~A Bitter Swallow~

So this past weekend we went to Oregon. "We" being Dustin, the kids, and me. Immediately after work, I drove straight home, and packed enough clothes and accessories for the four of us, then we jumped in the car. After dropping off the dog at my sister's place, and grabbing a quick(ish) bite at Taco Bell, we started our 6-hour drive to Heppner, Oregon. My throat continued to bother me throughout the drive, as did my head, but I was able to pull in some light dozing while my body braced itself through Dustin's driving.. lol.

We pulled into the hotel at 2:30am, and we all dove for the beds. Dustin woke up at the ass-crack of dawn as always, chipper with energy, while the rest of us groaned and pulled the covers further over our heads. He headed to church with his family while the kids and I finished more of our sleep. After church service, he returned, and him and I took a little walk of the town. The town was easily walkable in I'd say, maybe 20 minutes. It's tiny! So cute though.

Dustin's grandparents were not home when we got there. We let ourselves in per their request. They have such a quaint, cozy home. Their wood stove was going when we got there, and the room was nice and toasty. Dustin's mom and her husband showed up soon after us, and then his grandparents shortly thereafter.

We had a nice lunch of veggie spaghetti with vegetarian meatballs, green beans, bread and salad. Even my daughter liked the spaghetti, although my son didn't. On a trip down to the park, my daughter got invited to a bonfire with Dustin's sister and her daughter. They got to go on a hayride and the whole nine-yards. She spent the night there. After she left, Dustin, my son and I went back down to the hotel for a nap, as we were pretty tired still. We went back up for snacks and conversation and left for bed early.

The next morning, Dustin was once again up at the break of dawn, and he went and had breakfast with his family while I waited for my boy to wake up. We finally had to drag him out of bed at 10, so that we could check out of the hotel. More of Dustin's family showed up on Sunday, and I finally got to meet his brother. We had a big lunch of veggie burgers and dogs, with salads, chips, veggies, and pie. It was good, but I'm still not a big proponent of the veggie meats...

We left Oregon at about 3pm on Sunday, and made it back into town at around 8:30. Apparently the dog did good over at my sister's house. Our cat decided she was now queen of the castle, and she's now the boss (as if she didn't act enough that way before). We'll see who wins- her or my daughter.

Things have been hectic lately, with the move, my son's toe (I'll explain that one), work, school, and the move (yes, I know I already said that, but it is a significant portion of the hectic!). All this has caused me to slack a bit in my blogging. Hopefully not too much though. Enough to keep things suspenseful? :)



The move is going well, although there are still a few larger items left at the other house that I would really enjoy having at the new place. My washer and dryer top that list, at the moment. My bed is still over there; my mattress is over at the new one though, so at least I can sleep comfortably. Most of my bookcases - most considerably my large one - is still there, which makes it difficult to unpack those six boxes of books I have over there.



The unpacking is going slow. I just don't know what to do with all the crap I have. And I have a lot of it. Some I will be sorting out and selling on the Internet. Some will be driven down to the Goodwill to compliment my spending down there. The rest will find their spots among the riff and raff of my mismatched furniture and accessories. Shelves have become a fond pal of mine, and my kitchen would benefit from some, if only I would remember to ask Dustin to build me some... lol.





I have been horrible with the upkeep of taking my medication on time. I'm truly pathetic when it comes to memory. At least when dealing with my own stuff. My son's medicine for his foot I remember each and every morning and each and every evening. So does he, and 9.99 times out of 10, he's already taken it by the time I ask. I just wish the same could be said for his homework. I've now moved it to directly in front of my coffee pot, where it will just be pushed aside in my desperate grasping for my first cup of coffee, and thereafter I will tell myself "I'll take it when I eat." Next problem is getting me to actually go make myself something to eat....



As for my son's foot. Sometimes our children do things that we just find utterly flabbergasting. This is one of those instances. Probably his most insane moment yet, at least in my mind. A few weeks ago, he complained of a cut on his foot. I remember him coming down the hallway while I was on my computer talking of it. I asked him if it was a "need to show mom" cut or a little scratch. He said he was fine and it was just a small thing. Well, last Thursday, I was still home when the kids got back from school because I had had a meeting at work earlier in the day, and I go in late on those days to make up for the time. He came into the living room complaining that he wished his foot would "quit doing this, because it's getting really irritating." I look at his foot, still mummified in his sock, and see a pool of seepage coming up through the sock. I told him to take it off and let me see his foot. My gods, I just about had a heart attack when I saw it. I'm not kidding. Half of his toenail was black- vertically moving sideways, not upwards. His skin was sloughing off in layers. There was puss all over, and his toe was bright red. I did learn that this toe- the big toe- is medically termed the "great toe". That's the medical term. I thought it was funny.

