What's In Store?

Holidays are great and all but I'm kinda ready for them to be over. Yes, I'm very excited to have people over tonight but after that I am ready to get back in a routine. It has been really hard to keep up with all of my treatments and exercising with the holidays; not to mention we had some sort of Christmas celebration to go to for five nights straight last week.

So what's in store for us in the upcoming year? Well… hopefully a lot.

• Finishing the basement—Our hope is to get things inspected, then drywalled, then we can start putting the finishing touches on like paint, flooring, and trim. We might do the bar this year, we might not. We also hope to get the projector and all of the equipment so we are actually able to watch movies down there! 
• Continue working from home—I've been working from home all month now and I think it is going great. I have not had any complaints from anyone yet about it, so hopefully all of my superiors agree. 
• Keep up the good work—I STILL don't have my morning cough back, and it STILL amazes me. I am officially one month out from my hospital stay and still doing really well. At this point, now I'm really wondering just how much my workplace was making me feel terrible. The past few nights I've woke up coughing, but outside of that I am doing good.
• Do my 5K—Along with that, I'm still very hopeful I can do my 5K! Since I bounced back from my sickness and now have been able to hold my own I'm hoping to train in the next 3 months and do it! I looked it up, and last year the person who finished last did it in 1 hour 18 minutes, so I figure that can be a good starting point for me. If I do, I'll let you know so you can all join in cheering me on :)

I hope you have a good year too!

My 5 Alternative Resolution Suggestions

To resolve or not to resolve? We always start the new year off with good intentions, and then end up falling back into our old ways within two weeks. Everyone wants to work out more, weigh less, etc. However, I'd like to lay out a list of alternatives that could be more achievable.

1. Silence Your Phone During Dinner—Whether you're dining out or eating at home, just put the thing on silent or set it in another room. Be present and enjoy your meal with the people in the room. It saddens me when I see parents and the kids are left to fend for themselves while mom and dad waste time on their phones. Don't be like those people, at home or out in public.
2. Limit Your Online Time—Again, we all know how the internet can take over so much of our time. Make a point to stop that right now and limit your time if you spend too much of it online.
3. Try New Food—Once a month, pick a new specific food or specific restaurant you've never been to.
4. Donate—Make a donation somewhere, and don't tell anyone about it. Nothing is less charitable than when you make a point of telling your friends that you gave $$ to some cause.
5. Go to Church—If you don't go at all, try for once a month. If you go once a month, try going weekly. I used to think that going to church would get you into heaven. Then I thought it was silly that people go to church, thinking it will get them into heaven, while living awful, hurtful lives outside of church. Now I understand that church does not get you into heaven, but it enhances your life and, whether you realize it or not, makes you a more holy person.

Saturday Night Adventure

I went to take the dog outside. But as I stepped over the threshold I paused because I heard this odd sound. It was like a soft sound, like something was going pfft pfft, pfft pfft. I turned my head to look inside and found a bird flying around... in our house.

Josie was already on her way to go potty so I called to Jarrod saying "Jarrod! There's a bird in the house!" Right as I said that, I realized there was another bird fluttering around the porch (possibly its mate) and I shut the door immediately to keep the second one out.

Once we got back inside, I put the dog in her crate so we could open up the front door and the deck door in hopes of getting the bird (it was a house finch) to fly out. Jarrod had closed all the bedroom doors to keep it out of the rooms. Jeff was coming over for a movie later, and he arrived at this point. It was so hilarious trying to get the bird to fly out; we had out a broom and a Swiffer hoping to keep him moving. I set bird seed outside in hopes he would see it and find it enticing.

Sitting atop the dining light.

The bird kept landing on the dining room light, then he'd sit on the ceiling fan in the living room, then go down the hall, then come back to the dining room, then at one point Jeff said "Oh no, he's found a house!" because the bird had landed on top of our cabinets where I have about 8 decorative bird houses, haha. Then he landed ON the corner of the open front door about 3 different times, but somehow didn't see the great outdoors just beyond. I think after chasing him around for about ten minutes. He flew out just as unnoticeably as he came in, though he did leave behind some bird crap on the wall. However he pooped horizontally ont the wall, I'll never know.

For most of the month, every time I'd take the dog out, there would be bits and pieces of greenery from my wreath on the ground, right as you opened the door. I asked Jarrod if he thought he had slammed the door shut a few times, but he didn't think so. I began to believe that some birds were pecking at my wreath, because on more than one occasion I'd see one around the porch. I'd say tonight confirms that suspicion.

