The weather has been pretty icky lately. Rain, wind, and general misery. No joke, as I was driving the other day to pick up Kaelyn, at 4:30pm, it was pitch black outside from the clouds. Neither the cat nor the dog was happy to go outside (at least the cat had the option of staying…poor Buckeye had no choice!)
I don’t suffer from SAD, but I will say that good weather does make me a little bit happier. When I’m already tired and stressed and the weather is gray and cloudy, then it does nothing to lift my spirits…if it’s sunny, it will make me feel better.
A few weeks ago, I welcomed the bad weather. I needed a good excuse to just sit around the house and not go anywhere. But, things have calmed down considerably since then and now, I’m antsy to get out and clean up the yard, visit friends, and take day trips. Luckily, the last few days, the sun has been back out, but it’s been COLD!! The high tomorrow is only 47 degrees, and it looks like the new year is just going to start with more rain.
I’m still hoping to clean up the yard tomorrow. Be productive on my day off and start the new year with a clean house and nice yard. We’re planning on going to a friend’s house to ring in 2011. Kaelyn gets to come with us, which is great, because I’m not willing to start the year without all of us together.
This will probably be my last post of 2010. Sorry it’s not more profound. Happy New Year!!!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Christmas
Christmas is over…finally! I shouldn’t say that though, because this year it came and went much faster than I’m used to. Where I’m normally ready for the holidays to end and things to get back to normal, this year, Roger and I were too busy leading up to it to actually fully enjoy the season.
I’m a firm believer in “Holidays should not include stress, drama, or heartache” and didn’t love that Roger and I were rushed to get the decorations up, the packages in the mail, and the presents wrapped. And while he doesn’t feel stress the same way I do, I could tell that he was getting antsy to have things settle down himself. Luckily, things did slow down the week leading up to Christmas.
We both only worked 3 days and by Wednesday afternoon I was really looking forward to a long relaxing weekend. Kaelyn and I got home first and were playing together in her room when Roger came home…with a big surprise! A few weeks earlier, at his work Christmas party, one of his coworkers brought in Jack Russell Terrier puppies. They were the cutest things and I fell in love with one in particular. We talked about it briefly and then decided to wait it out the weekend and see if the puppy was still available on Monday. That Monday night, Roger told me she had been sold…what he didn’t tell me is that she had been sold to him. And on Wednesday night she came home! We named her Buckeye and it took her all of five minutes to warm up to us and make herself at home.
The rest of the weekend was pretty non-eventful. We got to know our newest family member, went to a Christmas Eve party on Friday night, and spent Christmas day together, in our PJ’s, perfectly relaxed. Kaelyn was able to participate this year, even though she was still quickly bored. She got so many things that we ended up putting more than half away in her closet, deciding it best to let her play with a few toys now and give her some more in a month or two to keep her from getting too bored. Kaelyn also blessed us with a gift of her own…she took her first steps! I’ve been convinced for a while now that she could walk and just chooses not to when anyone is looking. She showed us this weekend that she can take a step or two. She’s not entirely confident and doesn’t go far (she doesn’t fall though). I’m giving her until the end of the week to be full out walking…heck, she’ll probably be running tonight as fast as she goes from “novice” to “professional”.
Yesterday, Vickie came over with her dog, Max, to meet Buckeye. The dogs got along great and it was nice to have Vickie over for a few hours. Now, we’re back at work. I’m looking forward to getting the decorations down and putting the house back the way it was. It’s another short week for both of us. Not sure yet what our NYE plans are, but what I do know is that whatever we do, we’ll do it together …and that is all that matters.
I’m a firm believer in “Holidays should not include stress, drama, or heartache” and didn’t love that Roger and I were rushed to get the decorations up, the packages in the mail, and the presents wrapped. And while he doesn’t feel stress the same way I do, I could tell that he was getting antsy to have things settle down himself. Luckily, things did slow down the week leading up to Christmas.
We both only worked 3 days and by Wednesday afternoon I was really looking forward to a long relaxing weekend. Kaelyn and I got home first and were playing together in her room when Roger came home…with a big surprise! A few weeks earlier, at his work Christmas party, one of his coworkers brought in Jack Russell Terrier puppies. They were the cutest things and I fell in love with one in particular. We talked about it briefly and then decided to wait it out the weekend and see if the puppy was still available on Monday. That Monday night, Roger told me she had been sold…what he didn’t tell me is that she had been sold to him. And on Wednesday night she came home! We named her Buckeye and it took her all of five minutes to warm up to us and make herself at home.
