It wasn't such a great day. I yelled at the hubby this morning about work and school and kids and God knows what else. Then I went to work with a queasy stomach and was immediately tossed out on my butt. Really though, I made it about an hour before my boss couldn't stand the sound of my coughing and moaning anymore.
There was mild excitement today, which is why I had to make it an hour. Someone quit - they didn't walk out but they did say they wouldn't be coming back on Monday. That means a bunch of paperwork - not a bunch really, just two letters, possibly a third tomorrow. We have to offer the Colorado Continuation Plan (because our company is too small to offer COBRA) and we require an exit physical of any field employee that leaves. So J has jumped ship finally, maybe there will be less grumbling - but I will miss him, we had nice conversations and we never had any problems between the two of us.
When I got home I was hungry but even crackers were making me sick to my stomach. I felt bad about yelling this morning and even worse that I was taking a day off (even if I was forced) after being such a grouch about work to the hubby . I tried to watch a movie for a little while and then slept on the couch all afternoon. I would love to do the same tomorrow but it's payday and I'm the one who does the paying. Maybe I'll get lucky and work half a day, I doubt it seriously, but a girl can dream, right?
But Saturday is coming - glorious Saturday. It marks the start of a weekend, days in which nothing is really expected of me, where I can sleep until 10 and no one will think poorly of me. I can stay up until midnight without thinking constantly about the few hours of sleep I'll be getting... I love the weekend. This one will be a couch/TV/movie weekend - with some laundry thrown in for good measure.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
It Worked!
I wake up at 6am to Matt's alarm going off. I wonder why I've never heard it before but think it's waaaay to early to get up - I'll sleep until 6:30. That sounds good. Remember, I'm a procrastinator - did I tell you that? Well, I am and I'm very good at it. At 6:30 I drag my sorry butt out of bed, wake Lindsay, trying to convince her that it actually is morning, lie to her and say getting up early was her idea, and go make coffee. It's not hard to find a reason to stay up, I found a new blog that I'm trying to catch up on and with the new computer, I just can't help myself. Lindsay drags herself to the upright position about 10 minutes after I wake her. I offer hot cocoa and she declines, she'd prefer coffee this morning, thank you mother. Ha! She's just like me! That's a scary thought. We have a nice slow morning that does not begin or end in tears - there are rewards to getting up early. Now I'll have to convince myself of this tomorrow morning - just to make sure this isn't some sort of fluke.
My friend, the one that didn't get to go to Holland (and who will, someday, have a name), just joined the gym that opened next door to our neighborhood. It's a 24-Hour Fitness and while it's expensive, it's convenient. Right Next Door. Yeikes. No reason to claim traffic was bad, gas costs too much, or the weather sucked... what is a girl to do? Go to the gym, I guess. She went to two classes last night. First she spent 20 minutes on the elliptical, then took and abdominal toning class (1 hour), and ended with Camp 24 (1 hour) which I guess is similar to Boot Camp fitness classes. Yuck! She claims to have died for a minute when she got home last night. I told her that's what she gets, it served her right, I hope she strokes out. Okay, I wasn't really that mean. I told her to slow down a little bit - one class and the elliptical is enough for one night - especially since she hasn't been going to the gym regularly. Holy cow!
The hubby and I have been considering joining. We'll have to wait until our car insurance rate goes down, tighten the budget belt a little and maybe both get second jobs, maybe sell one of the kids to do it but that's the price of fitness, right? Really though, it's only about $100 for registration and $70 a month. There's the Right Next Door thing too, remember? So we're thinking about it, considering it, pondering it.
Hey, it's just like (well, not really just like) I'm thinking about signing up for the Comcast Triple Play - digital cable, high-speed internet and digital phone for 'one low price' (offer subject to availability, price only good for six months, then we take your first born child, etc..) We already have cable and high-speed internet with Comcast and we have Vonage for our home phone but Vonage and Comcast do not play well together. There are fights, and most of the time we are the one's that lose. Some miscellaneous part of our network or phone service goes down and the whole system has to be reset. I'm thinking Comcast bundling might be a more feasible option. Oh, and we'd upgrade from basic cable to digital cable and have cool stuff like On-Demand. How awesome is that - tons of movies for free at the touch of a button? Maybe I wouldn't be so upset about my VHS tapes being hopelessly out of date. Nah, I think I'll hold on to that for a while.
Speaking of technology frustration... I could not sleep last night, I tried but it just would not come. So I get out of bed and put in Tremors. You know, it's embarrassing to admit that I watch such a dumb movie, even more so to admit that I love it. Anyway, the movie starts and I realize that there is no sound. AAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!! There's something wrong between the television and DVD player and I'm not smart enough to figure it out - especially at midnight. But you know who I think is? The hubby, that's who. And I wake him and make him figure it out - which he can't because....? You guessed it. I WOKE HIM UP, for crying out loud. He's a sleepy mess and has no idea what is wrong, nor does he think now is a good time to fix it. My brows furl, my lips are pursed. Now it's 12:30 in the morning, I'm still awake AND I'm angry. That helps!
Did I mention the book I'm reading? If not, it's called Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella. I've never read any of her books before but I'm three-quarters of the way through it and I'm totally in love with her writing. This is a girlie-girl book, but an amazing one. I highly recommend it.
My friend, the one that didn't get to go to Holland (and who will, someday, have a name), just joined the gym that opened next door to our neighborhood. It's a 24-Hour Fitness and while it's expensive, it's convenient. Right Next Door. Yeikes. No reason to claim traffic was bad, gas costs too much, or the weather sucked... what is a girl to do? Go to the gym, I guess. She went to two classes last night. First she spent 20 minutes on the elliptical, then took and abdominal toning class (1 hour), and ended with Camp 24 (1 hour) which I guess is similar to Boot Camp fitness classes. Yuck! She claims to have died for a minute when she got home last night. I told her that's what she gets, it served her right, I hope she strokes out. Okay, I wasn't really that mean. I told her to slow down a little bit - one class and the elliptical is enough for one night - especially since she hasn't been going to the gym regularly. Holy cow!
The hubby and I have been considering joining. We'll have to wait until our car insurance rate goes down, tighten the budget belt a little and maybe both get second jobs, maybe sell one of the kids to do it but that's the price of fitness, right? Really though, it's only about $100 for registration and $70 a month. There's the Right Next Door thing too, remember? So we're thinking about it, considering it, pondering it.
Hey, it's just like (well, not really just like) I'm thinking about signing up for the Comcast Triple Play - digital cable, high-speed internet and digital phone for 'one low price' (offer subject to availability, price only good for six months, then we take your first born child, etc..) We already have cable and high-speed internet with Comcast and we have Vonage for our home phone but Vonage and Comcast do not play well together. There are fights, and most of the time we are the one's that lose. Some miscellaneous part of our network or phone service goes down and the whole system has to be reset. I'm thinking Comcast bundling might be a more feasible option. Oh, and we'd upgrade from basic cable to digital cable and have cool stuff like On-Demand. How awesome is that - tons of movies for free at the touch of a button? Maybe I wouldn't be so upset about my VHS tapes being hopelessly out of date. Nah, I think I'll hold on to that for a while.
Speaking of technology frustration... I could not sleep last night, I tried but it just would not come. So I get out of bed and put in Tremors. You know, it's embarrassing to admit that I watch such a dumb movie, even more so to admit that I love it. Anyway, the movie starts and I realize that there is no sound. AAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!! There's something wrong between the television and DVD player and I'm not smart enough to figure it out - especially at midnight. But you know who I think is? The hubby, that's who. And I wake him and make him figure it out - which he can't because....? You guessed it. I WOKE HIM UP, for crying out loud. He's a sleepy mess and has no idea what is wrong, nor does he think now is a good time to fix it. My brows furl, my lips are pursed. Now it's 12:30 in the morning, I'm still awake AND I'm angry. That helps!
Did I mention the book I'm reading? If not, it's called Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella. I've never read any of her books before but I'm three-quarters of the way through it and I'm totally in love with her writing. This is a girlie-girl book, but an amazing one. I highly recommend it.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
The Terrible/Great Day
What a horrible, rotten day. Or at least it starts out that way. My daughter starts the day complaining she doesn't want to go to school because her body hurts. I understand, really I do. I don't want to get out of bed either. We're just not morning people. I really should try to get up a half an hour or 45 minutes earlier, yes... earlier. Then we could move a little slower; I could sip my coffee and she her hot cocoa slower and we could acclimate ourselves to the idea of being awake. So she gets dressed, grabs her coat, mittens and backpack and is out the door with the neighbor boy and a cup of hot cocoa to go. No, I am not neglecting her - she eats breakfast at the school. She does that in order to be on time to class. If she's in the school eating when the bell rings, she won't be late.
The hubby leaves at about 8:30, the same time I should be leaving but I don't. I wait until about a quarter till nine, when I'm darn good and late, then I head out. On my way, the hubby calls and is chit-chatting me up about everything and then, out of nowhere, he swears. I say, "What?" "The Jimmy just died," he says. "So put a new fuse in it and I'll talk to you later," I say and hang up. We got the the Jimmy fixed a few weeks ago, we thought everything was great - and then a fuse blew. It's the fuse to the fuel pump, the fuse we just replaced, so I had the hubby go out and buy a couple of handful's of them so we wouldn't have to take it to the mechanic again, because honestly, if it's a wiring issue we're just not fixing it. Anyway, the fuses keep blowing this morning and we're forced to make a decision while suffering a time crunch. You see, the hubby is on his way to his calculus class and then he has to go to work. He calls Scott, our mechanic, who says that it's probably not that difficult to find the problem and fix it so he has the Jimmy towed to Scott's shop. Meanwhile, I am at work alone (alone = I'm the only one here to answer the phone) and I've got to pick the hubby up so he can have a car to go to work, back to school and whatnot until I get off work.
I shouldn't worry so much - especially since I'm trying hard not to worry about things - except that I am taking a long lunch tomorrow in order to attend a meeting with Jake and his school counselor at school to discuss his credits and college requirements. I'm already inconveniencing my boss, not that he minds terribly. He did just get both of his daughters off to college - good ones, might I add. So I'm stressing a little about getting off to a bad start this week. It's only Tuesday for heavens sake!
The day ended on a high note. The hubby picks me up and heads over to work where he has a few things to wrap up for the day. I pick up Matt from the High School and call Jake to find out what he's doing. "I'm going to lift (weights) Mom, I feel like I have to." "Oh," I say, "that's too bad because we're going to Dragon Gate for dinner. Too bad you can't make it." I'm surprised I finished my sentence. Jake loves that place. "I don't have to lift tonight. Where are you, I'll be right there," he says. I ask where the girlfriend is and ask if she'd like to join us. We have a great dinner where the girlfriend and I end up making our abs hurt because we are laughing so hard. She has eaten so many donuts that she's vibrating now and she can't stop - I think she is going to crash when she comes down off that sugar high.
My phone rings shortly after we get home. It's Matt's math teacher and she's calling to say that Matt is doing an exceptional job this semester. I can't tell you how good that feels. We have a nice conversation about how smart he is and that he's finally applying himself and how to keep on this track. If this isn't a great way to end the day, I don't know what is.
The hubby leaves at about 8:30, the same time I should be leaving but I don't. I wait until about a quarter till nine, when I'm darn good and late, then I head out. On my way, the hubby calls and is chit-chatting me up about everything and then, out of nowhere, he swears. I say, "What?" "The Jimmy just died," he says. "So put a new fuse in it and I'll talk to you later," I say and hang up. We got the the Jimmy fixed a few weeks ago, we thought everything was great - and then a fuse blew. It's the fuse to the fuel pump, the fuse we just replaced, so I had the hubby go out and buy a couple of handful's of them so we wouldn't have to take it to the mechanic again, because honestly, if it's a wiring issue we're just not fixing it. Anyway, the fuses keep blowing this morning and we're forced to make a decision while suffering a time crunch. You see, the hubby is on his way to his calculus class and then he has to go to work. He calls Scott, our mechanic, who says that it's probably not that difficult to find the problem and fix it so he has the Jimmy towed to Scott's shop. Meanwhile, I am at work alone (alone = I'm the only one here to answer the phone) and I've got to pick the hubby up so he can have a car to go to work, back to school and whatnot until I get off work.
I shouldn't worry so much - especially since I'm trying hard not to worry about things - except that I am taking a long lunch tomorrow in order to attend a meeting with Jake and his school counselor at school to discuss his credits and college requirements. I'm already inconveniencing my boss, not that he minds terribly. He did just get both of his daughters off to college - good ones, might I add. So I'm stressing a little about getting off to a bad start this week. It's only Tuesday for heavens sake!
