Thursday, August 28, 2008
Sigh....
I haven't posted in a while. Our family had a terrible event this past weekend. Long story short, my husband's father passed away. We were having a big surprise party on Saturday for his 99th birthday, which was Monday. Friday afternoon, he had a massive stroke and never woke up. He died Sunday morning at 6:30. I know you are all thinking, "well, 99 years old... you had to expect it!" We did always have it in the back of our minds, but Pop was the most vibrant, funny, friendly person I've ever met. He didn't look or act his age at all. Most people guessed his age between 70 or 75, and sometimes younger! Plus we were so wrapped up in the party preparations, and he was perfectly fine that morning, that it caught us off guard. He was fixing something in the shower when it happened. He was always working on something, usually making it worse than it was before, lol. But that's just because of his age. He was a great carpenter in his day, and taught my hubby everything he knows. It was funny though, because in his later years, Pop would tell my hubby he was doing something wrong... and hubby would say, "You are the one who showed me how to do it this way!" I have lots of good memories. Everyone loved him. The terrible thing about all this is watching my poor husband go through it. He's never experienced death, and his dad was his best friend. My husband was born when Pop was 50 years old, and he was able to be home with him a lot. My hubby was his parents' only child together, the kids from previous marriages were grown and gone. I am happy for Pop, he never knew what hit him, he didn't suffer, and didn't linger. We had a lot of family and friends in town for the party, so there was a great support system this weekend, but now things are calming down and reality is setting in for my husband. It shatters me to see him cry, he is a gentle giant who doesn't let that part of him show. I feel so helpless and sad, but I know he has to be let to do it... I've been through death before (not at his level of pain, but almost), and I know what he's going through. If I didn't know, I would be blind with panic, because he's a person right now, who I've never seen before. I hope he comes back to me, I miss him. And I wish to God I could take his pain for him. But I can't. :-(
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Mo' random factoids
--I have a lava lamp in my office at work. I also have San Diego Charger and Dallas Cowboys banners on my wall (the two of them playing each other last Saturday night was painful for me). I have been considering finding my life-size Jon Bon Jovi poster from the '80s and putting it on my door, just to shake things up a little bit... especially since I work with all men...LOL.
--My Betta (Siamese Fighting Fish) "Gilligan" (cuz he's my lil' buddy) died. I had him for over 3 years, I rescued him at WalMart, and he was my first pet here. I miss him.
--I am going to have to go shopping for a muumuu, before we take the boat out next time. Either that, or I will have to go fully dressed because there is no way I'm wearing a bathing suit right now, especially in front of family that's coming to visit!
--I love Hello Kitty stuff. My favorite has always been Little Twin Stars.
If I had my way, my bedroom would look like a pre-teen's. All pink and fuzzy and girly. Hubby wouldn't go for that, though...lol.
--My car is too low to the ground for me to get into easily. I need to find some way to get a van or small SUV that's higher and won't kill my back to bend down into.
--I was a cheerleader and on the flag team at different points in my life. Both were super fun!
--I can only sleep on flat pillows....and...my hair has to be covering my neck so vampires won't see it and want to bite me (my 8-year old logic has stayed with me).
--My most recurring dreams consist of flying, or my teeth falling out, or getting lost in buildings with lots of hallways and doors. I love the flying ones. I used to dream about being able to breathe underwater all the time, and then I'd wake up under the covers.
--My dream job is anything that involves helping people. I am a caretaker by nature. On the other hand, what I really want to do is work at home, or from home. I don't know if it's possible to do both.
--I pick up people's accents when they talk to me. I can't help it. I'm really good at languages too. My teachers all told me I should pursue many languages since they come easily to me, but I never did. Lately I've been thinking about learning German, though. In fact, I signed up for a free 7-day Rosetta Stone trial course in German. It's been fun!
--I don't want to be buried when I die. I am going to be cremated, and have my ashes shot up in a fireworks display! Really! I've looked into it and there is a real company that does just that! Wouldn't that be the coolest!?
--My Betta (Siamese Fighting Fish) "Gilligan" (cuz he's my lil' buddy) died. I had him for over 3 years, I rescued him at WalMart, and he was my first pet here. I miss him.