The rest of the weekend was pretty non-eventful. We got to know our newest family member, went to a Christmas Eve party on Friday night, and spent Christmas day together, in our PJ’s, perfectly relaxed. Kaelyn was able to participate this year, even though she was still quickly bored. She got so many things that we ended up putting more than half away in her closet, deciding it best to let her play with a few toys now and give her some more in a month or two to keep her from getting too bored. Kaelyn also blessed us with a gift of her own…she took her first steps! I’ve been convinced for a while now that she could walk and just chooses not to when anyone is looking. She showed us this weekend that she can take a step or two. She’s not entirely confident and doesn’t go far (she doesn’t fall though). I’m giving her until the end of the week to be full out walking…heck, she’ll probably be running tonight as fast as she goes from “novice” to “professional”.
Yesterday, Vickie came over with her dog, Max, to meet Buckeye. The dogs got along great and it was nice to have Vickie over for a few hours. Now, we’re back at work. I’m looking forward to getting the decorations down and putting the house back the way it was. It’s another short week for both of us. Not sure yet what our NYE plans are, but what I do know is that whatever we do, we’ll do it together …and that is all that matters.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Fleeting and Unpredictable
I can't believe Christmas is in just a week! Normally, by now, I'm ready to just get it over with...but this year, we've been so busy that I feel like I'm missing the whole season.
The calmness I felt a week ago has flittered away. Christmas shopping is done, decorations are up, cookies are baked...Kaelyn's presents aren't wrapped, but that's not where the anxiety is coming from. Actually, it's not even anxiety. It's solemness. But more on that later.
Last weekend was great. It started with Roger's work Christmas party on Friday night. I picked Kae up after work and we met Roger for dinner, then went to the party. You can definitely tell that men planned this. There was plenty of beer but no diet sodas anywhere. Menu was deli sandwiches and cookies. And adults were allowed in the bounce house. Overall, it was pretty perfect. No formality, no speeches. A relaxing get together I'm looking forward to doing again. Saturday, we went to Vickie's house and spent the entire day baking cookies, making candy, and decorating desserts. When I say all day, I mean we got there at noon and got home at midnight! Kae was an angel and not even the extra sugar turned her!
Sunday, we took Kaelyn to the mall to see Santa and finish up our Christmas shopping. We stood in line for 1.5 hours...Kae was wonderful the whole time. She interacted with the other kids and parents and seemed happy and excited. When it was finally our turn, Kaelyn smiled and waved at Santa. We had no way of knowing what would happen next. For whatever reason, Kaelyn just wasn't into sitting on his lap and taking a picture. She cried and reached for us. The pictures were good, but really funny. When we were done, she was immediately calm, smiled and Santa and said "bye bye!". Who knows what really goes on in a child's mind.
The weekend went by too fast...as all good weekends do, but unfortunately, the euphoria didn't last through last week. I had some contentious meetings early on and Roger had a difficult install job that made him work late (home at 7) almost every night of the week. I thought once we got to through mid-week, things would get better, but I was wrong. We lost another friend, much to young, much too soon on Wednesday...and found out late that night. And while not a big surprise, we were still shocked because we didn't realize how close she was to the end. I think she may have known, but we didn't. It made me feel guilty for being so wrapped up in unimportant things when life is just so fleeting and unpredictable.
Of course, it's all too easy to fall back into the daily routine. I have some errands to run this morning and Roger is finishing his shopping. We are going to meet for lunch and then spend the rest of the day together. We have another party tonight, but are both hoping for some quiet time at home and some relaxation this next week.
The calmness I felt a week ago has flittered away. Christmas shopping is done, decorations are up, cookies are baked...Kaelyn's presents aren't wrapped, but that's not where the anxiety is coming from. Actually, it's not even anxiety. It's solemness. But more on that later.
Last weekend was great. It started with Roger's work Christmas party on Friday night. I picked Kae up after work and we met Roger for dinner, then went to the party. You can definitely tell that men planned this. There was plenty of beer but no diet sodas anywhere. Menu was deli sandwiches and cookies. And adults were allowed in the bounce house. Overall, it was pretty perfect. No formality, no speeches. A relaxing get together I'm looking forward to doing again. Saturday, we went to Vickie's house and spent the entire day baking cookies, making candy, and decorating desserts. When I say all day, I mean we got there at noon and got home at midnight! Kae was an angel and not even the extra sugar turned her!
