Hi folks! If there's any still around that read this ;)
I am sorry I've not posted, or even replied to the messages and comments I got asking if I was still among the living. I have noticed I write posts like this semi regularly. Almost seasonally. It's probably a perfect case study for some psych experiment.
Anyway! Life has been chugging along here at my chaotic home. Christopher and I are doing fine, though we have kind of gotten into a rut with date night and let it slide a few too many times. So, we've started actually going out. Now we LOVE going to Fatz for drinks and dessert on a Friday or Saturday night. It's fun. :) They make an amazing version of Long Island Iced tea using Jack Daniels, they call Tennessee Tea. So so good.
Also, Dixie, our latest canine addition had puppies toward the end of March. They're 5 weeks old now. Two are shaggy little black and tan mops, a boy and a girl (Mr. Wiggles and Belle). The third is a very short haired brindle girl who might have the pug down the street as a daddy. We know the shaggy dog that's the other two's daddy, but Brin seems to be the oddball. She's really kind of aggressive too, and hates to be held. She might be afraid of heights since she fell off the bed once. Corina is pretty sure she's taking Mr. Wiggles when they're a little older. I'd like them to learn to play more together for a couple more weeks. I'd rather not get stuck with the other two puppies, but they are cuties, so I'm hoping we'll find them forever homes soon. Then Dix is getting spayed, and finally all our animals will be fixed.
(Puppy pix soon I hope!)
Let's see, what else. Oh, my back has gone out 3 times in the last month. One time we wondered if it was the beginning of Shingles since the pain was so deep and so intense, but I never got a rash. My back was broken in 3 places in a car wreck in 1989 when I was 18. They didn't know it was broken until it was too late and healed wrong. Now, where you have a nice curve to your spine, mine is an angle. It's always hurt, but over 23 years, I got used to it. But I guess now, age is taking hold and my muscles can't compensate like they used to (same for my eyesight so the Dr says). I've not seen a Dr for my back, but I can guess what he'll say. I do want to try a chiropractor one more time, now that I have a good insurance plan. I know I can't keep living in fear of doing something to my back.
Some of the things we tried to make me more comfortable so I can keep working (since I sit at my desk at home 8.5 hours a night at work.), was to switch my chair for Christopher's chair. His is an older leather businessman's chair. We got in on craigslist from a retired bank officer. It has surprisingly good back support, where mine really didn't anymore. Then someone said maybe the table I was using as a deck was too tall and my workspace was not conducive to a healthy shift at work. So, I decided to go ahead and do something I'd kind of been thinking about anyway... we switched the round dining table I'd been using as my desk for my old desk which had been placed in the kitchen as a breakfast bar.
As much as I liked the look of that old library desk in my kitchen, it was just not a useable space. It was loaded with appliances we hardly ever used and what "counter" space there was left on it was always piled with junk. It was always a raging hotspot. So, I put the coffee maker and the waffle iron on top of the pantry. Before, I just had empty canisters and jars up there, so this is a much better use of the space. The canisters actually fit perfectly on the floor under the sideboard, in case I ever need them again, but at least they're out of the way.
The toaster which does get used a lot is now plugged in and on the counter next to the stove. The spices which were in the desk drawer are now in a drawer next to the stove that wasn't really holding anything necessary before either.
And now, we have an actual table in the kitchen. I had never really thought of having it where it is, since the way the lighting is placed, it should be over where the sideboard is. But I LOVE it where it is! It's perfect as extra counterspace. I have a big work area where I can spread stuff out to make dinner, make and pack lunches, and even fold laundry at night while I'm watching TV. The girls love it because they can eat breakfast there. So, it's been named the breakfast table.
Laundry has really gotten behind with my back being out so much. It's the one thing no one seems to take up the slack on. They'll clean up, dump garbage, do dishes, but not laundry. Slowly but surely, I'm getting it all caught up though. I just hate the mountain of sheets and comforters.
I've been spending a ton of time on Tumblr. I'm not a huge fan of Pinterest. It's nice stuff to look at, but I am a total geek fangirl at heart, and Tumblr is much more my style. If any of you watch Once Upon a Time, maybe you can understand the obsession I have with it haha! In fact I adore Robert Carlyle who plays Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold so much that I watched all 40 episodes of Stargate Universe because he starred on it. And then I did something I felt was kind of adventurous.
