Cuteness

I finally remembered to send these pictures to myself at work, so that I could share them with you (because apparently it's too much trouble to log into blogger on my own time to post them. Hee). Behold, the cuteness that is Bernie, sharing his crate with J's dogs.

First up, Bernie and Duff, looking oh so cute and comfortable together. They really are good friends - the only thing is, Duff has to remind Bernie sometimes that he's just too freaking big to be playing rough with.

And, looking slightly less comfortable together, Bernie and Rosebud. I love this one - Bernie just doesn't look like he knows what to do with her right there. He doesn't really have room to lay down, but he's too nice to kick her out. What's a dog to do?

Also, I've been really enjoying a new band that I found, and I want to share. If you love rock 'n roll, especially when it has its roots in the good classic stuff from the 70s, then you should check out Wolfmother. I bought their CD with my Target gift card, and I've been listening to it almost daily since. I especially love the song "Joker and the Thief." It's really good rock. Even J loves it, and he doesn't like new stuff! So I feel safe recommending it.

Okay, that's all I have to say for now. Have a great day, everyone!

Low-key weekend

J and I had a very relaxing, low key weekend. It was nice - lots of not doing much at all, which is just how a weekend should be. There were naps (for him - I don't nap), and grocery shopping, and Sim playing (for me), reading, college basketball watching and DVD watching as well. It's just the perfect way to spend a weekend, if you ask me.

The DVD that we watched was Rocky Balboa. It was a good movie, I thought. I'm not a huge Rocky fan (J is way more into them than I am), but I enjoyed it, and without saying anything to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, I think that it was exactly what it needed to be, given Rocky's age. It was an enjoyable couple of hours.

So, I did my taxes. I normally have them done by February, because I want my money back as soon as possible. This time, however, I had made a rather significant amount of money at freelance copyediting, none of which was taxed, and I knew I was going to owe money, so I put off doing them. And boy, do I owe! Over $1,000 between federal and state. Sigh. I loved getting that editing money in, but man I am not enjoying the thought of paying that much back in taxes. Oh well. Thank goodness they'll let me pay in installments.

And as if I wasn't paying out enough money in taxes and labwork bills that the stupid insurance company won't pay even though I think they should, I also need to get a new roof. Now, it's not as bad as it sounds, because I don't need to do the whole roof yet - I only need to do the part over the living room extension and the front porch. Still, I'm afraid of how much it's going to cost, I really am. I love owning my own home, but man it would be easier if the house was new instead of over 100 years old and slowly trying to fall apart on me.

Anyway. This entry is going in a whole depressing direction that I didn't intend, so let's turn it around, shall we? Um. Okay, I wish I had a nice picture to post or something, but they're all on my home computer (and I'm at work). So. I'll just say Happy Monday to you! And wrap this up. I hope you all had great weekends, too. And don't let Monday get you down!

Happiness Is...

A pile of milk chocolate Mega M&M's on a yellow note pad at work, just waiting for me to eat them. Mmm, lots of chocolate, a crunchy candy shell, and such pretty colors! :)

So how long has it been since I've posted in here? A week? Maybe more? Sorry about that - I seem to have gotten out of the blogging habit. So, let's play a little catch-up, shall we?

Um, not that I have much to say about what's happened, because not much has. My brother showed up at my house out of the blue a couple of weeks ago. I hadn't seen him since 2001, when I kicked him out of my house (he was sponging off, er, living with me for a few months, until I reached my breaking point that January and kicked him out), so it was a big surprise. He hasn't changed much - just looks older and way more worn out by life. I guess how you live really does show on your face, because he looks way older than he really is. It's sad, really.

Anyway, we visited for half an hour or so, and then he hit the road, and I haven't heard from him since. I think he was scoping things out to see if he could stay there, but luckily J was there, and I wasn't overly welcoming (I wasn't inhospitable, really, I just wasn't really open and friendly), so I think he decided to look for someone else to sponge off of. Which is fine by me - I'm happier when he's a few states away. Sad, but true.

Other than that, not much has been going on. J and I went to see Ghost Riders, which I loved. We went to Target last week, where I used the remainder of my Christmas gift certificate to buy a new book and a new CD, plus some turkey for lunch, and wound up with .18 cents left on my gift card. Hee. It's crazy that they didn't just give me the change, but whatever. At least I got a couple of new things.

