When 'one' gets busy with back-to-back meetings at the office, 'one' should not eat the yogurt in the early afternoon that was brought for breakfast eating. If you do, you will find yourself up all night with a belly ache and 'pooaereah.' The good thing is that now it is almost 11:00 and I feel much better.
BUT, I am not going into work. One, I don't want to. Two, it will take an hour or longer to find parking at this time of the day--even though I have paid parking in the garage! Three, I have a life. Right now it involves more packing. (I want this second to the last move (for a while) done, done, done.) I need interior decorating, I need gardening, I need space for hobbies, I need a yard to play with my grandson! I will hold my breath for another 10 months, but I should be on a totally new track by that time or I will be going crazy. I am not good living in limbo and waiting for distant deadlines. I am one of those annoying people that get stuff done ahead of time so that I can hurry up and wait. I am a nester and need a long term nesting place.
Then again in a second thought, I keep wondering if I will adjust to the sound of quiet broken by the little birdsong or wind in the trees, and the view of trees and more trees out my window. Or, will I miss the sound of my neighbors children playing in the street, the sound of morning traffic on the nearby freeway (and sirens) and the quick walk to the Post Office or grocery store?
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Sunday, April 17, 2005
The Old Apple Tree
More future apples. These apples all go into the tummy of the resident squirrels. I had pruned it hard last year, since it looked diseased and this year it is rewarding me with tons of blossoms.
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Firefox is a little too foxy for me!
I am not losing my mind and my son is not a sloppy surfer. I found the problem here. Unfortunately none of the extension downloads are working for me! So now I am going to Opera and will keep that as my browser with links so when this happens again with Firefox, which for some it has, I will be safer!!!!
My work of art from Color Me Mine. The day I spent with daughter two weeks ago. This is pretty primitive, but since it is the very first bisque pottery I have ever glazed, I am proud I got it done. Lesson learned is when they say three coats and let it dry between three coats, they really mean that! I have lots of rough spots.
Strange Saturday Morning
I sat down at the computer this morning after getting Hubby off to Hawaii and decided to surf some blogs on the net. I brought up my Firefox browser and lo and behold got that first-time user window asking if I wanted to use the 'default' profile. I clicked yes and then got a response that the default profile is ' in use do you want to create a new one?' Heck,yes.. lets just get on the Internet here. I put in my name as the new profile and then discovered that I no longer have access to the thousand or so bookmarks I have carefully created on my PC because I am a new user of the browser.
I went 'exploring' for them across my harddrive without luck. i imported bookmarks from the IE browser which I rarely use and got back about 30-40% of some of the stuff. Can't find my blog friends links, my garden links, shopping, reading, writing...UGH!
So I went on my blog to at least add the commenters from the last year or so. It was then that I discovered two of the older blogs which I hadn't visited in a while have gone into the black hole of bytedom. Another blogger had said goodbye last month, so there was some closure to that, but it is strange to find that bloggers whom you shared ideas with are now gone, and it is really forever, because you are not going to accidentally bump into them again and recognize them like you do neighbors who have moved away.
What the h.... did my son do to my computer yesterday that lost all the bookmarks?
I went 'exploring' for them across my harddrive without luck. i imported bookmarks from the IE browser which I rarely use and got back about 30-40% of some of the stuff. Can't find my blog friends links, my garden links, shopping, reading, writing...UGH!
So I went on my blog to at least add the commenters from the last year or so. It was then that I discovered two of the older blogs which I hadn't visited in a while have gone into the black hole of bytedom. Another blogger had said goodbye last month, so there was some closure to that, but it is strange to find that bloggers whom you shared ideas with are now gone, and it is really forever, because you are not going to accidentally bump into them again and recognize them like you do neighbors who have moved away.
What the h.... did my son do to my computer yesterday that lost all the bookmarks?
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Real Simple, if only it were...
My daughter got me a subscription to the magazine "Real Simple' which is the new, younger generation's version of Good Housekeeping or Redbook I am surmising. It is thick with lots of ads as well as articles (although most of the articles are about stuff you can buy). When I was in Junior High we had a project where we got our favorite magazine (mine was probably Seventeen) and we were told to paste paper over all the advertisements. It was a good illustration of the huge percentage that any magzine devotes to ads and the very little bit of information articles for the money you spend. But, I digress.
