My Mundane World

My Health

2009-07-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

OK, it has been a while, again, so I will break this up into a few entries. First my health. I went to the doctor about my blood pressure. I had been getting pretty high readings for about a month or so, so they put me on blood pressure meds. That stuff works great!!! My blood pressure is now lower than it has ever been. So, now that this is taken care of I can go ahead and get my root canals.

Now, during all of this my doctor said he would go ahead and run a full blood panel. He mainly wanted to check for diabetes, since I am overweight and have had two deep tissue staph infections in the last year. Evidently a cellulitis staph infection is mainly seen in diabetics. So, if you have never had this done, it is truly a fun process (feel the sarcasm). I go to the lab and they take my blood. First you wait in line with maily elderly people, not so bad. Then you are led back, after they finally call you, and the vampires in the back take a ton of blood. They then store it for future use I guess. No, really, they then test it for various medical issues and what not. They send the results to your doctor, and they call you to give you a stroke.

So, we picture me. I have just been given blood pressure meds and am anxiously awaiting the results of blood work. They call me at work and tell me they need me to follow up (already had that scheduled of course) because they found some issues with my blood panel. I tell them my follow up is scheduled and ask what the issues are. Wouldn't you guess, they cannot discuss it over the phone, it would be best if the doctor went over that in the office. So, I get to spend the next two weeks trying to keep my blood pressure under control until I find out what the issues are.

Of course, in the meantime I begin online research ofr anything that could possibly be wrong...diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, etc, etc etc. The day finally comes, I get to the doctor's office, they take my blood pressure, which is of course elevated, and then the doctor comes in. He is joking around, and then commented on my blood pressure reading. I remind him that there were issues with my blood work and I was anxiously awaiting the results and find out what to do next. I also let him know my blood pressure readings over the previous days had been very good, so just move along!!! He then tells me the only issue wa my cholesterol, it was about 10 points too high-------WHAT!!! I let him know I have been having a heart attack for more than a week, and he said his staff has done this before. Seriously. I am thinking they are trying to have fun any way they can.

Trying to have fun

2009-07-04T07:53:00.001-07:00

So, we are trying to plan a fun Independence day weekend. We are making plans to go sit by the pool. We did get the PDD-nos diagnosis last week for our youngest son. He also has ADHD. He is a tough one to deal with sometimes. I love him with all my heart, don't get me wrong, and I would never want to change who he is. I would like him to be able to think about what he is going to say and how it will affect others around him. He has never been able to do that and feelings have been hurt on many occasions. So, last night we went to my mother in laws house. They have a pool out back, they actually have a gorgeous house and backyard. Now, her husband, the kids call him Pop, has taught every grandchild to swim, my oldest son included. My youngest son cannot swim yet. I was unable to swim yesterday for reasons I shall not mention, and my husband was having horrible back problems, so he could not swim either. My youngest son said he would like to be a grown-up already so he could swim. I told him Pop would be happy to teach him. His answer was "Whatever".....GRRRR. So, I change him to his bathing suit. While we are changing him he is combative and argumentative. I remind him that this is the perfect time, as we are not out there often, and he could learn to swim on his own and not have to hang on mommy and daddy in the pool. Well, he still is unable to swim at all this morning.

So, we will go to the pool today and he will spend his time in the shallow end walking around. He will get upset because we do not stay by his side the entire time, and he will get upset because he cannot swim. When I offer to help teach him he will decline. With the PDD-nos it seems, if he cannot perform an action with perfection right off the bat he does not want to try. This has been a source of frustration for all of us, and I know it is exceptionally frustrating for him. But, we do not know how to help him through this. It is like his thought process cannot run a full course. He cannot see the outcome of learning to master a task, he can only see that he cannot do the task and will be a failure. Since he already has stigma and feels that he is made fun of for the smallest of things, he will not even try to save himself the embarrasment.

We will be getting with the doctor for the best plan for the ADHD, the school and my nephews, who are watching both kids for the summer, will be thankful I am sure. We will also be checking into the outpatient therapy, the occupational therapy in school, and therapeutic horseback riding. We had never heard of this, but after talking with a few people it seems this could really help him. Luckily we live in Texas and it seems these places are all over here. There is one near Weatherford that my in-laws know about.

