I'm an Aunt... or is it Ant???

Yes, I became an Aunt for the ... well, whatever time on Monday.

And NO, his name is not Martin or Luther or King...
although he may be treated like one, a King that is...

Which is wonderful and awful for several reasons.

First, it's wonderful because, well a new life has come into the world and has the most amazing parents...
Secondly. it's wonderful because it is a HE ... which is what the sonograms said it would be so ...

Kudos to modern medicine on getting it right...
because, let's face it, they don't always, you know?

And it's absolutely awful because... they live 1200 miles away from The Busy Family.
It's awful because we won't get to see him, and his adorable big sister and brother, until, well, who knows when!

I am thrilled about the new baby.
He came a little early, and a little late.

He was due around the beginning of February but... well he came in January... which makes him early...
and yet...
my birthday was the 11th and I so very much wanted a birthday twin ... they run rampant in our family...
so coming on the 16th makes him just a little bit late...
but then, he is a boy and you know how independent and strong-willed THEY can be!
Okay, girls, especially the ones in THIS family, can be that way too.

So, it's a little bit awful and a whole lot wonderful at the same time ...
The being an Aunt again... or is it Ant...
You know the English language can be so hard to figure out...
Is simply wonderful...

Well, I'm off to read, or is it reed, or perhaps it's reid... oh, never mind...
I think I'll just go write, or right, or maybe rite???

Oh forget it!
Think I'll just go watch some TV...

What I did for my Birthday... or not

 

What I did for my Birthday... or not

It's 11:44pm on January 11th.
Technically, it's still my birthday for about 16 minutes.
I should be in bed now.
I have to get up early to take Bratchild to the orthodontist.
Tomorrow is THE BIG DAY...
her braces are finally coming off.

But, for now I am sitting here and reveling in the solitude of the last moments of My Special Day.
Or not.

Actually, I am waiting for my tummy to calm down so I can go to bed.
Why?, you may ask, am I having tummy troubles.

That's easy.
Because I wanted one thing, and only one thing, for my birthday.

Chinese Food.
That's right.
I wanted some crab rangoon and Kung Po chicken and won ton soup.
So, after some argument from BratChild about how no one in the family likes Chinese but me...
I mean, come one, it's my birthday so I should get to choose the food I want to eat...
and I didn't think I should have to cook dinner AND make my own cake...

I got her to pick something from the vast menu of Thai, Chinese, Sushi and Sashimi.
She picked sweet and sour chicken.
The boys wanted orange chicken and lo mein.
HeMan Hubby wanted General Tso's chicken...

Why is it when I make chicken they complain but when given the choice of any meat known to man ...
You got it, they all chose chicken!

Me?
I got my Kung Po chicken...
not because I actually wanted chicken, but because all seafood  and red meat is off limits since having my gall bladder removed 3 weeks ago.
And that leads me right back to my tummy trouble.

Apparently eating half an egg roll ( SIX said it was too much to eat so he gave me some of his) is half an egg roll too much.
And eating a spoon full of Kung Po chicken and fried rice is just that much too much.
I never even attempted the crab rangoon or won ton soup...

or the Thai calamari...

or the spare ribs...

or the lo mein...

Chicken is the only meat I have been able to eat without regret...
that is, until tonight.

So, I sit here and wait for my stomach to stop complaining as I work on the skirt I am crocheting for this weekend.
And watch the time tick by to the closing minutes of yet another birthday.

Today I am 46 years old.

Today I became one of the millions of those across the world in their mid-40's.

Today, like a fine wine that mellows with time, I have become a little better...
a little more secure in who I am and content with the life I am living...

Even if it includes TeenBoy and BratChild and SIX...

Even if I will never be able to enjoy Chinese food, or popcorn or chocolate... oh heck, anything that is really yummy, ever again...

Because today I realized that it's not how old I am...

It's how young I feel, and today...

I feel pretty darn young...

Probably about 39...

Happy New Year... I'm only a few days late

Yes, I know it is January 5th but...

I have been busy.
My laptop broke.
I haven't felt well.
I had surgery the week before Christmas.

Excuses, excuses, excuses...

Yes, these excuses are all true but...

Making time to write, or in this case, blog has not been on my list of priorities since early December.
And although I don't do Resolutions as such I have decided to set aside time each day to do the things that are important to me...
and the things that I have to do, like my freelance writing gig.

November was hectic, to put it mildly...
And December was even worse.

Add a father in law who had cancer surgery that did not go as smoothly as we had hoped.
The death of a friend and a quite unexpected gall bladder issue that landed me in the hospital and required surgery with 10 days notice...

Today seems to be a good day, even though TeenBoy and Bratchild over slept, as did we all, and missed the bus.
And SIX is home from school with what appears to be the beginning of the dreaded FLU.

I feel pretty good.
My stomach is not acting up ... no I haven't eaten yet, but then I can't really eat much since the removal of the offending organ formerly known as My GallBladder.

Good news is that I have lost about 7.5 pounds since surgery and am trying to make that number even bigger as the days of my recovery continue.

Still not allowed to exercise, other than walking...
and even if I tried I would be so exhausted after a short time that I would need a nap.

Such is the recovery from major abdominal surgery in your 40's...
Really sucks but what can I do...

My birthday is next week and my goal is to be able to get through next week performing my normal activities...
running kids here and there...
managing youth group activities...
getting some much needed house work done.