My daughter makes lots of money ( I am guessing about $9o,000 or $100,000 when you add bonuses. She has only been working about four years! Her husband makes a little more.) Those golden handcuffs are hard to give up. She is planning on going back to work in three months, but I already see the pain in her eyes when this is brought lightly into the conversation. We live in an area where a standard three bedroom house is about $400,000. There is lots of pressure to work. I wish that I was going to be living nearby as this would make the decision easier, but I am not.
In the May issue of Real Simple it is fortuitous (maybe) that there was an article titled "What's a Mother to do?" It covers the debate over whether a woman should return to work or stay at home after the birth of a child. They interview four women with their grown daughters and each have chosen different paths. I find this article so interesting because it really touches a sensitive cord with me. I stayed at home with both children until the youngest was ten. I was not rich, but I was also NOT poor. I didn't have to work. We didn't eat out, go to movies, and I only had two outfits for church. But these were not sacrifices in my mind.
The sacrifices for me were falling behind in my career and never really making the better salary, spending time without adults for endless days which is really hard, missing out on a creative side of my self that I had to shelve and the long hours - working seven days a week. The good stuff was knowing my children were being raised by someone who would die for them, someone who was close to their gene pool and therefore understood them, and getting to see all that wonderful special stuff that children show as they reach each new challenge.
There are no good choices. The magazine article seems to make it appear that there is no wrong way. But I think that oversimplifies. There is really no right way either. Whichever road you choose, you make important and long-term sacrifices. And the idiocy in this debate is that most women do not have a choice!
My daughter makes lots of money ( I am guessing about $9o,000 or $100,000 when you add bonuses. She has only been working about four years! Her husband makes a little more.) Those golden handcuffs are hard to give up. She is planning on going back to work in three months, but I already see the pain in her eyes when this is brought lightly into the conversation. We live in an area where a standard three bedroom house is about $400,000. There is lots of pressure to work. I wish that I was going to be living nearby as this would make the decision easier, but I am not.
In the May issue of Real Simple it is fortuitous (maybe) that there was an article titled "What's a Mother to do?" It covers the debate over whether a woman should return to work or stay at home after the birth of a child. They interview four women with their grown daughters and each have chosen different paths. I find this article so interesting because it really touches a sensitive cord with me. I stayed at home with both children until the youngest was ten. I was not rich, but I was also NOT poor. I didn't have to work. We didn't eat out, go to movies, and I only had two outfits for church. But these were not sacrifices in my mind.
The sacrifices for me were falling behind in my career and never really making the better salary, spending time without adults for endless days which is really hard, missing out on a creative side of my self that I had to shelve and the long hours - working seven days a week. The good stuff was knowing my children were being raised by someone who would die for them, someone who was close to their gene pool and therefore understood them, and getting to see all that wonderful special stuff that children show as they reach each new challenge.
There are no good choices. The magazine article seems to make it appear that there is no wrong way. But I think that oversimplifies. There is really no right way either. Whichever road you choose, you make important and long-term sacrifices. And the idiocy in this debate is that most women do not have a choice!
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Sweet to the point of sickening
Yeah, yeah, grandmothers can be so annoyingly in love. Get a grip, there is more to life. (No there's not!)
Today her in-laws are driving in from out of state to spend the night. Brother-in-law is staying with his family at a nearby hotel and mom and dad-in-law are staying with them. So I am giving them lots of space to enjoy and I will be running my own personal errands (of which I have many on this beautiful Saturday) and then on Sunday we go down late P.M. and I will clean the house for her. Aren't I just the best ;-)?
I promise next blog will be about something important and will have my usual succinct and insightful thoughts.
Today her in-laws are driving in from out of state to spend the night. Brother-in-law is staying with his family at a nearby hotel and mom and dad-in-law are staying with them. So I am giving them lots of space to enjoy and I will be running my own personal errands (of which I have many on this beautiful Saturday) and then on Sunday we go down late P.M. and I will clean the house for her. Aren't I just the best ;-)?