Sunday, we took Kaelyn to the mall to see Santa and finish up our Christmas shopping. We stood in line for 1.5 hours...Kae was wonderful the whole time. She interacted with the other kids and parents and seemed happy and excited. When it was finally our turn, Kaelyn smiled and waved at Santa. We had no way of knowing what would happen next. For whatever reason, Kaelyn just wasn't into sitting on his lap and taking a picture. She cried and reached for us. The pictures were good, but really funny. When we were done, she was immediately calm, smiled and Santa and said "bye bye!". Who knows what really goes on in a child's mind.
The weekend went by too fast...as all good weekends do, but unfortunately, the euphoria didn't last through last week. I had some contentious meetings early on and Roger had a difficult install job that made him work late (home at 7) almost every night of the week. I thought once we got to through mid-week, things would get better, but I was wrong. We lost another friend, much to young, much too soon on Wednesday...and found out late that night. And while not a big surprise, we were still shocked because we didn't realize how close she was to the end. I think she may have known, but we didn't. It made me feel guilty for being so wrapped up in unimportant things when life is just so fleeting and unpredictable.
Of course, it's all too easy to fall back into the daily routine. I have some errands to run this morning and Roger is finishing his shopping. We are going to meet for lunch and then spend the rest of the day together. We have another party tonight, but are both hoping for some quiet time at home and some relaxation this next week.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Calm
Now that the Christmas decorations are up and the packages are in the mail, I finally feel like I can relax and enjoy the holiday season. Not that I was too wound up about things, but life has been awfully busy lately and it's nice to know that all the things I dislike about Christmas (the post office and crowded stores) is out of the way early and I can fully enjoy all the things I love...time off from work, baking with Vickie, holiday parties, casual shopping, the excitement in Kaelyn's face when she looks at all the Christmas lights, and celebrating the birth of Christ.
I still have some shopping to do to finish up Roger and he has all his shopping left to do (but that's on him). I plan to take Kaelyn to see Santa over the weekend and we are baking. I fully intend to relax a little bit.
I have nothing more to write about really. Life is calm. Calm is good.
I still have some shopping to do to finish up Roger and he has all his shopping left to do (but that's on him). I plan to take Kaelyn to see Santa over the weekend and we are baking. I fully intend to relax a little bit.
I have nothing more to write about really. Life is calm. Calm is good.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Roger's Birthday Weekend
What a weekend! I never powered through my “sickness” like I was hoping earlier in the week. By Thursday afternoon, I could barely function. Even though I went to work, I had serious doubts if I could even drive myself home…which is the only reason I didn’t leave early. Although I was feeling a little bit better by Friday morning, I decided to call in sick. I had been up pretty much all night and was just feeling so weak and tired to do much of anything.
Friday was also Roger’s birthday and luckily I started feeling much more energetic and alive by the afternoon. Vickie volunteered to babysit Kaelyn and Roger and I went out to dinner, by ourselves, for only the second time since Kaelyn was born. We had a nice evening, then took advantage of our child-free night to go pick out our Christmas tree.
We didn’t get home too late, but were both pretty exhausted, so we put Kaelyn to bed and hung out in our room watching tv and talking until we both feel asleep.
Saturday was pretty crazy. For Roger’s birthday, I threw him a poker party. He knew all about it, because there was no way I could have pulled this off by myself. But, not having any opportunity during the week to prepare, had a lot to do on Saturday. Roger picked the menu and on Saturday morning, asked me to make my world famous bbq sauce (takes at least 2 hours to fully reduce), chili (again, easy to prep, but takes a couple of hours to cook just right), and a whiskey apple glaze for pork tenderloins. I have never heard, much less made something like this. But, it was his birthday and I wanted to deliver. Roger knows that I love to cook, especially sauces, and I also love to experiment, but I don’t think he realizes that when I’m coming up with a new recipe it takes a really long time (sometimes months or years) to perfect. I wasn’t sure how I was going to make this glaze with everything else we had going on. But, I did manage to figure out how to make a good marinade and sauce. It wasn’t technically a glaze, but it was good. Roger liked it and that’s all that matters.
To make it more stressful, we decided that we would have the house decorated for Christmas before the party and we hadn’t even pulled the stuff out of the attic before Saturday morning. I don’t do much (a tree, the fireplace, some garland and wreaths), but it still takes a while to do. What’s worse, is that Roger got a service call and had to leave for a couple of hours, so I was by myself, trying to cook 4 or 5 dishes for the party, finish decorating, and watching Kae…who was being extra demanding of my attention (or so it seemed). I got a lot done during her nap, but was still pretty stressed out by the time Roger got back. He helped pull it all together and we had a great time at the party. After clean up, it was almost 2 am…we passed out on the couches upstairs…never even made it to bed.
