A year later...

Earlier today, as I was winding down my work day, I decided to look through some of my old archived e-mail to see if I could delete any of it.  (I tend to keep e-mails for a long time, you know, just in case I might need them at some point.  I am kind of an e-mail hoarder.  Please, don't feel the need to alert A&E.  I don't want my own reality show.)  As I was perusing the e-mail, I notice a folder labeled "Former Landlord" (Technically, the folder was labeled with the person's actual name, but I'm not about to put THAT out there in the blog-o-sphere.)  I started to read through that folder and boy, did it bring back memories.

A year ago tomorrow, I received an e-mail telling me that I had to move out of the house I was living in immediately.  FL was having some personal financial issues and, because of that, I and my former roommate were affected.  What followed were some very worrisome, tense months of not quite knowing what was going to happen and where I was going to live.  I like order and patterns.  I do not like upheaval and chaos.  I also don't like being lied to and deceived but that's another story.

Fast forward to now.  I can't believe how well everything turned out.  I mean, I can believe it because I am living it but, at the time, it was scary.  Annnnddddd....it also showed me (once again) how my God takes care of me even when I don't know what is coming.  You'd think by now I would have learned that lesson, right?

Sigh.

Looking around me now it's hard to believe I have been in MY house for almost a year now.  This time last year I was FREAKING out and now I am not.  Despite the heart-attack inducing electric bills, the birds residing in my oven vent, the %&@()$ feral cats that I can't seem to get rid of short of doing something inhumane (not that I was thinking about doing that or anything), or the seemingly endless things that always seem to need to be done around here, I am so much happier now than I was a year ago.

I love my house.  I loved decorating at Christmas.  I love seeing my winter decorations still up.  I  love planning the garden that I want to plant this spring.  I love watching miss raven run around the yard chasing away the scary helicopters that fly overhead.  I love the thought of sitting outside in my chair this summer while I grill my supper.  I love that God takes care of me, despite my lack of faith sometimes.  I love that He doesn't give up on me when I fall short again and again.

I love that so much can happen in a year.

:)

I {heart} a snow day...

(Does anyone else have a hard time coming up with titles for posts or is it just me??  I m so not witty when it comes to that!)

No school again today!  I was worried last night because my power kept flickering on and off.  I was NOT looking forward to a night with no power.  Thankfully, that didn't happen.  Instead of waking up to an alarm clock I woke up to a slightly frantic puppy who needed to, well, you know.

So....I got all bundled up and armed myself with my snow shovel and salt and set out into the vast wilderness of snow my backyard.  I shoveled a path from the front door to the steps and then came back in to get the princess.  Remember how she feels about snow:

Nothing much has changed.  This is perhaps the funniest thing I've seen in a while.  She was less than thrilled with me. Don't worry, I promise you won't see anything graphic. :)

I let her back inside after pretty much forcing her back into the yard to do her business and I went back outside to clear off the rest of the porch, the sidewalk, a path to my truck, behind the truck, and the sidewalk in front of my house.  It took me a good hour or so to do all that as well as salt it all down, too.  I came back in and my toes were numb.  I literally couldn't feel them.  I think I need some good snow boots.  I decided to shower because, well, I was gross and sweaty.  The next hour or so was quite interesting.  I, um, didn't eat anything before going outside.  That, plus the fact that I had an, um, vistor, apparently contributed to a dramatic drop in my blood sugar.  Who knew?  I had to will myself to not pass out in the shower and I'm not even kidding.  I finally finished in the bathroom, took some ibuprofen, ate a mint, and was all ready to make a ThermaCare heat wrap my new BFF.  Much to my great HORROR and dismay...I was OUT OF THE HEAT WRAPS.  When I use the word "killer" to describe the revolt going on in my uterus, I am not exaggerating.  I pretty much willed myself to get through the next forty-five minutes or so until the ibuprofen kicked in.  Then I felt all better.  Note to self:  EAT SOMETHING BEFORE GOING OUT TO SHOVEL SNOW, STUPID.

:)

I have had a semi-productive day.  I have leveled up twice in Zuma Blitz (hey!  that's important!), made brownies (from scratch),  pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles, and sugar cookies.  Don't worry, it's all going to school tomorrow.  Except maybe a brownie and another pumpkin chocolate chip cookie.