I found out that Carlyle's new movie, California Solo was going to be at the Nashville Film Festival. I found out about a week beforehand. So, I looked at the budget and how much time off I had, and decided to go for it. I had Corina take me to Enterprise and I rented a car for the day, and they upgraded me due to being a frequent customer. I got a Chevy HHR which was really nice. Christopher couldn't get time off to go with me, so I pulled Rhiannon out of school a little early that day and we took off. Nashville is 4 hours from here, plus it's in a different time zone, so we had an extra hour there too. We had a couple hours to spend at the mall next to the theater and were kind of awkwardly shocked. The mall was full of stores like Macy's, Michale Kors, Louis Vuitton, Kate Spade, Mac, Godiva, etc. Crazy posh stuff. But it was fun to window shop, and we'd dressed kind of fancy for the festival, so we didn't feel like slobs at least LOL!
The movie was great. Not like a normal Hollywood blockbuster. It's a small indy film, and done as a narrative on this guy's life, just a little chunk of it. But so so well acted.
Also, totally out of the norm for me, when I took the girls to the carnival Saturday night, I rode the Fireball all by myself. I actually LOVE carnival rides and roller coasters, but I hadn't really been on one in many years and many pounds LOL. So it was kind of unnerving to be hanging upside down, all 233 lbs of me, held up by nothing but that strap that was just casually locked by some carnival dude. But once I realized it was going to hold, and my death would not be all over the papers,.. I relaxed and screamed and had a blast.
Today, I went with Corina to the bridal shop and we ordered her wedding dress. I also bought the stamps for the invitations and I got them all printed, and we worked on assembling them this afternoon. Still have to print the RSVP cards and papers with directions. She was just fired from the Waffle House, but is set on getting married anyway. Guess they're not any worse off than we were when we first got married. At least they have each other.
Tonight was Rhiannon's Show Choir and the Jazz Band concert. They did good. Tomorrow is Faelyn's last chorus concert. She's not doing chorus in high school, so I hope we can get good photos and maybe a video. Then Friday is Rhiannon's big end of year chorus concert. I got time off for the concerts tonight and tomorrow, and am off Friday. Busy time of year!
Hopefully I'll blog again soon with some photos of puppies and kids singing and my poor chaotic kitchen.
I am sorry I've not posted, or even replied to the messages and comments I got asking if I was still among the living. I have noticed I write posts like this semi regularly. Almost seasonally. It's probably a perfect case study for some psych experiment.
Anyway! Life has been chugging along here at my chaotic home. Christopher and I are doing fine, though we have kind of gotten into a rut with date night and let it slide a few too many times. So, we've started actually going out. Now we LOVE going to Fatz for drinks and dessert on a Friday or Saturday night. It's fun. :) They make an amazing version of Long Island Iced tea using Jack Daniels, they call Tennessee Tea. So so good.
Also, Dixie, our latest canine addition had puppies toward the end of March. They're 5 weeks old now. Two are shaggy little black and tan mops, a boy and a girl (Mr. Wiggles and Belle). The third is a very short haired brindle girl who might have the pug down the street as a daddy. We know the shaggy dog that's the other two's daddy, but Brin seems to be the oddball. She's really kind of aggressive too, and hates to be held. She might be afraid of heights since she fell off the bed once. Corina is pretty sure she's taking Mr. Wiggles when they're a little older. I'd like them to learn to play more together for a couple more weeks. I'd rather not get stuck with the other two puppies, but they are cuties, so I'm hoping we'll find them forever homes soon. Then Dix is getting spayed, and finally all our animals will be fixed.
(Puppy pix soon I hope!)
Let's see, what else. Oh, my back has gone out 3 times in the last month. One time we wondered if it was the beginning of Shingles since the pain was so deep and so intense, but I never got a rash. My back was broken in 3 places in a car wreck in 1989 when I was 18. They didn't know it was broken until it was too late and healed wrong. Now, where you have a nice curve to your spine, mine is an angle. It's always hurt, but over 23 years, I got used to it. But I guess now, age is taking hold and my muscles can't compensate like they used to (same for my eyesight so the Dr says). I've not seen a Dr for my back, but I can guess what he'll say. I do want to try a chiropractor one more time, now that I have a good insurance plan. I know I can't keep living in fear of doing something to my back.