I took the wreath down.

Movie Theaters

We went to see American Hustle tonight. The movie itself was good, but our experience was a tad annoying.

I have yet to talk with someone else who is as picky about movie theaters as me and my husband are. It is so rarely that I even go to a movie theater because I usually end up getting cranky from the whole experience. The things that bother me are things like parents bringing babies or toddlers to PG-13 and above movies, or teens talking during most of the film. Tonight was also bothersome but for other reasons.

For one, when we walked in, there was this god-awful, so-painful-it-was-comical song that a twelve-year-old was singing about bullying (OMG it kept going and going) that went something like "... and then you; can find out; what it means; to be small!"—that's another topic for another time, but really? Are we really to the point where we need pop tunes at movie theaters, written specifically about bullying? Furthermore, does anyone honestly believe crap like this makes kids think "Oh, maybe I shouldn't be mean."? Further furthermore: this is an R movie, almost everyone there was over 25, wrong target audience!

Ok, enough on that tangent. But anyways, there were so many commercials for TV shows and shoes and coats, just like you'd see on TV. Then on top of that there were at least 5 movie previews, which they didn't start on time at 8:20 but at 8:40ish. Which meant our movie had an even later start.

They didn't turn the lights off, they only dimmed them slightly, so it was still too flipping bright in there. I couldn't tell if they even shut the door to the theater because the noise in the hall was distracting. Then you had the rumbles from the theater next door bleeding in to our movie, pretty badly too. The three 50-something women next to me wouldn't stop talking. And the kid in front of us put his feet up on the seats... with no shoes on, just socks. Dude, you're not in your living room.

And this is why I wait till things are available on Netflix and just watch movies in the comfort of my own home where I have no one to bother me except maybe my dog.

My Year in Books

I discovered a great website earlier this year called Goodreads. I had signed up for Goodreads a long time ago when it was a younger website, you might say, but left when I found it didn't have many images for books and was overall clunky.

In March of this year, Amazon reached an agreement with the site and acquired it, and right after that I signed up. For someone like me who likes lists, likes visualizations of things, and likes books it is a great site. It helps me keep track of my never-ending list of books I want to read, so next time I'm searching for a book or get a recommendation from a friend I'm not like 'Ugh, what was it again that I was wanting to read? What was that book called?' My tastes in books are all over the board, and since I don't lean to one genre over another it can be tough to choose what to read next without a list.

When I signed up, I then saw they had a "2013 Reading Challenge" and on a whim, I set a goal for myself of 10 books.  I'm happy to say I surpassed it, and I'm thinking about what next years goal should be. I started in April this year, so I'm thinking my goal for 2014 might be 14 books. If that's the case, I need to start reading again and quit playing QuizUp :)

As you can see, I had a bit of a 'dog book' trend, haha!

Tidbits and Updates

• I ran to Walmart and Schnucks tonight to pick up the ingredients needed for my Christmas dessert. Walmart was crazy crowded, but I'm pleased to say that no one was, like, in a panic yet and acting stupid. The worst parts were the parking lot and the checkout line. I was in line and the lady in front of me even offered for me to go in front of her which, considering the state of long lines, was a very generous offer. I declined because I just remembered something I forgot to grab. Schnucks was also extremely crowded and it's been a long time since I've seen their parking lot so full. 
• I dyed my hair again, but I don't like it as much as the first color. This one is more violet, which means it's a less 'natural' color. It doesn't look bad, but I liked the other one better; Jarrod agreed on that too. No one at work today, when I stopped in, said anything so either they didn't notice or they didn't think it looked good, haha.
• My dad and I went shopping the other day at Kohl's. As we were leaving a store associate stopped us right outside the doors and said "Sir, were you over at the far register on the end?" We were, my dad told him with a puzzled look. "Well, congratulations you're our Dream Receipt winner of the day. All of your purchase you made is free and on us." We had to follow him back in, back to the same register, where they put all of his charges back on his card. Ha! How funny. Too bad we hardly bought anything... I think our purchase was less than $30.
• Jarrod's been making good progress on the basement recently. His dad helped him break up the concrete floor the other day for plumbing stuff. That meant I spent a night at mom and dad's just in case the large amount of dust escaped from the basement (where they had a fan helping blow it outside) to the upstairs. It was more of a precaution than anything, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. The dog was already at their house, due to the insanely loud noises from the jackhammer, so it wasn't too big a deal.
• Around this time, about a week away from Christmas, I really start to get in the spirit. I have been listening to Christmas songs on the TV radio channels for a while now, but I busted out my own collection of songs while I worked today. I might just watch my "Christmas Tape" tonight too.
• I have a confession to make: I am really excited for Christmas just like the next person, but I'm even more excited for the following Monday, the 30th. My best friend Marie is coming home for the holiday and we are getting together that day. I have not seen her in over a year, as she lives on the west coast, so it will be a wonderful day. 