See, I don't want much....
I just want to feel like myself again...

Only better...
Thinner...
More healthy...
and Pain free...

Oh, and while I'm at it I might as well win the Lottery too!

Moral Outrage

I am a nice person.
Perhaps too nice.

I am not a gossip-monger.
Nor do I spread rumors or tell tales.

I do keep in touch with people from the past for various reasons.
When asked how So and So is doing by WhomEver I pass along public knowledge types of information.

Things like...
She got married to That Guy and has 2.2 beautifully behaved children and lives in a house on a hill in the middle of NoWhereVille, GA.
You know, the kind of stuff that you can find if you were to Google someone.

I am nice, but not stupid...
or so I thought.
Until today.
When I opened an email and was floored...

Someone contacted me under false pretenses.
Someone would like me to tell tales, pass along misinformation, rumors and innuendo...?
provide names of others who would do the same?

Well....
I know nothing.
I will continue to know nothing.
and that is the truth... the whole truth...
and nothing is to be gained by trying to make the truth anything but what it is.

Writer's Workshop... 5 Things

Yes, I am at it again... or at least trying to be.
Here is this week's offering to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop.

Of the 5 topic choices I picked this one because... well because it was the only one that seemed to apply.  Enjoy! 

2) Five Things. 
List 5 things we don't know about you,5 things you're knowledgeable about, 5 things you know nothing about, and 5 things you believe. (inspired by LouLou’s Views)


5 things we don't know about you:
1- I hate asparagus
2- I get tired of being nice all the time
3- I am lonely most of the time
4- I never went to college even though I got a scholarship
5- I never planned to have any kids... funny how that one worked out, huh?


5 things you're knowledgeable about:
1- Kids
2- birds
3- health care and medicine
4- fundraising
5- crafting and decorating


5 things you know nothing about:
1- computer programming
2- computer networking
3- HeMan Hubby's computer networking engineering administrating job 
4- being in jail
5- jet engines


5 things you believe:
1- I believe that what goes around comes around so you better watch out 
2- I believe that what you do is more important than what you say
3- I believe that no one should ever go hungry or be homeless in the US... 
4- I believe that more people need to recycle
5- I believe that raising your children to be good, honest, productive adults is the only job that really counts...


So, now you know all my deepest, darkest secrets... 
Okay, not really....

Positive Day... Not a real holiday but it should be!

Today is a typical cold and rainy Fall day.
It is also a Positive day.
What is a Positive day you may be asking.
Well, it is a day that I decide to look at the Positive's in my life and choose to ignore the negatives.

Look at the weather. Instead of looking at the rain as YUCK, I will look at it and see it as the life giving necessity that it is... I still wish it wasn't cold, but...

The leaves have turned, creating a brilliant display of red and gold and burgundy outside my windows that fills me with a sense of sadness while at the same time comforts me and makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Fall is my favorite season.
I love Sweater Weather... or perhaps I should call it Sweatshirt Weather.

The crisp, clean scent of soil and leaves with just a hint of wood smoke...
The sound of leaves crunching underfoot as I stroll through the yard...
The sight of brightly colored leaves dancing on the wind as they fall to the ground...

Yes!
Today is a Positive Day...

It may not be a national holiday like, say, National Chocolate Day or National Secretary's Day ...
or is Administrative Assistant....

No, today is just a day, like so many others that go unnoticed but should be....
A day that reminds me that life is full of promise and new beginnings...

Yes...
Today is a Positive Day...

The World As I See It... feel it too

I have been decidedly lax in my blog posts of late.
Okay, I have been lax for the better part of the summer season.

That, however, was not my intention.
I had intended to write at least 3 days a week, but...

You know how life has a tendency to get in the way.

I resolved to start blogging with more regularity once the kid's soccer and football season, and the ensuing mad rush to be here, get there, do everything at once, had subsided.

Much to my chagrin I realized this was not going as I had planned when I tried to sync my Google calendar with my Blackberry calendar and got an error message that in effect told me that I could not be in 4 places at the same time... every single day of the week.

I figured out a way to over ride this little computer glitch...
Obviously the computer programmer who designed this wonderful syncing tool has never had the pleasure of trying to manage a household that is comprised of teens who are active in sports and youth groups; does not take an active role in community activities and act as an adviser and committee chairperson for these organizations; nor does this computer person try to balance all of this with bill paying schedules, work schedules- for both themselves or their spouse, while trying to keep up with all of the necessary things in life...
like grocery shopping, clothes shopping and being at every HS football game to video tape it for the coach.

And so my life has gone...
until...

Last week I felt awful.
For days I could barely move from my big, comfy couch...

And then, just when I thought I had shaken this, whatever it is...

My back has decided to act up.
I have no memory of pulling it or doing anything out of the ordinary, however...

It is letting me know that my life is too hectic, the pace that I keep far too fast and stressful...

My back is letting me know that the over-booked life that I lead is just too, too much.

Just finding the energy to cook dinner, fold laundry- forget carrying it to the laundry room- or sit long enough to write a blog post is not only difficult, but these seemingly simple tasks are excruciatingly painful and exhausting.

And so...

As I see it, the world is my domain...
and my world, for now, consists of my sofa and my bed and my blessedly soothing jacuzzi tub...

For now, that is enough....