J ordered me a new pair of sneakers, because my old red ones are all worn out and getting stinky, and plus he rocks.

And I'm still completely obsessed with my Sims. I'd be playing all day every day if I didn't have a job. It's probably a good thing I'm not rich, because if I were, I'd just buy myself a super gaming computer and probably never leave the house again. Sigh. It's a crazy obsession, but I love it.

Oh! And the most exciting news, is that Willow is starting to learn to play! I adopted her from the SPCA a year and a half ago, and she never showed any interest in toys - it's like she didn't even know what they were for. But lately she's been seeing J's dogs playing with their toys, and she seems to have picked up the idea from them. I went home last night, and after I got them out and fed, she was having a lot of fun in the living room, playing with a stuffed hamburger. It was so cute. I wanted to get a picture, but I didn't know where my camera was, and if I had gone searching for it, she would have stopped playing anyway. Trust me, though - it was very cute. And I'm really glad she's learning to have fun.

And I thought I had something else to say, but now I can't remember what it was, so that's all for now. I hope you all are doing well! Thanks for continuing to read!

New Day, New 'tude

In a 180 degree turnaround from yesterday, today I am in a great mood. I'm full of energy (the soda I'm drinking might be helping with that), and I'm all smiles and happiness.

I am a riddle that will constantly keep you guessing. :)

And, in the spirit of this better mood, I bring you: Things that are making me happy today:

1. J
2. Sarah, Jamie and Debbie (their boss)
3. Diet Pepsi
4. Winning a free soda with the cap of the one I'm drinking. Woo!
5. The chocolate chip muffin I had at lunch. Yum.
6. My pants are fitting looser than they did last week, even though I haven't lost any weight (strange).
7. Drawing good teams in the office NCAA basketball pool thing (Texas and Butler for me, Maryland for J).
8. I'll be getting my office area back to myself next week, which means I can once again turn my music up a little bit higher.
9. Ice Breakers sours.
10. Getting a couple of compliments at work.
11. Sims stories online (they keep me sane between tasks at work). For those of you who aren't Sims people, these are stories that people write around the Sims that they're playing in their game. They upload the albums online for people to read. There are some incredibly bad ones out there, but there are also some really good ones, and the good ones are fun ways to pass time. Also, they have the side effect of making me want to play my game, and the best ones make me want to write, too.
12. That it got up to 60 degrees outside today. I love spring!
13. That J tarped my roof, where the shingles need to be replaced, so I don't have to worry about it raining into my living room. Yay!
14. Getting stuff done at work.
15. Writing in here. :)

Things that are annoying me today

1. Work
2. PMS
3. That Jamie is being moved out of our building at work, to the other side of campus. :( We’ll miss him.
4. Moodiness
5. My inability to get my eating back under control.
6. Being broke.
7. My stinky, worn out shoes.
8. That I’ll never win the lottery, because I don’t play it. Sigh.
9. That I have trouble coming up with entry ideas lately, and don’t have the energy to carry forward with the ideas I have. (I had an idea yesterday to write an entry about how J and I went to the movies on Saturday, and we had to wait outside the theater doors, because the previous showing was still running, and we actually talked to the people around us, making small connections where we would normally have not even paid them any attention at all. It was going to be a well written entry that you would have loved, but sadly, it never saw the light of day. Sigh.)
10. That I need to do my taxes, and I’m afraid I’ll have to pay, and I am broke (see number 6).
11. Sitting outside of my boss’ office, with a steady stream of people coming in and out and stopping to chat, when I just want to be alone to do what I need to do.
12. Life in general, right now, excluding certain people (J, Sarah, Jamie, Sally) and certain animals.
13. Yahoo radio, which keeps playing me unrated stuff on a channel that I have set to play my favorites. Sigh.
14. It’s hot in my office. I hate being hot.
15. That after I wrote number 13, Yahoo tried to redeem themselves by playing Chuck Berry. Grr. You can’t get me in a good mood that easily, sorry Yahoo.
16. Me, for writing about stuff that is annoying me. Like you really want to read that! Geez. I’ll be in a better mood next time I write, I promise.

So this is what alone was like...

