One Scary Halloween

Ok, for those of you who want just the basics. Friday afternoon at about three thirty Julian was coming home from the store and was crossing 76th when he was struck by a police car. He was taken to Harborview and was checked over very thoroughly. He came home just after midnight with a concussion and a broken leg.

Now the in depth account.

I got home from work at just after three in the afternoon and Julian met me on the front porch to ask if he could run down to Top Foods to see if they had any black hairspray for Melaina's costume. I said yes and off he went. I went into the carport and talked to my Mom on the phone for a bit then she needed to go so they could shampoo the carpet. As I stepped out of the carport Melaina and Ashton had come out and Melaina was checking to see if Julian was back yet. We saw just down the street several police cars gathering. Now we have lived on this corner for six and a half years so we are quite accustomed to car accidents and I mentioned that I didn't see any cars that appeared to have had an accident so maybe someone got hit by a car. We watched for a minute as more and more emergency vehicles arrived. During which time I had Ashton take my witch hat in the house and I put on my knit hat. As we were standing there I suddenly thought oh my god Julian walked to the store. I said to Melaina "What if it's Julian?" I told them to wait there while I go check.

I hurried down to the scene and saw feet and one leg and thought it looked like it was Julian. I still wasn't sure but my gut said it was. A police officer was asking me to move back and I was stepping back and saying I think it is my son. Do you have a name is it Julian Robertson. One of the EMT's moved enough for me to get a glimpse of his face and yes it was Julian. I continued backing up to the side walk and telling the officer I'm his mom his name is Julian Robertson. After that they got really nice. He said ok we will let you see him in just a second and you can go to the hospital with him we are sending him to Harbor view. I said ok I need to grab my purse it's just right there and I pointed to Aston and Melaina in the driveway. He asks which car and I responded no there in the yard my kids have it. He said ok and I was off back up the street to Melaina and Ashton. I said it's Julian I got my purse from Aston and told them go in the house and wait. I then hurried back to the scene and one of the EMT's escorted me to the side door of the aid car. I took a cleansing breath, put on a calm expression and climbed in. I said "Hi sweetie, how are you doing?" Julian looked up and said "Good, what happened?" I said "You got hit by a car." He responded with "Oh, what was I doing?" I said "You went to the store." I heard someone ask if he had any ID. So I asked him "Do you have your wallet?" He felt in his pocket and said no. At this point they are cutting his clothes off of him and I am being directed back out of the ambulance.

It was clear that there would not be room for me to ride in the ambulance with him so I started back toward my house and called my mom told her what happened hung up called Jeremy told him and asked where he was he was almost home so I said I would wait for him and go down to the hospital with him. I called Stacy and Matt. Then as I was going to put water in the radiator of the car Debbie called me and said she was bringing Luke to the hospital and did I need a ride. I told her that Jeremy was coming and that I would go with him. As I was putting the hose away I suddenly thought that I had not seen a car at the scene so I asked the officer who was standing with me "Was it a hit and run? I don't remember seeing a car." He said no it was officer so and so (don't remember the name) I think my only response to that was a really surprised "OH." I know I had told Jeremy not to use 76th that it was all blocked so he came in the back way just as I was capping the radiator. Three officers ran up to him and told him where I was and that an officer would be escorting us down to the hospital.

Most of the ride there was phone calls Stacy asking if she could take the kids to her house. Me calling Matt to tell him the kids were going to Stacy's. My  mom and my sister. I know I was too wound up to  look out the front window and I remember just before we got to the hospital thinking how sore my stomach was and realizing that I was tensing my abs and that I could not relax them. I think that is where the saying "My stomach is in knots." comes from.

When we got to the hospital it was just wait he was in having a CT scan and then x-rays so it would be an hour or more before we would hear anything. Finally I was able to go back and see him. He really looked ok. he looked tired but he only has like six scrapes and the ones on his face looked like a tiny bit of rug burn. I think the descriptions of my dads face when he fell and really did have rug burn were worse than Julian. Anyway by this time Julian is able to remember more of what happened and one of the many doctors said that it is common to have amnesia and that he would likely remember even more the next day. I don't remember when or how the rest of the information came to me but he had a trauma induced seizure when he was hit, bleeding between his skull and his skin causing a bruise and concussion, a break in the non weight bearing bone in his leg and six scrapes. He is one lucky kid. He threw up a couple of times as we were trying to leave the hospital to come home but has kept everything down since then. He also has full recollection of everything but the impact itself. He never saw the car and woke up on the ground.

