So the dining room wall is entirely gone, as is the ugly green shag carpet that was in the dining room since the dawn of time. I am so glad to see that carpet go! The computer desk has been moved, and wires, almost all of them, re-run out of sight. We are waiting on the electrician to move a couple of wires and put in a new electrical outlet.
This morning, Kane and I went to Home Depot and Costco to look at our flooring options. We had previously settled on a vinyl laminate at Home Depot which was about $54 for 24 sq. feet, on sale for 10% off. At Costco, we found laminate on sale for about 20 cents cheaper per sq. foot, so we were suddenly contemplating this as a better option. We went back to HD to double-check and weigh our options. The laminate was cheaper, but it would also present more hassle and work, with the risk of permanent damage if liquids were spilled. The vinyl laminate eliminated much of the hassles and risks, plus we had more selection of styles. The particular style we were most interested in was not available for ordering, but we found one style that had no visible sample on display which was on sale for $35 per case (20 sq. ft.)! We came home with enough vinyl laminate to do the kitchen, dining room, hallway, bathroom, and front entry, with possibly enough to return a box or two.
I also picked up some paint chips, as I will be re-painting the kitchen and one of the dining room walls in a new colour. I have long planned on changing the kitchen wall colour to red from the current yellow. I think I found the shade I want.
Slowly but surely, things are taking shape and looking good.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Head Case
My head hurts, and that is putting it quite mildly. Actually, it feels like a giant vise is squeezing the back of my head to the point that the pain makes me feel like puking. I have not vomited yet, and likely won't reach that point, but that sick feeling is so real. At one point this afternoon, I felt particularly 'sick' with nausea and feeling too warm and too clammy. This headache has been raging since yesterday afternoon, and it was especially nasty last night while I tried to sleep. Sleep was interrupted repeatedly, including an hour and a half session when I got out of bed to watch TV in the hopes that the headache would be appeased by a change of location or position.
So, not only am I in pain, but I am also tired. My eyes feel swollen and heavy, filled with buckets of sand. Thinking is painful. Loud noises are painful, which is a problem in a house filled with noisy people. Life has been sucked out of me today, and I can only hope and pray that a good night's sleep lies before me and a headache-free day awaits me in the morning.
So, not only am I in pain, but I am also tired. My eyes feel swollen and heavy, filled with buckets of sand. Thinking is painful. Loud noises are painful, which is a problem in a house filled with noisy people. Life has been sucked out of me today, and I can only hope and pray that a good night's sleep lies before me and a headache-free day awaits me in the morning.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Laptops and Walls
My laptop arrived today, and I quite literally jumped and squealed like a little girl. In fact, I am typing up my blog on it right now. I love it, but it will take some getting used to how to use it and finding my way around the keyboard. My left pinky keeps hitting \ instead of the shift key, and the backspace key isn't quite where my fingers want it to be. I will adapt though.
I also no longer have a wall between my kitchen and dining room. What a difference a wall, or lack thereof, can make! The area already looks larger and more open, but I think it will look even larger and better once the flooring is redone, the walls repainted, the furniture moved around. It will take some time, as home renovations tend to do, but it will be worth it.
I also no longer have a wall between my kitchen and dining room. What a difference a wall, or lack thereof, can make! The area already looks larger and more open, but I think it will look even larger and better once the flooring is redone, the walls repainted, the furniture moved around. It will take some time, as home renovations tend to do, but it will be worth it.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Tomorrow is the end of an era, or so it feels like anyway. We are switching cable/internet providers, and tomorrow is the big day. Of course, this means waiting and waiting for the installation tech to arrive sometime between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm, so I am stuck at home for the day. The process will likely take a few hours, which means a stranger mucking around my house running cables and doing whatever it takes to set things up. Lovely.
The hardest adaptation, at least that I can anticipate, is the onerous process of coming up with new email addresses for everyone and making all the notifications and updates of the changes. Schools, church, sports teams, friends, relatives, Facebook, my blogs, all the places that send me/us regular emails, and probably a bunch of places that I won't even think about at the time...it's rather daunting!
And yet it is exciting.
