WTAF Cookie Baking Edition

 I am making 600 cookies for my kid's squadron and shipping them to his base. Fine, done this the last few years because I love my kid and love baking so it's a win. Right? It's a fucking win when the stupid ass cookies bake correctly and not spread like the legs of a whore! I mean, come on! It's fucking chocolate chip cookies, there should not be this much of an issue! I have made this standard fucking recipe for like a decade, and this is just stupid. Ok, they do still taste good but it's annoying me and disappointing me that they look like clusters of chocolate chips with a thin spread of cookie surrounding them. Ugh.

Fucking stupid ass cookies.

 I've adjusted my temperature and I sit in front of my oven trying to time it just right so that they aren't so brown on the edges and the center is done. It's just really stupid. Stupid stupid. Triple stupid.

I was reading on Reddit (don't @me) and it seems that has been some quality issues with butter lately. My other ingredients are all fresh, nothing is over 3 or 6 months and again it's a standard recipe. The only thing that could be a bit sideways is the butter. And ok, I do not measure the vanilla, I guide that by instinct but whatever!

Wait. The chocolate chips are older, but that should be what's affecting the spread.  

Watching cookies bake was not what I thought I was going to be doing all day today.  

It's a lot like busy - to the tune of holiday music

 Work has been increasingly busy! Life has been catching up too! Between my surgery coming up, Jessie having the baby and helping out on the weekends and work just becoming this pretty non-stop daily thing, I am exhausted.

Exhausted.

Oh and lets add in some of those fun perimenopause symptoms coming around, with sleep being more elusive and some of mood swings are back.

But! I just did have my last fucking period!! That is so amazingly awesome and I just can't stop grinning every time I think about it. I am excited for this surgery - don't get me wrong, I understand there is going to be bit of a long recovery in general and that life will instantly be turned upside down - BUT things should even out (I need to contact my GP about HRT probably now) and things/life will be better. It's not just preventative, it's also quality of life for the next 10 years. Keep your fingers crossed I don't lose my mind and change all kinds of life options in the wrong ways.

Also, the holidays are literally right around the corner. Thanksgiving is next week and then it's surgery and then Christmas/Yule. It's just a lot! And with all these surgeries and health things this year, I will need a 2nd job to pay off this debt sooner rather than later. That will be a fun thing to figure out once I am out of the healing stage.

I think I have 90% of my gift shopping done. It's hard to make some decisions on what to get things for someone you love/care about and not make it too silly or unnecessary.

Oh and I am going to keep working on losing weight. I'd like to lose another 30 lbs in the next 6 months. Not sure how realistic that is with my hormones going off the rails here shortly, but I have hope and persistence. I want to lose 5 lbs before surgery, plan on re-doing the liquid diet I did for my last one. The first 3 days were the worst but after that it was livable. 

My cat Diego, who is 16 going on 17, is on thyroid meds and his kidneys are just barely starting to show some signs of potential issues, per the $355 vet visit last week. 

I miss my son.

Holding a baby is both therapeutic and amazing.

I need to cut my hair, clear off my nail polish and clean the shower. These are things that are on my mind on a regular, if not daily basis, but have yet to do them in that last 30 days. I have no idea why I am delaying, but none of them will take long to get accomplished. 

I have one more thing to fill out for the surgery too, a listing of everything I am taking (which is a website site and if I could be smart and get it done at work that would be fine but I feel like I need to get it done at home where are my things are...it's weird. Why is it so weird?)

See, it's all a bit of a cluster. I am spinning and throwing darts and hitting some targets but not all of them. And a lot of them are important targets.

I need to start using my planner, it was so helpful before and I got away from it because the routine, was well established routine. But right now so many things are shifting again. 

Also, people put their heads on pillows...not their feet. It would be nice not to use a pillow as a foot rest, especially without socks, all over a pillow that someone might be sleeping on later. I mean, ew. Ew. Granted, if your foot is injured and it's being elevated, that's one thing. No, this is just pushing bare feet against a pillow that is on the floor for some reason. Why is it on the floor? Why the need to put naked feet on it? Are those feet clean? It's just...ew. How am I going to clean this pillow now?? It's a larger one so damn.

In other news, it got freaking cold outside!  Which is both nice and annoying, as I really do that utopia temperature of 70 degrees with a crisp breeze or light wind. Winter is just around the corner and it will hopefully being a safe one and nothing too dramatic.

