Progress?

Here I am, actually blogging. Shocking, eh? I know! (Craig Ferguson voice.)

Blogosophere, don't feel neglected - it's bad enough that my lovely stepmother called me to see if I was alive. Yes, she agrees my father could call me. He doesn't. Unless it's my birthday. I don't take it personally anymore but when things get going enough that life is especially crazy, I don't think of calling him until 8:30 p.m. and then he's asleep. I reassured her I'm still alive and think about them lots. We'll probably try and run down over Thanksgiving weekend. Turkey Day itself will be quietly at home. TH has to have hernia surgery two days before so he will be moving gingerly I am sure.

(Hernia surgery? Seriously? Old people have hernias. Oh, he's 47 you say? Oh my heck.)

Big Bit is doing well at College of Idaho. He's taking midterms this week, has made a few friends and is ready for his fall break next week, in which he will take Reno on for several days. His Dad is doing well, the cancer seems to have been a scare and not a glaring reality, for which I am deeply thankful.

Little Bit is cruising through 6th grade fairly well, as has been the case each year there are less issues with the transition. I'm a little concerned about the transition to junior high. No, let me be honest. I'm terrified. He's so intelligent but emotionally a little immature - and holding him back academically would be a disaster. His counselor that he's been seeing for a while now suggested a charter school here in Boise that has a junior high. We're seriously considering it. It's not far from TH's work so that wouldn't be especially problematic but it has a lottery so who knows if he'd actually get in anyway. There's also a private school that might be an option. (ouch.)

Not getting the potential job seems to have been a blessing in disguise, but the current one is driving me starkers as they say in the UK. Still, it is better than unemployment, so I will strive to persevere.

The Packers beat the Vikings. You may not have heard. This of course was huge. I'm still grinning. Now if Nevada beats BSU my football experience for this year may hit it's zenith. Those Oregon Ducks are the team I'm rooting for otherwise. ;)

My birthday is Saturday and unfortunately I didn't win the Packers trip to see the Jets game and the new Broadway play Lombardi this weekend. Sigh. Nor can I go to the Rally for Sanity, as much fun as that would be. Little Bit wants to go to Boo at the Zoo Saturday so that should be fun. He's going to be Harry Potter. I promise to post pictures of that.

I promise to be a little more active here. Now that it's dark, I'm not tempted to spend all of my time outside.

Talk Thursday - Progressions

Life is weird sometimes. Well, if you're me, it's weird all the time, but that's another story for another Talk Thursday.

One of the reasons I didn't write over the summer is I was just working through stuff. I keep thinking "You're in your 40's, you're supposed to have this all figured out." But I don't, and I keep working at it. I've been frustrated because I don't have a job I love. I love where I live, and when we moved back I remember telling TH "I can hate my job or I can hate where I live, but I can't hate both, I'll never make it." In some ways this is true. I couldn't. But I find disliking one or the other very disheartening. Don Quixote, quit tilting at windmills.

I've been trying to find paths in which I can feel fulfilled in different ways at my output, even if it's not output I get paid for. That's a bit challenging given that I do have a job, a family and I'm trying to get a professional certification that's good for the resume if not much else.

Today a few weird things happened. Two of them positive, one not in a way but a way that made me thoughtful. Today was truly a progression for me, and that's not an experience I've had in a while.

First, when I got to work, I had a message from @wallypingel on Twitter asking me if I'd be interested in providing a female sports/Packers perspective to his blog, PocketDoppler.com. I "met" Wally through CheeseheadTV and he has some people he collaborates on this site, which definitely has content of interest to me. I thought for a couple of hours - I love to write, I've been told I'm good at it professionally but for entertainment? Whew. But, I was thinking yesterday that I would love to do something like be a professional sportswriter, or a blogger that became financially solvent for it. Aaron Nagler from CheeseheadTv was featured in the New York Times yesterday along with his partner in crime Corey Behnke. They don't do this for a living. YET. But I think they might pull it off. I don't think I ever would but I thought - what the hell? So I'm going to have a weekly post for Wally unless he thinks I suck at writing. In which case you will never hear another mention of this again.

Second - had a great lunch with the colleague who's daughter is attending school with Big Bit and we found out that we had much in common - we both love Craig Ferguson, we both have surreptitious piles of "important" papers on various counter corners in our house, our college freshmen both break our hearts occasionally - you name it. The progression part though is that she had a project that she needed help with that was up my alley - how our company could use social media. I jumped at the chance because whether it results in advancement or not, I knew I would enjoy it and it IS professionally related output. Yay!

The last thing was sad in a way, and yes, in a minor way, but still. Greg Bedard from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, my Twitter buddy that came to see TH and I in Seattle, is leaving Wisconsin and moving to work for the Boston Globe as their premier NFL writer. Very cool for Greg, he's from the region and loves the Red Sox, but I was momentarily crushed, because he and I chatter about things every so often that are much beyond the Packers. Real Housewives of... (he and his wife love it, I DO NOT get it at all), last night we chatted about the Rutgers student's suicide because Greg went to Rutgers and I knew he'd be crushed, and other things now and again. Then I stopped and thought - you know, if I have any kind of connection in reality here to this very nice man, it's not going to stop because he leaves Wisconsin. Not like he lives next door to me in Boise, after all. And if we don't keep chattering, I know it was part of his professional obligation to talk to fans but he did it like a gentleman and that in this day and age is refreshing.

So - some new things for me to do, to think about, to write about and hopefully they'll result in some personal growth and accentuate the good things that seem to be brewing or already exist in my life. Start being appreciative, damn it. (I remind myself.)

Talk Thursday - My My Time Flies

I have been a horrible Talk Thursday participant - sorry Cele! But I will try to be better.

I haven't posted - after the documented upheaval I really just decompressed. New Year's Eve we were supposed to go to either friend Dana's or friend Rhonda's, but it started to snow around 5 p.m. and mix in slick roads, the intent to have a few drinks and the fact that it's "amateur night" so I really hate to go out in crowds anymore...we stayed home.

It was our 15th wedding anniversary...time does fly. I don't know why this one hit home more to me than number 14...but it really did. I've spent 1/3 of my life married to TH, far more than I was with EHFH. And, I still like him. (Yes, there are days but that's how it works).

