I blame the booze
And messed up cosmic bowling. And a million people all driving towards the mall. And a long line at the liquor store. And that first, delicious, vodka martini with garlic stuffed olives (pretty good, not as over powering or breath killing as you might think). And the movie Elf. And the bottle of wine that I bought the other day. And the other bottle of wine that I bought today. And the sore muscles that prevented me from getting up and moving in a timely fashion. And the Wizard of Oz, with commercials, so that I could struggle to my feet and exercise my way to the kitchen for more drinks in between.
But not actually exercise. Or not eat. The moment I said I would just drink and not eat, all I could think about was food. So we ate pretty much all the leftovers in the house. And then some other stuff too. Sorry Mason, we ate the cheese sticks. I’ll buy more this week.
And then it was so late. I could stand and walk enough but I was not doing, like, a workout. And now it’s morning. For the record I slept like crap. And I had a headache all night long. And I was really thirsty. And I had strange, weird dreams about working in a hospital. A giant, multi-level, spread out hospital that doesn’t exist in real life. I had to put eye drops in a long list of patients scattered everywhere, and measure their pupil dilation. But I couldn’t find the rooms. And the patients were listed categorically by disorder and it seemed most were psychiatric. It took me 15 minutes just to get near the hospital rooms. There was a huge, 2 level, narrow, oddly stepped staircase I had to go down (and back up) and my kids were following me and I was wearing my school uniform. AND I was drinking in my dream too! IN the hospital. All the other nurses and doctors were too. I don’t know what that means but it’s probably not good. In the end I could only find one person on the list and he refused.
Thank god I woke up. I’m drinking coffee now without anything in it, although I bought something for that yesterday too. I’m going to wait until later. During football, to start drinking again. And I must try to exercise even though just trying to cough hurts at this point. That’s the problem with irregular exercise. Those muscles hate stretching out after you let them sit for awhile. Then they punish you big time by not letting you move faster than sitting and not lifting more than a fork or a glass. Thank goodness I can type, right Amanda??
I suppose I better get up now and do something. In celebration of school being over I got myself some fake nails. But I am not skilled on managing alot of personal hygiene things yet. Takes practice and some different moves. Like, for instance, it took me half an hour to put in my contact lenses. It’s stupid. I don’t know how the fancy girls do it 24/7. But in a week or so, I’ll have naturalized myself to the whole concept and I’ll be fine. I let my daughter get some too, but her’s are probably all broken and chipped by now. 2 days would be a record. She likes to tap them on everything and pull at them all the time. Anyway…my point was that it takes longer to do less.
And I have a crazy fish to deal with. My son’s Oscar has taken to swimming around the tank in circles. Not like around the outer edges, literally swimming in fast circles like he’s a dog chasing his tail. We can’t figure out what the problem is. One site said water issues, one says nutrition, one said maybe he broke the heater and he’s getting electrocuted continuously. Well, there’s another fish in the tank and he seems fine so I doubt it’s that, but we unplugged the heater anyway. Still spinning. He also likes to attack the surface and throw water out. He just did it again. The other things are not easily fixable so I say just move him out. I think he’s too large for where he’s at and needs to be moved to the big tank. There are a variety of fish in it already and one giant Oscar. He used to be really aggressive, but he seems to be tamer now. I think it might be ok. It’s a pity though, because Mason’s fish is nice and smooth with no scars or damage and he’s probably going to get beat up a little bit if we switch him.
Anyway, these are the problems of a Sunday morning stall. Type long enough and something else will come up to do other than exercise. Like your mom calling you and asking when you planned on coming over. Hi mom! Thanks! Did you read all this? It’s funny huh?? So, since I didn’t make it clear when I called her earlier, and she won’t drive her scroungy butt to me, I guess I better really go get dressed and haul it out there! See? No exercise! Yay fat me!
I am posting a picture of the big Oscar that Mason took as companion to this fine piece of writing, except that its at the top, so you’ve already seen it. And I still have lots of Christmas pics I took from around my house when I was goofing around with the camera. And hopefully, I’ll have really old pics to post from when my dad was alive later too. Pretty exciting stuff. You do want to see those, I promise. In the meantime though, here’s a picture of Mason’s crazy fish:
He’s not as clear as he could be, but you get the idea. He’s about 8 inches long and 5 inches top fin to bottom. In a 36 gallon bow tank and looking mean, but we’ll see.
I gotta say…
I don’t know who the heck is still looking at this every day, but, thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my 15-week-jammed-up-school-crazy-going-no-time-to-post-anything heart! Someone is keeping me alive and on the charts and I thank you.
I literally have one more clinical and one more week of class to go this semester. One care plan. One evaluation sheet w/ goals. One Hesi test. One Lab Final and one final Final. Now that I have typed it…it seems like alot. But trust. It is not. Actually it is but that’s just because I have to study everything, all over again, and then answer even MORE questions. But then I’m done. Until January. One post in 15 weeks…not bad.
Here’s a quick update: School. Football. School. Football. I take the kids to bowling. I go to clinicals. I don’t play any games anymore on facebook, but I do check the site. I stay up way too late. And not for good stuff. I rebooted my Ipod but I am not in love with it anymore. I lost all my playlists and a few hundred songs when I re-loaded the back up discs. I haven’t exercised in weeks. Unless you count the few pushups I do every few days to make sure that I still can. Which I do. But I still fit in my small pants so I don’t care too much about the extra flab hanging over the top for now. I can hit the gym in about a week. School is busy but fun this time. Stressful but in a completely different way from last semester. And my license is calling. I can almost hear it now. I haven’t really been drinking either. Not even enough time for that. Or movies. Or pleasure books. Or mags. I have alot of gossip news to catch up on. My mags are from August…I know I should just throw them away…I’ll decide at Christmas about that. Anyway, I am having a drink now and it is good.
