Interesting Weekend......

Started the weekend off on Friday night with a concert - the Tara Winds - at Kennesaw State University. They were great! I really enjoy going to concerts like this, and it was great to hear such a wonderful, talented group of musicians.

Saturday was house-hunting day. We met the agent at 10am, and had 3 houses to view. The first was the nicest of the 3 - already had been painted, new carpet, updated kitchen (granite counter tops and new appliances) - BUT ridiculously small closets.

The 2nd one - I seriously laughed my ass off - I already knew it would need some serious paint on the inside, as the living room was this fuschia/magenta kind of color, and the kitchen was a light/med pink. Never in a million years would I ever think of painting a kitchen PINK. The linoleum tiles in the kitchen - obviously a DIY deal - there spaces in between some of them. All the carpet had been removed, and the bathtubs and showers appeared as if someone had washed oily, dirty auto parts in them and never cleaned them. The roof also had some patches on it, so I would assume it would need a new roof as well. Even for the low price, it would have been too much work to make it worth it. And dammit we loved the floor plan on that one!

The last house - a little better than the 2nd one, but the houses were too close together and the layout just wasn't right for what we are wanting. I found a house that just got listed in the last few days and have contacted the realtor to see if I can view it tomorrow afternoon.

Momma Clydie and I were finished with the realtor around lunch time, so on the way home we made a few stops at Petsmart and Walmart, then headed home. We got to Skype with Brian in the afternoon, before I cooked those "damn enchiladas" for dinner. He's not too happy that I cooked one of his favorites and he's not here to enjoy it, but I will make him some when he is on R&R and that will just have to do!

This morning after I walked the dogs, I finally got up the courage to handle the snake and take her out so I could thoroughly clean her tank. I had run water in the tub for her to soak/swim in, like Brian always does, and when I put her in, she came thrashing out, like something out of a damn horror flick!

Of course, Gabriel was fascinated by her, and he was watching her closely - at one point she came out of the water, looked directly at him, nose to nose, and what does Gabriel do???? Grabs her head in his mouth! Fortunately it was pretty easy to get him to let her go, and even better, the snake didn't appear to be injured. I dragged the dog out of the bathroom, and decided we'd just close the door and leave her be, whether she wanted to be in the tub or out.

Long story short, the snake tank is now clean, and Prissy is back inside it. I checked her head out when I was toting her back to the tank, and she is just fine, no puncture wounds or scrapes.

I can't say the same for Gabriel, however, as he and Dominion got into it while I was waiting for the Eco Earth to set. Dominion bit Gabriel in the face, leaving a nasty puncture underneath Gabriel's left eye. I've doctored it twice with an antibiotic ointment, and it has oozed a drop or 2 of blood since I first doctored him. They were wrestling so vigorously that they ran into the buffet tablet so hard they knocked a cabinet open and a couple pieces of my china set fell out. Nothing was broken, and it took maybe an hour for me to notice the wound on Gabriel's face.

I wonder why dog faces don't bleed as badly as human faces do when they get injured? When I got the cut on my eyebrow back in 2000, I bled so bad my kitchen looked like a murder scene. Of course I needed 5 stitches, so my injury was much larger than Gabriel's, but still - I expected his little face to bleed a lot more than it has.

So, other than walking the dogs a couple times today, and cleaning the snake tank, nothing else was accomplished by me. I did put a load of laundry on about 2 hours ago, but it's still in the washer. I need to put it in the dryer so it doesn't sit overnight and sour. I hate it when I forget to do that and it gets that nasty, sour musty smell and has to be rewashed. Ugh!

I've also been in a mood today. I know, I've been in a mood a LOT lately. I'm thinking this is PMS coming (no, I haven't been keeping up with it like I should, so I'm not 100% sure where I am with that), and this whiny, weepy mood will pass soon. God, I hope this passes soon - I cannot stand to be like this, where I feel like I could just come unhinged and become a complete and total emotional wreck over any little thing.

Well, I hope you all have enjoyed your weekend - and here's to a happy Monday tomorrow!

Suddenly no plans....

Had planned on going to look at houses today, but apparently all the ones that I was interested in are under contract already. Damn it!

So.....gonna work on our taxes, and maybe clean around the house some. Blah.

Supposed to have a 90% chance of rain today, maybe I should go run whatever errands I have to do while it's not raining, but I don't really have a lot to do out of the house. Well, I take that back - I do have several boxes I could take to the storage unit, and some things I can take to Goodwill. Maybe I will do that shortly.