I called his doctor's office and confirmed that this was a "take him to the urgent care" issue, and not a "wait and make an appt for later" issue. I took him in, and all the nurses and the doctor were all flabbergasted that he did not show this to me earlier. Apparently he had ripped off a hang nail he had on the side of his toe. Being a boy, jumping in mud puddles, sleeping with the dog who sheds buckets (they were having to pull dog hair out of the wound), not changing his socks, etc.... it got infected. And of course, he "thought it would just go away". It wasn't hurting him unless he touched it, so no big deal, right?

The nurse helped me harass him and tease him for not telling me. He got a lesson in hygiene and how to cut his nails properly. He got taught that if it starts turning red, it's time to show mom. Or someone. And to never ever ever let his penis get like that (he turned beet red.. it was hilarious). After a shot in the butt, and a prescription for antibiotics, Epsom salt and bandages, we were sent home. I got to be an hour late to work, but luckily I had called them prior to hitting the urgent care, so they were well aware of the situation. And it gave us a good story to chat about the rest of the evening.

Today, I am sick. I think. This morning, I had a little bit of time on my hands before coming into work, so since my tummy was feeling a bit blah, I decided to go to Jack In The Box and get a supreme croissant and an orange juice. While drinking the orange juice, I realized I felt a lump in my throat that hurt when I swallowed. No matter what I did, I could not get it to go away. It has gotten progressively worse throughout the day, and I'm starting to believe it is something more than just a piece of egg caught in my throat. Now my tummy is upset more, and my head is starting to thrumb in tune with my throat. And I get to go on a drive down to Oregon this weekend. Pray for me that it gets better, and not worse.


And I think that is it for now.

So, I'm bored, and thought I would check out this site I go to from time to time to get ideas to write from. It's here - http://creativewritingprompts.com/ .

Today's lucky number is number 10. It's idea is to come up with a poem about an object that describes me. What out there is reflective of me?

credit card?
* If you aren't careful with me, you could wind up getting yourself into a lot of trouble?
*I have a tendency to take all your money away from you? (I'm laughing here, now... you should be too...)

blank piece of paper?
*Dull at first glance, but give me a little attention and a beautiful story can emerge?

time?
*I pass fast when you're having fun?
*I take forever when you are waiting on me, and go by fast when you want it to last?"
(Ok, so I actually get ready quite quickly, and the second part of the second one was the same as the first... sue me)

flower?
*I'm pretty, but without the right care will wilt quickly?

hand sanitizer?
*use me too much and I start to cause more harm than good?

yard work?
*alot of work, but worth it in the end?

Alladin's lamp?
rub me the right way, and your wish is my command?


Ok, ok, I'm finished. No poem today, but I got a good laugh at myself. Readers are encouraged to add at their own whim!

According to my handy little "holiday madness" link over there -----> , today - October 27th, is Cranky Co-Workers Day and Navy Day. I have to wonder... is it really coincidence that these two days fall together??? Hmmm?

=P


The 30th has some fantabulous things to celebrate! It's the host of "Create a Great Funeral Day", "Devil's Night", and "Haunted Refrigerator Night". Not to mention "Candy Corn Day", which is one of my favorite Samhain candies.


What cracks me up is Halloween / Samhain being synonymous with Knock Knock Joke Day? How fun is that!?

With all this greatness in just the last WEEK, it's no wonder October is my favorite month!

(oh, and it may have something to do with my birthday being in there, too)

I'm so excited! I know I cannot be completely sure of this until Monday, but we're moving into a house with a yard! I can hardly contain myself. I'm already trying to figure out where to put what, and what kind of plants I will have and where the garden will be and what kinds of veggies and berries it will have in it. My daughter has already designed the back porch area. The kids have picked out their rooms, and were very good about discussing which one they wanted and picking the one that fit them based on their ideas, preferences, and how they live. That is to say, my daughter got the biggest of the two! LOL.

Things are finally starting to look even brighter, even with our economy supposedly flailing about like a fish out of water. I even have a good prospect of getting my son into a martial arts class that I think he will love. We shall see how that pans out.

I won't be close enough to walk to work anymore, which will be a bummer. Not sure what kind of walk I'll really be able to go on. But I will have an acre of land to mess with, a new house to decorate, and I've already checked out a load of crafting books to fill my additional time. ( I have plenty more on hold as well).

Now I get to fill the next month's time "off" with packing and sorting. I expect to be discarding quite a bit of stuff (hopefully) in order to clear out most of our clutter. Perhaps I can even sell some of it and make a little cash. Both kids are once again going to have to thoroughly go through their rooms and choose what they honestly still need, and what they can part with. It helps them knowing that their items are going to others who could use it, and not just being tossed away.

This move also means an opportunity for some new furniture. The stuff we have is so old and used up. I'd really like to get something new. Start completely afresh. Dustin is looking forward to building the kids some new beds, probably the captain's type, which would be fantastically awesome, in my opinion. New dressers, couches, tables, etc... how wonderful! Of course, that is going to take some time, since it all costs money.. lol. But the ability is there and it feels great.

