Category: Day-By-Day

(photo credit)

I am tired.

No. Tired doesn’t even cut it, I am fatigued. Actually, I’ve crossed the fatigued threshold, I am exhausted.

And here’s the kicker – I haven’t even DONE anything! I mean, other than living life, taking care of my family, working (and how taxing can that be, I work on the computer!), cleaning, baking, and doing the normal weekly errands, I honestly haven’t done anything.

And before you read that and go, “but Karen, that’s a lot!” It’s truly not. It’s not any more than any of you guys do on a daily basis and yet, I am so tired I can’t even keep my eyes open.

I’ve dealt with fatigue my entire life. I was able to combat it for so many years because I worked jobs that kept me physically active. If I’m constantly moving, then I don’t have the time to get tired.

And when I got home, I slept like the dead.

But now, now that I sit in front of the computer all day long, and I’m not physically active, it (whatever “it” is), catches up to me and I honestly can’t think, I can’t move, I can’t keep my eyes open.

I’m not depressed. At least, I don’t think I am. I’m not bored (most of the time). I’m not stressed (okay, maybe I’m a little stressed – this not having steady income coming in every month is sort of taxing, but we’re okay, financially, if we continue to play our cards right), I think my fatigue stems from something physical – I’ve always battled anemia and when I remember to take my iron, I usually snap out of my fatigue.

The problem is, I’ve been taking my iron and I’m STILL dead tired.

One problem is because I haven’t been exercising. But I’ve been too tired to exercise. Which is a stupid excuse because you actually have more energy when you exercise, but it’s the getting started part that’s hard. Once you get get going, it’s not that bad and I end up feeling great! And I sleep good.

Which is another reason I’m so tired all the time; I’m not sleeping. I toss and turn and jerk myself awake three or four times a night to check the time. I don’t want to oversleep. Even though the boys have their own alarms, and they use them, I need to get up because, well, how is it fair that they have to get up early every morning and I sleep in? If I’m up, it’s easier for them to get up. Not to mention, I need to get up. It’s morning, it’s time to get the day started.

So, I know I’m not getting quality REM sleep, which only exasperates the problem.

I’m so tired of feeling tired all the time. Something must change.

Beginning this evening, no matter how tired I am, I am going to get on that treadmill and walk/jog my three miles. I might even do 20 minutes of Turbo Jam.

I’ve gained weight. Which does not help the tired factor. But even at my skinniest, I’m still tired.

I’m tired of being tired. Oh. I already said that. See? I’m so tired, I’m repeating myself.

I’m breaking down. I’m going to try the stuff my in-laws sell. It’s called Reliv and they SWEAR by it. Kevin has also been drinking a shake every morning and he’s been a blur ever since. I’m like walking in slow motion and he’s buzzing around me at top speed – it’s frustrating and a little embarrassing.

So. Beginning tomorrow morning, I will drink some Reliv. I will try and remember to update you guys on how it makes me feel. I only hope it serves to inject a little energy into me because I can’t go on feeling this way. I have plans. I have a future mapped out for me. I can’t afford to be tired.

Literally.

I finally broke down and bought my textbooks today. As in, just now.

I had been oscillating back and forth on whether I wanted to buy them or not. Which is stupid because I’ve already signed up, and paid for, the class. The books were not cheap. And I even went the third party route on Amazon.

I think I hesitated on ordering them because once I hit that “pay” button, there was no going back. I was making a commitment to pursue this paralegal career choice.

I MADE the commitment. It’s a done deal.

My class starts next Wednesday. It’s an online class through a vocational college here in town. I have to sign on every Wednesday and Friday to get my assignments.

This class is the first of a series of six. It’s a non-credit class that is designed to prepare me for a paralegal career. Since I already have a Bachelor’s of Science (in Professional Writing), then all I should be required to do is take these preparation courses and then take the paralegal certificate exam. After that, I should be able to get a job as a paralegal. I figure with my writing degree, that should give me an edge.

Keyword: should.

I am polishing my resume. This is actually quite a process because I haven’t had a job outside the home in seven years. Though I’ve technically been “working”, it probably won’t translate into anything impressive when I get to the interviewing stage.

At any rate, I found a site that lists attorneys in my area and I plan on trolling those sites to see if they are possibly hiring. And by hiring, I mean looking for law clerks or even receptionists. I am not too proud to take a lowly position just so I can get my foot in the door.

I’m quite confident that once I’m in, I’ll impress their socks off and they will wonder how they ever got along without me.

Am I being overly confident, especially given the disaster that is Obama’s economy right now?

Possibly. But I prefer to call it optimistic. 🙂

Now I get to sweat it out for the next week and hope my textbooks come in a timely manner. Of course, if they don’t, I have no one to blame but myself.

As usual.

We asked the same people we bought our kitchen tile from to come out and measure our living room / dining room – they came yesterday.

Then they called us today to give us an estimate on how much they would charge to rip out our carpets, haul it off, and then install our wood floor.

It’s about what we expected.

Expensive.

However, we’ve been talking about doing this for years and we feel like now is the time to do it.

It’s a dark, polished maple and we’re really excited to get it down.

Actually, we’ll be even more excited after it’s installed. Moving furniture is going to be a challenge with Kevin out of commission (sort of), but that’s the perk of having two teenage boys —

cheap labor.

