Thursday, September 18, 2008

Have no fear...I’m alive and relatively well. Just still really ill with morning sickness and also busy with end of the fiscal year work. Here are a few things on my mind today:

1. Please pray for my blog-friend, Tony. I learned yesterday from Bryan that Tony had a major heart attack on Monday. He is recovering and has been moved to a regular hospital room, but I’m sure he has a long road to full recovery ahead. Please keep his wife and three kids in your prayers as well. I’m sure it’s been a scary time for them all.

2. We back in house hunting mode. We’ve asked our realtor if he’s available on Saturday to show us a few houses - we’re still waiting to hear back from him.  I’m not excited at the prospect of moving any time soon, but I guess there’s no good time at this point and we really need to significantly reduce our monthly housing expenses (read: rent). Fortunately, there still seem to be some good bargains out there, so we’re hoping to find something quickly.

3. We’re making the switch to Verizon FiOS soon. I just need to make the phone call to start the process.

4. My diet these days is composed almost exclusively of mashed potatoes. Beau figures I’ve consumed about 15 lbs of potatoes in the past couple of weeks. Aside from a fried egg sandwich that I eat for breakfast and the occasional snack of crackers with cream cheese or ginger snaps, I’m only able to stomach the idea of the mashed potatoes. Nutritious, I know.

5. I’m working at the office today and tomorrow, but I can tell you that I’d much rather be back at home in bed. It is so much effort to get here that by the time I do get here, I’m exhausted and ill. Frustrating.

And now I need to get back to work. There’s a lot to do in the next couple of days to end our fiscal year officially.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Back when I lived in New Hampshire, my friend Joan called to tell me a funny story about her husband, who was also my boss. Apparently, after she got her hair cut one day, he arrived home and in his way complimented Joanie on her new ‘do by saying, “You got your hair lopped off!” To him, it was a compliment - he noticed the new ‘do after all and commented. Fortunately for him, she knew this about him and just laughed and thanked him for noticing.

Every time I get a haircut, I think of that story and I have had to stop myself from saying that to friends who have gotten their hair “lopped off,” too.

I thought about it on Friday when I got home from getting my hair lopped off. And I do mean lopped off. My hair, which was down to my shoulder blades (maybe an inch or two longer than it was for my wedding) is now cut up to my chin. I have a a kind of layered bob that works well with little blow drying - my goal was a wash and wear hairdo and that’s what I have.

I couldn’t take the torture of washing the bulk of my hair anymore. The shower is a nauseating event and washing the hair made it that much worse. This is much better and the bonus is my head feels so much lighter, too.

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

1. Beau’s Sis - I got your phone message last night. I appreciate your comforting words and prayer!

2. Regarding Annie - thanks for all of the sweet comments about her death. Beau has already started to de-dog the house, which will help some, I think. For both os us, for different reasons.

3. I spent the weekend watching a House marathon on cable. I had seen a couple episodes, but never got into a regular viewing habit. That will change with this season, I think. Love that show.

4. I know that the new TV season starts this week. I have no idea what new shows I will be watching. I know that I’m happy that Life is coming back. Other than that, I really have no clue about any of it since I’ve been laid up.

5. I’ve missed a lot of church in the past few months. I miss it. Our small group starts back up tomorrow and I’m going to miss a lot of that in the next few months I think, too. Makes me sad.

6. Beau found a townhouse in the neighboring county that is in our price range so we’re going to try to look at it soon. The taxes will be slightly higher, but the commute would be shorter by 10 minutes. That may not sound like much, but when it takes 90 minutes on some days to get to work, that’s huge for me. And there’s a pool in the neighborhood, which is a huge bonus.

Monday, September 08, 2008

Today marks the end of the 16 year adventure that was life with Annie. We’re taking her in to be put down this afternoon.

I won’t bore you with the whole long story, but after much thought, discussion with my parents (who have had to put down several dogs in their 40 year tenure as pet owners), and tears the decision was made this weekend. It’s time.

I’m sad.

[UPDATE 3:30pm]: Beau took her since I’m still so ill and also trying to work at home today.  Thanks for the virtual hugs and real prayers. Quite a few tears have been shed today. She was a good old dog and I’m going to miss her. Anyway, Beau said the vet was kind enough to give her a sedative first, so he petted her while she drifted off to sleep and then stayed with her while the final shot was given. He said it was very peaceful. I’m glad for that at least.

Thursday, September 04, 2008

I can’t remember a night at a GOP convention that excited me more than last night. It started with great speeches by Huckabee and Romney. Then Rudy gave his barn-burner to lead into Sarah Palin. She was utterly fantastic.

I don’t know how John McCain will top that tonight. And he has TV competition with the Redskins-Giants game tonight, too.

The next two months are going to be very interesting. I cannot wait to cast my ballot on November 4.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

So I thought it would be better for me to gut it out every day and come in to the office since my bed at home is too tempting. But I feel like poo every day and it’s worse at the office.

I left work early yesterday and as soon as I got home I felt better. That’s when I realized that I really needed to just work from home as much as possible - from my bed.

I talked to my boss and the Chief and both agreed to my proposal. It’s a temporary thing until I get over the worst of the morning sickness. I will try to come in at least for one partial day at the office to take care of the few things that I have to do here and drop off completed/pick up new work.

