this should have just been a bullet post
I have spent all my time this week doing just a couple of things - healing, sleeping, and trying to catch up on work. Healing is going well, the other two? Meh.
I’m a stomach sleeper. Always have been. I hate, hate, hate sleeping on my back. Needless to say I can’t sleep on mah belly right now. Or even my side. So I don’t sleep much at all really. Kinda stinks since sleep is what I need the most right now.
Work is tough because I just feel so overwhelmed by how much I need to get done, and yet my brain, she cannot focus. Big bad cycle that is.
Thank god for good friends who have taken my boy for playdates a few days this week. Especially Kristen who had him from 8am to 5pm yesterday. I really needed that. Like desperately.
Speaking of desperation. Damon leaves for another business trip tomorrow. Early Saturday am to late Thursday pm. I’m not quite sure how I’m going to manage.
I can’t even drive yet but I’m hoping to feel up to it in the next couple of days. I’m off all the pain killers so I’m allowed, yet my stomach muscles just don’t feel right and I don’t know what my reaction time would be if I had to slam on the brakes or something.
I still have nothing (no really) to wear to BlogHer and shopping this weekend is out of the question. Next weekend my home girl Nicole is going to drive me around and carry my bags so I can at least get something cute to wear. That hopefully fits. (Good lord, Tim Gunn is going to be at BlogHer Saturday so I need one good outfit!)
My body is so strange right now. I’ve lost an additional 7 lbs due to my all-liquid-all-the-time diet in the hospital. (Not including the 15 lbs of IV fluid gain/loss too.) However, my stomach feels very swollen and I can’t yet button the size I was in before I went into the hospital. That really stinks. I’m hoping the swelling goes down before I need to try on clothes.
The good news is that extra 7 lbs - if it stays off - brings me to a grand total of 34 pounds lost. (Okay so yesterday I subtracted in my head and it was 39. I’m going with 34 but it might really be 39 - I’m losing track of where I started.)
Thirty freaking four pounds. I’ve never been this committed, not ever. Now I just have to get past this little gallbladder hurdle and get back on track. Well, in about five more weeks that is. I do worry that as I feel better my appetite will come back I will put some pounds back on while I can’t exercise. Worry, worry.
Sorry this post was so random! I just looked back and it’s just a jumble, but I’m going to leave it that way, because that’s just where my head is at this moment. I shoulda just done bullets.
xoxo
friday is always a good day for bullets
Apparently I’m a slacker, a blog slacker that is. The rest of my life is going at break neck pace. This calls for bullets!
- I had my last nutrition class last night, this one on the glycemic index. There’s so much to learn! This was like no other class I’ve ever had, and it’s definitely changed my perspective on food.
- The good news is I’ve lost 9 pounds, 9! since January 1st. Woot! Even with my back problems this month I was very focused, and exercised as much as my PT allowed.
- I also wrote down every single bite of food that went into my mouth. I keep a little notebook nearby and the item and calories of everything.
- My back is considerably better, and I’ve been released from PT. I can do almost everything I want to now, except, heh, shovel snow. Sorry honey!
- No, I am not completely consumed with food intake and exercising - it just seems that way. I’m am talking about it because I’m still on a learning curve!
- Mostly my time has been spent working, and meeting some tight deadlines.
- And another deadline is looming like a little black cloud shooting lightning bolts into my brain.
- Next week is my kid’s school vacation. But I don’t have vacation!!! Woe is me.
- He and I are going to spend the weekend at my parent’s house. We haven’t been there since Thanksgiving. I’ll probably be spending my evenings, um, working.
- But then, on Sunday my MIL is coming to my parent’s house, and picking up my kid and taking him away for THREE. WHOLE. DAYS. No more woe is me!
- THREE. WHOLE. DAYS!!!
- I pick him back up on Wednesday afternoon. Don’t hate me because you’re jealous. ;)
- I would be jealous if I read this on someone else’s blog.
- DH and I might even be able to have a date! Like a movie! I’ve almost forgotten what it’s like to see a movie!
- No dinner out though. We’re both far happier when I cook. Especially when he cleans up. Well, that may just be me that gets happy over someone else cleaning my kitchen.
- 3 days! Squee!
- I’ll shut up now.