(I seriously love this picture – alas, it’s not mine )

The small, insignificant, day-by-day things that happen in my life.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Newsflash: I like my mother-in-law. I’ve been blessed with one of the few women in the world who will give me my space, but be there when I need her, who has a sense of humor, but doesn’t take me too seriously, who is a constant presence in our lives without being a pest (most of the time. *wink*). She was an absolute rock for me when Kevin had his motorcycle accident in April.

I was fond of her before the accident; I think the world of her now after the accident.

Today was her birthday.

The woman is in her upper 60’s, but looks like she’s in her 50’s. Her and my father-in-law stay incredibly active (in fact, I honestly can’t keep up with the woman – she left me in the dust those two weeks we lived in the hospital in Columbia to take care of my husband – she often times kept watch while I tried to catch up on a few ZzzZz’s), and as a result, they both get around like they’re in their 50’s.

It’s very inspiring to watch them and to be around them. (And a lesson for all us, stay active, stay young!)

Kevin and I bought her a gift card to the JCPenney Home Store because she loves to shop for her home. We had only planned on dropping by her house and giving her the card and gift, but we ended up staying an hour because one of my sisters-in-law and her family had driven up minutes before we had, then my other sister-in-law drove up a little while later – so it ended up being an impromptu family get together.

One of the reasons I like my in-law family so much is because they make an effort to include me in their conversation. I ended up sitting on the sofa, by myself, while the rest of the family sat in a semi-circle in front of me. I didn’t even think of me being off by myself until my mother-in-law made a joke of it – we all laughed, they started asking me questions, I responded, we laughed some more … it was nice.

I can honestly say that I feel like a part of their family. They’ve been very warm to me and truly are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met.

I know it’s not exactly “cool” to admit that you like your in-laws, but well, since when have I been cool?

Exactly.

We were on the verge of leaving, when my sister-in-law asked if they could come over. I had asked her opinion about what we should do about our living room/dining room because we want to rip the carpets out and put in hardwood floors and we honestly have no idea if we want to go dark, or light – we already have so much oak furniture in the rooms that we don’t want to match it exactly, that would just look weird, in my opinion.

Since I’m about the furthest thing from being a Susie Homemaker, I asked my sister-in-law because oh my gosh, you should see her house. It’s gorgeous!! And I love her taste. She also has a knack of finding the best deals on things so I trust her.

They came over and we talked about possibilities for about twenty minutes. She is actually going to make a trip up to Lowe’s to see if she can get some ideas for us.

I think that’s about the sweetest thing ever. I can’t believe she’s going to go out of her way like that, but she says she really enjoys decorating (I tease her about going into business, but I’m actually quite serious) and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with.

Now my next question is, how in the world can I compensate her for her time and talents?? Any ideas?

Monday, August 30, 2010

Took Jazz to the orthodontist today. He’s had braces … for about a year now. I know he got them last year, and I know he started school without them, so that must mean he got them in September sometime.

Being precise is too exhausting.

He’s doing well with them. He didn’t handle them as well as Dude, and I knew he wouldn’t. Jazz doesn’t tolerant pain/discomfort as well as Dude does. Jazz’s teeth weren’t that bad, to look at him. But after examining the mold they did of his mouth, his teeth were actually pretty bad. Jazz’s biggest problem is his overbite. If you look at his profile, you can see where his upper lip pushes forward over his teeth. I don’t think he’ll have to wear them as long as Dude, but he’ll have to wear them most of his high school years.

I make a point of making sure he doesn’t have any sort of adjustment appointments in October – he has competitions every week and I think it would be rather mean to make him endure mouth pain while he’s trying to play his saxophone and perform. I’m always very conscious about when next appointments are scheduled – at all times. I wouldn’t want the boys to feel bad over the holidays or their birthdays, either. That either makes me a really good mom, or a really anal mom. Maybe both.

Kevin and I went and looked at the leather sofa / loveseat we have our eye on again last night. I was thinking it was more of a dove color when in fact, it’s more a khaki color. I actually prefer the khaki color as I think that might go better in our room, anyway. I think we’ve decided on a dark floor, like walnut dark, but nothing is set in stone at this point. If we buy the khaki sofa set, we’ll have to repaint our walls – they’re currently khaki. It’s always something, isn’t it?

We also can’t find a leather sleeper sofa that we like. I would like a sleeper because I don’t sleep with Kevin – we have determined, after years of not sleeping that we don’t sleep well with EACH OTHER. And when we get sleep, we’re less likely to argue or get on each other’s nerves … so it works out. If we can’t find a leather sleeper (because Kevin really has his heart set on leather), then I’ll have to sleep on an air mattress again. Which is fine, actually, it’s really comfortable, but it makes Kevin feel bad. Which … might not be a bad thing, actually. Lol

Ragweed is on the rise. Which means my eyes are constantly watering. I’m also feeling REALLY tired and run down and it’s really an effort for me to get motivated to do anything. This time of year would be perfect, if I could just get used to the ragweed.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

My day started off with a bang – no literally, I woke to a clap of thunder. By the time it was time to take the boys to school, it was pouring. And it’s continued to pour all day. In fact, I just heard on the radio that we broke a record – three inches. And I heard that about three hours ago.

