Hello everyone!
Long time, no type :D
I need to do some explaining here, but first I will start with an apology.
Life happens. It gets in the way of things that we may or may not have our hearts set on. Blogging has never been a passion of mine, truly. My passions lie elsewhere; a blog is a time-filler, a friend-maker, a typing tutor even... but not my passion the way I know it is for some.
In light of this, it's difficult to continue something that is not your passion when the interest wanes. This blog is, unfortunately, a victim of this. I find myself less and less interested in putting my thoughts online, and more and more guilty that I have not spoken to my dearest companion, my diary Self, for months now. Because Self is obviously myself, she knows everything that goes on in my life... but like you feel guilty when you haven't spoken to your mother for a few days, I feel bad about not writing to her.
Are you catching my drift or did you leave your boat docked somewhere else?
Now, let me go further with this.
Passions are unending. Interests vary. To keep an interest in something, it needs (for me at least) to be easily accessible, readily stimulating, and something that I am not nagged about on a daily basis.
At this moment, this blog is none of these.
While I wonder often about the lives of the people I've met here, I don't often have the gumption to go through all the steps necessary to read these peoples' posts and blogs. I have two emails. One of them is my older one, at Yahoo, and the other is new and much more mature, at Gmail. My lovely lappy has everything I need bookmarked for me, but to get to this blog, I have to log out of one, log into another, post, then log out again.
Call me lazy, but at 7:30 am, waiting for Andrew to finish PT, and only a few hours before I have to go smile and ask people if I can help them, that's just too many steps. Okay, fine. -I- will call me lazy, lol, because I am and I admit it.
I better bring this to a conclusion, huh?
I am going to be deleting this blog. I'm making a new one, with no promise to keep it regularly, on my email helen.adami@gmail.com so that when I log in, I am fully logged in and can come right on over, post, and go on my merry way.
The obligatory information:
helen.adami@gmail.com
Oddity of Oddities (of course)
http://oneoddcookie.blogspot.com
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Friday, April 2
Friday, February 19
Three days a week and the Recap
Okay... so I've decided to switch around my whole vlogging ideals. It's never going to be a Friday again, lol: I have too much to say.
I've also come to a theory, just this second... I wonder if I can blog/vlog on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and get away with it?
Monday Mingle, with a few Mumbles....Vlog n' Blog!
Wordless Wednesdays, that always ends up being not so Wordless.
And the Friday Recap, which tends to be long and boring.
I could do that. Could you do that? Like, I mean... could you read that much or that little every week and still like coming to my blog, assuming that you actually do like coming now...
It's a thought. And you'd get a lot more that way. I might even be able to do a lovely amount of photography for Wednesdays. I need to get you a picture of 13 1/2 St. is what I need to do...
So let's get on with the Friday recap as I contemplate this whole thrice a week thing.
Monday... nothing special. Tried to make lasagna, forgot to take out the hamburger to thaw.
Tuesday, I worked. Got mad at Andrew because he was grouchy about taking me to work at 9 am, even though I wake up all the time to take him at 4. Laundry was done while I was gone, and the floor was vacuumed, and the dishes done. I think he felt bad. Tried to make lasagna. Had no ricotta cheese. Camp deployed for Afghanistan and Teresa spent the first of many lonely nights alone, poor girl.
Wednesday... nothing special. Played Sims. Drank orange juice. Ignored the laundry on the couch. Tried to make lasagna. Had no noodles. At this point, I was peeved.
Thursday, I worked. Ignored the laundry on the couch. Bought groceries at the commisary and REMEMBERED THE CHEESE, NOODLES, AND HAMBURGER! We ate frozen microwave dinners.
I'm planning on taking some to Teresa, along with some brownies, because she needs it. I don't know how well she'll take seeing Andrew, so I might leave him home.
The Incredible Mrs. B is having a) a retro cooking month, and b) a give away today. I want to win this give away. It would be awesome. It's the chance to win a Fantasy Me custom digital portrait from Angelique's Art... and I would LOVE IT. I would love a lot of things, but this... this is awesome. If you dunno what a "custom digital portrait" would look like, go to Angelique's Deviant Art Gallery
If you'll excuse me, I need to go Tweet and follow and follow some more so I can win :)
I leave you with this:
Mattison and Masen, my Ducky and my Moose-moose <3
I've also come to a theory, just this second... I wonder if I can blog/vlog on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and get away with it?
Monday Mingle, with a few Mumbles....Vlog n' Blog!
Wordless Wednesdays, that always ends up being not so Wordless.
And the Friday Recap, which tends to be long and boring.
I could do that. Could you do that? Like, I mean... could you read that much or that little every week and still like coming to my blog, assuming that you actually do like coming now...
It's a thought. And you'd get a lot more that way. I might even be able to do a lovely amount of photography for Wednesdays. I need to get you a picture of 13 1/2 St. is what I need to do...
So let's get on with the Friday recap as I contemplate this whole thrice a week thing.
Monday... nothing special. Tried to make lasagna, forgot to take out the hamburger to thaw.
Tuesday, I worked. Got mad at Andrew because he was grouchy about taking me to work at 9 am, even though I wake up all the time to take him at 4. Laundry was done while I was gone, and the floor was vacuumed, and the dishes done. I think he felt bad. Tried to make lasagna. Had no ricotta cheese. Camp deployed for Afghanistan and Teresa spent the first of many lonely nights alone, poor girl.
Wednesday... nothing special. Played Sims. Drank orange juice. Ignored the laundry on the couch. Tried to make lasagna. Had no noodles. At this point, I was peeved.