And I have also confirmed that I can not eat a lot of sugar in one sitting. It makes me nauseous and my stomach was not happy. I got hot. I was literally working in the garage without a jacket or my vest (I love my vest) to cool off which thankfully helped. Oh another thing happened a couple weeks ago. I must have drank water too close to eating because my mouth was just filling, FILLING, with salvia. It was a bit wild. So definitely do not drink within 20-30 minutes of eating, especially a meal that makes you full. 

Ok, I think my brain has run away enough for the evening. I need to get to bed and sleep a happy deep sleep. 

Holiday Quilling and Scrapbooking

  One of the things we are trying for holiday season is Quilling. Paper art. I told my kid that because of the vacation from October that we are trying to not spend as much money for the holidays. I had asked him what he wanted (instead of a video game) and surprisingly he said a scrapbook. So suffice it to say, today I went to JoAnn Fabrics and got him a scrapbook to work on. I will need to be speedy with it so that he gets it in time. Something that should be interesting since I've never scrapbooked in my life. I want to also include a Quilled Yule ornament. I got a whole kit from Amazon. There are some seriously amazing options for this and I'm excited and slightly nervous! I'm only nervous because it takes time to create the whole thing, but damn they are absolutely gorgeous. Hopefully we figure it out easily enough, something I will say Youtube is super helpful with. 

So finding the pictures and figuring out how to create a simple scrapbook for my son and then quilling some holiday ornaments.

All in time for the holidays and it takes 2 weeks to get to him. With all the other stuff going on. Oy!!

I still got him some items off of Amazon, because it's tradition to send him a stocking with little things in it, that was always his Christmas more than anything else. We celebrated all the gifts at Yule and Xmas was 1 thing from Santa and his stocking. Now his stocking can have some good shit in it,  so it's not all candy or silly things. But still, this year is a bit less in general. It's weird. We don't need more things, we need more love and empathy and help and caring. And experiences and adventures. Things can be great and helpful, but sharing in the love in your life is so much more than those things.

Here's hoping the next couple weeks are successful and good.

Holidays and more

 It was such a good Thanksgiving. I really enjoyed it, spending it with Mike's family, having Jessie there.

It's always a good thing to catch up with people, family and friends. The food was great, and it was just a great night overall.

 I totally missed Raven though. I can't say enough how much I love and am thankful for having all the phone calls with Raven and hearing his voice. And it's awesome to see how much he has grown and matured in the last year or so. I know that part of it is just life making it happen, but damn I have an awesome kid.

Christmas is coming up though. It's a bit of a mad rush to get some stuff made and shipped out for Raven, and made in for family/friends. But that means time! Plus, there are a lot of medical stuff going on and time is just going faster than one would hope for. I can't believe it's almost 2022. Seems slightly insane to say the least.

I am lucky enough to have the last 2 weeks of the year off, something I am seriously looking forward to and hope it helps me decompress. This last 2 years have been rough. And yeah vacation in October was great, but it didn't feel like a full ass vacation.  I'm hoping the one coming up, even though it's a stay at home type, really helps me just..reset.

On the more medical side, I am fairly confident that I am entering that peri/pre-menopause phase. Man, the mood swings along are vicious. Hair loss (again), some of the overall body heat - it all just sucks. Do not recommend and I am not looking forward to it getting worse. Nope. Not at all. I am also back to taking a ton of my PCOS supplements, trying to get my body back into a better shape and healthier.

Atkins Soup Diet

 So this past Friday I started to try the Atkins Soup Diet, to help keep my weight at at particular point during the holidays. You have eggs for breakfast, soup for lunch and soup for dinner. I was able to make the soup on Thursday and get it prepped for the following 5 days of meals. You also can have either a chicken or egg salad for a snack - IN CASE YOU NEED IT. Holy hells, I was so damn hungry this whole weekend. AND I CHEATED ON THE STUPID DIET. 

(Just a note, there is no cheese, nuts or anything else allowed for 5 days while doing this diet)

From Friday to Saturday, lost .6 lbs. cheated with popcorn, diet dr. pepper/zero Gatorade and some cheese

From Saturday to Sunday, lost 2.6 lbs. cheated with the same, but add in a bite of chocolate chip cookie dough and zero Gatorade. Oh, I ate some almonds too.

From Sunday to Monday, no loss/no gain. Gave up and ate cereal (Special K with berries), had Cherry Chipotle wings at BJ's, popcorn AND a standard glass of red table wine.