It’s still raining. And according to radar, it’s sticking around most of the night.

I got back from dropping the boys off at school to learn that Kevin had listed our sofa and love seat on Craig’s List. We had agreed we would buy a new sofa set, but I didn’t realize he was going to list it so soon. Not fifteen minutes after listing it, we got a phone call – the woman wanted to come out today to take a look at them, and if she liked them, would pick them up on Friday (when the weather was nicer).

While we were waiting for this woman to arrive, we noticed that our crawl space was starting to fill up with water. This is a common problem with us as our house is sort of on a slope, so we get a lot of run off. When it rains really hard for an extended period of time (like today), our sump pump just can’t keep up. In addition, a pipe had come loose on it so it wasn’t pumping any water out.

Kevin actually crawled (but more like swam) over to the sump pump and fixed it. It started gushing out water and was working fine for about 20 minutes, when the stupid pipe came loose again. He was getting ready to crawl back under the house when our lady and her husband arrived to look at our sofa set.

They took one look, sat down for ten seconds and decided they wanted it – right then. It was POURING outside, but that didn’t deter them from loading the pieces up. I’m sure they got quite soaked in the process. Kevin and I couldn’t figure out why she just didn’t come back on a nice day. I just hope they didn’t ruin them.

After they left, Kevin suggested we go to Lowe’s and buy another sump pump, place it in the opening to the crawl space, run a hose out of our back door, through the garage and pump the water out that way. Then he wouldn’t have to crawl back under the house and if the thing started acting up, it would be right there.

He could also use the second sump pump to use with the french drain that he wants to install on the north side of our house (because it’s currently a lake on that side of the house, which is not helping the water situation in our crawl space).

So, we bought the pump, he installed it and it’s currently pumping water out of our crawl space.

Here’s a picture:

1. Out of the crawl space. 2. Out the back door. 3. Through the garage.

It doesn’t pump out water as hard as the other sump pump, but we figure it should pump out most of it by the morning. IF it ever stops raining, that is.

Our living room is HUGE without our sofa set. Kevin is thinking we should just buy a sofa and nix the love seat … but, I like love seats, so we’ll see.

In the meantime, we have our lawn chairs.

I love Oh life because they send you an email at 8:00 p.m. every night asking you how your day went. You reply to the email and it automatically posts to your Oh Life account.

These entries are raw, immediate and from the heart. You can expect to see these updates every Wednesday and Sunday (or thereabouts)

Thanks for reading.

(photo credit)

The small, insignificant, day-by-day things that happen in my life.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

I had a very productive day. I got a lot of work done, and answered a lot of emails. It was a comfortable pace all day – I would answer a few emails, finish the requests and then get a few more emails. I was able to easily keep on top of things all day and didn’t feel overwhelmed. I even got a few compliments on my work, which only served to encourage me more.

I need to focus on getting my work website back up and running. Well, technically, it’s running, but it’s very outdated. I don’t know if I told you this, but I reserved the karenmaxwell.com domain as well as the karenmaxwell.net domain. I’m thinking I’m going to use the .net domain for my professional site (because most of the sites I’ve designed link to that website and it would just be easier to leave it as it) and use the .com domain for my writing.

*snort* That all sounds so nice, doesn’t it? My writing site? Like I do any writing to PUT on a writing site … but whatever.

I dream big. Hush.

Friday, August 27, 2010

So. The car.

We went and picked it up today, and we’re another $200 bucks poorer. The mechanic said that there were three computer codes that they couldn’t clear out, one was for this, one was for that, and the last one had something to do with the ignition system. I didn’t quite catch what it all meant, but I’m gathering, from what he said, that it could be a potential problem down the road. Whose bright idea was it to put computers in cars again? *sigh* At any rate, it’s fixed – for now. I’ll probably go driving with Dude tomorrow (I have to make sure he gets out and drives otherwise, he’ll get rusty. Trust me, the boy doesn’t move out of his computer chair – he needs to get out in the real world once in a while).

We still haven’t decided what to do with the car, long term. For now, I think we’re going to hang on to the car and see what happens. I just HATE putting too much money into it because we’ve already put more money into the heap than its book value. I’m especially sensitive to this because I used to work in the consumer loan department at the bank and I saw, way too many times to count, too many people disappointed (and even upset!) because all of the “improvements” or repairs they made to their car didn’t help the market value out one bit. It’s all about the market value, people.

Kevin has been trolling Craig’s List for a new car, for him. I’m totally okay with this. He’s been driving his truck for about four years now and has (constantly) talked about wanting a car for a while. I think he should go for it. I’ve been encouraging him to buy a car, he’s the one always nixing the idea. But he’s finding a few good deals through Craig’s List, so I have a feeling we might be car looking before long. Our biggest problem is where are we going to store these cars? We only have a two-car garage, the Cavalier already sits in our backyard. We need a garage, but it’s going to cost about $10K to $15K to build so …

We had a little drama after school today. Dude and Jazz meet at a door after school and then walk out to my car together. Only, Jazz didn’t show up and when the boys didn’t turn up at their normal time, I called Dude. He didn’t know where he was and he was getting really annoyed. I wasn’t worried, I just figured Jazz was doing something with the band and when I suggested Dude walk down to the band room, well, no would be putting it mildly.

