Mind, Body and Soul Much Better Now

I am better! Just thought I'd announce that. The icky weather and the icky allergies are not as bad as they were last week - so I can cope a lot better. My head no longer fells as though its revolting against the body.

Work is better since I finally got to order the proper Adobe software to do my job. I have recently been trying to work with Word and anyone who has worked with Word knows that is for letter writing nothing else. I can't wait till next week when it arrives. I have truly been frustrated in ways I didn't think possible, mostly when it came to footers and subdocuments. My books has it's own page numbering system and Word would keep changing it - I have given up and now I am just waiting for my Indesign and Acrobat.

I have to say it really felt good last weekend to be outside and not be sick. Then to be planting pretty flowers to boot - it was a really good weekend. Even better is that the flowers haven't died yet, keep your fingers crossed for me, I have a tendancy to kill plants. If you haven't seen them check out on my "Green Door" blog and see all my pretties.

I am hoping to finish the refrigerator nook this weekend - Dad started mudding the drywall last night and that usually means the begining of the end on these kinds of projects. My house is a complete disaster since I refuse to clean during renovations. Its a complete exercise in futility to do so or you must clean daily and that just pisses Dad off since he can't find his tools the next day.

Enough for now - Winston says Arrf to everyone.

More Icky-ness

I am sitting here praying the weather will improve. I cannot stress enough how badly I need a sunny day. My work has settled down tremendously but I still have some getting used to in the personalities department and if I felt good it would be easier. Plus, all this rain has my allergies mad as all get out and they are pounding behind my right eye making being at work hard.

Last night was spent on the couch listening to dad work on my kitchen. That is not a good feeling, its your house and you are supposed be in the mix of the repairs. Mom sat with me and kept me company - I need to feel well both in mind and body.

Enough for now - the coffee has not kicked in.

I Need Sunshine

I don't know about you, but I am about to lose my mind. These gray and depressing days are really bugging me. It is totally awesome to have floor to ceiling windows in your office until you have days like this. I am freezing and it feels like it's 8 o'clock at night! I am NOT liking this.

Dad and I've begun another home improvement project. Building a nook for my refigerator so that the doors are in the kitchen but the body of the frig is in the garage. I barely have room to build the walls around the frig, so the project requires a lot of thinking it out. Which really means I stand around and listen to Dad talk it out. It's one of the main projects I've wanted to do since I bought the place. The kitchen is way too small to have a big bulky frig taking up half the floor.

Mom called me at work today to tell me that she had my dog and that he had decided to crawl under the covers. She thought he was just going to play a little but instead he promptly turned a circle and laid down and went to sleep. That is Winston's way of sleeping - I created a little monster by letting him sleep under the covers once and he was hooked. After a few minutes, she couldn't stand it and pulled him out. She was afraid he couldn't breath well enough under the blankets - bet he's royally pissed right about now.

Enough for now...

Exhausted and Aware

Some of you may have wondered where I have been. Well, work has been just crazy. Last Wednesday, our office hosted an awareness day at the state capitol. Its the biggest thing our office does all year. So needless to say we were crazy busy and to make matters worse one in our office has been out sick for at least a month. I am not mad or irrated at her no one can help things like that it just made it a little harder. Any way the event is done and went well - we managed to feed more than 375 people, visit legislators and have more than 30 exhibitors. It was a good day.

I started to get sick on Monday and just flat ignored the cough and sore throat. By Thursday I felt totally crappy so my new boss gave me comp time for Friday to cover all the over time I have worked for the event. Winston and I stayed on the couch covered up all day - he's very good at snuggling especially when I'm sick.

Well think that's enough for now, Seamus is pacing the house wanting to go out.

Herding Frogs

Winston lives in a constant state of homical hunt. Today, Dad came over to mow the yard and in doing so released four to five frogs into the open - Winston was in heaven. I spent about three minutes trying to capture my dog and point out the frogs so that Dad wouldn't mow over them. In the end, I think he had to pick them up and move them into a gravel area because they would keep hopping into the area Dad was mowing.

After that, both Winston and Seamus, got baths today in a special effort to speed up the shedding process. You should see the bathroom, it is covered in doggie hair but I've learned the key to cleaning up after doggie baths. Let everything dry and you can simply sweep it up. Winston won't go near the bathroom right now, he's a little irked.

Enough for now...