The day ended on a high note. The hubby picks me up and heads over to work where he has a few things to wrap up for the day. I pick up Matt from the High School and call Jake to find out what he's doing. "I'm going to lift (weights) Mom, I feel like I have to." "Oh," I say, "that's too bad because we're going to Dragon Gate for dinner. Too bad you can't make it." I'm surprised I finished my sentence. Jake loves that place. "I don't have to lift tonight. Where are you, I'll be right there," he says. I ask where the girlfriend is and ask if she'd like to join us. We have a great dinner where the girlfriend and I end up making our abs hurt because we are laughing so hard. She has eaten so many donuts that she's vibrating now and she can't stop - I think she is going to crash when she comes down off that sugar high.
My phone rings shortly after we get home. It's Matt's math teacher and she's calling to say that Matt is doing an exceptional job this semester. I can't tell you how good that feels. We have a nice conversation about how smart he is and that he's finally applying himself and how to keep on this track. If this isn't a great way to end the day, I don't know what is.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Blithering Idiot Talking
It's been a really long weekend. My brain is fried and I'm tired. I'm going to blabber for a little while - forgive me. I went to Sunflower Market on Friday to pick up a few things for dinner and found already-made meatloaf that you just bake. We had it for dinner tonight, Monday. It was great. I think I'll buy it again - and it wasn't very expensive; I think it was about the same price as 90% lean beef.
Sunday I found out that my VCR's don't work with my new televisions - they're too old. What a bummer. An employee at Best Buy explained the problem to us and suggested that we burn DVD copies of all of our VHS tapes so that we can watch them on our TV's. They sell a VHS/DVD burner combo - you just put a blank DVD and the video you want to copy and press a button. This cool piece of technology only costs $249. It will have to wait. In the meantime I've set up our little (and old) 13" television with a VCR so I can watch my favorite videos if I want.
I also bought a new computer while we were there. I went with a desktop this time, I wasn't mobile anymore and I figured I was used to being stuck at my desk. You just get more computer for your buck when you go desktop as opposed to laptop. I bought a Compaq Presario with I-don't-know-what except that it has 2 gigs of RAM and is a dual core processor. Those are the only specs that mean anything to me. I have to get used to Vista now, but it's coming to me.
I did a lot of de-cluttering this weekend. Threw out a lot of pointless items, torn or worn out clothes, and went through paper piles. It made me feel better. Then, as I was cleaning the dining room, I picked up the box my new shoes came in. I thought, "This is a decent box, it has a nice picture on the top, I'll keep it." HELLO! I need to throw the box out! DE-clutter! I'm still working on this.
I started reading a couple of new blogs I found. I need to stop looking for them. I have a busy life and don't really have time to read about someone else. But it's so interesting, these people live such different lives from mine. They have kids and a job, but who they are is so different. Sorry, thinking through the keyboard here. I love reading about people in New York or Kentucky or wherever.
Sunday I found out that my VCR's don't work with my new televisions - they're too old. What a bummer. An employee at Best Buy explained the problem to us and suggested that we burn DVD copies of all of our VHS tapes so that we can watch them on our TV's. They sell a VHS/DVD burner combo - you just put a blank DVD and the video you want to copy and press a button. This cool piece of technology only costs $249. It will have to wait. In the meantime I've set up our little (and old) 13" television with a VCR so I can watch my favorite videos if I want.
I also bought a new computer while we were there. I went with a desktop this time, I wasn't mobile anymore and I figured I was used to being stuck at my desk. You just get more computer for your buck when you go desktop as opposed to laptop. I bought a Compaq Presario with I-don't-know-what except that it has 2 gigs of RAM and is a dual core processor. Those are the only specs that mean anything to me. I have to get used to Vista now, but it's coming to me.
I did a lot of de-cluttering this weekend. Threw out a lot of pointless items, torn or worn out clothes, and went through paper piles. It made me feel better. Then, as I was cleaning the dining room, I picked up the box my new shoes came in. I thought, "This is a decent box, it has a nice picture on the top, I'll keep it." HELLO! I need to throw the box out! DE-clutter! I'm still working on this.
I started reading a couple of new blogs I found. I need to stop looking for them. I have a busy life and don't really have time to read about someone else. But it's so interesting, these people live such different lives from mine. They have kids and a job, but who they are is so different. Sorry, thinking through the keyboard here. I love reading about people in New York or Kentucky or wherever.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Weddings and Kitchen Tools
The other day I bought a garlic press. I've been wanting one for a while now, maybe two years. I know that's a long time to wait, I would forget about it when I was at the store, only to remember when I was making my hands stinky cutting it up. That little kitchen gadget has already brought me joy, I love it. If you cook with garlic, you really should invest in one.
I thought of that great little toy while looking over a recipe for Pork Carnitas. Normally I don't eat pork but this recipe looked really good and I've had a little taste of it at my favorite Mexican restaurant, The Armadillo. I would put up a link but their site is unavailable right now. Anyway, for the first time ever, I bought a pork roast at King Soopers. I felt like an idiot, I had no idea what I was looking for. I ended up with one that I think will work. This recipe is for a crock pot so I'll be putting it all together in the morning but it's basically an add and cook type thing. There's no browning or 'cook on high for 3 hours then turn down' or anything complicated. We should come home to a nice hot dinner. I'm not new to crockpot cooking, it just takes a while to find recipes my family will actually enjoy that cook in them.
My nephew and niece are here for a couple of hours. My nephew is three and my niece is eight months old. A loves to take care of the little one. She pretends to be her mom, carries her around and rocks her. She's going to have the real mom experience tonight though, there's a dirty diaper that needs changed...
Lindsay didn't enjoy that experience, neither did I. It's been a long time since I've had to do diaper duty. Thank heavens that's over for the evening. Now the only pain will be that the little one is tired and she doesn't go to sleep easily.
My sister-in-law is getting married and had to go look for a wedding dress. She's getting married on the 15th of February and she's running out of options since she doesn't want to spend $500 on a dress. She dropped off our invitation and said that if Jake's girlfriend wants to come, or he wants to bring her, she's welcome. I think the reception will be fun for the hubby and I, we'll get to watch my in-laws scare the heck out of the girlfriend.
I'm thinking there will be dancing there too. I've been trying to convince the hubby that we need some dancing lessons. I'd love to be able to swing dance. I think it would be fun. He says I'm more than welcome to take lessons, he just doesn't know who I'll get to go with me. Putz! He'll go, I don't know when or how, but he'll go.
I had a pipe on my car replaced today so now it is quiet again. It was part of my exhaust system but the sound it made wasn't like my car had no muffler, it was just rattling and that was enough to drive me nuts. There's only one noise I don't like thats left on my car, my front driver's side quarter panel rattles too. I don't think I'll be able to get that fixed. My car is just old and has some problems that are probably best left alone.
TMI moment coming up - Feel free to skip it.
I'm tired today. My hips, lower back and head all hurt and I'm having sharp abdominal pains again. I started my period and I'm discouraged because it wasn't supposed to happen. Isn't this why I went through the trouble of having surgery? So now I have the discomfort, pain, cramps, headaches and hormonal surges and still have my period. Well, hopefully it isn't heavy and it either gets better or I can schedule the hysterectomy for May or June. I will not go on the NuvaRing for another 15 years jut to be stable but I would consider using it until I'm ready to have surgery - if it didn't cost so much. I think I'm wishy-washy on this topic because I think one way when I feel good and another when I'm in pain and miserable.
TMI moment is over.
I wanted to leave work early but decided to stick it out instead. I noticed there were some unfinished proposals on the boss's desk and it's my job to check them for grammar, math and other errors while I type them and ready everything to email and/or fax out to our clients. I don't like it when he does them on his own because he misses things. He'll forget to end a sentence with a period or part of the document will be in another font, etc... I'm anal about continuity and professionalism in all of our outgoing documents - that's my job. The bottom line is that we can proof-read for each other. So I stayed and toughed it out.
I thought of that great little toy while looking over a recipe for Pork Carnitas. Normally I don't eat pork but this recipe looked really good and I've had a little taste of it at my favorite Mexican restaurant, The Armadillo. I would put up a link but their site is unavailable right now. Anyway, for the first time ever, I bought a pork roast at King Soopers. I felt like an idiot, I had no idea what I was looking for. I ended up with one that I think will work. This recipe is for a crock pot so I'll be putting it all together in the morning but it's basically an add and cook type thing. There's no browning or 'cook on high for 3 hours then turn down' or anything complicated. We should come home to a nice hot dinner. I'm not new to crockpot cooking, it just takes a while to find recipes my family will actually enjoy that cook in them.
My nephew and niece are here for a couple of hours. My nephew is three and my niece is eight months old. A loves to take care of the little one. She pretends to be her mom, carries her around and rocks her. She's going to have the real mom experience tonight though, there's a dirty diaper that needs changed...
Lindsay didn't enjoy that experience, neither did I. It's been a long time since I've had to do diaper duty. Thank heavens that's over for the evening. Now the only pain will be that the little one is tired and she doesn't go to sleep easily.
My sister-in-law is getting married and had to go look for a wedding dress. She's getting married on the 15th of February and she's running out of options since she doesn't want to spend $500 on a dress. She dropped off our invitation and said that if Jake's girlfriend wants to come, or he wants to bring her, she's welcome. I think the reception will be fun for the hubby and I, we'll get to watch my in-laws scare the heck out of the girlfriend.
I'm thinking there will be dancing there too. I've been trying to convince the hubby that we need some dancing lessons. I'd love to be able to swing dance. I think it would be fun. He says I'm more than welcome to take lessons, he just doesn't know who I'll get to go with me. Putz! He'll go, I don't know when or how, but he'll go.
I had a pipe on my car replaced today so now it is quiet again. It was part of my exhaust system but the sound it made wasn't like my car had no muffler, it was just rattling and that was enough to drive me nuts. There's only one noise I don't like thats left on my car, my front driver's side quarter panel rattles too. I don't think I'll be able to get that fixed. My car is just old and has some problems that are probably best left alone.
TMI moment coming up - Feel free to skip it.
I'm tired today. My hips, lower back and head all hurt and I'm having sharp abdominal pains again. I started my period and I'm discouraged because it wasn't supposed to happen. Isn't this why I went through the trouble of having surgery? So now I have the discomfort, pain, cramps, headaches and hormonal surges and still have my period. Well, hopefully it isn't heavy and it either gets better or I can schedule the hysterectomy for May or June. I will not go on the NuvaRing for another 15 years jut to be stable but I would consider using it until I'm ready to have surgery - if it didn't cost so much. I think I'm wishy-washy on this topic because I think one way when I feel good and another when I'm in pain and miserable.
TMI moment is over.
I wanted to leave work early but decided to stick it out instead. I noticed there were some unfinished proposals on the boss's desk and it's my job to check them for grammar, math and other errors while I type them and ready everything to email and/or fax out to our clients. I don't like it when he does them on his own because he misses things. He'll forget to end a sentence with a period or part of the document will be in another font, etc... I'm anal about continuity and professionalism in all of our outgoing documents - that's my job. The bottom line is that we can proof-read for each other. So I stayed and toughed it out.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
New Shoes and Good Conversation
I bought a new pair of shoes today. If I'm lucky I won't put them on in the morning and decide I hate them, which I almost always do. It can take me weeks to buy a pair I like, returning them the day after I buy them and picking up another pair. Once it took me three months to buy a pair of shoes for a wedding then I got on a plane, flew 1600 miles, and bought a new pair the morning before the wedding! Anyway, I got a pair of black, conservative loafers. I've been wearing my crocs or sneakers to work for a while now, wearing my dress shoes only once in the last three months? I'm bad, but nobody cares. Clients almost never come in the office and when they do, all they see is me sitting behind my desk - one of those wrap-around reception desks. My hope is that these shoes will be comfortable and durable, since dress shoes almost never fit either category.
I had a really fun conversation with a friend tonight. To be honest, I don't remember most of what we talked about; it was just fun to talk and laugh and enjoy the banter. I love conversations like that - there aren't any lulls in the conversation because you're just jumping from one dumb topic to another and having a girl moment. At one point her husband told her to tell me a joke and pass it on to my husband, here it is: How do you catch a circle? With a trapezoid. That's funny only to math geeks. Ha Ha. Hmmm.