Thursday, I worked. Ignored the laundry on the couch. Bought groceries at the commisary and REMEMBERED THE CHEESE, NOODLES, AND HAMBURGER! We ate frozen microwave dinners.
Today:
I AM MAKING THAT DANGED LASAGNA!!!!
So frickin' there.
I'm planning on taking some to Teresa, along with some brownies, because she needs it. I don't know how well she'll take seeing Andrew, so I might leave him home.
Now, let me tell you about this here:
If you'll excuse me, I need to go Tweet and follow and follow some more so I can win :)
I leave you with this:
Mattison and Masen, my Ducky and my Moose-moose <3
Friday, January 1
Big families mean more posts about them, right?
So, here at Oddity of Oddities (like it's some kind of important something or other, right?) Christmas posting is still going.
Yes, I realize it's 2010. Hello, New Year. I will blog about you, soon, I swear.
Yes, I realize that Christmas was a week ago.
Yes, I understand that you may or may not be interested in my in law's playing pool and being male.
No, I don't care about any of the above realizations/understandings.
Avast, me hearties! Brothers in law on the horizon!
More later, when I don't have to work... which is very limited this week, so yay!
Yes, I realize it's 2010. Hello, New Year. I will blog about you, soon, I swear.
Yes, I realize that Christmas was a week ago.
Yes, I understand that you may or may not be interested in my in law's playing pool and being male.
No, I don't care about any of the above realizations/understandings.
Avast, me hearties! Brothers in law on the horizon!
More later, when I don't have to work... which is very limited this week, so yay!
Friday, December 11
Pioneer Woman: The Most Awaited and Glorified Part Three!
I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. And then, once my head is back on, and I sit down here at my computer like the happy go lucky not about to be dinner cluck cluck that I am, I'm too tired to bother with typing more than is necessary. I sit on my Facebook with my head in my hands, and pretend to do something productive on CafeWorld.
I am just so tired.
I also have lately had heartburn from God knows where.... and gas... and I'm constipated... and I'm freaking angry at the world.
I think I might be dying of a new strain of the Swine Flu. This one is worse, though, it doesn't go after your lungs or liver or anything else that's not important. It hits your hormones and your digestive tract.
But enough about me! I must tell you about the Pioneer Woman! I left off somewhere around the awesome pasta. After that, I just wandered around the mall a little more. I had several hours left to go. I stopped in the maternity store to look at stuff there... Don't look at me that way. I have several pregnant people in my life. Megan, and Allison at work, and Teresa was... (she lost the baby again, poor dear, 5 weeks this time, but I didn't know that yet anyway) I'll tell you more about the maternity store later, when I feel more prepared to do so.
After that, I went and sat around the bookstore for a while, and waited. Waited some more. Wrote in my new planner. Waited again, and finally, I called my new-found friend Judy! Judy and I met on Facebook after commenting on the same post from Mrs. Drummond, and we struck up a friendship and agreement to meet while we were at the signing. We ended up being some of the first people to get our cookbooks signed. I was the first to give her a present :D Yes, I am gloating, thank you very much.
So, pictures!! They're all really bad. I'll save my favorite for last.
Here's the table before...everything =D
And I got a free t-shirt!! The small would have been tight on Mattison, so I got a medium 8)
I am just so tired.
I also have lately had heartburn from God knows where.... and gas... and I'm constipated... and I'm freaking angry at the world.
I think I might be dying of a new strain of the Swine Flu. This one is worse, though, it doesn't go after your lungs or liver or anything else that's not important. It hits your hormones and your digestive tract.
But enough about me! I must tell you about the Pioneer Woman! I left off somewhere around the awesome pasta. After that, I just wandered around the mall a little more. I had several hours left to go. I stopped in the maternity store to look at stuff there... Don't look at me that way. I have several pregnant people in my life. Megan, and Allison at work, and Teresa was... (she lost the baby again, poor dear, 5 weeks this time, but I didn't know that yet anyway) I'll tell you more about the maternity store later, when I feel more prepared to do so.
After that, I went and sat around the bookstore for a while, and waited. Waited some more. Wrote in my new planner. Waited again, and finally, I called my new-found friend Judy! Judy and I met on Facebook after commenting on the same post from Mrs. Drummond, and we struck up a friendship and agreement to meet while we were at the signing. We ended up being some of the first people to get our cookbooks signed. I was the first to give her a present :D Yes, I am gloating, thank you very much.
So, pictures!! They're all really bad. I'll save my favorite for last.
Here's the table before...everything =D
This is Judy DiSalvo. She is awesome! And so, so pretty! Oh, and me, with bad hair.
This is Tara and Renee (from left to right, I think). They were really nice to Judy's daughter and me, and then asked if we could have their books signed for them because they were in the last group. We said sure thing =D
THEE cookbook of all cookbooks and the reason Andrew hasn't starved to death yet.
I was shaking too hard to take a good picture, so I do apologize for the blurriness... and the bad angle, too. Sorry, Ree!
No, that is not a wad of tissues in my hand. I was not quite that overcome, lol, but it IS tissue paper, in which was a cute little Basset Hound keychain, in honor of Charlie <3
Betsey and Hyacinth! I can't even tell you how fashionable and put-together, and just awesome, all three women seemed to me.
Look! It says, Enjoy, Helen! <3 Ree/PW <3
I got TWO hearts in mine. The certain other person whom I bought a cookbook for and had signed only got one. I can't tell you who that is yet. She might maybe read this O.o
And I got a free t-shirt!! The small would have been tight on Mattison, so I got a medium 8)
Look at the pretty details! I love it. By the way, that's the website for Ree/PW. Right up there on the back hip of the shirt.