I promise next blog will be about something important and will have my usual succinct and insightful thoughts.
Friday, April 08, 2005
I can see! I can see!
I felt like the invisible man the last few days, but lo and behold, Blogger has redeployed my 'One Day" website. I can view it! I was afraid to try a complete re-do of the website thinking it would do some weird reformat or something and all the files would go into the nether regions of bytedom.
While technology was glitching, I do have a real life and was busy with my daughter and new grandson! He was born at 8:23 PM on April 5 after 9 hours of labor. (Obstetrician said due date was April 10 and it would not be born on time, so they set a date for induction on April 20. Even with all this new science doctors are still just making educated guesses.) My son, the baby's uncle, has nicknamed the little guy Xman and since the parents don't seem to mind, that is what he will be for a while. I cannot begin to describe all the feelings going through me. Watching my hulking son hold his tiny nephew was priceless.
It IS just like riding a bike. All the baby stuff comes flooding back and I feel very comfortable going into grandma mode for my first one. I spent all day yesterday baking casseroles, desserts, vegetables dishes, etc. and then we packed it all and took it to the new parents' house. They were discharged from the hospital around noon and when we got to their home at 4:30 PM all three were out like hibernating bears. The baby fell asleep in my arms and I held him for at least 2 and half hours, just couldn't put him down.
I think the new daddy is in the most shock. He had no idea that this would involve so many details in life and so much lack of sleep. But he is so much in love with this new person, he has no complaints. My daughter, on the other hand, seems a little more laid back. She is working hard on breast feeding, and when I remember the ups and downs I had with that, I can empathize. Fortunately, it all worked out and I was able to breast feed both of them for almost a year.
Today hubby is back at work full time for the first time since his operation. I think he got a burst of energy from holding his grandson.
We are going for a drive this afternoon to me with our builder and look at the draft of the adjusted plans. Things are going slower than we hoped and I will blog why on my house building blog.
In between all of the above and my work I am driving around the city looking for a condo or coop with my son. He did bid on one condo in a nice young area of town, but lost out to someone who bid 30% over the selling price with an added escalation clause. Is this real estate market ride ever going to end?
Well, this weekend, I hope to get some of my own stuff done.
While technology was glitching, I do have a real life and was busy with my daughter and new grandson! He was born at 8:23 PM on April 5 after 9 hours of labor. (Obstetrician said due date was April 10 and it would not be born on time, so they set a date for induction on April 20. Even with all this new science doctors are still just making educated guesses.) My son, the baby's uncle, has nicknamed the little guy Xman and since the parents don't seem to mind, that is what he will be for a while. I cannot begin to describe all the feelings going through me. Watching my hulking son hold his tiny nephew was priceless.
It IS just like riding a bike. All the baby stuff comes flooding back and I feel very comfortable going into grandma mode for my first one. I spent all day yesterday baking casseroles, desserts, vegetables dishes, etc. and then we packed it all and took it to the new parents' house. They were discharged from the hospital around noon and when we got to their home at 4:30 PM all three were out like hibernating bears. The baby fell asleep in my arms and I held him for at least 2 and half hours, just couldn't put him down.
I think the new daddy is in the most shock. He had no idea that this would involve so many details in life and so much lack of sleep. But he is so much in love with this new person, he has no complaints. My daughter, on the other hand, seems a little more laid back. She is working hard on breast feeding, and when I remember the ups and downs I had with that, I can empathize. Fortunately, it all worked out and I was able to breast feed both of them for almost a year.
Today hubby is back at work full time for the first time since his operation. I think he got a burst of energy from holding his grandson.
We are going for a drive this afternoon to me with our builder and look at the draft of the adjusted plans. Things are going slower than we hoped and I will blog why on my house building blog.
In between all of the above and my work I am driving around the city looking for a condo or coop with my son. He did bid on one condo in a nice young area of town, but lost out to someone who bid 30% over the selling price with an added escalation clause. Is this real estate market ride ever going to end?
Well, this weekend, I hope to get some of my own stuff done.