It seems yesterday I was a somewhat wounded 27 year old, pretty sure that marriage wasn't for me, my son was going to be an only child because his first two years had been the hardest of my life (and I was starting to wonder how anyone's marriage withstood having children, even a planned one as Big Bit was) and my intent from then on was to date different guys, have lots of friends and an active social life and, in short, live a very different life than that I had to that point. The sole exception to this (other than the rest of my family) was Big Bit. He I really had committed to for life and that wasn't going anywhere, not that I wanted it to.

So, there I was, 1994, first week in Boise, had a boyfriend I was dating prior to moving (no, I didn't move here for him, which could be a book in itself) and through him a roommate who turned out to be complicated but for the time being was a lot of fun to hang out with, made the lots of friends. On this night I was on the town with my cousin, and who did I meet but...yep. TH.

I had been divorced, I think, a little over a month. Yeah, I know. I really do know and I know what I would have said to someone who was in the same situation. "You idiot!"

It didn't start off like that. I didn't hear from him for well over a week and a half. And in fact when he called I didn't know who he was. *Cough* No, it's not that bad but I have a short memory.

Suffice it to say six months, a whole lotta drama later, more than one meeting with Big Bit and lots of discussion and soul searching on both our parts, we got married. 12/31/94. And I will never, never be sorry we did. Not only do I still love him, but I have my second Bit. And I treasure him beyond measure, as I do with the first.

And while I do have friends and something of a social life, it's not anything like I envisioned when I moved to Boise. And that is just fine with me.

I love you TH. Time does fly.

Really, I Have An Excuse

I have been a bad blogger, a bad friend, a bad everything you can name in the last 11 days. But, I really had a reason.

Sorry everyone, you're right, I didn't send out Christmas cards or you would have gotten one. Thanks to the friends (Cele), family (Cousin D - those girls are so stinking cute - and Aunt A, and Aunt N for the pretty centerpiece) and others who sent cards to us. I may do a "Happy New Year" card mailing, or it may just wait until next year.

I almost always send my cards last minute - the only exception being the year I was pregnant with Little Bit, and since he was due Christmas Day I had them done and out at Thanksgiving - that nesting thing was kicking in so I got a lot done early.

A series of things conspired this year to make me later than usual - and then real life stepped in with a bang.

First, a co-worker of mine lost her daughter four days shy of her fifth birthday - the week before Christmas. A freak thing, that no one could have predicted or expected.

While I don't know her extremely well, she is a lovely person and because of that, and because I can't imagine the pain of losing a child, it kind of threw me for a loop. It threw all of us at work for a loop, to be honest. They buried Audrey on her birthday. It just makes me sick thinking about it.

A couple of days before that, a girl I went to high school with, Kristin, died in a horrific car accident, and with her, her older sister. Again, I didn't know Kristin well, she was a year ahead of me in school and very quiet, but she was nice and we rode the bus together for years, so you kind of have a bond because riding around with Mrs. Fleenor was enough to bond anyone - it was kind of a like a POW camp. I'm sort of kidding. My Mom and Dad knew Kristen's parents and I knew her Mom - she was a lovely lady.

The reason they were driving to Twin Falls from Boise was to be with their Mom, because their Dad had just died. That day. In one swoop, this woman lost her entire family. She buried them the same day my co-worker buried her daughter.

So, I was a little distracted by all of this, more so than I probably should have been, but on Little Bit's birthday, December 21st (also known as Kristi's wedding anniversary), I was going to do the cards and get them out.

First, though, we were going to meet up with my friend Dana and her children, one of whom is just seven months older than LB, at Boondocks, or Wahooz or whatever they're calling it now, for video games, laser tag, mini golf and all that jazz. Big Bit was up for the first days of his Christmas break, so he was along for the ride.

The Husband had been complaining that his eye was watering the night before, and he kept complaining about it during the morning. He also made the comment to Big Bit (who had just gotten home from the dentist) that he felt like he'd had a shot of Novocain in his mouth. That was a little weird, so I suggested he get in to see his doctor. However, said doctor was fully booked and we were a little rudely told to go to an Urgent Care. TH wasn't in any pain or anything and felt fine, so we went to lunch first, then I was going to drop him at the Urgent Care close to where we were meeting Dana and go back to get him.

While we were driving after lunch, however, he suddenly said that we should drop the boys off and then go to the Urgent Care. He was a little snippy about it and frankly, I was a little annoyed. We got there, I paid for the boys' activities, said hi to Dana and that we'd be right back.

When I got back in the car, and asked him why I needed to go in with him, he said, "I think this is serious and I need you there." He hadn't said that before, so now I got scared. We went the three minutes to the Urgent Care, who got him right in - then took his blood pressure, looked at his face, which suddenly was kind of still on one side, and told me to get him to the Emergency Room, another five minutes away.

We got him out to the car, I made him lie down in the seat, and then I drove like a bat out of hell to the ER, while calling Dana to give her an update and to my Mom that I needed her to pick the boys up. Luckily, the hospital is a brand new one and not a lot of people realize it's there, so we got right in. All I could keep thinking were two things - a) I'm really not ready to be in the middle of a tragedy at the holidays(who is?) and b) It was Little Bit's 11th birthday and nothing could happen to TH on his birthday. It just couldn't.

As it turned out, we had a great ER doctor, who looked at TH right away and proclaimed he had Bell's Palsy. It's a condition that affects one side of your face, making you not able to move your muscles from your forhead to your chin, it's usually caused by a virus, similar to shingles and chicken pox, and it USUALLY goes away within a few weeks. No stroke, no heart attack (though I damned near had one during all this as you might imagine). Just a virus, and an inability to blink his left eye or smile on both sides of his mouth. Which is a bigger pain in the butt than you might think, but obviously better than the alternatives. He got some steroids and antivirals and an eyepatch. Arrr!

So, the rest of that day was a blur, then it was getting Big Bit on a plane back to Reno, back to work for me for a couple of days and then it was Christmas! At our house! With the stepmonster in law! Yay (/sarcasm)! (Actually, she was fairly low key, the gifts were only semi last minute, with no forethought whatsoever, and we had a good visit with TH's sister, brother in law and nephew). We got to see Cousin Steve before he jetted back to Seattle, too, so all in all it turned out well. And when I went to church Christmas Eve, you can bet I said "Thank You" to the guy(s) upstairs.