The two things for fun that I have still been doing is collecting change off the street (and keeping it in a cup) and playing my pocket poker game (the quest for the royal flush). Don’t I sound like FUN?? I will post the amount for the last few months in a few days maybe.
AND….wait for it……the quest is over!!
I GOT THE ROYAL FLUSH!!
Oh yeah! No kidding. I think it was clubs. I got it awhile ago but saved the pic for just this moment. I am a wild woman! Do not mess with me and my mad fake poker points skillz! The back of the game says I get 2500 points for the royal flush but I got 5000! What?? I know! It was an exciting day! And just when I did not think it could ever happen again….IT DID!!
TWO Royal Flushes! This was a hearts set. Another 5000. Oh yeah…I’m going for the 10,000. I am unstoppable.
I need to go eat dinner and study something. Thanks for hanging again with me thru the weeks of drought! I really do appreciate your time! I’ll have more later! Pictures are below.
The first one. And that was pretty exciting.
Ugh! Blurry! But you can see it! Another 5000.
That was the high score but I am going for more points. I think I am over 7100 now. Yes I know. Sad life. That’s what the vodka is for. See ya!
Meanwhile, in other, non-money-costing news, I can ride a motorcycle!
This is the bike they let me ride for the program! This pic is from the Honda image bank so thank you very much…please let me keep it! I was so excited, nervous, sweaty, etc, etc, that I never even thought to take a picture of the actual bike I was riding! I have to say I felt very cool, and grateful that I had a bike that looks and feels real “motorcycle-y”. I know that’s not a word, but the guys were riding dirt bike type motorcycles because of their height. I had a bigger type bike, that looks more like what you see on the street. And as a bonus, I was able to fully plant my feet on the ground. I was comfortable and in a good position on the bike so I didn’t feel like I was struggling. Thank you Honda!!
And even bigger thank you to the MSF, Motorcycle Safety Foundation: www.msf-usa.org
And the State of Illinois Motorcycle Rider Program: www.mrp.illinois.edu
I was literally starting from scratch. The BF heard about the classes from another one of his friends who was taking it, so we signed up too! (It cost $20 dollars but you can get it refunded to you at the end of the course if you choose. Or you can donate it to the program to keep up the quality. That money is well worth it!)
I have never operated a motorcycle in my life. I didn’t even really know how they worked. That may seem stupid to some, but I was a passenger, like a billion years ago, and that was only for a short time. Life ya know? I will admit, because everyone seems to think it’s funny and I can laugh at myself, I did not even know that the throttle rolls IN. Dumb huh? Everytime people fake ride a motorcycle they turn the throttle right? Well, I thought it was OUT, like, vroom vroom, roll your hand forward. HA! Nope, It’s in, towards your body. Luckily, that was the only really scatterbrain thing I didn’t know. They asked at the beginning, who knew how already and who has NEVER ridden. Three (including the BF, knew) nine of us did not. I have been kind of going over this in previous posts when that damn tree hasn’t interrupted me, so I won’t rehash too much. But I will say, we started with twelve and ended with eight. Some people make it look so easy and I admire them. It is “easy” to learn how. It’s not easy to control and steer and turn. That takes practice. But the class moves fast. 4 days, about 20 hours, written test AND driving test. If you can complete the program and pass the tests you get your “M” (That’s the letter they put on yer license to say you can drive a motorcycle!)
Did I pass??? I was nervous! Once you complete the exercise portion the instructors are no longer trainers but representatives of the DMV. Pass the test, get the M. And…we had to take our written test AFTER the riding part because of a participant hold-out. (Had to be unanimous, one gal didn’t want to take it on Sat., and then she ended up leaving anyway, but it was too late, we had to wait until Sunday) You don’t get to know if you passed the drive part until after the written part. So we all trudged in and took our test and waited.
All eight of us PASSED!! YAY!! The BF and I now have our licenses!! It was actually very exciting! And a relief! The nerves were pretty high. It’s so weird, but I am so glad I did this and was able to complete it!
But, as the instructors pointed out: “You are all now all officially licensed and certified parking lot motorcycle operators! Keep that in mind when you actually hit the road.” Good point. We have been on a range, with adult supervision. Probably not quite the same once we get out onto the streets.
Since I don’t actually own a motorcycle, it is kind of hard to practice these new skills, but if we can find a good deal on a small bike, then we are going to try and buy it. I never realized that motorcycles can be kind of expensive, even used and smaller ones. The BF is looking everyday! It is kind of addicting and I see why people love it so much. I am mostly interested in skill improvement right now until I can ride pretty confidently. Besides winter is on its way in the Midwest and that cuts my season short, plus with school starting I’m not sure falling off a motorcycle in the street is a good idea. Just kidding…I never dropped the bike or even had trouble holding it up. When you don’t know, balance and weight is critical, and I wasn’t sure if I could do it, but it was ok. Better than I thought it would be.
Anyway…I could go on and on, but I won’t. (That’s for my sissy. Just seeing if you are paying attention, especially since you already heard my story on the phone and sounded so thrilled…yeah, I could tell. You were un-interested. But as you know, I don’t care. I’ll just talk anyway! haha)
If you already have a license, good for you! If you don’t and you want one or you want to learn and all that good stuff, I highly recommend the program. It’s time out of your life for sure, you have to do the work and give a little bit, but it really is the best way to learn in my opinion. I even got a cool t-shirt!
