Apparently there was some confusion on my "Wordless Wednesday" post yesterday.
Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. The start of the Lenten season.
Those were ashes, in the shape of a cross. Like the ones they put on your forehead when you go to church on that day.
I worked at a Catholic School for 14 years and the church I attend now also participates in this so I forgot that not everyone would know what that was.
Or perhaps I was just loopy from couch medicine when I posted it. :)
We got some good news about Joe's car yesterday. It looks like it is fixable. Thank goodness. The jury is still out on how much it will cost but for now I am relieved that it can be fixed.
I am still feeling like death warmed over. This cold/flu is a doozy.
Other than that, not much else going on. I can't believe it's Thursday already. This week is flying by, sickness and all.
*********Rhonda kindly pointed out that I typed "couch" medicine instead of "cough" medicine. Bwahahahahaha! That's pretty funny. And I wasn't even taking the cough medicine when I wrote that. Awesome. :)
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Blah
-I spent all morning today dealing with the car troubles that have been plaguing my husband's car since Friday and we still don't know what's wrong with it. Ugh. We're hoping to know more tomorrow. I really, really (really) hope it is something that can be fixed because we obviously cannot afford another car right now and although we can share a car for the time being, my husband will find a job eventually(right?) and will need a car to get there.
-I am beyond frustrated with the unemployment office right now. It has been 3 and a half weeks since we filed and we have heard nothing. Joe has called there twice and both times it took him all day to get through and then when he got through it said "We're too busy to take your call right now, leave a message and we will call you back". Except they never called back. I understand that they are extremely busy right now, but we have GOT to have some kind of money coming in from somewhere. Like, right now.
-I can't believe how sick I am, so soon after my last sickness. I'm tired of it. I haven't had this much sickness since I worked with kids. It must be stress, because I had a flu shot and I take vitamin C every day. I'm so done with sickness.
-I think I found an apartment for us to live in, at least short term. It costs $550.00 less per month than our current apartment. Of course we're losing a bathroom and a bedroom. Which means that I have to go into the nursery and start packing up all of that stuff to put into storage. Just typing that sentence brings tears to my eyes. I simply haven't been able to bring myself to do it. Packing up all the baby stuff seems so..........final. Like it's not really ever going to happen. I never thought we would decorate a nursery only to have to pack it all up again(Heck, I never thought we would ever decorate a nursery). Some people would say "That's what you get for setting it up so early". That might be so. It doesn't make it any easier to pack it all up. But can I really have a nursery set up for the next 3 years?
--Speaking of having a nursery set up for three years, when talking about the adoption lately I find that I am having to do a lot of explaining as to why we are sticking with China. I have gotten a couple of "Why don't you just switch to another program" and "I don't understand how you can continue to wait like this. Have you looked into other options"? Each time I try to answer those questions I find myself a bit on the defensive side. First of all, it's not as easy as just "switching to another program". Why, you might ask? Well how about "Because our daughter is in China". We both believe this. Strongly. We were led to this path. We love this child, who probably isn't even born yet, all the way on the other side of the world. We have talked about her, planned for her, dreamed of her, loved her. You can't just turn that off like a switch. And we can't just "Switch to the special needs program" either. There are a dozen or so reasons why, some of which are private and I don't want to talk about. But don't think we haven't discussed it. Because we have. And we can't do a concurrent adoption(domestic or otherwise), for various reasons either(the very least of which being that my husband doesn't have a job). So for now we wait. We will continue to wait. As long as it takes. Sometimes I wish we hadn't told anyone in real life(outside of family) about the adoption. Then I wouldn't have to answer those kinds of questions and I wouldn't feel defensive about it.
--Changing subjects. I have been taking Robi.tussen for my cough and it makes me feel a little loopy. Actually, a lot loopy. But I have to take it because if I don't the coughing spasms are so bad that at least three or four times a day I cough until I throw up. Too much information? Perhaps. But I have to be on the phone a lot at work and I can't be coughing up a lung while I am doing it. So Robit.ussin it is. Unless someone else has any other suggestions?
