Turning In

I'm not sure why this has been so difficult, to get back into the swing of the blog, but it has. Maybe it's the two-year-old Bubba constantly on the go, or the complete busy-factor of summer, or very possibly the lack of brain power to do it after the usual day. Whatever the case, I know I put too much pressure on myself - to post pictures, share detailed excitement or edit and then edit again. Well, this one is off the cuff.

Tonight we had a nice night at home to start off our quietest weekend in months yielding few obligations or schedules to follow. We enjoyed a fabulous grilled meal - chicken and veggies - one of my summer favorites as the season technically comes to a close. Like most other nights, we dined, played, turned around and it was time to start the bedtime routine. Time races. But unlike most other nights, Bubba had the option to bypass the books and watch Cars in mom's bed before hitting the hay. With mom. And the pup. He couldn't have been happier... well, until dad joined, too. Bubba went to bed smiling. Days that end like this... are good. and happy. and sweet. special. memorable. scarce. not to be taken for granted. loving.

Everything is not always perfect at one precise moment, but to have it so good in one place when turning in for the night... well, that's a really good start.

Better Than Flowers

That's what I told BigCat tonight. After getting home from a dinner date with two very old friends (including the once-estranged gal), I was pleasantly surprised by the smell of Lysol and Windex in our bathroom. It.was.clean. Right now, in my life of busy, this just might be better than flowers. Thank you, BigCat, thank you.

Diagnosis: SOD

The doc claimed the procedure was "technically sound". By the book... this was music to my ears. Diagnosis: Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction (I have found this to be at least as accurate as I would be). Two stents are in place - one relieving the duct with "abnormally high pressure". After a rough bout with some hefty pain meds, I settled on Tylenol and just taking it easy. Thank you to BigCat and my mom for enabling me to do just that the last handful of days.

My doc speaks very fast and uses words I don't understand, but regardless I'm quite certain I would have picked up on any diagnosis with 'odd' in it. However, I never heard anything about SOD until post-surgery. Since then I've done a little research and it makes perfect sense. My SOD may be directly related to, caused by, the surgery I had three years ago to remove my gallbladder - along with the very large stone in it - leaving scarring on the sphincter. Finally I feel like I'm getting the answers I've been looking for. Hopefully the pain relief will be soon to follow.

At this point, I'm moving just fast enough to blog. Still taking it easy for a couple more days and looking forward to the best results possible. As soon as the pain clears up from the procedure itself, I should know if the job is done. Thank you for the thoughts and prayers sent... they're being heard!

Twilight Calls

Finally, some time to blog before I turn in to my book for the evening. The past week has been a complete whirlwind filled with Christmas festivities, health scares (thank goodness MIL is okay), cubicle fun (note sarcasm), and as much Twilight as I could fit in (I'm totally addicted).

Mostly we enjoyed watching the Bird learn - in all seriousness (see pics)- to love Christmas; such a special time with many of the most meaningful people in his life. We truly are blessed. Thank you to everyone who helped to make our holiday's, and our lives, brighter.

Mr. Mom

At first thought, and overall, a job loss in any family is a difficult time. Thus far, my conclusion is that the financing will be the hardest part. However, in our household, there are many pros that come with it as well:

- A clean and picked-up house, everyday
- Bonding for BigCat and the Bird, Momless
- Home cooked meals ready and waiting following my work days
- Tuesday night parties
- 3 days a week are ours, they do not belong to the employer
- Not writing a weekly check for someone else to care for the Bird
- I am only responsible for getting myself ready and to work on time in the a.m.
- BigCat realizing how much work running a household is, even without being paired with "work"
- More family QT, thanks to everything BigCat gets done during the day
And, last but not least:
-We are growing stronger as a family unit - it's either that or falling apart... and, well, the latter is not acceptable for us.

However, do not be mistaken, I hope that he's back to work sooner than later. But, as long as this is where we are in life, I am going to enjoy the positive effects of Mr. Mom.

Thanksgiving:

A day to give thanks or a day to be reminded of what to be thankful for?

For me, today, both. Not that I've ever forgotten the latter, but there are times it is shoved to the rear of my thoughts in lieu of self pity.

Last week we went from empathizing with the nation to sympathizing with it. Really, those two words confuse me, so suffice to say we are unexpectedly feeling the wrath of today's economy (so if you need a great carpenter...). On top of that, BigCat has a "raving ear infection" - yes, he even went to the clinic. Sans the delicious take-home meal from his loving auntie this Thanksgiving, BigCat would have completely missed out on all of the greatness of the day.


However, the Bird and I were fortunate enough to enjoy the best part of today... in the company of family. Going into the day, I sadly felt unsure of my thanks. I know deep down how absolutely blessed I am, but I sometimes still allow myself a funk. This year, Thanksgiving came at an impeccable time in my life... when a reminder of the safety, love, support and realness of family goes a long way. It clears the fog in my head, helps me to see life a little more clearly.