Forget Calgon Give Me No Dose

I still like my new job but I am exhausted all the time. I don't know if it's the 6 a.m. work outs, the stress of not knowing much about the subjects I am writting about, working at mom and dad's after work stripping wallpaper and painting or if I am coming down with something. But geeze Louise I am tired.

I had a little scare with little man about a week ago, when Winston came in from outside with a bloody eye lid. I don't know if Seamus got too rough, or the dead robin in the back yard fought for his life or one of the bushes Winston runs to for cover from Seamus scratched him. The whole ordeal required a vet visit - no scratched cornea, whew.....oh crap, I didn't even think about that, am I a bad mom? We got antibotic cream to spread on his eye, yeppers, I had one pissed off beagle for seven days.

Enough for now...

So This Is the Real World

Well I am three weeks into my new job and I am loving every minute of it. I have a great office, great co-workers and an overall happy attitude. I didn't realize how, the district was depressing me until I left -- so this is what it's like to be happy! I just wish I knew what I am supposed to be doing. Disabilities are vast and complicated, so my learning curve will be two or three years.

Currently, I am going to the gym every morning before work (6 am to 7 am). I am up to walking 4 miles per day and hope to get to 4.5 by the end of March. I am dieting like a big dog and now walking - if this doesn't get the weight off I don't know what will.

News from my old job comes in the form of a funny phone call on Tuesday. My old boss calls and asks if I am sitting down. I say yes, as that is my habit at my desk where she called. She then tells me that the woman who made our lives so miserable that we all began looking for new jobs has given her notice to quit. Ironic, that she ran us all off and in turns around and runs away with the communications department a total mess!

Hey, I am new to this blogger system what's the labels for and why should I do it?

Enough for now...

I GOT A NEW JOB

This morning at 9:30 am, I received the call offering me a job with the State. When she told me the salary she could pay, my mouth dropped and I said when would you like me to start! My first day will be February 5th and my last day at my current employer is February 2nd. Nothing like closing the chapter of one part of my life and opening a new one all at once. I am okay with it - actually I am very excited about it and wish I could start tomorrow.

Enough for now.

Thanksgiving Down, Christmas to Go

I am almost done with the holidays - I got through the Turkey Day meal without totally destroying it. I had to throw out the first attempt at the sweet potatoes and send dad to the store for more yams. I am the cooker of the dressing and sweet potatoes - even though I hate both of those dishes. We are still learning mom's new house and how things work. Her stove top has a dual burner and we learned that makes things a little too hot. I burned the yams.

I have all my Christmas shopping done with the exception of my co-workers. I hate to shop during the holiday season so I always try to get it done before thanksgiving. I managed to almost finish so I feel good about that.

What's new? I bought a recliner for my livingroom and have been using it a lot lately - what I love about it is that Winston thinks he has to sit on my lap when I am in the recliner. It doesn't matter that there's an empty couch in the room, he has to sit with moma!

Enough for now.

Happy Tuesday

Good Tuesday morning all. Why am I so chipper - don't know, don't care! Maybe its the Gregorian Chants in the background, maybe its the fact that I am over that icky cold/sickness, maybe I just want to spastic and silly.

I am once again back into my reading habit - it's amazing to me how one bad book can knock you out of your reading groove. Since I finished the bad uninteresting book - I have read the Dreaming Water by Gail Tsukiyama and I will finish the Hobbit by JRR Tolkien tonight. Less than one week I have finish two books and it took more than 2.5 to 3 months to finish the bad one. I have a policy as to not start reading another book till I finish the book I am currently reading, if I do I'll never finish the bad books and they will yell at me from the bookself. It really bugs me not to finish a book. I highly recommend both Tolkien and Tsukiyama. I learned about Tsukiyama by accident with the Friends of Library books (no book jacket - just a leap of faith) with her book the Samurai's Garden it's turned out to be on of my all time favorites.

Down With Chavez, Up With Rangle?

Personal experiment - Day Seven - don't feel great and a little cranky, 42 Days to go.

I really have nothing to share today. My personal world is okay, Winston got out from mom today but she was able to catch him rather quickly so it wasn't a major trauma. His stitches weren't ready to come out so we go back on Sunday to get them out. I faultered on my diet Wednesday [Taco Bueno] and Thrusday [McDonald's] gained a pound so right back on my diet I go.

What do you - out there in cyberland - think of Hugo Chavez calling our President the devil? I was offended and outraged but mostly stunned because it caused Congressman Charlie Rangle to come out and denounce him. Rangle hates all things Bush but he did the right thing when he said not in my country, my district about my President. Who knew he had it in him! Boycott, Citgo - Chavez's gas company.

