It's 11:11, I'm leaving in 39 minutes, and I'm not coming back to work until Wednesday. I'm so happy I'm squeaking.
December 2006 Archives
We had a very scattered and illness-ridden (Mike was sick from Thursday on, courtesy of the pizza from his clients' holiday party, and at some point on Saturday, I started having similar stomach problems in spite of my lack of pizza consumption) Christmas, but it was a good one. In addition to my DS Lite, case, and games, I got the Roar dvd set (Heath Ledger in leather with fake Irish accent - heart!), my new favorite lip gloss, and a bat stamp from my sister and her husband (the lip gloss and stamp were stocking stuffers); a mousepad from the kids with a picture of them on it; a stoneware cookie sheet; Beanie Baby bat triplets from Bubba and Daisy; and a super-soft stuffed black and tan wiener dog and a vanilla cupcake candle from my brother.
On Thursday we had our celebration with the kids since they were going to be out of town on Christmas Eve and Day, and after opening our presents at home we went to my parents' house to celebrate Christmas with them.
The only Christmassy thing that happened on Friday was that I got some of the remaining presents wrapped. I thought about finishing more holiday cards, but didn't feel up to it.
Saturday felt like it should've been Christmas Eve regardless of what the calendar said, but again the day passed without anything very Christmassy happening. We did drop my car off at a tire place to have my tires balanced, then took it to my mechanic's because one of the tire studs (I think that's the right term, but I'm still pretty confused about all that) had broken off.
On Sunday I gave Mike his stocking and his last present (Perry Mason, Season 1, Vol. 2) and we went to my parents' house for a Christmas Eve dinner with my mother, sister, and her husband. In spite of a stopping to pick up my car from my mechanic's we made it home in time to meet B and S who had come over to bring us Christmas cookies, and once again, B made the gingerbread men anatomically correct. This year he even gave the gingerbread lady fingernails and red hair.
Christmas Day was very relaxed. We started the day off by cleaning up and watching The Princess Bride, then after that I alternated between watching episodes of Roar and helping Mike with his holiday song, and that evening we went out and got subs (no turkey for us this year) and watched Ju-on 2, about which all I will say right now is: meep.
My lab results came back normal, and I have an appointment with an allergist in January. I have to stop taking my allergy meds five days prior to that appointment, during which time I'm sure I will be nothing but sweetness, light, and gingerbread to all who cross my path.
I have a food journal that needs to be written in, two grocery lists that need to be written out, a budget to plan, several phone calls to make, 1,478* holiday cards to address and mail out, and 6.5* million receipts to enter in Money, not to mention the many work-related things I could be doing, yet I've spent the past hour or so reading new blogs. Motivation is a mythical creature today.
* possibly a teensy exaggeration
Somehow I forgot to write about the results of my appointment until now. The doctor said I probably had a virus. And that I should go see an allergist. And that they needed to run some tests to make sure my thyroid was okay and that I wasn't anemic. He also said that I need to start taking better care of myself (read: stop eating so much damn candy), and commented that my weight was down 20 lbs since last year, which is not the result that normally follows a diet of candy and junk food. They drew blood, I was brave, Mike held my hand, I got a Taz band-aid, and the next step is to 1.a) call the allergist and 1.b) wait for the test results.
Somehow I forgot to write about the results of my appointment until now. The doctor said I probably had a virus. And that I should go see an allergist. And that they needed to run some tests to make sure my thyroid was okay and that I wasn't anemic. He also said that I need to start taking better care of myself (read: stop eating so much damn candy), and commented that my weight was down 20 lbs since last year, which is not the result that normally follows a diet of candy and junk food. They drew blood, I was brave, Mike held my hand, I got a Taz band-aid, and the next step is to 1.a) call the allergist and 1.b) wait for the test results.
Chris's writing very rarely fails to make me laugh, but this entry struck me as particularly funny this morning:
If you forget to get some DayQuil while you're getting ready for work and have to run back upstairs to get it before you leave and happen hit the top of your hand against the corner of the banister as you scramble up the stairs, it will hurt. A lot. And it will still hurt an hour and a half later. Oddly enough, typing will make it hurt more.
I'd been putting off making part of my sister's Christmas present since May. I had the stuff I needed, but I kept telling myself that it would take a long time to do and just haven't gotten around to it. I was trying to get her Christmas stuff together yesterday before everyone came over, and I finally sat down and started sewing, thinking that even if I didn't get it completed, at least I'd have a decent start on it. It took me less than 20 minutes. I am disgusted that I talked myself into putting something that quick off for several months.
Friday's mail brought me a summons for jury duty, and I'm only going to be on call from 1/19/07 to 2/2/07. I'm a little disappointed that I won't be on call for longer, unless I get selected for a trial that exceeds that service period. I'm also not too thrilled that I won't be able to bring my cell phone with me. How can I take pictures without my camera phone? But then, I suppose that's part of the reason they aren't allowed. From what I've read online it doesn't sound like I'll be able to bring my DS with me either. Hopefully Jax and Lucky* will understand.