The hardest adaptation, at least that I can anticipate, is the onerous process of coming up with new email addresses for everyone and making all the notifications and updates of the changes. Schools, church, sports teams, friends, relatives, Facebook, my blogs, all the places that send me/us regular emails, and probably a bunch of places that I won't even think about at the time...it's rather daunting!
And yet it is exciting.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Total Drama Island
I enjoy my job...most of the time. My job may not be glamorous or prestigious. I have no fancy degrees or post-secondary education, and I will never get rich doing what I do right now. And that is okay with me.
When I decided it was time to return to the workforce, I knew that I wanted to work somewhere that would give me the flexibility I wanted in order to continue to be a mom home for her kids. Putting my kids into daycare was never even up for consideration. When the kids were finished school for the day, I wanted to be there and needed to be there. There is always something going on after school: appointments, playing with friends, school sports, other sports or clubs.
I found what I was looking for in a job at Tim Horton's. My bosses are flexible with my schedule, which is the most important thing for me. They have also respected my abilities and invested in me by giving me more responsibilities. In September of this year, I will have worked there for 5 years, but it doesn't feel that long at all!
There are, however, moments when going to work is something I dread rather than look forward to. There are moments when I am at work and frustrated or upset by the situations swirling around me. For the most part, I am pretty good at letting issues slide off my back, even if they do ruffle my feathers for a little while. My philosophy is that I work to live instead of living to work, so I try not to let the problems at work seep into my life apart from work. I can have a bad day at work on Monday and have a great day at work the next day. Unfortunately, some of my co-workers think they are still in kindergarten, where learning to share and resolve problems are skills needing to be learned.
Yesterday, a co-worker, I'll call her A, made an angry motion and noises to which I asked what was going on. Her response was a mumble along the lines of 'having eyes in the back of her head', which made absolutely no sense to me and gave me no further insight into why she was suddenly angry. I stood there with a lost expression on my face, while she stalked off. I was later told by another co-worker, I'll call her D, that the problem was an assumption by A that D and I had been talking about A behind her back! When D told A that we had not talked about her at all, A said that she knew we were because she could see it in our eyes!
That little conversation was carried out away from my hearing, and A never once actually spoke to me about her perceived problem. Instead, A would not look at me or speak to me for the rest of the day. Hello?! I don't go running around talking about my co-workers with other co-workers, and at the time that this was supposed to have happened, we were busy serving customers and had no time for talking about anything. We most certainly were not talking about A!
This is the sort of drama that happens where I work from time to time, or rather more frequently than it should. Certain individuals get worked up over petty issues, and when there aren't enough real issues to complain about, they make some up, like "talking" behind one's back. It is almost funny. It would be funny if it weren't so terribly pathetic. This isn't why I go to work. I go to work to do my job, to do it to the best of my abilities, and to come home at the end of my shift, leaving the job behind. My life has enough drama and problems without bringing more home with me.
Today was mostly a better day, although I don't think that A ever really did talk to me. Oh well! I'm not going to lose sleep over it. If she wants to stress over her paranoia, then she can do as she likes. It's Friday, and I have a wonderful weekend ahead of me and better things to do with my time than stress over work.
When I decided it was time to return to the workforce, I knew that I wanted to work somewhere that would give me the flexibility I wanted in order to continue to be a mom home for her kids. Putting my kids into daycare was never even up for consideration. When the kids were finished school for the day, I wanted to be there and needed to be there. There is always something going on after school: appointments, playing with friends, school sports, other sports or clubs.
I found what I was looking for in a job at Tim Horton's. My bosses are flexible with my schedule, which is the most important thing for me. They have also respected my abilities and invested in me by giving me more responsibilities. In September of this year, I will have worked there for 5 years, but it doesn't feel that long at all!
There are, however, moments when going to work is something I dread rather than look forward to. There are moments when I am at work and frustrated or upset by the situations swirling around me. For the most part, I am pretty good at letting issues slide off my back, even if they do ruffle my feathers for a little while. My philosophy is that I work to live instead of living to work, so I try not to let the problems at work seep into my life apart from work. I can have a bad day at work on Monday and have a great day at work the next day. Unfortunately, some of my co-workers think they are still in kindergarten, where learning to share and resolve problems are skills needing to be learned.