I have done Egg Fasts, with great and lasting success. And wasn't constantly hungry like I was this weekend.

So.

I think, for me personally, I need to modify this Soup Diet into something that would sustain the weight loss AND not be hungry. The soup itself is really good. I just can't function constantly thinking of food. Other side effects are livable, but seeing anything related to food and being like, why yes I would LOVE TO EAT ALL OF THAT RIGHT NOW, is just not going to work in a practical life.

More than likely I am going to add in egg snacks and modify the dinner to soup and some form of eggs. Like e the egg fettuccini alfredo since that dish is particularly amazing. Egg salad or a simple egg omelet.

Deviled eggs for the snacks or even a hard boiled egg would be good.

Today, today I am having soup and salad for lunch since I was not able to prep for anything else. However, for dinner I am going to give the eggs a side order with my soup and see if that helps keep me from fantasying about food and causing me to inhale anything I can find.

Edging to closer to holidays!

 Next week is Thanksgiving. It's one of the first time in the last few years that we are not going to my BF's parents house - but it's due to Covid-19 and honestly I much rather not be responsible for someone else getting sick and potentially dying. So. This means I am cooking a bit more and only for about 3 people. I am happy my niece will be there! I am actually looking forward to a quieter holiday season. I am not spending as much money on other people, just trying to calm down my poor credit card debt (I can't help but laugh, because I freaking love to shop). 

And seriously, I am missing my kid something fierce. He is still stuck at his tech school, waiting to head to his FDS. Hopefully he gets to head to that before Xmas. I miss his hugs so much. Oy.

We got the bathroom painted - I will try to get pics uploaded soon. Planning on getting the dinning room, foyer and living room done this holiday season if possible. I don't honestly want to even think about the kitchen, that one seems like a bitch and half...maybe if it's clean enough it can pass? Upstairs, the 2 bedrooms should be easy enough to paint. What it really is, is all the freaking prep work. The cleaning, taping off, cutting in, etc. 

But, as I keep reminding myself, it will be worth it. I want to downsize my house/home. I would like a rancher in the future and preferably a house not as big. It's just me and Mike in the foreseeable future. His kids are almost all grown, mine is adulting in awesome ways. And I can pay off majority of my debts with the sale of the house. All good stuff. 

The future beckons. Good, happy options are available. I am excited about moving towards that :)

But first! Thanksgiving! Then Yule and Christmas and then New Years. So much going on!! Well, ok, sorta - because, again, Covid is not a friend and it's been getting worse and what's going on is all inside my house hahahahaha.

A Bits and Pieces Update

Because it's always easier with bullet points:

• I was sick all through the holidays, but that's ok so was my bf's family was as well so it was a happy shared misery :)
• The holidays were pretty damn awesome :)
• I got my kid an XBox, which surprised him, which = awesome.
• I used vacation days so didn't have work for 2 weeks. Which was good because I was sick anyway. It was a nice break though!
• I've had my gardens percolating in my head for a month straight now. I can't wait for spring!
• We've had snow 2 times. Today's was pretty light.
  

This was on January 6th. All powder! 

Too bad I slipped going down my steps on the back porch. Thankfully it was a slow decent and I didn't get the wind knocked out of me this time. Suffice it to say, I am waiting on the treads I ordered to come in from Amazon.