- xoxo
Filed Under family, the husband, the mil, work Tagged bullets, the boy, the husband, the mil, work
checking in
Hey peeps! Here’s what I’m doing today:
Blog, work, work, wii fit, work, work, work, groceries, work, work, work, tweet, work, work, work, work, facebook, work, work, work, hug my neglected kid, work, work, work, work, ignore dishes in the sink, work, work, work, work, work, work, do dishes right before hubby gets home, work, work, work, bed.
I did find a few minutes recently to write a new post for GNM Parents - I hope you’ll go check it out!
What are you doing this fine sunny Monday?
busy days
I’m sorry I’ve been too busy to blog! The mummies are gonna kill me. No I’m not watching horror movies or having terrible nightmares. It’s a new book and it’s kicking my a$$. Mummy pictures are not pretty, or apparently very well photographed.
The other thing keeping me busy? Well let’s just say that Wii tennis is kicking my a$$ too. Ouch.
I’ll be back soon!
my fear, in focus
There aren’t many things in this world I’m actually afraid of. Spiders don’t bother me, small spaces are cozy, storms are exciting, the dark just puts me to sleep, and flying is fun. Public speaking is, well, okay, I don’t really like public speaking. I don’t fear mice, or dogs, or insects, frogs, elevators, heights, being alone or being in a crowd. You get the idea. The things that scare many people don’t scare me. Except one thing.
Image credit: Library of Congress
When I was a little kid I would lay in bed with my arms tucked in as tight as could be. I was afraid that if my hand hung over the bed that snakes would get me. Seriously. I was convinced there were snakes living under the bed, in the toilet, the the trees, in the basement, in the garage, under the shed, etc. I lived in Maine people. There are barely any snakes in Maine, and certainly no poisonous ones.
Even as a grown-up I still hate snakes. I don’t have nightmares anymore but there is no way on earth I would ever willingly touch one, or even be in a room with one. When we lived in Virgina there was a nasty big black snake that lived under our front steps. I found out when I found a freshly shed skin on the walk one morning. I freaked. The neighbor said that there was one under every porch on the block and to leave it alone - it was good because it ate mice. I said that’s why I have a cat. I desperately wanted to move. And we did just a few months later. Heh, if you ask my husband we moved for a job, if you ask me, we moved to get away from the snake.
Anyway. All this just to say, guess what I’m working on right now? Yeah. A book about snakes. You know what my job is by now right? I’m a photo editor. I get the photos for the book. Yeah. Lots and lots of pictures of snakes. Images of snakes hissing, and slithering, and birthing, showing fangs, and hatching, and eating, and squeezing and…oh my god. Images that are now burned into my brain. Let me tell you something right now, me looking for pictures of ‘pythons constricting large animals’ right before bed, is not a good idea.
PS. I need a slap on the hand for not keep you all up to date on the goings on at ChapterBytes. We have two new chapters up, Chapter 17 written by Karen, and Chapter 18 by B. This story is really moving along and I’m so impressed with the writers! Would you like to write a chapter but you’re being shy about it? Send me an email, let’s talk! catnip35 at gmail dot com.
friday blah
It’s Friday, blah blah blah. I’m trying to pull another post out of my butt thin air, blah blah blah.
Blah.
Why the blahs? Cause every single day I do the same things:
Get up,
take a shower,
trip over the cat,
make coffee,
pack snacks for the boy,
put the boy on the bus,
avoid cleaning,
work frantically,
drop everything to pick the boy up,
feed him lunch,
forget to make my lunch,
work frantically,
realize I never drank my coffee,
realize am dehydrated,
work frantically,
avoid cleaning,
blog,
throw snacks at boy,
twitter,
realize it’s time to defrost something,
anything,
work frantically,
oops - can’t cook until I clean kitchen,
trip over the cat,
cook dinner,
twitter,
realize I never finished my coffee,
am dehydrated again,
throw snacks at the boy,
read to boy,
boy goes to bed,
twitter,
look at stats,
want a drink,
only have water,
avoid cleaning,
watch tv,
read blogs,
try not to snack,
twitter,
realize twitter only gets good after my bedtime,
go to bed too late,
pee three times before I can sleep since I drank all that water at the end of the day.
Blah.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
The regular variations are the occasional load of laundry, cleaning up cat puke/poop, and forking over wads of cash at the dang grocery store/target/wal-mart.
Seriously, yesterday at 4:30pm I went to defrost turkey sausage to make a quick spaghetti sauce with, and in the microwave I found the water I had boiled for the stupid cup o’ ramen I was going to have for lunch because I didn’t have time for anything else. Apparently I didn’t have time for that either.
