I actually had a blog all picked out today, but I am going to do SWC's meme instead. I will save the other one for tomorrow or the next day once I can sound calm and intelligent about it.
I was born on March 26th and here are my opinions on my March traits. I should probably also note that besides being a Ram, that I am also an Ox in Chinese astrology, so that may twist some of my answers.
Attractive personality - I would like to think so, but it does take awhile for me to feel comfortable with new people. I don't exactly draw people to me.
Sexy - Again, I would like to think so, but I think it is hard to judge yourself on this unless you are comletely conceited.
Affectionate - With certain people.
Shy and reserved - I used to be. Besides being a cheerleader, quiz bowl member, honor society member, Class Secretary, etc, I seem to be remembered in high school as being quiet. I just don't think people were paying attention - lol.
Secretive - Um, I don't think so. I can keep a secret for somebody else, but there are not too many I keep internally for myself. I tend to pretty much lay everything on the line.
Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic - I don't like lying (loathe it actually) and I am pretty generous with my time and money. However, I am not naturally sympathetic, in fact, it is pretty hard for me. I am much more of a fixer - take a day to feel sorry for yourself and either find a way to move on or find a way to fix it depending on the situation.
Loves peace and serenity - I could live without a bunch of drama in my life. I like quiet and peace.
Sensitive to others - In certain situations - yes. But, usually the fixer part comes out in a very short amount of time.
Loves to serve others - hmmm, this is a tough one. I love to be the hostess and I love to make people happy (fixer thing again). If someone needs help, a place to stay, etc. then I am the the first one to volunteer. I like to help people who need help. But, if it is someone who needs help and always needs help because they can't pull their life together, then my patience will only go so far.
Easily angered - Oh yeah! Patience is not a trait of mine, and I keep trying to improve that. But, if someone does something that is against what I believe or personally hurts me or someone I love. Whether they are right or not, I get immediately ticked and it takes me a little while to get over.
Trustworthy - to the utmost.
Appreciative and returns kindness - Again, I completely agree with this. I don't ask for help, so whenever I get help I appreciate it tremendously. I also like to reward for a good job and someone else's kindness towards me.
Observant and assesses others - all the time, I am a big people watcher.
Revengeful - No, not at all.
Loves to dream and fantasize - Only when it comes to my future. You need to have something to strive for.
Loves traveling - Yes, I do like to travel. But, there is a limit. I travel too much right now.
Loves attention - No, not at all.
Hasty decisions in choosing partners - Since I have really only had two, I am not sure if I have been hasty or not.
Loves home decors - I do tend to notice and appreciate a nicely decorated home. I just wish I had more of a knack for it myself. I didn't see creative anywhere on the March list :-)
Musically talented - I do play saxophone and I taught myself to play keyboard. I don't play keyboard well, but I know the basics.
Loves special things - I do have a keen attention to detail, which makes me pay attention to the special things around me.
Moody - Oh yeah. I could be over the moon one minute and if one thing goes wrong or someone makes me mad, it's over. But, most days, I can be fairly even keeled. I think with everything it just depends on the day.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Drunk and Sober
Well, all of the Christmas activities are now complete with little drama. Other than the "other" parents wanting to either wait until 8:30 Christmas Eve for us to get one child or the the other two wanting to have the children at 10:00 Christmas morning everything went okay. When we have the kids for Christmas that generally means 3 or 4 Christmas Eve to Noon Christmas Day, which to me is not unreasonable, actually it is pretty generous on our part. But, somehow this does not fit into everyone else's schedules. When in fact we could keep them all day Christmas, we never do which means "they" get the kids every single Christmas while we get Christmas morning every other year. Which is fine, except that we do ask that they give us the time we deserve and ask for and not be a bunch of whiners about it. Anyway, that was the only drama we really had.
Ira confronted his Mom last week on how Jason and I are treated by her and the family and it seemed to have helped a little. I still see a lot of shortfalls, but I will be patient to see if more changes are in the works.
The real meaning behind this blog is Christmas Eve and my Dad's journey into sobriety. All of my life my Dad has been a drinker, scratch that, a drunk. He was a factory rat his whole life and carried a pint of whiskey in his glove box. I have always been close to my Dad, but I have grown up with a tougher exterior in order to deal with him and my stepmom (also alcoholic, but won't admit it).
