun annual appointment as well....). I'll add this to the things I want to talk to Dr. F. about. So far it's the fact that I haven't taken my allergy or asthma meds since the end of September and I really haven't noticed a difference, the sleep thing and something else that I'm forgetting... bah! I need a list. (I'm still not always 100% sold on the asthma label.... but, there are times I just can't breathe right, but it seems more upper respiratory than lower.... and it doesn't seem like wheezing more of an inability to get air to move.)
And, speaking of doctor's appointments, that reminds me that I have to do my annual enrollment at work. I actually have to do it this year. They're getting rid of our current plans and replacing our HMO like thing with a more "traditional" type of coverage. Or, to me, what feels more like car insurance than health insurance. Now, instead of knowing exactly what I have to pay when I go to the doctor (my nice $15 or $30 copay) I have no idea what the bill will be. And, supposedly, I won't have to pay at that point in time, but at a later date. Certain things are covered 100% from the beginning, like some tests, well child visits, annual checkups, most vaccines and the like. But, the rest we have to pay out of pocket (including meds...) until we reach a deductible for the year and then it goes to an 80/20 split (with me paying the 20) until an "out of pocket maximum" is reached, and then everything is covered 100%. There are three different levels of paycheck deduction and therefore max out of pocket expenses. I'm still not 100% sure which one to choose. I know not the lowest ones because we do actually have recurring health problems/issues. So, that leaves the two highest ones. Some years, like this year, we could do just fine with the middle level, but some years like 2008 when I was pregnant, we really need the higher coverage. I think what confuses me the most is that in the end, there is a $20 difference between the out of pocket expenses for the two. Oh well. I've been thinking I'll play it "safe" and choose the highest paycheck deductible one and spend the extra $20 a year. I have a 17-month old son, who knows what kind of trouble he's going to get into this year.

Well, it looks like I did have another novel waiting to be written. Oops. It's not as long as some though. But, it is just about time for me to hop in the shower and get my butt out the door to work. (Which has been it's own adventure lately, but I'm just going to keep most of that to myself.... I'm just thinking that this really isn't such a great fit any more and I need to find something else, but am too terrified to in this economy/with as long as I've been at this one job...)

So, peace to you all and may you sleep well and have fun days with your family.

Sunday, November 08, 2009

Crafty Girl Update


Sorry all, this is just going to be a quick crafty girl update. No real boy news in this one. I finally got a few projects done, and I want to share.
First up, is the project that took the longest and the one I'm the most proud of. I started this sweater before I found out I was pregnant with Boo. I finished it a couple of weeks ago. If you want to see more than just this one picture, you'll have to go to my Flickr. I finally had the nerve, and the weather was cool enough, to wear this to work on Friday. I got several compliments on it. It's very warm and snuggly. I'm not sure how well it will wear though, it's beginning to pill a bit already. That's what I get for using acrylic yarn. But it was warm... and snuggly. I think this is the 2nd werable other than a hat that I've felt comfortable wearing outside the house. The other was a tank I made out of cotton yarn, but it got wider and shorter after a few washings, so didn't last. Much to my unhappiness. Oh well.


This is a hat that I made Boo from some of the left overs from the sweater. No, this isn't Boo wearing the hat, but Scout. She willingly modeled it for me after Boo ripped it off his head for the 5th time in a minute. Since the spring when he figured out how to take hats off his head, he's decided he doesn't want to wear them. Oh well. Maybe when it gets colder we'll be able to convince him.

This last project was another one for me. My fingers get really cold working on the computer all day at work. This probably won't help with the fingers so much, but will keep my hands warmer, which may keep my fingers warmer. Made from sock weight yarn that's 50% wool, 25% bamboo and 25% nylon. Warm and snuggly and pretty cool looking too.

Anyhow, I'm off. Just wanted to post a quick crafty girl update to prove that I still find the occasional 5 minutes now and again to have fun with yarn.

Peace to all and may you get some creative time in.