So, there you have it as best as I can tell it at this point. I am exhausted and relieved my brain is still fuzzy and I don't have a concussion.  Thank you to everyone who helped, stopped by or sent well wishes or prayers.

Homecoming/Work/Whatnot

Melaina looked great for her homecoming dance last week. I thought I would share the picture of her. I love the red shoes with that dress. I am still learning that things do not need to match they need to go. Plus Stacy and Clinton talk about wearing a great shoe that really makes a statement. Melaina comes by that kind of thinking naturally. Cracks me up that she calls those her whore heals. I never even told her that when I used to wear them I called them my hoochy shoes.

Work is still going great. I had my first review a couple of weeks ago and scored very well. I have been getting full time hours since then and am still loving working there. having a week off from doing mark downs has been fun. I got to help move every rack in the center of the store. aka "the infield" I moved the clearance hand bags, stocked a lot of 60/80 (the home décor stuff), kids, toys and clothing for the infield. After the move I realized that one of the racks was backwards so there were active tops then active shorts and then the rest of the active tops. It was making me crazy so I fixed it. I got to help Holly for part of one day doing some office type work. Yesterday was a great day for my OCD tendencies. My project was to remove all the sheet sets, duvet covers, pillow cases and shams. Then after resetting the shelf heights with Anthony for the entire isle I got to put them all back. When I was done they were in order of size and grouped by brand in each size. same with the duvet covers and I even sized the pillow cases and pillow shams. It looked beautiful. I spent most of the rest of the day putting everything on the correct racks in misses clothing. It was a fun day.

My Nephew Kayle came up from Arizona and hung with us for a couple of days. It was great to see him and spend a little time getting to know him. I haven't ever really had the opportunity to spend more than a couple of hours with him and that has always been at a family gathering so really no one on one time. We got a picture of him at his best. You might almost think he is a sweet kid when he is asleep. Ha ha ha jk Kayle. =)

Got a lot of chores done around the house last night and today. My Mom and Dad are coming up to visit with their friends and are stopping by here for a bit first. Today is my Mom's birthday so I am glad we get to see her. We are going to sew some buttons on Melaina's shorts and go to T.J. Maxx so she can return a shirt that she got last time and get something else. This is a great weekend to do it because we are giving an additional 25% off on all clearance items so she may get more for her money. Of coarse I am kind of hoping I can convince her that she really wants to buy me a new pair of pants that I can wear to work. hehe

Anyway hope all is well with everyone else. Happy birthday also to Niki and Sherry hope you both have a good one.

Life is...

Well, Jeremy's job great as it was is now over. The VA Hospital was set to be his next site and that got pushed back to November and the other job sites they had are all at Boeing. So, with Boeing on strike there is no work for him. The company he was working for really liked him and his work and they were really unhappy about letting him go. So, now we are down to just my income which totally sucks but we will get by. We have been through worse. I don't think I will see any child support from the ex during the strike either seeing as he works at Boeing. Really Boeing machinists have hit me with a double whammy. We were so close to being all caught up on our bills too. Now we will get behind again.

On the bright side though I love my job and I am doing well. people seem quite happy with my work. We were able to take care of back to school stuff for the kids and hey we still have the food bank for groceries. I have two new tops, a cardigan, a couple good pairs of shoes and a three dollar pair of Capri's for work so I can wait for anything else new.

New blouse Capri's and shoes

new top and shoes

 

new cardigan

I have the sweet schedule for work so far. I seem to be getting a long shift on Sunday usually 12-8:30 then 7-3 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesday and Saturday off. This week Thursday and Friday is the beginning of the 6-2 shift. I guess corporate wanted to make it start at 4am but our manager wasn't having that. 6-2 is great for me. I wake the kids before I leave and am home when they get home from school to make sure homework and chores get done. I think this is the best schedule I have ever had in retail. Of coarse I realize that it is subject to change since it is retail. So far so good though. I love the people I am working with they are a great bunch of people.

This has become a great outlet for what Melaina likes to tease is my OCD. Ok I have never been diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder but Melaina swears I have it. Just because the towels must be folded a certain way and stacked by color in the closet. Or the fact that I have my shirts hanging in my closet in order of sleeve length, color and if they have a collar or not. It just makes it easier to find what you want if you know it goes tanks, sleeveless, sleeveless with a collar, short sleeve, short sleeve with a collar, long sleeve long sleeve with a collar and all are in color order in each group. Anyway I get to do that kind of thing at work all the time and it makes me happy and it keeps me from excessively organizing the kids things. Jeremy would throw a fit if I ever got my hands on the movies again. He has them in some kind of weird order that makes sense to only him. I once organized them in alphabetical order by genera. He was not pleased.

