Thanks everyone for the good thoughts and prayers.
The results of the MRI came back with good news! There are no lesions in my neck or spinal cord and the rest doesn't look too different than the fist MRI. A couple of more lesions, but no one's in a tizzy, so I guess it's ok.
I am going to do a round of steroids, though. The good news is that I don't have to go in for 3 days of steroids through an IV. Instead I'll be taking them for 10 days. I'm not sure how steroids help get over a relapse, but at this point I don't really care, either. Even though I definitely have trigeminal neuralgia, the doc thinks the flair up is because of the MS, so he wants to do the steroids first instead of putting me on the anti-seizure meds full time for the TN. At least, I think that's what's going on.
All I know for sure is that for the next 10 days I'm taking a huge amount of steroids. The nurse said the side effects could be an upset stomach, bloating and water gain, inability to sleep, and moodieness. Some would say, "And that would be different for you how?" And they'd be right ;-)
The best news though is that since I don't have to do the IV treatments and there's nothing else horribly wrong, I can go on the day trip to Minneapolis. Al and I are going with a riders' club to the motorcycle show up there. Al asked how many yarn stores he was going to have to go to to make this up to me. But I told him none, since I'm going to dump him and spend time with a blogging buddy. It should be a lot of fun. And 6 hours on a bus gives me lots of knitting time.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Sick Leave
Just wanted to let you guys know that you might not hear from me for a few days.
I haven’t been feeling too hot for the last week, but as usual, I just ignored it and tried to work through it. But the last couple of days have knocked me out. I’m having a lot of pain in my left cheek, so much so that I went to the dentist because I thought maybe it was a tooth problem and he could take care of it. He had good news and bad news for me—the good news was that he couldn’t find anything wrong and I didn’t need a root canal. The bad news was that he couldn’t find anything wrong and I didn’t need a root canal. So, I called the MS clinic and headed in for a check up.
Turns out I’m not crazy and I’m not just tired; I’m having a full-blown relapse of the MS. And it’s bad enough that they’ve ordered an MRI of my brain and neck for as soon as possible. The pain in my cheek is trigeminal neuralgia---a pain that runs down the trigeminal nerve of the cheek. If there aren’t any new/active lesions in the MRI, I’ll get a prescription for an anti-seizure medication to help with the pain. But since I’m noticeably weak on my left side and a little numb on the left side of my head, around my left ear, and neck, they are thinking that I may have some active lesions on the right side of my brain. If that’s the case, then I have to go through a round of steroids—3 days IV, 3 days oral. I’m not sure how the steroids help, but I guess they do. I was hoping not to have to get into steroids for a while, so I’m hoping for a pretty clean MRI.
So, I’m taking a break until we get this under control. It’s a pain (literally!), but it’s still not as bad as it could be. I’m optimistic that we’ll be pleasantly surprised by a relatively clean MRI.
Whew! I’m exhausted now. We’ll talk again soon.
I haven’t been feeling too hot for the last week, but as usual, I just ignored it and tried to work through it. But the last couple of days have knocked me out. I’m having a lot of pain in my left cheek, so much so that I went to the dentist because I thought maybe it was a tooth problem and he could take care of it. He had good news and bad news for me—the good news was that he couldn’t find anything wrong and I didn’t need a root canal. The bad news was that he couldn’t find anything wrong and I didn’t need a root canal. So, I called the MS clinic and headed in for a check up.
Turns out I’m not crazy and I’m not just tired; I’m having a full-blown relapse of the MS. And it’s bad enough that they’ve ordered an MRI of my brain and neck for as soon as possible. The pain in my cheek is trigeminal neuralgia---a pain that runs down the trigeminal nerve of the cheek. If there aren’t any new/active lesions in the MRI, I’ll get a prescription for an anti-seizure medication to help with the pain. But since I’m noticeably weak on my left side and a little numb on the left side of my head, around my left ear, and neck, they are thinking that I may have some active lesions on the right side of my brain. If that’s the case, then I have to go through a round of steroids—3 days IV, 3 days oral. I’m not sure how the steroids help, but I guess they do. I was hoping not to have to get into steroids for a while, so I’m hoping for a pretty clean MRI.
So, I’m taking a break until we get this under control. It’s a pain (literally!), but it’s still not as bad as it could be. I’m optimistic that we’ll be pleasantly surprised by a relatively clean MRI.
Whew! I’m exhausted now. We’ll talk again soon.
Monday, January 22, 2007
The Art of Mending
I admit that one of the reasons I picked up The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg was the cover. It’s a comforting picture of a glass cabinet full of material. As someone who loves textiles, the combination of the title and the picture drew me in. I’ve also chosen wine by the label sometimes. And sometimes, this actually works!
I was hesitant about this book because I put Elizabeth Berg in the “Oprah Books” category. Her book Open House actually was an Oprah Book Club selection. And being the stubborn snob that I am, I always picked up Berg’s books then put them back down. But I’ve decided that I need to let go and try things I don’t think I’ll like. And it worked, because I really liked this book.
The story revolves around Laura, and it’s told from her point-of-view. You get to know her through flashbacks, descriptions of photos, and her own thoughts and actions. She and her husband and children go to her parents’ home for a family reunion. There, her younger sister tells her and their brother about horrible experiences with their mother. They are shocked and don’t know how to respond. Then something happens that forces them to face these allegations by searching their memories and listening to what their sister has to say. And then they have to decide what to do next to stay a family. It reminds me a little of Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood because of the time period and the mother/daughter relationships. The heart of the book is expressed best by the jacket copy: “…[Berg] confronts some of the deepest mysteries of life, as she explores how even the largest sins can be forgiven by the smallest gestures, and how grace can come to many through the trials of one.”
As to the title, it is the metaphor for the book. Laura says in the book that her family still makes fun of her love of all things domestic, but she doesn’t mind. She says, “As for mending, I think it’s good to take the time to fix something rather than throw it away…you’ll always notice the fabric scar, of course, but there’s an art to mending: If you’re careful, the repair can actually add to the beauty of the thing, because it is testimony to its worth.” This is said early in the book, and it’s not until you get further into the story that you realize that many things are worth mending.
Of course, I also enjoyed the descriptions of Laura’s quilting career—her trips to the fabric store, her love of fabrics, her workroom, how she stands in front of her design wall moving pieces around, and how she sees possible designs in things all around her. But that’s just me.
And just as a side note, I also got it as large print, and oh my gosh was it easy to read. I’m getting so old. It’s an easy, quick read anyway, but it was even quicker with large print.
Anyway, give it a try. Yes, I teared up several times during the book, and there were times I wasn’t sure if I liked Laura, but she definitely grows through the story. There are several memories in the story, where Laura relates a story from her childhood that has a correlation to what’s going on in her life now. I got a little tired of that but not enough to stop reading, but I did do a little skimming near the end because I just wanted to see what was going to happen.
So, have you read any good books lately?
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Over 8 Inches
Of Snow! We had a snow storm, and the 3 to 6 inches turned out to be more like 5 to 8 inches. More like 8 at our place, except for the 2 feet at the bottom of the driveway courtesy of the snow plows, even though it was nice that they came so early on a Sunday morning.
We're exhausted. It took an hour and half to clear the driveway and sidewalk (actually, we didn't have to do one of the sidewalks because the guy behind us used his snow blower all the way down to the road--nice guy). It would have taken longer if it wasn't for the angel who came to visit us in the form of a nice old man in a truck, offering us the use of his snow blower. Seems he drove by and saw us struggling, so he went home and got his snow blower, then came on over. Amazing. Al had been wading through the pile of ice and snow at the end of the driveway while I was trying to push the snow off the driveway. We were pretty pooped by the time he showed up; he really was a life saver.
So, guess what we're going to do this afternoon? Yep. We're gonna buy a snow blower. Al doesn't care how much it costs, he's going to get the biggest damn snow blower he can find. It may never snow again, but by God, he'll have a snow blower just in case. That is, if we can find one. I would imagine there will be a run on them after this snowfall.
Anyway, here are some pictures for your enjoyment. Now that all the work is done, I'm ready to take a walk because it really is beautiful.
The house early this morning, before the shoveling began.
At the end of the driveway:
Poor mailbox:
A ballet of snow blowers:
A clean driveway!
The front walk and the piles of snow.
We're exhausted. It took an hour and half to clear the driveway and sidewalk (actually, we didn't have to do one of the sidewalks because the guy behind us used his snow blower all the way down to the road--nice guy). It would have taken longer if it wasn't for the angel who came to visit us in the form of a nice old man in a truck, offering us the use of his snow blower. Seems he drove by and saw us struggling, so he went home and got his snow blower, then came on over. Amazing. Al had been wading through the pile of ice and snow at the end of the driveway while I was trying to push the snow off the driveway. We were pretty pooped by the time he showed up; he really was a life saver.
So, guess what we're going to do this afternoon? Yep. We're gonna buy a snow blower. Al doesn't care how much it costs, he's going to get the biggest damn snow blower he can find. It may never snow again, but by God, he'll have a snow blower just in case. That is, if we can find one. I would imagine there will be a run on them after this snowfall.
Anyway, here are some pictures for your enjoyment. Now that all the work is done, I'm ready to take a walk because it really is beautiful.
The house early this morning, before the shoveling began.
At the end of the driveway:
Poor mailbox:
A ballet of snow blowers:
A clean driveway!
The front walk and the piles of snow.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
I Got Nothin' For Ya
I'm brain dead. I keep telling myself I'm going to try to post more often, but I just don't seem to get around to it. So, when my friend sent me this meme, I thought "Yeah! Soemthing to blog!" Actually I got a couple of these, all labeled, "Getting to know you in the new year." Like I'm very different this first month of 2007 than I was last year. I'm actually getting a little tired of these (horrors!). But, I got nothing, so I did this instead.
Oh, and Neil, I am so not tagging you on this ;-)
1. What time is it now? 5:38 pm
2. What color are your socks right now?
Kind of a khaki color—hiking socks. Although, I’m not hiking right now; they’re just really warm
3. What are you listening to right now?
Law and Order: SVU
4. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning?
Where am I? What time is it? What day is it? I have to pee.
5. Can you drive a stick shift?
Yes, I prefer a stick shift because I’m a control freak.
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Oh I hate picking out just one, but more than likely it would be some shade of green, like sage.
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone?
My friend T about the quilt group. That block-of-the-month quilt is never going to end.
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you?
Yes, she's a brilliant ESL teacher in CA
9. How old are you today?
This is just wrong! Why do these things always ask how old you are?
10. Favorite drink? With alcohol?
Hmmmmm. I really love bourbon and Coke. Without alcohol, it has to have caffeine—coffee, usually.
11. What is your favorite sport to watch?
Rally racing. I’m learning to cuss in several languages.
12. Do you like thunderstorms? Yes! Love them.
13. What's your favorite board game? I love board games! I like Scrabble, Sequence, Trivial Persuit, Yahtzee (is that a board game?), and on and on.
14. Do you like to drive fast? Not really. Maybe 5 or 10 miles over, but I'm pretty much a scardy cat.
15. Favorite food?
Besides chocolate? I crave Indian food.
16. What was the last movie you watched at the theater?
Oh, you’re testing my memory here. Um. I think it was Stranger Than Fiction.
17. Is the glass half-full or half-empty? Depends on the day, but usually half-full, I guess. But if it has a bourbon and Coke in it, it's empty!
18. What do you do to vent anger?
I’m a slammer—whatever door is unfortunate enough to be open and near me. Then I cry.
19. What was your favorite toy as a child?
I really liked my Baby Alive and my Chrissy doll—you could pull her hair out of the top of head and she’d have long hair! Oh, if only it was that easy in real life.
20. What is your favorite season?
Fall
21. Hugs or kisses?
Can’t I have both? I’d really like both, please.
22. Chocolate or Vanilla?
Can’t I have both? I’d really like both, please.
23. Cherries or Blueberry?
Can’t I have both? What’s with all this one or the other thing?
24. What are you reading right now?
Starting The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg and Misquoting Jesus by Bart D. Ehrman.
25. Favorite thing to do just for you?
I'm pretty crafty, what with the knitting, quilting, and scrapbooking, but just for me, I want to read.
26. Living arrangements?
Well, that’s a bit politically correct. Um, with a guy, in a house.
27. When was the last time you cried?
Yesterday, I was watching some hospital reality show and a little boy lost his arm. Why do I do that to myself? I will never let Al have control of the remote again!
28. What is on the floor of your closet?
Shoes, some dirty clothes, a sack of clothes I need to get rid of, a hangar I keep forgetting to pick up
29. What is your favorite TV show?
I’m not sure I have one. I’m terrible about knowing when something is on and remembering to watch it. But I try to remember to watch House and Monk.
30. What did you do last night?
Knitted a hat for a friend, listened to whatever was on TV, made a shepherd’s pie, updated my MS journal
31. Favorite smells?
Flour and butter before it’s turned into some pastry and bread baking. I also looooooove my “Rain” herbal soap.
32. What inspires you?
The families who keep going while their family members are in the desert. Good music with good lyrics.
33. What are you afraid of?
Way too much. But the latest fear is that the MS will progress quicker than I want. But that’s not going to happen. Actually, I’m planning on a full remission.
34. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers?
Plain. I used to like everything on them, but I’d always end up taking everything off, so now I just cut out the middle man.
35. Favorite dog breed?
Petite Bassett Griffon Vendeen (that’s what Daily was), Spinone Italiano, Border Collie, Westies, just about anything!
36. Do you sleep with an animal? Are we speaking figuratively or literally? Not since Daily passed away :(
37. Number of keys on your key ring?
Well, I have 2 key rings. One with the key to my car, and one with keys to the house and the other cars. I don’t know why I have 2. At one time Al suggested something like it, but I don’t remember exactly what he suggested. Maybe just having the house on a separate key ring? Oh well.
38. How many times do you eat out in a week?
Once or twice
39. Favorite day of the week?
Fridays
40. How many states have you lived in?
7, so far (AR, CA, NY, LA, FL, OH, NE)
41. Favorite holiday?
Halloween and Thanksgiving
42. Ever driven a Motorcycle or heavy machinery?
No, but I’ll be riding a motorcycle when it warms up
43. Who is your favorite NFL team?
Whoever my brother tells me to cheer for. But I prefer college football.
