Busy Busy

Sorry to be a bad blogger, but I've been under the weather & more than a little busy.  We hauled north last weekend to visit with Mom & Glenn about the wiring for their concession trailer.  It's really coming together nicely & will be ready to open before we know it.

Oscar's nesting big time, last night I spent 20 minutes picking up and handing him chopsticks he'd dropped on the floor so he could add them into his nest one at a time.  He's getting better and better at weaving.  We brought him home some apple branches from Lynn's house & he's grooving on all the twists and forks he has to weave into.  He tears the whole thing apart most days and has it re built to sleep in by bedtime.  He's a pretty cute baby when he wears himself out weaving all day.  By the time I get home from work & he comes out into the living room to socialize he's far quieter and less prone to biting.  This is good since the cats' favorite drinking dish is also Oscar's bathtub & they stick their heads into the bite zone quite frequently to steal a sip of bird flavored water.

So for my birthday this year we're all going  to be working the food stand at Forster Acres.  Should be an interesting new adventure for us all.  I have to get my food handlers permit this weekend.

I'm driving to Cache valley with my camera tomorrow, hopefully get a few good pics, spend some time at the cemetery, and have a good visit with family.  There's a whole list of minor errands I need to take care of, and this is the only day I have to take care of them.

Work has been a strange combination of slow and panicked.  Finals were this week and while this is a relief for some students it's a kick in the pants for others.  Suddenly they realize they have a problem they're motivated to fix it.  I find myself frequently chanting "Their lack of planning is not my emergency"  I do what I can to help, but there are situations where they've just neglected the problem for too long & it is going to be a bit tragic.  I hate the stress but I'm learning to let go of it once I've done all I can.

So excited for our vacation over Memorial Day.  It's been way too long since I had a good camping relaxing trip.  Even though it's full hook ups and not "really" camping it's gonna be a big change from every day.

Poor Scotty has been pushing hard to catch up with the yard work and get out driveway ready to host the concession trailer whilst he's wiring it.  Even though I feel like a whole new person since my surgery I still find there many times a day when I realize I'm still more fragile than I'd like to be.  But even that is slowly improving.

Back to work, I'm so glad it's Friday!
Live Long & Prosper!
~m

Indescribable

So this morning on the phone at work a student tried to verify that I was the person she'd met in person.  She couldn't decide how to describe me. 
Her: "I think you helped me the other day, do you have long dark hair?"
Me: "Yes, rainbow dark"
Her: "Ha, ha ha, ya it was you."
5 minutes later she was certain I had been the one to help her when I explained that we needed her to come in in person with a photo id so that we could make sure it was her were giving her information to rather than her stalker.

Apparently I am somewhat unusual.  I rarely think about myself in those terms.  I put little effort into conforming, nor into being an enigma.  I'm just me.  Apparently that's unusual.

Anyhow, this little window into my daily life is sponsored by the letter "F".

Y'all have a fabulous day.
~m

Awesome Weekend!

For the first time since my surgery I felt up to the task of driving myself to cache valley for a visit.  It was great.  Had a great visit with Mom and got to attend a baby shower for one of my favorite friends.  Then Sunday I went out to visit my Sambo kitty who lives at Aunt Leisa's house & my adorable cousin Eric invited me on a wagon ride with his humongous pulling horses.  It was so fun, right, and satisfying to my stressed out soul.  I took a bunch of photos & want to share a few.

Willis, Vern, & Rose all wanted to borrow my blanket, guess they were cold...or hungry, it was hard to tell.

Willis helping me watch Eric pull with his team.  Note: I did not use any zoom or cropping on this shot.  He was literally standing on top of me.

Bruce & Bell taking us for a ride.

Rose, Willis, Eric, Bruce, Bell, and Tater playing follow the leader.

And last but no no stretch least the saddle my favorite rodeo queen won at the Pocatello queening contest.  She's been training for this for the last 14 years and we're all so proud to have "taught her everything we know"  I love this kid, and it's so fun to see her so excited & proud of herself.
 

I didn't get photo's of the other cool thing I saw this weekend.  Mom & Glenn have the foundation of their trailer finished & are ready to begin the assembly of what they've already built and remodeled several times in their heads.  It's great to see them both so excited and proud of this project together.  I think it's going to be an amazing, fun, exhausting, and rewarding experience.

Had a pretty good day at work today, the expected craziness of rush, and running the desk by myself for the first part of the day, but I'm getting used to that.  Lynn's back to work after her eye surgery last week.  It's technicolor awesome!  She's so positive and strong.  We're all glad she can see again.

I'm off to do some dishes & locate some sort of dinner.
Live long & prosper!
~m

More of the same.

I honestly regret that my life is so simple.  I work, I sleep, I manage the pain to the best of my ability, and each day I'm a little stronger.  It's boring as hell!  But when I consider the options it's hard to be upset.  I did have a fairly fabulous week.  It was the beginning of "rush" and I handled my fair share of the occupational stress plus some, but I also got to share some creative talent with my new "work family" and that wasn't bad. 
Also Chris came by for a short visit today, I still love that kid.
The brown kitties are cuter than ever, playing and socializing.  Even Oscar takes joy in watching their antics.
I've had some really good chat time with Mom today.  She walked familiar roads in Smithfield while we talked.  I wish I could have been there with her, but since I can't I'll happily take being there in spirit.  I really enjoy those moments.
Kitties are staging battle, and Scott's making amazing smells in the kitchen.  I must go.
~live long & prosper~m

Fabulous Friday

This week got off to a rough start but ended on a lovely note.  It's a beautiful day, due to circumstances beyond my control I got off work early, and Oscar & I are hangin in the living room with the windows open watching the kitties while they watch the birds through the screen.