P.S. I am only taking 1 teaspoon every 8 or so hours so I am not overdosing, and cough drops aren't even touching this cough. At all.
--I have been in bed since I got home and I'm wishing we had a t.v. in here because I don't have the energy to go out into the living room. Joe even brought me soup in here for dinner. He takes such good care of me when I am sick and he never complains, even though I have been sick nonstop for the last three weeks. I am very lucky to have him.
--Man, that was all over the place. Told you I was loopy!
-I am beyond frustrated with the unemployment office right now. It has been 3 and a half weeks since we filed and we have heard nothing. Joe has called there twice and both times it took him all day to get through and then when he got through it said "We're too busy to take your call right now, leave a message and we will call you back". Except they never called back. I understand that they are extremely busy right now, but we have GOT to have some kind of money coming in from somewhere. Like, right now.
-I can't believe how sick I am, so soon after my last sickness. I'm tired of it. I haven't had this much sickness since I worked with kids. It must be stress, because I had a flu shot and I take vitamin C every day. I'm so done with sickness.
-I think I found an apartment for us to live in, at least short term. It costs $550.00 less per month than our current apartment. Of course we're losing a bathroom and a bedroom. Which means that I have to go into the nursery and start packing up all of that stuff to put into storage. Just typing that sentence brings tears to my eyes. I simply haven't been able to bring myself to do it. Packing up all the baby stuff seems so..........final. Like it's not really ever going to happen. I never thought we would decorate a nursery only to have to pack it all up again(Heck, I never thought we would ever decorate a nursery). Some people would say "That's what you get for setting it up so early". That might be so. It doesn't make it any easier to pack it all up. But can I really have a nursery set up for the next 3 years?
--Speaking of having a nursery set up for three years, when talking about the adoption lately I find that I am having to do a lot of explaining as to why we are sticking with China. I have gotten a couple of "Why don't you just switch to another program" and "I don't understand how you can continue to wait like this. Have you looked into other options"? Each time I try to answer those questions I find myself a bit on the defensive side. First of all, it's not as easy as just "switching to another program". Why, you might ask? Well how about "Because our daughter is in China". We both believe this. Strongly. We were led to this path. We love this child, who probably isn't even born yet, all the way on the other side of the world. We have talked about her, planned for her, dreamed of her, loved her. You can't just turn that off like a switch. And we can't just "Switch to the special needs program" either. There are a dozen or so reasons why, some of which are private and I don't want to talk about. But don't think we haven't discussed it. Because we have. And we can't do a concurrent adoption(domestic or otherwise), for various reasons either(the very least of which being that my husband doesn't have a job). So for now we wait. We will continue to wait. As long as it takes. Sometimes I wish we hadn't told anyone in real life(outside of family) about the adoption. Then I wouldn't have to answer those kinds of questions and I wouldn't feel defensive about it.
--Changing subjects. I have been taking Robi.tussen for my cough and it makes me feel a little loopy. Actually, a lot loopy. But I have to take it because if I don't the coughing spasms are so bad that at least three or four times a day I cough until I throw up. Too much information? Perhaps. But I have to be on the phone a lot at work and I can't be coughing up a lung while I am doing it. So Robit.ussin it is. Unless someone else has any other suggestions?
P.S. I am only taking 1 teaspoon every 8 or so hours so I am not overdosing, and cough drops aren't even touching this cough. At all.
--I have been in bed since I got home and I'm wishing we had a t.v. in here because I don't have the energy to go out into the living room. Joe even brought me soup in here for dinner. He takes such good care of me when I am sick and he never complains, even though I have been sick nonstop for the last three weeks. I am very lucky to have him.
--Man, that was all over the place. Told you I was loopy!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The Perfect Weekend
This has been such a good weekend. I got to meet up with my girlfriends(formerly known as my infertility group). I got to visit with them and hang with all of their babies(there are four of them now, with two more on the way), which was good for my soul.