My Dog

If you have pets, I'm sure you love them. We all love our pets, and I was never a dog person until I had one of my own. That's not to say I didn't like them, but I wasn't so into them until we got Josie.

I am now a huge advocate of pets for people who are sick, elderly, or lonely. I've seen just how much joy Josie has brought to my life and I know that it has helped my mood even if in just a small way. She's my companion when I'm at home sick or Jarrod is gone, and our guardian, despite her small size and distaste for the neighbors.

But most recently, she's started doing something else that just melts my heart. Almost every night, and sometimes at other treatment times, she will come and lay down next to me while I vest. It is the sweetest thing. I wonder if the shaking of the vest is almost like a massage and it feels good or something. Either way, whether she does it because she wants a massage or because she likes me, it makes me smile; I figure it's a combination of the two. I'm so happy she doesn't mind all of my extra equipment, isn't afraid of it, and is used to it. I know that might sound a little corny, but that's how I look at it. She's a good dog.

The Best Thing I've Read This Week

This week's article from CNN is about cancer research. This idea sounds revolutionary to me, and if they can do this with killing cancer, what else can they accomplish? How exciting!

Putting Up the Nativity Scene

When I was a kid, one of my favorite parts of decorating was helping mom put up the nativity scene. My mom has the coolest nativity scene, in my opinion, for two reasons: It's enormous (in scale and amount of pieces), and she made it herself.

Back when ceramics were more popular, my mom painted and glazed her ceramic nativity set. I don't even know how many pieces it has to it, but this is the best picture I've found online of the figurines and she has even more pieces than the 20 shown here.

But putting up the nativity scene was a bit like Christmas itself. All of the pieces are in a box filled with shredded newspaper, each figurine wrapped in tissue paper. So you'd have to dig through the shredded newspaper pieces to find all of the pieces, and then I always enjoyed unwrapping each piece, trying to guess which one it would be. Back at our old house, we would place the manger on the fireplace ledge, hang the angel somewhere near the mantle (with fishing line too, so it looks like it's floating), and place the kings over on the bookshelf since they were 'traveling and not quite there yet'.

Two Christmases ago, Wanda gave me a basic nativity set so I could start my own. The figurines are made by a company called Fontanini, an Italian family who have been making them for a long time as I understand it. And the best part about it? They make numerous figurines, just like my mom's has, so I can add to my set over the years.

As I unwrapped the pieces and put it up this year, I felt the same excitement and anticipation as I did when I was a child. Right now I just have the holy family, a cow, and an angel, but I'm excited to expand it, put it all in one box, and continue the same joy of unwrapping every piece year after year.

Nurse Jamie, Day 2

Jarrod's teeth extraction went fine yesterday, it was over relatively quickly too. He spent most of the day on the couch or in the recliner, and was in a decent amount of pain when the pain meds wore off nearing the next dose. Today the pain is better, but right now he's not feeling well.

It occurred to me the role reversal, and I found it kind of strange. I'm always the one who needs to be taken care of, and he's always been the caretaker and supporter. Not the other way around. They came and got me and I walked back to the recovery area. He was sitting there, eyes closed, puffy, still waking up from the anesthesia. This is the first time I've been the one sitting with the person waking up, not being the one waking up. It struck me. Jarrod has been blessed to never have needed surgery before now, never been put under, never needed pain meds; he's never experienced any of that, and if you are like him consider yourself fortunate as well. For me, it's all just old hat. I've needed to be put under a few times for various reasons, or even back when I was a kid and used to get a special, long IV catheter, they would give me a little Versed to relax me and make me sleepy.

So I took care of him yesterday, and am insisting on him getting plenty of rest today too. They said the more rest you get now, the better everything will be later.

It's raining now, and the weather is supposed to be nasty today with mixes of rain, sleet, and snow. So it's a good day to stay inside, chill out, watch Mad Men, and sleep.