We have explained to my oldest son about his brother, but he is 9, so while he understands he is different it does not make dealing with him any easier most of the time. We try to make sure our time with each is evenly distributed, but between my oldest son's baseball schedule and my youngest needs, my husband and I feel torn at times because we end up with no time for ourselves. More on our adventures later.

The Pains of Life

2009-07-01T11:13:00.000-07:00

Well, healthy lifestyle has taken on a whole new meaning for me. I went to the doctor last week after several blood pressure readings that were off the charts. While there he set me up to have some lab work done. He put me on blood pressure meds, which he said I will probably have to take for the rest of my life. So, fast forward to yesterday when they call and say they found something in my blood work and will need to follow up. I already had an appointment set for next week, and they were unwilling to go into details on the phone, so I guess they just called so I could worry for a week and a half.

So, now here I am. I have done this to myself. I have also made a decision. I do not want to die, and I do not want to be dependant on perscriptions. So, I have one choice. Make a change. I must get off my lazy butt, I must eat what I know I should eat. I am terrified, and my husband does not understand where I am. He has the ability to make these changes seem so effortless, and I think that is one frustrating part for me. They are not at all effortless for me. I guess perhaps I have an addiction, or perhaps I am just weak. Whatever it is, it has come to a point where I must overcome this or I WILL DIE. I will not see my grandkids, I will not see my children graduate, I will die and be miserable until I do.

So, today I start. I know it is mid-week, but there is no more starting on Monday for me. Today I will start trying to eat all fresh raw vegetables and fruit. I will eat mostly chicken and fish, but I hope to have 80% of my intake be raw fruit and veggies. I will begin with trying to exercise for 15 minutes a day and work up from there. No matter what, even if I have to walk in circles around my living room. I am tired of crying about this, I am all cried out at this point. I can no longer make excuses, because that is just what they are, excuses. I can do this, and I will do this. Until next time.

ICK

2009-06-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

Well, we are still waiting to hear from the behaviorist, so there is that. Do you ever feel as though you are just crumbling apart, literally? That is where I am now. It seems that every part of my body is having issues. Right now the worst is my teeth!! I have 2 broken teeth. Now, I am neither a drug user nor am I one who ignores dental hygeine. I will admit that I have not been as militant about it as some people, but I pay more attention to it than say, my husband. He has not been to a dentist sine Reagan's first term and has nary a tooth issue. I go at least once a year and mine seem to crumble. WTF!?!?!?! I had one crumble earlier today while I was chewing a peice of gum. SERIOUSLY!?!?!?!?! So, we will be looking at enourmous dental bills coming up, not to mention pain and time off work that I cannot afford. So, I am praying about it. I am also crying a lot, since this will cost a fortune.

Now, how are the diet and exercise going you may ask (and you may not)? Well, you see how long it has been since my last post? You may think to yourself, man, she has been so busy exercising she has not had time to get on here! Well, you would be toally.....wrong. Why is this so hard to do? Why is it so hard to get motivated? Well, I am dog tired ALL the time. My ankles are swollen. Plus it seems every waking moment lately has been spent with my sons baseball team just about. As all moms know, we put everyone first, especially our kids. I am going to have to realize though, that putting my kids ahead of diet and exercise is really putting my kids last, since I will not be there for them as long.

Feeling Overwhelmed

2009-05-20T11:38:00.000-07:00

OK, so, I have been wrestling with this issue with my son. His behavior has become more erratic lately. His teacher at school went out on maternity leave and he has a sub. It is also toward the end of the year, so his schedule is thrown off and he doesn't deal well with that. But all that aside, I just keep thinking about this diagnosis---yeah, the one we have not gotten yet. I keep thinking, is there something I could have done differently when I was pregnant? Why him and not me or my husband or my oldest son? I guess we really never will know why, and cannot really question that. This is the way it is and we just have to move on from there. All we can do is pray for guidance I guess. Enough ranting for now.