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Pre Mother's Day Celebration
Today is the day my very pregnant daughter has set aside for some activity with me as a mother’s day thing. She will be a new mother herself on the actual Mother’s Day. She is showing up about noon and bringing a 'light' lunch. Then we are off to some secret activity. Weather is miserable and it has been pouring rain on and off all night and should continue throughout the day. I hope this does not interfere with our plans. Actually, just getting to spend most of the day one on one with her is worth all the gold in the world to me. Spending time with those you love where you can focus on each others ideas and plans is so rare in a busy life and I know as her life gets busier, it will be much rarer.
We (Hubby, son and I) have been looking at condos to purchase since we have to move out of our rental house in a few months. My son is pretty stressed as he wants his own place, and at his age really does need his space. We are giving him his 'wedding money' and then loaning him another $10k and I think it will result in him buying a one bedroom for just himself. Real estate here is outrageous and without our help, he would find it very difficult to purchase anything. His job now seems stable and he has paid off all of his debt except for some of his low interest student loans. He is almost 27 and certainly does need breathing room. He works the night shift and seems stressed about not meeting any 'smart' girls with this schedule. He indicated to H. that he doesn't have too many years left to meet the right girl at his age and living in a better (echo generation) neighborhood would help. (I wish I knew why his old girlfriend broke up with him. They made a really good couple.)
In addition, since I have to work in this area much longer before my retirement, Hubby and I are stressing about whether buying a condo for ourselves or just continuing renting an apartment is the best solution. Since I will only be up here two to three nights a week, renting a place seems such a waste of money. We can commute if all else fails, but I would have to work less hours in the day since the commute is 1 1/2 hours each way. Buying a condo is a big financial commitment for that time period and means we will be pretty poor which I am saving even more towards retirement. Then I would spend the rest of each week in our new home. H. is going back and forth about just exactly when he would retire...he has a much more flexible financial situation. And all of this has to come to a head by JULY! H. and son are looking at more places this weekend.
I met with a downtown realtor this week and son and I looked at two places. They were both supposed to be two bedroom. One was one of these brand new ‘
I so look forward to the time when my life is once again in a rut.
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Asking for Advice
I have a sweet niece who lost her mother to cancer when she was only 13, she is now 16. She lives on the other side of the continent from me. Her father owns a decent amount of rental income property in California in addition to getting a salary from his job, so money is not an issue in this girl's life...although her father can be somewhat miserly.
Anyway, I send her emails and cards and see her on some holidays. She rarely responds to these including not sending thank you notes even though she likes us and is sweet to us when we briefly get together face to face over rare holidays.
This morning I got an email from her (actually from Urbanoutfitters registry) telling me what she would like for her upcoming birthday. (SHE REGISTERED for her birthday?) Then she sent a follow-up email, after months of not hearing from her, telling me a little about what is happening in her life and then joking about her upcoming birthday.
I will certainly send her a birthday gift, but I am concerned about the parental guidance she needs in this...should I scold her about not communicating for long periods of time?...should I remind her that I didn't get a thank you for the Christmas gift and have no idea if she liked it? I have never wanted to be one of those sanctimonious aunts...but the girl has a somewhat absent father in terms of providing her social guidance...he is also busy dating someone else right now. And I know how distracting that can be to the male animal.
Anyway, I send her emails and cards and see her on some holidays. She rarely responds to these including not sending thank you notes even though she likes us and is sweet to us when we briefly get together face to face over rare holidays.
This morning I got an email from her (actually from Urbanoutfitters registry) telling me what she would like for her upcoming birthday. (SHE REGISTERED for her birthday?) Then she sent a follow-up email, after months of not hearing from her, telling me a little about what is happening in her life and then joking about her upcoming birthday.
I will certainly send her a birthday gift, but I am concerned about the parental guidance she needs in this...should I scold her about not communicating for long periods of time?...should I remind her that I didn't get a thank you for the Christmas gift and have no idea if she liked it? I have never wanted to be one of those sanctimonious aunts...but the girl has a somewhat absent father in terms of providing her social guidance...he is also busy dating someone else right now. And I know how distracting that can be to the male animal.