--I am going to have to go shopping for a muumuu, before we take the boat out next time. Either that, or I will have to go fully dressed because there is no way I'm wearing a bathing suit right now, especially in front of family that's coming to visit!
--I love Hello Kitty stuff. My favorite has always been Little Twin Stars.
If I had my way, my bedroom would look like a pre-teen's. All pink and fuzzy and girly. Hubby wouldn't go for that, though...lol.
--My car is too low to the ground for me to get into easily. I need to find some way to get a van or small SUV that's higher and won't kill my back to bend down into.
--I was a cheerleader and on the flag team at different points in my life. Both were super fun!
--I can only sleep on flat pillows....and...my hair has to be covering my neck so vampires won't see it and want to bite me (my 8-year old logic has stayed with me).
--My most recurring dreams consist of flying, or my teeth falling out, or getting lost in buildings with lots of hallways and doors. I love the flying ones. I used to dream about being able to breathe underwater all the time, and then I'd wake up under the covers.
--My dream job is anything that involves helping people. I am a caretaker by nature. On the other hand, what I really want to do is work at home, or from home. I don't know if it's possible to do both.
--I pick up people's accents when they talk to me. I can't help it. I'm really good at languages too. My teachers all told me I should pursue many languages since they come easily to me, but I never did. Lately I've been thinking about learning German, though. In fact, I signed up for a free 7-day Rosetta Stone trial course in German. It's been fun!
--I don't want to be buried when I die. I am going to be cremated, and have my ashes shot up in a fireworks display! Really! I've looked into it and there is a real company that does just that! Wouldn't that be the coolest!?
Friday, August 8, 2008
Getting to know the kid in me
I was thinking about some goofy things I did when I was a kid.
When I was about 6 years old, my parents took my sister and I to Bodie, CA. which is a ghost town in the High Sierras. It was pretty darn cool and I got some really interesting vibes while we were walking around. There was a camp ground nearby and we stayed a night there in our camper. We did quite a bit of camping during those next few years and it was really fun. Anyway, somehow my dad got one of those old-fashioned straight razors and an old shaving cream brush. I don't remember if he found them, or bought them, but my sister and I were explicitly told NOT TO TOUCH THE RAZOR!!! EVER!! Let me tell you, that thing made me so darn curious, but I stayed away from it and every once in a while I'd ask my dad to show it to me. Fast forward a couple of years... my parents weren't home one day and I went and got that darn razor from it's spot on the top shelf of the bookcase. I opened it up and pretended to shave my face. I then reasoned that it was really old so therefore it couldn't be sharp anymore, so I didn't know what the big deal was. Since it was old (and not sharp), for some unknown reason, I decided to test it out...ON THE ARM OF THE COUCH! Well, it cut right through and I liked how it did that so much that I cut 2 more times. Reality then set in and I freaked out. Of course my mom saw the damage not long after she got home, and I thought about blaming my little sister, but I'm a terrible liar and got in huge trouble for cutting the couch... with the razor I wished I'd never seen. I got the belt for that one.
Another classic moment is the time when we were camping in the High Sierras, and I snuck a match out of the box in the camper. All I wanted to do was find out if matches lit if they were struck on something other than the thing on the box. Of course we were told NOT TO TOUCH MATCHES!! EVER! Anyway, I went over to a tree and thought I was hidden behind it, but in reality I wasn't fooling anyone and was in perfect sight of my dad, whom I hadn't noticed. I tried to strike the match a couple of times on the bark, and my curiosity was satisfied when it didn't light. I turned around and my dad was standing there. Of course I got the "What are you DOING?" question... a lecture, and the belt again.
One day I was at my grandma's house and I picked up a stick to see if it would make a mark on the shingles on the side of her house. May I add that she just had the whole house painted dark brown a week earlier. Ok, well I proceeded to make (count 'em) four lines on the shingle that showed up just fine. As usual, I couldn't stop at just one before that dang reality set in. The problem was... I made the lines on the front of the house in plain sight of anyone coming in the driveway and house. I went running around looking for paint (surely there was some left over somewhere), and couldn't find any. I gave up and went in the house to waited to be found out. We were watching my grandma's house for her at the time, and my parents were out running errands. When they got back, I could see them get out of the car, walk toward the house, stop, back up and stare at the shingle. You guessed it, belt again.