Another friend sent me an email about how to stop worrying while trying to fall asleep. My trick is to watch television but many people think that's counter-productive. Her idea was to think of thirty things that you like... your spouse, kids, parents, where you live, where you'd like to visit, foods you love. She says it's very positive and even a good way to wake up if you have the time. I guess it's working for her and she really likes it. Thanks for the tip LJ! On the worrying front, I finished the books at work today, packed them up, made a backup of Quickbooks, and put it all on my boss's desk. It felt good and I worked at a relaxed pace the rest of the day, even clearing several more pressing items off my to-do list. I even found a bond for a contractors license that I thought I'd lost. Sometimes my piles get out of hand. Finally, the 'to-do' section is smaller than the 'done' section. Who knew I could be so productive?!
I mentioned earlier that I was going to read The Power of Positive Thinking. After reading a couple of chapters I decided that it just wasn't for me so I've started reading books on organizing and pouring over cookbooks again. They clear my head, are calming and work on that creative side that I've been trying to develop for years.
The hubby spent most of last night doing calculus homework and making frustrated noises. They weren't as bad as last semester, but they sure did sound familiar. He told me I had no idea how hard it was and I had to agree with him. No only do I not know, I would never take such a class - if I did, they might as well give me the F and save me the headache. Social sciences classes, that's where I excel. Psychology, sociology, criminology... These are the classes I'm working on - they are all that's between me and a Bachelor of Science in Applied Psychology. The hubby is still working on the final classes to be accepted into his Bachelors program - Computer Science, but I think he'll end up in the Technology Education program. I think he really wants to teach. When the boys were little he was an assistant den leader and worked really hard with the kids, then one year he got a scholarship that required him to volunteer 40 hours per semester with children. He signed up with the school district and helped out in Matt and Lindsay's classes for a year and a half - kindergarten, first, fifth and sixth grades. He enjoyed working with them and when he saw that CSU offered the Technology Education degree that qualifies graduates to teach kindergarten through twelfth grades, he was hooked.
Well, off to bed. Tomorrow is a new day with lots of promise. That's what I keep telling myself anyway. Jake will be staying home from school because he's finally admitted that he's sick. A will probably tell us she's sick (she pulled that this morning but had a great day at school), and Matt will be out the door earlier than anyone else, and be just as happy about it as he was today. I think he was suffering from cabin fever and couldn't wait to see his friends. He asked if he could go to weights after school and we told him he could as long as he wasn't too tired. Both of the boys attend weights at the high school during the off season in preparation for football. Matt can tell the coaches that he gave Jake the flu so they won't think he's slacking off. Another kid sick, hopefully the rest of us escape it.
I had a really fun conversation with a friend tonight. To be honest, I don't remember most of what we talked about; it was just fun to talk and laugh and enjoy the banter. I love conversations like that - there aren't any lulls in the conversation because you're just jumping from one dumb topic to another and having a girl moment. At one point her husband told her to tell me a joke and pass it on to my husband, here it is: How do you catch a circle? With a trapezoid. That's funny only to math geeks. Ha Ha. Hmmm.
Another friend sent me an email about how to stop worrying while trying to fall asleep. My trick is to watch television but many people think that's counter-productive. Her idea was to think of thirty things that you like... your spouse, kids, parents, where you live, where you'd like to visit, foods you love. She says it's very positive and even a good way to wake up if you have the time. I guess it's working for her and she really likes it. Thanks for the tip LJ! On the worrying front, I finished the books at work today, packed them up, made a backup of Quickbooks, and put it all on my boss's desk. It felt good and I worked at a relaxed pace the rest of the day, even clearing several more pressing items off my to-do list. I even found a bond for a contractors license that I thought I'd lost. Sometimes my piles get out of hand. Finally, the 'to-do' section is smaller than the 'done' section. Who knew I could be so productive?!
I mentioned earlier that I was going to read The Power of Positive Thinking. After reading a couple of chapters I decided that it just wasn't for me so I've started reading books on organizing and pouring over cookbooks again. They clear my head, are calming and work on that creative side that I've been trying to develop for years.
The hubby spent most of last night doing calculus homework and making frustrated noises. They weren't as bad as last semester, but they sure did sound familiar. He told me I had no idea how hard it was and I had to agree with him. No only do I not know, I would never take such a class - if I did, they might as well give me the F and save me the headache. Social sciences classes, that's where I excel. Psychology, sociology, criminology... These are the classes I'm working on - they are all that's between me and a Bachelor of Science in Applied Psychology. The hubby is still working on the final classes to be accepted into his Bachelors program - Computer Science, but I think he'll end up in the Technology Education program. I think he really wants to teach. When the boys were little he was an assistant den leader and worked really hard with the kids, then one year he got a scholarship that required him to volunteer 40 hours per semester with children. He signed up with the school district and helped out in Matt and Lindsay's classes for a year and a half - kindergarten, first, fifth and sixth grades. He enjoyed working with them and when he saw that CSU offered the Technology Education degree that qualifies graduates to teach kindergarten through twelfth grades, he was hooked.
Well, off to bed. Tomorrow is a new day with lots of promise. That's what I keep telling myself anyway. Jake will be staying home from school because he's finally admitted that he's sick. A will probably tell us she's sick (she pulled that this morning but had a great day at school), and Matt will be out the door earlier than anyone else, and be just as happy about it as he was today. I think he was suffering from cabin fever and couldn't wait to see his friends. He asked if he could go to weights after school and we told him he could as long as he wasn't too tired. Both of the boys attend weights at the high school during the off season in preparation for football. Matt can tell the coaches that he gave Jake the flu so they won't think he's slacking off. Another kid sick, hopefully the rest of us escape it.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Sick and Tired
It's still really cold here and I think it drives people into their beds early. It's only 8:30 and we're all ready to go to sleep. The days at work have been exhausting for both the hubby and I, even though I had a three day weekend I still feel as though I haven't gotten a day off. This afternoon my boss asked if I'd work next Monday. Of course, more hours, he'll be out in the field and I should have most of my work wrapped up so it will be nice and slow.
Matt is much better now but Jake is getting sick and I think I might be too. It might just be the soreness of typing and pouring over papers all day long, but I'm really wearing down. Lindsay and Rob still seem to be healthy. Once again, Jake doesn't want to stay home from school. He says that he doesn't have much 'human contact' at school tomorrow, but if he's really sick he's not going.
Most of the junior high and high schools her follow what's called a modified block schedule. That means that they have eight classes (for example) and attend all of them on Monday, odd classes on Tuesday and Thursday, and even classes on Wednesday and Friday. On Monday their classes are about 45 minutes a piece and the rest of the week they are 90 minutes. It's weird, and I have to keep up with late start schedules too. Matt has a different lunch time three days a week - there are four different lunch periods at his school, but in High School, Jake has lunch with everyone at the same time every day. 800 kids eating lunch in the commons. Must be crowded.
I think I'm heading off for bed now. I could use the extra sleep and if it won't come, then I can read some of my Cosmo. Oh, I don't think I mentioned... My friend, the one that didn't make it to Holland, gave me a subscription to Cosmo for Christmas. I buy them every once in a while kind of as a joke but I think they're fun. She thought it would be nice to give that to me every month. It's really a great gift - even if it's written for the 20-something searching-for-a-man girl.
Matt is much better now but Jake is getting sick and I think I might be too. It might just be the soreness of typing and pouring over papers all day long, but I'm really wearing down. Lindsay and Rob still seem to be healthy. Once again, Jake doesn't want to stay home from school. He says that he doesn't have much 'human contact' at school tomorrow, but if he's really sick he's not going.
Most of the junior high and high schools her follow what's called a modified block schedule. That means that they have eight classes (for example) and attend all of them on Monday, odd classes on Tuesday and Thursday, and even classes on Wednesday and Friday. On Monday their classes are about 45 minutes a piece and the rest of the week they are 90 minutes. It's weird, and I have to keep up with late start schedules too. Matt has a different lunch time three days a week - there are four different lunch periods at his school, but in High School, Jake has lunch with everyone at the same time every day. 800 kids eating lunch in the commons. Must be crowded.
I think I'm heading off for bed now. I could use the extra sleep and if it won't come, then I can read some of my Cosmo. Oh, I don't think I mentioned... My friend, the one that didn't make it to Holland, gave me a subscription to Cosmo for Christmas. I buy them every once in a while kind of as a joke but I think they're fun. She thought it would be nice to give that to me every month. It's really a great gift - even if it's written for the 20-something searching-for-a-man girl.
Monday, January 21, 2008
A Day Off For Most
The hubby worked today and Jake was out with the girlfriend (again) so Lindsay, Matt and I were home alone together. I was going to get breakfast burritos from Qdoba for Matt, but by the time we were all up and functioning they weren't serving breakfast anymore. We watched movies for a while and then did some cleaning. Since Matt is sick, he hasn't been doing the dishes - nobody wants that! I've been graced with that chore. Together we got the living room almost sorted out (Lindsay was working on that), the dining room clean, the entry picked up and I got the kitchen done. I have to make sure I get a load of clothes in tonight or I'll be out of luck tomorrow morning when I'm trying to get ready for work.
I'm thinking that wearing a sweatshirt to work might be a good idea since it's -2 degrees now and not supposed to get above 10 tomorrow. It's been pretty cold here the past couple of days - I'm sick of hearing the term 'Arctic Air'. Spring is about two months away but I think by this time next month the temperature won't be falling into the single digits anymore. Nice thought, right?
I talked to a friend last night who lives in San Antonio, Texas. I wish we had their weather, I was jealous. I've wondered if it would be worth it to move somewhere with a warmer winter climate but I love Colorado - besides, if I move I'd be doing it without the hubby since he has no interest in moving away from here.
I made an interesting dinner tonight. We had Spaghetti Carbonara (this isn't the recipe I use but it's close) with shrimp and a Cesare salad. I felt in the mood to keep cooking so I made a new version of rice pudding for the kids to eat for breakfast in the morning. It's made with orzo pasta, seasoned apples, cranberries, cinnamon and french vanilla pudding. Jake wanted to eat it for dessert. He normally doesn't eat breakfast because he's always running late - or he just won't get up on time - so I try to get him to eat something on the go. He hates granola bars because of his braces, doesn't have time for cereal, won't eat oatmeal, I've even tried breakfast burritos... the list goes on but he says he'll eat this. I try to keep styrofoam cups and plastic spoons so that they can eat on the go.
I'm not looking forward to this week because I'm not feeling well - I don't have the flu though. I have a lot of abdominal pain and cramps that I have to report to my doctor. I think I'll be having a visit every month for the next four or five months, I'll report all of my many symptoms, the fact that only the NuvaRing helps, and hopefully get surgery authorized by May or June if they don't subside.
On the flu front, Matt is much better but still very tired - worn out from being sick. He didn't have a fever this morning and he doesn't have body aches, cough, sore throat or any of the symptoms besides being tired but that's to be expected. I've decided to keep him home tomorrow and let him rest for one more day. I'm sure the school administration will agree with me. The rest of us remain healthy, no sign of the disease.
I'm still keeping up with my resolutions. I'm worrying much less and feeling better about it all the time. I have kept up my check register, even balancing it with the bank every couple of days. I'm one of those strange people who would rather cheat in my register so that I show several dollars less than the bank. In my personal accounts that is fine, it's not something however, that I can do at work. I must match to the penny there.
Well, I'm hoping that the week goes smoothly, the books go off to the accountant no later than Friday (even though we're shooting for Wednesday), that mid-month books are easy, and that the temperature rises. I just heard that it's supposed to be in the 40's by Thursday! That would be welcome.
I'm thinking that wearing a sweatshirt to work might be a good idea since it's -2 degrees now and not supposed to get above 10 tomorrow. It's been pretty cold here the past couple of days - I'm sick of hearing the term 'Arctic Air'. Spring is about two months away but I think by this time next month the temperature won't be falling into the single digits anymore. Nice thought, right?
I talked to a friend last night who lives in San Antonio, Texas. I wish we had their weather, I was jealous. I've wondered if it would be worth it to move somewhere with a warmer winter climate but I love Colorado - besides, if I move I'd be doing it without the hubby since he has no interest in moving away from here.
I made an interesting dinner tonight. We had Spaghetti Carbonara (this isn't the recipe I use but it's close) with shrimp and a Cesare salad. I felt in the mood to keep cooking so I made a new version of rice pudding for the kids to eat for breakfast in the morning. It's made with orzo pasta, seasoned apples, cranberries, cinnamon and french vanilla pudding. Jake wanted to eat it for dessert. He normally doesn't eat breakfast because he's always running late - or he just won't get up on time - so I try to get him to eat something on the go. He hates granola bars because of his braces, doesn't have time for cereal, won't eat oatmeal, I've even tried breakfast burritos... the list goes on but he says he'll eat this. I try to keep styrofoam cups and plastic spoons so that they can eat on the go.