And last, but not least!
*drum roll please*
My favorite!
Yes, I realize it's kinda crappy. The pic-taking guy had NO idea what to do with my camera. But that's okay, we look like we're in deep conversation. That works for me =)
Ta-Da! And Yay!
And now, I'm going back to staring blankly at my Cafe before I go to work and get tired again.
Tuesday, December 1
A new name and some other stuff before work.
Good morning! It's too early for me to be this cheerful, especially since I had such a trial last night. I couldn't sleep, not even a little. Andrew and I went to bed at 9:30 and I layed there a while, trying to sleep, but I had so much on my mind, I just...couldn't. So I got up to see how my video was uploading to my blog.
It wasn't.
**insert eye roll and facepalm here**
So I gave up, and I am very sorry. It was a cute video, but oh well. You'll just have to see my husband topless, fluffing a fake Christmas tree some other time.
I can, however, offer you a few photos of said tree.
And of our new and beautiful Kahlan Sedona, the cat who has yet to climb the Christmas tree.
I believe she's put off by the bird, who apparently gets the idea and starts freaking out, very loudly, when she gets too close to it.
Not to mention, our tree is only 4 1/2' tall. Not exactly a towering achievement if she did climb it, lol!
Also, if you're wondering what happened, I decided that I needed something.... spiffier than "The Adamis" for my blog name if I'm going to be seeing The Pioneer Woman, in person, in only a week!
Yes. THAT Pioneer Woman. The one with the amazing cookbook. The hunky hubby. The cute kids. The amazing cookbook....oh, wait, I said that. I'm gonna get her autograph! *dances around like a nasty little two year old*
And I'm going to buy Chels one, too, because out of nowhere, we discovered that we'd been reading the same awesome blog. How weird is that? Two sisters in law, on opposites sides of the country, both with very little interest in the food blog world in general...come across the same website on their own, put it on their own iGoogle pages for quick updates, and learn of this coinkidink two days before Thanksgiving when one of them casually mentions a corn and rice dish that the other had been drooling over a few hours before.
Oddity of oddities.
:D
It wasn't.
**insert eye roll and facepalm here**
So I gave up, and I am very sorry. It was a cute video, but oh well. You'll just have to see my husband topless, fluffing a fake Christmas tree some other time.
I can, however, offer you a few photos of said tree.
And of our new and beautiful Kahlan Sedona, the cat who has yet to climb the Christmas tree.
I believe she's put off by the bird, who apparently gets the idea and starts freaking out, very loudly, when she gets too close to it.
Not to mention, our tree is only 4 1/2' tall. Not exactly a towering achievement if she did climb it, lol!
Also, if you're wondering what happened, I decided that I needed something.... spiffier than "The Adamis" for my blog name if I'm going to be seeing The Pioneer Woman, in person, in only a week!
Yes. THAT Pioneer Woman. The one with the amazing cookbook. The hunky hubby. The cute kids. The amazing cookbook....oh, wait, I said that. I'm gonna get her autograph! *dances around like a nasty little two year old*
And I'm going to buy Chels one, too, because out of nowhere, we discovered that we'd been reading the same awesome blog. How weird is that? Two sisters in law, on opposites sides of the country, both with very little interest in the food blog world in general...come across the same website on their own, put it on their own iGoogle pages for quick updates, and learn of this coinkidink two days before Thanksgiving when one of them casually mentions a corn and rice dish that the other had been drooling over a few hours before.
Oddity of oddities.
:D
Friday, October 30
Lots to do, lots to say, with a very somber ending.
I have loads of things to put into this post today, so I'm going to color code them.
For the give-aways and other awesome things about Mrs. B, the Pagan Soccer Mom:
Orange!
For just the regular old Helen stuff, we'll go with....:
This color! LOL.
For the Blogging Party, I need to answer these questions. Alexes will then read them and match me up with another blogger... and I have no clue what happens from there, lol, that's all I understood. But I'm one of those learn as you go kinds of people, so I'll figure it out.
1. What is your favorite thing to snack on while you're blogging? I'm not much of a snacker... heck, as much as I truly love food, I'm not really much of an eater! Andrew and I are drinkers, lol, we could pretty much live off liquids. I drink chocolate milk while I blog :)
2. What is one thing you wouldn't want to live without? You know, I would have to say, I wouldn't want to live without running water. Not really for any particular reason, except that unless there's an actual, well-built outhouse, I can't get my squat down pat. Some article of clothing always gets wet... so I couldn't live without that wonderful toilet, which would be impossible without running water!
3. Beach, Mountains or Farm? Where would you live if you had a choice? Mountains. Put me in a cabin in the mountains...but that's out of those three. If I had a choice truly? I want a sprawling ranch house in the middle of the desert, with horses and dogs, cats, chickens, and a BIG aviary full of cockatiels!
4. What's your least favorite chore/household duty? Laundry. I hate laundry. 'Nuff said.
5. Prefer parties and socializing or staying at home with the fam? I love going to family get-togethers, either all of our family or my family with other people's families. I love it!
6.Favorite movie? The Long, Long Trailer, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
7. Do you sleep in your make up or remove it like a good girl every night? I don't wear enough make-up to worry about, so I usually sleep in it. I mean, cover-up and mascara? The worst that can happen is a dirty pillow and some clogged pores.
8. Where is your favorite place to shop? I like Kohls a lot... and Borders or Barnes and Noble!
9. What's one thing you'd do more often if you had more time? Write. I would write if I had more time and more inspiration to do so.