Enough for now.

We're on Road to Getting Better

I have begun a personal experiment - Day Two - in about one month I'll let you know if it worked. Alls I can say is that it will be a long hard road - so keep your fingers crossed for me.

Winston gets his stitches out on Tuesday and boy howdy is he driving me nuts! The incission is healing and he is trying to scratch. You can't let him out of your sight for five minutes or he'll be at them. I've started calling him Whirlpool, since these recent vet bills have cost me my new frigerator but that's okay - the frig will come eventually.

Since I gained all the weight I lost at the first of the year - I am back on my diet. I swear I have lost the same five pounds 100 times or more. I am doing okay on the diet - 5.5 lbs in 10 days - 10 to 15 more to go, but what I would do for a quarter pounder with cheese, large fries and coke! I got my head on right for this but the slightest set back can do me in. Please send me all your weight loss vibes - I'll need the help.

Ice asked if I have done in more house projects lately and the answer is nope! As far as major projects, I am down to the bathroom renovation and that will be close to a grand and I'll have to have my brother-in-law's help for that. I will probably do that next fall. I also plan to cedar line all my closets and I am going to ask everyone to give me Lowe's gift cards for my birthday and Christmas so that I can get that done. I didn't realize how much financing the windows would cut into the remaining projects.

Enough for now.

Lump Free and Happy

I have baby home safe and sound without that ugly bump on his chest and a more ugly three inch incission in it's place but I now know that nothing potentially dangerous is growing in there. Man was it hard dropping him off at the vet this morning -he looked at me like "where you going momma" broke my heart. When I picked him up he was as spastic as ever, what a relief. It was a very long day but worth it.

Enough for now.

Peace and Calm for the Moment

It a gray rainy day, I have my windows open and I am soaking in the pitter patter of the rain. It feels good. Seamus is sprawled out on the floor with me here in the office. Winston is hiding in the bedroom - he's afraid of the rain and the office. My Sooners won yesterday - it may have been ugly but a win is a win. Today, life is good.

Tomorrow is a totally different story - I return to work and it's in turmoil right now. Winston goes in for surgery on his lump that didn't go away with two weeks of antibiotics. I don't want tomorrow to come - I want to live today forever.

Enough for now.

I Vote to Evict Will!

I basically have no news to report. So I am strangely going to talk about how much I am enjoying this beautiful weather. The severe heat that we had this summer absolutely wiped me out. I lost any enthusiaism for any home improvement projects, any creative anything. I hate to admit how lazy I have been - no energy for life. It's like I've been in a heat warp and I am just now coming out of it.

I took a few days off on each side of the labor day weekend and boy howdy did I not want to go to work today. When I take vacations, it's usually 10 days at a time and 5 days wasn't enough! Right now, work is last place I want to be - I need a real vacation.

Winston is all better from his neutering but now the little stink pot has a strange lump on his chest. The vet put him on antibiotics for two weeks before he decides to cut it off. It could be a number of things but the only one I can remember him saying is tumor (must think happy thoughts, must think happy thoughts). He will have his recheck on Tuesday and really hope that the stupid thing goes away by then but it doesn't look like it's changed in the week he's been on the pills. Keep your fingers crossed for baby.

Anyone watching Big Brother this season? If so, did you do the happy dance when Will, aka Dr. Evil, got evicted? I squealed like a sissy girl when it happened.

Enough for now -

Winston's a Unic Now

If I am going to blog this week / month, I'd better do it now while I am at work. I am unable to do anything at home except sit on the couch and watch tv/Winston. Last Thursday, I had Winston neutered and his back dew claws removed. If they would have told me how horrible it would be to do that I would have only had him neutered. The dog is a noodle and can wiggle around the satellite dish hat he is sporting this week and lick the wounds on his back legs. Mom has stayed with him all week trying to keep him away from the incision but he still got to them. I had to take little man back to the vet last night to have him restitched and the stitches wrapped. They also gave him a larger satellite dish. He really looks like a dork now. I am worn out and ready to get my dog back.

Enough for now.

I Believe

I am clueless as to how to help or console my friend so all I can do is ask for prayer from many. My friend Suzie found the love of her life 6 or 7 years ago, married him in Hawaii in a truly fantasy wedding and later had two beautiful boys. Last week, Mark, her husband, was diagnosed with a brain cancer. It's the worst kind of brain cancer to get. Suzie and Mark need all the help in the world to weather this situation. Pray for them. It doesn't matter if you know them or not, you know someone who is in loving marriage, raising children and needs a lifetime to be a part of those gifts and you know the need for a father and husband.