So, some not so good, some good. Sometimes

Life is...

Happy Feet!

Well it has been quite a while since I have written a blog. I have been working and enjoying my time off with my family and to tell the truth I haven't even missed my computer. I thought for sure I would have gone through some kind of blogging withdrawals but, no. So my feet. I have been wearing these shoes that Heather gave me a couple of years ago. Nice and certainly no problem when I did real estate but not so good on a hard floor for five or more hours. The inside lining started coming out my second week of work and the soles were hard. By day before yesterday my feet were crying. Well screaming really and I knew it was time for new shoes. Something that anyone in retail or the food industry can relate to I am sure. So after work I stuck around and tried on some shoes. I found a pair of black slip on Aerosoles. And a really cute brown pair with an open toe. I had first thought I should wait until the weekend after Labor Day when we get 20% discount but I just didn't think I could get through another week of work with the shoes I have and the only other option I had in black was a pair of old athletic shoes that I used sharpie on to cover the paint drips. So I got the black ones and set the brown ones aside until the 20% weekend. As soon as I stepped out of the store I took the stickers off and put them on. My feet gave out an immediate sigh of relief. Yesterday I worked from 7am-3pm and my feet did not hurt. I have happy feet. I really look forward to getting the brown ones but if I need to I do have a pair of brown shoes that don't hurt my feet and a pair of slip on ones that only make my ankles a little sore because the heal is a bit higher. The lesson here is don't wear hard soled shoes on a hard floor. Not a good combo. I have been loving the weather lately because it gives me way more clothing options. I was a bit skeptical about getting a job in retail again but I am really enjoying it. The people I work with are great and it is a completely different experience working when the store is open and not at all as scary as I thought it would be.

Kitchen Table!

Well after working for six days straight I finally had a day off. I did not rest however. No, I got every box out of my kitchen/dining room and put them in the attic. Then after picking up the kids we got the table and chairs out of the shed and brought them in.

So now I am exhausted but happy.

First Day

So today was my first day at TJ Maxx. It was pretty good. Everyone seemed pleased with my performance and the only thing that was really new to me was the register. I figure I will have that down pretty quickly. I still don't have all the department #'s memorized yet but I know most of them. I am looking forward to the upcoming 20% employee discount. Hopefully I will have a few extra bucks to spend by then if not I still get 10% the rest of the time. The only complaint that I have right now is the house ware/home decor area is pretty messy. That was always one of my pet peeves about TJ Maxx even back before I worked at Target.

Moving In (everything you wanted to know and more)