They got me a gift card for a massage. So sweet!! I don't know what I did to deserve that but I can tell you right now that I won't be wasting any time in using it. I am going to call tomorrow and make a reservation. Thanks so much girls!
Yesterday I met up with my friend Carla and her girls at the Chocolate Festival. I have one word to describe it. Yum! You buy a book of tickets(which my friend Carla treated me to-thanks Carla!) and then you go around to each vendor and redeem your tickets for delicious chocolate treats. I had chocolate covered strawberries, a chocolate brownie with fruit topping, some chocolate gelato, and a mini B.J.'s chocolate chip Pizookie with vanilla ice cream. And I got a red velvet cupcake to take home to Joe!
Oh yeah, and a a little bit of a stomachache :) But soooo worth it.
Then we headed back to Carla's house where we attempted to dye our eyelashes. Yeah, you read that right. It was Carla's idea. The reasoning is that you dye your eyelashes black, and then you don't have to put on mascara every morning. I thought this would be a good thing, since I have blond eyelashes and without mascara they totally blend in and you can't even see them.
It didn't work out quite as planned. First off, the directions were in German. Yeah, neither Carla nor I speak(or read) German.
Secondly, I kept getting the dye in my eyes and kept having to rinse it out before the allotted 15 minutes. Yeah, that stung a little. Okay, a lot.
Finally I was able to apply the dye and keep it on for 15 minutes, but we're not sure if it worked or not because my eyelashes don't really look that much darker.
Oh well. We had fun trying :)
Today we don't have much planned but that's fine with me because I am still fighting this sore throat and cough and would really just like for it to go away now. I have had my fair share of sickness this month and I'm ready to feel good for more than a week.
What really hit home for me this weekend is that I have some awesome friends.
Thanks Lynn, Teena, Jenny and Carla for a wonderful weekend. I am very lucky to have you all in my life.
I don't really have many pictures of the weekend because I was so busy having fun that I forgot to take them.
I'm going to go wake up Joe now and see if he will go for a walk with me. He worked last night so he's probably not ready to get up quite yet. But he'll do it for me ;)
Hope your weekend is going well too!
P.S. We weren't able to get Joe's car started, so it's still sitting in the parking lot at the shopping center. He doesn't know what's wrong with it and his Dad is going to come over today and take a look at it(he used to be a mechanic). I can't even think about it right now. I can't go through the car troubles that we had this time last year again. The only good thing right now is that Joe doesn't have a job so we can share a car but I don't know what we'll do if it can't be fixed. Send good car vibes please! :)
They got me a gift card for a massage. So sweet!! I don't know what I did to deserve that but I can tell you right now that I won't be wasting any time in using it. I am going to call tomorrow and make a reservation. Thanks so much girls!
Yesterday I met up with my friend Carla and her girls at the Chocolate Festival. I have one word to describe it. Yum! You buy a book of tickets(which my friend Carla treated me to-thanks Carla!) and then you go around to each vendor and redeem your tickets for delicious chocolate treats. I had chocolate covered strawberries, a chocolate brownie with fruit topping, some chocolate gelato, and a mini B.J.'s chocolate chip Pizookie with vanilla ice cream. And I got a red velvet cupcake to take home to Joe!
Oh yeah, and a a little bit of a stomachache :) But soooo worth it.
Then we headed back to Carla's house where we attempted to dye our eyelashes. Yeah, you read that right. It was Carla's idea. The reasoning is that you dye your eyelashes black, and then you don't have to put on mascara every morning. I thought this would be a good thing, since I have blond eyelashes and without mascara they totally blend in and you can't even see them.
It didn't work out quite as planned. First off, the directions were in German. Yeah, neither Carla nor I speak(or read) German.
Secondly, I kept getting the dye in my eyes and kept having to rinse it out before the allotted 15 minutes. Yeah, that stung a little. Okay, a lot.
Finally I was able to apply the dye and keep it on for 15 minutes, but we're not sure if it worked or not because my eyelashes don't really look that much darker.