There have been few times in my life that I can remember that he has quit drinking. There has been the time that he decided that he wanted to quit, drank himself to oblivion, and I took him to rehab the next morning. It seems to me that the sobriety after that didn't last long. Then there was a couple of years ago after having a heart attack and now, after getting a DWI. When my Dad is drinking he is tough, opinioninated, obnoxious, and down right rude. He still has his highlights, but overall that is what you get. Anytime he gets sober, I never believe it will last because I never see him really wanting to be sober.
I am a bit more optimistic this time, even if it is because he legally has no choice, he seems to be embracing it. The great thing about my Dad is that when he is sober, I love to be around him. He is loving, compassionate, intelligent, and friendly. A complete 180 from the man I have grown up with. He was a pleasure to be around on Christmas Eve and when he and Ira talked on the phone last night Ira could hardly get him off the phone for us to walk into our movie.
He has been two months sober, he is attending outpatient classes, and attending AA meetings. I am not putting all of my faith into this recovery, but I am really praying that it works this time. My Stepmom does not appear to have stopped drinking, but she seems to have slowed down, which is all I can ask for until she is ready to change her habits. I always told them that they were going to have side by side hospital beds due to lung cancer, kidney failure, emphysema, or some other disease brought on by smoking and drinking, if they didn't change something, but that was as a kid and young adult. I learned a long time ago that you can voice your opinions, let them know how you feel, and test the boundaries. But, nothing will change until the person with the addiction wants to change.
I am starting to see the desire to change in my Dad, and I just hope he sticks with it this time. I would like to spend the rest of his years with this great person that I like to spend time with.
Ira confronted his Mom last week on how Jason and I are treated by her and the family and it seemed to have helped a little. I still see a lot of shortfalls, but I will be patient to see if more changes are in the works.
The real meaning behind this blog is Christmas Eve and my Dad's journey into sobriety. All of my life my Dad has been a drinker, scratch that, a drunk. He was a factory rat his whole life and carried a pint of whiskey in his glove box. I have always been close to my Dad, but I have grown up with a tougher exterior in order to deal with him and my stepmom (also alcoholic, but won't admit it).
There have been few times in my life that I can remember that he has quit drinking. There has been the time that he decided that he wanted to quit, drank himself to oblivion, and I took him to rehab the next morning. It seems to me that the sobriety after that didn't last long. Then there was a couple of years ago after having a heart attack and now, after getting a DWI. When my Dad is drinking he is tough, opinioninated, obnoxious, and down right rude. He still has his highlights, but overall that is what you get. Anytime he gets sober, I never believe it will last because I never see him really wanting to be sober.
I am a bit more optimistic this time, even if it is because he legally has no choice, he seems to be embracing it. The great thing about my Dad is that when he is sober, I love to be around him. He is loving, compassionate, intelligent, and friendly. A complete 180 from the man I have grown up with. He was a pleasure to be around on Christmas Eve and when he and Ira talked on the phone last night Ira could hardly get him off the phone for us to walk into our movie.
He has been two months sober, he is attending outpatient classes, and attending AA meetings. I am not putting all of my faith into this recovery, but I am really praying that it works this time. My Stepmom does not appear to have stopped drinking, but she seems to have slowed down, which is all I can ask for until she is ready to change her habits. I always told them that they were going to have side by side hospital beds due to lung cancer, kidney failure, emphysema, or some other disease brought on by smoking and drinking, if they didn't change something, but that was as a kid and young adult. I learned a long time ago that you can voice your opinions, let them know how you feel, and test the boundaries. But, nothing will change until the person with the addiction wants to change.
I am starting to see the desire to change in my Dad, and I just hope he sticks with it this time. I would like to spend the rest of his years with this great person that I like to spend time with.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Christmas, games, cookies, and time
In know, it's a strange title. But, it summarizes my lack of focus the past few days and how everything has become serverely jumbled.
I am happy to announce that I essentially completed my Christmas shopping in 2 days - Dec 7th and 8th, which has been great. But, then it was the cookies. Shop for the ingredients and slot out time to mix, bake, and decorate 5 different kinds of cookies. It took me 3 days and I feel like that is all I did all weekend. But, they are done and will be shipped or delivered tomorrow. Now, it is putting together menus and a shopping list for Christmas Eve Eve, Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. I never do a big Christmas dinner, so most of my time is spent on a family meal for Christmas Eve. Jambalaya, Spinach Artichoke Dip, Pumpkin Pie (all 12/24), Tea Ring (12/25), Peanut Butter Ice Box Cake (12/23), and a sauce for the crab cakes (12/24) I bought from Costco. I plan on shopping and cooking some of this over the weekend, the items that I can anyway.