44. Do you have a house phone that is NOT cordless?
They still make corded phones?
45. Prefer 10 inches of snow or 100 degree weather?
Ya worried me there for a minute. 10 inches of snow—I know I’m weird. But you don’t want to be around me in that kind of heat! I get cranky, before I zone out then have to take a nap.
Oh, and Neil, I am so not tagging you on this ;-)
1. What time is it now? 5:38 pm
2. What color are your socks right now?
Kind of a khaki color—hiking socks. Although, I’m not hiking right now; they’re just really warm
3. What are you listening to right now?
Law and Order: SVU
4. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning?
Where am I? What time is it? What day is it? I have to pee.
5. Can you drive a stick shift?
Yes, I prefer a stick shift because I’m a control freak.
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Oh I hate picking out just one, but more than likely it would be some shade of green, like sage.
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone?
My friend T about the quilt group. That block-of-the-month quilt is never going to end.
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you?
Yes, she's a brilliant ESL teacher in CA
9. How old are you today?
This is just wrong! Why do these things always ask how old you are?
10. Favorite drink? With alcohol?
Hmmmmm. I really love bourbon and Coke. Without alcohol, it has to have caffeine—coffee, usually.
11. What is your favorite sport to watch?
Rally racing. I’m learning to cuss in several languages.
12. Do you like thunderstorms? Yes! Love them.
13. What's your favorite board game? I love board games! I like Scrabble, Sequence, Trivial Persuit, Yahtzee (is that a board game?), and on and on.
14. Do you like to drive fast? Not really. Maybe 5 or 10 miles over, but I'm pretty much a scardy cat.
15. Favorite food?
Besides chocolate? I crave Indian food.
16. What was the last movie you watched at the theater?
Oh, you’re testing my memory here. Um. I think it was Stranger Than Fiction.
17. Is the glass half-full or half-empty? Depends on the day, but usually half-full, I guess. But if it has a bourbon and Coke in it, it's empty!
18. What do you do to vent anger?
I’m a slammer—whatever door is unfortunate enough to be open and near me. Then I cry.
19. What was your favorite toy as a child?
I really liked my Baby Alive and my Chrissy doll—you could pull her hair out of the top of head and she’d have long hair! Oh, if only it was that easy in real life.
20. What is your favorite season?
Fall
21. Hugs or kisses?
Can’t I have both? I’d really like both, please.
22. Chocolate or Vanilla?
Can’t I have both? I’d really like both, please.
23. Cherries or Blueberry?
Can’t I have both? What’s with all this one or the other thing?
24. What are you reading right now?
Starting The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg and Misquoting Jesus by Bart D. Ehrman.
25. Favorite thing to do just for you?
I'm pretty crafty, what with the knitting, quilting, and scrapbooking, but just for me, I want to read.
26. Living arrangements?
Well, that’s a bit politically correct. Um, with a guy, in a house.
27. When was the last time you cried?
Yesterday, I was watching some hospital reality show and a little boy lost his arm. Why do I do that to myself? I will never let Al have control of the remote again!
28. What is on the floor of your closet?
Shoes, some dirty clothes, a sack of clothes I need to get rid of, a hangar I keep forgetting to pick up
29. What is your favorite TV show?
I’m not sure I have one. I’m terrible about knowing when something is on and remembering to watch it. But I try to remember to watch House and Monk.
30. What did you do last night?
Knitted a hat for a friend, listened to whatever was on TV, made a shepherd’s pie, updated my MS journal
31. Favorite smells?
Flour and butter before it’s turned into some pastry and bread baking. I also looooooove my “Rain” herbal soap.
32. What inspires you?
The families who keep going while their family members are in the desert. Good music with good lyrics.
33. What are you afraid of?
Way too much. But the latest fear is that the MS will progress quicker than I want. But that’s not going to happen. Actually, I’m planning on a full remission.
34. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers?
Plain. I used to like everything on them, but I’d always end up taking everything off, so now I just cut out the middle man.
35. Favorite dog breed?
Petite Bassett Griffon Vendeen (that’s what Daily was), Spinone Italiano, Border Collie, Westies, just about anything!
36. Do you sleep with an animal? Are we speaking figuratively or literally? Not since Daily passed away :(
37. Number of keys on your key ring?
Well, I have 2 key rings. One with the key to my car, and one with keys to the house and the other cars. I don’t know why I have 2. At one time Al suggested something like it, but I don’t remember exactly what he suggested. Maybe just having the house on a separate key ring? Oh well.
38. How many times do you eat out in a week?
Once or twice
39. Favorite day of the week?
Fridays
40. How many states have you lived in?
7, so far (AR, CA, NY, LA, FL, OH, NE)
41. Favorite holiday?
Halloween and Thanksgiving
42. Ever driven a Motorcycle or heavy machinery?
No, but I’ll be riding a motorcycle when it warms up
43. Who is your favorite NFL team?
Whoever my brother tells me to cheer for. But I prefer college football.
44. Do you have a house phone that is NOT cordless?
They still make corded phones?
45. Prefer 10 inches of snow or 100 degree weather?
Ya worried me there for a minute. 10 inches of snow—I know I’m weird. But you don’t want to be around me in that kind of heat! I get cranky, before I zone out then have to take a nap.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Weekend Wrap-up
OK fellas, here’s a little tip for ya to keep peace and harmony in your relationship. When it’s
been snowing all day and you begrudgingly go outside to shovel but have only been out there for 20 minutes and shoveled only half the driveway, don’t come inside and say, “Boy, if you need some exercise, you can come out and help shovel.”
This is just wrong on so many levels. I ignored him at first. Then he said, “Honey?” and repeated the statement, this time even more jovial. He looked so pleadingly at me that I decided to help. And being the better person, I didn’t remind him that I did all the shoveling last year by myself because it always snowed while he was on shift. Hey, I know we had a mild winter, but snow is snow and shoveling is, well, shoveling. And let’s not even get into the whole implication that I NEED this exercise. He may not have meant it that way. And it doesn’t matter that I do need exercise, that’s not the point.
And here’s the kicker, it kept snowing, so there’s another few inches out there. But even though he’s supposed to have tomorrow off for MLK day, he’s going into work. So, guess who’ll have to shovel what’s left out there, including that thick pile of ice and snow that the plows left. Uh huh. I could wait until he got home, but I probably won’t. But I might call him and tell him to be sure to go to the gym since he wasn’t getting any exercise by shoveling.
Shoveling also shows another difference between us. I’m a little neater, for lack of a better word. For example, here’s Al’s side of the driveway during our last snow:
And here’s my side:
Before you talk about how much faster Al is, just know that as I got near the end and he was zooming to the sidewalks, he asked me to go back and clean up those lines.
-------------------------------------------
We went over to our friend’s house for pizza Friday night. They have two girls, but for some reason it had expanded to four. Seems 11 and 13-year-old do that—they clone on Friday nights in search of a slumber party. This family also has three dogs, two Great Danes and a chocolate Labrador, so it was a pretty full house. But we had a great time, and I got my dog fix. Here are a couple of pics of them:
Anya and Addie love the fireplace
Addie and Cocoa wait for a cookie
The girls were playing Dance Dance Revolution or DDR, that arcade game where you watch a screen and try to match the steps on the screen by stepping on the correct arrow. For some reason the girls just had to get me out there to play, too. Everyone wanted to play against Kell. Ya think that’s because I’m old and uncoordinated and they knew it would be an easy win? Yeah, me too. Actually, it was a lot of fun, and the girls had pity on me. Well, they had pity after I humiliated myself with the first song. So for the second song, they chose the “easy” one, the “slow” one, “Get Down Tonight” by KC and the Sunshine Band. Yeah! Now we’re talkin’! Bring it on, baby! And I did good, too. So good that they went back to a fast song next. Competition starts early, I see. All the songs sound like that Barbie song—“I’m a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world.” And I’ve learned, after watching the experts, that the key is not to worry so much about getting back to center. If you’re standing on the left arrow and a back arrow is coming up fast, you don’t have to go back to center and step back, you can leave your left foot on the left arrow and step back with your right. I tell you this so that when you are in this situation, you’ll be ahead of the game. Learn from my mistakes. Plus, if you’re a rather, um, womanly woman, with rather large womanly features, you might want to wear a jogging bra. Those “jump on two arrows at the same time” moments are a little tricky.
BTW, I’m sure Al is taking bids on showing the video he took of me. Oops, that got deleted! How did that happen?
--------------------------------------------
I went to a “Foundations” class at a local Yoga/Pilates studio. I’m so bored with my workout and I think I need something to help with balance and flexibility. This is the year of balance, remember. I was there for 3 friggin’ hours! I don’t even like to do something I really enjoy for 3 hours. It was interesting and I learned a lot, but by the last 30 minutes, I was getting cranky. That may have had something to do with the fact that I hadn’t eaten since 7:30 and it was now 2:00! Cranky, definitely cranky.
However, it was fascinating. I think I’m just going to do the Yoga for now. The Pilates classes are done on these machines called “The Reformer.” Doesn’t that sound a little intimidating? First of all, I keep hearing Arnold Schwarzenegger say it, but also I keep imagining some future world where people who wear color have to go through “The Reformer” and change into an army of grayness.
They do a lot at this studio—hypnotherapy, massage, Reiki and Ayurveda, a type of ancient Indian treatment that takes into account your “dosha”, or body type. If your dosha is out of balance, you have certain ailments, so if you know your dosha, supposedly you can focus on foods and exercise to obtain and maintain that balance. You can go here to find your dosha. I’m a Pitta, BTW, I think, with quite a bit of Kapha. There are parts of me that are all 3, but that’s the way all those test things work out for me. The questions always seem to be black and white—Are you this, this or that? Well, I’m a little bit of this and that. Anyway, it seems to be all the rage here.
----------------------------------------
So that’s how my weekend went. How was yours?
been snowing all day and you begrudgingly go outside to shovel but have only been out there for 20 minutes and shoveled only half the driveway, don’t come inside and say, “Boy, if you need some exercise, you can come out and help shovel.”
This is just wrong on so many levels. I ignored him at first. Then he said, “Honey?” and repeated the statement, this time even more jovial. He looked so pleadingly at me that I decided to help. And being the better person, I didn’t remind him that I did all the shoveling last year by myself because it always snowed while he was on shift. Hey, I know we had a mild winter, but snow is snow and shoveling is, well, shoveling. And let’s not even get into the whole implication that I NEED this exercise. He may not have meant it that way. And it doesn’t matter that I do need exercise, that’s not the point.
And here’s the kicker, it kept snowing, so there’s another few inches out there. But even though he’s supposed to have tomorrow off for MLK day, he’s going into work. So, guess who’ll have to shovel what’s left out there, including that thick pile of ice and snow that the plows left. Uh huh. I could wait until he got home, but I probably won’t. But I might call him and tell him to be sure to go to the gym since he wasn’t getting any exercise by shoveling.
Shoveling also shows another difference between us. I’m a little neater, for lack of a better word. For example, here’s Al’s side of the driveway during our last snow:
And here’s my side:
Before you talk about how much faster Al is, just know that as I got near the end and he was zooming to the sidewalks, he asked me to go back and clean up those lines.
-------------------------------------------
We went over to our friend’s house for pizza Friday night. They have two girls, but for some reason it had expanded to four. Seems 11 and 13-year-old do that—they clone on Friday nights in search of a slumber party. This family also has three dogs, two Great Danes and a chocolate Labrador, so it was a pretty full house. But we had a great time, and I got my dog fix. Here are a couple of pics of them:
Anya and Addie love the fireplace
Addie and Cocoa wait for a cookie
The girls were playing Dance Dance Revolution or DDR, that arcade game where you watch a screen and try to match the steps on the screen by stepping on the correct arrow. For some reason the girls just had to get me out there to play, too. Everyone wanted to play against Kell. Ya think that’s because I’m old and uncoordinated and they knew it would be an easy win? Yeah, me too. Actually, it was a lot of fun, and the girls had pity on me. Well, they had pity after I humiliated myself with the first song. So for the second song, they chose the “easy” one, the “slow” one, “Get Down Tonight” by KC and the Sunshine Band. Yeah! Now we’re talkin’! Bring it on, baby! And I did good, too. So good that they went back to a fast song next. Competition starts early, I see. All the songs sound like that Barbie song—“I’m a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world.” And I’ve learned, after watching the experts, that the key is not to worry so much about getting back to center. If you’re standing on the left arrow and a back arrow is coming up fast, you don’t have to go back to center and step back, you can leave your left foot on the left arrow and step back with your right. I tell you this so that when you are in this situation, you’ll be ahead of the game. Learn from my mistakes. Plus, if you’re a rather, um, womanly woman, with rather large womanly features, you might want to wear a jogging bra. Those “jump on two arrows at the same time” moments are a little tricky.
BTW, I’m sure Al is taking bids on showing the video he took of me. Oops, that got deleted! How did that happen?
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I went to a “Foundations” class at a local Yoga/Pilates studio. I’m so bored with my workout and I think I need something to help with balance and flexibility. This is the year of balance, remember. I was there for 3 friggin’ hours! I don’t even like to do something I really enjoy for 3 hours. It was interesting and I learned a lot, but by the last 30 minutes, I was getting cranky. That may have had something to do with the fact that I hadn’t eaten since 7:30 and it was now 2:00! Cranky, definitely cranky.
However, it was fascinating. I think I’m just going to do the Yoga for now. The Pilates classes are done on these machines called “The Reformer.” Doesn’t that sound a little intimidating? First of all, I keep hearing Arnold Schwarzenegger say it, but also I keep imagining some future world where people who wear color have to go through “The Reformer” and change into an army of grayness.
They do a lot at this studio—hypnotherapy, massage, Reiki and Ayurveda, a type of ancient Indian treatment that takes into account your “dosha”, or body type. If your dosha is out of balance, you have certain ailments, so if you know your dosha, supposedly you can focus on foods and exercise to obtain and maintain that balance. You can go here to find your dosha. I’m a Pitta, BTW, I think, with quite a bit of Kapha. There are parts of me that are all 3, but that’s the way all those test things work out for me. The questions always seem to be black and white—Are you this, this or that? Well, I’m a little bit of this and that. Anyway, it seems to be all the rage here.