10. Are you a big spender or frugal? I spend too much, too often. It's always little stuff, but little stuff adds up FAST.
So now, let me tell you a little about the give away going on at Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom. First off, I don't know how she does it. She managed to do a give away EVERY day of October, but I couldn't even get my butt here to BLOG once a day this month for NaBloWriMo. Seriously. Mrs. B gets my utter admiration.
Today, she's got several give aways and I'll link all of them here. There's the book from Quirk Classics, called Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. There's a subscription to Circle Magazine. Last but not least, she's giving away a spooky keyring from Carioca Witch.
I'm crossing my fingers for that book. I read a little of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and it was both awesome and hilarious!
The wind is blowing like crazy outside and freaking me out more than a little. I watched some leaves going left, and then others were going right and I was thinking, "OMG, the wind is going in two directions... or maybe it's going in the same direction, but in a circle??" and then I freaked out even more because the words "wind circle" translate into "tornado" to me. Andrew's not home, he's in the field, so it's just me and the feathered menace.
Because I don't know if I'll be able to do it tomorrow, or the day after, I want to tell you about what happened one year ago on Halloween night.
Last year at this time, Andrew had been gone for only a few weeks to basic training. I was still in that guest-nice-do-it-all period with David and Rachel at the apartment, I was working 5 days a week in a brand new job, and not getting much sleep because Harmony cried if you looked at her funny...oh wait, she still does O.o.
Gramma took a bad turn just after the wedding, as though getting out of the house and to the ceremony took everything she had left. They put her in a place called Pepe's House, on the back side of TMC (Tucson Medical Center, where I was born), and every day that I had off, I went to see her. I saw her as often as I could...most days, she just slept. Some days she knew who I was and why I was there, but not often. Mom and I visted together a few times, but usually, it was just me. If she woke up, I would talk to her about Andrew, or I'd show her pictures of the wedding. She told me a few stories of younger days, but she ran out of wind fast.
Pepe's House was good to her. They had a harpist come every day and play in the halls, and it was beautiful. Gramma loved it, and so did I. They brought her what she wanted to eat, not what was good for her, and made sure she was as comfortable as she could be. She was dying of lung cancer, with COPD, and only about 10% of her respiratory system was functioning. When they examined her earlier that month, before she got so bad, the doctors were shocked and amazed that she was still relatively mobile. We knew better. If she'd have had enough reasons, the old woman would have held on another 100 years for spite.
On Halloween day, before work, I went to see her. It was a Friday last year...I held her hand, and I told her I loved her. I told her I would be back to see her on my next day off, and that she wasn't allowed to run off with any cute nurses or anything while I was gone. She was lucid, in good spirits, and she told me she would be there. When I left, I drove past an elementary school on recess. There were little witches and a mermaid on the swings. The mermaid was being pushed by Batman, and I smiled and wished I was that little again for a hundred reasons, but mostly so I could dress up and play on the playground, lol. It was exactly 20 days after our wedding.
I spent the night on 4th Ave in Tucson with a friend, having a wild time, enjoying myself until way too late. The next morning, I got the phone call from my Aunt Shelly...Gramma had died sometime that night, probably a little after midnight. I was the last person she saw other than a nurse, but they said that the harpist had been there that evening. Aunt Shelly, my mom, and my aunt and uncles all agreed that she had been holding on to see my wedding day, and now that she had, she decided it was time to let go...
I tried to get ahold of Andrew, but there was no way other than a letter. He didn't know until almost two weeks later. And I cried. I cried for a long time, I cried often, and I'm not done crying yet. I'm crying now, and I was crying in bed this morning and last night.
When I think about it, I see the playground. I see them happy and playing, all dressed up, and I hope that was how Gramma left: happy. I like to think she left us still hearing the harp in her sleep, with my wedding pictures on her nightstand, and her beautiful, hard-working hands finally at rest. I don't know for sure, but that's what I like to think. I miss her.
Halloween has always been quite the night for me. It's the night Andrew told me he loved me for the first time, the night when my friends and I could be ourselves and not be called weird, and the night I lost one of the most important people in my life.
Happy Halloween, Gramma.
For the give-aways and other awesome things about Mrs. B, the Pagan Soccer Mom:
Orange!
For just the regular old Helen stuff, we'll go with....:
This color! LOL.
For the Blogging Party, I need to answer these questions. Alexes will then read them and match me up with another blogger... and I have no clue what happens from there, lol, that's all I understood. But I'm one of those learn as you go kinds of people, so I'll figure it out.
1. What is your favorite thing to snack on while you're blogging? I'm not much of a snacker... heck, as much as I truly love food, I'm not really much of an eater! Andrew and I are drinkers, lol, we could pretty much live off liquids. I drink chocolate milk while I blog :)
2. What is one thing you wouldn't want to live without? You know, I would have to say, I wouldn't want to live without running water. Not really for any particular reason, except that unless there's an actual, well-built outhouse, I can't get my squat down pat. Some article of clothing always gets wet... so I couldn't live without that wonderful toilet, which would be impossible without running water!
3. Beach, Mountains or Farm? Where would you live if you had a choice? Mountains. Put me in a cabin in the mountains...but that's out of those three. If I had a choice truly? I want a sprawling ranch house in the middle of the desert, with horses and dogs, cats, chickens, and a BIG aviary full of cockatiels!
4. What's your least favorite chore/household duty? Laundry. I hate laundry. 'Nuff said.
5. Prefer parties and socializing or staying at home with the fam? I love going to family get-togethers, either all of our family or my family with other people's families. I love it!