I woke up early Sunday morning…thank you Kaelyn…and discovered that sometime in the few hours we were asleep, our tree had fallen over! I tried standing it back up and ended up underneath it. Roger saved me and our tree and once readjusted in the stand and redecorated, it was like it had never happened. After breakfast, Roger went to help our friend Lance install his new furnace, while Kaelyn and I went to help Klara move. The move was a lot more work than I was anticipating and Roger ended up coming over later and helping us get it all done (in the pouring rain)…again, we could not have pulled it off without him! It was after 8 when we got home and I still had to wrap the presents and get the Christmas packages ready for the mail. Thank goodness that’s all done.
This morning, I don’t feel like I had a weekend. I’m more exhausted now than when I was sick last week. I forgot Kaelyn’s diaper bag this morning, which after turning around to get it and driving to the sitter’s was much later than I wanted to be for work. Luckily, once I got here things started turning around and I’m thinking it’s going to be a great week!!
Friday was also Roger’s birthday and luckily I started feeling much more energetic and alive by the afternoon. Vickie volunteered to babysit Kaelyn and Roger and I went out to dinner, by ourselves, for only the second time since Kaelyn was born. We had a nice evening, then took advantage of our child-free night to go pick out our Christmas tree.
We didn’t get home too late, but were both pretty exhausted, so we put Kaelyn to bed and hung out in our room watching tv and talking until we both feel asleep.
Saturday was pretty crazy. For Roger’s birthday, I threw him a poker party. He knew all about it, because there was no way I could have pulled this off by myself. But, not having any opportunity during the week to prepare, had a lot to do on Saturday. Roger picked the menu and on Saturday morning, asked me to make my world famous bbq sauce (takes at least 2 hours to fully reduce), chili (again, easy to prep, but takes a couple of hours to cook just right), and a whiskey apple glaze for pork tenderloins. I have never heard, much less made something like this. But, it was his birthday and I wanted to deliver. Roger knows that I love to cook, especially sauces, and I also love to experiment, but I don’t think he realizes that when I’m coming up with a new recipe it takes a really long time (sometimes months or years) to perfect. I wasn’t sure how I was going to make this glaze with everything else we had going on. But, I did manage to figure out how to make a good marinade and sauce. It wasn’t technically a glaze, but it was good. Roger liked it and that’s all that matters.
To make it more stressful, we decided that we would have the house decorated for Christmas before the party and we hadn’t even pulled the stuff out of the attic before Saturday morning. I don’t do much (a tree, the fireplace, some garland and wreaths), but it still takes a while to do. What’s worse, is that Roger got a service call and had to leave for a couple of hours, so I was by myself, trying to cook 4 or 5 dishes for the party, finish decorating, and watching Kae…who was being extra demanding of my attention (or so it seemed). I got a lot done during her nap, but was still pretty stressed out by the time Roger got back. He helped pull it all together and we had a great time at the party. After clean up, it was almost 2 am…we passed out on the couches upstairs…never even made it to bed.
I woke up early Sunday morning…thank you Kaelyn…and discovered that sometime in the few hours we were asleep, our tree had fallen over! I tried standing it back up and ended up underneath it. Roger saved me and our tree and once readjusted in the stand and redecorated, it was like it had never happened. After breakfast, Roger went to help our friend Lance install his new furnace, while Kaelyn and I went to help Klara move. The move was a lot more work than I was anticipating and Roger ended up coming over later and helping us get it all done (in the pouring rain)…again, we could not have pulled it off without him! It was after 8 when we got home and I still had to wrap the presents and get the Christmas packages ready for the mail. Thank goodness that’s all done.
This morning, I don’t feel like I had a weekend. I’m more exhausted now than when I was sick last week. I forgot Kaelyn’s diaper bag this morning, which after turning around to get it and driving to the sitter’s was much later than I wanted to be for work. Luckily, once I got here things started turning around and I’m thinking it’s going to be a great week!!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Uggh!
Now it’s my turn to be sick. Yuck. It’s my sinuses. I guess how it started for Roger. But, I absolutely cannot let myself get as sick as he did. Now that he’s better, we need to all just stay healthy. Especially Kaelyn. I’m really hoping that her flu shot saves her from the yearly colds/flues that Roger and I tend to get.
Yesterday, my sinuses caused a massive headache. I managed to get through the work day, but had to call Roger and ask him to pick up Kaelyn so I could just go home and go to bed. Luckily, he got off work a little early (4) so they weren’t home too late. I fell asleep around 5, woke up briefly at 8:30 to kiss Kaelyn good night and didn’t wake up again until the alarm went off this morning. I feel much better. The headache is gone, but I’m still a little “off”. Tonight, I’ll try to wind down a little early, drink Theraflu (works like a charm!) and head this off before it gets any worse.