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So that’s how my weekend went. How was yours?
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Smile and Show Those Pearly Whites
We all hate it. We all dread it. And even the most testosterone-ridden man will admit to being afraid of going. But I had old cavities that had to be replaced, so I had to go to *pause for dramatic organ music* the dentist.
You almost have to sedate me to get me there. Well, maybe it’s not that bad, but could you? I mean, could someone just knock me the hell out and let me know when it’s over? Dentistry has come a very long way in my lifetime and it is pretty darn close to painless, but I remember the pain. I’m old enough to remember the “I’m sorry but this is just going to hurt a little bit” days. The “root canal takes at least 2 long visits” days. My heart’s beating faster just thinking about it.
I am a professional dental patient. Oh, I brush and I even floss the majority of the time, but I am paying for past sins. The kid and young adult who didn’t take such great care of her teeth and didn’t go to the dentist as often as she should have is suffering the effects.
Cavities don’t last forever, especially the silver fillings of old. They break or fall out, leaving a hole in the tooth that either has to be filled quickly, or as is more often the case, has to get a cap on it because there is already so much filling in that tooth, there’s not much tooth left to drill. And hoping against hope, it won’t need a root canal first, even though I know it will because I ignored any pain by trying to cover it up with aspirin.
2005-2006 was the worst dental year of my life. A root canal and three caps. I had so much dental work done that my insurance stopped paying—I maxed out my benefits. It was all fairly painless, but damn, that’s not the point. I should have just set a cot up in the back room of the dentist’s office. Caps take 2 visits, and the root canal was 3 (one to find out if I needed a root canal, one to do the root canal, and one afterwards to make sure everything was ok), plus a visit to refill the cap they had to drill through.
Isn’t it odd that we say an appointment with the dentist is a “visit.” As if we’re going to sit around the breakfast table, have a cup of coffee, and gossip about our neighbors or co-workers. Well, not with the dentist I saw during this time. He was an excellent dentist, but he had the bedside manner of a turnip.
But that’s not the case here. I found a wonderful dentist who seems really good at his job, plus he’s very nice. And his office is comfortable and the other people working there are very nice. I’m still a nervous wreck, but I don’t have to be sedated to go there.
I’m slowly having those old silver fillings replaced with this white stuff that’s supposed to be stronger and better and let me keep my teeth longer. The longer I can keep from getting another cap, the better.
So, that’s what I did yesterday. Can you believe that it took less than an hour to take out 2 fillings and refill them? I’m sure it took at least a whole day when I was a kid. Or at least, that’s the way it felt. There are TVs in all the cubicles, so I can watch the morning news if I want. As if I could focus on anything, let alone hear anything, besides that drill wailing like a siren in that giant echo chamber that is my mouth. But it’s a nice offer.
And my dentist is very nice. He’s always asking, “Are you doing OK?” But of course all I can say is “Uhrr Huuuaahhhhggg.” He just assumes that translates as “Yes, I am perfectly fine, thank you.” Not unlike a waitress who waits until your mouth is full before she comes by to ask if you need anything else; you don’t want to spew everything that’s in your cheeks just to say you could really use a glass of water.
I can’t tell him that the sound of that drill will echo in my sleep tonight. Or that the grinding tool he uses not only vibrates my head, but tickles my nose, making me pray that I don’t have to sneeze. And that the smell of that epoxy he packs into the tooth is worse than anything my hairdresser puts in my hair to cover the gray—and that stuff makes my eyes water. Or that as nice as his dental assistant is, every time he asks for a spray of water, I get a shower, and I hate water being sprayed on my face. And by the way, that bib you put on me? Can you loosen it a little because it keeps riding up across my neck.
But I made it through. He even said, “You did good, Kell.” What? What did I do besides lie there perfectly still and not scream and cry that I wanted my mommy? If a guy had a drill in your mouth, wouldn’t you lie still? Unless, of course, he said, “Is it safe?” *shiver* (that's a terrifying scene in Marathon Man btw.)
The right side of my mouth was numb all morning; it was close to 1:00 before I was back to normal. However, this morning, everything is back to normal. And I don’t go back until my next cleaning, which I think is April. So, that gives me over 3 months to recover/anticipate/gather up my courage for the next round.
Maybe I should get a prescription of Valium, just in case.
You almost have to sedate me to get me there. Well, maybe it’s not that bad, but could you? I mean, could someone just knock me the hell out and let me know when it’s over? Dentistry has come a very long way in my lifetime and it is pretty darn close to painless, but I remember the pain. I’m old enough to remember the “I’m sorry but this is just going to hurt a little bit” days. The “root canal takes at least 2 long visits” days. My heart’s beating faster just thinking about it.
I am a professional dental patient. Oh, I brush and I even floss the majority of the time, but I am paying for past sins. The kid and young adult who didn’t take such great care of her teeth and didn’t go to the dentist as often as she should have is suffering the effects.
Cavities don’t last forever, especially the silver fillings of old. They break or fall out, leaving a hole in the tooth that either has to be filled quickly, or as is more often the case, has to get a cap on it because there is already so much filling in that tooth, there’s not much tooth left to drill. And hoping against hope, it won’t need a root canal first, even though I know it will because I ignored any pain by trying to cover it up with aspirin.
2005-2006 was the worst dental year of my life. A root canal and three caps. I had so much dental work done that my insurance stopped paying—I maxed out my benefits. It was all fairly painless, but damn, that’s not the point. I should have just set a cot up in the back room of the dentist’s office. Caps take 2 visits, and the root canal was 3 (one to find out if I needed a root canal, one to do the root canal, and one afterwards to make sure everything was ok), plus a visit to refill the cap they had to drill through.
Isn’t it odd that we say an appointment with the dentist is a “visit.” As if we’re going to sit around the breakfast table, have a cup of coffee, and gossip about our neighbors or co-workers. Well, not with the dentist I saw during this time. He was an excellent dentist, but he had the bedside manner of a turnip.
But that’s not the case here. I found a wonderful dentist who seems really good at his job, plus he’s very nice. And his office is comfortable and the other people working there are very nice. I’m still a nervous wreck, but I don’t have to be sedated to go there.
I’m slowly having those old silver fillings replaced with this white stuff that’s supposed to be stronger and better and let me keep my teeth longer. The longer I can keep from getting another cap, the better.
So, that’s what I did yesterday. Can you believe that it took less than an hour to take out 2 fillings and refill them? I’m sure it took at least a whole day when I was a kid. Or at least, that’s the way it felt. There are TVs in all the cubicles, so I can watch the morning news if I want. As if I could focus on anything, let alone hear anything, besides that drill wailing like a siren in that giant echo chamber that is my mouth. But it’s a nice offer.
And my dentist is very nice. He’s always asking, “Are you doing OK?” But of course all I can say is “Uhrr Huuuaahhhhggg.” He just assumes that translates as “Yes, I am perfectly fine, thank you.” Not unlike a waitress who waits until your mouth is full before she comes by to ask if you need anything else; you don’t want to spew everything that’s in your cheeks just to say you could really use a glass of water.
I can’t tell him that the sound of that drill will echo in my sleep tonight. Or that the grinding tool he uses not only vibrates my head, but tickles my nose, making me pray that I don’t have to sneeze. And that the smell of that epoxy he packs into the tooth is worse than anything my hairdresser puts in my hair to cover the gray—and that stuff makes my eyes water. Or that as nice as his dental assistant is, every time he asks for a spray of water, I get a shower, and I hate water being sprayed on my face. And by the way, that bib you put on me? Can you loosen it a little because it keeps riding up across my neck.
But I made it through. He even said, “You did good, Kell.” What? What did I do besides lie there perfectly still and not scream and cry that I wanted my mommy? If a guy had a drill in your mouth, wouldn’t you lie still? Unless, of course, he said, “Is it safe?” *shiver* (that's a terrifying scene in Marathon Man btw.)
The right side of my mouth was numb all morning; it was close to 1:00 before I was back to normal. However, this morning, everything is back to normal. And I don’t go back until my next cleaning, which I think is April. So, that gives me over 3 months to recover/anticipate/gather up my courage for the next round.
Maybe I should get a prescription of Valium, just in case.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Whisky Potluck
The potluck is a party standard. Everybody brings something to share, so one person doesn’t have to do it all, and everyone gets to show off their specialty to the applause of others. It’s wonderful. Everyone is happy at a potluck.
So, who says a potluck only has to be food? For a first, we were invited to a Scotch Potluck Party. Everybody brings a bottle to share. Oh, there was gumbo and some food, but the whole point was the whisky.
A little background information for ya, first. The Dundee Dell is a great old bar here that has the largest collection of scotch outside of Scotland. I believe at last count they had over 700 different types of scotch. And once a month, they have a “Scotch Tasting” which we attend fairly regularly. I don’t partake because I drive. But I always have a good time, usually because of the other regulars, who know more about this stuff than anyone and are all pretty funny.
Every 3 years, these regulars go to Scotland for a distillery tour. They’ve gone so often that they have their own tour guide, Willy (how great is that, Simpson’s fans?), who sets everything up and drives the bus. They get real “behind the scenes” tours and some really nice bennies. And this year, we are going, too! I’m very excited about this. Besides the fact that we’ll be going to Islay then up into the Highlands and Edinburgh, it is great because I didn’t have to plan any of it. I just get on the bus. This will be awesome.
So, this potluck party originally started as a reunion party for the Scotland group. Since we’re going this year, we were invited to kneel at the shrine and partake of the life-giving liquid.
Reed’s house is in the Dundee area and is an old house that has had many different roles. Apartments, home, apartment within a home, and now a home. A warm, character-filled home with built in shelves, arched windows and original tile in the kitchen. But the focal point of the front room is definitely the liquor cabinet. It’s over 6 feet of rare single malts and souvenirs, including a Whisky Trivial game that is coming to Scotland with us.
Across from the cabinet was a bar-height slate table where everyone put their contributions. And oh my God, it was amazing. I don’t know all that much, but even I know that a 175th Anniversary Talisker is a huge deal. Al emailed my brother a list of what he could remember, so here’s what he remembers being there, with his short tasting note:
Littlemill 8 & 17 year old (an amazing lowland)
Linkwood 29 year old (great)
Glenmorangie Burgundy wood finish 12 year old (mine)
Glenmorangie 25 year old (not bad)
Edradour 25 year old (hot and spicy)
Balvenie 17 year old (finished in an Islay cask)
Ardbeg (finished in a sherry cask, interesting)
Talisker 175th Anniversary (amazing)
Something 35 year old (can't remember the name)
Some kind of rum (tasted like butterscotch)
Reed had tasting glasses for everyone. I settled for my one glass of wine for the evening because, as usual, I was going to be designated driver. And that brings up another good thing about this trip—I will never be designated driver. Anyway, it was like a bell rung and Al was off to the races. I didn’t see him most of the evening. As is usual for these little tête-à -têtes, I ended up talking to the other wives, listening to stories about the kids. But this time, these woman were going or had gone on this trip, so we had other stuff to talk about. Plus, Reed has a little slut-puppy dog who was just the cutest thing. She just loved being petted, so I spent quite awhile on the floor doing just that.
As the evening started to wind down and thin out a little, I ventured to join in and admire the liquor cabinet. That’s when the stories started, and I love stories. Every bottle has a story of how it was acquired. Al insisted that I try a Littlemill, a lowland scotch that was out of this world. It was very smooth—no alcohol shiver after the first sip. Just a nice, caramel taste with a warming sensation. And that lead to stories about past Scotland trips and what we have to look forward to this year.
I started watching Al pretty closely. I knew he had had too much because he kept repeating himself and he that little twinkle in his eyes. It’s that twinkle that comes at the peak of light-headedness and right before the crash. I started to maneuver us out by getting our coats, getting him a bottle of water, putting the glasses up. He was doing OK I thought, then they had to open that bottle of rum. He only had a sip, but that seemed to push him over the edge. I don’t remember the name of the rum but it was wonderful (I had a sip), but I do seem to remember hearing that it was made by some guy in his garage on some island. Ohhhhhkaaaaaaay. Time to go!
I finally got him out of the house, as another wife was trying to convince her husband it was time to go. We had to walk a couple of blocks to the car, and Al pretty much swayed his way there. He rambled a little about all the single malts that he had tried, saying “You’ll never see a collection like that again. Mo said it was at least $10,000 worth. You’ll never see a collection like that again.”
I got him home and into bed, finally. He valiantly tried to stay up while I filled my friend RJ in on the night (she decided to stay at the house and knit). I watched him as he slouched in the chair and his chin fell to his chest. I got him upstairs to bed, and he was out. He didn’t even notice when I came to bed later.
He was hurting the next morning. Not as bad as I expected because he did drink a lot of water throughout the night to stay hydrated. I told him that we were so concerned about working out at the gym to get in shape for this trip, but that’s not what we need to work on. Either he has to drink less and don’t try to keep up with those guys, or he better drink more to get ready. As tempting as whisky is for him, he said he had decided that drinking less was the way to go. Good choice.
The most important thing about this party, for me anyway, was that I had a good time with these people who I will be spending 10 whirlwind days in March. I think we’re going to have a blast in Scotland.
So, who says a potluck only has to be food? For a first, we were invited to a Scotch Potluck Party. Everybody brings a bottle to share. Oh, there was gumbo and some food, but the whole point was the whisky.
A little background information for ya, first. The Dundee Dell is a great old bar here that has the largest collection of scotch outside of Scotland. I believe at last count they had over 700 different types of scotch. And once a month, they have a “Scotch Tasting” which we attend fairly regularly. I don’t partake because I drive. But I always have a good time, usually because of the other regulars, who know more about this stuff than anyone and are all pretty funny.
Every 3 years, these regulars go to Scotland for a distillery tour. They’ve gone so often that they have their own tour guide, Willy (how great is that, Simpson’s fans?), who sets everything up and drives the bus. They get real “behind the scenes” tours and some really nice bennies. And this year, we are going, too! I’m very excited about this. Besides the fact that we’ll be going to Islay then up into the Highlands and Edinburgh, it is great because I didn’t have to plan any of it. I just get on the bus. This will be awesome.
So, this potluck party originally started as a reunion party for the Scotland group. Since we’re going this year, we were invited to kneel at the shrine and partake of the life-giving liquid.