Oh well. We had fun trying :)
Today we don't have much planned but that's fine with me because I am still fighting this sore throat and cough and would really just like for it to go away now. I have had my fair share of sickness this month and I'm ready to feel good for more than a week.
What really hit home for me this weekend is that I have some awesome friends.
Thanks Lynn, Teena, Jenny and Carla for a wonderful weekend. I am very lucky to have you all in my life.
I don't really have many pictures of the weekend because I was so busy having fun that I forgot to take them.
I'm going to go wake up Joe now and see if he will go for a walk with me. He worked last night so he's probably not ready to get up quite yet. But he'll do it for me ;)
Hope your weekend is going well too!
P.S. We weren't able to get Joe's car started, so it's still sitting in the parking lot at the shopping center. He doesn't know what's wrong with it and his Dad is going to come over today and take a look at it(he used to be a mechanic). I can't even think about it right now. I can't go through the car troubles that we had this time last year again. The only good thing right now is that Joe doesn't have a job so we can share a car but I don't know what we'll do if it can't be fixed. Send good car vibes please! :)
Friday, February 20, 2009
I'm posting something mostly to get that last post moved down some. I can't even think about it. When I said it made me sick I meant it made me feel sick to my stomach that kids that age are having sex.
He was twelve years old at the time the baby was conceived.
Twelve people!
When I was twelve I was riding horses and had only recently stopped playing Barbies.
Seriously.
Mostly the situation just makes me terribly sad for the baby because it doesn't sound like either "parent" has a stable home life and I wonder whose going to raise that baby?
Not a lotta going on here. I am sick. Again. Sore throat and cough. I am still taking the antibiotics for the sinus infection so this must be something different. It's not fun. I hope it goes away this weekend.
Tomorrow I am meeting up with some girlfriends to have lunch and catch up. One of them is flying in from KY and I haven't met her son yet or seen her in over a year so I am really looking forward to it.
That's it. Boring.
Joe still hasn't found a job and we still haven't heard anything from unemployment. Both of these things have been keeping me up at night.
Something will happen soon, right? I sure hope so.
Well I just got a phone call from Joe and he's at the bank and his car won't start so he needs me to come give him a jump.
Great. I hope this isn't a harbinger of bad things to come. Gotta go.
He was twelve years old at the time the baby was conceived.
Twelve people!
When I was twelve I was riding horses and had only recently stopped playing Barbies.
Seriously.
Mostly the situation just makes me terribly sad for the baby because it doesn't sound like either "parent" has a stable home life and I wonder whose going to raise that baby?
Not a lotta going on here. I am sick. Again. Sore throat and cough. I am still taking the antibiotics for the sinus infection so this must be something different. It's not fun. I hope it goes away this weekend.
Tomorrow I am meeting up with some girlfriends to have lunch and catch up. One of them is flying in from KY and I haven't met her son yet or seen her in over a year so I am really looking forward to it.
That's it. Boring.
Joe still hasn't found a job and we still haven't heard anything from unemployment. Both of these things have been keeping me up at night.
Something will happen soon, right? I sure hope so.
Well I just got a phone call from Joe and he's at the bank and his car won't start so he needs me to come give him a jump.
Great. I hope this isn't a harbinger of bad things to come. Gotta go.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Valentine's Day
Our anniversary(and Valentine's Day) turned out to be a wonderful day.
It started with lunch with my Dad, then it was home for a relaxing afternoon at home with Joe. We continued our tradition of staying in to avoid the crowds that were out to celebrate Valentine's Day.
We plan on going out to dinner tomorrow and avoid the all the people just like we did last year.
I'm big on holidays around here, and love to decorate.
Here are a few of the Valentine's decorations I have around the house.
I decorate our chandelier for every holiday. Valentine's is one of my favorites.
I got this at Koh.l's for 6o% off. It was like $4.00. So cute! Reminds me of our little ch-wiener dog in her striped sweater.
Got this sign at Khol's too. I never buy anything there that isn't on sale. The neighbors must think I am nuts because every month I am having Joe stand on our front porch and take my picture!