My goal this week is to get the Christmas packages mailed off to my parents and brother. I’m ahead this year. I already have all the presents purchased. Roger stayed up late last night printing pictures for my Grandmother’s photo album and I have some more pictures to get online tonight for my parents. Then all that’s left is wrapping, packaging and going to the post office. If I can get the boxes ready tonight, then I’m thinking I can drop them off sometime tomorrow or Friday after work. The hardest part of Christmas will be over!
I’m trying very hard to get into the Christmas spirit. It’s been a little difficult with Roger being sick over Thanksgiving break and me not feeling too well now. I feel like I’m behind with everything even though I’m totally ahead of where I usually am this time of year. Roger’s birthday is on Friday and I’m throwing him a poker tournament/party on Saturday. I’m not prepared for that at all. Plus, we want to get our tree up and the house decorated before everyone comes over. If we wait until Saturday morning, then I’ll be scrambling all day, but if we do it Friday night, then it would interfere with the plans I have for taking Roger out to dinner…just the two of us. I don’t know, yet, what we’ll we do, but as always, I know it will all get done.
I want to take Kaelyn to see Santa this year. I feel really guilty, because with how much I work and with Roger now working a “regular” job, I don’t feel like we have time. Our best bet is to take her after work one day. Roger and I both work near the mall, but Kaelyn’s sitter is all the way in Folsom, so it will be difficult to get her there…or at least in a good mood. She’ll be hungry and not in any mood to wait in line and have her picture taken. I’m hoping that we can work something out either this Sunday or next weekend. Stacy is talking about visiting. I might be able to talk her into coming with us to take Kaelyn to see Santa.
With all the stuff I feel like I have to get done, I know that probably by the end of this week, we’ll be all Christmased up. Packages will be sent. At least my shopping will be done (save for a few more things for Roger). The house will be decorated. At some point, we’ll make it over to Vickie’s for our annual holiday baking. That always gets me in the mood!
Yesterday, my sinuses caused a massive headache. I managed to get through the work day, but had to call Roger and ask him to pick up Kaelyn so I could just go home and go to bed. Luckily, he got off work a little early (4) so they weren’t home too late. I fell asleep around 5, woke up briefly at 8:30 to kiss Kaelyn good night and didn’t wake up again until the alarm went off this morning. I feel much better. The headache is gone, but I’m still a little “off”. Tonight, I’ll try to wind down a little early, drink Theraflu (works like a charm!) and head this off before it gets any worse.
My goal this week is to get the Christmas packages mailed off to my parents and brother. I’m ahead this year. I already have all the presents purchased. Roger stayed up late last night printing pictures for my Grandmother’s photo album and I have some more pictures to get online tonight for my parents. Then all that’s left is wrapping, packaging and going to the post office. If I can get the boxes ready tonight, then I’m thinking I can drop them off sometime tomorrow or Friday after work. The hardest part of Christmas will be over!
I’m trying very hard to get into the Christmas spirit. It’s been a little difficult with Roger being sick over Thanksgiving break and me not feeling too well now. I feel like I’m behind with everything even though I’m totally ahead of where I usually am this time of year. Roger’s birthday is on Friday and I’m throwing him a poker tournament/party on Saturday. I’m not prepared for that at all. Plus, we want to get our tree up and the house decorated before everyone comes over. If we wait until Saturday morning, then I’ll be scrambling all day, but if we do it Friday night, then it would interfere with the plans I have for taking Roger out to dinner…just the two of us. I don’t know, yet, what we’ll we do, but as always, I know it will all get done.
I want to take Kaelyn to see Santa this year. I feel really guilty, because with how much I work and with Roger now working a “regular” job, I don’t feel like we have time. Our best bet is to take her after work one day. Roger and I both work near the mall, but Kaelyn’s sitter is all the way in Folsom, so it will be difficult to get her there…or at least in a good mood. She’ll be hungry and not in any mood to wait in line and have her picture taken. I’m hoping that we can work something out either this Sunday or next weekend. Stacy is talking about visiting. I might be able to talk her into coming with us to take Kaelyn to see Santa.
With all the stuff I feel like I have to get done, I know that probably by the end of this week, we’ll be all Christmased up. Packages will be sent. At least my shopping will be done (save for a few more things for Roger). The house will be decorated. At some point, we’ll make it over to Vickie’s for our annual holiday baking. That always gets me in the mood!
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