We are making great progress on the unpacking. It is crazy how the same square footage can feel so much bigger simply by having a different floor plan. To the right is a picture of my computer space in the living room. Yes there is still a stack of things next to my Secretary desk and a couple of notebooks on the printer that still need a home but for the most part this is a cozy little den with a fire place. Below we see Jeremy's computer area and Ashton and Melaina watching TV. The Two couches create the perfect door to the "den" and we even found a piece of Plexiglas that we can slide out from between the couch and Jeremy's desk to keep the dogs out from under our feet. I love how bright the room is and even with the tree outside the window. In the next picture we can see that The DVD's need a little help but at least they are on shelves and Jeremy still needs to hang his swords over the TV so the clock doesn't look so out of place off to the side like that. The book cases need to be attached to the wall for safety and no it is not bowing that must just be the camera (I checked) You may also notice that off the far right there is a blue tub and in the picture above there are some computer cases. That would be the fringes of the small pile of things that Jeremy still needs to deal with. He makes a dent in it every day and when you figure that the couches were completely buried when my parents stopped by this is progress. I have to say that although the paint was poorly applied the boys who did it chose a great color. (Two tenants ago three twenty something partiers.)  Now the picture below is the kitchen and you might think that there is not much to say about it but you would be wrong. To start it has a dishwasher. I have not had a dishwasher in almost ten years. next you will notice that there is no washer and dryer in here. Yes six years since I could cook without lint and do laundry without food in it. Plus while you can see the two drawers in this picture what you can't see is just out of the camera view next to the refrigerator is another three drawers. What is so exciting about this you ask? Well try six years without any drawers in your kitchen. Well we did get a little three drawer thing from Stacy's mom a couple of years ago. (we left it for the neighbors) To the right is what will become our dining room just as soon as the roof is fixed and we are able to put the Holiday decorations into the attic. This is the worst of what we have left to do. The wall to the left just out of sight is where the kids computer desk is. Next we have our room. While it is considerably smaller than the room we had downstairs it feels so much bigger with less furniture in it. No that is not a black pillow on my bed that is Moonshadow. There are still some boxes on Jeremy's side under the window that he needs to take care of but as long as they are on his side I can ignore them. As you can see in the picture below Melaina has already started on what I am sure will become a full room collage. (brings back memories of my room when I was a teenager) Directly behind the camera are about four boxes that don't belong to her. Once we move them she gets the corner piece of the couch in her room.  Next is the boys room. As you can see they did not read the part of the chore list that says no clutter put things away. Aside from the fact that they did not clean their room theirs is the most put together. They have no boxes left and Ashton has been enjoying his couch piece under his bunk. He kicks back there to play his video games. I would really like to find a new place to store that folding table. Julian insists that it is his and he does use it but it is ugly. (Hmm maybe behind their door.) Well, that is our new place. Except the bathroom. It is long and narrow so I could not get a good picture of it. The features to mention would be the tub. I haven't had one of those in nearly ten years and the stacking washer and dryer are in there. (love that) I was pleasantly surprised to find that the linen closet is in the bathroom as well and that it is actually big enough for the towels, table cloths and bedding. While the chore list and chart have not necessarily helped the boys room just yet it is working quite well for the rest of the house. Check it out. Just so there is no confusion about what each chore entails I wrote them out in list form then I created a chart to show who does each chore each day. K=Kitchen, B=Bathroom, L=Living room, and P=Pets and Garbage. Everyone is supposed to do their bedrooms everyday and I do laundry. We all take turns making dinner too and it is working well for the whole family.

Happy Fourth

We had a lot of fun over the fourth of July weekend. It was a nice break from the moving and unpacking that was happening before. We went to our friends Nick and Jennifer's house in Marysville. Jeremy blew a water bottle bomb up in his hand and we were a little singed when one of the mortar tubes tipped over before firing. We had no serious injuries though and the fireworks were pretty.

     

 Donica in a sparkler ring and Gen hiding her face from the smoke

      

                      Big bomb ~ Little boom 

  

                  Pretty Fountain

      

                   POP!                                          Crackle! 

 

                  Singe!

     

                      ooooo!                                                    aaaaaah! 

 

               ooooooh!

                 

          HAPPY FOURTH!!!

I Like Lightning

Ok, so one of the perks of living upstairs is the view. We started out watching the lightning that was off to the east of us as it moved north it was a spectacular light show. Then at about 2am there was a cell right over the top of us. Shook the whole house. Again at 4am I was nearly thrown from my bed by the powerful thunder. The best part is I got to be awakened again at about 9:30 this morning. Four storms in one night. Can't get much better than that. The only downer is that Jeremy climbed up into the attic and yes the roof does leak so that will have to get fixed soon.

 

 Don't know when this was taken but it reminds me of last night.

OMG! There's a bush under there.

Well I got the Kitchen done yesterday. Wow is it white. I decided that was enough work for one day so I got my pj's on and while Jeremy and I were sitting out back he got a wild hair up his ... and decided to start ripping out the blackberries. Well let me give you a little visual of before and after.

This is as we first were starting you can see there is a pile of what Jeremy had already done.

Here is Julian's position in this. He was the only one skinny enough to get back there to cut the stalks.

This is what it looked like when we were done. Yes two rhododendrons and a tree. Oh and that wood thing.....OH YEAH a fence.

So the agenda for today? Steamer the rest of the floors, (bathroom, hall, entry) go steal Stacy's carpet cleaner, (Love you Stacy)  pack those things that get put off until the last minute, and keep laundry going so we move only clean clothes.

Project for Today

So, today I will be concentrating on the kitchen. I need to clean under and behind the washer, dryer, range, fridge and book cases. (Used as pantry shelves.) So both me and my steamer will be getting quite the workout. Jeremy is patching damaged drywall and painting the bathroom. Julian is doing his usual chores then I think I will have him help me. Ok, wish me luck.

Pinky's Farm

Today we spent the day out at Jeremy's Aunt Pinky's. It was a going away party for his brother Charlie. He is moving to their sister's in Arizona and is leaving on Tuesday. We will miss him but I think going there will be very good for him. A new experience and a chance to go to school. Julian had fun when he was able to ride a horse for the first time. Over all I would say it was a good day.