This is my last week of work before 2 weeks of vacation and 15 days of traveling in January. Which means that I am busting my butt to try to close out the year and organize myself for next year. Because when it comes to January I will be spending any office time just catching up in between trips. However, I am looking forward to the trips and am happy to make the sacrifice. As with everybody else it is trying to find the balance of work and preparing for the holildays.
Plus, the additional stress from the holidays. The stress to me is wrapped up in one family and it happens to be the one that is not my family and takes time to remind me (and my son) that we are not family anytime they are around us (or even when they are not around us). Always nice around the holidays. So, I haven't invited them over for the holidays and yet, I know they will show up Christmas morning to my house because their grandkids will be here. Just do me a favor - stay home. If you want to coninuously leave Jason and I out of your lives then please just stay out of mine and quit pretending that everything is fine when it obviously is not.
On top of that, the dinner (see Monthly Review blog) that I have been looking forward to has been postponed. To when, I don't know, since it was the last night we had for a few days. Easy I guess since Ira didn't have a place picked yet anyway. I am not mad, his work schedule changed, but I am still disappointed.
My highlight...Jason has been wanting to spend time with both of us more lately. He even went out and started shoveling on Sunday without any prodding. He has been asking to play board games just to have some time together. He also asked if I was going to have any free days for us to just hang out. I said, "Honey, I am available every day from December 26th to January 6th. Is that enough time for you?" He was happy with that.
God grant me the patience to get through the next week and not strangle anyone. It will all be better December 26th.
I am happy to announce that I essentially completed my Christmas shopping in 2 days - Dec 7th and 8th, which has been great. But, then it was the cookies. Shop for the ingredients and slot out time to mix, bake, and decorate 5 different kinds of cookies. It took me 3 days and I feel like that is all I did all weekend. But, they are done and will be shipped or delivered tomorrow. Now, it is putting together menus and a shopping list for Christmas Eve Eve, Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. I never do a big Christmas dinner, so most of my time is spent on a family meal for Christmas Eve. Jambalaya, Spinach Artichoke Dip, Pumpkin Pie (all 12/24), Tea Ring (12/25), Peanut Butter Ice Box Cake (12/23), and a sauce for the crab cakes (12/24) I bought from Costco. I plan on shopping and cooking some of this over the weekend, the items that I can anyway.
This is my last week of work before 2 weeks of vacation and 15 days of traveling in January. Which means that I am busting my butt to try to close out the year and organize myself for next year. Because when it comes to January I will be spending any office time just catching up in between trips. However, I am looking forward to the trips and am happy to make the sacrifice. As with everybody else it is trying to find the balance of work and preparing for the holildays.
Plus, the additional stress from the holidays. The stress to me is wrapped up in one family and it happens to be the one that is not my family and takes time to remind me (and my son) that we are not family anytime they are around us (or even when they are not around us). Always nice around the holidays. So, I haven't invited them over for the holidays and yet, I know they will show up Christmas morning to my house because their grandkids will be here. Just do me a favor - stay home. If you want to coninuously leave Jason and I out of your lives then please just stay out of mine and quit pretending that everything is fine when it obviously is not.
On top of that, the dinner (see Monthly Review blog) that I have been looking forward to has been postponed. To when, I don't know, since it was the last night we had for a few days. Easy I guess since Ira didn't have a place picked yet anyway. I am not mad, his work schedule changed, but I am still disappointed.
My highlight...Jason has been wanting to spend time with both of us more lately. He even went out and started shoveling on Sunday without any prodding. He has been asking to play board games just to have some time together. He also asked if I was going to have any free days for us to just hang out. I said, "Honey, I am available every day from December 26th to January 6th. Is that enough time for you?" He was happy with that.
God grant me the patience to get through the next week and not strangle anyone. It will all be better December 26th.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Noodles and Waffles
At church a couple of months ago our Teaching Pastor was discussing communication between men and women. Much of this I agree with him on and I was glad to have my son with me to learning about this at such an impressionable age. But, there are definitely some exceptions....
The are two theories that resonate with me, the first is the noodles and waffles. Men talk in waffles. They talk about one subject, finish the subject, give the other a slight warning, and switch subjects. Women, we have all seen this first hand - "Hey man did you see the game last night?" "That run, blah, blah, blah, the touchdown, blah, blah, blah, can you believe that move, blah." "Yeah, that was a good game." - end of subject. New subject - "Hey, did I tell you I bought a new lawnmower...." You get the idea.
