Oy! Too much free time!

Today has been kind of a gloomy day! It's been cloudy out almost all day long and the clouds are a little gray... but Fiesta is well under way here in San Antonio!!! ARRRRIBA! lol Tonight is the river parade... I think I'm actually going to watch a bit of it on tv this year... mainly because my parents are gone in Spring, TX... my Dad had something for work tonight (Monday) in Conroe, TX so he and my mom headed out yesterday around 2ish and figured they'd go get in some quality time with my little pumpkin boy nephew. I'm anxious to see pictures... we saw him about a month ago and when I talked to my mom last night on the phone she said he's moving around so much and really trying to get to pulling himself upright (he's been crawling about 2 months now). I think it's ENTIRELY possible he'll be walking on the beach when we go May 10-14!!!

In other news, I went out and bought a new memory card for my camera. If you can believe it all I had was a 128MB SD card! lol Office Max had 2.0 GB SD cards on sale for $15 so I went to go get one!!! I should've gotten 2! lol Anyhow, I went out and took a few pics of the dogs and the new fence (my Dad had a new fence put in last week in the backyard... it's nice... and it'll be nicer after it's stained). Anyhow... below are some of the pics of the dogs... I may even add the movie I took if I'm ambitious enough... lol (and please, no comments on my silly sounding voice... I'm well aware that I look and sound like I'm still in HS!).

Pictures:

VIDEO:

This is pretty typical... I try to get MAX to talk, and Dioji does all the talking... and notice how he constantly tries to get her to play with him... but she's too lazy! lol Enjoy.

Ho-Hum

Well, things have been going... slow. I had no calls last week for jobs... until Friday... and the call that I received I didn't recognize... they left a voicemail... and I didn't check it for a few hours... turns out Ridgeview had called trying to get me in there... Ooops... I quickly called and apologized and told them I hoped I could help in the future.

The weekend was pretty good and very productive. Saturday I woke up and the stench of Mozart's litter box I could NO LONGER TAKE. So, I decided to take out the liner and get a new one set up. After this, I vacuumed which really isn't very odd, I vaccum at least 2 times a week because even with the splendouriffic track mat I have for her (it looks like a cat's face!) she still tracks litter out onto the carpet. This along with the cat hair causes me to vacuum 2 times a week. I made sure that I clipped her claws down beforehand also so that the clippings would vacuum up. I was so on top of things! After this, I straightened up quite a bit in my room and then took a quick shower. After this, I ran to the grocery store to buy items for my weekend "splurge".

******I've been doing very well with Weight Watchers (I've lost 8 pounds so far!) and it seems because of my working out and how I eat during the week I manage to wrack up about 40-60 points to use on the weekend if I would like. On Weight Watchers you can save points that do not get used from your daily amount each day... and you also win points for working out. So you could potentially have up to 100 points that you can spend by the end of the week. Not this weekend that just passed, but the previous one I treated myself to some chicken strips from Church's chicken... and actually, even after that I still had about a day's worth of points left... but the thing with points is Sunday night they disappear... you can only use the points in the week they wrack up... they aren't rolled over for weeks/months/years... :-D******

Okay, back to the story... I ran to the grocery store to get ground turkey meat, fixings for burgers, and some fries I intended to bake in the oven for my "splurge"... It was a bit of a splurge (most my meals are less than 10 points... usually around 8 points total)... but my turkey burger and fries meal was 15. It was so good to know that I can "splurge" a bit, but in actuality I was still eating quite healthful. After I got home I bathed my dog (Max) real quick (it was about 70 out and so I took advantage since he hasn't had a bath since November!) He loved it and he looked so clean and happy afterwards and he was glad because he got to come inside with us for a bit now that he was clean! :-D