Speaking of the gym (well, I was thinking about speaking about the gym), I created a third playlist for my ipod.  Hopefully having three playlists for working out will keep me from getting too bored and wanting to quit.

Speaking of quitting......

Random updates...

Once again I find I have been remiss in my blogging.  I'd apologize but....been there, done that.

Guess what time it is?  11:39.  AM.  That's right.  I am at home at 11:39 on a SCHOOL morning.  I have to tell you, this "snow" day came as quite a surprise!  We are supposed to get some snow tonight, actually, they are calling this the BIGGEST snowstorm of the season....whoo-hoo....this morning was only supposed to be a little sleet, then rain; the snow is supposed to start much later this afternoon.  I woke up a little before the alarm this morning and decided to turn on the TV to see what the weather was like, since I could hear the sleet against the house.  To my utter astonishment my county had called off school.  Grateful? yes.  Astonished? completely!

Did I mention grateful?

So here I am, at home.  Doing my best to keep warm without turning up the thermostat too much.  My electric bill came Saturday.  After a quick trip to the ER to recover from my heart attack after seeing the bill, I made nice with the fine people at Home Depot.  An under the door draft-dodger thingie, a weather strip thingie for the storm door, and some foam insulation strip thingies for the front door later and it is somewhat warmer in my house and not so drafty.

Did you get the impression from the abundance of the word "thingie" that I am not a regular at Home Depot--aka "Man World"?  Good.  I was hoping you would.

It also doesn't help my bill that my house is "heated" by a heat pump.  I did some research on the whole "heat" pump thing and was dismayed to learn that those things no worky so well in cold climates.  Lest anyone be confused, this:

constitutes a COLD climate!  Why on earth would anyone use those here?  I know not.  Did you know that, when a heat pump reaches a certain temperature it starts blowing cool air?  Lovely!  Just what I wanted in the WINTER!  However, because I am not independently (or even dependently) wealthy, the heat pump shall remain.  I did purchase an electric throw for the living room, which miss raven has pretty much claimed as hers.  Go figure.

Let's see...what else can I update you on?  Oh yes.  The gym.  I should really go today.  I am still debating.  It would require me going outside in the cold, though, and I am not inclined to do so.  I did go yesterday and I was proud of myself for doing so.  I did 49 minutes/4 miles on the elliptical.  I have an issue with that machine though.  After about 23 minutes, my toes start to go numb.  I am not even kidding.  It is an awful sensation and it is discouraging because I know that I still have many, many more minutes to go.  It throws my whole rhythm off, too, because I am constantly trying to adjust my footing to see if that helps (it doesn't).  I am hoping that it is only the new machines that my gym has that do this--instead of feeling like you are going uphill, you kind of have the sensation of going downhill.  It is a little weird at first.

Anyway--I haven't lost a ton of weight (my brother is doing P90X and has lost over 14 pounds.  Sigh.) but I do feel better after I go to the gym.  I know, perfect argument for going today, right?  And yet, this:

compels me to stay right where I am at, with her:

How can you argue with that?!?

Speed posting....

I have four minutes to blog then I have to crochet for an hour.  This is going to be a quick one.

Yes:

1.  We had school today.
2.  I went to the gym.
3.  It might snow Thursday night.
4.  It was warm(er) today but it will be colder than.....well, colder than something really, really cold this weekend.  We are talking below freezing temperatures people.  I did not sign up for this.

No:
1.  It wasn't as cold as yesterday.
2.  I'm not as tired as I thought after doing 4 miles on the elliptical tonight.
3.  I still don't like winter.
4.  I don't watch American Idol.

The End.

:)

Snow, I mean ICE day...

So.  Bonus day off for mellicity and miss raven.  We got a snow/freezing rain/sleet storm overnight.  It couldn't be a clear cut day off, though.  No.  I live in the stupidest county in America so there HAD to be drama.  There HAD to be.