Deja Vu

At 10:30 this morning, Mom calls me and her voice is shaking and she asks if I am having a good day. What's wrong? I ask. She tells me that she let Seamus and Winston out this morning as she always does and went and got a soda. A few minutes later, Seamus comes back in the house and she looks outside for Winston. He doesn't answer her when she calls, so she walks around the side of her house and sees the back gate wide open. She runs back in the house and to the front and sees Winston running down the street. Quickly, she runs to her bedroom grabs a robe (since all she had on was her night gown). Puts Seamus on his leash and goes running after Winston.

Winston saw them and came running to her but wouldn't let her grab him. It's a game with him. So for another 10 minutes of playing catch with an insane beagle, Mom finally grabs him when he stops to mark the neighbor's bush.

Two days in a row.................Little Man is going to get expelled from doggie day-care if he's not careful - oh and by the way, Dad is in the dog house now for leaving the back gate open. I don't envy him!

Winston's Big Adventure

Yesterday, I took Winston to mom's house before work as I always do. He runs to her room and snuggles in to bed with her and Seamus. Around 10 a.m. she took both boys backs to my house to hang out in the backyard (mine has more room to romp and play). Then she went to her part time job. After noon, she decided to leave them at my house while she cleaned her floors. At 3:00 p.m. she decided to go get them - as she drove up my street she saw Winston walking across the street back into my front yard. Paniced she stopped the car (in the middle of the road) jumped out and called Winston to her. He immediately came running to her and got in the car - then to her surprise Seamus also came running.

With both dogs safely in the car, mom pulls into my drive way, still shaken she gets out to investigate how they got out. There was no sign of an escape point. She then called me still upset that they got out - I left work to check out my backyard and go calm mom down.

It turns out that mom didn't realize that the new fence latch was hanging up and that just shutting the gate wasn't totally securing it (there is now a lock on the gate). My neighbor, Harold, tried to get the dogs back into the backyard but Seamus growled at him, so rightfully he backed off. He saw them at noon, so they were out terrorizing the neighborhood for three hours. Seamus would lay on the porch watching Winston and when he could no longer see him - Seamus would get up and go to where ever Winston was then walk back to my house with Winston in tow. Seamus was the hero yesterday - if Winston had been alone I would probably still be looking for him.

Today, I have to go get Winston a tag for his collar - somehow the other one came off and is lost. Had someone pick up Winston there would have been no way for them to know where he belonged.

Enough for now - I am just happy to have my baby home and safe.

I Work More Away From Work

This has been an exhausting weekend! Aren't we supposed to relax and unwind on the weekends? The work on my front porch post is complete - FINALLY! Before I state that I want to refinish another piece of woodwork, someone please remind me how hard this was. I sanded off at least four to five layers of white paint on that darn thing. The project lasted three weeks because dana was solo on the sanding project and my back didn't like it. I had to take it slow but I did it none the less. Last week, Dad brought over his monster air compressor - Black Max (yes, that's the brand name) and sprayed painted the post a super high gloss. It looks really good and now with all those layers of paint gone the wood grain really comes through. So I needed to finish up the front for the project to be complete. Today, I re-hung this wrought iron bell on the post - it's not my style but I keep it for kicks. Then I noticed that with this heat wave, I couldn't keep one of my planters watered enough for the Lamb's Ear plants to survive. So off to Lowe's I go for mulch. I spread two biggie size bags in soaring heat and viola! the front projects are complete and I feel good.

Project two, this weekend was to prune out some tree limbs in my backyard. Some of my mature trees are not doing well since too many young trees are crowding out the sun. I have to remove approximate nine skinny but substantial trees to let the sun shine in. I was able to remove the top portion of five of those trees until Dad can come in with chain saw for the main trunks. So I had a lot of foliage to bag and get ready for trash day. I didn't make it - what's left will be Monday's job.

Today has been a hard day for my little man, Winston. He's had two pretty hard episodes with his reverse sneezes, so his allergies must be acting up. He's learned that when these happen, he runs to me so that I can perform the tick the vet taught me to stop them. It really takes a lot out of him - poor guy. We are planning on vegging out the remainder of the evening and go to bed early.

Enough for now.