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Odds and Ends

Well, I was hoping to have a lot to write and say today, but nope. Not much. I do have this adorable picture of Boo "reading" the insert from his Little Leapster (which we've never really used "right") while sitting on his dragon. He really loves this dragon and will sit, lay or bounce on him all the time.
My little guy is definitely getting more adventurous. He's an expert at climbing into and out of the rocking chair and the sofa and has added climbing onto the living room table as well. I really like the fact that he's exploring, but nope, no climbing on the living room table little man.
I also hope that my hard drive isn't dying. I thought it might be the fan, but now I'm not so sure. The other night I had to shut down the computer (something I'm notoriously bad about not doing most of the time) because something had crashed and I figured the whole thing needed a fresh start anyhow. Well, it came back up making a horrible racket. It sounded like the fan was out of balance or something. It kept this racket up the entire time I had it on. I shut down at the end of the evening and then yesterday when I booted it, it only made the noise for a little while and became my nice quiet beast again, so I left it on. Yes, I feel air flow, I'm just trying to figure out if it's the same or less than usual. I think this thing has 3 different fans in it. Anyhow, this morning when I nudged it out of power save mode, it started making the racket again, but has stopped. This has me thinking hard drive.
I so can't afford to replace a hard drive.
I so don't have a current backup. Luckily almost all of my edited photos are up on flickr and all the raw photos are still on the memory card and I have last year's photo backups. The only big thing I'd really loose would be my EQII settings and some bookmarks. I can live with that. I don't keep my finances on here, and my blog posts are kept on the blogger server once they're posted. There are a few that I wrote but never posted (thought better of it), so I'll back those up tonight. Ugh. I so don't need to rebuild a computer. I was just thinking that in another 2-3 years (this one is 3 years old already) that it would be time to upgrade. That way I'd miss Vista entirely and maybe by then 7 or whatever it is won't be hated by the computer using populace and there will be a decent PC OS. Sure, I'd love to switch to a Mac, but.... I love my EQII too much and I'm not sure I can afford a Mac. *sigh*

Anyhow, I'm now running late for work. I've been trying to keep my nose extra clean this week (and I'm not sure it's working) because well... I've been a slacker and it shows.... I have over 3 years of bad habits that set in because my former boss didn't care and wasn't involved, so I got lazy. Damn if this hasn't been a bitch to overcome. I'm no where near my old "fighting form" and it sucks. Being lazy is so much easier, but working your tail off is so much more rewarding.

Monday, November 02, 2009

Halloween Undone

This is the best picture we have from Halloween, and it was taken Thursday evening. We ended up not going out Saturday because it rained all day, and most of the evening, and Zoe still wasn't feeling 100%. I don't feel bad because he's too young to remember last year (which he half slept through anyhow) and not old enough to feel hurt we didn't go. That, and I really don't need all that extra candy in the house, since he's never really had any and Gak and I would end up eating it all anyhow. (It's not that I've banned candy, it's more that I never keep it in the house, so it just hasn't been available for him to try....)
There was some good news from Friday though. And I had a nice big, happy post all written up in Word to copy and paste into Blogger, but closed it without saving at the end of the day. *Sigh* Oh well. That's life.
Anyhow, the good news is that my $20 (if you count the $11 flannel I wanted to buy anyhow), thrown together in 30 minutes scarecrow costume actually won the Halloween costume contest at work. Yes, pictures exist. No, I don't have them yet, neither DL nor T had them off their cameras by the time they left work. I had my camera with me, but didn't take any pictures. All I know is that to suddenly see your business manager appear right outside your cube wearing a costume that looked like Bride of Frankenstein ridding Frankenstein's monster piggy back is not a good thing when you're in the middle of a serious work conversation. I was trying to talk with a lady from New York about what all we needed to do to resubmit her data, and he appears right in the periphery of my vision. I had to apologize for bursting out laughing, because it was no laughing matter that we were talking about.
Anyhow, If I get some pictures, I'll share.
Reporting month ended like a bear and there's still a little cleanup yet this week. Hopefully it'll only be a few more days. Then I'll be able to switch to both parts and service again and "relax" a little until the January reporting month. Not like it'll be all that relaxing, but it'll be easier work for a little bit.

Two cool things from the weekend though. Boo turned 17 months old yesterday! (No new dragon pictures, we just didn't get there....) and Boo and I went to Mel and Ant's family birthday party. Yep, I officially have a teenager in the "family" now. Mel is 13 and Ant turned 9. Scary things. It was a good time and I always love the chance to see Mel and Ant and Joan. Hopefully we'll be able to get together again before Christmas. I mean, they don't live that far away, but during the school year, it's a bit tough.

Anyhow, I've got to get my butt in gear and out the door.

Peace to all and may your spooks be sweet.