Yesterday, a co-worker, I'll call her A, made an angry motion and noises to which I asked what was going on. Her response was a mumble along the lines of 'having eyes in the back of her head', which made absolutely no sense to me and gave me no further insight into why she was suddenly angry. I stood there with a lost expression on my face, while she stalked off. I was later told by another co-worker, I'll call her D, that the problem was an assumption by A that D and I had been talking about A behind her back! When D told A that we had not talked about her at all, A said that she knew we were because she could see it in our eyes!
That little conversation was carried out away from my hearing, and A never once actually spoke to me about her perceived problem. Instead, A would not look at me or speak to me for the rest of the day. Hello?! I don't go running around talking about my co-workers with other co-workers, and at the time that this was supposed to have happened, we were busy serving customers and had no time for talking about anything. We most certainly were not talking about A!
This is the sort of drama that happens where I work from time to time, or rather more frequently than it should. Certain individuals get worked up over petty issues, and when there aren't enough real issues to complain about, they make some up, like "talking" behind one's back. It is almost funny. It would be funny if it weren't so terribly pathetic. This isn't why I go to work. I go to work to do my job, to do it to the best of my abilities, and to come home at the end of my shift, leaving the job behind. My life has enough drama and problems without bringing more home with me.
Today was mostly a better day, although I don't think that A ever really did talk to me. Oh well! I'm not going to lose sleep over it. If she wants to stress over her paranoia, then she can do as she likes. It's Friday, and I have a wonderful weekend ahead of me and better things to do with my time than stress over work.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Just Another Day in the Merry Month of May
Today was a productive day and a good day, because I usually have one or the other more often than I have both at the same time! Last night, I was not looking forward to today. I thought today would be a series of events with no time to even breathe properly. Today was my last day off work for a couple of days, and yesterday was spent at tennis from 8:30 AM until 3:40 PM. There were too many things on my 'To Do' list for today, that I feared I could not possibly fit them all in and still find time to relax.
I succeeded where I thought I might fail, but it did require postponing my trip to the library and putting off my shower to this evening instead of the morning. At the end of the day, and I'm not there yet, everything worked out better than expected, and I even had enough time and energy to make some cookies for the kids.
The laundry has been washed, dried and folded. My kitchen has been tidied, counters cleared and dishes washed. I went to Wal-Mart and Quality Greens for some groceries. I changed the burnt out tail light that I have been meaning to do for a couple of months. The kitchen floor has been swept. I watered my tomato plant, pulled a few weeds, snipped a couple of lilac sprigs to bring into the house, uploaded the photos that I took yesterday at Sam's tennis games, finished reading a book, baked cookies, and have supper prep finished!
It has been a lovely day. Now if only my throat would stop feeling so dry and scratchy and my nose would stop being so stuffy/runny...
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike2.5 Canada License.
Friday, May 07, 2010
Blue Skies
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike2.5 Canada License.
Thursday, May 06, 2010
Weather or Not
Is that sunshine and blue skies I see? Will the sun stick around for the baseball game tonight? Will the thermometer climb above 10C today?
Casey was supposed to umpire a game tonight, but he is on crutches and unable to fulfil his duties. Abby was supposed to have the night off, but she has been called over to the 'blue' Halos team for a game tonight as they are short players. So, I will be at the ballpark, but I will be free to take pictures, read a book, play some tennis (if I can drag Sam along), relax, and just watch the game. I love keeping score, but it is also nice to have the freedom to simply be there.
Casey was supposed to umpire a game tonight, but he is on crutches and unable to fulfil his duties. Abby was supposed to have the night off, but she has been called over to the 'blue' Halos team for a game tonight as they are short players. So, I will be at the ballpark, but I will be free to take pictures, read a book, play some tennis (if I can drag Sam along), relax, and just watch the game. I love keeping score, but it is also nice to have the freedom to simply be there.