Blah.
I need a life. I need a cure for my twitter addiction. And I’m not nearly as funny as the voices in my head think I am.
who cares about a title, it’s just bullets today
- TGIF!
- The boy has been out of school yesterday and today. There’s something wrong with the plumbing, and the older kid classes have taken over the pre-k and kindergarten rooms (where they have their own bathrooms) They can cancel pre-k and k because there aren’t requirements for how many days they have to attend school per year. It makes sense - by keeping grades 1-4 in session they don’t have to make up the days later - but still bites for me!
- With nothing better to do we headed out to the library this morning. I just got home to find the fly on my jeans unzipped. Yay for tunic length shirts! Dumb, dumb, dumbass.
- TGIF!!
- I have had this headache on and off for a couple of weeks. At first I thought it was a sinus thing, but now I’m beginning to suspect it’s my eye prescription. My eyes haven’t changed in about 5 years, but I’m due for an optometry visit. If it’s changed I’ll need both new glasses and new contacts. Dang $.
- It would probably help my eyes if I didn’t stare at a computer screen 18 hours a day, eh?
- More than just my headache would be better if I had less screen time, my dishes would be done, the laundry would be put away, the rugs vacuumed…heh. Oh well!
- Speaking of screen time, if you’ve seen me on twitter the last few days you’ll notice a change in my avatar. We’re turning twitter pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Let me know if you do it too!
- Thank you to everyone who commented on my business cards! I had them printed exactly as shown (they’re clearer in person, I swear!) at Fed Ex - $20 for 200 cards.
- And speaking of comments - I love you all for your moisturizer advice! Seriously. I bought the Aveeno Ultra Calming Daily Moisturizer, as suggested. I couldn’t believe how many choices Aveeno had, and this one seemed like the best bet for me. This stuff is fantastic! Not greasy at all, and has the spf I needed.
- TGIF!!!
- Okay, dumb gardening question. What do you know about growing hot peppers? I have some Kung Pao mix growing - long and thin, and still very green. Frost is coming soon. If I pick them green will they continue to ripen and get red like a tomato does? If not, they’re still edible green, yes? I have A LOT of them (plants are in a big pot on the front porch) and I intend to freeze them. Do I do it whole or trim and seed them first? Can you tell I’ve never grown hot peppers before??
- Speaking of gardening, did I mention that I did not have to buy a single tomato all summer long?! We had tons of them just from the three pots (and almost none from the real garden, sigh) on the porch. I’m planting container gardens forever more.
- Good god, a work email just came in that I’ve been waiting on all week. Must go deal with it, and then?
- TGIF!!!!
Have a great weekend, mwah!
Filed Under blogging Tagged blogging, bullets, gardening, the boy, work
bloggy business cards
Okay - here’s my business card design - or at least close to it. I actually did this myself and DH is going to tweak it for me tonight before I get them printed. What do y’all think?
When you see that b/w icon - you know it’s me right away, right? I try to use it on all my accounts so it’s immediately recognizable.
Of course, two of those three urls aren’t actually working yet - but they will before Oct. 11 (2 weeks!!) when I go to the BlogHer Reach Out in Boston.
Tell me if you love it or hate it - I’m hopefully printing tomorrow!
where were you?
I was in my office, just starting my day, when a co-worker came in and told me her mother had called and said a missile had hit a building in New York. We thought that sounded very strange so I tried going to CNN.com, MSNBC.com, every news site I could think of, but none of them worked. Even stranger.
We thought of the TV in the conference room. The reception was terrible with those old rabbit ears, but we made it work. The more we watched, the more colleagues joined us, and the more horrified we were. We were watching live when the second plane hit. The entire group was stunned into silence, until these co-workers of mine, military and aviation experts all, called it for what they knew it was. It wasn’t a missile, it was a plane, a big plane. As bad as the picture was, they clearly recognized it, long before the analysis on the news got it right.
The room became very crowded. I couldn’t have left my seat if I’d wanted to. I didn’t want to. All eyes were glued to the screen, ears straining to hear the tiny speakers. Talking in the room was only a slight whisper. Anything louder was quickly shushed.
The reception got worse, only one channel came in, and only with someone standing up, holding the antennae, using their body to attract the signal.
Time passed, rumors were heard. Rumors about bombs at the World Bank, rumors about bombs at the USA Today building, rumors about Reagan National Airport, and then Dulles Airport, just a few miles away. Rumors about news buildings being targets. And the White House of course. Rumors about the Pentagon. Wait.