• Work is awesome, I love my job.
• My elbow is acting up so I am wearing my brace again. Blah
• I've started back using MyFitnessPal. It's been a whooping 2 days lol. But hey, I'm back at it :) I have goals for this year :)
• I've started drinking my coffee black (ok ok I put cinnamon in it). No creamer or sugar. Who knew!
• The kid is grounded for ditching school. He's still having a hard time in school but has pulled up 2 of his classes grades this quarter. I've started the search for tutors.
• I miss my friends and family! Working on talking/texting/seeing them more :)
• Life has been busy. I mean, damn, seriously busy!
• I have gotten quite quick at crocheting scarves it seems. My bf asked me about a blanket. I started at him like he was crazy. Made a couple scarves and thought and thought and thought about HOW much time/yarn it would take for a blanket. Ahem. So I've started one. I made the first 4 rows, but realized it's a wee bit too large. So. I am gonna pull them out and make it a tad bit smaller :) Just a tad though. I do have a king size bed :)
• Tiamet, my 13 year old cat, has thyroid issues but not also minor kidney disease. She's at a good weight though and pretty active so I think she'll be ok for a couple years :) I keep an eye on her though :)
• I've also ordered a whole house humidifier because, damn, the air is fucking dry! 
• My size 12 years are just starting to get a little bit loose :) I didn't realize I had bought a size 10 (had this at my bf's house) and they fit pretty comfy. Wow. I still need to let a few more pounds go though before I buy more jeans. I want my 12's loose first :) 
• Yes, I have been pretty good - push ups and squats are done almost daily (notwithstanding those days I fall and stuff)
• I am hoping to get my shower fixed this year, the one upstairs that is.
• I am also hoping to see about getting rid of the pine tree in the back yard. O.o
• I love cooking. A lot. I am researching a pasta maker now :) 
• So this whole month, since I was sick in fact (so going back the last 2 weeks of December) I have not been taking my supplements. I am really missing one of them, the Myo-inositol. But I am curious to see if I get my period on time. Gotta love PCOS and how it tweaks the body! I have a new supplement I will be try, Maca root (it has something else in it as well but can't remember right now). I have noticed my temper is not always filtered, it's not horrible mind you but that's because I'm aware of it, but it's much harder to control (and no, not always successful). Other than that though, it hasn't been bad.
• Apple cider vinegar kicks ass and hands out cards.
• One of my goals, since I barely have time to read anymore, is to take 1 day a month and read that whole day :)
• I've started another college class. I have to do homework tonight. Next class starts in February. Exhausting but I am loving it.

I will attempt to start writing in those brief free moments I have :)

Love this song!

"White Winter Hymnal"

Lyrics: FLEET FOXES


I was following the
I was following the
I was following the
I was following the
I was following the
I was following the
I was following the

I was following the pack, all swallowed in their coats
With scarves of red tied 'round their throats
To keep their little heads from falling in the snow, and I turned 'round and there you go
And Michael, you would fall and turn the white snow red as strawberries in the summertime

I was following the pack, all swallowed in their coats
With scarves of red tied 'round their throats
To keep their little heads from falling in the snow, and I turned 'round and there you go
And Michael, you would fall and turn the white snow red as strawberries in the summertime

I was following the pack, all swallowed in their coats
With scarves of red tied 'round their throats
To keep their little heads from falling in the snow, and I turned 'round and there you go
And Michael, you would fall and turn the white snow red as strawberries in summertime





Lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/fleetfoxes/whitewinterhymnal.html

A wee little update...

Its been quite a while!

Hmmm...maybe a bullet list would be the best way to get things up to date:

• Took the kids bowling with my awesome bf. My kid didn't have a lot of fun. I think part of that was not knowing which arm to use for it and because he rather look/play better than he did. He's a lefty and sometimes you can use that or your right hand, everyone is different...I know my Dad is a lefty but plays tennis with his right.
• I had a ton of fun though
• Life is busy:
• Band Booster Fundraiser
• Cleaning house
• Work has been kicking my ass for the most part
• Life in general!!
• Holidays
• Thanksgiving was awesome
• Spent it with the bf's family, who are like him = awesome
• Went black Friday shopping = wow
• Yes, I will be paying off my credit card for another year - YIKES
• Also I gained like 2-3 lbs. Good food :) I will lose it by the end of the year I hope!
• Signed up for 2 more college classes
• Tested and all homework completed, so far in this class I have a B, which I am totally happy with!
• I now have the supplies I need to make my own deodorant, which I plan to do this week :)
• I am Amazon's bitch, it's mostly how I do my holiday shopping it seems
• I live in a great neighborhood - nothing has been stolen off my porch yet :)
• Apple Cider Vinegar is great for helping you stay healthy and not catch whatever people have at work!! So is Oil of Oregano :)
• Oh I do need to make some more chicken stock soon :)
• We had a day of snow! Nothing worth shoveling, but it was beautiful
• We've caught up to Walking Dead season 5. We've only missed a few episodes of that, should be caught up soon.
• I really don't watch a ton of TV anymore or read as much...but I love that the things I do watch and read are always with my boyfriend :)
• The Christmas tree is up, decorated.  Lights are on the house :) It's amazing and wonderful to be able to do that and I just love owning a home :)
• Yes we celebrate Yule more than Christmas, but I love the season and the good things that it can bring in out everyone :)
• Just finished off another scarf :) I am now in the process of making a basket :) Oh and I have like 3 more scarves to do. I love it though :)
• Still very happy I am not smoking!

And most of all, I have absolutely incredible boyfriend and awesome son :) Could not ask for better!!