 

       

 

 

 

My Ever Changing Mind

Ok, so I know I have written opinions about myspace vs facebook and livespaces before and myspace fell short in my estimation. Well now that I have spent more time using all three I think facebook has now reached the bottom. It is cluttered and not customizable. Auto play is blocked so unless you have great skill in html and other such codes to find your way around it you cannot even have a photo slide show running on your profile. Visitors are forced to click the play button and then in most cases they have to add that app to view it. There are some cool apps don't get me wrong "pieces of flare", "Lil Green Patch", "Pandora" and "Mirror Blog" are nice but it gets pretty boring when everyone has the same look. (White background and blue and black text.) Myspace has done some great work recently in making there editing more user friendly and even though I have to cut and paste this blog to put it on myspace instead of clicking the update button like on facebooks mirror blog. Over all I would consider that a minor inconvenience. Sure there are people on myspace who have pretty cluttered pages and some are damn near unreadable because of the way they have chosen to customize but hey they CHOSE. I still love livespaces but since no one seems interested in it. I keep it for my parents, Jeremy, Ashton (no myspace for two more years for him) and a couple of others so they can keep up on my ever changing mind.

Better

Well, my living room is under control, I survived the tomato, our moving date has been postponed one week and I have been having fun with my Bryce 4 program.

Overwhelmed

I am looking at the current state of my living room and am feeling a bit overwhelmed. There are boxes stacked everywhere. Some are packed for moving and others are for garage sale. I know if I put the packed for moving in the empty closet and the garage sale boxes in the carport I will feel a lot better. Then I look around and just get this tight feeling in my chest and don't know where to start. It just all seems like too much. Not to mention that I have realized I need to pack the "office stuff" on the two book cases near my desk. YIKES! Well, maybe I should start with a cup of tea and make a to do list.

New Smile!

 

Ok, so I finally got a picture of my new smile. I have to admit it feels pretty good to see myself in a picture where I am not afraid to smile.

 

My mind won't shut off

So, I went to bed at 9:30pm because I was just so tired. Then I found that my brain refused to shut off. I got to thinking about Ingrid Michaelson. I read her blog today and one of her entries was about selling out. basically she wanted to hear from her fans to see if they thought she was a sell out or not. Most of the responses I read were very positive. Like myself most of them had never heard of her prior to her song in the "Old Navy" commercial and they were happy she had done it because, now they know of her and they like her music. Obviously not everyone shares this opinion though or she would never have asked the question. The thing is Neil Diamond is one of the most prolific song writers around. Weather or not you like his music there is no denying that he is a huge success. Yet, he has written some of the most popular jingles. Never have I heard him referred to as a sell out. Some people said that perhaps those who know of an artist before they have reached that level of success have this idea that they have something special and are selfish and want to keep it that way. I remember years ago when looking for fairy pictures on the Internet stumbling across an artist named Amy Brown. I loved her work so, a few years later when I found stickers and postcards in "Hot Topic" with her fairies on them I was thrilled. I was proud of her for finally making it. Now if you can put a picture on it you can find one with her art on it. T-shirts, cups, journals, you name it, she's got it. So is she a sell out or a successful artist. Does a successful artist only sell thousand dollar pieces in elite galleries or do they make their art available to everyone who enjoys it. Does an independent music artist remain in obscurity or do they reach new audiences through commercials and TV shows. I think if what they have created is worth something to the people who discover it then where they discover it is irrelevant. An artist or musician knows their own work better than any fan and they know who they want to reach with their creations. So, when an opportunity arises they should take it without regret. Ignore the nay sayers and rejoice in the fact that something you have created brings joy to others.

So, this is the kind of thing that keeps me awake at night. There is always some subject being analyzed and debated in my head when I am just wanting to sleep. Tonight I thought I would share it with you. Perhaps getting it out in this form will allow me to sleep now.

Myspace, Facebook, what have I done?

So, I finally broke down and created a facebook and then I thought well if I have that I might as well make a myspace. Melaina and Julian have been begging for a myspace for a while now so I let them make one and a facebook. Melaina says I have created a monster that she is addicted. It has been a lot of fun. I think for ease of use I really like facebook. when it comes to customization I think this spaces is the easiest but myspace has been around the longest so for being in contact with others it is a good thing to have as well. I still like the securety of spaces and I have made a no picture of yourself rule for myspace and facebook. I will teach the kids how to make a link to their spaces so their friends will be able to see their pics and stuff. I still really like this for my blog and there are some things here that I don't want on either of the other two so I am a three place person. Julian says that I am a profile junkie. Maybe, but he is a vidiot. Ashton is content with his spaces and I told him that with age comes certain privileges. When he is fourteen he can have a myspace and a facebook as well.