And a bumper sticker!! Awe…..some……!!!
4 hours on a Friday afternoon
(To take down a tree. Four hours on a Tuesday just to write about it. Sheesh.)
Programming note: Sorry it took so long to get this up. I am sure all 15 of you have been waiting and wondering, “where the hell is her tree story??” Well, I’ve kind of been busy with extra things I decided to pile on right at the end of my summer. Like motorcycling, school obsessing, and complete body overhauling. I can sum all that up later. But here’s the gripping tale, in it’s entirety and original text with fabulous pictures. Ready, set, go:
Who needs Yoga X when you can stand outside and sweat from heat and stress. I didn’t do jack shit except be nervous about the tree man, he’s awesome! His name is Ken and me and the neighbors all agree that he’s our hero! He makes it look waaaay too easy. That’s him in the tree.
Let me re-cap our situation: Tree tipped onto the house.
Cut cut cut, with a handsaw. It’s all we could do last Sunday.
It was about 6 inches off the roof and then resting back on it by Monday morning. We bought a chainsaw and tried to do it ourselves. HA. HA. HA.
The roof is steeper and the branch is higher off the roof than I anticipated so…I was no help. We needed a professional.
That’s from the front. Just thought I’d throw it in there for perspective. The tree is still mostly intact. And here’s just one more picture of the crack that cost me all my money. Damn trees.
And this is Friday. It was about 3 o’clock when he started. About 95° with little breeze and the sun was beating down and the branches were getting thinner and thinner. We were hot on the ground. I was standing, obviously, taking pictures, and Ken was in the tree and his 2 friends were providing the muscle and assistance to get each piece from the sky to the ground. I really have to say thanks to them too, because without them it would not have been possible to do anything. So this pic is already after he took off the one over the house. He basically hopped onto the roof and chainsawed off a couple of feet that he could reach by hand, then climbed the tree, hung out over the roof, tied it off and chopped it down in bite size chunks. There is NO WAY we would have EVER been able to do even that. The heat must have gotten to us because we were crazy for thinking it. Trees are big and scary tall! After he scaled back up the main trunk he chopped chopped off the bothersome “smaller” limbs. You can see some of them jutting off the one limb he is LAYING on.
That’s my second favorite picture. Yeah. Look close. Do you see a blue line? No? Well it’s there, and it’s the only thing holding him to the tree besides his feet on the branch with the spikey hold in his boots. But you can only reach so far over before you have to basically lay across the limb, stretch it out, grab the chainsaw that hanging off a loop on your pants and start, wield and cut with ONE hand. Zip and done. That’s what it looks like from my perspective. He was like a squirrel just moving from branch to branch and making cuts like he was painting a big picture. I took so many pictures with the camera so I hope he doesn’t mind, but it was pretty exciting. Once you get comfortable with the man in the trees and everyone is kind of gelled and working together, it was really moving along. Ken also brought his truck and chipper rig that was parked in front of the house. I got pics of that too. It’s a scary, dangerous, machine. And like my neighbor said, this tree process draws people to the site like a car accident. But they mostly slow down and keep moving.
Well that’s the top. And this is from the side. Every time he cut one branch going up it looked like 2 more were right behind. One over the driveway, one over the house, one hanging over the yard…OH! there’s another one straight up. They’re all loose looking and flappy. But he just keeps climbing. Climbing and cutting. Dropping them, every single one, perfectly in between our houses. Precision targeting. Not one of the limbs touched the house or the wires or the fence or even the gutters. It’s an art form.
That’s from the front because you can see how high he really is. I thought it was an interesting view that you would like too. The tree is, was, tall. Tapered. Flimsy to me. I’m not crawling up there. Ken is in the middle of the picture. In the tree. Directly above the peak of the house. Here’s another look.
Look at all that blue sky! This is the pan out on my fav shot of the day. The one below these words. Ken finished with all the dangling limbs, all the ones that were kind of sticking out in all directions. Then he’s getting ready to drop the final top piece and prepare to work his way down. He’s just standing up there in the tree. Looking so casual. Literally on one leg, one boot spike technically, with the other one crossed over like he’s just chilling at the bar. You can’t beat this kind of cool. He was actually tying ropes and sweating like crazy, but you would never know it from his relaxed posture. (And, just from an arty viewpoint, I think that the colors of the sky and his clothes and safety gear, boots, not to mention the chainsaw, really bring the whole picture together).
OK, let me speed things up. He’s on the way down now. Shimmy, rope, tie off, ready, cut, hang, drop, untie, repeat.
So, as far as I can tell: Go up. Cut everything in your path. Then once you are at the tippy top, start cutting above you and go back down. Makes sense when you see a professional do it. This might be kind of boring to see I guess, but if you’ve had something like a giant, 50 year old tree taken down piece by heavy piece, it’s overly interesting and strangely satisfying. The worry is pretty much gone for his safety because he obviously knows what he’s doing (been doing it for over 20 years) and he makes tree “walking” look like he’s walking around the yard. Then you forget (not really) that he’s up there and then he’s done. Back on the ground and cutting the last huge piece.
Oooh! You can see some chips flying! That final piece was the size of a love-seat.
This is another picture of the last piece with real chainsaw action, just because. If I could carve wood I would have made it into a sofa seat. We wouldn’t have been able to move it but that’s besides the point. We could have rolled it. How nice it would be to sit in our tree chair on a warm summer night and look up at our tree trunk. No that’s ok. Cut it up please! Thank you. Our chainsaw cannot handle the diameter, which I measured just for you. 33 inches at it’s widest point. Here’s the pic:
Looks good and smells good too. It has a weird open-guts-tree smell. Fresh like in the rain but woodsy and sandy and barky all at the same time. That description doesn’t exactly sound enticing but it’s not bad. We’re all out there smelling the tree. Intervention!