I’m so relieved. I only work a half day tomorrow because of my ultrasound follow up appointment, so I’ll come into the office. But on Friday I will work from my bed.

Self-imposed bed rest. I never would have thought I’d do that to myself.

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Because I am completely miserable with morning sickness.

I really hate being pregnant.

That said, I’m so happy about this baby that I will endure what I need to endure. But I really pray that this hyperemesis ends sooner rather than later.

I am useless - at home, at work, generally. I cannot function well at all because I’m so nauseated.

It’s depressing.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Black President?

OR

Female Vice-President?

I heard Gov. Palin interviewed twice by Glenn Beck in the past couple of months and I was very impressed with her. She’s a solid conservative and articulate with a great grasp of the issues. I love that she is the pick for McCain.

This election just got way more interesting to me. I can’t wait the VP debates!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

I was driving to the library on my way home from work last night when I noticed a new hobby shop in one of the strip malls on the way. Let’s not talk about the enormous late fees I paid off at the library - it was depressing to turn in unread books and pay them money to boot.

But about the hobby shop. Specifically, it is a yarn shop and I wish I could remember the cutesy name, but at the moment it escapes me. Immediately I thought of Deb and Fluid Pudding, my two favorite blogger-knitters/crocheters. And then the random thought crossed my addled, nauseated brain that knitting/crocheting is something I can do when languishing in bed when I’m still so ill and then maybe later if I happen to end up on bed rest.

Yes, I think of the possibility of bed rest already. I know. Nothing is wrong - yet. There’s still time.

I can’t work on jewelry when in bed. So I’m not working on jewelry. I miss it. And I had to cancel a custom bridal order (and refund the deposit - ouch) because I just can’t function, especially after a day at work. I am participating in my mother’s open house in mid-September and I don’t know how I’ll do it - I won’t have any new inventory to show and that makes me sad, and I don’t know how I’ll endure the customer service part of the open house when I’m feeling like puking for most of the day.

Anyway, back to the knitting/crocheting idea. It’s crazy, really. I don’t need a new hobby, especially when my current hobby is a fledgling small business. I need to stay focused on that. Even though the idea of having something to do with my hands while languishing in my bed is nice. Instead, I’ll continue to admire those who do knit and crochet with such amazing skill. I’m proud to say that I own creations from both Deb and FP and I hope to own more from their talented hands in the future.

Jesse is actually 19 months old, but his 18 month doctor’s report is up at WC.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

[via prof chaos]

I never thought I would read Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. I certainly never thought I would enjoy it if I did read it. And yet both happened.

I succumbed to the hype. I borrowed the audiobook version from my library and from the first words I was hooked. Not only is the writing very well done, but the narration is excellent, too.

So book two is on hold at the library and now I’m excited about the movie as well, although I’ll probably have to wait for the DVD to come out to see it.

4 stars out of 5.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

1. There’s an update at TG.

2. I didn’t know until last week that Jim Zorn is the head coach for the Redskins. I totally had a crush on Jim Zorn in junior high school when we lived in Washington state. He was the Seahawks QB at the time and had a good passing partnership with Steve Largent. And he’s a solid Christian guy, too. Cool stuff.

3. Phenergan does it’s job really well. Too well. More than 12 hours after taking one last night, I’m still really sleepy and my brain will not work right.

4. My son is the cutest kid on the planet. His favorite phrase right now are “oh no” and the way he says it is hilarious. Also, when he really wants to share whatever it is that Mom or Dad are eating, he will give all of the baby sign language signs he knows in his excitement and desire. It cracks me up to be told, “More, please, more, thank you, please, more....” with some hand clapping included. He is the light of my life.

5. We’re making the switch to FiOS - I just need to call them to schedule it. Our cable bill is ridiculous and Verizon is running a special now that would reduce our bill by more than half for the first 3 months and then the monthly rate will still be less than Comcast.

I guess that’s it for now.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Just when I’m ready and able to start working on the large stack of payments that need doing, HQ decides to shut down access to all financial systems for the afternoon. No access until Monday AM.

Just. Shoot. Me.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

I still spend my home hours in bed. I made it to work for a few hours yesterday. I’m at work again this afternoon for a few hours. I’m hoping to make it a longer work day tomorrow with full 8 hour days next week.

I had a great talk with my boss last night. He’s been in a conference all week, but called to check on me after he was done for the day. We talked about how to reduce my workload some, which means that Amazing One (who offered yesterday, making me cry in relief and gratitude) will be taking back some of the prisoner medical payments from me. That’s huge. He also got a quick training session on the system we use for ACH payments and has a much better understanding of how cumbersome it has gotten in the last 18 months since we first started using it. It takes me much longer to initiate an ACH payment than it does to just cut a check. He really had no clue about the quantity of time it now takes to make payments. Anyway, I’m easing back into things slowly and there’s such a backlog of work that it’s overwhelming to think about. But I plan to do what I can each day amidst the nausea and fatigue.

I’m still not eating much, but I am able to stay hydrated now. Figuring out what to eat is such a challenge because I am not interested in eating anything. I have to force myself to eat at all.

Thanks for your prayers - God is faithful and taking care of us.

PS: Pisco, I got your text messages yesterday. Thanks for praying, friend!