Also, I have this love affair with music. One of my favorites right now is Pentatonix - I have 3 of their albums and yes ok they are all the holiday music ones, what can I say :)

Here's a sample of why...so incredibly fucking talented!!

Think Happy Thoughts !!

It's Thursday, this week is almost over and everything is back to normal at work.

New Years Eve? Sucked.
New Years Day? Sucked.
New Years Night? Awesome!

That's it in a nutshell. I've come to realize my Kid hates holidays and makes them unhappy things to happen. Suffice it to say, that is something we will be working on this year. I've asked him to think of ONE good thing that happens, each day, for us to talk about. It's a good thing to learn how to focus on the positives instead of the negatives. Not to mention it can help avoid hurt feelings...

I have finished off my finances for 2013 and started getting my 2014 working. Fun times.

Tonight, I am going to clear off the dining room table, use it for an actual DINNER and then put the puzzle I'm working on the half that won't be used for meals.

Back to drinking more water again. Yeah! I've felt so dehydrated lately and it's not a nice feeling. This means I am back to pee'ing a gazillion times a day too though...I've also started jumping rope - when it's not raining or snowing outside. It's kicked my ass now several times, but hey, since I can't do my walks at work without freezing my tits off, it's a nice substitute! I will be starting the Tai Chi DVD next week :) Also taking Inositol again. Will see what other supplements I'm going to bring into the mix (well, besides an overall vitamin) in the coming weeks.

Wearing my old size 12's today. I need a belt with these (not the new ones, those are still tight). I've ordered some new bras and hope they come in soon.  It's weird buying bras more regularly - that might sound strange, but in the past I just didn't wear them out so much - but maybe it's because these are actually cute and lacy and whatnot. I don't know, not really sure I care other than I might need to adjust my budget for more regular purchases! I'm not arguing that's all :D

Also: it's snowing right now. Big Fat White Snowflakes.

And I have to go to the store tonight, which will be fun :) I should probably invest in a pair of boots for cold weather. Hmmmm. I think I need to make sure to get hot chocolate, hot cider and stuff to make s'mores :)

In other news...hmmm...we has plans for this weekend :) LOL Cats are in my head it seems!

I am getting my legs waxed in anticipation :)

Anyways, I am gonna go stare at the pretty pretty snow falling outside!

Monday Madness

So, yes I posted a slew of pictures of the vacation without a lot of details. Honestly, my brain is still slightly dumbfounded I went on a cruise in the first place, visited other countries in the 2nd place and is processing things somewhat slowly. I promise I will extract some good and fun details and put those words to screen for your hopefully reading pleasure.

What's been going on since, you may wonder? Let's see...We had Yule. The Kid was spoiled. We had Christmas, the Kid was annoyed and mean. He's at this age, almost a teenager, that hormones are ramping up, life is throwing stuff at him (aka, his parents getting divorced) bullies at school, issues in one class - yep, he's been a wee bit cranky with all this stuff going on. But he's still awesome and I still love him no matter what. I do tell him that I don't love his bad attitude. It's a process, we are all learning. I am sure we're all making mistakes (and learning from those too). Christmas day we went to the movies, saw that Dinosaur one (which he loved) and had breakfast at IHOP. That morning was the drama. Kids, it's all about them. And of course, they know everything. And you, the parent, are always wrong. Such joy this whole thing is!!!

I've had a couple itty bitty mice at the house in the past. I am fairly sure Daisy killed them both. I've seen one small brown one outside. Daisy was watching it one afternoon and I noticed, so I silently opened the door and she crept out and snatched it! She then attempted to bring it BACK IN THE HOUSE! Oh hells no! So I freaked her out and she dropped the still ALIVE mouse, she jumped inside, it ran for it's life. Hopefully the mouse now realizes we have a mouser and will eat it (or at least play with it until it dies more likely) and won't venture onto my back porch again. I've since then take to feeding the stray cat usually away from the house, more in the back yard. Unless it's raining or snowing, then it's the back porch. This stray, if he could come in he totally would. But, that is NOT happening!!

I've started a puzzle. I need to clean off my dining room table and move it there I think. The coffee table is just not going to cut it. Now, cleaning off the dining room table? Yikes, that will be fun.