After about five minutes, I called him back, “Jazz is getting his uniform,” he said.

“Oh,” I said, “then you might as well come on out to the car.”

When Dude arrived at the car, he was furious – as in, unreasonably furious, as in, I thought the boy would blow an artery furious. I was a bit alarmed at his anger. He was upset because he was tired of having to wait for Jazz every day. But, even if Dude didn’t wait for Jazz every day and came out to the car the ahead of him, he would be upset because we still had to wait on him. And even if he was driving, he would still have to wait on Jazz before he could take off. Now granted, Jazz won’t be hurried – he runs on his own time, but he’s also involved in band and extracurricular activities require time.

My point to Dude was – he’s spoiled. He’s not used to having to wait for anything. All of his entertainment is instantaneous; I’ve always been there or handled things for him in a timely matter. It’s always been BAM, BAM, BAM for Dude – no inconvenience. We had a pretty good talk (after he calmed down) and I think he realizes he needs to chill out about having to wait for things. I mean, the world does not exist for him. And before you ask, yes, I told him he was spoiled and yes, I told him I blamed myself.

I’m nothing if not honest with my kids and with myself.

We nearly passed out when Jazz arrived with his band uniform. Even though he got the same uniform as last year (they number them somehow) and even though we dry cleaned the uniform at the end of last year’s season, that thing stunk to high heaven. They must store those things somewhere damp because the mold was nearly palpable. We took it straight to the dry cleaners. I’ll take a picture of him wearing it and post it soon. His first football game is next Friday. I’m looking forward to it.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Audio version:

I love Oh life because they send you an email at 8:00 p.m. every night asking you how your day went. You reply to the email and it automatically posts to your Oh Life account.

I recorded the audio version through Audio Boo. You only have five minutes to record something – GO.

These entries are raw, immediate and from the heart. You can expect to see these updates every Wednesday and Sunday (or thereabouts)

Thanks for reading.

(photo credit)

The small, insignificant, day-by-day things that happen in my life.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Took the boys to Hooters for Hair today (or better known as Too Hotties). I asked them on the way if they felt comfortable going to a salon where the girls were scantily clad (read spaghetti strap tight tanks and mini skirts). Dude said, “Not really. But they do a good job.” And I couldn’t dispute him. They DO do a good job, and I pay for it. But I guess you get what you pay for, right? They did a really good job on Dude, but I think they may have taken a bit too much off Jazz. He wasn’t too terribly thrilled about his cut, but he would have gotten it all cut off in a few weeks anyway when they issued his band uniform to him.

Personally, I feel like a dweeb sitting there waiting for them – for several reasons, actually. One, I’m like the oldest (and most wrinkled) woman in there. Two, I’m surrounded by hot young bodies and my saggy body simply doesn’t belong. Three, I’m starting to become a little uncomfortable walking my boys in, waiting for them and then paying. I notice that a lot of young men (the same ages as my boys), come in on their own – their moms wait out in the cars for them. Oh well.

Dude has developed a new phobia – hair in his food. Granted, I’m not crazy about finding hair in my food either, but I can pick it out and toss it without tossing anything else (namely, my cookies). Dude, on the other hand, gets really bent out of shape and so grossed out, he can’t even finish his meal. Or, he’ll cut a huge chunk out of it, the chunk that had the hair and POSSIBLY finish the rest. I mean that’s fine, like I said, I’m not crazy about finding hairs either, but his reaction amuses me. Which it probably shouldn’t, because it’s not fun finding a hair in your food and … oh, never mind. I have a weird sense of humor.

Kevin’s band buddy came over last night. He plays the keyboard and they worked on some songs together. I’m so glad he is playing with people – he’s truly enjoying them and playing. His band has another gig this Saturday night, I most likely won’t go, but we’ll see.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

There’s really nothing to write about. We stayed home all day … in fact, did we even leave the house?

I’m thinking no.

Jazz’s friend called – he wanted him to come over and play airsoft games with him. (Just for the record, I’m not crazy about airsoft guns – it’s like being pelted with a BB and those suckers HURT, there’s NOTHING soft about them, at ALL. Not to mention, I’m afraid he’ll put an eye out. Does that sound familiar? [Pst – Christmas Story]).

However, even though Jazz had been, um, jazzed about going over to his buddy’s house a few days earlier, when it actually came time to GO over there, he wasn’t interested.

I used to think this was sort of weird, but then I thought back to my own adolescence and I did the same thing. Friends would call and I just couldn’t summon up the energy to stop what I was doing and give them the time of day. I’ve always been perfectly happy entertaining myself and apparently, the boys feel the same way.

I said something to Kevin about how our boys don’t seem too interested in hanging with friends and he just smiled – he used to be the same way! So, since both Kevin and I were quite anti-social, I shouldn’t be surprised that our boys are the same, right?

What can I say? We like our own company. That sounds sort of pathetic, doesn’t it.