Reed’s house is in the Dundee area and is an old house that has had many different roles. Apartments, home, apartment within a home, and now a home. A warm, character-filled home with built in shelves, arched windows and original tile in the kitchen. But the focal point of the front room is definitely the liquor cabinet. It’s over 6 feet of rare single malts and souvenirs, including a Whisky Trivial game that is coming to Scotland with us.
Across from the cabinet was a bar-height slate table where everyone put their contributions. And oh my God, it was amazing. I don’t know all that much, but even I know that a 175th Anniversary Talisker is a huge deal. Al emailed my brother a list of what he could remember, so here’s what he remembers being there, with his short tasting note:
Littlemill 8 & 17 year old (an amazing lowland)
Linkwood 29 year old (great)
Glenmorangie Burgundy wood finish 12 year old (mine)
Glenmorangie 25 year old (not bad)
Edradour 25 year old (hot and spicy)
Balvenie 17 year old (finished in an Islay cask)
Ardbeg (finished in a sherry cask, interesting)
Talisker 175th Anniversary (amazing)
Something 35 year old (can't remember the name)
Some kind of rum (tasted like butterscotch)
Reed had tasting glasses for everyone. I settled for my one glass of wine for the evening because, as usual, I was going to be designated driver. And that brings up another good thing about this trip—I will never be designated driver. Anyway, it was like a bell rung and Al was off to the races. I didn’t see him most of the evening. As is usual for these little tête-à -têtes, I ended up talking to the other wives, listening to stories about the kids. But this time, these woman were going or had gone on this trip, so we had other stuff to talk about. Plus, Reed has a little slut-puppy dog who was just the cutest thing. She just loved being petted, so I spent quite awhile on the floor doing just that.
As the evening started to wind down and thin out a little, I ventured to join in and admire the liquor cabinet. That’s when the stories started, and I love stories. Every bottle has a story of how it was acquired. Al insisted that I try a Littlemill, a lowland scotch that was out of this world. It was very smooth—no alcohol shiver after the first sip. Just a nice, caramel taste with a warming sensation. And that lead to stories about past Scotland trips and what we have to look forward to this year.
I started watching Al pretty closely. I knew he had had too much because he kept repeating himself and he that little twinkle in his eyes. It’s that twinkle that comes at the peak of light-headedness and right before the crash. I started to maneuver us out by getting our coats, getting him a bottle of water, putting the glasses up. He was doing OK I thought, then they had to open that bottle of rum. He only had a sip, but that seemed to push him over the edge. I don’t remember the name of the rum but it was wonderful (I had a sip), but I do seem to remember hearing that it was made by some guy in his garage on some island. Ohhhhhkaaaaaaay. Time to go!
I finally got him out of the house, as another wife was trying to convince her husband it was time to go. We had to walk a couple of blocks to the car, and Al pretty much swayed his way there. He rambled a little about all the single malts that he had tried, saying “You’ll never see a collection like that again. Mo said it was at least $10,000 worth. You’ll never see a collection like that again.”
I got him home and into bed, finally. He valiantly tried to stay up while I filled my friend RJ in on the night (she decided to stay at the house and knit). I watched him as he slouched in the chair and his chin fell to his chest. I got him upstairs to bed, and he was out. He didn’t even notice when I came to bed later.
He was hurting the next morning. Not as bad as I expected because he did drink a lot of water throughout the night to stay hydrated. I told him that we were so concerned about working out at the gym to get in shape for this trip, but that’s not what we need to work on. Either he has to drink less and don’t try to keep up with those guys, or he better drink more to get ready. As tempting as whisky is for him, he said he had decided that drinking less was the way to go. Good choice.
The most important thing about this party, for me anyway, was that I had a good time with these people who I will be spending 10 whirlwind days in March. I think we’re going to have a blast in Scotland.
Friday, January 05, 2007
And Yet a Little More
Note: The Scotch Party post is still coming—I have to wait until Al gets home so he can tell me again what was there. I might remember the name, but I won’t remember the year, and that seems to be rather important. So, until then, here’s a little more holiday recap.
My friend RJ came in on Tuesday after Christmas, and I spent the next 4 days knitting, talking, crying and staying up until 2 am. It was wonderful. I didn’t realize how much I missed having a “hobby buddy,” somebody who has the same passion I do and doesn’t mind wallowing in it. I have a friend who is quilting the block-of-the-month quilt with me, but she’s a little more obsessed than passionate—there’s a difference, you know. Although some might call me obsessed, I am able to put projects down and leave them unfinished for awhile. I’m more obsessed about starting projects than I am about actually finishing them. Maybe that could be my new year’s resolution—to finish unfinished projects.
Anyway, RJ and I went to a workshop where we learned to knit a log cabin quilting block. It looks like this:
I’m not done yet, there are a few more sides to do. I really like this technique and think I’ll be doing it again after I finish the projects I’m working on right now. Also, she and I have decided to knit a scarf together. I mean, we’re each going to knit the squares for this scarf, then we’ll trade some of them so that our scarves will have a little bit of each of us in them. Cool, huh? Here’s a picture of what the scarf will look like when it’s done, I hope by next fall.
We’ve bought all the yarn (one of the local yarn shops in my town was having a 20% off year-end sale), so now we just have to start knitting. Knit 4 triangles, then sew them together to form the squares, then sew the squares together. All 32 squares. You can see why I’m saying I hope I’ll have it done by next fall. But it’ll be worth it. I’m also going to make a tote bag. What the hell, I have the yarn.
I was really sad when RJ left. And lonely. Al was home, but I didn’t realize how much I do by myself until she was here to do things with me. One of my other new year’s resolutions should be to get out among the living more often.
So, now the holidays are over and my friend is back in Austin. I have no more excuses. I have to get back to exercising and eating right and doing all the chores I’ve pretty much ignored for the last few weeks. Back to reality. But I’m not as depressed about that as I thought I’d be.
I feel hopeful for the next year. I have a lot to look forward to with our trips, so I have the incentive to get back to the gym and a better diet so I’ll be in good shape for all the walking I’m going to be doing. And I’ve had an energy boost when it comes to organizing some unorganized things in my life. I’ve created a journal for my MS so I can keep better track of how I’m feeling so that I can see if I have any triggers or if there is a pattern to any flair ups. I’ve also created a knitting journal so I can get all those projects I’m working on and want to work on organized. And hopefully this weekend, Al and I are going to sit down and do some honest talking about the year ahead: what kind of work we want to do on the house, what kind of repairs have to be done on the house, a more realistic look at our finances before and after the trips, and even looking further into the future and where we both want to be. I told him we should each work on a list of what we think needs to be done this year and what we’d like to do this year, then compare. I bet we’ll be surprised by what we consider priority and what we think needs to be done. I know that a BMW motorcycle is not on my list, and I’m pretty sure that a trip to Rhinebeck NY for the Wool festival isn’t on his.
Susan said that instead of new year’s resolutions, she’s having a theme for her year. Hers is Dare to Create. I like that! And after careful consideration of, oh, about 5 minutes or so, I think my new year’s theme will be “Balance and Content.” I spend an awful lot of time thinking, “I’ll be happy when I . . . “ instead of being content with the way things are. And balance? Well, I’ve felt pretty tilted all of 2006, so I’m going to even out and stay balanced this year. I’ll have to think on that one a little bit more.
OK, I’ve rambled enough for another day. I have more lists to work on! Have a great weekend every one.
My friend RJ came in on Tuesday after Christmas, and I spent the next 4 days knitting, talking, crying and staying up until 2 am. It was wonderful. I didn’t realize how much I missed having a “hobby buddy,” somebody who has the same passion I do and doesn’t mind wallowing in it. I have a friend who is quilting the block-of-the-month quilt with me, but she’s a little more obsessed than passionate—there’s a difference, you know. Although some might call me obsessed, I am able to put projects down and leave them unfinished for awhile. I’m more obsessed about starting projects than I am about actually finishing them. Maybe that could be my new year’s resolution—to finish unfinished projects.
Anyway, RJ and I went to a workshop where we learned to knit a log cabin quilting block. It looks like this:
I’m not done yet, there are a few more sides to do. I really like this technique and think I’ll be doing it again after I finish the projects I’m working on right now. Also, she and I have decided to knit a scarf together. I mean, we’re each going to knit the squares for this scarf, then we’ll trade some of them so that our scarves will have a little bit of each of us in them. Cool, huh? Here’s a picture of what the scarf will look like when it’s done, I hope by next fall.
We’ve bought all the yarn (one of the local yarn shops in my town was having a 20% off year-end sale), so now we just have to start knitting. Knit 4 triangles, then sew them together to form the squares, then sew the squares together. All 32 squares. You can see why I’m saying I hope I’ll have it done by next fall. But it’ll be worth it. I’m also going to make a tote bag. What the hell, I have the yarn.
I was really sad when RJ left. And lonely. Al was home, but I didn’t realize how much I do by myself until she was here to do things with me. One of my other new year’s resolutions should be to get out among the living more often.
So, now the holidays are over and my friend is back in Austin. I have no more excuses. I have to get back to exercising and eating right and doing all the chores I’ve pretty much ignored for the last few weeks. Back to reality. But I’m not as depressed about that as I thought I’d be.
I feel hopeful for the next year. I have a lot to look forward to with our trips, so I have the incentive to get back to the gym and a better diet so I’ll be in good shape for all the walking I’m going to be doing. And I’ve had an energy boost when it comes to organizing some unorganized things in my life. I’ve created a journal for my MS so I can keep better track of how I’m feeling so that I can see if I have any triggers or if there is a pattern to any flair ups. I’ve also created a knitting journal so I can get all those projects I’m working on and want to work on organized. And hopefully this weekend, Al and I are going to sit down and do some honest talking about the year ahead: what kind of work we want to do on the house, what kind of repairs have to be done on the house, a more realistic look at our finances before and after the trips, and even looking further into the future and where we both want to be. I told him we should each work on a list of what we think needs to be done this year and what we’d like to do this year, then compare. I bet we’ll be surprised by what we consider priority and what we think needs to be done. I know that a BMW motorcycle is not on my list, and I’m pretty sure that a trip to Rhinebeck NY for the Wool festival isn’t on his.
Susan said that instead of new year’s resolutions, she’s having a theme for her year. Hers is Dare to Create. I like that! And after careful consideration of, oh, about 5 minutes or so, I think my new year’s theme will be “Balance and Content.” I spend an awful lot of time thinking, “I’ll be happy when I . . . “ instead of being content with the way things are. And balance? Well, I’ve felt pretty tilted all of 2006, so I’m going to even out and stay balanced this year. I’ll have to think on that one a little bit more.
OK, I’ve rambled enough for another day. I have more lists to work on! Have a great weekend every one.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Quick Holiday Recap
So, all those things that I said “I’ll do that after the holidays” have reared their ugly heads and are now waiting in line on my massive To Do list. Some are more important than others (balance checkbook and get more stamps), some are always on there (balance checkbook, laundry, exercise), and some are fun (buy yarn and work on travel plans). It’s 11:00 and here’s what I’ve accomplished: nothing. Nada. Not a damn thing. I’ve read the paper, I’ve eaten breakfast, I’ve read some blogs, and I’ve started typing up this post, but I haven’t done anything on my list yet.
This is my first day alone in the house again. It was nice having Al home for the holidays and I loved having my friend RJ visiting, but it’s nice to have the house to myself again so I can regroup. The beginning of a new year can be a reflective time, and now I have time to reflect.
It was a nice, lovely, quiet Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve with good friends, eating a fabulous meal and watching A Christmas Story. Al and I had a bit of a tiff but it didn’t last all that long (thus the description as “tiff”). ‘Tis the season for my nerves to be on edge, and unfortunately for Al, he’s the only one around for me to get mad at.
Christmas Day started with the traditional mimosas and breakfast then opening presents. We stuck to our plan of not going overboard this year, and I think we’ll stick with that. The gifts were much more heartfelt because we had to think a little harder about what the other person would want. I got Al The Road to Dakar book/DVD, which is about Charlie Boorman’s quest to race at Dakar. Boorman and Ewan McGregor rode around the world a couple of years ago in The Long Way Round. I watched the DVD with him, which at first I thought was part of his gift, but really, I love shows like that. They make me want to accomplish something that would scare me to death. But I’m not going to race in the desert—people die in that race. Anyway, he loved it. He gave me a Winnie-the-Pooh watch, a cookbook and a subscription to Hobby Farms magazine. Now, I know that last one might seem a little odd, but it’s really the sweetest gift of all. There are always articles about sheep, alpacas, goats, rabbits, and any other animal whose fur can be turned into yarn, and I have a pipedream about having a small farm. Al doesn’t really share that dream, yet he gets me this magazine because he knows how much I enjoy reading it. And speaking of thoughtful gifts, my mom and brother got me wonderful books, mostly knitting books, that I’ve been wanting for a long time. I can also get some yarn at my favorite yarn shop and some new tunes from iTunes.
New Year’s Eve was another quiet affair. It sleeted that morning, then snowed all day. I think we had around 3 inches, and the roads were really bad. The fireworks planned for downtown were postponed, and we pretty much just sat inside and relaxed. Al seems to take great pride in the fact that he doesn’t go out on new year’s eve, so even if it wasn’t snowing, we would have stayed home. He doesn’t even want to stay up to watch the festivities on TV. I tried to go to sleep but couldn’t, so I stayed up and finished my book.
We spent New Year’s Day at an annual party of one of Al’s co-workers. We really like this family and always have a good time at their house. Andi is a crafter and makes beautiful jewelry in addition to quilting and scrapbooking. Plus, she’s a great cook, so we always eat well. And Chris is a brewer, so there’s always good beer. I took my knitting because I knew that all the women would end up in the living room, sitting around the fire, talking. Except for a sleepy spell, I was able to keep up with all the conversations. And is usual for us, we were the last ones to leave. I don’t know how we always do that—it’s a little embarrassing, really. Actually, we left the same time another couple did, and while Al was putting on his shoes, he looked outside and saw them getting into their new Toyota FJ Cruiser. He jumped up and yelled, “Hey, don’t go yet, I wanna look at your car.” It’s freezing outside, but the wife and I stand there shivering and talking while Al sits in every seat and talks about the car. No, we are not getting an FJ Cruiser. I like not having car payments and sitting in that thing was like sitting in a tank. I couldn’t see over the hood very well. And I’m not that short! Besides, it really is more car than we need. We’re not planning on driving up a rocky mountain or through any rivers any time soon. Although that does sound like a lot of fun.