But I suppose since I'm already sitting here at the computer, I should open the tax program and fiddle with that for a bit. Ugh.

Thank God tomorrow is Friday!

I am so glad tomorrow is Friday - while it certainly would be wonderful to catch up on the rest that I've missed recently and need so desperately, I won't be able to on Saturday - gonna be a busy day. Sunday, I should be able to sleep in, at least as late as the pups will allow, then I should be able to have a lazy day until dinner time.

Went back to the gym tonight - first night since Monday a week ago. It felt good to do the interval class - I made it all the way through, but did have to stop and slow down a few times to catch my breath. I even had dizzy spells a couple of times, I suppose from the meds and the actual exercising. I pushed through it (carefully) and was fine.

I washed the grays outta my hair last night - used light brown, and dammit if it didn't turn out the same as it did when I used medium golden brown, and medium brown. Too dark. Oh well, at least those damn grays are undercover for now. Someone at work actually had the audacity to tell me she didn't like it and made a face. I didn't take it personally, I know that's how this person is, but wow. You just can't be like that with everyone.

Having my mother-in-law living with us has been such a blessing. She has taken some of the burden of the house off of me - she does a lot of the cooking, and helps out with the laundry, as well as some other stuff. It's so nice to come home to a hot meal after work or the gym, and to know if I need help getting stuff done around here, she'll help with it.

My cold is getting better in some ways, more annoying in others. I still have the cough, but it's less frequent than a week ago. Tonight as I was waiting on the interval instructor, I had some nasal/throat congestion that didn't seem to want to move, so I had to go to the bathroom and blow, and blow, and blow, to get that outta my head. Finally - yellow. So I'm justified in taking the antibiotics. Maybe this shit will finally leave me be by the time I'm done with the meds.

I don't know what the deal is with my nails - they are splitting just about every time they get a little length to them. I have no idea if I'm deficient in some vitamin or mineral. I take a multi-vitamin & mineral supplement daily, omega-3 fish oil, and of course my assortment of shit for this cold and my habitual allergies. None of this stuff should be causing problems with the nails. The lab guy that comes to pick up samples said maybe an iron deficiency? I don't believe so, but hey, I guess I'll start taking our iron/b-vitamin tonic that we make and sell at work. Couldn't hurt, although that shit tastes nasty! (SSS Tonic, in case anyone was wondering)

There's so much more on my mind tonight, but honestly I'm too furious to even go there. Furious, and well, I don't even know how to describe what I'm feeling and thinking at the moment about it. Don't even ask.

What I will say is this - this applies to more than just one person and/or situation, and this will pass soon enough - I'm at the point in my life that I'm no longer going to let anyone rain on my parade or shit in my sandbox. It is what it is, they are who they are, and nothing will change that.

Time to recite the Serenity Prayer.

Dammit, man......

I am so exhausted, it's not even funny. We (my mom-in-law, Steven and I) drove to Missouri this weekend. Left after work on Friday, stayed just outside Paducah, KY, that night then finished the drive to St Louis on Saturday morning. Came home Sunday - I drove straight through and we made really good time. I had no idea that I would be so utterly exhausted and drained after the weekend.

I think part of it is the trip, and the rest of it is this damn cold I have that just won't go away. While none of the congestion has turned yellow or green, I decided to go ahead and get the antibiotic filled today and will start taking it tonight. I hope this does the trick - gonna keep it up with the Mucinex, and I suppose I'll need to start back on some sort of allergy pill again. Dammit.

Picked the boys up from the boarding vet last night and took them straight to the dog park. They had a great time - some woman brought her little bitty shitzu puppy into the big dog side, and Gabriel thought it was a squeaky toy. Thank God she got to them as quickly as she did, or Gabriel may have hurt that little puppy. He's just a puppy himself, and didn't realize it was another little doggy, but she got control of him and reintroduced him to her puppy properly. Gabriel sniffed and licked the puppy for a few seconds, then quickly lost interest.

Last week Gabriel got "owned" by a big doberman that was twice his weight. First time he fought back and Ms Clydie pulled him away while the dobie's owner got him under control, but later, the dobie SAT on Gabriel! Just sat on him! It was so funny - Gabriel was bewildered by being sat on - he's never been dominated in such a way. But he was definitely submissive to this doberman.

Blood on the Dance Floor will be in Atlanta again April 30, and I'm planning on taking Steven. Any of you in the Atlanta area - feel free to meet us there and let's all have a good time. Masquerade - this time the show's in Heaven.