So, apparently I’ve forgotten how to be alone in my own house. J has been off on a mini-training thing for work, so I’ve been on my own for a few days. I knew I would miss him, but I didn’t know how weird it would be. For a house with nine (9!!!) animals in it, it gets awfully quiet there at night when I’m the only person there! The animals all lie down and go to sleep shortly after they get their dinner, and then it’s just me. Me, sitting at my Sims computer, playing and watching TV at the same time. And then I get bored, so I read. And I get lonely, and jump for the phone when it rings. And I wonder, how in the world did I used to spend just about every single night of my life alone, and not lose my mind? I mean, seriously.

Of course, I haven’t turned my IM on, either. That would help, because I could chat with Sarah if she’s online, or I could pester Jamie. I’m kind of out of the IM habit, though, so I didn’t even think of it. Oh well.

And living alone for these few days has been bad for me in other ways – I’ve completely regressed on my eating habits. When J is there, we somehow manage to have real food for dinner every night. Even if it’s just hot dogs and frozen French fries, we cook something up. It’s worth the effort if there are two people eating it. But since I’ve been by myself I haven’t cooked a damn thing. Monday night I had pretzel nuggets and cheese (soft cheddar cheese, that the pretzels get dipped into, yum) for dinner. Tuesday night I had a potato chip sandwich and a Krispy Kreme donut. Wednesday it was the pretzels and cheese again. Yup. It’s bad. Of course, the reason I was eating those things is because we didn’t get groceries this weekend, and I was out of real food for the most part (at least without thawing something out). Not that I would have cooked real food anyway, but at least I would have gotten some cereal and milk and had that for dinner. I was going to get groceries Monday night, but the weather was really bad, and the roads were worse, so I went straight home and stayed there. Tuesday night I couldn’t get groceries, because I had to go to a meeting after work and then I had to go straight home to take care of the dogs. The food situation got pretty desperate at that point, but the personal hygiene situation was even worse. I would have run out of body wash today, and I ran out of deodorant on Wednesday. Luckily the weather got better, and I got groceries after work on Wednesday, so my coworkers didn’t need to avert their noses when I walked by. :) But, even though I got groceries last night, I still ate pretzels and cheese for dinner. Hee.

Still, though – it turns out that you only have to live the life of a couple for a short while before you completely forget how to be single without losing your mind. I’m going to be so glad to see J walk back in that door tonight. I missed you, J! I knew I would, but I didn’t know how much.

Grateful

Things for which I am grateful today:

*My J.
*My friends.
*My family.
*Sims 2 Seasons, which I love.
*Also, that I got to play it last night and get to play it tonight, too.
*That J is going to sit with me while I play it tonight, and feign interest, because he’s sweet that way.
*A sunny day before the ice storm we’re supposed to get tonight. Sigh.
*My dogs.
*My cats
*J’s dogs.
*Especially McDuff, who is just cuter than any dog should ever be allowed to be.
*Internet radio.
*That I’ll have enough paid time off (PTO) to cover my sick days from last week, so my paycheck won’t be short.
*That I accrue more PTO every day that I work.
*My mp3 player.
*That I just overheard a coworker ask another coworker if August was the 8th month. Ha! Did she really need verification on that?
*All of the wonderful blogs that I read on a daily basis (see sidebar).
*Sims stories on the Sims2 website.
*Lactaid chocolate milk (which I’m almost out of, hint hint).
*Adobe Illustrator, which makes my job kind of fun sometimes.
*My job. As much as I would rather be at home all day, I’m grateful to have a decent job working for a decent company.
*Stupid state laws: http://www.dumblaws.com/laws/united-states/new-york/
*Payment plans. I got hit with a bill from NY State for over $500, because an error was made on my taxes in 2003. Ugh! Also, my stupid insurance won’t cover the lab work from a routine physical, because the doctor put down that she was ordering it “because of family history.” Blue Cross/Blue Shield Excellus sucks. But payment plans save my life.
*The new banner that Sarah made for my site, so that it could stop looking all wintery. Thank you Sarah! (Look for it to be up soon.)
*That Gracie didn't get hurt yesterday, when she ran into the kitchen like her tail was on fire, jumped up to the top of the fridge, and ran into the water box (there is a picture of Zelda in it in the previous entry), knocking it, and herself, off the fridge onto the floor. Hee. Silly Gracie.
*That all you fine people stop by here to read my quiet little blog about my quiet little life.

Kitties

For your viewing pleasure:

Zelda, in a water box wrapped in plastic, on top of the fridge. J calls it her "oxygen tent," hee.