I was in Jr. High and it was the Friday before Easter Vacation, also known as: The one-solid-week-of-fun-with-my-cousins-extravaganza! Unfortunately, report cards were sent home a couple of days before, and mine wasn't exactly what my parents expected of me. I told my sister to hide hers (she got all A's and B's), and I would hide mine until after Easter vacation. So we did. Apparently, my stupid sister hid hers under her bed. My mom found it while vacuuming. My sister was home sick that day so I can only imagine the lecture she got before I got home. Well, I come bouncing up the sidewalk to our front door like Tigger, I was on Cloud 9 that Friday!!! I can only say it's a long fall back to Earth from that particular cloud. My mom opened the door, holding my sisters report card, and said "WHERE'S YOURS". Not a question, a demand. Of course I got put on restriction for the whole vacation, and had to do 3 hours of homework whether I had it or not every night for the 2 months. Sheesh.
Note: This last story I have doesn't involve me getting in trouble, for once. It's just about me being a dork and my bizarre reasoning.
I was in in Jr. High and in LOVE with Donny from Sha-na-na. I watched the show religiously every afternoon (it was in syndication by then), and I decided to write him a letter in care of the TV station. I asked him if he was married, what he liked to do for fun, and how old he was. I was 13 at the time, but told him I was 14 (like that would make a difference), and told him I loved him. I also sent a school picture which was very unflattering with my braces and feathered hair that didn't work out well that day. I can only imagine his reaction to this whole thing. I waited months and months and gave up. On the day of my sister's birthday sleep-over I got a letter from Donny... we were all crazy for Sha-na-na and completely lost our minds! He wrote me a very nice letter and autographed picture (which I framed and put on my nightstand). He mentioned that his wife said he was too old for a 14 year-old girl.
Oh, the heartbreak! What on earth was I thinking anyway? LOLOLOL
When I was about 6 years old, my parents took my sister and I to Bodie, CA. which is a ghost town in the High Sierras. It was pretty darn cool and I got some really interesting vibes while we were walking around. There was a camp ground nearby and we stayed a night there in our camper. We did quite a bit of camping during those next few years and it was really fun. Anyway, somehow my dad got one of those old-fashioned straight razors and an old shaving cream brush. I don't remember if he found them, or bought them, but my sister and I were explicitly told NOT TO TOUCH THE RAZOR!!! EVER!! Let me tell you, that thing made me so darn curious, but I stayed away from it and every once in a while I'd ask my dad to show it to me. Fast forward a couple of years... my parents weren't home one day and I went and got that darn razor from it's spot on the top shelf of the bookcase. I opened it up and pretended to shave my face. I then reasoned that it was really old so therefore it couldn't be sharp anymore, so I didn't know what the big deal was. Since it was old (and not sharp), for some unknown reason, I decided to test it out...ON THE ARM OF THE COUCH! Well, it cut right through and I liked how it did that so much that I cut 2 more times. Reality then set in and I freaked out. Of course my mom saw the damage not long after she got home, and I thought about blaming my little sister, but I'm a terrible liar and got in huge trouble for cutting the couch... with the razor I wished I'd never seen. I got the belt for that one.
Another classic moment is the time when we were camping in the High Sierras, and I snuck a match out of the box in the camper. All I wanted to do was find out if matches lit if they were struck on something other than the thing on the box. Of course we were told NOT TO TOUCH MATCHES!! EVER! Anyway, I went over to a tree and thought I was hidden behind it, but in reality I wasn't fooling anyone and was in perfect sight of my dad, whom I hadn't noticed. I tried to strike the match a couple of times on the bark, and my curiosity was satisfied when it didn't light. I turned around and my dad was standing there. Of course I got the "What are you DOING?" question... a lecture, and the belt again.
