I am all at sea...

HA! I WISH!!

Ok, so tons has happened since my last post. Our weekend with the squirt was awesome. He loved all his new toys and we had a blast playing along with him. I bought these foam swords at Target a couple months ago and they are GREAT. He just laughs and giggles and laughs.... I could hear that laugh all day long. Know what I mean?

Back at work that Tuesday, Wed and partial Thursday. Whomever is our primary decision maker on the totem pole let us leave at 1pm on the 31st. WHOO HOO! Know what I did? I took a nap!! Yep. Went home, cuddled with the pups I was watching and took a nice nap. Then we went for a long walk and parted ways. Their parents got home that night and I headed to Eliza's. Oh yeah.... I sure do love this dog. She is just so darn cute! Once I got over to her place she and I went for a long walk too. While I don't necessarily want to go walking at first with the dogs I watch, once I'm doing it - I usually feel really good afterward. So I know it's good for both of us. Anyways... that night was uneventful. Ace was a turd that night so I celebrated the new year watching Kendra and some show on Animal Planet. That Friday Ace and I had a serious talk... for like, 5 hours. After that we ate some lunch and headed to the mall. I'm on a mission to find the perfect boot. Now - this is the perfect boot for ME, not some fashionista. We walked around this damn mall for what felt like forever. I must have tried on 10 different pair. Nothing. Nada. Ick. Then we left there and watched Watchmen. Overall it was a nice way to start the year.

Then on Sunday I got some serious alone time and kicked my organizing into overdrive. It was awesome. I got so much done and it looks amazing. YAY! I also got some reading done for class and prepped for the week. It's been nice, actually. I have been home just about every night this week. Sleeping in my own bed, etc. Over the past month or so I realized that I need to be a little more selective with my pet sitting. I love animals, but time away from home ALL the time is a little much. Especially now that Ace and I are really making an effort to keep things healthy between us. I am actually on-call for my first weekend with the new job starting tonight. So far nothing yet. If everything goes as expected, I'll not get called in but make an easy $75. Not bad, huh?

So school... or class has been really interesting. Human Sexuality is much more than I really thought about. Not a surprise there, but it's forced me to think about a lot of things I wouldn't have otherwise. I imagine one night I will go into specifics on the blog and ask all sorts of questions. For now, just know that it has been a really neat class. One of our assigned textbooks is, Real Sex-The Naked Truth about Chastity. The title is a little scary and the first two chapters were horrible, but once you get into it - its actually a really good book. The 7th chapter in particular talks about sex in the church community and how as a church whole we really should be telling each other more about ourselves than we do. And we should be talking more openly about sex being that it was created by God. Very good read for any one who has an open mind and is interested.

Home life... well Ace and I are renewing our lease this weekend for another 14 months. Yep... apartment life is ours for a little while longer. My hope is that between now and then we can dig ourselves out a tiny bit from this massive pile of heaping crap I call "debt". Ick. Yeah. And apartment living does have its advantages. One of them is not having a neighbor who lives above you that just so happens to have a nervous twitch and bangs the floor and walls at all hours of the day. It's also really annoying to have your front door move every time someone else slams theirs. BUT... the biggest advantage of all is the fact that I can vacuum the entire apartment off of one freakin outlet. YEP. Awesome. There isn't too much space to clean, in fact I actually feel really comfortable with the amount of space we have and are responsible for keeping clean and tidy. And I still manage to keep it clutter free! WHOO HOO! The cats are still furry. I think about shaving them on a daily basis. I hate the cat hair. A LOT. I know they'd be pissed off, but at least I could sleep at night knowing that I don't have to worry about possibly coughing up a fur ball in the morning. I swear - that damn fur gets everywhere! What else. My car is still awesome. It has done great in the snow so far. Of course I'm an amazing driver, so accidents aren't a possibility. But I did have a mini-heart attack yesterday when some a-hole cut me off with the roads being slick. Idiots. It's a miracle I even drive, really. I hate other drivers.

Work is really neat right now. Today I got to build a vacancy announcement all by myself and it felt really good. Of course I had to still ask questions along the way, but for the most part I feel like I have a handle on what I'm doing. It's also given me a new understanding and appreciation for the USGS. I think I have a much better idea of who we are as an organization now that I'm building jobs and advertising them. YAY for HR!

Health wise I've been ok. Not great, but ok. I had some stomach issues back in December and so I'm seeing my specialist at the end of this month. Just some abnormal pain sometimes. Nothing major. I also think I've had less migraines, even during my monthly low hormone periods. There was a kidney stone about a month ago, but that thankfully didn't last long. Whew, it was a painful one too. All I can think every time I get one now is - I hope this doesn't put me in the freakin hospital. I don't have time for this! My biggest complaint right now is muscle soreness. I can't seem to stretch enough to make my back, neck, shoulders stop hurting. Ideally - I'd have a massage a couple times a month. Realistically - I get one every 4 or 5 months. I know I tend to sit at the computer for too long and all that, but still... I'd like to think with as much stretching as I do... But, whatever.

So the biggest news of all is that I'm going to North Carolina in a couple weeks. I'm flying in on the 21st and heading back home on the 25th. Why? Because my mom and Gma live in a clutter filled house and need help. Serious help. So much help in fact that a close friend is driving up from GA with his truck to give me a hand. Sadly, my poor uncle has taken the grunt of all their drama the last 7 years and I only now found out how bad the situation is. I'm now stepping in and taking charge. The plan is to tear down a shed, empty another shed, consolidate two storage units into the one shed, get 3 bedrooms cleared out and figure out the washing machine situation. It's a lot for a solid 3 days, but I feel like with 3-4 adults working on it, all will get done in the end. I just want to be able to live day to day knowing that my mom is sleeping in a bed, not on a couch, and that when the time comes to move them OUT of this house it will at least be semi-organized. Of course I will report on how well that goes. Right now I'm nervous, anxious and excited all at the same time. I'm happy to see a couple good friends and to visit my mom. But I am really nervous that my Gma is going to be uncooperative and not let us get this house cleaned out. I understand its her house and all that... but when it gets to a certain point I think people just get overwhelmed and need a little help. I'm that little help. Sort of. For those of you who pray - please make some serious prayers for me during that weekend. It's going to be rough all around. On a good note - I will finally get to eat some damn quality biscuits and BBQ. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.... the things Southerners take for granted. I can't wait.

I think that's about it. My mind is filled with all sorts of thoughts right now. Hopefully I can fall asleep soon. Real quick... I want to recommend a book of poetry written by W. Michael Armbruster. It's called, Hugs and other wonderful stuff. REALLY good poetry. It's real, authentic, full of love and passion. And it helps that I know him:-)

I hope all of you have a blessed weekend.

<3
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