6.Favorite movie? The Long, Long Trailer, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
7. Do you sleep in your make up or remove it like a good girl every night? I don't wear enough make-up to worry about, so I usually sleep in it. I mean, cover-up and mascara? The worst that can happen is a dirty pillow and some clogged pores.
8. Where is your favorite place to shop? I like Kohls a lot... and Borders or Barnes and Noble!
9. What's one thing you'd do more often if you had more time? Write. I would write if I had more time and more inspiration to do so.
10. Are you a big spender or frugal? I spend too much, too often. It's always little stuff, but little stuff adds up FAST.
So now, let me tell you a little about the give away going on at Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom. First off, I don't know how she does it. She managed to do a give away EVERY day of October, but I couldn't even get my butt here to BLOG once a day this month for NaBloWriMo. Seriously. Mrs. B gets my utter admiration.
Today, she's got several give aways and I'll link all of them here. There's the book from Quirk Classics, called Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. There's a subscription to Circle Magazine. Last but not least, she's giving away a spooky keyring from Carioca Witch.
I'm crossing my fingers for that book. I read a little of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and it was both awesome and hilarious!
The wind is blowing like crazy outside and freaking me out more than a little. I watched some leaves going left, and then others were going right and I was thinking, "OMG, the wind is going in two directions... or maybe it's going in the same direction, but in a circle??" and then I freaked out even more because the words "wind circle" translate into "tornado" to me. Andrew's not home, he's in the field, so it's just me and the feathered menace.
Because I don't know if I'll be able to do it tomorrow, or the day after, I want to tell you about what happened one year ago on Halloween night.
Last year at this time, Andrew had been gone for only a few weeks to basic training. I was still in that guest-nice-do-it-all period with David and Rachel at the apartment, I was working 5 days a week in a brand new job, and not getting much sleep because Harmony cried if you looked at her funny...oh wait, she still does O.o.
Gramma took a bad turn just after the wedding, as though getting out of the house and to the ceremony took everything she had left. They put her in a place called Pepe's House, on the back side of TMC (Tucson Medical Center, where I was born), and every day that I had off, I went to see her. I saw her as often as I could...most days, she just slept. Some days she knew who I was and why I was there, but not often. Mom and I visted together a few times, but usually, it was just me. If she woke up, I would talk to her about Andrew, or I'd show her pictures of the wedding. She told me a few stories of younger days, but she ran out of wind fast.
Pepe's House was good to her. They had a harpist come every day and play in the halls, and it was beautiful. Gramma loved it, and so did I. They brought her what she wanted to eat, not what was good for her, and made sure she was as comfortable as she could be. She was dying of lung cancer, with COPD, and only about 10% of her respiratory system was functioning. When they examined her earlier that month, before she got so bad, the doctors were shocked and amazed that she was still relatively mobile. We knew better. If she'd have had enough reasons, the old woman would have held on another 100 years for spite.
On Halloween day, before work, I went to see her. It was a Friday last year...I held her hand, and I told her I loved her. I told her I would be back to see her on my next day off, and that she wasn't allowed to run off with any cute nurses or anything while I was gone. She was lucid, in good spirits, and she told me she would be there. When I left, I drove past an elementary school on recess. There were little witches and a mermaid on the swings. The mermaid was being pushed by Batman, and I smiled and wished I was that little again for a hundred reasons, but mostly so I could dress up and play on the playground, lol. It was exactly 20 days after our wedding.
I spent the night on 4th Ave in Tucson with a friend, having a wild time, enjoying myself until way too late. The next morning, I got the phone call from my Aunt Shelly...Gramma had died sometime that night, probably a little after midnight. I was the last person she saw other than a nurse, but they said that the harpist had been there that evening. Aunt Shelly, my mom, and my aunt and uncles all agreed that she had been holding on to see my wedding day, and now that she had, she decided it was time to let go...
I tried to get ahold of Andrew, but there was no way other than a letter. He didn't know until almost two weeks later. And I cried. I cried for a long time, I cried often, and I'm not done crying yet. I'm crying now, and I was crying in bed this morning and last night.
When I think about it, I see the playground. I see them happy and playing, all dressed up, and I hope that was how Gramma left: happy. I like to think she left us still hearing the harp in her sleep, with my wedding pictures on her nightstand, and her beautiful, hard-working hands finally at rest. I don't know for sure, but that's what I like to think. I miss her.
Halloween has always been quite the night for me. It's the night Andrew told me he loved me for the first time, the night when my friends and I could be ourselves and not be called weird, and the night I lost one of the most important people in my life.
Happy Halloween, Gramma.
Monday, October 26
The shpiel is very, very important.
I've decided to go a little deeper with my blog than I have before. Not necessarily today, but in the long run, I want to put more than my complaints, troubles, and daily happenings here. Why? I don't have a reason why. I don't even have a specific audience in mind, although I notice I tend to lean towards Mommy Blogs more than anything, even if I'm not a mommy.
My problem is that deeper means longer. Longer means no one is going to take the time to sit and read my mind. Maybe if I intersperse it with pictures and jokes, it won't seem so long...but it will still be long.
And I can't intersperse. My laptop was read it's last rites a few days ago and this desktop hates my very existence. It blames me for the virus that took it's brain.
I plead the 5th.
However, as I said, today is not necessarily a deep day. Today is a bread-making, laundry-folding, eat-the-last-corner-brownie-on-the-pretense-of-needing-to-wash-the-pan, celebrating kind of day.
Why do I need to celebrate? Let me explain. I got a phone call this morning from a place called Kirlin's Hallmark. Ah, yes, do you know of my adoration of Hallmarks in general? No? Mwaaahahaha! Why do I adore them? Let me list the reasons: Kristal, Amy, Anne, John, Julie, other Julie... ornaments, Christmas cards, Snoopy, WillowTree... I could go on and on. I loved working there, more than any place I've worked yet!