One day I was at my grandma's house and I picked up a stick to see if it would make a mark on the shingles on the side of her house. May I add that she just had the whole house painted dark brown a week earlier. Ok, well I proceeded to make (count 'em) four lines on the shingle that showed up just fine. As usual, I couldn't stop at just one before that dang reality set in. The problem was... I made the lines on the front of the house in plain sight of anyone coming in the driveway and house. I went running around looking for paint (surely there was some left over somewhere), and couldn't find any. I gave up and went in the house to waited to be found out. We were watching my grandma's house for her at the time, and my parents were out running errands. When they got back, I could see them get out of the car, walk toward the house, stop, back up and stare at the shingle. You guessed it, belt again.
I was in Jr. High and it was the Friday before Easter Vacation, also known as: The one-solid-week-of-fun-with-my-cousins-extravaganza! Unfortunately, report cards were sent home a couple of days before, and mine wasn't exactly what my parents expected of me. I told my sister to hide hers (she got all A's and B's), and I would hide mine until after Easter vacation. So we did. Apparently, my stupid sister hid hers under her bed. My mom found it while vacuuming. My sister was home sick that day so I can only imagine the lecture she got before I got home. Well, I come bouncing up the sidewalk to our front door like Tigger, I was on Cloud 9 that Friday!!! I can only say it's a long fall back to Earth from that particular cloud. My mom opened the door, holding my sisters report card, and said "WHERE'S YOURS". Not a question, a demand. Of course I got put on restriction for the whole vacation, and had to do 3 hours of homework whether I had it or not every night for the 2 months. Sheesh.
Note: This last story I have doesn't involve me getting in trouble, for once. It's just about me being a dork and my bizarre reasoning.
I was in in Jr. High and in LOVE with Donny from Sha-na-na. I watched the show religiously every afternoon (it was in syndication by then), and I decided to write him a letter in care of the TV station. I asked him if he was married, what he liked to do for fun, and how old he was. I was 13 at the time, but told him I was 14 (like that would make a difference), and told him I loved him. I also sent a school picture which was very unflattering with my braces and feathered hair that didn't work out well that day. I can only imagine his reaction to this whole thing. I waited months and months and gave up. On the day of my sister's birthday sleep-over I got a letter from Donny... we were all crazy for Sha-na-na and completely lost our minds! He wrote me a very nice letter and autographed picture (which I framed and put on my nightstand). He mentioned that his wife said he was too old for a 14 year-old girl.
Oh, the heartbreak! What on earth was I thinking anyway? LOLOLOL
Monday, August 4, 2008
August '08...so far so good!
I was really, really glad to see July go bye-bye. August has been pretty fine, if I do say so myself. Hubby's appointment with the foot specialist went well, we are moving forward with the surgery plans. He was a little more detailed than my husband would have liked (he's scared of medical stuff), but it sounds like he's going to be in awesome hands.
The only bad thing (well, make that 2 bad things...I just started my monthly nightmare, just now, and the cramps are killing me already) was that I burned my arm really bad making hubby breakfast on Saturday. It looks terrible and it's right on my wrist. Sigh...
We did get to take the boat out on the lake Saturday though. I've been wanting to do it for the last few weekends, and we had a very good time. The water is just cool enough to be nice, but not so warm that it's yukky. We took our doggies and picnic dinner and were out on the water at 4:30. We swam and ate and relaxed, and I was very happy.
This is Storm (the Malamute) and Ben (the mutt). Ben is a lot bigger now, we adopted him for Storm so he could have a playmate and it was a great decision! Storm will be 2 years old on Dec. 7th. and Ben will be 1 year old on Nov. 11th. They both like to swim, Storm more so than Ben, which is unusual for a Malamute. I will have to get some new pictures of them. That's another good thing about blogging, it's nice to have pictures in your posts...and that motivates me to keep my camera nearby and actually take pictures with it!
This is a picture of my dream bicycle. I am saving up for it, I got some money for my birthday and will hopefully get it pretty soon. Just picture it with a basket and pink streamers! I love this bike, and am looking forward to many adventures with it. Now if I could just get my darn Walmart to get it in stock again, I'd be set! When I first saw it, it was like angels singing "Ahhhhhhhhhh" and it was in a beam of light! I've been looking for a beach-type retro cruiser in baby pink forever, but the ones I found didn't have gears, and I need them here because of the hills. So it was a true moment. The problem was, we were broke, so I thought I'd ask for it for my birthday in a couple of months. When I went to look for it the day before my birthday, it was gone! And they didn't know when/if they'd get more! And this was in June!! So I'm hoping hoping hoping...a miracle will happen.