Thank you... to all of my family and friends. In all honesty, without you, I would be nothing!

Perma-Grin

I finally got my new computer!! I had some anxiety after picking it up yesterday about what it was going to be like to get it up and running. After my experiences with my last computers (albeit one was a dinosaur and one older than average), I was not looking forward to it. I dug everything out of the boxes last night after getting The Bird down, and started in. I didn't have much motivation though and definitely wasn't in the mood to chat with the Saturday night techs, so I went to bed with with thoughts of notebooks in my head. Well, this morning I called up one single tech with DSL and we had it wireless within minutes. I could not have started this day off any better. :)

If I didn't have so terribly much on my plate today, I'd probably play around for the remainder of it and get a bunch of pictures uploaded. However, I'm thinking I'll squeeze some time in for that anyway... maybe some of that other stuff could wait a bit.

Yay!!

Vacation Nation

An ' I loved' list about LE vacation 2008:

Family
Good Friends
Sunshine
Naps
Hold 'Em (even if I am purely a donor)
Wake boarding
Reading (only 1/4 of one book)
Floating
Peanut's QT with Gma, Gpa and Uncle K
Lots of cute kiddies
Drinks
Fishing
Uh-oh
Cheek squeezing
Laughing
Light chatting
Deep convos
Jimisms (gotta love Jimbo)
Bean bag tourney (even if it meant taking out my entire family)
Waving bye-bye
No make-up
Good eating
New LE gang members
Nothingness
Lightening bugs
Hats
Saturday night social hour
Michael Jordan ring
Babysitters (especially that Jo Jo)
Fish fry
Cold beer

I am attempting to continue my summer love... I brought my chair, towel, hat and book to the deck today and soaked up about 10 minutes of rays. I'm hoping to make the transition back to real life as easy as possible.

Pleasant Surprise

We got our tax refund today, the incentive one, woo hoo!

I thought it was going to be months yet, having it based on the last two digits of BigCat's social, we were set for sometime in July. Hello mid-May!

Oh, and apparently I actually made it to the gym 8 times in April, that's another twenty in my pocket!

Gotta love the extra funds. Now I can fill up my gas guzzler. :o)

Beauty Mark

As I was running the razor over my dry, winterized leg today, I glimpsed at the vein on the back of my right leg. It brought to mind a time I asked my mom what hers was from. In the years after she explained to me that it happens with time, babies and crossing your legs, I realized that it was a trait my grandma (and some aunties) shared as well. It seems to be a common theme that these are unwanted. I hear plenty of commercials offering to remove them (I realize they cause problems and maybe aren't good in large quantities), but for me this one has taken on a different meaning. I looked at it and thought of how it's a display of womanhood and a mark of beauty.

Dragonfly Friday

**

I wasn't entirely sure how this day was going to go. Yesterday was a rough one at work for numerous reasons and today started out with a ginormous spider on the run in the kitchen. Wasn't lookin' good.

I'm happy to report that it hasn't been what I was first anticipating. Not only has work gone really well thus far (my month-end balanced without touching a thing) but I had a special delivery from a co-worker. She dropped off a string of the cutest dragonfly lights. I've hung them in my cube. It's a happier place now. She is making every effort to let the people in her life how much she appreciates them. This is something I wish I was better at, I need to make a real effort. It's so good to be reminded that wonderful, good-hearted people do exist.

*

Thank you SE, you have made my day!!!

Hallelujah

The sun is shining
Happy Birthday Amy

List

I love lists, I make one for everything I can think of, so today I'm listing 5 things I'm thankful for (other than the obvious ones like my wonderful family and friends).

* that my daycare provider hasn't called me to pick up Peanut (she informed me this a.m. that she's sick but would keep the kids as long as she didn't develop a temp. being she just had a babe herself, I've missed a decent amount of work because of their appts, etc. don't necessarily want to miss more)

* for work - this even feels odd for me to say, but I am. I absolutely l.o.v.e my Wednesdays off with Peanut, but coming back to work isn't so bad either. I have the perfect schedule. can hardly beat 2 Fridays in a week.

* veggie wraps - a new restaurant opened in the Anoka area and they have my new fave! it's a steamed veggie wrap with havarti cheese... awesome!

* watching Oprah yesterday - it was about her new book choice, A New Earth. I wasn't overly interested in it until yesterday. I learned one tip that I plan to use the rest of my life, to try to lower anxiety, about being in the here and now. It worked like a charm last night, quickly to sleep I fell without a thought on my mind. I may just go get the book now.

* inside work - I'm actually thankful I have plenty to do indoors the next few days. the outdoors are becoming much too depressing!

Life is good.