I plan to use this as a jumping start for really working on obtaining some semblance of sewing ability, and perhaps making some curtains for the rooms. I got a book on other things to make by sewing for household use, so we'll see how far my creativity (ability provided) can take me.

I am trying to decide how to decorate the bathrooms and kitchen. Do I want the kids to have their colorful display in their bathroom that also doubles as the guest bathroom, or will I stick with the orientalish type theme that we have in our guest bath now? Will the kitchen be herbs or sunflowers?

It was exciting this morning, when I got online for my normal stint through the available rentals, and I realized I no longer need to do that. I wondered what would fill my time now, and then realized all the options I had with this move. I'm in heaven, I tell ya!

So, if you no longer see me online as much as before, you now know why. Smile to yourself, and know that I am having a blast! Call me and come over to see! :)

I voted today. I don't get my official "I voted" button, which is kind of a bummer. But I have the satisfaction of knowing that I did my part in taking action on how my country is run. I can't say I think that my vote will make much of an impact, but I do know that not voting is giving the other guys an advantage. If everyone stopped voting just because they didn't think their vote counted, then we would definitely see the effects our voting has.

I am not going to go into the politics of who I voted for. I voted for who I thought best equipped and/or whose ideals matched my own. I even voted for a couple from the opposite party because of that. I don't like lumping myself into the cliche of voters. I lean towards the democratic side, but won't vote for someone just because he or she is a Democrat. I vote for who I think will work in my best interest. Does that make me independent? I don't know, for I don't vote strictly independent either.

In any event, I did my patriotic duty in keeping our country a democracy. I hope I get who I want, but more importantly, I hope whoever gets the job takes this country in the right direction and keeps us strong and vital.

I just discovered that today is the national mental health day. http://www.nmha.org/index.cfm?objectid=94EE8067-1372-4D20-C8E1129592EE83B5

Doesn't that mean we should all be in mental wards strapped up and curled in a padded room?

Oh wait.. as mentioned in my previous post.. I'm on medication for that... so I am declared mentally sane..

Or am I?

I think it should mean we all get the day off.

You know, some days I am quintessentially reminded of just how much of a loser I really am. Tonight is turning out to be one of those times. I knew I lost a lot when I left my marriage, but holy shit, sometimes it is just insanely sad how much. Or maybe it was really never there to begin with, which I am thinking is probably closer to the truth of the matter. Take tonight, for instance. I had a birthday dinner for myself at my favorite resteraunt. Other than myself, my children, and my boyfriend, 3 other people showed up. One was my sister, the other two were a couple of friends. And they are more my boyfriend's friends than they are mine. Not that we don't get along, because we do ( as far as I know ). It's just that if Dustin and I were to break up, I don't think I'd ever actually hear from them again. He knew them long before I did.

I think the whole birthday dinner thing has ran it's course. I have a feeling this was the last year for that.

Anyways- what makes it all so much worse is that everyone's reasoning for not coming was monetary. Ok, that makes sense, until I realize that they are all planning on going out to the casino for the bartender's birthday next weekend.... and half of them were probably out at the bar tonight. Doesn't make me feel real considered, ya know.

Then, I get shit because I wound up spending too much on dinner. I don't think he was overly serious, but to a point he was. I didn't realize I had a limit, especially considering he had previously been talking about paying for the entire meal (paying everyone's tab) to thank the people who did show up for coming out. That in and of itself could give me a complex, but since I know what he meant, I let it be.

I don't even know why I'm posting this stupid blog. No one but me is going to read it, and I am very much aware of that. Sometimes I wonder why I bother keeping this blog updated. I am the only person who reads it, unless I push it on Dustin, and even then, I don't think he reads half of what I asked. I have linked this to people more than a couple times, and I haven't gotten one single solitary comment about it. Not even in passing. So why the hell do I bother. Part I know is to give myself an outlet, but what about all the other crap I post about. I think some piece of me is hoping someone out there is actually keeping tabs on it, but I know that it isn't going to happen. I'm just giving myself another failure to mark in the record books...

Sometimes it is so lonely. I look around and there is no one there. I know Dustin and my kids are.. but, where did everyone else go. What the hell did I do that was so horrible? Or was it never me that they were hanging out with to begin with?


Gods! I really wish I could just move far far away. Move somewhere where no one has any idea of who I am. Somewhere where I could just start all over again. Then at least when I have no one calling me or coming to my birthday, at least there is a viable excuse. If it weren't for my kids, I'd do it. But I can't uproot them and all they have just because mommy is lame. /sigh

So, I guess I get to emmerse myself in a game I have no interest in, and write about stuff that no one gives a shit about. Yay me!

Anyone going to sing "Happy Birthday" yet?