Friday, August 20, 2010

It was a pretty quiet day today. Kevin and I went on our weekly grocery shopping outing – we try and limit the number of times we go grocery shopping to ONE time a week. I can’t stand shopping to begin with, I’m not about to drag it out all week. I make a weekly menu, then write down the ingredients that I will need to make my weekly menu and we head out. Even though it’s sort of a pain to sit down and plan dinners for a week, I’m always glad that I did it because the boys have a menu they can look at (thereby not having to come to me twice a day, every day, “Hey mom, what’s for dinner tonight”) and I don’t have to stress when the clock hits five wondering what in the world I’m going to feed my family.

We go. We get it done. And I don’t have to think about it for the rest of the week. I do make special trips to a smaller meat market to buy fresher ingredients, but for the most part, I get all of my grocery shopping done in one day. I can’t understand women who make daily trips to the store … I mean, why??

Kevin did not take his cane with him this time. Though we’re still parking in handicap spaces (which still feels weird – our placard is only good through the first part of December), it sort of feels like we’re cheating a little bit because Kevin just doesn’t APPEAR to be that handicapped. Even though he’s doing a lot better and getting around a lot better, his stamina is still not quite where it needs to be, so parking close really does help him.

I suggested Kevin not take his cane with him this time (actually, Kevin forgets it most of the time and I’m the one telling him to grab it) because he pushes the cart and that acts as a makeshift walker, so he doesn’t really need it when we go shopping. He likes to go shopping with me – it gets him out of the house and moving – I like having him with me, but we always spend more money when he’s with me. I like to buy what’s on my list, Kevin likes to … buy. 🙂

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Audio version:

I love Oh life because they send you an email at 8:00 p.m. every night asking you how your day went. You reply to the email and it automatically posts to your Oh Life account.

I recorded the audio version through Audio Boo. You only have five minutes to record something – GO.

These entries are raw, immediate and from the heart. You can expect to see these updates every Wednesday and Sunday (or thereabouts)

Thanks for reading.

(photo credit)

The small, insignificant, day-by-day things that happen in my life.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

We went and looked at more sofas today – they’re all starting to look alike. And we’re discovering that it’s much easier to buy a dark one; there’s simply more selection. We finally gave up on the search – the color will really depend on what sort of hardwood floor we decide on.

Which means, we need to pick a hardwood floor out. And that’s what we did. Well, we didn’t pick it out, but we began the “official” search. We went to a hardwood liquidator and though I saw a few I liked, nothing really “spoke” to me. We then went to Home Depot and we grabbed about five sample pieces to take home with us. Our biggest issue is: we want contrast. We have an oak dining room table and an oak entertainment center (our living room and dining room are, in essence, one big room) and we don’t want to pick a floor that too closely matches those pieces.

Then it would be like, “where’s the furniture??”

I picked out three that I liked, Kevin picked out two darker pieces. I wasn’t crazy about his pieces. We brought the samples home, placed them on the dining room table and all three pieces I picked out? Match almost perfectly. Kevin’s pieces? Look much better.

Grr. I hate it when he’s right. lol

So. It looks like we’ll be going a bit darker on the floors than I thought. We’ve only just begun to look. We need to check some pictures out to get a better idea of what we want.

The boys talked me and Kevin into signing up for Steam accounts. That’s just a site you can go to and download games onto your computer. We all downloaded Quake (we all played that game eons ago and had SO MUCH fun with it. We would all be in our own rooms, on our own computers and yell tips and tactics to each other – we were all on the same team). When Dude noticed that the game was on sale through Steam, he encourage all of us to load the program onto our computers again and that’s what we did. Then we all got onto the same server and as a team, ganged up on the monsters. There’s a chat feature in the game and we had a lot of fun giving each other a hard time.

Example: Me: “Rats! I missed my ride!” (Referring to an elevator my character needed to get on to get to the next level). Dude: “Your ride just squished me.” (His character was standing too close to the elevator and it squashed him. I guess you had to be there).

We laughed. We yelled. We got killed and we had a great time together. I would love to find more cooperative games like that because truly, it’s so fun doing something all together like that.

A family who kills monsters together, stays together. That’s my motto.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Dude and I went up to the school to pick up his schedule today. I was asking someone where to buy a parking permit when I turned around and Dude was looking at his schedule with a puzzled look on his face. When I asked him what was wrong, he said that he was only scheduled for two classes.

*sigh*

I wasn’t surprised. I had been emailing his counselor off and on at the end of last school year because the classes he wanted to take weren’t available. Apparently, there are some classes they only offer certain number of times and then they can only hold so many students.

Which I think is both annoying and sad. Annoying because I think seniors should get first dibs on classes. After all, many students are building their scholastic portfolio and it can often times be important when applying to colleges. Sad because the school district can’t afford to hire teachers to teach more of the classes the kids want to take.

It’s a double-edged sword.

So, we made a trip to the counselor’s office. Only, she was busy, so I told the secretary we would return after we bought a parking permit. Dude had to fill out some registration information, show his schedule, his license and then pay $35 dollars (!!) in order to get the decal. Kind of a pain, but at least now he can drive to school, which is a very real possibility as I hope to get a (part-time?) job very soon.

We went back to the counselor’s office. The place was even MORE packed. Apparently, the school went to a new system this year and there were quite a few “glitches”. Dude didn’t want to wait, but I knew if we didn’t take care of it right then the first day of school would roll around and he wouldn’t have a clue where to go.