And now, I present to you - kitties getting around the blockade. We put this baby gate on the futon to keep the kitties off it. It works pretty well, doesn't it? On top is Lucy, mushing in the top of the mattress. And UNDER the gate, is Gracie. Such a cutie. But a bad kitty. :)

I love this shot. Gracie is something else.

Week's News

A week has gone by since our big snow storm, and things have gotten a bit better. We had a warm day yesterday, so some melting started happening, so for the first time in a while, I can see the wood on the floor of the porch! Very exciting. It's almost the end of February, so my hope is springing eternal that before we know it the snow will be melting away and spring will be here. I'm optimistic like that.

So, I guess I owe you a bit of catching up. The end of last week was pretty low key, after all of the snow. Work happened, and J worked a little bit later than usual on Friday, so he brought us home subs for dinner. Mmm, cheeseburger sub from Jreck's. Love it.

Saturday we went to the SU/UCONN game, which was very fun. J bought the tickets for us back in October, when we first started dating. I have to admit that, given my track record for relationships, I wasn't completely confident at the time that we'd still be together to use them, but what do you know - he got me past my fears and we're not only still together four months later, but we're very much in love. And hey! I just realized that today is the four month anniversary of our first date. Cool! Happy Anniversary, baby! (And everyone who isn't J can feel free to start puking now. :)

Seriously, though, four months may not seem like much to a lot of you, but it's pretty much the longest I've ever dated anyone. I'm really glad that I worked past those relationship fears so that we could get to this point, because things just keep getting better. He is incredibly sweet, loving and romantic, and I consider myself very lucky. Even better - he considers himself very lucky, too, and tells me all the time how much he loves me and how beautiful I am. (Were you done puking after the last paragraph? Well, if so, I hope you didn't put that bucket away, because I'm sure you're needing it again now. Hee.)

In non puke inducing news, I have been dealing with a head cold and sore throat since Sunday, and it's not showing any signs of going away. I was out of work sick the last two days with it, spending almost all of that time laying down. Sigh. I hate being sick. I'm back to work today, but wishing every minute that I was at home. My head aches and feels very tight with pressure, my throat is scratchy and I have very little energy. I'm sure it will go away soon, and I'll try not to complain too much in the meantime.

And just like that you're brought up to date. Fun, huh? I hope you were able to fight the urge to puke at all the mushiness. :)

Aftermath

So, the storm is over. The snow stopped falling sometime last night, but the winds picked up, and the snow was being blown all around, so that any shoveling was done in vain. I shoveled a path to the car yesterday at lunch time, and it was completely filled in with a good three feet of snow by dinner time. So I gave up and just waited for this morning. I called a plow guy last night and arranged to have him come plow out my driveway this morning, but when I got up and saw what was in my driveway, I knew he wasn't going to be able to plow it out with just a truck, and I was right. I went inside after shoveling a path to my car, and found a message saying that they needed to bring down a tractor with a snowblower attachment. I couldn't picture what they meant, until I saw it.

That's quite the machine, isn't it? I'm getting ahead of myself, though. First, you should see the pictures I took before they got there with their tractor.

That red lump to the right of that stump is my mailbox. The snowplow hit it on its way through yesterday and knocked it off. I have no idea if the mail came before that yesterday, but if it did, my mail blew away, because the box was empty. I was expecting a Netflix movie yesterday - there is a very good possibility that their DVD is buried in 3 1/2 feet of snow. Oops. Also, notice that there is a patch of ground almost completely clear to the left in the picture. Snow being blown around by the wind is so funny - some areas are down to the grass, and other areas have 4 feet of snow in them. I am never able to judge how much actual snow fell where I live, and that's why. The wind never stops - there is a reason they put windmills all around where I live.

This is my poor car, buried in snow up to its windshield. Sigh. Poor Little Red (that's my car's name).

In front of the garage. You can see all of the peaks in the snow. It's really kind of amazing what the wind does to it. It's like snow sculptures or something.

I love the scalloped edges that the wind made where the snow stopped piling up. So neat.

Here's the snowblowing tractor, working on clearing the side of my driveway that J usually parks on. He stayed at his house last night, so only my car was buried in the driveway today.

After they finally got the driveway cleared around my car, we used shovels to clear away the snow from around it, and I pulled it out so that they could finish with their plow. My driveway is nice and clear now, but I shudder to think how much that bill is going to cost. A normal plow is $20 - this one is going to be so much more. Ugh. I hate winter.