* Lucky is my second Nintendog. He's a long-haired red doxie (of course).
So Thursday was my birthday, and Mike spoiled me rotten. In addition to my pretty, pretty mixer, he made a picture of me (and posted it on the basement and MySpace as well), told me happy birthday as soon as I woke up, called me several times during the day to check and see if I was having a good birthday, and took me to Long John Silvers/A&W for dinner after we went to the gym. Cheese curds are a fantastic way to end a birthday, don't you think? Between him spoiling me and the phone calls from various family members throughout the day, I had a fantastic 26th birthday. The birthday wishes continued with a phone call from A and N on Friday, a call from my niece A Saturday morning, a birthday dinner with B and S Saturday night, and then yesterday morning my mom baked and brought over an angel food cake, and she and my dad, my sister and her husband, Z, N, and Mike all helped me celebrate my birthday again. I am the luckiest wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, niece ever.
After the first body has been found:
Mike - "It's Mrs. Greeley."
Me - "No way. It's the movie producer guy."
When Mrs. Greeley calls to give Perry the shirt he was looking for:
Mike - "Oh yeah. It's her."
Me - "Not possible. It's the movie producer."
After the second body has been found:
Mike - "It is so Mrs. Greeley."
Me - "It's definitely the movie guy."
After Perry gets a courtroom confession from Mrs. Greeley:
Mike - "Ha! I told you so!"
Me - "...damn. You were right."
Make sure you have enough room to clear the banister before you bend over to pick up a sweatshirt from in front of the puppy kennel, otherwise you'll have a lovely red bump over your eyebrow when you take your husband to pick up his truck.
I have an appointment for Monday! No more baby elephant-squashed, snot-filled, sinusy misery!
Oh, look, my weather-induced sinus problems haven't gone away. What started off on Saturday as a baby elephant on my chest has now turned into what feels like a full-fledged sinus/ear infection. I was up twice last night because I was having problems breathing, which didn't do wonders for my outlook on things this morning, and I'm at the point where even rubbing alcohol doesn't make my ears feel better. Time for another visit to the doctor!
In the past five hours I have gotten no less than six e-mails about perpetual oysters - Oyster Perpetual Day-Date, Oyster Perpetual Day-Date Full Gold, Oyster Perpetual Datejust Two Tone, Oyster Perpetual Date GMT-Master II, and Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master, to be specific.
I spent a lot of time in Jiffy Lube yesterday, and several people came and went while I was sitting there not-so-patiently waiting for them to finish with Mike's truck. One of those people was an old man who had not brought entertainment with him like I had, which meant he needed something to occupy himself with while he waited. When it got to the point where he and I were the only two people in the waiting room, he commented on my eyebrow ring, asking why I'd gotten it and letting me know that it didn't look good. Then he informed me that body piercing very rarely adds anything to anyone's appearance and asked if I'd done it to be different, to make a statement. I told him that I'd gotten it done because I liked the way it looked and then pointed out that at one point body piercing was different, but now that so many people are getting it done, I don't think it's much of a statement anymore. Thinking the conversation was over, I went back to my book, only to be interrupted several times with more questions (about my work, my family, my background) and commentary (the war, his grandchildren, how the middle class is being squeezed thanks to outsourcing and the hiring of illegal aliens). I remained polite, but every time I thought it was safe to go back to my reading, he started talking again. I was very happy when the Jiffy Lube guy came in and told him his car was ready.
The other side of yesterday's eyebrow ring love/hate coin is that while I was waiting at BW3 to pick up our food, a guy at the counter told me he liked my eyebrow ring. Rarely do I see things balance out that quickly.
Side note: I called in the order and was told it would be ready in 15 minutes. I got there after the 15 minutes were up and ended up waiting another half an hour. This is why I bring a book with me everywhere.
I went to the Dachshund Rescue of North America site to make a donation in memory of Tasha, and I made the mistake of clicking on a picture of a dog with "please help" on it. In the future I need to go directly to the "make a donation" part because looking at and reading about all those little dogs that need help leaves me wanting to scoop them all up and take them home. Dory in particular broke my heart, especially when I read that she can't walk (she'll need three surgeries before that'll be possible), but in spite of the pain, she "army crawls" to her people. Argh. Even my Grinch heart hurts for her.
My birthday present from Mike came today - the black KitchenAid Professional 600 6 quart stand mixer I've been looking at for the past several months. It came with a pouring shield, flat paddle, dough hook, and wire whip. Isn't it beautiful?
We went to N's winter concert last night, and one of the songs on the playlist was the Grinch song. As soon as she saw it, H nudged me and said, "They're playing your favorite Christmas song."
One of Miss Doxie's four very short, very bad dachshunds died suddenly on Saturday. I've never met her or her doxies, but I've been reading her site for a couple of years now and am more than a little bit attached to her dogs, so this makes me very sad. Poor little Tasha.