I woke up at six this morning as is my custom when I have to go to work.  I turned on the TV to see what the deal was outside. (miss raven is no dummy.  When it is nasty outside that dog can hold it like you wouldn't believe.  She must have a bladder the size of a walnut but I am telling you, it turns into steel when there is nasty weather.  She didn't wake me up ONE time during the night.)  Anyway--the nice TV people told me that my (stupid) county was on a 2 hour delay.  The counties above, below, and beside us were ALL off, but apparently, the countypeoplewhomakethedecision decided that, surely, the storm must have completely missed us.

FAIL.

So I get up and prepare to take the girlie outside.  THAT was an adventure.  I opened the door and she stepped outside only to skitter every which way.  Have you ever seen those cartoons where the character's feet run in place but they don't go anywhere.  Yeah, that was my girl.  She managed to get off the porch and on to the grass while I was picking myself off the ground from where I fell.  Don't worry.  I'm ok.  :)

We came back in, I made coffee, she ate her cheerios, and we got back into bed.  I wanted to go back to sleep, I really did, but alas, it was not to be.  I got up, silently cursing my county officials, and started trying to figure out how I was going to rearrange the schedule for today to accomodate the delay.  I figured everything out and had just sent out an e-mail to all my teachers letting them know when my school cell phone rang.  One of my people (yes, I have people) called to tell me that her husband, who works for the county, had just called to tell her he was on his way home because the county officials had decided to call school off.  (Better late then never, I suppose.)  I confirmed this information online as well as on the TV and called my supervisor.  Looooonnnnngggg story short...NO SCHOOL TODAY.  I love having a bonus day off!

So far I have had two cups of coffee and a banana, done two loads of laundry with a third on deck, walked over to the office of my development to pay my bill, and am now back under the my new bestest winter friend electric blanket, snuggling with miss raven and blogging just for you.  :)

Here are some pictures from this morning:

As you can see...miss raven is very comfy!

Have a happy Tuesday!! :)

Winter ramblings...

There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to this post.  Just little tidbits of this and that.

• School got out early today (1:00) because of the snow.....that isn't.  On the bright side...I got to go to the gym early.
• Yes, I am still going to the gym.  I prefer to say "I have a date with Jim."  Somehow, it sounds more attractive.
• The elliptical machine and I are getting to be very good friends.  Today I spent 45 minutes with it and did 3 and 3/4 miles.  I am a beast.
• Currently, miss raven is under my hoodie in a little ball.  She is snoring softly and keeping me warm.  I love her.
• My nephew turned six yesterday.  SIX.  Where has the time gone?
• I was hoping for a snow day tomorrow.  The chances aren't looking good.
• I still have my Christmas tree up.  Don't judge, it isn't nice.  It will come down this weekend.
• I hate winter.  (I thought I would throw that in there, you know, in case you forgot.)
• After all my hard work last week (exercising, eating right), I only lost a pound.  Yes, yes, I know I should be glad that I didn't gain a pound but nonetheless....I was a wee bit bummed.
• Thankfully, I have yet to inhale all the chocolate in the house.  I put the scale in front of the cabinet where the chocolate is.  I'm smart like that.
• I haven't done the dishes for two days.  I should probably do them tonight.
• I have made my bed every day.
• You probably don't care at all about the last two and I don't blame you.
• The Biggest Loser is on tonight.  I am happy.  I am not, however, happy about the two new trainers.  Why mess with a good thing?  I'm all about Bob and Jillian.
• I have nothing else to say.
• Good night.
• :)

Thisisgoodforme, thisisgoodforme....

I have to keep telling myself that about the gym because tonight I think I about killed myself.  Ugh.

I did 8 minutes on the stair master (yes, only eight, don't judge), 20 minutes on the treadmill, and 30 minutes on the elliptical.  O.MY.WORD.

When I got off the elliptical my legs felt like jello.  And not the fruity, yummy kind.  Plus, I sweat so much that I am kind of stinky now.  I HATE that.

Sorry this isn't long tonight.  I am exhausted and still need to get some stuff done before I crash for the night.  I truly hope you all are having a wonderful week, wherever you are!! :)

In which I tell you why I joined a gym...

Sigh.

Remember this picture:

Yeah.  I don't look like that anymore.  I got really, really lazy with my eating/exercising, and, as much as I hate to admit it, over the last two years I have gained thirty nine point four pounds. 

Sigh.