And that brings me back to sitting here, typing up a post when I should be doing a whole list of other things. Oh well. I guess I’ll stop there. I’ll ramble some more tomorrow. Next post, I'll tell ya about the scotch party we went to. Woo boy. I think Al is still hurting from that one.
This is my first day alone in the house again. It was nice having Al home for the holidays and I loved having my friend RJ visiting, but it’s nice to have the house to myself again so I can regroup. The beginning of a new year can be a reflective time, and now I have time to reflect.
It was a nice, lovely, quiet Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve with good friends, eating a fabulous meal and watching A Christmas Story. Al and I had a bit of a tiff but it didn’t last all that long (thus the description as “tiff”). ‘Tis the season for my nerves to be on edge, and unfortunately for Al, he’s the only one around for me to get mad at.
Christmas Day started with the traditional mimosas and breakfast then opening presents. We stuck to our plan of not going overboard this year, and I think we’ll stick with that. The gifts were much more heartfelt because we had to think a little harder about what the other person would want. I got Al The Road to Dakar book/DVD, which is about Charlie Boorman’s quest to race at Dakar. Boorman and Ewan McGregor rode around the world a couple of years ago in The Long Way Round. I watched the DVD with him, which at first I thought was part of his gift, but really, I love shows like that. They make me want to accomplish something that would scare me to death. But I’m not going to race in the desert—people die in that race. Anyway, he loved it. He gave me a Winnie-the-Pooh watch, a cookbook and a subscription to Hobby Farms magazine. Now, I know that last one might seem a little odd, but it’s really the sweetest gift of all. There are always articles about sheep, alpacas, goats, rabbits, and any other animal whose fur can be turned into yarn, and I have a pipedream about having a small farm. Al doesn’t really share that dream, yet he gets me this magazine because he knows how much I enjoy reading it. And speaking of thoughtful gifts, my mom and brother got me wonderful books, mostly knitting books, that I’ve been wanting for a long time. I can also get some yarn at my favorite yarn shop and some new tunes from iTunes.
New Year’s Eve was another quiet affair. It sleeted that morning, then snowed all day. I think we had around 3 inches, and the roads were really bad. The fireworks planned for downtown were postponed, and we pretty much just sat inside and relaxed. Al seems to take great pride in the fact that he doesn’t go out on new year’s eve, so even if it wasn’t snowing, we would have stayed home. He doesn’t even want to stay up to watch the festivities on TV. I tried to go to sleep but couldn’t, so I stayed up and finished my book.
We spent New Year’s Day at an annual party of one of Al’s co-workers. We really like this family and always have a good time at their house. Andi is a crafter and makes beautiful jewelry in addition to quilting and scrapbooking. Plus, she’s a great cook, so we always eat well. And Chris is a brewer, so there’s always good beer. I took my knitting because I knew that all the women would end up in the living room, sitting around the fire, talking. Except for a sleepy spell, I was able to keep up with all the conversations. And is usual for us, we were the last ones to leave. I don’t know how we always do that—it’s a little embarrassing, really. Actually, we left the same time another couple did, and while Al was putting on his shoes, he looked outside and saw them getting into their new Toyota FJ Cruiser. He jumped up and yelled, “Hey, don’t go yet, I wanna look at your car.” It’s freezing outside, but the wife and I stand there shivering and talking while Al sits in every seat and talks about the car. No, we are not getting an FJ Cruiser. I like not having car payments and sitting in that thing was like sitting in a tank. I couldn’t see over the hood very well. And I’m not that short! Besides, it really is more car than we need. We’re not planning on driving up a rocky mountain or through any rivers any time soon. Although that does sound like a lot of fun.
And that brings me back to sitting here, typing up a post when I should be doing a whole list of other things. Oh well. I guess I’ll stop there. I’ll ramble some more tomorrow. Next post, I'll tell ya about the scotch party we went to. Woo boy. I think Al is still hurting from that one.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Snow Day
North Winds Blow! It's finally snowing here!
My knitting buddy left yesterday and I'm sad. I'll post more later about what a great time we had, but in the meantime, here's a meme I was tagged to do before Christmas.
ABC MeMe - Tagged by Chelle!
The Letter A
Are you agnostic? I am not always a yes or no person, so here it goes. Honestly, there are times that I think I am. I have lots and lots of questions. I have faith, but then again, I’m not sure.
What is your age? Oh no you don’t! I’m young enough not to care if you know but old enough not to say it out loud.
What annoys you? People asking me how old I am.
The Letter B
Do you like bacon? Oh yeah! And that’s why I never have it in the house.
What is your birthday? April 26. Bet you thought I’d put the year, didn’t ya? I’m not that stupid.
Who is your best friend? A true friend wouldn’t rank her friends. But A, T, and RJ are way up there.
The Letter C
What is your favorite candy? I love a really good box of chocolates—not just creams and a combination of dark and milk chocolates.
Who is your crush? Hmmmm. Lately, Gerard Butler, Tony Curran. It’s easy to crush on an actor because there’s no chance you’ll meet him, so there’s no chance of making an ass of yourself.
When was the last time you cried? I am the biggest crybaby. And with it being Christmas, I’m pretty much a waterfall with every sappy commercial.
The Letter D
Do you daydream? To the detriment of getting anything else done.
What is your favorite kind of dog? I love most dogs. My darling Daily Dog was a Petite Bassett Griffon Vendeen (PBGV), but I also love boarder collies and Scottish Deerhounds.
What day of the week is it? Sunday.
The Letter E
How do you like your eggs? I love eggs! Any way you cook ‘em, I’ll eat ‘em. I will eat them in a boat and I will eat them with a goat . . .
Have you ever been in the emergency room? Yes, but not for me.
What’s the easiest thing to ever do? Smile
The Letter F
Have you ever flown in a plane? Yes. I love to fly.
Do you use fly swatters? Well, yeah. How else will I destroy those evil little critters that like to dive bomb me while I’m trying to read or take a nap?
Have you ever used a foghorn? No, but my hubby wants to put one on the Miata. And may I say, that I was a little concerned about what question would come with “F” but it’s all good.
The Letter G
Do you chew gum? Yes, and I can even walk while I chew it.
Are you a giver or taker? Oh, we’re all both, aren’t we? There are times I take, there are times I give. I’m multifaceted that way.
The Letter H
How are you? Fine, and you?
What’s your height? 5’6” but I wish I was at least 5’8” because then I’d be the perfect weight.
What color is your hair? Right now, it’s dark brown with reddish tones. I have no idea what color it really is.
The Letter I
What is your favorite ice-cream? Cherry Garcia and Chocolate and Peanut Butter
Have you ever ice-skated? Yes, when I was a little kid. I’d like to go again, but I seem to be the only one in my little group who does. Party poopers.
Do you play an instrument? I used to play the guitar. I’ve thought about picking it up again but I don’t have those calluses any more. Or the energy to practice. Or the talent, come to think of it.
The Letter J
What is your favorite jelly bean? I like jelly beans, ok, but one too many and I’m sick to my stomach the rest of the day.
Do you wear jewelry? I would if I had some. We saw a commercial for a Kay’s Jewelers and I said, “Diamonds are always a nice gift.” Al said, “That’s not you.” I said, “Yes, it is. You just don’t buy me that.”
Have you heard a really hilarious joke? Ok, I love this one. Angus walks into the Highland bar and orders a double whisky and to keep them coming. The bartender asked him what was wrong, and he said (in Scottish accent) “Ya see that bridge? I built that bridge with me own two hands. That bridge will stand for a hundred years. But does anyone call me Angus the Bridge-builder? No. Ya see that church? I built that church with me own two hands. That church will stand for a hundred years. But does anyone call me Angus the Church-builder? No. Ya see that house? I built that house with me own two hands. That house will stand for a hundred years. But does anyone call me Angus the House-builder? No. But ya f*#k one goat!”
The Letter K
Who do you want to kill? That’s awful! Ya coulda asked “Who do you want to kiss?” Wouldn’t that be nicer?
Do you want kids? No. Sure I seem nice and friendly and all that, but I’m really very selfish, neurotic, and set in my ways. I’d be a horrible mother.
Where did you have kindergarten? I think it was in Harrison, AR. But I don’t remember much about it. Mom says that I always wore a dress because I thought I’d turn into a boy if I wore pants.
The Letter L
Are you laid-back? No, not particularly. I’m a lot better than I used to be, but I’m still pretty tightly wound.
Do you lie? I’d be lying if I said no.
Do you love anyone? It’s all about the love, baby.
The Letter M
What is your favorite movie? I don’t have just one favorite. I like a lot of different kinds of movies, but I’m not a big romantic comedy fan or a slasher-movie fan.
Do you still watch Disney movies? Of course I do. I’m very comfortable with my inner child.
Do you like mangos? Mmmmmm, mangos. Especially in Mango Lassies (like a mango slushy at Indian restaurants)
The Letter N
Do you have a nickname? Kell is my nickname, if you can call it that. I’ve never had a cute nickname. Poor little nicknameless me.
What is your favorite number? I really like the number 3. There’s something really balanced about 3. I always chose 3 and/or 33 on lottery numbers. Of course, I never win . . . maybe I should find another favorite number.
Do you prefer night or day? “You know the night time darling (night and day)/Is the right time (night and day) . . .” Anyone know that song?
The Letter O
What is your one wish? World peace. Wait, I’m not in the running for Miss America! I wish for a puppy. OK, actually, I wish for joy, great heart-filling joy.
Are you an only child? Nope, a younger brother. But you already knew that, probably.
Do you wish this year was over? No because then there’s that whole “what did you accomplish this year” and “what are your goals for next year” and I can’t handle the pressure!
The Letter P
What is one fear that you are most paranoid about? Breaking down on the side of the road.
What personality trait would you look for in someone you wanted to date? Funny and fun-loving. If I was going to have to date again (God forbid), I would want someone I can have fun with. And have a lot of money (kidding!).
The Letter Q
Are you quick to judge people? Yes, and many, many times I’m not wrong. However, I’m becoming more apathetic as I get older, so I don’t care enough to judge.
The Letter R
Do you think you are always right? My hubby thinks I am, that’s what’s kept us together for so long. He’s always saying, *as Eyore* “Kell’s always right.” Of course, I’m not. And he doesn’t really think that.
Do you watch reality T.V.? I’ve watched Project Runway through the whole season, but that’s it. *she says smugly*
What is a good reason to cry? If someone takes your toy.
The Letter S
Do you prefer sun or rain? I love rainy, stormy days. We moved from Shreveport, LA to Pensacola, FL, to San Antonio, TX and I said to Al, “You keep moving me closer to the sun! I don’t want to be closer to the sun!”
Do you like snow? I love snow. Don’t like driving in it so much, but I love snow.
The Letter T
What time is it? 1:30 pm
What time did you wake up? 7:00 am but didn’t actually get up until closer to 8:00.
When was the last time you slept in a tent? 1991 or so when we went camping with friends in northern California. I’m too old to sleep on the ground now.
The Letter U
Are you wearing underwear? Is this an obscene phone call? Yes, I am. Victoria’s Secret. And you can use your imagination for the rest.
The Letter V
What is the worst veggie? Brussel sprouts
Where do you want to go on vacation? Dog-sledding in Alaska
What was your last family vacation together? Mom and I went to England and Scotland.
The Letter W
What is your worst habit? Too many to name, but probably procrastination. I prefer to call it procrastination than laziness.
Where do you live? In my happy place.
The Letter X
Have you ever had an X-ray? Yes. I don’t think that sets me apart from anyone.
Have you ever seen the X-Games? I don’t even know what that is.
Do you own a xylophone? No. But I had one of those little, colorful ones when I was a kid.
The Letter Y
Do you like the color yellow? Yes. My house is a lovely shade of buttery, light yellow. It’s a happy color.
What year were you born in? Oh no you don’t! I’m not stupid! You can figure out my age if I give you that. Ha! Thought you could trick me, didn’t ya.
What do you yearn for most? Yearn? Hmmmm. Yearn. I yearn for contentment and joy.
The Letter Z
What is your Zodiac Sign? Taurus
Do you believe in the Zodiac? Well, there are some pretty interesting coincidences if it isn’t real. I don’t believe in my horoscope, but some of those Zodiac descriptions are pretty close.
What is your favorite zoo animal? The big cats
My knitting buddy left yesterday and I'm sad. I'll post more later about what a great time we had, but in the meantime, here's a meme I was tagged to do before Christmas.
ABC MeMe - Tagged by Chelle!
The Letter A
Are you agnostic? I am not always a yes or no person, so here it goes. Honestly, there are times that I think I am. I have lots and lots of questions. I have faith, but then again, I’m not sure.
What is your age? Oh no you don’t! I’m young enough not to care if you know but old enough not to say it out loud.
What annoys you? People asking me how old I am.
The Letter B
Do you like bacon? Oh yeah! And that’s why I never have it in the house.
What is your birthday? April 26. Bet you thought I’d put the year, didn’t ya? I’m not that stupid.
Who is your best friend? A true friend wouldn’t rank her friends. But A, T, and RJ are way up there.
The Letter C
What is your favorite candy? I love a really good box of chocolates—not just creams and a combination of dark and milk chocolates.
Who is your crush? Hmmmm. Lately, Gerard Butler, Tony Curran. It’s easy to crush on an actor because there’s no chance you’ll meet him, so there’s no chance of making an ass of yourself.
When was the last time you cried? I am the biggest crybaby. And with it being Christmas, I’m pretty much a waterfall with every sappy commercial.
The Letter D
Do you daydream? To the detriment of getting anything else done.
What is your favorite kind of dog? I love most dogs. My darling Daily Dog was a Petite Bassett Griffon Vendeen (PBGV), but I also love boarder collies and Scottish Deerhounds.
What day of the week is it? Sunday.
The Letter E
How do you like your eggs? I love eggs! Any way you cook ‘em, I’ll eat ‘em. I will eat them in a boat and I will eat them with a goat . . .