Once they were done, I was able to get ready for work and drive in, and only get here 2 hours and 20 minutes late. Not too bad. And I took some pictures on the way.

This is when I'm about to drive into a white out area. For those who don't live in snowy areas, that's when the wind blows the snow across the road and creates areas of low visibility - white outs, because all you can see is the white of the snow. They can be horribly dangerous to drive in. This one was short, luckily, and the road was in good shape, so it was okay.

This is when I was driving into the small town where I work. Such a snowy scene!

And this is the road on campus. I had to take pictures of the high banks and snowy roads.

Now maybe you can see why I'm so eager to ship all of this stuff to those of you who want it, if only I could figure out a way. I just keep telling myself that spring is coming. It's mid-February, so hopefully in a month all of this white stuff will be melting away, and the crocuses will be breaking through the ground and giving us all hope for warmer days. I can't wait.

Adults DO get snow days!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I have somehow managed to never have a boyfriend on Valentine's Day before. Yes, at the ripe old age of 37, the Valentine's Day that J and I are celebrating together is my first one ever with anyone. I had intimacy issues, okay?

Anyway, J knew that this was my first one, and he decided to take it upon himself to see that I had the perfect one. I got a dozen red roses at work yesterday (I'm not at work today - the story on that in a bit), and they are absolutely beautiful. Don't you agree?

When I got home from work, it was to find more surprises waiting for me. I had a large gift bag, all decked out with a heart shaped pillow that says "Luv You" and a stem of fake roses. Aww. What was inside the bag? Well, I'm glad you asked!

A super soft bathrobe with hearts on it. Very soft, very comfortable, and I'm wearing it right now. I love it.

Mmm, Godiva! I would have been happy with a heart shaped box of Hershey's or something, but no - he went all out and got me Godiva. You better believe I pounced on that box as soon as I saw it. Yum.

There was also a Buffy watch, which isn't pictured because I couldn't get a non-blurry picture of it, but it has Buffy, Giles, Xander, Willow and Oz on it, and I love it. Gee, you'd think he knew me or something - getting me a watch. ;)

He did good, right? And I haven't even told you the whole thing! He also took me to the Outback on Saturday, where I got another yummy filet mignon. Yum. I'm not a steak person, but I could eat there a lot before I got sick of it, I think. Very good.

So, my first Valentine's Day was a big hit, and all because of the man I have come to love more than I ever thought I would love anyone. J, thank you. You truly gave me a great Valentine's Day. Even if we did have to celebrate it on the night of the 13th because of the weather.

Which brings me to part two of my entry, which is dedicated to all of my readers out there who live in areas where they never see snow. You want it? If I could figure out a way, I'd ship it to you!

Anyway, the weather reports yesterday were predicting a nor'easter to come through starting last night and not ending until this evening. They were calling for up to 36" of snow, and I decided that maybe I'd be smart and take the day off. So I asked for it off yesterday, and this morning I stayed home. And I'm really glad I did.

J got up at 3:30 this morning to get ready to go, because he had to be at work at 5:00. It was too dark at that time to take a good picture, but here is one that I took through the window, which shows a bit of the road and driveway in front of J's car.

Pretty, but pretty scary if you have to go out and drive in it before the plows have had a chance to do much good. Our road hadn't been plowed at all. J called me when he got to work, so that I'd know he got there safely, and he said the whole way in, there was only one lane cleared, and even that was in horrible shape. He apparently spun out somewhere in Syracuse, and ended up facing the wrong direction, but he was able to get back on the road and got to work safely. After hearing that, I was super happy that I had arranged to take today off.

So, after he called, I was able to sleep in a bit. My pipes were frozen because of the extreme cold wind hitting the side of the house where they're located, but luckily they thawed out on their own later this morning, so I once again have water in my sinks and my toilet (an excellent thing, I'm sure you'll agree). And I spent the morning laying on my futon and watching TV, mostly with Zelda on my lap, so it's been a nice morning for me. I let the dogs out at lunchtime, and I shoveled a path to the driveway. I'm NOT going to attempt shoveling the driveway, though. Once J is on his way home, or once the storm has passed and the snow has stopped, I'm going to call and have it plowed. Life is too short to be spending a couple hours of it killing myself to clear three feet of snow out of my driveway. The plow guy will do it in two minutes and only charge me $20 or $25. That's a bargain, I'll say.