Skipped the gym all week last week after Monday night. Was still recovering from this stupid cold plus I had other things to do with getting the car ready for the trip to MO, plus I was tired then, too. Haven't been yet this week, either - I'm hoping I feel up to going tomorrow after work. I generally feel so much better when I go regularly, and I've got to get my ass in gear to meet my goals. Of course I don't think working out with tightness in my chest (from the congestion) is a wise idea though. Gonna take my Mucinex religiously over the next day or 2 and see if I'm up for some stuff tomorrow and Thursday at the gym.

Well folks, it's about that time for me - shower and then bedtime. I hope you all had a great weekend, and that your week has gotten off to a good start. Here's to a Happy Hump Day tomorrow!

Getting there, one day at a time.......

First night at the gym in almost 2 weeks. I didn't make interval, but I knew I wouldn't, as I had to go home and pick up Steven and drop off a FedEx envelope for shipment. I spend about 23 minutes on the treadmill, and walked 1.22 miles. I did a couple of machine and I was exhausted. I suppose I need to ease back into things this week, then I can jump on it next week.

I've felt so much better today than I have over the last 2 weeks. Just a few coughs, but the congestion is moving on out. It's been nice to not have to suck on cough drops all day long, too. I had one today, and that was it.

Got annoyed at work today - seems someone waited til it was almost lunch time to have me do something that took half an hour. I should have known, though, as this person is famous for waiting til 5 minutes til lunch time or 5 minutes til quitting time to have you start something that will last way more than 5 minutes.

I'm not happy with my nail polish. I used a 5-7 day growth polish as a base coat, and apparently it's not good for that, even though the package said you could use it as a base coat. The polish is peeling off several of my nails and I've had to retouch them tonight. I think tomorrow night I may remove the polish and put it on without the base coat, to see if it sticks to my nails any better. I can't stand having it flake off like this!

So tonight my son and I are headed to the gym, and he's talking about how funny it would be for me to come to school with him on Friday for "take your parents to school day". He then asked me if I could talk "ghetto", and I did the 3 snaps, popped my head and said "guuuuuurrrrrlllll!!!!" I haven't seen him laugh like that in a long time.

On the way home from the gym, I said something to him that made him say that he "didn't need to know that", then he proceeds to say "have you noticed that I don't get so embarrassed anymore by the things you say?" I told him he should just wait til he sees Brian again - I'm sure he'll be embarrassed again! Brian has a knack for saying things to Steven that make him blush.

I think Dominion is going through a depression from missing Brian. He's moping around and acting sad sometimes. He has great moments though, where he's happy and loves to play, but sometimes he's just so sad.

My right foot (yes, the one that was operated on almost 2 years ago) is aching tonight. My whole foot is sore, like I've dropped something on it, or slammed it into a piece of furniture. Okay, maybe not THAT painful, but it's the same kind of pain, like maybe it's a few days past injuring it like that. Mainly one of the toes, and the outer ankle where the longer scar is. And inside the joint, too. I walked the treadmill tonight, and stopped halfway through to stretch the ankle, and maybe I overdid the stretching. I may have to get the heating pad out for it tonight to see if that loosens it up some after my shower.

Okay folks, time to take the pups out for a brief tinkle, then it's shower and bedtime for me. I hope you all had a great Monday, and here's to a fantastic Tuesday!

Slowly getting back in the groove......

First sign of me starting to get back in the groove? I did my nails tonight. For the past few months, I haven't bothered polishing my fingernails. I always keep my toenails painted, even if they only get done every 3-4 months. The polish on the toes tends to last longer on the fingers, and I've been in such a funk that I've known that if I paint the fingers, I likely wouldn't be up to changing the polish once it started looking worn, so it was better to just do clear than color. Plus, my nails are going through a horrible splitting and breaking phase, I can't get them to grow out beyond barely being nubs.

Not sure what's up with the nails, I take my multi-vitamins, and am not taking any new meds that could cause issues. I guess it's just not my time for growing nails.

I took the week off from the gym this past week. Moving my mother-in-law in with me last weekend kicked my ass from all the lifting and in and out the house, up and down the steps to the house, etc. Plus, I've been sick all week with that damn cough and congestion. Thankfully that has eased up nicely and I'm not coughing much at all now. I still have some congestion, but it's manageable with the Mucinex-D.

I'll be starting back with the gym tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. Steven is going with me, so I won't be doing interval class. I will be doing the treadmill for a bit, then some machines. I'm not going to push too hard to start with, since I haven't gone in over a week. But I do have to get my ass in gear and get this body going.