Have you ever been in the emergency room? Yes, but not for me.
What’s the easiest thing to ever do? Smile
The Letter F
Have you ever flown in a plane? Yes. I love to fly.
Do you use fly swatters? Well, yeah. How else will I destroy those evil little critters that like to dive bomb me while I’m trying to read or take a nap?
Have you ever used a foghorn? No, but my hubby wants to put one on the Miata. And may I say, that I was a little concerned about what question would come with “F” but it’s all good.
The Letter G
Do you chew gum? Yes, and I can even walk while I chew it.
Are you a giver or taker? Oh, we’re all both, aren’t we? There are times I take, there are times I give. I’m multifaceted that way.
The Letter H
How are you? Fine, and you?
What’s your height? 5’6” but I wish I was at least 5’8” because then I’d be the perfect weight.
What color is your hair? Right now, it’s dark brown with reddish tones. I have no idea what color it really is.
The Letter I
What is your favorite ice-cream? Cherry Garcia and Chocolate and Peanut Butter
Have you ever ice-skated? Yes, when I was a little kid. I’d like to go again, but I seem to be the only one in my little group who does. Party poopers.
Do you play an instrument? I used to play the guitar. I’ve thought about picking it up again but I don’t have those calluses any more. Or the energy to practice. Or the talent, come to think of it.
The Letter J
What is your favorite jelly bean? I like jelly beans, ok, but one too many and I’m sick to my stomach the rest of the day.
Do you wear jewelry? I would if I had some. We saw a commercial for a Kay’s Jewelers and I said, “Diamonds are always a nice gift.” Al said, “That’s not you.” I said, “Yes, it is. You just don’t buy me that.”
Have you heard a really hilarious joke? Ok, I love this one. Angus walks into the Highland bar and orders a double whisky and to keep them coming. The bartender asked him what was wrong, and he said (in Scottish accent) “Ya see that bridge? I built that bridge with me own two hands. That bridge will stand for a hundred years. But does anyone call me Angus the Bridge-builder? No. Ya see that church? I built that church with me own two hands. That church will stand for a hundred years. But does anyone call me Angus the Church-builder? No. Ya see that house? I built that house with me own two hands. That house will stand for a hundred years. But does anyone call me Angus the House-builder? No. But ya f*#k one goat!”
The Letter K
Who do you want to kill? That’s awful! Ya coulda asked “Who do you want to kiss?” Wouldn’t that be nicer?
Do you want kids? No. Sure I seem nice and friendly and all that, but I’m really very selfish, neurotic, and set in my ways. I’d be a horrible mother.
Where did you have kindergarten? I think it was in Harrison, AR. But I don’t remember much about it. Mom says that I always wore a dress because I thought I’d turn into a boy if I wore pants.
The Letter L
Are you laid-back? No, not particularly. I’m a lot better than I used to be, but I’m still pretty tightly wound.
Do you lie? I’d be lying if I said no.
Do you love anyone? It’s all about the love, baby.
The Letter M
What is your favorite movie? I don’t have just one favorite. I like a lot of different kinds of movies, but I’m not a big romantic comedy fan or a slasher-movie fan.
Do you still watch Disney movies? Of course I do. I’m very comfortable with my inner child.
Do you like mangos? Mmmmmm, mangos. Especially in Mango Lassies (like a mango slushy at Indian restaurants)
The Letter N
Do you have a nickname? Kell is my nickname, if you can call it that. I’ve never had a cute nickname. Poor little nicknameless me.
What is your favorite number? I really like the number 3. There’s something really balanced about 3. I always chose 3 and/or 33 on lottery numbers. Of course, I never win . . . maybe I should find another favorite number.
Do you prefer night or day? “You know the night time darling (night and day)/Is the right time (night and day) . . .” Anyone know that song?
The Letter O
What is your one wish? World peace. Wait, I’m not in the running for Miss America! I wish for a puppy. OK, actually, I wish for joy, great heart-filling joy.
Are you an only child? Nope, a younger brother. But you already knew that, probably.
Do you wish this year was over? No because then there’s that whole “what did you accomplish this year” and “what are your goals for next year” and I can’t handle the pressure!
The Letter P
What is one fear that you are most paranoid about? Breaking down on the side of the road.
What personality trait would you look for in someone you wanted to date? Funny and fun-loving. If I was going to have to date again (God forbid), I would want someone I can have fun with. And have a lot of money (kidding!).
The Letter Q
Are you quick to judge people? Yes, and many, many times I’m not wrong. However, I’m becoming more apathetic as I get older, so I don’t care enough to judge.
The Letter R
Do you think you are always right? My hubby thinks I am, that’s what’s kept us together for so long. He’s always saying, *as Eyore* “Kell’s always right.” Of course, I’m not. And he doesn’t really think that.
Do you watch reality T.V.? I’ve watched Project Runway through the whole season, but that’s it. *she says smugly*
What is a good reason to cry? If someone takes your toy.
The Letter S
Do you prefer sun or rain? I love rainy, stormy days. We moved from Shreveport, LA to Pensacola, FL, to San Antonio, TX and I said to Al, “You keep moving me closer to the sun! I don’t want to be closer to the sun!”
Do you like snow? I love snow. Don’t like driving in it so much, but I love snow.
The Letter T
What time is it? 1:30 pm
What time did you wake up? 7:00 am but didn’t actually get up until closer to 8:00.
When was the last time you slept in a tent? 1991 or so when we went camping with friends in northern California. I’m too old to sleep on the ground now.
The Letter U
Are you wearing underwear? Is this an obscene phone call? Yes, I am. Victoria’s Secret. And you can use your imagination for the rest.
The Letter V
What is the worst veggie? Brussel sprouts
Where do you want to go on vacation? Dog-sledding in Alaska
What was your last family vacation together? Mom and I went to England and Scotland.
The Letter W
What is your worst habit? Too many to name, but probably procrastination. I prefer to call it procrastination than laziness.
Where do you live? In my happy place.
The Letter X
Have you ever had an X-ray? Yes. I don’t think that sets me apart from anyone.
Have you ever seen the X-Games? I don’t even know what that is.
Do you own a xylophone? No. But I had one of those little, colorful ones when I was a kid.
The Letter Y
Do you like the color yellow? Yes. My house is a lovely shade of buttery, light yellow. It’s a happy color.
What year were you born in? Oh no you don’t! I’m not stupid! You can figure out my age if I give you that. Ha! Thought you could trick me, didn’t ya.
What do you yearn for most? Yearn? Hmmmm. Yearn. I yearn for contentment and joy.
The Letter Z
What is your Zodiac Sign? Taurus
Do you believe in the Zodiac? Well, there are some pretty interesting coincidences if it isn’t real. I don’t believe in my horoscope, but some of those Zodiac descriptions are pretty close.
What is your favorite zoo animal? The big cats
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Still On Holiday
'Tis Herself will be continuing her holiday break this week while she entertains and is entertained by her good friend and knitting buddy RJ.
Have a wonderful week and a Hap-Hap-Happy New Year!
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Merry Merry
This is a really, really easy fudge recipe. It's pretty much foolproof--I swear!
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 (6oz) can evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cup mini marshmallows
1/4 cup water
12 oz chocolate chips (I use a combination of bittersweet or dark chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips)
Prepare a 9X13 pan. Spray it with nonstick spray. Line with a sheet of wax or parchment paper and spray that, too.
Combine sugar, milk, butter, and salt over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Once it comes to a boil, cook for 5 minutes until thickened, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add marshmallows and water, and stir to melt (switch to a spoon). Remove from heat and stir in chocolate. Pour into prepared pan. Chill 3 hours or until firm. After you take it out of the fridge, let it warm up a little, then you'll be able to take out the fudge, with the paper. Cut into squares and serve at room temperature.
And now I think it's time for a Christmas break. So, warm, fuzzy thoughts for all of you this holiday season. I'll be talkin' to ya soon.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Ho Ho Hum
Jay tagged me with a book MEME, so I’ll start with that.
Rules for this tag game are:
-Grab the closest book to you
-Open Page 123
-Scroll down to the 5th sentence
-Post the next 3 sentences on your blog
-Name the book and author
I’m not going to tag anyone, though. If you need quick blogfodder, though, jump on in!
“This will be much better than Arkansas,” Felicia said.
“Why’d you leave Arkansas?” I asked, because I just couldn’t help it. Felecia was the simplest vampire I’d ever met.
Defintely Dead by Charlaine Harris.
How weird is that the sentences are about leaving Arkansas. Life is just freaky some times.
--------------------------------------------
I haven’t noticed a headline telling us that Lindsey Lohan hasn’t had a drink for 2 weeks now. Whatever will we do without our “Lohan Update”?
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It’s a cold, rainy day today. No snow yet, to my hubby’s joy. The temperatures have been unusually warm this winter. I’m not sure how I feel about that.
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My knitting buddy RJ is coming up on the 26th. I’m so excited! We’re going to a knitting workshop at my LYS (local yarn shop) and just going to hang out for a while. She’s had a very rough year and she needs some time to just chill. Al is planning on just sitting down in the pub and letting us yakety-yak all we want. He wonders how we can always have something to talk about. I’m not really sure how we do it, either. It’s the same thing with my friend, A. Talk, talk, talk. And more talking, still.
---------------------------------------------
I’m still reading my vampire/detective/romance book. I had to take a break while I finished off some Christmas stuff, but now I’m back into it. Tell me something, why do feel so guilty just sitting and reading a book. See? Notice how I said “just sitting . . .”? I feel like I should be doing something more productive—I think of all the things that need to be cleaned and groceries that need to be bought and a gym membership that should be utilized. I don’t feel guilty if I sit and knit all day, but then, I knit for other people. Sure, I enjoy it, but I give away almost everything I knit. Reading seems very self-indulgent. I wonder if I’d feel the same if I was reading, say, a biography or the latest political/historical tome. Then I could feel all superior because I was reading something “intellectual” or “worthy.”
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Within another year, my hubby will either be accepting another assignment or getting out of the military. I’m a bit panicky about either one. Staying in for at least one more assignment would be a little less stressful because I’m used to that. I enjoy moving around and living in new places. If he gets out, well, that’s a little more uncertain. He could probably get a job here and we could settle here for awhile. I say “awhile” because as much as I like it here, I’m not so sure I like it enough to stay here for the rest of our lives. Not that it would have to be that way, but I think my hubby is ready to settle down some where. But the scariest thing about his retiring is that I’m not sure we have the same idea about where and what we want to do. And although we’ve financially been planning and thinking about it, it doesn’t seem like we’ve been planning and thinking enough. I’ve always just followed along, and now I might actually have a choice. What the hell do I do with a choice?
---------------------------------------------
I took the nerd test on Cynnie’s blog. *Sigh* It’s so typical.
“Not nerdy, but definitely not hip” That’s me—friggin’ middle of the road.
----------------------------------------------
The temperature has finally dropped back into the 30s, so I’m making chili tonight. Might light a fire in the fireplace. Maybe watch a Christmas movie. Snuggle on the couch with my sweetie. Hey! I may even read some of my book!
Rules for this tag game are:
-Grab the closest book to you
-Open Page 123
-Scroll down to the 5th sentence
-Post the next 3 sentences on your blog
-Name the book and author
I’m not going to tag anyone, though. If you need quick blogfodder, though, jump on in!
“This will be much better than Arkansas,” Felicia said.
“Why’d you leave Arkansas?” I asked, because I just couldn’t help it. Felecia was the simplest vampire I’d ever met.
Defintely Dead by Charlaine Harris.
How weird is that the sentences are about leaving Arkansas. Life is just freaky some times.
--------------------------------------------
I haven’t noticed a headline telling us that Lindsey Lohan hasn’t had a drink for 2 weeks now. Whatever will we do without our “Lohan Update”?
--------------------------------------------
It’s a cold, rainy day today. No snow yet, to my hubby’s joy. The temperatures have been unusually warm this winter. I’m not sure how I feel about that.
--------------------------------------------
My knitting buddy RJ is coming up on the 26th. I’m so excited! We’re going to a knitting workshop at my LYS (local yarn shop) and just going to hang out for a while. She’s had a very rough year and she needs some time to just chill. Al is planning on just sitting down in the pub and letting us yakety-yak all we want. He wonders how we can always have something to talk about. I’m not really sure how we do it, either. It’s the same thing with my friend, A. Talk, talk, talk. And more talking, still.
---------------------------------------------
I’m still reading my vampire/detective/romance book. I had to take a break while I finished off some Christmas stuff, but now I’m back into it. Tell me something, why do feel so guilty just sitting and reading a book. See? Notice how I said “just sitting . . .”? I feel like I should be doing something more productive—I think of all the things that need to be cleaned and groceries that need to be bought and a gym membership that should be utilized. I don’t feel guilty if I sit and knit all day, but then, I knit for other people. Sure, I enjoy it, but I give away almost everything I knit. Reading seems very self-indulgent. I wonder if I’d feel the same if I was reading, say, a biography or the latest political/historical tome. Then I could feel all superior because I was reading something “intellectual” or “worthy.”
---------------------------------------------
Within another year, my hubby will either be accepting another assignment or getting out of the military. I’m a bit panicky about either one. Staying in for at least one more assignment would be a little less stressful because I’m used to that. I enjoy moving around and living in new places. If he gets out, well, that’s a little more uncertain. He could probably get a job here and we could settle here for awhile. I say “awhile” because as much as I like it here, I’m not so sure I like it enough to stay here for the rest of our lives. Not that it would have to be that way, but I think my hubby is ready to settle down some where. But the scariest thing about his retiring is that I’m not sure we have the same idea about where and what we want to do. And although we’ve financially been planning and thinking about it, it doesn’t seem like we’ve been planning and thinking enough. I’ve always just followed along, and now I might actually have a choice. What the hell do I do with a choice?
---------------------------------------------
I took the nerd test on Cynnie’s blog. *Sigh* It’s so typical.
“Not nerdy, but definitely not hip” That’s me—friggin’ middle of the road.
----------------------------------------------
The temperature has finally dropped back into the 30s, so I’m making chili tonight. Might light a fire in the fireplace. Maybe watch a Christmas movie. Snuggle on the couch with my sweetie. Hey! I may even read some of my book!