But I've had a lot to think about, and it wasn't Christmas cards. I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and that your New Year's is great too. I'm hoping mine is drama free. It's my fifteenth wedding anniversary and I would like to enjoy it.

Cheers!

One Year

One year ago, I was working my very last day in Utah.

One year ago, I was nervously walking into my new workplace, knowing only that I was very glad to be home whatever came. What a difference a year has made...and yet in some ways it hasn't. I can't speak for TH, but I know I've never looked back and said "why did we move back?" Yet, it took several months before I really felt like this was real and we were back. Now Utah seems like a pretty distant memory. I e-mailed last week with a co-worker from that job who got promoted when Sybil left - she had been named as the replacement shortly before I interviewed in Boise. The last year, for her, has been pretty hellish from the sounds of things. While I definitely felt for her, it made me so glad not to be in the middle of all that strife and bickering and defying the Mothership's not so good intentions towards employees.

I learned a lot in Utah. Some not so good, some good. I love Deron Williams and the Utah Jazz. I hate Utah drivers. I will not go into the whole "majority rules" thing except to say one thing I think Barack Obama did wrong is getting Jon Huntsman out of Utah, since he seemed committed to everyone living their own lives.

Being in Idaho has been a good thing for Little Bit. His teacher this year seems simply awesome. He's doing his homework without (hardly) any battling. It's been good for us because as we decompress from the high pressure atmosphere we get to look around more and say - "Wow, we're old!" Just kidding, but we do get to look around, at least.

Big Bit has turned into such a grown up. Which is really depressing, yet uplifting. His criticisms of the EHFH are spot on, and I suspect his criticisms of me are also, though he is kind enough to keep those to himself. But the one thing I've found, and I'm old enough to know this (one tends to forget things one doesn't want to remember) - what your problems are, they are. Some of them might be exacerbated by where you live, or where you work, or the friends that you have, but ultimately, they are YOUR responsibility. And I take that to heart, as I approach yet another (gads!) birthday. I've got lots to work on, but I've got lots of opportunity in this beautiful place to do so.

Oh yeah, and Purple Judas still sucks.

And I have seven months of child support left.

Just sayin'.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

I have been a bad, pathetic, blogger this summer. I don't have much to blame it on per se - Big Bit has been here (but he's 17 and doesn't always want ol' Mom around), Little Bit has been enjoying his first summer vacation ever (but he's 10 and pretty self sufficient, not to mention going to Just For Kids three days a week), Mom moved up which has been fun (but as Big Bit says, it seems like cousin Danny sees her way more than we do), I haven't golfed, I camped exactly once -last weekend - I went on vacation for one week - I went to Alive After 5 a lot - I rode bikes and walked some but that damned plantar fascitis has really cut into my resolution to get fit and healthy. I listened to a lot of jazz at Hotel 43. I saw Curtis Stigers sitting at a table right by me in Bar Gernika. Yes, he is that cute. If you don't know who he is, he's an Idaho treasure and you should check him out.

What else have I been doing? Maybe if I show enough, I will be off the hook for being a bad friend (in some ways) and family member (in other ways). Or maybe not.

We went to Kevin and Sam's wedding. Kevin is my cousin Danny's son. I don't know Danny or any of his family really well, but I love Danny to bits. He was out of touch with our family for many years due to his mom's divorce from my maternal uncle but resurfaced relatively recently and has established contact with us - my Mom and Aunt in particular. I wish we were closer. Kevin is a great guy and his wedding was really neat. Laid back and really of the essence of him from what I know.

Kevin's sister, Kelli, looks exactly like my cousin Connie who died when I was very small (3?). I remember her vividly because she was simply beautiful and always had these beautifully manicured hands (in my recollection). Plus she really seemed to like me, and for a teenager to really be delighted in me seemed unusual. The first time I saw Kelli was at HER wedding a few years ago and my heart literally caught in my throat. It still does when I see her because I've just never seen that kind of likeness. I always hoped Big Bit would look like his namesake, another cousin of mine, but except for a really pissy impish look he gets when he wants to be cute I haven't seen it.



Another wedding - (boy, with my father in law's escapades it's been a real summer of weddings - Little Bit kept saying "ANOTHER wedding?"). This one was really special though and to Little Bit as well as the rest of us. Our friend R's daughter got married. S was Little Bit's babysitter from when he was 8 weeks old until really just before we moved to Utah (so we could go out on date night) - she was I think almost 13 when she started. She watched Big Bit as well, though we usually spent all of our time with him when he was at our house. Little Bit loved her from day one. When he was two, he'd wander through the house saying shrieking her name at the top of his lungs, so excited was he that she was coming to play with him. She handled him like an expert. He has her senior picture on his bulletin board to this day.



In addition, I got to see my old boss from the Mothership (the Boise one, not SYBIL, for heaven's sake). I love Jenny, I didn't get any pictures of her, but her daughter, another graduate of the University of S babysitting service came to the wedding with her Mom and we got a picture for S to remember her former charges. I also got to have dinner with Jenny the following night and therefore got to enjoy her company and uplifting faith in me. I have the same faith in Jenny. We're neither of us perfect by any means, but we do have faith in each other's possibilities. That is a rare thing.




Little Bit took swimming lessons. He hadn't been to Wings for a few years, and we could never find a place in Utah for him to take lessons, so it was good for him to refresh his knowledge and learn to tread water. He did well and listened so good to the instructor! It's amazing what a few years and some meds have done for his attention span.



Big Bit got his senior photos taken...sigh. I can't post any of them due to copyright issues but you may get to see some of them in an announcement or here if I can get that part resolved. Ouch, said my wallet, but they turned out beautifully. In the meantime, here's "Diddy" in a self portrait. He looks stinkin' grown up and I feel stinkin' old. He got to go to Japan this summer which was a good thing for him. The good thing for me was when he sent an e-mail lamenting we couldn't talk on the phone (he didn't want to take a phone card because his friends weren't calling home) and he wanted to vent about something. And he missed me. It's nice to be needed, isn't it?





We went on vacation on the coast of Oregon with our friends the Hydes. We hadn't gotten to spend this much time with them in eons and it was fun - I think we all enjoyed it enough we'd do it again, eh?

The boys enjoyed the house.



Little Bit and his friend K Hyde had a lot of fun together. One of my favorite photos of them, I think then age 6 and 5 was at the Seattle Aquarium. This one's at the Newport Aquarium and it is very cute as well.