Anyway, while we were out there, I took some pictures.

My car, surrounded by drifts and piles of snow.

The back of the driveway and the front of the garage. You'll notice that the snow is almost halfway up the garage doors.

Bernie likes the snow.

Willow does not. :)

Bernie and Rosebud (and Duff's tail). Yes, Rosebud is peeing. Don't eat the yellow snow!

Bernie wants to play with McDuff. Duff isn't so sure. He's like, "do you KNOW how large you are, man?" Duff is smart.

And there you go. Valentine's Day, and a snow day, all wrapped up in one. I loved the first, and I even kind of like the latter, but only because I didn't have to leave the house. And tomorrow? I really hope that they have the roads back in good shape.

And that ends this really long entry. I hope you all have had good Valentine's Days, and if you live in an area that was hit by this storm, I hope you survived it well, and were able to enjoy it. And if you don't get snow and are jealous? Well, I don't know what to tell you, except that once again, if I could ship it to you? I totally would.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Adults Need Snow Days Too

I woke up this morning to the sound of the wind whipping, and oh man I didn't want to get out of bed. We have been in a brutal stretch of weather for a while now, and I am SO sick of it. I wanted nothing more than to call in sick and stay home in bed, but no. I had a couple of ads to get done and out today, and I had some raffle tickets to print for one of the food places on campus, so I had to get up and come in. Sigh.

So I took care of the dogs and got showered and dressed, and went out in my boots and winter coat to shovel the snow away from my car so that I could start it and get it warmed up. Brr! The wind was so strong and cold that I had to tie my hood under my chin, so that it wouldn't blow off, and I couldn't wait to get back in. Yuck. Then, unfortunately, I had to drive to work, over snow covered, slippery roads, and through stretches of white outs, where I couldn't see anything through the blowing snow. And I couldn't help but envy the school kids, who had a snow day today. And I wondered - why don't adults get snow days? Why is our work so important that we're willing to risk our lives driving to work in dangerous weather, instead of staying home and waiting it out like any sane person would?

What makes the school kids any better than us? Sigh.

Anyway. I thought I should make an appearance in here today, because my good friend Sally was worried about me. I hadn't e-mailed her in a while, and I hadn't posted in here, so she was afraid I had disappeared. I assured her that I'm fine - just not feeling very communicative lately. Life has been kind of busy, but it's the good, boring kind of busy, you know? Work, boyfriend, animals, TV, Sims - all good, fun stuff, but not really newsworthy. Thank goodness. I kind of like the busy yet calm life that I have going on right now.

Now if only spring would come early. The groundhog didn't see his shadow last week, so it should, right? Right? I hope so, because I am certainly ready for spring.

Super Bowl Sunday

It's Super Bowl Sunday, and I'm of course not watching the game (J went to watch it with his brother). Instead, I'm sitting here watching this week's General Hospitals and playing the Sims. MUCH more fun than watching football.

And because I was in a picture taking mood today, here are some that I took and wanted to share! I hope you enjoy.

Bernie, sleeping under my desk.

Willow, sleeping in her crate.

Lucy.

Kate, in her new semi-permanent spot - on the futon.


Gracie, on the back of the futon.

Zelda, in J's toolbox.

Sable in the window.

Rosebud and McDuff on the couch in the mudroom. J and I have a house full of very cute critters. :)

Odds and Ends

It's only been five days since my last post, so why does it feel like forever? All that daily updating in December really makes me feel like I'm slacking if I don't update at least every couple of days or so. Somehow I manage to carry on without updating, though. Hee.

Today is my oldest brother's birthday. I sent him an e-card from Hallmark, featuring Hoops and Yoyo. I love those little creatures! They're so freaking cute. And when I was on Hallmark's site looking at e-cards, I saw that they have stuff with Hoops and Yoyo on it. I might have to buy myself the watch. It's very cute!

So, after a month of eating whatever I wanted, without thinking too much about the consequences, I felt like I had gained a little bit of weight back. Today I was finally brave enough to step on the scale, and yes - I gained 7 pounds. Oops! So I'm not going to buy junk food anymore, either at work or at the grocery store. I'm not throwing away what I have - I'm just going to slowly work my way back down to eating less overall, and to cutting the junk food back out. We haven't started a new weight loss challenge at work, so I'll just start it on my own. I'll let you know how I do.