Hey Harmony, I can't get on the blog of yours I usually read. I found your other one, though, and will start reading it later today (Life in the L.O.)
The only bad thing (well, make that 2 bad things...I just started my monthly nightmare, just now, and the cramps are killing me already) was that I burned my arm really bad making hubby breakfast on Saturday. It looks terrible and it's right on my wrist. Sigh...
We did get to take the boat out on the lake Saturday though. I've been wanting to do it for the last few weekends, and we had a very good time. The water is just cool enough to be nice, but not so warm that it's yukky. We took our doggies and picnic dinner and were out on the water at 4:30. We swam and ate and relaxed, and I was very happy.
This is Storm (the Malamute) and Ben (the mutt). Ben is a lot bigger now, we adopted him for Storm so he could have a playmate and it was a great decision! Storm will be 2 years old on Dec. 7th. and Ben will be 1 year old on Nov. 11th. They both like to swim, Storm more so than Ben, which is unusual for a Malamute. I will have to get some new pictures of them. That's another good thing about blogging, it's nice to have pictures in your posts...and that motivates me to keep my camera nearby and actually take pictures with it!
This is a picture of my dream bicycle. I am saving up for it, I got some money for my birthday and will hopefully get it pretty soon. Just picture it with a basket and pink streamers! I love this bike, and am looking forward to many adventures with it. Now if I could just get my darn Walmart to get it in stock again, I'd be set! When I first saw it, it was like angels singing "Ahhhhhhhhhh" and it was in a beam of light! I've been looking for a beach-type retro cruiser in baby pink forever, but the ones I found didn't have gears, and I need them here because of the hills. So it was a true moment. The problem was, we were broke, so I thought I'd ask for it for my birthday in a couple of months. When I went to look for it the day before my birthday, it was gone! And they didn't know when/if they'd get more! And this was in June!! So I'm hoping hoping hoping...a miracle will happen.
Hey Harmony, I can't get on the blog of yours I usually read. I found your other one, though, and will start reading it later today (Life in the L.O.)
Friday, August 1, 2008
Crisis averted....for now.
So yesterday I met with the backstabbing friend (aka hubby's boss). He wanted to talk to me, alone, because he said he can always get the 'real' story on what's going on and how I feel. So I gave it to him alright... and in the process, woke him up to several things that were going on in his own company that he didn't know about. One of which was that the P.O.S. wannabe supervisor told hubby that his pay would be cut or he'd be fired. He swore he didn't know that threat was made, and I told him he'd better get more involved with what was going on there! You know, he's been so stressed out, so much is going wrong, blah blah blah, that he isn't paying much attention to the shop. Whatever! So I told him that it was complete f*****g bulls*** that we'd been under so much stress for the last 6 weeks due to the threat that was made. I told him I was practically vomiting with fear every week when we'd get hubby's check, wondering if this was going to be the week it would be cut in half. He said his main concern was hubby's health deteriorating so much in the last 3 years and as a result, his work performance was declining severely. I asked him why he thought that was?! We didn't come over here to have hubby work himself to death and worry himself sick over money...we were told it would be easier and better! He's known what hubby's condition is, for over 20 years!!! I told him that not one single day since we came here has been easier or better for my hubby! Or me!!! Anyway, he wanted to make sure we were going through with the surgery and get well, so he could justify paying him what he does, and more, in the future. I wanted to make sure his job was secure...and the pay not get cut, since we were moving forward with our plans. I also demanded that he "call off the dogs", meaning his idiot "supervisors" and their pussy-ass punishments. And I worded it exactly like that too! I told him it was making a bad situation worse and it needed to stop now! So it was a long, stressfull week, culminating in this meeting which almost gave me a nervous breakdown. But my hubby was right, he said, "You are a lot smarter than him, and you don't have to worry about what you are going to say, or how to answer, because we have the truth on our side!" So it was ok. And I sure hope it will stay that way for a while now. I am still a bit skeptical though, he said so many things before... I hope to God he goes through with what he told me he'd do yesterday.
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