Whenever Hubby travels, I know he has long days. He’s in a strange environment and he’s at work. I also know he throws me these tidbits to update me on his whearabouts during the day, and I appreciate all of it. I love talking to him and am glad we now have a way to “see” each other when he travels.
Tonight I also got to “see” my bff on the other side of the country. We were supposed to be playing Uno, but the other participants couldn’t make it for one reason or another, so our game went bust. Instead we talked for a bit. (well, mostly I talked because she swears she has nothing to talk about)
# 3 called earlier today to let me know that she’s installed a doggie nanny-cam for Dex. She’s going to set him up to see what he’s getting into so she can ‘train from afar’. Pretty cool idea. I’m looking forward to getting some screenshots of “Dex-in-action” in the near future.
I had my appointment with the functional Endo the other day. I came out of there with a lab slip for a bunch of blood work. Seriously, it almost looked like she just put an X near anything that looked interesting.
Now I’ll make an appointment to get those done and I’ll go back to her for the big results “reveal” in April. I was kind of hoping it would be earlier than that, but I’m just glad to be taking these steps to see what’s what and get myself on a track. I know she’s going to do some minor tweaks and I’ll be good. I’m already a pretty hale and hearty stock, but everyone can use a bit of a tune-up now and then, eh?
3 year ago yesterday, Hubby and I signed the papers to purchase our current home. After having lived and raised our kids in the same home for 25 years, we had decided to pull up stakes and move to an area that was a little less congested. Somehow, we managed to downsize to a larger house. Doh!
At first, I was feeling a bit intimidated, but my space has grown on me. The first year I felt like I was visiting someone’s home. The second year I started making some changes that began to put my mark on the place. Suddenly, I wasn’t feeling quite so out-of-place anymore. This 3rd year seems to be the one that I’ve finally been able to feel like this is MY home. Maybe now I’ll even put up photos and art.
So far I’ve converted old railings into half walls in the loft/office space, changed all the doors on the first floor to nicer panel versions over the horrible Luan doors that were there. We replaced a portion of the roof and, replaced gutters all around and insulated the house with foam. We’ve also renovated one bedroom upstairs and one downstairs. The latter one has become Hubby’s office. We’ve replaced the flooring in the basement, all the appliances along with the washer and dryer, added two pellet stoves for heat, replaced the attic stairs, and added a set of French doors between the family room and what’s become the 3 seasons room aka “the pink room”.
Sometimes I feel like we’ve barely scratched the surface, so it’s good to look a the paragraph above and realize that we’ve been able to accomplish quite a bit in a short space of time. Awesome!
On the boards for this year, I hope to paint my bedroom and 2 bathrooms and replace the Luan doors downstairs with doors that match the upstairs area.There are always more ideas in the mix, but it’s going to be a busy year already, so we’ll see what else I can conjure up. Eventually, the kitchen(s) and bathrooms will need some updating, the front entrance needs a more functional entrance, the pool is going bye-bye and along with it a large portion of decking that makes the back part of the house feel closed off. Still, with what we’ve been able to accomplish already, I have confidence we’ll be able to get everything done.
In addition to this anniversary, this is my 600th post. Granted it’s been many years, and if you go back in my blog, you may see some photos are missing and blogs that might not make sense without the visual. That’s because I’ve migrated my blogs at least twice now, with everything ending up here. In the transition, some things may have been lost in the mix. Whenever I have time, I go back and find the photos – or ones that are similar – and repopulate my blogs. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but one day I’d like to print all my blogs into a bound book.
I saw something posted on Facebook tonight. I’ve tried to let it go, but as my mother used to say, “It’s just making my blood boil!”
This is probably *the* safest place to make any kind of a rant, although as a good friend pointed out it will probably still not be heard. That’s ok.. this is for me, really. All of you out there who don’t feel like delving into drama… click away….
Yup!
Pretty sure I’m going to break some of these suggestions/rules….
What’s digging in my craw about that first sign is that the person who posted it has broken just about every “rule” there is on that board. Now maybe she’s hoping for redemption if she simply hangs it on her wall, but babycakes, when you really LIVE by the rules, the shit you’ve pulled just doesn’t fly!
Let’s start with second chances, shall we? How generous of you to give two whole chances. I’m guessing you’ve forgotten the hundreds of chances you were/are given? I am being a little literal here, but I’m still giving you chances.
“We respect each other”. I’m wondering how being bailed out when you are in a pinch and then slapping the hand that helped you up is, in any way, being respectful. Were you “respectful” when you were given an car and then neglected to communicate with the people who bought it for you? Those same people who helped to raise you and loved you without reservation? Just how much “respect” did you show Meemaw and Peepaw? Let’s go a step farther. How about lying to your parents. Over and over and over again. How about swearing that you didn’t do something up until the witnesses on the stand testified otherwise, and then you admitted having done it AFTER the judge declared you guilty… and we’d lost a ton of money we had put up for your defense when you swore you weren’t guilty. Or asking to borrow money, and of your own volition, you offer to pay us back because you “realized that you’d never paid anything back for all the support in the past and that makes you feel bad”. Apparently not bad enough that you didn’t take ANOTHER chunk of change and then stop talking to us. And it didn’t seem to matter to you that it was the money I’d saved up all year to pay for my HEAT during the winter. Since you live in the South it wasn’t like your ass was going to freeze, so phhht!