Yesterday was... not great at all. I woke up with a headache... which is far from uncommon considering I suffer migraines at least once a week. I took some Aleve (the only medication that helps ANY of my headaches) and then ate a bowl of Cinnamon Roll oatmeal. I proceeded to get ready for church and head over, and I was surprised that I still felt really yucky. I made it through church, but still had a twinge of a headache. We had the world's most boring congregational meeting (which was so incredibly political and ridiculous... that I vowed I will make a BIG DEAL about some of the budget items for next year) and then I stopped by Petsmart on the way home to buy Max some more dog food. When I got home we all just fixed sandwiches so that we could head over to my Grandma's... I haven't seen her since Christmas because things have been so hectic and she's been ill quite a lot. I told my parents that I really didn't feel up to it (I was hoping putting more in my stomach may help things... I thought perhaps I was feeling ill because I took Aleve on a nearly empty stomach) but they guilt tripped me into going. By the time we got there, I was suffering what I thought was a full-fledged migraine. I was sick to my stomach, everything sounded like its volume was turned up to 11 on a scale of 10 and all I wanted to do was sleep (my body shuts down when I get a migraine like this so that I can heal). My Dad didn't care at all... he wanted to take advantage of visiting with my Grandma while she was feeling well... and we were there nearly 4 hours. During the time there, I figured out that I had a very bad combo of a sinus headache/migraine... and was NOT feeling well at all... When we FINALLY got home, all I could do was pop MORE Aleve, take some sinus meds, and some Pepto and head to my bed. I went into my room at 5:30... I didn't emerge from my room until about 9pm. I managed to get some saltine crackers and a bit of soup down, and then returned to bed.

Hopefully I will not suffer this again, however, I did wake up this morning with a twinge of a sinus headache. I suppose this is largely in part to the mold and pollen counts being upwards of 25,000 as of late. I hope everyone else had a better weekend than I ended up having!

Holidays Wrap-up!

Yeah, you like that pun, don't you??? :-) I had a pretty jam-packed holiday season this year! I didn't mention it in my last blog, but the day before that I had actually attended a viewing for my Uncle Gene's (not blood related unlce... uncle by marriage) mom... She wasn't my Oma, but I've known her all my life, so she may as well have been. She had battled cancer, and various other health problems, so her passing was not sad as it relieved her of a lot of pain. We were unfortunately unable to attend the funeral Saturday morning (22nd) because Rob, Kathy, and Conner were on their way into town that day. I wish I had been able to make it considering my cousing Craig (Oma's grandson) delivered the eulogy. He is currently in school at TX State and will be attending seminary in the next year... we are all very proud of him and he has a faith I never knew possible.

Now, I know it probably seems like the holidays would be sad and upsetting... and they were sort of... but not because of Oma's passing. Sunday (the 23rd) we were supposed to have everyone on my Dad's side over to the house for gift exchange. Well, Saturday morning we got a call from my aunt saying that my Grandma (who lives in an add on to my aunt's house) was feeling very sick. My Grandma has had several health problems in the last 4 years... which all started with a heart attack... since then she's had stints put in her heart... and been on various medications to help her heart work. She has begun to have more bad days than good... especially in the last year. She averages at least one bladder infection a month (not too unusual for her anyway... she's always had problems with her bladder) which is very hard on her considering she's not as easily mobile as she once was. When we found out she wasn't feeling well we were (of course) concerned... although it doesn't help that she said she felt like she was dying. Well, so we changed plans and decided to take Christmas to her... by Sunday she had figured out that the problem was another bladder infection... a bad one, at that. She's doing much better now, thankfully! We had a very pleasant Christmas with my Dad's side...! I got a lot of neat gifts... an AWESOME cookbook from my Grandma (I LOVE to cook and bake!) and a cozy blanket... from my aunt I got some spiffy froggy houseslippers that I totally plan on saving for my classroom (that I will eventually have) as it's difficult to be on your feet in dress shoes all day 5 days a week... so, slippers are worn in the classroom to give the dogs a rest ;) My cousins got me some Hershey's Pot of Gold chocolates and a neat digital picture wallet card. My uncle got me a book about cats and why they do what they do (because he's convinced my cat is crazy... or possessed...) and some cash... which I eventually used at Lane Bryant and on a new handbag from JC Penney's!

The next couple days were busy... Christmas Eve we had church service in the evening... it was nice (aside from Silent Night, Holy Night... which I no longer like due to it being played at my Grandpa's funeral when I was in 6th grade). I exchanged gifts with Daughn and Jamey at church that night. Daughn and them got me a willow tree person holding a kitty and also a beautiful Christmas angel...! Jamey got me some WONDERFUL lotions from Bath and Body Works! It was nice to visit with them... and I actually hope to see Jamey in the near future... hopefully at the gym tomorrow night if she doesn't flake out on me!