So we waited around.

We were on the verge of giving up and leaving, when the people in her office finally left. I peeked my head in her office, told her my name and reminded her that we had emailed about his schedule a few months back and she saw us. She was very nice, if not a bit harried, and I felt sorry for her. This must be hell for her to try and get 300 students situated.

Unfortunately, Dude only had about three classes to choose from – they were the only ones available for the time slots that he had open. One was an art class, and he’s already had so much art, he really didn’t want to go down that road again, so he ended up picking Business Law, and a Science/Research class on Meteorology. The counselor told him they were harder classes, which Dude wasn’t thrilled to hear, but I personally think he’s up for it. He’s a smart kid, if not a bit lazy, and I think a little challenge will be good for him.

He just needs to get in the mindset that this first quarter is going to be a WEE bit busier than he thought.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Took Jazz to band camp an hour early today. There are a few freshmen who need a little extra help with the marching drills and the co-sectional leader wasn’t pulling her weight, so the sectional leader asked Jazz to come in and essentially do her job for her. I had to get Jazz up at 5:45 a.m. in order for him to get dressed, eat some breakfast and still leave in time to go by Krispy Kreme doughnuts – he wanted to give his fellow saxophone players a little treat.

I’m really quite impressed with how seriously he takes his responsibilities in band – he simply lives for this stuff.

I spent the morning alternating between getting some work done and trying to stay on top of the sinus headache that took me by surprise around lunch time. I drank my cup of coffee at 1:00, and the headache miraculously disappeared. Remember, I’m down to ONE cup of coffee per day now, at mid-day, and I don’t drink any other form of caffeine the rest of the day. If my body can’t handle one cup of coffee, TOUGH. I like my coffee, I’m not giving it up.

Since this was the last day of band camp, Jazz got out at noon. This was also the day he needed to pick up his schedule … he was only scheduled for three classes. (He needs four classes).

*SIGH*

What is up with not getting these schedules right?? So, I emailed the counselor, told her that Jazz was missing his first period class and what now? She emailed back and said the only class they had available for that time period was a forensics, CSI-type of class and the kids loved it. Would he like to take that?

Well really, what choice did he have? Oh right, NONE. So yeah, he would like to take that class. Luckily, he does seem interested in the subject matter so hopefully, it will all be good. But I have a feeling, because it’s worded the same as Dude’s Meteorology class (Science Research and Design) that it’s going to be time consuming, as in, a big-project-that-Kevin-and-I-will-likely-have-to-help-with time consuming. So, both boys have two science classes EACH this 1st quarter.

*SIGH*

Jazz passed out when we got home. This past week has been really hard on him and he was dead tired. He slept for an hour and a half.

The band had its parent preview tonight. That’s when the parents get to see what the kids have been working on all week. I took quite a few pictures using my new zoom lens – it was the first time I’ve used it – and I’m really hoping they turned out okay.

The show was awesome. The kids only marched the first two sets, they’re still working on the last two sets, but we are liking what we see so far! The director said it was amazing how much progress they have made, it was pretty rare for them to be this far along in the program this early in the season. It’s also really neat to see where the kids start and then watch them again later to see the new and interesting things they add later.

The weather was great. A bit overcast, but there was a cool breeze so it was quite pleasant.

As we were leaving, I ordered a band jacket for Jazz. I sort of wish they had band jackets for parents.

I love Oh life because they send you an email at 8:00 p.m. every night asking you how your day went. You reply to the email and it automatically posts to your Oh Life account.

These entries are raw, immediate and from the heart. You can expect to see these updates every Wednesday and Sunday (or thereabouts)

Thanks for reading.

(photo credit)

The small, insignificant, day-by-day things that happen in my life.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

I currently look six months pregnant. I think I’ve mentioned that I occasionally have intestinal issues – it’s safe to say, I’m having problems!! I woke up several times last night with extreme pressure, one time I even cried because it hurt so much. Without going into too much detail, I think I have IBS – at least, that’s what my Google searches have produced. I’m just about to the point where I’m ready to throw in the white towel and go to the doctor. Fortunately, these “attacks” don’t happen very often, I’ve learned, through trial and error what sets them off – sort of. It’s really hard to explain what I’m feeling, but it’s pressure, bloating and trapped gas, all rolled into one uncomfortable package. It usually only lasts a day or two and things start moving again *ahem*.

It’s hard to live life, let alone focus on any sort of work, when I have these “attacks.” I’ve had to pace myself – get some work done, lay down for a bit. Kevin wanted to go out to lunch (we usually go out on Wednesdays), but the thought of eating just made me ill.

If there’s one good thing about these “attacks” it’s that I usually drop a few pounds before it’s over.

Don’t feel sorry for me, I could go to the doctor, I’m just too stubborn to do that. And if I’m right and it’s IBS, there isn’t a cure for that – only treatments. So I guess, in my mind, why go to the doctor if all they’re going to tell me is, “Sorry. But you’ll just have to watch your diet for the rest of your life.”

Well duh. I know that. Why would I want to fork over a few hundred dollars for someone to tell me that?

