Monday, November 26, 2007

Giving Thanks

Ok, so I realize that Thanksgiving was like 4 days ago, but that doesn't make me any less thankful for the things I have - it just makes me a litle late in verbalizing the thankfulness is all. So, without further ado, I bring you "The Things I am Thankful For".

Chris - I seriously could not ask for someone better to spend my life with. If you've read this blog for any length of time (pre-Chris, of course) you might remember some of the dismal dating escapades I've endured, and believe me, there were many prior to that. If I knew that the result of all of those would be Chris, well, I would do it all again. He is everything I had on my mental list and more. He makes me laugh and he listens to me and he cares about me and he takes care of me. He's a great dad and a great man - I always know he appreciates me and he does stuff around the house and he's the best snuggler. My mom has said "you can tell Chris really loves you" - and he does - I never doubt that. I think about how when I found out that he was going through a divorce, I almost didn't take a chance on him. I didn't want to go through the pain of another Not Boyfriend. But, since I'm not known for my good sense when it comes to things like that, I ignored the prospect of a repeat performance and jumped in with Chris. I have never been so happy that I ignored the safe road and barreled down the unknown path, because having him in my life has shown me what loving and being loved by "The One" truly is.

Riley & Abby - Being a parent is a hard thing in itself, but being a parent to kids who are already 8 and 4 years into their lives is harder. BUT, I am thankful for my girls. I'm thankful that they are sweet and smart and that they have accepted me into their lives as part of their family. I am thankful that I don't have to fight the battle of kids who harbor the illusion of mommy and daddy getting back together and see me as an obstacle to that. I am thankful for hugs and kisses and my baby who wants to be with me from the minute I get home until she goes to sleep. I am thankful for funny things they say, and the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of people who are not yet cynical and for who so much is new and wonderful and interesting. I am thankful for my little family.

My parents and my brother - I am always thankful for my family. I hope I can be the kind of parent that my parents are to me. They never stop being willing to help and I always feel loved. I talk to my mom at least once a day and it is great to have her to listen to me freak out and give me advice on being a mom. I don't talk to my dad as much, but that's because he's a guy and doesn't need to talk to me 85 times a day. But both of my parents are awesome and they have not only accepted Chris as part of our family, but have totally embraced the girls and love them. I am thankful that I get to see what amazing grandparents my parents are - because they TOTALLY ARE. I am thankful for my brother and that I get to see him grow up and achieve a lot of really cool stuff. I am thankful that whenever I talk to him on the phone, he always says "I love you" before he hangs up. I am thankful for my family.

My friends - I have often said that I have the best friends in the world, and I am reminded every day that I really do. I have a circle of people in my life who care about me and love me and take great care of me. I have a life full of memories and history with amazing people. I have more love and support in my life than I could ever repay, and for that I am infinitely thankful.

I am thankful for my life and all of the people and things in it that make every day an enormous blessing.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Short Attention Span Post

Well gosh, has it been two weeks since we last talked? Yes? Sorry about that. Life has been kicking my ass, but I think I've finally got it in some sort of reverse half-nelson (or other such fancy wrestling move) and might be able to twist it into submission sometime at the end of this week.

Work has been insanely busy, which means that I sit at my desk all day typing and designing and printing while people keep coming up and asking me for stuff. Or calling and asking me for stuff. However, I think things are going to slow down considerably after this week, at which point I will have a normal paced day, instead of the kind where you look at the time thinking "oh, it's like 2:30" and really it's 4:30.

I moved, thanks to the ass-busting hard work of Chris and Karen's husband John. Poor John - he's sort of screwed two ways when it comes to stuff like this - not only is he my friend from high school and Karen's husband (which of course means he sort of married all of us too), but he and Chris are also work pals (Karen and I call them "work spouses" because they totally act like an old married couple) so there was no getting out of it for him. But both were extremely good natured and patient with the ridiculous amount of stuff I have. John asked me at one point "are you sure you live alone?" Yeah. You wouldn't know it from the tons of boxes and bags they packed into the truck. And John's truck. And my mom's mini van. I also kept them stocked up on beer, so that helped.

So now the two front rooms of our house are full of boxes. I have mostly gotten all of the bags unpacked - pillows and bedding and clothes and the like. We spent pretty much all of yesterday working on rearranging the girls' rooms. The first thing we did last weekend was to set up the loft with my couch and t.v. so that the girls had their own play area. They love it. We hardly ever see them.

So that's pretty much it. Lots of unpacking and rearranging. I'm still having a hard time adjusting to the fact that I live there now. I keep feeling like I need to go home or something. But then again, it's only been a week. I love it though. I'm happy to live with Chris and when we have the girls it's a fun little family.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Update du jour

Hi there! I just thought I'd say hi real quick, because I have a short break from the smackdown being laid on me by both work and home. Nothing drastic -- just busy. Insanely busy at work + remodeling + more moving = Are you kidding me with this? I'm moving offices today and so as if I haven't had enough of the packing, I have to do it at work as well. My boss said something about how fast I packed, and I was like "Yes, well, I've been practicing at home."

Last night I finished packing up the second bedroom -- I still have some minor things to do in there, but the millions of books and piles of papers are packed. Well, the books are packed. The piles of paper were shredded - I suppose it's not necessary to keep electric bills from the last two places you lived prior to buying your house. Or insurance information on cars you don't own. As a result, I have a large trash bag full of shredded paper. It was very satisfying.

I got the cats declawed, which was a very tramatizing experience for everyone. We made it through, thanks to Auntie Dr. Karen, pain medicine (for the cats), and a lot of pathetic gimping around the house (also the cats), which resulted in a lot of guilt (me) and subsequent getting nothing done because I had to hold the druggy Baby Kitty. The Booger wasn't in pain, just seriously disgruntled and seemingly unaffected by the "narcotic" effect of the pain medicine. His annoyance was compounded further after he managed to get one bandage off of his foot and the other one half off, and instead of claiming victory, he was thwarted by Auntie Dr. Karen and her sticky bandages of doom.

Anyway, I suppose I should go back to work. So that I can move after lunch, unpack, and then go home and pack some more. There are two things that make this sort of ok. One is that since I work in an office full of guys, I won't have to actually carry anything in the move. And two, I hired a cleaning lady to come on Saturday afternoon and clean the house after all the stuff is moved out so that I don't have to spend Sunday doing that. And the bonus third thing is that I can have wine while packing and unpacking at home.

See? It all works out.