I think there's a picture of us all together - but it's not on my camera - please share Ms. Hyde?

On this trip I also met Cele! We met in the blogosphere a while back and I was excited to meet her, and as an added bonus we also met her husband, Ducky (he is just Ducky too). We all liked meeting Cele and Ducky, though as usual I was somewhat shy at first meeting. Big Bit mentioned just the other day how much he liked Cele. He, too, is somewhat shy at first meeting but we like the same kinds of people generally speaking. Other than the fact she likes the BSU football team for some reason, I thought she was simply awesome.

We went to Shakespeare with Steve, too, and I have a picture of the asshat we sat behind to prove it. (Actually, we went to Shakespeare five times, but once was with Steve, the only time we sat by an asshat...hm....). Since I think it's on my cell phone camera, and since you really don't want to see a picture of him anyway, trust me, with his beer bottles lying everywhere and taking up an acre of ground...but I may add it later. It's the great Idaho land grab, as Steve says. A Shakespearean tradition.

We went to Kaikoa's birthday party. He is Kelli's son, who just turned one, and he is a true Hawaiian (his dad is from Hawaii) - laid back, he all but exudes island charm. He's a cutie.

Now, Big Bit has jetted off to Nevada to start his senior year, we meet Little Bit's teacher tomorrow night and I have as yet not done so, so many things I wanted to do, including keeping in better touch. I'm about to embark on the attempted conquest of a variety of self-improvement projects, much as Little Bit embarks on a conquest of Fifth Grade as Big Bit gets ready to conquer the world. It's time to kick butt and take names, kids. Wish me luck.

I'm a Survivor

I'm glad it's my off Monday and I don't have anything pressing to do beyond putting in the garden (already 1/2 done) and general housecleaning. We've been pushing so hard getting the house ready for the party last weekend - which I totally FAILED to take pictures of and then this weekend we had another event we had to attend. Yes, I said had to because I think that's how we all felt. Except for Big Bit, who was anticipating a train wreck of family dysfunction in epic proportions. He didn't get it though, everyone was very well behaved.



Let me back up a little bit. I had mentioned a while back that there was something I wasn't too thrilled about and that my opinion might come out on Facebook. That thing was my father in law's pending nuptials. He doesn't read this blog, well, none of TH's family does and that's the way I like it for now. Not that I talk about them, until now anyway.


My mother in law died while we lived in hell, I mean Utah, right before I started this blog. I loved her. She was the BEST mother in law you could ask for (and trust me, the first one I had was the WORST one, so I know what I'm talking about). She was patient, supportive and a great mother and wife and a terrific grandmother. She had opinions, and could voice them with a little biting wit on occasion but usually she just kept her opinion to herself. Actually, she reminded me of my grandmother. I hope they've met by now, they'd get along famously.


So, anyhow, a few months later, TH's dad's best friend died. I loved him. He was a physician, witty, charming, and boy could he flirt! Not in a bad way, but in that fun way when you're talking with someone who really appreciates women and has a great sense of humor. His family was Old Idaho, like mine (only with a lot more money!), in fact his first cousin was the late Senator Frank Church. He was quite a bit older than TH's dad and his health hadn't been good for a while. I'm sure he's charming all the women in heaven now.


As often happens, the widow and widower got together and that, honestly, wouldn't be a problem - except I've never, ever liked her. I just didn't. She was okay, I could deal with her, but if it hadn't been for how much I liked her husband, I would have avoided her as much as possible. I knew TH wasn't thrilled, and he's known her since he was, oh, around 10 years old but I figured that was natural, while my reaction was odd. Surely, I thought, I was the only one that felt this way. Then I had some back and forth with my niece on Facebook wherein she indicated she, too, was not happy. In fact, she conveniently had a reason not to come to the wedding. Hm...



The ceremony took place. TH had to BUY a suit, the first one in his life, for this event. That smacked of fancy, and fancy isn't something that TH is, though he can pull it off, as you'll see. Pretty soon, the more that we heard, fancy started smacking of pretentious. Pretentious isn't something either one of us do well at ALL. It's the reason I will never rise higher in my career than my current level. And I'm okay with that. I'm also okay with the fact I successfully avoided the bachelorette party with lingerie and other things that I won't mention since my aunt reads this blog and she'd wash my mouth out with soap. It's kind of like going to a bachelor/ette party for your parents. Ew.



I did take the opportunity to get a family picture. Everybody looks good, I have to say Big Bit is getting to be a fine looking man. Wah.





My mom had been around TH's parents a lot, and has had a good relationship with his Dad, so she of course had been invited. She wasn't thrilled either, though I think she says she couldn't remember having met the fiancee until last weekend (did I mention the bride to be wore a GOLD JACKET AND TIGHT PANTS TO OUR PARTY? I HAVE WITNESSES). I guess she's heard me complain enough. Thanks Mom.

So, off we went to the ceremony and while I knew TH was distracted, I had no idea how bad he was until we came down the hill into Horsehoe Bend...which was NOT where the wedding was. It was in Emmett. He forgot how to get there. Please note, the physician I spoke of was TH's doctor, who lived in Emmett, and he used to go there anytime something was up that required a doctor visit, not to mention the fact they used him as informal tech support for their office. I've been there approximately twice since my freshman year of college when I had a friend who lived there. So I didn't really think about where we were going. Thankfully, there is a road from Horsehoe Bend to Emmett that isn't too long. We got to the site about 15 minutes before the wedding was to start instead of an hour, as planned. Oh well.

TH and his brother in law were best man and groomsman, respectively. We hadn't seen him and TH's sister in over two years. Things got very disjointed and weird once Mama Sue wasn't around. TH and his sister aren't close, mostly because they have very different interests in life but they do love each other. I was surprised at how happy I was to see them. That is a good sign. It was also a good sign when she pointed at the punch bowl and told me, "I have the non-alcoholic drinks" and burst out laughing (unusual for her) when I responded "Today, I HAVE to drink" as I headed for the wine. I think she would have been drinking, if she ever had done so. Hm. Maybe I'm not the only one, I thought.

As I said, TH can pull off fancy. He looked awesome. Thankfully Big Bit was around to tie his necktie for him, because I sure don't know how and obviously neither does he!

