Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Insomnia Rules!

I've got to get my melatonin back from Michael-- I haven't slept in days! I'm trying to work from home, too, until it's above freezing each day. I get the feeling it's going to be a nasty winter! 11:15a and it's only 30 degrees. Sure it's 16 in Martinsville (which does not make me excited for Christmas...) but that doesn't mean 30 isn't uncomfortable for those of us with paper thin skin! Plus, if it's going to be this cold, I feel like it should at least do us a favor and spit out some snow!

The heat in the apartment has gotten a little bit better, by about 3 degrees. Still not great, but better and it keeps us warm enough at night when it's far below freezing.

Still stressed, and it's to the point now where I don't feel like doing anything at all. I still have a bunch of stuff to mail, including Christmas for the Eiler package that needs to leave Memphis this week! I've been so awful about getting to the PO, I just hate going in there this time of year! We got a couple of small things for Ana, and I'm sending her much belated birthday present over, and this year's Christmas card.

So, as you can see, still mostly boring stuff. Hoping to have some time over the next couple weeks to keep working on EB's wedding planner (since I've got more time than I thought lol) and get another few sets of cards up on my Etsy shop! (http://www.etsy.com/shop/HockeyPanda) Stop by and check them out, I do custom orders, too!

Ciao for now, I'm going to check out the Publix ad and then straighten my hair (in an effort to avoid more than a perfunctory shower in our freezing cold bathroom!) and set course for the PO!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Let's Get Funky

I've been in a funk this week-- we're so busy with our lives that it's hard to have a night to ourselves. Every time I think it might happen, we're so exhausted it turns in to falling asleep on the couch. Right now I'm in the midst of a bout of insomnia, no doubt bolstered by accidentally sleeping for four hours this afternoon... my mind just won't turn off!

I'm also really stressed about work since the end of this year pretty much sets next year for me. Under $40k a year combined is hard to live on (that's after taxes) and we'd like to get to a place where we can be settled and be there for a while-- not a cruddy one room apartment in a duplex! I realize patience is key, that we've only been married a year, but things have been tough and it would be nice for us to get a little break.

On the upside, we're actually done with all our Christmas shopping! We're not doing a lot this year, small things for a few people, but it's always nice to realize that something you weren't even trying to get done is done!

We have two weeks left of after school, then holiday camp; somewhere in there we'll go to Indiana to see the Clark side for Christmas. We're excited to see Josh and Sarah as we haven't seen them since the wedding, and of course it's always nice to see Marc and Jan, plus a few days away will be nice for both of us.

The main problem on my plate now is assigning shifts for holiday camp; we don't have monster enrollment so I can't fill the shifts as heavily as I'd like, but I know everyone needs a little extra cash. Plus, the family from Hell (no, really, I'm fairly certain that's where they're actually from) is breathing down my neck again. This is the family that was soooooo unhappy with our program and pulled their kids out (because when the kids bully the campers and counselors, really what's happening is that THEY are being bullied by US) and swore they'd never come again and now they're acting like they own the place and want back in. I told them enrollment was closed (because I don't WANT them there, nobody does) and he blew me off and said that my boss would let them in. WHAT A JERK! The dad just loves setting a bad example for his kids, "See, son, if a woman talks back and doesn't give you what you want, just go to her boss so she can be put in her place and we get what we want." That's his general mantra.

I could rant about that family for a while, so I'll leave it at that, but if they don't take no from my boss (who will, as I told them, just tell the dad to talk to me) and disappear like good little jerks then I'm going to have to give them a big long talk about how they are poisonous and I don't want or need them in our camp. Not to mention he's already hounding me about summer and I'm sorry, but I haven't even thought about that yet. But I am going to stop now...

Anyway, I'm going to go watch some more Psych and try some breathing exercises. And consider the fact that, in spite of my excellent grammar and superb spelling, I still have to use spell check for the word "exercise" because I just can't spell it!

Ciao for now, a cheerier post and some pictures soon!

Friday, November 26, 2010

Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving Dinner was a hit this year and, as always, went off without a hitch! I know everyone has some exciting story about Thanksgiving, and I guess I do have one but it always slips my mind-- I'll throw that in after the pictures.

In addition to us, mom, David, and Casey, mom's friend Sharon and her son Alex came, as well as Michael and the kids and Emmy-- a fantastic crowd! We spent the day cleaning, cooking, and watching what ended up being a mini-Rourke marathon with Iron Man 2 and The Expendables. I cooked a sweet potato casserole (which everyone said was the best they'd ever had!), and did the turkey and stuffing/dressing, plus the cranberry sauce-- all of these were first time experiences for me and they all came out amazing!

Pictures, of course, for your viewing pleasure:

Belle perked up when she saw mom with ham
So we treated her-- it's Thanksgiving after all!
The tongs from the ham fell on the floor-- guilty much?
mom's pretty mantle. Even if the teensy lightshade is tippled...
Jeremy and Sharon work the logistics of getting the bird to the carving plate
VICTORY!
I carve the turkey!
Everyone waiting for dinner
Violet used my old records as weapons of mass distraction
"I can have some, yeeeeeesssss?"
FOOD! (without the sweet potato casserole, that was warming in the oven)
Pretty table
Violet instructs Uncle Jeremy on the finer points of what will eventually go in her belly
Michael's been beaten and Violet realizes that there's food on Aunt Meg's plate to steal now!
We shall see this mischievous look more than once in her life!