Saturday, December 16, 2006
The Christmas 25
I haven’t done a list of 25 in a while. How about a list of 25 Christmas memories? Yeah, I thought you might like that. If nothing else, there will be some funny stories about Jay and Mom.
1. I was in college before my mother asked if she could please put the gifts out before Christmas night so that she wouldn’t have to wait until we were asleep to do so. I hate being an adult.
2. One late night before Christmas when I was about, oh I don’t know 10 or so, my parents’ good friends and their 3 kids came over really late—like I was in bed late. The eldest son, Tommy, *sigh* came into my room and got a board game out for us to play while Jay and the other two kids were in the playroom. That was a pretty romantic night for me. I didn’t quite know why or how, but I knew it was.
3. That same night, the middle son, who was my age and mean spirited, kept telling his little sister that there wasn’t a Santa Claus and we kept telling her there was.
4. Our first Christmas after Dad left, Mom, Jay, and I painted wooden ornaments for the Christmas tree. We sat at the dining room table, and I wished that I was as good at painting them as my mom was. I still have many of those ornaments, and they are on my tree right now.
5. We couldn’t wait to get the Sears Christmas catalogue so we could circle all the things we wanted for Christmas. I circled a lot of things.
6. The first Christmas that we couldn’t go home and no one could come visit, we were in upstate New York and a little homesick. On Christmas Eve, Al and I went to see A Muppet Christmas Carol. When we came out it was dusk and snowing. It was so beautiful and hadn’t made the roads slick yet, so we drove around and looked at Christmas lights. Is it any wonder I love that movie?
7. Jay and I always searched the house for our Christmas presents once we realized who Santa really was and usually found them. They were usually in Mom's bedroom closet.
8. My Nana Ruby (Mom’s mom) caught me trying to peek into Mom’s closet when I young.
9. One of my favorite gifts was a Baby Alive doll. She was so cool because she ate and pooped, like a real baby. But it wasn’t so cool when I asked Mom to buy some diapers for my doll.
10. Mom would start taking down the Christmas decorations the day after Christmas, sometimes even starting that night. I thought that was very sad and too soon to be putting everything away. I think that’s why I leave mine up until after New Years.
11. I actually asked for and got an autoharp for Christmas one year. Our music teacher used one and I thought it was very cool. Did I mention I was very young and didn’t know better?
12. My Nana Creta used to give my cousin and me the same thing for Christmas, usually something she had made. I have a picture of us in matching tutus. Luckily, my cousin is a girl.
13. Jay would get so excited about Christmas that he would be sick on Christmas day and spend it sitting on Mom’s lap.
14. When we were little and our folks were still married, we always went to Yellville to my grandmother’s house on Christmas Day. I really loved that. But when my folks split up and Dad remarried, his new family (wife and 2 step-daughters) got to go instead. But I’m not bitter. (The hell I’m not.)
15. Mom and my dad’s family went out of their way to have a Christmas with us on a different day. They did the best they could with what they had.
16. Once my Dad passed away, all of a sudden we were invited/expected/wanted to come to Christmas. We did, but I just felt out of place.
17. When Al and I got married, my Mom told him that there was a law that you always go to the daughter’s mother’s house for Christmas. We did as often as we could, then because of his work schedule, it was easier for her to come visit us.
18. I enjoy having a full house at Christmas.
19. While living in San Antonio, we were part of a Mazda Miata driving club. Every Christmas we had a progressive dinner, and I always cooked either the main meal or the desserts. The last year we were there, we had over 40 people at our house.
20. It was warm enough to drive with the top down, so Al strung Christmas lights around the roll bar and wore a Santa’s hat while leading the 20 or so cars to our house. It was quite a sight to see.
21. When we were in Florida, we were members of an amazing church with a fantastic choir who stood in front of a stained-glass window. During their cantata, while they were singing “Mary Did You Know” and the song was building—The blind will see/The deaf will hear/The dead will live again…—the wind picked up and the shadow of the trees were whipping around behind them, also building with the music. Then, at the crescendo at the end of that verse, the wind stopped and the trees stood still as they quietly sang the last verse. It was heart-stopping.
22. When Al got me an engagement ring for Christmas, he gave me the clue that my gift acts like a clutch. I had never driven a standard and didn’t realize that a clutch engages the gears. Isn’t he clever?
23. The first year I shipped Christmas presents to Al’s family, I told him that if someone got a gift, I didn’t send that person a Christmas card. Therefore, his extended family got cards and immediate family got gifts. His grandmother was pissed that I didn’t send her a Christmas card. Now, cards for everyone!
24 While Granny (Al’s grandmother) was alive, I always sent fudge because she loved it. After her first mild stroke, she was starting to have trouble talking and getting around, but I was still sending the fudge. One Christmas, my mother-in-law said she got over to Granny’s house and she had chocolate all over her mouth and said, “Kelley sent candy” just as clear as day. I wish I had been there for that.
25. I send out over 50 Christmas cards every year. I’m blessed with many wonderful people in my life.
1. I was in college before my mother asked if she could please put the gifts out before Christmas night so that she wouldn’t have to wait until we were asleep to do so. I hate being an adult.
2. One late night before Christmas when I was about, oh I don’t know 10 or so, my parents’ good friends and their 3 kids came over really late—like I was in bed late. The eldest son, Tommy, *sigh* came into my room and got a board game out for us to play while Jay and the other two kids were in the playroom. That was a pretty romantic night for me. I didn’t quite know why or how, but I knew it was.
3. That same night, the middle son, who was my age and mean spirited, kept telling his little sister that there wasn’t a Santa Claus and we kept telling her there was.
4. Our first Christmas after Dad left, Mom, Jay, and I painted wooden ornaments for the Christmas tree. We sat at the dining room table, and I wished that I was as good at painting them as my mom was. I still have many of those ornaments, and they are on my tree right now.
5. We couldn’t wait to get the Sears Christmas catalogue so we could circle all the things we wanted for Christmas. I circled a lot of things.
6. The first Christmas that we couldn’t go home and no one could come visit, we were in upstate New York and a little homesick. On Christmas Eve, Al and I went to see A Muppet Christmas Carol. When we came out it was dusk and snowing. It was so beautiful and hadn’t made the roads slick yet, so we drove around and looked at Christmas lights. Is it any wonder I love that movie?
7. Jay and I always searched the house for our Christmas presents once we realized who Santa really was and usually found them. They were usually in Mom's bedroom closet.
8. My Nana Ruby (Mom’s mom) caught me trying to peek into Mom’s closet when I young.
9. One of my favorite gifts was a Baby Alive doll. She was so cool because she ate and pooped, like a real baby. But it wasn’t so cool when I asked Mom to buy some diapers for my doll.
10. Mom would start taking down the Christmas decorations the day after Christmas, sometimes even starting that night. I thought that was very sad and too soon to be putting everything away. I think that’s why I leave mine up until after New Years.
11. I actually asked for and got an autoharp for Christmas one year. Our music teacher used one and I thought it was very cool. Did I mention I was very young and didn’t know better?
12. My Nana Creta used to give my cousin and me the same thing for Christmas, usually something she had made. I have a picture of us in matching tutus. Luckily, my cousin is a girl.
13. Jay would get so excited about Christmas that he would be sick on Christmas day and spend it sitting on Mom’s lap.
14. When we were little and our folks were still married, we always went to Yellville to my grandmother’s house on Christmas Day. I really loved that. But when my folks split up and Dad remarried, his new family (wife and 2 step-daughters) got to go instead. But I’m not bitter. (The hell I’m not.)
15. Mom and my dad’s family went out of their way to have a Christmas with us on a different day. They did the best they could with what they had.
16. Once my Dad passed away, all of a sudden we were invited/expected/wanted to come to Christmas. We did, but I just felt out of place.
17. When Al and I got married, my Mom told him that there was a law that you always go to the daughter’s mother’s house for Christmas. We did as often as we could, then because of his work schedule, it was easier for her to come visit us.
18. I enjoy having a full house at Christmas.
19. While living in San Antonio, we were part of a Mazda Miata driving club. Every Christmas we had a progressive dinner, and I always cooked either the main meal or the desserts. The last year we were there, we had over 40 people at our house.
20. It was warm enough to drive with the top down, so Al strung Christmas lights around the roll bar and wore a Santa’s hat while leading the 20 or so cars to our house. It was quite a sight to see.
21. When we were in Florida, we were members of an amazing church with a fantastic choir who stood in front of a stained-glass window. During their cantata, while they were singing “Mary Did You Know” and the song was building—The blind will see/The deaf will hear/The dead will live again…—the wind picked up and the shadow of the trees were whipping around behind them, also building with the music. Then, at the crescendo at the end of that verse, the wind stopped and the trees stood still as they quietly sang the last verse. It was heart-stopping.
22. When Al got me an engagement ring for Christmas, he gave me the clue that my gift acts like a clutch. I had never driven a standard and didn’t realize that a clutch engages the gears. Isn’t he clever?
23. The first year I shipped Christmas presents to Al’s family, I told him that if someone got a gift, I didn’t send that person a Christmas card. Therefore, his extended family got cards and immediate family got gifts. His grandmother was pissed that I didn’t send her a Christmas card. Now, cards for everyone!
24 While Granny (Al’s grandmother) was alive, I always sent fudge because she loved it. After her first mild stroke, she was starting to have trouble talking and getting around, but I was still sending the fudge. One Christmas, my mother-in-law said she got over to Granny’s house and she had chocolate all over her mouth and said, “Kelley sent candy” just as clear as day. I wish I had been there for that.
25. I send out over 50 Christmas cards every year. I’m blessed with many wonderful people in my life.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Making a List and Crossing It Off
I’ve crossed a lot off of my to do list, but there’s still plenty to do. But why dwell on those pesky things like shipping gifts, getting those last-minute things, and vacuuming all those little green “needles” scattered over the floor from putting up the artificial tree.
Let us, instead, talk about what has been accomplished.
Mostly accomplished.
Sort of accomplished.
So, maybe I crossed some things off my list before they were “officially” done, but I can get partial credit, can’t I?
The Christmas cards are addressed. Not all of them because I had to get some more cards. But I got those (so cute with a barn and sheep) and I’ll finish them tonight. Of course, I don’t have any stamps yet. . .
My Grandmother’s shawl is finished, wrapped, and ready to go.
Now all I have to do is take it down to the UPS store and ship it off.
The fudge is made and ready to ship to a not-so-subtle brother I know. And I have all the ingredients for the cookies, I just have to bake them. And pack them. And ship them.
The gifts are all bought and wrapped. Um. Wait a minute. I still have one thing to get for Mom and a restaurant gift certificate for our friends and something for my knitting buddy and her husband. So, I’m really close to being done on that one.
I’m pretty close to finishing something that I’m knitting for someone who reads this blog. But I don’t think I’m going to get it done in time. I’ll be really, really close, but not close enough to get it shipped in time. She’ll understand, but it still makes me sad that I didn’t get it done.
I have groceries to buy for a food drive for our church, but I need to wait until closer to the day it’s all due because one item is a frozen turkey. So, it’s perfectly acceptable not to have crossed that one off the list yet.
So, really, I’m in pretty good shape. Mostly. Sort of.
Oh, and I made an important decision for this season. I’m not going to include the always-anticipated but never-remembered Christmas letter with the cards. It just hasn’t been that a great year. There’s one measly and ambiguous paragraph about the hubby because I can’t really talk about what he does, even if I knew what it was that he does. Then there’s the bit of a shocker paragraph about me being diagnosed with MS, even though I tried to put a positive spin on it. But there’s no way to disguise the sad paragraph about losing our Daily Dog this summer to congestive heart disease. It just gets more depressing the further along they read. And I’ve been a bit combative and frustrated, so I think that comes across in the letter. Instead of funny, it sounds snide. And although I don’t mind anyone knowing about the MS, I don’t want it to seem like I’m looking for sympathy by dropping a bomb like that. I wanna share, but then again, I don’t. Know what I mean?
So. Busy, busy, busy (said as the bad magician in Frosty the Snowman). I’m so ready to be done with all this. I think I need a little holiday cheer—in the form of Godiva white chocolate liqueur in my hot chocolate ;-)
Let us, instead, talk about what has been accomplished.
Mostly accomplished.
Sort of accomplished.
So, maybe I crossed some things off my list before they were “officially” done, but I can get partial credit, can’t I?
The Christmas cards are addressed. Not all of them because I had to get some more cards. But I got those (so cute with a barn and sheep) and I’ll finish them tonight. Of course, I don’t have any stamps yet. . .
My Grandmother’s shawl is finished, wrapped, and ready to go.
Now all I have to do is take it down to the UPS store and ship it off.
The fudge is made and ready to ship to a not-so-subtle brother I know. And I have all the ingredients for the cookies, I just have to bake them. And pack them. And ship them.
The gifts are all bought and wrapped. Um. Wait a minute. I still have one thing to get for Mom and a restaurant gift certificate for our friends and something for my knitting buddy and her husband. So, I’m really close to being done on that one.
I’m pretty close to finishing something that I’m knitting for someone who reads this blog. But I don’t think I’m going to get it done in time. I’ll be really, really close, but not close enough to get it shipped in time. She’ll understand, but it still makes me sad that I didn’t get it done.
I have groceries to buy for a food drive for our church, but I need to wait until closer to the day it’s all due because one item is a frozen turkey. So, it’s perfectly acceptable not to have crossed that one off the list yet.
So, really, I’m in pretty good shape. Mostly. Sort of.
Oh, and I made an important decision for this season. I’m not going to include the always-anticipated but never-remembered Christmas letter with the cards. It just hasn’t been that a great year. There’s one measly and ambiguous paragraph about the hubby because I can’t really talk about what he does, even if I knew what it was that he does. Then there’s the bit of a shocker paragraph about me being diagnosed with MS, even though I tried to put a positive spin on it. But there’s no way to disguise the sad paragraph about losing our Daily Dog this summer to congestive heart disease. It just gets more depressing the further along they read. And I’ve been a bit combative and frustrated, so I think that comes across in the letter. Instead of funny, it sounds snide. And although I don’t mind anyone knowing about the MS, I don’t want it to seem like I’m looking for sympathy by dropping a bomb like that. I wanna share, but then again, I don’t. Know what I mean?