I had a futon given to me this weekend. It's in need of a thicker mattress, which J, luckily, happens to have in his garage, so we're going to use his, because we're not too fond of the feel of bars pressing up into our butts. But even with the thin mattress, it feels incredible to have it in the living room. I haven't had a couch in years - the one I had got worn out and old and dirty from dogs laying on it all the time, so I put it in the mudroom for them to lay on, and I never got around to buying a new one. I always had other things to spend my money on, like, oh, heat and stuff like that. Now we have it, though, and it's so nice to be able to sit on it to watch TV, or to lay down on it to relax (or nap, as J did last night). How did I live all this time without a couch?

Wow, this is really an odds and ends entry, isn't it? Sorry about that. I guess I only had some little things to say. I hope you are all having a great Tuesday, wherever you are! And if you have some good thoughts to spare, could you send them to J? He had a bad day yesterday, and I'm hoping that today will be better for him. I'm sure he would appreciate any good vibes you can send his way. Thanks!

Happy Birthday, Mom

Today is my Mom's birthday. She would be turning 69 years old today. In honor of her birthday, I scanned in a few of my favorite pictures, and lucky you, you get to see them!

Mom and I went to Hawaii the year I graduated high school, to visit my brother, who was stationed there in the Navy at the time. This picture was taken when we went to the Don Ho show. I love this picture for a few reasons. First, it shows my Mom at what was one of her happiest times in life. She LOVED Hawaii, and was very happy to be there, and to be seeing Don Ho. Second, it shows me at the young age of 18, just as happy as she was to be there. I was young, naive and had no idea of what life was going to be putting me through in the years to come. Third, I really like this picture of my brother, David. He looks so young and handsome, and trouble free. Life has battered him around a bit too, and it's taken its toll on him, but this is how I always picture him.

This picture is of me at two years old, just a month before my Dad died, in my Mom's lap, with my Dad's Mom next to her. I didn't grow up knowing my paternal grandmother, so I'm not too thrilled that she is in this picture, but I LOVE how my Mom looks - so young and beautiful. I wonder if she had any idea of how beautiful she actually was? This picture also captures a happy time before the death of my Father, so it is actually even more precious. Mom wrote on the back of this picture - this is what it says:

"Taken April 4, 1972 on the train ride to Six Gun Territory. Mother P. 56; Myself 34; Denise 2 yrs. Our Easter vacation to Florida - March 29 - April 10th."

And this one, that isn't of Mom, but of my Step-Dad, Wayne. I love this picture of him because it just shows how he really was in life. He's wearing his short-sleeved shirt with pockets and his sneakers, he's smoking his cigarettes (that would go on to kill him later) - it's just him.

So, there you go. A short trip down memory lane with me, on my Mother's 69th birthday. I love you Mom, and I miss you every day and every minute of my life. Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday Sarah!

Happy Birthday Sarah! I hope you have a great day, and I hope the cake that Jeff makes you is yummy! Have a piece for me!

All you other readers: if you have a minute, go to Sarah's page and wish her a happy birthday. She'll love it!

Happy Birthday Jamie!

Fourteen Years

My Dad died in an accident when I was two years old. I don't have any memories of him, and only know him from stories told to me by my Mom and my older siblings and from pictures. I have often wondered what he was like, what he sounded like and what our relationship would have been like if he had lived longer. But I didn't really feel his loss all that much, because when I was four years old, my step-father moved in with us.

Wayne wasn't very welcomed by my siblings, because unlike me, they remembered our father, and resented the presence of another man in the house. They didn't want another father. I, however, accepted him and loved him as if he were my father. He was a hard working man - a bricklayer, with all of the aches and pains that a job doing such hard physical labor brings with it. He was short - about 5'5" or so, maybe? He had a full head of hair that curled if it got too long, he had kind gray eyes and he loved me like I was his own daughter.

He died of cancer on January 18, 1993. I can't believe that 14 years have gone by without him. He was my father, for all intents and purposes, and I miss him everyday.

I love you Wayne. I'm thinking about you today, just as I do everyday. I hope wherever you are, you are happy, and I hope that you and Mom are once again together, playing cards and laughing the way you used to do.

Plip, tink!

Plip, tink! Plip, tink! Plip, tink!