“We say I’m sorry” ?? um.. still waiting. Still waiting for you to pick up the phone or text – you know, all those things you could do when you were in trouble and wanted to be bailed out??- and let me know why you didn’t send the $25.00 a month you’d promised to. To explain what happened. Like, maybe that your school money didn’t arrive, or that you’d spent it on something else, or that there was an emergency, or that you’d really needed cash for X. Just some kind of explanation for why you think it’s ok to fall off the face of the earth.
“We keep promises” ??? I think I’ve covered that one… and if not…see above with reference to $25.00.
Let’s move on to “I love you”. Which I always have. I feel as though I supported you, and tried to teach you how to be a good person who was self sufficient and able to care for herself and her future family. Instead, you ran to anyone who would hopefully make your life easier and told them whatever they needed to hear to get on their good side. Do I still love you. Of course I do. That doesn’t mean I don’t see the behavior pattern. Do I like you? Well, not so much right now to be perfectly honest.
And finally, “We are Family”. I sure would like to know your definition of that word. I think your father and siblings would as well. But since you seem to have made the choice to solely align with your “Southern” family, then so be it. After all, I’ve always said it was your life and you were welcome to make any choice you feel is necessary for you. Of course, the same applies for me. With that said, I wish you well. You were my sunshine, now you can go be theirs.
When I started my blog, I used to write about anything that popped into my head. Then, I became worried about “content” and started looking for things to write about that others might find interesting. I limited what I’d post because I felt the need to be PC. Frankly, I stifled myself and in doing so, I find that I sometimes have difficulty finding something to blog about. Well, hello… phooey with that!
If I want to curse in my blog, then I’m going to.
If I want to post a photo of an adult beverage related to a story I’m telling, I’m going to. At least on here. I’ve been edited and edited and frankly, I’m tired of it. I need a venue to be just me, and this is going to be it.
I just have no ideas for a catchy, or descriptive, title.
Holiday prep around here used to have a set of guidelines and processes. We’d always gotten out the lights and decorated the house the day after Thanksgiving, and we had usually gotten our tree by the first weekend in December. Those first two weeks in December were the best time to decorate since my daughter’s holiday concert was typically the second weekend in December. The children and I (both my own and the daycare kids I had) would make snowflakes from coffee filters and wrapping paper from paper grocery bags. We’d decorate the house with our “art”. Baking was a scheduled event and one particular CD had to be played every season. Sounds stifled when you read it, but it had a comfort to it. A scheduled, unhurried rhythm that got it all done.
As the children grew, things changed. We expanded our holidays to include our “family of choice” ( meaning our dear friends) and new traditions formed. Those traditions came fairly organically. Now that my children are grown and on their own, and the majority of our family of choice have moved to other states, our traditions have also changed. Just not as organically from my point of view. It’s taken me some introspection to get to where I am.
The first year we lived here we decorated everything. Everything!! Lights were everywhere and it was fun. We had a pretty good crowd of people visiting, so it felt right to be festive.
Last year we did very little. In fact, it was so bad I ended up going to the store at the last-minute and finding paper gift tags to hang on a tree just to say we had one. It was depressing, but we were traveling and I couldn’t justify putting everything up just to leave it while we were visiting our son.
This year, Hubby was too busy to really help, and I’ve come to the conclusion that the more I can do on my own, the better it will all be. To that end, I picked up lights that are easy to put on and decided that I’d take a “less is more’ tact with everything.
I was much happier this year with that. The whole pressure to have a perfect looking home or the perfect cookies or the perfect light display à la Good Housekeeping was trashed. I decorated to please me. Just me. If the kids liked it, then fine. If not, oh well. I bought new decorations and found new places for older things and did whatever I could (when I could) and didn’t beat myself up if it all wasn’t just perfect. I always try to do the best I can, but I didn’t berate myself if the results weren’t magazine photo worthy, especially if I liked them.
No tree is really complete without a cat under it, is it?
I guess the real point here is the evolution of my holiday and decorations in some ways reflects my life. When I was younger, it was all about structure and the children. As the kids began to fly the coop (and we did as well by purchasing a different house) my life was one big transition. Now that everyone has settled in for a bit, my life is … well.. what is it? It’s busier than I thought it would be, and it’s also quieter now and then; I find I have time to do what i want to do.
I supposed the goal for 2015 is to figure out just what I might like to do!
I’ve spent my morning chatting with some of my kids, and alternately staring at the snow and watching the dog play in it. Of course, that was after sleeping in and lounging in my nest of blankies this morning. I’m so grateful for the job I have, my husband, (and the life I lead in general) that affords me such simple yet luxurious experiences. Blessed I truly am.