Saturday, March 26, 2005
Resurrect the Weekend
My daughter called at work and said that her in-laws were driving in from out-of-state on Sunday and wanted to get together with all of us for early dinner or late lunch. She suggested that we try to find a place near where we live incase H. gets too tired and has to head home to rest his neck, which I thought was a good idea.
I suggeted Eggspectations or Macaroni Grill which are downtown and five minutes from the house. Niether is very special but they are close, food is good, service is excellent and prices are fine. Well her husband nixed that because they are not "fancy" enough. After talking to my daughter we determined that there are NO 'fancy' restaurants where we live so we will have to go at least 30 minutes away for a fancier restaurant. This resulted in her spending a lot more time on the phone trying to get last minute reservations so that we would not have to stand in line which H. can't do for long periods of time.
I asked why it had to be a "fancy" restaurant since her husband's parents are regular folk and not inclined to spend large sums of money. "Mom, it's Easter weekend...and J. wants to go someplace nice with his parents."
OK, so it doesn't make any sense to me what Easter has to do with fancy restaurants and why sacrifice on his good Catholic part so that my H. can be comfortable is not a Christian gesture. I am not mad, just another reason why I will probably never get back into this religion thing. I keep hitting these brick walls with the very devout. It ends being what you think you should do, or how you look doing it, and not about what you are doing and why. I realize that all religious people are not like this, but I keep running into the shallow ones.
It's a BIG picture thing with me. God, if he is there, is sooo much larger than the sum of the parts of this universe. If we just tried to be more God-like or like we think he/she is then life would make more sense.
I suggeted Eggspectations or Macaroni Grill which are downtown and five minutes from the house. Niether is very special but they are close, food is good, service is excellent and prices are fine. Well her husband nixed that because they are not "fancy" enough. After talking to my daughter we determined that there are NO 'fancy' restaurants where we live so we will have to go at least 30 minutes away for a fancier restaurant. This resulted in her spending a lot more time on the phone trying to get last minute reservations so that we would not have to stand in line which H. can't do for long periods of time.
I asked why it had to be a "fancy" restaurant since her husband's parents are regular folk and not inclined to spend large sums of money. "Mom, it's Easter weekend...and J. wants to go someplace nice with his parents."
OK, so it doesn't make any sense to me what Easter has to do with fancy restaurants and why sacrifice on his good Catholic part so that my H. can be comfortable is not a Christian gesture. I am not mad, just another reason why I will probably never get back into this religion thing. I keep hitting these brick walls with the very devout. It ends being what you think you should do, or how you look doing it, and not about what you are doing and why. I realize that all religious people are not like this, but I keep running into the shallow ones.
It's a BIG picture thing with me. God, if he is there, is sooo much larger than the sum of the parts of this universe. If we just tried to be more God-like or like we think he/she is then life would make more sense.
Can't Sleep...
H. who is way off his sleep schedule now since he slept in until 10:30 this morning, came to bed after watching some TV movie at about 11:30 tonight. Then he got back up twenty minutes later because he thought he heard some voices arguing in the street...well, guess who is now sleeping ever so deeply and who after being woken twice can't get back to sleep?
I got up and heated some milk. This is more a ritualistic habit since I don't really find it helps me sleep better So, I guess I will either make crank phone calls or blog. This blogging should be full of errors since I left my glasses on my nightstand rather than grub around for them and wake him up. Thank goodness for the enlarge text feature on windows.
I am sitting in the computer room surrounded by a half dozen boxes packed with books and office supplies and photo stuff. I have a dried flower arrangement on the shelf in front of me that I need to donate to the office. It is too nice to throw away. I bought it to decorate my office in my prior job. I had this really large office with lots of room for desk, credenza, bookshelves. When I accepted this new job at another agency five years ago, I got a promotion, but I also am in atiny tiny cubicle. I get a window, but this cubicle is really the size of a closet and it is constantly a mess since I can't organize papers from projects or get stuff filed fast enough.