Hello everyone! I have today off for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. My plans today are to watch a lot of General Hospital to clear it off my DVR and (almost) catch up, play the Sims, and listen to the following:

Plip, tink! Plip, tink! Plip, tink! Don't know what that is? That is the sound of the rain coming through my living room roof, finding its way through the ceiling, and falling into the two bowls that I've put under the drips. Sigh. I'm very sad. J sealed the roof for me a while ago, and I haven't had any leaks since, so I thought he had fixed my problem. I knew I was still going to need a new roof over this part of the living room, but I thought I might be able to put it off. But, nope.

Plip, tink! Plip, tink! Plip, tink!

Damn it.

Anyway, I'm trying not to focus on it, even though it's pretty much all I can hear (plip, tink! plip, tink!) and I won't stop thinking about it until it's stopped doing it. So, let me share some pictures with you!

This is Zelda, killing a plastic bag (whited out a bit from the flash) on my dining room table. She's so fierce!

The stack of books I have waiting for me to read them. I LOVE books. Also, I should note that the bottom three belong to Sarah. I'll get them back to you eventually Sarah, I promise! (In the picture is my Mom. Hi Mom! I miss you! And of course that's Otto the Orange in the background.)

We set a desk up in the corner of my living room for J. He had to go to work last night, and at some point Kate decided to hang out at his desk. I'm sure he won't mind, right J?

The bowls (and towels) on my floor, catching the drips. The plastic one on the left makes the plip! noise. The glass one on the right makes the tink! noise. Sigh.

After my last entry, you should know that my shoulder and arm are feeling much better. My arm is still a little sore, but it's just a minor muscle soreness now - very livable. And it's getting a little better everyday. It's apparently going to take about a month for me to heal completely, but it is happening slowly. Just a tip for you, though - if you start getting a feeling of pulled muscle? Take care of it immediately! Don't let it knot up on you like I did. You'll be happy to avoid this kind of pain, believe me.

And okay, I think that's all I have to say for now. I'm going to go turn on my Sims computer and try ignore that water dripping into the bowls.

Plip, tink! Plip, tink! Sigh. I hope you have a great Monday.

Tired (and Sore) Now

It's been two weeks and two days since my shoulder muscles froze up on me. I've gotten a lot better in that time, but I am still dealing with soreness every day and every night. I can't sleep at night unless I take a muscle relaxer before I go to bed, because my arm gets so sore that the only way it is comfortable is if I'm on my back. Only, I can't sleep on my back - I need to be on my sides. I can't lay on my left side at all, because it hurts my arm too much, and I can't lay on my right side unless I have the pill in me - otherwise the arm hurts too much. I've tried not to complain in here about my arm and shoulder, because it's such a minor thing really, in the overall scope of things. But. I woke up at 2:00 this morning because my arm hurt, and I only dozed on and off from then until I got up at 6:10, because I couldn't get my arm comfortable, and right now I am exhausted. I want to go back home, take a muscle relaxer and go back to bed. But I have to sit here at work and attempt to be productive for the next 7 3/4 hours instead. I hate my shoulder and arm muscles right now.

Anyway. Now that I've vented at you, let me talk about some good stuff - relationship stuff. J and I continue to do great. He has proven himself to be someone I can count on when I need help - he has done more for me during this whole muscle debacle than I ever thought any man would. Cat litter scooping, dog wrangling, food fetching - you name it, he's done it. I loved him before this whole thing, but I think I love him even more now. It's really nice to know that the guy I'm with is someone who is not only able to do stuff for himself, but who actually wants to help out when I need it.

He started moving some stuff into my place last night. He's not really moving in yet, but he is spending quite a bit of time with me, and it only made sense, if he's going to be at my house more than at his own, for him to have a place to store some clothes. So we moved an extra dresser down from my upstairs (okay, he moved it and I tried to help, but I can only do so much with one good arm and one sore one). I emptied it out and cleaned it up, and he put some clothes in it that he had brought with him from home. For the first time in my life, I'm almost living with a man that I'm dating. And you know what? I love it.

After the freak outs that I had in November, I really never would have thought our relationship would be able to move this fast. And yet, once I got past the fear and let myself just enjoy the relationship, it's been nothing but good. We are more alike than I ever thought would be possible. We like the same stuff, we think the same way on most things. I am very comfortable with him. I think I'm going to enjoy sharing my space with him.

Now if only my arm and shoulder would finally get back to normal, maybe I'd really be able to enjoy our time together. Heal, damn you! I have a life to live, here!