I'm not looking forward to this week because I'm not feeling well - I don't have the flu though. I have a lot of abdominal pain and cramps that I have to report to my doctor. I think I'll be having a visit every month for the next four or five months, I'll report all of my many symptoms, the fact that only the NuvaRing helps, and hopefully get surgery authorized by May or June if they don't subside.
On the flu front, Matt is much better but still very tired - worn out from being sick. He didn't have a fever this morning and he doesn't have body aches, cough, sore throat or any of the symptoms besides being tired but that's to be expected. I've decided to keep him home tomorrow and let him rest for one more day. I'm sure the school administration will agree with me. The rest of us remain healthy, no sign of the disease.
I'm still keeping up with my resolutions. I'm worrying much less and feeling better about it all the time. I have kept up my check register, even balancing it with the bank every couple of days. I'm one of those strange people who would rather cheat in my register so that I show several dollars less than the bank. In my personal accounts that is fine, it's not something however, that I can do at work. I must match to the penny there.
Well, I'm hoping that the week goes smoothly, the books go off to the accountant no later than Friday (even though we're shooting for Wednesday), that mid-month books are easy, and that the temperature rises. I just heard that it's supposed to be in the 40's by Thursday! That would be welcome.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Lazy Sunday
The hubby likes science fiction books, movies, video games... I like some science fiction. When I was 16 years old someone gave me the first four Amber Chronicles. The first book is called Nine Princes in Amber and after reading the first paragraph, I was hooked. I couldn't put that book down. I read the first four and thirsted for more. I'd introduced the hubby to them shortly after. As I recall, a few years later there was another book released, a few years later another... there were nine books total. The last book was the worst! We both agreed that the final book, well, sucked. Turns out there's a reason. The author, Roger Zelazny, died either before writing it or in the middle of writing it. His children or editor or someone finished the series after his passing using his notes. I don't know why I thought about that today after all these years. I think I might just hunt them down and re-read the series, even the last book.
I like some of the sci-fi stuff that the hubby watches, movies and television. We love Stargate SG-1. A long time ago we watched the episodes on regular cable, then they moved it to the Sci-fi channel on digital cable in our area so, you guessed it, we paid more for digital. Finally that cost was just out of our league and they weren't running consecutive episodes on regular television, so we started getting the seasons on DVD. We met someone who had them all so we either borrowed from them or from the library. We ended up buying season's nine and ten because we couldn't wait, then I went out and bought season one. That's all we have - seasons one, nine and ten. We watched Stargate the motion picture the other day and decided it was time to revisit the television shows but when we went to put in the first season we couldn't find it. It was hiding behind the couch - took me three days to find it. We've watched five or so episodes today while being extremely lazy.
Matt is feeling much better so I think I can safely say that Tamiflu reduces the time that someone with the flu is sick. The rest of us are still healthy and that is very good news. I feel sorry for Matt in more than one way. He felt awful and that's never fun, but he's on a three day weekend from school and he can't do anything. He wants to go out tomorrow but I don't think it would be fair to expose anyone to him, he'll just have to make due with television, the phone and his computer. He wants a Qdoba burrito for breakfast though, maybe I'll go pick it up and treat him. I like to spoil my kids when they are sick.
Jake is ungrounded. He's celebrating by seeing a movie with the girlfriend and the bestfriend. We've seen him more in this last week while he's been grounded than we have in the past three weeks. It's been nice not to have to keep up with his schedule and social life.
Lindsay has a friend that lives several blocks away who wanted to come over for a playdate this weekend but we had to decline, we also decided it wasn't a good idea for her to go to the friend's house to play since they have four kids and it would be horrible for them to all get sick. So she went to the soccer fields with Jake today and flew kites. It was very cold so they didn't stay long. I'm hoping it warms up a little tomorrow so they can try again.
I like some of the sci-fi stuff that the hubby watches, movies and television. We love Stargate SG-1. A long time ago we watched the episodes on regular cable, then they moved it to the Sci-fi channel on digital cable in our area so, you guessed it, we paid more for digital. Finally that cost was just out of our league and they weren't running consecutive episodes on regular television, so we started getting the seasons on DVD. We met someone who had them all so we either borrowed from them or from the library. We ended up buying season's nine and ten because we couldn't wait, then I went out and bought season one. That's all we have - seasons one, nine and ten. We watched Stargate the motion picture the other day and decided it was time to revisit the television shows but when we went to put in the first season we couldn't find it. It was hiding behind the couch - took me three days to find it. We've watched five or so episodes today while being extremely lazy.
Matt is feeling much better so I think I can safely say that Tamiflu reduces the time that someone with the flu is sick. The rest of us are still healthy and that is very good news. I feel sorry for Matt in more than one way. He felt awful and that's never fun, but he's on a three day weekend from school and he can't do anything. He wants to go out tomorrow but I don't think it would be fair to expose anyone to him, he'll just have to make due with television, the phone and his computer. He wants a Qdoba burrito for breakfast though, maybe I'll go pick it up and treat him. I like to spoil my kids when they are sick.
Jake is ungrounded. He's celebrating by seeing a movie with the girlfriend and the bestfriend. We've seen him more in this last week while he's been grounded than we have in the past three weeks. It's been nice not to have to keep up with his schedule and social life.
Lindsay has a friend that lives several blocks away who wanted to come over for a playdate this weekend but we had to decline, we also decided it wasn't a good idea for her to go to the friend's house to play since they have four kids and it would be horrible for them to all get sick. So she went to the soccer fields with Jake today and flew kites. It was very cold so they didn't stay long. I'm hoping it warms up a little tomorrow so they can try again.
Friday, January 18, 2008
The Flu
Matt has the flu. Last night he complained that his chest hurt and he was having a hard time breathing. He was pale so I told him he was going to stay home from school today. When the hubby got home from darts I told him that Matt didn't look well and that he'd complained about not breathing well and that if he wasn't better over the weekend, I take him to the doctor on Monday. The hubby said I should take him today. We do have insurance, we should use it, right?
I got him an appointment early in the afternoon and he described his symptoms, which had gotten more numerous since morning. Fever, headache, exhaustion, sore throat, mild cough, stuffy nose and body aches. As he described them I thought Flu, so did the doctor. We were sent to a lab to do a rapid flu test but they'd quit running them for the day. They took the sample anyway, saying they'd run it at noon on Saturday. Well... if you have the flu, you have 24 hours to start antiviral medications. I pointed that out to them and they said they were sorry but there was nothing they could do. I called the doctor, explained the situation and he decided to start him on Tamiflu anyway. The catch - since Matt has it, we will all get it. Our doctor prescribed Tamiflu for all five of us. The pharmacy only had three courses of it and said they could try to find more or we could come back on Monday to get the rest and share the three doses until then. Matt has to take two pills a day for five days, the rest of us get one a day for ten days. The cost - $60 per prescription - after our insurance paid. I'll let that settle in for a minute.
I paid $180 for three courses of medication and decided that if the test came back negative, I wouldn't buy the other two on Monday. At 4:30 my doctor called and said they'd tested Matt's sample and it was positive for the flu. There goes another $120.
I guess if we were going to get sick and have to spend a lot of money, now is the time since there's money in the bank. Normally the cost would be totally out of our league.
The funny thing is that when Jake got home, I handed him a pill to take and told him what it was for. He said, "Why? This is an opportunity we should be embracing!" He's weird. He's been trying to find a really good reason not to go to school but his need to be there always outweighs his desire to be a lazy teenager. He figured this was a very good excuse.
Regarding Flu Shots - because I know I will be asked.
We don't get them, we never have. Lindsay has a very difficult time with vaccinations. She gets a huge bump, like a golf ball is partially embedded in her skin. Her arm swells and she gets very ill. We get her the immunizations she absolutely needs, but we've skipped some - the varicella and flu vaccines.
The last time someone in our house got the flu was nine years ago. Lindsay was three months old when she got it. No one else did. I'm also opposed to getting a vaccine for a disease that isn't actually likely to kill us. Generally, the very old and very young are at higher risk. Our doctor convinced me to get the prescriptions for the four of us that aren't sick by suggesting that if we did get it, the hubby and I would be out of work for four or five days and if we didn't have sick days, which we don't, we would be out more money than the Tamiflu actually cost. That's a fair argument.
Anyway, Matt will be on the couch and in bed his entire three day weekend, which doesn't make him very happy. The rest of us will be popping a pill every day and hoping we don't get sick.
I got him an appointment early in the afternoon and he described his symptoms, which had gotten more numerous since morning. Fever, headache, exhaustion, sore throat, mild cough, stuffy nose and body aches. As he described them I thought Flu, so did the doctor. We were sent to a lab to do a rapid flu test but they'd quit running them for the day. They took the sample anyway, saying they'd run it at noon on Saturday. Well... if you have the flu, you have 24 hours to start antiviral medications. I pointed that out to them and they said they were sorry but there was nothing they could do. I called the doctor, explained the situation and he decided to start him on Tamiflu anyway. The catch - since Matt has it, we will all get it. Our doctor prescribed Tamiflu for all five of us. The pharmacy only had three courses of it and said they could try to find more or we could come back on Monday to get the rest and share the three doses until then. Matt has to take two pills a day for five days, the rest of us get one a day for ten days. The cost - $60 per prescription - after our insurance paid. I'll let that settle in for a minute.
I paid $180 for three courses of medication and decided that if the test came back negative, I wouldn't buy the other two on Monday. At 4:30 my doctor called and said they'd tested Matt's sample and it was positive for the flu. There goes another $120.
I guess if we were going to get sick and have to spend a lot of money, now is the time since there's money in the bank. Normally the cost would be totally out of our league.
The funny thing is that when Jake got home, I handed him a pill to take and told him what it was for. He said, "Why? This is an opportunity we should be embracing!" He's weird. He's been trying to find a really good reason not to go to school but his need to be there always outweighs his desire to be a lazy teenager. He figured this was a very good excuse.
Regarding Flu Shots - because I know I will be asked.
We don't get them, we never have. Lindsay has a very difficult time with vaccinations. She gets a huge bump, like a golf ball is partially embedded in her skin. Her arm swells and she gets very ill. We get her the immunizations she absolutely needs, but we've skipped some - the varicella and flu vaccines.
The last time someone in our house got the flu was nine years ago. Lindsay was three months old when she got it. No one else did. I'm also opposed to getting a vaccine for a disease that isn't actually likely to kill us. Generally, the very old and very young are at higher risk. Our doctor convinced me to get the prescriptions for the four of us that aren't sick by suggesting that if we did get it, the hubby and I would be out of work for four or five days and if we didn't have sick days, which we don't, we would be out more money than the Tamiflu actually cost. That's a fair argument.
Anyway, Matt will be on the couch and in bed his entire three day weekend, which doesn't make him very happy. The rest of us will be popping a pill every day and hoping we don't get sick.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Almost Friday
The week is nearly at an end. I've got the books almost done at work, might even finish it up tomorrow - three business days early, might I add. Yea for me! Tomorrow is payroll so I'll be busy for at least the first hour and a half of the day. The boss has someone coming in for an interview in the morning - we're not even hiring right now, so that should be interesting. I think I'm going to call it a day at noon and try to get some personal business wrapped up before the weekend.
We took the Jimmy into the mechanic today. He says it will be done by tomorrow afternoon. The darn thing needs a new fuel pump and on this vehicle it's in the fuel tank. I guess that makes the job harder. When the Jimmy is fixed we'll leave my car with him (well, not until next week) to replace the bearings on the front tires. I'm starting to worry that the wheels will fall of or something else drastic - and since I'm not supposed to be worrying, I'd just rather get it fixed while we can still afford it. With the Jimmy fixed, we'll be a two car family again by the weekend... which will make Jake very happy.
Jake brought his academic record home tonight and we've discovered he needs only 11 more credits to graduate. He could graduate in the middle of his senior year - one catch though - he doesn't have the required classes for a Division I college. He'll have to work in another year of math, English, natural science and physical science during his senior year. Ouch. He'll do it though. He wants it bad enough. He's talking now about law enforcement so that means college then the academy. He's talked about fire sciences as well. It's okay though, he's got some time to figure it out.
We took the Jimmy into the mechanic today. He says it will be done by tomorrow afternoon. The darn thing needs a new fuel pump and on this vehicle it's in the fuel tank. I guess that makes the job harder. When the Jimmy is fixed we'll leave my car with him (well, not until next week) to replace the bearings on the front tires. I'm starting to worry that the wheels will fall of or something else drastic - and since I'm not supposed to be worrying, I'd just rather get it fixed while we can still afford it. With the Jimmy fixed, we'll be a two car family again by the weekend... which will make Jake very happy.