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Darkness Falls
Hey! I got an email from a friend, which was exciting until I opened it and read the message. It's not that the news was bad. It's just not very reassuring either, and I am not sure how to feel about it. I know that my initial reaction is to feel like I crossed the finish line in last place and bitterness is fast on my heels.
I have been waiting and waiting for an email, or any communication, from this friend for a long time now. The last time I heard from her was near the end of February. I know that I have emailed her a couple of times since then and mailed an actual letter, but I have still been waiting in the dark.
The frustrating part of all this is that I feel like I am constantly in the dark with this friend. I don't think it is intentional, but that doesn't make me feel any more comfortable about the situation. I will let my perfect veneer crack a little here. I am tired of being in the dark! I am tired of getting rare and cryptic emails that give me only a glimpse into what is going on in my friend's life. I am tired of replying to those emails and sending my own full of questions and comments that are never answered or returned. I am tired of picking at crumbs and telling myself that I am content with what has been given to me. I am not a greedy nor demanding person! I don't need constant approval or attendance from my friends, but come on! How much of this can a person take?
This email was once again short and cryptic. Apparently she was here in town, although I have no idea when that might have been or for how long. I so very seldom know when she is coming to town. She apologized for not contacting us (as in a group of friends), but she went on to say that this will become the new routine for her visits to town. She will stay in one spot and focus on one friend/family per trip to town.
I can understand and appreciate how stressful and crazy it is for her to visit with all her friends and family here every time they come to town. I get it! This is why I have refused to be one of those demanding friends. And yet, with this pronouncement, I know what that will mean for me...I am stuck in the dark again, still, basically permanently. I have never been high on her priority list for visiting. I would be blessed indeed to see her for an hour during a stint in town, and those precious times were rare. So, I feel resigned. What can I do?
I have tried to explain how I feel, and that didn't go so well. I was told that I need to squeak more, because the squeaky wheel gets the grease. There is truth in that, but squeaky wheels are also annoying and get greased out of that annoyance rather than out of regular care and attention. Because if you were going to grease a squeaky wheel, wouldn't you also make sure the other wheels were well-lubricated? Or is that just me?
And the email ended with the cryptic reference to a trip down south for 6 weeks. That's it-no more information than that. Okay. What trip? Why are you going there? I could email her and ask, but experience has taught me that those questions are seldom answered. Obviously some people do know the details, and I am not one of those people.
I don't mind the dark most of the time, but this is a little ridiculous.
I have been waiting and waiting for an email, or any communication, from this friend for a long time now. The last time I heard from her was near the end of February. I know that I have emailed her a couple of times since then and mailed an actual letter, but I have still been waiting in the dark.
The frustrating part of all this is that I feel like I am constantly in the dark with this friend. I don't think it is intentional, but that doesn't make me feel any more comfortable about the situation. I will let my perfect veneer crack a little here. I am tired of being in the dark! I am tired of getting rare and cryptic emails that give me only a glimpse into what is going on in my friend's life. I am tired of replying to those emails and sending my own full of questions and comments that are never answered or returned. I am tired of picking at crumbs and telling myself that I am content with what has been given to me. I am not a greedy nor demanding person! I don't need constant approval or attendance from my friends, but come on! How much of this can a person take?
This email was once again short and cryptic. Apparently she was here in town, although I have no idea when that might have been or for how long. I so very seldom know when she is coming to town. She apologized for not contacting us (as in a group of friends), but she went on to say that this will become the new routine for her visits to town. She will stay in one spot and focus on one friend/family per trip to town.
I can understand and appreciate how stressful and crazy it is for her to visit with all her friends and family here every time they come to town. I get it! This is why I have refused to be one of those demanding friends. And yet, with this pronouncement, I know what that will mean for me...I am stuck in the dark again, still, basically permanently. I have never been high on her priority list for visiting. I would be blessed indeed to see her for an hour during a stint in town, and those precious times were rare. So, I feel resigned. What can I do?
I have tried to explain how I feel, and that didn't go so well. I was told that I need to squeak more, because the squeaky wheel gets the grease. There is truth in that, but squeaky wheels are also annoying and get greased out of that annoyance rather than out of regular care and attention. Because if you were going to grease a squeaky wheel, wouldn't you also make sure the other wheels were well-lubricated? Or is that just me?