It was a great meal and great company, I'm so glad we all got to come together!

My fun Thanksgiving story, for posterity:

It was my first year at the airline and I was living in Memphis. I had to work the day after Thanksgiving, so I'd flown in to Atlanta a couple of days before and flew back on Thanksgiving day (fantastic day to travel, btw, business class was just me and another FA!). As the plane was taking off in Atlanta, I realized that I had not bought a turkey or even turkey breasts! When I landed, I called Amy to see if she knew of anywhere that would still be open and the only place we could think of was the Middle Eastern market so I went and got chicken breasts. We were having Jeremy and Ashley over for dinner, and I think Zac as well, and we'd been cooking up a storm when Ashley called to say she was there-- I went out to meet her and then Jeremy got there and I completely forgot about the chicken in the oven! It was sooo dried out it was nearly inedible, and we dug through the fridge and covered them with BBQ Sauce and Ashley opted for ketchup. It was still a great Thanksgiving, though!


Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's your list of things I'm thankful for this year-- how about you?

* My wonderful husband-- for doing the dishes and putting out a lot of heat since our heat is broken!
* A home-- it may not be a great apartment, but we do have our own place this year which is infinitely better than where we were a year ago!
* Wonderful neighbors-- John and Paige are so much fun and so nice to us, definitely an improvement over Jimmy... they even took us bouldering last weekend!
* A team worth rooting for-- keep up the good work, Thrashers!
* My staff-- they really do make my job easy. Yes, sometimes they're not perfect, but if they weren't so great then my stressful job would be even worse!
* A job-- I may hate my job, but I have one and that's worth a lot these days!
* Our godchildren-- Julian and Violet are crazy off the wall, but they're wonderful children who love us dearly and we love them, too!
* All of our amazing friends and family who have made our (almost) first year of marriage so fantastic.

Until later this week when I pull the pictures off the camera, I wish you all a wonderful rest of Thanksgiving and a joyous start to the holiday season!

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Wonderful day

Our weather here was perfect today and I couldn't have been happier-- we had our first "people over" party today and it ROCKED.

Menu:
Chicken (Drumsticks)
Pomegranate Syrup Glazed Leg of Lamb
Hot Rub Ribs (a la Central BBQ)
Garlic Honey Hamburgers
Wasabi Mashed Potatoes
Grilled Corn on the Cob
Chips and Salsa
Ciabatta Bread with Olive Oil
Bacon Macaroni and Cheese
Green Bean Casserole (Paige)
Mediterranean Salad (Michael)
Brownies
Apple Crisp
Sangria
Pinot Grigio
And more beer than you can shake a stick at

It was pretty great, even if it DID almost start by me being stupid and burning the tips of my fingers off with the meat thermometer probe... I have to get the pictures converted on Jeremy's computer since the camera was being ridiculous, but it was a great day filled with friends and food and great weather.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

This is Halloween, everybody SCREAM!

Another year, another Halloween! Only some of the kids dressed up, but the staff went all out-- it's days like this that remind me just how much I LOVE my staff!

Brandy as Princess Giselle from Enchanted!
Me as a PANDA!

The Game Room/Carnival Room
Carnival Stop-- Pin the Eye on the Ghost, Feed the Monster, and Drats (darts with sticky rats)
Drats up close
Diana (aka Picabo Street) and Jillian-- I totally dubbed Picabo, Diana was just going to be a skier lol
Farmer Kesler-- moustache and all
Jeremy as Ang, The Last Airbender
Sharon (Cheetah), Brandy, and Jillian
Hunter, Me, Jeremy, Diana, Louis
TP Mummy Contest!
Diana and Jimmy working Feed the Monster
Marcus making his witches hat cookie
Kendra the Kitty (she is the cutest kid at after school after the Salcedos!)
Lilia's Witch
Sharon
Shreya
Chava
Fran paints Isaiah
Jackie paints Malachi
Stephen works Drats
Nia, Kendra, Bridget, and Chava
Octavia-- meow!
Abebech, Alyssa, Sidney, and Emily do their best "hard" face
Lennox the Vamp!
Autumn pulling her sad puppy look
Kurt (my boss/youth minister) looking Grr-y
Me and the Monsters-- I loooove these girls! Their mom and dad are OK, too ;)
Miss Fran grosses out Mr Louis!

Monday, October 18, 2010

'Bout that...


Sorry about yesterday, stomach bug came on fast so I just took promethazine and crashed! For your viewing pleasure...

As with most parades, Violet starts it off asleep on Uncle Jeremy!
And then moves on to snacking. Jeremy stuck a cheeto in there and she sat like this for a few minutes!
Seed and Feed/Marching Abominable, an Atlanta parade staple










The next guy's sign said, "Praise the Gourd"










The boxy superheroes try to out shimmy the belly dancers (below)


Julian was SO excited Scooby Doo came!

The parade ended with the Pirate Reenactors! Yes, they exist!