I did not get done everything I wanted to get done this past weekend. Again, I seem to have difficulty actually doing things when the Kid is at his Dad's. I was just, eh - for most the weekend. Sunday was a lot better though. Huge difference. I did get some shopping done on Saturday morning before I shut myself inside. Old Navy was having this *awesome* sale. I was able to get 4 pairs of pants (2 size 14 and 2 size 12), a pair of jeans and 2 shirts. Also went to Pier 1 since they were having an after Christmas sale as well. And of course, PetSmart, because I needed some more stuff for the kitties.

Also, I think Puck is having some more kidney issues :( He's been acting a little bit off again and he pee'd again outside the box. Other than that, he's ok. Still happy to sleep on soft blankets, get treats and petted. He's eating and drinking like normal. Some days are just not as good as others. I am still in the 'wait and see' phase with him.

Oh and back to that previous thought. I think I am going to do another load of laundry tonight, fold the whites still in the dryer and THEN re-organize my bookcases! Did I mention that the most awesomeness of awesome made me some mini shelves (like the ones I have from IKEA) so that I can double up my softback books on 1 shelf? No? because, he did and and it's, ahem, awesome :) THEN I will see if I can clean up the dining room table. I think at some point I need to figure out a better way to store my hats and scarves. I guess I should do my filing too. I have to get my title of the car moved over to my name as well. And mail a package to my BFF in FL. And I need to take my now boxed up holiday decorations into the attic. And vacuum upstairs.

Well, damn! Hopefully I can get half this shit done and then nibble away at the rest of it :)

All in all, though - I'm happy :) The Kid is working on being happy. Life is moving forward in positive ways :) A new year is starting soon :)

Tired Tuesday

I took the kid last night to get some boots for Winter. He cracks me up. First place we went to really didn't have a big selection and the one he might have considered they didn't have his size. But he did see a pair of Nike's that he REALLY wants. I may get those for him for Xmas - talk about a surprise that would be :)

Went to JC Penny and found him a pair of boots he was happy with. Granted they were slightly expensive, $70, but that's not THAT bad to be honest. And he's grown SO MUCH since last year. And that's pretty close to what his normal shoes cost, so I'm not arguing :)

Now, of course, I need to get me a pair as well :) Thankfully my feet won't be growing like his will!! Mine will usually last me 2-3 years.

Hmmm, what else. Oh oh I know!! I weighed myself this morning and I am 210.8 - so I lost 2 lbs since yesterday (don't ask, I have no freaking idea) and I was like - YES I AM WEARING MY SIZE 12's today!!! Bwahahahaha. And IF this stays off and goes down even a lbs or 2 more, then I am buying myself some size 12 jeans instead of 14's. I was going to get some more jeans anyways, now though, I'm all like SCORE. Because, they fit and are not too tight and just WOW. Love this!

I woke up at 4 am, after having some - ahem - interesting dreams, all in the mood. You know, The Mood. WTH ? I mean, it's all good and everything, but I had a hard time falling back asleep after that. Of course, I did - right before my alarm went off.  This turned into sleeping past said alarm and being *slightly* late to work, which thankfully is not an issue. Also, there was snow falling this morning :) So pretty!

My Demon Eye is starting to go away. This is what I am calling my bloodshot eye from the mucus tormenting it. Oh the joys! 1 eye is totally red and bloodshot and the other is fine. It's so weird. Just weird. But in a way, cool. I know, I know - I'm *weird* that way!!!

Hmmm, oh I really need to get my holiday cards in the mail. I plan on doing that tomorrow. I need to make sure I have everyone's address though!

I am sure I have other thoughts. They are evading me at the moment. I am still awash in the glow of size 12 jeans that fit well :)

Oh I know!! I also remembered at 4 something this morning, that I had more presents for the Kid. I even double checked my Amazon and yep, I didn't wrap those. Now, if I can just remember where the fuck I put them, that would be AWESOME. So, I will be searching the house tonight for them!! LOL.

And onto another busy day at work :D

Monday Madness!

I am feeling a lot better. I woke up today and just felt like "normal" with some added things of mucus escaping my body and not breathing easily, but other than that - I feel good!!

So yesterday, I woke up and my left eye is all scary red and bloodshot and had pus coming out. The right side of my face hurt so bad I wanted to cry, silently (because crying would have made it worse). I immediately did my Neti Pot to rinse out my sinuses, threw on some clothes and made sure I could move my car from the snow the previous day. Then I took my poor mucus stuffed head to Urgent Care and was told that I have Acute Sinusitis and Acute Bronchitis. They tested me for strep, but I could tell it wasn't that and looky I was right. So, I got me some antibiotics and then picked up a kick ass decongestant and am finally starting to feel like me again. I rested a lot yesterday, though I did get some laundry done and cleaned the floors downstairs. I did this a little bit at a time and just rested on the couch for the remainder.