I start work at Kirlin's Hallmark tomorrow at 11:00 am, in a solid colored collared shirt, solid colored pants or skirt, and tennies, for minimum wage at about 25 hours a week.
You have nooo idea how happy I am. I am getting the heck out of Dodge, people, I am gone like a freight train, like the Seminoles around the Ocochobee... I am done staying here in this house day in and day out!! And I'll be making money for not being bored out of my mind.
Hi, welcome to Hallmark. What special person or occasion can I help you shop for today? Let me know if I can be of any help, get you a box, whatever you need, okay?
Sorry... I was practicing my shpiel.
My problem is that deeper means longer. Longer means no one is going to take the time to sit and read my mind. Maybe if I intersperse it with pictures and jokes, it won't seem so long...but it will still be long.
And I can't intersperse. My laptop was read it's last rites a few days ago and this desktop hates my very existence. It blames me for the virus that took it's brain.
I plead the 5th.
However, as I said, today is not necessarily a deep day. Today is a bread-making, laundry-folding, eat-the-last-corner-brownie-on-the-pretense-of-needing-to-wash-the-pan, celebrating kind of day.
Why do I need to celebrate? Let me explain. I got a phone call this morning from a place called Kirlin's Hallmark. Ah, yes, do you know of my adoration of Hallmarks in general? No? Mwaaahahaha! Why do I adore them? Let me list the reasons: Kristal, Amy, Anne, John, Julie, other Julie... ornaments, Christmas cards, Snoopy, WillowTree... I could go on and on. I loved working there, more than any place I've worked yet!
I start work at Kirlin's Hallmark tomorrow at 11:00 am, in a solid colored collared shirt, solid colored pants or skirt, and tennies, for minimum wage at about 25 hours a week.
You have nooo idea how happy I am. I am getting the heck out of Dodge, people, I am gone like a freight train, like the Seminoles around the Ocochobee... I am done staying here in this house day in and day out!! And I'll be making money for not being bored out of my mind.
Hi, welcome to Hallmark. What special person or occasion can I help you shop for today? Let me know if I can be of any help, get you a box, whatever you need, okay?
Sorry... I was practicing my shpiel.
Friday, October 23
I don't even have a title....
My laptop is dead.
Yesterday, I had to take Zedd back to the car doctor and on the way there, I had to stop very, very suddenly at a red light. It was either that or be a) photographed and sent my ugly mug in the mail and b) pulled over right then and there because there was a cop next to me.
Laptop went flying.
Not even 30 minutes prior, I was on it fine and dandy, typing up my Thankful Thursday post which I saved to finish at Borders while I waited on the car, so it had to be the brief flight it made from the passenger seat to the passenger floorboard... The screen does not work. Nothing. It turns on, makes all the right sounds like it's brought up my desktop; but I see nothing but black on the screen.
And I loathe this desktop. I hate being stuck in this little room, at this slow computer. It won't run IMVU and what am I gonna do there? I have a pack to take care of... I can't play CafeWorld on Facebook, and that breaks my heart...
Andrew says we'll get it fixed as long as the price of fixing the screen does not exceed the price the we paid for the computer itself. If it does... we'll just have to look into getting another, albeit cheaper and less awesome, computer.
*sigh*
Add that up with a ruined awesome purse (ink catastrophe), Chip being taken to the hospital for emergency gall bladder surgery, Bennie with a broken wrist due to free running, cramps like my uterus wants to jump out of my body, and various other minor thingies, yesterday was darned fantastic.
But what I'm thankful for on Thursday was/is: I am thankful for a husband that I can laugh with. I blew a huge raspberry on the part of his arm right above the armpit, that tender little skin there, and he called me a butt bubble. I think we laughed like 5 year olds for a good 15 mins, lol, over butt bubbles and armpit raspberries and the entire fact that we were laughing about them...
<3
Yesterday, I had to take Zedd back to the car doctor and on the way there, I had to stop very, very suddenly at a red light. It was either that or be a) photographed and sent my ugly mug in the mail and b) pulled over right then and there because there was a cop next to me.
Laptop went flying.
Not even 30 minutes prior, I was on it fine and dandy, typing up my Thankful Thursday post which I saved to finish at Borders while I waited on the car, so it had to be the brief flight it made from the passenger seat to the passenger floorboard... The screen does not work. Nothing. It turns on, makes all the right sounds like it's brought up my desktop; but I see nothing but black on the screen.
And I loathe this desktop. I hate being stuck in this little room, at this slow computer. It won't run IMVU and what am I gonna do there? I have a pack to take care of... I can't play CafeWorld on Facebook, and that breaks my heart...
Andrew says we'll get it fixed as long as the price of fixing the screen does not exceed the price the we paid for the computer itself. If it does... we'll just have to look into getting another, albeit cheaper and less awesome, computer.
*sigh*
Add that up with a ruined awesome purse (ink catastrophe), Chip being taken to the hospital for emergency gall bladder surgery, Bennie with a broken wrist due to free running, cramps like my uterus wants to jump out of my body, and various other minor thingies, yesterday was darned fantastic.
But what I'm thankful for on Thursday was/is: I am thankful for a husband that I can laugh with. I blew a huge raspberry on the part of his arm right above the armpit, that tender little skin there, and he called me a butt bubble. I think we laughed like 5 year olds for a good 15 mins, lol, over butt bubbles and armpit raspberries and the entire fact that we were laughing about them...