Joe brought me a balloon and flowers at work yesterday
Last night when I got home from work Joe wasn't there. I tried calling him on his cell phone but he didn't answer. A few minutes later he came home carrying this bag:
I was quite surprised and a little bit upset, as we had agreed that we were not going to exchange gifts this year. I quickly got over that :) and opened it up to find this:
I had a credit at the Bright.on store from a birthday present I returned last year, so he used it to buy me this watch. It's beautiful and I love it!
But I didn't get him anything :( He said it was O.K.
Since we decided not to go out, I made a homemade pizza and shaped it into a heart. It turned out good and was so yummy!
Then we broke out the Christmas gift Joe's parents got us(a fondue pot) and dipped all kinds of yummy things into the chocolate. Yum!
We watched a movie and then Joe had to go to work because he forgot to ask for it off.
Aside from that it was a perfect night!
I added this photo just because she looks so cute all wrapped up in the blanket.
And this one's just for fun. My cat sometimes sticks her tongue out and forgets that it's out. Sometimes she'll sit like this for a half an hour. Strange!
How was your Valentine's Day?
It started with lunch with my Dad, then it was home for a relaxing afternoon at home with Joe. We continued our tradition of staying in to avoid the crowds that were out to celebrate Valentine's Day.
We plan on going out to dinner tomorrow and avoid the all the people just like we did last year.
I'm big on holidays around here, and love to decorate.
Here are a few of the Valentine's decorations I have around the house.
I decorate our chandelier for every holiday. Valentine's is one of my favorites.
I got this at Koh.l's for 6o% off. It was like $4.00. So cute! Reminds me of our little ch-wiener dog in her striped sweater.
Got this sign at Khol's too. I never buy anything there that isn't on sale. The neighbors must think I am nuts because every month I am having Joe stand on our front porch and take my picture!
Joe brought me a balloon and flowers at work yesterday
Last night when I got home from work Joe wasn't there. I tried calling him on his cell phone but he didn't answer. A few minutes later he came home carrying this bag:
I was quite surprised and a little bit upset, as we had agreed that we were not going to exchange gifts this year. I quickly got over that :) and opened it up to find this:
I had a credit at the Bright.on store from a birthday present I returned last year, so he used it to buy me this watch. It's beautiful and I love it!
But I didn't get him anything :( He said it was O.K.
Since we decided not to go out, I made a homemade pizza and shaped it into a heart. It turned out good and was so yummy!
Then we broke out the Christmas gift Joe's parents got us(a fondue pot) and dipped all kinds of yummy things into the chocolate. Yum!
We watched a movie and then Joe had to go to work because he forgot to ask for it off.Aside from that it was a perfect night!
I added this photo just because she looks so cute all wrapped up in the blanket.
And this one's just for fun. My cat sometimes sticks her tongue out and forgets that it's out. Sometimes she'll sit like this for a half an hour. Strange!
How was your Valentine's Day?Saturday, February 14, 2009
Happy Heart Day and 16 Years
How Do I Love Thee?
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Happy Anniversary Joe
I love you with all my heart
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Happy Anniversary Joe
I love you with all my heart
Friday, February 13, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Monday, February 09, 2009
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Bullets
--I have been home sick for the last 2 days. Yesterday I literally woke up with a raging head cold. I was feeling okay on Monday, aside from my sinuses feeling a bit plugged up(which I thought was allergies from the wind) and then BAM, I woke up yesterday with my throat practically closed up and my head so full that when I stand up I get dizzy. Blech. I hate head colds. They're the worst. Joe went to the drug store and got me some tissues with lotion, and some Vick's and cough drops and Suda.fed. (Did you know you have to get that from behind the pharmacy counter now? What is the world coming to when they have to lock up the cold meds?). He also got me some of those Sho.wer Sooth.ers that you put at the bottom of your shower and it creates a menthol steam while you are showering. I love them. Right now that's the only way I can get my sinuses to open up enough so that I can breathe.