I fell asleep yesterday afternoon when we got home - I think it was around 6pm or so. I didn't get up again until 5am, and only to pee. I remember waking up at some point well before that, and hearing it raining pretty hard. I just turned over and went right back to sleep. The pups let me sleep til 8am, then they just couldn't stand it any more and I had to get up. I needed that much sleep, but it kills my joints and back to stay in the bed that long. I just couldn't stay conscious at any point when I woke up. Not that I would have stayed up at 5am on a Sunday morning - that would have been crazy!

Feeling kinda yuck today too from the lovely period. That may have contributed to my fatigue that made me sleep over 12 hours. Not sure though, but I got my sleep and hopefully will continue sleeping normally the rest of the week. I'm going to shower here in a few minutes and head to bed, hopefully by 11pm. I've GOT to start going to bed at an earlier time than I've been doing - these late nights are rough.

Alright folks, that's it for tonight. I hope everyone had a great weekend, and has a great Monday!

Tears......

....are words from the heart that can't be spoken.

Thankfully, the tears have gotten further and further between. Yes, I shed a lot of tears, over a lot of different things, but mostly from missing my husband. I knew deployment was going to be tough, but I never imagined the depth of loneliness and sadness I would feel at times. It's compounded by the distance that my mother is from me, and another thing or two that are lingering on.

I'm so thankful for technology, and the ability to talk to Brian as frequently as we do manage to talk, whether it's chat on FB, Skype, or actual phone calls. I can't even begin to imagine what it was like in the days before email and internet and Magic Jack, having to rely on handwritten letters.

I think about my grandmother and grandfather, going through WWII, then Korea, and all the times they were separated for months and months at a time, only able to keep in touch with letters. My grandfather died when I was 7, but Meme still has the letters he wrote her during those times apart. I would love to read those one day, to see what kind of things they shared.

But I digress. I have shed a lot fewer tears this week than I have in recent weeks. Not that I haven't wanted to cry, but I've been too busy with so many different things this week to have time to cry. I'm honestly surprised, as I've been really sick this week, and my period showed up last night - it's amazing as I haven't been PMSing like I normally do.

In case you were wondering - no, I don't purposely make myself cry, and I honestly do my best to stay in a good mood and not dwell on the loneliness or sadness or negative things in my life. I don't like to cry - it makes my eyes and nose swell, and my nose gets all stuffy and it makes it harder to breathe, and it tires my eyes out and makes my vision all fuzzy. But let's face it - there are times when a good cry is such an awesome release of emotions and pent up feelings, that you just feel better in the head afterwards.

Tears serve a purpose sometimes - as the first line says - they are words from the heart that can't be spoken. Perhaps because you can't think of the right words to use, or it hurts too much to speak, or you are alone and words would go unheard. And sometimes they are a powerful reminder that we are human, and we do have feelings.....

Just a quick note.....

Finally broke down and went to the doctor today - he didn't say exactly what I do have, but he did say that he didn't hear any wheezing or anything in my lungs (really surprised at that). He told me to keep up with the Mucinex D, gave me an Rx for Tessalon pearls and Cheratuss cough syrup, and also an Rx for an antibiotic in case the mucus turned yellow or green (gross, I know but that's what he said). I asked him if there was a shot they could give me that would speed things along, and he agreed to go ahead and give me an antibiotic shot. I don't recall the exact name of it, I think something like Claftin, but dammit, that shot HURT. The sting went all the way down my ass cheek into my thigh! Even worse than Rocephin! And it's sore there now.

I am so sleepy, and I haven't even taken the Cheratuss yet. (it has my friend codeine in it) I'm a little worn out from waking up in the middle of the night coughing, several times every night since the weekend. It will be nice if I can sleep through the night.

Soooo, I think it's time to take the Cheratuss and hit the sack. Call Ripley's, it's not even 10pm yet!

Portrait....and my day.....

Here's the portrait that Brian had made for me:



The photographer that took the picture is amazed at how well her photo turned out in the portrait. The artist that did this is superbly talented at what he does.

Got the kitchen table almost cleared off tonight - finished packing up the box with old uniforms, and packed up another box with miscellaneous old computer stuff. Started working on a 4th box, but lost the energy to finish it. This cold/bronchitis is taking it out of me. I know I need to go to the doctor, but I just haven't been able to afford the time off from work. Not money-wise, but time-wise. There's so much to do, just not enough time to do it in, both at home and at work.

Well, time to have a coughing fit and go to bed. I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!