I got to do some really fun flower arranging last night.  Thonette from DWF (one of my favorite floral wholesale places) needed help making a carnation puppy & I got to help.  It turned out super cute & I had a lot of fun putting it together.


       

This was for the funeral of a gentleman who bred, raised, and loved miniature black poodles.  He also loved spring flowers & the color pink. I think it works perfectly for the situation.

I took the leftover flowers that Thonette gave me to work today and have quite probably open a can of worms.  I am now under contract to put together Easter centerpieces for several people I work with.  Not that I'm really very upset about it.  I still love arranging and now that it's only my "hobby" again it's relaxing.

Yahzi's being pretty adorable as he watches his favorite "smellavision" channel.  Gonna sign off and try to get some pictures.
Live Long & Prosper.
~m

WoooooHoooooo

Been doin' a whole lot of nothin'.  I go to work before any sane person should be awake, I work my shift, go out to Jordan for a few hours if I'm lucky, and then come home to lay down & force myself to stay there way beyond the point where it becomes boring.  Frustrating as that routine is it seems to be the right balance for the time being.  I can do a little bit more each day.

The stress at work has not decreased, but I am becoming more and more able to ignore what I can not control.  It is by no means a healthy or happy environment, but it's far from the worst I've ever been in.  At least I am able to do my best while I'm there & leave the stress there when I exit.

Watching star trek from beginning to end has become my distraction of the moment.  It's interesting....and proves that I am a geek.  But Scott is able to identify and name the episodes from brief clips as I go through them.  It's a bit of comfort to be not as much a geek as him.

Gonna go watch more corny next generation episodes.

Live long & prosper.
~m

Need some Zen

From Friday:

I haven't been at all close to my best this week.  Breaking in new shoes & overcooked pasta are just 2 of the things that have brought me to tears.  I'm pretty certain that's not at all normal! I'm hoping  it's just a combination of several things that have been not right  for a long while.  I think I've run out of coping mechanisms.  I am working on determining my options.

Not much to report beyond that.  More of the same.  Enjoying my nearly daily visits with Lynn.   Figuratively jumping the many hurdles of daily life.
The new job is still far from what I loved at Jordan campus.  I'm learning more and more of the rhythm of things at Redwood, but I really miss the "family" for lack of a better word that had formed at Jordan where I felt like there was nearly always someone who might correct or assist me.  I know this stress is partially due to my own stress & unhappiness with the change.  I'm hoping that with time I can settle in, be more comfortable with the people & experiences there.

 I'm also having a bit of a time adjusting to the different pain I'm experiencing now that I'm not dealing with the strong nerve pain.  Where before all of the pain went into the same box labeled "ignore"I was dangerously good at managing it, now there's subtle bone aches, sharp spasms, and this really strange sensation I believe is called hunger when I forget to eat.  It is by no means anything I would trade.  I'm just not used to these new identifiable single notes of discomfort yet.  I am so much weaker than I'm used to and tasks that I could manage even with the piercing pain are often too much & have to be abandoned or beg for help.  I'm really glad to have Lynn's walker way more often than I'd like to admit.  Doesn't help that I am less patient with myself than I am with others, & I've never been one to win any award for any sort of patience.

I am just a tiny corner of this awesome world, and previously my solace has been focusing on the bright beautiful & precious wherever I could find it.  That's a bit of a revelation actually.  I must not be focusing where I used to find solace.  Therefore I must be being more selfish.  That's one to think on.

And to attempt a bit of focus change, lets try a list.

Today when I saw my primary doctor for the first time in 3 months, my guts & my spine feel amazingly different. Since my last visit with him, my bp is reasonable.  Even when I've had a high stress day, haven't taken my meds or eaten yet, just left a not un-stressful visit with my friends at Jordan, and dealt with the office staff at West Jordan Medical who never fail to piss me off.

The doc was happy with what he see's optimistic about my physical state, and helpful with my mental state.

Today was Friday & I don't have to go back to that awful place that is now my job until Monday.  To be fair it's not as awful as many other places, I am only spoiled by the unique and much cherished situation I had at Jordan.  I really wonder if part of my frustration with this move is really disappointment at loosing something that I loved so much.  It will never be true that I didn't appreciate that job.  Even before things shifted I knew what a great thing I had.  I can only make peace & move on. It doesn't help that I'm still sort of in limbo between the two worlds.  It is both a pain & a comfort to go out to Jordan, see all those people, taste the unique charms of that place & job even for a few hours each week.  I waffle between the rip of the bandaid quickly theory & savoring the remains of something sweet.

 Sunday evening:

Sorry for the break in my post, had to stop suddenly & didn't' get back to the blog again till tonight.  It's been a crazy sort of weekend.  Not exactly busy, but not at all slow.  Wish it was 3 days longer.  The rest has done me good.

Yesterday Scott cooked corned beef & cul cannon (no idea how to spell that, it's a veggie potato dish).  All was delish!

Weather's been hit and miss big storm system moving through.  I think I'm ready for spring.  Hope I build back enough strength to go motorcycling & camping before too long.

Yahzi says I have to skritch him & help him watch birds now.  Just as well, I'm out of anything intelligent to say.

Live long & prosper.
~m