Women talk in noodles, we will talk on one subject and there will be something else that will pop into our heads on a completely subject, but was brought on by the first subject. This is amazing to men and why they can never follow us. "Can you believe that she thought that shirt looked good on her this morning, way too tight?" "Yeah, she should definitely think about losing weight or joining a gym." "Did I tell you I joined a gym last month?" "You will never believe who I ran into there?" Ladies, in man world that was 3 conversations.
Now that you know this, you will watch and listen and see that this is in most cases true. I don't know too many men that noodle, unless they might be gay. However, I had lunch with a male friend of mine this week (very not gay) and after I went back home, I realized that he completely noodled with me. In fact it was so bad, that we went back to a conversation twice and I had to e-mail him the next day to ask him if we ever got to the end of that conversation because we kept getting off track. So, maybe as we evolve (or just get older), men are learning to noodle in men/women conversations, but waffle in men/men conversations. Interesting....
The other theory is that women look for love in the relationship - think, act, talk, everything for love. Men look for respect. If the man didn't do something, it always shows a lack of love to the woman. He wasn't home on time, didn't offer to pick up dinner, didn't sweep off the deck - all due to lack of love (or laziness). However, she did not get the kids up, do laundry, or dress nice due to lack of respect.
Now, I firmly believe (and could be very wrong on this) that this has transitioned a bit since there are now more women in the household that make more money than the men. If the woman has the better career, makes more money, and has a bit different perspective than our mothers or grandmothers then love is no longer the main driver, it is respect. In fact, when our Pastor was talking about this I tapped a female friend of mine on the knee and said Ira and I are so opposite on that. She completely agreed with me on this after spending time with us on enough occassions. He is focused on the love and I am focused on the respect, which is okay because at least we balance each other out. Can you imagine if you had two lovers and two respecters in a relationship - ugly. In fact, now that I think about it, that may have been the biggest flaw in my previous marriage, at one point love was no longer the issue, we both wanted respect.
The are two theories that resonate with me, the first is the noodles and waffles. Men talk in waffles. They talk about one subject, finish the subject, give the other a slight warning, and switch subjects. Women, we have all seen this first hand - "Hey man did you see the game last night?" "That run, blah, blah, blah, the touchdown, blah, blah, blah, can you believe that move, blah." "Yeah, that was a good game." - end of subject. New subject - "Hey, did I tell you I bought a new lawnmower...." You get the idea.
Women talk in noodles, we will talk on one subject and there will be something else that will pop into our heads on a completely subject, but was brought on by the first subject. This is amazing to men and why they can never follow us. "Can you believe that she thought that shirt looked good on her this morning, way too tight?" "Yeah, she should definitely think about losing weight or joining a gym." "Did I tell you I joined a gym last month?" "You will never believe who I ran into there?" Ladies, in man world that was 3 conversations.
Now that you know this, you will watch and listen and see that this is in most cases true. I don't know too many men that noodle, unless they might be gay. However, I had lunch with a male friend of mine this week (very not gay) and after I went back home, I realized that he completely noodled with me. In fact it was so bad, that we went back to a conversation twice and I had to e-mail him the next day to ask him if we ever got to the end of that conversation because we kept getting off track. So, maybe as we evolve (or just get older), men are learning to noodle in men/women conversations, but waffle in men/men conversations. Interesting....
The other theory is that women look for love in the relationship - think, act, talk, everything for love. Men look for respect. If the man didn't do something, it always shows a lack of love to the woman. He wasn't home on time, didn't offer to pick up dinner, didn't sweep off the deck - all due to lack of love (or laziness). However, she did not get the kids up, do laundry, or dress nice due to lack of respect.
Now, I firmly believe (and could be very wrong on this) that this has transitioned a bit since there are now more women in the household that make more money than the men. If the woman has the better career, makes more money, and has a bit different perspective than our mothers or grandmothers then love is no longer the main driver, it is respect. In fact, when our Pastor was talking about this I tapped a female friend of mine on the knee and said Ira and I are so opposite on that. She completely agreed with me on this after spending time with us on enough occassions. He is focused on the love and I am focused on the respect, which is okay because at least we balance each other out. Can you imagine if you had two lovers and two respecters in a relationship - ugly. In fact, now that I think about it, that may have been the biggest flaw in my previous marriage, at one point love was no longer the issue, we both wanted respect.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Tradition
So, after much prodding, Jason and I put out Christmas decorations, listened to Christmas music and yes, we put up the tree. However, this was how we ended the night.