TH's grandfather and aunt had come out from Arkansas for the wedding. They are his mom's side of the family, so I was thinking this must mark a sign of approval from them. Based on the conversation TH had with his aunt yesterday - not so much. More proof I'm not alone. Unfortunately, we didn't get pictures of them at the wedding (Big Bit was distracted too) but they're coming over to the house before they head back so I will get some. They are just the nicest people ever.

I will not comment on the following photos. You, dear reader, certainly can though if you wish. I won't repeat what friend Allen said on Facebook. Let me just note it was faboo. Steve muttered something unprintable. Actually it was printable because he said "bleep" instead of the bad word, but I forget exactly what his utterance was.

TH's cousins and their spouses also came and though I've only met them a few times, it was nice to visit with them too, although sadly, they told us that TH's uncle (his Dad's older brother) is nearing the end of his battle with pancreatic cancer. Uncle Al is a great guy, his birthday is a few days before Little Bit's in December and he gave us great advice on how to deal with a birthday so close to Christmas when I was pregnant. He's also fun to golf with. They live in Arizona now, so we haven't seen him or Aunt Gloria for a while but I think of them often.

So, anyway, it all went down, it's over, and now we can go back to being ignored by the happy couple, which, as it turns out from all of the family feedback (we'd never asked before because we were sure we were the only ones who weren't happy) is pretty much what's happening to all of us. It's too damn bad for Grandpa, but there you are. His problem, not ours. Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Life is Interesting

Life is interesting, as we all know. Sometimes in good ways, sometimes in not.



Good ways:

• We had a great housewarming party, lots of family and friends including Ben & Yvette who got the prize for farthest traveled - from Utah Valley, as a matter of fact. Good to see them and I'm so glad you guys liked Boise!


• There's only two weeks of school left. I'm looking forward to a summer that really IS a summer with Little Bit. He's always attended year-round schools and there is nothing harder than explaining to a little boy why it's 90 degrees out and sunny and he has to go to BED instead of playing in the sprinkler, or what-not.


• I've decided to adopt a new life-style. I refuse to call it a diet, so that way it stays on the good side of the list.


• Big Bit will be here Friday for the weekend. Yay!


• Last but certainly not least, Dad had surgery Tuesday to take care of the thing that was causing his staph infection. He is home and doing as well as he can be. Big prayers that the infection will GO and he can get all the way better. Finally.

Bad ways:

• There are still boxes in my garage and I can't park in it. Sigh.


• It's cloudy and kind of yucky today. I WANT SPRING OVER. NOW.


• While I desperately try to get organized at work, a wave of disorganization is working against me. That is all I can say.


• The Husband has to wear the following this weekend. Don't ask. It will all be explained later this weekend in another post, if only cryptically.

Lots To Do - No Time To Do It

I'm hyperventilating already about what has to get done in the next 36 hours. Some of it me, some of it The Husband:

1) Work (at work). Lots to do. If I don't get this place organized I'm going to commit hari-kari. Or however you spell it.

2) Little Bit's concert - 4th grade is playing their recorders this afternoon, so must leave #1 to attend this.

3) Mow lawn and pull weeds. After what feels like two straight weeks of rain (and I think it damn near has been), both are out of control. Thankfully we don't have a lot of grass but we do have a lot of landscape that apparently didn't have weedblock.

4) Finish boys' bathroom. Starting to do his part at 4 p.m. LAST SUNDAY has not helped The Husband be on top of things. I can't really finish painting until he's out of there. This should be interesting because...

5) Get ready for housewarming party starting at 5 p.m. Saturday. Several tasks associated with this - give the house a good thorough vacuuming, dusting, cleaning, pick up rental chairs, snacks and drinks at Costco (thank God for Costco), finish PAINTING THE BATHROOM (argh!), put the door on the laundry room, unpacking the last few boxes that are littering the house, and I'm sure other things I've forgotten.

6) Oh, yeah, figure out something for my Mom for Mother's Day.

I feel tired now. I need a nap. And it's only 8:30 a.m.

On a good note, friends Ben and Yvette are coming from Utah to the party. They've never been to Boise, so I hope they're as impressed with it as we are. Either way, it will be good to see them.

My hard drive is crashed, so I have to reinstall my photo software on another computer to be able to download photos. But I plan on doing that too!

Have a good weekend!

Why Am I So Tired?

I know why I'm so tired. I keep cramming everything in to a too-short time period then being exhausted from all the effort.


Case in point - I tried to take down the border of wallpaper in Little Bit's bathroom today. I know that a true fiend put up this wallpaper, because Little Bit's room was horrendous. However, I bravely attempted it, thinking, "Oh, it's just a border". A border put up by Satan himself, my friends. It's mostly down now but it really took up most of the day.


A day in which I needed to catch up on laundry, housework, try to get my profile set on the new Wii Fit (I know, just what the boys needed, more electronics but Mom went along with it because she got a Fit), go to a meeting at Little Bit's school (he is doing TREMENDOUSLY well here, it's a true blessing that we got the school we got), grocery shopping, dinner cooked and get ready for Scouts. Like I said, I know why I'm tired.


As well, we were out of town most of the weekend because TH, Big Bit and Little Bit had all never been to Yellowstone. I figured that the Bits were understandable but who has ever heard of a 45 year old man who lived all of his life 6 hours from Yellowstone who'd never been there? So we went, and it was beautiful. Lots of snow still, but we saw some animals - no bears, boo!







The boys enjoyed it, overall, even with being in the car for hours. I was impressed with how well they got along.

Pictures to come of more, but this is what I could get out for now - time to go have a glass of wine and a deep breath before dealing with thirteen 10-11 year olds at Scouts. Whew.

Friday Roundup

Let's see...what's going on around here....

• We have finally set a date for our housewarming - May 9. That is way too close if you look at what we still have to do, but I figure it will make us get it done. Invitations are coming soon (Yvette, here comes that chance to see Boise!)
• Our old employer, the "Mothership" as I used to call it, seems to be in real trouble if you look at their NON-earnings announcement this week. I'm hoping and praying they can pull out of the death spiral but I am really worried for all of our good friends that still depend on it for their livlihood, both here and in Utah. I saw the CEO the other night (while enjoying a great glass of wine and great jazz here) and it really took everything I had not to go scream at him for screwing up a really fine company and good employer for many thousands of people. Yes, for those of you in Idaho or around, you know exactly who I'm talking about. I think I'm going to sell the stock I bought for $45 while I can still get $3 out of it. Sigh.