New pictures on the screen. The Pentagon was not a rumor. Neither was the plane in Pennsylvania. This terrible reality just got closer to us personally, a lot closer. My colleagues knew what that meant. Imminent war. At this moment, some kind of war was beginning, we just didn’t know exactly what that war would look like.
Some of us watched longer, unable to look away, while others drifted back to their offices, hoping to get some normalcy out of the day. They were hiding out, not wanting to know any more. I couldn’t blame anyone for that. Especially after those of us left watched the first tower crumble with tears streaming down our faces. I was glad I wasn’t alone then.
After the second tower came down, our boss quietly told us all to go home. He was closing the office and wanted us to go be with our families. It was a relief to leave to have a reason to get away from the TV for a few minutes, to get away from other people.
I got in my car, and sat for a moment. I was listening to a little voice in the back of my head. Don’t get on the highway it said. The last thing I wanted to do was get on a crowded highway, and get stuck in massive traffic. Traffic is bad on a normal day, this was Northern Virginia after all. I knew a back way, a dirt road that led almost all the way home. Halfway down the dirt road, I heard the traffic update. Everyone who got on that highway was there for hours and hours. I spent those same hours at home, alone, back in front of the news.
I remember how bad the phone lines were. I was able to call my parents in Maine, but not my husband two miles away. For awhile cell phones were easier to get through on, then nothing at all worked. DH wouldn’t come home, couldn’t come home. He worked in the news business and news people don’t get to stop working in a crisis.
I wasn’t a mom yet. I wondered that day if I ever would be, if I should even bring a baby into such a horrible world. I changed my mind about that, but one this day every year, I remember that helplessness, hopelessness, and the terrible terrible sadness. I remember and pray for everyone affected by the events of 9/11 and its aftermath.
Where were you that morning? Do you remember much? I realized today that I had some trouble remembering the details. I wrote this today so I wouldn’t forget how I personally felt and what I did and who was around me. I don’t want my only memories to be the ones I see on the ceremonial shows every year. I don’t want my own experience to get cloudy. Never never forget.
The Pentagon, 9/11/01, Department of Defense/US Navy photo.
a do-over
When I was younger I had lots of ideas about what I wanted to be when I grew up. For a long time I thought I would be a veterinarian because I loved animals, then in high school my dream was to be an engineer to be like my father, then when I started college I wanted to be a lawyer only because it sounded cool, and I couldn’t think of anything better.
I wasn’t there long before I realized that I wasn’t cut out to be a lawyer, for sure. When it came time to make a real decision I just couldn’t do it. Eventually I majored in US History because it was there. It felt sort of right. I loved history, and the fantasy of working behind the scenes in a musty, dusty museum filled my mind.
Well, guess what? Museum jobs were few and far between, and paid terribly. And were not nearly as romantic as I’d imagined. Blech.
So what else do you do with a History degree? Not much apparently. Teach? Soooo not for me. That’s become only more evident as I get older!
I held a lot of different jobs over the years, and eventually landed a job as a photo editor in a group of history magazines. It was pretty perfect for me for quite some time. Then, after I had the boy, I started thinking about other ways to earn a living than going to a job every day. It took some time, but I was very lucky and fell in to doing freelance photo editing for a large children’s book publisher. Even after moving back to New Hampshire I’ve been able to continue to work for them remotely. Right now I have the best of both worlds, I make a little bit of money, but I get to stay home with my boy.
As fortunate as I am, sometimes I wonder what could have been. Not about my family, I wouldn’t change them for anything. But if I could have a career do-over what would it be?
If I had known myself better at 18 years old, if I had known what my life interests would be now, I would probably have been a meteorologist. To be exact, I’d be….a Storm Chaser! Show me some green on a radar and I’ll sit there for hours and analyze it, with The Weather Channel on in the background. Have mercy, I am such a dork.
Someday, after my boy is on his own, I like to think DH and I will sell everything we own, including our house, and buy a big RV. I imagine outfitting it with all the latest technology. What? We’re both computer dorks! I want my own Doppler dammit! We’re going to be that old couple, who drive all around the country all the time, only we’ll be following the storms. I’d just love to help forecast the bad ones, and maybe even make a difference. Naive? Maybe, but I think it’s nice dream to have.
If you had a job or school do-over, would you change anything? Knowing what you know now would you have taken a different career path or stayed the same course?