2009-05-19T10:41:00.001-07:00

Well, life continues to be busy. I am still working, duh. I am still praying for my sister to find a job and for my mom. My mom is too sick to work right now. She has just been diagnosed with epilepsy, and she is evidently having little seizures all over her brain all day long. So, she is out of work until they can get that under control. My son's last regular season game was last night, they WON!!!! It really is amazing how emotional I can get at these games. I mean, I watch my husband when he sits through an MLB game, he gets so happy or so mad depending on how his team is doing. I always thought that is just dumb, it is a game being played by people you do not know. Now, of course I will get emotional because my son is playing, but still, it is just a game and I am so affected. I yell at the umpires. I know they are only human, but even an idiot could see the call was horrible. Anyway, we just have the tournaments and them the Select season.

We went for the behavioral testing on my youngest last week. They said that while he is not autistic (that is obvious), they do not beleive he has Asperger's either. They said that he does have some serious quirks, and this would probably end up being a diagnosis of PDD-NOS. I am still reading up on this. I love my little guy dearly, and I do not want to change him. I do, however, need some guidance on dealing with him. He cannot be disciplined as my oldest is, he is difficult to discipline to say the least. He also does not understand many of the social norms. But, we must wait on the final diagnosis, then figure out where to go for the next school year.

SLACKER!!!

2009-05-07T13:18:00.000-07:00

Seriously, it has been a year since I posted on here? Shame on me. Well, the year has been filled with a serious roller coaster of ups and downs. I probably should have been posting on here, probably would have been therapeutic for me. I am still crocheting, I still need to lose weight, and I am still not a stay at home mom. However, I am planning to keep on blogging.

So, where to start. I still have the same job, and I still hate it. I think the hatred has become more pronounced, and I think it is starting to be reciprocated. But alas, what can you do. I still have a family to feed and cloth. My husband does work and makes good money, but he is changing jobs. He finally got a job where he can use his degree, but he will be taking a pay cut. My son is on two baseball teams, and man, that is EXPENSIVE!!! Do they realize these are kids....I have seen these little league baseball bats for $400!!! No freakin way I am buying that for my kid!! but, we still had to buy catcher gear, pay registrations, and there are the wonderful tournament fees.

The life of a baseball mom is busy, that is all I can say. We have baseball about 6 days a week, so we dress from laundry baskets, the house is always a mess, and we are hardly home. Seems we are only home long enough to make a mess and sleep anymore. But, one day, my son will be playing in the majors and supporting his wonderful mommy and daddy!

I did finish a few projects this past year. I made a mural of Portrait of Jesus, it turned out beautiful. I also made a few baby blankets along the way. I am now working on a bible cover. I found a few online, but none that really struck my fancy, so I am writing my own filet pattern for it. I will have to post a picture of the work in progress soon.

I am also going to try my hand at the wonderful world of self employment soon. Of course, I will have to keep my full time job whiel I launch things. I am setting up a studio in my garage and hope to begin airbrushing skateboards, batting helmets, and various other items soon. Once I am launched I can hopefully say goodbye to corporate America. What a wonderful world it will be then, at least my part of the world.

I will not bore everyone with the details of the last year. Suffice it to say I am glad that year has passed on and a new one has begun. I hope to blog more often, what is the use of this space if I don't?

Been a while

2008-03-03T11:09:00.000-08:00

So, it has been a while since my last post. I started Jenny Craig 3 weeks ago and have lost a total of 9.6 pounds. Now, I learned in elementary school about rounding, so lets just say 10. I am totally stoked!!! My sister paid for my dad and I to join for a year, we jsut have to buy the food. This was an incredible suprise, and I was actually a little pissed at her to be honest. She is a single mother of three kids and has a really hard time making ends meet. She used a portion of her tax refund to do this. So, anyway, 10 pounds lighter, I am feeling better, although I expected my energy level to go up more than it has. I haven't really started an exercise regimine yet because I am so freakin tired at the end of the day I can't even think of exercising.