Is this really June?

I so wish we could have more sunny days. I don't mind a little rain once in a while but why so cold? One might think June is a winter month.

So, aside from questioning the weather I have been pondering my latest dilemma. I need an income but I have zero motivation to find a job. Can't someone just drop a winning lottery ticket where I can find it?

Well, not much to say today.

Be Well

Good to be Home

 

Ok, so I started typing this blog and I got pretty far when I went to help Ashton upgrade his email. When I got back to my computer one of the cats had obviously tried to publish my blog. It was actually funny especially what the cat wrote. Unfortunately not having been there to see exactly what they had done I ended up having to close live writer losing the entire blog and am now starting over. I do believe I can recall what the cat said though. It was something like this.   b\ttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp.....................

What I was say before all this was that I had a good time at my parents. I got to be gone for five days. In my book that is a week long vacation. Sunday as you can see from my last blog was just a kick back and relax kind of day. Good after a long day on Saturday going the funeral for my Dad's Aunt Doris. Monday was a wake up slow take it easy kind of morning followed by a not so bad dentist visit in the afternoon. I think Tuesday was my favorite day. Heather came to pick me up after she dropped her boys at school. We spent the day at her house just hanging out and talking. Her friend Jen came over as well. It was really nice to meet her and between the two of them I finally gave in and got on face book. That has been fun and I have found a few people that I haven't seen in forever. It did not end there however, Wednesday was go home day. That was a rush around the house get my things packed and get in the car so my parents would not be late to an appointment they had. We went to my grandparents house for the day and had dinner with them and my Aunt Deanna. It was a good day. It was a good vacation.

I walked into the house Wednesday night and was immediately accosted by a very unpleasant smell. Now please understand that I am well aware of the fact that my place smells like pets. This however, was a very new, VERY WRONG kind of smell. Kacey needs a BATH!!! Anyone who knows me is aware of the fact that while I love animals I simply can not stand the smell of dirty-wet-dog. Did the dog get a bath yet? Well, I was face booking, and making  a My Space, and linking them to this page, and well..... Ok, Ok, I will go bathe her now. (I could use shower myself) Bad smells or not it was good to be home. I missed my guys and the animals. Sleeping in my own bed was great and Julian says I am grounded and I am never aloud to be gone for more than two days ever again. Makes me smile 'cause I know he missed me.

Sunday Afternoon

So, here we are Sunday afternoon all three of us are hanging out in my Dad's office. Mom and I are on the couch with laptops and my Dad is at his desk on his computer. This makes for a pretty relaxing afternoon. Seems funny how times have changed though. Even when I was a kid I never could have imagined there would come a time when computers would be such a way of life. The thing is it isn't like we are being anti social. We are all doing our own thing but talking to each other as well. Over all I would have to say that this is shapeing up to be a good vacation. Of coarse I did not get everything on my list done before I left but I got enough done to not feel any stress over it. I will get the rest done when I get home.

woohoowoohoohooo

Ok, so today I made my list (Yeah, yeah I know said I would do it yesterday.) I got my hair cut, I got the kids and now I am ready to knock out the things on my list because Sat. through Wed. I will be gone. Saturday is the funeral for my Dad's Aunt Doris and so I will go home with my parents from there so they do not have to come back to get me for my dentist appointment on Monday. My Mom has a Doctor appointment on Tuesday so they will bring me home on Wednesday. Woohoo! Vacation! So that means stop typing and get to work. Later Gater.

Packing, Packing, Packing!!!

So, yesterday was quite the day. I managed to pack all the nick-knacks from the shelves of the built in. All my candles from every room are now packed and a separate box for the candle holders. I have a box full of Anne Rice books and a box of Stephen King books plus three other boxes of books in general. I boxed up four or five boxes of Jeremy's things. I still need to pack my Creative Memories albums and all the office stuff from my two book cases. Some of it I know I can get rid of the rest just needs to be filed or boxed. Oh and I almost forgot I need to empty the desk part of my secretary. The walk through closet is in pretty good shape just need to get the computer monitors and the old stereo out of there. the closet under the stairs is mostly holiday decorations so that is handled. I do need to go through the blankets and weed it down to just enough for our beds and something for an overnight guest to use. Closet space upstairs is a bit limited. To me that is a good thing because there will be less room to accumulate extra stuff that we really don't need. So, today I haven't gotten a whole lot done but I am sore and tired from yesterday so I think today is a plan and recuperate day. I think I did a few too many squats yesterday because my leg really hurt. If I keep up this pace though I should have a few days to rest before the actual move. Oh I need to get the glass bottles and vases from the kitchen window sill. Hmm, maybe it is time to stop typing and make a list. That requires no bending, squatting or lifting but is still productive. Well I hope everyone is well and enjoying the bit of sun that is peaking from behind the clouds today.

