Friends

{ July 9, 2009 @ 2:45 pm } · { friends, life, relationships }
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It’s amazing how a simple comment can make you realize just how truly special a friend is; how one minor statement can suddenly make you grateful for the fabulous people in your life.  Not everyone is going to get along or like each other. That’s the nature of different personalities, experiences and just human nature in general. Unfortunatly that divergence of personalities sometimes festers until venom is spewed. It’s important to remember that’s rarely a result of that disconnect but a symptom of a personal issue within the source.  Still – when that level of posion is aimed in your general direction twice within a week, it’s reassuring to be able to reach out to the connections around you.  The comfort doesn’t come from being personally bolstered but a simple recognition that there is an abudance of light and happiness and yes, even sanity, that flows from remarkable people. I am surrounded by a network of friends who are mind-blowingly incredible and sometimes that just needs to be recognized. 

But sometimes, one truly reaches out and touches you – and to her today I say thank you. I loved you before for who you’ve been to mutual loved ones and the awesome core person I saw. I love you even more today for who you are to me.

Hypocritical hypotheticals

{ July 9, 2009 @ 9:34 am } · { hobbies, marriage, musings }
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The love of motorcycles seems to run in my family. My dad loves them, my sisters and I all love them and our kids have shown their appreciation at young ages. So of course I married a man who shares that love. He’s owned a couple of  bikes. Alot of his friends ride. And he’s survived a couple of wrecks – only 1 since I’ve known him and that one wasn’t bad as far as wrecks go. But it left him with a messed up shoulder and massive bruising. I know he’s a cautious and responsible rider. It’s just, well, accidents happen.

Last summer there was at least one local fatality involving a motorcyclist and a car. I looked at pictures afterwards…it’s not really difficult to figure out who the fatality was and who walked away. The car crossed the center line and hit the bike head on. I don’t know if the rider was wearing a helmet or being aware & cautious. It really doesn’t matter.  He didn’t stand a chance no matter how “safe” and responsible he was.

Wednesday morning on the way to work, I passed an accident that had apparently just occurred. It didn’t look bad at first glance. There were cars stopped but I didn’t see any damage – until I saw the crowd of people hovering around a figure on the ground. A figure laying behind his motorcycle. (I assume he was the rider anyway) I don’t know what happened or how bad it was. It LOOKED like he was conscious and moving a bit but I was headed the opposite direction and only glanced for a moment. I had seen enough to make me cringe. I’ve seen the results of a minor accident. I don’t WANT to see the results of a major one – or even another minor one.

Regardless of the dangers, I still want to ride. The idea of wrecking doesn’t scare me. I know the odds are high that SOMETHING will happen at least once. It’s kinda like skydivers saying “It’s not a matter of if you get hurt it’s a matter of when.” I oddly don’t have a problem accepting that at all. (I planned to pick up skydiving when the kid turned 18 but Jon has vehemently argued against that little plan) No – my stomach clenches when I see/hear of these incidents because if I ride, then that means Jon will too. And I can’ t stand the idea of HIM being the one laying on the road in the middle of traffic. I can handle being in pain myself  but to see HIM being injured…I don’t know how well I’d deal with that.  Oh I know it’s hypocritical. And since we don’t have bikes, it’s really not an issue for quite awhile. We have other priorities before we start on the expensive toys wish list. But still – it’ll be something to consider.

Wordless Wednesday – Stars and Stripes

{ July 8, 2009 @ 8:27 am } · { Wordless Wednesday, photos }
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Decided to jump back into Wordless Wednesday this week.

Small Town USA

Stars and Stripes

Plans and such

{ July 7, 2009 @ 6:57 pm } · { life, me me me }
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I’ve been changing things up a bit around here. I moved the “2009 Book List” to a separate page and just have what I’m currently reading on the sidebar. I’ve also added a page listing Newsweek’s Top 100 Books. I’ve read several on the list but am embarrassed to say that it’s well less than half.  I plan to correct that. I don’t know that I’ll finish ALL of them. I can guarantee I won’t read them in the order listed. But as soon as I finish the stack on my bedside table, I’ll start on this one. Considering the size of some of these books and the fact that I’m averaging a little less than one book per month, I should finish this little endeavor approximately when the youngest graduates high school.