• TH and I got to see Tom & Joe aka "The Fool Squad" last night at the Fettucine Forum which is something Boise State has periodically for free. The Rose Room, a huge room where they have wedding receptions, huge parties etc. was PACKED. The boys were their usual sparkling, funny selves with lots of Tom Luna (Superintendent of Education for Idaho who seems hell bent on screwing our schools as badly as possible) and Butch Otter (Governer of Idaho, ditto) jokes. I heart them.

• It looks like my Mom is moving to Boise! She has been here all week and found a place she likes, and has made an offer on it. She won't be moving for a couple of months, but unless something totally unravels, she will be near us very soon. It will be nice to have her closer, I hope she likes living here as much as we do. And, no, I didn't talk her into it. The Bits, and Little Bit in particular, are very excited about this development.
• Speaking of Little Bit, he won a pizza party for selling the most cookie dough and magazine subscriptions in his class for the PTO fundraiser. And he only sold $91 (well, I did, anyway at work). That is both cool for him and sad to note for his school. It's in the poorest area in Boise and money is quite dear to most of the parents and families. It makes me feel fortunate indeed.
• I am sick to death of clouds, rain, and snow. Come on spring, get your happy humps over here to Idaho!
• Jay Cutler got traded to the Chicago Bears. Ha. Haha. HAHAHAHAHAHA. Whew.
• Big Bit has a DATE to the PROM. *Sob**Sniff*
• My Grandmother, who hasn't been doing well, appears to be doing much better. I don't care if she's 91, she's still my Grandma and I still need a Grandma, so she'd better stick around!
• The Idaho Steelheads made the playoffs. Yay!

I think that is a pretty good roundup of developments. Have a good weekend!

Random Monday Thoughts

Bob Geldof wrote a good song (one of only two good songs I think he ever wrote) called "I Don't Like Mondays". Well said, my man, well said. I hate them (the ones I have to work, anyway, I get every other one off and those are GREAT days).

• The Wolf Pack lost Saturday night, and while they looked brilliant in stretches, they are a very young team who was overmatched by Utah State. Note to ESPN2 announcers for future reference: I DO NOT CARE IF A PLAYER ON A UTAH STATE TEAM IS A RETURNED MISSIONARY WHO TURNED HIS LIFE AROUND BY RETURNING TO THE CHURCH. Mentioning it once - I guess okay. Mentioning it FIVE HUNDRED TIMES - Not Acceptable! Plus, the guy is 26 years old - I have a huge problem with the advantage that gives teams. It's definitely one of the reasons that Utah and BYU have successful football programs. The two best players on Nevada's team are freshmen, and I believe that in a couple of years, the Pack may return to its not so long ago Sweet Sixteen form.
• Cousin Steve DOES still exist, is NOT married or engaged and DOES have a blog. Like most little brothers, if you torment him long enough, you get the desired reaction, in this case, contact. I've updated my "Steve Magnum" link for those of you that would find a picture of a half-naked Sylvester Stallone interesting. Personally, I still think he's old. Sylvester Stallone, not Steve. Though he isn't getting any younger either. (Yes, Steve's blogging about a movie, it's not that kind of site). Looking forward to more posts from this recent convert to the blog world. I am so tired of a) rain; b) clouds and c) snow. I want spring, and I want it now!!
• I want the necessary work on our house to be finished. TH is putting a tub enclosure in our upstairs bathroom so it will have a shower and I want it done already. The blessing is that he found a job so fast when we moved, the curse is that all of this improvement stuff is taking forever unless I hire Cousin Shawn to do it and we are only so flush with cash.
• The Idaho state legislature needs to pull their heads out of their patooties and start doing what's right, instead of what's Red. The two don't always coincide, though sometimes, of course, they do.

I think those are all of the random thoughts I have right now. Hope everyone has a good week!

I Wanna Talk About Me(Me)

Okay, it's Friday, the funeral is over (Thank God, but it was very nice and just what a service should be), I now have Little Bit's cold (ARGH!!!) and it's time to lighten up a bit. Toby Keith, my favorite country singer, has a song called "I Wanna Talk About Me" about a guy who loves his woman but wishes she would hush up a while so he can get a word in edgewise.

Since TH doesn't blog, I'm going to talk about him - and me. I guess I'm not getting the point of Toby's song, but its TH's fault for not blogging himself. Oh, and I'm not tagging anyone to do this but there are several of you I'd love to do it (Cele, you just did one, so I know you probably aren't wanting to do another one yet). I stole this one from Dooce so I'm pretending Heather tagged me. As if.

Here goes:

What are your middle names?


My middle name is Renee. TH's middle name is Chris. Not Christopher, Chris. Little Bit's middle name was almost Chris until I came up with his middle name, Flynn, which is perfect for him (it means son of a Irishman). Big Bit and I outvoted TH on the middle name subject and Flynn he remains. Heh.

How long have you been together?

We met fifteen years ago this June. We'll have been married fifteen years this coming December. Lord, time does fly.


How long did you know each other before you started dating?

Let's see. I met him June 23. He called me in early July (he'd been out of town). One day I guess if you count face to face contact.



Who asked whom out?

Guys ask me out. That's how I roll, as they say. Not that I know how I roll anymore since it's been fifteen years since I've dated.


How old are each of you?

I'm 42, he's 45 (almost 46, it's only four months away).



Whose siblings do you see the most?

I have no siblings and TH's sister is apparently not speaking to us for the rest of her life. It's a long story. As far as "chosen" siblings, we keep in contact with a lot of my cousins, who I count as my siblings, and then of course there's my dear sister Ms. Hyde.



Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?

When we got married, I'd not been divorced all that long from the EHFH and we've been dealing with custody stuff with Big Bit pretty much our whole marriage. That's been hard for both of us, and I appreciate TH's support on the matter. Most men would have thrown their hands up and said "I'm done", I think.

Did you go to the same school?

No, I graduated from University of Nevada. TH went to University of Idaho, but graduated from University of Phoenix. I was, however, in the infamous Taco Bell arena at the same time he was for a Bryan Adams concert in 1985 the week before I married the EHFH. I always ask him why he didn't come and grab me right then. It would have saved a LOT of problems.