And the email ended with the cryptic reference to a trip down south for 6 weeks. That's it-no more information than that. Okay. What trip? Why are you going there? I could email her and ask, but experience has taught me that those questions are seldom answered. Obviously some people do know the details, and I am not one of those people.
I don't mind the dark most of the time, but this is a little ridiculous.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Looking At Today
The day started with me feeling like a slug, but it has been a more or less productive day.
I coloured my hair, so I don't need to keep doing an internal freak-out over every newly spotted grey hair. I know this is only a temporary solution and it won't be long before I am once again spotting silvery strands, but I am mollified for the time being.
I walked 3.5 km today which was much needed and nice. I still don't get enough exercise, so I need to take advantage of what free time I get. As I am not working for the rest of the week, I should be able to fit in more exercise. Should is the key word there!
I baked a double batch of Deceptively Delicious brownies which are currently cooling on the counter. The recipe doesn't call for any icing, but I think I will use the icing recipe from the chocolate scones I made a couple of weeks ago. It is a simple icing recipe that isn't too heavy and would add a nice touch of sweetness to the brownies. Last time I made these brownies, I used all unsweetened chocolate, but this time I did half unsweetened and half dark. The kids will eat them, and I am happy that there are hidden goodies inside.
Casey has baseball tonight. Abby had baseball last night...in the freezing cold and wind! The sun is playing peek-a-boo through the clouds today, but I keep hoping that we'll have nice weather for the game. I don't want to freeze anymore! It's not good for my upper back/neck muscles, as they tense up and get very sore. At least this game is closer to home than the game last night in Summerland!
I coloured my hair, so I don't need to keep doing an internal freak-out over every newly spotted grey hair. I know this is only a temporary solution and it won't be long before I am once again spotting silvery strands, but I am mollified for the time being.
I walked 3.5 km today which was much needed and nice. I still don't get enough exercise, so I need to take advantage of what free time I get. As I am not working for the rest of the week, I should be able to fit in more exercise. Should is the key word there!
I baked a double batch of Deceptively Delicious brownies which are currently cooling on the counter. The recipe doesn't call for any icing, but I think I will use the icing recipe from the chocolate scones I made a couple of weeks ago. It is a simple icing recipe that isn't too heavy and would add a nice touch of sweetness to the brownies. Last time I made these brownies, I used all unsweetened chocolate, but this time I did half unsweetened and half dark. The kids will eat them, and I am happy that there are hidden goodies inside.
Casey has baseball tonight. Abby had baseball last night...in the freezing cold and wind! The sun is playing peek-a-boo through the clouds today, but I keep hoping that we'll have nice weather for the game. I don't want to freeze anymore! It's not good for my upper back/neck muscles, as they tense up and get very sore. At least this game is closer to home than the game last night in Summerland!
Monday, May 03, 2010
Looking Up, Not So Much
I am still waiting for the nice weather to make a semi-permanent appearance. Of course we have baseball and tennis tonight, which means the skies are dismally grey and rain is more likely than not. The wind is rather chilly, too. How excited am I to sit out in this weather for another ballgame? Not at all.
Like the weather, I am in a bit of a funk. My left wrist has been bothering me for a week or so. The pain isn't as much of a factor now as it was last week, but there is still just enough pain to keep my wrist from fading into the background of my mind. My wrist feels like there is something vibrating just beneath the skin on the palm side. I have been wearing my splint at night since this episode began. I joked with Abby last week that I couldn't do a push-up if my life depended on it. Well, I said, I could probably do ONE push-up, but it would most likely kill me! Ha ha ha.
Last week I went in for the yearly female exam at the doctor's office, which is never an overly pleasant experience, but this exam didn't go quite as smoothly as expected. There is a good likelihood that I will need to come back and do it all over again. Lovely! I may possibly have a fibroid. If I do indeed need to repeat the swab, then I will likely also be sent for an ultra-sound to confirm the fibroid. I'm not too sure how I feel about that possibility...the fibroid, not the ultra-sound. It's nothing to get excited about, I know, but it feels like just one more thing at a time when I don't have enough room on my plate for anything else. A fibroid could possibly explain some minor issues I've been noticing though...