I’ve also added a link to my Fitday account. Jon has been braving my snarls and snaps every morning to waken me for workouts – per my (conscious) request. Along with that is, of course, nutrition. And while it’s not GREAT right now, it’s much better than it has been in the past…as recently as this weekend in fact. Ugh. I’m STILL detoxing from that. You will notice the Fitday log does not mention any activity the past two days. That’s because we were recovering from our travels and chose to sleep in the extra hour. Rest is just as important, right? I don’t think their activities are all that accurate anyway, at least when compared with my HRM so I may just note it manually. Anyway, my goal there is to be down 15 pounds by my  birthday in mid August. I had a goal for July 4th but then went and got sick. It’s a little hard to work out while spending every moment possible in bed. And although that doesn’t excuse my eating, I have to say my complete lack of energy meant very little cooking. Obviously THAT goal wasn’t met but surprisingly, I’m okay with that. Shall When I meet my birthday goal, I’m hoping I can still get my nose stud. Rock.

GPS Improvements

{ July 7, 2009 @ 12:35 pm } · { Random, travels }
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While navigating Idaho backroads this weekend, Jon brought up an interesting point: “You know how men have been complaining for generations about their wives/girlfriends/etc backseat driving…and then we go and start using an electronic device that tells us exactly where to go – in a female voice.”  He’s close, but there’s so much MORE that could be done. The GPS needs more emotion. For example – we took several routes that were not originally suggested by Delly. (Our friend (who kept TheKid) calls her GPS unit Betty. Ours is a Delphi and I tried to refer to it as “Delly” but Jon wasn’t amused.  But this is my blog so Delly it is.) She repeatedly instructed us to turn around in her calm collected voice. Some frustration would be nice. “Did you NOT hear me? Take the next left. Just ahead. NOW. Okay, next one then…NOW. (sigh) It’s okay, there’s another left coming up. Please turn left…NOW. (huff) Fine. We’ll try it YOUR way for awhile. Recalculating route…”  We also took a few back roads…if you could call them that. They were more like poorly paved mountain bike trails. There wasn’t even a full two lanes, no guard rails and a death drop over the outside edge. Delly found the roads but warning would’ve been nice. “Do you REALLY want to go that way? Seriously?  Good luck, you fools.”  There’s all sorts of options out there that could seriously increase the entertainment value of these little gadgets.  Jon even suggested Delly should play  The Map Song from Dora the Explorer while booting up.

By the numbers

{ July 6, 2009 @ 2:34 pm } · { life }
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Miles driven – approximately 850

Wonderful new friends – 6

Nights without TheKid – 2

Puppies to spoil – 1 precious new Brittney Spaniel

Pictures taken – approximately 250

Amount of junk food ingested – about 30 pounds worth

Seriously – we had fun. I was glad Jon got to reconnect with his friends and happy to finally meet these people I’ve heard so much about. We cuddled the puppy, played with the kids and introduced one of the wives to the fun of setting off fireworks and 4th of July celebrations in general. (She’s Canadian and had not spent a 4th in the US before. It was rather fun to see through her eyes a bit.) We laughed alot, took alot of pictures. And ate. Alot. Then we picked TheKid up from his “Aunt D” where they told us of their weekend adventures and fun and he passed out about 5 miles down the road with a sigh of contentment. All in all I’d call the weekend a success. Now it’s time to detox from the junk and sort through photos (coming soon).  I hope you guys had a fantastic holiday.

Significant in it’s insignificance

{ June 30, 2009 @ 8:50 am } · { life }
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May 2, 2008 Jon (accidentally) told me he loved me for the first time. May 2, 2009 he married me (on purpose). 

 June 24 2008 is the first time we met face to face. June 24 2009 he flew back to Indianapolis to pick up everything I’d left in storage.

June 30, 2008 was the day our first (and only) visit ended. June 30, 2009 – there is nothing to report. Today is a day like any other in this life we have settled into together. We will go to work, go home and eat dinner with the family, do laundry and eventually curl up in bed together. That’s a GOOD thing by the way. I can remember the ache of missing him last year.  I was briefly reminded of it last week while he traveled but comparitively, it was muted. Bearable. An temporary emptiness in the house, an unease that was relieved as soon as he walked in the door.  And while it was mildly interesting to re-read entries from this time last year and see again just how much my life has changed, it is much more enjoyable to look ahead.