It's not that I'm ungrateful for the mid-spring-ish weather we had yesterday, it's just that I'm tired of the back-and-forth. Friday was freezing, so cold that even with the thermostat set on 75, the house still felt chilly, whereas yesterday, as I mentioned in my first sentence, felt like mid-spring. It wasn't tank top weather for me just yet (although in years past I would've leapt the opportunity to put on one of my spaghetti-strapped friends), but it was warm enough that I didn't need my jacket for most of the time I was outside, even though I was wearing a t-shirt. The perpetual uncertainty of what season to dress for is annoying, but even higher on my list of reasons why I hate the indecisive weather are the sinus problems that always seem to come with temperature changes. I'm not a fan.
Aside from that, the weekend was pretty good. H and I did lots of crafty things, most of which involved painting wooden ornaments, but she also started on making Christmas cards for her friends too. I gave her the ink pads I'd bought for her to start her own stamping kit, and while we were in A.C. Moore on Saturday I let her pick out a holiday stamp for that too. I also got started on the present wrapping, which is quite a change for me. Normally I wait until the last minute then try to get help from anyone I can sucker into it. My goal for this week is to mail the packages to our nieces and nephews, and once that's accomplished, all I'll have to do is pick up the last few Christmas gifts for friends and family that don't have to be mailed.
Last night's dream wasn't scary in the least, but was a very odd one about people from work getting fired. I'm pretty tired though. I've been going to the gym before work in the mornings this week, and while I miss getting the little bit of extra sleep, I really like the way I feel knowing that even if Mike and I don't get to the gym when he gets home from work in the evening, at least I've done something for the day.
Thinking about putting your Vans in your gym bag is not the same as actually putting them there. Also, running shoes do not look too great with work clothes.
I thought I'd mentioned these when I first wrote about Shop Doxie, but apparently that isn't quite how it happened. Normally I'm not much of a button person, but these have made it onto my wishlist. They're all cute, but I can't figure out which I like better - "short, brown, mad" or "did not do it."
Another nightmare, another less-than restful night. I woke up a couple of times during this one too, but thankfully there wasn't the same feeling of something in the room. The dream was kind of like the Saw movies in that different people died at separate times, but there wasn't any one person masterminding it; only two of the deaths were even related. The dream left me unsettled enough to ask for a hug when I came back in from taking the puppykins out, and when I went back to bed, Mike laid down and snuggled with me for a little bit until I felt better. I couldn't find exactly the right words to tell him how he makes everything better, and I still can't say it in a way that I believe completely expresses the feeling, but snuggling with him fills all the cracks and holes where things aren't quite perfect and makes me feel like they are.
The headset to your work phone is absolutely useless at home, so when leaving for the day, please remember to take it off. If you think about taking your headset off 15 or so minutes before leaving, it's a good idea to go ahead and do it then because the next time you remember it will probably be when you are driving out of the parking lot.
If your keys are in your jacket pocket, be very careful about swinging your jacket as you put it on. Them being in a pocket does not do anything to make getting hit in the face with said keys feel any less painful.
I have been without my precious internet most of the day, and while that has done wonders for my productivity at all things work-related, I was Not Happy, although I did manage to call the eye doctor and schedule appointments for us tomorrow. I've had that on my "do today" list for over a week, and I'm so happy they had two appointments open. And now that I once again have the internet, there are lots of things I need to catch up on.
I was Googling one of the screen names I use on various forums and came across someone with the same screen name, age, and wedding date as me. According to her profile, she lives on the East Coast too. And to ice this unusual cupcake, I got a major sense of deja vu while typing this, but I can't recall anything like this ever happening before.
I'm catching up on reading Gretchen's entries at The Happiness Project, and this quote from one of her recent entries really fits in with my current goals: "Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; and where there is no talebearer, strife ceases."Proverbs 26:20
I got my order from Shop Doxie today! I'm not biased at all, but still, Miss Doxie has done a wonderful job. The necklace was packaged beautifully and came with a lovely little thank you card, which I thought was a nice touch. I'm not sure if her doxies were involved in the making or packaging of my necklace, but the puppykins were extremely interested in both the package and the necklace. Usually they only give that kind of attention to food or my face.
Last night I had my first nightmare in a couple of weeks. I woke up several times throughout the course of it, and each time I woke up terrified, like there was something malevolent in the room, watching me and biding its time until I fell back asleep. At one point I tucked the covers under my left side and leg before I went back to sleep, and that must have been what I needed because I don't remember waking up again until 6. When I woke up that time it was from another dream, one where I had overslept and hadn't been able to wake A up in time (last night he asked me to wake him up at 6:30). I woke up from that dream pretty stressed until I looked at the clock and realized that I still had some time left, but at least I wasn't worried that something evil was waiting for me to close my eyes.