Christmas day was SO WONDERFUL! It was Conner's first so we were very excited about that... we opened presents with all of us first (because Conner decided to take a nap) and I got some neat stuff from my parents and Rob/Kathy... From my parents I got: a reed diffuser (pear scent), some new earrings, a new watch, a BUNCH of Halloween decorations (it's my favorite holiday), a new wallet, a willow tree ornament of the one holding the kitty, and a couple new shirts (one dress, one casual). Rob and Kathy also got me a reed diffuser.. it's in a really neat vase thing, tho... and the scent is more like incense... it's lavender and mint. Then we opened Conner's gifts once he woke up... he got lots of clothes and books... and a cool toy that his Aunt Kelsie got him (a Baby Einstein toy... teaches them colors while playing music and doing a light show... he LOVES the music!). Later in the evening (around 5:30) my Mom's side came over. They told us how well Oma's funeral service had gone... and then each took turns passing Conner around visiting with him. I got a Macy's gift card from them... I used it to FINALLY get my cross necklace. I had one before.... however it was gold... and it wasn't good quality as it broke. This was back in middle school!!! I've been without a nice cross necklace for far too long... I was excited to finally find one... and it was 50% off! I haven't taken it off (minus showers) since I got it Monday!

Rob, Kathy, and Conner left the day after Christmas... and then the next day my Mom woke up with a terrible upper respiratory PLAGUE (j/k... but it was pretty bad)! The 27th Mozart went for her post-op follow up at the vet... she did WONDERFULLY... after this I came home and packed as I was going to Austin for the rest of the week/weekend to visit with and celebrate Xmas with friends. We mostly were catching up one of aforementioned friends on some televison... as well as eating at some places we frequent together (Rounders Pizzeria on 6th St... AWESOME Garlic Knots... AND went to eat Indian food! YUM!). It was nice to visit with them... I now own The Office seasons 1-3 (woohoo!) and I have Reno911 Season 4 and Buffy Season 1... Ricky (one of my very best friends) is convinced I'll love Buffy... I'm skeptical... but will give it a try. We got back to San Antone on the 30th... at which point I took it easy... the 31st I celebrated bringing in the New Year with Daughn and Damian... and Deena and Jon... and then went back to Daughn/Damians on New Year's night to watch the Sugar Bowl!

I forwarned that my holiday break was jam-packed... and I didn't lie at all...! If you made it to the end and actually read everything... I'm VERY impressed! lol I hope everyone else had equally as wonderful a holiday celebration!

Good Weekend

Well, this weekend turned out to be really great despite the way it started. Friday morning, bright and early, I got up and got ready to take Mozart to the vet for her surgery. I was quite worried in the back of my head, knowing that she has had allergic reactions at the vet before... so I really was worried! I got her to the vet, and had her in her carrier... she was VERY quiet... which is a first for her because she normally is very vocal (and even with a cat sitting within 5 feet of her she wasn't making a PEEP)! When I called and made the appointment for her surgery 2 weeks ago, the only thing the lady told me was to take her food and water away at midnight the night before the surgery. After I let her know about the allergic reaction she had she came around to get her from me and said I could pick her up in the morning. WHAT?!?! I was under the impression I'd get to pick her up that afternoon... that's how it was when we took the family cat (Boco) a few years ago... so I was shocked. I asked when I could call to inquire about how she did... the lady told me after 11am.

I got home and I just cried. I was worried, and I was terribly sad that I wasn't going to get her back that day. Not to mention, we were heading to Spring the next day and the lady told me I could pick her up sometime before noon (very vague) and I knew that I might end up staying behind if it ended up being a late pick up time b/c they'd have to be at Rob and Kathy's by a certain time. Anyhow... I cried for a long time that morning... seriously close to a couple hours... and then I called over to the vet about a quarter to noon. I was told she did fine and that I could most likely pick up my baby around 9am.

Everything worked out great as far as picking her up went (although, I didn't quite like the vet bill and it's considerable inflation due to keeping pets overnight after such procedures (it went up nearly 50%!)...but I suppose it was worth it... she got some rest that way. She stayed kenneled in my brother's garage Saturday... and did GREAT!

Saturday we had a GREAT day visiting with the family... and it was SO MUCH FUN to babysit Conner that night while his mommy and daddy went to their Christmas party! He did great... we gave him his bottle after changing him into his night clothes... and I got to give him his bottle and burp him... and then got to rock him while his grandma read him a couple stories before bedtime. We put him to bed, and he was out in about 30 minutes... and slept until 7:30ish! After we got home yesterday I went over to Daughn/Damian's to watch the Survivor finale... and it was good to see the two of them... I hadn't seen them in a few days!

This week not much is going on... not many teachers are taking off with it being the last week before 2 weeks off... so I plan on finishing cleaning the house with my mom (everyone on my dad's side is coming over Saturday for gift exchange) and finishing up the last bit of shopping and wrapping presents. I also need to get a few cards in the mail. Other than that... not much is going on! I hope everyone is having a GREAT week!