H. also got a bunch of nice plants that will get donated since there are no places for plants in this rental house.
My son has already moved his extensive audio equipment and two computers to a friends basement where they are working on his music. So, at least this room looks like we are making progress. Now only the bedroom, bathroom living room, dining room, kitchen and basement to go. Boy is this going to be fun!
My son is not too thrilled about us living with him in a condo for quite a while longer. It just can't be helped. But he needs his privacy and I did tell him he could go off on his own at any time. But, he knows that it is in his best interest to go in on co-ownership of this condo. He cannot afford anything in this crazy real estate market on his own. I keep reading articles that say the real estate market is leveling off, or going to crash or still going to climb for years ahead due to demand. Clearly none of the 'experts' have a clue.
Well, guess I will head back to bed and try to sleep. I have my cleaning friend coming at 9:30 this morning...so can't make a mistake of sleeping in.
I got up and heated some milk. This is more a ritualistic habit since I don't really find it helps me sleep better So, I guess I will either make crank phone calls or blog. This blogging should be full of errors since I left my glasses on my nightstand rather than grub around for them and wake him up. Thank goodness for the enlarge text feature on windows.
I am sitting in the computer room surrounded by a half dozen boxes packed with books and office supplies and photo stuff. I have a dried flower arrangement on the shelf in front of me that I need to donate to the office. It is too nice to throw away. I bought it to decorate my office in my prior job. I had this really large office with lots of room for desk, credenza, bookshelves. When I accepted this new job at another agency five years ago, I got a promotion, but I also am in a
H. also got a bunch of nice plants that will get donated since there are no places for plants in this rental house.
My son has already moved his extensive audio equipment and two computers to a friends basement where they are working on his music. So, at least this room looks like we are making progress. Now only the bedroom, bathroom living room, dining room, kitchen and basement to go. Boy is this going to be fun!
My son is not too thrilled about us living with him in a condo for quite a while longer. It just can't be helped. But he needs his privacy and I did tell him he could go off on his own at any time. But, he knows that it is in his best interest to go in on co-ownership of this condo. He cannot afford anything in this crazy real estate market on his own. I keep reading articles that say the real estate market is leveling off, or going to crash or still going to climb for years ahead due to demand. Clearly none of the 'experts' have a clue.
Well, guess I will head back to bed and try to sleep. I have my cleaning friend coming at 9:30 this morning...so can't make a mistake of sleeping in.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Rainy Wednesdays but with Good News
Took the morning off from work to take hubby to the therapist. He still is not supposed to drive while on the drugs. (I think that he will be able to drive this weekend though.) The therapist DIDN'T schedule any therapy sessions! He said hubby was in such good shape and had such great flexibility that it would be a waste of time to try to improve in a 'clinical' atmosphere. So, he gave him some exercises to do once a day at home for a while and then every other day. He said that hubby had the best recovery he had every seen in a patient! Needless to say hubby is on cloud 9. He is also already on the phone to his office starting work via phone.
H. said something strange on the drive to the therapist. He said that he hadn't really realized how complicated a marriage relationship was and how important it was to share your life with the right person. (See, staying home for two weeks to wait on him hand and foot rang a bell somewhere ;-). He had been feeling very vulnerable and was so dependent on my thinking for day to day decisions in addition to just providing daily care for him.
I guess we women have felt the 'vulnerable' mode more often by virtue of the barriers to our gender. I also think women are more willing to compromise and sacrifice in an immediate time and worry about the ramifications down the road. We want the problems worked out. That is probably why we get stuck in bad marriages as we think if just compromise a little longer it will work itself out.
H. said something strange on the drive to the therapist. He said that he hadn't really realized how complicated a marriage relationship was and how important it was to share your life with the right person. (See, staying home for two weeks to wait on him hand and foot rang a bell somewhere ;-). He had been feeling very vulnerable and was so dependent on my thinking for day to day decisions in addition to just providing daily care for him.
I guess we women have felt the 'vulnerable' mode more often by virtue of the barriers to our gender. I also think women are more willing to compromise and sacrifice in an immediate time and worry about the ramifications down the road. We want the problems worked out. That is probably why we get stuck in bad marriages as we think if just compromise a little longer it will work itself out.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
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