It is that time of year where I need to be working on Human Tetris (aka box office for concerts), but since we don’t have any major plans for Thanksgiving other than being thankful, I have time to get to that. This year, for the first time in my life, it’ll just be Hubby and me for the holiday. No complaints. While I will/do miss my kids, the knowledge that they are all safe and happy is fine with me. We did our meal in October with #4 as is our family tradition. This leaves Thanksgiving open for the kids to celebrate with their “other” family and me time to get my head in the right place before concerts begin. It works.
Hubby and I have a small turkey breast, some sweet potatoes, asparagus, brussel sprouts and fruit for our celebration tomorrow. We’ve (I’ve) been able to stick with our whole30 for a week and a half and so far I’ve dropped 7 lbs and am feeling pretty good!
Today is #1’s birthday. I sent her a card, but I’m doubtful I’ll be talking to her. No too sure why, though. Whatever the reason, it seems to be what she wants, and I’ve let all my children know that my goal in life is to do my best not to judge their choices and try to honor whatever it is they’ve chosen. I don’t have to like what’s going on, or even understand it. I just have to acknowledge that it’s their choice and not obsess over the reasoning or why. Since my choice is to focus on what makes me happy, that’s what I’m going to do. Today that seems to be tea, my kitty curled up with me and watching the snow fall outside my window. Oh, and music. Gotta have the music.
In fact, it’s just about time to break out the Best Christmas Ever. My kids grew up with this 2 cd compilation playing in our house every year. It’s not necessarily the most traditional of holiday music, but it certainly evokes the memories of handmade ornaments, baking cookies, decorating the tree and late night package wrapping sessions. :0)
As expected, once temptation was out of my immediate realm, I’ve been able to maintain a wheat-free, lactose-free, sugar-free diet for two complete days. Had a pretty horrible headache yesterday but that was bearable.
Today I felt great. I made dinner for tomorrow night at work (pulled pork and cole slaw) and dinner for us tonight (baked chicken, broccoli and oven roasted eggplants and turnips). I harvested the little seeds out of my pomegranates and went shopping for (and found) bulk coconut oil and coconut flour at BJ’s! Woo hoo!
It’s the little things, people!
I’ve suddenly taken a shine to olives, for some reason. Hated them up until recently, but then all of a sudden I wanted to eat them constantly. I wonder what’s in them that’s making me crave them.
I’m in the market for a new physician. I like the person who is my doctor, but I don’t necessarily like the chaos and disconnect going on. Having a child working in the field, and listening to her tell me the troubles that happen when an office decides to migrate to a new system, gives me a head’s up as to why this chaos may be happening. That said, I’m not sure I’m willing to risk my health while they “work it out”.
In this instance, the doctor wants me to take a medication that expressly states that people who have X should never use. When questioning this, the office called me up to let me know that a completely different condition would not have any interaction with the medication. When I corrected them and explained the condition I was concerned with, they blew me off and said that I’d have to come in and talk with her. What? Truly? I have to make an appointment and come discuss it because you confused my condition and don’t have the time to take my phone call? Or call me later to discuss with me? Who is the customer here? I’m just thankful I read the monographs thoroughly before taking any medications.
So, the hunt is on but it’s not easy finding a physician. You just never know if you are going to click and feel comfy with a doctor until you’re fairly invested in the situation. I’m trusting the universe will let me know exactly who I’m supposed to go see.
Today is the first day of what my friend Jenny decreed, “Operation Air and Styrofoam”. (whole30)
It’s cold and raining and a generally blah kind of day. Sitting on my desk is a copy of the most recent “Taste of Home” cooking magazine with a photo of a chocolate peppermint cake and the words “Comfort and Joy” next to it. Nah, no marketing of emotions tied to foods there.
This is the season of eating. Stores are crammed with goodies to gift, goodies to make and food, food, food. However, my time off the wagon has led to inner ear fluid jostling around, elbow, knee and general joint pain, swelling of hands and feet, and a craving of all things butter (which I love above sugar, but I’m lactose intolerant). Thankfully, I’ve stayed at about the same weight so, I’m not having to peel off massive amounts above and beyond what I’d like to lose before going on tour and going to my daughter’s wedding. Actually, just in general I’d like to take this off, but those are my goal dates.
Bless my hubby for agreeing to be supportive. He even slipped in a little hint last night, which I appreciated. He was busy doing a few things and suggested I walk on the treadmill. But not in a “get your lazy butt on there woman” way. Just a simple, “You could watch TV, read or maybe take a walk. Whatever you want.” Maybe next time it will be, “Honey, I’ll do the dishes for you. You can do whatever you want. Maybe you’d like to take a walk!” Lol, just the trade-off of him doing the dishes in exchange for 30 minutes on the treadmill would be enough to motivate me. The treadmill is definitely the more enjoyable option.
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I let this post sit open on my desktop all day as a reminder, which worked great while I was working. When I went downstairs to make dinner, I did fine. But the knowledge that there was still birthday cake downstairs was overwhelming… sigh…I know.. I was weak. If it helps, it tasted great, but I felt crummy all evening.
Now that the cake-tease is gone, I’m sure I can last an entire day. 😀
Snippets and Tidbits 