So now we can really move fast with the cleanup process. This is the pile of logs that were laying around.
These are all the branches. I tried to get a good view with lots of debris so you could get a feel for what four hours of tree cutting can really get you.
I am so grateful that the guys cleaned up almost everything. What we had left was alot. Plus, Ken wanted to use the new chipper. And in my need to help and start moving the big backyard pieces to the tree holding area we have now, I sustained my first real working injury. Crap. I was scared too. Right after I picked up one of the bigger pieces, which I lift stuff all the time so I didn’t even think about it, my right middle finger felt immediately numb and fat. It was black and blue and looked seriously pinched and just injured. It was hot and painful, and looked really bad. I’ll admit I got a bit worried. And of course the BF, who is always warning me not to do stupid shit because I don’t have the best insurance, walks up at that moment. I iced it and hoped for the best. And I stopped doing anything. The nurse next door took a look and said it will prob turn a nice black and blue color, but since my circulation was fine, I should just ice and rest it. Man, this forty year old body is killing me! It’s been some days now and it is ok. KNOCK ON WOOD. It never turned real nasty and it seems to have gone back to mostly normal. It’s a weird browny color but I can use it so I’m not complaining. I was even able to finish my motorcycle class using my bum hand. Right hand throttle ya know! FUN! No hand pictures though…they would have been good right after but I never even thought of it! Anyway, this is the chipper below.
Notice the chips flying out the chute end. Nasty going in. Shreds coming out. Makes that movie Fargo seem extra creepy when you have a wood chipper sitting right in front of your house and you see what it can do to tree limbs that are as big as a human leg. Here’s a few more pics from a different angle.
I like that picture because it kind of shows the effort it takes to heave those branches in. Throw and let go. You do not want to be holding onto the branch when the blades grab it. It sucks it in so fast that even standing there watching it over and over you can’t believe it’s so quick. One more for good luck.
I like this one because you can see inside the truck. It was empty when we started. And it’s not nearly full when we were done. Well, when they were done. I was pretty far away actually. Walking around taking pictures. This was before my finger got a boo boo.
And finally, the finished product! Now I have two trees with one trunk, going straight up, looking like they are doing a booty bump. I was joking around that with my luck there will be a terrible lightning storm that night that will hit the first one and take out the second one in a domino effect. Money well spent.
This is post cleanup. The BF and the boy chainsawed what we had left and stacked it all in the holding pile. I cleaned up the small stuff.
And here we are. Right back to where we started from at the beginning of summer. It’s like gaining weight. All plus more. It is obviously my destiny to be the keeper of the trees. Or at least their parts.
That’s everything nicely stacked. Here’s an individual pic of the big logs just cause I like the way they look. All that used to be in the air. Isn’t that amazing?!? I know. It’s been a long day and the kids want to go out and fish for a little while. They have been very understanding in my need to share with my fans.
If anyone needs any wood?? Camping? Fireplace? Carving? Just to have a piece of the story? It’s always here. And anytime I dare to try and get rid of it all, nature provides me with more! It’s the gift that keeps on giving. I was just thinking that even if I had no trees in the yard, cut to the ground, I bet branches from other areas would start showing up, like from the wind. Or tornados would bring them right to me. Well, that’s hopefully too crazy. Incidentally, it’s been dry as a bone around here all last week. Looked like rain. They said it might. Never did. About one hour after Ken was done and cleaned up and everything was in for the night, it stormed. There was thunder. There was lightning. The wind blew. The rain fell. The earth was clean. And it hasn’t rained again since. I’m not trying to say anything in particular. It just seems strange.
This is the last picture. My newly shorn tree posing for the camera. I should make it the first cause it’s so pretty. This is also the end of the story. Thanks for hanging all the way through. Later.
Running!….is NOT what I am doing…
Plodding. Staggering. Hobbling. Half-stepping. Walking. Limping. Collapsing. Crawling…to a shaded area and sitting. Pretending to remove phantom rocks from my shoes. So sad.
I started on Monday like the original plan dictated, but I just now have recovered the strength to type about it.
Well, not really…but close. At this very moment I am trying to cool down and lose the sweatiness from my legs so I can put pants on to go to the store. And that is no lie. I forgot a few things yesterday for our “health plan” and I want to go get them before the kids get back from school. I have shorts but my legs are a bit too white and stubbly and I have long workout/sweat pant/joggy things that I would never wear outside to a public store-like place. I need some cute capri-type casual slip on pants of a comfortable material that is flattering yet stylish. Hmm. I was at Target yesterday too (the store of everything) but focused on my daughter and groceries. Maybe tomorrow. I can’t walk thru there again so soon. Plus I have to go to Jewel, the actual grocery store. Sometimes you just have to. Sorry Target.