Now we come to my husband. He is your general Ray Romano, sports freak, may try the romance but really has no clue. I have dropped some fairly strong hints in the past, going as far as to write a fictional account of a perfect romantic evening for me and gave it to him to read. I have bought him books, sent him web addresses, etc. etc. etc. I was really getting worried. After being together for 9 years one would think he would get the hang of it sooner or later. Well he really came through about 2 weeks ago. It was the weekend after Valentines day. I had sent him an e-mail earlier in the week asking if we had plans, my sister was asking because her kids are our babysitter and they were trying to make plans. My husband said he didn't have any but we could plan something. NOTHING PLANNED FOR VALENTINES DAY?!?!?!?!?!?! Well, to say the least, I was upset. I mean, I understand not planning every day romance, or birthday romance, or out of the blue romance, but to not plan anything for Valentines day, honestly, even Ray Romano isn't that dense. So, I sulk for a bit, then I send him an e-mail explaining my feelings. Turns out he was planning something but just hadn't gotten with my sister yet. He took me out to a movie and dinner, then had a hotel room with a whirlpool bath. It was such a nice evening, and he has redeemed himself for a LONG time.

That brings me to the kiddos. Here in Texas we have the TAKS test, and you HAVE to pass it to go on to the next grade. My son has one weakness and that is reading comprehension. That is the one test he has to pass this year to go on to the 4th grade. UGH. He is great at math, and does have to take the math TAKS, but he only HAS to pass the reading TAKS. So, we are studying like crazy, when he feels motivated.

Will write again soon!!!

Resolutions

2008-01-03T12:48:00.000-08:00

So, here it is, another new year. Did everyone set their resolutions? What is up with this, don't we set the same resolutions every year? Lose some weight, exersize more, eat less, save more money. My resolutions are to keep the resolutions I set last year and never accomplished. I need to lose an incredible amount of weight, but I will be happy to just get into the habit of exercising every day. I know many people exercise and enjoy it...how the heck this happens is beyond me but I would love to unlock this ancient chinese secret.

Then, eating less. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, it is for people like my husband. If he takes one bite less per meal and walks a half mile every day he can drop 10 lbs. a month. Me? Well, to drop 10 lbs. a month I would have to run about 5 miles a day and eat like Kate Moss....taking drugs wouldn't hurt either. Have I tried the diet pills and all?? Oh yes. But, we are again at losing weight ( isnt that really the point of eating less?) Anyway, I plan to leave a little on my plate at the end of every meal, ignore my hunger pangs unless they are threatening a revolt in my head to migraine status, and make all desserts for the house using no sugar. Cut out desserts you say?? Surely you jest.

We have our plan to save more money and have been doing well at this. We have cut our credit card debt more than in half, and we are using the extra credit card payments to pay off the rest. We have also upped our transfers to savings and IRAs. We are going to be doing some upgrading to the house in the next few months as well.

An important resolution, and one that has been evading us for a long time. Get to church every Sunday. This sounds easy enough, and I dont know why this is so hard. My kids enjoy the church we go to, and my husband and I have found a nice bible study class, and we love the pastor of the church. We had been going to a very small church, but there were no kids my sons age. Now, anyone with kids knows that the kids must be happy here, so we looked around. We actually found this church through my sister, who rarely goes. We did really good last year until about July or August, then we just quit. Dont know why, no major issues, just quit going. So, now we have begun attending again, but we have missed 3 weeks. We had major holiday stuff for a couple of weeks, then illness running rampant, and next weekend hubby and I are going out, one of the once a quarter date nights we get, and we always stay out way too late to get up early. What is wrong with us?

It is almost over!!

2007-12-28T06:59:00.000-08:00

The holidays are almost passed, thank goodness. I did finish my grandmothers scrapbook, nothing short of a miracle by the way. I spent an entire weekend holed up in the house cutting and pasting and organizing. Then came the framed pictures with crocheted angels and hearts and a small cut out scripture. This one I had to have my husband help me with, and he is not the craftiest person you have ever met. So, a few choice words and a broken exacto knife blade later and we are just about done. That is until I realize that some of my pictures lay horizontal and some lay vertical, and I have glued all the angels and hearts and scriptures to the matting as a vertical picture. Very nice, NOT. I was able to get that fixed and get everything wrapped by Christmas Eve night, and I got into bed around 2am, not bad.