Are you from the same home town?

No, though we are both native Idahoans. TH grew up in Fruitland, which is in western Idaho (and had a pink bowling alley at Gayway Junction with the Two Guys TV truck in the parking lot (I am NOT kidding). I grew up in Jackpot, Nevada, then around Twin Falls, Idaho.

Who is smarter?

TH is smarter, I think. I couldn't begin to figure out what the damn computer is doing and why it's doing it, nor can I play an XBox 360 game because there are too many buttons.

Who is the most sensitive?

Are you talking to me? What's your problem? Never mind.


Where do you eat out most as a couple?

It's fun to be home because there are so many choices in easy reach (unlike hell, I mean Utah). We met at a brewpub called TableRock, so we eat there pretty often (I know, I met him in a bar, insert your joke here). The Cottonwood Grille is another favorite. And for chain dining we love our Old Chicago World Beer Tour.

Where is the farthest you have traveled together?

London, in December of last year.

Who has the craziest exes?

Well, while TH did have an ex-girlfriend call from JAIL once while we were dating, the EHFH takes the cake, hands down. As Big Bit says, "he's psycho, Mom".

Who has the worst temper?

You ARE TALKING TO ME, AREN'T YOU? GRRR.

Who does the cooking?

We both do, though TH probably does more these days. That's because a lot of the family favorites (jalapeno burgers, tacos) he does better than I do. But we both like to cook and try out new things frequently. With Little Bit being picky, that does not happen as much as it used to.

Who is the neat-freak?

I wish one of us were, let's just put it that way.

Who is more stubborn?

I am Southern Idaho stubborn, he is Western Idaho stubborn. And together we gave birth to a monster. (I stole that line from Heather but it's sooooo true, Little Bit is worse than either of us).

Who hogs the bed?

We're actually pretty good about not doing this, though he would probably say I do.

Who wakes up earlier?

I do. Although both of us would sleep until at least 8 a.m. if we had the opportunity.


Where was your first date?

We went to see the movie "Speed" with Keanu Reeves. It remains the only Keanu Reeves movie I have ever liked.

Who is more jealous?

I don't think either one of us is. I guess we are just cool that way.

How long did it take to get serious?

For someone who informed him that if I ever got married (and divorced again) I was taking the kids, cats, house, truck, underwear and money with me, I got serious way faster than I thought I would, or really wanted to. Him too I think. We met in June and got married in December, so you figure it out.

Who eats more?

Him. Definitely. I can't compete.

Who does the laundry?

I wash it and then I glare until he folds at least some of it. Why is it so hard to just put the damn clothes up? If you take the iniative to wash them, you shouldn't also have to fold them.

Who's better with the computer?

See who's smarter, above.

Who drives when you are together?

TH, most of the time. I can but I don't like to because on car trips I'd rather read a book, sleep and eat sunflower seeds. I know, it's extremely unfair. But that's the way it is.

Have a great weekend everyone! We're buying our ski passes for Bogus Basin tomorrow and I'm very excited. Another thing we haven't gotten to do for three years checked off the list. We're also continuing to unpack. YUCK.

Random Thoughts From The Weekend

• Life is a cycle, isn't it? We lost Charles, but cousin Kristi gained little Seth (on my late cousin Danny's birthday, no less). Welcome, Seth. If I can ever find my camera cable, I can post the pictures of your Mom I took when she was still pregnant with you.
• It's really going to suck saying goodbye to Charles Thursday. I hope TH gets through it okay. He got a sweet, heartbreaking e-mail from Charles' Mom this weekend. That poor woman. People should not have to bury their children.
• I really love being home. We went skiing Sunday at the local resort and saw five people we knew. Totally without planning to. That never happened to us before, by the way. Just reconfirms the correctness of the decision to come back.
• Big Bit was here for the weekend with a horrendous cold, which Little Bit promptly caught. And we had no kid's cold stuff in the house at 2 a.m. when he woke up with it. Argh.
• My Dad's infection is not clearing up, so they have to go in and take out the plate they put in his cheek so the infection will go away, then they can proceed. I am glad he's overall doing so well, if they can get this taken care of I think he's good to go. Damn staph infections. Hang in there, Dad.
• I CANNOT wait for spring.

Must Keep Reminding Self

Kelly Clarkson has a point. (embedding disabled, sorry).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bap-oZI-Grc

Good Times

Friend Allen sent this picture. I had forgotten that I was this thin (though I ever was before Little Bit entered my life) or that TH was this non-gray.

Diggin' the 90's hair here, and my Eagles "Hell Freezes Over" T-Shirt. First event TH and I attended as newlyweds. They were awesome, even at the (then) totally exorbitant rate of $75 per ticket. My favorite Eagles songs are probably a tie between "Get Over It" (a song for the EHFH "I'd like to find your inner child and kick its little ass") and "Hotel California" - after you've lived in Utah, it becomes all the more meaningful.

Good times.

This weekend we're heading for Seattle for TH's corporate function and to see my two remaining pregnant cousins (and their spouses) as well as Prince Thomas Wayne and his sleep deprived parents, Steve Magnum, Kelli, Dakota, Daniel, Bryn and then stay with our good friends the Hydes. Little Bit and his friend K Hyde (as opposed to K Jeckyll) are already planning the Irish Marauding Party of 2009 complete with "wi-fi" on the Nintendo DS and lots of root beer. Crazy kids. Photos to come of all this, no doubt.

Have a great weekend!

What a Week!

Here's a smattering of what we experienced. It was a great trip, though one I personally probably didn't appreciate as much as I should. It's a genetic habit. I often find it hard to live in the moment, mostly because I'm so worried about what the men in my life are experiencing. I need to let it go. I know (insert Craig Ferguson's Scottish accent here). Keep telling me that, okay? P.S. The formatting on this stinks, but I'm getting tired, so it's going out there and I'll mess with it later.

First, we stumbled off the plane at 7:30 a.m. London time. We managed to make it to the hotel around 10 a.m. after stumbling our way through immigration (the line that went on forever) and onto the tube.

Thankfully, the hotel had our room ready, which was a surprise, so we went up, showered and generally tried to get ourselves oriented with it being daylight and all. Then, we went and found the first cool thing - the BEST CHINESE FOOD EVER. It's in London. All over the place, but particularly in Chinatown. Big Bit and I can vouch for the fact it's better than Chinatown in San Francisco. It's better than the Chinese food in Chinatown in Singapore, for heaven's sake. This was the first time we ate Chinese, but it wouldn't be the last. This was a pleasant surprise to me - I'd not made it to this end of London in my brief weekends there.