Some of the things we tried to make me more comfortable so I can keep working (since I sit at my desk at home 8.5 hours a night at work.), was to switch my chair for Christopher's chair. His is an older leather businessman's chair. We got in on craigslist from a retired bank officer. It has surprisingly good back support, where mine really didn't anymore. Then someone said maybe the table I was using as a deck was too tall and my workspace was not conducive to a healthy shift at work. So, I decided to go ahead and do something I'd kind of been thinking about anyway... we switched the round dining table I'd been using as my desk for my old desk which had been placed in the kitchen as a breakfast bar.
As much as I liked the look of that old library desk in my kitchen, it was just not a useable space. It was loaded with appliances we hardly ever used and what "counter" space there was left on it was always piled with junk. It was always a raging hotspot. So, I put the coffee maker and the waffle iron on top of the pantry. Before, I just had empty canisters and jars up there, so this is a much better use of the space. The canisters actually fit perfectly on the floor under the sideboard, in case I ever need them again, but at least they're out of the way.
The toaster which does get used a lot is now plugged in and on the counter next to the stove. The spices which were in the desk drawer are now in a drawer next to the stove that wasn't really holding anything necessary before either.
And now, we have an actual table in the kitchen. I had never really thought of having it where it is, since the way the lighting is placed, it should be over where the sideboard is. But I LOVE it where it is! It's perfect as extra counterspace. I have a big work area where I can spread stuff out to make dinner, make and pack lunches, and even fold laundry at night while I'm watching TV. The girls love it because they can eat breakfast there. So, it's been named the breakfast table.
Laundry has really gotten behind with my back being out so much. It's the one thing no one seems to take up the slack on. They'll clean up, dump garbage, do dishes, but not laundry. Slowly but surely, I'm getting it all caught up though. I just hate the mountain of sheets and comforters.
I've been spending a ton of time on Tumblr. I'm not a huge fan of Pinterest. It's nice stuff to look at, but I am a total geek fangirl at heart, and Tumblr is much more my style. If any of you watch Once Upon a Time, maybe you can understand the obsession I have with it haha! In fact I adore Robert Carlyle who plays Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold so much that I watched all 40 episodes of Stargate Universe because he starred on it. And then I did something I felt was kind of adventurous.
I found out that Carlyle's new movie, California Solo was going to be at the Nashville Film Festival. I found out about a week beforehand. So, I looked at the budget and how much time off I had, and decided to go for it. I had Corina take me to Enterprise and I rented a car for the day, and they upgraded me due to being a frequent customer. I got a Chevy HHR which was really nice. Christopher couldn't get time off to go with me, so I pulled Rhiannon out of school a little early that day and we took off. Nashville is 4 hours from here, plus it's in a different time zone, so we had an extra hour there too. We had a couple hours to spend at the mall next to the theater and were kind of awkwardly shocked. The mall was full of stores like Macy's, Michale Kors, Louis Vuitton, Kate Spade, Mac, Godiva, etc. Crazy posh stuff. But it was fun to window shop, and we'd dressed kind of fancy for the festival, so we didn't feel like slobs at least LOL!
The movie was great. Not like a normal Hollywood blockbuster. It's a small indy film, and done as a narrative on this guy's life, just a little chunk of it. But so so well acted.
Also, totally out of the norm for me, when I took the girls to the carnival Saturday night, I rode the Fireball all by myself. I actually LOVE carnival rides and roller coasters, but I hadn't really been on one in many years and many pounds LOL. So it was kind of unnerving to be hanging upside down, all 233 lbs of me, held up by nothing but that strap that was just casually locked by some carnival dude. But once I realized it was going to hold, and my death would not be all over the papers,.. I relaxed and screamed and had a blast.
Today, I went with Corina to the bridal shop and we ordered her wedding dress. I also bought the stamps for the invitations and I got them all printed, and we worked on assembling them this afternoon. Still have to print the RSVP cards and papers with directions. She was just fired from the Waffle House, but is set on getting married anyway. Guess they're not any worse off than we were when we first got married. At least they have each other.
Tonight was Rhiannon's Show Choir and the Jazz Band concert. They did good. Tomorrow is Faelyn's last chorus concert. She's not doing chorus in high school, so I hope we can get good photos and maybe a video. Then Friday is Rhiannon's big end of year chorus concert. I got time off for the concerts tonight and tomorrow, and am off Friday. Busy time of year!
Hopefully I'll blog again soon with some photos of puppies and kids singing and my poor chaotic kitchen.