So, I am taking a break from making things for other people. I am working on some chair sets for the recliners in the living room. I have suddenly discovered that I like crocheting with thread, and I like making doilies and such. Still not into writing my own patterns, so you wont see any published here. I will post some pictures of some of my finished works one of these days though, perhaps of my chair sets when I finish them. I need to get a bigger house with one room for all my crafting stuff though, it is starting to get crowded.

My Craftiness

2007-12-07T13:15:00.000-08:00

Well....here I sit still crocheting coasters at my desk. What in the world. Anyway, I am finishing this last coaster. This weekend I vow to not crochet anything. I will be working on the pictures, getting the matting cut out and everything glued on and stuffed in the frames. I will also, in my spare time (what the heck is that?!?!?!) be working on my grnadmother's scrapbook. It is my sincere goal to have it finished by Christmas and give it as a present. Now, whether or not this happens is beyond me. We have a birthday party tomorrow, church Sunday, and while my kids are at a play with my sister, me and hubby will be off to find a small bike with training wheels for my youngest and a bike/skateboard ramp for my oldest. So, between this and laundry I may be able to get those things accoplished. We did get everything wrapped that could be wrapped and put under the tree. So, once I finish making the rest of the gifts we can get those done as well. Hope everyone else isn't feeling the pressure of the holidays, however, I am sure most are. We just have to remember what the holidays are all about. I keep reminding my kids that it isnt about santa or presents, but about family and celebrating our Saviour. It is hard in this day and age, when so many find it fashionable to denounce the Christian faith. So many also find it so much easier to be politically correct than to stand for what the truly beleive in. So many retailers are so afraid to offend some client base that they fold under the pressure. Now, I know it is easy for me to say since I do not own my own business and do not have to deal with the whiners. However, I do deal with a couple of young whiners in my household. I know that it grinds the nerves, but when they understand the whining will not make me cave to their every whim they soon stop. They get the message. We, as a country, have given the message that even if you are not in the majority, the majority is so opposed to hearing the whining they will cave eventually. Off my soapbox until next time. Have a great weekend!!!

Crocheting Along

2007-12-05T11:28:00.000-08:00

So, we got the lights hung, AGAIN...and they have fallen again, so we will be hanging lights again tonight. There is a brilliant invention here to be made, I just wish my brain could figure it out. I finished all the Christmas shopping I can possibly do right now. I am planning to try to make some truffles for both sides of the family for Christmas. I have been cutting the matting for the family photos (you know, that is much harder than it looks). All angels and hearts have been crocheted, and most have been starched and laced with ribbon. They look so nice. I even got one photo and frame put together with a nice scripture and the heart and angel. It will look real nice if I can get the backing to close shut (the mat is thinck, and that paired with the crocheted elements makes the back next to impossible to close).

So, with all of that done, I am bored. The only other project I have going right now is my husbands blanket. Being a stock broker in a call center, it makes my boss just buggy when I crochet large projects at my desk. He seems ok with the small thread crochet, but let me pull out an afghan or a large granny square, he just freaks. So, I have a lovely collection of mismatched coasters, doilies, and so forth at my desk. I did make a couple of extra hearts today for a lady I work with, she really liked them and said she wanted some for her tree. Of course, I haven't seen her since I finished them, so I still have them on my desk.

I am a member of a Christian message board, and there have been a number of posts lately pertaining to child discipline. What is and what is not appropriate, to spank or not to spank. Do time outs really work, and so forth and so on. i have noticed, at work when we talk on breaks and such, that most of the people that have the most wonderful feedback on child raising have no children of their own. They have all the best answers, and know exactly what it takes to raise a child and make them come out normal in the end. I have in the past voiced some issues that I am having with one child or the other at home, and it is immediately met with a "Have you tried this?" or "You know what you should do?" Amazing that they immediately know what my child, whom they have never met, will react to and what form of discipline is best. I just nod my head and smile. What more can you do? My oldest son hates time outs, he was an only child for 3 1/2 years and finds it horrible to be in a corner all by himself, so this works for him. My youngest finds time outs to be just wonderful, as he has never known life as an only child and rarely gets peace and quiet. It all depends on the child. I hated being spanked when I was a kid, mostly it was the time leading up to the spanking, but the spanking was pretty bad. Never bothered my sister. She would just look at my dad after, so different forms of discipline were used for each of us.