Anyway, I am still serious. Let me run it down for you. Monday. Kids to school…drove to the outdoor trail. Nice and early. 9 am. Crowded, which is good because then you have less chance of being assaulted or injured. Not that it’s dangerous, it’s lots of seniors and workout people and even a Forest Preserve Police presence, but it’s ALWAYS dangerous for women alone in woodsy settings. Plus if you fall or heatstroke out or something, lots of people to call 911 for you! Back to this gripping tale…it’s still hot here in Chicago, like summer hot, in the 80’s to 90’s every stinking day now, it’s really ridiculous actually because it’s no joke what they say about our area here; it was literally like 40 degrees one day and 90 the next. I’m not sure how it keeps happening and why we are never prepared and I have lived here my whole life…anyway, so it’s hot, but I figured it’s also 9am, so it won’t be THAT hot. WRONG. It felt like the fires of Hell were chasing me around that trail and I could not get out of its path for nothing. I managed to stagger around the trail, in shade and out, for a grand total of 1 and ¼ miles before I gave up and walked/ran for the rest of the 3.6 miles. I am not proud or happy about it, but I could not pull up enough strength to keep “running”. I could not even do a jog. My legs felt like the leadiest lead in the world and it was SO hot!! I also never used to have a problem with heat either, I was the last hold out for air conditioning and I was sincere. It really never used to bother me, but now I can barely stand in front of the oven without complaining. So needless to say, I was sweating, and I never sweat like all that, and I wanted to sit down so bad in the grass, and there was goose poo and deer poo and snakes and ducks and who knows what else kind of poo all over that trail. But I really didn’t care. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that I was on the part of the trail that follows to major roads, so there is no tree cover on the street side and the sun is blazing right in your direction, into the tree line so, basically there is no shade until you get back into the woody area. From about the 2 mile mark until the 3 mile mark I was out there, roasting, baking, shriveling and dying in the sun like a juiceless raisin. Ugh. My worst workout ever. I am so pathetic that I tried to stay next to the trees even though there was no shade, but I felt that just being closer to them might make me feel cooler. Not so. But I did keep going. I walked and sipped my water which was warm at this point but still watery, and just willed myself to keep moving forward, try not to look like you are actually weaving on the trail, and take deep breaths and let that heart rate go down, let that body cool off, just make it to the car, and hope you can drive without passing out. It felt kind of like being drunk but without the fun of alcohol or throwing up thank goodness! I never wanted to puke so I consider it a win! I ended up finishing in about 50 minutes so looking back it wasn’t that desperate, but it did feel like slow motion death.
When I got home, I took a shower and tried to remove leg stubble but I think I caused a rash with the chemicals and the heat skin I inflicted on myself. So whatever…White and hairy it is for another week. Luckily Tuesday my daughter Stevie (hey girl! cutie! with the free arm!!) had to go to the doc to get that cast off her arm! She was happy, and I was happy because we got to spend the whole day doing the opposite of exercise. After two hours of removing the cast, x-rays, and returning to the doc to get the all clear, she is good to go for now, no more cast but no kind of activity that would cause a fall or a chance to land on the arm again and potentially break it all over for 4 weeks when we go back to check it one last time! Hooray, now we can go have LUNCH! We love the Mexican food, El Famous Burrito, I think they are in lots of places…really good if you like this kind of food. We particularly like the Chicken Quesadillas. The best, hands down, you may have had anywhere. They’re not on the menu you just have to ask…so worth it. Then the usual guac, salsa, beans (all made on site–so always delicious and always just a little different) We go to one in particular, so I can’t speak for all, but if you like it or try it…let me know! I’d love to hear from other fans.
Anyfood…back to the story…we eat and hit the Target. Stevie wants some capri’s she saw and needs a shirt for the WW2 Veterans Honor Assembly she is part of and has been practicing for the last month. I am so proud that she is so part of her school and all its activities. These are meaningful things and I like when the kids know it and understand that the world is so much bigger than just them and their lives. But let’s not get all teary eyed now…stay focused on my detailed list of MTW…ok still Tuesday…at the Target. Successful shopping. Alot of money is spent. Besides not having food in the house…I have kind of let it get to the point where we have literally just those things I listed yesterday. Like, nothing. You have to eat a hot dog bun with Ranch dressing, seriously. Hot lunch at school and take out dinner. NOT healthy, not good, not cheap. Thank goodness my kids eat minimal breakfast. Fruit Loops out of the box is usually good enough. Besides not having food in the house, we need to have “healthy” food in the house. It is not cheap, and it requires more steps to eat. Like cooking, peeling, combining….it’s such a hassle and that’s why I can’t manage it during school. One day…they say it takes 6 weeks to keep to a routine before it becomes a natural part of life, and 3 months for it to stick permanent…I hope so…that’s just about how much time I have to make it work this time. So, food is bought. Put away. Made dinner. I grilled. Used the grill. I have a crazy fear of it for some reason. Fire and all that…but I managed to do it, and I will continue to do it now. The kids like it way better than the oven and it keeps the heat outside. So blah blah, watched tv, went to bed. Big finish there. Sorry.
Now it’s Wednesday, and I really do have to get my butt to the store. Time is ticking and I want to be back before the kids. It’s still hot. I know, no one can probably believe this. But it’s true. I sent the boy to the bus, and walked Stevie (her idea) and a good one, because it loosened up my legs just enough so that I didn’t look like a complete handicap trying to “run” around the trail. It was not pretty. And I did not complete the circuit. Again. I hate my out-of-shape self. It also doesn’t help when you have some Marine guy running around the track, looking all buff and Marine-y, passing you twice going in the other direction! And he wasn’t even from around here. He’s driving around in his big, red, truck with out-of-state license plates. Marines. Showing up in Illinois and exercising just to make us look bad! Plus, I have the pressure of the Warrior Dash on the 19 th of June. It’s looking like a Warrior Dud. I am going, but it will not be mighty. As for today, I started off strong, said to myself, slow and steady. Slow and easy. Just casually go around the track. No rush. Just run it nice and easy. Nice and easy. Nice and easy. And it worked! I made it all the way to the 2½ mile mark! That is right in the middle of the sun spot. No cover. Someone kindly repainted the mile markers in bright red numbers. Nice and big and correctly I assume. They are not in the same places as the previous markers painted in yellow. Turns out each quarter mile is just a little bit farther than they were on Monday. But I really did make it to the 2½ spot and I tried for more, but I couldn’t do it. I half-jogged it every few paces but I was pretty much done for. At the 3½ mark I kicked it up for that .10 mile and brought it home. Too bad I had to park my car near the entrance today, so I had to walk even more just to collapse out of sight of the more athletic types who were just dashing around looking all happy and fit. Next week. Next week.