Then, it was on to see "Spamalot". TH and I saw this in Salt Lake City over a year ago. We could get cheap (read, seats that were in a scary steep balcony) for their Boxing Day show in London and we figured the boys would enjoy it - they love The Holy Grail and the Killer Rabbit. We all tried to nod off a bit, but we enjoyed the show and the theatre it was in was truly killer.

Oh, what else? We went to the British Museum (lots of pictures of mummies and so on, that I won't post here at this time), more Chinese Food. Oh and the Tower of London. Here's Big Bit taking a picture of more of the Tower. It was pretty cool.









Here's where the Crown Jewels are. We couldn't fit it all in the first day as the line was too long, so we went back another morning to see the jewels - got in right away. My father in law is right, they're cool but not worth standing in line for. We had bought an annual pass that got us into several palaces, going one time to the Tower all but paid for it, going twice more than paid for it, and we weren't done yet!







Next, Harrod's and Kensington Palace. Harrod's was AWFUL - I'd never seen it so crowded. All of London was crowded, actually. We left there fairly quickly and went to Kensington. Like many American females of my age group, I got up in the middle of the night to see Princess Diana get married and also to see her funeral. I felt very close to her, sometimes you marry a prince and he turns out to be a big fat frog and he has a mean mother who tries to help him take your kids away from you. Sorry, I digress.


The Palace itself is impressive, but the amount they really have for display is fairly small - the highlight, for me, being several of Diana's dresses on display, including the one she wore when she danced with John Travolta. She was very, very tall and very very thin.

The bits wore themselves out. More than once.


















We went on the Eye on New Year's Eve - our wedding anniversary. I don't like heights so I wasn't impressed but we all agreed it was something you should do at least once. It was kind of foggy that day, so most of the pictures weren't that great. (the one at the beginning of the post did, however).


Then - fireworks. We were still trying to figure out the camera, but TH got a couple of good ones, at least. They were magnificent, AND we didn't have to be in the crowd of drunks for four hours with no food, bathrooms or drinks! Yes!


























The last day we went out to Hampton Court Palace, which Cardinal Wolsey built and King Henry VIII stole. And it is very cool indeed.


Last, but not least for now, I leave you with a picture of the ice rink at Somerset House. In the movie Love Actually (my favorite ever!), this is a prominent shot at the beginning of the movie. And it was very cool when we walked in the courtyard and it looked like a scene from the movie. Just perfect.

Survived

Well, we survived the trip - more to come later, I wasn't able to post while there because my stupid work laptop has an issue with Google...it wouldn't let me sign in. We flew back into Salt Lake Friday night, and of course, what else was going on but a SNOWSTORM. (Have I ever mentioned I hate snow in Utah? I think so.) We stayed the night there rather than trying to get our jet lagged bodies home, which had the nice side result of getting to eat at Acme Burger, which is one of my favorite places in Salt Lake to eat.

Some random thoughts about the trip -

First, London is really beautiful and I think everyone enjoyed the trip. I have to say I've had enough testosterone surrounding me for a week that I need some serious time to myself. Which is why my plan for tonight is to send TH gaming with his friends, Big Bit to his room and Little Bit to the XBox so I can be ALONE.

Sixteen year old males take longer to get ready than sixteen year old females. I'm not kidding.

Europeans who travel to London on holiday are rude and pushy. Not Britons, mind you, Europeans. Americans, at least ones traveling to London, are polite, try to maintain personal space and say "excuse me" frequently. And I'm not just talking about us, mind you, I saw this repeatedly as there were a lot of marching bands from the U.S. in London for the New Year's Day parade. TH and Big Bit both commented we heard more "foreign" and U.S. accents all week than we did British accents.

The BBC has a lot of useless programming. Although I did see Judi Dench more than once, and that's always cool.

I love the magazines there. They are more vapid and superficial than People Magazine if you can believe it, thus they are my guilty pleasure while there.

The fireworks were AMAZING and thanks to a columnist in the U.K. Guardian who I read a few hours before we headed out, I found the best way to get to see the fireworks without having to wait four hours in the "viewing area" - go on the tube to the Vauxhall Bridge, watch them from a short distance, then go back to the tube and ride quietly to your destination while the crowds all fight each other by the Eye. Bless you, good man, bless you.

I highly recommend The Mitre pub on Craven Terrace. It's got nice staff, it's kid friendly and the food is very good and affordable.

Happy New Year everyone, hopefully pictures tomorrow!

I Hate Crowds

Okay, so I'm from Idaho. I'm my father's daughter. I hate crowds. I don't mind being in a big city, I can handle being in line at Disneyland, but I hate the crush of people, not being able to walk freely.

Keep in mind those facts as you view the video below. It's a long video, but if you get through about 3 minutes you will see the hideous crush of people on the Thames on New Year's Eve as the fireworks happen. I love fireworks, this will be my 14th wedding anniversary and we'll be in London, the Husband, the Bits and I, so I'm not complaining, per se. I'm not. But I may need to ward off a panic attack.

Thanks

Okay, so probably it's a typical blog topic either the day before or day of Thanksgiving, but I have much to be thankful for (thanks to a fellow blogger for reminding me of that) - the week has been super-stressful with trying to close on the house sale, waiting to see if TH gets his job, realizing how much money it cost us to move back (OUCH!!) and so on.

Yet, as I drove to work today I just had to smile. There's so many reasons why:

• I don't live in Utah anymore. Thank you, Dear Jesus (I am not being sarcasting there, please note).
• I live in Boise, with everything to offer only minutes away.
• TH, I and the Bits are healthy. The rest of the family's either healthy or taking steps to be so.
• We have our Margarita back (dog, not drink, though we like both).
• We're going to London in December.
• We get to see a vast majority of our family tomorrow.
• The Jets beat the Titans and lead their division.
• The Packers suck and Ted Thompson will be fired.
• Basketball season is coming and I can open a can of whoop ass on the BSU fans all over town (and in Washington).
• A whole lot of political stuff that just makes people crazy, so 'nuff said.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone, and please remember what you are thankful for.