Oh, enough of my soapbox here. Off to hang lights soon, and figure out how to get them to stay up once and for all. Perhaps a house of metal and a light string of magnet will do?? Or, perhaps I need to spend my time crocheting some sort of contraption that will hold them up, instead of all these dang coasters and doilies laying around!!

Whew

2007-11-29T11:29:00.000-08:00

Well, the lights are hung, the tree is up, and now we just need to wrap and relax. YAY!!Of course I cant wwrap until the gifts are delivered, and that isnt until Wednesday or so, so I can realx til then.

The angels and hearts are coming along nicely. I starched what I had made and put the ribbon through. they look very nice, very antique looking. I may have to keep making these and decorate the tree with them next year. They are so pretty. I may try them in a gold thread though, it would be a nice contrast to the green of the tree. I always have these wonderful ideas, but end up procrastinating until it is too late, so we will have to see how this one goes. I did use a free online pattern to make some teddy bear blankets for my kids last year that turned out real good, and the kids LOVE them.

Now, my husband and I are also trying to pay off bills and be out of debt by the end of next year. No small feat I can assure you. So, why the urgency, you ask? So we can save up to buy a movie camera and go into the movie making business. WHAT!?!?! No, seriously, we are. We want to start with a "get your feet wet" ultra low budget horror flick. He will write the screenplay, I will help with the ideas and make-up. The money savings will be used for a digital video recorder and editing software. He is also looking at taking some film classes at the local college. So, here goes the next phase of the roller coaster of life.

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year--Really?

2007-11-27T08:47:00.000-08:00

Well, here it is, that time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Time for shopping, cooking, shopping, hanging lights and decorations, shopping, cooking, shopping, seeing family, and shopping. I have found, in the last couple of years, that I hate going to malls and stores during this time of year. Parking half a mile away from the stores, fighting the angry mobs looking for that perfect Transformer gift, standing in endless lines. I began doing most if not all of my Christmas shopping online. Most of the time I can get a good deal on shipping, rarely have to pay taxes, and best of all, no stores, no crowds, no parking. It is all delivered right to my door. Now, I do have to go home before picking up the kiddos from day care, just to be sure that none of the gifts are delivered in boxes with pictures of the contents. That did happen one year, busted.

We decided that both sides of the family will be getting family photos we had taken this year. I am framing them and crocheting some nice angels and hearts in thread to put in them. I will be framing the 5x7 pictures in an 8x11 frame, matted and with the angels and hearts in opposite corners. I hope it will look nice. I used some free patterns I found online, since I have not found myself to be particularly gifted in the area of writing my own patterns. I will just be lucky to get all these angels and hearts crocheted...I started a bikini for my niece a couple of years ago, finally ditching the pattern and trying to get it together myself. I did get the suit all crocheted, but then couldn'd figure out how to sew in a lining, so that one got scrapped as well. I have a ton of partially completed projects laying around in the project graveyard that is my dining room.

So, as part of the holiday season, and having small children in the house, we hang up the decorations inside and out. Now, I am not one to coordinate everything in the house from the kitchen to the bathrooms. We have a few decorations we put out and we put up the tree. The fun part, the exterior of the home. Last year we did not put up the lights on the house, or in the bushes. My nephews had a friend who was putting up his lights and fell off the roof of his two story house. This 19 year old young man was paralyzed from the waist down. So, after all that we really did not have the want to put up the lights. This year, however, my kids are having none of the darkness outside, they want bright and shiny and twinkling lights everywhere. So we start to pull the lights that have been hibernating since Christmas before last and try to untangle them all. Of course, most of the bulbs won't come on. So, between shocks and small cuts from broken bulbs we try to figure out which bulbs need replacing and which ones are just not coming on because of the break in current. We have not really figured out an easy way to do this. Now, my husband is not really known for his patience in these matters, so he opted to just buy more lights. Fine by me. Of course, we get home and half the lights we bought are the multi-colored and half were clear. We are now about halfway through hanging everything outside, hope to be done tonight. My Christmas shopping is just about done, gift cards to be delivered to my mailbox. Then all that is left is wrapping and cooking and all will be well.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Thanksgiving Eve

