Friday, February 27, 2009

Because Stacy Tagged Me

Crazy 8's

8 Favorite TV Shows
1. House
2. 24
3. Biggest Loser
4. Lost
5. How I Met Your Mother
6. The Reaper
7. Supernatural
8. Rules of Engagement

8 Things I Did Yesterday
1. Made dinner with Joe
2. Watched episodes from Lost season 1 (yes, I'm just now getting into that show)
3. Washed dishes
4. Washed laundry
5. Emptied the kitten's litter box
6. Helped Joe hang curtains covering our laundry room
7. Checked my email
8. Checked Facebook

8 Things I Look Forward To
1. My birthday. 364 days a year I look forward to it.
2. Spring
3. Spending time with my family
4. Having a baby some day
5. Getting my new dining room table & entertainment center
6. Getting a new couch for the family room
7. Finding a different job
8. Reading my friends' blogs

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. The Cheesecake Factory
2. Claim Jumpers
3. Red Robin
4. Chili's
5. RigaTony's
6. Oregano's
7. Buca di Beppo's
8. Carrabba's/Maggiano's (tie)

8 Things I Wish For
1. A new job
2. Financial stability
3. Motivation
4. Inspiration
5. Kids
6. Happiness
7. Good friends to have nights out/in with
8. Success for myself, my family and my friends

8 People I Tag
1. Emily
2. Amber (do it on Facebook as a note) :)
3. Karri
4. Heather
5. Scott
6. Crystal
7. Nicole
8. Becky

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

I spoke too soon.

I'm sick again. Started not feeling well on Monday night and it got worse yesterday. I feel a bit better today but not much.

Joe is very supportive and understanding when I'm sick, which is a good thing. It's also a good thing that we can find ways to live off of less income when my pay is decreased like it has been the last couple months because of me being sick.

Someone left a comment on an old post of mine sharing her experiences with Zyrtec and side effects she's had with it-- it almost sounds like I could've written it (except she works out 6 days a week, lol). So I'm thinking I'll stop taking that. I was already thinking of doing that because it definitely isn't helping with allergy symptoms as far as I can tell.

Monday, February 23, 2009

FINALLY!

Last week was a very long week. I had been sick up until about Monday, just in time to pick up some overtime/holiday pay.

I normally have Mondays off, but because I've missed about 3 weeks off work since late January from being sick and for my mental health, I decided I needed some overtime to make up for lost wages.

So I volunteered to pick up a shift on President's Day. That was the holiday, right? I don't even know any more. Joe had to work too.

So I hung in there all week long, even though it was hard to, because I wanted to make sure I made that Monday sacrifice worth it. I worked 48 hours but because of the way I'm getting paid, it's like getting paid for 60 hours of work. Score!

By the time Saturday came around, I was feeling emotionally dead on my feet (or really on my butt, since I sit at a computer all day), but Saturday was a really good day at work. I talked to a lot of really motivated people, and I felt good about the work I did.

Sometimes I hated my job working with adults with serious mental illnesses, because it seemed like I was putting in all this hard work and there wasn't anything to show for it. Sometimes this job feels the same way. Saturday, it didn't.

Joe and I celebrated Valentine's Day together with a trip to The Cheesecake Factory. Then we went to a furniture outlet store nearby to look at tables for our dining room. I am embarrassed to have someone over for dinner and have them sit at my puny table, so it'll be a nice change when we eventually do have a table that seats more than 4 people, and comfortably at that. I do plan on inviting people over for dinner then (I'm already forming a mental list).

Friday was another doctor's appointment. It was just a follow-up appointment from my appointment 4 weeks ago to make sure I was doing better. Well, I am doing better, just not 100%. I think that the discrepancies between where I am and where I want to be can be explained, however. My doctor did recommend scheduling an appointment with my OBGYN, which I plan on doing (I actually planned on doing it on Friday, but I didn't get around to it).

And yesterday as I was slowly waking up for the day (I LOVE that!), I FINALLY felt really motivated to just eat healthier and exercise more. I don't know why, but I'm taking advantage of it while it lasts. I had oatmeal for breakfast yesterday instead of the frozen waffles and applesauce or pancakes and syrup I was originally thinking about having. And after church, Joe and I enjoyed some salmon and rice-- it was quite good.

So I'm hoping this is the start of something that lasts and is good for me physically and emotionally. Maybe after I lose some weight my body will respond and I can get pregnant. Maybe my periods will start becoming more normal and I won't have to stress about that so much either. Maybe that's a lot to ask for, but today I'm optimistic. Finally.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Germies

I thought about not writing, because I don't have much to write other than to say there's not much to write.

Joe and I were sick all weekend (and most of last week too), so our Valentine's Day was spent on the couch watching movies together. On Sunday we pulled out the hide-a-bed and lounged on that.

Yesterday, he got me some dark chocolate candies and flowers as a way to say happy Valentine's day even though it was late.

We both worked yesterday. Mondays are normally my day off, but I got 8 hours vacation pay (YAY!) plus I volunteered to work for time and a half (YAY!). In addition, I qualified to make extra money for the month of February, so I earned yesterday what I would have working more than 3 normal days otherwise. That helped me get through the day.

Still, without going to church and being sick, it kind of felt like yesterday should be Friday or Saturday.