--He said while he was at the store looking for the cold meds there were two employees stocking the shelves and they were having a conversation about all of the empty boxes that were on the shelf. They were empty because people had stolen the contents out of them. Toothpaste, and Tylenol and cough syrup and such. That makes me sad that someone would have to steal toothpaste. I guess now I know why the cold meds are locked up! (Well, that and the fact that you can make crystal me.th out of it)
--I haven't figured out how the Co.bra works at my job and it's stressing me out because that means technically I don't have any health insurance right now. It will be retro-active to the first of the month once I get it set up, but for now it's kind of up in the air. I thought my employer would give me the info but he says that Bl.ue Cro.ss is supposed to be handling it but they don't know anything about it and it is stressing me out. I need to call them again and see if I can talk to someone who knows what they are talking about. Which I doubt will happen. I have called three times and been told a different thing each time. Frustrating.
--Joe still has not found a job. I am freaking out. We may have to end up moving after all, regardless of the cost to get out of our lease. We simply can't afford to live here if he isn't working. To make things even worse they cut his hours at his part time job down to 2 days a week. I don't see how things could get much worse. We have been tossing around the idea of making some major life changes around here but I can't talk about them yet because there is nothing concrete to talk about. It's scary. I hate change. Especially the big, life changing kind.
--We did finally get him squared away with unemployment. He does qualify, which is good news. It won't be much but at least it's something. Every little bit will help right now. Of course we're looking at a couple more weeks before we see a check. The unemployment office? Apparently they are a little busy right now. Also very scary. And sad. Joe is a little freaked out about the whole unemployment thing because this is the first time in his life that he will have ever collected unemployment. At forty years old I think that's pretty good.
--I guess the whole gist of this post is that I am feeling crummy and I am extremely worried about our future. Neither of those things are helping me to get any sleep at night.
That wasn't a very upbeat, happy post. Sorry about that. Maybe I'll feel better tomorrow and my sunny disposition will return.
Ha! I crack myself up!
--He said while he was at the store looking for the cold meds there were two employees stocking the shelves and they were having a conversation about all of the empty boxes that were on the shelf. They were empty because people had stolen the contents out of them. Toothpaste, and Tylenol and cough syrup and such. That makes me sad that someone would have to steal toothpaste. I guess now I know why the cold meds are locked up! (Well, that and the fact that you can make crystal me.th out of it)
--I haven't figured out how the Co.bra works at my job and it's stressing me out because that means technically I don't have any health insurance right now. It will be retro-active to the first of the month once I get it set up, but for now it's kind of up in the air. I thought my employer would give me the info but he says that Bl.ue Cro.ss is supposed to be handling it but they don't know anything about it and it is stressing me out. I need to call them again and see if I can talk to someone who knows what they are talking about. Which I doubt will happen. I have called three times and been told a different thing each time. Frustrating.
--Joe still has not found a job. I am freaking out. We may have to end up moving after all, regardless of the cost to get out of our lease. We simply can't afford to live here if he isn't working. To make things even worse they cut his hours at his part time job down to 2 days a week. I don't see how things could get much worse. We have been tossing around the idea of making some major life changes around here but I can't talk about them yet because there is nothing concrete to talk about. It's scary. I hate change. Especially the big, life changing kind.
--We did finally get him squared away with unemployment. He does qualify, which is good news. It won't be much but at least it's something. Every little bit will help right now. Of course we're looking at a couple more weeks before we see a check. The unemployment office? Apparently they are a little busy right now. Also very scary. And sad. Joe is a little freaked out about the whole unemployment thing because this is the first time in his life that he will have ever collected unemployment. At forty years old I think that's pretty good.
--I guess the whole gist of this post is that I am feeling crummy and I am extremely worried about our future. Neither of those things are helping me to get any sleep at night.
That wasn't a very upbeat, happy post. Sorry about that. Maybe I'll feel better tomorrow and my sunny disposition will return.
Ha! I crack myself up!
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