<3
Sunday, October 4
NaBloWriMo Day 4: Also Cholla... Choy yuh :)
I'm sitting here trying to think of all the things I want to say to you and... I've got nothin'.
I mean, I have stuff to say but I don't really want to write it. What I want to do is go curl right back up in bed where it's warm and snuggly and not get out. Oh, and bring Andrew with me, dang it, because then it's even more warm and snuggly, the man's like a danged heater.
I am sitting here, and I am cold. I don't know that temperature is inside but says that it's 51 outside. I wonder if these people that live in Tennessee all the time realize that 51 degrees Fahrenheit is WINTER in my world. This is not FALL. This is WINTER. It's a beautiful 62 in Tucson, kinda chilly, but by noon it will be in the 80's or 90's The high for Clarksville?
Mid-60's.
Someone please take me home. I'll hug a freaking saguaro at this point, just get me back to Tucson!!! For those of you Eastern people or even those not American people who do not know what a saguaro, I shall post a picture. THAT, the huge green thing Rachel and I are standing next to, is a saguaro cactus. They live hundreds of years and they get as tall as trees, although in my mind, trees get as tall as saguaros. *EDIT: for further reference on the size of this ancient old man, I am 5 feet, 3 inches tall. It takes about 50 years for a saguaro to reach 4 feet tall, and another 50 to 60 for every arm. Consider this one's age.*
Also, say this with me now:
Suh wah row... or, with my accent, Suh wore roh.
In the words of my mother, "Ya did good, kid."
Um, there's not much else I can tell you. Tomorrow, we are taking Zedd to the shop to get him the works. Zedd is our car, so named for his AZ license plate, which was something or other ZDD. Yes, I still know it. No, I won't tell you. His name is Zedd, named so well for his license plate AND the remarkable Zeddicus Z'ul Zorander of the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind.
AMAZING SERIES. Simply awesome.
But taking Zedd to Firestone is going to be the highlight of my day. He's in desperate need. Lots of squeaking and clunking and chug-a-lugging going on, and none of it's good, let me tell you. Dad's pretty sure, from my expert impressions of noises and symptoms, that it's the timing belt, possibly a spark plug, and maybe the catalytic converter. I was supposed to check the amount of heat coming into the converter and the amount coming out. They needed to be the same or the converter was probably plugged, and that can lead to blown heads.
Blown head gaskets = MEGA BUCKS to fix.
Andrew made me scrambled eggs this morning. I asked him to, because we have two dozen eggs in there that need eating immediately. Andrew also made me chocolate milk this morning, and I didn't ask him to. He just wanted to hear me say he was wonderful again.
Andrew, you're wonderful!!!
I am so done for the day. Off to other NBWM posters.
Toodles.
I mean, I have stuff to say but I don't really want to write it. What I want to do is go curl right back up in bed where it's warm and snuggly and not get out. Oh, and bring Andrew with me, dang it, because then it's even more warm and snuggly, the man's like a danged heater.
I am sitting here, and I am cold. I don't know that temperature is inside but says that it's 51 outside. I wonder if these people that live in Tennessee all the time realize that 51 degrees Fahrenheit is WINTER in my world. This is not FALL. This is WINTER. It's a beautiful 62 in Tucson, kinda chilly, but by noon it will be in the 80's or 90's The high for Clarksville?
Mid-60's.
Someone please take me home. I'll hug a freaking saguaro at this point, just get me back to Tucson!!! For those of you Eastern people or even those not American people who do not know what a saguaro, I shall post a picture. THAT, the huge green thing Rachel and I are standing next to, is a saguaro cactus. They live hundreds of years and they get as tall as trees, although in my mind, trees get as tall as saguaros. *EDIT: for further reference on the size of this ancient old man, I am 5 feet, 3 inches tall. It takes about 50 years for a saguaro to reach 4 feet tall, and another 50 to 60 for every arm. Consider this one's age.*
Also, say this with me now:
Suh wah row... or, with my accent, Suh wore roh.
In the words of my mother, "Ya did good, kid."
Um, there's not much else I can tell you. Tomorrow, we are taking Zedd to the shop to get him the works. Zedd is our car, so named for his AZ license plate, which was something or other ZDD. Yes, I still know it. No, I won't tell you. His name is Zedd, named so well for his license plate AND the remarkable Zeddicus Z'ul Zorander of the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind.
AMAZING SERIES. Simply awesome.
But taking Zedd to Firestone is going to be the highlight of my day. He's in desperate need. Lots of squeaking and clunking and chug-a-lugging going on, and none of it's good, let me tell you. Dad's pretty sure, from my expert impressions of noises and symptoms, that it's the timing belt, possibly a spark plug, and maybe the catalytic converter. I was supposed to check the amount of heat coming into the converter and the amount coming out. They needed to be the same or the converter was probably plugged, and that can lead to blown heads.
Blown head gaskets = MEGA BUCKS to fix.
Andrew made me scrambled eggs this morning. I asked him to, because we have two dozen eggs in there that need eating immediately. Andrew also made me chocolate milk this morning, and I didn't ask him to. He just wanted to hear me say he was wonderful again.
Andrew, you're wonderful!!!
I am so done for the day. Off to other NBWM posters.
Toodles.