And then I am just feeling a little low, under-appreciated and taken for granted. Throw everything into one pot, give it a couple stirs, and you wind up with the wreck that is me. It's hard to take time for yourself, when everyone depends on you for even the most basic of needs. It appears that I am the only person qualified to do laundry, make supper, fix computer issues, keep everyone organized, and motivate everyone to do their chores. It must be nice to let someone else take care of everything for you.
Every single day, I go into the bathroom and find pieces of toilet paper on the floor beside the garbage can! On the floor! Is it really too much to ask that everyone ensures that their used garbage ends up in the garbage?! That is my pet peeve of the day. I could write a novel...
Like the weather, I am in a bit of a funk. My left wrist has been bothering me for a week or so. The pain isn't as much of a factor now as it was last week, but there is still just enough pain to keep my wrist from fading into the background of my mind. My wrist feels like there is something vibrating just beneath the skin on the palm side. I have been wearing my splint at night since this episode began. I joked with Abby last week that I couldn't do a push-up if my life depended on it. Well, I said, I could probably do ONE push-up, but it would most likely kill me! Ha ha ha.
Last week I went in for the yearly female exam at the doctor's office, which is never an overly pleasant experience, but this exam didn't go quite as smoothly as expected. There is a good likelihood that I will need to come back and do it all over again. Lovely! I may possibly have a fibroid. If I do indeed need to repeat the swab, then I will likely also be sent for an ultra-sound to confirm the fibroid. I'm not too sure how I feel about that possibility...the fibroid, not the ultra-sound. It's nothing to get excited about, I know, but it feels like just one more thing at a time when I don't have enough room on my plate for anything else. A fibroid could possibly explain some minor issues I've been noticing though...
And then I am just feeling a little low, under-appreciated and taken for granted. Throw everything into one pot, give it a couple stirs, and you wind up with the wreck that is me. It's hard to take time for yourself, when everyone depends on you for even the most basic of needs. It appears that I am the only person qualified to do laundry, make supper, fix computer issues, keep everyone organized, and motivate everyone to do their chores. It must be nice to let someone else take care of everything for you.
Every single day, I go into the bathroom and find pieces of toilet paper on the floor beside the garbage can! On the floor! Is it really too much to ask that everyone ensures that their used garbage ends up in the garbage?! That is my pet peeve of the day. I could write a novel...
Sunday, May 02, 2010
Saturday, May 01, 2010
LOOK UP
If I tell myself that I will blog every day this month would I actually succeed? My good intentions do not always transition into accomplishments, but this is the first day of a new month. The slate is wiped clean, and I am free to try again. NaBloPoMo's theme for May is LOOK UP.
For today, it is enough to say that the weather caused many of us to LOOK UP several times through-out the day. We had three baseball games today, so we were outdoors from about 10:30am until 5:00pm. The weather was a mixed bag of showers and sunshine, showers and sunshine. The wind was not a major player today, for which I am thankful, as last night's wind was brutally fierce and biting cold. When the sun shone today, the warmth was actually quite nice. And then the clouds would swoop in, dark and ominous, and the rain would quickly send us diving beneath our umbrellas. The weather wasn't too bad, because we have definitely played in worse; however, I am more than ready for the sun to make an extended appearance!
For today, it is enough to say that the weather caused many of us to LOOK UP several times through-out the day. We had three baseball games today, so we were outdoors from about 10:30am until 5:00pm. The weather was a mixed bag of showers and sunshine, showers and sunshine. The wind was not a major player today, for which I am thankful, as last night's wind was brutally fierce and biting cold. When the sun shone today, the warmth was actually quite nice. And then the clouds would swoop in, dark and ominous, and the rain would quickly send us diving beneath our umbrellas. The weather wasn't too bad, because we have definitely played in worse; however, I am more than ready for the sun to make an extended appearance!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
