Another Run Down!

This morning was the 25th Running of the Childrens’ TLC Easter Seals Groundhog Run. I have survived! It was so cold today… 12 degrees! Luckily in the subtropolis it’s 65-70 year round. The last runner count I heard was 2904… incredible! It was at 2684 or something like that when we stuffed packets on Thursday night.

My event coordinator should be proud but tired tonight. She did a great job keeping all the balls in the air for this one and everyone I talked to had a great experience. Jim and I were on hand all morning to take pictures and help out however we could. There is one man who has run in all 25 races.. he’s 81. I got to visit with him some today as he was getting the VIP treatment he deserved. He asked me if I ran…. um, no! He told me not to worry he didn’t start until he was 55… something for me to look forward to in a few years.

Jim left for Springfield this afternoon for his class. He’ll be back Wednesday night. With either one or both of us being sick all week and the race it seems I’ve hardly seen him. I look forward to next weekend where we have no plans and can have some US time!

Harley is on the foot of the bed chewing on a rawhide. She spent most of her day in her kennel as I tried unsuccessfully to nap. Since Jim’s out of town there is a good chance she’ll stay in the bedroom all night… just depends on how calm she remains.

Tomorrow it’s back to the office to get ready for the Annual Meeting on Tuesday night. I’ll probably try to leave work a couple of hours early to come home and take care of some of the stuff that’s been neglected this week. I wanted to take off next Friday but I have a seminar that will last all day so that squashed those plans. Maybe the next week.

I Do Love This Man

Wouldn’t you know it. My dear love brought the sick bug into the house so I got it too. Thursday I woke up feeling terrible! Scratchy throat, hacking cough. UGH!!! It was packet assembly day… I knew I was stuck at the office until at least 8:30pm… I can’t call in sick. Jim was staying home again so I told him to call the doctor and get a prescription called to the pharmacy by work for me. The prescription finally came through at 3:30. Packet assembly lasted until 10! I finally got home at 10:30. When I got home Jim proceeded to tell me about his day. “I couldn’t get comfortable. I could only nap for about an hour at a time then I’d wake up coughing…” Yeah, I know, sounds a lot like my day except I wasn’t able to nap at all. I didn’t even get to lay down. I swear to God I love my husband but if he hadn’t stopped telling me how hard his day was I would have had to kill him.

Friday got done with packet pick up and home by 6:30pm. Back to the office today from 8:30am – 2:00pm for packet pick up. JIm decided to go to the cigar shop about 3:30 for their event and poker tournament. He thought he’d be home by 4:30 or 5. He finally called at 5:45 to say he was still in the tournament he’d be home in another couple of hours. I got to feeling bad. He was out doing something he wanted to do and I should be there supporting him and cheering for him so I drug my tush out of bed and headed to the cigar shop. I got there just in time to see him go all in. He had ace queen, the other guy had ace king. The other guy wound up flopping a pair of kings so Jim was out. Great… the minute I get there he’s done. So we went to dinner and came home to cough in unison.

Tomorrow we have to be at the Subtropolis at 7am… ugh!!! I’m on photo duty which is good because it means I get to wander and mingle so I like that. It also means I can leave around 11:00 or 11:30 and still have all the shots I need.

Jim leaves for Springfield tomorrow afternoon so I’ll have three days with the fur kids to keep me in line. I also have to finish up our Flat Anna project tomorrow so that I can get her mailed back.

He’s Still Sick

Jim is still sick today. He has got to be one of the biggest babies when he is sick. I know he doesn’t feel good but it’s a cough… get over it. I can hear you coughing, I don’t need a complete blow by blow afterwards of how much you coughed. He wanted to know tonight if he should call the doctor tomorrow if he’s not better. He just went to the doctor yesterday and got antibiotics… I think perhaps he should give it more than two days. I know part of my frustration is he and I are polar opposites when sick. Me – lock me in a room and let me die in peace, maybe look in once in a while to see if I’m breathing but other than that leave me alone. Jim on the other hand would prefer for me to curl up in bed with him… did I mention his hacking cough, oh yeah I want to curl up with you all sweaty and coughing, that’s attractive. It also doesn’t help that it’s an incredibly busy week at work, I’m worn out and the long hours don’t start until tomorrow.

At least it’s Top Chef night. I’m rooting for Sam. I think that Cliff was incredibly stupid last week to throw away his chance. However, I don’t think he was the only one at fault. I know Marcel is incredibly annoying but you’re not five anymore Cliff.

OK… so the cat is out of the bag, don’t tell my Mom but I get really into “reality” TV. Top Chef, Big Brother, Amazing Race, Dog the Bounty Hunter, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, Real Housewives of Orange County, American Chopper, The Apprentice. Not so much into American Idol and Survivor.

Real Housewives mostly just pisses me off… sheesh those women are so shallow! I like to think if I had that kind of money I wouldn’t be.

