Thursday, July 28, 2011

hello? is anyone still here?

i haven't posted in a long time...not because there hasn't been anything to write, but because i have less time than i used to.

the new job (how long are you at a job before you quit calling it the new job?) is going well. i have days of feeling completely overwhelmed. days where i feel like i must have been living under a rock for the last decade because there is so much i have to learn. days when i feel like if i have to attend one more meeting my head very well may explode. but, most of the time, i like it. my rose colored glasses are slipping down a little in that i don't think this is the picture perfect company i thought it was, but that happens w/ everyone doesn't it? the people in my department are mostly cool. the quiet ones are coming out of their shell a bit. i think they were probably shell shocked from the last person who had my job, from what i can gather. i think she was a bit of a bitch and they dreaded working with her. it's always good to come in behind someone others didn't love to death.

the summer is flying by, although i cannot wait for this heat and humidity to be gone. it makes me cranky.

last weekend we escaped the heat w/ my brother and his family. we took a day trip a couple of hours away along the blue ridge parkway. it was perfect. we found a picnic table by the stream and we enjoyed playing in the water. it was about 20 degrees cooler there. a breeze. shade. perfect. later in the afternoon it started thundering so we packed up and headed down the parkway. we stopped at a historic house along the parkway and sat on the huge wrap around porch overlooking the valley and a lake while it drizzled rain. it was sublime. it was the most relaxing, best day we've had in a long time.

i will try to be better about posting. i miss reading and being read. i hope you are all doing well. oxox

Sunday, July 10, 2011

sleepy random post

*the boy spent the night at a friend's house last night and the kid's dad just brought him home. otherwise i would still be asleep, like everyone else in the house.

*the hubs has had a summer cold for the last couple of days....hacking, headache, feeling like crap. i've been dosing him w/ nyquil in the evenings and mucinex during the day.

* i am sporting not one but three friendship bracelets made and given to me by the girl. i think there is an unwritten rule that if your 14 year old kid gives you a friendship bracelet you pretty much have to wear it for the rest of your life, even if you have a big meeting coming up on tuesday.

* the meeting isn't really THAT big of a deal, more like a pain in the ass. i have to organize said mtg. the head honcho likes to meet w/ a dozen or more people throughout the company each month (from all levels and divisions) and i have to make sure a dozen or more people are there and have not been there before and all of the computer equipment is set up and the agenda is ready and there are name plates, etc.

*at what point do you stop making people do something they don't want to do? my SIL is being the peacemaker in our family and has invited my folks and my sister to her house today to hang out. while normally we jump at the chance to hang out w/ my SIL/bro and the kids....my family groans when i tell them the rest of the guest list. at what point to i stop making them go to these get togethers?

*i have started investigating the prospect of visiting the FIL this year. in my perfect world we would board the dogs at cool kennel and fly to OK. price? $1800 before ANYTHING is done but flying/boarding. so...looks like we will be driving to OK this year. how do families afford vacations that require flying and/or staying in a hotel for more than 3 days?

* i am becoming desperate, desperate i tell you, to be at the beach, even if it is only for a 3-4 day weekend. actually, that would be just fine for me. i want to go so badly i can taste the saltwater in my mouth.

*we watched just go with it (which i keep wanting to call just do it....thank you nike) last night (adam sandler and jen anniston). good movie. laughed out loud a few times; love the actors, etc. i hope this isn't a spoiler---but they end up going to hawaii (a big group). so...sandler's character is paying for six people to fly and stay in hawaii. he didn't book ahead (so this is last minute pricing) and the two rooms he books are $8,000 and $12,000 a NIGHT. yes...i realize this is a movie and it is not a central part of the plot in anyway, but i fixated on that part. yeah, i'm weird.

Monday, July 4, 2011

it sneaks up on me, even in sleep

i just had what felt like the longest and most realistic dream i've had in a very long time. my mom and my aunt were throwing a party for my sister. tons of people were there and although we were obviously at some one's house or apartment, i've never been before. there were lots of rooms and the party flowed inside and outside; it was a two story apartment so there were lots of decks and patios too. for the most part i wove in and out of these rooms, avoiding my mom and my aunt and my sister. i would go from room to room doing something---making sushi (which i cannot do) in one room, where the voice of my mom or aunt complained that you couldn't see the shrimp in it. i'd move on to another room to do something else. even if i didn't see them, i'd hear their voices and it would annoy me. eventually i decided to leave, just sneak out. but, the place was a wreck and while i didn't mind leaving my mom and aunt w/ the mess, i didn't want anyone else to think i'd ducked out w/out helping. so i was speed cleaning rooms. tossing plastic cups and plates, etc. then i got to the kitchen, and there they were. my aunt was washing dishes and bitching because my mom had invited my dad. i guess in this dream they were separated or something. my aunt's grandkids were dancing around in this kitchen w/ my mom, who was swinging them and laughing with them, enjoying them. then i exploded. i went off on my aunt and my mom and it was venomous. and then i woke up and i have tears in my eyes.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

plethora of friends

i hate that i've not had time to post anything here. i hate worse that i've not been around to read blogs much lately. while i love that i have a job now, i miss the quiet time and time with the kids and just time in general. but...i like being able to pay our bills and not worry about where the next round of money will come from. i like knowing that soon we will be saving for the future again.

the job is going well. i have so very much to learn. and....i fear that any creativity i may have used at work in the past will not be needed in this job. but...i will try to remain optimistic and maybe one day that will come too.

my friend texas came to visit a couple of weeks ago, over father's day. the hubs....who really is the most incredible man i know...practically shoved us out the door to go to dinner, alone, on father's day because we haven't been alone since we've reconnected. it was so good to just sit and talk. even though we email all the time...there's just something about sitting across the table from a long lost friend and sharing your thoughts.

in the same week we went out to dinner with a group of friends--five couples and our kids. we hadn't seen one of the families for several years (they moved out of state). the rest of us see each other every couple of months, but it was fun to have us all together again. it was amazing to see their kids and how much they've grown and to slip right back into the familiar jokes and stories and interactions.

today i caught up with another good friend big t. we don't see each other nearly enough, even though we live in neighboring towns. i have started describing my friends in emails to my friend texas. i want her to know the people who are important to me. i described big t as an older sister (although not that much older i should point out.) big t has been my lifesaver on more than one occasion. she is the friend who would come to get you out of jail; chastise you for being a dumbass if you'd done something stupid to get put in jail; and still give you a hug and stand by your side. she is often a voice of reason...but also filled with so many ideas and so much knowledge. she's an incredible woman. and i think if i weren't friends with her the hubs would be anyway because they are peas in a political pod.

i don't have nearly the time for blogging and reading and visiting with friends as i'd like to, but i hope they (and you) know just how much i value these threads weaving the tapestry of my life.