Again, not happy. But it is pretty funny and it makes a good story. Isn’t it better than, “Oh today, Monday, ran 4 miles. Tuesday, ran 4 miles. Wednesday, ran 6 miles and did an obstacle course…blah blah…” My version has that gritty-real-life-down-in-the-streets kind of attitude. (Because I am gritty, from being, literally, down in the street, weak and tired).
Also, in my defense, I am on the pre-week of my “cycle”, notoriously makes me exhausted and hungry and not able to do alot of energy requiring things. I hate when it coincides with my plans for higher living, and race events like the Dash or the 5-Mile. Next week though will be different. I tend to be a heavy “exit-er” (if you catch my drift without me being too graphic on the technical details part) but I get my energy back and I’m not hungry. So I should just be flying around that trail with no trouble at all!
On a happy note, I have maintained my weight for one whole week despite the period problem. So that’s really good. Course it does help that every time you step outside lately the sun and heat suck away all the moisture you have in, on, or near your body.
So I am all cooled down and my pants will probably slip on now…I had eaten a sammy (healthy bread, turkey, lettuce, tomato, onion–love the onion–not good for the breath tho) and a banana, felt like vomiting…for real. I held it in. And I think I’m good to go there too. I would have been so mad. I haven’t made an actual sandwich for myself, like that kind with stuff on it, for a long long time and I would have been super-mad if I just threw it all up. But I am better now.
It’s one p.m. in the city. I will be back later with some coins and cars and pictures. I’ll probably throw something on top of this…but I don’t know what yet. It will be a surprise for all of us!
Enjoy the sun, apparently it’s here to stay! Toodles.
Hot in the City….
It is Sunday, May 23, in Chicago. It’s a blazing 90 degrees and I have been drinking margarita’s all afternoon. This is my first post, post-nursing, first year. I am done for the summer! Passed successfully the course, the final and the final-final for the past year of material. I will be enjoying this afternoon and evening and start reading some more stuff on Monday. It’s recommended. But, no pressure so its really more for fun. Haha.
Anyway, let me rewind the week, but fast-forward the boring parts (zip it Amanda…some people do not think this is ALL boring like you…har har) anyhoo…let’s see…oh yes…my sister (Amanda) squeezed out yet ANOTHER child into this world…good job! Welcome Everet Jase! Congrats to the family!
I passed my classes, I registered for fall, I paid for fall (lots of money I don’t actually have…and don’t even qualify for using student aid…but hoping for good luck with some working scholarship money, and I bought some lottery tickets also as a back up plan.
Saturday, myself and the family (kids and bf), babysat for the new bean so my sister could go to a wedding and try to wear sexy clothes and drink for the first time in 9 months. She looked cute but the alcohol didn’t take. She tried her best but we are thinking that the bartender thought she was still a pregnant lady and gave her non-alcohol drinks! We have to get that baby weight off! Which leads me to our next big thing…Warrior Dash! It is coming fast and neither of us is ready and I don’t have a baby as an excuse for my chub…only fast food and laziness. So that means you get to follow along on the progress all summer! I may have pictures…they are guaranteed to be funnier this year because they have that same wall for me to not be able to climb over again AND a new net-wall-army-thing that I will probably never get my big booty up on. So you’ll definitely want to stay tuned.
After the babysitting, 3 am, yikes, and an hour drive home, we get to bed at 4. Kids leave at 11 ish to go to an other-family-thing with their dad, and I get the idea to go for a nice bike ride with the bf, you know, get a jump start on the massive diet and exercise program that begins tomorrow for this entire household. The “Summer of Slim”, the “Focus on Fat”, the “Abolishment of Adipose”…we need a catchy slogan for my program, especially since we will all be crying by Tuesday about how hungry and tired we are of this horrible plan…and how we’d rather just stay fat…no no, not this year. My goal is my son. Slim by seventh…that’s good too…hmmmm….anyway, it’s happening and I will be unliked for some time this summer.
Back to the bike ride…we decided on a modest 9 miles (thank goodness the bf doesn’t listen to me, because I first suggested the 19 mile loop we were doing last year, which we would still be doing right now). So, to the trail, on the bikes, riding, riding, riding, sweating, hills, 90 degrees, more hills, sweating, still riding…9 miles is really long, even on a bike, if you haven’t done it in a year, finally down to 2.8 left, I was like, what???, man I thought we were done, but we made it back to the car and even went past and back to make it a nice even 10 miles. Felt good. Felt sexy, in that sweaty, I-just-exercised-don’t-I-glisten-in-the-sun kind of way! And then driving home we go right past this Mexican restaurant with awesome margarita’s and I said that’s what we should do…have margarita’s for the rest of the day. So we change, drive back, drink margarita’s, eat guacamole and enchilada’s with green sauce, and watch the Hawks win it for the city! But the fun doesn’t end there….we need home margarita ingredients!