Tomorrow it’s a 12 hour day… early morning meeting then late at night for packet assembly for the race. Ugh! I can’t wait for next Monday!

I guess I should be flattered…

But I’m not flattered. I’m pissed. One of the jobs I interviewed for that I didn’t get stole my ideas. I logged on to their website today to see if it is posted who got the job out of curiosity. I didn’t find the answer to that but I did find they had taken some of my ideas and put them into action. It kind of rubbed me the wrong way. I wish I could send them a consulting bill. It sucks. I couldn’t sit in the interview and when they asked if I had looked at their site and what I’d change say nothing. So I told them what I’d change. Apparently they liked it since it only took them a week to do it. Guess maybe they liked my ideas but not me. Bad thing for them is I didn’t have time to tell them all my ideas but I have figured out how to use them in my new job.

On a different note… Jim is sick. He announced this morning before going to the doctor that he thought he had bacterial pneumonia. “HuH???!!” I had no idea where he got that idea. Apparently he went on WebMD yesterday and that was his diagnosis. Fortunately, our doctor is not tied to the internet and he has diagnosed bronchitis and a sinus infection. He’s got some medicine and hopefully will mend quickly since he’s on the road Sunday.

Baby Hopes

OK, so we’ve been married a little over two years now and we’ve been trying from the start to get pregnant. Actually the first year we were pretty casual about it with everything that was happening. This year however we’ve been “intent” but trying not to be over the top. I’ve charted, I’ve peed on more sticks than I can count and yet we’re still not pregnant. A few months ago we agreed that if we weren’t pregnant by April we’d get the docs involved and then re-evaluate our situation. I cringe at the thought of starting fertility treatments. I’ve seen couples go down that road and wind up so intent on having a baby they lose their marriage. Jim and I are a complete family with or without children. Yes, it’s a dream to have them but they would be adding to us not completing us. I’m also afraid of how much disappointment I can handle. I was a little relieved that we didn’t get pregnant last month… the due date would have been right around my brother’s birthday and I didn’t want my Mom to have to deal with that. And I didn’t want a baby to have to grow up in the shadow of that. So… maybe this is the month. I know how I want to let Jim know. Jim really sucks at fairy tales. He gets most of the major components right but not always in the right story. For instance, Cinderella, Cinderella let down your hair or the charming prince put the slipper on Sleeping Beauty and she woke up. So, tonight when I was at Barnes and Noble I picked up a book of fairy tales to have on hand for when the stick finally turns blue. Hopefully soon I’ll be able to give it to him.

Sea World, The Riverwalk, The Alamo

If you couldn’t tell by the title of this post we’re thinking about a trip to San Antonio. Tentatively I’m thinking about Spring Break in April. We’ve got the airline tickets so the big thing now is making sure that Jim will be free the days I’m on Spring Break. If not in April we’ve got other opportunities in May and August when I’m on break… or we could use my regular vacation days.

I’ve never been to San Antonio but have been reading up on it and would really like to go. If we go in April Six Flags won’t be open but Sea World will. I could have dinner with Shamu… and knowing my penchant for photos we probably will.

Flat Anna arrived in the mail today. We’ve only got a week with her so Saturday we’re gonna have to get out and get the pictures taken. We could probably do some early Sunday too but Sunday evening we’re helping serve dinner at Ronald McDonald House so we’ll have to do some cooking in the afternoon…. Jim’s making chicken noodle soup, I’m making cookies or brownies. Back to Flat Anna. I didn’t realize that it becomes a mini-social studies report for me. We hve to write about the climate, deomographics and agriculture of our area. I’m also planning on sending a scrapbook of her adventures here. Got the first pictures tonight… Flat Anna asleep with Cosmo (the cat). Anna is Jim’s sister’s middle daughter but she wrote her letter just to me. I had to laugh. Jim looked at me and said she knows who the creative one is.