We watched a lot of TV too. I tried to convince the Kid to go outside and play in the snow but he just looked at me all horrified that I would even suggest such a cold thing. Of course, last night we did head out briefly to look at some very beautiful Christmas lights in a town 10 minutes away and then he was all about playing in the snow. I'm like "See! I told you, you would have fun!" and he was all "I didn't know it was like this outside!" and I'm like "Duh! Which is why I said to go outside!!" and then we just laughed at each other because it was all kinds of silliness :)

Granted, I can still barely talk, though some might think that's a good thing! LOL. And my nose is all raw from blowing it. But my throat is not as sore! And I feel like I can think a bit more clearly now too :) Yay ! I think that by the end of this week I should almost 100% again, which is good since Yule is on Saturday :)

I also got all the Kids presents wrapped and under the tree. I have a few more for others to get done though, hopefully this week :)

This is going to be a busy week! Because, yeah - We have plans to see more Christmas lights, got to buy some winter boots for me and the Kid, get the oil changed in my car, Yule, and I have a company thing on Saturday night too. Then next week is Christmas. Since the Kid is now more firmly - there is NO Santa - well, then he only gets to open his stocking on Christmas. I will still make some kind of awesome breakfast though :) And I am planning on taking him to the movies :) I thinking it's going to be a new tradition - Stocking, Breakfast, Movies. Of course, this will change every other year since he will be with his Dad on those years. Those years, I think I might still stick with that Breakfast and Movies parts :)

I am looking forward to getting better, having fun this month and seeing what the New Year brings in :D Life is good :) Especially when you're happy :) And it's much MORE to be happy than not! Sometimes we need to remind ourselves of this - that it's all good and life moves on and why not be happy :)

Open and Honest

Let's have some open and honest communication shall we?

First things first! I am super excited to be going on a vacation with my BFF. On a cruise no less. Now, those of you that know me really well, know that I have this deep seeded fear of the ocean. Not so much drowning or anything like that. It's just that, to me, the ocean is this very incredibly powerful entity that if she got pissed off enough, she would basically burp and the US is the new Atlantis. That's all. Respect the ocean people!!!

So, I've never been one who wanted to willingly place my body on the ocean for any sort of journey. Because it would sort of be like tempting fate.

However, with the end of my marriage and life's upheavals, I decided (ok ok, I said FUCK IT!) that I need to face and (hopefully) conquer this fear. Of course, the timing was serendipitous because my BFF had contacted me about going on a cruise with her. Hmmm, now what would prompt someone who knows of this fear to ask me about a cruise? Well, I will call it Fate or intuition or something, because it's probably the most perfect thing ever.

Part of that awesomeness is that I've never ever been outside the US (tragic, I know) and now - well now I get to go 4 different ones! WOOT!!

Seriously, fucking excited and just a tad bit scared.

I am going to miss my kid though. Like, seriously miss him. Of course, he will be with his Dad for a portion of it and staying at home with another BFF who's watching my house. But still. I always have a really hard time when he's not home.

Open and honest - hmmm what else.

Well, some things just aren't anyone's business unless I include them in it. What does that mean, you might wonder? Oh, I don't know...my friends know what's going on with me. So does my family. Basically the ones that I care about and that care about me. Of course, I am a bit behind on catching some friends and family up on life. But that's normal. It would be too exhausting to keep everyone in the exact same loop! Not to mention they have their own life and issues going on. But I should try to schedule a girls night soon though. Which will probably happen AFTER the holidays are over!!

No, I don't go posting crazy shit on for status updates on facebook or anything like that. I haven't even had time to blog a whole lot lately (laundry anyone??) but I'm hoping that after the holiday season is over, things calm down again and life moves forward and things are good. I am really looking forward to that...