Exactly.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

I’m feeling better. Not 100%, but I’m no longer doubled over in pain, either. Whatever it was (or wasn’t), passed. This does not mean I won’t spend some time (later) figuring out what is causing these intestinal problems, but for now, life may resume. Thank God.

I got a lot of work done today. I turned my computer off feeling very satisfied with myself. Though I ran into a bit of a snafu on one project and waiting to hear back on how to handle it, the project is done and ready to go on my end. One of the reasons I got so much work done? I stayed off Twitter. Seriously. I love Twitter, but it’s a TERRIBLE time suck. I’m thinking of just forgetting about it entirely. Well, maybe not entirely, but definitely not as often.

The “Eat, Love, Pray” movie comes out today. I have mixed feelings about this book and I haven’t even read it! I’ve been reading the reviews on Amazon and that has piqued my curiosity. But I heard on the radio that it’s about a woman who suddenly decided she didn’t want to be married anymore and went on a journey to “find” herself. I’m going to have to read this book now, if nothing else, to find out what the story is really about.

I need coffee.

Thursday, August 13, 2010

The thermostat in my car got all the way up to 104 degrees today!!! I was like … shocked! I was also worried that my car would overheat because how hot does it need to get before it starts affecting your car engine?

Speaking of cars, Jazz wanted to go out to lunch today so I thought this would be a good opportunity to take Dude out driving, you know, just to make sure he doesn’t get too rusty because the boy never goes anywhere, hence, the boy never drives himself anywhere. Since it’s been so hot and the car hasn’t been opened up (or started) in over a month, I went out to air it out. I tried starting it: it wouldn’t start. AARGH! I was annoyed. We had just spent a chunk of change replacing the ignition box/starter thingy.

I complained to Kevin, but he couldn’t look at it as he had a luncheon date with an old colleague. So, Dude and I took off in my car and we went up to meet Jazz for lunch. We ended up eating at Steak N’ Shake and though we missed Kevin, it was nice to have my boys to myself. The boys stuffed their faces (okay fine, I did, too), we got Jazz back to school so he could finish out band camp and we came home.

Dude and I drove up to the house and the first thing we noticed? The black car is gone. I didn’t panic, I just figured Kevin got home early and took the car out for a run – and that’s what happened.

However, after about thirty minutes, I started getting worried about him because here is my handicapped husband, (but not for much longer!), out in a car I didn’t trust in 100 degree weather. You can see why I was worried, right? So I checked messages to make sure he hadn’t called to tell me what he was doing and I nearly had a heart attack when I heard the voice say, “You have one URGENT message.”

Say what??? So, I called to check and thank GOD, it wasn’t from, or about, Kevin. Now I’m spooked. So I called Kev’s cell phone, only he didn’t answer. I wasn’t too terribly worried because he has told me that he will no longer answer his phone if he’s driving (I don’t answer mine while I’m driving either. Actually, I never answer mine, but whatever). I leave him a message figuring his phone will notify him he has a message and he’ll check it when he can.

It wasn’t five seconds after I hung up that I saw him driving up. He had not only gotten the car started (duh), but he had taken it to get it washed. He said it was running great and that he had to give it a bit more gas before it would start up. Still, I’m a little nervous; I’m not sure I trust this car very much and my boys will be driving it. We’ll just have to make a point of making sure it’s started/driven once or twice a week.

I had a very productive day, work wise. I’m cranking through my emails and now have them down to about three or four (trust me, this is a good thing). I got permission from the school district to work on another site and will be uploading their brand, spanking new website as soon as I finish here. I can’t tell you how satisfied I am with myself. I still have a lot of work ahead of me, but I’m making progress and not feeling quite so buried.

I’m nibbling on chocolate – I have a feeling I’m going to regret that decision in the coming days. Apparently, I never learn. *sigh*

Saturday, August 14, 2010

“Good morning sunshine.” This is how Kevin greets the boys every morning. This is funny because the boys are anything BUT sunshine early in the mornings. Jazz is naturally a morning person so once he has a few minutes to wake up, he’s pretty much okay. But Dude is NOT a morning person and takes a least a few hours before he’s feeling civil enough to speak. Me? Well, my eyes are open and I can answer questions when asked – I think that qualifies as awake, wouldn’t you?

Kevin and I went sofa shopping today. I know what you’re thinking, “But Karen, didn’t you JUST buy a sofa, loveseat and chair like, three years ago?” Why yes, yes we did and don’t you have a good memory! However, the fabric we selected, though totally awesome and the color is to die for, is not wearing well. We’ve been noticing bald spots. BALD SPOTS! On a set of furniture not even three years old! UNACCEPTABLE!! And now that we think about it, we’re not quite sure we even LIKE this particular style because the seat is too long and you sort of have to sit sideways to get comfortable and the back is not high enough so you get a crick in your neck whenever you try and lay your head back.

We checked out three different places and we found one we really liked. Our problem? We’re not sure what color to get because, wait for it, we’re ripping the carpets out of our living and dining room and putting in hardwood floors. Only, we have oak furniture, so we want a dark floor, which means that our sofa /loveseat combo? Should probably be light, as in either tan or taupe. We plan on looking at flooring tomorrow.

Don’t you love shopping for one thing only for it to lead to something else entirely? I’m pretty psyched out about these changes, but my pocketbook? Not so much.