You Rope Broncos…. Not Explorers

Today school was closed again. I work for a preschool for children with disabilities. Even though I’m not a teacher, I’m a fundraiser, when the center is closed no one has to show up. Generally I curl up with the laptop in front of the fire with the cat and dog and work. However, today was board meeting. Nothing cancels board meeting. So about 9:30am I ventured out. No problems getting to work. Board meeting went smoothly. I came home. Jim has been in Iowa all week and I haven’t left the house… and the driveway scooping fairies have not shown up. I didn’t think it would be a problem. I was wrong. I pulled into the driveway and could only get halfway up it because of the ice. Even though I drive a 4WD Explorer it’s just as useless as anything else on ice. Oh well… I decided to just park at the end of the drive, go in and change clothes and then scoop off the drive. I got out of the Explorer and took two steps towards the mailbox when the Explorer began to slide past me. In a moment of sheer stupidity I decided to grab on to it. I don’t know why… it’s a one ton vehicle… I know I’m heavy right not but I am NOT one ton. Luckily (?) the door wasn’t locked so it swung open. I say luckily because my feet were scrambling like that of a cartoon character running on ice and when the door opened it swung my momentum and I was able to grab the wheel and pull myself into the driver’s seat. I skidded across the street and stopped 6 inches from the lightpole. OK… not a problem, I’ll just turn around, park in front of the house, scoop the drive and then pull in. Small problem, the sides of the street were ice rinks. No traction on any tire. Frustrated, I call Jim. “Where are you?”
“I’m about an hour away near St. Joe”
“OK, you’re no use to me” (I word things really badly sometimes when I’m stressed)
“Um, I’m sorry, what did you need”
“The Explorer is stuck”
“Call AAA, where are you?”
“Sitting across the street from our house”
“OK, don’t call AAA… how did you get stuck across the street from our house”
So I explain to him what happened. He tells me there is salt in the garage. Great… I’ll just make me a big old margarita and be done with it.
I skipped the margarita (for then) got the salt, got the shovel, cleared the drive, freed the Explorer and came in and sat down… bad idea. Apparently I pulled a muscle in my back and the longer I sat the worse it hurt. Not good, we have dinner plans. My best friend is moving to Las Vegas and we have to have dinner tonight or I won’t see her. Jim got home, we went to dinner… I got my margarita (a pitcher actually). I feel better except for a twinge in my back.
I wish the ice would go away.
I think I’m going to have to work a whole day tomorrow too.
Bummer.

Frustrating Day

We had the day off today for the King holiday. We’re off tomorrow because it’s so cold and we don’t want the children out on a really cold day…. plus some of the side streets are slick.

The cold is wreaking havoc on things around the house. There are some things that need to be repaired but it’s too darn cold to do it. The explorer was frozen solid today when I went out to defrost it. I should have cleaned up the garage that Harley destroyed to put it in Friday but didn’t. The wipers took forever to defrost. I was afraid for a bit that the motor had burned out and was happy that wasn’t the case. Of course, Jim left for Iowa this morning. I thought he’d scoop the driveway before he left but he didn’t. I did most of it today and will finish it tomorrow. We didn’t have a lot of snow but we did have sleet and it’s icy as can be so I want it scooped off so it doesn’t just refreeze.

In the midst of dealing with the house and car I stopped to check my e-mail to find out I didn’t get the job I applied for. It’s a bummer but hey, it was only my dream job. If I didn’t get it that means the universe has someting else better in store for me. Whatever it is, it’s gonna have to be a doozie to make up for not getting that job. The good news is my current job is closer to home, I get more paid time off, I have snow days and the new boss and I are really getting along well.

I got the bedroom picked up tonight. Tomorrow I just need to vacuum. The living room, which I vacuumed yesterday is a wreck again today and will have to be vacuumed again tomorrow. All thanks to Harley. I swear she’s had cabin fever today… don’t turn your back for one second because she’s off grabbing something to shred. She is darn quick! She started barking about an hour after I put her in the kennel tonight and I gave in and let her out. She’s now asleep at the foot of the bed… snoring! I thought with Jim out of town the bedroom would be snore free for a few nights.

Perhaps I Post Too Soon

It’s been a pretty lazy Sunday here. Renee has a cold and the weather is being flaky so she’s not coming for dinner, we’ll try to go out Wednesday before she leaves on Thursday. I finally decided to take a shower about 5 since I was feeling kinda grungy after cleaning the house. I got out of the shower and heard Jim ordering Harley out of the kitchen. Then down the hallway he came with a scowl on his face. Didn’t take me one second to figure out… he was fixing dinner… she had stolen a steak off the counter… he was NOT happy. In her defense, she has darn good taste… Omaha Steaks – filets to boot. I finally reasoned with him, she’s a dog, you left a steak on the counter where she could get to it… of course she took it! She is now in the proverbial dog house with her Dad. He’s now thawing another steak. I’m laying low in the living room.

Here’s a layout I did today of Jim’s last birthday. The paper and embellishments are from the Man oh Man kit by Jasbeanie Designs downloaded at scrapbook-bytes.com and the layout is Tiffany by Miss Kim downloaded at plaindigitalwrapper.com.

Harley

Harley’s wearing a t-shirt proclaiming I rock so of course I had to do a layout of her. The layout is Goldie by Miss Kim downloaded at plaindigitalwrapper.com and the paper and embelishments are from the WoofMeow kit by Kirsten Smit downloaded at scrapbook-bytes.com. I look at other peoples work on the internet and it all seems so much more impressive than mine and I have to keep reminding myself that I used to think that about my paper scrapping but now I’m pretty proud of it. With the digital it seems like I’m always thinking “if only I had a paper this color or an embellishment of this”. I think some of the anxiety is I’m posting it and people could possibly come see what I’ve done. I live in fear of getting an e-mail from a designer asking me not to use their products anymore… they wouldn’t really do that, would they?