Ready, Set, MOVE!

 

 

So our moving date is just around the corner. June 20-22 we will be switching units with our upstairs neighbors. That gives me four weeks to sort six years of accumulated stuff to sell, give away, pack or dump. I am excited that Melaina and Ashton will be moving in with us full time. Melaina seems pretty happy about going to Edmonds-Wood way and Ashton wants to move here so bad that he would be willing to go back to elementary school for a month if he could move here right now.

                                                  

Summer is almost here

Well I decided it was time to change to a more spring or summer kind of color scheme. With the weather finally getting nice I thought the black was a little too winter feeling. I have been collecting "paper" from the internet and I think it might be fun to do a little computer scrapbooking. In doing so I did find a good one for a background for this page hope you all like it.

 

A little something to set the mood for summer.

Check Employment History

So, here I am with a new smile and ready to rejoin the working world. However, being the great record keeper that I am and never having had a resume I have run into a bit of a road block. How do I find out where I worked and when? That got me thinking about how Boeing checks work history to verify the accuracy of the information submitted by applicants. Now if they can do that there must be a way for me to do it for myself. Then I can be sure to have accurate info. on my resume or application. Well thank you Ask.com. I was able to find out how to do just that. Even if you have a job or current resume there are so many other records you may need.  This was by far the best price for the most services. Just click the link to check it out.

Check Employment History

Smile!!!

 

So I had my dentist appointment yesterday and I am all smiles now. I am so happy and my mouth feels great.

Yael Naim

So I dicovered today who sings the song in the mac notebook commercial. I was so excited. Her name is Yael Naim and the song is New Soul. She makes me wish that I could speak french so I can understand her other songs. I love her voice and for some reason this song just makes me smile every time I hear it. Check it out for yourself. The video clip is at the bottom of the page. 

shh...don't tell

So Jeremy and I were feeling a bit hungry and were looking for something quick and easy. We found that there were two muffins left so he took the apple cinnamon one and gave me the chocolate one. Well I realized that if I didn't have something with protein to go with it then my blood sugar would give me grief later. So I headed into the kitchen and peaked into the rice cooker. The rice was on its last day. (Tomorrow it would be dried out.)  I decided to make something out of the rice for lunch. After looking around I saw that we had a couple cans of tuna and some cream cheese. I put some rice and a can of tuna into a bowl with a dollop of cream cheese and mixed it all together. It tasted great! I ate about half of it and then was too full to finish it so I offered the rest to Jeremy. He wasn't too sure about it but after one bite he was sold. He ate the rest while telling me with a surprised tone how good it tasted. See this happens every time. I almost have everyone convinced that I can't cook. Then I go and do something creative with food and it is such a success that they will expect me to do it again. Sigh. I think I just need to admit that I CAN cook I just HATE to. (Except sometimes.)

P.S. I know that rice, fish and cream cheese is what goes inside a California roll. Really I made sushi without the seaweed wrap. Jeremy and Julian think I created something great though. So....shh....don't tell.

      

This is SO WRONG!!!

So I was standing in my back yard talking on the phone with my Mom and I mentioned that thirty six hours after the snow storm we have almost no evidence of it left. I barely get the words out when it starts to snow again. What is up with that? PLEASE GIVE ME SPRING!!!

   Here is my dream.

Snow????

Ok, so here it is twenty minutes to eleven and there are snow flakes in the rain. That is rare even for the dead of winter. Usually it is not cold enough during the day. Most of the time snow (even mixed with rain) happens at night. Where is the sunny spring weather? I am a snow fanatic but even I am ready for sun and warm weather. I don't even care if it rains as long as it is warm.

Maybe this will help.

Come on SUN!!!

April Showers

April showers bring may flowers. At least that is what they say. I don't think the flowers will appreciate showers like this one.

 

 

Yes these were taken today at about 1 pm.

Look! There's the Sun!