It was hard to work today. I just have to get through this one day at a time.

I have a doctor's appointment on Friday (just a follow-up from my last appointment) and it looks like I'll be scheduling an appointment with an OBGYN to beg for tests to find out what's going on with my body (with hopefully something that explains better and can be treated better than PCOS).

I'm finally feeling (mostly) better as far as this stupid cold I caught goes, so that's a good start!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

I heard it doesn't snow much in Washington when I moved here. I heard it was something like once or twice a year, and it really wasn't a big deal when it was. I should've asked for a second opinion. That's what I get for trusting my husband!

Or maybe the last couple years have been really unusual. It's not like it snowed a whole lot last year, but I did have a couple scary/frustrating experiences driving in the snow. This year has definitely seemed odd. Not only snow that sticks and snow upon snow and black ice, but fog has come for days on end too. Weird. I blame the baby. You know, El Nino.

It's snowing now. I had no idea snow was in the forecast until I was taking my first fifteen minute break from working today and flipped on the news. It was snowing somewhere. I looked outside to see a snow-free lawn. It is snow-free no longer.

Time for some hot chocolate!

In other news, we had a couple windows replaced yesterday (I guess it was good it wasn't scheduled for today!). We even bought the installers some pizza. We're awesome. My idea. I'm awesome. Anyway, in addition to the windows, we had our french doors removed and a sliding door put in. Now we have the key to that door, so we can actually use it! Hooray!

We had to lock the cats into one of our bedrooms during the installation, so we moved their food, water, litter box, and toys into our guest room. We've decided to keep it set up that way. When the kittens were finally let out of the room last night and started wandering around downstairs, they didn't know what to do since they had no toys. Even today, when I went downstairs on my breaks, they would hang out around me for a while but then go back up to their bedroom. They are so spoiled! They're going to become such little hermits!

One of the windows replaced a broken window that was starting to get moldy and would hold condensation between the window panes. These are triple-pane windows with UV protection and energy savings, and GOSH it looks so much better than the do-it-yourself-job that preceeded it! The only problem now is our blinds don't fit anymore and there isn't as much of a window ledge for the cats to sit on (it was amusing watching Sandy's reaction as she tried to jump on the window ledge and didn't really have enough room to keep her feet firmly planted). So we've got to get some new blinds or curtains. Hooray for an excuse to go shopping!

But I think I'll wait until it's done snowing!

Monday, February 2, 2009

RIP Compaq and my weekend

So, I am paranoid these days due to events that have happened in my neighborhood. Every time I hear a noise at night (or even during the day), I wonder if someone is stealing my mail or trying to break in to my house. And when my kittens knock things over, tackle each other, or otherwise make a ruckus, my imagination starts to run wild with ideas of what the noise could be coming from. Did someone somehow manage to get into my house without triggering the alarm and they're now coming to kill me? Is the alarm on?

I heard a noise coming from my living room the other day. I made a mental note of it and continued doing whatever I was doing in my family room. But then there was another noise, and I knew the kittens were up to something. I hurried to the other room to investigate the crash, and I saw that they had knocked over a vase of roses that was on the coffee table. Or I should say the black cat knocked it over. I'm pretty sure it was Ashley, because she ran from the room (and from me) as quickly as she could. I chased after her, and every time I got close, she ran again. Meanwhile, Sandy just chilled by the scene of the crime.

Today there was a similar noise. I saw one cat bolt up the stairs, and then I saw the other cat running into the room I was in from the other direction (through the dining room). I walked into my living room to find out what the commotion was all about, and I saw Sandy peeking her head between two rails on the staircase, trying not to be seen.

Those kittens crack me up! It's hard to stay mad when they are so funny! I guess kids are like that too. I don't know yet, but maybe one day I'll be able to know the feeling of frustration/anger followed quickly by amusement and humor because of something they do.

I talked with my supervisor very briefly today and said that I decided to go back to work tomorrow if that's okay. He said it is (even though I was originally approved for 2 weeks off without pay), and I caught up (sort of) on my work email. That took forever. I was multi-tasking on my laptop (I complete work on my desktop), and I finally turned my desktop off, chatting on Facebook and reading through my personal emails and RSS feeds.

Then came a noise outside. Right outside my house. I'm not expecting anyone for a while, so I was nervous and curious. I got up to go take a look out the window, and I tripped over a cord for my laptop, pulling the laptop down on the floor and breaking it. My screen now has a display that looks like broken, shattered glass. Lovely. I hope I can recover the data on the hard drive!

Looks like I just made my decision as to whether or not I'll be working on Presidents Day. If I want a new laptop, I have to!

In other news, my car had difficulty starting on Friday. I took it in to the shop for a 90,000 mile check (only 13,000+ miles late), and everything is fine now. Joe thinks it might've been a spark plug (they were all changed). I wasn't having problems before, and it's running quite smoothly now, so I hope that was all it was. The guy at the shop said I need 2 new tires and an allignment, although he recommended getting 4 new tires. Joy. If it's not one thing, it's another. Or it's more than one thing.

I'm still waiting to see if medically things improve. I will definitely be calling my OB-GYN if my period doesn't come in the next couple weeks. I want more tests, and I have to demand some answers!