To the liquor store…got it all, Tequila, mixer, salt, limes….and more heat. It’s still like 80 something outside, no air conditioning inside, wouldn’t put it on anyway because it’s only May, and it’s 8 o’clock pm. I’m on, like my third glass, but it’s hard to tell because it’s never really an empty-fill thing, it’s more like a continual addition to what is already in the glass thing. At any rate, it’s lovely, and it’s getting hard to type or see, because dusk is upon us here in the Midwest. My kids should be home soon. Dirty and sweaty from their day and needing showers for school in the a.m. Well, shower for one anyway…the girl broke her arm again and is limited to baths with her cast sticking out…I have pictures!
I have lots and lots and lots more stuff to tell and write and show and post, I have missed so much since Easter because of school, but I shall have the whole summer to amuse my loyal fan base!
I also have pictures but cannot post any because I am not typing this on my computer where the pictures are. My computer is trying to get reconfigured for better speed and quality of content. So this will have to be good for now.
I have money to post! I have found alot of spare change in the last few months. I have saved it all for you in one location so I can total it up and be very dramatic about it. And I have Cool Words galore thanks to my girl…she has been saving them and is anxious to start helping me. I have Warrior Dash training, and PF 5-Mile training, and get-my-son-slim-by end-of-summer training and healthy cooking (?) attempting, and music! Music music…I have been so slacked…playlists and inspiration….you do not want to miss any of it!!
Also I want to thank my followers, particularly the one who sent me the notice about the creator of my favorite coffee cup…the New York Coffee Cup….we are happy to serve you…blue with gold trim….passing away recently. I have the Time magazine write-up abut it and him and the iconic piece of history he left behind. Thank you for keeping me informed when I cannot! If you want to see more about the cup, click here, NYCC, and if you just want more, I will be back soon with all the good stuff…hopefully late late tonight or tomorrow once the computer is fixed, the kids hit school and I hit the gym (training starts NOW), I also need some healthy food items in the house…we are down to coffee, 4 slices of bread, almond and rice milk, and eggs…which I am going to go boil right now for tomorrow.
Until then, have another drink, maybe one more for tonight, and enjoy the heat wherever you are. It’s good to be back! Cheers.
Happy Easter!
Sorry for the LONG delay…I have been busy with school…it is winding down, so more frequent posts should be coming. BUT, I could not let this day pass without sharing the love from some of our neighborhood entrepreneurs.
Yes that's a liquor store in the background. I ask you, Can a businessman help it, if that's what happens to be on the busiest selling corner?? People gotta drink. And they need Easter baskets. That's just good marketing.
A breather….
OMG! I hate to be such a loser….but this semester is kicking my butt. I’m fine in grades but weary with the work. I want to be in my job. I know that’s not possible yet, but everyday I feel like I am earning more coins, leveling up, familiarizing myself with things that made no sense just 5 weeks ago.I liken it to driving. Every time I leave my school, my hospital, my classroom, I think about driving the car on the way home. When I was sixteen it seemed so foreign and difficult to do while doing anything else! My grandma would drive with the tips of her fingers barely on the wheel, moving stuff around in the seats and reaching behind her while talking, adjusting the radio and dangling a cigarette out of the corner of her mouth (I have never smoked, but I so badly wanted to be able to do just that. I don’t even understand the mechanics that were holding it there, lit and burning and smoking into her face and eyes. How did she ever drive like this?? and no seat belts either! Amazing.) These days I can talk on the phone (try not too though, but I could) yell at the kids, change the stations…barely even think about the rules of the road and the traffic and the lights. I just know. I’ve been doing it for a long time and I just know. I am anxious to see how my children will do and so excited for them and all that stands before them. Driving is just one tiny thing in a million things that they have to look forward to and I want to be here for all of it.
But that is really off my track already, and I don’t have alot of time. My breather spaces are short. My clinical day is done, but I have skills and a test to prepare for next week. Quote time: The days are long but the years are short. My days are not short this time around. They seem way too fast and without alot of night-time. I am awake more than I am ever asleep and I never catch up. Summer. I will sleep in the summer. So here is what I have to say for today.
So many things are happening everyday in my small, small, world that aren’t worth the air waves it takes to move this stuff around. And then there are so many things happening in the BIG world that I can’t even post about without crying and because I don’t have the words required to convey my thoughts. Haiti…death in a big way, on a grand scale, pulling the world together in an effort to make any kind of difference at all. And across the big lands…the Olympics…life in a big way on the grandest scale, pulling the world together to watch and wonder at how there is no difference when you run at the highest levels. It’s still all luck and chance and the right place and the right time with the right people and the right equipment to keep a dream alive or crumple it in defeat. I know that the skill is there. I know the years and training it takes for some of these athletes to get in the position to just try. But all the training in the world can’t help if the mountain shakes unexpectedly or the land just drops. One small bump. If you can’t keep your balance, it’s all over.
The thing I like the best in any tragedy and any victory is that everybody, every single person sharing the experience, cries and laughs and cheers with the heartbreak AND the victory. People try to help when they can, and not make it worse, if that’s possible, when it matters. It is my absolute favorite thing about the human race. We do come together when we have to. And we have to. We just really do. I always said I would want to live away from all the people, but you can’t really “live” without all the other people. Otherwise, it’s just you. One person, alive, living. If there is nothing else, there’s really just, nothing. Another lesson learned through better living. Ha. That was a little joke because this quick post took a real serious turn and I want to get on FishWorld! (What?? I know. I hear you. It is pathetic.) Just living life!