Weight is staying about the same. I've started walking at work though. I should probably stop getting breakfast from Dunkin' donuts if I really want to be better about my eating habits. Yes, well...it's the fucking holiday season so whatever!! And when winter really hits, not sure what I will do. Oh wait, you know inventory my ass off! LOL

The Kid

Let's see - He's a preteen, hormones are starting to get to him a bit. School life is rough in 7th grade...there seems to be a lot of fighting, arrests and bullying going on. Never easy that. He's doing good in his classes though. He has a couple good friends. I know he wishes he had more and/or that there were less assholes in his classes. I think we all wish there were less assholes in the world though. He plays a lot of video games, I think as do most boys his age. He's starting to exercise more though, which is always a good thing. He has such a big heart. He loves band. Loves it. Says he wants to do it in HS. Wow. Who knew!!! I'm so happy he's happy with it :)

He's been having it rough lately. With the divorce and issues with just everything going on, it's not easy. Plus, he usually takes a little time to digest it before he can talk about it. It's something I am keeping a very close eye on. Last night he was a bit of a wreck. I got a call from the school nurse saying he had a headache yesterday morning. I talked to him and honestly, he sounded very stressed out. I went and picked him and took him home. Had a good talk with him. He was upset and worried and just stressed out from everything. He needed a day away from school and some time to decompress. He freaked out because he didn't get something completed that he had wanted to. I told him not to worry, that he can complete it later and everything will work out fine. He was on the verge on tears, but after hearing that and knowing it was ok, he was a lot better.

I think he needs to upcoming holiday break and then winter break more than anything. Winter break will be nice, easy and relaxing :) Plus he gets presents, and that will be a nice distraction :)

We're going to the movies this Friday. I'm trying to get him out of the house a bit more, hanging with friends or just doing stuff together. Maybe we will go to the park and check out the skate part of it. Or just walk it.

Holiday Projects

I am thinking of going to Michael's this weekend to see about getting some supplies to make a wreathe and maybe some cute but easy ornaments for me and the Kid to do. I also want to go to Pier 1 to see if they have some cool ornaments :)

Ok, time to take my spayed kitty to the vet, it seems she's in heat. Yeah, that makes sense right!! Ugh!!

Thursday Thoughts

So I am sitting here thinking...and realize those thoughts just run run run away.

Hmmm



My period is starting to show itself, just a hint of it this morning. No wonder I've been craving chocolate and cookies and sex (sigh, I am really really missing sex right now). It will probably be a couple days before I get a full showing from Aunt Flo (the bitch) but at least it's basically staying on time.

Today, it's raining out and chilly. I love it. I wish I had a fireplace, that would be completely awesome. Maybe the next house. Or I can get a cabana and a fire pit or something. I love that smell of wood burning (safely) and gods, it's been centuries since I've actually MADE s'mores!

So instead I am drinking hot Chai tea, loaded up with sugar and creamer (the only way to drink it in my mind) and happily pretending I care 2 wits about work today.

Though I will say the rain makes my left knee hate me (stupid arthritis). And with my impending period, I'm really wanting to sleep (that is really, of course, a coma induced by chocolate, cookies and sex) and maybe actually read. I haven't read in days. DAYS. There is something seriously wrong with this picture! Last night, it was laundry and phone conversations (after chores and dinner). Both were needed and awesome, but I probably could have gone to sleep a tad bit earlier (love me some Jon Stewart!) and and and maybe I could have snuck in a half hour of reading. I could have!! Hmmm.

Tonight, I'm getting the Xmas totes down and going through those, so no reading tonight either for me. On the way home, I need to swing by the store and drop off some out going mail. And get a bottle of wine (ahem, it helps with the period and it tastes yummy).

Some big holidays are coming up. Thanksgiving, well that night I am flying to FLL to see my BFF and go on a cruise :) YES. No real plans for that day, at least none that involve much more than relaxing and double checking my bags!! The Kid will be with his Dad. One of my BFFs here is going to watch my house and kitties for me, which is awesome :)

Then there is Yule and Xmas. Yule, I have the kid and I am sure he will be ripping through his presents like a mad demon, which I will attempt to take pictures of. Christmas Eve and Christmas, shit I should look at the Calendar. I think I has him those days too, with the Ex getting him the day after and for a week. Which I think isn't that fair, he should get him one of those days as well...will talk to him again about that and see what he says.

Then it's New Years and I have got to think of something, DIFFERENT, to do this New Years. It's new in a lot of different ways and I want to remember it in a good way :)

I will have to ask my girlfriends and see what they have going on.

In other news, I doubt I will be painting this weekend! LOL
I need to get my ass in gear it seems.

Tomorrow night, it's THOR at the movies though = AWESOME

And my hair is starting to grow out! YES! I don't look so lesbian-ish (which is great if I was one, but I'm not and don't want to confuse people) and I need to Henna dye it again before my cruise!