So. Busy, busy, busy (said as the bad magician in Frosty the Snowman). I’m so ready to be done with all this. I think I need a little holiday cheer—in the form of Godiva white chocolate liqueur in my hot chocolate ;-)
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
I'm Not Apologizing
I have a master’s in English. I graduated with a 4.0, and I can write a 5 to 10-page literary criticism paper with my eyes closed. I’m not trying to impress you (I wouldn’t be impressed with that), I’m leading up to something.
I have a library full of Norton Criticals of the literary canon. I admit that I treasure my Riverside Shakespeare from my seminars. And I am grateful that I got over my fear of poetry and actually like it now.
However, I’m not in school any more, and I get to choose what I want to read. And most of the time, I choose not to read anything that will make me think as much as I had to when I was in school. Oh, every now and then I want to be challenged, so I might go to my list of those books that I really should read or something that won the Pulitzer Prize. But, honestly, I’ve found that many times I can’t get through the books that have won those awards. I think I’ve developed some kind of reading ADD. How many times on the third page of scenery or character description have I put the book down with a moan and say, “Get on with it!” I’ve said that with many of the “woman overcoming something” books, too. Lately, I just want to escape when I read.
This is a great disappointment to my friend A (I told you about her, she’s the one I see when I go home). A’s book choices puts Oprah to shame. If she doesn’t cry while reading a book, it wasn’t any good. So when she asks me, “Are you reading any good books?” I wonder if I should lie and tell her I just read the latest Mitch Albom or be honest and tell her I just read another Rebus mystery (because I’m trying to catch up).
Even worse to her would be what I’m reading right now. I put aside Donna Tartt’s The Little Friend, which seems like it’s going to be a really good book btw, because the library called to let me know that a book by Charlaine Harris that I put on hold was in. And this book is, well, it’s its own category, that’s what it is. The Denver Post says it’s “A delightful Southern, vampire detective series.”
Yep. That about covers it. Only it’s not just vampires, it’s werewolves and fairies and shape shifters (oh my!). Plus a little romance thrown in. Apparently, vampires have a voracious appetite for something besides blood. But these aren’t the erotic stuff of Laurel K. Hamilton’s vampire hunter series; it’s pretty tame and kind of sweet, actually.
They’re about barmaid Sookie Stackhouse (I swear, that’s her name), living and working in northeast Louisiana, which is part of the appeal for me because I lived in the Bossier City, Louisiana, and the towns around there are part of the books. Anyway, Sookie lives in a world where vampires have come out of the shadows and are part of our world. There are many other otherworldly creatures, but they haven’t made themselves known, choosing to wait and see how the vamps do first. But Sookie knows they exist and is even friends with some of them. Her boss turns into a dog, she has a fairy who is a kind of guardian angel, she dated a vampire, and her brother was bitten by a werepanther, so now he turns into a panther with the full moon.
You know, I type these things like they are every day occurrences and perfectly normal. But that’s the nice thing about the books. She’s created a wonderful and fascinating fantasy world. And they’re pretty good mysteries, too. There’s usually a few story lines going on at the same time, but it’s not so much that you get confused.
Also, Alan Ball (who wrote American Beauty and created Six Feet Under) has bought the rights to turn the stories into a series for HBO. I may have to expand my cable. *thinks about it* Nah. Cable’s too expensive already, and everything comes to DVD anyway.
So, I’m reading Definitely Dead. Each title has the word “Dead” in it, by the way. The first book is Dead Until Dark, then Living Dead in Dallas, then Club Dead. . . well, you get the idea.
My friend A would be so disappointed in me.
I have a library full of Norton Criticals of the literary canon. I admit that I treasure my Riverside Shakespeare from my seminars. And I am grateful that I got over my fear of poetry and actually like it now.
However, I’m not in school any more, and I get to choose what I want to read. And most of the time, I choose not to read anything that will make me think as much as I had to when I was in school. Oh, every now and then I want to be challenged, so I might go to my list of those books that I really should read or something that won the Pulitzer Prize. But, honestly, I’ve found that many times I can’t get through the books that have won those awards. I think I’ve developed some kind of reading ADD. How many times on the third page of scenery or character description have I put the book down with a moan and say, “Get on with it!” I’ve said that with many of the “woman overcoming something” books, too. Lately, I just want to escape when I read.
This is a great disappointment to my friend A (I told you about her, she’s the one I see when I go home). A’s book choices puts Oprah to shame. If she doesn’t cry while reading a book, it wasn’t any good. So when she asks me, “Are you reading any good books?” I wonder if I should lie and tell her I just read the latest Mitch Albom or be honest and tell her I just read another Rebus mystery (because I’m trying to catch up).
Even worse to her would be what I’m reading right now. I put aside Donna Tartt’s The Little Friend, which seems like it’s going to be a really good book btw, because the library called to let me know that a book by Charlaine Harris that I put on hold was in. And this book is, well, it’s its own category, that’s what it is. The Denver Post says it’s “A delightful Southern, vampire detective series.”
Yep. That about covers it. Only it’s not just vampires, it’s werewolves and fairies and shape shifters (oh my!). Plus a little romance thrown in. Apparently, vampires have a voracious appetite for something besides blood. But these aren’t the erotic stuff of Laurel K. Hamilton’s vampire hunter series; it’s pretty tame and kind of sweet, actually.
They’re about barmaid Sookie Stackhouse (I swear, that’s her name), living and working in northeast Louisiana, which is part of the appeal for me because I lived in the Bossier City, Louisiana, and the towns around there are part of the books. Anyway, Sookie lives in a world where vampires have come out of the shadows and are part of our world. There are many other otherworldly creatures, but they haven’t made themselves known, choosing to wait and see how the vamps do first. But Sookie knows they exist and is even friends with some of them. Her boss turns into a dog, she has a fairy who is a kind of guardian angel, she dated a vampire, and her brother was bitten by a werepanther, so now he turns into a panther with the full moon.
You know, I type these things like they are every day occurrences and perfectly normal. But that’s the nice thing about the books. She’s created a wonderful and fascinating fantasy world. And they’re pretty good mysteries, too. There’s usually a few story lines going on at the same time, but it’s not so much that you get confused.
Also, Alan Ball (who wrote American Beauty and created Six Feet Under) has bought the rights to turn the stories into a series for HBO. I may have to expand my cable. *thinks about it* Nah. Cable’s too expensive already, and everything comes to DVD anyway.
So, I’m reading Definitely Dead. Each title has the word “Dead” in it, by the way. The first book is Dead Until Dark, then Living Dead in Dallas, then Club Dead. . . well, you get the idea.
My friend A would be so disappointed in me.
Monday, December 11, 2006
One Year, More or Less
‘Twas 2 weeks before Christmas, and Kell cannot sleep.
She worries and types and tries not to weep.
“It’s an emotional season,” her friends tell her sweetly.
They have no idea, not even an inkling.
‘Cuz what they don’t know and what they can’t see,
Is the blog that she writes, anonymity is key.
“It’s been a whole year” she says “since I wrote my first post.”
And she’s finally got the hang of it . . .well, almost.
There are so many blogs that are better by far,
And compared to them, she can’t even make par.
First there’s her brother's and mom's, both intelligent and witty.
She obviously didn’t inherit those genes, more’s the pity.
And her book buddy Newt, whose love of life is so apparent.
With the Hubster and pets, her blog is most reverent.
There’s Peggy and Neil, who live in the home of her soul.
She lives vicariously, using their blogs as a keyhole.
Gary, Murph and JD, so exceptional with their quills,
To attempt the same would just be chasing windmills.
Ch3ll3 and Lisa post photos extraordinary.
And their similarities with Kell are just downright scary.
Susan and Tink blog of life's moments they relive.
They’re funny and frank, making us all happily captive.
Some new blogs to explore and new friends to make.
Her Indoors, MJ, Gracy, Digital Janitor, and Chelle Y are the icing on the cake.
Thank all you bloggers for writing and commenting.
Here’s to another year, with no more personal lamenting.
So, no more worries and no more stressing.
‘Tis the season of joy and the season of blessing.
And before Kell nods off, she has one last thing to write.
Happy blogging to all and to all a good night.
She worries and types and tries not to weep.
“It’s an emotional season,” her friends tell her sweetly.
They have no idea, not even an inkling.
‘Cuz what they don’t know and what they can’t see,
Is the blog that she writes, anonymity is key.
“It’s been a whole year” she says “since I wrote my first post.”
And she’s finally got the hang of it . . .well, almost.
There are so many blogs that are better by far,
And compared to them, she can’t even make par.
First there’s her brother's and mom's, both intelligent and witty.
She obviously didn’t inherit those genes, more’s the pity.
And her book buddy Newt, whose love of life is so apparent.
With the Hubster and pets, her blog is most reverent.
There’s Peggy and Neil, who live in the home of her soul.
She lives vicariously, using their blogs as a keyhole.
Gary, Murph and JD, so exceptional with their quills,
To attempt the same would just be chasing windmills.
Ch3ll3 and Lisa post photos extraordinary.
And their similarities with Kell are just downright scary.
Susan and Tink blog of life's moments they relive.
They’re funny and frank, making us all happily captive.
Some new blogs to explore and new friends to make.
Her Indoors, MJ, Gracy, Digital Janitor, and Chelle Y are the icing on the cake.
Thank all you bloggers for writing and commenting.
Here’s to another year, with no more personal lamenting.
So, no more worries and no more stressing.
‘Tis the season of joy and the season of blessing.
And before Kell nods off, she has one last thing to write.
Happy blogging to all and to all a good night.
Friday, December 08, 2006
That's Weird
I got tagged by Jay to admit how weird I am. Now I’m sharing the joy with 6 others (listed below). This is dangerously close to those annoying chain do-this-or-have-bad-luck-for-the-rest-of-your-life emails, but I’m gonna play along any way.
Here’s how the system works: Each player starts with the "6 Weird Things about Me." People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says 'you are tagged' in their comments and tell them to read your blog."
I’m usually really good at self-censoring but I’ll let you in on some weird things about me.
1. I’m weird about that big, nasty vein in chicken breasts. When I cook chicken I cut it up so that I can cut out that vein. When I eat out, I rarely will eat chicken because other cooks aren’t as fastidious about cutting that nasty thing out.
2. I’m weird about having things covering in my face. When I was a kid, I got trapped under an air mattress in the pool, so I get panicky if I feel even a little bit suffocated. I can’t sleep under the covers, I have to turn around and tilt my head back in the shower to wash my hair because I can’t have water in my face, and I don’t water ski or go tubing or any of that fun stuff because the thought of falling and being forced under water scares the hell out of me.
3. I’m weird about silence. It’s difficult for me to feel comfortable in a silent house, so I always have the TV on. I may not be actually watching anything, but it’s on because I find the other voices around me comforting. However, I complain about how loud restaurants and bookstores are, wishing they weren’t playing any music, and when I go for walks, I usually don’t even take my iPod because then I like the quiet.
4. I’m weird about the shower. I know it’s supposed to be all erotic and romantic to share a shower, but it’s just not for me. I’m always cold if I’m not under the shower head, and I’m always afraid that I’m going to get water in my face if I am under the shower head. Oh sure, there have been times I’ve been able to go outside myself and relax but usually, it’s better to just let me take a shower by myself, thanks.
5. I’m weird about a dirty plate in front of me. When I finish eating, I move the plate away from me. At home, I put it in the dishwasher, but at restaurants, I actually push the plate away from me. My mother said that when I was little and finished a bottle, I’d just throw it over my shoulder. Done is done.
6. I’m weird about talking on the phone. I have a phone phobia. I get so nervous when I have to make a phone call, that I have to prepare what I’m going to say, then I still ramble and “um” and sound like an idiot. I pray for the answering machine to pick up when I call people. I even get nervous calling people I like. And it drives me batty when my husband forwards our phone to his cell phone when we go out because I know that if it rings, it’ll be while we’re in the car and he’ll hand it to me to answer because “he’s driving.”
I tag
Betty
Ch3ll3
Lisa
Newt
Susan
Peggy
Here’s how the system works: Each player starts with the "6 Weird Things about Me." People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says 'you are tagged' in their comments and tell them to read your blog."
I’m usually really good at self-censoring but I’ll let you in on some weird things about me.
1. I’m weird about that big, nasty vein in chicken breasts. When I cook chicken I cut it up so that I can cut out that vein. When I eat out, I rarely will eat chicken because other cooks aren’t as fastidious about cutting that nasty thing out.
2. I’m weird about having things covering in my face. When I was a kid, I got trapped under an air mattress in the pool, so I get panicky if I feel even a little bit suffocated. I can’t sleep under the covers, I have to turn around and tilt my head back in the shower to wash my hair because I can’t have water in my face, and I don’t water ski or go tubing or any of that fun stuff because the thought of falling and being forced under water scares the hell out of me.
3. I’m weird about silence. It’s difficult for me to feel comfortable in a silent house, so I always have the TV on. I may not be actually watching anything, but it’s on because I find the other voices around me comforting. However, I complain about how loud restaurants and bookstores are, wishing they weren’t playing any music, and when I go for walks, I usually don’t even take my iPod because then I like the quiet.
4. I’m weird about the shower. I know it’s supposed to be all erotic and romantic to share a shower, but it’s just not for me. I’m always cold if I’m not under the shower head, and I’m always afraid that I’m going to get water in my face if I am under the shower head. Oh sure, there have been times I’ve been able to go outside myself and relax but usually, it’s better to just let me take a shower by myself, thanks.
5. I’m weird about a dirty plate in front of me. When I finish eating, I move the plate away from me. At home, I put it in the dishwasher, but at restaurants, I actually push the plate away from me. My mother said that when I was little and finished a bottle, I’d just throw it over my shoulder. Done is done.
6. I’m weird about talking on the phone. I have a phone phobia. I get so nervous when I have to make a phone call, that I have to prepare what I’m going to say, then I still ramble and “um” and sound like an idiot. I pray for the answering machine to pick up when I call people. I even get nervous calling people I like. And it drives me batty when my husband forwards our phone to his cell phone when we go out because I know that if it rings, it’ll be while we’re in the car and he’ll hand it to me to answer because “he’s driving.”
I tag
Betty
Ch3ll3
Lisa
Newt
Susan
Peggy
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