I love Oh life because they send you an email at 8:00 p.m. every night asking you how your day went. You reply to the email and it automatically posts to your Oh Life account.

These entries are raw, immediate and from the heart. You can expect to see these updates every Wednesday and Sunday (or thereabouts)

Thanks for reading.

(photo credit)

The small, insignificant, day-by-day things that happen in my life.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Headaches, ALL day long. I can’t figure out if they were tired headaches (for I slept on and off all day long, which helped a bit), a stress headache (I have a lot of stuff to do in the coming weeks – getting a part-time job is one of the biggest), or a caffeine headache (I mentioned I can’t handle a lot of caffeine, right??). I finally broke down and took some Excedrin Migraine, which worked, of course, I’ll be paying for it when Monthly Myrtle comes to pay me a visit, though. (Aspirin thins my blood too much – ’nuff said). I have decided I’m going to adjust my caffeine intake: instead of drinking a cup of coffee first thing in the morning, I’m going to try and drink one cup mid-morning and see if I’m not a bit more aware for the afternoon hours. Something must be done, I don’t have time for mind-numbing headaches!

Kevin noticed a crack in our kitchen tile grout last night. In fact, the crack extends to four full tiles. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!! Our new kitchen floor is not even six months old and it’s already cracking?!? To say we’re not happy, well, WE’RE NOT HAPPY. Kevin is going to call the tile people and see if they will come out and fix it, free of charge. I can’t remember if there is any sort of warranty on our floor or not, but grout cracks this early on should NOT happen, right??

Monday, August 9, 2010

I made an appointment with my OB-GYN today. I haven’t been in quite a few years – think about ten? (Okay, maybe not ten – more like eight). It has been so long that my account went into inactive and I’m considered a new patient again. They are going to send me a packet in the mail, which I have to fill out and turn back in. I made the appointment because well, it’s time. I had been toying with the thought of going in since before vacation and being a female, and having female problems, that only prompted me to get the ball rolling.

They can’t see me until September 13th. Which is fine, there’s really no hurry. I’m extremely nervous about going – one because it’s NEVER fun to go to the happy doctor, two because it’s been so long they are most likely going to yell at me, and three, I’m about 99% sure they are going to tell me to have a breast exam.

Something else I’ve never done and probably should now that I’m over 40.

I don’t exactly dislike doctors, but they are not exactly my favorite people, either.

Jazz started band camp today. Our weather is supposed to be in the upper 90’s and we have a heat advisory all week, too. The kids are doing their marching part in the morning and sticking to the inside in the afternoon. Jazz has been coming home exhausted and complaining about his feet hurting again. Band camp is pretty intensive (six days of 8 to 5 days) and one half day, and they keep the kids busy. We’ll have a chance to preview their routine next Tuesday, the 17th – I’m really looking forward to it.

I’m really thinking about making my blog all about the day-to-day activities. That’s all I really want to record anyway, but we’ll see. I’m really sick to death of feeling guilty for not posting anything and having that guilt hanging over my head all day. Don’t be surprised if you see a change in my blogging routine. Besides, I love blogging and probably will never fully give it up, but I have so many other, more pressing things on my mind right now that it’s definitely taking a back seat to other priorities.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Went to my grandmother’s funeral today. I started crying before I even sat down. My aunt had made, and displayed, a board full of pictures of grandma throughout various stages of her life and it was really neat to see pictures I had seen before as well as ones I had not. I ended up sitting next to my cousin – he was actually the ring bearer at our wedding. I wanted to say something to him, but I honestly couldn’t get past the lump in my throat.

It was a closed casket. They had a few pictures of grandma on the casket, it’s amazing how much my dad looks like his mother. The service was really nice – I broke down when the pastor relayed some stories about grandma and grandpa. (I nearly sobbed out loud when he talked about how they were always holding hands and how she would reach out to him at night, even though she wasn’t 100% sure who he was at the end).

I also lost it when I noticed my dad and brother wiping away tears.

My mother discretely passed me a couple of tissues; I’m assuming she heard me sniffling behind her.

Dude dressed in a shirt and tie – he looked so handsome and grown up. Kevin wore a suit, he hasn’t worn a tie in oh gosh, years. I was also worried he wouldn’t be able to get his puffy feet into his dress shoes, but he said it wasn’t that bad. (He could have been lying). Jazz couldn’t make it, he was at band camp.

My grandpa wore suspenders, though one shoulder had fallen off. I honestly can’t remember a time when my grandpa DIDN’T wear suspenders. It broke my heart when he passed me, gave me a little smile and then walked on. He looked so incredibly sad. My grandparents were very close. I hope he’s able to cope with this loss. It must be terribly hard on him.

I came home and collapsed – too many emotions, I think. It was a sad day for my family.

I’ve been using Oh Life to record my daily events. I love it because they send you an email at 8:00 p.m. every night asking you how your day went. You reply to the email and it automatically posts to your Oh Life account. I’ve been wanting to record the day-to-day happenings in my life because, well, I forget this stuff. I realize it may be pretty boring and worthless to you all out there, but to me? They’re precious moments.

These entries are raw, immediate and from the heart. You can expect to see these updates every Wednesday and Sunday (or thereabouts)

Thanks for reading.