Jake brought his academic record home tonight and we've discovered he needs only 11 more credits to graduate. He could graduate in the middle of his senior year - one catch though - he doesn't have the required classes for a Division I college. He'll have to work in another year of math, English, natural science and physical science during his senior year. Ouch. He'll do it though. He wants it bad enough. He's talking now about law enforcement so that means college then the academy. He's talked about fire sciences as well. It's okay though, he's got some time to figure it out.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
It's COLD
It's seven-degrees here, and the temperature keeps falling. The forecast for our area said earlier that the coldest it would get was ten-degrees. They lied. Normally I would worry about our pipes freezing overnight but we've survived colder so far this winter. Underneath our house there is a water line that is exposed to the cold. It has heat tape on it but the plug to the tape fried this summer when we had a water leak. I would have fixed it, but it's an unusual plug that takes fuses and is hard to find. I'd only have to pay a repairman about $100 to fix it, but I've just never had the extra money. Our solution - put a heater under the house that keeps it pretty warm. I went out a few minutes ago and checked it, so far, so good. It's warm under there.
We were supposed to have snow last night through this morning but it never materialized. The temperature was around 20 degrees this morning and kept falling all day. Snow would be an insulator, making it seem warmer outside. The clouds help too, keeping what heat is on the ground there.
I managed to get out of work an hour early today. I started working on 1099 forms and found that my accounting program doesn't print them, I had to get pre-printed forms from the local IRS office. I either had to get them this afternoon or in the morning and gave my boss the choice. He told me to go do it and he'd see me in the morning. I long for the days when I was bored at work because I'm so tired and sore right now. I was on the move constantly today, and it was cold in our building. I have a heater under my desk, but I never sat down long enough to justify turning it on.
I watched The Librarian: Quest for the Spear tonight. I've seen it before and like it. The hubby and the boys are watching Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. I didn't see the first one and I'm not really interested in seeing this one either. It's past Lindsay's bedtime and she's still up - again. Last night wasn't as bad as I'd thought, getting her into bed. This morning though, she had a sore throat, swollen glands in her neck, and was irritable so she stayed home from school. She felt fine this afternoon - go figure. She promised our neighbor's son that she'd go tomorrow, and that she'd be ready on time to walk with him. That hasn't happened since they went back to school! I'll be impressed.
We were supposed to have snow last night through this morning but it never materialized. The temperature was around 20 degrees this morning and kept falling all day. Snow would be an insulator, making it seem warmer outside. The clouds help too, keeping what heat is on the ground there.
I managed to get out of work an hour early today. I started working on 1099 forms and found that my accounting program doesn't print them, I had to get pre-printed forms from the local IRS office. I either had to get them this afternoon or in the morning and gave my boss the choice. He told me to go do it and he'd see me in the morning. I long for the days when I was bored at work because I'm so tired and sore right now. I was on the move constantly today, and it was cold in our building. I have a heater under my desk, but I never sat down long enough to justify turning it on.
I watched The Librarian: Quest for the Spear tonight. I've seen it before and like it. The hubby and the boys are watching Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. I didn't see the first one and I'm not really interested in seeing this one either. It's past Lindsay's bedtime and she's still up - again. Last night wasn't as bad as I'd thought, getting her into bed. This morning though, she had a sore throat, swollen glands in her neck, and was irritable so she stayed home from school. She felt fine this afternoon - go figure. She promised our neighbor's son that she'd go tomorrow, and that she'd be ready on time to walk with him. That hasn't happened since they went back to school! I'll be impressed.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Lighter Notes
I don't normally watch television - not because I'm morally opposed or anything, I just have other things to do and my attention span leaves much to be desired. If I can't pause it, I'm likely to miss half of the show, and we don't have a DVR. Anyway, there was a show on tonight called Reaper. It's the first time I'd ever seen it and I'm pretty sure it was the first episode. I really liked it. It's a little uncomfortable in the fact that the main character is in the service of the Devil, but he doesn't have a choice and he's a truly good person - or that's what I gathered from what I saw. Maybe I'll see it again next week.
At about six o'clock tonight I told the hubby I wanted to watch Medium. I'd seen an ad for the episode and wanted to see it. He told me it was on last night. This is part of the reason I don't watch much television. I just can't seem to catch the shows I want to watch.
Yesterday afternoon I went over to the university with the hubby so he could buy his books and so we'd have some time together. He spent a little over $400 yesterday and he needs one more book that's $120. Yeesh! Afterwards we had lunch, stopped to drop off our Netflix at the Post Office and I had the brilliant idea to stop at Goodwill to look at their videos. I found Die Hard for 99 cents and the hubby got Highlander for $1.99. I love the thrift store videos and I refuse to get rid of my VCR.
At bedtime I like to watch old episodes of Home Improvement or videos. I've tried to change my late night viewing habits so that the hubby does not break my Tremors tape. I have watched One Fine Day, Christmas Vacation and The Princess Bride. I think tonight's choice will be One Fine Day. Watching extremely familiar movies at bedtime allows me to close my eyes and picture the movie while keeping my mind occupied.
So I'll go into my bedroom, make my bed (because my feather bed just won't stay put), and put on the movie while I use body butter on my feet so they'll soften overnight. Sorry if that was TMI. :-) Then I'll have to send Lindsay to bed where, hopefully, she'll stay all night. She's missed her bedtime tonight and has been watching TV in my bed. She'll say she's not feeling well. She'll whine to sleep in my bed. She'll make me feel guilty for not letting her. In the end, she'll be down the hall and I'll sleep better - so will she.
At about six o'clock tonight I told the hubby I wanted to watch Medium. I'd seen an ad for the episode and wanted to see it. He told me it was on last night. This is part of the reason I don't watch much television. I just can't seem to catch the shows I want to watch.
Yesterday afternoon I went over to the university with the hubby so he could buy his books and so we'd have some time together. He spent a little over $400 yesterday and he needs one more book that's $120. Yeesh! Afterwards we had lunch, stopped to drop off our Netflix at the Post Office and I had the brilliant idea to stop at Goodwill to look at their videos. I found Die Hard for 99 cents and the hubby got Highlander for $1.99. I love the thrift store videos and I refuse to get rid of my VCR.
At bedtime I like to watch old episodes of Home Improvement or videos. I've tried to change my late night viewing habits so that the hubby does not break my Tremors tape. I have watched One Fine Day, Christmas Vacation and The Princess Bride. I think tonight's choice will be One Fine Day. Watching extremely familiar movies at bedtime allows me to close my eyes and picture the movie while keeping my mind occupied.
So I'll go into my bedroom, make my bed (because my feather bed just won't stay put), and put on the movie while I use body butter on my feet so they'll soften overnight. Sorry if that was TMI. :-) Then I'll have to send Lindsay to bed where, hopefully, she'll stay all night. She's missed her bedtime tonight and has been watching TV in my bed. She'll say she's not feeling well. She'll whine to sleep in my bed. She'll make me feel guilty for not letting her. In the end, she'll be down the hall and I'll sleep better - so will she.
Friends
If you can help, you should - that's my philosophy. It makes me feel good when I can be of help to my friends. Normally it's just support, but occasionally I can offer more. Unfortunately, there are those people that expect help from you once you've lent a hand a time or two. I refuse to have 'users' in my life though. I don't have any at the moment, but I do have a friend or two who's lives are soap operas. It's okay, my life was a soap opera for a while last year. Oh, and when I have more than one class at a time, or when I'm doing the books at work... You know, that kind of thing. Speaking of which, today my boss decided that we weren't going to get the books out until next week. Thank heavens. Oh, and the class thing - my classes require about 15 hours of work a week. Between my job, two classes, the kids, the house, and sleeping - I just don't have time to think.
I have friends who take more work than others. Everybody does though, right? I have a couple of friends who are in real financial trouble right now. One is handling it with grace and resilience even though they may lose their house, the other lives under a cloud all of the time. I know I've been there before, but I handled it somewhere in the middle. I suppose that nearly everyone has been on the verge of financial collapse. It can make or break you but it can also show what you're made of.
Over the last several days I talked with a friend who just takes more work than the others. This relationship is kind of one sided, always about what's going on with them and the stress of their lives and children. I don't manage to say anything except the little listening noises that you make when you are listening but not really engaged in the conversation.
I know this is boring, I just needed to get it out.
Okay, friend change. My friend that headed out for Houston today found out that she isn't going to Holland after all. She's kind of bummed out about it but she's found a positive (good for her). She won't have to sit on a plane for 22 hours there and another 22 back. She also won't be away from her family and next week at work she'll be all by herself and have some downtime. I'm upset for her - how many opportunities will she have to go to Holland... all expenses paid? Well, there's always next year's conference.
My computer decided that it had a date with the floor a few minutes ago. Yes, the floor. I got up and stepped away from my desk, the power cord was wrapped around my foot and next thing I knew, my computer was on the floor. Luckily it tumbled rather than crashed. My book bag broke it's fall - whew! You know, it keeps taking a beating and continues to perform - at it's own pace, of course.
One last thing. A nod to Tami for mentioning my blog on hers. I'm flattered.
I have friends who take more work than others. Everybody does though, right? I have a couple of friends who are in real financial trouble right now. One is handling it with grace and resilience even though they may lose their house, the other lives under a cloud all of the time. I know I've been there before, but I handled it somewhere in the middle. I suppose that nearly everyone has been on the verge of financial collapse. It can make or break you but it can also show what you're made of.
Over the last several days I talked with a friend who just takes more work than the others. This relationship is kind of one sided, always about what's going on with them and the stress of their lives and children. I don't manage to say anything except the little listening noises that you make when you are listening but not really engaged in the conversation.
I know this is boring, I just needed to get it out.
Okay, friend change. My friend that headed out for Houston today found out that she isn't going to Holland after all. She's kind of bummed out about it but she's found a positive (good for her). She won't have to sit on a plane for 22 hours there and another 22 back. She also won't be away from her family and next week at work she'll be all by herself and have some downtime. I'm upset for her - how many opportunities will she have to go to Holland... all expenses paid? Well, there's always next year's conference.
My computer decided that it had a date with the floor a few minutes ago. Yes, the floor. I got up and stepped away from my desk, the power cord was wrapped around my foot and next thing I knew, my computer was on the floor. Luckily it tumbled rather than crashed. My book bag broke it's fall - whew! You know, it keeps taking a beating and continues to perform - at it's own pace, of course.
One last thing. A nod to Tami for mentioning my blog on hers. I'm flattered.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Lucky Friends
I have a close friend who's going to Holland next week. She works for a large company here in Fort Collins that sells and services their products internationally. Her boss decided that she should attend their upcoming conferences so that she would be better skilled at her job. Lucky dog. She leaves tomorrow morning for Houston and will be back on Friday. Saturday morning she leaves for Holland. The flight is 22 hours long; with the time difference and time to switch planes in Seattle, she'll get on a plane at DIA (Denver International Airport) at noon on Saturday and land in Holland around 7 on Sunday morning. She'll be gone until the following Friday.
She has a international work cell phone so she'll be able to call her family - and if I'm lucky - ME. I talk to her every day after work so I'll be feeling quite left out if she and I can't talk for nearly two weeks. We met six years ago when she lived a block away from me and our boys, well, did something stupid together. Just little boy stuff. Anyway, we found out where her son lived and my husband 'tattled' on him, we just wanted to make sure he got in the same trouble the other boys who were there got into. We've been friends ever since. We had both been in admin positions for several years; she worked for a (different) large company and I was working for my tiny company. We joked that she was the Exectuive Admin to the Vice President of Global Marketing while I was the Executive Admin to the President of my company. Her company - hundreds (if not thousands) of people. My company - 10 people.
I've got several close friends - not all of them are local. I love to talk to them on the phone, chat on front porches, and even email to keep in touch. I'm sure I'll talk more about them in the future.
She has a international work cell phone so she'll be able to call her family - and if I'm lucky - ME. I talk to her every day after work so I'll be feeling quite left out if she and I can't talk for nearly two weeks. We met six years ago when she lived a block away from me and our boys, well, did something stupid together. Just little boy stuff. Anyway, we found out where her son lived and my husband 'tattled' on him, we just wanted to make sure he got in the same trouble the other boys who were there got into. We've been friends ever since. We had both been in admin positions for several years; she worked for a (different) large company and I was working for my tiny company. We joked that she was the Exectuive Admin to the Vice President of Global Marketing while I was the Executive Admin to the President of my company. Her company - hundreds (if not thousands) of people. My company - 10 people.
I've got several close friends - not all of them are local. I love to talk to them on the phone, chat on front porches, and even email to keep in touch. I'm sure I'll talk more about them in the future.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Sunday Bliss
Today we watched Hudson Hawk, City Slickers, The Wedding Singer and Stargate. I even got some laundry done and went to the grocery store. I found some great recipes to try out in the next month and convinced my oldest son to come home and spend time with his family.