Thursday, October 1
NaBloWriMo Day 1: Halloween Give-Away... and stuff
GO HERE FOR AN AWESOME HALLOWEEN GIVE-AWAY
Mrs. B's 31 Days of Halloween Give-Away and her blog, Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom
It's pretty cool, she's got some amazing things there. My mom in law would be enthralled with her portion on Domestic Witchery. And I have tears in my eyes because I was laughing so hard at her cat, Tanner. It reminds me of all those lovely years when my Diddles was young and frisky. (She is no longer young, or frisky, or mine. I had to leave her when Andrew and I got our own place, because a $350 deposit for a cat that pees everywhere is not reasonable when you work in food service -_-)
So, as for the rest of my blog today, let me tell you a little about what's going on.
Today is the first day of October and October is National Blog Writing Month. Me and some other awesome bloggers have decided to dedicate a piece of our day, every day to a post here in honor of NaBloWriMo. Yeah, say that again and see who stares at you, it's a doozy, but it's a bean better than typing the whole thing out.
Military life and blogging: the two fastest ways known to womankind to induce compulsive acronym-making.
But seriously, it's gonna be quite the struggle, and I think I can do it. I'm on here pretty much every day anyway, I just need to remember to blog something. The toughest days are going to be the 10th and 11th, though, because those are the days I celebrate with Andrew for:
But that does give me an idea. Maybe I will type up the whole story for you and just post it that morning, so I don't have to worry about not spending time with my hubby on our 1 year/ 7 years anniversary :)
I need a nap. I'm starting to throw temper tantrums again. I was up, and I mean WAY up, at about 4:00 this morning because I heard sirens wailing in the distance. I never really understood that saying, "sirens wailing", until this morning. Laying there, half asleep as I was, they really did sound mournful and lonely and like they were, well... wailing. They also sounded awfully long and close, which freaked me out. This is Tennessee, but they've said a few times that there have been tornados here. In fact, it's happened once already, there were sightings on Post. ON POST.
I can walk to post.
Granted, that's just one side. But still, that's much too close and Teresa asks me, "Didn't you hear the siren? I was here (and her 'here' is a 15 min drive from my 'here') and I heard them." We had heard sirens, but they sounded like police cars to me, because they apparently have much longer, drawn out ones here, so we didn't pay any attention, just kept on with our doings. I was terrified that last night was the same thing, those police cars were the tornado sirens on post, and we were going to be brutally swept away from our own bed and never even know!! I was determined to know, I guess, since I couldn't sleep after that. Andrew's alarm went off at 4:30 and I got up with him. It is now 9:30 am and I am not sleepy yet.
Yet, mind you. Yet.
He had road guard duty this morning, which meant he reported, put on an ugly orange vest, and stood in the middle of the road while other soldiers ran past him so as to keep stupid, not fully awake drivers from hitting any of them while they did PT. In other words, he was a traffic cop in Soldier's clothing. <3>
Mrs. B's 31 Days of Halloween Give-Away and her blog, Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom
It's pretty cool, she's got some amazing things there. My mom in law would be enthralled with her portion on Domestic Witchery. And I have tears in my eyes because I was laughing so hard at her cat, Tanner. It reminds me of all those lovely years when my Diddles was young and frisky. (She is no longer young, or frisky, or mine. I had to leave her when Andrew and I got our own place, because a $350 deposit for a cat that pees everywhere is not reasonable when you work in food service -_-)
So, as for the rest of my blog today, let me tell you a little about what's going on.
Today is the first day of October and October is National Blog Writing Month. Me and some other awesome bloggers have decided to dedicate a piece of our day, every day to a post here in honor of NaBloWriMo. Yeah, say that again and see who stares at you, it's a doozy, but it's a bean better than typing the whole thing out.
Military life and blogging: the two fastest ways known to womankind to induce compulsive acronym-making.
But seriously, it's gonna be quite the struggle, and I think I can do it. I'm on here pretty much every day anyway, I just need to remember to blog something. The toughest days are going to be the 10th and 11th, though, because those are the days I celebrate with Andrew for:
The day I asked him out.
The day he said yes.
The day we were married.
The day he said yes.
The day we were married.
But that does give me an idea. Maybe I will type up the whole story for you and just post it that morning, so I don't have to worry about not spending time with my hubby on our 1 year/ 7 years anniversary :)
That would totally count. You cannot dissuade me of this. IT COUNTS IT COUNTS IT COUNTS!!!
I need a nap. I'm starting to throw temper tantrums again. I was up, and I mean WAY up, at about 4:00 this morning because I heard sirens wailing in the distance. I never really understood that saying, "sirens wailing", until this morning. Laying there, half asleep as I was, they really did sound mournful and lonely and like they were, well... wailing. They also sounded awfully long and close, which freaked me out. This is Tennessee, but they've said a few times that there have been tornados here. In fact, it's happened once already, there were sightings on Post. ON POST.
I can walk to post.
Granted, that's just one side. But still, that's much too close and Teresa asks me, "Didn't you hear the siren? I was here (and her 'here' is a 15 min drive from my 'here') and I heard them." We had heard sirens, but they sounded like police cars to me, because they apparently have much longer, drawn out ones here, so we didn't pay any attention, just kept on with our doings. I was terrified that last night was the same thing, those police cars were the tornado sirens on post, and we were going to be brutally swept away from our own bed and never even know!! I was determined to know, I guess, since I couldn't sleep after that. Andrew's alarm went off at 4:30 and I got up with him. It is now 9:30 am and I am not sleepy yet.
Yet, mind you. Yet.
He had road guard duty this morning, which meant he reported, put on an ugly orange vest, and stood in the middle of the road while other soldiers ran past him so as to keep stupid, not fully awake drivers from hitting any of them while they did PT. In other words, he was a traffic cop in Soldier's clothing. <3>
Btw, I ordered take-out Chinese food for the first time ever last night. I'm gonna keep the boxes if I can hide them from Andrew. O.o
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