So anyway, I just wanted to acknowledge the world out there for a few minutes. Haiti, the Olympics, Captain Phil Harris passing away(sadsadsad), the SuperBowl and New Orleans (Yea!!), Chicago, my new friend Merianne and my old friend Beverly (Hey ladies!!), my family and all the kids we know, the BF’s family and his cousin Scotta still fighting the bad blood and staying hilariously upbeat about it (she’s got a website too, trying to pass some time—you can check it out—www.thepapergal.com—and I’ll get you the background info as soon as I can do it justice—newsbreak–I’m going to post the whole note she sent to me right below this one) all the good stuff and the bad stuff and the ridiculous stuff me and a thousand other “bloggers” like to write about. Did you know that Angelina Jolie has a new hair style?? And that Conan O’Brien grew a beard?? I did. But I haven’t had time to give you my opinion. And now I won’t. I missed Valentine’s Day too. VD as all us “older” students say and laugh our butts off. Venereal disease is not funny, but it is funny that people say VD for Valentines’s Day. And venereal diseases are now STD’s and the hilarity goes on and on…so you see where MY head is at. I don’t even choke anymore! I aspirate! Pretty funny huh??
I am ending this here. I stopped with the facebook jewel game that was keeping me up at night, but I swapped the addiction for a bunch of cartoon fish in a virtual fishtank, so I have to go feed my fake fish to grow them big enough for me to sell and buy more. Gotta level up! I think I’m like 26. That’s nothing in the fish world. I’m just a guppy. So I plan on a few more posts. I have found alot of change….in case I didn’t already tell you, we have had several mini-storms of snow in the past few weeks, and at the same time, someone must have dumped a cup holder full of pennies into the parking lot at school, and I have been finding them in giant clumps (like dumped out rock salt) on the ground. So, they’re pretty dirty and salty, and there’s alot! (Just one last little thing regarding my age…I originally typed in that previous sentence, “someone must have dumped an ASHTRAY full of pennies…” and I realized that some people might actually be confused on how an ashtray could have gotten into a car! All you oldies like me, think about it now for a second before you poo-poo me. When was the last time you SAW an actual ashtray in a newer car?? They don’t put them there anymore. Our kids will never know that it used to be an actual feature of a car! Isn’t that hilarious? Don’t you feel old?!?)
OK, I’m REALLY leaving on that. Enjoy what ever you do in the next few days,weeks, months, years of your life…I’m in Chicago. It’s Thursday afternoon and 41°. I haven’t gained any weight lately and I feel pretty good. I hope the same for you!
And pictures. Pictures make it better. Peace.
The Scotta Story—Sort of…
So the bottom line is a diagnosis of aplastic anemia. Idiopathic. A serious shortage of red blood cells due to a serious malfunction of the bone marrow. No good reason for it. 40-70% of all cases are idiopathic and common in the younger adult. Not real comforting when it’s you, but that’s just info from the med book.
Scotta, on the other hand is awesome! Never met her in real life, but love her and her style! SO the website link is in the above post–buried in the middle—gotta promote my insignificance too…and here is her last e-mail to the fam and friends. Check it all out and dare to tell me she’s not a cool chick! (This is straight copy/paste from the lady herself—if there are any spelling errors or weird grammer, that’s all on her! I even left in all the little triangle more/less things that pop up throughout the note! Haha):
Something major to report! Not health related, really, but still big!
Since I have nothing but time on my hands these days and love planning parties and creating things, I have finally decided to try my hand at doing this to a living. Well, not a living so much as a way to supplement my income a little but mostly just give me something to do.
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> So, allow me to introduce The Paper Gal! Check out my brand new website at http://www.thepapergal.com/ to see everything that I can do. There you can also join the newsletter list or become a fan on Facebook. After this (and maybe a reminder or two) I promise all “work” information will come from those places and this will go back to just being about my health and what not!
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> Even if you don’t think you’ll want to buy anything, follow the blog or become a fan on Facebook because I’ll also be giving great party planning tips, ideas, where to find deals, etc.
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> Let me know what you think! I’m really excited and am putting as much energy into this venture as my little blood will allow me!
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> Oh, and speaking of blood, my doctor’s visit last week was uneventful. H&H are the same. Platelets were down to 50, but no real need to be alarmed. They can fluctuate so we are ok right now. I did have a paper cut that bled for about 30 minutes last night, but I am going to say that was just a fluke!
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> Don’t forget to check out the website: http://www.thepapergal.com/ and to become a fan on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Paper-Gal/279528000966?ref=ts. Oh, and please tell all of your friends, family, coworkers, even people you don’t like! And, they don’t have to be local. Everything can be done over phone and email and mailed anywhere in the world!
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> Thanks for your support throughout this and hopefully in this new venture, too!
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> Scotta
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> —
> Visit our community site: http://aamds.lotsahelpinghands.com/c/618225/
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> Powered by Lotsa Helping Hands and Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation, Inc.
Sad note on the white fish in that tank below…
When we woke up for school a few weeks ago, he was gone. At first we thought maybe the other Oscar (a Tiger) ate him. He got to be twice the size of the Albino Oscar, and he was three times as aggressive, so it’s possible. Or maybe the Kissing Gourami (also kind of mean) picked him to death and the Pleco finished him off. Seemed implausible to be eaten just overnight, but you never know. Then I thought to look to the side, there is a small opening in the back, and when the fish fight they splash around and break the surface pretty violently. Well, obviously the fish decided he had it with marine life and threw himself up and out and to the side in between the wall and the dresser. He was kind of dirty and stuck against one of those quarter-of-every-state folder things. We tried to revive him, but no. He was gone. All the dust on him served no protective advantage at all (see next post on cleanliness). We freed him to the universal ocean in the big, green garbage can. We feared the flush as he was somewhat larger than a regular fish. Incidentally, the Gourami died shortly thereafter. Poor, unfortunate souls….
just shy of pretty 