Matt is upset because I've asked him to do the dishes. He took out the trash earlier today and he thought, because it's one of his brother's chores, that Jake would have to do the dishes in exchange. No such luck. I didn't ask him to take the trash out... I just love it when we butt heads.
Jake just came home and doesn't know where his glasses are. He hasn't seen them in 13 days (since the New Years party) and he admitted to driving a car since then. He has a restriction on his license requiring him to wear his glasses. I grounded him for a week. I'm a little angry. First, he can hardly see without them and he refuses to wear them. Second, driving without them is illegal. Third, he lost them and didn't tell me. What a putz.
Matt is upset because I've asked him to do the dishes. He took out the trash earlier today and he thought, because it's one of his brother's chores, that Jake would have to do the dishes in exchange. No such luck. I didn't ask him to take the trash out... I just love it when we butt heads.
Jake just came home and doesn't know where his glasses are. He hasn't seen them in 13 days (since the New Years party) and he admitted to driving a car since then. He has a restriction on his license requiring him to wear his glasses. I grounded him for a week. I'm a little angry. First, he can hardly see without them and he refuses to wear them. Second, driving without them is illegal. Third, he lost them and didn't tell me. What a putz.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Lazy Movie Day
Today was a lazy day. I watched Stranger than Fiction; it's a pretty good movie, I'm sorry I didn't watch it when it came out. I also watched Signs and Maverick on TV this morning, Tremors and Mission to Mars this afternoon.
The boys were gone all day - Jake left by 11 to have his movie marathon with the girlfriend, and Matt spent the night at a friends, checked in by phone at 10 AM - a requirement for my kids when the spend the night elsewhere - and never came home. He called a little while ago and asked if he could spend the night again. I took pity on the mother of the friend and said, "No." Lindsay watched movies with me and now has a friend over. They are playing Guitar Hero on the playstation in the boys room and he stayed for dinner. We had riblets, mashed potatoes and corn. I think that's a kid-friendly meal, don't you? Jake called and said he was going to Culvers with the girlfriend and then back to her house to watch "...just one more movie." He probably won't make it home until 10 tonight. He doesn't have a set curfew, we prefer that he keep us informed of his activities and he's managed to make it home by 11 PM on weekends and 9 PM on weekdays. I think this has instilled a certain level of responsibility in him that telling him when to be home would not. We kept him on a short leash for most of his life but he'll be 18 in September and I'd like him to have these qualities developed - as well as his morals. He's a good kid and he tries to be a role model. Let me explain that - he'll be at a friend's house and they'll backtalk to their parents - he will tell the friend, and the mom or dad, how that behavior is not acceptable and how he'd be grounded for doing that. Honest! I've had parents tell me this. Matt has been known to do this too. And, NO - they are not an Eddie Haskell type - he just knows what is right and what is not.
I should have been doing laundry all day but I told myself that since my neck and back still hurt from the stress of the week, I could have a day off. I did pick up the credenza and entry by the office, throwing a bunch of computer parts away or onto the hubby's desk. I figure if I can get some picked up every day, I'll be happier. If I got the laundry done I'd be happier too, but I've been trying to do that for years.
I talked to my grandmother tonight. She lives in Greeley; my aunt moved to Colorado about a year ago to live with her so she's not alone. My grandfather died about six years ago and it was hard for her to be alone for the first time in 65 years. Anyway, I wanted to let her know that my mom had reserved a picnic area at Lake Loveland for our family reunion this summer. We talk about once a week and the conversation is light - how the kids are doing, news from the family in Denver - about everything and nothing.
Matt finally got home around 9:30 with the order form for Girl Scout Cookies! (his best friend's sister is a Girl Scout.) Since they only come out once a year, we place a big order and stick them in the freezer. In November when we replaced our refrigerator, we also bought a five cubic foot freezer so we have plenty of extra space. We like the Thin Mints (who doesn't), Trefoils, Tagalongs... well, we like all but the Samoas - nobody in my house likes coconut. So be aware - the Girl Scouts are coming to your neighborhood armed with order forms - if you don't order now, you'll be out of luck (unless they sell in front of your local grocery store).
I've run off at the mouth enough for today. Time to pick another movie and head to bed. Shhhh - don't tell the hubby. At two o'clock in the morning I still couldn't get to sleep so I put Tremors in the VCR. I didn't make it five minutes into the movie before I was asleep. I love that movie - it's just what I need in the middle of the night.
The boys were gone all day - Jake left by 11 to have his movie marathon with the girlfriend, and Matt spent the night at a friends, checked in by phone at 10 AM - a requirement for my kids when the spend the night elsewhere - and never came home. He called a little while ago and asked if he could spend the night again. I took pity on the mother of the friend and said, "No." Lindsay watched movies with me and now has a friend over. They are playing Guitar Hero on the playstation in the boys room and he stayed for dinner. We had riblets, mashed potatoes and corn. I think that's a kid-friendly meal, don't you? Jake called and said he was going to Culvers with the girlfriend and then back to her house to watch "...just one more movie." He probably won't make it home until 10 tonight. He doesn't have a set curfew, we prefer that he keep us informed of his activities and he's managed to make it home by 11 PM on weekends and 9 PM on weekdays. I think this has instilled a certain level of responsibility in him that telling him when to be home would not. We kept him on a short leash for most of his life but he'll be 18 in September and I'd like him to have these qualities developed - as well as his morals. He's a good kid and he tries to be a role model. Let me explain that - he'll be at a friend's house and they'll backtalk to their parents - he will tell the friend, and the mom or dad, how that behavior is not acceptable and how he'd be grounded for doing that. Honest! I've had parents tell me this. Matt has been known to do this too. And, NO - they are not an Eddie Haskell type - he just knows what is right and what is not.
I should have been doing laundry all day but I told myself that since my neck and back still hurt from the stress of the week, I could have a day off. I did pick up the credenza and entry by the office, throwing a bunch of computer parts away or onto the hubby's desk. I figure if I can get some picked up every day, I'll be happier. If I got the laundry done I'd be happier too, but I've been trying to do that for years.
I talked to my grandmother tonight. She lives in Greeley; my aunt moved to Colorado about a year ago to live with her so she's not alone. My grandfather died about six years ago and it was hard for her to be alone for the first time in 65 years. Anyway, I wanted to let her know that my mom had reserved a picnic area at Lake Loveland for our family reunion this summer. We talk about once a week and the conversation is light - how the kids are doing, news from the family in Denver - about everything and nothing.
Matt finally got home around 9:30 with the order form for Girl Scout Cookies! (his best friend's sister is a Girl Scout.) Since they only come out once a year, we place a big order and stick them in the freezer. In November when we replaced our refrigerator, we also bought a five cubic foot freezer so we have plenty of extra space. We like the Thin Mints (who doesn't), Trefoils, Tagalongs... well, we like all but the Samoas - nobody in my house likes coconut. So be aware - the Girl Scouts are coming to your neighborhood armed with order forms - if you don't order now, you'll be out of luck (unless they sell in front of your local grocery store).
I've run off at the mouth enough for today. Time to pick another movie and head to bed. Shhhh - don't tell the hubby. At two o'clock in the morning I still couldn't get to sleep so I put Tremors in the VCR. I didn't make it five minutes into the movie before I was asleep. I love that movie - it's just what I need in the middle of the night.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Work, Date Night and Other Bits
Work was brutal this week. The good news is that over the last two days, I finished up several of my big pending projects. I finished December's books, the 2007 income tax estimate, rescheduled a liability insurance audit, did some prep work on our apportioned plate registration, and finished up IFTA (International Fuel Tax Agreement). IFTA is a task that takes me two hours every month, another hour every quarter, and two hours at the beginning of every year - it frustrates me and I complain about it often to my other admin friends. The phone rang non-stop today and kept me from setting a rhythm but I made it through the day and don't have to go back until Tuesday!
Rob had many projects this week and last. He's busier now than he was all of last month I think. I don't know how long it will stay this busy, but for now it's nice for him to be getting all of the hours especially since he doesn't start school until the 22nd.
After our long days at work all week long, I was ready to come home, lay on the couch and watch a movie. Half an hour after I got home, the hubby asked me what my plans for the evening were. I know that sounds unusual; most couples do things together, right? Well, Rob plays darts and on Sunday he had a banquet, a Captains meeting on Tuesday and played on Thursday - non of which I attended with him. I quite often make plans to spend a couple of hours on the phone with a friend in another state (or down the street), go over to a neighbor's house to chat, or have school work I must do.
Our children were heading off to do their own things. Jake went to see Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A Veggie Tales Movie. He's 17, but he's a goofball - he loves the Veggie Tales and wanted to take his girlfriend to see it. Matt was heading over to a friend's house to help fix a computer problem, and Lindsay was ready with plans of her own.
This night however, I was just thinking about taking off my shoes and being lazy. The hubby wanted to go to dinner. A Date Night, what a concept! Money is tight but we'd received a gift certificate to Macaroni Grill for Christmas and it was calling our name. We had a nice dinner without the kids, but I have to say - Friday just isn't the night for going out to a quiet dinner. The restaurant was packed; thankfully we'd made reservations so we only had to wait 10 minutes to be seated. We heard them quote the wait time as at least 45 minutes for people who came in at the same time as we did.
Tonight was fun, I'm glad we could take time away from the stress of work, relax, and do something of our own while our kids were out having lives.
Oh, something else I did today that I'm happy about... I signed Lindsay up for Spring Soccer! I'll find out in a month or so if she's gotten on the team at her school and then I'll have to go buy her jersey, soccer shorts, shin guards, socks, regulation size ball, and soccer shoes. Yeesh - the cost to sign up is $85 and it's $40 for everything else, plus the shoes. I'm just glad I got her in this season. This summer she's taking horseback riding lessons thanks to her grandmother, and piano lessons too - if I can swing it. She'll be a busy girl.
Jake just got home from his date and when I mentioned that he needed a haircut and I could do it this weekend, he said that he was booked. He's having a movie marathon with the girlfriend tomorrow; apparently she's never seen The Breakfast Club or The Wizard of Oz! I think she's deprived. On Sunday he's spending the day with his best friend of 7 years. They play X-Box 360, talk and generally act like foolish boys. He also told me that he and his best friend have decided that they are going to be team captains on the football team this year and they generally accomplish whatever they set their minds to. Except, thankfully, that time when they were 14 and decided they were going to take over the world.
I'm going to watch Stranger Than Fiction this weekend. I've been looking forward to it for a while now and while I'm not a big Will Farrell fan, this movie looks really good. We have Netflix, so we pretty much see whatever strikes us. I decided that I have to see the Die Hard movies again, so I'll be getting them over the next month. I also put Premonition, The Librarian: Quest for the Spear and Return to Mines, and The Lake House on my list. I've seen all of them except Premonition. I have a tendency to watch the same movies over and over and over again - it drives the hubby nuts. I like Tremors (I've got all four of the movies but like the first one best), Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II, National Treasure, and You've Got Mail - a new VHS addition to my older movie collection (I picked it up for 99 cents at Goodwill!). I watch some combination of these oldies-but-goodies every weekend and sometimes to help me fall asleep at night when I'm experiencing insomnia - like tonight.
Rob had many projects this week and last. He's busier now than he was all of last month I think. I don't know how long it will stay this busy, but for now it's nice for him to be getting all of the hours especially since he doesn't start school until the 22nd.
After our long days at work all week long, I was ready to come home, lay on the couch and watch a movie. Half an hour after I got home, the hubby asked me what my plans for the evening were. I know that sounds unusual; most couples do things together, right? Well, Rob plays darts and on Sunday he had a banquet, a Captains meeting on Tuesday and played on Thursday - non of which I attended with him. I quite often make plans to spend a couple of hours on the phone with a friend in another state (or down the street), go over to a neighbor's house to chat, or have school work I must do.
Our children were heading off to do their own things. Jake went to see Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A Veggie Tales Movie. He's 17, but he's a goofball - he loves the Veggie Tales and wanted to take his girlfriend to see it. Matt was heading over to a friend's house to help fix a computer problem, and Lindsay was ready with plans of her own.
This night however, I was just thinking about taking off my shoes and being lazy. The hubby wanted to go to dinner. A Date Night, what a concept! Money is tight but we'd received a gift certificate to Macaroni Grill for Christmas and it was calling our name. We had a nice dinner without the kids, but I have to say - Friday just isn't the night for going out to a quiet dinner. The restaurant was packed; thankfully we'd made reservations so we only had to wait 10 minutes to be seated. We heard them quote the wait time as at least 45 minutes for people who came in at the same time as we did.