2007-11-21T08:11:00.001-08:00

Well, today is the day before Thanksgiving. I am sitting at my desk at work crocheting angels to frame with family photos, trying to figure out how in the world we will fit all the prepared food into my fridge tonight. Both mine and my husbands family live fairly close, and since we have young children, we are expected to cart from home to home while still cooking much of the food. My parents live close, so that isn't a big deal. His mother, on the other hand, lives about an hour away. His family also likes to wait until the last minute to announce all holiday plans. So, I had him call his mother two weeks ago to do two things, first, tell her I will be cooking much of the food for my parents Thanksgiving dinner, and second, ask when we are having dinner there. I told him to do this in that order, which he did. When he asked what time she wanted to have dinner she promptly announced she would be serving at 1pm. How nice....naturally. I am so thankful my parents are flexible. Now I will have to deal with the pouty faced in-laws when we have to eat and run. If we only had a bigger place, and a live in maid, we coudl just invite everyone to our place to save on the headaches.

I was smart though, I got food that the whole family can help cook. We will be cooking as soon as I get home from work. I got a ginger bread house for the kids to decorate (a little early I know). This may be messy, but will keep them away from the stove while all of my concoctions are splashing about. I am planning to make a cherry pie, which I have never made before. While at the store last night, though, I of course forgot, of all things, cherries. Now, I am assuming, being a novice, that these are a necessity for a cherry pie, so I will be fighting the crowds at the store this evening. I made this mistake last year, trying to buy ALL of the food the day before Thanksgiving. May I say that most of the time women are the gentler creature, until it comes to this time of year. I was literally rammed with shopping carts. I could certainly understand this if I had stopped in the middle of an isle, as I would love a rocket launcher on my cart to clear the way sometimes. However, if I am at a shelf taking items off the shelf to purchase, there really is no need to ram me.

Another thing is this, I will go to Wally World most of the time because it is the closest grocery store that isn't stocked like a convenience store. They built this store with about 35 cashiering lanes, however, they only stock it with about 8 cashiers. Why would this be? I have to assume the management of the store is performing some sort of sociology experiment. Surely with 8 cashiering lanes open and 200 people waiting to check out there will be some sort of reaction, right?

So, at the end of the day, when the cooking and cleaning and shopping has been done, when the kids are in bed and I am able to relax (seriously, what is that) I think of all I am thankful for. I have a wonderful family, and anyone who knew me before the age of 24 would be so surprised that I even survived to have a family of my own. I have been blessed with parents and a sister that I love not only as family but as friends. My husband and I both have jobs that pay us well, and this allows us to provide for our family and help out my sister when we can. We have healthy members of family, all around. Overall we are very thankful for everything right now, we have no major worries, and when we get them our support system kicks in and helps us move through that catastrophe and wait for the next.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and I hope your blessings are as bountiful as mine!!

The First

2007-11-20T13:14:00.000-08:00

Well, this will be my first post in my first blog. This blog will just be random thoughts from time to time about how my life is going. First, an intro....married mother of two, work full time outside the home, need to lose weight, need to clean my house more. Sometimes happy with where life is, sometimes not so much. My hubby is a huge sports nut, so are my two sons (moreso my oldest). My hubby is also about the LEAST romantic person you could meet, and if I want romance I have to set reminders in his e-mail calendar with specific instructions. Takes the spontanaeity out of the romance, but what can you do. I do crochet quite a bit, and try my hand at various other crafts. I have been working on a scrapbook for my grandmother for about 6 months, and just hope to finish it before she passes on. I will try to post here quite a bit, and it will probably be mostly rants and raves about my daily life, and my daily life is probably not much different than most to be honest.