So, I awoke today to see blue skies and beautiful sunshine. I took a shower and got dressed. My sinuses only took an hour and a half to clear. (Yes that is an improvement.) Jeremy was shocked to see me dressed. I told him not to get too excited I don't think I will have the energy to do much today but I did feel good enough to get dressed. Plus I think there's something to be said for getting dressed. It almost makes you believe you're going to get well.  The only thing is that I will not be going anywhere in this shirt. (Horizontal stripes.) The next logical question and one that my mom will likely ask me is why I have the shirt still. Here's the reason. If I get rid of the shirt then I will have nothing to wear with my brown cords. My brown cords are one of my most comfortable pants. Of coarse they need to be replaced as well. There is a small hole in the knee and they are just a bit too short for my taste. In other words today would make me a prime candidate for What Not to Wear on TLC. 

Well I'm going to get myself some tea and play some Spider Solitaire now.

Remind me, Why do I have 5 cats????

So I went to make myself a nice cup of tea. The cats always try to get in the kitchen any time the door is open for more than .02 seconds so it is routine to shoe them out before they get on the counters. Well today they were a bit more resistant to being put out of the kitchen. I finally managed to get Sirius and Moon Shadow out and was pushing Beef with my foot while bringing my tea out with me. Ok, usually the cats will go the direction that they are being pushed but today Beef decided to pull a sudden U-turn and got under my foot causing me to spill. So now I am wearing my tea and I still have to get Beef out. I yelled and that seemed to indicate to the cat that he better run. Now the cats are all out of the kitchen and I had to go change my clothes. Moon Shadow decides to climb up to the shelf in my closet dropping things all over the floor. I got him out, got dressed and finally was able to sit and have some tea.

I wonder if this is just because I chose to wear unflattering clothes today. Stacy and Clinton may still not like my outfit but it is a hell of a lot better than the last one.

As you can see from what I wrote the question is not so much why do I have 5 cats but why do I have the three boy cats. Cougar and Wickett were perfectly well behaved and didn't even try to get in the kitchen.

Truth be told I love all my animals even when they infuriate me.

Better but not Well

Well I am feeling better but I am not well yet. Yesterday I thought I might be but today when I woke up I had a sinus head ache. I seem to be having trouble with my sleeping schedule as well. I am going to sleep later and waking later everyday. That is a difficult one for me to fix since my body naturally wants to be on a swing shift schedule. It seems I was born that way. I just hope I haven't given myself a sinus infection from taking antihistamines when I first got this flu. 

So it seems that we had spring for a minute this weekend.

Followed by more winter.

O-Well it should be back again soon I hope. Not this weekend though it might actually snow at my mom's again. Maybe this is all so I won't need new clothes just yet.

Windows Live Gallery - Custom Buttons

Ok, So this is pretty nifty check it out. I made one for my bank. now I click the button on my tool bar and snap. there I am at the sign in screen. I was even able to create the look of the button. (just remember to save the pic you want to use as a .bmp or bitmap)

Windows Live Gallery - Custom Buttons

What Not To Wear P.S. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired

  Well I am still not feeling well and it is really ticking me off.  I have that feeling like I want to be doing something but I have no energy to do anything. Even things like writing more of my book or responding to my Mom's email about what to wear, planning ahead. Pretty much anything that takes physical effort or any real thought is out. Heather is definitely the inspiration behind this what to wear stuff. She always looks so put together even in "sweats" and we have realized that it takes the exact same amount of energy to put on grubby clothes as it does to put on nice looking clothes. And let's not forget that Stacy and Clinton ("What not to wear") have said over and over that nice clothes can be comfortable if they fit right. This is really true because one of my best looking out fits is very comfortable to wear. My real issue I think is that there are some key pieces missing from my wardrobe right now. For instance I need a pare of brown pants that don't have a hole in the knee. That right there would open so many clothing options for me. When it comes to spring and summer I need more help than a pare of pants. I really need to get new sleeveless shirts. The little tanks with the built in bra are simply inappropriate for someone of my size. I have to wear a bra with them anyway so what is the point. I saw myself in the pictures from last July and the tanks I have now hug and amplify every roll. I don't even want to think about those shorts. Let's just say I am no longer a teen and those shorts have got to go. I think if I find sleeveless shirts and tanks that don't cling to the body like that they will actually feel cooler in hot weather.

         (If I ever do this again just shoot me) 

                       

 

Ok, well I am tired now and need to rest. You have not heard the last of this though. I have much more to say on the subject but that takes way more thought than I can handle right now.