Tonight was fun, I'm glad we could take time away from the stress of work, relax, and do something of our own while our kids were out having lives.
Oh, something else I did today that I'm happy about... I signed Lindsay up for Spring Soccer! I'll find out in a month or so if she's gotten on the team at her school and then I'll have to go buy her jersey, soccer shorts, shin guards, socks, regulation size ball, and soccer shoes. Yeesh - the cost to sign up is $85 and it's $40 for everything else, plus the shoes. I'm just glad I got her in this season. This summer she's taking horseback riding lessons thanks to her grandmother, and piano lessons too - if I can swing it. She'll be a busy girl.
Jake just got home from his date and when I mentioned that he needed a haircut and I could do it this weekend, he said that he was booked. He's having a movie marathon with the girlfriend tomorrow; apparently she's never seen The Breakfast Club or The Wizard of Oz! I think she's deprived. On Sunday he's spending the day with his best friend of 7 years. They play X-Box 360, talk and generally act like foolish boys. He also told me that he and his best friend have decided that they are going to be team captains on the football team this year and they generally accomplish whatever they set their minds to. Except, thankfully, that time when they were 14 and decided they were going to take over the world.
I'm going to watch Stranger Than Fiction this weekend. I've been looking forward to it for a while now and while I'm not a big Will Farrell fan, this movie looks really good. We have Netflix, so we pretty much see whatever strikes us. I decided that I have to see the Die Hard movies again, so I'll be getting them over the next month. I also put Premonition, The Librarian: Quest for the Spear and Return to Mines, and The Lake House on my list. I've seen all of them except Premonition. I have a tendency to watch the same movies over and over and over again - it drives the hubby nuts. I like Tremors (I've got all four of the movies but like the first one best), Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II, National Treasure, and You've Got Mail - a new VHS addition to my older movie collection (I picked it up for 99 cents at Goodwill!). I watch some combination of these oldies-but-goodies every weekend and sometimes to help me fall asleep at night when I'm experiencing insomnia - like tonight.
Finances, Worry and Faith
I made another 'plan' for this year after I talked to my cousin a couple of weeks ago. I though about it a lot and decided it was a very good idea. I'm going to try to be more financially responsible.
So you understand where I'm coming from, let me explain. I'm a bookkeeper, have been for over 10 years now. Every day I go to work and cut paychecks, pay bills, write invoices, balance the checkbook, etc. I used to be obsessive about a neat checkbook at home too, but like those people that won't eat at fast food restaurants they've worked for, I couldn't bear to write another check in the checkbook, or even balance it. I know that sounds terrible, and heaven forbid my boss find that out about me, but I just couldn't do it. It's been two or three years since I kept a check register. To make matters worse, the hubby and I make just enough money to pay the bills, buy groceries and put gas in our cars, so over drafting checks isn't something we can easily afford. Oddly enough, I keep a very detailed budget that lists everything from house payments to groceries, gas and braces payments, each of which I check off when it's paid or spent.
This last Monday, I grabbed a check register out of my desk drawer and put it in my purse. During my lunch hour I got online and wrote down every debit transaction and check that we've written this year. I am once again, obsessive about our finances. Next week we both get paid and student loans come in, so we will be able to pay the mounting bills. For some reason, companies like Xcel Energy (our natural gas provider) like to get paid, especially when monthly bills start to hit $160. Remember folks, it's been pretty cold here in Northern Colorado. For the first time in years I will feel up to the challenge and not panic when I wonder how much money we really have in the bank.
I've had to work this past week on balancing not only our finances, so we can make it through to this coming payday, but my desire to not worry so much. I've done a pretty good job so far - I'm actually impressed with myself. I remind myself of the words of a friend, "...focus on faith. You know you're being taken care of, so what's to worry about." Spoken as a statement of fact, not a question. I keep saying that to myself.
So you understand where I'm coming from, let me explain. I'm a bookkeeper, have been for over 10 years now. Every day I go to work and cut paychecks, pay bills, write invoices, balance the checkbook, etc. I used to be obsessive about a neat checkbook at home too, but like those people that won't eat at fast food restaurants they've worked for, I couldn't bear to write another check in the checkbook, or even balance it. I know that sounds terrible, and heaven forbid my boss find that out about me, but I just couldn't do it. It's been two or three years since I kept a check register. To make matters worse, the hubby and I make just enough money to pay the bills, buy groceries and put gas in our cars, so over drafting checks isn't something we can easily afford. Oddly enough, I keep a very detailed budget that lists everything from house payments to groceries, gas and braces payments, each of which I check off when it's paid or spent.
This last Monday, I grabbed a check register out of my desk drawer and put it in my purse. During my lunch hour I got online and wrote down every debit transaction and check that we've written this year. I am once again, obsessive about our finances. Next week we both get paid and student loans come in, so we will be able to pay the mounting bills. For some reason, companies like Xcel Energy (our natural gas provider) like to get paid, especially when monthly bills start to hit $160. Remember folks, it's been pretty cold here in Northern Colorado. For the first time in years I will feel up to the challenge and not panic when I wonder how much money we really have in the bank.
I've had to work this past week on balancing not only our finances, so we can make it through to this coming payday, but my desire to not worry so much. I've done a pretty good job so far - I'm actually impressed with myself. I remind myself of the words of a friend, "...focus on faith. You know you're being taken care of, so what's to worry about." Spoken as a statement of fact, not a question. I keep saying that to myself.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Time for a new computer?
My laptop is a four year old HP Pavilion. It's served me well while I've been in school but it's dying. It's been doing that for about a year and a half now but I refuse to give it up. Last year I finally broke down, wiped the hard drive and reloaded windows but it's slow again and has other problems. I run a current antivirus software, run regular 'maintance tasks' and occasionally spybot, yet there are still problems. It's no longer 'mobile', it lives on my desk plugged in because the battery only lasts about 5 minutes now and on a chill mat so it doesn't overheat. I don't really know everything that's wrong with it. If I had to work on it all the time I'm sure it would die quickly, but mostly I just do homework and email.
The hubby has been pushing me to look at computers for about a year now. Last summer Jake bought a new computer - it's an HP Pavilion Slimline - it's compact and didn't cost too much. I would be happy to be stuck at my desk, especially if I didn't have to worry about it overheating, shutting down at the wrong time or running slllooooowwww. The only problem with getting a desktop now is that my desk doesn't have a lot of space because I've got a mess going. A flat screen seems to be the answer but they're really pricey. Ah Ha! There's a plasma screen monitor at work that was headed for the trash - probably because it's only going to last a few months - that my boss said I could have. I figured that buying the computer would be a hard enough hit on my budget - another $150 at the same time might be too much.
The biggest problem with getting a new computer is that I've sworn I won't allow another computer in the house until they - the hubby and Matt - get rid of the ones we already have. To start with, the boys each have a computer on their desk in their room. Matt has another two cases in his room that are missing some or all of the components. In front of our desks in the office, the hubby has a huge mess of monitors, cases, hard drives, video cards, floppy drives, mother boards - a mess I tell you. I don't even know what all is in there. There's more. The hubby has a laptop I bought him the Christmas before last, the laptop that it replaced, and two desktops that he uses for...? I just don't think we need another computer in the house until some of the computers that live here are gone. I know he's working on the problem, occasionally we give a monitor to a friend, Matt built a computer and gave it to an acquaintance at school, sometimes an empty case even finds it's way into the trash. We really just need to pack it all up and head to the recycling center.
The hubby has been pushing me to look at computers for about a year now. Last summer Jake bought a new computer - it's an HP Pavilion Slimline - it's compact and didn't cost too much. I would be happy to be stuck at my desk, especially if I didn't have to worry about it overheating, shutting down at the wrong time or running slllooooowwww. The only problem with getting a desktop now is that my desk doesn't have a lot of space because I've got a mess going. A flat screen seems to be the answer but they're really pricey. Ah Ha! There's a plasma screen monitor at work that was headed for the trash - probably because it's only going to last a few months - that my boss said I could have. I figured that buying the computer would be a hard enough hit on my budget - another $150 at the same time might be too much.
The biggest problem with getting a new computer is that I've sworn I won't allow another computer in the house until they - the hubby and Matt - get rid of the ones we already have. To start with, the boys each have a computer on their desk in their room. Matt has another two cases in his room that are missing some or all of the components. In front of our desks in the office, the hubby has a huge mess of monitors, cases, hard drives, video cards, floppy drives, mother boards - a mess I tell you. I don't even know what all is in there. There's more. The hubby has a laptop I bought him the Christmas before last, the laptop that it replaced, and two desktops that he uses for...? I just don't think we need another computer in the house until some of the computers that live here are gone. I know he's working on the problem, occasionally we give a monitor to a friend, Matt built a computer and gave it to an acquaintance at school, sometimes an empty case even finds it's way into the trash. We really just need to pack it all up and head to the recycling center.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Wednesday...
Have I said before that being a bookkeeper in January (or whenever the fiscal year is over) is just awful? There's so much pressure to wrap up last years books, finish reports, get out W-2's and 1099's, and still manage regular tasks that I'm just about wiped out - and it's only the 9th!
The good news is that my boss is out of town tomorrow and Friday so I should be able to get a lot of the more time consuming tasks out of the way. Our target date for getting the books to the accountant is next Wednesday the 16th but I don't work on Monday's. I have four days.
Besides accountants, bookkeepers and places like H&R Block, I wonder who else it terribly busy this time of year. The health clubs are probably overfilling this month, right?
Well, I'm off to work. I'm going to try and relax - physically - at work today. My neck has been bothering me and I'm not sleeping well again. Maybe I should stop drinking Earl Grey in the evenings... Hmmmm.
The good news is that my boss is out of town tomorrow and Friday so I should be able to get a lot of the more time consuming tasks out of the way. Our target date for getting the books to the accountant is next Wednesday the 16th but I don't work on Monday's. I have four days.
Besides accountants, bookkeepers and places like H&R Block, I wonder who else it terribly busy this time of year. The health clubs are probably overfilling this month, right?
Well, I'm off to work. I'm going to try and relax - physically - at work today. My neck has been bothering me and I'm not sleeping well again. Maybe I should stop drinking Earl Grey in the evenings... Hmmmm.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Books
For the past three years I've been a member of an online book club. Monday through Friday I get part of a book so that by Friday I've read about the first two chapters. I've signed up for Fiction, Mystery and Audio Books. To be honest, I haven't really been able to find the time to read the book part for months, but I do read the column that precedes it each day. If you'd like to check out the site and see if it's something you'd like, go to Dear Reader.
That being said, I love to read. I'm not working on anything specific at the moment... mostly because I lost interest in the book I was reading and haven't picked up anything new. I've glanced through a few, read the first chapter of a couple, but nothing is really keeping my attention these days.
I went to the library yesterday and picked up a book on positive thinking, the ACT study guide for Jake, a book on organization (because my life is a mess) and six or seven cookbooks. I love cookbooks. They're my weakness. Once, eight or so years ago, a woman knocked on my door and before she could say a word I told her that I wasn't interested in buying any magazines. Before she could speak I told her that if she'd been selling cookbooks, I'd buy, otherwise - have a nice day. Was I surprised when she pulled two cookbooks out of her bag, smiled, and said that she must have the right house. I bought both of them. I'm so sad.
That being said, I love to read. I'm not working on anything specific at the moment... mostly because I lost interest in the book I was reading and haven't picked up anything new. I've glanced through a few, read the first chapter of a couple, but nothing is really keeping my attention these days.
I went to the library yesterday and picked up a book on positive thinking, the ACT study guide for Jake, a book on organization (because my life is a mess) and six or seven cookbooks. I love cookbooks. They're my weakness. Once, eight or so years ago, a woman knocked on my door and before she could say a word I told her that I wasn't interested in buying any magazines. Before she could speak I told her that if she'd been selling cookbooks, I'd buy, otherwise - have a nice day. Was I surprised when she pulled two cookbooks out of her bag, smiled, and said that she must have the right house. I bought both of them. I'm so sad.
Monday, January 7, 2008
ACT's & SAT's - Tests, Tests and More Tests!
I felt like an idiot tonight. I was talking to a friend about the ACT that Jake has to take this year as a junior. Somehow we got on to what the abbreviation meant and I couldn't figure it out! I never took the ACT or SAT, I had no idea what it meant. I looked in the study book I picked up at the library for him, no help, searched it online, no help. What does it mean?!?!
Finally, I found a website that gives common acronym definitions... ACT - American College Test. Duh! SAT - Scholastic Assessment Test (formerly Scholastic Aptitude Test).
I feel better knowing - if not a little stupid.