I finally got tired of not having any clothes that really fit me, of wearing the same two pairs of pants throughout the week to school, of not being able to wear all the fantastic clothes that I was able to wear just last year.  I decided to do something about it.

I am not following any sort of plan, although my eating habits are based mostly on the Weight Watchers plan, which has ALWAYS worked for me.  I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in losing weight.  I joined a gym last Friday because, believe it or not, I did kinda miss running.  The last two days I have done 45 minutes on the treadmill as well as a 45 minute walk this afternoon at lunch.

My BFF and I are doing this together, albeit, long distance.  We have set up a goals/rewards system that I am hoping will work.  I am putting some of the dresses that I want to wear front and center so that I can always look at them.  I am hoping that, when I am tempted to inhale every single bit of chocolate in the house, the sight of the dresses will stop me.

We'll see.  I'll keep you posted. 

Wish me luck! :)

I'm baaacckkkkk...

Wow.  Two days in a row.  This could become a habit.  ;)

Back to my Christmas vacation.  Without further ado.

I went home to visit the family for part of the break.  I had a great time with all of them.  I got to play alot with my niece and nephew and one of the best moments of my vacation came on Christmas Day.  I am that relative.  You know...the one who gives clothes at Christmas.  Nobody likes that relative when they are little.  When you are little you want T.O.Y.S. and lots of them.  However, I am that relative.  (Mostly because I have impeccable fashion sense.  LOL!)  Anyway.  I got them both two outfits, a stuffed animal, a toy, and I made them a hat and scarf.  (Stick with me...I'm getting to the heartwarming moment.)  Nikolas is almost six.  In fact, in seven short days, he will be six.  I don't know of any six year old who is interested in clothes, really.  He is no exception.  However, when he opened the hat and scarf that I made, he exclaimed with great (and sincere) joy, "These will keep me warm when we go to Ruidoso!"  and then immediately put them on.  And didn't take them off until he had to get dressed to go out.  At one point he came into the kitchen where we were eating (HA!  Were weren't we eating during the last two weeks?!?) and complained that he was hot.  His mother suggested he take off the hat and scarf and he looked appalled.  He told her no and went on his six-year-old way.  Meanwhile, my heart was bursting with happiness.  It doesn't take much, really.

What follows are pictures of the two most adorable children on the planet.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

I know you must be concerned because you haven't seen a picture of miss raven in a while.  Please allow me to remedy that:

Yes.  That is her Christmas present.  Do not judge me. This year Santa Paws brought her a Cowboys jersey of her very own, a reindeer squeaky toy, and a new package of boneys.  She shared the boneys with her cousin Gracie.  She's sweet like that and all. :)

I went to the gym today.  I am hoping it will become a habit.  Oh?  I didn't tell you about the whole joining-a-gym thing?  Sorry.  That will have to wait until tomorrow.  Someone needs my attention and my coffee is getting cold.

:)

Ahem...

Sheesh!  It's been a while since I have blogged.  I truly meant to blog more over the holiday but time just seemed to get away from me.  I'll try to bring you up-to-date as briefly as I can.

My break actually started a day early.  Thursday, December 16 was a half day for us as our Christmas program was supposed to be that night.  I say supposed to be because we got a wee bit of snow here that day.  The public schools let out early and cancelled all of their evening activities, and, to be safe, we did as well.  Friday the 18th was supposed to be a half day for us, also, because...well, because it was the day before the holiday break and NO ONE wants to stay all day on that day.  Because the snow kind of froze overnight, the public schools decided to delay by two hours.  Well, there was really no point in us going for only an hour and a half, so the powersthatbe decided to close school and let us know Thursday night.  NICE!!!!  I got to sleep in a little on Friday and then did some shopping.

The next few days I spent relaxing and enjoying myself.  I went to Georgetown Cupcakes:

Expensive, but TOTALLY worth it.  Pardon the empty holes.  I had eaten two by the time I remembered to take pictures.  These were, perhaps, the best cupcakes I have ever tasted.  So, so yummy.

I went to see the National Christmas Tree:

I went to Longwood Gardens again this year:

I went to Alexandria:

And I did other stuff.  Which I will blog about tomorrow.  ;)

I missed you, though, and promise to be back more often! 

Happy 2011 from melicity and miss raven!! :)