This week we’re going to celebrate a couple of “first” – our first camping trip together, our first 4th of July together…really our first vacation together.  We’re getting away for more than one night with no goals except to relax and visit with friends. Our kids will be elsewhere, our responsibilities on hold. And while we’ll have free wi-fi at the campground (and I’m quite sure Jon will take at least one laptop), I don’t expect to be online much, if any.

I miss my husband

{ June 25, 2009 @ 10:22 pm } · { whining }
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I don’t want to be whiney. I know there are couples who deal with this travel thing week in and week out. Not to mention that while I’m sitting comfortably in our home, getting ready to sleep comfortably in our bed, Jon is sitting in a cheap hotel somewhere in Nebraska. And while I played all day, he drove seemingly endless miles…all to bring MY stuff back to me. Not because he had to or was obligated to but because eventually he wanted me to have my stuff and he’s kinda awesome like that.

Nevertheless.

I was okay today. TheKid and I played. We stayed busy.

Obviously.

We also took food to friends with a new baby, laughed at Jon’s cat being ultra pathetic and went to a women’s group meeting (TheKid got to hang out with a friend).

But now I’m home and it’s dark. It’s almost bedtime. And now the emptiness in the chair behind me seems to echo through the house. He’ll be home tomorrow sometime. I can’t wait.

Here there and everywhere

{ June 24, 2009 @ 1:42 pm } · { Random }
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  • I got my blood test results back yesterday. Everything ranged from normal to great!! except for indication of “an acute infection”. Which we knew. Which is why I choke on a huge horse pill of an antibiotic twice a day. Swelling and pain no longer afflict my poor little lymph node and it’s such a relief to do things like hold my arm normally down to my side.
  • My dear dear husband is flying out to Indianapolis in a few hours so tomorrow he can pack the rest of my stuff into a moving van and drive it home to me. The great news is I’ll have the stuff I miss like my books and bows/arrows. And it’ll be a little like Christmas since I’m not sure what all else I stored. (Cross your fingers that my rollerblades are in there…)  The bad news is my husband is driving 2000+ miles in a moving van. He’ll be FINE. I KNOW this. And yet, I’ll still feel much better when he’s home safely.
  • I’ve been going through camera withdrawals. And today I was looking for (cheap) ways to entertain myself and TheKid while Jon was out of town. (And distract myself from harrowing visions of twisted, burning moving trucks)  Lo and behold! Thurdays are discount days at the zoo!  And. The zoo is in the same (huge) park with the rose garden. So tomorrow I’ll be packing up the nice camera and taking TheKid on a PHOTO EXTRAVAGANZA!!! (You have to say it in the big circus announcer type voice to get the full effect. Go ahead and try it.) I think I’ll even hand my old  DSLR  over to TheKid and see what he comes up with.
  • I tried to update my 2009 Book List but the formatting isn’t cooperating with me. Grrr. My apologies for the irritating wierd spacings. I will beat it into submission just as soon as I have nothing better to do.

Yes as a matter of fact it IS tender

{ June 20, 2009 @ 2:49 pm } · { me me me }
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So I’m attempting to type on a laptop that is balanced precariously on my lap while propped up on pillows in bed. There’s a stack of unread magazines and books beside me and a husband wielding a dish towel outside the door if I attempt to veer from the pre-approved path between the bathroom and bed. He’s bringing me watermelon and cookies upon request and I get the impression that I’ll be allowed back up soon. Tomorrow perhaps. Thursday I had six vials of blood taken and picked up a prescription for an antiobiotic and a painkiller. And for the record, the painkiller seems to knock me for a loop. I’m getting ahead of myself though aren’t I?

For the past month or so I’ve not felt so great. Oh I haven’t felt horrible. But I’ve been run down some days, more tired than I should be. Then a spot under my left arm started becoming uncomfortably tender, then swollen, and finally painful and Wednesday Jon informed me after long…discussions…that I was going to the doctor. So Thursday we went. And the PA went through his laundry list of questions to cover diabetes and thyroid issues all the while kicked back, looking half asleep. And then I mentioned a history of auto-immune issues in my family. Okay actually my mother has lupus and her aunt did…I don’t know if that counts as a “history” but suddenly Mr. PA was a bit more interested in the proceedings. In the end he decided to remove half my blood to test for everything under the sun, then poked and prodded at the swollen spot until I left claw marks in the table and cried. And then had the nerve to say “Well it looks like we have a tender little lymph node there don’t we?”  I resisted the urge to kick him in the balls and reply “Well now it looks like we have a tender little groin there don’t we?”

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