Finally, I found a website that gives common acronym definitions... ACT - American College Test. Duh! SAT - Scholastic Assessment Test (formerly Scholastic Aptitude Test).
I feel better knowing - if not a little stupid.
Frustration
I haven't been feeling well. In July of 2007, I went to the doctor in the afternoon with severe abdominal pain. After examining me, he sent me for some blood work and told me to keep my cell phone close. An hour later he called and told me to go to the emergency room because my white count was high and the ER could get a CAT Scan done quicker than he could. He thought I had appendicitis... well, I didn't. And by the way, doctors and hospitals should warn their patients about the cost of these tests so they don't end up back in the emergency room from the shock of the bill! My CAT Scan was nearly $5,000! I did find out that I had fluid in my abdomen, and apparently it doesn't belong there. The ER doctor suggested that I see my OB/GYN.
Five months later, I've paid a fortune to doctors and hospitals, had a very uncomfortable ultrasound, an endometrial biopsy*, started the NuvaRing in October (even though I had my tubes tied nine years ago), had surgery to permanently burn out the lining of my uterus in November, and I still have sharp pain and cramping, not to mention the constant discharge from surgery. I have headaches related to my cycle that I take a blend of prescription and over-the-counter meds for, and constant lower back and general abdominal pain. Still, I have to wait until I'm six months out from surgery to raise the white flag to say, "I'm done, take my uterus and ovaries." Keep in mind that I've already said that but my doctor said the insurance company would want to see alternative therapies before I took such a radical step.
Apparently, some women don't handle ovulation well - I'm one of them. Between being pregnant, nursing my children, and taking ovulation suppressing hormones, I only ovulated for about four years between the ages of 16 and 26. So, when I had my tubal ligation and didn't interfere with my hormones anymore, I reacted badly.
All that being said, this is one of the issues that I'm trying to think positively about, only it's hard when I'm cramping all of the time. The positive...? I hit my out-of-pocket maximum for an individual on my insurance - thank heavens I have it.
Five months later, I've paid a fortune to doctors and hospitals, had a very uncomfortable ultrasound, an endometrial biopsy*, started the NuvaRing in October (even though I had my tubes tied nine years ago), had surgery to permanently burn out the lining of my uterus in November, and I still have sharp pain and cramping, not to mention the constant discharge from surgery. I have headaches related to my cycle that I take a blend of prescription and over-the-counter meds for, and constant lower back and general abdominal pain. Still, I have to wait until I'm six months out from surgery to raise the white flag to say, "I'm done, take my uterus and ovaries." Keep in mind that I've already said that but my doctor said the insurance company would want to see alternative therapies before I took such a radical step.
Apparently, some women don't handle ovulation well - I'm one of them. Between being pregnant, nursing my children, and taking ovulation suppressing hormones, I only ovulated for about four years between the ages of 16 and 26. So, when I had my tubal ligation and didn't interfere with my hormones anymore, I reacted badly.
All that being said, this is one of the issues that I'm trying to think positively about, only it's hard when I'm cramping all of the time. The positive...? I hit my out-of-pocket maximum for an individual on my insurance - thank heavens I have it.
*If you ever have the chance to experience an Endometrial Biopsy - DON'T! (unless you absolutly have to) It's over very quickly, but I found it extremely painful. Besides, if they're going to do surgery, they'll likely take the same samples and do the same tests - but you'll be asleep when they do it!
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Your drink of choice?
When I get up in the morning I make coffee as soon as humanly possible. I have about two cups before I head off for work during the week, and sometimes four or five on weekends - like this morning. In the evenings though, I'd much rather have a cup of tea - Earl Grey. The hubby and I are both tea drinkers, though our tastes are generally different; he prefers green tea, and I like black. We have quite an extensive selection of the 'in-between' choices too, most of them are from Celestial Seasonings.
I'm always surprised when I meet people who don't like coffee, or don't need it every day like I do. I've even met people who don't own coffee makers! If I don't have my daily dose of caffeine in the morning, I'm going to have a mild to moderate headache by noon, and a monster, killer one by late afternoon. Better to savor a lovely cup of coffee, we drink MJB Premium Blend, than to suffer with a headache. I don't think a caffeine addiction is that unusual these days; I know people who get their daily dose from tea, soda, and even chocolate!
My family - grandmother, aunts, uncles, cousins, children, husband, MOTHER even - all tease me that I have a little coffee with my cream and sugar. It's true, I like it creamy and sweet. I like my black tea the same way. The hubby will take his coffee however it comes. He will drink it with cream and sugar or black, but his preference is just a little sugar. Tea, on the other hand, he drinks with honey and sometimes a little lemon.
So what do you drink? If it's coffee or tea, how do you take it?
I'm always surprised when I meet people who don't like coffee, or don't need it every day like I do. I've even met people who don't own coffee makers! If I don't have my daily dose of caffeine in the morning, I'm going to have a mild to moderate headache by noon, and a monster, killer one by late afternoon. Better to savor a lovely cup of coffee, we drink MJB Premium Blend, than to suffer with a headache. I don't think a caffeine addiction is that unusual these days; I know people who get their daily dose from tea, soda, and even chocolate!
My family - grandmother, aunts, uncles, cousins, children, husband, MOTHER even - all tease me that I have a little coffee with my cream and sugar. It's true, I like it creamy and sweet. I like my black tea the same way. The hubby will take his coffee however it comes. He will drink it with cream and sugar or black, but his preference is just a little sugar. Tea, on the other hand, he drinks with honey and sometimes a little lemon.
So what do you drink? If it's coffee or tea, how do you take it?
Our Cats
I don't think I've mentioned yet that we have three cats. We have a six year old, ginger-colored tabby named - creatively enough - Ginger, that belongs to Matt. She is the mother of our two 'kittens', five year old Isabelle (Lindsay's cat) and Gandalf (the hubby's cat). Isabelle is a long-haired gray tabby and her brother Gandalf is a short-haired tabby.
This time last year we had a total of five pets. We also had a liver on white English Springer Spaniel named Hunter and a black, gray and ginger colored tabby named Tootsie. Tootsie was Ginger's sister and my cat. Hunter was Jake's dog. 2007 was a bad pet year for us. In mid February, while dogs and cats all over the country were dying because of bad pet food, Hunter got sick. We took him to the vet because he had been sick for a couple of days, and were told that he had a nasty gastrointestinal infection and needed antibiotics. Six days later we found out that he had lymphoma and was dying. We euthanized him. He was only five years old.
I was very worried that my cats would get sick and die. (One of the many worries I'm trying to control with my New Years Resolution.) After months of worry, I decided that they were going to be fine. At the beginning of November Tootsie was struck by some disease, we'll never know exactly which one. She lost half her body weight in just under two weeks. The night she lost the use of her legs and had her first seizure I took her into the Humane Society and had her euthanized. The vet there told me that by the time she had lost enough weight to notice she was too far gone to save. I guess when cats decide it's their time, they just die.
My kids now talk about getting another dog but now isn't a good time. A few days ago, a friend of mine just got a new puppy - a miniature dachshund that was the runt of her litter - and told me I should get one. Frankly, I think my three cats might beat it up and bury it somewhere. They're not very nice to outsiders.
This time last year we had a total of five pets. We also had a liver on white English Springer Spaniel named Hunter and a black, gray and ginger colored tabby named Tootsie. Tootsie was Ginger's sister and my cat. Hunter was Jake's dog. 2007 was a bad pet year for us. In mid February, while dogs and cats all over the country were dying because of bad pet food, Hunter got sick. We took him to the vet because he had been sick for a couple of days, and were told that he had a nasty gastrointestinal infection and needed antibiotics. Six days later we found out that he had lymphoma and was dying. We euthanized him. He was only five years old.
I was very worried that my cats would get sick and die. (One of the many worries I'm trying to control with my New Years Resolution.) After months of worry, I decided that they were going to be fine. At the beginning of November Tootsie was struck by some disease, we'll never know exactly which one. She lost half her body weight in just under two weeks. The night she lost the use of her legs and had her first seizure I took her into the Humane Society and had her euthanized. The vet there told me that by the time she had lost enough weight to notice she was too far gone to save. I guess when cats decide it's their time, they just die.
My kids now talk about getting another dog but now isn't a good time. A few days ago, a friend of mine just got a new puppy - a miniature dachshund that was the runt of her litter - and told me I should get one. Frankly, I think my three cats might beat it up and bury it somewhere. They're not very nice to outsiders.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Resolution
I'm not big into resolutions, but this year I thought I'd be daring. I'm going to try to think positively.
For example:
For example:
- My car continues to deliver satisfactory performance.
- I've lived in the same house for almost seven years now.
- I've had the same job for over eight years.
- I continue to excel in school.
- My children are healthy, happy and active.
- I've been married to a wonderful man for almost 17 years.
- I have great friends.
I'm going to continue, with the help of one of my great friends, to think positively. She's sharing some books on the subject with me. If I find them to be of great value, I'll post them.
School - Everybody's Gotta Go
On Monday my kids go back to school. Thank Heavens! I think their starting to get on their own nerves now. The elementary and high schools that my youngest and oldest attend have late-start on Mondays, meaning they don't have to be there until 9:30 as opposed to 8:10 for my 3rd grader or 7:45 for my 11th grader Tuesday through Friday. Poor Matt has to be in his seat in Junior High at 7:50 every morning of the week.
I was supposed to start a five week class on Wednesday but I just couldn't see fitting it in with my already too busy schedule. I opted to take two online and one classroom based class. I have Research Methods, Criminology and Intimate Relationships - ALL AT THE SAME TIME! What was I thinking?
Rob starts classes on the 22nd but doesn't have his schedule quite set yet. I think he's going to go all out this semester and take 16 credits. I'm thinking he's crazy! Anyway, most of us are going to be back in school or into the swing of things by the end of the month. I'm going to take advantage of not being in school. My children all need to be reminded to do homework consistently every night - and let's not forget the chores. It seems like I'm always doing the dishes or taking out trash - these are not my chores. Bedtimes will need enforcing and phone time needs to be trimmed. This month will be torture for my children. Tee hee hee.
I was supposed to start a five week class on Wednesday but I just couldn't see fitting it in with my already too busy schedule. I opted to take two online and one classroom based class. I have Research Methods, Criminology and Intimate Relationships - ALL AT THE SAME TIME! What was I thinking?
Rob starts classes on the 22nd but doesn't have his schedule quite set yet. I think he's going to go all out this semester and take 16 credits. I'm thinking he's crazy! Anyway, most of us are going to be back in school or into the swing of things by the end of the month. I'm going to take advantage of not being in school. My children all need to be reminded to do homework consistently every night - and let's not forget the chores. It seems like I'm always doing the dishes or taking out trash - these are not my chores. Bedtimes will need enforcing and phone time needs to be trimmed. This month will be torture for my children. Tee hee hee.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Happy New Year
Today is the last day of my holiday schedule at work, meaning that I’m back to work on a regular basis – bummer. Tomorrow I have to start finalizing the books at work so that we can give them to the accountant. This is a long process; it takes weeks and is truly no fun. I’ve also discovered that I have a class starting in a week. I completely forgot that I’d signed up for this class and I haven’t even gotten my book yet. Because I attend Regis University’s College for Professional Studies, I have either 5 or 8 week long classes that meet one night a week for four hours, are online, or are guided independent study. The class that I have coming up is Psychology of the Family and meets once a week. I have a minimum three page paper due the first night of class, I haven’t read the chapters and I’m feeling a little overwhelmed. I always feel that way at the beginning of the year and before a class starts.
I woke up this morning with a horrible headache. I’d like to blame it on the aforementioned stress, but it was more likely the alcohol I drank last night while we were ringing in the New Year. I didn’t drink enough to get drunk, but apparently it was enough to induce the mother of all headaches. The party, which was more of a gathering than true party, was a lot of fun. We got to know Jake's girlfriends parents better; they are very nice people that are easy to talk to and fun to play poker with. There was a family there that we only know from football functions that we really enjoyed spending time with, and a family that we haven’t seen in a couple of years. It was really enjoyable and I’m so glad we went.
I woke up this morning with a horrible headache. I’d like to blame it on the aforementioned stress, but it was more likely the alcohol I drank last night while we were ringing in the New Year. I didn’t drink enough to get drunk, but apparently it was enough to induce the mother of all headaches. The party, which was more of a gathering than true party, was a lot of fun. We got to know Jake's girlfriends parents better; they are very nice people that are easy to talk to and fun to play poker with. There was a family there that we only know from football functions that we really enjoyed spending time with, and a family that we haven’t seen in a couple of years. It was really enjoyable and I’m so glad we went.
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