Tuesday, December 27, 2011

I hate Powking!!

So, I just got a text from my 8 yr old great niece. Here it is verbatim: "Hay shely its maddi my mom is powking she has the flow. I dont no want to do"

Awwwwww. Poor little chickadee!! To translate, it says: Hey Shelly, it's Maddi. My mom is puking. She has the flu. I don't know what to do.

How does one instruct an 8 yr old how to care for their mother who keeps POWKING? I feel so bad for them!! I just told her to take her mom a Sierra Mist and to tell her that I said she had to drink it even if she can't keep it down.

Besides the obvious of the 8 yr old worrying about her mom, there is the whole germ thing. Y'all know how I hate the stomach flu germs! Pee Pee (my niece) had already called me this morning to let me know she wouldn't be coming to work (we work in the same department), and now Maddi has the phone! Germ transfer big time. I didn't tell Maddi about germ transfer because that would freak her out. She's freaked out enough, so I'll freak out for her. I just know she'll get this in a day or two. Yuk.

Mr. P took some Gatorade over and we are hoping Pee Pee is drinking it...........yikes. If she gets dehydrated, she'll end up in the hospital.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I really missed my dad, but it was quite nice otherwise. I got a Kindle Fire (yes, I've read 2 books since Sunday and working on the 3rd and have the 4th purchased and ready to read). I also got a KitchenAid stand mixer, which I've wanted for years and couldn't afford. The Kindle came from Mr. P and the KitchenAid came from my stepmom. I was off Thursday thru Sunday, so I had a lovely 5 days off.

Toodles for now!!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Advance Apologies

Is it possible to be excited for Christmas, yet at the same time feel blue? I am so sad that I lost my dad, and I'm ticked off that the world just keeps on chugging along and I don't want it to. I WANT everyone to still gather around me and provide support!! However, his loss, while sad just doesn't impact others the way it does those of us that were closest to him. On the other hand, it's a beautiful time of year, my kids are adults and will be fun to hang out with at Christmas. I have a great family and lovely friends. Mr. P and I are exchanging gifts, which we normally don't do, so this year will be especially nice. And especially SAD. How is that even possible?

I have a new job where I make more money!! We got a new car in October!! We were able to afford gifts, and we have a lovely home, utilities are on and a freezer and pantry full of food. What more could I ask for? MY DAD.

Emotions are tricky little suckers. On one hand I am so grateful for what I have, and the people in my life. On the other hand, I'm sad and ticked off that everything won't be the same. Sometimes the contradiction is overwhelming. Why can't things just be simple? I'm impatient and logical (sometimes---even though now it seems like I may be a tad on the 'over the edge' side) and I know that things are what they are and I need to accept them. It's the emotions that kick in and screw it all up. They make grief more pronounced.....they make things like holidays CONFUSING, rather than lovely.....they trick you into going to bed at 8 pm just to turn your mind off!! Emotions SUCK.

Okay, I'm taking a deep breath and trying to move on to other things.

Things like old friends. I got a friend request on facebook from an old friend. Practically ancient now. When I was 14 or so, I 'loved' this guy. But as childhood wanes, so do those old feelings and I'm left with fondness. It makes me happy to know that people I knew all those years ago are still around. That they are still interested in my life, as I am theirs. I love to brag on my marriage and my kids and love to hear about other's lives, families, accomplishments and low times. It's comforting in a way to know that even though there isn't 'love' or
'attraction' or whatever that people still feel connected. Hey, I guess that's what facebook does, right?

My Step-Mom, Pee Pee and I all made cookies this past weekend. OMG, you guys. You wouldn't believe the number of cookies and candies that we made in a matter of 6 or 7 hours. Put 3 people in a kitchen with a stand mixer and we made MAGIC!! It was alot of fun. Now I have a bazillion cookies at my house, and only one son living at home to eat them!!

So, see? Christmas is nice, it is fun and it is exciting! It just stinks that that sadness permeates everything.

That is why you have my apologies. I would imagine I'm going to be stuck on this for a while. Hang with me and I know things will ease a tiny bit.

I have been looking for one of those 'sound machines'. You know...they were all the rage 8 yrs ago or so. It's a little machine that plays nature sounds or white noise. At my job, we've adopted several residents at a nursing home for Christmas, and that is the gift that I need to buy. I've looked at all the usual places..discount stores, drug stores and I can't FIND THEM. It's so annoying. However, I keep seeing them on store websites, but they don't appear to be in the stores. I took a chance and purchased one from Wal Mart.com. I chose the pick up in store feature, so we'll see how that goes. They took my money, so let's hope they have them in stock!! It is supposed to be turned in by tomorrow!!

That's about all I've got for now. Hang with me internets!! This grief thing has kicked my ass and you all seem to be the ones I'm talking to.

Toodles for now.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Genius Squelched

So, today I talked to Crissy for a brief moment on facebook. I've been thinking about blogging again, and I was inspired!!

First, some business to attend to: Perfectly's Dad passed in September. I am devastated. He and I were extremely close. He had a stoke, so it was pretty sudden. I got a new job the week after he passed. I realize people are going through worse, so I often feel guilty, but MAN have I been stressed!

Anyway....enough about that.

So, Crissy mentioned her Christmas tree and that nobody understood her vision. And my first blog post in MONTHS came to mind! I totally had the same issue!!!

We have a puny little tree. 6 ft., cost $25, and is sparse. I looked for a new tree, but apparently everyone and their brother buys a Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving! Who knew? All but the ginormous and uber expensive ones were left. I decided to glam up Mr. Puny instead.

I bought bows, birds, and silver thingys to "poke" out of the tree as a topper! I've seen designer trees and thought to myself "I could do THAT"! I was wrong. Apparently, when the designer/creative gene was being handed out, I was off picking my nose, or reading up on Boone's Farm vs. Arbor Mist.

My Step Mother came over and helped (um, basically did the whole thing) decorate my tree. Now it's a beautifully decorated tree that doesn't appear as if it has antennae sticking out of it, as my 8 yr. old great niece thought. Or that it doesn't look like a crown, like my son thought.

My foray into the designer world was no more. I'll stick to other things like coupons and blogging to fill my time. I am not a Designing Woman.......

Toodles for now. Leave a comment if you like. It may encourage me to keep doing this.