Tonight had already been set aside for our traditional ornament shopping. Just before we left the postman left me a little Christmas gift though. On Monday, I will have 15 years with PQ, so I got a little bonus check. I have decided that I am going to be a little selfish with this money - no donations, no gifts, no bills, no groceries - I am spending this money on me. You know, those little items that we never buy for ourselves, but we would if we had a little extra money. So, I think I will be slating $100 for a new office chair. So, the first stop was to the credit union to cash my check and withdraw some money for our shopping tonight and Ira's and my annual shopping trip to Great Lakes Crossing tomorrow.
After that, it was to Sears Essentials to look at bikes (the one gift Jason knows he is getting and gets to pick out), to JoAnn's for scrapbooking and holiday items, to Wildernest (awesome wind chimes and birdhouses) to buy a Christmas gift, and finally to BSG gifts for Jason's ornament. BSG's always has a great selection and has ornaments from $3 - $35 or more. Jason was eyeing these little hand-blown glass Christmas trees - some with gold, some with color, and some with gold and color. Until, I spotted this pretty glass ball with a hand blown glass tree (with color for the lights on the tree) inside the ball. I went to pick it up and knocked it off the tree (enter expletive here!!). Lo and behold, Jason caught it and decided that since he caught it and that we both liked it that it must be the one he is supposed to have. I think it is my favorite ornament of his. And, trust me he has quite a few. As I mentioned, this is a tradition. He has at least one ornament for every Christmas he has been alive, plus a few that he has received as gifts. I bought one for him each year when he was a baby and toddler, but since he was probably 5 he has been picking them out for himself. This way when he leaves home, he will have enough ornaments to at least partially decorate a tree.
After we shopped, we stopped at Salsarita's for dinner, came home, and decorated the house. It was fun and special and I appreciate every day we have like that since I know that they will not last forever. Tomorrow, I get to shop with my other favorite guy....
Tonight had already been set aside for our traditional ornament shopping. Just before we left the postman left me a little Christmas gift though. On Monday, I will have 15 years with PQ, so I got a little bonus check. I have decided that I am going to be a little selfish with this money - no donations, no gifts, no bills, no groceries - I am spending this money on me. You know, those little items that we never buy for ourselves, but we would if we had a little extra money. So, I think I will be slating $100 for a new office chair. So, the first stop was to the credit union to cash my check and withdraw some money for our shopping tonight and Ira's and my annual shopping trip to Great Lakes Crossing tomorrow.
After that, it was to Sears Essentials to look at bikes (the one gift Jason knows he is getting and gets to pick out), to JoAnn's for scrapbooking and holiday items, to Wildernest (awesome wind chimes and birdhouses) to buy a Christmas gift, and finally to BSG gifts for Jason's ornament. BSG's always has a great selection and has ornaments from $3 - $35 or more. Jason was eyeing these little hand-blown glass Christmas trees - some with gold, some with color, and some with gold and color. Until, I spotted this pretty glass ball with a hand blown glass tree (with color for the lights on the tree) inside the ball. I went to pick it up and knocked it off the tree (enter expletive here!!). Lo and behold, Jason caught it and decided that since he caught it and that we both liked it that it must be the one he is supposed to have. I think it is my favorite ornament of his. And, trust me he has quite a few. As I mentioned, this is a tradition. He has at least one ornament for every Christmas he has been alive, plus a few that he has received as gifts. I bought one for him each year when he was a baby and toddler, but since he was probably 5 he has been picking them out for himself. This way when he leaves home, he will have enough ornaments to at least partially decorate a tree.
After we shopped, we stopped at Salsarita's for dinner, came home, and decorated the house. It was fun and special and I appreciate every day we have like that since I know that they will not last forever. Tomorrow, I get to shop with my other favorite guy....
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Picture me
My friend SWC tagged me to do this - enjoy!
1. Age at next birthday.
2. Place I would like to travel.
3. Favorite place - Bahamas Baby!
5. Favorite animal.
6. Favorite color.
7. Town I was born - Ypsilanti, MI
8. Name of past pet - Bandit was an Australian Cattle Dog
9. Name of past love - I have not had many, so I had to choose my ex-husband
11. Bad habit I have - just can't help it, my house goes by my rules
12. First job - No, I haven't always been in sales
13. Grandmother's name - it was either this or Rosie O'Donnell :-)
14. College major - Business Management
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
.JPG){kind=link}
